#some people like are straight up horrible… like pounding on glass and yelling at you for not letting them check in even tho every sign in

[mcnuggyy]

night shift ? if u don’t mind me asking what do u do .. [ without ig being too revealing lol . im looking for a new job ]

ah! It’s part time at a hotel/motel, I just kinda sit there and take care of any issues a guest might have/check them in/watch cameras… but at night it is kind of just sitting there cause most people are sleepin lmao, then the rest of the week I just work on commissions and other art projects :-] <3

[timextoxhajima]

Playlist Feels

*SHORT SERIES

Member: pilot juyeon thanks to him saying he wanted to be a pilot i couldn’t let this go

Genre: S M U T. this is going to be a long ride... (don’t say i didn’t warn you)

A/N: i spent TWO hours finding a track for this piece and i’m not gonna lie i’m very tempted to go wild with this one so i’m sorry if you start tearing up because it’s so unlike me to go nuts like this. the time now is 11.30pm, let’s see how long it takes me to produce a piece that makes YOU want to go to church. 

“stay on the ground until your knees hurt”

“another!” you call out boisterously, raising your glass so high and fast into the air that the alcohol found its way over the rims and only your hand. the crowd around you shouted and cheered, and sunwoo got out of his seat to get the attention of a bar girl who he doesn’t resist to rest his hands on.

you watch him whisper something into her ear, his lips just inches away from her skin. she licks her plump lips that you were sure had some kind of filler, dragging her long nail across his jawline and walking away, nodding at his order. 

“sunwoo!” you groggily call out. you were on your third glass of Kamikaze and the vodka was already starting to replace the fluid in your veins. your chest was burning and your fingertips were slowly numbing from the intoxication, and your nose picks up nothing but the scent of sweat mixed with all kinds of alcohol. “you’re supposed to be having fun with me, not flirting with the--” you belch and hyunjun glares at you with a look on disgust on his face. “bar girl.”

you start breaking out into snorts and snickers, hyunjun shaking his head at your ability to completely let loose so quickly. sunwoo returns to the table and downs a shot of vodka like it was water, wincing at the burn in his throat as he turns to you. 

“i am having fun with you, but it’s not going to be long before you get dragged off to some corner and get... i don’t know, pounded by someone!” 

he was sitting right next to you but the deafening club music that was echoing in the corners of your brain forced him to yell at you. you scoff, licking the sweet taste of the lime juice off your lips.

“so what if that happens? i’m never gonna see him again because guess who’s leaving the country tomorrow?!” you throw one arm around him, and the other picks up a shot. 

“i can’t believe you’re fucking ditching us to go to new york,” hyun jun looks up from his phone and raises a cocky brow at you, eyes hooded and a smile loosely hanging on his lips. the man was tipsy and the music was probably getting to him now. 

“aw,” you cough, downing the shot and slamming it down on the table. you pull both boys into you, arms around their necks and your drunken self tries to ruffle both their heads against each other. 

the bar girl that sunwoo was hitting on before comes by, more drinks in hand than you told sunwoo to order. you release sunwoo when the both of you notice the extra drinks, and the bar girl leans into sunwoo’s neck (which was such a cheap trick). 

you could’ve sworn she licked sunwoo’s ear just before she left, and she leaves all the drinks on your table. 

“you’ve got a secret admirer,” sunwoo smirks at you, pulling all the drinks over to your end of the table. “she said someone sent the drinks over for you.”

you raise both brows in pleasant surprise, a drowsy smile spreading across your lips as you instinctively stand up in the booth. eyes scanning the club with shitty-ass lighting flickering every second, heads bobbing up and down and people yelling here and there. 

it takes your doped vision to finally find your secret admirer, and he was standing on the second floor, torso over the railings and looking right down at you. his right foot was perched on the lowest bars and his arms were resting over the uppermost bar, swirling a small glass of whatever he was drinking in his right hand. 

you couldn’t really make out his face from this angle and the horrible, headache-inducing light, so all you do is raise a glass to him. 

“THANKS MAN!”

sunwoo and hyun jun jump at your sudden screeching, watching you down the shot in honour of your secret admirer before plopping yourself between the two of them. 

you let hyunjun and sunwoo reprimand you for taking up the promotion from the production company, but you knew deep down inside they were just sad you were leaving them. the three of you had been friends since you were teenagers and ended up in the same production company, and it was a dream you shared up to that point. 

accepting the promotion meant you were at a crossroad, and they did nothing but support your decision to go. 

‘time’ didn’t exist when you were stuck between your two best friends, in a booth in a club where the floor-shaking music made your hold on reality unreliable, and after enough shots, the alcohol was finally making your bladder full. 

you push past hyunjun, your rear brushing across his lap and you look back over your shoulders and grin at hyunjun as an apology. 

you stumble into the bathroom, the blue led lighting painting the walls a nostalgic blue and the red cubicles were such a terrible combination, your eyes began to glitch with the help of the alcohol in your blood. 

you get your business done, thanking god that you were in sneakers, else you would’ve fell inwards into the toilet bowl itself and probably get stuck there. the mirror presents you with a version of you that don’t really see anywhere. in fact, the only times you were dressed in a sheer top and black bra, pants and sneakers was when you let sunwoo drag you to a nightclub. 

you’re not really a fan of the loud, mind-juicing music most clubs play, much less the crowd. but tonight was an exception, because you had less than 24 hours before you were on a flight halfway across the world to start a new chapter of your life. 

you drink a mouthful of water from the tap in attempt to wash the heat from your chest, but when it fails, you’re not surprised. you turn to leave the washroom, the entrance right opposite the male’s toilet and someone comes out the same second you step out of the female toilet. 

you naturally look up and lock eyes with the man, and the first thing that strikes you were his eyes. they were long, focused, mysterious. 

then you realise that he was your secret admirer.

“oh, you!” the realisation washes through you, the alcohol motivating you to throw your arm around him and ruffle his hair. “thank you for the... good shit.” 

he grabs your wrist and stops you in your actions, pulling away and standing up straight. 

suddenly, his height becomes difficult to ignore, and you momentarily wish that you were in heels to match his eyes. 

he leans in dangerously close to you, the look in his eyes make you feel like you’ve done something wrong and it lights a fire in your stomach. “are you here with your boyfriends?”

you scoff loudly at his question, throwing your head back and hugging your belly, one of your wrists still in his grasp.

“who? sunwoo and hyunjun?” you start to snort and giggle uncontrollably, your free hand whacking him on the chest. “you’re funny.”

he tilts his head to the side but his eyes don’t change. 

“over my dead body, dude,” you wave it off, coming down from your humor. “they’re just my friends.”

he goes quiet for awhile, his grip on your wrist never once faltering. he tugs a little on your skin, trying to get your attention.

there was a heat between the two of you, and you couldn’t smell much besides the alcohol in both your breaths.

“can i have their permission to bring you elsewhere? or are they responsible for sending you home safely?”

you bite on your bottom lip, a smile of uncertainty pulling the corners of your mouth up your cheek. you harshly remove your wrist from his grip and throw both arms around his neck, the action requiring more effort than you calculated due to his height. you pull him down and force him into an unconscious power play, leaning into his ear and giving him a small nip on his ear. 

“you don’t need their permission, stranger. you can do whatever you want with me, i’m a grown woman after all.”

you were meant to scare his bold ass away, knowing that your drunken personality wasn’t one to be dealt with. but not only does he remain calm, he gives you the most menacing smile you’ve ever seen in your life. 

“i’ll take that as an invitation.” 

you rush back to the booth were sunwoo and hyun jun were, searching for your bag and downing a few shots while you were at it. they could tell you were in a rush, and you weren’t entirely sure why you were either. 

even if it was the alcohol that was letting you think this was a great idea, you were leaving. it didn’t hurt to have just one night of fun before you were shipped off to another country to work your ass off. 

“hey, hey, hey! where the hell are you going?!” sunwoo complains loudly, throwing his palm into the air. 

“i’m going on a date with my secret admirer,” you give them a mischievous smile, finishing one last shot before waving to them. “i’ll see you tomorrow at the airport, sweets.”

you lean in towards them and peck them on the crowns of their head, rushing off to look for the mysterious man who wasn’t one bit intimidated by your intoxicated self. 

you give him the address of your residence once you reach his car, because at least if anything were to happen, you know the lift lobby of your apartment building had cameras installed. even if you were murdered, there was no way this guy would go scott-free. 

once you get the door unlocked, he pushes you in, hands tightly gripping on the flesh of your rear while his lips fight yours. 

you drop your bag, feeling your back hit some wall in your apartment and your lipstick begins to smudge on his through the messy kisses. his hands were large, and the intensity of the moment rises when he bites on your lip. the pinch of pain pulls out a gasp, and he shoves his tongue into your mouth. 

he explores your mouth messily, and his hands don’t stop roaming your body. usually, you’d be slightly uncomfortable with letting a stranger into your place and letting him hook up with you like this, but the thought of him asking about your friends was strangely comforting. 

his fingers dig into your curves of your waist and he presses himself against you, sandwiching you between his body and the hard wall against your back. recklessly looking for your hands that were around his neck, he violently pins them against the wall over your head, and his large hands give him the privilege of doing it with only one hand. 

the moans and low groans were the only sounds you could hear, and his hand pulls your sheer blouse from under your jeans. his cold fingertips drag themselves across your stomach and up over your bra, harshly cupping your breast and kneading them. 

you feel yourself slowly beginning to melt under his touch, and you start squirming against his chest and the wall, but your wrists being anchored to the wall rendered your movements useless. 

he pulls away from the kiss, your tongues hanging between your lips as a trail of saliva breaks and it forms a drop on the corner of your mouth. you look up and look at him again under the better lighting, and you can’t help but notice how gorgeously defined his features were. sharp nose, high cheekbones, and good god those eyes. 

you were getting lost in them when he shoves his hand under your bra, your shirt still on you and the material collecting around his wrists. the contact sends you backwards into the wall, and his fingers start to play with your sensitive nub. the pull tightens around your torso, and you feel him attach his lips to your neck once your neck’s been turned away from the sensation of him playing with your nipple. 

you don’t even realise he’s let go of your wrists and your hands were now just gripping onto his hair and shoulders while he multi-tasks you into a mewling, whining mess. there was no space to wonder what he was doing with his other hand, until you realise he’s been undoing your belt and the button around your waist. 

he squeezes his hand under the material of the jeans that were just hugging your rear a few seconds ago, and his entire hand claws around the curves of your ass cheek. 

it was difficult to believe that not one piece of clothing has been removed. 

impatience was starting to fill your mind, and you could feel your core gradually getting wetter and needier, from a guy whose name you don’t even know. 

“let’s get this over with, i’m not really in the mood to play with you,” your voice comes out strained and needy, all the fondling and grabbing was just making you need him even more. 

but his hands don’t move. his fingers under your pants dig further into your skin and starts kneading the fat and flesh of your ass cheek like he was doing to your breast, and his lips finally tear away from your neck, only to reach your ears. 

“but you said i could do whatever i wanted with you.”

a playful smile erupts on your face and you poke the inside of your cheek with your tongue as he pulls away, eyes locking with yours again. 

you pull his arms out from under all your clothes and rest both your palms flat against his shoulders, slowly pushing him backwards and guiding him into your bedroom. 

“i’ll let you do whatever you want with me only if you win.”

you could tell something in him snapped, and you should’ve seen it coming, but you don’t. 

your back hits your closed door with a loud thump, and he repeats his actions from before: pinning your hands above your head. you let him have his fun and suck at the skin on your neck and lips, and your tongues take turn to fight a harsh, sloppy game of dynamics. his free arm shoves its way down your stomach and under your already unbuttoned jeans, finding your sensitive nub in your crotch. 

the pressure throws your attention off the power play between your tongues, and he pushes his wet muscle into your wet cavern. you could feel his arrogance and confidence soar, and it only riled you up even more when you now know he was a worthy opponent. 

he slips a finger under the material of your underwear and shoves a finger into you without warning, the sudden intrusion sending a sharp chill up your back. it rips you away from the kiss and you let out a loud moan that was music to his ears. 

the jeans were getting in the way, so he pushes it off your hips and down your thighs, your underwear following along with there rest of your pants. 

it was amusing to know that your bottoms had come off first instead of your tops, but maybe it was just him trying to tell you that he wasn’t going to go easy on you.

he was so preoccupied with eating your face and fingering you that his grip on your wrists had loosened, and you writhe yourself out of his hold, only to grab his hand that was inside you. you pull him out of yourself and bring it up to your lips, dragging your tongue oh so slowly around the skin of his finger before you wrapped your lips around it like it was a lollipop.

the sight of you tasting yourself brings more lust into his eyes, and you saw it. you smirk, finishing the last of yourself off his finger. he was so stunned, you took the opportunity to shove him backwards onto your bed and climb on top of him. 

“you’ve had your fun, now i’ll have mine.” you whisper into his ear, hands already travelling down to his groin and cupping his manhood. 

the growl that escaped from his throat was so satisfying to hear, and reason for the tightening material around his zipper was just so inviting. 

“aw, you treat me like i’m needy as if you aren’t yourself,” you straddle yourself around his lips as you reach out to a scarf you had strewn on your bed. you shove your lips between his and press your wet core onto his groin, sucking groans out from his chest as you wrap the soft material of your scarf around his wrists. 

he doesn’t notice it until you’ve tightened it with a knot. 

his eyes widen and you happily rile up his shirt to expose his skin. the veins that ran from his hips and under his pants were so inviting, you couldn’t resist but to attach your lips to the space around his pelvis while undoing his belt. 

you could hear him struggle to sit up, especially with his hands tied together, but you knew he couldn’t, not while you were busy leaving butterfly kisses all over his abs. 

his pelvis bucks upwards and his chin tilts towards the ceiling, your fingers undoing the button and zipper painfully slowly while you watch him writhe in lustful need. 

you leave his pants on, only exposing his tentage to yourself. the bulge was impressive, but you don’t expect any less, not when you’ve been playing with him like this. 

you lean your face close to his groin, your heavy breath landing on him through his boxers. your fingers play with the rim of his boxers, dragging only the fingertip between his skin and the material while you leave kisses on his pelvic bone. 

you hear a low growl from him, and veins start appearing on his neck as he grits his teeth in agony. 

you abruptly yank his boxers low enough for his length to spring out, and your eyes catch sight of the precum on the tip, already dripping down the sides of his swollen shaft.

you lower your head so your eyes were leveled with his as he lifts his head to look at you, his length just inches away from your lips. 

you make sure he was watching before you press your tongue flat onto his red tip, and an inhumane sound rumbles through him. you hear him curse and you suck only on the tip, your hands pressing against his thighs to prevent yourself from taking more of him into your mouth.

you pull him out, dragging your lips along the bare minimum surface of his skin, a mixture of your saliva and his precum sliding down the little veins that were emerging on the walls of his length. you crawl up back to him, pressing your face into his and kissing him so he could taste himself. 

he starts another power game with your tongue, his neck slowly leaving your bed as you feel the tip of him tap against your inner thighs. your hands were pressed to his chest were his shirt was still riled up to his collar bones, and you remember your shirt and bra were still on. 

you were so focused on winning the game between your lips that the sudden grip on your waist throws you completely off guard. your eyes widen and you immediately break the kiss, only to realise you had already been flipped over onto your knees, face buried in the mattress. he tosses the scarf right next to your face, and smile pulls your lips apart. 

you try to lift your torso off the cushion, but he finds your wrists and holds them down into your lower back, pushing you further into the cotton of your bed. you let out a strained laugh, knowing that you’ve driven him so far over the edge that you’ve lost a game you usually won. 

“i guess someone doesn’t like to lose,” you laugh into the air around you, listening to the sound of a belt hitting your floor. you were still mildly amused with your torso being fully clothes, but there was something about that that differentiated him from other guys you’ve hooked up with. 

this man didn’t have the greed you were familiar with. 

“i’m fine with losing,” he leans forward and announces into your ear. “but i couldn’t pass up on hearing you beg.”

you huff with pleasant surprise as he peels himself away from your back. 

he pushes into you without warning, and you let out the tightest, most strained moan you’ve ever heard yourself make. he doesn’t give you time to adjust, immediately ramming himself into you like there was no tomorrow. 

the impact was slamming your left cheek into the mattress, and saliva had begun escaping out from the corner of your lips that were ajar. 

there was a smile on your face, and with every thrust you let out a mixture of laughs and moans. you feel the flesh on your rear being squeezed like fruit, and you could feel him going deeper and deeper with every subsequent thrust. 

you feel a knot start to form in your stomach, and the laughter slowly turned into low groans and curses as you struggle to look behind you. 

he glares at you through his sweaty fringe, and almost like he could read your face and the lewd noises you were making, he stops and pulls out. 

“what the fuck--” you hiss angrily into the bed. your thighs were shivering from the rampant fucking, and you were physically worn out to some extent. the knot in your core had disappeared, but you’ve never felt so dissatisfied in your life. 

you hear him give a low chuckle, his arms sliding under you and flipping you around again so you were on your back this time. he wraps his lengthy fingers around your ankles and yanks you to the edge of the bed. you struggle a little, wanting to kick him in the face, but the strength he was investing into holding your ankles makes you look like a fragile little nothing. 

he wraps your legs around his waist and leans forward, pressing his palms flat into the cotton around your head, eyes digging into yours. 

you were pissed that he didn’t let you come, but then you remind yourself that he’s not like anybody you’ve ever slept with. your top and bra were still on, and though he looks like he could snap any moment, he’s got perfect control over what he wanted to do. 

he drags a finger down your cheek and traces along your jaw and chin, brushing your lower lip as he closes the gap between your faces.

“i want to hear you beg, love.” 

your eyes were so dangerously near his, and the close proximity surprisingly makes you a little anxious. 

you contemplate for a moment, wondering just how much he was willing to do just to get what he wanted. so, you held back your need to reach your climax and invite him to test his limits. 

“make me.”

he smirks at you, eyes filling with nothing but lust as he abruptly slams into you. your head gets thrown back, and your fingers grip onto the blanket and bed sheet tightly as he starts mindlessly fucking you again. he finally pushes your sheer top up to your neck and literally tears your bra off.

the combination of his tongue playing with one nipple, one hand kneading your other breast and the consistent, violent slams he was making into you was sending you into a place you’ve never been before. 

your mind starts to flash white as the knot returns to your stomach. curses start to leave your lips again and you could almost immediately feel him slow down. your mind says ‘hold it together’ but your body has admitted defeat to his control over himself.

“fuck, don’t stop.”

but it’s almost like he didn’t hear you. 

the thrusts slow down and the magic spot he was hitting inside you was slowly seeping away. 

tears were gathering in the corners of your eyes by the time the knowledge of what he wanted sinks in. 

“oh-- for fucks’ sake, please don’t stop!” 

he pulls away from your breast and starts sucking on your bottom lip, his pace picking up again and now that he was nearly pressed fully against you, every thrust felt deeper than before, if it was even possible. all the moans and mewls you were letting out were getting lost in his mouth.

his thumb finds your sensitive spot above the spot where the two of you were joined, and the pressure sends you into a frenzy you haven’t felt in a long time.

the knot returns for the third time tonight, and he releases your lips to suck on your neck. when the curses start to run off your tongue, the pleads begin pouring out as well. you could feel him smile into your neck as his thrusts get harder and faster; something you didn’t think he was capable of.

the violent fucking was starting to make you see stars, and he just finds the sweet spot on your neck, his thumb still rubbing circles on your core. 

the knot in your abdomen turns into a glass rod, and with one final, sharp thrust, the glass rod shatters and sends periodic spams throughout your entire body. 

the moaning mess you’ve become doesn’t stop him from halting his movements. he lets you ride out your climax while he tries to chase his, and he pulls out to unload himself on your thighs. 

the inappropriate noises were replaced with pants and huffs, and you felt so limp in your own bed, you couldn’t even begin to process the fact that you lost. 

he finds the tissue box in the corner of your room and cleans himself off your skin and off the tip of his slightly flaccid length, turning sideways to present you the veins that ran from his arms to his hands. every muscle on him was so pumped from the session that you couldn’t help but hate yourself for feasting your eyes on him. 

he catches you watching him and raises a smug brow, crushing the tissue in his hand as he smirks at you. 

“see?” he reaches down and picks up his shirt, pulling it over his head the way only hot guys did. “begging wasn’t so hard.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2: Do It For Me

A/N: brb i gotta drink a whole fucking tank of holy water--

[obiwhat]

Hey! I've been reading one of your fics and I kinda felt the need to request one! Your writing is so good! If it's levi/erwin is up to you, but that is the ship I'm usually going with 😍🙃

My rec is; Levi is acting out after his squad is killed (Petra, Eld, Gunter and Oulo/Auro? Ouro? I don't even know anymore-) in the way of how he would let out steam in the underground. He goes out drinking and instigates a fight, intentionally or subconsciously, and ends up getting overpowered by a group of men, probably because of his drunkenness and perhaps because of the injured ankle he sustained after the meeting with the female titan. His injuries after the fight are significant and eventually, he's found in an alleyway (or something), by Erwin who's been worried about his mental state (cause obviously, Levi has been trying to hide it, all though rather poorly), and takes care of him.

I hope this isn't too specific 😅 I take requests myself and appreciate people being as thorough as possible. If not; take whatever you like and run with ut 😄😄

AHH THANK YOU FOR SUCH A DETAILED ASK!! good stuff right here^^ big brain moves^^

Fix You: 

(AO3)

(warning: language, violence, a bit of a emetophobia and drinking ofc)

His heart ached. 

It spread through his chest into every limb of his body, to the point where the horrible throbbing from his ankle felt like a slight ache in comparison.

Every time Levi lost someone, it broke away a little piece of him. Even though he’d never let it see the surface, there were several cracks underneath. When he found his squad; bloody, with limbs dangling from trees and branches, it broke off another rather large piece. 

These were people he had trained closely. Erwin had trusted him enough to assign him a special leadership role in the Scouts and a special operations squad to suit it. When he trained them, he had drilled it into their heads everyday not to die. He gave them every bit of his knowledge on how to survive in the shitty world they had to endure.

He wasn’t a leader. He never had been. Unfortunate people just tended to follow behind him. Levi never knew the right thing to say or how to express what he was thinking, but his squad had still learned quickly. They were smart and skillful and he was… proud of them. Truly.

And their blood still painted that forest floor.

Levi knocked back another shot, numbing the pain for a moment longer. A fleeting escape from the horrors that crept into his mind yet again that night. He was dangling off of his bar stool as he slouched forward even further with his shoulders barely holding his head up. He flagged down the waiter for another round.

It wasn’t exactly clear what had driven him to the rougher side of town, to drown himself in shitty booze. It had a lot to do with his hands, which he refused to look down at. Every time he did, he saw red. Dark crimson. The blood of his comrades. Paired with the echo of radiating pain from his ankle. A pain, he felt, was well deserved.

He wasn’t even supposed to be walking on it, as much as possible at least. Hanji had given him grief about going to an actual doctor for the pain and the swelling. At the moment, he couldn’t find the will to care. As long as he could shove it into his boot and stumble his way into a bar for the night, then he was fine by his standards.

He downed another shot of whiskey, barely feeling the burn in the back of his throat any longer. The room spun, he huffed out a broken laugh quietly under his breath. It’d been years since he’d drank himself to this pathetic point. Not since the underground. Or maybe not since Farlan and…

He threw back the next shot and took in a sharp breath as he stubbornly blocked the memory from surfacing. His eyelids shut tightly as he tried to remove the thoughts of his failures from his mind. All the people he’d failed to protect. Despite his overwhelming strength. 

Humanity’s strongest soldier… 

What a load of bullshit.

He flagged down the bartender once more and asked for the whole damn bottle, slurring his words to the point of near incomprehension. The bartender didn’t seem to mind. Money was money. Even if his patrons drank themselves into a ditch. That’s how it went in these parts of town. Money was the only language anyone spoke, because money was the only way anyone could make it through the day.

It reminded him of home.

He slammed down his money and swiped the bottle from the counter, the bar spun wildly as he stood on his feet again. Levi had nearly forgotten about his injury, the sudden shift of weight onto his ankle sent him stumbling a bit. He hissed in pain, but only responded with another pull of the whiskey, straight from the bottle.

As the chilled night breeze hit him, Levi felt a sudden wave of disgust. It was the smell of sewage and grime. These alleyways were radiating with it. Swaying a bit, Levi grabbed out blindly for purchase. His palm found a brick wall, covered in something sticky. He winced, pain shooting up his leg as the alleyway walls spun dizzyingly around him.

The pain was welcome. In fact, he’d decided he didn’t deserve the numbness that the whiskey brought. He should feel it all. He’d gotten his comrades killed. Again. He wanted to feel something. To hit something.

Levi’s chance was walking down the other side of the alleyway, feet dragging confidently through the sludge of the streets. A group of men walking together, talking irritatingly loud in contrast to the quiet night streets Levi had enjoyed before.

“Haha! He was dumber than he looked!” One hollered confidently.

“What’d you expect from a son of a whore?” A burly man spit as he laughed, his dull voice echoing through the alleyway. He was obviously somewhat of a leader to them.

His last word perked Levi’s attention. He gripped his whiskey bottle tightly in one hand, nearly busting it into pieces.

“That’s a choice word there.” Levi lazily brought up a shaky finger, along with the whiskey bottle, to point in the direction of the burly man. Or at least where he thought he was. His vision was dancing.

The leader laughed a grating chuckle and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What is, you drunk idiot? You got a problem with the word whore?” 

“I gotta problem with your shit leaking face.” 

Levi growled out his words with a half cocked smirk, looking much like a wild animal in the dark of the alleyway. Although his threatening appearance was subdued by the fact that he could barely balance on his feet, without the help of the wall nearby.

“Haha!” The man belly-laughed once more, drawing near, his companions followed closely behind him. 

“You got some guts, short stuff. Got the chops to back that shit up?”

The leader rolled back his sleeves, his friends followed suit. They were all geared up to fight him. Levi laughed hollowly in the dark. A sick, empty, laugh influenced by the whiskey fueling his veins.

He swung hard at the burly man, a bit surprised to have connected with his jaw. Levi could barely see straight at this point. A hit was coming from his left, which he barely dodged sluggishly before grabbing the man’s arm with the hand that wasn’t still gripping his whiskey. He twisted it, breaking the man’s wrist.

Levi took a slow swig of the whiskey before he caught a glimpse of something shiny out of the corner of his eye, coming from his right. Someone had pulled a knife. Interesting.

It didn’t quite register properly until the next man lunged at him and he barely had the chance to grip his hand before the knife could plunge into his chest. This new face looked angry. Angrier that Levi had felt about the burly man’s comment. The cause of this chosen chaos. In fact, Levi wasn’t feeling much anger at all over this fight. 

The knife drew closer and closer. Levi managed to smack it away, not a moment too soon. The sound of metal crossing the stone ground echoed over the heavy breathing of the group. Levi had placed a heavy weight on his ankle with his last move causing a bit of a wince to unconsciously form on his face. Before he could register what had happened, he felt an even more crippling shock ripple through his entire leg. 

He gasped suddenly, vision darkening.

The whiskey bottle hit the ground, spilling the burgundy liquid all over the stone floor. Glass shards scattered all around.

The man had kicked him, hard, in his wounded leg. Right where he’d shoved his bruised, aching flesh into his boot. Levi’s legs gave out beneath him and his knees connected with the stone below with a loud thud. His palms hit glass in front of him as he could barely hold himself upright.

His head was spinning, swirling, and darkening his vision around the edges as he knew nothing but white hot pain for what felt like an eternity.

“I knew it! He’s got a bum leg!” The man who’d pulled the knife shouted gleefully to the remaining members of the crew. 

He must’ve noticed Levi’s wince from before. The man sent another crack into Levi’s wounded leg, sending ripples of agony through his entire body. It sobered him to another level fairly quickly. The other men were getting to their feet again as Levi quivered on the ground in pain, gripping his palms into glass and whiskey.

Everything was dark around him as another anticipated strike came through, this one connected harshly with his ribs. There was a deafening crack of bone. There was nothing he could do but wait for the next impact. He couldn’t help but yell out in pain as the agony overwhelmed him. Levi nearly passed out as his head hit the cold stone, whiskey and grime covering one side of his face.

With the side of his face, not plastered to the ground, Levi could spot more legs swinging, connecting with his side, and more sounds of shouting. He couldn’t tell if the shouting was his own anymore. He couldn’t feel much of anything anymore, everything was fading out slow. He was fading. 

There were six faces dancing around above him in his hazy vision. His head pounded as he tried desperately to get a grip on his consciousness.

Had there always been six of them? Or were they doubling from his drunken, wounded stupor? They all swirled into a confusing mess of faces. Ugly, contorted, swirling faces. He felt sick.

Another shock connected with his ribs. He heard another sickening crack over their laughs and hollers before his vision finally graced him with complete and utter darkness.

—

Another dead end and no sign of the captain. 

At some point he was going to have to send out a missing report. Erwin was hoping it wouldn’t have to come to that, but after hours of scouring the near entirety of the city and finding nothing, he was beginning to accept the facts. Levi was missing.

Missing. Out of bed. Injured.

Erwin remembered when he first saw Levi’s leg after the expedition. He’d only caught a glimpse when Hanji was looking him over. It was horribly bruised and swollen, raw. A part of him blamed himself, he’d sent the captain to fight the female titan. Yet again, Levi had sacrificed a part of himself for humanity. His wounded leg was a sacrifice, but Erwin knew there were much heavier weights on him, paining him deeper than flesh would show.

This small section of town was not one he expected to find Levi in. It was full of filth and squalor. A familiar sight to that of the underground. Something he’d assumed Levi would never return to willingly. 

A chill was in the air. Cool breeze passed on the outside of his hood as Erwin pulled it over his eyes. He turned into what he assumed was one of the last streets he hadn’t checked yet. There was a group of men who had just left an alleyway quickly, Erwin noticed a bit of blood on their clothes and faces, not exactly a shock in this part of town.

One man was gripping at his wrist and complaining loudly as they passed Erwin by. 

“Piece of shit broke my wrist!” He cried out and kicked a stone on the ground irritatedly.

“Be glad it wasn’t your neck, I bet he would’ve been a lot more dangerous if his leg wasn’t busted. I think he was trained or something. Did you see the way…” Their conversation trailed off as they disappeared around a corner. 

Erwin was no longer listening, he was more focused on a particular phrase in their conversation.

Busted leg? Erwin thought for a moment, fearing the worst in the back of his mind. It couldn’t be…

The commander broke into a quicker pace, sweat dripping nervously down the back of his neck as he followed the alleyway, where the men had come from. It was dark and smelled of filth, blanketed in whiskey. There was glass covering the ground as he walked further, he could hear it crunch underneath his boots with each step.

Out of the corner of his eye, Erwin caught a glimpse of black dress shoes. A body lay slumped up against the brick wall of the alley. A head of dark hair, shadowing a pale and bloody face. 

Levi.

Erwin kneeled down quickly and placed a warm hand on his shoulder, attempting to rouse him gently. His body was shaking horribly, covered in his own blood and the scent of whiskey. 

“Levi…? Please.” Erwin winced as his voice died in his throat. “Say something. Are you alright?”

There was no response. Erwin pushed his dark locks out of his eyes to get a better view of his face. The blood he’d spotted earlier was dripping from his lips which made him immediately check his torso for wounds. He couldn’t find any blood, but when he lifted his shirt carefully, he spotted it. 

Erwin had looked emotionlessly at many wounds before, but this made him winced in sympathy. Seeing black and blue paint the side of Levi’s porcelain, perfect skin made him want to run and find those men from before. But no. Levi was the most important thing right now and he had injured himself even worse than before. 

The thought over his previous injury crossed Erwin’s mind as he hesitantly lifted Levi’s pant leg. If the bruising on his torso was dark, his leg looked like the night sky. His bruises were black and dark purple, spiraling their way up to his knee. The flesh was swollen and warm to the touch when Erwin hovered his hand above it nervously.

How did this happen? Why was Levi here in the first place? He smelled heavily of alcohol, it was probably what was covering his clothes and turning his cheeks pink. Had he come here to get drunk? To start a fight in an alleyway? 

It would be very uncharacteristic of him. But, of course, finding him here in the first place was very uncharacteristic. He wasn’t himself. He hadn’t been for some time now.

Without time to spare, Erwin pulled his cloak off of his shoulders and wrapped Levi’s broken, shivering form. He frowned as he watched the man continue to shake harshly despite the warmth of the cloth. He hadn’t even noticed Erwin’s presence, unusually unalert and dazed.

“It’ll be alright Levi. I’m here now.” His hands hovered over his chest. He’d have to carry him back. “I have to lift you. Please endure it for a moment, we’re not too far from my house.”

Erwin scooped him off of the filthy stone floor and into his warm hold as carefully as he could muster. Levi moaned in pain in his embrace, Erwin pulled him tighter against his chest as he brought them out of the dark alleyway and back into the light.

—

A bath was in order. Erwin knew Levi inside and out. He knew he wouldn’t be too keen on waking up smelling like alcohol and blood. He’d be better if he was cleaned up a bit and his wounds were wrapped. Erwin was determined to fix this. To fix him.

He laid Levi’s still, unconscious body carefully into his bathtub, kneeling beside him and washing off the dirt and the blood from his face with a cool rag. He was so delicate with him, like he was handling fragile glass.

Erwin surprised even himself with how carefully he guided the rag across Levi’s broken skin. He wasn’t used to being this careful and soft. War and death had all but stripped him of these qualities. But not with Levi. With Levi, he was different.

It had been a struggle carrying the captain back, with his wounds being so extensive. However, Erwin had made it to his house in record time without much unconscious complaint from the shivering form in his arms. He had been light. Far too light for Erwin’s liking. 

He tried to ignore the way Levi’s collar bones stuck out slightly as he washed away soap and the whiskey smell with the soft scrub. Erwin couldn’t bear to glance at the curious patterns of bruises over Levi’s thin body or the way his chest rose and fell with a heavy struggle. He just continued to wash away the soap and water.

Erwin scooped a bit of water into his palms and washed it through Levi’s hair, watching as the last of the blood and whiskey found its way down the drain. As the water trickled through his dark hair, down the back of his neck, Levi stirred a bit but never opened his eyes.

“E-Erwin…” Levi breathed through his words, dazed and unaware of his own incoherent mumbles.

“I’m here, Levi.” Erwin gripped his slender hand tight and ran his other across the man’s creased forehead. “I’m right here. You’re alright.”

“No…” Levi mumbled, voice breaking as his eyes pinched together tighter. “Can’t leave me… Not you… too…”

“I won’t leave you Levi... I promise.” 

Such promises were foolhardy in the work they did, but Erwin couldn’t stop himself from making it. He couldn’t stand the way his captain cried out in pain and heartbreak, it was worse than any gruesome scene he’d witnessed. 

Levi leaned into his touch as Erwin cupped his palms around his cheeks and kissed his forehead gently. He didn’t know exactly what possessed him to do so, but it seemed to cause some relief from his captain so he allowed it. 

Once he was clean, dry and warming up again, Erwin took him to his warm bed to rest finally. He dressed his wounds carefully, glad to see that Levi was finally resting somewhat peacefully. He hoped he could now sense his presence at least. To know he wasn’t alone tonight.

Erwin was concerned with the heat radiating from Levi’s ankle as he wrapped it. He was determined to get Levi to an actual doctor in the morning to look everything over. He would command him this time, to ensure he actually did so. For now, he placed a cool rag on the man’s forehead just in case a fever began, which was entirely likely.

He was in rough shape. Erwin had been lucky to find him when he did. 

What if he hadn’t? Would he have caught his death in the chilled night? Or slept on the cold stone ground, injured and alone?

Erwin couldn’t understand Levi’s behavior. It wasn’t like him in the slightest. He was usually so level headed and composed. It made the commander ache to think that this sacrifice had made the man fall so low.

—

A dark ceiling was spiraling above him. One that seemed vaguely familiar. His head hurt too much to even try to deduce where the hell he was. There was a cool cloth placed on his brow, wrappings covered his ribs, palms, and leg, his shirt was missing.

All this spinning was aggravating.

He was going to be sick. 

Levi crumbled off the side of the bed, hardly making it to the floor as his legs refused to hold him. His body was broken, defeated, exhausted beyond belief. A dizzying roll to his stomach made him clutch it in pain. There was a waste bin by the bed frame which he gratefully and regrettably clutched to his chest.

For a moment, nothing happened. He wished it would, feeling unbelievably nauseous and confused. But he could do nothing to help himself rather than sitting there, shakily clutching the bin.

“Levi…” A familiar whisper found him in the dark. 

He jumped and lashed out with a blind strike that hit nothing but air. Erwin’s hand gripped his wrist softly and lowered it, slow. “It’s just me. You’re here with me, at my house.”

Levi’s chest collapsed in breath as he winced again and dry heaved into the bin. Nothing had come from it. He hadn’t eaten enough. He hadn’t eaten much at all… Since… 

Blood… Everywhere… 

He dry heaved again, gripping the bin with white knuckles. Erwin rubbed soft circles on his back. The familiar touch was welcome despite the circumstances.

“You haven’t been eating, have you?” He asked, quiet so as to not upset Levi further.

Levi didn’t respond. Not because he was unable, but because he simply did not want to. It was pointless. He couldn’t have stomached food. Not while looking at the blood on his hands as he chowed down. Not while his comrades were left bloody in those damn woods.

He slid the bin to the ground and brought his knees into his chest despite the pain it caused him. Levi rubbed cruel circles into his thigh as his wound echoed agony through his entire leg.

He heard Erwin inhale deeply. 

“Levi… Why were you…? You can’t just do something like this. What if I hadn’t found you?”

“How did… you… find me?” Levi coughed slightly as his breath caught in his injured chest. 

Something deep inside him almost wished Erwin hadn’t found him at all. He shut it away.

“I came to your room to check on you.” Erwin explained, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. “You weren’t there, so I went looking at your regular spots.”

Levi faced his head towards his chest and buried his face deeper, to try to escape this. He wanted to escape again. It was all too much.

“I didn’t think you’d be in the bar district. It was the last place I tried looking.” 

He’s been looking for me all night then. 

What an idiot.

“Why were you there, Levi?” His voice turned soft, a tone that only Levi had probably ever heard from the man. Something sacred between them.

“Why do you think?” Levi’s tone was more venomous than he intended. If his head wasn’t pounding, he might’ve corrected himself.

“I was worried about you.” Erwin maintained that soft voice despite Levi’s defensive nature. He placed a hesitant hand on the injured man’s knee. 

“With everything going on, I can’t lose you too. I need you.”

He needs me, huh? 

Why?

Levi hadn’t realized he’d asked it aloud. 

“Why?” Erwin repeated his words back to him, looking damaged by the question. “Because…”

The words caught in his throat, at a loss for the right phrasing.

“You’re important to me. To humanity.”

Humanity…

It all feels like a bad joke…

What part of humanity am I even helping if everyone around me gets killed?

“Why’d you even let me train a squad? I just got them all murdered…” Levi felt his chest hitch. 

“Their blood… Erwin…”

He finally risked a glance at his shaking hands and clenched his fists so hard he thought his fingernails might draw blood from his flesh.

“It’s all over my hands.”

Erwin was silent. Without his drawing of breath nearby, Levi wouldn’t have known he was even still there with him. But he was, he knew Erwin would never leave him alone right now.

“No matter how many times I scrub them…” He swallowed a wave of nausea as he could see the red start to blanket his palms again. He felt insane. “I can't clean the blood off.”

Suddenly, large warm fingers wrapped around his slender hands, steadying them for him.

“I can't either.” 

Erwin’s voice was hoarse in the dark. He rubbed a thumb across the back of Levi’s hand softly, despite the pain in his voice.

“I’m sorry.” His words soothed something deep inside Levi’s aching chest. “We’ll never be able to wipe this blood away.”

Levi released a captive breath, leaning forward into Erwin’s chest despite the burning in his ribs. Erwin could soothe it. He could soothe this pain. Even just by a fraction. Levi sunk into him with fatigue in his bones.

“It reminds us of their sacrifice. What they did for humanity. What we will continue to do for humanity, with their strength fueling our fight.”

Humanity… Humanity’s Strongest… 

Never strong enough to save anyone important though… 

No one really needs me… Especially not like this… 

Broken…

“Stop. You’ll regret it.” His deep voice was stern now. A command from years ago. A call back to reality. “You were a good leader to them. They did their duty well. Perfectly.”

“Don’t—” Levi’s voice caught in his throat.

“You taught them well. They were able to live as long as they did only because of you. Because of what they learned from their time with you.” Erwin brushed a hand through his hair softly and held him closer. “You did well by them. They were proud to die under your last command, I can promise you that.”

Levi wanted to argue, to refuse this, but he couldn’t find the strength behind words just yet. He could only be held tightly by his commander and hear his voice next to his ear.

“I saw the way they looked up to you. Worshipped you in some cases. Loved you in others. They would not do this if you weren’t worthy of it.” He pressed further. “Just the idea of you makes our soldiers confident in a future of freedom. It’s not just your physical capabilities, Levi. It’s the strength within you as well. That is why you’re important.”

He meant it. He meant every damn word. Levi had never heard someone speak so passionately about another person. With such vigor and honesty. It made his heart clench painfully in his broken chest.

“You have to continue. For them.” He whispered in Levi’s ear now, soft and comforting. “For me, as well. I need you, most of all.”

Tears finally found their way onto Levi’s cheeks, eyes turning red in irritation. He cursed himself and crumbled in Erwin’s arms completely. 

“God it hurts… It hurts all over.” He couldn’t tell if he was talking about the pain in his heart or the pain in his body. It didn’t really matter as Erwin caressed him softly and made it fade for just a moment.

Erwin didn’t numb him like the alcohol had. He allowed him to feel, to cry, to express. And he held him tightly through it all.

Until the morning sun rose, finding them fast asleep in each other's embrace on the wooden floor. Soft rays of sunlight crossed their cheeks in unison.

[jjmaybanksblog]

On My Own- Rafe Cameron

(Gif credit @popemaybank )

Summary: After you raised your child by yourself for the last 3 years, Rafe comes to his senses to finally become the dad he never was.

Word count: 1,321

Warnings: Teen pregnancy

Y/N your name

Y/C/N your child's name

Rafe Cameron sat at the family dinner table, poking and prodding at his steak and broccoli. He carelessly flipped a piece of broccoli around his plate as Rose forced conversation with his younger sister and father.

"Wheezie, anything new today?" Rose asked from the end of the table, sipping from her glass of wine. "Normal day today. Then I ran into an old friend of ours- Y/N." Wheezie smirked as Rafe choked on air after hearing your name. His parent's faces lit up after hearing your name, you were Rafe's favorite girlfriend.

You treated Rafe and his family with so much respect, you loved him for everything he was. "Oh my goodness! I haven't heard that name in what feels like so long. What did she say?" 

Rafe took a deep breath to prepare for his sister's words, "she said she's been doing well, having some family issues though." A smirk was evident in her tone as she shoved a piece of meat into her mouth. "Rafe, have you talked to her about that? Do you know if she's okay." Ward prodded at the boy.

"Uh no actually. I haven't actually spoken to her in a few years-" he was cut off by Wheezie announcing, "since he got her pregnant." The only sound that was heard was his dad's utensils clattering to the ground and his step mother choking on her wine. 

"Rafe, is that true?" His mouth opened, words trying to form however he only sat there like a fish out of water. "You got her pregnant?! What were you thinking?" His father yelled, standing up at his spot.

"That's the issue dad I wasn't thinking!" He screamed back at Ward, standing up from his spot as well. "Both of you knock it off! Rafe, when did you find out she...she was pregnant?" Rose asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"3 years ago..." He trailed off, thinking about how badly things between them ended. Ward loudly exhaled as Rose took the napkin from her lap and wiped her mouth. "I expect you to go over to her house tomorrow and speak to her about this." 

He simply nodded his head as his parents walked away from the table. Wheezie pursued her lips together picking at the food on her plate. Rafe walked up into his room and threw himself onto his bed, a million thoughts running through his head.

The Next Day

You were watching Y/C/N play with her stuffed animals, giggling and cooing at the elephant one she's had since she was a baby. She was an energetic little one that wasted no time in draining your battery, but you would do anything for her. 

Your family was rather supportive when they found out you were pregnant, shocked nonetheless, but they knew you were frantic and needed any help you could get. Your mom or dad would come over to watch her when you didn't get any sleep for multiple days straight. Your sister donated you toys from when she had her kids. The only thing missing from people helping out was your baby's father.

You knew Rafe was the father of your baby. He was the only person you had any sort of intimacy with. The moment you thought you were pregnant, everything went fuzzy. You prayed you weren't, you were only a junior in high school and Rafe was a senior. You didn't want to have to leave the school and have rumors about you spread like wildfire. But you also knew Rafe couldn't bare to have the truth spread about him getting someone younger pregnant.

When you took the test, you nearly threw up then and there. You had no idea of how to tell him that he was the father. You knew he was too young, you knew he wouldn't want to have that burden on his chest, but you told him anyway. And that's when everything went even more downhill. 

He left after hesitating for a moment his final words being, "I'm sorry." Since then you woke up by yourself, each day your stomach slowly getting bigger and bigger. Your hormones raging, one minute you would be crying because you were alone, the next minute you were angry because of how easy Rafe left you. 

The day you gave birth was the best thing that's ever happened to you, you had given birth to your beautiful daughter, but had to cut the umbilical cord by yourself and had no signature for the father on her birth certificate. 

These memories slip your mind when your front doorbell rings. You keep and eye on your girl as you open the front door. Your heart immediately feels like it drank 20 cups of coffee, your heartbeat beginning to pound. "Rafe?" Your mouth failed to fully enunciate the syllables in his name.

"Hi Y/N..." He wanted to get down on his knees and just apologize as loudly as he could, but he was frozen in his spot. "Listen I have to say this because right now I honestly feel like puking not gonna lie. I am so... here I go. I am so fucking sorry I didn't stay. I'm so sorry I didn't take care of you, help you, be the boyfriend you needed me to be. I ran like the fucking coward I am, and I know there's no way I can take back these 3 years of not being here, and I know there's no way me saying sorry will heal anything, but fuck I want you to know how truly sorry I am and I accept that I fucked up horribly. To both you and your child."

You stared down at the ground before muttering, "I raised our daughter, by myself... but she's your child too you know." You knew he was sorry, you knew he was terrified when you told him. He was a teenager, he had his whole life ahead of him and he wasn't ready for this kind of responsibility. You don't blame him, you see the reason why he ran, you just wish he didn't.

His ears perked up at your phrase, he  nervously ran his hand through his hair, "do- do you think I can see..." he slowly trailed off, hoping you would catch on. You bit down harshly on your lip before inviting him inside your house.

You sat down on the couch as Rafe slowly walked in. "Come here Y/c/n!" Your daughter giggled loudly as she waddled over to your spot. You easily picked her up and sat her down on your thigh, softly bouncing it up and down. Rafe sat across from you and your child, his eyes not believing the sight in front of him. She truly looked like a mini version of you.

Y/c/n started mumbling a bunch of words that didn't make sense together, until she asked the question, "who dis?" Your voice got high pitched as you said, "this is daddy!" Rafe smiled brightly at the sound of that, his daughter giggled loudly as her eyes widened. "Daddy?!" 

"Yeah! Hey baby girl, wow you're beautiful. You look just like your mama." Y/c/n crawled out of your lap and plopped herself right onto his. One of her hands reached up and began to play with his hair, the other held on tightly to his index finger. 

Your eyes began to water at the interaction between the two, wishing that he was there since the beginning. "God Y/N... I'm so sorry for everything. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize what I was missing out on. I know it's so late but I will do anything and everything I can to take care of you both and love you both unconditionally."

The corners of your mouth tugged up as a tear rolled down your cheek. "Welcome to the family, Cameron."

[achliegh]

Revenge

This is way more my element, I love writing tragedy. This is intense; this has even more TWs then before. This will be a lot of my biggest fears put into one fic and somethings that have actually happened. I won’t be telling which is which. There will be almost no comfort in this fic and it will be ending on a cliff hanger with nothing after. So, let your mind wander.

CW/TW: Past Abusive relationship, Anxiety, Depression, Panic Attack, past age difference relationship (Illegal), Violence, sexual assault, revenge p0rn

Part1 Part2 Part3 Ending1

Characters belong to @lumosinlove

Besides Luka, I made him up, don’t care for him tho

Leo and Sirius had left to talk to Coach about three hours ago, long enough that Logan was getting anxious. He and Finn were sitting on the couch trying to distract themselves by watching shitty shows on TLC. My 600lbs life was on but neither of them knew whose story it was because they weren’t paying attention.

“Should we text them and ask how it's going? I mean it’s been a long time..” Finn looked up from his phone while chewing his lip. His finger is hovering over his phone's keypad, he had created a group chat with him, Sirius, Logan and Leo. He hadn’t texted anything but was worried about Leo, he can’t get the idea of Leo stuffing himself between the toilet and bathtub while hyperventilating. He didn’t want Leo to go through that again especially not in front of people who he was close with but not as close as he and Logan are.

“I don’t see why not… I am getting nervous also.” Finn sighs and nods, kissing the Canadian’s hand that was intertwined with his as a way to anchor themselves.

Cap, Lo, Peanut and You

Fish: Hey hows it going???

7:00pm

Cap: ???

Cap: Ask Nutty

7:01pm

Lo: Isn’t he with you?!

7:01pm

Cap: I dropped him off in the parking garage like an hour ago…

7:09pm

Fish: WHAT?!

7:10pm

Finn was officially freaking out he was calling Sirius while Logan was calling Leo. Leo’s phone was going straight to voicemail. Logan called 15 times and was crying by the 5th. Finn got a hold of Sirius after the second try.

“Why didn’t you answer the first time!?” He was so scared that he was getting angry at Sirius who was only trying to help. “You dropped him off an hour ago? Why didn’t you walk him up to the apartment? You know the situation he's in! WHAT THE FUCK!” He was crying and hung up on Sirius and throwing his phone down on the floor and covering his face with his hands. Logan was still trying to call Leo, desperately clutching his phone.

Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door. The boys fell over each other as they ran to the door. To their disappointment, It was Remus and Sirius. They let them in, sitting at the island in the kitchen Remus spoke first.

“Okay, so we know Sirius was the last person to see Leo. Do we know that Leo hasn’t just taken some time for himself? He has been pretty distant lately and Sirius said he was pretty secluded when he dropped him off. He asked Sirius not to worry about walking him up.” He furrowed his brow thinking about how odd that sounded now that he was repeating it. He looked over at his boyfriend.

“It sounds weird now that I think about it.. I should have listened to my gut.” Sirius was obviously blaming himself for this and rests his elbows on the counter and puts his face in his hands. Then they hear it… Logan and Finn’s phones are going off. Finns was still on the floor and Logan's was on the coffee table. Finn got up to retrieve them. He almost drops his phone back on the floor when he sees a message from Leo. Leo. That means he’s okay. Right? He’s okay. He grabbed Logan's phone and trotted back over to the trio.

“It's from Leo!” He unlocked his phone before Logan and froze. He grabs his lover's arm and stares at his phone. It was a link to an Instagram live. He looks at Logan's screen to make sure he isn’t seeing this wrong. “It’s a link to a live…” Suddenly everyone's phones are blowing up with messages and twitter @s and dms. It was all about Leo. People saying this is a sick joke and some people even cheering something on. Finn clicks the link, he wished he never did.

On the screen was their beautiful boy, tied up, beat up, naked and sobbing. There were three voices they could hear. One was laughing, one was yelling horrible things into Leo’s face while holding him by his hair, and the last one was talking about how Hot all this was. Logan, Finn, Remus and Sirius all sat in a defining silence. The background of the video was somewhere outside. They could hear water running, they could see grass on the ground and blood. There was a lot of blood. The man holding Leos hair looked at the camera and smiled. This man had the audacity to smile as he was committing a horrible crime!. They watch him push Leo down and stomp on his head.

Leo was crying out in pain, they all heard a crack before the video went quiet. Then all three men in the video started laughing. What happened next was disgusting. They started masturbating over Leos unconscious body. After they all came onto Leo there were lights that came on in the background. They were police lights. The live Ended and nobody moved.

Logan suddenly ran into the bathroom and was vomiting while Finn just broke down falling to the ground screaming and sobbing. Sirius started crying and mumbling to himself so quietly no one could understand. Remus was still completely frozen, having no idea how to react.

Logan was crying as he threw up, he just kept heaving even when his stomach had nothing left in it. The sound of the crack was repeating in his head as he shakily sat back on the floor and sobbed. Finn was pounding his fists on the ground telling himself it was his fault. He was crying so loud that he didn’t hear the knock on the door. Remus, being the only one who hasn’t broken down yet from what he saw, walked to the door and opened it a little to see who it was.

“Is this the residence of Finn O’Hara and Logan Trembaly?” Two Police officers stood outside the door. Remus nodded and was just staring at them waiting for them to say something. “Leo Knut has been the victim of a violent crime, He is alive but in a bad condition. He's at Gryffindor Community Hospital. He's in the ER right now but I would recommend you get down there. We will be questioning him and all of you when he wakes up.” Remus nods again and quietly thanks them. He scrapes up all the boys and gets them to the car in one piece. The drive to the hospital was eerily quiet.

They got to the hospital and walked into the ER, they saw five different police officers there, talking to a nurse. Logan went up to the front desk to ask for news about Leo. They were sent over to the officers who were talking to the nurse about the injuries The young boy had acquired.

“We’re here for Leo Knut” He says to the group. The officers look at them sadly and nod to the nurse. They walk away to go sit down. One puts a hand on Logan's shoulder and shakes his head. All their anxiety is now through the roof.

“Why don’t we go somewhere more private.” She leads them into a glass soundproof room as Logan and Finn take a seat Remus Speaks up.

“We’re going to go call the team and let them know what's going on” He and Sirius go to call everyone outside the Hospital doors.

“I’m sorry this happened, I don’t know the full extent of the crime but I heard it was on a Livestream.” She looks at them sadly as she organizes the papers on her clip board and sits across from them. “ Let's talk about the injuries Mr. Knut has, The ones not to worry about too much are cuts and scrapes to knees, rope burns all up his arms, and a broken nose. The more intense injuries are the ones we are operating on right now. He has blood in his lungs along with a collapsed one, a broken collarbone and his left hand is shattered. He also has a broken Jaw and severe concussion.” She looks up at them. “It is going to take a long time and a lot of work for him to heal completely. I watch him play hockey… I can tell he's a fighter.” She smiles a tiny bit at them. “If you need anything at all ask the front desk for Cindy. Also, stay in here as long as you need.” She gets up and opens the door, she closes the door behind her after she sees that neither of the boys had moved.

About 3 hours and a lot of tears later Cindy had knocked on the door to the glass room where Finn, Logan, Remus and Sirius were standing and pacing. Jackson and Knuny were standing in the corner watching them all pace and Timmy was sitting on a chair bouncing his leg anxiously. They were brought to a room where Leo’s information was written on the door, it pulled at everyone's heart. They all agreed to have Logan and Finn go into the room first, They knew Leo wasn’t awake and would be for a long time.

They opened the door and walked in. There is nothing worse than seeing your lover in a hospital bed with their mouth wired shut. Lo almost couldn’t look at home without crying. He felt Finn pull him into a tight hug as they cried together. This was their boy! The love of their lives!

... And they let this happen to him.

The next time they saw those baby blue eyes. They cried.

[hellowkatey]

Febuwhump Day 4

Prompt: impaling

Read on AO3

Tally Marks

For Ahsoka, the war never really felt like a war. Maybe it was the fact they fought machines rather than men. Her lightsaber sliced through the durasteel plating of the battle droids as easy as the practice dummies in the Temple. She could pull wires out of their chests and watch the light dim from the bulbs in their eyes and that was about as sentient as it got.

She's only been in this fight for a few months. She has a mental tally of every droid she's personally dismembered, and a physical one on the wall of the clone breakroom next to Captian Rex's. It's a game, in a way. They yell out numbers on the battlefield. Some of the troopers like to use their armor to keep track in real-time. Battles after battles, the tallies creeping down the walls like a life sentence.

At some point, the color of the marker changed from black to blue, and for some reason, she can't get over the idea that their tally marker spent its entire ink supply making only three-centimeter lines, day after day.

Today she reached a milestone. One thousand battle droids laid to rest by the blades of her lightsabers since she joined the war at the Battle of Christophsis. One thousand clankers that don't get the opportunity to fire their blasters again. Ahsoka walks through the center of the now-deserted battlefield with giddiness in her step. A few of the troopers who fought alongside her offer high fives as they pass, congratulating her on her accomplishment.

Ahsoka is beaming. She feels like she is floating, eager to find Master Skywalker and tell him the great news. The young Togruta decides to cut through an alleyway to the next street where she can feel the Force Presences of both Anakin and Master Kenobi. Within the alley, there is a fork, and down the straight path, she can see Captain Rex and Commander Cody standing with their backs to her.

But even so, she stares down the other path. It winds behind the front building to some residential tenements of the small city. Though her Master and friends are ahead, there is something nagging at her to turn that way. Ahsoka senses no danger in the Force, and she taps her fingers against her commlink to make sure it's there. Following her feelings, she goes the other way.

The midday sun provides plenty of light in other places, but the apartments here loom high enough to cast a shadow over her passageway. Ahsoka pulls her cloak around her tighter, glancing into the windows of the evacuated homes.

Broken transperisteel clutters the ground where bombs dropped in the area and blew out the windows of the houses. She steps over the piles of rubble and puddles of who-knows-what until the near groan of pain catches her keen Togruta ears. She stops midstep, tilting her head to hone in on the noise. It's coming from the home at the end of the street. Ahsoka jogs ahead, her heart starting to pound faster as a few drops of blood along her path turns into a trail, and then a continuous line leading straight into the blown down door.

She peers around the corner, and every muscle in her body tenses.

Lying in the far corner of the house is a young boy. His chest heaves up and down in slow heavy draws as his hand clutches his leg. To her horror, a large piece of shrapnel sticks out of his thigh, impaling his leg, and the obvious cause of the blood smeared across the floor. His head rolls to the side, and he stares at her with a glassy expression.

"Hello," he rasps. A casual greeting for such a gruesome scene. Ahsoka finds her senses and rushes forward, falling at his side.

"You're hurt," she says, tearing off a strip of her cloak to tie a tourniquet. As though that fact wasn't readily obvious. To her surprise, he chuckles. Pushes her hand with the strip of cloth away. She looks at him, his big brown eyes filled with what she can only describe as peace.

"It's too late,"

"It's not! I--I'll bring you back to the camp, we have the best medics--"

"No," he shakes his head. "I am ready to die."

Her throat feels like it's closing. She closes the pieces of her cloak in her fist. "You're so young, though."

"Sixteen," he says. "Yesterday, actually."

His face grows paler by the second. Blood is pooling around him, around Ahsoka now, but she doesn't care to move. Instead, she takes his hand, startled by its icy coldness.

"Will you bring them to me?"

"Who?"

"My family."

"Of course, yes. Where can I find them? I'll go as quickly as I can."

He shakes his head. Slowly brings his other hand up to point. Ahsoka follows his direction to a holoimage on the wall. She stands, her knee leaving a clean imprint on the floor before the blood fills the space. She takes the holo off the wall, spotting the boy in the center of a group hug by others with big brown eyes and reddish-brown hair. A mother and father, brothers and sisters with wide smiles and shining eyes.

This is his family home. He is dying in his home.

She brings the picture to him, and he holds it in his lap, staring at the people. Reaching out as though he can touch the holo.

"Where are they?" Ahsoka asks. Hoping, praying they are in a camp somewhere.

"Where I'm about to go," he whispers. His eyes look from the holo to Ahsoka, and he smiles. "Thank you," he says, "for this gift you have given me."

She doesn't tell him she has given him no gift. If anything, she is part of the reason he lies here now. She is merely a bystander in a moment she feels she has no right to be a part of, but yet his cold fingers intertwine with hers. She takes hold of the holoimage that now falls from his other hand, and makes sure he gets to see it the entire time.

Strangely, in a way that feels far too detached to be real, watching the light leave the eyes of a sentient is a lot like seeing the bulb go out in a droid.

She isn't sure how long she sits there. Long enough that when she finally stands again the blood has dried into her pants, and it doesn't flow to fill her absence any longer. She can't stop looking at the piece of shrapnel that tears through the vessels and muscles of his leg.

A piece of a battle droid. A part of the arm, it seems.

Ahsoka feels like everything around her is obstructed by static. Nothing feels real, just like a horrible dream that she hopefully will wake up for at any moment. And yet, when her commlink rings and it's a message from Anakin wondering where she is, she doesn't wake up in her bunk on the ship.

She doesn't know their customs on this planet. Do they bury their dead or burn them? Doesn't even remember the name of the damned planet, which suddenly feels like a pit in her gut. So she does her best. Takes her lightsaber out and cuts the droid arm from his leg. Takes a blanket from the bedroom and wraps him carefully in it, his arms crossed comfortably and the holo pressed between his palms and his chest. When she emerges from the house, the sun is starting to hang low in the sky, the shadow of the alley even darker than before.

And yet somehow, she sees more this time.

She looks through the windows as she passes, not seeing battle anymore but devastation. Ahsoka can see the remnants of what used to be family homes. Holoimages flicker with limited power the faces of the people that escaped the city in the night. They had no time to waste when the call came in, packed nothing but what they needed to survive, and ran into the foothills. Established refugee camps where supplies will be funneled in the weeks to come until their city is rebuilt... though it may never be the same.

Couches covered in soft blankets and pillows where families would curl up on the weekends to watch holofilms. Trinkets lining shelves that probably meant something to someone at one time. Abandoned. Covered in glass and ash. Homes suddenly uninhabitable because of a war nobody here asked for. And as she takes stock of the neighborhood, she also realizes many of the homes have painted names above their thresholds-- a memorial for the names of their dead.

She blinks back tears. Nearly every door has names painted. Many with multiple. Their own tally marks.

Ahsoka runs back to the house of the boy, trying not to look at his bundled body as she searches for paint to at least give him this honor. Her stomach drops when she finds it already sitting next to the door, the brush still wet.

The names of his family already line their threshold.

Jebra

Imi.

Hales.

Yezha.

But as she raises the brush, a sickening revelation makes her burst into tears.

She never learned his name.

[tsukikento]

Empathetic Ch. 5

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

Summary: After your mom, the number 1 hero in America, gets offered a teaching position at U.A., you two pack up your things and head to Musutafu, Japan to start a new life. Pressure for you in America was at an all-time high, and now you're in Japan, where almost no one knows you, or your family's past.

This tale starts on your first day of class where your new teacher decides the best way for you to fit in is to fight against the strongest person in your class: Bakugou Katsuki.

Warnings/Genre: This piece will feature some angst and reference to an abusive parent, if you are ever worried about other tw’s feel free to send me an ask and I will let you know. There will also be fluff, slight angst, pining, and slowburn.

A/N: This is also posted on ao3 under @allie_win. I’m transferring it over here, pls let me know if you like it! I love your comments! Just a note that any italics means thoughts.

(series masterlist)

~~

When you woke back up, your head was pounding and you were on your side. As your vision came into focus, the first thing to hit you was how goddamn bright it was. Next was the crushed building to your left. Your head pounded even harder and you realized you must have been the person to cause the imprint in the building.

Kaminari was looming over you, his electric cage was covering both of you. You blinked up at him and he smiled down at you. “Glad you're awake,” He quietly spoke.

You groaned in response and slowly sat up. Chaos was around you and Bakugou worked hard to keep anyone from getting to you and Kaminari. He somehow looked even worse than before.

At that moment, a blast of fire came in your direction and Bakugou quickly hit Todoroki and stopped the fire just in time before it reached you and Kaminari. The heat warmed your body for a moment before the cold wind came crashing back, tickling your skin and giving you goosebumps.

You felt like a burden considering your teammates had to watch after you when they should be defeating the other teams. You looked around you to see how intense the situation was. Sato, Todoroki, and Ojirou were the only people you saw. In the distance, you saw Koda laying on the ground, presumably unconscious.

Where’s Hagakure? I thought she was with Ojirou. Maybe she found Ashido and Uraraka… I wonder where Ashido is anyways.

“Kaminari,” Your voice was hoarse and you coughed a couple of times because of how dry your mouth was. You paused and the electric boy looked back at you after watching Bakugou get a hit on Sato. “Don’t worry about me, just help Bakugou.”

Your voice was still weak and you really needed a glass of water, but there were more important things to deal with at that moment.

Kaminari was reluctant to drop his shield so you weakly grabbed his arm and used your quirk to reassure him.

“Stop that,” Kaminari spoke, pushing your hand off of him, “Just rest okay? I know you can handle yourself.”

You nodded as Kaminari stood up, effectively dropping his shield. He looked around and rushed towards Ojirou, his hands already twitching as electricity sparked from his fingers.

You watched the battle, the sounds of fighting, specifically the explosions, making your headache worse. Kaminari was shocking Ojirou and Sato with the disks attached to his wrists while Bakugou fought off Todoroki. You tore your attention away from the explosions to try and locate Ashido. Her thoughts were unclear and almost like static in your head, but you could hear enough.

Ashido was still fighting against Uraraka, and yes, Hagakure was with them. Ashido didn’t seem too tired which meant you couldn’t have been knocked out for more than a few minutes.

You slowly stood up from your spot on the ground, your head pounded as if begging you to sit back down. Honestly, you really wanted to curl up with some hot cocoa and watch TV, but you knew you couldn’t have everything you ever wanted. And so, you ignored the headache and watched the situation unfold, thinking about what you could do next.

Bakugou looked pretty beaten up, and it would be in your best interest to help him against Todoroki, but his ice and fire powers would be difficult to fight against. It was as if he only needed one second to come up with a plan and execute it, making it horribly difficult for you to dodge something so strong. Bakugou could escape his attacks or even take them head-on, but you were not fast enough or strong enough to break free of his ice walls.

You turned to Kaminari, who had done good damage against Sato and Ojirou. Both men needed to touch someone to damage them, and Sato was pretty slow, meaning Kaminari was able to get some decent hits on them.

In fact, Sato looked like he was slowing down drastically.

What is this kid’s quirk again? Something to do with strength?

Either way, you knew you could help Kaminari more than Bakugou so you ran towards him, making quick work of devising a plan. You ran towards the sluggish Sato, who saw you coming and got ready for a fight.

If you didn’t dodge and he hit you, it would hurt. Badly. However, if you dodged and grabbed any part of him, you knew you could put him to sleep easily. You ran faster and Sato aimed to punch you in the jaw. At the very last moment, you ducked, his punch instead hitting the air. From below, you grabbed his chin instead of punching it which was your usual move.

Unlike most people, Sato was already tired when you tried to make him sleep. The switch was already there, and within only a moment, you had him asleep. Although tired, you knew he would eventually wake up if you let go. You needed him to pass out but Kaminari and Bakugou were both busy, and you needed to do this yourself.

Still holding on to Sato by his shoulder, you started punching. His body panicked as you punched him, writhing in place. In fact, you lost your grip on his shoulder for a moment and he almost woke up, but you reassured him with your empath quirk while still punching.

The calm Sato was now bleeding from his nose, but he wasn’t quite there yet. Just a few more punches and then he would finally be passed out.

One. His heart rate sped up once more and his body tensed.

Two. You calmed him down and told him to just rest.

Three. He was finally passed out, his body no longer strong enough to fight against you to stay awake.

You sighed and let go on him, taking a few breaths to calm your headache. You took this moment to check back in on Ashido and--

Holy shit!

She had it! She had the flag and was heading back to base. Hagakure was trailing behind her, but Uraraka was defeated and had a horrible stomach ache preventing her from fighting against Ashido anymore.

Ashido was tired. Her body was slower than usual. And you knew Hagakure was planning something. You could run away from the current battle to help her. That would probably be the best choice, but in this condition, you were too slow to catch up to them. Bakugou would be the fastest, but you also needed him against Todoroki. That meant that the best choice would be Kaminari.

Would Kaminari be able to fight against Hagakure though? She must have taken off her clothes to go full invisible and that might just ruin Kaminari to know.

You tried to stand up, knowing it would be better if you chased after Ashido to stop Hagakure. However, you still needed to tell someone where you were going.

At that moment, Bakugou blasted up to the sky, avoiding a blow from Todoroki. He was now closer to you than he was to Shouto and so you ran towards him, albeit quite slow.

“Bakugou!”

The blond boy looked at you and worry rushed through his head at the sight of your slow body running towards him. You tried to prevent your cheeks from flushing pink at the idea of Bakugou caring for you, so you brushed it off with the idea that Bakugou needed you healthy to win. He quickly propelled himself towards you. His brows were furrowed with concern as his eyes wandered across your body to check your injuries.

“Stop worrying, I’m fine,” You mumbled as he inspected your head for any cuts. “If anything you are worse off than me.”

“Hardly,” He scoffed, “I can handle myself, you passed out at the first hit.” He pointed his finger towards you and you quickly pushed it out of your face.

“Shut up, I didn’t come here to bicker about who is worse off, I need to tell you something important,” You replied.

He looked at Todoroki, who was currently making his way towards you, “Hold on, I’ll get us somewhere safer.”

“What?”

Bakugou grabbed you by your waist before you could even process the plan in his head. God, I am way too fucking tired, you thought as the smell of smoke and caramel filled your senses. Bakugou used his other hand to blast you both up and onto a building. It was one of the tallest buildings and it would take Todoroki a moment to reach you at such heights.

Your face flushed at Bakugou’s muscular arm holding you. You couldn’t tell if you were hot because of your embarrassment or because of Bakugou’s explosions. Before you could figure it out, you and Bakugou landed safely on the building and he quickly let go of you. You felt much colder now.

“Okay, tell me,” Bakugou said, getting straight to business. Obviously not startled about holding you by your waist and carrying you to safety.

“Oh, um,” You stuttered, trying to refocus your attention on what was important and not on how goddamn attractive Bakugou looked. Has he ever carried anyone else to safety like that before? You shook the thoughts out of your head, knowing full well that Bakugou thought you were and bumbling idiot. “A-ashido got their flag,” You practically yelled, “but Hagakure is chasing after her and is still at full strength while Ashido is pretty tired. I need to get to them to help her. So, I’m leaving.”

Bakugou looked you up and down. You can’t catch them in time, you are too beat up, he thought.

“I know, but you need to be here against Todoroki and Kaminari can’t fight against a naked girl,” You replied.

I guess so, he thought. He took a moment to look down over the building and onto the battle. You took a few steps to follow his lead.

Sato and Koda were passed out on the ground and Ojirou and Todoroki were currently fighting against Kaminari, who was wondering where you and Bakugou went.

“He can handle himself, he hasn’t even used his strongest move yet,” Bakugou responded. “I have time to get you to wherever and back here to help him.”

“No, Bakugou, don’t worry about me--”

“I’m not worried about you. I want to win,” Bakugou interrupted. “So just shut up.” He wiped his right hand off on his pants before using said hand to grab you by the waist again. His hand swept around and happened to brush past your training uniform so Bakugou was touching your skin. The heat from his hand warmed your cold skin.

You knew he was nervous from not only his thoughts, but the emotions he held that rushed through you at the slightest touch. However, your brain was also rushing with wild thoughts and concerns. Your face was flush red and you looked down so Bakugou couldn’t see your bashful appearance.

Part of you was happy Bakugou was just as nervous as you. But then again, your heart was beating so fast. Bakugou pulled you against his chest. You could hear your heart beating much faster than his, which meant he could also hear your heart beating much faster.

How is he already calm, his heart is barely beating! And here I am, an absolute mess!

When Bakugou pushed off, pulling you out of your thoughts, you yelped. Bakugou ignored the noise and kept flying before stopping a few buildings over. “Where is that invisible brat?”

“That way,” You pointed towards the center where all sectors meet, ignoring the insult towards your friend. If you could even say she was your friend.

Bakugou blasted off again, grunting in response. Every now and then, he would land on top of a building and you would use your quirk to locate Hagakure. Soon enough, the distance was minimal. “Quiet down, we are approaching,” You said.

Bakugou looked down at you from on top of the short building. “I can’t be quiet, I have explosions that come out of my hands.”

“Okay, okay, whatever. Just hop over to that pointy building,” You responded.

Bakugou listened to you and blasted off towards the building. Once he landed on top, he looked at you for further directions.

You placed your finger on top of your mouth in a ‘shushing’ motion to tell Bakugou not to make noise. You pointed down and Bakugou followed your fingers to see Ashido sliding through the streets with the flag. He looked back up at you and you leaned into his ear. “Hagakure is right behind her, waiting till Ashido is back at the base so she can take both flags.”

Bakugou nodded in response. Do you want me to land you with Pinky?

You shook your head. “No, I wanna fight her on my own while Ashido gets back to base.”

Bakugou looked at you and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. I don’t think you are strong enough for that, idiot.

“Yeah, I am,” You pouted. “Don’t underestimate me Bakugou.”

“I’m not, you beat me before so I know you are strong. However, you are pale and cold. You lost blood and I am sure your head is still pounding,” He countered, crossing his arms in defiance.

You groaned at how well Bakugou knew you. Someone you only met a few days ago shouldn’t know you this well, and yet here he was, proving you wrong. “I can do it, okay? Just trust me a bit.”

He looked at you. Really looked at you. His crimson orbs stared into your soul and you had half a mind to wonder if maybe he was an Empath too. If only he knew that he was making you so goddamn nervous with just one look.

“Okay.”

“Huh?”

“Okay,” He responded. “I trust you. I’ll drop you off and you’ll kick her ass. Then I’ll kick Half-and-Half’s ass. Then Deku’s. Then we will win.”

“Ah,” You responded, “So ass is necessary when winning. What good priorities.”

“I didn’t say that you pervert!” Bakugou practically yelled.

You chuckled in response and Bakugou just groaned even harder.

“Shut up, you bastard,” Bakugou mumbled.

“Okay, okay!” Your laughter finally died down. “Just bring me to that building and let me down.”

Bakugou grumbled and tightened his grip on your waist--

Holy shit his hand was still on my waist.

--and blasted off effortlessly.

When you landed on the building, you scoured the ground to find Hagakure and Ashido a few paces ahead. You pointed at the opposite side of the street which was out of view for the other two girls and Bakugou easily landed you on the ground without drawing any attention to the both of you.

“Thanks,” You mumbled, pushing yourself out of his grasp and brushing invisible dirt off your clothes.

Bakugou merely nodded in response. Don’t fuck up.  

“I won’t,” You retorted.

Bakugou smirked at you and your insides flipped.

When you first saw him fight in the sports festival, you thought he was cool and handsome. And now here you were, face to face with someone even more attractive than you perceived and even stronger than before. You couldn’t help but smile back at him as the pink hues in your face showed themselves again.

Bakugou turned around and quickly ran off towards the battle of ice and electricity that erupted in the distance. Bakugou pushed himself into the air using both his hands to move faster than he was when he carried you.

You turned back around to face the tall, cement buildings and concentrated on locating Ashido and Hagakure. Neither of them were too far away, and luckily they had no idea you were here.

You made quick work of quietly trekking over to Hagakure, trying to figure out how you could sneak up on the sneakiest person in your class.

Your head pounded as you once again tried to hone in on exactly where Hagakure was hiding. You were so tired and craved a nap, and yet you still needed to get the Blue Team’s flag and ensure Ashido’s safety. You were too scared to sigh and kept your shallow breaths to yourself as you followed behind Hagakure, waiting for the perfect time to attack.

The invisible girl was currently focused on Ashido who just slid out of view with the green flag in hand. The pink girl had no idea Hagakure was behind her, and thought she was completely in the clear. You closed in on Hagakure, ready to punch the air you hoped she was standing. Toru was focused on Mina and didn’t hear you approaching. Although you weren’t sure exactly where she was, you just needed to touch her in order to ensure Ashido’s safety.

You reached out in front of you and grabbed onto whatever you could, not quite sure what it was. The invisible girl gasped and rotated out of your grasp.

“Y/N,” Hagakure squealed, “You found me!”

You smiled at your friend but took her surprised state as a chance to attack. You clenched your hand into a fist and punched eye level to yourself, hoping you hit her in the nose.

The girl groaned, proving your assumption was right. You heard her take a few steps back so you pushed forward and grabbed at her, trying your best to make the girl sleep. Unfortunately, you didn’t grab anything and Hagakure regained her stance by the time you realized.

“Warp Refraction: Say Cheese!”

A burst of light shot through the sky and reflected off of Hagakure, effectively blinding you. “Aw, fuck!” You stepped back and closed your eyes because of the brightness.Your head pounded and you knew Hagakure was planning on punching you, but the sharp light prevented you from moving.

A sharp pain shot through your stomach and you suddenly felt like vomiting.

You groaned and shot down to your knees.

Focus! You told yourself. You needed to ignore the light and just use your quirk to create a picture of the scene in your head.

I got her now, Hagakure thought. I’ll kick her and then-

As her shin raced towards your right side, you blocked her hit with your forearm and used your other hand to reach up to grab her arm. You pulled the invisible girl towards the ground. “Sleep!” You shouted, more for yourself than for her. You worried you wouldn’t be strong enough to actually make Hagakure fall asleep. However, the lightswitch appeared in the cavern of her mind and you flipped the switch as if it was your last dying action.

You breathed over the sleeping girl and debated your next actions. You should punch her till she passed out, but wondered if you could bring yourself to hurt your friend. You were way too tired to push her into a sleep that would last long enough to secure Ashido’s safety.

You decided to drag Hagakure into the nearest building. You knew you needed to make her pass out, there was no point in forcing her into a sleep she would just wake up from. You sighed before pulling back your fist. Although you couldn’t see Toru, you still punched the girl, using your opposite hand to get a reading on her emotions. In the body, you could tell when someone is passed out and when that moment came, you finally stopped and sat down for just a moment.

You needed to stand up. You couldn’t stop.

Maybe you just weren’t cut out for this class. Maybe you needed to be put into a lower class level. Your old school never did exercise this intense. You ignored the depressing thoughts and told yourself to just finish this battle. Finish this battle and then you can figure out whether or not you deserve to be here.

You pushed yourself off the ground when a groan. Your stomach didn’t hurt from the punch anymore, but your knees were definitely bruised and your head still pounded with every use of your quirk.

Speaking of which, you left the building and faced where you saw Ashido disappear from minutes ago. You used to quirk to locate her and noticed how far away she was. Although tired, you didn’t put much thought into your actions and started running after the pink girl. You knew she was much faster than you when it came to travel distance, but part of your skills was the speed to avoid moves and you hoped that would pay off today.

Ashido was close to crossing the boundary, close to safety, proving that she was much faster than you, making it difficult to catch up to her. You knew she would stop eventually though, she didn’t remember where the base was set up. When Ashido crossed over the tape into the orange sector, she paused for a moment, debating which way to go. During that time, you were able to catch up just enough that you could call out to her. No one was near, so you didn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing.

“Ashido-kun!” You called out to your friend as you watched her turn the corner down an alleyway.

Within a moment, her head popped back around the corner, and she smiled brightly at you. “Y/L/N-kun!” She used her quirk to slide across the concrete road towards you. “It’s so great to see a teammate!” She stopped in front of you and waved the flag like a child who won a toy. “Look what I got!”

You smiled in response. “Good job!”

Ashido’s smile widened. You didn’t have to touch her to realize how excited she was to see you and to be helping the team so greatly. “Can you help me find the team? And you can tell me how everyone is doing on the way.”

“Yeah, just follow me,” You responded, before heading towards your team.

You were able to use your quirk to see that Kirishima and the others were still located in the corner they originally stationed themselves in.

After making a path in your mind on how to reach your team, you started telling Ashido how the battle was going on your side. “So, I know for sure that I and Kaminari knocked out Tsu. While we fought her, the other teams found Bakugou and teamed up against him. We caught up with them. By the time I left, Sato and Koda were unconscious leaving Todoroki and Ojirou to fight against Kaminari and Bakugou.”

You took a moment to check back in on Kirishima’s location as Ashido listened tentatively to your story. “I think that they can beat Ojirou, but Todoroki is difficult. If Bakugou and Kaminari get so caught up on fighting against Todoroki, we won’t be able to go to the blue sector and get their flag.”

“Yeah, I’m sure everyone is going to come after us now,” Ashido added.

“I wonder if the Green Team is still fighting the Blue Team,” You mumbled.

“Can you check?” Ashido asked.

“Yeah,” You sighed, “But my head really hurts from using it so much, so I don’t think I should. It’s probably more important that I rest up.”

Ashido hummed in response, not asking you any more questions.

After another minute of walking, you finally came into view of your team. You were able to see Kirishima’s prominent red hair shining in the sun. Around him was tape attached from wall to wall, as if blockading them in, no one was small enough to reach through the small gaps left. However, you knew multiple people in the class you could blast through or even sacrifice themselves to create an opening for others. Kirishima turned around when Ashido yelled out his name.

“Hey!” He smiled at you both, excited you captured their flag. He turned to look at something you couldn’t see. “Sero! Take some tape down so Ashido-kun and Y/L/N-kun can get in!”

Sero walked into view and casually waved at the two of you before using the sharp edge at the end of his helmet to cut some tape. He gave you and Ashido just enough room to get into the area before he taped it back up.

“How is everything?” Sero asked as Kirishima and Aoyama put the flag next to the orange one.

“Okay,” You mumbled. “We were able to knock a few people from the other teams out but,” You paused for a moment to hone in on Bakugou’s thoughts, “Bakugou and Kaminari are fighting Todoroki. I know Bakugou is pretty beat up, but Kaminari is in good shape.”

“Are they in the Blue sector?” Aoyama asked.

“Um, no. Still in the green sector.” You took in a deep breath and concentrated on the Blue sector. “The Green and Blue team are still fighting over the flag. It’s Midoriya, Iida, and Tokoyami against Momo, Jirou, Shoji, and Mineta. Although I’m pretty sure Mineta has passed out, I can’t find his thoughts and that usually means he’s asleep.”

Kirishima hummed in response, his hand found its way to his chin as he processed everything happening, debating what to do next.

In your own mind, you debated the only option that seemed best for you. I people went to Bakugou’s aide and distracted Todoroki, then he could get away and go fight in the Blue Sector. Or maybe Kirishima and Ashido should just go fight the Blue team and leave Bakugou and Kaminari to finish off Todoroki.

Although it wasn’t very responsible to leave so few people monitoring the flags when your team has two and will be the obvious targets.

Everyone stayed silent, debating their own ideas in their head, most of which were difficult to pull off.

“So,” Ashido started, taking a seat on the ground and leaning her back against a nearby building, “What now?”

The group looked around at each other, wondering who was going to talk first. Personally, you knew you should go find them, but you were so tired and knew there was very little you could go against the people you were fighting. Just imagining Iida coming at you, unable to use your quirk to help your team, sent shivers down your spine. You stayed silent, praying someone else would speak up with another idea.

“I suppose we need to get in contact with Bakugou and Kaminari. We don’t know if they are going to come back here or go to the Blue side,” Sero spoke.

Guess not.

“That’s true,” Aoyama added, “but the best person to find them would be Y/L/N-kun and she is obviously tired.”

Thank God.

“I’ll take her,” Sero replied. “She can guide me and with my tape, I can probably get there in just a few minutes. Then, we can distract or maybe even beat Todoroki and get everyone back here.”

Kirishima stepped into the circle forming around you and Ashido. “With everyone here, we can wait and see who gets here first. For example, if Midoriya gets here, obviously Bakugou would want to stay and other people will go get the other flag.

“That may actually work,” Ashido added, grinning widely.

The team made quick work of getting everyone ready. Currently, you were waiting outside the tape barricade for Sero to apply the finishing touches to his defenses. Once done, waved goodbye and came up to you, smiling brightly.

“Okay,” He started. “So just tell me which way to go and I can use my quirk to fling us from building to building.”

You nodded and Sero tentatively grabbed onto your waist. You knew he needed to do that to help you travel and you weren’t at all thrown off when he did so. However, his body was comparatively much colder than Bakugou’s and the tape dispense in his elbow jammed at you back.

This would not be a comfortable ride.

Sero launched both of you into the sky, moving quickly. All that could be heard was the fast wind piercing your ears and the directions you have to the brunette.

Soon enough, the directions were unnecessary because the eruptions of Bakugou’s quirk were big enough to see. Sero decided it would be best for you to arrive by making a big entrance. You both swooped in just as Bakugou was preparing a move. Sero sped up and kicked Todoroki straight in the head before having you both land on the ground. You almost lost your balance, but his hand around your waist stayed and helped you keep yourself up. You looked up at him and he winked.

“What the fuck was that?!”

You looked up to see Bakugou, who was fuming in his eyes. His condition was similar to how you left him, just with a few more burn marks.

The blond stomped his way to you and Sero. “I was just about to hit him!”

“It sure didn’t look like it,” Sero laughed. “It looked like he was about to pummel you.”

“What the fuck do you know, tape-for-brains?” Bakugou yelled.

Sero just chuckled in response so Bakugou looked down at you instead.

Sometimes, it really was nice to hear people’s thoughts. For example, right now, thoughts of jealousy rushed through Bakugou’s head. He was slightly annoyed that Sero ruined his attack, but he was more so jealous that Sero got to touch you the same way he did.

The anger in his eyes was replaced with confusion as he looked at you. He almost looked like a puppy, or maybe a kitten, begging you to tell him that it meant nothing.

You looked down at the ground, wondering if Bakugou remembered that you could hear his thoughts. Now was not the time to address Bakugou’s subconscious, jealous feelings. On top of that, you were sure your face was redder than it had been

“Hey, guys!’ Kaminari smiled, cutting through the awkward air. “Come to save us?”

“I don’t need saving, Pikachu!” Bakugou yelled in response.

“Calm down, sheesh,” Kaminari stuck his hands up as if the cops were holding guns to him.

“Whatever, let’s just go finish Todoroki already,” Bakugou mumbled, turning away from the group to look at the heterochromatic boy in question.

He was worse off than Bakugou was, it was difficult for his body to hold a proper temperature and after a fight this long, it was really taking a toll on him.

I can’t believe this intense fucking game of capture the flag is considered a regular day of school here… you thought. Suddenly, Bakugou grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the enemy.

I’ll hit him and you make him sleep, was all you heard before the tired Todoroki enveloped your feet in ice.

“Fuck!”

You looked behind you to see Kaminari caught in the same trap. Sero, however, was able to use his tape to pull himself out.

Bakugou squeezed onto your hand even tighter and used his opposite hand to explode him and then yourself out of the ice.

Sero came in once again and managed to get a hit on Todoroki. Bakugou followed up with exploding into the competitor’s face while he was busy with Sero.

You, remembering what Bakugou had thought earlier, rushed up to Todoroki and grabbed his wrist while he prepared to burn Bakugou.

Todoroki’s flames stopped and he looked over at you with wide eyes. You were still trying to calm him down to make the switch appear, but Todoroki was fast to act and recover from your actions.

You weren’t able to hear his thoughts as you focused so heavily on his emotions. His emotions were slowly changing to become more calm. However, a burst of red shot through your vision as opposed to the relaxed and determined purples and greens that reflected in his mind.

Ice shot through Todoroki’s left side, which you happened to be holding onto, and you felt your hand freeze, the cold shooting throughout your body. Instinctually, you tried to pull your arm back, worried the ice might harm your skin. However, seeing as you were now frozen to him, you are unable to move your hand away.

Fuck! It’s so cold!

Goosebumps arose on your skin and shivers when down your spine. The ice continued to crawl up your skin. You knew Todoroki was trying to prevent you from making him fall asleep without hurting you very much.

Todoroki rapidly moved so he had better leverage over your body. He placed one knee on the ground and held his left arm over his shoulder. He was then able to lean forward and pull you over his body and slam your body onto the hard concrete.

You were still attached to Todoroki and although waves of pain shot throughout your back, you knew you had to keep working. You focused back in on Todoroki’s emotions and worked even faster to calm him down. The red and orange hues of battle and anger morphed into blues and purples. He was fighting against your actions but was unable to fight back anymore.

The light switch appeared, although far away from your reach. You pushed Todoroki farther into your relaxing trap, his breathing shallowed and his heartbeat slowed. Finally, you were in reach of your goals.

“Sleep,” You whispered, and his eyes closed.

Slowly, you sat up from your position on the ground. Your hand was still frozen, your head still pounded, and now you had back pains you were sure would last weeks. You looked up at the three boys around you, Kaminari and Sero stared at you with shock and worry. They were wondering if you were okay or if they should take you out of the game now.

On the other hand, once Bakugou noticed you were able to make Todoroki fall asleep, he stormed up to you and put his hand on the ice where your hand was grabbing Todoroki’s wrist. “This is going to hurt a bit, just stay still okay?”

You nodded in response and Bakugou used small explosions to heat up the ice. You felt the heat and explosions against your skin, but they didn’t hurt much and Bakugou was being safe enough to stop just before all the ice would have melted. He moved farther up your arm and used the same method to melt the ice that crawled up your skin.

Bakugou looked at you when most of the ice was finally melted away. He motioned his head to tell you that you could break away by yourself.

“I can’t, he’ll wake up,” You responded.

Bakugou looked at you, to your hand, and then to Todoroki’s sleeping body. “Hey, idiots!” Bakugou called over his other teammates who were still just watching the situation unfold. “Tie him up and then shock him to make him pass out.”

After recovering from the shock of being taken out of his trance, Sero quickly wrapped up Todoroki’s body, being careful not to get you tied into the tape. Once done, you broke your hand free of the icy grip and Kaminari electrocuted Todoroki much like he did with Tsu. Both boys then moved Todoroki into one of the buildings.

While they moved Todoroki, you awkwardly stood off to the side. With the battle no longer distracting you, your mind was free to roam and right now, all you could think about was the jealous thoughts that ran through Bakugou’s head when you and Sero first arrived. Not only that, but Bakugou had grabbed your hand earlier, giving you skin to skin contact once more. You wondered if he was always so warm because of his quirk, or if maybe his body was hot because he was just as nervous as you.

“So,” You looked up from the ground to see that Bakugou moved to be standing next to you, “What now?” He only spared a moment to look at you before noticing you were looking at him. Abruptly, he turned his focus back onto your two teammates.

“Um,” You bit your lip, taking a moment to push your previous thoughts out of your head in order to focus on the situation at hand. “We are going back to home base.”

“Why? Shouldn’t we go get the Blue flag?” Bakugou asked. He was much calmer now than he was when talking to Kaminari and Sero. You made a mental note to try and figure out why later.

“We wanted to head back to make sure we have appropriate reinforcements. Like, if you run off to the Blue sector and then Midoriya comes here, the plan is kinda ruined,” You responded.

Bakugou thought over your explanation for a second before agreeing with a hum. After a brief and awkward pause, Bakugou spoke again, “Do you know where everyone else is right now?”

“I can try checking,” You replied, “but I am a bit tired and don’t know how great my range will be.” You took in a deep breath, something that wasn’t necessary, but was a habit for you when using your quirk on bigger scales.

Just before you delved yourself into the world of thoughts, Bakugou stopped you. “Don’t waste your energy then, we will be fine without knowing.”

You nodded, too shocked to verbally reply. Bakugou did not at all seem like the type of person to care about the individual over the group outcome. Because of this, it especially shocked you. Speaking of which…

“Bakugou,” You started, “Are you okay? Is there anywhere you are really hurt?” You asked him, eyes darting around his body and examining the burns, bruises, and blood that littered his pale, golden skin.

“Don’t worry about me,” He mumbled, turning his body away from you and crossing his arms.

He was offended you asked him. Annoyed you didn’t think he was strong enough. Even though you once again could not feel his skin and experience his emotions at hand, it was obvious from his thoughts that he was upset.

It upset you slightly that he forced you to let him take care of you for the team, but refused to let you do the same. How someone’s thoughts could change so easily in only an hour was ridiculous.

As someone who could hear thoughts and experience others' emotions, it was more common for people to think that you would be best as a rescue hero or a healing hero. When younger, you were trained in first-aid and how to utilize your quirk to help those around you. The idea of helping Bakugou tempted you. However, you knew it best to leave him alone.

For both of you.

You swallowed down your worries for that moment, promising yourself that it was okay to deny your ever-growing crush on Bakugou.

Kaminari and Sero exited the building smiling as if their energy from defeating Todoroki revitalized them.

“Are you ready to head back?” Sero asked as he and Kaminari approached you and Bakugou.

You looked towards Bakugou, still able to tell he was mildly upset about your comment earlier. “Yeah,” His hoarse voice responded.

Kaminari then looked towards you, “Y/L/N-chan, who would you like to go with, Sero or Bakugou?”

Your brain immediately debated between the two boys. On one hand, Bakugou got jealous when I rode with Sero, but now he seems a little upset at me. Maybe he wouldn’t want to ride with me because of tha--

“She’s going with me,” Bakugou interrupted. Everyone looked at Bakugou.

Or not.

You bit your bottom lip and furrowed your eyebrows out of stress, noticing the jealous thoughts that once again ran through Bakugou’s head.

You weren’t an idiot. You knew what it means to be possessive over someone, but you met Bakugou only a few days ago and things didn’t even start off well. On top of that, Bakugou seemed almost oblivious to his possessiveness, making his intentions even more confusing.

Bakugou squinted his eyes at your reaction to his comment before looking back at the two other teammates. “You guys know the way back. Me and him,” Bakugou gestured towards Kaminari, “don’t. So, we have to split up.”

The answer seemed to satisfy Kaminari and Sero who made quick work of positioning themselves in the least romantic way they could. Currently, Kaminari and Sero were connected by a tape belt that kept them within 2 meters of each other. When Sero set off towards camp, Kaminari held onto the tape, basically dangling under Sero as he moved.

“Ready?” You heard Bakugou mumble, moving your attention elsewhere.

You looked up at Bakugou and found yourself biting your lip again, wondering what Bakugou’s thoughts meant. It was as easy as A + B = C because Bakugou sure didn’t realize what his thoughts meant. He was, however, great at hiding them to others.

“Yeah,” You looked down at your feet, his crimson eyes stared into yours and made the atmosphere fill with awkwardness.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Bakugou mumbled as his hand found its way around your waist, “Baka.” (usually playful way to call someone dumb).

You looked up at Bakugou once more as his hand touched the skin of your waist. His emotions rushed through you, but you were more focused on the smirk on Bakugou’s face and the glint in his eyes. Before you could respond, Bakugou launched both of you in the same direction Sero went.

[ohvalleyofplentyyy]

Merlin’s Blood

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Chapter 1: A Moment in Mirthe

The bar was alive with laughter and warmth. Kids ran amok, going under tables and winding between stools trying to catch their friends.

A group of townsmen sat at one of the large wooden tables in the corner of the pub. Farmers, Butchers, and the town’s Blacksmith sat around chuckling and drinking the night away; their weekly get-together to chat about how the crops have been growing or the new town gossip their wives whisper to them at dinner.

“Your highness, I’m so dreadfully sorry you must listen to this commotion.”

You sighed. Your personal guard, while undercover, still found a way to make you feel, well, very fragile. Even though you were on the run, Branson still kept you up on a royal pedestal.

You leaned over to him and from under your cloak hood, you whispered, “Branson, please, you needn’t be so… on guard. We need to blend in remember? You look like you’re being forced to still on a pitchfork and sing for the crowd.”

“Yes your highness, of course.” You swat him on the shoulder when he started to bow, “Quit with that! Call me Y/N from now on if you have to address me at all, you’re going to give us away.”

I can’t believe this man was ranked the best for going undercover for Father.

Oh Papa… I hope he’s alright…

You looked down into your lap and pulled the cloak over your skirt.

It had been a quick escape, you were up in your bedroom when the shooting started. It was the edge of the evening, the sun had been casting a lovely glow over the horizon when you noticed tiny dots moving over the hills towards the castle. Like ants moving across a picnic table to sneak a bread crumb that was leftover.

But then, fire started to light the sky like a meteor shower raining down on the kingdom. “We are under attack! We are under attack!” Shouts started coming from every inch of the kingdom.

You moved from the window, heart pounding in your chest.

Your maid came rushing in, the blood drained from her face. “We must get you ready to leave, immediately.” She rushed over to you and started to untie the over-skirt of your dinner dress and the jeweled bodice that went with it. A couple younger maids rushed in as Rhea, your head maid, nearing broke open your winter travel closet.

She shouted orders to them, “Mia, change her shoes, riding boots; The ones with the good strong leather. Elle, Grab her winter cloak, the one with the arm cutouts  and the heavy hood.”

As the younger maids scrambled to do her orders, she came over with your dark turquoise riding outfit. It was a wool long sleeve bodice that came up to the middle of your neck.

The front of the bodice had a cut out at showed the cream undershirt you had been wearing before. The skirt was the same material but a bit lighter in weight so it was movable, (with pockets!), flowers and jewels were embroidered to the hem of the skirt and around the pockets.

While the girls change your boots and buttoned your cloak, your mother came in with Branson and a few other guards flanked them.

“Mama, what’s going on? Why are they attacking so soon, I thought this war was starting in a month, not now.”  You quickly asked. She came over and stroked your cheek, “I know my darling, it’s alright. It will be, now you’re going to leave with Branson.”

“But Mother—“ “No no, we don’t have time for this, you must go and quickly now. Your father and I will try to follow later but for now, you are to leave at once.” She gave you a hug— one filled with more dread than warmth but you hugged her back anyway. Who knows when you would see her again. It could be months, even a year.

Maybe never again.

With that thought, you hugged even tighter.

Your mother bid you a farewell and sent you with Branson, you were able to get out of the castle rather hurriedly through a back moat on a small boat. There were stable boys on the other side that had two horses ready to go satchels packed and all.

You guessed that this plan had been passed down through generations in case of an emergency.

After settling on the horse you turned back to see the kingdom for one last look,

And that’s when the fire started.

It burned so horribly, but the screams were the worst part, you could feel the warmth of the embers that fell down from the tower that was lit up like a candle in the dark.

“Your highness, we must go!” Branson yelled as he grabbed the last bag from the stable boy. Tears burned in your eyes as you watched your home crumble.

You clicked the horse and went off in a gallop away from the kingdom, with Branson at your side.

My home, it’s gone.

A beer glass clashed down and pulled you from your thoughts, laughter filled your ears again and you came back to the present moment. Branson wasn’t next to you anymore, he must have gone to get some supper from the bar for you and him.

“I just don’t understand why we need to stop here Geralt, Mirthe is so boring and I know some cute ladies that probably miss me so terribly in Anchor.”

A lively man dressed in vibrant blues and a lute strapped over his back, most likely a musician, whined as he entered with a rather gigantic man covered with a cloak. The man only grunted at his companion as he scanned the room, when he made eye contact with you a shiver went down your spine and you felt your hands and feet turn cold.

You looked away quickly and the man, the bard called Geralt, sat down at a table close to you in the room. His friend quickly realized his woes weren’t being answered and after dropping his lute off went off to get a drink.

“Here you are your highne— I mean, Y/N.” Your guard put a plate of food in front of you and a cup of water. You were famished so you dug in immediately, and you swore there may have been a chuckle from a certain man.

I wonder if I can lower my cloak hood, it’s very hard to eat with it.

After the fifth time it covered your eyes as you tried to bring the fork to your mouth, you huffed and threw it back. Branson’s eyes got wide, “What are you doing?!” He hissed, “you could be noticed!”

You pursed your lips,“I’ve been rarely seen outside the palace walls and I never got my portrait painted so I hardly doubt people are going to notice a young woman who’s covered in soot eating her food in a pub.”

He huffed but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. Thankfully, the bard came back and gave something for you to watch. He gallantly set down two pints of ale and started on about one of the girls at the bar he’s sure was catching his eye.

“I mean it Geralt, I think she’s the one! Yes, I’ve said that before but she’s so beautiful and—“ “Full figured?” Geralt finally spoke. You couldn’t help but giggle.

Two sets of eyes moved over to you at the noise and you looked down, still smiling. Branson, oblivious to the moment, got up to get some more ale. The bard seemed to be intrigued by you and decided once your guard had left he could fill in.

He slipped into the seat next to you “Why hello there, the name’s Jaskier, might I have the pleasure of knowing yours?”

His friend rolled his eyes and you smiled, “ It’s uh- Cora.”

Jaskier smiled and took your hand, kissing the top of it. “Enchanted Ms. Cora.” “Oh Jaskier leave her alone, she’s not interested in a musician.” You raised an eyebrow at him, “And who says that? Is there someone else I should be intrigued by, a strong arm perhaps?”

Jaskier seemed to glow at your comment and grinned. “Oh goodness Mr. Geralt of Rivia, it seems you’ve met your match!”

The bard turned back to you, “Where are you traveling to? If it’s the same place as us, we could accompany you.”

Geralt mumbled under his breath, “You know I’ve got a job to do Jask—“ but he was cut off by shouts at the bar. The farmers and others at the large table stood up at the commotion. When you turned your head the first thing you saw was a group of men with pitchforks, axes and torches bursting through the door.

Then Branson with an arrow through his eye socket.

Fuck.

They’ve found me.

Geralt was already out of his seat with his sword in his hand. “I’ve got to go.” You said in a hurry, grabbing the satchel Branson had taken off and put it over your head. The bard shook his head, “We need to hide! Not run away!” He said frantically.

You grabbed Jaskier’s hand and pulled your hood up. “Jaskier can I trust you with my entire life at this moment?”

The bard, very worried, nodded. “I believe these men are after me, do you know if there’s another way out of this pub?”

“Yes, yes follow me.” Grabbing his lute from the table, hand in hand you went into the conjoined room away from the fight. In the corner of the new room, Jaskier put you behind some barrels of ale that had been stacked. “I’m going to tell Geralt we’re leaving, stay here.”

Is he serious?!

Jaskier weaved his way through the fighting, avoiding a few arrows that shot through the tavern by the grace of the gods. “Geralt! Geralt! I’m taking Roach and will be where we talked about earlier!” He called out. The fighter turned with a confused look, “You’re doing what?! Roach?!” But Jaskier was already retreating to the other room as the group of farmers decided to join the fight with their empty ale glasses.

“Alright, let's go!”You got up out of your hiding space, right as one of the men came in with a crossbow. In a flash, you pulled out a dagger that was strapped to your waist and threw it straight into his neck.

The man dropped instantly and Jaskier couldn’t process the event that just happened.

“How did you, where did you learn—“ You ran over and grabbed the dagger, wiping the blood off on him and snatching the crossbow. “Can’t explain right now,” you shoved the bow into his hands, “This is a pretty simple weapon, point and shoot basically. Here are the extra arrows. Now let’s go!!”

You both exited the back entrance and outside was a nightmare, there were knights dressed in black slaughtering every innocent soul that they came in contact with. Jaskier pulled you around the corner to a horse that was tied to a post.

“Hiya Roach, this is Cora. We’ve got to go.” The musician helped you up into the saddlel and then climbed on behind you. He grabbed the reins, “Oh wow, I’ve never actually—whoa!!” You had taken them from him and set off away from the chaos, Jaskier clinging to you for dear life.

“Where am I going Jaskier?” You asked as you rode across a bridge into the woods.

“There’s a cave closer to the mountainside to the west. Geralt and I are supposed to kill— oh uh, see something there.”

Did he just say kill?

“Oh… alright.” It was about half an hour until you stopped a cave entrance. You got off at a stream close by and let the horse have a drink and rest. The bard spoke after taking a slip for himself from the stream. “Can I ask you why you’ve decided to bestow your, and I quote ‘entire life’ in me?”

You sat down on a soft patch of grass, “I guess I need to tell you the real story now since you did help me out of harm's way.”

You swallowed, “You know about the attack on Tretogor? That happened a fortnight ago?”

“Yes, Geralt and I heard of them on our way here in La Valette. The stories were horrible, I’m sorry to say.”

You nodded and swallowed, “Yeah, very terrible. Well, I am Prin—“

“Princess Y/N Echantcia of Tretogor I presume.”

Geralt emerged from the bush as he made the statement. Jaskier stood at the news, “Is it true?” He asked. You stood as well and curtsied at them both.

“It’s true. I’m a runaway princess,” you sighed, “what do you think of that.”

The white-haired man exhaled, “well that’s a relief, I’m the Witcher sent to find you.”

Oh fuck.

You backed away immediately, “You’re here to kill me aren’t you?”

Jaskier started to freak out, “No no no! Of course not why—“ But you weren’t listening, you were to busy staring into the amber eyes of the man that made no notion you were wrong.

“Geralt this is ridiculous, you need to tell her we mean no harm.” He was now standing next to Geralt gesturing to you and then back, waving his arms about.

“Jaskier, I cannot say that, because I have indeed been instructed to take out the last of the bloodline of Merlin. They are the only ones that could cause the world as we know it to collapse at a moment’s notice. They are one of the biggest threats to humanity.”

The bard grabbed the back of his head and gestured with the other hand to you,

“You can’t mean to tell me that this young woman possesses natural powers unlike the Brotherhood of Sorcerers who use plain magic. That’s just a fable told to young kids!”

“No Jaskier, it’s not.”

Geralt took a step towards you, and you let out a shaky breath. You smiled at the bard, “Goodbye Jaskier.”

Like a flash of lightning, you vanished.

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[thatnerdnextdoor24]

I’m sorry

If I have to write one more report about Romeo and Juliet, I'm gonna scream. They ain't even Shakespeare's best, and that's the real tea. Anyway, sometimes, a simple apology is the best thing. No dramatics, no tears. Because a simple 'I'm sorry' can be the hardest words to say. Prompt; Making up. (Continuation of previous work titled 'You're completely selfish!') 

Ao3 

More Kit/Ty    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you alright?” Julian had stepped closer to him, resting his hand on Ty’s shoulder. Ty jerked away, Julian’s touch had sent a bad feeling through Ty. “I’m fine,” He hissed. He did not feel fine. He felt like he might be sick. His head was pounding and he thought his heart might beat out of his chest. There was a horrible pressure behind his eyes. He had to shove his hands into his pockets, clenching them tight, his nails digging into his palms, all to keep Julian from seeing. 

Julian creased his brow, “You don’t seem fine. Did Kit do something to you?” His voice was hushed. Ty glared at the doorway, trying to will Kit to come back in the room, so he could argue with him some more. “We had a fight,” He said, his voice still razor sharp. How could Kit say that? That Ty was selfish? That he didn’t care? That he got away with anything?

“Well, Ty, people fight. That’s okay, and I’m sure that Kit will apologize if you give him some space,” 

Ty snapped his head back to Julian. He stared at him. At his words. Julian stepped closer, “What’s wrong?” he asked. Ty blinked at him. Kit was right. In Julian’s eyes, Ty could never do anything wrong. “I’m fine.” He said again, and tore away from Julian. “I need to go,” He managed to mutter, his throat closing in on itself. 

Julian called something after him, but Ty hardly heard, he rushed out of the library and down the halls. His feet were landing heavy with each step. The sound echoing off the walls. He was storming through the Institute, aimlessly. Muttering nonsense to himself. 

He felt at war with himself. 

On one side, he wanted to forgive Kit. He wanted to forgive him and forget about it all and have Kit back. Sometimes, when he was at the Scholomance, he pretended that Kit was still there. He would read something interesting, and say it out loud. Then he would wonder what Kit would say about it. What kind of jokes he would make.

The other side, wanted to never see Kit again. Wanted to prove Kit wrong. To yell at him some more and say that none of that was true. 

With every storming step Ty took, that side seemed to lose, just a little more. Because, more than anything, Ty just wanted to make up with Kit. So badly, he wanted to fix this. 

While his anger seemed to drift away, an ocean of guilt began to rise over him. He had been wrong.

With a grunt, Ty threw himself down the hall. He ran until he found the hall of his old bedroom. And the great big window that stood in front of it. Ty fell forward against the window, pressing his forehead against the cool glass. His breath coming in rapid pants. 

“Ty,” 

Ty jumped at the voice, turning around to find Livvy floating beside him. She was giving him a concerning look. “Kit left,” She said. She already knew what he was thinking, what had bothered him. Something in Ty’s heart twisted when she said that. 

“Where did he go?”

“To his dad’s.”

Ty’s heart plummeted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was so quiet. But that wasn’t weird. It had always been quiet. It had always been empty. Ready to leave at any moment. But this was a different kind of empty. It was a haunting empty. It sent a shiver through Kit’s spine.

His father’s house had been confiscated by the Clave. Everything had been cleared out and everything that had been Kit’s was returned to him. It was a Shadowhunter safe house, now. For emergencies. There was probably nothing left in it. Yet,

Yet there was something there. 

Kit knew that, and he almost dreaded entering the house more than he had dreaded meeting Ty again. But it was time. 

It might not even be there anymore. Knowing Johnny, he probably had things in place. Probably had someone, or some spell, to clean up his mess. 

Or.

He wanted Kit to clean up for him. Kit had done it before. No one had known about Kit. And Kit had been loyal to Johnny. He was the perfect clean up crew. 

Kit’s bag felt heavy on his back. He loosened a breath, he could just see it puff in the air. The evening was surprisingly cold. So Kit rushed to the door. With a few swift strokes with his stele, the open rune blazed and the door popped open. The house was, in fact, completely empty. 

Nothing but chairs and a table covered in white sheets. Kit found himself sitting there, for a long moment. He wasn’t struck with emotion or memories of his dad. It was just a place. There was nothing here for him.

Unless there was. He prayed there wasn’t. But at the same time, he wasn’t sure what he would do if he got there and it wasn’t there. Kit swallowed, his mouth dry, and walked down a hall that had always felt closed off to him. He came into his father’s bedroom. He felt like he was breaking a rule, like he wasn’t allowed in here. 

It was sort of thrilling. Making his heart pound, loud as a drum in his ears. There was only a bare bed in the room. Nothing else. It was the only thing in the house that was exactly the way Johnny had left it. An eerie chill went down Kit’s back, and he looked towards the closet instead. When he opened the door, there was extra gear in hanging on the rack. A duffle bag on the top shelf. Probably filled with seraph blades and stele’s. At least that was something in this room, that was purely Clave and not Johnny at all. 

Kit crouched down on the carpeted floor. Slipping his pocket knife out from his back pocket. He flicked the blade open, and shoved it into the corner of the closet floor. Prying up the carpet from underneath. He peeled it back, revealing the wooden floorboards beneath. And the finger sized hole in the corner. Kit pushed his finger into the hole, and popped up the floor board. He sat back on his heels. There it was. A black book, hidden in the tiny alcove. If you could concentrate Johnny’s entire criminal career, into one single object. It would be that book. 

A sudden crash sounded from the basement. 

Kit grabbed the book and shoved it into his backpack. He kept his knife, open in his hand and rushed, silently, down the hall and down to the basement. It was completely dark, he could barely make out a figure was hunched by the window, looking like they had tripped and fallen. Kit didn’t waste a moment of time, he flung himself off the staircase, right at the figure. 

Kit slammed them against the wall, pressing his knife to their throat, “What are you doing here?” He growled. So close to them, Kit could see as they widened their eyes. Silver eyes. “Ty?!” He hissed, pulling his face back. Ty swallowed against his blade. “H-hi,” He stuttered. Kit blinked, at him, at the knife on his throat. He pulled the knife away, but didn’t step back. “What are you doing here?” He asked again. 

Ty lowered his gaze, “I’m sorry,” He said, so quietly that Kit almost didn’t hear. “You’re...what?” He wasn’t sure he had heard right. Ty looked back up at him, in his eyes. A look that stole Kit’s breath away, “I’m sorry.” He said louder, holding his head up higher. Ty licked his lips, “You were right. I was selfish, I didn’t know what I was going to do,” His expression turned pained, his voice wavered, “And...and people treat me differently.” 

He took a deep breath. “But you don’t,” Ty tore his gaze away, “You don’t, and I miss that about you, and I’m sorry,” He rushed out in a single breath. Kit blinked again, what was he supposed to say? Ty missed him. He missed him. 

And here, Kit had thought that Ty Blackthorn hated him. Turns out, he missed him. Kit laughed. He couldn’t help it, he laughed so hard he doubled over. Ty stared at him in surprise. Kit breathed in deep, pulling himself together and standing straight. “I forgive you, and I’m sorry, too. For yelling at you,” He grinned. Ty didn’t hate him.

A small smile pulled across Ty’s mouth. “I forgive you, too.” They stood there for a long moment, just staring at each other in the dark. Kit closed his knife and slid it in his pocket. Ty cleared his throat, “What are you doing here?” He asked. Kit’s grin fell, “Just… making sure there was nothing left for me,” He said, simply. 

“Was there?” Kit’s backpack felt weighted by stones. “No,” He said, and shrugged. “Nothing left for me here,” He glanced up the stairs, “Here,” Kit held his hand out to Ty, “I’ll take you home.” Ty took his hand, letting Kit lead him up the stairs and through the house. “Take me home on what?” 

Kit smirked, “Jace and Clary arrived at the Institute just as I was leaving. So I’ll be taking you home on a motorcycle,” 

“You stole Jace’s motorcycle?” “No, I borrowed it. Without his permission. So we should go before he notices it’s gone,”

Ty laughed, and Kit wished he could bottle it in a jar and use it as medicine. A sudden jolt went through Kit, as he realized, he was going to get to drive Ty home on a motorcycle.

Kit grinned.

[sirpeachess-casual]

Could you write s chapter about Dick sacrificing himself to save another teammate?

Qduba Two

Part 8 of the Dick Grayson Must Die series

Summary: In which Dick sacrifices himself to save Kory. He is waterboarded and she is livid.

Tags/Warnings: Whump, Waterboarding, Hurt/Comfort

~~

“Kory, go!”

She didn’t even bother looking at him, typing and throwing switches frantically. They were running out of time. “I’m not leaving you!”

He looked at her, grabbing her arms in his gloved hands. “Kory, go. I - I’m not arguing with you about this.”

“Well, that’s too bad!” she replied, frowning at him irritatedly. “Because you’re going to get one hell of an argument if you think I am just going to leave you to those people.” She threw an arm toward one of the many locked doors, white camo-clad soldiers pounding against it.

The countdown continued. They had four seconds left until the generators exploded, killing power and letting in very angry people and their very big guns. He spared a few precious seconds to stare at her, drinking in her green eyes, and making peace with what he was about to do. Releasing the lever, he rounded the terminal, charging her.

She gasped as his arm looped around her waist, spinning her into a deep kiss. He marched them backward, hand finding a door switch and slapping it. “I’m sorry,” he said and pushed her back. She stumbled through the open door and he released the switch. The thick steel slammed shut between them just as the generators exploded. The security measures failed, opening the remaining doors.

Kory screamed, pounding her fists against the door. “No!” she shrieked, hitting it twice. When it didn’t dent, she stepped back. Fire boiled under her skin and she lashed out, aiming it at the steel with a shout. It remained stubbornly intact, not even slightly singed. She heard gunfire on the other side and looked around, desperate for another way into the room. How dare that bastard think he could just kiss and leave like that.

The radio buzzed at her hip, Gar’s voice coming through. “Kory? Kory, you there?”

She pulled in a few steadying gasps, snatching the device from her belt. “What?” she snapped, trying hard not to crush it.

“Uh, not to sound needy or anything but-” He paused and she pulled the walkie away, a loud explosion nearly busting her eardrums. The hallway around her shook in the aftershocks, dust raining down from the thick concrete.

She slammed the button. “Gar? …Gar, come in!”

“Help!”

Dropping the device, she glared at the door. She had to leave, but she was coming back. Dick would want her to save the kids. “Okay, I’m coming.”

“Hurry!”

Robin’s voice cut in. “What about Nightwing?”

She bit her lip, pulling back the anger. “I’m on the way. Take cover.”

“Kory-”

“I said take cover! I’m close.”

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Dick went down. It took a while, but when he did, he did hard.

As he locked Kory out of the room - and would he ever have Hell to pay for that later - the other doors opened and he was surrounded by soldiers, their guns aimed at his chest. They shouted for him to surrender and he started swinging. A few cracked knees and splintered tibias later, and he kicked off the computer terminal, flipping over their heads. Someone got wise enough to pop off a few shots. Dick landed and spun, leg high. It connected with someone’s jaw and they stumbled long enough for him to pull a heavy file cabinet across the doorway. It wouldn’t stop the soldiers from following him down the hall, but it would certainly slow them down.

He pivoted and sprinted away, ducking bullets and skidding around a corner. Every turn he took, soldiers were waiting for him. He was forced into detour after detour, starting to lose track of where he was and which way he was going. Eventually, he slammed himself into a nook in the wall, biting his tongue to hold his breath as a troop of white camo raced past.

Wincing, Dick checked his side, finding a lot of scuff marks and one bullet hole in his suit. He pounded his head against the wall in frustration. This just got a whole lot worse. Stealing a small moment to catch his breath, he took off the opposite direction of the soldiers, determined to backtrack. He didn’t want or need to go back to the computer room, but wanted to at least find familiar ground.

Slowly, he slinked along the walls, checking every hallway before slipping into it. Someone spotted him and he rolled his eyes. Back to running, then.

He leaped down a winding staircase, tucking and rolling the last few steps. The soldiers lost some distance on him and he climbed to his feet, hoping to lengthen the gap even more. Against his better judgment, he found himself trapped in a long room. Soldiers charged him from behind, with more coming through the door to his right. His only escape was the tall windows at the furthest edge from the room.

He hated windows.

The cold glass shattered as he exploded through. Too suddenly, he realized there was no ground to land on and he was freefalling down the mountain.

He really hated windows.

His gloved hand snatched a small ledge and he yelled, slamming against the rocky wall. Its frozen surface soaked through the chest of his suit, icy wind whipping through his hair. He looked down. No way was he careening down that sheer drop. He looked up. Soldiers peered through the broken window, guns aimed at him.

This is exactly why he hated windows.

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

SAFEHOUSEQDUBA TWO

The mission had been a disaster. Not only had the Titans lost the intel they were after, they had been ambushed, overwhelmed in every conceivable way, and forced to leave Nightwing behind just to retreat and lick their wounds. He would be livid when they got him back and Kory felt true pity for the person who reported that there would be minimal soldiers with small artillery.

The woman was pacing, wringing her hands nervously. She wanted to collapse and rest, recharge, and regroup. She needed a breather, a moment to screw her head back on and regain her drained power. But downtime was a luxury that had been beaten out of her in her warrior training back home, and something she didn’t deserve because her children were in shambles, the mission was an unmitigated disaster, and Nightwing was still captured, alone and abandoned.

The Titans filtered into the control room, given only long enough to shower and tend to any major wounds before needing to be back for another briefing. They had no time to be scared. They had to get Dick back and get him now. Jason was still pressing on his mask as he entered, followed closely by Rose as she braided her hair. Rachel headed straight for the food, Gar handing her a hearty sandwich. He had taken a beating - tigers didn’t exactly wear armor - but shapeshifting didn’t take a physical toll like throwing people across the room or sword fighting did. Bruises they could bounce back from. Drained powers and physical exhaustion not so much.

“Okay, gather up,” Kory began, arms crossed. Gar handed out lunch, the Titans accepting the food thankfully. “I’ll be the first to admit, things got a little out of hand back there. I… I don’t know how it happened. Bad intel, I guess. But we went in expecting one thing and what we found was something entirely different.” She straightened, taking her time to look each of them in the eyes. “First thing’s first, you handled yourselves out there well. You didn’t freak out; you handled the unexpected situations and adapted to overcome them. Well done.”

Flattery wasn’t her strong suit. The whole praising them and pointing out what they did right and wrong was Dick’s thing. She was more of a puncher than a hugger, but they appreciated it nonetheless.

“What about Dick?” Robin asked. Some of them were just bad at expressing their appreciation.

The woman turned to the large monitor behind her. “Dick was last seen in this room. We can only assume he was ambushed by the soldiers outside these hallways once the generators blew.” She paused, the scene replaying unbidden in her mind.

Rose nodded to the map. “Do we have any idea where they take POWs?”

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Dick was shoved to his knees. His mask had been peeled off, the black makeup across his eyes smeared horribly. The stuff worked to conceal his identity with or without the mask and even though he had never made a habit of whining about how long it took to wash off, he was sure he would never gripe about it again. His pockets had been emptied, gloves removed. Frost clung to him from his brief stint outside, snow melting in his tussled brown hair. He tried to ignore how much his side hurt - pack the pain away and hide it somewhere - but he couldn’t look past how it drained his energy and fuzzed his mind. And it would only get worse the longer it went untreated.

General Mayatin entered from the side door, followed by her entourage of advisors. She marched to the soldiers standing over him, casting him a curious glance. They handed over his confiscated gear. He kept his eyes turned away as she looked over the items with interest. He wasn’t cowering, but he wasn’t itching for a fight either. Elise Mayatin was the kind of person no one wanted to be remembered by; the more forgettable he could be, the better his chances were.

Not that blowing up her generators and hacking into her computer system had been a good first impression.

“You are a hero,” she stated. “Part of the Justice League?”

No response.

“And you come here, trying to steal information.” She handed the gear back, marching to stand before him. “What were you after?”

At his continued silence, she rolled her eyes and walked away, nodding once to the Captain of the Prison.

He saluted. “Ai, General.”

The soldiers moved at his command and Dick was pulled to his feet. They shoved him back through the door, escorting him to the prison. Dick shrugged against them, unwilling to go without a fight. Getting his blood pumping a little helped wake him up, even if he had to sacrifice a few drops through the hole in his side. If he was awake, he could fight. And if he could fight, he could compartmentalize the impending torture.

Read the rest on Archive of Our Own.

[balancingdiet]

Tabula Rasa

Detective Conan & Magic Kaito Characters: Shinichi/Kaito Words: 3100 ish Chapter: (1) … (17) (18) (19)

Shinichi always finds his neighbour weird. But he didn’t expect to find his neighbour lying on a patch of grass and donned in Kaitou Kid’s costume, too.

Shinichi had experienced a fair share of pain—both physically and emotionally—to understand how some of them could feel familiar. But he never knew pain could be nostalgic too.

The sudden, sharp pain hit between Shinichi’s brows again.

It came in a set of three, a cooing sound, and then another...

Shinichi opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was white, but it wasn’t the culprit that was pecking his forehead. Tamago, or whoever that dove was, had flown away once Shinichi stirred and woke up, and the whiteness he saw was the rumpled bedsheet he had laid his head and accidentally fell asleep on.

Shinichi straightened away from the side of the bed and on his chair, and it was only after a second then he registered Kaito’s bed was empty. 

Widening his eyes, Shinichi spun around in his seat, and he found relief when he saw Kaito standing on the balcony (his navy blue shirt camouflaged him well against the dark sky, but his white pants exposed him bright). He was facing the street and dangling his bandaged hands over the railing.

When Kaito fainted in his arms, Shinichi thought of bringing him to the couch in the living room, like what he did during that incident long, long time ago. But he decided to carry Kaito up to the bedroom, thinking it would be a better place to rest for him. Turns out, the clock on the wall now showed an hour before dawn, meaning Kaito woke up not long after he fainted. 

And what a plot twist, it was Shinichi that rested instead.

Shinichi stood up from the chair, not realising the existence of the blanket over his shoulder until it fell off and pooled on the floor. He stared at it for a moment longer than necessary before picking the blanket up and looking at Kaito’s back again.

He didn’t feel as though he deserved this.

Shinichi placed the blanket back on the bed. And now that he could properly look instead of fussing over Kaito’s comfort and tending to his hands previously, he noticed the bed was small. Or rather, it was small because of how sparse Kaito's bedroom was; there was nothing much, besides the bed, a corner desk, and a wardrobe.

To think that Kaito had make this home permanent… The first floor definitely fooled Shinichi well. 

Tentatively, Shinichi walked to the balcony and slid the glass door aside. It was breezy, and the moisture in the air smelt thicker than Shinichi last remembered when he first arrived home. 

”You’re awake,” Kaito said as a greeting.

Shinichi closed the balcony door shut and approached the railing. “Same back at you.”

“You snored.”

This was the last thing he expected the conversation to start with. Shinichi scowled. “I did not.”

Kaito laughed. “You don’t need to feel embarrassed. Your snore is pretty soft anyway.” 

"Don’t change the subject," was what Shinichi wanted to rebuke, but he pursed his lips, unable to form any words as he continued to stare at the side of Kaito’s face.

There was no subject, or anything, for Shinichi to say in the first place—

“How much do you know?” Kaito suddenly said as he continued to face the dark streets below.

“...What?”

Kaito pulled out one of the fragments of the shattered red gem from his pocket, which Shinichi had gathered from the backyard and placed them all on Kaito's desk. 

“For starters,” Kaito said as he fiddled the shard with dull interest. “Do you believe there’s a gem that can shed tears of immortality?” 

Immortality?

Shinichi stared.

For someone who once shrunk by ten years of age, it was hard for Shinichi to say he didn’t believe it, even if he didn’t want to. But in this context and from the way Kaito asked, he wasn’t sure what the correct answer should be.

“Maybe,” Shinichi said instead.

Kaito squeezed the shard in his fist before pounding it over the railing. Shinichi winced.

“To be honest, I don’t,” Kaito said. “But if I don’t, I don’t have anything else to pin on for all the sacrifices that had been made.”

From Kaito's reactions and the evidence in his hand, it was clear all the countless heists Kaitou Kid had done wasn’t to obtain this so-called tears of immortality, but to destroy it. 

But why?

And what sacrifices?

As though Kaito read Shinichi’s thoughts, he spoke, “Kuroba Toichi, my dad, was the first Kaitou Kid.” 

Shinichi widened his eyes.

“He died at the hands of the people who were seeking for this same gem, but I didn’t know anything back then. I’d thought he died due to a magic accident.” Kaito cleared his throat. “And so, the first Kaitou Kid disappeared from the surface of the Earth.”

It wasn’t hard for Shinichi to construct the timeline calculations in his head, and his heart swelled at the realisation of another horror in Kaito’s past. 

He was only eight.

“Years later, I found a secret basement that my dad left behind. I didn’t think much of the consequences but only wanted answers, so I decided to be the ghost of the Phantom Thief.”

“…Why are you suddenly telling me all these?” 

Kaito tilted his head. “After all that earlier commotion, I figured you'd want to know.”

Shinichi hesitated. “But not at the expense of your feelings.”

Kaito chuckled, yet nothing about his laughter sounded real to Shinichi at all. “It’s okay,” he said.

”How is this okay?” Shinichi wanted to yell back, but all the thoughts and words and sorrows of the entire moment were stuck as a lump in his throat. What’s more, this was just the start of Kaito’s past. How could Shinichi, much less Kaito, be able to bear it if they continued to delve deeper into it?

And about Aoko…?

Kaito regarded Shinichi for a while. “It seems as if you know something.”

Shinichi inadvertently glanced away, only proving Kaito’s suspicion right.

“Back to my first question.” Kaito turned around to lean his back against the railings. “How much do you know?” 

Shinichi pursed his lips.

“Tell me,” Kaito urged.

“…I happened to chance upon a few things and made my own guesses.”

“What are they?”

As the wind started to pick up and howl in the originally silent night, Shinichi reluctantly explained the things he thought he would carry to his grave—about Kaito’s unconscious apology to a person named Aoko, the hospital conversation, and the blue rose he found in front of the clock tower. But it wasn’t just unravelling Kaito’s secrets that made Shinichi horrible; having to see the weight pressing down on Kaito’s shoulders as he continued made everything much worse.

By the end of everything, Kaito finally nodded. “As expected of the Detective of the East, you’re right,” he said. “Aoko… She died three years ago.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“I know.” Kaito raised a hand. “Just let me bring some humour into this conversation, can you?”

Shinichi returned a wry smile. It seemed the least he could do.

“Those people you mentioned earlier,” Shinichi began. “Are they some kind of organization?”

Kaito nodded as he pocketed the shard back into his pocket in silence.

“Are you pissed because you were expecting my answer to be… something exciting? Like, maybe someone from a deadly, criminal organization was hunting me down because I’m a threat to their secret plot?”

So it wasn’t just a taunt Kaito made back then. There were some truth in there too.

“The organization—"

“Done and dusted like yours,” Kaito said. “In fact, I believe it was led by a member that worked under the Black Organization you destroyed. Everything slowly fell apart after you finished them.”

Shinichi said nothing, still struggling to get his feelings towards Kaito’s response straight. There was relief for another end of a criminal organization, but there were some things that didn’t make sense—like why Kaitou Kid still existed if everything was over—and also the guilt, that if Shinichi had brought the BO down sooner…

“About Aoko.” Shinichi swallowed, not sure if it was right to call her name like this. “Did she die in the hands of the same people who killed your father? Before their downfall?”

Something flickered in Kaito’s eyes; it was so brief, yet impactful enough to send even more guilt towards Shinichi’s way.

“It was before, but no, it wasn’t because of them,” Kaito said, and he raised his head to stare at the sky above them. There was a heavy pause, then he added, in a lower tone: “She died because of me.”

What?

“Since Aoko was young, her mother hadn’t been the best of health,” Kaito continued looking at the sky. “Just a few months after her family moved into my neighbourhood, her mother fell ill and had to be admitted into the hospital. Aoko visited her every day of the week, and I accompanied her several times. But after battling the illness for a year, Aoko’s mother passed away.

“Years later after we reached the eligible age, she signed up for a volunteering program in the hospital. And I followed too. Since then, it became our weekend thing; I would perform magic performance for the patients and visitors and she was my assistant. But everything changed after I started becoming Kaitou Kid.

“Life got busier for me, but I still managed to squeeze in some time to attend at least two sessions a month. Aoko obviously noticed the changes, but rather than questioning me about it, she was still grateful.” Kaito suddenly gave a bitter laugh. “She was always grateful.”

Shinichi nodded understandingly.

Kaito continued, “But things changed even drastically after those men that killed my father confronted me, while revealing they were searching for Pandora—the alias of that immortality stone. Since then I started planning and focusing on stealing gems. While hoping to find Pandora first, it was also to lure them out so I could bring them down easier.

“A year or so later, I discovered a rumour that said the Pandora was in Japan. I tripled my heists' activity and worked like hell to find it, and as a result, I’d severely neglected Aoko and missed all the volunteering sessions I should have gone.

“Then, on the night of my heist, which was also the night when Aoko went to the hospital to volunteer, a fire broke out at one of the facilities.” Kaito glanced at Shinichi. ”I’m not sure if you remember or know, but it was on the news.”

Shinichi frowned. “The hospital you invited me to?”

Kaito nodded.

“I… I don’t recall.”

“It’s fine, you don’t have to.” Kaito licked his lips and took a deep breath. “Well, a fire broke out, but…” 

“...”

“But, sh— she...”

“She didn’t make it out in time,” Shinichi whispered, finishing the sentence Kaito had trouble completing. 

After a long while, Kaito nodded again. But he wasn’t exactly calm. 

He was simply… gone.

Shinichi parted his lips, ready to explain how the fire was an accident, and that it wasn’t Kaito’s fault. But as Shinichi took a breath to speak that, he knew Kaito had probably heard those words over a thousand of times, and beyond that, they weren’t the things Kaito needed at the moment.

So all Shinichi did was raising a hand and reached out for Kaito’s shoulder, giving it a light pat.

But that pat was like a wrecking ball, because the next thing Shinichi realized, tears welled up in Kaito’s eyes, like a gush of water bursting out from behind the broken glass walls. 

And those waves surged Shinichi, sending him in a swirl of his own tsunami too.

“The gem I stolen that night wasn’t even fucking Pandora, and those scums didn’t appear during that heist either,” Kaito choked out before pressing the palms of his bandaged hands into his face. “So in exchange for that wasted night, Aoko died.”

Shinichi felt a sting in an eye before rubbing it away. 

“Maybe she was lost on the floor. Or maybe she was trapped behind some damn door. But one thing I know for sure was if I wasn’t doing some fucking heist that night and was there with her for the volunteering session, she wouldn’t have died,” Kaito continued to blabber, “I couldn’t save my dad the last time, but I believe I could have saved Aoko.”

“Kaito—”

“And what else?” Kaito interrupted as he swung his arms back to his side, showing his slightly swollen eyes. “Oh, yeah. Sometimes when I’m flying, I’d see a vision of the burning hospital. I usually could control it, but on the night you found me, I had to stab myself in order to gain back my senses and flight control because the panic attack was too overwhelming—”

All of the sudden, Kaito grabbed the front of his blue shirt and heaved. 

Shinichi held onto Kaito’s elbow. “Hey, are you okay?” 

"I’m good.” Kaito sniffed and afforded a quick, reassuring smile before his face grew serious again. “Do you remember the time you told me to take a break? I actually did before, for two years.”

“The period you suddenly disappeared,” Shinichi said.

“Yeah. I stopped being Kaitou Kid after their downfall, but... I didn't think it was enough to account for the sacrifices.” Kaito patted a hand over his pocket. “Pandora owed me this much.”

Sacrifices...  

“Did Aoko know you’re Kaitou Kid?” The words rolled out of Shinichi's tongue.

During the seconds as Kaito mulled over the question, Shinichi started to panic, wondering if it was a wrong thing to ask. But before he could retract his statement, Kaito left the railing and walked back into the bedroom.

Shinichi followed, closing the glass door behind him.

By his desk, Kaito pulled out the first drawer and took out a blue notebook. He caressed the cover with a form of gentleness that Shinichi never seen him had before—not even when handling those million-dollars’ worth gems he’d shone under the moonlight after his heists. 

Then, Kaito passed the book to Shinichi.

Shinichi tentatively accepted it. “What is this?”

“See for yourself.”

Suspicious, Shinichi flipped to a random page.

Dear Diary, Today, Kaito and I went to Tropical Land. I know I should at least be a little bit happier—

Widened eyes, Shinichi shut the book and snapped his head back at Kaito. “This is Aoko’s diary?”

Kaito nodded. “Her dad, Inspector Nakamori, gave it to me.”

“Inspector Nakamori?” Shinichi froze once he realized the connection. “Isn’t he the head of the Kaitou Kid Task Force?”

“He was,” Kaito clarified. 

Shinichi had to take a moment before the words sunk in. "They were related..."

Kaito gave a half-smile. “Life’s just so funny sometimes.”

“Then…”

“He’s now retired from the Force and helping his brother with the ski resort business in Niigata,” Kaito said. “After Aoko’s death, I told him everything; it’s the least I could do.”

“What did he say?”

Kaito chuckled, though it sounded hoarse at the end. “He told me I should get on with my life.”

But it didn’t work out, Shinichi’s silent words hung in the air.

“Then, before he moved, he found the diary and gave it to me, hoping I could find closure or something," Kaito added.

That didn’t work out either, Shinichi thought bitterly again.

Shinichi fumbled with the book. It was light, yet weighted heavy with the history of Kaito and Aoko’s life journey together, at least till the point when the fire took her away…

“I don’t think I have the rights to read it,” Shinichi eventually said.

“You were mentioned in there though.” 

Shinichi blinked. “What?”

“Edogawa Conan, the Kid-Killer.” Kaito smiled, and there was finally a tint of genuine brightness in his eyes. “You were her idol.”

Shinichi scratched a finger on his temple. “Um…”

“Actually, I think you two could’ve been pretty good friends; Both of you are quite similar—Always all about justice, fun to tease, and Tamago...” Kaito’s voice broke off a little. “Tamago loves... loved her too.” 

Shinichi swallowed, staring at the diary in his hand. “I wish I could meet her," he said, with all the truth he could ever put in a sentence. He looked up at Kaito. “Is there... anything else I can do?”

“No. You’d done more than half of my job when you took down the Black Organization.” A tug pulled at Kaito's lips as he rubbed a thumb over the other bandaged hand. “Besides, you’ve been... a very good distraction...for me.”

Shinichi wondered if he could agree the same.

A low rumble came from the outside, and through the view of the balcony glass door, Shinichi could see the trees swaying in the distant. 

“You should go before the rain pours,” Kaito said.

“Are you sure you want me to read this?” Shinichi asked again, lifting the diary.

“The truth is, I’m rather tired right now.” Kaito popped the second button of his blue shirt and slumped onto the bed. “It'll probably answer the remaining questions you have.”

In all honesty, Shinichi was never intent on needing an answer, but if Kaito wanted him to have it, he really had no reason to go against his wishes. He held the book to his chest.

“Do you want me to stay—”

“If it’s for any other circumstances, I would say yes.” Kaito grinned, though barely passing the mark. “But for now I want to be alone.”

“Ok.” Shinichi nodded. “I’ll go.”

“Thanks.”

Shinichi turned towards the door.

“He told me I should forgive you, that’s how I can lessen my pain.”

He wrapped a hand around the knob.

”And you. Only if you know I forgive you, then it will lessen yours.”

(Then what if the only person who could forgive you, was no longer around?)

“Tabula Rasa.”

Opening the door, Shinichi took one last glance back, watching as Kaito wearily climbed under his covers. 

“You know... there’s a difference between hiding and starting anew.”

Shinichi still hadn’t figured out which one fitted Kaito more, but at least for now, he knew Kaito wanted to be alone.

Closing the door behind him, Shinichi left for his own home.

[nnatasha]

rosemary rolls - one

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

summary: working at a chili’s was the worst thing in the world. luckily, bucky barnes was one of the best things in the world.

Waking up had been a difficult feat that morning, and you had decided to go on a run to wake yourself up. God knows who put that idea into your head as it did absolutely nothing to help.

You were so tired from your run that morning, and still reeling from the sudden change of your hometown to the close-knit community you had recently moved to, that you stood in the quaint bakery you had found yourself in, shuffling forward until suddenly you were face-to-face with a pretty redhead wearing a striped apron and a jaunty paper cap. “Welcome to Frazier Bakery! What can we do to make you feel at home today?”

God, did you hate this corporate crap, even when you were child and hardly knew what it all was. You looked up at the menu board, scanning it. Coffee, muffins, breakfast paninis, smoothies, bagels. You looked back at the smoothie options, looking them over.

“Extra large Blueberry Banana Freeze.” you told her.

“Coming right up!”

She turned, walking over to a row of blenders, and you took another look around you. There were needlepoint samples on all the walls. LIFE’S TROUBLES ARE OFTEN SOOTHED BY HOT, MILKY DRINKS, read one by the sugar, milk, and cream station.  Another one, over by the recycling bins, proclaimed WASTE NOT, WANT NOT. You wondered where they ordered them, and if you could get anything mass-embroidered and framed.

Once you got your smoothie, you went over and took a seat on a faux-leather chair in front of the faux-roaring fire. The title of the smoothie was right: after two sips on your straw, you had a headache so bad you could barely see straight. You put a hand on your forehead, as if that would warm things up, then closed your eyes, just as the front door bell chimed.

“Welcome to Frazier Bakery!!” one of the counter people yelled.

“Thank you!” a voice yelled back, and someone laughed. You were still rubbing your forehead when you heard footsteps, then, “y/n?”

You opened your eyes, and there was a familiar face. Of course it would be him. Who else would it be?

“Bucky.” You greeted coldly.

Bucky peered at you a little more closely. “You okay? You look like you’ve been-”

“It’s just a brain freeze,” You said, holding up the cup as evidence. “I’m fine.”

You could tell that he was not fully convinced, but thankfully, he didn’t push the issue. “What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were here, least of all a Friend of Frazier.”

“A what?”

“That’s what we call the regulars.” He waved at the redhead, who waved back.  “Hold on, I’m just grabbing a Freaking Everything and a Procrastinator’s Special. Be back in a sec.”

You took another tentative sip of your smoothie, watching as Bucky walked over to the counter before ducking behind it. He said something to the redhead, who laughed, before grabbing a muffin out of the case and then poured himself a huge cup of coffee.  He then pushed a few buttons on the till, slid in a fiver, and took some change out, which he deposited into the tip jar. After waving at the redhead, Bucky started back over to you.

Good lord, you thought, grant me strength. Before Bucky could begin talking again, you quickly stood up and dashed out the door to your car. She had been given to you by your mum when you were 16, and had been promptly named Super Shitty due to her, well, super shittiness.

Bucky was your friend back when the two of you were kids, inseparable.  Then Steve had been rescued by Bucky from a fight in a back alley and all hell had broken loose. From the get-go, you didn’t get along with Steve: the two of you were constantly disagreeing and throwing shade n the opposite directions. After awhile, you had just stopped with Bucky, and you’d held a stupid grudge on the two until a couple months ago. If you were going to be living in the same small town as the two, you might as well try and get over your teenage years.

And now Bucky was a regular -or, as he dubbed it, a ‘Friend of Frazier’- at the only bakery that was en-route to your new place of work.

Thoughts of Bucky filled your head as you made your way to work. By the time you had arrived, your horrible drink had been finished and you had a stonking headache.  

  You had found the restaurant by accident, pulling into it’s car park to take a breather from the torrential rain. It was warm and inviting, with faded red walls and windows that let off the warm glow from inside.

Jobs were a rarity in this town, and you were on the hunt for one after moving into your shared home the previous month. Seemingly, the only places hiring were a stationary company and a loud, vibrant coffee shop. Neither of them interested you, nor did the measly pay they both offered.

You hadn’t decided to go into the shop looking for  job, more looking for a space to have a nice coke in the warm. Luck was on  your side that night, however, and you had immediately inquired about the 'Hiring!’ sign posted in the front door. After a couple days of waiting, you had received a call informing you of your start on Monday.

Anxiety flowed through your veins as you stepped into the restaurant. Being that it was only just past 9am, you weren’t surprised to see it as empty, sans a lone redhead sat at the bar with her face scrunched up.

“We’re shut.” She said after a few seconds, looking up at you. “Can’t you read?”

Eyes widening, you stammered, “Um, y-yes. I start today.”

With an almost silent sigh, the girl stood. “I’m Natasha from behind the bar.”

“Y/n.” You replied. “From down the road.”

Natasha’s eyes twinkled with what you assumed to be amusement before she motioned for you to follow her.  “You’ll probably be waiting, but will undoubtedly have to work bar some days. Tips of the trade, mama: do not use the ice dispenser, get it from the freezer that stores the ice pops. The dispenser will turn off the electricity. Pepper’s looking into it but corporate doesn’t have enough money to spare.”

“Pepper is….”

“Our boss.” Natasha finished. “Tony was originally, but he gave the position to Pepper a year after they first met. He is wrapped around her finger.”

“Do not take my name in vain, spidey!” A cheerful voice made you jump as a familiar man came out of the kitchen doors. Tony was the one to interview you for the job, and had seemed like someone you would want to be friends with. 

“Don’t call me that, Tony.” Natasha said firmly, and you couldn’t help but think that this was a recurring thing. “This is y/n.”

Tony’s eyes flicked to you and you smiled. “Hey.”

“Woo, woo, woo! First day!” Tony cheered and you saw Natasha roll her eyes.

“I wish god was in this chilis.” sighed Natasha and a burst of laugh came from you, a single 'Ha’.

Tony’s hand clapped you on the shoulder suddenly. “Let’s get this day started, shall we? I’ll have Sam show you around.”

 "That,“ Sam said ,"is Wanda. She makes the best cocktails in town.”

Sam had been introduced to you quickly, but you had immediately connected to the man and his funny banter as he showed you around the Chili’s complex.

The auburn woman Sam was referring to looked up and, with a squeak, Sam ducked down behind a chair. “I think she can also read minds.” He hissed and you chuckled.

“Samuel Wilson!” Wanda shrieked, shaking a wooden spoon in your direction. “Stop talking about me to the new girl. I’m Wanda Maximoff, world renowned chef and all-around good person.”

“You work in a goddamn Chilis!” Sam guffawed and Wanda glared at his back.

The two of you continued, Sam talking faster now with the lunch rush steadily approaching. “You’ve already met Natasha, of course. She can work a knife like nobody’s business.”

This didn’t surprise you. Natasha seemed like the type of person that could snap a bone in half without even blinking. You wouldn’t hesitate to admit that she already scared you, even after only knowing her for a couple hours.

“Bruce has anger issues.” Sam pointed to a short man with glasses low on his nose. He was in the middle of tying up his apron and shot Sam an exhausted look. “He does marijuana. Prescribed. Sometimes he let’s me hit it when he’s not looking.”

“When he’s not looking.” You snorted, nodding your head.  “Your brain cells, gosh.”

Sam winked at you. “Those three over there.” You looked into the direction of his finger and your heart immediately sank. “Steve, the blonde one with short hair used to be 5'7, less than 100 pounds. He had a growth spurt when he was 20 and only Bucky knows why. He’s the brunette one. Absolute monster at typing, can do 100 words in under a minute.”

“Wow, real talented people here.” You chuckled. Steve had actually bulked up at 17, just after his mother passed away. It had been an extremely cold winter, stealing souls all over the country, including Ms. Rogers. Her funeral had been a somber affair, and neither Steve nor Bucky could be found at the wake afterwards.

“Yeah, Bucky basically does everyone’s reports around here. You see those two over there,” Sam moved his arm lazily in the direction of Natasha, who was sat next a mousy haired man. “Natasha, of course, but also her best friend Clint. He can fit 134 M&M’S in his mouth. Up until recently, he couldn’t fit 60 in there, but then Nat broke his jaw and bam! It was suddenly a black hole.”

“That’s what she said!” You joked. “No, that’s what he said.”

Sam looked at you for a second and you wondered if you had said anything wrong, before he laughed, clapping you on the shoulder. “Thor, the one in between Steve and Bucky, can bench press both of them at the same time.”

“The same time!?”

“The same time.”

“Alrighty, Sam.” A soft voice said from behind the two of you. “Lunch rush soon, please stop traumatizing the new kid with your stories of Clint.”

“But Pep..” Sam whined at the sophisticated looking ginger in front of you. Pepper, your boss, was wearing a white suit, free of wrinkles. At Sam’s words, Pepper pursed her red lips.

“Work.” She ordered and Sam groaned, trudging off. “I’m not sure if Tony told you, but this is a no-nonsense workspace. We would like you to respect both your co-workers and your customers. If you ever need anything, you’re welcome to talk to me, or any of the team: if you talk to Maria, our HR leader, she’ll keep it purely confidential.”

“Ok.” You squeaked. “Thank you, ma'am.”

Pepper smiled slightly. “Call me Pepper, sweetie.”

As Pepper walked away from you, you could feel the impending doom of lunch at a Chilis whilst working alongside your childhood best friend. Boy, was it going to be a long couple of months.

@tonyintexas @steveeology @eyesofgoldenambers @crashhmycar @txmhoelland @driftingbarnes @wazzupmrstark @shurisneakers @definitely-not-black-cat @laureharrier @puppy-barnes

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

Ostracized as usual Denise loudly tells every one she's making corn dogs and asks if they want some...

Then she asks Nathaniel in Spanish how many.

I'm in my room with my door shut and nothing but the air on... I'm not deaf and she opened my daughter's door to ask her and she rejected the offer.

But Denise is acting really cheerful like I knocked something loose other than her scalp loose.

I feel like it's fake but tree says i was going at least 60 mph and my very good quality glass screen protector cracked all the way across... And my phone screen was being weird after, showing green dots where i typed... Which isnt normal...

So like I mean i fucked her up... Like enough to do something to her brain? Or is it like dopamine and shit for pain still going in her chemical system?

I think it's fake... Idk... I don't trust her.

Tree says I fucked her up straight to her brain and knocked some tar loose.

I guess...

But it's weird... Cause she's never cheerful...

Like I'm waiting for us all to die. She could have some frontal lobe pressure that is really doing her a number though... Taking out that psycho sociopath shit She has usually.

That's probably it... If nothing else...

Oh they tell me she had tar injected up past her eye into her skull between her brain and skull... And it got knocked loose...

Well that is fucking weird.

She shouldn't be ostracizing me then! I think she's plotting...

She will be the happy one and I'll be the mean miserable one and so no one will mind if I go missing then she will go back to being psycho

Or she will be all "I kicked you out. Get out" but be all "no.not me.I'm the nice one. You have seen this"

Tar syndrome can't save us all.

Apparently she didn't even tell my Uncle Dad but i did. I wrote an email to him at that police station because i thought i was going to jail And I was not gonna have her go lie about that. Where I was or what i did. So i told him exactly in chronological order without many details exactly.

And I admitted to busting her head open.

Which tree posted and our replies.. And explanation of my adoptive father's existence.

But no way was she gonna go just tell her side. Sure to the cops fine. But not any where else. Not like I expected him to bail me out but I wanted him to know the truth and all that. Because she lies about Everything.

And i figured she would lie about where I was or what happened. Because i didn't know what was going on to be honest and i was all "man I'm fucking going to jail cause she's fucking bleeding because I couldn't control myself and did what I wanted to do for so fucking long"

It was worth one night in jail no charges. You know what i mean? Like just one. Then like "you know what? Forget about it my husband said this was bad to press charges on my kid" type shit

Like "drunk tank me" then let me go.

It was hot in the truck and I wanted to go sit in the shade on the sidewalk but i didn't trust her she got Nathaniel to give me a ride and i was all this bitch is gonna leave my ass stranded the first step I make out this truck.

Because that was what she wanted in the first place!

What the fuck. Its not the first time she's pulled over in that exact spot but before i told her i would get out and she was all "forget it" and I told her "you do that again and I'm gonna beat your ass"

She laughed in my face

And well I pounded her head in enough, apparently.

Excuse me but I get fucking mail on Monday even if it's a holiday. The fucking bitch just took me on Saturday

What does she think? The tooth fairy brought it?!?!

Just goddamed already.

A fact is a fucking fact. I loose my goddamed shit sometimes.

I don't even remember even talking to her. I just remembered like next thing I knew her hair was in my hand and I was all ... Wait what am I doing? Yes I want to do this and I used both hands to yank the shit out of it. 2x

The 2nd time because i could. Because she really tried to hit me! Ugh.

The 3rd time.. Like i knew the second she pulled out from the stop when she told me to,get the fuck out she was taking me to the police station and that is why i pulled her hair

Cause I was like bitch.

Then the 3rd time I planned that... I was gonna make it good if she turned on that street... But I didn't know what my brain knew subconsciously because I was all hey body what are you doing? Cell phone Stabbing her skull?! Not what I had planned but okay! Sure why not.

Then i was all fucking damit it i broke my nail. This is bad. I shouldn't did that plus she was bleeding allover the place and i was all this is it

I can't even pretend I didn't do it. Its too late

I couldn't lie my way out if I tried. I didn't feel bad. I didn't feel scared. I didn't fucking care any more

I was pissed at myself because my kid was gonna be stuck without a mom. Even temporary. Just for a night.

That's why I told my Uncle Dad. Like I said I wasn't looking for bail. But I knew he would want the truth and he always told me to tell it.

So even if I wasn't sorry I still had to admit what I did, for my kid. He always told me that. "Just tell the truth even if you're not sorry. Even if you're proud"

"But doesn't that prove guilt in the eyes of the law?"

"It doesn't matter"

He'd yell... 'Does this look like court? I'll get you a lawyer!' Cause I'd ramp up a huge thing But... The end of the game..

Just tell the truth.

That's what I learned from him.

Maybe my kid would be super pissed and I would deserve her hate at me for not caring about her and being stupid for 10 minutes.

Because it was. It was stupid.

And I'm lucky she didn't press charges and the only reason she didn't is because she's a horrible person and did horrible shit to me as a kid and my Uncle Dad always has taken my side Because I am honest and good and he has always told her she will find a new place to live if she ever presses charges on his kids.

Thats why I got him this shirt for father's day which I already gave him

2..

But yeah my kid would beat my ass if my Uncle didn't have that threat on Denise.

And I would deserved it.

So y'all people fucking around. I'm not a hypocrite. I know what I deserve for what I did.

I know it wasn't right

I owned up to it and I was ready to accept the punishment although I didn't want to. If she chose to, I had no other choice

She was dripping blood all over her shirt at s very rapid pace and she should have gotten stitches.

I feel kinda bad that she didn't. But she chose to lie and hide what really happened.

No one should be treated like she was.

If you are in a relationship like she is

A family like she is

A home she is

You should leave.

I don't say that because i hate her

I say that because we abuse her.

She abuses us. So, we eye for an eye and abuse her back.

So watching that video with no other information. Anyone in a relationship like that should leave.

Y'all know me and our history and so it's different

But no back story and out of context.. It was out of control and could be manifested into a different kind of tale.

And most people in the world shouldn't be treated like she was

If I was her and I was someone else that was say a boyfriend not DNA4U approved or stranger... I would thrown me out of the car, too. And I have, in the past.

So out of context what she did, driving to the police station... Was kinda the right thing to do but I beat her ass and that part is usually deserted but Jack called ahead because he knew I was hitting her and he knew in ESP connection what she was planning. Just as i did.

It is what caused her head to bleed. Like I said I planned it.

She should had went to a gas station or other public places that would been safer ... Especially how that police department is situated.

The back door is open. Not the front. But Jack sent someone out because he knew.

So... If any of you are in that situation you should press charges.

Next time they could kill you

I blacked out. Had she not been driving, i may had killed her.

Im being honest.

[leilakisakabiri]

Interstate - 94 (d.d)

plot: the reader goes to Chicago with David for the holidays and then decides to pay a visit to her own family, Too bad she doesn’t make it to her family. 

warning: fluff, worried david, lil’ stressful situation?

send in ur David requests if you guys have any, enjoy!

(the gif literally has nothing to do with the story, i just thot it was cute ok.)

⍣⍣⍣

December.

The month that marks the beginning of the end, the end of one chapter and the starting of another. The festive season. The month filled with joy and embracing love ones.

Also coincidentally the month with the highest rate of car accident’s, especially in the Midwest.

You had come with David to Chicago this year, you guys had been dating for about 8 months at this point, and when he had asked you to come you were more than happy to oblige. Since it was the holidays, nobody else would be joining the two of you except Natalie.

It was your third day in Vernon Hills, and it also happened to be Christmas Eve, you were planning on leaving that evening to drive to your hometown of Minnesota. The plan was for you to go first, that way you could both be with your families on Christmas, and then the next day David was going to come and join you. It was a great plan, you guys were essentially hitting two birds with one stone, that way you both got to spend time with your families and see each other. It seemed foolproof, but neither of you had expected one factor, the weather.

You left Chicago that evening in the rental car you and David had rented, it was around an 8-hour drive to get to your hometown, so you would reach very early in the morning. After saying goodbye to David’s family and thanking them for letting you stay with them, you pulled David outside to say goodbye.

You both walked out together, him leaning down to give you a kiss. You smiled into the kiss, finally pulling back, unwrapping yourself from him “I gotta go, bye David.”

He groaned, grabbing your wrist and pulling you back into his embrace, he hugged you, rocking your bodies back and forth,

“I’m gonna miss you Y/N.”

You laughed, “David I’m gonna see you in two days.”

“Too long,” he muttered in your hair.

You giggled again, finally detaching yourself from him,

“I’ll see you soon.”

He smiled, giving you a quick kiss,

“One for the road,” he said winking.

You grinned back at him, turning to walk to the car,

“Bye babe.”

He waved, watching you as you got in the car, “Stay safe.” he finally, the roaring engine of the car partially drowning his voice out. You gave him a thumbs up and peeled out of the driveway ready to hit the road and see your family.

-

It was hour 4 and you were halfway there, and you drove closer to your hometown the more nervous and excited you felt. You were nervous to be back with your family and see your friends again, had things changed or were they still the same? You were excited to be back and catch up, going back home always felt like you were stepping into a time lapse, everything was the same, it had been the same since you were 18 and had first left, it felt as if you were still that socially awkward 18-year-old girl just looking for her place in the world.

The empty fields covered with snow passed you left and right, you loved drives like this, it felt so calm, there were no cities, no lights, no loud noises, just peace. This year the weather had been especially bad with numerous blizzards hitting the Midwest within a matter of days.

Tonight was no different, the snow had slowly started falling an hour ago but now that the wind had picked up it was flying all over the place, making driving a little difficult. You heard the radio host talking about hazardous weather conditions when you had first left the city but you had brushed it off. You’d grown up in Minnesota, you got your license driving through 4 inches of snow, you could handle a little snow. However, you had severely misinterpreted how bad it really was.

As you continued to drive, it became harder and harder to see, the snow piling up on your window pane. You groaned, trying to wipe it off, but it made little difference. It was well past 10 now and you knew you were closer to home than Chicago. You checked your phone for service, debating whether or not to pull to the side of the road and look for hotels to stay the night at.

You had no service.

You groaned, frustrated, the only bad thing about these types of drives was that the service was usually shitty, going in and out, one second it would be there and the next it was like it was never even there to begin with.

You set your phone to the side, continuing to drive, you just had to push on through, you couldn’t even call if you wanted to anyway.

It was another thirty minutes later and nobody had been on the road for a solid hour at this point, so it was only you. You had become more relaxed, the snow had gotten worse but your eyes had become accustomed to it.

You were just about to turn the corner of the road when you saw headlights coming your way, along with the sound of a large horn blaring. Your eyes widened, normally you wouldn’t be so scared, but the driver was in a truck and it had crossed the intersection and was barreling straight towards your car.

You felt the fear race through your veins, and at the last second you took your foot off the accelerator and turned the wheel as hard as you could. The car did a 180 and skidding on the ice, one second all you saw was snow, the skid marks on the road and then the next the back of the truck had barreled into your car full force, destroying the passenger side and sending you toppling off the road.

You heard the glass shattering on impact and were hurled off the intersection, you felt the car shift beneath you, tires squealing in protest, and before you could even let breathe the care had flipped over in the snow, with you still inside.

Your head was pounding, it felt like someone had torn it apart and squeezed your brain. Your hand shook as you placed it against your head trying to ease the pain. You pulled back when you felt something warm on your fingers, looking at them you felt the bile rise your throat when you saw it coated in crimson red blood.

You heard footsteps outside and then suddenly your car door was being thrown open, a bearded man stared down at you,

“Ma’am can you hear me. Are you okay?” your mouth opened but no words came out, instead, you nodded your head, letting the man take you out of the car.

Once you had finally gotten out, you felt the cold wind nip ferociously at your face. You stood, your body trembling from both the shock of what the hell had just happened and because of the bitter cold.

The older man began apologizing,

“Ma’am I’m so sorry, I hit a patch of ice that I didn’t see, and the truck spun out of control I tried...I couldn’t stop it, I’m so so sorry.”

You were still in shock but you knew it wasn’t his fault, you'd seen plenty of car crashes growing up in Minnesota and you knew that 90% of the time especially in winter it was just due to the horrible weather.

You nodded accepting his apology, “We need to call someone.”

He showed you his phone, “I have no service.”

You turned back to your wrecked car, your heart wrenched as you saw the damage, it was totaled. You pushed back the tears, of course, you had to ruin the car. David would not be happy.

David. Oh god you needed to call David.

You pointed to the car, “my phones in the car.”

The man went to retrieve it, coming out with a shattered I phone in his hand. You sighed, well great.

Your head was stilling pounding but you noticed the blood had dried, probably because of the cold.

“Let’s walk up the road and maybe we can get some service.”

The man agreed and you both walked silently for about five minutes before you heard the man yell, “I got it! I got one bar.”

You smiled, “Thank you, god.”

The man called the police first, explaining to them what had happened. As you listened to him explain you felt the tears prick your eyes, god you had come so close to dying.

There was still so much you wanted to do, so much you wanted to see, so many people that you didn’t want to leave. You weren’t ready to say goodbye, but sitting in the snow late at night on the side of an intersection you realized you didn’t get to choose when you were ready, it happened whether you wanted it to or not, and that thought terrified you.

The man finished talking and gave the phone to you. You dialed David’s number a million thoughts racing through your head.

Please pick up.

It rang and rang and finally when you had started to give up hope that he would answer someone answered. You let out a sigh of relief,

“David?”

You heard someone giggling on the line, “No this is Toby.”

You heard David in the background yelling at Toby for answering an unknown caller, you chocked back a sob, trying to calm yourself down, “H...hey Toby can you please give the phone to David.”

Toby didn’t question it, you heard him give the phone to David whispering, “it’s Y/N she’s crying I think.”

David was on the line within a second, a sense of urgency in his voice, “Y/N what’s going on, why are you calling me from a random number?”

You let out an audible sob when you heard his voice, god you were so scared.

“David” you hiccuped not being able to finish your sentence, “I’m so sor...sorry.”

You could hear the fear starting to seep in through David’s voice, “Y/N what’s going on? You’re scaring me.”

“There was a truck, I didn’t see it, there was ice, and then everything happened and I couldn’t… I cou-couldn’t stop i-it.” You whispered, tears completely drenching your face now.

You could hear David shuffling in the background, “Oh my god. Y/N holy shit. I’m coming baby, where are you?”

You hiccuped, choking on your words, “The car’s totaled David, I’m so sorry. I promise I’ll pay for it.”

“Y/N I don’t give a fuck about the car, I don’t care. I just want to know that you’re okay, your the most important thing to me.”

“You’re not mad?” You asked in a small voice.

He let out a sigh, “No I’m not mad, but please tell me where you are.” His voice broke at the end and you could tell he was on the verge of crying.

You gave him the details and after assuring him that you were fine multiple times and that you would stay put and wait until help arrived he hung up, promising you he would be there soon.

It was another 15 minutes later, and the throbbing in your head had returned, this time however accompanied by a sharp stinging sensation in your ribs. The man whose name you had come to learn as, Roger, stood next to you huddled underneath the tree. It was unbelievably cold, with temperatures going below -20 degrees. Thankfully both of you were decked out in winter gear head to toe so you had at least a little warmth, but slowly as the minutes past you could feel your toes starting to freeze.

Finally, you saw the flashing red lights and both of you immediately headed towards the road, as you approached you saw multiple cop cars and ambulances parked next to the sight of the crash.

The pain was almost unbearable in your ribcage now, you felt a sharp pain shoot up your rib cage every time you took a step. You had almost made it to the sight of the crash when you felt your legs give out underneath you. Immediately you were surrounded by a swarm of people, nurses and officers helping you up. You saw the infamous yellow stretcher and you felt bile rise in your throat.

-

The next time you woke up, you were in a hospital room, harsh bright light flooded your vision and you let out a low groan, trying to block out the light with your hand. You heard a sniffle next to you and you turned to see David sitting on a chair near the door, tears streaming down his face.

“Oh my god Y/N.” he rushed over to you, grasping your hand in his.

You let out a watery smile, “Hey dude.”

He let out a small laugh before wrapping you in a hug, burying his head in your shoulder, you could feel your gown get more and more soaked as his body shook. His reaction made you want to cry and soon both of you were a watery sobbing mess.

“I’m never letting you out of my sight again. I’m not losing you, I can’t.” He chocked on his words, pulling back to look you in the eyes.

You held his gaze, your lips turning at the corners, “Fine by me.”

[ericmhe]

A Story Rough Draft

“Peripheral” - working title

“Yes, I work at home, but I'm still working, you know,” Greg explained to his sister, trying to avoid having her kids dropped off on him again.

No one seemed to respect the basic premise, least of all his own family and it was kind of driving him crazy.

“Hang on, sounds like the mail's here.”

“See, you can just go get the mail as soon as it shows up. Why can't you look after your nephew and niece?”

“Because walking out to the mailbox is only a couple of minutes, and kids take hours of attention?”

“Come on, it would save me so much in babysitters.”

“And it could cost me my job,” he muttered as he opened the mailbox. Unfortunately, having to hold the phone up by clamping it between his face and shoulder meant it was right up against his mouth, and she actually heard what was meant to be an exasperated comment to himself.

He was enduring the aggrieved reaction as he walked back and flipped through the mail when it happened.

It was just in the corner of his eye, blurry and indistinct. Some kind of insect, or whatever centipedes would count as, at least a foot long. It sported far too many legs writhing about randomly, bizarrely asymmetrical with some limbs just far too long. He shouted as he jumped up, dropping his phone onto the concrete porch.

But the horrible writhing creature had vanished. It was just a harmless branch of a ground shrub, dried and browned. He felt his face get hot as he looked around, but fortunately none of the neighbors were out and he probably wasn't seen. He picked up the stick and threw it in the yard. Then he picked up the phone and tried to apologize.

Things were normal for a while, going from day to day taking care of his cat and dog, Sam and Fred. The names were an aborted joke he feared might be a little too nerdy. Working from the computer and fielding the odd phone call filled most of the day's work hours. Then one night, while he was brushing his teeth, a vague blurry reflection slid in the corner of his vision. A long body that looked covered in spikes. Wiggling antennae, and way too many legs for reason. He fought the reaction to jump away, but kept his body still, and only moved his eyes, trying to bring it into focus.

A ball of fuzz this time, some carpet threads and pet hair that had escaped the vacuum in a big unsightly clump. He threw it away and wondered what kind of mental disorder could be responsible for a recurring hallucination. He spent some time trying to search for hallucination symptoms on the internet with little luck. He fought the impulse for a bit but eventually took to forums and question websites trying to figure out if anyone else had similar experiences.

“What, some kind of bug? Like a spider?” some anonymous poster with a string of numbers asked on his thread.

“Try something more like 'Hell's most hardcore centipede' if you want a mental image.” he replied with a huff he knew full well no one would see online..

His work suffered the next couple of days from all the time inquiring online to no avail. Maybe he'd have to figure out a way to talk to someone in the mental health field. Get some drugs at least, provided it was affordable.

The third time, he was working. He tensed and drew his feet up into his chair. He would not acknowledge it. He would not. Would not. Bugs had too many limbs to start with, but the thing he could but couldn't quite see in the reflection of his monitor shamed even the most nightmarish millipede. Unlike a millipede's strange gait this thing had no sense of rhythmic motion, just flailing asymmetrical chaos.

Sweating, he forced himself to stare ahead and keep typing, ignoring the thing that seemed to be beside him. The reflection grew more frantic. His head began to ache, making reading his own writing impossible. He shut his eyes and kept typing. The headache grew worse, pulsing, with a steady drumbeat. His skin crawled, as if those writhing legs were just about to touch him. He couldn't stand any more; something was about to break... Fred barked his annoying high pitched yap.

His eyes flew open, but the flailing monstrosity reflected beside him was still there. He spun around in his chair. This time there wasn't even anything there to fool his eyes. The dog was indeed barking at nothing, just the wall behind him. Fred was lovable but dumb, he wasn't even pointed at where the bug thing had been.

“How are you going to protect anyone if you can't even tell where to bark?”

A few more incidents let him figure out some patterns. Ignoring it brought pain, and no medication he tried dulled it any, it only went away with time. Nothing seemed to change his condition, not changing his hours or diet or sleeping schedule. However it felt crazy to keep spinning around to try and catch glimpse of a nightmare bug that vanished in an instant. More likely it was never there at all, so why should he keep stopping his work for it? Maybe it was only for a few seconds, but damn it he didn't want to give in on principal.

Then again maybe he was just going crazy.

Then one day a political volunteer rung his doorbell to convince Greg to vote for a favored candidate in the upcoming primary. Greg wasn't really listening. surprised to find himself jealous of the man's eyebrows though they were partially hidden by his glasses and the glint catching on the reflection. His own eyebrows were balding, and this guy’s looked straight model worthy. He let the man talk at him for a while, guessing that most people would be prone to closing the door on his face and he hadn't seen anyone face to face himself for a while. In a way it was nice to be talked to, even about a topic he found boring. Now if there was a way to trade eyebrows, he'd vote for whoever this guy wanted.

He was trying to distract himself with these thoughts from the antics in his peripheral vision. He didn’t want to appear crazy. However when the operative looked up from his pamphlet, he shouted in surprise and threw his clipboard at the wall next to Greg's door.

“What the hell?!”

Greg, shocked, turned to look. Of course nothing was there. “What did you see?” he asked, heart pounding.

The man’s excellent eyebrows had disappeared into his hair. “Sorry. I thought,” but he trailed off.

“Was it something like a centipede?” Greg pressed.

But the man was still staring at the wall, looking confused and flushed. “Um. I should get going, quotas and stuff. Don’t forget to vote,” he called over his shoulder as he hurried down the stairs.

Greg at first felt exultant, and then terrified. It wasn't just in his head! So what the hell was it? He started to go back in and noticed the clipboard, picked it up and turned around to yell at the guy only to find he was already exiting the driveway in his car. Oh well, he'd hang on to it for a while in case he came back for it. He had other things to worry about. He suddenly remembered the thing disappearing when Sam hopped on the desk – at first he hadn't thought much of it, but maybe that meant being observed by anything would dispel its presence.

He resolved to find out and went to the store, bought some cameras, and got the largest storage he could afford and set them up around the house. They caught the thing on tape, sort of. Only in the spots out of the camera's focus did the thing appear, looking just as hazy and indistinct as did in his own vision. He even showed the footage around and everyone confirmed they saw something, but usually gave him a bit of grief for trying to hide a bad special effect and prank people.

It was real, a hundred percent confirmed, but it either would not or could not be captured as a clear image. It could only show up as an unclear one, in the field of view that was out of focus. If he just got a ton more cameras and covered his house with them so no spot in it was out of focus then it couldn't get to him. The venture would very expensive and time consuming. Power would be an issue, for now he would try setting up only in whatever room he was using that moment. He'd focus on his work room since he spent the most time there and had the most episodes, only the bathroom came close.

A couple of days went by and it seemed to have worked. No more creepy crawly nightmares scampering about on the edges of vision. There weren't any headaches yet, but they had been somewhat infrequent most of the time. It'd be a while longer before he was sure he'd thwarted them. The bug showed up alone sometimes, but the headache never happened without the bug so there must be some kind of connection. There were still unknowns, but he felt confident he had won. He set back to work hoping to make up for lost time. He pushed it so long he found himself falling asleep at his desk. He'd have to get up before he really dozed off. Just one more...

He knew he had to be somewhere to do something. The sensation was vague but compelling, driving him to a brisk walk. He rounded the corner around a building and was caught in the flash of a camera. The flash of light wasn't just disorientating because of the momentary vision impact but it actually burned. He jumped back around the corner, stunned by the burned flesh peeling away. He ran back in a hurry and took an alley, away from the crowds.

He came out alright and scanned the people in the street for any cameras. He ran along, wincing away from any flash of light he saw. He tried going down a back alley and nearly walked into a giant burning eyeball. Feeling vaguely disappointed in himself on some creative level he backed away, barely aware of his skin peeling away in a terrible burn.

Finally he was at his destination, but there was a line of people holding cameras making him pause. How could he get around that? Some of them were taking pictures of something, whatever it was it wasn't important, but it was forcing him to keep a distance. Even so the flashes of light were causing blisters here and there, deepening wounds and exposing bone as he tried to find a way around.

No good the whole area was blocked entirely. He decided to try risking it, but as he approached the whole crowd seemed to pivot towards him and start snapping pictures. He backed away trailing smoke and flakes of blackened skin. He finally realized he didn't feel the pain that he should. So, a dream then... what was so important though? It wasn't like any dream he'd ever had.

Greg's vision was blurry as his eyes opened and light from the monitor made him want to close them again. He'd fallen asleep in his computer desk in spite of himself. Well, his back was going to be out of it for the rest of the day. It might almost be a welcome distraction from the headache he had.

Headache?

When he first tried to open his eyes he found the action strangely difficult but with some effort he forced them to open and immediately saw his computer's monitor in sleep mode. In the 'black mirror' of the powered down computer screen he could see himself and … something else. Strangely none of his normal surroundings were reflected in the monitor, just a strange cluster of shapes that seemed to make no sense. It was like an escher painting come to life but worse somehow, the effort to focus on any one group of shapes only resulting in his gaze sliding away from it. He tried to turn away from it but found his neck wouldn't respond. Probably stiff from his nap. He could hear Fred whining and scratching at the door. He'd hardly noticed the noise before, it seemed to be drowned out by something whirling through his own thoughts. Wasn't that supposed to go the other way around?

He tried to use his feet to spin the chair but they wouldn't listen. Now he was getting worried. Still, the bizarre thing or things in the monitor couldn't be helping his headache. He tried pushing backwards, pleased to find that it worked but wondering why he couldn't move to the sides.

A wave of pain and nausea hit him with such force he wanted to reel, double over, physically react in some way, but for some reason he seemed to be stuck staring at the reflection in the monitor.

This felt far worse than it had ever been before.

Another wave, at least as strong as the first.

It felt like his head might split open as he struggled against the urge to vomit.

He looked around as much as his nearly immobile head would allow but saw no sign of the bug apparition.

Another wave hit. They seemed to keep getting stronger. Or his resistance was weakening. Maybe both.

He fell back as he started to stand up. What was happening? No bug to be seen, but this headache was something horrible. Why couldn't he turn? They areas around his eyes and ears started to feel wet. He intended to look around for something to dab at the area, or to find the bug, but his head stayed looking forward. 'How many marketers would pay blood sacrifices to claim such a captive audience? He wondered trying to take his mind off the pain and nausea with a quip to himself.

Another wave.

This time he actually seemed to slide from the chair some, but his head craned to keep the reflection of the monitor in sight. He struggled to push himself back up. He thought about the dreams, and crazy as it was... he went back to the desk and flipped one camera down, letting it record nothing but desk and dark.

Yet another wave and he started to slide from the chair again, nearly slamming his chin into his keyboard's resting spot.

He pushed himself back up shaking the whole while. He tried to reach for the monitor but his hands wouldn't reach that way. He could grab just about anything else though, so since he couldn't turn to look for the other camera, he settled for taking things from his desk and throwing them in the general direction he knew it was. Books, his coin tray, some old CDs. He was about to sadly start with his mouse and keyboard when he finally heard a clatter that sounded right.

The next wave of pain came instantly afterwards.

He hit his head on the desk, but the pain of that was lost in what was already happening. He shuffled backwards, leaning into his rolling chair, throwing the last few things on his desk behind him. Nothing happened. He made his way back as quickly as he could force himself until he hit the wall.

Another wave and his vision was going blurry. He couldn't even see himself in the monitor any more. The strange shapes were the only thing to be seen as they shifted around in mind-bending bizarre patterns.

The wet feeling increased and his back spasmed. He flailed against the wall wildly for a moment until he managed to get a hold of himself enough to push himself up. The last camera went down after a long moment of scrambling wildly trying to grab at his shelf and nearly immediately he saw the tangle of buggy limbs that had been haunting him.

It was the easiest thing in the world to turn and find nothing. He looked back at the monitor through the corner of his eye and only saw a normal monitor reflecting a faint gleam of light. He laughed.

How was it possible? The grotesque bug monster too horrific to look upon directly was the good guy of the scenario? Something worse constantly behind him...

He needed to get rid of the cameras after all. He really hoped he could find all the receipts...

One weekend when his sister brought her kids over they came running to their mother screaming and sobbing. They were unintelligible and confused their mother.

He knelt down to talk to them and asked, “was it a bug?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Don't worry about it. It only looks scary.”

“Um...” the kids radiated uncertainty.

“Worry about what it's warning you about,” he smiled devilishly as his sister glared daggers at him.

“What is it?”

“You know how some people befriend crows? They give them food and the crows share shiny things? It's like they're friends, even if the crows are never pets. The bug creature is like that, I don't know what it gets from me, but it's always watching out for me. Us now I guess. So don't worry about it. I try to wave back sometimes, I like to think it likes it. I mean, it's waving at me all the time.”

His sister sighed, “I guess it's a good thing I didn't get you to start watching them after all.”

[wantedladybug]

Is Fallen

"You can't justify murder by masking it with a cause!"

-Steve Rogers, Captain America

Marinette reached the warehouse district just ahead of Chat. She was surprised that he followed her after she snapped at him. She didn't deserve him as a partner or as a friend. She promised herself quietly that she'd apologize once they were done here. She scanned the surroundings for anything amiss but could only see people working to load trucks and transfer cargo around.

Chat stopped beside her, "Ladybug, what are we looking for exactly?"

"Something…anything," she answered, continuing to scan the many cargo holds and warehouses for something amiss. It was getting dark out now, and a few times they had to move to a better vantage with more light. It was made harder by the fact that it was getting darker with every second - until even street lights were coming on. Chat followed her quietly, still humoring her search and keeping his jokes to a minimum. She wasn't sure whether it was avoid drawing her ire or to help her feel better. The fact that he was helping her at all meant so much. He really was a good friend.

So far, nothing really was amiss. Maybe she was wasting her time coming here? Or maybe Master Fu was right - she was indulging in vengeance. No, she wasn't going to do that. She was going to find the people who killed her mother, capture them, and bring them to the police. That wasn't vengeance. That was justice. Between her and Chat Noir, what could go wrong?

KLANG!

"Watch it! We're lucky none of them blew up!"

She and Chat Noir turned their attention towards a group of men busy unloading a cargo hold and transferring its contents onto a truck. One of the crates was on the ground, its lid broken open to reveal a pack of grenades and what looked like bricks of clay. One of the men hurriedly tried to gather the spilled contents and return them into the crate while the other continued yelling, "THIS IS WHY THE BAKERY JOB WENT BAD! IF YOU'D QUIT DROPPING THINGS-"

"Keep it down!" a third man shouted, smacking the shouting man over the back of the head. That sealed it for Marinette, and she felt a twinge of anger. They were talking about their robber of the bakery like it was nothing. She took a moment to cool herself down before commenting, "That's a lot of explosives they've got there."

"Looks like we found our mystery trouble makers," Chat Noir nodded in agreement, "Normally, people use explosives for fireworks at celebrations or light shows."

"I don't think that's what these guys have in mind," Marinette answered, trying to calm her growing anger.

"Okay, let's take them down," Chat said, his staff extending outward as the two of them leapt off the roof towards the group of men. They took a vantage point atop a nearby stack of freight and surveyed the situation more carefully. There were at least seven of them: one in the driver's seat of the truck, another in the driver's seat of a car, two busy unloading the freight, another checking off a check list and the last two were keeping watch to make sure no one came looking.

Chat whispered, "How do you want to do this m'lady?"

She tried to think of this analytically but that was proving almost impossible for her. As she gazed down upon these men, memories of her mother came flooding back into her mind. She tried not to think about it. These men needed to be brought to justice. Capture these men so they could handed over the police. Justice would make things fair. They killed her mom. The only fair judgment was death.

No!

There would be no killing. That wasn't her. That wasn't who she was. She wasn't going to be that person. No matter how appealing it was and no matter how badly she wanted them to suffer. She took a moment to calm herself with a deep breath before reexamining them. It was hard to tell if they were armed, but they were hiding it well if they were. She stated, "Quietly. We stop the drivers first so they can't get away. I'll go for the truck, you take out the car."

He sighed, "That's a relief. I honestly thought you were going to say we kill them. I'm glad that's not the plan. So let's do this!"

He leapt out on to the street below, leaving her there stunned. Is that what he thought she was going to do? She'd only dropped a man off a roof! Sure she'd been upset about it at the time, but she was a long way from killing people. Even if the thought had crossed her mind a few times. Now wasn't the time to get distracted. She had to focus.

She took a few steps back and took a leap down to land on the truck. Both her and Chat Noir's entrance took the men off guard, "What the hell?"

While she landed next to the truck to get a hold of the driver, Chat decided to land on top of the car with his staff dug into the ground. If the car tried to get away, it'd have to back out of the way of the staff first. One of the men pointed out, "It's Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

"Good evening gentlemen! Mind if we paw-ruse your cargo? Just curious about what's inside," Chat Noir opened with, waiting a moment before adding, "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

"Not now, Chat!" Marinette grumbled, using her yo-yo to smash through the window of the truck and pull the driver out. The man screamed as he was pulled through, cut on the shards of broken glass along the window. She hadn't intended to do that, only pull him out of the driver seat before he could try to drive away. And now he was on the ground screaming with shards of broken glass all over him.

She looked up at Chat Noir staring at her with his mouth wide open. He was so surprised, he didn't even notice one of the men running at him with a crowbar, "Well, they say curiosity killed the cat!"

She reacted purely on instinct, pulling on her yo-yo still wrapped around the man in glass and throwing him straight at the new attacker. The two men flew onto another crate, breaking it open to reveal more explosives. Chat Noir's snapped out of his stupor, "More grenades? What are you guys doing with all this? Are you planning on having a blast?"

As soon as he said that, another guy charged at him with a knife out. Just as he got close enough to try and stab him, Chat leapt over him and kicked him straight into the car. The man banged his head against the door, falling unconscious. That was three down with four more to go. And one was trying to get out of the car but couldn't get the unconscious man off the driver's side door. The three remaining men dropped the remaining crates and picked up whatever they had lying around to attack.

That was all the invitation she needed and she leapt into action, using her yoyo to wrap one of the attackers and pull him towards her. All it took was one punch across the jaw and he flew back into another crate. Chat grappled with the other two, throwing one aside and trading blows with the other. In the middle of all that, the driver trapped in the car managed to push the unconscious man off the door and get out. Marinette watched him reach into his coat and retrieve a gun, aiming it at the oblivious Chat.

"No," she gasped.

Her heart raced, pounding so hard that she could hear her heart beat in her ears. Any restraint and self-control she had flew out the window as she flung her yoyo around his hand, pulling it so hard that she heard a definite crack. The gun flew out of his hand as he was pulled her way. She wound up another punch and struck him straight into the ground. She pulled her yoyo free, his hand falling limp and at an angle no hand would have normally. She didn't care for that though. All she cared about was that this man had tried to pull a gun on her friend and partner. And that she wouldn't forgive. Never again.

Never.

Again.

She got down on her knees so that she was straddling the man and punched his stupid, disgusting, worthless, horrible face.

Then again.

And again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

AGAIN!

She hit him so many times and so hard that her knuckles started to hurt. How dare he try to take Chat from her. How dare he think to rob her of someone so important again. Not this time. Not on her watch. She wouldn't let it happen again. She would kill him before she let anyone else die. She would make him know. Make them know. Do not hurt the people she cared about.

"LADYBUG!"

She stopped when Chat grabbed her fist before she could punch him again, snapping her out of her rage. She looked down at the man on the ground - his face so beaten in and swollen that he was unrecognizable. If it wasn't for the steady rise and fall of his chest, she would've assumed he was dead. It was a good thing he wasn't. And it was good that Chat was there to stop her before she did kill him.

She stood up, taking a moment to collect herself and take in her surroundings. Most of the men were on the ground unconscious, two of them were awake and groaning in pain. And Chat. He was just staring at her in wide eyed horror, "Ladybug, what's gotten in to you? Are you crazy!? It's like you were trying to kill that guy!"

She was. And she almost did if Chat hadn't pulled her off. And she was still angry. Angry enough to ignore Chat's horrified expression, and make her way to the first conscious man she could find. She dragged him over to the nearest wall and slammed him against it - throwing him against it so hard that it left an impression on the wall, "Why were you bringing explosives into Paris?"

The man was too busy yelping in pain to answer her. She punched the wall next to him, her fist going straight through the brick, "I'm not asking again!"

The man answered between pained and panicked breaths, "Some guy…he contacts us…paid us to move the shipment in…I don't know why…Said it was for the job…we don't even know…what the job is…none of us do!"

"WHO!?"

"I don't know."

"NAME! HE'S GOT TO HAVE A NAME!"

"I swear! I don't know!"

"Ladybug!" Chat pushed her back. Her grip slipped and the man slid down to the ground, "That's enough! I thought we were just going to catch them for the police!"

"They brought explosives into Paris, Chat!" Marinette scolded, turning back to the man on the ground. His eyes were wide with terror as she dragged him back up onto his feet and pinned him to the ground, "The explosives! Where were they going?"

"Drop off," the man managed, "Other side of the city."

"WHERE!?"

"Stadium!" the man gasped out, "Supposed to take…to stadium. Football stadium! I swear! That's all I know!"

At least she knew where to go next. Maybe someone there would know. But there was one more thing on her mind. There was no way there were this many people in her family's bakery that night, "How many of you are there?"

"I don't know."

She was getting really sick of hearing did he know? Well, maybe there was one thing he would know, "A while ago…there was a bakery…it was robbed. One of the owners was killed. Were you there?"

"What?"

She slammed him against the wall, "Were you there!?"

"Yes! Yes I was there!" the man shouted. He was there. He watched as her mother was killed. She knew he wasn't the one who pulled the trigger. But that didn't make her any less angry. It pissed her off more. She raised her fist, "I'm leaving you for the police. They'll take you in. And you better hope they lock you up forever. Because if I find out you aren't, then you will wish you were locked up forever! Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be watching you!"

He looked at her, wincing in pain as he struggled to breathe. Then he smiled at her. Mockingly. He laughed, "You don't scare me."

All she could was red. Red from anger. She didn't even know she'd punched his face until he was on the ground, screaming in pain as he held his nose. It gushed with blood, dripping down onto the ground as he backed away. Chat Noir dragged her back, "That's enough. We're calling the police as soon as we leave - assuming they're not already on their way. They'll pick you up. Ladybug, we need to talk."

He tried pulling her away but she resisted - preferring to walk without the attempt to hold her hand. This wasn't the time for that. All she could think about now was the stadium.