#something or if my nana brings something home Or way later than i should and it sucks . And I'm out of money and i hate taking it from

[sharkjumpers]

^ Most fucked up movie lines

[whiskeysmulti]

Tsuna's Realtionship With His Father Is Strained As Hell (Meta)

.Whiskey. Cut for spoilers and length! Continue at your own risk!

So while re reading the start of the Varia arc, we find out Iemitsu has been gone for 2 whole years and Tsuna had even believed he'd vanished/was MIA.

Nana then states that she's been in touch with him this whole time...yet she never told Tsuna. Bianchi even said she doesn't bring him up either because she thought it was actually taboo to mention Iemitsu because Nana never speaks of him either so she thought he might have died already. Starting to feel pretty bad for this kid. We get the "tell Tsuna I've become a star in the sky or something so it sounds romantic" line from him and then we get to Tsuna and the guys walking to school where Tsuna opens up more explaining to the guys and he says something that rubbed me the wrong way about Iemitsu.

"There's no reason for him not to come back even once for two whole years."

I feel bad for Tsuna even more now. But then we get a hint that his friends might not have as good of home lives as believed. Yamamoto asked in a prior panel if they should just go hang out somewhere, to which Gokudera responds with this. "My house is far more complicated and messy." We find out later that Gokudera actually lives alone, he has no one except Bianchi who checks in on him sometimes.

But through that minor exposition in that panel, it gets Tsuna thinking "maybe these two are thinking about how I feel."

Tsuna's home life might actually be shittier than we were led to believe, but he has a family right there in his guardians who would do anything for him even if their lives are just as complicated at the moment.

[toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp]

Hello and welcome to Day 21 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

Sorry if this is later than usual 😅

Today, I have a more unusual crossover plot bunny for you all - a Cardfight! Vanguard and Katekyo Hitman Reborn crossover!

The main motivations for this (already 2 or so years old) idea are as follows:

I love any card game anime - Cardfight Vanguard, FutureCard Buddyfight, Yu-Gi-Oh!; you name it, I probably already watched and loved the whole thing. Vanguard is probably my second most favorite anime besides the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime from this genre of shows.

I want Tsuna to have an actual hobby and make friends that aren't forced upon him by someone else. Like seriously, let the kid be a fucking kid - all world saving shenanigans aside.

So, yeah. Making Tsuna play a game and enjoy it while also making friends is the main goal of this fic. Also, I still have yet to find a good title for this fic idea yet, so any suggestions are welcome.

As for the synopsis:

After Tsuna got his Sky Flames sealed, he went to a festival with his mother. Tsuna got lost and met a young man named Daichi. Daichi kept Tsuna company till they were found by Nana. During this time, Daichi, in an attempt to cheer Tsuna up, showed him a bunch of Vanguard cards he had on himself. Tsuna instantly loved them, especially one Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel. Once Nana found them, Daichi decides to give Tsuna the card he liked most out of the ones he showed him as a keepsake. (Daichi kinda feels like both Ezel and Tsuna need each other and if he ever learned something while playing Vanguard is that you listen to your gut in these situations)

Tsuna comes back home with Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel, and with a new determination to make a deck to fight Daichi with it in the future. And so, years passed, and even though Tsuna did gather enough cards to make the deck he wanted, because of the seal's interference with Tsuna's courage and self esteem, he never got the nerve to actually have a Vanguard Fight with someone.

One day, Tsuna gets another headache before going to school (which is a common occurrence nowadays due to the seal clashing with Tsuna's Hyper Intuition) and gets the impression he should bring his deck to school. Even though nothing happens at school, while on the way back home, Tsuna bumps into another boy his age, scattering the vanguard cards the boy had in his hand. Since he feels guilty, Tsuna helps the boy gather them up, and once done, he, seemingly in a hurry, runs off. Unfortunately, Tsuna sees one of the cards from the boy's deck on the ground and follows him to give it back.

Tsuna ends up catching with the boy - who introduces himself as Jun - at a card shop named "Card Citadel." Jun, wanting to thank Tsuna somehow for returning one of his cards, asks if he plays. Tsuna, thinking this might be the only time he gets to fight like this, says he has a deck but never really played against anyone. Jun offers to be his first opponent and teach him the rules of a true fight.

Both enjoy the fight a lot, and Jun, feeling like he found another person with potential in Tsuna, wants to be his friend. Although bewildered, Tsuna accepts, and they make plans to meet at Card Citadel again tomorrow.

Next, Tsuna meets Ayaka, Jun's classmate and friend, who is also a cardfighter. All three of them became extremely close friends in the few months they knew each other for. When the opportunity to enter a Vanguard Tournament appears, the three of them decide to take it - mostly because they wanna know how playing in a tournament feels like and because they want to have fun playing against stronger opponents. The name they come up with for their team is "Skyfall," which is a fairly ominous name, but also, it's too catchy to just gloss over.

As Team Skyfall, they make it to the finals of the regional tournament only to meet Team Orion and its leader, Shindou. While Ayaka and Jun fought with Shindou's teammates, Tsuna faced Shindou, which ended in Team Skyfall's defeat. Tsuna, for the first time, feels very angry at some of the comments made by Shindou during their fight and wants to prove him wrong. Jun and Ayaka are also frustrated over the loss (in Ayaka's case) and win (in Jun's case). Jun feels like he won because of luck and not skill, so he feels like he shouldn't accept the win. Ayaka lost her fight and felt like she needed to improve or else she would be left behind.

All three decide to review their decks and get better from then on. Fortunately, there is another regional selection for the tournament they just lost. Unfortunately, most of the teams participating are teams that placed second in their regional tournament. This is the only chance left to go to the nationals for all of them.

Fuelled by their determination to face Team Orion again and win this time around, Team Skyfall wins the chance to go for the nationals. From there, after facing more and more powerful opponents, Team Skyfall manages to meet Team Orion again in the national finals. This time around, Team Skyfall won, and, reluctantly, Shindou recognized their skills. Although there are more things to settle between the two teams, they are amiable with each other from then on.

After the nationals are over and some more time passes, Tsuna and his friends get invitations to a (fancy) meeting with other National Champion Teams in New York (the costs being covered by their host). Thankfully, this takes place over the summer so they can attend it.

At the meeting, they encounter many other fighters such as Alessio and his team, La Vipera (Italy's Champion team), and Kong and his team The Chi (China's Champion Team) among others. This meeting is merely a formal introduction for every Champion to each other and to their host, who introduces himself as "Akash."

Akash wants to make Vanguard an even more popular game, and to do so, he introduces the notion of an annual tournament between the Champion Teams of each country. Akash assures them that the idea is still not yet to be put in motion as he can tell most of the ones present are not convinced. Instead, he says that everyone should take this opportunity to know each other better and, if they are available, they can meet again next year around the same time for another meeting - of course, the travelling and hotel costs for the champion teams are covered by Akash himself.

Although Tsuna feels like there is something more to Akash than meets the eye, he and his friends still enjoy their one week stay in New York and make friends there that they continue to keep in touch with.

After coming back to Japan, the three met new faces around Card Citadel, the cardfight beginners Kira (who is Shindou's classmate apparently) and Rinne, a more ... hot-headed individual. While Kira is somewhat aware of how to play Vanguard, Rinne is a total newbie that Tsuna decides to teach the ins and outs of the game, the same way Jun taught him two years ago. (And yes, at this point, it has been closer to 2 years since Tsuna met Jun)

Despite his fiery attitude, Rinne gets the game rules down pretty fast and becomes more excited about fighting other people. He and Kira become a permanent addition to Tsuna, Jun, Ayaka, and Shindou's group and continue to meet at Card Citadel.

A new tournament is announced during the winter season of this year. This Vanguard Tournament features a tag fight setting instead of the usual 1v1 setting they experienced till now. And you cannot choose your tag partners. Instead, you will be placed at random with another participant from the same bracket you are in.

The six friends join in the tournament, meeting old friends, but also new ones too. However, there is one person Tsuna never thought he would ever see participating in such a tournament, and that is Hibari Kyoya, the so-called "Demon of Namimori, who terrified the entire school (both students and teachers alike) and pretty much controls Namimori Middle School with an iron fist.

Unsurprisingly (since this is Tsuna we are talking about), Tsuna's random tag team partner is the aforementioned Habari Kyoya. But surprisingly, both of them work together quite well... (if you ignore the fact that Kyoya barely spoke with Tsuna since the teams were made, that is).

As the tournament goes on, Tsuna feels like Kyoya doesn't trust him as a teammate all that much (given that Kyoya doesn't talk with him at all or even seem to acknowledge that they are fighting together). Meanwhile, Kyoya is trying to get a read on this version of Tsunayoshi Sawada that he had never seen before - more confident in his skills, more open to social interaction, more ... carnivore than the herbivore Kyoya pegged Tsuna to be. This Tsunayoshi is pretty much the opposite of the herbivore he always sees at school. And yet, Kyoya can help to notice that not every herbivore behavior was left behind when Tsunayoshi became a carnivore - which should make him an omnivore. The first omnivore Kyoya has ever seen to be more precise.

The Tag Team Tournament ends with Kyoya and Tsuna vs. Shindou and Jun (who seem more ready to fight each other than him and Kyoya, Tsuna can't help but notice.) By a stroke of luck and a bit of Shindou's stategic mind, Tsuna and Kyoya lose the match - but they aren't that upset about it. Tsuna likes that he managed to be a good tag team partner for Kyoya since Kyoya acknowledged him during their fight against Shindou and Jun. Kyoya, on the other hand, finds himself enjoying this new omnivore Tsunayoshi a lot more than the herbivore one. Kyoya decides that maybe Tsunayoshi's presence is something he is more agreeable to having around himself - as long as his loud friends aren't going to bother him, that is.

And so Kyoya, from time to time, shows up at Card Citadel as well. Mostly to fight Tsuna as 1v1, which most of the time Tsuna loses. But still he is having a lot of fun.

Now, in his 3rd year of middle school and already a Vanguard Champion and participating in more tournaments while also debating which high school he should choose, Tsuna gets another surprise. Well, two actually.

The first one is the self-proclaimed "World's Best Hitman" named Reborn, who says he is here to teach Tsuna how to be a Mafia Boss. (Which OK... knowing Alessio well means Tsuna is more or less aware of Mafia shenanigans since Alessio is part of a Mafia family)

The second one is that Akash has decided that the Annual World Tournament should begin this year - and Tsuna's Intuition tells him something bad might happen there.

Regardless, he first has to survive whatever Reborn has in store for him before facing the disaster he feels the newly announced tournament will become. And if the whole Flames thing that Reborn has been telling him about is actually connected to both Akash and the game that he loves to play and that gave him all these amazing friends, well Tsuna will protect his friends (both the old ones and the new ones) from danger with all he has.

Some details:

In terms of clans for every character I have the following: Tsuna has Gold Paladins (because Ezel); Jun has Granblue (I just like the image of Tsuna's first opponent ever as a Pirate); Ayaka has Oracle Think Tank; Shindou has Shadow Paladin (befitting of the 1st major enemy Tsuna has to face); Kira has Nova Grappler; Rinne has Kagero; Hibari Kyoya has either Dark Irregulars or Narukami (still haven't decided but I am leaning towards Dark Irregulars); Alessio also uses Dark Irregulars, while Kong uses Nova Grappler.

In terms of Ace Vanguards/Units, I have the following list for them with photos (also, all of these are grade 3):

Tsuna - Incandescent Lion, Blond Ezel

Jun - Young Pirate Noble, Pinot Noir

Ayaka - Supreme Heavenly Battle Diety, Susanoo

Kira - Galaxy Blaukluger

Rinne - Amber Dragon, Eclipse

Shindou - Knight of Severity, Dubdrenn

Alessio - Scharhrot Vampir

Kong - Beast Diety, Azure Dragon

This idea really just came to me because I wanted Tsuna to have a freaking hobby that he enjoys doing. And because I wanted him to make friends without Reborn's interference. Like seriously, let the kid be a kid and have a game to enjoy.

I can only imagine the amount of confusion Reborn has when Tsuna explains what Vanguard is. Same when Tsuna appears to be on good terms with Hibari Kyoya of all people.

I WANT Tsuna to go to Italy for some tournament or because Alessio wanted him to visit. Why? Because it will be hilarious to explain to Reborn that yes, Tsuna was in Milano before. And yes, Tsuna knows how to speak Italian (at least conversation level). And let that paint for Reborn just how incompetent of a father Iemitsu is, since he (and by extend the CEDEF) is unaware of Tsuna ever being in Italy at any point in time. Like, how do you not know that your own child is in Italy? And, even worse, that your child is some Champion Representative for Japan for a (fairly popular) card game?

Because no Cardfight! Vanguard fic idea is complete (in my mind) without some PSYqualia bullshit, there will be PSYqualia bullshit. Who gets it and how, we will see.

I feel like by the end of this whole thing, Akash is either going to be your most beloved son (like he is to me) or your most, "I hate him because of his actions" character. Like, there is no in-between for Akash. (Even I oscillate between the two categories sometimes)

Both Alessio and Kong are part of the Mafia world. But again, they are children. So let children enjoy their damn game, mafia people.

You wonder how Kyoya got into the game? Blame Tsuna for that one. Kyoya got curious since whenever Tsuna would meet with Jun and Ayaka at Card Citadel, he would look excited and happier than before. Kyoya picked up on that change and followed him to Card Citadel. He got into the game without even meaning to do so. (Kusakabe is glad that Kyoya has some type of hobby besides just hitting people)

The whole thing between Kyoya and Tsuna mostly happens because I refuse to believe Kyoya wouldn't pick up on changes within his territory. Especially when said change happens to Sawada Tsunayoshi (who is a sealed sky, which is why Kyoya feels that Tsuna's strange as all hell. Unfortunately, he just chucked that to herbivore behavior without looking too much into it.)

Tsuna's seal here is mainly keeping his Sky Flames back, but it also interferes with his Hyper Intuition. This causes Tsuna to have a lot of migraines. So much so that he has pills prescribed by the doctor for them.

Speaking of the seal, it also is far too powerful for some measly bullet to break, so no magical "Reborn/Shamal does shit" that can get rid of the seal. Only Tsuna, through some unknown to him (but known to me) means, can remove the seal. After all, I feel that Nono would have put a strong seal on the CHILD that was a DANGER to his sons' sucession who were located in ITALY. (I can't get over the whole Nono thing, really. And I don't fucking buy that he wanted Tsuna "to have a civilian life" just like Iemitsu wished. Nono took the opportunity to get rid of another obstacle to his sons' succession as the next Vongola Boss. Simple as that. Too bad the Universe said "fuck you Nono" and killed his children)

And this is about it.

Holy hell, this was loooong. Hopefully, my ramblings entertained you all. Also, a bit of a heads up, you may see more Cardfight! Vanguard (or card game anime) ideas from me in the future - it mainly depends on how hyperfixated my brain can get on that idea. Also, yeah, I hyperfixated on this idea for the last 2 years. This is why it's more articulated than the others.

Another small thing before I go: If you are interested in the full decks for everyone (more or less), I have those too. So just let me know if you want a list for every character.

Anyway, have a nice day/night and take care!

See you tomorrow,

-TooManyPlotBunnies-Send Help

[starryevermore]

🥃 “I thought I’d never see you again.” with kate bishop :)

the best christmas ✧ kate bishop

angst city™ library | send in a request (consult request faqs first)

request: 🥃 “I thought I’d never see you again.” with kate bishop :) - annab-nana

pairing: kate bishop x fem!reader

word count: 704

warnings?: slight angst with a happy ending, pet name (baby), not proofread

When you heard the knock on your door, you were confused. You hadn’t been expecting company. You hadn’t ordered any food. So who could possibly be on the other side? And yet, when you opened the door, you suddenly understood. 

“Kate?”

You looked at her, at the cuts on her face and the haphazardly placed bandages. You looked at her messy hair thrown in a ponytail. You looked at her bow, at the arrows. And all you wanted to do was cry. 

“Hi baby,” she said, a sheepish smile on her face. “I hope I’m not intruding?”

“I saw you on the news, Kate. The big fight in Times Square.” Tears pricked at your eyes, and you tried desperately to not let them fall. You didn’t want to cry in front of her. Not right now. Not when you were so close to losing her. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I’m sorry. I-I have no excuse. I should have told you what I was doing,” she said, looking at her feet. She looked back up at, her eyes desperate. “Can I come in? So we can talk?”

You nodded, stepping out of the way so she could come in. Shutting the door behind her, you tried to reel in your emotions. The last time you’d spoke Kate, it was after her apartment had caught fire. She wouldn’t tell you what was happening, what she was doing. She told you to leave her be for a few days, that she’d explain everything later. In the heat of the moment, you’d snapped that if she couldn’t tell you the truth right then and there, you didn’t want to keep waiting. You weren’t going to be that type of woman. You weren’t going to be the type of woman left waiting for her partner to call, to come home, not knowing if the last time you saw her would be your last. 

But she was here now, and all you wanted to do was to hold her, for her to hold you, and to never, ever let go. 

“I’m sorry, for everything that’s happened this week,” Kate said, sitting on the couch. You sat beside her, staring at her hands clasped on her lap. It took everything in you to not grab her hand and hold it, squeeze it. “I-I got wrapped up in something bigger than me. I met Clint—freaking Hawkeye!—and I helped him with this…uh, top secret mission. I couldn’t tell you, because suddenly there was a target on my back and I didn’t want to risk you getting hurt because of me. That wasn’t fair to you, but…I couldn’t think of any other way to keep you safe. I know I should have clued you in. And I will, in the future, if you still want me part of your life. I-I just wanted to say I’m sorry for shutting you out like that.”

You looked back at her, seeing her tear-filled eyes. “Do you promise that you won’t shut me out like that again?”

“I do. Not having you in my life, not being able to talk to you about all of this…Even if it was only a week, it was the worst week ever.” Kate leaned towards you, stopping before she got too close, unsure if it was appropriate to kiss you while groveling for your forgiveness. “I love you, baby. And I’ll do anything to earn your forgiveness.”

You smiled a little, teasing, “Well, you got a lot of kissing and making up to do.”

She smiled, too, saying, “Anything you want, it’s yours.”

“I want a pony.”

“Done.”

“And a library named in honor of me.”

“I’ll make sure to have lots of hidden reading nooks in your library.” Kate paused. “Though, I have one thing to ask of you.”

“Yeah?”

“Clint invited me to celebrate Christmas with his family. He’s leaving in a few hours, and I told him I’d go if I could bring you. So…”

“Let me pack a bag real quick and we can head out.”

And as you went to pack, you decided that this was, perhaps, going to be the best Christmas ever. 

join my sleepover!

[cartierbin]

pls , dilf!bangchan 🥺 with a huge size kink ! thanks if you’ll do it

ofc baby. maybe I should make a separate masterlist for miscellaneous requests.

『 pairing — chan x reader

genre — smut + dilf!billionaire chan fucking his babysitter

word count — 1.322k 』

smut under the cut !

“nana”, the smaller three year old boy tapped your arm whilst rubbing his eyes. the day was getting too long for him to handle and after spending it playing with you he was quite exhausted to say the least. “nana I’m sleepy”. he whines with his blonde curly hair disheveled over his eyes. he was a spitting image of his father with his thick lips and tiny face. you place the last toy in his toy chest. “you want to go night night baby?”. you coo and watch him nod his head in response reaching his arms up so you could lift him.

you hauled him on your chest rubbing his back while his head fell into the crook of your neck. he was so precious and sweet he melted your heart each day you took care of him. when you finally carried him to his room you tucked him in his Superman blankets to which he appreciated greatly. he cups your cheek and kisses it tiredly. “I love you nana”. he whispers just before turning over. nana is what he called you instead of “nanny”. the word nana was much more appealing to him. much more adorable to you. while tucking him in and planting a kiss on his forehead you hadn’t known the his father was watching your actions from the doorway, admiring the way you loved his son. owning a record label never gave him enough time to give baby chris the attention he needed. his mother was out the picture so you were definitely his only hope.

he admired your love but as of now he was also appreciative of the way your clothes were fitting you. just tight around the curvature of your frame and he couldn’t help but to watch you as you bent over, kissing baby chris in one of the many short pleated skirts that you owned. his eyes grazed over the way the hem of the skirt stopped just below your ass. you were startled when you finally realized the man was there. he usually didn’t come home as early as this. “oh! good evening mr.bang”. you bowed graciously in front of him. a small smile creeped along his lips. he sized you up, enjoying the fact that you were barely the same height as his shoulder.

“you don’t have to do that sweetie. I’m here a little earlier than usual but I’d just like to say thank you for taking care of my son the way you do,”. he fishes out his wallet, “I know I already have you on payroll but I’d like to pay you a little something extra if thats alright with you”. he informs while pulling out fat wads of cash. your eyes widened nervously at the amount. “oh mr.bang I don’t think I can take all that. what you pay me is just enough”. he smiles at your modesty. “It’s fine. just take it sweetie. by yourself something nice with it”. you shake your head. “it’s really alright. I love baby chris like he’s my own”. he crinkles that cash in his hand. “I’d really love to pay you something extra for your services. Is there a way I can do that?”. he asks, and by the way his eyes were already fucking you, you already knew just how he wanted to pay you. his energy wasn’t unwanted either. you’ve had your fair share of fantasizing over the sexy billionaire for months. however you thought it would be hard to even get a chance.

but here you were bending over his luxurious living room sofa with him beneath you, gripping the cheeks of your ass spreading them apart while he was sucking your pussy from behind. your hands grip the soft material of the pillows with lewd moans falling from your lips. his tongue slid easily around your pussy because you were gushing with each move of his lips, every single one being much more powerful than the last. he slams a hand down on your ass while wedging his lips in between your sopping folds, earning a sharp whine from you. “mr. bang”. you stammered into the couch cushions in a tiny muffle. he slid upwards giving you a long languid stroke before tongue kissing your creaming pussy with little regard for the loud wet sounds his mouth was making each time he pulled away and went back for more. each time he went back you felt yourself contracting and oozing more, saturating his lips and chin to the fullest.

you were still throbbing when he hiked your hips up, the height of the couch still not being substantial enough to bring you to the height of his hips. he flipped your skirt up and relished the way your pussy looked with streams of white all of over it. he cinched his fingers around your waist and inched his lengthy veiny cock in between your folds, feeding you everything he had until you were filled to the brim with his cock. you took an astonished gasp feeling him inside you completely stuffing you. he dropped his head back and licks his lips. “your pussy is so small and tight fuck”. he groaned trying to get used to the feeling. he never felt anything more pleasurable in his life. he draped his body over yours and you could feel his cold chain sweeping over the back of your neck. your mouth was still agape from him entering you but now he was absolutely drilling you, not giving a single fuck about his intensity. almost as if he were waiting for this moment just as you were.

his thick lips kissed the back of your ears, licking and sucking hickies into the back of your neck. “what are you doing princess? hm?”, he groaned and whispered all at once, “what are you doing being this small and taking dick this good? who taught you this?”. if you could talk you would tell him that absolutely no one did and that in fact, he was the biggest you ever took in your life. you didn’t know how you were even functioning with eyesight and hearing, because chan was fucking the thoughts out of your head and the breath out of your lungs. you could barely moan without becoming winded, everything coming in half syllables that came to abrupt stops. he slaps your ass with a stinging pain. “you’re so fucking cute. I could fuck your pretty little pussy all day long”. you shrieked and clutched another pillow with your body jolting forward from the roughness of his thrusts. your walls were clenching harshly and an overwhelming bliss curved flames in your belly. “I’m going to cum ngh fuck it feels so fucking good”. you whine on the verge of tears. chan smirks. “this is how big girls get fucked princess. can’t you take my dick like a big girl?”. you shake your head trembling underneath him. “no I can’t- I can’t I’m fucking cumming please mr. bang”.

it was hot hearing your cum drip to the floor beneath you both as he kept fucking you until his cum filled your pussy to the brim just like he dick did. by the time he was finished with you you draped over the couch wearily, wondering how the hell you were going to be able to walk to the door. you were so fucked out and tired you were incomprehensible of doing anything active anymore. he kisses that weak spot below your ear again, kneading his hands into your ass massaging it like dough. “go upstairs in the guest bathroom and get yourself cleaned up. I’ll drive you home later”.

[lo-fi-charming]

fitting things together

This is part of my long-running jondaisy series, tangled weeds in concrete cracks. However, the theme for this segment happened to be perfect for @jondaisy-week, since one of today's prompts is friendship.

Read on AO3

Note: this fic is rated T for references to sex; jon and daisy are in a dom/sub relationship.

===

One Thursday evening finds Daisy at Jon’s flat. The two of them have an early dinner and, upon finishing, Jon pitches his suggestion for how they should spend the rest of their evening: working on a puzzle. 

It’s funny, because Daisy doesn’t think she’s ever actually done a puzzle, either by herself or with help from someone else. When she admits this, Jon looks so shocked it makes her laugh, and suddenly the puzzle is no longer a suggestion, it’s a required activity. 

An hour later, they’ve got three sides of the border finished. Jon supplies most of the conversation, describing how his grandmother used to bring home bags of puzzle pieces from charity shops for him to work on, usually three or four at a time. 

“I didn’t think about it until I got older,” Jon tells her, scrutinizing a dull grey piece to decide where he ought to sort it, “but I realized she must have been buying puzzles without their original boxes on purpose. The ones she gave me were always second-hand in resealable bags. Of course, I have no way of knowing for sure, but I strongly suspect it was so I didn’t have the pictures they put on the box for reference.” 

“Why? Does that make it more fun?” Daisy asks. 

Jon shrugs. “I always thought it was fun. It was challenging in a way I enjoyed; I liked that I had to figure out what the picture was on my own, and the only way to know was to put most of it together.” 

His tone is a little different when he adds, “I think she did it to make sure it took me longer. So I’d spend more time on the puzzles. It’s more difficult when you don’t have a reference. I’ve also considered that, if I had the box to look at, I might not have been interested in constructing the puzzles in the first place, since I already saw the complete image. Knowing how I used to be, I would understand if Nana thought the same.” 

It’s a bit quiet after that as the two focus on filling in one splotch of green and brown. Then Daisy asks, “Did your nan ever do any of them with you?” 

Jon chuckles. “Yes, once! She’d gotten me a rather large puzzle… I think it was, ah, perhaps one-thousand pieces? I remember it was of a garden with a bird bath and brick wall, so a lot of green with dozens of other colors involved — particularly difficult to finish without a reference. She let me start it out on the dining room table because that was the only flat surface big enough for the puzzle. I worked on it for three days and threw a fit whenever she tried to convince me to give up so she could use the table. Eventually she just sat down and started helping me. We managed to finish it the next day. I think she was more careful about getting me smaller puzzles after that.” 

“Mm. This one looks like it’s a garden, too.” 

“I think it is.” 

Daisy glances over at him, one brow raised. “Don’t have a box to look at?” 

Jon smiles. “Of course not. Where’s the fun in that?” 

They continue to work and continue to talk. It’s still a bit strange, but not so much anymore. Daisy’s gotten used to coming over to Jon’s house for just… this. Spending time together. There are still days where they do something like pull out Jon’s ropes or negotiate a scene to try later, but more often than not, Daisy just comes over to have dinner and hang out. It’s not something she’s used to. The only other person she ever voluntarily spent this much time with was Basira. Even then, it wasn’t quite like whatever it is now, with Jon. 

For a while, Daisy wasn’t sure how she felt about all this. It was oddly nerve-wracking, being around Jon without having a clear idea of what he was expecting from her. It felt like she was being stupid, making up problems and having unwarranted feelings. But when she made herself bring it up to Jon, he admitted he had similar worries, like concerns over monopolizing Daisy’s time without offering anything in return. Which was ridiculous, of course, and she’d told him so, and he’d told her she was being a bit ridiculous, too. So maybe they should both try to stop being so silly about it. 

So… yes. It is getting easier. To just be Daisy, with Jon, and not Jon’s dom. To spend time with just Jon, not one of her subs. To do boring, normal things like work on a puzzle. 

At some point, when they’re about halfway finished and Daisy is busy trying to find where one piece — unhelpfully solid green — is meant to go, Jon speaks up. “Can I ask you something?” 

Daisy grunts in acknowledgement, testing the puzzle piece in one spot. It doesn’t slot in, and she clicks her tongue against her teeth. 

“Do you… Would you be interested in, um…” 

Daisy turns to him. “Spit it out.” 

“I wanted to ask you if you might be interested in going somewhere with me this weekend. You’re free on Saturday, aren’t you?” 

“Yeah. Sure, I guess.” Daisy narrows her eyes at him. “But you’re nervous about asking. Why?” 

“Well.” Jon delays by putting three pieces where they belong. “Martin would be there, too. And, uh, Timothy Stoker and Sasha James, my other co-workers.” 

“So you’re inviting me to…”

“Drinks. At a pub near work. A-and I know you don’t like to drink alcohol, but you wouldn’t have to — Martin doesn’t, either, so you wouldn’t be the only one. Mostly it’s, uh, something we’ve been doing more often. A social thing. And I thought…” 

“And you thought…? What, you’d just bring your dom along as a fun surprise?” 

Jon twitches in that way he does when he’s abruptly flustered or scandalized. “No! O-obviously not— I mean, they wouldn’t know—”

Daisy snickers, leaning back against the sofa and stretching her legs beneath the coffee table. “Well, what are you supposed to tell them? I mean, what did you tell them?” 

“I asked Martin if I could bring someone the next time we got together,” Jon hastily explains. “And he guessed. Somehow. I mean, he asked me if I meant you, and I said yes. He said it was fine with him, and he seemed sure Tim and Sasha wouldn’t mind either.”

“So what if they ask who I am?”

Jon gestures to her blankly. “You’re… Daisy?” 

She gently slaps his knee. “No, Jon— How are you going to explain how you know me? What if they ask how we met?”

Jon fumbles for an answer, looking cross with Daisy for pointing out the issue in the first place. She laughs again. Mimicking his accent, she says, “Good evening, everyone, yes I’m here, and I brought along my—” 

“Stoooop!” 

“—my, my booty call—”

“No!” 

Daisy snorts, laughing harder when Jon shouts at her in despair. “That’s what I am though, isn’t it? You call me for sex and I come over.” 

“That is not what you are! Goodness gracious, don’t say that ever again!” Jon whines. “Booty call... I hate that.” 

“Well then, what do you call me?”

Jon huffs, shifting so that he’s on his knees instead of cross-legged. He pointedly finds an edge piece and leans over the table in search of where to put it along the border. “I call you my friend, because that’s what you are!” 

Daisy keeps chuckling, and then she keeps doing the puzzle. But at some point, she stops. Jon continues on without her, making a self-satisfied humming sound when he finally completes the border of the puzzle. Daisy can make out the edge of a rose trellis now, and something that might be a songbird. 

Jon notices Daisy’s stillness. He looks over at her, straightening out his legs with a little frown of discomfort. After another moment, he shyly asks, “We are friends, aren’t we?” 

“...Yeah,” Daisy agrees. “I think so.”

“Right.” 

“That’s why you want me to come along?” 

“Well.” Jon fidgets, sorting pieces by color to keep his hands busy. “More or less.” 

To meet his other friends. To have Daisy meet the people he works with, to possibly become part of the group. Daisy doesn’t feel confidant in that happening, but… “Sure.” 

“You’ll come?” 

“Yeah. What time?” 

Jon tells her, and Daisy makes a mental note. Then they get back to work, finding flowers in the scattered pieces and unscrambling a cloudless sky. 

[seita]

the contract girlfriend | semi eita (m.)

˒ pairing: semi eita/reader ˒ genre: angst, fluff, smut ˒ wordcount: 𝟺𝟹𝟹𝟷 ˒ tags: friends2lovers, fake dating, musician!eita ˒ cw: dirty talk, loss of virginity, virgin kink if u squint: sweet talking, pet names, mean girl ex, mutual pining, unrequited love(?), angst with a happy ending, UNEDITED

+ note: this is a collab along with the other writers for the kkc! i would also like to thank @bokutobabie​ 𝖿for her help with this plot bc it was kickin’ my ass.

˖˖ summary: when he was an unknown musician, his girlfriend left him. now that he’s made it, he wants to make her jealous at a fancy party so he can get her back.unfortunately, he asks you to be his fake date. the downside? you have a very real crush on him.

⇦ back to navigation.

collab masterlist!

© all content belongs to seita 2020. do not modify or repost.

“I have a proposition,” is never a sentence you want to hear when you sit down to lunch with your best friend. Especially when that friend is Semi Eita. 

“What..?” you ask apprehensively, taking the cup of coffee he’d obviously gotten to bribe you. You took it regardless, not willing to pass up the offer of free coffee.

“Nana is gonna be at the party this weekend,” he muttered, swirling his fingertips around the rim of his cup. You felt your heart drop into the pit of your stomach at his words, “I want you to come and pretend to be my date.”

Just as you’d expected. Not something you wanted to hear.

Nana was Eita’s first love, his first serious relationship, really. They got together when he was fresh out of highschool, the two of them spending almost all of their time together. 

It was when his career as a musician was just beginning, he was playing small gigs and there was nothing really successful. But he was happy. And he thought she was too.

Until she dumped him in favor of a much more famous man. He was a big movie producer and offered her a leading role in an upcoming film. Of course, she took the offer. 

She would much rather be mingling with the rich and famous than be hanging out with “a nobody like him”, as she put it. You remembered the hurt Eita felt, the tears and heartbreak it took almost 3 years for him to get over. 

“Why?” you finally asked with a sigh, “What will that accomplish?”

“Well if she gets jealous, she might want to get back with me,” he grinned impishly, shrugging his shoulders like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

You recognized the look in his eyes, one of determination. So you sighed, nodding your head, “Alright, I’ll be your date.”

He beamed, uttering out endless thanks to you as you went on with your lunch until he decided to go back to the studio. He slipped his hat on low, making sure his mask was in place before hugging your goodbye and leaving you sitting alone at the table. 

You sighed, downing the last of your coffee. Your spirits were low; you had no idea what to expect from this party. 

Would she fall for it and run back into his arms now that he had had his big breakthrough and became mainstream? She surely must have known by now; his band was already breaking records, wracking up fans by the thousands, his songs were being played on the radio. 

Maybe now that he was famous enough, she’d actually want to be with him. Not that she deserved him. And he didn’t deserve someone like that, either. He was too good for her, too good to be treated like that. 

You let out another sigh and stood up, grabbing your purse from the back of the chair.

This was going to be painful. You weren’t sure how you would cope with pretending to be his girlfriend all for the sake of him getting back with her. 

Surely your heart wouldn’t be able to take it.

Because as much as you tried to hide it, you were irrevocably in love with your best friend.

The entire getup was supplied to you by Eita; from the jewelry to the dress itself. You felt like a different person. Despite the fact he was your best friend, you hadn’t attended one of the big parties since his band’s breakout single. 

This particular party wasn’t in celebration of his band, but he was invited regardless so naturally he went. He was still enjoying the high life and was getting used to tasting fame. You were glad it hadn’t actually affected his personality. 

“You look nice today,” Tendou complimented with a breezy smile. He was nursing a glass of champagne, which was uncharacteristic to say the least. He had always been more of a whiskey kind of guy.

“Thanks,” you shrugged, “I’m not really a fan of this kind of thing.”

“I know,” he grinned, “You look terribly uncomfortable, that’s why I came over to be such a good pal and keep you company while your darling boyfriend is off galavanting with the people!”

You rolled your eyes, “He’s not my boyfriend, Satori.”

He giggled, taking glee in your embarrassment, “But you wish he was.”

“Are you already drunk?” you raise a brow, making him snicker.

Someone called his name from the crowd and he flashed you a knowing grin, “Eita may be too dim to see it, but the rest of us aren’t!”

You pout and find yourself alone once again. Looking around, you search for your ‘boyfriend’. Suddenly, a heavy arm falls across your shoulders and the familiar scent of his cologne reaches your nose. 

“Hey, babygirl,” he coos, making your heart skip a beat at the pet name. He sounds so fond and you feel yourself smiling before he busts out laughing, shaking his head before letting his arm fall from your shoulders, “That’s just so weird. I dunno if I’ll be able to get through this tonight,” Ouch. “Anyway, Nana just arrived so…” he takes your hand but you can’t bring yourself to smile as you feel the ache in your heart at his words.

If he takes note of your deflated behavior, he doesn’t say anything, merely leading you over to the balcony. You breathe in the fresh air and feel the ache in your chest dull.

“Eita? Is that you?” a perky voice makes you cringe. 

“Nana,” Eita breathes, tugging you against his side as she breaks through the crowd to stand in front of the two of you.

Her smile promptly disappears at the sight of you crowded in Eita’s arms.

“Eita...who’s this?” she asks, a smile returning but you can tell it’s plastic. 

You remembered everything you had gone over with him before the party; the two of you had sat down for a few hours to sort out your story and rules. It had felt like you were making a binding contract with him when you told him no kissing on the lips. It was your only stipulation and you swore you saw a brief downward tug of his lips when you told him before he beamed and readily agreed. 

Maybe you were imagining that disappointment in his eyes too. 

“This is my girlfriend, _____,” Eita introduced, giving your arm an affectionate squeeze.

“Oh,” she gave you a strained smile and held out her hand for you to shake. When you slipped your hand into hers, she gave it a tense squeeze that made you flinch, “I’m Nana, Eita’s ex.”

“I’ve uh…” you cleared your throat and pulled your hand away, “I’ve heard stories about you.”

“All good I’m sure,” she replied flippantly before setting her sights on him once more, “We should totally catch up, you know? Reminisce about the good old times~”

The sultry, flirtatious undertone made your skin crawl. Even if you weren’t really dating, she thought you were and for her to not respect that made you angry. But still, Eita pulled away and placed a kiss against your temple that set your heart ablaze.

“Sure, why not?” he grinned and gave your hand a squeeze, “You go have some fun, sweetheart. I’ll catch up with you later.”

You gave him a hollow wave as he quickly vanished into the crowd without a second glance your way. You knew this was the end goal but still, to see him walking away hurt. A sense of rejection was seeded within you and you felt your spirits slowly being crushed. 

It took all your power to continue on with the party until it felt acceptable to leave. Throughout the party, you kept getting glances of the two of them. 

Eita wore a serene smile, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her. Whenever she looked at him with a flirtatious smile and a subtle caress, you felt jealousy pool in the core of your stomach. You wanted to march over there and scream “he’s mine!”. But you couldn’t, because he wasn’t really yours. 

He was only pretending to be yours so he could have her. 

Your phone vibrated as you downed your final glass of wine, making you look at the screen with a frown.

“I’m heading to Nana’s apartment for the night! See if Satori can give you a ride home, thanks for the help!!”

Your jaw ached from how hard you were forcing yourself to keep from crying. When you tried to find the elusive redhead, you found he was drunk and dancing with two girls so you decided to leave him be and simply call an Uber. 

For just a short time, you had simply been a contract girlfriend for him to use. Though you knew it was fake, it still felt so nice to be called his. 

So you went home, removing your expensive clothing like Cinderella after the ball and decided to relax on the couch. It was only a little past midnight when you got out of the shower, turning on the TV to watch whatever late night nonsense was playing. 

Eita thought that being with Nana again would be everything he wanted. But as he laid beside her, her head resting on his naked chest, strangely all he could think of was you. 

When he asked you to pretend to be his date, he hadn’t thought of the possibility of how it would really feel. Sure, he had touched you before, naturally. Sometimes he hugged you and held your hand. But that night, when he placed the kiss against your head, the way your eyes lit up in response had his heart stuttering when he thought back to it. 

Truth be told, when you told him he couldn’t kiss you he felt so...disappointed. He had thought of assigning the same rule but decided against it at the last moment, secretly thinking about how nice it may feel to kiss you. 

He had quickly dashed that though because of how wrong it was to think of you like that. 

Yet there he was, thinking of you with his ex girlfriend back in his arms again.

“Eita?” Nana asked, lifting her head to look drowsily at him, “Are you okay?”

“Um...yeah,” he clears his throat, “I should probably get going.”

“Why?” she whines, “Don’t worry about her.”

“Huh? Who?” he asks, confused.

She giggles and clings to his arm, “Your girlfriend! She doesn’t have to know!”

His heart ached at those words -- true, you weren’t really dating but he felt like he had done something wrong. And for some reason Nana’s blatant disregard that he had cheated with her made him nauseous.

“I...I just want to see if she made it home safely,” he gave her a tight lipped smile and picked up his phone. 

She rested against the pillow, head propped up on her hand as she watched him dial you. When you didn’t answer, he gave a frustrated sigh and dialed Satori instead. 

It rang a few times before the slurred voice of his best friend answered, “H-Hey man, what’s up?”

“Satori, did you drop _____ off okay?” Eita asked.

The redhead made a confused sound over the line, “What’re you talkin’ about? She never asked me to take her anywhere.”

“What?” Eita frowned, “Did you see her leave the party?”

“Gotta tell ya, man, I wasn’t watchin’ her,” Tendou replied, a feminine giggle in the background making Eita frown, “Wasn’t that supposed to be your job?”

Eita sighed, shaking his head, “Alright, dude, just...let me know if you hear from her.”

“Hah? Why would she call me?” Satori chuckled, “Why don’t you just check on her? Better safe than sorry...I mean, she’s a cute girl, you never know what kinda scoundrels were eyeing her in that pretty little dress tonight. If i was a less honorable friend, she would be the one in my bed right now!”

Eita scoffed and hung up as his friend started cackling gleefully over the line. Eita stood up, shaking off Nana’s grabby hands as he slipped his jeans back on.

“You’re not going back to her, are you?” she pouted.

Eita sighed, “I gotta check on her. No one knows where she went off to.”

“She’s a big girl, c’mon Eita~” she purred, letting the sheet fall from her bare body as she crawled towards him.

He shook his head and threw his shirt on, grabbing his keys off of her dresser before moving to the door, “I gotta see her.”

He ignored her obnoxious whining as he bolted out the door. Any sleepiness that was in his system had evaporated at the worry he felt over you. 

The drive to your apartment was quick enough, it went by in a blur. He took two steps at a time up to your place on the 3r floor, not patient enough to wait for the elevator. 

The knock on your door made you jump. Throwing the pillow you held in your lap aside, you checked through the peephole to see a familiar head of sandy blonde hair. 

Pulling the door opened, you looked at him with wide eyes, “Eita? Aren’t you supposed to be with--”

“I couldn’t get a hold of you,” he breathed, stepping past you to enter your living room.

“And?” you laughed, shrugging your shoulders.

“I got worried! Why didn’t you go home with Satori?” he sighed, sitting on your couch with a huff.

You chuckled again, though it was humorless, “He looked like he was having fun, I didn’t want to impose.”

He sighs and relaxes against the couch. As you sit next to him, for a second things feel normal. 

You almost feel okay, as if you could forget about everything happening. It’s so easy to forget your crush on your best friend and the fact he wanted to be with another woman. 

It was easy to forget it all until it came rushing back into your face in the form of Nana. 

You and Eita were having a lunch date, as was normal for the two of you. Unfortunately, amid his retelling of a story you had heard a million times over, she showed up with an obnoxious screech of his name.

“Eita!” she squealed and rushed over to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. 

You let out a soft sigh, your eyes falling to your half-finished plate.

“Nana…” he greeted, eyes wide in shock, “H-How did you find me? What’re you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you, silly!” she chirped, taking a seat in his lap in a way that was far too comfortable. Suddenly, her gaze shifted to you and the smile vanished off of her face, “Oh, you’re here.”

“Nana…” Eita sighed but didn’t make any move to get off of him.

“What? I thought you were going to break up with her?” she whined loudly, making your cheeks burn as people looked over at the two of you, “You said you were going to dump her!”

“I--” Eita started.

“You should go,” Nana grinned at you, shrugging her shoulders as she hugged Eita closer to her, “Seriously, he’s mine now. He was fucking me at that party instead of you.”

Although nothing about your relationship that night was real, the humiliation you felt at that very moment was. She was smug that she had gotten your boyfriend to cheat on you and was making a spectacle of her victory. 

Biting your lip, you reached behind you to grab your purse, “I-I’ll see you later, Eita.”

“______ wait!” he called but you were already rushing towards the entrance. 

You had no idea that he was hot on your heels until you reached your apartment. You went to close it only for the foot to intercept it. Looking over your shoulder, you found Eita panting before he was pushing the door open completely.

“_____ I--” he paused, “Why are you crying?”

“I am?” you wiped under your eyes and frowned when you felt the moisture there, promptly wiping it away, “Sh-She completely made a fool of me, Eita. I don’t know what you ever saw in her and I don’t know why I helped you get back with her.”

“I know, look…” he ran a hand through his already messed up hair, “I feel the same, alright? I’m sorry I pulled you into all this, _____, I really am. Alright, I told her to get lost.”

You sighed and took a seat on your couch, “She only wanted you back because you’re famous now. You know that right?”

He chuckled and sat down, nodding his head, “I guess I was just...hoping for something I guess.”

“What?” you asked.

He shrugged, “I don’t really remember anymore,” he confessed. 

“Well,” you didn’t quite know what to say, simply leaning back on the couch to appear relaxed, “I always wondered why you didn’t date after her anyway.”

He shrugged once more. How was he meant to say that he didn’t want anyone impeding on his time with you? 

“I guess...no one really came along, you know?”

You nodded, “I guess it’s the same for me.”

He snorted, “You’ve never even dated anyone before.”

“You don’t have to bring that up!” you whined, playfully shoving his shoulder.

He laughed, melodic and pretty, “I think it’s cute. What’s your story then?”

“Eita, we’ve been friends since high school, you know everything about me,” you smiled, feeling your cheeks warm at the soft look he was giving you.

“Yeah but…” he bit his lip, fingers inching closer towards you, “You’re...pretty and sweet. There’s plenty of good looking guys around me that have tried flirting with you before. Hell, Satori even said he was into you.”

You smiled and shook your head, “No, none of them are right…”

“Who is right then?” he asked, unable to hide the hopefulness in his voice.

“Eita…” the smile falls from your lips, your heart hammering in your chest as he moved closer towards you, “I…”

“Hm?” he hummed, his nose brushing against yours, breath fanning over your lips.

“I...I won’t regret this, will I?” you asked. 

His breathing stuttered against your skin and he shook his head, bringing his hand up to cup your cheek, “You won’t.”

After those words left his mouth, he brought your lips to his in a sweet kiss that was perfect for a first. You could tell he was experienced, knowing exactly how to move. 

There was something sweet lingering on his tongue that you found utterly addictive. 

You wish you could find it strange or even scary to wind up in bed with your best friend. The fact your entire relationship was going to be changing should have concerned you but all you felt was anticipation. 

He hovered over your body, the two of you stripping your clothes with unhurried ease. His body was firm from working out, a habit he never let go of from his time as a volleyball player. 

His hands were calloused and warm as they touched your body, caressing your breasts in a way no one ever had. The feeling of him thumbing over your nipples had your back arching in arousal, your panties becoming soaked embarrassingly fast. 

He was hard and throbbing in his jeans, the constricting material almost painful but all he really cared about in that moment was seeing all of you. 

Hooking his thumbs into the band of your panties, he pulled the material down. He cursed under his breath at the strings of slick that attached to the fabric. 

“You’re so wet,” he breathed, licking his lips as he tossed your panties over his shoulder to be lost somewhere in your room. 

“Sh-Shut up, don’t tease me…” you mumble, feeling embarrassed by your body’s own reaction to him.

He smiles, pressing a soft kiss against your knee, “I’m not, baby. It’s sweet...I love knowing you react so honestly to me.”

“Eita…” you whined, reaching up to cover your face as he spread your legs.

“Hmm?” he bites his lip, sliding two fingers between your folds to spread them apart. 

Your hole clenched around nothing, drooling more slick for him to gather on his fingertips. He used it to rub smooth circles around your clit, the sweet moan that fell from your lips at the pleasure he so easily gave you. 

“I’ll get you nice and prepped, baby,” he cooed, the nickname making your heart soar. 

You were so wet, making it easy for him to slide two thick fingers into your pretty cunt. You clamped down tight around the digits, making his cock throb at the mere thought of what that would feel like around his hard cock. 

Twisting his wrist, he crooked his fingers up to hit your sweet spot, his thumb coming up to circle around your clit. The inexperience of your body made it so easy for him to bring you to the edge. 

You had never felt this, no one had ever touched you so intimately so your body was more reactive than ever. 

Reaching down, you wrapped your hand around his wrist, meeting his gaze with wide eyes. He smiled, capturing his bottom lip between his teeth.

“You cumming?” he asked, though he could very easily feel your walls spasming around him. 

Still, you nodded, mouth falling open but no sound escaping, “E-Eita…”

“C’mon, baby,” he groaned, fasting his pace to fuck your dripping cunt. The sounds were wet, lewd and if you were with anyone else you would have been completely ashamed. But it was Eita, the person you trusted the most in the world. He groaned as your body began to quake, “Let it go, pretty girl. Cum for me, that’s it.”

At his encouragement, you released with a shrill whine of his name. He eagerly fucked your gushing cunt through the high, only slowing when your back met the bed again. 

Pulling his fingers from your hole, he was mindful of your sensitivity. He still couldn’t resist placing a fleeting kiss against your throbbing clit before sitting up to meet you for another heated kiss. 

Your body was still trembling as you wrapped your arms around his neck, your thighs spread open around his waist. His clothed cock hovered above your sensitive core and he made sure the rough material of his jeans didn’t make contact.

“Please, Eita, c-can we…?” you asked, biting your lip, too embarrassed to utter the words.

He smiled and nodded, brushing some hair behind your ear before sitting up to discard the remaining clothing on his person. His skin was pretty, tanned and built. His cock reached his navel, dripping precum down the length which he used to easily slick his cock up with his fist. 

The sight of your best friend jerking himself off over your naked, trembling body felt beyond taboo. But it only made you more eager to have him. 

“Please, Eita...I want you,” you breathed. 

He flashed you a smile and sat up on his knees, sliding the dripping tip between your folds. Brushing past your clit, you whined at the sensitivity. 

“It might hurt a bit, pretty baby,” he whispered, positioning himself at your entrance. 

You had already guessed it. He was big just by looking at him. But nothing compared to when he began to sink into you -- that’s when his size really became apparent. 

“Ah, Eita!” you whined, digging your nails into his shoulders.

He hissed but didn’t stop you, eyes falling to where his cock was steadily stretching you open. When he got halfway in, he pulled back until the head remained within your clasping walls. With an experienced roll of his hips, he pushed his cock back in, this time easily bottoming out. 

“Fuck!” you squealed, back arching. 

He could feel you gushing, dripping down his balls. There wasn’t a single sign of pain in your features so he quickly began to move, the both of you riled up and eager to have each other completely. 

Everything felt so right, so sweet. Having him in your arms made you feel so happy. 

“You’re mine now, baby,” he groaned, burying his face in your neck, “All mine. N-No more, fuck, of this friend shit...I love you.”

“Eita,” you whined, tears pricking your eyes as you hugged him tightly against you, “I love you too. P-Please make me cum.”

“Fuck, I’ll get you there, baby,” he promised, reaching between your bodies to find your clit. Your walls immediately clamped tight around him as he played with your little bud, “C’mon. Cum for me. I wanna feel you cream, pretty baby. Can you do that for me? Show me how good this cock makes you cum.”

His filthy words, whispered in his sweet, deep voice were enough to throw you over the edge. As you squeezed around him, trembling and gushing through the amazing orgasm, he spilled within you. A soft whimper of your name fell from his lips as his balls throbbed, cock spitting out load after load until you were so filled, it dripped from your cunt. 

Finally, the both of you stilled. He leaned back to look in your eyes, tucking some damp hair behind your ear before pecking your lips. 

“I meant it, you really are mine now,” he said.

You nodded, “You’re all mine too.”

“Well,” he gave you a teasing grin, “You have to share me with my millions of adoring fans.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself,” you giggled, biting your lip as he pulled out, “You have thousands at most.”

“Oh, way to bruise a guy’s ego,” he laughed.

You were grateful to have him, everything with him was so easy. Everything between you was fine, perfect even. And you didn’t have to worry about ever losing him to another girl again.

[georgiapeach30513]

Are we gonna see any of Brooklyn and Bucky this week?

Yes we are! So we left off with them getting a Moose, BUT we haven't seen Bucky take his girl out on a date. Remember, Bucky and Brooklyn go way back to when they were kids. Brooklyn doesn't really remember a time when the Barnes and Rogers weren't in her life. Bucky knows what kind of date she needs.

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Everything

Summary: Bucky takes you on your first date with him

Pairings: Bucky X Reader

Rating: 🛼🛼

Warnings: Joshua, 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 900

Desperate Lives AU Masterlist

Bucky & Brooklyn Masterlist

Joshua snickers when he opens the door to see his dad standing there in jeans and a blue Henley. “This is so silly,” Bucky clears his throat at the little boy before he straightens up, “who are you?”

“Joshua, I’ve come to pick up your mom for a date.”

“Nope,” he answers closing the door in his face.

“That wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Joshua. Joshua Buchanan Barnes, open up this door,” he slings the door open and laughs at Bucky. “You didn’t do what was asked.”

“I thought it was funny. James come in. She’s late as usual. Where are you going?” Joshua follows Bucky towards his mom’s room, and Bucky hums when he sees her nervously look over outfit choices.

“Bucky, you’re early.”

“Blue Jean shorts and a t-shirt will be fine. Come on Joshie, let’s check on Nana and give her the run down.”

“I have known that kid longer than you, James. Do not tell me how to take care of him as an excuse to give Brooklyn some privacy to get dressed.”

“You know me so well, Nana,” he gives her a kiss to her cheek as the three of them wait for you to come out of your bedroom. Wearing cutoff jeans and a shirt like he suggested.

“Wow.”

“Mama, you look pretty in everything,” Joshua jumps up to get you a hug while Bucky just stares. “James, I expect her to be home no later than ten. She might not have a curfew but I do, and I can’t go to sleep without my mom. Now have fun, but not too much fun. And bring me something sweet home.”

As long as you’ve known Bucky, this should be easy, but the both of you are nervous. His hands covered in gloves, and that’s the first thing you notice. “What is that?”

“It makes people uncomfortable. The metal arm.”

“I’m more important than people. So take off the gloves,” Bucky doesn’t hesitate, and you give him a smile. “Much better. That is you, Bucky. And I dare someone to make a comment about my man.”

“Your man, huh?” turning away from him, you feel your cheeks heat up, but you smile despite the slip of your tongue. “I like it. I do call you my girl.”

________________________________________________________________

You walk along side Bucky. The two of you sharing a pretzel. You don’t make a comment about the bag he has slung over your shoulder but you want to. The conversation is easy. Comfortable. And the way it should be. Nothing seems forced with him.

You pause when you see open pavement and a few people on skates. “Remember it Brook? The streets of Brooklyn and you were this tiny little thing and could out skate anyone there?”

“That was over ten years ago. Too bad I don’t have my,” Bucky pulls out your favorite skates from when you were a teenager. “Where did you get those?”

“Nana keeps everything, thankfully. Look at this,” even pulling out his own black ones. “Care to show these kids how good you are?”

“It’s been awhile.”

“It’ll come back.”

“I’ve had a kid since then.”

“Quit with the excuses, and put them on,” the two of you lace on your skates. And with you being the first finished, you go ahead and get the feel of the movement.

A bit wobbly at first, the younger kids laughing and pointing at you, but when you find your rhythm, it’s like flying.

Weaving in and out of the make shift course, jumping backwards to stare at Bucky, who’s much more wobbly.

Strutting back over to him, you pull at his hand. “Stop, I’m gonna fall.”

“You’ll catch up,” skating backwards just so you can gaze at his handsome face. The years had aged Bucky, but you found him more handsome. Those extra smile lines around his eyes means he’s lived a good and happy life.

And in this moment you’re taken back to the time in Brooklyn where you were crushing so hard on Bucky, even though he had him a girlfriend at the time. Doing tricks upon tricks to get his attention.

“You know that scar on my knee?”

“The one where ma and Sarah were sure you broke something?”

“Yeah,” you give him a soft smile, and kiss the tip of his nose. “I got that trying to impress you. You brought Dot to watch me, and I got jealous.”

“Did you?” Bucky gives out a little giggle.

“I always had a crush on you.”

“So that stupid threesome?”

“Didn’t need to happen. It was fun though.”

“No repeats. Joshua would like this. We could do family skate days,” Bucky drones on about things that the three of you could do as a family. Riding bikes, to putting Joshua in sports, to hikes, to watching movies.

“Bucky?” you stop your skating just so you can watch him. Taking in his intoxicating scent, kind eyes, and strong arms. “I want to do everything as a family with you.”

“What does that mean?”

“Officially move in. The rental house is in a better location, it’s better suited for Joshie. You stay there anyways. Make it official. I want your clothes in the closet. We did the date thing. Now, move in.”

Masterlist

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 9: Nose Kisses

"Teddy!" Harry called as he opened the door to Andromeda's, long past the formality of knocking before entering. "It's your favorite uncle!" he called.

"Unca Draco!" shrieked the little voice as the toddler came running to the door, giggles pealing out of his mouth.

Harry shook his head at the little boy whose hair had turned itself black before he'd even entered the room, giving away his fun. "Uncle Draco?" Harry asked with mock outrage. "Uncle Draco?!" He scooped up the giggling boy, tickling him until he burst into shrieking, hysterical giggles.

After a moment he set the boy back on his feet and said, "Well, I guess if Uncle Draco's your favorite, I'll save this," he said, dangling a little sweet he'd picked up on the way, "for my own favorite nephew."

His eyes went wide and he smiled at Harry, that big, innocent smile that made Harry breathless and somehow sad all at once. "Just joking," he informed Harry. "You're both my favorite."

Harry pretended to consider that for a moment, then caved. "Alright," he said, "I guess you're my favorite, too," he added with a wink, handing over the treat. "Go ask nana if it's okay for you to have it now."

"Nana," he bellowed, racing away once more.

Harry shook his head.

"He always eventually caves and says I'm his favorite when I bring him a treat," a voice informed him. Not just a voice, Harry supposed, that voice. The voice that found its way into dreams, that he found interrupting his thoughts during the day.

(More below the cut)

Harry stood up quickly, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed that they'd had an audience. "Yes, well," he replied, mouth a bit dry suddenly as he took in Draco's appearance; tight jeans and a loose (yet somehow flattering) tshirt that left part of his collarbones exposed. He was barefoot, shoes and socks abandoned completely, his ankles peaking out just below the cuff of his jeans. There was something about Draco barefoot that made Harry ache with longing.

"Admitting defeat so easily?" Draco asked, smirking.

"You know," Harry said, forcing his brain and his mouth to start working once more, "You could be nicer to me, at least today."

"And why would that be?" the other man teased, his smile warm in a way Harry never would have imagined it could be when they were younger.

"It is my birthday," Harry replied.

Draco took another step toward him, "Is it really? I had no idea. Is that why you bought Teddy a present?"

He rolled his eyes, "Well I wasn't going to buy myself a present." he replied.

"Why not?" he asked. "I always buy myself a birthday present. Birthday presents are important."

"What did you get me then? If birthday presents are so important?" he teased, refusing to think about all of the times he'd tried to tell himself just the opposite as a child and teenager.

Draco just grinned at him, "I guess you'll have to wait and see."

Andromeda called them a few moments later, telling them to come to dinner. Dinner was light and fun, full of good natured teasing and a bit of bickering. Andromeda made his favorites and Teddy filled all of the silent spaces, filled all of the holes and sadness that Harry still struggled with sometimes.

There was cake and then presents; Teddy gave him a lovely (messy) painting of the two of them holding hands and Harry knew he was going to frame it to bring to work to hang on his wall. Andromeda gave him a new pair of gloves to wear when he went out flying. Then last came a package that Draco handed over a bit shyly.

Harry smiled in spite of himself, "You didn't have to-"

"I wanted to," Draco assured him before he could finish that thought.

He peeled back the brown paper to find a candle within the wrappings. Harry opened the lid and sniffed; it smelled like fresh air and sunshine, like the handle of a broom stick, like the pages of magic books, and just a little like strawberries. A memory of taking Teddy out flying one afternoon with Draco sprang to mind.

"I made it myself," Draco said before Harry could get the full memory to play out so he could figure out why it made him think of Draco.

"It's such an interesting smell," Harry said, smiling faintly as he held it up to sniff it again. "What is it?"

Draco shrugged one irritatingly elegant shoulder, "You tell me."

"I hate tests," he said before sniffing and saying, "It smells like summer. Like open windows and sunshine. It smells like the handle of a freshly polished broom. A bit like books," he added. "Maybe a little bit like freshly picked strawberries?"

The other man's brow furrowed, "Interesting," he said.

"What was it supposed to smell like?"

Draco said nothing, but pulled a notebook out of his pocket to jot down Harry's answers.

"Alright, young man," Andromeda said and Harry jumped to attention before realizing she was talking to Teddy. "It's past your bed time."

Teddy groaned, "Just a little longer?"

"Not one moment more," she replied steadily.

"Can Unca Harry and Unca Draco come up?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, pressing a kiss to his hair.

Harry followed after Teddy and Draco followed after him. They'd done this before, many times at this point, in fact. They had the routine down; Draco got out his pajamas while Harry helped him brush his teeth, then Harry picked out a book while Draco helped him change into pajamas, Harry read a book while Draco dimmed the lights, then Draco sang him a song.

It went perfectly smoothly, as though they'd been doing this for years. And in fairness, they had been, Harry supposed. When they finished with everything Teddy held out his arms to Draco, "Huggie and nose kissies."

Draco obliged him, "Good night, Teddy."

"Nigh-Night," he replied, before reaching for Harry.

Harry bent over him and gave him a hug and brushed his nose back and forth across Teddy's a few times. "Good night, sweetpea, Uncle Harry loves you," he whispered.

"Love you," Teddy replied. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you," Harry replied, feeling a little misty eyed as he pulled back. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? We'll go have lunch at the park."

"Unca Draco, too?" he asked.

"Yeah, Uncle Draco, too, if he's free."

"Oh, I suppose I could squeeze you two in," he replied, giving Harry's arm a gentle tug toward the door.

"Sleep tight, bug," Harry called, casting a few floating baubles of dim light over Teddy's bed before following Draco out of the room.

They headed downstairs and Harry said, "Well, sorry I can't stay to chat. I'm supposed to meet Ron and Hermione for a celebratory pint. Ginny's over at theirs, hanging out in case Rose wakes up."

"Yes," Draco said, "And I've still got some work to finish up at home."

"Oh," Harry said, frowning at him, "I was going to see if you wanted to join us."

He shook his head, "Weasley doesn't really-"

"But it's my birthday," Harry interrupted.

"It is," Andromeda agreed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Draco you should go out. You're too entrenched in your work." She kissed his cheek too, "You boys get out and enjoy yourselves."

"I'll walk you out," Draco offered and Harry really wished he'd change his mind.

When they got outside onto the top step, Draco hummed, "Well, Happy Birthday, Harry."

"Thanks," he said, "Are you sure you can't-"

"Did the candle remind you of anyone?" Draco asked suddenly, interrupting Harry's thoughts.

Harry frowned, "Only you," he said. He looked up, catching Draco's gaze, he repeated, "I only thought of you."

Draco stepped forward suddenly, crowding into Harry's personal space to place a hasty kiss on Harry's lips. He backpedaled quickly and started do the stairs.

Harry only barely caught him before he got away down the steps.

"Where are you-? What do you-?" Harry managed, unable to form a coherent thought, before he pulled Draco back into him and returned the kiss. "Don't run," Harry whispered before pressing his lips to Draco's again.

"Harry," the other man murmured, melting against him and wrapping his arms around Harry's shoulders.

They kissed for a long moment and Harry was flying, lighter and freer than he could remember being in years. He pressed Draco back against the wall and stroked his hands slowly up and down his sides. At this point, Harry never wanted the kiss to end.

But the couldn't kiss forever and Draco pulled back eventually and said, "You should know I cheated."

"Sorry?" Harry asked, still far more focused on the way Draco's lips had felt on his and on the way Draco's lips turned cherry red when they'd been kissed.

"The candle," he elabroated. "There's a little bit of amortentia in it, so it-"

"Smells like the person I love," Harry finished.

Draco flushed but nodded.

Harry thought about this for a moment, wondering if he should be mad but unable to feel anything except giddy that the other man had kissed him. "If you didn't love me too, I'd be pissed."

The other man leaned in close and brushed his nose over Harry's, "I had to be sure," he whispered.

"I'm sure," Harry assured, pulling Draco in to kiss him once more.

He was late to meet Ron and Hermione at the pub, but the hand he clasped tightly in his was more than worth the teasing he got for being late.

Day 8: Chickens | Day 10: The Beach

[bbq-hawks-wings]

Chapter 316: BBQ is capable of critiquing BNHA and… Oh boy.

Let's start this off properly, Horikoshi's typical quality of writing has been diminishing in recent chapters, but this week it was so different that it didn't even feel like Horikoshi was the one who wrote it.

To be clear, I'm not blaming Horikoshi for the issues I'm about to bring up. The man is criminally overworked, usually doesn't even get the final say in what makes it in the final drafts, and even in his other rough patches he's still produced decent chapters that hold up amongst the grand scheme of things. This feels like something else is going on behind the scenes, and while I have my suspicions on who/what might be the culprit behind it, I choose not to share it at this time because if I name names some people might go off on a crusade, and that's not what I want.

I just want to be clear that I'm not blindly firing off shots in the dark, but despite my frustrations I want to wait to see if this gets resolved down the line, and while I do I can complain about the specific reasons this chapter left such a bitter taste in my mouth.

Buckle up, buttercups, because we got a lot of points to cover.

Where's the Gun?

Not a literal gun, but I mean Chekhov's Gun. It has always been a staple of Horikoshi's writing and the reason so many of his long-standing plot lines have paid off so well.

Chekhov's Gun is a writing principal that if you see a gun on the table in the first act of a play, it will be used in the murder that happens in act 2. Basically, the author should include details that are relevant to the story and not betray the audience by leading them in one direction and at the last minute pull the rug out from underneath them to go in another direction.

Horikoshi has done this to phenomenal success in the past. Just as one example, he dropped hints about Nomu being human experiments early in the series but held off explicitly stating it for a while. He hinted at the loss of Shirakumo in the main narrative and that he was important to Aizawa and Mic as well as approved it for Vigilantes so when it was revealed that Kurogiri was Shirakumo's body, not only did it narratively make sense but it also pulled in Eraserhead and Present Mic's emotional stakes into the battle with the Doctor, and then when Ujiko reveals he was after Aizawa's quirk the whole time it made the payoff for Mic punching him in the face all that much better and brings the weight of his crimes and the impact they have on the victims full circle.

That's 3 different guns paying off in the long run: the Nomu, Shirakumo, and both Mic and Eraserheads' personal arcs past the loss of their childhood friend and that they could finally finish processing their grief and avenge him in full righteous fury instead of chalking it all up to cruel chance.

He has left details, some particularly innocuously, in plot lines like the Touya Todoroki reveal, Hawks' backstory, Shigaraki's blood connection to Nana Shimura, even with Mr. Compress's backstory, and more. When re-read, these details become more obvious and usually leaves us with a greater sense of satisfaction in the plot knowing that twists and turns were not only planned, but built up to and hinted at for us to find so the payoff is that much better and it feels purposeful instead of just shock factor.

None of that happened this chapter.

Lady Nagant has zero business being in this plotline. She was never hinted about before this arc, and her existence does nothing to tell us about the plot moving forward or the world that they're trying to change. Nothing her existence provides actually has any bearing on the universe or tells us anything we don't already know. But that's not how she was presented.

In the beginning we're given a glimpse of her helping Overhaul escape from Tartarus. The focus on her was odd enough to begin with as a new character, and the fact that she didn't look like she fit the profile of someone who belonged in Tartarus was like a flashing neon sign saying, "Pay attention! This new character is important!!!" She then shows up later with Overhaul in hand to attack Deku out of the blue. We get her talking about how she thought Overhaul might be useful and her disillusions with Hero Society. We catch her mannerisms with eery similarity to Hawks only to find out immediately after she was a senior colleague in the HPSC. Never once to my knowledge has Hawks referred to any of his senior colleagues as a "senpai" - not even his fellow heroes - and when he catches her in midair, he uses the words, "Don't die on me, senpai!" as if she's near and dear to his heart.

The entire character arc is set up for her to have known about Hawks and grapple with her desire to help people and her fear of re-creating what she hated, and this also set up Hawks to be the successor who succeeded where she failed and helped bring her to a place where she could be a hero without guilt again. What actually happened?

They're strangers.

They have never actually met before, and while he seems to know a lot about her, she doesn't even seem to have any idea of who he was - at least as far as being another hero under the thumb of the HPSC. So ALLLL that setup, all that gesturing, and all of the potential themes that would be right at home in an arc like this goes completely out the window.

Her story doesn't tell us anything new. The HPSC bad. We knew that. They're not above throwing innocents under the bus to achieve that goal. We knew that. They preyed upon young hopefuls with powerful quirks with the intent to maintain the status quo. We knew that even if the fact that Hawks isn't the only one now makes more questions than answers. We know that these young heroes can never say no under threat of steep, life-shattering consequences. We knew that already.

So what does Lady Nagant even bring to the table?! The entire "you're just a puppet doing what you've been told" angle is a little tired and out of place in this point and time with actual anarchy in the streets (not to mention hypocritical considering she was a blind puppet following orders and offers zero actual solutions that supposedly fall in line with her heroic nature), and it could have been left to any number of other villain characters who could have executed on the theme better - you know, like Shigaraki who's justification this entire time has been, "hero society doesn't make people safe, it just makes them feel safe" from the moment of his inception.

So from that angle she's unnecessary.

Her presence messes with the continuity of the series as well. If Hawks is supposed to explicitly replace her, that would mean that he wasn't just a fluke find on the commission's part and grabbed to mold into their own special superweapon; and that also would mean that her killing of the former president was before he was discovered which should put her at least in her forties. If this isn't the case, and he was meant to simply replace her in a "special agent" case, that still begs the question of how many more gifted children the commission preyed upon and are still out there.

And maybe the worst kicker for me is that something stinks. The way the art in this chapter is presented, if you completely blanked out the speech bubbles, is the same setup I had before - Hawks reaches out to his former mentor and pulls her from the brink of despair with a moving message about why he never gave up hope in being a hero who could actually make a difference.

Again, this is not what we got. He claims he knows her, and it's implied to have been a deep, personal character witness; but at best he only knows about her from secondhand sources. Even his reasoning as to how he never lost hope doesn't vibe with his character.

We have gotten so many cool one-liners for Hawks, but there has always been a consistent tone and imagery with them.

"Those who can fly, should."

"I don't belong in a cage."

"I'm free of my shackles."

"Can I be a shining light, just like him?"

What we got was, "I'm an optimist to a fault" which was the wording the official release went with and was by far the best iteration I have seen, but even this falls short of being truly in character for him and answering her question properly.

@mikeana made an edit of the titular panels for us Hawks stans this week with dialogue we and a few other friends felt was more fitting not only with the imagery of the chapter itself but internally consistent with the specific expressions Hawks uses in his heartfelt, personal dialogue. I just tweaked it a little bit more to fit what I was going for in our original conversation.

Which brings me to another concern.

2. What's the point?

There was no use for Nagant in the series as she's been presented so far. But more than that, Hawks has no business in this fight to begin with. He literally did nothing to earn this emotional moment, and this should have been Deku's moment.

We were teased in an interview with Horikoshi that Hawks was going to get a special moment as an important end-game character as a "shining light" of hope for others to follow as well as promises for Ochako to have another moment in the spotlight to make a difference.

If this was Hawks' shining light moment, it wasn't necessary, and it does nothing to move the plot forward or develop characters in any true or believable way. It just happened because plot. This should have been Deku's victory through and through, and even he is the reason BOTH Hawks and Nagant made it out alive instead of painting the street below them.

Deku's victory was stolen from him, too. It sours the other promises made to us about other characters moving forward, as well, if this really was Hawks' "Shining Light" moment.

By the way, did you forget about Overhaul? Me too!!! What was the point of getting our hopes up about reintroducing this beloved character with the implications this was a major arc setup to have him scream about pops and then get detained with no clues about what's going to happen to him besides, "Say you're sorry to Eri, and you get to see pops"?!

All this posturing and clumsy narrative flailing only actually succeeded in getting Deku in front of AFO again for plot when we already know Mr. Potato Head could summon, show himself to, or find Deku at any time he wanted. But instead we get this time skip with a bunch of heroes completely mended walking into a big, spooky mansion for AFO to evil monologue at Deku for… *counts*

FOUR PAGES!!!

Only to then give him the "I want YOU!" point over a pre-recorded message and the final nail in the coffin to me that something is off.

3. Ex-pu-LOOOO-SHUN!

It's become almost a game among friends to count how many explosions have happened since the end of the war arc - and specifically fake-out explosions. In the end of 311 we get All Might's car attacked via explosion and Deku cornered by Nagant only for All Might to be fine in the next chapter. In 315 Lady Nagant herself explodes in a blaze of glory to once again not be dead.

Gee! I wOnDeR if aLl the heroes were AcTuAlLy cornered and KiLlEd in that explosion in the mansion!

None of us do. They're fine. We're going to see it first thing next week. The shock has worn off, and it's repetitive and annoying at this point. There is no cliffhanger despite how the framing might try to tell you otherwise.

It's BAD WRITING.

The writing has been moving far too quickly and clumsily with no explanation in sight, and even character interactions are being cut short to the point of them being meaningless and empty.

This doesn't even feel like Horikoshi's bad writing. It feels like someone else is trying to call the shots and rushing him through these final bits of the series, and he's run out of things he's previously set up for months and months to reappear so someone is trying to get Dabi-reveal levels of attention with arcs and storylines that don't have the build-up to result in a satisfactory payoff.

4. At least it can get better... I hope.

Maybe those who share my suspicions or know what particular suspicions I have are with me in believing that this is a temporary disappointment and we haven't seen the last of the writing that's captivated me for years. I don't blame Horikoshi for these glaring faults that all came to a head in this chapter.

It CAN get better later, and I think it WILL- we just probably are going to have to wait for it. Until then, I'm going to enjoy the Hawks panels we got, maybe edit the last few chapters to be more in line with something more like the BNHA I know in a "fix it fic" fashion so I don't groan in anticipation of how long it might take us to get there.

See you all next week, hopefully on a much brighter note.

[vickyvicarious]

Leverage Redemption Pros/Cons List

Okay! Now that I've finally finished watching the first half of Leverage: Redemption, I thought I'd kind of sum up my overall impression. Sort of a pro/con list, except a little more just loosely structured rambles on each bullet point rather than a simple list.

This got way out of hand from what I expected so I'm going to put it all under a cut. If you want the actual bulletpoint list, here it is:

PROS

References

Continuity

Nate

Representation

Themes

New Characters

General Vibe

CONS

'Maker and Fixer'

Episode Twins

Sophie's Stagefright

Thiefsome

You might notice the pros list is longer, and that's because I do love the show! I really like most of what it does, and my gripes are fewer in number and mostly smaller in size. But they do exist and I felt like talking about them as well as the stuff I loved.

PROS

References

There is clearly so much love and respect for the original show here. Quite aside from the general situation, there's a lot of references to individual episodes or character traits from the first show. For example, Parker's comments on disliking clowns, liking puppets, disliking horses, stabbing vs. tasing people. The tasing was an ongoing thing in the original, the stabbing happened once (S1) but was referenced later in the original show, the clown thing only had a few mentions scattered across the entire original show. The puppet thing was mentioned once in S5, and the horses thing in particular was only brought up in S1 once. But they didn't miss the chance to put the nod to it in there; in fact with those alone we see a good mix of common/ongoing jokes and smaller details.

We got "dammit Hardison" and "it's a very distinctive..." but also Eliot and Parker arguing about him catering a mob wedding, and Eliot being delighted by lemon as a secret ingredient in a dish in that same episode (another reference to the mob episode). Hardison and Eliot banter about "plan M", an ongoing joke starting from the very first episode of the original show. We see Sophie bring up Hardison's accent in the Ice Job, Parker also makes reference to an early episode when describing "backlash effect" to Breanna, in an episode that also references her brother slightly if you look for it.

Heck, the last episode of these first eight makes a big deal out of nearly reproducing the iconic opening lines of the original show with Fake Nate's "we provide... an advantage." And I mean, all the "let's go steal a ___" with Harry being confused about how to use them.

Some of the lines are more obviously references to the original show, but they strike a decent balance with smaller or unspoken stuff as well, and also mix in some references between the team to events we the audience have never seen. If someone was coming into this show for the first time, they wouldn't get all the easter egg joy but most of the references would stand on their own as dialogue anyway. In general, I think they struck a good balance of restating needed context for new viewers while still having enough standalone good lines and more-fun-if-you-get-it callbacks.

Continuity

Similar to the last point, but slightly different. The characters' development from the original to now is shown so well. I'm not going to go on about this too long, but the writers clearly didn't want to let the original characters stagnate during the offscreen years. There was a lot of real thought put into how they would change or not.

It's really written well. We can see just how cohesive a team Parker, Hardison, and Eliot became. We get a sense of how they've spent their time, and there's plenty of evidence that they remained incredibly close with Sophie and Nate until this past year. The way everyone defers to Parker is different from the original show and clearly demonstrates how she's been well established as the leader for years now - they show this well even as Parker is stepping back to let Sophie take point in these episodes. Eventually that is actually called out by Sophie in the eighth episode, so we might see more mastermind Parker in the back half of the show, maybe. But even with her leading, it's clear how collaborative the team has become, with everyone bouncing ideas off one another and adding their input freely. Sometimes they even get so caught up they leave the newbies completely in the dust. But for the most part we get a good sense of how the Parker/Hardison/Eliot team worked with her having final say on plans but the others discussing everything together. A little bit more collaborative than it was with Nate at the helm.

Meanwhile Sophie has built a home and is deeply attached to it. She and Nate really did retire, at least for the most part, and she was living her happy ending until he died. She's out of practice but still as skilled as ever, and we're shown how much her grief has changed her and how concerned the others are for her.

There's a lot of emphasis on how they all look after one another and the found family is clearer than ever. Sophie even calls Hardison "his father's son" - clearly referring to Nate.

Nate

Speaking of Nate! They handled his loss so, so well. His story was the most complete at the end of the last show, and just from a narrative point, losing him makes the most sense of all the characters. But the way he dies and his impact on the show and the characters continues. It's very respectful to who he was - who he truly was.

Nate was someone they all loved, but he was a deeply flawed individual. Sophie talks about how he burned too hot, but at least he burned - possibly implying to me that his drinking was related to his death. In any case, there's no mystery to it. We don't know how he died but that's not what's most important about his death. This isn't a quest for revenge or anything... it's just a study of grief and trying to heal.

Back to who he really was real quick - the show doesn't eulogize him as better than he was. They're honest about him. From the first episode's toast they raise in his memory, to the final episode where Sophie and Eliot are deeply confused by Fake Nate singing his praises, the team knows who he was. They don't erase his flaws... but at the same time he was so clearly theirs. He was family, he was the man they trusted and loved and followed into incredibly dangerous situations, and whose loss they all still feel deeply.

That said, the show doesn't harp on this point. They reference him, but they don't overwhelm new viewers with a constant barrage of Nate talk. It always serves a purpose, primarily for Sophie's storyline of moving through her grief. Anyway, @robinasnyder said all of this way better than me here, so go read that as well.

Representation

Or should I say, Jewish Hardison, Autistic Parker, Queer Breanna!

Granted, Hardison's religion isn't quite explicitly stated to be Jewish so much as he mentions that his "Nana runs a multi-denominational household", but nonetheless. He gets the shows big thesis statement moment, he gets a beautiful speech about redemption that is the emotional cornerstone of that episode and probably Harry's entire arc throughout the show. And while I'm not Jewish myself, most of what I've seen from Jewish fans is saying that Hardison's words here were excellent representation of their beliefs. (@featherquillpen does a great job in that meta of contextualizing this with his depiction in the original show as well.)

Autistic Parker, however, is shown pretty dang blatantly. She already was very much coded as autistic in the original show, but the reboot has if anything gone further. She sees a child psychologist because she likes using puppets to represent emotions, she stims, she uses cue cards and pre-written scripts for social interactions, there's mention of possible texture sensitivity and her clothes are generally more loose and comfortable. She's gotten better at performing empathy and understanding how people typically work, but it's specifically described as something she learned how to do and she views her brain as being different from ones that work that way (same link). Again, not autistic myself but from what I've seen autistic fans find a lot to relate to in her portrayal. And best of all, this well-rounded and respectful depiction does not show any of these qualities as a lack on her part. There's no more of those kinda ableist comments or "what's wrong with you" jokes that were in the original show. Parker is the way she is, and that allows her to do things differently. She's loved for who she is, and any effort made to fit in is more just to know how so that she can use it to her advantage when she wants to on the job - for her convenience, not others' comfort.

Speaking of loved for who you are.... okay, again, queer Breanna isn't confirmed onscreen yet, and I don't count Word of God as true canon. But I can definitely believe we're building there. Breanna dresses in a very GNC way, and just her dialogue and, I dunno, vibes seem very queer to me. She has a beautiful speech in the Card Game Job about not belonging or being accepted and specifically mentions "the way they love" as one of those things that made her feel like she didn't belong. And that scene is given so much weight and respect. (Not to mention other hints throughout the episode about how much finding her own space meant to her.) Also, the whole theme of feeling rejected and the key for her to begin really flourishing is acceptance for who she is, not any desire for her to be anyone else, is made into another big moment. Yeah, textually that moment is about her feeling like she has to fill Hardison's shoes and worrying about her past, but the themes are there, man.

Themes

I talked a bit about this yesterday, so I'm mostly just going to link to that post, but... this series so far is doing a really good job in my opinion of giving people arcs and having some good themes. Namely the redemption one, from Hardison's speech (which I'm gonna talk a little more about in the next point), and this overall theme of growing up and looking to the future (from above the linked post).

New Characters

Harry and Breanna are fantastic characters. I was kind of worried about Harry being a replacement Nate, but... he really isn't. Sure, he's the older white guy who has an angsty past but it's in a very different way and his personality and relationships with the rest of the crew are correspondingly different. I think the dynamic of a very friendly, cheerful, kind, but still bad guy (as @soundsfaebutokay points out) is a great one to show, and he's got a really cool arc I think of learning to be a better person, and truly understanding Hardison's point about redemption being a process not a goal. His role on the team also has some interesting applications and drawbacks, as @allegorymetaphor talked about. I've kind of grown to think that the show is gradually building up to an eventual Sophie/Harry romance a ways down the line, and I'm actually here for it. Regardless, his relationships with everyone are really interesting.

As for Breanna, first of all and most importantly I love her. Secondly, I think she's got a really interesting story. She's a link to Hardison's past, and provides a really interesting perspective for us as someone younger who has grown up a) looking up to Leverage and b) in a bleaker and more hopeless world. Breanna's not an optimist, and she's not someone who was self-sufficient and unconcerned with the rest of the world at the start, like everyone else. She believes that the world sucks and she wants it to be better, but she doesn't know how to make that happen. She outright says she's desperate and that's why she's working with Leverage. At the same time, Breanna is pretty down on herself and wants to prove herself but gets easily shaken by mistakes or being scolded, which is a stark contrast to Hardison's general self-confidence. There are several times when she starts to have an idea then hesitates to share it, or expects her emotions to be dismissed, or gets really disheartened when she's corrected or rejected, or dwells on her mistakes, or when she is accepted or praised she usually takes a surprised beat and is shy about it (she almost always looks down and away from the person, and her smile is often small or startled). Breanna looks up to the team so much (Parker especially, then probably Eliot) and she wants to prove herself. It's going to be so good to see her grow.

General Vibe

A brief note, but it seems a fitting one to end on. The show keeps it's overall tone and feeling from the original show. The fun, the competency porn, the bad guys and clever plans and happy endings. It's got differences for sure, but the characters are recognizably themselves and the show as a whole is recognizably still Leverage. For the most part they just got the feeling right, and it's really nice.

CONS (no, not that kind)

'Maker and Fixer'

So when I started writing this meta earlier today, I was actually a lot more annoyed by the lack of unique 'maker' skills being shown by Breanna. Basically the only time she tries to use a drone, the very thing she introduced herself as being good at, it breaks instantly. I was concerned about her being relegated into just doing what Hardison did, instead of bringing her own stuff to the table. But the seventh episode eased some of those fears, and the meta I just wrote for someone else asking about Breanna's 'maker' skills as shown this season made me realize there's more nuance than that. I'd still like to have seen more of that from her, but for now the fact that we don't see a lot of 'maker' from her so far seems more like a character decision based in Breanna's insecurities.

Harry definitely gets more 'inside man' usage. His knowledge as a 'fixer' comes in handy several times. Nonetheless, I'm really curious if there are any bigger ways to use it, aside from him just adding in some exposition/insight from time to time. I'm not even entirely sure how much more they can pull from this premise in terms of relevant skills, but I hope there's more and I'd like to see it. Maybe a con built more around him playing a longer role playing his old self, like they tried in the Tower Job? Maybe it's more a matter of him needed distance from that part of his past, being unable to face it without lashing out - in that case it could be a good character growth moment possibly for him to succeed in being Scummy Lawyer again down the line? I dunno.

Episode Twins

This was something small that kind of bothered me a little earlier in the season. It's kind of the negative side to the references, I guess? And I'm not even sure how much it annoys me really, but I just kinda noticed and felt sort of weird about it.

Rollin' on the River has a lot of references/callbacks to the The Wedding Job.

The Tower Job has a lot of references/callbacks to The White Rabbit Job.

The Paranormal Hacktivity Job has a lot of references/callbacks to the Future Job.

I guess I was getting a little concerned that there would be a 'match this episode' situation where almost every new Redemption episode is very reminiscent of an old one. I love the callbacks, but I don't want to see a lack of creativity in this new show, and this worried me for a minute. Especially when it was combined with all three of those episodes dealing with housing issues of some kind. Now, that's a huge concern for a lot of people, and each episode has its own take on a different problem within that huge umbrella, but it still got me worried about a lack of variety in topics/cases.

The rest of the episodes failing to line up so neatly in my head with older episodes helped a lot to ease this one, though. Still, this is my complaining section so I figured I'd express my concerns as they were at the time. Even if I no longer really worry about it much.

Sophie's Stagefright

Yeah, I know this is just a small moment in a single episode, but it annoyed me! Eliot made a bit of a face at Sophie going onstage, but I thought it was just him being annoyed at the general situation. However, they started out with her being awful up there until she realized the poem was relevant to the con - at which point her reading got so much better.

This felt like a complete betrayal of Sophie's beautiful moment at the end of the original show where she got over her trouble with regular acting and played Lady Macbeth beautifully in front of a full theater of audience members. This was part of the con, but only in the sense that it gave her an alibi/place to hide, and I always interpreted it as her genuinely getting over her stagefright problems. It felt like such a beautiful place to end her arc for that show, especially after all her time spent directing.

Now, her difficulty onstage in the Card Game Job was brief and at the very beginning of being up on stage. @rinahale suggested to me that maybe it was a deliberate tactic to draw the guy's attention, and the later skill was simply her shifting focus to make the sonnet easier for Breanna to listen to and interpret, but he seemed more enraptured when she was doing well than otherwise in my opinion and it just doesn't quite sit well with me. My other theory was that maybe she just hasn't been up on stage in a long time, and much like she complaining about being rusty at grifting before the team pushed her into trying, she got nervous for a moment at the very beginning. The problem there is that I think she'd definitely still get involved in theater even when she and Nate were retired. I guess she could've quit after he died, and a year might be long enough to make her doubt herself again, but... still.

I just resent that they even left it ambiguous at all. Sophie's skills should be solid on stage at this point in my opinion.

Thiefsome

...And now we come to my main complaint. This is, by far, the biggest issue I have with the show.

I feel like I should put a disclaimer here that I had my doubts from the beginning about the thiefsome becoming canon onscreen. I thought the famous "the OT3 is safe" tweet could easily just mean that they are all still alive and well, or all still working together, without giving us confirmation of a romantic relationship. Despite this, the general fandom expectations/hopes really got to me, especially with the whole "lock/pick/key" thing. I tried to temper my expectations again when the character descriptions came out and only mentioned Hardison loving Parker, not Eliot, but I still got my hopes up.

The thing is, I was disappointed pretty quickly.

The very first episode told me that in all likelihood we would never see Hardison and Parker and Eliot together in a romantic sense. Oh, there was so much coding. So much hinting. So much in the way of conversations that were about Parker/Hardison's relationship but then Eliot kept getting brought into them. They were portrayed as a unit of three.

But then there was this.

I love all of those scenes of Parker and Hardison being intimate and loving and comfortable with one another and their relationship. I really do. But it didn't escape my notice that there's nothing of the sort with Eliot. If they wanted a canon onscreen thiefsome, it would by far make the most sense to just have it established from the start. But there aren't any scenes where Eliot shares the same kind of physical closeness with either of them like they do each other. Parker and Hardison kiss; he doesn't kiss anyone. They have several clearly romantic conversations when alone; he gets important conversations with both but the sense of it being romantic isn't there.

Establishing Eliot as part of the relationship after Hardison is gone just... doesn't make any sense. It would be more likely to confuse new viewers, to make them wonder if Parker is cheating on Hardison with Eliot, or if they have a Y shaped relationship rather that a triangle. It would be so much clumsier.

Still, up until the Double-Edged-Sword Job I believed the writers might keep it at this level of 'plausible hinting but not quite saying'. There's a lot of great stuff with all of them, and I never expecting making out or whatever anyway; a cheek-kiss was about the height of my hopes to be honest. I mostly just hoped for outright confirmation and, failing that, I was happy enough to have the many hints and implications.

But then Marshal Maria Shipp came along. And I don't really have anything against her as a character - in fact, I think she has interesting story potential and will definitely come back. But the episode framed her fight with Eliot as a sexyfight TM, much like his fight with Mikel back in the day. And then his flirting with her rode the line a little of "he's playing her for the con" and "he's genuinely flirting." The scene where he tells her his real name is particularly iffy, but actually was the one that convinced me he was playing her. Because he seems to be watching her really closely, and to be very concerned about her figuring out who he really is. I am very aware though that I'm doing a lot of work to interpret it the way I want. On surface appearance, Eliot's just flirting with an attractive woman, like he did on the last show. And that's probably the intention, too.

But the real nail in the coffin for me was when Sophie compared herself and Nate to Eliot and Maria. That was a genuine scene, not the continuation of the teasing from before. And Sophie is the one whose insight into people is always, always trustworthy. She is family to the thiefsome. For this to make any sense, either Eliot/Parker/Hardison isn't a thing, or they are and Sophie doesn't know - and I can't imagine why in the hell she wouldn't know.

Any argument to make them still canon leaves me unsatisfied. If she knows and they haven't admitted it to her - why wouldn't they, after all this time? Why would she not have picked up on it even without an outright announcement? Some people suggested they wouldn't admit it because they thought Nate would be weird about it, but that doesn't seem any more in character to me than the other possibilities. In fact, the only option that doesn't go against my understanding of these people and their observational abilities/the close relationship they share.... is that the thiefsome is not a thing.

And furthermore, the implication of this conversation - especially the way it ended, with Eliot stomping off looking embarrassed while Sophie smiled knowingly - is that Eliot will get into another relationship onscreen. Maybe not a full-blown romantic relationship. But the Maria Shipp tension is going to be resolved somehow, and at this point I'm half-expecting a hook-up simply because of Sophie's reaction and how much I trust her judgement of such things. Even if she's letting her grief cloud her usual perceptiveness... it feels iffy.

It just kinda feels like I wasn't even allowed to keep my "interpret these hints/maybe they are" thiefsome that I expected after the first couple episodes convinced me we wouldn't get outright confirmation. (I mean, I will anyway, and I love the hints and allusions regardless.) And while I'm definitely not the kind of fan who is dependent on canon for my ships, and still enjoy all their interactions/will keep right on headcanoning them all in a relationship, it's just.... a bummer.

Feels like a real cop-out. Like the hints of Breanna being queer are enough to meet their quota and they won't try anything 'risky' like a poly relationship. I dunno. It's annoying.

.

That's the end of the list! Again, overall I love the new show a lot and have few complaints.

[kinsurou]

Forgive me Lord, for I have sinned

Pairings: Dabi x Reader

Word count: 6.8k

Warnings: Smut, Incubus!Dabi, cunnilingus, unprotected sex, slight hypnosis, horror elements, sex in a church.

Ever since you were a child, something about that church always got under your skin. Being inside that old building always left a fallacious sentiment. No matter the days, months, or years that were spent performing church service with your whole family.

Every time your younger self would attempt saying something about it to an adult, they would always brush off the child pulling on the ends of their shirt with trembling hands and wobbly pouts.

In the eyes of the adults, you were just a child with plenty of imagination.

And your nana's words never helped either.

For "Nothing bad can ever linger in the house of God." 

That was back when you were 18. It was the last time you mentioned anything about that eerie feeling. As well as the last time you stepped inside that church, much to your parent's disappointment.

Now...Five years later, you faced the same house where you grew up, while carrying a suitcase in hand. And a huge, resentful scowl twisting your sceptical face. 

Your parents had begged you to come home for the holidays. The same parents who didn't hesitate when they turned their backs on their daughter, after she tore the rosary off her neck.

Had it not been for your nana's decaying health, you would have never come back in the first place. But the elder woman could leave this world any moment now, and she begged to see her granddaughter one more time.

Having dinner with a bunch of people who did nothing but judge your every move was detestable. From your clothes, to your hair, to your studies, everything seemed wrong in their judgemental, hypocrite eyes. It became downright awkward, when you did not keep your thoughts to yourself.

No longer were you the little girl they could carelessly brush off. But that didn't mean you were the golden child either. And frankly, you wouldn't have it any other way.

The only thing you wish could actually change, were the everlasting tremors you felt each time you passed by that old church. Three blocks away from your parent's home. The same church you could watch every single night, through the window of your childhood room.

Just gazing at that building was enough to feel those tremors all over again. You thought the feeling would disappear as you grew older. That maybe, just maybe, your family's words were true.

If only they knew how wrong they truly were...

That night, as you laid in bed, something bizarre happened. You were used to fall asleep at midnight, allowing the soothing melody of the crickets to lure you into a peaceful slumber.But this specific night, something was off. You had fallen asleep at the same time as always, but not to the regular, dreamless night.

But to someone calling out for you. A deep, raspy voice, kept calling your name, and although unable to comprehend the language, somehow, you could understand what it wanted.

Come to me...

The instant your eyes stirred open, a thick and heavy fog made its way deep inside your head, clouding each and every of your thoughts. Except for that urge to follow the voice.

With stupor glazed eyes and a mindless stare, you peeled the blankets off your body and rose up from the bed. No one noticed you walking to the front door, for they were all resting deeply. 

Hurry...

The front door was easily opened. This neighborhood was one of the quietest and safest places around, so the need to lock the house at night was unnecessary.

Each step led you down a certain path. You were uncertain where, but that voice most certainly did, as it guided you through the dark and empty streets without much of a struggle.

Had anyone seen you outside this late at night, with an empty look in those usually bright eyes, they would have thought you were just sleepwalking and ended up outside.

Not even the aching in your feet, from stepping over sticks and stones was enough to wake you up. Whatever hold that voice had in your mind was stronger than the feeling of stone digging under your bare feet.

You couldn't even tell how much time had passed, but eventually you reached the place where this voice kept dragging you to. Away from the comfort of you plush, albeit small bed.

An old door with elegant, yet subtle carvings all over its surface, currently blocked the path that lead towards the alluring hum, demanding your presence. 

With the strength of your whole body, the door opened effortlessly, allowing you to step inside. 

Come.

The moment you stumbled inside, the voice calling out, had a drastic change. The most prominent of them all, was the clarity behind each and every word. 

This time, you were able to understand it all.

Come closer, little one...

Once again, your legs moved on their own. Following after the strong, magnetic like feeling that kept on pulling you forwards, like a moth entranced by a radiant flame. 

Something changed through your surroundings in an instant. The door slammed itself closed with a tremendous force, rattling the whole building with overwhelming magnitude. 

You didn't know what did it, but that chain of events created an uproar, startling you out of that trance, and immediately dissipated the foggy sensation deeply fixated inside your head. 

And once your head became clear, nothing but worry began swirling inside your head, accompanied by that very same quivers that went down your spine ever since you turned 18.

Because, you were standing right in front of an all too familiar altar, one inside the very same church that you've come to despise over the years.

Worry began brewing inside you at an exorbitant rate. That horrible sensation of something dark and hostile lurking around the corridors began increasing by the second. Bile threatening to crawl its way up your throat the more you stayed in place. 

You had to leave this place, now.

Or at least that was the idea, but no matter how much you tried to open those vast doors trapping you inside, neither of them budged in the slightest. How in the world did they get locked in the first place? The priest had always made it clear that the church's doors should always remain open.

This wasn't normal, at all.

Neither this, or the sudden heath drapped over your back that sent chills down your body, could be considered normal.

"Took you long enough."

The same deep, raspy voice from before, was coming from behind, Sending chill through your body. There was no doubt in your head, that whoever kept calling out for you, and the person standing behind you, were one and the same individual.

"Why don't you turn around, so I can finally see that pretty face of yours?"

A slim hand made its way up your shoulder. Long, sharp claws toyed around with the thin strap of your tank top, making their way under the thin fabric to drag themselves over the soft skin of your shoulder. 

Even if you wanted to follow said command, it was nearly impossible to do so when your whole body was frozen in fright. 

Carefully, your head turned to the side, just enough to take a small glimpse of this...man? Slowly, your body turned around, and you finally saw the one responsible of bringing you here.

A man stood before you, or at least, you thought he was a human male at first. Had it not been for the long pair of horns on his head, slightly angled down before circling all the way to the back of his skull.

That was just one of the few things about him that caught your eye. 

The second thing, was that despite the cold, harsh breeze inside the building, his chest was bare from any clothing, and the only thing that covered this man's psyche was a pair of black, leather pants. 

Even his feet were bare, which by the way, also presented the same sharp, black claws as the ones on his hands.

But if that wasn't enough, the last thing you noticed was his scars.

Nearly his whole body was covered with charred skin, holding on to his body by the metallic stitches that retained everything together. A knot could be felt in your stomach when you saw his face. 

Those very same scars and stitches, were also over the lower half of his face, and right under his eyes as well. That mesmerizing pair of teal colored eyes of his, that you could almost swear glowed in the dark, calling out for your soul.

He slowly advanced towards you with a long stride, but for every step he took forward, you took one backwards, trying to maintain as much distance between you and him as possible. 

Or at least, that was the idea. 

Which came crashing down when you felt that cursed door stopping you from going anywhere. He just smirked lazily when he saw the fear inside your eyes, as you turned to glare nervously at the dreaded piece of wood.

"Going somewhere, little one?" One of his hands came up to play with a lock of your hair. When his knuckles brushed against your cheek, some kind of energy racked your head momentarily. It was like an electric shock that sent your brain into a haze. Almost like an instinct, your head tried leaning towards his hand, yearning for more that feeling.

He took a sharp breath and closed his eyes. Judging by his behaviour, he felt something similar. And when he opened them again, you could have sworn his pupils had turned into slits. 

"Who would have thought, that after all this time," His eyes wandered all over your body. "You would be coming back? Must be my lucky day." 

The same fog that dragged you all the way here came back with force, slowly clouding all of your thoughts like it did before.

It wasn't until he leaned towards your much smaller frame, that you were able to snap out of it. Especially when you felt his breathing ghost over your neck. Blissfully inhaling your scent.

His hum of approval was all the answer you received. But his words were what made you feel real panic.

"You smell so good, so much different from other humans." One of his hands rested on your hip, just above the fabric covering your body. "You'll be a perfect vessel." 

...Vessel...? 

He pushed himself closer, trapping you against the door. And started kissing softly at the skin all over the side of your neck, before leaving a trail down your collarbone, causing another surge of electricity to rattle your body from head to toe.

The feeling of sharp fangs grazing your skin startled you. Frantically, your eyes went all over the place, eventually landing back on the man...no, on the creature in front of you, purring, nipping and peppering your chest with his lips.

That same feeling of dread triggered your fight or flight instincts. And with shaky arms you mustered as much of your strength, pushing the demon away with a shriek. And before he had a chance to lay his hands on you one more time, you had already escaped from him. 

Even he was caught off guard by the push, staggering back with surprised eyes, that slowly became darker. Like those of a starved animal, ready to pounce on his next meal.

In the meantime, you had escaped towards the back of the church. Running away and hoping to find another way out of this damned place.

"I always knew there was something wrong about this place! But did anyone ever listen?! Noooo!" Even as a mere whisper, your voice echoed through the halls. You had to cover your mouth in order to hold back a yelp, when something was violently slammed against the walls. 

Tears began filling your eyes as soon as you heard an approaching pair of footsteps. His voice kept getting louder the closer he got.

"Thought I scared you off for good. But you're a big girl now, aren't you?!"

He shouted bitterly, footsteps becoming erratic.  

Somehow you managed to avoid him, and ran all the way back to one of the utility closets at the back of the halls. Carefully, you opened the first door that came into view and hid inside the small space. 

Hiding between cleaning supplies was never a good idea, but you had no other choice, unless allowing this thing to slaughter you was one of them.

Teardrops became dangerously close to spill when you heard his voice getting closer. The louder his footsteps became, the longer you tried to hold in your breath from the absolute terror you felt.

"I've been watching you for a long time, y'know?" His voice was different this time, calmer, confident, but his frustration was still evident. "Ever since you turned into a grown woman. I could tell there was something different about you!" 

Something was once again thrown into a wall, a loud crack could be heard from the wood of whatever he had thrown this time.

"And when you took off that fucking rosary?! I could feel it, I just knew you had something special!" 

His footsteps became louder, a warning of just how close he came to your hiding spot. You've never felt this terrified in your life, watching his shadow become bigger the closer he got...But then, he just walked past the door, without even bothering to look back.

When he walked around the corner, you opened the door with care, afraid that the slightest of creaks could alert him of your presence.

And then, you dashed back towards the main entrance.

The fear rushing through your veins kept pushing you, telling you to hurry up and get out of this place. And as soon as you were out of this building you would go to your parent's house to take your stuff and never come back again. All those years you were right, but nobody bothered to listen. 

Much to your dismay, the main doors didn't budge in the slightest. Out of frustration, your fist slammed against the wood, the sound echoed loudly all around the place. And your blood went cold when you heard him approaching. 

Hiding in the same place as before was not an option, and in a desperate measure, you ran toward the altar at the front, pulling the cloth and crouching down to hide underneath. 

It was such a small spot, that you had to pull your knees close to your chest in order to fit in. Your whole body trembled with fear. More so when his presence could be felt as soon as he came into the main halls.

"Where are you, little one? I promise you won't get hurt." The tone of his voice was not reassuring.

You may have turned your back on the church all those years ago. But in that moment, you couldn't help praying to God for your safety. So with your eyes closed and hands intertwined together. You began chanting the very same prayer, strictly inculcated in your family for generations.

Our Father, 

Who art in heavan,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, 

Thy will be done on earth 

as it is in Heavan

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive our trespasses

as we forgive those 

Who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

"Amen/Amen."

Your whole body broke into a cold swear. And when you felt a cold breeze brush against your trembling body, the thought of opening your eyes made your heart pound harshly against your ribcage, so harshly, it could be heard resonating through the small space you were currently hiding in.

Slowly, slowly turning sideways. The sight in front of you drew out a blood curling scream. The pristine cloth of the altar had been pulled to the side.

And he was crouching down in front of you, with a deep, desperate hunger in those feral eyes of his, completely engulfed into nothing but pitch-black. The feral grin on his face sealing your fate in an instant.

"God can't help you now."

You were dragged out from under the altar by the ankle. Struggling, kicking, and begging for him to release you, but each and every word fell on deaf, pointed ears as his body hovered above yours, trapping you between the carpeted floor and his lean body.

Upon closer inspection, it was clear something was wrong with him. The patches of non-burned skin looked sickly pale, like he hadn't been able to eat, or sleep for a long time...Were demons able of sleep in the first place?

"Please...Don't hurt me..." He ignored your pleading whimpers, observing with half-closed eyes as you became closer to burst into tears. The moment the small, salty droplets ran down the corners of your eyes, he leaned down, and kissed them away with a softness that left you paralyzed.

No longer was he behaving as the same creature slamming pews against the walls in a fit of rage. It was almost like a switch had been flipped, and somebody completely different had taken his place.

"You really think, that I'd do something to hurt my precious vessel?" His palm caressed the side of your face. The touch of his skin was electrifying against your own, sending goosebumps through your whole body.

"I'm not going to hurt you, so just relax your pretty little body, and allow your master to take care of you."

He leaned down once again, this time whispering in your ear with that mesmerizing voice of his.

"The name's Dabi, you better remember that name when it's time to worship you master's cock." He growled eagerly into your ear. 

All those year he could only watch from afar. Now that you were back, Dabi finally had you right where he wanted you. 

He would not let this chance go to waste.

Once again, Dabi started out by kissing your neck, and he had to admit, those gasps were like heavenly music to his ears, as ironic as it sounded.

His black claws started to become longer, and sharper. They made quick work of your shirt, dragging themselves all over the fabric and tearing the thin cotton tank top to nothing but shreds, causing the cold air inside the church to hit your nipples with full force. Even during the hottest time of the year, the inside of the building always felt cold.  

Dabi ignored your shivering. Kissing and nipping all the way down from your neck, to the skin of your chest, leaving a small trail of bites on his path. His lips reached down the plush skin of your belly. The cold inside the building could barely be felt from the warmth he made you feel.

Panic overtook your senses when his hands went to the hem of your shorts, finger hooking into the fabric as he attempted to pull them down. 

"W-Wait!" You yelled out with hesitation, afraid that your words could end up with a raging demon bringing your demise. But it would probably be worse if he found out on his own, right?

"I'm not...I'm not a virgin!" He stopped immediately, and for a minute you saw your life pass before your eyes. 

A low, sarcastic laughter was the only thing he answered with. When you looked at him, Dabi's shoulders were shaking, and he couldn't stop laughing.

"You think that's the only thing demons care about?" You gasped once again, when the remains of your clothes were suddenly torn to shred for the second time, leaving you completely bare to the creature kneeling before you, who took in the sight of your every curve with a famished glint in his eyes.

"Virgins are overrated. Innocence? Purity? Tch." He scoffed in mockery. "Wanna know a secret, little one? Sometimes, the people who claim to be the purest, are actually the worst of them all."

He pulled your legs apart, chest grumbling in satisfaction at the sight of your bare sex present before him. And when your hands went down to attempt covering you body, he just growled, trapping them both by the wrist. Claws digging slightly into the skin, just enough to leave small traces of pain.

"Don't you ever, hide yourself from your master." He growled, slowly releasing your hands, and when you made no other attempts to hide yourself, he retook his proper place in between those exquisite legs.

"And don't think acting all shy will let you off so easily. I can tell just by your scent, just how many people you've laid under the sheets with. I must say, you have experience." 

Dabi had to say, that watching your face flushing that harshly, was a sight he'd treasure for all of his eternal life. 

Dabi spent centuries trapped inside this damn church, without a single chance to satiate his hunger. Watching people come and go inside the building to confess their sins, hoping the act would save them from the hellfire awaiting for them. 

He could say, this was a nice change of scenario.

"Do you need a sin for your next confessional?" The warmth of his breath fanned over your core, and the high pitched squeak coming out through parted lips did nothing but increase his appetite. "'Cause I've got a few in mind I'd like to try with you."

As ironic as it sounded, Dabi almost wanted to thank the heavens. Given that your scent was already addicting, but the moment he dived down, finally getting a taste of your body? He became addicted it.

Addicted enough, to begin devouring you with nothing but pure desperation. Drawing out a breathless moan from you. Nothing but overwhelming pleasure shot through your body from every stroke of that forked tongue against your soaked folds. 

"You taste so good." He pulled away for a second, watching your eyes closed shut, the dark flush across your cheeks and the way your breathing came out in heavy puffs of air. "Even better than the finest of wines."  

Your arms wouldn't stop roaming, looking for something, anything to cling on of dear life as Dabi continued lapping your glistening core, with nothing but pure vigor in those long, sensual strokes. 

And you only hoped it wouldn't anger the demon when you pulled on his hair. As terrified -and aroused- as you felt, the desperation to grab on to something for dear life was stronger than self restrain.

Dabi's reaction was far from expected. His strokes became fiercer, the soft muscle pushing its way inside. Savoring the taste of those velvet walls that coated his jaw with their sweet essence.

Centuries had passed since the last time he fed, and now that he had the chance, Dabi would not let such an exquisite meal go to waste.

You couldn't understand, why did it felt so different from other times? something about the way he devoured you, was too different from your previous partners. It was so good, so addicting, and you couldn't get enough of it.

Your hips buckled against him, a warm feeling began crawling all over your body the more he kept his head in between your legs. And when his thumb went to caress your clit, that feeling began getting stronger.

"Ah!...Dabi, please...!" Your hips buckled against his face, and were quickly brought down by his hands, and a snarl that froze you in place.

"You're interrupting my meal, little one. Stay still, and maybe your master will be generous enough to let you cum."  

As soon as you went quiet, Dabi continued where he left off. Each slurp just kept making even warmer on the inside. And when he pulled away to suckle on your swollen clit. It felt like an explosion, nothing but one of the sharpest bursts of pleasure ran through your lower regions, shortly followed by a loud scream and your back arching from the sweet release. 

"You're such a filthy little thing." Dabi wiped his chin with the back of his hand. A satisfied grin on his face as he waited for you to regain your breath. "But this was just an appetizer. Now, get ready for the main course."

Everything around was like a blurr, the only thing you recognized was the silhouette of the demon before you. Something felt different around him. That feeling that brought terror upon you disappeared, and when you finally looked at him with clarity, something was different.

That sick complexion of his was gone. Pale skin regaining a healthy looking color, and his eyes became clear from that feral like state.

You didn't have time to ask, as he took you by the wrists, tugging you slightly without much of an effort. And positioned you both in a way, that he was laying down on the floor, while your sat down on his lap. 

Looking down between your bodies -When did he take his pants off?!-, the sight of his erect member was definitely a sight to remember...

For starters, his head was modestly pointed, followed by a trail of ridges all the way to the base, and not just that...It was huge. 

You may not be a virgin. But how the hell was that going to fit in?

"Like what you see?" Even his attitude had changed, now he wouldn't stop teasing, at the same time he took a hold of your hips. His hands dragged your body back and forth, grinding your lower lips against him with leisurely gestures. The friction, along with how sensitive you were from your previous orgasm, turned you into a whiny mess for the second time that night.

"I'm going to ruin you so bad. Nobody, and i mean NOBODY, will ever be able to satisfy you. Not like your master."

Slowly, he lifted up your hips, before pulling you back down, slamming his girth deep inside your throbbing cunt until the base of his length was pressing against your clit. 

You screamed in bewilderment. Amazed by the way Dabi made you feel as he buried himself deeply inside of you. The way your insides stretched, adjusting themselves to his size, and the friction from every ridge of his girth was absolutely marvelous. It was like a fire consuming you from the inside. It was hot, so hot that it could burn, and you wanted more.

"What's wrong, little one?" Dabi grunted in satisfaction, loving the dazed look in your eyes from the slightest of movements. His hands guiding your hips back and forth with a quick pace. "Enjoying your master's cock?" 

"Ah!...Y-Yes!...I love my master's c-cock!" You yelled out, leaning forward to rest your hands on his chest, head tilted back with pure euphoria on your face as Dabi had his way with your body.

He had to admit it, you really were perfect. And there'd be no way he'd let you walk away once he was done with you. 

"Then prove it, show me how much you love to be fucked by your master! Worship his cock like your life depended on it!" 

Obeying his every command, you began moving on top of him. When Dabi said he'd ruin you, he was serious. Nothing you've ever done before came remotely close to what he made you feel in that moment. 

Each and every of his thrusts was powerful enough to make you see stars. With every thrust, his head brushed against the deepest corners of your sloppy insides, easily kissing your womb.

A part of you felt ashamed of your actions. You were riding a demon's cock in the very same place where your parents got married. The very same place where they baptized you.

Many sins were committed during your life, but this? This was definitely a sentence to hell.

"Oh...Oh God!" Your eyes widened in bliss, wandering all around the walls of the church. In the midst of it all, you realized Dabi had positioned you both, in a way that you sat right in front of the statue of the lord. It almost made it seem as if the lord himself, was judging your actions with nothing but a disgraceful eye.

Dabi let out one of the darkest chuckles you've ever heard. Dark enough to make every hair in your body stand. 

"God won't hear you now, little one. But the devil will"

In the blink of an eye, he was sitting up. Embracing your waist with a deathly grip. His already rough pace became downright barbaric, so much that it started hurting, but it hurt so fucking good.

The feeling of another climax rattled your thoughts. Everything around you became a blur from the upcoming high. Dabi felt it, and knew he had to get it done fast, it was the perfect chance, and there was no way he would let it go to waste.

"You're getting close, little one. Aren't you?" He pulled your body closer to him, into the suffocating waves of heat. Your wrapped your own arms around his heck, and held him closer to yourself, running your nails along his scalp in the process, which made him purr in enjoyment. 

For a minute, you could have sworn you saw something akin to a blue flame coming to life around him. "Do it my pet, come for your master. And lend your soul to me."

His mouth latched on your neck, tongue running circles around the soft skin, looking for a certain spot. And when he found just the right place, his fangs bit down harshly. Right at the same time your climax overtook your senses. 

All you could do was scream as you felt him tear on the skin with those sharp fangs of his. A warm, sticky sensation ran down your shoulder all the way to your chest. Followed by a scorching pain.

The smell of copper and smoke became intoxicating as Dabi's body trembled, and then he let out an earth shaking roar as he came. Filling your womb with rope after rope of scalding, hot cum.

Exhaustion took over your limp, shaking body. As much as you tried to move, even attempting to lift a finger was considered impossible.

Dabi planted a small, tender kiss on the spot where he sunk his fangs less than a minute ago. During that time, your sweat covered bodies clung to eachother's, still yearning for much craved contact, all while trying to catch your breath. 

When he pulled away, Dabi admired his work as the bite he left on your neck glowed brightly, before dying down and leaving behind a beautiful, burgundy mark. 

Finally, after so many years trapped in this goddamn place, he finally had a vessel. Now, he could leave once and for all.

Dabi carefully pulled away, watching his seed run down your shaky legs with every little throb of that delicious, little hole of yours. If claiming a vessel wasn't that draining to begin with, he'd definitely fuck you again. 

"You, are perfect."  He carried your passed out self in his arms. Taking you all the way to one of the pews, where he laid you down softly on the wooden surface. One of his hands brushed a loose strand of hair back into its proper place. "I'll see you soon, little one."

Taking one last look at his sleeping vessel, Dabi turned on his feet and walked to the church's entrance. As soon as he got closer, the door opened gracefully on its own. 

For the first time in centuries, he was finally able to leave his prison. And with a deep breath of relief and a serene smile, Dabi walked away from the church, disappearing into the dark depths of the night.

......

"...W...up....Wa...ke...Wake up.." Someone kept calling out your name.

Slowly, your eyelids stirred open, and the first thing you saw was a black cassock coming into view, accompanied by the worried face of a middle-aged man you've known since childhood.

What was father August doing in your room?

"Thank god, you're finally awake. What are you doing sleeping in the church?"

Wait...Church?

Your eyes widened in an instant. Father August's words made the memories from last night come back abruptly. The voice, being locked inside the church....And Dabi.

You got up from the pew where you had fallen asleep, and looked around frantically before looking down at your body. All of your clothes were unscathed. But you could have sworn they were torn to nothing but rags after Dabi tore them apart with those big, black claws of his.

Dabi...Where was he?

Thinking about him made you realize something. For the first time, the church no longer felt cold. It had a warm, welcoming feeling to it. Had this sensation been here all those years ago, you'd probably still be on good terms with your family.

"Are you feeling unwell? You seem pale."   

"Y-Yeah..." You looked all around the church. The pews that had been slammed into the wall, broken into pieces, were good as new. And the altar at the front, where its cloth had been carelessly thrown to the side when Dabi found you hiding, was also untouched.

"Was it just a dream?" You asked to yourself. Remembering everything the demon did to you, yet not a single part of your body felt sore. In fact, you felt better than ever. So full of energy.

"What are you talking about? Are you having night terrors again?" 

Oh shit, Father August was still here. 

"N-No! Everything's fine, father!" You reassured the older man that stood straight in front of you. "I must have sleep walked all the way here! Remember I used to do that when I was a kid? ahahaha..." 

No way you would tell him about what happened last night....If it ever happened in the first place.

He was kind enough to walk you home. To say your parents were worried was putting it lightly. They were terrified when your mother went to wake you up and found the bed empty. It was strange, watching how worried they were about you, when they never bothered to call you for a long time.

A tired sigh left your lips once you finally went inside your bedroom. It was barely morning and the whole house was already in chaos.

"Right, today we're going to see Grandma." The suitcase was pulled on top of the mattress with ease. Good thing you preferred to travel lightly. "Better get changed now."

From the small arrangement of clothes, you picked out a white sundress. Then you pulled out the hair dryer as well and turned back to the mirror so you could fix the bird nest in your head, also called hair.

When you saw th reflection in the mirror, your whole body became stiff.

There was a strange mark on your neck. A deep shade of burgundy adorned your skin in the shape of a small flame, running down all the way to the collarbone...Right in the spot where he bit you last night.

The dryer fell out of your hands with a loud clank as you stood in front of the mirror, watching this...thing on your neck with pure horror.Why didn't anyone say anything when you came in with this mark covering a good portion of your skin?!

Your thoughts were interrupted when your mother barged inside the room with a worried look on her face. And you were quick to cover the mark before she could see it.

"What happened? I heard something falling?" She looked at you in worry.

"N-Nothing! The dryer just slipped from my hands!" But she wasn't satisfied by that answer, and squinted in disdain when she saw the way you hid from her prying eyes.

"What are you hiding? Don't tell me you actually got that tattoo?!" She approached with an angry pace to take a closer look at your neck.

"I told you, it's nothing!" But she didn't listen, pulling your hand away from your neck by force. Your eyes closed shut, expecting her to start yelling just like that time you got your ears pierced again.

"Why are you grabbing your neck? Does it hurt?" 

"You can't see it?" You asked quietly. But she just gave you a look.

"See what?" 

So...they couldn't see the mark on your neck?

..........

Three weeks later, you finally came back to your precious apartment, away from your family, and that cursed church. But also away from an answer.

What happened that night? Did something even happen at all? Or was it just your brain playing tricks on you? 

Groaning in frustration, you decided to forget about everything and kept walking back home, carrying a bunch of groceries to restock the fridge. Besides, tonight was Taco Tuesday, and you were eager to start preparing your meal.

When you got inside the building's main hall, you could see the landlord talking with someone at the lobby, but their back was facing you, so at the moment, it was impossible to see their face.

The moment the old lady saw you walk inside, her face lit up with joy as she waved at you, and made a gesture to come closer.

"Good afternoon dear! How did your little visit go?" She was always a curious woman, but never meant it in a bad way. There was nobody in the apartment complex who didn't love Miss Yuki.

"Good afternoon Yuki! And well, you already know how it went. It's always the same after all..." You grumbled, not really feeling like going into detail about what happened.

Then you turned sideways to see her guest. A dark haired male just stood there, watching the interaction between the older woman and you with a lazy smile. 

He was wearing a pair of ripped, dark jeans. Black military boots, and a white T-shirt underneath a leather jacket. One of his most prominent features was those teal eyes of his.

Somehow....He seemed familiar.

"Oh how rude of me! My memory's not what it used to be!" Yuki clapped her hands together, embarrassed that she just ignored her guest in favor of talking to you. 

"This is Touya! He just moved into the apartment right next to yours! I was just about to take him to his new home, but I need to take Mochi to the vet. Would you please be a darling and show him the way for me?"  

"Ah, that naughty cat? again?" You laughed sarcastically. That cat of hers always seemed to get into trouble for something. "Don't worry Yuki, I'll take him off your hands!"

"You're such a sweetie! Now, here are your keys, Touya. Please let us know if there's anything you need help with!" She handed Touya the set of keys, and swiftly walked inside her home.

Turning back to Touya, you greeted him with a sheepish smile, ignoring the burning sensation at the side of your neck.

"So, I guess we're neighbors. Welcome to out little community. Just let me put this in my fridge and I'll give you a tour!"

"Ah, yeah. Thank you for the help." ...Even his voice was familiar.

You walked together to the second floor. On the way there, Touya mentioned how her was starting anew. Away from everything, and everyone. In a way, he was just like you.

"Well, this is my place!" You beamed, juggling with the set of keys and the bags in had. Touya had offered to help, but you refused. After you finally unlocked the door with a victorious hum, you pushed it open with your hips, walked inside and turned back to face your new neighbor.

Who's face, for some reason, became dead serious the moment you looked him in the eye.

"Please come in. I'll prepare some coffe!" As cheerful as you were. The smile slowly, slowly disappeared when you saw the way Touya was staring at you. 

There was a dangerous smirk on his face, and an all to familiar glint in his eyes...

He quickly stepped forward, and stood in front of you with a proximity, that allowed you to feel the heat of his whole body. He trapped your chin in between his fingers, and licked his lips with an evident hunger in those blue orbs.

"W-What are you doing?" The nerves were such, that you didn't notice when the bags of groceries fell from your hands, and the carton of milk spilling all over the floor, creating a puddle besides your feet.

"Remember what I told you last time?" From the corner of your eye, you could see those same horns from that night, slowly starting to come out. Your heart pounded against your chest. And the burning sensation in your neck became unbearable the moment his eyes became engulfed in black.

"I told you I'd see you again...Little one."

With those last words, your door was quickly slammed shut.

@hawks-senseis @honeytama @savagetrickster @unbreakableeiji @wakaoujisenhime @fanfic-me-up @natsuosfairy @shoutogepi @gr0vndz3ro

[lokissuper]

Reunion| Dean Winchester x Reader

(So I made a post about this a while ago, this specific idea. Now that im starting to get into writing I thought why not do it myself. So, in this Dean and the reader are dating but also have a kid together. Also, the reader is like a daughter to john so he sees her as so. thx xxoo i will always take feedback and support since im new to this)

-

“Dean! Sam! I’m home,” I yelled when entering the bunker.

Walking down the steps from the door I saw that they around the table in the library. Dead sitting there drinking a beer and Sam looking down at something in his hands, I spoke again, “ Is that it? The thing that is gonna save Dean.”

“Yeah,” Sam said looking at me then over to Dean, “Are you sure you don’t want to call Mom or wait for Cas?”

Dead stood up,” No. If this mojo works like you say, that’s great. But if not...why get their hopes up? I mean you and Y/n being here is fine, I just don’t wan’t you getting your hopes up either.” Dead looked at me then back at Sam, I nodded at him for an okay.

“Yeah.” Sam whispered, “Just hold the pearl and concentrate on what your heart desires.” 

Dean was handed the pearl, “Michael outta my head. Got it.” Picking up the pearl he looks at me for assurance. 

“It’s gonna be fine baby, if it doesn’t work then we’ll figure something else out,” I nodded at him again. 

He looked down at the pearl and closed him eyes shut, and squeezed the pearl in his hand. The electricity crackled, and Sam and I looked at each other as Dean eyes open again. The lights in the bunker turned red, “What the hell?” I spoke quietly. As Sam turned around he saw a dark figure and he lunged at it, me following behind him. The figure punched Sam and I attacked from behind along with Dean, we got a couple of hits in before the mysterious person knocked us to the ground. I groaned, hitting the wood floor but I got over it soon as I heard a gun cock.

“Don’t you move,” the dark figure threatened. 

We all looked at each other then the lights turned back on, we looked up at the man before us. I saw Deans eyes widened and I took a sharp intake of breath, same as Sam.

“Dad?” Dean asked in question.

“John?” I whispered.

The older Winchester looked in question at the three of us on the floor. He finally spoke up,” Dean? Sam? What in the hell? Y/n?” He looked around himself, puzzled at what he found. Sam and Dean slowly got up, Dean helping me up too. 

John continued to speak,”Sammy. Aren’t you supposed to be in Palo Alto?” 

“Palo Alto?” Sammy repeated, looking taken aback by the words.

“What happened to you,” John questioned.

Dean and I still staring at the exchange, Dean finally spoke up,” What year is it?”

John scoffs at us,” Its 2003.” I took a tiny step toward him, the man who raised me. “John, it’s 2019,” I spoke in shock.  He looked skeptical at all of us, not believing the words that were just said.  

“No. How?”

Sam started to sound a little louder, finally finding his voice,” We, uh, I think we summoned you.”

He looked at us like we were crazy,” You guys better tell me what the hell is going on right now.” We nodded at him, actually moving at this point.

“I think we should sit down.” I looked at him.

-

We had made our way to the kitchen and sat down at the table, finally able to catch our breaths after what just happened. Dean and I grabbing some alcohol knowing it would be needed for the future conversation. I knew in the back of my head that Mary was gonna come home soon, and it would be an emotional mess. She had left earlier with Dean and I’s son, wanting to have a day with him.

Dean and I made our way into the kitchen setting down the whiskey and some glasses. Finally sitting down, Dean poured all of us a glass getting ready to talk. 

After telling John about what happened after Yellow-Eyes, sparing the details about Mary and our son. He sat back to take it in, a moment later he spoke,” So, you saved the world? More than once?”

We nodded.

“Then its all true. God, the Devil, and you kids smack in the middle. Now you live in a secret bunker with an angel and Lucifer’s kid.” John said, mind boggled.

“Yeah.” We all spoke together.

“And you’ve done this whole time travel thing before?” John asked.

“A few times,” I looked at him. Dean nodded to my words, finding words himself,” Actually, our grandfather, your dad he’s the one that helped us find this place. I think he’d be real happy to know your finally here.”

They started to talk about the Men of Letters and how Dean and Sam were legacies. John not being able to believe how much we have been through, he spoke” I just wish that I had been there to see it. I went out takin’ out Yellow Eyes. I mean, that was the point, right? Get the thing that killed Mom.” He sipped on his drink nodding. All of us looking at each other, Sam and Dean finally catching on to the fact Mary could be home any minute. Just as Sam was going to tell John, we heard two pairs of footsteps. 

“ Mommy!” I heard a tiny voice yell. I then saw my sons little face peak out and run towards Dean and I.

“Hey baby! Did you have fun?” I smiled at the small child in my arms. 

“Yeah, me and Nana went shopping,” He spoke back to me.

John looked between me and the 4 year old in my arms. He spoke lowly,” Mommy? You have a kid?”

“Yeah, he’s your grandson.” I heard my boyfriend spoke from beside me.

John got teary eyed, “What’s his name? How old is he?”

“His names John Robert Winchester, after you and Bobby. But we do call him Johnny from time to time. Why don’t you show your Papa how old you are?” I asked with tears starting to grow in my eyes too.

Johnny lifted up his fingers showing the number four. I laughed and so did John,” That’s good.”

John smiled at his grandson, but it faltered when he heard a second voice coming from the hallway.

“Sam? Dean? Johnny?” Mary’s voice shouted.

Johns eyes got soft,”Mary?” He turned around at saw Mary standing in the doorway. They locked eyes with each other and they walked toward one another, sharing a kiss. I looked at Sam and Dean nodding at the door, trying to say we should give them some time.

-

I departed from the boys so I could go into mine and Deans room with Johnny. I still couldn’t believe that John was back and how happy Dean must be. It was all he ever wanted, I couldn’t count how many times he told me he wished he could just have one night with his family again. I looked down at Johnny in my arms and smiled.

“Mommy, who was that man with Nana?” he asked me.

I set him down on the bed and sat in front of him.,” That was your grandpa John. I told you that you were named after your Papa, right?” Johnny nodded at me. “Well that was him. Him and Nana are like me and your Daddy.” I spoke to him. 

Dead then walked into the room locking eyes with me. “Hey buddy,” Dean spoke softly to his son. Johnny looked at me and then at his Dad, “Is Papa John here to meet me Daddy?”

Dean looked at Johnny and smiled, kneeling down beside me he said,” Your grandfather travels all over the world and is very busy. He has always wanted to meet you, and now he finally is able to see you.”

Johnny smiled,” Can I go see him?” Dean and I nodded at the happy child sitting in front of us. Dean stood up and told me that he was gonna go check up on his Mom, and that I could bring Johnny to John. 

I walked through the hallways into the Library and saw that John was looking at the books on the shelves. I set Johnny down, and at the noise John turned around. I looked at him in the eye and smiled, Johnny walked over to his grandpa. “Mommy told me that I was named after you,” Johnny spoke up to John. He nodded to his grandson,”Seems that way doesn’t it.”

I walked up to John and said to him,” He is just like Dean in so many ways and with that I can see some of you too. Mostly the stubbornness. ” He smiled at me, and brought me into a hug. I grinned wrapping my arms around him, I heard him say,” It was about damn time you and Dean got together.” I laughed and pulled myself away from him.

“Yeah, I think after what happened with Yellow Eyes it brought us closer together. He tried to pull himself away like he always does but I wouldn’t let him, and I think that’s what caused us to get together.” I sighed but continued on,” We were dating 8 years and then had Johnny, it still blows my mind four years later and we are still going strong.” John smiled at me.

He looked down at Johnny but still spoke to me,” After 12 years and he still hasn’t popped the question. God, I’m gonna need to get on him about that.” I laughed at him. John looked down at Johnny and spoke to him,” You have the best mother and father in the world. Don’t you forget that.” 

Johnny nodded his head,” I know. They always tell me you are the best like Nana.” John looked at me and smiled. 

“No, your Nana is better than me in every way.” John laughed at the little boy, me laughing along with him.

I looked over at John,” Do you know where Sam went?” 

“Him and Dean were gonna head out and grab some stuff for that casserole Mary likes to make,” he responded.

I nodded. 

I bent down toward Johnny and spoke lightly, “How about you and Papa John go and hang out for a while.”

Johnny smiled wide,” Okay!”

He grabbed his grandfather by the hand and led him away. I smiled softly at the image now burned in my brain.

-

“I can’t believe this, we just got him back Dean.” I spoke sternly. “Johnny finally met his grandfather.”

Dean had pulled me aside when him and Sam got back explaining how everything is changing now that John was back.

“I know. But there is something else too,” He looked down at his feet. I looked at him sternly.

“What else?” I asked.

Dean took in a sharp breath before continuing on,” If he stays, it is gonna be like Mom was never here. It’s because we would have never clashed heads with God or the Darkness.” I got teary eyed and tried to say something but Dean held up his hand. He began to speak again,” Also, if he stays Sam thinks that Johnny’s gonna go too. Like you and I never got together because we only ever got together because of Dads death. I already talked to Dad about it.”

I started to silently cry thinking about not having Johnny and not being with Dean. As the tears were falling down my face I asked,” What did John say?”

He pulled me to his chest,”He said that he’s okay with going. That there is no way he is gonna be the reason his grandson can’t grow up, or Mom not being alive again.”

I looked up at him crying harder now, seeing he starting to shed tears too. 

“This sucks,” I said.

“I know, but it’s what he wants.” Dean responded.

I leaned forward and pecked him on the lips then nodded, “Okay.”

Dean then pecked mine back before saying, “ I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

-

We had sat down for dinner, something I knew Dean had always wanted. It was hard to avoid the inevitable but it was good to just be carefree for a while. 

When it was time for John to go back, I had Johnny say goodbye before telling him to go to his room. Me and Dean still not wanting him to be exposed to magic yet. 

Dean, Sam, John, Mary and I all stood in a circle together, ready to see him off. All of us teary eyed and trying to hold in sobs. 

Mary was the first to speak up, “I hate this.”

In which John responded, “So do I.”

John then began to talk to all of us,” Okay.” Looking over at Mary he spoke,”My girl. I miss you so damn much.” Before they kissed each other, for the last time. John then looked at the boys,” You two. You take care of each other.” 

Sam responded,” We always do.”

Dean spoke lightly, “It’s good to see you Dad.”

John sniffled, looking between his sons, “ I am so proud of you boys.” He then turned to me, seeing me there crying.

“And you, I am so proud of the woman you have become. Your no longer that little teenager anymore.” he spoke wiping his eyes before looking between Dean and I.

“You guys deserve each other and that little boy in there. I never thought I would see the day where Dean would grow some balls and ask you out but, here we are,” he said as we all laughed. “You guys take care of that boy, you here me,” John continued.

He then looked sternly at Dean,” If I have to come back just to make sure you finally ask this woman to marry you, I will.” 

We all laughed again. John then leaned forward and brought the three of us into a hug. 

“I love you guys so much.”

Dean sniffled before saying,”We love you too.”

John pulled away telling us he was ready.  He looked at us all one last time, before Sam broke the pearl. We watched as the man we all loved faded away. 

[peralta-guaranteed]

What abkut mafia!jake au

Stop giving me awesome AU ideas that I cannot write the fic for! 😭

- due to some really, really bad choices after high school (did he ever make other ones? who knows), Jake Peralta has ended up as a grunt for the Ianucci family. He doesn’t really do much - he’s mostly someone who gathers information and new areas for them to work in, because he’s good at randomly befriending people and milking them for all it’s worth. He’s done a few ‘deliveries’, too, but has never had to really get physical.

- (he was at one family meeting that turned into the ‘farewell’ of a mistrusted member and he still has nightmares about it)

- he’s never been arrested for anything and thought the police didn’t even know his name, so imagine his surprise when he’s approached by one of their higher-ups (as if he knows the rankings, psh, pigs are all the same) and subtly but definitely asked if he would be willing to work with them

- his task seems simple: bring one of their cops into the family undercover, the same way he has ‘recruited’ several bodega owners and other ‘low-skill’ workers that turned out to be useful for the family. Maybe keep an eye on the cop as well and help her out if she’s struggling

- she? oh yeah, it’s a woman. A frankly gorgeous woman, he realises when they meet up with her and some FBI dude who obviously pretends he’s not FBI, to discuss it all further. Her name is ‘Dora’, and he knows that’s a lie from the second she’s introduced, but the less he knows, probably the better. The rules are set, he gets a special cellphone number of a ‘cousin’ to contact if something goes wrong, and two weeks later Dora Perez is steadily working her way up the ranks with the Ianuccis, who are very proud of Jake for bringing in this brilliant new talent.

- He might or might not be looking out for her a little bit too much. He might or might not get involved in far more shady dealings with the Iannuccis so he can work closer with her. He might or might not be in deep, deep shit.

- ‘Dora’ is grateful for it, though, he learns every time he drives her home after a more difficult job. She used to be withdrawn and quiet with him, which he tried to equalise by cracking more and more stupid jokes and doing random silly stuff during their drives, but then one time they drive in absolute silence while she cleans blood of her hands, and he says something, he doesn’t remember what, but it’s the right thing apparently, because she starts to talk. She talks to him during every ride after, telling him about the stress and the constant guard she has to keep up and how none of her research binders prepared her for this, and at some point she tells him about nightmares and seeing death around every corner and she can’t wait for this mission to be over.

- (for her sake, he can’t wait for that either. For his sake, he wishes it would go on forever.)

- They’re sent out for a big job together once, because Jake has already become ‘connected’ to Amy in the Ianuccis’ eyes, and they both end up with blood on their hands, and some of it is hers.

- he gets out of the car after that drive home, and gets up to her tiny, fake apartment, and helps her clean the wounds (nothing too big, just cuts, because thank god that guy only had a knife before he beat it out of his hands and then beat the living daylight out of him after he injured her) with the softest fingers she’s ever felt. Then the cleaning alcohol is swapped for drinkable stuff, and they talk, and they talk about everything and nothing, about how a dead-beat dad and an absent mother make a Mafia goon, and how family pressure and a sense of constant duty make a detective who so badly wanted to say no to this assignment but couldn’t.

- “For what it’s worth, Dora, I’m glad you said yes. I mean, not that- not that I want you to do this kind of work- and I want things to be over for you soon, because- but- I’m glad it’s you.” “Amy.” “Hm?” “My name is Amy. Amy Santiago.”

- He wakes up in her bed the next morning, with her in his arms, and he kind of doesn’t regret a single thing, even as his smart-brain is screaming at him. He’s pretty sure he would’ve willingly died for her even before this night, but now, he realises... that he probably will.

- Amy (Amy, not Dora) does freak out a little more than he does when she wakes up. She can’t get involved, she says, this is a job, a dangerous one, and she has to focus on that job and getting the mafia gang and not- okay, okay, let’s not overthink this then, Jake says only to calm her down, we don’t do anything ‘involved’, we’re just... having fun. Keeping things light and breezy. Helping deal with the stress.

- and so, despite how much it hurts and how much it makes him happy at the same time, Jakey the Jew becomes Jakey, Dora’s Loverboy. It helps, he supposes, because it means the Ianuccis won’t suspect them hanging out so much, and send him along to most of her jobs now so he can watch out for her, and he gets to be with her in a way, even as she constantly reiterates ‘light and breezy’ to keep him at a distance no matter how close they get.

- it doesn’t feel very ‘light and breezy’ when they spend time together in front of the TV, though, to get their minds to relax after doing whatever the Ianuccis needed them doing. It doesn’t feel ‘light and breezy’ when they joke around in the bodega getting ice cream on a particularly hot day out doing jobs, or when she shows him around the library after meeting her ‘cousin’ there for a chat. It doesn’t feel ‘light and breezy’ at all when she sighs into his arms when he’s holding her in bed, neither of them even wanting to take the night any further than soft hands under tshirts, because all they really need at some point is the comfort of each other.

- and then one day, after a few months of this ‘light and breezy’ and ‘Dora’s Loverboy’, Jake gets invited for a ‘Talk’ by the family. With a capital T. And he’s not been that high up in the ranks at any point, and he’s not really done much for the family, but he’s not an idiot. He knows what that means. So of course he doesn’t tell Amy, writes her a short but succinct note instead that maybe ends with the L-word somewhere in it, and goes to have a Talk.

- The Ianuccis know that there is a rat, but they don’t know who. And they know that if Jakey is good for one thing, it’s information. So The Talk doesn’t end as quickly as it usually does, and the way he’d expected. It hurts a lot more, for one thing. Jake thinks of offering up some other goon or lower family member as the rat, if only to make the torture stop, but his brain is too broken in the moment to figure out a convincing story. And when the name ‘Perez’ suddenly drops into the conversation, there’s really only one other name he can still think of clearly to blame. Peralta.

- he doesn’t remember much after that - he’s pretty sure he heard gunshots, but none of them hit him, so what’s the deal with that? Everything else is pretty much a blur of pain and cold, and lots of shouting, and then warm soft hands on his face and a quiet voice saying his name amidst it all, and when he wakes up the next time he’s in a hospital bed.

- He’s in that hospital bed for two weeks to recover, and no one visits him. Not that it should be surprising - Nana is dead, his mom doesn’t know about anything he’s done since the age of 18 for a reason, and there’s no one else who in their right mind should care to visit him. So imagine his surprise when a detective shows up, introduces herself as Rosa Diaz, and explains that she’s Amy’s partner at work, but she’s not here for official business.

- “She wanted to come see you. Hell, she fought tooth and nail for it. But she had to be debriefed, stupid FBI assholes, and then it turned out two of the Ianuccis got away, so we had to find them first to make sure they don’t go after her for revenge” (well that explains the constant patrols in the hospital for him, as well) “and we had to hide her for her safety, but, Jake, she wanted to come see you. I swear.” “It’s okay.” Jake says, and it’s really not, but he’s been a brilliant liar for years now. “You can tell her... it’s okay. The job is done, and I’m, I’m glad she’s finally got it over and past her. Really. Tell her it’s okay.”

- He’s debriefed by the FBI after he gets discharged, as well. They tell him ‘good job’ and ‘thanks’ and pay him a surprisingly large amount of money and cover his hospital bills, so that’s good. They also advise that he move, not far, but far enough that any possible leftover scragglers of the family don’t remember his old place for a ‘visit’. So he moves, a few blocks only, enough to get a new favourite bodega and deli and discover that the library is actually nearby and that there’s this community college that Amy kept talking about for some reason, and if he takes a few classes to finally get a degree, it’s not about getting a proper job at some point, it’s more about not thinking about anything else. About maybe forgetting, even if it was her that basically got him where he is now.

- (it does not work)

- she knocks on his door a month later. She looks strange in her professional outfit instead of washed out jeans and a tanktop with a stupid slogan on it, but also so perfectly her. That’s Amy, he thinks, not Dora anymore. That’s Amy, and he still loves her just as much as he did when she was ‘Dora’ in his sweatpants and tshirt. Maybe more.

- “You’re a hard man to find, Peralta.” She says, and he knows that’s a lie, but she smiles with a scared look through it and he takes it for what it is - an attempt at saying anything, really, after 1 1/2 months of silence, when she’s probably got a speech all prepared in her head but needs to get there first. “That’s such a bad, cheesy movie line.” He helps, and she laughs and yeah, that’s all he needs in life. “Well we never watched any good movies, did we.” “Hey, we watched Die Hard. That’s the best movie there is.” She rolls her eyes but nods, and opens her mouth, and Jake thinks that the speech is coming now, but he has no idea what it might entail. Thank you and good bye, maybe. Good job, great work, can you sign this official statement for me so I can add it to my paperwork? possibly. “Screw light and breezy.” She says instead, and then she’s in his new apartment, which is much nicer and cleaner than the old place was even after she worked her magic on it, and she’s kissing him, and he’s never, ever letting her out.

[recurring-polynya]

For Stuff For Renji's Birthday Prompts: 1) time travel turn back the clock nonsense, bc I'm an enabler and Karakura teens plus shithead Renruki teens has *Byakuya voice* strong comedic potential OR 2) Hisana lives but due to wacky circumstances, nobody notices Rukia's existence at the Academy... until they've graduated and Renruki have joined Squad 11. Dealer's choice! (Honestly whichever you pick, I might try writing the one you don't. I am not a writer these 2 just live in my head rent free)

Why would you make me choose between these, whyyyyyyyyyy?

To be honest, I almost did them both, but this was the second one I did, and I figured that I should probably do some other people’s prompts, and then I ran out of time. I might do you some time travel shenanigans later. (This should in no way stop you from writing these, I would flip my chips if you wrote something, let alone something based on my horrible ideas)

In any case, I couldn’t resist the second options and I have spun it out into a delightful bit of Byakuya-torture. Please enjoy!!!

Special thanks to @kaicko for helping me come up with the clerical error, because you all know me, I can’t just say “a clerical error.” 😂

Read on ao3 or ff.net

💀   💀   💀  

“How is the tea?” Aizen Sousuke asked smoothly.

The tea was excellent, but Byakuya wasn’t in the mood for Aizen’s needy attempts to ingratiate himself. “Adequate,” he replied dryly. “You said you had something to discuss with me.”

“Ah, diligent as always, Byakuya,” Aizen sighed, “always eager to get back to work. I’ll get to the point: I happened to speak with your wife recently at a fundraising event. She’s very interested in the people of the deep Rukon, and said she travels to South Rukongai frequently.”

Byakuya narrowed his eyes. “What is your point?”

“Well, I thought it was a bit of a strange occupation for a woman of your wife’s noble standing, but then Gin reminded me that she was actually from there herself, that there had been a bit of a to-do when you two married. I don’t tend to follow gossip myself--”

“I repeat, what is your point?” Byakuya gritted your teeth.

Aizen made a pissy little throat clearing noise and fiddled with a folder on his desk. “The fact is, Byakuya, your wife reminds me a great deal of a young woman who served in my squad a few years ago, whom I recalled also hailing from the Rukon. I wondered if there might be a.... connection.”

Byakuya’s shoulders stiffened. Impossible. He had put watches on all immigrants to the Seireitei. He would have reviewed anyone who came from the South 78th.

“Inuzuri Rukia,” Aizen read from his file, and Byakuya’s blood ran cold. “Shin’ou class of 2066. Unseated. Petite, like your wife. Dark hair. Very striking eyes. Unfortunately, an unremarkable shinigami. Potential for a good kidou user, but didn’t take direction well. More interested in sword combat, although she had little aptitude for it. Ah, here it is. Hometown: District 48, South Rukongai.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Byakuya said flatly. “Inuzuri is the 78th district of South Rukongai. Why would she carry a surname from a different district?”

Aizen made an exaggerated frown. “Very strange! A clerical error perhaps? Hold on a moment.” He stuck his head out of his office door and said something to the shinigami on reception duty. “Fortunately, there’s an easy way to clear this up. It’ll just be a minute.”

Byakuya gripped his teacup, unsure of how to feel. A clerical error. Class of 2066… she would have enrolled in 2060, in the middle of Hisana’s worst turn, when she had been bedridden for nearly four years. Their attention would have lapsed. It made sense.

“She does not sound like your usual recruit,” Byakuya accused. Aizen was constantly finding ways to skim the highest performers from the Academy, all the gifted children.

Aizen looked sheepish. “Ah, well, you see, there was a young man of some talent that I was eager to recruit who was… attached to her. I thought she might have some potential if properly guided, but it never panned out.”

Aizen’s good deed was suddenly beginning to make sense. The girl had transferred out and taken Aizen’s prize with her. He wanted Byakuya to go fetch her away in hopes that the talented one would come home. Byakuya actually felt much better now that he’d identified Aizen’s ulterior motive, and further, that it had more to do with his own petty recruiting schemes than Byakuya’s family (specifically, Byakuya’s wife).

There was a knock at the office door, and upon being bid entry, a young woman walked in. Although indeed petite and dark-haired, she looked nothing like Hisana, and Byakuya remarked as much.

“Oh, no, this is my Seventh Seat!” Aizen chuckled. “Miss Hinamori, you were friends with Inuzuri Rukia, isn’t that correct?”

The young woman’s eyes had gone wide when she recognized Byakuya. “Er, yes, sir,” she said, her eyes darting between the two captains. “We shared a room while she served here.”

“Do you happen to remember what district she was from?” Aizen asked in an overly friendly manner.

“Oh, sure, it was South 78,” Hinamori replied. “Inuzuri, of course.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know all the outermost ones,” Aizen said in his goofy voice again. “Her paperwork says 48.”

Hinamori’s brow furrowed for a moment and then her face brightened. “She and Abarai had very heavy accents when they first came to the Academy, and used a lot of deep Rukongai language quirks. I don’t remember all of it, but they both used to use ‘shichi’ instead of ‘nana’ for seven, especially when referring to their district. They weren’t very fond of their home district. I wonder if the registrar misheard.”

“Well, there you go!” Aizen said, slapping his hands on his desk. “A very logical explanation!”

Hinamori beamed.

Byakuya found Aizen’s need to be liked by his subordinates very unprofessional and off-putting, but he tried to push it aside. He was trying not to be too eager, but this was probably the best lead he’d had on Hisana’s sister in all the years they had been searching. “Where is she now?” he grumbled.

Aizen turned his doe eyes on his fawning subordinate once more. “I don’t suppose you still keep in touch? She couldn’t have lasted very long there, they must have transferred again?”

Hinamori made a face like she didn’t want to say the answer. “I’m afraid that Kira and I had a bit of a falling out with Abarai and Inuzuri when they left. I haven’t talked to them in a few years, although we still have some mutual friends. As far as I know, though, they’re both still at Squad Eleven. I heard they were doing fairly well there, actually.”

The room seemed to retreat around Byakuya. All he could hear was the blood pounding in his ears and the reverberations of the most horrible words he could possibly think of: Squad Eleven.

---

Byakuya knew it was poor etiquette to visit another captain’s squad when the man was out, but he absolutely could not stomach the idea of discussing the matter of his wife’s sister with the Kenpachi, so he waited until Zaraki and his miniature lieutenant were sent out to go trample half of East Rukongai before visiting.

He also knew that he probably should have said something to Hisana, but he couldn’t bring himself to get his wife’s hopes up, only to dash them, should this turn out to be nothing, like so many leads before it. So, the secret sat in his stomach, heavy and acidic, jostling with the guilt of his breach of etiquette.

“Is there someone here,” he gingerly asked one of the gentlemen on gate duty, “who takes care of administrative matters for the squad?”

The man swiveled his head, which appeared to grow directly from his torso with no need for an intervening neck, to his fellow guardsman. “What?”

The other fellow had been busy trying to remove wax from his ear with a pinky. “WHAT?” he shouted back.

“Paperwork!” Byakuya said a little louder. “Is there an office of some sort? A person who knows what’s going on?”

He supposed he could have asked for the girl, Inuzuri, directly, but he didn’t feel… ready.

“I think he wants Ayasegawa,” the neckless guard hazarded.

“WHAT?”

“I’ll be right back.”

Eventually, the burly gentleman returned. With him was a strangely elegant person with a silky curtain of hair cut severely to chin length and piercing violet eyes. “It really is you,” the lovely man said with a level of disdain that Byakuya almost had to admire. Before he had a chance to get offended, the man dipped into a respectful bow. “Welcome to the Eleventh, Captain Kuchiki. Fifth Seat Ayasegawa at your service. What in Soul Society can I possibly do for you?”

“Apologies for visiting while your captain is abroad,” Byakuya replied, not meaning a word of it.

“Oh, he’ll be very sorry to have missed you,” Ayasegawa frowned. “But I’m sure you could make it up to him later.”

Byakuya’s eye twitched. “Perhaps. I have come to enquire about a young woman whom I am told transferred to your squad three years ago.”

“Does she have a name? That might make it a little easier.”

“Inuzuri Rukia.”

Both of Ayasegawa’s eyebrows shot up, and his mouth curved into a feline grin. “Ninth Seat Inuzuri, of course!”

Byakuya blinked. “Ninth Seat? Captain Aizen told me she was middling at best.”

Ayasegawa's face suddenly went stiff. “She was not well-served at the Fifth, but she has bloomed here most beautifully. Inuzuri is my personal protege, you know.” He stared at Byakuya under hooded eyes. “What is your interest in her? Captain?”

Byakuya took a deep breath through his nose. “My wife is also from Inuzuri. She is trying to locate someone she knew there. It is possible this Rukia is that someone.”

Ayasegawa frowned. “Well, I can introduce you, if you like. I should warn you, though, Rukia doesn’t have a lot of lost love for her hometown.”

“My understanding is that there isn’t much to love about it.”

“Mmm,” Ayasegawa agreed. “Well, come along, let’s go find her.” He concentrated for a moment, clearly trying to find her reiatsu. She must be a woman of some power, after all. “Ugh! She and Abarai are at it again! Every day!”

Byakuya swallowed stiffly.

“Well come on! She’s out at the training fields, clobbering our Tenth Seat, yet again.”

Oh. That kind of “going at it.”

Ayasegawa was shaking his head. “The two of them are literally an unstoppable force and an immovable object.”

“Abarai was also at the Fifth?,” Byakuya probed cautiously. “I was told they were close.”

“Of course they’re close!” Ayasegawa scoffed. “They’re partners!” He thought for a moment. “Abarai is from the 78th as well, you know. If Rukia turns out to not be your girl, perhaps one or the other of them knew the person you’re looking for. Abarai is one of those people who just… knows everyone. He’s the personable half of the pair.”

“‘Partners’?” Byakuya echoed. “What… kind of partners?”

Ayasegawa stared back at him like he was insane. “Partners.”

This path of inquiry clearly wasn’t going to get him anywhere, but wasn’t particularly relevant, either. “I did not think kidou-type zanpakutou were permitted in the Eleventh,” Byakuya sniffed. “Aizen’s records indicated Inuzuri wields an ice-and-snow type.”

Ayasegawa gave a little shrug. “Zanpakutou classifications are arbitrary. Obviously, if she had a bunch of showy blizzard attacks like Matsumoto’s little prodigy friend, it would be a no-go. Rukia can take the blade of her sword down to sub-zero temperatures. She has a weapon-shattering attack and she doesn’t feel pain when she’s fighting. It’s fundamentally no different than a zanpakutou so massive that only the wielder can lift it, or a whip sword that’s controlled with one’s reiatsu.”

This sounded like a quibble to Byakuya, but it’s not like he had come to the Eleventh looking for sound logic.

“She’s incredibly fast, probably the fastest person in the Eleventh, although no one’s really sure what Yachiru’s top speed is,” Ayasegawa continued on. He glanced at Byakuya slyly. “I hear you are very fast.”

“You have heard correctly.”

“That’s why Abarai can’t beat her. If he could land one really hard hit on her, she’d go down, but he’s not fast enough and she’s just too agile. He’s my partner’s protege, you see, so I have to take their little scraps very personally.”

How did this man talk so much?

“What did you say your wife’s relationship was to her again?”

“I did not.”

“Ah, right. Oops, look out!” Ayasegawa abruptly dove to one side as a giant mass of shihakushou and pink hair and what might be a sword came crashing through the split rail fence surrounding the training field.

Byakuya was not in the habit of ducking, so he merely plunged the force of his reiatsu down into the earth like a piton. It was almost, but not entirely sufficient. Byakuya gritted his teeth as he was driven back, dirt piling up behind his heels as he skidded backwards.

When they finally came to a halt, Byakuya looked down at the meaty youth lying at his feet. This must be the infamous Abarai, although he certainly didn’t look like one of Aizen’s usual simpering overachievers. The first thing Byakuya observed was the eye makeup. Most shinigami applied at least a little eyeliner, on grounds of tradition, but few bothered to blacken the entire eye socket, as in the skeletal facepaint of old. The second thing Byakuya noticed were the tattoos painted across his forehead and neck. They were black and spikey and horrible. The third thing was the hair, which was bright pink and spikey, and utterly at odds with the makeup and tattoos. The fourth thing was the big, sheepish grin, which honestly just tied the whole hideous tableau together.

Byakuya glared down at the lout, and in a moment of pettiness, flared his reiatsu to a level that should have sent blood spurting out of his ears.

“I’m afraid that’s not going to do much to someone who has a weekly sparring slot with the Kenpachi,” Ayasegawa commented dryly.

“Sorry ‘bout that!” the lummox cheerfully apologized as he sat up and brushed himself off. He had an Inuzuri accent so thick you could spread it on toast, an accent that Hisana tended to slip into only when she was extremely bent out of shape. Abarai snapped the sword hilt in his hand, and the tangled pile of steel on the ground neatly retracted into something that looked a little more like a weapon, if a weapon were designed by a creative and overly violent child.

“That’s a captain, you buffoon!” another voice rang out, and every muscle in Byakuya’s body locked. “Show your respects!”

The voice clearly affected Abarai as well, because he leapt to his feet, spun, and slammed into a bow. “My apologies, Captain…” his eyes glanced up and abruptly widened, “Kuchiki.”

“Greetings, Captain Kuchiki! Welcome to the Eleventh Division! I apologize very profusely for throwing Tenth Seat Abarai at you!” A second young person had come to join Abarai in his bow, and they both rose in unison, Abarai looking suddenly pale and nervous, his companion looking calm and confident.

So this was Inuzuri Rukia. She had Hisana’s voice. She had Hisana’s stature, and standing next to Abarai made her look positively childlike. She wore the same dreadful eyeblack, but the eyes that shone out of it were a variation on Hisana’s, harder and three shades more purple. The rest of the face was Hisana’s. Her hair was dark, shaved on the sides, arranged into porcupine spikes on top, although one lock hung down stubbornly between her eyes. Her ears glittered with silver piercings. At least she was free of awful tatt-- wait, no. Byakuya had missed them at first, because they were white. Abarai’s tattoos were spiky and sharp, but Inuzuri’s were graceful swirls, like ribbons wrapping lazily down her forearms. Even her reiatsu was like Hisana’s-- but instead of a cool, refreshing wintergreen, Inuzuri’s was the bone-deep cold of winter, a cold so harsh it burnt in the lungs.

There was no doubt.

This atrocious delinquent was his long-lost sister-in-law.

“Can we help you with something, sir?” Inuzuri prompted. “Abarai here’s a big fan of yours.”

“Shut up, Rukia,” Abarai managed through gritted molars.

“Inuzuri Rukia, you died as an infant thirty-six years ago and were sent to the 78th District of South Rukongai, is that correct?” Byakuya said stiffly.

Inuzuri and Abarai both bristled, a pair of mongrels raising their haunches. “That seems about right,” Inuzuri replied slowly. “My early years are a little hazy.”

“My wife, Hisana also died thirty-six years ago and was sent to Inuzuri with her infant sister,” Byakuya went on. “They were separated. My wife has been looking for her sister ever since. You… resemble her greatly.” Byakuya let the implication hang in the air. He couldn’t bring himself to say it.

There was silence for a moment. Then there was the distinct noise of a laugh that, having been held in, had escaped through someone’s nose. “Sorry! Pardon me!” Ayasegawa wheezed, clapping one hand over his mouth and looking away. “Bit of. Dust. In my throat.”

“I told you! I told you, you looked like that picture of her in the Bulletin!” Abarai was hissing.

“I thought you were lying because you thought she was pretty!” Inuzuri hissed back.

“I thought she was pretty because she looks just like you!”

“Now is really not the time, Abarai!” She cleared her throat and tried to stand up a bit taller, a futile effort. “So, uh, so what? What does that mean, if I am her sister? Does that… does that make me noble?”

A higher pitched wheezing came out of Ayasegawa. The level of impudence was extraordinary.

“I would like you to come to my home to meet her, first,” Byakuya put off making any promises. “We can discuss what comes next. As a family.”

“I’m at work right now,” Inuzuri excused.

“Inuzuri, I need to know how this pans out, you can have the afternoon off,” Ayasegawa informed her.

Inuzuri’s confidence seemed to be draining out of her. She took a tiny step closer to Abarai and groped for his hand. “I’m bringing Renji,” she declared.

“Is he compulsory?” Byakuya asked. Inuzuri was absurd looking too, but at least she was small.

“He’s my family,” Inuzuri insisted.

Byakuya’s brows furrowed. This could prove problematic. “In any sort of legally binding sense?”

“We’re engaged!” Inuzuri announced.

“We are?” Abarai goggled.

“I told you I’d marry you if you could ever manage to beat me in a fight! What else would you call that?” Rukia hissed at him in a voice that was still, unfortunately, perfectly audible.

“I’ve been trying every day, and honestly, Rukia, it’s not looking good for me!”

“Can you just go with it for once, instead of arguing with me every time?”

“If you want to leave and never tell anyone you found her,” Ayasegawa put in, “I am very bribable.”

Byakuya was sorely tempted.

---

End note: To further explain the number mix-up, as I understand it “seven” in Japanese can either be said as “nana” or “shichi”. People usually say “nana” for two reasons-- 1) to avoid confusion with 4 (”shi”, although you can also say “yon”) and because “shi” is a homophone for death. Given how shitty the districts in the 70s are, I rather liked the idea that they residents use the “shichi” pronunciation as a bit of gallows humor. (And if you don’t have a rude nickname for the town you grew up in, well, congrats for not growing up somewhere shitty)

I don’t actually speak Japanese, tho, so forgive me if this is all nonsense. 😁

[haikwritings]

P.S I Love You

Characters: Kei Tsukishima

“What’s this?” Tsukishima asked annoyed as he took the letter.

“I- I wrote you something.” Y/n answered nervously.

“A letter? What are we in? Third grade?” Tsukishima asked sarcastically.

Tsukishima and his girlfriend had been together for a year—and she wanted to tell him in some way or another how she felt.

“I- I just wanted to make you something special.” Y/n murmured sweetly, which it made him more annoyed.

“You could have made some cupcakes or brownies.” Tuskishima answered annoyed, throwing the letter somewhere around his locker.

“O-Oh, mm, sorry.” Y/n apologized, lowering her head from the embarrassment.

She knew that he wasn’t the most loving person, but she knew that he loved and showed his affection in other ways.

“Whatever.” Tsukishima said as he closed his locker.

But sometimes she wishes he was a little more sweeter.

“I-I was thinking we could do som—” Y/n was saying but was interrupted by him immediately.

“Can’t. I’m busy.” Tuskishima answered coldly.

“B-But is our one year anniversary.” Y/n pouted sadly.

And sometimes she wishes he was more caring.

“So? Is not like is our last.” Tsukishima answered annoyed.

“I- I know. B-But I thought it was going to be s-special.” Y/n answered sadly.

More caring about her feelings.

“You women are so dramatic.” Tsukishima sighed annoyed.

“T-Tsuki.” Y/n stutter sadly.

“I need to go to practice, I will see you tomorrow.” Tsukishima said as he walked away—leaving her with loss of words.

More caring about her as a human being,

“Where’s Kei?” Y/n’s mother asked.

“H-He’s not coming.” Y/n answered sadly.

As his girlfriend.

“B-But honey, what about all those desserts you made yesterday?” Y/n’s mother asked worried.

“I- I will save them for later, mom.” Y/n answered as she locked herself in her room.

She just wishes.

“Honey?” Y/n’s mother asked worried, hearing her daughter cry.

Since that day everything had changed between them.

“Why can’t you go to practice today?” Tsukishima asked concerned.

“I- I just have a lot of...work.” Y/n lied.

“Right. See you tomorrow then?” Tsukishima answered annoyed.

“Y-Yeah.” Y/n answered as she was leaning to kiss him—immediately being rejected by him.

She notice how distant he was being.

“T-Tsuki?” Y/n asked sadly, feeling rejected by her own boyfriend.

“I- I’m just sweaty.” Tsukishima answered annoyed as he left to practice.

How he was being colder than usual.

“I- I made cookies yesterday, thought you wanted some.” Y/n said very sweetly.

“I’m not going to put that crap on my body. I’m a volleyball player, idiot.” Tsukishima answered annoyed.

And even meaner than usual.

“I s-saw this and it made me t-think of you.” Y/n said very sweetly as she handed him a dinosaur keychain.

“You can actually think?” Tsukishima asked jokingly.

“I- f-forget it.” Y/n said as she hid the keychain on her pocket.

And he wasn’t noticing his changes...

“Wanna join us for ramen?” Yamaguchi asked.

“Can’t, I need to walk my girlfriend to her house.” Tsukishima answered annoyed.

“I-Is okay, Kei. M-My friend is walking me home.” Y/n lied.

“What?” Tsukishima asked confused.

“S-She offered to walk me home.” Y/n lied again.

Until that conversation...

“What friend?” Tsukishima asked confused, knowing that his girlfriend didn’t have that many friends.

“S-Someone from class...” Y/n lied.

That’s when he notice her little lies.

“S-See you tomorrow?” Y/n asked as she walked away.

“N-Not even a kiss?” Tsukishima asked weirded out.

“S-Sure.” Y/n said as she gave him a little peck on the lips.

The way she was more shy than usual.

“Hey, are you coming to my practice today?” Tsukishima asked annoyed.

“N-No, I- I don’t want to bother you.” Y/n answered as she tried to hide her face away from him.

“Bother me? Since when, idiot?” Tuskishima asked in disbelief—not noticing his sharp words.

“I- I just don’t want to.” Y/n answered as she left, without giving him the opportunity to talk.

That’s when he knew his words and actions had gone too far.

“Have you seen Y/n?” Tsukishima asked worried.

“Yeah? I just saw her on the hallway.” Yachi answered sweetly.

Way too far.

‘Y/n?’ Tsukishima thought as he saw her in front of a trash can.

And he wished he had notice before.

‘W-Why is she throwing that away?’ Tuskishima thought sadly as he saw her throw away the dinosaur keychain she had bought him.

He wished he had notice how he had hurt her feelings.

‘Y-Y/n.’ Tsukishima thought as he saw her leave sadly, immediately walking towards the trash can.

He wished he had fucking notice before.

“W-What an idiot.” Tsukishima said as he took the dinosaur keychain out of the trash.

Because now he knows he was loosing her.

“I-Idiot.” Tsukishima said sadly as he took the keychain to his pocket.

And he didn’t want that.

“Kei?” Y/n’s mother said as she opened the door.

“Hello, is Y/n home?” Tsukishima asked sweetly.

“N-No, sorry, she left this morning.” Y/n’s mother answered.

“O-Oh, sorry.” Tuskishima apologized.

But how was he supposed to fix it?

“Sorry you couldn’t come to your anniversary.” Y/n’s mother said.

“W-What?” Tsukishima asked confused.

“The celebration? She planned a little evening. But she told me you weren’t able to come.” Y/n’s mother said.

Fix what he broke himself?

“I- I have to go.” Tuskishima said as he walked away embarrassed.

How was he supposed to apologize?

“A-Are you coming to my game?” Tsukishima asked nervously.

“You never want me to go.” Y/n answered sadly.

“I- I know.” Tuskishima answered embarrassedly.

How was he supposed to make up?

“Y-You have been acting...strange.” Tuskishima said.

“I know.” Y/n answered nervously.

How was he supposed to make her stay?

“I- I just need some space.” Y/n murmured painfully.

He didn’t wanted to lose her.

“Sorry.” Y/n apologized painfully as she walked away.

And here he was... losing her in front of his eyes.

“What are you doing?” Yamaguchi asked as he saw him looking desperately on his locker.

“I- I can’t find.” Tsukishima answered painfully.

And he couldn’t let that happen.

“F-Find what?” Yamaguchi asked confused.

“T-The letter—the fucking letter.” Tsukishima answered, suddenly finding it.

She was everything for him.

“H-Here it is.” Tuskishima said as he opened it.

And he was everything for her.

“A-Are you okay?” Yamaguchi asked worried.

“I-I just need a moment.” Tuskishima said.

“I- okay—” Yamaguchi stutter as he left him alone.

And he didn’t knew that...

“W-What is this?” Tsukishima asked to himself as he saw the letter.

Not until he read her special letter.

Dear Kei,

Happy One Year Anniversary, babe! I can’t believe it has already been a year! I guess time really does fly when you’re with the right person.

A letter where she expressed her deep love for him.

Thank you for the countless happy moments we had spent together this past months.

And he wished he had read it soon.

Thank you for showing me what true love really is.

He just wishes...

Because your love is what pushes me to be a better person...

Fuck...he just wishes...

Your love is what makes me more braver, more stronger.

“Y-Y/n.” Tsukishima stutter sadly.

My life is complete when you’re by my side.

He just wishes he hadn’t cause her this pain.

Which it reminds me... that I have a little surprise for you.

“Surprise?” Tsukishima asked himself confused.

I made us a little evening at my house! I cooked your favorite dish and your favorite dessert—strawberry short cake!

“T-The evening.” Tuskishima stutter sadly.

I know that you don’t like to be romantic—so I decided to do everything!

“I-I’m—” Tsukishima stutter sadly.

Just bring your presence here! Don’t be late!

“I- I never came.” Tuskishima stutter sadly— folding the letter when suddenly he notice something on the other side of the letter.

P.S I love you...

I just want you to know that.

“I- I love you too.” Tuskishima answered, suddenly noticing he was sitting alone in the locker room.

He knew he needed to fix things.

And he knew he needed to do it, as soon as possible.

“Hey.” Tsukishima said as he saw her in her locker.

“H-Hey.” Y/n stutter nervously and embarrassed.

He knew he should tell her.

“I- I read your letter.” Tuskishima said, feeling a little awkward about the silence.

He knew he should be honest.

“S-Sorry I never came.” Tuskishima apologized sincerely.

And take her feelings into consideration.

“Is ok.” Y/n answered sadly.

“N-No, is not ok.” Tsukishima said as he caressed her cheek, seeing her painful and sad eyes.

“I- Is not your style, and I- I get it.” Y/n answered painfully.

Because as him, she felt too.

“Hey, hey. Shhh, don’t say that.” Tsukishima said as he hugged her—feeling her sobbed on his chest.

He knew she had a heart too.

“What about dinner tonight? How does that sound mhm?” Tsukishima asked sweetly.

“T-Tonight?” Y/n asked happily.

“Y-Yeah, we could go to that favorite restaurant of yours...” Tsukishima whispered sweetly, taking his thumb to get rid of her tears.

He knew she had a big heart.

“What do you say mhm?” Tsukishima asked as he gave her a little smile.

“O-Okay.” Y/n said as she giggled a little.

“T-That’s it—that’s my happy girl right there.” Tuskishima said sweetly.

And he knew he needed to show her how much he loved her.

“P.S...” Tsukishima said, making her look at him.

“What?” Y/n asked confused.

“I love you too.” Tsukishima said as he kissed her.

Otherwise, how would she know?

“Y-You do?” Y/n asked sweetly.

“Yes, idiot.” Tsukishima answered as he kissed her again.

Because he in fact loves her.

“Don’t ever forget that.” Tsukishima said.

She was his favorite person.

The coolest person he has ever met.

General TagList:

@elianetsantana @pillowpets @boosyboo9206 @chagi-nana @melacholy @kara-grayson04 @sangwoosashyashes @teddybearaone @answer-the-sirens @habi20212 @thelilyflowersworld @kellesvt @yuueisteria @dai-tsukki-desu @saeranoppa @wompwomphq @jupiterbloop @peteunderoos @chestercheeto