#sorry i was just thinking about how they would both be terrified of thunder storm

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

"are you scared? its ok, i am too"

[dindjarindiaries]

When It Rains, It Pours

character: Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)

prompts: “Just breathe, it’ll be over soon.” and “I’m sorry—.” “No, don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault.”

main masterlist • prompt masterlist

"Cyar'ika?"

Din's voice draws you out of your slumber. Once you gather your bearings, you smile at the sight of Din's face and raise a hand to hold his cheek. "Hey."

Your thumb brushes just under his eye, and in doing so, you notice the lack of a sparkle in his dark gaze. The shaking of his hand that's still on your shoulder tells a frightening story. The concern drips into your tone as you give him a quick once-over.

"Hey." You hold his face with both hands, one of your thumbs lowering to run over his trembling lips. "What is it?"

Din's gaze averts yours. Instead, he turns his attention to the viewport on the opposite side of your room. His voice is quiet when he answers. "There's a storm."

You take a moment to listen for it. Sure enough, the rain is pounding onto the roof above your heads, and a distant roll of thunder makes Din's grip on your shoulder tighten for a moment. This is a rare occurrence for Nevarro, and for Din, it's a frightening one. You try to win back his gaze with another brush of your thumb over his lips. "Are you okay?"

Din hesitates, the breath he holds visible in the stalling of his scarred chest. When his gaze meets yours, his honesty wins out, and he gives his head a small shake. Your chest aches with the way your heart's shattered.

You don't need an explanation from him, nor would you ever ask for one. Thunder can sound like explosions, and explosions can bring Din back to many traumatic moments—but mostly the one that terrifies his inner child.

"Here, let's get some lights on." You sit up in the bed and lean over to the table on your side, pressing the button that activates the warm lamps throughout the room. Din's since taken a hold of one of your hands between his and you let him keep it there. "How about some tea?"

Din nods and watches as his thumb brushes over the back of your hand. "Yeah."

You smile at him. "Great." You take your hand from him only to make your way out of the bed. Din's tunic on your figure has already made you decent as you walk around the bed to his side. You take him by the hand to lead him out into the living area of your cabin. "I just picked up a new blend from the bazaar."

"That sounds—," Din starts, cutting himself short when a particularly loud roll of thunder interrupts him. He squeezes your hand and forces himself to take a deep breath. "Great. That sounds great."

You smile at his bravery as you begin to heat the water and set out two cups for each of you. "And you know what?" Once everything's set out, you turn back to Din and wrap your arms around his neck. He steadies himself with his hands on your waist. "I think you're doing great."

You urge him to lower his head to your shoulder, getting a quick kiss in on his cheek before he does so. When there's another crash of thunder, one that makes the cabin shake, Din pulls you tight enough against himself to make you lose your breath for a moment. He loosens the grasp, but still keeps it tighter than before.

"Just breathe," you say, your voice a soft and sweet breath. Your cheek presses against the side of his head as you run your hand over his back. "It'll be over soon."

After a long moment of silence, Din speaks up, his voice muffled by the tunic on your shoulder. "I was a child," he reflects. "You would think I could deal with this, now."

You lift his face from your shoulder to hold it between his hands, making him face you and the comfort of your gaze. "If only it were that easy." You smile and run your knuckles along his cheek, tracing the fading outline of a scar from many years ago on this same planet. "You're already a hero, Din. You don't have to keep proving that."

Din's face starts to flush as he looks down in shyness. "Thank you." His brow wrinkles when he gains the faith to search your gaze again. "I know I woke you up. I'm sorry—."

"No, don't be sorry." Your hand runs through the hair at the side of his head. "It's not your fault." You shake your head at him. "You can't help it."

Din looks as if he's preparing to argue, but the sound of the water boiling from behind you stops him. You step away from Din to remove it from heat and fill your cups with the prepped tea spices. Once you've handed Din yours, you hop up onto the counter and hold yours between your hands.

"Now, we have a few options," you present to him. Din makes room for himself between your knees, his hips resting against the edge of the counter as he raises an eyebrow at you. "We can sit here and drink our tea in silence if that's what'll help you, or I can talk you through it." You brush a piece of hair out of Din's face. "Or... once we're done with our tea..." your thumb finds his lips once again, "I can kiss you back to sleep."

Din chuckles and dares to lift the steaming cup of tea towards his lips. "The latter two options sound very enticing."

You smile as he sips from his cup and lets his brow loosen in relaxation. "Yeah?"

Din reaches up to make your forehead meet his own. "Yeah." He takes a deep breath and manages a genuine smile for you. "Thank you, cyar'ika."

You brush your fingers along his untrimmed chin. "You never have to thank me, Din." You draw him closer until you taste the new tea blend from him, an exchange of trust, love, and comfort that goes beyond words.

[yuulettte]

𝐓𝐨 𝐃𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐧 [𝐘𝐮𝐭𝐚 𝐎𝐤𝐤𝐨𝐭𝐬𝐮 𝐗 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫]

"Don't cry little one, for the sun will come and dry your tears."

✰Tags: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Unrequited Love, Established Relationship, One-Shot

✰Summary: Yuta Okkotsu is afraid of two things; thunderstorms, and losing you.

✰W/C: 1.2k

✰C/W: Mentions of Trauma, nightmares, and thunderstorms

✰A/N: A quick one shot that I thought of during a thunderstorm.

The sound of pouring rain in a midnight storm filled the tiny cramped area of a dorm room. A huddled body shivered beneath a bundle of covers, the size being almost comedic considering the childlike action. He wasn't always afraid of the dark. It was just on nights like this, after a particularly scary mission, when the abyss seemed to pull him in.

Chest heaving and sweat forming on his brow, Yuta Okkotsu, a special grade sorcerer, slowly came to the acceptance that he was still afraid of thunderstorms. Small hiccups could be heard underneath the sheets, now becoming stained with the tears flowing heavily down his jaw and onto the bed below.

She'd often asked him, "Why do you always look so sleepy?". He'd give her a reply with an awkward half smile, saying "I just end up thinking so much, it keeps me up."

Which was partially true. He'd be thinking about her, her eyes. The way they sparkled when they'd grace his with a prolonged gaze, when she'd eat something she likes, or when she'd listen to her favorite song.

But soon her golden sunshine-like glance would turn into a downpour of bloody rain, the light fading into a series of traumatic memories that plagued him. He was sure they'd follow him to his grave, if he'd ever find the peace of one.

Then the worrying would start. The what if's of their job, of their life's purpose filling his mind like a poison that never fully worked its way out of his system. Those piling thoughts of 'what if' would mostly continue with the word 'she'. Even in his deepest, most terrifying memories, they only remained scary because they could repeat again. They could repeat with her.

And that's why in the sound of a rain storm, that reminded him so much of that day, did Yuta sob her name quietly into his pillow. Except it wasn't as quiet as he'd thought it was.

Suddenly the pitter patter of water on his window was replaced with quick footsteps. Oh so familiar footsteps.

Slamming the door open she came in like a whirlwind, even under his blankets he could imagine her expression. The same one she'd wear whenever he was injured in battle, or whenever he'd burn his tongue on his tea because he sipped without thinking. That adorable, worried, brow furrowed face would be the death of him.

"Okkotsu?!"

Her usually chipper voice was tinged with concern. His body freezing in place. How utterly humiliating.

"H-Here.." He mumbled out, lifting the bedding from over his head and sitting up. Yuta was correct of course, her brows were furrowed and her lips turned down. Her eyes widening as she noticed the tears still trickling down his cheeks.

"So you were crying" The sentence came out just above a whisper. That pretty gaze fixed totally on him, but its sparkle was replaced with worry. It sent a ripple of guilt through his body, akin to the lightning going off outside, the feeling making his stomach drop. God forgive him if he were to ever make her sad.

No use in denying it, but he couldn't help but wonder how she got up there from the second floor so fast. Or maybe he'd been crying longer than he realized. His mind was foggy with sleep deprivation and the need to flinch at the thunder claps sounding every few minutes. Still, Yuta tried to give her a sleepy smile to ease both the awkwardness and his own nerves.

"I had a nightmare, I'm sorry I woke you. I completely forgot your room is right under mine" He was lying through his teeth like it was second nature. Anything to make her stop looking at him like that.

Luckily for him, she was never the type to push in unless he allowed it. Always respecting boundaries and letting him come to her. Maybe that's why he fell in love with her to begin with.

Instead of asking him more questions, she merely sat beside him. Turning to face him in her usual criss-cross sitting fashion. That sparkle returned, her hands suddenly going to cup his cheeks. Well, maybe she wasn't good with all boundaries..

"Eh?" It was practically a squeak as her delicate hands pressed to his face.

"Don't cry little one, for I am here to stay. Don't cry little one, the rain will go away. The thunder will sleep and the lightning will disappear. Don't cry little one, for the sun will come and dry your tears."

Her voice was soothing, like a pure river flowing to cover his entire body. Except instead of cool water, she covered him in warmth. Hands moving away from his face and sliding down to wrap her arms around his back. The sorcerer felt himself relax all at once, tears building again in the corners of his eyes. Like a dam that was about to burst.

One that'd been built over 10 years ago and was finally cracking because of her. He tried to hold himself together, worrying the overflow would drown out her light. But as soon as her head laid on his shoulder, and she started to whisper that everything would be okay, Yuta found himself pouring it all out to her.

He pulled her into his chest tightly, his face pressed into her hair as he breathed her in. Long, heavy sobs escaping him as the waves of grief he'd been holding back washed down his features. His usually quiet, gentle voice turning raspy and strained.

It did shake her, how this often soft spoken, selfless man was breaking to bits in her arms. Not because she judged him, not because she was afraid. But because of how so lonely he must have been. How many nights did Yuta cry himself to sleep here, all alone? How many mornings did he awake more tired than he was before he'd gone to bed? Just how much had he suffered without her fully grasping it?

"It's okay.. I'm here, it'll be okay"

Is all that she could mutter to him between her own tiny sobs. Hands tight in his nightshirt as the two took the brunt of his pain together.

It was almost like for a small moment, he wasn't a Jujutsu sorcerer anymore. He was just him, in her arms, raw and bare before her. She'd stripped any sort of armor he'd covered his heart in, crossed any distance in a single stride. With a single touch of her hand.

It put him in awe as he slowly regained his composure, sniffling and bringing the back of his hand to wipe his eyes. All the weight in his chest from before seemed to diminish while he held onto her. He let out a long sigh before finally, be it reluctantly, letting her go and falling onto his back. His tired eyes looked up at her from below.

She gave him her award winning grin, her eyes meeting her cheeks before closing. He lifted his hand to swipe a tear off her cheek with his thumb, genuinely smiling back at her this time.

"I guess the sun did dry my tears."

He laughed as more drops fell from his dull blue eyes; of which for the first time in years had a glimmer of hope. Sunlight always comes after rainfall, after all.

[randomfandomlov3]

Butterfly Kisses

Mob!Bucky x Fem!reader

Warnings: Violence, angst, swearing, mentions of parental deaths, mentions of torture, fluff, no Y/N use, Mob, Fear of thunderstorms mentioned. Let me know if I missed any.

Notes: This was my first attempt at a mob universe. Thank you so much for reading! <3 I ended this in a kind of weird spot, but I have no inspiration for what to do next so if you want more or have any ideas I would love to hear them.

Word Count ~ 7,783

She knew she had a bad feeling about going out today. Why didn't she trust her gut? Oh right, she has anxiety most of the time, that's why. That storm was not what she had planned for when she went out today, even if she had no choice, needing to go to her appointment. She took a deep breath trying to calm her racing heart.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" She glanced up at the ruggedly handsome stranger who just got on the bus.

"I don't mind," she whispered, making sure she was as close to the window as she could get. He sat next to her, careful not to press up against her.

He was used to hearing people's heart rates Increase in his presence, but the way her arms were wrapped around her body before he had even spoken to her, told him that something else was bothering her. That was confirmed when a loud crack of thunder happened and thinking it was her arm, she dug her nails into the skin. He felt the sting as the skin of his arm broke under one of her nails, the only people he had ever seen this terrified were those who were receiving fate from his hands. This pain however was nothing compared to what he has experienced previously.

She then looked down, and her mouth dropped, she just drew blood from the stranger who decided to sit beside her. "Oh my God, I am so sorry. I can't believe I did that. I should have a bandage in here somewhere." She started to dig through her bag.

"Don't worry about it. It doesn't even hurt."

She pulled out the only band-aid she could find, a cutesy kid's one with butterflies. "I don't want it to get infected, not that I am dirty, but you know." Carefully dabbing it with a Kleenex before sticking the bandage to his arm gently. No one had ever cared for him like this, even when his doctor bandaged his wounds. Reaching the final stop for this bus they both got off. She headed straight towards her destination horrified by what she had just done to the poor stranger, he on the other hand stared at her for a minute before unrolling his sleeves.

After her appointment with the doctor, she exited the building staring at her phone to check bus times. Not paying attention to where she was walking, she ran face first into a wall of muscle, that when she went to fall, caught her. Of course, it had to be him.

“I am once again so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention, because I wanted to make sure that my bus wouldn’t leave before I got there.” She rambled out, while he stared at her with an amused look on his face.

“Don’t worry about it, but this…” he gestured between them. “Might have made you miss your bus, but how about I give you a ride, it’s the least I could do for a beauty like you.” She shook her head in protest.

“It’s fine, I will just wait to catch the next one, but thank you for your offer.” She blushed at his compliment.

“Fine, at least let me give you my phone number in case you ever need anything, and I mean anything butterfly.” He pulled her phone out of her hand to enter his contact and double-check that this beauty wasn’t already taken. When she got her phone back, he gave her a wink and went on his way.

‘Dragonfly’ and underneath in the details he had written, “Bucky Barnes, but I’ll be your dragonfly if you’ll be my butterfly.” Her heart picked up again, but this time for something pleasant. She knew that the chances of seeing him again, though, were rather low. Luckily, the bus had been running late and she had managed to catch it, but there must have been something scary on the way, based on the fear on the driver’s face. The whole ride home she thought about the handsome stranger whom she assaulted twice and still had given her his number.

She tried to use the thoughts of him to block out the sounds of thunder outside the window. As she walked through the rain from the bus stop, she thought she saw someone watching her. Probably just paranoid, it was not likely that anyone would be watching her, she was nothing special. She went into her apartment and tried to forget about her anxieties of the day and relax.

He didn’t usually come to this part of town as both leaders know it is off limits, as it is where the daycares are. Children didn’t need to be a part of this life when they couldn’t even care for themselves. However he wanted to make sure that she was safe because he had not seen her in any of the businesses on his side before, he definitely would have remembered her. He did feel a little bit like a creep when he caught himself watching her play with the children in the yard of one of the daycares.

“I thought we had agreed this area was off-limits to both of us. Are you so greedy that you are willing to put these innocent children in danger?” Tony Stark the other leader in the city, quipped. Neither of them liked to share, but they knew at least right now that was what was best for everyone, and it was a big enough city that the only time they had to see each other was at their set-up meetings. “One of my men told me that this isn’t your first time in this area recently. I won’t let you claim it as your own. Or is it that there is something here that has caught your eye?” He pondered when he saw Bucky staring.

“Boss, what are we doing here? You have never shown interest in this area, for the safety of the next generation,” Sam whispered in Bucky’s ear, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Nothing, I just came to check for some things that aren’t sold anywhere on my side.” Bucky brushed the weird looks from his competitor off and headed towards the store. Inside he found exactly what he was looking for.

“Buck? Why are you getting a box of butterfly patterned band-aids?” Steve asked chuckling at the childish look of the box that his friend and boss was holding. The look that Bucky gave him wiped that off his face. He had never seen a look quite like this in the many years that he had known Bucky.

He couldn’t explain why, but having one on him, comforted him in ways that he had never felt before. They felt like how he imagined butterfly kisses would feel. It felt like he had found a missing part of himself, but why would someone like her ever choose someone like him? The only reason he could think of was out of fear, but he didn’t want that, if she didn’t want to be his or a part of his life, he would not scare her into it.

Then his phone rang.

On the way home from her shift at the daycare she was exhausted, but that uneasy feeling she had been experiencing the past few days was even more intense today. She knew that there were two main mobs within the city, but she had never encountered either, thankfully, and she learned from her current boss that they don’t control the middle for the safety of the children at the daycares. The feeling of being watched only got stronger the closer she got to home. Before she entered the apartment building, she looked up and saw a silhouette from within her apartment, but no one else has a key to her apartment, apart from the building manager who is a little old lady, and the silhouette was definitely too big to be her. Her first instinct was to duck into the nearby shop and call someone. But who? She just recently moved here, so her friends all lived hours away, and she didn’t have any family left. The kind stranger’s words rung through her mind, “I mean anything, Butterfly.”

She went into the bathroom, pulled out her phone and dialed the one person who might be able to help her. Her hands trembled in fear that he wasn’t serious.

“Hello, who is this?” His voice cut through the phone roughly.

“Mr. Barnes…” she tried to steady her voice to get the words out, but fear kept them tight in her throat.

“Butterfly? Is that you? Are you okay?” He had a surprised and panicked tone to his voice.

“Yeah, it’s me. Umm… I didn’t know who else to call. There is someone in my apartment, and I am scared to go in. I am currently in the store next door. I’m sorry, you are probably busy, I should have just called the police,” she rambled out, when she heard him curse on the other end.

“Butterfly, do not apologize, give me the address I will be right there.” He tried to hide the anger in his tone. She gave him the address of her apartment building and the name of the store she was hiding in.

“Where are you going Boss? Should we come too?” Sam and Steve watched as he climbed on his motorcycle.

“Follow in a car just in case you are needed.” His tone is harsh, so they know something serious is going on.

She browsed the shelves of the convenience store trying to calm her racing mind when the front doors opened and in walked Bucky. Her mind started to race at the look on his face. “I’m sorry, I disturbed you with something like this. I just really didn’t know who else to call.” She stared at her feet not wanting to look into his eyes.

His gloved hands held her cheeks so that she would look at him. “You do not need to apologize. I was serious when I said to call me for anything. You, butterfly, could never be a disruption to my day.” Her cheeks burned under his touch, and she nodded like he wanted. “Now, can we go check out your apartment together?" He saw her whole body tense. “Don’t worry, I will keep you safe.”

“Okay.” She exhaled and walked outside looking over her shoulder to make sure he is still with her. Taking a deep breath she got into the elevator and pressed her floor.

“How long have you lived here?” he asked trying to make small talk and calm her down a little.

“I hit the 3 month mark a few days ago.” She answered with a sigh. The elevator dinged open and one of the doors just down the hallway looked smashed in.

Bucky pulled out his phone and shot a text to his boys. He kept her distracted long enough that Sam and Steve could join them. “These are my friends, Sam Wilson, and Steve Rogers. They are going to help just in case the intruder is still in there.” She nodded, shaking each of their hands and introducing herself. Bucky leaned down to her ear, “Oh, so that’s the butterfly’s name.” She blushed at the feeling of his breath on her face. Steve and Sam led the way with Bucky keeping his eyes around her to make sure there was no one else lurking.

“It’s a mess, but the coast is clear. No one is inside. But I don’t think it is a safe idea for her to stay here for a little while.” Steve turned to her. “Do you have somewhere else you can stay?” She shook her head, about to say that she would just stay in a hotel.

“She will stay at my place. I have more than enough rooms, and she will be safe there. Butterfly go pack a bag and make sure you bring anything important, just in case someone tries this again.” Bucky said with determination, surprising everyone else. She gave a small nod before heading into her destroyed apartment.

“Boss, do you really think that it is smart for her to stay at the house, what if she gets snoopy?” Steve asked concerned about what his friend is thinking.

“If you can tell me somewhere she would be safer I’ll listen, but I know what I am doing.” Bucky entered her apartment to look at the extent of the damage caused. “This doesn’t look like how Tony’s men would do a job, but they must have been in a hurry.”

“Do you know why he would target her, especially when she lives within the neutral zone?” Sam questioned keeping guard at the door.

“She was at the daycare when we were talking. I think he caught me looking at her.” Bucky stated going to find where she was. She was standing at the entrance of her bedroom which had been absolutely destroyed, with a horrified look on her face. She slowly walked over to what used to be a crystal butterfly, she cradled the pieces in her hands and cried. “Butterfly, I can get you a new one of those, I promise it will be okay.” She aggressively shook her head.

“No, you can’t. No one can, well except my parents who are both dead now. This was what I had left of them.” Bucky’s heart broke as his girl sobbed her heart out in front of him. He carefully wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. For once in his life he was at a loss for words. She put the pieces into a small bag inside her bag. Then she got up and continued to try to pack. Grabbing a stuffed bear in a suit, she turned to Bucky, “I guess I was also given this by them when I was born, but that crystal has always had a deeper meaning.” Her bag is bursting by the time she is done.

“Was anything important missing?” Sam asked her carefully, but she just shook her head. The men led her out, Sam took her bag, and Steve stayed to deal with the police since he had the best luck with them.

Bucky led her over to his motorcycle and put the helmet on her head. “Safety first. Make sure to hold on tight.” She held on to him as tight as she could, making Bucky smirk. He didn’t like that she might have been afraid, but he did like that she found him comforting.

“Woah, is this where you live?” She expressed her impressment of the large home. She had seen one like this before when she was young, but even now they were impressive. He smiled at her amazement, as Sam and Steve pulled up in the car. Bucky got her bag out and led her into the house and up to what would be her room for the next while. It was almost the size of her whole apartment, and it had its own en suite bathroom.

“It’s getting late, have you eaten?” She nodded looking around her room. “Okay, get some rest, you could use it after a day like today. If you need anything feel free to text me,” he said, letting her get settled in for the night.

She fell asleep with a smile on her face. She woke up the next morning to a text on her phone. “Let me know when you are up, butterfly, so I can show you around.” Her heart fluttered at his hospitality, and a part of her hoped that it wasn’t all a façade.

“Good morning.” Is all she sent once she got dressed and ready.

“Morning, Butterfly. Sleep well?” Almost instantly she got a reply. A soft smile graced her face as she thought about him waiting for her to get up. Just as she was about to reply, there was a knock at the door. She opened the door to find Bucky standing on the other side, in a sharp black suit. “Shall we go to breakfast?” He asked with his usual charismatic smile.

“Sure, and by the way I slept well. How did you sleep?” She walked beside him as he went down towards his private dining room.

“Better, knowing you were safe.” He held open the door for her, allowing her to see the full breakfast spread that had been laid out. As they ate Bucky explained that he had a very important meeting today, so she was free to wander most of the house, but he would be busy. Once they finished, he showed her around a little bit and pointed out his office, which if the door is closed meant that he is busy.

He dropped her off at her room and gave her the number of Sam, so that if she couldn’t find something she could ask him instead. However, if it was an emergency, she was still to contact Bucky himself, but only in an absolute emergency.

Tony walked into Bucky’s office with his main man, leaving the others to help train the newbie. “Where’s Wilson? Isn’t he always here?” There was a mocking tone to his voice.

“It’s just Rogers with me today, but I could ask you that as well.” Bucky snarked back. This meeting was originally scheduled to talk about a deal of technology from Tony’s side. “Why did your men target an apartment in the off-limits zone?” He didn’t hold back any accusations.

“I didn’t order anything; how do I know that you didn’t do it and are trying to cover your tracks,” Tony remarked disliking the accusations. As Bucky went to respond his phone rang, and there were very few people whose calls would go through. Seeing that it was her calling he took a minute to step away to answer the call before coming back in a worse mood than he was before.

While wandering around the house, looking for the library she was told was somewhere, someone she had never met came up to her. “What are you doing in here?” He asked with a bite in his tone quickly grabbing her before she could move. She was gagged so that she could not speak or do anything. He pulled out his phone and texted his boss about the intruder who would be put in the basement for him to deal with after the meeting.

Her hands were bound with rope that he grabbed from a table in the basement, but she still managed to sneak her phone out of her pocket once he left. She did the one thing she was told to, but also told not to. She called Bucky.

“Is this an emergency?” He asked sounding annoyed.

“Well…” she mumbled out through the gag.

“I told you not to call me if it wasn’t an emergency. I need you to stop being a disruption, I let you stay here, and all that I asked in return was to not be bothered during meetings. I just hope that you didn’t ruin this.” He then hung up on her. She felt the tears welling in her eyes, even though she was used to being unwanted.

“Hey, Sam, do you think you could help me out?” She phoned him once she calmed down. He agreed and she explained what happened the best she could behind the gag in her mouth.

“I’m really sorry that happened. Bucky informed everyone that he had a guest staying over but I guess that dude didn’t read the message.” Sam led her out of the basement and back to her room.

“Thank you,” she whispered closing herself in her room, to start packing. Her bag was packed just as quickly as she unpacked it, and she decided that the best course of action was to leave through her window. She knows when she is no longer welcome in a place and Bucky had made it crystal clear. She had forgotten one thing in her big hurry, the broken pieces of crystal.

“Fuck.” That’s all that went through Bucky’s mind at the end of the meeting. Between Stark, having yelled at her, and this supposed intruder that he had to deal with, he was drained. First, he needed to get out his frustration, so dealing with the intruder was the first task on his list. His anger billowed beneath the surface. “If she hadn’t interrupted, Stark wouldn’t have had a chance to think up a story.” He mumbled as he headed down into the basement. Horror filled his expression, when he got down there and the room was empty, and looked untouched, which means one of two things; either he was lied to, or one of his men released the intruder.

“Hey, Boss, how did the meeting go?” Sam asked as he picked up the phone.

Bucky growled into the phone, “Do you know what happened with the intruder? Did someone release them?”

Sam was taken aback by the aggression that his boss was showing, he rarely got this mad, especially towards his men. “Umm, yeah, I let her out.”

He didn’t even get to finish before Bucky snapped. “Why the fuck would you do that Sam? Did you not think I already had enough on my plate?”

Confusion filled Sam as he tried to figure out how to explain. “She called me and explained the situation. If you had wanted her down there, why didn’t you inform me, instead of telling me to help show her around?”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. “Wait, who was the intruder?” Sam explained that one of the other men put her down in the basement. His butterfly. Had that been why she was calling him; she had sounded muffled. Guilt began to curdle in his stomach. “Where did she go after?” He tried to calm his racing mind.

“She went back to her room; it was probably a scary experience for her. She was fighting back tears when I found her.” Swallowing down bile, Bucky thanked Sam before hanging up the phone. She hadn’t wanted to bother him, because she wasn’t physically in an emergency, but she had been mentally. But all he did was yell at her.

He didn’t know what he was going to say when he got to her room, but he needed to apologize. When he got there, he saw that the door was already open, but she wasn’t inside. None of her stuff was inside either. But there was something on the desk in the corner. And the window was open. He walked over to the desk and saw the bag of broken crystal and a note that sat in the middle of the desk.

“I’m sorry that I caused so many problems for you, Mr. Barnes, and I hope I didn’t ruin your meeting. Next time you bring a girl into your space, maybe make sure everyone knows that she is supposed to be there. Maybe we will meet again one day, but it would probably be best to try to avoid that. I will be out of the city in a few days, as to not cause you or Mr. Stark any problems. You will always be a dragonfly to me. You became a big point of change in my life, but it is only my beginning.

Signed, Butterfly.”

A few days. That was all he had to find her, and to beg her not to leave. How was he supposed to make this better? Had he already pushed her too far away? One of his men was excellent at fixing broken items, maybe that would be a starting place. He gathered the bag and went to make some phone calls.

She sat in the hotel room that she had rented for a few nights, and she tried to calm her mind and stop crying. She was used to not being able to stay somewhere too long, but she thought maybe she had found a place that she would have actually been welcome. A mob boss allowing her into his home, without knowing much about her. She got her hopes up, but she shouldn’t have. She knew better than that.

The phone that she was struggling to throw out, kept ringing on her nightstand. Showing his same caller id every ring. She couldn’t bring herself to answer because she couldn’t handle if he got anymore mad at her. What if he had wanted her to be tied up in the basement? She had been through torture before, but nothing hurt as bad as the thought of her dragonfly, being the one to break her.

A knock on her door pulled her out of her thoughts, as she fiddled with the business card that Tony Stark had left at her apartment between her visits there. She tucked the card away and got up to open the door.

“Ah, I finally found you. I was sent here to find you, because we found out that there is a very important missing document that belongs to them now. It had to have been you because you are the only one who would have had access while your parents were alive.” His words hit her like a truck. He must have been the one who trashed her apartment. As he pulled rope out of the bag on his shoulder, she just shook her head.

“I never took any documents, but I will come with you willingly, if I get my job back. I can even try to help find said document.” She said as she gathered her things including the phone, she shouldn’t have taken with her.

“I cannot promise that they will agree to any of that, but I will take you to my boss. But if we find out that you were lying to us, you know what will happen.” She rolled her eyes as she agreed to go with the stranger back to where she lived for the first 15 years of her life.

“She won’t answer her phone!” Bucky growled when Sam and Steve entered the room. “Do either of you have good news for me?” They both just shook their heads.

“She had been staying at a hotel nearby, but she apparently just left, with some man. But the worker was able to catch the man’s license plate number, it is a rental car from near the airport. We asked them who rented it, and they told us that the name that was given was an alias, HYDRA. We haven’t figured out what it means yet, but I think we are close.” Sam gave a run down of the events of the last few hours.

“So you’re telling me that she left in a random man’s car, and he took her to the airport?” Steve nodded confirming Bucky’s fears. He got up and grabbed his phone to call the airport to ground all the flights, there was only one slight flaw with his plan, the community airport was in Stark’s territory.

“Barnes, why did you threaten my airport? You have your personal one, I thought we discussed this.” Stark’s voice rang through Bucky’s car as he sped toward the airport.

“I can fill you in on details later, I just need the flights grounded for now. I fear there is a danger on one of the flights.” Bucky sounded panicked which was unusual especially when talking to his competitor.

“Fine, you’ve intrigued me, I will ground the flights, but it will cost you. We can meet up to discuss price after.” Tony hangs up to ground the flights, but it wouldn’t make a difference, their flight had already left.

It had been a month since she left, Bucky hadn’t been able to sleep properly since then. His search for her hadn’t stopped, and he held onto hope that he would find her and that she would be okay when he did. Fear filled his nights with thoughts about her having been kidnapped or hurt by the mystery man.

It was late by the time she made it to the city. She was in a bind, and she knew coming here would be a mistake, but this was the closest place that she knew she could hide. Staying here long though was out of the question, especially when she had those men on her back. What she hadn’t known was that the important document had been stored inside her teddy bear, she had found it when she tried to sew a hole that occurred from its travels. She had been away from her home for over ten years, but she never noticed the deed of ownership for her city, was in her teddy bear this whole time. She knew she had been destined to take over for her parents, but she never truly knew if that was what she wanted.

Tony Stark had been filled in on Bucky’s search for his butterfly when the sleepless nights started to get to him. Sleep deprivation can cause people to do strange things, and for Bucky that was ask for help, from his competitor, nonetheless. So when his phone rang with an unknown number, he answered it.

She introduced herself, and then said words that Tony never expected to come from her. “I need help, hiding from someone. I will only be in the city a few days, but he will probably come looking for me after I am gone. His name is Brock Rumlow.”

Tony shocked himself by breathing a sigh of relief, at the fact that she wasn’t hiding from Barnes. “I can help.” He gave her his address and then they hung up as she started to head over.

“Barnes.” Tony called Bucky, hearing him groan when he picked up the phone.

“What Stark? What do you want at 3 in the morning?” Bucky put his clothes on knowing he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep.

“You will never guess who just called me. Butterfly is in the city and needs help hiding from a man named, Brock Rumlow. If you want to have a chance to talk to her, I would suggest coming over as soon as possible.” The gasp that left Bucky’s mouth almost made Stark laugh, but he knew if it was Pepper in her place, he would react the same way, that Bucky is.

Time felt like it was going in slow motion and fast forward at the same time as Bucky flew down the streets on his motorbike, to Stark’s mansion. He pulled up to the front gates, and they opened for him so he parked near the front door but not to close, so that if she saw it, wouldn’t run away. Just then the front door opened to reveal his butterfly looking confused.

“Tony, there is no paper out here, and anyway why would they deliver at this time of the night.” As she turned to go back in, she caught a glimpse of Bucky standing staring at her. Tony had done this on purpose, of course he had. Her eyes dropped to her feet as he approached.

He could feel all her muscles tense before she relaxed into his embrace. He had missed her so much that he didn’t care that they were standing in the front yard of his competition. When he finally let her go, she gave him a small smile before heading back inside. He followed, wanting, no needing, to talk to her.

“If you two want to talk, your temporary room, would be the most private place.” Stark’s mansion was pretty much the opposite of Bucky’s. High tech and modern, compared to Bucky’s old-fashioned style. They often mocked each other for it, but right now all Bucky cared about was his butterfly. She nodded as she led Bucky up the stairs to the room she would be staying in for a little while, while she gathered her bearings. The first thing that caught his eye, was a crystal dragonfly she had sitting on the desk.

 “I’m sorry I was an ass for yelling at you. Sam explained the situation. I have been searching for you since the day you left. Where have you been all this time?” Bucky rambled out sitting on her bed.

“I was working, I knew I had overstayed my welcome in this city, so I went onto the next place. I accidently made someone very dangerous mad, so I just need to lay low and collect myself for a few days and then I will be on my way.” She walked over to look out the window.

“Is there anything I can say to change your mind? I don’t want you to leave again. I found a home in you; you have brought me more peace than I have felt in a long time.” Bucky pleaded trying to hold himself together. He was staring at the ground, so he didn’t notice her walk over to where he was sitting to join him.

“Why would you want me to stay all I do is cause problems?”  She tried to get him to look at her. When their eyes met, she saw raw pain in his beautiful blue eyes.

“I was a jerk for making you believe that, you are the one who actually helps me, the one thing that brought me peace. Please, I promise I can keep you safe.”  He grabbed a hold of her hands to try and get his desperation across.

“You weren’t the first person to tell me that, and well you probably won’t be the last.” She sighed leaning into his touch.

“I will if I have any say about it. Please give me a chance. If nothing else come stay with me, while you lay low.” She gave him a smile as he pleaded with her. He pulled her into her arms when she gave him a small nod. Tony smiled as he watched the interaction, he said it would be the most private, but not completely private, that was still his competition. “I couldn’t help but notice the crystal dragonfly on the desk, where did you get it?”

She looked at the dragonfly on the desk and smiled. “I bought it from the same place that my parents got me my butterfly. It represents the change that has come to my life due to a handsome stranger, and while I wasn’t sure if I would ever see him again, he reminded me of what my destiny is.” Her head pressed deeper into his chest out of comfort.

“And what, pray tell, is your destiny, Butterfly?” He asked leaning down to look her in the eyes.

“To lead. I was born to be a leader, and I was always a symbol of hope, for both my parents and the people they led.” She kept her response vague. Her heart pounded in her chest as he stroked her spine.

“My Butterfly, you are destined for great things, and I hope I can be by your side throughout it all.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head surprising her.

Very quietly she whispered into his chest, “I’d love that.” He just barely picked it up, his heart soaring at her words. He held her even closer to his chest, and then the door opened.

“Okay, love birds, I’m not offended that you would rather stay with him, and if you need anything from me, I will be happy to help, but please take all this lovey-doveyness back to your place Barnes,” Tony said as he leaned against the doorframe. Butterfly buried her face into Bucky’s chest out of embarrassment, causing him to laugh. Boy had she missed his laugh.

“Thank you, Stark. For taking care of, helping me find, and letting me know that my girl was in town. I am very grateful for your help.” Bucky stood to shake his hand.

“Yeah, yeah, just promise I get an invite to the wedding.” Tony joked as he shook Bucky’s hand. Giving Bucky one last wink, he left to let Butterfly pack.

“Butterfly, you left something behind when you were here last time,” Bucky mentioned as he carried her bag up to the room, she was staying in.

Holding up the imperfect crystal butterfly he said, “I had my man make sure that we could tell that it wasn’t perfect because I didn’t want you to feel like I was trying to erase that or that I had just found a new one.”

Her eyes filled with tears as she reached out to grab the butterfly. “It’s perfect thank you so much.”

He was so happy that she loved it, and he silently vowed to do anything it took to see her that way. After having carefully set it down on the desk she gave him a big hug, pressing her lips to his chest in the process.

“Can we talk about this dude who is coming for you? Because I can take care of him, but don’t ask how you don’t want to know.” Bucky asked as they sat down for dinner the next day.

She just shook her head. “Fine, I will share the details but, I only want to explain it once so can we set up a meeting with Mr. Stark.”

That confused Bucky, why did she feel that Stark also had to be there? “Butterfly, I promise you, I and my men can handle him just fine.”

“I know, you think that, but the only way to take him and his mob down for good would be to work with Mr. Stark because Rumlow has years of passed down knowledge on me.” She said pacing the room and surprising Bucky with the use of the word mob.

“How long have you known I was a part of the mob, Butterfly?” She just smirked at his question.

“Since you came to my apartment that day, one you were armed, and two Steve and Sam are some of your men rather than your friends. I also recognized the crest that you each were wearing. It was easy to figure out from there that the other mob boss in this city is Mr. Stark, but the one thing that I was never able to figure out is why you two are willing to split a city, but not work together.” She cut herself off there so that she could wait for Stark to arrive. Knowing how tough Bucky liked to be, she knew he would not call Tony over unless his life depended on it, so she took matters into her own hands and texted him to come.

“Umm, boss? You didn’t inform us that Stark was coming by today, is everything okay?” Sam asked entering the room with Steve. Bucky went to answer but Butterfly was faster.

“He didn’t know, but no everything is not okay, but I will explain it to you all at once. Let’s go to Bucky’s office.” She led the way to the office greeting Stark on the way. Butterfly sat down in Bucky’s chair and motioned for the others to take a seat on the other side of the dark wooden desk.

“What is going on, Butterfly? How did you make his mob angry?” Bucky asked utterly confused by her vagueness.

“Since when does your girl know about the mob? And that Rumlow dude, has one?” Tony Stark was trying to catch up, but he wasn’t the only one who was lost.

“No, he is just a mobster part of the mob that calls themselves HYDRA, they however used to be called SHIELD before being corrupted.” They stared at her with blank expressions on their faces. She knew she had lost them.

“Butterfly, a mob can’t be corrupted, it can be taken over, but I don’t think there is a way to corrupt something that does organized crime.” Bucky inserted confused as to what she meant, thinking that maybe she used the wrong word.

“I used the right word, but I guess I should explain everything from the very beginning.” She adjusted herself so she was sitting on the edge of the chair to appear more serious. “My parents were mob bosses together. They loved each other more than anyone I had ever met, and while they didn’t want to put their child at risk, they were willing to give up everything in order to have a child. It turned out that they struggled with serious fertility issues due to my mother having been tortured as a young child, by her parents' enemy. After years of treatment and trying, my mother finally became pregnant. However it was at one of the worst times possible, there was no way for them to give up the mob at that time because they were in the middle of a war.”

The shock that covered everyone’s faces made her smile; she knew more than they imagined. “Luckily, my mother was never one who did fieldwork, she was the strategist. I’m told that when I was born the war ended, and my parents, knew that I was destined to become a leader one day. I was given that crystal butterfly, for the nickname my parents had given to me when I was born, because I was a symbol of hope for my parents, for the future. Later when I was revealed to the community, I became a symbol of hope for them as well. I should explain something about my parents. They were absolutely ruthless when it came to anyone who tried to hurt me. They were surprisingly kind to the community, and they could be quite mean to their enemies. The community didn’t fear them, but they respected and relied on them.” She fiddled with the papers sitting on Bucky’s desk, while the others processed what she had told them so far.

“They sound like great people,” Steve added trying to ease some tension in the room.

“Yeah, they were the best. So I was kept a secret for my own safety for the first 9 ish years of my life, but I was also trained in self-defence just in case I needed it. I grew up surrounded by my parents’ people, and a few of them had children of their own that they would allow me to hang out with. But never in public. I’ll be honest, I rarely ever went in public, and even less with my parents. However I do remember one day I was out with my parents, we were driving somewhere when I was 15. I was relaxed in the backseat, while my father drove. They rarely ever drove, and I still sometimes wonder, if we hadn’t would one of them be alive, or would I be dead.” She had to look away, because the look of sadness in Bucky’s eyes, almost had her in tears.

“It was a thunderstorm that day. I remember as a loud crack of thunder happened, a bullet was shot and killed both my father and mother, causing the car to crash. I always assume that they thought the crash would have killed me. That’s why they didn’t aim a bullet for the back seat. I was not in great shape when I got out, but I was alive, and due to my training in patching up wounds, having worked with our mob doctor, for years, I was able to make it back home to pack a bag. I had tossed it out the window of my bedroom, and was getting ready to climb out, when I was taken down to the basement to be tortured until I promised to sign over the mob, or what the man I once knew as a friendly face hoped for instead, I died.”

Bucky stood up upon hearing this unable to hide his rage anymore. But he realized that is why she had been so terrified when they first met. “If you don’t mind me asking, why were you afraid of your apartment that day if you had been through all of this, Butterfly?” He asked curious to know her mind.

“Well, I was worried it was a local mob boss wanting to collect some money as protection, because as I learned from my travels, after I escaped the torture, while he wasn’t looking, making a deal leads to my identity being discovered and well, I could never stay somewhere people knew who I was because this isn’t some small new mob I’m dealing with. And he has years of knowledge about me, and my weaknesses, especially since most of them were present when I was training. So the thought of being found was not ideal. But when Rumlow came to my hotel room, after the incident, he said that his boss was willing to forget me escaping, if I gave him the document he needed, in order for him to have any sway with the other mobs. It was the deed to the part of the city my parents owned. When I was born, they put it inside my teddy bear, so that even if I tried to leave this life, I would take their legacy with me. I found it while I was sewing the bear back up in my old bedroom, but Rumlow caught me reading the document. So I shoved it into my bag and fled.” She exhaled trying to make sure she included all the details.

“The only place that I knew I would be able to hide in for a little while that was close enough was here, but I know they will be following me, so if I am not going to live the rest of my life on the run, I am going to need both of your help.” She sunk back into the chair from worry, and the mental exhaustion those memories created.

Nobody said anything at first, and she started to worry that they wouldn’t help her. She felt two strong arms pick her up and sit down with her in his lap. “Butterfly, I am so sorry that you had to go through all that, of course, we will help you. Right Stark?” Bucky gave a pointed look to Tony.

“Of course, you have become one of us, and we protect our own, even if she happens to be fraternizing with the competition.” Stark loved to joke even in times like this, which a lot of people said wouldn’t make a good boss, but he is one of the best.

[inspirationalucky]

⚡ EPIC: The Musical: The Thunder Saga sentence starters.

Suffering

"Don't you miss me?"

"Jump in the water and kiss me!"

"You know I'm afraid of the water."

"I'll make sure that you are safe and sound!"

"Come play with me and our daughter!"

"I'd be suffering trying to float the whole time."

"As good as that sounds, right here I'm just fine!"

"You know that I prefer my feet on the ground."

"Fine, but only if you answer a question or two."

"So, let's say I was on the run, or hiding!"

"Let's say he blocked the way home with giant waves and giant storms."

"How am I to evade him? How am I to get home?"

"Which route should I take? Where am I supposed to go?"

"He will chase you high and low, so find a place he'd never go."

"The one way you'll get home is sailing where he's scared to roam."

"This is your only way home."

"Well, you asked, and now you know!"

"For you, I would die."

"Now, jump in the water!"

"You know I'm too shy and terrified!"

"We'll jump at the same time!"

"The things I'd do for you..."

Different Beast

"Let's cut the charade, you are no wife of mine!"

"You've been trying to take my life this whole time!"

"I know exactly what you are."

"My real wife knows I'm not scared of the water!"

"My real wife knows I don't have a daughter!"

"While you were so focused on turning my men into snacks, you didn't notice that your friends got snatched."

"We won't take more suffering from you."

"We are the man-made monsters."

"You are a threat no longer."

"We've been away from home for about twelve years or so."

"First we slayed in our own war, and now we're here with more foes."

"I realized nearby there were sirens singing sailors to their dooms."

"You pretended to be my wife, so I just played along."

"I read your lips and phrases, scanning for information."

"Now, I know how to get back to my island."

"Spare us! Spare us, please!"

"Why, so you can kill the next group of sailors in this part of the sea?"

"Nah, you wouldn't have spared me."

"I made a mistake like this, it almost cost my life."

"I can't make more risks of not seeing my wife!"

"We're ending this now!"

"Throw their bodies back in the water, let them drown."

"He is a different beast now."

"Kill them all!"

Scylla

"This is our only way home."

"You're quiet today."

"You hide a reason for shame."

"I've got a secret I can no longer keep"

"Deep down, you know that we are the same"

"I opened the bag while you were asleep"

"I'm so sorry, forgive me!"

"We both know what it takes to survive."

"Deep down, we only care for ourselves."

"Deep down, we're lonely demons from hell."

"Captain, something approaches!"

"Drown in your sorrow and fear"

"We must do what it takes to survive."

"Give up your honor and faith"

"Live up your life as a wraith"

"We are the same, you and I."

Mutiny

"Tell me you did know know that would happen"

"Say you didn't know how that would end"

"Look me in the eyes, and tell me Captain, that you did not just sacrifice six men!"

"Try to say that I'm crazy and mad, that this is all some trick the gods have sent!"

"Tell me that you did not miss home so painfully bad that you gave up the lives of six of our friends!

"When we fought the cyclops, you were quick to hatch a plan."

"It was you who left behind no man!"

"You didn't take a stand, we just ran!"

"Say something!"

"Then you have forced my hand."

"Lower your weapon!"

"Don't make me fight you, brother. You know you'd have done the same."

"If you want all the power, you must carry all the blame!"

"There is no price he won't pay."

"I am not letting you get in my way!"

"How are we supposed to trust you now?"

"You time has come, your luck's run out."

"Now, the time has come to shut you down."

"Please don't tell me you're about to do what I think you'll do."

"Ody, we're never gonna get to make it home. You know it's true."

"I'm starving, my friends."

"We're so close to home! This can't be where it ends."

"How much longer must I suffer now?"

"How much longer must I push through doubt?"

"How much longer must I go about my life like this when people die like this?"

"We can get home!"

"You've doomed us... you've doomed us all!"

"We need to get away from this island, now!"

"Now that we've pissed them off, who do you think he'll send?"

Thunder Bringer

"Pride is a damsel in distress"

"In the end, it's all the same once I apply all the pressure."

"Show her I'm the judgement call, the one who makes her kingdom fall."

"Show her what she can't conceal for true nature will be revealed."

"I were to make you choose the lives of your men and crew or your own, why do I think they'd lose?"

"Enlighten me, King of Ithaca."

"I wonder who'd take the weight of the damned and suffer a gruesome fate?"

"You have passed your prime."

"Someone's gotta die today, and you have got the final say!"

"You or your crew?"

"Please, don't make me do this! Don't make me do this!"

"Let me take the suffering from you!"

"But we'll die."

[nyxvaledoeswriting]

Day 10 (make-up): Stable

Rating: Gen

Ship: G'raha Tia/Male WOL

Judas learns what G'raha plans to do to stop Elidibus.

“This is not the spot I expected you at.” G’raha’s voice was a cool splash of water in a desert. Judas smeared his hand over his face to try and look more presentable, but the rain did him no favors. It just mingled with his tears and made him look akin to a drowned mouse. Even his ears were bogged down from the weight of the torrential downpour and his own inner turmoil.

“Good, that was the plan,” Judas sniffled, avoiding G’raha Tia’s gaze. His kind, gentle eyes under his thick black eyelashes. Would he see understanding in those eyes? Or did G’raha just not care how Judas felt? Because Judas wept for G’raha and G’raha only, did the miqo’te find him ridiculous?

“You didn’t want me to find you?” G’raha questioned as he stepped closer. Judas leaned back heavily against the tree outside Fort Jobb and turned his gaze up at the dark clouds above their heads. The purple leaves shielded his view a little, but the turbulent weather could not be hidden.

“I didn’t want anyone to find me. It’s not just you,” Judas murmured, his voice barely audible above the storm. Thunder boomed overhead and Judas let out a shiver in response.

Silence stretched between them and Judas squeezed his eyes shut. How could G’raha even think about letting himself be consumed by the Crystal Tower? The more magic he drew on, the more the crystal spread on him. Soon, he would be nothing more than crystal himself. Judas could see it every time they were together, advancing up his skin and taking more territory. It was… terrifying.

“Judas… I’m so… sorry,” G’raha Tia broke first as he sunk down next to Judas. The miqo’te wrapped him in a warm embrace, pressing his hand to the back of Judas’ head to keep him close. “You’ve always been so… stable. You seem to have everything figured out and you’re never afraid. I just needed someone to confide in that wouldn’t – wouldn’t judge me. That wouldn’t… leave me behind.”

Judas’ eyes widened at the admission before his hand snaked around G’raha tentatively. He shook his head and buried his face in G’raha Tia’s shoulder. He was wet, he was cold, and now he was more than miserable. G’raha needed him now more than ever, yet Judas ran and hid at the first sign of trouble. Out of all the things he could deal with, losing G’raha was not one of them. Not now, not after everything.

“Listen to me, G’raha,” Judas pulled back slightly and cupped both of G’raha’s cheeks, “I will never, ever leave you behind. I love you. I love you more than I love myself. I was just… well, I am terrified of losing you. I can’t lose you, not after I just got you back.” His voice was trembling as he spoke, but Judas couldn’t tell if it was because of the cold soaking into his bones or because he couldn’t stop crying.

“I promise I will find another way to stop Elidibus. For you, for us. I don’t want to lose you either, Judas. You’re my everything.” G’raha responded in kind and pressed his palm to Judas’ cheek with a shaky smile.

Judas sniffled again before he let out a sneeze into his elbow. “We should… head back. We can talk more in the Crystarium. I’m just… really cold.”

“You’re the one who chose to go out in this storm.”

“You’re right. I did.”

[littledollll]

Casually sliding in here to introduce myself as @littledollll number one stalker and to request something from you love.

Prompt~ so this can be lucifer or Larissa I’m not fussy I see it more as Larissa tho😂 r has the ability to manipulate weather. But when r is stressed their ability tends to go haywire. This one particular day r had a tough day and it comes to Larissa’s attention when the weather snaps into a storm which (ironically) r hates and is terrified of. So she sets out to find r and they are absolutely freaking out massively overwhelmed and unable to regain control over themselves so Larissa comes in with the comfort and love respecting that if she immediately held r it would worsen her condition so settled for words of affirmation and praise until she was calm enough to be held. Maybe ends with r exhausted falling asleep in Larissa’s lap as the weather returns to it’s natural state

Here comes the sun

Larissa Weems x reader

A/n: guys this is my friend pls check her out she’s literally amazing. So lovely to see you👀 I’m sorry this too so long to write, you know all about it.

No warnings I think!

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Larissa knew it was never a good sign when the weather changed out of nowhere, specially when it only seemed to be surrounding Nevermore.

It was alot harder to control your abilities when things got overwhelming, Larissa learned that very early on, and it seemed like today was not treating you kindly.

She didn’t immediately make her way home, knowing you could handle yourself but when thunder struck Larissa knew things had gotten more complicated, not only did it mean your state wasn’t improving anytime soon, Larissa knew how much you hated the thunder. She quickly made her way home to you.

After many hours, and days, of her trying to convince you to take the time you needed to decompress versus you trying to convince her that you’d be perfectly fine in a group full of students and no space for yourself, Larissa ended up winning, so thankfully she knew just where you’d be.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

It was apparent that self soothing wasn’t being of much help, you seemed to be hiding from the world, head on your knees and arms wrapped around yourself when she came in to your shared room.

It became a spiral. A stressful day made a rainy day, those were fine until rain was accompanied by thunder, you hated it. All the noise and the warning flash of light that came before it only causing you more anxiety, you settled for curling into yourself and trying to distract from the overwhelming storm.

Larissa knew better than to act anxious herself. It was her steady calm demeanor that helped you down most if not all the time anyways. She called your name in a soft tone, mostly just to announce her presence and not risk freaking you out more.

All she got back was a whimper in response, and quietly, she made her way to stand next to you, “would it be okay if I sat with you?” You said nothing, a nod, and she sat a comfortable distance from you, as to not overwhelm. “I don’t need to know what happened now, not ever if you don’t feel like talking about it actually. Take your time to breathe, place your hand on your chest and feel your heartbeat calm, I will be here if you need me.”

You followed as she said, her soft voice and reassuring words helping you steady. Eventually you reached a hand to her, which she took in hers with a smile on her face.

She allowed you to do things in your own time, mindlessly tracing patterns on your hand with her thumb, a comfortable silence surrounded you both and you shyly shuffled to sit closer to her side. “can I- will you hold me?”

Nothing could have made Larissa happier. She tugged you over her lap, planting a gentle kiss on your head before wrapping her arms around you. Nuzzling into her neck with a sigh you gave her a quick kiss, just as a thank you, before you relaxed into her warmth and let your eyes rest.

Just out the window Larissa could see the clouds clear away as the thunder stopped and eventually the rain, it was late enough to see the sun setting, creating an air of peace in the room. Harsh winds replaced with soft breeze, and a dark sky turned orange and pink.

You took a deep breath, shuffling slightly to hug Larissa closer. From then your breathing turned calm, you didn’t say a word or move an inch, Larissa guessed you’d fallen asleep, she got comfortable in her spot, there’s no ways she’d risk waking you up now. Later, maybe in an hour or less since you were truly exhausted, she’d carefully carry you to bed and fall asleep along side you.

[ask-the-archs]

‘How come you and Archangel Gabriel are so close?’

———————————————

*Gabriel walks over to Noah*

“Hey, welcome home”

•Where is she?•

“Noah…”

•She died before me. Where is she, Jibril?•

“She isn’t… here…”

*Noah looks heartbroken*

•You’re lying.•

“Noah, I promise”

•You promised she would be safe after her death. You promised that we would both end up some place good. You promised that I wouldn’t be hurt by you or things like you again.•

*Clouds start to darken from white to a dark blue-grey as Noah yells at Gabriel, holy water falling from them in light rain, calm before the storm. Noah can’t help but feel terrified at the sight, ears ringing*

“Noah, my friend, I am so sorry”

•No. No! I can barely cope but when an emotionless, wooden shell of a human like you starts pitying me, then I’m screwed!•

“I am not a shell of a human.”

•You are! You do anything you’re ordered to! You’d kill yourself if your Father told you to, wouldn’t you?•

“…of course I would. But I care about you regardless.”

•No! You promised me that I would be safe, that we would be safe and together afterwards!•

“My friend-”

•Do not! Call me your anything.•

“…Noah. I said that you would be safe in the afterlife, she wasn’t… you know she wasn’t safe for you to be around. You know it, Noah, I know you do…”

*Lightning flashes and thunder crashes close enough for both of them to flinch. Noah’s eyes go distant and his breath hitches, Gabriel puts a hand on his arm*

“It’s… it’s just me, my friend, you are safe. I am safe. I didn’t do that, Father is most pleased with you, no one is going to die, Noah, you did good”

*Noah is shaking, head bowed and now-watery hair falling into view, making him hyperventilate even more*

“Noah, my friend, I am here to protect you, I promise.”

———————————————

*Noah must have paced the entirety of Heaven that day, bored with nothing to focus his energy on*

“What are you being so irritating about, my friend?”

•I have never had nothing to do before. And I have the urge to do something stupid•

“I’m stupid, do me.”

•…funny. I’m serious, Jibril, I might well go insane with nothing to do•

“And what do you want to do, Noah?”

‘You’

*Both of them blush gold at the forbidden thought, Gabriel first at overhearing it, and then Noah upon realising that Gabriel had*

•A farm, maybe? Something to do with animals. Not the creepy ones that look way too human and fly around.•

“…done.”

———————————————

“Noah, can you just sit there and listen to me try and think through a problem?”

•Of course, Ri.•

———————————————

•Have you ever courted anyone, Jibril? You’ve never mentioned it•

“A few times over the years. Nothing that lasted, I’m different than most expect.”

•You are more human than they expect, you mean?•

“…I’m more flawed than I am expected to be, and others dislike the attention sure to be on them for courting a Heavenly Prince.”

———————————————

•Are you ever curious?•

“Always.”

•You rarely ask questions, Ri, how can you be so curious and yet so quiet in your yearning for knowledge?•

“Where is this coming from, Noah?”

•Just some late-night thoughts.•

*Gabriel laughs*

“You think of me late at night, my friend? Perhaps you should be in my nest some night so we can see what type of late night thoughts happen”

*Noah blushes gold and stammers to try and change the subject*

———————————————

(Back to the present)

•…No reason, he’s just a long time friend of mine•

[pigeonwhumps]

Snippet from an ask game response by @fishtale88 months ago (one of several, I'm working on them too). Sorry it's so late!

Prompt: ⚡ - scared of thunderstorms

Out of the Frying Pan masterlist

Taglist: @annablogsposts

CWs: panic attack, flashback

Col glances up at the sky as the first flash of lightning lights up the clearing. They're not going any further today. As soon as Sæwin returns with the willow bark they need to make camp.

Might as well make a start.

He rummages around in the saddle bag. "Hey, Elis. Will you help me with this?"

There's a small whimper from beside the tree, and Col turns to see Elis, white-faced and trembling, scrunched up against it, eyes squeezed shut, hands pressed to his ears.

"Elis?"

"Please, please don't leave me out here, please please please, I'll be good sir I'm sorry, please don't make me stay out here. Sir please."

Elis sounds terrified and Col's not sure what to do. He needs to help the boy, he just isn't sure how.

"Elis, can you open your eyes?" Elis doesn't respond. "Sweetheart, it's Col. Do you remember where you are?"

"'m in the courtyard, it's a storm, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry."

"Hey. Easy, Elis, you're not there. You're with Col and Sæwin in the forest, remember? We named you. Open your eyes, sweetheart, it's just Col."

Elis opens his eyes cautiously. Thunder booms and he jumps, eyes widening, hunching up small.

Col reaches out a hand and touches the boy on the arm. He jumps again, arms flying out in front of him.

"Easy, sweetheart. Breathe. Put your hand on my chest and follow my breathing." He takes Elis' hand gently and guides it to rest it on his chest, covering it with his own hand. "In, out, just like me. That's it sweetheart, there you go."

Elis looks up, eyes clearing. "Col?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it's me."

"Col. Col Col Col Col Col."

"Yeah. You're safe."

Elis swallows, retreating back into himself, going very quiet and still, eyes slightly glazed. He's gone somewhere he's not allowed to move or speak, Col thinks, and he hates it.

"Hey, Elis. Can you speak? If you can't, blink once for yes and twice for no." Elis blinks twice. "All right. And I'm guessing you can't move either?" He blinks twice again. Col was right then. He holds back a sigh. "Would you like a hug?"

Elis blinks once and Col approaches carefully, wrapping his arms around the boy. "It's all right, it's all right, shh. You're safe."

After a few minutes there's a little gasp, and Elis clutches Col's cloak tightly, burying his head in it, body shaking.

"'m sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," he whimpers, and Col rubs his back.

"You've got nothing to apologise for, sweetheart. You mentioned being left out in the storm, is that something your old, um, master would do?" Elis nods. "Do you want to talk about it? You don't have to."

The boy gulps. "Master would tie me up outside in storms because he knew I was scared and it was only for a little bit but I wasn't allowed to make a sound and if I made a sound I'd be out there longer and I couldn't help begging and so and so–"

"Oh, sweetheart."

"Are you, you, you're not going to leave me out here, are you?"

Col takes Elis' chin gently in one hand and raises it until he can look the boy in the face. "No. I'd never do that. You hear me, Elis? Doing that is just cruel. We can't get out of the storm until we've set up shelter, but I will never make you stay outside in it."

Elis' eyes well with tears until they stream down his cheeks, both of them pretending it's just rain.

"Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you."

"That's all right. Have you ever put up a tent before?" Elis shakes his head. "Then it's time you were taught how to. Come on, if you can stand up, let's get started."

[harghoes]

Summer Rains

pairing: Billy Hargrove x reader

warnings: none, its fluff. possible ooc Billy but we don’t talk ab that

a/n: this is my first piece of writing I want to share in a very long time so just be gentle. Billy is alive in my fantasy worlds so shhhhh

gif not mine!

—-

Thunderstorms were something you held sacred. You remember being younger and your mom holding you close as you two watched the rain slam against the ground. She taught you that, though they can be dangerous and scary, they can also be beautiful and divine. 

What she didn’t tell you is that those rules apply to people as well. 

Billy Hargrove, the town asshole, isn’t as bad as he seems. He has made some questionable calls, and fought one too many people, but he was truly the most beautiful human you’ve ever met. Once you were able to get close enough to him, he released all the demons that plagued him. 

That’s how you found yourself in this situation. You’re sitting on the front porch of your house, and the smell of rain hits your nose before the view of the clouds meets your eyes. The distant rumble of thunder fills the silence, and soon the trees are bending from the wind. The slight calmness before a storm is your favorite. 

The sound of a screen door shutting breaks your watchful eye and you’re turning to where the door slammed. There you see Billy holding two mugs of hot chocolate. A smile breaks across his face when he sees your trance-like state. He knew how important thunderstorms were to you, so much so that he allowed you to drag him into the tradition. 

“How did I know you’d be out here?” His voice is soft in order to not break the stillness. 

“Sorry, I should’ve told you. I didn’t mean to just disappear. I heard on the news it was supposed to start storming, and I just-“ 

He cuts you off with a shake of his head. “You don’t need to explain yourself, baby. I know how important they are to you.” 

You smile brightly at him and scoot over on the swing. He sits next to you, giving you your mug, and throwing his arm around your shoulders. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.” His voice breaks the silence again and you turn to look at him. 

“Used to what?” You question. He glances at you before turning his attention back to the clouds. He’s quiet for a while, which you’ve learned means he’s about to say something meaningful. 

“Used to you. Sitting here with me, while we watch the storms roll in, and we’re comfortable.” He takes a quick look at you, “I used to be terrified of storms. They reminded me of the loudness from my childhood. The thunder was like…” 

You move your hand to rest on his. He’s opening up to you in a rare moment of fragility.

“Hey, honey. You don’t have to talk about it. I know. I’m sorry.” 

The thunder is closer now, and there’s an occasional flash of lightning. His arm around your shoulders tenses and squeezes you closer. He begins speaking again. 

“I never knew if I would get this. This life, I mean. I didn’t think I deserved to be this happy, let alone with you. I honestly don’t think I deserve to be loved by you.”

You knew he’d been insecure about your relationship before. You knew he had doubts about everything that has to do with you. But you never, never, thought he would say that. You were stunned into silence. How could this man, who went through so much, believe he didn’t deserve a basic human need such as love? 

You knew why he didn’t think he deserved it. A flash of anger passed over you as you thought of his father. As quickly as it appeared, it was gone. But Billy had caught it. 

His finger ran between your eyebrows. He saw the scowl from a mile away. Once his hand was back in his own lap, you reached for his own face. Both hands cupping each side of his jaw, you take a second to think of what to say. 

After a moment of admiring every detail, you finally found the right words. 

“You, Billy Hargrove, have thunder in your heart. You have lightning in your veins. You are every single thing I love in this life, wrapped into one person.” 

There are tears in his eyes at your confession. A few of them fall, and you’re quick to brush them away. 

“You deserve everything I have to offer. You deserve everything this Earth has to give. You are every piece of my excitement and my fear. And most importantly, you are every ounce of my love.”

By this point the tears are falling freely from both of you. Speaking honestly from your heart, you hope to settle even an ounce of his anxiety. 

He pulls you into a passionate kiss, the lightning strikes and rumbling thunder only increasing your devotion to one another. 

Separating, you tearfully smile at each other in a way that’s almost goofy, before turning to look back at the sky. The clouds have finally reached you, and the thunder rumbles in your chest. 

This, this moment, this life, is right where you and him are meant to be.

[caspianthegeek]

Crowley watched as a raindrop trickled down the fat leaf of the plant, washing away the dirt and grime in its wake. Would that it could do the same to his heart. Some force to cleanse away both the filth and pain. Anything to erase the memory of Aziraphale’s terrified face after the kiss and the shake in his voice as he’d said the demon’s name.

Crowley ran.

What other option was there? Aziraphale shouted his name as he hurried down the streets of Babylon, but he had no intention of being caught. And Crowley had always been faster.

With a slow rumble of thunder, the storm was no longer threatening. It was here and part of him wished it could simply consume him. To be lost in the flashes and noise as the water poured down over him, masking his tears. He pulled his knees in close and rested his head on them as he sobbed.

The next bolt was close enough to shake his body and leave his ears ringing. In one fluid movement, he rose to his feet tilting his face up defiantly at the sky.

“Strike me down here, why don’t you! You didn’t have any problem tossing me out before.” He pushed the soggy strands of hair back from his face. “What I deserve. Defiling him, that’s far worse than anything I even did up there!”

Another bolt cracked down not far from him. As the ground shook, Crowley never took his defiant gaze from the sky.

A hand slid into his own, warm and pressing. Aziraphale stood next to him, his blond curls flattened to his face by the rain. Another flash of lightning lit up behind him and for a moment he seemed to almost glow.

“I’ve been looking for you for hours,” he shouted over the storm. “What are you doing out here? Come on!” He pulled the demon towards the city.

His heart yearned to follow. His mind was too terrified to even consider it. Crowley dug his feet in, stopping them both. “You don’t have to—I’m sorry, Aziraphale. Just go . You’re not supposed to be here.”

“You’re here,” Aziraphale said firmly. “Is this about…my dear, do you think that I didn’t want your kiss?”

Crowley didn’t know what to say, so he opted for nothing. Longing warred with dread in his heart as understanding crested over Aziraphale.

“Oh for Heaven’s sake…”

He braced himself for the pain. He hoped Aziraphale would leave him here, in the storm, that was at least matching his own heart.

Emotions flickered across Aziraphale’s face so fast Crowley couldn’t keep up. Before he could sort out what was going on, the angel pulled him in, bringing their lips together desperately.

Crowley’s confusion gave way to acceptance. If he were going to hurt later, he may as well enjoy every ounce of pleasure now.

Aziraphale’s arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly as another bolt of lightning came down. This time when the kiss broke the angel didn’t relent his hold and instead whispered, “Can I take you home, please?”

Regardless of how he tried to tamper it down, hope sang through Crowley. He nodded, still not trusting his words. Aziraphale considered him, then slid to his side to keep his arm wrapped around the demon as they left the desert storm behind them.

Originally posted on Ao3

[beetsandskzreads]

if the world was ending you'd come over right?

genre: FLUFF, angst if you squint, a lil scary (if you're scared of storms), chan and y/n are whipped for each other but are shy about it

pairing: channie x gn!reader; (skz's) assistant!reader

warnings: description of storms 🌩️, mentions of anxiety

a/n: english is not my first language so if something is grammatically incorrect I'm sorry and feel free to inform me :)

[11 p.m.]

it was the scariest storm you'd ever seen, you were alone in your apartment and the thunder stroke loudly like if the whole world was falling apart, huge flashes of light invading the room every now and then, the power had went out and it was dark.

you looked into the hallway to check if the whole building was out, it was. the streetlights and some other buildings had light, so it was your buildings problem. and you had no idea how to fix it so you were just gonna wait patiently.

you were never scared of regular storms but this was nothing like it. this made you feel like the whole building was gonna colapse with the immense sound of roaring thunder, or like something terrible was gonna happen to you in the darkness of your apartment, courtesy of a few scary movies and your irrational anxiety.

the sound of thunder had made you have at least 5 jump scares by now, grabbing onto your plushie and petting your poor cat, who was terrified himself, you whimpered every once in a while in fear and you can't help but wish you weren't alone.

that's when your phone rang, the screen lighting up the room along with the few candles you'd lite. it made for a romantic and cosy ambiance, if only you weren't terrified to death, clutching yourself.

you pick up the phone realizing chan was calling, which was odd in the am, he sometimes called about something he'd need you to do in the company or to bring something over to the dorm, but at this hour it concerned you, specially in this storm, you wondered if they were okay, and so you picked up immediately.

"chan? what happened, are you and the kids ok?"

"yeah yeah it's all good, I just called to see if you were okay, i figured you might be scared of the storm and alone, i thought I'd check up on you" he said with that sweet voice of his, warmth immediately filling up your heart at the sound. oh to be in love with someone you work for. to be utterly and completely in love with someone who you have to take care of as your job, when you'd do it all for free.

your crush on chan was merely platonic (or so you believed) but how could you not be in love when he does things like these? like calling to check up on you in the middle of the storm.

you had been getting closer these past few months, it felt like you were friends, and you were terrified of your feelings for him, both as a professional and as a friend. sometimes it did feel like he was a little flirty or hinting at something, but in the end chan is just naturally charming, kind and supportive so you couldn't think too much of it.

"I'm a little scared, the power went out and the thunder is so loud it makes me shake but I'm holding up okay, it'll pass" you say with a small nervous laugh.

"should I come over? you sound terrified, are you alone? oh you live alone of course you are, I should take an uber and go, keep you company maybe take some food, I'll just go change, it's pouri-"

"chan you can't, are you insane? why would you do that? coming here in the pouring rain, risking having a car accident? no way! you stay home warm and cozy with the boys. I'm fine, really, I'm just a bit shook up, the thunder is too loud, feels like the whole world is falling apart, it's scary, but I'm okay"

"okay if you say so... I wouldn't mind going, but probably there aren't even any ubers around in this weather, I just didn't want you to feel alone. it really does feel like the world's about to end, I was just thinking about it and so I thought of you, I had to talk to you. sorry I can't be there for you right now y/n"

"what are you even apologizing for, chan? it's my job to take care of you. you shouldn't be worrying about me, you have so much work already, I don't want to add to your stress"

"yeah but I... it's not like I see you as a responsibility y/n... it's just how it's been, I can't help but worry about you, think about you, wanting to protect you all the time, i know it's not my job to but I can't help it. I hate the thought of you feeling hurt and alone, I had to check up on you."

"that's... awfully sweet of you but I really don't know why I've become a burden to you. you shouldn't be thinking about me at this hour chan, you should be resting."

"you're not a burden y/n, you're in my heart" how could he say something so beautiful to you just like that "I can't help but want you close" he continued.

"what does that- what're you even saying chan?" you say through a nervous laugh, your heart running at a thousand miles per hour wondering what he could really mean.

"y/n will you please just stay safe today and come over tomorrow? the news said tomorrow night there would be another huge storm, i want you here by my side to make sure you remain calm. we could even have a cosy night at the dorm... we could watch a movie and light up a few scented candles like the ones you like and eat cookies, drink hot chocolate... how's that sound? i think it's the perfect weather for that and you'll feel safe and comfy here."

"not gonna lie... that sounds a lot like you're asking me out on a-"

"a date, yes, I'm asking you out on a date, if that's okay"

"yeah... it sounds perfect and i don't want to go through this alone again" you say, still phased and blushing from what he had said.

"are you coming only because you're scared of the storm?" i can hear his grin through the phone somehow.

"you know that's not it, I'm just still a little surprised you're asking me out is all! i love spending time with you, that's why I'm going. it'll be great to get through the night with you, you make me feel safe so it'll be perfect, that's what I meant" your face feels warmer every second.

"I'm glad I make you feel that way sweetheart, you bring me so much comfort too, it's one of the reasons I asked you out in the first place... ever since you started taking care of us I haven't been able to imagine what it's like to be without you, you see through me like water and you always know the right things to say... i have so much to say to you but I think I'll save it for our date tomorrow haha"

"okay, that's enough making me blush for today too, thank you so much, for taking care of me I mean"

"from now on I'll be taking care of you so get used to it ^_^ try to get some rest then and I'll see you tomorrow? stay safe"

"yeah, I'll see you tomorrow (灬º‿º灬) bye chan, get some rest too!"

[aarcanechaoss]

Can you do a fic where Huguchi is on a phone call with her sister after a power outage in the mafia base.And Cuuya overhears thr convo and ask Higuchi about who was it(you can include a funny scene where he thinks the person she's talking to is her birth child🤣 cue higuchi frantically explainig)

God that’s so fucking funny I love this

A power outage at one of the mafia headquarters buildings was rare. The entire headquarters from Mori’s office to the depth of the parking garage was even rarer.

Due to the outage it meant most of the mafia members may need to stay longer than usual to finish their work… that included Ichiyo Higuchi.

With a deep sigh she grabs her phone and ducks into her office, not noticing that the door hadn’t closed behind her.

“Chiyo?” A quiet voice questions on the other side of the phone.

“Hey bubs.” She responds. “I won’t be home on time today.”

“Oh. Did something happen at work? Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m okay Kuni I’m fine. We’ve lost power so I’ll be home late. I’ve already messaged Mrs Nara she’ll be there in a minute.” And it hurt Higuchi to be away from home for so long, hated leaving her sister alone on stormy days like today.

“Okay. Is she staying here or am I going next door?”

“I’m don’t know. I’m sure she’ll be happy to do whatever you would rather okay. I know it sucks I’m not there right now but I’ll be there soon, just not on time.” She said, worry obvious in her tone.

“She’s here. I’ll text you whether I’m next door or not.” Kuniko said.

“Okay. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Higuchi sighed as she stared out at the gloomy world beyond the window. She could hear the soft rumble of Thunder in the distance and only hoped her sister would be okay. Kuniko hated storms, always had and it hurt Ichiyo’s heart that she couldn’t be there for her right now with her favourite food and warm blankets and lots of cuddles just for her.

“Higuchi?” She jumps, hand against her hammering heart as she sees Chuuya Nakahara at her office door. “Sorry.”

“Nakahara.” She greets with a laugh. “No worries you just startled me is all.”

“You alright?”

“Oh yeah I just… my little sister is terrified of storms but I can’t really pack up and go home on time today ya know?” She says rubbing her hands up and down her arms.

Chuuya’s face flushes and his eyes widen.

“Little… sister? That’s who you were on the phone with?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I mean I understand why you wouldn’t know I had a sister Mafia business isn’t suited for families but… Nakahara why is your face so red?” The blonde questions as he starts coughing in what seemed to be embarrassment.

“I… Ithoughtyouweretalkingtoyourkid.”

“What?” She asks, startled by how fast the executive has spoken.

“I thought… you were talking to your kid… or something.”

Was it possible for ones face to get any redder?

Ichiyo’s eyes widen as she takes in what he has said and soon her own face matches Chuuya’s.

“No. No. No. Little sister, baby sister! She is fifteen!” She says frantically, hands waving about in panic.

“I’m sorry!” Chuuya exclaims. “I shouldn’t have been listening and I… I’m sorry for assuming!”

“No it’s okay Chuuya… it’s fine I would totally understand- you didn’t have any context.”

And that was how the Black Lizard found them both mere minutes later, faces flushed in embarrassment whilst looking anywhere but each other. They refused to explain what had happened- though much later they did when they found it funny and not embarrassing anymore.

Kuniko would not be hearing about this, they both decided.

[uwuwriting]

Zoom meetings with the kids w/ Kuroo, Akaashi and Sakusa

Request: I have been stuck inside the house with my three year old brother for the last three weeks and he keeps coming inside my room and entering the zoom call with me. So that had me thinking. How would our favorite Haikyuu dads Kuroo, Akaashi, maybe Kenma or Sakusa react to their toddlers coming into their room and joining their meeting. - anonymous. 

Awww I love haikyuu dads!!!! I have begun making the smau and I’m already like 3 chapters in but I won’t start posting until I’ve finished it or I’m about to finish it. I wanna be sure that I’ll have a trustworthy upload schedule lmao bc my midterms are coming up next week and I’m dying. Love ya. 💖💖💖

masterlist

rules

warning: fluff

Kuroo Tetsuro

-He was in a meeting with the firm for the past three hours. 

-He was absolutely exhausted and the only thing he wanted was to take a nap with his two year old daughter. 

-You were still at the hospital, your shift finishing in about two hours so he was basically alone.

-Your daughter was playing with her toys in his office, being as quiet as she could but exhaustion started to win her over little by little. 

-Yawn after yawn left her lips but since the sound was so small and barely above a whisper, Kuroo hadn’t realized that his little princess was tired. 

-Standing up with wobbly legs she grabbed her cat blankie and rubbed her eyes as she slowly made her way to her father. 

-With one arm hugging her blankie and the other wrapping around Kuroo’s leg, she rested her head on his leg and slowly sank down to the floor, not tugging at his pyjama leg as he expected. 

-Looking down at her he didn’t think twice before bending over and bringing her into his lap. 

-She let out a small sigh before she clutched his shirt in her small fists and was off to dreamland in record time. 

- “Kuroo-san what do you think?” 

- “Sorry my daughter distracted me.”

-And with that he went back to his meeting. 

-Throughout the rest of the meeting Kuroo rested a hand on her back, cupping her little head lightly rubbing soothing circles on her skull, staring down at her every now and then a smile adorning his features every time he saw her nuzzling into his chest.

-She was a female version of him now that he thinks of it.

-She had his crazy raven hair and stunning amber eyes while her face structure reminded him of both you and him. 

-Her personality though was all you. 

-He knew she was very young but she reminded him of you when you two first met more and more each day.

-Right at that moment she let out a small yawn again, her eyes opening slightly as she repositioned herself on his lap and went back to sleep. 

-He couldn’t love her more, at least that’s what he believed. 

-Each day she proved him wrong. 

-Saying goodbye to his coworkers he shut off his computer and went to the living room couch, laying down with his little girl in his arms. 

-Giving her one last kiss he fell asleep, a smile still present on his features. 

Akaashi Keiji 

- “The author said that those new chapters need to be edited by the end of the month. He will send you the rest when you are done with these.” 

-His eyes were bloodshot from the endless hours he had been staring at his screen. 

-Rubbing his eyes he answered every single question that was thrown at him, wishing that this one would be the last one. 

-But the universe wouldn’t have it that way for poor Akaashi making him stay up late again. 

-Thunder rumbled from outside and he wondered whether or not you had taken your son to bed with you. 

-The four year old boy was terrified of storms from a young age, always looking for comfort in either you or Akaashi. 

-But ever since his sister was born he pulled away from you two, he didn’t ask for help anymore even when he needed it and he didn’t wake you up during the night when he had a nightmare.

-Akaashi was amazed to say the least. 

-Neither of you had said anything to him about how your attention would mostly be on the baby and you guys had never dismissed his needs because of your little girl. 

-It worried him how fast his son closed in on himself. 

-He was already a shy and quiet kid but now you barely heard his voice and it broke both of your hearts. 

-Akaashi was determined to help him get out of this phase and be by his side but this assignment took up more of his time than he would’ve liked. 

-Light danced across the room as the door slightly opened but no one stepped in. 

-Keiji was about to stand up when he heard little sniffles and the light pitter patter of feet on the carpet of his office. 

-And soon enough his son rounded the corner of his desk, one arm wiping away tears as the other clutched the stuffed owl his uncle Bokuto had bought him. 

-Without losing a beat Keiji pushed his chair back and brought him in his lap, giving a small apology to his boss before momentarily turning off both camera and mic. 

- “I’m sowwy.” 

- “Shh I’m here, nothing’s gonna hurt you.” 

-Giving him a kiss on each cheek Akaashi let him snuggle in his chest, a strong arm supporting the toddler while simultaneously making him feel safe and protected. 

- “Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt but could we end it here? My son had a nightmare and I want to calm him down.” 

- “Of course Akaashi-san, give my regards to the little man. Goodnight.” 

-And with that the meeting was over and Akaashi was left with a crying child in his arms. 

- “Hey hey, I told you that nothing’s going to hurt you while I’m here. Why don’t we go sleep with mommy hm?” 

- “I’m sowwy…”

-Akaashi kissed his head again bringing him into a tight hug as he got up from his seat. 

- “There is nothing to be sorry for now come on, mommy would want cuddles.” 

 Sakusa Kiyoomi

- “If we use the new quick that Atsumu and Hinata have been practicing then we would have the upper hand momentarily.”

-Kiyoomi let out a sigh as the meeting he had with the team would not seem to end. 

-They had been discussing tactics for the last hour and a half while the rest of the time they had been informed of the new managers they had been assigned. 

-Kiyoomi never expected to be in a zoom call while being an athlete.

-He thought that it would be useless. 

-What were they even gonna do while in the meeting? Practice? 

-But he was proven wrong once the coach called the first meeting and now Sakusa was ready to pull his hair out. 

-Thankfully he was just laying in bed so at least he was comfortable. 

-You had gone out for some much needed grocery shopping leaving Kiyoomi with his son, not wanting to take your child outside with the virus contaminating people left and right. 

-Sakusa loved spending time with his son. 

-He was a low maintenance child, just like he was when he was young, adopting the same hygiene patterns as his father even at the early age of two. 

-He had just started talking and you wouldn't stop having conversations with him, the baby only uttering a simply “dada” or “momma” or even maybe a “yes” or “no” if you were lucky. 

-It made you happy though, seeing your son slowly becoming more independent. 

-Sakusa was also happy but he was also reminded that he wouldn’t stay this young forever; before he knew it his son would be off to high school or college and he wouldn’t fit in his arms anymore. 

-Lost in thought Kiyoomi hadn’t seen the toddler make his way into the room until he felt the covers being pulled as he attempted to get on the bed *and failed bc he’s just too short*

-Letting out a chuckle Sakusa pushed his laptop to the side and leaned down to grab his son, who was now pouting an expression that was a little too similar to yours. 

- “Is that mini Sakusa I see?” 

-Kiyoomi ignored Atsumu as he settled his son on his lap letting the baby wave at the camera as his “uncles” waved back. 

- “Do you mind if he joins?” 

- “Of course not, every Sakusa is welcome.”

-Giving his son one last kiss on his head, Kiyoomi went back to listening to the boring tactics letting his son play with his fingers in the process. 

-Okay maybe it wasn’t that bad now 

TAG TEAM AY:

@the-arcana-fan-fic @angelwritings @axerrri @reinyrei @dnarez @dark-thoughts-and-red-roses @threeamwriting @letscheereachotheron​ @ezoyscorner​ @storage11037​ @wolfkid22

[devildomdisaster]

I'm sending this assuming that requests are open. If not, feel free to ignore this, haha

Can I request the bros reacting to mc getting annoyed and worried during a thunderstorm, and when they ask why mc answers with something akin to "my dog is terrified of thunderstorms, so it's become instinct to find him and comfort him"?

I've been slow to answer requests lately. Sorry, this took so long.

Lucifer:

Your constant pacing is annoying him. Lucifer can’t figure out why you are so agitated, and your pacing is starting to distract him from the paperwork he has to have done by morning. “It’s just a thunderstorm, Mc please.”

You whip around to glare at him so quickly he is taken aback.

Nothing in your expression says fear, and to be honest, Lucifer is relieved you don’t seem to be afraid of the storm. He hadn’t handled the situation well and he wouldn’t ever want you to think he cares so little for you that he would brush aside your fears as if they meant nothing.

Now that he is thinking clearly again he changes tactics.

“Mc, my dear, what has got you so upset?”

“My dog hates thunder, and I always have to comfort him during a storm. He’s not here. But I can’t help but worry. And it’s just instinct now I guess.

Lucifer seriously considers bringing your dog to the Devildom.

But the trouble that would get him into, the paperwork, Diavolo, the chance that some sort of harm could come to your pet dissuades him from that idea.

“I’m sorry mc.” and he really does look distressed that he can’t help you.

Until he realizes that Cerberus isn’t the biggest fan of thunder either. Cerberus’s room is more protected from the noise of the storm but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like attention and comfort during a storm.

Lucifer takes your hand and silently leads you down to Cerberus.

You are understandably reluctant at first but Lucifer assures you that Cerberus is completely docile while he is around.

Soon you are snuggled up against the three-headed dog and Lucifer is finishing his work on the ground next to you.

Mammon:

Mammon bluntly asks you what has you so annoyed

“Oi human, what’s got ya all antsy?”

The way he says it makes you want to fight him just a little.

But he’s a demon and there’s no way a human could scare him with a little glare. Well normally your glare might scare him just a bit, but the look in your eyes now is tempered by the worry that is so clear on your face.

He drags you to his room and has you explain exactly why you are so worried.

Mammon asks you all about your dog.

He somehow distracts you by getting you to tell him all kinds of cute and funny stories about your dog.

You end up sitting with Mammon for hours, music playing in the background, almost completely forgetting about the storm.

He definitely wants to meet your dog now.

He’ll even go to Lucifer to get permission to visit your home in the human realm so you can both see your dog.

Levi:

You are distracting him from his gaming and it takes Levi a second to process that you might need his comfort.

“If you are going to be a distracting normie, could you at least not pace in front of the screen Mc?”

You apologetically move away from the screen towards the door.

“W-Wait! I didn’t mean you should leave! What’s wrong?”

You hesitate not sure if you want to tell him now, but then you spot Henry in his fishbowl.

“My dog hates thunder,” you say refusing to look at Levi and staring at the fishbowl instead “I usually have to go find him when a storm starts. But he’s not here, and I dunno… I think it’s just like instinct to comfort him but I cant so…”

Levi gets it.

He has so much love for his pets. Even the ones that grew into giant demon-eating monsters that don’t even recognize him.

He’d do almost anything for them.

You can’t go comfort your dog, but maybe Levi can comfort you?

He’ll try, even if he is blushy and nervous.

You’ll spend the storm exchanging stories about your pets and watching animes that are eerily similar to your situation. Like ‘My demon dog hates storms but I’m in the human realm and now the storms make me anxious because I can’t help but worry about him.’ and ‘My crush is worried about her pets and I almost messed everything up, but don’t worry I think I can help!’

Satan:

It’s no secret this demon is more of a cat lover.

But he still cares about your dog because he cares about you.

Blunt demon 2.0

Straight up asks you about your behavior as soon as you start acting weird. Although he is much more polite about it than Mammon.

“Mc, is there something you want to talk about? You seem distressed.”

“No!” you snap “Yes? Maybe? I don’t know Satan. This storm is driving me crazy! Every fiber of my being tells me I need to go find him. But he’s not here and I can’t help but worry and I know you mean well but there is nothing you can do to fix this.”

“Oh, well I don’t know if I would say there is nothing I can do. But who is he, kitten?” he asks gently, trying to understand

“My dog.”

You stare at him as he goes rummaging through the piles on one of his bookcases. After several minutes he turns triumphantly to you holding an ornamental metal hand mirror out to you.

It looks beyond old, and it’s surprisingly heavy and sturdy when he hands it to you.

“Just think of your dog and look in the mirror.”

“Like beauty and the beast?” you joke.

“Where do you think the ‘beast got the mirror in the first place?” Satan asks.

“I-What? You mean you-”

Satan’s eyes glint “That’s a story for another time, but yes I gave the ‘beast’ his magic mirror. But the fairy tales butchered the actual story,” He sighs.

You look in the mirror as instructed and see your dog with your family, tale wagging, dashing across a grassy field after a ball.

You smile “Thank you, Satan. This really helps.”

“Anytime Mc”

Asmo:

Asmo is telling you about his latest Devilgram post and how his followers “simply loved seeing the picture of you on the Ferris wheel with him,” when the first clap of thunder rolls through the air above the house of lamentation.

When you jump up at the sound Asmo thinks you’re afraid of the storm.

He carefully places the top to the nail polish he was using back on the bottle before focusing on you. “Darling, are you ok?”

You shake your head, pacing to the door then back to your vacated seat on Asmo’s bed.

“Mc darling can you tell me what’s wrong?” Asmo analyses your expression quickly, he’s looking for fear but doesn’t find any.

“It’s the storm,” you murmur “My dog can’t stand thunder and I’m used to going to find him when a storm starts. But I can’t really do that here so I’m stuck not knowing what to do with myself.”

“Oh Mc, that’s absolutely adorable!”

You glare half-heartedly at the demon.

“Don’t look at me like that!” Asmo pouts “I can’t help but react when you act so sweet.” he hums in thought for a moment.

“Is there someone taking care of him now?”

You nod “Yes, but I still worry sometimes.”

“I know darling. How about we go ask Lucifer if you can go for a visit tomorrow?”

You perk up at the thought and Asmo grins “Good, then we’ll do that first thing tomorrow morning. But for now, do you think we can distract you with a movie and some facemasks?”

Beel:

Beel doesn’t want to intrude, but he can’t help it when your mood starts affecting him.

He can’t enjoy the snacks he just bought when you seem so upset.

“Mc… will you tell me how I can help you?”

The sincerity of his question shocks you for a moment.

You blink up at him, feeling heat blooming in your cheeks.

“I’m sorry Beel, I didn’t mean to ruin your snacks”

“It’s ok Mc, you're more important.”

“It’s just that storms bother me. My dog hates them and when I can’t be there to comfort him I get… well like this.”

Beel nods and asks if you’d like to do something to take your mind off the storm.

“I don’t really know if I can just forget about the storm, you know?”

“That’s ok, how about we make some comfort foods then?”

Beel has you choose some music to play in hope of concealing the sound of thunder and you end up talking about your dog and cooking your favorite foods.

Beel is content helping out even if you aren't in the best of moods as long as he can help cheer you up just a bit.

Belphie:

Belphie is already annoyed that the thunder is keeping him from sleeping.

So your mood fits right in with his.

You can both be anxious/ annoyed little terrors together.

The rest of the brothers are giving you both plenty of space.

Somehow having someone in a similar mood as your own is helpful.

You can both be a little snappy without the other being offended or impatient.

You probably end up in a pile of pillows and blankets with Belphie. You're both a little restless but eventually, the comfort of the blankets and Belphie’s warmth calm you.

He’ll make sure you’re ok, with gently probing questions to find out what caused your mood.

He can’t exactly help your situation, after all, he doesn’t have the power to bring your dog to the Devildom and he doubts Lucifer would let him anyways.

But he can, and will let you talk if you want, and if not he’ll support you in silence.

He likes it best when you are happy but he knows there are problems he can’t solve.

He’ll ask if you’d like to dream about being home with your dog and if so he’ll influence your dreams.

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

MY DEAR WIFE. I DESIRE A SEQUEL TO THE JIMMY EMPIRE FIC. I MADE THIS TUMBLR ACCOUNT TO MAKE MY DEMANDS. NOW GO BE FREE. WRITE YOU FANTASTIC FANFIC WRITER YOU. -BEST SPOUSE, PURP <3

this was a popular request LMAO :D

here’s the first part

…

The ringing of her communicator wakes Lizzie up late in the night. Blinking herself awake, she quickly answers it, speaking quietly so as to not awaken her sleeping fiance next to her. “Hello?”

“Lizzie, it’s Pixl,” comes the familiar British voice. “I’m so sorry to wake you.”

“It’s okay,” Lizzie says. “Is something wrong?”

“Something’s happened with Jimmy.”

Lizzie’s heart skips a beat. “Is he okay?”

“I’ll explain everything later but I could really use your help right now. Are you able to come to the Cod Empire?”

Momentarily forgetting that Pixl can’t see her, Lizzie nods. “Of course, I’ll come over right away.”

“Thanks so much, Lizzie,” says Pixl gratefully. “See you soon.”

“See you.”

Lizzie puts down her communicator and gets out of bed. Just as she’s finished changing, her fiance stirs in his bed and murmurs, “What’s going on? Who was that?”

“Pixl,” replies Lizzie softly, secretly glad he’s awake; she wouldn’t have woken him first. “Something’s happened to Jimmy, and Pixl needs me. You okay to come over to the Cod Empire with me?”

Joel sits up in his bed, immediately more awake. “Of course, of course. Let me get dressed.”

The two fly straight over to the Cod Empire and land outside Jimmy’s house. Pixl answers the door on the first knock. “Queen Lizzie, thank you for coming,” he says gratefully. “And King Joel.”

He leads them inside. Lizzie and Joel both gasp simultaneously as they spot Jimmy lying on the bed.

Joel freezes but Lizzie dashes to his side and grasps his hand, staring down in horror at the bruises covering Jimmy’s face. “Oh my goodness! What happened to him?! Is he okay?!”

Pixl joins her on Jimmy’s other side. “He’s recovering,” he responds grimly. “You know the demon Xornoth that’s shown their face around the server lately?”

“Heard of them.”

“fWhip and Sausage seem to be around the epicentre of the whole thing. They captured Jimmy, kept him in a cell for a whole day, beat him several times, then tried to sacrifice him to Xornoth. Scott and I managed to save him but he almost died from his injuries before Scott was able to heal him somewhat with magic.”

Lizzie gazes down at Jimmy with a worried expression, gently touching his face. He stirs slightly under her touch.

After a moment, she speaks again, her tone low and dangerous. “fWhip and Sausage, you said?”

Pixl nods. “Yeah. Scott and I chased them off but I’m a little worried about them returning to finish the job. That’s why I asked you over; I could do with some help protecting him. If that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay.” Lizzie retracts her hand and presses her fist into her palm. “Hell, if either of them show their faces around here, I’ll rip them apart with my bare hands.”

Now Joel moves closer to the bed, his expression uncharacteristically serious. “Poor Jimmy… I can’t imagine how terrified he must’ve been.”

As Pixl opens his mouth to respond, another knock at the door sounds. The three frown at each other, trying to work out who could possibly be at the door.

After a moment, Pixl heads back over to the door and answers it. His gaze darkens when he sees who’s standing there. “You’re not welcome here.”

Lizzie stiffens as she hears MythicalSausage’s voice: “I just wanted to ask how Jimmy is. And to… apologise.”

“Apologise?!” Lizzie bursts out.

Joel draws Pixl out of the way as Lizzie storms to the door and shoves Sausage backwards. “You TORTURED my friend and you think you can just walk over here and APOLOGISE?!”

Sausage scrambles back as a furious Lizzie bears down on him. “I had nothing to do with hurting him! That was all fWhip!”

“YOU THINK THAT MAKES IT BETTER?!” Lizzie bellows.

She flings out her arms and manipulates the ocean water into grabbing hold of Sausage and bringing him closer to her. “ACK!” Sausage chokes, struggling uselessly. “LIZZIE!”

“I’m going to kill you, Sausage,” growls Lizzie. “Would you rather be flung high into the air and fall to your death or drowned in salty ocean water?”

“N-Neither!”

A dark smile appears on Lizzie’s face. “Too bad. I’ve decided I’m gonna drown you.”

She lifts the water higher. His scream is abruptly cut off as the water envelopes his head, stopping him from breathing. She watches with satisfaction as his air slowly runs out.

But then Pixl’s voice comes from behind her: “Lizzie, he’s calling for you. He needs you.”

Lizzie pauses, weighing up her options. Eventually, she releases Sausage onto the dock, taking grim pleasure in the way he splutters and coughs up water. “You’re lucky this time, Sausage,” she says. She kneels down beside him and pushes her face close to Sausage’s with a menacing glare. “But if you ever, and I mean EVER, come near Jimmy again, you’re gonna wish you were never born. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-Y-Yes!” gasps Sausage.

Lizzie steps back and lets Sausage flee, before rushing back inside and back to Jimmy’s side. Her ally is stirring, his eyelids fluttering. “L-Lizz...ie…”

“I’m here,” whispers Lizzie softly, holding his hand against her cheek to reassure him of her presence. “I’m here, Jimmy. Are you okay?”

Jimmy coughs weakly. “M-My wrists hurt.”

Frowning, Lizzie pushes down Jimmy’s sleeve, revealing the thick red marks. “Wh-What is this?!” she gasps. “Pixl?”

“It’s…” Pixl hesitates, knowing what his next words will likely cause. “They’re burn marks. He had his hands tied behind his back for most of the day in that cell.”

Joel glances sharply at his fiancee. “Uh oh.”

Thunder sounds overhead as dark clouds rapidly slide across the sky. Lizzie’s expression remains steady, but lightning flashes in her eyes. “I’ll be right back, Jimmy,” she says, her voice as steady as her expression. But it’s just an act for Jimmy’s benefit and both Pixl and Joel know it.

Neither Pixl nor Joel stop her as she storms out of the hut and takes off flying towards the Grimlands. She lands atop the outer wall, rain starting to fall from the sky.

“FWHIP!” she bellows, her voice rolling through the clouds and echoing across the land.

Seconds later, the count himself appears atop his tower, within audible distance despite the increasingly loud thunder overhead. “Queen Lizzie!” He spreads his arms wide. “How may I help you?”

A bolt of lightning strikes the very top of fWhip’s tower.

“Aha, what have I done to invoke the wrath of the Ocean Queen?” fWhip laughs.

Instead of replying verbally, Lizzie lifts her arms and summons a giant wave of water from the river, sending it crashing down like a tsunami over the Grimlands.

“NO!” fWhip yells. “My villagers! You’re gonna drown my villagers!”

“MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE YOU TORTURED JIMMY AND TRIED TO MURDER HIM!” roars Lizzie.

fWhip stares at her for a moment as he finally remembers that Lizzie is one of Jimmy’s closest allies. “...oh…”

Shaking himself into action, fWhip dives down into his flooded village. Lizzie watches him, taking grim satisfaction in watching him flounder around in desperation. She doesn’t even realise how close he is to death until-

fWhip drowned

Lizzie quickly dissipates the flood and jumps down to look for fWhip’s items. As she’s starting to pick them up, fWhip reappears, so she retreats back to a safe distance.

“I’ll get my revenge for this, Ocean Queen,” growls fWhip. “I will not take the attempted murder of my villagers lying down.”

“I don’t give a crap,” Lizzie snaps back. “Don’t you dare think about going near Jimmy ever again, because if you do, I can promise you I will wipe your goddamn empire off the face of the world and I will NOT regret doing it.”

fWhip narrows his eyes. “You’re messing with the wrong empire. I too have the power to wipe an empire out of existence.”

“I live in the ocean. The bulk of my empire is underwater now. Your TNT will make a scratch at most.”

fWhip’s mouth opens, then closes again. After a moment, he looks away. “Fine.”

Lizzie raises an eyebrow. “Really? You’re backing down that easily?”

“I’m being smart. You’ve no idea what’s coming, Lizzie. I do. I need to prepare. I can’t afford to be dragged into another war right now.”

As fWhip turns, he finds Lizzie extremely close to him. She grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls him close so that their faces are inches apart. “Then don’t start one,” she snarls. “Stay away from my allies.”

She shoves fWhip away and takes off again, flying back to the swamp. Part of her feels bad at the attack on fWhip’s innocent villagers but she pushes it aside. fWhip tortured Jimmy and was perfectly willing to slaughter him when he was tied up and defenceless.

Lizzie has no sympathy or mercy for a person like that.

When she gets back, Joel meets her at the door. “Lizzie, you’re back!” he gasps. “I saw the death message in chat.”

“Yes. fWhip needed to be told that I won’t tolerate him hurting my Jimmy.” Her gaze flickers from Joel to Pixl and back again. “Or any of you.”

Joel gazes at her with almost visible hearts in his eyes. “I love you so much, Lizzie.”

Lizzie can’t help a chuckle. “I love you too.”

“Guys, guys, come quick!” Pixl calls suddenly. “Guys!”

The two quickly rush to Jimmy’s beside but stop dead simultaneously when they see what Pixl is so panicked about.

A mark has appeared on Jimmy’s neck. It looks like some kind of rune, but what’s worrying about it is the fact that it’s glowing red.

“What is this?” Lizzie gasps. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know! It just appeared!”

After a few seconds, the glowing dies down, leaving only the clear black mark.

“This has got to be something to do with the demon,” says Pixl shakily. “I don’t know what or how or why, but somehow, fWhip and Sausage’s attempted sacrifice of Jimmy must’ve caused this.”

“But what can we do about it?” Joel asks. “What can we do to help?”

Pixl has no answer to this.

Nobody does.