#still wanna get my tubes tied though.

[wasteland-lover]

i think i want a baby

[thatwritterbeach]

So About That Alley .2

Jason Todd x fmc Alex

DC masterlist ALL OTHER PARTS FOUND HERE

Unedited***Also I swear Tumblr is messing up my spelling on purpose cuz everytime I re-read something I know I fixed it's wrong again

Alex: short, curvy, red hair, green eyes, redheads go through pain meds way faster than normal people to the point I personally don't even take them, it's a joke, they last 30 min at best

Summary: Alex finds out her bf is red hood, after she spills some not so great secrets to the masked man while stitching him up.

Warnings: Vaginismus* angst, sexual assault, self-harm, depression, drug use by Alex, violence, cursing, NSFW, smut, thigh riding, vaginal fingering, guided masturbation?, p in v (not overly described), pain during s*x, hiding said pain, hickeys?, self-hate, insecurities, eating disorder, weight loss

A/N: I do not own dc boohoo

Part One

not my gif, I also love that when you search Jason Todd gifs Jensen Ackles is like half of them cuz he voiced him one time.

Fuck everything still hurt she thought miserably as she rocked her hips against his thigh. The pain was a dull ache but she knew from experience she needed to wait longer for the drugs to kick in before she could even think about anything going inside her.

"So pretty, princess," Jason mumbled into her throat while he placed nips and kissed on the exposed skin. She was too busy focusing on her breathing to utter a reply but he didn't expect one.

After several minutes the pain started to fade away to pleasure and she was able to pick up the pace but it wasn't getting her where she needed to go before the drugs wore off. She stilled her movements and grabbed his hand to slide his fingers into her panties she directed them to her clit and made soft slow circles, as if he needed instructions. But he made no move to shake her off or tell her he knew what he was doing, if she wanted to guide his hands the rest of the night he was happy to oblige.

"So wet for me," he cooed into her ear sinking a digit into her heat.

"More," she begged in a sultry voice. Of course, that was the opposite of what she wanted but the clock was ticking on those meds.

"What do you want, pretty?"

"Need you inside me," she pleaded, rocking her hips softly against his finger. Fuck that hurts. When he removed his hands so she could move she was quick to crawl onto the bed on all fours, then slid her panties to her knees leaving her shirt on. This way he can't see my face as I flinch in pain. Yeah, 'cause that's a normal thought, that normal people have. Unaware of her inner turmoil he groaned at the sight and stripped his clothes in record time.

"My tubes are tied," she said into the bedding.

"What?"

"My tubes are tied, remember, I can't get pregnant, so if your clean..."She trailed off awkwardly.

"I'm clean."

He spent a little time stretching her some more with his fingers but all the stretching in the world wouldn't help her without pain pills, and strong ones so when he finally slid into her she sucked in a pained breath and a single tear sped out before she could help it. And this is why she was face down, ass up, and not facing him.

"Shit you're tight, you gotta relax baby, don't wanna hurt you," he soothed, un-moving behind her while he ran his hands over her hips, totally not searching for scars. He felt what had to be stretch marks under his fingers since there wasn't any discoloration to them. Of course, he forgot makeup existed and she had loads of it piled on her entire body. He was also feeling up the wrong spots for fresh ones.

"I'm good," she managed to say in a needy whine, though it wasn't need for him to move, more get the fuck out and never touch her again. He leaned over to kiss her shoulder and she began to wonder how much longer she had and if he was ever gonna get with the program but when he slid out and back in slower than she knew possible she wished she hadn't thought of this stupid plan to begin with. It felt like she was, well, it's hard to describe if you've never felt it but it's a sharp but wide spread ache (even that's too soft a word, ache is an annoyance this is straight pain) that could be felt to her lungs, which were getting harder to move by the second. Blessedly she could tell he was speeding towards his release so she worked up the courage to fake her own, knowing he would 'hold off for her'. When he slid out she collapsed to the bed sure to grab him and take him down with her so he wouldn't get a chance to see what was probably blood on the both of them mixed with other things. He 'hmmphd' when he made contact with her back quick to move off of her but she insured he stayed on his stomach fingers crossed it was only a little and would come of on her black blanket, eww I know. With him boneless next to her she was able to escape to the bathroom without conflict and thanked all the gods her shirt was long and dark colored. It took half a minute to rinse her self off trying to be quick and get back out there before he got suspicious. She soaked a washcloth is warm water and carried it out with her to clean him up, much to his weak protests, he didn't even open his eyes.

"Sorry, did my cleaning interrupt your post-nut clarity," she teased slipping her panties back on and tossing the rag away.

"How can you move so fast?"

"Guess I have better stamina, maybe I should be out fighting crime," she tisked at him laying down on her stomach beside him again.

"No fair, I demand a rematch, I was just so overwhelmed by your beauty I couldn't hold back any longer, now that the initial surprise is out of the way, I will rock your world till you can't walk," he promised, though it felt empty with his closed eyes and heavy breathing. She patted him on the chest in a 'sure, sure' manner and waited impatiently for him to get up and back to their breakfast. The drugs had fully worn off and the ache between her legs was enough to make a grown man cry but she kept a soft smile on her face. the acting skills a woman used to hellish periods.

_____line break, brought to you by the bat-mobile______

And so it began, she unintentionally let open the flood gates to the point she knows had to start and end her day with a hit. Jason was like a damn rabbit now that she had tapped his ass once. She was having to get up early, shoot up, and sneak back into bed feigning a bathroom stop before they got frisky, every damn morning. Then when she got home from work, if he was there. And again before/after he dealt with patrol. He was insatiable and on week three she was out of morphine and so sore she could barley sit down. She'd lost a good ten pounds, unable to eat. Her mind telling her the only reason Jay was still with her was for sex. Which was ridiculous since they hadn't started until 4ish months into the relationship, a record for him she was sure. Having to fake a headache to get out of activities tonight she was mentally shoving him out the window to patrol. She needed to meet her supplier. It had started out her using it for migraines, those of you that get them know sometimes death is favorable so it was the only thing she found that even touched them. Finally, finally he slipped out and uttered a quick I love you which she returned. She waited about 20 minutes to be sure he was far enough away before taking the door and stairs like a civilized person. A wad of cash tucked in her bra, and her Glock in its rib holster.

_______

"Sugar, I've missed ya," a skeevy voice said from the alley she'd just stepped into.

"I've missed your product," she replied easily. He was a pig, but he was a greedy pig and as long as she paid he didn't come within a yard of her.

"Always the sweet talker."

"Hard not to be in such amazing company." With a chain-smoker chuckle he tossed her a box, and she caught it with ease, not even bothering to check it's contents before she passed him a pre-counted stack. The transaction complete she gave him a thank you nod and turned to leave when a shadow landed in front of her. And fuck it was batman.

"Hey, batsy, I got this one," she said with false confidence but held her ground blocking his path to her favorite supplier.

"Who are you?"

"A friend of Dickie's and like I said I got this one," she said again, nodding to the man behind her.

"Dickie's," he asked in the same tone he does everything.

"Our boy in blue," she said with a smile. Please take a hint and fuck off old man.

"Go," he commanded the dealer who didn't need to be told twice, taking off at a run far away from them.

"How do you know him?"

"Relax, BW, I'm just doing my part to clean the streets for the youth of out future," she all but gagged at the line. He grabbed her arm and yanked her off her feet dangling her in the air before him with a deep scowl. Saved by the bell a shrill scream cut through the night and he dropped her like a sack of potatoes to head towards the sound.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," she yelled after his retreating form. a bruise blooming on her ankle.

See masterlist for more

8-7-24

[amor-immortalem]

Aren’t We Enough?

A/N: challenge: Kuro finishes their WIPS 2024 edition. But no, really, I’ve been sitting on this since the beginning of 2022 when I was posting somewhat regularly (man do I miss those days)

・・・〆・・・

Azalea and Aurelius don’t ask questions. It’s not for lack of caring but rather, they’ve learned that sometimes if you ask the wrong questions, you get answers that you really could have gone your whole life without knowing.

So, when they notice the way their mother is putting on weight and the way her midsection starts to grow from more than just body fat and the way their parents both seem so worried about it, they pretend they don’t see anything, don’t notice anything. They don’t ask what’s wrong even though the pair already know.

And Azalea and Aurelius would rather not know either. They would have been happier to not know but that’s not an option. Not when this will affect the rest their lives as a new sibling tends to do.

So, when their parents sit them down. The pair of half-demons aren’t surprised by the news. They aren’t stupid- they know what pregnancy looks like. The surprise comes from learning that the birth of this baby could very well mean the end of their mother’s life.

“So why didn’t ya just get rid of it when ya found out you were pregnant?” Azalea speaks first, a confused look on her face. “I mean it would be common sense, right? Get rid of the problem before it even becomes an issue.”

“Even if it wouldn’t kill you, why would you need a third child anyway?” Aurelius just doesn’t understand so he asks the question that’s on both of their minds. Was something wrong with him and his sister? “You already have one of each. Aren’t we good enough? Did we do something wrong?”

“Of course you are,” Mammon says, “Look, it’s just sometimes these things happen. It doesn’t mean ya did anything wrong- this is more on your mother ‘n I than it is you two.”

“But there’s gotta be some reason why you’d keep it, right?” Azalea chimes in, “I mean if what you’re sayin’ is true and we were fine enough on our own without addin’ another kid to the mix then why didn’t Mum just get rid of it when she found out?”

“It’s not as simple as that.” Arella frowns, “There’re laws that dictate the cut off for when an abortion can be done and when it can’t. Unfortunately, because I had had my tubes tied after the two of you were born and I didn’t think I could get pregnant again, I attributed the early symptoms of pregnancy to other things that were going on at the time and I missed the cut off window for an abortion.”

“So, you’re only doing this because you have to at this point? Is that even fair to the baby?” Aurelius still seems unconvinced that there wasn’t any other motive to his parents keeping this unplanned pregnancy.

“What do you mean by that?” Mammon arches a brow. “What, do you think just because we weren’t exactly planning on ever having a third kid that we wouldn’t love him unconditionally anyway?”

“I thought that was pretty obvious...? Or at least that’s what I got from what he just said,” Azalea shrugs, “I mean what if it does kill Mum? Could you love it? You didn’t want this thing to begin with and it killed her so it could live instead- I wouldn’t even bother takin’ care of it at that point.”

Mammon and Arella just stare at her with bewildered expressions. They couldn’t believe something so cold could come out of the mouth of a thirteen-year-old- especially one of their thirteen-year-olds. Even Aurelius gives his sister a look of surprise.

“What? Why’re y’all looking at me like I got two heads? Did I say somethin’ off?”

“Yeah… a little bit.” Her brother nods.

“Eh, whatever,” She shrugs it off. “Are we done here? Or do you have something else you wanna drop on us?”

“Uh... I...” The demon looks like he wants to say something else- maybe ask where she had learned such a cold ideology from but lets it go for the time being. “Yeah... we’re done here. There’s nothing else.”

“Great,” The half-demon rises from the couch and turns to head off to her room.

“Aren’t you at least a little curious about the baby, Azalea?” Arella asks before the girl can run off.

“No.” She looks back over her shoulder, “Why should I care about a parasite? I couldn’t care less about it actually... Just keep it far away from me and we’ll be good.” The look in her eyes implies a threat. “Can’t promise it’ll still be alive if you leave it with me for even a second. Actually, I’m hoping you have a miscarriage, so the problem resolves itself.”

“Azalea!”

“Bye!” She takes off and Mammon follows after her.

“Nuh-uh, get back here and apologize to your mother!”

The only two left in the room are Arella and Aurelius now. He can see how shocked his mother is at what his sister had just said. He has to do something to take her mind off what just happened.

“If it means anything, I’d like to know about the baby.” It’s a lie- Aurelius resents the idea of having a new sibling just as much as his sister- but his mother didn’t need to know that right now.

・・・〆・・・

“Yo, what the fuck was that earlier?” Aurelius huffs as he places his hands on his hips.

“What was what?” Azalea has her back to him, her head buried in a textbook.

“You know what I mean- and put that thing away. We’re on summer holiday, you don’t need to study because you don’t have any tests coming up.”

“What? You mean the thing about the parasite Mum’s carrying around- you can’t tell me you don’t feel the same way.”

“He’s not a parasite, Azalea. He’s our brother. And yeah, I’m not exactly thrilled about it either but not even I would want our mother to go through a miscarriage just so we don’t have to have a sibling. The fuck is wrong with you? Why would you say that?”

“It’s not a parasite? I’m sorry but can it-”

“He-”

“IT! Can IT survive on ITS own yet? If I were to claw it out of Mum’s stomach right now, would it be able to breathe and eat and drink on its own?” She stands, stalking over to him and getting in his face.

“N... no...” He backs up. “No, he can’t.”

“’s what I thought. It can’t survive on its own therefore, it ain’t nothin’ but a parasite. And what do we do about parasites? We sure as shit don’t keep ‘em around.”

“I don’t get how you can be so cold about this, Sis. It’s just a baby, it can’t even do anything to us so what’s all the fuss over? Can’t you just pretend you care?”

“Babies are bothersome. They need ya to do everything for them and can’t offer ya anything in return. And what about us, huh? That baby shows up and Mum and Dad are gonna forget all about us. Remember what happened to that one classmate of ours last year? What was ‘er name- Veta? Yeah, I think that was it... Her parents had another kid and they just ignored her and neglected her until she died like she wasn’t their kid too. That’s what’s gonna happen to us. It’ll be like we never existed - is that what you want, Aurelius?”

“You’re being paranoid, Azalea. That would never happen- our parents love us too much.”

“Do they, Aurelius? If they loved us, they wouldn’t be having another child. Something must be wrong with one- or both- of us. That excuse that it’s too late for an abortion is bull shit and you know it.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m sayin’” her voice drops, “Money makes the world go ‘round and there ain’t no problem you can’t solve by throwin’ enough Grimm at it... Face it, Mum and Dad coulda got rid of this thing if they really wanted to... but they’re keepin’ it so they can justify gettin' rid of one of us. I already have a guess as to which one of us it is too ‘n I’m sure if ya think about it real hard you’ll be able to guess too.”

“I highly doubt that- if anything, you and that rotten attitude you’ve got would be what that they’d get rid of. Especially after what you said to Mum today.”

Azalea laughs softly, “Says the one child in this family without a defined roll. I’m the eldest child, the one who’ll take Dad’s throne in Hell when the time comes. You on the other hand... the only thing you’ve got going for you is your modeling career that’ll probably fizzle out when you become undesirable. What do you offer to the family that’ll trump my status as heir? What benefits do you offer to keeping you? You can’t -or more like shouldn’t- even use the magic you got from our mother because it’s incompatible with your body. Just face it, you can’t compare with me. I’m smarter and more powerful- I’ve always been.”

Aurelius only grits his teeth because he knows it’s true.

“Whatever, Azalea,” He growls, “if you wanna be crazy and paranoid about this whole thing be my guest, but we both know the only reason you’re so worried about our parents abandoning one of us is because you’re the only child who’s ever done anything to warrant our parents giving up and washing their hands of them.” He turns to go back to his own room but stops. ”Besides, a family full of sons is more desired than one that has a daughter in it anyway.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Is their mother’s call from downstairs.

・・・〆・・・

“Mum... can you train me to become a sorcerer like you?”

It’s been a couple months since Mammon and Arella told the twins about their soon to be new sibling. Aurelius tried to act like what his sister said wasn’t true- that his parents loved him, and he wouldn’t end up like their classmate had but lately it’s been getting to him. There really wasn’t anything that set him apart from his sister.

“I don’t think that’s such a great idea… the magic you got from me could really hurt you. Why the sudden interest? This doesn’t have anything to do with the baby, does it?”

“Whaaaat…? Nooooo.” The 13-year-old lies through his teeth. “I just thought maybe… we could have something special that we do together. Azalea has no interest in it and you must want one of us to take an interest in what you do, right?”

Arella seems unconvinced. She knows when her children lie to her. “Aurelius-”

“Fine, okay, I lied.” The boy is quick to fold. “It does have something to do with the baby… it’s just- you’re not that far away from giving birth to him and I know you and Dad are gonna be super crazy busy cuz babies are a lot of work so I thought maybe if you had a reason to spend time with me that you wouldn’t… forget about me.”

“Forget about you?” The human’s eyebrows raise in alarm, “Sweetheart, who told you that I’d forget about you when your brother arrives? Was it your sister?”

“N-no!”

“Aurelius.” Her tone is stern, she’s already caught the half-demon in one lie, she’ll catch him in another. “Tell the truth. You know the rule about compulsive lying under this roof and you’ve already got one strike.”

“FINE! It was Azalea. She said that when one of our classmates had a got a new sibling, her parents neglected and ignored her until she died and that you were only keeping our brother so you and Dad could justify doing the same with one of us…”

“Your sister was wrong. Aurelius, I didn’t put my life on the line to carry you two for nearly ten months and then deliver you just for your father and I to decide to discard you once we have another child. What happened to your classmate was a tragedy, but your father and I could never do that to either of you. In fact, I expressly told the both of you the reason I was keeping your brother was because by time I realized I was pregnant, it was too late for me to have an abortion and I had no other option but to carry this pregnancy to term.”

“She said that was a bull shit excuse and if you really didn’t want him you could’ve gotten one. She said there weren’t any problems that couldn’t be solved by just throwing enough money at it…”

The human only frowns as she lets out a sigh. She’d have to have a talk with her daughter later about this.

“Your sister’s not wrong in that aspect- if one had perverse morals and enough money, I suppose they could go through with an abortion that late into a relatively safe pregnancy but- at least in the human world- you’d be hard pressed to even find a doctor morally corrupt enough to break the law and preform the procedure. I’m not that kind of person though. And I’m not the kind of mother who just forgets about her existing children either.”

That statement seems to put the boy at ease for now.

“I still wouldn’t recommend training you to become a sorcerer, but if you really have your heart set on it, I can talk to Solomon and see if he knows of any methods to teaching someone who’s body isn’t compatible with the magic they were born with- or at least see if there’s something we can do to heighten your tolerance of it.”

“Thanks, Mum,” the half-demon smiles. “I appreciate it.”

・・・〆・・・

“You are in so much trouble, young lady. You’re lucky I was out grocery shoppin’ when I was or you’d be sitting in a damn holding cell right now.” Mammon says as he walks through the front door, arms filled with bags from the local grocery store.

“Yeah, yeah, spare me.” The freckled half-demon groans as she follows, carrying just as many bags, “the police woulda picked me up and charged me with enough to get me thrown in juvie for a few months. I ain’t scared of them.”

“You should be… two of your classmates- sure you could probably win in a fight if ya had to, but two fully grown demons- you wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell.” He sets the bags on the counter and began to put the items away in their various places. “I don’t get it. You’re a good kid and ya haven’t put your hands on anyone since pre-k so why now all of a sudden are ya out here pickin’ fights with every sentient thing that moves?”

“Dunno…” is all Azalea says as she shrugs, “Can we just drop it?”

“Whatever I don’t have the energy for a fight right now.” he sighs, “You’re grounded. Three months. Get into another fight and I’ll add three more onto it. No TV, no computer, no video games either and that phone is mine until school starts back up next week so hand it over.”

“Sure, sure, I know the drill… s’not like I’m usin’ it for much anyway.” the teen fishes the device out from her pocket and sets in on the counter before she meanders off to the upper level of house where her bedroom is located.

“Well that went better than expected…” Mammon pockets the phone as Arella pops in. “Hey, what’s up? Ya look kinda tense.”

“I’m fine- nothing out of the ordinary for the third trimester anyway.” The human sighs as another false contraction washes over her, “Was that Azalea that just left? I need to speak with her about something…”

“Yeah… I just grounded her- she got in a fight.”

“A fight? Why?”

“That’s what I wanna know but she says she doesn’t know why she did it… all I know is she threw another kid through a storefront window. The cops were ready to haul ‘er off just as I walked up- maybe I shoulda let ‘em. Might be enough to scare her straight now before she does something not even Lucifer’d be able to get her out of.”

At that, Arella frowns. She must be even more upset about the baby than she’s letting on.

“Where did we go wrong with that one? I don’t understand, Babe.”

“I’m not sure but perhaps this is all attention seeking in function… since we started preparing for Mahlon a few weeks ago, we’ve been plenty busy so she could just be acting out in a way she knows is going to catch our attention.”

“Still… throwin’ a peer through a window is a bit… much, don’cha think?”

“It’s a bit extreme, yes, I agree, but Azalea tends to take things to an extreme measure. She doesn’t do anything half-heartedly, you know that. I’ll go check in on her now. You decide on dinner and I’ll start on it when I get done with our daughter.” Arella takes her leave as Mammon finishes putting away the groceries.

・・・〆・・・

Azalea sits up in her window, working on an unfinished crocheting project she started the last time she’d been grounded when Arella knocks. The teen ignores it at first but when the door creaks open she shouts at the guest to go away- that she’s busy and doesn’t want any distractions at the moment.

“I know you’re not speaking to me that way,” Arella places her hands on her hips as she stands in the doorway. “I’d like to speak with you,”

“Not interested.” Azalea huffs, “I already got an earful from Dad. Don’t need it from you too.” She doesn’t want another adult in her life implying that she’s a screw up.

“I’m not talking about that. It’s more so along the lines of what you said to your brother a few months back.”

“Not interested in that either- look Mum, I’m asking nicely: please leave me alone right now. I just wanna work on my crochet animals before I lose interest in it again.”

“Normally, I would respect that but,” Her green eyes scan the windowsill to see a couple four-piece sets of tiny animals that she surmised to represent their family unit, “I have a feeling this is something I can’t leave alone right now.”

With a dramatic sigh, the white-and-black haired teen tosses her crochet supplies into the tote and crosses her arms as she stares out the window. She’s still not willing to speak with her mother but puts up no protest when Arella takes a seat beside her.

“Why would you tell your brother that a new addition to the family means we’d discard one of you two?” Arella picks up one of the crochet animals to her left and inspects it.

“Why wouldn’t it?” Azalea mumbles, “there’s no reason you’d need or want three kids. One of us must be defective and he seemed like the obvious answer considering the only thing he does is model. He’s weaker and not as smart and not the heir to Dad’s throne so if ya had to pick one child to give up on all signs point to it being him.”

Oh, if she only knew.

“Well, you’re wrong.” Arella says, “Baby, I know you’re worried about what happened to your classmate happening to one of you but I didn’t risk my life to have the two of you just so your father and I could choose to discard you once I have another child. That’s not how this works. And even if one of you were defective- which neither of you are, by the way- you’re our children. You’re special to us and having another child does not- and never will- change that. Do you understand?”

“Say whatever ya want, but it won’t change my mind. You can’t convince me with words alone that you won’t forget about one of us. There’s just not enough time in the day for you to split it evenly between a newborn who needs ya for everything and two teens that need ya for nothin’… someone’s gonna get left behind.” She doesn’t want to say that secretly she’s been worried that it’ll be her.

“No one will get left behind, okay? Just trust me.” Arella smiles softly before opting to change the subject. “So what were you crocheting when I walked in?”

“Just some li’l animals… it don’t matter…”

“It does to me… despite how I wish you didn’t get up to mischief so often, I think it’s wonderful you’ve got so many hobbies to keep you occupied.”

“… thanks… can ya leave now? Ya said your piece and I’d like to be alone now.”

“Alright, I’ll respect that.” She gets up and takes her leave.

Azalea only frowns as she watches her mother go. She doesn’t really want to be alone but as prideful as she is, the teen can’t admit it to herself and those around her.

・・・〆・・・

Once the baby arrives, it feels like all hell breaks loose. With Arella’s health steeply declining thanks to the loss of a large portion of her soul, Mammon’s left to pick up the slack until she recovers enough to come home from the hospital.

The twins are fairing much worse, the both of them absolutely terrified that they’re losing their mother thanks to this baby. They barely sleep at night due to the crying even though their father has done everything he can think of to keep them from being disturbed too much.

“I’m gonna kill it,” Azalea grumbles, being so sleep deprived that her twin fears she just might make good on her threat.

“Don’t. You’ll only end up in deeper trouble.” Aurelius shoots back. “Just do your best to ignore him- babies don’t cry forever. He has to sleep some time.”

“Yeah, except we have school in two hours and the brat has kept us from sleeping all night. I’m going to get sick again… I hate being sick…”

The thirteen-year-old bites the inside of his cheek. He can understand where his sister is coming from as she’d just gotten better after having the Devildom cold but he doesn’t know how to calm his sister down when she’s this agitated.

“Well, what if we just told Dad we didn’t get a chance to sleep? He might let us cut school for the day to catch up on it.”

“Hard pass.” his sister snarls, “I’m trying to earn a spot in RAD’s honors track in a couple years. Ya think they’re gonna want a student who cuts class just because she didn’t sleep at night? I just missed a whole week of school because of that stupid cold too. I can’t miss any more.”

“I think they’re gonna want a student who knows their own limits and when it’s time to take a break.” Aurelius sighs. “Look, knowledge is only useful if your brain can remember it. If you’re tired when you originally learn the material, it won’t stick in your brain.”

It’s quiet between the two half-demons.

“I’m still goin’ to school,” the girl declares as she sets an alarm on her phone just in case the baby should stop crying and she fell asleep, “even if I gotta hoof it there on my own.”

“You’re as stubborn as a mule, you know that?” her brother sighs, “Whatever, I don’t care. Since you’re so hell bent on it, go have a horrible day at school. Make sure you bring my course work back for me.” Aurelius slinks off to his own room as the baby’s wailing seems to finally die down.

・・・〆・・・

“Hey, Dad?” Aurelius whispers as he pops his head into his parents’ bedroom.

“Hmm?” Is Mammon’s reply as he sits up a little bit straighter, “Ya don’t hafta whisper. You can talk at full volume.”

“But the baby-“

“Will be fine. Even if it wakes him up right now, eventually he’ll learn to sleep through it. Noisy environments make for heavy sleepers. What was your question, Bud?”

“I just wanted to know if I could stay home today. The constant crying all night kept me and Azalea up.”

“Yeah, that’s fine- I get it. I’ll call you out for the next couple days so we can get your sleep schedule back in order. What about ‘Zay? She still plannin’ on going?”

“She was but she was sleeping when I tried to go talk her out of it just now.”

“Good. Don’t wake ‘er. Just try to get to sleep before your brother wakes up again.”

“Alright. Thanks, Dad.”

・・・〆・・・

When Thirteen walks into the house after a long day of tinkering and perfecting her newest mechanical creation meant to help automate her candle-making process, she expects to hear utter chaos. That’s why she finds it odd that not a sound can be heard from anywhere. It’s dead silent.

“Mammon?” The reaper calls as she starts investigating.

She finds him on the couch, passed out with Mahlon sleeping on his chest. Silently, Thirteen picks the infant up and heads off to go put the baby in his bassinet. When she’s done, she grabs one of the baby monitors from its charger and takes it back downstairs. She’ll let the demon sleep for a while longer.

・・・〆・・・

When Mammon awakes, he panics at finding Mahlon missing. Frantically, the demon is on his feet in seconds as he runs upstairs to check the bassinet for the baby even though he could swear he’d fallen asleep with the newborn on his chest.

To his horror, Mahlon is not there. More panic sets in before soft whining can be heard from the kitchen. Why was the baby in the kitchen?

“Don’t tell me I did somethin’ stupid like layin’ him on the table…” Is all the white-haired demon can grumble to himself.

Upon entering the kitchen, Mammon sighs in relief to see Thirteen looking after the baby.

“Y’know, ya coulda woke me before just up ‘n stealin’ the baby.”

“Maybe I just wanted to give you a heart attack.” Thirteen shoots back with a playful smile. “I’m sure you needed the sleep anyway.”

“You’re not wrong.” he sighs as he takes a seat on the kitchen island. “All he does is just cry- he ain’t nothing like the twins or… Cyrus were at his age. When did you get home anyway?”

“A couple hours ago,” the reaper snatches the freshly made bottle and tests it on her skin before offering it up to Mahlon, “right after our human asked me to come check up on you and make sure the house was still standing.”

“How’s she doing? I’ve had my hands more than a little full, so I haven’t had a chance to call her today.”

“Better than she’s been,” Thirteen hums, “she doesn’t look half dead anymore so that’s a plus.”

“That’s great. With any luck she’ll be discharged soon ‘n the twins’ll stop freaking out so much.”

“Speaking of,” Thirteen takes take bottle from the baby once he finishes and burps him, “you’ve got one that’s up in her room brooding over missing school today and the other one’s still out cold. You should do something fun with them-spend some much-needed quality time together. It might make this experience less stressful for them.”

“You gonna watch the baby for me?”

“Of course- your other kids need you right now, Mammon. They didn’t ask for this. Show them that they’re just as important as the baby is.”

“Alright, thanks,” He smiles as he heads upstairs to round up his older children.

・・・〆・・・

End

[superbfics]

THIS STORY IS SO SO SO GOOD GUYS LIKE JUST WAIT I NEED THE NEXT PARTS JELLY PLEASE 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

You always write these beautifully poetic passages in your stories, but this is full of some of my favorites you've ever written I think. Not only just insanely beautifully descriptions of what they're seeing and encountering, but also just the internal thoughts and feelings of both Steve and reader. There's so much power in your words, Jelly! You've hooked me immediately, my heart hurts for both of them, but I'm also filled with hope and reader's optimism. You're a rockstar at providing perfect eases to their tension and situation with sweet and comedic moments too. I can't wait to finish this story. This is another to be printed and put on the bookshelf for sure 💛

The ending of his story has been written–there's no more guessing before turning the page. Loneliness wraps its icy fingers around his shoulder, bringing the comfort of an old friend. He feels lighter now that he's shed the ties and obligations to those he loves. He's free to choose his own death and not without options. Armed and still carrying the backpack stuffed with preparations to survive the last battle, he can walk to Forest Hill, put a bullet in his brain, and fall next to his friend, forever sharing his grave, but he's not there yet. He'd rather go out fighting, and the monsters filling this place will be eager to accommodate.

He’s the hero from the storybooks that you read as a little girl, trading the armor for a leather jacket and flak vest, but still just as tragic. A ghost moving through a fog. His sorrow blends him into the landscape, keeping you at arm’s length. If you had met before all of this. Bumped into him on the street or at a coffee shop, you still would have known that he was someone you could trust. 

A fine layer of steam swirls just above the surface of the water, dampening your skin and curling the fine hair at your temples when you reach over the rim to collect a water sample. Carefully, you pour a little into the four test tubes and place them in a rack adding a test strip to each one. 

...where do I get a hot geologist reader??? Cause um...I'm very turned on by reader who is supposed to be me but isn't me and I want to be her yet also date her. Help?

“Ahem,” he clears his throat as he works his belt loose and you don’t feel the slightest bit of shame that he's caught you ogling. The way the corner of his mouth lifts tells you he doesn’t mind either. 

“You wanna turn around?” He asks, thumbs popping the button on his cargo pants before he moves on to the zipper.

“Nope. I’m good.”

You’ve been looking at life through a wall of rose-colored glass, sweetening your view just enough to avoid reality. Saying the words out loud, admitting it yourself–to him, you’ve crashed straight into it, the broken shards cutting you with the truth.

Another bad decision made with good intentions. The list of I’ll Nevers unfurls in front of you covering the path where your future should be. He had figured it out much sooner than you did. Everything you worked for and planned for was all just bullshit. Maybe if you had someone to hold up a mirror, your list would be shorter. 

A war rages inside him, confusion over when protecting you became something more. Something that feels like he’s betraying her, even though she’s a world away. The truth is, he wants you. Your endless hope, the smiles you dole out like they cost you nothing, like you don’t realize that they have become as necessary to him as the air he’s breathing. Every day, the feeling of you belonging to him grows, but it’s all mixed up with pain and resentment. He was to meet death with a calm embrace, but fate decided that peace was more than he deserved. Now he’ll fight with his last ounce of strength to give you one more breath, and part of him blames you for that. He wants inside you, to claim you as his, but he can’t accept your comfort without making the pain at the end worse for both of you.

If Tomorrow Never Comes | Part 1 | Empty Streets

Summary: Trapped in the Upside Down, Steve is prepared to die alone until he finds you hurt and in need of help. Doing your best to survive while the world catches fire, is there time for one more chapter in your story?

Inspired by As The World Burns

Special thanks to @myeuphoricmindset for her permission and encouragement. Please go check out her amazing fic.

TW: FemReader, Eventual Smut, Mentions of self-harm & death. No Minors 18+ Series Masterlist WC: 5807

Steve watches the tears run down the flushed swell of Nancy’s cheeks, her delicate fingers pressed to her lips. A sorrowful smile stretches his mouth, his soft hazel eyes meeting her sky blue. The last blue. The gaping maw of the rift stitching closed for good. Forever. With Steve on one side and the rest of them safe on the other. 

It was finally over and they had won. He decided long ago he couldn’t live if he lost one of them. So, in a split second decision, he gave his life to save them all. It had to be him. No complaints. 

The last glimpse of blue shrinks into a sliver of bright light resembling the waning moon, disappearing until darkness and the red glow of death are all that’s left. He places his hand on the seam of the solid black rock, bowing his head, whispering his last goodbye. 

He walks alone through the familiar decaying streets. The buildings crack and groan, pieces breaking off, turning to sand before they hit the ground. With Vecna dead, the Hawkins he created will be swallowed by the desert and the electrical storms until the world collapses in on itself and explodes in something akin to a supernova. 

He knew all this when he called for El to close the gate. When he pushed a resisting Dustin through into Robin’s arms. In the end, Nancy, the kids, they were all that mattered. He had to die to become the man they deserved. 

The man he always wanted to be. 

The ending of his story has been written–there's no more guessing before turning the page. Loneliness wraps its icy fingers around his shoulder, bringing the comfort of an old friend. He feels lighter now that he's shed the ties and obligations to those he loves. He's free to choose his own death and not without options. Armed and still carrying the backpack stuffed with preparations to survive the last battle, he can walk to Forest Hill, put a bullet in his brain, and fall next to his friend, forever sharing his grave, but he's not there yet. He'd rather go out fighting, and the monsters filling this place will be eager to accommodate.

The wind picks up, blowing the golden-brown strands away from his face as he watches red bolts of lighting scorch through the thick omnipresent fog blanketing the sky to strike the clock tower of the public library. The building stands tall and imposing, still intact in this realm, rotting and covered with ropey vines. A storm is coming. He’ll need shelter soon. Maybe the white and brick house on Maple street. He could crawl into her bed and close his eyes, pretending as he drifts off the sleep that it was a night he snuck through her window. With any luck, he’d never wake up. The ground trembles with the deafening booms of thunder, but as he walks away, it’s a quieter sound that catches his ears.

“Help me, please.”

“Careful,” Steve warns, steadying you with an arm around your waist before taking the binoculars out of your hands, letting them hang by the strap around your neck, “Stop walking if you’re going to use those or you’re going to end up catching your boot in a crack.” He motions to the gaps in the dry limestone bed of lovers lake.

“Where were you two weeks ago?” You ask with a wry smile, yanking down the handkerchief that covers your nose and mouth. “Maybe I’m too clumsy to be a geologist?”

“It’s okay to laugh, Steve,” you tell him when his tight-lipped expression doesn’t waver.

Fourteen days ago, he pulled you from a pile of debris through the raging winds into the windowless back room of a flower shop, where he helped you clear the sand from your eyes and stitched the gash in your leg. He sat on the floor across from you, back pressed against the mildewing floral wallpaper, the sweet putrid perfume of decaying carnations filling your nose with the scent reminiscent of a funeral while he explained where you were and why you wouldn’t be leaving. 

As an undergrad from Perdue sent to study the rift, you had been harnessed, hanging just inside the opening of the gate, taking samples when the earth quaked and your tether snapped. If it weren’t for Steve, you wouldn’t have survived the night and he’s protected you since. Taking out stray dogs and a few bats while scavenging for food and supplies. He assures you there are other things out there. Worse things. You’ve heard their screeches and howls between the thunder claps late into the frigid nights while you lay pressed against his warm back—safe. 

He’s the hero from the storybooks that you read as a little girl, trading the armor for a leather jacket and flak vest, but still just as tragic. A ghost moving through a fog. His sorrow blends him into the landscape, keeping you at arm’s length. If you had met before all of this. Bumped into him on the street or at a coffee shop, you still would have known that he was someone you could trust. 

He casts a skeptical eye your way but you don’t miss how the corner of his mouth rises just a little.  “I don’t like being out in the open like this.” His nose scrunches as his eyes roam the rolling gray clouds that keep the Upside Down in perpetual gloaming. 

“We need to find water. I can’t keep brushing my teeth with flat Sprite.” 

Gallons of sour milk and fermented juice fill the coolers at Bradley’s Big Buy, but the plastic containers of water all sit empty just like every river, well, and stream in this version of Hawkins. 

“How many more days are we going to waste on this?” He stands just behind you while you scan the lake bed, so close you feel the warmth of his breath in your hair. 

“You have somewhere else to be?” 

Entire sections of town have disappeared. Neighborhoods and buildings are falling into unstable fissures and there are fires burning in the east. It won’t be long now but you need this and so does he. Something to focus on.

“Everything in this place is damp. There are constant storms–”

“But no rain,” he counters.

“That we’ve seen. There are plants. There are animals. There’s water. Does it look like the land slopes downward over there?”You point to a spot where the trees are denser and closer to the lake bed. 

“I guess.” He squints in the direction of your finger until you hand him the binoculars that are still around your neck. He stoops and leans in close, pressing the glass to his eyes. “Yeah, it looks that way.”

“Then that’s where we need to go.” Taking back the glasses, you set out navigating the dry, cracked terrain. Picking your way through the vines and rocks.

As you walk along, Steve’s eyes stay fixed on a rowboat draped in the coiled, spiked tendrils. He swallows hard, face paling. The pained, haunted look marring his features has the dull ache of sympathy sitting in your stomach like a heavy stone. 

“Steve,” your voice stays gentle as your fingers slide against the rough skin of his palm, wrapping around his fingers. He flinches and jerks his hand away. 

“Sorry,” he says, like he’s suddenly realized you’re there. 

“Are you okay?”

“Fi-“ he clears his throat, “Fine.” He continues ahead of you, walking toward the woods.

"No. No way."

The short, wide, yawning mouth of the cave was tucked at the bend of a steep hill covered by browned moss and woody stalks of dead brush.

"Steve–"

"We're not going in. No shot. It could be full of bats. Without another exit we could get pinned down."

“Then you can wait here,” you say, ducking under the cave's entrance.

After a click, the beam of your flashlight cuts through the darkness and bounces off the glittering limestone that drips down the walls of the narrow passage like candle wax. The darkness presses in, your panting breaths echo as your courage starts to flee until you hear an annoyed “Goddammit” and the heavy fall of Steve’s boots as he comes in behind you. 

His eyes follow the beam of his light scanning the cave's high ceiling that’s crowded with sharp tipped stalactites before he wretches them to you, his expression turning wary. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I’m not worried.” Your hand wraps around his forearm sliding down the worn leather sleeve, stopping short of taking his hand, you give his wrist a light squeeze before releasing him.

“Are you always this tenacious?” 

“Always.” You cautiously start down the tunnel, watching for loose rocks and small formations, “It’s a character flaw. I’m an eternal optimist. Everything happens the way it’s supposed to.”

“Hmmm,” he murmurs, looking away to study the walls.

After a curve, the passage widens and the rushing of water amplifies, up ahead a faint azure glow highlights a keyhole opening. Steve hands you his flashlight and reaches back grabbing the axe attached to the back of his pack. His hands adjust his grip on the handle as he holds it at the ready. With a silent tilt of his head, he motions you behind him as he pauses at the mouth of the chamber. Keeping the flashlights pointed low, you light his path.

“It’s a ledge. A big step down.” He calculates his movement before hopping down. He moves the axe to one hand reaching out for you with the other. Clicking off one of the flashlights you shove it in your jacket pocket before taking his hand, you try to gauge the distance like he had but your foot slips at the last moment. The clang of the axe hitting the stone floor reverberates through the cave when he drops it to catch you. 

“Maybe you are too clumsy,” he comments, both hands gripping your hips. Your hands slide from around his neck to his shoulders, staying pressed against him longer than necessary, your eyes locked with his - the gold flecks a contrast in the soft blue light. The spell breaks and he steps back, bending to retrieve his weapon.

“It’s…beautiful.”

You’ve stepped into a glittering cavern. Luminescent turquoise orbs with trailing silky threads cling to the jagged domed ceiling high above a steaming basin of crystal clear water. The underground world's best impression of the starry night sky. This might be as close as you get to seeing it again.

“I’m impressed,” his axe hangs at his side with one hand on his hip, “You were right.”

His praise has you beaming as you move to the craggy edge of the basin and shrug off your pack.

“Make it fast,” he peers through the steam into the water, “I don’t wanna be around when whatever lives here comes home.”

“I don’t think anything does.” Dropping to your knees, you unzip your pack pulling out the supplies you’ll need and lining them up, “There are no tracks or vines or anything. There aren’t even any spores floating in the air. Didn’t you say they don’t like the heat?”

A fine layer of steam swirls just above the surface of the water, dampening your skin and curling the fine hair at your temples when you reach over the rim to collect a water sample. Carefully, you pour a little into the four test tubes and place them in a rack adding a test strip to each one. 

“What about those things?” His finger extends to the neon lights above.

“If we were at home, I’d say glow worms.” You grip the hem of your sweatshirt, pulling it over your head and placing it on your pack. 

“Whatever they are, they don’t seem too bothered by us,” he muses, “What are you doing now?” He steps closer, peering over your shoulder as you lower the rope with your geological thermometer attached at the end into the water. 

“Measuring the depth and taking the temperature.” The water reflects the lights making it seem lit from below. It’s so clear you can see the metal tube of the thermometer hit the sandy bottom. Handing him the end of the rope you move back to your test tubes. Pulling out the strips, using your flashlight to compare them to the control printed in the kit. 

"It's safe to drink." A wave of relief washes over you. Clean water greatly increases your chances of survival. 

"Really? You're sure?" The surprise in his voice is clear. He didn't expect to get this far. 

"I mean..yeah," you sit back on your feet, rubbing your palms over the denim covering your thighs, "We can add some iodine to be sure, but tonight we'll have drinkable water."

Hand over hand, he pulls the line out from the water. He lets the shiny metal tube dangle for a moment. The water runs down edges dripping back into the basin before he gives it to you to interpret. 

"About four feet deep with a temp of 100 degrees. Perfect." Winding the wet string around the thermometer, you place it back in your kit and repack the rest of your supplies, leaving out your empty canteen.

"Perfect for what?" His brows draw in at the middle as he watches you loosen the laces of your boots.

"What do you think?" You pull off one boot and then the other, removing your stripey socks and then stuffing them inside. 

"You're not getting in there," he scoffs, hands moving to his hips.

"Steve," you sigh, standing and unbuttoning your pants and lowering the zipper, "I'm absolutely going in there." The denim material is heavy and damp from the humidity, sticking to your skin as you peel the jeans down your legs trying your best to not let them drag on the dirt covering the cavern's floor. "It’s been two weeks since I've showered. I stink and so do you."

"This is stupid." His head shakes and he looks upwards, eyes roaming the jagged rock walls as you slip your shirt over your head. 

"It's a necessity. Besides, hot springs are supposed to be really good for you." Your fingers work the clasp of your bra and it slips down your arms. His gaze returns as you drop the lacey garment onto the growing pile of your clothing. Now you have his full attention. Even in the dim light, it's clear his eyes darken.

Ignoring the way your heart beats wildly, your thumbs hook under the silk of your panties and they slide down your hips, "There's not much point in being shy." 

With false bravado you face him naked and vulnerable, letting his eyes drink you in, "We have to take care of each other, right?"

The torrent of water is louder in the absence of his answer as it cascades through an opening in the wall feeding the basin. Holding his stare, you walk along the water's edge until you find a spot where the limestone dips and becomes smoother creating a natural point of entry. 

"Be careful." He moves closer watching you step in. 

A moan slips from your lips as you sink down letting the heat loosen the tension in your muscles, enjoying the slight sting while your skin acclimates to the temperature. Pinching your nose with your thumb and forefinger, you dip your head below the surface into the quiet depths.

He's crouching at the basin's rim letting his fingers trail through the water when you emerge, slicking back your hair, wiping away the drips clinging to your eyelashes. His lips part and you know what he's seeing, the astral light reflecting in the rivulets running down your throat, over your breasts joining the sheen covering your skin.

"Are you coming in?" 

He pulls his hand from the water, fingers flicking away the wetness and you can practically see the gears turning in his head while deciding if it’s okay to allow himself this simple pleasure.

“It’s safe, Steve. You can live a little,” you say with your sweetest smile, bending your knees so you're submerged up to your neck, watching the cracks in his resolve widen.

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” He asks with a heavy sigh, unsheathing the knife that he carries on his belt and placing it on a smooth rock at the edge of the pool. 

“I’m the one who has to smell you.” Taking a few steps backward to where the basin deepens enough that you can tread water without being over your head. 

His Baretta joins his knife before his fingers loosen the laces of his boots. He stands shrugging off his heavy jacket and vest letting them hit the ground with a thwack that echoes through the cave before pulling his dark gray thermal over his head adding it to the pile. Your arms glide beneath the water while your eyes travel the path from the dips in his collar bone over the expanse of his broad chest that tapers into narrow hips. 

“Ahem,” he clears his throat as he works his belt loose and you don’t feel the slightest bit of shame that he's caught you ogling. The way the corner of his mouth lifts tells you he doesn’t mind either. 

“You wanna turn around?” He asks, thumbs popping the button on his cargo pants before he moves on to the zipper.

“Nope. I’m good.”

His eyes roll before he lowers his pants and boxers, holding them in front of himself until he catches your gaze and tosses them aside. Your lips part as you suck in a much needed breath. His half aroused cock stands out from his body. Long and thick, the pink veiny shaft and perfectly shaped head bobs, swelling further under your scrutiny. He walks toward the shallow end, and you catch the full smirk twisting his lips.

“Now you can smile.” You splash him as he steps into the water shrugging, his grin continuing to broaden.

His eyes flutter closed as more of his body disappears into the steaming pool, gentle waves lapping at his torso, then shoulders, then neck. A low grown rumbles from his throat just before his head slips under completely. He resurfaces in front of you, muscles of his arms tightening as he pushes the hair from his face.

"Fuuck," his mouth remains parted as he draws out the vowel, a water drop clinging to his plush bottom lip, "This feels good."

It's hard to take your eyes off him in this light. Heat floods your belly, but it’s not the water, you want to be what’s making him feel good. He’s already given away his heart, you're certain, but she’s not here and you are.

"It's nice to be warm. It's so cold here." You drift closer, breathing in the heated air. 

"You're cold?" He asks, brows knitting together.

"Sometimes…mostly at night." A pang of guilt has you wishing you hadn’t mentioned it. The last thing you want is to cause him any more worry. "Are these new?" You reach out, fingers ghosting over purple black bruises on his shoulder and chest. 

His head bows looking at the spot you just caressed, "Maybe. I can't keep track." He straightens to his full height, chest rising above the surface, water running through the thick patch of chest hair revealing several more bruises in various stages of healing. 

"I'm sorry," you swallow hard before continuing, fingers dancing over the freckles on his skin, "I know you're doing this–"

He coughs and sinks back into the water, patting his chest, "I think the steam is loosening up some of that shit we've been breathing in."

His head tips back and you follow suit watching the tiny glowing creatures attached to the rocky dome, their silvery tails gently swaying like they’re blowing in a breeze. There's beauty in their simple existence. Head dropping back down, you catch his stare, he’s closer now, and the way he looks at you sends all your thoughts fleeing. 

"It's nice here. Quiet," his arms sweep in arcs just below the surface, hands brushing against yours when they meet in the narrow space between you, "I can almost pretend I’m somewhere else."

"Yeah?" Floating closer, you look up at him from under wet lashes. There’s something in his eyes, a fire, making the gold flecks look molten. The gap between you narrows, his chest brushes your nipples. But it’s gone as quickly as it came. He moves away, scrubbing at his face with his hands.

“Do you do a lot of skinny dipping?” You ask, trying to draw him back in, craving the connection. He peers at you unsure if he should answer.

“Come on, Steve. Tell me your secrets.” Biting your lip to hide the mischief in your smile, you draw a cross over your heart, "I promise not to tell."

He raises an eyebrow, shaking his head. “I guess I’ve done my fair share. There was a girl-“

“There always is.”

“Are you going to let me tell you?” With a swift move of his hand, he sends a splash of water in your direction.

“Please, continue,” you giggle with a wave of your hand, licking the water off your lips.

“She and I would sneak out late at night. Meet at the lake to be together." He looks away as he tells you, lost in the memory.

"Midnight Love. Sounds romantic." 

“I don’t think she would agree,” his eyes roam the stoney walls where glowing lights fade in and out, “She wanted more and I couldn’t give it to her. There was someone else.” He meets your eyes, wanting you to understand his contrition, “I should have been honest with her. Let her move on. I know better now. I’m all done breaking hearts.”

“Will you be honest with me?” It doesn’t matter what he's done. He’s shown you who he is, and that man is one that you believe in.

“Yes.” The word is heavy on his lips, the look in his eyes confirming his promise. “I can give that to you.”

Nodding your head in acceptance, you feel the shift, bared to each other, the wall between you falls to pieces like the replica of the town that surrounds you. It gives you the courage to ask what you really want to know, “What about the girl you’re in love with, the one that’s up there waiting for you with tears in her eyes? Don’t you think her heart is broken?”

“How did–"

Shrugging, you wait for him to continue.

“We weren’t together,” he confesses, “Turns out I couldn’t give her what she needed either.”

“That’s why you're here? Because you weren't enough for her? Your friends, don’t you think they need you?”

“It's not about her. It's about all of them,” he explains, his voice thick with pain. “Before all this, all the things I thought were important were just bullshit. They held up a mirror in front of me. It made me change directions, made me try to be better. But I moved too slowly and when they really needed me, I couldn't protect them. You know how you said everything happens for a reason?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, this is it. This is my reason. I had to make sure they’re safe. They can all grow up and do whatever it is that they are supposed to do, be whoever they are supposed to be. Staying behind. Letting them go,” he lays a hand over his heart, “That’s how I became who I was supposed to be and I could finally give that to them.”

“Steve…” You want to scream at him that he’s wrong. He had to be enough for them because he was already everything to you. But it would rob him of the meaning in his death, so you stay silent and let the unspoken words sink beneath the water.

“Okay, it’s your turn. You owe me a secret,” his tone turns light, and he claps his hands together, rubbing them back and forth, “Make it a good one.”

“Let’s see,” you squint up at the ceiling, “I started sneaking my mom’s cigarettes junior year and blamed it on my sister.”

“Come on, you can do better than that. I bet a pretty girl like you has left behind a trail of broken hearts. I want the good stuff.”

“You think I’m pretty?” You ask, tipping your head onto your shoulder with a grin.

“You know you are,” his eyes roll, “Don’t try to get out of it.”

“Fine,” you pout, flicking water in his direction, “I don’t think I broke any hearts. Maybe bent a few. My friends are always losing their heads over some guy. Acting crazy. All in the name of love. I always wanted that, you know? To get swept away in some sort of fairytale romance. It just never happened for me. I thought there would be more time. I thought…"

You’ve been looking at life through a wall of rose-colored glass, sweetening your view just enough to avoid reality. Saying the words out loud, admitting it yourself–to him, you’ve crashed straight into it, the broken shards cutting you with the truth.

“We’re not going to make it home, are we?”

“Do you still want the truth?” He asks, knowing you already know the answer.

"I had a list," you swallow hard, ignoring the sting behind your eyes. "I thought if we could find water, we could check that off and solve the next problem and the next. Then we'd somehow figure out a way back. You told me from the beginning but I was too stupid–"

"Hey, you're not stupid." He moves a hand to your cheek, brushing away a tear you hadn't realized had fallen. "It's not stupid to have hope."

"But it doesn't matter." Your hand covers his, indulging in his touch a moment longer before pushing it away. 

“That’s where you're wrong. It doesn’t change anything, but it matters.”

“I’m starting to feel tired. Would you mind if we leave?” Brushing past, you climb out onto the ledge. The water cascading off your body darkens the limestone floor. Your back stays turned away from him while you yank your underwear on over damp legs. The splashing sounds let you know that he is following suit. Your jeans are difficult to shimmy over your hips without drying off and you skip the bra entirely, leaving your shirt to absorb the water. Once you leave the warmth of the cave, you'll be freezing–you should have listened to Steve.

Another bad decision made with good intentions. The list of I’ll Nevers unfurls in front of you covering the path where your future should be. He had figured it out much sooner than you did. Everything you worked for and planned for was all just bullshit. Maybe if you had someone to hold up a mirror, your list would be shorter. 

The cave seems smaller, the walls press in as you finish getting dressed and gathering your gear. Space will give you perspective, although you still dread seeing that terrible red sky.

"Are you‐"

Your breath leaves through your parted lips when his hand tugs your hip, turning you, pulling you flush against his chest. He looks down at you, eyes burning, wet hair plastered to the nape of neck drips water down the column of his throat soaking his thermal. The plush curve of his lips so close to your own. 

"You're not supposed to be here," he growls as his grip tightens. "I wish you weren't. I wish you had never met me. I wish..."

The tears spill over your lash line and streak down your cheeks, you can taste their saltiness on your lips. His head dips toward you and your eyes flutter closed, holding your breath while you wait to feel the pressure of his lips. Longing and despair give way to a fear that he'll give you what you want because he grieves with you, and that will never be enough to stop the ache. But his kiss never comes. His touch lingers on your skin once he's let you go and you stand there with your eyes still shut as you listen to him walk away. 

By the time you make it out of the cave, the scarlet sky has dimmed to a deep crimson, and Steve decides it’s best to stick to the cover of the trees and spend the night in one of the cabins nestled on the shore among the forest of dead wood, instead of crossing back over the dry lake bed. Mercifully, the rolling storm clouds are gathering west of here, across town, leaving the woods quiet beside the dry leaves crunching underfoot. Your silence is an itch under his skin. He wants to apologize, but he’s not exactly sure what for. He meant the things he said, but he hadn’t intended it to sound so harsh. The light in your eyes has been the only thing pulling him back from the darkness of his own thoughts, but he can’t keep pretending. He’s accepted that this was how his story ends, but the way you look at him tempts him into believing there could be another chapter. 

A war rages inside him, confusion over when protecting you became something more. Something that feels like he’s betraying her, even though she’s a world away. The truth is, he wants you. Your endless hope, the smiles you dole out like they cost you nothing, like you don’t realize that they have become as necessary to him as the air he’s breathing. Every day, the feeling of you belonging to him grows, but it’s all mixed up with pain and resentment. He was to meet death with a calm embrace, but fate decided that peace was more than he deserved. Now he’ll fight with his last ounce of strength to give you one more breath, and part of him blames you for that. He wants inside you, to claim you as his, but he can’t accept your comfort without making the pain at the end worse for both of you.

These thoughts and questions, you, Nancy, are different currents clashing in a riptide, and he’s trying his best to keep his head above water. As the mist thins, a tiny cottage comes into view, partially hidden by the brush and the gloom. The flaking white paint and curling black shingles are tinged green with mold. With a lone vine, dry and dead, snaking down from the roof across the weathered door. He reaches out, wrapping a hand around your wrist, conveying with a look that you should wait here for him to clear the inside. Walking up the three stone steps, he unsheathes his knife to cut away the vine. It takes a few firm pushes from his shoulder to get the warped door to budge from its frame. The musty air hits his nose as soon as it swings open. This place has been closed up tight. Steve moves quickly through the small space, checking for any signs of creatures, but it’s untouched aside from a few dead vines wrapped around the exposed beams of the ceiling.

When he returns, you’re standing with your arms crossed over your chest, but the look written across your delicate features has changed to anger. His brows pull together, and his lips part to speak, but you beat him to it.

“I don’t wish that.”

“What?” He asks, confused.

“That I never met you. I don’t wish that,” you move closer until your toe to toe with him. “I’m here for a reason. My life has a purpose too,” you say, laying a hand over your heart, anger and sadness making your voice crack. “If you think you’re supposed to die for them. Then I’m here to make sure you aren’t alone.”

The way his mouth gapes in surprise only fuels your resolve.

“You’re not supposed to be alone.” You turn away and walk inside. He follows, shutting the door behind you.

A chill seeps through the damp mattress and the thick stack of crochet blankets piled on top. Despite being fully clothed, the cold works its way through the layers of material straight through to his skin. He’s lying on his side, staring at the closed door of the bedroom, replaying the words you said over and over. He can feel you behind him. Tiny pockets of heat wherever you connect, your forehead pressed to his back, hands tucked between you, the material of his sweatshirt balled in your fist. He’s still not sure what he should have said. The rest of the evening was spent without discussion. In his head, every sentence he forms is chased away with the image of you standing in the cave with your eyes closed, ready to be kissed. His instinct is to act first and think later, but this time the consequence is your heart, and he’s never been more unsure.

“Did you hear about the drunk geologist?” 

“What?” It takes a second for your words to break through his thoughts.

“He finally hit rock bottom,” you deadpan, your breath warming his back. “Do you know what kind of fruit geologists eat?”

His mouth quirks. Somehow you know just what he needs. 

“Pome-granite.”

He rolls over to face you. Your eyes gleam in the darkness, lashes fluttering, your lips stretched into a smile, you’re so beautiful, and it makes him feel lightheaded.

“You know you have to be patient with us geologists…we all have our faults.”

“God, these are so bad,” he says, his hand landing on your hip, his thumb finding its way under the edge of your sweatshirt to draw circles on your skin. 

“I have more.” Your hands smooth up the front of his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt, eyes locking with his, and he can see it again, the hope. It’s a beacon in a fog guiding him home. 

“Of quartz, you do.”

Your giggles make his smile bigger until he can feel it in the apples of his cheeks. It feels like it’s been forever since he’s felt like this–you make him happy.

“Let me warm you up,” he says when your laughter subsides. His hands smooth over your shoulders until they’re wrapped around your back, pulling you closer, not stopping until your forehead is against his lips and there is no space left between you. Sighing softly, you push a leg between his, until you fit together like puzzle pieces. 

“Thank you,” you whisper, but as your warmth fills all the cold places inside him, he knows he should be thanking you.

AN: Thank you for reading. I'd love to hear what you think? Are these two going to make it? Did you spot the easter egg from our friend @loveshotzz? I'll give you hint this ties in to one of her fics. Do me a soild and reblog if you liked it. 💋 -Jelly

Part 2 Here

[rainsmediaradio]

Drake Ft. SZA - Slime You Out Lyrics

Drake Ft. SZA - Slime You Out Lyrics Intro: Drake I don't know I don't know what's wrong with you girls I feel like y'all don't need love, you need somebody who could micromanage you You know what I'm sayin'? Tell you right from wrong Who's smart from who's the fool Which utensil to use for which food, like I got a schedule to attend to, though I can't relate (6ix) Verse 1: Drake You bitches really get carried away Makin' mistakes, then you beg me to stay Got me wiggin' on you like I'm Arrogant Tae You got my mind in a terrible place Whipped and chained you like American slaves Act like you not used to Sheraton stays I met the nigga you thought could replace How were there even comparisons made? Bitch, next time, I swear on my grandmother grave I'm slimin' you for them kid choices you made Refrain: Drake Slimin' you out, slimin' you out, slimin' you out You might also like IDGAF Drake Balut Doja Cat ​greedy Tate McRae Verse 2: Drake Ayy, this ain't the littest I could get on you bitches Send wires on wires on wires like Idris You lucky that I don't take back what was given I could have you on payment plan 'til you're hundred and fifty And my slime right here, she got some bars for y'all niggas So I'ma fall back and let SZA talk her shit for a minute Refrain: Drake Slimin' you out, slimin' you out, slime Verse 3: SZA Damn, these niggas got me so twisted How the fuck you so real, but play bitch on my line? I can feel what you're spinnin' Got too much pride to let no burnt nigga slime me out Pull up, go write about My night, got time, let's discuss all those lies about Frontin' out here like you diggin' me out And I ain't even cummin', I'm in and out And you ain't 'bout the shit you rappin' about And I can spin a ho, I'm airin' it out I'm goin' off like a sawed-off You tell these hoes you ain't cuddlin' But with me, you know you doin' all that shit You tellin' these hoes you ain't trickin' off But with me, you know I'm gon' get it all How you niggas get so carried away? Trippin' when that dick is barely third place Fucked out of pity, it's cute that you lame Dip 'cause it's mid, I can't fake like it's hangin' Refrain: SZA Slimin' you out, I'm slimin' you out, I'm slimin' you out Oh-woah, woah Verse 4: Drake Yeah January, you pretend to see life clearly, yearly February is the time that you put the evil eye and the pride aside For the fantasy of gettin' married, very scary March got you already second guessin' titles April, spring is here and just like a spring, you start to spiral May brings some warmer days, poolside, gettin' very tan June have you movin' ice cold, goin' back and forth with a married man July, that's when I found out you lied August, it was "baby" this, "baby" that like you had your tubes tied September, we fallin' off, but I'm still the man you tryna win over October is all about me 'cause your turn should've been over November got you moodboardin' for next year and you're single December the gift-givin' month and now you wanna rekindle our year Tryna build trust, showin' me your DMs, how they tryna bag you Ironic how the news I got about you ended up bein' bad news Get a nigga hit for fifty racks, girl, the beef cost like it's wagyu Get a nigga hit, I'll make his ass see the light like a half-moon Shout to QC, pretty sure I made Pee M's like it's past noon All I really know is W's and M's, life lookin' like a bathroom All I really know is M bags like I drove through and ordered fast food Sayin' that I'm too guarded with my feelings, who the fuck even asked you? Seven bodyguards just in case somebody really wanna try and crash through Don't know why I listen to you when I hear you talkin' to me, it's some half-truths If I don't pay your rent, it end up like an old hairstyle, girl, it's past due If I don't— Outro: Drake Ah-ah-ah, that's as far as I got Read the full article

[noblevicartstudio08]

One day I'll figure out how to tell the difference between having a chemical imbalance and Being non-binary

[chaotic-archaeologist]

I'm not sure if this falls under what you've learned but I've been wanting/considering getting a hysterectomy for a few years now, especially now that my drs are saying i probably (we don't know for sure cause i don't feel comfortable with doing more invasive procedures to find out for certain) have PCOS and BC doesn't seem to be working to control my periods (i'm currently on the patch form but i'm gonna ask what other options there are at my next appointment, I can't take pills tho so i'm not sure what they will offer) and i was wondering if you know much about that process and what happens after?

I'm only 20 though, so i'm not sure that they will let me for a while still cause legal things around hysterectomies are still bleh but I still wanna know more about it for when I do decide to do it/ask about it

So this wasn't part of my initial training, but I'm not opposed to doing a little research.

The first thing that it's important to know is that a hysterectomy isn't a minor surgery like getting your tubes tied. Recovery can take from 6 to 8 weeks—you're having a whole organ removed, after all. You mention that you're uncomfortable undergoing more invasive procedures to have your PCOS diagnosed, but a hysterectomy, even a laparoscopic one, is still potentially just as invasive as any of those tests, and also permanent.

(image from Mayo Clinic)

Here's a good image talking about what is removed in different kinds of hysterectomies. I think it will be important for you to understand what each operation entails.

You mention PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). The operative word here is ovary. A hysterectomy is mainly concerned with the uterus, which is connected but not the same.

(image from Britanica)

Based on the (cursory) research that I've done, it seems that a hysterectomy/oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries) tends to be the option of last resort in the treatment of PCOS. That's not to say that it wouldn't be helpful for you, but you and your doctor should talk about all of the possible options to manage your condition.

Something else important to keep in mind is that by removing your ovaries, you remove your body's natural source of estrogen. This would mean that you would have to take estrogen hormone replacement therapy for the rest of your life if you do not want to immediately undergo menopause. Or maybe you're trans and you don't want estrogen in your body anyway, but you might need to talk to your doctor about how this would affect your other hormone therapy/levels.

In the end, the decision about what's right for you can only be made by you and your doctor. Make sure you understand all of your options, and then proceed as you wish.

-Reid

[yslkook]

UNFUCKWITABLE (9)

mind of mine masterlist

summary: jungkook convinces you to take a staycation with him for a few days (a week).

pairing: “badboy” jk x “shy/reserved” oc

warnings: cursing, alc, excessive use of pet names, oc and jk discuss their unprotected sex practices, vomiting, some jealous jk, mild exhibitionism, fingers in oc's mouth grinding, making out, oral (m), titjob

word count: 7k

a/n: if you want to be tagged, send an ask plz. would love to hear your thoughts. also...cant believe mom manifested into butter jk im in pain

****************************************

Jungkook is unsurprised to enter your home with the key you’d given him the other week and find it completely empty. You’ve been working early mornings and incredibly late nights for the last week and a half, and he can tell it’s beginning to take a toll on you. The first sign that you were beginning to wear down was when you had skipped dinner in favor of sleeping. The second was when you had snapped at him in irritation and then immediately cried over hurting his feelings.

He can think of about a dozen other things, including the even more pronounced bags under your eyes. You’ve always had dark circles under your eyes naturally from hyperpigmentation but these days, not even concealer can help you mask them.

In fact, the reason that you’d even given him a key was because you felt like work was taking over your entire life. You’d hardly had a chance to see anyone who wasn’t a work colleague, and you just missed Jungkook. At least this way, you could wake up and go to bed with him.

You had only been calling Jungkook your partner just shy of four months, and he had a key to your home. Perhaps it was fast for other people, but with him, it felt right. So he keeps a copy of your keys on his lanyard- it’s possibly his most prized possession right now. Jungkook usually only comes when you ask him to, he’s been staying at your place for the last week because of how tired and busy you were.

Usually you stop by the tattoo parlor at least once or twice a week, but you have been sparse because of work. So he’s here, in your home without you. It felt strange the first few times he’d been here without you, but then he started leaving little pockets of himself- his shoes next to yours, his hair product on your shelf, and his two of his jackets hanging near yours in the closet. He’d even purchased a new plant to keep on your windowsill in your living room (which you take turns dutifully watering and making sure she gets enough sunlight).

It’s all very domestic. He had jokingly told you not to expose him to your shared friends, specifically Mina and Mei. To which you had rolled your eyes.

Though some small, very small, part of him wonders if the magic will fade away soon. Considering how fast you both are moving both physically into your home and in your relationship.

It’s only been a few months, and you both were incredibly comfortable with the idea of unprotected sex- after all, Jungkook always pulls out in time. Until, of course, you’d had a pregnancy scare. Hoseok and Yoongi, ever the pair of realists, had scolded him when Jungkook had revealed that you both hardly ever used any protection-

“Are you trying to knock her up? Is that it? You both ready to potentially be parents?” Yoongi says mildly as he polishes off his wine, looking at Jungkook expectantly. Jungkook’s cheeks burn.

“No, I’m not trying to knock her up and no, nobody’s trying to be parents-”

“You both are lucky you haven’t knocked her up already,” Hoseok says, with more heat in his voice, “You both are fucking stupid, but you especially.” He even smacks the back of his head with the book in his hands and Jungkook glares at him.

“Hey, my pull out game has always been strong, and I’m serious about her. We wouldn’t fuck raw if-”

“Oh, yes, then we definitely have nothing to worry about,” Yoongi says, “Keep it moving, Hobi.

“Talk to her about it, or else,” Hoseok threatens, “I don’t wanna hear about another pregnancy scare because you’re both idiots.”

“I know, I know,” Jungkook relents, “We’ve been talking about it. It just sucks that birth control can fuck up a woman’s body like that, you know? Mood changes and appetite changes, nausea and everything…”

“You could always get a vasectomy,” Yoongi says bluntly.

“Mei said the same thing. She was way more mean about it, though. Told me she’d cut my balls off if I didn’t get my shit together.”

“I don’t blame her, considering what a mess you both were last month.”

“We were not a mess!”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so stressed ever in your life, not even when your first bike got run over by a car. Or when your tattoo got infected three consecutive times. And I’ve never seen her cry so much before.”

“Alright, maybe we’re a little bit of a mess.”

In the end, you and Jungkook had both decided that yes, condoms were probably a good idea. Considering the pregnancy scare you had last month, you both were on edge and a little paranoid. Jungkook hadn’t even mentioned the idea of you taking birth control or getting an IUD, knowing that your last few experiences with the former were unpleasant-

“I can get a vasectomy, you know. In fact, Yoongi suggested it,” Jungkook shrugs nonchalantly but your jaw drops.

“Jungkook. I don’t think vasectomies are reversible like that. Think about what you’re saying,” You murmur, “I’m touched you’d consider a surgical procedure so I don’t have to take birth control, but what if-”

“I looked it up, they can be reversed-”

“But Jungkook! You don’t know that, what if you want to have kids later and you can’t because you decided on a fucking whim to get a vasectomy? It’s still trauma on your body! You can’t just snip snap, snip snap your vas deferens tube whenever you please. At least with birth control you can start and stop it, even if that’s not a completely benign process.”

Jungkook looks at you long and hard, his tongue poking his cheek and you sigh. “But I don’t-”

“Honey. I appreciate your thoughtfulness,” You murmur, squeezing his hands in yours, “But we’re both being stupid. We’re both acting like condoms don’t exist. Why don’t we start with condoms and then think about getting your tubes tied or me getting an IUD?”

“You spoiled me,” Jungkook complains dramatically and drops his head to your chest, “With your pussy. I’m spoiled now.”

“Shut up.”

And so now, a box of condoms sits in the drawer of your nightstand and you’ve taken to bringing a few with you in your purse as well (and so does he). You’d been far more nervous buying condoms than you’d ever been of buying anything else, and Jungkook had only cockily grinned at you.

Today’s Friday and it’s the day of your deadline. Meaning that you’d hopefully be home soon and be his for the rest of the weekend. He fully plans on getting you to relax and stay in for the majority of the weekend, so that you can catch up on sleep.

But then you come home past dinner (you had sent him a text earlier telling him that you were going to be late. He knows your mood is sour- you had been in a foul mood all week, and the fact that you’re so close to being home but so far just makes it worse). You come home with an empty belly, a weary mind and wetness along your lash line. Climbing into bed next to him, you circle your arms around his waist and cry tiredly into his chest.

“J-Jungkook,” You hiccup, “I’m so tired, they kept me s-so late today but it’s done. Everything is finished-”

“Oh, baby,” He sighs, rubbing your back soothingly, “It’s okay. We can just sleep now. You should take a few days off next week, baby.”

“I don’t know…” But your eyes are wide and considering it.

“You’ve been running on empty all week,” Jungkook points out, “For longer than that. Your job can handle two or three days without you while you recharge. Text your boss, baby. You need to rest, too.”

He nudges your cheek with his nose and you hum in agreement. “Okay. Five day weekend? Sure you won’t get tired of me?” You murmur and laugh when he squeezes your waist.

“We can make it a staycation.”

And you’re already texting your boss, telling her that you needed a few days off next week. She gives you a thumbs up and encourages you to rest up, making it a point to recognize how hard you’ve been working. She even suggests you take the full week off, which you jump at and Jungkook only grins at you.

“My brilliant girl, charming her way into a full week off.”

You swat his hand away and hide your burning but satisfied face in his chest. “Yeah, your bad habits are rubbing off on me.”

“Oh, that’s not the only thing rubbing off on you,” Jungkook says wickedly and pushes his hips into yours, earning a fierce pinch to his bare waist.

“Hush, I’m trying to nap,” You mumble, your voice muffled. Without warning, you lick his neck and bite lightly at the base of his neck, ignoring his soft yelp. He doesn’t have a chance to question you on what that was, as you’re already falling asleep.

You’ve always thought from the beginning, even when you and Jungkook were just friends, that he was an ass man. You’ve caught him staring at your ass many, many times- in jeans, in a dress, in a skirt. And now that you both are officially together, he spends any and every moment he can with a hand on your ass. Casually, when you both walk side by side. And purposefully when you’re both just in his bed or on your couch. His hand is a well known presence on your ass, not that you’re complaining.

One of Jungkook’s favorite places to nap is on your ass, with his cheek pressed into you and one hand firmly gripping your ass. He also likes laying with his head on your lap. But his favorite place to nap is with his head buried in your chest, specifically buried in between your tits. He is currently analyzing his hypothesis that your right tit is smaller than your left, a thought he’s had for a while now, but needs further samples of evidence to properly assess.

But he’s always had an affinity for your tits, whether you’re blissfully unaware of it or not. You don’t notice it not really- you like any and all of his touches on any inch of your skin, as you’ve told him many times before. Especially when he holds you close next to him or under him and you feel protected, surrounded by only him.

He holds you, looks at you as if you’re as soothing as the sea and as bright as a supernova. And yet, the universe is contained in his big, doe eyes.

But really, at the end of the day, it’s an affinity for you. Jungkook loves every part of your mind, body, and soul, and he thinks he has for a long time. His heart has been tangled with yours since the first time he had seen you years ago at Hobi’s surprise birthday party that you had planned. Jungkook is sure that when he had seen you with a homemade red velvet cheesecake with a ‘Happy Birthday Hobi <3’ written perfectly in red icing in your arms, a silly party hat on your head, and a shy, beaming smile on your lips, he had been magnetized to your center of gravity from then on.

But even then, he had only hovered. Barely introducing himself, if it weren’t for Mina and Mei. He thought he had known girls like you- girls who baked cakes, planned elaborate birthday parties for their friends and wore flowery dresses liked other predictable people. It’s another one of his hypotheses (which has been clearly debunked)- but by now, he knows not to be so judgmental of others.

But he doesn’t dwell on that for long. Even the first time he met you, right after he had introduced himself to you and you had stared at him with starstruck eyes and stammered a quiet ‘hello’ in return, Sora had cornered him. And told him to back off from right then, that you were off limits. That you’d never be interested in a guy like him, so to not even spend a second in his stupid little mind even entertaining the ridiculous idea.

So he backed off subconsciously, thinking it wasn’t worth it to even know you as a friend. He’d convinced himself that it was too much trouble, and Jungkook has always been an easygoing kind of guy in most instances. After all, your best friend would know you best, right? And really, what did he care? As the saying goes, there were about a million other fish in the sea.

However. Even then, with each word uttered between you both, with each laugh that he pulled from your soft mouth, he couldn’t help the reluctant fondness for you that began to bloom. You had surprised him every few months after that, just saying hello at events that you were both present at and asking how he was. With that stupidly beautiful smile and those bright, shy eyes.

You were a smart, kind woman, always remembering details about others. And he was no exception.

That was years ago. He’s known you since your third year at university, hanging by a thread just outside your orbit. But this is now.

This is now, and your lips are against his neck, your chest pressed to his. You climb into his lap haphazardly, nearly knocking your mug off of the coffee table. You both have only just woken up and stumbled out of bed for coffee and breakfast. You had combed the tangles out of his bedhead with his head in your lap, but now sleepiness has washed away and you’re tugging at his oversized shirt.

You promptly bite him, right where his neck tattoo starts and ends. Jungkook meets your eyes with an incredulous, breathy laugh. “What’s gotten into you?” He murmurs, palming your chest from under your shirt.

“Nothing. You just have a very biteable neck, I told you,” You say, resuming your inspection of the vein next to his tattoo, “What a juicy jugular vein-”

Jungkook holds your wrist and flips you so that your back is on the couch. “My sexy vampire girlfriend. Love when she starts talking about my jugular vein.”

“Watch out, I might drink from it. You never know,” You giggle with a wink, squirming in his grip.

“You can do whatever you want,” Jungkook murmurs but then an idea that has been planted in his head for weeks now spills from his lips without him meaning to, “I wanna fuck your tits, baby.”

Your eyes go comically wide, mimicking Jungkook’s own. His cheeks are a little pink from his abrupt confession as silence falls between you both.

“That’s really interesting,” You muse.

“Is it?” He asks, feeling a little lightheaded. You tug a little at his purple locks to pull him down to you.

“Yeah. Always thought you liked booty. And legs,” You shrug, “But I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised.”

Jungkook’s throat is too dry for him to reply coherently. But he finds his voice after you give him a reassuring smile, “Uh, when it’s you, I like everything.”

“Me too. When it’s you, I like everything,” You mumble, heat rising in your cheeks, “And uh… you can. Do that I mean.”

“Do what?” He asks teasingly, tilting his head to the side.

“Don’t play dumb,” You whine, shoving his shoulder.

“C’mon say it,” Jungkook jeers, not unkindly, “Put your big girl panties on.”

“I hate you,” You sigh dramatically, “Fine. You can fuck my tits, if you so desire.” His face splits into a grin as he thumbs your chin and ducks his head into your neck. He playfully nips at your skin, murmuring that he’s just giving you a taste of your own medicine, but you feel his half hard cock pressing against your thigh.

The image of his cock wet and slick between your tits is now imprinted in your mind, and when both of you want something, you’ll surely get it.

Despite your eagerness of making Jungkook’s wish a reality, neither of you have had the chance for your usual shenanigans just yet. You still have quite a few days of your staycation left, so you won’t rush it. You had spent most of the first two days sleeping, cuddling, spooning, eating and lots and lots of slow sex.

You think you can count on one hand the number of times you’ve left your bed. Jungkook has been nothing short of wonderful, bringing you food (just this once, you hate eating while in bed), giving you shoulder rubs and booty rubs without you asking. Your favorite ice cream is in your freezer. Life is good.

His shirt hangs off of your shoulder and you’re too lazy to fix it. In fact you’re too lazy for pajama bottoms, only settling on your favorite pair of comfortable panties (nothing flashy. Just a standard black cotton panty) to wear under your shirt. One might even call them granny panties or whatever, but lace was uncomfortable on your skin. Lace and thongs are for very, very special occasions (hardly if ever) and you are in the comfort of your own home. You’ll be comfortable if it’s the last thing you do.

In fact, you’re too lazy to even raise your head to pucker your lips for a kiss from Jungkook. You only open your arms and hum, as if he’s supposed to telepathically know what you want from him. But he does, and he flops onto you once he tugs his shirt off. Jungkook’s face remains buried in your chest as you gently rub his scalp.

He hums happily, nearly purring at your touch and shoves himself closer into your hold. You can’t believe this man, the man who mildly intimidated you for years, is now in your arms and purring like a baby kitten. He’s admitted a few times that his scalp has been irritated and inflamed ever since he dyed his hair purple. One of his favorite things is to lay in your lap while you massage a mix of coconut oil and peppermint oil into his scalp.

He looks up at you, warm heat blazing in his eyes. You’re about to ask him what he’s thinking about but he palms your pussy from under your shirt- your still swollen, puffy pussy from the four times he’s made you cum already.

“Can I help you, Jungkook,” You ask flatly, but your poker face breaks when he dots you with kisses up and down your thighs.

“Yeah, fuck,” Jungkook groans, voice slowing to a whine, “I’m still hard, baby, fuck. Help me.”

“How are you still hard,” You wonder with a grin, “Damn, Jeon. You must really like me, huh?”

“If that wasn’t obvious then I’m clearly not doing something right here,” He breathes into your skin.

“Gimme a kiss then,” You murmur, pushing his long hair behind his ear. His eyebrow piercing glints in the light of your bedroom and you trace it gently with your fingertips. Jungkook desperately pushes his lips to yours, parting your lips easily and slipping his tongue into your mouth. He kisses your teeth hungrily, strands of his hair brushing against your cheeks.

His hips roll into yours impatiently, hands already pawing at your shirt. The air in your bedroom is suddenly so stifling, thick and nearly choking you both with the intensity of your desire. You just want him to feel good with you.

“Jungkook,” You say softly with warm cheeks, “You can use me, however you want. Tell me what you want, bunny.”

He lets out a quiet gasp, his eyes bright and wide.

You’re both on the same page, because he’s scrambling to chuck his boxers to the side and you’re tossing your shirt on top of his boxers.

***********************

“Fuuuck,” Jungkook groans. He’s breathless, heart racing erratically. All he can do is hold your shoulders as he watches with a piercing, hazy gaze as his cock is swallowed in between your tits. You squeeze them tightly together, trying to create as much friction as you can for him.

“Fuck,” He whines, “Fuck, you look so good, baby. O-oh, shit, my pretty baby, you’re pretty-”

Jungkook nearly cums when you mischievously stick your tongue out to brush against the head of his leaking cock. The visual is almost too much for him and his breaths are choked, strangled as he forces himself to look into your dark eyes.

“So big, bunny, look,” You say softly, “You like this? You’re so hot like this…”

He’s nearly in tears, eyes shining and wet at how good this feels. If your pussy was a slice of heaven, then your tits were the next best thing. You moan softly, feeling your own wetness and heat pooling. Jungkook’s cheeks and chest are flushed, eyes wild and wet as he slides his cock in between the valley of your tits languidly. Almost as if he doesn’t want the moment to end.

You’re so warm, warm everywhere.

His muscles are tense, the furrow in his brow beginning to appear when he’s about to cum. “Shit, baby, oh my god, I love your tits,” Jungkook moans, tossing his head back, “Fuck, I love everything about you-”

You don’t know how he’s able to form coherent sentences to you when he’s this close to cumming. But he’s always been a man of many talents.

“You know what I just realized,” You gasp suddenly, “Neither of us made it official that we’re dating. Like I never asked you ‘out’ and you never asked me ‘out’-”

“Fuck, you talk too much,” Jungkook nearly snarls, “My cock is literally in between your tits and I’m about to fucking cum all over you and you think I belong to anyone else?”

You swallow thickly, Jungkook narrowing his eyes at you. He looks intimidating and intense above you, his powerful, golden thighs straddling either side of you.

“N-no, I was just-”

Jungkook shoots you a glare, reaches behind him and gathers your wetness with two fingers. Before you can ask him what he’s doing, he pushes two fingers into your mouth to shut you up. You send him a glare right back, but it melts away quickly when you swirl your tongue and suck on his digits.

He cums without warning, hastily and with a broken sort of sound ripping from his throat. It’s warm and sticky as it lands on your chest and your cheek. But he cums so much and much to your chagrin some of his cum gets in your eye and you nearly shriek at the burn.

“Jungkook! What the hell, your cum is in my fucking eyeball-”

He’s still panting above you, like some sort of golden boy, and it takes him a few seconds to register your irritation. “Oh shit,” Jungkook says and jumps into action. He tugs you into the bathroom to gently wash your eye for you (after washing his own hands), with you grumbling the entire time.

“I’m sorry, baby,” He says sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. You roll your eyes and demand to be taken back to bed and lavished in kisses as penance for his cum shooting into your eye.

Jungkook tastes himself a little when his tongue slips into your mouth, but it hardly registers as he rolls on top of you, caging you in between his arms.

Jungkook fleetingly thinks he should’ve spent more time trying to convince you to stay home with him. Maybe with a few soft, long kisses to your neck, he might have. You looked delectable, good enough to eat- your dress fitted around your hips, nails, hair, and makeup done, the scent of your perfume subtle but not irritating to his sensitive nose.

You had asked him to pick what jewelry to wear, so one of his long necklaces sitting around your neck and disappearing into the valley of your chest. It doesn’t really match with your dress, but you don’t care.

And Jungkook… well, it was difficult for you to keep your hands off of him as well. His hair is tied back into a neat ponytail, he’s wearing a sequined black (fitted) button up with the top four buttons undone, a thick, silver chain and ripped, black jeans. Your eyes are glued to his chest and he knows it- you can’t help but grip his arm, his bicep whenever you can.

Neither of you really enjoyed the club scene, but you had wanted to go out since it had been a really long time and after all, you were on your staycation. Mei had planted the idea in your head, and so now here Jungkook was.

Here he was, catching flashes off the satin, coral colored wrap dress that you were encased in. For someone who doesn’t like the scene, you blend in effortlessly. But you’re a grown woman, so he takes his eyes off of you and orders a round of shots for him, Jimin, Taehyung and Jin while nursing a bottle of soju.

In the midst of the thumping bass bouncing off of the walls in the club, you’re only aware of you and Mei while you both sing along to whatever song is blasting through the club. Mina disappeared a while ago, presumably to find Jimin.

You’re holding two drinks, one in each hand, and all you feel is the vibrations of the club. Along with your own drunkenness. Mei holds your arm to keep you steady as you move your hips in time with hers. You laugh loudly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders at something she said. Everything is amplified and muted at the same time, the swirl of alcohol settling comfortably in your veins.

You’re having a great time with your friends, dancing, swirling, singing and drinking. It’s a nice night to unwind, in the company of dear friends and strangers.

“Hey,” Mei murmurs in your ear, “I gotta pee and I’m gonna go find Seulgi-”

“You can just say that you wanna go find her,” You giggle, “Don’t blame your bladder on it, Mei.”

“Oh, you’re funny. I’ll text Jungkook and tell him to come find you, alright?” Mei says, patting your head. You nod and tell her to go find her girl, and she does. Leaving you to your own devices for a bit, at least until Jungkook makes his way to you.

However, what neither of you realize is that the cell reception in this building is terrible. Mei’s text never goes through and you stay in your bubble, with your two drinks in your hands and bounce along to the music.

You’re not sure how much time goes by, but it feels like you’ve been alone for quite a while. You squint your eyes at your phone to check the time and send a text to Jungkook. A text that never goes through. You frown and are about to turn on your heel to link up with your man (wherever he might be), but you hear a surprised call of your name.

It’s hard to keep the incredulity out of your face when you come face to face with Yunho, the man who had stood you up all those months ago. The air has almost been punched out of your lungs, and you have to squint at him to believe what you’re seeing.

He calls your name again, giving you a wave and a bright smile. “Funny seeing you here, huh?”

“Uh…”

“Can I buy you a drink? I feel like I owe it to you after…” His eyes are sincere. At least you think so, with your drunk goggles on.

“I don’t know, Yunho, it’s okay…” You mumble unsurely, “Isn’t this weird?”

“It’s only weird if we make it weird,” Yunho says and pulls a chuckle out of you.

“Oh, alright. I guess a drink won’t hurt,” You shrug and lead the way to the bar. The least he can do for you after standing you up and hurting your feelings is buy you a drink, you think.

“Hey listen, I owe you an apology,” Yunho says, sliding your drink towards you.

“Oh, it’s- it was a long time ago,” You shrug, avoiding his eyes. Sure, it was a hit to your ego, but in hindsight it doesn’t matter. Not when you have Jungkook. Honestly, you’ve forgotten that Yunho had even been a blip in your radar once upon a time. It was only because of Sora, anyway.

“I had something urgent come up last minute that day and I asked Sora to tell you,” Yunho continues, “I’m sorry I didn’t follow up or even reach out to you after. But I’d heard that you were with Jeon now, so didn’t want to… overstep, I guess.”

And even through your drunken haze, you understand. You sigh deeply, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“Oh boy,” You groan, “Sora never told me about that but we’re not close anymore, Yunho. It’s okay, I understand. I’m sorry she got you, too.”

Yunho’s lips part in surprise, “She didn’t… Alright. What’s done is done, I guess.”

“Yeah,” You murmur airily, “And yes, I am with Jeon. Though I can’t seem to find him…”

“I’m happy to keep you company until you do.”

Despite how well you and Yunho seem to hit it off (most of your time spent bitching about Sora), you can’t help but think of Jungkook. You quite miss him, not having seen him all night in the club. You want to dance with him, and little do you know that he’s been scouring the entire club for you in a frenzy once he ran into Mei and Mina and hadn’t seen you with them.

He had sent them a glare, his jaw clenched and walked away to find you. So when his eyes finally land on you at the bar, after about twenty-five minutes of searching and trying to get through strings of people around you, his heart soars. But he sees you laughing with someone else at the bar. With Yunho.

Jealousy is petty, he tells himself. But he struggles to keep it at bay as it rears its head and comforts him. He’s always been protective and possessive of those he loves and cherishes. You’re definitely no exception.

You wobble a little on your feet, but you hold your own. Even from here, he can see the drunkenness of your smile, beads of sweat as they race down your neck to hide in the valley of your breasts. He zeroes in on your necklace (his) around your neck and reminds himself. It’s his necklace that you’re wearing, after all.

Then why is the man who stood you up all those months ago making you laugh like that?

You must have a sixth sense or something for him, because you turn your head a bit as if you can sense him. Your entire face lights up when you see him, in a way that makes his tough heart swell in adoration.

You make your way over to him with your drink and peck his lips chastely, despite his desire to pull you into his arms and kiss you long enough that your knees buckle. So that Yunho sees that he is yours.

“You disappeared on me, baby,” Jungkook murmurs, adjusting your necklace. He’s gripping it tightly, but you don’t notice.

“I was with Yunho, remember him? ‘Member, he stood me up but he didn’t because it was Sora’s fault-”

“That’s no surprise,” Jungkook says, rolling his eyes. You take his hand, squeezing and introduce him to Yunho. As if he doesn’t know him already. Jungkook’s tongue pokes the inside of his cheek, his jaw clenched. He doesn’t like how Yunho looks at you, how his gaze lingers on your skin and the curves of your dress. You lean against Jungkook heavily, absently playing with his fingers. You stay mostly quiet, sipping your drink as the two men speak (rather tersely).

Jungkook knows he’s being ridiculous.

“Kook, finish my drink?” You murmur, offering him the glass. Jungkook maintains eye contact with Yunho as he downs the remainder of your drink in a few solid gulps.

“Was nice to see you, Yunho,” You say, “I think Jimin and Mina are looking for us, Jungkook. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

With that Jungkook firmly holds your waist, keeping you close to him. You both know that neither Jimin nor Mina are looking for either of you. You’d only wanted to be alone with Jungkook.

So Jungkook leads you to a spot where he knows Yunho can visibly see you both. You let loose, giggling as Jungkook twirls you easily and moving your arms to match the beat of the music. He makes you laugh with his moves, winking at you and shooting finger guns at you as he twirls and swivels around you. He’s always been a great dancer, you realize. That’s funny, because you’re sometimes clumsy on your own two feet. He pulls you into him, his chest to your back and his hips pressed against your ass. You sigh contentedly, head lolling against his shoulder and you rest your hand over his hand to let him lead you.

His nose is buried in your neck, lips lightly brushing your pulse. He bites your earlobe gently, earning a soft laugh from you. Jungkook tilts your jaw to the side to meet your eyes and plants a deep kiss to your glossy lips. He holds you steady when your knees weaken, your belly flipping at the intensity that he pours into you.

Jungkook is all around you, encasing you within his arms and there’s not a single place you’d rather be. When you pull away for air, you thumb away your gloss on his bottom lip and bite his bottom lip gently.

“I adore you,” You say dreamily, “You are so… Everything. Everything. I adore you.”

Jungkook’s cheeks burn, but he ducks his head for another sharp kiss. And if Yunho is watching him shove his tongue down your throat and holding your hips to his possessively then that’s fine by him.

The journey back home is a quick one (after you both stop for fried noodles, despite the inevitable heartburn it’ll give you both the next day but you’re both so hungry). You both stumble into your home in a mess of giggles and groping, nearly falling to the floor due to your clumsiness.

Jungkook has been hard since he kissed you in the club, in front of Yunho. He knew Yunho had been watching, feeling the man’s eyes on you both the entire time. His jealousy has crawled back into the box that it was unleashed from, but he knows that’s something to revisit later.

Something else to revisit is that he liked that someone else was watching him with you. He stores that information for later, instead focusing on keeping you upright from falling.

Somehow, through your blurry vision and wobbly legs, you get on your knees and palm Jungkook’s cock through his pants. A shameless moan rips through you- any and every inch of him makes you dizzy with desire.

You like him so much that it nearly makes you cry.

“Gonna blow you now,” You announce happily, fumbling with the button of his jeans and using all of your concentration and strength to pull his pants down along with his boxers. You sloppily kiss your way down his chest, spending extra time on his tattoo and licking (then biting) his happy trail before humming around his leaking cock.

He’s so wet already, and it’s all because of you.

Jungkook groans, eyes closing in pleasure as your pretty mouth wraps around his cock. He thrusts lightly into your mouth, peeling his eyes open to watch you. Only to find you already staring up at him, your makeup smudged and tears already forming in your pretty eyes. He cradles your cheek affectionately, stroking your cheekbone-

But before he can compliment you, softly praise you, he hears a noise. It originates from the back of your throat, something both familiar and unfamiliar. You gag uncontrollably around his cock, and while it’s certainly not the first time it’s happened, it’s different this time. Because you’re a little drunk. So he should be unsurprised when you retch on his cock, pull yourself off of him before your drunk self can get any more vomit on his cock and sprint into your bathroom.

You manage to lock the door in your frenzy of utter humiliation and alcohol addled mind. You hover over the toilet bowl, the sounds of you throwing up bouncing off of the walls. You’re crying, sobbing more like it- from both the pain in your chest from vomiting violently into the toilet bowl coupled with the humiliation of quite literally throwing up on your boyfriend’s cock.

You groan and squeeze your eyes shut, as if that’ll erase the memory.

“Baby,” Jungkook calls softly, his cock fully hanging out in the open, “Baby, please open the door. It’s not a big deal, but I need to wash my dick off.”

You let out a choked, watery laugh at that and move to flush the toilet and rinse your mouth out. Your cheeks burn in embarrassment when you unlock your bathroom door, and you can’t bear to look Jungkook in the eye. But he holds your wrist to his when you try to escape into the safety of your bedroom.

Your heart feels like it’s going to beat right out of your chest, heat flooding your ears in shame. It feels like your head is empty, static filling up the spaces that the silence between you both doesn’t.

“It’s just me,” Jungkook coos, “Do you want to shower with me?”

“Jungkook, ‘m absolutely mortified,” You say flatly, voice a little high in pitch as fresh tears burning behind your eyelids, “I want to evaporate from this plane of existence in about three-point-four seconds, I literally threw up on your penis, I’m so sorry. Don’t even look at me-”

Jungkook winces at your tone and the way your shoulders are hunched, hands gripping the hem of your dress unsurely.

“Baby,” Jungkook sighs, “It’s really okay, there’s nothing to apologize for. Come shower. The vomit is drying on my dick-”

But that’s the wrong thing to say because you start to cry immediately, shoving your face in your hands. Jungkook sighs, mentally kicking himself and running a hand through his purple locks. He calls your name softly and pulls you into his arms for a tight hug, despite the drying vomit on his dick, which is hanging out and brushes against your hip. You sniffle, peeking at him with shy eyes and he rubs your back soothingly.

“When I say it’s okay, I mean it,” Jungkook murmurs into your hair, “I’m sorry I didn’t realize how drunk you were. I know you feel embarrassed, but it’s just me, baby.”

He kisses you, despite your protests, and helps you rinse your mouth again. You allow Jungkook to somehow maneuver you into the shower, peeling you out of your clothes. You feel grimy and sticky from the club and you’re grateful for the cool water against your skin. You stand behind Jungkook, wrapping your arms around his waist and pressing your face in between his shoulder blades, letting him wash himself.

“Can I wash you?” You whisper, voice unsure. You feel awful, cheeks burning but still. He nods and you take your body wash and lather him with it, washing his now limp dick gently and swallowing nervously.

“See? Not a big deal,” Jungkook says, coaxes you out of your nervousness, “Lemme wash you, baby.”

And so he does, taking your loofah and gently rubbing your skin. Under the cool spray of water, your nerves slip away with each giggle and kiss that he pulls and plants from your lips. Your eyes are still a little shy, a little slick with alcohol. But it’s just Jungkook, and you’re safe with him.

Jungkook nearly wrestles you to get you to eat something more, after throwing up the remainder of your guts after you both had showered (it was mainly just water and alcohol at this point). You’re nearly falling asleep on his shoulder but he manages to shake you awake for a slice of leftover noodles and two glasses of water. But eventually, he coaxes you into eating with a few kisses, hugs, and shoulder rubs.

Once you both are in bed, Jungkook wraps himself around you, his hands immediately drifting below your sleep shirt to your belly. Your cheeks burn as the events of the night replay in your mind’s eye and you press your face into your pillow with a groan.

“I can’t believe I threw up on your dick a-and you’re so nice a-about it,” You mumble, “You really are everything.”

“Well, what else am I going to do if the girl I like vomits on my dick,” Jungkook murmurs, “Don’t worry about it, baby. It happens.”

“To who? Only to me,” You say sadly, “I drank too much. I’m sorry, Kook-”

“Shhh,” Jungkook says, tightening his arms around you and kissing your forehead, “I promise it’s okay. I promise I’m not looking at you any differently.”

His words make you relax in his hold and you nod. Jungkook tilts your jaw towards him, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. You don’t say anything else after that, only allowing your soft, breathy sighs to spill out of your lips and into him with every comforting kiss and every slip of his tongue in your mouth.

He tells you to rest in between kisses, but your eyes are already closed.

**************************************

MOM TAGS: @tiemeuptogoldenchains @boymeetsparadise @jungkooksseuphoria @kaepjjangiya @drumsofheaven @ppeachyttae @tae-bebe @yiyi4657 @mygscafe @beeeetsandskzreads @maichiverse @hordanhearsawhooo @anonymous2505 @dreadity @mysugarkoo @ultraanonymousey @moonchild1 @fan-ati--c @yeotan07

TAGS: @kookdbean @codeinebelle

[12raccoonsinadress]

Hey so the recent Roe v Wade overturn has rlly taken a toll on my mental health, and I wanted to know if I could have some headcanons on how the MHA boys would help y/n through having their right to abortion revoked😞 If you don’t want anything political on your page I completely understand. Have a good day❤️

I'm not afraid to admit the fact that everything happening right now is devastating. It's such a serious matter and personally, I feel romanticizing it would be inappropriate. Instead, here's something that while yes, touches the subject, avoids turning this extremely real situation into something of fantasy ~ 💚

1A Boys HC : When You Don't Want A Baby (Fluff/Implied Smut)

Izuku

He planned on letting you decide if or when you ever wanted to have a baby, so he didn't ever really bring it up unless you did. He didn't want to make you feel like he was ever pushing for it.

Though the one time the conversation came up, he did say that he'd be willing to start a family with you, but that he also was ok if it was just the two of you because as long as he has you, he's happy.

He'd definitely do his research on birth controls. For you and him. When you said you didn't want a baby for the time, he wanted to be sure he honored your choice by keeping bedroom activities safe. Between your birth control, his birth control, and condoms, let's just say that you guys are pretty safe from having a baby anytime soon.

Bakugo

Kids annoy the shit out of him typically so let's just say he isn't exactly pushing you into having a baby anytime soon. If it was your idea he might, but since at least for the time being you both seem to be on the same page he doesn't tend to think or talk about it.

He may have asked you once, just because he wanted to be sure this was what you wanted and not just because he always seemed to not like the idea (Though he'd say it in a less gentle, caring way). Once you confirmed you simply didn't want kids you both moved on from the subject.

Since it felt like this might be a permanent decision for you both, you brought up the idea of getting your tubes tied. Something that'll keep it from happening by accident, but also something reversible, on the very off chance you eventually change your mind. Whether you do or not, he's gonna back you up the whole way.

Shoto

After seeing what his dad did and how screwed up most of his kids came out, he would be weary about having kids to begin with, so you saying that you don't want any is a relief to him. He wouldn't want to give that man grandchildren or risk not being able to provide a normal childhood because of his own trauma.

He asked you about it a fairly short ways into your relationship. It was something he thought was important to ask, and he didn't want to risk getting deep into a relationship only to find you wanted like 10 kids. He was very happy the two of you could agree to maybe not have kids.

Shoto would ask you about your thoughts on him getting a vasectomy. He doesn't wanna risk it, and he feels it'd just be easier for him to take away the chance of him getting you pregnant all together. And it'd be a one time thing instead of you constantly getting birth control.

Kirishima

He thinks having a kid would be cool. Be able to raise a little human with you and stuff, but he isn't going to let it change anything when he finds out you don't really want that. He's still gonna love you regardless, and respect your decision.

He teased you about letting him pop a baby in you a few times until you told him it wasn't something you really wanted. He very quickly apologized. He didn't mean to make you uncomfortable with the jokes, but he definitely wants to do better to be more aware of the topic in the future. Anytime someone asks if you two will be having a little one, he respectfully says the two of you have decided against it.

He's definitely been really doing his research on the new discoveries in masculine birth controls. He knows your on it and he wants to feel like he's doing his part in respecting your choice.

Denki

He's a bit of a deviant as is, so he's totally chill not making a baby anytime soon. Means he gets you to himself more often ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). In all seriousness, he's just chilling knowing he doesn't go on a 9 month break from fun times with you.

He was kinda surprised weirdly enough when you told him. He kinda always just assumed that would be the next step for you guys so he hadn't really thought much of it. So when you tell him you'd rather not, he asks you why you felt that way. Not to change your mind, he's genuinely curious.

May as well own stock in condoms. He practically has a collection. He likes ones that have cool colors an stuff because he thinks it makes things interesting. Making safety fun.

Iida

Let's be honest, he comes from a traditional family. He sorta wanted kids. Even so he understands and supports the fact that it would be your body carrying the baby, and that it would be something you'd have to do together. He's not gonna make you go through any of that for something you don't really want.

He was a bit disappointed when you told him, but he didn't make it a pity party. He asked a few logically questions like whether this was a permanently never wanted kids or a not now, or if you'd want to go about it in a different way that wouldn't hinder your body such as adoption or fostering. He wants to know exactly the kind of future you want so he can plan it with you.

Another one who'd lean towards a vasectomy. Let's be honest this man know what he likes in bed and one of those things would be a bit risky otherwise. Plus, if you ever changed your mind, it's reversible so he can simply adjust accordingly for whatever you want or need of him.

[omegasmileyface]

HEY ITS ME although I am obviously super invested in Astro Boy I still want to ask questions out of evil intent. So I wanna know !! What are your favourite versions of Bem and Atlas ?? Which adaptation do you think handled their characters best / most interestingly ?

>:3c

hmm... the only versions of Bem i can think of are the 60s one and the 2001 one (though i do see a bit of em in tima metropolis) and i actually haven't seen the 2001 movie hehe ,, so i don't think i can pass judgement here BUT. 60s bem is perhaps my favorite astro boy character Period, and the 2001 version would have a hard (but not impossible) time beating the original with regards to their weird alien magic, their apathy in response to catastrophe, their grace in self-sacrifice, whatever the FUCK they were doing with gender, and their relationship to atom. ough. i want to find a method to save them at the last minute and then adopt them and let them enjoy human hobbies forever. here have this bem i doodled last night

[ID: a cartoony red pencil doodle of Bem from Astro Boy. Their humanoid part (a robot which looks like a preteen human, with hair shaped like bird wings) is floating casually above their non-humanoid part (a box like a minifridge), wearing a chef's outfit and giving a peace sign. End ID.]

now what would you do if i said 50s atlas. huh ?

[ID: a picture from a black and white manga panel. It shows a robot who looks like a teenage boy. He's not wearing clothes, and the tube of his torso extends down past his pelvis and works as a rocket propeller, giving him the look of a torpedo with limbs. His solid, black "hair" has several tubes jutting up from it. End ID.]

actually in the process of getting that screenshot i reread The Entire Atlas Story. not as silly as i remember! he serves as sort of an introduction to the capability of robots to do evil on purpose. he's capable of evil thought because of the Omega Factor (not to be confused with the Omega Radar, which atom and cobalt use to find each other), which his creator also wants to put in atom, so that they can help him get revenge on colonial/imperialist society (one of tezuka's semi-successful attempts at commenting on systemic racism). its implied that atlas is capable of good, too, he just hasn't been introduced to it. he gets fucking disintegrated btw.

that serves as a very good intro ramp before the Blue Knight Saga and its approaches to good amd evil, and tezuka's preferred order puts it shortly before, likely for that reason. I'm not sure how to feel about the idea that atom isn't capable of evil, and what that might say abt how "advanced" he is- i like to think he's capable of evil, and actively chooses to be good, but whatever. also im just gonna say it this design is ugly as fuck lol

80s was fun. kinda fused atlas and blue knight into the same character? ive never gotten the chance to see the anime episode with small atlas, so i only know his lore from the 80s comics, which i bet is different and siller. he's like atom, except he needed a special 8th power, and his creator decided that would be pissing on things to blow them up? "Like a cicada"? ok . he drank ink once. i love him. hes like jetter mars to me. anyway. as an adult in the anime he did surprisingly well as a long-term antagonist for astro. it's hard to take that damn show stylishly, but i did cry in the finale when atlas declared himself atoms brother. i liked the idea that they were going for, where the two have a lot in common both physically and mentally, and this omega radar ties them to each other unendingly, but atlas will always have a grudge against humans and atom will always love them? that's great. but i feel like they didn't explore it much, and a lot of it was just Come Fight Me I Fucking Dare You (maybe also to mix in Pluto with atlas and bk? saving on voice actors lmao). and i don't even know what was going on with Livian. shrug. congrats to atlas for having a third boob added though!

now 2003. OUGH 2003 did so nicely as an addition of previous atlases. they kind of departed a little bit from previous versions by having him be, for instance, a creation of tenma, but i don't dislike how they used that change. the way they took the "im just like you" thread that they started on with 80s and amped it up by making atlas not only the second robot ever to be made with the same heart/adaptability as atom, but also to be ANOTHER desperate failed father's attempt at fixing his mistakes, resulting in a new person coming out of the ghost of his neglected son?? he's not just atom's foil to the viewer, he's atom's foil to tenma. he leads up perfectly as the step before Pluto (before Shadow) and before Blue Knight in introducing robots capable of evil to society, in introducing robots who don't want to be nice to atom, and in developing tenma's obsession with evolving atom to greater lengths. here's a vengeful robot with the memories of a vengeful son. here's a robot too powerful for atom to fight without, somehow, growing. here's a victim of the growing anti-AI tide. here's someone who's just like you, here to warn you that something bigger is coming.

also he looks cool as hell. shoutout to 03 atlas

[supernaturalgirl20]

Hey, mate! 💚 Saw your requests are open and wanted to send in a kind of...unusual one. I feel like this could go for Oberyn, Javier, or Max. but honestly I'm curious about all the Pedro boys--a headcanon maybe? Short Fun sized, curvy reader that cannot have kids--by their own choice (ex. voluntary sterilization). If you need further details, feel free to message me.

Love your works! Keep it up! 💜🐀💚

Thank you for your request my darling. Hope you enjoy 😊 this is my first time doing head cannons 😬 so go easy on me 🙏 I only did a few P characters, ones I felt this suited 🥰

Warnings: mentions of sex, unprotected sex, voluntary sterilisation, having tubes tied,mention of prostitution,breeding kink.

Oberyn is a very sexual person, loving giving you all the pleasures of the world. He doesn’t mind that your on the curvier side, he loves YOU. He loves slapping that gorgeous, voluptuous ass while you ride out your pleasure on top of him.

Even though this man has eight daughters, he has a serious breeding kink. Filling you full of his seed and watching it drip out before pushing it back in with his fingers.

You shyly tell him one evening after a vigorous sex session that you can’t have children. Having been a prostitute in kings landing you had yourself sterilised, it was safer that way.

Your terrified he will be upset, having already expressed a desire to watch you grow with his babe.

So your shocked when he seems ‘indifferent’. “Little dove you did what you had to, to survive in that cruel place, why should that upset me.”

He goes on to explain that he has eight daughters who fill he life with joy, he is contented.

Javier never thought he would marry, never thought he would be committed to anyone, not until you walked into his office wearing that damn pencil skirt that hugged your ass perfectly.

He loved your curves. Loved grabbing onto you as he railed you into the mattress.

When you tell him you can’t have children, having sterilised yourself years ago, he’s ok with it.

Honestly he’s never pictured himself as the family man, he’s quite happy to spend his life with you by his side on his fathers ranch.

You can bet he takes full advantage of it though, filling you full of his seed.

The man hasn’t had unprotected sex, always wearing a condom but now, my god this man has a secret breeding kink, whispering “gonna fill you up baby, watch it take root. Wanna see you full of my babe.”

You live it when he talk dirty.

The dude is a vampire, he can’t get you pregnant anyway.

You don’t know that for sure when you tell him you can’t have children, but he smirks that devilish smirk at you telling you that ‘you know since he’s dead’ his sperm is ‘dead’.

Even if he could impregnate you, it’s your body and if you choose not to have children, well he is 100% behind you.

He still likes to fill you full of him, watching your gorgeous ass giggle as he fucks you on his desk. He loves your curves so much he bites into your ass, the pain from his teeth penetrating you sending you over that edge.

Frankie Morales loves you to death. You came into his life at his lowest point, helping him recover from the death of Tom. Getting his life back on track.

The relationship grows stronger as it progresses and he proposes a year after you start dating.

You don’t answer him right away wanting to tell him that you can’t have children. He looks at you confused but let’s you continue.

When you tell him you tied your tubes, that your mother had complications after your birth resulting in her having a hysterectomy.

You didn’t want the same fate so you did something about it. Frankie doesn’t seem bothered, he has Sophia from his first marriage and your a great step mom to her.

As long as you’re his for life , besides the way that red dress is clinging to your hips and ass, all this man wants to do is fuck you in his truck.

This doesn’t stop this man from having a serious breeding kink though. He wants to fill you full of his seed and watch it drip out of you.

Jack perused you. As soon as you joined the team and he clapped eyes on your gorgeous curves, this man was hooked.

It started out as a casual thing, fucking away all that pent up anger and energy from the job but slowly, after months it started to turn into something more.

Jack got cold feet and became distant, he hasn’t had an actual relationship with anyone but his late wife. He felt like he was replacing her.

You weren’t having any of it so you confront him, telling him that he can’t be one foot in one foot out. He breaks down and tells you how he’s feeling.

You tell him you don’t want to replace her and that your not asking him to marry you, just being together is enough.

In turn you explain that you can’t have children, opting to have your tubes tied, being pregnant and working for statesman wasn’t an option.

Jack doesn’t have any issues. Honestly he had all that and it was taken away from him, he doesn’t want to go down that road again.

He also respects your decision, it is your body after all. It just means you can ride this cowboy bare back 😉.

It took Din a while to come around to you, he’s been closed off from other for so long he didn’t know how to actually have a relationship with you.

You stick it out and he finally warms up, so much so that your relationship became an intimate one quickly enough.

He Ioves your body, especially when you fight. Your short stature and slightly curvier figure making you an even deadlier weapon.

It’s not until Grogu is taken in that he starts thinking of entering a riddurick with you and having a family.

Family is after all the centre of mandalorian culture. He expressed this to you one night as you lay curled into each other in his cot. You stiffen beside him before you tell him you were sterilised, a decision you made yourself, and that children were not an option.

You love Din and fear he will cast you away after hearing this. While the thought of having his own child, a mixture of you and him was something in the forefront of his mind lately, he loved you more.

He asks what about Grogu to which you explain that “I love children and we can have foundlings, I just don’t want to have my own.”

He’s elated that this news, setting co-ordinates for the nearest planet to find an orphanage.

Din has a MAJOR breeding kink! This metal cover hunk wants to fill you full of his seed whenever he can.

Permanent tag list: @lunaserenade @anaaaispunk @maievdenoir @elinedjarin @seasonschange-butpeopledont @alberta-sunrise @dihra-vesa @pintsizemama @athalien @loserrlauraa @thorins-queen-of-erebor @pascal-rascal424 @ikinmahlen @pascalisthepunkest @dindjarinneedsahug @almaeunice @jediknight122 @prostitute-robot-from-the-future @colorlesswhispersunknown @stevie75 @rosie-posie08 @jediknight123 @hauntedmama @greeneyedblondie44 @prettylilhalforc @giselatropicana @the-mandalorian-066 @spanishmossmagnolia @phoenixhalliwell @sherala007 @its--fandom--darling @donnaa @javierpinme@luxmundee @littlemisspascal @hayley-the-comet @ezras-channel-rat @heartofjakku @tintinn16 @amneris21 @avengers-fixation @drinkingwhileblogging @evyiione @goddessofsprings @mylovelycomandante @pastatomata @pjkimrn @1#FreakShow @maryfanson @sunnshineeexoxo @paintballkid711 @hocuschlocus @allthe-ships @thewintersoldierswife @practicalghost @tanzthompson @scorpio-marionette

[erensproudsimp]

Experiment

Hange Zoe x fem! reader Oneshot

⚠ Sexual Content Ahead ⚠

Summary : Hange and you have been dating each other for quite some time. One day due to rain, you went over to Hange's and hehe hot stuff happens.

I've used they/them pronouns for Hange due to them being non-binary, hope y'all don't mind. :)

"HANGEEEE!" screaming down the hallway near the university laboratory, you entered said place joltily.

By this time all the science students were used you to coming by everyday while causing a ruckus to meet your significant other. You couldn't help yourself being always excited to see the only person who could make your day a million times better and today as usual you had something interesting to show them. Well, by interesting you meant something random you saw that day and just picked it up to give it to Hange. Never were they ever weird out by this as they were as eccentric as you.

"Look what I found today!" proudly bringing your hand close to their face to show them the red rock you saw in your yard.

"Heh, as usual my dear y/n, you never fail to fascinate me," they chuckled eyeing the objet closely.

"I shall add this wonderful rock to my series of collection of stuff you keep bringing to me everyday!" smilingly Hange took it.

This brought a faint blush on your cheeks as just the thought of Hange keeping the random stuff you bringing daily made you feel somewhat special.

" Sooo, what are you working on today?" you questioned them while looking at the equipment on the table.

"Ohohoho you don't know what I've just made!" they excitedly said dexterously arranging the mess to show you.

While they were enthusiastically explaining to you her recent invention, you couldn't help but stare at their jolliness. The way they made absolutely anything sound captivating just spellbound you. To describe it, it was like a meteor shower falling enlightening the night sky which you could gaze for hours, yeah, that's how Hange was.

"Hihi, that's awesome! I'm so proud of you!" you praised her happily.

"Hehe, I'm glad you appreciated my invention, after all I am your better half," haughtily they said which made you subconsciously smile.

Right at that moment a loud thunder was heard making you jump. Since morning it's been cloudy and you really hoped that it wouldn't rain in the evening as it would pose a problem for you to travel home by bus. The droplets were hitting hard against the window panes indicating it was a heavy shower. Disappointment filled your being.

"Noo, now how would I reach the bus stop on time with this weather," you complained utterly dejected and tensed.

"You know y/n, you can always ask me for a ride in my car right?" Hange said while pouring a clear liquid in a testing tube.

"I know but I don't wanna bother you."

"Oh come-on y/n, how can you ever bother me?" they reassured, "and if you really don't want to sound like a trouble then come over to my appartment. It's win-win situation, you reach home and I would get more time to spend with you."

"W-what, Hange please, ugh okay then I'll come with you," sighing you responded.

Waiting for Hange to finish up whatever they were doing but it wasn't as though you as a finance student would understand it to be able to help her out. Instead you were scrolling on Tiktok when they came up to you without warning making you jerk, "GOSH HANGE! YOU COULD HAVE CALLED FOR ME."

Chuckling, Hange grabbed your hand to make you stand up. Losing your footing, you fell in their arms which they gladly grabbed you. Giving you a brief forehead kiss, they proceeded to drag you to the parking lot. At first you didn't process the action making you scream but when you got the hang of it, you ran alongside with them hand in hand laughing.

Hange unlocked the car and you got into the front passenger seat. Both of you were laughing while still catching your breaths.

"Now off to my house we gooo!" Hange yelled as you were wearing your seatbelt.

Throughout the whole ride both of you conversed about each of your days and the daily news.

"Can you believe that Sasha and Nicollo are finally going out with each other? I always knew that they were a match made in heaven," you rambled as Hange listened to you intently while also focusing on the road.

"I mean I could see it happening seeing their compatibility and the way they complete each other, just like you complete me," Hange added.

Her last words made your face heat up which you hid by looking outside. Luckily for you, you finally reached your destination. It wasn't the first you came over to her appartement so you took her keys and ran inside. Normally her place would be messy like a dumpster because that human barely had time in her hands to take care of their house but for once it was spotless clean.

"Did Levi come over?" you asked them, hand on your hip.

"I-yeah. Yesterday he did. But I swear I'll try to be more responsible from now on!" Hange affirmed.

You took a deep breath and asked, "so what are we eating tonight?"

"I don't know y/n, you choose," they replied kicking their boots off to enter the residence.

"How about we order Pizza?"

"Sure thing love," grabbing her phone to order said food, Hange said.

"How about you go take a bath while I take out plates?" you suggested.

"I mean only if you're willing to join me," they smirked while leaning on the door.

Out of embarrassment you threw a pillow laying on the couch at her, "NO!"

"Sad, I was really hoping for some fun in there," they replied before running into the bathroom as you were about to hit them with another pillow.

While you waited for her to come out so that you in your turn could go freshen up, you arranged everything to be able to eat. Having such nights with Hange is always something you've dreamt of doing but you never had the courage to ask.

A few moments later, Hange came out with hair dripping wet which they were trying to dry with a towel. Damn they looked hot in that condition. Before you could start simp over them, you excused yourself to go bathe.

Feeling the warm water touch your skin evaporated all your stress from you as you relaxed. Coming out of the bathroom wearing Hange's clothes, you went to sit next to them on the couch. You noticed that the pizza had already arrived so you took a piece of it to eat. You two watched this popular series called 'Attack on titan' together until the pizza was finished.

Throwing the pizza cardboard in the bin, you went to see Hange already laying on the bed. Scooting to them, you placed your head on their shoulder as they held you tight with one arm and the other holding their phone. You were watching memes with her laughing when suddenly there was a video of two girls kissing came up which made your heart beat faster. You could tell Hange felt so as well as she swiped quickly to prevent awkwardness.

A little bit of tension remained in both of you yet no one made the first move. It kept growing as you felt their hot breath on your face because you were leaning on them.

Feeling bothered and assuming that Hange wasn't going to initiate it, you snatched their phone from their hand and kept it on the table next to the bed for you to straddle on them.

Shifting yourself to be more comfortable, you leaned down to smack your lips against theirs. Still processing whatever just happened, Hange went with the flow. For this moment at least. Hands on your ass, they squeezed them as you laid your body on theirs.

Lips still crashed against each others and tongues still fighting over control, Hange's minds began to fill with sexual fantasies that they could enact on you in this precise moment.

Pulling back from you, they settled your body on the bed to go search for something in the wardrobe. They came back with a blindfold facing you.

"Do you mind if I take your vision away for a while? I don't want to ruin the surprise of what I'm going to do to you."

Gulping hardly you took the black cloth and blinded yourself.

"Good girl," Hange praised giving you a headpat to continue their rummage.

With no warnings, you were pushed on the bed lightly. At first you didn't understand what was going on but that was before you felt a rope on your wrists which was being wrapped around them individually then pulled upwards signaling it was being tied down to the bed. The same thing was done for both of your legs.

Anticipation mounted in you as you felt hands running from your chest to your stomach.

"I hope that the ropes are not too tight, are they?" they concernedly asked.

You shaked your head to say no still having the blindfold on.

"No? Well, then I think you would love this being in your mouth," they said coming closer to you. You were expecting her to stuff her fingers in but it ended up being something you certainly didn't anticipate at all.

Holding your head up, they made you wear it. Initially it was uncomfortable but you managed to deal with it as it only turned you on more. It was a gag ball.

You laid your head on a pillow desperately craving Hange's touch but of course they were still searching for something.

"Don't worry y/n, I'll come to you as soon as I find that one thing I bought last week I wanted to test out," Hange spoke from the other side of the room.

Trying to keep your growing lust in control, you fidgeted with the device in your mouth.

" Ah-ha! found it, now wait for me y/n, I'll fuck you into oblivion soon," their voice coming out breathless.

Feelings the sides of the bed sink and a presence hoving above you, you became more excited to what Hange was going to do this time.

Their soft lips colliding again against yours as their hands ran down to unbutton your shirt leaving your bare chest naked as you weren't wearing any undergarments. For a few seconds Hange didn't do anything. As you were ripped from your eyesight, you couldn't see that Hange was in fact staring at the prefect roundness of your boobs displayed to them .

Unable to contain themselves, they ran their tongue on one of your breasts while the other was being fondled with their hands. Your breathing was quickening at their doings. Out of nowhere they bit your nipple softly making you bit the gagball stifling a moan.

Going lower on you they pulled down your pants while they kissed you on your bellybutton. Without warning again you felt a pain on your hip and teeth leaving your skin. Biting you again on the other side of your hip, Hange caressed your inner thighs. This time you couldn't contain the moan as it escaped your mouth through the gag ball.

Looking at your entrance, Hange saw that though they didn't yet completely lay hands on you, you were soaking wet. Then they assumed that it was probably from the long amount of time you had to wait for them.

You heard the opening of the cap of a tube. Your mind raced through all the possibilities of what it could be.

But of course it was the least thing you could expect as you felt something touching your cunt.

It was a lukewarm rubbery thing that was being ran through your swollen folds.

"Wanna guess what it is? Y/n," Hange said as you felt the object or whatever it was penetrate you. An 'hmm' came out of you as your back arched graciously making Hange widen their eyes.

"Ahaha, y/n you beautiful creature! You never cease to amaze me the more I explore you,"Hange complimented pushing the thing deeper into you.

" Lemme reward you for blessing me with his gorgeous sight and return you back your vision, "they continued.

Your insides felt empty as Hange had to remove the item to open the blindfold. You must say you had quite of the shocker to see them. Straddling you was a Hange that you didn't recognize.

They were wearing a black lingerie delicately complimented with black thigh highs and on their pelvis area was a strap-on-dildo.

"I wanted to experiment this on you," they gave you a light smirk before positioning themselves in front of your pussy. Taking the small bottle thrown on the bed nearby, Hange opened it. It was lube. Dropping quite some on the dildo, Hange jerked it to spread the lubricant.

Placing their hand on your hips for support, Hange inserted it again.

They couldn't describe how much they ravished to look at you in this state. As they were thrusting their hips in and out, the room became filled with your moans and Hange's name.

"Yes y/n scream my name louder. Make the neighbours hear how good I'm making you feel," Hange panted.

'Hmmm Hange I'm getting close, go faster please, "you begged them.

Taking your wishes into consideration, Hange did not double up the speed but rather trippled it. You were practically shaking on the bed as your screams got louder and louder.

Not late enough, you released yourself on them. The pleasure was so unbearable it almost hurted. Panting on the bed, you looked at the ceiling to regain control of yourself. Then looking back at Hange, only to see that they were already staring at you lovingly.

"Can you untie me now? I need to pee," you coughed.

"Ahaha, no piss on the bed," Hange declared as you were startled by their statement.

"Just kidding lemme help you refresh yourself," Hange joked making you feel relieved.

End.

Thank you for reading this. :)

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 25: Fighting Alone (Grounded)

AO3

Prev

Marinette was exhausted. Adrien’s father had sent him out of Paris for a week for some fashion show that he couldn’t be bothered to go to in person. Instead, he had Natalie with Adrien. Since Marinette herself wasn’t in Paris, she usually wouldn’t mind Adrien’s week-long trip. Except, she wasn’t in Paris. And now, neither was Chat Noir. Which means for nearly a week, she’d been sneaking out of her dad’s house at random times to do patrols in Paris. Luckily, there hadn’t been any akuma attacks. She knew her dad would be beyond angry if she was the only one to show up for an attack. And if he knew that she knew about Adrien’s absence ahead of time and didn’t ask any of her family to help? She’d been in big trouble. Even more if he knew she’d been not only going on patrol in Gotham under his supervision, but also in Paris. Getting next to no sleep. So yeah, she was ready for a nap. Just as her eyes are about to close, the shrill akuma alarm screams from her phone. Groaning, she sits up. 

“Marinette, you’re exhausted.” Tikki admonishes her, her tiny arms crossed. 

“Tikki, I have to do this. I’m sorry, and I promise I’ll sleep when we get home.” Marinette says, giving her friend a pleading look. Tikki huffs, letting her little arms drop. 

“Fine, but when we get back you are going to talk to your father and stay home from patrol tonight.” She says. Marinette frowns, but quickly agrees. It never went well arguing with the goddess of creation. 

“Tikki, spots on!” She says, letting the warmth of her transformation flow over her. She glances at Kaalki. “Ready?” She asks. The Kwami nods and Marinette combines the transformations, quickly opening a portal and dropping into Paris. She could do this. 

---

The sudden blaring of the akuma alarm breaks Bruce from his thoughts. He raises an eyebrow and quickly pulls up the newsfeed of the attack, letting it play in the background as he continues working. 

“Ladybug has just arrived on scene! No direct confirmation on the akuma’s powers yet. We just have to hope it’s a weak one today folks as it appears speculation is correct and Chat Noir is not currently in Paris.” The reporter says, making him snap his attention to the video. His jaw tenses and his phone starts ringing and flooding with text messages. No doubt the boys were also watching the video. He answers the phone as he swiftly walks towards the elevator. Work could wait. Right now he needed to get home and take the Zeta tubes to Paris. 

“Hello.” He says, not even bothering to look at the caller id. 

“How many of us are going to Paris?” Dick asks. Bruce frowns. 

“I will be going alone.” He says. Dick snorts. Bruce hits the button for the garage, shifting impatiently in the small space. He could’ve taken the stairs, but he had a reputation to uphold. He couldn’t sprint down the stairs like he could as Batman. People would talk. 

“Yeah right, B. There’s no way you’re gonna get Jay and Little D to agree to that. You know the three have been attached at the hip lately.” Dick reminds him. 

“Will you please monitor the tubes until I get there? I don’t want your brothers rushing off and doing something stupid.” He says. 

“Sure can, B.” Dick says. Bruce hangs up the phone and stares at the number indicating the floor the elevator is on. The second it switches to ‘B’, he’s prepared and storms through the door, not slowing until he’s in the car. He pulls up the news feed immediately, pushing down on the gas as he drives through the city. 

“It’s been confirmed that the current akuma has a sword and appears to be skilled with the weapon. Ladybug herself has urged citizens to remain in their homes until this battle is over.” The reporter says. Bruce curses under his breath and pushes the gas pedal down even more. Almost there. Almost there. The car alerts him to a phone call and he answers. 

“Father, why have you locked us out of the Zeta tubes?” Damian demands, his voice harsh. “The akuma has a sword, Marinette is not skilled with a sword yet.” 

“Damian, I don’t want you or Jason going to Paris. I already told Dick that I’m the only one going.” Bruce explains, pulling the car over at the front of the manor and switching the call to his cellphone as he rushes into the house. 

“Yeah B, that’s what Dick said before we tied him up. But how the hell did you lock us out of the tubes? Even Timmy can’t figure it out.” Jason says, and Bruce freezes. She wouldn’t. She…. she couldn’t, right? 

“Jason, untie Dick and have him put in my alternative password.” Bruce orders, rushing through the manor to get to the entrance of the cave. If his suspicions were right, his daughter had managed to shut down the Zeta tube in the Batcave. And maybe even halted any attempts to enter Paris. 

“Still not working, B.” Tim’s frustrated voice comes through the phone. Damnit. Bruce storms into the cave, slipping only a domino mask on. Protocol be damned, his daughter was in danger. He hangs up the phone as he storms in, walking past his sons and straight to the tube. He quickly changes the destination to the watch tower and steps through, ignoring his son’s protests. Once at the tower, he tries Paris. And then he tries again. How the hell had she managed that? He quickly returns to the Batcave, looking at his sons with a tense face. 

“Somehow, your sister has cut off the Zeta tubes’ ability to go to Paris.” He says with a clenched jaw. 

“Why the hell would she do that?” Jason asks, looking both angry and hurt. 

“Does she not trust us?” Dick asks, frowning. Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose, trying hard not to yell. He wasn’t mad at his sons. They hadn’t done anything. His youngest daughter, on the other hand. 

“I’m sure she does. But I’m also sure that this is her idiotic way of keepin all of us safe. Even if it’s a danger to her.” Bruce says, glancing at the giant computer screen where the battle was playing out live. The boys had muted it, and Bruce was glad. Glad that he didn’t have to listen to the reporter constantly mentioning that this was dangerous and that Ladybug was alone. She didn’t have to be alone. But she was, and he had no way to help her. 

---

Damian Wayne is not one to give up. He had been trained by the best of the best his entire life, and he refused to back down from a fight. Especially one where his sister was so obviously unqualified. His thoughts rush through his head as he attempts to find a different path, a different way to go and assist his sister. He nods slightly as it comes to him. This could work. 

“I will be upstairs, if you need me.” He informs his family, ignoring the questioning. They would only slow him down. He remains in his uniform though, no need to cause panic while he goes through with his plan. Once he is out of the cave, he calls out: “Jon? I require your assistance.” He walks outside the manor and stands just outside the front door, waiting for his acquaintance- friend- to arrive. 

“What’s up?” Jon asks, hovering slightly above the ground. 

“We are needed in Paris and the Zeta tubes are down. Care to join me?” Damian asks, and Jon grins. 

“Let’s go!” He says excitedly, grabbing Damian and flying away from Gotham. Damian briefly wonders if he should have told his Father his plan. After all, he had his own friend- acquaintance- with the ability to fly. Hmm. He doesn’t bother thinking on the subject long as the Eiffel tower comes into view. He scans the ground quickly, looking for the tell-tale red and black of his sister’s uniform. 

“Have you spotted Ladybug?” He asks Jon. He had shown Jon videos of previous battles, in case he ever needed assistance to find Ladybug rather than Ladybird. 

“Found her! Wanna drop in?” Jon asks. Damian nods and Jon flies over, the two landing right behind Ladybug. She whirls around, a shocked look on her face. 

“Really, Robin?” She snaps. Finally able to look at her up close, instead of through a screen, he is able to see the exhaustion on her face. And how worn down she looks. 

“You blocked the others from assisting. I had no such trouble. Now, let's finish this.” He says, pulling out his katana and shifting his position. She could be angry at him later, right now they had a job to do. 

---

“-and reckless, and totally irresponsible and-” Damian cuts off her ranting. 

“Are we still discussing my actions, or yours?” He asks, quirking an eyebrow. Marinette glares at her little brother, dropping down to sit on her bed, slouching her shoulders. She was tired. 

“There’s a reason I blocked the Zeta tubes from going to Paris during attacks, Damian.” She sighs, running a hand over her face. She cared about her brothers and her father and Cass. She really did. But while she loved them, Paris was her fight. She needed to get through the battles alone. Or with Adrien.

“No matter the reason, it was still reckless. And Father-” Damian starts, but is cut off. 

“Is very angry.” Her dad says, and Marinette winces. She turns towards her door, smiling awkwardly at her dad. 

“Hey, Dad, uh, fancy seeing you here.” She says, laughing awkwardly. 

“How long has Adrien been away?” He asks. 

“Only a week.” 

“And you have been patrolling both Gotham and Paris during that time, correct?” He asks, and she sighs. 

“Yes.” 

“I see. How much have you slept this week?” He asks. She opens her mouth to respond when Tikki zips out. 

“Twelve hours. Total.” She rats her out, and Marinette huffs at the Kwami. Traitor, she thinks, but doesn’t say it. 

“You also messed with the Zeta tubes.” He says and she purses her lips. 

“Paris is my fight, Dad.” Marinette says, standing by her decision. 

“You made it nearly impossible for any of us to help you. What would have happened if this had been another akuma that killed you? Marinette, no one would have been there to take the earrings. No one to cast the cure. You would have stayed dead, Marinette. And we would have been stuck here watching it happen, unable to protect you.” Her dad lectures her, and she can tell by the tension in his shoulders that he’s mad. Really mad. More than the Batmobile incident or the sneaking off to the Watchtower. Really, really mad. 

“But-” She starts, almost glad when he cuts her off as she didn’t really have a good comeback for him. 

“You are grounded. You have to take one of us with you to Paris when there’s an attack until Adrien returns. And you’re benched on patrol here. If you insist on patrolling in Paris while Adrien is away, you will also take one of us with you. Do I make myself clear?” He asks, and she wants to argue. She’s a hero, she knows the risks. She knows that she could handle that akuma alone and if she couldn’t, she would have brought in a temporary hero. She would’ve been fine. But then she looks at the tension in his shoulders and remembers the time that her whole family watched her die. On tv. Remembers that her dad has had to go through the death of a child too many times, even if they’d all come back (and formed the aptly named chaos trio), he’d still had to watch them die. So she decides she’ll accept the punishment, will go along with the new guidelines. If only to give her dad a little peace of mind.

Next

Tag list: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @laurcad123 @waiting247 @jayjayspixiepop @mizzy-pop @jjmjjktth @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 @lady-bee-fechin @corporeal-terrestrial

[theladyofdeath]

The Return 2 {The Arrival, Part 2}

Summary: Back at the lake house, ten years later… Collaboration with @snelbz - part 2 to the sequel!

Word Count: 7136

The Arrival Series Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

Even ten years later, Elain was still the first one awake whenever they took family vacations. She had woken up with the sun, tried — and failed, miserably — to rouse Azriel from sleep, read her devotions, gotten in some yoga, and started on breakfast, all before she heard the first footstep from anywhere in the house. But soon enough, she heard slow, sleepy steps on the stairs, though they headed towards the back of the house rather than towards the kitchen.

Ruling out Lannan and his voracious appetite, along with Thorn, Bennett, and John, Elain waited, mixing up the pancake batter after she put a large pan of bacon into the oven.

A few minutes later, Scarlett appeared, dragging a still half-asleep Cassian by the hand. He was yawning and had a hair brush, comb and two hair ties in his hand.

“Good morning, you two,” she laughed, pouring Cassian a cup of coffee, which he looked like he desperately needed.

He mumbled something that sounded like a typical morning greeting, while Scarlett gave her a sleepy smile after climbing up onto one of the barstools. “G’morning, Aunt Lainey. Are we having pancakes for breakfast?”

“And bacon,” she replied, smiling at her youngest niece. Layla and Scarlett had sleepovers all the time, being the two youngest and close in age.

Scarlett grinned and turned to Cassian. “Remember, I want two braids, daddy, not just one.”

He nodded, still drinking his coffee, but handed her the brush to start detangling her long, waist-length hair.

“Nesta not up yet?” Elain chuckled, pouring some of the batter into the hot pan.

“I like it better when daddy braids my hair. Mommy makes it too fancy,” Scarlett replied, scrunching up her nose.

“That’s right,” Cassian mumbled, running his fingers through his youngest’s hair. “Dad keeps the braids messy.”

Elain laughed quietly as she continued to make breakfast. “Well, if you have the magic touch, I may make you braid Layla’s hair. She always complains when I do it, and the art of braiding isn’t exactly one of Azriel’s many talents.”

“We don’t need to hear about Azriel’s many talents,” Cassian warned.

Elain jabbed him in the ribs, which only made Cassian laugh as he began to braid his daughter's hair.

“Is Thorn going back to jail today?” Scarlett asked.

Cassian sighed, Scarlett wincing as he made sure his braid was tight. “No, Thorn’s not going back to jail, ever.”

The ten-year-old rolled her eyes. “Never say never, daddy.”

Elain chuckled as she set a giant mountain of pancakes on the island. “Give your brother a break. He’s a good boy.”

“No, he’s not,” Scarlett said, earning a snap from Cassian for her to stay still while he worked. “He swears too much and he smells yucky.”

“All teenage boys swear too much and smell yucky,” Cassian promised. “Just wait until you’re a teenager and you like those yucky boys.”

“I’m not ever going to like boys,” Scarlett promised. “I’m going to stay single and awesome forever.”

Elain shook her head, humored, as she watched her niece.

“That would make daddy very happy and I’m holding you to it,” he replied, tying the elastic around the end of the braid and starting on the second.

“Aunt Lainey, does Luna like smelly teenage boys?” Scarlett asked, looking up at her.

Luna was Scarlett’s idol. Everything the girl did, the younger one was right behind, whether it was a trend, style or even just following her around. And Luna handled it well, for a sixteen-year-old girl. She never complained, even when her own baby sister was in tow. Cassian was sure that because she was a carbon-copy of Elain, right down to the soft, caramel colored eyes.

Elain smirked as she set a plate down in front of Scarlett, a small stack of pancakes on top of it. She pulled the bacon out of the oven before replying. “Oh, she does. And Uncle Az is not happy about it.”

“Isn’t happy about what?” The man in question asked as he rounded the corner, heading straight for the coffee pot. He paused to kiss Elain’s cheek. “Morning, beautiful.”

“Luna Bug’s boyfriend,” Cassian smirked, watching as Azriel’s good mood deflated.

“We don’t talk about him,” Azriel said, quietly, as he filled his mug. “And definitely not this early in the morning.”

“He has a name,” Elain said, simply. “And you should call him by it.”

“The name I have for him shouldn’t be said around Scar,” Azriel said, pausing as he passed her to kiss the top of his niece’s head.

“He’s a good kid,” Elain said, rolling her eyes. “And I think Luna and Lachlan are good for each other.”

“Lachlan,” Scarlett repeated. “I like that name.”

Cassian’s grin only widened as he looked up at Azriel, who sat at the table, sipping from his mug.

“Just wait until she thinks she’s old enough to date,” Azriel said, gesturing to Scarlett.

“Oh no,” Cassian said, shaking his head. “She’s already informed me that she’s staying single and awesome forever, so.”

Azriel snorted as the twins came into the room, followed by John, whose hair was sticking up in every which direction.

“Mom says she’s taking a shower then she’ll be out to help make breakfast,” John said, yawning as he flicked Olive on the back of the ear. She flipped him off, which earned a gasp from Scarlett and a laugh from Cassian.

“No need, your Aunt has been up since the crack of dawn,” Azriel said, nodding toward the food. “Eat up.”

John didn’t need to be told twice. At fourteen, he was eating more than nearly everyone else - followed closely by his older boy cousins, who were, no doubt, still sound asleep.

Lily was still mortified by her new haircut, but thanks to a French braid of some sort, it could barely be noticed. She and Olive got a couple of pancakes each and talked to each other quietly.

Once Scarlett’s hair was finished, Cassian got his own breakfast, splashing a bit of whiskey into Azriel’s coffee and his own when he thought no one was looking, and sat down at the table. Mid bite, his chewing slowed down as he looked at Olive. “Liv, I think you still have makeup from yesterday on. You’ll probably want to get that off before we go on the boat.”

She rolled her dark, lined eyes. “It’s Olive, Uncle Cass, and it’s waterproof eyeliner. I’ll be fine.”

Lily, fresh faced, shook her head. “She’s too cool to be seen without her makeup anymore.”

Elain was chuckling at the stove as the two girls quietly bickered and Cassian was immediately grateful he only had one daughter.

“What’re we doing today?” John asked, his mouth full.

“Ask when your mouth isn’t full and I’ll tell you,” Cassian said, sitting next to his middle child.

“Yeah, John, have some manners.�� Thorn entered the room, grumpy as hell, the first thing out of his mouth directed at his younger brother.

“Says the asshole that spent yesterday in jail,” John muttered, mouth still full.

“Watch your mouth,” Cassian snapped, his mouth also full.

Azriel just shook his head, watching the three of them. He looked at Scarlett. “How do you and your mom handle those three?”

Scarlett shrugged as she hopped off her stool. With a piece of bacon in each hand, she said, “We stick together. Girl power.”

Elain laughed, winking at her niece as she fled from the room.

Layla appeared a minute later, on Rhysand’s back, wide-eyed and chipper. Bennett was soon behind, and Cassian snorted.

“How is it that the kids from your side are the ones still asleep when Elain is one of the first ones up?” he asked, looking at Azriel.

“Luna’s probably awake and talking to-.”

“If you say his name again, I’ll lose my appetite, then my mood will be destroyed for the rest of the day,” Azriel said, holding up his hand and looking at his wife.

“Lachlan is so sweet though,” Lily said, sighing, and Olive nodded, which earned them a look from both Rhys and Azriel.

“Teenage boys aren’t sweet,” Rhys told his daughters. “They’re crafty, lying, disgusting creatures.”

Lily and Olive looked at Thorn and Bennett, both shoveling food into their mouths. Their brother responded. “What?”

“Aren’t you going to say he’s wrong?” Olive asked, looking between them.

“No, because then I’d be lying and proving him right,” Bennett replied.

“And we’re pretty disgusting,” Thorn added, shoving an entire piece of bacon into his mouth in two bites. Bennett nodded and was getting up for seconds when Rhys stopped him.

“Save some food for your mothers, please,” he said. “After mom and Aunt Nesta eat, you can get more.”

Layla quietly approached Cassian and tapped on his shoulder, asking if he could braid her hair, too. He gave Elain a knowing look, but picked Layla up and set her in Scarlett’s vacated seat. “Only cause you’re the cutest one here,” he whispered, so only she could hear. She giggled and nodded, sitting still as he went to work.

Nesta and Feyre made their way into the kitchen soon after, with Azriel going to retrieve Lannan, who was still sleeping like the dead. Luna was the last to arrive, claiming she’d slept in, too.

“Y’all wanna make some sandwiches for the boat while we get everything ready to go?”

Cassian asked Nesta and his sister-in-laws.

“You don’t want to come back for lunch?” Nesta asked. “You want to keep nine kids on a boat all day?”

He shrugged. “They'll be swimming and wakeboarding and tubing. They’ll be busy. Plus Thorn and Bennett are taking out the jet skis.”

Thorn raised his hand.

Bennett gave him a high-five.

John frowned. “Why can’t I take one of the jet skis?”

“Because we’re older,” Thorn said, simply.

“That’s not fair,” John argued. “What kind of argument is that?”

“Thorn and Bennett are taking the jet-skis,” Cassian said, his voice holding no room for argument. “You can take one tomorrow.”

“Ooooh, me too,” Luna said. “I call one for tomorrow.”

Thorn rolled his eyes, the only sign that he was annoyed.

The second that Nesta and Feyre sat down with their breakfasts, Thorn, Bennett, and John were on their feet, fighting for what was left.

“Animals,” Lily scoffed, taking Olive by the elbow and leading her down the hall to their room to get ready.

Thirty minutes and almost just as many sandwiches later, everyone was loading onto the boat, save for Thorn and Bennett who took off towards the jet-skis as soon as they were given the okay. After strict instructions to stay within sight of the parents, they were firing them up and taking off, Cassian starting the boat and following behind.

Elain fell into the seat at the front with her oldest daughter, wrapping an arm around her as the wind whipped back their hair. “What’s Lachlan doing this weekend?”

Her knees were tucked under her chin and she looked out over the passing water. “He and his parents went to Orynth. They’re touring a college there, but he doesn’t want to be that far from home.”

“Far from home or far from you?” Elain asked, nudging her slightly.

Luna blushed. “Both.”

Lachlan was a year older than Luna, so college was much more prevalent on his mind, as a senior. Or it should have been, had Luna not already had her five-year-plan made, starting with attending the University of Velaris and ending with a degree in business and communications, an internship under her belt and an entry-level position in a company she could grow at.

“Sounds serious,” Elain said.

“Too serious,” Azriel muttered, and both of them turned around, unaware that Azriel was just on the other side. Elain lifted a brow. “What? She’s sixteen.”

“Exactly,” Luna said, crossing her arms. “I’m not a child anymore, dad.”

Azriel didn’t respond. He simply walked to the cooler, opened a beer, and sat next to Rhysand.

“Ignore him,” Elain said, her arm around Luna. “He’ll come around.”

“Doubtful,” Luna muttered.

“You’re the oldest girl in the family,” Feyre said, as she took the seat on her other side. “You finding a boyfriend is uncharted territory.”

“It’s just not fair,” she said, simply. “Thorn and Ben have had tons of girlfriends, since middle school, and no one has ever batted an eye. I get my first serious boyfriend, and dad…” She shook her head as she glanced at Azriel, who was sipping his beer with a rigid jaw. “It’s like I’m a criminal or something.”

“And you weren’t even the one in jail,” John muttered, gazing out over the water.

Cassian hit him upside the back of the head.

“Dad will come around,” Elain promised again.

“Maybe we should keep the boyfriend talk to a minimum,” Luna muttered. “At least for this weekend.”

“Why?” Feyre asked, propping her feet up in the empty second chair and giving her niece a comforting smile. “He’s going to have to get used to you dating eventually. And Lachlan is very sweet. You could’ve ended up with someone like your Uncle Cassian. He’ll get used to you having a boyfriend. I promise.”

Cassian brought the boat to a stop, effectively ending the conversation and started unloading the wakeboarding equipment.

“Can we ride tubes first, Uncle Cass?” Lily asked. “Tubing always gets saved for last and we never have much time thanks to you guys wakeboarding for hours.”

He was about to protest, even though he knew she was right, even with the unnecessary eye rolling, but Nesta said, “I think starting with tubing is a good idea. Let those two expend some of their energy before they board and try to do tricks they can’t accomplish. No trips to the hospital this year.”

The year before, there had been two trips to the hospital. One for Bennett, who’d gotten a concussion, and one for Cassian…who had thrown out his back, thanks to thinking he was still youthful enough to complete some of the tricks he had attempted.

He wasn’t.

This year, they were having none of that.

“Fine,” Cassian sighed. “Get out the tubes.”

The kids let out a round of excited yells, and up ahead, Bennett and Thorn were riding circles around each other.

Cassian, Rhysand, and Azriel took turns driving, seeing which of the kids they could throw off their tubes. Even Luna almost let out a curse - almost, but not quite.

Once they were done, everyone grabbed a sandwich as the wakeboarding began. Thorn was the first to go, which meant that John got his jetski, so everyone was happy.

At least until Thorn wiped out, then he was just pissed.

When everyone was worn out, Cassian brought the boat back to the dock, and one by one, everyone got off to slowly make their way back up to the house.

Rhysand was the last to get off, carrying a sleeping Layla up the hill. He laid his niece down in her bed before fighting everyone for one of the two showers.

“So what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” He asked as he stepped into the kitchen, fighting off a yawn.

Nesta was doing the same and Elain chuckled. “Seems like everyone could use some downtime. Why don’t we let the kids do their thing, take naps if they want, and we’ll start dinner around five-thirty?”

“A nap sounds awesome,” Nesta said, wrapping her arms around Cassian’s waist and laying her head on his chest. From the look on his face, he didn’t think she meant it literally. From the look on hers, she did.

And so everyone went their separate ways. Most of the kids ended up in the bonus room, either playing Xbox or entertaining themselves in someway. Ironically, only Luna and Lannan decided to lay down for naps, and Nesta, of course.

Elain’s alarm on her phone went off, letting her know it was five-thirty. She and Azriel had taken advantage of their alone time and were now just laying in bed together, although Azriel it seemed was half-asleep now that it was time to get up.

She looked up at him, eyes closed and lips parted and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He responded by rolling his head to the side, looking for her lips without opening his eyes. She kissed him again, but pulled away when his tongue brushed against her bottom lip.

Laughing softly, she got out of bed and started getting dressed. Azriel watched her with sleepy eyes. “I’m going to get Feyre so we can start making tacos. Will you get the kids up around six?”

He nodded, tucking an arm behind his head and closing his eyes again. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to the end of his nose. “Don’t fall asleep.”

“That’s asking a lot,” he replied, catching her before she could stand up, twining his fingers into her hair. “You wore me out.”

“Hush,” she said, blushing, and kissed him again before slipping out the door.

He heard a knock on a door down the hall and then Feyre’s voice joined Elain’s. The word daddy was unmistakable as they walked away and he couldn’t help but chuckle even as he blushed and covered his face with Elain’s pillow.

Once the smell of delicious food cooking started wagging towards their room, he decided it was time to get up, get dressed, and wake up his kids, knowing it’d be time to eat soon.

He stopped off in the boy’s room first, knowing Lannan would be the easiest to rouse. All he had to say was tacos, and his son was up and hurrying downstairs to help in any way he could, if it meant he could eat quicker.

Layla was still fast asleep in the room she and Scarlett shared, her braid messy from sleep. Getting her up was easy enough. She didn’t require bribery or any tricks, she liked to do as she was told. He just had to tell her that mama needed help in the kitchen and she slipped off to do what she could.

Luna’s room was at the end of the hall. She shared a room with the twins, but they were upstairs and already being told to go to the kitchen, which meant she surely was sound asleep.

Azriel didn’t bother knocking before he opened the door. “Hey, dinner’s-.”

“Fuck, Luna-.”

Luna dropped her phone and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes went wide in horror. “Dad!”

Azriel quickly shut the door, his hand remaining on the knob for a moment before he dropped it, and slowly walked down the hall, toward the kitchen.

He had not seen much, considering Luna had been under the blankets, but he knew enough about technology and the teenage mind to know exactly what had been going on.

Azriel was going to be sick.

He hadn’t even noticed the chatter going on in the kitchen as he entered.

Rhysand was in the middle of a sentence, even though Azriel had no idea what he had been saying, when Azriel said, “Elain, a word.”

The tone of his voice must’ve created alarm, because the room went quiet. Without noticing if Elain was following, Azriel walked into the living room.

He sat back on the couch, nausea brewing in the pit of his stomach.

Elain timidly entered a moment later. “You okay, babe? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Worse,” he said, without any hesitation. “So much worse.”

He quickly and concisely explained what he’d seen, which thankfully wasn’t much, but he knew. Oh, gods, he knew.

He heard the male voice on the other side of the video call, recognized it and hated it all the same, especially the way that voice had said his daughter’s name.

“Why didn’t you knock?” Elain asked, shaking her head as she rubbed at a spot between her eyes.

“I thought she’d be asleep!” He defended, throwing his hands up.

“She’s a teenage girl, Az,” she sighed. “Regardless, you should have knocked. She could have been changing.”

“I wish she would’ve been!” His cheeks were on fire. “That would’ve been better than…that.”

Elain stood. “I’ll go get her. Why don’t you and the boys go eat on the deck? Some fresh air might help.”

He nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“Do not be mad at her,” she added before leaving the room. “It’s not her fault you didn’t knock.”

“She shouldn’t be having video sex with her boyfriend while we’re on a family vacation,” he whispered, shooting to his feet.

“At least she didn’t get arrested having sex in the back of a truck. So this isn’t the worst thing that could have happened on this vacation,” Elain replied.

“No,” he said, heading towards the kitchen to get a plate of food. “It’s the worst thing that could have happened to me, period.”

Elain rolled her eyes, watching as Azriel stormed into the kitchen and out of sight.

Calmly, she walked down to the end of the hall and knocked on the last door.

She could hear Luna sniffling. “Yeah?”

“It’s mom,” Elain said, leaning against the door. “Can I come in?”

A second passed. “Yes.”

Elain opened the door to find Luna sitting up on her bed, wearing a hoodie and wrapped in a blanket, as if she couldn’t get enough clothes onto her body. Her eyes were red and puffy.

Elain sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her daughter. “Care to tell me your side of the story?”

Luna shook her head, then looked at her hands as she said, “We were just facetime-ing. It got...slightly intimate, nothing was even really going on, and then dad walked in.” Her face fell into her hands. “Too much was going on for him to walk in on, though, I’ll tell you that. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life. I just hung up. Lachlan probably thinks that I just lost connection.”

Elain huffed through her nose. “Look, I don’t know exactly what your father saw, he couldn’t exactly get the words out-.”

“Me, topless, showing my boyfriend my boobs,” Luna supplied, her face still in her hands. “I mean, I was mostly under the blankets, but… I think he got the point.”

Elain had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Usually, she wouldn’t find things so funny, but this was Luna. Luna, who never did anything wrong. The fact that she was just like every other teenage girl, that she was just like Elain and her sisters at sixteen, was…almost refreshing.

She scooted closer and wrapped her arms around her daughter. “Your dad is having a hard time processing that his little girl isn’t so little anymore.”

“That’s an understatement,” she scoffed. “This is worse than my first period, first bra and first date combined.”

Elain couldn’t stop her chuckle again. “I think we’re probably gonna spend the rest of the evening separated. We’re gonna do our thing and the boys will do theirs. Are you hungry?”

Luna shrugged, fiddling with her phone case.

“You sure? Aunt Feyre and I made tacos.”

Looking up at her, eyes still puffy and blush still on her cheeks, Luna said, “I guess I could eat.”

“Good,” Elain said, kissing her forehead and taking her daughter’s face in her hands. “I know you’re a smart girl, and I know you care about Lachlan. But if and when things move past just showing him your boobs on FaceTime, promise me you’ll be careful.”

Luna’s cheeks were blood red again and she shook her head. “I haven’t… we haven’t… I’m still a virgin, mom.”

Elain stifled her laughter again. “I know you are, sweetie. All I’m asking is that whenever the time comes, promise me you’ll use that beautiful brain of yours and don’t let hormones get in the way. And when we get home, we can talk about birth control if you want to.”

Luna’s eyes went wide. “You’d…let me get on the pill? What about dad? He’d lose it if he found out.”

“If it means you’re being smart and safe, yes.” Elain smiled, and took her daughter’s hand. “And don’t worry about your father. I can handle him.”

“He’s awfully dramatic,” Luna mumbled. “He’s just passionate,” Elain said, correcting her. “Which means he loves as fiercely as he loses it.”

Luna chuckled, and nodded. “Let me text Lachlan about why I hung up so suddenly, then I’ll be out.”

Elain kissed Luna’s forehead before hopping off of the bed. “I’ll make you a plate of tacos.”

“Thanks, mom,” Luna said, as Elain walked out, and Elain knew it was for much more than the food.

As she walked back into the kitchen, all of the boys were out on the back porch, leaving the girls inside.

“We’re thinking about having a girls night,” Feyre said, as Elain approached. “Chick flicks, painting our nails, and mud masks?”

“I’m here for it,” Elain said. “Luna will be, too.”

Quietly, Feyre asked, “Is everything okay?”

“I’ll fill you in later,” Elain promised, and went to making Luna her plate of food. She came out a minute later, and cleared her entire plate in under five minutes.

When they were done, Legally Blonde was being set up in the living room, and Nesta was carrying out a basket of nail polish.

“Looks like the boys are going for a boat ride,” Nesta said, rolling her eyes. “Hopefully Cass isn’t driving. He can’t drive in the dark. I swear he needs glasses but he’s too stubborn to go get his eyes checked.”

“He’s in denial about getting old, Rhys was the same way,” Feyre sighed, searching through the basket for a color she liked. “But I finally convinced him to go a couple months back.

Now it’s like I have a sexy Clark Kent walking around my house in the evenings.”

“How’d you do that?” Elain asking, carrying wine glasses and a chilled bottle into the room.

The girls were all focused on the huge box of makeup Lily and Olive had brought down from the bonus room, sitting around it and begging Luna to do their makeup. Even Olive was willing to remove her thick eyeliner if it meant Luna would work her magic on her eyebrows.

“I can be very…persuasive,” she replied, filling her glass and taking a sip.

Nesta reached for the remote and turned the movie up to give their conversation a semblance of privacy, turning her attention to her sister. She whispered, “Spill.”

Feyre was blushing, clearly not expecting her sisters to jump on this particular topic. She settled back into the couch cushions and took a much larger drink of her wine. “I…let him go where no man has gone before.”

“What, like, Victoria’s Secret?” Elain asked, brow furrowed in confusion, but from the smirk on Nesta’s face, she knew exactly what Feyre meant.

“No, Lainey, not like Victoria’s Secret,” Nesta said, voice low enough that the kids couldn’t hear them over the movie. “She let him get in her ass.”

Elain blinked once and said, “Oh,” before going back to looking through the nail polish basket.

Feyre and Nesta looked at each other, before looking back at Elain.

Nesta whispered, “That was a very casual Oh.”

Shrugging, Elain glanced up at them, still looking through the basket. “That’s nothing new for us.”

Feyre’s brows shot up as Nesta leaned forward. “Okay, for the two quietest and most private in this family…you two have one hell of a sex life.”

Elain laughed, quietly, as she picked out a soft lavender nail polish. “What? We’ve always liked to keep each other…intrigued…in the bedroom.”

“And was daddy the one to introduce this…act?” Feyre asked, still dumbfounded.

Elain shrugged, falling back on the couch. “We thought we’d give it a try one day, and it was…nice.”

“Nice?” Nesta repeated.

“It’s not for everyone, but…yeah, it was nice,” Elain said. “Anyway, someone paint my right hand, please. My left is too shaky.”

Nesta did as her sister asked, even though Feyre was still staring at her, minutes later. It wasn’t until halfway through the movie, when Luna excused herself to walk into the kitchen, that Nesta excused herself to follow after.

When she walked into the kitchen, Luna was staring out the back door to where the boys were tossing a football around the campfire.

“You okay, Lunabug?” Nesta asked, referring to that old nickname from her childhood that they all still used.

Luna nodded. “Yeah, just…tired, I guess. I think I may head to bed early tonight.”

“I get that, it was a big day,” Nesta smiled, and hugged her eldest niece. “Don’t worry about your dad. I’m sure Uncle Cass and Uncle Rhys have been calming him down all night.”

“I know, I know,” Luna sighed, burying her face in her aunt’s shoulder. “How am I supposed to ever look him in the eye again though? He didn’t see anything, but he knew what was happening. It’s not hard to figure out.”

“You’re almost an adult, sweet girl,” Nesta said, tipping her chin back so she kept her head high. “Sooner or later, your dad is going to have to accept that.”

Luna nodded and hugged her aunt again. Nesta hugged her tighter and said, “How do you think I feel right now? My adult son got caught having sex in public yesterday.” She felt Luna laugh and pulled back to rest her hand against her cheek. “It could be worse. I’m sure you’re embarrassed, but this will pass, okay? Your dad is overbearing because he loves you.”

Luna’s smile was small, but Nesta could tell it was genuine. “I know. Thank you, Aunt Nes.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

With a goodnight, Luna was off to the room, Layla and Scarlett only a few minutes behind her. The twins, stubborn as always, said they weren’t tired, yet were asleep on the floor within ten minutes.

“Another drink, ladies?” Feyre asked, bringing out a new wine glass as she fell on the couch between her sisters.

“Please,” Elain begged, holding out her glass.

Nesta didn’t protest either as the three sisters finished the movie, drinking the night away.

*

“Fuck, the twins are only two years younger.”

Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel were lying in the grass, a beer in their hands, staring up at the stars as their boys swam in the water, the firelight the only thing allowing them any guidance.

“I just… I knew this day was coming,” Azriel said, his words slightly slurred. “I just… I don’t know. I wasn’t ready for it.”

“Can we ever be ready for it?” Cassian asked. “Boys…they’re easy. But, girls…” Cassian shook his head. “We’re never going to be ready for anything they put us through.”

“I want to find this kid… And-.”

“And what?” Rhysand asked, laughing as he cut off Azriel. “You act like you weren’t a teenager once.”

“I was,” Azriel confessed, then sighed. “But…that was me…this is…my daughter.”

“Have you met his parents yet?” Cassian asked, sitting up and bracing his elbows on his knees. “Once we met Marion’s parents, we felt way better. Mostly because we know Lorcan Salvaterre has the capability to kick Thorn’s ass, and Thorn does, too. But it also showed us Marion is a good girl. She comes from a good family, who loves and cares for her just as much as we do Thorn.”

“We’ve met his mom,” Azriel admitted, staring at stars still. “Or Lainey has, I haven’t. But she said she was sweet. Granted, she says Lachlan is sweet, too. She thinks everyone is sweet, cause she’s sweet.”

“You guys should try to all go to dinner when we get back to Velaris,” Cass suggested, finishing his beer. He tossed his empty can into the pile by the fire. “Meet his parents, get a vibe for them, shake the kid’s hand hard enough to leave an impression. I’m sure they love Luna, just like we love Marion.”

“Them loving Luna isn’t the point,” Azriel began, quietly. “Everyone loves Luna. The problem is…is that I was a teenage boy once, and I know exactly what this kid wants.”

“You also met Elain when you were a teenager,” Rhysand pointed out. “And, you started dating when you were teenagers. You’re telling me that the only reason you wanted to be with Elain was for sex?”

Azriel paused. Then answered, shortly, “No.”

“Then maybe this kid wants more than that, too,” Cassian said.

“But he wants the other thing, too,” Azriel protested, then groaned, flipping over until his face was buried in the grass.

“You can’t make her a nun,” Cassian said, Rhysand grinning on Azriel’s other side. “You can’t keep it from happening. Teach her to be safe, and she’ll be fine.”

Azriel’s voice was muffled by the ground. “Why are you being the reasonable one right now?”

“Because I’ve also been a teenage boy who loved a girl. Because I currently have a teenage boy who loves a girl, even if he makes stupid decisions with her sometimes,” he replied. “But I have to let him make those decisions on his own so he can learn. Luna is smart, Az. She’ll make good choices, you just have to let her make them.”

He grumbled something into the grass that his brothers couldn’t hear and Rhysand ruffled the back of his hair before standing.

“It’s getting late, the kids need to get to bed.”

They called the boys out of the water, handing out towels and dousing the fire as they headed up towards the house.

“Bennett and I can carry the beers out to the garage,” Thorn said, and Cassian’s eyes immediately met Rhysand’s amused state.

“Good try,” he chuckled.

Rhys added, “You can leave them on the kitchen counter.”

The boys mumbled something under their breath, but did as they were told and they all went off to get changed and get in bed.

They found their wives on the couch, wine drunk and giggly, with the twins asleep on the floor.

“Everyone else in bed?” Cassian asked, sitting on the arm of the couch by Nesta. She laid her head against his thigh and nodded.

Feyre inclined her head to her daughters on the floor in front of them. “These two insisted they weren’t tired.”

Rhysand snorted. “I see that.”

Azriel fell onto the couch by Elain while Rhys gently woke the twins and sent them to bed.

Elain looked up at him and chuckled, quietly, as she ran her fingers through his messy hair. “You’re drunk.”

“I am not,” he lied.

“Your eyes are glazed,” she whispered, “and I could barely make sense of the three words that just came out of your mouth.”

“He only had…” Cassian cocked his head to the side, counting on his fingers. “Yeah, I lost count. How many beers you have there, Az?”

Azriel mumbled something incomprehensible and sighed.

Cassian chuckled as he stood, and gathered Nesta in his arms before walking down the hall, toward their bedroom.

Feyre followed, carrying the empty wine glasses into the kitchen.

Elain shook her head as Azriel’s eyes fluttered shut, thanks to her fingertips gently rubbing at his head. A moment later, she thought he may have fallen asleep, but then he said, “I’m scared for her.”

Elain’s fingers slowed, but she nodded. “Luna’s smart-.”

“But teenage boys aren’t,” Azriel said, opening his eyes to meet his wife’s. “I know that Luna’s smart. And everyone can keep telling me how smart she is, but it doesn’t make me trust any guy that she’ll ever be with any more. Men are idiots. And the last thing I want is for my baby to be heartbroken, crying over some dick that didn’t deserve her in the first place.” Elain’s eyes softened, but Azriel went on, “And the fact that they’re getting more….intimate, only means that Luna’s starting to trust him and like him more. And that scares me.”

“I know,” Elain said, quietly, crawling onto his lap and straddling his waist. Her forehead fell against his as his eyes fell shut, once again. “She spent the entire night thinking she’d disappointed you.”

“She didn’t disappoint me,” Azriel said, quietly, and Elain knew that he meant it. And as she pulled back, she recognized the look that was creeping into his hazel eyes: guilt.

“She’s probably still awake if you want to go talk to her,” Elain said.

Azriel hesitated, then nodded. After Elain crawled off of him, he waited a moment before pushing himself up and began to amble his way down the hall, until he reached the last door on the left.

This time, he knocked.

He waited, and when there was no response, he knocked again, only to find no response. He cracked open the door and peeked inside. The lights were off, and Luna was sound asleep, the hood of her hoodie pulled over her dark hair, and the fan across the room on high, pointed right at her.

He laughed quietly at the sight.

Yeah, she was growing up, but sound asleep, she looked like she always had: mouth hanging open, one hand tossed behind her head. She used to fall asleep on him like that, and he’d have to carry her to bed and tuck her in. That’s how she would always be to him: that little girl whose only man in her life was her daddy.

Except that’s not how it was, not anymore.

Azriel walked to her bedside and leaned down to kiss her forehead before pulling her blanket up higher around her. “Night, Lunabug.”

As he headed back for her door, he heard, “Dad?”

He spun around, that alcohol catching up with him and nearly knocking himself over, thanks to the quick motion. He grabbed the doorframe to steady himself. “I…knocked this time.”

Luna rolled over and looked at him. Thanks to the light in the hallway streaming in, he could see the hurt in her light brown eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Azriel’s shoulders sagged as he made his way back into the room and sat down on the edge of her bed. He ran a hand through his hair before saying, “You don’t need to be sorry. I’m sorry. You’re growing up, and that’s exactly what you’re supposed to do, but I’m still figuring out how to raise a young woman and not a little girl.”

Luna nodded, but said nothing.

“It’s hard, though,” he began, honestly. “When I was seventeen, Luna, I had no idea how to treat girls. I went on a lot of dates, and…did a lot of things on those dates…and, if I’m being honest with you, not a lot of those things meant anything to me other than what I got out of them at that moment.” He looked at Luna. “It wasn’t until I started dating your mom that I got some sense knocked into me.”

She chuckled at that.

“But, I also know that Lachlan is not me,” Azriel continued. “I also know that I don’t know a lot about him. So, maybe next week we can have him and his parents over for dinner, and I can start to get to know him, if he means that much to you.”

He didn’t need any light in the room to see the tears lining her eyes. “I would like that.”

“Then you talk to him, I’ll talk to mom, and we’ll make it happen, okay?” She nodded, and he leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “Goodnight, Lunabug. I love you.”

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and he was glad for what little balance he still had, so he didn’t topple over on her. “I love you, too, daddy.”

Wrapping an arm around her, he held her close, not letting her go until he felt her arms getting heavier. Until he carefully settled her back into the bed, tucking the covers around her, but not too tight, because she hated feeling constricted, and pushed the hoodie back just a bit to see her sleeping face.

She looked so much like her mother while she was asleep.

Quietly, carefully, he slipped out the door and closed it behind him.

He could tell the television and lights had been shut off in the living room, so he aimed for their bedroom instead, and found Elain sleepily beneath the covers herself. He stripped off his shirt and shorts, wearing just a pair of boxer-briefs and slid into bed beside her, aware that he probably smelled like a bar. Elain didn’t complain though, she just laid her head on his chest and slung an arm and leg over his body.

“How’d it go?” She asked into the darkness.

“Good. She was asleep, and I accidentally woke her up, but it’s okay. We needed to talk,” he admitted. He paused for a second before asking,

“Do you have Lachlan’s parents numbers?”

Lifting her head, Elain looked at him in the moonlight. “We are not talking to them about this at midnight, Azriel.”

“No, no,” he chuckled, rubbing a calming hand up and down her arm. “I was thinking it might be nice to have them over for dinner one night next week, all of them. Lachlan, Aelin and Rowan.”

Elain lifted a brow. “You’re serious.”

Azriel blinked. “Why wouldn’t I be serious?”

“Because you’re drunk and you just spent the entire day throwing a hissy fit,” Elain mumbled, nuzzling into his neck.

Azriel laughed, quietly. “Damn, you’re mean.”

Elain huffed then propped herself up on an elbow. “I’m serious. If they come over, you need to be nice.”

Azriel scoffed, his hand sliding down her back then up her shirt. “I’m always nice.”

“No mean-mugging the kid,” Elain went on. “You will ask him about his likes and dislikes, and you will not scare him shitless.”

Azriel sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I promise.”

“And you will offer Rowan some of your good whiskey,” Elain said.

Azriel looked pointedly at his wife. “There’s no need to get carried away.”

Elain grinned as she leaned down and pressed her mouth softly against his. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he whispered, and closed his eyes.

He was sound asleep before Elain could even lay back down, and snuggle up to him beneath the covers.

He was over-dramatic, and surely a pain in her ass, but by the gods, she loved that man. He had given her three beautiful, perfect children, and although, sixteen years after their first was born, they were still figuring this whole parenting ordeal out….Azriel was doing a pretty damn good job.

Which only made her love him even more.

[avaritia-apotheosis]

Phantom Children Ch. 8

What's this? An update! Massive thanks to my betas for helping me get through this chapter <3

In Which: A few answers are given to the family and Danny is rudely awoken

[Side note: If you wanna know the general ages of the batfam, its listed in the AO3 version. I also talk about katanas in the end notes ^-^]

AO3 | Prologue | 7 | [ 8 ] | 9 DAMIAN INFORMED TODD—and Drake when he arrived on his bike sometime later on—that the boy whose face is plastered across the monitor was neither a picture of himself nor of Father.

Drake took one glance at the monitor and sighed, pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose. “Just when I thought this day was getting better.”

“What, did that café on 5th finally let customers supersize their drink?”

“God that would be the dream, wouldn’t it?” Drake sighed wistfully. “Nah, but I did get a lead on where some of that stolen Cadmus tech might’ve ended up. I was gonna spend the night following up on it, but I guess we have to deal with,” he gestured to the monitor, “whatever this is.”

Todd leaned against the edge of the computer, arms crossed over the red bat insignia on his chest. “What are we dealing with this time, brat? A clone? An alternate universe counterpart? Magic shenanigans?”

Maybe. Perhaps. All of those were perfectly valid conclusions for the enigma that was Daniel James Fenton. (Why Fenton and not al Ghul? Or even Wayne?)

Damian, too, was a genetic experiment; a ‘test tube baby’ as Drake put it at times. Damian was born for greatness, created to be perfect. The perfect soldier. The perfect assassin. The perfect heir. Was this boy—Daniel—like him as well?

A failed one, then. Perhaps the precursor to Damian’s own existence. But that would not explain why the boy was allowed to exist for so long. His grandfather demanded perfection, especially from those of his own blood. If the boy was a failure, he would have been eliminated immediately, not sent to live with some eccentric scientists in the Midwest.

Damian was not naïve enough to think that his mother and grandfather did not keep secrets from him. On the contrary, he expected it. The League of Shadows dealt in secrets as often as it did in death. Certain information was worth its weight in gold, whether it was given or buried away.

But he could not help the sharp pang in his chest. A lightning strike, quick and electrifying at the notion that they kept secrets about their family from him.

His father’s face flashed in his mind. The shock turned into a slow, dawning horror. That flicker of light, of recognition, as he scrutinized the contents of the flash drive and cross-referenced it with a public database.

And grief.

Damian recognized the grief.

Alfred, too, nearly dropped his tray of fresh-baked cookies when he stepped in front of the monitor. His usual unflappable demeanor was momentarily broken at his father’s whispered “Sixteen years. Alfred— he’s sixteen years old.”

His father knew of the boy. He was allowed to know of Daniel when he was not allowed to know about Damian.

------

Grayson returned to the cave with a distinct lack of energy in his step. His mask dangled off the tips of his fingers, chin angled downwards and covered largely by his hand. For a split second, their eyes met. Grayson shifted his gaze away, scratching the back of his neck. Father told him, then. Damian wondered how much Father revealed to his favorite son.

Damian clucked his tongue and buried himself deeper into the chair, arms crossed and pointedly looking away. If it was not for his accursed ankle, he’d have headed out to the training ring to take his frustrations out on the dummies.

“Oh, thank god you’re here, Dickface. Damian’s completely out of it.”

Damian shot him a look. “Shut up, Todd.”

“Leave him alone, Jay. Is Tim back yet?”

Drake emerged from the changing room in a dark green shirt, a fresh cup of coffee in hand. He took one long sip before exhaling. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“O-kay…” He pressed his hands together, mouth thinned into a grim line. “Uh, hey Tim, glad to see you back safe. Bruce is coming down soon to explain some things.” He let out a deep sigh, carding a hand through his hair. “This kind of thing would probably be better with the girls around, but I—god, I don’t know.”

Todd raised an eyebrow. “Don’t know whether to call Steph and Cass in Hong Kong, or don’t know what’s going on?”

“Yes.”

------

When Father arrived, Pennyworth following dutifully behind him, it was with an aching slowness in his gait. His steps measured and precise, preternaturally quiet as he made his way to stand by Damian’s chair. Damian sat up straighter, shoulders squared and back an inch away from the backrest. The rest, even Todd, stood at attention; an ingrained habit among Robins and an amusing instinct even among the senior heroes of the Justice League when it came to facing the Batman.

His father kept a steady hand on Damian’s shoulder, and Damian, shamefully, leaned into the touch; his head inclined towards his father’s hand so much so that he could feel the ends of his hair being pushed up slightly as he brushed against his father’s forearm.

He spoke with his usual monotone, as if he was heading a Justice League meeting as opposed to unveiling the secrets surrounding that boy. He brought forward the few photos they obtained from the flash drive. “A few weeks ago, we were alerted of suspicious movement from the League of Shadows in Amity Park, Illinois. Their objectives are, as of now, unclear, though it appears to be tied to the death of Amity Park resident, Daniel Fenton.”

One photo was a standard ID picture people get for their driver’s license, the lighting deliberately horrible so that any attempt to look decent would always end in failure. Another photo was a little better; a candid scene of him chatting with two others his age, a Caucasian girl in gothic-style clothes and an African-American holding a sleek, but still very outdated PDA. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners, hand reaching up to his face to stifle a laugh. There were other photos like this, some candid, others posed. At the forefront of each, a boy that looked too much like his father, too much like Damian.

His father glanced at the photos. He shut his eyes and when he opened them again, he fixed them on some distant stalactite in the Cave. “Around six months ago, Daniel was pronounced dead in a vehicular accident. A body was present, but according to police reports, he was identified via his driver’s license as opposed to any kind of DNA profiling.” He leaned over Damian’s chair to pull up a profile of Masters. “Our source—Vladimir Masters, mayor of Amity and a friend of the Fenton family—indicated his belief that Daniel is actually alive. I am inclined to agree.”

“He’s your son, isn’t he,” Drake said, more of a statement than a question.

Father gave a curt nod. “I cannot say for certain until I can perform a DNA test, but I highly suspect that to be the case.”

“First the demon spawn, now this. Great.” Todd made a hand motion towards the screen. “You know, Bruce, not knowing you have a kid once might be a coincidence, but twice? How do you do that?”

“As of three hours ago, I was still under the impression that my son never made it to term.”

“What?”

“Over sixteen years ago I was involved in a mission that put Ra’s and I on the same side. During that time, Talia and I entered a relationship that resulted in a pregnancy. Though initially ecstatic, she eventually led me to believe she miscarried the child and pushed me away. For what ends, I do not know, but trust me Jason, if I knew—” He paused, the hand that was not on Damian’s shoulder curled into a tight fist.

Father pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why she hid it from me then doesn’t matter. Why Talia wants him back now is important. Judging from Daniel’s records, he was adopted into the Fenton family as an infant and has since lived a seemingly normal life as a civilian. His adoptive parents, Jack and Maddie Fenton, are brilliant scientists and engineers focused on the field of paranormal studies. Eccentricities aside, they have zero connections to the League of Assassins or any other concerning parties.”

“So why now?” Dick asked, shifting his concerned gaze from Bruce to the static picture of Danny’s tired smile. “Why, after all this time, decide that now would be the best time to recover him?”

------

Danny’s experienced plenty of rude awakenings before, but waking up at the ass-crack of dawn to avoid his kidnapper-slash-assassin-slash-biological-mom launching a surprise attack takes the fucking cake. He can’t believe he’s saying this, but thank god for all those late night ghost attacks that conditioned him to be a light sleeper. And, of course, the League’s insistence that everyone be in optimal condition regardless of how little sleep you actually got.

Danny kicked Talia off of him, ripping his blanket away before scrambling to his feet. Seriously, if the universe decided to spontaneously give him powers again, he’d really like an upgrade to his ghost senses, please and thank you. Something that works on humans and not just ghosts. Like spidey-senses. He’d really, really like some spidey-senses.

“Your reaction times have improved considerably,” Talia said.

He eyed the katana sheathed beside his bedroll. “Thanks. Who could have guessed that constantly challenging someone to a spar in the unholy hours of morning would make them paranoid to sleep too much? Really, how am I supposed to grow taller at this rate? ” If he could just get it--

She smiled, taking a step forward. “Prepare yourself.”

“Heh.” Danny stepped further away from Talia, keeping his back to the mouth of the cave. One hand stretched in front of him and the other, coated in a green light, was kept hidden behind his back. “Am I actually gonna get some answers today?”

“Let us make it interesting. Last 10 minutes against me and I shall tell you more about your brother.” Talia twirled her blade. “If you happen to draw blood, you may ask any one thing of me.”

“Anything?”

“Within reason.”

His face caught between a grimace and a smile. He’d rather be sleeping right now, but if he had to be awake, then he’d better make the most of it. “Deal.”

Talia’s smile dropped. She veered her body to the right, barely dodging the streak of bright green that whizzed from behind her. The ectoplasmic energy that surrounded the katana bled away as the handle connected with Danny’s outstretched hand.

She quickly glanced back at Danny’s bedding. Beside it lay an empty sheath. “You have telekinesis?”

He shrugged. “It comes and goes.” Yeah, no way was Danny gonna admit that seven-out-of-ten-times he forgot that he had telekinesis. Besides, that shit was hard to do when he wasn’t Phantom.

“A surprise attack from behind is a sound strategy, Daniel. Though it’ll take a lot more than that to harm me.”

Danny pointed to the side of his cheek. “Are you sure about that?”

Talia frowned. She reached up to her face. Her fingers brushed against her cheek and came away with a thin streak of blood.

Danny grinned, pointing his blade at his opponent. “First blood goes to me.”

------

Fact: most fights don’t last long. An average street fight could last anywhere between 25 to 40 seconds, and sword fights rarely last over a minute. Like Talia said, the goal of a fight was to end it with as few injuries to oneself as possible. Humans, even the most skilled ones, can rarely last long in a fight. Prolonged combat is suicide; it makes you tired, makes your muscles heavy. It’s nothing like what Hollywood would have you believe.

Even with Danny’s own enhanced stamina and Talia holding back, he couldn’t last a full ten-minute spar. If Talia didn’t finish him within twenty-five seconds, then he’d fall by his own human limitations.

But the goal wasn’t to spar continuously for ten minutes.

He only had to last that long.

Danny sprinted out of the cave. The sun barely peeked out of the horizon, a thin line of deep orange breaking apart the wide expanse of blue-black sky above. He couldn’t see shit; great news since that meant there’s a good chance Talia couldn’t either, but that doesn’t fix the fact that he can’t see.

Nearly stumbling on the ice, Danny veered to the left. The edges of the lake stopped at towering rocks twice Danny’s height, leaving little room for cover. Though if he remembered correctly, there should be a few crevices here and there to hide in.

“You’ll have to be faster than that, Daniel.”

Shit—

Danny stopped. He brought his sword up to parry Talia’s strike and twisted away, putting distance between them.

Well, so much for just avoiding her for 10 minutes.

He adjusted his grip, keeping his sword steady and eyes trained on Talia as they circled each other. Danny lunged with an overhead strike. Talia used one hand to block the downswing by gripping his wrists. She thrust her sword forward, the tip harshly poking Danny’s abdomen.

“Less than three minutes.” Talia let his wrist go, Danny’s arms slumping to his sides.

He sighed as he sheathed his sword. “Damn, I thought I’d last longer than that.”

“You made a good effort,” Talia assured him. “Putting as much distance between us at the beginning was a good strategy. You recognized the win conditions immediately and attempted a battle of attrition.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I am very proud of you habibi, especially as you managed to draw first blood.”

A warmth grew in Danny’s stomach at the words, heating his cheeks. Sheepishly, he scratched the back of his head. “I wasn’t entirely sure that would work, honestly.”

“It was clever; half a second later and you might have even killed me. You are an al Ghul through and through” She brushed his hair out of his face. “What would you like as your prize, then?”

Danny’s heart clenched. He frowned, dropping his arm to his side. If I was such an al Ghul, then why didn’t you keep me? The question lodged itself in his throat, stifling his thoughts. It was something he’d been wondering for a while, actually, in the moments of solitude he had at the compound. Talia, during their training, would always remark at his potential. How talented he was, how adaptable he was, how much greater he would have been if he had been trained at a younger age.

Well then, why wasn’t he? Why did she give him up?

But each time he tried to ask, his tongue would turn to lead and the moment would pass, the question still left unsaid and simmering at the back of his mind. A Pandora’s Box that held none of the world’s evil but all of Danny’s possible shortcomings.

He could ask the question now.

He could.

He didn’t.

“Why did you take me?”

Talia tilted her head. “It is because you’re my son.”

“No. Not that. It has to be something more than that. You had sixteen years to come back for me—or, hell, you could have just never left me.” His breath hitched, fingers mussing his hair and hiding his eyes. “Why else did you take me?”

“It is true that there was more than one reason why we decided to retrieve you from Amity Park. One of which is because you are my son and an heir of the Demon’s Head.” Talia stilled. The dark skies of dawn made it impossible for him to read her. “The second reason was to protect you.”

“You kidnapped me…to protect me?”

“Knowledge of the ghosts of Amity have spread through the more insidious parts of the world. There are many out there who would pay exorbitant fees to study one of you or to use you.”

Use him? What did she mean by—

Oh.

Ghosts—Amity Park’s brand of ghosts—were a new element that the world had to contend with. Amity Park might have a crime rate of zero but that wasn’t the case everywhere else. Theft, assault, murder; the world was rampant with crimes and criminals clawing their way to the very top. Having ghosts, even ones with the most basic powerset, would be a huge advantage.

“There’s no way that would work,” Danny insisted. “Most ghosts just want to be left alone, and the ones that want to wreak havoc would never work with humans. The only reason they even work with halfas like me at times is because they still consider us as ghosts.”

“If my sources are to be believed, ghosts might not even get a choice.”

Danny’s blood curdled in his veins.

No.

Someone’s found a way to control ghosts.

[peterparkers-bad-youtube-apology]

#82 for Harrison osterfield

Of course darling, sorry I'm running on late on these but here it is! Hope you enjoy, love you xx

Pool Games

82 - “If you untie my bikini top again I'll kill you."

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x Reader

Summary: You and Harrison have fun at the pool together 

Masterlist

Taglist

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

“Hurry up!” (y/n) whined while Harrison lingered in the kitchen,

“Why should I rush? We’re on vacation,” he laughed while she tried to drag him out the back door, “Can’t I relax?”

“You can relax in the pool,” she beamed, “The infinity pool.”

“I get it, you’re excited about the pool,” he rolled his eyes, “Did you even look in the garage? They’ve got pool toys too.”

Her eyes went wide and she stopped in her tracks, “Wait right here.”

He waited at the poolside like he was told, only to see her returning with way more toys than he thought she’d ever be able to carry, “Jesus Christ, is there anything you didn’t grab?”

“You could have helped!”

“You told me to stay here!” he laughed, grabbing a large floaty from her arms, “There’s only two of us you know?”

“I know, but I couldn’t decide on the bed or the inner tube, and then I saw this lip one, and I grabbed a couple noodles just in case.”

“Well just be careful you don’t send anything flying over the edge,” he sighed as they tossed things into the pool, “You included.”

“I’m not gonna fly over the edge,” she rolled her eyes before jumping onto one of the floaties, almost instantly the whole thing flipped and sent her underwater.

“You sure about that?” he snickered.

She just rolled her eyes again, “Come on, are you getting in or what?”

“I’m getting in,” he took the stairs, blushing suddenly as she tried to climb onto one of the floaties, “Uh, sweetheart,” he motioned to his own chest and cleared his throat.

She knit her brows in confusion before looking down at herself, “Oh!” she laughed, “Can you help me tie it again?”

He nodded, wading to her quickly, “Not a problem doll.”

“Thanks. So, you wanna play Marco Polo?”

“With just the two of us? In an infinite pool? Seems a little dangerous.”

“Aw come on Haz, it’s not like we’re gonna go flying over the ledge.”

He fought off a smirk as he tied the back of her bikini top, “Well I guess if you want to play a couple of pool games we can, but I wanna be Polo first.”

She smiled ear to ear and screwed her eyes shut, “Alright, you better not cheat.”

“How would I even cheat at Marco Polo?” he laughed.

“By getting out of the pool, duh.”

“I won’t cheat,” he assured.

Harrison entertained her for a while, bobbing around the pool, just out of her reach while she giggled and tried to chase after him. Of course he couldn’t take the game seriously for too long though, the opportunity to tease was way too tempting. So he started wading towards her as quietly as he could.

“Marco!” she called, standing still as she awaited his response. He stayed silent as not to give away his location as he snuck up behind her. “Marco!” she called again before sighing, “Come on Haz you have to respond!”

“Polo,” he whispered against her ear as he tugged at the back of her bikini.

She screamed and jolted forward as her top came undone, “Harrison Osterfield I am gonna kill you!” she snapped.

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her torso, “Did I scare you doll?”

“Obviously!” she shoved him away and crossed her arms, “You’re such a dick.”

“Oh come on, I’m just teasing,” he smirked, “Let me tie you up again.”

“Don’t try it again,” she threatened.

“I won’t, I was just being funny.”

She rolled her eyes, “I mean it Osterfield, if you untie my bikini top again I’ll kill you.”

“I won’t touch it again, at least not until you ask me too.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just hurry it up, it’s your turn to be Marco.”

“Oh really? You still want to play with me,” he teased, setting his head on her shoulder with a smile.

“Yeah, now we’re gonna keep playing until I pants you.”

“You’re on.”

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