#the patrol team should really have not followed that 'flame' | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

uwuwriting · 4 years

Text

What did I miss? w/ Hawks and Dabi

Request: Okay so hear me out: Hawks’ and Dabi’s s/o (as separate headcanons, or you can just choose one) is also a pro hero/villain and the lads think she died or something and they just become enraged and they’re so distressed (and the ending is soft because she’s okay and maybe they cry) I love your writing, I hope you have a nice day! -🐍

Lol I had a similar request some time ago for our younger boys which I never got around to doing because I’m bad at fulfilling requests and following orders lol. This will be both hilarious and angsty. Well hilarious if you have my sense of humour otherwise I’ll have to add cricket sounds. Okay maybe its not that funny but oh well, it didn’t make me cry at least. Love ya. 💖💖💖

masterlist

rules

warnings: angst and fluff, mentions of injury and death, swearing.

Hawks/ Keigo Takami

-Having two winged heroes on patrol always kinda led to disaster.

-You both would race each other to your randevouz points or you would mock each other about your wing span.

- “You know what they say about your wing span? The bigger the wings well....the bigger the assets.”

-You had bigger wings then him just for a few centimeters but you rubbed it in his face all the time.

- “Why am I in love with you again?”

-It really bothers him bc you keep saying he has a smaller dick than you....and you don’t have a dick so.....yeah....anyways.

-You were on patrol once again, goofing around on a rooftop.

-It was late at night and you could be a little more handsy since there were’t many possibilities someone could walk in on you.

-Keeping your relationship a secret is hard and baby can keep his hands to himself for so long until he breaks.

-Suddenly out of nowhere you started hearing screams and cries for help.

-Keigo didn’t even get a chance to say anything before you were flying towards the building that was on FIRE.

-Dashing right after you he entered the building nad he was half expecting to see you there in the entrance, but he saw no one, only a large chunk of flaming wood etched into the mahogony floor.

-His mind immediately went to the worst scenario possible; it was like he couldn’t control his own thoughts.

-But right then, when his panic was beginning to surface, he heard you calling out for him.

-The rescue of the residents took around half an hour and it got harder and harder as time went on.

-The fire was getting out of control and was getting harder to locate everyone.

-One apartment was left in the end and you could here crying coming from inside.

-The fire was basically licking at your boots at this point but you weren’t about to let someone burn.

- “Get those last two outside and I’ll meet you at the rooftop across the street.”

- “Y/N-”

- “Keigo GO! I promise I’ll meet you outside.”

-And that was the last thing he heard from you that night.

-He did as he was told, he got the last two people out of the building and soon after them a toddler was carried out of the building.

-He waited for you to come out next but you never came.

-The flames licked at the sky, their tips seeming to be touching the moon.

-The roof collapsed in on itself making the rescue teams to back away as they looked in horror as the whole flat came crumbling down.

- “SHE’S IN THERE!”

-HE doesn’t remember much from that night.

-He knows he went back inside or at least tried to get past the debris.

-He remembers seeing the color of your wings, that beautiful white, peeking out from under a fallen beam.

-He remembers the upper floor almost crashing him as he tried to get you out and then nothing.

-He woke up in a hospital bed, dressed in one of those white robes his whole body screaming at him not to move.

-If he was being honest he forgot for a moment the events of the previous night and he was expecting to find you sleeping on the chair next to his bed, your hand in his just like you had done so many times before.

-But you weren’t there and then everything came pouring in.

-Frantically he got up and he reached for the door, yanking it open and coming face to face with a doctor.

- “Where is she?”

- “Sir you should be in bed, you injuries-”

- “goddammit WHERE IS SHE?”

-His outburst had attracted some of the nurses but he couldn’t care less about his image right now.

-Where you gone? But he remembers getting you out from under those fallen stairs. Maybe you were already dead when he reached you.

-No no no you had promised ot find him outside, you had told him so. That’s why he left, that’s why he did as you said. What was he supposed to do now? Without you here what is he supposed to do?

-Everything was muffled out, the ringing in his ears being to loud to allow him to focus on anything else.

-His breaths came out shallow as his head swam with thoughts.

-You couldn’t be gone you just couldn’t he had so much he wanted to do with you, so many things planned you couldn’t-

- “Keigo?”

-He turned around slowly.

-At first he thought he was dreaming, your voice always seemed to soothe him when he was destressed.

-But then his eyes landed on you all bandaged up and sporting crutches.

-You were hurt but you were alive, you were here, you were alright.

- “What did I miss birdbrain?”

-He launched himself at you bringing you flush to his chest as he silently cried.

-He let a few I love yous slip past his lips before you both entered the privacy of his hospital room.

-Neither of you spoke for a long time.

-You just held each other as tightly as your stitches would allow before letting all the tears fall.

- “I’m here, we’re alright.”

Dabi

-You had been sent out on a mission on your own.

-Dabi had tried to convince Shiggy to let him go with you but he refused.

- “I’m not sending you on this one with her. She is the best suited for this job and I’m not letting you mess it up just for your fuck buddy.”

-Shiggy really knows how to push Dabis’ buttons and if you ask me Dabi makes it easy at times.

-They were a pain in the ass.

-I mean you are going out on a mission let a girl get prepared in peace.

-Before they could set each other on fire and then dissolve into dust you dragged Dabi away telling Shiggy that you would be going soon.

- “Really Dabi at times I doubt if you trust me at all.”

- “It’s not that I don’t trust you dumbass. I just dontwantyoutogethurt.”

-Legit you didn’t hear anything he said but you had an inkling.

- “Oh what was that?”

- “I’m not saying it again.”

- “Here I am going out on a dangerous mission and you won’t even grant me one wish...how cruel.”

-He ended up saying it again but really really begrudgingly.

- “I’ll be back before you know it, okay?”

-You kissed his nose then his lips and let out a small I love you before heading down to the bar and getting the last info from Kurogiri.

-Now Dabi likes to see himself as a very heartless and stone cold individual.

-But you always were the exception to his behaviors so he couldn’t help but admit that he was worried.

-The mission was supposed to take three days plus one for you to return.

-It was still day two and he was ready to pull his hair out.

-But he promised you that he wouldn’t go out to search for you unless you have been gone for a week or more.

-So he just waited in agony.

-The moment though that you weren’t back in a week as you said you would be he went into a silent panic.

-He wanted to be nonchalant about it at first, just casually bringing up your whereabouts in convos with the league or asking Kurogiri of any mission reports from your end.

-Always came up with nothing.

-They had lost track of you two days ago and your last contact was yesterday.

-Now he was sure going to come after you.

-And no one could stop him.

-He knew you were strong and that you could handle yourself better than anyone in the league but he couldn’t stop himself from going after you.

-He had learned from Shiggy that the group you had targeted had a soft spot for torture if they caught someone in their territory.

-His mind of course went first to the worst case scenario, his pessimistc nature getting the better of him as flashes of you hurt on the floor of some basement ran throough his head.

-It didn’t take him long to reach your randevouz spot, mainly bc he was driving around Tokyo like a maniac.

-He entered the small house that was marked as you target and the first thing he was met with was blood.

-It was on the walls and on the floor and he couldn’t tell if this was yours or it was someone elses.

-Then he heard suffling from a closet nearby.

-It was a low scratching noise coming from the closet in the far back.

-He slowly approached it, his left arm letting small blue flames lick his fingertips as he opened the door.

-And then his heart dropped.

-Tumbling out of the closets’ interior was you, bloddied and bruised your arms barely keeping you propped up as you landed on the floor.

-He didn’t miss a beat.

-He scooped you up, moving stray hairs from your eyes as you barely kept them open.

-Your lip was split and you had a huge bruise right under your left eye.

- “Hey there baby.”

- “What the fuck happened Y/N?”

-You cringed as he moved his arms under your back, the pain being too much even for you.

- “They were waiting for me. I sent a message to Shiggy saying that I was coming back but he insisted I finish this. I managed to kill the leader but some of his rookies got to me.”

-He didn’t take you to the hideout.

-Oh no.

-If he had done that then there would be no Shiggy to lead them and there would’ve been a large fire in that area.

-He rented a room in a nearby motel.

-He let you rest while he went out and got you some disinfectants and bandages.

-Really when he was cleaning you up, if his tear ducts worked properly he would’ve cried.

-You woke up at some point while he was finishing up and you could feel his trembling and his silent sobs.

-You wrapped him in a hug, squeezing him as much as you could as you let your tears wet his t-shirt.

-His hands went up and down your sides and back, pulling you into his lap as he buried his face in the crook of your neck.

- “I’m alright, see? That’s my heart beat.”

-You placed one of his palms over your heart in hopes that the subtle thud would calm him down.

-He really loves you and he won’t let anything happen to you ever again.

-Even if it kills him.

TAG TEAM AY:

@iwaqchan @the-arcana-fan-fic @angelwritings @axerrri @reinyrei @dnarez @bemorefiction

986 notes · View notes

dandelionflower · 3 years

Text

Can you keep a secret?

Chapter 1: Permanent Holders

(That au I was talking about a while ago)

Ladybug huffed a breath from her nose before throwing her yo-yo at the little box in the akuma's hand. It made contact with her wrist, and the box went flying right into awaiting claws of her partner. He shot her a wink and prepared his other hand.

"Cata-" He was cut off as a flying trash can slammed into him. The box clattered to the ground just a few feet away from the akuma.

In the split second when both Chat Noir and the akuma lunged for the box, Ladybug slung her yo-yo at the akuma, holding them tight with their arms at their sides.

"Carapace! I told you to cover Chat Noir!" She glanced over her shoulder as she shouted, catching the sheepish glance of the turtle hero, who had his shield in front of Rena Rouge, who was keeping the akuma's puzzle creature at bay.

"Sorry, dudette." He leapt in front of Chat Noir just as the akuma broke through her hold in a burst of strength. "Shelter!" The green dome surrounded the akuma and Ladybug felt some tension leave her shoulders.

"Cataclysm!" The box shattered at Chat Noir's hands, revealing the butterfly and feather hiding within. They began their escape, dancing around one another and rising to the clouds.

"Oh, no you don't." Ladybug allowed herself a fond smile at the two dangerous forms. This part was always the easiest; catch the akuma and fix everything. It was almost childlike, chasing a butterfly all over town. A corrupted butterfly controlled by a mad man. She sighed again and opened her yo-yo. "Time to de-evilize." She caught the two in one swoop, and released them both with a tap to the central spot on her weapon.

With that out of the way, she moved to the door. It had a large red and black pole keeping the doors from opening. With an experimental spin, she tossed the charm into the air with a "miraculous ladybug!"

"Nice work team!" Chat Noir smiled and held out his fist, now unaffected by the trash can that could have broken his hip.

"Yeah!" Carapace and Rena Rouge joined with gusto; Ladybug did too after a second. Her partner was safe, she was safe, Paris was safe.

As they pulled away, Chat grabbed Carapace's fist. "Carapace. You did great, but you need to listen to Ladybug the first time."

"I don't see the problem." Rena straightened, eyes flaming with that same light she used when she protected Marinette from Chloe. "He did fine; we won!"

"That's the problem. We won this time. If you don't follow the plan the first time, there might not be a next time." She glanced at Chat Noir. This was her last chance before everything changed.

She and Chat Noir had talked about their two apprentices for some time over patrol. She released her frustration and anxieties over how little the two listened to her and treated akuma battles like a game instead, and Chat Noir suggested making them permanent holders.

"Think about it. If they have the miraculous with them all the time, it'll stop being so novel, and they'll start taking it seriously. Just like you and me!" He gave her a mischievous glance. "Or have you forgotten how lax I used to be?

She giggled at the thought. "How could I ever forget, Mr. Why not flirt as I'm bleeding out?"

He winced, and placed a hand to his chest. "You wound me, my lady! I am a changed man, falling in love has made me better!"

"Right. Remember to thank your girlfriend for me."

Today was the first day since their conversation that they had managed to bring out both Carapace and Rena Rouge for battle. They had agreed that making them permanent holders would be beneficial; especially since Ladybug wouldn't need to ditch battles to grab an extra miraculous.

"But regardless, after you detransform, you don't need to give me you miraculous anymore. I'm letting you keep it."

"Really?" Rena bounced on her toes and clutched her necklace. "I get to be like you two? Does this mean I'll meet the guardian? Or know your identities? Or-"

"Babe, calm down." Carapace placed a hand on her shoulder with his trademark easy smile, but his eyes mirrored his girlfriend's excitement.

"This is on a trial period only." Ladybug emphasized. "Every night, your kwamis will visit either me, Chat Noir, or the guardian and report on your behavior outside the mask, your treatment of them, and your usage of the miraculous. You will not follow them, and if we decide after your probationary period that you aren't fit to be a permanent holder, you will return the miraculous. No questions asked. Likewise, if we decide to keep you as a permanent holder, you'll need to keep up the good behavior. Your kwamis can fill us in at any time."

Rena and Carapace nodded mutely.

Her miraculous beeped. "One more thing before I go; no using your miraculous or kwamis for personal gain. No exceptions."

With that, she nodded at Chat Noir and left through the window, swinging from building to building with a tense feeling in her gut. She landed on her bed just as she detransformed, Tikki spiralling out of the earrings and into her hands.

"Tikki, do you think I did the right thing? Making Nino and Alya permanent heroes?" Marinette opened her bag, startling for a moment at the feather and butterfly that flew out; in her haste to tell Nino and Alya about their new designation, she had forgotten to release the akuma and amok. She batted them away and grabbed Tikki's recharge cookie with her other hand.

"I think you made a good decision, Marinette." Tikki mumbled behind enormous bites. "It's rare for a ladybug and cat to be out without a team behind them. This will be a big help for all of you; in my experience, Chat Noir is right about being a permanent holder making a person mature."

"Yeah, I feel a lot more confident as Ladybug now; more like Ladybug and less like a little kid in a costume."

"So let some of that confidence go into your Marinette life too!" Cookie gone, energy returned, Tikki flew around Marinette's head in a show of support. "Take a chance!"

"On what?"

"Anything! We have the whole weekend to decide! You could even start up the online store you were thinking about!" She hovered over the computer for a moment.

Marinette glanced at it. She had a draft of the website prepared; all of the designs and commission information she wanted to be on there were ready to go. She just needed the guts to finish and submit it.

"Okay."

"Okay!" Tikki squealed and hit the enter key.

MDC designs was now in business.

"Do you think I should put my name on it after all, Tikki? So that people know who they're ordering from?"

"Probably. Also, since you've designed for famous people before, your name already has a reputation."

"Yeah..." She moved her mouse to the 'edit' button.

"Marinette!" Her father shouted from the living room. "Ms. Chamack is here with Manon!"

Right, she'd promised Nadia that she'd look after Manon while she interviewed potential interns this weekend.

"Be right down!" Tikki flew into her bag and Marinette grabbed the little box of extra dolls she'd made for Manon. Changing her website and worrying about Nino and Alya could wait.

#felinette #marinette dupain cheng #ml marinette #ml ladybug #ml chat noir #ml adrien #ml alya #alya cesaire #ml nino #nino lahiffe #adrien agreste

122 notes · View notes

writing-in-april · 4 years

Text

The 5 Stages of Grief

Stage Two: Anger (2/5)

Spencer Reid x Gender Neutral Reader (Spencer POV)

Summary: Spencer going through each of the stages of grief after the death of the reader. Stage two is anger.

A/N: Thank you for all the love this series has gotten just after posting the first part!! I know angst isn’t for everyone— and neither is seeing Spencer in pain but thank you to all the people who read it 🥰 Again there’s a lot of rhetorical questions in this chapter- plus a lot of repition in Spencer’s thoughts. and, again each chapter gets progressively longer (cause each stage lasts a longer period of time) I did want to clarify that the only thing in this series that’s really going to give away what season it’s in is the people that are on the team. Requests are open and thanks for reading!

Warnings ⚠️ (if you want full warnings for the series check the Masterlist): Unnecessary agression against Spencer’s co-workers, Spencer attacking an unsub, Talk of death, Blood, Talk of guns, Unreliable narrator

Main Masterlist | 5 Stages of Grief Masterlist

Word count: 1.6k

The water that I had been submerged under immediately following the denial slipping away was slowly being replaced with a fire that burned hot. As I was being brought back to the police station in one of the bureau supplied SUVs nothing else was on my mind except the scorching anger that flickered inside me. I was inflamed with rage, so much so that I didn’t care to respond to Morgan’s soothing words to me. The words did nothing to douse the flames flaring to life within me, it just made me wish I did shut him up back at the crime scene. I should regret that I almost injured part of my own team earlier when I was blinded by denial, but the roaring inferno that consumed me was forcing me to focus only on the man that dared to pull the trigger.

“Shut up!” I snapped hotly at Morgan. In response he gave me a wounded look, I could care less about his feelings right now, he didn’t have his significant other murdered right in front of him. That at least got him to be quiet for a moment, which allowed me to let a few hot tears slip down my cheeks. They were tears of frustration and anger, they might as well have been gasoline poured on me acting as a propellant for my hostile feelings.

What further fueled the fire that burned hot inside me was the fact that they would never fulfill the dreams they had for their life. There was also a small part of me that was selfish, the fact that I would never be able to experience those dreams with them, it only served as another accelerant for the fire within me.

They deserved a better way to go, they deserved not to be shot in the back alley behind a gas station. They deserved to die surrounded by loved ones after living a long full life, with me right beside them.

When we pulled up in front of the station I quickly shot out of the vehicle, almost forgetting to even unbuckle my seatbelt. Morgan swiftly followed behind me trying to catch up with my long belligerent strides.

“Wait kid!” He grabbed my arm that was still covered in their blood, cardigan had been soaked enough to even bleed through to my button up. My once pristine purple cardigan was stained blood red, I would never wear this again. As soon as I got the chance I would burn it, even if it was gifted to me by them.

“Don’t call me kid.” My statement was laced with a deadly tone, I didn’t want his help nor did I need his pity. I yanked my arm out of his grip, then storming up the steps and barging into the station. The police officers all looked at me with varying looks of sadness that made me want to wipe their expression off their face. They had no right to be sad. They didn’t even know them.

I paced by the evidence board waiting for any news, not caring that I was still stuck in my bloodied clothes. Most of the team had left to go follow a lead a while ago leaving me with Emily. At least she didn’t feel the need to speak to me. She knew there was nothing she could say or do to make this situation better.

“Spencer, can you come with me?” JJ asked me gently. I perked up instantly at those words, hoping that they had at least been able to track down some sort of information. At least then maybe my fire would be partially quelled.

My breath hitched when I saw what JJ had led me to see. There he was sitting at the interrogation table, the only thing separating us was the one way glass. There was no doubt in my mind, it was him.

JJ then looked at Hotch and Rossi with a saddened expression before joining Morgan in the room where the unsub was shackled to the table. They started the interrogation of what they were all probably saying was the ‘suspect’, but I knew him to be the perpetrator.

“Where did you find him?” The volume of my voice was soft when I spoke, though my words still had an edge of fury to it.

“He was found a mile away from the scene by some of the officers on patrol, with a gun of the same caliber that- Anyway, we are just waiting for ballistics to confirm.” Rossi was gentle as he explained the situation to me. My mind wandered again instead of fully listening to the reason this man was apprehended. Where was everyone’s rage? Why wasn’t anyone angry? The sadness everyone permeated right now, did nothing to help bring this man to justice. Justice was needed. Real action was needed. Vengeance was needed.

“It’s definitely him.” I wasn’t paying attention to the man’s recount or his alibi that I had no doubt was fake. It didn’t matter to me, there was no doubt in my mind that he was guilty.

“Are you sure?” Hotch finally spoke up with a tone of authority, seemingly unaffected by the events of today. “You never said if you got a good look at him or not.”

My face hardened into stone at Hotch’s question. Was he trying to make me more mad? Was he trying to goad me into retaliation? Did he even care about them? Did he even care that one of his co-workers had been murdered? Or was he really as stone cold as everyone made him out to be? Maybe Haley’s murder had really made him void of all emotion. I couldn’t do that. I needed to be angry, I needed it to fuel me into bringing this man to justice. Maybe it wouldn’t be the most legal form of justice, but I would make sure he’d see it, whether it was by my fist or the courts.

“It’s him.” I said with even more conviction, almost on the edge of yelling at the two of them. I turned around to face my two bosses, a dark expression taking over my face as I did. I wish they would just let me in the room.

Rossi’s face was full of pity and through learning to read Hotch’s micro expressions throughout the years I could tell he was trying to express his sympathy, though it felt hollow. The pity and sympathy only served to make the rage inside me more volatile, which I didn’t think was possible. I didn’t care that Hotch had experienced the same pain I was feeling and I didn’t care that Rossi truly had cared about the both of us. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to make me not want to burst through the door of the interrogation room and beat the man to a pulp.

My vision clouded over so I only saw red, I had been consumed by the fire within me. I was like an uncontrollable wildfire now, nothing would stop me. Nothing would stop me from reaching the source of my wrath.

————

My hands were bruised and bloodied, almost like I had punched my fists into glass repeatedly. The blood was seeping through the bandages, someone must have patched me up. But, who? I didn’t even know where I was right now or even how I had gotten these bruises.

Scanning my surroundings I realized I was sitting at the round table in my usual spot, my memory then started coming back to me. I remember JJ pulling me off the unsub after I barged into the interrogation room and had landed a few blows. In my fury of being pulled away from the source of my fire I punched through the mirror in the bathroom I had been dragged into. I remember the wounds on my hands being carefully cleaned by Emily with a softness that I didn’t see often from her. And, I remember being taken home on the jet accompanied by half of the team, the other half had stayed behind to wrap up the case. It scared me that I could barely recall the memories without a haze of fuzziness. I must have been so wrought with fiery emotion and exhaustion that everything around me had started to slip away as unimportant. The team must have brought me in here, they probably wanted to keep an eye on me and knew I wouldn’t want to go back to our apartment. Well, I guess it was just my apartment now. Yeah, the team was right to leave me here. If I even caught a glimpse of their belongings I was sure the rage would take over again.

My eyes immediately shifted over to the chair next to me that would usually be occupied by them. Tears once again filled my eyes, I had cried so much in the past few hours- or was it days? I had cried so much that I wasn’t sure how it was possible. My eyes felt raw, my nose felt raw, my skin felt raw, really my whole being felt raw from the abuse it had seen throughout this whole ordeal. I just wanted this to be over. I just wanted them back.

The fire hadn’t fully gone from me, and I wasn’t sure that it ever would. It flickered inside me, trying to force me into enacting vengeance on the man that had extinguished the person I cared about the most. But, the overwhelming feeling of desperation to see the person who mattered to me most had taken over to partially snuff out the flames into embers. I’d do whatever it takes, I just wanted them back.

—

All works:

@shotarosleftpinky @oreogutz

Spencer Reid/CM:

@calm-and-doctor @destiny-tsukino @safertokiss

5 stages of grief:

@joonie-centric @tatesimper @half-blood-dork @mcntsee @illuxions-x @rainsong01 @nomajdetective @loveheathens

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid angst #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds series #matthew gray gubler #matthew gray gubler x reader #5 stages of grief series #5 stages of grief

136 notes · View notes

gummy-dummy · 3 years

Text

Hi everyone! This is my first fic on Tumblr, it's just here, for now, I'm excited and kinda nervous too, my native language it's Spanish and I'm trying to be better at English so sorry for the grammars mistakes, I hope you like it, dear reader.

Warnings: Probably bad grammar or mistakes, swearing, mention of knives, mentions of death, kinda cute, kinda soft, confused Dabi, he doesn't know but he a softie.

It was pretty late when Shoto and I started doing our night patrol, it had been 3 months since we graduated from the UA in the hero course, the first 4 of the class were invited to work at Endeavor’s agency, Deku, Dynamight, Shoto and me, Artemis. We were the new pro-heroes with the biggest expectation from the public.

Endeavor wasn't the best at talking but I trust him, also thanks to him I don't have to worry about rent, the agency offered departments near the agency, and the rooms in the agency’s building were comfortable enough, usually, the new group was Split into two for patrol, Deku always had to go with Dynamght, he was the only one who can keep up with Bakugo’s shit, Shoto and me, we already were pretty Good Friends, I even can say we are each other’s confidant, it was a pretty nice night shift together, the absence of noise and people (and Bakugo’s shit), made it go smoothly as always. We are used to talking about everything, in the streets we could say anything, and no one more than us knew what secrets lay between us. There were secrets that Shoto didn’t want his father to know, not that he cares, but just to protect the people that he loved.

The current number one hero thought that the friendship we share will eventually become a love story, but oh boy, little did he know. Shoto had romantic feelings for another hero, I am pretty much the only person that Shoto has physical contact with, hugs and rest on each other shoulders, that's why his dad thinks of us that way. I don’t have family near where we are but the Todoroki family accepted me as one of their own since Endeavor thinks that I and Shoto are together we had to explain to Shoto’s siblings and Mom that he was in love with someone else, they didn’t care at all.

Suddenly the cold wind of the night started to get weird, making the residual trash of the city blow roll in the air, we both started to run there to know what was happening, at the moment we got close enough a black and purple substance started emerging from nowhere, it was a warp, the kind that the League of Villains has Access to, Shigaraki Tomura came out first, being followed by the tall, half-burned popcorn (as Shoto and I like to call him) Dabi, Toga right behind them with other 3 members.

I summoned my light arrows on my bow, I shoot an arrow at the leader and the tall man with black hair just disintegrates it with his blue fire. Like it was nothing.‘What are you doing here?’ Shoto asked the team of villains, Shigaraki just started to laugh ‘We came to get some groceries, what the fuck he is trying to do? Distract us?

I just rolled my eyes and said ‘Yeah well, here, you have something to add to your list I quickly prepared my bow with a new arrow, this time a stronger one, that can’t be destroyed so easily. The amount of power that this one has, with the purple hue and the energy that makes everything feel like an earthquake made the leader of the team look at it with fear in his eyes, Dabi tried to take it with his fire, but nothing happened, the arrow just started to follow all of Shigaraki’s moves, so again the man in front of him tried to catch it with his bare hands, oh what an error was that. The indentation that my arrow left on his right hand wouldn’t heal properly at all, not till I gave the order to my arrow to disappear in the wind.

Dabi just looks at me, while the others started to attack us he just stayed on the side, watching every move I make, (with) Shoto work pretty well with each other, we know our quirks and how to enhance each other's quirks.

There was a lady that appears to be new into the league, I never saw her before, she started to shoot mini grenades from her hand, making me jump to the side to avoid it, one laid between my feet, I didn't notice it until it hit me if that thing blows I die.

I'm going to die here.

The last thing I heard was a scream, Shoto screaming my real name, and then... darkness.

The next thing I know is that I'm in a completely white room, very small, I'm chained to one of the sides of a small bed, being forced to stay seated on the cold floor, if I am in one of the League facilities why they want me here? the murder of a new pro-hero would be an accomplishment by the league, why don't make it while I sleep? it would be something to make all the world feel unsafe, make all the heroes feel in danger. I hear the noise of the door opening, someone calls my name.

Dabi, that jerk, wait he was the one that saved me, at the moment the grenade exploded he just took my arm and yanked me out of the way, and took me in the warp with him.

"Hey Hawkeye!", he looked different than the night of the attack, just with his t-shirt and trousers, not his usual jacket, he looks more laid back than when fighting. He started to look preoccupied while I think how to escape, I'm not responding to him.

"Shit, no, did they do something while I was gone? Hey look at me, can you hear me? oh, these little shits are going to pay, I told them not to touch you" I just roll my eyes and say "What the fuck do you want from me you extra crispy fried ass?" he just stares at me confused for a couple of seconds and says "I'm not- Hey don't talk to me like that I'm your savior, remember? maybe I would let them do things to you, maybe I could take this food and let you starve".

He has a plate in a hand and glass with what appears to be fruit juice on the other. "Why would you feed me? do you know that keeps me alive, right? why didn't you kill me already?" I'm really confused, isn't better to kill someone while they're asleep, or this mother fucker want's to torture me. "That's because I don't want to kill you, dummy hero". Then why did he bring me here? what is the league planning to do to me? so I ask what the league wants from me.

"What makes you think there's a plan behind this?"

"Why else would a fucking villain kidnap a pro-hero if not to use them for something?"

"Well, there's nothing behind this, no one knows why I have you here actually I don't even know why I did it, but you were going to die and I just acted"- oh he should let me die, I'm gonna kick his pretty face when I get the chance.

"What do you want? you know it was going to be easier to kill me while I was unconscious, right?"

"Why do you keep telling me to kill you?"

"This is why"- there's a thing that not a lot of people know about my quirk, the bow, and the arrows are just a form I use it to be more precise, that doesn't mean that's the only thing it does.

With my both hands tied I conjured a little of my energy to make a knife to set me free, I break the cloth that keeps me hand-tied to the bed, throwing a punch at his face, he doesn't move I'm trying to get Dabi down but he is just there, he is not moving or trying to attack me at all, looking at me with sadness in his eyes.

"Hey what the fuck, why don't you attack me? aren't you afraid that I'm going to beat your ass?"- He looks like he is in pain but doesn't fight back.

"I know you could," he says with a sad smirk, what's happening here? by a couple of times, I saw him before he never acted this way.

"Can you please just calm down, let me talk, and I'll let you go if you want"

I intertwined my eyes with him, a beautiful blue, exactly the color of his flames, I don't know why, but I want to hear what he has to say, he looks so sad, but also a little surprised when I sit at the small bed. It looks like he never thought I actually would hear his reasons.

He kicks gently the plate with the food by the side and sits on the little makeshift bed, the bed is so small that we can't avoid our knees touching, he doesn't try to tie my hands again, I could conjure a big weapon, maybe just a simple bat and then scape, I know I can win, so why am I anxious to hear him? he looks at me a couple of seconds, lets out a loud breath, and starts talking.

"Well, when you attacked me, I caught one of your arrows right?" he looks at me and I nodded "Look" he shows me his left hand, inviting me to take his hand on mine.

It's rough, more than calloused, the years of him using his quirk took a lot out of his hands, they were burned, when I touched him I thought it would hurt, but he just opened his eyes a little more in surprise and looked at me again.

"Ok you have your hands burned, what about it? it's your quirk right?" he lets out a little smile that if I wasn't looking at him this close probably would have missed it. "Yeah they're burned, I don't have feeling on them, even if I take something with force or catch anything, can't feel it."

I'm starting to understand what's happening here, but I want him to tell me anyways "Yesterday, when you shot your arrow when I caught it I-"why does he look so nervous? "I felt it, I felt the pain of the arrow, and I felt you, well, your quirk, whatever it is, I just felt your touch"

What I am supposed to say about that?- "I'm sorry?" I say confused "No no it's okay I just want to know how you did it" I don't know why I have the desire to touch him again, I need to help him, he is a villain, a cute one if I say so myself but a villain nonetheless. A villain very dangerous that just wants the world to burn, but look so lost, with the same face you see on a lost child on a Mall

"I don't know, my quirk it's just based on energy, I don't know where it comes from, It just appears when I want to and takes the form I need, I used to lost control over it a lot," I say while moving my fingers letting the violet ribbons go around my hand "Now I can control it using it as weapons, the one that makes me feel more comfortable is the bow and arrow, that way I can control it a little more, but I pretty much can conjure anything" He nodded and looks at my hand.

I show him again, letting a little ball of my energy dance between my fingers and let it go, I made it stay in one of his hands, he started playing with it, like a child with a new toy that was waiting to get for Christmas day, a smile started to appear on his face, not a cruel one, that he usually used, this one was of happiness, he looks handsome, the scars on his face makes him feel unique. I'm not sure what I'm doing till I come back to my senses, I'm catching his face between my hands, he just looks at me surprised.

I run my thumbs right below his eyes, he leans into the touch and closes his blue eyes.

"You know that I can attack you now and escape right?" "I know, but you don't want to do that, I am right?"

He is, he is sure about it and I am too, but why? he probably has me here to lend information about heroes, but he isn't asking anything about it.

"No, I don't want to, why? did you get me drugged or something?" I say smiling at him for the first time "No, Toga tried to get a little bit of your blood but every time she wanted to get a needle into your skin, a purple energy, your energy, surrounded you, Shigaraki wanted to use real knives but I- I didn't let them hurt you, I didn't want them to hurt you".

And to end: this is the first chapter, it's gonna be probably 2 o 3 chapters, I'll probably add some warnings if needed.

Love

Gummy.

#boku no hero headcanons #boku no hero fanfic #boku no hero academia #mha x y/n #bnha dabi #dabi x y/n #dabi x you #dabi fluff #dabi my hero academia #dabi x reader #gummythoughts

17 notes · View notes

gobletofweasleys · 5 years

Text

Not Really Mine

Summary: Draco Malfoy asks for unconventional help. You agree. (Fake Dating AU)

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x reader

Word Count: 2,602

Requested by: @agentpegcxrter : Hi!!! Could I request a Draco fic with fake dating au? Thanks! If you can’t there’s no problem! ✨🥰

You shouldn't have been surprised.

You watched Malfoy where he sat beside you, rigid in posture and eyes trained on the common room fire. The flames danced around the space, making shadows flicker across his skin. You were biting your lip in thought as you pondered what he'd said.

"And this will get your parents off your back?"

He nodded slowly, fidgeting in his place. This entire conversation had been laced with discomfort the moment it had started. You and Malfoy were mere acquaintances. Sure, you both hailed from strong, long standing pureblood Slytherin families, had been in the same school for five years, saw each other often at lavish dinner parties, but you wouldn't consider him a friend.

"You could ask Pansy Parkinson." You finally voiced what had been bothering you the most in this entire situation. Why you?

Malfoy pursed his lips and made a face. "No, she gets annoying after a while. Can't stand to be around her all the time."

You whistled lowly, tutting. "That's going to break her heart. She really fancies you."

"That's the whole problem."

You looked at him again, waiting for him to elaborate.

"If this fake dating thing is going to work, we have to complicate it as little as possible. You barely know me, so no chance of feelings or second thoughts to our agreement."

You stared at him. "Wow, you've really thought this through, haven't you?"

He finally looked at you, grey eyes meeting your own in the dim light of the fire. He shrugged.

When Malfoy had asked to talk to you in private, him asking you to be his fake girlfriend was the last thing you had expected him to say to you. It had taken a while to let the thought even sink in, and you had asked him to give you time. Now here you were, two days later, seriously considering going along with his plan.

He was doing it because he somehow thought dating someone from a very prominent Slytherin family would win his parents' approval, and you…. you hadn't yet decided what you would do.

"I don't know about this, Malfoy." Your tone hinted hesitation. "What if someone finds out we're faking it? And how long exactly do we have to keep this up?"

Malfoy sighed and leaned back into the couch, his lean frame almost disappearing into the soft cushions.

"We'll just have to make it convincing then, don't we?" He replied. "I was kind of hoping we'd figure it out as we went…"

You sighed and rolled your eyes, thinking about your own parents. Oh, they would be over the moon when they heard about this. You dating Lucius Malfoy's only son? It was too good to be true in their eyes.

Oh, the looks on their faces….

"Okay." You heard yourself say, making Malfoy's head jerk towards you. "Let's do it."

"R-really?" His eyes were wide as he sat up again. It was almost as if he was prepared for rejection. "That's- okay. Yeah, let's do it."

You didn't know what you actually expected from this whole fake dating thing, but it turned out to be ten times more enjoyable than you thought. For one thing, your housemates already thought you and Malfoy had conquered the sun or something. But both of you as a couple? Slytherins starting worshipping you.

Malfoy had been right, his parents and yours were both pleasantly shocked, your Mother pointing out in a letter how you'd never mentioned an interest for the boy. You replied with a fantastically romantic story about your realization of feelings. Of course it was all a load of crap, but she didn't have to know that.

You didn't have to do much. Hold hands with him while you walked to classes, sit next to him in the Great Hall, cheer him on during, before and after Quidditch matches. To your surprise, it turned out to be quite fun when he'd return all your gestures with some of his own. Like carrying your books to class, or loudly talking about what a wonderful person you were. Once or twice, he'd even gone as far as laying a little kiss on the back of your hand when it was intertwined with his. And to your surprise, you didn't hate it.

You should've known you'd fall for him. It was almost too cliché.

Having to glue yourself twenty four seven to Draco's side meant you'd spend most of your day talking with him. It came to a point where you'd randomly talk about anything and everything. One night, after a night of patrolling as Prefects, you both somehow ended up sitting at the top of the North Tower, talking about astronomy and pointing out the constellations.

"And you see that one?" You leaned closer to him to follow his finger properly as he traced a constellation. "That's Cassiopeia. In Greek mythology, she was a vain queen who often boasted about her beauty. She was actually forced to the sky as punishment. Apparently, she boasted that her beauty was greater than that of the sea nymphs, and she was banned to the sky for all to gawk at."

"Wow." You mumbled, turning your head to look at him again. Your position put you in very close proximity to him, his face shone even paler than usual under the silver sheen of the moonlight, and you felt your own face burn at the intimacy of the situation. "How do you know so much about this?"

He shrugged a bit, lowering his hand. "I spend a lot of time up here. Had to find something to do. It's actually pretty fun."

You watched the little twinkle in his stormy eyes, the porcelain skin lit beautifully under the moon, his hair almost silver. Involuntarily, a smile twitched on your lips.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

He turned his head to look at you then, giving you a small smile, face inches from yours. You swallowed and looked away, willing your racing heart to calm down. You had to chastise yourself again at your childish antics. The whole point of Draco asking you to fake date him was that you had no romantic feelings for him. You were breaking the basis of your pact with him. You cleared your throat and stood up.

"I should go. This uh, this is your time. I'm intruding." You moved to walk towards the trap door leading you back to the main castle. He grabbed your wrist though, frowning at you.

"I don't mind you being here." He replied. "I quite like the company, in fact."

You hesitated, not knowing what else to say. So when he gave your arm another soft tug, you just lowered yourself to the ground again. The rest of the night was spent peacefully stargazing and hearing Draco talk about the moon.

………………

Things only got worse. Or better. Depended on how you looked at it.

The longer you spent with Draco, the more you realized that he was less of a pompous ass and more just a boy with a slight temper and an irrational streak. As his personality in your mind became more and more fleshed out, taking shape of a genuine person, you fell for him more and more. Suddenly, his light touches on your waist or back weren't just something you let happen because you wanted people to believe you were together. It was something you wanted. You would wait for him in the common room every morning so you could walk to classes together, nearly sighing in relief when his fingers would slip into yours. It brought you more comfort than it ever should have. But you pointedly ignored that and tried to enjoy what you had.

Some things were harder to ignore though. Pansy Parkinson had always seemed to get on your nerves before, but now she was an actual nightmare. From the day she'd found out about you and Draco, her voice had become shriller, her remarks about you sharper and more accusing, and her glare more piercing. She'd never had a specific problem with you before, but you'd basically just given her a reason to hate you. Once or twice, Draco had to actually tell her to shut up when one of her remarks about you would go too far.

You hadn't really been bothered by it until recently, since you'd really accepted that you liked Draco.

Like right now. You could practically feel her eyes on your back from her spot on her bed across the dormitory from you. You ignored it, folding your next shirt and placing it back neatly in your drawer. Just when you were about to say something, she spoke up.

"I know you and Draco are not really a thing."

Your hands froze for a second only, before you took a deep breath and started folding again.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

She scoffed at that and you heard the bed creak under her as she shifted. "Come off it, Y/L/N. Draco dating you? You can't possibly expect me to believe that."

You didn't know why her tone held such incredulity, finally turning around to scowl at her.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Why can't Draco date me?"

"I don't really have to explain that do I?," she was smirking, but her tone was as if she was talking to a toddler you couldn't understand. "the thought of you and him is laughable. Draco's mine. You two can't be a thing even if you wanted to."

You didn't know why her words made you so angry. Nothing she said was wrong. In fact, she was absolutely spot on in pointing out your fears. Draco wasn't yours, not really. This was a deal, like a contract, what was going on between you two. And as much as you wanted it to be real, it wasn't. But the mere thought of her declaring that Draco was hers made your blood boil.

Maybe that's why you did what you did the next morning. At exactly 11 o'clock, the entire school was at the Quidditch ground for Hufflepuff vs Slytherin. The team was still on the ground, ready to mount their brooms. Draco's hair flapped in the noisy wind, giving you a smile. It was kind of an obligation, a show for the people, that you be there before the match.

"Wish me luck." He grinned, walking to you and laying an obligatory kiss on your cheek. You knew, even without looking, that Pansy was watching. You didn't know what came over you.

You cupped his face with your hands, pulling him down to lay a kiss on his lips.

He went rigid under your touch, and you gave him no time to even process what was happening before you pulled away.

"Good luck." You whispered, only loud enough for him to hear. His silvery eyes were wide in shock.

You walked right off the grounds.

………………

Slytherin won, of course. Almost half an hour into the match, Draco caught the snitch. You were obviously happy about the victory, but you were more relieved about what the victory meant. That Draco would be surrounded by happy classmates for at least a few hours, giving you time to think of an excuse for why you did what you did.

When the satisfaction of Pansy seeing you two kiss had worn off, the panic had started to set in. What the hell had you done? Kissing was off limits, it was his number one rule. Hand holding? Sure. Hugging and maybe cuddling in front of the common room fire when people were around? Of course. But kissing? Hell no.

You were in your empty dorm room, pacing around and listening as the conversation down in the common room gradually dwindled. Any minute now, Draco would either come find you or send someone to get you. Then he'd ask you why you did what you did. You still had no answer. And then…

Then this whole thing would be over.

You didn't know why the thought hurt you so much. Almost as if it were an actual breakup. But it wasn't. It wasn't. You squeezed your eyes shut and willed yourself to think it wasn't a big deal. But somehow, you could already feel your heart breaking.

By the time late afternoon hit, you had worn yourself out with your nasty thoughts. You sat on your bed, staring out at the water outside your window. Today would be the perfect day to drown yourself if you could manage it.

"You didn't come downstairs."

Your head whipped around at the words, finding the one person you were dreading to see standing in the doorway of your dorm. You gulped and shrugged before standing up, wringing your fingers in nervousness.

"Draco, about what happened, I just wanted to say I'm sorry-"

"Why'd you do it?" He stepped into the room, hands buried deep in his pockets and looking hesitant.

"I-" you sighed, shaking your head. "It was stupid. Pansy said something about how you and me were a joke and could never be together and I just- wanted to shut her up."

"So you kissed me?"

Him saying it made you blush, looking up to see that he'd halted about two feet from you. Looking at him for the first time since morning, you couldn't help but remember the kiss, something you had pointedly not thought of all day. You remembered his lips, soft but slightly chapped. His surprised intake of breath. How you wished you had had more time, so you could properly savor it.

His little laugh broke you out of your thoughts, and you saw he was staring at his feet.

"So that's why you did it." He muttered softly. "I- well, I just thought- never mind."

Your eyes widened and you stepped closer to him. "W-what did you think?"

You already had an inkling that you knew, if the dark blush on Draco's cheeks was anything to go by. His train of thought was so obvious, you would have laughed if the situation weren't so charged with tension.

"Never mind." He repeated, taking a step backwards. But before he could go farther, you closed the distance between you two, your hands behind his neck and your face so close to his that your noses brushed each other's. He froze.

He was the one who closed the gap.

There was something so... intense about the way he kissed you. So desperate. His hands dug into your sides, holding you firmly in place as he deepened the kiss. You didn't hesitate in reciprocating his action, hands burying themselves in his hair, tugging at it slightly. His moan of satisfaction only made you keen as well, his arms now wrapped tightly around you, his body flush against yours.

A tiny gasp made you two break away, still slightly dizzy and disoriented. You turned your head to see Pansy Parkinson in the doorway, mouth open and eyes nearly popping out of her head.

Instead of pulling away, you felt Draco slide a hand under your shirt, making your face burn hot. She apparently saw that too, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"D'you mind?" Draco spoke up in that characteristic sneering voice of his. You nearly laughed as Pansy stumbled back out, slamming the door behind her.

You looked at him with a grin, feeling extremely satisfied with what had just happened.

"Where were we?" He mumbled cheekily before his lips were on yours again.

..................

Draco Malfoy Tags:

@i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy one shot #draco malfoy fluff #draco malfoy angst #fake dating au #draco x reader #harry potter fanfiction

9K notes · View notes

slapshot-to-the-heart · 4 years

Text

Shotgun - m. tkachuk

And here is 8.7k of a road trip with Matthew Tkachuk, which honestly, is the real dream. Let me know what you think of it, reblog (I love looking at tags!!) and pop into my inbox if you’d like!

Wine pairing from someone with zero authority on the subject: a nice brut rosé - crisp, fruity, bubbly. Plus, I like the vibes.

It all started with a text. What are the chances you can get the week after next off? Matthew had sent. Madison’s brow furrowed. Doubtful, but I can try. Are you going to tell me what this is about? There was a week left in the season before playoffs started, and with the points spread in the Pacific being what it was, the matchups were all but locked in. It took less than a minute to get a response. No :) I’ll let you know once you get an answer. She got approved for the time off two days later. Her phone rang as soon as she texted him the news. “How do you feel about road trips?”

---

Maddy had met Matthew about a little over a year prior, soon after she moved to Calgary from her hometown of Toronto. Having finished her first week of work as a computer programmer, there was nothing Madison wanted more than to let loose and enjoy a few drinks with her friends. She was sharing a two-bedroom with her best friend Emily, who Maddy would swear up and down was the sunniest, warmest, most kind person she’d ever met. Not like Maddy wasn’t a nice person — she was — but where her idea of relaxing meant going out bouldering, or camping, or a last-minute road trip, Emily was more of a homebody.

But going out meant going out, and so Emily was happily dragged along to a bar downtown; which one, she couldn’t really say. Madison walked up to the bar as soon as they entered, catching the bartender’s eye and ordering a Tom Collins. She tapped her fingers on the counter as she waited, glancing around the room. It was ten o’clock on a Friday night, so it was plenty packed. “What are you getting?” Madison asked Emily curiously.

She held up her Molson. “I’m a woman of simple tastes. Plus, I didn’t feel like waiting around for the bartender to actually make me a drink,” Emily added dryly.

Maddy rolled her eyes. “What’s the point of going out to a bar when you’re just going to be drinking something you could get at the liquor store?” Emily stuck her tongue out. The bartender slid Maddy’s glass over, taking her card and swiping it through quickly. “Thank you!” she chirped, whipping around to head over and snag a free table she had seen a few minutes before.

She never ended up getting to the table. Instead, she ran straight into 6 feet, 2 inches of pure Midwestern beef. “Woah!” Matthew said, steadying her as she watched her glass fall to the floor, thankfully not breaking but absolutely spilling its entire contents over the wood. “You good?”

Madison nodded, grabbing a rag from the bartender. Matthew followed suit, joining her on the floor. “Got a little on my shoes, but it’ll be fine. They won’t stain.”

Matthew nodded, giving a final wipe before taking her rag and handing both back over the counter. “Did me spilling your drink all over you ruin my chances of getting your name?”

“Madison St. Pierre,” she said, laughing and sticking out a hand for him to shake.

“Matthew Tkachuk, but—”

Maddy cut him off. “I probably already know that?” Matthew ducked his head sheepishly. “I may be a long-suffering Leafs fan, but I don’t live under a rock.”

He took a sip of his beer, leaning up against the bar. “Not from around here, eh?”

Maddy shook her head. “Just moved a couple weeks ago. I’m from Toronto, moved here for a job. I do computer programming,” she said by way of explanation.

“A smart girl.”

She tilted her head. “You could say that.”

“Well,” he said, “I feel bad about spilling your drink on you, let me buy you another.”

Maddy laughed. “If you insist. It’s really the least you could do.”

Matthew nodded at the bartender, ordering her another Tom Collins and putting it on his tab. “You and your friend are more than welcome to join us,” he gestured behind him to where the rest of his group was sitting, “we were playing a drinking game and could use a few more players anyway.”

And that was how Matthew met Maddy.

---

Day 1

Ten days later, Madison was hefting her duffel bag into the trunk of her Nissan. It was 7:00 on a Tuesday. Normally on a day off she’d be taking advantage of every possible minute of sleep she could get, but lines to cross the border could be long and they wanted to get to Montana by lunch. She waved goodbye to Emily, hopping in the driver’s seat and starting the engine. Matthew had initially suggested they just get a rental car, since it would save Maddy the 20-hour drive back. But a quick Google search let them know that the chances of finding a company willing to let them drop off a Canadian car in Nevada were slim to none. Plus, Maddy had always liked driving, so it wasn’t really an issue for her. They weren’t going to be alone on the trip; Matthew had invited Elias and Rasmus along. She felt a little bit like a school bus driver, stopping at Elias’s complex to pick him up, then Rasmus’ condo, finally pulling into the underground lot of Matthew’s apartment building. Holding one hand up in greeting, he wheeled his suitcases over to her car.

Maddy unblocked her seatbelt, hopping out to help him. “Why on earth did you need so many bags?” she huffed, turning one on its side and wedging it in between hers and Elias’s.

He shrugged. “I’ve got a bag for the trip, a bag of actual clothes and workout stuff for the series, and the suit bag.” He hung the offending article on a hook. “Did you think I’d be able to set my vanity aside for a whole four days?”

“I should have known that would be too much to ask.”

Matty threw his head back, laughing. “Anyone ever told you how funny you are, Mads?”

“Once or twice, Ratthew,” she said, slamming the door shut.

Maddy hopped back in the driver’s seat, jamming the key in the ignition and turning the engine on. “Next stop, boys, is America.”

---

Well technically, the next stop was a gas station off of Highway 2, about twenty minutes from the border. “Wait, wait,” Matthew said, a conspiratorial grin on his face as Madison took the pump out of the gas tank.

She raised one eyebrow. “What?”

He made grabby hands at her keys. “Let me drive.”

“Why?” Madison asked. “I’ve been driving for like what, two hours? I’m not tired yet.”

“I’m the only American in the car.”

Maddy put the pump back. “And?”

Matthew looked sheepish. “Someone said that the border patrol officers will tell Americans ‘welcome home’ when they’re coming back. It’s never happened to me flying so I wanted to see if it would be different in a car.”

“If it means that much to you?” she said, tossing the keys over the hood of the car. Matthew caught them. Maddy rounded the back of the car before she could see him ducking his head, blushing.

They arrived at the Piegan/Carway crossing shortly after. With exactly zero cars in front of them, Matthew pulled straight up to the booth.

“Purpose of your visit?” the officer said, looking into the driver’s side.

“Three of us play hockey, we’re road tripping down to Las Vegas before our playoff series starts in a few days,” Matty answered easily.

He nodded. “And how long will you be in the States for?”

It was clear either this man had never watched a series of professional sports in his life, or he was just following a standard script. “Depends?” Matthew said, fully aware of how questionable that sounded.

Maddy piped up from the passenger seat. “I’m driving the car back, so I’ll be back in eight days.”

“Right,” Matthew nodded, “But this trip to the US, we’ll be back in seven days. We’re flying back on the team plane, so it’s not a land crossing.” He decided to forego mentioning that, barring a sweep, they’d be back again in two weeks.

The poor officer looked bewildered. “Team plane?”

Matty shrugged his shoulders. “We play for the Calgary Flames, the team charters a plane to fly us from Calgary to wherever we’re playing and back. We decided to take the scenic route this time.”

“Okay,” he said, but Madison still wasn’t convinced he actually understood what Matty was saying. If the border officer thought anything of the American, Canadian, and Swedish passports he was handed, he didn’t say anything. Giving a cursory glance, he handed them back. “Welcome back,” he nodded to Matthew, waving the car through the gate. Matthew pumped his fist.

---

An hour later, Matthew pulled into a dirt parking lot on the edge of Glacier National Park. “WE MADE IT!” he exclaimed, putting the car in park and throwing his hands up.

“We drove three hours,” Elias said from the back seat.

“And?” Matty challenged, opening the door.

Maddy grabbed her backpack, stuffed with sandwiches and snacks that they had gotten on their way in. “If you guys brought hiking boots or good tennis shoes, now’s the time,” she said, lacing up her own boots. “There’s a loop around here that’s a little under four miles long, doesn’t sound like it’s too difficult but there is some elevation climb, so better safe than sorry.” People typically didn’t peg her for it, but Maddy was a very outdoorsy person at heart. She had taken up rock climbing in high school, and was a regular at the bouldering gyms back in Toronto until she moved. She’d found a climbing gym she liked well enough in Calgary, but with Banff just over an hour away from the city, the park had become her go-to for climbing and hiking. Matty had come with her on more than one occasion, and had surprised her with a long weekend camping for her birthday in March. The snow hadn’t all melted yet, and waking up to the powder-dusted fir trees outside of their tent had been one of the most beautiful sights of her life.

“Everyone’s got a full water bottle?” she asked, tying up her hair. The last thing anyone wanted was to get heatstroke in one of the most remote parts of the park with only one phone that could even connect to an American cell tower.

The group started off at a leisurely pace, wandering off-trail to check out anything and everything that caught their interest. The edge of the St. Mary Valley served as the perfect backdrop for lunch, Maddy pulling the sandwiches out from her bag and doling them out. “Oh thank God, I’m starving,” Elias said, grabbing his food from Maddy practically before she even had it in her hand.

“Did you not have breakfast?” she asked incredulously.

He nodded. “I did, but I’m still hungry. Should have brought snacks.” Off to his side, Matty snickered.

Day 2

Elias had volunteered to take over from Matthew to drive through the night, switching off sometime around sunrise with Rasmus. “I 100% have a crick in my neck,” Maddy grimaced, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and checking her phone.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Matthew smiled. Maddy groaned, leaning into his side. Almost instinctively, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He unscrewed the cap of his water bottle, taking a few gulps before setting it back down on the floor of the car, where it promptly rolled away.

“Who do I have to blow to get a decent cup of coffee around here?” Maddy groaned. Matthew almost choked on his water. He had to get his mind off of the idea of Maddy blowing anything or he was about to have an issue. He pulled out his phone, jumping on Google maps.

“There’s a little coffee shop a few miles ahead, off of the Spruce Drive exit?” he asked tentatively.

She yawned. “As long as they sell caffeine, I’m game.” They did indeed sell caffeine, and after inhaling two cappuchinos and a small mountain of pastries later, Maddy hopped back behind the wheel. “You sure bear claws and muffins are on the meal plan, boys?” she asked, a smile playing on the corner of her lips.

Rasmus waved her off. “It’s not like you’re going to rat us out, are you?”

She shrugged, wiggling her phone in her hand as she pulled up at a stoplight. “Bold of you to assume I don’t have Coach’s number in my phone.”

Matty plucked her phone from her hand, placing it back by the center console. “Be that as it may, sweet Madison, you neglect to remember that I’m the only one with coverage in the U.S.” He might not strike most people as a particularly sentimental person, but Matthew loved his family, and decided that the extra charge was well worth being able to call his parents and sister whenever he was missing them.

She stuck her tongue out at Matthew. “You ruin all of my fun, you know that?” All he did was grin. The drive to Mesa Falls wasn’t long at all, they had just finished their food — Matty popping bites of muffin into Madison’s mouth as she drove — when she pulled over to the curb by the sign. Maddy threw the boys’ backpacks to them, pointing to the single bathroom stall in the tiny rest area. “Go change, I’ll use the car.”

“Why can’t we have the car?” Matthew complained.

She looked at him. “Three full-grown men, all over six feet, in one car. I know you see each other’s dicks all day in the locker room, but I’d really rather not have that in my car. Think.”

Matty made an “o” with his mouth. “Gotcha.”

Swim trunks were much easier to get on than a wrap bikini, Madison was finding, and the boys were finished changing well before she was done figuring out her top. She bit her lip, poking her head out of the door. “Matty?”

He turned around, eyebrows raised. “Yeah?”

“Could you help me tie this?” she asked, gesturing to the halter top. “I think it’s stuck or something.”

Matthew swallowed hard, his eyes widening as he tried to stutter through a sentence. “Uh, yeah. I can do that. For sure,” he said, shuffling over to the car. He gently untwisted the straps, gathering them into a bow at the base of her neck and trying very, very hard to not think about how soft her skin felt underneath his fingers. This was one of his best friends. And best friends weren’t supposed to think about that kind of stuff. Right?

Behind them, Elias and Rasmus shared a glance. They had expected something was going on between them, really ever since the party in November, but this was something new. They had never seen Matthew gone this far for a girl before. And they liked this side of him.

“Thanks,” she said, squeezing his shoulder before disappearing back into the car to throw on a coverup. “How long is the walk to the actual waterfalls?”

“Not long,” Elias responded. “Ten minutes or so?” It was an easy walk to the falls, which were mercifully empty when they got there. They kicked off their sandals, leaving the bags under a nearby bush. Matthew knew Madison was pretty. She wasn’t a nun and he wasn’t a saint; she had seen him shirtless more times than he could count and he had seen her come out of his guest room in nothing but an oversized t-shirt of his after she stayed the night. His thoughts hadn’t exactly been innocent. But as she pulled her t-shirt over her head, leaving her clad only in that damn red bikini, he was convinced he’d never seen a more gorgeous sight.

She turned around just as Matthew tore his eyes away, looking mischievously at him. “Last one in?” They sprinted to the water. Matty let her win.

---

About half of their stops had been planned in advance; the others were pulled from websites or Google suggestions or whatever their waitress’ recommendation was for a local must-see. The Idaho Potato Museum fell into the latter category. Rasmus had floated the idea shortly after they had left Mesa Falls, and seeing as how nobody had anything better to suggest, they ran with it.

“Free taters for out of staters,” Matthew said, reading off of the pamphlet they had been handed at the welcome desk.

“Will they give me extra since I’m Canadian?” Madison wondered aloud. “For all intents and purposes they think you live in Missouri, Matty.” The nickname rolled off her tongue so easily, she didn’t even think twice.

He passed the paper to her, the tips of their fingers barely brushing together, but Matthew could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. “Don’t get greedy, Mads.” They walked down a dimly-lit hallway lined with black-and-white photos.

“Did you know that the first potatoes grown in the United States were planted in Londonderry, New Hampshire, by Scotch-Irish immigrants?” Elias read off of a placard, his voice sounding like a disinterested radio announcer.

Maddy shook her head. “I didn’t, thank you so much for imparting on me this most important knowledge, Elias.”

“My pleasure,” he replied.

“Did you know that you could survive off of a diet of only potatoes and butter?” Rasmus chimed in, reading another sign.

“Really?” Matthew asked, leaning in to read. He turned to Madison a moment later. “Really, apparently.”

Half an hour of wandering later, Matthew and Madison had stumbled into the “artifacts” portion of the museum. “What kind of artifacts does a potato museum have?” Maddy asked, looking supremely confused.

Matthew wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Why don’t we see?” For some reason, he decided it would be a good idea to hold his hand out for her. And for some reason, Maddy took it.

The “artifacts” turned out to consist of some old farm tools, dusty burlap sacks, and the world’s largest potato chip. Elias and Ramsus were on the other side of the museum, leaving Matthew and Madison to drift through alone. “Crisp, actually,” Matthew said, reading the card under the glass case. “Because I guess they’re worried about people stealing it?”

“There’s a difference?”

He shrugged. “Apparently it’s only a chip if it’s a slice of potato. This was made from dehydrated potato flakes, or something like that.” Maddy wasn’t sure if it was the sepia-tinted lighting, or the lingering memory of how Matty’s fingertips burned like fire against her back as he tied her bikini, or if there was something particularly romantic about dehydrated potato flakes, but they were alone in the room and suddenly she was looking at him a little bit differently. Matthew looked at her, gaze soft as his eyes flickered almost imperceptibly down towards her lips. Her lips. His body leaned in, and just as she closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to meet hers, wondering if they were really going to do this in the middle of the Idaho fucking Potato Museum—

“We were wondering where you guys had gone off to!” Elias’s Swedish accent cut through the silence. Matthew threw his head back, silently cursing his teammate’s timing. If Elias and Rasmus realized anything was off, they didn’t say. “The lady at the front said it’s closing in ten minutes, so we thought we should head out and get something to eat.”

Maddy nodded in agreement, her cheeks burning. “Sounds good. I could go for some food.” They made their way back outside, Matthew settling behind the wheel as he steered the car back onto the highway. He tried to shake the almost-kiss from his mind, but the more he tried to forget it, the more the memory stuck.

Elias looked down at his phone. “Yelp says there’s an Indian place coming up on the left if that sounds good to you guys,” he said, shaking Matthew from his thoughts.

Maddy scrunched her nose. “All due respect, I don’t trust this town to make good Indian food. Potatoes, burgers, meat, sure. I buy it. But I haven’t seen a single person of color since we left Glacier.”

“Fair.”

The burgers were good; nothing to write home about, but Maddy was honestly thrilled to eat something that didn’t come out of a bag. The plan had originally been to drive through the night again to reach Salt Lake City by the early morning, but Maddy made it clear her back didn’t take too well to sleeping in the car, and the others agreed. “Rasmus, mind finding a hotel nearby? Doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just somewhere not too far off of the freeway,” Madison asked. He nodded, pulling out his phone. They had gotten tired of passing around Matthew’s phone anytime they were out of Wifi range, so after a little complaining and one of Maddy’s puppy-dog eye looks, he finally relented and turned his hotspot on.

“There’s a Holiday Inn up off of the next exit if that sounds good to you guys,” Rasmus said. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the Post Malone song that Matty had plugged in. They switched the aux every few hours.

“Yeah, works for me.” Madison hummed her agreement; Matty nodded. Rasmus flicked on the blinkers, gently cruising down the offramp, pulling into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn about half a mile down the road.

Madison bit the inside of her cheek. “They’re going to have rooms available, yeah?”

“Mads, it’s May in the middle of nowhere, Idaho. I don’t exactly think they’ve got business lining up out the door.” Matty said, looking at her from the side as they walked into the hotel lobby.

The whole trip was Matthew’s idea, so he insisted on footing the bill, handing his credit card and license over to the receptionist. Maddy snickered behind her hand. Matthew turned back to look at her, one eyebrow raised questioningly. “Something you’d like to share with the class, Madison?”

“Missouri licenses look weird,” she commented.

“And Alberta’s any better?”

She scrunched her nose. “We have a dinosaur on ours. Beat that.”

“I’ll let you have that one,” Matty said, the corner of his lip twitching as he thanked the receptionist, tucking the cards back into his wallet. She handed over the room keys, Matthew passing two to Rasmus and Elias and one to Maddy. “I had us together, if you don’t mind.”

Madison shook her head. “Fine with me.” It wasn’t unusual for her to stay over at Matthew’s apartment, either after going out or when their movie nights ran a little long and she woke up to Matty tucking her into the bed in his guest room. She had a toothbrush in his bathroom, a change of clothes in the dresser. She had offered to take her stuff back a few months ago, not wanting any girl he might bring over to get the wrong idea. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he had said when she asked, waving her off. Though, come to think of it, he hadn’t brought any girl home — that she knew about — since sometime around the beginning of the year.

They waved goodbye to Rasmus and Elias, promising to wake up bright and early to get the first crack at the breakfast buffet when it opened at 7. Matty swiped his card, holding the door open when the light turned green and the knob twisted. “After you, m’lady.”

“Why thank you, good sir,” Maddy giggled, ducking under his arm into the entryway. She stopped at the end of the hall, eyes flickering into the room.

Matthew stopped behind her. “What’s up?”

“There’s only one bed.”

His head jerked around the corner, not like he doubted her word or anything, but he needed to see it for himself. There was only one bed. One big bed, one very comfortable-looking bed, but one bed. Matty dropped his bag on the floor. “Uh...D’you want me to call down? I can see if they’ve got another room if that would make you more comfortable.”

Madison pursed her lips for a second before shaking her head. “No, it’s fine. We’re adults, we can share a bed without burning the house down.” It wasn’t like Maddy was lying for Matthew’s sake; she really was fine with it. Maybe a little too fine. But they had slept together — in the innocent sense of the word — before, and everything had turned out okay. His arm draped over her shoulder as she cuddled into his shoulder on a late night, her legs tangled in his when some of his friends from St. Louis were visiting for the weekend and took the guest room. He had offered to take the couch that night, but Maddy didn’t want to relegate him to a night of back cramps and drafty breezes, especially when he had an early practice the next day. Nobody ever made it weird, so it wasn’t weird.

She took her bundle of clothes into the shower, relishing in the feeling of hot water raining down on her aching muscles. Maddy was loving the trip, genuinely, but being in a car for twelve hours out of the day took something out of a person. Slipping into an old college t-shirt, Madison thought for a moment about putting on a pair of sweats. It wasn’t particularly cold — the opposite, in fact — but she didn’t know if it would make Matthew feel weird if she wasn’t wearing pants. Fuck it, she thought, pulling up her boyshorts. If he had an issue with it, it was his problem. Throwing her hair up in a towel to dry, she turned the doorknob, poking her head out the door. “Shower’s open if you wanted to hop in,” she said.

Matty nodded, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. “I shouldn’t be too long, why don’t you find something for us to watch?” he asked, tossing her the remote. It wasn’t quite nine o’clock, and while she was tired, Maddy knew if she tried to go to sleep she’d wake up well before dawn, and that wasn’t something anyone wanted. Madison climbed up onto the bed, tucking her feet underneath her and grabbed the channel guide. True to his word, Matthew was in and out in under ten minutes, rubbing his hair with a towel as he walked out. Athletic shorts. Shirtless. Maddy couldn’t help but give him the once-over, having to jerk her eyes back up to his face the moment she realized what she was doing. Matthew met her eyes, the ghost of a smirk playing on his face. “I can put a shirt on if you’d like…”

“No! You’re good,” Maddy replied, maybe a little too quickly to avoid suspicion.

He ducked back into the bathroom, throwing the towel over the shower curtain. “So, what did you settle on?”

She looked back at the TV. “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives?”

Matty jumped onto the bed. “Guy Fieri. What a legend. Awesome. Where’s he going?”

Three and a half episodes later, it was almost eleven, and Madison’s eyes were starting to droop. Sometime midway through the second episode, when Guy was visiting an Asian fusion restaurant in Colorado, her head had drifted onto Matthew’s shoulder, where it had stayed ever since. His arm wrapped loosely around her, Matty brought his hand up to brush away a stray piece of hair that had drifted into her face. “Getting sleepy, Mads?”

She yawned, nodding and trying to push herself up. “‘M looking forward to a good night’s sleep in an actual bed.”

Matthew laughed softly. “Let’s get you in bed, then.” He threw back the comforter, Madison crawling under, and reached over to the nightstand, turning off the lamps and TV. “Give me your phone,” he said.

“Why?” Maddy asked, her brow furrowing.

“You always forget to charge it overnight, and I don’t want you to be grumpy when it dies at 10 AM.” She mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like a concession, handing over her iPhone. Matty plugged it in, clambering beneath the sheets. “Sweet dreams, Mads. Good night.”

“Night, Matty.”

Day 3

The first thing Madison noticed when she woke up was the warm, unfamiliar weight slung around her waist. It took her a moment to realize that it was Matty’s arm, who hadn’t woken up yet. For some reason that she couldn’t quite identify, or maybe didn’t want to confront quite yet, it wasn’t unwelcome at all, and she savored the last few minutes of physical closeness before he woke up. And he did, wake up, that is. His cheeks reddened as he opened his eyes, pulling his arm away to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. “Sorry about that,” he said sheepishly.

Maddy ducked her head. “Nothing to be sorry about. I didn’t mind.”

Matthew yawned. “What time is it?”

“Uh, just before seven,” she said, rolling over to look at the alarm clock. “I’d love to stay in bed a little longer, but we did promise the boys we’d meet them down at breakfast soon.”

He nodded, making a very concerted effort to not read into her statements any more than he absolutely had to. “Yeah, good idea,” he said, tossing the covers off and walking into the bathroom. “I’ll sit on you if you’re not up by the time I get back out there.” Maddy took the opportunity to change, threading a belt through her jeans and half-tucking a t-shirt. “I like the look,” he said when he walked out, as Maddy was twisting her hair up into a bun. It wasn’t entirely unusual for Matthew to compliment her; she had accompanied him to more than one charity event for the Flames as his date, but she had always been dressed up. Dress, heels, makeup that she probably stressed way too much over. Dressed to the nines, never in jeans and a t-shirt before. But she didn’t really notice, the compliment meaning just as much to her as if she’d been in a floor-length gown.

“Thanks,” she said, stuffing her clothes from the night before back into her duffel. “I packed the rest of your bag while you were in there, figured I might as well.”

It was Matty’s turn to thank her, squeezing her hand appreciatively before giving the room a quick look. “We didn’t forget anything, then?”

Madison laughed. “We really didn’t stay long enough to unpack, but yeah, we’ve got everything, don’t worry.”

---

Elias had volunteered to do the drive down to Salt Lake City. Matthew’s inner six-year-old had returned, insisting that the group stop at a dinosaur park in a rural part of Utah. What “dinosaur park” meant, Madison wasn’t sure, but it made Matty happy, so she didn’t fight it.

The museum was mostly outdoors, with life-sized dinosaur models dotting the massive field. “Were you much into dinosaurs as a kid?” Matthew asked Madison.

“Kind of?” she replied noncommittally. “I always loved learning about them, but never had like a ‘dinosaur phase’ like David or Cody,” she said, referring to her older brothers. “My family used to go to the Canadian Museum of Nature a ton when I was a kid, since it was only a few hours away in Ottawa, and it has like a billion fossils in it.”

“Which was your favorite?”

“Pachycephalosaurus,” she said easily.

Matthew blinked. “Pachycephalo-what?” he asked in confusion. He thought he knew all of them?

Maddy laughed. “Pachycephalosaurus. They had these really spiny heads. But secretly, I think I was a little bit of a teacher’s pet who just liked saying the name. Pretty sure they were actually native to Alberta?” she added. “What about you?”

“Well, now I’m embarrassed to say.”

“Oh, come on,” Madison said, nudging him with her shoulder. “Promise I won’t make fun of you.”

“Fine, fine,” Matty gave in, “it was the brachiosaurus.”

“How come?” she asked curiously.

“I liked the long necks.”

They spent another hour or so at the park, Matty grabbing a keychain on the way out. “They didn’t have a brachiosaurus,” he muttered, half-angry, picking up a T-rex one instead. It wasn’t a long drive to the actual Great Salt Lake, and for some reason, they had trusted Elias with the aux. Much to Maddy’s chagrin, he didn’t end up playing ABBA, and they were instead led to cruise down I-15 to the dulcet tones of J.S. Bach.

Madison looked down at her phone. “Anyone want to go see the Joseph Smith sphinx?”

“Joseph Smith?” Rasmus questioned.

“Sphinx?” asked Elias.

Matthew laughed. “You know those Egyptian statues of like the cat ladies? Where they have cat bodies but the faces of people?”

“Joseph Smith was the founder of the Mormon church,” Madison explained. “Well, technically it’s called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but—”

“Know-it-all,” Matty said in a sing-song voice. Madison shot a glare at him from the back seat.

“But most people still call them Mormons. And apparently they made him into a sphinx.”

Elias looked at her, still dumbfounded. “But why?”

Maddy shrugged. “Honestly? Beats me.” The weather had dropped too much by the time they had reached the lake to make swimming very practical, so the four of them settled for taking off their shoes, rolling up pants, and wading into the shoreline.

Matthew bent down, picking up a chipped white rock from the ground, the water just lapping at his fingers. He handed it to Madison. “For you.”

She took it gently, running her hands over the jagged surface. “Aren’t you not allowed to take anything from a national park?”

He winked. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” They stopped at a Chipotle just as the sun was beginning to set, Matthew taking over driving duties from Rasmus. The plan was to drive for another two hours or so, stopping somewhere in southern Utah for the night to spare themselves from another night spent in her Nissan.

They drove in silence for a while, Elias and Rasmus drifting to sleep in the back row, before a road sign caught Matty’s eyes and he spoke. “I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, you know,” he said as they continued down I-15.

Maddy looked over at him. “Do you want to go?” She didn’t know where the suggestion came from, but it was out of her mouth before she could take it back, and after a moment, she realized that she didn’t even want to.

His eyebrows raised as he glanced over at her before turning back to the road, the car’s headlights the only thing in sight. “You mean it?”

Madison shrugged. “Yeah, why not?” She quickly popped the directions into her phone. “It’s only a few hours out of the way, if we drive through the night instead of stopping somewhere we should have more than enough time.”

“But didn’t you say sleeping in the car made your back hurt?” Matty asked curiously.

She smiled softly. “I don’t mind, really. I’ll drive. You’re more important.” Honestly, Maddy surprised herself with her boldness. She wasn’t shy by any stretch of the imagination, but it hadn’t escaped her that the dynamic between her and Matthew had changed in the past few weeks and was about to come to a boil. Matty wasn’t exactly the type of guy Madison expected to have a lot of friends who were girls. And a part of her hated that, hated that because of his reputation she automatically assumed when they became friends that all he wanted to do was get in her pants. There had only been one time in their entire year of friendship when they’d even done so much as kissed, and it wasn’t exactly what you’d consider normal circumstances.

---

It was November of the previous year, about six months after Matthew and Madison had met. Matthew had been even more in his head than normal; he hadn’t scored a single point since midway through their East Coast road trip over two weeks ago, and the disappointment was really starting to rag on him. It might not have been something he outwardly showed all that much, but those who knew him knew that Matthew was actually a deeply sensitive person, who took pride in his wins and carried losses with him well after they had faded from the minds of the rest of the hockey world.

When it had gotten to the point where his frustration was starting to affect his game, Maddy knew it was time to do something. “You’re so much more than your stats, Matty,” she had said, calling him right before she left for the Saddledome. “I know you take this personally, and you feel like you’re letting down the team, but that’s bullshit and somewhere deep down, I know you agree.” Matthew grumbled something that might have been an agreement. “Your team trusts you, they trust you with the puck and with the A, and you’re never going to disappoint them as long as you’re giving it your all. And if you’re the Matthew Tkachuk I know, there’s never a time when you don’t. And win or lose tonight, there’s nothing you could do to change the fact that your family loves you, and your friends love you, and I love you too. Okay?” Clearly, something in her little pep talk had flipped a switch in Matty, because he returned in spectacular form that night, scoring a hat trick in a roaring 5-1 win over the Coyotes. And he didn’t throw a single punch all game.

A good game without a travel day following usually calls for going out, and a great game with your best friend scoring a hat trick definitely calls for going out, so she dragged Emily along to the bar that Matthew had told her to meet the team at. Matthew had pulled her into a hug the moment she arrived, kissing her cheek and trying his damndest not to spill the beer in his hand on her shoes. An hour and a half into the night, Madison was four drinks in, well and truly drunk, and Emily had wandered off and appeared to be flirting with an extremely oblivious Noah Hanifin.

“How are you doing, Mads?” Matthew asked, coming up from behind her barstool and resting his hand gently on the small of her back.

She looked back at him, a goofy smile on her face, and took another sip of her drink. “I’m good, I’m realllly good,” she giggled. “Did I ever get a chance to tell you how good you were tonight?” Matthew shook his head, very poorly concealing a laugh. He had had more than one beer, sure, but he was nowhere near as gone as Madison. “Because you were really good. A-ma-zing,” she added, punctuating each syllable. Her eyes softened as she leaned in. “I know the points drought was starting to weigh on you, and I’m really glad you were able to do this for yourself. I’m always proud of you, Matty, but I was a little extra proud of you tonight. People sometimes write you off as just another good player without any real subsistence,” she paused, correcting herself, “substance, off the ice, but I know the real you, and the real you is even more incredible than the you that plays hockey. It’s my favorite thing to see.”

“It is?” Matthew asked softly, leaning into the hand that had begun to caress his cheek a little bit imprecisely, but that somehow communicated every kind of unsaid word between them.

Madison nodded, touching his forehead to hers, and then she tilted in. And then she kissed him. Her lips met his, and she tasted like lime and spearmint chewing gum and his favorite kind of tequila. Her lips met his, and it seemed like the room stood still; he barely heard his teammates’ wolf-whistles or Emily’s elated gasp in the background. Her lips met his, and he drank in every second of the kiss until she pulled away.

---

Maddy hadn’t been drunk enough to black out that night, and she came to the next morning with a roaring headache and the pang of regret in her heart. She thought it was shame at her behavior, embarrassment that she could act so impulsively, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized. The fact that she kissed Matthew wasn’t the issue, not to her, at least. It was the fact that she was drunk in a bar after a hockey game and that wasn’t how she wanted it to happen. She pushed her feelings to the side, trying desperately to focus on work and supporting Matty through the rest of the season, but they always tended to flare up when they were least welcome. Like at the Idaho Potato Museum.

Which of course meant that Matthew would choose this moment, driving down I-15 with two sleeping Swedish hockey players in the backseat, to bring it up. “I remember when you kissed me, you know,” Matty said softly, reaching up to brush his fingers over his lips, like if he tried hard enough he could remember what it felt like to have Maddy’s pressed against his.

Madison froze, which isn’t exactly what you’re supposed to do when you’re driving. She thought he had forgotten. He had never brought it up, so she really had no reason to believe he would have remembered. “You do?” she asked, swallowing.

She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. “Mhm. I hadn’t thought about it in a couple weeks, but back in Idaho, in front of the World’s Largest Potato Crisp…” He let out an airy chuckle.

Maddy breathed in sharply. So she hadn’t imagined that. Her fingers tapped nervously against the faux leather of the steering wheel. “Yeah…” She trailed off nervously. “I was drunk.”

“Oh, you were hammered,” Matthew agreed. “But do you regret it?”

There it was, the million-dollar question that she somehow actually had the answer to. A long moment passed before she answered, figuring it would be best to just rip the band-aid off. Worst case, Matty would hate her and she’d only be stuck in a car with him for ten-odd more hours. No big deal. “No,” she whispered, voice so small he almost didn’t hear it.

“I’m glad, because I don’t either,” Matty said. Madison hazarded a glance to her side; he looked almost nervous, and nervous wasn’t a look Matthew Tkachuk did all that often. “I had wanted to for a few months, but it always seemed like it was never the right time, or something interrupted us, or I didn’t know how you felt about me. But you made the first move, and I’m glad you did.”

“How come?”

He sighed. “I don’t know how long I would have waited to do something, or if I ever would have done anything. I feel like sometimes…,” he searched for the right words, “the confidence that I have on the ice can be misleading. Hockey is about reflexes and instincts and knowing the game, but it’s also thinking three steps ahead, anticipating every possible outcome and preparing for them. And that’s the part that I carry off the ice. I think I was worried if I ever brought it up with you, if I ever mentioned that I so much as remembered the kiss, you might clam up and tell me it was a stupid, drunken mistake, and I don’t know what I’d do if you said that. Because I don’t know how you feel about me, not like that”

Her breath caught in her throat, but she managed to force the words out, as scared as she was about admitting them. “I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you and I’m terrified.” Matthew had never seen Madison like this before, unsure and worried and downright vulnerable, and it meant so much to him that she was letting him see her like that.

Matthew let out a watery laugh. “Only pretty sure? Hurts my ego a little bit.” Maddy opened her mouth, but he waved her off. “Because I’m definitely sure I’m in love with you.” This wasn’t ever how she imagined telling him, and it wasn’t how Matty thought he’d tell her, on a freeway in Southern Utah on their way to the Grand Canyon, but sometimes life throws unexpected things at you and you have to roll with the punches.

“When did you know?” Madison asked curiously.

Matthew bit his lip. “Few months ago? I knew I liked you as more than a friend probably since you kissed me, but it was after that game against Vancouver that I really understood I had fallen in love with you.” Maddy remembered the game. It had gone terribly for the Flames, a 4-0 shutout with more than one fight and the bench racking up penalty minutes. What she didn’t know was what made that one special. Matthew looked over at her, answering her unspoken question. “Why that one?” She nodded. “I think it’s because it was such a shitty game. I wouldn’t have blamed you at all if you had just skipped out after the end of the third, I know I can be hard to deal with after a loss. But you didn’t leave, you stayed. I remember seeing you outside the tunnel, swallowed by my jersey because it’s three sizes too big for you and you refuse to let me buy you another—”

“I don’t want another because it’s yours, and I love it,” Maddy said quietly.

Matthew smiled. “Your call. But when I turned the corner and saw you, I realized three things at the exact same time. You were there for me when you didn’t have to be, and I wanted to be able to do the same thing for you. Second, you’re who I wanted to come home to. And last,” he gathered his thoughts, “I realized if I never saw another girl in my jersey for the rest of my life, that would be fine with me.”

“I think I knew when you introduced me to your family, when you flew me down for the All-Star break?” He nodded in recognition. “Just seeing you with them, how much you love your parents and adore Taryn. You even managed to not chirp Brady for a whole dinner.”

“My mom threatened me.”

Madison laughed. “Even so. It just gave me a whole new side to you. I had seen you with your friends, and with the boys, and with me, but it wasn’t the same. How deeply you cared about making sure I fit in with them, and had fun, and felt included. It was the last piece of the puzzle, really.” Her hand rested on the center console after she downshifted.

“So, are we going to do this? Do you want to do this, Mads?” Matty asked, wrapping his fingertips gently around her free hand.

Flipping her hand around, she interlaced her fingers with his. “I’m all in if you are.”

Matthew bent down, kissing their hands. “I’ve been all in since the moment I met you.” He glanced behind him to the backseat, where Elias and Rasmus were still fast asleep. “What do you think they’re going to say when they wake up?”

“I’m not sure,” Madison said, laughing. “Probably tell us it’s about time. Pass me my phone, will you?” Matthew pulled out her phone from where it was charging on the passenger side.

“What do you need to look up?” he asked curiously as she pulled off of the freeway and into a gas station; the directions were already programmed into the car’s navigation system.

Maddy gave a coy smile, gently putting the car into park. “I’ve got to text the girl’s chat, tell them they’ve got to make me a jacket. They’re going to go wild.”

Day 4

The chat did go wild, even more so after she sent a picture of her kissing Matty’s cheek. After about a half-dozen “we called its” and a promise for her jacket to be ready by the first home game of the series, she turned her phone off, leaning over to ruffle Matthew’s hair; he had taken over driving sometime around four o’clock. “I like that I can just do this now,” she mused, playing with his curls as they crossed the border into Arizona.

“Please, no PDA in front of the children,” he said playfully, gesturing to the backseat. Elias flipped him off.

The entrance to the Grand Canyon was only an hour past the state line, and there were more than a few cafés to grab a quick breakfast at. Most of the day was spent walking around the vast expanse of the park, marvelling at its natural grandeur, and taking more than a few incredibly aesthetically pleasing Instagram pictures. A few minutes before they had to pack up and leave for the last leg of the drive, they had hiked over to the South Rim.

Matty leaned on the barriers overlooking the canyon. “It’s so big.”

Rasmus snickered from behind them. “Duh, Tkachuk. That’s why they call it grand.”

He ducked his head, blushing. “Yeah, I mean, obviously. But it’s just kind of surreal, you know?” Madison nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and if either of them had turned around they would have seen Rasmus and Elias sharing a very “I-told-you-so” look. “Kind of reminds us how small we are in the grand scheme of things.”

It seemed like only a few minutes later that they were pulling into Las Vegas, Rasmus steering the car into the underground lot of the team hotel. None of the boys were expected at practice until the next morning, and they had decided before leaving that the easiest thing to do would just be to book the rooms for the one night.

“Anyone feeling up to going out?” Maddy asked as they walked down the hallway to their adjoining rooms. “I found a tiki bar a couple blocks away, great Yelp reviews.”

“Sounds good,” Rasmus said. Elias nodded.

“I’m in,” Matthew added, unlocking the door. “Meet out here in ten?”

The break allowed Madison to get a much-needed change of clothes while Matthew hopped in for a quick shower, emerging in a T-shirt and very, very nice-looking pair of black jeans. Maddy bit her lip, looking him up and down. “You like what you see?” Matthew asked, expression cocky.

She shrugged. “I don’t have to hide it now.” Madison slipped her phone into her back pocket, grabbing her jacket from where it was slung over the lounge chair. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Matthew said, poking his head out the door. “Boys are already out.”

The walk to the bar couldn’t have been more than five minutes, but it felt like twenty in the best way possible. She was holding hands with Matty, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing over the top of her hand, the twinkling lights of dozens of Vegas casinos in their view. Two and a half mai tais and an hour later, the group sat at a table in the corner as Maddy giggled, retelling a particularly embarrassing moment on her high school volleyball team when she tried to make a dive that instead ended up with a ten minute pause in gameplay and the worst nosebleed of her life. She finished the story to raucous laughter, leaning into Matthew’s side. He bent down, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “What is it, Matty?” she asked, pulling away to look at him.

Eyes soft, he tucked a piece of her hair back behind her ear before speaking. “Just thanking God I invited you on the trip. And for the Idaho Potato Museum.”

Madison laughed, the sound like music as it reached his ears. “We should write them. Thank them for helping to get us together. Maybe they’d give us season tickets.”

“Who needs season tickets when I have you?” Matty chuckled, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. Sure, Madison was a few drinks in when she kissed him. And sure, it wasn’t like Matty was exactly sober either. But this kiss was different. This kiss was the start of everything.

#hockey imagine #hockey smut #nhl imagine #nhl smut #matthew tkachuk #hockey #hockey imagines #hockey writing #nhl #nhl imagines #nhl writing #matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuk writing #rat king

259 notes · View notes

neesieiumz · 4 years

Text

All the Stars {Tamaki Amajiki x Reader} - Chapter 4

Summary: When Fatgum hires a sidekick transferring from America and assigns Tamaki to show her around, Tamaki sees the differences between the two of them and wonders if they are even going to get along? At least she seems like a decent person...right

A/N: I know this took me longer than expected, but I had no idea what to write, should I continue in Y/n’s pov, or should I go back to Tamaki’s, where should I start, right from when he saved her or before that. But I finally got something out and I think it’s pretty good (kidding, I believe my work is trash) but enjoy chapter 4!

Word count: 2.1 k

Chapter 4 - Introducing Salamander and Suneater!

Tamaki said goodbye to his friends as they went their separate ways. Mirio had some meetings to get to, considering that he took over NIghteye’s agency when he finally graduated and Neijire had some endorsement meetings to get to. Once Mirio’s car left the vicinity, Tamaki took a deep breath of fresh air before heading to the train station to the agency. He wasn’t up for patrol but considering he had nothing else to do, he decided that he was due for some training anyways.

As he stood on the train, holding into the pole, he thought back to the conversation he had Mirio and Nejire-chan before they both had to leave.

“Tamaki, you’ve been a sidekick for almost 5 years… don’t you think it’s time to, you know, branch out?” Mirio began, using his hands to exaggerate the words “branch out.”

Tamaki looked away, not wanting this to be discussed again. Both of them looked at Tamaki who couldn't see them in the eyes, who instead looked out the window at all the people passing by.

“Tamaki, we only want what’s best for you. Right now, you are the most well-known sidekick at Fatgum’s agency, a lot of people are expecting you to start your own agency. We are more than willing to help you start the process!” Neijire exclaimed.

She grabbed Tamaki’s hands and squeezed them, making Tamaki feel a little more at ease. Tamaki had a conversation about this with Fatgum a couple of months ago, the BDE hero talking to him about possibly starting his own agency as well. Telling Tamaki that being just a sidekick wasn’t Tamaki’s purpose in life, that he has so much more potential than just that. Telling him that being just a sidekick isn’t for him.

Tamaki didn’t realize he got lost in his thoughts before Neijre squeezed his hands and pulled him back to reality.

“Come on, I can see your mind turning a little too fast. What’s going on in that pretty head of yours,” Neijre pushed.

He shuffled around in his seat to face her and he could feel both of their eyes staring right at him. Tamaki sighed and pulled his hands out of Nejire’s and ran them through his head.

“I don’t know…” He started, Mirio and Neijre leaning in to hear him better, “I just like it a lot at Fatgum’s agency and I’m pretty comfortable there as well.”

“Yeah but there’s so much more than just being a sidekick, having your own agency allows more freedom, you know this, we learned this back in UA! The whole point of being a sidekick is gain experience and public support so that later on, you’ll become a strong hero. Tamaki, you have BOTH!” Neijire noted, picking up a piece of her food.

Mirio nodded along with her statement, “Tamaki, we just want what’s best for you, you know that right?”

Tamaki blinks a couple of times before looking down and nodding, “yeah I know.”

Tamaki snaps himself out of his flashback as he hears the stop closest to the agency being called out. He tightened his hold on his bag and got off the train by the closet door near him. As he walked on the sidewalk, a sudden shriek ripped through the air and Tamaki immediately turned around looking for any impending danger.

Instead of danger, he saw a stampede of girls running towards him. Tamaki’s eyes widen and he froze as the girls surrounded him screaming his hero name.

“OMG, IT’S SUN EATER!!”

“CAN I HAVE A PICTURE?!?”

“I HAVE A PHOTOCARD OF YOU, CAN YOU SIGN IT?!?”

Tamaki felt overwhelmed, he was usually with Kirishima when people recognized him and he usually kept them away from bombarding him like this. He wasn’t able to respond to any of them because they soon started to fight amongst each other.

“I SAW HIM FIRST!”

“NO, I DID!”

“I HAVE BEEN HIS FAN SINCE HIS WORK STUDY DAYS, MOVE OUT MY WAY!!”

Tamaki didn’t know what to do, he had tried to calm the girls down but they didn’t seem to hear him. As people started to crowd them to see what the commotion was, a large boom ran out in the distance. The shouting stopped as smoke arose in the distance and the ground shook slightly. Tamaki could hear screaming in the distance and before he could think, he started running towards the area.

“That looks like Tadashi Shopping center,” he mumbled to himself before realizing he wasn’t in his hero outfit.

He found himself in an empty building and begrudge used the temporary privacy to quickly change when his phone pinged and he realized that was the HN sending an alert. He pulled it out and realized he was correct in his theory about the shopping center.

Emergency at Tadashi Shopping center! Explosions, multiple villains at least 40 of them, confirmed casualties.

Tamaki eyes widened at the alert and quickly strapped on the rest of his hero outfit before rushing out the building and back until the open. Outside, he can see some of the sidekicks running around and heading outside. Maneuvering through the crowds and making sure he didn’t run into any immediately injured, Tamaki kept his sights focused, not worrying about anything else.

He arrived at the shopping center and saw the chaos that it was. The ratio wasn’t pretty for the heroes, it was three villains to a hero. Tamaki was about to jump into the fight when in the corner of his eye, he was a flash of black, and an item that looked a lot like a sword ready to take aim. He looked back and saw a villain about to attack someone who had their back turned. Tamaki saw the person’s face and stiffened, it was Y/n. She was tending to a father and her daughter and didn’t see the villain creeping behind her.

The daughter noticed the villain moments before he struck but Y/n turned around too late and wouldn’t have enough time to activate her quirk without hurting the family she was protecting. Tamaki didn’t even think, he didn’t even remember activating his quirk. All he saw was tentacles quickly grabbing the villain and seducing him before the sword could make contact. He grabbed the villain and took the sword and threw him to a burnt building, causing loose pieces of the wall to fall on him to ensure that he was knocked down. Y/n saw Tamaki’s tentacles and looked to see who saved the three of them.

“Amajiki-san?”

Tamaki released his tentacles and ran over to them. He didn’t say anything and helped the dad to the area where heroes were guarding and providing temporary relief while Y/n helped the daughter. The two of them got them there safely and ran back into the fray.

“Amajiki-san?”

Tamaki turned to Y/n who was about to say something but saw a villain about to hit Tamaki’s blindside. Y/n quickly pushed his head down and attacked before he could land a hit.

“Fire Dragon’s Roar!” Y/n yelled before a large blast of fire got released from her mouth and hit the villain on target.

The blast sent him straight into another fight with one hero and four villains and hit all four of them and they all crashed into a building. Tamaki looked over at Y/n in shock and she just smirked and winked at him.

“Now we’re even,” is all she said before running off into the fight. He blushed at her actions before quickly snapping himself out of it, he can worry about that later, right now he needs to arrest as many of them as possible. Before he knew it, Y/n was dominating the fight. Her fire type quirk was basically invincible, not showing any signs of overheating or any usual weaknesses seen in people with fire quirks. The two of them fought beside each other, Tamaki using his tentacles to engage in mostly long-distance fighting while Y/n decided to go short distance fighting and cover her whole body in flames and was able to take out the villains with one punch or one kick. It was easy to see both the heroes and the villains the two of them were the main stage of the situation.

More and more heroes came to respond to the attack and the villains soon realized that they were getting outnumbered and some of them were able to slip through the cracks but soon enough the heroes were able to round up most of the villains and tied them up to be taken into custody. As Y/n helped the police put the last of the villains in the truck, she could hear a crowd starting to form, a really huge crowd.

“It’s Salamander and Suneater!”

“They were so freaking cool!”

“They work so well with each other!”

Suneater…? Y/n thought before looking around and seeing Amajiki with his head down pulling on his hood. Y/n could see a blush forming on his and smiled. She walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.

“We make a pretty good team huh?” She whispered in his ear.

Tamaki’s eyes widened at how close she was, feeling her breath on his ears which in turn caused his ears to burn even more.

“Y-yeah,” he stuttered, “I guess we do.”

“Salamander.”

The both of them turned around and saw Aoi looking at them, while Y/n couldn’t tell, but Tamaki could, he was glaring at them.

“The police want a final statement from you, let’s go,” is all the Magma hero said before turning around walking away.

Y/n smiled wistfully before slowly letting go of Tamaki.

“I’ll see you back at the agency Amajiki-san,” Y/n said before following Aoi to where the police were waiting for her.

Tamaki looked her back as she was walking away before seeing Aoi look back at him and glare, making him freeze up and look away.

Unbeknownst to them, or anyone in the shopping center, a pair of red eyes were looking at the destroyed shopping center with a dastardly smirk on their face.

“Well, what do we have here?”

***

After Tamaki gave his own statement to the police and helping injured bystanders to the hospital, he grabbed his bag he abandoned in the building that she was lucky that no one and went to the agency to clean himself up and relax after that vicious attack. He went to the locker rooms and pulled out the toiletries bag had stashed in his personal locker. He chose the shower furthest from the door and turned the water, immediately choosing the hottest setting to help his muscles relax.

Tamaki stood in the shower for a good thirty minutes, ten of that actually washing himself and his hair (yes he has his shampoo with him and don’t forget conditioner) and the rest of it allowing the hot water to fall on him and always cracking his joints. As the water dripped down his face, he thought back to his fight, being able to fight alongside Y/n. How she was able to move around with grace he’s never seen, how far she was able to bend back-

Tamaki shocked his face in his rag, he can’t think about her like that! He just met her, they’ve only met each other for two weeks. He took a deep breath in his rag before realizing he still had soap on it. Feeling his nose burn, Tamaki quickly used the water to try and flush out some of the soap while simultaneously blowing his nose. Once he felt he got most of it out, he turned off the water and wrapped his towel around his waist. He walked out of the shower and grabbed his bag and headed to where the rest of the things were.

Only he wasn’t expecting Aoi to be standing there at his own locker which was near his own. Both of them froze in what they were doing and stared at each other. Tamaki didn’t know what to do, he’s never been alone with Aoi considering how the 23-year-old felt about him. However, it seems that Aoi made the first move and started to walk past Tamaki. Once the two of them were shoulder to shoulders, Aoi began to speak.

“I still don’t get your appeal.”

And with that, Aoi continued his trek to the showers. Tamaki turned his head to look back at the man but saw no reason to confront him about what he just meant and walked to his locker to put his stuff away.

#mha #amajiki tamaki x reader #bnha #mha fanfiction #mha tamaki #tamaki #tamaki x reader #black reader #mha amajiki #mha smut #mha suneater #bhna tamaki #bnha suneater #bnha tamaki

71 notes · View notes

wing-ed-thing · 4 years

Text

Cabaret (Might Guy x Reader, Chapter III)

Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIIIChapter IX Chapter X Chapter XI

Guy woke you from dreamless sleep in the middle of the night. He laid a gentle hand on your shoulder. It was time for your watch. You bolted up at the touch, propping yourself on your left palm. The kunai from under your pseudo-pillow felt heavy in your grip against his neck. Guy had kept the fire kindled, but just barely. The dim glow outlined his face as he lingered kneeling over you. You relaxed, recognizing him after a few blinks. He looked exhausted, but gazed upon you with concerned eyes. He recoiled his touch softly. You put your kunai down. Wordlessly, Guy settled into his makeshift cot.

You stretched, sitting up against a large fallen branch. The heat from the little flares warmed your cheeks. You threw a small piece of wood on the embers, watching as the tiny flames licked the offering. The light burned just bright enough to see your surroundings, but not enough to give you away to any that may be lurking in the woods. You breathed deeply and closed your eyes to focus. No other chakra signatures anywhere around.

Guy tapped out quickly, curled up in his blanket to your left. He gave out a light snore. He must’ve been a lot more tired than he let on to you before. Raven black strands slipped from his forehead, falling across his eyes. You glanced around. You were alone. Gingerly, you reached over and tucked the stray strands back, but quickly recoiled as a small shock pinched your nerves. You shifted back against the log.

Much like the night before, you found yourself thumbing through the case file once more. Bits of light fluttered on the page. You ran a finger over your new name, new identity. The name of the club where you were to become the equivalent of a cabaret girl, a hostess. The file felt thin and light in your hand. The Leaf did not know if the plot by the Sound existed, let alone it’s details. You rolled the edge of the paper in your fingers. The layout of the city printed on the page wrinkled at the border. You have long since memorized the image. You tossed the pages into the fire. You wouldn’t be needing it anymore.

At the rate you and Guy were going at, you’d arrive later today. You took a few items out of your pack and began work on your face. As tedious and expensive as it was to do missions like this, it was the only way for an undercover mission. Any ninja could use a transformation jutsu, but any team with a half-skilled sensory ninja could sense a small, yet continuous, flow of it from a mile away if they really tried. You ran a brush down your cheekbone, the tinted light posed a challenge, but not one you hadn’t overcome before. You tried not to grin as you thought about what new products you could buy with your reimbursement ryō. While you got the process down to a science, it still took focus.

In time, you witnessed dawn impose itself on the world. Little by little, you observed the orchestra of the forest. As the sun began to rise, you could hear birds, see them fly overhead as they began their day. Small rodents rustled in the treetops. For a while, the forest took on a teal blue tint, but the hue changed as the sun rose. Beams of sunlight trickled through the trees. The saturation became green and gold. The fresh, crisp air pleasantly shocked your lungs. The daylight shown on your sleeping partner’s relaxed features.

You shifted and shadow once again enveloped his figure.

Guy began to stir by the time you were finished. As you were packing your equipment back up, his eyes suddenly shot open. He sat up in his make-shift cot.

“Alright,” he stated, stretching his arms over his head, “Breaktime’s over.”

He turned to you. He arched his eyebrows and assumed a semi-defensive posture. Guy’s brows sewed together in confusion. You rolled your eyes, sighing.

“It’s me, genius.”

“Riiiight, right.” Guy took in your new features. He had heard about your abilities, but hadn’t had a chance to see them up close. He tilted his head. If Guy hadn’t known you, you could have easily been a different person. He mentally bisected you. Closing one eye and squinting the other, he raised his hand to block his vision to your face. Same clothes. Same body language. Same figure. Guy moved his hand. Different hair. Different facial structure. How did you pull that off?

“Are you going to stop staring?” You questioned, not looking at Guy, “It’s unprofessional and if you’re up then we should really head out.”

Guy nodded, gathering both of your things together. You dispersed all evidence of the camp and dismantled the protective jutsus. Not long after, the two of you once again vanished into the trees, not a trace left behind.

There were about 15 more hours to go. This, of course, did not include the extra time it would take as you crossed the border to the Country of Rice. Naturally, “civilians” like yourselves don’t have chakra control so for a portion of the trip you will be walking in case you were unlucky enough to get stopped by Sound patrol. Every few minutes, you scanned ahead for any chakra signatures. You were getting lucky today. Unlike the day before, you found little trouble as you traveled with Guy.

You shot through the trees. In the distance you could see the Valley of the End. The two statues stood tall at the end of your sights. You were almost to the border. The closer you got, the clearer you could hear the falls. They tumbled down into the canyon carved by battle. You had heard about it, but you never got a chance to actually see it. Breathtaking. You stopped to take it in.

“Why’d you stop?” Guy asked, coming to perch on the same branch as you. You took a moment to catch your breath, hands on your knees.

“I’ve just never seen it before,” You confessed, motioning to the landmark. You took a deep breath, standing back up straight. “This is the line into the Land of Sound. We should probably start walking soon.”

“We can take a break, you know. We’ve been making good time.” Guy offered. He had rarely seen you interested in anything. If you wanted to take in the valley, he would happily indulge you. You stretched your limbs.

“What, are you slacking off now?” you asked haughtily. “You don’t want to be the first one to the Sound?” You regretted saying that as soon as it left your lips. It definitely wasn’t a challenge. You were just being sassy, giving him a hard time, but Guy perked up.

“Are you talking about… a race?” Guy’s eyes were wide in excitement, a dumb grin enveloping his features. You huffed, hands on your hips.

“No, I don’t want to race-” But he left before you could finish. Not one to be outdone by Might Guy of all people, you started after him. You called out from behind, “You’re ridiculous!” Guy let out a hardy laugh in front of you.

“You only say that because you’re losing!” You sped up into the tops of the trees, running across the tops. Guy took a brief look behind him, not seeing you. But before he had time to fully look back in front, you slammed down a few feet in front of him. In an instant, you pushed on a smaller branch with your foot, bending it down before launching yourself forward. It swung forward, uppercutting Guy. He grunted as you advanced smugly. “Very interesting! Very creative!”

You moved forward, flipping and maneuvering among the tree limbs. But you couldn’t keep your lead for long. Neck and neck, Guy took a straightforward route. You closed in rapidly on the border to the two lands. You both swiftly passed by Hashirama’s head. In your peripheral area, you caught a glimpse of his opponent, Madara. You passed by their silent stare off, landing in the Land of Sound.

Guy had his arms crossed, his chest puffed. You blew a strand of hair from your face.

“Okay, you ‘won’. Doesn’t mean you have to gloat.”

Guy’s smile grew wider. You turned away with a scoff, beginning to walk down the outskirts of the forest. You found a beaten path. This was likely the route that civilians typically took. Guy followed as you sauntered away, trying not to betray how sore you were about your defeat.

Despite expending energy on your “challenge”, Guy hovered energetically around you. Out of your peripheral you saw his animaled hand motions. Your mind filled in the wide eyes and raised brows which he without a doubt wore. You strolled on and Guy chatted on. You didn’t know someone could talk for so long. You didn’t particularly care to register what he said. Perhaps, being tuned out was your mistake. You focused on the path ahead, searching for chakra signatures every once in a while. What you were not focused on, was the hand that came to clamp down on your shoulder. The fingers that brushed against your skin. It should have been a friendly touch, a playful gesture to most, but as soon as Guy’s skin met yours, the same electric current that you felt that morning coursed through your body.

It happened in an instant. The sensation faintly rose within you, looming, running behind the scenes of your sensory system. You felt it at your core, something that could only be described as purely Might Guy. His will stood out sharply and his energy zapped throughout every fiber of your being. The feeling deposited itself in your bones, picking up something to exchange. You felt it: the mix of emotions, the anger, the annoyance, and something else. Something you couldn’t quite put your finger on began to leave your system. You had never felt this feeling before. Your heart began to pound in your chest.

You shoved him away.

“Don’t touch me!” You shrieked. You stumbled a few steps back, wrapping your arms around yourself. Your eyes widened from your rapid heart rate. Guy had stopped in his tracks, slightly shaken, holding his hands defensively and low. You looked into his eyes, panicked. Softly, you warned him, “Don’t touch my skin.”

Guy’s eyes were on you, betraying worry. You felt that your heart had skipped a beat. You found yourself holding your breath. Your chest moved as you slowly exhaled. Guy waited for your word, standing stone-faced and silent. You flushed slightly, ashamed at your outburst. The corners of Guy’s lips turned upward as he gave you a reassuring nod. You relaxed, but Guy did not.

He glanced over your shoulder, unmoving. You turned only to be met with a pair of Sound Ninja. How could you not sense them before?

“Is there a problem here?” the first patrol asked.

“Not at all, sir!” Guy answered with his usual Might Guy charisma.

“No, problem!” You laughed, “There was just a spider! Came straight down on my head! Sorry to inconvenience you two, so embarrassing!” The two patrols weren’t interested.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” the second dismissed. He glanced at you over, eyes lingering in a downward position as he smirked. He shifted closer to you. Guy tensed. The first patrol came around you, to sandwich you and Guy between the two of them. “What’s your business in the Country of Rice?”

“Work,” Guy responded.

“Do you have work visas?” the patrol closest to you questioned, leaning down, his face now in close proximity to yours.

“Yes.” You took the opportunity to take a step back as you reached into the side of your pack. You produced two small booklets. The second patrol’s hands came over yours and took them from your hands. You felt a small shock, but nothing near as electrifying as when Guy touched you. Instead, it was the slimy feeling of a weak will. A feeling you were familiar with and confident you could conquer. You looked into the eyes of the Sound ninja. His hand lingered a bit longer at your stare. A small burst of chakra. “We are simple travelers and nothing more.”

The ninja’s eyes glossed over. You removed your hand from his. Handing one to his partner. You focused on the dazed ninja as he idly flipped through the little booklet.

“Aoki Genki-” You second glanced at Guy and then to you- “and Takeuchi Yume… tell me, have you seen any Leaf ninja wandering these parts?”

“We haven’t seen much of anyone wandering these parts.” Guy’s statement wasn’t false. “Why? Is something the matter?”

“Another patrol squad got roughed up at the border not too long ago. By what we can only assume from the fallout, it was a group of Leaf ninja.” The first patrol answered, following his partner’s lead.

You inwardly rolled your eyes. You got confirmation that the squad that ambushed you were ninja working on behalf of the sounds, but they were most definitely not at the border.

“How terrifying!” you feigned.

“Let someone know if you see anything,” The two ninja handed your visas back to you. You tucked them back away. “We wish you safety in your travels.”

“We will,” you assured them, smiling graciously, “Thank you for your service.”

The Sound patrol disappeared. The second ninja was still glossy-eyed.

You and Guy spent the rest of the walk in silence.

Finals have been crazy. I’m trying to do these once a week but the next might be delayed a bit. I’m trying to not edit these too much. I want to do this for fun but I can’t help but stress myself out when it comes to series and if people like them. I’ll keep doing these for fun!

#might guy #might guy x reader #shy!readerxmightguy #might guy relationship #Maito Gai #maito gai x reader #maito guy #Maito guy relationship #cabaret #naruto #naruto x reader #naruto x y/n #naruto x you #naruto headcanon #naruto headcanons #naruto imagines #naruto imagine

56 notes · View notes

lifeofkaze · 4 years

Text

An Art of Balance #15

Word Count: ~ 3.100

______________________________________________________________

Chapter 15: Midnight Conversations

Later that night, Lizzie was lying awake in her bed, staring at the yellow canopy above her head. She listened to the regular breathing and occasional rustle of sheets as one of her friends turned, unable to fall asleep herself.

She kept thinking about Skye’s odd behaviour. Although she had followed her friend almost immediately after she had left the rest of the team in such a hurry, Lizzie hadn’t been able to find her. She had only briefly seen her after dinner in the Common Room, but even then, Skye had made some bad excuses to not spend time with any of them.

It puzzled Lizzie; it wasn’t like their fight a few weeks ago, when she had known exactly why Skye was angry at her. She actually didn’t seem to be angry at all; she avoided everyone, sitting by herself brooding. There was an almost haunted look about her, her nose buried in her battered copy of Quidditch Throughout the Ages, scanning the pages intently as if looking for an answer Lizzie didn’t know the question to.

Lizzie turned in her bed, hugging her pillow. She wished Rowan was here to talk her through her sleepless spell like she often did. But her friend was on prefect patrol tonight and it would be quite some time before she returned.

And truth be told, Rowan didn’t care much about Skye’s antics; few people did. Lizzie often wondered herself why she put up with Skye’s attitude over and over again. She couldn’t say it for sure; maybe because she saw behind the brusque façade Skye chose to display. She knew how pressured she felt by her family’s legacy.

Lizzie understood that sentiment. Although a fair troublemaker in his time, her brother had been an outrageously gifted student. In her first year, most of the teachers had often referred to her as ‘Jacob Jameson’s sister’ until they had gotten around to learning her name. Filling someone’s shoes was never easy.

She drifted off into an uneasy sleep. She couldn’t have been asleep for long when she suddenly awoke with a jolt. She blinked into the blinding light of the wand pointed into her face, unable to see who was the disturber of her nightly peace.

“Oops, wrong bed,” a familiar voice giggled.

“Tulip?” Lizzie mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes. “Is that you?”

“No, Lizzie Jameson, it is not. Tulip Karasu would certainly never sneak into your dorm while your prefect watch dog is away. Go back to sleep now, there’s nothing to see here.”

The light moved away from her and over to where Tonks was snoring in her bed. She heard a muffled cry as Tulip poked her awake, then a quick set of excitedly exchanged whispers and snickering.

Tonks jumped out of her bed and the two of them tiptoed to the door of the dormitory.

“If someone asks, you’ve never seen us!” Tonks chuckled. “And don’t go anywhere near the Slytherin Common Room tomorrow morning.”

“Whatever,” Lizzie muttered in response, closing her eyes in a futile attempt to go back to sleep. But it was no use, she was fully awake by now.

Mouse, who had been sleeping snuggled against the back of Lizzie’s knees, seemed to share that sentiment. She got up and stretched lavishly before hopping off the bed. She padded to the door the two pranksters had just left through and looked back at her expectantly.

Lizzie scowled at the animal. “You have your own door.”

She pointed at the small hole in the masonry hidden behind a drawer. It lead to a complicated network of passageways traversing the whole of the castle; it allowed the numerous animals inhabiting Hogwarts to move around undisturbed if they wished to do so.

But Mouse was clearly not in the mood to take the exit designated for her. Her tail was twitching impatiently when she saw Lizzie had no intent of getting up and opening the door for her anytime soon. She opened her mouth and let out a demanding cry that seemed to echo across the silence of the room.

Penny and Skye were stirring in their sleep and Lizzie quickly hurried over to the cat, quietly muttering curses under her breath, as Mouse opened her mouth a second time.

She picked her up and carried the now contentedly purring animal down the stairs to the Common Room. Setting her down on the fluffy carpet at the base of the stairs, Lizzie wanted to turn around and head back to bed, but Mouse had already tippled over to the round door that concealed the passageway to the dungeons, waiting for Lizzie to open it for her.

“Sometimes I really hate you, you know,” she declared as she walked over to the exit of the Common Room on her bare feet.

“There’s quite the traffic in the Common Room tonight, it seems.”

Lizzie jumped in shock at the unexpected sound of a voice coming from the sofa in front of the fireplace. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

Orion’s was watching her from the back of the couch where he had apparently been lying in front of the fire. His voice was calm as always, but amusement sparkled in his eyes and he looked at her curiously.

Lizzie gave him a shaky laugh. “For Godric’s sake Orion, do you want to kill me?”

Mouse had suddenly lost all interest in prowling the nightly castle. Instead she walked over to Orion and jumped onto his lap; she curled herself up against him and started purring as his fingers raked through her long fur.

Lizzie only stared in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?” she muttered, glaring at the perfectly innocent looking animal.

“I thought the cats have their own means of coming and going.”

Lizzie snorted. “They do. But Her Majesty wanted a special treatment tonight.”

She contemplated returning to her room now, but she knew full well she wouldn’t be able to sleep any time soon. So she walked over to the fireplace, careful not to step on the cold stone floor. Orion moved his legs from the couch to make room for her and Lizzie sat down facing him with her legs crossed underneath her; her feet were tucked under the plaited fabric of her pyjama pants for a bit of warmth.

She noticed Orion watching her and was suddenly glad her shirt hid the necklace she hadn’t bothered taking off earlier. Giving her fingers something to do, her hands went to the ends of the loose braid that hung over her shoulder, already partly undone from tossing her head around on her pillow.

“Were you finally converted to the Wanderers, Chaser?” Orion asked suddenly, laughing lightly.

Lizzie looked at him in confusion before she grasped his meaning. She looked down at her sleeping shirt. It was the dark red jersey Skye had given her for Christmas; the logo of the Wigtown Wanderers, two white cleavers forming a W, was displayed on the front.

Smiling, she shook her head. “No way, Captain, you should know that I’m a Catapults girl through and through,” she stated matter-of-factly. “But you have to give the Wanderers that, their jerseys are really nice quality.” She nodded at him. “Why are you still awake?”

“Sometimes I have trouble sleeping. Then I come down here, just to think; during the day the Common Room can be so loud you can’t even hear your own thoughts.” He held up Skye’s copy of Quidditch Throughout the Ages; she must have forgotten it downstairs. “I had a little read on tactics; it’s one of my favourites.”

Lizzie nodded in affirmation. “Mine too; it’s a classic.”

Orion noticed the very slight lisp in Lizzie’s voice; it wasn’t something she usually did while speaking.

“Are you wearing braces?” he asked amusedly.

Her hand went to her mouth but stopped halfway and he saw her cheeks flush the slightest bit.

“No, it’s a dental splint,” she answered, fingers twirling the ends of her hair again. “I grind my teeth in my sleep when something’s bothering me.”

“And what is bothering you?”

As if regretting that she had brought it up, she let go of her braid and turned away from him; she suddenly looked very shy. Orion cursed himself inwardly; just as he had feared, he had been approaching her too brashly. He hoped that he hadn’t rushed too fast over the ground that had separated them for weeks now and broken the fragile connection that had just started rebuilding itself.

Lizzie shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, but I really cannot tell you that.”

Orion would never have admitted it, but it stung that she wasn’t trusting him enough to share her worries. Lizzie had never been hesitant to talk to him before; if he had just taken a moment to think when she had been dancing with him, maybe he would have been able to ease her pain now.

“Don’t bother yourself; everyone has their own innermost way of dealing with their burdens.” He smiled ironically to himself. If anyone knew, it was him. His voice grew softer as he continued. “But you can always talk to me if you feel like yours a is burden you wish to share.”

Lizzie had now fully turned towards the fire that was burning low in the fireplace. It was still emitting warmth, but the Common Room had cooled noticeably. Orion saw her shiver slightly; she must be very cold, being barefoot and only in a thin, short-sleeved shirt.

She didn’t seem to notice though; she had leaned forward, supporting her arms on her knees and was staring into the lowly burning flames. She was so deeply lost in her thoughts that Orion wasn’t sure she had even been listening to him.

“Tell me,” she suddenly said slowly, her eyes still fixed on the fire. She sounded as if she was struggling with herself. “What would you do if you had lied to a very good friend out of good intentions, and all would be starting to get terribly out of hand?”

He blinked in surprise. “Have you?”

“Hypothetically,” Lizzie added quickly, wringing her hands.

“Well, hypothetically,” he echoed her words, “I’d say lying never leads to something good. The ends do not justify the means, however noble they might be. If you had lied to a very good friend,” he saw her smiling sardonically, “I would advise you to tell your friend the truth. The lies we tell have a way of building up on themselves, until the mountain we have put in our wake is too high for us to overcome on our own. Nothing breaks trust like lying and trust is the most important foundation any kind of relationship is built upon. If there is no trust, there is nothing saving us from falling freely.”

Lizzie hung her head in resignation, the humourless smile fading from her face. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and sighed “I had a feeling you might say that.”

“And does it help?”

“No, not really.”

The ghost of her remaining smile turned into a short, resigned laugh that made Orion want to reach out to her to show her some comfort. He restrained himself, however.

She made no sign to continue with the topic and Orion couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in her mind. He had never thought Lizzie would be the kind of person to lie to anyone, especially her friends. But apparently, he had misjudged her; whatever situation she had gotten herself into seemed to weigh her down immensely.

“Like I said before, you can always come to me if you wish to share your burden; may it be by talking or in silence.”

She finally looked up at him. Her eyes were swimming with emotions he couldn’t place and before he had the chance to think on it any further, her guard went back up again, the expression in her blue eyes now level, but not unkind.

“Thank you, I really appreciate this.” She reached out to stroke Mouse, who was still lying on his lap, now fast asleep. “It’s just... Sometimes I wonder why everything I do seems to be leading me into a wrong direction.”

“But is the direction necessarily wrong, only because you can’t see the end of the path?”

“How can the direction be right when it leads me to the same point over and over again?” Lizzie retorted.

“Then maybe you are exactly where you are meant to be,” he pointed out. He watched her closely as he thought about her answer. “May I ask if this is about Skye?”

Her eyes flickered towards him momentarily, showing a mix of surprise and what he thought looked oddly like relief. It was gone too fast to pinpoint it for certain.

“I don’t know what got into her.” Lizzie seemed to grasp onto the topic almost eagerly all of a sudden.

“Don’t let your mind be troubled by worries about Skye; she will be fine, like she always is. Your friendship has never failed to guide her back into a balanced set of mind. She is shaped by her ambition and her unconditional desire to win; sometimes it lets her forget about the things that are surrounding her.”

“I believe she’s so set on winning this year because she wasn’t part of the team when we last won the Cup,” Lizzie confirmed.

“She was always part of team,” Orion corrected her gently, “but I agree, it is not the same to watch from the side lines when others do what your heart desires most.”

Lizzie only hummed as she let his words sink in. She was still stroking the soft fur of the cat who had her tail wrapped around Orion’s wrist. Mouse let out a sleepy sigh as she snuggled up closer to him to get into a more comfortable position. The sudden movement let Lizzie’s fingers brush lightly against his. Orion went completely still, fully expecting her to draw away, but to his surprise she didn’t. She just watched the cat purr peacefully, the tips of her fingers resting on the back of his hand. Just as he had thought before, her hand was very cold, a stark contrast to the warm fur of the animal beneath his palm.

“How is it you always see straight to the core of everyone?” she asked quietly, not looking at him but at her hand on top of his own. His breath hitched slightly as she moved the tiniest bit, the tip of her fingers slowly tracing the line of his knuckles. They weren’t soft as could be expected, but rather rough like his own, hardened from the countless hours they had spent together on the pitch. A shiver ran down his spine but Lizzie didn’t seem to notice. She was completely consumed by her own thoughts.

“I listen,” Orion answered her question levelly, glad he was able to keep his voice clear of the adrenaline flooding his body from her touch. “If you listen closely to more than the words that are spoken, you can hear all the things people don’t say out loud.”

The gentle movement of her fingers stopped. He looked up at her, she suddenly seemed uneasy. She drew a shaky breath to say something when Mouse’s ears propped up all of a sudden, her green eyes staring at the round entrance door to the Common Room.

A moment later it swung open and Rowan stepped inside. Mouse immediately hopped off Orion’s lap and ran over to her, wrapping herself around Rowan’s leg. Rowan looked down at her in surprise. She pushed her glasses up her nose before she bent down to pet her.

“Mousey, what are you doing down here? Were you locked out of the bedroom?”

She raised her eyes and saw Orion and Lizzie sitting on the sofa together. Lizzie’s movements had frozen instantly as her friend had entered the room, her whole body language suddenly tense as a coiled feather. She quickly withdrew her hand as if she had burnt herself.

“Lizzie? What are you doing down here?”

“Nothing,” she answered quickly, getting off the sofa and into a standing position. “Mouse didn’t want to take her usual way out and I found Orion down here. We had a little chat about the upcoming match.”

Orion tried not so show his surprise. Why was Lizzie lying to Rowan? Hadn’t she been talking about Skye after all?

“Oh,” Rowan only responded. She seemed unsure whether or not to believe her friend’s explanation. They looked at each other, silently communicating in a way Orion couldn’t comprehend. He did notice Lizzie clenching her fists at her sides, however. They were hidden by the backrest of the sofa between the girls, so Rowan wouldn’t have seen it.

“It is well past bed time, you know?” Rowan finally said and gave her friend a pointed look. “It would be better if you came back to the dorm with me, don’t you think? You should go to bed as well,” she addressed Orion.

He inclined his head. “Of course.”

Lizzie moved around the couch and followed her friend up the flight of stairs to the girls’ dormitories; she was looking almost intimidated. Orion watched them go, the strain apparent between the two of them. Neither turned around again.

After they had disappeared, he got up and headed for his own dormitory. His mind was reeling once again and he tried to align his steps with his pattern of breathing to get it back in check.

The sudden shift in Lizzie’s body language as Rowan had entered the scene had been peculiar; he had never known her to feel uncomfortable around her friend. On the contrary, as far as he was aware, she had rather helped Rowan adjust whenever she had felt out of place in social situations.

Then again, he would never have expected someone as open and honest as Lizzie to get herself into a situation that had her keeping secrets and actively lying to her friends. It was a side of her he had never known before.

But still, the feeling of her hand brushing against his was strongly present in his mind. He felt his heart rate pick up as he remembered how tender her touch had felt as she had run her fingers over the back of his hand. He took another deep breath to centre himself before he silently entered his dorm, careful not to wake anyone as he made his way over to his bed.

Staying on the path he had set himself onto would maybe be a lot harder than he had initially thought.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #orion amari #quidditch #lizzie jameson #art of balance #aob #quidditch squad #the quidditch squad

14 notes · View notes

jaskiersbeloved · 4 years

Text

The only sure thing about luck is that it will change

Summary: When Albedo decided to keep his promise and went with Bennett on an escapade, bad things happened. But was it really because of Bennett?

Author's note: So this is a little follow up to my previos story, I hope you’ll like it as well!

READ ON AO3

“Do you have a death wish, sir?” asked Timaeus, looking positively scandalized. Albedo just sighed, packing the last things necessary for his trip, before turning around.

“Timaeus,” he said, trying not to show he was already tired of this topic “we’ve been through this, haven’t we?”

His assistant crossed his arms defensively. Behind him, Sucrose timidly fixed her glasses and just came up to him with a small first aid kit. She handed it to him.

“Just in case. I... I added some extra bandaids and the syrup that w-we have tested” she said, without looking at him. At that, Albedo’s face softened. At least she didn’t act like he was putting himself in actual danger. Too bad that Timaeus wouldn’t get this through his head. As talented at alchemy the man was, he still apparently had a problem with grasping the basics of science rules.

“Thank you, Sucrose,” he said with a faint smile, which grew wider when he saw how red Sucrose’s cheeks got. He packed the kit, took a last look around, and said: “Okay, so you both know what to do. I will be back probably around evening.”

He acted like he didn’t hear Timaeus’ sarcastic “if you are still alive” and proceeded to go to the main gate of the city.

Near it he saw Bennett, talking about something with Fischl. At the sight of him, the boy started to wave frantically, effectively startling the girl. Albedo chuckled under his breath.

“Good morning, Bennett. Fischl” he said, coming closer. Bennett grinned while Fischl simply nodded.

“Good morning, Mr. Albedo!”

“I bid you good morning, Sir Albedo.”

“I’m glad you’re so punctual, Bennett. I was a little bit worried that I would have to wait for you” Albedo said, suspending the want for laughter when he saw Bennett almost growing three inches hearing his praise.

“Oh! No biggie, Mr. Albedo! I’m often wide awake at his hour, you know? Mostly because my painting would fall on me, but it is a good wake-up call!”

Both Albedo and Fischl furrowed their brows.

“Is your head in an unhurt state, Bennett?” asked Fischl, seemingly unconsciously reaching for his head, but the boy backed away, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

“Ahaha… Kind of? I mean it isn’t a heavy painting, dad said that’s something wrong with the screw, and I wasn’t even bleeding or anything, so you really don’t have to worry Fischl!”

Albedo internally sighed, once again thanking Sucrose for the first aid kid. No matter what may come, it seems like some bandaids might come in handy.

But he didn’t regret that he decided to take Bennett on his escapade. Quite the opposite. After the incident with the Cryo Mages, he started to keep closer tabs on the boy, and he really didn’t like what he had found.

The information about the new spell that the Mages could now perform, spread through the town like a wildfire, despite Albedo’s insistence that it was to be kept confidential. He didn’t hold the leak against Kaeya though. Knowing the Knights, one of them probably did get too drunk in Angel’s Share and slipped, unfortunately giving Master Diluc another reason to discredit them. No matter how tough, it got to the public, and when people found out that the person who got shot first was Bennett, well…

The boy started to get even more unfriendly stares than he usually did, and when he did go to some public gatherings, the talks would abruptly stop, immediately accompanied by nasty whispers, until someone level-headed, like Kaeya or Barbara would loudly ask Bennett about something, for which Albedo was thankful for.

But all of that seemed to weigh so much on the young adventurer, that he was rarely seen in town. Part of this was Albedo’s doing, as he tried to commission him under any excuse, just to save the boy some of those nasty reactions, the other was purely Bennett going out to “find new paths'', as he said it, but according to Razor and Klee he would just go to the Starsnatch Cliff and sit there for hours on end.

So when Albedo and Sucrose reached a point, where they simply couldn’t move forward with their research, naturally he decided to go and find the direct source of the spell. And with that, he also decided to keep his word of being an active Honorary Member of Benny’s Adventure Team and asked the boy to accompany him. The look on Bennett’s face when he proposed it, instantly reassured him that he made the right decision.

Albedo, try as he might, truly couldn’t understand people’s reactions. It wasn’t really Bennett’s fault that he got shot. If anything, they were lucky they found out about the spell this fast, so he and Sucrose could quickly come up with an antidote. But of course, some people just refused to think logically for more than half a second.

He sighed, pulling himself out of his dark thoughts.

“Anyway, we should get going. I would like to go back to the city before evening” he said, cutting through Fischl’s monologue about how Bennett should take better care of himself.

“Of, course, Mr. Albedo!” said Bennet, saluting him. Albedo raised his hand, motioning the boy to go first, and when he was sure Bennet wouldn’t hear him, he whispered to Fischl:

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep him safe.”

The girl nodded thoughtfully, her eyes stuck on Bennett before she said:

“You have my greatest gratitude, Sir Albedo. Farewell, may the roads be kind to you both.”

Albedo simply nodded and went after Bennett.

The roads weren’t very kind to them. Before they got to Windrise, Bennett managed to attract the attention of a few Dendro slimes while checking on his sword (which easily got scared away by the flames coating the sword), almost fell off the cliff, nearly giving Albedo a heart attack (upon further inspection it seemed like his gliders switch got damaged), and choked on a sandwich (but that’s because he was trying to eat and talk at the same time).

But Albedo didn’t really mind any of that. Well, maybe aside from the gliders’ failure. More often than not, the alchemist would get lost in thought, thinking ahead in his plans of upcoming experiments, so having Bennett causing some mishaps, made him more efficiently focused on the present.

But each of those misfortunes seemed to take a toll on Bennett. Every time he seemed to get less and less chattery, and more lost in thought. It got to a point, that when they reached Windrise, he barely spoke a word, which didn’t sit well with Albedo.

Something was wrong, but he didn’t know what yet.

Deciding to put that on hold, he stopped before Lady Vanessa’s Oak Tree. He put his backpack on the ground, stretching his hands, and releasing a deep sigh.

“Mr. Albedo? Are we going to rest?” he heard Bennet ask behind him. He turned around, and seeing his companion’s confused face, he shook his head.

“No. We are just going to leave most of our stuff here, aside from the swords of course. I don’t think we’re going to get too far from here, and the backpacks would slow us down” he explained, but then a sudden thought struck him. He looked at Bennet up and down, before adding: “Unless you feel like you need to rest, Bennett.”

The boy shook his head.

“No, no! I’m all right!” he assured vigorously. Having no reason to doubt him, Albedo simply nodded and kneeled on the ground.

He focused his energy on the earth, and feeling the pulsation of his Vision on his neck, he tried to look for elemental traces of other Cryo Abyss Mages. There must have been someone to get rid of the bodies, as the report stated that when the patrol was sent here, there was nothing to collect.

He sighed as the first attempt brought nothing. Feeling Bennett’s eyes on him, he turned around and said:

“Do you have any questions, Bennett?”

“No! I mean yes! I mean…” the boy looked down in a manner that reminded Albedo of Klee, whenever she was uncertain if she was doing something in the right way. “I don’t want to disturb you…”

“You aren’t. Now, out with it.” he calmly prompted.

“I… Um… What exactly are you doing?” Bennett asked, taking a step closer.

“Trying to use my Elemental Sight to see if there are any traces of the Abyss Mages left,” he said, putting a hand on his chin. Bennett looked at him, confused.

“Hasn’t it been two weeks, though? Wouldn’t the traces get covered by the new ones already?”

Albedo’s eyebrows shot up.

“You are very insightful, Bennett,” he said, not without some sense of curiosity. The young adventurer sheepishly scratched on his neck.

“Um… Thank you, Mr. Albedo, but… It just seemed logical, you know? I have tried it before, and if the traces weren’t fresh, I would get lost.”

Albedo decided to swallow up the revelation about Bennett being one of those rare cases or having the Elemental Sight, to add in:

“It is true, but you are forgetting that I’m a Geo user. Some time ago I developed a technique that helped me find older traces as well.”

Bennett bowed, clearly lost in thought. He scrunched his nose and said:

“I understand but… Having a more direct thing would be more helpful, right?’

Not knowing where this is going, Albedo nodded.

“So why didn’t you start with the hoarfrost on that branch?” the boy said, pointing in that direction. Albedo, surprised, looked up and of course, the hoarfrost was there, clear as day.

He cleared his throat, trying to hide his embarrassment, and said:

“Oh! I guess I didn’t notice that. Thank you, Bennett.”

Seemingly unaware of his companion’s uneasiness, Bennett simply grinned.

“No problem, Mr. Albedo! Fischl also doesn’t always notice the obvious, so I kind of learned to do that for her!”

Notice the obvious, huh? thought Albedo, chuckling under his breath but said nothing out loud. He simply walked to the branch, put his hand just above the hoarfrost, and repeated the process. This time he saw it. The traces were going from the tree up until the same column where Bennett and Klee had been attacked. Albedo furrowed his brows. This did remind him of something, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

He moved his hand back.

“Bennett, keep your sword near you,” he said with a serious tone, glancing back at his companion. The boy nodded and wordlessly summoned his sword and they both walked in that direction.

Albedo activated his Elemental Sight once again, focusing to walk in the direction of the traces. They carefully moved past the spring of the small river, going straight to the bottom of the small cliff right behind the column.

With each step, the feeling of forgetting something important kept nagging Albedo, making him worried. He did trust his instincts, and they were telling him that this something he forgot about was a bad thing. Subconsciously he moved closer to Bennett, just in case.

The traces stopped abruptly near a wide crack in the base of the cliff. Albedo looked at it and his brows furrowed when he noticed glowing, purple letters that he saw only when the Abyss Mages sang while alone.

He subconsciously moved his hand up to lightly touch the inscriptions, when suddenly a bright light blinded him, and the next thing he knew, he was trapped inside of something akin to a glowing frost cage.

“Mr. Albedo!” Bennett yelled.

“Well. It appears that I have been traped” murmured Albedo, amused, which clearly couldn’t have been said about Bennett. The boy looked at him, distressed.

“Don’t joke about that!” he said, with a panicking note in his voice. “Are you all right?!”

“Yes, I am” he assured him. The cage wasn’t unpleasant. He did feel a bit chilly, but nothing aside from that.

“Can you try and melt it?” he asked Bennett, who quickly charged his sword with flames and swiped it through the icy railing… only for the ice to turn into flames. Bennett jumped back, horrified, while Albedo merely nodded his head.

“Interesting” he murmured, and completely ignoring Bennett’s confused face, placed his Solar Isotoma near the railing, which at that turned into a rock and back into ice. “Hm…”

“What is that thing?” he heard Bennet asking. He shrugged.

“A fun little surprise from our Abyss friends, I’m afraid.”

The boy looked at him.

“I don’t think this is fun! I can’t melt it!” he said. His lips began the tremble, which quickly brought Albedo out of his scientific mood.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to get me out of this” he reassured him. He fished out a small vial from the pocket of his coat, and poured two drops from the vial, right at the railing. The whole cage started to shake and after a moment Albedo and Bennet were looking at tight icy crystals.

“What happened?” Bennet asked, brought out of his distress for a moment. A faint smirk appeared on Albedo’s face.

“The tonic that I used shows the flaws and strengths of spells'' he explained. “The closer the crystals are to each other, the harder it is to dispel them, using an opposite element. This one here seems to be masterfully crafted, I gotta admit, but…” he pointed out a small crack in between the crystals “...no spell is perfect. I think if you point your sword into exactly this place, the cage would melt.”

Bennett looked at him, clearly anxious.

“Are you sure? It’s not like I don’t believe you!” he quickly added. “I just… Don’t want to hurt you” he said in an uncertain voice. Albedo forced himself not to sigh, not wanting to add up to the boy’s distress.

“I don’t think you’ll hurt me,” he said. “To be honest. I think it would be very hard for you, even if you tried. All you need to do is to strike on this crack, and this crack only, okay? I do believe in you.”

The small praise seemed to help Bennet to regain his composure because he nodded.

“O-okay,” he said, and charged his sword once more. He furrowed his brows, seemingly focusing on the crack, and struck once more.

The cage disappeared with a hiss, and Albedo calmly stepped out of the water puddle around him.

“Well, at least we know that we are definitely on the right track. This one looks like a hideout for a lab of sorts to the Abyss Order'' he said, taking a look back at the glowing letters. “A team should be sent here…”

“Mhm.”

He looked at Bennett, and immediately felt his heart split in two. The boy curled inside himself looking down, as if he wanted to hide his face. Albedo also didn't miss the death grip that his companion had on his sword. He walked closer to the boy, and carefully gave him a one-arm hug.

“Let’s go back to the tree, okay? I think we have to rest” he said, and Bennett nodded, letting Albedo walk him in that direction.

They sat down, took their sandwiches out, and started eating in silence.

Albedo’s gaze never left Bennett. The boy kept his head bowed low and he barely even took a bite out of his sandwich. He seemed to be lost in thought.

After a while, when Albedo started to really think that Bennett may be going into shock, the boy meekly called:

“Mr. Albedo?”

“Hm?” he hummed, fully turning to the boy’s direction, yet Bennett kept his eyes trained on the ground.

“You are a scientist so… Can you tell me if… If my bad luck is um… Treatable?”

Albedo sighed, but before he got to say something, Bennett continued.

“Because like… I mean you probably know how unlucky I am. Everything goes bad when I’m involved, and I… I feel like I’m putting people in danger, because of that, you know? Like Klee almost got hurt when those mages jumped out, and her bombs always go off when I’m with her, Razor once got freaking bitten by a snake because I accidentally scared it, Fischl was chased by a whole beehive when a branch on which I was sitting on broke, and now you got trapped in a cage and I…”

“Bennett” Albedo softly interjected. “Stop. You’re going to hyperventilate. Breathe for a moment.”

The boy looked up at him, and Albedo wasn’t surprised when he saw unshed tears in his eyes. He smiled, reassuringly.

“Come on, slowly now. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight.” he encouraged, taking a breath himself, Bennet quickly following him through. Once the boy seemed to calm down enough, Albedo continued. “It’s a hard question. But before I answer that, let’s walk through some of the things you have said. How could you know that Klee would jump at you, followed by the Mages?’

“I couldn’t but…”

“No buts. Let’s just look at this like scientists, through sheer logic, okay? Next, did you know that Klee’s bombs would go off regardless if you were near her?”

“I did…” he murmured, looking like he wanted to add a “but”, yet thought better of it. Albedo chuckled softly under his breath.

“How did the snake get scared?”

“I was trying to reach Razor before the Dendro slimes could and I stomped on it…”

“Did you see the snake earlier?”

“No!”

“Okay,” Albedo patted Bennett’s arm, seeing that he got upset. “Now Fischl. What exactly happened?”

“Master Diluc commissioned us to get some honey, so we went to the Whispering Woods, and Fischl pointed out that the branch that the beehive was under seemed stable, so I climbed on it…”

“Didn’t you say that Fischl has a habit of sometimes missing the obvious?” Albedo pointed out. Bennett flustered.

“Y-yeah, I guess I did.”

“And now with me. The only thing that you could have done was to tell me not to touch those letters, and it still isn’t guaranteed that I would have listened, since I get sometimes lost to the world.”

Bennett nodded, furrowing his brows.

“So tell me, Bennett, what all of those mishappenings have in common, aside from you?”

“That… That there’s a logical explanation to each of them?” he said, uncertain. Albedo ruffled his hair, nodding.

“Exactly. I think that most of them would have happened regardless if you were or weren’t there.”

Bennett pulled his knees closer to his chest.

“So why do people always say it was my fault?” he asked with a sad voice. Albedo sighed.

“Have you ever heard of a placebo, Bennett?” Seeing as the young adventurer shook his head, Albedo continued. “It’s an effect that happens when people firmly believe in something. For example, if certain medicine doesn’t work, but a person believes it works, it may appear like it's working.”

“And when people believe that I will bring misfortune it will happen?” Bennett asked, catching on. Albedo tilted his head to the side, thinking.

“More like if you believe it will happen, then it will. The problem with other people is that they will believe what they want to believe. There is another effect, which proves that if you assign a certain characteristic to someone, you will only see this characteristic, no matter what the person does.”

“It isn’t fair!” Bennett shouted, annoyed. Albedo smiled, sympathetically.

“It’s not,” he agreed. “But you know, screw what other people think.”

At the sight of Bennett’s shocked face, Albedo reminded himself that he had a reputation of a guy who never swore. He huffed a laugh. “But you need to start from yourself, Bennett. And I know, I know” he added, seeing as Bennett was about to open his mouth “it isn’t easy, especially with people being as they are. But you have people who would support you, right? Razor, Klee, Fischl, I would go as far as to say that even Kaeya or Barbara.”

“And… And you?” Bennett asked, looking at him doubtfully. Albedo gently smiled.

“Me, of course, as well. It’s up to you though, if and how you want to change it.”

“Oh… All right then! I will, just… I don’t have to start from today, right?”

“No, you don’t. Do it at your own pace, Bennett” Albedo said. He smiled briefly, seeing that the boy started to act cheerful again. He moved to bring his sketchbook out of his backpack and said: “Now rest for a while. We have a long way ahead of us.”

Bennett nodded, and Albedo let himself get lost in the strokes of his pencil. He only briefly came back, feeling the boy’s head on his arm, clearly asleep. He smiled to himself, adjusted his posture a little, so Bennett wouldn’t have a stiff neck, and got back to drawing.

#genshin impact #genshin albedo #genshin bennett #genshin fischl #genshin klee #genshin razor #genshin impact albedo #genshin impact bennett #genshin impact fischl #genshin impact klee #genshin impact razor #genshin impact fanfiction #genshin impact fic #sonia tries to write #mine #benny's adventure team

14 notes · View notes

bananaofswifts · 4 years

Link

Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’: Album Review

It’s hard to remember any contemporary pop superstar that has indulged in a more serious, or successful, act of sonic palette cleansing than Swift has with her eighth album, a highly subdued but rich affair written and recorded in quarantine conditions.

While most of us spent the last four months putting on some variation of “the quarantine 15,” Taylor Swift has been secretly working on the “Folklore” 16. Sprung Thursday night with less than a day’s notice, her eighth album is a fully rounded collection of songs that sounds like it was years in the interactive making, not the product of a quarter-year’s worth of file-sharing from splendid isolation. Mind you, the words “pandemic hero” should probably be reserved for actual frontline workers and not topline artistes. But there’s a bit of Rosie the Riveter spirit in how Swift has become the first major pop artist to deliver a first-rank album that went from germination to being completely locked down in the midst of a national lockdown.

The themes and tone of “Folklore,” though, are a little less “We can do it!” and a little more “Can we do it?” Because this new collection is Swift’s most overtly contemplative — as opposed to covertly reflective — album since the fan favorite “Red.” Actually, that’s an understatement. “Red” seems like a Chainsmokers album compared to the wholly banger-free “Folklore,” which lives up to the first half of its title by divesting itself of any lingering traces of Max Martin-ized dance-pop and presenting Swift, afresh, as your favorite new indie-electro-folk/chamber-pop balladeer. For fans that relished these undertones of Swift’s in the past, it will come as a side of her they know and love all too well. For anyone who still has last year’s “You Need to Calm Down” primarily in mind, it will come as a jolting act of manual downshifting into actually calming down. At least this one won’t require an album-length Ryan Adams remake to convince anyone that there’s songwriting there. The best comparison might be to take “Clean,” the unrepresentative denouement of “1989,” and… imagine a whole album of that. Really, it’s hard to remember any pop star in our lifetimes that has indulged in a more serious act of sonic palette cleansing.

The tone of this release won’t come as a midnight shock to anyone who took spoilers from the announcement earlier in the day that a majority of the tracks were co-written with and produced by the National’s Aaron Dessner, or that the man replacing Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie as this album’s lone duet partner is Bon Iver. No matter how much credit you may have given Swift in the past for thinking and working outside of her box, a startled laugh may have been in order for just how unexpected these names felt on the bingo card of musical dignitaries you expected to find the woman who just put out “Me!” working with next. But her creative intuition hasn’t led her into an oil-and-water collaboration yet. Dessner turns out to be an ideal partner, with as much virtuosic, multi-instrumental know-how (particularly useful in a pandemic) as the most favored writer-producer on last year’s “Lover” album, Jack Antonoff.

He, too, is present and accounted for on “Folklore,” to a slightly lesser extent, and together Antonoff and Dessner make for a surprisingly well-matched support-staff tag team. Swift’s collabs with the National’s MVP clearly set the tone for the project, with a lot of fingerpicking, real strings, mellow drum programming and Mellotrons. You can sense Antonoff, in the songs he did with Swift, working to meet the mood and style of what Dessner had done or would be doing with her, and bringing out his own lesser-known acoustic and lightly orchestrated side. As good of a mesh as the album is, though, it’s usually not too hard to figure out who worked on which song — Dessner’s contributions often feel like nearly neo-classical piano or guitar riffs that Swift toplined over, while Antonoff works a little more toward buttressing slightly more familiar sounding pop melodies of Swift’s, dressed up or down to meet the more somber-sounding occasion.

For some fans, it might take a couple of spins around the block with this very different model to become re-accustomed to how there’s still the same power under the hood here. And that’s really all Swift, whose genius for conversational melodies and knack for giving every chorus a telling new twist every time around remain unmistakable trademarks. Thematically, it’s a bit more of a hodgepodge than more clearly autobiographical albums like “Lover” and “Reputation” before it have been. Swift has always described her albums as being like diaries of a certain period of time, and a few songs here obviously fit that bill, as continuations of the newfound contentment she explored in the last album and a half. But there’s also a higher degree of fictionalization than perhaps she’s gone for in the past, including what she’s described as a trilogy of songs revolving around a high school love triangle. The fact that she refers to herself, by name, as “James” in the song “Betty” is a good indicator that not everything here is ripped from today’s headlines or diary entries.

But, hell, some of it sure is. Anyone looking for lyrical Easter eggs to confirm that Swift still draws from her own life will be particularly pleased by the song “Invisible String,” a sort of “bless the broken roads that led me to you” type song that finds fulfillment in a current partner who once wore a teal shirt while working as a young man in a yogurt shop, even as Swift was dreaming of the perfect romance hanging out in Nashville’s Centennial Park. (A quick Google search reveals that, yes, Joe Alwyn was once an essential worker in London’s fro-yo industry.) There’s also a sly bit of self-referencing as Swift follows this golden thread that fatefully linked them: “Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to L.A.,” she sings. The “dive bar” that was first established as the scene of a meet-cute two albums ago makes a reappearance in this song, too.

As for actual bad blood? It barely features into “Folklore,” in any substantial, true-life-details way, counter to her reputation for writing lyrics that are better than revenge. But when it does, woe unto he who has crossed the T’s and dotted the I’s on a contract that Swift feels was a double-cross. At least, we can strongly suspect what or who the actual subject is of “Mad Woman,” this album’s one real moment of vituperation. “What did you think I’d say to that?” Swift sings in the opening lines. “Does a scorpion sting when fighting back? / They strike to kill / And you know I will.” Soon, she’s adding gas to the fire: “Now I breathe flames each time I talk / My cannons all firing at your yacht / They say ‘move on’ / But you know I won’t / … women like hunting witches, too.” A coup de gras is delivered: “It’s obvious that wanting me dead has really brought you two together.” It’s a message song, and the message is: Swift still really wants her masters back, in 2020. And is really still going to want them back in 2021, 2022 and 2023, too. Whether or not the neighbors of the exec or execs she is imagining really mouth the words “f— you” when these nemeses pull up in their respective driveways may be a matter of projection, but if Swift has a good time imagining it, many of her fans will too.

(A second such reference may be found in the bonus track, “The Lakes,” which will only be found on deluxe CD and vinyl editions not set to arrive for several weeks. There, she sings, “What should be over burrowed under my skin / In heart-stopping waves of hurt / I’ve come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze / Tell me what are my words worth.” The rest of “The Lakes” is a fantasy of a halcyon semi-retirement in the mountains — in which “I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet / Because I haven’t moved in years” — “and not without my muse.” She even imagines red roses growing out of a tundra, “with no one around to tweet it”; fantasies of a social media-free utopia are really pandemic-rampant.)

The other most overtly “confessional” song here is also the most third-person one, up to a telling point. In “The Last Great American Dynasty,” Swift explores the rich history of her seaside manse in Rhode Island, once famous for being home to the heir to the Standard Oil fortune and, after he died, his eccentric widow. Swift has a grand old time identifying with the women who decades before her made fellow coast-dwellers go “there goes the neighborhood”: “There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen / She had a marvelous time ruining everything,” she sings of the long-gone widow, Rebekah. “Fifty years is a long time / Holiday House sat quietly on that beach / Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits / Then it was bought by me… the loudest woman this town has ever seen.” (A fine madness among proud women is another recurring theme.)

But, these examples aside, the album is ultimately less obviously self-referential than most of Swift’s. The single “Cardigan,” which has a bit of a Lana Del Rey feel (even though it’s produced by Dessner, not Del Rey’s partner Antonoff) is part of Swift’s fictional high school trilogy, along with “August” and “Betty.” That sweater shows up again in the latter song, in which Swift takes on the role of a 17-year boy publicly apologizing for doing a girl wrong — and which kicks into a triumphant key change at the end that’s right out of “Love Story,” in case anyone imagines Swift has completely moved on from the spirit of early triumphs.

“Exile,” the duet with Bon Iver, recalls another early Swift song, “The Last Time,” which had her trading verses with Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol. Then, as now, she gives the guy the first word, and verse, if not the last; it has her agreeing with her partner on some aspects of their dissolution (“I couldn’t turn things around”/”You never turned things around”) and not completely on others (“Cause you never gave a warning sign,” he sings; “I gave so many signs,” she protests).

Picking two standouts — one from the contented pile, one from the tormented — leads to two choices: “Illicit Affairs” is the best cheating song since, well, “Reputation’s” hard-to-top “Getaway Car.” There’s less catharsis in this one, but just as much pungent wisdom, as Swift describes the more mundane details of maintaining an affair (“Tell your friends you’re out for a run / You’ll be flushed when you return”) with the soul-destroying ones of how “what started in beautiful rooms ends with meetings in parking lots,” as “a drug that only worked the first few hundred times” wears off in clandestine bitterness.

But does Swift have a corker of a love song to tip the scales of the album back toward sweetness. It’s not “Invisible String,” though that’s a contender. The champion romance song here is “Peace,” the title of which is slightly deceptive, as Swift promises her beau, or life partner, that that quality of tranquility is the only thing she can’t promise him. If you like your love ballads realistic, it’s a bit of candor that renders all the compensatory vows of fidelity and courage all the more credible and deeply lovely. “All these people think love’s for show / But I would die for you in secret.”

That promise of privacy to her intended is a reminder that Swift is actually quite good at keeping things close to the vest, when she’s not spilling all — qualities that she seems to value and uphold in about ironically equal measure. Perhaps it’s in deference to the sanctity of whatever she’s holding dear right now that there are more outside narratives than before in this album — including a song referring to her grandfather storming the beaches in World War II — even as she goes outside for fresh collaborators and sounds, too. But what keeps you locked in, as always, is the notion of Swift as truth-teller, barred or unbarred, in a world of pop spin. She’s celebrating the masked era by taking hers off again.

Taylor Swift “Folklore” Republic Records

#taylor swift #folklore #review

83 notes · View notes

myforeverforlife · 4 years

Text

one and the same.

A oneshot as requested by an anon! Kyungsoo (superhero/villain au) and 56. "I don't do hugs."

Come send in a request here!

Pairing: Kyungsoo x Fem reader

Word count: 2,256

Masterlist

Kyungsoo hissed as you pressed him up against the wall, the rough concrete scratching at his skin through his super-suit. He glared down at you as you shoved your arm even further against his neck, holding him in place. Even Kyungsoo's superhuman strength was no match for you — not when you had the power to copy his ability.

"What's wrong?" you asked coyly, your free hand playfully booping his nose. "Copycat got your tongue?"

"Let me go, Copycat," Kyungsoo grumbled. Even with his super strength, once you copied his ability, it was a pretty even match between the two of you. Although now, Kyungsoo had the disadvantage of being held up against the alley wall.

"And if I don't want to?" you replied with a giggle. "You need to loosen up every now and then, D.O. Come out for a night on the town with me, the usual."

Kyungsoo swung out with his left leg, almost swiping your calf as you dodged out of the way. Instantly, you turned him around, pinning his hands behind his back. Kyungsoo yelped in surprise as his cheek hit the wall — he'd definitely feel that tomorrow too. You were standing right behind him, practically resting your chin on his shoulder.

"You know, I don't do hugs. Especially not backhugs, like this. But for you, I'll make an exception. Admit it," you whispered into his ear, fingers tracing teasingly over his wrists. "You like playing tag with me. It's why you never catch me, as much you know you could."

Kyungsoo's cheeks flared up, the pink color thankfully hidden under his mask. "You're being ridiculous."

"Oh? Someone's defensive. Where's your friend Kai tonight? Or Loey, the human flame? I'm surprised your friends aren't here to help you catch a little cat like me."

Out of all the days to be missing, it had to be today. Kyungsoo was currently cursing his friends for staying at home and gaming on their computers. Some stupid expansion packs, or updates, or something. Kyungsoo didn't have time for games. Both in the virtual and Copycat sense.

"They'll be here soon," he bluffed.

You hummed aloud, the sound much too playful for his liking. There was Chanyeol levels of playfulness, and then there was you. The most infuriating, confusing person he had ever set eyes on. And yet, he found himself being drawn to you more and more.

Even if you were a a thief, a villain.

"Right," you drawled. "Well, as much as I'd like to stay here and play all night, I have things to do too." A sudden blast of music cut you off, startling both of you as the opening notes of CBX's "Cherish" started to play from the phone in your back pocket.

"Shit," you swore under your breath. "Well, it was nice talking again, D.O. Maybe next time, you'll get me." You pressed a quick kiss to his mask-covered cheek before knocking him out, his body slumping to the floor. What a shame. Even with all of his righteous hero attitude, you had to admit that you had a soft spot for him.

You reached into your pocket, pulling out the phone and holding it to your ear. "This better be good," you said as you left Kyungsoo behind.

"Out flirting again?" the voice on the other end asked, sighing in exasperation.

"I'm not flirting. Not with you, at least."

"Y/N, just get the diamonds."

"Yes, sir." You gave a small salute, even though you knew your co-conspirator couldn't see.

"Make it quick. And get back safe."

"Alright, Xing. See you later."

Kyungsoo sat with an ice pack pressed to his head as he glared at his roommates. "I'm dropping the damn computers from the balcony. I wouldn't be hurt if it wasn't for you two. Stupid games."

Jongin and Chanyeol had the sense to look ashamed, the two lanky superheroes unable to look him in the eye. "Sorry, Soo," Jongin pouted.

"Yeah, really sorry. We'll take patrol tonight," Chanyeol added. "Just focus on getting better."

The other two superheroes stared at the side of Kyungsoo's head, wincing at the bump barely visible under his short hair.

"Copycat scares me though," Jongin mumbled. "I mean, she literally copies our abilities and uses them against us."

"That's why you're not supposed to let her touch you," Chanyeol added.

Kyungsoo gulped as he remembered the way your hands felt on his own, the brush of your lips against his cheek. He shook his head, wincing at the sharp pain that quickly followed soon after.

Jongin and Chanyeol fussed over him, forcing him to lie down and draping blankets over him like he was sick with the flu. Despite all of their attempts to help, Kyungsoo didn't feel peaceful until they left him alone, closing his bedroom door behind them.

Jongin was right — you were scary. But not for the obvious reasons. Kyungsoo was afraid of how much of a hold you had over him, the way you easily played with his heart. "It's because I haven't dated in a while," he reasoned to himself, although he knew that wasn't entirely it.

You were captivating, a mystery that Kyungsoo wanted to find out more about.

Even if it meant fraternizing with the enemy.

Kyungsoo grinned as Huchu, the freshly groomed dog that she was, licked at his chin while he cradled her in his arms. Much to his relief, she had gotten used to being dropped off and picked up at the pet groomers. The lobby was almost completely full, owners trying to bring their pets in as summer rounded the corner. Just as Kyungsoo was saying goodbye to the person at the counter, he heard the familiar notes of CBX's "Cherish" ringing through the air.

He could’ve sworn that he’s heard it somewhere before...

Kyungsoo was so focused on trying to remember how he knew the song that he didn't realize he was holding up the line, bashfully moving out of the way. Once he turned around, his eyes wandered over to a person sitting alone in a corner of the room, pulling out their phone and answering the call. Kyungsoo felt his blood run cold as he listened to the person speaking. He'd recognize that voice anywhere.

Before he knew it, his feet were taking him over to you. The hero waited, eyes blazing with determination until you noticed him.

"I think we've met before," he said lowly, trying not to attract attention from the other patrons in the room.

Kyungsoo knew right away that you recognized his voice, your eyes growing wide and mouth hanging open even while the person you were talking to tried to get your attention.

"Sorry, I'll call you back later," you hastily got out, ending the call and swallowing down the nervous lump that had appeared in your throat. "Hi. Out of all the places to meet," you laughed nervously.

"You... are you waiting to pick up your pet?"

"Hm?" You glanced at the counter, as if just remembering where you were. "Oh, no. I'm just waiting here for a friend. He should be on his way to pick up his cats," you explained when Kyungsoo only stared at you in confusion.

"Can we talk?"

"Uh, we are talking."

"Not here." Kyungsoo nodded towards the rest of the room, at the innocent civilians almost within hearing distance. It wouldn't be good for either of you to have your true identities aired out in public.

Your eyes flickered from the entrance and back to Kyungsoo, knee jiggling nervously as you sat. "Okay," you finally relented, standing up.

Kyungsoo led the way to the park nearby, Huchu walking with a bounce to her little paws while you and Kyungsoo followed behind in an awkward, tension-filled silence. It was strange for him to realize that flirty, agile Copycat was the same as this shy, flustered person walking beside him. Both of you settled down on a bench, Kyungsoo removing Huchu’s leash so that she could explore the grassy area close by.

"Listen," you finally managed to say. "Please don't tell anyone about me."

"Why would I tell anyone?"

Your eyebrows jumped up in disbelief. "Because that's what heroes do. They turn in the criminals, and save the day... right?"

Kyungsoo's mouth fell open as he fumbled over his words. "I... I don't even know your name."

You weren't sure how to respond to that. Not like you had been expecting this, anyways. "Are you asking for it?" you asked cautiously.

"No! Wait, I..." Kyungsoo groaned and put his head in his hands, his glasses in danger of sliding off of his nose. "I know that I should turn you in, but I don't want to, as crazy as that sounds."

He was met with even more silence, a chill running down his spine. Daring to take a peek, Kyungsoo turned to look at you. What he didn't expect was to see you grinning widely.

"Awww, you really do care about me! And here, I thought this was all one-sided." You laughed brightly, eyes turning to half-moons. It was still Copycat's voice that Kyungsoo was hearing, but the smile that you wore was much more innocent than any he had seen on the villain's face. It was a strange experience, reconciling the two personas into one person.

"It's not like that," Kyungsoo argued, despite the rapid fluttering of his heartbeat.

"Then what is it like then?" You waited patiently, head cocked slightly to the side.

Kyungsoo huffed in frustration — all directed at himself and the situation he was caught in. "What are you using the money for?"

"Paying off college loans. Helping my friend with his studio," you replied meekly. "He's the one I was supposed to meet today."

"So you can plan your next heist together?"

You gave a timid nod, unable to look him in the eye as the guilt washed over you. "I'm really sorry, honestly. But it's not like Macy's will go out of business if I swipe a few diamond necklaces, right?" You let out a nervous laugh, eyes trained on Kyungsoo's face as you waited for him to respond. His expression was unreadable — it was even harder to tell what he was thinking than when he wore his mask!

"Work with me," Kyungsoo said suddenly. "With me, Kai and Loey. Your friend can work with us too.

You could hardly believe your ears. "Are you serious? You trust me enough to work with you, your team? I'm nothing like you."

"You're gifted."

"That's all you're recruiting me for?" A pout settled on your lips.

Kyungsoo blushed. "I really don't want to turn you in..." he paused, realizing that he didn't know your name. Your lips quirked upwards in amusement, your name flowing like music as you spoke. It filled you with immense joy to hear him repeat it, to say your name, your real name.

"What about you? Or should I just keep calling you 'D.O.' in public?"

"I'm Do Kyungsoo."

You stifled a giggle. "I'm guessing D.O. stands for Do?"

Kyungsoo's face only grew warmer. "It's hard coming up with a good superhero name."

Humming in sympathy, you reached out to pat his knee. Both of you ignored the sudden rush of electricity at your touch.

"I mean it though," Kyungsoo continued. "If you keep doing things like this, someone will catch you eventually."

You tapped your foot against the ground as you thought. "I like your idea. It's been lonely, especially when everyone sees you as a villain. But I'll have to talk with Xing, first. I think he'll agree, though. Ironically enough, he's a big Loey fan." You rolled your eyes with a smile.

"Really?" Kyungsoo's round eyes grew larger, the sight brightening up your grin.

"Yeah. Just give me a day or two. Can I get your number?" Kyungsoo blinked owlishly, at a loss for words until you corrected yourself. "Just to get in contact with you. I mean, I figure it's easier than meeting up at the animal groomers."

Kyungsoo chuckled softly, the sound of it welcome to your eager ears. "Sure." He pulled out his own phone, both of you quickly exchanging numbers before you realized that you had left Yixing hanging.

"I'll text you as soon as I know." You hesitated, not wanting to leave but also excited to share the news with Yixing. "And, um, I really am sorry for... you know, the other day." You pointed at your head, both of you remembering how you had knocked him out cold. Without even giving him a chance to respond, you ran off, jogging back towards the pet groomers.

Kyungsoo felt a corner of his lips quirking up into a crooked smile as he stared after you. If he thought he was unhealthily drawn to you before, that was nothing compared to now. He glanced down at his phone, laughing to himself when he saw what you had put in for your contact name. While he had chosen to put his entire name in your phone, you had simply put a cat emoji. Cheerful, down-to-earth Y/N and mischievous Copycat were one and the same.

And Kyungsoo couldn't wait to see you again.

A/N: me, says I’ll keep everything under 2k words. also me, makes this slightly over 2k 😂 I had a few ideas when I was working on this, and had to keep restarting because I couldn’t stick with one. but! I was really certain that I needed to include the first scene 😉 I didn’t realize how much I missed writing a superhero au? it’s been years since I finished jongdae’s spiderman fic. it was fun to think of oc and yixing pulling off very small-scale heists, with oc doing the actual stealing and yixing being the brains behind the operations lol. and of course to have soo/jongin/yeol as the clumsy, but lovable superheroes.

#exo #kyungsoo #kyungsoo scenario #exo scenario #exo fanfic #writings #kyungsoo fanfic

83 notes · View notes

prismatales · 4 years

Text

Phonecall

Anon asked: Hi I was wondering if I could request an ~angsty~ fic where Todo finds out his s/o got severely injured in a fight, since they intern under a pro hero?

OOoooh! My first Angsty request! Let's see how this turns out! *cracks knuckles* Since you didn't specify the pronouns I'm going for a gender neutral character.

The mission had been a success, or so had everyone thought the moment the Pros, sidekicks and interns -including you- had finally apprehended all members of the Hallow Brotherhood, one of the most dangerous organizations to be known in the underground all over Japan.

The outcome of the raid had been expected, the organization's dealings with the black market, human trafficking and drugs dealings had been discovered and dealt with, ending their vicious rule once an for all.

Unfortunately success always comes with a price.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, the mission was supposed to go effortlessly, that was the sole reason only a few sidekicks and you had been sent to a reckon mission during the raid on the other side of the building, for an operation which was meant to be done in a matter of minutes:

Scout the perimeter, find as much additional evidence you could about the organization; Their leaders, suppliers and connections all around the black market and go back to the meeting point in three hours...Easy, right?

But nothing's simple when it comes to success and hero work, your team found out the hard way...

...

To say Todoroki was worried was but a mere minimization of his current emotions, he was shaking from anxiety, he had been on edge since you started the internship and were called to assist with this mission. While Midoriya, Kirishima, Tsuyu and Uraraka were on their own assignment, you had been requested by another group of Pros, alongside Setsuna Tokage from class 1-B for a different operation, but still as top secret and high-priority as theirs.

After their run in with Stain in Hosu, Todoroki didn't hear the end of it from his s/o, the moment he stepped inside the classroom. The agitated look in their eyes made it crystal clear that (Y/N) had been worried sick the instant the news of the hero killer injuring three students of U.A. had been released to the public.

Yes, hero work was not and would never be a walk in the park, someone was always bound to get hurt, everybody knew that, and yet it didn't pacify your nerves after hearing about your boyfriend and friend's altercation with one of the most dangerous villains in Japan.

An agreement had been made between you both, now matter what you were doing; training, exams, internships, official hero work once you graduated, you'd always call each other as soon as the mission was over.

"Promise me you'll call?"

He remembered those puppy eyes and that pout he just couldn't bring himself to refuse, of course he wasn't going to say no to begin with. Gently grabbing your hands and kissing the knuckles softly, Todoroki let out a reassuring smile that helped calm down the small pit of concern growing inside your stomach.

"I promise"

That was months ago, and he remembered every single time you both called each other if anything happened.

The time of the training camp? You were the first one to call him in the middle of the attack to make sure he was fine.

When he followed Midoriya and the other to rescue Bakugo? He called you once everyone was safe and sound.

Your very first day on patrol during your current internship? He got a call as soon as you were done and back at the agency.

And yet he couldn't stop the uneasiness slowly accumulating inside of him, you said the mission would take long, but he never thought it would be this long. The air around him was tense, anyone that got close enough to him could sense the suffocating feeling inside the dorm.

Iida was the first one to approach, placing a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder in hopes of helping calm down the heterochromatic guy's nerves.

"Todoroki, I understand that you're worried but remember, (Y/N) is quite a competent hero, there's no reason to be worried about" His hand moved on its own, making his signature gestures as he attempted to help his classmate and close friend.

Nobody was prepared to hear Mina gasp from her spot on the tables were she and the girls were studying together. Her hands covered her mouth in horror at the scene that appeared on her laptop. The others quickly went to see what had left the pink haired girl in a state of dread.

Their reaction varying from horror to shock, but the one feeling everyone shared in that moment along with the silence was the unease to look back at Todoroki, whom seemed to realize something was terribly wrong.

"What happened?" he walked up to their spot, noticing some of his classmates didn't really wanted to answer him, more than one actually trying to take the laptop away before he could catch sight of the screen. It was Momo who started talking to him.

"Todoroki-san...you might want to sit down first" she asked before he could get closer, concern on her features as everyone looked at him worriedly. He only squinted at everyone in the room before approaching to see what had rilled everyone up.

Someone had streamed the aftermath of a fight, it was the city where you had gone for the internship. The scenario was like the apocalypse had occurred.

A building had exploded, the pros were rescuing people caught in the explosion, paramedics had been called in order to help. The sound of screaming and cries could be heard all around the footage as people were being rescued from debris, unfortunately some people didn't made it.

That's when they saw an agitated Tokage hugging herself in the background, body covered in dirt and bruises as she talked to the Pro you were working with, she was shaking as the both gazed upon something laid before their feet, something that left Shoto so distressed he unconsciously activated his flames.

Even from afar the sight of a body covered by a sheet was visible with a stain of blood nearly soaking the fabric. His legs nearly gave up on him and the voices of his friends became static.

That couldn't be (Y/N), you said you'd be careful...it couldn't be you!

All of the memories of you and him together came back to mind...The day you guys awkwardly confessed to eachother at the same time, the day you met his mother, the mess the both of you had made in the kitchen the first time you tried to make homemade soba.

"We found another one!" Someone's voice cried loudly in the video, causing him to slowly look up at the screen, and his breath got caught in his throat when he realized the person being carried in a stretcher was his (Y/N).

You were alright....You were alright!....right?

That's what he wanted to believe, but the sight of your battered body, and the wound on your abdomen that slowly soaked the front of your costume with blood made the paranoia overpower his senses as he saw the ambulance take you away as quickly as they could.

Accordingly to the time the video was recorded everything happened nearly 30 minutes ago, that meant you were already at the hospital. He wouldn't just stay there and wait, he was going to see you, no matter what.

......

"We managed to stabilize them just in time, had they arrived a minute later I don't think we could have done anything" The doctor informed your parents, Shoto had run into them when he arrived to the hospital. Your mother had been hysteric while she was comforted by your father, until Todoroki arrived and she saw him, quickly embracing the boy in a tight grip and thanking him for coming to see you. Todoroki slowly embraced the older woman back.

That's when the doctor walked out of the room and gave a final explanation. Mentioning it would take a while for you to go back to normal, Recovery girl could help speed up the healing process, but you'd still need some time to rest before doing any physical effort.

"You may go inside to see them but I would suggest only two people should at a time"

It was a relief for everyone they moment the doctor mentioned you were already out of danger, Shoto and your parents nearly fell on the floor at the reassurance that everything would be alright.

He wanted to see you, he really wanted to...but seeing the look on your parent's faces...would it be selfish if he asked to see you first? It was like they knew what he was thinking because you mother smiled sweetly at him, the fear in her eyes long forgotten.

"You should see them first Shoto, we can go in later so don't worry about us" her words left him quiet for a minute, until he finally nodded gratefully before opening the door of your room. You were laying in bed in such a relaxed manner that if it wasn't for the bandages covering the right side of your face and the ones peaking out from the top of hospital gown it would seem like you were just taking a nap.

Silence filled the room except for the soft noise of your breathing, Todoroki quietly pulled a chair to sit besides the bed, he couldn't be thankful enough as he softly grabbed one of your hands and brought it closer to lay his face on the soft skin.

"Don't ever scare me like that again (Y/N)..." He didn't notice as your eyes slowly fluttered open or the way you looked at him with a confused expression.

"...Shoto...?"

It wasn't his imagination, was it? did he just hear you talk?

His face quickly turning up made him realize it was not a dream, there you were looking at him with a tired smile on your features, the hand he had been holding slowly caressed his cheek with a warm touch he just couldn't help but get addicted to.

"Hey...sorry I couldn't call you right away"

Todoroki couldn't help himself from leaning towards your touch with a broken laugh, even near the brink of death you still kept thinking about your promise.

"It's alright" He gripped the hand still caressing his cheek "All that matters is that you're safe"

That day he made a promise. He'd become a hero that would always be there to protect you. A hero that would keep everybody safe.

I hope you guys enjoy my first attempt on angst!

MASTERLIST

@t-amajiki @undead0relived @shoobirino @godtieruwu @bnha-ra @mysticalite

#bnha imagine #boku no hero academia #bnha #mha imagine #bnha imagines #bnha headcanons #mha headcanons #mha imagines #todoroki shoto x reader #Todoroki shoto #bnha shoto todoroki #bnha hcs #mha hcs #reader insert #tw:blood #tw: mention of drugs #tw: mentions of death #shouto todoroki

117 notes · View notes