#then again i was recovering from perishing due to the heat so maybe that's another reason why i'm late

[speakeasier]

I'M A BIT FUCKING LATE BUT ACTUALLY CRYING, SOBBING, THROWING THE FUCK UP IN THIS CLUB RIGHT NOWWWWW. NOT EVEN A JOKEEEEE.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

From Chin To Yon Rah (Part 15)

When she wakes she isn’t truly so. She is mostly dazed. Dazed with pain and numbness. There is a physical emptiness to accompany it. She can’t feel the baby’s kick. She already knows that she won’t be feeling it again.

She could cry out for help. Could stumble her way out of the house, clutching her bleeding belly. But she doesn’t have a reason to. Instead she crawls over to Atsu and cradles him in her arms. He is so still. She can’t handle it. She carries him over to Hajime and lays him atop the man’s chest.

She still can’t find Caihong. She doesn’t think that she wants to. She nuzzles herself up against Hajime to the best of her ability with those loathsome boulders in the way. And she stays there. For a very long time she stays there. She stays there until an army from Chin comes to survey the wreckage, recover bodies, and rescue survivors.

They rescue her but she wouldn’t call herself a survivor. She thinks that most of her is dead. All of the parts that matter anyhow. Yet they lift her away from Hajime and Atsu anyways with a promise to help her give them a proper and honorable burial. She wants them to pitch her into the hole and bury her with them.

She is mostly delirious. She doesn’t quite remember much of the trip to Chin. She doesn’t think that there is anything to recollect she was too far away for it to have meant anything. And now she is tired. Tired and as alone as she has ever been. No one comes to hold her hand and make her sickbed more tolerable. No one is left to come for her.

She thinks of Min-Min, of her small medicine tent and she wonders if the woman has perished as well. She flexes her ankle. She didn’t think that she would be seeing Min-Min much after than but then Atsu had a fever. And then she...she… She holds her hand to her belly, freshly stitched and bathed. Freshly and suddenly vacated.

She screams. Anger. Terror. Rage. Mostly rage.

She had been okay. She had been better. She was fixing herself. She had plans; perhaps it was going to be years, decades maybe, after the birth of her baby, but she was going to go home. She was going to go home and resolve things left unfinished. She was going to be okay.

Why can’t she be okay? She thinks that maybe it is because she isn’t allowed. She has done too much wrong...killing the Avatar doesn’t make for good karma, even if he ended up living.

She can’t do it. She doesn’t want to. Her fingers graze the stitch work. It would only take one hard yank and...her screams have drawn attention. She feels a hand come around her wrist. “Don’t mess with that.” The woman says. “In fact we should get this bandaged, I don’t know why it hasn’t been already.”

The woman is kind to her. They are all kind and tentative. They tell her their names as they tend to her wounds and make promises that she will be fine in time. They tell her their names, yes, but she makes a point to not remember them. She doesn’t want to get attached. One way or another the things she gets attached to leave her.

The stress and the sorrow make her sick. Physically so, her head hurts constantly and her stomach is always upset. Though that can be the product of losing her baby. She isn’t sure. She doesn’t care. She is ready to be lost too.

On most nights Azula screams. She cries. She has fits until the doctors sedate her, she welcomes it, it is the only peace she can get. And it is a false serenity. A numb serenity. On most nights she relives it all again. On most nights she sees their faces. Hajime’s, Atsu’s, Caihong’s, and Seukhyun’s. Mostly she sees the face of the half-blind soldier and  the woman.

She will find them both. She will find them and pick them apart in ways that only the throes of grief-induced insanity can show her. She will kill the both of them and then she will show herself out--let Vaatu tangle her in his coil his dark, spirit tendrils around her and drag her off to his domain.

She grips her face in her hands, nails biting into her hairline. She can’t take it, truly she can handle no more. And just like the first time, there is no one to take her through it. No one to make it better.

And it is her own fault. They would still be alive if she had just kept wandering. She is a beacon for misfortune.

But she was born lucky, she remembers.

That day she learns...what’s the point in learning anything at all if all roads lead to the same dead end?

.oOo.

If she listens hard enough she can still hear them. Mostly they remind her that they love her. Sometimes they blame her. They ask her why she didn’t save them. Deep down, even on the surface, she is aware that they would never say anything of the sort. But sometimes she can’t help but agree with them anyhow.

Lately she can’t get them to stop and so she goes through most of her days quietly, hazily. Exhausted.

“Hi, Azula!” TyLee greets.

Azula goes tense, she isn’t in the mood or place to power through another awkward, stumbling conversation however well meant it is.

“Are you feeling any better?”

She isn’t at all. She starts to nod that she is, but she has hesitated for too long.

“What’s wrong.”

���You can read the journal when Zuko is done with it.” She replies simply. She doesn’t need TyLee to know that she still hears things. She doesn’t need any of them to know that.

“Mai and I were thinking of going to the hot springs today, do you want to come with?”

She supposes that it is better than lingering at home. Maybe she can drown the voices out. Let them rise away with the steam. “Alright.” TyLee grins and flounces off before she can change her mind. Agni, she hopes that no one will ask her about the scar. Maybe she should just bathe in her robe, it will save the serving girls the trouble of one more article in the laundry.

.oOo.

Azula leans back and exhales. The heat envelopes her body and the steam rolls off of her skin--that which is exposed anyhow. She splashes water over her face and tips her head back, back, back until only her face is on the surface. She pulls her head out of the water and lets it run in rivulets down her back.

“It feels nice, doesn’t it?”

“Refreshing, yes.” Azula agrees.

“Well I don’t see a better way of spending the afternoon.” Mai shrugs.

Azula can’t disagree, the churning and bubbling of the water is rather soothing and the kaleidoscope of soap aromas is charming enough. She relaxes back against the rocks. Her hair fans out and her robe billows.

“Why are you still wearing your robe?” Mai asks.

“It’s comfortable.” She isn’t particularly lying, the fabric drifting and shifting with the flow of the water, quite pleasantly brushes her skin. Watching it ebb and flow is almost mesmerizing. It is lulling, her weary exhaustion metamorphs into a more languid, comforting tiredness. And maybe she is due for a good nap. She supposes that one day away from her rigid firebending regime couldn’t hurt her. In fact it very well may help.

“It looks comfortable.” TyLee agrees.

Azula lifts her arm out of the water and her robe clings to it.

“It might not be as comfortable when you get out.” Mai points out.

Azula shrugs. “I’ve had worse.”

For a while she listens to Mai and TyLee talk amongst themselves. There is a sense of distant normalcy in hearing them chatter. She remembers days when they would make idle conversation as she poured over schemes and plans. She supposes that they always had a sort of chemistry that she was just on the outer fringes of.

“Are you okay, Azula?” TyLee asks.

“You seem distant.” Mai adds.

“Just thinking.” She does that a lot. She does that too much. At least this time her thoughts are over things that she has mostly processed and forgotten. Mostly accepted. She toys with the drifting fabric. She is certain that the two of them have grown much closer in her absence. She isn’t sure that she really fits into the picture anymore, she isn’t sure that she ever truly had. She was a leader nothing more, nothing less. There might have been a bond, at least a small one but she hadn’t known how to make anything of it. They have a bond that she can’t...

“Are you sure that you’re okay?” TyLee asks again.

She isn’t. “I’m alright.” Maybe she should tell them the truth. Tell them that she ought to just keep her distance.

“Sokka said that last night was rough.”

“Today isn’t last night. I am fine now.” Maybe she just needs to give it more time. Maybe she is seeing problems where there doesn’t have to be any. She misses Wu-Jing where things just happened naturally. Where they just fell into place.

“Would you even tell us if something was wrong?” Mai sighs.

Azula is quiet for a good while. “No. Not yet.”

Mai nods. She doesn’t like the look TyLee gives her. The concern and the hurt. Even if trust wasn’t a factor she isn’t sure that she’d be able to talk about it a second time. She has ruined a perfectly relaxed mood. She dunks her head under the water again. “I am going to dry off.”

“Okay.” TyLee smiles. “Maybe we can try this again when you’re feeling better.”

“That sounds nice.”

.oOo.

“How did it go with Mai and TyLee?” Sokka asks.

“Well enough, I suppose.” She draws her legs onto the sofa and sits upon them.

“You’re soaking wet.” He observes.

She ought to change her robes and ring her hair out. But she has already sat down. “We went to the springs.”

“And you left your robe on?” He quirks a brow.

“TyLee would ask.” She shrugs. “About the scar.” She rubs her thumb against it. “I don’t want to answer questions.”

“Okay, no questions.” He fixes her with a look, a strange one. Perhaps something mischievous. “Actually, one question. Do you like your pancakes with or without little smiley faces?”

“I like my pancakes served at breakfast time, not lunch time.”

“Okay, but let's just say that some dashing, hilarious, and very charming fellow has made some pancakes. Do you want it to have a smiley face made out of fruits.”

She rolls her eyes. “He can have full creative control.”

“Smiley face it is!” He declares.

She clears her throat. “While you do that, I am going to…” she gestures to her robe. He gives her a thumbs up and she makes her way to her bedroom. She discards her waterlogged robe and slips into a particularly oversized shirt and baggier pants. They are comfortable enough.

She fixes her pendant around her neck and tucks it under her shirt. She picks up the stone next and rubs her thumb over its surface. She thinks that she will have it sewn into the badgermole. She thinks that she will sew it into the badgermole. But she doesn’t know how to sew. She scoops the stone and the badgermole up and places them on her bed.

.oOo.

“This would taste much better if it were breakfast time.”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “It would taste just the same!”

She shakes her head, “my sense of taste is the strongest in the morning.”

“That’s not even possible?” But she says it with such a confidence that it might just be. “Did I do a good job?”

She looks down at the pancake. “This eye is lopsided. But it is fine. Also, this strawberry chunk isn’t in line with the rest of them.”

Sokka sighs and pushes that chunk slightly upwards. “Better?”

“Significantly.” She replies. He watches her pour a small helping of syrup over it. “Do you know how to sew, Sokka?”

“I know enough to patch up clothes if I have to. Why?”

“I have a project that I would like to work on. A patch will do just fine.”

“Finish your pancake and I can get working on it.”

She shakes her head. “I want to do it. You show me how.”

“Okay, I can do that.” He smiles. He hadn’t expected her to return the smile. She has a nice smile, a soft, pretty smile. He hopes that he can make it last.

[buggiewuggieuggie]

Inevitable

Rated E

Struckercest smut (kids, cover your eyes)

AO3

It was the turning point of the war. A little over five years since their initial recruitment, the Struckers avenged their grandfather and single handedly changed history with the obliteration of Trask Industries. Most of the instrumental scientists perished in the attack, including Dr. Campbell. They managed to expose the drugged and brainwashed mutants kept in captivity. Though their actions were controversial, they inspired mob protests. The raging masses forced the government to bend a knee and offer real change. Sentinel Services were put into check and heavily sanctioned for their role in what was deemed mutant slavery. It was a major victory for the mutants.

With this, more and more mutants came out of hiding. The culture shift started with the younger generations but more and more mumblings of ‘mutants are people too’ echoed in the streets. The Struckers still needed to hide for their legally unforgivable crimes but it was different. They were heroes in the public eye. They weren’t actively being hunted so they, along with most of the Mutant Underground leaders, only needed to keep a low profile to maintain a peaceful existence.

This meant the Strucker siblings could easily blend into the streets of Chicago. They were never able to return to school. That would require documentation. They surprised their parents by deciding to live together. The siblings claimed it was for economic reasons and their parents were more than willing to accept that as the reason. They were doing alright, staying afloat between ordinary jobs and Mutant Underground’s support.

It allowed them more freedom than they have had in a long time. It’s why Lauren felt bold enough to bring home a stranger after a night out of drinking. Her feminine moans echoed throughout their tiny apartment. Her bedroom door was left slightly ajar purposefully. It gave her the perfect view of Andy coming home.

He was assaulted by the sounds of sex coming from his sister’s room. Dark forces compelled him to stand in front of her door. He peered in. She locked eyes with his. Those sharp blues nearly glowed in the dark. Whether due to her lover or her brother, the next moan from her throat had her grasping at the stranger’s shoulders. She threw her head back with a hot string of ah, ah, ahs. Objects around her room began to tremble as if in fear of what will happen next.

Bang. Her door flung into the wall. The transient boy lept off her in sudden panic. Upon seeing a visibly steaming Andy, he raised his hands in fearful surrender. “Hey, man, I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.” No-name rushed to get his pants back on for his escape.

Her eyes never left Andy. A tiny smile danced across her full lips. “I don’t.”

Yet there it was, the face of a jealous lover etched in his frown and down turned lips.

After the interloper made his getaway, Andy stalked over to her bed. Ever the hot head, he hissed, “What are you doing?”

“What did it look like?” She blinked not so innocently, adjusting her clothes.

Her answer served to poke his anger, promoting another set of rattling. “Why?”

With a sigh, she stood up and stepped closer to him. “Because I wanted to? I don’t need to do everything with you.”

The rising color in his face showed how much he wanted to deny that, the venom of argument on his stinging tongue. He’d gotten taller in the last few years, towering over her now, but he was still her same little brother.

“I haven’t had a boyfriend in a long time and you’ve never had a girlfriend. The war is over. Maybe it’s time we start.” Her gaze swept over him, harboring darker feelings, eager for his reaction.

He leaned in, licking his lips and in a low voice asserted, “Nobody else would be good enough for us.” His words sent tingles through her body.

This was a particularly dangerous line they danced around over the years.

On instinct, her hand reaches his. It was only natural given how much they’ve done it since discovering their combined powers. Though they haven’t officially taken the title Fenris due to their forebearers’ connection with nazis, it was a name they knew to be true between themselves. They were the ever-hungry, all-consuming Wolf.

Through their connected hands, he tugs her towards him. It left no room between their bodies. The taboo swelled within and surrounding them like a sizzling heat wave. Centimeter by centimeter, he crept closer until she could nearly feel his lips on hers. It made her dizzy and disoriented with desire.

“We shouldn’t,” Lauren gasped.

But her protest was empty. The corrosion of her moral compass has long since made room for murders, thefts, and other sins. It was the only way she could sleep at night and still do what needed to be done.

“We need each other,” he echoed her words from long ago, a memory of their vow.

The kiss blurred the lines of who finally made contact. But once it started, the freight train momentum allowed for no stops. She drank him in, her tongue teasing along the ridges of his teeth as she anchored herself to him. He wrapped an arm around her and crushed her body into his. She’d be damned if she didn’t enjoy the pressure.

He dropped his lips down to bite and suck along her throat. Her needy moan filled the room as their hips grind together. The room became unbearably hot. The only response was to claw at their clothing in attempt to rid of them.

They somehow made it to the bed despite being completely consumed in one another. Her back hit the comfortable mattress. She pulled his shirt up and her legs linked around his. He continued to taste along the exposed skin of her clavicle and above her breasts. Head tossed back, she cried out in frustration, “Andy, take it off.”

He stopped long enough to pull his shirt from his body, a goal that she gladly helped him with. Underneath he was lean but solid. He undid his buckle and tugged down both his jeans and boxers enough to reveal his raging erection.

Biting her lip, she couldn’t resist wrapping her hand around it. His cock twitched in greeting to her touch. He gave a shuddering noise before pulling her hand away. He pushed her low cut blouse up as he inched down to kiss along her exposed flat abdomen. She managed enough forethought to remove her shirt the rest of the way. Her muscles clenched under his warm mouth. He kissed down just above the start of her skirt and yanked down that obstruction. She kicked it off when they reached her ankles so she could part her thighs for him.

She was dripping wet when he cupped her pussy. His middle finger slid inside and she had a full body reaction. He groaned and spoke into her inner thighs. “Fuck, Lauren. You’re so tight, I barely got a finger in there.”

Her fingers gripped his hair and she tugged for his attention. “Please, just fuck me.”

He smirked. “Well since you said please.”

His body shifted to cover hers and they shared a moan when their most intimate areas caressed. He grasped her hand and pinned it beside her head. The tip of his long, hard member slid between her slippery nether lips. Different shades of blue eyes locked together as he aligned them. In one swift, hard thrust, he drove home. Her inner walls clenched and unclenched around him in rhythmic pattern. Her lips parted wide in silent scream and her eyes rolled back. He watched in rapt fascination.

Sweat dotted his forehead with the strain of staying in place despite how incredible it felt when she orgasmed around his cock. He frowned in confusion. “Did you just cum?”

Her breathing labored and still recovering, she could only nod.

A smug smirk on his face, he slid halfway out and thrust back. She yelped at the force. He picked up a steady rhythm. As with everything that he does, he was unrelenting and brutal in how he pounded into her body. Their bodies flexed and shifted against each other in give and take. It felt so good, he knew he wouldn’t last. He leaned down to kiss her again. Their still clasped hands flexed in reminder of their unique connection.

In the midst of their moans and the obscene sounds their bodies made, he forcefully told her, “Do it again. Come on, Laur, come for me.”

She shook her head no but being stubborn, he reached between them with his free hand. He rubbed tight circles around her clit in a way that sent her spiraling. Her voice rose several octaves and her unseeing eyes bore into his. She convulsed with the force of her orgasm, body shaking and clinging to his. He came with her this time, unable to resist how her pussy milked him. The joint explosion of their release lasted several long heartbeats.

He collapsed on top of her, face buried in her shoulder. She relished in his weight. She pressed a chaste kiss to his temple as they dissolved into recovery mode.

Catching her breath, she exhaled, “That was too good.”

“You’re welcome,” he huffed in agreement into her neck.

She rolled her eyes but continued, “I’m sorry I teased you earlier with that other guy.”

“Nah. I finally made a move cause of it.” He leaned up on his elbow to play with her light blonde hair.

She closed her eyes in a twinge of shame. “Mom and dad would have a stroke if they knew.”

“Yeah. Probably shouldn’t tell them.”

“Do you feel bad?” She gingerly poached, peering up at him.

“Not really. You?”

She searched her heart for the answer. “No.”

“Good,” he pressed a sweet kiss to her lips and settled back into a comfortable position.

They lay like that for a while until they felt the craving for more. This time, they took more time in exploring their bodies. The half moon filtered in through their windows as the only witness to their latest crimes. Their vow from once upon a time solidified.

It had been inevitable.