#then remember i am wearing a mask and it just looks like I'm ducking my head and scuttling across

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Five Little Ducks

Fandom: DC Comics, Batman

Summary: Bruce finds a magically de-aged Jason.

Chapters: 1/13

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Zatanna Zatara

Additional Tags: De-Aged Jason Todd, Magic, Babysitting, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, POV Third Person, Bruce Wayne is Not Okay, Bruce Wayne Tries, Jason Todd Has Issues, Childhood Trauma

Chapter One: Hickory Dickory Dock

Bruce leaped out of the Batmobile, blood pumping as he sprinted halfway across the docks and kicked in the warehouse door in a panic. He couldn't be too late. Not again. He looked around the room, his heart still beating in his ears. He shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to regain his cool. Jason wasn't a child anymore. He could take care of himself. Jason was probably long gone. Bruce tried to reassure himself that everything was fine. He turned to leave just as a pipe clattered and clanged against the cement floor, followed by a gasp. Bruce met eyes with a little boy with a bloody nose and bruised knuckles. He sat in the corner of the room shaking and crying, wearing a hoodie that was so oversized it pooled over his feet.

The boy held both hands over his face, stifling sobs as his body shook. Bruce's shoulders dropped, and he made himself appear smaller and less imposing. He stepped forward to approach, and the child screwed up his face and broke into a sobbing mess. "Oh no, I'm not here to hurt you-." The little boy shook his head frantically.

"No! No," he pleaded. Bruce sighed and sat down where he stood.

"I only want to help," Bruce reassured him. "Can you step into the light for me?" The child shook his head. "My mask is awfully spooky, huh?" The boy nodded. "Don't worry. I'm just a regular man under the mask."

The little boy shivered in the cold. "It's too cold in here to stay all night... I actually have a ravioli soup to pick up in a little bit, and I couldn't possibly eat it all by myself. Do you know anybody who might want to eat hot and spicy ravioli soup with me?" Bruce questioned. The little boy's stomach growled. Bruce reached out, and the little boy took his hand. "Oracle-."

"Got it," Barbara replied. Bruce held his hand out, and the child finally accepted. Bruce took a wet napkin and wiped his face and hands clean, checking for signs of a broken nose.

"Does that hurt?" Bruce questioned. The little boy tried to stop himself from crying. "Does your head hurt?"

The little boy shook his head. "No..." His voice was small, almost mouse-like.

"Okay... I don't think anything's broken," Bruce whispered, "Will you come with me?"

Bruce walked him to the Batmobile and set up the car seat he kept around for emergencies. He buckled the boy in and checked to ensure the seat belt was secure. The little boy grabbed Bruce's wrist, and they locked eyes. There was a strange familiarity swimming around in the boy's downturned eyes. "Am I in trouble?" asked the boy. Bruce shook his head. "Are you gonna take me home after?"

"I'm going to try to. How'd you get way out here?" Bruce asked.

Bruce hopped in the Batmobile and started driving toward the restaurant in Little Italy. "I don't remember," the boy mumbled, "I usually remember things... But I don't know this time. I never go this far away by myself."

"Do you know what neighborhood you live in?" Bruce questioned. The little boy swung his feet as he looked around at the Batmobile's interior.

"Uh-huh. I live in the apartments on Park Row," the boy answered, "Mr. Batman, you hurt my daddy before... But sometimes, he does bad things. My mommy says sometimes people have to do bad things to survive."

"Well-."

"I think he had to go away again and get punished," the little boy explained.

"I'm sorry that I hurt your father," Bruce apologized.

"It's okay... You probably didn't know. Sometimes people hit people because they don't know better," the little boy justified. Bruce shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he pulled up into the alley.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Bruce asked. The little boy nodded.

Bruce went into the back entrance and paid for his order. He took an empty soup container and split his order in two before grabbing his forks and returning to the Batmobile. He climbed into the backseat and draped a napkin over the boy's lap before handing him his soup. "Thank you," the little boy whispered. Bruce could tell it'd been a while since the child's last meal, but he had excellent manners. Bruce ate with him in silence. "Do you know my name?"

Bruce shook his head. He thought it was a strange question. "Do you know Santa Claus?" the little boy questioned.

"No, I can't say I do," Bruce replied, "What is your name, by the way?"

"Jason," the little boy answered. Bruce turned to him and shook his head.

"Jason Peter Todd?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded and smiled.

"Hey! You told a fib! You do know my name," Jason giggled. Bruce's breath caught. How was that possible? Jason was a full-grown man when Bruce received the distress call earlier. Who could've done something like that to him? "Mr. Batman?"

Bruce took off his mask and looked him in the eye. He hoped it would spark something in Jason's memory. "Jason, how old are you right now?" Bruce questioned.

"You're Bruce Wayne," Jason grinned, showing Bruce the little gap in his front teeth.

"Jason, please. How old are you today?" Bruce asked.

Jason frowned. "I'm five... Are you mad at me?" Jason questioned. Bruce shook his head.

"Do you remember talking to me today? We talked to each other three times today... I've known you since you were twelve, and I-."

"Mr. Wayne... I'm five," Jason whispered.

Bruce sighed. Jason was literally five years old. He had no memory of the past nineteen years, and there was no way to explain any of it without traumatizing him. "Well, Jason, if your mommy and daddy aren't home, do you want to stay with me for a little while?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded.

"How'd you know my whole name?" Jason asked.

"I'm a good detective," Bruce answered. Jason hiccupped and apologized. "It's alright. Jason, is it alright if I take you to a doctor and let her bandage up your cuts?" Jason nodded. "If you're good, Dr. Thompkins might give you a sticker."

Jason lit up. "I know who Dr. Thompkins is! She helped my mommy once when she was sick," Jason explained. Bruce smoothed Jason's hair down in the back. He felt something warm and wet, like blood, and he drew his hand back to see a glowing inscription on his hand. Magic. Of course, it was magic.

Corpus et mens infantis ad cor infantis. It was written in liquid on Jason's head and Bruce's palm. Jason didn't notice the glowing green inscription. "Does Dr. Thompkins know you're Batman?" Jason asked. Bruce nodded. "Am I asking too many questions, Mr. Wayne?"

"You can ask all the questions you want, Jason. Okay?" Bruce reassured him. Jason nodded as he drank the tomato broth from his soup container. Bruce smiled and wiped Jason's face. "I used to have a little boy like you... Except he wasn't as little as you. He was older... But to me, he was my little boy."

"Is he gone?" Jason asked.

"Kind of," Bruce whispered.

"Do you miss him?" Jason questioned.

"All the time," Bruce whispered, "He was only little for such a short time. I wished I could turn back time and be better to him."

Jason looked at the sad expression on Bruce's face, and he tapped his shoulder. "I bet he misses you too," Jason reassured him.

[buttterknifeee]

Family Visit- Teen Titans x Aquagirl! Reader

Masterlist

Request: May I request a noncanonical episode where the titans meet Aquagirl's family?

Summary: You can't escape your strained relationship with your parents even through fanfic sorry

Word Count: 2274

A/N: first non-canon fic I've gotten! There's still more so I'll try to get those out b4 getting to episode inserts :)) Hope you like!

It was an average day as a Teen Titan for you. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and members of the HIVE decided to rob a bank at 7 in the morning.

You yawned, dodging a blast of energy from Jinx, ducking as Gizmo tried to mow you over mid-air; nothing new. That was until you heard a beep from your T-communicator.

Huh. That's weird. All of my teammates are here; who could this be from? You stop mid-fight and pull out the communicator.

"Hello?"

"Y/n!" You hear a voice on the communicator. It was your dad.

"OH hi dad!" You say, putting your hand on your hip.

"How's Jump City? Are you doing well in school?" He asks. You wince, remembering the fact that you hadn't told anyone in your hometown that you were Aquagirl, including your parents.

"Uhhhh yeah! Things are going great!" You say, barely dodging Mammoth trying to barrel into you. Beast Boy turns into a lion and jumps onto him, so you go back to your call.

"What's going on over there?" Your dad asks. "I'm hearing a lot of noise on your side. Are you in a fight?"

"NO! Um, no I'm not." You stumble, sweat dripping down your face. "You know how school is! Always busy, people talking, and my service is bad here so that's probably why too!"

"Well, your mom is home today, so I think you should come down and visit!" You dad says.

"Today? I ,uh, have plans with my friends." You protest, looking over to your teammates, who are still fighting the HIVE.

"Bring your friends too then! Or I'll come up and visit you!" He says. You freeze, thinking about the giant T-shaped tower you live in.

"NO! I mean- I think I can come down today actually. I'll see you soon!" You say, flustered. You hear a click of the phone hanging up and you hang your head.

"Aquagirl, to your left!" You hear a Cyborg yell. You swiftly punch towards your left, hitting Jinx square in the nose. The rest of the HIVE members laid defeated on the ground. You look at your teammates, who were waiting for you to explain the phone call.

"It's gonna be a long day."

.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T TELL YOUR FAMILY ABOUT YOUR JOB??" Beast Boy yells. You were back at the tower, and you sat all your teammates down for a talk.

"How was I supposed to tell them?? 'Hey mom and dad I woke up with magical powers and now I'm a superhero with five other people you don't know and oh yeah! I live in a GIANT T-SHAPED TOWER.'" You argue, steam blowing from your ears.

"So how're we gonna visit them?" Cyborg asks.

"We just won't mention it!" You decide, hands on your hips.

“Yeah, easy, it's not like half of us aren’t fully human.” Raven remarks.

"So you will choose to be ingenuine?" Starfire asks. "On my planet that is looked down upon."

"On every planet that's looked down upon." Robin says, concerned. "Aquagirl, are you sure you don't wanna tell them? You can't hide who you are forever."

"You're one to talk, Mr. Mask-and-secret-identity-guy." You blurt, before sighing. "Listen guys, it's just for today. I'll figure it out later, ok?"

They all reluctantly nod and you smile.

"Ok, let's get you set up with disguises."

.

You scan the line of Titans, all dressed in casual wear. You yourself were wearing an outfit similar to a school uniform. You wore a collared shirt, a black pleated skirt, and white socks with black shoes. To you it screamed, hey mom and dad look how good of a student I am and definitely not a crime fighter!!!

"I think you guys look completely normal," You said, satisfied.

"Uh huh. Like this is totally normal." Beast Boy whined, wearing a pair of headphones to disguise his pointy ears.

"Yeah, and if anyone asks, you got into the green food dye." Robin jokes, a dark pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes.

"How will I be able to explain my non-earthly toned skin?" Starfire asks, sporting a bright pink dress.

"We'll just say that you tan a lot! And that Raven doesn't tan enough." You say. The pale girl just stares indifferent. You didn't have any clothing that fit Ravens style, so you settled on a Hello Kitty t-shirt over her black leotard.

"Aquagirl," Cyborg calls your attention. "You know I never wanted to wear this again." He points to his sweatshirt, the hood hiding his robotic eye. It’s what he wore when you first met him, back when he was ashamed to say that he was made out of metal.

"I know I just- I don't want them to find out just yet." You stutter. "They'd freak if they found out what I was doing."

"You're not them, A.G. You're special; they deserve to know that. " He said calmly. You looked at him.

"I know I-I just need this one day. I promise." You plead. He looked at you reluctantly then nodded. You smiled weakly.

"Ok team- Let's get this show on the road!"

.

You got to your house a few hours later. It's not like you actually traveled; you told your dad that you would get there at around noon by train, then had Raven teleport you guys there when the time came. You stood outside of the house; it looked the same, almost like you never left.

You breathed, adjusted your skirt, then knocked on the door. It opened almost immediately, revealing your dad. He looked the same, maybe slightly more wrinkly than the last time you saw him, and maybe you got taller from when you first joined the Titans.

"Y/N!" Your dad exclaims, pulling you into a hug in front of your friends. You stiffly hug back, aware of your friends being right next to you.

"Hi dad, where's mom?" You ask, breaking the hug.

"She's inside. Who's your friends?" He asks.

"This is uhhhhh…" You just realized that you never figured out fake names for your friends.

"Rob… Stacy… Rachel…uh…Ben…and… Vic!" You say, trying to hide the fact that sweat was visibly rolling down your face.

"Ok.. it's nice to meet you all." Your dad said, eyebrow raised. "Please, come inside."

You motioned for the other Titans to enter your house. Your house was right near the beach, so it had lots of windows and simple furniture, though the biggest shock to you was how clean it was.

Now that I think of it, the Titans are the first people in years to visit; I never even had my other friends come over, you realize, making your way over to the dining room table. Suddenly you hear a voice.

"Y/n?" Your turn to see your mom, coming out of her room.

"Hi mom," You go up to hug her before sitting back down, and she decides to sit next to you. You look at the other Titans from across the table as your mom begins to talk.

“So, who are all your friends?” She asked. Your dad interjects.

“She already told me hon. That's Ron, Tracy, Raquelle, Beck, and Vin.” You winced as he further butchered their names.

“So, how did you all meet?” your mother asked.

“We met.. At school obviously.” you say.

“Oh, yes! I was confused as to where my classes were located, and they assisted me.” Starfire adds. That fact was somewhat true, minus the school setting.

“She’s a foreign exchange student,” you nod, hoping that that explained her odd vernacular.

“I see. And you’re all roommates with one another?” she asks.

“Yes,” Robin says. “We share a dorm, but we all get our own rooms.”

“And what sort of electives do the rest of you take?” your mom continued to drill them.

“Computer science.”

“Astrology.”

“Literature.”

“Martial Arts.”

“Uh, lunch is an elective, right?”

“He’s in ceramics.” you say.

“And school is going well for you?”

“Of course! You know me; straight A’s as always.” you lie through your teeth.

“Not surprised. I heard Jump City’s pretty dangerous, there’s tons of villains there.” your mom changes the subject. “Do they even have superheroes there?” The room felt tenser than ever.

“Uh, yeah there are actually.” you say. “I heard they’re a bunch of teens too.”

“Oh yeah, leave protecting the city to a bunch of kids.” your mom complains. “No wonder I haven’t heard of them.”

“I'm sure they’re doing their best.” Cyborg says flatly, glaring at your mom. You look frantically at Cyborg, telling him to cut it out.

“So uh, aren’t you wondering what it’s like for us to live together?” you say to try to break the tension. “‘Cause it's pretty nice.”

“Of course. Has y/n been a satisfactory roommate?”

"Oh yeah, she's great," Beast Boy leans back on his chair, chowing down on food from your refrigerator. "Never had a better team- I mean roommate."

"I see," she says. "Why don't you all go hang out outside while I talk to y/n alone?"

They all stare at you and you stare back, your way of telling them, just go. I'll be fine.

They all reluctantly leave, leaving you with your parents. Immediately she starts criticizing them.

"Have you seen how tanned the tall girl is? Honey, tell her how tan the tall girl is." Your mom says. Your dad silently nods.

"And all those boys; terrible manners. Eating our food, talking back like that, and wearing sunglasses inside!"she scoffs. You hang your head.

"I don't see why you can't move back y/n. I don't think these people are good for you."

"Why do you care so much? You don't even know them!" You argue.

"I want to see you succeed. You're already doing so well in school." She defends.

"I can't do this. " You push out your chair. "I'm going outside to be with my friends."

You walk out the door and head to your friends, who were waiting for you patiently.

"What happened?" Robin asked, as you rejoined them.

"Well," You smile sadly. "Turns out they don't approve of you guys even when you're not superheroes. They think that I need to be surrounded by the perfect people to be perfect."

"Well, you're already perfect to us," Cyborg reassures, putting a hand on your shoulder. "If they can't accept that, they don't deserve you."

"Thanks Cyborg." You smile. "I think we should go home now."

"Hold it right there, pit-sniffers!" You hear a voice yell. It was Gizmo, back with the HIVE, more angrier than ever.

"Gizmo," Robin snarls. "How did you find us?"

"You didn't think we'd find out why you ditched us? We're not stupid, unlike you guys." Jinx laughed.

"Well if it's a fight you want," Cyborg said, removing his clothes to reveal his robot exterior. "It's a fight you're gonna get!"

The other Titans removed their clothes to reveal their costumes and charged into battle. You were about to do the same when an arm yanked you back. It was your parents.

"Y/N! Stay back!" Your mom yelled.

"No!" You yelled back, pulling your arm away.

"BUT-" she stopped as she noticed your friends, almost in uniform fighting. “What the-”

"Mom, you know how you said that there's a lot of villains in Jump City? The reason why they're stopped is because of my friends! My team! ME!" You yell, pointing to your team. Your parents stared at you in shock.

"What??? But how???"

"I got powers the day I left and I've been fighting crime ever since! I've been defeating bad guys! I've been missing school! And I'm sorry that I lied but that's who I am now!" Tears began to form in your eyes.

"Go," your dad says, putting a hand on your shoulder. You smile and run into the fight, your parents watching in awe. You rip off your shirt to reveal your uniform underneath.

"Titans! Fall back!" You yell. You stand in front of your opponents, excited to take you on. But what they failed to realize was that they were on the beach.

Your eyes glow blue as you raise your hands. Tendrils of water spike out from the ocean and into your command. You aim at Gizmo, the water seeping into his gear and causing it to go haywire. You blast one at Jinx, causing her to go crashing into the ground. You allowed one to seep into the ground, the sand pulling away at Mammoths feet, trapping him in a giant pit.

Faster than you can say "Wait, Slade's first name is SLADE???" You had defeated the HIVE. The team cheered and ran over to you. You laughed, hugging them. You saw your parents come over and immediately tensed up.

"Just breathe." You heard Cyborg whisper.

"Mom, Dad, these are my friends. Cyborg, Robin, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire. And I'm Aquagirl."

"Thank you for protecting us." Your mom said calmly. "Y/N- or Aquagirl I should say, I see now that your friends have helped you grow. I am proud of you."

You hugged your parents and sniffled.

"I'll make sure to visit more often." you promise, then turn to your friends.

"So, is it time to go home?" Raven asked.

"Well, we could go home…" Cyborg starts.

"Or we could grab some pizza!!!" Beast Boy exclaims.

"I know a place nearby." You mentioned.

"Sounds like a plan." Robin smiles.

"Let us go and celebrate, friends!" Starfire cheers.

You smile. Everyday you’re more thankful that you found the Titans as your friends.

[valeskakingdom]

Request

Could I request a part 3? Jerome keeps the reader as his hostage for popularity and attention. Reader is really fond of the attention she gets as well and eventually sleeps with Jerome again? In the end she sees how Galavan kills him and is really sad?

Requested by @violentvaleska

So guys, here's part 5!!

Credit gif: @jokersbabe27

Jerome x female reader (part 5)

Warnings: mentions of violence and murder, depression

Word count: 3378

*Later that day at the charity*

"Already excited for my show, doll?" Jerome grinned through his magician costume. you hated that costume. It hid Jerome's beautiful face with a shitty beard, his hairs were under a stupid wig and a black cylinder. And that tuxedo...gosh, you hated it thought not as much as the wig or the fake beard. The worst on it was his name...'Rodolfo'. You were disgusted by that name.

No magician in that universe would ever call himself like that! It sounds so ridiculous!

"Of course! Though I already know you'll be amazing as always." You smirked pressing a kiss on his cheek "Give them the best show they've ever seen!"

"That ain't be a problem for me" Jerome grinned "Even Hundini wouldn't have seen such a great show." You giggled at his comment.

"Without further ado, please allow me to present you the Great Rodolfo!" Immediately, Jerome walked on stage, everyone was applauding - even you. You were excited for how he was acting as a magician. Of course, you knew he was doing it well anyway. Jerome was professional. He could play every role in this Earth perfectly!

"Ha! Greetings ladies and germs," Jerome walked on stage "I am indeed the Great Rodolfo! Please ogle my lovely assistant. Ohh, for my first act, I'll require a volunteer. Let me see. Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, goose!" Jerome pointed at Bruce Wayne, the richest orphan in Gotham that was hated by every villain - really, everyone wanted to kill him.

"Hello, young man. Does this handsome gentleman have a name?" You heard Jerome saying after she went out to the crowd to bring him back.

"Bruce." The boy responded.

"Bruce! Well, Bruce. This won't hurt a bit." He clapped two great blades together "Is there a doctor in the house?"

Jerome sticked one of the blades in the box along with the other one. The audience gasped, them applauded him.

While watching you were astonished about Jerome's well, acting. Nobody noticed it was him. Neither Bruce nor the other guests recognized anything. Almost unbelievable for you.

"Some people say Bruce has a split personality." Jerome laughed loud while Barbara brought the little kid back to his actual place "For my next illusion, I'd like to call to the stage esteemed Deputy Major Harrison Kane."

Barbara pushed a rolling table, covered with a tarp, forward that it stood in front of Jerome. She pulled the tarp back and you could see any kind of knives laying down there. You were thinking about what was coming next. Is Jerome still playing with him or is he about to kill that guy?

Barbara bended down making the others noticed the next illusion was incoming. But a mistake happened, her mask fell down.

They're fucked!! You thought panicking. If anyone of the guests recognized them, they all would have a big problem. People would call the police, others die, the police finds you and eventually become informed about Theo, as well.

But Barbara kept being professional. Nobody made a move to start panicking or to call the police. Everything stayed normal.

"By the way, nobody is getting out here alive." At first the crowd laughed because they thought he was just joking - of course, he did not. Jerome killed the Deputy and the gunfire started. People were screaming and hiding in hope they weren't the next victim.

You flinched a little in surprise, although you might have expected it. Who would Jerome not kill expect you? He killed his mother, now the Deputy Major...it was just a matter of time to see who was his next victim.

For you, that all was pretty exciting, but also a big feeling of unpleasantness came over you. This situation reminded you of the day Jerome kidnapped you. You had flashbacks. You fear, you uncomfortableness, the nervousness, the wish to go home...everything came back - you knew best how the victims felt right now, and.

And as the last time, something told you that this situation wouldn't turn out well.

You wanted to be with Jerome right now. You just wanted to hug him, you wouldn't care whether he liked it or not, you just needed it.

But you couldn't go to him. You promised him to stay backstage to watch his marvellous show. And you knew, as everyone else knew what would happen if you broke the promise. His mood would change again and you needed to see whether it would turn out well for you or not.

You just stared at your lover. Finally he took the cylinder from his head as the wig, his black mask and the beard. Finally he presented himself again. You couldn't help but smile. You saw him being excited, being happy. He was the star in the show as he was the boss. You loved to see this: him standing there calm and managing everything while around him was pure chaos.

He was so professional you thought.

Out of nowhere, another woman was brought on stage, it was Lee Tompkins.

She was handhuffed, her gaze expressed fear and panicking.

They probably have taken her from behind as she was about to call the cops to tell what was going on.

You saw Jerome gazing at her with a smile - immediately, you hated her. You hated how you Jerome looked at her, how he smiled at her. It looked the same as every time he was smiling at you.

"Hey, darling" You felt shivers down your spine and jealousy came over you as he said that, you hated when Jerome was acting kinda flirty with other women. You always got the feeling they'd be much better than you but you also that your thoughts are wrong "I need to borrow your phone for a moment. We wanna tell Jimbo how the show's going on, don't we?"

And so he called him:

"Sorry Jimbo, it's just little old me!" He said nothing for a moment, then "Are you outside? You are, aren't you?" He cackled" Oh, goody!"

"Breathe, James. I haven't touched a hair on your girlfriend's pretty head." See for yourself. This is live television after all." You heard Jerome laughing after he responded to 'Jimbo'.

Then Jerome and Barbara tied Lee up on that big wheel pretending to shoot her head. It was all to entertain the crowd, to make them love. No one loved though - besides you. You loved their show. It entertained you and you loved to see your lover in action.

"True, but not the point. Hey, let's talk about what I want." Jerome walked down the stage closer to the camera "$47 million, a helicopter, obviously, the dry cleaning I left at Mr. Chang's be careful, the man is a crook, and mm, I don't know, a pony. Uh, you got ten minutes or I start killing people. Remember this is being broadcast to every home in Gotham, so, don't let people die. Bye!" Jerome laughed into the phone as he hung up "I think that went well." Jerome looked at you giving you a wink with a smile.

"Enough! You need to pack up your pathetic little sideshow and leave!" You suddenly heard Theo yelling from the other side of the stage. You were confused. What was he doing here? He told them to do this! Or did this still belong to the show?

"Is that right?" Jerome asked with a smirk.

"It may be presumptuous to speak for all citizens of Gotham. But we are sick of you! You're a small, vicious man with a pathetic need for attention. Enough man, for God's sake, enough!"

You were even more confused about Galavan's words. Something was in the bush. In his tower he spoke in high claims of Jerome that he was the star in the show, that he trusted Jerome most that he'll do it. What was wrong now?

"I'm curious what your leverage is here, Mr.?"

"Theo Galavan"

"Well, Mr. Theo Galavan, if you don't sit down, uh, I'm gonna shoot you. In your face."

"I know there is some human decency left in you. If you need a hostage, take me. But let these people go home! To their families, to their children." Before Theo could continue his speech, Barbara knocked him out with a some kind of pan. You giggled for yourself, almost laughed loud. It looked so stupid for you how he fell on the ground. It was like in a real blockbuster.

"Boring" Barbara stated.

"Right" Jerome cackled loudly, then he made his way to you with a big grin in his face. Automatically you grinned, too.

"How do you like the show doll?" Jerome grabbed your hands and pulled you close to him. You felt a slightly blush spreading over your cheeks as he pressed his lips against yours. His hands grabbed your cheeks softly to intense the kiss.

"I love it! It's very exciting" You grinned wrapping your arms around his neck while he wrapped his arms around your waist "But I'm much happier about you not wearing this cruel costume anymore. It covered your face, I hated it."

Jerome just chuckled about your comment and kissed your forehead.

"I have an idea," You just raised your brows looking at him in interest "Wanna be the star in my show?"

"Of course I do!" You smiled wide before he pressed his lips against yours quickly, then you both walked out. Gasps filled the room, all eyes were on you. They all knew who you were. You were the missed girl everyone was looking for. They either thought you were dead or that you were left at a lost place. But now you stood there - healthy, happy, self-confident.

"I know what you all think: That's (Y/n)! What is she doing here?! Where has she been?! I tell you all a secret: She was with me all the time." Jerome grabbed your face soft making you giggle "She's gorgeous, isn't she? Always has a pretty smile in her face."

Barbara pulled a next man up on stage positioning right in front of you and handed you a gun. Then she placed an apple on the man's bald.

"You know how to hold a gun, doll?" Jerome grinned wrapping his arms around you from behind. You felt his lips and his warm breathe touched your cheek. It was giving you chills in arousal.

"I'm not that stupid, Jerome." You made sure the gun was loaded. You positioned yourself to keep stable and pointed the gun at the apple. That was what Barbara and Tabitha have taught you over the days you were at Galavan's.

The man in front of you was shivering with wide eyes, his sweat was dripping down his forehead. His eyes expressed fear and you could see he wished you didn't kill him.

"Hold very still." Jerome growled at the man, then he covered his eyes with one hand "I can't look! Someone tell me how it turns out."

You inhaled deeply and concentrated on the apple. But as you pulled the trigger, just water came out and splashed into the old man's face. At that moment, you thought that Jerome jerked you around with tell you time the star.

Jerome just sighed in annoyance grabbing your gun and gave you a new one assuring you that he didn't know the gun was fake.

"Damn! Turn around." The man looked at you in fear and turned around. With his eyes he literally begged you not to shoot or at least to hit the apple. He was about to stop moving as you shot the apple from his head. The crowd gasps in shock and relief that the guy wasn't dead yet.

"Whoo!" Barbara cheered happily. You knew she was proud of you that you didn't blame yourself and missed the apple. You were proud of yourself, too. You shot without hesitation, not even thinking of missing the apple and accidentally shoot the guy.

Every one else kept quiet tho.

"Well, clap!" Jerome shouted kinda aggressively to the crowd - then they did it. Nervously and fast. He laughed slightly pressing a kiss on your cheek "Well done, doll."

"Thank you, Jerome." You grinned. He took the gun out of your hands and placed it on the table with the knives. Then he kept staring at them for a while, you could see he was thinking about something.

"Do you know how to use a knife? Just wondering." Jerome smiled at you.

Before you could answer though, you saw Lee kicked Barbara in the stomach making her grunt.

As Barbara looked up at Lee, you could see fury was written in her face. She was angry, mad...these words just described a very small part of her feeling. It was incredible how much hate a person could express.

You looked at Lee. You could see she didn't give a fuck about her consequences.

"Haven't been ten minutes," Jerome hissed holding Barbara's arm tight that she was unable to stab Lee "We need to buy you a watch." Soon as Jerome turned around back to you Barbara punched Lee in her face. The crowd and you all gasped in surprise. Jerome instead, just looked at you shaking his head in disappointment what made you chuckle.

"Well, I think it's time for tonight's first official victim. You all know and love. Poor rich boy...Parents murdered in an alley, and my favorite volunteer: Where is Bruce Wayne?" Jerome claimed waiting for the little boy's appearance - he didn't come though. Everyone looked around for the boy hoping he would come. They, as you, knew what would happen if he did - someone will die.

"You know, I'm an orphan, too, Bruce? I killed my parents, though." Jerome spoke to the microphone, then stepped away from it "Where are you hiding?"

"Bruce!" Jerome screamed in anger making you flinch a little - you were always surprised about his temper. It came rapidly and was gone after a few seconds "Where are you buddy?!"

"That little kid's afraid of you, Jerome." You giggled wrapping your arms around his torso kinda in hope to calm him down a little. You had no idea his temper could ride that fast. "Give that boy some time to realize how much fun he's gonna have with you."

"We don't have time, right now. We have a plan to follow." Jerome grumbled looking around for Bruce and slightly pushing you away from him. In your eyes, Jerome was  a mix of an infant and a monster or the evil itself. His impatience reminded you of a child that didn't get his will. And his eye expression expressed fury, evil and the strong wish to kill the kid. It was fascinating, and almost frightening.

"Kill his butler!"" Barbara suggested.

"Alright, last chance Bruce but it's about to get very butler-brainy out here." Jeromekept looking around. While that, some of Jerome's colleagues grabbed the butler's arms right pushing him forward to Jerome. He was an older tall man in a black tuxedo looking very concerned for the little boy - understandable.

"Brucey!" Jerome yelled looking through the crowd but the boy still didn't appear "I'm bored. Shoot the butler." Jerome turned to you with a grin, not even really paying attention to what was happening around him. He just wanted you.

"Stop!" Bruce claimed panicking and ran fast in front of the stage to his poor butler.

"Let's get this started, huh?" Jerome gasped pulling Bruce back while pointing a gun at his head "You! Check behind the curtain! Make sure no one's playing silly buggers"

One of Jerome's colleagues nodded and walked to the curtain. He moved it aside the entrance,  he got shot.

"Drop the knife!" James Gordon shouted pointing a gun at Jerome, but he just laughed and pressed the young Bruce Wayne in front of his body, a sharp blade was pressed on his throat almost cutting his thin skin.

"I don't have a clean shot!" Gordon shouted.

"Stay calm, Bruce." The butler tried to encourage the little boy after he took a gun, as well, pointing it at Jerome. He totally ignored what Gordon said. His mind was all around Bruce.

"It seems like we've got ourselves a pickle." Jerome stopped laughing but pressing a knife against Bruce's throat. "What do you say Brucey boy? Wanna boost our ratings, huh?" Jerome cackled insanely again "Smile."

"I said enough!"  All of a sudden Theo appeared behind Jerome. He looked mad, very mad. Again you got that feeling of uncomfortableness. And again you got that feeling that something bad will happen now. You saw it on his gaze. This devilish grin. Something was in the bush.

And you weren't wrong. Shortly after Jerome turned to him slowly, Theo stabbed a knife into his neck.

Everyone gasped in shock, you were the loudest though. You heart dropped, you couldn't move for the moment, your legs became weak, cat got your tongue - you weren't able to breathe normal. You felt poor as you stared at Theo's hand that pressed the knife in Jerome's throat deeper and deeper - and that all right in front of you. Your whole body shivered, you were about to throw up every minute.

Tears built up in your eyes and some even streamed down your cheeks. This couldn't be real, this mustn't be real! You couldn't loose him, not now, not again, not forever.

Things have happened not quite perfect and you were mad at him, you didn't want to be with him, you even hated him for a moment, you were afraid of him... everything. You could say for one moment he was your biggest fear in your life because you were scared he'd kill you every minute, or every time you did something wrong. But that faded, it was forgiven, your love was refreshed. It was stronger than the night you two met for the first time. Your connection was stronger than ever before - you knew you belonged together. Why else did fate decide to let you two meet again? Why else would you fall for him again? Why else did he all you his doll, his girl, his queen? That weren't just words...it was more, a lot more.

You knew Jerome couldn't show love as usual people did, but you knew he loved you. His soft side towards you, him trying to make you smile, him protecting you when Greenwood teased you or harassed you..,that was all real. He didn't act at all!

All the memories came up. His smile, how you two hold a conversation for the first time at the circus, you felt the warmth on you hand again when you remembered how he held your hand. You could feel his arms wrapping around your body, and you could hear him calling you 'doll'.

And all this was gone forever now.

"I know, I know." He pressed Jerome down to the ground "Im so sorry, Jerome. You have real talent. But now you see, the plot thickens. Enter the hero." You saw Theo grinning slightly.

You could kill him for what he has done to him - and to you. He took all your joy away, he ripped your heart in two and three it away that it shattered in thousands of pieces. He had to die in your eyes. He just deserved it. You wanted revenge. You wanted to make him feel what he has done to you. You wanted to make him feel how you felt - sad, broken, shocked.

"I was gonna be.." With his last breath and his last courage, he looked up to you still having a grin in his face. His mouth opened shortly as if he was about to say something to you, but too late.

He was dead - dead as your happiness, your joy, you will to live. Your heart felt so heavy that every beating was exhausting you, as your breathing. The world was spinning around you. You body and your psyche couldn't handle what has happened just a few seconds in front of you.

He died, your love, your everything - your Jerome. And he will never come back.

And you died - inside.

[imagineabrighterworld]

Bad Romance

Shigaraki Tomura x Reader

A/N: Loosely inspired by the song Bad Romance by Lady Gaga! Hope you like it! ^^

- - - - -

Five months ago you were poor, unenthused, unamused, and in need of an espresso.

Fives months later and you still needed that espresso. But at least you weren't poor.

It was by chance that you met Shigaraki the first time, but by the second time you knew it wasn't fate's design. He had followed you straight to your studio apartment where you had been comparing fabrics for a new project you were hoping to sell by the end of the next month.

You were a fashion designer. Specifically, you designed hero costumes. They were different from normal wear and always came with a challenge. And what could you say? You always loved a head scratcher.

So when Shigaraki came strutting in with a wad of cash and a promise of more- should you aid in his endeavors- all you had to say was

When and where?

So five months of work later, you stand beside him in a crowded mall with a list in hand, ready to use him as your shield as you barrel into shops. He was much taller than you anyway. At your whopping 5'1 height, you could use his height to your advantage when it came to picking fabrics too high up to reach.

The only downside was that he would have to be careful not to use all of his fingers to lift it up.

"Why am I here?"

Another downside was that he definitely did not want to be with you on your fabric run.

You click your tongue as you begin in the direction of the first store, pulling him behind you with your pinkies locked together. "I need more fireproof polyester. Dabi is getting too cozy with my wool."

"And you brought me along why?" He hisses at you, his face obscured by his hood and a facial mask. Being an A-lister big bad on Japan’s most wanted, he was definitely not the most inconspicuous face you could have brought along. You would have put sunglasses on him to hide the scarring under his eyes, but you figured that would be more attracting than disguising. Turns out it was a common disguise for celebs.

You would remember that the next time you took a trip to Korea with him.

"Kurogiri is busy. Toga is short too. Dabi is Dabi and Jin is with Giran." While you would have loved to bring Toga with you, she was barely an inch taller than you were. Besides, you rather liked Shigaraki. Mostly when he was quiet, but no one was perfect.

You had agreed to working with him for several reasons. Money. Stability. A lack of care for heroes. And because he awakened something in you. Your creative spark was ignited by him and you couldn't let him go without fearing it would leave with him.

Outside of his scarred appearance- and even with them- he was easy on the eyes and just the right amount of lankiness. You just found yourself drawn to him. And hey, there wasn't much of a difference catering to villains rather than heroes when it came to their clothes.

He grits his teeth behind his mask. "Fine." Shigaraki looks around the two of you, glaring at the people staring at you. "But let's make it quick."

"I don't plan on spending my day here, don't worry." You fold up the paper in your hands while humming a short tune. "I planned on doing a few sketches later. I have some ideas on a new outfit and-"

"You want me to pose again."

"Sometimes you surprise me with how smart you are." You grin, looking back at him to see his annoyed expression. "You're truly an enigma."

"I'm glad you enjoy yourself."

"Oh I do. Now come on, we're here."

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

After successfully purchasing your wares and having Kurogiri warp them back to the base, you both take the long way back in order to do small sketches around the more scenic parts of the city. Really he could have stood next to a fire hydrant and you would still be able to come up with sketches, but you enjoyed bickering over where and how to pose.

Like now actually.

“Does it have to be this tree?”

“Absolutely.” You hold back a snicker.

“This tree?”

“Yes! Now put your arm like that- pinky up, you don't want to fall- there you go!”

After finally having him perfectly positioned on the limb of a tree, you sit down on the stone across from it and flip your notebook open onto a fresh page. Uncapping a blue pen you begin your rough sketches.

He sighs. He was laying down in the curve of the sturdy branch, a leg drooping down while he propped his head up with a hand, the other lazily positioned on his stomach. His face was still obscured, but you didn't need to see it in order to draw it. You knew the slope of his nose and the line of his jaw, the burgundy shade of his eyes. He was hard to forget, from his head to his toes.

Shigaraki turns his head slightly, an eye peeking out from under his curtain of blue hair.

He found you after following a trail of breadcrumbs, little whispers of an up-in-coming designer that created lasting hero costumes. Your work was well known in your circle. Surprising with how new you were. People lined up to get a look at your designs.

He needed that kind of quality when it came to his crew.

“Tilt your head.” You say as you look up from your page, eyes glassy as your hand continues its movements on the page.

You had tenacity and desire. That he could work with. He used it to get you to join his crew. Even so, he didnt expect you to come to his side so willingly.

“Shigaraki~” You tap your chin with your pen, tilting your head with a mocking smile. “Tilt.”

He does so, knowing your next attempt would be to physically move him.

“Thank you~” You chirp, continuing on with your sketches, this time with a black pen as you move on to more refined lines and details. Your head ducks down as you hone in on the page, eyes dancing around as you go from figure to figure, left leg bouncing as you hum a small tune. You were in your own little world.

He stopped trying to understand what was going on in your head. As long as you worked for them, he didn’t care what you did.

His hand twitches.

He didn’t care what you did.

Besides that one thing.

“When was this date of yours again?” He grumbles under his breath, spitting out the word ‘date’ with enough venom to kill. Still, you caught it easily.

You pause your work to look at him, eyes clearing as you are pulled out of your focus. “It's tomorrow night.” Putting your pen down, you lean back on your hands, looking up at the fluffy clouds in the sky. “With that one guy right? I think we're going to the movies or something.”

Shigaraki scoffs. The movies. The last two times you went to the movies you ended up having a horrible night.

Then again, the last two times he had the Nomu go wreck the place.

But it was completely unintentional and coincidental.

“Why is it you go on dates and expect a different outcome when you know this game only has one ending?” He scratches at his neck idly, staring at the tree trunk and following the crackling of the bark to the branch above him until he was fully laying down. “You never go on a second date. Why waste money?” Why waste his money?

“Oh I know I won't go on another date with him.”

He sits up swiftly.

“Then why-!”

He stops, backpedaling when he sees the shit eating grin on your face. You were messing with him!

He grits his teeth and lays back down with a heavy thump. “Why?” He repeats.

“Because I like having stories to tell.” Admittedly, you also used it as an opportunity to gather new ideas. But with each date you always came back with stories to tell Shigaraki and the crew over a nice shot of gin. They always gathered around you at the bar to hear your tales.

Sure you exaggerated them a little bit, but you liked sharing with them your life of normalcy. They didn't have the freedom of leading easy lives, so you hoped your stories could make them feel more.. Normal.

He had no ammo to continue arguing, you gave him nothing to fight against. So he tried what he did have.

“One day you will die alone.” Perfect. Direct. Cold.

“I have you, don't I?”

…

He tilts his head to glare at you, expecting to see your joking smile, some sign to show you were kidding. But his heart only beat faster as you winked at him.

“You may be a criminal, but you’re my criminal.”

“Just hurry up.”

Five months and already you were going to be the death of him.

[that-crazy-five-foot-two-chick]

I've been so excited to write for the Mystic Messenger Reverse Big Bang 2021 (go check out other amazing fics and art in the collection at @mysme-rbb), and it's the first fanfic/art event I've participated in! @madiebelleadventures and I teamed up to brainstorm this beast, so her art is at the very end (because I ain't spoilin nothin)!

-

Rating: T

Word Count: 5.1k

Summary: One day after the end of a work week, Vanderwood surprises MC with some husband-wife baking time—with a twist. Inspired by his agent training, he suggests that they bake as a team but have MC blindfolded. In order to make a cake that's actually edible, she must follow his directions to the letter. All that's left after that is chaos, banter, and spouse-flustering. And figuring out how to actually make a cake.

A/N: Fyi MC is definitely more of her own character than a reader-insert on this one. Also as per usual with me, I headcanon Vanderwood as British, so I tried heavily to align his phrasing accordingly, despite being an American myself. Enjoy seeing exactly how much fluff I can possibly cram into 5k words!

MC sighed happily at the feeling of the wind in her hair as she drove home from work one Friday evening. Windows down, jacket off, music blasting—the air itself felt like freedom. She had nothing against her job—in fact, she enjoyed it for the most part. She prided herself in a job well done, she liked being able to manage a team of her own, and the paycheck and benefits were good. Nothing extravagant, of course, but enough to comfortably support a couple newlyweds.

And that was the real reason MC nearly jumped out the door every day when everything wrapped up at the office. Who wouldn't, with a husband as unfairly hot as Vanderwood? Completely unfair how he could make leopard print and what was practically a mullet actually look attractive. Thank goodness his fashion sense had mellowed out over time, if only a little bit. With Vanderwood's past being what it was, they had mutually come to the conclusion that it would be best for their well-being if he stayed at their apartment during the day to keep the household running. He was very particular about how he cooked, cleaned, and did the laundry, and he handled their finances conscientiously and precisely. Admittedly, she did have to occasionally remind him that as sleek as that new top-of-the-line taser was, there was no real need for it, but that was just part of her husband's charm.

And boy, was he charming.

She truly couldn't wait to get home, past this rush hour traffic. She'd get home and be pulled in for a deep kiss moments after walking in the door. Maybe he'd slip a gentle but insistent hand into her hair. Maybe they'd take it a little further. Or a lot further.

"HOLY FUDGE NUGGETS ON BACON ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME???"

MC swerved to avoid a collision and waited for her heartbeat to settle down again. There was no freaking way she was going to die in some stupid car wreck before their date tonight. A surprise, he'd said. No matter how hard she'd tried to weasel more out of him, he wouldn’t bend. Darn agent training. Good thing it wouldn't be a surprise for much longer. Within minutes, the streets got smaller and quieter as she neared her apartment building. Another minute, and she flung open the apartment door and leapt on her husband.

MC's fantasies were soon replaced by an even better reality when Vanderwood's lips landed on hers. Kissing back enthusiastically, MC wrapped her arms around his middle so tight that a less sturdy man would be coughing for air. Vanderwood snatched her keys and purse and hung them by the doorway, never breaking his focus for a second. His kisses grew slower, but no less fervent, as he smoothed her wind-strewn hair. Eventually, their lips reluctantly parted, and MC broke the silence.

"How did I manage to snag the best kisser on earth on top of marrying the most insanely attractive man on earth?"

Vanderwood smirked. "Good taste, I guess." He kissed her once more soundly for good measure.

"Maybe. Will my insanely attractive husband tell me what our surprise date is now?"

"Perhaps."

"No perhapses! I've been dying waiting!"

"Very well. Start by changing your clothes, because I am not scrubbing stains out of your good work clothes."

"Do I otherwise have to wear anything in particular? That's not a lot to go off of."

"Doesn't matter to me. Now go change before I do the job myself."

"I wouldn't complain."

"This is not that kind of date! Go!"

"Fine, Sir Panties-in-a-bunch."

MC went to the bedroom and took stock of her clothing options. She had to choose something practical that could be easily washed, but she still wanted to look a little cute. After all, it was a date. It was a tough balance to strike. Eh, she could always stick an apron or an old shirt over it. She grabbed her oversized paint shirt just in case before snagging a light pink shirt. Now for the bottoms. She debated on a simple skirt, but decided to go for it. After all, if it didn't fit with Vanderwood's plans, he would tell her. MC changed quickly and weaved her hair into a side braid, slipping a tendril out on each side to frame her face. Mirror-MC nodded in approval. Time to see what on earth her husband had been planning.

She cracked open the door and peeked through before skipping over to Vanderwood, who had made himself comfortable on the couch. His amber eyes widened in interest.

"You have no business looking this pretty for a baking date."

MC grinned. "Ha! I did get it out of you! A baking date sounds cute. What made you think of that? Are you just really getting into the whole house husband gig?"

"It was my agent training, actually." Seeing the puzzled look on his wife's face, Vanderwood continued, "There's a bit of a twist to it, you see. I will hardly be doing any of the actual baking. You, my dear, on the other hand, will be completely blindfolded. You will have to follow my instructions explicitly, or else the result will be completely inedible."

"I still fail to see how the setup doesn't sound like 'that kind of date', but it sounds like fun! What does this have to do with your agent training, though?"

"Various exercises used similar techniques. Many times in the field, we had to follow orders to the letter with no questions asked if we wanted to make it out in one piece. We also did training to be able to operate blindly or in the dark if our vision was compromised. But none of it was as enjoyable as watching a beautiful woman bake a cake by pure trust."

"You're such a flatterer. Keep it coming," MC smirked.

"At least get into the kitchen first," Vanderwood said, handing her a blindfold that looked suspiciously like his nap mask.

"Okay, but if you don't want me in the kitchen until I'm blindfolded, you're gonna have to get my apron yourself."

"I thought I was the one giving out orders tonight?"

"A girl's gotta get her kicks somewhere."

"Such a docile wife I have. Never difficult, never demanding."

"You think it's sexy. Don't even try to deny it."

"I would have filed for immediate divorce if the description 'docile' actually fit you." He stepped into the kitchen and emerged a moment later with the apron. MC slipped it on and, after ducking briefly into the bathroom to wash her hands, covered her eyes with the blindfold.

"I'm at your mercy now. Don't abuse that privilege."

He materialized behind her, winding his arms around her waist. "I wouldn't dream of it," he murmured into her ear before attacking her stomach. MC burst into uncontrollable giggles.

"I swear—!" she giggled "—I swear I'm going to punch the living daylights out of you!"

"You're certainly welcome to try. You know I wouldn't even feel it."

"But I could try. How am I supposed to trust you to give me decent directions to bake whatever the heck we're making if I can't even trust you not to tickle me?"

"You don't. That's the thrill of it."

"You'd better have me make something actually edible for all our trouble."

"That all depends on how well you follow my instructions."

"And how decent your instructions are. Let's not forget that tiny detail," she reminded.

"Hmm, we'll see," The smile was evident in his voice. "Now if we're going to start, we need to go ahead and do it."

"Probably."

He guided MC by her upper arms into the narrow kitchen.

"Fortunately," he said, halting and holding her in place, "we're only baking a cake and not an entire meal, so it won't take an eternity."

"I sure hope not! It's pizza night and I'm already a little hungry!"

He wound his hands around his wife's waist, lightly patting her stomach. "Well, the faster we start, the faster we can eat. I've already laid everything out for you as best I can, so you just have to follow my directions, all right, love?"

"Got it."

"All right, can you feel the worktop?" A nod. "Raise your right hand just a bit...and over…now grab the box with the cake mix, because heaven knows neither of us knows or cares enough to make it from scratch. Got it? Now open it up. The mixing bowl is straight to the left. Go ahead and pour it in."

"Just so you know, if I spill anything, you're the one taking responsibility."

"And why is that, darling?" Vanderwood asked, feigning shock.

"Because you're the one who had this idea in the first place! Not to mention if I make a mess it’s because of your faulty directions."

Unfortunately, MC failed to prove her point, pouring the mix into the bowl and barely spilling a few crumbs.

"Looks like we may not have to worry about that," Vanderwood smirked.

"You have met me, right? You know something's going to get spilled, right?"

Ignoring her, he moved the empty box toward the back and continued, "The milk should be right around where the cake mix was, if you can remember where you just were. The measuring jug is right next to it. Do you think you can pour it in correctly?"

"We'll see, now won't we?"

"There you go. Just try to take it slowly, just in case, and stop when I say so."

MC obeyed, gradually tilting the milk jug until a thin stream hit the center of the measuring cup.

"Brilliant! Now careful, careful, slightly to the left...that's it! Now slow down...almost done...stop!" He kissed her cheek. "That was amazing. Now pour it into the bowl."

MC felt around for the mixing bowl again. She managed to find it and poured in the milk. "Where's the cap for the milk jug?"

"Hm...where did it go? Oh, there it is. Right by the sink."

She batted at the air around her right side to find the inside of the sink. Instead, her hand bumped the side of the milk jug. Vanderwood's hand shot out to catch it, but a small puddle had already sloshed onto the counter. MC's hand shot up to take off the blindfold, but Vanderwood caught her wrist first. She sighed.

"Vandy, give it to me straight. How bad is it?"

"Not bad at all. I caught it before much got out. Stay put for a moment while I wipe it up so it doesn't start to smell or dry up."

"Not to say I told you, but I definitely told you."

Her husband stuck out his tongue at her—one of the few ways he had begun to let himself be childish lately. Then the obvious dawned on him. "I'm sticking out my tongue. I thought you ought to know that."

"Crucial information. Are you done yet?"

"Yep. You ready to get your hands a little dirty?"

"Isn't that expected in all this?"

"That's probably a large part of why you demanded an apron first, yes."

"You would be right about that, also yes. And you're so dramatic. I did not demand."

"Up to interpretation. Reach up to the left of the mixing bowl and just grab it off the plate and toss it in."

As instructed, MC reached over and let out a tiny shriek when her hand came into contact with the soft butter. Vanderwood guffawed.

"I was waiting for that."

MC gasped. "You did this on purpose!" She flung the butter into the bowl with an extra dash of vindictiveness.

"Maybe so. I like hearing your reactions," he purred.

"Don't try to be all smooth when you're being a twit. It doesn't suit you," MC sniffed, then muttered under her breath, "actually it totally works for you but it doesn't make me less ticked at you."

"By the way, don't bother trying to wash your hands just yet. The next part is probably going to be the messiest. I'll go get the bin so it'll be close by for you."

"Appreciated. What's the next part?"

"Eggs."

"Yikes, okay. That's why I needed the trash can, then. And where are the eggs?"

"To your left. You're going to need four of them. I read somewhere that adding an extra egg makes it better, hypothetically."

"You're the one giving the instructions."

"Alright, the bin is to your left, whenever you're ready."

"I could hear the thunk when you set it down, but thank you," MC said wryly.

"I live to serve."

There was silence for a moment as MC cracked the first egg into the bowl, and a soft smile rose on her face like the dawn. "Not anymore, you don't. I thank God every day that you and Saeyoung were able to free yourselves from the agency. I never could have forgotten you even if you hadn't, but I never would have known the immense joy I've gotten to have by being your wife." She sniffed, then laughed. "Sorry for being so sentimental all of a sudden, I don't know what got into me. It's just that knowing how many things could have gotten between us makes me that much more grateful for what we have."

"Ah!" Vanderwood shot a hand out to correct the second egg's trajectory into the mixing bowl.

"Oops, thank you."

"No problem, love. We're a team." He settled against her back, rubbing her arms lightly and placing a tender kiss on her cheek. "And never feel sorry for your so-called sentimentality. In fact, I really think you hold back sometimes. You shouldn't. I know that I used to scoff at these things, but locking out your emotions for job after job really takes a toll on a man. The agency had no room for love of any sort, and I've long come to the realization that every person is hardwired to desire love of one kind or another. I know I'm still unlearning all of my coping mechanisms, and I know I'm still sharp with some people, but with you?" He smoothed a hair back from her face. "I'll take whatever love you can give me."

She cracked the third egg into the bowl and threw out the shell. "I always knew you could be a softie, very deep down. I'm just glad that I get to be the one to see it."

After the fourth egg was in the bowl, Vanderwood directed, "Okay, time to wash up. The next thing is mixing for two minutes. While I love you, I do not trust you to use an electric mixer while blindfolded, so you're going to use a whisk for that job."

"I suppose that's fair. Can you put away the trash can while I wash my hands?"

"Already on it."

"Where's the whisk, again?"

"I kind of put it toward the back, so either be careful or wait for me to move a few things."

"Oh, I've got it. Don't worry," MC waved a hand in dismissal and groped around for the whisk, but her arm was a bit too low, and she dipped her clothed elbow in the plate where the butter had been. She sighed. "What did I just decorate my elbow with?"

"Butter. Try it. It might be tasty," he teased.

"Come on, Vandy, this is not the time. Help me get it off before it soaks in too much."

"Alright, alright, I just had to pick on you a little bit for not listening to me." He carefully scooped off the top layer of the butter with a paper towel before trying to absorb the rest. "I'm going to roll up your sleeves a bit more so that this hopefully won't happen again."

"Well, not until I slosh half the cake out of this bowl trying and failing to mix it."

"You'll be fine. Just stick to mixing the center and bringing the outside of it toward the center so everything gets mixed. But mix it well and mix it fast. The timer starts...now!"

MC held the bowl against her stomach to steady it while she mixed the batter vigorously. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one trying to mix furiously while keeping it all in the bowl on top of being blindfolded!"

"Calm down, you're doing great. A couple drips, maybe, but it's staying in."

"So far, anyway. But that's good, I guess."

"No guessing. It's quite good." Vanderwood leaned against the counter. "We've got a minute and a half to kill. Should I spend it telling you how you look right now?"

"Oh gosh, do I even want to know?"

He shook his head in near disbelief, smiling. "Magnetic. Adorable. More delicious than the cake we're making."

MC cackled. "You cannot be serious. I've got to be a mess right now."

"You act as if that's a contradiction. It's the mess that makes you more beautiful. Is every single hair of yours in place? No. But they fall around your face in the most delicately beautiful way. Even the places where the ingredients got smudged on you somehow add to your charm." He leaned in so that his lips touched her ear, his voice lowering to a gravelly timbre. "Did you know that your cheeks are all rosy from the effort you're putting into stirring? It's unbelievably attractive. And the way your lips press together when you're concentrating? It makes me want to kiss them apart. In fact—"

"Vanderwood, how much time is left?" MC interrupted, suppressing a vivid blush and a shiver.

"Our entire lives," he said, happily ignoring the real question.

"The timer, Vanderwood. How much is left on the timer?"

The sound of the timer going off answered the question for him. "None," he grinned. "I'll go spray the cake pan while you rest for a moment. You've earned it."

She exhaled, set the mixing bowl aside, and stretched. Then a thought made her panic. "Vandy, we forgot to preheat the oven."

He held her face in his hands. "MC. Darling. Breathe. I set the oven when I grabbed the apron."

Her breathing gradually slowed. "Sorry, love. I'm just really hungry and kind of tired and I think not being able to see is doing weird things to my brain and you kind of flustered me a minute ago with what you were saying and I'm sorry, I—" her voice cracked, but Vanderwood cut her off and held her close.

"Hey...hey...you're alright. There's nothing to be sorry about. I kept you going after a long day of work without feeding you first. I should have known better." He smoothed her hair and tucked it into her braid. "I'll tell you what. How about we get this cake in the oven and then order some pizza and watch another episode of Cucumber Fish?"

MC sniffled and hummed in agreement. Vanderwood loosened his hold around her and gently brought her hands to the bowl again before grabbing the cake pan. "Okay, all you've got to do now is pour it into the pan that I've put just to the left of the bowl. Just take it nice and easy. There you go. Perfect. You're almost done. Now let me get a spatula to scoop the last of it out." After he finished, he slid the cake pan into the oven and started the timer. "There. All done." He slipped the mask off her eyes and gave her a peck on the lips as she blinked to adjust to the light. "I'll clean all this up, alright? Go ahead and relax on the sofa. You can order the pizza and get Cucumber Fish queued up while I finish up in here."

"Okay," she murmured. Another peck, and she curled up on the couch. She pulled out her phone to order the pizza and smiled at the notifications she'd gotten from the RFA chatroom. They were up to their normal antics again. Hopefully, Saeyoung wouldn't exasperate Saeran too much with his crazy propositions. But there was nothing she could do about that, and she was starving and in desperate need of pizza. Once it was ordered, she turned on the TV and selected the episode, making sure to let it run past the ads before pausing it.

After Vanderwood joined her on the couch, the next forty-five minutes was filled with lots of cuddling and pizza devouring, more kissing than watching the show, a few glances at the cake's progress, an agreement to actually watch the episode while they ate the cake, and several minutes of cooling time after the cake was removed from the oven. Vanderwood emerged from the kitchen after a few minutes of setting up to decorate.

"Are you sure you want to put on the mask again?" he asked. "I don't want it to mess with your head like it did last time."

"I'll be fine, babe. I'm pretty sure it was like that last time just because I was starving."

"Are you positive?"

"Yes."

"If you say so. Go ahead and get them on, then," he said, handing MC the apron and mask.

"Just make sure to lead me into the kitchen again."

"Hmm, we'll see."

"We'll see?" she repeated, but shrieked soon after when she no longer felt the ground beneath her feet. Vanderwood had scooped her up to carry her into the kitchen bridal-style and sank his lips against hers with intentionality. He bumped into the counter but managed to avoid any damage to his wife. He deposited one last kiss on her lips before setting her down.

"What have you done to me, woman? Years and years of agent skills, undone in a moment. If it were anything or anyone else, I never would have bumped into that worktop. But when it's you kissing me, you're the only thing that exists." He grinned. "It's a shame, really. I thought my dexterity was an impressive skill, but I don't even have that anymore, it seems."

"Shame indeed," MC parroted, trying to steal another kiss from his lips and stealing one from his nostrils instead. She made a face, causing Vanderwood to laugh.

"Well, at least I still have the ability to order you around." MC smacked him in response, and he continued, "Alright, alright, let's get to it then. This is where it'll get really interesting, since decorating requires more precision. Which, no offense, is a skill you don't have, since you're not exactly used to being blind."

"Now wait just a—okay, I can't argue that," MC sighed. He placed a spatula in one hand and a jar of frosting in her other.

"Turn around. Can you find where the cake is?"

"Ye—wait, Vandy! I thought you said you cleaned up!"

"I did…sort of." Before she could protest, he interjected, "I wiped the worktop! I just pushed all the dishes to one side so we could put all of it in the dishwasher at once when we were done!" He added with a mumble, "I just wanted to get back to you."

"You think you can charm your way out of anything," MC responded airily. "Well, you're right." She squared up as best she could with a frosting jar in hand. "I found the cake. I'll try to do my best."

"Well, in this part, I won't let you go completely solo. I can rotate the cake for you as you go, if you want."

"Please."

MC scooped a large helping of frosting from the jar and started spreading around the perimeter. Her spatula made a slight detour for a moment to donate some frosting to the top of the cake, and Vanderwood halted and reversed his rotation slightly to avoid confusion. A few seconds later, she went for another, slightly smaller, scoop to finish frosting the circumference of the cake. Another scoop, added to the deposit from the first, finished off the top.

"Is there a big corner around the top edge? Or any dry spots?" she asked.

"Just a slight corner. Grab a little bit more frosting to round it off a bit and thicken the top."

She did as directed while he helped rotate, and stepped back. "Better?"

"Much better. Maybe we can add a little artistic touch by making some...what do you call them? Swoops? Around the sides from the top?"

"Sounds great. You're definitely going to have to help me, though."

"Alright, I'll rotate again and stop you when you're done. Then you can smooth off the top edge again quick."

Six slightly lopsided arcs later, he stepped back for a moment, observing. "This is certainly not the prettiest cake I've seen, but it all adds to the fun, yeah?"

"I guess," she laughed.

"Now here's the part that'll really get a laugh when you take off the blindfold. I've got a bowl over here with some frosting for smaller decorating, and you get to pick the food coloring that goes in it."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," he snickered while guiding her over to a trio of colored bottles that she couldn't discern. "Take your pick," he said cheerily. MC gingerly selected one, and he suppressed a snort poorly. "Excellent choice!"

MC groaned. "I'm going to regret all my life choices, aren't I?"

"Of course not! Only your decision to marry me."

"Hey." She squeezed his wrist. "I could never regret that."

"You might reevaluate that statement when you take off the blindfold and see the cake. Or at least my ugly mug."

"Vanderwood. Don't you even start with me. You're so hot that if we were working with chocolate instead of a cake, we wouldn't need the microwave to melt it."

"You're so hot that the beach would need sunblock instead of you."

"You're so hot that the sun goes to you when it needs to warm up."

They collapsed against each other, gasping for air. Vanderwood caught his breath first. "Let's get this food coloring in the bowl, shall we? The spoon and frosting are already in it. All you have to do is put a few drops in and stir until I say so. The bowl's on your left."

"As you wish," she said as she did so.

After a few moments, he spoke. "That's enough. Let me get you back over to the cake, and I'll get the frosting in the decorating bag. Which is really just an ordinary plastic bag, but I did pick up some cheap decorating tips when I got the ingredients."

"Splendid. How am I going to decorate, though? Even if I could see, I don't know the first thing about cake decorating. Oh yeah, and I can't see."

"Don't get your 'panties in a bunch,' as you like to tell me so often. I'll do it with you this time."

"But you don't know how to decorate cakes, either!"

"Ah-ah-ah!” he chided. “Do you trust me or not?"

"Not particularly."

"Hey!"

"But! We should just go ahead and do it anyway, because even though neither of us knows what we're doing, we're the only ones in this apartment who can. And the frosting smells too good not to eat soon."

"That's my girl." Vanderwood curled around her. He molded one hand around hers and slid the other over her stomach. As they formed a few swirls on the top, he murmured, "We did this whole thing together. How impressive is that? Was it as fun for you as it was for me?"

MC smiled. "Of course it was. I know I got a little hangry for a bit there, but I know how much thought you put into this. None of my old deadbeat ex-boyfriends ever would have cared so much, let alone shown it. These are the things that make me love you that much more."

"I never experienced any permanent love until you showed it to me. And it's been so...world-altering—that I've been trying to wrap my head around it ever since. I still can't. But I swear I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to give you the same love you've given me. I certainly don't deserve it, after the things I've done. But you do. You deserve all the happiness a person can have."

MC paused and blushed slightly. "Vandy…" She exhaled. "We've gone over this whole 'not deserving it' thing. Whether you deserve it or not doesn't matter. To me, what matters is your heart. You have such a beautiful heart, Vandy. I love the kind of man you've become. I've seen you strive every day to be better than you were the day before, and that is so inspiring."

"Well, whether or not I deserve happiness, I would choose to be happy every day if my being happy made you happy." He squeezed her hip affectionately and pulled her in for a tender kiss.

"It would." She kissed him back. They added one last swirl and a border before they set down the bag of frosting. He uncurled her fingers and fiddled with her wedding ring.

"Are you ready to see it?"

"Sure."

He slipped off the blindfold, and she gasped.

"What have we done?" she exclaimed as her laughing grew louder by the second.

"Whatever do you mean, dear?" Vanderwood asked, feigning ignorance.

"The cake is bright flaming orange, Vandy!" She let out a snort, then covered her face. "Hey, wait! All the food coloring was the same color too, you little twit!"

He shrugged innocently. MC sputtered. "Nuh-uh. Don't you shrug at me, mister. Saeyoung has rubbed off on you way too much."

"Has not."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe the tiniest bit."

"Uh huh, that's what I thought. Now are you as ready as I am to eat this cake and watch Cucumber Fish?"

"Let me take a picture first. And another one with you in it? You look so lovely, I can't not have one with you in it."

She tried desperately to keep a frown on her face as he snapped a picture but couldn't quite hold back the quirk at the corner of her mouth. He cut a slice for each of them and handed one to her. He curled the paper plate around his slice, and she did likewise. They looked each other in the eyes, both knowing exactly what would come next. Vanderwood solidified his stance. "Ready...steady...GO!" The couple raced to the living room and took a running jump onto the couch, ready for the wonderful night ahead.

[sebastianshaw]

RP meme from "What We Do In the Shadows"

[NAME], do you like basgetti?

Just leave me to do my dark bidding on the internet!

What are you bidding on?

I'm bidding on a table.

I'm gonna go change. We're leaving in 10 minutes.

You are a cool guy, but you are not pulling your weight in the flat.

I'm glad to hear that I'm cool.

When you are a vampire, you become very sexy.

If you're going to eat a sandwich, you would just enjoy it more if you know no one had fucked it.

So it's 6pm in the nighttime, which is when I wake up.

Some of our clothes are from victims.

You might bite someone, and then you think 'Ooh, those are some nice pants!'

One year I went to the Unholy Masquerade dressed as Whoopi Goldberg from 'Sister Act 1' and 'Sister Act 2- Back in the Habit'.

Vampires don't like nuns.

Some people freak out a bit about the age difference.

What's this 96-year-old lady doing with a guy 4 times her age?

I don't think [NAME] should have become a vampire. He's such a dick.

You have to watch everyone die.

You have to watch everyone die. Your mother and father. All your friends.

You have to watch everyone die. Your mother and father. All your friends. Sometimes brutal, like slipping and falling onto a giant spike. Or falling asleep in an autumn pile of leaves and having some of them block your windpipe. Or making the simple mistake of fashioning a mask out of crackers and being attacked by ducks, geese, swans. Or even dying of old age, but even old age is brutal. Watching your friends grow old. They can't piss, and they say stupid things, and their brains go, and they can't remember anything. And then one day they can't even remember who you are, and you wish they were dead, and then they do die.

We don't put down towels.

At first I wanted to kill him, but now I'm glad I spent time to get to know him.

Ooh, bat fight!

At the start I was like 'Oh no, like I'm– I'm dead'.

I have a whole new family who accept me for who I am, and I accept them for who they are…even though one of them killed me.

I can't eat solids now. Great.

It's shit, so don't believe the hype.

The point is, [NAME], you have not done the dishes for 5 years!

I'm so embarrassed when people come over here.

Why does it matter? You bring them over, you kill them!

You were a virgin when we were seeing each other.

The neighbours can see you flying around the house.

You've got a whole documentary group following you around.

I'm doing an erotic dance for my friends. You ruined it. I was in the zone. My friends were loving it.

We're werewolves, not Swear-Wolves.

Let us do the 'Procession of Shame' now.

Vampires love Wesley Snipes.

I lost a really nice silk scarf in about 1912.

Great orgies. Twenty, thirty women.

He could turn into all sorts of animals, but now he never gets the faces right.

He'd kill anybody. Man, woman, children. Burning everything. It was totally great.

He suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of his arch-nemesis.

There shall be no eating of the human!

Who are you all of a sudden?

You have forgotten your former lover so quickly.

That's old business. That's personal business.

This is a private secret society!

We both, together, equally, destroyed that guy.

I hope this doesn't make it awkward for you and the beast.

What are you doing tonight? You going to kill some perverts?

There was blood all over my nice antique couch.

With humans, there is a tendency to die.

We are ready to go into town and party!

The other day, I dragged a man's body down the hallway, and there was no dust. I kind of swept the hallway.

Do you mind if [NAME] is killed?

I transformed into a dog and had sex.

Oh, it's a spinal column, yuck!

He's always doing crazy things, saying crazy things.

I walked past this old creepy castle, and I looked at it, and thought, "okay, very old and creepy."

To be living this long and see the things that he's seen, and still kind of have it together, I mean, hats off to him.

He's a really great guy. A bit of a pervert.

I was quite tyrannical. I was known for torturing a lot of people.

This is my torture chamber.

No such call ever took place.

Don't cut it off.

It was a giant beast, with a big scarf on!

I go for a look I call "Dead But Delicious"

You will not notice anything out of the ordinary.

I've hypnotized those cops. I'm not a great hypnotizer so it could wear off any second.

I really hope those guys don't kill the police because it means more police will come.

You enjoyed eating worms.

There's worms, moving around on my plate.

How did it feel to have a snake for a penis?

It is just a normal penis.

Spiked my spaghetti, made my cock turn into a snake, that's not cool.

Aw, no, [NAME] got him.

[xlucian-hell-cat90x]

Finding Each Other

Entering Rorikstead as the sun begins to set, Lucien is humming some new song he made up. Ren roll his eyes at the only closest friend he had from his childhood. They step in the Inn and greeted a familiar face of Erik. He smiles as he sees them enter. "Ah, Ren. Good to see you and Lucien back here again. Staying here before another grand adventure?" He asks with a smile.

""Yes and no. We just got out of the tomb Valthume." Ren replies, cutting the story short. He was exhausted. He steps up the counter where Erik's father is. "Can I get two rooms?" He asks, coldly. "Of course. That'll be 10 gold pieces." The man says. "I'm gonna need them for two days." He says dropping a medium size pouch of gold on the counter.

The man eyes him. "This should cover the rooms, food, drinks and care for the horses." Ren says, walking away from the counter and making his way to the room. He changes into a simple pair of trousers and a shirt. Lucien comes in there and looks at him. He sits in the chair and watches as Ren stares at his charred hands.

"You okay?" Lucien asks, unsure what else to say. He knew that Ren was struggling with his calling as Dragonborn. He was worried for his friend. "Just tired. I need some rest. I already paid for the rooms and food. Go eat and entertain the newest guard to Rorikstead with tales from our recent adventures. I'm gonna rest." Ren says, waving his worried friend off with his hand.

Lucien stands and walks out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him. He sighs as he sits at the bar. He knows that his best friend is struggling with his calling. Erik comes and joins him at the bar. They eat and talk the night away.

The next morning, Ren wakes up to hearing frightened voices in the bar. He goes to step outside his room but Lucien and Erik push him back in and shut the door behind them. Lucien hands him the armor he wears while slaying dragons near cities.

"There's a dragon flying near one one of the old Forsworn camps. Everyone is startled." Erik explains. "Yeah, kinda figured. Had weird dreams about them all night. How am I suppose to get out of here without them noticing?" Ren asks. "Leave that to me. I've been practicing an invisibility spell. Hurry and change before the dragon makes it way here." Lucien says, turning his back. Erik follows suit.

Ren clears his throat and Lucien nods as he turns around. He mumbles a soft incantation and smiles. "Did it work?" Ren asks. "Look in the mirror." Lucien says, excitedly. Ren turns around and can't see anything. "Damn, I can't believe. Let's go." He says, as he crouches down. He follows Lucien through the crowded, being careful not to step on or bump into people.

Lucien opens the door and leads him to the path on the other side of the hill and they hear the growls of a dragon. Ren pulls out his favorite bow, Mehrune's Talon. It was something given to him from an old friend that worshiped Mehrune Dagon. When he sees the dragon, he starts firing arrows. Lucien stays back using magic. "Lucien, remember these dragons can sap your magic. Better to use your bow." Ren shouts.

Ren notices something down below them as the dragon takes flight. He sees red hair flowing as arrows flies past them, hitting the dragon in the side. The dragon roars, as Ren slides down the hill. He senses something familiar about this person. The woman glares at him as he stands beside her firing arrows at the beast. "Are you trying to take my kill?" She yells angrily. "No, just looked like you needed some help." He says, calmly.

Lucien stumbles down the hill and ducks as the dragon swoops over them, casting a ward to protect them from it's breathe. "Impeccable timing, Lu-Lu." Ren teases through the mask. Lucien just smiles, "Better late than never, right?" He huffs. Ren can clearly see he is exhausted. "Think we can bring this big guy down and finish him off?" Ren ask, looking over at the beautiful female beside. "Yeah, if we aim for the wings. Hope you can handle some heat." She says, still angry with this guy.

"Lu-Lu, you know what to do." Ren smirks. "Right, boss." He smirks, casting fire resistance spells over the three over them. After that, they bring the dragon down. Ren sighs as he hears the whooshing sound. He looks over and sees the woman absorb the soul of the dragon. Lucien goes to say something but Ren cuts him off. "How?" He asks out of astonishment.

The woman looks over at him. Fear fills her eyes. She goes to run but trips and twist her ankle. She cries out in pain. Ren and Lucien go closer to her. She pulls a dagger and aims at them. "You won't kill me. I will kill you both!" She screams. "Whoa, whoa. Put the dagger away. We don't want to harm you." Ren tries to calm her. "Whatever. That didn't stop any of the other people who have seen me." She cries.

"We want to help." Lucien says, putting his weapon to the side. "Can I at least look at your ankle? I'm a healer of sorts." Lucien asks, calmly. She nods, quietly. Lucien sits in front of her as she moves her foot in front of him. Ren sits his weapons to the side too, also removing the mask to reveal his face. She gasps as she looks at his eyes. His left eye was green and his right blue.

He sits down beside Lucien, who is healing her ankle and using a calming spell. "My name is Ren and this lovely fellow here is Lucien. May we ask your name?" Ren asks, softly. She looks around and sighs. "My name is Kisara. I was a Forsworn until a couple of months ago. I was kicked from my home and tribe. Honestly, that's all you need to know. Thanks for the help, but I must get going before the people from the town find me and try to kill me." She says, standing.

Kisara puts her weapon away and starts walking back toward the camp that is destroyed. Ren and Lucien watch as she stands there and stares at the destroyed camp. "Dammit. Fuck, now what am I gonna do?" She says, turning around noticing they are still there. "Come with us. I promise you will have all the gold and food you could ever need. Plus I still have questions." Ren says. "But the town people will attack me." Kisara says, motioning toward her armor.

Ren whistles and a solid black horse runs toward them and stops at Ren's side. He opens one of the saddle bags and rummages through it. He pulls out some black trousers and grey tunic. He hands them to her. "Sorry, I don't have anything else, but once we get to Whiterun. I can talk to Euroland and get you some armor crafted that will better fit you. I'm sure Ysolda can have you some clothes crafted to fit you too." Ren offers. He turns his back. Lucien blushes and quickly turns his back too.

Kisara quickly changes from her armor to the clothes Ren gave her. They were big on her, but she managed to make them fit. She quickly runs her fingers through her hair and braids it down her back, revealing her ears. She taps both the men on their shoulders, making Lucien jump. They both turn around. Ren smiles when he notices her ears. "I thought you were just a Nord dressed up in Forsworn armor." He admits, with a blush.

"I'm half Bosmer/half Nord. I never knew my parents. Kira, the woman who took care of me, said she found me in the woods. So she took me in. She said fell in love with my red hair and uniquely colored eyes." Kisara explains. "Yes, they favor Ren's but yours are the opposite." Lucien says. Ren removes his hood, revealing his ears too. "I'm half Bosmer/half Nord as well. My parents were killed by the Thalmor when I was a teenager. I was forced to live on my own in the Imperial City." He smiles, sadly. "My mom told me I had a sister, but she was kidnapped as a baby." He explains.

Her eyes widen, maybe they were related somehow. She shakes her head. "Let's get back to the village and I will answer all your questions." She says. "Right, Lucien take her on ahead. I'll meet up with you after I change." Ren says, rummaging through the other saddle bag. "Right, Kisara. This way." Lucien says, walking away from Ren and leading her toward the city.

(To anyone reading this: Would you like more of this little? If so comment and let me know. This was kinda fun to write.)

[haddonfieldproject]

<<PREVIOUS⏺<<CONTENTS>>

1.2.12 HALLOWEEN NIGHT/NOVEMBER 1st 5:40 AM

Warren County, Illinois

As Brad Doyle backed his Mustang out of his driveway, Gabriel Couture passed the sign reading:

WELCOME TO HADDONFIELD

in his semi-truck. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. The last few miles are always the hardest, he thought to himself, time seems to slow down. He squinted through the rain.

Another sign appeared. This one was a billboard, featuring a young looking blonde girl with breasts too large to be real, wearing a black bikini. Above her, in large red letters was printed:

RABBIT-IN-RED LOUNGE.

To the right of the model in shiny purple letters read:

MISTY DAWN.

And under that in plain white letters:

AVN WINNER FOR HOT NEW STARLET OF THE YEAR.

Gabriel cracked his neck and shook his head smiling. He had known Misty Dawn in High School—only then her name had been Ellen Rawls and her breasts were definitely not that large. I think I would have noticed those when we were dancing against one another at Homecoming.

He even remembered the song they danced to: KC and Jojo's 'All My Life'.

Another billboard came into view. This one had a picture of fire on the left and a picture of bright and shining golden gates on the right. At the top it read:

IF YOU DIE TONIGHT? WHAT WILL IT BE? HEAVEN OR HELL?!

Gabriel rolled his eyes. That's Haddonfield for you, he thought, religious billboard right after the one for the titty bar.

He checked the clock at the bottom right of his Qualcomm screen. ‪5:42‬.

💀

1.2.13 HALLOWEEN NIGHT/NOVEMBER 1st 5:42 AM

Haddonfield, Illinois

‪5:42 was precisely what the clock on Raj Gudipati's wall read as Jack Tate handed him his credit card to pay for the service to his car as well as the two Frappachinos for him and his wife, the Mountain-Dew for Damon, and the three bags of Doritos.‬

“Damon!” He called out as Raj took the card and swiped it. Ophelia Tate appeared behind him and put her chin on his shoulder.

“There you are,” Jack said, “Where have you been?” Raj handed him back his card.

“I was Facebooking,” she said quietly.

“Jeez Ophelia, this whole time?” He asked, putting his card back in his wallet. Raj's receipt machine came to life.

“I had a lot to catch up on. Lot's of people wishing me luck and stuff.” She said yawning.

Jack chuckled and scrawled his signature on the receipt with the ballpoint pen that was attached to the counter. “Damon!” Jack called again.

🎃

Damon took a swipe on a giant pineapple on the screen and then groaned. He turned away from Fruit Ninja and looked at Spitz, “I gotta go little dude...sorry.”

“It was nice to meet you,” Spitz said.

“Yeah, man, I'm sure we'll see you around,” Richie said, waving.

“Yeah,” Damon nodded, “It was cool to meet you guys too. Even you Lonnie.”

Lonnie had migrated, with his porn of course, from the ambiguity of the back corridor to the arcade room. He had cut back on at least 80% of his doucheness during their rousing bouts of Fruit Ninja, Mortal Kombat, and Terminator Genisys.

“Fuck you phlegm-wad.” Lonnie said, looking up from the boobs momentarily.

“Yeah...whatever,” Damon smiled. “See ya.”

🎃

“Damon!” Jack called again.

“I'm here, I'm here.” Damon groaned, stepping out of the arcade section and into the main store. The back door that led out to the shop area opened and Diego stepped through. “I'm all done Raj!” He called, “I'm gonna go ahead and head out.”

“Did Quinn clean up the shop?!” Raj called out.

“I told him to as soon as he's done,” Diego said, pausing at the door and looking out at the pouring rain.

“Done with what?” Raj asked.

“This.” Diego replied and pointed out of the window as headlights splashed across the raindrop studded glass.

“There's Quinn with your ride,” Diego said.

“Wonderful,” Jack said.

Quinn pulled the Tate Family Wagon up to the front door of the Superfuel Deluxe, and left the keys in the ignition, hopping out, and running through the pouring rain and ducking into the store with a wail.

“Oh geez, it's raining hard!” He laughed. It sounded a great deal like Lee Chumway's goofy laugh.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Diego reached into a pocket in his coveralls and dug out a pink receipt and handed it to Jack.

“Hospitals and Car Shops are the only places in the world that still use printers like this,” Jack said, pointing to the perforated edge of the sheet of paper.

Diego chucked, “I know right?”

Quinn sneezed. “Excuse me,” he shivered, “Those drops are fat and cold!”

Jack extended his hand. “I can't thank you guys enough for your quick work tonight.” He said, shaking Diego's hand first and then Quinn's. He had to wipe the water off on his shirt when he let go of Quinn.

“No problem Doc,” Quinn laughed.

Diego nodded, “We'll be seeing you I'm sure,” he said, “you can't hide in a small town like this.” And then he looked at Ophelia Tate, who was again buried in her smartphone. “Good luck with your new job at the hospital Miss.” He said.

Ophelia wasn't listening, and Jack had to elbow her. “Whaa?” she said, looking up. Damon smirked behind her.

“I said good luck with your new job at the hospital,” Diego repeated.

Ophelia smiled, “Oh..thank you so much.” Then she shot a glance at her husband, “Geez, word travels fast here.”

“You don't know the half Miss,” Quinn chuckled.

Raj called from behind them, “Quinn! Is the shop all cleaned up?”

Quinn saluted and then turned and walked away.

Diego gave a little wave, “You guys take care.”

Jack took a deep breath, “Okay, guys..let's get on over to the truck stop down the road and get a nice hot shower before he go check out the hospital!”

They ran out into the rain, Jack laughing wildly, Ophelia screaming, and Damon saying nothing, embarrassed to be with the two idiots he called his parents. As they jumped into the car, and Jack threw the shifter into drive, the headlights of a shiny new white truck splashed over the parking lot.

The truck was owned by Bernard “Booger” Tyson. Booger had only six payments left on the thing before he had paid it off. Unfortunatley Tyson would never drive the truck again..his head was still stuck in a grease fryer. Instead the two men who had put a monkey wrench in the Tyson family finances were at the helm. Lloyd Chumway in the driver's seat with his kid brother Lee riding shotgun.

Ophelia gave the truck a glance as they passed them and turned out onto the highway. “Look,” she said to her husband, “You move to the country like this, you need to get you a truck like that Jack.”

Back inside, Diego put his hands on the counter and looked at Raj who looked back at him.

“I'm taking off Raj,” he said simply.

“Is the shop clean?” Raj asked, turning back toward his satellite box.

“Nothing Quinn can't handle.”

Raj looked back at him, “Are you sure?”

Diego smiled, “I cleaned up most of it.”

Raj pointed outside, “Are you sure you want to walk in this?”

Diego shrugged, “I don't have a choice, I'm not going to stay here, I'm tired and ready for my bed.”

Raj shrugged back, “I'd take you home, but Yuvakrishna drove me and he's gonna pick me up when he gets off after Jake comes in.”

“Did he get that truck he wanted?” Diego asked.

Raj nodded and turned back toward the TV. “Yes, he got it yesterday.”

“Sweet,” Diego said, “He showed me a picture, it looked pretty sick.”

Raj waved with his hand, “He spent way too much money for that thing.”

Diego rolled his eyes, “See you later Raj,” he said, turning toward the door.

“Good bye Diego,” he said, “stay safe.”

Then he heard snickering toward the back of the store and caught sight of the top of Spitz's head. “Hey!” he called toward the back, “Are you going to buy something tonight?!” The door chimed as Diego stepped out.

He nodded toward the two men who exited the truck and were walking toward the store. They both had their hands in their pockets. Diego put his head down and stepped out into the pouring rain. He got a few yards down the road, well out of the light of the gas station, when he really began to wish he had waited there instead of venturing out in this monsoon. He was already completely soaked, and water was filling up inside of his shoes, but he knew that if he turned back now, he would just be miserable and wet and still that much further from home, so he kept walking.

If only I had a hood or an umbrella or something, he thought. The rain was literally pounding him in the face and water was running off his sopped head and into his eyes. All of a sudden he remembered the mask in his pocket. The thought of walking down the side of the road in the Halloween mask made him chuckle to himself. I'm gonna scare the shit out of anyone who drives by, he thought. But after a few more steps of blinding rain, he thought, Screw it, and pulled the mask out of his pocket and stuck it on his head. It brought little relief, but a little bit of relief is better than no relief at all.

NEXT>>

[yellowmagicalgirl]

I Bet You Kiss Your Knuckles (Right Before They Touch My Cheek)

Lady Wifi revealed Ladybug's identity to all of Paris. It's time to pass on the torch.

So I've had this idea brewing in my head ever since I first watched the episode "Lady Wifi" when it first premiered in October 2015. It laid in the back of my head, dormant, until I saw some GIF's on tumblr in which Marinette is in the process of getting akumaitzed and immediately pulling off her earrings.

In the meantime, I watched all of season one but have only watched four episodes of seasons two and three combined, so don't expect this fic to be canon-compliant or entirely in-character.

Title comes from a Halsey song.

Here is my design for Chilocorus and here is my design for Miss Fortune.

AO3

FFN

"How can we trust the girl when we don't know who she really is?" Lady Wifi says. "We have the right to know!"

Lady WiFi tugs at Ladybug's mask. It doesn't come off, but Ladybug whimpers in pain, trying to plead with her best friend's mulberry eyes.

"Why doesn't it come off?" Lady Wifi asks.

"Uh, because it's magic?" Ladybug is relieved, both that her friend is no longer pulling at her face and the fact that her secret is safe. How can Paris trust Ladybug when they didn't know their hero's identity? How could Ladybug trust herself if they knew?

Lady Wifi does not pause for banter when Chat Noir comes in through the dumbwaiter. She freezes him, and turns back to her first prisoner. She does not wait for Ladybug to use her Lucky Charm. Hawk Moth was clear with his intentions to every victim of his akumas; take Ladybug's earrings and Chat Noir's ring. Lady Wifi wants to know Ladybug's identity. Why wait, when she can take the earrings from Ladybug, chained to the wall by pause buttons?

"Alya, please, please don't do this," Ladybug pleads. Lady Wifi smirks; her knuckles rest on Ladybug's cheek bone as she grabs the red-and-black stud with her index and pointer finger.

"Like I said, Alya's not here." She is quick about pulling out the first earring, and immediately moves on to the second one. "Now, let me see who's hiding behind a mask."

Except Alya is here. She may have mulberry eyes and wear a black mask and jumpsuit, but it is Alya who trembles as in a shiver of sparkles Ladybug becomes Marinette once more. It is not anger, but regret that fills her face and causes her to set the earrings on the counter as she backs away. A messy, perhaps unintentional stroke dismisses the pause buttons on Marinette's wrists and Chat Noir's body.

"Save me," Alya pleads, disappearing into orchid pixels.

"Ma, my Lady?" Chat asks. Marinette wonders if he regrets all those questions he asked her on the stairs.

Marinette glances at the video, likely still playing. "One moment," she says. She grabs her earrings and she walks into the freezer. Maybe the tears at the corner of her eyes will freeze.

"It's cold!" Tikki complains the second Marinette puts her earrings on.

"Everyone knows I'm Ladybug now," she said, eyes downcast. "Hawk Moth knows who I am."

"I know," Tikki says. Her voice is solemn. "But you still need to save Alya."

Ladybug walks out of the freezer, rubbing at her arms.

"I jammed the signal," Chat says, pointing to the pan lid hanging over the the video symbol. "But I'm not sure how to get both of us out of here, unless you want to take the dumbwaiter one at a time. Are... are you okay?"

Ladybug shrugs and summons her Lucky Charm. "Stand back," she says, already maneuvering the microwave.

Chat, his usual self-sacrificing self, still tries to shield her with his body. And maybe she is off her game, and maybe she needs it.

The pause button disappears.

"Destroy the WiFi box," Ladybug says. "That way she won't be able to use her powers."

"Are you okay?" Chat asks again, more insistently this time as they run. "I know you and Alya are friends."

Ladybug does not ask how Chat knows about her friendship with Alya. There have been far too many akuma attacks at Collège Françoise Dupont. He could have seen her interacting with Alya at any point that he got to her school before she could transform. It was odd, how often that was. She'd think he is professional because of this, if not for his constant joking and flirting when she is around.

They reach the rooftop, and Lady Wifi is waiting, and based upon the glowing outline so is Hawk Moth. "Give up, Ladybug. I know who you are," Lady Wifi says. Her voice is cold, faraway. The corner of her eye twitches, like she is in pain.

They need to save her.

Ladybug distracts Lady Wifi as Chat unleashes a Cataclysm upon the WiFi box. He then holds down Lady Wifi so that Ladybug can break her phone in two and purify the akuma.

Akuma victims do not remember what they did. Alya immediately asks if the two heroes of Paris would give her a quick interview, like she hadn't already exposed Ladybug. The heroes make their way to a balcony on the opposite side of the building.

Chat holds her wrist as she goes to swing away. "Wait, I want you to know who I am. It's only fair."

"No, Chat," she says. "Your identity is too important; not even I can learn it. It's too dangerous. Distract the paparazzi for me, please?"

Marinette's parents are waiting for her. And why wouldn't they be? Their daughter has been caught risking her life for all of Paris.

"Marinette, we're proud of you," her papa said, "but we're worried."

"You fight all the time against people who want to hurt you," her maman said.

"I know," Marinette said, "but if I don't do this, then everyone else will get hurt."

"But why does it have to be you," her maman said. "You're only fourteen; you should be worrying about boys and school."

"As it is, just how many times have you been late for school or forgotten homework because of an akuma?"

"I mean, isn't Ladybug saving everyone more important than, oh, grammar?"

"But why does Ladybug have to be you?"

When her parents think she is asleep, Marinette asks Tikki this question.

Everyone started clapping when Marinette entered the classroom.

Almost everyone. Alya sat in the back of the room, head buried in her arms.

Marinette does not sit behind Adrien, who looks at her like she is a goddess. He probably had a crush on Ladybug, and now that he knows who Ladybug is he has hopefully transferred his crush to Marinette.

Marinette goes to the back of the room. "Can I sit here?" she asks.

Alya looks up, and she has none of the exuberance she had from when the akuma was purified. She knows what she has done, not because she remembers but because everyone recorded the broadcast where Ladybug was unmasks. Alya now knows the consequences of her goal.

"Sure," she says. "I'll, I'll go if you want."

"No, stay. Last night, it wasn't your fault."

She thinks she sees a black butterfly resting on the window. Waiting. Spying.

There is paparazzi waiting outside the school.

"Ladybug!" one of them shouts. "Can you tell us about your plans to defeat Hawk Moth?"

Marinette freezes. A hand grabs her wrist.

"I am the daughter of the mayor of Paris! Let us through!" Chloe says, dragging Marinette through the parting crowd.

"Thank you," Marinette says. Chloe sniffs.

"I'm not doing this because I li-" Chloe looks down. "Look, this isn't because, this isn't because..."

Marinette has never seen Chloe stammer or blush before. She is doing both.

"This is a thank-you for saving me before!" Chloe insists far too quickly. "Honestly, do you only have a backbone when you're Ladybug?"

The jab feels like a cover-up for something Marinette cannot place, but she appreciates the change in attitude anyways. Out of the corner of her eye, she watches a black-and-purple butterfly fly away. She gets the feeling she won't be able to do her homework.

She gets the feeling that she was the intended target.

Chat holds out his fist for a "Pound It!" when they defeat Chambrecho half an hour later. For someone who sent their attacks back at them, he was a surprisingly easy akuma to defeat.

Ladybug's fistbump is half-hearted. "Chat, can we talk? Privately?"

"Sure," Chat says. They duck away to a secluded area. He didn't use his cataclysm, so he doesn't need to worry about his identity.

"Is this about last night?" he asks.

"I, yeah," she says. "Chat, that black butterfly was meant for me."

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"Yeah. It's been following me all morning. I, Chat, you're a really great partner, but I can't be your partner anymore."

His jaw drops.

"I've already talked to my kwami, and she says a new Ladybug can be found. I... Chat, I don't want to give up my earrings. They, and my kwami, and I guess you too, they've helped me develop my confidence so much. I'm scared I'll go back to the scared little girl I was before I became Ladybug, but only Ladybug can purify an akuma. If I get akumatized, it's over."

"I, I doubt that will happen. Tell you what, I can show you my identity and maybe you won't be so scared anymore. I, you're like, one of the closest people in the world to me, and I don't want to lose you."

"Chat, you don't get it! I'm dangerous, now. I'll try to stay positive, but all I need is one bad day. One bad day, and Hawk Moth will akumatize me, and I will give him my earrings if I still have them. Don't make it easier for me to give him your ring."

She takes a deep breath. "I'm not asking for your permission, I just don't want to leave you without a word because you're important to me, and I wanted to tell you that, you know the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie?" He nods. "I live there. Feel free to stop by."

She hugs him, and doesn't comment as he starts to cry.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tikki asks. She had given Marinette instructions on where to go, questioning her every step of the way.

"I... yes." That was a lie, and Marinette hates liars, but the truth was complicated. The truth is that no, she doesn't want to do this, but for the sake of Paris she needs to. Marinette pulls out the box her earrings first came in.

"Okay," Tikki says, and she phases through the wall of a... massage parlor? A few minutes later, she comes back. "Okay, we're ready. Marinette, you've been the best Ladybug I've had."

Marinette sniffles. "Thank you, Tikki. I'm going to miss you."

She takes out her earrings and places them in the box. She places the box in front of the door, and she walks away. She pulls her hair out of her pigtails.

"You don't have to worry about me being Ladybug anymore," she says to her parents before she goes to her room.

Only then does she allow herself to weep.

 Alya texts her the day after Marinette gives up her earrings.

Hey, can I come over?

They don't have school that day.

Of course, is Marinette's response.

"Hey," Alya says, and she is quiet. She has been this way ever since yesterday. "So, um, I'm thinking about taking down the LadyBlog."

"Why?" Marinette asks.

"I... revealing your identity wasn't the right choice, was it? And, like, in all the superhero comics and stuff, the identity reveal makes things worse for the hero, and I wasn't thinking about how it'd affect Ladybug, well, you, I was just thinking of how it could make me a good reporter and -"

Marinette tucks her hair behind her ears. Alya gasps.

"I mean, you're right. The identity reveal makes it harder for the hero, but anyone could wear the earrings."

"Who's the new... I shouldn't ask that, should I?"

Marinette shakes her head. "No, you shouldn't. However, I don't know who the new Ladybug is, but for what it's worth, I hope it's you. I mean, I tried to give you the earrings once already."

 It's been two days since Marinette gave up her earrings, and one of the girls from Ms. Mendeliev's class has been akumatized. She wears armor the color of cast iron with spinning blades for hands and a gold visor.

"So, what's your name? Edwardia SawHands?" Chat asks. He catches Marinette's eye, and taps a finger to his human earlobe.

"It's DarkSaw!" the akuma screeches. Marinette shakes her head at Chat.

"Hey, aren't you going to do something?" Kim asks.

"If you need help getting to the bathroom so you can change into your costume I can help," Chloe says as she inspects her nails.

Marinette looks to Alya. Alya gives her a sad smile and tucks a stray lock of hair over her ear. There is no earring.

DarkSaw lunges for Chat. The yo-yo that knocks away her hand is a darker red than usual.

Marinette looks up and pulls her hair into a single ponytail, revealing her ears. "I'm not the one who's going to save you."

A girl jumps from the second story balcony. She has long black hair pulled into a low ponytail with bangs that fall over her left eye. The ends are dyed a darker red than her right eye. She wears a wine-colored sleeveless high-collared dress with boots, arm warmers, and fingerless gloves. Under the dress is a sheer spotted dark red skirt, and under that is a polka-dotted mesh leotard that covers everything not covered by the rest of her outfit. Her mask has a large black spot over her eye. The girl looks at Marinette, as if looking for approval. Marinette smiles at her. The girl's burgundy lips curl into a shy smile. Marinette turns to her classmates.

"She is."

"Three, two, one, action!" Alya calls from behind the camera after school. They had been planning this ever since Marinette had told Alya that she hoped that she would be the next one to get the earrings. They had two separate versions, and if Alya had been the next bug then this would have been the last LadyBlog entry, so that no one would question why Alya was no longer posting. It would have been one where Alya apologized to Paris and to Ladybug, and would have proclaimed that she didn't want to continue out of guilt.

In this way, Marinette is thankful that Alya did not receive the earrings.

"Hello, Paris!" Marinette says, trying to be as cheerful and confident as possible. "If you watched the broadcast from a couple nights ago, you know that I'm Ladybug. Or, rather, I was. Because my identity was compromised, I gave up my earrings. There's now a new hero wearing them; her name is Chilocorus and she debuted today at Collège Françoise Dupont."

Marinette gets the feeling that Alya would cut the video so that there would be video footage of the new hero between Marinette's speech.

"Alya will be repurposing the LadyBlog to focus on helping the citizens of Paris instead of trying to unmask its heroes. It's still under development, but she's going to set up an akuma tracker.

"And if you're watching this, Hawk Moth?" Marinette let her face settle into a glare. "Fine. You won the battle against me. But in the end, it'll be Chat Noir and Chilocorus standing victorious over you. And I can't wait for you to beg for their mercy."

That night, someone knocks on her trap door.

"Fancy seeing you here, Chat," she says. "Now, what would my parents say about you showing up on my rooftop in the middle of the night?"

He gives her a bright red rose. "That I'm being a purrfect gentlecat."

She laughs and takes it. "Well then, if you mind your manners I'm sure you can stay and talk, but I've got school tomorrow kitty so it can't be too long."

"What do you think of Chilocorus?"

"She's definitely fancier than me," Marinette says. "Or at least, she's more of an eager romantic about the idea of being a superhero. I can't say I was too big on the idea, because I could've definitely come up with better costume ideas than that spotted leotard I wore."

"She's a novice," Chat complains.

"So was I."

"I know, but couldn't you have kept your earrings?"

"It's for the best, Chat. Just because you have a new partner doesn't mean we can't stop being friends."

He sighs. "Hey, what smells so good?"

"The cookies downstairs."

"Could I have one?"

Adrien, Rose, and Juleka are nowhere to be found when they are supposed to take the school photo.

Juleka said she panicked.

Rose said she got the feeling that Juleka's anxiety was acting up and had tried to find her friend.

Adrien had managed gotten his foot stuck in a trashcan, somehow, and he hadn't thought to ask anyone for help.

In unrelated news, the Akuma Tracker said that La France pittoresque had been terrorized by an akuma known as Red Herring at the same time as the school photos.

Marinette doesn't allow herself to think about the possibilities.

Marinette fails her math quiz. She balls it up, and a black butterfly lands on it.

"Hello, former Ladybug," Hawk Moth says, voice smug.

"Oh, shut up," Marinette says. She throws out her math quiz.

Twenty minutes later, there is an akuma attack. Marinette's parents are thankful that she's home.

There is a knock on her roof.

Marinette grumbles and places her textbook down. She has a test tomorrow. A big one. She can't afford a bad grade on it, not after her math quiz. "Just a minute, you mangy-"

A red eye peeks out under black-and-red bangs.

"Oh," Marinette says. She blinks once, twice, to make sure she's really seeing her successor. She mentally stomps all over the hope that her, no the earrings are being given back. Marinette has made her choice and she must live with it. "Hi, Chilocorus. Something wrong?"

"Can I ask you for some advice?" she asks.

"Sure. Is Chat still being cold to you? I can tell him to quit it... again, if I need to."

"No, it's... Chat Noir has warmed up to me, mostly. I don't think he's ever going to like me as much as you, nor in the same way, but I'm more than okay with that. Just... how did you handle it all? I don't know what I'm doing with the Lucky Charm half the time, and I don't know how to balance being a superhero with my regular life."

"Yeah, that takes some getting used to. One moment." Marinette runs downstairs, and grabs some of the cookies that she is allowed to take from the bakery. "Give these to Tikki for me? Now, something that helps with balancing things is doing homework while on a stake-out."

Everyone expects more of Marinette. She was able to barely handle the stacked responsibilities when she led a double life. Surely more responsibilities can be handled because she is no longer Ladybug.

It's very frustrating, and one day she raises her voice at her parents before slamming the door as she stomped off to her room.

"I'll make you a deal," Hawk Moth says after a black butterfly lands on Marinette's pencil. "After I use them to get what I need, you can have your earrings back."

"And what do you need?" Marinette asks. Hopefully she will remember enough to pass it on to Chat or Chilocorus.

"First, I need you to get me Chilocorus and Chat Noir's Miraculous."

This isn't one of her good pencils, so Marinette snaps it. The black butterfly flies away to akumatize someone else.

Marinette thinks things are going well. Chloe is being oddly nice, to everyone, but especially to Marinette. She can hold full conversations with Adrien. She, Alya, Chilocorus, and Chat Noir are able to coordinate plans.

Marinette misses Tikki, though. She misses the feelings of freedom and confidence that being Ladybug gave her. Without being a hero, it's a bit harder to keep up her cheerful demeanor and inspiring attitude.

Marinette sees the black butterfly, and she is so very tired. Thankfully, she has the Ladyblog open, and in a final moment of clarity she types two words.

The butterfly lands on her right hair tie.

"Don't even give me the speech," Marinette says as a pink glowing mask forms in front of her face. "I don't care anymore."

The first herald of Miss Fortune was not the small black, white, and red beetles descending upon Paris like a swarm of locusts. It wasn't even the girl in a black-and-white spotted suit, with a single red ribbon in her hair.

It was two words from one Marinette Dupain-Cheng, former Ladybug, on comments of the Akuma Tracker portion of the Ladyblog.

SAVE ME

[kissingagrumpygiant]

early morning walk

if you wanna be my lover, you gotta act like a normal person and then maybe be my friend. this was written before The Lovers update, and I like it too much to get rid of it, so here’s some trash 

It was a hot day in Vesuvia and a long walk from the Palace to Roah’s little corner of the world.

She had asked Nadia for a small break for the next few days, just to check on the shop and to deal with a few simple orders, but in all honesty Roah just wanted a break from court life. She hadn’t lived the pampered life style in so long and never thought she would have to live it again and stir up old memories, and the pressure of the investigation from the Countess was wearing her down. Just a few short days in her normal life and she would be in the right mindset to start again and pick up what she had left off in the library.

Devorak’s unintelligible scrolls were Roah’s current project and she regretted not pressing the issue more when they had a drink in that tavern.

I had a drink with Julian Devorak. The idiot invited her to drink and chat with him when he knew she had connections to the Palace and could send the guards after him. He keeps showing up at my shop, messing with my things, flirting with me. What’s his game?

His presence had been plaguing her mind ever since she found out he had a key to her place. For how long? What did he know? Why would he want me to pat him down in the middle of the street, in broad day light?! She wanted to yell at Asra for days for just handing out her things to strangers.

The loud call of a raven echoed above her, and Roah lifted her head only to be blinded by the harsh sun. The heat was becoming unbearable, she quickly took off her vest and untied her scarf from her hips and stuffed it in her bag, where she came in contact with something smooth and cold, and felt it nipping at her fingers. She peered inside the bag while taking a turn at the long shaded staircase that lead to the market square, and was greeted with Faust’s smug face staring at her from between the folds of her shawl.

“Well, looks like I have a little stowaway,” Roah scolded her with a small smile, “at least I know where you are now, little lady, and not causing any trouble at the Palace,” she lightly tapped Faust’s nose, who in return stuck her tongue out at her. Roah gave a small giggle and was about to take a turn left under an archway, when behind her spoke a voice.

“I know the Palace can be maddening, but I never thought you’d start talking to the thin air so fast. I’d have given you a couple more months,” Roah closed the bag quickly and whipped her head back just to see the doctor smugly smiling above her, leaning against the staircase wall. Even with the burning heat he wore his long dark coat and she could have imagined how much he’s probably frying under all those layers, but on the other hand she couldn’t have been more grateful that his cleavage wasn’t in here face again. “What brings you here today, shopkeeper?”

She stared at him for a few moments, trying to sort her emotions and a proper response. He had always caught her so off guard.

“Are you following me? Is that what you’re doing?”

“I’m just taking a light stroll in this lovely city and happened to come by a dear friend,” he touched her arm while he passed her and ducked under the archway, Roah following suit with his quick long steps,

“This early in the morning, and without a mask? Your sense of self preservation is nonexistent, doctor Devorak,” Julian stood out like a sour thumb in the streets of Vesuvia, and all he needed was a target sign on his back saying HERE I AM COUNTESS, MAKE ME YOUR PRISINOR. This wasn’t the Rowdy Raven, and even there the guards were still stalking, though she did see him going around without a mask on in the past.  

“I have no fear of being caught today, though your concern is touching,” he noted and put his hand on his chest in a sarcastically touching gesture, “Besides, if something will go wrong, I’m sure you’ll come to my help, Roah.” He said her name with such a musical tone that it made her face burn, just like Asra would make her do with one of his innuendos. Ugh.

Another caw of a raven was heard above them, and Julian took Roah’s hand im his and sped their pacing towards the market,

“But maybe we shouldn’t risk that after all,” another smile flashed at her and Julian was lightly dragging her behind him.

Roah figured the raven stalking up ahead was Malak, who warned the doctor of the guards patrolling nearby. Julian ducked into an ally behind some stands in the market. It seemed with the early time and the heat of the sun not many people were out to be able to spot them, besides the merchants setting up their stands. They were heading towards the magic shop, and Roah remembered she never told him where she was going.  

“Were you heading to the shop again?!” she hissed angrily at him, trying not to draw attention to themselves.

“Madam I am hurt, is it so awful that I wanted to check on the shop and visit a friend?”

“We are not-” she ripped her hand from his loose grasp, and marched before him, jabbing a finger at his chest, “We are not friends, so stop that.”

She turned her back to him and continued walking fast, hearing an audible oh from him and the click of his boots behind her.

They reached the back door of the shop and Roah started searching for the keys in her bag, shooing Faust out of her hideout and letting her crawl up her arm and settling around her shoulders. Julian was to her left, providing shade with his height and broad shoulders, watching her fumble for her keys with a disappointed look.  

“Listen, Julian,” she wrangled out the set of keys and started searching for the right one, avoiding his stare. “This is…too odd. This entire thing.”

“Is it now?”

“Yes. First Asra leaves with no explanation, again,-”

“Hm, typical,” he scoffed, and Roah decided to ignore that, trying to find that key, unfocused with him being so close again.

“Asra leaves, and then I have the Countess knocking at my door, and no one refuses the countess, and now I have to deal with the murder mystery of the Count and deal with snooty courtiers!”- She tried to fit a random key in the hole but it won’t budge, frustration started crawling up at her- “And I have the possible killer constantly at my door step!” –She jams another key which doesn’t fit, and then another one, all the while continuing her ramblings - “And not only is he constantly there, he keeps making suggestive comments at me, and being too nice and friendly, and helping me even though I’m supposed to catch him and he knows that, and he’s funny and inviting and annoyingly handsome and he’s definitely up to something but I can’t bring myself to tell Nadia because for some reason I’m choosing to trust him a little bit and- Ugh! Where’s that key?!”  She furiously fumbled with the set again, catching a quick glimpse at Julian’s face, which was now completely red. Roah felt her own face redden with embarrassment.

“I'm…sorry, I shouldn’t have ranted like that,” she started, and Julian reached out to her hand, lowering it from the lock while his other hand searched one of his coat pockets.

“Ah- let me,” he pulled his own key from his pocket and finally unlocked the door, and Roah guessed that’s the key Asra gave him.

Roah unsealed the magical ward from the door and the two of them stood there for a couple of moments with her hand on the handle.

She sighed, and Faust nipped at her cheek quickly. She turned to Julian who was staring at the ground and took a deep breath to calm herself.  

“Would you like to come in, like a normal person, and help me set a few things up? I can make us some tea afterwards if you’d like.”

He stared at her for a few seconds, still red faced, and then smiled differently than before, not a broad mocking smile but an actual earnest one.

“I’d love to. Thank you.”

She opened the door and the pair rushed into the shop, leaving the empty street behind them.