#they move like rope pulleys and you can pull on them to make the hand move

[drunknillawafer]

right down the line: zuko x firebender!reader | part 7

You grew up close to the Royal Family due to your father's position as a General, but you ran away from home after the agni kai against your best friend, Zuko. Now, you've joined the Gaang and plan on doing your part in ending the 100-year war.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

hi part 7... picking up right where we left off... i think I'm going to post a masterlist & keep it linked on my pinned to make it easier to sift through and find, esp since i do plan on posting other fics once i finished my very first >.< also i want to post the songs i listen to while I'm writing and some visuals hehe... just to make it much more immersive. again i do not own these characters and they are not mine! (except my mc i guess) like comment reblog if ya like... enjoy! about 1785 words

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

We’re standing on a sand-colored platform of a structure currently being renovated or changed to fit Fire Nation standards. The usual for when they occupy lands that don’t belong to them. Aangs in front of me, with Sokka to my left and Katara to my right. We form a triangle and I'm thankful for the partial covering.

I’m thinking of the best way to summarize the threats ahead of us, just in case they try to change the plan. There’s a good chance this will go south.

“Mai, in the center, has good aim with her blades, but it’s Ty Lee, on the left, you should keep an eye out for.” I try to give my friends the run-down on my, I guess, old friends one would say. But we’ve only got so much time before all three of them realize that I’m here.  

They lower King Bumi from the top of the building using a metal crane. They’ve got him in a coffin-shaped cage with only his head showing.

“You brought my brother?” Mai speaks first, breaking the silence between the two groups. She squints at the sight of me, but I’m too far away for her to be sure it’s me.

“He’s here.” Aang solemnly replies. “We’re ready to trade.” In these moments, he’s got the grace of a 112-year-old.

Suddenly, Azula speaks to Mai in a hushed tone we can’t quite hear. Fine is never fine with Azula, nothing is ever the way it should be with her. There’s bound to be some trick up her sleeve that only feeds into her misery.

“I’ll help with the girl on the right, she’s the most vicious,” I warn them. I briefly make eye contact with Sokka. We haven’t talked about what was said and now wasn’t the time, but I couldn’t help but yearn for his gentleness. A reminder that I wasn’t like the enemies in front of us, but someone new. Someone he couldn’t hate.

Then, Mai steps forward. “The deal’s off.” With a lift of her gloved hand, King Bumi is raised once again by the crane.

“Bumi!” Aang cries out for his old friend and starts heading towards him, defying the laws of gravity bestowed upon the rest of us. It’s enchanting to see an air-bender. It’s so different from the rest of the elements. He looks like he’s flying.

As he does so, Azula strikes, and I see her blue flame for the first time. She must’ve perfected her oxygen levels for complete combustion; but if she’s the Azula I’ve always known, I know how to beat her. This time, I won’t go easy. I won’t make that same mistake again for nostalgia.

Aang’s head covering flies away as the air moves around him and his arrow is exposed.

I look down at Azula’s reaction and she’s close enough now to hear.

“The Avatar. My lucky day.” The princess smirks, re-organizing her plans for Omashu in her head.

“Remember, don’t let Ty Lee touch you!” I warn Sokka and Katara and dash toward Azula, offering Aang some support against the crazed fire-bender.

I follow her upward, burning the knot on the pulley to cause the rope to lift.

Azula can see me through the grids as the ropes pull us to the top of the building, and I can see her in real-time realize who I am.

“Well, if it isn’t the Royal traitor. Seems like you and Zuzu still share a brain.” She gloats.

“Leave the Avatar alone, Azula. I mean it!” We break through the ceiling made from wood and reach the roof of the building under construction.

She attacks Aang with a blue blast, causing him to break the metal chain. Aang instantly heads downward with King Bumi. He cushions their fall with an air bubble, and they land on the well-known ramps of Omashu. Azula quickly follows them using a cart, and I’m on her tail. If only I had Sokka’s boomerang right now, it makes so much sense to carry one in these situations.

We catch up to Aang, giving Azula the chance to strike him and Bumi.

I distract her with my own fire-blasts, making sure to lean forward and crash into her cart.

“Out of practice?” She questions.

“Out of patience.” I growl, punctuating my sentence with a blast from my right hand.

As we continue our fight by speeding through the ramps, I see Appa in the distance. Relief washes over me as I conclude Sokka and Katara must have gotten away from Mai and Ty Lee.

Aang attempts to lift Bumi onto Appa’s saddle with his bending, but he miscalculates and Bumi’s off to land on the ground. But his friend won’t let him go on his own. Together, they land on another ramp and head down to ground-level.

Azula’s right behind them, and I’m right behind her.

She attempts another attack, but a rock blocks her offense and bursts her cart into dust. I leap off mine before the impact breaks my cart too and we both land on our feet, an homage to our identical upbringing.

She lets Aang go for a reason I can’t quite put my finger on until she turns around to face me. We're still standing on the ramps.

“The key to never losing is knowing when you’re beat.” She says with her hands in defense, signaling that she’s waving the white flag.

I’m still in fight mode. I’d never let my guard down around her, not now, not ever. “You’ll always be beat as long as I’m here.”

She pauses to truly grasp my presence. It’s been three years since we’ve seen each other, and everything’s changed. We used to be on the same team, never friends but bonded by our birthplace. It’s the first time we no longer owe each other pleasantries. Azula, however, uses sweetness as a weapon. “Where have you been, Y/N? You’re missed at the Royal Palace.”

“I doubt it.” Zuko and his mother haven’t touched that home in years, making it impossible for anyone there to actually miss me.

“Your father misses you.”

“I know you’re lying, Azula.”

“You’ve never trusted me; I’ve never liked you. Now we don’t have to pretend do we?”

“Leave us alone,” I get in my fight stance. “Got it?”

“Fine. Loud and clear.” She dashes away in her infamous run toward the unfinished building, probably to catch up with her friends.

Fine isn’t fine. It’s I’ll get you somehow. I think to myself.

I watch her figure fade into the distance, when it hits me: “Seems like you and Zuzu still share a brain.”

Did Zuko abandon his ship?

Is she lying? She would have no reason to lie about something like that, other than to get to me or Aang. I can’t pinpoint a motive. I still won’t believe her 100 percent, but I’ll keep it in my back pocket.

I slide down the ramp Aang took and find the both of them at the very end, standing on a platform in another unfinished building. Once I’m off and my two feet hit the floor, Bumi bends rock to lift his metal enclosure up the ramp in a fit of laughter.

We both watch him go. “Your friend is very… eccentric.” I tell Aang, as he’s standing with Momo on his shoulders.

“Yeah.” I turn to face him, something’s wrong. He’s disappointed.

“He’s not going to teach you earth-bending?” I assume.

“No, he has to stay here to protect Omashu. I guess I got to find another teacher.” Now, he looks like a twelve-year-old boy with the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. There’s no way he’s meant to do this alone. I’d rather be here helping him than with Zuko.

“We’ll find one in no-time.” I reassure him.

“Who were those three girls?” He changes the subject.

“They were old friends too. Azula is Zuko’s sister.”

“Wow.”

“I know.” I sit on the edge of the platform, waiting for our ride with my feet dangling. Aang sits next to me, and for now, we’re just two kids talking, staring at the beautiful Earth Kingdom in front of us.

“What was it like… to grow up with them?”

“It was easy with Zuko. Azula… not so much.” I wince.

Aang’s face contorts, as if he’s remembering a distant memory. “Was Zuko good? Yaknow, back then?”

A smile creeps up on my face. “He was.”

“Do you think he still could be?”

Aang and I stare at each other. We’re choosing to live in the moment before my answer. The moment in which the possibility of Zuko changing his mind, realizing his mistakes, and helping us stop his father exists.  

“I don’t know.”

☆

The heat and the prickly bushes are upsetting him further with each and every single step. Looking for food when you’re used to someone cooking for you is daunting, Zuko realizes. How is he ever supposed to live like this? How did Y/N?

As he’s walking back to let Uncle know he couldn’t find anything edible, he touches the side of his hair. It’s grown back a bit since cutting it, slicing off his ties to the Fire Nation. Trading in the red for green, hoping to camouflage with the land and the Earth Kingdom people.

What a stupid idea, he thought. How could anyone ever confuse him with anyone else with the scar on his left eye?

But it seemed to be working so far. His sister hadn’t found them, and they haven’t been arrested for their crimes against every other nation.

In the humid morning, on his long walk back to where his uncle was staring at a tea leaf, he thought about the Northern Water Tribe.

He wondered if Y/N was okay from his strike. Maybe the water-bender girl could heal her, and she’d be okay again. He didn’t mean to. He’s been this hard and heavy with everyone else for the sole purpose of returning home, he forgot Y/N was his home. He’s been in fighting mode for so long, he’s forgotten to turn it off.

She wasn’t home, though. She was with the Avatar. Defending him and betraying her nation. How did she get there? He wondered. He had so many questions about everything. Zuko’s sure she had just as many questions for him.

Could he find her now that he was labeled a traitor?

Where his mind led made his empty stomach drop.

If he found her, he’d find the Avatar. Then, he could go home. But if Y/N was not there, would he still want to go back? Did his father’s acceptance matter above all else? It didn’t for Y/N, but she was always braver than him.

Zuko wasn’t ready for that thought, so he pushed it away.

It wasn’t hard to do when your stomach was louder than your thoughts.

------------------

tag list <3: @camilleverreault @staygoldsquatchling02

[ophelia-jones]

Chapter three - temptation 

*(adult content. 18 only)*

After several trips back and forth, loading the wheelbarrows and then unloading them into large buckets attached to the rope and pulley, Negan's muscles ached. He didn't care that he was in an unusually weak state because of his struggles through the long winter and the challenges of being constantly on the move.  Verity wasn't slowing down, and he wouldn't either. On the final trip, she smiled and looked out of the corner of her eye at him.

"Sore?" She asked as he stretched and rubbed his left shoulder.

"I could do this all day." He assured her with more confidence than he actually felt.  She stifled a chuckle, recognizing his bravado for what it was.

"Well, your help doesn't go unappreciated." She was telling him, when suddenly her eyes went wide and she shoved past him, both hands on her shovel, the blade up and sideways. She swung it at the walker which had appeared from the far side of the fence as they were making their way back to the dig site. 

She swung with enough force that the sharp edge on the shovel split through the walker's cheek and nearly took the top half of its head clean off. The head of the shovel stuck in the bone and dragged her down with the body as it fell. Two more walkers were descending on her as she struggled to free the shovel. 

Three more appeared, and she finally released the handle of the shovel, falling backwards onto her ass and drawing the glock from her shoulder holster. 

Negan began swinging his shovel as he advanced, hurrying to defend Verity. He hit the first walker so hard its head splattered like an over-ripe melon. The second stumbled and he kicked it down, the flat of his foot against its chest, and began beating it until it stopped moving. 

Verity's aim was impressive when she managed to free the pistol, taking down three of the dead in less than ten seconds, one right after the other. 

Negan grasped the handle of his shovel and looked all around for signs of more threats, but there were none to be seen.  He was still catching his breath, but he offered Verity a hand up.

"Holy shit that was fantastic! Where'd you learn to shoot like that, Annie fucking Oakley?" He smiled crookedly at her, genuinely impressed.  She couldn't help but smile back, and he detected a hint of a blush in her cheeks. Of course, he was smart enough not to say so. "That wasn't regular old police training, that was skill."

"I used to compete in the International Defensive Pistol Association." She replied, and although she was steady on her feet once more Negan retained his grasp on her hand. They stood facing each other, looking at each other for several moments more than necessary. Negan knew a woman's body language well enough to know she was at least a little interested. 

She shook herself out of it though and pulled her hand free of his and put one foot on the dispatched walker to yank the stuck shovel free. 

"You have one hell of a swing." She told him, grunting and stumbling back into him as the shovel came loose. Negan grabbed her by the shoulders as her back hit his chest. He was amused by her words.

"Guess I didn't need to loan you my revolver after all." She teased him for forgetting to use the gun.

"Ah… yeah, well what can I say, bashing heads just comes naturally." He still had that crooked smile on his face, but his eyes lowered as if embarrassed about something.

"Why don't we call it a day? I can man the gate and we'll send Etta and Lana out to finish this up." Verity offered, reaching up absently to wipe some splattered gore from his cheek and forehead. Negan closed his eyes at her touch. He hadn't been touched gently in far too long. 

"Sure, I mean, if you're tired." He joked. She smiled back. He must be completely washed out with fatigue, she thought, but he was still standing here making jokes. "C'mon. I think I still have a stash of the venison jerky Etta made in my kitchen. You could use the calories, beanpole." She took up her shovel and put it in the wheelbarrow and turned back toward the gate.

"Beanpole!? Really?" He laughed.

"If you turned sideways you'd be invisible." She teased. 

"That's not nice." He chuckled, lifting the end of his own wheelbarrow and following her home. 

*******************************  

Verity returned to her apartment after checking in with each of the others; leadership meant power to many people, but to Verity leadership brought a vow of service to the people whom she led.  

Amari was feeding Vida some of the applesauce they had made and canned last autumn and making a mess of it. To be fair, Amari had far more experience with babies and toddlers than Verity did. She'd been the youngest of her siblings and had never had children of her own. Amari was the eldest of five and had been more of a mother to her brothers and sister than their mother had ever been to her.

"How's she doing today?" She asked, smiling and standing back to avoid applesauce kisses. It was funny, she's made fun of the title of Hilary's book title 'it takes a village to raise a child', but now she saw just how valuable it was living communally.  The young ones had a better chance of surviving in this world if there were multiple people to guard them, at the very least. And for poor little Vida, it was like having one large family rather than being an orphan.

"Annoying!" Amari said, only half joking. She had a chip on her shoulder for always being the dedicated babysitter.  She'd been complaining constantly that she wanted a job that required her to go beyond the wall. Verity understood the young woman's desire to be treated like an adult, and truth be told she was more than capable at this point. But she and Harper were all she had left of her old life. They were her 2 successes. The other students whom she had promised to protect were all gone now, and she selfishly wanted to keep them under glass so they would remain unharmed. 

The truth was, she knew, that simply being kept inside was not a guarantee. There were plenty of dangers - if it were going to happen, it was going to happen. She should accept that by now, but she wouldn't.  

"Well, I'm grateful." She told her, slipping by them outside the toddlers sticky reach. 

"Yeah. Yeah, you know I'm starting to think I might as well have a baby of my own!" Amari called after Verity as she slipped into the bathroom to wash up from the mud and the gore caked on during her long day. 

"Stay away from Justin!" Verity called back through the door knowing Amari had more sense than to get pregnant on purpose.

"The new guys too old to get it up!" Amari retorted. 

"I doubt that!" Verity laughed. Knowing she would win the game with this comment, and smiling when she heard Amari groan. 

"Ewwww." She heard her say playfully to Vida. 

Verity smiled to herself, her mind wandering in the direction of what was under Negan's clothes before she caught herself and tried to think of something else. She had resolved more than a year ago that she neither wanted or needed another man in her life. It was just hormones and fatigue leading her thoughts astray, she assured herself before drifting back into her thoughts while she washed up. 

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

Negan was asleep nearly as soon as he sat down on the old floral print sofa in his new apartment.  He was awakened hours later by a gentle rapping at the door. It was a whisper of a knock as if whoever was there didn't want anyone else to know about it. He stood and ran a hand through his hair, his body stiff and muscles aching, before opening the door. 

"Hey, thought you might appreciate a little something to ease the muscle aches." Lana told him with a smirk, holding up a joint in one hand and a lighter in the other. Negan grinned and stood aside so she could come in.

"Where in the hell did you get that?" He asked. 

"We have a grow a mile south of here. Verity wouldn't let us use the roof space because she wanted every square in for the vegetables." Lana replied, pinching one end of the joint between her lips and lighting it.

"My my. You are just full of surprises." Negan quipped, sinking into the too soft sofa beside the pixie-like blonde. Lana held her breath and passed the smoke over to Negan and he accepted gratefully. His eyes narrowed and his throat burned but he drew in a deep puff of the smoke and held it in as long as he could. He didn't know if the weed was already working or if he was just dizzy from holding his breath.

"I haven't smoked this shit since…" He started to say, but then the memory of smoking with Lucille to help with her pain when she was dying came to the front of his mind and he paused.  

"Since…." Lana said in a sing-song voice and gesturing to say he should finish his sentence.  He passed it back to Lana, her eyes watching his mouth closely. He licked his lower lip and then pinched the tip of his tongue between his teeth as he returned the attention. 

"Since like, the 1800's?" She teased playfully. Her green eyes shone in the fading light outside the window.

"Oh, it's going to be like that?" He smiled playfully, reaching over to tug at her hair like a little boy would a girl he had a crush on.  His eye went to the piercings on her ear and he flicked them lightly with the very tip of his fingers, sending a shiver through her. 

"Want to see the rest of them?" She asked, the shift in her tone charging the air around them with sexual tension. 

Negan was trying to think of a way to tell her politely he wasn't sure that would be a good idea, but she was already shedding her top to show him petite breasts, just gentle swells topped with rose pink nipples; each of which were pierced with a silver hoop.  He found himself speechless, his cock jumping to attention despite the reservations he had been wrestling with. His brain was shutting down and his body was taking over, especially now that Lana was in her panties directly in front of him where he sat.

She took Negan's hand and brought it up between her legs, guiding his thumb to her clitoral hood piercing with just the thinnest of material keeping their skin from touching. 

"Jesus H Christ." Negan murmured, sliding the material aside to begin to rub the piercing and making Lana cry out in pleasure. He looked up at her, reaching to grasp her hips with both hands and drawing her toward him so he could trace one of her nipples with his tongue. "You are a very dirty girl, aren't you?" He breathed against her skin and she knew she had him. 

"You have no idea." She smirked, dropping to her knees and pushing Negan back against the couch and unbuckling his belt. He watched every move she made, lifting his hips so she could free his aching cock. 

She hummed a note of approval before grasping him firmly at the base and eagerly burying the tip in her throat, sucking gently as she lifted her head and licking the precum that was starting to leak from him already. His balls were tightening so much he knew he wouldn't last any longer than a thirteen year old finding his fathers playboy collection. He buried his hands in her hair and intended to get her to stop so he could calm down - he was about to make a very disappointing first impression. When she reached up to cup his balls, he felt the moan escape his throat as his eyes closed, his body aching for the release he hadn't known in too long. He was driven quickly over the edge when she ran a finger lightly over the skin behind his testicles and he instinctively jerked his hips forward, gagging her as he came as hard as he could ever remember.  He was gasping for breath, his hands finally loosening their grip in her hair.

"Oh, shit sweetheart, that mouth of yours should be labeled a lethal weapon!" He declared breathlessly. 

"Shit." He muttered again, laying back on the couch with a relieved smile. Lana took both of his hands and pulled him up off the couch and guided him to lay on the floor.

"I'm sorry, darlin, I didn't mean to spoil the party so quickly he was saying as he lay back. Lana kicked off her panties and said,

"Who said it's over?" She smiled, lowering herself to her knees and straddling his face. 

"Filthy dirty girl." Negan mumbled as he leaned up to meet her arousal, burying his tongue as deep as he could and humming his pleasure at the taste of her. The vibrations of his voice through her clitoral hood piercing made jerk and shiver, very nearly sending her over the edge already. She threw her head back and whimpered, pushing up with her knees to withdraw from the stimulation slightly, but Negan reached around behind her and grasped her ass and hips tightly, drawing her back down onto his face as he flicked the tip of his tongue against her piercing sending her closer and closer to orgasm by the second, the pitch of her whimpers getting higher the closer she was. She tried to pull up away from the stimulation of his rough beard against the tender soft flesh of her swollen cunt but he kept pulling her back down as if he were a starving man. She knew she was dripping wet but he just moaned more eagerly, grasped her harder and demanded more. Finally, his mustache brushed against her abused clit and she came in wave after wave of bliss, her entire body lighting up with such intense pleasure she couldn't even make a noise though her mouth was gaping open.  Her whole body trembled as she clenched down so tightly not even a pinkie finger would have been able to penetrate her. 

"Fuck!" She gasped when her breath came back to her, her hands in Negans hair now. She slid to the side and leaned against the sofa, her pussy still twitching with aftershocks of her intense orgasm. Her leg was still resting on his chest as he struggled to catch his breath.  She grinned down at him as he dried his face on the hem of his t-shirt. 

"Weed always does give me the munchies." He quipped, leaning up on one elbow and stroking along the skin of her leg. Lana laughed gaily, resting her head back on the sofa.  

"Jesus I missed that." She said, her breath finally normalizing and her heart returning to a safer speed.  

"Glad to be of service." Negan told her with one of his cheeky grins.

Lana sighed and dressed herself slowly, all of her movements languid now that her libido was sated.  

Negan settled onto the sofa and watched her, his brown eyes sleepy and his gaze so heavy on her she could almost feel their touch on her now overstimulated skin.  

She kissed him on his forehead before slipping out, very few words exchanged between the two of them.  Once the door closed behind her, his mind returned to his earlier concerns that this might compromise his future here. He told himself he needed to resist temptation in the future, something in the back of his mind telling him this could be way more complicated than he first suspected. 

Still, he smiled as he lay back and fell asleep on the couch, too exhausted and relaxed to be bothered to carry himself to bed. 

[worldsover]

Ropes as Art ft. Chaeyoung

length ✦ 3629

genres ✧ Shibari, i.e., rope bondage; suspended sex; upside-down facefucking; rope bunny!Chaeyoung

Written with @jettsdraft. Happy birthday to Lee Chaeyoung!

✦✧✦✧✦✧

Stop toying with that red rope, making labyrinthine knots in your boredom, and look up from your reception desk. Since you don’t bother the other employees of your fitness studio on dormant days like these, you have to tend to this one customer yourself. “Ahh, Miss Lee.”

“Call me Chaeyoung, please. We’ve been over this.”

“Of course. My apologies Miss—“ The woman frowns. “Chaeyoung.”

She perks up. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice!”

“That’s alright. You sounded tense on the call. Idol life taking its toll?”

Chaeyoung huffs. “When has it not?”

“I can’t say I know the feeling. However, we are here for your stress relief. Please.” You move to the side and gesture forward. “Right this way.”

“Thank you,” Chaeyoung says as she walks by. You get up from your desk, grab the rope and untie it carefully—you’ll use it soon. Watch her long legs take measured strides down the bamboo wood walkway of your studio and listen to her heels make satisfying clicks that echo through the hallway. Your eyes follow from her lithe calves up to her ass which sways from left to right in her gray leggings. Though she enjoys the total embrace of rope whether it’s over thin fabric or on bare skin, she’s definitely here for more exclusive treatment.

She doesn’t look back at you like that otherwise.

You’re getting extra exercise today too.

Shaking those thoughts out of your head, you trail close behind, ready to help the woman in any way you can. The two of you forge ahead to the main workout room. 

An orange hue steeps the room. Most fitness places you know don’t have the 56th floor of a skyscraper all to themselves. They don’t have tall windows on adjacent walls that look out of the corner toward the skyline, mirrors on the other two walls, hooks and anchors on the ceiling and floor. But most notably, they don’t have a bed in the middle of the room. You don’t call it a bed—it’s the safety cushion—but it’s essentially a bed. Posts with more anchors surround the soft cushion. You hang your red rope at one of these corners.

Chaeyoung drops supine onto the mattress, extending limbs with a satisfied groan.

“I don’t remember telling you about those stretches.”

She giggles at first, but then redness spreads on her cheeks. “M-my clothes can go on that table over there, right?”

“You don’t have to strip today if you don’t want to.”

“I want to.”

Truthfully, your erection already awakens in your joggers. “Alright. You can just hand them to me and I’ll place them over.”

“Oh-okay.” Chaeyoung rounds her lips into a tight aperture to push a slow stream of air. She stands up and undos her zip-up hoodie to reveal a sports bra underneath. As a result of the great training work you’ve done with her, you could eat your last meal off of her midriff. Take the hoodie and turn around—she grabs your shoulder and pulls you right back to look at her. Even if you’ve seen it before, your eyelids split open in shock while hers shake: her bare chest.

You know the right thing to say—you didn’t have to do that—but when Chaeyoung grabs the waistband of her leggings and tugs it down, shimmying like a camgirl striptease, there’s no right thing to say. Especially when she stares at you the whole way down. She repeats the process with her panties but this time, she’s the one who turns around to show off her pretty butt.

That confirms it.

Dick appointment.

Grab the clothes from the bed, fold them, and place them onto a table at the side of the room. When you return, you notice Chaeyoung still has jitters. “I’ll be very gentle to start with,” you say.

“But not to end with, right?”

“It’s up to you.”

Chaeyoung whines softly, but despite the whining, stands at a pole at the corner of the bed, stretching her hands as high as they can go above her head and crossing her wrists.

You create a pulley system using that pole and another one across for better control. The end of the cable contraption is Chaeyoung’s svelte arms. Tie the wrists together and then, on each upper limb, diamonds cross back and forth until the two lengths meet at her chest. Wrap rope around her torso above her tits, then over her shoulders, between her cleavage. As you continue to create inventive patterns around her breast while ensuring the weight is distributed evenly, you examine the toned muscles on her body. Examining too closely, you breathe on her nipples which stiffen in response. It isn’t always inherently sexual.

A tiny flutter in her breath, a tinier whimper. Chaeyoung makes it so.

Your work nears completion when you tighten the last bit of rope around her ass and thighs. Diagonals which intersect and dig into the flesh so elegantly, so smoothly.

But you haven’t even lifted her yet. With a careful heave at the other end of the pulley, Chaeyoung tiptoes, then her toes stop touching the floor. From the simple action of simple machines, inappropriate, unprofessional fluids start to leak between her thighs, slowly seeping into your rope.

The bright red rope is just for Chaeyoung for a reason. She only hangs a couple inches off the ground, but it defies gravity nonetheless, forcing her to feel the tension and the roughness of the braided cord against her skin. Her back against the pole. 

In the light of the sun, the shape of her body reveals itself, and so perfection is made tangible in a few lines, some simple curves.

Your hands work diligently, starting the forceful kneading at her pretty feet. You give it the attention it deserves—truthfully, closer to worship; she can probably feel your breath with how close your face is. After enough massaging her soles, her toes, her heel, you move onto her legs. There’s a lot of flesh to work with. All the length. You have to keep the drool in your mouth while your fingers are pressing into the toned muscles of her calves.

“There’s this knot in me that I can reach,” Chaeyoung says looking up to you. “You know, since my hands are tied. Can you help?”

You nod and move up to her thighs. Now this, you can’t ignore. Her labia, right there. A moment away from your face. From your hands. The warmth in the room, from her pussy, is palpable. Keep a professional touch as best you can. 

Chaeyoung notices this and wiggles her hips. She mouths “higher” and you do just that. The same layer of sweat on her flat tummy makes her thighs shine. You can’t help but dig in. Fingers push like rope; she used to be more ticklish about that, but the sensations of the rope helps plenty. Again, the sounds out of her mouth are too sensual for you to stay sane.

“You’re close,” she says with a groan. You stop for a moment. “I think you’ll need something else to hit this spot.”

“So, it’s like this today, huh?” You don’t need to speak in hushed tones, yet it’s natural in the presence of such a beautiful body. “We’ve never done this in the studio, you know?”

“I liked your bedroom, but this really puts me in the zone.”

You nod. “I understand. You’re looking for a more… internal massage.”

Her breath is heavy, staggered. Her heart pounds audibly.

“It has been a while too. I know you’ve been busy. Let me take care of you.”

“Fuck,” she mutters under her breath. “Please, please do.”

This was always going to happen. Rope therapy is how Chaeyoung keeps her limbs so limber. Getting fucked is just a bonus treat. The binds hold her up as she hangs from the ceiling, swinging back and forth. Her smile never fades; in fact it grows brighter upon seeing you step towards her.

You inspect your work. Any semblance of professionalism is gone. “I’m not going to lie, you look fucking inviting hanging there. Dripping juices. God.”

With how she’s swaying, she looks like the most gorgeous piñata.

Time to break her open with your stick.

You fish your cock out of your pants and slap it against her tummy. She need not say a word, eyes doing all the begging. When you smack against her pussy though, Chaeyoung yelps and wriggles against the rope.

“Put it in, just put it in, please!”

Looking into her eyes, standing in front of her, you align your dick with her entrance and shove yourself all at once. You snap your hips upward, the position awkward, yet you find your rhythm soon enough. With her feet off the ground, Chaeyoung can only bounce so much, using gravity and the sympathetic force of your fucking to weigh back down into your cock. Though the height difference is small, Chaeyoung looks up at you, and there’s a twinkle in her eyes. Your arms wrap around her like a taut rope; her pussy is tighter around your shaft. She’s a different person after you fill her up with your meat, filling her mind with nasty thoughts.

“So good! Y-you should tie me up more, fuck me, use me, ah! Take my little hole, claim it, it’s yours, it’s yours, it’s all—” The spit in her throat comes out as drool. Kiss her, taste her, feel every part of her.

As you thrust in and out, you collect more of her juices around your cock. You can feel how badly Chaeyoung wants to contort her body with all the pleasure. She’s loving the coarse feel of rope on her skin, which you’re feeling too with your closeness. It makes the external knots press into her harder, and by how her face is wracked with pleasure, it’s untangling all her internal knots. That just results in a tighter Chaeyoung for you to pound into. 

Usually, when the two of you are fucking, Chaeyoung likes to feel you by hugging you, her legs around your waist, her arms around your neck. Right now, she’s stuck, and you can tell she’s loving it. The cute noises she makes with each pistoning thrust of your shaft, the whites of her eyes, the smell of sex filling your studio—you’re going to need to call a cleaner.

You’re speechless when you feel her tremble. “Chaeng, are you…”

Every time you’ve made Chaeyoung cum prior to now, it was with your tongue, or with your fingers, or with the help of her own stimulation. But helpless to your cock’s assault, she cums hard, thrashing about in her bindings. Her sighing and moaning reaches an apex of loudness like a runaway train, and you have to pull out with her tightness being similarly exceptional. The fluids flow from her crotch, wettening your cock.

You love the way her long legs are shuddering and shaking, the ripple of the milky flesh an addicting sight.

“Fffuck. That was, that was so, so good. Oh god.” Chaeyoung can barely look at you, but when she does, it’s with the smallest droplets of tears in her eyes. She gives a weak grin. “I feel so stretched out. In many ways. Can we do a different position?”

“Oh, of course. You’re the customer.”

She scoffs. “You haven’t made me pay since we started—”

“Ahem, stay still. I don’t wanna hurt you.” Using your pulley contraption, you bring her back to the ground. You’re still many floors above the earth though, sort of like how Chaeyoung still looks lightheaded.

You start untangling the rope from the knot around Chaeyoung’s waist, following the path around her body that you’ve made. Down to her thighs, back up to her ass, then you unfold the diamonds you’ve made on her torso. You can see the marks of rope digging into skin. Your favorite sight. It’s like making art on a person, but it’s temporary and doesn’t pretend to be anything more. The ephemerality of the marking is not what makes your rope bondage art, however; it’s the relief on Chaeyoung when you finally remove her wrists from the restraints, the pure relaxation on her body. You’ve never seen a woman so zen. Her climax certainly contributes to that, but it’s the same thing after every rope session.

“So what did you want to do now?”

“Well, you haven’t cum yet. And while I’m feeling good, my legs are pretty sore from that. So…” Chaeyoung licks her lips, then flops onto the mattress, splaying herself out. Her head is at the edge of the mattress facing you. “I know how else I can make you explode. See, I meant it when I said use me. I think the best way to do that is tie me up here.”

“Ahh.” Your dick twitches at the thought. “We can arrange that too.”

This bondage is much simpler than your first binding by comparison: You tie each of Chaeyoung’s limbs to the corner posts of the bed. Your work is much faster this time as a result. As she tests the limits of your restraint, her back arches. Her tits bounce with just enough size to do so. Most importantly, now her head is hanging upside down off the mattress. When you hit her face with your cock, she can’t do anything but close her eyes and feel the weight of your hardness. 

“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you? You’ve just cum, but I can see you making a wet spot on my studio bed. This would be extra in cleaning fees, you know?” Your hand palms your cock, your tip teasing at her glossy lips. “I guess you can pay by making me cum too.”

Chaeyoung’s eyes follow your cock like she’s a starved pet begging for its treat.

Without much waiting, you push your cock straight into her salivating mouth. “Oh, fuck, yeah!” 

The warmth of her hole nearly puts you on your knees. Instead, you gather the rest of your resolve, then gather her face between your hands so you can pump into it properly. 

“Mhpmh, oh sh-shit, gmph.” With the choked noises comes thick, choked-out spit. Your cock is reaching deeper and deeper into her throat. The blowjobs she’s given before don’t compare to the depths of her mouth that you’re now feeling clench around your shaft.

“Man… you’re so good at this. So good at throating. I should’ve asked for this before.” 

“Ahem, gh. Yeah,” Chaeyoung replies between coughs when your cock leaves the warmth of her mouth. “You should’ve. I would’ve been happy too.”

While your length rests across her upturned face, you ask, “Have you done this before?”

“Deepthroat cock while being tied up?” Chaeyoung kisses your shaft up and down as best as she can, spitting on it a few times. “This would be the first. But deepthroating in general?” She looks cheekily at you. “Well, wouldn’t you like to know.” 

The teasing smile is soon wiped away when you yank her hair back and drag her lips around your cock again.

“God, you're such a fucking tease.”

Gluck, gluck, gluck—the wet noises from her clamping throat are constant with your every shove. “Mmphm, mmhph, ah, ah, I wove teasing!” 

“Oh god, Chaeyoung, holy fuck. Your mouth is fucking… outta this—oh fuck… world, fuck!” 

You pull out, staggering back, precum leaking as you feel the vexing pulsations. Though you’re not in her mouth, her tongue does its best to gather every bit of spit and precum it can, while Chaeyoung ensures you can see her perform the lewd act. That tongue feels too good sliding around the edge of your cockhead.

“I’m close, Chaeng.” You hold your dick in place, thinking about your next moves.

“Well, my pussy is still freshly-fucked.” 

“Yeah, well… it’s not my fault your pussy gripped my cock like it was leaving home. I wasn’t sure I could pull out until you came like a truck hit you.”

Chaeyoung blushes. “Thank you. Again.” Her face becomes serious again, though it’s difficult to take her fully seriously when it’s covered in spit and stained by makeup and upside-down. “Anyway, make your pick. I’m hungry for more cum.”

“Fuck it. Your pussy feels fucking amazing but this mouth...” You squeeze her cheeks together, making her already thick lips pout more. “This mouth could make men go insane.”

“Mhm. I’ve been told the men I’ve fucked aren’t the same after I suck their cock.”

“I’d have to agree,” you say, grabbing her hair once again as you pull her into your cock. You get to work, hammering your shaft down to her throat, making sure it hits the back each time. Bottoming out with a brutal shove, she writhes on the bed, her limbs trapped. Every part of her body is stuck one way or another, your cock pinning the back of her mouth to the edge of the bed.

“Mhpmh mph, fuuckk, yes, fhcking wove cahwk—” Chaeyoung coughs “—cock on my mouf. Gh, feels so fucking gh, good.” 

“Yeah?” You slap her tits with harsh hits, not caring about the marks it’ll leave—what’s a few red handprints compared to an obvious pattern of rope on the rest of her torso. “Fuck, it shows. Goddamn. How did you learn to suck cock like this?” 

“Mwph, well, y-you know those rigging rumors?” Chaeyoung laughs the best she can when her throat has a free moment devoid of cock. 

“Fucking hell.” You weren’t sure if Chaeyoung was saying this to further stimulate you, and you didn’t care. “I’m going to fucking cum down… I’m going to fucking cum down this fucking whore throat of yours.”

“It’s what it’s made for.” Chaeyoung cockily replies. Even after the dick battering she’s receiving, she’s able to maintain her snarkiness. Maybe her throat was made for cock. “C'mon, give it to me. Don’t leave me hanging like earlier. You know you could’ve creampied me? Filled my pussy up with cum? I couldn’t have stopped you. I was so vulnerable and easy to just—” 

Your dick in her throat shuts Chaeyoung up. Grip the back of her head, marveling at her long hair covered in spit and sweat and stickier fluids. Your eyes are taken off that sight when you see how her throat bulges when your cock fills her hole completely. Truly, she’s never looked more in her element than with a shaft fully rammed down her throat. The compromising position makes it so easy for your thrusts to be forceful, uncaring. 

When Chaeyoung tries to say something, all it does is send vibrations on your cock and make it jump even more. So instead, she swirls her tongue all over your length, focusing on your underside to push you over the edge. For how incredible her body is, all she needs in this moment is this one hole.

“Here it comes Chae, I can’t hold it anymore, oh god, fuck!” You roar as you cum down her needy throat. Jets of hot, sticky liquid paint ting the back of her mouth, filling her tummy to the brim. You cum so much that you have to slowly pull out so you don’t just get the floor completely covered in a puddle of semen. Despite that, as you throb, your dizziness subsiding, some of your seed spills out of her lips, down her nose, into her eyes.

“Mhm,” Chaeyoung says, shutting her eyelids and just enjoying the feeling, savoring the taste of cum. “So fucking good.” 

You wipe your softening, wet cock all over her face, getting some of the mess on her hair. Getting the cum out of her eyes, Chaeyoung is able to open them and make eye contact with you again. And once more, she ensures you’re watching as she performs the lewd act of cleaning her surrounding lips with her tongue. You can see the pride in her expression. She didn’t need her hands, or any other part of her body. Just her holes got you to shoot load after load. 

She swallows every bit of your load, and you see the gulp of semen going down her throat. Chaeyoung coughs up a tad, sending cum on your thighs. “Oops.”

You can only shake your head. Chaeyoung is something else. 

“Can you give me that?” She nudges her head towards the cum she spat out. 

“Seriously?” 

Chaeyoung looked dead serious. You clean up the cum she just spat out with your finger and bring it to her lips. 

“Mhmm, thank you! Don’t wanna waste any, do I?” Chaeyoung smirks, licking and teasing your cock. “Seriously though, I can’t explain to you how good I feel now. Thank you for helping me work some stress out.”

“No worries, Chaeyoung. Now let’s get you out of that.”

It takes a few minutes to get the binds undone, expertly undoing each one with practiced ease. You hold her in your arms, setting her down on the cum-soaked mattress. Barely having any energy left, you lay down next to her.

“Well, that was fun.” 

“Did it help with your stress?”

“Immensely. Let’s just lay here a little while longer.” Chaeyoung lifts one leg and snakes it over your hip, turning her body and trailing kisses down your neck. “Give me a chance to digest this load as well.”

“Hmm. Maybe I can fill your tummy from another hole.”

“Oh god. Maybe you can.” While using a free hand to play with your spent dick, Chaeyoung whispers, “I just don’t know if I can keep my hands off this.”

Soon enough, she’s like a bundle of ropes around you. You’re not sure you can untangle her. 

Actually, you’re more sure you don’t want to untangle her.

✦✧✦✧✦✧

AFF, AO3

Fun fact, this was supposed to be the next Kinktober fic I worked on. Then I stopped. This was originally written with the help of @jettsdraft. I had maybe half the draft this whole time, but I wanted to get this out quickly for her birthday. So I just did it.

[the-soliloquies-of-sadists]

#292

“Hey You’re still hanging around…. Heh heh. I thought you would have tried to escape again. I guess you’ve realized that your one-year commitment to me really meant you are not allowed to leave. That, or, the fact that your shock collar, roped to the pulley in the rafters, offers you two options: hanging yourself or keeping you on your tippy toes, neither of which grants your freedom....

“I see you chose straining your toes. Wise choice. Now I must do some work around back, and I need for you not to go anywhere, let alone try to escape, again. I brought you a riser for you to stand on. It will relieve toe strain and offer slack to the collar. Breathing should be a lot easier.

“Go ahead and step on that…. See! I can be merciful. Now turn around and face outward. I bet it’s nicer to be on my wrap around porch instead of the kennel. Agree? No, don’t speak. I don’t need to hear that voice. Of course it is. It’s a bit warm though, in the low 90’s. Who am I kidding? it’s hot.

“Many years ago, I used to house parties that would go on for days. When the men would arrive they would see six or so naked pieces of property lined up like you are now. They would be evenly spaced, standing on risers so that their useless skin flaps between their legs would rest on the banister. The heat would make their sacs stretch out. I had shock collars on them all. Back then I had it set up so that if one got shocked they all got zapped. To keep that skin flap from retracting I used to nail a dozen or so nails through their ball sack. I used nails made out of surgical steel and all.

“They were standing there in that same position you are all day and into the night. I remember the partiers inflicting so much torment on them. Once had a line of men going out to fuck them.

“You know, I still have those surgical steel nails. Would you like to see? In fact I brought them with me. See how long they are?

“I haven’t done this in years. I haven’t had the need to. I no longer have a harem. They are just too much to manage. One piece of property is all I need. Until you, none have tried to escape.

“Looking at that banister’s wood. It seems a bit weathered. There’s several splinters. Hold on. Don’t go anywhere. Heh heh.

…

“Ok I have this gel here that works on wood that will help deal with splinters coming loose. It comes in a small tube, but this shit works wonders on so many things. Now you can focus on my task at hand.

“I have a couple of C-clamps to hold your scrotum in place. When I did this years before, I had my handler pulling so I can nail it down. It’s just you and me. And your hands are locked behind you.

“Here goes. With this heat, your balls are hanging low. So is your foreskin. Your sac stretches out pretty good. Feel that gel? It’s nice and cool, isn’t it? It’s a bit tacky, which will help prevent your sac from moving around too much. A quick clamp here,… and one here. Extra tight, because why not?

“Damn, even soft your shaft is a thing of beauty. Let’s get your dick hard. Here let me give you a hand. Have I ever jerked you off? I don’t think so. Well, there’s a first time for everything. Ohhh, you are enjoying this. Yes you are. This is one meaty dick. It’s completely wasted on shithead like you.

“I remember when I was interviewing you, you said you hated having a big dick and that everyone wanted you to use it on them. You asked for me to treat you as if it was two inches long. I did that for all this time. Now I want to see the beer can of a dick cum. I want to watch your balls constrict as they lie helpless in your clamped-down and stretched-out sac.

“You are very hard. If you cum for me in the next ten seconds, I won’t nail your balls….

“Oh shit, you really are ready. Ten,… nine,… eight,… seven,… go for it! Six,… five,… Goddamn! Fuck. Your balls! Wow. That was some load.

“And true to my word, you are not going to get nailed. In fact, let me unclip you from the pully system attached to your shock collar. And always remember that shock collar is active. There’s also a tracking mechanism in it as well. So running away would be pointless. Your hands will need to remain cuffed for a bit longer though.

“Now I want you to reflect on your failed attempt at escaping. Look out at the woods and my property that goes out for at least a mile. You fucked up.

“When you first approached me, you begged to serve me. I said that I require a long time commitment at least a year. A week later you again begged me to serve me. I demanded a year of obedience and subservience. You agreed to it. But now you have broken it. I only have one thing I can do in this situation. Your year restarts today. I know you had about four and a half months left, but all this changes because you were thinking only of yourself.

“As I remove the C-clamps from your sac, I want you to reflect on your situation. When you are ready, I want you to come to me and apologize in the humblest way you can think of. And it better be authentic and good.

“It has been about five minutes or so since I clamped your balls to this banister. The super glue should have mostly set by now. I did apply liberally to the wood. Your ball sac is quite large. The bond should be unbelievably tight.

“So, reflect on your foolish, stupid, and selfish choice to run away, and the predicament you are in because of it. When you are ready, I will be around back to hear your apology. Take all the time you need.”

[study-coffee-chicago]

Titanic AU (Jay Halstead + Halstead Sister + Upstead Imagine)

A/N: The last like 1.5k words are unedited because I wanted to get this out to you guys, so if there are any typos, I apologize in advance. Please remember to reblog and comment as I love hearing what you think! Enjoy!

April 10, 1912

"A kitty!" you yelled excitedly and pointed to the cat walking down the gangway with a kitten in her mouth. "She has a baby, too!"

You made a move to chase after the mama cat and her baby when Jay quickly grabbed your hand.

"Y/N, what did I say earlier?" Jay asked sternly. He couldn't have you running about with this many people around. Plus, if you ran around who's to know when he'd find you, and by then, the ship of dreams could've left and you and he would have to wait around for another ship to go see Will in America.

"Stay by you," you answered, while still longingly looking at the cat as it trotted away.

"Exactly. So, you stay with me. I know you want to see the cat, but we can't right now, okay? You'll probably see them in New York anyway."

"They have kitties there? Where Will is?" you asked, looking up at your big brother with wide, curious eyes.

"Of course, they have kitties in New York, silly. They have kitties everywhere."

"Cat runnin' off the ship," a man said from behind you and Jay, "that there's a bad omen."

"What does that mean?" you asked. "Are- Are we in trouble?"

Great, now he's done it, Jay thought to himself. "No, pumpkin, it's just what some people think. Me and you don't think that. We're not in trouble and we're perfectly safe."

You nodded and then continued to take in your surroundings while you took a step forward in the line.

"Sorry about that," the man said from behind Jay. Jay turned to look at him. "Didn't know you had your daughter with ya or else I wouldn't have said anything. Didn't mean to scare the little lady."

"Appreciate the apology," Jay said. "And, she's my sister, not my daughter."

The man nodded. "I'm Adam. What stateroom ya in? I'm in 28."

Jay glanced down at his and your tickets. "We're in 28 as well."

"Looks like we'll be bunking together for the time being. And don't worry, I'll be totally civil since there's a child."

Jay was about to say something when you pulled on his sleeve to get his attention and started pointing. "Jay Jay, look! There's a car in the air!"

Jay looked where you were pointing and chuckled. Sure enough, the crew was using a system of ropes of pulleys to get a car--no doubt someone's from first-class--onto the ship.

"I see that," he said.

Then, you continued pointing things out that were interesting to you that were getting hauled onto the ship.

"Why they gotta look through our hair, Jay Jay?" you asked once you were almost at the front of the line for the health inspections.

"To make sure we didn't have bugs in them," Jay answered.

"I don't have bugs in my hair!" you protested. "I didn't even play outside today and you helped me wash my hair yesterday!"

Jay chuckled at your response. "I know that. But, they just gotta be sure. They don't want anybody getting sick."

"Oh, okay." Then, you started to watch the first class people walk on the ship, the women wearing very pretty dresses. This kept you occupied until you and Jay got to the front of the line for health inspections.

***

"I don't understand why we can't bring our own liquor on board," Thomas Upton complained to his wife and daughter.

"For the last time, Tom, they'll have some on board," Irene Upton explained. "And don't get your knickers in a twist. You don't have to pay for it since it's included.

"Don't you dare talk to me--" Remembering there were people around, he lowered his voice. "Don't talk to me that way, you hear. Of course, I remembered the liquor is all-inclusive."

"So you can drown yourself in it as usual," their daughter, Hailey muttered.

"What did you say?"

"Just said the trip should be business as usual," Hailey lied as her blonde hair rippled in the April breeze. "Get on, relax, and then get off in New York."

"Yes, right, and then we'll take the train home to Chicago."

Hailey wanted to say that she wasn't going back home to Chicago with her oh so dear parents (more like her oh so dear mother; she hated her father), but rather, she was going to stay in New York and try to go to university to study and become a lawyer. She knew that women weren't allowed to take the bar exam federally (but, state law still mattered), but she hoped that this law would be overturned by the time she finished her studies. She knew that in New York women were allowed to take law classes, and fifteen years ago, women were even permitted to take the bar exam there. A Women's Bar Association had even been established in Brooklyn, New York a year ago. Although she could still study law and take the Illinois state bar exam, she wanted to go to university in New York, seeing as there were better schools there than in Illinois. That, and she needed to get away from her father.

Thomas Upton hadn't always been a drunk. Once, he had been a good father to his three sons and one daughter. That was until he lost one of the three bars he owned. Then, he started drinking and kept it up. After all, it was fine to drink that much alcohol because that meant that he wasn't drinking contaminated water (in the days he grew up, sometimes it was safer to drink liquor than water if someone near you had gotten sick since it could be due to the community well). But, then, since his sons were old enough, they figured out a way to reopen the third bar.

During that time though, he had started grabbing onto his wife and daughter harder than he probably should have. But, who would they tell? The father had authority in the house, so therefore this was fine.

Hailey on the other hand thought differently. Her mother just took the abuse. Hailey did, but she didn't want to. She followed the suffragette movement and hoped one day that women get the right to vote and that men would stop being such scum. She hoped that one day women would be able to do the same jobs as men and get as much respect as men. And then, maybe men wouldn't think it was okay to hurt their wives and daughters just because they could since men were "chosen by God to be the superior sex". Hailey thought that was horseshit, but she'd never tell her mother and father that.

As Hailey was thinking about her plan to become a lawyer in New York and leave her family behind, she walked up the gangway and onto what everyone deemed as an unsinkable ship.

***

"Sir, unless you have a family, you're going to have to go down there," a third-class steward said to Adam.

"My ticket says room 28," Adam protested.

"Well, there must be some mistake. What's your name, sir?"

"Adam Ruzek."

"Right, Ruzek...Ruzek..." the steward muttered as he ran a finger down the list. "Ah, yes! Says here you're in stateroom 82. Must've been a misprint with the ticket office, I'll be sure to pass it along to them."

"Alright, thank you."

"But, Adam said he was gonna teach me how to play the pigs game," you whined.

"Don't you worry, little lady," Adam reassured. "I can bring Pigs in a Clover to the general room and teach you how to play."

"You promise?" you asked while holding Jay's hand.

"I promise," he replied with a wink. He held out a hand to Jay. "Nice meeting the two of you. I'm sure I'll see you soon."

Jay shook Adam's outstretched hand. "I'm fairly certain of that since I'm sure this one will want to see you again. Best of luck to you."

"You as well."

"Alright, pumpkin, ready to go see our room?"

"Yeah!" You gasped. "You put Teddy in the big bag, right? I need Teddy."

Jay chuckled. "Of course, I remembered to put Teddy in the suitcase. I couldn't forget him now, could I?"

"No, or else you would be in trouble."

"Would I now? And what kind of trouble would you do me in for?"

You scrunched up your face in thought. "No more Y/N hugs."

Jay gasped. "No more Y/N hugs? That's terrible! But, that would mean you don't get anymore Jay Jay hugs."

Now it was your turn to gasp. "I love Jay Jay hugs. You don't get in trouble. I would just be very sad."

"I know you would, pumpkin. And that would be punishment enough for me. Now, let's go see our room for the next couple of days."

You nodded excitedly and walked with Jay while happily swinging your joined hands back and forth.

"We get bunk beds?" you exclaimed excitedly at the sight of your stateroom.

"Yes, we do. But, I think it would be a good idea for you to sleep on the bottom bunk since there's no ladder to help you get down if you need to use the bathroom at night."

"But I want the top bunk!"

Jay sighed. "I know you do. But, how about you can come up with me sometimes during the day to read a story, okay?"

"Okay."

Jay set the suitcase on one of the bottom bunks and flipped it open. You quickly grabbed Teddy seeing as he was sitting on top.

You looked up at the doorway just as a woman walked into the room.

"Jay Jay," you whispered. You had never seen this lady before.

"Hi, I'm Vanessa Rojas," the lady introduced herself.

"Jay Halstead," Jay said and stepped forward to shake her hand.

You hid behind Jay's legs. You didn't know who this strange lady was!

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Halstead."

"Please call me Jay." He paused. "And, the little girl hiding behind my legs is my little sister, Y/N."

"Hi, Y/N," Vanessa greeted. "I won't bite. I promise. I might even have some sweets in my bag if you want some."

That got you out from behind Jay's legs.

"You have candy?" you asked timidly.

"I do." She looked back up at Jay. "That is if she can have some of course."

"I think a few pieces should be fine," Jay answered.

Vanessa sat on the bottom bunk and opened her purse. She took out four boxes, each the size of a field notebook and the depth of half a ruler. "Alright, we have candied orange peels, turrón, tortas de aceite, and churros."

"What are those?" you asked quietly.

"These--," She held up the box of tortas de aceite. "--are like sweet bread with cinnamon. These--" She put down that box and picked up the one with the churros "are like the ones I just showed you but sweeter. And these--" She held up the tin of turrón. "--are sweet and they have almonds and uh, this sticky sweet stuff called nougat inside."

She let you try the candied orange peels first, which you liked. They tasted like the ones you'd always have at home during Christmastime. Then, she had you try a torta de aceite. You got one half and Jay got the other. They did taste like sweet bread and were super crunchy! Then, you tried a small churro.

"They taste like elephant ears!" you excitedly said to Jay. "But these are better!"

Vanessa smiled and then handed you a piece of turrón. You were skeptical about this one because you had never seen anything like this before, but everything else she gave you tasted good. So, you tried it. And, like everything else she had given you, it was sweet and delicious.

"These are delicious, thank you," Jay said.

"Thank you!" you piped up from where you were sitting on the bottom bunk and licking remnants of nougat from your fingers.

"Where did you learn how to make these?" Jay asked.

"My mother taught me," Vanessa replied. "I took her original recipes, gave them a little more sweetness, and ¡buen provecho! I started my own little bakery, which grew into more. Turns out they want one in America."

"Wow, congratulations," Jay said.

"Yeah congra-lations," you agreed, causing both Jay and Vanessa to laugh at your pronunciation for a split second.

Once you were unpacked, Jay suggested that you and he go explore the rest of the ship. He invited Vanessa, but she said that she had a long journey to get here and desired a nap. So, it was just you and Jay off to explore the Titanic.

***

It was dinnertime and Hailey was sitting in a giant dining room with fancy tables. God, she hated this. Having to be all prim and proper and respect her father when she and her mother didn't get an ounce of respect in return. That's why she hated fancy dinners because she always had to act like the perfect daughter. The perfect daughter who had the perfect family because her perfect father was rich. But that's not how this was. It's not how it had been for years.

She doesn't remember when it started really. She thinks she was just born into it. There was never a specific day it happened she's always remembered liquor bottles.

She didn't care if she was on the ship of dreams. She didn't care that she was probably having a fancy meal that people would die for. All Hailey wanted to do was get to New York and get out of this life.

She wanted to yell at her father and expose him in front of all these rich people. Maybe they'd take him to the brig and lock him up in jail cell once they got to America.

"I need some air," she said and abruptly pushed back her chair and started out of the dining room and to the deck.

***

"What's that one?" you asked Jay as he held you on his hip and you pointed at the constellations.

"That one is called the big dipper. See? It looks like I giant spoon."

You scrunched up your face. "That's a strange spoon," you said and looked at him. "You think Mommy and Daddy are up there?"

"I hope so," Jay answered. "They're watching over us and making sure that me and Will are the best big brothers to you and that we keep you safe."

You nodded. "You both are the best! And- And Mommy and Daddy are watchin' over me makin' sure I don't sneak cookies before dinnertime."

Jay chuckled. "Yes, that too."

Jay walked along the poop deck until he came to a staircase. He knew you couldn't go up there since that led to the first-class promenade deck.

But then, he heard yelling.

***

"Do you even want to be a part of this family?" Thomas Upton roared on the promenade deck. Luckily, no one was around.

"You want the truth, father?" Hailey asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"I'll take that as a yes, then! If you want out of this family, then do it! But I will not be giving you a cent once this ship docks in New York. How will you get by? A single woman on her own?"

Hailey scoffed. "I'll figure it out."

"Sell yourself like a cheap whore?"

Hailey gasped. "You know, I always wondered why mother married you! Was it for money? Because you are one abusive bastar--"

Hailey was cut off by a slap to her face.

"You don't ever, ever speak to me like--"

"Hey!"

A man sprinted over to Hailey and her father and quickly stood between them.

"Did you just hit her?" he asked. Thomas Upton said nothing. "I asked you a damn question! Did you just hit her?"

"If I'm not wrong, scum like you aren't allowed on this deck," Thomas said. "You'd best be going before I call a steward and have you thrown in the brig."

"I'm sure they'd much rather throw you in for hitting a woman."

He scoffed. "I'm going back to the dining room. I'd suggest you leave before you make more trouble for yourself, young man."

Then, he walked away.

"Jay Jay?" Hailey heard a small voice ask. "Is the angry man gone?"

The stranger's tone softened. "He's gone, pumpkin. You can come out now." He turned to Hailey. "Are you alright? I'm sure there's a nurse on board if you need one."

"I'm fine, thank you, uh..." she trailed off, not knowing this kind stranger's name.

"Jay, Jay Halstead."

"Pleased to meet you, Jay. I'm Hailey Upton."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Upton."

"Please, call me Hailey."

Jay was about to say something when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his legs.

"Are you okay?" you asked once Jay had picked you up.

The lady smiled. "I'm okay. And who might you be?"

"I'm Y/N. Jay Jay's my big brother."

"I'm Hailey. Nice to meet you."

"Your dress is pretty," you complimented. "Jay Jay said we couldn't be up here but then we heard yelling and he said he needed to help."

"Well, that was very nice of him."

"He said Mommy told him and Will to respect ladies," you explained.

"I like that rule," Hailey agreed. She turned to Jay. "Let me at least buy you and your sister something at the Cafe Parisien to thank you for your kindness."

Jay waved his free hand. "It was nothing. I was just doing what any decent man would do."

"I insist," Hailey said. "And, I'm sure she'd enjoy one of the pastries they have there."

"Pastries? I like those!"

Jay sighed. He couldn't say no now that you had heard that. "But, how will we be allowed up there? We're only third class."

Hailey smirked. "Leave that to me. What's your stateroom number?"

"Stateroom 28 on D deck," Jay answered.

"Two-eight on D as in dog!" you agreed, repeating what Jay had taught you earlier in the day just in case you got lost on the ship.

Hailey laughed. "I'll be at room 28 on D deck as in dog tomorrow at two o'clock in the afternoon. I'll bring the clothes with me."

"Clothes?" Jay asked.

"Yes, clothes. Don't worry. I'll make sure you two look like first-class passengers."

***

"And now we get to see her tomorrow, too!" you told Vanessa excitedly after you had met back at your stateroom after yours and Jay's little adventure around the ship.

"How exciting!" she exclaimed.

"Do you think we can bring Vanessa back something from the caf... caf..." You furrowed your eyebrows trying to remember the name of the place.

Jay laughed. "Cafe Parisien, pumpkin."

Vanessa's eyes went wide. "The Cafe Parisien? But that's only for first-class passengers!"

Jay laughed again. "Very much aware. But Hailey said she had it figured out and would be here at two o'clock in the afternoon tomorrow."

Vanessa nodded, impressed.

"Do you think she's pretty, Jay Jay? I think she's very pretty," you said.

Jay smiled. "Hailey's pretty, pumpkin, very pretty."

Vanessa shook her head. "Amor en el barco. Que romántico y maravilloso." (Love on the ship. How romantic and marvelous.)

"Sorry, what?" Jay asked.

"Oh, nothing."

***

April 11, 1912

At 2:00, Hailey Upton knocked on the door of stateroom 28 on D-deck.

You whipped open the door. "Hi, Hailey!"

"What did I say about answering the door?" Jay admonished.

Even though the room was small, you were just a few feet closer to the door and able to reach the handle before he could. Of course, you didn't check the peephole to see who it was.

"Oops, sorry." Then, you turned back to Hailey. "We gonna go eat now?"

Hailey smiled and crouched down to your level. "In a minute, but I need to come in to give you some fancy clothes to change into. Does that sound alright?"

You nodded excitedly and moved out of the way and she came into the stateroom.

"Only two of you in the cabin?" she asked curiously.

"Well, there's Vanessa, too. She's the other person in our room," Jay explained. "A candy shop owner from Spain who is starting a shop in America as well."

"Her candy's really good!" you exclaimed.

Jay laughed and agreed. "So, Cafe Parisien? How do we go about this?"

"Well, I brought you this." She handed him a garment bag. Inside was a fancy suit she had stolen from her father. She had put a small dress in there, too. It was one her mother was planning to give to Hailey's niece once they arrived in New York. She figured she wouldn't even notice the dress was missing since they had bought her so many. "There's a suit for you and a dress for Y/N. You should blend in as first-class like that."

Hailey handed Jay the bag and he unzipped it. He pulled out his suit--tie, jacket with coattails, the lot--and then he pulled out the dress that you were to wear. It was a pastel pink with frills on it.

You gasped. "It's so pretty!" Pretty seemed to be the word you were using to describe everything as of late.

"It is!" Jay agreed, matching your enthusiasm. "How about I help you get changed and then I'll put mine on?"

You nodded and Hailey turned around as Jay helped you undress and then slid the dress over your head. Once it was on, you spun around and around. You loved watching the dress flair out around you. You felt like a princess in those stories that Jay would always tell you before you went to sleep.

Jay began to change as well. While he was doing that, Hailey snuck a peek over her shoulder. Color rose to her cheeks when she saw the muscles bulging in Jay's back before he put the white shirt on. She quickly turned her head back to its previous position. She couldn't risk you seeing the color in her cheeks because if she had learned anything from her brothers' children, it was that little ones said anything and everything that was on their minds.

"You can turn around now," Jay said.

Hailey turned around. He looked quite handsome.

"There. Now both of you look like first-class passengers."

"Thank you for the princess dress!" you exclaimed.

Jay laughed as Hailey said you're welcome. "You don't get to keep it, pumpkin."

"Oh. I still like it," you said and spun around once more, causing Jay and Hailey to both let out a laugh.

Their eyes met and Hailey quickly turned away as her cheeks filled with color once more.

***

"I- I dunno what to get," you said quietly as you stared at the case of pastries in the Cafe Parisien. All the choices were overwhelming. You wanted all of them, but you didn't want to pick the wrong one!

You stayed glued to Jay on the walk up here and were now still attached to his side. In fact, when he moved to go around to look at something, you quickly grabbed his hand to keep him from looking at it. This was all so new and strange to you that you continued to hold on to either Jay's pant leg or his hand.

Hailey bent down. "How about this," she started, "how about you choose the three that sound the best and then we all split them, hmm?"

"Hailey, I can't--"

"Okay!" you quickly cut Jay off. "I choose all three?" you asked and held up three fingers.

Hailey nodded and then you decided on your three.

A lemon pastry, a strawberry pastry, and a chocolate pastry.

"One lemon pastry, one strawberry pastry, one chocolate pastry, two coffees, and one hot chocolate," Hailey said.

The man repeated the order back to her and then she gave him her room number and said that it would be charged to her room and that she'd pay for it at the end of the voyage.

The three of you sat down at a table and Jay cut all three pastries. He also warned you to blow on your hot chocolate because it would be very hot if you took a sip of it right now. Jay placed a slice of each pastry on everyone's plate.

After trying all three, you decided that you liked the chocolate one the best.

"Of course," Jay laughed. "Which one do you like best, Hailey?"

"Hmmm," she said and then pursed her lips as if she were deep in thought. "Strawberry. Yours?"

"Mine's strawberry as well," Jay agreed.

"They should make a chocolate and strawberry one," you suggested.

"I think mixing our favorites would be a great pastry idea!" Hailey agreed. "Maybe you and Jay should write the White Starline once we get to New York, hmm?"

"Or, we could tell Vanessa and maybe she could make a kind of strawberry chocolate candy," Jay suggested.

You gasped. "Yeah!"

The three of you chatted while you ate your pastries and drank your drinks. During this time, Hailey suggested that tomorrow, she meet you at the same time and give you two a whole tour of the first-class areas.

You nodded excitedly while Jay tried to turn her down, but Hailey insisted and Jay relented. You were just excited because you might get to eat more sweets!

***

April 13, 1912

Yesterday, Hailey took you and Jay to explore the first-class areas of the ship. You did get more hot chocolate and pastries and you even ate some cheese and grapes. Everything was so good! It was better than a third-class dinner!

Tonight, Jay insisted that it was only fair if she come to a third-class party because he said that those would be more fun than the dreary conversations she described having the past two nights in the first-class dining room.

"You'll be fine," Jay reassured. "Any man looks at you wrong, I'll knock his teeth in."

"Mommy said no hitting, Jay Jay!" you told him.

"That's alright," Hailey butted in. "Surely I can handle myself in there."

Jay just smiled and shook his head. This woman was something else alright.

"Just in here," Jay said as he led the way and the music got louder. It was a sort of an Irish jig that was playing.

"Halstead!" Adam yelled over the music.

"Adam!" you yelled back and ran towards him.

"Little lady!" Adam said once you got to him and he picked you up and threw you up in the air and spun you around.

"You bring the pig game? You promised you would bring the pig game!"

"Y/N," Jay scolded. "Remember your manners. Mommy taught us those, too."

"Oh. Did you bring the pig game, please?"

Adam laughed at how you said that but answered anyway. He settled you on his hip like Jay always did. "I did. Mind if I steal your dancing partner from you, Jay?" he asked.

"Y/N!" Vanessa said as she made her way through the crowd. "I thought I heard your giggle!"

"You wanna play the pig game with me and Adam?" you asked. "He said he'd teach me!"

"I'd love to!" She turned to Jay and Hailey. "And, is this the famous Hailey I've heard about for the past two days?"

Hailey nodded. "Yes, and you must be Vanessa, the famed candy maker."

Vanessa smiled. "I wouldn't say famed quite yet. But candy maker, yes."

"Well, either way, pleasure to meet you, Vanessa."

The four grownups chatted until you bugged Adam enough that he took you and Vanessa over to a table to teach you how to play Pigs in a Clover.

"Would you like to dance?" Jay asked and held out his hand to Hailey.

"I would love nothing more."

***

After fifteen minutes, you had caught on to the game. It was a sort of circle maze where you had to get the marble to the end. You looked over at Jay and Hailey and gasped.

They were kissing.

"Adam! Vanessa! Look!"

You pointed at Jay and Hailey.

"Aw, hell," Adam groaned and covered your eyes.

Jay pointed to the door, then to him and Hailey, then to you and Adam. He mouthed "watch her" and Adam gave him a thumbs up and Jay and Hailey walked out of the room hand and hand.

***

"Where's Jay Jay?" you asked half an hour later. Adam had been teaching you how to go fast at the game. You looked up to look for Jay and you couldn't find him. And, you were starting to get worried.

"He's uh..." Adam trailed off. He wasn't about to explain sex to a little girl.

"Hey, pumpkin!" Jay exclaimed and ran up to Adam, Vanessa, and you.

Adam held back a laugh as he looked at Jay's shirt. The button was buttoned one buttonhole too high.

He leaned in to whisper in Jay's ear after he had set you back on the ground.

"Your shirt's buttoned wrong from uh...consummating the voyage," Adam whispered.

"Shit," Jay said and quickly fixed his shirt. He turned to you. "Alright, pumpkin, wanna dance with me and Hailey?"

You grabbed one of Jay's hands and one of Hailey's and made your way to the middle of the dance floor. You hoped you'd see more of Hailey when you got to New York.

***

April 14, 1912

"Your room's so pretty. The bed's so soft," you said yet again as you laid on the bed in Hailey's stateroom.

Hailey had decided to show you her room once the three of you chose a book to read.

You yawned and rubbed your eyes.

"Sleepy, love?" Hailey asked.

You nodded.

"Alright," Jay began, "I think it's bedtime for you, pumpkin. Back to our cabin we go."

"No," you whined. "Comfy here. Warm here."

"I know, I know. It's a lot better than ours," Jay said. He reached down to pick you up, but you rolled away from him. "We can't sleep here, pumpkin."

"You know," Hailey started, "she could sleep on that single bed there." She pointed across the room. "Or you and her could take my bed and I could sleep on the single."

"Hailey, we can't--"

"I insist. It's just one night."

You gasped. "I- I can't sleep without, Teddy!"

"Okay, okay," Jay said. "I'll be right back. I'll grab Teddy and I'll grab her nightgown and be right back."

"That's right. Can't change out of the suit or they won't let you back up here," Hailey said.

He quickly kissed her on the cheek. "Be right back."

***

Four hours later

You jumped awake at a loud knock on the door. Teddy was still clutched to your chest.

"It's okay, it's okay," Jay quickly reassured and sat up in bed.

Hailey jumped out of bed and answered the door.

"Life vests, miss," the steward said and handed her a life vest.

"What is the meaning of all this?" Hailey asked.

"Just a drill, miss," he replied. "Only a drill."

"Well, I will need two more life vests in that case."

"I'm sorry, miss. I thought it was only you in this stateroom."

"That's alright. It's a common mistake. My husband and my daughter are here as well. You see, they get seasick very easily so they stay in here and get dinner delivered most nights," she lied.

"Very well." He handed over two more life vests. "Again, just a precaution."

Hailey nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

Hailey walked over and handed a life vest to Jay and one to you. You got out of bed, still holding Teddy.

"Why do we need this?" you asked.

"They told us to put it on, so we listen to them," Jay said as he was tying his. "Here, I'll help you put yours on." He helped you with your life vest. While he was tying it, he looked at Hailey. "So now I'm your husband, huh?"

"Just this once," she answered with a smirk.

***

One hour later

There was another knock on the door. For the past half an hour, you had been sitting on the bed between Jay and Hailey, listening to them read you yet another story. You were scared. You didn't know why you had to wear these and Jay Jay didn't have an answer for you! You thought Jay Jay knew everything!

Hailey stood up and answered the door again.

"All of you need to put on your warmest clothes and then make your way up to the promenade deck immediately," the steward said.

"Why? It's the middle of the night and I have a young child with me who should be sleeping right now! What is the meaning of this?" Hailey asked.

"It's only a drill," he said.

"In the middle of the night?"

"Yes, miss. I'm sorry. But again, please just put on your warmest clothes and make your way up to the promenade."

Then, the steward moved on to the next door.

"I'll give Y/N one of my shawls," Hailey said and began rummaging through her closet. "Jay, I don't know--"

"I'll figure something out. Just, make sure she's warm," Jay said.

But, then he remembered what Adam said, about the cat coming out of the ship when they got on.

A bad omen.

***

"What's happenin', Jay Jay?" you asked as you clutched his coat when you walked onto the ship deck and into the frigid April air in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

"I dunno, pumpkin. But, we'll be okay." He knew that something bad was happening; the best ship to ever be built wouldn't have lifeboat drills in the middle of the night unless something was very wrong. They wouldn't want everyone to get to shore and give the Titanic and their captain and crew a bad reputation. Something was wrong.

"Sir, what's going on?" Hailey asked the nearest crew member on deck.

"Just a precautionary drill, miss," he answered. "We just wanted everyone out to practice in case something were to actually happen."

"Well, if we are treating this like the real thing," Hailey began, "then I will need someone to fetch my maid, Vanessa Rojas from third class. I gave her permission to leave for the night to go to a party down there. Please go get her for me if you'd be so kind as to do that."

"Miss, I--"

"Did I stutter? I need my maid this instant, sir! Last I checked, me and my family are first-class passengers and we are paying good money on the voyage, probably paying for your wages, as well. So, I suggest you go and get her for me this instant."

"Yes, Miss. Very well, Miss. Vanessa Rojas it was, Miss?"

"Correct."

And then the crew member was off.

Jay chuckled. "Didn't know you had it in you to be that bossy."

"Wasn't being bossy if I was trying to save a friend that your little sister has become very fond of."

"We getting Vanessa up here for the- the drills, too?" you asked as your teeth chattered despite the heavy coat you had on.

"She'll be here soon."

The lights flickered and you jumped in Jay's arms.

Jay and Hailey shared a look.

This was bad. Very bad.

***

One hour later, 12:45 am April 15, 1912

"Women and children only!" a crew member yelled. "Women and children only!"

"Take her! Take her!" Jay yelled and tried to hand you over to Hailey.

"Jay! Hailey!" Vanessa yelled as she sprinted down the deck.

"Nessa!" you yelled back.

Once she got up to Jay, she whispered in his ear, "It's bad. It's bad. Some of the third-class areas have already begun to flood."

Jay sucked in a breath and tried once more to hand you over to Hailey.

"No!" you screamed. "I wanna stay with you!"

"I know, I know," he reassured. "But, for now, I need you to go to Hailey because if- if this was real, you'd have to go with Hailey because she's a woman and you're a child."

"I'm not a child, Jay Jay!"

"I know, I know," Jay said quickly. He glanced over to the lifeboats which women and children were reluctantly getting into. "But, I need you to go with Hailey and Vanessa, alright? I'll see you soon."

"But I want you to come, too!"

"I know, I know you do, pumpkin," Jay said he held back his own tears. Tears began rolling down your cheeks. He wiped them away with his thumbs. "But for now, I need you to go with Hailey and Vanessa. Just for a little while, alright? I need you to be a big girl and a brave girl for me. Can you do that?" You nodded and allowed him to pass you over to Hailey. You clutched the collar of her coat, but your eyes were still trained on Jay. "I love you, pumpkin."

"I love you, too, Jay Jay." You blew him a kiss.

"I'll- I'll..." he took a deep, shaky breath to calm down. The last thing he wanted to do was scare you and make you worried. "I'll see you soon, alright?" He grabbed your hand and gave it a squeeze. "I love you, pumpkin. Never, ever forget that."

"I remember," you said. "You get me Teddy, too?"

He smiled. He knew he probably wouldn't make it out of this alive, but he'd do anything to reassure you. "I'll get Teddy to you. I promise."

"Women and children!"

"Go!" Jay urged. He leaned in to whisper into Hailey's ear. "If I don't make it out of here alive, look for my brother, Dr. William Halstead in New York City. He'll take care of her."

Hailey nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek. After all, this might be the last time she'd see the man. Then, she took one more glance at Jay and grabbed Vanessa's hand. Then, they ran towards a lifeboat.

Hailey, Vanessa, and you got into the lifeboat. You clutched Hailey's dress and closed your eyes as you were lowered down into the sea.

"Hailey, Nessa, I'm scared!" you cried. "I miss Jay Jay al- already!"

"I know, Y/N. I know you do," Hailey said. "But he'll be here soon, remember?"

You nodded. But you were still scared. It was so dark in the water!

"You know," Vanessa began, "mermaids are the ones who carry us out. They help us row. They make us go faster."

"Really?" you asked excitedly. Jay had always told you stories about mermaids and maybe you'd actually get to see one tonight!

"Here," Vanessa said and handed you two candied orange peels with something in between them. You didn't know what was between them, but you liked Vanessa's candies, so you took it.

"Thank you," you said politely.

"Now, close your eyes," Vanessa instructed. "They always taste better when your eyes are closed."

You nodded and closed your eyes.

Within five minutes, your breathing evened out and you fell asleep. You hoped you'd see a mermaid when you awoke.

"What was in that?" Hailey whispered.

"Sleeping pills," Vanesa answered. "I figured if I had to go down with the ship that I'd much rather be asleep while it happened, so I pocketed the candy and sleeping pills. But, seeing as we're on a lifeboat now, I figured she might need it more."

"You're a good woman, Vanessa."

***

"Halstead!" Jay heard and quickly turned his head as he watched the lifeboat with his precious little sister go off into the dark of night and towards safety.

"Adam!" Jay yelled as he saw the man.

He ran to him.

"Where's Vanessa and your sister?" he asked.

"Already boarded a lifeboat with Hailey."

They felt the ship dip once more.

"Hate to say this, man," Adam began, "but the only way out of this is to jump. The minute this ship goes under, we get sucked under with it. We need to jump if you ever want to see your sister again."

"You're sure?" Jay asked.

"I'm positive. There are no boats left on this side. And, if there are any on the other side, they sure as hell aren't taking men."

"Right." Jay took a few steps forward.

"What's you got shoved in your trousers?" Adam asked. "I see an ear sticking out."

"Y/N asked me to grab her teddy bear and it didn't feel right lying to her. Ready?"

Adam nodded. "One..."

"Two..." Jay said.

"Three!" Adam yelled.

Then, Jay held his breath as he jumped into the frigid waters of the Atlantic.

***

Jay let out a scream as his body touched the water. It was the coldest thing he had ever felt in his life.

"Shit! Shit!" Adam yelled.

Jay took a deep breath. "We've gotta swim for it!"

"Where? We can't go to that overturned boat over there because it's gonna sink if one more person tries to get on it!"

"Any piece of furniture you can find to hang on to. And we've got to do it fast because in this water we'll freeze to death. Swim!"

They started to swim until they found two overturned deck chairs floating in the water.

"G-God," Adam stuttered. "Wish my coat was as thick as yours. Should've found me a first-class girl."

"It's not helping much," Jay answered. It wasn't. He was still chilled to the bone.

"You've gotta hang on until one of them boats comes back for ya," Adam said.

"Me? What about you?" Jay asked.

"I haven't got a great relationship with my family. You've got your sister to look after. If it comes down to one of us or the other in a lifeboat, promise me you'll take it, Jay."

"What? Adam, I can't promise that."

"Yes, you can. Now, we just try to think of anything other than the cold."

"Fat chance of that happening," Jay replied. But, he tried anyway.

It was three years ago. Your dad had died a few months ago and you had gotten ill with a fever. Jay and Will were both taking care of you at this time. Will had to go get some antibiotics and more ice since you were running low and Jay was currently sitting by your bedside, clutching your little hand. There was a wet rag on your forehead, a lame attempt to try and cool you down.

"God, kid, if you make it out of this alive, I'll do anything you want. We can go see princess castles or anything else. I don't care. But I need you to stay alive. Mom didn't die giving birth to you just so you could only live three years. C'mon, Y/N."

Will ran back into the house and into your room. "She awake yet?"

Jay shook his head.

"I've got smelling salts and antipyretics. Hopefully, the salts will wake her up, and then we'll give her the antipyretics and some water. Hopefully, those will lower her fever in a day or two."

Jay nodded and Will opened the vial of smelling salts and put them under your nose. After a few seconds, you jerked awake.

Tears formed in both your brothers' eyes.

"I'll go get her some water," Will said. He didn't want either of his younger siblings to see him cry. After all, he was the oldest, so he had to be the strongest.

"Why you cryin'?" you asked groggily when a few tears rolled down Jay's cheeks.

He let go of your hand and wiped his eyes. "I'm just so happy to see you."

"I happy see you, Jay Jay," you said back.

Jay laughed at how cute you were.

And two days later, when the fever finally broke, Jay knew he was going to take you to see a castle one day.

He just didn't know then that going to see a castle in Europe and riding back to New York on the Titanic might just cost him his life.

***

Jay was at the end and he knew it. His eyes kept feeling heavier and heavier. He had to close them. He had to...

He was seeing the light. Hopefully, death wouldn't feel so bad. He moved his numb down to his trousers and grabbed onto your teddy bear which he had put in there. At least he'd go into death holding a piece of you, despite not being able to feel it.

The light was coming closer. This was it...

"Hello? Is anybody out there? Anyone?"

What? He didn't think there'd be yelling when he got to the pearly gates of heaven.

"Anyone? Call out!"

Jay focused his eyes on the light. That's when he realized that it wasn't just a light, but a light above a lifeboat.

"Help!" he yelled with all the strength he had left. "Help!"

The lifeboat drew nearer.

"There! There's a lad right there!" one in the lifeboat said.

"Help!" he yelled again. But, he couldn't;t help but think that there should be two.

He looked over to see where Adam was.

"Help us! Help!" Jay yelled again.

He reached his hand over to try and feel for Adam's breathing. There was none.

"Grab on, lad!" An oar came in the water to the left of Jay.

"Thank you," Jay said. "May you go peacefully until we meet again," he whispered to Adam. He remembered his dad saying that to his mom when she took her dying breath and it seemed fitting to say here.

Jay grabbed onto the oar. Hands from the lifeboat reached down and pulled him into the safety of lifeboat number fourteen.

***

"Where's Jay Jay?" you asked once you awoke. You were wrapped in a blanket on the Carpathia, leaning your head against Hailey's shoulder which you had used as a pillow. You didn't remember this because you had essentially been dead to the world because of how many sleeping pills had been squished between those two candied orange peels.

"Love, I--"

"Hailey! Hailey Upton!" Jay yelled out as he raced across the deck trying to find her, Vanessa, and you. He hoped you made it out of the lifeboat and to this ship.

"Jay?" Hailey muttered. But that's impossible.

"It's Jay Jay!" you yelled. "It's Jay Jay!"

You quickly stood up and ran to him.

"You're all wet!" you exclaimed as you hugged onto his pant leg.

Jay gave Hailey a confused glance. He thought you'd be freaking out.

"I snuck some sleeping pills between two candied orange peels," Vanessa said.

Jay was glad for this because now this meant that you wouldn't remember this harrowing event that would no doubt change history forever.

"Sir here's blankets and soup," a woman said and handed him the blanket and soup.

"Thank you."

"You bring me Teddy like you promised?" you asked Jay once he sat down next to Hailey and wrapped the blanket tightly around his shoulders.

He set his soup down and reached into his trousers and pulled out your sopping wet teddy bear.

"I promised, didn't I?" he asked and handed you your bear.

Because even in the face of death, you knew that Jay Jay never broke his promises.

And, Jay never broke his promise to Adam about getting on a lifeboat to get to you, Hailey, and Vanessa. So, years later when Hailey and Jay had their first son, they named him Adam in honor of the man who convinced Jay to hold on.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this historical AU! Please remember to reblog and comment!

taglist: @theambracer88@virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07@thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e @i-like-sparkly-things @herecomesthewriterwitch @liampayne88

[shemarmooresfedora]

Rebuilding Family

Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Content/Warnings: pure fluff and a happy ending as promised :)

A/N: the final chapter 😭❤️ see my full note at the end

Masterlist

Chapter 37

“What’s your location? Over,” the walkie talkie on the kitchen counter crackled.

“Dino chicken nuggets are coming out of the oven as we speak. Over,” you replied back.

“Roger that. Over and out,” Jo stated and the walkie talkie went back to static.

Spencer got them as a gift for her and she would constantly have one with her, giving the other to someone before leaving the room so they could talk through it.

You headed out to the back porch and down the steps into the yard with a big plate of nuggets and dipping sauces as well as some juice boxes and applesauce for the twins.

“Coast is clear. Do you copy? Over,” you spoke into the walkie talkie.

“Affirmative. Bring ‘em up,” Jo exited the main part of the treehouse and you saw her on its little porch.

Spencer had built her a little pulley system with a basket and rope so she could lower or raise items up into the treehouse instead of carrying them up the ladder.

You placed the food and drinks inside and then made your way up the wooden ladder.

“Thank you, Mommy,” Jo smiled as she bit into a nugget.

“No problem, Cadet Jo,” you ruffled her hair up a little as she giggled.

You ducked to get through the door of the treehouse and sat down on a cushion on the floor next to Spencer who had both the twins in his lap.

“What are we watching?” you asked as you clipped the twins’ bibs on.

“Cars!” Jo cheered.

“I wanted to watch a subtitled Russian film but I was ‘boo’ed when I made that suggestion,” Spencer grinned as he grabbed the spoon to start feeding the babies.

“Hm I wonder why,” you teased.

Once Jo got the movie playing on the laptop, she took a seat in your lap with the plate of nuggets and took turns eating one, then handing one to you, then Spencer.

Once all the kids were fast asleep in your laps and the credits were rolling, you turned to Spencer.

“You and Derek really did a good job building this treehouse, love,” you complimented him.

“Anything for my family,” he smiled, then leaned over to kiss you.

-

It was the morning of Jo’s 8th birthday party. You wanted to make it extra special in light of what happened at her 7th birthday party.

Spencer kept reminding you that it wasn’t your fault a psychopath shot you and sent you to the hospital but you just wanted to give Jo the party she deserves.

You rented a bouncy house and an inflatable water slide. Spencer was doing a magic show and Penelope was doing face paintings. You baked a huge stegosaurus-shaped cake from scratch. No kid would be bored and Jo would have an amazing time.

You settled for having it in your backyard instead of the park now that you had plenty of room. The whole team came over earlier to help set up.

Penelope got all her paints organized on the porch table as Spencer set up his mini stage for the performance. Hotch and Derek filled the slide with water while you and Emily carefully brought the massive cake to the table outside.

Jo came running outside already in her swimsuit, eager to get the first splash in the water slide.

“You have to come with me, Uncle Derek,” she insisted.

“Jo, I don’t have my swimsuit on,” he replied.

“You’re in athletic shorts. They’ll dry quick,” Savannah, his girlfriend, yelled from where she was setting up the food table.

Derek looked to Hotch to help him out. Hotch pointed back to Jo who was giving him puppy dog eyes.

“Fine,” he groaned, taking off his shirt which elicited a holler from Penelope.

Jo made her way up the steps with Derek right behind her.

Jo sat down in Derek’s lap and then turned around to face him.

“Okay, ready?” she asked him.

Derek nodded and then pushed off, sending them both down the slippery slide.

“Weee!” Jo exclaimed as they slid down.

“Again,” she demanded, “Where’s Daddy?”

“He went to put his swimsuit on, Baby J, so he can go with you,” you told her as you set Ollie down next to Ophelia in the playpen outside.

“Coming, Princess!” Spencer ran outside and scooped the little girl up in his arms as he trekked up the steps.

“How about we go down like a penguin this time?” he suggested.

Jo nodded enthusiastically as Spencer got onto his belly and Jo laid on top of him and wrapped her hands around his neck.

“1…2…3!” Spencer pushed off and they raced down the slide again, Jo giggling the whole time.

“Again!” Jo said.

“I think we are going to have to buy one of these, love,” Spencer called over to you, laughing and running up the stairs right behind Jo again.

-

“Please welcome my lovely assistant to the stage,” Spencer spoke in his magician tuxedo.

You waved as the audience clapped. You were wearing a sparkly red sequin dress to compliment Spencer’s bow tie.

“I am going to make my assistant…disappear,” he stated.

The kids in the audience gasped.

Spencer took your hand and guided you to the big black box in the center of the stage.

“Just like we practiced,” he whispered to you as you stepped inside.

You winked and he kissed your hand as he let go and closed the door.

Spencer knocked on the door a few times and wiggled his hands for some showmanship.

“Okay, on the count of 3. We’re all going to yell ‘Abracadabra’,” Spencer explained, “1…2…3!”

“Abracadabra!” all the kids yelled.

Spencer set off a small smoke bomb and quickly opened the door, revealing an empty box.

The kids all screamed in wonder.

“Bring Mommy back!” Jo yelled.

You had to stifle your laughter from behind the fake wall in the box you were hiding behind.

“Your wish is my command, Princess,” Spencer closed the door again.

“To reverse the spell, we need to say the exact same word,” Spencer stated.

“Abracadabra!” the kids yelled once again.

This time, you opened the door and the kids clapped enthusiastically.

“For this next trick, I need a volunteer from the audience,” Spencer smiled.

All the kids’ hands shot up in the air.

“I’m going to have to go with the wonderful birthday girl right in the front row,” you took Jo’s hand and escorted her up onto the stage.

“Jo, I need you to pick a card, any card. Show the audience but not me,” Spencer fanned the cards out in his hands and closed his eyes.

Jo picked the ace of hearts and showed the audience.

“Now, put it back in the pile,” he said.

“Alright,” Spencer opened his eyes and began to shuffle the cards, “Is this your card?” he asked, holding the eight of spades.

“No, Daddy. Try again,” Jo said.

“Is this it?” he questioned, holding the queen of diamonds.

“No, Daddy.”

“Oh,” Spencer smacked his forehead, “I know where I put it,” he pulled off his top hat.

Spencer then proceeded to pull a bouquet of flowers, an endless handkerchief, a rubber chicken, and many other silly things out of his hat that had the kids in tears from laughing.

Finally, he pulled out the ace of hearts, “Is this your card, Princess?”

“Yes, Daddy!” she beamed, hugging him.

-

Jo’s birthday was a complete success. She was completely worn out by the end of it and slept in late the next morning.

But when she did finally wake, she was eager to try out her gift that you and Spencer had gotten her: a big kid bike with no training wheels. It was purple which was her favorite color with a white basket on the front and a little bell on the handlebars.

You and Spencer were going to teach her how to ride it today. She padded up with some knee pads and elbow pads and her helmet.

You had the twins in their double stroller with mini bucket hats on to protect them from the sun.

“Okay, Jo. Me and Daddy will run with you for a little but then we’re going to let go but you’re going to keep pedaling,” you explained to her.

“I’m scared,” she replied, looking at the street in front of her.

You were practicing in the street in front of your house because it wasn’t very busy and it was flat. Plus, you could leave the twins in the stroller in the driveway.

“It’s okay, Baby J. You’ve got all your padding on so even if you fall, it won’t hurt at all, I promise,” you assured her.

“I believe in you, Princess,” Spencer kissed her helmet-covered head.

“I’m ready,” she nodded, moving her feet to the pedals.

“That’s my girl,” you smiled.

You and Spencer began to jog alongside her as she pedaled.

Spencer looked at you, “Okay, Princess. We’re letting go.”

You and Spencer both removed your hands from her bike and she continued to speed forward.

“Yes, Jo! You’re doing it! ” you encouraged her.

“Princess, can you turn around and come back to me and Mommy?” Spencer asked.

Jo carefully steered her bike and headed back to you both with a massive smile on her face. You and Spencer were loudly cheering her on.

“Okay, try to brake,” you said.

Jo slowly came to a stop right in between you both.

“You’re a pro!” you grinned as you both knelt down to hug her.

-

Jo had been biking for the past hour and she was still having a blast.

You and Spencer were laying in the front yard with the twins in your laps.

“Mommy, Daddy! Look!” Jo exclaimed as she did donuts on the bike.

“We’re looking, Baby J,” you laughed, “Great job!”

You leaned your head on Spencer’s shoulder.

“Y/N…” Spencer began.

“Yes, Spence?”

“Thank you,” he replied.

“For what?” you looked up at him.

“All this,” he motioned to Jo, the twins, the house, the yard, the chalk drawings on the driveway, the rocking chairs on the front porch, the doormat that said ‘The Reids’, everything he ever dreamed of, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” you kissed him, “I’d give you the world if I could.”

“You already have,” he smiled.

A/N: thank you everyone so so so much for reading, commenting, reblogging, etc.! i love you all so much. i’m probably going to miss this too much and do one-shots of this series in the future. also, this series hit 14,000 on ao3! that’s crazy that that many people read my work. thank you, just thank you! -dory <3

main taglist (just ask to be added/removed!): @samuel-de-champagne-problems @g0lden-cth @spencerreid9 @averyhotchner @coldlilheart @k-k0129 @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange @harrystylesandthegoobs @cmily @jswessie187 @rem-ariiana @hoodpankow @mochionly @spencerreid-187 @babymetaldoll @fics4arainyday @ssavanessa22 @all-tings-diego @idonotexiste @beepbooptoop @tvandfanfic @mggsprettygirl @big-galaxy-chaos @navs-bhat

series taglist: @doctorreiding @reidsfish

[smellsfaintlyofvanilla]

Hello omg, can I request Sasha with a warrior S/O? Like reader came with Annie, Reiner, and Bertholdt on their mission and during Reiner and Bertholdt’s reveal, she reveals herself too? UAUAUA it can be angst or whatever you prefer 🥺❤️

I gave the reader the Warhammer titan btw cause it’s my favorite akdkakfkd

Also, it’s a little long, but that’s just ‘cause I wrote out the whole warrior reveal in word form, and it’s longer than I remember lol

With You

(Sasha Braus x Reader)

AU: Canon, slightly divergent

Warnings: Gore/graphic description of injury, season 3 spoilers, slight season 4 spoilers

Genre: Angst

Summary: Following the battle at Utgard castle, Reiner stops to have a chat with Eren, and reveals that he, Bertholdt, and Sasha’s s/o are all titan shifters, right in front of Sasha.

Words: 3.9K

-------

You had no time to process what had happened. Ymir was a titan, Christa was Historia, and Zeke has finally made his appearance.

You sighed and leaned against the rope tethers of the pulley system, regaining your bearings on the platform as you were pulled up and over the wall. The battle of Utgard castle had been tough—and many secrets were uncovered.

So, Ymir was the titan that ate Marcel all those years ago... You recounted in your head, sighing as you held your face in your palms. And now Zeke is here. We must’ve been too long without any sign of progress. We’re in big trouble. If we get back without Annie and Eren, it’ll be all over for us. Magath is gonna—

“Y/n!” A cheery voice brought you out of your slump, and you looked over your shoulder to see Sasha standing behind you, an arm outstretched as an offering of help.

You smiled at the sight of your girlfriend, and you slowly rose from your spot on the makeshift elevator, taking her hand and pulling yourself up onto the wall. “Thanks, Sasha.”

As soon as you stood up straight, Sasha lunged at you and wrapped her arms around your shoulders, lifting her feet off of the ground as you leaned all of her body weight onto you.

“I’m so glad you’re okay...! I was so worried!” She buried her face in your neck as she spoke, and you wrapped your arms around her lower back, putting your hands on her butt as support so she could wrap her legs around your waist.

You giggled at her, cuddling closer into her embrace. “I’m alright, I’m okay. There’s no need to worry.”

“I know, but I heard that you and your squad got held up at Utgard castle overnight in the middle of a titan horde, and when we finally got there and saw the tower collapsed, I was so scared! I... I—!” She cried into your neck as you moved a hand to rub small circles on her back.

“I know, I know, but we’re okay now. We had a bit of...” You glanced to the left. Ymir lay unconscious and steaming in the stretcher, a distressed Historia leaning over her and brushing strands of brown locks out of her face. “Unexpected help.”

“Mhm...” She mumbled, leaning into you for support. You stayed like this in silence for a while, enjoying each other’s presence after so long of being separated.

“Hey, lovebirds!” A loud shout caught your attention, and both you and Sasha turned to the source; Connie. “Save that stuff for the dorms! We still have stuff to do!”

“Right...” Sasha muttered, climbing off of you and running towards Connie, helping him haul terrified soldiers over the wall.

You stared in admiration for only a brief moment before your attention turned to your comrades, Reiner and Bertholdt. Reiner’s arm was wrapped up in the torn cloth of Historia’s skirt, and Bertholdt was close by, the two of them standing in a solemn, heavy silence.

You approached them quietly, taking a seat next to Reiner. Neither of you said anything. The sudden appearance of the beast titan, or rather, Zeke, had shaken you all. You had been gone for years, and gave no sign of retrieving the Founding Titan. Not only that, but you had lost Marcel and Annie. No matter what, the situation wasn’t going to end smoothly for you three.

To the right, many of the Scouts had gathered around a blonde Garrison soldier. Hannes—his name popped into your mind, as Eren had mentioned him before, while in the 104th. He seemed to be disclosing something to the others, and they looked on with mixed expressions.

“Do you think this has something to do with Zeke?” You questioned. Reiner kept his face buried in his palm, and Bertholdt turned to you with a sigh.

“Most likely.” The tall man answered. “I mean, we saw him. He’s clearly here. He must be doing something with his spinal fluid. Speeding up the process, perhaps.” He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anxiety, eyes wide. “We’re in deep shit.”

You didn’t respond to him verbally, offering only a huff in solemn agreement.

The group of soldiers disbanded, though many branched of into separate conversations of worry, wonder, and resentment. As they walked off, Reiner stood up suddenly, eyes still fixated on the ground.

“Eren.” He called out, drawing the attention of the shorter man. “We should talk. You got a moment?”

“Sure, I guess.” He sighed, walking over. You and Bertholdt shared confused and concerned looks. The two of you had long noticed that Reiner had gone a bit off the deep end since arriving at Paradis, so you were wary of what he might say or do next.

“Five years ago, we compromised Wall Maria and launched an attack on humanity.” He spoke, turning his back to Eren, hanging his head in defeat. You looked at Bertholdt, and he mirrored your emotion. Panic.

“I’m the Armored Titan. He’s the Colossal.” He pointed his thumb in your direction when he spoke. “And she’s the Warhammer.”

“What are you talking about? Why are you telling him?” Bertholdt chocked out quietly.

“Reiner!” You whispered sharply, venom dripping from your tone. The three of you had done such a careful job keeping your identities secret from the others, and Reiner just spilled all of it. There was no going back from this.

“We were on a mission.” He continued.

“Stop!” Bertholdt pleaded, but Reiner didn’t waver.

“Our goal was to ensure mankind’s extinction. But now, there’s no need for that. Eren,” He turned to face the shocked and confused boy to his side. “If you want the walls to remain standing, it’s simple. Just come with Bertholdt, Y/n, and me. Do you understand?”

A good look to your left proved that he did not, in fact, understand.

“Understand? What the hell is there to understand?!” He shouted, drawing the attention of a few soldiers. Mikasa stood protectively a short distance away, and Sasha, with her impeccable hearing, turned to face the scene as well. The two of you made eye contact, and your distress must have been evident even at such a distance, because her eyes widened, and she started to make her way over with concern and confusion.

“Listen to me.” To your and Bertholdt’s horror, Reiner kept speaking. “I need you to do exactly as I say. Look, I know this is sudden, but we have to go.”

“Right now?” He exclaimed. “Where would you take me?”

“I can’t tell you. Not yet.” Internally, you started to collect yourself. This wasn’t ending quietly. Bloodshed was dreadfully immanent. “Just think of it as our hometown.” Your eyes widened. He’s just gonna ask Eren? You thought, astounded. After all this, he really thinks Eren is just gonna follow us? What is he thinking?!

“Okay? So what’s it gonna be? Not a bad deal, right? The chance to avert a major crisis?”

“I’m not so sure...” He muttered. You were surprised he didn’t have a stronger reaction, especially for someone as fiery as him. Perhaps he was still in shock, or denial. Either way, they were teetering on the edge of battle, even if you and Bertholdt were the only ones to sense it.

“You guys!” Armin shouted, waving to capture the attention of you, Bertholdt, Reiner, and Eren. “Get a move on, we’re heading out!” Despite that, Sasha pushed right past him, closing in to the conversation, standing still now that she was in earshot. Mikasa was to her left, watching Eren with a dangerously protection glare.

Eren closed his eyes, taking in a deep sigh. It felt as if, for a moment, the world stood still. Damn it, he thought, I didn’t want to believe it...

A distant memory flashed through his head. When Annie had been found out, they had discussed the possibility of Reiner, Bertholdt, and Y/n also being shifters, but they didn’t have proof. Was it really so simple, though?

He opened his eyes and placed a firm hand on Reiner’s shoulder. “You’re just tired. That’s it, right? Help me out here Bertholdt, Y/n. Your nerves are shot. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“U-Uh, yeah.” Bertholdt fumbled. “It’s the battle fatigue talking!”

“Yeah!” You reaffirmed, luckily being able to exude more confidence than Bertholdt. “You’re just tired. After everything that just happened, I can’t blame you.” You laughed nervously, praying no one saw through your bluff.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” Between your bluff, and his shock, Eren took the bait. “If you really were the Armored Titan, what’s the endgame here? We wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place. What’d you expect me to do? Say yes? Let myself be kidnapped just ‘cause you asked politely?” Somehow, you found yourself agreeing with Eren on that last one.

Despite Eren’s nonchalant response, a dead silence overtook the air, and Sasha found it as her cue to step forward.

“Y/n? What’s going on here?” She placed a hand on your shoulder, but as soon as she did, you looked back. She gasped at the sight. You looked petrified.

“Right. Not thinking straight, am I?” He finally gave up his ploy, wide-eyed and sweating bullets. “Barely know what I’m saying here. Must’ve gone off the deep end.”

Eren turned his back to the three of you. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Deafening silence and still air ensued. You did not move. The clouds cleared, and rays of sun shone down on the stone beneath your feet.

“That’s the problem.” Reiner shook. He chuckled, and shadows covered his face. You’d never seen him like this before.

“I’ve been here too long for my own good. Three years of this madness, surrounded by idiots. We were kids. What’d we know about anything?”

You couldn’t help but agree with Reiner on that one. You didn’t want to become a warrior, none of you did. If you knew the atrocities you had to commit in order to have the essence of a warrior, the idea would’ve never crossed your mind.

“Why did there have to be people like this.” He choked, tears pricking his eyes and mouth spread into a wide, ugly frown. “Why? Why did I let myself devolve into such a half-assed piece of shit?”

“It’s too late now.” He lifted his arm out of the cast makeshift cast, and held his arm up, showing the red and bloody bite mark. “Damned if I know what’s right anymore! Who cares? It is what it is. No choice but to face what I’ve done! As a warrior.”

His arm steamed, and shortly after, the skin closed up, blood drying and appearing as if he’d never been injured from the get-go.

“No road left but the one that leads to the end!” He screamed. Eren’s eyes widened as he gasped. He finally understood.

“Reiner! Right now? Here?” Bertholdt yelled back, prepared for anything, despite the beads of sweat that rolled down his face.

“We’re really doing this?!” You echoed, and Sasha looked on with a horrified expression.

“Yes. Right here, right now!” He commanded, marching towards Eren. “We settle this once and for all!”

Mikasa appeared out of nothing in a fraction of second, blades drawn and mind set on murder. She swung her blade at Reiner, who put up his hand defensively as the blade split his hand in half from his fingers all the way to his wrist. She spun around in an instant, and her blade cleanly slashed right across Bertholdt’s neck, who fell to the ground screaming and holding his throat.

He eyes were set on you, and an underhanded swing of her blade slashed a line right across your face. Blood immediately clouded your vision, and you groaned in pain as you were sure you had lost an eye.

She charged at you, determined to finish the job, but her sprint was interrupted by Sasha, who tackled Mikasa at full force, and the sword tumbled out of her grasp as Sasha pinned her down.

“Sasha!” She struggled. “Sasha, move! What are you doing?!” She tried to get up, but Sasha managed to overpower her momentarily, keeping her firmly on the ground.

“MIKASA STOP! PLEASE!” She pleaded at the top of her lungs. Rationally, she knew you were the enemy now, but she’d be damned if she let you die here, after everything the two of you had been through.

“Sasha, you can’t—!”

“I DON’T CARE!” She screamed. “YOU AREN’T GONNA HURT HER!”

Mikasa took quick advantage of Sasha’s emotional state and hurled her off, and she tumbled into a heap a few feet away. With little hesitation, Mikasa reequipped her blades.

But it was too late.

“Bertholdt! Y/n!” Reiner barked, lighting already manifesting around him.

The two of you looked at each other with horrified understanding, and prepared your own transformations.

Sparks of electricity surrounded you, and panic filled adrenaline exploded into flesh. Limbs shot out around you, plus the familiar hardened skin of the Armored, the skinless muscle of the Colossal, and the cloudy white body of your own titan.

Seconds passed, albeit one’s that felt like centuries, and you finally opened your eyes. You stood tall on top of the wall; 15 meters high. To your right, Reiner. And behind him was Bertholdt. Only half formed due to the space, and his lower body ceased to exist. Ribs shot out and dug into the stone, and powerful gusts of steam shot off of his body.

The terrified pawns on the wall stared up at you, mouths agape. But the shock didn’t last long.

The hurricane of steam that came off of Bertholdt started to throw things around, and those who didn’t make quick use of their ODM gear were sent flying. One of those figures, Eren, was quickly swept up by Reiner in the chaos.

It was no use, though. That’s why you weren’t surprised in the slightest when he bit his hand and sparks flew, his transformation queued by a guttural scream of rage.

“Damn you... YOU TRAITORS!”

The Attack Titan formed in Reiner’s hand, fist already drawn back and preparing a strike to Reiner.

In a fraction of a second, you formed a large hammer—your namesake weapon—from hardened titan skin, raising it into the air with a passionate battle cry.

The hammer struck Eren in his flank, and he flew abruptly to the left. You shot Reiner a look, and he looked down in understanding, drawing his arms back in preparation for a charge.

Eren had stood up by the time Reiner had started his charge, and immediately braced for impact—he didn’t have the time to move.

Reiner collided with Eren, and knocked him to the ground effortlessly, his greater size and weight being of good use.

The two wrestled on the ground, and you hesitated to intervene. After all, your weapon was powerful, but imprecise. You couldn’t risk accidentally hitting Reiner. Instead, you turned around, assessing the situation on the wall, where Bertholdt had been unceremoniously shackled.

It seemed no one was brave enough—or rather, stupid enough—to approach the colossal in it’s torrid state, and you didn’t know if you should be frustrated or grateful.

But, out of the corner of your eye, a figure swung. Your eyes widened slightly in amusement as ODM gear shot from tree to tree, approaching you at in impressive speed. Hmph. Guess someone is stupid enough after all. You thought.

You were about to swipe them away without a second thought, but you faltered at the sight of auburn brown hair, loosely tied into a familiar ponytail.

You must’ve gotten a little distracted by the sight, because you were suddenly brought back to attention by the figure landing on your shoulder, the hooks of their ODM gear digging into your shoulder, which you assumed were used as leverage mere seconds ago.

You turned your massive head to look at it, and you saw the figure gasp and tremble at the sight. Sometimes, you forgot how terrifying your titan was. But you perked up for a moment, brought out of your violent trance by a familiar face.

“Y/N!” It was Sasha. “Y/n, what is going on here?!”

You opened your mouth to respond, and it came out in a gravely, deep tone because of your titan form. “Sasha...?”

She released the grapples of her ODM to run up and hug your neck—the best she could, that is, with your immense size.

“Y/n! Come on! Why didn’t you tell me! This... this isn’t you... tell me there’s a reason!!!” She screamed.

Turning back to observe Eren and Reiner’s struggle, you sighed internally. It was just like her to get too emotional in a situation like this.

You turned back to Sasha with a sad look in your eyes. Carefully, you brought your hand up to pinch the hood of her Scout jacket, lifting her and placing her back down on top of the wall.

Slowly, you crouched down to her level, meeting her eye to eye despite the pain it caused you to see the heartbroken look in her eyes. Your hand curled around her back to support her, the only kind of pseudo-hug you could give at the moment. Your thumb gently made its way to the top of her head, and you moved it down slowly to caress her head. Tears streamed down her face, the internal conflict being far too much for her to bear.

But a sudden mass to your lower back brought you out of your intimate moment with her. Pain shot up through your body as you felt your back collide with the ground, and your eyes opened in horror. Eren had somehow managed to best Reiner in their scrimmage—and he was after you now.

You started to form the base of your hammer in your hands once again, but a forceful punch to your jaw stopped it’s formation out of the shock and pain.

Another fist made it’s way to your face—and another, and another, and another. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you could hear noises. Roaring, growling, and, the loudest of them all, screaming. Though, in your state, you couldn’t discern if it was even you or not.

Eren delivered his last punch with a frightening roar of passion, and your neck twisted at an unnatural angle as your head snapped off the titan body with a horrid, bone-grinding sound.

Your battered body fell out of the nape of the titan, using what was left of your strength to emerge at the last second. It was all you had in you, though, and the last thing you heard was your own heavy breathing and distant shouting as your vision started to vade.

Eren stood up tall, towering over your unconscious body, raising his fists in the air with a triumphant roar of victory, the cheers of soldiers filling the air.

Filled with adrenaline and ego, he picked up your limp body in his hand, dangling your body over his already opened mouth.

He was going to eat the Warhammer—right here, right now.

That is, until a foreboding cracking noise brought his attention away from you. It took a few seconds for him to locate the source. The Colossal Titan.

It’s bones snapped and ground against one another, it’s massive body slowly shifting like a collapsing skyscraper. It twisted, turned, and groaned until it slowly lost it’s iron grip on the wall—and it was heading straight for Eren.

It’s body collided with Eren, and the force of the impact was comparable to that of an earthquake. Smoke rose from the ground as dirt was upended, trees crackling and snapping as chunks of rock flew up and around from the impact area.

The force of the impact sent you flying through the air. It didn’t take any hesitation, though, for your girlfriend to go flying through the air, catching your bloody body in her arms and wrapping herself around you to keep you safe as she hit the ground and slid against the dirt.

She groaned audibly from the pain, gritting her teeth in a feeble attempt to numb the painful sensations. But, her pain suddenly subsided when she laid eyes on you.

Your lower half had been all but obliterated. Your legs were completely crushed and squeezed out like an old container of toothpaste, and blood gushed from your stomach. She tried in vain to ignore the sight of your snapped bones twisting at odd angles and protruding through your skin.

Panicked, she brought an ear to your chest, desperately searching for that steady rhythm of life beating in your chest.

She had never taken a deeper sigh of relief than she did now, overjoyed at the slow heartbeat you clung onto. It was weak, yes, but you were still here. With her. That’s all that mattered.

Steam slowly rose from your stomach as your body attempted to heal your wounds. Even in a situation like this, your body managed to find the strength to start recovering.

She cradled your body to her chest, sobbing out in both relief and distress as you bled out onto her. Her clothes were already stained red, and her hands were sticky with morbid crimson, but she didn’t care. She held you close, as close as you could possibly be without her physically crushing you, catching her breath and calming herself to the sound of your shallow breaths.

It was a short-lived moment, though, as a dark shadow suddenly covered the ground, and Sasha froze with fear with you in her arms. By the shadow alone, it was impossible to tell if it was Eren or Reiner, and she didn’t want to check. She curled around you, crying quietly in preparation of getting crushed.

But it didn’t happen. A large finger instead placed itself on Sasha’s shoulder, pushing her out of the way to observe your injured state. Her body trembled fearfully as she turned to face it, and was met with the Armored Titan.

She wasn’t sure what to expect next, really. It could’ve crushed her like an ant and ran away with you, or worse, separated her and run off with just you.

She didn’t want to be apart from you. Even if it made her a terrible soldier, even if it made her treasonous, dishonorable, and irredeemable, she would stick with you, no matter whose side you were on. Right or wrong, she was staying with you.

Reiner hesitated for a moment. He couldn’t just bring a Paradis soldier back, it would be a huge problem down the line. But, his eyes glanced to you. He was certain that if he left Sasha there without you, you would never have forgiven him.

So, he cut his losses and gently scooped the two of you up in his hand, holding you and her close to his chest as he started running—god knows where to. She caught a glimpse of a Bertholdt in his other hand, as well as Ymir, still unconscious and strapped to her stretcher.

And Eren. Somehow, Reiner had the severely injured and incapacitated shifter quite literally in the palm of his hand.

Sasha knew that once people slowly started waking up, the fighting would only continue, but she savored this moment. Even if you were bleeding and hurt, your face looked peaceful. As odd as it sounded, she felt content with you in this moment.

As Reiner ran further and further from the wall, Sasha glanced over his shoulder, watching as the faces of her former comrades as they faded into the background.

I wish somebody cared for me the way Sasha cares about Y/n in this fic lmaooo

[the-sound-of-her-wings]

Stay

Bucky x Gender Neutral Reader

You move in as Bucky's next-door neighbor at the beginning of TFATWS.

Likes, Comments, and Reblogs Appreciated!

❀ Word Count: 3,541

❀ Contains: A nonbinary best friend, fluff, a one-off mention of decomposition, wholesomeness, being a good neighbor

❀ Inspiration: Stay from Amelie

The drive to Brooklyn was fairly nerve-wracking, despite the unusual lack of traffic until you got much closer to the city, somewhere outside of New Jersey. You’d been to New York on multiple occasions; some were school trips to one of the many museums, others were to participate in protests. Sometimes, you just visited for a day to enjoy the city- and the food from one of the many food trucks. Today was different- today, you were making Brooklyn Borough your home.

Finding a place in Brooklyn that was close enough for you to walk to work while also not costing your entire salary was a challenge, but you eventually found a townhouse to rent for under $2,000 a month. The moving truck arrived outside your townhouse a couple of minutes before you did. It was being driven by one of your closest friends, who had offered to take the day off of work to help you move into this place. You drove their car down behind them but had stopped a while back to get yourself a bite to eat. When you arrive, they’ve already begun to unload the truck onto the sidewalk.

“Hey, y/n! Can I get a little help here?” They ask, attempting to push your sofa out of the truck.

“Just a moment!” You shout. You lock their car and jog over to them, picking up the side of the sofa facing the street. You lift it up and manage to get it up onto the curb before needing to put it down again.

“How are we gonna get it up the steps?” They ask you, out of breath.

“I have no idea. But I should probably unlock my front door first, that might be helpful.”

You dig your keys out of your front right jean pocket and walk up the stairs to your townhouse to unlock it. You push open the door and turn on the light in the first room. It’s a little dusty inside- the previously lived-in kind of dusty, not the long-forgotten abandoned kind.

You turn back towards your friend and ask, “Do we have any rope? Maybe we could make a pulley system to pull it up the steps.”

“I don’t think so.” They reply, “Maybe if one of us pushes and the other pulls?”

You walk back down to the curb to see that your friend has now sat down on the couch you were supposed to be moving together instead of trying to figure out another way to move it inside. You sit down next to them.

“I should’ve brought my sister with me.” They lament.

“Yeah, and I should’ve asked more than one person to help me move in. But here we are. With a couch on the sidewalk.” You respond. You spend a few minutes resting together before getting back up again and announcing, “Forget about the couch. We’ve got other things to move.” And so you start to move the other things.

The other heavy things are easier to move. The dresser you brought was empty, and the shelves were able to be completely pulled out. The bookshelf you had was from IKEA, and at this point was the same weight and durability of a paper plate- but it got the job done. All the books that once inhabited it were in several separate storage bins, which you brought in after making sure the shelf wouldn’t crumble upon being placed inside your new home. You’d gotten about halfway done unloading all your other furniture and belongings from the moving truck and your friend's car when a stranger approaches you.

“Do you need some help?” He asks. He is holding a bag of groceries in his right hand, and his left hand is in his pocket.

“If you wouldn’t mind. We’d appreciate it” You reply.

He nods, setting his groceries down on the sidewalk near your friend’s car.

His help makes the moving in process go a lot smoother- everything even remotely heavy he is able to lift with ease, allowing you and your friend to focus on arranging the townhouse to your liking. Finally, only one item remains: the couch. You emerge from the inside of the house where you had been putting your utensils and Tupperware away to go help him, but he doesn’t need the help. He has lifted the couch all by himself. You make sure to move out of the way so that you don’t get crushed by it as he enters the door. Your friend gives you a look as he places it on the floor of your entryway.

“Was that all?” He asks.

“Yeah. Thanks for your help. I’m y/n, btw.” You state, holding out your hand for him to shake it.

He accepts, giving your hand a firm shake, “I’m Bucky.”

“Nice to meet you.” You reply, ending the handshake.

“You too. Have a good one.” He says, leaving your house, closing your front door behind him.

Your friend stares at you with a peculiar look on their face. You stare back. They make a sweeping gesture with their hands and ask, “Well?” They are grinning as they ask.

“What?”

They roll their eyes at you, “A hot guy just helped you move into your apartment and you’re not excited about that?”

You roll your eyes at them, “You know I’m not looking for anyone right now. Besides, he seems a little too dark and brooding for my tastes.”

“Too dark and brooding for you? That’s a new one.”

You don’t respond to that assertion, instead changing the subject. “Are you staying for dinner? I was thinking of ordering delivery.”

“I don’t want to end up driving home in rush-hour traffic, so I’ll stay. Where are we ordering from?”

“Not sure, let’s look around.” You reply, pulling out your phone.

You end up finding a Chinese place that delivers food and spend the next few hours together eating, catching up, and talking about everything and anything. Like best friends do. Eventually, it’s time for them to go.

“I’ll let you know when I’m able to come down to get my car. Keep it safe until then.”

“Will do!” You reply.

“Alright, y/n. Stay safe. And don’t be a stranger.”

You give them a hug. “I won’t. Text me when you get home safe!”

They nod in response and head out the door. You watch as they drive the rental moving truck away, then head back inside, closing the door behind you. You lie down on your couch, which doubles as a fold-out bed- part of the reason you and your friend had been struggling to carry it up the stairs. You try to stop yourself from thinking about how odd it is for a man to be able to lift an entire couch by himself, but you can’t. Was he some kind of Avenger? Maybe a Captain America type in hiding? You stare up at the ceiling, imagining increasingly wild scenarios about who this man could be. Eventually, you doze off to sleep, thinking about him, while convincing yourself you're not actually interested in a relationship with him. Just curious.

You awaken in the middle of the night to a tv playing static loudly. You reach for your remote control. You’re about to push the power button when you realize you actually haven’t installed the cable yet- you were saving that until tomorrow. That’s when you realize that it’s coming from behind you- through the wall. It must be your next-door neighbor’s tv set. Not really that bothered by the sound, you roll over to go back to sleep.

Then you hear a different sound- a low whining followed by grunts. It doesn’t sound sexual- though it might be? It’s unclear, but it’s getting louder and more agitated- making you think you’re hearing your neighbor have a nightmare. So, you do what one of your parents used to do for you when you had nightmares: sing a lullaby. You aren’t sure if you are singing it to yourself so you can go back to sleep to ignore the odd noises, or if you’re singing it to your neighbor so they calm down. Either way, it works: the odd noises seem to subside, and you fall asleep.

This continues for a few nights in a row: getting woken up by tv static, hearing these odd noises, and singing a lullaby to go back to sleep. You wouldn’t have minded it, but it was starting to mess with your sleep schedule and affect your work. Tonight, you’ve had enough. You walk over to your neighbor's door, and knock on it. It’s fall in the city- so definitely more than a little chilly at night. You wait for a few moments and are about to knock again when the door opens. You quickly put your hand down and behind your back.

“Bucky?” You stare at him, quizzically. He is shirtless and covered in sweaty- his dog tags are hanging around his neck. You can only see the right side of his body.

“Yeah?” Bucky is fully alert at this point and has been for some time.

“Are you okay?” He ignores your question.

“Why are you knocking on my door at 1 am?”

“It’s your uh- your Tv. I can hear it in my apartment. It’s been waking me up at the same time every night.” You don’t add that you’ve been hearing him in his sleep. Or the lullabies.

“Oh- Sorry. I’ll turn it down. Good night.” He goes to close the door on you but you put your foot out to prevent it from closing completely. There is only a sliver of door open, enough for each of you to only see the eye of the other.

“Are you sure you're okay?” You ask.

“Don’t worry about it, y/n.” He replies. You relent, removing your foot. You stand outside the door after it has closed for about a minute, wanting to help. You sigh and return to your home, climbing back into bed. You lie awake for a while, not wanting to sing the lullaby- at least, not until you think he’s asleep again. If he won’t tell you what’s wrong, then you aren’t going to tell him that you’ve been helping.

A few days later, you get a package delivered to your townhouse that’s addressed to Bucky. You take it over to your neighbor only to find that he has his front door open, with his screen door closed. He is sitting on the floor staring at the tv, despite a chair being right next to him. There is another chair in the corner, facing towards the door. You think it’s weird, but you don’t have time to unpack it right now. You knock on the screen door. He acknowledges you with a look, before standing up and opening the screen door.

“This is for you- the delivery guy was off by a number.” You say, handing him the package.

“Thanks, y/n.”

“Hey, uh. Why were you sitting on the floor?” You can’t help but ask.

“I like sitting on the floor.” Bucky’s deadpan response catches you off-guard.

“I’m- I’m not sure what answer I was expecting to get. Anyway. See you later, Bucky.” You turn away, heat rushing to your face from embarrassment.

“See you later, y/n.”

You don’t tell him you can still hear the tv.

You don’t tell him you are still singing the lullabies.

The next day you wake up and realize you didn’t wake up in the middle of the night. You don’t think too much about it, and go on with the rest of your day. Then it happens again. And again. And then the mail starts piling up on his front porch. First, it’s the newspaper. Then it’s coupons. Then it’s packages.

Five days after your peaceful nights of sleep begin, you finally come back to his front door to see what’s going on. You figure if he was dead you’d have smelt the decomposition by now. You knock on the front door and get no response. Not wanting to make it appear like his house was empty- though it was- you start collecting his mail, leaving it in piles on your front porch.

About two days later you see two detectives standing outside his front porch. You go outside to see what’s going on, and to pick up your own mail.

“Excuse me. Do you know who lives here?”

“My neighbor?” You respond.

“Do you know where he went?”

“No. Why are you looking for him?”

“That’s a matter of national security.”

“Okay?” You ignore them as they continue to stand outside his door, picking up your mail and going back into your house. You lock the door behind you, not wanting to deal with whatever bullshit was happening next door.

Another week passes, including an attempted attack downtown that almost made you evacuate before you see him again. And- you don’t see him first. You hear him. The same tv static that once kept you up at night feels comforting- it means he’s back. But the accompanying odd noises have also returned, meaning that whatever he went off to do didn’t cure what was bothering him. You sing the lullaby for the first time in weeks, to comfort your neighbor who barely knows you are there.

The next morning, you knock on his door and greet him with his collection of mail.

“Hello, Bucky!” You sound a little too excited that he’s back. “I’ve been keeping all your mail so it didn’t get damaged. Or stolen.” You say. You point to the collection you’ve neatly stacked on his front porch after carrying it over from your house.

“Thank you, y/n.” Despite the ongoing nightmares, there’s something about him that seems less dark- lighter. Like he’s let go of something he’s been holding onto for too long. “I was just heading out for lunch, would you like to come with me?”

You are both floored and puzzled as to why your neighbor who disappeared for 2 weeks is suddenly interested in getting lunch with you. And you would have accepted, except you couldn’t. “My friend from out of state is actually coming in today to finally pick up her car. She kind of got spooked after that whole thing a few days ago. But some other time, sure.”

You can’t read his face to see whether he took that well. “Okay. Another time then” He gives you a small smile as he steps to the side of you to pick up the pile of mail.

“Right. Bye Bucky.”

“Bye for now.”

You meet that friend in a cafe a few blocks away later that day and talk about everything that’s happened so far in your life since moving here- including your weird neighbor.

“So. What you’re saying is. You turned down a date with your suspiciously hot neighbor to come and eat lunch with me. Do I have that right?”

“Yeah” You reply, taking a bite of your sandwich. “Why?”

“Why would you do that?” Their exasperation is palpable, and their hand gestures really show their feelings off.

“What do you mean? I always put my friends first. It’s not like I told him to fuck off.”

They babble at you in frustration and fidget with their hands, incapable of coming up with a response for a while. Eventually, they stop this and are able to reply, “Y/n. You have my permission to blow off our plans if it means going on a date with a hot guy. Is that clear?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Because if you ever do something like that again I might spontaneously combust.”

You roll your eyes at your friend and take another bite of your sandwich.

That night, you are woken up once more. But this time is different. Because this time, you're going to confront him about it again, and you're going to get to the bottom of this. You knock on the door once again, like that first night a couple of weeks ago. He answers it- a lot less sweaty this time, but equally as closed.

“Is the TV too loud again?” He asks.

“No.”

“What’s up?” He seems concerned about you, more than he is about himself.

“You’re having nightmares.” You’re blunt.

He doesn’t say anything, but opens the door wider and moves out of the way- a gesture for you to come inside. So you enter his house, lit only by the TV. He doesn’t close the door behind you. It’s then when you notice it- his arm. Even when only lit by ambient light, it’s clear that his left arm is entirely metallic. As hard as it is to ignore- you ignore it because you are more concerned with whatever’s going on in his head right now.

“How do you know about the nightmares?” He asks, sitting down on the floor, where he had clearly been sleeping.

“I hear them.” You respond, before quipping. “I guess you like sleeping on the floor.” You sit down across from him.

He chuckles, but his face is solemn. “It’s safer this way…”

You sit in silence, staring at each other’s silhouettes in the darkness.

“How long have you been able to hear them?” Bucky asks.

“Since I moved in.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“You’ve been gone for two weeks, Bucky. And you were more closed off before that. I didn’t think bringing it up would’ve helped anything.” You reply.

“Anything else I should know?”

You sigh, “I’ve been singing lullabies to try and calm you down. Doesn’t seem like it helped that much, though. I could tell you were struggling but wouldn’t accept help so I… I helped as best I could. Or at least, I tried too”

“Thank you for that. For trying, at least. I’ve been struggling a lot with some things in my past, but I’m trying to put them to rest.” He shifts his position, causing the metal of his arm to reflect like a disco against the wall.

“You don’t have a bed, do you.” It’s not a question. He wouldn’t be sleeping on the floor if he did. He wouldn’t only have two oddly placed chairs and a Tv in his apartment either.

“I don’t. I’m not sure I like them.”

“When’s the last time you’ve actually slept in a bed to know that?” You ask.

“I slept on a couch earlier this week. That was nice.”

“That’s not a bed.” You stand up, and you hold out your hand for him to grab on to stand up “C’mon”

He hesitates but uses your hand as a way to steady himself as he gets up- and for only that reason. He lets go of your hand as soon as he has completely stood up. “Where are we going?”

“To bed. Where else?”

“You have an extra bed?”

“No, but it’s fine.” You begin walking out the door, and he turns off the Tv.

“It’s not fine” He protests, but he’s following you outside.

“What are you so scared of?” You turn to ask him. And the fear in his eyes is clear from the porch lights. A man haunted by a past- of things he did, of things he could never tell you. A man scared that this is a trap.

“Stay there,” Bucky instructs. You are at the bottom of the steps to his front porch, and he is standing near the top, looking down at you.

“Okay.” You stare at each other, while he makes extra certain you haven’t been sent to kill him. To ruin his life after it has started to get back on track. That you aren’t a manipulation tactic. That you are just, well, you.

“Okay.” He responds, breathily. Beginning to walk towards you.

“Can I move now?” You ask, uncertain.

“Sure.”

He follows you into your house and you show him to your fold-out sofa bed. He sits down on it while you close and lock your front door. You keep your distance from him in the darkness and ask.

“Do you want me to help you unpack that?”

“No. I have a therapist for that. At least, I think I do.” You're surprised by his honesty about that.

“Okay. I’ll be in the kitchen if-” You go to walk past him but you feel him grab your arm.

“No. Stay.” It’s different from the first time he said it only a few minutes ago. More of a request than a demand. It’s not fearful.

“I will.” You affirm before asking, “Do you want another pillow or blanket? I have a few in my closet”

He lets go of your arm, “Sure.”

You’re a little nervous and uneasy- if only because he seems nervous and uneasy. Still, you bring him an extra pillow and blanket, then crawl into your bed. You keep your distance from him- trying not to crowd him or make him feel uncomfortable. You snuggle underneath your own pillows and blankets. Then, absentmindedly, you begin to sing the lullaby you had been singing to him through the wall. And you both drift off to sleep, feeling safer in each other's company- and not wanting the other leave.

[justpan]

Title: Unwilling Bride

Summary: At last it is time for the battle between Pirates and Lost Boys.

Pairing: Peter x Reader

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31

Everything was on track.

The camp was moved, the fences were ready; even better, Tootles found a way to put them all on a single pulley system.

One rope cut and all the fences would drop down in sync, that meant that the archers wouldn’t need to waste arrows trying to trigger them each individually.

Peter made good on his word, he was watching the pirates, constantly. You wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t sleeping at all.

All he seemed to do was sit up in the tallest trees he could find, send his shadow to locate the enemy, and report his findings to Felix who was patrolling the new camp.

‘Any news?’ you asked as Felix approached you.

‘They are less than a day away from the battle ground.’

‘Finally, guess we’d better get our asses in gear, can’t be late for our own party.’ you smiled excitedly.

‘BOYS!!! GET READY, THE GAME IS ABOUT TO START!!!’ Pan yelled as he marched into the camp.

His back was straight and he had a glint in his eye, the smile on his face was shark like and dangerous.

Like the smile you saw the first day you met him, it was as if he was on top of the world.

‘You heard me didn’t you? Get to the battle ground, or you’ll miss all the fun!’ he shouted.

The boys cheered nice and loud, and almost instantly the camp was hectic.

Everyone was running around grabbing their weapons, already laced with dreamshade.

‘You ready squirrel?’ Rufio asked.

‘As ready as I can be, little bird.’ you smiled.

‘I bet I can take down more pirates than you.’ he grinned.

‘Oh, yeah? What’s the wager?’

‘How about...if I win we try to take things further.’ Rufio suggested.

Your breath got caught in your throat, you hadn’t expected that to be on his mind right before you ran into battle.

‘And if I win?’

‘Then...we’ll do whatever you want.’

‘And if I want to take things further...what then?’ you asked, a small smile pulling at your lip.

‘Then I guess it’s a win win for us.’

Well, it looked like you were both on the same page, you both wanted to. There was a battle hours away, and by the time you got back to your room the two of them would be bloody and exhausted.

You couldn’t think of a more perfect way to lose your virginity.

‘A win win.’ you smiled.

‘Yeah?’ Rufio asked, a hopeful look in his eyes.

‘Yes, really, I’m still gonna take out more geezers than you.’ you grinned.

‘We’ll see.’

‘Hey! Be cute later, we gotta get moving and fast.’ Felix said, dragging the two of you along with the others.

You quickly shook away your feelings and started getting mentally ready for the battle; you couldn’t afford any distractions. Because this wasn’t training, it was a real battle with an opponent that would kill you if you gave them the chance.

Everything needed to go right, the fences, the arrows, the fight. Most important was the feeling.

This fight needed to feel like a guaranteed win; every Lost Boy needed to believe they would live through this fight and every pirate they let live needed to feel like it was a mistake to challenge The Lost Boys.

Once you all arrived everyone got in position, you saw Rufio taking his place with the clubs, Felix with the clubs.

Pan was standing in the middle of the clearing, watching over everything.

You walked over to him, to go over everything one last time.

‘How long?’

‘They should be here in less than an hour.’ he replied.

‘Their numbers?’

‘Less than fifty.’

‘Good, we got the mass and the skills...but I feel like something is wrong.’ you said to yourself.

‘Whatever it is we have no time to dwell on it, get down.’ Pan said.

You nodded and used your magic to put a door into the hollow tree behind Pan, you stood there and charmed the door to close.

In the dark you made sure you still had enough room for your arms to move the way you needed to work your magic.

With that done you put up a spell on the bark in front of you so you could see the clearing.

It looked like everyone was in place, now it was just a matter of time.

You watched in anticipation as the quiet settled over the camp, all you heard was your own breathing.

At last you could hear a rustle from the trees, and watched as the pirates entered the clearing.

‘I take it you are not here to deliver a box of cakes.’ Pan said smugly.

‘No I’m not.’ the one you knew to be Captain Hook said in false politeness.

‘Then why are you and your friends here? Did you want to play a game?’

‘No games this time Pan.’

‘There’s always a game, and this one is called...Pirates and Hunters. You can be the pirates.’ Pan grinned before he whistled.

The arrow zipped through the air and like magic the fences dropped down and closed in the clearing.

Immediately the clubs and swords jumped out of the trees.

‘Let’s play!’ Pan yelled.

You watched the pirates pull out their swords and listened to their war cry as the much anticipated battle finally began.

All you wanted was to be in the middle of it, but you had to keep your eyes sharp, that was your job; make sure none of your own were killed in the scuffle.

So you watched every pirate and followed every arrow to make sure only pirates were hit by them.

At the left you saw Tootles fighting with one man while another was behind, his sword ready to stab the boy in the back so you shot out your hand and used your magic to yank the pirate all the way back to your tree.

His back hit the bark with a loud crack that came from either his skull or his spine cracking, either way he was certainly not getting up ever again.

Without taking a moment to think of the first man you’ve ever killed you got back to following the battle.

A few arrows were missing targets and planting themselves in trees and in the dirt, whenever you were sure no boys were in immediate danger you would take up the arrows and have them hit any pirates that were near it.

It seemed as if everything was going perfectly, only old fat bodies were on the ground and at least six were dropped by the fences.

You looked to your right and saw Rufio, he was fighting two pirates, moving so swiftly it looked almost graceful. He kicked one down then spun to bring his club down on the other and while he did that you dragged the other and slammed his head on one of the roots of your tree.

All of a sudden you heard a loud crash and the camp went silent.

One of the fences was blown to shreds, you could see a canon where the door once was and saw the last person you ever expected to see on a battlefield.

Wendy.

She was there with her hands tied in a way that kept them over her ears and covering her eyes.

A fat man with a red cap was beside her, with a sword to her throat.

‘Smee, good form.’ Hook said happily.

You looked to Pan and saw he was standing across from the captain, their swords still touching from when they had been battling.

‘Now...how about a new game? I call it Hostage.’

Pan was furious, but if he knew how to do anything it was how to compose himself.

‘That’s cheating.’

‘Pirates aren’t known for following rules. Now how about this we’ll give you your little girl, in exchange you grant us passage off this damned island.’ the pirate smiled.

The fat man in the red hat handed the crying girl to his captain who placed his hook to her throat.

‘If I don’t like the game?’

‘Then I’ll rip this girl’s heart out, in the bloody way. From my understanding she is rather important to you.’

‘It so happens she is.’

‘Take the deal.’ the one handed pirate offered.

‘Deal, there will be a portal just for you in the middle of the sea, but know that I will never open another portal for you again. You will be in the ground feeding the maggots in some boring realm before you ever see the alligator you want.’

‘Oh I will find him, now call off your dogs.’

You looked to Pan, looking for anything, any sign that he had a plan. A sure way to get Wendy away from the pirates and still win this battle.

There was nothing, no knowing smirk or calculating look in his eyes, he just looked furious. Angrier than you have ever seen him before, considering that at one point he had chased you through the woods that said something.

‘Game’s over boys, looks like pirates don’t play fair...bad form.’ he said.

One by one all the boys threw down their weapons and the archers stepped out from their hiding spots, but you stayed put.

You looked over, when you saw something red moving behind the canon that was still smoking behind the fairy tail captain.

Rufio.

He had his club raised high and eyes set on Hook’s head, in an instant you understood his plan, kill the pirate so Pan could get Wendy and we could get back to killing these old geezers.

But unfortunately you weren’t the only one who saw him.

Hook’s namesake was always polished, not for the sake of looks, but to see the reflections of things behind him. It was impossible to not notice such a loudly dressed lad.

Swift as wind he withdrew his hook from Wendy’s neck and before you could even scream in terror he had buried his hook in Rufio’s chest.

‘NO!’ you yelled.

The pirate removed his hook and let Rufio’s body drop to the ground.

You ran through the door of your tree and rushed to your boyfriend’s side, there was so much blood covering his chest you couldn’t see where the wound actually was.

‘No, no it’s OK. I can fix it.’ you said with shaking breath.

You tried to use your magic to heal him, but it wouldn’t work. Your hands were too unsteady and you couldn’t focus on how the body was meant to connect.

‘It’s...ok...Love y-you....’ Rufio choked out before his eyes lost focus and his body went limp.

‘No…’ you sobbed, you placed your forehead to his and tried to force him to be ok, or maybe to make yourself wake up.

Whatever you were trying to do didn’t matter because it didn’t work.

Felix was suddenly by your side, his eyes were wet, but he wasn’t crying.

He placed his hand on your shoulder and kneeled down with you over Rufio.

You didn’t notice it, but the camp had gone silent.

All these centuries of running wild on this island and killing any intruders and this was the first time they had ever lost one of their own.

‘No one else try anything, let me and my men go Pan.’ Hook said, removing the blindfold from Wendy's eyes and hands.

‘Leave the girl, and know that if I ever see you again, on this island or in any realm at all you will be as dead as that brother of yours.’ Pan spat out.

With tears in your eyes you watched the pirates retreat through the woods, a part of you wanted to burn the whole island down but you couldn’t.

Magic required a good amount of control, and you had never felt more unstable in your life.

You couldn’t stop the sobs that were spilling out of you or make your body stop shaking; there was only one thing in your mind.

Rufio was dead.

Your boyfriend had just died in your arms and there was nothing you could do about it no matter how strong your magic was.

Magic can do a lot but not that; dead is dead and it’s forever permanent.

‘(Y/N).’ Peter said solemnly.

‘I couldn’t save him, I saw him making his move and I didn’t stop him.’ you said around the lump in your throat.

‘We all saw him, and we all thought he could do it, it isn’t your fault.’ he said.

All at once it clicked in your head, like the last piece of a puzzle a thought formed in your mind.

Wendy.

‘You!’ you all but growled as you stood up and tackled the only other girl on the island to the ground.

‘You got him killed!’ you screamed in her tear streaked face as you wrapped your hands around her throat.

With all your strength you tried to crush her windpipe; if it was the last thing you did you were going to make her suffer for what she did.

‘(Y/N)!’ Peter yelled as suddenly you were yanked back, partially pulling Wendy with you, but eventually you lost your grip.

With a grunt and a thud that probably sounded worse than it actually felt you hit the ground.

‘I-I’m sorry!’ Wendy coughed, looking as pitiful and as helpless as the insect she was.

‘You will be, I’ll make you sorry!’ you spat as you struggled against the magic weight that was holding your body down.

‘Calm down.’ Peter said, his voice calm and clear as he stood over you.

‘Fuck calm! I want her dead!’

‘So do I.’ Felix said from beside Rufio’s body.

Felix closed his friend's eyes and looked up at his leader.

‘She betrayed us...Rufio is dead because her. She has been prancing through camp being as useless as a leech in dress and none of us said anything to you, but this.’ Felix said, standing up and pointing the body in front of him.

‘We can’t ignore this; and I won’t forgive it.’

More boys spoke in their agreement and soon they were all but spitting at the girl, the sight at one point would have disgusted you, but right now you just want to get up.

‘Quiet!’ Pan yelled, his voice strong and loud.

‘I know...the girl deserves to die, she deserves to die bloody. She is useless and no one likes her, not even me despite what I know you all think; but I still need her. We all do if we want to win the real game.’

The real game.

His master plan, the one he hadn’t even disclosed to you completely, all you knew was the goal, he needed Bae’s child; to get him he needed the Darling boys, and to keep them in line he needed Wendy.

Rufio was dead, his killers were on their way to freedom and all Peter, no not Peter, Pan cared about was his goal.

‘I hate you.’ you said, not even realizing you had said it.

You probably wouldn’t have even noticed your own voice if silence hadn’t become so heavy, as heavy as the weight that was no longer pinning you down.

Slowly you pulled yourself up and you looked at Peter, or Pan or whoever the hell the boy demon really was.

‘Rufio...he fought for you, he killed for you, and because of that stupid daffodil in a dress he died for you. You are so selfish and self concerned that you won’t even avenge him, won’t let me avenge him! He deserves that much!’ you cried.

‘(Y/N) I know right now it feels raw but-’

‘Not just now! I will never forgive this!’ you snapped.

You looked from him to Wendy and had to refrain from attacking her a second time.

‘Hide her, don’t ever let me see her face because if I do I will kill her...the same goes for you Pan.’

‘What are you saying?’ Peter asked, still masking his emotions in that way that not even you could see through it.

‘I’m saying that I hate you Peter Pan and if I ever see you again I will put you in the fucking ground...you and your little daffodil.’ you said.

Your eyes moved to the boys, the ones you had been laughing and training with for what must have been nearly a century now.

‘Only love for you all, if any of you ever find me I won’t be sore to see you; and if you’re following orders to find me I’ll fight you fair. Keep each other safe...since we can see vengeance is only priority in the right circumstance.’

You looked down at Rufio and again your vision was obstructed by tears.

‘Bury him by my tree, Felix.’

‘I will.’ your best friend without any hesitation

With that done you felt like you had said all you could say, so you turned away from all of them,

From Rufio’s body, your ex Peter Pan, the girl who’d gotten your boyfriend killed and all your friends too.

You look out at the woods and spare no time to think of all the dangers that hid behind the trees as you walked away from what was once your home.

[crybabytoy59]

M&S shopping trip....

That morning was like any other for me a short trip to the local food store during this persistent lockdown full of rules & crap lonely times watching endless movies & eating 🤣....As I pushed the trolly thinking I had kind of become almost robotic in my shopping now knowing each shelf & item off by heart I wandered around aimlessly looking at the others masked up doing just as I was when something took my eye ...I figure I noticed in the opposite isle from behind I thought I recognised ? My heart started pounding at the thought, No couldn’t be...so I walked slightly faster with the trolly, as she went around an isle I try’d to catch up but she was gone in the crowd.

Chuckling to my self I resumed my shopping thinking I was being paranoid half way down this isle I felt a hand on my shoulder pull backwards....as I turned I stood speechless.....stunned by who stood before me ! Something Very unexpected happened....I started welling Up !!!

As if reading me she stepped behind me embracing my chest “Hey it Ok”....I truly fought so very Hard.....But she spoke again “Do you need it tighter cuteness” I nodded as the first tear rolled down my cheek...

She hugged me in a very tight embrace bringing back memories flooding through my mind of her love of making me Cry....

“it’s ok cuteness Let go I won’t let you fall....there we go Clever Baby”

I was lost now crying openly as she turned me around “Hey there There now what’s the matter ?”.....I couldn’t speak for the lump in my throat...

But she spoke for us both.....

“Cuteness are you still having those feelings?” I nodded to her....”But I thought you were over them ?.....

I took a Deep Breath ...Th’They came bb’back.....

She put her hand on my trolly “You won’t be needing this cuteness, push mine & Not a word Madam Look at Me ! ....Clever Baby..... Do What Your Told When Your Told ...Ok ?”...I nodded ....as I pushed her trolly she started putting items in that I knew what they were for! She leaned in to my ear after gathering all she needed as we approached the till she spoke “Am going to hurt you for your lies ...But not like before Baby....this time am going to hurt you really really Bad!”..

She smiled to the shop assistant then we left I put her shopping into her car & she opened the back of the car “In we go cuteness ...Are you in a disposable?” I nodded...she simply smiled as she put on my seatbelt “Wet & Mess it before I get you home...As Crybaby Sweetheart You know what happens if You upset Nanny !”

We drove off as I pushed hard knowing I only had a short time....

Nanny was looking in the rear view mirror at me....A wicked smile that gave me shivers as I knew what she was capable of...such Wicked cruelty one could only dream of this girl was A sadistic who knew how to make me terrified of her....As I looked back at her I gave a grunt loudly as She had trained me to Do all those years ago.....

“Clever girlie Crybaby that’s good....All of it you know your to be empty or else !”.....a 20 min trip then her car pulled into her driveway...”Are you excited to be back at Nanny’s house ? (  I nodded to her ) Clever girlie that pleases Nanny as she is Very pleased today has taken such a wonderful turn for you Baby !...Now let’s get you in so Nanny can prepare baby for her evening Punishment session...Yes Baby Girlie Nanny is going to punish You severely for your naughty LIES !!!!!!.....as she knew you still had submissive little feelings.....O’& Crybaby Not a fucking Word ....Only Your Goo’Goos & Ga’ga’s  Or Else Madam !!!”....

She pushed me down her hall way ..then spoke into the special cupboard...yes baby it’s still set up....Nanny will be with you shortly as she has things to prepare Darling”...

As I opened the cupboard a familiar sight greeted me ! My heart now pounding as I crawled into the small cupboard, it was around 4” in height & three foot wide by a foot deep....the back wall had an old wide studded Dog collar screwed to the wall at my neck height, then at my waist height a similarly old padded weight belt was screwed fast to the wall, a leather sleeve hung to the side, just under the weight belt were two more Dog collars attached to climbing arrest pulleys bolted to the wall a meter apart, the loose rope dangling down from each had a loop for pulling....

Holding my right foot as I knelt against the wall I fitted the cuff, then turned to my left cuffing that ankle also I took hold of the two hanging loops ! Taking a Deep Breath I pulled hard in one motion knowing there would be No turning back now. As my legs pulled both out wards & forward into an unnatural bent position at the side of each hip...next came the belt around my waist tightly I was breathing much faster now due to the restraints & the fact I was incredibly excited over doing this again !

Putting the collar on I was now ready for the one last thing pulling my arms up unnaturally I got them into the leather sleeve to the side of me pausing to catch my breath I then pushed Down hard into the sleeve ! Hearing the Zippering behind me ! As my arms were forced into the centre behind my back by the heavy spring that held the sleeve & the zipper !

I was done now....But knowing it was myself that had put these items in place for Nanny, gave me strange pleasure to know she had after All this time Not removed them !...

My thoughts were short lived as Nanny spoke ..

“Clever girlie Crybaby that’s very well done But Nanny just fix you Properly” she pulled hard on the pulleys as I gasped as she pulled on the ropes, she kicked my legs each one in turn so I was spread further apart.

Then Nanny pushed at my inner thigh into the muscle? She picked something up sliding it under each knee, I felt her buckle a leather strap around my lower shin & thigh tightly! Then I heard a clicking sound ? Suddenly I realised what she was doing Nanny had fitted a mechanical spreader bar between my legs & was now spreading them wider ! I squealed loudly as a cramp hit...she then spoke to me “Relax sweetheart & it will pass cutie...she then wrenched the belt up two further notches having me Exhale to get them so tight ! The arm sleeve she put a belt from the collar that had five horizontal belts from around my arms pulling each one until my skin bulged from each I was now whimpering, but this was short lived as she barked at me “Open Wide Crybaby Sweetheart” As I did she fed cotton makeup pads into my cheeks pushed upwards & downwards between my cheeks and teeth !

Agin Nanny spoke to me “lift your younger cutie” she fed a pad each side of my tongue, then lifted a lime it had been cut top & bottom & now had a makeup pad top and bottom to cover each hole.

This she worked into my mouth, then once in she again “Keep your headie backwards looking at me Crybaby!”

She lifted the black rubber with the large stem from in ! ( This item I had made for her from a lorry inner tube, I had cut to fit me perfectly up under my lips & covering my gums, I had glued a foam oval to this that fitted into my fully opened mouth, then over this was glued a bicycle tube much thinner this caused a raised oval around 20mm out just beyond my lips.But the last part was an idea Nanny had when the gag would move sometimes..From a motorcycle tyre tube I had cut a lower jaw mask with a hole at the front for the valve, but due to the very little give in the inner tube this I had found was quite painful to have fitted & removed ! Nanny Was overjoyed the day we first tried it as after fitting it she kissed my cheek as a tear rolled down in Nanny had whispered into my ear there & then...”Crybaby Sweetheart I love what you have done so am going to reward you cute, with Spankings that baby will remember for days...she had not been kidding !) Next she put her knee at my neck holding my head...then spoke

“Here we go Crybaby Sweetheart have you missed your feeding gag ?..I didn’t get a chance to answer as she pulled the cruel rubber over my face it’s crushing force making its self known instantly ! Tugging it into place under my chin till it was just under my nose the rubber curved up the back of my head too a point at the back Then curved downwards too a similar point down my neck at the back !

Now smiling down at me she wound a 4” Wide vet wrap around my head at my mouth, then ran it over my lips & chin !  She stopped briefly to put small buds into my ears then a cotton pad over each ear she wound the Vetwarp over my head under my chin, then forehead, only my eyes & nose were now uncovered, pulling a roll of black electric tape she wound this over my mouth around my head then under my chin over head back up at an angle to the side of each nose crossing between my eyes, the wound around my forehead...I now had a black pvc tape hood !

She patted my New bound form & spoke...

“Much better Crybaby girlie....Ok let’s explain what’s going to happen cutenesses...Nanny is going to finish up with some preparation then she is going out for a while so that will give Baby time to reflect on her Naughty Lies !!!!

Then later Nanny is going to return with some very close friends she has just called to help with your punishment.....& Crybaby I assume you know what Nanny has put in your mouth ? (I gave a Ga’ga ..she giggled at this) Clever girlie so best keep still ...Try to rest cuteness as Trust Nanny You Are Going To Need It Fuck Toy !!!”...lifting the bag with the tube from it She screwed the tube to the valve from my mouth, the little clear rubber oval I could see was frozen..

Behind me I heard a Very familiar sound ! Nanny was peeing into a jug, this was poured into the bag, then Nanny chuckled at my whimpering...

She then simply closed the door enveloping me in darkness, knowing the warmth would soon melt the Ice Dam !!.....What had I done ?????

Suddenly my ears burst into life as I heard familiar Crying ! One of my old recordings ! Nanny loved to record me when I would “Break” then she would play this to me at nights as she slept ! As this made me Very emotional & ready to Cry at the smallest of things....Nanny loved Tears......Deep WKD tears of complete surrender to her will.........now alone I could smell my soiled nappy ..waste & urin filled the small cupboard I tested the bonds, perhaps I could get free as I was Now getting scared Remembering just how Wicked Nanny was......

As I panted in the bonds the bottom pad was getting wet, the lime juice now going to work my mouth started watering wetting All the makeup pads ! As they swelled up I had to swallow my saliva.

This part took great concentration to do so as not to choke! But Nanny had done this

many times until I could do this unsupervised, as I swallowed I could taste something else in the back ground not just the lime...? But was puzzled as my mouth was not yet filling from the piss bag ?

I burst out crying knowing what Nanny had done ..She had threatened me with this punishment but we had never actually carried it out !....Suddenly warmth spread into the wadding & I had to swallow slightly faster...I was now in NO doubt what Nanny had done to the lime !!!!!...I started crying as the recording stole my mind with subliminal messages of old.....

Three hours later I heard the front door then voices but the cupboard remained shut only occasionally could I hear sounds of laughter & banging noises.....a further hour & a half later the door opened....

“Well ladies this is Crybaby....she has been a Very Naughty girlie & Told Lies to Nanny so what do you think ladies shall we give her a Punishment she will remember for a Very long time ?....I heard a strange voice ...

“Crybaby Close those Naughty eyes tightly ! Now Pain Toy !!” Suddenly something was put over my eyes then pulled tightly holding my eyes still in some sort of cups !..

Then I felt the bindings being unfastened as another new voice spoke..

“Crybaby we are going to punish you So bad that You will beg us to be Obedient !!..Have you shit your nappy Crybaby !”....I was smacked very hard on the back of my thigh, even through my jeans it hurt ! As Nanny barked “ Answer Aunty Dee !!” ...I whimpered out a Ga’ga!! The voice spoke again....”Don’t fret Crybaby You won’t be shitting for a few days after we’re done Pain Toy !”

I heard them laughing...as Nanny put a collar & lead on me.....”Heal Pain Toy !....let’s get her prepared ladies !”...

I was tugged along on all fours !!....

[mldrgrl]

Broken Things 11/24

by: mldrgrl Rating: varies by chapter, rated R overall See Chapter 1 for summary and notes

Jack Willis is buried in the boneyard outside of town a week to the day after Mulder and Katherine meet.  Mulder attends the burial, but Katherine does not.  Aside from the gravedigger and the undertaker, no one is there to pay their respects.  Mulder is only there to pay the two men for their time.    

Time has an interesting way of moving.  When Mulder met Katherine, those first few days felt like the longest of his life.  And now weeks slip by and it feels like he needs to slow things down.  He remembers telling her his priority and focus is on the ranch, nothing more, yet now that she’s here, the ranch feels secondary to him in a time where he can’t afford to be distracted.

It’s coming up on October before he knows it and he’s got to get the horses ready to ride out to Fort Worth for the postal service.  If the team he’s built up is satisfactory, there’s more work to be had and a government contract just may be forthcoming.  If that’s not enough to occupy his time, with the new land he has thanks to his wife, he hopes to start in on the expansion before winter sets in.

Katherine fits in so well it’s like he can’t remember a time when she wasn’t there.  He notices that she seems to fill a role with each of the ranch hands.  For Trevor, it’s like the mother he never had.  She darns his socks and patches the holes in his pants and reminds him to wash up for supper.  He ‘yes, ma’am’s’ her more in a day than he’s ever ‘yes, sir’d’ Mulder in five months.

Jesse and Jimmy are often good-naturedly teasing Katherine like a little sister.  They challenge her into imaginary competitions like they bet she can’t drive the carriage in a circle around the barn or they bet she can’t make as good of an apple pie as Melvin or they bet she can’t catch all the suckling pigs in under a minute.  For her part, she seems to enjoy proving them wrong.

Melvin treats Katherine almost reverently, like a father would a daughter.  He speaks of her with pride when he tells Mulder of how she handles the carriage or how she’s put logical sense into the kitchen and the cellar shelves or how she read some beautiful verses from the bible to him.  He notices that Katherine also worries over him like a devoted child as well, telling him to rest more, to sit down, not to overtax himself.

It’s been harder for Mulder to pinpoint the relationship Richard has with Katherine.  Richard keeps to himself most of the time, but he has had the occasion to observe them speaking.  One particular time, they were both crouched low and Katherine was scratching at the dirt with a stick.  Richard was nodding thoughtfully and he moved away looking as though he was in deep contemplation.  Mulder asked Katherine what they were conversing about.

“I asked him to make me a washing line on a pulley,” she said.  “I was explaining where I wanted it, the type of pulley I would need and where the loosener should be fitted.”

“I’m sure he’ll build you a very fine washing line.”

“Oh, I have no doubt.  We were trying to determine which space might maximize efficiency.  There’s a lot to think about; which way the wind is likely to blow, the position of the sun, where to keep the wash basin and ringer, for example.  He’s going to think on it.”

So, Mulder determines that Richard thinks of Katherine like a colleague or an equal.  She’s the one person he’s ever asked for advice from.  If he runs into an obstacle, he seeks her out to talk it through instead of wallowing in self-loathing.  Perhaps if the army had been populated by Katherines, Richard would still be there.

He’s been too busy to take Katherine out on another picnic, but they spend almost every evening sitting on the porch together.  She is usually sewing and he tells her stories about the constellations or reads to her from his favorite book, Gulliver’s Travels.  It’s a good thing she seems to enjoy listening because he’s never met a silence he can’t fill.

He’s packing for the trek to Fort Worth and remembers that Katherine still has his valise.  It’s late, he wonders if she might be asleep, but he can see light coming from under the door, so he knocks quietly.

“Katherine?” he calls, as soft as he can in case he might disturb her.

“You may come in,” she answers.

He opens the door and then cuts his eyes away for a moment when he sees she’s in her nightdress and a robe, sitting at the edge of the bedstead.  “Oh, uh…”

“Yes?”

He looks at her and she’s combing her hair.  He’s never seen it loose before and it’s wildly curled, like endless fiery waves over her shoulders and down her back.  She always keeps it braided and he’s surprised she’s able to tame it so well.  

“I’ll be needing my valise.”

“Oh!”  She sets the comb down on the bed and goes to the wardrobe.  “I should have returned it to you weeks ago.”

“I’ll get you one of your own in Fort Worth.”

“What would I need with a valise?”

“For traveling.”

She hands him the valise and their hands meet on the handle.  She doesn’t let go.  “Traveling?” she asks.  “Am I going somewhere?”

“Maybe one day you might like to take a trip somewhere.  We could take a trip.  A honeymoon, perhaps.”

Her brow shoots up and she releases the valise into his grip.  He feels foolish for saying such a thing and bites his lip for a moment and shakes his head.

“I’m sorry,” he says.  “I only meant that maybe you’d like to accompany me when I need to return east some time.  We could stop in New York City.  See the electric bulbs in the park.”

“You would...you would take me east with you?  To New York City?”

“I’m needed in Boston from time to time and I would love to bring you along.”

“I would like that very much.”

“I wish I could take you with us to Fort Worth.”

“I wouldn’t be able to go anyway.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t have my own valise yet.”  She smiles at him rather coquettishly and he chuckles.

“I will remedy that soon enough.  Do you think you might miss me when I’m gone?”

“I may not have time to miss you.  With half of you gone, I was planning to give the floors a good scrubbing.  Not to mention, Richard is installing my washing line and I hope to get all the bedclothes washed.  And of course there’s-”

“Alright, you can’t wait to see me gone and have me out from underfoot.”

“No, I…”  She pauses, drops her chin and cocks her head to the side just a bit.  “Keeping busy helps take my mind off things like missing people.”

He tries not to smile too broadly, but he knows the grin on his face must look foolish.  He bites his lip and nods.  “I’ll say good night, then,” he says.  “And I’ll let you get back to...your bedtime rituals.”

“Good night.  I will see you in the morning.”

He hesitates and then gestures a sort of farewell with the valise.  As he starts to close the door, he can’t help himself and he stops.  “I will miss you, in case you were wondering.”

“I suggest you try to keep yourself busy, then.”

He chuckles and closes the door behind him.

↭

Katherine is up early in the morning to make breakfast and to pack a nice noon dinner for Mulder, Jesse and Jimmy.  Richard, Trevor and Melvin will be staying behind at the ranch.  Even though she’s up before sunrise, the wagon is already packed and the horses have been saddled and hitched.  The men eat quickly, eager to set out on their journey.  Before they leave, Mulder pulls Katherine aside and gives her a bankroll.

“Don’t think I didn’t remember the first of the month is just a few days away,” he says.  “I assume you’ll want to head into town and see Mr. Skinner about the mortgage due.”

“This looks like more than we agreed to.”

“Well, call it an advance.  There’s a nice little cafe in town.  See if you can’t treat your lady friends to a noon dinner while you’re there.”

She crushes the bankroll in her fist and tries to think of a place she can keep the money safe.  He puts his hat on and then winks at her.

“Keep yourself busy,” he says, and then heads out into the morning light.  She follows to the porch to watch him go.

Jesse is driving the team of horses pulling the wagon and Jimmy rides next to him on the horse they call Faithful Jenny.  Mulder mounts Blondie and turns to give her a wave before he takes the lead on the small party and then they are off and she already feels a pang of longing for him to return.

The first two days, she keeps busy with the scrubbing she’d told him she wanted to do and prepares for a day of heavy laundry.  She helps Richard with the hanging of the washing line and with a few adjustments and tightening of the rope and pulley, it works as smoothly as she’d hoped.

On Friday, she dons the new calico skirt she’s only just finished sewing, a fresh blouse, a pair of black gloves she purchased at the mercantile but has not yet had occasion to wear, and ties on the hat that Mulder gave her the day they married.  She asks Melvin if he could hitch up the carriage for her and though she’s terribly nervous about her first foray into town by herself, she knows she can do it.  She’s put in a good amount of training with Melvin learning how to drive these last few weeks and there has to be a first time for everything.

Lady is ready and waiting with the carriage when she comes outside after having secured her money into a hidden pocket she’s sewn into her skirt.  She’s more afraid of losing the money or having it stolen off of her than she is for problems driving the carriage.

“You sure you don’t want me to ride with you?” Melvin asks.  “I can saddle up George and follow you even, if’n you’d like me to do that.”

“I’ll be fine,” she says.  “I’m just going to go to the bank and drop in on Mrs. Byers and Mrs. Doggett.  I’ve boiled some eggs and took out some canned pears.  There’s enough salt pork left to fry up.”

“Don’t worry about the kitchen today, go have yourself a nice time in town.  But, if’n you’re not back here before the sun drops west, I’m comin’ out there after you.”

“Lady, walk on now.  I’ll be back soon!”

She can scarcely believe she’s driving a carriage on her own, making her way into town, and yet she is.  Even Lady seems to sense her excitement and prances down the road in a nice, quick trot.  Katherine smiles when she passes the trees she recognizes from her picnic with Mulder.  Her arms are tired by the time she makes it into town, but she feels exhilarated by her accomplishment.

“Well done,” she tells Lady after tying her to the post and rubbing her cheek.  Lady nods and shakes her head.

The bank is busier than when she was there before.  The teller is assisting a man at the window and two others wait behind him.  One of them nods and tips his hat to her when she walks in.  She waits as well and looks past the line to see if she can spot Mr. Skinner, but his office door is closed.  She becomes a little anxious when she waits, not sure of what she is to say to the teller.  She thought she might just walk in and be able to speak with Mr. Skinner.  Soon, it’s her turn and she steps up to the window and then fumbles for the money concealed in her pocket.

“I am here to pay my mortgage due,” she says.

“Name on the account,” the teller asks.

“Um, Jack Willis, I believe.”

“One moment.”

The teller turns away and then opens a box.  He takes out a stack of small cards which he quickly shuffles through and removes one.  He returns to the window and takes up a pen that he dips in ink.

“Ten dollars and sixty cents,” he says as he’s writing on the card.

Katherine carefully counts out eleven dollars and then slides it into the tray at the window.  The teller counts it as quickly as he shuffled the cards and he puts it into another tray below the counter.  He slides forty cents change back to her and the card as well.

“Sign, please,” he says.

She hesitates with the pen in her hand.  She does not know what name to write.  Should she sign Katherine Willis, or Katherine Mulder?

“You can mark an ‘x’ if you are illiterate,” he says.

“No, I am not illiterate,” she answers.  “I was recently remarried, I am unsure if I should sign with that name.”

“Who’s your husband?”

“William Mulder.”

“Wait here.”

She begins to feel nervous all over again.  Another man has come into the bank as she’s been at the window and is now waiting for her to finish.  She doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know if she should leave and come back, but the teller told her to wait and so she waits.  She starts to perspire and she loosens the tie on her hat.  She whirls around when someone says her name.

“Mrs. Mulder,” Walter Skinner says.  “I’m glad you’ve come by.”

“You are?”

“I’ll take it from here, Mr. Crawford.”  He takes the card from the counter and gestures for Katherine to go ahead of him to his office.  She returns the pen and then goes with Mr. Skinner.  He makes an imposing figure and rather reminds her of her father, which makes her all the more nervous.

“Is something the matter?” she asks, taking a seat in front of his desk.

“Not at all.  Mr. Mulder was in earlier this week before his trip out to Fort Worth.  I just have a paper here for you to sign adding you to his account.”

“Adding me to his account?  What does that mean?”

“It means you are able to make deposits or withdrawals on your husband’s account, provided we have your signature on file.”

She stares at him, incredulous.  She doesn’t even know what name she should sign with to pay her mortgage and now she’s expected to have access to a bank account?

“I have my own money here,” she says.  “I don’t think I need Mulder’s account.  Do I?”

“He added your name on Monday and asked that when you came in to make the mortgage payment that I have you sign the paperwork.”

“I must confess this is all very new to me, Mr. Skinner.  I’m not even sure if I’m supposed to sign this card as Katherine Willis or Katherine Mulder.”

“That card just keeps a record of the payments.  My teller signs it saying he received the money and you sign it saying you paid it.  You don’t have anything to worry about there, but I think that you should go ahead and sign as Katherine Mulder from now on.”

She nods and he gives her a pen to sign the card.  It’s the first time she’s written her married name on anything and it feels strange.  She never did get accustomed to being Mrs. Willis, but when Skinner had called her Mrs. Mulder earlier, she answered without hesitation.  She hands him the card and he passes her the paper she’s to sign for Mulder’s account.

“And just so you’re aware,” he says.  “I expect the transfer of your lease to be returned by next week.  It will be filed under your joint account, so be sure to request the mortgage under your own name next time.”

“I will remember.  Thank you for helping me, Mr. Skinner.”

“It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Mulder.”

She leaves the bank with much less of a triumphant feeling than she felt in successfully driving the carriage.  In fact, she feels as though she has hardly taken a breath in that whole time.  She steps down to Lady and rests her forehead against the horse’s neck and strokes her mane.

“We’ve done it,” she whispers to the horse.

“Katherine?”

Katherine steps back from the horse and turns towards the voice that called her name.  She sees Monica Doggett hurrying towards her across the dirt road, waving to her.  She waves back.

“I thought that was you,” Monica says, greeting Katherine with a warm embrace.  “It’s so good to see you.”

“Yes, you as well, Mrs. Doggett.”

“Ach, Monica, please.  Mrs. Doggett is my mother-in-law and trust me, there’s only room enough in this world for one Mrs. Doggett.”  Monica laughs and squeezes Katherine’s hands.  “What brings you to town?”

“I had a banking matter to attend to.”

“Are you here long?”

“Actually, I’m glad I ran into you.  I wasn’t sure how to find you, but I was just on my way to drop in on Susannah Byers and I thought she might know.”

“We’re down on this road if you keep going over the bridge ahead.  Can’t miss it.  If I’m not there, it’s probably because I’m running something over to John.”

“I’ll remember that.  Mulder told me there was a cafe in town and I should invite you and Susannah for a noon dinner.  I’d understand if you’re busy with chores or errands though.”

“Are you kidding?  I would love nothing more.  And if I know Susannah, she will be absolutely delighted by the offer.  Is this your carriage?  Did you drive in all on your own?”

“I did.  Though Lady did most of the work.”

“How thrilling.  Shall we?”

Katherine climbs up into the carriage and Monica hops up next to her in the passenger seat.  It takes nothing but a few minutes to end up at the mercantile and Monica steps down first and waits at the foot of the porch steps for Katherine.

John Byers is standing before a display table with a clipboard and pencil, taking notes.  He smiles when the ladies come in and puts the pencil behind his ear.

“Good morning, ladies,” he says.

“Mr. Byers,” Katherine answers.

“We’ve come to collect your wife,” Monica says.  “You won’t mind if we borrow her for a bit to have dinner at the cafe, do you?”

“Not at all.  Let me go and get her.”

“Oh, how darling.”  Monica holds up a knitted pair of baby booties that she picks up from a table.  “Sometimes I sure can’t believe my little ones used to fit into socks this small.”

“You have children?”

“Two.  Luke and Sarah.  Sarah just turned nine and Luke will be fifteen in just a couple weeks.  Do you have any children?”

“No.”

“Well, there’s plenty of time.  And when that time does come, I promise I’m the best midwife all of Texas has to offer.”

Katherine gives Monica a polite smile.  “I’m certain you are.”

“Oh my word, is it true?”  Susannah comes bustling into the storefront, throwing off an apron that she carelesses flings in her husband’s direction.  John catches it with one hand.  “We’re going to go out to dinner?  Is that right?  Oh, let me get my hat.  John, how could you let me walk out without my hat!  I’ll hurry back.  Don’t go nowhere you two!”

Monica laughs and then winks at Katherine.  “I told you Susannah would be delighted.”

When Susannah returns, the three ladies head out of the store and Susannah leads the way down the boardwalk to the cafe.  Katherine worries a little about leaving the horse and carriage, but Susannah tells her not to fret that it’ll be fine where it is.  They’re seated next to a window at a table for four and after ordering some cold cut sandwiches and lemonades, Susannah and Monica start to gossipping about people Katherine has never heard of.  She’s content to listen to the conversation and doesn’t mind that she isn’t required to participate.

“Oh, but listen to us,” Susannah says.  “We’re being rude.  Katherine, I haven’t even asked after your husband or how you’re faring out on the ranch.”

“Mulder is well.  He’s in Fort Worth right now to take a team of horses to the United States post office.”

“You didn’t join him?” Monica asks.  “When John and I were first married, I’m telling you he couldn’t hardly walk down the road without pulling me along.”

“I’d much rather stay behind anyway.  There’s so much to tend to at the ranch and...well, the truth of it is, I would just like to stay put for awhile.  That was one of the reasons I married Mulder in the first place.  To just...to just stay still.”

“You did a lot of traveling around with your first husband, didn’t you?” Susannah asks.

“Too much.  In four years I don’t think we were ever in the same place for more than a few weeks.  And then we ended up here and it was like there was nowhere left to go.”  

Monica nods and then she reaches across the table and puts her hands over Katherine’s. “I did have the occasion to meet Jack Willis once,” she says, petting Katherine’s hand lightly.  “He had the blackest aura I’ve ever seen.  You must have been miserable.”

“It wasn’t a very happy marriage. ��I don’t know what an aura has to do with that.  I don’t even know what an aura is.”

“Oh, Lord, Monica, not the auras!”  Susannah throws her hands up, but chuckles.

“There’s a belief that all people put off energy,” Monica says.  “Like a candle putting off heat.”

“Monica is an enthusiast of alternative ideas.”

Monica laughs.  “John was posted in San Francisco for a few years and I met the most fascinating people there that believe in some of the most extraordinary things.”

“We had a preacher come through here once that called her a heretic,” Susannah adds.  “In the middle of a sermon.”

“Well, he shouldn’t have become a preacher if he didn’t want to answer questions.”

Katherine looks between the two women and shakes her head.  “Energy is the quantitative property that must be transferred to an object in order to perform work on the object,” she says.  “Like measuring the temperature required to boil water.”

Monica glances at Susannah and she shrugs.  “I don’t know what any of that means,” Susannah says.  “I just turn the stove on and wait for the bubbles.”

“Have you ever gotten a bad feeling when you meet someone for the first time?” Monica asks.  “Or even a really good feeling?”

“Yes.”

“You’re feeling their energy.  Auras are like...I suppose they’re like a way of measuring a person’s disposition.”

“I don’t know how you would measure a feeling.”

“Auras are the colors of the energy that people put off.  Some people are lucky enough to see them.”

“And you’re one of those people?”

“I am.  Anyone can see them though if they want to.  It’s about opening yourself up to possibilities.”

“How does one open oneself up to possibilities?”

“I think it starts with inner peace.  Really letting go of fear and doubt and not worrying so much about the past or the future and being extremely present in the moment.”

“I see.”

“Your husband is mostly blue, but there is some red there too.  He’s very compassionate, loyal, trustworthy, and nurturing, but also driven and hard-working.”

“I don’t really think you need an aura to tell you that.  Just as I don’t think you need an aura to tell you that Jack was surly and unpleasant.”

“No, but I could tell right away, even without knowing you, that you and Mulder belong together.  You can’t tell me you weren’t drawn to him immediately, even if you didn’t know why.”

“I was intrigued by him, I will admit that.”

“And you knew he was someone you could marry even though you’d only known him for a day.”

“But, she didn’t really have much of a choice in that,” Susannah interjects.

“I did though,” Katherine confesses.  “He offered me money for my land, land I didn’t even own, and he said he would help me start out somewhere if I wanted.”

“And you chose to marry him.”  Monica smiles.

“He was kind to me when he didn’t have to be.  I know I didn’t know hardly anything about him, but still I felt...very fond of him.”

Monica nods knowingly.  “Your auras.”

“I’m a yellow,” Susannah says.  “But, Monica, you haven’t said what Katherine is.”

“Would you like to know?”

“You might as well tell me.”

“You are almost equally tan and crystal.  Which means you’re very private, cautious and practical.  And you’re a healer.”

All of those things are true, but Monica could come by those conclusions without more than a few minutes conversation with her.  The part about being a healer though, that is a little disturbing.  The waiter comes over with their tray of sandwiches and lemonades and the conversation falls to the wayside.  Katherine wonders what color Monica is, but doesn’t want to ask, lest Monica think she somehow believes in that kind of foolishness.  People emitting colors?  How absurd.

[natequarter]

the maiko tangled au several people asked for

There are rumours of a missing baby, of the Crown Prince in absentia.

It's been years - sixteen years, to be precise - and nobody has heard a word.

The Fire Lord is a hopeful sort of man, and lights lanterns every year in order of a boy most people don't know the name of. Mai, a cynical girl on the run, doesn't give a damn about possibilities when there's cold hard cash to be stolen and rich assholes to cheat out of all their money.

-

She doesn't strictly mean to steal the ostrich-horse, the same way she doesn't strictly mean to break into a tower in the middle of a forest because she was trying to keep Azula's cronies off her tail.

(How long have they been in the criminal underground, children trying to escape their horrible parents? She doesn't recall, and has no nostalgia for their childhood.)

-

The boy with the firebreathing thing on his shoulder knocks her out cold.

-

"Huh-"

"Don't touch me!" The boy - what even is his name? - darts around the room. Fucking lightweight. He wouldn't stand a chance against old Azulon's spies, or Azula and Ty Lee if they ever stopped trying to kill each other.

"I wa-"

"You have knives up your sleeves."

She glares. "And you know that how...?"

He winces.

"Oh no. What did you do."

"I kind of... stole all your knives?"

She tries to lunge for her knives, but he flies out of the way like some sort of acrobat (like Ty Lee), evading her grasp. Her weight pulls her over, and it's that that forces her to realise she's tied to a chair.

"Unhand me!"

"I mean, I could cut off your hands," he says, "but that seems kind of overboard."

It's then that she realises his hair, tied in a high ponytail, extends not down to his black hanfu as she'd previously thought, but down beyond his legs, winding around the room like a bizarre pulley system.

In fact, the room is extremely tall, and narrow, and climbing up here was definitely a mistake.

Funny, he looks like Azula when he squints like that.

Asides from the scar, what's up with his face?

"Don't do that, actually."

He still looks spooked. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"Mai. I'm, uh..." She tries to think of an acceptable lie. "I juggle knives. With my friend, Ty Lee."

He believes it, thank Agni.

-

"Who are you?" It's accusatory. She doesn't care.

"Zuko." His name, his features... they should remind her of someone, but she has no idea who.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you, I don't know... have parents."

He shrugs. "I have my grandfather. Sometimes he goes out for a few days."

"Don't you ever go with him?"

"No? I've never been outside. It's dangerous." He pauses for effect. "I could die."

She snorts. "You? You could die? Please, any attacker would die of shame. You're far too pretty to be killed."

"Um, thanks?"

"I could show you outside, you know. Nobody murders kids like you out there."

"Really?" He looks thrilled. "But... my grandfather."

"You'd be back in time," she lies.

"Then why not?" He practically jumps out the tower.

Mai likes him.

-

"Whoa! What's this?" Zuko grabs a handful of plants. "It's so soft, and... green." The animal on his shoulder breaths sparks, and the leaves combust.

"That's leaves. And plants." She runs a hand through her short hair. It still sticks up an inordinate amount.

"Plants are cool."

Not all of them. She sighs. "if you insist."

The ostrich-horse she tied to the tower beckons; Mai gestures to it. "Fancy a ride?"

"'Course!"

Mai lifts him on, and rides.

(She pretends not to notice how her breath hitches at his touch.)

-

"Get her!"

Yelling, Azula's gang probably. Mai ignores it, steering the animal as fast as she can towards an inn. This bunch are Ozai's territory. Neutral territory, at least as far as Mai is concerned.

"Why does that weird girl with the knife want to get you?" Zuko yells in her ear. She'd forgotten she'd stolen Azula's crown. Oh well.

"Long story!"

"Are you a criminal?"

"Not the time!"

-

What can save you from a gang of criminals, if not a boy with a dragon and a good singing voice? She makes a note to ask the name of the damn thing before it burns her clothes off.

"-And I have a dream!" she finds herself yelling with the crowd. It's true. She does have dreams, buried under her mother's disapproval though they may be.

"What's your dream, Mai?" Zuko asks.

"I want to be..." The truth is, she once wanted to be a princess. Ridiculous. "Free."

"That's boring and doesn't have any lanterns involved though!"

"Lanterns?"

"Long story. Some other time?"

"I guess."

She looks away from Zuko (Agni, was she staring?) to find a pub of angry villagers.

Whoops.

-

"Are you, like, a murderer?" he yells.

"No, I just publicly betrayed and consequently got humiliated and disowned by everyone who knew me."

"Well who in all of Oma and Shu did you know to get such a bad reaction?"

"A princess!"

"You're a princess?"

"No, the girl I betrayed was. I'm just a noble. Well, ex-noble. If we're doing life stories, can I ask why you have a horrible scar on your face?"

"Druk burnt me."

"Druk?"

"Yeah." He lifted up the lizard thing.

"It's called Druk? I was calling it Lizzie." Zuko shot her a look. "Short for Lizard?"

"No?"

Zuko just stares.

-

Being on the run is hard. Being on the run from Azula's forces with a boy with ridiculously long hair is harder. Nearly drowning in a cave is definitely hardest.

Events move too fast for her to count; before she knows it, she's sitting in the Caldera braiding Zuko's hair. It's struck through with gold, she notices, and when he sings the strands glow. Some people would find this romantic. Mai finds it weird.

But he looks pretty in the sun, and he looks even prettier with his ridiculously long hair braided to perfection. She threads firelilies through it. Zuko grins.

"You like that, huh?"

"It looks cute!"

"It does."

"Just like you, Mai."

She blushes furiously, trying not to stutter. "Th-thanks."

-

Mai quickly regains her composure. "Anything you'd like to do tonight? Other than the festivals."

"I'd like to see the lanterns. Grandfather says they're on the same day as my birthday, so I like seeing them."

"I can do that, I guess."

"Thanks, Mai."

Anything for you, she almost says.

-

The man holding Mai by the wrists is a creep, she knows that. "What do you want with me? With him?"

"I want to live forever!" He snarls. "His hair keeps me young, see."

"No, I don't see."

"Enough with the sass." The ropes dig into her hands.

"Let me go!"

"Not until I get Zuko back. Come out, come out, wherever you are..."

Nothing.

"The nation is waiiiiting! For their prince!"

A series of things click into place, all at once. The lanterns. His absence. Who her captor is.

Zuko.

Prince Zuko, who looks like Azula and has been missing for exactly sixteen years...

What luck.

Mai doesn't have the chance to entertain fighting back before she's falling to the floor, from her precarious position. The man below her hits the ground with a thud, and she feels something break both within her and below her.

"No!"

Agonised screams, Zuko, hair and glowing and singing and-

Darkness.

-

"Mai!"

She wakes up, head aching. "...Zuko?"

"You were - you were dead-"

The first thing she notices is his hair. "Was I?"

"Yes! You were! Don't do that again."

"Sure," she says. "I won't."

-

"These are the lanterns, Zuko."

"My lanterns." The bastard is smug. Then again, he did give up some damn good hair to save her life. Fair trade.

"They look beautiful."

"I have to agree. And," he says, illuminated by moonlight, "so are you."

She stares, and then snaps out of it, and leans in to kiss him. Now that will wipe the smirk off his face.

[ahecktonoffandomsinoneblog]

The Crows

Modern au i wrote that i may or may not add more to later

Inej works at a cafe (she didn't always but she did now)

Jesper used to work in a casino but now he only gambles there

Kaz works for himself

And who knows how much trouble they still manage to get themselves into?

Snippet:

“Inej?” said Jesper, leaning against the elevator doors. “You good up there?”

The doors squeaked open, and Jesper tipped over onto the floor.

“I’m fine, Jesper. Thank you,” she shot Kaz a look, “for asking.”

“This,” said Inej, “is a bad idea. What sort of-”

“Idiot,” said Jesper into the pause. "Idiot works great here."

“Thank you, Jesper.” she turned back to Kaz. “What sort of idiot makes a plan so profoundly stupid that we all end up stuck in an elevator at two in the morning?”

“Only one made on the-

Inej cut him off. “-on the streets. Yes, Kaz, we know. We grew up on the streets too, and you don’t see us-”

Kaz’s lips twitched. “Stuck in an elevator? Funny, I could swear you said you were stuck in one only a moment ago.”

“You’re stuck,” said Inej. She pulled herself up the wall of the elevator and pushed one of the ceiling panels away. “I’m not.”

Jesper sighed. “She works in a cafe, where did she learn to climb like that?”

“It’s a temporary job,” Inej called down the shaft. “It’s not my favorite line of work, and it's not the only one I've done.”

Jesper raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to work in a place where all you do is walk around and give people things either. Sounds boring.”

“First of all, Jesper, that is not my reason. Second of all, I think if you ever actually tried being a waiter, you’d find it a lot harder-”

“Quiet. Someone’s coming.” Kaz turned to the door, holding his cane.

“How can he hear that? We’re stuck in an elevator, and he can-”

“Quiet, Jesper,” said Inej and Kaz at the same time.

“Fine. But only for a bit.”

No one spoke for five minutes, and Inej was too good at silence for either Kaz or Jesper to tell if she was still climbing the elevator shaft.

“Inej?” said Jesper, leaning against the elevator doors. “You good up there?”

The doors squeaked open, and Jesper tipped over onto the floor.

“I’m fine, Jesper. Thank you,” she shot Kaz a look, “for asking.”

“Come on, Jesper. We don’t have all night.”

“Of course not.” Jesper pushed himself to his feet. “And a special thank you for everyone who asked about my well-being. I only fell a few feet onto the floor. Not to worry.”

“Don’t worry yourself, Jesper,” called Inej, turning to face him from the other end of the hallway. “If you had been hurt, we would have been worried. You’re just being dramatic.”

Kaz sighed through his nose. “Hurry.���

Jesper ignored him. “I quite like being dramatic, thank you.”

“So does Kaz, but at least he’s not slowing us down.”

Jesper gasped in horror. “He just got us stuck in an elevator, and I’m the one slowing you down?”

“At the moment, Jesper, the answer is yes. If you walk any faster, that might change.”

“Shut up, Kaz. You’re the reason we got stuck in an elevator in the first place.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Both of you, quiet. There’s someone around the corner. Silent feet don’t do me any good when you two are making such a racket.”

Jesper opened his mouth to respond, but Kaz cut him off with a look before he could.

A moment later, Kaz and Jesper turned the corner to find Inej sliding an unconscious guard’s body against the wall. She didn’t glance back at them as she spoke. “We’ll have to hurry. There’s no place to put him, and out in the open, someone will find him soon.”

Kaz shook his head. “What did I tell you? Both of you,” he added once he saw Jesper jokingly imitating his head-shaking. “Walk faster.”

Something clattered to the floor behind them, the trio turning as the object echoed. It was the guard’s spare set of keys; they had fallen from his pocket to the floor.

Kaz turned to Jesper and Inej. “Hurry faster.”

They hurried faster.

----

Twenty minutes later, Inej was carefully lifting a large section of window away from the rest. Jesper was out standing guard, and Kaz was in the main office, flipping through files and ledgers.

Another moment and the glass was on the floor underneath the window, hidden from the view of anyone getting inside.

The sound of Kaz’s cane as he walked, and Kaz himself appeared around the corner. “Positions, everyone. They’re on their way.”

Inej, using the cracked brick of the walls as footholds, pulled herself up to the ceiling and held herself there while Jesper - who had been right behind Kaz - hid in the next room. He was followed by Kaz, who gave her a single, solemn nod before shutting the door and using a magnet to slide the lock shut from inside. It wasn’t a complicated lock - or a complicated trick - but it would be enough to fool anyone else.

A moment of quiet breathing, and the sounds of a small group of people climbing the rooftops feet away grew in volume.

“Hey, look,” one of them said. “They were really so stupid as to leave their way in open.”

Another one laughed. “Makes it easier for us, so I’m not complaining.”

Inej smiled as they climbed in. So far, so good. But she still needed them further inside.

“What’s this?” said a third, staring at the floor. He looked up as his companion stepped through the window after him. “Wait, hold on-”

But it was too late. The glass shattered on the floor, scattering in all directions like they had kicked it in.

She glanced at the window itself, eyes passing over the jagged edges that would complete the illusion of them shattering the glass. She had to admire Kaz’s plan, even if it had gotten them stuck in an elevator earlier. Tricking their rival crew into walking into a trap like it was their salvation made for an interesting night.

The crew muttered and complained quietly, but they moved on. They had all worn sturdy boots and thick gloves - one for the climb, one for the cold - so they hadn’t cut themselves. That was fine. She didn’t need them to.

They walked past her, trying the door to the room Kaz and Jesper were in once before they discovered it locked. “They could be hiding in there,” said one.

The others laughed. One said, “Of course, of course. Dirtyhands locked himself in a room to hide? He’s smart, not an idiot.”

Her smile, which had faded, returned grimly. Kaz Brekker was no idiot; he just knew when other people were.

She dropped down behind them. None of them turned as she did. Silently - quickly - she slipped into a corridor they had passed a moment before and raced through it. She needed to get to the office before they did to make sure the trap was set properly. While she monitored them, Kaz and Jesper would be slipping into the auxiliary office - also known as the records department - and stealing the goods they were here for before climbing out the window to meet her at the rendezvous point.

But first, she needed to spring the trap.

The walls blurred around her as she sprinted past them. She reached an intersection and pushed off the floor, foot landing on the wall and pushing again to keep her momentum going. The office wasn’t far, but she needed to get there enough in advance to climb to the ceiling.

The office door loomed in front of her and she sped in, slowing enough to turn and climb the wall above the door. The office had been designed extravagantly, with tall ceilings accenting the lavish furniture. She thought it looked lovely, but in the end it was a waste. That wealth could be going to better places than to double-cushion one man’s chair.

She reached the ceiling just as the rival crew walked in. She could tell they were trying to mask their footsteps, but they were doing a poor job of it. A poorer job at it than her, anyway.

Don’t get full of yourself, Inej. Arrogance is as good as a death sentence.

If she wanted to make it out of here in one piece, she’d need to listen to that voice. For weeks they had been pitted against this same crew. Job after job they’d ended up chasing after them, watching as they grew to be known the “Better of the Crows.” It didn’t win them fame, necessarily. But it won them respect, and cost her, Jesper, and Kaz, some as well.

So Kaz had hatched this plan. He’d designed a trap within a job they’d been offered hours before, intending to teach their rival crew a lesson. So here they were - here she was - waiting from the shadows.

The crew reached the far side of the room, coming close to where the desk was located. She held her breath, praying the - literal - trap would work as planned.

It did. The crew huddled around the desk, watching as one of them - their leader - pulled open the largest drawer. As he did, a loud snap echoed throughout the room as the pulley system built on the ceiling activated, throwing a weighted net over them.

While they struggled with that, Inej took a deep breath and held it, dropping a small canister onto the floor below here. The room filled with smoke, and her arms shook as she dropped to the floor. She grabbed the robe at her waist and used one of her knives to cut it into pieces large enough to tie them up with.

Still holding her breath, she bound their hands and feet together tightly, tying one rope around the lot of them to make it harder for them to move.

The smoke finished dissipating just as she finished, and she ducked out the door - setting a small piece of paper on the desk as she did - while they were still coughing the smoke from their lungs. She hoped they had been too busy for them to have gotten a good look at her.

She ran through the halls once again, using the walls to keep her momentum going around corners. Kaz and Jesper should be done by now. They were supposed to have finished grabbing what they needed ten minutes earlier, but that meant they would still be on their way to the rendezvous point.

She slid on the floor at the sharp sound of gunfire, turned her nose at the scent of smoke in the air. She glanced behind her, then up, but no one was there. No bullet hole, either.

That meant Kaz and Jesper had gotten themselves into trouble of their own.

Saints, she thought. What would it take for one plan to go right?

She turned the next corner slowly, drawing two knives as she did. Standing in back to her at the far end of the corridor was an unfamiliar form - dressed in black - holding a gun. On the other side of them was Jesper and Kaz, with their weapons drawn too.

Kaz was frowning; she knew it was because of the gunshot. She was sure he had been expecting something to go wrong, but the idea was to be as discreet as possible. That, and no witnesses. They’d already failed at achieving two of those goals tonight.

She stepped forward to deal with the person, but a voice from behind said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, girl. Not unless you feel like getting rid of your head.”

She turned slowly and found another unfamiliar face staring back at her, a gun pointed at her head. She looked to Kaz, finding him already staring at her. He nodded, just once, and she moved at the same time Jesper did.

She ducked and reached up with her arm, aiming the gun at the ceiling before hitting the person hard enough to knock them out. She turned to find the other unfamiliar face unconscious as well, Jesper standing over him and grinning like a fool.

He caught her watching him, gave her a wink, and turned back to Kaz. “I like them much better when they’re unconscious.”

Kaz stared at them for a moment. “I share the sentiment, but you know what we have to do.”

Jesper nodded grimly. “No witnesses, else the entire plan fails.”

Inej pressed her lips into a line, but she nodded. She had her reasons for being here, but that didn’t mean she had to enjoy everything about the jobs.

They dragged the bodies over to the window, doing their best to make it look like they had encountered the other crew when they had “broken in.” When Kaz - who had been standing off to the side while Jesper and Inej dragged the bodies - was satisfied with the arrangement, he raised his eyebrows and gestured at the window.

“Why can’t he speak like a normal person? There’s no need for it, so why does he do it?”

“He says he does everything only as he needs to,” muttered Inej, loud enough for Kaz to hear. “But really he loves the dramatic flare as much as you, Jesper.”

“I do not,” said Kaz.

Jesper grinned. “There goes Dirtyhands, lying again.”

They reached the edge of the rooftop terrace outside the window, and they looked at each other in farewell before heading their own ways.

"No mourners," said Inej.

"No Funerals."

----

The next morning, notorious gambler Jesper Fahey and mysterious businessman Kaz Brekker met for coffee at a quiet cafe on the outskirts of the city. They paid a little extra to let Inej Ghafa’s boss allow her to have a cup with them while they read the paper.

“Failed break-in,” read Kaz. “Two dead, thieves responsible were caught but claim innocence.”

“Did they wonder why two random people were on the scene?” asked Inej.

Kaz looked at her. “Random people?”

“The two- Kaz Brekker, I will steal Jesper’s guns and shoot you in the face. They were guards?”

“Off-duty, but yes. There was a plausible reason for them to have been on the scene.”

Jesper grinned. “Brilliant. Now read the next one. The second one is always the best.”

“Criminal pests finally caught. Torment of city over.”

They looked at each other, and even Kaz couldn’t help a quick grin.

“What do you think,” said Jesper. “Is this city’s torment over yet?”

Inej thought of her family, desperate to escape a war that had taken over their home across the sea. Thought of the cost of the travel, of the wealth held by so few who used it for nothing but their own gain.

No. This city’s torment wasn’t over just yet.

[thatgoblin]

Taken

A Zemo/Reader fic

Summary: To get to Zemo, John Walker takes someone precious to him to lure the Baron out.

Warnings: Kidnapping, slight violence, implied death

No smut this time around, just some hurt comfort. ^-^

Words: 2668

One moment you were closing at a café in Switzerland, the next moment a handsome blond man with an American accent was asking for you by name. You didn’t recognize him at all, but your gut was telling you something was off about the man. He was fidgety, almost like he was nervous or on something. While you finish closing the shop, he continues to talk to you about needing your help in finding someone. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I can be much help,” you say as you put the last of the chairs in place.

“I’m sure if you knew who I was looking for, you’d be able to help me find them,” he says, pushing the subject as he steps closer to you. You took notice, remembering the quickest distance to the back door. There was really only one person that you could maybe help find and that would be a big Maybe. “I’m looking for Baron Helmut Zemo. I’m pretty sure you would know where to find him.”

“Again, I’m sorry, but I don’t know a Baron or anyone by that name,” you say, trying to keep your nerves calm. The last time you spoke to Helmut was a month ago on a phone call. He’d been in prison for acts of terrorism, but you still loved him. Even when he took a darker path to deal with the loss of his family and country, you stood by him as everyone had abandoned him to rot in a German prison as if he’d be in the complete wrong. 

The two of you had met shortly after he and his wife had separated amicably. While they were still legally married, they lived in different homes while both raising their son. It wasn’t your place to judge and you had loved the boy as if he was your own. A year later Sokovia was destroyed and both of your worlds shattered. While you tried to keep moving forward, doing your best to help, Helmut couldn’t cope. Revenge was all he wanted, even above you. After he was arrested, you found out from the news and then a phone call. Slowly, the two of you rekindled your love into something new. There was no way to get back what you had, but it was something at least and it was something you could live with.

“I’m pretty sure you do. I looked at his prison call logs and there’s only ever one person who he calls and that’s a number listed under your name,” the man says, holding up sheets of paper with your number listed for numerous calls. 

“If you know he’s in prison, then you know where he is. Now, I’m closing, so please leave the store. I have an early morning shift and I’d like to go home,” you say, putting your hands on your hips as you glare at him. 

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I need you to find Zemo for me. Now,” the man says, tucking the papers away before moving closer into your space. “I don’t want to hurt you, but if you don’t get him on the phone now, I won’t have a choice.”

“You should leave, now,” you say as you back away to give you space. “I’ll start screaming and then the police will come.”

The man sighs and shakes his head. Before you open your mouth to alert anyone, he was on you with his hand over your mouth. 

“This wasn’t plan A,” he growls. 

Despite struggling as hard as you can, the man is able to overpower you. It was if you were wrestling a bear, there was no way for you to win. In a few quick movements, his arm was around your neck and squeezing. Just a couple of moments had you black out. 

When you awake again, your head is throbbing and your neck is stiff. Groaning softly, you try to sit up, but find your wrists bound behind your back along with your ankles as you lay on your side. A thick piece of cloth is tied around your mouth tightly, muffling any noises you may make. Whimpering softly, you try to pull and tug to see if there are any weak spots, but the man or whoever has tied them made sure they were not coming off without a knife. Glancing around you see you are in an old factory with high windows that were covered in dust as chains hung from pulleys next to huge vats.

The night air is freezing, your breath visible in big, white puffs. You still don’t know where you have been taken. It wasn’t Switzerland, and while you had worn a coat to work, you were left in your work outfit of skinny jeans and a plain black v-neck tee. The outfit offered little protection from the elements, making you shiver.

“Good, you’re awake,” a voice says, catching your attention. It’s the man from before, but now he’s dressed up in a Captain America suit that had been altered. The image looks like a bastardization of the man Steve Rogers once was. “Now, I’m going to take off the gag. Then I’m going to have you give me a number to reach Zemo. Got it?”

You’re trying not not to panic as thoughts of what was happening run through your mind. Why did he want Helmut? Helmut was in prison, right? What was he going to do to you if you didn’t do what he wanted? What was he going to do to you if you did?

His gloved hand pulls the gag from your lips as he holds up the phone for you to give him the number. It was a long shot, but you had one that he gave you for if anything happened and you needed help while he was locked away. You weren’t sure who would pick up on the other end, but there wasn’t much of a choice. Giving him the number, your heartbeat pounds in your ears as you hear the ringing. 

“Liebling?” A voice says over the phone. Your eyes tear up at the sound of his voice. It had been so long since you’d last been together that just that one word had you nearly falling apart. He sounded excited almost. Had he been waiting for you to call him?

“Unfortunately no,” the man says, putting the phone to his ear. “It seems I did find the easiest way to get to you. I will say you certainly have taste.”

His voice is smug as he smiles down at you. The urge to kick out at him was there, but you also didn’t know how he’d react. Most likely it would be violent. 

“I have something of yours and you have something of mine. Now, we can make a deal for an exchange or I can keep this new toy for myself. I’m sure they’d look real nice with those lips-” The man starts, but is cut off. You can only imagine what Helmut had said to silence him. “I’ll send you the address. You have two hours.” 

The man shuts the phone, ending the call as he squats next to you. 

“Just let me go,” you plea, grunting as you struggle. “Helmut is not someone to play games with. All that will happen is your death.”

“Oh, I doubt it. See, I have something very precious to him. He won’t risk you getting hurt,” the man says. “If he knows what’s good for you and him, he’ll give me what I want without trying to be a hero.”

“Is that what you’re supposed to be? A hero in that joke of a suit?” You snap, glaring at him. “Steve Rogers must be rolling over in his grave with you in-” A hard slap knocks your head into the floor, making you see spots. 

“You will respect me,” he snarls before shoving the gag back into your mouth. 

You lie on the ground with a throbbing cheek and temple as you watch the man pace back and forth as the both of you wait for Helmut to come. What did he have that the man wanted back so badly? There were so many things that could have been taken easily from other men, so why Helmut?

At the hour and a half mark, you hear a door open from the other side of a vat that you were by. Stiffening, you look to see the man stand up straight with the Captain America shield at the ready on one arm and his hand on his holstered gun. 

“Walker,” Helmut says. “I am here and have held up my end of the bargain. Now, where are they?” You knew his voice so well, the way it would get lower as he became angry or higher when he was feeling mischievous. The tone he had then, it wasn’t one you knew, making you even more on edge. 

“Give me the serum first,” Walker says, standing in Helmut’s eye line.

“I don’t think so. I see that Y/N is alive then I give you the serum,” Helmut says, his voice nearly a growl. Walker huffs, but does as he’s told. Stepping over to you, he hefts you up by an arm to drag you out into Helmut’s view. 

“There,” Walker says, holding you up as you try to stay balanced with tied ankles. Looking over, you saw Helmut. A sense of relief washed over you at seeing he was the same. Freshly shaven, wearing a rather ridiculous coat, but still the same Helmut you knew and loved. “Now, the serum.”

Helmut on the other hand has his poker face on. There was nothing but a blank slate with a slight frown to hide anything that may give a plan away. His stance said he was in control and would remain in control no matter what happened. 

Taking a few steps forward slowly, Helmut pulls a small vial of blue liquid in it from his coat pocket. Making sure every move is telegraphed, he sets it on the ground before rolling it to Walker. The blond stopped the vial with his foot, keeping hold of you a moment before leaning down to cut the rope on your ankles and grab the vial. 

“Now let them go, do not make me ask again,” Helmut says, keeping his gaze leveled on Walker. 

“First I see if the serum works,” Walker says as he pops the lid of the vial off before jerking your gag off to force the vial into your mouth to take a forced sip. It was bitter with a metallic after taste, making you cough and gag. A few moments of breath held silence pass as you look to Helmut scared and confused as your stomach turns suddenly when the substance hits it. “Looks like it’s not poison,” Walker chuckles before downing the rest of the vial. Smashing it on the ground, Walker grunts as he lets go of your arm before falling to his knees as he begins to vomit violently. 

You step away out of his arm’s reach, fearing he would grab you again. Helmut is quick, rushing over to grab you to run. 

“Quickly,” he says, grabbing your arm to run before you realize how severely sick Walker is. Trying not to fall, you focus on running with Helmut to a car that is waiting for you. “Sit,” he instructs as he pulls open a door for you, letting you collapse into the front passenger seat. 

“What was that stuff?” You manage to ask as your stomach starts to cramp. 

“Ipecac syrup,” he says as he pulls out a knife. Slicing through the ropes on your wrists, he tore  them away to toss aside. “It won’t kill you, just make you sick. Is there anyone else here with him?”

“No I don't’ think so,” you say, shaking your head before quickly regretting it. Your stomach is angry with him, but you were safe. 

“Stay here, do not get out of the car for any reason. I will be back, I promise,” he says, tilting your face up to look at him. “I promise.” A soft kiss to your head and he was rushing back into the warehouse with his coat tails flapping behind him. 

You wanted to beg him to stay, to drive the both of you away from that man and place. Except every time you opened your mouth, your stomach threatened to empty itself. So you sat there, grasping the door frame as you sat leaning over the side of the seat in case you weren’t able to keep your last meal down. Closing your eyes, you had meant to take deep breaths to help ride the nausea out, but instead you were gifted with Helmut’s scent. It was musky with a hint of tobacco and motor oil. It was familiar and comforting because it meant that Helmut was there and if he was there, then you were safe. 

How many times had you tried to recreate it but failed to do so? Something to help with the heartache of him leaving you for vengeance instead of trying to put his ghosts to rest. It wasn’t fair at all how he was back in your life, but he was and you weren’t sure for how long. Should you hope for something, a life on the run with him? It would be better than pining for him in a different country. 

Your stomach settles, having only had a tiny bit of the syrup, you are able to sit up again in time to hear gunshots go off in the warehouse. You whip your head around to see the door still closed. A minute later Helmut walks out, his face that same blank slate with a slight frown. Without a word, he walks around to your side to shut your door before going to the driver’s side to step in. 

“Helmut-” You start, but stop at the look he gives you. It wasn’t angry or upset, no, it was fear. 

“We will talk at the safe house. I do not want to linger for long here,” he says, taking your hand to press a kiss to your cold fingers. Without letting go of your hand, Helmut drives you two to the safe house in question. It is almost an hour away, but the more distance between you and the warehouse feels better. 

Once there, he parks then leads you inside. He’d shrugged his large coat off to wrap around you to offer some sort of warmth till he could get you some proper clothes for the weather.

“Zemo!” A voice yells, followed by several pairs of feet marching towards you. Two men rounded the corner to find you and Helmut standing in the foyer. Their brows are furrowed and mouths set, but once they saw you, the anger melted into confusion. Even though they seemed to not be a danger, you can’t help pressing against Helmut in fear. “What the hell is going on?” One in a brown leather jacket asks.

“I told you, I had business to attend to,” Helmut says, his arm tightening around you. “I am finished and have returned.”

“That’s not much of an explanation,” the other man says, his left arm made of metal. They look between you and Helmut, waiting for one of you to speak up.

“I know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my guest needs to be shown to their room,” Helmut says with a smirk as he leads you away from them. “They are friendly, they won’t hurt you,” he says softly into your ear. “Come, let us get you cleaned up. I know you must have questions and I will do my best to answer them.”

Despite still being confused, the fact that Helmut is there comforts you. If anyone was going to keep you safe no matter what, it would be him.

[ilovefandoms102]

Part 14*

Summary: The Pogues go back to the Crain mansion to get the gold..what could possibly go wrong?

Taglist:

@ma10427 @lasnaro @certainstatesmantoadartisan @iamaunicorn4704 @riverdaleserpent04 @justcallmesams @sspidermanss @tangledinsparkles @jellyfishbeansontoast @hurricane-abigail @outerbongs @gviosca @eb15

Part 13 Part 15 

Note: Hope you guys have enjoyed this series as much as I have writing it! It means the world to me when you guys message me about how much you like this story, I was so nervous to post it and didn’t expect to get so much positive feedback. Thank you so much to every single person who has read this!

=======================================

JJ and I headed back to the chateau, reluctantly of course. My brother decided tonight would be the night we went and retrieved the gold from the Crain mansion. He wouldn’t stop calling both JJ and I, so we had to cut our date shorter than either of us would have liked. 

“What if all we find is the remains of Mr.Crain?” JJ asked, nervously biting his lip.

“Would you stop with that shit babe, Mrs. Crain did not kill her husband.” I said rolling my eyes at him.

“The only reason I’m even stepping foot near that place again is to get that gold.” JJ said.

“J, she’s not even going to know we’re there. She can’t hear or see.” I said, driving the boat to the dip by the chateau so JJ and I could drag up on the mainland. 

“She’s bat shit crazy, probably has like spidey senses or some shit babe” JJ said, helping me to pull the boat up. 

We walked into the chateau, my brother and Sarah sitting in the kitchen. I went into my room and changed into all black, tossing my old clothes in the hamper. I was a little chilly, so I threw on one of JJ’s sweatshirts.

“Pretty sure that’s mine” JJ said, coming in and throwing his stuff on his side of my room. He walked over closer to me, eyeing my outfit.

“Pretty sure I do the laundry around here so I have a right to wear what I want” I sassed back.

“You look hot in my clothes baby” he smiled, leaning down to kiss me. I chuckled, walking out of my room to the kitchen.

“So what’s the plan Bird?” I asked my brother.

I took out some things from around the kitchen to make stir fry. It being the cheapest thing I could buy and easy to make. I listened to John B, JJ and Sarah discussing the plan. 

“We’ll have to create a pulley so that I can be lowered down to get the gold.” John B said.

“How are we supposed to get 250 pounds of gold out?” Sarah asked.

“No way should we get all of it at once” JJ said. 

“Yeah, we need to just find one piece to take to someone and they can tell us how much it is. No reason to try and get it all if it’s not worth anything.” I said.

“Is it even safe to talk to anyone around here?” Sarah asked, irritating me with all her questions. 

“I’m confused to why you’re still here?” I asked. 

“Bubba, please” John B said, looking at me pleadingly.

“No John B, I’m not going to let some Kook tramp break your heart if this gold isn’t what everyone thinks it is.” I said, roughly placing things on the counter. I turned around to look at them. Sarah looking at the table and JJ giving me a ‘please stop’ look.

“She wants to help us, why is that not enough for you?” John B asked, he walked over to me and turned us to where our backs were facing JJ and Sarah.

“You are crazy if you think she’s not trying to set us up John Booker Routledge” I whispered.

“She’s not! I love her bubba, please just trust me. I promise you that is not her intentions.” he said.

“Birdie...” I sighed.

“Let me decide who is and isn’t good for me, please.” he said, gripping my hand. 

“Alright...but I’m still kicking her ass if she fucks with you” I said, moving back to the stove to continue cooking. 

“I love you” JJ said, coming up behind me and wrapping me in his arms. 

“You love me because I’m feeding you Maybank,” I joked, playfully pushing him away.

I finished dinner and we sat and ate. We got the stuff we needed to take to the Crain mansion. We piled in the van, picking up Kie and Pope on the way there. I was driving with JJ in the passenger seat, he was a nervous wreck. We got to the mansion, getting the stuff together before John B stopped us all.

“I just want to say, thank you guys. It means a lot for you guys to be here.” he said looking at each of us.

“Of course” Kie said, laughing.

“Always” Pope said, doing a handshake with my brother. Sarah blushing and looking down. 

“Alright are we done with the circle jerk?” JJ asked, throwing the rope over his shoulder. 

“I’m only here because I feel obligated as your older sister” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Two minutes” John B huffed. 

We made our way over the ledge and walked towards the middle of the yard. We started making our way towards the back side of the house when lights came on. We made a run by one of the trees and ducked under the taller bushes. 

“So she has motion sensor lights” Pope said. 

“Let’s throw a rock at them” JJ said, I looked over at him raising my brow.

“Are you dumb?” I asked sarcastically.

“What are we going to do about the light?” Kie asked.

“There’s and electrical box by the porch, I can just go up and turn it off” Sarah said. We all looked at her confused. “We used to come here and play hide and seek” she explained. 

“No way, you’re not going up there” John B said.

“Can you chill, she’s going to the porch” I said.

“No” he said. 

“Watch me” Sarah said.

“I’ll come with you” Kie said. I was glad she went because I’m sure my brother would have made me go if Kie hadn’t offered.

“Hey, be safe” John B said. 

“We will” Kie said. 

As they walked away I grabbed JJ’s face.

“Be safe” I said mocking JB.

“I’ll be so safe baby” he said, putting his hand on my cheek.

“Can you guys shut up” John B said irritably.

“But how will we be safe?” I asked jokingly. JJ, Pope, and I cracking up at ourselves. John B not finding it funny and heaving our stuff towards the back. 

We entered the side of the house where the basement was, setting up our equipment. John B and I moving the planks where the well was while Pope and JJ set up the pulley. 

“Are you sure about this?” I asked my brother. 

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean, you just got out of the hospital. I can go down and you stay with the guys.” I said. 

“Bubba, I’ll be fine” he said, now adjusting the rope and harness.

JJ, Pope, and I lowered John B down into the well. 

“Please, for the love of God, don’t drop me” John B said.

“No promises” I mumbled. 

We were struggling hard, trying to adjust to get a good system going. JJ slipping, the rope losing slack and causing me to fall from having to grip the rope tighter. 

“JJ!”I yelled.

“I told you not to drop me!” John B yelled. 

“Beggars can’t be choosers” I yelled back.

We lowered the rope more, still struggling since the rope was super thin and my brother wasn’t exactly the lightest human.

“Ok, I’m at the bottom” John B said.

“What do you see bub?” I asked.

“Is Mr. Crain down there?” JJ asked, earning a smack on the head from me. 

“BUBBA PULL ME UP! JJ! POPE!” John B screamed all of the sudden.

We all jumped into action, pulling as fast as we could.

“Hold on Birdie!” I yelled.

“What’s going on John B?” Pope asked.

“Wait, wait!” John B said.

“What is it?” JJ asked.

“I found something hold on” he said.

Then, Sarah and Kie come barreling down the stairs. They looked terrified, like they had seen a ghost. Kie running to hug Pope, and Sarah coming to grab my arm, holding on to me. We heard John B talking but none of us could make out what he was saying. 

“What is he saying?” Kie asked.

“We need to go!” Sarah yelled. 

We all started pulling John B up, a gunshot ringing out and breaking the pulley. We all fell forward, losing the rope.

“John B climb up!” Pope yelled.

We saw Mrs. Crain with a shotgun, she rang out another shot all of us ducking. JJ grabbed me and ducked us in a corner, Pope joining us while Kie and Sarah went to the opposite of where we were. She shot the gun again, all of us darting out the door and to the van. 

“She’s blind as fuck how is she wielding a shotgun?!” JJ shouted, tugging on my hand as we ran. 

“That bitch can’t aim that’s for sure.” I said, laughing.

JJ jumped into the drivers seat with me being the passenger this time. The rest of the crew following behind, throwing themselves in the van. JJ took off, all of us looking behind for my brother. And sure, enough he comes running, throwing himself in.

“What the hell just happened?” Sarah asked.

“Why are we always getting shot at?!” Pope asked, throwing his arms out. 

“JB you smell like straight up asshole” I said, scrunching my nose up.

“I did it” he said, holding up a gold bar.

“No fucking way!” I shouted.

“You did not!” JJ said, looking back at John B.

“Oh my God guys, we’re gonna be rich!” Kie exclaimed.

“Full Kook!” Pope yelled.

We whooped and hollered the whole way down the road back to the chateau. JJ grabbed my hand and kissed it, his excitement warming my heart. We got back in one piece, Sarah cleaning the van where John B was. I took the liberty of hosing him.

“You got me messed up if you think you’re about to take one step in my house.” I said, forcing him to stand by the hose.

“Bubs come on” John B sighed.

I sprayed him thoroughly, JJ bringing him a towel. He stripped down to his underwear, tying the towel by his waste and threw me his wet clothes. I hung them on the porch before walking back inside. I closed the door in my room before looking back at JJ. He smiled so wide before running at me to pick me up and spun me around. I squealed, hugging him tight, and throwing my legs around his waist. 

“We’re gonna be rich baby” JJ said, looking up at me.

“It’s all real now J, I can’t believe we actually have it” I said, leaning my forehead against his. He fell back on the bed with me on top of him.

“I’m building us a big ass house, right on the beach.” JJ said, running his fingertips up and down my arms. 

“My only request is that we also have a huge pool, and a hot tub” I said, smiling down at him. 

“I’ll get you whatever you want baby” he said, sitting up to kiss me. 

I smiled into his kiss, putting both my hands on his cheeks. His hands going underneath my shirt. I shuddered at the contrast of his warm hands and his cold rings. He began to kiss down my neck, I tilted my head back to give him more space. 

“And you know the first thing we’re going to do after I build our house sweets?” he asked, his breath hitting my neck.

“What’s that my love?” I panted, threading my fingers in his hair.

“I’m gonna fuck you on every surface of that house” he growled, biting my neck and sucking at the spot. I gasped, moaning into his ear. 

“Properly christening it yeah?” I asked, pulling his head back so I could give him the same treatment. 

I bit my mark into his neck, licking up his neck. He grasped at my hips and flipped us over. We tore our clothes off, JJ rolling on a condom before thrusting hard inside me. I moaned loudly, throwing a hand over my mouth when I remembered my brother and Sarah were still here. 

“Shhh baby” JJ laughed, leaning down to cover his mouth with mine. 

JJ moved at a steady pace at first, thrusting in and out. I moved my legs higher on his waist, getting him to hit that special spot. I threw my head back, dragging my nails down his back. He moaned in my mouth, causing him to thrust faster.  

“JJ, baby, please, I need to cum” I pleaded.

JJ obliged, flipping me over on my stomach. Hoisting me up so I was on all fours, he grabbed my hips and started pounding into me. I yelped, throwing my head down to bite at the sheets. He reached under to rub at my clit, I could feel my orgasm coming. 

“JJ” I whimpered.

JJ grabbed my hair, pulling my head back to kiss me before starting to pound harder inside me. Silent screams escaped as my mouth hung open and no sounds came out. I screamed his name into my sheets as I collapsed on my bed, JJ being the only thing holding me up. I came hard, feeling JJ growing twitchy before he slammed inside me and stilled.

We went in the bathroom to shower, JJ sitting on the counter afterwords while I did my night routine. We went back into my room, collapsing on the bed. I laid on my back, JJ putting his head on my chest and snuggling into me.

“I love you baby” he mumbled sleepily.

“I love you honey bear” I whispered.

We both fell into a peaceful sleep huddled in each others arms. 

====================================================

[writing-the-end]

LoL Chapter 28- In Shadow

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU, designs, ideas belongs to @theguardiansofredland)

Returning to his hometown, Etho hs to balance his past with his present, as well as keep Keralis and Grian from embarrassing him in from of his old teacher and town. 

_______________________________

Etho always thought he was a handful- he may act mature, but his mind is full of mischief that would make even a criminal stumble. But dragging Keralis and Grian through the misty swamps of his home, he realizes there are more ways than one to cause trouble. 

Keralis goes sloshing away, swallowed up by the fog. The only way Etho knows he still exists is by the loud splash of the bug wizard, followed by a string of curses in his thick accent. Keralis returns to Etho’s side, wrestling a stag beetle and cooing at how lovely it looks. 

Grian on the other hand, Etho couldn’t get to shut up. “I think I have half the swamp in my boots.” 

“You could just fly.” Etho points out. 

“But I can’t see anything!” Grian’s whine echoes through the thick copse of trees, bouncing off submerged ferns and aged wood. “How do you even know where you’re going?” 

“Secret ninja techniques.” Etho muses, following the trail at his feet. Beneath the water, he can feel ridges carved into the stone, under the silt. Guiding him to his hometown. 

Keralis’s eyes get wider than usual at the sound of a branch snapping in the distance. He whips his head around, pulling on his hat and brushing closer to Etho. “Are you sure we’re alone?”

“We’re not.” Etho grins. Both Grian and Keralis whimper, searching the fog like they’re trying to see a ghost. They might as well be. “The town knows we’re coming. They’ve already seen us, even if we haven’t seen them.” 

“Ninjas.” Grian whispers. The trio continues in silence, or at least as silent as Grian and Keralis can be, sludging through the swamp. Grian chatters with himself and the bug wizard, his voice bouncing up cypress trees as tall as towers, clambering over the roots. He gets a foot tangled in the submerged vines, and goes headfirst into the slow moving brown water with a yelp. “Etho, when the hell are we going to get to this town? I haven’t seen any signs that we’re even close.” 

“Ah, yeah. I haven’t seen a spot of dry ground this whole time.” Keralis adds. “Are they on stilts? How does a town like that stay out of the swamp?” 

Etho feels the carved markings beneath his feet turn into a radiating circle, like a ripple across the surface. He stops, grabbing Keralis and Grian, a grin appearing on his unmasked face. “We’re here.” 

Grian turns around in a full circle, looking at the copse of trees. “Uhhh, are you okay Etho? This looks the same as every other part of the swamp.”

“Maybe it’s hidden in the fog? Fog magic?” Keralis waves his arms around as if he’s attempting to feel around in the dark. 

Etho leans against a root, grinning. “Try looking up.” 

Grian does so, and gasps. 

Above their head, a town hovers over them. Lantern lights split through the fog, unveiling themselves like a stage curtain, warm yellow glows dancing off the wood and paper. Beneath the strung lantern lights, dancing will-o-the-wisps above their heads, bridges of plank and rope connect tree to tree and guide the townsfolk across the swamp without making a sound. 

The fog continues to disappear, and the town of Shellor unmasks in ripples. Homes and businesses nestled in the massive trunks of the trees or perched on the expansive branches, the open air filtering the earth and water tone of the swamp air through bars, abodes, shops, and shrines. For a second, Grian wishes Mumbo was here to rant about the engineering marvel above his head. How much time it must’ve taken to build a town in the sky, where they even get the fire from, and hidden out of sight, out of sound. He never even realized they were walking beneath it. 

“How...how do we get up there?” Keralis tips his head, holding onto his hat so it doesn’t slip off. 

“Normally, adults can just climb up ourselves.” Etho launches from the root, grabbing hold of a branch and swinging himself up, higher and higher. “And Grian can fly, obviously. But- I’ll grab the basket.” 

“Basket?” Keralis watches the two disappear among the intertwining bridges. A second later, something is dropping back to the ground. It’s not a basket he thought it would be. It’s a lift of sorts. The wood floats like driftwood on the murky swamp water, the walls opening to invite Keralis in. He clambers on the wood panel, surprised to find that the weight hardly even shifts. Even when the walls pull back up around him and the basket starts to rise, he feels like he’s on solid ground. It’s the smoothest lift he’s even been on, something that would put Darlon to shame. 

Etho and Grian have their heads poking over the railing as Keralis rises up. “A pretty neat invention, huh?” Etho laughs, running a finger along the rope, watching the pulley system release the weight a distance away. “It’s not used often anymore, really just for when kids need to get down, supplies, the like.” 

Keralis stumbles onto the bridge. The warm glow of lantern light invites him deeper into Shellor, and the scent of food makes his stomach growl. Spices that dance with the mist, a warm rumble of quiet laughter from the nearby restaurant. But everyone’s movements are lithe and silent, even if their talking isn’t. Everyone in the town walks without a sound, like cats stalking their prey. Exactly how Etho walks, constantly spooking Keralis when he’s in the middle of reading or baking. 

It quiets down, and even Etho pauses. Grian and Keralis turn around, surprised to find Etho prostrating before a shrine. They never took him to be the god-worshipping kind. But they sit down next to him, looking at the shrine. It’s made of stone- how that got up here, neither of them can guess. Lanterns are kept aglow and the crescent shaped bowl protected with a carved wooden gazebo. After a few moments, Etho speaks. “Manys, god of the moon. Patron to Shellor, teacher to the art of stealth. I remember my first lesson to harness my power was to watch the full moonlight travel across the swampwater. Silent, but present.” 

“Is that how you learned to be a shadow ninja?” Keralis whispers while Grian lights a dying candle. 

“Nope.” Etho chuckles. “I definitely took a more...physical approach.” 

“Etho!” All three hermits stiffen at the shrill shriek of the shop owner a few bridges down. “I knew you’d come back! Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about all that candy you stole!” 

“Ah, that’s what you mean.” Grian muses, watching as Etho is given an earful by the man. It’s the first time Keralis and Grian have ever seen Etho embarrassed, the pale skin under his white hair blushing red, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Mr. Toku, I think Etho has heard well enough.” A warm voice, quiet but persistent, cuts through the berating tirade. Before her first syllable was uttered, Keralis and Grian knew this was someone of importance. An unusual sense of raging peace, like sitting next to a swollen waterfall in the middle of a forest, exudes from the woman like an aura. She turns, and immediately sweeps Etho into a hug. “It is good to have you home, my pupil.” 

“Hello Reverent Nama.” Etho squeaks, hardly able to breathe against such a tight hug. A weak smile appears on his face, the one person he missed most when he left being his teacher, the head monk of Shellor. Nama. He doesn’t even remember her real name, he’s always called her Nama. 

“Look at you, so tall! You grew like a shoot, Etho.” She grabs his cheek, looking at the scars on his face. “I still remember the day your magic first showed itself. Have you been using my teachings, anak ko?” 

“Nama, I remember it all. But you know me.” He offers a sly grin, but nods silently. “I still like to watch the moon, though.” 

“The best teacher, and the mother always with you.” Nama’s voice dips into a lower octave at her sagely advice, before rising back up as a smile creases her warm, deep toned skin. “But you must be starving, walking through the swamp. Come, bring your friends.” 

She waves her hands, blue and white robes beckoning the weary travelers deeper into the town. A glint of lantern light catches Grian’s attention, and his eyes go as wide as saucers at the sight before him. The biggest gong he’s ever seen in his life. Taller than Grian, even with his wings stretched high above his head, the silver metal glimmering like the moon at the center of the town. Archways decorate and dance around the massive instrument. Grian’s drawn to the gong like a moth to the flame. 

Only to be thwarted by Etho. He grabs Grian by the collar, dragging him back in line with Reverent Nama and the other monks. Keralis giggles and teases Grian even as they enter the raised, thatched house. Bowed roofs similar to the arches and pagodas they saw before protect angular, woven walls and open windows. The swamp breeze filters through the mat-strewn floor as Nama opens the sliding door. Nama disappears into an upper level, before returning with a steaming teapot and five different plates of food. The boys sit at the low table, suddenly alone with the leader of Shellor. Silent as shadows, her peers had disappeared. Like ninjas. “I assume this is not just a family visit.” 

“How did you know?” Keralis croons, sipping on the warm tea poured before him. His eyes light up at the fried, wrapped treat set on his plate. His massive bug eyes only unnerve Nama, repositioning in her seat at the sight of such strange friends Etho brought. 

“Etho isn’t exactly the visiting kind. A practical pupil, even to the day he left.” 

“Nama, you of all people know how to gather information. You see what the moon sees.” She nods at Etho’s words. It’s not hyperbole- it’s her magic. “Surely you have information about husk monsters attacking all over Lairyon.” 

“Why does that interest you, Etho?” Nama gazes over the rim of her teacup.

“We intend to stop it.” Grian states, flat and plain. Etho seethes, sending imaginary daggers at the blond angel before him. He needs to be more subtle than that! 

“Finally, someone to take up the mantle.” She responds. “I have heard worrisome things, are you three sure you can handle such a task?” When all of them nod, she continues. “Then you need to start here- husks have been attempting to enter Shellor for the past few days. They have broken through our mist barrier, but have been unable to reach the town. I do not think they will stop trying until they reach the bridges.”

“They want to steal your magic, your power. They’ll kill you all.” Etho growls. 

“Exactly as what my informants told me. Do you boys think you could defeat an army of mindless creatures?” She pauses, looking at their faces. Seeing the glint in their eyes and knowing. “Excuse me, I have underestimated you. It seems you have already done so before.” 

“We’ll need more than just your information, Reverent Nama. We need supplies, tools of stealth that only Shellor can create. We need to use every advantage we can find to stop these husks. To stop-”

“To stop Magistrate Dolios, yes.” Nama nods, a growl breaking through her neutral expression. “Whatever you and your friends need, I will be happy to give. But for now, eat! Tell me, anak ko, who are your friends here.” She leans over to Etho. “Is the one with the large eyes okay? Is he some sort of hybrid?” 

Etho chuckles, and welcomes the warm food of home into his body. He missed the taste of good palabok, wishing at least one other hermit could cook his hometown’s food like Nama could. He introduces Keralis, quickly explaining his magic, then moving onto Grian. Even Nama, in all her wise counselling, was shocked to learn he was an angel mage. She knew they existed, beneath the watchful eyes of the moon, but to see one in front of her? And in a guild as wayward as Etho describes? 

Their plates are filled as fast as they’re emptied, food appearing out of what felt like nowhere. Etho smiles as he hears laughter rise from his friends and teacher. He left Shellor because he felt restrained. But to be home? It felt freeing, now that he’s an adult. Now that he has his guild, he feels more connected to here than ever before. They continue talking well into the night, until the fog fades and the moon observes the quiet swamp. 

Nama closes her eyes, falling into a quiet meditation at the dinner table. But when her eyes open, it’s anything but calm. She rises so fast her knees almost spill the table over, robes fluttering like leaves in the wind. “They’re here. Oh gods, they’re already at the barrier.

“You wanted lessons in stealth? Well, lesson number one- don’t let your enemy see you.” Nama motions for another monk, and he casts his magic circle. In one deep breath, he inhales the magic. And a gust of wind from his lips blows out every single candle. Only the full moonlight bears illumination upon the town. 

And the distant crack of lightning, an ashen storm visible through the spindly cypress trees.

Townsfolk shuffle in the dark, accustomed but alarmed. Night is when Shellor is most alive, lanterns lit and moon in full view. Nama sends her monks to scout ahead, to be the first line of defense, before marching towards the center of town. 

Towards the gong. It reflects the moonlight, blue luminescence titillating across the silver instrument. A mallet the length of Nama’s arm is plucked from the arch, but she pauses. Looking over her shoulder, she sees Etho practically holding Grian back, the angle bouncing in his boots. Like so many of her other pupils, and who is she to deny him something so exciting? She hands the mallet into Grian’s hand. He wastes no time putting it to work. With wings unfurling and hovering at the center of the circle. One mighty reel backwards, he swings. The mallet strikes the metal, and both Grian and the gong reverberate in response. A low, loud ringing warns the entire town they’re under attack. Grian still feels the sensation of the strike in his arms even after he lands. 

“The husks aren’t after anything in particular- they just want as much magic as possible.” Etho warns, pulling free his kusarigama, watching the darkness. In the distance, a blood curdling howl of a banshee turns even his blood cold. He doesn’t want to face that beast on good terms, much less a creepy husk version. 

“How can you stop them?” Nama questions, dipping her arms into her robes. She doesn’t need a weapon to be dangerous. 

“There’s no crystal.” Keralis warns. “But there is a darkness storm.” He points to the distant canopy, black clouds roiling across the sky. 

“We just have to defeat them. One by one, it will weaken the storm and purge the land of their presence.” Grian flutters over the side of the bridge, looking down. Below, among the swamp water and cypress roots, monsters and mages scrabble up the aged cypress wood. Throwing themselves higher and higher, unlike Etho’s smooth agility to the town. “No matter what, don’t let your fighters get caught by the husks. They’ll turn into one.” 

“Stealth is our trade, angel.” Nama hums, arm reappearing and offering up supplies to the trio. Smoke bombs, firecrackers, magical climbing gear for Keralis, an enchanted mirror to Grian. “We shall do our best, but you three are clearly the masters in this battle.” 

Nama steps back, and bows. Pride swells in Etho’s chest, almost causing him to tear up. If he didn’t hear the snarls of darkness consumed being of pure anger, hatred, and power, he probably would’ve. He’s never seen Reverent Nama bow to anyone else before. 

And then she’s gone. Disappearing among her robes, the hermits next see her down at the roots. Battling with a cold rage, like sunlight reflecting off the moon. Etho hands a few smoke bombs to his friends, grinning. “Let’s raise hell, shall we?”