#this is a random annoyance I have about how drivers are treated

[wanderingblindly]

I feel like red bull’s insane 2023 season really skewed people’s perspective on what “having the fastest car” means.

It was bizarre for red bull to lose a single race last year, because they didn’t just have the fastest car on the grid. They had the fastest car imaginable. They were so far removed from the competition that they couldn’t not win.

But McLaren having the fastest can rn isn’t the same.

It’s fast enough to win, all else equal. But F1 isn’t ‘all else equal��. Driver error, strategic calls, track configuration, weather, tyre management — it all matters.

“Well they have the fastest car, so—“ NO actually, there is no definitive so! Nothing is guaranteed in a normal season, slower cars have always managed to beat faster cars! That’s the entire point! 2023 Red Bull was a literally insane outlier!!!

[cryptidsurveys]

Monday, July 29th, 2024.

1~ What quality do you value most highly in others? Some form or variation of empathy. Those who are understanding, considerate, nuanced, capable of putting themselves in someone else's shoes or seeing something from multiple points of view.

2~ Are you more aggressive or mellow? I have mellowed out a lot over the last year or so. I'm a rather mellow driver. I'm very mellow at the animal shelter…in fact, I'm probably too mellow. People will routinely express annoyance over various situations, and sometimes I'm like, "that's fair, I can see that;" but other times, I just don't understand what all the fuss is about. I've been there for a little over a year now, so I would consider myself fairly integrated into the way of things, but there are times when I wonder…am I just extremely good-natured or am I ignorant of why this is such a big deal? Sometimes I feel like I have to feign annoyance in order to fit in. I guess I'm just really leaning into my increasingly Type B personality.

I think the only time I really even approach aggression - or, more accurately, passion/assertiveness - would be around my dad. He's the only person with whom I feel comfortable fully expressing myelf. Oh, and I am more animated with my therapist as well, but again, I think "aggressive" would be too strong of a word. It's not that I'm never aggressive; it's just that it's become such a rare thing and it hardly ever surpasses irritation, disappointment, etc. A momentary "God fvcking damn it!" and then back to business as usual.

3~ Who has made the biggest sacrifice for you? My dad.

4~ Do you take any vitamins or medication? I don't take any vitamins or prescription medication, but I do take OTC migraine medication.

5~ Do you want to grow old with someone? Romantically speaking? It's a lovely thought, it's definitely something I wish for, but I don't know if it'll ever happen. I'm still having a difficult time genuinely connecting with other people. It's just so hard to trust; it feels easier and safer keeping everyone at a distance.

6~ Do you treat others better or worse than yourself and why? I'm actually not sure. I am trying to treat myself better in general, though. You know, that whole concept of "you can't hate yourself into a version you can love."

7~ What sound is annoying you right now? The swamp cooler is kind of loud, but I wouldn't say it's on the level of annoyance. The only time it really gets to me - assuming I don't just sort of block it out - is when I'm trying to sleep.

8~ Where was your last vacation to? I haven't been on a proper vacation in years.

9~ Where was your last car ride to? Like, as a passenger? It was on Friday evening, when my dad and I went to that fundraising dinner for the animal shelter. The last time I drove was earlier today, though - home from the shelter. I was there from about 7am-12pm. I was there all day yesterday, too - from 7am-5pm. Full days are getting easier!

10~ Where did you last walk to? I don't remember the last time I walked anywhere in particular…or even just went on a casual stroll.

11~ What gives you a peaceful feeling? Driving home after a long day and unwinding with some classical music. Listening to historical, philosophical, or space-related YT videos while I fall asleep. Making art. Crickets chirping in the night. Spending time out in nature. Cloudy, rainy, snowy, or otherwise "gloomy" weather. Cuddling with my kitties. Etc.

12~ Are you a light sleeper? I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. I won't wake up over any little noise or disturbance, but I'm not hard to wake up if need-be.

13~ When you sleep next to someone who usually falls asleep first? It just depends.

14~ How many people have a piece of your heart? I would say three people have significant pieces of my heart, with numerous others having random small bits of it.

15~ What do your salt and pepper shakers look like? I don't have salt/pepper shakers.

16~ When was the last time you hurt yourself? I don't recall.

17~ Would you rather live in the city, suburbs or the country? The country.

18~ Have you ever built something? Nothing major, but small things, sure.

19~ Are you more of a maker and giver, or a taker and user? I guess it's a balance. I don't think I fall heavily to one side or the other.

20~ Do you take naps? Occasionally. I don't like to take them, but I will if I really have to.

21~ Do you buy holiday gifts early or at the last minute? I don't typically buy gifts for the holidays. I bought a few things for my mom last year because we've been back in touch, but otherwise, I just…don't.

22~ Do you laugh when there is no joke and dance when there is no music? Hmm.

23~ If someone else were to describe you what would you hope they would say? Aside from my dad or my therapist, I think I'd be scared to ask. I mean, many of the people I know probably think good things, but…idk, it's kind of like mind-reading in the sense that ignorance is bliss. I would really just rather not hear their assessment of me.

24~ What is the dirtiest habit you can think of? Idk.

25~ Do you ever need ‘quiet time’? Yeah. I need about an equal amount of quiet time and social time. Too much of one or the other will leave me feeling out of sorts.

26~ Do you think it is harder for a parent to outlive their child or for the child to outlive their parent? I think a lot depends on the circumstances.

27~ What was your best find from a flea market, garage sale, ebay or thrift? Idk.

28~ What is one selfish thing you tend to do? Prioritize myself and my feelings. <- This. Like, I know that's not necessarily selfishness by itself, but sometimes I cross the spectrum into selfish territory.

29~ What kinds of people do you find intimidating? I find everyone intimidating.

30~ Out of everyone you know who has the most unique personality? I swear to God, I feel like I'm living in an RPG or simulation because everyone I know has some sort of stereotypical/archetypal personality and it fvcking WEIRDS ME OUT. I also feel like everyone is running scripts, like they just say the same expected things all the time. No one ever says anything that just comes out of the blue and really surprises me. It's always like, yeah, you WOULD say that. ;D Okay, maybe it's not that bad, I do know some people who don't completely fit a mold, but it's still weird…

31~ When do you do your best thinking? Who even knows.

32~ What was a choice that you didn’t want to make but you had to? Having sick cats put to sleep.

33~ Have you ever written a letter to a soldier? Maybe in school…I'm not sure. It just sounds vaguely familiar, like something I might have done at some point.

34~ What does your favorite coffee mug look like? It's just a regular mug with a picture of a calico kitty on it and it says "Meowy Christmas."

35~ What age do you think it is most difficult to be? I've had such an unconventional life that I feel like I can really only speak for myself, but even then…it's hard to say. Most of it has been difficult.

36~ Do you think you could handle a day in jail? A single day? Yeah. I could probably handle a lot of things for a single day.

37~ Who is the most overbearing person you know? Hmmm.

38~ Have you ever been on a trampoline? Yeah.

39~ What do you use batteries for the most often? I think the only things I use that require batteries are my keyboard and mouse, but I don't have to change them very often.

40~ Would you prefer to wrap your own presents or have them all gift wrapped? Wrap my own.

[rsmrymnt-tea]

Ok! I have to ask! If RAD was in the Philippines, what headcanons would you have about the brothers' life there? All I know for a fact is that Beel would absolutely devour lumpia! Of course I'm biased because I can't get enough of lumpia whenever I can get some (which we used to have neighbors who gave us homemade lumpia all the time!)

I will get The Most Self Indulgent Headcanon out of the way first: if they also had to study at a human school here they would all study in Ateneo de Manila LMAOOO bias what bias I'm not biased—

Anyway anyway, disclaimer needed: My experience is largely limited to living somewhere in Batangas and Manila so my thoughts are gonna be mostly based off of that

Random thoughts?? That are also pretty revealing of how I feel about living here ngl (also this become more like 'if they had to stay in the Philippines for a while what are their thoughts/what would they do' more than 'if RAD was in the Philippines'

Lucifer

Somehow I feel like Lucifer would generally like... Be in a state of constant annoyance while he's here lol I sort of imagine him to be the one who'll insist on driving everyone because he won't trust them to not get into accidents with how shit the traffic situation is here + he knows that if he has to brainwash the cops into not giving them tickets he can just leave it at that. And being a driver here just seems like the most annoying thing you can do to yourself, but the public transpo situation is also shit so he'll just drive

Owns the S&R card for the family? Basically Costco in the Philippines and it's like.. the only place where they do groceries for stuff like chips and snacks and stuff because it's all in bulk.

OH. BUT GUYS. LUCIFER AT A PALENGKE?? Lucifer??? Namamalengke????? May dalang sako bag at fishnet sdhfgdfg GUYS HGJDS Please join in me imagining him dragging some of his brothers with him to a palengke to buy meat and veggies because the supermarkets don't have enough for Beel sdfhjksfdg

OOOOH the way all the vendors would gawk at him and his brothers too like all the vendors would do their best to get their attention and buy from their stall because then they both get eye candy + and can call it a day because they're sure to buy everything? Weekly occurrence of them being treated like celebrities

Sometimes buys taho for everyone when he's feeling like it

Mammon

Mammon would be ukay king and would thrive in Quiapo. Just leave him there for a couple days and he'll know the area inside and out, can point you to stores that aren't being underhanded, and will somehow have spotted which of the insane number of vendors there are the supplier shops to all the others?

Will sort of make a game of pointing out which shops are selling stolen electronics also sdjfkhd Not that it's hard to tell

He will just have so much money somehow and be so happy that so much shit is cheap. Easily see him making money overseas somehow and then just spending it all here because of how conversion rates make the dollar/euro/pound extra delicious here

And tbh security everywhere is kinda dodge so when the greed takes over, Lucifer's gonna need a tight leash because it's insanely easy to scam people here and steal their info and all that (one of the biggest banks here has some of the shoddiest protection? it's insane. Mammon would hack them ez.)

Also I just feel like... He would be a heart throb somehow and go viral after some rando took a pic of him looking completely fresh while in a hoodie in the middle of Quiapo?????

"guys may gwapo sa quiapo kausapin ko ba sya" Twitter post going viral and he becomes a model because of it ( translation: "guys there's a hot guy in quiapo do I talk to him")

Oh but there will be days when he's in like. Resort's World Manila or something or some of the casinos here ofc

Thinking about him in Greenhills though? I think he'd be so fascinated by how they have really good designer bootlegs, shit bootlegs, stuff that actually seem to be legit with some defects, and how the tech area can repair literally anything

Tinola enjoyer. He would also be the one to find really good food places from going around the city and would take his brothers there.

Levi

I'm actually not sure what Levi would find appealing here? I think he'd actually fucking hate going outside even more than he does in the Devildom because it is so crowded everywhere... Apparently Manila's one of the most densely populated places in the world and honest to goodness, when you're there it really shows.

It's hot, depending on where you are it's also very humid, it's usually really noisy, even crossing the road is typically some form of nightmare as no one respects crosswalks (both the pedestrians and drivers >.>)

It's honestly a sensory nightmare here. Poor Levi.

If he gets into human world idols (specifically kpop, the hallyu wave is strong here) he'll find his people though. The local brands are all currently using Stray Kidz, NCT, Twice, etc etc to promote their stuff. Kpop concerts here are pretty fire, but he'll probably get a bit of culture shock if he's used to Korean and Japanese concert culture

Anime is also a pretty big deal here! But it's not quite on the radar for much exciting stuff to happen compared to kpop.

Can easily see him side eyeing all the bootleg merch here lmao there is SO much bootleg merch

Also he'll hate the state of Manila Ocean Park. He and Satan will go on rants about the state of the zoos and aquarium.

OH! But I like to think he'd enjoy Komikon (not to be confused with Comic Con) and Komiket? Those are where the local komiks and artists all go and I like to think he'd enjoy buying their stuff and supporting the indie scene

OOOOH SUKI SA SHOPEE AND LAZADA like Akuzon who? Shopee and Lazada are his best friends here

Very fond of the selection of local chips and those Zesto fruit sodas become a favorite. He likes the Dalandan one best.

bit specific but I think he'd become an expert on every single bubble tea store in the area too? And there are a LOT

Satan

On one hand. I think he'd enjoy learning about the culture. It's rich, it's fascinating, it's deep, and he would absolutely find ways to attend History lectures from some of the universities because he's heard that they're really good

On the other hand, I think he'll lose his mind at how anti-intellectual a majority of people here are. It's maddening, and he'll have to learn to not bother debating with people with certain ideals because it's fucking pointless.

Might be a bit depressing for him honestly, because the education situation here fucking sucks ass. He'll see he can't exactly blame the people, but also he fucking wishes they'd open their minds a bit.

Also ngl... The bookstores all seem to be struggling too so :( That's something he would also be upset about

As far as I can tell, there isn't really a library culture? And cafe culture is odd depending on where you are. In some places it's basically a sit-down restaurant with a huge coffee selection, and in others it's like the one you'd expect. Animal cafes are very rare.

Self indulgent HC #2: He'll get into all the local coffees :) He will then look into visiting where some of them originated and will somehow find himself in my hometown for a little while where Beel will drag him off to enjoy some lomi and goto after buying some coffee somewhere

Like Levi though I feel like I see him having a lot of issues with being here? I feel like if you have any concern for the environment or education or just don't like crowds and noise you'd have a lot of issues with living here tbh

OH GHJSDHGASD relevant to me thinking he'd go to ADMU: the Philippine Animal Welfare Society is right behind campus apparently?? I see him being there all the time and helping out with donations and TNR programs <3

Frequently in Intramuros and also frequents the three National Museums!! Goes to all three days of Art Fair PH with Asmo too

He'll fall in love with sinigang. Random but I think he'd really like it? Dinuguan as well

Asmo

OOH MAN

He would look at our drugstore beauty products and be so baffled as to why they are shockingly so good despite being dirt cheap lmao

Like I know drugstore is cheap. But Filipinos demand for intense pigment and true long lasting waterproof products for low prices if they're going to buy makeup from anywhere. The beauty vlogger impact is real here, though I think it's slowed down with the pandemic + people have been growing more minimal with makeup.

Ukay king alongside Mammon!! His OOTDs will grab attention wherever he goes and he'll charm whoever's at the counter into giving discounts if he thinks they're overpricing something

Makati red light district frequenter <3 Goes there with Mammon and scams the sleazier people there

Would pass whenever Lucifer goes to the palengke though? Just can't see him ever wanting to go >.>

Will definitely go nuts each time he's reminded of how casual the homophobia/transphobia/misogyny is here tho like let's be real He would stay within Manila because that's where he won't be inclined to kill a shit ton of people for the dumb bullshit they spew

Personally also I think he'd be really happy about the nice coffee here too, and would join Satan in sampling different varieties and getting really into it.

OH! Would enjoy going to Farmer's in Cubao a lot to buy some plants? I think he'd get really into taking care of plants while here and would have a little sampaguita garden he's helping grow using magic right there in his bathroom

He'd be fond of halo-halo and all the kakanin will be a guilty pleasure. Loves how easy access so much tropical fruit is? Would feel bad about eating so much rice tho despite all the kakanin

Beel

Beel (and honestly everyone else too) would greatly enjoy the food and how cheap all the good shit is. You mentioned lumpia and I strongly agree, he can decimate a whole bilao just fine and it would be fine because whole bilao would cost like... Chump change to them sdfhjkdfg And while you didn't specify which kind of lumpia, I can so vividly see Beel inhaling literally every kind... Lumpiang shanghai, lumpiang sariwa, lumpiang toge oml...

Guys that fucking meme. That meme of him being huge and ordering at a McDonald's??? That meme would be real and it's so funny to think about sdfhjkdsfgh

Sorry to reduce Beel to food on my own post but I just think he really would have a good time here because of it? He won't have to feel as bad about the expenses

Personally think he would like... spend the entire day out a lot? Idk why I think this. Like he and Mammon would just be together lots in the Philippines, they just seem like they'd somehow enjoy the weather and exploring places Belphie found dead in a ditch

Also for some reason I think he'd strike up pleasant idle conversation with vendors often? Gather a rep for being a gentle giant, always stopping by for their wares/food, pleasant personality, brings in customers bc they're also curious about the huge man

OOOH just seems like everyone would love him and be excited to see him around the area??? All the titas and titos greeting him happily and he asks how they are and they ask how he and his are

Likely goes with Lucifer the most for those palengke trips

Eats the rice that Asmo won't eat bc and says nothing when Asmo eats all the kalamay and sapin-sapin sdfjksdfkh

The only one among them who might be chill about the shit public transpo?

Belphie

dude truthfully idk what this place has for him either. everything is a hassle and i cant help but think that like Levi he's have a shit time outside >.>

OH but he would probably like it when it's like, early in the morning. Might take a walk with Beel and buy some bread (sometimes Lucifer joins them and they all get everyones bfast together)

Jacobina/paborita + coffee in the morning enjoyer!! Gets in the routine of buying pandesal for everyone in the morning too because he's out early enough that he buys em freshly baked too

On occasion gets dragged to the palengke with Lucifer in the mornings when seafood is part of the menu for that week because that's the best time to get seafood at the palengke

Some days he just disappears by himself into wherever and comes back with interesting snacks for Beel??

Also seems like he'd be chill with any strays and stuff like I think Satan would drag him into helping out at PAWS

The one to suggest they all go hiking sometimes the most, or just go on trips to somewhere that isn't the city, which surprises everyone. But really it's just so much more peaceful outside of the city. He even looks into arranging the trip himself sometimes, though Lucifer usually takes over at some point.

[eunoiaflow3r]

Agree to No Promises

A/N: I absolutely loved writing this, thank you for requesting!

Warnings: mistakes, angst, fluff, mentions of kidnapping (nothing gory), and language. fem!reader.

Word Count: 4.5k

Requests:

i have a spence request!! you know that one scene where he says “this is calm, and it’s doctor”. i want a whole fic of that kind of aggressive spence in which he defends the readers honour to the rest of the BAU people, maybe she makes a call that’s risky for her own safety and the others are calling her out on it and spence gets defensive and morgan is like “calm down kid” or it can be whoever and THEN HE SAYS THAT LINE I WOULD DIE ❤️❤️

actually, some enemies to lovers with spencer would be great if they work at the bau together and for years they don’t get along and bicker and the reader knows she’s in love with spencer but doesn’t have a chance and he finds out while they’re arguing

~~~~~

You wanted to punch Spencer in the face. You wanted to shut him up, and you felt in that moment - punching him would be the perfect way to do so. But no. Your brain was not listening to what you wanted, and instead what your heart wanted, but you could not afford that right now.

When you think of Spencer Reid, you think tall, skinny, uncoordinated, annoying, rude and cocky. You can’t stand the way he looks at you, or the way his hair falls over his eyes, and even the fact that a grown-ass man never wears matching socks. You also don’t like the fact that he always seems to be right, even when you wish he wasn’t. 

According to Spencer, you were no walk in the park either. He hates that you’re so dramatic, and that you’re so hell-bent on proving yourself right. He hates that you never listen to anything he tells you, and how you act like nothing can ever get to you no matter what it is.

When Spencer thinks of you, he thinks she’s self-righteous, and that you have this stupid hero complex that you need to get over.

_

“L/N.” 

“Reid.” You greeted with just as much hostility.

Even on the plane, you both seemed to successfully make eachother mad. The team always noticed the rigidness between you two, and had even asked about the elephant in the room multiple times, but the only thing you two had seemed to come up with to explain your behavior - which you both had ironically subconsciously agreed on, was that, “It’s not my fault he/she is impossible.”

On countless random occasions, the team had tried to help fix whatever bad blood was spilled between you, but you two never caved in and instead insisted on the fact that, “nothing could be done,” to fix the unyielding tension if the other wasn’t going to change.

After they went over the ins and outs and asked the necessary questions of the case like usual, Hotch began to put the team into pairs to send them on their individual assignments.

“Prentiss, Morgan, I need you to go to the morgue and see if there’s anything significant other than the ligature marks.”

They nodded.

“JJ, Rossi, I need you to go visit the victim’s families and see if there’s anything you can find that ties these murders together. Like we said, probably not, but it doesn’t hurt to look.”

“Of course.” JJ answers.

“Y/N, and Reid I need you two to go to the most recent scene and tell us what you find there. I’ll meet you there after I check in with the locals.”

Both you and Spencer looked absolutely offended, and you both collectively tried to come up with any reason in the books so that you would not be paired together.

“But surely-” you tried to reason.

“No.” Hotch interrupted.

“But I should -” Reid began to bargain.

Hotch interrupted once again with a cold stare, and an even colder if not snarky, “No.”

Yours and Spencer’s eyes met for a brief moment before you both decided to give up defeatedly, and roll your eyes at one another.

The team had noticed the interaction between the two of you once more and they couldn’t decide if they wanted to laugh at your childish actions, or if they wanted  to shake their heads in annoyance and say something about your behavior.

They chose the latter and ignored the both of you.

Once you had landed, and before the team all went their separate ways, Hotch told both you and Spencer to behave.

“No promises.” you replied opening the driver door to the black SUV that awaited the both of you to ride in.

Hotch gave you a  harsh glare.

“I’m joking Hotch.” you smile. “It’s a joke.”

Nodding, he walks away and gets into a car of his own with the local police department. Spencer gets in the passenger seat and immediately if not frantically, puts on his seatbelt.

You chose to ignore his actions, turned on the ignition, and drove out of the parking lot.

“Uhm, are you sure you should be driving?” Spencer asks eyebrows furrowed.

“Excuse me?”

“I mean since -”

“You misogynistic prick!” you practically shout, now pissed.

“You’re wrist.” Spencer nods towards your hand. “You were complaining earlier about how it was cramped and all.”

“What do you care?”

“Well, ya’know. I wouldn’t want it going out, and I don’t know, kill the both of us because you weren’t careful.”

“You’re a jerk Spencer Reid.” you shake your head not taking your eyes off the road. “You ever shut up?”

“I could ask the same Y/N L/N.”

-

Your relationship with Spencer has been this way since the day you arrived.

“Everyone, meet agent L/N.” Hotch introduces you. “Y/N, meet Penelope Garcia, Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, and Spencer Reid.”

You waved at everyone and said a quick “hello,” before sitting in the empty seat right across from Spencer Reid.

Unbeknownst to you, Spencer had done a little back up check on you before you had even arrived. Your record was crystal clear, you had done nothing wrong, your parents were alive and well, and it seemed as though you had been through nothing traumatic and this shocked Spencer.

No one’s record was this clear, which meant you were hiding something. Because of this, he could not trust you.

Instead of asking you himself, he decided to just ignore you and act rude until he got the answers he wanted. Perhaps this was you’d feel the need to tell the truth - whatever that was.

_

“I’m sorry, did I do something to offend you?” You had asked once.

You had barely been at the Bureau a day and already you had seemingly made an enemy, which sucked because from what you’ve heard Spencer was the sweetest one there, and by the looks of it, definitely the cutest.

“No, you did nothing.”

“Okay.”

_

You don’t remember what he was talking about, but Spencer was ranting and that was one of your favorite things about him - just the way he could talk on and on and on about anything. 

His voice itself made you want to swoon, but everytime he spoke to you, he always seemed disinterested, and you hated that

_

You got on Spencer’s last nerve. How did you seem so perfect? You were beautiful inside and out, and he didn’t understand it. There were days where he literally just wanted to talk to you to hear your voice, and he wanted to just ramble on and on and on to you about everything, but everytime he stopped himself. 

He reminded himself that you were suspicious, and besides - with your beauty, who knew how many men you’ve been with. 

He didn’t feel like getting his heart broken anytime soon.

_

You gave him a couple of weeks - a month and a half - to warm up to you, and still nothing. 

His attitude had got nothing but worse towards you, which was confusing because when you saw him interact with anyone else, he was an absolute sweetheart.

“Why do you treat me this way?”

He ignored you.

“Fine.” You had grown impatient. “Don’t say I never tried Spencer.”

And you walked away.

_

You were no longer going to take the way he gave you the cold shoulder and the way he talked to you, so from that day forward you had done to him the same way he had done to you.

You gave him the cold shoulder, and acted annoyed whenever he spoke to you.

This had become routine for the both of you. So much of a routine, that you both had forgotten why you hated each other in the first place.

After awhile, all Spencer knew was that he couldn’t get your condescending voice out of his head, and even when he told himself that you weren’t, you were the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

_

Everyday was a struggle to get eachother out of your heads. It seemed as though no one but that small voice in your heads knew you were secretly pining for each other, and that “hatred,” was covering up something much, much bigger, but there’s doubt you’ll be uncovering anything any time soon.

There were nights where you laid in bed just thinking about him, and times you cried yourself to sleep because at some point you realized you were in love with him, but you knew he would never ever feel the same, and that’s what hurt you the most.

_

“Excellent work guys.” Hotch compliments. “We’ll pick this up in the morning.”

The team had come together, and gathered a significant amount of information about the unsub, but it was late, and everyone needed a good night’s sleep for fresh minds the next day.

Unfortunately, roommates were the team members you were paired with earlier that day, so you were stuck sharing a room with Reid.

You huffed and through your bag on the bed. The last person you wanted to share a room with was Spencer Reid. At least you didn’t have to share a bed.

Putting a fake smile on your face, you turned to him and asked, “So are you taking a shower first or am I?”

“I’ll take mine in the morning.” he answered shortly, seemingly unbothered.

“Okay, fine. Whatever.” you replied, kind of hurt.

A hot shower should do it for you. You brought your bag into the shower, and got ready to relax under the steaming water. You rubbed your hands across your face because honestly - you were stressed. Arguing with Spencer on a daily basis was just…tiring. Sometimes you wished you knew why he hated you so much, but you knew the man wouldn’t ever tell you.

You opened your eyes, and you looked around the shower for your shampoo, but on the wall right above it was a spider.

“Shit!! Oh my God!!” You jumped out of the shower as quickly as you could, wrapped a towel around your body, and just about flew out of the bathroom.

Spencer looked up hurriedly and jumped out of his seat, in fear that you were hurt. 

“What the hell? Are you okay?”

“No!” you huffed. “There’s a spider in the shower!” 

His face was now a serious Hotch-like face. “Are you serious right now?”

“Yes!”

Spencer walked into the bathroom and checked for the spider. He was now just as confused as ever.

“This is just a wolf spider,” he sighed, bringing it into the room in a cup with a napkin covering it. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“What the fuck Spencer, what are you DOING?” 

He looked at you, and then the towel around you and his nostrils flared. You were practically naked - as the only thing between the two of you was a flimsy hotel towel. He had to get out of there, so instead of answering you, he left the room and went to go free the arachnid.

Once he was outside, and had freed the spider, he took a few breaths. He was  frustrated. Absolutely frustrated, and he wasn’t sure what to do. All he saw now was that towel wrapped around your wet body and he hated the way his stomach clenched everytime he thought about that stupid towel and how easily it could have fallen and how he would have been able to -

No. He must not think this way about you. Not only was it incredibly inappropriate considering you were his coworker, but he had to keep up his, “I can’t stand her,” persona.

When he got back to the room, you were, he assumed, finished showering, and you were sitting on your bed in a pair of shorts and a tight fitted tank top leaving little to nothing of your figure to the imagination.

Of course, he was now incredibly irritated because you were real, and this wasn’t just one of his many dreams starring you where you two were using your mouths for a little something other than argue.

You had watched Spencer go into the bathroom, and you audibly let out a breath. He had said nothing to you, yet the way he looked at you made your heart and lower stomach go into a fucking frenzy. 

When he got out, he was dressed in just a regular t-shirt and basketball shorts.  You practically swooned. You had never seen him in anything other than his usual work attire, and you regrettably loved this look on him.

You shouldn’t have been thinking this way about him.

He hated you. How could anything ever happen if he was furious with you for every little thing you did?

“You know what I don’t understand?” Spencer asked climbing into his bed and turning the light off on his side.

“What?” 

You did the same so now you both were laying in the darkness.

“How do you face serial killers almost every single day, and you’re afraid of spiders?”

“Same way you’re afraid of elevator crashes I suppose.”

“But death by spiders are extremely rare - that spider was harmless.”

“I’m not afraid of getting killed by a spider, they’re just hideous.”

He laughed and said, “Yeah, well I’m sure they find you hideous as well.”

You both went to sleep with giddy smiles on your faces.

_

The next day went by pretty smoothly, and ever since the night in the hotel, Spencer had seemed a little less hostile towards you. You couldn’t help but wonder why. What changed?

Anyway, just like the day before, you were paired with Spencer, mostly indoors working on the board. Collectively you two had noticed some pretty interesting details, and you both realized you worked well together.

Soon after you gave a profile to the locals, Hotch told you and Spencer to follow a lead to a suspect’s home. You had knocked on the door, and nothing. You checked the front yard, backyard, and nothing.

It wasn’t until you checked inside a kids’ clubhouse, that you had found a secret trap door hidden underneath.

“Reid, call the team.”

He did, and once he was sure they were on their way, he helped you move the playhouse over so that you could open the door.

Once he opened it, all you two heard were sobs and the unsub yelling. You went down even after Spencer told you not to, and you saw the girl tied to a chair with a gun pointed to her head.

When the unsub saw you, a guy named Fred you believe, he changed directions, and held the gun out in front of him straight at your head.

“Fred? Hey. I’m Y/N L/N and I’ve come to help.”

“H-h-h-help? H-h-h-how can can y-you he-he-help?”

On your way over to this house, Garcia called and told you and Spencer that Fred had autism and, because of this he was like a child, he didn’t know what he was doing.

“Well Freddie,” you paused and looked him in his eyes, “May I call you Freddie?”

He nods quickly.

“Well the FBI is out there,” you heard the sirens a moment earlier, “and they’re upset that you took this girl. They might hurt you.”

“But I-I-I-I like h-h-her.”

You heard someone try to come down, and you yelled, “No!” which made all noises stop. “Do not come down here!”

Fred was scared, and confused, and he didn’t know what to do. All you could see was that the girl continued to cry, and he held his gin tighter.

You put up your hands dropping your gun, and this made him trust you a little bit more.

“Do you like me, Freddie?”

He nods enthusiastically.

“So, how about you let this girl go, and take me instead?”

“L-let her go?”

“Yes, Freddie, let her go and you can have me.” You were trying not to shake. “Can I untie her?”

“Yes.” he says and follows your movements with his gun. You walk slowly over to the girl, and untie her quickly. “When you go up there, tell them not to shoot. Tell them that the man is more unstable than we thought, okay?” She nods tears streaming down her face, and runs towards the latter.

_

Spencer was freaking out. He was pacing, and his heart was racing, and everytime he sat down his legs wouldn’t stop moving, and he didn’t know what to do with himself. He had cried, almost pulled out his hair, crumpled up papers in frustration and had yelled at almost every single one of his team members.

How could he have let this happen to you? He should have gone instead of you. He should have gone with you, he should have stopped you or something.

And on top of this, he always been an absolute prick to you, when deep down he felt the opposite and all he wanted to do was kiss you and tell you how he felt but now you were gone and he didn’t know if he was getting you back, and all he did know was that his heart hurt and all he wanted to do was just see you.

Just see you.

_

You had woken up tied to a chair in a child’s bedroom. 

You tried to untie or loosen the ropes, but it was no use - they were way too tight.

Fred came into the room with a tray of food for you, and he looked at you almost sadly.

“Freddie, you know they’re looking for you, right?

“I-I-I know.”

“So what’s going to happen when they do find you? You’ll kill me?”

He gasped and covered his mouth. “I could never hurt you!”

“But you hurt those other girls, Freddie.”

“Th-th-those g-girls hurt me. You’re r-re-really n-nice to me. I wouldn’t hurt you.”

You tried to smile, but all that came out was tears. You were scared to death and you had no idea what made you make the decisions you made.

“Oh, no Y/N p-please do-don’t cry.”

“Freddie these ropes really hurt, can you take them off?”

“But you’ll leave m-me.”

“Freddie, I won’t leave you, I promise okay?

_

They had a location. They knew where you were. Spencer couldn’t have been happier. 

Soon enough the team had found the house, and quietly came into the house. Morgan saw you first, relieved you were okay, and you silently told him that Fred was upstairs. He nodded and let the officers up there to make the arrest. You ran outside tears running down your face, and as soon as Spencer sees you, he runs up to you hugging you tightly. You wrap your arms around his neck and sob into his shoulder.

“Y/N are you okay? Are you hurt?” He says checking you as he pushes you away from him checking for any scratch or scar or anything.

“No, I’m - I’m alright.”

“Good.” he says, getting serious now. “Then explain to me why you would do something so incredibly stupid? We were all worried about you.”

“You were worried about me?”

He shakes his head and tries not to show how angry he was with you for leaving him. Instead of answering, he walks away.

He walks away because if he stayed, he would have kissed you, and he can’t - 

He just can’t.

If he shows you that he cares, you just might hurt him and sometimes it’s easier to just shut you out, than get used to you being around and then leave him. He doesn’t want you to know how much you could hurt him if he let you in.

So he pushes you away.

_

After everyone greeted you, and asked if you were okay, and the doctors checked you out, you were all on the plane home. 

You kind of just distanced yourself from everyone because all the team seemed to do was patronize you.

“That was a huge risk Y/N, did you even think about what you were doing?” Emily asked.

“Honestly, what if it didn’t work L/N? What about the girl?” Morgan said, shaking his head.

“You could have gotten severely injured Y/N, we’re just trying to look out for you.” JJ tried to reassure you.

Everytime you tried to explain yourself, you were bombarded with another stupid question, which caused silent tears to fall down you face. Spencer saw this, and he decided he had had enough with everyone.

“You guys act like you had never made a decision like this in your entire career. At the end of the day, everyone made it out alright, and I’m sure Y/N has learned her lesson, but you guys humiliating her doesn’t help at all. Think about what she’s just been through. Just for a second can you think about how she’s feeling right now?” He sighed. “This is the first time Y/N has dones something like this and you all are giving her the third degree. So just stop.”

“Hey, calm down Reid, It’s not that we -”

“This is calm Morgan, and it’s doctor.”

With that being said Spencer moved to the back of the plane, and sat across from you. You both said nothing, but you silently thanked him.

_

Once you were back at the BAU, Hotch told him he wanted you to take some time off, and you understood. The team left avoiding both you and Spencer, mostly because of what he said on the plane, and they weren’t sure what to do now.

“Reid, can I talk to you?” He was packing up to go home, you two were the only ones left on this floor.

“Yes?”

“Why did you do that - on the plane I mean. Why would you stick up for me?”

He shrugged, basically ignoring you. Just right where you thought you were getting through to him, he closes himself back up again, and goes back to being mean to you.

“Fine. Whatever. Just please don’t do that again. I don’t need your help.”

You were walking away, when he decided to argue back.

“Oh you don’t? So you'd  just would have wanted them to keep patronizing you? Honestly, I don’t see what your problem is Y/N, goodnight.”

And he was walking towards the door. You ran out in front of him blocking him from leaving.

“My problem?” You scoff. “Oh I’ll tell you what my problem is. I don’t need your saving. I don’t need you to come in like a knight on his steed and prove that you’re smarter than me every single time. Because yes, you’re smarter, and yes, you’re a doctor, and yes, I know you dislike me for some reason, but don’t go switching up your attitude if something happens to me. Just leave me alone.

Obviously you don’t know what it feels like to be me, otherwise you would know that the worst pain there is, is being in love with someone who just hates you. So, just stop. Please, just stop.”

And once you said what you needed to, you walked off gathering your things so that you could go home too. You felt like crying, but you couldn’t. Not here. You couldn’t believe you just said what you did.

Despite what he wanted, he stood frozen in place. He was conflicted. He didn’t know what to do. His mind was telling him to do one thing, while his heart told him to do another.

He took quick strides over to your desk, and turned your body gently so that you were facing him, and you were basically trapped between him and your desk behind you.

“I couldn’t save you.” He began. “I was with you, and then I wasn’t and I couldn’t help you. You were doing that stupid heroic shit you tend to do, and I wasn’t there to help you. You were hurting, and it hurt me that I wasn’t there to heal you. And believe me, it keeps me awake at night when I think about the way I treat you, and I’m sorry, I am. I’m sorry if you felt like I hated you, because believe me, I don’t.

There is nothing to hate about you other than the fact that you’re just so goddamn perfect and I know I could never have you, and even if I did, I would give all of me to you, and that scares me. It scares me that I would be so willing to hand my heart over to you, and it scares me that you have all this power over me. It hurts that you have the power to torture me, so yes, I push you away, and I’m sorry I care about you, but I just, I just-”

And this was that moment.

That moment where your head told you to punch him, because God knows you wanted to, but your heart told you to just swallow all of that angst and just give yourself to him. 

To tell him with your lips that you felt the same, and just leave all the arguing behind.

But something was -

You didn’t hate him. And he just confessed that he didn’t hate you, and now his face was under your fingertips, and your lips were on his. Tears were falling, you weren’t sure if they were yours or his, but he was kissing you back and his arms wrapped around your waist, and you felt like you were on fire. Your hands were now tangled in his hair, and his hands caressed your sides. He had brought you closer to him, and through this kiss you both felt all the so-called, “hatred,” and, “dislike,” evaporate into thin air.

He pulled away from you, and you wiped away his tears.

“I’m so sorry Y/N, you didn’t deserve what I did to you. None of it. If I could take it all back, I would. I’ll make it up to you, I promise I will.”

“You’re such a boy Spencer Reid.” You say.

“What?” He’s confused.

“Mother’s tell their little girls that when boys are mean to them, that they must like them, and that’s why they’re acting that way.”

“Well that’s not very healthy. That tells those little girls that when a man hits them, or is crude towards them, that that’s perfectly normal and that they should just take it because the man loves them.”

“Well true,” Spencer was still holding you, and you went on “but the point was that you must have really liked me since you were so mean to me.”

“I mean, sure. But I don’t see why a mother would -”

“Hey, agree to disagree, okay?”

_

A month or so passed, and the team noticed a huge shift. You and Spencer were no longer arguing constantly, well, of course there were disagreements and such, but you two didn’t act like you hated each other.

“Promise me you’ll stop trying to be the hero.” Spencer told you once.

“No promises.”

Because if you weren’t the hero, you wouldn’t have saved the girl, wouldn’t have gotten Fred help, wouldn’t have the arrogant prince turned good, and you wouldn’t have agreed to disagree.

~~~~~~

[kohanayaki]

Caught in the Middle (Steve Harrington x Reader x Billy Hargrove) Ch 8

Holy shit, it’s been so long since I’ve looked over this story! I found a half completed draft of this chapter in my old files and had a sudden influx of inspiration to finish it. At the very least I wanted to release this chapter, even if I don’t end up continuing or finishing this story. Thank you to everyone who’s read this trainwreck so far <3

LINKS: CH 1  CH 2  CH 3 CH 4 CH 5  CH 6  CH 7 CH 8

_______________________________________________________

Ch 8 .:Three Runaways and a Russian:.

“Hopper?”

The surly man turned to you with a look of equal surprise.

“(Y/n)? What are you doing here?” Hopper asked, eyes narrowing, “Hold on, aren't you supposed to be in school?”

“Aren't you supposed to be at the police station?” you countered.

He sighed in exasperation and shook his head.

“Listen, kid, I don't have time for this,” he said.

“Well what are you doing?” you asked.

“Nothing,” he said crossly.

“Uh, that doesn't look like nothing,” you said, pointing over to the Slurpee machine where a man with dark curly hair and glasses was inspecting it in wonder. He was handcuffed but still held a large empty cup in his left hand, eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the frozen drink move in circles on the inside of the machine.

“He's an extremely dangerous criminal,” Hopper said, “I'm. . . transporting him.”

“Okay, then why is Joyce here?” you asked. She was standing next to the unfamiliar man trying to show him how the dispenser worked. At that moment she turned to Hopper only to make eye contact with you.

“(Y/n)?” she said, eyes wide.

“Hi Mrs. Byers,” you waved awkwardly. What the hell was going on here?

“You got her mixed up with this too?” Joyce chided Hopper, her expression hardening as she walked over.

“I didn't get her mixed up in jack shit,” Hopper said incredulously, “She just doesn't know how to mind her own business.”

“Yeah, I'm right here, guys,” you said in annoyance, “And sorry if I 'intruded' but you're in a 7-11, not your office, so if I see a guy in literal handcuffs I'm going to poke around because that's suspicious and you know it.”

Upon seeing you point at him the man in glasses smiled at you, waving as much as he could while his hands were restrained. He then went back to fiddling with the Slurpee machine and you walked over to him, taking the cup from his hand.

“You have to press down on it,” you said, holding the lever down and filling his cup with the cherry flavor. You stuck in a straw and held it out to him which he accepted with a wide grin, nodding his head.

“What's your name anyways?” you asked him.

He just tilted his head, spluttering slightly as he turned to Joyce.

“His name is Alexei,” Joyce clarified.

“Hold on, does this guy not speak English?” you asked in disbelief.

“Uh, n-no,” the man said, able to read some context from the tone of your voice, “No English.” His words were followed by him speaking in a foreign language and making gestures with his hands.

“I'm sorry, where the hell did you find this random Russian guy?” you turned to Hopper for an explanation.

“Top secret police business,” he said, frowning, “Butt out.”

“So I'm not allowed to know about this 'top secret police business' but Joyce is?” you crossed your arms.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Hopper raised his voice.

“I'm just implying that some favoritism is being applied when it comes to breaking your precious rules,” you scoffed.

“Trust me, kid, you have no idea what the big picture looks like right now, okay? A lot of shit went down when you were gone that you couldn't even begin to imagine. This is dangerous.”

“I'm not a kid anymore so don't call me that,” you glared, “And if this is so dangerous then don't I deserve to know?”

“No,” Hopper said coldly, “Now listen to me and drive your ass back to Hawkins High before I have you turned in for truancy.”

His words made the situation painfully ironic when you all turned towards the front of the gas station as the roar of an all too familiar engine rang out. Billy's blue Camaro skid to a harsh stop as he climbed out of the driver's seat, running over to the door as he saw you through the glass. Once you got over the initial shock your mood soured as Billy made his way inside.

“(Y/n) I have to talk to you-”

“Save it,” you glared at Billy, cutting his sentence short, “Hold on, did you follow me?!”

“Please just hear me out,” he said, a rare crack of desperation in his voice, “Listen I'm-”

“What? You're sorry?” you scoffed, “You're not sorry. You clearly didn't give a shit about me from the beginning, so if you think everything's going to go back to the way it was after some half assed apology then think again.”

“What the hell is this?” Hopper asked Joyce off to the side.

“Lover's quarrel,” Joyce whispered back, “Just let them talk it out.”

“Well if you won't let me apologize then what the fuck do you expect me to do?” Billy said in frustration.

“Nothing!” you shouted back, “Don't talk to me, don't talk about me, just move on to your next little conquest and you'll forget all about this in a week.”

You felt a sharp pang in your chest as the words left your mouth. You didn't want to believe them but you felt like it was true. There was no changing Billy Hargrove, and even if there was, why would you of all people be the one to be able to do it? You weren't anything special, but Billy felt the exact opposite.

He didn't get the chance to say anything back, though, because at that moment the sound of a second car engine was heard as you saw Steve's car pull up to the gas station.

“Oh, you've got to be shitting me,” you groaned.

Steve was panting as he ran inside to the gas station, barely catching his breath before speaking.

“(Y/n), I wanted to-”

“I'm sorry, I thought I made it clear that you two are the last people I want to talk to right now,” you said coldly.

“Wait, hold on, what's going on here? Why aren't any of you at school?” Joyce asked, coming to the realization it was 12:34 on a weekday.

“I broke some stupid guy's nose, it's a long story,” you mumbled, “What I didn't expect was these two idiots following me.” You glared at them, trying to put as much distance between you two as you could.

“I was worried about you,” Steve said, causing Billy to roll his eyes.

“Oh please,” Billy scoffed under his breath.

Steve's expression hardened as he turned to Billy.

“Hey, you don't get to say shit,” he said, “You're the one who led her on and made her cry in the first place.”

“Led her on?” Billy's voice rose as he go in Steve's face, “Listen, pretty boy, if I remember correctly I beat the shit out of you a little less than a year ago. You asking for a rematch?”

“Yeah, maybe I am,” Steve glared, “Because I'm sick and tired of you treating my friend like shit.”

“Oh, 'your friend', huh?” Billy chuckled, “Bet you wish you were more than that, don't you, Harrington?”

“Both of you cut it out!”

Something in you snapped as you forcefully separated the pair, keeping them on opposite sides of the isle. Silence blanketed the rest of the convenience store as you spoke.

“I never asked for either of you to follow me here,” you said, feeling a wave of emotional exhaustion take you over, “As a matter of fact, I asked to be left alone, so you two need to get that through your thick fucking skulls because this is seriously the last thing I need right now.”

Alexei just stood innocently by, wondering what all the yelling was about and if he could do anything to help.

Through all the commotion none of you noticed the way Hopper was staring out the convenience store window, his stomach dropping as he saw a tiny figure on the road drawing nearer. Upon closer inspection he could see the silhouette of a man on a motorcycle.

“Get down,” Hopper said suddenly, not taking his eyes off the man.

His words made you freeze, all your senses on high alert as you could feel something was wrong.

“Wait, what?” Steve said in confusion.

“I said GET DOWN!” Hopper shouted, pulling you and Joyce to the floor just as a gunshot rang out and the windowpane shattered into pieces. Shards of glass fell onto your shoulders as you ducked behind one of the isles and panic quickly settled in.  

You could feel Hopper dragging you further away from the door, your body frozen in fear.

“Listen to me, you need to get the hell out of here, all of you,” Hopper said.

“Hopper, what the fuck is going on?” you asked, your hands shaking.

“I don't have time to explain,” he said quickly, “Joyce, get them to Murray's house as fast as you can.”

“What about you?” you said, “If you think we're leaving you here like some shitty action movie you've got another thing coming.”

“I'll buy you some time,” he said, “And besides, he's after me, not you, but that doesn't mean he won't shoot you if you get in his way. Do you understand? Get out of here!”

Before you could say anything back Hopper was thrown back against the wall by a muscular man in a leather jacket. Joyce immediately grabbed you by the arm and started pulling you away along with Steve and Billy. You could hear them yelling but it felt like you were hearing things underwater. Your heartbeat pounded rapidly in your ears as you turned around, every nerve in your body shouting at you to run.

Your heart nearly stopped as another gunshot rang out in the store and the tile cracked beneath your feet as the bullet landed a mere few feet from where you'd been standing seconds earlier.

“Don't you dare, you son of a bitch!” Hopper growled as he tackled the man to the floor, getting a few solid hits in. The man grunted as his back harshly met the ground, his head slamming into one of the shelves. As Joyce turned you around again to get out you could only pray that Hopper would be okay.

“There's no way we can fit everyone into one car,” you said as you neared the exit to the parking lot, “Where's Hopper's police van?”

Joyce looked off to the side.

“Oh, um, it's. . . on fire in the middle of the woods.”

“It's what?!”

“I promise I'll explain everything to you once we're safe,” Joyce said, “Right now we need to figure out how to get everyone out of here.”

You turned over your shoulder and winced as the man landed a solid hit to Hopper's gut, knocking the wind out of him and making him stumble back into a rack of chips. Hopper grunted in pain but immediately fired back with a punch of his own, his right swing hitting the man square in the jaw. Hopper took the chance to follow up a knee to the man's gut, knocking him down with one last hit, although he knew he wouldn't stay down for long.

As Hopper struck him down you caught a flash of silver fly out of the man's jacket pocket and skid across the floor. You stared at the keys for a moment before your gaze flew up to the Harley parked outside the gas station.

'This is a stupid idea,' you told yourself, but in the moment it was the best you could do.

“Take my car,” you said to Joyce, tossing her your keys, “I'm jacking his ride.”

Joyce, Steve, and Billy looked at you like you'd just sprouted wings.

“Oh no you're not, it's way too dangerous,” Joyce said, incredulously, “He'll be close enough to shoot you if you make a run for it now.”

“I'll go around the outside,” you said, “If Hopper keeps him distracted I can make it.”

“Have you ever even ridden a motorcycle before?” Billy tried to reason with you.

“As a matter of fact I have,” you said, your eyes narrowing. You didn't mention the fact that it was just one time with your dad years ago but hey, you were a fast learner.

“Just trust me on this,” you said, “Think about it, even if we do manage to get out of here he'll catch up to us in no time on a motorcycle. If we take his transportation away he won't be able to find us again, or at least it'll make it harder.”

Joyce swallowed hard, shaking her head.

“I can't believe I'm about to let you do this,” she said.

“I'll see you in ten seconds,” you promised, “Get everyone in the car and we'll pick up Hopper on the way out.”

“Be careful,” Steve said, and despite you still being mad at him the life or death situation compelled you to say:

“You too.”

And with that, Joyce started to lead everyone outside to the parking lot towards your car.

You forced down any doubt you had in your mind and took a deep breath before running towards where Hopper and the man were fighting. You slid to a stop as you snatched the keys off the ground and made a break for the front of the store.  

The man seemed to notice what you did as he snarled and reached for his gun, but Hopper was too quick. In one swift movement he knocked the gun out of the man's hand grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, throwing him as far away from you as he could.

You thanked Hopper silently as you put the keys in the ignition, the engine roaring to life. Your heart pounded in your ears as you leveled yourself on the motorcycle. You spotted Hopper out of the corner of your eye as he sprinted towards the store front, Alexei practically flying behind him in his grip. The Russian let out a small yelp as Hopper threw him unceremoniously into the backseat of the car, his body sprawled across Billy and Steve.

“Floor it, Joyce,” Hopper huffed, scrambling into the passenger's seat.

She didn't need to be told twice. The smell of burning rubber drifted past you as the tires squealed, all the passengers forced backwards at the force of the sudden jolt of speed.

You leaned into the turn as you moved to follow the car, daring one last glance over your shoulder at the man in the leather jacket. He threw what remained of a shelf off of his shoulders as he staggered to his feet, his expression terrifying as he stared you down. With a deep breath you turned to the road, quickly catching up with your Jaguar and leaving the infuriated man behind.

“Woah woah hey, my fucking car is still back there!” Billy shouted as you sped away.

“Really, that's what you're concerned about right now?!” you shouted over the wind, tempted to reach around the car and slap him. Your focus was forcefully pulled back to the road as you felt the cycle waver, quickly adjusting your weight as you tried to get use to the feeling. You were suddenly acutely aware of the helmet you weren't wearing. You took a long draw of breath in through your nose as you tried to calm your buzzing nerves, your knuckles white as you gripped the handlebars.

“Alright, Hop. You wanna tell me what the hell that was about?”

Taglist: @in-my-dreams-2000 @ggclarissa @iris1697 @5sosxgrethan @ohnoniella @sarcasticalphaofthelooserspack @aspiring-fangirls-world @wow-im-so-tired @hopesxxhigh @justanothercrazyassfangirl @too-many-lanes @whimsylavender @bish-ima-clown @amarachoren @mosiacbrokenheartstf @mcuvlxgs @xapham @metuel18 @immirandaq @nellaphine @multi-madison @gingertalksshit @jojo-buttercup @kyberhearts @mvdelaine @minnie-marvel @caitlin-rose28 @zandaleekrz @r3inventedd @void-fire-rose @macymafia @wanna-be-idle @newtsshelbys @kimmydespell @weyheyokay @r4ttusr4ttus @cynthianokamaria @spookyartisanmuffineggs @youcanstandundermyamberella @ashadowoftheforest @shrektiledysfunction @arithatonegirl @banannie25 @daddyuwuss @truthdaze @supervoldejaygent @gigi-maria-argu @dolan-mendes @mavix @reflectionsofyouruniverse @angelsarefalling @billyhargrovescigarette

[jasmehraj]

This is for Flashpoint week 2020, day 1, hosted by @maribatgetin

"*Sigh* this is the third time in this week." The man whose body was half machine rubbed his human temple when the guard informed him of the arrival of-

His train of thought was cut by the sound of heels indicating the arrival of his guest.

"Mrs. Allen." He greeted her.

She shot him a smile. "Victor."

"It's Cyborg for you mam." She ignored what he said and continued to pull out a box.

"Here are some cookies and macaroons for you and I gave some to the receptionist to distribute so that you don't have to share." Cyborg smiled and took the box. This was the favourite part of her visit. Her treats were heavenly. He scolded himself to get distracted and wore a tough expression.

"So what did we do for the goddess of fluff and happiness to come here and meet us." There was a moment that something flashed in her Bluebell eyes but it was gone before he could decipher it.

"We both know what it is." She stated, the smile on her face never flattering.

Oh boy, this is going to be a long day. He sighed.

Even after 15 minutes, nobody had come out of the office. The conversation was either casual or not there at all since they couldn't hear anything from the outside.

"What do you think Joe? What's taking them so long?" Michael, the guard at the door looked at his partner.

"I don't know, she is a very calm and collected lady. They say she delivers rainbows wherever she goes, some unicorn in disguise." Joe just joked, shrugging, which caused Michael to raise an unimpressed eyebrow.

"I don't think so, she must be some witch in disguise who made her way to the top seducing other rich people. I mean she's got looks and a perfect body, anybody will pay a fortune to kiss those lips." Michael licked his lips subconsciously.

"I gotta say that too. That Allen guy is very lucky. But I don't think she is some whore. She cares deeply about everyone around her. I say she will even apologize to a pole to bump into her." Joe didn't like the lust in his partner's brown eyes or the way he was insulting everyone's favourite person who treats them with so much respect.

"Hmm. I say she is some Amazonean who will seduce the soldiers and then after having some fun, kill them like the witch she is." The brunette on his side frowned.

"Okay, enough of that s*** Michael-" the raging guard was cut off by a loud sound of something colliding with the table from inside. Everyone went near to be able to hear the heated conversation.

"MRS. ALLEN, we can't just take random people in!" Cyborg tried.

"So random people are crazy enough to be wanting to fight alongside 'the supposed to be heroes' in a world ending war." Her blue eyes sparkled with joy as she raised the glass of water to her lips.

"No Mrs. Allen. I- the president won't approve of us endangering civilians?" Cyborg tried again but it sounded like a question.

What happened next surprised everyone. The sunshine incarnate woman's ever lasting smile fell and she narrowed her eyes at tin man.

"Try again." A nervous look took over Cyborg's face.

"Tell me why you are trying to keep me away this bad?" She spoke every word clearly as if she was talking to a kid.

"You don't have any superpowers." A gasp escaped her naturally pink lips.

"So this is what this all is about? I'm not a meta, so I'm not good enough." She made hand gestures as she talked.

Cyborg looked troubled. Everybody knew not to start an argument with Marinette Allen because it would be over before it even got started.

"It sounds bad if you put it like that-"

"Soldiers are made from strong will, determination, their dedication to the cause." She slammed her hand on the table. "You can't expect everyone to become like you."

Cyborg hit his thigh in annoyance, "Mam, we are just trying to protect you!"

Marientte opened her mouth to say something but Michael bursted in having enough of their conversation.

"Why can't you just shut the f*** up and leave? You are just a billionaire wanting to take credit of the work we do while we will be stuck protecting your a** instead of fighting the real enemies. This isn't some video game! This is real life. You want to seduce the soldiers into turning away from their real goal but that ain't happening. Go f*** your daddy dear in that little castle of yours. Your money ain't going to get you past us. If you want to I can-" The Glass of water in her hand was now laying on the ground in pieces.

Before anyone knew, Michael was on the floor struggling to get up as the ravenette put her heel on the man's chest who was desperately trying to get up.

"How. Dare. You?" Her tone sent chills down everyone's backs. Michael felt sweat run down his forehead.

"A piece of advice. Do a background check before you assume things about a person. I was born to two middle class bakers in Paris, who I saw burn in front of my eyes at the age of 10. I survived on the streets. Made money by fixing clothes. Paid my school fees myself. Got sold at the age of 15, nobody came to help me. I helped myself. I raised to the top with my sole hard work. The only trustworthy person I have in my life is my husband. And you don't wanna know how much I'm trained, this was just what I learnt while living on the streets. What you are doing is your duty. Don't think of yourself as high and mighty for doing your duty which looks like you need practice in."

She glared at the speechless guard once more. She made her way to the door and everyone parted to give her some space having seen her wrath. She stopped at the door and without looking back said,

"You are saying that you are not taking me in because I don't have superpowers and going out without powers on my own is a crime-"

"I didn't-" She raised her hand to stop him.

"-which makes me a villain-" She looked at her side but not at the paralyzed cyborg.

"-Then I guess I am a villain." With that she made her way towards her car, not even sparing a glance at the star-stuck expression of the people around her.

She relaxed in her driving seat. She knew one thing. She is not going back in there. She sighed and traced the steering wheel with her fingers. Yes, she is a billionaire but she doesn't want a driver, at least not after the last three times she hired a driver due to her busy days who just gave her off to some random mob-boss for money.

She opened the pocket watch Barry gave her and smiled fondly at the picture of her husband. When she met him, she kicked him in the shin and how the tables have turned. She chuckled.

The alarm brought her out of her daze. "It's time to pick Barry up."

She smirked when the engine roared to life and slammed her heel into the accelerator. The world is coming to an end anyways, why not have some fun?

Taglist: @nathleigh @jalaluvsu @togetherwekill @stackofrandomstuff @qualitypeacepainter @greatcatblaze @shewhorises-tjyj @myazael

[shoot-the-oneshot]

Make An Effort

Requested @donutloverxo ❤️hope you like it!

Prompt “you’ll break your ankle before you get the door open.”

Ransom Drysdale x reader

You were going to kill her. Pretty boy over there wasn’t going to be the only one with a possible murder charge. Your best friend dragged you along to this escape game with her boyfriend Dylan, and his friend Ransom,

You couldn’t stand the guy, he was an ass to everyone except you, and you couldn’t figure out why. It was always

‘Y/n, have you eaten?’

‘Y/n, do you have a safe ride home?”

‘Y/n, put your seatbelt on I’m a horrible driver’

And he was always lingering behind you when the group went out. His build and sharp glare keeping men from approaching you, his bloody knuckles you cleaned in a bar bathroom one night when a drunk didn’t heave his warning and got touchy with you. he looked like a protective boyfriend, which he definitely wasn’t.

You couldn’t figure him out, why would he be so taken with you. And why would a rich trust fund kid want to hang out with the three of you in an cheesy escape room.

“We should do the mummy one!”

Dylan shouts, scrolling through the room options. His red shirt clashing with the bright blue pants he was wearing. You’d think being Ransoms friend he would’ve pick up some style. You hate to admit it, but Ransom always looked good. His light blue sweater making him look incredible and tied together with the no doubt expensive shoes he was wearing.

“No, Y/n doesn’t like zombies.”

Everyone collectively turning to look at the taller man, he was right you don’t like zombies, but how did he know that. You only mentioned it once to Claire during a movie night, you didn’t even remember him being there. Dylan scoffing, rolling his eyes. While Ransom was a trust fund kid, Dylan was a frat boy and he acted like one.

“Mummy’s aren’t zombies.”

“Close enough, pick something else Dylan.”

One of the most irritating things about Ransom was his devilish good looks, which can at times be intimidating. That matched with the glare he was shooting at the shorter man, Dylan gave up the fight quickly, scrolling for a different room.

“You know this is practically a double date.”

There it was, like clock work. Hover, defend and approach. Fighting not to lean into the warmth he chest was exuding being so close to your back. His breath fanning over your neck and shoulder, as he bent down to whisper in your ear.

“We’re not on a date Ransom.”

“Why not, you know I could treat you better then someone like that doofus.”

He was right, he probably could. But you’re not telling him that.

“It will take a lot more effort to get me to go out with you.”

Patting him on the cheek pouting, following Claire and Dylan to which ever room they picked, hearing Randoms steps behind you.

You couldn’t hold back your laughs when you saw the name of the room.

‘Inspired by the Harlan Thrombey novels’

Hiding your wide smile behind your fist when you saw Ransoms face, pure annoyance.

Glaring at Dylan, again. Eyes softening when they land on you, your giggles are his weakness. Even if the room pissed him off, it made you laugh so he couldn’t be to mad about it.

“On second thought, Ransom, you’re with me. No one would know this room better.”

Clutching his arm, trying your hardest not to squeeze the hard muscle, you didn’t need him to know you were enjoying this. Gently grabbing your hand off his arm lacing it with his, looking down at you with a smile he only had for you.

“I’ll always be on your side.”

He meant it, not just for an escape room against your friends, he’s always have your back like he wishes someone had his.

Jumping into action when the lock sounds.

Looking for clues and solving puzzles. It was fun, Ransom was smarter then you thought.

Ransom, gave Dylan the key that unlocked the door, you were to busy giving Ransom a high five you didn’t notice the door shutting behind your friends, leaving you both locked inside without a key. Frantically banging against the door, screaming for anyone that could hear. Ransom looked almost unaffected. But you chopped that up to his

‘I don’t care attitude’

“Stop! You’ll break your ankle before you get that door open!”

He growls, picking you up off the floor your feet dangling.

“I’ve seen it on TV I can kick it down!”

You were still kicking around, trying to get out if his unwavering grip. As he shushes you, rubbing your waist in circles.

“I’m sure you could tiger, why don’t you sit with me and wait for them to unlock it. I really don’t want to take you to the ER at midnight.”

Huffing in defeat, his hold on you slowly loosening, not fully though. Still keeping you close as he sets you both on the red leather couch that matches his grandfather’s.

You could tell he had somthing on his mind, but knew that pushing wouldn’t do anything so you let him do it in his own time.

“Why can’t we be together?”

He’s asked that before, you gave the same answer every time. Saying you didn’t match.

You wanted to help people, he didn’t.

You worked for what you had, he didn’t.

It could never work is what you told yourself.

But since you’ve known him he’s changed.

He started writing his own books, he’d drop off drafts for you to read when you complained of being bored, or would read to you while you cooked you both dinner on rainy days. He stoped being rude to the ‘help’ and didn’t torment his younger cousins, at least not when you were around.

And he’s never asked that question with the venerable look in his eyes.

“I don’t know”

You sighed, subconsciously tucking yourself closer into side. Which didn’t go unnoticed by him. His fingers gently touching you jawline to pull your face to look at him. Hoping you can see the adoration he has for you in his eyes.

“Then give me a shot, please. I promise I’ll be the man you’ve always wanted.”

You knew he would be, he already was. Biting your lip immediately catching his attention, not that you didn’t always have it.

He has to force himself to remember to breath when you nod your head.

He can’t help himself he’s to excited that you’ll actually be his, and he will be yours.

Almost timidly pressing his lips to yours, giving you plenty of time to pull away if you wanted. But you didn’t, you kissed him back. He was sure he was dreaming.

“Please don’t be mad,”

Before you have a chance to ask why, he raises his voice slightly, looked towards the door.

“You can open it now!”

And just like that the door opens, looking between the now unlocked door and his blushing face in bewilderment.

“I paid the kid fifty bucks to lock us in here.”

Answering your unasked question while guiding you out, a hand placed on your lower back. Now that he could touch you without fear of a black eye, he was never going to let you go.

“Are you serious?”

Giving you his dazzling smile, that should really be illegal. Opening the door to his jag for you. Your friends being long gone by now.

“You’re the one that said I had to make more of an effort, mission achieved.”

Shooting you a wink from the drivers seat. Immediately grasping your hand holding in in his lap while he drives you home. He made an effort alright, you were always his and him yours now it’s just official.

!!!hooe you guys liked it. Head over to my page and send in request for more !!

[bisexualcrowley]

SFW Headcannons- Lucifer

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

This fucker is TOUCH STARVED, always wanting to be touching you in some way, whether it be full on bear hugs while cuddled up at night or a simple hand on your forearm when you’re sitting in the library

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Lucifer can the most dramatic, annoying motherfucker ever to grace the earth but he makes it fun. Being friends with Luci means constantly joking around, pulling pranks and really just enjoying yourselves with no limit.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

When you’re sleeping, Lucifer prefers to lay on his back with your body snuggled up on top of him and your head burrowed against his neck, but just for cuddling? Little spoon. Little spoon all the time, he just lives for the feeling of his back pressed against you with your arms tucked around his waist.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Much to your amusement, Lucifer’s an absolute garbage fire when it comes to cooking. The number of times you’ve come back to your motel room after a hunt to find that he’d nearly burnt the building down trying to fix you something to eat is astounding.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

If it was just a fling, Lucifer would probably just straight up end things or if he really didn’t care, ghost the person, but if it was a relationship he really cared about he would sit his s/o down to talk it through, kindly explain to them why things have to end.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Once he finds the one, Lucifer absolutely wants to settle down and fully commit to his partner, but isn’t too keen in the idea of marriage for a number of reasons, the most prominent being that he’s practically immortal and the details would just make things complicated

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Once he really truly trusts you, Lucifer lets his softer side show, both acting far less tough than he is around the Winchesters and treating you delicately, afraid that he might mess something up and drive you away

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Lucifer puts on his tough guy exterior when he’s around others, but when he’s alone with you all he wants to do is tuck himself up in your arms and hold you

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Luci’s afraid of it at first, afraid to be rejected and afraid that he’d end up regretting it, but when the time comes when he can’t keep himself from confessing his feelings, you meet him with a kiss and immediately he knows he had nothing to be afraid of

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Lucifer gets jealous FAST, this man cannot stand to see another guy paying too much attention to you, always showing up and sliding an arm around your waist, or pulling you into a kiss that would be more than inappropriate in public to show everyone you’re his

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

He loves to kiss you everywhere, but the ones that bring him the most joy are the the times he presses his mouth to yours in a soft, loving kiss that ends before it has the chance to grow more passionate. He always loves every way you kiss him, but when you hop up to give him a peck on the tip of his nose in excitement he can feel his heart swell 

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

It’s laughable how clueless he is when it comes to dealing with children. It’s clear that he learned nothing from Nick about how to act around kids, and the few times where he doesn’t avoid them the interaction is painfully awkward, ending with an embarrassed Lucifer and you and the child laughing your asses off.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Cuddles, giggles and soft kisses that almost always turn into Lucifer whining and flashing you his puppy-dog eyes when you try to get out of bed, insisting that he’s more important than whatever it is you have to do that day.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

It’s always a surprise with Lucifer, some nights are spent out bowling or causing whatever mischief comes to his mind, some nights the years alone in the cage get to him and turn him into a horny bastard, pretty obvious what you guys do then. Most nights though, and arguably your favorites are the nights spent in domestic bliss, cuddling in bed while watching a movie or watching Lucifer cheat at board games. The little things, that make you smile.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Lucifer’s time in the cage messed him up more than he cares to admit, and from that he hesitates to flat out share things about himself, preferring to avoid the topics until whatever it is comes out accidentally or you figure it out from fragments of information.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Lucifer has a quick temper, but the rare time that he snaps at you he apologizes right away, never wanting to take his anger out on the one person he cares about.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

He remembers the little things that make you smile more than anything else, your favorite flower, favorite snack, favorite movie, anything he can use as a pleasant surprise for you. 

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Back when he was still hallucifer, there was a day when Dean had let you drive the Impala. It wasn’t a long drive compared to the usual length for you and the brothers, just a couple hours, but you had been thrilled, immediately plugging your playlist into the car and grinning as your favorite song blasted through the speakers. Lucifer remembers Dean groaning, beginning to protest but being cut off as you cut him off with a mocking laugh of “Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.” Lucifer had cackled at Dean’s look of annoyance, but his laugh died off when you started singing along with the music. You seemed so happy, happier than he had seen you before in the year he had been with Sam, and the beauty of the situation shocked him. Sam of course was baffled at the sudden silence from beside him, having grown used to Lucifer's constant annoyance and burst into laughter at the look of awe on the devils face, but Lucifer didn’t care, he was focused on you. 

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Lucifer likes to lay his head on your chest and listen to your heartbeat to feel secure. To him, it’s proof that he’s not back in the cage, you’re real, you’re there together and that he��s safe.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He usually doesn’t need to put much effort in, every little thing he does for you always turns out to be worth so much more than he planned

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Luci is absolute trash (pun not intended) at picking up after himself, always “forgetting” to move a plate from the table to the sink or leaving piles of clothes on the floor

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Every vessel he’s using always manages to look more attractive with Lucifer inside but Nick is objectively the most attractive, and Lucifer knows it. He doesn’t put much effort into his appearance on most days, knowing he looks hot without trying, but he does take the time to put together a good look the times where you’re going out, always managing to match his suit to whatever outfit you put on.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Before meeting you Lucifer thought he was doing great on his own, but after getting to know you? He can’t imagine what it would be to be alone again, you’re a massive part of him and he never wants to give it up

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Lucifer likes to drape one of his wings over your shoulders as a show of affection

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Someone who doesn’t want to joke around with him, or someone who acts too controlling. Far too much like his dad, thank you very much.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

When Lucifer takes the time to sleep, he sprawls out across the entire bed. When you first join him under the covers he’ll pull you down to snuggle up against his chest and every so often he’ll keep an arm tucked around you, but more often than not his arms and legs end up stretched across the entire expanse of wherever he’s laying

[nevermord]

Lepus Liberation

This is a fun little gift I did for RedBand.Jackalope! We were just chatting a bit and talking about bunny rescue centers when my muse pulled out a hammer and clonked me on the head, prompting this story! Jillian the Jackalope hears about a less-than-reputable feral bunny rescue center and goes to give them a piece of her mind. However, it seems that the "good" doctor may be breaking a few rules at Trivial Matters once more. Now she's going to show them they can't just use bunnies to get money. She's going to show them in a BIG way. Jillian grumbled under her breath as she sped down the open desert road.  Her blue Jeep Cherokee's engine roared in the relative desert silence as her sandal clad paw pressed down harder on the accelerator.  The heat coming off of the blinding sand all around caused the air to shimmer and created phantom puddles on the blacktop.  Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as her mind kept going back to what she had seen that morning.

The fluffy, white-furred jackalope was practically trembling with anger as she remembered the message she had seen that morning.  A news report on a so-called feral bunny rescue where the owners had no idea what they were doing but somehow operated just within the rule of law.  Half of the poor things were unbrushed, their coats so matted that their fur was falling out in clumps.  Not to mention they hadn't been properly separated so nearly all of the females rabbits were currently pregnant!

She had instantly decided she was heading down there to give them a piece of her mind.  The staff needed to either learn how to watch over the rabbits the right way or take them across town to a real animal shelter where they would be properly cared for.  Exactly how she was going to make them do this was another problem entirely.

She drove along the desert road, her temper began to cool a bit as the warm, dry air from her open window rushed through her soft fur and long, brown hair.  She sighed softly and itched at the stump of her broken antler.  She realized there realistically wasn't anything she could do, and the thought of a face to face conflict with these random strangers was causing a knot to form in the pit of her stomach.  Checking in the rear-view mirror and seeing nobody coming up behind her, she decided to pull over to the side of the road and think a minute.

She was so lost in her own thoughts, she didn't even hear the loud, droning buzz of the over-sized silvery mosquito as it swept in through her open window.  She didn't even feel it land lightly on the collar of her black t-shirt.  Even the quiet hiss as its needle-like proboscis extended went completely unnoticed.  A glowing green liquid dripped from it as the tiny mechanical monstrosity leaned towards the vulnerable flesh of her neck.

“OUCH!  Damn it!!”  She jumped and slapped at the side of her neck, an expression of disgust on her face as she felt something fairly large crunch under her hand.  Looking down at her palm, she saw some kind of green glop staining her fur and what she thought had to be a crushed bluebottle fly.  What other biting insect looked so shiny and metallic after all, even if it did seem a bit big. She wrinkled her nose as she grabbed a leftover fast food napkin from a pocket on the drivers' side door, wiping the mess off of her fingers.  “Ugh, just one annoyance after another today.”  She tugged at her seat belt grumbling about how tight it had gotten and adjusted it a little as she got ready to turn her truck around and head back towards home.  

As she reached out to turn the key she overshot it by an inch or so.  She blinked, taking a look at her hand, turning it from side to side in front of her.  It looked swollen somehow, the knuckles a little stiff as she flexed her fingers.  “What the hell, am I having an allergic reaction to a bug bite now?”

She leaned over to pop open the glove compartment, her larger fingers fumbling with the latch.  Finally getting it open, she hunted for a mirror to get a better look at the bite mark.  The jackalope was sure she would find some hideous, swollen red welt on the side of her neck.  As she sat back up, she winced in pain as she felt her one unbroken antler rip across the ceiling, gouging a deep tear in the headliner before scraping the metal underneath.  Her eyes went wide as she ducked down a little, getting short of breath as she felt the seat belt constricting her waist a bit more. She threw the driver's side door open with enough force to rock the truck on its springs.  Almost in a panic, she couldn't unfasten the tightening seat belt from around her midsection.  She yanked hard on the fabric and there was a loud snap, sending the poor jackalope tumbling out of the vehicle and onto the hot, sandy pavement of the desert road. She pushed herself up off of the ground, dusting off the sand as she stood.  Reaching out with one hand she slammed the door of the car shut in frustration, nearly causing the vehicle to roll over.  A slight wave of vertigo swept over her as she looked more closely at the still gently rocking cobalt blue truck.  It had always been about nose height on her, her eyes looking right over the top of it.  Now, however it was just shoulder height, and chest height a few seconds after that. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm herself and failing miserably.  “Okay.  I shouldn’t panic.  But...  I think I’m definitely panicking!  What?  Whatwhatwhatwhat?!” The slowly growing jackalope took a step back from the vehicle and immediately lost her balance.  The heel of her paw had extended back off of the rear of her sandal as she grew and offered no support as she toppled back and landed heavily on her rump! “OW! Mmmmf...”  She groaned, focused on the pain in her rear for a split second before realizing that the pain in her feet was increasing. She glared down at her paws, already a bit over-sized because of her species and now seemingly expanding by the second.  Her toes almost seemed to be inflating as they were constricted tighter and tighter by the sandal straps. It wasn't long before the tortured leather snapped and sent the soles flying from her big, fluffy paws to bounce off of the side of her truck. The cuffs of her blue denim jeans were rapidly retreating up her calves as the brass button on them snapped open.  She gasped, grabbing at her waist as the zipper tore itself apart.  Looking down, she could see  her t-shirt stretching itself rapidly into a halter top as her poor, straining bra was overflowed by her furry endowments.  There was an almost metallic snap as the tortured support device ended up lying useless atop the rapidly shredding denim stretched across her swelling thighs.

She blinked her big, pink eyes as her vision blurred.  The rising jackalope crossed her eyes to see a tiny pair of glasses lying flat atop her snout.  She leaned forwards a little and they slipped right off, landing with a soft clink atop her dwindling SUV.  Scrambling back away from the vehicle before she grew into it and caused serious damage, the newly minted macro realized that just one of her paws was now larger than the dependable vehicle that had carried her all the way out here just moments ago.  It was just a few seconds more before she realized that she was completely nude. In spite of her thick, fluffy fur keeping the giantess completely decent, she leaped to her feet with an earth-shaking boom, wrapping one arm over her chest and placing a hand over her crotch. Heat blossomed in her cheeks, the deep red blush forming beneath her white fur was easily visible.  

The giantess' shout echoed out across the empty vastness of the desert, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!” Embarrassment was quickly being overpowered by anger. She had come all of the way out here to give those so called bunny rescuers a piece of her mind.  Now she was in the middle of the desert, naked, and gigantic.  Frowning, she moved off of the road, into the soft yellow sand.  It was actually somewhat soothing to her aching paws as she started stomping her way towards her original destination. It wasn't long before the giant had reached her goal.  The so-called bunny shelter was just up ahead.  Inside the building, a ferret, a deer and a mouse were racing around, trying to catch various items that were falling from various rickety shelves as they were hit by what they thought was a minor earthquake.  As the tremors grew stronger they gave up on trying to save the toppling merchandise and quickly moved outside.  They froze in place as they gazed up at the fluffy giantess standing before them, tapping one massive paw impatiently on the sand.  They were practically throwing one another to the ground as they tried to make a run for it.  

“Oh no you don't!” Jillian boomed, lifting one huge, soft paw and plopping it down on the fleeing wannabe rescuers.  

She pinned them down against the warm sand as she hissed through gritted teeth, “I've been walking through the desert, my feet hurt, and you're staying RIGHT THERE until I get these poor bunnies out of here and to a REAL rescue shelter.”  The gigantic jackalope slowly slid her paw through the sand.  Bunching it up beside her huge foot, she ended up burying the workers partially in a pile of it, leaving their heads and arms free to cough and struggle. She turned her attention to the rickety metal building and shrugged.  Gripping the front edge of the tin roof in her powerful hands she started rolling it back like it was the lid of a huge tin of sardines.  Squinting her eyes as she peered through the gloom, her heart nearly broke as she saw hutches filled with bunnies everywhere, many of them in truly horrible shape. Casting about for some way to carry the poor things, she spied the company van sitting off to the side of the employee parking lot.  Crouching down beside the pile of sand, she grumbled out, “I should squash the lot of you for the way you've treated these poor babies, but instead, you're going to help fix things.”  

She used a finger to carefully dig out the employees who were still struggling in the sand.  “You're going to unlock the back of that van and you're carefully going to secure every last bunny hutch there is into the back of it.  Right now.” It took a bit of time to get everything loaded and the doors shut.  One of the workers, a slinky looking ferret started to open the driver's side door, “So, where we goin'?” Jillian slammed the door shut with a single fluffy finger.  It impacted the van with enough force to cave in the tough metal, making her wince internally.  She would have to be careful moving it with the bunnies inside.  

“WE aren't going anywhere.  I'm taking these poor things to a real rescue and you're all going to learn to care for bunnies properly.”  She gently scoops the van up in one hand, cradling it against her belly as she glared down at them all.  

“Because if I ever hear about this sort of thing happening again?”  She cocked one leg back and kicked the side of their main building.  There was an earsplitting bang accompanied by the tortured shriek of tearing metal.  Without the roof to help hold it in place, the corrugated metal wall shredded apart like tissue paper as her paw blasted through and slammed down inside.  She crushed desks, chairs, and filing cabinets flat against the concrete floor.  Turning her white, fuzzy tail towards the shocked furres and her nose up into the air, she slowly walked off into the desert to the north, her booming footsteps echoing into the distance.

Her towering legs were beginning to ache as it took a good half hour of walking before she reached her destination.  Car alarms were blaring all around her as she carefully picked her way through the suburbs around town.  She laid back her ears, trying to block out the piercing noise as she tried not to cause too much damage.  Finally, she carefully crouched down, lowering the van gently into the parking lot outside the Happy Hutch Bunny Rescue.  As lightly as she could, she used a claw tip to tap on the side of the building.  It was a young dog, a retriever of some kind from the look of it, who stepped outside and very nearly turned and ran right back in before Jillian called out for him to wait. “Hold on, please.  There are some rabbits in the back of this van in pretty bad shape.  They really need your help.” Reaching out, she ripped the rear of the van open, no longer caring about any damage done to the vehicle.  Seeing the shape that the rabbits within were in, he quickly called the rest of the staff on his radio.  The motley assortment of workers formed a sort of fireman's bucket brigade to get the hutches full of injured rabbits inside the facility as quickly as possible. The giant jackalope smiled brightly and sighed, rubbing absently at the stump of her broken antler as she felt that this was a job well done.  She crouched down above the crew, telling them, “Thank you all so much for your help.” Rising back up to her full towering height, she looked down at the van for a moment.  “Oh yeah, you guys might want to call the number on the side of that thing so they can come get it back.”  Shrugging a shoulder, she then carefully picked her way back through the sprawling suburbs and back out into the desert.

It was nearly sunset when Jillian finally saw the deep blue blur of her truck in the distance. Everything as far as she could see was a brilliant orange hue that the sunset cast upon the sand.  She was completely exhausted, her feet hurt horribly, and more than anything she really wanted to just go home. “Wait.  What the hell am I going to do when I get home?  I can't even fit in my yard, much less my house at this size!”

Feeling utterly defeated, she slumped her way closer to the vehicle, then blinked as she realized that it didn't seem to be getting any closer as she approached.  Was it a mirage?  Was she actually lost somewhere in the middle of the desert? Her heart leaped in her chest as she realized the reason it didn't seem to be getting closer.  She was shrinking!  She was finally returning to normal!  Whatever it was that had caused her to grow into a macro must have finally worn off.  She breathed a huge sigh of relief as she picked up the pace, hurrying back to her truck. She reached it just as the sun dipped below the horizon and the first chill of the desert evening started to creep in. She stared at the road near her truck in awe.  The pavement was cracked and broken, crushed into the shape of a huge paw.  Her ruined sandals were flung to the side of the road underneath the truck and a few scattered rags were all that remained of her ruined clothing.  

She headed back over to her truck, for once in her life actually glad she had left the keys in the ignition. She was just about to wonder if she should risk driving without her glasses when a soft glint of reflected moonlight caught her eye.  She gave a little whoop of joy as she stood on tiptoe for a second, ignoring the pain in her calves as she grabbed her glasses from the roof of the truck where they had landed earlier and slipped them on. The bridge a little bent, but she could easily tighten them when she got home!  She sighed happily to herself as she perched her glasses atop her muzzle, smiling to herself.  A feeling of contentment and a job well done gave her peace of mind as Jillian slipped behind the wheel of the old blue Cherokee and started home.

The End?

[hopesangelsprite]

Sin City | KSJ (2/?)

Pairing: Demon!Receptionist!Seokjin x Angel!Reader

Summary: After her encounter with Kim Seokjin, the reader gets ready for her date with him.

“Come on, chubs! It’s not even that revealing!”, my annoying ass brother said for the umpteenth time causing me to peek out from my bathroom. “Not revealing?! It’s barely at my mid-thigh! And It’s pink!!”, I roared in annoyance. Yoongi sighed and facepalmed.

The last three hours had been spent trying on different outfits. It was my first date in years, and I was nervous as fuck. When Jin had invited me out for lunch, I’d happily agreed and prepared for a casual lunch date somewhere in the city. Then, three days ago, he told me there was a change of plans. He wanted to take me clubbing with him and Yoongi’s friends.

Now, here I was trying to get out of wearing a bright pink mini dress with matching pumps. “Look, chubs, I know what hyung likes and that outfit is it!”, Yoongi spoke as he crossed his arms. I huffed and peeked out again. “Can I change it, at least? Make it more my style?”, I asked in a pouty tone I knew would work on him. Yoongi sighed before nodding in approval. I grinned before shoeing him out so I could finish getting dressed.

Once he was gone, I quickly exited the bathroom and opened my closet. In the very back of the closet was a single duffel that I had purposefully left unpacked. I pulled it free from the depths of the closet and opened it with an excited smirk. In the bag were multiple chains, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, chokers, and other miscellaneous accessories. I looked in the mirror and back into the bag wondering how to accessorize it. I glanced at the clock to see I had an hour and a half until it was time to leave. I stood and walked to my drawer before opening the bottom compartment. Inside were various tools and trinkets. I put on a determined face before gathering a few things and setting to work.

*TIME SKIP BROUGHT TO YOU BY JK’S TINY ASS WAIST*

I smiled with heavy satisfaction as I looked over myself in my full-length mirror. There was a quiet knock on my door before the knob turned and my brother entered. “Hey, it’s time to-WOAH!! You weren’t kidding when you said you wanted to make it your own.”, Yoongi said while looking over my new and improved outfit.

I had turned the dress into a two-piece set by separating the top part from the skirt. I’d quickly hemmed the raw edges by hand and added some spare elastic to both parts so that they fitted snugly. Once that I was done with that, I just picked out matching accessories: A layered chain, an ear cuff and attached earring, and a set of thigh garters. I also had decided to switch the pink pumps for pink wedge sneakers. In short, I looked amazing and felt amazing, too.

(A/N): IMAGINE IT WITH THE AFORMENTIONED ACCESSORIES!!!

Yoongi smirked and nodded approvingly whilst looking me over. “Before, I only thought Jin hyung was gonna love it, but now… I know he’s gonna fall head over heels for you!”, he complimented before taking my hand a leading me out of the room and out of our apartment. Once we were in the elevator, he spoke again. “Listen, this is your first time going out, so pay attention. Don’t wander off alone, don’t drink anything from strangers, tell me where you’re going at all times, and if someone tries to attack you, give ‘em hell.”, he ordered as we reached the bottom floor and stepped into the lobby.

As expected, Seokjin wasn’t at his usual place behind the front desk. In his place was a blue-eyed girl with blonde hair. As we passed by, she sent us a bright smile and a cheery wave. I returned it and continued to follow behind my brother. Once we were outside, Yoongi whistled and waved a pale hand in the wind. A few seconds passed before a cab pulled over for us. Yoongi opened the door and let me in before following shortly after. After giving the driver directions and paying our fare, we set off into the dark, busy streets of Seoul.

I watched the flashing lights of the bustling city go by in a blur while attempting to ignore the growing bundle of anxiety in my tummy. A sigh from Yoongi’s direction turned me away from the window and towards him. “Don’t be nervous, little one. Jin hyung’s a good guy and he’ll take good care of you or else!”, he assured before reaching over nudging my cheek affectionately. I smiled and nodded before continuing to gaze out my window.

Soon enough we were standing outside of a tall, sleek building illuminated with purple neon lights that read ‘Club Bangtan’. Outside the entrance was a line so long that it wrapped around the corner of the building. Yoongi chuckled at my awe-filled expression before taking my hand again and leading me straight to the door. The two bouncers, who had been lazily admitting people inside, quickly stumbled to attention at the sight of him. “Easy, boys. Listen up cause I’m only telling you once. This girl right here can come in whenever she wants with whoever she wants with no waiting. You treat her right, too. Spread the word.”, Yoongi ordered with sternness.

The two looked me over quickly before nodding and opening the doors to the club. Once we stepped in, I was immediately blasted with music. Multicolored pulsing lights flashed wildly as throngs of people danced. There were angels, demon, and humans all in harmony as the music filled the atmosphere. A small tug from Yoongi brought me out of my stupor. I turned to see that we now were entering another elevator.

Once the doors closed, Yoongi placed his hand on a screen before typing in a few numbers. “Your turn! Gotta get you in the system.”, he informed before placing my hand on the screen. The cool glass beneath my palm vibrated before a small ding sounded. I pulled away to see the words ‘Choose your four-digit PIN.’ on the flashing screen. “Go ahead and choose. I won’t peek!”, Yoongi said before putting his hand over his eyes. I chuckled and thought for a minute. Then, four numbers came to my mind. Although they were random, they felt right to use. I quickly typed ‘1992’ on the keypad before hitting the enter button. The elevator made a small sound of approval before the doors slid open to reveal a large penthouse.

Yoongi took my hand and led me through the spacious living area. “Hey, Yoonie. How do you have access to all this stuff?”, I asked curiously. He chuckled and answered, “This entire block is mine, chubs! And now that you’re here, it’s yours, too!”. I stared at him in awe. He had become successful after he left. We stopped at a door painted bright red before Yoongi raised his hand and did a special knock. There was a pause before the door swung open to reveal Seokjin in all his handsome glory.

His hair was no longer blonde but a vibrant purple color. His flawless skin was cast in its usual heavenly glow. Today he had dawned an all-white suit. At the sight of us, he smirked sending chills running rampant down my spine. “Your late, Yoongles. Fashionably, I presume?”, he asked with the flick of a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “As always, hyung.”, he retorted.

Seokjin glanced at me and paused before looking me over. “Well hello, love. It’s good to see that you made it.”, he said almost hungrily as he took my hand from Yoongi and pulled me into the room. Just like the door, the room was decorated in shades of red and crimson. Scattered about the area were five other men and three girls. “LISTEN UP, BOYS AND GALS! THIS ADORABLE LIL THING RIGHT HERE IS ALL MINE, SO KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELVES!!!”, Jin announced whilst pulling me into his side by my waist.

Yoongi rolled his eyes before making his away around the bar in the corner to pour himself a whiskey neat. Jin lead me to a couch and sat down before pulling me into his lap. Warmth spread throughout my cheeks at the sudden lack of space between us. “Now, honey. Let’s get to know each other.”, Jin drawled out seductively. His chocolate orbs flashed pink as they bored into mine.

“I can tell we’re going to enjoy each other’s company…”

(A/N):

Hiii! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I’ll be updating soon cause this one was just a filler. Please like, share, reblog, and comment your thoughts and ideas!!!

[hopecountysfavhoe]

‘Cold’ Chapter Fifteen Pt.2

Rating: PG13 again

Word count: 2,935

     The Deputy found Grace at the Lamb of God Church by chance. She didn't expect to find her there but she was glad that she checked. She drove up to the front door and found Grace up in the bell tower, watching for anyone.

     "Hey Deputy, hang on I'll come down there." Grace said and climbed down a ladder to the ground where the Deputy was standing. They sat on the stone wall together, silent for a long time.

     "How have you been? Have Kim and Nick been putting you to work?" Grace asked and the Deputy laughed.

     "Nah, they've been worse. They've been telling me to rest." She said and Grace cracked a smile.

     "But seriously, how have you been?" Grace's voice was serious again.

     "I'm fine. People need to stop worrying so much about me. I'll get back up, I always do." The Deputy was clearly frazzled with all the extra attention she'd been getting recently.

     "People are just worried."

     "Yeah I know but nobody used to worry so damn much, not until I got kidnapped." The Deputy sighed, rubbing her thumb over a rough stone on the wall.

     "People always used to worry, Kim especially, you getting hurt just gave us a reason to vocalize it." Grace explained and the Deputy looked at the ground.

     "...I know. I just wish people would forget about it and let me do my job."

     "Which is? I remember you coming in here to arrest Joseph Seed, not become our holy saviour. Deputy, I'm not telling you to never help again, I'm asking you to be ok with giving yourself a much needed break." Grace looked at her despite the Deputy not making eye contact.

     "I just don't know how to do that." The Deputy said and Grace nodded.

     "I know, but I will help you figure it out, and we all know Kim will." Grace said and the Deputy let out a small laugh.

     Grace could see right through the Deputy's lies. She could look past every excuse and see what was really wrong with her. She knew that her wanting to 'do her job' was just because she wanted a distraction from her thoughts. She knew that the Deputy wasn't fine and that she wasn't ok but she was driving herself insane trying to figure out who she was when she wasn't fighting.

     Grace had gone through the same thing when she came back from the war. She turned to hunting and marksmanship as her outlets but when you're barred from fighting or shooting the way the Deputy was, then you can start to lose yourself.

     Grace got an idea on how to help the Deputy. "Hey, come follow me." She said and stood up, she turned and offered her hand to the Deputy which she accepted. Grace helped her to her feet and started walking into the woods. The Deputy didn't know where they were going but didn't ask, she felt like being surprised. They didn't walk for long, but when they arrived the Deputy was shocked.

     Displayed in front of them was a gun range, secretly tucked away in the woods. Grace had targets hanging from trees, sticking up behind rocks, through broken branches, everywhere you looked were targets. "This is where I go to have some alone time. I sight my guns here." She said and took her rifle off her shoulder. "I'm guessing Kim confiscated all of your guns?" Grace asked behind her.

     "All except my pistol." The Deputy patted the pistol on her hip. The Deputy was still looking around at the targets when Grace held out her rifle to her.

     "Here, try it out." The Deputy stared in silence for a moment, trying to process what was happening.

     "Hang on, you want me to shoot your gun?" She asked with disbelief in her voice.

     "Yeah, you need an outlet and shooting is the perfect outlet. Just...don't change settings please?" Grace asked as the Deputy accepted her rifle.

     "Of course, yeah I won't touch anything." The Deputy promised and looked through the sight on top of Grace's rifle. It was weird to hold somebody else's gun, but feeling the weight of the heavy metal under her fingers was comforting.

     Grace took a step back and watched as the Deputy got into her shooting position on her stomach. A small grin crept onto her face as she watched her relax into her shot.

     The Deputy lined up the shot with a closer target, wanting to see what kind of accuracy it had. Of course it hit dead on, it was Grace's gun. She shot just about every target Grace had set up, only missing a couple of times. If she missed she'd try again and get it right then move onto the next one.

     It was so good to get to shoot again. The Deputy hated having to shoot people, but when it was targets it was much easier. The gun had a silencer on it, of course, so it didn't have a loud bang when it fired but it was relieving stress either way.

     She didn't realize how much she missed it, shooting. It was always something done out of pure necessity, it was something that had to happen whether you wanted to or not. But after a year of shooting it had become second nature. The bolt action, loading bullets, making sure it didn't jam, they were all mundane activities that had made sitting in that clinic bearable. Now, the doctor didn't let her have her rifles or semi automatics in the bed with her but she allowed her empty pistol and she would let Grace hand her individual components of her guns if they were kept far away from her. It was something about making sure the Deputy wasn't putting herself or anyone else in danger.

     That was the best part of getting out of that damn place, people didn't treat her like a child or like she'd gone crazy. She knew the doctor was just doing her job but still, it felt so demeaning to be forced to walk around on crutches (which she hadn't used since she left the clinic) and take her pain pills at a specific time of day.

     The Deputy tried to expel that annoyance and anger towards her situation through shooting, and it was working. With every metal target she hit she felt immensely better. She turned around to look at Grace with a huge smile on her face.

     "Thank you Grace, seriously. This is just what I needed." She thanked her and stood up off the ground. Her legs wobbled a bit but they did that when the Deputy stood up. She handed the rifle back to Grace who reloaded it.

     "Anytime, come on let's get you back before Kim gets upset at us." Grace shouldered her rifle and gave the Deputy a pat on the shoulder. They started back through the woods and walked till they could see the top of the church.

     They didn't talk as they walked but they were normally a quiet pair. They just listened to the sounds of the forest and enjoyed each other's company. They came down the hill right before the church and saw that nobody else was there except for the Deputy's truck.

     Grace walked a little in front of the Deputy so that she could open a small gate in the fence for them. Suddenly the Deputy felt something sting her neck. She reached her hand up and felt her neck, pulling away a small contraption of some sort. Her vision got wonky and the world started spinning around her. Unable to keep her balance she fell to her knees, she wasn't even able to get Grace's name out of her mouth.

     Grace turned around at the sound of something falling and saw the Deputy on all fours. "Deputy!" She exclaimed and rushed to her friends side.

     "What happened?" She asked and the Deputy tried to say something. Her brain was too scrambled to get out a sentence so she just showed her what stung her neck. It was one of the Peggies' Bliss bullets. Grace immediately scanned the area for any Peggies and reached for her gun.

     Out of desperation for something that didn't feel like it was spinning the Deputy gripped a patch on Grace's pants. Grace didn't know how to help so she just put her arm around the Deputy and made sure she didn't fall over.

     "Let's try and get you to the truck." Grace was already lifting her to her feet. She brought one of the Deputy's arms over her shoulders. With her other arm Grace hooked it under the Deputy's right arm to help hold her up.

     Moving wasn't great for the Deputy's rocky vision but Grace was determined to get her out of there before any Peggies showed up. She hobbled with the Deputy until she got to the passenger side door of her truck. She opened the door and helped her in, doing most of the heavy lifting until the Deputy was sitting in the seat properly. Her face had gone pale and her eyes were heavy and unfocused. Grace put her seatbelt on her and closed the door.

     As quick as she could she hoped in the drivers side door and peeled away from the church. "I'm bringing you back to Nick and Kim's house but I have to make sure nobody follows us." Grace said as they rumbled down the road in the opposite direction of Nick and Kim's house.

     The Deputy didn't open her eyes, instead she kept them scrunched up and shut so that her vision wouldn't keep swimming the way it was. She could hear Grace talking but it sounded far away, almost like she was underwater. The Bliss sped into her system, eating away at her will to stay awake. The steady rocking of the truck didn't help either, everything felt to comfortable. She couldn't help it, she basically drifted to sleep.

     Grace looked over at her unconscious friend and turned down a random road abruptly she couldn't see anyone following her but that wasn't very relieving. Still, she'd driven all around Hope County and the Deputy hadn't woken up yet. She knew she was still alive, she was breathing. But still, it bothered Grace that she'd never even seen the Peggie sniper. They must have been watching them in the woods and radioed John that the Deputy was there.

     After she convinced herself that she'd lost anyone that was following her, Grace sped up and went down the road that led to Nick and Kim's house. She practically skidded to a stop in front of their house and was already putting the truck in park as she opened her door. Grace leapt out of the truck and shouted for Nick.

     "Help! I need help!" She shouted and raced to the passenger side door. Nick scurried out of the hangar at the same time Kim opened the front door of their house. Kim shouted for Nick and rushed over to the truck.

     "What happened?" Kim demanded as Grace opened the passenger side door. The Deputy's seatbelt kept her in her seat but her unconscious body leaned dangerously towards the ground. "Is she ok?"

     "No, she got shot by a Bliss bullet." Grace said and Nick was suddenly right by her side.

     "Let's get her inside." Nick said and Grace unclamped her seatbelt. They were careful to not let her fall as Nick grabbed her right shoulder and Grace grabbed her left shoulder. Kim closed the door in the truck and raced to the front door of the house.

     Nick and Grace carried the Deputy up the front steps, her feet were dragging through the dirt but she was already as propped up as she could be. "What happened?" Kim demanded and swung the front door open.

     "We were by the Lamb of God church and she just collapsed. I got her here as fast as I could." Grace said and her and Nick brought her to the couch.

     "I don't know what to do for a Bliss bullet!" Kim panicked as the team lowered her onto the couch. They lifted her legs so that they were on the couch and took a step back. Grace knelt down next to her and felt her pulse.

     Nick tried to comfort Kim while she rushed to find a towel and water. Grace felt around her pocket and found what she was looking for. The Bliss bullet looked like something from a movie. It was a small canister no bigger than Grace's thumb and long needle stuck to the end. All of the Bliss from the canister was in the Deputy's system.

      "All we can do is wait and see when she wakes up. But I'd be careful, I don't know how big of a dose this is and sometimes coming out of the bliss can be dangerous." Grace told them as Kim rushed back into the room.

     "Did you get attacked?" Nick asked and Grace shook her head.

     "No, we were just walking and when we came back she just fell over. I didn't even see anybody." Kim dipped the towel in water and pressed it to the Deputy's forehead gently.

     The Deputy made a strange noise and shuddered away from Kim's touch. "Careful Kim." Nick warned and Grace placed a hand on her shoulder.

     "Let me, we don't know what she's seeing right now." Grace took the towel from Kim who backed away from the two. Kim and Nick watched as Grace carefully dabbed the Deputy's forehead.

     The Deputy reacted to Grace touching her like it was a live wire. Her arms and legs suddenly gained the mobility to try and fight back despite her eyes never opening. She tried to claw Grace who promptly put a knee on her chest to stop her from rolling off the couch.

     "Nick grab her arms!" Grace ordered as the Deputy fought back. Nick ran around behind her head and grabbed each of her elbows, pinning them down to the couch. Grace stepped off of her chest and grabbed her legs, pressing them down into the couch.

     "Dep, snap out of it!" Nick yelled into her ear as she thrashed. The Deputy shouted and shrieked like she as in pain, her whole body trying desperately to fight off her friends.

     "She's in the Bliss Nick, she doesn't know it's you. She probably thinks we're the Peggies." Grace said and held fast to her legs. Kim watched in horror as the Deputy struggled so horribly.

     "Don't let her hurt herself!" She exclaimed and suddenly heard Carmina start crying.

     "Don't bring Carmina down here, you go up and try to keep her calm. We'll stay here until she calms down." Nick said and readjusted his grip on her elbows as the Deputy fought to get loose. Kim nodded and hurried upstairs.

     "Dep, look it's me! It's Nick, you're ok! They don't have you, you're safe!" He said but his words bounced right off of her.

     "No! Get off of me!" The Deputy screamed but Nick and Grace didn't.

     "Hey Dep, it's ok you ain't anywhere near that fucking Seed ok? You're here with me and Grace and Kim and Carmina." The sound of Carmina's name especially made the Deputy thrash.

     "Maybe she thinks you're John. Say something John wouldn't say! You know she doesn't fight for herself, try something that convinces her we aren't going to hurt anybody." Grace said and Nick's brain was scrambled.

     "Ok uh uh, I'm not hurting anybody, I just want to talk?" His words, although unsure sounding, were helping.

     "Good, I don't want to go near your family, I only want you." Grace added. These were all thing John would never say but since the Deputy thought it was John saying them she calmed down.

     "If you stop fighting then I won't hurt anyone." Nick tried and the Deputy's fight basically stopped instantly. He didn't actually think that one would work he was just spitballing. "Good, just stay calm ok? We're not going to hurt you." Nick reassured her but that got her upset again.

     Grace cursed and held tighter to her feet. "Damn it!" She exclaimed. "I guess that's a trigger statement."

     "Maybe the most not-John thing I can do is not talk?" Nick suggested.

    They tried not saying anything and the Deputy slowly calmed down. Eventually she stopped thrashing and her breathing got more even. Nick looked over at Grace and gave her a small nod before he eased off the Deputy's arms.

     "Christ." He muttered and wiped his forehead with his arm.

     Grace carefully stepped away from her legs, her hands raised so that if she thrashed again she could quickly jump back in her. "I think she's out now." She said quietly.

     Nick looked to the stairs. "I've gotta go check on-" Grace shushed him and pointed to the Deputy, she didn't want her to hear any of theirs names incase she jumped back into a panic. "Oh right, I'll be back." He said and walked up the stairs. Grace let out a deep breath and studied the Deputy. She looked down at her friend with a frown.

     She kicked herself over the fact that she didn't see him. She didn't even know there was a Peggie sniper anywhere near the church, and yet he managed to get to the Deputy so easily. It was too easy. Grace promised herself she would be more vigilant next time she was ever out with the Deputy.

[thecompleteguidetomisery]

How to Drive Like a Local in Southern California: A Guide for Tourists and Transplants

One of the challenges of getting to know any new city is learning the unspoken rules of its roads. That problem is compounded exponentially by the quirkiness, shall we say, of Southern California (SoCal) drivers. Therefore, in order to reduce the chances of a misunderstanding, visitors and more permanent arrivals would do well to educate themselves as much as possible about how the locals operate. 

Drivers from elsewhere will be used to deferring to traffic laws when deciding who goes first at an intersection (e.g., first to arrive, tie goes to the right, straight before turns, etc.). Visitors and newcomers should know that, as a general rule, traffic laws are only occasionally followed in America’s Finest City. 

For the local, rules of the road really means - only apply these practices if you can remember the rules, and only if you feel like doing so. 

Changing Lanes

Most drivers are accustomed to a predictable practice of changing lanes when travelling on the freeway. For the average transplant or tourist, lanes are to be crossed one-at-a-time, with enough space to do so safely, and only after communicating the intention to do so by using a turn signal.

For the local, though, each of these criterion is optional.

First, SoCal drivers treat their vehicle’s turn signals like EpiPens: they only use them in case of an emergency. 

In other words, to fit in with the locals, avoid your blinkers in all but the direst circumstances. And “dire circumstances” means - you want to get over into an adjacent lane but the butthead next to you either doesn’t care or doesn’t want to make room.

In that case, throw on your blinker as a signal to the butthead that you are about to cut them off.

Then cut them off.

On an unrelated note, San Diegans, and SoCal residents generally, refer to their freeways or highways with the title “The,” as in “The Eight-Oh-Five” or “The One-Sixty-Three.”

As though these are the only entities by those names ever in existence. Or the only ones that matter. The newcomer will be bombarded with references to “The Eight” and “The Five,” and have to resist the temptation to ask, “The Eight? Do you mean the novel by Katherine Neville? Or Quentin Tarantino’s Hateful collection?” or “Which five? The Jackson Five or the Slaughterhouse variety?”

The history is that Los Angeles got the jump on most of the country by building some of their freeways ahead of The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Southern Californians named the roads according to their location, such as “The San Bernardino Freeway.” So there was a local tradition of giving roads more personal names than, say, “Interstate Ninety-Five” on the East Coast.

By the time California reworked its road number system in 1964, the “The” habit was already established. Each of the previously charming names, such as “The Harbor Freeway,” were replaced by their numbered equivalents, as in “The One-Ten.”

Anyway, back to lane changes.

A common place for lane-crossing commotion, in any city, is when a vehicle enters the freeway from an on-ramp and hopes to accelerate less restrictive speeds as soon as possible (i.e., get into the fast lane). Tourists and transplants will be familiar with using their turn signals and gradually working their way over, one lane at a time, until they reach the far left lane.  

Rather than limit yourself to that inefficient practice, slice across all lanes, from freeway entrance ramp to the fast lane, on a sharp diagonal without stopping or slowing. The only remaining issue is whether the drivers around you will force you to put on your turn signal before you cut them off.

Finally, reasonable drivers, when getting off a freeway, plan ahead and gradually move right from the fast lane to the exit ramp. For example, if you’ve ever been driving in the far right lane at high speeds in another part of the country, and became aware that you needed to take an exit in two miles, it’s pretty likely you immediately started to work your way over to the exit ramp, one lane at a time, and made it onto the exit ramp without ruining someone else’s day.

You will need to forget this habit.

Instead, stay in the far right lane until roughly a quarter of a mile before your exit. Then, throw on your blinker (either the right or left will do in a pinch since no one pays attention to turn signals anyway), make a ninety-degree right turn, and travel perpendicular to traffic until you make it to the ramp.

When others honk their displeasure, toss up a breezy wave to show that you forgive them for being uptight.

Remember, for SoCal drivers, the key is to create maximum chaos with every move.

Forced Courtesy

Imagine this scenario.

You are driving on a busy side street in one of Southern California’s many villages and there are cars behind you. 

You are a little distracted by the condition of the roads and remember seeing a headline in the San Diego Union-Tribune the other day announcing America’s Finest City will spend $700K to assess the condition of its streets. As your right front tire drops into a crater-like pothole, you think to yourself, “Hey, Mayor Gloria, I’ll save you the money and trouble. These roads need A LOT of work.”

And for those of you who don’t know, the City of San Diego’s 2022 Budget includes the phrase: “Each neighborhood in San Diego deserves ‘sexy’ streets…”

Sexy?

I’d settle for smooth. Even silky. In fact, I think I’d prefer smooth or silky road to a sexy one. And why would you want to drive on a sexy street? Wouldn’t it be distracting? What makes a street sexy anyway?

Okay, we’ve officially opened Pandora’s celebrated box with THAT question.

So back to your drive. You mentally try not to avoid the question what makes a street sexy when you notice a person standing on the corner of the upcoming intersection. All their body language says they intend to cross the road. They are standing on the edge of the curb, leaning forward, and looking in your direction, obviously waiting for you to pass so they can move forward. Key phrase: waiting for you to pass... as in stationary.

And, finally, in this scenario you do NOT have a STOP sign.

If you are a recent transplant or tourist, you likely watch to make sure the pedestrian doesn’t dart out in front of you and, because the person is not moving and you do NOT have a STOP sign, you don’t stop.

Well, you can only get away with that out-of-town nonsense for so long in SoCal.

In SoCal, the correct procedure, while driving 35mph with cars following closely behind you, upon seeing someone standing on a corner who looks even the least interested in crossing your path, is to abruptly slam on your brakes and wave the now baffled pedestrian across the street.

You might think of this as “forced courtesy.” It’s a way of making yourself feel better by proving to yourself what a considerate driver you are.

Never mind the cars behind you. Expect that they will hit their brakes in time not to collide with your backside. Besides, it’s their job to be on their toes, alert for your capricious whims.

The walker will stare at you with something not far from puzzled annoyance. Being compelled to cross the road when one isn’t prepared is the adult equivalent of a child being shoved into the embrace of a least favorite relative, like that uncle with the bad breath. Or the aunt who is an enthusiastic collector of something boring and insipid, like cocktail napkins.

The pedestrian will freeze, lizard-like, unsure of what to do.

And pause, the way you do when that self-important friend of yours interrupts you to say something so dumb and irrelevant that you have to take a moment to recompose yourself.

The pedestrian will be certain something must be wrong with you, since you’d just stopped for no reason other than to let them, a perfect stranger, walk across your path. Your counterpart will wonder if you are planning to run them over once they step off the curb. Why else would you do something as foolish as this?

What is most important at this point is your commitment. You MUST remain stopped and gently but firmly tell the walker to get moving. This is no longer about courtesy, and was never about safety. This is about satisfying your ego. You decided to be considerate and, damnit, this jerk of a pedestrian had better honor that. And be grateful for it.

And so continue to pressure the passerby to get moving. Don’t be surprised to hear a growing cacophony of car horns as the drivers behind you, not aware of your unilateral decision to disregard traffic laws, pressure you to get moving.

At that point, it will dawn on your counterpart that you are truly a San Diego driver, and that stopping illegally to coerce random pedestrians to cross the street is just one of your quirks.

The pedestrian will give you an appreciative wave and walk in front of your vehicle, looking all the while to their right (i.e., away from you). Don’t be surprised if one of the confused, impatient drivers behind you decides to tear around you just as the hapless pedestrian steps in their path.

The other driver will honk, and because they are busy staring into your vehicle to determine what’s wrong with you for stopping in the middle of the street, they will not see the pedestrian until the last second and only narrowly avoid a needless tragedy.

You and the pedestrian will each look at one another, eyebrows raised to the top of your respective foreheads, puff out your cheeks and slowly exhale as if to say, “Well, that was a close one.”

As you drive off, you can yell to your counterpart, “Some people just don’t know how to drive!”

Four-Way Stop Signs

Southern Californians have evolved a couple approaches, in place of legal ones, to handle when two or more vehicles arrive at a four-way stop simultaneously and need to decide who should go first in order to avoid a collision. 

The first is to slow down enough to give fellow travelers the impression that you will come to a complete stop, only to accelerate and roll through the intersection. The purpose of this maneuver is to save everyone else at the intersection the trouble of determining who has the right to proceed first. What a kind, thoughtful approach. Rather than burdening fellow travelers with another decision, you’ve taken the choice right out of their hands and applied it to your advantage. 

It’s a win-win. 

You will quickly recognize those naïve and foolish drivers who still believe in applying adult standards of behavior to the act of operating a motor vehicle. They will look shocked, even angry, as they slam on their brakes to avoid colliding with you, and might honk in protest as you pass. It is important to have an appropriate hand gesture ready for those instances. 

The most common SoCal response is to give a breezy, passive-aggressive wave. This lets the other driver know that you’re the selfless, laid back type who has already forgiven them for having the temerity to make an unpleasant noise at you. 

The other most popular reaction involves a single extended finger.   

The second approach to four-way stops is both more complicated and commonplace. It involves planning, patience, and persistence. 

The most important step is the first. You must get to your limit line (i.e., the white strip behind which you’re supposed to stop) an instant or two before another vehicle arrives. Then, sit patiently and stare at your counterpart while waiting for them to proceed. 

The other driver will likely be confused that you are not moving and will, in their way, wait for you to go, since you arrived at the intersection first. 

Don’t be fooled. This power struggle has only just begun. 

Remind yourself that your fellow traveler is clearly a tourist who hasn’t yet grasped the SoCal system. 

Wave for them to go ahead. 

And flash your high beams to hammer home the point. Make sure you do this before they do or you’ll be obligated to proceed forward. 

No matter how long you have to wait, keep your foot firmly planted on the brake. Consider putting the vehicle in park. 

Then, the moment the other car begins to pull forward, stomp on your accelerator so that your vehicle violently lurches forward about five feet. Just enough distance to get your counterpart to stop moving. 

Then slam on your brakes. 

Your fellow traveler will, in the interim, have come to an abrupt halt. Feeling shocked and betrayed, they will flash their high beams and wave energetically for you to go ahead. 

Remember that this is not about courtesy or efficiency, it is about you and your point of view. You unilaterally determined that the other vehicle should go first, and damnit, you’re the kind of person who sticks to their decision once they’ve made up their mind. 

Besides, if you were to pull forward at that moment you’d lose face. Wait until your new nemesis begins to move, and lurch forward again. This is just a test to make sure that the other driver will really follow through with their commitment. 

They will, of course, stop again. Finally, in an exaggerated manner, throw up your hands as if to say, “What are you waiting for?!?” 

#howtodrivelikealocal

#maximumchaos

#forcedcourtesy

#whatareyouwaitingfor

[marshmallow-phd]

Midnight Hours

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Summary: For you, being a good witch was easier said than done. Something dark was lurking inside of you and the others knew it. When you’re forced to tag along with Soomi and help a local wolfpack face a coming evil, you’re sent on a path that breaks into a crossroads. While you struggle with your inner demons, could the wolf Sehun be the key to your ultimate fate?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I 17 I Final

**

“She’s my best friend.”

“Your very nosy best friend.”

Dana threw Kyungsoo a glare, but coming from the soft-spoken mate, it didn’t really pack any heat behind it, especially when compared to Kyungsoo’s icy stare downs.

“When is she coming?” Junmyeon asked, his worried expression etching lines into his otherwise youthful face.

“In a couple days,” Dana replied. “She wouldn’t take no for an answer. She said she’s bored where she’s at and that she misses me. I miss her too, but….”

You were still confused as to what the big deal was. “Is her coming to see her friend a bad thing?”

“(y/n)…,” Soomi scolded. You shrugged innocently at her.

Dana sighed. “Kyungsoo’s right. Mina’s very nosy, especially if she even thinks she senses something’s off. She doesn’t know about werewolves or witches or anything supernatural. Keeping her unaware is going to be a challenge.”

“She can’t come to the farmhouse,” Junmyeon said as he let out an exasperated sigh.

Kyungsoo nodded. “Of course.”

“Quite the time to make a surprise visit, huh?” Jongdae snapped. He definitely wasn’t the only one thinking it given the nodding consensus around the room.

“The timing is weird,” Kris agreed, “but coincidences happen. Dana will keep her away from the farmhouse and the woods and we’ll go about as usual. It’s not like we haven’t been practicing how to be normal our whole lives.”

You couldn’t help but snort at that. Several wolves gave you confused looks. Maybe it was because you’d spent a majority of your life trying to pretend to be the witch equivalent of “normal” that you found amusement in what the alpha had said. You’d learned a while back that “normal” was just a setting on the washing machine.

“I guess you’ll have to stay at your apartment while she’s here,” Kyungsoo muttered disappointedly. Dana gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder, but it did little good. The wolf turned and went back to the food still cooking on the stove top. Apparently, that was the end of the conversation because everyone went back to their business from before Dana had shown up with her news.

You’d come to the conclusion that not much bothered these boys. Whether it was because of what they’d gone through in the past or because they didn’t deem too much to be a threat to them, they didn’t worry easily. Besides the alphas, that is. You had to admit, it was a bid admirable, but it could also be considered stupid. You didn’t think this Mina was anyone to worry about, however, looks could be deceiving. Very deceiving. And assumptions could be dangerous…

**

For the millionth time since you’d come to the farmhouse, you were sitting on the couch, going over all your notes on your visions that you’d taken down. You were desperate to figure out what it all meant, but looking at the half-sentences and vague descriptions made you feel like you were trying to put together a thousand piece puzzle without any sort of hint to what the final picture may be. It didn’t help that your mind wanted to focus on the vision with the wolf. To you, it was irrelevant. There was no immediate danger attached to the scene – accept maybe the wolf itself. However, you didn’t think it would hurt you, at least not on purpose. By now, you were pretty sure it was Sehun, the other supposedly white wolf, Luhan, easily ruled out. Part of you was even hoping that is was Sehun. But why?

You refused to fall into the same trap Soomi did. And yet, how many times did you find yourself replaying the garage in your mind? You wanted to hit the memory out of your head with your notebook, but it was no use. It was stuck there, refusing to budge. Being tortured like this was not what you had signed up for when you reluctantly agreed to come here. Stupid wolf. Stupider witch.

“Hey, witch girl!”

You peaked over the edge of your notebook to see who’d called out to you. Hae In – one of the more outspoken mates – stood behind the arm of the couch where your feet rested, hands on her hips and a smirk on her lips. Behind her was Harper. The ex-hunter was shifting nervously as her eyes darted around the room. She always seemed to be on edge no matter what the situation.

“We’re going to meet up with Dana and her friend,” Hae In informed you. Her usual boldness and straight-to-the-point attitude was still very much present. It didn’t matter that the two of you hadn’t interacted much, she treated you like everyone else around the house. But you liked that about her. It made you feel less ostracized in a way. “Soomi said we could take you with us. Let’s go.”

Harper threw her cousin a tired look, “Innie….”

Hae In wasn’t fazed at all. “What? If I was her, I’d want out of this house, too. I can still remember poor Jinyoung going crazy.”

Harper rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue further. And neither did you. Closing the notebook, you tossed it down on the coffee table and leapt to your feet. “I’m down.”

“Awesome!” Hae In threw Harper a triumphant look before spinning on the balls of her feet and waltzing out of the room. The latter simply shrugged at you and followed her out.

You were hot on their heels until you came to a screeching halt just before the steps on the porch. Baekhyun, it seemed, would be coming with you. So this was not to be a “girls only” thing. With the energy that was brewing in the air at the moment, you were half tempted to go back inside. Currently, Baekhyun had his fingers wrapped around the handle of the front passenger door. He wasn’t glaring at Harper, but you could tell there was an uneasiness behind his eyes. You weren’t aware of the entire situation that occurred between former enemy and the pack, but you figure that if she was going to betray everyone, it would have happened by now so there was no point in not trusting her.

With a short nod, Harper stepped up to the back car door behind the driver’s side and slid in. It seemed she was letting the wolf take the front seat. Hae In honked her horn, bringing your focus back to the present, and you ran to take the remaining seat in her little Honda. It was about an hour into town, a shorter trip than what you had to take back home. As each road sign passed and the buildings on the horizon grew larger, you became antsier, eager to get out and wander around civilization. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Harper slightly smile at you before turning her head to face out her own window.

Hae In parked near the center of town in the business district. Decorating the middle of the prosperous area was the red brick clock tower, like a beacon luring in shoppers with money to spend within its territory. But as intriguing as the timeless structure was, it was the figure leaning up against the base that caught your eye.

The unmistakable orange hair stood out even as dozens of patrons milling about the square, blocking most of him from view. His arms were crossed lazily over his chest with his eyes focused in on the cracking cement by his feet. Just to his left, Dana and Kyungsoo were having a conversation, the wolf looking a bit annoyed, but even from where you stood by the car you tell it wasn’t directed at Dana. When the group you were with approached the others, you found out the reason for his annoyance.

“Mina’s going to meet us at the restaurant,” Dana explained while you tried extremely hard to focus on her and not let your eyes wander over to Sehun. He hadn’t even acknowledged the group’s arrival. “She’s running a bit behind.”

“She overslept and thinks she needs to spend an hour getting ready,” Kyungsoo elaborated with a blank face.

“Let’s just go,” Sehun said in a bored tone as he pushed off the clock tower. It seemed he’d come out of whatever thoughts were keeping his attention previously. “I’m starving. She can just join us when she does.”

Dana looked like she wanted to argue, but Kyungsoo reached out and took her hand, squeezing her fingers reassuringly. That seemed to be the catalyst to give in. “Okay,” Dana agreed. “I’ll send her the name of the restaurant. She’ll find us.” Under her breath, she added, “Hopefully.”

The group made its way across the square towards a small Mexican restaurant squeezed in between a clothing boutique and an eyebrow salon. Keeping to yourself quietly near the back, you learned as you walked that Luhan wouldn’t be joining the group since he was out on perimeter duty at the moment.

“What’s perimeter duty?” you asked out of curiosity. You had a pretty good guess, but….

Sehun was the one who answered. “Kris and Junmyeon have everyone running the surrounding area in case we come across something that might be considered helpful.”

Both Baekhyun and Kyungsoo threw the youngest an odd look, but nothing more was said as the group entered the restaurant. Right away, the hostess should you to a table off to the side of the large room. You were thankful that you and Sehun sat on the same side with Hae In and Baekhyun in between. That way you were less tempted to look at him. That didn’t stop the occasion glance out of the corner of your eye, but you hope it was subtle enough to go unnoticed by the others.

As soon as the chips and salsa were placed on the table, you took that as the perfect distraction to occupy your attention. Baekhyun was keeping most of the table entertained with the random facial expressions and nonsensical sentences leaving his mouth. The waiter came around and took the drink orders, leaving to give everyone a minute longer to pick what sounded good from the menus that had barely been looked at. Another fifteen minutes went by and you were starting to wonder if Dana’s friend was going to show up at all.

“Hey, sorry I’m late!”

You looked up from the pieces of tortilla chip in your hands and froze.

Dana’s friend Mina was a tall girl with light blonde hair and milky skin to match. Just like the woman in your vision.

Jumping up from her seat, Dana gave her best friend a long hug, completely unaware of your reaction to the new arrivla’s appearance. In fact, no one else seemed bothered or to make the connection they took their seats.

“Hey,” Harper whispered, leaning towards you from her seat in front of you. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” you nodded a little too eagerly, leaning back in your seat. The waiter, noticing the newcomer, brought Mina a cup of water and took her order after she barely glanced at the menu.

“You get the same thing every time,” Dana teased.  

Mina shrugged, flipping her blonde curls over her shoulder in the process. Her eyes wandered over everyone at the table before they landed on Sehun who sat across from her. Like lightning, her hand was out, reaching over the chips and salsa. “Hi, I’m Mina.”

Sehun shifted in his seat, uncrossing his arms long enough to shake her hand before assuming the position once again. “Sehun. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You’re one of Kyungsoo’s friends, right?” He nodded. “I’m surprised that Dana is comfortable around so many people,” Mina commented, barely glancing at who she was referring to before going back to the one person she was actually addressing. “Groups like this used to make her uncomfortable.”

“A lot’s changed in the last few years,” Dana defended. Making eye contact with Kyungsoo, she slipped her hand into his. The usually stoic wolf let his lips spread into a wide grin, the kind of look that he reserved only for his mate.

“And I’m so happy for you,” Mina said happily as she pulled her friend into another hug.

The conversation drifted into what Dana had been up to lately. She was careful to avoid anything that might accidentally roam into the area of the wolves that lived in the woods.

“So, Sehun, what do you do most days?” Mina asked out of nowhere. She placed her chin in her folded hands as her elbows rested on the table. A glance was exchanged between Baekhyun and Hae In, but if Mina noticed she wasn’t deterred.

In reply to her obviously flirtatious inquiry, Sehun shrugged. “Depends on the day. Sometimes I’m home, sometimes I’m at Kris’ shop, helping out there.”

A sparkle shine in her eyes. “So, no girlfriend to hang out with?”

You shoved your tongue in your cheek, biting down hard to avoid any sort of sarcastic comment flying out of your mouth. She was being shamefully obvious to the point that by now even the mated couples at the table – who weren’t particularly shy about PDA and innuendoes – were shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Sehun, however, was just as unconcerned as ever. “No. No girlfriend.”

Mina nodded with a Cheshire cat grin. “Interesting. When I asked Dana if she had anyone to introduce me to, she said all of her friends were taken.”

“You’re just visiting,” Dana murmured, a deep frown on her lips. “What’s the point?”

“Well, you know me, I’m always on the move.” She sent her friend a wink and a sly smile.

Your blood was boiling even though you had no reason to be irritated. Part of you kept waiting for Sehun to tell her he wasn’t interested, but he kept his mouth closed, letting the nerve-grating comments keep on coming.

Perhaps what was bothering you was the fact that she looked just the woman in your vision. No, you never saw her face when the premonition hit, but the hair and skin was almost a perfect match. Maybe that was why you were on edge. Yeah, that had to be it… right?

You stared at the glass of water in front of you, fighting with yourself, repeating that what happened in the garage meant nothing – as nothing even happened – and it didn’t give you any right or reason to be jealous. Closing your eyes, you started the deep breath exercises Mother Willow had taught you when you felt your emotions getting out of control.

“You know,” Mina said, “Dana can’t hang out with me all the time. So, would you be interes- ah!”

You jumped at the sound of the glass rattling against the table before it rolled away. Water splashed all over Mina’s pretty sky blue skirt, leaving a spot the size of your palm in the most unflattering of places. Crap. You hadn’t meant to do it. Your guilt must have been written all over your face. When you risked looking up from the fallen cup, your eyes met Sehun’s. He was staring at you with a furrowed brow, head tilted to the side. As quickly as you could, you shrank back in your seat to hide yourself from view. Harper was glancing at you as well, her eyes flickering back and forth from Mina to you. Right in this moment, you were wishing that invisibility was a power you possessed. 

So maybe some damn self-control.

**

After getting home from the restaurant, you immediately rounded the house and bee lined for the woods. You’d let your emotions control your powers. Again. And in front of witnesses, no less. While everyone at the table had assumed it was a strange accident possibly caused by an unstable surface, you could tell that Harper’s mind was going in a different direction – you. Her eyes shifted to you throughout the rest of the meal, noticing that you were barely touching your food and not joining in on any of the conversation.

Despite being doused in water, Mina insisted on continuing her flirtatious pursuit of Sehun. Your nails dug into your upper arms with each new line, surely leaving behind half-moon indentions that were thankfully covered by the long sleeves of your shirt. All you wanted to escape from this internal embarrassment.

The forest created the perfect cover. As soon as you thought you were far enough in to be invisible from the house, you slowed down a leisurely walk. You knew you were going to have to tell Soomi about the incident eventually. From what you’d gathered about Baekhyun’s personality, this was not something that would remain among the group. He’d find it too funny that while Mina was hitting on Sehun her glass suddenly spilt all over her to keep it to himself. While she didn’t exactly know about your conflicting emotions regarding the wolf, she’d still be suspicious enough to confront you about it. You just needed some time alone before you faced that conversation. The last thing you wanted was for her to worry about you losing control.

After half an hour or so of walking, you came across a river that intertwined through the trees. It wasn’t very deep, but the water was clear to allow you to see the small, hand-sized fish that swam through the barely existent current. They were unbothered by your presence as you sat down near the edge. Tiny fins kept them stead as they searched the tiny pebbles for possible food.

With the sun shining down through the tree leaves, you could just barely make out your reflection on the surface of the water. Sometimes you didn’t recognize the person staring back at you. Sure, you knew the features – the nose, the eyes, the hair – but the person behind them had become lost. You toed the line between being the witch you were expected to be and wanting to use the powers that were given to you, see how far you could push them until they reached their limit. It was easily to blame the elders in this. To you, the smart decision would have been to teach you how to control your powers, not force you to suppress them. They wouldn’t magically go away through non-usage. But no one cared about your opinion. To them, you were just a young witch with horrible impulse control and lesser knowledge about these things.

The rustling of leaves pulled you from your thoughts of self-pity. Your eyes grew wide as Sehun sat down beside you on the ground, leaving at least two feet of space between you. Great. Was he cautious of you now? With a roll of your eyes, you turned back to the water. “What are you doing here?”

“Harper said you came out here,” he shrugged. It was lost on you why he would even care whether you were out here or in the house or anywhere in the vicinity. He couldn’t be upset at what had happened at the restaurant. If he was, well then, he could just suck it up.

You threw your hands up. “So, you found me. You can go about your business now.”

“You made the glass spill over, didn’t you?”

Well, wasn’t that just fantastic. He really had made the connection that it was you after all.

Picking up a smooth rock barely the length of your pinky, you flipped it over in your palm a few times as you mulled over his question. For as long as you could remember, keeping your powers a secret beyond the coven had been the number one rule in your life. Scratch that – rule number two. The first one was to not use them in the first place. Soomi had emphasized the importance of that rule before you came here. The pack was already wary of witches and you couldn’t entirely blame them. For the first time in your life, though, you were scared to admit to them, to your powers. In the past, you’d never shied away from admitting to their existence; that yes, the strange incident was all your doing. Hiding who you were had never been something you liked to do. But in this moment, you were afraid. How could you be so worried about what this wolf would think of you? In this moment, you were the most afraid of being considered the freak than you ever had been before.

You pulled in as much air into your lungs as possible before emptying them once again. You flipped the rock over in your palm one more time before tossing it into the river. The ripples blurred your face in the water before slowly disappearing. If only you could fade away like the waves. “Yeah,” you admitted. “That was me.”

Sehun nodded. Apparently, he hadn’t been expecting any other answer. “Can all witches do that?”

“No,” you said bluntly. What was the point of beating around the bush? “Not without a lengthy incantation and even then, some can’t.”

“But you can just… do it?”

“Yup.”

There was nothing but the sound of the river for a moment or two. What you would give right now to be able to read minds. The possibilities could be endless for whatever was going through his mind. Which part was he focusing on? Was it the fact that you could do things like tip over a glass of water? Or was he making an assumption as to why you did it?

“Which did you move?” he suddenly asked, making you jump.

You frowned, staring at him. “What do you mean?”

For the first time since he arrived, he turned to look at you. “The water or glass? Which one were you moving?”

“Oh.” You blinked, trying to figure out the best way to explain this. “It was the water. I’m not telekinetic, although that wouldn’t be a bad gig.”

“Being able to move water doesn’t sound too bad, either,” he said with a small, crooked smile. His reaction to your confession was so understated, as if this was something he’d come across before. It made you comfortable. Perhaps a little too comfortable.

“No, it’s not,” you agreed. “But when you add in the other stuff, it kind of freaks people out.”

Sehun leaned back on the palms of his hands, looking at you with eyes full of curiosity. “The other stuff?”

You picked at your cuticles nervously. It was a bad habit that you thought you’d broken a while back, but the compulsion was rearing its ugly head again. “It’s not just water that I can manipulate. It’s… kind of all the elements. Fire, water, air, earth. All that jazz. It’s kind of a rare thing, for witches. Like, it’s been a few centuries kind of rare.”

“That’s….” He struggled to find a word to put to the news you were telling him. Unable to do so, he went another route. “If you can do this, why has Soomi been teaching you about plant magic?”

This was a question you were subconsciously dreading. “The elders are… concerned about the fact that I can do these things since, according to history, it didn’t end very well last time. A lot of people died because of that witch. They think it’s best if I don’t use them too much. Plant magic sort of defaults to good. There’s never been a witch who trained in it that went dark. A few evil ones have used that kind of magic before, but that was never their specialty. The mothers think it’s safer.”

“But you don’t agree?”

You scoffed. “How could I? You saw what happened at the restaurant. There’s times I can’t control it and things like that occur. They think suppression is the answer, but-” You swallowed back the words that were about to leave your tongue. Never had you been tempted to release those thoughts to anyone – not Mother Willow or Soomi – so why did you almost let them go now? There was something about Sehun that got to you; something that caused holes to appear in your walls. Fearful that you might actually make him run away, you looked down at the eroding rocks that decorated the riverbed.

“But what?” he surged.

“It’s nothing.” The lie felt like acid on your tongue, but it was the kind of lie you were used to telling. Somehow, though, saying it to the orange haired wolf made you feel guiltier than normal. “I’d just prefer to be able to use them, that’s all.”

Everything about Sehun’s demeanor screamed that he didn’t believe you, but he didn’t verbalize his suspicions. He nodded as he sat up, pretending he was taking you at your word. His eyes danced around the surrounding area, careful not to land in your direction. You couldn’t help but think that you made him uncomfortable now, the element controlling witch residing not just in his home, but in his bedroom.

“You must think I’m a freak now, huh?” You hadn’t meant to ask that out loud, but his reaction was… well it was hurting you.

But when Sehun finally looked at you, he seemed confused as to why you could ask such a thing. His brow was scrunched, forming a harsh line above the bridge of his nose. His eyes shined a dark amber for only a second before fading back to their usual brown. Shaking his head, Sehun scoffed. “You’re not a freak. Different, sure, but not a freak.”

“You were acting like I make you uncomfortable,” you pointed out.

The way he sucked in his lips and ran a hand through his hair told you that you were right. “I- I don’t think you’re a freak,” he repeated.

That made you roll your eyes. “You can say that as many times as you’d like, but have you ever heard of the phrase that actions speak louder than words?”

Sehun growled at your argument, but you didn’t flinch at the aggressive sound. Your response was to simply raise an eyebrow and wait. Heavy air escaped through his lips as he looked away. Tension was visible in all his muscles, especially where his neck and hands were exposed. It was like you were watching an internal struggle before your eyes, having seen the signs before within yourself. There was no telling what was going on with him, what he was wrestling with. You weren’t sure if you wanted to know, in case it harmed your ego. Suddenly, he turned to face you, his eyes a brighter amber than before. And they stayed that way. Not once did they flicker or fade back to a normal, human color. The change made you lean back, the tiniest bit of fear lighting up inside you. But that small movement seemed to encourage him.

Your heart was pounded again, exactly like it did back in the garage. Sehun was coming closer. He leaned in as if the space between you didn’t even exist. Why was it that every time he came in close proximity you froze like a deer in the middle of the road? He certainly felt like a speeding car coming at you a hundred miles an hour and whatever damage was done when the two of you finally collided would resonate for the rest of your lives.

In time, however, he swerved away, squeezing his eyes shut as he replaced the space between you. The veins on his hands were visible from how hard he was clenching his fists. “You should go back to the house,” he suggested through gritted teeth. “Soomi’s worried about you.” When you continued to sit there and stare at him, he growled, “Go!”

You huffed. What the hell had you done? He was the one who kept invading your space, saying cryptic things, and flipping back and forth between ignoring you and seeking you out. “Whatever.” You jumped up to your feet and made your way back to the clearing, happy to be putting distance between the two of you.

[whatscallion]

fluff.

//- because i said i would write something for these fine people: @sebastiandragosteamea @stillgirlfrommars @cptsteven @sammiewilson

“I don’t like stakeouts.”

It was unwavering in finality, this particularly unprompted declaration of distaste. There hadn’t been anything spoken for about two hours, though it didn’t necessarily mean there hadn’t been any huffs of annoyance or frustration. All that could be done was defog the windshield and contemplate the negative tipping point of too many coffees.

“I know.”

The reply came on the wings of a sigh, though it was hardly in defeat. Instead, it was a deft reaction to common complaining, albeit not from this perpetrator. More often than not, the vociferous were often teamed with those less so, making for something of an imbalance of communication.

But of course, this was different.

“But we have to do it.” There was resignation in his voice, convincing himself of the truth of the matter, as well as the fact that things could be worse. James Buchanan Barnes could’ve been sitting beside Clint Barton again and smelling the leftovers of a soggy Subway sandwich permeating in the small confines of the car.

“You always did state the obvious when you were annoyed.” Humor laced into a tone generally as cold as the Soviet tundra from whence it came, but for now, it was enough to warm even the coldest New York night. There was a shift beside him, drawing his attention from the beyond the windshield to the bundled beauty he had the fortune of being tethered to.

Even crammed in a shitty Geo Metro ( where they even found a working one was beyond him ), Natalia Romanova was a study in all things femme fatale. It was painfully distracting and comforting at the same time. He could pride himself in knowing that she was more than aware of her effect on him. That sharp smirk painted in peach had him perking an eyebrow in a silent question.

She’d moved so she was more so facing him than the door they were supposed to be monitoring. Even in the lack of light at whatever ungodly hour it was, the crimson pf her hair still caught his eye more than it should.

After all these years, and he still looked at her like it was the first time. And she knew this.

Reaching over, she tapped his chin, and he suddenly became very aware of how he’d gone slackjawed at the sight of her. Fortunately enough, he was beyond being embarrassed or apologizing for something that would never change. With a boyish grin, James collected himself before glancing out the window with a sip of coffee.

“Have I told you that I appreciate you’re not six feet tall?” As if the randomness of the question wasn’t enough, immediate confusion had him nearly spitting out his coffee before looking back to the famed Slavic Shadow.

“Where are you going with this, ‘Talia?” While height wasn’t necessarily a sore subject, it was something of an annoyance when he still looked like a sidekick standing next to Steve. Okay, it was probably a little more than subtly annoying.

“If you were any taller, you’d look absolutely ridiculous in this car,” she spoke with a bubbling chuckling quick on the heels of her answer. “Could you imagine anyone else unfolding their way out of here?”

With the iced silence between them shattered, a rare sight was being seen: a genuine Nat with an awful sense of humor. It brought a quiet moment before a low, rumbling laugh came from James. The coffee was placed back in the cheap cupholder that was obviously not part of the factory model. There was no way he could pay attention to the mission at hand now, and he suspected she was falling prey to the same weakness.

Or so he hoped.

“You must be as bored as I am if you’re thinking about how small the car is, Nat.” Something unrecognizable darted across her eyes, emeralds muted in the midnight scenery. He’d like to think it was something that generally pertained to the two of them, but hope was often a dangerous thing when he was concerned. To hope was to tempt fate into giving the exact opposite.

Her rebuttal came by way of an exasperated sigh, as if it was supposed to be more than obvious, especially to him.

“Amongst other things, James.” That was misleading, and she’d meant for it to be that way. According to the confusion revisiting his face, Nat assumed she held a momentary victory before taking her prize: slipping over the miniscule center console to find a new seat in his lap, her back to the driver’s side door.

“Nat-”

“Shh.”

“No, Nat- the coffee.”

She hadn’t thought about the coffee that was now soaking through the floor of the car after she’d inadvertently hip checked the loose holder on her way to his personal bubble. Everything stood still as consequences were weighed, but once she turned her gaze from where her feet had once been to the glacial hues of the Winter Soldier, coffee stains seemed frivolous to think about.

“I’ll get you more,” she nearly whispered, an arm snaking around his shoulders while the other traced a warm fingertip along his jawline. “My treat.”

“Mm, I think I can settle for that.” Like he was hypnotized by each angle of her face, the stakeout was the last thing on his mind. For now, it was just him, Natalia - his Natalia - and this tiny car. He couldn’t help but ensnare her with his arms, digits digging into soft fabric as if she would disappear into the shadows if he let go. “Natalia, I don’t think we’re going to be getting much recon done with you in my lap.”

“Would that be so bad?”

“....No. You’re right. It wouldn’t be so bad. Never mind that this is about national security.”

“Guilt trips don’t work on me, Barnes. You’re stating the obvious again.”

“Hold on,” he said as he further closed the distance between them. Rather than capture that perfect pout with his lips, he instead pulled the lever beneath his seat, giving them a foot more of room against the steering wheel. “Better.”

“Is that all?”

“Nope.”

Within two minutes, the windows they’d ardently kept fog-free were now veiled with the results of heated breaths and a particular kind of strenuous activity.

Maybe James could get used to stakeouts.

[fxckingfinan]

Riddle Me This (2/?)

Pairing: Detective!Bucky x Detective!Reader

Summary: Reader is a Detective along side her partner Bucky Barnes, stuck on a case that ends up a little more than they bargained for. She never expected a normal Tuesday to turn into months of consuming work. She never expected to be the target of a riddle obsessed serial killer, and she sure as hell never expected to fall in love in the midst.

Word Count: 2080

Warnings: A couple swear words here and there, again slight graphic detail of wound and blood, idk bad writing

A/N: Let me me know if you guys enjoyed this, feedback is always welcomed!

Previous | Next

Bucky and Y/n were sat in the small diner on 5th street, stuffing themselves full of burgers, fries and shakes to their hearts content. Casual conversation carried on between the two like it always does, except this time Bucky noticed Y/n wasn’t fully in the conversation. Which is true, she wasn’t. She was off in her own world, and the only thoughts going through her head were those of questioning. What the hell was the answer to that riddle, and why was it left? It wasn’t unusual to find weird things at a crime scene but this sure as hell was new. 

“What’s goin on in that head of yours sweet cheeks?” He questioned through a mouth full of fries before washing it down with the vanilla shake in front of him. 

She let out a frustrated sigh in response before rubbing her forehead. Not quite sure if she should tell him or blow it off and say she just needed a nap. This could be a random occurrence and she could be blowing it out of proportion, or it could mean so much more. 

“I don’t know Buck, something just doesn’t seem right about this one.” Lying, but at the same time not lying. Y/n didn’t want to give him the full scoop until she was able to grasp onto even the slightest idea. 

“What, the case today?”

“Yeah. I mean you saw it yourself, it was just weird. It’s like a ghost who also just so happens to be an expert on anatomy decided it was a good day for murder. It was too clean” At this point she was even more frustrated. Having to deal with this stupid riddle at the same time of having no direction was especially discouraging on this summery Tuesday. 

“I know, but until further notice there’s nothing to look into. Our job is done until we get another call.” Bucky’s voice softened on its own record, “Just don’t think about it too much. Are you sure that’s all that’s botherin’ you?” 

“Yeah that’s all.” He was her best friend. She felt guilt settle uncomfortably in her chest after lying to him, but she just couldn’t bring herself to tell him about the paper she was currently messing with in her pocket. At this point in time it was meaningless. Just a piece of paper with words. Words that for some reason rattled Y/n’s bones to the core. 

Just words. 

Before she even realized a week had gone by, bringing her back to yet another summer Tuesday on the job. Bucky had brought the two of them coffee for their day of casual duty, driving around in the souped up undercover company vehicle given to them. Y/n had forgotten about the piece of paper within the first few days, leaving it to collect dust in the drawer of her desk back in the office. She had never been one for riddles, so when she was unable to solve it she tossed it in along side the other miscellaneous sheets she somehow accumulated over the last couple of years. 

“All I’m sayin is if you wanna run with the wolves you have to haul ass!” Bucky was off on some sort of tangent, causing a boisterous laugh to erupt from Y/n’s chest. Apparently a couple days ago, one of the officers on duty had questioned his authority and skills, and if anyone knows him they know how huge of a mistake that was. 

“Alright big guy take a breather.” Y/n let her hand clap down on his shoulder, giving it a gentle rub as her laugh simmered down to a few giggles. He couldn’t help but let a small smile take over his lips as he watched her shake her head at him. Rolling his eyes he gently took her hand in his tossing it off his shoulder jokingly. 

“Yeah, yeah drink your coffee cupcake.” He begrudgingly followed his own statement just as she had, sipping his coffee as he moved his eyes to survey the parking lot they were currently stopped in. Static could be heard over the radio causing both heads to snap towards it, smiles instantly wiped off of the detectives faces. 

“We’ve got a 10-54 on South of Bunker looking for units to respond.”

“10-8, were on it.” Bucky was the first to react, speaking into his transmitter clearly before shifting the car into gear and tearing out of the parking lot. Y/n crossed her arms before settling into the seat. 

“I never really get used to the consistency of crime here.” She thought out loud drawing a half chuckle from her partner.  

“Well you better start, it’s only been about five years right?” Sarcasm dripped heavily off his voice as she shot a hard glance his way. 

“Watch it dick head.” She growled, “And actually, it’s been seven.”

Bucky’s driving was erratic through the streets of Brooklyn, a clear attempt to get to work as fast as safely possible. He wasn’t exactly a bad driver but he definitely wasn’t winning any awards with his skills. Y/n like to call it evasive, and she was especially grateful that their shared vehicle came with more than one ‘oh shit’ handle. Though she couldn’t quite knock him for his driving as hers to be completely honest wasn’t any better. 

“Y’know one of these days you should let me drive the car.” She slid her sunglasses to the top of her head as she waited for Bucky to round the front of the car.

“Not a chance sugar, drivers seat is for the big boys only.” He didn’t want to admit to her the real reason he never let her drive was because sometimes the seatbelt didn’t fully click together and he’d be dammed if they were to get into an accident with her driving. 

“Way to be a misogynistic asshole Buck.” Y/n scoffed, annoyance coating her tongue so heavily she could practically taste the bitterness. She didn’t give Bucky any time to respond as she started up towards the apartment, following the steady flow of police officers to find where she should be. 

“I’m not being misogynistic.” He yelled after her, throwing his arms into the air before mumbling under his breath as he jogged to catch up to her, “God dammit Bucky.” 

When he finally did catch up to her they walked in side by side, his game face quickly slipping over as he approached the scene. 

“What do we have Rogers?” His hands found refuge in the pocket of his slacks while waiting for a response. 

“Good to see you two again. Female, 27, no known family or friends, no forced entry, not even a spec of DNA from the perp.”  Steve’s arms were crossed in front of him as he spoke, his left eyebrow flicking up towards the end. 

“Similar to last Tuesday.” Y/n concluded, more to herself than those around her. An unreadable expression covered her features. “ You think it’s our same guy?”

“Too early to tell.” The captain sighed, gesturing the two towards the body. “Why don’t you take a look and tell me what you think.” 

The two detectives approached the body together, following the same routine of latex gloves before assessing the victim. Y/n looked over the body slowly, eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to pinpoint the cause of death. She let her hands slip into the messy hair in an attempt to turn the head. A small crunching sound reached her ears, and as she pulled her hand back slowly her breath caught in her throat. A scrap of paper laid delicately in her hands. Small words could be seen typed out onto it, just like the last piece she had initially forgotten about. 

“What do you have there?” 

She jumped slightly, her fist closing around the paper tightly as she shoved it in the pocket of her denim jacket. 

“Jesus! Nothing Bucky, just trying to move the head around. Have you found anything?” Her lie flowed smoothly in an attempt to divert attention. She waited for him to say something. Anything. Wishing so badly that he didn’t catch her slip up. Her wish was granted as he turned his head pointing to a slit in her jeans, just on the inside of the victims upper thigh. She looked closer, realizing it was closer to the victims groin area. Blood stained the already dark colored denim, turning it into an ugly almost black color. 

“No fuckin way. Is that-” She mumbled, her eyes meeting Bucky’s in a knowing look. Nodding in silent agreement he opens his mouth to speak lowly. 

“Femoral artery.” 

“This has to be our same guy!” Y/n exclaimed, shooting up from her crouched position. She quickly looped her arm through Bucky’s, tugging him upwards in encouragement to get him to stand as well. Yanking him again to get him to walk at a brisk pace with her. 

“Jesus short stack, I’m coming!” 

“Just because I’m shorter than you does not mean I’m short. Hurry your ass up.” They approached the captain like a tidal wave, stopping abruptly in front of him. 

“Cap it’s our same guy, it has to be! We’ve got a serial killer on our hands.” Her voice held a child like giddiness to it, and if anyone were to look into their conversation they would think she was crazy getting this excited over a serial killer. 

“Hey quiet down do you wanna cause a riot?” Steve hissed in a low voice, “It is way too early to determine a serial killer. Two victims is not enough, do you want the press crawling all over here.” His eyes were intense as he stared down his two best detectives. 

Confusion, and albeit annoyance, flashed across Y/n’s face. She too squinted her eyes as she looked at her friend in front of her.

“What? Cap-“ She stuttered, baffled by how he was treating this. It was their job to call this kind of stuff out. It was their job to keep the public safe, and she sure as hell was going to keep that oath until the day she died. 

“No buts about it. This isn’t a serial killer until I say it is.” 

“With all due respect Steve-” Bucky cut in, anger bubbling in his veins at how dismissive his friend was being. Plus you always have to have your partners back, right? 

“No I’m in charge here and I say no. Stop being dramatic and get back to the station. That’s an order.” The captains lip curled into a snarl, close to how a dog would try and intimidate another animal. 

Y/n’s blood pressure rose as the captain continued talking. Her hands clenched so hard she could feel her nails digging into the soft skin of her palms. Blood surely rising to the surface of the wounds she was making. With a red face she quickly whipped around, stalking out of the building. Uncaring if Bucky was following her or not. She’d never slammed a door harder in her life. 

“Who does he think he is. Fucking asshole. ‘I’m in charge’.” Y/n flared her nostrils quoting him, her cheeks burning as bright as the anger she was feeling. Eyes quickly flickered to Bucky who had just hopped into the drivers seat ready to high tail it out of there. “Can you believe him? Y’know I didn’t realize with the title of captain you had to be a massive dick head. Just, a colossal asshole. ‘That’s an order’? Well, he can shove that order right along with my foot up his-”

“Okay!” Chuckles flowed freely from Bucky’s mouth, quickly cutting them short at the incredulous look he was gaining from his partner. 

“You know I’d support you to the ends of the earth on anything angel cakes, but why are you so passionate about this one?” Y/n’s lips sealed shut, unsure of what to say next. She hadn’t told him about the riddles, and in all honesty she had forgotten about the second one already. She hadn’t even looked at what the words read yet. Thoughts whirred in her head, surely Bucky could be trusted right? Thats a dumb question, of course he can be trusted. Her gaze faltered as she broke the intense eye contact they were making. Biting the inside of her lip as she wrung her hands. Closing her eyes as she took a deep breath, she began to speak.

“I have something to tell you.”

[ineffable-obessesions]

Plagg/Adrien Bodyswap

Chat Noir always found himself breathless when he looked over the streets of Paris. The architecture was magnificent, the stores and pedestrians brought so much life and the road rage of some drivers was always amusing. The soft breeze tickled Chat as he stared from atop the Eiffel Tower and onto the city. The lights and magic of Ladybugs miraculous danced around, healing and returning the city as it was before. His hands clenched around a cool railing that was manufactured to stop a person from falling, though this wasn't the reason the green eyed teenager held it so tight. He gritted his teeth and furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance.

Ladybug had done all the work as usual. She was so amazingly brave and talented she basically took on any akuma by herself. This wasn't the thing that bothered him so much, it was the fact he was utterly useless. He hadn't even used his cataclysm and it felt like he had only got in his partner’s way.

How many times had she pushed him away, told him to stop making puns or mess about? The things it seemed he was only good at was clearly not accepted.

"Chat Noir? Are you okay?" He felt the soft touch of Ladybugs hand on his shoulder and he immediately relaxed. He turned to her and smiled, melting at the sight of her bluebell eyes.

"I am now that you're here." He said smoothly, grinning. The corner of Ladybugs lips curled and she opened her mouth to reply before she was cut off by her earrings. She pouted as she raised her right hand to her ear. Chat Noir had to look away, his heart pumping against his chest, his partners adorable pout imprinted in his mind and short circuiting his brain.

"Guess I better split, wouldn't want to let the cat out of the bag." She laughed softly. Chat Noir turned to look at her again, his cheeks dusted with pink and wearing a smile as wide as the horizon.

"Did you just-"

"Don't make me regret it, kitty." She leaned in, paralysing Chat Noir. His bell bellow his collar chimed before Ladybug backed away spinning her yoyo.

"Bye, Chat!" She called before swinging away leaving the blonde superhero a stuttering mess.

***

Adrien Agreste paced his large room with a determined look on his face.

"That's it, on now on, i'm going to be the best partner Ladybug could ever dream of!" He balled his fist as he paced.

"Whatever you say kid." His Kwami, Plagg rolled his eyes as he nibbled on his favourite food.

"I won't be useless, nope. I'll be Ladybug's knight, ready at her disposal."

"That doesn't sound healthy." Plagg replied.

When the next akuma attacked Paris, Adrien transformed and raced towards the scene with his head held high. However he left with his tail between his legs.

His classmate and best friend Chloe showed up, claiming to be a new super hero called Queen Bee. She stole the spotlight and surprisingly worked extremely well with Ladybug.

"You're actually really talented, Queen Bee. Glad to see you joining the team!" She exclaimed, completely ignoring her original partner.

Adrien sighed as he collapsed on his bed. "Why am I so useless?" He whined.

Plagg groaned, sick of his holders complaining. Sure he loved the kid, but it was so frustrating hearing the kid complain about stupid things. He was clearly not useless but of course Mr insecure Model over there didn't see that.

"Life sucks." Adrien moaned into his pillow.

Plaggs lips curled as an idea danced around his mind. He glanced at the whining teenager as a smirk formed on his lips.

He flew over to him, almost cackling. It'll be easy to get this to work.

"Look kid, I have an easy solution." Plagg told him as calmly as he possibly could. Adrien jumped up as his eyes widened and his lips spread across his face.

"You do?!" He yelled happily. The desperation and hope on the boy almost made Plagg feel guilty.

"I can grant you more power. Then whoosh, you're suddenly the mvp."

"Really?! You can do that?" Adrien jumped off his bed and stood up straight.

"Easy. Though it does drain me." He added just to make it sound believable. Oh this was too easy.

"Its almost as if you're transforming, just a different phrase. Just repeat after me." Plagg sighed.

"What is it!" Adrien's eyes widened as held held his breath, careful to not miss his Kawami's words.

"Plagg, body swap!"

"Plagg, body swap! Wait, what?!"

Plagg cackled as he got sucked into Adrien's miraculous. The blonde haired boy’s eyes widened as he realised what he had said. Nothing had happened for about two seconds, before Plagg was spat out of the miraculous and Adrien's face expression turned to pure glee.

Adrien felt an overwhelming wave of dizziness. It seemed the world had spun and grew. The walls seemed to stand taller and- Adrien screamed. He saw his own body, cackling like a manic. Adrien found himself suddenly on his own bed, camembert in hand.

"Plagg, Plagg! What happened?" He cried.

Adrien watched in horror as his body stood over him, green eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Just as you commanded, Adrien. Body swap."  Plagg spoke through Adrien's body. Even his voice sounded like himself!

Adrien tried to get a grip of the situation as Plagg began running around the room, touching random objects and climbing things. Using Adrien's body of course.

"Wow! This is awesome!"

Adrien glanced down in disgust. He screamed again learning he had no fingers or toes. He had never thought one day he'd actually yearn the feeling to be able to bend your fingers individually. Now.. how to move?

Adrien winced as he heard a thump come from behind him,

"Ouch! Guess I can't fly." Plagg groaned, slowly getting up from the floor.

"What the hell! Of course you- I can't! Haven't you learnt anything from living with me?!" Adrien face palmed at Plagg's stupidity.

'Hey! I can fetch my own camembert now!" Plagg grinned, ignoring Adrien. Plagg sprinted for the door.

"Wait no!" Adrien had just learned how to fly as Plagg collided with the door with an "oof."

"Hey! Treat my body with respect, you, you, you savage!" Adrien yelled, flying over to check on Plagg.

Plagg laid sprawled in front of the door. Adrien's breath hitched when Plagg didn't move. Did he just knock himself out?

Adrien felt his previous body's face, heart pounding.

"Oh. I can't go through walls." Plagg just whispered, still not moving. Adrien hovered above his face, glaring.

"I swear, Plagg. You better return our bodies or-"

"I can work around it!" Plagg cried completely ignoring Adrien, yet again. He stood up, grabbing the door handle and racing outside Adrien's room. Adrien flew after him, barely keeping up.

"Plagg, no!" He screamed after him. He thanked every god he knew that no one else was home except for the Gorilla. He prayed his body guard was partially deaf. Or on the other side of the mansion.

"You're not meant to be seen, remember!" Plagg replied as he slowed down, clearly lost in the mansion.

"By the way, where's the kitchen?" Plagg scratched his forehead. Adrien yelled profanities in reply.

"When i'm back to normal i'm going to kill you, you stupid cat!" He flew right through Plagg, a gasp escaping his lips.

"What?! How do you control this whole going through stuff?!" Adrien's voice cracked.

"Hmm, think it's this way. Can't be sure, everything looks different bigger." Plagg began walking down the large staircase.

"Wait, I will turn back to normal, right? Right!" Adrien cried after his body.

Plagg laughed louder than he had ever done before, meanwhile Adrien fell into despair.