#this is not Done done. it needs ear cuffs and shit.

[tanzdoesthings]

in your HOUSE

slap his bald head

it needs blackout mesh or something so bad to cover the eyes. in the light it’s scary when i’m wearing it LMAO

i will post something more comprehensible another time

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow Part 10

part 1, prev part

The next day, the Chief is back looking like a man on a mission. Catching Wayne’s eye while he’s on his way in, but interrupted when the Harrington kid steps in his path. Talking to him in hushed whispers, but tense as hell.

The chief sighs, cocking his head to the side and bringing the kid to talk outside. Wayne isn’t the person to eavesdrop, but after yesterday, after the endless questions with no answers, he is desperate for an explanation.

An explanation why his kid is stuck on a hospital bed while Steve is walking around like he has every right to. Like he isn’t part of the reason his boy was halfway to dead for the past week.

What made his boy protect a person that he seemed to hate? A person who’s had everything handed to him, never had to experience real hardships. Stood on the sidelines while his boy was mocked and taunted. Ostracized for being who he was. Molded into this villain.

Kings look down on villains, seeing them as threats to their status. Their reputation. And the Harrington’s are part of the rulers of this town. Funding the high school extracurriculars, the hospital, the candidates on the ballots. Money that, in the grand scheme of reality, Wayne couldn’t give a shit where it goes.

Until it comes between him, his kid, and their lives. Eddie could’ve died, and for what? So the rich can keep being that? So they can keep coming out on top.

Wayne understands why Eddie would throw himself into danger for Dustin. Hell, he probably would have done the same thing. But Steve Harrington. Wayne’s not so sure that’s the path he would choose.

Taking the last cigarette from the pack, Wayne positions himself near the corner of the hospital. Hearing the Chief and Harrington talking right around the bend. Taking a long drag, he tilts his ear up to listen.

Living in a trailer park made everyone a secret gossip. Wayne just never thought he was going to do it like this.

“What about Owens?” Steve’s not so hushed voice carries around the corner. “He seems to be the one to fix all your problems.”

Wayne can hear the annoyance in the Chief’s voice. “Either still in hiding or avoiding my calls. I’ve had to go through his partner for all of this.”

“We need to fix this, Hop, and fast. Eddie can’t be pinned for this shit.”

“I know.” The Chief takes a deep breath. “But the town needs a fall guy. I can’t take the cuffs off just yet.”

Steve hisses a breath. “He’s been getting better. Doesn’t have the ventilator anymore, could wake up any day now. He doesn’t deserve to wake up thinking the town still hates him for something he was a victim of.”

“Kid, I know but I can’t-.”

Steve cuts him off. “I saw how effected his was by all this, Hop. I saw how upset he was thinking the town thought he could do that to her. To all of them. All of them willing to pick up their pitchforks to hunt the freak. He was terrified.”

Wayne feels the anger start to simmer up again. Hearing this kid put words in his boy’s mouth. Saying that he knows everything.

Maybe he does. Maybe Wayne’s blowing this all out of proportion. But he can’t help it. He’s tired, his hope is running dry. One wrong move and he’ll snap. Harrington’s just an easy target.

“I hear you,” the Chief’s voice raises. “But I really can’t-.”

Steve cuts his off again. “Yes, you can and that is the whole problem.”

“No, I can’t.” The hushed screams turn to louder reprimands. “Until the Feds get what they want, I’m powerless here.”

“But if it was El, that would be a completely different story, wouldn’t it?”

Even though Wayne can’t see them, the silence is so thick not even the sharpest blade could cut through it. Steve pushed the wrong button.

“Don’t go there, Steve.” The quiet anger in the Chief’s voice is enough to make anyone step down.

Steve doesn’t. “I am going there.” Steve’s voice has almost reached a yell. Full of anger of his own. “You do everything when it’s affecting you, and the people you care about. But as soon as it’s someone else that might get the fall, you step back and say you can’t do a damn thing.”

“I can’t do a damn thing,” the Chief booms.

“Yes. You. Can,” Steve yells right back. “If it were El, or Joyce, or Will, hell even Mike there strapped to that table right now, the cuffs would have been off the second you came back. No matter what. You would have taken the fall of that. You would have taken the Fed’s anger about it. You would have fucking done something about it. Why not now?”

Before the Chief can even answer the question, Steve is walking away with a huff. Not even noticing Wayne as he walks right back to the parking lot and slams the door of his fancy car. Driving away faster than he should.

Wayne might be directing the anger that sits in his chest at the wrong person.

But all of that doesn't seem to matter anymore. Almost immediately as his sits back in the hospital room, ready for nothing to happen. Eddie opens his eyes.

next part

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[mortimerc]

𝔄 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔪𝔱𝔥 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔠𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡𝔢𝔡 𝔪𝔞𝔫.

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 5

Male - GN Reader x Sebastian Solace

TW : blo0d, t0rture, g0re, obsessive behaviour,

(Note: This might be the last chapter but I might write one last chapter that will be a smut so be warned. I will only write it if you guys want me to. Comment on this post if you want to.)

* ‧̍ ˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍ * 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙‧̍

The day has come.

Your experiment.

You and Sebastian had been working on an escape plan to get out of this hell. You guys have been planning on this ever since you guys heard of a company called ‘Urbanshade’, the company that was experimenting on Sebastian, transporting him to the ‘Hadal Blacksite’.

The day of the transportation was the same day as you are going to be experimented. And of course, once again you’ll be separated from him again.

Now you and Sebastian are holding each other in your cell, him not wanting you to go, not wanting you to be hurt the same way as he did.

“I don’t want you to go..”

“I have to, and you also need to be ready. Remember our plan?”

“Of course,, but still-“ Sebastian was cut off by a guard opening the cell door, interrupting them. As they walk in, suddenly they forcefully grabs your wrist.

“Hey- what are you?-“

“Let them go!” Sebastian protests

All efforts were in vain as you were dragged out, leaving Sebastian alone in silence soon met with the sound of footsteps that Sebastian knows too well. It was the scientist. His thoughts were interrupted by the cell door opening once again.

“Hello there, mr. Solace.”

Sebastian stays silent and not looking at the scientist.

“I’m sure you know why I’m here. Hope you pack up whatever you need because we’re going now.” He said while signing the guards behind him to cuff Sebastian.

꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦

As Sebastian was slithering alongside the guards, he covers his ears, not wanting to hear the screams that emitted from you, echoing throughout the hallways.

“God..” hot tears trickle down his face.

“You seem to be very close with HR-P (High Rank Prisoner), Z-X. We also call them ‘The Perdition’, and we’re almost done with their document, so tell me more about it.” The scientist questions

“I’m not telling you shit-!”

“Hahah, you’re so easy to rile up. I’ve already know what’s between you two. You two are like two pieces in a pod.”

“Shut up,,”

“Well we’re here. Get in.”

A submarine soon rises to the surface of the water, door opening. The guards pushing Sebastian in.

꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦

As they arrived to the blacksite, they checked the surroundings before exiting the submarine. Sebastian takes that chance to hit the guards, attacking and killing most of them while the scientist runs away in cowardice.

The scientist ran into a lab room and called for a lock down, and this is when all it began. Sebastian releasing all of the experiments and marine discoveries found in the blacksite.

Soon, Sebastian heard from one of the guards before killing him, “EXR-P will come here to retrieve the crystal soon, I’ll prepare everything.”

The crystal? Sebastian did research on the crystal and finds out that it is something that provides power to this place. To a normal human being, that might be fine, but Sebastian is not a normal human being anymore. He’s a creature. A monster. He had to stay here. It’s the only place he can hide away.

Before coming to the blacksite, you and Sebastian planned on meeting here, in his makeshift shop. But you’re not here, not yet. Maybe in a few days?

All Sebastian can do is just wait.

꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦

As the prisoners leaves his shop, Sebastian is left alone in silence, loneliness that he wished you would fill.

But it’s been years. Years since he has seen you. But you promised. You always keep your promises.

His thoughts were soon interrupted when the prisoners from earlier ran into his shop, panting, panicking and shaking.

“Heh what did you do this time? Run into pandemonium? Hmph, incompetent as always.” Sebastian snarked

“N-n-no n-no, not that thing. It was something else.” They said frantically

“Just get to it.”

“Wh-when we encountered it, I think they was mumbling something about being ‘The Perdition’?”

Sebastian’s face turns pale.

“Perdition? Can you tell me what do they look like?”

“Uhm, I can’t tell. I think I saw a shark tail., I-I- think wings?? And their face covered in blood. Long limbs for sure. I can’t remember more, I was too scared”

They both sat in silence until Sebastian broke it

“… I think it’s safe now, get out.”

꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦

As Sebastian roams the hall, he soon smells the stench of blood. Th smell of blood reeks from the other side of that door.

When he opens the door, his eyes landed on horror that people can’t comprehend. The prisoner from earlier dangling on the ceiling, caught up by their guts.

His eyes landed on a person, facing away from him, sitting on an office chair. Their frame looks like he had a shark tail, elongated limbs, ESCA that belonged to an angler fish, and the wings coming from their head making them look like an angelic being.

It all fits the prisoners description.

“We meet again, Sebastian.”

꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦

You find yourself embracing Sebastian in your arms, you both missing each other. A long awaited moment, reunion that you both wished for.

“You came back..” Sebastian says with a content tone in his voice.

“I always keep my promises.”

“Why did it take you so long? What happened?”

“It was not easy for me to get here. With the lockdown, I still had to recover from my surgical experiment.”

Sebastian hugs you tighter, nuzzling his face in the crook of your neck, almost making a purring sound. Being comfortable in your lap “I miss you..” he said while lifting his head, looking into your eyes

“I miss you too..”

You two sit there in silence, and slowly but surely, you both close the gap. After a long and passionate kiss, you both pulls away, panting.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.. for a long time..”

“I love you, Seb..” you said while pressing your forehead against Sebastian’s.

“I love you too, [Nickname]…”

꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦

To be continued..?

[sorrowfulrosebud]

Imagine being werewolf Katsuki’s mate during his heat rut but still having to go to work. Of course you love your mate and want to help him in this vulnerable state, but you also need to buy him stuff, especially if his rut comes out of nowhere.

For 4-7 days every 4 months, Katsuki can’t keep his hands off you; whimpering and growling possessively every time you have to leave his den, licking your neck and of course trying to sink into every wet hole you have. It makes it difficult to bring him his favourite snacks and drinks, and god forbid if you forget his Yakult yoghurts.

So, when god is absent and he runs out of his favourite foods, you have to take… other measures to keep his horniness satiated.

“Sukiiiii, I’m homeeeee!” You call into your home. Your tote bag was spilling at the seams with your mate’s snacks, your wallet crying at his expensive taste. You take your shoes and coat off before meandering upstairs to your shared bedroom.

You toss Katsuki a look as he whimpered at your entry. Currently, your precious pup was hog tied, thick leather cuffs around each limb. His red leather collar was chained to the headboard, though it did look worse for wear due to his struggling.

His teeth bit into the gag in his mouth, drool and slobber around his chin. Desperate whines left his lips, eyes surely rolling to the back of his head under the silken blindfold.

A fuck machine was plowing into his ass like no tomorrow, the small hearts from the flogger you teased him with still pink against his porcelain cheeks. The medium dildo was abusing his prostate as his moans grew louder and louder. A large cum spot soaked the sheets beneath him as the duvet stroked against his already exhausted cock.

Katsuki’s ears twitched as he turned to the door, saddened but desperate whimpers as he tried shaking the blindfold off. You strolled into the room slowly, enhancing your sounds so he understands what’s happening. The bed groaned under the weight of your added body, the hum of the fuck machine a steady rhythm.

“Aww, is my puppy done for now, hmm? Shall we take a break?” You teased, rubbing your fingers on the sensitive patch of skin above his tail. Katsuki sobbed and nodded desperately. Your hand flattened as you stroked his back lovingly.

“But you look so sweet like this, baby! Does this cock feel better than mine? Maybe I should leave you here for the entire week, hmm? I bet you would love that, wouldn’t you my puppyslut?” You murmur into his fluffy ear, kissing the soft down gently.

Katsuki shook his head hurriedly, unintelligible sobs drowned by his broken and muffled moans. The cuffs shuffled loudly as he fought to break free, the headboard starting to crack.

“Okay, pretty pup, I won’t. But you look so cute like this. My handsome mate, can you give me just one more? Then we can take a break,” you ask him softly, stroking his sweaty back. His tail sprung to life as his fingers flexed, desperate to hold you in some way.

You turned off the machine, causing Katsuki to whine at the lack of friction. With a single tap, he turned to his side, allowing you to snuggle up to him. He instantly took refuge in your neck, taking deep breaths to inhale your comforting scent. You unbuckled his gag, allowing him to stretch his aching jaw. Your hands rubbed over the flushed skin in silent apology, before skimming over his flushed abs and reaching his reddening cock.

“Hgnnn, just fuck my cock,” he whined noisily as you shushed him. You eventually found a steady pace and jerked him off, hissing as your mate bit into your neck in pure ecstasy. Carmine eyes were expanded into galaxies of black, too blissed out to care. His body burned with lust, and you were his only saviour.

“Fuck, fuck, shit! Oh fuck, I’m gonna-” he couldn’t finish his sentence as his cum absolutely ruined your jeans, rope after hot rope draining his balls as he chased his high. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, pants consuming his entire chest.

1 day down, a few more to go.

[makethatelevenrings]

One Star Review // J. Todd x gn!reader

Requested? Yes!

Warnings: injury, blood, medical talk

Summary: When working a late night shift at the drug store, a certain vigilante comes stumbling in with a stab wound and a bad attitude.

The bell over the door chimed, setting off your Pavlovian response to greet the incoming customer. By the time you raised your head, you found no one standing there. Peeking over the counter, you spied a trail of blood drops on the linoleum tiles and sighed.

Working at a twenty-four hour drugstore in Gotham was a guarantee for stories to bring home to your roommates, but the novelty had worn off by the third robbery. You wished you could say that random people stumbling in with injuries was rare, but you weren’t raised to be a liar.

“Hi, can I help you?” you called. A low curse met your ears and you moved out from behind the bulletproof glass covered desk to peer down the aisles. The trail led you towards the first aid section. Of course.

“Do you need help?” you tried again.

“Fuck off,” was your reply.

You huffed and turned around the end of the aisle to find Red Hood of all people leaning up against the shelves with one hand clasped over his side and the other full of various first aid items. Planting your hands on your hips, you stared at him with an unimpressed look on your face.

“This is my store, bitch boy. Don’t tell me to fuck off,” you snapped. “And sit down before you hurt yourself worse.”

“I’m gonna write a review,” he grumbled. “Terrible service. Employee called me a bitch boy.”

“Tough,” you said. You gestured for him to follow you over to a chair next to the blood pressure cuff. “Now move it.”

He sighed and maneuvered his large frame into the small chair. Red Hood pulled his hand away from his side and you could see the angry, pulsing wound under his destroyed body armor. A hiss of empathetic pain passed through your teeth and you leaned in closer to see it.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” he snapped.

“Do you want to be a dick and bleed out or do you want help? Because you can’t do both.”

That shut him up, thankfully. You poured a glob of hand sanitizer on your hands and scrubbed it in before you pulled on a pair of the latex gloves from the box he grabbed. Gently, you pulled his ruined kevlar away from his skin and examined the wound.

“You got stabbed,” you noted. “Didn’t go too deep, luckily. Must have been a sharp knife to break through this material.”

“Assassins,” he muttered.

“Yeah, that’ll do it.” Grabbing the saline wash and some clean gauze wrappers, you ripped open the gauze and poured saline on it. Without giving him a warning, you pressed it against the wound. Red Hood, to his credit, barely flinched.

“I’m in an EMT class right now,” you explained. “I’ve always been interested in this stuff but shit, it’s expensive. By the way, you better be paying for this stuff.”

“Yeah, yeah. Put it on my tab,” he said through gritted teeth.

The two of you fell into an easy silence as you packed his wound and applied a layer of thick gauze before taping it onto his skin. You tried to ignore the very pronounced dips of his abs, but how could you when they were right there? The second you were done taping down the edges, he was fighting to stand up.

“Woah,” you exclaimed. Your hands landed on his shoulders and you pushed him back into the seat. “You lost a lot of blood so I wouldn’t try to get up too quickly.”

“I need to get back out there,” he argued. “Thanks for the help, but you did your job. Now I need to do mine.”

Your face went deadpan and you stared at him with pursed lips and raised brows. “Okay, fine. But if you go out there and ruin my handiwork, you will have to live with the guilt of knowing that you were a dick to a retail employee.”

Red Hood’s helmet stared off into the distance for a moment before he grumbled out a “fine” and settled back in the chair. A triumphant smirk settled across your face and you started to gather up the trash you had tossed around you when patching him up.

“Let me grab you a juice and some crackers to help with your blood sugar. Any kind you want?”

He sighed. “Apple, please.”

When you returned to the back of the store, the chair was empty except for a single one-hundred dollar bill and a business card. The card was face down, blue ink marking the empty white space of the back.

Call her, it instructed. You flipped it over and read the name printed on the front. Dr. Leslie Thompkins.

“Huh,” you murmured to yourself. You were definitely telling your roommates about this the second you got home.

Tag List: @mcrmarvelloki​ @gone-batty-fics​ @someoneimsure​ @perpetual-fangirl900​ @visagebrise​ @cursedandromedablack​ @alexxavicry​ @the-wayward-daughter​ @raging-trash-of-mind​ @kat-nee​ @khaylin27​ @igotanidea​ @princessbl0ss0m​

[rafedaddy01]

Don’t disobey me r.c. Smut

Warnings: language, smut, punishment, handcuffs, dark, 18+ content

A/n: Got this amazing idea from @ghostselena go check out babes page for some juicy juicy work ❣️ it’ll grow back

(Not proof read so sorry for any mistakes) 💋

“you like it” you asked your boyfriend as he stared at you in shock. “What have you done” he asked straight faced. “What? I think it looks better this way” you said fixing a few loose strands. “What am I supposed to tug on now when I’m fucking you from behind” he said upset. “Oh, baby don’t pout. It’ll grow back” you said sitting in his lap. “Yeah but that’s gonna take forever and I planned on fucking you tonight. It’s not long enough for my to pull it” he said. “Don’t be a baby. You can still fuck me” you said. “Fine, but I’m gonna punish you for doing this without permission” he said flipping you both over so he was on top. You laughed as he gripped both your hands in one of his and raised them above your head. “Bed. Now.” He said slapping your ass as you happily stood up and ran to your guys’d room. “Strip” he said. You peeled off the dress you were wearing and got on the bed. “Bra and panties too” he said staring at you intently. You slowly took of the straps of your bra and unclamped the back as he watched your breasts spill out and bounce. He looked down to your clothed cunt as you got on your knees and pushed them down. He was getting impatient and pounced on you and did the rest, tossing them on the floor and he romped his clothes and flipped you over so his erection was pressing into your ass you pushed yourself backward and grinded into him. “Uh uh. You don’t get rewarded until I say so” he said shaking his head and tsking. You pouted and looked back at him with puppy dog eyes. “That won’t work this time princess” he said reaching down into his nightstand drawer and pulling out a pair of hand cuffs. He cuffed your wrists to the headboard. “Spread your legs” you did as he said and he positioned himself to face your core. “Don’t cum until your told” he said slapping your clit harshly, the pain and pleasure shot thru your body causing you to whimper. He wasted no time and he definitely was not gentle. He attacked your clit with us lips causing you to lift up off the bed. His hand came up and pushed you down firmly. “Fuck” you moaned. His free hand came down to your entrance and thrusted two fingers into you, curling them with each thrust. “Shit rafe” you moaned. “Feels so good” you cried out. He hummed against your clit causing goosebumps to cover your skin. “Please let me cum” you pleaded, so close to release but he slowed his actions enough to keep you from cumming. “Not yet, you haven’t been punished enough.” He said pulling away completely. You closed your legs and rubbed them together to get some kind of friction. “Open” he said. You opened your legs and he got on his knees, aligning his thick, precum covered cock to your hole. His slid his cock between your foods and slapping it a few times before thrusting harshly into you. “Shit babe, your so tight. No matter how many times I fuck you. So perfect.” He muttered. “Rafeeee” you moaned loudly. He sped up his thrusts and came down to suck on the skin between your neck and shoulder. “You wanna cum?” He whispered in your ear. You nodded your head. “I can’t hear you he wrapped his hand around your throat and squeezed as you gasped for a breath. “Yes daddy, please let me cum. I need it. I want it.” You screamed as he thrusted harder. Your hands when numb behind your head and your eyes fluttered shut as he chuckled darkly to himself. “Go ahead doll, soak my cock” he said letting go of your throat to focus on releasing himself. You clenched around him and entered a state of euphoria as your orgasm washed over you small moans leaving your lips and he watched the beautiful display before his eyes. He threw his own head back as his dick twitched and release his cum inside you. Thrusting a few more times and stopping so that none of his cum was wasted. He eventually pulled out and catches his breath before pulling his sweats over his legs and walking towards the door. “Rafe. Where are you going” you said tugging on the cuffs reminding him to untie you. “I got some errands to run. You sit here and think about how you do things with my permission”

[normanshandsxx]

Negan Smith Smutty HC’s

18+ content, you’re responsible for what media you consume.

Negan is obviously VERY kinky. it’s even cannon

Consensual non consent, whenever and wherever.

Everyone in the sanctuary can hear you, but they know Negan will kill them if they said even one thing about it. (Simon makes jokes every once in a while, but Negan lets it slide. Only sometimes.)

When Negan is kept in the cell at Alexandria, you totally sneak inside at night to fuck.

He loves calling you pet names, his favorite one is either “baby doll” or “sweetheart” (just my opinion!)

When you and him first started fucking, he was super gentle, but now he can’t contain himself. He always makes you so sore right after, and despite him being an asshole to everyone else—and even you sometimes—he gives the best aftercare. Like, THE BEST.

He is so in love with your body. Constantly grabbing onto you and having you hang off of his arm, his hand is ALWAYS touching your waist, even when he’s holding lucille.

He LOVES to show off. He loves people getting jealous, because that just means he gets to piss them off more when he grabs your ass or neck.

When you two are alone, he is always saying some horny shit. Negan, as we know, is a VERY horny guy (we love it). Everytime you look down he has a pulsing boner. You can’t recall the last time you two had been together alone and not fucked.

(Hear me out on this one) His dick has GOT to be long. at least six and a half inches, a little over 7 if i’m pushing it. It’s not very thick but it’s definitely thick enough, and it’s VERYYY veiny. During the time at the Santuary, he always kept it trimmed and nice.

“Shut the hell up and take it.”

“You think you can’t? I’ll make you.”

“Your pussy is the prettiest I’ve ever seen, doll,”

“Mhm, knew you could take it. Juuust like that baby.”

“I’m not even close to being done with you.”

“You fuck so much better than all my wives,”

“You’re my favorite.”

“My girl, my good/bad sweet girl..”

“No one else gets this pussy, not like I do.”

After fucking the attitude out of you, he tells you “See? I knew all you needed was a good fuck. Just from me though..” or something along the lines of that.

He found an old camera one time, deleted all the pictures and videos from the previous owner and replaced it with your nudes and y’all’s sex tapes. He rewatches them all the time.

Tying you up. With anything. Cuffs he found, his shirt, your shirt, a blanket, whatever there is.

When you’re not around, he always touches himself. He even rubs one out on a run if he needs to, but he can’t shake the thought of how much better it’d be because of you.

Creampie’s. All the time. He always makes people go out for runs to get some kind of contraceptive, as long as he can cum inside of you. If he absolutely can’t, he always makes you suck him off and cum into your mouth. He hates having to clean up his own mess, when he knows it could and SHOULD be inside of you. No acceptions. But you love it, it’s Negan!

Breeding kink. ^^

His favorite position is cowgirl. Second favorite is fucking you from behind while you’re on your side.

He’s very good with his fingers, they’re slender and long, and he basically scoops you out like you’re a bowl full of food, and he’s determined to finish his food.

He’s VERY good at the finger + mouth combo. Like… too good.

He loves how sensitive you are, and he knows what he’s doing when he “innocently” grabs your waist or kisses your neck out of nowhere.

He brags about you to Rick and everyone in Alexandria (Saviors era) ALL the time. He brings you on every run to visit them, his hand never leaving your waist while he talks everyone’s ear off. He talked you into fucking on Rick’s bed one time…

I think that’s it… for now. I needed something to post to get my mind going for ideas about any fanfics. Thank you for reading xx

[idontplaytrack]

Slam the door

sub!Capri Donahue x dom!fem reader

Warnings: MDNI, smut— fingering, oral, spanking, strap use, bondage(Capri receiving) pet names(both)

You’ve been warned. I don’t know what else to say except, Capri’s a brat and she would let you take control but would need it back after she’s done

Hearing the front door unlock, you look up from your book, watching it get pushed open. “Hey, Capri.” You greeted her knowingly.

She doesn’t respond. Shoulders droop, walk draggy. You squint at her, worried. "Capri." You repeated yourself, putting your book down and walking up to her. "What's wrong, hun?" You tilt your head a little bit to meet her eyes.

"The kids were menaces." She sighs, "Maybe I'm not cut out to coach."

"Capri you are so good at what you do, don't let one bad day get you down."

A crooked little smile tugs at the corners of her lips, "Thanks, baby. How're you feeling? Is the pain still bad?"

You raised your brows, shrugging, "Ah, that damn hip always hurts. It's just a matter of how much it will go when it hits me."

"So, how was work?"

"Had an early shift, as you know. So it wasn't busy. It went pretty well." You answered.

Capri nods, "I'm gonna take shower. You...wanna join me?"

You chuckled, hooking her pinky with yours,“Capri…what are you suggesting?”

“That you could take a shower with me if you want…?” She squints at you, absolutely just playing dumb. You wrapped her arms around her waist, they roam to her ass. You massaged and groped them. Capri tenses up, telling everything you needed to know.

You pull her by her hand into the bedroom, and you slam the door. Well, not intentionally. But when she was the one who initiated things, you were very eager.

She laughs, and you smacked her on the ass, grabbing a cheek in the end while you carried on attacking her with kisses and backed her onto the bed in the process. Capri pushes quickly herself up to the middle of the mattress, you went along with her without a problem then straddled her. “Ugh, you’re so hot.”

You scoffed, “Right.” You were ogling at her, eyes tracing her facial features, then her arms, her neck, her chest. They just wandered. That smile on her face really got you going. You kissed your way down to her jaw, her neck and every little space in between. Capri squirms and her hands roamed your back, clawing it. Desperate for contact of any kind. “Capri, are you going to be a good girl for me?” You ask, hovering over her. She nods, lips pursed together.

“Do you want me to…cuff your wrists to the headboard?” You ask with a smirk. Her eyes lit up, a similar smile forms on her face. “How ‘bout the strap, hm?” You ask, face nuzzled in her neck as you worked over a few spots. She squirms some more, tickled by your breath fanning against her. “Yeah.” She pants, a whine slips. Capri takes in a sharp breath, “Shit.”

“So worked up already?” You questioned, fingers combing through her hair and tucking some of it behind her ear.

“I had a bad day. Alright?” She answered hurriedly.

You hummed, "I know, hun. I know."

"So?"

You glared at her playfully, eyebrows raised for a beat, "Oh, you're gonna do that today, huh? Be a little brat?"

She stifles a laugh, nearly snorting. "Oh, yeah. You're gonna get it from me today." You responded, going back down to kiss her. Harder, with the tip of your tongue sliding across her lips. She didn't waste a second, welcoming it into her mouth. It explores every single inch of it as though it's never been done before.

"I'll be right back." You clambered off of her to go retrieve the items you mentioned once her clothes were all off. She watches you, growingly impatient, and so very needy. You took your sweet time removing your clothes and putting the harness on, letting her watch and wait. Returning to bed, she raised her arm up letting you cuff her without a second thought. "So eager...I love that." You remarked while cuffing her other wrist.

"You ready, honey?" You asked, inches away from her face.

"Mhm." She hummed, her eyes getting a goddamn treat thanks to your bare body.

"Eyes up here, Capri." You tilted her chin up with a finger underneath it, she huffs, unhappy. "Don't be sad." You teased with a laugh, lips reattaching to her neck. She whimpers breathily, biting down on her lower lip. Following that, you made your way down south, leaving a trail of kisses as you roamed. Your hands were on either side of her, moving along with the rest of you. Now along the waistline, you hear Capri curse. "I need you."

"Hm? What was that?"

Capri rolls her eyes, exhaling.

"Say it." You smacked her cunt, an obscenity — nearly a moan, and another whine was heard from her, "Say it. Tell me what you want me to do to you. Be a good girl for me and say it."

You were on your stomach now, face to face with her apex watching the arousal drip and drip out of her. God, that was hot. She couldn’t touch herself to get off. Of course.

Your finger ran a stripe up her folds, her legs started to close in together. You held her thigh to keep them open, tongue sticking out and diving in the very next second. Just ever so slightly, flicking at the nub. A strangled moan comes out of her mouth, she begs, “Fuck me. Please.” Her usual tone, but clearly feigned. Her voice’d faltered, a clear giveaway that she could not keep her attitude up for long. “Oh, please?” You grinned, barely away from where she needed you so badly. Her gaze was on you briefly, you caught that. “You’re so pretty.” You smiled giddily, hands massaging her thighs, “I’m so lucky you’re my girl, aren’t I? You’re mine. Let me hear you say it, Capri~”

“Fuck me first.” Capri seethed. You glared at her, thumb pressing down on her clit harshly. “Oh, fuck!” She cried out right as you pushed your middle finger into her entrance. It glides into her— smoothly. Curling it up, you hit her sensitive spot. You finally get a moan out of her today. Proud, you carried on with this pressure and pace.

Pretty soon, Capri was pushing her hips up. You pushed them back down, as you got up to kneel, holding the shaft and running it up and down against her folds watching her squirm and whine. What a treat.

“I’m waiting, princess.”

The tip dips into her then you removed it, she moans softly, mumbling, “Fuck.” Near tears.

“Say it, Capri. You, Capri Donahue, are mine. Only I get to fuck this pretty pussy of yours.” You grabbed her thigh, fingertips leaving an impression that could be seen fading away when your fingers loosened their grip.

“Oh, fuck.” She says again, exhale laboured. Capri was miserable. But way too prideful. She didn’t want to give in, even when you’d gained control, she was still competing for it. She likes to think that she has the upper hand. And well, most of the time she does, but still, pretty often…there was this. She would be as submissive as she could be, letting you have your way with her.

“Come on, baby.” You coaxed, “Be a good girl and say it. Say it like you mean it and I’ll fuck you like I mean it.”

“What?” She snaps.

“Damn, that got you going.” You chortled, teasing her with the silicone again.

“Oh, my God…” She breathes out heavily, “y/n, fuck.”

“Fuck what?”

“Fuck me!” She screams, “Fuck me, fuck me please. I’m yours, baby. I’m yours.” Sweet, sweet victory.

Lining it up with her entrance, you pushed into her inch by inch, watch it stretch her out, watching her mouth hang agape, that dulcet moan resound through your ears. Holy flying fuck. “Oh, fuck!” Capri exclaimed, “You’re amazing.”

“Oh, I am?” You kept pounding into her, having started off at a leisurely pace that consistently got faster.

“Don’t push it.” She mumbles.

“Speak up, Capri.” You looked at her right in the eye, pushing into her repeatedly while she only grew noisier and louder.

“Nothing. Make me come.” She returns to her usual demeanour for a split second, a playful glint in her eyes.

“I definitely will.” The sounds of your actions started to become clearer, more obvious. So obviously obscene. The wet, squelch-like noise filled the space, making your head spin with pleasure.

“Fuck, I want to feel your tits so bad.” Capri grumbles, her ability to speak soon got taken away by your relentless effort of slamming into her and making her cry out.

“You come and I’ll let you afterwards.” You proposed a deal.

Capri smirks, gaze seemingly perverted. “Can I make you come?”

“You better.” You scoffed, “My hip will kill me tonight. I’m not gonna be able to sleep, so good luck dealing with me.”

“Aw, poor baby.” She teases. You grabbed her ankles quickly and held them together, backing away the most you could without leaving her, you slam into her that way.

It shut her up. Tears brimmed in her eyes, a strained whimper filled your ears. You kept doing that this way, over and over. Capri kept whimpering and whining and moaning. Repeating your name over and over and over alongside a bunch of profanities.

“Still gonna tease me?” You ask, pulling her out once she was right at the edge.

An incoherent mumble comes out of her mouth as she shakes her head vigorously, chewing on her lip trying to divert the tears. “Please— please— y/n, I’m so close, baby.”

“Or are you gonna be a good girl?”

“I’ll be good, I’ll be good—” Once those words were heard, your sole focus was on pushing her over the edge. You were doing everything you knew that would help her have her release and damn, seeing her crying a bit from just how overwhelmed with pleasure she was, is such a treat. You could look at her all day.

You saw her start to shake, so you let go of her ankles and her legs just fell back into position, staying spread open as her orgasm started to hit her. Her eyes half-closed, but fixated on you. That smile of hers, so giddy, so cute. It was annoyingly hot— you were getting pretty worked up yourself. You eventually slowed down to a halt and replaced the strap with your fingers to help her ride out the rest of it. “Fuck, I love you. You’re so fucking good at this .” She says after calming down, “God…”

Without her asking, you took her cuffs off. “Want me to eat you out, princess?” You heard her right by your ear, sending a chill down your spine. Then it was little sparks from her fingers dragging along your back. ‘Hold it together, y/n.’ You chided yourself, ‘Hold— oh, fuck!’

“Yeah, you’re not gonna have to worry about being on your feet tomorrow because I am going to drill you right into the mattress your hip will be the last thing on your mind.” She chuckles lowly, igniting a fire in your core.

“Well, fuck it. Fuck me, let’s go.” You shrug, turning around and laying on your back, “Do it.”

🏷️ Tag list:

@ashecampos @auliisflower @cheesysoup-arlo @frogs00 @ludoesartnstuffs @pda128

💭A/N:

I’m not too satisfied with this one since I was gonna write more show what Capri’d do to reader but I got sick of it after looking at this draft for the last five hours 🙂

[tildeathiwillwrite]

June of Doom Day 27

"Or what?" / Defiance / Display / Last Resort

Prompts List | Event Masterpost

Hero x Villain Masterpost | <- Previous Part | Next Part ->

Fandom: Original Work

Tag List: @juneofdoom @fourwingedsnake @whumperofworlds @pigeonwhumps @mr-orion

@scaewolf @doctorsawyer @pinkrangerv @42questionsandaloafofbread

CW: choking, swearing, captivity whump, power suppression cuffs, scream, weapon, electrocution, unconsciousness, assumed death, shock, referenced injuries

A/N: Just as June is coming to a close, so too is this whump story! I got one, maybe two parts left to go that might bleed into July a little bit.

----------

They couldn’t breathe.

Leader’s hand was tight around their throat, painfully so, and their other clamped firmly around the power suppression cuffs around Hero’s wrists.

They couldn’t breathe.

Hero’s mouth opened and closed, their abdomen spasming as their body tried and failed to draw in air.

They couldn’t breathe.

“P… please… can’t… can’t….”

They couldn’t breathe.

Leader smirked, their fingers constricting even further.

They couldn’t breathe.

“I realize now,” Leader whispered, their lips inches from Hero’s ear, “you were never cut out for this line of work.”

They couldn’t breathe.

Darkness encroached the edge of their vision.

They couldn’t breathe.

“It was only a matter of time, before—”

Boom!

An explosion rocked the building to its foundations, throwing Leader off balance. They cursed, releasing Hero and whirling around, hand on their comm. “Techie, what’s happening?”

Hero sank to the floor, gasping for air, hands probing at the bruises on their neck left by Leader’s vise-like grip.

“Techie?! Shit!” Leader glanced over their shoulder at Hero, almost as an afterthought. “I’ll deal with you later,” they spat, yanking off one of their gloves as they sprinted out the cell door, slamming it shut behind them.

Hero’s heartbeat pounded in their ears as they sat there, back against the wall. Techie? What’s going on? Are we under attack?

Who would try to break in here in such an obvious way?

It didn't matter.

This is my only chance.

Hero slowly rose to their feet, leaning heavily against the wall as their vision tunneled, the cell spinning around them. They breathed deeply, listening intently to Leader’s shouts and fading footsteps. As soon as they were out of earshot, Hero would try to get out of the cuffs, and then—!

Leader screamed.

Hero froze, eyes wide.

They’d never heard that sound before. Leader had always seemed so untouchable, so invulnerable. They were never afraid, always in control of every situation. The scream of pain was long, filled with agony, echoing eerily down the hallway.

It cut off abruptly.

Thud.

The hallway fell silent.

Too silent.

Hero’s breathing came in quick, panicked gasps. Who had taken down Leader? Who had caused them to scream in such a way? Not Villain, surely not. Antihero? But how did they know—

Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Hero stiffened and rushed to the cell door, despite the slight tinge of fear that whoever had attacked Leader so successfully might not be an ally. But they didn’t care. Anyone was better than Leader.

When the cell door opened and a familiar face stepped inside, Hero gaped. “Techie?!”

Techie smiled ruefully. They carried a massive weapon, almost as big as they were, fashioned of shiny metal and buttons and lights, vibrating with a low, ominous buzz. “Hey.”

“You… I thought… thought you wouldn’t… did you cause the explosion!?”

Techie actually chuckled, setting the weapon down on the floor and gesturing to Hero’s wrists. “Let me unlock those.”

“Did you?”

“Yes.” The power suppression cuffs fell from Hero’s wrists, and they gasped softly as their powers flooded back, like blood through a numb limb. “I needed something to distract the others,” Techie continued, retrieving their weapon. For such a large object, they carried it as if it were made of paper maché. “I’ve decided that I’m done. Done watching them hurt innocents, harm desperate people, kill those who didn’t deserve it.”

Hero rubbed at the welts left behind by the cuffs on their wrists. “And Leader… was that….”

“Yes.”

“Are they…?”

“I don’t know.”

Hero stared at Techie, shocked by their hard expression. They swallowed nervously. “Where’s Villain?”

Techie nodded their head down the hallway and stepped back, allowing Hero to leave the cell. They glanced in the direction Leader had gone.

Leader's body lay motionless on the ground at the far end of the corridor, at the foot of the staircase leading to the upper floors. Hero could almost imagine Techie standing at the top of the stairs, their gun-like weapon in hand, as Leader appeared at the bottom.

“What about—?”

Techie shook their head. “Please… it's hard enough just thinking about it.”

“Right….”

“Villain needs medical attention,” Techie said, turning and walking in the opposite direction of the staircase. “They had a serious concussion, and Leader certainly made it worse, and—shit!”

“Hey!” Shapeshifter's voice called from behind them. “Stop right there!”

Techie turned on the spot, their weapon humming loudly as it powered up. “Shitshitshit!” They muttered as Shapeshifter closed the distance between them, transforming into a mountain lion and speeding up.

Fwoom!

Hero jumped back as a huge burst of energy, not unlike Pyrokinetic’s fireballs, exploded out of the business end of Techie's weapon. It almost filled the hallway and crackled with electricity, slamming into Shapeshifter. The mountain lion yowled in pain, collapsing to the floor, unmoving.

For a moment, everything was silent. Hero glanced at Techie, who looked like they were about to vomit. Their hands trembled. “I…” they whispered, “this… was only a last resort… I… I can't…”

Hero took a deep breath and turned away. “Villain?”

“Right…” Techie murmured absently, “this way.”

[joshsindigostreak]

I See Hell in Your Eyes

Chapter Two

“Does the deer forgive the wolf?”

Josh Kiszka x Vampire!Reader

Warnings: None other than descriptions of blood.

Word Count: 3504

You hobbled through alleys and back streets for what seemed like hours, desperate to get to your destination without being seen, or worse, stumbling upon a human and doing something stupid. Your wrists were still burning, bleeding, and locked together because of those stupid fucking silver handcuffs that asshole shackled you with. As you twisted your way through the city, your mind was reeling with theories as to how that man was able to resist your Persuasion like that. It was unheard of! In the three centuries you had been alive you had never seen a human of all things resist that. Humans by nature were so gullible and easily persuaded to do anything that it was hardly even considered a “power” by other creatures. But he not only resisted it, he completely fooled you into thinking it was working. Arguably this was much worse, a fucking human getting the best of you? He needed to be dead. You needed to bleed him dry, watch the light slowly leave those pretty brown eyes of his, and leave him behind in some alley while you get on with your life. 

Turning a corner, you finally spot the heavy metal door you had been walking towards all night. It was very nondescript, blending into the alley wall it was stationed in. With the last bit of strength you had, you start kicking the metal hoping the occupant on the other side would hear you and let you in. Your hands were too sore to knock properly, your fingers curled into your palms in defeat from the sterling silver of the cuffs. 

You kept kicking the door, getting more and more forceful the longer you went without a response. Finally, you could hear slow footsteps on the other side, a familiar grumbling voice complaining on its way to the door, before dramatically sliding it open and flooding the alley with light. 

“Alright, alright, calm the fuck down-” a thick New York accent greets your ears and older, crinkly blue eyes took in your appearance and looked you up and down, immediately spotting the cuffs and blistering wrists, “Ah shit come inside, love.” He was probably one of your favorite faces, but you wouldn’t admit it. He went simply by “Les”, no last name, and never elaborated on what it was short for.  He was one of the most prolific arms dealers this side of the country. He was human…as far as you could tell, but you always suspected he was a lot older than he said. Les had bailed you out a few times after you pissed off the wrong creatures, and here you were again, needing his help. 

You gave him a half smile as he stood aside for you to come in and swiftly slammed the door shut behind you. Your ears were met with familiar Italian opera music playing on a record player in one of the other rooms. Various weapons he had collected over the decades lined the walls, with a few taken apart sitting on his work bench in the center of the room. You made your way over to the bench, sitting on a vacant stool and hauling your mangled wrists onto the surface of the workbench, wincing as the cuffs dug deeper into your skin and making the most unpleasant sizzling sounds. 

Les sat on a stool next to you, immediately dragging over a tool kit to start picking at the locks. “Now what have you done this time?” 

You start rattling off details of your night, how you just wanted to go out and have a nice meal in peace, running into…him, and how he blind sided you in the alley behind the bar. Les nodded along while working at the locks, you noticed he was being extra careful to not break them, which started to annoy you, “Can’t you just cut them off?” 

“And damage sterling silver cuffs like these? Hell no. That's more work for me to fix later, these have more value than you think.” Of course, business always came first. You slouched in a petulant matter, sighing in relief as one of the cuffs popped open, freeing one of your hands. Les started in on the second one immediately as you shook out your free hand, letting the skin heal and close up. 

Les looked up at you curiously, “now what do you mean he wasn’t affected by your Persuasion at all?”

“It didn’t even phase him! He just kept going on his little ‘I hate your kind you will pay for existing’ spiel and trying to say I was behind a bunch of bodies being left all over the city? I never leave bodies behind!” Les narrowed his eyes at you,  “I mean, not in a long time!” The second cuff popped off your wrist, and you were finally free from the blasted things. You shook out your hands as your wrists healed, relief flooding your body as the wounds closed. Your skin healed quickly, but it still left you in your original predicament of being hungry. 

Les scooped up his tools and slid the cuffs off to the side, “Now…don’t quote me on this but I’ve heard that some hunters have gotten their hands on some sort of magic to protect themselves from your kind.” 

“What kind of magic would do that?”

“Sigils mostly, witches are all about their sigils as you know,” he said with a slight eye roll.  “But those hunter families, you know the ones who are born into it? Where their whole family line consists of hunters blah blah blah, they typically have a few witches to help them out for their…line of work. It's honestly a little hypocritical to me, using witches to hunt other supernatural creatures, but you know how hunters are, they’re not exactly ethical, even if they think otherwise.”

You inwardly groaned at the idea you ran into one of those bloodline hunters. You didn’t cross paths with them often, the last time had been a few decades ago when one of them had ended up in actual Vampire territory, way too confident for their own good. They didn’t make it out alive. You recalled their skull was used as a trophy, and a warning, for quite some time.

“There aren’t very many of those families left anyway. The Turners were wiped out back in the 60s, the McGavins haven’t been in the country in years, last I heard they were hiding out in Canada. I remember some French family that stupidly thought they had cleaned out most of Paris but found out the hard way that they had not.” you counted on your fingers as you tried to remember the fates of the hunter families, your eyes trailing off lost in thought.

Les nodded as he crossed his arms, “...have you heard of the Kiszkas?” 

Oh no. Oh god no. Not them. You had heard stories, even lost some friends to those fuckers. They were a long line of hunters, from “the old country” as it were. You had kept your distance from them, they mainly kept to themselves on the western side of the country. There were rumors about how ruthless the newest generation was, and how there was an alleged set of twins that were particularly nasty. 

“They haven’t been this far east in a long time. No…it couldn’t have been one of them…” You tried to reason.

“For your sake I hope you’re right and it was just some random dickhead adrenaline junkie. But you have to consider the possibility given that he wasn’t even phased by any of your Persuasion tricks.” He stood up from the stool and walked over to a small fridge in the corner, “still hungry?” 

You looked up at the sight of the open fridge and saw a few blood bags sitting on the top shelf, and your mouth instantly watered, and your gums itched to let down your sharp teeth. Blood bags weren’t ideal, and no Vampire would say it was their favorite way to eat, but they worked when necessary. “Since when do you keep blood bags?” You tried to keep your voice steady and held onto the table so you didn’t launch yourself at the fridge. 

“Since I seem to have little Vampires show up at my door at all hours of the night needing my help,” he said warmly before plucking a bag off the shelf and carrying it over to you. You took it instantly, ripping off the end of the tube that was connected to the bag, using it as a straw. It was almost embarrassing how fast you slurped it down, but Les handed you a second one to make sure you were ok. The two of you had a quiet understanding. He always stayed neutral when it came to the politics of supernatural creatures, never taking any sides and helped out whomever paid him what he was owed. Strictly business, he always said. His neutrality was what earned him his respect, but he never helped out hunters. Even though he was an arms dealer, he had never once done any sort of work with them. Not for any virtuous reason, but they had fucked him over a few too many times and he just couldn’t be bothered with them after that. 

“The sun will be up soon…you need to get home before it does.” You glanced up at the clock on the wall, and saw you had about an hour before proper sunrise. Shit, you’d have to hurry to get back across the city to your apartment. 

Standing up, you place the second empty blood bag on the table, “thanks, Les,” 

“Any time, kid,” he always referred to you as ‘kid’, even if you were as far as you knew centuries older than him, “just promise to not be stupid out there, ok?” 

You nodded as you slipped out the door, and back into the night. 

~*~

However, across town, a particular hunter was not having a good night. Not only did you completely give him the slip, he lost his only lead on the case he had been given by his father. Typically, he worked cases with his twin, Jake, but this was one of his first solo missions, and he wanted to prove himself. He sat in his kitchen, pouring over the evidence folders he had been given, looking at the photos of dead bodies, all with familiar puncture wounds on their necks. It didn’t take a genius to know a Vampire did it, and this one was sloppy. One of the bodies was found in a shopping center parking lot, and was nearly discovered by other humans who still didn’t know Vampires existed. The hunter had wondered what ignorance felt like, and if it was as blissful as often described. He never had the chance to know if the world truly had monsters or not. His bedtime stories were always filled with creatures, his schoolwork always supplemented by “additional” education at home. He knew what weapons were best for whatever creature by the time he was in third grade. 

He knew Vampires couldn’t stand silver, and had even witnessed it first hand when a particularly stupid one tried to break into his family's house when he was roughly six years old. The vampire had gotten ahold of his twin and he had the wherewithal to grab one of the knives hidden under his bed and stabbed the creature in the leg, disarming him until his parents rushed in and…took care of it. That was the night he saw a Vampire die for the first time as well. A silver tipped stake, shot out of his fathers crossbow directly into its heart. It didn’t turn into dust, like he thought. The creature collapsed onto the ground, lifeless, but it was what happened to the body that startled him. The skin shrank back and turned this disgusting gray color, almost shriveled on the bones, especially in the face. The eyes glazed over in a yellow cast, stuck open in surprise from being shot, and the death rattle it emitted would haunt his nightmares for months.

The hunter sat back, running his hand over his face, trying to think of any other leads. His mind kept circling back to the alley, and how easily you got past him. He thanked his lucky stars his brothers hadn’t been present, or else he would’ve never heard the end of it, especially from the youngest of the four. It pissed him off how ill prepared he was, he had been so confident going into that bar that he’d capture you and take you back to his family’s estate for questioning. The idea of dragging you in front of his father had spurred him on for over a week as he tracked your whereabouts. He could have, and was usually instructed to just kill you and be done with it, but he had the thought that you might be useful in leaking any other information on the Vampire nests that infested the city. It took a lot to impress their father, especially when it came to hunting because of how important their work was. Ridding the world of that filth and keeping fellow humans safe was paramount. 

However, his brain would not stop flashing back to how you looked, and he hated himself for it. The stupid ponytail you had your hair in, the laughable get-up you had on to “blend in” with the other humans, the giggle you let out when he spoke to you, the way your eyes sparkled as you listened, but it was all a ruse. A sham, no different than a cheetah blending into the savannah grass in hopes to capture a gazelle. He closed his eyes as he remembered the kiss, still a little shocked that kissing a Vampire wasn’t much different than kissing another human. The warmth of your body surprised him the most. He hadn’t expected your hands to be so soft, let alone your lips. He hated himself even more for thinking about it like that. These were rookie thoughts about rookie mistakes and he had too much experience under his belt to get distracted by a single Vampire. He had to focus. 

But most importantly, he had to find you again to get the answers he was desperate for. 

~*~

Weeks went by and you hadn’t had any run-ins with that annoying human. You had been living your life in relative peace. Feeding where you could and being extra careful to not leave behind any “evidence”. Heeding Les’ advice, you kept yourself out of trouble. You were being good! 

The human in your possession had been very easy to lure into the back corner of the park, where the trees were thicker and people hardly walked by. You had him up against a tree, fangs clamped into his throat as you enjoyed the rush of blood into your mouth. You almost moaned at the taste, your left hand gripping his hair to hold his head still. As always you instructed the human to remain quiet, assuring him that he wouldn’t remember any of this when you were finished. 

You were so close to being fully sated, seconds away from being finished when you heard a familiar, and aggravating voice behind you, “let him go.” 

With a small gasp, you pulled your mouth away from the human's throat and looked over your shoulder at the source of the words, “... can I help you?”

“I want you to get the fuck away from that man, for starters,” the hunter said. 

Rolling your eyes, “Ok, fine.” You turned to the human, who was still in a daze from being fed on. Quickly, you bit into your finger to draw some of your own blood, rubbing it into the wounds of his throat to heal them as if they were never there. You took his chin between  your thumb and index finger, looking him directly into the eyes as you instructed, “I need you to go home, you were never here in the park, you don’t remember me, or the lughead behind me.” The hunter scoffed at that, “you’re going to go home, eat some food, take some iron, and go to bed. Now go on and get a cab.” You smiled, tapping his cheek as the human nodded, and walked off into the main area of the park and out of sight. 

“See? Catch and release!” You turned toward the hunter and threw your hand at the direction the human had walked off towards. 

The hunter rolled his eyes, “You know I could kill you for even doing that.” 

“And yet here I am. Alive.”

“‘Alive’ is debatable.” 

You fully turned towards him, leaning back against the tree. “Alright, Boy Scout, what do you actually want with me?” 

In a speed that you weren’t aware humans possessed, the hunter was on you once again like in the alley that first night, silver knife once again pressing into your throat, burning the skin. “I just have a few questions.” 

You threw your hands up near your face, you weren’t risking him cuffing you again. “Yeah? Same here.” He was so close, his face inches from yours. This time the moon was shining overhead, its nearly full face was reflected in those big brown eyes of his. They looked so determined as they glared at you, he wasn’t faking his disgust at all. 

He ignored your response, “well, since we last met,” he hissed, his mouth twisting into a snarl, “three more bodies showed up just outside the city.” 

“Once again, that wasn’t me,” you emphasized, rolling your eyes. 

“I know your kind are more in contact than you’d like for us to believe, do you know of anyone who would be sloppy enough to do that?”

Staring at him, “it's not like we go over that in the meetings,” you deadpanned. He pressed the knife even further into your skin, blood starting to trickle out of the wound, “Ok! No, I haven't heard anything. None of my friends are that stupid. Anyone who leaves bodies behind like that are normally really young and either don’t know any better, or don’t give a shit.”

“Do you know of any new Vampires around this town?”

“I haven’t heard of any newbies for awhile. We’re more selective than you think.”

“How did you get turned?” For a fraction of a second you saw his face soften, as if he hadn’t meant to ask that out loud. 

But the question itself made you pause. You never thought about the how, and why you were turned. It was so long ago that you firmly shut the door to your previous life in your mind. You weren’t one of those self-loathing Vampires who felt cursed by their existence. You loved your life. You loved the power you had, forever young, being able to do whatever you wanted and go wherever the wind took you. Longing for human life was only in the movies. Being turned freed you in so many ways, any reminder of before was unnecessary. You weren’t that kid anymore. You never would be again, and you were fine with that. 

Cutting your reverie short, you straightened your shoulders against the tree, and smirked at him, “personal questions like that require dinner.” 

“Yeah well I’m not a big fan of the kind of dinner you like,” the corners of his mouth twitched. Did he almost smile? Whatever expression it was, it was gone instantly. The snarl returned. 

The two of you stood there, staring at each other. The mutual resentment was palpable. 

“All these questions, Boy Scout, and I still don’t have your name.” 

He studied you for a second, weighing his options. He briefly thought about giving you a fake name, but his ego wanted you to know exactly who he was. His name had weight in their world, it meant something. Well, his last name did. His first name on its own hadn’t been given its own reputation yet. He had always been in a unit with his brothers that just their last name was all they needed to get anywhere. It struck fear into other creatures. Sometimes, fear is good. 

“Josh.” 

You were really being pinned to a tree by a man named Josh? Of fucking course. You were right by calling him Boy Scout, it fit almost too perfectly. 

“Josh what?” You narrowed your eyes, he was playing keepaway with the details on purpose. 

Pressing the knife even further into your throat, the dark blood trickling even more onto the knife, spilling onto his thumb that held it in place. Vampire blood was different from humans, not nearly as red, but a darker, sludgier color. The stain it left was unmistakable. 

He leaned even closer to your face, all but whispering, “...Kiszka” 

Well, fuck.

Tag List: @lightmylove-gvf , @dannyandthekiszkas , @gretasmokerising , @sinners-go-to-drink-the-wine , @wideminded-dreamer , @runwayblues , @wildbluesorbit , @llightmyllovee , @rhythm-of-space , @sacredthefran , @writingcold , @alwaysonthemend , @wetkleenex-gvf , @josh-iamyour-mama , @lightsofthe-living-gvf , @gvfcinema ,

[k-a-s-e-y-1-4]

Lloyd gets kidnapped again but what happens next is up to you?:

Warnings: Talk of someone being used as an object, sexualization of a minor

Lloyd was running again. Well Lloyd’s been on the run his entire life but that’s a different story. Right now he was running from two hooded figures who tried to attack him and he would have knocked them out and handed them over to the police, however they both pulled guns so Lloyd just started running. 

He didn’t get a good look at either of their faces as they were completely covered up by masks and he’s kicking himself for it now. Whatever it’s fine right now he had to worry about out running these two wannabe kidnappers. 

A gunshot rings in his ears and he ducks and keeps running. Shit they’re getting closer they’re fast. Most the time when people try and hurt him he can either put them in their place or out run them but these two were certainly an exception. 

He hopes Kai and Jay won’t be too loud for running off. Kai and Jay went into the Grocery store to grab somethings for dinner tonight because Zane was cooking tonight and Zane needed special ingredients for this meal. Lloyd wanted to go get the latest comic for his collection and then he meet up with them outside when they were done. This time he finished his shopping before them so he was sitting on the bench outside when they both came up and attempted to jump him. Hence the attempt Lloyd could have totally kicked their asses had they not pulled out a gun, where’d they even get guns? 

Lloyd begun to slow down as he couldn’t hear them coming after him anymore. Good, he was getting tired although he wouldn’t admit it. Sure he’d have to take a different, longer route home today but it was better than running all the way. 

He felt something cold and hard on the back of his head and a deep voice that said, “Don’t move a muscle or I’ll shoot.” 

Lloyd moved his hands up and looked up to find the second dude standing in front of him and glaring down at him. Damnit Lloyd thought he out ran them apparently they out smarted him. 

“Josh c’mon we don’t have all day, I want my money.” The dude infront of him stated.

So this dude’s name was Josh, good to know and they were getting paid so someone else had to be the cause of this. 

“Alright, alright calm down, damn I thought I was going to have to shoot him.” 

He felt the surface leave the back of his head and then heard wind rushing and suddenly he was out, as his vision blurred to black and lost consciousness quickly. 

                                    -

Lloyd struggled in the chains, trying not to make too much noise as he had no idea who was on the other side of the door. He tried to open the lock with a Bobby pin he had turned into a make shift lock pick. Don’t ask him where he got the lock pick. 

He had woken up chained to a chair in a dark room with its only light coming from a small lamp that hung above the table in front of him. He couldn’t remember anything else than he was running from people but he can’t remember who. Honestly this whole place reminded him of an interrogation room but based on the aching pain from the back of his head he doubts these are his buddies from law enforcement’s doing. 

How many times had he been kidnapped now? Had to be somewhere near 20 now at least. Lloyd hears the familiar click from the cuffs behind him and he can slowly feel the energy rush from his powers coming back. He slips his hands out of the vengestone cuffs. 

Before he can decide what to do next he hears footsteps nearing and manages to make it look like he’s still in the chains before the door opens. Not that he couldn’t take the person at the door it’s just most villains go on a rant about what they’re going to do and Lloyd wants at least a little bit of an idea of what he got himself into. 

The door opens to reveal a man in his late forties - early fifties, in a tight black suit. He shuts the door behind him as he walks in. 

“Welcome back to the living green ninja, how was your nap?” He stands on the other side of the table staring at Lloyd with a smug smile.

Lloyd didn’t recognize this man nor could he think of single way he could have affected him. “It was nice, now if you would I would like to get back to that.” 

The man lets out a chuckle. “Quite snarky are you?” 

“Listen I don’t care what you have to say about me, can’t we just get to the revenge speech where you tell me what you want?” 

“Oh don’t be so impatient green ninja, I mean I had to wait for you to wake up, you could at least let me give my speech.” He replied.

Lloyd sighed. “Well go ahead I don’t have all day.” 

He gave Lloyd a look. “Huh, well I can see why the boys liked you so much.” 

Lloyd gave him a confused glare.

The man leaned on the table and stared him straight in the face. “Such a pretty face on a waste of a man.”

“I’m not sure if that was homophobia, pedophilla or a little bit of both but I want no parts of it dude.”

“I’m just saying it’s such a waste for someone like you to go unused I’m sure you make a ton of money with a body like that.” The man’s says beginning to circle the table. 

“There’s so much in that sentence that’s disturbing but I think the worse is that you’re like 70 and checking me out, sir I’m like 17 hell no.” Lloyd musters out disgusted, backing up as much as he can in his chair. 

“Wow 70? C’mon I know I don’t look that old.” 

“Yeah you look older, is 85 right?” 

He gives look a glare. “You’re quite rude, I hope you know that.”

“Well I’m sorry I don’t give respect to someone that refers to me like a prostitute, oh wait I’m not.” 

“I wasn’t calling you a sex worker I was just-“

“You were sure as hell implying it, I know that.” Lloyd interjects. “Is that why you snatched me? To fuck you?” 

“No! I’m sure you’d be a fun time we have a different need for you.” The man replies.

“And that is?” 

The man grins. “Well this facility needs a power source y’know?” 

Of course why is Lloyd not surprised. They always want to drain his powers why couldn’t it be something interesting at least. 

“So we brought you here to drain your powers.” The man continues. “Possibly kill you, I don’t know, hey if you survive I’m sure you’d make a lovely pole dancer.” 

With that Lloyd had heard enough. He slipped out of his chains again and blasted the man before he had a chance to think. He slammed hard into the wall and crumpled on the floor. Lloyd took his chance and ran towards the door that surprisingly wasn’t locked and had no guards around. The door seemed to be in the middle of the hallway with no one in it, neither seemed to a dead giveaway to lead out either. 

Lloyd wasn’t sure what to do, he obviously didn’t want to stay but he didn’t want to just randomly chose a door and end up captured again. 

What’s next?:

Go left and hope for the best

Go right because right is always right

Climb and hide in the ceiling to get more information and hopefully get out

[mydarllinglover]

Alone || Shit Happens

Previous

Carl unlocked the gates once T-Dog called out that the food had arrived.

"What you got?" The kid asked.

"Canned beef, canned corn, canned cans, theres' a lot more where this came from." T-Dog said, carrying it through to one of the cells.

Sully jogged towards Natalia, sniffing the stuff she was carrying as he walked by her side.

"Any change?" Rick asked the make shift infirmary cell.

"Bleeding is under control and no fever" Lori said. "But his breath is laboured and his pulse is way down and he hasn't opened his eyes yet."

"Take my cuffs, put them on him." Rick told Glenn. "I'm not taking any chances."

Carl helped T and Natalia whilst Rick talked to Lori, Natalia was still fuming about what had happened in the cafeteria, she should have killed him and let Rick kill her after, least she'd be taking the creep down before he could do anything to anyone else.

"Nat, T, come on, let's go." Rick called out once their conversation was done.

"Stay with Carl, Sul, I'll be back. Be a good boy, will you." She gave the dog a treat as she rubbed his head, scratching behind his ears.

"Hey, I don't blame you" T-Dog told her as they walked back out the door.

"Least someone agrees with me." She scoffed.

Rick could hear them, he didn't say anything for the moment. Once they got back to the prisoners and Daryl, Rick layed the weapons on the table, for them to choose from.

Tomas picked up the crowbar, looking at it.

"Why do I need this, when I got this?" He asked, taking out his gun once again.

"You don't fire guns" Daryl said. "Not unless your backs up against the wall, noise attracts them, it really riles them up."

"We'll go two by two. Daryl will point with T. I'll bring up the rear with you. Stay tight, hold formation, no matter how close the walkers get. Anyone breaks ranks, we could all go down, anyone runs off, they could get mistaken for a walker, end up with an axe in the head."

"And that's where you aim, these things only go down with a head shot." Daryl explained.

"You ain't gotta tell us how to take out a man"

"They ain't men. They're something else."

"Just remember, to go for the brain."

The prisoners picked up their weapons to get ready.

"And what about you little lady, ain't got a partner?" Axel asked.

"She can handle herself just fine." Daryl told him, catching her off guard.

"Nat here was on her own, been surviving like that for a while, hell, she damn near saved our lives and ended it." T joined in.

"You broke into my house and refused to leave." She scoffed, walking after the others.

"Why'd ya call your dog Sully?" Big Tiny asked her, they'd clearly seen her bidding the animal goodbye.

"You ever seen Monsters Inc? One with the monsters who have jobs?"

"Yeah, once." He replied.

"The big blue one, he's called Sully."

"You picked that?" Axel asked.

"No."

"It's a stupid name, who'd you let name your dog that?" Andrew included himself into the conversation.

"What you do to end up in prison, show the world how much of a fucking brainless idiot you are?" Natalia turned on the man, the people in the group slightly thrown off by her sudden aggression.

"Jeez, was just a question, uptight bitch" Andrew grumbled.

"Well mind yer own business." Daryl told him in a low voice.

"Man, it's too damn dark in here." Oscar complained as they walked through the dark hallways.

"Gotta hold it up high out In front of you." Daryl told him, gesturing to raise the flashlight.

"You're gonna hear them before you see 'em." Tomas whispered.

A clanging sound came from behind a corner, unsettling some of the prisoners.

"It's coming!" Axel called out.

"Shh." Rick hissed.

A lone walker trudged past the corner, Daryl raised his hand in the air, counting down, but before he could reach one, the prisoners ran at the dead prisoners yelling and shouting.

The four watched as the prisoners punched, kicked and beat the other walkers that came out.

"These guys are idiots, why are we helping them?" Natalia asked.

"Cause we have a deal." Rick sighed.

"We're wasting time." Natalia scoffed, pulling out two knifes, pushing Axel out of the way so that she could plunge one in the head of a walker that was getting its gut punched in, then handling the one Oscar was kicking, before taking out the third, as the prisoners stared at her. "Are we done? Can we move on now?"

"Let's go" Rick ordered, nodding at T and Daryl to lead the way again.

Once again, a walker by itself walked round the corner.

"It's gotta be the brain" Daryl said, shooting it in the head with his crossbow. "Not the stomach, not the heart, the brain."

"I hear you, the brain." Axel repeated as another one came at them.

Oscar, Axel and Rick took out three as more kept coming.

"Stay in tight formation, no more prison riot crap." Rick told the group. 

Natalia noticed the biggest member of the group step back as everyone took out the walkers, one with long curly hair had followed him, she went to help when a walker that had been handcuffed struggled to get his hand's free, had managed to slip one out, although his hand had slid off the bone.

"Look out!" She called as it reached for Big Tiny's back. She threw a knife at the walker, causing it to drop dead as the knife imbedded itself in the skull of the walking dead prisoner.

Though what she didn't account for, is the walker that had sized her up as a meal, falling into her and sending them both to the ground, She struggled to get it's face away from hers as it snarled and spat at her.

It had ceased when a metal arrows head poked through, almost firing into her.

Natalia pushed the walker off of her, Rick quick to help her get to her feet.

"You alright?" Rick asked.

"Fine." She caught her breath.

"You saved my life." Big Tiny expressed, picking up the woman as he hugged her, almost crushing her bones.

"Don't mention it." She patted his back. "You can put me down now."

"Oh, right, my bad." He smiled shyly, dropping Natalia down so she could stand on her own feet.

As they went to continue, another walker had walked round the corner, Big Tiny hadn't noticed it until it was biting into the mans side.

"Argh!" He screamed out.

Tomas was quicker than everyone else, shooting two bullets into it's skull.

"Oh my God!" Natalia gasped, looking at the bite as Rick stared down Tomas, before coming to his senses and gently nudging Natalia out of the way so he could get a better look with the flashlight.

"I'm telling you man, I don't feel anything, it's just a little bite."

"I'm sorry, man." Rick sighed, knowing what would happen.

"I can keep fighting!" He argued.

"You cut that old guys leg off to save his life." Andrew brought up.

"Look at where the bite is"

"Guys, I'm fine! Just, I'm fine." He repeated, trying to reassure Rick.

"It's slow, you don't always get hit with it so soon." Natalia sighed.

"Look at me... I'm not changing into one of those things."

"Look, man, there has to be something that we can do." Oscar said "We could just lock him up."

"Quarantine him." Axel joined in.

"We gotta do something. Why you just standing there? We gotta save him."

"There's nothing we can do." Rick disagreed.

"You son of a bitch" Andrew cursed.

"I'm all right."

Tomas charged forward, shoving Natalia out of his way and onto the floor, before bashing his weapon into Big Tiny's head, letting the man fall to the ground as well, he looked at the bloody weapon for a moment, bringing it back down onto the mans skull repeatedly, sending blood and brain matter splatting everywhere.

Natalia crawled back as she watched the scene unfold, her eyes wide, she had killed many times before, but never so gruesomely, never like the man had just done, she was a survivalist, he was psychotic.

Two hands gripped her arms, pulling her up, she looked behind her quickly before noticing that it was T-Dog, Daryl beside him.

"You alright, got hurt?" T asked.

"I- I'm." She looked back, letting the rest of her sentence die down in her throat.

Once Tomas was satisfied the job was done, he looked back at Rick before walking ahead once more.

Daryl walked toward the handcuffed walker, pulling out the knife and wiping it on the overalls, passing it back to Natalia as the others headed after Tomas.

"Thanks" She muttered. "And for..."

"Let's go." He grumbled, nodding for her to go first.

Rick, Natalia and Daryl stayed behind the others as they walked down the dark hallways.

"You see the look on his face? How he threw Nat?" Daryl asked Rick.

"He makes one move." Rick told the pair.

"Just give me a signal." Daryl finished his sentence.

"I shouldn't of let you stop me earlier, told you I got a knack for this kinda thing." Natalia gritted.

The group made it to the laundromat, inspecting the empty room, just in case anything jumped out at them.

Snarling and banging came from the double doors in the room.

Daryl chucked his ring of keys at Tomas as they neared it.

"I ain't opening that." Tomas said.

"Yes, you are." Rick told him. "If you want this cell block. You're gonna open that door. Just the one, not both of them. Because we need to control this."

With a sigh, Tomas bent down and picked up the ring of keys, looking at the group before stepping towards the door and unlocking it.

"You bitches ready?" He asked, he struggled to open the door. "I got this."

Tomas pulled one more time, opening both doors before jumping back.

"I said one door!" Rick shouted at him.

"Shit happens."

The group fought off the overloading herd of walkers that followed out from the double doors, spreading everyone out.

Natalia pulled her knife out of one head, dropping it to the floor as she watched Tomas purposely try and take Rick out, who had narrowly missed it, causing her to almost forget about the walker that came straight for her.

Natalia dealt with it before running to Ricks side, who was now on the floor from a walker being thrown at him by the Hispanic.

She plunged the knife through its head, letting the man push it off him as she helped him get to his feet.

"T, mind the gap!" Daryl shouted out, also seeing what had just happened.

"Thanks." Rick said to the woman.

"Just paying you back." She said, fighting against another walker that came at her. "Now deal with our other problem."

He nodded at her in agreement, Rick knew what he had to do.

Soon enough, the laundromat was rid of hungry walkers.

Daryl aimed his crossbow at Tomas who shrugged off Ricks heavy stare as he walked towards him.

"It was coming at me, bro." Tomas said.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Rick agreed. "I get it. Shit happens."

The laundromat was silent as Rick and Tomas had a stare off.

Until Rick swung his arm back, the one carrying the machete, before bringing it down onto Tomas's head, pushing it down so that he landed on his knees before dropping to the ground.

"No!" Andrew cried out, attempting to hit Rick with his bat. Natalia tugged out her handgun from her waistband, aiming it at him.

"Easy now" Daryl said, moving the aim of his crossbow.

Andrew looked at the pair before turning back to Rick, realising he had no options here. He spun around, running out of the door.

"I got him" Rick told the three as he chased after the prisoner.

Daryl and Natalia pointed their weapons at the other two prisoners, T-Dog quick to copy with his own gun.

"Man, get down on your knees." Daryl ordered.

"We don't have no affiliation to what just happened!" Axel told the three. "Tell him, Oscar!"

"Stop talking, man" Oscar said, his hands up in surrender.

Rick soon enough came back, raising his own gun at the prisoners.

"We didn't have nothing to do with that." Oscar said.

"You didn't know?" Rick asked him. "You knew, let's end this now." Rick moved to point his gun at Axels head.

"Sir, please, listen to me!" Axel cried. "It was them that was bad, it wasn't us."

"Oh, that's convenient."

"You saw what he did to Tiny! He was my friend. Please, we ain't like that. I like my pharmaceuticals, but I'm no killer." Axel pleaded, Natalia scoffed at him. 

"Oscar here, he's a B and E, and he ain't very good at it neither. We ain't the violent guys, they were! Please, I swear to God! I wanna live!"

Rick turned back around and aimed his gun at Oscar.

"What about you?" Rick asked when he still had said nothing.

"I ain't never pleaded for my life. And I aint about to start now. So you do what you gotta do."

Natalia eventually put her gun back on safety, tucking it back in the waistband of her pyjama bottoms.

Rick took this as a sign, lowering his own gun, letting the pair stand up.

Daryl grabbed a hold of Axels overalls pushing him to walk forward to cell block D, using his keys that he picked back up to unlock the door, throwing the man onto the ground.

The Cell block was full of dead prisoners lying on the ground just outside their cells, their hands zip tied behind their backs and blood coming out from their heads, where they had clearly been shot.

"Oh, man." Oscar sighed.

"I knew these guys." Axel whimpered. "These were good men."

Natalia couldn't help the thought that they were in prison not let her fully believe what he said.

"Let's go." Rick told the three.

"So, you're just gonna leave us in here?" Oscar asked him. "Man, this is sick."

"We're locking down this cell block. From now on, this part of the prison is yours, take it or leave it, that was the deal." Rick shrugged.

"You think this is sick? You don't wanna know what's outside." Daryl offered.

"Consider yourselves the lucky ones."

"Sorry about your friends, man."

Natalia followed after Rick and Daryl.

"A word of advice, take those bodies out and burn them." T-Dog finalised before leaving as well.

"What a day" Natalia sighed, stretching her arms up high.

"Yer lucky yer still breathing." Daryl told her.

"Yeah, well, falling on my ass twice and saving a mans life before his horrific death, all without dying, I would say that's pretty lucky."

"Lets just get back and see how Hershel's doing" Rick told them, scratching at his beard.

"Hey, that was pretty badass, what you did with the machete and the dramatic pause, but I still think my idea was way better." Natalia told Rick.

"It wasn't really for a show. Your way was barbaric"

"I know, but it would of been gratifying, would make me feel a damn lot better." She shrugged.

"Hershel stopped breathing" Carls voice could be heard as the group walked into the cell block. "Mom saved him."

"Its true." Glenn clarified.

Natalia slid down the wall facing outside the cell as everyone filled it, Sully jogging to her side as he nudged his head against her chest, making her raise her hands to hold his face, scruffing up his fur as she kissed the top of his head.

"Daddy?" Maggie called to her father, followed by a more excited Beth as the man opened his eyes.

Hershel had made it, and Rick was to thank for that.

The sun was shining as Natalia walked round the field with Sully, throwing around a ball she found for the dog to catch and bring back as Rick, Daryl, Carol and T-Dog brought in the cars.

"Hey, Nat, you helping out today?" Daryl shouted over to the woman, gesturing for her to come over.

"Come on, boy." She called to her dog, walking over.

"It's gonna be a long day." T-Dog told her. "Collecting and burning bodies."

"How exciting, so glad you asked me to help out." Natalia teased.

"Where's Glenn and Maggie? We could use some help." Carol asked.

"On watch, right?" Natalia asked, looking around for the pair.

"Yeah, up in the guard tower." Daryl pointed up at the tower.

"Guard tower, they were up there just last night." Rick reminded.

"Must've been a lot to scope out."

"Glenn! Maggie!" Daryl called up.

The head of Glenn popped up through the window, unlocking the door and walking out as he was in the middle of getting dressed.

"Hey! What's up, guys?" Glenn called down, doing up the button of his jeans.

"You coming?" Daryl asked him.

"What?"

"You coming?" He repeated.

Glenn looked towards Maggie unsure of the question as everyone stifled laughs.

"Come on, we could use a hand."

"Yeah, we'll be right down." Glenn raised a finger as a dishevelled Maggie looked down unapprovingly.

"Least someone's getting some action." Natalia mused.

"Maybe you can try your luck with one of them" T-Dog pointed from behind them, causing the group to turn around.

Axel and Oscar had walked up to their side of the fence, looking down on the others.

"Come with me" Rick muttered, walking towards the fence, the other four on his heels.

Natalia slipped the gun out from behind her belt, holding it tightly just in case.

"That's close enough." Rick told the prisoners. "We had an agreement."

"Please, mister. We know that." Axel pleaded as Maggie and Glenn came out from the red door behind them. "But you gotta understand  we can't live in that place another minute. You follow me? All the bodies, people we knew, blood, brains, everywhere. There's ghosts."

"Why don't you move the bodies out?" Daryl asked.

"You should be burning them" T added.

"We tried. We did."

"The fence is down on the far side of the prison. Every time we drag a body out, those things just line up. Dropping the body and just running back inside." Oscar explained.

"Look, we had nothing to do with Tomas and Andrew. Nothing. You trying to prove a point. You proved it, bro. We'll do whatever it takes to be part of your group. Just please, please... don't make us live in that place."

"You can always leave" Natalia said.

Axel looked at Natalia before back at Rick.

"Our deal is non negotiable." Rick told the two prisoners. You either live in your cell block, or as Nat said, or you can leave."

"I told you this was a waste of time." Oscar told Axel. "They ain't no different than the pricks who shot up our boys. You know how many friends corpses we had to drag out this week? Just threw them out, like. These were good guys. Good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes in this joint, like Tomas and Andrew. Now we've all made mistakes to get in here, chief. And I'm not gonna pretend to be a saint, but believe me  we've paid our due enough that we would rather hit that road than to go back into that shithole."

Rick turned around, to where Natalia and Daryl were both stood, his eyes asking their thoughts, at first she thought it was just to Daryl until his eyes shifted to hers, each both shook their heads.

"The road it is then." Rick told them.

Daryl escorted the pair into the outer gate where one of the cars still sat whilst Rick deliberated with everyone else.

"Are you serious, you want them living in a cell next to you? They'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons. You want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?" Rick asked T-Dog.

"I never stopped. We let Nat join us, she could of easily done the same thing, now look at her, locking her cell at night so we can't get in."

"Hey, mind your own business, I let you people in, besides, I've never been in prison, from committing a crime!" Natalia defended herself.

"And we're all grateful for that" T-Dog told her. "But what I'm saying is, I think we should bring them into the fold. If we send them off packing, we might as well execute them ourselves."

"If you think they're that incapable on their own, what use are they to us?" She asked him.

"I don't know, Axel seems a little unstable." Glenn joined in.

"After all we've been through? We've fought so hard for all this, what if they decide to take it?" Carol asked.

"It's just been us for so long. They're strangers. I don't... it feels weird all of a sudden to have these other people around." Maggie sighed.

"You brought us in" T-Dog reminded her.

"Yeah, but you turned up with a shot boy in your arms. Didn't give us a choice."

Natalia looked between the group, she had been with them for around two months, she didn't realise how much she actually closed her self off from the group until finding out that Carl had been shot, just now.

"They can't even kill walkers." Glenn brought up.

"They're convicts, bottom line."

"Yeah, both points I've been making, thank you."

"Those two might actually have less blood on their hands then we do, especially Nat." T-dog said, making Natalia scoff as she bit her lip.

"I get guys like this. Hell, I grew up with them. They're degenerates, but they aint psychos. I could have been in there with them just as easy as I'm out here with you guys." Daryl said, seeming to have swayed his vote.

"So are you with me?" T asked him.

"Hell, no. Let 'em take their chances out on the road like we did." He finished with, bringing back Natalia's hope in him.

"What I'm saying, Daryl-"

"When I was a rookie, I arrested this kid. Nineteen years old, wanted for stabbing his girlfriend." Rick started. "The kid blubbered like a baby during the interrogation, during the trial suckered the jury. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence, and then two weeks later, shot another girl. We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands." Rick finalised, walking away, the rest following except for T-Dog, who eventually came to his senses and caught up.

"Move the cars to the upper yard. Point 'em facing out. They'll be out of the way but ready to go if we ever need to bail." Rick told Glenn, chucking him the keys, who jogged ahead. "We'll give the prisoners a weeks worth of supplies for the road."

"Might not last a week." T-Dog sighed.

"It's their choice." Rick shrugged.

"Did they really have one?"

Natalia ignored the conversation, leaning against the fence, Sully by her side as the vehicles were being moved.

"Twin cylinder. is that a Triumph?" Axel asked Daryl as he hopped on his motorcycle.

"Don't even look at it." He threatened the prisoner, struggling to start it up.

"Don't want it bored out?" Axel tried again at making conversation. "Sounds like it could use a tune up. I'm pretty handy with a wrench." He shouted over the revs of the bike starting. "Heads are leakin', I know my bikes!"

"Man, will you just stop?" Oscar asked the blond, also watching the pair interact. "Have some balls."

"Just sayin'"

Natalia leaned off the fence as Glenn was closing it, walking back up with the others.

Carol was moving the red truck as Daryl, Rick and Natalia climbed through the hole in the fence, planning on heading for the woods, Glenn caught up after giving food to the prisoners.

"Should I take her out?" Glenn asked, pointing to the walker on the other side of the water.

"No." Rick told him. "If that armoury hadn't been picked clean, we could spare the ammo."

"I'll start making runs" Daryl offered. "The sooner the better."

"We'll throw as much wood as we can in the dog run."

"Won't fire attract more walkers? Maybe we should bury them." Glenn suggested.

"You wanna count how many bodies that is we'd have to bury?" Natalia asked him, looking over her shoulder to see that Daryl was still stood at the gate, looking into the woods.

"Besides, we're behind the fence. It's worth the one-time risk to get rid of the bodies for good. I don't want to be planting crops in walker-rotted soil."

"I don't get why I'm out here collecting fire like a lumberjack, I could've helped with the cars" Natalia sighed as they began making piles.

"Can you even drive?" Glenn asked her.

"Yes, are you old enough?"

"I'm 22."

"I'm 26."

"Liar. There's no way you were walking and talking by the time I was even born." Glenn rejected.

"Believe it, kiddo."

"We've never seen you drive, we've seen them." Rick said. "When was the last time you drove a car?"

"Uhm, probably nearly three years ago?”

"Why so long?" Glenn asked, surprised by her answer.

"That's a personal question." Natalia said. "But I still know how to, besides, I didn't need to, my boyfriend did, but he's dead, so it's up to me again."

"Oh, uh, well I think this is enough firewood, so we should head back." Rick cleared his throat.

The four of them walked back towards the fence, only three of them carrying firewood as Daryl carried his crossbow, helpful.

"Looky here" Daryl said, holding the fence open for the others to get through.

Natalia was the last to climb out, chucking the logs of wood into the pile the other two placed theirs as they all watched Hershel, on crutches, walk around the courtyard.

"He is one tough son of a bitch" Glenn grinned. "Alright Hershel!"

"Shh! Keep your cheers down" Daryl muttered to Glenn, gesturing to the walkers roaming around outside the fences.

"Oh, man, can't we just have one good day?" The Korean sighed.

"Don't go jinxing it." Natalia told him.

The four smiled at the others, happy for Hershel's achievement, until Natalia noticed something behind Carl.

"Shit!" She cursed, instantly reaching for her knifes.

"Walkers!" Carl screamed, turning around. "Look out!"

"No!" Rick shouted, sprinting down the fences, Daryl following and Natalia right in front, Glenn skidded back to tie the fence back up in order to not get outsiders coming in either.

"Get out of there! Now!"

Natalia reached the gate first.

"Keys! I need the keys!" She screamed out.

Glenn chucked the keys to Daryl, who threw them to Rick who then tossed them to Natalia, who unlocked the gate, throwing it open so the others could get through.

"Move!" She shouted at the two prisoners, running for the other gate to unlock it.

"Come on! Come on!" Daryl shouted.

"I'm trying! It's stuck!"

"Out my way" Rick moved in front of Natalia, trying his luck.

"Got it" He eventually said, throwing the gate open.

"Hey, bro, what about us?" Axel cried out as the four ran up to the prison.

He was ignored.

Rick and Natalia shot walkers, landing headshots, Daryl took a few out with his crossbow, whilst Glenn opted for his machete.

"What the hell happened?" Rick shouted at Beth and Hershel, who were safe in a cage, Natalia could thank the lords above that they had brought Sully with them.

"The gate was open!" Beth answered him.

"Where's Lori, Carl... everyone else?"

"Maggie led Lori and Carl into C block." Hershel replied.

"And T was bit." Beth added.

"Anyone else?"

"I couldn't tell."

"Stay put." Rick instructed, turning around to take out another walker.

"Those chains didn't break on their own." Glenn reported back, once they had got all the walkers in the courtyard. "Someone took an axe or cutters to 'em."

Daryl, Rick and Natalia turned around to find Axel and Oscar walking up.

"How convenient they show up now." Natalia commented, aiming her gun at them.

"You think they did it?" Glenn asked.

"Who else?" Rick said.

Just then, an alarm blared around the prison.

"What's that? Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"

Glenn, Natalia and Rick shot at the speakers, but not ceasing the alarms.

"Kill it!" Hershel shouted.

"How the hell can this be happening?" Rick asked the prisoners, pointing his gun in their faces.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! It must be the back up generators." Oscar said.

"Well how do you turn those on?"

"There's three that's connected to a diesel tank, okay? Each one controls a certain part of the prison. The hacks shut 'em all off when the prison was overrun."

"Can someone open up the gates electronically with full power?" Rick pointed at the main gates.

"I only worked in there a few days. I... I guess it might be possible."

"Come with us!" Rick grabbed Oscar by the overalls, running to the cell blocks.

Once they got to it, there were a few bodies on the ground, but Carl, Maggie and Lori were nowhere in sight.

"We just took out five of 'em in there." Daryl said, grabbing one of his arrows.

"There were four in here but no sign of Lori or any of them." Rick reported back.

"Must've been pushed back into the prison."

"Somebody is playing games!" Rick exclaimed. "We'll split up and look for the others."

"We need to shut this alarm off" Natalia said.

"We will, whoever gets to the generators first, shut them down! Lets go!"

They ran back out the cell block, the prisoners accompanying  them.

Glenn and Axel ran off, but before anyone else could they got chased towards the generator room by a large group, forcing them through.

Daryl and Oscar kept the doors closed as Rick and Natalia looked around, guns held high.

"How do you shut these down?" Rick shouted, looking at the machinery.

"Go, help him, Nat, c'mere, switch" Daryl ordered.

Natalia helped hold the door closed as Oscar went to turn off the machines.

"Did you see how many was out there?" She asked, gritting her teeth.

"Was too busy running!" Daryl responded.

"We could take them."

"No!"

A loud cry sounded from the other side, before metal hitting metal.

"What's going on?"

"It's Andrew, he's alive!" She told them as they both struggled with the door, her being able to see slightly better than him.

"Alright, one... two  three!" The two stepped away from the door, Natalia readying her knife whilst Daryl reached for his crossbow.

The door flew open, Walkers entering as the pair took them out.

"Shoot him! We can take back this prison!" The voice of Andrew shouted. "What you waiting for? Do it! It's our house, shoot him!"

No one else said anything as a gunshot went off.

Daryl closed the door back up, both looking at each other before moving to see what had just happened. 

Oscar was holding Ricks gun, pointed straight ahead. then he spun it, handing it back to the man, Andrews dead body on the floor.

Rick took his gun back, holding it as he moved back towards the machines, turning dials and soon enough the alarms stopped.

"Let's go" Rick told them.

They walked down the dark hallways, only finding a few lone walkers, that Natalia was quick to take out, the others holding flashlights. Soon enough, they met back up with Glenn and Axel.

The six halted behind a corner, running past it quickly to be met with two walkers eating an corpse.

Rick took them both out, the bodies dropping, revealed what was left of T-Dog.

He was dead.

Glenn paced back. Natalia covered her mouth, not knowing what to do with herself.

Daryl bent down, picking up a red cloth, Carols headscarf.

Next.

[starkraivennemad]

Unexpected Talent

Greg mentally shrugged at the closed blinds as he stalked into his office. He thought he opened them before he left, but could not be so arsed with them now.

"Mycroft took up yoga a while back and now I'm beginning to wish I had." He threw his trench in the general direction of the coatrack, uncaring that it missed and will wrinkle. "Could use some fucking Om or something like that about now."

"I can imagine." John Watson let out an exasperated sigh as he entered behind Greg and hung the coat properly.

"Thanks." Greg waved a hand and plopped into his chair "How many times do I have to tell that idiot genius of yours, John? How many?"

"I know Greg. I know how a bit not good that was…"

"A bit?!?!" Greg exploded as he slid up to his desk…

…and froze… "I am only warning you once…"

"Okay, bit of an understatement…" John took seat in front of Greg's desk. "Granted, he did apologize, but the damage was done…"

---the classic coin appearing from behind his ear---

"Really?"

…Greg could not have stopped the surprised gasp that escape….

"What gave it away? When she screeched at us to get out, ya think?" Greg snarked as he picked up a pencil.

---the wallet that disappeared from one pocket and then reappeared moments later in a different one with more cash than was previously in it---

"Might've done…" John conceded. "I expected him to inform the widow about the affair…" John scrubbed at his face. "I  did not expect him to do so via showing the photos of the lipstick marks around the victim's penis and ask if the colors matched any of hers."

…The pencil started a light but steady tap on his desk - he had been warned…

"Just each time I think that one of the Holmes Boys cannot surprise me with the unexpected…" 

--suddenly appearing out of nowhere---

"Look, Sherlock does know he messed up, Greg." a clueless John continued.

…He felt the sensation begin and was trapped… "When you least expect it…"

"Does he?" The pencil tapping became heavier as he blew out a breath. "I really don't want to talk about…"

…A deep low rumbling that was going to get worse … "…expect it."

"Look, I can tell you're really pissed off at him…"

"John just…"

…Greg dropped his head to his free hand… 

"Look we know who did it, Greg… Just… "

---the first time his hands were suddenly restrained in his owns cuffs---

"John…"

…He barely, BARELY bit back the groan that nearly escaped…

"Give him a chance to sort this for you, ya?"

…as the low heat in his abdomen began to coil…

…but he was not expecting THIS…

"Fuck!"

The pencil snapped.

"Shit!" John blinked. "You alright there, mate?"

Greg dropped the broken pieces and grabbed the arm of his chair

…Greg needed John to leave his office…

---the LAST time his hands suddenly restrained in his owns cuffs---

"John…" Greg gritted out between his teeth. "…please close the door on your way out."

John raised a brow at the abruptness but knew the dismissal for exactly what it was.

“NOW.” Greg could not look at him.

John gave a sharp nod and left, closing the door behind him. 

Greg barely heard the door click before he threw himself back in his chair.

…his head slammed against the headrest and bit his lip…

…a low insistent moan driven from him…

…all he could do was hold on…

…he gave himself over…

…to the heat that low coiled…

…seized from within…

…spilled out…

“Oh, you bastard.” When he could find breath again, Greg half laughed; half moaned as he slowly rolled back from his desk.  

"Really, Gregory, disparagement of my parents?" Mycroft, in all his three-piece suited glory, tutted as he gracefully unfolded himself from under from under Greg’s desk. “After receiving such a gift?”

“Yes, I was warned, but I am starting to think you took up yoga last year, just so you can comfortably do exactly this.” Greg pointed at his newly zipped crotch that showed no trace of the expert fellating that happened.

“I did.” Mycroft leaned down and thoroughly kissed a very debauched Greg.

Sitting in the chair previously occupied by John, Mycroft crossed his leg, adjusting the line of his trousers just so when the door swung open.

“Hey Greg I… Oh, Mycroft!” John Watson appeared at the door again. “Where did you pop up from? I wasn’t aware you were here. I didn’t see you pass.”

“I was not aware you not seeing me pass, negates me seeing my husband.” Mycroft said coolly before turning to Greg. “It’s not as if I just popped up from under the desk.”

Greg choked, as he otherwise silently stared at John, unable to speak.

“Right. I… Never mind. I’ll text later.” John looked at both, turned and closed the door solidly behind him.

“You’re going to kill me.” Greg removed the key, deposited into his mouth via a scorching kiss, and unlocked the hand Mycroft had cuffed to the chair. "Is there no ends to your talents?"

"No." Mycroft grinned as he politely pulled out his handkerchief and daintily dabbed at the corners of his spotless lips.

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

Read on AO3

Mystrade Monday Prompt #87

For April 29, 2024

"Is there no end to your talents?”

@mystradepromptsandscenarios

[amoebaforce]

Cat/Mouse

Part 2 of 4 (Part 1) (Part 3) (Part 4)

After a string of bold thefts rocks the Edenite art scene, veteran hunter Nadine picks up the bounty of a lifetime. Fifty thousand credits, just to capture the elusive thief and bring her in alive. It should be an easy job... but one look at her mark tells Nadine she might have bitten off more than she can chew. On a space station full of secret dealings, dirty money, and luxurious lies, it seems even the simplest contracts are prone to complication. tags: questionable morality, some in-universe prejudice, brief description of bodily harm

In a cheap motel room, Nadine snarled at her error-ridden computer screen. Her aggravated growl pierced the early morning as she slumped back onto the stiff mattress. The hunter was on her fifth hour of decryption, and things weren’t going well. The files she’d copied from Ulu’zah’s data-chip were locked behind an asymmetric algorithm — an elliptic curve, no less — and Nadine’s little ten-year-old processor was having a hell of a time solving for the key. Without it, she couldn’t open a single file out of the hundreds she’d copied. In fact, the only thing unencrypted about this data was the name of the folder it came in: 

twig_root

Nadine stared at that title for a long time, trying to decide what it meant. Even now, as she stared at a blank white ceiling instead, she wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was probably just a generated placeholder… But then again, it could be a covert naming system, or a cryptic clue about the folder’s contents. Maybe the piece to be forged was tree-themed. Maybe it was another code, a silly phrase no one would understand except–

Ulu’zah.

The name echoed in Nadine’s ears. Memories thrummed and danced across her mind, all hazy and soft and purple. She dragged a hand down her face, but she couldn’t ignore the way her guts knotted at the thought. Even hours later, Nadine couldn’t explain why she’d acted like that. Kissing that thief was bad enough, but returning the chip? Issuing a poorly veiled challenge to her bosses and then letting her go? 

Inexplicable. 

She’d done plenty of stupid things in her time, but this definitely took the cake. And to make things worse, she was already losing the race. Nadine hadn’t even started to sift through these damn files, while Ulu’zah was probably close to the end. With that kind of head start, she was already well on her way to snatching another priceless artifact and disappearing into the ether. 

Nadine couldn’t let that happen. She snatched her data-cuff from the nightstand and made a call. The line buzzed twice, then clicked as if answered, but no one spoke. Nadine rolled her eyes. Of course.

“Xerxes,” she said sharply. “I need to call in a favor.”

A beat of silence. Then, a low chuckle rattled through the speaker.

“Obviously,” a deep voice drawled. “Why else would you call at such a scandalous hour? Certainly not to ask what I’m wearing.”

“Oh, can it, would ya? I’m in deep shit.”

“Mm. That Diralith girl gave you the runaround, didn’t she?” 

Nadine could practically hear the smug look on the bounty broker’s face. It wormed through his honey-sweet tone and right under Nadine’s skin. Xerxes always had a way of bristling her. Even the first time they met, his overblown confidence and cologne-clouded office gave Nadine a migraine. Fifteen years later, the smell of vetiver still made her woozy.

“No,” Nadine snapped. “Just– Just help me decrypt this damn data packet, would you?”

“Oh-ho,” Xerxes replied mockingly. “I should have known. Nothing but a technological conundrum could sink you so low as to call upon me for aid.”

“Shut up and help!”

With a few button-mashes, Nadine linked her cuff to her computer and gave Xerxes admin access. He could see her screen through his own now, and his giggles were muffled as he scrolled through her lines of code. 

“Where did you get this thing?” he asked.

“From the thief.”

A moment of surprised silence. 

“Is she in custody? I don’t recall getting a–”

“She slipped away,” Nadine interrupted. “Long story. Doesn’t matter. The point is, whatever’s in this packet is gonna help me net her. Maybe even the whole crew.”

She bit her lip. That wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the truth, either. And it certainly didn’t explain how she got her hands on this chip. Nadine prayed he wouldn’t press her for details; she wasn’t willing to part with the real ones. Fortunately, her moment of worry was broken by another quiet laugh.

“My, you sound so sure,” Xerxes replied, tone dangerously saccharine. He paused his scrolling, then deleted a few numbers and went back to skimming.

“I am sure,” Nadine insisted.

“Whatever you say, hot-shot. It’s all the same to me, so long as the credits transfer at the end of the day. Tell me, what do you know about Diralith culture?”

The hunter’s brow furrowed. “Oh, now it’s a pop quiz?”

“Humor me, won’t you? I am doing you a favor, after all.”

As if to prove his point, Xerxes zeroed in on another error in her coding. Nadine sighed heavily.

“Fine,” she relented. “Diralith are… creative. At least, all of the Diralith I’ve ever met. Singers, dancers, artists… even a contortionist, if you’d believe that.”

“I do.” Xerxes rewrote a command before he continued. “Would you say Ulu’zah fits within that generalization?”

You don’t wanna know, Nadine wanted to say, but there was no way he’d let that one fly.

“Yeah,” she told him instead. “I guess so. I mean, even if she’s only copying another artist’s work, her forgeries are convincing enough to pass visual inspections. That takes some skill.”

“True,” Xerxes said thoughtfully. “Are you aware of the planet Dira’s status with the Federation?”

“They’re allied, but not members. Something about their government being too unstructured to join.”

“That’s the gist of it, yes. In more precise terms, Dira is too egalitarian to meet the entrance standards. The Diralith uphold no hierarchies, subscribe to no doctrine but equity. Hell, they don’t even have a standard currency. They prefer to trade in goods or services. Kind of admirable, really — but completely incompatible with the Feds. And not just financially or politically, but philosophically, too.”

“Can you please get to the point?” Nadine said, patience wearing thin.

“My point is,” Xerxes emphasized, “no born-and-bred Diralith would leave that little utopia without a damn good reason. There’s a saying I learned in the Security Force. ‘An off-world Diralith is one of three things: a celebrity, an exile, or a criminal.’”

Nadine felt her mouth twitch into a frown. This was another of her gripes with Xerxes: his tendency to paint the universe in broad, careless strokes. He liked to think himself a great judge of character, but in truth, he was nothing of the sort. Xerxes’ tenure as a cop had merely fossilized his worldview into a rigid set of boxes, and he had accepted them as truth. He took great pains to sort people — cataloging, categorizing, and organizing them like trinkets — and his solution for ill-fitting confines was always to add another box. Never to knock down the walls.

“How do you know she’s born-and-bred?” Nadine countered. “Maybe she was born on a station, like I was.”

“Her name is Ulu’zah,” Xerxes argued. “That’s about as traditional as a Diralith name gets. It’s almost laughably old-fashioned — like naming a Terran baby ‘Maria’ or ‘John.’ Her parents were probably homeworld conservatives.”

“Okay, now you’re just making stuff up,” Nadine said flatly. “Ulu’zah might not even be her real name.”

He sighed. “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll just have to find out after you reel her in.”

Nadine felt her face twist. Xerxes’ words settled like stones in her gut. Reel her in, like a fish on a hook. Baited. Doomed. 

Was that really what she was doing?

Sure, Nadine had pulled her fair share of dirty tricks to catch a criminal — bribing underpaid staff, hacking security cameras, impersonating a mark’s clientele — but none of them had ever felt so heavy. So wrong. Why did it bother her so much, this game she had initiated? Ulu’zah was a thief, but one of scores Nadine had hunted through her career. She wasn’t even the first art thief. Absolutely nothing about this job was unique. 

Nothing but her.

Nadine shivered. Shook the thought from her mind.

“Alrighty,” Xerxes chirped. “Should be fixed now.”

Nadine’s eyes sliced to the screen, where her boss was typing the final characters of an execution command. She held her breath, but miraculously, the code began to run, complete with a newly added progress bar.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Xerxes said, sounding sickeningly proud of himself. “Not an error message in sight.”

“Yes, yes, real impressive,” Nadine sighed. “Thanks a bunch. Now get lost.”

The broker uttered an exaggerating gasp. 

“All that hard work to open these files, and you think I’m going to leave before I get to see what’s in them? Not on your life, Nadine.”

She gave a weary groan, weighing her options. She could hang up on him and revoke his admin privileges, but knowing Xerxes, he’d just call back until she gave in and answered. Or worse: hack his way straight back in. And it would be such a hassle to update her firewalls. Nadine pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers.

“Whatever,” she told him. “Just don’t start back-seat driving, okay?”

“I would never.”

Nadine fought the urge to scoff. The program ran and ran, until the bar was full and a wholly decrypted spread of files unfolded before her eyes. Not that the process actually helped much — every thumbnail image was blank, each title a random collection of numbers and letters. No two files seemed to be the same size, and there was no rhyme or reason to their organization. There were photos, videos, text files, digital information in formats Nadine had never even heard of, all strewn together as if they’d been selected at random. 

Another snarl fell from Nadine’s lips. She’d just have to open them all individually.

“How exciting,” Xerxes remarked. “I do love a good scavenger hunt.” 

And so it went. Nadine combed through a desert of data, sorting by type before scouring each pile systematically. Nearly half the files were entirely, utterly random: furniture instruction manuals, scanned storybook illustrations, dozens of travel brochures, pictures of strange landscapes and monuments, and years-old news articles that seemed to be about everything except crime. Another large chunk was simply empty — blank text documents, mostly, with the occasional image of a blank void. 

She pressed on, sequestering every nonsensical clump of ones and zeroes she found, until the simulated sun dawned over Eden and washed the sterile white walls with gold and pink. Then, on the three hundred sixty-first file, Nadine stumbled upon her smoking gun.

Upon first glance, it was just another “vacation” style photo. A pristine courtyard made of metal, surrounded by sleek white structures. A tall, multi-tiered fountain stood in center frame, while the edges of the shot were full of plants and bustling people. Entirely normal. But as she made to file it away, two separate realizations sent alarm bells ringing in Nadine’s sleep-deprived mind. 

First: she recognized the destination in the photo. She’d walked past that fountain every day in university; she’d know it anywhere. This was Honore Square, in the center of Eden’s East Lawn. The arts district.

Second: for the first time in any photo she’d scrolled through, there was someone looking at the camera.

The figure was small and slightly out of focus, but there it was, right beside the base of the water feature. A Terran male clad in black, identity obscured by a wide-brimmed hat and a pair of sunglasses. A half-moon smile peaked over his tall collar. His left hand was shoved into a pocket, but his right hovered in the air beside him, flashing a two-fingered peace sign right into the lens. 

“Holy shit,” Nadine whispered.

“What?” Xerxes asked suddenly. Nadine’s heart skipped a beat — the broker had been silent for so long, she’d almost forgotten he was there.

“Look,” she told him, fingers fumbling to zoom in. “This picture was taken on Eden! And wouldn’t you say that’s a weird outfit for sight-seeing?”

Xerxes hummed as he studied the male. “Unless he is allergic to the sun… I suppose it is, yes.”

“This has to mean something.”

“Perhaps. But what?”

“Maybe it’s another drop,” Nadine guessed. She swallowed hard. “Or a meeting.”

“Hm… Arranging a drop via touristic photography… It’s plausible, I admit. Though it doesn’t account for the peace sign. Unless he wants her to come unarmed.”

Xerxes giggled at his own quip, but Nadine’s mind was racing too fast to appreciate the humor. 

“It’s the time,” she concluded aloud. “Two — probably two in the morning. That’s the only thing that makes sense. He’s giving her a time and place.”

“It’s past five now,” Xerxes said. “We’ve missed it.”

Nadine shook her head, as if he could see it. 

“He means tomorrow. It was just after one in the morning when I copied this packet from the chip. There’s no way Ulu could have seen this message and made it to the fountain in less than an hour.”

Xerxes paused. “…Ulu?”

Fuck!

Nadine cringed at herself, covering her screwed-up eyes with one palm. “It’s how she introduced herself,” she admitted, having nothing better-sounding to say.

Xerxes laughed hard enough to clip the audio on their voice call.

“Oh, shit,” he wheezed through his glee. “Say no more. Save it all for the in-person report I’m gonna make you give me.” 

Nadine swore under her breath, suddenly regretting her “long story” comment from earlier. But this was a bridge for later crossing — right now, she had to focus on these damned files. 

Ignoring the snickering male, Nadine copied the photo to her hard drive and kept looking. Five more documents joined it in quick succession, and after another long hour of study and tense conversation, Nadine had everything she needed.  

“Well, Xerxes,” she said firmly, “it’s been real. I owe you one.”

“I look forward to calling that in,” Xerxes chuckled back. “You’d better get some sleep, though. You’ve an appointment to keep.”

Long after the death of the day, Nadine slipped into a narrow maintenance corridor and come to rest in a deep column of shadow. Honore Square stretched out before her, vast and eerily still, save for the bubble of the fountain and the gentle sway of leaves. She didn’t see a single soul on the way here. The East Lawn’s art galleries and theaters were long since shut, and the sky overhead was too ominous to invite late-night walks. Viscous gray clouds swirled as if stirred in a cauldron, perfuming the air with the thick scent of incoming rain.

It was almost too quiet. A breeze rose goosebumps on Nadine’s neck as she pulled her jacket tighter. 

The calm before the storm, she thought dryly. 

Somewhere in the distance, a clock proclaimed the three-quarter hour, its resonant toll rolling softly across the plaza. Nadine’s skin pebbled with anticipation. Fifteen more minutes, and she’d find out if her meeting theory was correct. What if she was wrong? What if she misinterpreted those files? Focused on the wrong details? 

Nadine pushed her thoughts away like buzzing gnats. 

Concentrate!

She inhaled. Exhaled. Tucked herself against the wall, letting darkness cocoon her from view. A few long minutes passed. Then, the sound of far-off footsteps rang out through the night, shattering the moment like a mirror. 

Nadine froze. Small feet. Stiletto heels. Coming closer, closer, until a sudden movement drew the hunter’s eye to the other side of the square. A pair of golden pumps strode out of the gloom, followed by a pair of lilac legs and a tight ivory dress. Ulu’zah’s face was last to catch the low white light of the street lamp. When it did, she took a long glance up and down the courtyard, and her lips glistened dragonfruit-pink.

Ten minutes early, Nadine noted. Casing the place? 

Ulu’zah stalked toward the fountain with determined grace. Unlike before, she carried a bag — a cloth tote slung over her shoulder, full and heavy-looking. A spike of panic prickled up Nadine’s spine. That couldn’t be the forgery, could it? It had only been a day — even the highest-end matter replicators couldn’t work that fast. Not on something like this…

The thief took a seat at the base of the fountain and plunged her hands into her bag. Nadine inched forward, slow as a snail, angling her head to get a better look. Instead of a priceless-looking artifact, though, Ulu’zah produced a thick spiral-bound notebook and a thin rectangular box. She flipped to a middle page and set it on her lap, then snapped open the case. Inside were… pens? Pencils? Something like that. There must have been dozens, all arranged by color from light to dark. 

Nadine’s fear morphed to curiosity. She watched, hardly blinking, as Ulu’zah plucked out a deep gray and began to etch a few languid lines into the page on her lap. From this distance, in this darkness, it was impossible for Nadine to see her work — but she didn’t have to. The sound of graphite on paper scratched its way to the hunter’s ears, and she knew. Ulu’zah was composing a sketch.

Maybe the sketch.

Ulu’zah was still drawing when the clock tolled two, and the first clang seemed to jolt her from a trance. She slammed her notebook closed and shoved her pencil back in its box. Her head swiveled, casting her gaze toward the back corner of the square. Nadine followed suit. At first, there was nothing. A sea of black. Then, at the edge of the light, a dark-clothed Terran male materialized like a specter.

It was the same person from the photo. Same hat, same coat, even the same glasses, despite the hour. Nadine’s hairs rose on end. Though he wasn’t there for her, she couldn’t help but dread the sight of him. And it wasn’t just his looks, but his calculated moves. The way he prowled to the fountain, tight and panther-like. The way he circled Ulu’zah once, twice, before settling into place before her. All of it was unsettling. Under the weight of his gaze, the thief stiffened. 

The male spoke first. No words reached Nadine’s ears, but she could see his thin lips part. Ulu’zah replied with a furrowed brow, then crossed her arms when he shook his head. The thief snapped. She launched into a rant, and the back-and-forth barbs grew louder and louder, until the gargle of noise sharpened into syllables and words. 

“–ridiculous!” Ulu’zah hissed.

“Pipe down,” the male commanded, jutting a thick finger at the space between her eyes. 

Nadine bristled. Who the fuck did he think he was, talking to her like that? He certainly wasn’t in charge — unless Ulu’zah’s big scary boss did his own errands. Nadine doubted it. No, this sorry punk was a lackey, through and through. He just liked pushing females around when no one was looking. 

But someone was looking. The hunter bared her teeth at the male. Committed his side profile to memory. 

His conversation with the thief continued, quieter and tauter than before. Another angry finger point, and Ulu’zah stood, fisting the handles of her bag as if it were a weapon. Maybe with all her art supplies inside, it was — like a brick in a sock.

“Get a grip,” Ulu’zah told him, loud and clear. 

It was the same stern tone she’d used on that oaf at the club. All rejection and disgust. She turned to leave, but the male grabbed her by the wrist and tugged. Ulu’zah let out a quiet yelp as her body wrenched backward. Her hand flexed open on instinct, and her bag tumbled from her grip, vomiting its contents across the ground with a loud clatter. 

Anger seared through Nadine’s veins. Her every muscle coiled with baleful ferocity. Plan be damned; she wasn’t about to sit there and watch this happen. But before she could leave her hiding place, Nadine watched Ulu’zah’s face twist into something sharper, and the hunter stopped dead in her tracks. Eyes thrown wide, lips curled to snarl, nostrils flaring. Not the passive acceptance of a condemned lamb, but the wild rage of a cornered wolf.

In one quick motion, Ulu’zah clamped her free hand around the male’s thumb and wrenched it backward, breaking his grip with an audible crack. Nadine winced. He barked with pain and anger alike, curses bouncing through the square. 

“You bitch!” he seethed, hand cradled to his chest. 

“I told you I would,” Ulu’zah spat back.

“Rock’s gonna tan your hide for this!”

Ulu’zah offered a condescending coo. “Aw, gonna run home to Daddy? Gonna tell him I was mean to you? Get real!”

The male gave an indignant snort. He muttered a threat under his breath, too low for Nadine to hear, and turned. His gaze dropped, teeth grinding, to the sketchbook by his feet. The females might as well have read his mind. 

Ulu’zah sucked in a hissing breath. “Web, I swear to–”

But her oath was cut short by the crunch of plastic under rubber. The male called Web cracked the cover with his heel, then kicked it away. Papers flew like confetti from the broken spine. Ulu’zah cried out, lifting her palms to the sky. 

“One week,” Web said over his shoulder. “That’s final.”

He stormed away, disappearing into the night. Quiet fell once more. For a long moment, all was still, as if the whole universe was holding its breath. Then, Ulu’zah’s shoulders began to quiver. She swayed. Fell to her knees. Small, half-swallowed sobs trickled like water into Nadine’s ears. The hunter’s heart clenched in her chest. As if released from a spell, her motionless body shivered back to life. Nadine stepped out of the alley, divorcing herself from the shadows. 

Her feather-soft footfall made Ulu’zah start, head snapping upward. When their eyes met, a thousand emotions danced across the Diralith’s face. Surprise, confusion, realization. Then fear, then anger. The impulse to run. Nadine held up her hands and turned them wordlessly, showing Ulu’zah their emptiness. Above them, a bolt of lightning raced cloud-to-cloud, and under its flash, Ulu’zah’s tears glistened like mercury. 

“I should have known,” Ulu’zah said finally. “You were never gonna let it go.”

Nadine tucked her chin, looking at the pages scattered around her feet. Stunningly realistic sketches, the lot. Faces, flowers, buildings, household objects, anatomy studies, color experiments. All composed of thin, elegant lines, shaded with precise crosshatches. It was the kind of work Nadine had seen in frames, selling for thousands of credits. Millions.

“Sorry, baby,” Nadine replied. 

They were the truest words she’d said in days. Ulu’zah wiped her face and sat back on her heels, looking even smaller than usual. 

“If it makes you feel better,” Nadine offered, “you definitely broke that fella’s thumb.” 

Ulu’zah emitted a shocked laugh, but her brows knitted. “Yeah, well… He’s had it coming for a while.”

“I can tell.” Thunder rumbled through the sky. “What d’ya owe them?”

After a few offended blinks, the thief huffed and crossed her arms. “How did you know?” she demanded. 

Nadine shrugged. “Young lady like you — beautiful, talented, full of potential — sticking your neck out, doing business with shady scumbags… Call it an educated guess.” 

“Point taken,” Ulu’zah huffed. “But why do you care?”

“I just think it’s a shame.”

“I don’t care what you think.”

“That’s fine. You don’t gotta. But when shit hits the fan, and your luck runs out on the job, it’s not gonna be your boss who takes the fall. And someone like you wouldn’t do well in Federation prison.”

“Stop it,” Ulu’zah said. “Stop acting like you know me. You might’ve read a file, looked at some pictures, but you don’t know the first thing about where I come from, what I’ve done.”

“I know that you don’t deserve this,” Nadine countered, gesturing to the carnage around them. She snatched a random page off the ground. “To be belittled and disrespected. Your work exploited.”

“And what would you have me do? Hm? Tell him the deal’s off, after he just moved up the deadline? I only have a week. I’m supposed to have two!” 

Her voice cracked, and tears welled fresh in her eyes. Nadine felt something deep in her soul twinge. Another crash of lightning and swell of thunder, and the simulated clouds opened up. The scattered pages began to speckle with drops of rain.

“Shit!” Ulu’zah swore, scrambling to save her work.

Nadine sprang into action. She snagged the broken bindings and gathered handfuls of paper, then joined Ulu’zah and sprinted under a nearby awning as the sprinkle turned to a downpour. They exchanged a glance, then another. Ulu’zah cleared her throat, eyeing the slightly haphazard stack in Nadine’s calloused fingers.

“I need that back,” she said pointedly.

Nadine offered it up. “Let me help you.”

“Help me?” Ulu’zah scoffed, still stuffing everything back in her bag. “Yeah, right.”

“Don’t you want to leave?”

“You don’t get it. It doesn’t matter what I want. These are scary, fucked-up people, Nadine.”

The sound of her own name felt like a splash of cold water. “What would it take?” she pressed, taking a step closer. “How much? Humor me, Ulu.”

Ulu’zah’s mouth twitched into a grimace. She scanned Nadine’s face a half-dozen times.

“I’m half a million deep,” she confessed quickly. “And even if you could pay it, he’d probably kill you before he let me go.”

Nadine’s heartbeat thudded in her ears. Half a million? What the hell kind of trouble had this Diralith gotten herself into? And more importantly, who the hell was rich enough to lend her that kind of money? As Nadine’s mind raced, Ulu’zah finished packing her things.

“I have to go,” the thief muttered, eyes to the floor.

She took a slinking step back, but Nadine reached out for her to wait. 

“Just think about it, okay?” the hunter begged.

Ulu’zah bit her lip. Turned on her heel. “No promises,” she whispered. 

Then, she vanished around the corner, footsteps dissolving into the sound of the driving rain. Once more, Nadine was abandoned to the wee hours of morning. The hunter sighed long and slow. A dull impulse carried her forward, out from the refuge of the eves and into the storm. She lifted her head to the sky, eyes closed, accepting each cool, heavy raindrop that broke across her face. It was foolish to hope the water would cleanse her, as if it might seep into her very soul and scrub away the ache that lingered in its fibers. But still, Nadine hoped.

[the-nonbinary-anarchist]

Part one

Garmadons pov:

The green ninja and I walk down the hallway of this monastery... It looks so familiar but I can't pinpoint any reason why, as we get to Mistakés door the green ninja walks past it.

"Ninja? Ninja, hello?"

He continues to walk, and I sigh and pinch the back of his neck, fsm he's so annoying.

"Ow! Fa-Garmadon, what do you want?"

He snaps at me, annoyance clear in his voice as he looks up at me then rolling his eyes and he looks back in front of him grumbling, now looking around at where we are.

"Well you walked past Mistakés door so- I mean 'Lloyd'."

I respond, faking a mistake that made the green ninja's skin jump.

"You're mocking me aren't you..?" He asks, suspicious of me.

"I don't know 'son', am I?" I hum at his question in response, while we walk into that witch, Mistaké's, if I recall correctly that's what she's calling herself now.

We walk in to see her stirring a small cup of tea, dark with tea leaves on the top floating on the surface; she looks up at us and smiles as if knowing something that she shouldn't.

She walks up to us and whispers something in the green ninja's ear causing him to flinch…

She shouldn't know my plan, so what did she just whisper in his ear? How could she know, and tell that stupid ninja now?! That would ruin all this patience and planning of done.

Frustration fills me as the ninja now is a lot more tense, but now seemingly out of it. The older woman's smile turns into a sad, possibly disappointed frown as she looks up to me.

"Garmadon, please pick the right choice; don't do something you will regret later on."

I scoff at the woman as she passes me the cup, then she just shakes her head and leaves quietly..

Which left me and the ninja alone together… I smirk darkly as he snaps out of his trance and looks to where the woman was standing previously

"Is the tea ready- Mistaké?"

He looks around for a moment until horror and realization hits him and he looks up at me. The tea in my hand.

He backs up and gulps a bit looking around, looking for a way out.

I smirk and walk closer to him, using a bit of effort to soon knock him out. I warned him before and he just never listens; he's a fool for trusting me. Even more so when I don't have cuffs on me.

But no matter, soon he'll learn and be better. Be the son he said he always was.

Using a window I sneak out of the monastery and sneak off to a hidden base I have near here.

This was one of my better ideas, making bases all over ninjago with the help of.. Her.

I sigh as I think back on her; my "daughter" in a sense. I don't know what I was thinking, my silly attachment to her led to her death and feelings I can't seem to comprehend.

This is why I know attachment is a weakness. No matter what those stupid ninja and my brother say.

As I focus on the anger I feel and a plan to grow my power back to its original glory I reach my base.

A small house, run down and barely two stories tall. With the second story being broken and barely holding together.

Not the most beautiful place but it's what was under it I am focused on anyway.

I walk in and I see a few rats squeak and leave.

Disgusting.

Walking to one of the walls I press in, making it move and reveal a set of stairs behind it.

Walking down I move carefully so as to not wake the ninja and start a fight. Even if I can overpower him, doing it on the stairs would make it more dangerous and I need him intact and in one piece.

Once I make it down I tie the green ninja to a chair, growling to myself as I walk over to the stove across from him.

"You'll understand soon. Trust me on this."

The voice in the back of my head disagreed; saying that the green ninja wouldn't understand and all this would lead to is just more hurt. More pain.

But I waved it away, muttering to myself that he can and he will understand. All I need is some time.

After some time the ninja starts to wake and groan.

"Ugh.. What happened?? Where- Shit!"

"About time you woke up green ninja, I was starting to.. what's the word? Worry? Care? I dunno, but I was starting to think I killed you. Glad you aren't dead."

The ninja glares at me with enough hatred to turn his eyes a light red, but the normal green hue of his eyes still, making just prevalent enough to make me chuckle.

"Keep on that path and you'll finally get what I'm saying."

The green ninja flinches and sighs, looking away to calm down.

"I refuse to become like you. I'm not like you…"

I growl in response, walking over and forcing him to look at me. The fear in his eyes showing, making a part of myself feel that same feeling I felt when I nearly crushed him with the colossus.. I growl to myself as he whimpers.

"Then you are weak. And weakness needs to be destroyed."

The ninja snaps back, faking anger.

"Like how you destroyed this family? Why'd you do this anyway- and don't say 'because you needed an easy way out'. Because if that were the case, you would've left ages ago. So tell me, why did you do it?"

I step back a bit, did he just question me and my motives?!

… What are my motives?

My mind starts to race, I'm sure I had a motive before, so why am I coming up with a blank. I take a deep breath and keep up my act; I just smile and put on an act as I think.

"I want to take over Ninjago and make it into my perfect world, and who better to help than ninjagos beloved green ninja? Soon you'll help me take it over, as father and son.".

The ninja growls and tries to get out of the chains around his chest and arms as he snaps.

"I will never rule with you, after all you disowned me didn't you?"

I walk away from the ninja and start to warm the tea on the counter.

"And didn't you say you wanted me to be your father again? Well~ I can make that happen. And soon we'll rule together. Just as it was meant to be.."

___________

As I finish reheating the tea, pouring it into a thermos I walk over to the ninja and smirk, pride filling me as the horror of the situation hits the ninja.

The ninja shifts and tries to get farther away from me.

"No- father please don't-"

I force him to drink the tea and he starts to cough harshly.

In the back of my head a voice chants.

"What have you done?"

__________

Just as I planned it worked perfectly, no one knew how to fight the fabled green ninja and lord Garmadon; the old hag's tea had fixed the ninja and made him worthy of being called my son.

But something was off, sometimes I can feel something; it was supposed to be impossible but it stood there, like a rock I couldn't destroy. And it looked back at me everytime I look into the mirror.

It is odd, to say the least. I don't remember what.. She had called it.. but it's taken the form of an older human man.

Its aging features show how time has affected it.

And sometimes it whispers to me, thoughts I try to block out and focus on my hatred.. but it sticks, making me remember things that make me feel that feeling again..

The pain makes me feel it through my heart.

So I do the logical thing and go find a way to end this. My first stop that old hags old tea shop. I never liked tea, but if it'll end this odd occurrence, I'll deal with it.

I sneak my way to the outer edge of ninjago city and down to a now quiet town.

Few people remained after the sons of Garmadon rounded everyone up from each of the towns and brought them into the city so they couldn't escape.

As I walk through the town people hide in their homes and stores alike.

But I ignore them, keeping my eyes on the store on the other side of town.

Walking in I felt something was off and I step back, as I did shurikens fly past my face, nearly cutting me.

I growl and summon my weapons as I block another.

"Who dare attack-"

Misako jumps out of hiding and goes to attack me head on, a type of fire I haven't seen in her since we were young.

I shake my head trying not to focus on those memories.

"How dare you misako!"

The woman growls and attacks me with all her might.

"How dare I?! You monster look at what you've done! Look at what you've done to our son! The one person who promised me not to hurt!"

Much to my surprise she keeps up with all my attacks and starts to over power me.. I realize what weapon she's using.

"The Sword of Sanctuary.. heh clever as ever misako but if you think this trick will beat me you are-"

Suddenly everything goes blurry as I hear Wu's voice.

"I'm sorry brother but you won't win. We won't let you."

I growl and look back up at him as someone else comes into view.

—————

As I wake up next I look around and see I’m tied up in venstone chains- Fools, don't they know this will hinder them as well as myself? What are they planning anyway?

More thoughts pass through my head until I hear an oddly familiar voice; I can’t place it until a sharp pain passes through my cheek and I look up to see an extremely pissed off Misako.

I sigh, annoyance very clear in my tone.

"Alright let's get this over with. What do you want?”

She growls at me, if I was just meeting her a growl like that could’ve fooled me into thinking she was some threat to me. But unluckily for her, I- that fool I used to be married her; I know better. I smirk as Wu and that hag walks in.

Both share a look before facing me fully and I laugh.

“Come in for a show? Because You’re about to get one.”

Looking around the room both misako and wu both have pained and angry expressions on their faces respectively.

“Well?”

The old hag walks closer to me with a sigh.

“I warned young Garmadon about this.. I just wish he had listened instead of wanting to do it on his own- But it's time to rectify that now.”

I look at her and let out a single solem laugh, and I glare into her eyes. I’ll give the old hag this, unless you look close enough you cannot tell she’s an ancient oni, older than myself and Wu combined. She’s only a little younger than my father if memory serves me correctly.

“And how do you intend on doing that? You told Lloyd and the rest of us yourself; there’s none left after that one cup.”

The hag smiles and chuckles lightly with a nod, it would be unnerving if it were for the fact I know she was telling the truth, those ingredients were rare and most found in different realms.

“I did say that but you forgot one very important factor, I had leftovers.”

My eyes widen, that shouldn't be possible! The ninja had brought back so little for the tea. The hag pulls out a cup.. A tea up.. Anger surges through me as I start thrashing.

“Keep that away from me you old fool! I will not drink that and become like you weak fools, I have an empire to run!”

The old hag walks closer as Misako and Wu hold my head still and they force me to drink the tea.

The warmth of the liquid makes its way throughout my body, a familiar feeling starts to wash over me, I can’t tell where its from but my oni magic seems to try and fight through the vengstone and keep the magic of the tea at bay, to no avail. With all my energy I try to get free; and for what I assume to be the second time today. I faint.

________________

In the morning I wake up with a pounding headache and I sit up with a groan, from me or the bed? I can't tell. As I sit up I see Misako and Wu in chairs across from me.

When did they get there? Better yet where am I? I sigh and hold my head, the headache still raging on.

“I need some water, actually I wonder if Mistaké is still here? She normally has some tea to remedy this..”

Getting up, the floorboards creak slightly- I really need to get those replaced..

Though the creaking alerted both Wu and Misako to wake up, upon seeing me though they rush over and hug me, I hug back and I feel Misako crying in my arms, mumbling something through her tears.

“I can’t believe you're actually back..”

I look down at her confused and hold her close to my chest, now remembering how previously, I was in the departed realm.

“It's alright my love, but how am I here, and what happened? Where’s Lloyd?”

That makes her cry more and Wu looks down in sorrow.

“… Wu, where’s my son?”

Wu sighs and looks me in the eyes, the pain very apparent.

“How much do you remember?”

I think for a moment and explains all the way up to the departed realm and when Lloyd and I talked for the last time.

Wu hums and nods.

“Well that has long passed. Recently, within the last two years; someone has revived you, but only your evil half. It seems that your other half of you has started to come back. But it was too late.. You remember Mistakes soul tea, well Lloyd tried to use it on you but you got to him first.. He’s..”

I cover my mouth in horror.

“What have I done..”

(Here’s an update to the story)

Wu places a hand on my shoulder and tries to comfort me but I push him and misako away, my mind calling me a monster.

"Brother it's alright, that wasn't you-"

"But it was me Wu! I did this to my son!"

I look at both, why are they so calm and care about me still, I'm horrible.

Misako walks closer to me carefully, her hands holding my face, her kind smile grounding me in reality.

"My love, Garmadon, please listen to me… That wasn't you, that was all the Oni. You're my husband and Lloyds father. We can fix this, you just need to relax."

Leaning into her hug, when did we start hugging? I start to cry more, the guilt eating me alive.

Misako rubs my back and promises me we'll fix this. I don't believe her but I try to find hope in the situation, praying we can fix this before it's too late.

——————————

It's been weeks since any of us last saw or heard from Lloyd; it's like he disappeared, but those damned sons of.. Me… Are still causing massive amounts of trouble and all they seem to be doing is growing in numbers, it makes me worried about what will happen next, and the tension from everyone on the ship could be sliced with a butter knife.

Any attempts to loosen the tension is met with most of the ninja glaring at me hatefully.

And as deserving of that as I am, it's no help in the slightest to help us find a way to fix this.

Which left me in Mistaké's room more often than not, looking and researching ways to recreate the tea she used on me. And when I'm not there I'm with Wu or Misako, working on ways to repair both of my relationships with them.

Which has been the hardest task by far, both act like everything is fine but I can see the fear flash in their eyes as I make any sudden movements, the ninja aren't much better but instead of fear it's hate or anticipation for him to betray them at any given moment.

It could hurt more but I know why they look at me like this.. Like a monster…

What I have done to my own son is unforgivable, and no the only way to fix any of this is to bring him back.

I'll do anything to bring him back…

—--

More time has passed and yet we are still unable to find any trace of Lloyd.. Where could he be?

Most of the ninja say he must be planning something huge, I want to have my doubts; they are more than likely correct and we have to plan accordingly to any next moves we may see.

I walk through what are the remains of what used to be my monastery.. and what used to be me and my family's home…

I look through each of the halls and try to remember the happier memories that aren't tainted, a voice comes over the intercoms that Nya and Pixal had just finished fixing.

"Everyone get to the bounty now! I got a lead on Lloyd, all hands on deck!"

As if a new fire takes over me, I rush to the bounty as fast as I can, and as I walk into the bounty's map room I walk over to the water ninja.

"Where's Lloyd Nya??" I ask, I'm met with the ninja Wu and Misako looking at me with confusion, making a pit form at the bottom of my stomach, something isn't right..

"What do you mean? I've been here the whole time, and haven't seen any movement from Lloyd's end-"

With a sharp snap and click, the door is closed and locked behind me. As fast as my hope surged through me, it is snatched away now that I've seen Nyas face finally, she doesn't know what's going on..

We hear a crackle from the speakers now as it dies down we all hear a cackle..

"Haha... Well, well, well look at this, master Wu, all the ninja, and my parents isn't this just... Wonderfully anticlimactic..."

"Lloyd, don't do something you'll regret.." Kai warns him... We wait to hear his reaction, every light goes off.

The next thing we all see is in the middle of the bounty's map room we see Lloyd and two cups...

The colour drains from Misako's face as she looks at our son, who smiles back at her nonchalantly, like this is some party game and we're his players.. His toys..

"Let's play a game, father." Lloyds tone comes off as light and cheery, but the poison under the smile is undeniable.

"Garmadon, don't... we don't know what he's capable of in this stait, he's not himself.." Wu warns me, the worry I can feel from this situation's stakes covering the room like a thick blanket, dread becoming the only thing that I can feel.

Lloyd speaks up again, the venom filling his voice now more evident than before, "Now, uncle would I ever not play a game fairly? Father the game is basically you pick a tea and I'll drink the other one is the tea that will.. Correct our issue, and the other in normal black tea. Deal?"

A lump formed in my throat he knows which tea is which so he might cheat.. I only have one shot at this, one shot to make this right and one shot to save my son and rectifi what happened to him..

With a low tremor in my voice I agree, "Deal.."

He sweetly responds to me, as if he was still a little kid. "Then take your pick. You go first. Drink whichever you pick. Then I'll drink other one. No manipulation, no tricks. Hell, I won't say even a word until after I drink mine."

I look over both cups. They look identical except one cup handle is facing the inside while other is facing towards the outside.

With a deep breath I sit and pick the cup on the left. I take a sip and... It's normal tea, his lips twitch ever so slightly into a smirk and sips from the other.

A low chuckle coming from him, as the tea he drinks does nothing, no reaction, not even a tremor in his laugh.

"W-what-"

"Do you really think I'm so stupid as you actually play this game and lose? I must say father; I expected more from you, I'm not stupid and you know that, especially if I was alone~"

As he starts laughing over the intercoms in the bounty and an all to familiar distortion, as if something or someone was laughing over him…

Lloyds eyes glow a bright magenta as someone- no, he speaks.. "Oh, Garmadon~ I'm back~"

"No... Not you, Lloyd killed you! You can't be back!" Kai yells, anger and fear tainting his voice.

"L-Lloyd.. W-what have you done..?" I whisper, meak, I know what will happen next.

"Oh, but LORD Garmadon, that silly little girl left a portal open when she revived you~ And who are we not to take out chance to help you?~ Soon all of ninjago will be yours, like you wanted~" His voice, as glitchy as ever, makes me jolt up as someone else grabs me, cold hands grab by biceps and hold me tightly to keep me in place.

"Morro, let him go!" Wu says agression coating his voice.

I look at Wu, fear is all I could see in his eyes. He may have sounded angry but, in reality he is terrified, his old student, once dead, now back and with a similar look to Lloyd.

"Oh, but Wu, don't you understand the overlord freed all of us from anything holding us back, but what you're saying is... Cute, I guess." Morro carelessly explains.

"You've lost, so.."

He hums to himself in thought. I don't bother to look up. I don't want to see what my son has turned into.

"Give up, you and I both know you all will lose to our leader." Lloyd finishes, it feels like a stab in the heart.

"Come now Lord garmadon, wheres your smile~?"

A manic voice asks.

I hold my breath, not letting anything come out. My thoughts start to merge with my anger <<I want to kill you all!.. No this is what they want, not what I want. He'll use my anger to turn my back.>>

I hear the overlord's screech of glitched laughter echo throughout the quiet ship, his voice bouncing around my head,

"Oh, lord garmadon I feel your anger and resentment towards us you've never been able to hide it well, it's apart of who you are~ Come on now don't bottle it up, your a warlord after all~"

"I was a warlord, I've changed and never been better. And it's all thanks to Lloyd, my son." I state defiantly.

"Is that so?" Lloyd sneers, kicking me, making me grunt and cough. "Father, what's wrong?"

I look up from the floor to my once creative son. Who, now that I get a look at what I've done to him, I only see hate..

<<I'm sorry Lloyd... So, so very sorry.>>

"I've ruined you Lloyd, I'm sorry Misako. We were too late. I should've just stayed with Lloyd and none of this would've happened. I didn't want this! I just should've looked outside of myself. If I did would've realized that I had it all, I didn't need ninjago."

I vent, Lloyd looks at me with confusion. "But you always wanted to take over ninjago, what changed that?"

Wu finally speaking up says,

"You. You purified him the first time and now, he sacrificed all of his power just for you Lloyd.. Nephew please"

Before he has the chance to finish, his sentence was cut off by the overlord who put sleeping gas in the vents.

I callout to Misako and Lloyd as the gas over takes my vision,

"Lloyd, save your mother please -cough- your mother.." As I take one last pleading look at Lloyd and finally give in to my body's desire to rest.

Wu places a hand on my shoulder and tries to comfort me but I push him and misako away, my mind calling me a mon

"Brother it's alright, that wasn't you-"

"But it was me Wu! I did this to my son!"

I look at both, why are they so calm and care about me still, I'm horrible.

Misako walks closer to me carefully, her hands holding my face, her kind smile grounding me in reality.

"My love, Garmadon, please listen to me… That wasn't you, that was all the Oni. You're my husband and Lloyds father. We can fix this, you just need to relax."

Leaning into her hug, when did we start hugging? I start to cry more, the guilt eating me alive.

Misako rubs my back and promises me we'll fix this. I don't believe her but I try to find hope in the situation, praying we can fix this before it's too late.

——————————

It's been weeks since any of us last saw or heard from Lloyd; it's like he disappeared, but those damned sons of.. Me… Are still causing massive amounts of trouble and all they seem to be doing is growing in numbers, it makes me worried about what will happen next, and the tension from everyone on the ship could be sliced with a butter knife.

Any attempts to loosen the tension is met with most of the ninja glaring at me hatefully.

And as deserving of that as I am, it's no help in the slightest to help us find a way to fix this.

Which left me in Mistaké's room more often than not, looking and researching ways to recreate the tea she used on me. And when I'm not there I'm with Wu or Misako, working on ways to repair both of my relationships with them.

Which has been the hardest task by far, both act like everything is fine but I can see the fear flash in their eyes as I make any sudden movements, the ninja aren't much better but instead of fear it's hate or anticipation for him to betray them at any given moment.

It could hurt more but I know why they look at me like this.. Like a monster…

What I have done to my own son is unforgivable, and no the only way to fix any of this is to bring him back.

I'll do anything to bring him back…

—--

More time has passed and yet we are still unable to find any trace of Lloyd.. Where could he be?

Most of the ninja say he must be planning something huge, I want to have my doubts; they are more than likely correct and we have to plan accordingly to any next moves we may see.

I walk through what are the remains of what used to be my monastery.. and what used to be me and my family's home…

I look through each of the halls and try to remember the happier memories that aren't tainted, a voice comes over the intercoms that Nya and Pixal had just finished fixing.

"Everyone get to the bounty now! I got a lead on Lloyd, all hands on deck!"

As if a new fire takes over me, I rush to the bounty as fast as I can, and as I walk into the bounty's map room I walk over to the water ninja.

"Where's Lloyd Nya??" I ask, I'm met with the ninja Wu and Misako looking at me with confusion, making a pit form at the bottom of my stomach, something isn't right..

"What do you mean? I've been here the whole time, and haven't seen any movement from Lloyd's end-"

With a sharp snap and click, the door is closed and locked behind me. As fast as my hope surged through me, it is snatched away now that I've seen Nyas face finally, she doesn't know what's going on..

We hear a crackle from the speakers now as it dies down we all hear a cackle..

"Haha... Well, well, well look at this, master Wu, all the ninja, and my parents isn't this just... Wonderfully anticlimactic..."

"Lloyd, don't do something you'll regret.." Kai warns him... We wait to hear his reaction, every light goes off.

The next thing we all see is in the middle of the bounty's map room we see Lloyd and two cups...

The colour drains from Misako's face as she looks at our son, who smiles back at her nonchalantly, like this is some party game and we're his players.. His toys..

"Let's play a game, father." Lloyds tone comes off as light and cheery, but the poison under the smile is undeniable.

"Garmadon, don't... we don't know what he's capable of in this stait, he's not himself.." Wu warns me, the worry I can feel from this situation's stakes covering the room like a thick blanket, dread becoming the only thing that I can feel.

Lloyd speaks up again, the venom filling his voice now more evident than before, "Now, uncle would I ever not play a game fairly? Father the game is basically you pick a tea and I'll drink the other one is the tea that will.. Correct our issue, and the other in normal black tea. Deal?"

A lump formed in my throat he knows which tea is which so he might cheat.. I only have one shot at this, one shot to make this right and one shot to save my son and rectifi what happened to him..

With a low tremor in my voice I agree, "Deal.."

He sweetly responds to me, as if he was still a little kid. "Then take your pick. You go first. Drink whichever you pick. Then I'll drink other one. No manipulation, no tricks. Hell, I won't say even a word until after I drink mine."

I look over both cups. They look identical except one cup handle is facing the inside while other is facing towards the outside.

With a deep breath I sit and pick the cup on the left. I take a sip and... It's normal tea, his lips twitch ever so slightly into a smirk and sips from the other.

A low chuckle coming from him, as the tea he drinks does nothing, no reaction, not even a tremor in his laugh.

"W-what-"

"Do you really think I'm so stupid as you actually play this game and lose? I must say father; I expected more from you, I'm not stupid and you know that, especially if I was alone~"

As he starts laughing over the intercoms in the bounty and an all to familiar distortion, as if something or someone was laughing over him…

Lloyds eyes glow a bright magenta as someone- no, he speaks.. "Oh, Garmadon~ I'm back~"

"No... Not you, Lloyd killed you! You can't be back!" Kai yells, anger and fear tainting his voice.

"L-Lloyd.. W-what have you done..?" I whisper, meak, I know what will happen next.

"Oh, but LORD Garmadon, that silly little girl left a portal open when she revived you~ And who are we not to take out chance to help you?~ Soon all of ninjago will be yours, like you wanted~" His voice, as glitchy as ever, makes me jolt up as someone else grabs me, cold hands grab by biceps and hold me tightly to keep me in place.

"Morro, let him go!" Wu says agression coating his voice.

I look at Wu, fear is all I could see in his eyes. He may have sounded angry but, in reality he is terrified, his old student, once dead, now back and with a similar look to Lloyd.

"Oh, but Wu, don't you understand the overlord freed all of us from anything holding us back, but what you're saying is... Cute, I guess." Morro carelessly explains.

"You've lost, so.."

He hums to himself in thought. I don't bother to look up. I don't want to see what my son has turned into.

"Give up, you and I both know you all will lose to our leader." Lloyd finishes, it feels like a stab in the heart.

"Come now Lord garmadon, wheres your smile~?"

A manic voice asks.

I hold my breath, not letting anything come out. My thoughts start to merge with my anger <<I want to kill you all!.. No this is what they want, not what I want. He'll use my anger to turn my back.>>

I hear the overlord's screech of glitched laughter echo throughout the quiet ship, his voice bouncing around my head,

"Oh, lord garmadon I feel your anger and resentment towards us you've never been able to hide it well, it's apart of who you are~ Come on now don't bottle it up, your a warlord after all~"

"I was a warlord, I've changed and never been better. And it's all thanks to Lloyd, my son." I state defiantly.

"Is that so?" Lloyd sneers, kicking me, making me grunt and cough. "Father, what's wrong?"

I look up from the floor to my once creative son. Who, now that I get a look at what I've done to him, I only see hate..

<<I'm sorry Lloyd... So, so very sorry.>>

"I've ruined you Lloyd, I'm sorry Misako. We were too late. I should've just stayed with Lloyd and none of this would've happened. I didn't want this! I just should've looked outside of myself. If I did would've realized that I had it all, I didn't need ninjago."

I vent, Lloyd looks at me with confusion. "But you always wanted to take over ninjago, what changed that?"

Wu finally speaking up says,

"You. You purified him the first time and now, he sacrificed all of his power just for you Lloyd.. Nephew please"

Before he has the chance to finish, his sentence was cut off by the overlord who put sleeping gas in the vents.

I callout to Misako and Lloyd as the gas over takes my vision,

"Lloyd, save your mother please -cough- your mother.." As I take one last pleading look at Lloyd and finally give in to my body's desire to rest.

[ladydorian05]

A Home for Broken Hearts ~ Chapter 7

Co written with and headder by @made-ofmemories

Okay so this freaking chapter is finally done as of today.

So, this fics was just about complete before we even began to post it. BUT at some point I came up with the bright idea to add a chapter in between the kids' arrival and the chapter that followed, which is this one and fucking hell was it a struggle to finish it. BUT IT'S FINALLY DONE!!

Also, this chapter is one of the main reasons if not THE reason for the rating of the fic. (Which is M by the way)

Anyways, hope you enjoy it!

Masterpost

AO3

Chapter 7: A Tragically single young man and his Wise sister

“Do you remember your safe word?” A deep, husky voice whispers in his ear. So close that he briefly feels the lips of its owner brushing against the shell of his ear before they start leaving a trail of kisses down his neck. His room is engulfed by shadows, the only source of light coming from the lit candles around them.

“Yes,” he hears himself answering, his breath quickens and his heart rate spikes as those lips continue their path from his neck to his chest.  

“Good boy,”  He knows that voice. It’s familiar and belongs to a man he thinks, but he just can’t quite put his finger on the identity of its owner. His thoughts are cut short when the mysterious stranger sucks one of Steve’s nipples into his mouth, pulling a moan from him. The sensation is short lived and the stranger pulls away with a pop of his lips, “now we can play.”

The familiar stranger resumes his work, lathering his abdomen with slow kisses and greedy licks, while his hands roam his body freely. He stops and peels off from his body right before he reaches the place he wants him to touch the most.

“No, come on, please.” He can’t help but beg.

“Please what?” Sexy voice demands, pushing his luscious locks of wavy dark hair away from his face to reveal Eddie smirking down at him. He lets his eyes wander over Eddie's glistening body in all his beautiful tattooed glory illuminated by the warm glow of the candles, the silver bars in his nipples reflecting the dancing flames.

“Please, Eds,” 

He tries to move his hands to touch him, to guide him back where he needs him, but he’s met with resistance. He pulls his eyes away from Eddie for just a moment to glance up and figure out why he can’t move. He isn’t sure if the whine he lets out is from the frustration of not being able to run his hands across Eddie’s skin or from the sight of the leather cuffs around his wrists securing him to the headboard.

“Ah, ah, ah. We talked about this before,” Eddie leans over him until there’s but an inch between their lips, “didn’t we, Stevie?” he tilts his head to the side staring deep into Steve’s eyes with a smile that promises nothing but trouble. And oh, he so wants to find out how that’s going to play out for him.

“P-please, m-master.” Steve murmurs.

“Well done, Big boy.” Eddie smiles, pleased by his words, and closes the gap between them, locking their lips in a slow passionate kiss as he shifts his weight to one of his arms and lets his free hand slither down Steve’s body. He’s so close, just a bit more and-

Steve jolts awake, drenched in sweat. On his couch. Not in his bed and no Eddie in sight.

Shit, did he just… Did he really just have a wet dream about Eddie and his- his gallery donation!? He drags a hand through his sleep tousled hair. There’s a lot to unpack there, but most of all, how is he ever going to look Eddie in the eyes again after this?

His imminent mental breakdown is interrupted by the sound of the toilet being flushed down, the noise brings him back to the present making him aware of three things. One, he’s not in the privacy of his room. Two, he has a raging hardon. Three, he doesn’t live on his own and Max and Dustin are visiting. He really doesn’t want to be caught like this. He knows that if it’s Dustin he’ll probably make a bee line back to bed, after all there’s not much light coming from outside which means it’s fairly early in the morning, same with Max, but if it’s Robin getting ready for work he really doesn’t want to put her through seeing him with a tent in his pants. They might be platonic soulmates, but there are some things that she does not need to see.

The bathroom door opening and closing kicks him into motion, he sits up and grabs the closest cushion to place over his groin, how he manages to swallow down a groan from the contact is beyond him.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Robin says, surprise evident in her voice as she emerges from the bathroom, “You guys stayed up really late last night.” 

“Yeah, we-” His voice comes out strained and he clears his throat hoping to sound more natural, the last thing he needs is her asking questions, “-we found a channel that had Lord of the rings on, the movie was just starting so,”

“The first one?”

“Nope, The two towers.”

“Awesome, I love the body count competition between Legolas and Gimli.”

“Yeah,” He’s trying his hardest not to move, sitting almost painfully still as he silently wills his problem to go away and put him out of his misery, “good thing you went to bed early instead of staying up with us, or you wouldn’t have gotten up in time for work today.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me of my obligations. Anyways, I’m heading out, I’ll grab something to eat on my way to work so don’t make a fuss about me not having breakfast.” She says heading for the door. “See ya later, dingus.”

He practically runs to the bathroom the moment Robin is gone, double and triple checking the door is locked behind him. 

He needs a cold shower, he should get a change of clothes from his room, but that’ll be too risky. He steps under the stream of water, the temperature dial turned all the way down. The water is icy cold as it runs down his back and he stares straight ahead at the tiles in front of him trying his best to think of the most unsexy thoughts he can possibly muster. It seemed like a good plan in theory, until his brain seems insistent on replaying the sound of Eddie’s husky voice calling him ‘good boy’, on reliving the feeling of his lips across Steve’s torso and- nope, this is not working. 

A frustrated groan escapes his lips, he tips his head back and pushes his hair out of his face with both hands. Maybe he should just deal with the problem. But that means jerking off while inevitably thinking of Eddie. Bad idea. We don’t involve friends in sexual fantasies, it’s your number one rule.

He never has been very good at following his own rules. He trails a hand down his body, biting his bottom lip so hard he’s sure he’s going to leave marks as he tries his best not to make a noise when he finally grips himself. If he squeezes his eyes shut tight enough he can still see the vision of Eddie hovering above him in his dream. A violent shiver wracks his body and it isn’t because of the cold water. 

He steps out of the bathroom feeling dirtier than he did before his shower. It’s official, he is never looking Eddie in the eye again. 

Dustin is a heavy sleeper, something Steve was very thankful for when it allowed him to sneak into his room, towel wrapped firmly around his waist, to grab some clothes. He guesses he has maybe an hour at most before he and Max are awake so he heads back to the bathroom to get dressed then gets started on breakfast.

He's almost done plating the bacon and chocolate chip pancakes by the time Max wanders out of Robin's room.

"Good morning, sunshine!" He says in a sing-song voice as she pulls a chair to sit on the breakfast bar dividing the kitchen from the small dining room that’s also part of their living room, “Sleep well?”

“Morning, as well as I could, considering the fact that Robin likes to climb on people when she sleeps.”

“Yeah,” he says slowly, placing a plate with a stack of pancakes and some bacon strips “Just like a koala.”

“Long lost cousin.” she sighs, digging into her food. “Dustin awake yet?”

“He went straight into the bathroom saying something about not wanting to wait ages if you went in first.”

“What a baby.” She says munching on a strip of bacon just as Dustin comes out of the bathroom, hair still wet.

“Hey, your hair is longer and you’ve been using Steve’s products and hair routine, it’s time consuming Max.”

“Says the one that’s been using Steve’s conditioner.”

“Come on guys don’t fight, and Dustin you can’t rush hair care, you know that. Now sit down and eat your breakfast before it gets cold. ”

“Yes, mom.”

Dustin inhales his breakfast without the need for any further encouragement, Max isn’t too far behind him, excusing herself to go shower once she has cleared her plate and leaving Dustin to help Steve with the dishes. 

“What’re we doing today?” Dustin asks, drying the glass Steve hands to him.

“I was thinking we could go to the mall. There’s this store there that sells all your favorite nerdy shit and one with everything you may need if you’re a badass skater.” He knows the proper terms for said ‘nerd shit’, it would be almost impossible not to after all the years he spent in the company of Dustin and the rest of the kids, who are no longer kids, but it’s so much more amusing seeing the annoyed look on Dustin's face at his crude terminology.

“Oh yeah? Did Eddie tell you about it?” He leans over wiggling his eyebrows at Steve.

“Shut up.” He flicks some of the sudsy water in Dustin’s direction who yelps and jumps back as if scalded. 

Max joins them thirty minutes later, hair washed, dried and pulled into a slicked back ponytail, just as they finish putting away the last of the crockery.

“How do you feel about the mall today?” Steve asks, slinging the dish towel he was holding over his shoulder. “Might not be as fun as going to Hellfire, but they have ac there.”

“Sure,” she shrugs, “Sounds cool.”

Steve doesn’t hang out at malls regularly, not since senior year when he and Robin were working in one at least, but he takes them to the one he visits on the rare occasion he and Robin decide to hang out there for a day. The drive is short, it takes longer to get the two college students in the car after another argument over the passenger seat than to get to the mall.

Steve knows the two little exploiters will try to get him to pay for as many things as they can, not for the first time he’s glad he’s great at budgeting. They spend entirely too long trying to choose a movie to watch to end up only buying some popcorn and sodas without getting tickets to watch a movie.

They make their way to the store with all the skating equipment. Max exits said store with a brand new set of glow in the dark wheels while Steve’s wallet feels a little lighter.

Steve has to intervene in another argument when Dustin insists on going inside yet another video game store.

“Seriously, Dustin. This is the third one, they all have the same games!”

“But not the same prices, I need to compare!"

"As if you're actually going to buy anything."

"You don't know how much cash I saved up for this trip."

"I know it's not enough for you to splurge on a game."

“Okay, okay, Dustin you’ll have to pick. Either you go inside this one store or we can go to the DnD store Eddie recommended since I remember both of you wanted to check out that one store that sells comics before going back home.” That stops the argument before it can escalate, his words leaving Dusting with a decision to make.

“Alright, let’s go to the DnD store.”

“Great, nerd stuff.”

“You do know that some years ago comics weren’t considered cool and were, in fact, also seen as nerd stuff. Ergo, that also makes you a nerd, Max.”

“Henderson, don’t start shit again. Keep walking.” Steve says. He swears no matter how many years have passed, they still act like bickering kids at any chance they get.

The store is on the smaller side. The store’s employee greets them distractedly, as he organizes the shelves behind the front counter. Dustin’s attention is immediately grabbed by the figurine kits in display. Max and him seem to have the same idea when they make their way to a corner of the store. A vantage point where they can see Dustin no matter where he goes inside the store.

Steve notices the way her eyes keep on ‘sneaking’ glances at him. A sure indication that she has something to say but is still deciding where to begin.

After a couple of minutes, Max finally breaks the comfortable silence between them. “So, Eddie Munson.”

“Huh?” Out of all the topics she could’ve wanted to talk about, he didn’t think Eddie would be one of them. 

“I’m not blind, Steve. I know exactly how you look like when you have a crush.” She crosses her arms in front of her.

“I don’t have a crush.” Is his immediate response. 

“Yeah, like you didn’t have a crush on Billy before dating him? Or your crush on Robin when you first met her? And what about Leslie? And John? Oh! And remember-”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” He hip checks her to get her to stop bringing up his past relationships. “I’ll admit it, he’s cute.”

“Uh huh, and must be smart enough to play Basements and Lizards which also makes him a nerd. Plus long wavy hair and big brown eyes. He’s exactly your type. You’re in so much trouble, Steve.”

“He’s just a friend, Max.” Steve says, turning his attention back to Dustin he watches him inspect the dice sets. “Besides, I doubt I’m his type.”

“Please,” She rolls her eyes at him, “you’re everyone’s type.”

“I’m not. If I was then my love life wouldn’t be, what did you call it the other day? Oh, yeah! Terminally tragic.” He huffs a laugh.

“Just because you’re everyone’s type doesn’t mean you’ll attract the right kind of company.”

“No shit.”

“Okay, listen. I have eyes and these eyes can clearly see that you’re either falling for the coolest nerd we’ve ever met or you’re already so deep you don’t even realize it.” She gives him her patented no bullshit stare. He sighs.

“I know you’re going to say that I should go for it, but I can’t.”

“Why, because you think he doesn’t find you attractive? Steve, I don’t have enough fingers to count the amount of times I caught him staring at you.” She says. “I can tell he’s interested. So why not?”

“I can’t, Max. I, he’s the first friend around my age I’ve made since Robin, and before you mention him Jonathan is closer to a brother than a friend and you know it.” he points his index finger at her before mirroring her stance with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “I can’t fuck it up, because, let’s be real, I have an impressive track record of fucking most of my relationships up. The only steady shit I have going on is with Robin and you bunch of little assholes.”

“Give yourself a break, Steve. We all know that more times than not your relationships end in disaster because you have a tendency to fall for assholes that don’t deserve you. Don’t think I’ll ever forget how Billy treated you and how you stayed with him far longer than you should have.” Steve looks at her in surprise. He never thought about what his relationships looked like from the outside. Even more so his relationship with her stepbrother.

Everything had been fast and rough with Billy. Impulsive and all consuming. They were a secret to almost everyone in town. The previous head of the popular crowd of Hawkins high was fucking with the new one.

Steve likes to believe that if things had been a little bit different, if he had been a bit bolder in letting Billy know he had his back and encouraged him more to denounce his father for domestic violence, if he hadn’t been raised with such disgusting views on masculinity, if they had more time. Maybe, just maybe, Billy could have changed.

He firmly believes that Billy still had some good in him even when he actively chose to be an asshole to most people he came across that didn’t fit society's mold. That the way he acted and the way he presented himself in public was just his shield. He still believes that things could have been different.

He still remembers that night they were lying on his bed when he asked him to move into his empty house with Max and her mom, when he offered to go with him to see Hopper and finally get rid of Mr. Hargrove. He had hoped for his acceptance, for an ‘Okay’ and a night of planning, but instead of accepting they just ended up fighting, Billy storming out of his house after getting dressed never to be seen alive again.

Sometimes he regrets those words.

 “You know, you are a better brother than Billy ever was,” Max’s voice brings him back from his thoughts, “and a good mom too.” She turns to look at him, eyebrows raised and her always present smirk whenever she teases him. He snorts at the last part.

For as much shit the kids have always given him over being a mother hen, the inside joke is different between Max and himself; afterall he did everything he could to be there for her and her mother during the fallout between Susan and Mr. Hargrove after the car accident that took Billy’s life.

“How is she?”

“She’s okay.” He watches her shrug her shoulders. “Still sober and doing her best everyday.” She smiles softly at him.

“I’m glad.”

“Steve, I just want you to be happy.” Her smile falls, replaced by a worried expression.

“Hey, I’ll be fine, bug.”

“Fine is not happy, Steve.” She says. Throwing back at him the same words he once said to her when she was still struggling with accepting his help.

“I know.” He sighs. “But it’s good enough for now.”

Max only hums in response.

“When did you grow up so much? you’re all wiser and shit.” He really can’t believe how all of his kids have grown up so much so fast.

“I’ve always been wise, it’s not my fault that you’re only now realizing it.”

“Ha! Yeah, right. Well, aren’t you going to browse the store too?” He nudges her with his shoulder.

“Why would I?” Steve knows he fell right into her trap the moment her smirk returns. “So you can get something for your lover boy? What was it you called him? Oh, right! Your Eds.” Max laughs.

“Shut up.” Predictably, she laughs harder.

And if he buys a fake silver ring shaped like a dragon, well he can handle Max’s jabs for the rest of her stay.

< Chapter 6 ~ Masterpost ~ Chapter 8 >