#this may or may not be slightly ever so possibly maybe kinda targeted towards someone

[shyficwriter]

Temporary Home: Chapter 4

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: Things just seem to keep getting tense around here... Will Reader ever catch a break? Will Yondu ever solve the mystery?

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: This chapter is a LONG BOI. I considered splitting it, but then one chapter would have been 2k+ words and the other would have been 5k+, and for some reason I thought people wouldn't like the inconsistency lol (Feel free to weigh in. I know a few of you have said you liked longer chapters, and I haven't gotten any nay-sayers, but still thought I might as well ask lol)

And thank you to the anons and @condy-wants-a-cookie for your bad roommate suggestions! I wasn't able to add them all in, but they were all appreciated nonetheless!

Word Count: 7,321

This morning you did sleep in, but that didn't make your day much better.

You were slightly hungover, to start, and you spent most of the day in a funk trying to avoid everyone.

This wasn't completely possible, seeing as you now lived with eight other people, but the others seemed to mostly get the hint that you wanted to be left alone.

The first real interaction you had was around noon as you poured yourself some cereal and Yondu and Peter came in the backdoor to tell you they just heard gunshots from the forest.

You barely glanced at them. "Hunters." you said. "Probably hunting pigeons, but more likely they're poaching deer or fox. Happens every year."

They seemed almost surprised by your blasé attitude at hearing there were gunshots, but did seem to relax a bit that you seemed so confident. You had said you grew up here, after all.

Peter was still a little nervous however. "Do they ever come this way?"

You look up to him, knowing what he was getting at. He wanted to make sure they wouldn't happen upon your house while anyone obviously not human was outside and put them all at risk. "No. I'm pretty sure it's just a man and his boys who live a couple miles away. I've never heard the shots come closer than a mile outside the property. You're fine."

Seemingly convinced they finally left you, but you did notice no one seemed to go out until well after the last of the shots were heard, and you assumed Peter must have warned the others to stay inside just in case.

After you ate you went upstairs to grab your music, fancying a walk. However, once you got there you caught Groot sticking his tendrils in the lock of the attic door.

"What you doing there?" you say, firm enough to get his attention, but gentle enough to hopefully not to scare him.

He turned to you, pulling back his vines, looking sorry. "I am Groot."

You shook your head. "Sorry buddy, I have no idea what you're saying, let's find someone who can translate." You beckoned him to come, holding out your hand.

Groot looked sheepish, like he wasn't sure he wanted to come, but eventually he did, toddling over to you and allowing himself to be picked up.

You carried him downstairs and into the sitting room, finding everyone but Mantis, Kraglin, and Rocket sitting at the table. You walked over and asked if anyone there could translate, sitting Groot on the table.

"Sure," Peter offered, "What's up?"

"Well, I found him growing his vines into the lock of the attic door and I just want to know what he was doing." Actually, you thought you knew what he was doing. It looked like he was trying to pick the lock, what you really wanted to know was why.

Gamora looked at the tree child with both confusion and intrigue. "Groot, why did you do that?"

"I am Groot."

"No buddy, she's not going to do that. She just wants to know what you were doing to her door." Peter answered.

You raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, I forgot we have to repeat the question for him. He doesn't know what you're saying. He was worried that you were going to be mad at him like you were to Rocket last night."

You were taken aback by this. "He can't unde-? But the first night you all got here-? I asked him a question and Drax translated his answer for me?"

Drax shrugged. "It was easier to make something up than explain he won't be able to understand you because neither of you have translators. What he had really told you was that he had no idea what you said."

Yondu and Peter looked at Drax like he was stupid. It wouldn't have taken much more effort to explain. He literally just did it.

You also look at Drax. "So this whole time he hasn't been able to understand a word I've said to him?" A realization hit you. "But wait- I'm pretty sure we-" you pointed a finger back and forth between you and them, "are speaking the same language??" You were wondering if they were trying to prank you.

Gamora looked at you apologetically. She would have corrected Drax when he made up an answer for Groot that first night, but she was too exhausted to deal with it, and afterwards it just never came up again. You had spent more and more time avoiding everyone anyway. "We're actually not speaking the same language. We all have translator chips, it's how we can all understand each other. It's standard where we're from. They work both ways. It's how you can understand us and how we can understand you. However, because neither you or Groot has one, he can't understand you." She didn't go into the fact that their translators didn't actually translate Groot, or how their understanding of him only came from time spent with him and Rocket's translations. She doubted they'd be there much longer for it to make a difference anyway.

"I see," you said. You frown. "I guess that explains why he never seemed to listen."

Peter lightly chuckled at that, as did Yondu.

"Anyway," Peter said, trying to bring the conversation back to what you came for. "What were you doing to her door?"

"I am Groot."

"He said he was trying to unlock it."

"Alright, kinda figured that, but why?"

Peter repeated the question to Groot and came back with the answer, "He said he was looking for a hiding spot?"

You raise an eyebrow.

"I am Groot."

"Oh that's right, you were playing hide and seek."

"Hmm. Well that's all fine, but the attic is off limits. It's locked for a reason." you say.

"She says you can't go in there, buddy. There are monsters in there."

You give him a strange look, but he gives his head a quick shake as if to tell you not to question it. You figured he probably thought the kid would be more likely to listen if he thought there were monsters and let it go.

Groots eyes went wide and he turned to you. "I am Groot?"

Yondu answered, fighting back a grin. "Yeah, really. Now run along before we feed you to them."

Peter smacked him in the arm as little Groot hopped off the table, and Yondu laughed and held up his hands in a "What?" gesture.

Almost on cue you then heard Kraglin call out, "Ready or not, here I come!" before walking into the sitting room and encountering Groot as he ran towards the door. He looked at Groot and laughed, "I don't think you know how this game works, buddy," before turning and leaving the room himself.

You also started to leave when Drax asked, "Why is the attic off-limits?"

Gamora shot him a look for being nosy but you answered anyway. "It's.. unsafe," you lie. "Old house, you know. Don't want anyone falling through the floor."

You leave them then, saying you're going out for a walk.

Your walk wasn't too long, just along the road a ways before turning back. When you got back to the house you decided to practice your archery some more. You may or may not have pretended that a certain someone's face was the target.

When you finally did come back inside you arrived to a commotion in the hall.

You didn't know what the fight was about. You didn't ask either. All you saw was Kraglin and Rocket standing in the hall arguing about some nonsense. Drax was also there, but he was sitting down on the bench tying his boots and seemed uninterested in the argument.

Then you saw Rocket go to bite Kraglin, miss, and then settle for lunging on him and Kraglin struggling to get him off. Drax didn't really do anything other than scold Rocket, and you suspected this must be so normal for him to witness that it just didn't register anymore.

Your nostrils flared and your eyes narrowed at the scene.

Rocket attacking and Kraglin flailing.

Peter came out of the sitting room, presumably to tell them to knock it off, then he saw the murderous look in your eyes and his sentence caught in his throat as he watched you storm over.

You grabbed Rocket by the scruff of the neck and roughly pulled him off, both to his and Kraglin's surprise. Rocket actually made a noise akin to a squeak.

The others watched as you wordlessly marched the fecker to the front door, earning many angry protests from the Raccoon on the way for you to let him go as he kicked and squirmed.

Hearing the sudden change in the commotion, this prompted Gamora and Yondu to join Peter in the doorway. Yondu, out of curiosity, and Gamora out of concern.

You jerked the door open, and told Rocket to take a walk before tossing him out like a rag doll, mercifully onto the grass. He landed and stared back in a mix of shock and anger, too stunned to think of running back towards you. "You can come back in when you stop wanting to being such a damn asshole." you told him, promptly shutting the door and spinning the deadbolt.

You didn't look at the others as you turned on your heels and made your way up the stairs to your room.

They stared at each other in the hallway, wondering if they had really just witnessed what they saw, and if they should do anything about it.

On one hand, you just literally threw their friend outside.

On the other, maybe it would cool him down to go for a walk?

In the end they decided not to intervene, see how it played out. Way they saw it there were two possible outcomes. One outcome, Rocket takes his time out and actually comes back calmer and ready to be civil. The other outcome, he spends his time out getting more pissed and then rips your face off when you finally let him back in.

The real outcome, however, was less conclusive.

You decided rather than waste the pasta one of the others bothered to save from the previous night, you'd re-make the sauce and heat the spaghetti and serve it for dinner that night.

You called the others to the kitchen and told them to serve themselves before leaving the kitchen. Fortunately there were no accusations of poison this time, but that could have been because Yondu saw which door of the kitchen you exited from and figured you were going to call Rocket back inside.

He was right.

You open the front door and call out into the open, "Hey, Rocket! If you've decided you want to play nice then come inside and eat!" You resisted the urge to call him 'shit-head' instead of his name. More flies with honey and all that.

You waited a bit and then saw Rocket turning the corner of the house to approach the front door. He didn't say anything, just grouchily shuffled inside and you followed in behind him. You didn't say anything either, trying not to antagonize too much.

When you saw everyone else was served you made a plate and took your dinner in your room. No one questioned. At the urging of Gamora they were still trying to give you your space.

They only hoped things would be less tense tomorrow.

***

The next time you were seen wasn't until a little before midnight, when Yondu happened to glance out the window as he was tucking into bed and saw your shadowy figure walking towards the forest in the moonlight.

He frowned. Once was odd. Twice only made him that much more curious. What was nearly the tipping point of his curiosity was the fact that he realized he would never hear you leaving the old house, which to him implied you were sneaking out. Sneaking out of your own house. The hell?

What the hell was out there that you kept disappearing to at night? Where you disappeared to when Rocket ruined dinner?

Next time he was going to stay up and catch you before you left.

***

Starting out things were indeed NOT less tense the next day.

Your day started out with Kraglin accidentally walking in on you when you had just gotten out of the shower. Fortunately for both of you you had literally just wrapped the towel around yourself before he opened the door, but that didn't make anything less awkward, or either of your startled screams less shrill.

He tried to apologize later, but you'd only responded with "Let's just never speak of it again."

Then you went to grab some breakfast, you thought toast would be nice. Only when you got into the kitchen the toaster was nowhere to be found. Maybe you put it in a cupboard? You opened the press where you might have put it, only to find your cooking pans instead.

That wasn't the particular cupboard where you kept your pans, however, and you began to have a sinking feeling as to what might have happened.

You opened another cupboard and finally found the toaster alongside the blender- again, not where they were supposed to be. You then went to find a knife, and wouldn't you know it, all your silverware was gone and replaced with towels.

You pinched the bridge of your nose.

"Do you like it?"

You turned to see Mantis and Drax beaming like they did a good deed. "What?"

"We re-arranged the kitchen." Drax said. "Rocket said it was a Terran custom and you'd be very happy."

You rub a hand down your face. Fecker pulled another prank. "And you believed Rocket why, exactly?"

Drax and Mantis shared a look, as if they just realized it wasn't a smart idea to believe Rocket. They only grimaced apologetically back at you with an "Um..."

After a moment Mantis asked if you were mad.

You look at them for a bit before saying, "No. I'm not mad. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not mad. But, you two are going to help me put everything back."

They nodded quietly and got to work. It took an hour to get it straight again.

After you finally got to eat you decided to tend your garden again. It didn't need much weeding, so you decided to work slow to avoid going back inside for a bit. Mantis had also come outside with you and went over to play on the swing. She had seemingly become quite fond of it in her short time here.

After perhaps ten minutes you heard a snap and a startled cry and turned to find Mantis now on the ground. The old rope had finally snapped.

Mantis looked up at you and sheepishly said, "Sorry, I broke your swing."

You look at her in exhaustion. "It's fine. Not your fault, it was old. You ok?"

Mantis nodded and headed back inside as she rubbed her smarted behind.

You turn back to your garden. Today might be another archery day.

Instead of archery you thought of another idea. Rocket had complained about sleeping in the crib at least five times since he got here, probably more when you weren't around to hear it. Maybe you could build him a little bed as a peace-offering. Maybe he'd be less insufferable if you fixed the problem he was always complaining about.

You already knew you had enough wood in the shed to do it, and you already knew the crib fit a 120 X 60 cm mattress, so you'd just build the bed to the same dimensions as the crib so the mattress would still fit- you weren't going to go to that much trouble for the shithead. And as a bonus, this was also another way to keep busy.

You sketched out a quick plan on an old notepad you kept in the work shed and got to work cutting the pieces.

It was a simple design, but one that still required the bed legs and headboard to be joined and clamped together, same as the footboard. This meant you wouldn't be finished by tonight, especially not if you decided to stain it, which was fine by you. You weren't exactly in a rush.

You did what you were able to of the bed frame before heading back inside, maybe a little more than an hour later to grab something quick for lunch. Rocket was already in the kitchen eating something out of a little packet that looked unfamiliar to you. More alien food, you thought.

He looked up at you as you walked in with a raised eyebrow. "What you been up to?"

You looked down to where his gaze met and saw you still had a bit of sawdust on your jeans. You brushed it away and said, "Nothing."

He eyed you before his expression changed to a grin. He thought he'd have a little fun with you, slight revenge for the previous day when you threw him outside. Nothing much, just something to take "Miss Cranky-Ass" down a peg. He looked at you innocently. "Hey, you want to try one of these? They're good."

You eye him suspiciously. Every instinct you had told you not to trust him.

Rocket could tell you weren't biting. "Look, I know things have been tense between is, but consider it a peace offering." He held out the bag and kept grinning.

Not a chance.

Peter walked into the kitchen at that moment, just the person you needed to see. You got his attention, "Hey, Peter, what's this little fecker trying to do to me?"

Peter looked confused. "What?" he asked.

"He's offering me whatever those purple things are, and I think you could forgive me for not trusting it right away."

Rocket made a show of looking offended, "I'd never-"

Then Peter got a look at the bag and shot Rocket an annoyed look. "Yeah, do not eat that." he warned. He looked at Rocket. "You know Terrans can't eat xanti-berries." He looked back at you, "Seriously, don't eat them. You'll be shitting yourself the rest of tonight and tomorrow."

Your eyes widened and you looked at Rocket bitterly. Your instincts had been right. Can't trust the little shit. And to think you were making him a bed so he didn't need to sleep in the crib.

Rocket was now snickering, saying to Peter, "Come on- I mean we know that's what happens to you-" More snickering. "But maybe it's just a you thing-" Snickering now turns to laughing. "Maybe- Maybe she'd be fine. AHAHA!"

The little beast was now fully laughing at his own joke.

"Yeah, no thanks," you say, turning to grab a granola bar instead.

Peter shooed still laughing Rocket out of the kitchen. "I'm sorry about him, he's-"

"An asshole?" you finish for him.

Peter rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah..." he said with an apologetic look. He could tell you were past tired of his friend's bullshit, which was bad because they hadn't even been there a full week yet.

You shook your head and went to eat in your room, maybe you'd scroll some tumblr.

***

Not much later after you had gotten bored refreshing the page, you thought you'd look for a book to read in the sitting room, and walked in on Rocket and Peter arguing over what to watch. This eventually lead to the remote being flung across the room and just narrowly missing the TV.

You rub your temples and sigh. "You know, if you break that, I'm not replacing it."

"Oh yeah, you think we're gonna replace it?" Rocket snarked.

You looked at them. "That's not what I said, is it? I said I'm not replacing it. Meaning if you break it, there just won't be one. I'm not going to reward bad behavior by replacing it if you break it."

You heard Rocket mutter, "Whatever," and not long after you started hearing the noises of them bickering and smacking at each other again.

"Enough!" you say in a loud, firm voice that honestly startled Peter a bit and caught the attention of Kraglin from the table where he was doing a puzzle he found on a shelf. Your desire to find a book forgotten you left the sitting room, saying, "God, you act like children!"

You passed Gamora on your way out and said, "How do you deal with them?!" You continued on without waiting for an answer and Gamora shot a disapproving look at the pair on the couch, clearly unhappy that they were still finding ways to piss you off.

You went back into the kitchen, retrieved a glass from the cupboard, the whiskey bottle from the other night from the fridge, and sat at the table.

Yondu walked in about ten minutes later. "Starting a little early, I see." He wasn't actually sure if it'd be early to start drinking by Terran customs or not, but he knew from when he still had his crew and the Eclector, his crew typically weren't allowed to start in until all their day's duties were done, which, not always, but usually wasn't until after dinner. Outward appearance would have suggested otherwise, but he kept a tighter ship than one might think. Couldn't have someone piss drunk on the job and fucking everything up, now could he? That's not to say the crew always listened... but they were well aware of the consequences of getting caught drunk on the job.

You only answered back with a, "There are glasses in the cupboard if you want some."

Yondu chuckled and went for a glass, not one to refuse a drink.

As soon as he sat down you stood up. "I'll be back." you announce.

Yondu poured himself a glass and you shortly returned with another bottle of whiskey from the cellar. "Bottle was almost gone," you explain, setting the new bottle on the table and re-taking your seat.

Yondu looked at you, amused, but also mildly wondering where you had retrieved a second bottle from. He had never been bothered to explore the cellar. If he had he would have known you kept most of your unopened alcohol down there, where it could stay cool without needing a refrigerator.

Yondu took a sip, and almost recoiled, having not expected this Terran stuff to be quite so strong. It wasn't anything he couldn't handle, mind you, but he had honestly just assumed Terran whiskey would be weak. From experience with Peter, the boy always got piss drunk after only barely a couple shots of Xandarian liquor, which wasn't very strong, so he just assumed Terrans had a naturally lower tolerance. Now he just supposed Quill was a lightweight.

"Anything on your mind?" Yondu asked. If you were sitting here drinking alone surely there must be.

You glance up. "Nope," you say, as you down the rest of your glass. You pour another.

"Uh huh... right. That's why you look like a grump-ass sitting here drinking all by yourself then."

You give him a look, gesturing to him with your glass. "You're sitting right there aren't you? Looks like I ain't alone."

Yondu chuckled and shook his head. Cheeky shit. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Nope."

Yondu grinned and pointed at you knowingly. "Gotcha."

"What?" you say, confused by his tone.

"Ya said ya don't wanna talk about it. Means there's somethin' on yer mind."

You look at him through narrow eyes and take another sip.

"What is it? Tired of Rocket's shit? Don't blame ya. Rat can be a real asshole."

You sigh.

"So it is the rat, then?"

"Quit," you say, taking another drink and looking at him sternly.

Yondu held up his hands and backed off. "Alright. I won't push it."

"Push what?" came Peter's voice from the doorway as he and Kraglin walked into the kitchen. Peter grabbed a snack from the pantry and tossed one to Kraglin.

"Cool, didn't realize we were starting a party" Kraglin joked, referring to the two whiskey bottles on the table and you and Yondu sitting there with your glasses.

Figuring you might as well offer them some you motioned to the cupboard again. "Glasses up there. Might as well join us."

You didn't have to ask them twice. Peter got down a couple glasses and Kraglin poured them some drink.

Peter nodded to the two bottles and joked asking if you were trying to see who could outdrink the other.

You shrugged. "Nah. If we were to do that, he'd need to catch up."

Yondu laughed. "You don't wanna go there, missy. I'll drink ya under the table before you knew what hit you." He chuckled and elbowed Kraglin in the arm, who snickered, knowing full well Yondu could drink like a tank.

You rolled your eyes. "Like I said, you'd need to catch up to me first. I'm about four ahead of you.

Yondu's head snapped back to you glancing from your drink to you. "Four?" You must be joking. You weren't even tipsy yet that he could tell.

You were unable to hold back a laugh. "Nah, I'm only messing with you." You downed your glass. "I'm two ahead after that one." You poured yourself another glass. You grinned slightly. "Again, do I need to wait for you to catch up?"

Yondu grinned at you, his eyes almost inquisitive. "Ya really sure ya wanna do that?" He was confident you didn't stand a chance.

Peter laughed. "What, you scared she'll outdrink you?"

Yondu rolled his eyes and downed his glass. "No. Jus' concerned she'll hurt herself tryin'," he laughed.

Now you rolled your eyes. "Fine. Don't. I'll accept your admission of defeat." you say with a shrug as you take another sip. This was almost definitely the buzz talking. You weren't a lightweight, but you still weren't exactly the heaviest drinker.

Peter and Kraglin hid giggles behind their glasses as Yondu gave you a hard look and poured himself another glass and downed it.

"There, I'm caught up." he said, pouring himself another glass to match you. "I'll give you one more chance to back out, sweetheart."

You down your glass. "I ain't your sweetheart, grandpa."

Yondu narrowed his eyes and downed his as well. "Then it's on, pipsqueak."

"Ooh-hoho. You're gonna regret that." you say, unable to hold back a grin as you poured another round for the two of you.

Peter and Kraglin were now openly laughing at the show as they sipped their drinks.

Yondu tipped his glass to you and took a sip. "We'll see." He wasn't really concerned with the drinking game. He was fairly certain he'd win. He did, however, think the whiskey might loosen your tongue, get you to talk to him. Maybe he'd eventually get around to asking why you lived in such a big place by yourself or what was in the forest that you kept walking into.

You followed his lead, sipping your current glass rather than downing it right away. Maybe it was the buzz starting to talk, but you suddenly were curious about something. "I don't think you guys ever told me why you needed to go into hiding in the first place."

"Fury didn't tell you?" Peter asked.

"Nope. He was too busy moving you guys in and changing up my house and getting into my shit to mention it." you say, taking another sip.

Yondu also sipped. Tongue loosening: Check.

"Well it's kinda a long story," Peter began, "but short version, we were hired to do a job for these people, and we did it, but then Rocket insulted them, and stole their shit, and now they've vowed vengeance."

"And they ain't the forgivin' type." Kraglin added.

"No. Definitely not," said Yondu mournfully, taking another sip. Bad enough his crew mutinied and he blasted his ship to hell, now he had to go into hiding. Yondu Udonta doesn't hide... unless forced to by the Nova Corps because he joined his boy's little team of galaxy savers, apparently... He supposed it was better than jail. He should really thank Peter for pulling those strings sometime.

"Anyway, so when the Nova Corps heard about it they insisted we go into hiding until they could try and smooth it over."

"Hmm." You say, finishing your glass. "So they're trying to beg for your lives, is that it?"

Peter shrugged awkwardly. "More or less."

"They must really like you." you laughed, looking down as Yondu poured everyone another round.

"They should," Yondu said. "He saved the galaxy twice."

Peter looked at him and he tried to hide how his heart swelled. Receiving praise from the blue man for things other than thievery was still new to him, but he didn't exactly hate it.

Yondu ignored his gaze. He wasn't about to get caught up in sentiment. He changed the subject. "Why don't ya tell us a little about yerself?"

You pretended to think a bit before taking a drink and saying, "Hmm... Nope."

Yondu held back a sigh. Tongue loosening: Un-Check. He tipped back his glass and nodded to you, as if to challenge.

You tipped your glass back in turn and as you poured another Yondu taunted, "I think that was five now, sure ya don't wanna slow down?"

You give him a patronizing look. "Is that your way of saying you give up?" You started to giggle behind your hand when Yondu's expression read 'Oh please.' and he finished his glass to keep the pour even between you.

Kraglin grinned wide and nudged Peter, "Eh, Pete, tell her about that time you got stabbed for flirting with that A'askvarii chick."

Peter's eyes widened and he looked at Kraglin, "Not cool, dude!"

Yondu chuckled and you just looked at Peter inquisitively, having no idea what an 'A'askvarii' was. Before you could ask Yondu spoke up.

"If I remember correctly he didn't get stabbed for that one. Kree girl tried to rip out his thorax. He got stabbed for trying to pull a runner on a Rajack girl." Yondu said, grinning before taking another drink.

Peter glared at him. "New topic." He looked at you. "What got you into archery?"

You sighed through your nose. You supposed it was an innocent enough question. "Dad taught me. How'd you'd come about living in space?"

Peter made a face and downed his drink. "Uh, long story, another time..." How would he explain that the reason he was in space was because his Celestial father sent the man sitting next to you to abduct him... and make it not sound awful? Better think of something lighter. "Uh... Got any family around or is it just you?"

You eyes narrowed. Your former giddiness visibly left you.

'Oh no.' Peter thought. That apparently wasn't lighter... You must not get along with your family. He tried to fix it. "Ok, touchy subject- I mean... Oh look, your glass is empty!" He quickly poured you and him another round.

You actually almost laughed at that, and a slight grin cracked your face.

Yondu saw how your expression changed and incorrectly assumed that it meant you weren't actually that irritated by Peter's question. He then took that incorrect assumption to pose his own question. "So, you didn't quite answer the other night, and I'm still curious. How come it's just you in this big old house?"

This prompted Kraglin to add his own question. "Yeah, and I've been wondering too, how's come you don't keep any photos?"

Your glare returned. You sat your glass down and stood up saying in a slightly slurred speech, "I have to pee." and excused yourself from the table, stumbling a bit as the alcohol hit you. You righted yourself, earning a chuckle from Peter and Kraglin, who knew too well that it's always easy to believe you aren't as drunk as you are until you stand up and the room spins.

Yondu also laughed, but internally cursed himself. He wasn't gonna get any answers like this. He hoped that maybe there was still a chance to save it when you got back. He saw a hint of pain in your eyes just before you left, and it made him want to know why. He felt he was so close to putting the pieces together.

***

You head to the bathroom irritated at being asked the personal questions. Leave it up to your new house mates to ruin your buzz.

You only got more irritated upon entering the bathroom, however.

Someone had left their wet towels on the floor. Rolling your eyes in annoyance you kicked them aside to make your way to the toilet. Mercifully you didn't find any unpleasant surprises waiting inside it like you had been. Peter must have gotten the "Flush the damn toilet!" message through to Drax. However, once you had done your business you found that someone couldn't have been bothered to replace the toilet roll properly, just having sat it on the roll holder.

You sigh irritably and replace it properly yourself. Yes, it could have been worse. They could have not replaced it at all and forced you to do a mini walk of shame to the sink cupboard to retrieve it, but you were too cranky to look at the bright side.

Then you went to wash your hands, only to see someone had smeared toothpaste all over the sink, a big pet peeve of yours. Your nostrils flared and you muttered to yourself as you washed that you weren't going to clean it. Screw that.

You went to dry your hands, and find there was no towel to dry them. You gritted your teeth and ripped a towel from the small closet, hanging it on the hook when you were finished.

Before leaving the bathroom you tried to gather yourself, taking a deep breath and telling yourself to calm down. It would be ok. You were just a little drunk. It wasn't that big of a deal. You were going to go back out and try to have some fun drinking that blue bastard under the table. (This, of course, was the alcohol talking. False confidence. You really did never stand a chance of outdrinking the Ravager captain.)

You start to open the door, and that's when you reach your breaking point.

***

After you left, Kraglin nudged Peter again, whispering the words, "A'askvarii girl," to him and giggling like a child.

Peter smacked him in the arm, "Quit it! That was one time! And I was only trying to get information! Tell him Yondu!" He tried to look angry, but the whiskey was having its usual effect on him, making him a giggly little bitch.

Yondu only grinned and shook his head. "I dunno boy, you were a little too convincing if ya ask me... Nobody asked you to sleep with her."

Kraglin bust out laughing at Peter's face, which was an odd mix of horror, drunken mirth, and "Dammit, you got me." He playfully shoved Peter and Peter shoved back with a "You suck!" which prompted Kraglin to squeeze his side, which of course made Peter jolt with a laugh and smack him away.

Kraglin only did it again and Peter laughed out a "Quit it!" while smacking him again.

Yondu just rolled his eyes and chuckled, sipping his whiskey as he watched his boys mess around like they did when they were younger on the Eclector.

After a pinch to the knee Peter bolted off his chair, only to have Kraglin follow, laughing, "Come back 'ere, ya coward!" He got Peter in a headlock and started to give him a noogie.

Peter laughed and managed to worm away, taking off into the hallway.

Yondu watched in amusement as Kraglin followed Peter out of the kitchen, and listened as the sounds of their shenanigans took them from the front door down the hall. That's when he heard the sound of a door slamming and a loud cry of "OW! Mother---FUCKer!" that sounded suspiciously like you.

'Oh shit,' he thought, standing from the table to go inspect the damage.

***

It had all happened fairly quickly.

You had opened the bathroom door maybe a foot before it slammed back in your face. Literally in your face. You recoiled and swore loudly, the flash of pain made your eyes water and you saw red before you even realized you were bleeding.

Kraglin and Peter jerked away from the door in startled shock after hearing you cry out. They had only been horsing around when their antics caused Peter to fall back into the door just as you opened it. They jumped when the door slammed back open with an incredible BANG against the wall, and their eyes went wide when they saw you standing there, murderous rage in your eyes and blood running from your nose down your chin.

Maybe it was because he was the nearest person, or maybe it was because he instinctually held up his hands and said "Sorry! Sorry! It was an accident!" but Peter was the one you lunged at.

You grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him into the wall, nearly a week's worth of frustration and rage channeled through you as his body connected with the plaster.

Peter, not just going to stand there and let himself get beaten up, tried to grab your wrists and get you off him, but you evaded his attempts and punched him in the stomach.

This slightly knocked the wind from him, but he managed to grab your wrist and push off from the wall. He spun you around and tried to restrain you in a bear hug, saying, "Take it easy!" but you only dropped to your knees and lurched forward, flipping him over your back towards the front door.

Kraglin looked to Yondu, who watched from outside the kitchen door near the end of the hall. His gaze asked what to do, but Yondu only shrugged and didn't try to intervene. He knew Peter could handle himself and he was sure you needed to let off some steam, so he just enjoyed the show.

The commotion brought the others in though. Gamora and Mantis flew down the stairs, while Rocket, Drax, and Groot stepped out of the sitting room to witness the fight with wide eyes. They didn't know what had happened, but you looked ready for the kill, and to the few who could see it from their vantage, you looked almost terrifying with your bared teeth full of blood.

You now straddling Peter, attempting to throw a punch when he blocked it and flipped the two of you over. He breathlessly told you to settle down as you struggled, but you wouldn't hear it. If anything it seemed to make you more pissed off, and Gamora's cries for the two of you to stop fell on deaf ears.

You kneed Peter in the stomach and flipped the two of you back over. You weren't sure what next possessed you, but you threw your head down and sank your teeth into his shoulder.

Peter threw his head back and cried out in pain, mixing in a few curses as well.

Yondu cocked his head, seeming unsure on whether he wanted to be impressed or not to see you, Miss SHIELD Agent, fight dirty. Kraglin finally spoke up to say, "Hey, hey, now! No bitin'!" as if he were refereeing a wrestling match.

Right about then you felt large strong hands grip you about the waist, surprising you into releasing your bite on Peter as they pulled you off of him. The arms moved from your waist to secure your wrists and before you knew it you were being restrained in half a bear-hug by one very strong arm as you were turned away from Peter and pulled towards the front door.

Drax paused to open the door and, turning you to face him, flatly said. "You need to take a walk."

"Drax!" Gamora hissed, appalled that he was throwing their host out of her own house, despite the circumstances.

Rocket, of course, laughed and asked how you liked it, like an asshole. It was only then he saw the blood around your nose and mouth and his expression changed slightly to reflect his shock, now wondering if you had actually taken a chunk out of Peter when you bit him. Were you some kind of maniac?

You spat blood at him, only for it to land on the floor at his feet as he was standing too far away, and then slammed the door behind you on your way out.

Gamora came the rest of the way down the stairs to inspect Peter's shoulder, seeing the blood on his shirt.

"It's fine," he assured, "It's hers, not mine. See, she didn't break skin." He pulled back his shirt to prove it. "I think I accidentally broke her nose though. That's what started it."

Gamora looked at him in confusion. "You broke her nose?! What the hell, Peter!"

"It was an accident!" he said again.

Gamora took a step back. "Ok. Tell me what happened. Start from the beginning."

"Well, we were all drinking-"

Gamora threw up her hands. "Oh, well that explains everything!" she interrupted bitterly. Dumb stuff almost always seemed to happen when those guys and alcohol mixed.

Rocket spoke up. "You were drinking and didn't invite us? Rude."

Gamora threw him an unamused look. "Not the point, Rocket."

Peter tried again. He explained he and Kraglin joined you and Yondu drinking, you got up to use the bathroom, he and Kraglin started horsing around, and one thing lead to another until he fell back against the door as you were coming out of the bathroom and it must have hit you and pissed you off.

Gamora looked at him. So it really had just been a big drunken accident. She also then realized Drax had not only just threw their host out of their own house, but threw you out while you were also drunk, broken and bleeding.

They were sooo getting kicked out.

"We should call her back in." said Gamora. "You shouldn't have thrown her out, Drax. This is her home. We're only guests."

Drax looked confused. "Why? It worked with Rocket. I thought I was helping?"

"Don't bother trying," said Yondu nonchalantly. "Bet she's already well into the forest by now."

They looked at him. "How would you know that?" Gamora asked.

He shrugged. "It's where she went the other night she got mad. Saw her heading there out the window when Rat there destroyed the kitchen and ruined diner." He left out the bit that he'd also seen you head there in the middle of the night too. He was saving that bit of mystery for himself to solve.

Rocket just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms at being called out for his past grievances. It got cleaned, didn't it?

"I'm sure she'll come back when she's ready," Yondu added. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to go look for you, if for no other reason than to see where you kept going to out there, but he had a feeling that if you didn't want to be found, he wouldn't find you. He might have some experience tracking, but he couldn't also forget what you did for a living. While he might not know much about what your job entailed, he got the feeling you weren't just some desk-jocky.

Besides, if you found your way back, drunk, the other night, he was sure you could do it again.

Begrudgingly Gamora agreed to wait.

And wait they did.

[dinner-djarin]

Next To You (Bucky x reader)

Just a little one shot I wrote after watching FATWS on repeat. (I tried to make it gender neutral but I may have missed something so I'm sorry if it's not!)

Rating: Mature

No use of Y/N

Word Count: 2.6k

Summary: Bucky is having nightmares, and you're there to comfort him. Based on the Julia Michaels song If You Need Me. (so if the ending sounds dumb go listen to the song you'll understand why lol)

Warnings: Fluff & angst I guess idk, kinda dark themes, because well it's Bucky. Just two people who have definitely been through some shit. Oh ya that reminds me swearing. Suggested that intercourse has happened but nothing descriptive. A little (a lot) about trauma but mostly about nightmares. If I missed something pls lemme know, I don't want anyone to feel triggered reading. But if you can watch the show and be fine, you'll probably be okay with this.

Also just letting you know if I put ~ its cause I switch the focus from Bucky to reader, but I'm not switching POV completely its all written in reader POV.

Every night brought pieces of the past. He never knew which memory would be dragged to the surface once he let his subconscious take over - clawing and scrapping against the walls he put up, begging to be let out; to be confronted.

Some nights were worse than others of course.

He wasn’t sure how he was ever going to out run the monsters of his past. For a while he just stopped sleeping. It may not have been a permanent fix, but he thought some relief was better than none at all. He used to go days, even weeks, without sleep during the war, so he figured it might be the best way to silence the past.

Dr. Raynor, however, caught on quick.

A lot of her methods seemed like bullshit to Bucky. He could tell she was genuinely trying to help him, but he doubted anything she had anything to offer him that would prove to be effective.

But at the end of the day she was definitely no fool. He had a tough time lying to her. She didn’t take anyone's crap, and that might have been the only reason he trusted her, even a little. It may have been the only reason he actually gave it a sincere try (besides the fact he’d be arrested if he didn’t).

So he probably shouldn’t have been surprised when she caught on to his sleep strike. In fact she called him out on it only three days in. He thought he’d get longer than that. Even so, he was almost relieved. After only 72 hours he already felt the nightmares slowly creeping into the day. Every time a door slammed or a car horn blared his body tensed. Every time he turned a corner he’d reach for a knife he no longer carried. So maybe it was better to let his past haunt his nightmares. That way he’d be alone when the memories took over. That way he wouldn’t hurt anyone else.

But he made a mistake. He did what he told himself he could never do. He let you get too close.

Falling asleep in your arms felt better than any therapy session he could ever imagine. It was the first time in forever he could remember what it was like to be his younger self. The version of him that marvelled at the idea of flying cars; who thought he could save the world by enlisting. The dreamy eyed boy who was hopeful for the future, who thought he had a future.

Lying next to you made him feel in control, like his problems didn’t matter. He was there to keep you safe, and warm, and comfortable. He never thought he’d feel like that with anyone. He didn’t think he was allowed.

You didn’t question his metal arm for starters. When Bucky took off his jacket, after the hundredth time you insisted - “It’s like 100 degrees in here Bucky, please take it off, you’re gonna melt” - he thought he’d instantly regret it. But you simply looked at it with wonder for only a moment, before returning your eyes up to his own. Staring back at you, he saw the wheels in your brain click into place. He could almost hear your thoughts as you decided what your next move would be.

In the blink of his eyes you tore your shirt off and stood completely still in front of him. For a moment his emotions were mixed, and he worried where your sudden advancement came from, but then he saw it. A thick white mark slashed across your torso.

You took only one step forward before speaking. “It’s not exactly… I know it’s not the same thing at all. But the scars - the marks we carry - they’ll be with us forever, whether we like it or not. Even if they remind us of the worst pieces of ourselves, or the worst moments of our lives, it reminds us that we can move forward. And it reminds me that there’s something to move forward to. I don’t know…it doesn’t really make any sense but somehow it’s almost comforting.  To know that something will always be with us, till the end”

His mouth was on yours in an instant.

He had been hesitant to let anyone in. After coming back - after going through everything he’d been through - he felt like damaged goods. He worried that the minute he let himself be happy, everything would come crashing down again, and he had good reason to believe it. It just kept happening over and over. It seemed like every time he found even a small amount of peace, the battle made its way back to him.

But when he found you, when he felt you, he felt peace. The softness of your skin, the gentle wave of your hair, the light scrape of your fingernails against his back and chest, your quiet moans muffled by his own mouth on yours. Being with you made the horrors of his past melt away. Even when you clamped down around him and bit into his shoulder muscle, even when he knew you’d left marks all over his skin. Knowing they came from you made all the difference. They didn’t remind him of the wars he fought, or lives he took, or the atrocities he committed. The sting of your nails and teeth weren’t pains from his past, they were reminders of his present, of the possibility of a life he could have. With you.

But in the end he knew that it was all wishful thinking. He knew he wasn’t cut out for that type of future. He knew you deserved better.

So he decided to let you off easy, to disappear from your life, leaving your shared experience to the confines of your bedroom. A memory, nothing more. He knew he’d have to sneak away once you fell asleep, because that way it might not feel real. Everything that happened between you might disappear with him.

But then he fucked up.

He was waiting for your breath to even out, a sign he would take to mean you had fallen asleep, but after listening to the air rush out of your body, and watching your bare chest rise and fall, your hypnotic essence overpowered his will, and he fell asleep alongside you.

Only he wasn’t asleep for long.

Eventually the past caught up, as it always had a way of doing. Images, and sounds, and smells all came flooding back to his uninhibited brain - sleep made him an easy target. He was vulnerable to every torment he caused, and every mission he was forced to carry out. Tonight was no exception. His brain managed to sift through every wall he thought he had up, and trudge yet another painful memory to the surface. The image of himself taking life after life, cruelly and viciously. There was no remorse, no stopping him. He saw every crime lord and politician he was made to terminate. Until his brain moved away to a new idea. The image of a young woman. Innocent and pure. But in the way of his mission. The Winter Soldier spared none.

He woke up in a blind panic. His surroundings were unfamiliar. Something was wrong. Was he being held captive or-

~

“Hey,” you made yourself known to him, and he twisted his head back to see you sit up beside him. You were quiet, and a worried expression blanketed your face.

Is he angry, you thought for a moment? No. Your brain was tired, and it was slow to process. Not angry, scared.

You knew from the minute you saw his arm that there was more going on. You already had some suspicions, nevertheless you expected there to be something like this.

For a moment, the two of you stared at each other in silence. You watched him regain his breath, and you carefully shifted your legs to sit crossed underneath you.

His steel blue eyes cut through the darkness, pinning you down. You wondered what was going on in his mind, what he might be doing to regain his grip on reality. You knew this moment too well. The quiet. The darkness. The fear. Not sure of how to move forward.

You were scared too, but not of him - more like you were scared for him. You knew he must be going through something, and you wanted to be there to help, but you also knew that was easier said than done. “Being there to help” was a nice concept, but in reality - well things were generally more complicated. You didn’t know if it’d be alright to approach him, mainly because you were unsure of your role in all this. Were you really someone he wanted around when he was so obviously vulnerable? You’d never seen him so raw and exposed, like a wound you wished you could tend to, while also fearing that your interference could make things worse.

You knew he wasn’t going to ask for your help, you could see he wasn’t that kind of man, but maybe if you made the first step, and let him choose - maybe he’d let you in. So, you held out your hand and waited. After a moment, you saw him move, only slightly though. His eyes darted down towards your hand and he subtly lifted his fingers off the bed. But it only lasted a second. He froze again, hand hovering near yours, and that’s when you realized he had been reaching for you with his left hand. You had been wary to touch it before, you thought it was probably a sensitive subject. Something about the idea of touching his metal arm seemed more personal, if that was possible. Like only the most trusted people in his life might be allowed to… and maybe not even then.

You felt your own eyes drop to your lap, an almost nervous energy now emanating in the space between you. But just before you could drop your hand too, his fingers hesitantly entwine with yours.

You shot your eyes up to see his right hand grazing the palm of your left. As your gaze slowly elevated, you found your way to meet his own eyes, only to notice the very sudden change in them. Whatever fear or darkness hid their before had now melted away. You couldn’t place it, but whatever emotion he now held sent a chill from your core to your fingertips. A lump in your throat formed and for a moment, you thought you might never be able to breath again. The look in his eyes was almost soft, but with a hint of yearning. Fire was blazing through every nerve in your body, while a chill kissed your skin, making every hair stand on edge.

Feeling outrageously brave, you took your free hand up to his jaw and held him there, gently swiping your thumb over his cheek, and allowing your fingers to reach slightly past his hairline and to the back of his neck. You wondered if he could feel the raging storm of your emotions through your touch.

“You okay?” you managed to whisper to him.

“Nothing I haven’t dealt with before” his answer pierced your ears with a hard tone, refusing to let any vulnerability resonate in his voice.

You shake your head at him, wishing he wouldn’t play pretend. “Okay then,” you mumble, letting your hand drop from his face. But as it fell, Bucky was quick to grab it, and hold it with a gentle squeeze. When you looked at him again, you knew he meant it as a reassurance, trying to tell you that he was okay.

~

He couldn’t handle the way you looked at him. Like you could see every thought in his head. A knowing gleam in your eyes told him that you didn’t believe him, and you’d be right not to. He wasn’t okay. He never really was. There was so much darkness surrounding him, poisoning every inch of his life. But you. Your touch was gentle and your voice was kind, and even though he had just seen your scar, he couldn’t help but think your world must have been so much brighter than his own. Looking in your eyes, he almost wished he’d never met you. He was so afraid that his pain might infect you too, the only good thing he had left. He wouldn’t ever be able to forgive himself if he let that happen; if he let his past ruin your future.

He wanted to leave, he needed to get out, before any of that could happen.

He slid off the bed quickly, and made his way to grab his clothes, but before he could you grabbed his hand - his left hand.

“Please Bucky don’t.” was all you could say. But the way your voice broke, on the verge of tears, fear of being rejected, of being left alone in the dark by the only man you ever wanted to let in - it was enough to stop his heart. He stood there, frozen from your touch. You kept his hand in yours, and for a second you worried it was too much. You worried you betrayed whatever trust you had built with him. Just holding his bare metal hand felt more violating and revealing than the fact that both of you remained completely naked. But you didn’t want to pull away. You didn’t want him to think you were afraid of him, afraid of the fact his hand could pulverize yours in a second - because you weren’t. You’d felt his touch. You knew how gentle and caring he could be. And you wanted him to see it too. That he wasn’t defined by his worst fears.

You pulled your body towards him, kneeling at the edge and facing him, “You don’t have to leave.” you spoke softly, as if he might be spooked and run off if you were any louder. “You don’t have to push everyone away. Please don’t push me away… I-”

Before you could finish, he was crashing into you. His tongue invading your mouth, like he was trying to soak up your unsaid words. His hands held your waist in place against his, steady and strong, but there was still resistance in his fingers; a hesitance to use too much force with you. You could feel how he feared he might hurt you.

Slowly you leaned back, feathering your fingers over his shoulders to guide him with you, and when he hovered over you, you let them slide into his hair, grabbing what you could and leading his head down…

~~~~

You lay there in the dark with your head on his chest, listening to his steady heart, feeling the crisp sting of metal graze your back. And even though you knew it was ridiculous, all you could think about was how you wanted to keep him safe. The man was stronger than any other human being, and probably thought you were fragile and helpless, and needed his protection more than anything. But still, you wanted him to be okay. You wanted him to know he could be safe.

“I’ll fight them for you.” you whimper quietly, suddenly worried that Bucky may have already fallen back to sleep.

“Huh? Who- what do you mean?” his words stuttered and tripped over his tongue. His half sleeping brain was suddenly running a mile a minute trying to decipher your statement. Who were you fighting? Why would you need to fight them for him? Surely he was more capable of fighting anyone off. He should be protecting you-

“The monsters” you said a little louder. The words feel childish and awkward in your mouth, and once you said them, you wished to take them back. But you decided to push forward, “if you want me to… if you need me… I’m here”

[theweasleysredhair]

Truth or Dare [S.B.]

Character: Sirius Black

Word Count: 1547

Requested?: Yes/No

Summary: An almost innocent game of truth or dare leads to Sirius finally confessing the feelings he has for a certain someone.

Tags: @dreamer821 @gracemayhateyou @criminalyetminimal @firewhisky-kisses @obsessedwithrandomthings @angelinathebook @iprobablyshipit91 @potterverseimagine @slytherineheir @kpopgirlbtssvt @susceptible-but-siriusexual @tinylumpiaa @locke-writes | message or send an ask to be added/removed!

Disclaimer: Gif isn't mine, credit to whoever made it

A/n: i had an idea, i ran with it, and this happened. definitely not one of my best but i guess it’s something

+ + + + +

"Padfoot, truth or dare?" James asked with a cheeky grin and a mischievous glint in his eye. "Why are you even asking? Dare," Sirius replied, lazily taking a sip from his firewhisky bottle.

James' grin stretched wider, if it were possible, and Sirius sat up more on his bed, gulping. Usually, he wouldn’t be too worried about what James would come up with, knowing his friend wasn’t exactly the most creative with dares, however something told Sirius this time was different.

"I dare you to touch Y/n's boob." 

The deafening silence after the dare was announced was broken by James’ laugher that escaped him at the look on Sirius’ face, Remus joining in soon after, sniggering to himself.

"Y/n's boob? Why?" Sirius spluttered, his heart racing. Of course he wanted to touch your boob! But not like this.

"Because you like her," James said bluntly, before pausing and then adding in thought, "And she has nice boobs, one of us should get to touch them."

Sirius glared at him, reaching over and smacking him across the head. "Ow! What was that for?!" "For looking at her! She's mine to look at, not yours!"

"Then go and touch her boob and confess your feelings and no guy will ever dare to look at her again, problem solved,” James frowned, rubbing his head.

"Fine. I will,” Sirius said determinedly, if a tad sulkily, “Next time I see her.”

-

By the next morning, Sirius had completely forgotten about the dare. Luckily, James hadn’t.

And as Sirius took his place at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, he cursed as he looked up to find three expectant faces staring back at him.

Sirius paused midway through his first bite of toast, “What do you three want?”

James shared an amused look with Peter and snickered under his breath, “Oh, nothing much. We’re just waiting for you to finish your dare from last night.”

Sirius felt his heart jolt - surely the dare couldn’t be that bad though, could it? “Which dare?” He asked as he grabbed a fork to pile some bacon onto his plate.

“Have you forgotten already? Better not drink as much next time, Padfoot,” James tutted, shaking his head in mock-condescension, before continuing, “The dare where you have to touch Y/n’s boob.”

And suddenly the memory of the dare came screaming back to Sirius, and his face paled. He dropped his fork to his place, causing a clatter that turned a few heads, but he paid them no mind, “Fuck.”

James held his hand up to Remus for a high five, who hit it without looking as he finished his breakfast.

“I’m just a genius. An actual bloody genius! I’m just so proud of myself for this one,” James boasted, grinning from ear to ear as he sat back and enjoyed how annoyed Sirius appeared to be getting.

“Oh yeah?” Sirius grumbled, “Why don’t you just go and shove your proudness right up your-“

“There she is!” Remus interrupted him, nodding over to the entrance of the hall, where you were walking towards your house table with a couple of friends.

“Go on then, Padfoot,” Peter goaded, letting out a squeaky laugh.

“Well I’m not about to do it right in front of everyone am I? I’m more of a gentleman than that,” Sirius ran a hand through his hair, staring at the food on his plate that no longer seemed appealing, and trying to avoid the temptation of looking over at you.

“I’m sorry, did you just call yourself a gentleman?” Remus scoffed in disbelief.

“I did ballroom dancing and played piano as a child!”

“Only because you had to.”

Sirius scowled, pushing his plate away.

“A dare is a dare, Sirius,” James said, glancing over in your direction. Sirius sighed, running a hand down his face and wondering what he had gotten himself into.

“Fine, I’ll do it. But not here.”

-

Sirius watched you from across the hall, talking with your friends as you waited outside the Transfiguration classroom for the lesson to start. His eyes drifted across your features - your bright eyes, the curve of your nose and down to your lips - and down to where his target was - your chest.

“I can’t do this! It’s degrading,” Sirius frowned, shaking his head and throwing his arms up in the arm in emphasis as he turned to his friends.

“I’m sure she’ll get over it if you ask her out, I’ve heard she quite fancies you,” Remus mentioned casually, flicking through his Transfiguration textbook.

Sirius slammed a hand down on the textbook, making Remus jump and nearly drop it, “Moony, what do you mean, she fancies me? And you’re just telling me now? For Merlin’s sake, you’re telling me that she bloody likes me?!”

Remus pulled the book away from him, closing it and tucking it under his arm, “Yeah, for a while now.”

“I hate you so much for not telling me. Fine, I’m going!” Sirius announced as he turned away to walk over towards you.

Just as Sirius was out of earshot, James leant over to Remus, “I never heard anything about her liking Padfoot, who told you that?”

“Oh, nobody. I made it up, I just want to see him make a fool of himself,” Remus grinned at his messy haired friend, who now sported an impressed look.

“Maybe you’re the genius, Moony,” James said in awe, receiving a ‘well, duh’ look from Remus.

Just down the hall, Sirius marched to your friend group, looking a lot more confident that he felt. The door to the classroom had just opened as he reached you, so he called out, “Hey Y/n!”

Your friends had just headed into the room as you turned at the sound of your name, but before you could reply, you realised you were very close to somebody - namely, the eldest Black brother.

Your eyes widened as you slowly looked down at the slight pressure that had just been applied to your chest.

“Sirius!" You squeaked. “What?" He replied innocently. You looked up at him, suddenly feeling a lot warmer than you were previously.

“Why in Merlin's name are you holding my boob?" You hissed, your eyes still wide and mouth dropping slightly.

Sirius' cheeks redden, and Merlin if his heart isn’t beating faster than he could ever remember it going, "I mean it's... it's a good boob... good good good.”

“Well um... thank you? I think. But... would you mind letting go?"

"Oh! Oh yeah of course, yeah my bad, sorry." Sirius removed his hand promptly, stepping back and creating a bit more space between you. And had he have turned to look at his friends, he would’ve noticed James practically falling onto the floor with his laughing, clutching onto the arms of Remus and Peter - who also looked amused - for support.

You straightened out your jumper and looked at the now seemingly nervous boy, “Now may I ask why you decided to do that?”

“Well you see... me and the lads were kinda playing truth or dare last night, and Prongs - I mean James - decided to dare me to touch your boob because he knows I’ve fancied you since, well, as long as I can remember.”

“And so you went through with it?” You asked, scoffing amusedly.

“Um... yes,” Sirius hung his head, half in shame and half in hopes of hiding his still-red cheeks.

“You know you could’ve just, I don’t know... spoken to me? Like a normal person?”

Sirius looked up at you and grinned, “Well yeah... yeah I suppose I could have but this way, I got to touch your boob - which was a revelation, a mind blowing experience, by the way - and you got to find out how it feels to have me-“

“To have you what? Grope me without so much as a word?” You cut in, shaking your head but nevertheless letting out a small laugh.

“I mean I wouldn’t say it was groping... more of a light pat, perhaps a squeeze-“

“Besides the point, Sirius. Bloody hell, didn’t even ask me on a date first,” You now grinned, leaning back against the doorframe behind you.

His face lit up, “I mean I’d definitely love to go on a date with you, yes love!”

You frowned, your mouth slightly dropping again, “Wait I wasn’t asking-“

“Meet me outside the Gryffindor common room on Saturday at 3,” Sirius interrupted you, beginning to step away backwards in the direction of his friends, “Give me a chance to apologise for this whole thing.”

“Again, I wasn’t asking you on a date!” You called after him, though you weren’t opposed to the idea of a date with the guy you’d liked for just over a year now.

“And yet we’re going on one. Funny how things turn out, huh?” Sirius replied, “And maybe at the end of the date - or perhaps during - I’ll be able to touch your boob again.”

You shook your head, smiling at his cheekiness as he walked off to thank James for the dare, leaving you confused at the encounter, but with a warm feeling in your stomach at the idea of a date with the handsome boy.

[silvia7272]

Miraculess Ladybug Salt AU: You Always Liked To Play With Fire ~ The Prologue

Hey everyone, this is a new story I wanted to introduce to you all.

I’ve been putting everything in a massive word doc because I had so many ideas and finally settled on putting it out today because it's my birthday. 29th, I may have updated it late.

Yay.

So as a special treat, here’s a new series with a few original characters, ones you know or have been changed ever so slightly to fit, in a Miraculess world. (haha, you see what I did there? No… I’ll leave)

Also for anyone new, I’m a multi-shipper so I ship my characters with a bunch of other people, as I like Lukanette (Fandom Version), Daminette (Fandom Version), Felinette (PV Fandom Version), Marichat (Fandom Version) and I guess Rosannette. What’s Rosannette? Well, I guess you’ll have to find out, won’t you? (also no that’s not a typo, it is Rosannette)

Also, I guess this will just have the usual salt, maybe more, I don’t know. I kinda want it to just be about these two.

Word Count: 3912

Note: I haven’t tagged anyone just in case, this is a different series from my other, I just got really excited and wanted to write it. If you still wish to be tagged for this story please say and specify.

Also: This is a salt story, it will have OOC moments from everyone so it will be classed as an AU. If you don’t want to read that’s fine, and have a nice day.

Well, I hope you’ll enjoy it.

This is for all the people that might prefer Rosinette (like from the songfic) instead, I don’t mind but it won’t be in my main series, so I hope this will satisfy you.

(Word of warning, I believe this will be an AU where the Miraculous don’t exist, and non-canon to my official story and I believe mentions of a panic attack might be lightly mentioned, don’t know if it is, but if someone could check and I’ll make the warning clearer that would be nice)

Summary: 

(Fire doesn't exactly have anything to do with this story I just really liked the title)

Note: This book contains OOC scenes of Miraculous Ladybug as well as a ton of salt, so if you don't like that stuff you may scroll past and have a nice day.

In a world with no Miraculous, no Hawkmoth and no Ladybug, how does our little heroine do?

Well, it usually would be hanging out with her friends, as any other teenager would do...

But, of course, this wasn't normal. 

This was reality. It was cold, hard and definitely not welcome.

So, when this girl wishes to have some kind of adventure in her boring, mundane life...

How long does it take for her to regret it?

***

Memories, it's such a simple word yet it holds so much meaning. One could either wish to forget everything from their life, and simply move forward so they could pursue their dreams. Or, simply relish in the past when they remembered how great it was, all the friends they had made, all the moments they had which were too good to let go.

.

But, I guess sometimes, you did have to let go. But let go of what exactly? Let go of all the happiness once you knew how it would end? No that would be too harsh and you’d turn bitter. Let go of all the sadness? But, wasn’t it an important life lesson to learn, sometimes, you just have to be sad because of the situation at hand. No amount of croissants or macarons would be able to lift your spirits back.

.

Or maybe that was too much of a specific example.

That was what Marinette had thought, staring at an empty glass so intently the man behind made himself disperse from the amount of time the unblinking woman just stared and never flinched.

She guessed it hadn’t all been bad, she at least had some form of happiness before it was violently ripped away, but part of her wondered, what would’ve happened if she never felt that type of happiness before? Would she have felt like she had for so long, was it the fact that she knew what being happy was like before worse? Because, as depressing as it sounded, if she hadn’t been as happy, would she have been as upset?

She would never know, she couldn’t go back in time since that was impossible, but the thought always came and went whenever she was alone with her thoughts.

So… Maybe it was for the best, that she was able to remember what real happiness felt like.

The tight feeling in your chest, butterflies in your stomach, face being so red anyone would worry if the bluenette had caught a cold instead-

Wait- this was an oddly specific kind of happiness she felt, surely she must’ve gotten mixed up with some other felling right?

Right!?

So, how come she was feeling this- incredibly bright heat from her cheeks when she felt a hand on her shoulder?

We may need to go back several years.

***

In a classroom in Collège Françoise Dupont, a young pigtailed girl sat at the back, tears silently falling onto her knees and bawled up fists. She didn’t see any use of wiping them away, since they would just come back anyway, and it would be useless to just repeat that endless cycle. She hadn’t looked around to see anyone else’s faces, they would either just ignore her, or taunt her for just crying, for just being human.

Now you may be wondering why she was so upset? What possibly could’ve happened to make our very cheerful and sunshiny girl become so hunched over she was practically crying her eyes out? Well, the answer lies on the one girl at the front. The one girl sitting in an all too familiar place. The one girl who just ruined all of her newfound friendships.

Lila Rossi.

And boy had she hated that name.

She couldn’t stand that smirk, that thief, that scandal!

And what exactly did she do?

.

She lied.

Now you may be thinking that may not have been all that bad, but it was.

Every time she opened her mouth, everyone would fawn around her, even Alix, the one who seriously couldn’t care about anything to do with glamourous celebrities, was hanging on the edge of her seat to hear one of Lila’s so-called stories. She just had to guess Lila held up a treat over her head to keep her being obedient enough.

She hated Lila so much because she was just using everyone to get an easy life at school, the fastest way towards popularity she guessed, but why she thought this was the fastest way was beyond her.

She hated Lila because she had spread so many lies, so many rumours, all about her. All so out of the realm it was such a surprise they all believed her without a shred of evidence.

It had happened so fast, one day, they were all friends, smiling and laughing like there was no tomorrow, the next, she was surrounded by those faces, those faces of disgust and hatred. As if she had committed even the worst of crimes, more so than Chloé, speaking of, who was absolutely enjoying this show.

But undoubtedly. What she hated about Lila the most.

.

Was that technically, she didn’t have to do that much.

After so many sessions of crying, and just not believing that they could possibly leave her, a friend, like that, she started to reason with herself, that maybe it wasn’t just Lila that pushed them all away.

She thought back to before.

Before they were friends, before Alya even came to Collège, she had been alone. Chloé had always gone out of her way to relentlessly bully her, and no one wanted to be friends with her with Chloé around. So she accepted it, just hoping one day, karma would seek justice and she’d be put in her place.

So she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And-

Gave up.

She accepted defeat after all the years. After the meaningless conversations with teachers that she should try and be the bigger person and rise above all of her hatred for her. Simply because they couldn’t do anything. They had no power over the mayor's Daughter. So they just let her continue her reign over the school.

She didn’t have any powers to stop her.

.

But then, a light of hope came.

The new girl, with ombre brown and red hair, glasses and hazel eyes. A striped t-shirt and an undeniable Aura that reeked of confidence.

As Marinette was being targeted by Chloé yet again, she came in, and for once, stood up to her. Chloé! No fear in her eyes as she, Alya, grabbed her, Marinette’s, hand and walked off to the desk at the front.

She couldn’t believe it, someone stood up to Chloé! She thought it had only been a myth, a legend, but that right there, it was real.

They became friends faster than the speed of sound.

And soon, she too was able to stand up for herself. Reclaiming her original seat back, and citing a quote her new friend had said… Then everyone had wanted to become friends… And, she felt ecstatic.

Finally. It finally came. The day she had prayed for had come. She felt nothing but pure joy.

And she didn’t want that feeling to go away.

She was terrified that the feeling would go away.

So, she thought of making sure that feeling wouldn’t go away.

That’s why she made so many ‘spare’ macaroons to give away, she didn’t spend her free nights staying up and making them, no way.

That’s why she provided so many free gifts to her friends. What? Her hand has a plaster, no she just tripped and hit herself, it had nothing to do with the gifts. Don’t worry, try your gloves on, do they fit?

That’s why she was late for class. Huh, no I’m fine, I’m not tired… But I might just rest my eyes for a bit, wake me up when something important happens.

That’s why she was so happy to realise Adrien wasn’t as bad as Chloé, the small gentle soul that he had, to graciously provide her with his own umbrella, how selfless.

And that’s why she held onto the idea of Adrien so much. The idea that he was perfect. The idea that she was in love with him.

So, she held onto it.

No, she clung to that idea because she didn’t want any chance to let go. So, she may have gone a bit overboard, with the whole, schedule thing, and the phone… And the schemes. But she believed it was harmless. No one else seemed to have any problems with it, so she believed she was in the clear.

Until she wasn’t.

And Lila used that to her advantage.

She remembered that day so vividly, just like all those other memories. The day she came. The day she would find herself in the same predicament from before, it hadn’t been that long since she had been friends with everyone in fact. She was still getting used to it, and her feelings grew as each day passed by.

She remembered when Lila introduced herself to the whole class, and at first glance, anyone would just think she was an innocent little girl. But behind that smile, behind those eyes, held a sinister intention.

She, in less than an hour, had everyone wrapped around her little finger.

Even her.

She’d been on a private jet?

Had a song written about her?

And saved Jagged Stone’s cat?

There was no way Adrien would fall for her now.

…So maybe she had been jealous of that girl before she had done anything. But she had every reason to. She, Lila, was pressed against Adrien who was happily talking to her. The love of her life! She had to do something, even if Alya had given her a disappointed look she just had to stop them from confessing their love to each other, it was inevitable now, so she followed after them to the park. If they even got too close, she was sure she could just conveniently interrupt, she just had to wait for the perfect moment, she only had a couple of hours before they would fall in love, get married, have three kids and a hamster named-

“Wow Adrien, you’re so nice to me. Y’know I really thought moving here would be just like all the other times. But you’ve really made me enjoy my first day Adrien.” She smiled so sickly sweet Marinette wanted to hurl, how dare she just hold onto his arm like that, so affectionately!

“Its no problem Lila, that’s what friends are for.” She smiled, hugging him so fast they almost lost their balance from sitting on the bench, before seemingly giving him a quick peck on his cheek, only for Adrien to turn his head towards her.

And they kissed.

However, it wasn’t a simple quick kiss, by all means, Adrien should’ve realised his mistake and pulled away.

But he didn’t, what felt like forever lasted a minute. One minute to realise that it should’ve been an accident. But they stayed like that.

It- it was over, wasn’t it? This wasn’t her being melodramatic, she just knew how it would turn out. They were going to fall in love so soon, she wouldn’t have a chance.

If only she had seen the look Lila gave, spotting her retreated form from behind a small trash can, the smirk would’ve given her shivers.

***

Getting back to Collège had taken longer than expected. Maybe it was the small amount of dread knowing she may have lost her love for good. Sure, there might have been Kagami as well, she had tried to sabotage her chances with Adrien too, but it always worked out in the end, Adrien always smiling as Kagami’s cheeks burned with redness. But to say they were friends afterwards.

Marinette would cringe at the fact she always felt so relieved afterwards reflecting years later at her choices. But she had always believed she would still have a chance.

Until today.

Lila came, and took him away, within hours.

And she couldn’t stop it.

Walking along the stairs to her class she had to keep her head held high, if she showed weakness, that would mean she was sad, she wasn’t sad, she couldn’t be sad. She still had all of her friends after all.

Maybe now, they could do more activities, after crying and eating a ton of ice cream of course with cheesy movies to brighten her mood up.

But, this would only be the beginning of that negative feeling.

Opening the door, she would be fully aware of something terribly wrong. At the front of the classroom, a crowd had formed, and a crowd that would soon become a routine in this classroom.

But a crowd formed around a girl, the new girl, Lila. She had seemed to be covering her eyes, water dripping down her eyes, no wait they were tears. What had happened?

She didn’t realise she had spoken those few words before heads turned around, looking- no glaring at her, why were they-? What had she done?

“Marinette I knew you could be a tad jealous but to actually do something like that” Huh? Oh no, Lila must’ve noticed she followed them, how embarrassing, and definitely not the best first impression she could’ve made.

Before she could apologise, before she could explain she really didn’t mean any harm. She didn’t have time to.

“To threaten her to never talk to Adrien again because she likes him. Well, I never thought you’d put your jealousy out like this.”

What!?-

No- she didn’t- she, just saw them kiss.

She didn’t even speak with her.

Why would she say this?

Why didn’t she say anything?

Why wasn’t she defending herself?

Why was she letting them believe that so easily?

Why

Why

Why.

.

Why was it so hard to breathe?

Running out of the classroom was easier than looking at all of those faces. Those accusatory faces. She hated it, she couldn’t do- defend- explain.

She- just-

She-

She-

She-

She was in a room?

The bathroom.

It didn’t matter why, as long as she was alone, she could cry to her heart's content.

The fear seeped over her just like that first time, knowing Chloé had won and would never stop, she had lost and lost everything.

Everything she had worked so hard to obtain.

Everything she had worked so hard to keep.

To make sure she didn’t have to let go.

And now it had gone.

Because it was then Marinette realised. That girl, those tears hadn’t been real, there she saw her eyes hadn’t been red or puffy, the tears’ dried up rather quickly, and the inconsistent wails made it very likely she was only doing them for effect and sympathy.

That girl. Was lying!

That must’ve been it.

No way could she be telling the truth. And no way could ‘I saw her around me and Adrien’ be translated to ‘she threatened me, I’m so scared of her’

Maybe, maybe with that, there was hope.

If she could just simply convince her friends that she was lying, then everything would be all sorted.

And maybe she and Adrien-

Wait, she was getting a little ahead of herself there.

Wiping her tears away she proudly opened the door, ready to face her fears.

Too bad her fears were much much stronger.

No matter how many times she would try to prove her innocence, it became worse.

When she tried going to the teachers, they bat an eye with her responses. Obviously not taking her seriously, and just believing it to be some teenage drama, she was pushed out of the classroom and told to try and just be nicer and make friends with her.

That was harsh but expected.

She tried talking with Alya, she turned away from her. Not wanting to hear anything come out of a crazy stalkers mouth.

That had hurt.

She tried talking with any of her other friends, y’know, the ones who ‘always’ had her back.

They too turned from her. Believing Lila without a doubt, I mean, they knew how jealous Marinette could get, it wasn’t that much of a stretch to think she would jump to that, considering the situation.

That felt like a punch to her gut.

She tried talking with Adrien, even if she did stutter and always lose her words around him. But this was more important, than a silly crush.

.

She wasn’t used to saying that.

But, the way he looked at her, it felt like- pity.

He told her he already knew.

He already knew? Wait- then why didn’t he say anything?

Because, as the naïve little boy stood so tall and ‘innocent’ he simply wanted to help her through his own way.

“She was only lying for attention,” He said.

“Once she finally makes some real friends, she’ll stop,” He said!

“In the meantime, you should really drop this, it would be just awful if you were to hurt Lila again. After all, she hasn’t hurt anyone, she doesn’t mean any harm”

.

.

She stood in shock.

This was the boy she had fell for?

This spineless- foolish- Son of a-

“So please Marinette, don’t cause too many problems for her, you shouldn’t be so harsh on her. If you really value our friendship, you’ll do it.” He smiled before walking off, leaving her to her thoughts.

That felt like someone had walked over to her, ripped out her heart and squashed it in the palm of her hands, all while grinning.

Why, why wasn’t she able to see before? Did her heart want to deceive her by falsifying all of his qualities? Was she just blind to bear witness to him not being as perfect as she made him out to be? Was it because she just couldn’t entertain the thought of letting go?

She didn’t know, she just hated this negative feeling. It felt so familiar. She wanted it to go away.

Unfortunately, that feeling would only grow for months.

And it was about to be worse.

“Huh? Marinette? Why are you crying? If this is about what happened this morning, don’t worry, I’ll forgive you” She was crying? Huh, when did that happen?

Whatever, more importantly.

“W-What, no you don’t have to forgive me because I did nothing wrong” Lila’s worried expression faltered for a bit before she grew ‘scared’

“H-Hey, I didn’t realise you felt like that. Oh, you poor thing” Her eyebrow snapped, she seriously didn’t like being called a thing.

“Save it, I can’t prove it but I know you’re just lying to everyone here. And you need to stop, you’re going to hurt everyone when they find out. You need to confess” Her face faltered again, but it never recovered, her once innocent eyes hardened as she smirked, a look that seemed almost natural, as if she had perfected it by looking into a mirror countless times.

“Oh, so you’ve finally figured it out? Figures, I was told you were the smartest one, and it seems like I wasn’t wrong”

“What?” Lila sighed, maybe she had put too much faith in her being the smartest.

“Ugh, you’re so young Marinette. I haven’t told the truth all my life, why the hell should I start now?” Marinette was stunned, why, why was she telling her this?

“Honestly, and I thought Adrien was naïve. Look, I’m not here to play games, I have this whole routine wrapped up. So just sit back, stay out of my way and I might consider making another lie that would benefit you.” It was an offer any reasonable person wouldn’t refuse.

Unfortunately for her, she didn’t want a reasonable offer.

Marinette stared, she was- she was fully aware of what she was doing?

“B-But you’re going to end up hurting everyone, you need to stop, please!” She begged.

Lila frowned.

She was just like all the rest.

“I don’t care”

Huh?

“I said I don’t care, seriously don’t you get it yet? I’m here to win by all means necessary. You were in the way so I took you out. They are just little trophies to remind you of my victory. You had your chance”

She stood still, this situation felt so familiar, but she had to stay strong, she couldn’t give up now. If reasoning with her won’t work, then maybe understanding might, and she could work with that.

“Why are you doing this, do you really not care about when you get caught? About how everyone will feel when they know you promised nothing in the end?” She hoped she would see some sense. They were good people, they shouldn’t be manipulated into this, she was sure they would’ve been friends regardless of what she had promised.

“It’s because I can”

.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean, dear sweet Marinette, is that because I am able to, I can. I’ve had years of practice with this, and the result always has me at the top, all that oppose me either stay at the bottom or beg for mercy from moi. It's always a delight to see their hope diminish. To realise they would do anything but to be alone.”

Alone- that word, that word stuck with her so much.

She didn’t want that- but she didn’t want her friends to be tricked either.

“Besides, you made it so easy for me, in reality. You only have yourself to blame”

“What- I didn’t even-” A finger was wagged in front of her face.

“Ah ah ah. You really should know better than that. A calendar full of Adrien’s schedule? A box full of presents for Adrien? Sabotaging dates? You’d think I’d have made it all up, it only made the end result so much greater. Seriously Marinette, I don’t even know if I’m the bad guy here, what you’ve done really isn’t appropriate behaviour. But I do know of a great therapist, they helped me through such a hard time” Lila continued to talk as Marinette zoned out. She was the bad guy? No- no that couldn’t be, that was just a harmless crush, that was just what normal teenaged girls did.

But- if it was. Then why didn’t anyone tell her it was wrong, she didn’t mean for it to be wrong. She just didn’t want them to leave, she just didn’t want to be abandoned again.

Why didn’t they say? Why didn’t she realise?

Why did she know?

Lila must’ve seen the shock as she giggled, not at all innocent.

“It was so easy manipulating all of them into telling me about this ‘crush’, once they realised just how crazy it actually was, they had no problem seeing you for the crazy stalker you are.” Lila flicked her hair up away, only for it to come back, but it didn’t matter, she made her point.

Not having the energy to look up, she would’ve noticed Lila had left her behind, laughing too, because no one had been there to overhear their absolutely private conversation. Her overall plan would not be undiscovered today, tomorrow, or the next. It wouldn’t be discovered ever.

Because she was in control.

Marinette, wasn’t in control.

Just like before, that hollow feeling from before, it was back.

And so much worse.

.

She hated Lila, because she made her realise, she was right. All along. And she just had to accept it.

And gave up trying.

She reverted back to how she was at the beginning of the year.

The quiet girl that no one paid attention to, alone, in the back, with nothing but her sketchbook.

Gone were the childish pigtails, it was for the better, no one said anything about then anymore.

Because she realised.

She wasn’t a child anymore.

She couldn’t be, not after this.

***

Hey, so I guess this was more like another prologue, so I’ll have to apologise if it seems just like the other one, but the premise is still the same so yeah.

And I think I might like the idea of a non-Miraculous world; it seems interesting since I feel like Marinette wouldn’t have as much of a confidence boost since she wouldn’t be Ladybug, please tell me that would make sense.

I think it’s interesting for how much would change and stay the same, and my OC will be making an entrance next time, however, here they are all like 13-14. The next chapter will have a time skip of 3 years, oh and Lila came in late, like around Season 3 late ok? So they already know about Kagami and Luka.

Also if you’re confused about anything feel free to ask any questions.

Cya next time.

Note: Please tell me if I should add anything else to the card, there will be one of these cards for all 15 chapters, however, because I have uni work all updates will be slower because I really need to focus on the uni stuff, then I might be able to upload quicker.

[ookami-tsun]

Foolish

Ajax x reader

Hi hi~ I am Tsun and I am going to say that this story is possibly horrible, my lack of confidence appeared again~ I feel like this story kinda ooc, what do you think?

"A-achoo!"

I stopped for a moment to sneeze as I couldn't handle the cold well. I can't believe that I managed to come all the way here to Dragonspine to enjoy the scenery.

I am a photographer and despite being one, I have never been out of Liyue frequent enough to enjoy the view outside before.

My compositions are getting worse each second I stay inside, it is time that I come out and learn of the outside world!

I have covered quite a big amount of space while avoiding those dangers here, I can't believe that it is not like what everyone said, it is super safe... Just not from the cold. What dangers could this place contain?

There are no sign of living...

...Just that the path I walk looks like a fresh battlefield, and it reminds me of him.

I once saw him fighting energetically while I attempted to sneak out and away from the bodyguards that my father hired for me. The chaos that he brought made my heart beat, what a beautiful scene...

"I am so glad that I came here, maybe I should sneak out to here more often!" I exclaimed as I walked pass the area into an area with big blueish tree in the center

Frostbearing tree

"What a beautiful scene this is! I should take more images, I can feel inspirations filling up inside me!"

Without knowing the dangers the more I travelled deeper into the dragonspine, I rush towards the tree with the kamera...

Filtering out all the sounds that entered my ears, I got absorbed into my hobby.

...Without knowing that soon, I will regret my action.

A huge shadow covered my sight causing me to lose my focus.

"Who the heck is trying to ruin my focus..! Ugh...!!" I turned around as I cursed, wanting to show that person my temper and wrath for ruining everything, but I instantly realized after finding out who was behind me that I might actually be the one that is going to bear their wrath for ruining the piece and quiet in this ever snowing place.

Without waiting, I ran. I shall go to wherever my legs bring me to, just let me leave this huge white hilichurl away!

...

"I am sorry...!" I screamed as I try to get my ass away, I have been running for a long time, more than I have ever tried in my life just to run into another one of them noticing me and started to target me

Why did I think that this place is super safe for a moment?!

I squat down at the realization that I will not be able to escape, maybe I should have prepared my coffin and will (I have no possession that I can pass on though...) before heading out to such place alone...!

My legs that have never let me down before actually let me down at this timing, nothing else I can do to raise them any further... I should have been serious when my parents told me to exercise..!

"I will be a good person and stay out of your sight, please let me off..!"

However, no matter how much I begged, those two monsters will never understand and I can only close my eyes and wait for all this pain and horror to start.

At this moment, I suddenly heard someone running before painful groans sounded from both sides.

"Little girl, don't open your eyes till I tell you to" a super energetic and trilled voice sounded out and it gave me a sense of safety as I guessed what happened

It is alright that I did not prepare coffin and will... I might not be dying today. I am glad that I am very lucky to encounter kind soul that will help me out of this predicament

"Ok..." the comforting voice ran out again as I heard his footstep approaching me "It is safe right now, please open your eyes."

Opening my eyes, I saw a handsome guy who have short, choppy orange hair and dull blue eyes. They seem to pull me deep into them before I snapped out of that embarrassing state of daze.

I never thought I would encounter that beautiful set of eyes outside of Liyue!

"Nice to meet you, I hope you are not scared by those... Well, why are you doing somewhere so dangerous when you do not own any vision?"

I glanced away while thinking of excuse while thinking of how to escape this question

"L-look at the weather, isn't the sun beautiful?!" I said as I took some photos with my slightly damaged Kamera which suffered when I was running crazily.

"Hahaha! You are amusing!" He smiled in amusement as he pulled me up to stand. "My name is Childe, it is a pleasure to meet you, young lady, may I ask for your name? If you are free, can I travel with you?"

I feel like he will disrupt my trip despite how nice he will be if I can take a picture of him... I better get rid of him, but the safety if I have him around...!

"I am Y/N, and nope, I am busy and I will be going now... Thank you very much for helping"

While refusing to be accompanied, I handed some berries to him as a thanks while walking off, it is the best my socially awkward self can handle!

"Wait, young lady.. You are not going to explore this place by yourself right?"

I froze as he hit the mark and that started the whole you chase me while I try to run

"Wait for me, I shall accompany you!"

"I am fine...!"

As he chased me around, I somehow got out of Dragonspine and was found by my father who was surrounded by the bodyguards and was pulled by the ear as I was reprimanded by him.

Feeling upset, I tried to look for the culprit who cause me to leave the place early and made to be grounded without having the chance to take more pictures.

But I turned around and saw no one around..

...

I got home and have an earful of scolding before getting told that guy was asked to help and find me as I disappeared in a way that was different from before, proving that it is might be worse than any other normal disappearance moments of mine.

He...! I will not let him off this easily the next time I see him..! He let me get chased for so long before saving me...!

[erinxneil]

3. Please hold my hand.

I didn’t forget about prompt #2! I just had an idea for #3 and I’m doing these prompts in whichever order I feel like. If you have any requests for the next prompt, as you want to see it sooner than later, simply message me! The prompt list is here and I am more than willing to write it! :)

this is going to be a long one, so I hope you enjoy, I spent a long time on it <3

masterlist

Pairing: Spencer Reid X Reader

TW: Graphic depictions of crime

Summary: Spencer gives up hope for himself way too easily.

>>>These will all probably be Spencer Reid X Reader unless someone requests something different :) Also, this one I will leave up for interpretation- if you want to view it as romantic, it can be, or if you want to view this as platonic, it can be!

“So, we know that our unsub tends to kill quickly. He uses a long dagger, and slits the victims throats from just below the jaw and drags it all around. The victims die almost instantly.” Hotch spoke.

“Well, then I guess we can rule out sexual sadist. There’s no sexual component to the crimes, and the kill is quick.” I replied, examining the photos on the board in front of us.

“Yes, but also the autopsy report from the past three victims shows that they were missing for eight hours before they were killed, so we don’t know what he’s doing to them during that time.” Spencer rebuked my claim. Of course, the genius has something to say.

“While that may be true, there are no obvious wounds on the victim other than the slit throat. While one of the three victims also had a stab wound in her side, this was likely just to slow down the victim, as there was skin beneath her fingernails. She probably tried to escape. But none of the other victims have any other wounds, so while he held them for 8 hours, he didn’t touch them.”

Spencer chuckled. “Yes, Y/N, but I think we can both agree you don’t need to physically touch someone in order to torture them.” I nodded. That’s very true.

Morgan coughed. “Well, now that we’ve discussed the possibility that our suspect is a sexual sadist and have been unable to agree on a concise point..” He trailed off. “What’s next? Why does he target females in their forties?”

Emily glanced up. “He probably had some sort of rejection from a female in his life, who fit the description that his victims have in common. Tall, white, brunette. Maybe a girl he liked, or his girlfriend, or even his mother. Either way, some sort of traumatic life event caused him to strike out like this.”

Hotch intervened. “We can discuss this more on the jet. Grab your go-bags, wheels up in 30. We’ve been asked to come to California, where these crimes are occurring.” He left the room without another word.

“Well, this should be an interesting case.”

-*-*-*-*-*-

I took my usual seat on the jet between Prentiss and Reid. Morgan sat across from me with Hotch and Rossi on either side of him, and JJ generally sat to the side alone, since she liked to catch up on her sleep the moment we were able to.

After debriefing for a while, the team had come to the conclusion that the killer was likely a male between the ages 20 to 30 who had felt rejected by his mother at a young age. She likely kicked him out of the house, where he found solace in some hobby that would hopefully be identifiable at the scene. Due to the precision of the cuts, the unsub likely has knowledge in the medical field, and may even work in a hospital. This would be the first place we would check when we landed.

“Good work, team. Try to get some rest in before we land.” Hotch stood and moved to the front of the jet, where he probably wouldn’t take his own advice.

I squirmed in my seat, trying to get into a comfortable position. Everyone around me had already fallen asleep. Or so I thought.

“Having trouble, Y/L/N?” I sheepishly glanced up at the voice, coming from none other than Spencer Reid.

I sighed. “I can’t get comfortable. I’m exhausted and got no sleep last night, yet I can’t seem to fall asleep.” Spencer offered me a small smile and patted on his shoulder, nodding down at it.

I blinked. “Are you sure? I really don’t want to be a both-” “I really don’t mind, Y/N.” I smiled in thanks and rested my head on his shoulder. “Thanks, Reid.” I murmured, already sleepy. He was so warm.. and smelled like strong cologne.

I fell asleep quicker than I’d like to admit.

-*-*-*-*-*-

“This is gold.”

I woke to the sound of giggling and photo shutters. Still dreary, I groaned quietly and attempted to burrow myself deeper into my pillow.

However the pillow felt a lot more solid than usual.

I slowly opened one eye to see Emily, JJ, and Morgan peering over me. Morgan held his phone, taking countless photos, while Emily chuckled quietly and JJ rolled her eyes in amusement.

“What’s going on? Did we land?” I rubbed my eyes tiredly before looking beside me and realizing I was practically straddling Reid. I jumped in surprise, scrambling off of him, which caused him to wake and the others to laugh. 

“Morning sleepyhead, sleep well?” Morgan teased.

“Actually, I did. Did we land?” His groggy voice took me by surprise. I felt my cheeks tinge, knowing the rest of the team had caught me basically cuddling into him as we slept. Screw Reid’s chest for being so comfortable! I usually sleep with a body-sized pillow, and in my sleep, I must have mistaken Spencer for it.

“Yes, lovebirds, we landed.” Emily laughed at us, walking off the jet, JJ following shortly behind.

Reid shot me a look of confusion. “Lovebirds?” He looked to the side, trying to recall his memory, before his eyebrows likely shot up in realization. “Right, uh, well... I’m just going to go meet the others.”

Spencer walked away, scratching behind his neck in embarrassment. Morgan sent me an amused look. “Got anything you wanna admit, Y/N?” He shoved his phone in my face, showing me the photo of me sprawled across Spencer. I had one leg stretched across him, my head on his shoulder, and a hand on his chest. Meanwhile, Reid was resting his own head on mine, while his free hand was wrapped around my waist. If I had seen this photo of anyone else, I would have immediately assumed that they were a couple. Even looking at the photo, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t adorable. But this was Spencer and I. That would never happen.

I rolled my eyes. “So childish. There’s nothing going on between us.” I shoved him playfully before joining the rest of the team outside the plane.

Hotch stared down Morgan and I as we left the jet. “Alright, is everyone all set? No more groping before we leave?” His face was deadpan however there was a hint of humor to his eyes. My jaw dropped, trying to hide a smile. JJ, Emily, and Morgan burst out laughing, while Reid covered his face with his hands to cover his red face. We walked toward the car that was waiting for us, Morgan highfiving Hotch as he passed him.

“Not cool, Hotch..” Reid grumbled.

-*-*-*-*-*-

When we arrived at the crime scene, all traces of humor were lost. The jokes had been forgotten, as we strode up to the police tape and began analyzing the scene.

Hotch turned toward us. “Alright. Y/N, Emily, Reid, and I will analyze the scene, while Morgan, Rossi, and JJ will go to speak with hospitals around the area. Anything you can find will help.” We all nodded and set off to begin our tasks.

Emily looked at the photos as she examined the scene, to ensure that nothing had been moved. Emily, Reid, and I headed toward the bedroom, where the crime had been committed. I fell behind slightly, pulling Spencer back with me to talk as we walked.

“Hey, about earlier, I’m sorry. I guess I get kinda handsy when I sleep.” I chuckled. Spencer grinned. “It’s fine, Y/N, in case you hadn’t noticed, you weren’t exactly alone.” We laughed and nodded. There were no hard feelings, and we both were content. It was time to focus entirely on the case.

“Hey, I found something!”

Reid and I quickly moved into the room. Emily was on the floor, below the victim’s desk.

“...Um, Em? What are you doing?” I stepped closer to her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Emily took a photo with her phone, before crawling out and showing us the picture. Beneath the desk, there were strips of paper, seemingly cut out of a book, glued to the underside. We read the quotes, trying to decipher them.

The first quote read. “Your worm is your only emperor for diet. We fat all creatures else to feed us, and we fat ourselves for maggots.“ “This is from Hamlet.” Emily and I gazed at Reid expectantly. “This quote is known to reference the morbid obsession with death that Hamlet holds. These quotes weren’t chosen randomly. I’d assume that not only has our unsub read Hamlet several times, he’s also analyzed every line in order to fully comprehend what each segment means. He’s basically saying that death is inevitable, as we all will succumb to it eventually. Our unsub is confident, and is flaunting the control he has in causing the deaths of his victims.”

“That explains the single slice to kill them.” Emily comments. I nodded. “True. The unsub seems to have some sort of obsession with control, as if he prides himself in it.”

We moved on to the next quote, that read, “You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving.” Emily and I looked over at Spencer. He paused for a moment before nodding. “When Breath Becomes Air. Dr. Paul Kalanithi wrote this. It’s the autobiography of a neurosurgeon.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “He reads books related to medicine, as well? He must be very dedicated to his job.” Spencer skimmed through the rest of the quotes. “Or self-taught...” He trailed off. “The rest of these quotes are also from medical books. Either we were scarily on point with out assumption of his job, due to how much he studies them in his spare time.. or the profile is wrong. He may not even be a doctor at all.”

We all looked at each other.

“The only other quote that doesn’t belong to some sort of book about medicine is the quote “It was extraordinary, now, how clear her mind became all of a sudden.” Lamb to the Slaughter. “All of these quotes are somehow related to him and to murder. He wanted us to find these.”  Spencer announced.

Emily sighed. “Isn’t this a bit too much effort for a serial killer focused on revenge?” “Not if he was psychotic already. Perhaps that’s the reasoning behind his mother kicking him out when he was younger? He might have shown some sort of signs of psychopathy and due to the differing times, there was more of a stigma around mental issues. She likely made him feel as if he was alone.”

I paused, looking at Emily’s phone when something caught my eye. They both glanced at me. “Y/N?”

Grabbing a tissue, I crawled on the ground and looked around, spotting what I had seen in the photo. I picked it up with the tissue, and showing it to Reid and Prentiss. Peeking slightly from beneath the desk, as if it had slipped from the unsubs grasp, was a small slip of paper, tallied with 18 marks. The pen color changed throughout the paper.

They furrowed their brows and looked up at me. I sighed.

“There’s more victims than we are aware of.”

-*-*-*-*-*-

After informing Hotch what information we gathered from the victims bedroom, he called JJ, expecting that they wouldn’t have found anymore information.

However, surprisingly, they had.

Within the past 8 months, there had been atleast ten victims who came in with similar wounds as our victims, however the cuts weren’t as clean. There were mistakes, such as jagged marks, or the slice wasn’t deep enough, or there were several slices around the body rather than one slit in the throat. They had never tied the murders to our current investigation because of the differences in attacks.

“He was practicing...” Reid realized. “Y/N was right. There’s more victims than we initially realized.”

Hotch dialed Garcia.

 “Your brilliant and beautiful is speaking, how may I be of assistance?” “Garcia, I need you to look for any cases of stabbings in the past 12 months in our area, primarily attacks that are focused near the throat.”

“Your wish is my command, my gorgeous friend.” The sound of typing ensued. “Alright, in the past 12 months, the furthest attack was 9 months ago, and there are 26 documented attacks, 22 of which are focused around the neck.” Hotch spoke, “Alright, now can you narrow that list down to brunette females between the ages of 35 and 45, above the height of 5′6″.” “13 results.” The team shared a look and nodded. 

“That sounds about right, as we can’t assume that all of his attacks went reported. Before he became serial, he probably began covering his tracks.”

I thought for a moment. “If our unsub is attacking victims that resemble his mother, wouldn’t it be likely if his mother was one of his victims?”

Reid glanced at me and nodded in agreement. “It’s common that serial killers who kill for revenge often kill people who resemble their actual target, however over time the high dies down as they know they aren’t killing who they actually wanted to kill. Our killer probably killed a few victims before killing his mother herself. After killing so many people, he’d gotten a taste for it and became unable to stop.”

Hotch spoke again to Garcia. “Garcia, can you look for how many of those victims have children in their 20s or 30s?” “Of course I can... There are 4.”

-*-*-*-*-*-

Hotch gathered the information from Garcia regarding where their families lived, and we decided that we would split up and speak with them in the morning. In the meantime, we would spend the night in a hotel. We all got separate rooms, and we were told to rest well, as tommorow would take a lot of strength.

I got to my room and took a shower, taking my time and enjoying the feeling of the burning water on my back. Today had been a long day, but the trip over was the best I slept in ages, so I couldn’t really complain.

After showering and getting into pajamas, I slid under my covers, although unsurprisingly, I was unable to sleep. I settled for scrolling on my phone in bed, hoping that sleep would eventually take over me. While looking at Rossi’s Instagram photos from a party he went to last weekend, I heard faint shouting from down the hall. I checked the time to see it was nearly 1 in the morning.

Confused and worried, I grabbed my robe, and my gun, and walked over to the door. I opened it, to find none other than Spencer Reid, fist hovering over the door as if about to knock.

He jumped back in surprise at my appearance at the door. “Uh!- Y/N! You’re awake!” I raised an eyebrow at him and took in his appearance. He wore a friendly smile, however the creases in his brow and the bags under his eyes were impossible to not notice.

“Spencer? What are you doing here?” He looked down at the ground. “I uh.. I couldn’t sleep.” I tilted my head to the side in confusion and he continued. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come over, it’s just that I know you’re always up late and you have trouble sleeping yourself sometimes and I-” I cut him off. “Spencer, did you want to come in?” He smiled softly and walked in as I stepped aside.

“Thanks. Sorry again.” “There’s no need to apologize, Spencer. Are you okay?” He grinned tightly. “Of course. I’m just exhausted, yet can’t sleep and I didn’t really want to be alone. I can just crash on the couch.” 

I scoffed. “Spencer, don’t be ridiculous. You can take the bed.” He shook his head. “No, Y/N, it’s yours, I can’t ask you to sleep on the couch in your own room.” I thought for a moment. “Would you be okay if we slept in the bed together? Obviously nothing would happen, but we both can’t sleep and I think we’ve realized that we sleep better near eachother.” 

Spencer’s cheeks tinged at the mention of this morning. “Y-Yeah, that’s okay with me.” I smiled and sat beside him in the bed.

He looked over at me, tilting his head in surprise. “Y/N, do you sleep with your makeup on?”

I laughed softly. “What are you talking about, Reid?” He ran a hand through his hair, unsure how to proceed. A smile spread across my face as I realized what he was implying. “Spencer, I’m not wearing makeup.”

Reid’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Oh!- Uh, sorry then. I just... thought you were.” I grinned before sliding down, staring at the ceiling above us.

“Spencer, how long have you had night terrors?”

He froze for a moment, before shifting uncomfortably. “What happened to not profiling our coworkers?” I turned to face him. “If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine. I’m just worried about you.” He sighed before turning to face me as well. 

“I’ve always had them, they just got a lot worse once joining the BAU. And it seems like the more cases we do, the worse they get.” I nodded. “Have you ever seen someone about it?” “Once, but I had to stop because I criticized their techniques since I knew more about what they were doing than they did.” 

Laughter bubbled in my throat. “Only you, Spence.” We laughed together for a bit before a comfortable silence settled between us. 

“Y/N?” “Yeah?” “Thank you.”

I smiled. “Of course, Spencer.” He hugged me, and we remained in the position, and I fell asleep to the scent of pine and cinnamon.

-*-*-*-*-*-

“Alright, the groups will be as follows- Emily and Y/N, Morgan and Reid, JJ and Rossi, and I will go alone. We will split up to interview these families. Keep in mind that they’ve just lost a loved one. If anyone happens to find anything, inform us and we will meet up. Do not engage with the unsub if you happen to find any information. Your reasoning will fall upon deaf ears. Understood?”

We nodded, and set off. I sipped my coffee, reminding me of the events of this morning. When I woke up, Spencer was gone. I assumed that he left so that things weren’t awkward again in the morning, until he returned. He had brought all of us coffee, and thanked me again for last night. I grinned at the coffee he gave me, as he remembered that I take it black. Beside the fact that he has an eidetic memory which helps him remember these things, it was still a sweet gesture.

After about an hour or so of speaking with the family, we realized there was no way that this was our unsub’s family. Their dynamic was too loving and there was no resentment that could be seen between any of the children. All of the children were also present, and none of them gave any noticeable reaction or indication that they were guilty when we discussed the murders.

As Emily and I headed back to the car, we received a call from Morgan. “Hey, girls. I think we’ve found our guy. The dude had one sibling who explained that his brother always had a tense relationship with his mother. His name is Chase Matthews. Garcia’s currently trying to locate him right now. His brother said he would be at work at this time, but he isn’t sure where he works because he isn’t necessarily involved in his life. Chase was also kicked out of their house when he was younger because his anger tended to scare their mother. If we can find where he works, then we can find him. “

I thought for a moment before a realization crossed my mind. “A butcher-shop.”

Emily looked at me. “What makes you say that?” “He’s done extensive research on the quickest way to kill someone, and has been using test subjects until he perfected his technique. If he isn’t a doctor himself, a butcher is the perfect job for practicing slaughter. He even tried to tell us with the quote from Lamb to the Slaughter.”

Morgan responded, “Good work, gorgeous. I’ll tell Garcia to look for butcher-shops in the area and I’ll text you and the others the address.”

When he hung up, I received a text moments later.

Only butcher shop in the town. Gotta be here.

We left to the address and arrived only moments after Reid and Morgan, as we were closest to the location. We met up with them, to see Morgan on the phone. 

“Are you serious? Ugh. Thanks Garcia.” He hung up before turning to us. “Garcia says that for this shop, Matthews’ shift ends in five minutes. We can’t risk him coming outside and seeing the cop cars when they arrive along with all of the agents standing outside of the building. We can’t wait for the others. We have to move now or we’ll lose him.”

Spencer interrupted, “But didn’t Hotch say-” “I know what Hotch said. But this is our only shot.” 

We nodded before heading inside. Emily showed her badge to the worker at the front. “We’re with the FBI. We’re looking for a Chase Matthews.”

Immediately, clashing sounded from the back, and a door slammed. We all rushed toward the noise and followed him out the door. 

“Chase Matthews!” Morgan screamed. “Stop right there!”

And stop he did. Behind the butcher-shop was a town park. Chase grabbed hold of a woman walking the path and held her against him, butcher-knife against her throat.

“Another step forward and she’s dead.”

We all stopped in our tracks, guns aimed toward him.

“Everyone get out of here!” Emily yelled out to the others in the park. They quickly abided, leaving the park in a panic.

“Don’t come any closer. I can kill her quicker than you can shoot me.” We froze because we knew he was right. He could kill her in just a matter of moments. Regardless, Spencer stepped foward.

“Reid what are you-” “I’ve got this.”

We watched in anticipation, worry across our features.

“Look, Chase, I know how you’re feeling.” The unsub scoffed. “No, I’m being serious. I know how it feels to feel betrayed. I understand how it feels to be rejected. Unwanted.” My heart sunk at his words.

He continued, slowly walking foward.”It doesn’t have to be like this. I know that you felt that killing your mother and anyone who reminded you of her was your only choice. But look at this girl. She looks nothing like your mother. This isn’t neccesary, and you know that. I don’t think that you want to hurt her.” Chase glanced down at the terrified woman and seemed to be considering his words.

“Just let the girl go, and we can talk about this.” Cautiously, the unsub let the girl go. Emily quickly pulled her away from the man and comforted her.

“Thank you. Now please, there’s no need for weapons. Discard your knife.”

Chase glared at Reid. “I’m not an idiot. All of you have guns.”

Spencer paused for a moment before placing his gun on the ground before him, and gesturing for us to do the same.

Morgan scoffed. “Reid, don’t be stupid.”

Spencer glanced at us. “Please. I know what I’m doing.”

“This is a bad idea, Spencer.” I scolded.

“Just trust me.” I frowned and placed my gun on the ground beside me, Emily following suit and Morgan, several glares later, also did.

“Thank you. Now please, give me the knife.

The unsub seemed hesitant but nodded, and held out his hand. Spencer slowly took steps forward. As I watched what was about to happen, the faint hint of a smile on Chase’s face mixed with the knife’s placement on his hand lead me to understand what was about to happen.

“Spencer, wait!-” But it was too late.

We watched in horror as the unsub gripped the knife in his hand before stabbing Reid just below the ribcage. He fell to the ground, blood pooling out from him, as the unsub sprinted in the opposite direction.

“Reid!” I screamed and rushed toward him. Morgan and Emily grabbed their guns and ran to him aswell. “Go, chase after him, I’ll stay with Spencer. What he needs from you right now is to catch him.” Morgan was terrified, but his anger took over and he sprinted after the man faster than I’d ever seen him run before. Emily followed shortly after.

I quickly dialed 911, and then took off my shirt and placed it over his wound, applying pressure in an attempt to stop the blood-flow. “Reid, you’re an idiot, but you’re going to be okay. Hold my hand.” I reached out the hand that wasn’t pressed against his abdomen for him to hold. 

He closed his eyes. “Don’t waste your time, Y/L/N. The man knows his anatomy. He’s probably pierced some sort of vital organ. If the bleeding out doesn’t kill me, that will.”

I shook my head, tears glistening in my eyes. “Shut up, Spencer, for once you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re going to be just fine. Just hold my hand.”

When Spencer mentioned that someone can be tortured without anyone physically touching them, this is exactly what that feels like.

Reid coughed. “Lets just face the reality, Y/N. It’s not going to happen.”

I shushed him, voice becoming higher with fear. “Reid, stop talking. Save your energy. You are going to be fine. Just, please, for the love of god, please hold my hand.”

Whether it be out of his own fear or pity for me, knowing it would make me feel better, Spencer finally let his hand fall in mine. I kept strong pressure, tears falling down my cheeks, until the paramedics arrived.

-*-*-*-*-*-

“You’re an idiot. If you weren’t in a hospital bed I’d be slapping you right now.”

Reid laughed weakly. “Jeez, it’s great to see you too, Y/N.”

Morgan rushed into the room at the sound of Spencer’s voice. “I can’t believe you! Do you understand how worried you made me? I didn’t think you were going to wake up!” The anger in Derek’s words were clear and Spencer cringed, knowing he had messed up. His expression softened. Morgan sighed. “I’m just glad you’re okay, kid. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

The team all rushed in and comforted Reid until the doctors came in and told us we all needed to clear out the room. Spencer played dead for a moment, which the doctor found humorous and allowed for one visitor in the room. After much deliberation, I was allowed to stay.

The team left and I was alone with Spencer and the doctors. I grabbed his hand and squeezed softly.

Reid chuckled, recalling the moments after he was stabbed. “You really just wanna hold my hand, huh, Y/L/N?”

I gasped and feigned offense, laughing with him. “I mean, come on, was it really that hard to just hold my frickin’ hand?”

The laughter died down and I sighed, taking in his appearance. “I feel like this is my fault.”

“Y/N, please. It’s nobody’s fault but myself. I’m the one who made you guys drop your weapons. I didn’t listen to Hotch saying we wouldn’t be able to reason with the unsub, and I paid for it.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, that was pretty stupid.”

Spencer turned his head to face me. “The doctors tell me you saved my life. The knife had just missed a vital organ, so I was wrong again, it really would have been the blood loss that killed me.”

“Wow, it must be my lucky day, proving Dr. Spencer Reid wrong twice in one day.” I laughed to which he smiled softly. “I’m serious, Y/N. Thank you.”

I smiled back at him. “Anything for you, Spence.”

-*-*-*-*-*-

God this took me so long to write. I hope you all enjoyed and as always if there’s a prompt you’d like me to do next let me know!

P.S. Out of curiosity I put this into a machine to count the words and there’s almost 5000 words in this. Just putting that out there ;p

[winter-soldier-vibes]

Am I wrong? (Steve rogers x depressed reader)

Am I wrong?

based loosely on he song “Self fulfilling prophecy” by Maria Mena

Steve Rogers x reader

Word count: 2116

Warnings: depression, mild starvation, crying, trust issues

Summary: You have trust issues and isolate yourself to protect yourself from getting hurt. But your neighbor, Steve, can’t help but notice that you cry most nights alone in your apartment. 

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

You had grown up in this town your entire life. And it has never been kind to you. The people you grew up with were jerks to you. Your parents never really understood you. They meant well, they really did. You knew that now. But growing up, you had no clue. Now that you had moved out, gotten a job, you thought things would be better. But no one really got who you were. They never even tried to. You felt trapped in a world where nobody gets you, and everyone hates you.

A few years ago Steve Rogers moved into your apartment building, 2 apartments down from yours. A few weeks later you realized he was Captain America. You didn’t think much of it. Why would anything you did be of any concern to him? Simple answer: it wasn’t.

It wasn’t until you ran into him while you were on your way out and he was on his way back in from a run that you introduced yourself. He was very kind, and for a second you thought maybe you could trust him. But that was idealistic thinking. What made him different from all the people who betrayed you in the past? All the liars and the cheaters...you made yourself a promise a long time ago that you’d never trust again.

After that day, you would continue to make friendly conversation with him in passing-by. You never exactly sought him out, but you always did like talking to him. He was the one person in your life who hadn’t tried to use you or hurt you in some way. It was a nice change.

Despite what you would say to Steve, you weren’t ever actually fine. Most of the thoughts that ran through your head were built upon self-hatred. Why, you didn’t know. You just knew it was eating you up, inside out. But you couldn’t say anything about it - nothing would help you.

A while ago, you weren’t sure how long it had been, You started losing your appetite. It started as a conscious effort to not eat as many pizzas as you had been, but it quickly became a competition with yourself to see how long you could go without eating. Nowadays, you just couldn’t be bothered. Food was in no way appetizing, and you saved a lot of money since you didn’t have to worry about going to the grocery store. 

You lost the weight you had initially desired, plus a lot more. You were dizzy, your hair was falling out, and your bones were jutting out of your frame. You couldn’t bring yourself to care though. You just didn’t have the motivation to do something about it. 

You knew you were depressed, you experienced most of the symptoms. You just didn’t have enough self-worth to bring yourself to a therapist. And even if you did, you still had trust issues with everyone. Plus - even if you did bring yourself to see someone, they’d probably just tell you you were fine. 

You spent most nights in your apartment listening to sad music, crying. You felt like nothing you did or said mattered. Hell, you didn’t matter. No one would notice if you disappeared. You kept everything you felt to yourself, nothing ever got further than your mind. Your mind liked to self destruct but they didn’t want anyone to know about it. You didn’t want this; you seemed to be someone who had a target on the back from the universe. You just needed it to stop. You didn’t want to die exactly, you just didn’t want to live anymore either.

But what you didn’t know was that sometimes when Steve would come home late at night, he would hear you. The music, the crying, everything. And he would walk past, and then turn around and walk back to your door. He’d stand there for a few minutes, trying to figure out if he should do something. The two of you weren’t super close, and he didn’t feel like it was his place. What he didn’t know was that you weren’t talking to anyone besides a quick “Hey” or “See ya,” every few days.

After a few consecutive days of the same thing though, his concern overpowered his will to respect your privacy, and he knocked on your door.

He heard a gasp and the crying quickly stopped. You were listening and could feel your face burning. Surely nobody actually cared enough to check on you. Still, you turned off the music and crossed your arms tightly, walking slowly towards the door. 

Steve knocked again and this time followed with “Y/n? It’s Steve. Listen, I, uh…” He took a deep breath before asking, “Look, I heard you crying. I just...are you okay?”

You stopped in front of the door, hand hovering over the handle. He couldn’t possibly care, could he? But wait this is Steve you were talking about. He gave you no reason to not trust him. He was Captain fucking America for crying out loud. Out of nowhere you blurted out, “Do you really care?”

Now, usually that kind of a phrasing would have been offensive to Steve. But something about the way you said it, you sounded...defeated. But also hopeful, like you were praying he said that he did. Shifting on his feet, he replied. “Of course I care. Please, y/n. Just let me in.”

And with that you opened the door. His expression quickly melted into worry when he saw the state you were in. Your hair was a mess, sticking to your face but also flying everywhere. You had tear tracks down your face, along with makeup that was 2 days old. You had been wearing the same tank top and loose sweatpants for a few days now as well. You were sure you looked like a train wreck, but once again, you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

Steve cleared his throat. “Can I - may I come in?” he asked softly, concern filling his voice. You stepped to the side, giving him your silent consent, before closing the door again. You crossed your arms and looked at your feet, willing yourself to stop crying. It wasn’t working too well. 

Steve was taking in your bony frame. You had lost a lot of weight in the past few weeks, and he was wondering how he didn’t notice. He scanned the room which was in a similar state than you were. Besides the kitchen, which remained spotless. You had no need to use it, so there was nothing to clean up. 

Turning his gaze back to you, he asked, “Can I ask what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

You shook your head, still unable to make eye contact with him. He sighed. “Look, I just wanna help you out here, but you have to help me a little too. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

You shook your head slightly, meeting his gaze with tears shining in your eyes. “I-I can’t -” you breathed out and let the tears fall, unable to stop them. You turned around and leaned against the door with one hand, bringing the other to your mouth to try and muffle the sobs that began to escape your mouth.

Steve came over to you and helped you over to your couch, where you proceeded to put your head in your hands and rest your elbows on your knees. You didn’t even know why you were crying, you just couldn’t stop. Steve didn’t know what to do, he wanted to comfort you but he also didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. You were neighbors but you didn’t know each other much beyond that. He just wanted to help because that’s who he is.

What he didn’t know was that inside your mind, you were fighting a war with yourself. You wanted to trust him so badly, to tell him everything, but you just felt like you couldn’t. Like you weren’t supposed to. You were afraid that he’d look the other way like countless people had before him. You were terrified to be wrong about the one guy who was decent to you.

When your sobs had finally died back down to within your control, you had honestly forgotten that Steve was with you, on your couch. When you realized this you let out a small squeak, and you stood up, quickly following up with  “I’m sorry - you shouldn’t have seen that - I shouldn’t have -”

“Hey, stop that.” he said, standing up with you. “It’s alright. I just want to help. Just please, tell me what’s wrong. What’s got you this upset this late at night?”

You shrugged lightly and said “I dunno.” When he opened his mouth to protest you added “I really, truly don’t know why I spend most of my nights crying like you just saw. I really don’t I just…” you stopped, worried to finish your sentence out of shame.

“Just what?”

You took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m about to get a little personal with you so just bear with me for a minute. You are the only person I talk to. Yeah, every few days. Basically my entire life has been filled with people betraying me or hurting me. My friends, my parents, people at my job, boyfriends...everyone. There was never really any escape. I thought it’d get better when I got my own place, but,” you motioned to your apartment before putting your hands on your hips, “clearly that hasn’t happened. I told myself I’d never trust anyone ever again, which is why I don’t talk to people anymore. It’s why I’m not looking for help with my crippling depression. It’s why I spend most nights here, alone, in the dark, crying to myself. I just wanna live my life, I just wish I could breath for like, two minutes.”

You finished your long rant with a long exhale before you brought your eyes up to meet his. He looked shocked and a little confused. “I’m sorry, I had no idea.” he said, shaking his head slightly. You shrugged and crossed your arms. “Guess that was kinda the point.”

He stepped forward and shook his head a little more. “This...this isn’t healthy. You’re hurting yourself and you may not even realize it. Which is even more concerning.” he sighed. “How bad is it for you?”

You looked at him before saying “Pretty bad.”

He nodded and averted his gaze for a minute. “How can I help you?”

You gave him a funny look, as if you were studying him. “What?” he asked. You shook your head. “Nothing, it’s just...I’m surprised you haven’t left yet or tried to talk your way out of the situation. Not that I’m upset by your response to all this, I guess you could say I’m just not used to people sticking it out when they realize how much I’m going through.

He gave you a sad smile. “Well, looks like I get to be that person to help you,” he said. “Listen. Now, this is completely up to you but...I know a guy with a lot of great connections to some great people. I could see if maybe we could set you up with someone to talk to? If you're interested, that is.”

You considered it for a moment. Suddenly, you asked “Do I have it wrong? Is my impression of the world wrong?” When Steve raised an eyebrow, you elaborated, “Like I was basically taught that people can have the best intentions but still cause a lot of pain, or how most people shouldn’t be trusted.” Fresh tears were brimming your eyes again, and you looked at him. “Am I wrong?” you asked shakily.

He took a deep breath. “Honestly there can be a lot of cruel people out there. People who seem like you can trust them but they really just want to hurt you. But, there are a lot more good people than bad people on this planet. I just think you haven’t had the best luck up until now.”

You nodded and dropped your gaze, and a letter of tears fell in front of you. You sniffled and looked back at him. “Thank you,” you said.

“For what?” He didn’t feel like he had done much of anything.

You smiled at him. “For listening. And for staying despite it.”

He smiled back at you. “Anytime, y/n. You just let me know when you need someone to talk to.”

[flightfoot]

I'm not someone who watches Miraculous Ladybug but why are there so many Marinette/Damian fics? I keep seeing them when I scroll through Timsteph fics.

OH HELL. You know, I’ve been wondering what Batman-only fans must think of the flood of Marinette/Damian. It’s uh. Yeah it doesn’t make a ton of sense. 

See, here’s the thing; there’s a LARGE section of the ML fandom devoted to salt, specifically salt towards one particular episode; Chameleon, where Marinette - the main character - has her seat reassigned during class so she has to sit at the back away from all her friends in order to make way for a returning student who *claims* she has a hearing disability so she can sit in the front row. However, said character, Lila, is a notorious liar, as Marinette, Adrien (the deuteragonist and Marinette’s main Love Interest), and the audience know. Adrien actually offers to go sit in the back instead, but Marinette and Lila both shut down that idea and Marinette stews in the back of the classroom for awhile. 

Then at lunch, Lila tells more stories of her fabulous life and gets people to bring a tray of food for her since she claims she hurt her wrist. Marinette tries to tell two of her other friends that Lila’s a liar and a fake, but can’t actually produce any evidence to prove it, so she throws a napkin at Lila to try to prove she’s faking her injury... which Lila then catches, but pretends to have hurt her arm. Her other classmates scold her for throwing a napkin at Lila and causing her to hurt herself, Marinette storms off, and Lila corners her in the bathroom and threatens to turn all her friends against her and stop her from ever getting close to Adrien unless she sides with her.

Adrien actually catches up with Lila soon after that and asks her to please stop lying, that she doesn’t need to do that and she’ll only turn their classmates against her, and offers to help listen if something’s bothering her. He doesn’t  realize that Lila’s targeting Marinette, or that she’s actively malicious in general, just thinking that she’s lonely and is lying to try and make friends.

Lila brushes him off and purposely seeks out an akuma to get herself akumatized, turns into a villain, tries to defeat Ladybug and Chat Noir, the usual jazz.

Anyway, at the end after defeating her, when Marinette’s about to try to publicly call Lila out for switching up which ear Lila has Tinnitus in, Adrien asks her whether she thinks exposing her will actually help anything, and that humiliating her will make her hurt more, and making a bad guy suffer has never turned them into a good guy.

So Marinette decides not to do that, and when they go back to the classroom, Adrien goes to the back and sits next to Marinette of his own accord. Then the whole class decides that they liked the old seating arrangement better, and everyone goes back to their old seats and Lila’s left sitting by herself in the back (she’d claimed her tinnitus magically got better, so she didn’t need to sit in the front anymore.)

Salters took that episode and RAN with it, writing fic after fic of epic revenge fantasies that WAY ramped up how bad any of the characters could POSSIBLY be, making the class force her to do commission after commission for them for free, never showing her proper appreciation for all she does for them, and when Lila shows up and starts manipulating people, have the class scorn and shun Marinette for being an awful person, rip up her stuff, and beat her up, often with her (former) best friend Alya leading the charge, and Adrien just standing and the background telling her to take it.

A lot of people writing these hate Adrien’s guts, having decided that he’s a sexual harasser/assaulter/potential rapist, and wanted to ship her with other people - her second canon Love Interest, Luka, and the scrapped first draft for her partner from the original concept for ML, Felix, at the top of the list.

Felix, notably, was generally perceived as being cold, aloof, and no-nonsense, but with a heart of gold. So he was sometimes used to inflict punishment on everyone the salters hated, plus Marinette could be one of the few people to slip past his cold exterior and become someone he cared for.

Then Felix was gonna be made canon. And someone new was needed to fill that role. 

One tumblr user wrote a story where the polite, yet aloof, young man Damien hears a girl screaming in trouble, sees Marinette in Gotham, and instantly falls in love with his Angel, and she ends up staying in Gotham instead of with all the horrible, horrible Everyone Else In Her Life.

Yeah, Damian wasn’t remotely in-character in those early fics at least. His name was often misspelled with an “e”, actually. 

But anyway. A few advantages to this; Damian can be made to be super sweet and a perfect gentleman around Marinette, who can instantly see all the worth that everyone else in her life threw away, and as a bonus, can reap revenge on her classmates who tried to beat her up/destroy her notebook/poison her/whatever the fic writer came up with, since Damian might feasibly be willing to inflict cruel punishment on them (not that being in-character has ever been valued much in these fics), plus Marinette gets the entire Batfamily to dote on her and be her new family and be totally removed from everyone the author doesn’t like, which tends to be most of the ML cast. Except for her canonical bully who made her life miserable both before and during the actual series, Chloe; she’ll often become Marinette’s new best friend. Though I don’t think that’s as common with the crossover.

It mixed up the Chameleon salt formula, which I think even the salters had gotten a little tired of (though it’s still going strong), and gave possibilities for a lot more different character interactions, and just generally breathed new life into it.

At this point it’s kinda become its own thing, and some people are actually stepping away form the salt and bashing that birthed the pairing and just shoving her in with the Batfamily generally, because... honestly I suspect there’s some wish fulfillment going on there. And people seem to have a slightly better idea of how the Batfamily works now? Maybe? From what I’ve seen, I think people may have at least STARTED doing some research.

Anyway, yeah. They’re basically a separate fandom at this point, pretty much just devoted to like. That one episode of ML, the first episode of season 3, that released over a year and a half ago.

But uh. Yeaaaah, don’t judge ML by what you see in those crossover fics. Their relation with canon, especially canon characterization, is tenuous at best.

As you might be able to tell, I don’t ship it. I also hate the OOCness, but actually like the potential for the crossover, and wrote my own ML X Batman crossover fic, “We’re The Same”, that was sticking with the canon ships, characterization, and overall just dropping the two franchises into each other in a more canon compliant way to see what would shake out. Especially since dammit, ADRIEN AND DAMIAN WOULD BE FRIENDS. 

[syntaxeme]

I Could’ve Danced All Night [RadioDust]

[Read on AO3]  CW: Blood, knifeplay Summary: Alastor goes to a strip club looking for a victim and ends up finding something very different. It turns out Al and Angel Dust are fucked up in similar (or complementary) ways, and Alastor doesn't know how to handle 'clicking' with someone like this. (RadioDust Week day 1: dancing)

— — –

It began with a dance.

The music wasn’t of the sort Alastor typically enjoyed. Too much bass. No feeling in the composition. Mindless, almost, there for one purpose and one purpose alone—though he supposed he shouldn’t expect much more from a strip club. Besides, it served its purpose well enough; the dancers on stage certainly used the rhythm to their advantage.

Alastor sat on the far left side of the room, simply waiting and observing, keeping an eye out for a potential target. There was a girl strutting and preening on the stage nearest him, but she was focusing her attention on the other men in the area, likely unnerved by his smile. That was fine. She was too meek to be a satisfying kill.

It didn’t much matter to him exactly what type of demon he wound up leaving with: a patron, a bartender, maybe even one of the limber performers. Every person’s death was unique, so it wouldn’t do to count anyone out based on conditions like that. All he really wanted was an individual, someone singular, someone who stood out. And then he planned to spend the entire night exploring exactly how that individual responded to fear, to pain, to panic. The thought had him almost giddy with excitement.

“All right, you filthy fuckin’ sinners,” a gravel-voiced demon announced from somewhere unseen, “how many of you ever seen an angel up close?” A lascivious cheer raised in many of the patrons, but Alastor was puzzled by the phrasing. Surely they couldn’t mean an actual angel. Was it even possible for one of them to survive in Hell? Now that would be an interesting target. “Give it up for the hottest piece of ass in Hell, Angel Duuust!”

The music kicked up louder still as, on the stage in the very center of the room, yet another scantily-clad demon descended into view, spiraling down one of those poles to stop just inches from the floor in a dramatic pose that sent the audience into a frenzy yet again. Not a real angel, clearly, but an interesting figure nevertheless.

He—at least Alastor assumed the demon was a man based on his body language and general lack of curves—was a tall, spindly creature with two sets of arms and legs for miles. A gold tooth glinted in his sharp smile as he danced, and it was obvious from his playful demeanor that he was perfectly at home in this position. And the way he moved… Alastor had trouble taking in every aspect of the performance at once, his eyes lingering on one hand running through Angel Dust’s hair while the others slid slowly down his slender legs. Then all four hands grasped the pole again to fling the dancer’s lithe body around it in another quick spiral.

Oh yes, that was very promising. The entire performance was meant to arouse desire in the viewer, and while it wasn’t of a sexual sort, Alastor’s interest was piqued nevertheless. From the sound of things, this Angel Dust was a popular performer, meaning it would be noticed if/when he disappeared. But that had never stopped Alastor from pursuing what he wanted in the past.

When the song finished (in a manner of speaking, as the music here seemed to be unending), Angel Dust strolled around the perimeter of the stage collecting tips from his audience, pausing here or there to reward individual patrons with a come-hither smile or a stroke of their cheek. So that was the way to get his attention. Fair enough.

As he sauntered across the catwalk that led from the center stage to the one along the far wall, Alastor produced his wallet and tossed a handful of bills at the feet of the dancer in front of him, not making any particular effort to connect with her. Unfortunately, this little stunt had an unexpected side effect; like sharks smelling blood, the dancers saw him so blithely spending money and swarmed him immediately.

“How are you over here all alone, handsome?”

“Is that mean ol’ Stella ignoring you?”

“If you wanted company, you could’ve just asked.”

A hand came to rest on his shoulder, another on his arm, a third even so bold as to stroke up his knee, and he struggled not to show how uncomfortable he was with suddenly being crowded and touched without his consent.

“Ahem. You girls are lookin’ pretty thirsty,” a new voice said, and Alastor looked up to find none other than Angel Dust gazing down at them from the stage. The previous girl was now gathering up her tips to move elsewhere. “Why don’tcha go get a drink? My treat.”

Although the other dancers seemed put off by his interruption, they didn’t argue, one by one taking their hands from Alastor’s body and stalking off toward the bar. “Sorry about that,” Angel Dust added, his eyes sweeping curiously up and down the Radio Demon as he gracefully sank to his knees. “Some gals don’t know how to read between the lines, y’know?”

“And you do?” Alastor didn’t even try to pretend he was looking over every inch of the demon in front of him—but then, that was probably what he wanted.

“Sure. Like I can tell by lookin’ at ya that you wouldn’t be satisfied with just any girl. I get the feelin’ your tastes are a little more…” He licked his fingertips and ran them lightly down the center of his chest with a knowing smirk, posing to display his lengthy figure. “Exotic.”

Oh, you have no idea.

“And what gives you that impression?”

“Well, you were watchin’ me awful close in my first dance,” Angel Dust pointed out, lifting two of his hands in a shrug while the other two moved along the shape of his body. Seeing the mild surprise on Alastor’s face at having been caught staring, he laughed. “Eyes like yours are kinda hard to miss in a dark room. And I’ve gotten pretty good at noticin’ when someone wants me. So what is it you want, baby?” While he awaited an answer, he rested his hands on the stage and leaned forward, showcasing the unusual curves of his chest.

“Now that would be telling,” Alastor teased, fishing another twenty out of his wallet.

“All right, play hard to get if ya want.” The dancer’s two-toned eyes were fixed on the money in his hands. “How about your name? Will ya tell me that?”

“Alastor.” He offered the bill folded between two fingers, but when Angel Dust reached for it, he pulled away. “Say it for me, would you?”

Though he looked surprised by the request, he still obliged, dropping his voice slightly and purring in return, “Alastor.” His voice was nice enough. Something about the sound, in fact, was enough to send a surprising chill through the Radio Demon’s body.

“Once more?” he prompted, his own volume lowering a bit.

Angel Dust leaned closer still, enough that he was on his hands and knees and leaning off the edge of the stage, and moaned breathlessly, “Alastor.” Suppressing another chill, Alastor surrendered the money without further argument, and a pleased smirk curled the dancer’s lips as he took it. “I’m Angel. And hey, if ya like hearin’ it that much, maybe stick around after my shift’s over and we can talk in private.”

“Is that so?” He’s making this entirely too easy. “You may want to be more careful about making offers like that, cher. You’re certain to get more than you bargain for someday.”

“Mm, you promise?” Angel asked mischievously, his eagerness not fading in the slightest as he got to his feet again. “Hey, I’m a big boy; I can take care of myself. I’d be more worried about whether you can keep up with me.”

Well, he’d never been able to resist a challenge. “I suppose we’ll have to find out, then.”

“I suppose we will.” At the sound of some drunken demon from another table obnoxiously demanding Angel’s attention, his smile soured into a pout, and Alastor’s eyes flashed with irritation. Clearly, Angel had done an admirable job of catching his attention; he now couldn’t imagine leaving with anyone else. “If you’re interested, meet me out back at one fifteen.” With a wink in Alastor’s direction, he strolled delicately down the stage to meet the lummox who had called for him, planting his hands on his hips and playfully chastising the other demon for his impatience.

The following two hours were torture, and Alastor enjoyed every anticipatory moment. He remained where he was, absently tipping whichever dancer happened to be in front of him at the moment, but his eyes stayed on Angel as he worked the room. Not once but twice more, Angel was called to center stage for a feature dance of his own, and both times, he stole a glance or two in Alastor’s direction to be sure he was still watching. Which he was. Intently.

The club closed at 1 a.m., and Alastor did as instructed, going around the back of the building to find out exactly what ‘talk in private’ translated to. Unfortunately, it seemed that some other demons had a similar idea, as he found two of them waiting under the light of a yellow halogen bulb when he arrived. Noticing them watching him warily, he gave them a winning smile and a polite nod. “Gentlemen.”

One of them seemed fully ready to ignore him, but the other narrowed his eyes. “You were the one takin’ up all Angel’s time earlier,” he growled. Alastor only then recognized him as the same brute who had stolen Angel’s attention before. Quite a forgettable face, apparently.

“We spoke, yes. Is that a problem?”

“Only if you think you’re takin’ him home.” The other demon took a step closer, drawing his shoulders back, trying to come off as imposing. Still drunk, clearly. “I been savin’ up for weeks to get him to myself, and no bowtie-wearin’ radio talk show host is gonna steal him out from under me.” He grasped a handful of Alastor’s coat, and the Radio Demon’s smile broadened into something menacing.

“My friend, I’m going to allow you five full seconds in which to remove your hands from my person and yourself from my sight before you lose something much more valuable than a single night of good company.”

“Oh yeah? What the fuck are you gonna do to make me?”

“Four,” Alastor answered simply. Really, the restraint he showed by offering this grace period was impressive in itself. “Three.”

“Uh, Tino, maybe you should listen to him, man,” the remaining demon said as he noticed the shadows lengthening across the ground, darkness edging into the halo of light around the club’s back door.

“Two.”

“Fuck this.” Tino had apparently gotten fed up with the countdown, but as he drew back a fist and Alastor reached ‘one,’ the light snapped out, just long enough for the shadows to overtake both Tino and his companion. Alastor didn’t bother taking extra time to savor their deaths. They were meaningless, nothing but an obstacle to what was sure to be the most enjoyable night he’d had in years. He crushed them and dropped their bodies into the dumpster against the wall without so much as a hair out of place.

When the light flickered back to life, he had managed to contain himself into a veneer of nonchalance. Consider this an appetizer, he told himself. And indeed he was only that much hungrier for something with more substance.

It was actually closer to 1:30 when Angel finally exited the club, but when he saw Alastor there, he smiled brightly. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, now dressed in a scant mini dress and half-jacket, still showing off his shape nicely. “So let’s talk prices before we go any further.” Alastor listened with vague interest as he explained how much his ‘company’ would cost per hour, which acts would cost extra, etc., and he agreed to all of it. He could afford the cost if necessary, but that wasn’t how he planned for the night to end.

He then led the way to the hotel room he had booked for exactly this purpose, Angel clinging to his arm and making all sorts of suggestive comments, none of which really did much for him. Once they were inside and Alastor locked the door behind them, Angel shed his jacket and set it aside along with his purse. “So where d’ya want me, handsome? Right here against the wall? Bent over the table? Ooh, maybe out on the balcony where anyone could see?” It was difficult to tell how much of this was just teasing and how much was serious.

“Why don’t we start here?” Alastor gestured to the bed, and although Angel pouted over the vanilla selection, he sat down nevertheless. It seemed he was always aware of how to hold his body and how it looked, always keen on keeping his angles as attractive as possible. “Are there any ground rules you’d like to set? Boundaries?”

Angel laughed at that like it was a ridiculous question. “Nah, I’m down for pretty much whatever. Whatever you’re into, baby.”

“Really? No restrictions at all?” Alastor asked, raising an eyebrow at him. This was already going much smoother than usual; how could Angel so easily trust a man he’d only just met?

“Well, like what? Whaddaya have in mind?”

“Like pain,” Alastor answered readily enough. Sliding his fingers through Angel’s hair, he grasped a handful of it and tilted his head back, drawing a gasp from his lips. “Biting. Clawing. Cutting.”

“That’s…fine.” He leaned his head easily into Alastor’s touch, apparently willing, even eager, to be abused without protest. Another inexplicable shiver—of what? interest? excitement?—coursed through the Radio Demon’s body. Still, he managed to keep his voice even.

“What about being bound?”

“Yes, please,” Angel purred. “I told you, whatever you wanna do is okay. Just don’t keep me waitin’ all night.” He leaned closer, lifting his head, eyes locked on Alastor’s lips, and it wasn’t difficult to imagine what he wanted. So Alastor gave it to him. After all, how often was his prey so agreeable? Why not explore the more unusual aspects of the situation? Their lips met, and already his tongue was forcing its way into Angel’s mouth, tasting lemon and liquor from whatever cocktails he’d had earlier. Gradually, his blunt ferocity faded into something slower and easier, and his dancer-turned-escort treated him to soft whimpers and whines of desire.

“Uh. You…said somethin’ about tyin’ me up?” Angel mumbled, clinging to Alastor’s coat even as they separated. Something about the gesture felt very different from his experience with Tino earlier, so it didn’t bother him. He unknotted his tie and slipped it out of his collar, then knelt behind Angel to tie his wrists at his back. “Sounds like you’re gonna get a little rough. Maybe we should have a safe word?”

“No need,” Alastor answered, determining the best way to bind all four of Angel’s hands at once and making sure they were tied tightly. “If you want me to stop, just say so, and I will.” Or not. It would depend on how the evening went.

“Huh. What a gentleman.” Once Angel’s hands were bound, Alastor got up to shrug out of his coat and rolled his sleeves up, then turned the lights out to leave a single lamp in the far corner as their only illumination. Despite being so tall, Angel turned out to be surprisingly light, so rather than ask him to lie down, Alastor simply lifted him and then pushed him down against the bed on his back while his breath turned heavier with anticipation. He did look nice this way, sprawled and squirming, awaiting whatever Alastor chose to do with his body.

Part of his enjoyment typically came from his victim’s fear—but he supposed there was no need to rush. They would get there in due time. For now, he pressed his lips to Angel’s neck, kisses quickly turning rough and leading to bites that broke skin and drew blood. Angel shuddered and arched and groaned “fuck” under his breath but didn’t try to escape. His hips lifted slightly, so Alastor pressed them down with his own, enjoying the choked cry that fled his guest’s lips. His blood was hot, hotter than most, and delicious, but Alastor made a point of not lapping it all up, preferring to let some stain Angel’s skin and the sheets instead.

“Beautiful,” he purred, and he could’ve sworn an anemic blush painted Angel’s cheeks.

“Y-y’know,” he breathed, “you were kinda scarin’ me a minute ago. Talkin’ about ‘pain’ and all. But if this is the worst you got…” That almost sounded like a challenge. In fact, judging by the playful smirk curving his lips, it absolutely was.

“Careful what you wish for, cher.” Alastor’s hands slid up the sides of Angel’s thighs, underneath the hem of his skirt and up toward his hips, then dug his fingernails in and dragged them down roughly, forcing Angel’s hips closer to his own and coaxing a deep, tortured cry from his throat. Although visual art wasn’t typically Alastor’s genre of choice, he couldn’t help but appreciate the angry, stark red lines against Angel’s pale skin.

“More,” the dancer begged, pleading at Alastor with eyes hazed in lust or pain or distress; it was hard to say which. Regardless, it was compelling. Slipping a hand into his pocket, Alastor produced an ivory-handled switchblade knife, which he opened with the press of a button. This little blade had seen him through countless situations much like (yet far different from) this one, and it was still sharp as ever. Upon seeing it, Angel’s eyes grew wider, but he still didn’t protest, biting his lip and waiting to see what Alastor would do with it.

The Radio Demon was sure to take his time about this, first running the cool metal along the still-hot welts on Angel’s thigh to make him shiver. He then traced the edge very gently up Angel’s arm, but even this soft pressure was enough to break skin, leaving a thin, thin red line in its wake. The dancer took in a shuddering breath but tried his best to keep still, watching as Alastor ran his tongue along the wound, then sat up to kiss him again. Despite tasting his own blood, he participated as actively as before, even teasing a soft hum of pleasure from Alastor’s lips as well. He couldn’t help himself; everything about this moment was so strangely familiar yet new, so expected but not, and he found his feelings about it weren’t all the same as usual.

When the kiss ended, he slowly, lazily cut an X into Angel’s right shoulder, enjoying the way he shivered from the sensation. “It hurts,” the dancer whispered, so soft as to be almost inaudible. Still, his tone was unmistakable.

“And you like that?”

Again, he flushed slightly, and it wasn’t until Alastor held his chin and forced him to look up that he answered. “Yeah,” he confessed, his gaze shifting between the Radio Demon’s eyes and his lips. “Are you…actually gonna fuck me, or are you just gonna hurt me all night?”

Alastor recoiled slightly. At no point during all this had he seriously considered going through with anything sexual. He was there to satisfy a craving, certainly, but not that sort. This was a game, a farce, nothing but a way of extending his devious enjoyment of his victim’s pain. So what was it in him that wanted to say yes, to pin Angel down against the bed and make him scream in a different way?

“Didn’t you say there were no rules?” he prompted, trying to brush those thoughts away and focus.

“Sure. It’s just…now I’m all worked up.” Looking up to meet his eyes, Angel admitted softly, “So I want it.”

Every moment this went on, every moment that Alastor enjoyed the pain he was inflicting and the moans that came with it—knowing the pleasure was mutual and that Angel wanted it too—served to further cloud his mind about exactly what he was doing. This wasn’t supposed to be enjoyable. It wasn’t supposed to be something his victim wanted more of. And worse yet, he wasn’t supposed to like fulfilling their wishes. It was meant to be him taking satisfaction in the suffering of another. Something about this night had thoroughly thrown off that formula.

Trying to move past it and away from all those confusing should-be’s, he sat up slightly and dragged the knife to the juncture of Angel’s neck and shoulder instead, cutting in slightly and watching the dancer—no, his victim—flinch. “H-hey, not there,” Angel finally protested, trying to move away but more or less trapped against the bed by Alastor’s body. “Anywhere below there’s okay, but—”

“Oh, but I thought you liked this, cher,” Alastor insisted, trying to find his way back to the cold and detached tormentor he typically embodied in these moments. His blade moved higher still, closer to Angel’s throat, and he relished the more panicked squirming of his prey’s body.

“I’m serious.” Angel’s voice quavered with nervous fear as he tried to draw away. “Alastor. Stop it.”

“What, does this cost extra?” the Radio Demon chuckled darkly. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay whatever you like.” The tip of his knife came to rest just under Angel’s chin, where his pulse was visibly pounding, and he stretched his head as far away as possible. This would be the easiest solution to the confusion that had come with this night. Just end it quickly. Cut right here, only an inch or two, and watch his life spill onto the sheets. No more questions. No more doubt. Just enjoy it for what it is and then on to the next.

“Look, if you’re trying to scare me, it’s working. I get it, okay? You win. Just stop.” The discomfort in his voice was frustrating, in a way. He’d been responding so positively all night, yet now was the moment he faltered? It was much easier to believe that Angel was doing something wrong than that Alastor’s change in behavior had frightened him. As Alastor pressed down on the knife, ready and willing to put all this behind him, Angel snarled and coiled up his legs. “I said, get off!”

His feet planted against Alastor’s chest and kicked, hard, much harder than expected, forcing the Radio Demon to stumble backward off the bed. When he managed to right himself, he realized Angel Dust had sprouted a third set of arms and was trying to use them to unbind his others. There was fear visible in his eyes, but more than that, there was anger. Good. He was indignant, willing to fight. Good. It began with a dance. It should end with a dance.

“Who’s the one playing hard to get now, cher?” Alastor asked with a wicked grin, pouncing on the bed to pin his playmate down again. This part, he could do without thinking, by reflex, which made it much simpler. As he tried to plunge his knife into Angel’s chest, however, the dancer twisted away at the last moment and the blade was buried in the mattress instead.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Angel hissed, still struggling to free his arms.

“Don’t pretend you haven’t been enjoying my attention, chéri. Now hold still so I can give you more.” Grabbing up his knife again, he started to attack—but Angel was ready this time and delivered a surprisingly solid kick to his jaw. Apparently, those boots were more functional than they looked. Even as Angel finally got his hands free, Alastor managed to recover and force him down on his back again.

Then something unexpected happened. After a moment of futile struggling and realizing he wasn’t strong enough to break free, Angel met Alastor’s eyes for the briefest moment, then sat up and kissed him again. This reaction came by reflex as well, and he found himself delving deeper into the kiss, as close to ‘turned on’ as he’d ever been before. Angel shoved at his shoulders, rolling them over as one so he was kneeling over Alastor’s hips.

Maybe this wasn’t such a terrible turn to take, Alastor supposed as his hands slid up the dancer’s thighs again. Maybe he could be satisfied with a different form of pleasure, as long as Angel was willing to—

He broke off the kiss with a gasp at the feeling of cold metal against his throat. Angel remained close, still panting against his lips, but his eyes had turned cold. He had apparently retrieved the weapon Alastor had absentmindedly discarded while they kissed, and he now held it firmly to the Radio Demon’s neck.

“Get your hands off me,” he growled softly, and Alastor obeyed without a word.

Somehow, he found himself at a loss. Maybe he was disappointed in himself for being distracted so easily. Maybe he was subdued by the warmth of Angel’s body or the sight of him—still bleeding, flushed, panting hard—or the knife held to his jugular. Whatever the reason, the fight had left him altogether and he was now just a bit bemused.

“Now fuckin’ stay there,” Angel ordered. He shoved away to get to his feet, keeping his eyes on Alastor and a tight grip on the knife. While the Radio Demon watched, he stepped back toward the table where Alastor’s coat had been discarded, then rooted through it for a moment to find (of course) his wallet. It was almost disappointing to see him back away to retrieve his own jacket and purse, then head for the door.

Was that it? All this excitement, then he just took his payment and left? Was this how most sex workers felt about their own encounters? And why didn’t Alastor make more of an effort to stop him? Was he an Overlord or wasn’t he? If he’d tried, he could have easily overpowered the slender Angel Dust, regardless of whether he had two hands or ten. Yet there he lay, on his back, on the bed, watching his would-be victim shrug his jacket back on and walk to the door.

“Guess you couldn’t keep up after all,” Angel sighed, standing in the doorway and combing mussed hair out of his eyes with his free hand. “Too bad; I was havin’ fun there for a minute. See ya around, Al.” With this, he flung the knife expertly across the room to stick into the mattress between Alastor’s legs. Was it a trick of the light, or was he actually smirking as he left the room and pulled the door shut behind him?

Alastor let his head drop back against the bed. Well. That certainly was an experience. It was the first time in his long and colorful career that any victim had successfully escaped him. There were those who fought, perhaps, but none who had ever won. Yet Angel had caught onto…whatever it was that made this night different from all the others, well and truly ruining Alastor’s chances of regaining control.

He could try again, tonight or some other night. But now, he found, he no longer wanted Angel dead. He still wanted something, but he wasn’t entirely sure what. No, Angel had said the word himself. More. Whatever bizarre tango they had just performed, Alastor needed an encore. Next time, he told himself, he would be better prepared. And he had no doubt that Angel would find a way to throw off his rhythm nevertheless.

[lowkeyaesthvtic]

Evil Karma - Chapter 10

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9

Word Count: 1,922

Summary: Sofi’s feeling a bit angry, but that anger turns to fun when she realizes the Isle has a special visitor

Pairings: OC x platonic!Gil, mention of Ben x Mal, mention of Jay x Carlos

Rating: T 

Warnings: swear words, violence, murder, blood but not gory, choking kinda?

Tags: @descendantofthesparrow @hookedradge @newtshairdryer @curse-brekker @amityravenclawelf AND @batmanwearsabowtie bc they’ve been such an active/amazing follower and I love them with all my heart.

The Isle is usually quieter when night falls. The day had gone by incredibly quickly and it was quite busy to say the least. I looked down at my bronze timepiece. Good, I still had about 15 minutes to get back to the Chip Shoppe before Harry would overworry and send Gil and the crew to get me. It’s not something that I entirely believed he would live up to, especially considering that he’d have to ask Uma first. Still, there was that slim chance that she would permit it. I didn’t think I would have to tell them, but I’m not some kind of princess that needs to be looked after constantly. Was there a chance that my episode in Uma’s room had changed their opinion on that?

I don’t need protection anymore! I had to teach myself nearly everything I knew after realizing that my demonic excuse for a dad wasn’t going to teach me shit. I know a dagger so well that one swift flick of my wrist could slice even the toughest skin as easily as a letter opener would tear a piece of paper! I can fire an arrow from the highest point of the Isle and still hit my target square in the eye! I’ve got the venom of a cobra and the tongue of a rattlesnake luring its prey! The little girl who got scars and bruises and tossed around like a worm on a hook died when she slipped that bottle of thick, black Dreamshade poison into her father’s wine. I will do absolutely anything to prove that.

A smile tugged at the corner of my lips when I saw Gil at a pickled egg stand in the marketplace. The bone-thin, wrinkled lady running said stand was giving him quite some trouble. “Get this through your thick skull, kid! These eggs ain’t free!” The voice was nasally, overly crisp, and far too forward for the woman to be anybody other than - 

“Yzma, Uma said that I get these for free!” Gil continued slipping the thick yolks into the basket. This was exactly the opportunity I needed. I quickly rushed to Gil’s side and place my hand on his shoulder, leaning onto him.

“Hey Gil, is everything okay? I see you’re out for pickled eggs again.” He looks at me with the eyes of a confused puppy. Gil and I hadn’t spent a lot of time together outside of shifts at the Chip Shoppe, but he was someone I wanted to protect. His loyalty towards Harry and Uma is as indestructible as a diamond and as never ending as the open sea. He showed this ray of sunshine type of kindness but Harry and Uma know there’s a sliver of evil somewhere. Maybe I know it’s there too, but I’ve yet to see it. So, for now, I want to protect him.

“Uma said I get these eggs for free!” He looked over to Yzma, a soft yet angry expression forming on his face. “This empress won’t let me take them!” I looked to him, exaggerated shock and hurt in my eyes. Then, I turned my attention to the wrinkled witch in front of us.

“You can go and tell that pirate rat that her words don’t mean shit to me! You pay for the eggs or I throw you to the fish! You hear that, kid?” I wrap my fingers around the handle of my dagger, getting ready for a quick fight. Fire bubbled in my chest and I could feel my smile widening with a sense of madness. Since arriving on the Isle, I tried my best to keep a calm composure. But in cases like this, how else is one supposed to show that they’re not to be messed with?

“Oh, she’s not gonna like the sound of that. Come on, empress, you should know more than anybody how annoying it is when one doesn’t listen to the woman in charge..right?” Yzma gave me a scowl that was semi-threatening at the most.

“I’ve seen you riding around here. You think that just because you’re on the pirates’ good side that people will forget how much of an outsider you are? I’ll break you the news, girl. You can parade around with two buff pirates at your hip and a fancy dagger in your pocket...but it ain’t gonna bring those kids back from the dead.” Before she could let out another word, I remove my dagger from my left pocket and slash her left arm. A crimson trail starts leaking down the small, skinny limb as she goes to grab the arm in pain. I press the dagger against her throat, pushing up her head so I can see the fear and pain starting to taint her eyes.

With a maniacal laugh, I leaned in close and lower my voice. “Oh PLEASE say that again. I haven’t spilled some blood in quite a bit.” I look behind me to see Gil in a way that I hadn’t seen often. His eyes were slightly widened, possibly in shock of what I was about to do. There was a playful smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Not a teasing kind of playful like Harry’s, but like the playful smile of a kid who had found their way into the cookie jar. “You’ll get your eggs, Gil, don’t worry. We just may have to throw a body in the ocean afterwards.”

With the fear in her eyes growing stronger and more blood spilling out of her bony arm, Yzma makes an attempt at a soft smile. “You know what? Maybe giving free eggs to a regular customer isn’t such a bad idea after all...at least somebody would be eating them, right?” Fear shook her voice until it was a quivering mess. The old skeleton of a woman tried everything she could to hide it. It was a valid attempt, I’ll give it that.

“You see, Yzma? Was that so hard?” 

“I did what you asked, girl. Now let go of me!”

I tsked in disappointment and began to tighten my grip on the dagger. I pushed the blade closer to her throat, hearing her breath hitch as she began to lose control. I wasn’t going to let anybody condescend me. Nobody will ever be allowed to make me feel like a street rat ever again! I will make sure of it. “I would...but you pissed me off, empress. Not only did you insult my Captain, but you disrespected my boys. Nobody does that and survives the night. So...Yzma..any last words?” She attempts to speak, her voice coming out much in a much raspier tone than usual. “Oh, that’s right. You can’t talk. Oh well.” With a quick swing of my arm, her skin is broken and blood begins to spray from her throat. Her weak body immediately falls to the ground as she attempts to save herself. But the attempt is futile, and after a minute or so of meaningless flailing, her body goes limp. I look up to Gil with an innocent smile and gently place my hand on his shoulder. “There you go, Gil. She won’t be bothering you anymore. Now come on, let’s go home. I’m sure Harry and Uma are expecting both of us.”

As Gil and I began walking, I feel a harsh bump against my right shoulder. Out of instinct, I pick up my dagger once again and pin it to the man’s throat. Almost immediately, I realize who he is. His hair was light and long enough to nearly cover his light brown eyes. He carried the aura of weakness, of pity and mercy. The thought of it made me sick. “Well, look who we have here. Another street runt that doesn’t know how to watch where they walk.” It’d be perfect to play dumb. Nobody on Auradon had seen my face before. The four VKs who attacked Neverland were gone by the time I made the portal to escape. None of them knew who I was, so it’d be perfect logic to pretend I didn’t know them. But I knew, and I knew well.

“Hey man, hey! H...hey, hey I know you!” I look over to Gil, a grin tugging at the corner of my lip. We had found the King, and if we could find a way to distract the entourage behind him, we could snatch him up. 

“Uh, no...don’t know you either, man.” Ben replied, choking out his words through the firm grip my dagger had on his skin. The three around him were nervous, but they did a lot better at keeping a calm composure. It was easy to tell that they used to have a life here.

“Uh, yeah you do. Come on man, really? Dude, I’ll give you a hint. My dad is quick...slick...and his neck...huhhh..is incredibly thick.” Gil points to his neck as if to give some kind of demonstration. I keep the dagger hilted but look over my shoulder to speak to him.

“Gil. Really?”

“Why doesn’t he know me? Everybody knows me…” Gil asks, a little twinge of both confusion and sadness in his tone. 

“Gil, of course he knows you. He’s lying to you to save his ass. You know him too..right?” Gil took a longer look at Ben, racking his brain to come up with a name, but there was nothing. “Gil. Come on, use your brain.”

“My dad said I don’t have one of those.”

I rolled my eyes and pointed to a nearby poster of Ben and Mal, which had been tagged with our crews’ own ‘we ride with the tide’ tagline. “Then at least use your eyes!” Gil pointed back in forth between the poster and Ben. The entourage surrounding Ben followed Gil’s gaze as he looked back and forth. 

Finally, his eyes widened in recognition and with a gasp, Gil spoke up. “Oh! You’re King Ben!” The four of them immediately tried to reject the claim, but it was far too late. “Yeah, no..you’re totally King Ben! And J-Jay, Carlos, Evie, hey guys!” The three of them stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. 

“King Ben, huh? I had a run in with your girlfriend earlier..or should I ex-girlfriend? A bit of trouble in paradise?”

“Mal and I aren’t broken up.”

“Why else would she come to the Isle, huh? She’s not welcome here anymore, and there is no way that Uma would give her back her old territory.” I lowered my dagger. King Ben would be an essential tool in my plan with Uma, just not yet. Not when he has an army around him ready to fight. I looked up at Ben and slowly brought my finger to his neck, wiping off the blood that my dagger painted onto him. “Well then, welcome to the Isle, your majesty. Enjoy your stay.” I mockingly bowed and extended an arm away from the stand. The blue haired girl, who I now knew as Evie, grabbed him by the back of his shoulders and lead him away. Jay and Carlos soon followed, their hands interlocked to as a way of affectionate protection. I looked over to Gil as they left, he soon smiled and jumped up and down in excitement.

“Oooh! Uma’s gonna love this!” He taps me on the shoulder and turns toward the direction of the Chip Shoppe. “Last one to the Chip Shoppe is a bucket of shrimp!” He shouts giddily, and I run alongside him back home.

[neshabeingchildish]

So, I didn’t feel like reformatting this for Tumblr, so I included the link with the bold/italicized etc. Otherwise, I may or may not get to doing the Tumblr post text, eventually (so the confessions, letters, etc, will all appear the same since Tumblr undoes everything that I type in docs by the time that I paste it here. SO, for the proper way, the ff.net link, but the words are still here, too... Just not formatted. 

@chenoahchantel @adorkable-blackgirl @henry-p-fart @up-the-tube

Dear Charlotte

She told Jasper to go get the letters and meet them at the table, and he was still doing that when Henry came off of the elevator. She approached her second guy and folded her arms, but only sighed, “So… You snapped at Jasper?” She asked it, and sounded genuinely puzzled. This wasn’t an accusation and she didn’t seem to be fussing at him, so he was grateful for that.

“That’s why I sent an apology. I didn’t mean to snap at him, but with the tone that I took, I’m sure that it bothered him, because of how I used to talk to him whenever I was lashing out about everything.” He bit his lip and looked at his shoes.

“I think that he probably has a mild trauma response to some of the emotional danger that may have been inflicted upon him.”

“Definitely, that.” Henry looked up at her and her arms were still folded, but she still didn’t seem angry. “I’ve tried to speak with him about my emotional abuse towards him, but he brushed it off and changed the subject. I don’t want to keep bringing it up and stir up his responses, but I also don’t want him so settled in it that if I raise my voice a little, he has a panic attack, even if it’s a little one.”

“Well, maybe we need to sort through the emotional distress he was in while being with you. I’m going to have to sort through some of mine…” She said and as though on cue, Jasper came in with the letters and began setting them in the stacks on the table. “We’re going to get to the bottom of all of the stuff that we were feeling and try to figure out what to do with all of that.” Henry looked indescribably grateful. She whispered, “You need to start by opening up to him the same way that you opened up to me on that elevator.”

“Won’t that sound like me making excuses?” “No. Open up about who you were at that time, what you’re aware of, what you did to him and then go from there. I’ll be right here…” She realized that it was super quiet and they turned to see Jasper, standing next to the table, wondering what they were whispering about. She smiled and came to him, “Hey. You feeling better?”

“Yeah. I just needed you to validate me,” he said it cooly and shrugged his shoulders, but he meant that down to his core. She kissed him on the cheek and took a seat at the table. 

Henry came up next and Jasper frowned, but Henry opened his arms and asked, “Is it okay if we hug this out?” Charlotte cleared her throat and smiled. Jasper gave Henry a buddy hug, with a shoulder pat and sat next to Charlotte. She flared her nostrils. She’d told Henry where to start. And it wasn’t any damn hug! 

Now, Henry began his talk to Jasper. He kneeled between he and Charlotte, but was looking at Jasper, who looked a little bit confused, but was paying attention. “Jasper. I want to make up for so much of what I did to you, and I realize that not only back then, but every lingering bit of fear or sadness that you have because of that is my responsibility to tend to and make it up to you.” Jasper furrowed his eyebrows, but his shoulders relaxed and both Henry and Charlotte noticed that small gesture. “I know that I’ve mentioned this before and you weren’t really interested in talking about it, but I definitely emotionally abused you when we were together. I gaslit you. I manipulated you. I lashed out at you. Sometimes, I was very conscious of my lies and my games, and sometimes, those toxic parts of me just came out naturally and unfortunately, you were the closest person to me and the most frequent target of rage and sorrow that had nothing to do with you. I’m so sorry that I did those things and that it’s still bothering you, to this day.” THIS would have been the time to ask for the hug, Charlotte sighted. She took that time to reach over on the table and take Jasper’s hand. He intertwined their fingers, but hadn’t taken his eyes off of Henry.

“SO, I’m going to use the best of my ability to try to help you to heal from my harm, if you’ll let me. But, I need you to know and to believe that I am not doing this because of Charlotte. I’ve meant what I said, and I feel what I feel for both of you, whether or not that gets reciprocated.” He reached out and cupped Jasper’s face and Jasper tilted his head, slightly, rubbing closer to it. Jasper’s eyes closed and he experienced this gentleness for a moment, something that he had wished for, for a long time. Henry glanced at Charlotte and she puckered up her lips and gestured. He looked confused, but moved forward, and stopped just at Jasper’s face. Jasper’s eyes quickly opened as he recognized how close Henry was to him and Henry’s eyes were closed now, but he was moving forward and Charlotte let go of Jasper’s hand for this moment that he supposed she approved of. 

And it was everything that he remembered it was, but not as cold. It was like true love’s kiss, finally, from someone he had long since thought was his soul mate. He barely wanted it to end, but when it did, Henry simply leaned back and stared into his eyes, cupping his face. Jasper took a swallow. His mouth was dry and his hands were sweaty. He gently removed Henry’s hands from his face and reached for Charlotte’s again, hoping that she would accept it; that he hadn’t misread her silence. She intertwined their fingers, smiled softly at him and stroked the back of his hand with her thumb. For a moment, he didn’t think about Henry’s lips or how gingerly he touched him. For a moment, he was looking at his true love, his soul mate.

When Henry stood up to go to the other seat at the table, Jasper watched him. There it was again. The same butterflies, the same heart eyes. He didn’t know how it was possible to feel so strongly and deeply for more than one person, but he did. Both of these loves were true, and nobody would ever be able to convince him otherwise.

Charlotte said, “Okay… I love what you’ve done here. I think I’m ready to dive right in. The stacks can serve as a bit of trigger warning, but I think that I’ll read them in order, if that doesn’t make you feel like you worked on organizing for nothing.”

“No! Do whatever you need to do.” He shuffled his chair closer to her so that he could hold her free hand, and also have his arm around her. She’d told him numerous times that his big arms made her feel safe. He peppered her temple with kisses accordingly, through her reading and Henry sat, bouncing his leg and waiting for moments to answer questions, or fetch water, or whatever Jasper and Charlotte would ask or demand of him.

.

(Day 1) Dear Charlotte, 

Okay… My thoughts are kinda all over the place, at the moment. It's’s taken me a long time to figure out what I need to say and I still don’t feel like it came out right or like I’ve earned the right to even say anything to you. Less than 24 hours, and you seemed to have obliterated me from your life, and I get it. I promise, I do. I don’t believe that it's forever, and I hope that it isn’t for long. You and I were building a life, and I was the one who came through and bulldozed it down by talking to other women and behaving like a down low hoe… I still promise you - I’ve never touched anyone else. I never would have. It shouldn’t have been so much fun to me to talk dirty and exchange photos and fantasize. My love for you should have been enough to tide me over, just like you said, whether or not I was in any danger. But… you’re my goddess, Charlotte. I never had faith in much, but I’ve always had faith in you. I don’t know how I will ever survive without you. You keep me whole and balanced and safe. Please, if you can’t forgive me, can you have mercy on me? You have no idea what I went through when I was in that place. Scratch that. I’m sorry. What I meant to say was I went through something and I don’t think that I’ll be okay if I can’t have you here with me to help me recover. You don’t owe me, not after what I did, but please. I’m begging you, Char. Please, don’t forsake me right now. Please, just save me this once more and I’ll never ask anything of you again. I’ll offer you every sacrifice. I’ll dedicate my entire life to this. Please. Please… don’t have actually abandoned me. Please, be coming back, at least to call me stupid and tell me off. I can’t handle this silence. I can’t handle this darkness. I’m so sorry. I promise, I love you. I’m sorry that I didn’t do it right in the dark. 

Love, Henry. 

P.S. I will never do anything to risk us again. I promise. Even if you won’t take me back. I need my friend for what is haunting my mind right now. 

Charlotte slapped that one face down and almost started crying. “You wanna stop?” Jasper asked, concerned. 

She shook her head and looked up at Henry. He looked like he was in pain. Even though she read it to herself, he had pretty much memorized those letters. He looked over them all of the time. He’d used them for key points to focus on whenever he went to therapy. He knew that she knew what he’d been going through now, and he wished that he hadn’t sprung that on her in the elevator. She whimpered, “Does Jasper know? What was in your head at the time?”

Henry shook his head, fighting off tears. This was his muck. He couldn’t cry right now. “I didn’t want to open up to Jasper about it. I was subconsciously worried that if I talked to anybody but you about it, you’d feel betrayed again.”

“So… He still doesn’t know?” She asked, incredulously.

“Whenever I said it to you in the elevator, that was the first time that I said it out loud to anybody but Ray. That was the first time I admitted it to someone who wasn’t there when it happened.” Charlotte reached for the second letter and Henry wondered, “Should I tell him now?” She looked at Jasper.

Jasper shook his head, “I don’t want to hear anything that might distract me from taking care of Char right now, unless I need to know it TO take care of her.”

“Later, then,” she said and already felt exhausted as she read on, letter after letter of the same thing in different ways. The handwriting got increasingly bad for a bit, like he was too emotional to really get the words properly. After a few days, there were more mistakes, some letters were written in pencil and the erase marks caused holes in the paper. Many of them were slightly ruined by tear stains. He always apologized for the condition of less than pristine letters, but his tone was everchanging. He was becoming very angry about things. His moods swinging, even in the process of writing, from being angry, to being apologetic and pointing out that he knew he didn’t have a right to feel that way. 

Day 17, Dear Charlotte,

I tell you that I love you everyday, but you never get to read it or hear it. I don’t know if I send up a prayer, will you somehow know? They told me that you’ve moved out of state. They’ve told me that you SAID TO THEM that you didn’t want to be near me, see me, talk to me, or have to ever even run into me. You don’t think that’s harsh? You don’t think that even though I GROSSLY messed up and did something very, VERY wrong that remorse and repentance should be at least discussed? All of the years that we were friends and all of the years that we were lovers, I honestly didn’t earn any leeway for doing something wrong?

“Ugh… You didn’t just do something WRONG, what you did was selfish, destructive, a violation of my trust, and of the stability and integrity of the relationship! You write these letters like I somehow did something TO YOU because of how I responded to what you did TO ME!” She fussed, as she read. He knew that she wasn’t looking for feedback. She had done similar things throughout this reading project. 

All of those years, I thought that no matter what we ever did to each other, that neither of us would ever do something like this. If you had done this, I would have forgiven you. Maybe, you might think that we both know that you would never do something like this, but we don’t know that for sure and you don’t know how hard it is for me. My responsibilities started at a very early age. I’ve had to always man up and take care of everybody around me. In my mind… I thought that I deserved more from you. I hate to say that. Now, I know that I was mistaken, by the simple fact that everyday you’ve been gone feels like dying. I feel like I agree with what you said that night… I should have died…

“I NEVER said that you should have died!” She shrieked and sniffled and pushed the letter away from her, not even wanting to read the rest of it. “That’s not what I said! What I said was bad and I’m sorry, but if that was what you thought I said all these years, I…” she stood up and tried to catch her breath. 

Jasper jumped up and collected her from the table. “I think we’re done for tonight,” He told Henry. He cuffed her closely to himself and escorted her to her bedroom. After a while, he came back out and sat in his seat. He sighed and shook his head, “It was unfair of us to make her feel like she had to read any of this. She shouldn’t be crying herself to sleep for reacting in anger to something infuriating that you did to her.”

“I know. I agree.”

“What do we do? She asked me to not even sleep in her room tonight. She never wants me gone when she’s asleep.” He rested his face on his fists and Henry came around the table and rubbed his back, then laid on it and rubbed his arms. Jasper allowed it for a while, but then he shook him off and shook his head. “I wanna be available, if she needs me,” he said. He got up, left the table and made himself a little pallet outside of her room to lay down, charge his phone and get a little bit of rest.

.

Eventually, she came out of the room. Jasper was asleep on the floor and she immediately felt bad. For some reason, she thought that maybe he and Henry would spend the night together, but she might have known that as her official boyfriend, he would have felt obligated to try to be there for her. She leaned down and shook him a little, “Jasper,” she whispered. He was a pretty deep sleeper. She’d joke that she hoped nobody ever broke in, because they’d make it out with everything and might even be able to kill her while he slept. He declared that if he heard her in danger, he’d definitely most likely be woken up by that.

She tried in vain to get him to wake him up back she barely even got him to budge. Charlotte sighed, grabbed her fuzzy blanket and laid right next to him. If you can't beat them, join them. Where was Henry? 

Charlotte found him still at the table, staring at the letters across from him. Whenever she appeared, he stood quickly to come to her. "Are you doing okay?"

She hugged herself and cleared her throat, “Jasper fell asleep on the floor and I can’t wake him up to get him into bed.” He nodded and moved quickly to help her out. 

Jasper woke up as Henry tried to hoist him. “What are you doing?” He asked groggily. 

“Char wants you in bed,” Henry said. 

Suddenly, Jasper was more alert. “Char! You okay, Babe?” He found his footing and she nodded and took his hand, leading him into the room. Henry stayed at the door. Jasper was speaking softly to her. Henry couldn’t hear, but he turned to leave and Charlotte caught his hand. Jasper was climbing into bed. 

“I didn’t say that,” Charlotte said, softly. “I was very angry and very hurt, but I didn’t say what you wrote I said. I wouldn’t say that to anybody, not even you at my angriest!” She sniffled. “I… was really mad at my dad. Whenever he left my mom, I felt like I needed to try to be there for her and she was like, ‘No, go be with Henry. You’ve already planned to move out…”

“My mom was alone in the house for years. My dad left and I moved in with Henry and she was there dealing with an empty nest and a failed marriage. He was in and out of her life and I was only checking in part time, because I had so many things I was trying to build. But, I thought those things were worth it, to maybe not be able to put as much energy into her as she might have needed at that point.

For me, I was leaving her behind, but I rationalized, because she told me to do what would make me happy, and I thought that was Henry… 

Then this happened and I just couldn’t believe that I’d left my mom behind for someone who would do this to me. Somebody that I felt was obviously just like my father. So… I was definitely mad at Henry, but I felt like I was reliving a lot of my rage towards my dad and I guess that I melded the two in my brain and I snapped that night.”

“I left my mom alone during the hardest part of her life, so that I could build a life with you. It just… I was hurt and angry, but that’s not what I said and it’s important that you process this.” He nodded his head and moved a few tendrils of hair from her face. She sniffled again and he offered a semi smile. No matter what, Charlotte hated crying in front of people. She loved crying. Scientifically, she knew that if the body was doing so, it needed that emotional release, but she didn't like the misfortune of someone witnessing it. That made her feel exposed. She was fine to roam around completely naked in front of someone, but crying? That was just too intimate. Henry realized at that moment, even for him.

"You wanna come in?" She wondered. He nodded and when she closed the door after him, he got into her bed and offered her an embrace that she gladly came into. 

Jasper was next to him, eyes open and just musing. Henry spoke. "I was done with them, that night. I knew before you even found out that I needed to distance myself from anything that might take my attention off of you. I talk about it in a letter, too. How I was ready to come home safe and MARRY you after the days that Ray and I had on that mission. I was gonna cut out Bianca, Chloe and every other girl that I was talking to at that time. I was gonna ask Jasper to start helping me look for rings. I just wanted to know that no matter what I did… particularly… what I had to do to make sure that I got back home to you… I needed to know that you could still love me."

"You had to kill someone to get back home to me."

"I did," he cleared his throat and said, "I didn't quite get over it. I'm still working through it. It doesn't happen frequently, but has happened since. It's never okay and I never even have an excuse anymore. So… I just deal with it." He shrugged his shoulders and Jasper sat up and moved in behind Char to hug her from behind and rest his head on her shoulder, pulling Henry closer to both of them and strumming his hair. "How are Jasper's hugs still the very best thing in the world, even from a person away?" Henry asked.

"Because he's Jasper," Charlotte said, like that explained it all. Jasper was happy to see that between the other two, it honestly seemed to.

.

"The hardest letters were the ones where I had to admit and apologize for being a shitty person. The threesome with the Woods Girls, some of my more detailed examples of rudeness to Jasper… and somehow the easiest ones were ones that I was having a full out mental breakdown while writing. It's like Char and Jasp could sense how distraught I was and they felt bad for me. We're working our way to the last of them. With every single one, I feel like I get a little bit lighter and like we get a little bit closer and that was ultimately what I wanted the most. 

It gives a doorway for Charlotte to ask me things that she didn't know that she cared to know about and for me to explain things to Jasper that I wasn't man enough to admit to him back then. I feel like they have newfound respect for me, or at least they like being around me again and I'm just… Piper told me that my smiles look real again."

"I'm surrounded by fake people all of the time. I know a real smile when I see one."

(Caption) Piper Hart, Public Figure, Media Influencer, Founder of Pay the Piper Enterprises, Henry is Her Brother, She’s not “Henry’s Sister.”

.

Henry was in his office for a really long time, lately. Charlotte noticed it first, because she was attentive and suspicious by nature. Plus, Jasper spent the first part of most days asleep. She had fully recovered and went back to work at the lounge, but her hours weren’t as hectic as Jasper’s were. She went in for evenings to waitress and left before people got too drunk, unless she was singing, in which she closed the place on stage. 

A typical day for her was to wake up for yoga and the sunrise, which the guys met her on the balcony for… They would talk while it occured, not even watching it sometimes, whenever they had a nice chat going. Besides, nobody there thought that anything was more beautiful than seeing the others’ features come to life by the light of that rising sun. Henry would tend to plants and he and Jasper would hit the gym and have brunch. Jasper would come home and go to sleep while Henry would get washed up and go into his office, and Charlotte would do various things around the house to make sure the vibe felt good for everyone, then either get out and get some sunlight, stay in and write music or read books, or go the the Man Cave and work on her project. 

She spent a few days inside, so she noticed that Henry was spending way more time in his office than usual. She asked Jasper if he knew what that was about. “Maybe he’s taken in more clients to support you,” Jasper said. He said it casually and innocently, but Charlotte felt some kind of way about it. 

“I’ve never asked Henry for anything and yes, I got really comfortable being in his space and using his things, but that was mostly because he OFFERS things. He says, “I’ll cook you something.” He asks, “Want me to order whatever you need?” He custom made a bedroom for me years before we even spoke to each other. So, for Jasper to say that to me, like I was some kind of additional burden on Henry or something was hurtful, but I didn’t dwell on it.” *Folds her arms.

Charlotte waited in the living room, in a pantsuit, with a book, and whenever Henry came out of his office, he paused. “Is something wrong?” He wondered. “What is it?”

She put her bookmark that she’d created of the dried yellow rose petals in her book and shut it, then sat it down and stood up. “Is it Jasper?” He wondered. 

Charlotte approached, glanced at his office door and folded her arms, “Did you not have a client?”

“No. I had some other work to do. I usually just do all of my work in my office.”

“What other work did you have to do?” She asked.

“A few things concerning the show with the production team. Getting some of the house affairs reorganized with my assistant…”

“Like, everyday?” She wondered.

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Yeah, until I get it all sorted out. Is something the matter?”

“You’re lying to me,” she said, point blank. “And, I thought that we were beyond that. But, if we aren’t, I don’t see any reason to waste either of our time.” She reached for her book, and he reached for her wrist. She gasped when he touched her, flashing back to that night, even though this was completely different. This was gentle and warm and just as reflexive, but he wasn’t angry or upset, and she wasn’t as angry or upset. “Henry…”

He let go, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to put my hands on you. I just… It’s a surprise, for you and Jasper. Okay? Sorry I lied. I should have known that I wouldn’t be able to hide stuff from you and I should have thought about the fact that I’m not the easiest person to trust. But, I’m never going to do anything to hurt either of you, again. I promise you that and hopefully, one day you’ll see that I’m telling the truth about it.”

“I don’t really like surprises,” she said.

“I know… but it isn’t like a SURPRISE surprise. It’s more like, I’m putting some things in motion that I hope everyone will appreciate, okay?” She studied his body language, facial expression, the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes. She believed him.

“Okay.” She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “You’ll tell me if I’m putting you out by being here, right?”

“I want you here. I want both of you here, for as long as you’ll stay. Don’t worry about putting me out. You know what kind of money superheroes make?” He smiled. 

.

“Day 467.  Dear Charlotte,

Jasper told me that it’s our 1 year anniversary. Well, no… He told me “Happy One Year Anniversary,” and got me some nice gifts. I don’t know how you can actually count and pinpoint an exact date to something that began as a Friends with Benefits arrangement. Like… At what point did it become something to count the days and at what point was it decided that a year was significant? 

Like, a few months back whenever he said that since he’s been here for like a year, like everyday, he should just apply to be added to the lease, it sounded like a convenience thing. Why wouldn’t he say something like, “I’m your boyfriend and I’m here everyday, so we should move in together”? We’re best friends, but we also have sex and that makes things kinda murky. Now, he’s talking anniversaries and gifts and you know what, Charlotte?

Part of me is like, Rubberduck it. He’s good to me. He’s a complete GOD in the sack. Nice to look at. His hugs are like awesomely great and he will talk to you and listen to you about just about anything…”

“I agree with all of that,” Charlotte said and reached for Jasper’s hand, kissed it and kept going.

“The other part of me is like… Sure, he’s all of that, but you’ve been torn since day 1 and it is now… I just did the math on my phone and it has been 467 days since you left and I began writing these letters. I think… Maybe, it's about time that I stop. You will likely never return. I’ll likely never see you again. You’ll likely never read these and never know just how loved you actually were. You’ll probably always think that you were only loved until the point that you were betrayed and that maybe, I never actually loved you anyway. Because, who does things like that to somebody that they love? Maybe somebody that wasn’t properly taught to love, or wasn’t shown the healthiest of examples of it. It doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is this…

When I got home that night, all I wanted was you. And, if you ever see this, I know that I’ll still feel the same. I’ll always love you more than life itself. But, it’s my anniversary, apparently and I have to try to love somebody else too. I have to try to move on. I have to try to be better in the future. I have a wonderful best friend who still wants me, even though I’m kinda highkey trash. I have to at least try to make it up to him, having been here to see me through getting over you. It didn’t work, but I won’t write again. I’ll have to just live with all of this. But, if we meet again, know that I’ll want you. Know that I’ll love you. Know that I’ll need you. I won’t ever find rest without you. I’m sorry that I caused this.

Goodbye, Charlotte.”

Jasper took a deep breath. “I can’t believe that we finally got to the end.”

“There’s another one,” she said, and picked up a heavy letter.

“No, there wasn’t. I opened all of them and sorted the whole first half before you came on board with reading, and I’ve been right here for the rest of the readings, too. That wasn’t part of it,” Jasper said.

Henry cleared his throat and said, “It’s new.”

Jasper frowned, “You wrote another one? Like… since we’ve been here?”

“Yeah,” Henry said. After the reading of that last one, Jasper didn’t know if he wanted to hear another one. 

Charlotte slid it across the table and said, “You read it to us.” Henry took a swallow, nodded his head and opened it. He definitely stumbled along the way and he knew that he paraphrased a few things. Reading right off of the page wasn’t exactly his best gift, but he knew the heart and soul of what he’d written there for them.

“Day One. Dear Charlotte and Jasper,

It’s so silly to call this day one, but I feel like we’ve now all come to a point where whatever lies in the future, it can be a new start for the three of us. I messed up with both of you, one way more than the other and in a way, I messed up longer and harder with one of you, because I was still holding on where I had been told to let go. I didn’t really respect either of you, upon further self examination. What I thought was love was tainted in a variety of ways and whenever I did good and nice things, I had begun to treat you both like I treat my obligations - doing it for the sake of being able to say that I did something nice or good. Which, at the end of the day is self-serving and underhanded. 

I had to lose every good thing that I had to realize that even if I could accumulate fine things, expensive things, high quality things, have every sexual exploit that my eyes desired and my mind could create and live what I would say has to be my best life… my life still wouldn’t be fruitful and I’d have zero joy, because I never knew love after you two were gone, and having both of you back in my life has been the hardest thing to process and the best joy that I have ever had. 

I love both of you so much and I really am willing to spend the rest of my life, my time, my energy, my money, my moments… just giving back to you as much as I can for all of the love that you each gave me when I didn’t know how to handle it in a healthy way. I’m so much better now, and you two are a big part of that. I never would have went to therapy if I hadn’t hurt the ones that I thought I cared so much about. I never would have unpacked my problems and toxicity. I hate that it turned out the way that it did between us, but I have hope that what will turn out from here on out will be harmonious and beautiful. The three of us, on one accord, for as long as you both are willing to have me, if you’re willing to have me…” He came around the table and Charlotte was tense. Jasper was close to tears. Henry got down on one knee, in between the two of them.

“What are you doing?” Charlotte wondered, suspiciously and kind of terrified.

He slid two rings out of the envelope and Jasper started crying. Henry said, “I know that legally we can’t really… commit to each other the way that I would want us to, but I felt the need to do something important and have a show of how significant you both are…” Jasper offered his hand and Henry slid one of the two rings onto his finger. Charlotte chewed on her lip and stared at the other ring in Henry’s hand. “It’s either the three of us, or I leave both of you alone. I won’t try to come in between you two.”

“It’s not that,” she said, trying not to cry. She hated that shit SO MUCH. The crying shit. “What if you find that I don’t fit into this? That it can’t be the three of us? What if I’m the one that winds up… It’s just that I worked really hard, and I keep having nothing to show for it. Not because I’m not good at things, but because I probably need to be… easier to deal with and I don’t know to do that. Everybody eventually catches on.” She wiped her face and started crying harder, angry that she was crying more than the initial fear of being the one in this group that messes up the emotional/romantic flow of this union. 

“We’re not gonna go it without you!” Jasper told her trying to make eye contact with her and taking her hands. “We won’t force you, but what you’re worried about, I promise you, I’m not letting it happen. You read those letters. You know what I’m willing to put up with and we both know that you’d never ever be able to manage that level of being hard to love. You’re amazing. You aren’t difficult at all. You have standards and you deserve them, and we’re gonna try to meet them, and if they get to be too hard to meet, we’ll talk to you about it. But, I’m never letting you go, if I can ever help it!” 

Henry pulled her closer to him and strummed her face, searching her eyes for a moment and said, “If I ever hurt you again, whatever I don’t do to punish myself, Jasper definitely wi-”

“I’ll beat the living shit out of him,” Jasper said before Henry’s declaration could be completed. Shakily, Charlotte offered her hand for Henry to put a ring on it. And she closed her eyes, cried, and leaned forward to give Henry the first real kiss that she had given him in a long time.

[wondr18360]

Hints at who the traitor was in Persona 5

To be honest, I always had a gut feeling that this person would be the traitor partly because I had seen the teaser images for PQ2 with them included as part of the Phantom Thieves and given their background before they “joined” the group, they certainly seemed suspicious, but still that’s not really proof that this person was the traitor, so here’s a list of things that really helped prove that they were the culprit behind the mental shutdowns and the one who sold out the Phantom Thieves!

(I haven’t revealed their name or gender yet cuz I don’t wanna spoil anyone by accident, so select ‘keep reading’ at your own risk!)

1. Lurking at Okumura Foods

The first time the Phantom Thieves enter Okumura’s palace, Akechi is spotted nearby, and we can see him actually notice the Thieves gathered in front of the company building before the scene cuts to the Metaverse. At this point in the game it could be just a way to make us nervous since it’s already been established that he’s suspicious of the Shujin kids + Yusuke and Futaba, and him seeing them go into the Metaverse in front of a potential target’s property could make him even more suspicious and maybe even give him solid proof that they are the Phantom Thieves, but really, why is Akechi by the Okumura company building in the first place? Maybe it’s a coincidence, or maybe he’s just doing his job investigating Okumura as a suspect? In any case, it is quite convenient, especially that he happens to be there at the same time that the Thieves are, and more importantly, that this just happens to be the one palace that they infiltrate whose owner dies of a mental shutdown because the true culprit appears after the boss battle and kills his shadow. I’m probably grasping at straws, but in hindsight this does seem a bit fishy...

2. Interest in the Shujin Kids + Yusuke & Futaba (and Haru)

During the Shujin Academy panel, when Akechi reveals that he knows their identity as the Phantom Thieves, he tells the group that he was curious about them ever since the Madarame case. This could have been because Yusuke started hanging out with Ryuji, Ann, and Akira (and Morgana) around the time of the Madarame case, and not only would that have been odd because he didn’t go to the same school as them, but after a bit of digging it would have been known that a former pupil/victim of Madarame was hanging out with three Shujin students who had been victims of Kamoshida, who was the first target of the Phantom Thieves; logically that would have made for a pretty interesting group and it would have been a strange coincidence that Yusuke just happens to join those three when his tormentor gets a change of heart. But remember, Madarame’s shadow was the first one to mention the true culprit behind the shutdowns, and talked about a Persona-user with a black mask. Kaneshiro, the next criminal to get a change of heart, also mentioned the culprit. It’s a bit odd that the time around which Akechi grew interested in the group coincides with the time that we first heard about the true culprit, who most likely could have even been in the palaces at the same time as the Thieves and maybe even saw them as they were exploring, particularly since in the Okumura palace, the culprit kills Shadow Okumura right after the Thieves defeat him and leave him behind, indicating that whoever they were, they must have been waiting inside the palace itself for the Thieves to weaken him and then leave so that they could finish the job. Again, probably grasping at straws, but it’s kinda suspicious.

3. Sudden Thieves fan??

Okay he doesn’t really become a fan of the Phantom Thieves, but Akechi’s stance towards them does soften somewhat after Okumura’s death when he adamantly says that they aren’t responsible for the incident or for any of the other mental shutdowns. This is a bit suspicious since before he seemed very convinced that the Phantom Thieves were connected to the mental shutdowns, and when his stance suddenly changes to the opposite, even Sae Nijima calls him out on it and points out the same thing. Not only that, but on his television appearance, he even comments that there may be more going on than originally thought, which is similarly suspicious and even indicates that he may actually know more than he’s letting on. In addition, when he later runs into Akira at Leblanc again, he says something about how is goals are probably not so different from theirs, which a) hints at a possible collaboration between him and the Thieves, and b) indicates that he may also have his own agenda to get rid of scummy adults. The latter is actually confirmed later when he’s talking with the Thieves in Leblanc, when he mentions wanting revenge against sickening human beings and having a grudge against someone, which puts more emphasis on the fact that there is some darker force behind Akechi’s actions and motivation. 

4. Genius, or experienced?

During the Shujin Academy panel when Akechi confronts the Thieves and reveals how he found out their true identities, he says that he has the same power as them and that he gained that power around the time of the Okumura case, about a month before the panel. However, when he’s talking to the Thieves, he seems to know quite a bit about the Metaverse, even mentioning it by name, which is odd because even members like Makoto and Futaba, who either pick up knowledge quite quickly or may have already had some knowledge of the cognitive world, needed time and guidance from Morgana and the veteran members of the Thieves in order to figure things out. And yet here’s Akechi, who was on his own the whole time, talking as though he’s already an expert on the Metaverse- and how exactly did he know that that’s what the other world was called? It’s a bit strange, and even when he’s exploring Sae’s palace with the Thieves, he seems to know quite a lot already, or picks up on things abnormally quickly for someone who’s supposed to be an “amateur” as Morgana would say. Speaking of Sae’s palace, it’s also a bit fishy how he was able to find out so quickly how to use the Meta-nav to find it, since he is the one who reveals to the group that she has a palace, and evidently already has a plan to change her heart. Basically, his intelligence aside, the only other viable reason I can think of for Akechi’s extensive knowledge of the Metaverse is that he has more experience with it than he made it seem to the Phantom Thieves. 

5. Bad storyteller

I don’t know about you guys, but when Akechi was telling the Thieves about how he saw the real culprit behind the shutdowns and somehow survived their encounter by awakening his Persona, I wasn’t buying it. First, there's no proof that what he’s saying is actually true, and also, if he's really going to be a bona fide monafide member of the Phantom Thieves, wouldn’t we actually get to witness his awakening the way we did with all the other members? Even Haru, who was in her Persona clothes already when we first saw her, got a real awakening scene for us to see, but there’s none of that for Akechi. That’s not all though- it’s already established that the true culprit is quite strong, in fact, back when Shadow Kaneshiro mentioned the culprit, he said that the Thieves would be no match for them in terms of strength. If that’s the case, how would Akechi have survived? Maybe the trauma of a life-or-death situation triggered his awakening and his Persona momentarily saved his life, but still the culprit could have taken another shot or two and killed him because he’s still supposed to be relatively unfamiliar with his powers, and logically it would also be in the culprit’s best interests to make sure to get rid of Akechi because he actually saw them and this could come back to bite them later. In any case, Akechi’s story is only slightly believable at best in my opinion, and for me at least it definitely was a big hint.

6. Sae’s calling card

Am I the only one who thought it was kind of weird that Akechi was so specific about the date that they should send out the calling card for Sae? I mean, yeah he gave that whole analysis of her character and why based on that it would be good to send the calling card closer to the deadline, but still, why did it have to be on the 18th? Why not the 17th or the 19th? After all, those dates are pretty close to the deadline as well. This just makes it more likely that Akechi’s monologue about Sae is a clever ruse to hide the fact that he is planning his own “mission” to mobilize the police to capture the Phantom Thieves in her palace on that date. 

7. The deal

One of the biggest indicators (in my opinion) that Akechi wouldn’t be a true member of the Phantom Thieves was his condition for cooperating with them: they disband after dealing with Sae’s palace. If he genuinely was interested in joining them or working together towards justice, he wouldn’t be giving them such an ultimatum. He does say that he wants to work with them because the mission would not be able to succeed without their cooperation, but even that comment is a bit sketchy because his referring to a “mission” could even mean that he has an ulterior motive, some other “mission” that he’s trying to carry out besides taking away Sae’s distorted desires. Anyway, because he generally did not approve of the Thieves and his motivation for working with them was questionable at best, it makes sense that he would have been the one to betray them.

8. Delicious Pancakes:

Finally, the most meme-ish canon hint that Goro Akechi is the traitor! This is basically the incident that tips off Akira and the Phantom Thieves that they should be suspicious of Akechi when he wants to make a deal and work with them later in the game. It’s one of those hints that you can catch when it happens (which is far earlier than the deal and whole traitor business), but it’s subtle enough that you do need to be paying some attention to what’s going on at the time, especially since it’s covered up well by Ryuji’s convincing response to Akechi that nope, no one was talking about pancakes, and the fact that no one actually addresses it afterwards until months later when the story is close to its climax. But even if you did forget that Morgana was the only one talking about pancakes and how delicious they were, you would have to wonder why Akechi was so specific about having heard someone say “delicious pancakes” when it sounds nothing like what Ryuji and Ann were talking about before he arrived on the scene. From the early-game standpoint, it’s an indicator that given the fact that he heard Morgana, Akechi probably isn’t the normal high-school detective that he appears to be, but after progressing to the later part of the game, it’s proof that Akechi could hear and understand Morgana from the very beginning, and therefore was another Metaverse user; he was the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns. 

Welp, that was long, but if you got this far, thanks so much and I hope you enjoyed reading! :D

Bonus hint: Akechi literally is a long-haired alternate dimension version of Light Yagami, I mean of COURSE he’s the crazy criminal masquerading as a detective/ordinary student! XD 

(Also no one asked but Futaba sits a lot like L so it really is like Light vs. L again except this time L WINS!!)

[saviorgenius]

Drowning Alone

Ship: Spencer Reid x Reader

Genre: Angst with self-deprecating humor

Summary: The reader is having a weird day and feels off. The team gets called on a case where a psychopath is emotionally traumatizing victims while holding them captive. The Unsub targets the mentally ill and the last victim is going to be a certain person. WARNING!!!!!! there will be talks of depression and self-loathing as the unsub and as the reader but it will have a happy ending ish 

Writers note:I’m not going to go into detail with the kidnapping part because I suck at it and also it would end up messing with my head and putting me in a bad place so I apologize if it seems skippy towards the end. Plus I kinda feel like this story sucks and no one will like it so I just want to get it over with lbs. 

Key:

(Y/N)- your name

(D/P/N)- Derek’s pet name for you

(P/N/N)- Penelope’s nickname for you.

You woke up this morning and just knew in an instant that it was going to be a sucky day. There wasn’t really anything you could do about it but pretend that you feel fine and head into work. Little things went wrong from the time you got out of bed until you made it to the BAU helped you remember the fact that today was the worst. You hit your toe on the bed frame, you dropped your toothbrush in the toilet, your hair is an untamable mess so you wear it up, the hot water in your apartment isn’t working and after you get dressed you make coffee and then that same exact coffee ends up being worn by you. That wasn’t even all of it, that was just the stuff that occurred in your apartment. When you eventually made it to work, you immediately went into the kitchen area to find a donut or bagel since you didn’t have time to stop and eat. All the foods you liked seemed to be out of stock, it honestly didn’t even surprised you. Then as you leave the kitchen Emily calls out for you, “We got a case!” and then everything else stops. You walk onto the jet and go straight to the seat that you normally sit in, it’s in the corner by the window so you can watch the sky go by as you fly to each and every place that you go. For some reason that one seat is the only place in the entire jet that you are able to fall asleep or feel calm. It was like your safe haven, nothing bad could go wrong there, and hopefully, today won’t change that. 

“Hey, (Y/N),” Spencer says as he walks over and sits in the seat across from you, he noticed you showed up late and that you weren’t exactly your normal talkative self.

You look over from where you were staring out of the window, “Hey Spence.” It wasn’t how you normally talk to Spencer, normally you smile and light up slightly just because it was him. There is something there that no one talks about, you believe it’s one-sided but in reality, there is a reason he is always around you, there is a reason that your favorite snacks are always available at the times you eat with the team.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, (Y/N), but are you alright?” He looks so concerned, you think about telling him the things you are thinking in your head just because he is super approachable but he’s also your team member. “I’m always here if you need to talk, I’ve been told I’m a very good listener.” A small smile appears on his lips as a way to try and cheer you up, it almost works but not quite. 

“I know you are but I’m okay, don’t worry.”

“But I do.” 

That is the simplest response to get from someone when you tell them not to worry yet when Spencer says the words, it gives you pause and makes you feel guilty that he even wants to know. “I’m just having an off day.”

“What do you mean?” He furrows his eyebrows and leans into the conversation.

“It’s just like I said, I’m having an off day.” You shrug and let your head fall back against the seat as you glance from the window to Spencer, “I just have a bad feeling in my gut about today.”

That didn’t sit well with Spencer, but he thought some positivity might help. “I’m sure everything’s going to be okay, don’t worry.”

Don’t worry. You laugh internally at the fact that Spencer just told you not to worry, that everything was going to be okay. Sure okay, how could you have missed such a simple solution. For the rest of the flight you sit in silence, you close your eyes and try to find a way to sleep for the amount of time you have left.

This case was an abduction case, the unsub takes women who have struggled with mental illness and use all their judgments about themselves to torture them. It was sickening to you, how could anyone do something this horrible to a person. The worst part is that he isn’t killing them, normally that would be seen as a good thing but the way that he gets into their heads changes them entirely. They become reliant on the things they hate about themselves, the only thing they can think about are those things. So far they haven’t been able to ID the man through the victims because none of them have seen his face and he used a voice manipulator while speaking to them.

As the case went on you and the team split up and began working different leads to cover more ground. The unsub took another two girls and you have 22 hours left to find them before their damage is unrepairable. You usually get paired up with Spencer or Emily, only because you and Emily are really close and bounce ideas off each other well. Sometimes you go with JJ, you don’t have anything against the rest of the team but Spencer and Emily are the two you are closest with just like how Derek is with Penelope and JJ acts with Spencer. Today though, you weren’t paired with anyone and honestly, you were fine with that. You wanted to be alone and if Spencer was with you he would have just tried to pry more into what was wrong. He means it in the best way possible, you know, but sometimes when you are having a bad day you just need to be left alone. 

JJ and Spencer were sent to talk with the first victim and their family, Derek and Emily went and talked to the people who had found Nicole, the first victim. Luke and Tara went to talk with the second victim, Katie, who was just found last night. You were sent to check out the second dumb site by yourself since you were down a team member. Rossi decided to take some personal time so that he can spend time with his daughter. 

The dump site was weird, it was like no one had ever set foot in the area for years yet for some reason the unsub left her there. You start to look around, this place gives you the creeps. The bad feeling that you have had all day grows stronger and causes you to physically stop in order for you to catch your breath. “Calm down, (Y/N), you’re just in a creepy place by yourself that’s all.” As you walk around the building making sure that it was secure you feel something like pins and needles all over your arms and the back of your neck, it causes you to touch your hand to your gone and swing around. There isn’t anyone or anything there so you calm down but there is still that feeling there, that someone is watching you. He picked this dump site meticulously, he must have considering how annoying it was for you to get here. At first, you thought maybe it was random, it’s an abandoned building, but now that you’ve seen it you can feel the ambiance it gives you and you see the resemblance to a psychiatric facility. It goes with his MO, making people hate themselves more than they already do, teaching them that they can’t live without it. It almost seems like the unsub is trying to talk through the victims, telling us that’s how he feels and that he believes he should be in a psychiatric facility. He doesn’t know how to control himself from his psychotic episode and he enjoys it at the same time. Pleading to be caught yet making sure he’s organized enough not to be. With what you found out at the site you decided to head back to the station that you guys set up in, the rest of the team was already there and you walk in mid brainstorming session.

“Got anything (D/P/N), you’ve been gone a while.” Derek smiles at you and Emily rolls her eyes because that nickname for you is just too much not to. 

“Yeah, I think I do actually.” You walk all the way in towards the board where Spencer was still pinning things up onto, “I think the unsub is lashing out at the victims the way he wants to lash out at himself. He needs help, well he wants it but doesn’t know how to ask for it while at the same time it almost seems he’s conflicted with how he wants this all to turn out. The site I was just at where Katie was left is an extremely specific and thought out place. It’s almost like he thinks, somehow in his mind, that he’s saving them.” You cringe at the thought, everything that he’s doing is beyond horrific, you couldn’t believe that those words even came out of your mouth. 

“Saving them?” JJ says trying to follow your train of thought.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just a theory.” You immediately shut down, usually, you don’t jump in on throwing out theories but this one was begging for you to say it.

“No, I think I see it,” Emily tries stopping your retreat. “We went to the first disposal site and there was this psychiatric hospital vibe. It was secluded too, the people who found Nicole were only there because they wanted to cut through and get home.”

“Nicole kept repeating things he had told her almost as a mantra, ‘I don’t deserve to live’, ‘I am a burden to the people I love.’ She almost looked helpless like she wanted to stop but the few days that he kept her he must have scared her enough to make her unable to stop even while she’s safe. That deep seeded hatred had to come from somewhere, the fact that he doesn’t kill them may represent how he tried to end his life once but either failed or couldn’t go through with it.”

You start piecing the different factors together in your head as you turn to look at the board, Spencer had just finished marking the locations of Nicole and Katie’s homes as well as where they were found. In retrospect, they didn’t live that far away from each other nor were the dump sites far so he definitely has a small comfort zone. 

A thought crosses your mind and you say it in a whisper not realizing it left your lips until Spencer asked you what you said. “What if the Unsub is the victim's therapist or counselor, it said in the file that Nicole and Katie were both on antidepressants and seeing counselors.”

Derek immediately calls Penelope, “Hey baby girl, you’re on speaker. Behave.”

“Or what you’ll spank me?”

Derek couldn’t help but let a smirk cross his face, no matter the situation if Penelope was involved it just felt wrong to be serious.

“What can I do for my favorite group of crime fighting badasses?”

“Can you check and see if Nicole and Katie have the same therapist?” You ask as you sit in one of the chairs around the table that Garcia, or the phone she is in, is sitting on. 

“Let me work some fabulous magic that can only be provided by me really quick aaaaaaand, that’s a negative sweetcheeks. Sorry.”

“Can you maybe check if they at least go to the same center?”

Garcia pauses for a moment before a slight noise of surprise leaves her mouth, “I didn’t notice at first because the company that was in Nicole’s therapy building bought the company that Katie’s therapist is at. They meshed into one big pile and are officially the same.”

“Thanks, Garcia,” you say and turn to look at the victims before looking back at your team as Derek hangs up with Penelope. “Anyone else thinks this was too easy?” Spencer furrows his eyebrows and you get a few other confused looks, “what? it usually takes a little longer to understand what the unsub is doing let alone where he is.”

“We still don’t know who he is.” Derek points out, “his organization and cockiness are what may be his undoing. He thinks that we won’t catch him since he wasn’t caught the first time.”

After a day of searching through all the overlaps that were possibilities of having to do with the case, they decided to call it a night and head to the hotel in order to get some sleep. You, on the other hand, were not in the mood for sleep and this guy was getting to you. It was almost like he was taunting you and you were making it personal since you’ve struggled with mental illness most of your life. Instead of going to the hotel you decided to go look at the last dump site one more time. Before you even made it to the SUV you were hit in the back of your head, next thing you feel is the cement scraping against your clothes as you are being dragged. The rest of the team was still inside, you hoped with everything in your body and soul that someone- anyone would walk out and stop this. You had no such luck, instead, the pain in your head overtook your sight and you started to black out. 

“All the people we have talked to so far aren’t a match to the profile. Yeah, some have parts of it but without the psychotic behavior he wouldn’t be kidnapping the women.” Emily and Spencer were walking out of the station talking about the case, they were waiting for you but didn’t realize that you had already left. Once it was apparent that you weren’t in the building they left and headed to the parking lot. 

“I think it’ll be smart to get some sleep, we’ve been working on this for the past 36 hours.” Emily rubs her temple under her bangs as she closes her eyes for a minute trusting herself to be able to follow Spencer’s voice for a moment. 

Something hits the tip of her shoe and she opens her eyes as she watches a phone spin in the direction her foot kicked it accidentally. Spencer looks at it in confusion before going to pick it up, “someone must have dropped their phone.”

He clicks the home button and the picture that pops up stops his heart, it’s a photo of the team at one of the get-togethers they had over at Rossi’s. The only person who wasn’t in the photo was you because you are the one who took it.

“It’s (Y/N)’s phone.”

“What, are you sure?” Emily takes the phone and looks at the picture, they both know that’s been her lock screen since she took the picture so there was no mistaking it as hers. 

They both stand there for a moment in shock as they think of all the different possibilities of what happened before rushing back into the station where everyone else still was. 

Time goes by and no one hears from you. Right now everyone is just assuming that the Unsub took you which would be a good assumption since it’s what happened.Spencer feels responsible somehow, he thinks there was a way he could have stopped it from happening. Maybe if he had just left the station with you or maybe if he would have asked you to wait for him before leaving you wouldn’t be in this situation. 

Everyone is working harder than before, which is saying something because that shouldn’t even be possible, Penelope called with an update saying that there were no men fitting the description they give her earlier that have had contact with both Nicole and Katie. 

It was like Spencer had an epiphany, he turned around and looked at the phone sitting on the conference table where Penelope is. “What if it’s not a man.”

Everyone stopped the work they were doing, “A woman?” Tara asks and then it all seemed to click for them, they have been so focused on it being a man because of the vague description the victims gave that it wasn’t even a thought. Now that it has been said though, all the pieces fit better. A woman would be more likely to try and kill herself and fail, woman are also more in tune with other peoples emotions and better at twisting words around. 

Penelope was already searching for a woman that crossed Nicole and Katie’s path as the team started discussing possibilities. One of the most likely one is that the drop site that you went to was important to the unsub and when you went to check out the scene she saw you. 

“Got her! Her name is Jennifer Riley, she’s a counselor who specializes in special cases and by special I mean the people who are ready to take their last breath. They come to her and she works them back to as much mental stability as possible.”

“Do you have an address?”

“Who do you think I am? It’s already sent to your phones now go save our (P/N/N).”

You told Spencer today was going to suck but you never realized how much. This was the day from hell and you honestly wish that you just wouldn’t have woken up this morning. You have no idea how long you have been knocked out but it’s really dark so either you’re in a room with no windows or it’s night time. “Fuck,” you say as you try and pull your hand up to your head to touch the area that hurts but ropes around your wrist don’t allow you. You clench your eyes shut and let your head fall back, your head was pounding.

“I see you finally woke up, I was starting to think you wouldn’t.”

“What a shame that would have been for you, huh.” Your eyes open as you search the darkness for the voice, you can’t see anything until a bright overwhelming light flashes on and blinds you. A sharp pain slashes through your head and once again your eyes are closed. You hear footsteps walking towards you and then suddenly they stop, something doesn’t feel right once again. 

“You don’t sound too upset that you could have died.”

“I’m pretty sure that was in the non-disclosure agreement I signed when I joined the BAU.”

“To not care about living or dying?”

“No, that it’s a possibility to be injured or die.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t still be scared of dying.”

You stop and listen to what this psychopath is saying, didn’t they just kidnap you? What does it matter to them? “Why do you care?”

“I don’t. It just proves I was right about you when I saw you earlier.”

“Right about what?”

The unsub clicks a button and then the next voice you here surprises you, “that you want to die.”

It’s a woman.. It makes sense, all of the behaviors felt a little off for it to be a man but not enough to say it wasn’t one. You hope that your team has already found this out or that they at least realize you’re missing.

“I don’t.” Your voice was hesitant, not purposefully, you’ve had your reservations about living but you though you were done with those thoughts. Now your depressed days are just your ‘I have a bad feeling’ days.

“No need lying dear, we’re the only ones here and we both know the truth.” She walks up to you and you beat yourself up for not realizing she was anwoman before.

“Go to hell.”

She just laughs at you as she takes a few more steps in your direction, “I’m already here. Now, let’s get started shall we?”

“If I say no does that mean I can go home?”

“No.”

“Didn’t think so.” You hand your head as a way to calm yourself down, you were already having a bad day so the things she’ll say to you may push you to a point you’ve not gone to before.

The things she says to you, you try to go to a different place in your head but it’s so hard. It’s like she knew what you thought of yourself or maybe it was just so obvious to other people because it was true- no it’s not you’re just horrible to yourself it’s not true, it can’t be. She keeps pushing and it’s hard to control the pain you feel, it’s like you’re being told all the things you already think about yourself are true. You chose to stay quiet and just give as little expression as possible, maybe that will make her want to stop.

It doesn’t.

She doesn’t stop.

You want her to stop.

You don’t even care if she stops anymore,

You just want it all to stop.

Tears are streaming down your cheeks but your face is blank. There are shadows of blue and red barely visible in the room, they must have found you.

She looks in the direction that you are and noticed as well. Next thing you know you’re being untied but yanked against her, you can’t even focus because of your mind feeling so full and lost. There is shouting from your capture, she’s pushing you towards the exit and on the way you trip over the floor since she wasn’t giving you enough time to walk. You land on your knees and she yanks you back up before continuing to walk out of the building. You feel something hard against your head but don’t register what it is until you turn your head and she’s pointing a gun directly at your face until you turn it back.

You see Emily and Spencer standing in front with the rest of the team, the moment that you two walk out everyone aims a gun at you and her except your team. They don’t want to hit you, the rest of the squad doesn’t care though, they just see the woman who has been torturing the people living in their town.

“DONT SHOOT, LOWER YOUR WEAPONS.”

Emily shouts and pushes the guns close to her down as Spencer continues making eye contact with you. “(Y/N), we’re going to get you out of this.”

You watch him, he believes what he said but all you can think is it even worth to save you? What could it hurt? Then your pain turned into self sacrifice, if you die here they will kill her too. She deserves it. “Shoot her, what she does to people is fucked up!” You start struggling and pulling away from the woman who hits you and holds you tighter putting the gun to your stomach to have a better grip. Spencer starts rushing forward but Emily holds him back as much as it sucks to do. If they aren’t going to do it then you have to. You look into Spencer’s eyes and he knows, somehow he knows you’re about to do something idiotic, stupid, dumb, which ever word works better. Both him and Emily notice and start to try and calm the situation but it’s too late, you grab the trigger on the gun aiming at your stomach and pull. It shoots through your stomach and into the woman, Spencer and Emily rush forward along with the team as the others apprehend the suspect.

“No no no, (y/n), why would you do that. God you’re so stupid sometimes, it’s going to be okay.” He adds pressure to the wound and you just look up at him, your hand moves and takes hold of his bloodied hand on your stomach.

“It’s okay.”

“No it’s not, WHERE IS THE MEDIC?” Spencer looked around and back to you, Emily got up to find the medic to bring them to you. “You’re not dying (Y/n).”

“Told you.” You cough and take a breath.

“What?”

“I’m having a bad day.”

He didn’t find it funny, not one bit but maybe later he would. Right now probably wasn’t the best time to make a joke as you lie in the cold ground bleeding. “Sorry too soon.”

Once the medics get to you they stabilized you and got you into the ambulance before rushing you off to the hospital. Spencer came in the car with you while the others drove behind following. He wouldn’t let go of your hand, you didn’t really want him to anyways. At the hospital you had to go into surgery, it took a few hours but once you were out and in a room the team surrounded you. This was your family, these are the people you’d hurt if you left them. That was more than enough of a reason to stay. What you didn’t realize is Spencer was still planning to have a conversation with you about what happened. The end.

[iscoliya]

The Thunderbird’s Call - Chapter 3

“I– Were there ever talks about Toku-san adopting me?” He finally turns to face the alpha and his eyes shimmer with a myriad of emotions; determination, curiosity, resignation and a whole lot of doubt. Putting the pieces together in his head, Kazuya steels himself for the argument that is about to ensue. While the easiest way out might be to spin some kind of lie or pretext, he knows Eijun doesn’t deserve it, not when he is looking at him so pleadingly.

“Yes.” Due to their close proximity, he feels more than hears the other’s breath hitch for a moment.

“But?”

“But I asked him not to.”

«chapter 2 || read on ao3

Toku

Even though it has been more than a year since the last time he found himself in this position, or rather this particular company, to him it hasn’t been long enough. However, dire situations call for drastic measures and if managed poorly, the current one could turn from bad to worse at the drop of a hat. The attack on his scouting party and the subsequent death of general Kataoka and six other soldiers have hit the kingdom hard, not least because of the loss of who was considered one of the greatest military leaders of their time. What is more, he himself has lost one of his closest confidants and a dear friend, but even almost a month after the tragic events he can’t allow himself to mourn in peace; the details surrounding the incident don’t bode well for Seidou and the fact that they still don’t have any leads on who is behind the ambush doesn’t make their task any easier.

“What do you mean you couldn’t find him?”

As it turns out, neither does the brusque character of Todoroki Raizou.

“I am afraid it is as I said,” Yuuki explains patiently, standing tall beside his seat, “Sakaki-san is currently nowhere to be found. I have lead a squad to Yura Sougou myself and no one was able to give us any information on his current whereabouts. It appears he has not been seen ever since around the time our men left there.”

“So he went into hiding,” Kunitomo states in his usual stern fashion and even though his expression doesn’t betray any of his thoughts, Toku has known him for long enough to notice the lines on his face hardening ever so slightly in unease.

“That or he didn’t vanish voluntarily. We cannot rule out the possibility of someone having a hand in his disappearance.” His gaze sweeps through the room briefly, noticing the sceptical looks on his fellow kings’ faces. “Either way, we have spread the news among our allies, in case he surfaces anywhere within our territories we should know. The question remains though, what kind of information he provided Tesshin with that he would deem it necessary to keep quiet about it until he could arrange a meeting with me.”

“Which apparently got him killed, if your telling of the enemy retreating after he fell is any indication,” Ichidaisan’s leader Tahara contributes while scratching his chin thoughtfully. “It appears they wanted to send a message rather than to try to wipe out the whole troop.”

He nods affirmatively. “That is what has me worried as well. If it was a ploy purely meant to do damage to our forces, they would not have stopped until they either saw no other way out or killed every last one of our men. The assailants targeted him specifically and the whole affair seems too well planned out for it to be a coincidence. Someone needs to have had inside knowledge about what it was that Tesshin and Sakaki discussed.”

“Did you get anything from the bodies?” At Kunitomo’s question Toku can only shake his head regretfully.

“Non-descript armour and weaponry, inconspicuous clothing and appearance. There was no indication as to who sent them or where they came from. No one from our forces was able to recognise any of the ones we discovered, either.”

His remarks are met with an uneasy bout of silence, until Todoroki raises his voice again.

“Kinda odd how those scumbags knew exactly which stretch of land to attack at, dontcha think?” he drawls, picking his ear with his little finger all the while. “On allied territory no less, entering and sneaking around completely undetected…”

“What are you insinuating?” And of course Kunitomo can’t let the indirect accusation slide; as level headed as the Inashiro king usually is, he is not particularly known to take slights against his person or people lightly.

“Hey, I’m not insinuating anything, you can’t exactly deny that it seems a little improbable that a whole band of suspicious looking rats managed to parade through your lands without anyone noticing.” Shrugging his shoulders, he turns his downright provocative grin in Toku’s direction. “C’mon, you can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”

The worst part is that he really can’t; of course the thought has crossed his mind, he wouldn’t make for a good king if he didn’t consider all possibilities. It doesn’t help that up until the last ruling generation Seidou and Inashiro had either not been on the most amicable terms in the best or downright at war with each other in the worst case. It was only during the reign of Toku’s father that a peace treaty and, another decade later, a trade agreement could be negotiated between the two rival kingdoms. However, all of these issues seem like ancient history these days and quite a few people are even speculating about a potential match between Seidou’s heir to the throne and Inashiro’s omega prince. But that is a whole other story, one he definitely doesn’t want to dwell on right now; it’s not like his son hasn’t given him enough headaches regarding that topic as it is.

Getting back to the current dilemma, he just can’t figure out any logical reason for Inashiro being behind the attack, even if it truly seems like the most obvious conclusion, like Todoroki suggested. Of course, back when the treaty between the kingdoms was established there were some people who didn’t quite agree with the peaceful outcome, people who either had some kind of personal interest in keeping the conflict alive or lost someone over the course of the war and were out for revenge. And Toku himself knows all too well the dangers a deep-rooted grudge can entail. Still, even if the perpetrators are a group of rogue soldiers or mercenaries, the details of the incident as well as Kunitomo’s genuinely vexed reaction to the accusation don’t add up in a way that would point towards an official involvement of the crown.

“There is no reason for such assumptions here,” he finally interjects, trying to mediate between the two parties and scotch any possible conflict before it can arise. “Whoever is behind this might aim exactly for this result, putting doubts in our minds and seeding discord within the alliance. And what is left if we start to mistrust each other and our loyalties?” Once again, he takes in the faces of everyone in the room, Kunitomo, Todoroki and Tahara, each with one of their most trusted guards at their side; Harada Masatoshi, Sanada Shunpei, Omae Takahiro. No, he most certainly can’t afford to begin doubting any of them now. “I do not believe that Inashiro had anything to do with what happened, so we should start to look somewhere else.”

“What about the Eastern realm? Yura Sougou is not too far from the border to Seikou” Tahara points out, to which Toku hums contemplatively; another alternative he has already pondered often enough.

“It is true that we have had more than our fair share of trouble with the Easterners in the past, but why would they orchestrate an attack now, when there have been attempts to negotiate a potential treaty between our realms?”

“Maybe they want to speed things up, make you desperate for more allies in the face of an unknown threat.” As he mulls Todoroki’s suggestion over in his head, he marvels yet again at the insight Yakushi’s king shows every now and then; despite the nonchalant and at times downright careless attitude he often displays, he can be surprisingly astute once he puts his mind to something. Either way, he does have a fair point, though the idea still doesn’t explain why the assailants would go after Kataoka specifically.

“That or they want to achieve a pact through brute force, if they think they have the upper hand in regards to military strength,” Kunitomo chips in with his own thoughts. “Even though they are inferior to us in the extent of our territories and economical stability, their resolve is not to be underestimated, especially Teito’s. King Okamoto is not exactly known for being cowed easily.”

“Be that as it may, I still believe that the best way to shed more light on the situation is to find Sakaki and get some answers from him. In the meantime, border patrols should be increased and tell your soldiers to keep an eye out for any kind of suspicious activities,” Toku advises with as much authority as he can manage after their long session. In his opinion, it is as good a time as any to put a halt to their discussion for now. “We will recommence our talk in the morning. Until then, please enjoy the banquet this evening.”

Following his parting words, Todoroki is the first to rise, Tahara close behind with a delighted “Marvellous!”. Kunitomo, however, remains seated even after the two have exited the chambers along with their guards, his unwavering gaze fixed on Toku. With a small hand gesture, he beckons to Yuuki and Harada to leave as well, sensing that the upcoming conversation is going to be a private one. He guesses he can already imagine what the other wants to ask him about and he mentally prepares himself for another tiring talk.

“There is something we should discuss.”

_____________

Youichi

“Man, why does it have to be this hot for the fourth day in a row now…”

“It’s still summer, senpai, what do you expect? Also, you didn’t have to tag along, y’know?”

“Don’t you sass me, knucklehead! And someone has to keep your sorry ass from getting lost again.”

“That was one time!”

“It was at least two times, Eijun-chan.”

“Masuko-senpai, back me up here!”

Although he could do without the scorching heat, Youichi guesses there are worse ways to spend his day than strolling through the streets of the capital at a leisurely pace, stopping every now and then to talk to people or browse through merchants’ goods. Especially if it means getting away from the barracks and the accompanying soldiers from the Inashiro, Yakushi and Ichidaisan entourages, some of whom seem a little too eager to demonstrate their fighting prowess; seriously, he feels like has had more than his fair share of alpha testosterone in one place to last him through his entire life. Also, he muses silently as he listens to Eijun squabbling with Masuko over one thing or another, it might be the best way to keep a closer eye on a certain young omega.

Despite what some people think Youichi notices quite a bit more than your usual observer, and where others might have brushed the younger’s behaviour off as fairly normal if not a little quiet during the past week, the alpha just knows that something is up. He hasn’t missed the dark circles underneath the other’s eyes nor the way he clutches his head grimacing when he thinks nobody is watching. Combined with an unusually slack performance in training as well as a lack of appetite the whole thing has him a little worried, even if he would never admit it to anyone, and it irks him slightly that he hasn’t managed to figure out what exactly is wrong. Of course, some omegas tend to be rather sensitive if not moody whenever they reach a certain point of their cycle, but the first and last time he asked whether Eijun’s heat is coming around soon almost gained him a solid sword swing to the head. He still possesses some sense of self-preservation, thank you very much.

Looking at him now, however, he almost seems back to his normal self, shining eyes, lively composure and just so loud. Well, even that is nothing that a good kick can’t fix in his eyes.

“Pipe down, idiot, you’re creating a ruckus!”

“Ow! Would you stop that?!”

“I will if you stop being an idiot already! But I guess that’s impossible if it’s you, hyaha!”

Their banter continues all the way down to the main market place, Eijun yelling out greetings to the people he knows along the way; the owner of the little tea shop down the road, the old lady managing the small izakaya around the corner, the dressmaker’s children, the armourer’s apprentice– Damn, at this point the kid might know half of the city, though it shouldn’t surprise Youichi very much; his sunny character coupled with his open and sincere attitude is something barely anyone might be able to elude. Even if he isn’t part of royalty or some important family, few people living at the palace tend to take time out of their schedule to mingle among and talk to what is perceived as the common folk. Although it seems like a pity, showing actual interest in their daily life and issues isn’t something just anyone would offer freely without any kind of ulterior motive nowadays, and people remember kindness when it is given. Truly, what a troublesome people magnet the alpha has chosen to babysit.

Arriving at the large open space filled with small stands offering all kind of merchandise, their trio’s pace drops down to an almost standstill, not least because of all the people crowding around the booths. No matter how many times Youichi has visited this place, it is always fascinating to see so many different vendors, both local ones and those hailing from all kinds of countries, selling their wares.

“Say, Masuko-senpai, shouldn’t you still be resting with that arm of yours?” Eijun asks out of the blue, munching happily on a peach he has just purchased from a fruits stall.

Youichi also turns to the third member of their group at the question, curious himself about the actual state of his injury since they haven’t really talked about it in a while. Though the incident that claimed several of their fellow soldiers’ lives and injured most of the rest dates back a month already, he knows that the older alpha’s recovery hasn’t been exactly easy. Having escaped the battle with several bruised ribs, a dislocated elbow and some nasty flesh wounds, he was confined to bed for over a week and had to take things easy ever since. In fact, this marks the first day he has strayed from the barracks or training grounds in quite some time and although he looks like his usual sturdy self, he still has his bandaged arm in a sling to show for his part in the confrontation. Yet he still manages to cut an imposing figure with his tall, hefty stature and clad in the guards’ uniform. At first glance it is hard to imagine that the reticent giant could actually be as soft-hearted as he is deep inside; if you aren’t on the opposing end of his trusted sword, that is. He, too, has over the years become increasingly fond of the omega he is now smiling at placatingly.

“No need to worry, just a little longer and I’ll be as good as new, Eijun-chan.”

Right when the other opens his mouth as if to respond, something or someone seems to catch his attention in the distance, but before Youichi can turn around to see what it is, the omega raises his hand in a wave, grinning widely. “Ishida-san, wait up!”

“Wha– Oi!” But he is already off, disappearing in the throng around them before the alpha can stop him. Youichi swears he can already feel a headache coming. “That absolute moron.”

When he returns his gaze to the soldier at his side, he is met with a knowing smirk and a pair of raised eyebrows.

“Not a word,” he hisses, although a bit half-heartedly. So what if he worries for the little shit, he’s just doing his job in looking out for him.

“Relax, he is perfectly capable of taking care of himself,” Masuko, ever the voice of reason, tries to calm the situation, and he knows that, damn it! Still–

“Always attracting trouble is what he is, damn brat.” His following string of expletives is suddenly interrupted by what sounds like a menacing growl but turns out to be his companion’s stomach, protesting in hunger. At the other’s sheepish look, he can only sigh in defeat. “Whatever, I’ll see you later.”

While he is trying to convince himself that he isn’t keeping an eye out for that familiar unruly mop of brown hair, he strolls around the market place, stopping every now and then to inspect the goods on display. And finally, when his eyes land on a stall selling all kinds of smaller weaponry, he knows he found what he has been looking for unconsciously.

It has been a while that he has been thinking of picking up a courting gift for Ryousuke to make his intentions clear once and for all; up until now he has been a little hesitant to try engaging in an actual courtship, not least because the older didn’t show any indication of taking that step himself. But even without any of them addressing the matter directly, he is fairly certain that these feelings of his would be reciprocated if he just took a leap of faith. Right from the start, the two of them have been training partners, then friends and at some point that bond evolved into something even deeper, like they know each other inside out and would trust the other with their life without a second thought. To Youichi, it seems only logical to turn what they have now into the real deal; and admittedly, the whole dancing around each other might be driving him a little crazy by now.

As he steps towards the booth, his eyes are positively drawn towards one particular item; a set of five throwing knives, the metal gleaming under the bright sunlight. Taking a closer look at the weapons, he notices fine gold and silver details worked into each of the thin hilts and when he picks one of them up, the knife feels incredibly light in his palm. The fit may be a little awkward, but while Youichi isn’t used to such small weaponry, he has no doubt that it would suit Ryousuke and his penchant for daggers of all kinds.

“A fine choice you have made there, young man!” The vendor, a middle-aged man who seems to have just finished attending to another customer, approaches him. “The blades are crafted from stainless steel and sharpened to cut through any kind of leather armour like it’s nothing.” The alpha watches as his counterpart picks up another knife, pulls it out of its sheath and lifts it on one fingertip. “Their perfect balance and light weight allows for a larger range of usage than is common with these weapons, though they might not be suited for inexperienced beginners.”

In the end, it doesn’t take long for Youichi to decide on purchasing the set and he leaves with the satisfaction of finally having found the ideal courting gift, even if it put quite the dent in his savings; still, what are a few months worth of pay compared to the idea of wringing an honest smile from the usually stoic and reserved older Kominato brother.

He doesn’t notice that he is still grinning like some kind of love-struck fool when the crowd parts for a moment and he spots a certain figure some way up ahead, one he has been on the lookout for all this time. His smile turns downright sinister at the prospect of dishing out a mean kick or two coupled with a few choice words. However, before he can reach his elusive kouhai, he sees the other turn away from someone in leave-taking only to bump right into an elderly man passing by behind him and it is only due to Eijun’s exceptional reflexes that he can prevent both of them from tumbling to the ground. That klutz–

Fully prepared to teach the other to be more aware of his surroundings, Youichi quickens his steps only to stop short when he notices the awestruck expression on the old man’s face as he looks upon the young omega.

Well, that is not your usual reaction to almost being bowled over.

He can’t exactly explain why, but something about the stranger puts him on edge, even more so when he hears him mumble a hesitant “Your Highness?”.

Eijun, ever the oblivious fool, reacts to the address with a slightly embarrassed laugh, scratching his head bashfully. “Ah, I’m afraid I’m not part of the royal family, though I do live at the palace.”

Seemingly shaking himself out of whatever stupor he is in, the stranger lets loose a rasping chuckle. “You must forgive an old man, young one. You look just like someone I once knew, but my memories must be playing tricks on me.” Still, even from where he stands, Youichi notices him taking a good look at the younger, eyes never leaving his face and an enigmatic smile on his lips.

“Guess you have mistaken me for someone else, then. Must be one of these common faces,” the omega grins awkwardly with a shrug of his shoulders.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what is your name, young man?”

And that settles it; the whole encounter is just too weird for him to ignore it any longer.

“Oi, moron!” His yell immediately draws the intended target’s attention and his smile turns into a suffering grimace, already anticipating what is about to come. “Time to go!”

“Senpai, it’s rude to interrupt others’ conversations!” Despite his protest, he trots towards the alpha obediently, but decides to turn briefly in the old man’s direction for a parting comment. “It’s Eijun, have a good day, Sir!”

Since he turns back around immediately, he can’t witness the stranger’s reaction to his words, but Youichi does; eyes wide, face suddenly void of any colour and mouth opening in astonishment, the man looks by all means as if he has seen a ghost. And though he is curious as to what the heck is going on, he decides that getting the hell out of here takes priority in this moment. As soon as the pair is well out of earshot, however, he pulls the other in a tight headlock.

“What are you doing giving your name out to some random stranger?!” he hisses sharply, pulling the other along, preferably away from prying eyes and ears.

“Ow, ow, OW! What do you mean, he was just a friendly old man!”

“Just a friendly old man that was way too interested in you and clearly not from around here!” After another moment, he gives in to Eijun’s struggles and releases him while pondering the man’s appearance. Though he looked fairly average on first glance with his grey hair and beard and frail stature, his clothing had ‘outsider’ written all over it; the colours, the texture and the subtle fur attachments despite the high temperatures, it all seems like some weird style from a far away realm. “I mean I get that you seemingly want to befriend everyone you meet for whatever godforsaken reason, but would it really hurt to use your brain every once in a while?!”

“Geez, what crawled up your ass and died?” the omega mumbles sullenly and despite the bodily itch to show him the answer to that question in great detail, Youichi can only sigh in frustration. Why does it always have to be him?

“Let’s go look for Masuko-san, we wanted to be back in time for dinner.”

_____________

Eijun

As expected, in the end they found the missing third member of their party at a small tea shop known for the delicious dango the serve there. Some time used to persuade Masuko to break away from his precious sweets and a trek back up to the palace later, Eijun finds himself walking through the familiar hallways towards his room. Now that he is on his own again, he can feel the exhaustion creeping back into his bones.

Ever since the last study lesson, headaches have become a frequent companion of his and no potion or other remedy seems to be able to ward them off. Adding the nightmares keeping him awake regularly to that, he feels like a veritable wreck more often than not. The worst thing is that it can’t even be because of his cycle, since his next heat isn’t due for another month and a half; and he really isn’t looking forward to undergoing that yet again.

Aching to get rid of the clothes sticking to his body as a result of the sweat-inducing afternoon sun outside, he quickens his steps, but just as he is about to round the last corner, he bumps right into someone coming from the opposite direction. In moments like this he can somewhat understand what Kuramochi means whenever he calls him a clumsy idiot; barring being called an idiot, of course. His knee-jerk reaction is to apologise and bow deeply, but he stops cold when his gaze meets that of a pair of icy blue eyes.

“Oh, if it isn’t our resident stray.” The derogatory undertone of that otherwise melodious voice isn’t lost on Eijun and he has to grit his teeth in order not to bare them towards the other in reflex. “Hi there, Eijun-kun. Long time no see.”

“Mei-san,” he greets curtly, nothing like the friendly and open way with which he usually regards people.

“Aw, don’t be like that,” the other smiles mockingly, “What’s up with that face? Not sleeping well?” Of course he has noticed his overall tired appearance at first sight; if nothing else his sense of observation is admittedly impeccable.

“What are you doing here?” He decides there’s no point in meaningless small talk or beating around the bush, he is too worn out for that bullshit right now. Within moments, Mei’s smile turns into a haughty sneer.

“Isn’t it obvious? I came along when Father was invited to participate in the War Council. Pity about your soldiers, the General too.” At the half-hearted condolences Eijun’s has to ball his hands into fists at his side. No matter how desperately he wants to sock his fellow omega in the face upon that comment, it wouldn’t do to cause an incident, especially considering the other is still high above him in rank.

“Don’t play dumb with me, we both know you didn’t have to participate in the trip!” Seeing as they had known each other since childhood, maybe at one point in time he would have given a damn about speaking to the prince in this manner, but he wasn’t a clueless child anymore, too intimidated by his adversary’s charisma and standing to react to what back then were merely petty insults.

“Who knows?” He shrugs nonchalantly, but the glint in his eyes as well as the fact that this is Mei tell Eijun that there is most definitely a reason behind his presence. “I guess I wanted to see how Kazuya is doing these days. I hear he still hasn’t decided on his future mate.”

At that, he feels himself blanch slightly and like someone has punched him in the gut hard. Of course he has heard about the rumours people tend to cook up every now and then. Of course he knows that the princes’ acquaintance goes way back, even longer than that between Kazuya and himself. Still, he never would have believed– He couldn’t imagine–

“And what would that have to do with you?” he asks, licking his suddenly dry lips. He doesn’t really expect a straightforward answer to his implied question, or rather he hopes for the reason some part of his brain whispers dejectedly not to be true. Surely, Kazuya would have told him, wouldn’t he?

“Heh, you always were the funny one. If nothing else, you got that talent for comedic relief going for you.” A bark of obnoxious laughter leaves the blonde before he pauses and gives Eijun a once-over, still with that deprecatory expression on his face. “Honestly, to this day I don’t know what Kazuya sees in you. I guess your eyes are pretty, but the rest leaves something to be desired.” While talking, he steps closer so they are almost nose-to-nose. “You’re loud, annoying and overall barely average, especially for an omega. I mean look at you.”

Now more than ever he is aware of the grave difference in their appearances; the other dressed royally in a colourful yukata, seemingly not a hair out of place, while he himself opted for simple clothes for his trip into town, the fabric soaked with sweat and possibly smelly by now, dishevelled and dirty in some spots due to his roughhousing with Kuramochi. Inashiro’s prince, adopted as a small child by king Kunitomo after the untimely death of his parents, who were from a noble house close to the royal family. And him, a simple omega without even a last name, accepted into the palace but never quite belonging. The sobering thought makes his heart sink and the previous annoyance with the other evaporates into nothingness. It’s not like he could disagree with something so blatantly true.

“Has it never occurred to you why the King may treat you like one of his own but has never officially adopted you into the family?” Even close as they were standing, Eijun couldn’t quite decide whether his counterpart’s mien leaned more towards malicious or pitying.

“Your Highness!”

Flinching back from their closeness, they both turn to see Mei’s attendant hurrying towards them, though the prince waves him aside with a hand gesture and a sickeningly sweet smile.

“I’ll be right there, Itsuki!” As he makes to follow the beta to whatever destination he is headed for, he pauses one more time at Eijun’s side. “You should ask Kazuya about it, I’m sure he can tell you a thing or two.”

Even after the other is long gone, the omega remains standing in place, pondering the previous exchange. Despite knowing Mei was probably just trying to get a rise out of him, he might have been right in one point; maybe it really is time to finally get some answers.

_____________

Kazuya

A frustrated sigh leaves his lips as he stands in front of his mirror, trying to tame his hair into some kind of style that can be deemed appropriate for a formal evening dinner. He knows he is stalling for time, but in between dealing with both military affairs and public audiences all day long he feels like he hasn’t had some time to himself in ages and isn’t exactly looking forward to spending the rest of the night exchanging pleasantries and undergoing shallow entertainment. Not that he can’t appreciate dance and music demonstrations like the next person every once in a while, but today he would rather be doing anything else.

Finally satisfied with his efforts – or giving up on the task, depending on how you look at it – he straightens out his hakama one last time before departing from his chambers. The direction his steps lead him in isn’t that of the palace’s grand dining hall, however, but that of the omega wing; and while some part of his brain tells him that his actions might cause certain rumours to emerge if someone apart from the guards notices him entering or leaving, he honestly couldn’t care less in this moment. Due to their different schedules and the added stress of receiving the entourages of their three biggest allies he hasn’t seen Eijun in days and he could really use the cheering up being around the omega usually entails.

To his relief he encounters no one in the hallways leading up to his intended destination and when he knocks on the wooden sliding door, a call of “Just a moment!” answers him. He decides to enter anyway, propriety be damned, and is met with the sight of Eijun pulling his nagajuban shut hastily.

“What the hell, Miyuki Kazuya? Don’t you know the meaning of ‘Just a moment’?!”

An unbidden smile creeps its way on Kazuya’s lips at that exclamation alone and he silently confirms his previous thoughts; even when only being his usual self, the other is always a riot.

“It’s not like you were undressing or anything,” he retorts, which is met by a grumbled “I could have been”. “Do you need help with that?”

“I can dress myself just fine!” The indignant tone in his voice prompts the alpha to chuckle in amusement and he leans against the wall with crossed arms while the other continues to get ready.

In the ensuing quiet of the room, disturbed only by the rustling of clothes, he feels a sense of contentment rushing over him, even through such a simple act as watching his omega get dressed. ‘Not your omega,’ he has to remind himself, and the thought calls a slight bitterness to the forefront of his mind. Shoving the notion aside for now, he busies himself with appreciating the striking contrast between Eijun’s tanned skin and the white colour of the undergarment, which soon disappears underneath a dark blue outer robe. Simple in making yet formal enough to serve its purpose, the ensemble manages to highlight its wearer’s slender though fit body structure in all the right places. Like so many times before, Kazuya mourns the fact that the other isn’t allowed to attend the formal banquet along with him and the other royals, but instead will be going to dine with other members of their and their allies’ courts; something about only official members of the royal families being invited that the alpha can only shake his head at in resentment, especially since he knows of Eijun’s self-conscious thoughts regarding his standing.

“You’re being awfully quiet today,” he remarks when minutes pass by without any of them raising their voice and his counterpart is on the verge of finishing.

“Not much to say,” he shrugs the statement off and that is something the prince isn’t particularly inclined to believe, seeing that he usually has a hard time getting the other to shut up every once in a while. Coupled with the fact that the omega somehow seems to evade eye contact apart from their brief interaction when he entered the room, Kazuya knows that something isn’t right. So when the other tries to pass him by without another word, he stops him with a gentle yet resolute hand to the chest.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Only then does Eijun lift his gaze to meet his, and what he sees there has him taken aback for a moment; he has heard about the other having trouble sleeping lately, but the sheer weariness in his expression is downright shocking to see. Their staring match lasts for another few moments before the omega’s lips pull into a wry smile.

“Right, can’t forget my brand, can I.” Turning to the back of the room and marching towards his personal belongings, he misses the deep frown Kazuya’s face adopts at his words. Something is definitely very, very wrong here.

“What has gotten into you?” he asks, his tone sharper than intended, as he follows after Eijun, who by now has picked up a piece of jewellery from among his possessions, studying it contemplatively. Taking it from the other as gently as he can manage in this moment, he takes a brief look at it himself, even though he knows the shape of the charm inside out; he was the one to commission it, after all. Dangling from a fine metal chain, beautifully made of a gold alloy, is Seidou’s royal crest, a diamond shape with curved sides inside twin circles*. A present he gave him after that incident to wear whenever the palace hosts foreign guests who don’t know about him being under direct protection of the crown. And even though its primary purpose is to ensure its owner’s safety, Kazuya can admit to himself that it also pleases his alpha side to see the mark of the royal family – his mark – displayed so blatantly on the other for everyone to see. However, this is the first time the omega seems to regard it with something akin to rejection if not bitterness.

He is yet again surprised when Eijun lets him put the necklace in place carefully without any fuss and stands completely still even when Kazuya, after finishing the task, uses the opportunity of their closeness to run his fingers lightly along the slender neck presented to him.

“Won’t you tell me what’s going on?” He forces himself to wait patiently when his murmured question isn’t met with an immediate answer. Letting his hand wander downwards along the other’s back, he relishes in the miniscule shudder his actions elicit.

“I spoke to Mei-san today.”

At these words, his caresses come to an abrupt stop. Now that explains quite a bit. His first instinct is to tell him to forget whatever nonsense Inashiro’s prince spouted; knowing Mei and his callous penchant for stirring up trouble wherever he goes, he probably put some kind of idea in the omega’s head that would drive a wedge between him and Kazuya. Even back when they were kids he excelled at playing mind games and for whatever reason Eijun has always been one of his preferred targets. He doesn’t brush the issue aside just yet, though, since he is admittedly curious as to what has the younger so distraught.

“I– Were there ever talks about Toku-san adopting me?” He finally turns to face the alpha and his eyes shimmer with a myriad of emotions; determination, curiosity, resignation and a whole lot of doubt. Putting the pieces together in his head, Kazuya steels himself for the argument that is about to ensue. While the easiest way out might be to spin some kind of lie or pretext, he knows Eijun doesn’t deserve it, not when he is looking at him so pleadingly.

“Yes.” Due to their close proximity, he feels more than hears the other’s breath hitch for a moment.

“But?”

“But I asked him not to.”

Silence follows his answer, but it isn’t the comfortable, peaceful kind from before but full of tension and distrust.

“Why would you do that?” Eijun finally finds his voice again and Kazuya hates how it breaks slightly at the end. But there’s no way out now.

“Because I didn’t want you as my brother,” he says and within a second finds himself seized by the lapels of his robe and pulled forward until there are only inches left between their faces. The other looks furious by now, teeth bared and a tell-tale glimmer in his golden eyes.

“How can you just say that so carelessly?!” A surprisingly hard shake accompanies the yelled accusation and although this brash version of the omega is much more familiar to Kazuya than the quiet, apathetic one, he starts to feel a stab of annoyance creeping in.

“I’m still your prince, you know,” he retorts half-jokingly, but he could kick himself for it when Eijun’s reaction is to flinch back as if burned, face closing off once again.

“You’re right, I apologise.” He hints at a shallow bow and turns in the direction of the door. “Have a nice evening, Your Highness.” Before he can get too far, however, the alpha grips his wrist tightly.

“You didn’t let me finish.” Even to his own ears his voice sounds a little harsh, and he takes a deep breath to calm himself down. “How could I want you as my brother, when you are so much more?”

Slowly, the strain seems to leave the other’s body, his shoulders sagging as he turns back towards him, though he still wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“What am I, then?” And isn’t that the question; but there is only one way to answer it.

“You’re mine,” he states, his words leaving no room for argument. Softening his grip, he pulls the omega in until their foreheads touch against each other. As the familiar calming scent surrounds him, Kazuya closes his eyes and relishes the warmth the skin contact calls forth. “Isn’t that enough?”

“Am I, though?” Eijun whispers, but leans just that bit more into the touch. He can’t explain it, but the doubtful response somehow irks the alpha and he puts a firm hand on the other’s nape, keeping him in place.

“You swore, do you remember?”

As if it was yesterday, he sees the back then barely eight year old kneeling before him, pledging his life to the prince in a manner that is usually reserved to soldiers swearing life-long loyalty to their liege lord. Even now, the words resound clearly in his mind.

“I hereby swear to protect you like you have protected me and place my life in your hands to do with as you see fit. This I promise, from this day on until my last day.”

“I did.”

Even though it was an innocent act, born from childish naivety and gratefulness, in Kazuya’s mind it has always equalled a binding oath, the abidance by which he will see through one way or another.

“Then say it.”

And in this moment, the two of them face to face with one another, noses bumping and their scents mingling, something clicks into place.

“I’m yours.”

These words are all it takes to shatter Kazuya’s resolve at last and as if sealing both their fates, he takes Eijun’s lips in a searing kiss.

_____________

* The crest is inspired by the official emblem of Kokubunji, a city located in the western part of the Tokyo prefecture, which Seidou is situated in in the original storyline

[silvana-fangirls]

Target [Dabi x ua!Reader] Chapter 7

I really don’t even want to excuse myself, but I kinda have to because I don’t know when the next update it’s gonna be up and it’s for the exact same reason so...

Hey guys, it’s me... after so much time. First of all I wanna thank the ones that reached out to me through my ask box (I will answer those in a sec) and through PM. I am okay, just crazy busy I suppose. We got a new project in the place I work so it’s really been consuming my life for the past month... that and college. So yeah, it’s been hard. i haven’t even been able to reblog or so much like posts here on tumblr aaaand I’m still dealing with it so while I wanna promise that the next update will be up soon I don’t wanna lie to you guys. I’m not saying ‘IT’S GONNA TAKE MONTHS!!!!’ because it can take only days or weeks, but it depends... and I don’t wanna compromise. 

Anyways, feels good to be back and update this. Feels good to dive in in this story as well... I’ve missed it. 

I hope you enjoy this chapter, tho. Please let me know. 

ALSO READ NOTES AT THE END THEY ARE IMPORTANT

Links to chapters:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

TAG TO FIC IS: SILVANA WRITES : TARGET

READ IT IN [AO3]

or below the cut

Dabi felt like he lost a small battle when he sent Twice to give the girl her next meal after the ‘incident’ or whatever that type of situation could be called.

It felt like somehow he complied what she ordered him to do, and following orders never sat well with him. So, he kinda was cursing at himself right now for ‘giving in’ in some way.

It wasn’t because he wanted to please her in any way, though. It was mostly because of her words left him mute at that moment.

“Just tell me what you want from me”

The fact that he didn’t even have an answer for himself was pissing him off.

What was the true reason why he was the one who was acting as a maid?

Shigaraki didn’t ask him to do so. He didn’t even mention the girl once when he talked to him these past days (he did mention her to the other members of the League, though. Dabi found that quite odd but haven’t really commented on it. It’s not like he was interested anyways).

It just sort of happened before he could even realize what was going on.

The first morning in the new base Twice was sent in his civilian outfit to get something to eat for the prisoner. It seemed that it only downed to them that the girl hasn’t really eaten anything in more than a day, and it wouldn’t really be convenient if she died on them accidentally. Killing her would be more profitable.

Twice returned quickly from his small trip to the nearest grocery store, possibly because one of his ‘sides’ somehow had a little soft spot for the girl. He was quick to put on his suit again and heat up a small cup of instant noodles before rushing to her ‘room’. All while Dabi’s eyes followed his every move from the only couch that the base had, that was conveniently placed somewhere with a very great view of her door.

Magne was sent to the grocery store later in the day, since Shigaraki trusted her with food much more than anyone else in the place. She returned a couple of hours later, casually commenting that she only stole half of the stuff she brought with her.

Spinner then offered to help with the food. They made omurice for the League and lazily put some frozen nuggets in the small oven for the prisoner.

The next thing Dabi knew was that he snatched her tray of food just before Twice could get his hands on it.

“I’ll take care of it” The words slipped out of his mouth.

He could feel Shigaraki’s eyes on him as he made his way towards the girl’s room.

He brushed it off.

It wasn’t the first time something like this happened to him. It’s been happening for the past years of his life. He unconsciously realized he wanted to do something and he did it. No doubts, no questions asked, no overthinking.

He functioned better this way, and he liked functioning this way, too.

He won’t ever get ordered around again, he won’t ever hast for permission or give explanations for his actions.

Once he got in front of her door, he simply unlocked it and opened it up to then see her laying on her bed with her back facing him.

She didn’t turn around or flinch, she didn’t even tense up. In fact, she seemed quite comfortable where she was, considering she was currently kidnaped by villains and held somewhere unknown.

He found that quite odd.

He began to walk towards her, expecting her to turn around at some point, but she didn’t. It was only when he was close enough to the bed that she did turn.

He clearly saw how her eyes turned from slightly confused to completely horrified.

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a bit pleased by that.

Horrified eyes instantly turned into a death glare, though.

She turned her back to him again, and spat out “I’m not hungry” in such an angered way that Dabi couldn’t keep the corners of his mouth from lifting up.

He carefully placed the tray on her bed, and simply settled to sit laying on the opposite wall.

Again, he didn’t know why. But something about her being all tensed up now made him stay and watch.

It didn’t take long to watch her explode.

She got up and snapped at him like a rabid puppy –quite amusingly if he may add- while he simply looked at her lazily. He could see that she was fighting the urge to hit him with something, but she was smarter than that.

Because it definitely wouldn’t be pretty for her if she dared to touch him.

When she finally gave in and ate, he felt something he was sure he never felt before in his life.

Dabi liked challenge, to an extent. A very, very short extent if he was being honest.

After his entire childhood and puberty was a constant competition he wasn’t very fond of the feeling in a certain way.

He didn’t like the fact that when he was competing against something or someone, somehow, he felt like he didn’t have his own rails. He felt like someone else had control over him, and it would only give him that sour taste in his mouth he was very familiar with from the past.

Still, he found that he did enjoy certain challenges now. Like challenging over power, over control. It was mostly involved with his villain ‘job’ per say. Otherwise, his life was pretty careless, lazy or easy going.

He didn’t give a shit about most things.

But now, seeing that oddly mixture of challenge yet fear in her eyes he couldn’t help but feel a pull towards it.

What was going on in this girl’s mind?

He knew that he was pretty much hideous.

Burns and staples all over his face was a look straight out of a horror movie. He knew that she knew his quirk was pretty much devastatingly powerful as well. Lethal. And he was also positive that people were able to tell that feelings weren’t really fond of him so ‘mercy’ or ‘compassion’ were definitely not written across his forehead.

While she was being partially smart to be afraid of him, she was also being partially stupid to snap on him like that or look at him in a challenging way at all.

She was lucky he was curious enough about her not to roast her off to a better life for simply daring to annoy him.

Oh-

That was it.

He was curious. He was curious about her.

And he had plenty reasons to be.

Her past, her insistence of fighting even if she doesn’t stand a chance, her self-sacrificial antics, her wishes to be a heroine.

But most important of all, the feelings that she expressed every time her parents were mentioned. Feelings that mirrored his own perfectly.

He figured that he wanted to know exactly how things went down. He wanted to know everything, from the beginning. Perhaps it was because he never really encountered anyone that has been through a similar situation or whatever; he didn’t really care what his inner-unconscious motives were after all.

But it wasn’t only that…

If he was being honest he never really had any experiences with girls (obviously not romantically speaking) other than family or Toga (that didn’t count because she was batshit crazy, so, she wasn’t really a reference). He never got a chance to. But, even still, he knew that this particular girl was not ordinary.

Before she asked that damned question that left him mute as an idiot he would confidently say that the reason why he kept on being the one that gave her meals was because he was curious and he wanted to observe her like she was some rare animal in the zoo (not that he ever went to the zoo, but… whatever). But after she asked that he realized that what he was doing was actually pointless, considering that 99% of the time she would be ignoring him or snapping at him. So, what was there to ‘learn’ that would satisfy his curiosity if he was just sitting there for half an hour or so watching her do pretty much nothing?

That’s why he sent Twice in today, and he was mentally kicking himself for it. Not just because in some way he did what she told him to, but also because he let stupid, meaningless words to affect him enough to overthink them.

What did he want from her?

To join them? No. Not really.

Mostly because she hated her parents and she doesn’t want to follow their steps.

So, if it wasn’t that, what was it?

The only thing left (besides the curiosity issue) was that he now acknowledged and accepted in a way that he enjoyed being challenged by her.

When she threw the tray of food making it crash and splatter all over the floor he felt a sudden rush of anger in his blood. He was furious. Because how dare this helpless school girl defy him in any way?

But part of him enjoyed it as well. The challenge.

And maybe that was the reason why he was with her lunch on one hand while unlocking and opening the door with the other.

It was the first time she wasn’t facing backwards to the door. In fact, she was sitting cross-legged on the bed while reading a book. It was also the first time he saw her in a different set of clothes and with her hair down and slightly wet.

He instantly remembered that Twice was sent to buy some clothes for her early in the morning after Shigaraki said ‘We’re still freaking recruiting her or did every of you idiots forget about that already?’

She was now wearing a simple yellow T-shirt and some sports shorts. Both too incredibly large for her, but then again he couldn’t even imagine what shopping with Twice would be like.

The book was probably doing of the side of Twice that thought the girl was a toddler.

She lifted her gaze right after the door closed behind him and he saw how her eyes widened slightly before returning to her reading.

He did the exact same thing as any other day: Place the food tray on her bed and go straight to sit in the exact same spot he always did.

It was kind of surprising to hear her talk right away.

“I thought you were finally released from maid duty” She said without even bothering to look up from her book.

A chuckle threatened to escape his throat.

Yeah, this girl is definitely not ordinary.

“Missing Twice already?” He said mockery pretty clear in his voice. “Sorry to disappoint you, princess, but he seems to have a thing for Toga” He said looking straight at her with a smirk in his face. “Part of him, at least”

She sent him a vicious death glare, but turned to her book right after.

“Rather be with him than with you” She merely commented, as casual as she could.

“Ouch” He simply said and she glared at him again.

She closed the book for a moment and grabbed the tray, placing it on top of her knees to then calmly starting to eat the gyudon that was in front of her, flinching and scrunching her nose right after tasting the first bite.

He didn’t blame her. Compress cooked today and it was a complete disgustingly disaster.

She kept on eating, though.

“Why did you come back?” She casually asked like she was talking about the weather. “To burn me again?”

“I didn’t burn you” He answered after a few seconds. Yeah, he wordlessly threatened to but his palm wasn’t hot enough to actually burn her.

“Right” She said, and after sipping some water she continued. “Why not, though? Will get you in trouble?”

She was taunting him.

He narrowed his eyes just barely at her to then smirk ever so slightly.

“Not at all” he said. “I just thought that burning you isn’t a really effective way to convince you to join” He said the first thing that came to mind.

“Yet you burned Bakugou and you were trying to ‘convince’ him, too”

His eyebrows lifted ever so slightly at the sudden mention of the angry boy’s name.

“Still mad about that?” He asked at first. “I didn’t know you two were friends. Want me to send him an ‘I’m sorry’ card? I can add that you say ‘Hi’”

She quickly avoided his gaze with her jaw clenched.

They both stayed quiet for a few moments.

“Why don’t you just kill me?” She asked, breaking the silence.

The question definitely startled him.

“Huh?” He said, hiding completely his curiosity and startlement about the question.

She looked at him, dead in the eye.

“You heard me”

“You want me to kill you?” He asked. He didn’t take her for the cowardly type. In the few days she’s been captured, and ever since seeing her for the first time even, he thought that she was a pain in the ass, in a good way… sort of. That annoyingly persistent type of person that won’t stop pissing you off and wont budge until they got what they wanted.

The death exit definitely seemed coward compared to the initial impression he got from her.

What was off of this whole conversation was the lack of fear or desperation in her eyes while talking about death.

“Not necessarily you” She shrugged. “I mean the whole... Villains Gang or whatever the hell you guys call yourselves”

“’Villains Gang’?” He mentally scoffed.

“Y’all know I won’t join you” she continued. “I know you know” She said, referring to him in particular. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just kill me off and show it to the world?” She added, eyes never leaving his. “That’s still a win, isn’t it? That way you’ll still win and the Heroes lose. So what are you waiting for?”

He wanted to laugh at himself for being startled before, so he did. He let out a quiet snort.

Of course she was challenging him, again.

He didn’t know what her ultimate goal was but she was trying to get under his skin.

“I hope you’re aware that you’re playing with fire here, sweetheart” He warned.

“I didn’t know you were the punny type” She said completely disregarding his threat with an ‘innocent’ look on her face.

He chuckled again and started to walk towards her, getting a sickly pleasant feeling once he saw her tense up as fear flashed through her eyes for a moment.

He simply took her food tray with one hand while with the other he softly brushed hair out of her color drained face while looking straight into her eyes dangerously.

“You truly are something else, I’ll give you that” He said as he softly let go of her. “Just don’t get too comfy around here, okay?”

And then he left.

X

If Bakugou could blast the world off and turn it to ash, he would. He would, without a single doubt.

It’s been four days of coming and going to the Police station to check if they managed to get the lead of something –anything- but those fuckers where complete and utter incapable idiots.

It also seemed that without All Might and Best Jeanist the heroes turned into incapable idiots as well.

He kicked forcefully the door of his house, snapping it open soundly as he stomped through the halls making his way to his room.

“Katsuki?” His mother said as she got out of the kitchen. “Any news? Do they know anything about her?”

He didn’t answer; he simply stomped his way up the stairs and closed his door forcefully almost snapping it in two.

His hands were itchy, so unbearably itchy.

He needed to blast something off -or several somethings- before he went mad.

He was an incapable idiot, too.

How could he allow something like this to happen!? How did he even allow himself to get kidnapped in the first place!?

He sighed, his shoulders trembling slightly out of rage because of his last thought.

He was actually glad he was kidnapped, in a way.

He was glad that at least at the beginning that girl wasn’t on her own.

They should’ve stayed together. Either free or captive, but together.

He was supposed to become the world’s greatest hero, yet he allowed himself to get saved by a sacrifice.

He was at his home, safe and sound, while who knows where or how she was.

He should’ve gotten free of Kirishima’s grasp and tried to save her or sacrifice instead or at least get captured again with her.

His mind hasn’t stopped for a single second ever since he saw how she was carried by the crusty bastard through the portal, disappearing from his sight. Every single second was filled with her.

He couldn’t stop chastising himself, blaming himself and cursing himself after everything.

He was an incapable idiot. He was weak, and useless, and stupid.

He felt like shit, and the rumors running around the country weren’t helping either.

Instead of worrying about her most people were already dissing her.

Saying that she’d probably joined The League already.

Fuckers.

He was gonna find her, he was gonna bring her back and he was gonna prove all those fuckers wrong. She was gonna prove them wrong.

And he will make those bastards of The League of Villains pay.

Notes:

 I truly hope you enjoyed this....

Anyways, I’ve gotten several concerned reviews about a few issues so I guessed I should adress them to help calm down the insecurities of some of you:

Regarding Stockholm Syndrome: I am not really going for that... I mean yes, this is a romantic fanfic and yes our Reader/OC is captured but that’s really not exactly what I’m going for... I have the plot in my head already and while I can’t really give you details, I can assure you that it’s not gonna happen that way.

Regarding OverPowering: I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again: I hate overpowered characters. I hate superman and I don’t like Captain America or any of those characters that are god send or ‘chosen ones’ or just invincible characters. I like characters with flaws, with drawbacks, with weaknesses. I like them to be human and relatable because i like to feel related to them. So don’t worry about that. She won’t become supergirl in the future or ever to be honest. 

Regarding the ‘She’ll join the league’ theory: She won’t. Oops. 

I know a lot of you want this, but I didnt create a strong willed character with strong convictions and dreams and beliefs and views just so she can forget about everything because of a boy of all things. Sorry, but nope. 

That doesn’t mean that Dabi is gonna switch sides either. Just wait and see. 

I guess that’s all... 

Anyways, thanks for all your amazing reviews! i truly appreciate them :)

Do you want a next chap?

-Silvana.

tag list: @buckybear97 @this-lost-child @aebeessun @ye-rinn@ihatemyselftoinfinityandbeyond @cindxalex @luvley-shadow@taeniix@roadtripsonspaceships @iana-therese@darkagedoctor @liliafangirls @darkfaethedestroyer @celestiallsunshine @meggy126

I’m so sorry if I missed anyone, please comment in THIS post or hit my ASK BOX to get tagged!

[coffee-obsessed-writer]

Partners with Benefits, Part 3

A/N: Part 3 of 4 for the below anon request. This was originally supposed to be 3 parts, but I didn’t want to make a gigantic Part 3, so anticipate Part 4 in the next week or so. Thanks for reading!

Anon Request: Pt 1. May I request Rosa Diaz x fem reader, R is a new skilled detective, mid 20s and incredibly intelligent like Sherlock. However, she is closed off and smaller so she is underestimated often more so since she is younger then the rest. Rosa feels drawn to her and can’t help but try to get close to her. Which works since R feels the same.

Pt 2 Unfortunately Rosa gets framed like in season 4 and might have to go to prison if proven guilty. R takes it upon herself to prove Rosa is innocent while trying to hide her attraction for her. And maybe in the end the admit their feelings for each other and start to date. With fluff and nsfw if possible? (This might be multiple parts)

Pairing: Rosa Diaz x female reader

Word Count: 3425

Warnings: NSFW (Partial Smut), 18+ only

B99 Tags: @kazosa 

@taking-out-the-trash-fam 

@53v3nn4t10n4rmy 

@courtneychicken 

@bisexualdolphinthings

@through-thesilver-lining​

@idontfuckingknowgurl

Everything Tags: 

@sorenmarie87 

@docharleythegeekqueen 

@lefthologramdeer 

@becs-bunker

Part 1 | Part 2

“Rosa! Wait!” you called after her as she walked briskly down the sidewalk towards her bike. “Just wait a minute!” you jogged the last twenty yards as not to miss her going.

“What?” she barked and whirled around. “What do you want?”

“I want you to talk to me. What else did I.A. say? How could they have any evidence that proves… I mean, if they have pictures, they were clearly Photoshopped. Can’t they figure that out?”

Rosa snorted a frustrated laugh. “You’d think. But, no. They say they are on the level and that I’m a dirty cop.”

“That’s the last thing you could ever be.”

“Yeah, how are you so sure? You barely know me.”

“Not for lack of trying,” you said with an inaudible sigh. “I want to help you, Rosa, but you have to let me. Let’s go somewhere, talk, hash out all these details. Try and figure—”

“Right now, I just wanna get super drunk. Alone.”

“Rosa, that’s—”

“Super. Drunk. Alone.”

You raised your hands in relent and watched her put on her helmet and jump start her bike. Through the dark tint of the visor, you could still see her eyes flash in your direction and while it wasn’t completely clear, you thought there was a tinge of regret in her expression.

Rosa took off down the alley and disappeared onto the streets of Brooklyn.

“Don’t take it too personally,” a voice chimed up from behind you. “I told you, Diaz can get dark.”

Jake was standing there, hands on hips as he, too, watched Rosa take off and vanish out of view.

“I’m supposed to be her partner. If I had been there—“

“(Y/L/N) if you had been there, you’d be under investigation too. At least this way, you can help her fight this. We all can and will. Come on, we’re gonna head to Shaw’s Bar for lunch and try to figure out a way to smoke out whoever is doing this to Rosa.”

  Peralta and Santiago brought a round of drinks to the table, set them down and passed them out.

“A bit early, isn’t it?” you asked, gladly taking the drink and relishing in the bitter taste of the cold beer as it passed your lips.

“I think today its necessary,” Jake replied with a tick of his head. “We have to figure out a way to get Rosa out of this. We know there’s no way she’d take a bribe of any kind. I can’t even bribe her to get me an orange soda out of the machine when she’s literally standing next to it.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, mostly because he was completely accurate. Rosa was a great cop, one of the best detectives not only in the 99, but in all of Brooklyn. Whoever was targeting her had no idea who they were messing with.

“I knew when I saw that man taking a picture of her car, something was up. I should have called out… pursued him. Something…” you said and turned to Boyle. “Nothing came back on those yet?”

“No, they weren’t clear enough to get any hits on the facial recognition software. Don’t beat yourself up, Y/N. Its hard to know what the right call was in that situation.”

You offered a wan smile and raised your bottle to him. “Thanks, Boyle, but I still feel guilty.”

Jake and Amy passed a curious glance. From the corner of your eye, you could see him mouthing something to her, but she shook her head no quickly with minimal movement. He mouthed it again but stopped when she flashed him a tight-lipped, wide-eyed “shut-up-Jake” expression.

“You two have something to share with the class?” you asked.

Jake grinned and chuckled, then sighed playfully and paused again before he spoke. “We were wondering…” he nearly sang, while checking each person’s expression before continuing, “what was up between you and Diaz. Not that we noticed anything. But, maybe we kinda did… Rosa isn’t exactly chatty, soooo…”

You raised a brow at him and glanced over at Amy. She wore a curious, but slightly concerned expression that would have made you laugh had the overlaying situation not been so stressful.

“She’s my partner…” you said and sipped your beer. “And, maybe, someone I’d like to know better.”

Jake, Amy, and Charles all repressed an excited sigh, and simply nodded in understanding. Somehow, even just saying that out loud made you suddenly miss Rosa. There was an overwhelming need to see her, but she made it clear that she wanted to be alone. Not to mention that she had been right earlier, you really didn’t know her all that well. So far it was purely a physical attraction, but you felt it could be something special. Rosa matched you in many ways, and the idea of there being more between you than a few stolen kisses drove you even harder to figure out how to clear her name.

“Look, it’s not relevant, ok? It doesn’t matter what I think of her, or how I think of her. What matters is figuring out why she’s being targeted and who that guy was taking pictures. I think if we can track him down, we’ll have a much better chance.”

“Y/N is right,” Amy said, standing from her stool. “I say we get a warrant for the surrounding businesses security footage. Let’s see if we can get a better shot of him coming or going.”

“Great idea, Amy!” Charles said excitedly, also hoping off his stool. “I’ll go with you. I know the lead baker at the Polish deli on the corner where Y/N said she saw the guy. He knows all and sees all.”

“Both are great leads. I am going to go back over the case files Rosa had. There was a reason she targeted that building. Some intel she got recently, I think… Jake, why don’t you and I start there and see where it leads.”

  Hours went by as you and Jake poured over the files and notes concerning the Flores crime family. It was getting late, and you didn’t know how much longer your eyes could focus on everything spread out before you. Jake was standing at the board, trying to tie together your enhanced cell phone pictures, to one of the many known associates of the Flores crime family.

“Anything?” you asked, exhausted and desperate.

“No. Nothing.”

Jake groaned and fell into the chair across from you. “There’s gotta be something. Rosa is a good cop. Her files are toight, no way she doesn’t have the answer buried in here somewhere.”

“Who was the last perp questioned?” you asked more to yourself than to Jake. He furrowed his brow and shuffled the files around before handing you one.

“Ortega. He was in the other day and Rosa had him in interrogation for a solid four hours before his lawyer got him out. Same smarmy jag that got Caso out of here too,” Jake said bitterly.

“Ortega, Ortega, Ort—ah, ok, here we go,” you mumbled and started speed reading her notes of the transcribed interrogation. “Here! Look…”

You pushed the open file back to Jake and pointed to the middle of the paper. “Ortego tells her specifically that there is activity at that warehouse. Tells her the time and date of the next supposed shipment coming into Flores’ possession. That’s when she was surveying the warehouse.”

“So, you think Ortega set her up?”

“Absolutely I do. We saw Marco Flores meet with the lawyer. Also, he knew his lawyer was on the way. Why would he give her anything in the interrogation, unless he wanted her to know it. She was the only one in here, right?”

Jake nodded.

“They are all aware that Diaz is working the case and its no secret she’s a pit bull with this stuff. They are really bad dudes. I mean just from the dealings I had with this family in my old precinct… they are known for turning good cops bad. If they think she’s on to them in the slightest, they will do whatever they have too to eliminate her. Making her look like a dirty cop is the cleanest way for them to do it, too.”

“This is solid. I think we can run with this. We just have to connect the photographer to the Flores family and we can prove, without a doubt, that she was set up.”

Jake had an eager gleam in his eyes. “I’m going to call Amy and Boyle, see where they are with the security footage.”

Peralta grabbed a few of the files and left the briefing room in a big hurry. You noticed it was nearly eight and felt your stomach rumble. You grabbed your jacket and headed out of the precinct with the intention of grabbing some takeout from the diner up the street, but you couldn’t get Rosa off your mind. Instead, you hopped in your unmarked and headed over to see Diaz.

  It took a few knocks before she came to the door. She had been drinking but wasn’t nearly as drunk as you thought she would be. Rosa’s expression was impenetrable, and you honestly couldn’t tell if she was happy to see you or not.  

“Hey,” you said, hoping she would invite you in. She didn’t.

“Hey.”

“Can I, uh, can I come in?”

“Why?”

“I want to talk to you, tell you what we found…”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Rosa sighed, but moved so you could enter.

“Rosa, we’ve been working this all day. Jake is checking in with Santiago and Boyle now. I think, well, I hope, we may have a lead on who was taking pictures. That could easily—”

“I said, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Rosa moved to her couch and fell back on it, slouching down in a huff. You sat on the edge of a cushion and watched her as she wallowed her way to the bottom of the glass on the table beside her.

“I see you finally opened that bottle, huh?”

“Yup. Was tired of waiting for you,” she said roughly, wincing as the burn of the booze trickled down her throat. “Want some?”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

Rosa nodded once and passed you the bottle. You were about to get up and rifle her cabinets for a glass and reconsidered. Bringing the bottle to your lips, you took a long swig before handing it back to her. When your gaze met hers, you saw she was smiling. It was only a hint, but it was there. She was amused, and it hit you in that moment that this woman had very quickly become much more than a partner to you.

“Rosa, I—”

“Y/N,” she said softly, sitting up and leaning towards you. “I said, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Then what do you want?” you asked, though, from the way she was gazing at you, you thought you could tell exactly what she wanted.

“You.”

Rosa’s dark brown eyes shone with a mix of lust and pain. You could feel her radiating the need to just forget, to put the horrible day behind her. However, you could not deny what you felt for her too and frankly were tired of waiting.

Without another moment of hesitation, you kissed her. Rosa’s lips were soft and still tasted like liquor. Soft didn’t mean gentle, as her tongue pushed through into your mouth, lavishing yours with a rush of want. You leaned further into her, felt her arm wrap around your waist and pull you onto her, straddling her lap.

She backed away for a moment, only to pull your shirt up and off over your head. Her hands on your skin felt like little bursts of electricity, as she ran them up your arms to your shoulders. She slowly moved your bra straps, so they fell down your shoulders, and leaned her face into the swell of your breasts.

Your bra was loose, exposing more of them for her. Rosa starting trailing soft little pecks across your flesh, intensifying the heat building between your legs.

“Rosa…” her name was barely a breath from your mouth, “I didn’t come here for this.”

She said nothing but wrapped both arms around the small of your back, letting her hands explore your ass, grabbing it harder. Rosa lifted her head and gazed up at you. “Want me to stop?”

“No, not even a little.”

“Good, then shut up and let’s get this thing off,” she purred, gripping you tighter.

You reached around and released the hooks, letting the garment fall and exposing yourself to her completely. Rosa wasted no time, burying her face between your breasts, allowing her mouth and tongue to explore them greedily. When she ran her tongue up between them, was when you couldn’t stand the teasing anymore.

Tangling your hand up into her hair, you yanked her head back and kissed her deeply, while your other hand took on the task of unbuttoning her shirt. She wore a lacy black bra that did little to cover her full breasts. Tracing the line of lace with your finger, you found her nipple through the silk and played with it gently causing the normally dominant and hard-nosed detective to moan and close her eyes.

In one fell swoop, Rosa flipped you on your back, so you were now lying on her couch. She ripped your boots off and you clumsily undid the button and zipper of your jeans. You helped her to shimmy them off before she tore at her own shirt and pants. Within seconds you were completely nude on her couch, and she hovered over you with the look of a very hungry woman.

Rosa pressed her body against yours and slipped her hand down between your folds that were aching for her touch. She smiled and licked at her bottom lip when she felt how ready you already were. “Tell me again how you didn’t come here for this,” she dared with a rise of one brow. “Tell me.”

“Fine, I want you, ok? I thought that was fairly evident,” you said. Your attempt to be flippant failed, as she could see right through you. She clamped down on your neck while sliding her fingers through your sex. She grazed your clit, sending a gasp to rise up through you. Pleased with your reaction, Rosa continued to flick and tease it with her fingers while leaving her marks across your neck.

You felt her tongue against your ear; her breath was warm and maddening. “I’ve wanted to do this since I saw first say you,” she purred, nipping at the lobe of your ear.

You couldn’t speak, she had you too far gone already to form any semblance of words. She moved down the length of your body, positioning herself between your legs. You pushed up on your elbows and saw the pleasure on her face before she buried it in your pussy. One lick of her tongue had you flat on your back again, eyes closed and completely unable to do anything but grab the woman’s head and hold on for the ride.

Not a minute later, there was a heavy knock at her door. Both of you trying to ignore it, they slammed their fist against it again. Rosa growled and lifted her head, offering you an empathetic gaze.

“What?” she yelled towards the door, not moving from between your thighs.

“Rosa Diaz! NYPD—open up!”

You looked at each other and both scrambled up off the couch. Quickly gathering your clothes, you sped off down the hallway to the safety of the bathroom, while Rosa put her shirt and jeans back on. There was more shouting from the other side of the door, and you could hear Rosa muttering something back.

Your heart was still pounding hard enough to feel throughout your body; your hands shaking. Part of it was adrenaline from the unexpected visitors, part of it was because of what just happened with Rosa.

The door opened, and there was immediate commotion. The second you got the button fixed on your jeans, you threw open the door and ran down the hallway, just in time to see Rosa being put in handcuffs. Several uniformed officers were surrounding her, obscuring your view so you couldn’t see the expression on her face.

“Rosa!” you called frantically. “Rosa, what’s happening?!”

You saw her head turn towards you and thought she would say something, but she said nothing as they led her off out of the apartment. The detective that remained turned and blocked you from following them out.

“You do know she’s a detective with the Nine-Nine, right?”

“Yes ma’am, but that won’t help her now. She’s being held on suspicion of assault down at the Eight-Six. If you want to help her, I suggest you let us do our job, and you can come down in the morning to post bail. If she’s granted bail.”

“Assault?? Assault on whom??” you asked, but he just turned and left without a response.

He was gone in a flash, leaving behind the stench of something fishy. Your head was still swirling from all that had happened in the span of twenty-four hours. Starting off the day, working the case, then your partner getting suspended by I.A. Pouring over case files, nearly having sex with Rosa, then her getting arrested… it was too much.

You fell onto her couch and hung your head in your hands in a state of disbelief. Drawing in a deep breath, you refused to let yourself cry, despite the enormous weight that hung over you. Instead, you decided that you would throw yourself further into the case, but you were going to need some help. You grabbed your stuff and headed out to your car, locking up Rosa’s apartment behind you. If you were going to get any answers, you would need the entire squad’s help.

  It was nearly midnight by the time the rest of the squad arrived at Shaw’s bar. Despite the hour, Boyle, Peralta, and Santiago were wide awake and ready to spring into action to save Rosa. Even Gina, who you knew didn’t even remember your name, was there and ready to do what she could to help out her friend.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked, finally putting down her phone. “Are we really going to let Rosa spend the night in a jail cell?”

“Rosa’s alright,” Sargent Jeffords chimed in as he approached the table. Shrugging off his jacket, he motioned to the bartender for a drink and turned to address the table. “She’s being questioned right now by a few detectives I know over at the Eight-Six. She’s comfortable and hasn’t tried to stab anyone yet, so we have a little time.”

“She’s tough. A night in a holding cell is child’s play for her,” Amy mused with a smile, but the look in her eyes betrayed her true feelings. “I just hate that this is happening to her.”

“It’s going to be fine. No way Rosa goes down for TWO things she didn’t do,” Jake said, putting an arm around Amy’s shoulders. “Sarg, did they give you anything more on the person she allegedly assaulted?”

“No, they won’t release anything to me.”

“Of course they won’t, because it didn’t happen. They know it, and they know we know it. They are in on this… they must be the dirty ones and in on Flores’ payroll,” you said more to yourself than to the rest of the squad. But as the idea formed in your head, and you started to run with it, they were all ears and ready to hear your speculative assessment.

“Alright, how do we flush them out then? Expose them as the dirty cops and clear Rosa?” Amy asked.

“I think I have an idea. It might be risky, but it could work…”

The squad leaned in closer as you laid out your plan. It wasn’t perfect, it required a lot of dependence on questionable intel you read about within Rosa’s files on the Flores family and even more on plain dumb luck. But, they all agreed if it played out just right, there was a good chance that Rosa would be free and out from under the false charges within the next forty-eight hours.

At least, that’s what you desperately hoped for.