#ty for letting me borrow her friend i loved doing these shots

[impossible-rat-babies]

haha what if we were co-tanks :3 ty to @lavampira for letting me borrow d'alia <3

[coulson-is-an-avenger]

kisses 21 jm!

For the prompt “we’ll face this together” kiss. TY SAHAR!!! OKAY I accidentally had one (1) jonbinary idea and then it ended up being SO FUCKING LONG (like 2.5k long) so uh. yeah. Warnings for descriptions of dysphoria, mentions of kidnapping and self loathing, and Jon getting pretty close to a panic attack. Also disclaimer, although I am nonbinary, I’m not transfem, so if there’s any critiques surrounding that, don’t hesitate to let me know. Stay safe y’all!

Jon’s face itches as he faces the mirror like an old foe. It’s long held an image that hurts him to see; aged by unfathomable horrors and dotted with marks like a canvas before a child’s paint tipped fingers, and these days he can’t even be sure that his reflection looks away from him when he turns his head. But, the devil it holds at the moment is the simple reflection of his short beard, and his face itches at the reminder of it.

It isn’t a physical itch. It lurks under the skin, poking and prodding at his senses, rubbing him the wrong way as he lays his cheek on his pillow, leaving a distracting echo when his chin brushes against Martin’s during a kiss, scraping at the inside of his skin as he stares at himself and takes in the sight of it covering his chin.

He scrubs his fingers over his eyelids. He isn’t ignorant, he realizes the discomfort he feels is most likely somewhat gender-related, but it’s… his relationship with his gender is complicated. In a lot of ways, it’s been such a mundane concern recently that he’s somewhat lost track of where he stands with it, but he remembers how it felt to first wear a skirt into the archives, all those long years ago. How gentle Sasha had been with him back then, even if the memory pinches the back of his head and grins with too many teeth and a short haircut that he knows now was wrong. But the Stranger cannot take that act of kindness away from her, even if it took away the face he remembers sharing it with.

He had felt like he was becoming something new, then, staring at a new path, freshly paved in his life, open to the possibilities of self discovery and certainty. Then his life had been riddled with worms and his friends had been carved out, one by screaming one, and he was on the run and set alight and kidnapped and disabled and nearly killed and kidnapped again and nearly killed and—

Jon remembers, vaguely, a flash of what had happened in the month he was… gone. He doesn’t remember most of what happened in that place. Probably for the better, he tells himself, but he does recall one thing. One very simple thing, really; that he hadn’t been able to shave, and he remembers the itch being all he could focus on for days at a time.

One of the first things he had done after stumbling through Michael-now-Helen’s door-not-deathtrap was drag himself to a sink and shave his face raw, burned hand be damned. His skin had suffered afterwards, nicked and irritated beneath its smoothness, and he had taken some strange, morbid comfort in the blemish he was able to inflict, after so many days of hearing hollow voices sing of its beauty.

This is a dangerous line of thought, he realizes, hands pressed against the bathroom sink, his heartbeat starting to pound in his ears. He desperately does not want to think about that, not here, and preferably not ever again, if he can help it.

He tries to bring himself back to the here and now, grounding himself in the feeling of porcelain under his palms, but the victory over his mind is a hollow one, unfortunately, as it brings him right back to the itching under his skin.

He’s not sure if this itch is exasperated by his own self consciousness, or by the lingering sting of the Lonely that threatened to separate him from himself, but it builds until its all he can feel in his skin, on his face, and he finds himself lunging across the counter, knocking things over in an attempt to hunt down Martin’s razor.

Jon had lost his own somewhere in the chaos of living in the archives, but he’s sure he saw Martin trim his own short beard when they first arrived at the safehouse, so it must be here, he thinks, ripping open drawers, it must— aha!

His fist closes around the razor, hidden under the sink next to a small bottle of shaving cream and Martin’s testosterone shots, and he barely gives a thought to what he’s doing before raising it to his dry cheek, just needing this thing off, and—

“Jon? You know that’s not how to do that, right?”

Jon whips around like lightning, his back to the sink and the razor clenched in his fist against his chest like a talisman, breathing heavily.

Martin had been smiling slightly as he entered the bathroom, but the expression quickly falls from his face as he takes in the panicked look on Jon’s face, and the erratic motion of his free hand, clenched into a fist at his side and twitching in an attempt to calm himself. Martin steps forward quickly, outstretching a hand.

“Jon, love? Are you alright?”

Jon fixes his eyes on Martin; kind, beautiful Martin who still goes a bit grey at the fingertips and the eyes when anxiety seizes him, Martin who has always been there, always been there, ever since the beginning. Jon anchors himself as he looks at that familiar, beloved face, and tries to take a breath.

“I-I don’t know,” He manages, because this all feels very silly now. He’s a grown person standing in the center of a bathroom, clutching his boyfriend’s shaving razor like it’s a weapon, for God’s sake, all because of what? Some facial hair? Good Lord, he’s being ridiculous. “Probably, I just… um.” He trails off, gut sinking as emotions spiral through him, too fast to pin down and name.

“Okay,” Martin says gently, shuffling a step closer. “Why do you have that?” He gestures to the razor in Jon’s hand, and Jon twitches, holding it closer.

“I need to borrow it,” He explains, stumbling. “I can’t- I need-“ He makes a frustrated noise and tries to get his thoughts to align. He inhales deeply and tries again. “I need to …shave. This-“ he gestures jerkily towards his face. “This is too much.”

Martin nods carefully, eyes glued to Jon’s face. “Too much?” His question is as gentle as his eyes, and Jon has to glance away for a moment, overwhelmed by being seen.

“It’s… complicated,” He begins, the fist pressed to his chest beginning to lighten up. “It… it just itches, all the time. Like- like a thousand ants under my skin, w-which is ridiculous because it doesn’t actually hurt or itch or- or anything, it just…” he glances back to Martin’s eyes, furtive and desperate for him to understand. “I need it to stop.”

“Oh,” Martin softens even more before Jon’s eyes, his face melting with understanding and sadness. “Oh, Jon. I didn’t realize you were having dysphoria.”

At the word dysphoria Jon glances sharply up, uncertainty fraught on his face, and Martin backtracks quickly.

“Or- s-sorry, I didn’t mean to assume. Is it-”

“N-no, Martin, it-it’s fine.” Jon waves Martin’s nerves aside and finds that he finally has a decent enough hold on his own to lower the hand that had been pressed against his chest. He turns around in the bathroom and sits down on the edge of the bathtub, sighing heavily. “It might be dysphoria, I don’t…” He hesitates, chuckling slightly. “I’m not quite sure I know it well enough to place it. Gender hasn’t exactly been… a priority these days.”

Martin nods and follows him deeper into the bathroom, setting down the lid of the toilet so he can sit on it and listen to Jon blunder through his feelings.

“It might be? I mean… I know I’m not a man, per say, but it… I mean, it could also be so many other things at this point. It’s just- I know it’s stupid to overthink, but—“

“Hey, hey,” Martin cuts him off, extending a hand to brush against the side of his knee. “It isn’t stupid, Jon. You don’t have to have a label or a reason in order to be uncomfortable. It’s- you’re allowed to call it just that; uncomfortable.”

Jon nods, looking down at the hands clasped in his lap.

“I know. It just hit me so suddenly, I-” He sighs, rubbing a hand over his forehead, careful to avoid brushing any of the hairs on his face. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Martin murmurs, and his hand rests more solidly on Jon’s knee. “Is this alright?”

Jon nods mutely, and lets himself expel some more of the tension in his shoulders as he focuses on the motion of Martin’s thumb sweeping softly over his knee.

“It reminds me of the circus,” Jon breathes after a moment of silence, and Martin’s hand stills against him, attentive and horrified. “When- when they…” He inhales sharply, willing his voice not to break. “Well, I couldn’t very well shave it,” He clenches his hands into fists again, still holding the razor tightly in his right. “Got it off as quickly as possible once I could.”

Martin exhales. “I remember that. I thought you just… I dunno, just really nicked yourself. I didn’t think about… yeah.”

“Yes,” Jon agrees, keeping his gaze on the hand on his knee. “I-I mean, I definitely did, nick myself that is. I wasn’t really thinking about doing it properly, I suppose.”

“Like just now?” Martin asks, kindly, gently, not judging. Jon feels his chest pinch anyways.

“Yes.” He admits quietly. Martin leans down to press a careful kiss to Jon’s knee.

“Okay, well, this time we’ll do it properly,” Martin raises himself from the toilet seat, reaching down into the cupboards to pull forth the shaving cream and a towel, and holds them out towards Jon.

Jon blinks, looks at the objects and then up at Martin, unsure of what’s being offered. “Sorry?”

“You still want the beard off, right? Let’s just make sure you don’t upset your skin,” He cracks a humorous smile. “Then it’ll actually start itching.”

Jon takes the can from his hand, but still frowns. “Us?”

“I- yeah,” Martin shifts his weight, fidgeting with the towel. “I can help, if that’s alright with you. You don’t… always seem to handle mirrors the best? And I’ve helped shave another person before so… yeah. If you want.”

Jon’s world stutters to a blushing halt. Martin’s right, he doesn’t like to linger on his face in mirrors even on the best days (of which today is certainly not one) and as much as he’s accustomed to doing this himself, what Martin is promising is intimate; an extension of vulnerability and the promise of a care that he hardly takes with himself. The more he considers it, the more finds himself tentatively wanting it, and he nods carefully. He trusts Martin, he’s decided a thousand times by now.

“Alright,” He agrees, and smiles.

Martin smiles in response. “Alright. Do you want me to um-” He gestures with the towel in his hand, and Jon nods.

Martin makes quick work of running the towel under the tap until it’s warm, and then wringing it out so it’s ready to actually use. He takes his seat again and tips Jon’s head back with a hand to lay the towel gently overtop, letting the warmth seep into his skin. It’s more effort than Jon usually puts in, or used to, when he did this more regularly, but he finds it’s a nice feeling, and he almost misses it when Martin takes the towel away again.

“Right,” Martin continues, looks pointedly to the can of shaving cream in Jon’s hand and Jon hesitates.

“Ah. Maybe not that part? Th-the actual shaving is fine, but-”

“Oh! Yeah, of course,” Martin nods, not questioning, and reaches forward instead to gently take the razor itself from Jon’s fist so he can use both hands to get the shaving cream on his face. Jon surrenders the razor, forcing himself to trust it in Martin’s hands, to trust that Martin won’t just leave him hanging.

He tries not to think too hard about the feeling of the cream on his skin. It’s a far cry from lotion, so it doesn’t bring up any sense memories, thankfully, but it’s still an uncomfortable texture, and he focuses on the sound of Martin’s breathing to keep himself from slipping.

Fortunately it doesn’t take long; soon enough Jon’s finished, wiping his hands on his trousers, and then Martin’s shifting closer, taking Jon’s face in his hands like it’s something precious, something to be loved and cared for. He is very close, his dark brown eyes nearly black with focus as he gently reaffirms that Jon’s sure about this, and then the cool razor swipes across Jon’s cheek.

Jon’s heart lurches in his chest, a messy combination of nerves and gratefulness, but he doesn’t flinch, doesn’t move at all, and just watches Martin focus with gentle certaintly as the blade passes over his cheeks again and again in careful, confident strokes. His fingers whisper at Jon’s chin when he tilts up his head and swipes the blade carefully up the top of his throat, brow furrowed and tongue poking out of his lips in concentration.

Jon holds his breath, wills his heart to still, but it’s alright, with Martin it’s always alright. His hands are warm as they cup his cheeks, tilt him this way and that, thorough in their task, and his fingertips are gentle as they lift his chin and brush away foam and ghost over his throat. He never even comes close to nicking him, and Jon feels a great warmth unspooling in his chest, stinging his eyes.

“All done,” Martin finishes triumphantly, his face breaking into a grin as he hands Jon the towel again, lets him wipe off his own face.

There’s no coarse texture as the fabric touches his face, no itching or discomfort as it drags over his chin, and the steady drumbeat of wrongness that had pervaded him for weeks finally, finally dissipates, unblocking his lungs and releasing the tightness from his shoulders. He runs a hand over his chin, and finds a shy smile quickly taking over his face, affection and relief filling him up from the inside out and spilling onto his features.

“Thank you,” He breathes, and Martin matches his smile with one of his own, and nods, nothing but respect and affection in his eyes.

“Any time,” Martin says seriously, before reaching out to take Jon’s hand and slowly bringing it to his lips, giving Jon ample time to pull away. “You don’t have to struggle with this stuff alone,” He murmurs against Jon’s knuckles. “It’s easier together.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Jon’s response is quiet, and Martin kisses his hand then; gentle, and full of reverence. Jon finds that he could melt right into the floor and be happy for the rest of his life.

He reaches up to pull Martin down into a kiss, gentle and insistent and grateful, lacing his hands in his hair and sighing against his lips at the sensation, noting how nice it feels to kiss his boyfriend without his itching skin pressing at his thoughts.

The kiss stays chaste, and eventually Jon pulls back just enough to press their foreheads together, keeping his eyes closed, reveling in it. “Together, then.” He affirms, and Martin smiles.

“One way or another.”

[justcourttee]

Okay that "Love,Right?" oneshot was wonderful but now you've got me obsessed with wondering how all the boys would fight for Mari's attention and all trying to date her omg

On an off note, I hope this came out alright. I really wanted to answer your ask but I’m running on low fumes rn. Loved thinking about this too though! I would love to read a more thought out fic, but I have to imagine it would go something like this

I could totally imagine like them all being relatively close in age. Like let’s say, 

Dick 23

Jason 21

Tim 20

Mari 18

Damian 17

And Mari is almost done with her last year of lycee so she is in uber done mode until the batboys show up in Paris conveniently at the same time that the Wayne boys show up to scout out a potential new business partner. 

She first meets Dick at the gymnasium that Chloe’s father had built for her when she went through a gymnastics phase but soon opened it to the public after she had moved on to whatever interested her next. Marinette is there to practice swinging mid-air to move faster in battle and what better way to do that than over a safety net 40 feet in the air?

Anywho, Dick is just arriving to blow off some steam after a particularly long day of negotiating. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the Hawkmoth mission and the need for a cover, he would’ve abandoned Tim ages ago. He finished locking up his stuff and when he moves into the acrobat section that is always empty, he isn’t sure whether to be impressed or disappointed that someone is there first. She looked nervous as she finished tying her hair into a high ponytail, her eyes calculating as if she was debating if she could make the first jump.

He wants to tell her that there is an easier way to mount, but his curiosity gets the better of him. With one last look, she closes her eyes, inhaling deeply. Without warning, she takes off down the short walkway launching her whole body into the air. Dick is sure she’s going to fall, but at the last minute she reaches out, her hand grasping the bar as she uses her momentum to flip upward, landing gracefully on top of the swinging trapeze. 

Dick couldn’t help his cheers. Her eyes widened as she realized someone else was watching her and in what felt like slow motion, she lost her balance and fell onto the net below. Dick rushes over to make sure she’s okay, apologizing a million times a minute. They introduce each other and it’s like an instant connection. They spend the rest of the afternoon trying new techniques and helping each other improve their own techniques. 

When Dick returns to the hotel that night, he can’t help the fact that her first swing was stuck on replay in his mind. The next day, he rushes over to the gym only to find her there again. This time, he’s determined to get her number, and surprisingly (to him) he succeeds. They spend the night trading funny memes and tiktoks. After a couple of weeks, Dick decides to try and ask her on a date. They were already close friends, I mean she trusted him enough not to drop her from forty feet in the air, that meant she trusted him right?

He shows up with a giant bouquet of roses only to receive a text message that she couldn’t make it that day. While it was a setback, it didn’t mean he was going to give up. He would show up with a bouquet of roses every day until she was there to receive them. And only then would he ask her on a date, because I can totally believe that he wouldn’t want to do it over text. It’s in-person or not at all.

The second Wayne she meets is Jason.

Muggings in Paris weren’t common with Ladybug and Chat Noir around, but it seemed to be Marinette’s lucky day as some guy just decided that a high school girl had enough money in her little purse to steal. As he backed her down an alleyway, a small hand knife pointed at her, Marinette was considering her options.

She could always try to run. After all, the guy was big and bulky, it would be hard for him to keep up with her and she doubted he wanted her bag enough to actually put up a fight. Just as she was eyeing an opening, a small sound echoed through the alleyway, one she was quite familiar with. The guy’s face looked mortified as he turned slowly to face his attacker. 

The man said something in a hushed tone to the guy that Marinette couldn’t quite make out. Whatever it was though, it was enough for her would-be assailant to book it out of the alleyway without a glance back. Assessing her newest threat, Marinette decided that this guy was more punk than thug. She was safe for now. 

He asked her if she was okay and if she needed anything as he adjusted his gun back into his waistband. Marinette was fine, but she was curious as to how he smuggled a gun into France. 

“Ah. My American accent give me away Princess?”

His french was flawless, but it was clear that he wasn’t from the area. He joked that his adopted father was rich enough for the national security to look past it. At least, she was pretty sure he was joking. 

He asks if they can grab something to eat, just because a pretty girl like her shouldn’t go hungry. Marinette is tempted to decline, but her curiosity gets the better of her. They end up going to a small diner near her parent’s bakery where they spend the night flirting shamelessly, both tinging their compliments with enough sarcasm and insults that the people around them couldn’t tell if they were together or if they were related. 

Exchanging numbers, the two continued to meet up for weekly dinners at that same diner as they bond over hating people and insulting/admiring each other. When Jason finally realizes his flirting may have shifted from mocking to an actual crush, he's conflicted. It’s just a couple months, at most a year in Paris, but would that really be a reason not to try? He starts bringing her small gifts to the dinners, starting out small like her favorite dessert or small rocks that reminded him of her, but he soon gets more elaborate like bringing her his favorite books to borrow and throwing in a new set of threads for her sewing machine. 

He hopes that when she looks at the small gifts that she’ll start associating him with the things that make her happy and just maybe, she’ll fall for him too. 

I think you guys already know where Tim is going but I have to do this 

Marinette frequents a small coffee shop near the hotel that the Wayne Boys are staying in. She would just drink the coffee that her parents serve in the bakery, but they refused to let her load up her drinks with enough caffeine to get through her day. 

She always shows up at 7:00a, after all, she’s gotten better at this punctuality thing over the years. The owners already expect her at this point and already have her drink ready before she even steps foot through the door.

One morning, one of the owners ask her to deliver a coffee to the young man that fell asleep at one of their tables. 

“He’s the first person I’ve met whose order rivals yours Ms. Dupain-Cheng.”

Marinette is impressed as she inhales the strong black coffee wafting from the mug. He definitely amped it up with two expresso shots and maybe a pump of hazelnut? If he could taste it over the bitterness of the expresso, she would be impressed.

As she sat the cup down on the table, she slid into the booth in front of him, patiently waiting for him to stir. Watching his soft exhales, Marinette felt at peace. She had never seen someone sleep so softly without moving a muscle. As quietly as she could, she brought out her sketchbook. She got about halfway through his frame when his soft breathing stopped. 

Her eyes snapped up to find his blue ones studying her cautiously. Of course, she mutters out apologizes at a million miles a minute, trying to explain that she needed practice for her living art class and that she was just dropping off his coffee and she was so sorry for drawing him without his permission. As she finally trails off, Marinette is more confused than ever. She thought he was awake, his eyes studying her, but now she wasn’t so confident. She was pretty sure he was still half asleep, assuming she was some sort of hallucination.

He reached out, draining his cup of coffee without coming up for a single breath.

“I didn’t think I was this sleep-deprived. Please beautiful sleep-induced entity, draw me if you must.”

Marinette bites her lip trying not to laugh as he tiredly pulls out a laptop, typing away at seemingly nothing. 

The next day, Marinette finds him in his same spot, already two empty mugs occupying the table. As she orders, she’s sure to grab an extra one for him before joining him once more. This time, Tim is the one to apologize as he realizes finally that she is a real girl and not a hallucination. 

Marinette laughs it off and the briefly chat about their lives. As Marinette gets up to leave for her morning classes, she promises to meet him for coffee the next morning. Surely enough, as she walks through the door, he’s already at their booth. He waves her over, motioning to the coffee mug holding her go-to order. They come to an agreement, he allows her to draw him for practice, she offers him the occasional advice. There is sometimes small talk, but it’s mostly just full of comfort that they found in each other’s presence. 

After weeks, Tim finally decides that he wants to get to know this beautiful coffee angel. He starts by asking her to meet at a bakery that he had been dying to try. As he arrives at the bakery, Marinette sheepishly admits that it was her parent’s bakery. Tim feigns ignorance, but that smirk he gives her makes her reconsider the innocent sleep-deprived man she had met weeks earlier. From now on, he has breakfast with the Dupain-Cheng family every morning. After all, your in-laws have to like you first before you can try anything else, right?

Finally, we have Damian. 

They meet in the living art class. He had already taken something similar at Gotham Academy, but he was curious to see the French side of something he cherished so dearly. 

At first, he hates her. She reminds him of a mixture between Dick and Tim and in all honesty, he only volunteered to pretend to be a foreign exchange student to spend the majority of the day away from his brothers. 

He slowly begins to change his mind though as he is partnered with her for a partner draw project. The teacher forces them to spend all of class drawing each other how they feel the world should see their partner. It involved a lot of sharing and as she became more confident in him, he slowly felt himself opening up to this strange girl as well. 

It was going fine until one day, two of her old classmates entered the classroom, trying to pick a fight with Damian. He remembered one of them, yes the sausage haired girl, her name was Lily perhaps? She tried to ask him out and he turned her down, hard. Now here she was, crying the fakest tears he had ever seen as some ombre haired woman was chewing him out. 

He was fine going on ignoring them, but then the ombre haired woman reached out for his notebook, tearing it from his grasps. She glanced over it for a second before raising it above her head and slamming it into the ground. She lifted her foot to stomp on it, but she never had a chance to finish. Before Damian had even moved a muscle, Marinette was standing above her, a murderous look in her eyes. The sausage haired woman helped the girl to her feet as they retreated quickly, both of their faces pale as they sent empty threats in Marinette’s direction. 

With a sigh, Marinette picked up his notebook, dusting it off gently before handing it back to him, apologizing for her ex-classmates. He wanted to let her know that he didn’t need her to look out for him, that he could handle it, but his mind flashed to the look in her eyes. If anything, his interest was now piqued by the girl. 

As the project came to an end, the moment of truth had finally come. Damian showed Marinette her portrait. He had drawn her as mother nature, warm and protective of her children and cold to anyone that threatened them. He would be lying if the small blush on her face didn’t boost his pride. When she showed Damian his portrait, he couldn’t help but let his jaw drop, even slightly. 

He looked like a medieval knight, posing on the defense, a slight trickle of what looked like blood dripping out the corner of his mouth. 

“I’m sorry, please don’t think it’s weird. It’s just the more you talked, and so passionately too about how you wanted to protect everything dear to you from your family to your pets, I couldn’t help but get swept away in this idea that you were some gallant knight-”

He cut her off with a single look as his face broke into a grin. He loved it. Everyone always described him as a demon or a baby bird, but a gallant knight, it was certainly a first.

That night at the hotel, he would search google for the best ways to ask out a girl. After all, he sure as hell wasn’t asking his brothers.

Permanent Tag List:

@ash-amg @rebecarojas07 @heaven428 @long-lost-peace @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @moongoddesskiana @nach0ava @iamablinkmarvelarmy @seraphkitty @clumsy-owl-4178 @pawsitivelymiraculous @mialuvscats @leagrey @smolplantmum @animegirlweeb @glitterflowercat

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch55: The Fallen Warrior

Intro: The Avengers mourn the loss of one of their own.

Warnings: “Language!” Smut (NSFW, 18+)  Character death, angst.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 56

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Katie felt numb. Wordlessly, Steve guided her back to their quarters where she trudged through the living room and into the bedroom, every so often raising her hand to wipe away her tears. She sat on the edge of the bed, kicking off the court shoes she had stolen from the base before her hands flattened against the mattress as her head dropped slightly, and she began to cry.

Steve sat next to her and she turned into him, pressing her face into his chest. His arms encircled her, as he lay his cheek against the top of her head, gently rubbing her back.

“She’s gone.” Katie whispered softly “I…I can’t…” “I know.” Steve replied gently, sniffing as his own tears fell.

“How are we gonna tell the kids?” 

“Together. We’ll figure it out.” “Like we always do huh?” Katie muttered as she pulled away from him, a hint of what sounded like sarcasm in her voice. Steve frowned.

“Honey?”

“I need a shower.” Her tone was monotonous as she stood up and made her wait into the en-suite.

Steve sighed and ran his hand over his face before he untied the combat boots he’d ‘borrowed’ and shucked them off. They had all the stones, they should be elated. Instead they were grieving, subdued, because Natasha hadn’t made it home and it cut Steve, like a knife in the gut. Other than Katie, she’d been the one person at SHIELD who had been ever present in his life post coming out of the ice. His partner in STRIKE, one of his best friends, a member of his fucking family.

And now she was gone.

He was trying to stay strong, trying to be the leader the group needed, but he was fucking upset and tired. His body ached all over from his tangle with his 2012 self, and if he was honest all he wanted to do was sleep for a week. 

His sharp ears picked up Katie’s quiet sobs in the bathroom. Just like that day when they came back from Wakanda over five years ago, he peeled off his outer clothing and gently pushed the door to the bathroom open and what he saw broke his heart. Katie was sat in the shower cubicle, hugging her knees as the water cascaded down on her. Without a word he opened the glass door, still in his boxers and with a silent groan he sat next to her, and wrapped his arm round her, his large hand on the side of her head as she turned into the contact and lay her cheek against his shoulder. 

As with all missions, there was a routine that followed and this one was no exception. If anything, the routine made Katie feel better, gave her something to focus on rather than the mission itself. Her head was still reeling from watching Steve’s reaction to Peggy, seeing her dad again after almost thirty-two years and the fact that Nat wasn’t coming home.  Steve managed to coax her to her feet, leaving her to shower, but she didn’t really speak as she dressed, instead retreating to dig out the arnica gel as Steve’s torso and back really had taken a beating. She could tell he was in quite a bit of discomfort, and she didn’t like seeing that regardless of how angry she was feeling towards him. 

An anger she knew deep down was completely irrational, but she couldn’t help feeling it nonetheless. 

“Thanks.” Steve smiled softly as her gentle fingers finished their dance across his shoulders. He rolled his head back, expecting her to be there but she’d already moved to wash her hands. He sighed and then stood up from the bed, grabbing a top out of the case they still hadn’t unpacked. He pulled it on with a grimace and then there was a knock at the main door before they heard Tony’s voice as he walked into their apartment.

“You guys decent?”

“Yeah.” Katie called back, shrugging on a purple vest top, before grabbing a white hooded cardigan. 

Tony gently popped his head round the door to their bedroom, his eyes red from his own tears. He took one look at his sister before he sighed and strode towards her, Steve watching as Katie melted into her brother’s arms. 

“I thought that all of us, well the original Avengers that is could meet down by the river on the jetty.” Tony cleared his throat, looking at Steve over Katie’s shoulder. “Maybe talk about what happened.” “She died.” Katie pulled away. “That’s what happened.” “Kiddo,” Tony began and Steve simply looked at him and shook his head slightly from side to side. Tony took a deep breath and watched as Katie walked over to the windows and looked out.

“Going over what happened won’t bring her back.” She shook her head.

“No but it might help.” Steve said.

“Help how?” She turned to face him, her eyes blazing “When has going over what’s already happened, what’s in the past, ever helped?”

Okay, so Steve knew that little dig wasn’t merely about Natasha. He took a deep breath, rationalising in his brain that she was merely angry and taking it out on him. And Steve understood he had to be the metaphorical punch bag. 

“Clint.” Tony spoke quickly, sensing something wasn’t quite right between the two of them. He knew the look on his sister’s face well enough to know she was going to blow if he didn’t diffuse the situation, and right now Steve looked broken. This was the last thing the group needed. “It might help Clint to tell someone what happened.”

Katie cocked her head to one side as she looked at Tony before she shrugged and walked passed the two men to grab a hair tie from the dresser. Quickly pulling her damp hair into a braid she looked over her shoulder at the pair of them and nodded. “See you out there.” “What’s going on?” Tony asked as soon as she was out of ear shot.

“To be honest Tony, I’m not one hundred percent sure.” Steve sighed, heading out towards the living area, Tony following. “We saw Peggy at the base, then your dad. I think it was a little overwhelming maybe and now Nat.”

“You saw Peggy?” Tony frowned 

“Yeah we had to duck into her office after that woman from the elevator was looking for us with security.” 

“So you hid in her office?” Tony arched an eyebrow.

“I know what you’re thinking but I didn’t do it on purpose.” Steve shook his head as he sat on the sofa, reaching for his leather boots which he had kicked off the day before. “It was just the closest room and…”

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world.” Tony looked at Steve as he tied the laces of his right shoe.

“Did you seriously just quote ‘Casablanca’ at me?” Steve paused and looked up at his brother in law who shrugged. Steve shook his head, a small chuckle escaping his chest as he resumed the task of tying his laces. He exhaled loudly again and rest his hands on his knees. “I wish I understood what she was pissed at…I mean, yeah we saw Peggy but we didn’t speak to her.” “Did you do anything, or say anything?” Tony asked.

“Nothing, only that she looked good, you know, that it was nice to see her not ill.” Steve pondered “The stupid thing is Tony, there was nothing there when I looked at Peggy, nothing at all other than this overwhelming sense of serenity that she looked so, well, normal and how I remembered her, not some frail old lady in a bed.”

Tony looked at Steve for a moment before he shrugged. “Katie’s grieving, we all are. She’ll come round. Just don’t take anything she says to heart.”

“Easier said than done.” Steve mumbled as he stood up. With a deep breath he grabbed his jacket and made for the door, Tony clapping him between the shoulder blades as they walked.

******

“Then I guess we both know who it’s gotta be.” Clint swallowed, taking a deep breath. He was ready to do this, ready to sacrifice his life for the stone in line with what the keeper had said, a way to make up for what he had done over the past five years.

“I guess we do.” Natasha looked at him, smiling and Clint took a deep breath as he reached out to take her hand.

“I’m starting to think– we mean different people here, Natasha” 

“For the last five years I’ve been trying to do one thing: Get to right here.” her voice dropped slightly as the tears shone in her eyes “That’s all it’s been about. Bringing everybody back” 

“Oh, don’t you get all decent on me now.” He said, his own tears springing forth. 

“What, you think I wanna do it?” She looked at him, “I’m trying to save your life, you idiot.” 

“Yeah, well, I don’t want you to, because I– Natasha, you know what I’ve done.” he pleaded with her, how could he look his wife and kids in the face after the atrocities he had committed? “You know what I’ve become” 

“I don’t judge people on their worst mistakes.”

“Maybe you should.” 

“You didn’t.” 

Clint let out a smile, his tears now falling softly “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”

He leant down slightly, pressing his forehead against hers and he took a deep breath.

“Okay. You win” he gave a sad smile, stepping back. And when he knew she’d taken her eye off the ball, truly believing he was letting her do this, with a quick swipe of the legs he knocked her over.

“Tell my family I love them.” He turned to go but she grabbed his arm, tackling him to the ground.

“You tell them yourself.” She smirked, shooting one of her stingers at him, leaving him writhing on the floor. He managed to shrug it off and grabbed his bow and arrow, shooting an explosive dart at her which knocked her to the side. He began to sprint, casting her a look and a smile as he jumped…

He was falling, and he closed his eyes. This was it. 

Except it wasn’t. A pair of arms hooked round his waist and then his fall was stopped as Natasha’s line attached to him with a grappling hook, leaving him clutching her arm.

“Damn you!” Frustration laced Clint’s tone. He tried to reach Nat with his other hand, but the line started to give. And if both of them fell, then neither took the stone home.

“Let me go.” Natasha pleaded with him, her eyes soft. “It’s okay.” She assured him with a smile as be began to protest. There wasn’t an inch of fear on her face. In fact, quite the opposite, it was like she was wanting to do this.

“Please– no!” Clint tried again, but as he spoke Natasha kicked the wall and wrenched her arm out of his grip. Clint screamed after her, turning his head away unable to watch as she fell to her death. When he eventually did look back he saw her sprawled at the bottom, legs and arms bent in an unnatural way, crimson blood framing her head like a macabre halo…

Clint trailed off recalling what had happened as his voice cracked and he looked out over the river, falling silent, arms crossed. Katie sniffed from where she was sat beside Steve on one of the benches, his hand gently resting on her knee.

“Do we know if she had family?” Tony asked, looking around. 

“Yeah.” Steve said fiercely as he looked up through his tears. “Us.” 

“What?” Thor demanded, walking over to Tony. 

“I just asked him a question–“ “Yeah, you’re acting like she’s dead.” Thor snapped “Why are we acting like she’s dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn’t that right?” Steve looked down at his feet and Thor growled slightly. “So stop this shit. We’re the Avengers, get it together.”

“We can’t get her back.” Clint shook his head, his voice quiet as Thor looked at him. “It can’t be undone. It can’t.” 

Thor gave a dry laugh causing Katie to look up for the first time since she had sat down 

“I’m sorry. No offense, but you’re a very earthly being, Okay?” Thor looked at Clint “We’re talking about space magic. And “can’t” seems very definitive don’t you think?”

“Yeah, look, I know that I’m way outside my paygrade here. But she still isn’t here, is she?”

“No, that’s my point-“ “It can't be undone. Or that’s at least what the red floating guy had to say.” Clint’s voice gathered pace and volume until he was shouting. “Maybe you wanna go talk to him, okay? Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and you talk to him!”

At that point Katie stood up and made her way to the archer as his head bowed in grief. She gently rubbed his arm as he turned to face her, tears trickling down his face. 

“It was supposed to be me!” He looked at Katie, then to Steve and Tony. “She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it.” At that point, in a burst of anger, Bruce ripped a bench from the edge of the jetty and hurled it straight across the water before he turned back to the group, his anger spent and a resigned look on his face.

“She’s not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to.”

Steve stood up, Bruce was right. They had to make her sacrifice count. “We will.” 

Bruce sniffed and then looked at Tony. “I’m gonna go back to the lab, take another look at the gauntlet.” “I’ll come with you.” Thor nodded and the two men wandered off up the walkway. Katie watched them for a moment before she turned back to look at Clint.

“I think I’ll stay here for a bit.” He sniffed. She nodded and gave his shoulder a squeeze as Tony and Steve both walked towards him. 

“You gonna be okay?” Steve asked, and he nodded.

“I just wanna be on my own for a bit, Cap.”

He patted the man on the back before the three of them headed up the walkway to the lawn area at the back of the building. Katie stopped and looked at Steve.

“I’m wanna take a drive up to the house, see the kids.”

“Yeah, me too.” He gave her a small smile as Tony looked at them both, nodding.

“We’ll all go.”   ***** They told Emmy and Pepper first, hidden on the porch outside, away from the younger kids. Pepper had instantly welled up, gently wiping away her tears whereas Emmy’s face had crumpled and she’d turned to her father, as she sat on the seat next to him, pressing her face into his top as she sobbed. Steve felt utterly helpless, unable to do anything but comfort her. Eventually, she pulled away and accepted the tissue Tony offered her.

“It was her choice Emmy.” Katie’s voice was broken. “I know that doesn’t make it any easier to take or understand, Sweetheart.” “She,” Emmy took a deep breath, “she was a hero until the end, huh?” “She was.” Steve agreed, smoothing back her hair.

“I err,” Emmy stood up. “I think I’ll take Lucky for a walk round the lake.” “Good Idea.” Tony agreed “How about me, you, Pep and Morgan head down to feed Gerald. Leave your mom and Sad to speak to Jamie.” Emmy nodded. Tony walked round the little porch and opened the door, calling the younger kids out to them. Jamie frowned when he realised he wasn’t going on the walk, and positively scowled when his parents told him it was because they needed to speak to him.

“But I don’t wanna.” He protested as they took him back inside.

“Please, sweetie, it’s important.” Katie sighed. He looked at her with piercing blue eyes so like his fathers and gave a huff, sitting down beside her, folding his arms.

“Am I in trouble?” He asked, looking up. “I didn’t do it.”

“No, pal, you’re not in trouble.” Steve assured him, sitting at the other side of him. “We just have some news to tell you.” He glanced at Katie and she gave him a helpless look. How do you make a three year old understand this? Understand any of it? Jamie sat patiently waiting whilst Steve took a breath and turned to face his son in his seat, his knee pulling up onto the cushion slightly as he did so.

“You know how me and your mom have been working on a big job with your Uncle Nee and Auntie Nat-Nat?”

Jamie nodded.

“Well, there was an accident.” Steve paused, trying to compose himself as best he could. “And Auntie Nat-Nat…well she, she’s gone to heaven buddy.” “Heaven?” Jamie frowned “Like, in the sky? With the angels? And my nannies and grandpas?” Katie nodded. “Yeah, baby.” “So I can’t see her again?” His little voice was quiet as his face fell, and Katie felt a lump in her throat as she struggled to speak.

“I’m sorry, buddy.” Steve gently, reached out to stroke his son’s face. “I know you can’t see her but you’ll always have her in your memories when you think about all the fun things you did.” Jamie nodded. And looked around. “Okay.” He whispered as he took the information in. Steve and Katie looked at one another, they’d tried to be honest, explain as best they could with the simple facts but in a way he would understand the harsh reality that his Auntie was gone, and not coming back.

“You alright?” Steve asked as the boy stood up.

“I’m sad that I won’t see her again.” Jamie shrugged, looking down before he stood up and looked his father straight in the eyes “But Emmy says her first mommy and daddy are both in heaven and the sun shines there so Auntie Nat-Nat will be okay. And I will see her when I go.” He nodded firmly. “But that won’t be for a very long time.” “No.” Steve reached out to pull his son into a hug. “No, it won’t.” Jamie wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck as he gave him a hug back, before he turned to his mom and did the same. Katie pulled him close to her, dropping a kiss to his head as her tears once more began to fall. 

And they were falling again when they headed back to the compound later that afternoon. Katie didn’t want to leave the kids behind, but there was work to do, and she knew they couldn’t be there when the stones were. It wasn’t safe. She remained silent for the drive home, both Tony and Steve glancing back at her on occasion, the men sharing significant looks as Steve drove the car back to the compound. He hadn’t even pulled to a stop when she was climbing out and striding towards the doors.

“Good luck.” Tony nodded towards her retreating back.

“Thanks.” Steve mumbled. He paused for a second, taking a deep breath of air before he headed after her. She wasn’t in their quarters, so a quick question to FRIDAY later he headed to the communal lounge, where she was stood behind the wet bar, pouring herself a large vodka.

“Want one?” She asked and he shook his head. “No? There’s some of that Asgardian shit here somewhere.” “Katie, I don’t want a drink. “Well I do so,” she knocked the vodka back and hissed slightly, “shit she’s right, that stuff is like paint stripper.”

She poured another one and Steve watched her knock it back before he walked round the back of the bar and gently took the bottle from her.

“Sweetheart, this isn’t going to help.” “Why are you getting off on telling me what to do all of a sudden?” she looked at him,  snatching the bottle back. “You did it before at the base too!” “That’s not what I was doing.” Steve calmly shook his head. “I was trying to stop you being seen.” “Didn’t care about that when you dragged us into Peggy’s office.” Steve took a deep breath, sensing the impending argument, desperately seeking for the words to cut it off before it could start. “I dragged us in there to stop security finding us. And I didn’t know it was her office until you did.” “Course you didn’t.” 

“I didn’t.” He sighed, his tone flat. He was completely and utterly worn out. And he didn’t have the energy to argue. He was done. So, instead, he turned to leave. 

“Sure you were horrified when you got to see her.” Katie shot at his back and Steve took a deep breath.

He knew she was poking for an argument now and he wasn’t going to give her one. He turned to face her, shaking his head and shrugging a little. “I was glad when I saw her. Glad I got to see her looking so healthy instead of some frail old woman dying in a bed. And I make no apologies for being happy about that fact.”

Katie snorted and poured another drink into her glass.

“But if you’re asking me if I suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to run to her and declare my undying love then the answer is no.” Steve held her gaze. “I love you.”

Katie rolled her eyes as she shot her third vodka straight down, grimacing again as it burnt its way down her throat. It wasn’t having any effect on her yet, but she still had a dangerous desire to jab at her husband’s wound again. For no reason other than she was angry.

Angry at everything and everyone… 

But Steve wasn’t rising to the bait. He was angry too, angry at her for behaving the way she was, angry that Natasha was gone, angry at this whole fucking situation, but he wasn’t giving her what she wanted. Not this time. He would deal with his anger alone later, in the way he always did

“We have kids, a home, we’ve built a whole goddamned life together over the past ten years, and I don’t want or need anything or anyone else, no matter what you choose to believe.” “Well if you change your mind, I snagged some extra particles from Pym. You could always go back, check out what you missed.” She shrugged, her eyes flashing as she watched his reaction. Steve grit his teeth together, the nerve in his jaw twitching but still when he spoke, his voice was level.

“I know you’re upset. You’re grieving. We all are.” Steve threw his arms out to his sides. “And if you wanna take it out on me then fine, but I’m not gonna stand here and start screaming and shouting at you.” His hands dropped back to his sides, slapping against his denim clad thighs. “I don’t have the energy. I’m hurting too. So is Clint, Bruce, Tony, Thor, you’re not the only one who loved Nat.”

Katie looked down at the empty glass, before she turned for the bottle of vodka and refilled it.

“I love you, I love our life, I love our kids.” Steve continued, his eyes locking onto hers when she finally looked back at him. “I don’t know what else I can do or say to prove that to you.” He took a deep breath. “If you still don’t believe me after I’ve spent ten years telling you that there’s never been anyone I’ve loved as much in my life, that you don’t trust me enough to believe me when I say that Peggy doesn’t even come close to you, what hope do we have?”

His last sentence hit her like a tonne of bricks and she swallowed as she looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. 

“Tell FRIDAY when you need me to carry you back to the apartment.” He nodded to the bottle in her hand, and with that he turned and left the room. Katie stood still, her tears began to fall and with an almighty scream she launched the glass she had been holding against the wall before she turned and left the room.

She walked for what felt like hours. Through the woods, down by the river, and eventually came to the little clearing, the place that her and Natasha had often come to hide from everyone when they wanted a break to either sit in the sun or just chill after a particularly hard mission. She was surprised to find Clint already there, leaning against a tree trunk.

“Didn’t know you knew about this place?” Katie looked at him.

“Nat brought me out here the other day.” 

“Figures” Katie dropped down beside him. “She brought me here too, quite a bit actually.”

“Where’s Cap?” Clint asked. Katie shrugged, tugging at the grass on the floor, before throwing the strands she pulled from the ground into the air in front of her. “You two had a fight?” 

“Kinda.” she sighed. “I said some pretty shitty things.” “Sure it’ll work out.” Clint said. 

“Maybe.”

Clint turned to her “It can’t have been that bad, surely?” And then before she knew it, she’d told him everything. About the mission, about Peggy, about being angry for no real reason other than she felt a pang of jealousy over him smiling when he saw another woman back in the seventies, a woman who he had last seen frail and ill in a hospital bed. And then she was angry, angry at everything, at why Natasha had taken those fucking words, Steve’s words, ‘whatever it takes’ literally, and had given her life to bring people back.

“We don’t’ trade lives.” she sniffed, finishing rather pathetically as she wiped her eyes.

Clint sat in silence, sliding an arm round her shoulders. “She chose to do it Nova. I tried to stop her but…” “Her choosing doesn’t make it easier, Clint.” “Not for those of us left behind, no.” He agreed. “But she was at peace with her decision. And this isn’t Steve’s fault no matter what you think.” “I don’t think that.” Katie sighed “Not really.” “Good because that is almost as stupid as the other shit you’re thinking.” Clint looked at her “Steve loves you.”

“I know he does.” “Just listen to me.” the Archer looked at her sternly. “It’s always been obvious how much he loves you, and over the past few months I’ve also seen how much he loves your kids.”

Katie looked down at her hands as Clint continued.

“But the thing is, you love your kids because you have no choice. And by that I mean you just can’t help it. They’re part of you, but each other, well you choose that.” He paused as she looked up at him, his eyes flashed with a mix of upset and slight anger. “You need to get your head out your ass, Nova, and look around you. I lost my family five years ago. You gained yours, and you’re trying to do what exactly? Goad Steve into an argument about an ex-girlfriend or whatever from almost eighty years ago?” Clint shook his head “Stop being a dick.”

Katie knew he was right. She was being ridiculous, she’d known that the minute Steve had left her in the common room. She took a shaky breath, the tears pouring down her cheeks and the arm round her shoulders gave her a squeeze

“Nat would be so pissed at me right now.”

“Yep.” Clint breathed out, and Katie gave a soft watery laugh, as she lay her head on her friend’s shoulder, the two of them sitting in silence. *****

When neither Steve nor his Sister answered FRIDAY’s calls, Tony figured that something had happened so he’d gone in search of Steve first, knowing he’d be the most rational out of the two. FRIDAY told him he was down in the gym, and as he rounded the corner towards the training room, he could hear the sound of fists pummelling the punching bags. The door swung open and sure enough, the soldier was there, his arms moving at an astonishing rate, grey t-shirt stuck to his back with sweat as he hit the sand bag again and again and again.

“Cap?” He spoke a little tentatively, and Steve landed one final punch before he grimaced slightly, turning round, shaking out his hand. “Take it it didn’t go well then.” “You could say that.” Steve sighed, breathing heavily. “I left her in the common room with a bottle of vodka.” Tony frowned “Was that wise?” “Probably not.” Steve shrugged, feeling a pang of guilt before he took a deep breath, blooded hands falling to his hips. “But I don’t know what else to do Tony. She was just trying to goad me into an argument and, well, frankly, I couldn’t be bothered.” He slumped down onto one of the benches, running his hands through his sweaty hair.

“They say there are five stages to grief.” Tony mused, sitting down next to him. “Denial, anger, bargaining…” “…depression and acceptance, yeah.” Steve nodded.

“Well, you apparently go through them in order.” Tony looked at him. “But from personal experience, that’s a load of shit. When mom and dad died I just went off the rails. Oh, I accepted they were gone but, well the anger and depression continued for a very long time.”

Steve took a deep breath and looked at him.

“And I reckon it would have continued even longer had it not been for the fact that it became a very real threat that Kiddo would have been taken off me.” “I know she’s grieving, Tony, I really do but this whole thing about Peggy is ridiculous. You know what she said? That she’d stolen extra Pym particles and told me I could go back, see what I missed.” Steve snorted, shaking his head. “I mean does she actually seriously think that I’d even consider that?” “No.” Tony cut him off. “She doesn’t, not really. Look, today has been a head fuck for us all. She’s lashing out and wants a reaction. You’ve done the best thing by not giving her one and instead you’ve taken it out on a non-sentient item…” He nodded to the punching bag which was dripping sand to the floor.

Steve sighed and looked down at his split knuckles, flexing his fingers and wincing slightly.  “Suppose I best go see if she’s drunk herself into oblivion yet.” He stood up “FRIDAY, where’s Katie?” “Mrs Rogers is back in the Living Quarters, Captain. Would you like me to call her?” “No, it’s okay, thanks.” He sniffed as Tony stood up. Steve gave him a gentle nod, before he left the training room, without another word.

Tony watched him go before he looked around at the three destroyed bags, sand scattered all over the floor, spotted with a few droplets of Steve’s blood from his knuckles. He sighed, his head hanging heavily for a moment before ran his hands over his heard.

“FRIDAY, get someone to clean this up.”

**** When Steve walked back in the apartment Katie stood up off the sofa and looked at him for a moment, an awkward silence hanging between them. 

“Where’ve you been?” He asked, his voice even and soft.

“With Clint. Talking about stuff.”

Steve fully understood that ‘stuff’ would most likely have included as well as Natasha. He took a deep breath and gave her a curt nod. “I’m going for a shower.” “Okay.” She replied gently, almost nervously even. Steve gave her another passive look before he headed into the en-suite, turning the water on as hot as he could stand. He ached even more now than he had before, and he was beyond tired. He didn’t want to fight, not anymore. On the plus side, Katie wasn’t drunk, so that was something. He just hoped that whatever Clint had said to her had helped. He cleaned himself quickly before shutting off the water, drying himself down and emerging a few minutes later, dressed in a clean pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He found Katie in the kitchen, pulling a dish out of the oven.

“I assumed you’d want food. I made mac and cheese. Call it a peace offering?” She looked at him, her eyes watering a little.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know.” She sniffed, and Steve saw her bottom lip beginning to quiver again. “Stevie, I’m so sorry, I…” With a sigh he reached out to her and pulled her to him and she went willingly, melting into his arms.  “I love you, and I shouldn’t have taken stuff out on you, I’m sorry, I really am…” she rambled into his chest as he held her close.

“I know.” He pressed a kiss to her head. “But, honey, I’m tired of trying to make you understand. I love you. I don’t want or need anyone else.” “I know, I was just, well, I just saw that photo on her desk and…”

“It was just a photo.” “Yeah but that’s it, it’s not just a photo.” She protested between her sobs. “I have that exact photo in my office too, because it’s you and,” she took a deep breath, “I never knew you before the serum but I wish I did because it’s who you are. Not Captain America but Steve Rogers. My Steve.”

“Oh, baby.” Steve pulled away and took her face in his hands. “I’ll always be yours.”

She gave a watery smile and slid her hands over his as his thumbs gently wiped away her tears, and then she frowned as she felt his knuckles. She gently pulled his hands down to look at them before she glanced up at him, fresh tears in his eyes as the memory of the last time he’d beaten his hands to a pulp on the punch-bag flashed across her mind, the time he’d been grieving for their lost friends and their baby.

“You haven’t done this since…” “I know.” “Stevie.” Her face crumpled again at the thought of what she had pushed him to and he shook his head, his hands falling to her hips.

“Look at me.” He instructed, and she raised her gaze to his. “I heal fast, you know this.” She spluttered a laugh and he smiled. “But I really am fucking hungry, so how about we eat and then curl up in bed and tomorrow we face head on together?”

She nodded. He dropped a kiss to the top of her head and she turned away to dish up their food. 

They ate in silence, but it was comfortable and when they’d finished they both cleared away the dishes before heading into the bedroom. Katie retreated somewhere for a moment, coming back with the first aid kit which she used to gently clean his split knuckles. There was no need, they weren’t as bad as they could be, but she wanted to care for him, and Steve wasn’t about to deny her the opportunity. Then came the arnica, which he really did want as his upper body was absolutely wrecked. 

She gently grasped at the bottom of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head before he shifted so he was lead on his front, with a groan befitting of all his hundred and five years. Katie moved so that she was straddling him from behind, her soft hands gently rubbing over his broad back.

“I would offer you a massage. But I think it would hurt.” “Yeah it would so thanks but no thanks” Steve mumbled into his pillow and she gave a soft laugh

“Maybe tomorrow?”

He nodded as her hands slid up to his shoulder, gently working there before she patted him softly on the ass.

“Turn over.” With a heave he did as he was told, eyes closed as she gently swept over his bruises to his ribs and torso, before her thumb skated over the one on his left cheek. Her thumb was replaced by her lips, which flickered down his jaw, his neck, over his Adam’s apple and back up to his mouth. With a soft sigh he accepted her kiss which was soft and she pulled back, nibbling on his bottom lip before she pressed her forehead to his.

“I love you.” She whispered softly, and he opened his eyes and nudged her nose gently with his. “I’m sorry.”

“I know, and I love you too.” His eyes locked onto hers. “So goddamned much it hurts at times.” “Just at times?” She teased and he rolled his eyes, causing her to giggle a little. He reached up and brushed her hair behind her ears. 

“Until the end of the line.”

She looked at him, her eyes full of warmth before she leaned down and kissed him again, this time with urgency. He hungrily kissed her back, his hand in her hair as he pulled her to him, before he rolled them over, ignoring the aches to his body. Nudging her head back with his nose on her jaw he gently kissed up her neck, nipping at the spot underneath her ear, listening to the soft sigh she made before she moved and pulled his mouth back to hers, her hand tangling in the hair at the back of his head. He grasped her T-shirt and broke the kiss to pull it over her head before their lips locked again, his hands gently squeezing her hips as she shimmied under him with a soft whimper. A few deftly undone buttons later and the pair of them were naked, soft kisses and teasing touches being shared, but no words. 

They didn’t need any.

Steve laced his fingers into hers, gently holding her hands above her head as he slid home, causing her to gasp and drop her head back. His movements were slow, deliberate, his hips hardly moving as he rocked into her, stroking her spot again and again. She arched her back, her head dropping further onto the pillow, and his lips kissed every inch of her neck he could find before he sucked and nipped his way across her collarbone whilst she keened underneath him, hiking her legs around his waist, locking her ankles behind him to keep him close to her. His movements grew deeper, but never faster, there was no urgency to any of this. It was love, it was about being close, the connection, making one another forget the shitty events of the day. Steve wanted his wife to understand what he felt and in turn she wanted him to realise she knew. She knew he loved her, and she loved him. 

She came with a soft cry of his name, her orgasm creeping up on her. It wasn’t a sudden explosion, more a long drawn out burn but no less intense. Her back arched and she pulsed around him, drawing a deep rumble from Steve’s throat as she did, and his lips caught hers with slightly more urgency as his hips picked up their pace, thrusting deeply whilst she clamped around him, hot and tight. It wasn’t long before he found his own release and with a low keen of her name his rhythm stuttered, eventually slowing to a stop and he let go of her hands, breathing heavily, as he gently cupped her face and kissed her deeply.

Still without a word, her hands tangled in his hair, nails scratching his scalp and he gave a soft sigh, closing his eyes as he relished her touch. Sliding his nose up against hers he gave her a gentle smile before he rolled over, pulling her with him. Her head found its favourite spot on his chest, and her hand gently tangled in the dark hair besides her cheek.

“I’m gonna miss her.” She whispered a moment or so later. “So much.”

“I know, Doll.” he sighed, pulling her closer, pressing a kiss to her head. “We all are.” Katie didn’t speak again. It wasn’t long before her breathing grew even and Steve knew she was asleep.  He could feel himself slipping under, and right before he lost consciousness, for some reason Katie’s voice came back to him, her angry jibe filling his head.

“You can always go back, check out what you missed.”

Steve realised there was a slight irony to her words, as roughly eleven years ago he would have jumped at the chance. But not now. 

Not now…

Chapter 56

[maria-scribbles]

loyalty’s all i got | part two

three years ago, you had it all: great friends, good grades, and an almost perfect relationship with your boyfriend, jj. it all came crashing down when your mom relocated your family to california for work and you were forced to trade the outer banks for malibu, leaving your broken heart behind in the place you were just starting to think of as home. now you're back in town for college and to pick up the pieces, hoping to make things right again with your friends and the boy you never stopped loving.

word count: 8.6k+

ship: jj maybank x female!reader, pogue friendship

warnings n stuff: angst angst angst all around (with a happy ending tho!!), the reader being a v. sad girl, mentions of anxiety/depression, failed long distance relationship, drifting apart, self-inflicted loneliness/isolation, the classic trope of 'they broke up but they're still in love with each other' that gives me feels, swearing (it's not my writing unless someone says 'fuck' at least once), reconciliation/mended relationships, traditional cheesy rom-com rain scene 'cause i'm a Dramatic Hoe™

a/n: and here's the second and final part of this looooong two-shot! thank you all so much for reading and i hope you enjoy the finale even though i low key kind of hate it 🙃. fun fact: surfrider beach is a real place in malibu known for its great waves :) also i apologize for how long this took to post, i dropped my laptop and the screen broke so i had to wait for it to get fixed lmao. unbetaed as usual, any mistakes are my b. 

~masterlist~

part two: like a ghost that no one knew

When you said goodbye to your friends three years ago, you should've known things would never be the same again. You were sixteen, still so young and naïve and full of an almost childlike hope that kept you from seeing the obvious: life wasn't fair. Sometimes, you could be holding all the right cards and still lose the game.

It should've been easy. You had a video chat schedule already figured out, promises of daily texts and Snapchats, a boyfriend willing -enthusiastically willing, in fact- to go long distance and make it work no matter what 'cause you both agreed that what you had was something worth fighting for. You and your friends had weathered many storms together, what was one more? It could've been easy but you underestimated just how cruel California would be.

You traded one coast for the other and watched the sun set over the Pacific alone when you would've given anything to watch it rise over the Atlantic with your friends. It hurt to surf solo but you did it anyway, even though it felt like a damn sucker punch each time you caught yourself scanning the sand for JJ and his proud smile when you successfully caught bigger and bigger waves at Surfrider Beach. 

Long distance was hard. You had days where all you wanted to do was lay on your bed for hours, safely curled up in his arms as he ran his fingers through your hair but you had to settle for his voice over the phone and one of his shirts from your closet instead. You missed everything about him: his pretty eyes that looked like the clearest ocean, the cheeky grin he'd send your way after making a stupid joke that had you affectionately rolling your eyes in exasperation, that adorable flush that spread across his face without fail each and every time you said you loved him. You longed for his constant affection; the way he always wanted to keep you close somehow, his arm around your shoulders, hand in your back pocket, or fingers entwined with yours; how he could never go a day without kissing you. Being apart was nothing short of torture.

"I fucking miss you." He said late one night during a rare FaceTime session -his phone was a piece of shit so he had to 'borrow' John B's whenever he could- and you smiled despite the knife twisting itself deeper and deeper into your heart as you played with the fraying sleeve of his old sweatshirt you wore. 

"I fucking miss you more, J." You whispered back, giggling quietly when he scrunched up his nose in playful skepticism. 

"Yeah, I don't think so, babe. There's no way." 

"Yes, way!"

Although it hurt like hell, you imagined being tangled up with him in the hammock hanging in the Chateau's yard under the North Carolina sky -the light from the moon would turn his blond hair a pale silver as he grinned down at you and cupped your cheek in his hand, closing that final distance between you for a kiss that'd fuel the fire racing through your veins- and you let that fleeting happiness carry you through the night, long after you said goodbye. You fell asleep with your phone in your hand, unaware that your mother had been listening from the other side of your closed door.

You'd been distant from her and your dad in the months since the move, obviously going out of your way to avoid them both by spending all your spare time surfing at the beach, coming home well past sunset and heading straight to your room without a word. They'd taught you forgiveness wasn't something to be given willingly -it had to be earned- and since neither of them had done anything worthy to deserve an absolution, you simply pretended they didn't exist and let yourself stew in your justified anger.

Until the morning after your video date with JJ, they'd wisely given you your space so you were pretty blind sighted to find them both waiting for you at the dining room table, one of your dad's famous cinnamon rolls on a plate set in front of your usual chair. You paused in the middle of tying one of your boyfriend's worn bandanas in your hair before abruptly continuing toward the front door, acting like you didn't see the hopeful looks on their faces that made guilt slowly start to burrow its way into your chest. 

"Y/N, wait," Your dad sprung from his seat and reached his hand out toward your elbow, his face falling when you instantly pulled back and crossed your arms. "Please, let's just talk for a second."

"I'm gonna be late for the bus," You lied and tried for the door again, sighing in frustration when he blocked your path and ushered you toward the table where your mom was sitting, biting her thumbnail. The guilt burrowed deeper: you thought she kicked that habit years ago but there she was, chewing her nail to shreds and it was all because of you (the empty satisfaction you felt knowing you were the cause of her stress made you hate yourself just a little more.).

"Jellybean, don't worry about that. I'll drive you." 

You bristled at the old nickname but sat in the chair your dad pulled out for you anyway. The smell of the cinnamon roll he pushed your way made your mouth water but you refused to eat and kept your eyes down as you played with the stack of bracelets adorning your wrist. "You wanted to talk?" You asked, deciding to just rip the band-aid off all at once 'cause knowing your mom when she was anxious and your dad being allergic to any type of confrontation, you'd have sat there all day until one of them worked up the courage to speak.

"Talk, right." Bill said with a nervous chuckle, shaking his head as he took a seat and swiped his own cinnamon roll from the pan in the middle of the table. "Uh, how are you?"

"Are you serious right now?" You asked incredulously, looking up from your lap with a raised eyebrow. "All this for 'how are you?'" 

"How would we know?" Your mom finally spoke up as she pulled her ruined nail from her mouth, only to start instantly drumming her fingers on the table. "You're always holed up in your room or at the beach, Y/N. You never talk to us anymore."

You rolled your eyes before fixing her with a deadpan stare. "Hmm, I wonder why."

"Honey, you know I'm sorry-"

"Don't, okay? Just don't." You swallowed thickly and dumped the cinnamon roll back into the pan, blinking away the awful burning pressure building behind your eyes. "I can't listen to some half-assed apology that you don't mean!"

"Y/N, we are sorry. Everything's gonna get better, just give it time." Your dad's reply was muffled by a mouthful of pastry and any other time, you'd usually be laughing at his chipmunk cheeks but instead you just stared back down at your hands again, lip quivering as you tried and failed to hold yourself together. You would not cry. You would not cry. You would not-

"Please, honey." Your mom tentatively reached out one hand like she was approaching a wounded animal, her voice so soft you could barely hear it above the rush of blood in your ears. "It hurts us to see you like this-"

Oh, fuck this shit.

"You're hurt?! Are you kidding me?" Your chair scraped along the tile as you rocketed to your feet, vision blurring when the dam finally broke. "You promised we wouldn't move again until after I graduated and you broke that promise. I let myself make friends for once in my goddamn life -I fucking fell in love, Mom! I fell in love with the most amazing boy who, by some miracle loves me, too despite me being a...a complete loser!" You were rambling now but you couldn't find it in yourself to care about or stop the words flying from your mouth. 

"God, I was happy -so, so disgustingly happy it kind of scared me, okay?" You laughed bitterly and roughly wiped the tears from your cheeks, only to have more immediately take their place. "And you didn't even stop to think before you took it all away from me! So don't even talk to me about being hurt 'cause you have no fucking idea!"

Your dad was frozen, eyes the same color as your own blown impossibly wide in the middle of another bite of cinnamon roll while your mom, two tears streaking perfect twin tracks down her cheeks, looked at you like you'd just told her the world was ending -to her, it just might've been but to you, it already had. Neither of them said another word as you snatched your backpack off the couch and stormed from the house, slamming the door behind you.

Halfway to the bus stop, you decided school just wasn't in the cards that day and doubled back, hiding behind the shed in your backyard until your tears had run dry and both of your parents left -Rebekah to the hospital, Bill to wherever he went while you were in class- before heading inside to change into your rash vest and grab your board. Despite it being early Friday morning, Surfrider Beach was full of life and you welcomed the hustle and bustle as you turned off your phone and buried it at the bottom of your bag, leaving your problems behind on the sand. 

You spent the whole day at the beach, blissfully alone and free to do what you wanted, until the sun dipped low in the sky and you were too exhausted to even think about anything but dragging yourself home so you could pass the fuck out. You caught one final wave before heading back to shore, waving goodbye to the group of other kids you'd surfed with all day (the one thing you loved about California: everyone was so chill) and trudged through the sand toward your things where, just as you expected, your sister sat on your towel, clad in a baggy UCLA long-sleeve with her phone in hand. 

"Bitch, you killed it out there!" She looked up as you dropped your board to the ground and sat down heavily beside her, slipping an old Kildare County High School sweatshirt -the first one you ever 'borrowed' from your boyfriend, much to his delight- over your head. "I mean, look at you go!"

You leaned closer to watch the video she took, the barest hint of a smile on your face when you watched yourself perform a near perfect cutback on the screen. "That's 'cause I had the best teacher." 

Daisy tagged you and posted it to Instagram before you could protest, then tossed the phone back into her bag and turned to you with a forced cheerfulness that kind of made you want to smack her. "So..."

"Mom and Dad sent you to clean up their mess." You finished quietly, tucking your knees to your chest and wrapping your arms around them as your sister sighed dramatically and offered a sympathetic wince. 

"As always." She copied your position and you both stared out at the sun sinking over the water, its fading rays turning the sky brilliant shades of orange and pink. It was typical of your parents to send Daisy after you when you were upset -after all, you'd both been each other's only friend for over half your lives- and normally, you'd be glad to see your sister's friendly face instead of your mom's or dad's. That evening, though? All you felt was...disappointment.

"Guess they really don't give a shit about me." You mumbled under your breath, half-hoping Daisy didn't hear you but from the way she snapped her head in your direction, you didn't get your wish.

"Y/N, that's not it. They're just..."

"Just what? Pretending that they didn't stab me in the back? Acting like everything's all hunky-dory and they actually cared about my feelings?" 

You hastily wiped at your face when your sister silently looped an arm around your shoulders and tucked you against her side, her fingers running soothingly through the ends of your damp hair as you vented all of your frustrations -everything you'd kept locked deep inside your heart- until your voice was hoarse and the sun had long disappeared from the horizon and you had no tears left to cry.

"You have no idea what it's like, being so lonely it hurts to breathe. It hurts knowing Mom and Dad have each other and you have Daniel and I'm alone all the time." You lifted your head from her shoulder and rubbed your red eyes with your sleeve. "Worst part is, they just keep acting like I'll wake up one day and magically be okay and everything'll be all sunshine and rainbows again." 

"First off, I wanna say that I'm sorry for not making more time for you. I knew you were struggling and I'm a terrible big sister for not being here for you like I should have," You squeezed Daisy's other hand in thanks as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, her voice soft and steady like the waves crashing against the shore. "Second, I definitely don't think Mom and Dad are handling this the way they should, but I think they're trying in the only way they know how. That should count for something, right?"

You sighed and tugged the sleeves of your sweatshirt over your hands. "I guess, but they haven't even tried to see where I'm coming from and they don't get that I'm not the only one they hurt. If I have to hear one more half-assed apology, I'm gonna lose my shit. Again."

"I'm not saying you have to forgive them right away 'cause I sure as hell wouldn't until they say they're sorry and mean it. But..." She said, pulling you to your feet and shaking the sand from the towel you were sitting on, "you shouldn't keep shutting them out, okay? It's not healthy."

You tucked your board under your arm as Daisy grabbed your bag and swung it onto her shoulder before you both started walking toward the parking lot. "What if I'm never ready to forgive them?"

"That's a question I don't have the answer to." She said with a shrug. "You've gotta figure that one out for yourself."

So you followed your sister's advice. You were civil and gradually, your relationship with your parents improved until you could stand to be in the same room as them and even carry on a short conversation, even though you knew you'd probably never be able to fully trust them again. You caught them exchanging glances you could only describe as wounded when you often turned down their invitations to go to the movies or get ice cream or other things you used to love doing when you were younger but for the most part, they took it in stride and you were grateful for their little efforts. Forgiveness wasn't in the cards quite yet but with each passing day, you felt the icy wall around your heart slowly start to melt away.

But every time you thought you were taking one step forward, life pushed you two steps back. Just when you were getting things back on track with your family, the train went flying off the rails when it came to your friends and it was all your fault.

It wasn't like you didn't try -God, did you try- to keep yourself from falling back into old habits but Malibu just had a way of bringing out the absolute worst in you. Your old self, the girl who kept to herself and pushed everyone away, someone you thought you buried in the deepest grave, slowly came back from the dead with a vengeance little by little, so subtly you didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. 

One missed phone call turned into two, texts went unanswered for days or not at all, FaceTime sessions happened less and less. The last video chat had been with Kiara and it ended terribly, after you blew up at her for mending her friendship with Sarah Cameron in the near two years since you'd been gone, spitting words you couldn't quite remember -something along the lines of 'didn't take you too long to replace me, huh' and calling the blonde girl a 'heinous bitch'- but knew you regretted with everything you had and hanging up before she had a chance to explain. You couldn't even recall the last time you talked to Pope or John B aside from the occasional Snapchat and your daily calls with JJ had turned to once a week, if you were lucky.

He was trying, you could tell, and so were you but the deck was stacked against you and you were never very good at cards, anyway. It hurt to try, it hurt not to try, everything just hurt. Nearly two years apart had done their damage and coupled with your debilitating fear of being forgotten that clawed at your chest like a rabid dog, your relationship was on unstable ground and for the first time in almost four years, you were thinking about the end. It wasn't like you didn't love him anymore (holy shit, were you still completely head over heels in love). In fact, you loved him so much you realized that he could do so, so much better than you and the thought rested heavy and bittersweet on your mind, lurking in the shadows until you were ready to bring it to light.

It happened on New Year's Eve. Alone in your room, your hands shook as you answered JJ's call at midnight, his voice tired and a little hoarse from celebrating the new year three hours earlier on the opposite coast and you nearly started crying right then and there when you replied with a shaky "I think we need to talk."

"Babe, what's wrong?"

You took a deep breath and said quietly, "Everything."

"Talk to me." The pure concern in those three words nearly convinced you to call it off, to tell him to forget you said anything and that you were fine, everything was just fine but deep down, you knew you couldn't.

"I've been thinking about us and I...I just think that you deserve better than me. Someone who can actually be there for you when you need her and hold you when your dad's an asshole and see you every day. Someone who can laugh at your silly jokes and share a joint with you and clean you up when you get into fights defending your friends-"

"Babe, what are you talking about? That girl is you."

"Maybe I was but I'm not anymore and I don't think I have been since I left. I just can't be the girl you want, I can't be the girl you deserve, J -I'm a total fucking mess and you can do so, so much better than me."

"Y/N."

You didn't know you were crying until you heard the broken way he breathed your name and salt water dripped from your chin onto the bracelet around your wrist. 

"...are you breaking up with me?" His voice was impossibly small, the quietest you'd ever heard it and the exact moment your battered heart shattered into pieces was when you realized he didn't even put up a fight. 

"I think so." The words tore through you like a gunshot as you cried, curling into yourself on the bed in an effort to ward off the worst pain you'd ever felt in your life and you wondered if it was possible to die from a wound that wasn't even physical. 

He was quiet for a long time, so long you thought he hung up without you noticing through your tears, until he sniffed on the other end of the line.

"Guess we had a pretty good run, huh?" He asked with a watery chuckle and you found yourself giving a tiny, shuddering giggle in response -God, even when you were breaking his heart he still managed to make you laugh.

"The best, baby." The pet name slipped out like second nature and you winced, hastily trying to cover your mistake with an awkward cough but from the sharp breath you heard him take, he'd heard it anyway.

("I'm sorry," you said, and it stood as an apology for more than just your slip-up.)

"I love you, Y/N. Probably always will."

"I'll never stop loving you, JJ. That's a promise."

You let yourself believe him as you laid there bleeding from a gash you couldn't see, a wound you knew would never heal, and you hoped he let himself believe you, too, even when you ended the call without another word and threw your phone away from you, not bothering to see where it landed. The sound of your heavy, broken sobs filled the room and you didn't even mind when your mom, who you knew had been listening from the other side of your closed door like always, barged in and took you into her arms, stroking your hair as you cried into her lap.

If you were supposed to avoid getting hurt by leaving first, why did it feel like everything in you was broken? If you were making the right choice, why did it feel so wrong? You didn't have the answers and no matter how hard you searched, you knew you'd ever find them.  

So you tried to stay busy. You joined the surf club at school, got a part-time job at the local aquarium, did anything you could to distract yourself from the hurt and the guilt and the way getting out of bed every morning was the hardest thing to do. Surf club introduced you to Mackenzie, the one girl who was more ostracized at school -an even richer version of the kook academy you hated -than you, her for being freakishly tall and you for your East Coast attitude, and the two of you became fast, if reluctant friends. Mack didn't try to stitch the gaping hole in your heart caused by your absent friends but she numbed the pain just enough to make it bearable and you were grateful for her calm, steady presence at your side, even as you both tried to keep each other at arm's length.  

Later, you found out she was just like you, friendless and awkward with no self-esteem and a tendency to push people away, and that just cemented your friendship through the summer and your final year of high school.

Mack told you all about her life, growing up with no siblings, having height that she never learned to deal with, and a debilitating social anxiety that made making friends near impossible, and in turn you told her about how you hopped from town to town on your mother's whims, the wonderful friends you let slip away, and the beautiful boyfriend you loved enough to let go, and you both cried together for the lives you could've led.

"You two looked so happy," She said during the first sleepover you hosted as she held one of the many picture frames littering your dresser, her lips turned upwards in a small smile.

You gently took the frame from her hands and ran your fingers over the grinning face of your ex-boyfriend, his arms wrapped around your shoulders as your painted lips planted a deep red kiss on his cheek, and the wave of longing washing over you was almost strong enough to bring you to your knees. "It was the happiest I've ever been."

"Do you miss him?"

"So much it hurts."

i miss you.

i'm so sorry.

i still love you.

You'd typed and erased those texts every day but never mustered the courage to hit send and you couldn't decide if that was a blessing in disguise or the worst possible curse. Of course you still loved JJ: you promised you would and even if you didn't, you couldn't stop if you tried. He was your first love, the boy you so willingly gave your whole heart and then some; you still kept his ring on your thumb -the one he gave you at the airport the day you left- and his bracelet around your wrist, his bandanas in your hair and his face in your dreams and you knew you always would.

Before you could blink, your eighteenth birthday flew by and graduation was upon you.

You thought the second you were done with high school you'd be gone, heading straight back to the Outer Banks and the life you left behind but you found yourself stalling on sending in an application to UNC -Chapel Hill until you missed the deadline for the fall semester. On the outside, you made up a semi-legit excuse about getting your basic courses done at a community college to save money but deep down you really knew why you procrastinated: you were terrified to go back. Ever since your break up with JJ, you hadn't spoken to him or any of your old friends other than the obligatory birthday wishes on Facebook and you wondered if the damage you'd done over the years was too much to come back from, even as you tried to work up the courage to find out for sure.

Another year passed: in between earning college credits, you and Daisy took a sister's trip to Disneyland, Mack asked you to tag along on a jaunt up the coast to San Francisco to see Alcatraz, your parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary (your gift was long-overdue forgiveness and they said it was the greatest thing you possibly could've given them). When the time came, you and Mack both sent out your applications to UNC -you for biology, her for chemistry- and the myriad of emotions you felt when you got in was nothing short of dizzying. The old you was terrified, screaming at you to rip up the letter and join your sister at UCLA instead of opening old wounds but the hopeful you, the girl who lived without fear, the girl who fell in love and let herself be loved, screamed louder.

And so you killed the old you once again, burying her even deeper than the last time in a locked chest and throwing the key as far as you could out into the Pacific where you knew you'd never find it. You clutched your acceptance letter close to your chest and took a step east, away from California and toward the place where your broken heart still rested, scattered in pieces across the sand.

Settling in at UNC was surprisingly easy. You and Mack already clicked pretty well as friends so making the transition to roommates was natural and, dare you say it, even a little fun and the two of you quickly fell into a comfortable routine in your tiny apartment off campus in Chapel Hill. Comfortable and yet...that happiness you once felt all those years ago was missing from your life and you found yourself just as restless as you were in Malibu. While you knew exactly what you needed to do, that fear kept rearing its ugly head in the back of your mind, poisoning your thoughts: what if they wouldn't be happy to see you, what if they forgot about you, what if they hated you? What if he hated you?

It was terrifying, picturing yourself turning up at the Chateau with a hopeful smile only to have the door slammed right in your face. Deep down, you knew they'd never do that to you no matter how badly you'd hurt them but when you'd spent your whole life expecting the worst, taking a leap of faith wasn't an easy feat -something Mack just couldn't wrap her head around.

"I don't get it."

You glanced up from where you were lounging on your bed, flipping through your biology notes in preparation for your lab exam the next morning and shot your roommate a confused look. "Get what?”

Mack sat at your desk, her own notebooks lying ignored as she spun the chair around to face you, arms crossed. "Why you haven't hopped on that ferry to go get your man yet!"

You froze for a moment too long before offering a half-hearted shrug as you fiddled with the beads at the end of your bracelet. "It's not that easy. He probably wants nothing to do with me and I don't blame him."

"How do you know? You haven't talked to JJ in over a year, right?" At your tight nod, she continued, "What if he's just like you-"

"Depressed?"

Mack fixed you with a flat, unamused look. "Still in love, dumbass."

You scoffed and propped your chin in your hand as you glanced back down at your study guide, trying not to latch onto that little thought -hope and pain all rolled into one- that sparked to life at her words. He'd said he would probably always love you that New Year's Eve and back then you'd let yourself believe him but now, you weren't so sure. "Yeah, right. No way he's still...still in love with me after I broke his heart."

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't," Your roommate said with a shrug, spinning around on the chair to grab her things. "You'll never know if you don't get over there, track his fine ass down, and talk to him."

You stared down at your notes without actually seeing anything, the slanted letters of your handwriting blurring before your eyes as the other girl flipped her chemistry book closed and stood, shooting you an warm smile that you didn't see. 

"Listen, Y/N, you're my best friend and I want to see you happy more than anything but I can't take that jump for you. Yeah, it's scary and nerve wracking and you might end up hurt worse than before, so what? That's just...life."

Mack left after that, crossing the apartment to her room so she could get ready for a date with a girl from her psych class, leaving you alone with tears on your face and a million thoughts in your head, all of them terrifying and exciting and oh so loud.

She was right, of course -Mack always knew the right thing to say- and as you stared down at the bracelets on your wrists and the ring on your thumb, the pictures on your phone and the too-big shirt hanging off one shoulder, you realized sitting around moping wasn't gonna solve anything; if you wanted your happiness, your friends, the love of your life back, you needed to step up and fight for them with everything you had. And so you wiped the tears from your cheeks and walked to the cliff's edge with your head held high, ready for the fall and whatever came with it. You were ready to fix your mistakes, no matter how badly it might hurt.

Still, you couldn't do it all on your own. You needed some help to make things right again and while you knew just who to ask, you weren't quite sure if they'd be willing to lend a hand. Desperate times called for desperate measures though and you penned a good old-fashioned letter, feeling like a heroine in a Jane Austen novel as you poured all your thoughts -your dreams, wishes, hopes- onto a piece of paper in bold blue ink and sent it off to its destination on Figure 8, your Hail Mary for a happy ending sealed up neatly in a single envelope.

Mack, bless her heart, did her best to keep your spirits up as you waited on a response but even her ever reassuring presence couldn't keep you from worrying as one week passed by, then two. Halfway through the third you'd almost given up, already wracking your brain for another way to make your plan work when your phone chimed with a text from an unknown number.

i'll help you

And just like that, the moment you'd been waiting for was finally within your reach; you told your parents not to expect you for Thanksgiving break, called your sister for a much needed pep talk, and started counting down the days until you'd see your friends again, for better or worse.

When you left the Outer Banks three years ago, it was sunny. You were sixteen, young and in love and scared about the future.

When you returned, it was in the middle of a storm. You were nineteen, a little bit older but no less in love and definitely still scared about what was waiting for you at the end of the road.

Rain pounded against the roof of Sarah Cameron's SUV as she drove away from the docks and toward the Chateau, her fingers tapping along to the music playing quietly through the radio. You sat in the passenger seat, soaked to the bone from your ferry ride from the mainland and shaking like a leaf despite the towel wrapped around your shoulders and the warm air flowing from the car's vents.

"Thanks for coming to get me," You said, wincing at the awkward lilt of your voice echoing in the small space as you spun JJ's ring around your thumb and stared out the windshield at the familiar sights streaking by in blurred shades of green and brown. Being back opened a Pandora's box of emotions in your head, both good and bad, and instead of trying to sort them out, you let them bounce around in your brain like a pinball machine and concentrated on methodically twirling the warm metal ring in circles on your finger.

Sarah briefly glanced away from the road to shoot you a small smile, her kind eyes softening at your visible nervousness. "Not gonna lie, I was pretty sure you hated me so when I got your letter it kinda...threw me for a loop. Sorry it took me so long to reply."

You wished the heated leather seat would swallow you whole as you winced again and wrapped the towel tighter around your shoulders. "For the longest time, I thought I did hate you but I realized I was just...scared of losing my friends and I took it out on you. You didn't deserve to be labeled the villain in my story when I was the one, um, sabotaging myself, I guess." You took a deep breath and picked at a loose thread tickling your arm. "And I'm really, really grateful for your help."

It was more than you wanted to admit out loud -nearly the same words were written in the letter peeking out from the center console of the car- but at the same time, you knew it was what needed to be said and from the way the blonde girl's fingers stopped tapping against the steering wheel, she knew she needed to hear it. At a red light, she quickly tapped out a text on her phone before tossing in back into her bag with another tiny grin in your direction.

"Happy to help. For what it's worth, I'm so sorry if I made you feel like you were being replaced, I never intended to hurt you or steal your friends or...or, I don't know, usurp-" 

"Sarah, stop. Please," You held up a hand to cut off her apology and offered her a self-deprecating smile. "I'm the one who's sorry. I let my...jealousy get the best of me and I feel so bad about all the shit I said 'cause that wasn't fair to you at all and I hope you can forgive me-"

"Y/N, there's nothing to forgive! We all say stupid shit when we're mad -trust me, I know." She interrupted with a bubbly, contagious giggle that seemed to scare away the gloomy storm clouds gathered over your head for a moment in time. "But I was never pissed at you, ever. I just want you to know that."

Stunned, you settled deeper into the seat and started playing with your ring again as she kept driving on, unbothered by your lack of response. You felt like you were thirteen again, back when Sarah and Kiara were your only friends, before the birthday disaster and the whole pogue versus kook feud that got completely out of hand; it felt...nice and you found yourself hoping that the blonde girl would still want to be your friend again, no matter what the others thought about your sudden return. 

"Thank you."

Sarah gave no indication she heard your quiet confession of gratitude but from the way you watched her smile grow out of the corner of your eye, you knew she did. The rest of the drive passed in companionable silence as you retreated into your own thoughts, your nerves getting worse and worse the closer you got to your destination.

You took a deep breath and let it out slowly through your nose, feeling like your heart was trying to beat its way through your rib cage. You hadn't been this anxious in a long, long time, so long you almost forgot how much you hated the tightness in your chest, how your palms would start to sweat, the way you'd chew the inside of your cheek until you tasted blood on your tongue. By the time Sarah pulled into an open spot beside the achingly familiar Volkswagen parked in front of the Chateau, you were surprised you were still able to breathe.

The sight of the tiny house, one you spent so many carefree days and beautiful nights in alongside your friends, standing virtually unchanged in front of you was like a shot to the heart and your hands, curled into fists on your lap, began to shake without warning. Shit, you were a godforsaken mess; how the hell were you supposed to do this without having a mental breakdown?

"I'm so scared."

The whispered words, barely audible over the torrential rain against the roof, slipped from your mouth before you could stop them and Sarah slowly reached one hand over to give your trembling wrist a reassuring squeeze, the corners of her mouth curled upward in a slight smile.

"Don't be. They're gonna be so happy to see you!"

You turned to look at her, eyebrows knit together in disbelief. "How are you so sure they still care about me?"

"I'm sure 'cause I've seen it. My God, if only you could've heard all the times they talked about you -'I wish Y/N was here,' 'remember that time with Y/N,' hell, just straight 'I miss Y/N so fucking much,'" She said bluntly and shifted in the driver's seat to face you head on, smiling wider at the thunderstruck look on your face. "Pretty sure I haven't gone a week without JJ saying that last one at least once." 

"I thought..." You paused, tongue darting out to run over your dry lips as you tried to put your jumbled feelings into words, "I thought he'd hate me -I mean, after all I've done, you think he still..."

"Loves you? Are you kidding?" Her reply was so enthusiastic it was hard not to believe her as she went on, her words like sunshine brightening the darkest corners of your mind. "He's still head over heels, I've never seen him even look at another girl in three damn years. You know he still wears your necklace, the one with the silver star? Kie told me all about it."

"I-I didn't." You remembered giving it to him the day you left, managing a shaky smile through your tears as you carefully clasped it around his neck, your fingers running over his skin as you settled the charm perfectly alongside that little shark tooth you'd grown to love.

('Be careful with this, baby. It's my favorite.' You had said, crying harder when he'd taken off one of his rings and slipped it onto your thumb.

'Well, this one's my favorite so take good care of it, okay?' His voice had been light but his eyes were heavy with unspoken words that you'd heard loud and clear because you knew your gaze said the exact same things.

don't let me go

don't break my heart

don't stop loving me)

You coughed to disguise the fat tears that started rolling down your face, quickly wiping them away with your sleeve but the blonde girl wasn't fooled as she gave your hand another friendly squeeze.

"Come on, they're probably wondering what's taking me so long," She sent a conspiratorial wink your way and grabbed her bag from the center console. "I told them I was picking up some pizzas but I have a funny feeling they won't be too pissed that I lied."

With a desperate grip on the strap of your backpack and your heart racing, you trailed behind Sarah through the rain to the front porch. 

"Ready?" She glanced back where you lingered at the top of the stairs, anxiously shuffling from foot to foot, and shot you a smile that did little to calm your nerves. "Just wait here!"

She knocked on the door before you could reply and yelled loud enough to be heard over the pouring rain, "Hey, it's me! Can somebody get the door? My hands are kinda full."

"Got it!"

Your bag slipped from your fingers and fell onto the porch with a loud thump at the sound of the voice floating through the open windows, a voice you heard nearly every night as you slept, in your dreams of a future you wanted with everything you had. You knew it better than your knew your own, knew every pitch and tone and lilt; quiet and raspy in the mornings when you woke up in each other's arms, loud and carefree during long days spent under the golden sun with the rest of your friends, soft and warm and laid bare at night when he showed how much he loved you with more than just words.

Sarah gave you an enthusiastic thumbs up before stepping to the side just as the door opened and you suddenly found yourself struggling to breathe as you stared into the wide blue eyes of your ex-boyfriend. JJ stared right back, one of the hands you used to hold clenched so tight around the doorknob his knuckles were white, the lips you used to kiss parted in surprise, the blond hair you used to run your fingers through falling onto his forehead like always and the familiar, beautiful sight of him standing close enough to touch made your knees weak.

"You're not pizza."

It was such a JJ thing to say and you didn't know whether to laugh or cry as you swallowed thickly and shook your head. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"I'm not."

"Oh."

Hope flared white hot in your chest at his words but it quickly started to fade, replaced by fear when he made no move toward you, his fingers still gripping tight to the door, and you felt your face start to heat in embarrassment as Sarah looked back and forth between the two of you like she was watching a tennis match. 

God, you were so stupid. What did you expect would happen, showing up out of the blue after over a year of no contact? Everything would fall into place again with just one long, heavy look? Believing it could be that easy turned you into a complete and total fool, tongue-tied and insecure and weak.

"Yo, what's the hold up?" John B's voice asked from inside the house and Sarah leaned down to call through the open window, "Come out here and find out!"

A wave of dizziness hit you like a truck and you took a sudden step back toward the stairs, arms wrapping around your stomach as it twisted itself into knots. "I'm sorry, I-I shouldn't have come. This was a mistake." You didn't notice the stricken look that crossed JJ's face or the three familiar, stunned expressions that appeared behind him in the darkened doorway before turning away and stumbling off the porch toward the road, leaving your bag behind and you definitely didn't notice how you barely made it off the bottom stair before a set of footsteps hastily gave chase. 

"It wasn't a mistake, Y/N!" JJ's desperate voice stopped you in your tracks, halfway across the yard with more than just rain running down your face. "Not to me, never to me."

His soft touch on your wrist sent shockwaves through your body and you instantly became putty in his hands, letting him turn you around without a fight to face him, watching in fascination as the downpour started to darken his gray shirt and flatten his hair against his forehead. Three years hadn't changed much about him -he was a little taller, hair a little longer, the muscles in his arms a little more defined- and when you met his wide-eyed gaze, beads of rain dripping from his long eyelashes like diamonds, you wondered if he was thinking about the differences time created between the younger you of the past and the you of the right now, too.

"Oh." You repeated dumbly, struggling for something, anything to say that didn't make you sound like an illiterate fool. Even at nineteen, words still weren't your strong suit so you let your actions speak for you as your hand reached out on its own accord to caress the silver star still clasped around his neck, the thumb still wearing his ring brushing slowly against the dip between his collarbones; he shivered, and you weren't really sure if it was from your touch or the cold. 

"Y/N." JJ said your name like a prayer, like he couldn't believe you were there in front of him, and you inhaled sharply when both of his hands slowly, carefully moved to cup your face, his calloused thumbs habitually wiping the tears from your cheeks over and over, even as more instantly replaced the ones he swept away. "I fucking missed you."

You stood there, looking like a damned drowned rat with your hair dripping into your eyes, shivering in your soaked jeans and Kildare County High School sweatshirt, the love of your life cradling your face so gently in his hands, and so many things you wanted to say flooding your brain but only the one that mattered the most managed to get by your trembling lips.  

"I'm still in love with you." 

You noticed a lot when you put your heart on the line: the steady, soothing sound of water falling through the trees, the bright, clean taste of rain on your tongue, how the sun was just barely starting to peek out from behind the stormy clouds, but they all paled in comparison to the little things you noticed about the boy in front of you; blue irises made even brighter by the red rimming his eyes, how he stepped closer on the wet grass until the tips of his scuffed boots touched your worn gray high tops, the way his hands trembled ever so slightly against your flushed face. 

"Well, it's your lucky day 'cause I'm still in love with you, too."

All of the breath left your lungs in one big rush when JJ smiled hopefully -oh, how you loved everything about that smile: his slightly crooked teeth, that dimple in his cheek, the endearing pink blush swept across his nose- and you felt yourself return it without a second thought, your own hope once again burning bright in your chest.

"Even after...everything?" Your voice shook like the fingers you slid into the hair at his nape and he leaned down to rest his forehead against yours, close enough you could feel his breath on your lips when he spoke.

"I told you I'd always love you, didn't I?"

You nodded, a delicious shiver running down your spine when he tilted his head just so and gently bumped your nose with his. You remembered all the times he did that through the years, a dizzying slideshow of memories that flashed through your mind like lightning, and your fingers wove themselves deeper in his hair. 

"I have so many things to apologize for," You said with a tiny, quiet shake of your head, tearing your eyes away from his in shame and staring over his shoulder toward where the rest of your friends watched from the porch, all crowded together at the top of the stairs with identical enthralled expressions on their faces. "There are so many mistakes I've made and people I've hurt and I have no idea how to even start saying sorry for it all." 

"Babe."

The sound of your old pet name caused your gaze to snap right back to his and your heart felt like it was about to beat right out of your chest when one of his hands trailed down the sensitive skin of your neck and then lower until it traced along the curve of your hip and left a line of fire in its wake.

"We'll figure that out later, okay?" JJ said as his fingers tucked a loose strand of wet hair behind your ear, a coy, ardent grin on his face. "'Cause I've been waiting three years to kiss you again and if I don't get to do it soon, I'm gonna lose my fucking mind."

You smiled -a wide, joyful, elated smile- and rose up on your tiptoes in anticipation. "Then kiss me." 

You didn't have to tell him twice. His lips pressed against yours desperately, like he needed you to breathe, like you were the very air in his lungs, religiously, like your mouth was the altar and he was there to worship as he pulled you close, the fingers of one hand tangling in your hair while the others dug into your hip. You kissed him back just as hard and the familiar taste of him on your tongue -mint, smoke, salt- sent that dearly missed spark racing through your veins like wildfire.

It was a little cliché, having your long-awaited reunion kiss in the rain but it was honest and candid and real and so much better than anything you could've dreamed. You lost yourself in his touch like you used to, clinging to him like a lifeline and pouring your whole heart into every fierce brush of your lips against his, both of you pulling away for a moment only to dive right back in each time. It was addictive, intoxicating, and you could've spent the rest of your life standing there in the middle of the yard and kissing like there was no tomorrow if a loud, ear-piercing wolf whistle hadn't come from the direction of the porch.

The two of you broke apart just barely, with foreheads still pressed together and swollen lips, and you couldn't stop yourself from giggling when JJ blindly flipped the bird over his shoulder before pulling you back in for another eager kiss that filled your whole body with an exhilarating, heavenly heat that never faded, even after four enthusiastic voices suddenly surrounded you like an excited swarm of nosy, buzzing bees.

"You aren't the only one who missed her, J." Kiara said, smiling widely as you reached out to grab her hand and pull her into a powerful one-armed hug, her chin resting on your shoulder.

"Yeah, stop hogging all the love!" John B added, throwing himself into the pile along with Pope, who slung an arm around your shoulders as he said, "Great to have you back, Y/N."

Sarah was the last to join and she quietly tucked herself under John B's arm with a pleased grin on her face, nodding when you mouthed 'thank you' in her direction. The six of you stood there in the rain, smiling like fools, and as the sun started to scare away the dark clouds overhead and in your heart, a weight you didn't even realize had been crushing your chest slowly began to lift away with each freeing breath. 

You still had a lot of work to do: wrongs to be righted, apologies to be made, explanations -not excuses- to be given for every shitty thing you did in your past. But as happy tears started streaming down your face once again and you felt the arms of the friends you’d thought were lost to you forever tighten around you at the sight, you knew in your bones all would be forgiven. You knew that after three long years, you'd finally come home.

-

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[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Reunited.”

Just tying up some loose ends, also see the post I made right before this about a stupid story that happened to me while writing this. It is kind of funny :) 

The day was hot, very hot, and the sun beat down on fort harmony with merciless intent. Over the tarmac, the sweltering heat caused little mirrages, as puddles of water to appear and then vanish down the runway. 

The heat was oppressive enough that no birds sang, and even the roaring of the engines had been dulled by a day that none of the en were willing to venture out of the air cooled airplane hangers.

Only one figure remained outside staring up at the blue sky and the oppressive sun beaming down upon her.

Waffles limped over the hot pavement, the tarmac burning the delicate pads of her feet, but if she stopped walking it would only hurt even more.

Her tail drooped towards the ground,

It was so hot.

She made it across the tarmac and down to the little shaded area where someone had set up a discarded cardboard box and a bowl of water.

Her feet continued to ache, and she licked at them with her long, pink, tongue though that only brought momentary relief from the burns.

Across the tarmac two men watched her form the open hanger door. It wasn’t that they hadn’t tried to get her to come inside, they had, it was just that she wouldn't, and no amount of cajoling or bribing her had worked. THey felt bad of course, but there was nothing much else they could do.

One of the men felt bad enough to brave the heat and bring over a bag of ice which he pressed onto her paws for a time before having to return to his work.

Waffles laid her head down and closed her eyes ears drooping.

So hot 

Overhead an engine sounded. It was a familiar noise by now,and only one of her eyes cracked open to watch the shuttle descend from the sky and come to land on the scouring earth. She closed her eyes again, listening to the distant sounds as the shuttle doors open, and human voices swelled up around her.

It was then that she was hit with the smell.

IThe heat washed over her face and straight up into her nose with a smell she had been waiting for for months now. 

She shot to her feet ears up nose lifted.

Her tail began to wag 

And despite the heat of the burning tarmac, she raced across the open space yipping and barking and whining for all she was worth

***

Adam stepped out of the shuttle into a sheer wall of heat. It was like being punched in the face by the sun. The borrowed flight suit he now wore was immediately sweltering and he fanned himself with one hand already beginning to pant.

Behind him Sunny and the other stepped down onto the tarmac.

Sunny Immediately yelped and sprung back into the shuttle

Adam couldn’t help but laugh, but that was when a high pitched whining noise reached his ears. A whining barking, yipping noise that immediately had him turning towards the sound eyes wide.

It started out as a small shape barely distinguishable from the sand and grass to the side of the tarmac, and then, as it raced towards him it coalesced into a furry bullet.

“Watffles!” He shouted, taking a few steps down from the ramp as she raced up, and leaped into the air.

He caught her mid arc staggering back a few steps as she attacked his face was the kind of love that could only be bestowed by man's best friend. She whined and whimpered and her tail wagged and her body wriggled so hard he had a tough time holding onto her. 

“Hey pretty girl!”

Wavvles whimpered and barked some more licking his face and the side of his head repeatedly to the point where his hair was damp.

He laughed and held her to his chest, her tail thudding against his side and back.

She didn’t seem very inclined to get down, and the Tarmac was so hot he worried about her paws burning. So instead he held her like a large baby in his arms, and once she was finally done licking his face, she rested her head against his neck and chest nuzzling every now and against at his chin just to remind him she was there.

Not that he could forget an 80 lb German Shepherd.

Behind him the others were laughing and awing.

Ramirez had videoed the whole thing, and continued to video as they made their way across the tarmac and too one of the hangers. Waffles didn’t seem to have any intention of getting down.

Finally they stepped into the hanger, and reluctantly he set her back on the floor, though she insisted on sitting on his feet every time he came to a stop.

Across the room there was a clamouring of voices, and A group of at least five people came charging across the room.

His family hugged him so hard, he thought he was going to crack a rib, and he laughed right along with them as they stammered out nar incoherent sentences.

Eventually his mother pulled back wiping her eyes on hand resting on his cheek the other on his shoulder, “Boy, you need a shave.”

He smiled, “Yeah, can't say there are many razors in a wormhole.”

“I knew it, I knew it. Our baby brother is invincible.” David announced, slapping him on the back so hard he nearly stumbled forward.

Waffles looked up at him her tial thudding against the floor, her tongue lolling form her mouth

“Where were you!”

“Not sure if I am allowed to say just yet, but i'll tell you when I know what I am allowed to say. Let's just start by saying that it wasn’t pleasant, but it’s a great story, ad it involves  miraculous escape planned and executed by yours truly in a fantastic manor.”

HIs mother sighed, “At least you came back wit hall your body parts in tact this time.”

She turned her head to look down and smiled, “Dr. Krill we are so glad you made it back too. We were devastated to hear that you had gone missing as well.”

The doctors saved a polite hand, “No matter.”

She gave him a very light hug anyway, careful to avoid crushing him or something, which he seemed to enjoy despite himself.

Thomas crossed his arms, “Hey, is anyone gonna thank me for bringing him back in one piece?”

Martha sighed and grabbed him up in a hug, “Thank you for bringing yourself home in one piece.” She pulled back, “ How was the war.”

HE grinned, “It was awesome, we mounted a revolution.”

She shook her head, “I can’t take you anywhere because you're either discovering extraterrestrial life or overthrowing corrupt governments.”

Thomas grinned, “Plus I think this has finally made me realize what I want to do with my life.”

Adam smiled as he watched his brother, this was arguably the happiest he had ever seen thomas: who was known for his sullen nature and moodiness. Life hadn’t been easy on him, and he had jumped and bounced from one thing to another in between relapses.

“Oh, and what is that?”

He motioned back to where the rest of the group was standing, “Well I was talking to Ramirez and Maverick and I…. I think joining the marines would be good for me.” He got a slap on the back from their father, who seemed more than pleased with the idea.

Martha assigned, “Of course I should  have seen that coming.” She smile, “I am proud of you. Just try not to overthrown anymore empires while you’re at it.”

He grinned, “No promises.

Adam got hugged a few more times after that seeing as no one was really willing to believe that he was alive.

Even the men he didn’t know from around base stopped by to shake his hand and tell him how glad they were that he was back.

The UNSC sorely missed him.

At some point Krill insisted on doctoring him, and dragged him back into the medical bay where he did all he docterly things, blood pressure temperature pulse. Sunny stood in the corner with both sets of arms crossed over her chest.

He might have asked her to wait in the hall, but he had a feeling that that request wouldn’t go down so well, so he let it go.

Krill examined the three large gashes on his chest and where they had healed over into large, livid puckered red scars.

“Hmm, I could probably fix this. WIth a consultation from a plastic surgeon.” He muttered 

Adam waved him off, ‘It’s alright Krill, I think they look kind of badass, sort of a tarzan king of the jungle sort of vibe.”

Krill glowered at him, “Well one of these days you are just going to have to pick ONE vibe, because space cyborg pirate Tarzan is getting to be a bit of a mouthful.”

Adam laughed.

Sunny harumphed glowering angrily at the new scars.

Krill turned to look down at the ones on his upper forearms, which hadn’t scarred up yet, but where still in the process of being scabbed over, “And what are these.”

“Er…. I had to get the attention of the keepers, and that was the only way to do it without them heightening security on me.”

Sunny’s fists clenched even further.

Krill flipped over his hand, which was still raw and red, “Let me guess”

Adam shrugged sheepishly, “Well you know how it is.”

He turned his head to look at Sunny and quickly looked away as her stare bored a hole in his forehead.

At the end of the medical bay, the door slid open and a soldier stepped inside hurrying over to offer him a set of ACUs and a pair of boots, “These should fit sir, the brass will be here in half and hour, and will meet with you in the war room… I… mean the conference room !A.” He turned on his heels and walked out, big boots clomping on the tile as he went.

Adam changed quickly and managed to hunt down a razor in enough time to get a quick shave in before meeting with his superiors. He didn’t understand why other men wanted a beard so much, it was really nothing to be happy about, and it made his face itch. Felt so much better when the thing was finally gone and he was free.

Sunny was a little miffed when she had to wait out in the hall as he and waffles stepped into the conference room, which he could immediately see why they called the warm room. It was less like a conference room and more like mission control. The room was large, lined on all sides with massive monitors which cast pale blue light down onto the large, elongated table with its holographic touch screen.

As soon as he walked in an entire room of officers stood from their seats.

“Commander!”

“Its good to see you, son.”

“We thought you were dead.”

“Earth is going to be happy to hear you’re alive.” He smiled and greeted the others with a firm handshake despite how tired he was, “It takes more than a wormhole to take a human out.” He said taking the seat offered to him near the head of the table.

Admiral Kelly had broken from her usual serious demeanor into a smile, “We are glad to have you back, Commandr. A lot has happened since you left.”

“Can I get a quick summary?”

“Well we learned that the balck hole, or I suppose wormhole now that we know, was created in part by the burg working with the voiceless kree. The voiceless have long been in conflict with the voiced and allied with the burg to turn our ire against the voiced. However, they pose no significant threat without burg technology and so we focused mostly on the burg. Your ship was of course, in pieces, but nearly all you crew survived as they were picked up by other ships in the near vicinity. You were pronounced MIA as was Dr. Krill. ONly three on your ship didn’t make it, and one of our ships was permanently crippled with over 50 casualties and 100 additional injuries.”

HE grimaced, but held back on the guilt for a moment.

“After that battle, the GA came to council, and war was declared on the burg. We sent in the GA armada and over 1000 shock troopers on to the face of the planet. While there a small team comprised mostly of your old crew discovered that the burg king was being imprisoned in a cavern below the throne room and allied with him to replace the queen with a successor.”

He had heard that part of the story , but it didn’t cease to amaze him.”

“Beyond that it was actually quite simple.”

“And my ship?”

“We will get to that in a moment, commander, but now its your turn.”

He nodded and sighed hand to his head, “Where to begin. Of course you know I initiated the shatter protocol when it seemed there was no possible escape for my crew. I stayed behind to initiate assuming, like you, it was a black hole. However, when I didn’t die and was shot out to some unknown location, it appeared as if it was a wormhole instead. I managed to crashland the command deck on the planet below, which was habitable. It was an alien world, but seemed rather…. Jurassic…. In nature. I managed to salvage the emergency kits from under one of the crew seats and survived for a week or two on the beach well fed and warm, however,while I was out in an attempt to boost a radio signal, I ran into some sort of alien creature which attacked me. The wounds I received were pretty bad, but I managed to kill it. I was losing blood fast and probably wouldnt have survived if the Omnidroids-”

“Wait, I’m sorry, the WHAT!”

“Sorry, sir, The omnidroids are what I nicknamed them because they look like something form an old movie. Think large ball with five big stumpy legs and a tiny head on toop.”

They nodded and he continued.

“Anyway, I ran into a group of them, and they helped with my sounds. I couldn’t understand them, and I am pretty sure their speech is in a much lower register because it was like listening to whales talk. Anyway, they brought me aboard one of their ships, and kept me there for a day or two. When we landed I was let out into an enclosure of some sort, turned out to be some kind of alien zoo.”

They stared at him.

He stared back.

“Your kidding?”

“No time for joking, commander.”

He shook his head, “I am not joking. I am serious, the enclosure that I was in had perfect temperature plenty of water and lots of food, but I could see other alien creatures outside the window and above me, just looking at me. Drones came in every now and again to feed me or clean the pen.”

They staired in silent awe.

“Anyway, from there I concluded it was likely they didn’t know I was sentient, so I determined that escape was possible if I let them think that. I started trying to figure out if I was being watched, and their response time if i was. Once tht was done I picked an appropriate time to escape, and used the iron eye armor I still had one from meeting with the Kree and pried open the bars before setting all of the other creatures loose. I found Dr. Krill on my way out, and we hijacked a shuttle.”

“How did you know how to get back?”

He shook his head, “I didn’t. But that was when the space dragon showed up.”

They stared at him again.

He held up his hands, “ I swear I am not making any of this up. That is exactly what happened It created some sort of wormhole and I ended up in the middle of a burg battle in space.”

“So there is an entire alien society separate from the one we already have.”

“It seems so?”

“And the shuttle?”

“It was handed over to GA scientists for examination and potentially reverse engineering.”

They nodded.

He waited for them to say anything else before.

“So…. my crew is safe but my ship?”

They shook their heads, “Is gone,” THey held up a hand to cut him off, “However it was actually a  stroke of good fortune as we have been building new ships for the fleet over the past few years, and one of them was close to completion. So, using the scraps leftover from your ship we were able to finish the job.” They leaned forward, “Commander, despite any issues we have had with your commanding in the past, we have determined that to judge you by the standards of the old military was a faux pax on our part. Space is new, and requires something from men that it hasn’t required before.”

He waited to see where this was going.

“The new armada will be nearly five times the size of the old. The captains as they are now will be promoted to fleet commanders and will be over their own unit of ships. The ship that the harbinger was recycled to make, is twice as big as your old ship with room for over 1000 crew members. It has the latest in alien and human technology and is the most advanced space vessel humanity has ever seen.”

It was an important reminder at this point not to pee himself out of excitement, so he kept his face stony, though he wanted nothing more than to jump around like a little girl squealing.

“However, since the captains would be promoted to fleet commander, that means that you will have to be promoted against as well.”

He paused.

“I… but I haven't been commander for all that long.”

“The UNSC fleet is growing at a rapid rate, and to keep up with it, we are going to have to adapt rapidly as well.”

“So, commander, do you accept?”

He paused and looked down at his hands, “I’m not moving to a desk job, sir.”

“No, no you won't. But you will be commanding a larger ship and thousands more people. Do you think you can handle that? He paused again looking down at his hands thoughtfully.

“Yes, I think I can.” 

[guigz1-coldwar]

'Show me the way' : New chapter for "Redemption in a Spirit in a Cold War" is out !

"Show me the way"

"Thank you."

Chapter Summary: The time comes for Yirina & Park to dress up for a special moment for the night: celebrating Zasha & Portnova's union, spending the night as friends...

Link of the Picrew used !

To read it on AO3, click here!

Words : +3200

Taglist : @snowgoldwaylon , @clxudtea , @efingart

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A marriage...I never thought that I will attend one but it was all better since it was Zasha & Portnova one. It was just going to a fancy restaurant to celebrate their now-official union and of course, it was just me & Park with them as we wouldn't want to have too many people for that, it was better in private. I was designed to be Zasha's 'best woman' as Park became Portnova's 'best woman' but first, we needed to do something...

"Yirina, you finished or what?" I could hear Zasha's muffled voice through the door of the bedroom I was now sleeping in as I was dressing up in one of the suits they let me borrow after we came back to their apartment from Century House.

"Can you just let me dress up without stressing me out every five seconds?" I asked back to them as I was putting on the black shoes and it was not like every day that I was putting on a suit to go to a party to celebrate a marriage. "I'm just trying my best to not screw up your suit," I told them, making my shoelaces.

"You better hope to not make it happen." They warned me through the door as I got up from the bed I sat on to grab the white buttoned shirt on the chair near the door.

"It will happen if you continue to harass me." I scoffed to appease myself with a smile, starting to put myself in the white shirt. "You can come in, I'm finishing," I said, the door wasn't fully locked and Zasha was just there to stress me and then, they opened the door, already in their suit.

"You're looking good, Yirina," They complimented me, seeing me button my shirt as they entered the room, closing the door behind them.

"I'm not even finished, Zed." I shook my head, thinking about how I will look in a suit and I stayed positive for the moment.

"Yeah, but you still looking good." They repeated, leaning themselves on the wall near the door to look at me. "You got lucky that both of us make the same height & weight." They added, crossing their arms as I was moving to take the black tie on the dresser.

"Well, it's not usual for me to wear a suit every day," I started to wrap the tie around the collar of my shirt, trying to remember how to make a tie. "Wait, can you tell me how to make it?" I demanded from them, struggling to make it but I wasn't successful.

"Okay, I'll show you with mine." They reassured, unmaking their own tie to show me how it's done. "How to learn to tie a tie with Zasha Smirnov's lesson is beginning." They joked, their tie in their hands.

"Zed." I rolled my eyes, fainting an annoyance to them.

"Relax, just joking." They exclaimed, starting to move their tie near their neck. "First, drape the tie around the neck." They draped it around their neck, me following the same moves as them in a slower but sure way. "Hang the wider end of the tie at your right side, with the narrow end about 30 cm higher on the left." They added.

"Seems simple for the moment," I commented, my hands at the same position as them on my tie.

"Now, cross the wide end over the narrow end." They said, doing what they said as I followed them, still slowly but still doing it well as they say. "Loop the wide end under the narrow end," They continued. "Then, loop the wide end over back again."

"Okay," I whispered, doing exactly their moves and copying them perfectly.

"Good, you're doing great." They confirmed to me, bringing a smile on my face and they saw it. "As for now, you pull the wide end through the neck loop you created, and then, you insert the wide end down through the front knot." They were now going a bit faster in their moves, managing in a whisker to do it too.

"I suppose that I have to tight the knot?" I questioned them and they nodded.

"Exactly." They then tighten their tie too after I did it first. "And to finish, you have to tuck the narrow end of the tie into the loop on the backside of the wide end." They showed me a little loop on their tie and I complied, doing the same thing as them.

"And done!" I breathed after I was finished with that, looking myself in the mirror, seeing myself in a perfect black suit with a black tie & a white buttoned shirt. "It's true that I look good." I proclaimed, checking myself around.

"You didn't wear those a lot in the past but it was always superb to see you like this," Zasha alleged, understanding why tying a tie wasn't so common for me. "The lesson to tie a tie with Zasha Smirnov has ended, thanks for having followed." They joked again about it as I was now moving to grab the black jacket suit.

"I swear, the next time you come to the action, I'll force you to take a lesson on how you can dress up in military clothes," I warned them, a half-serious voice and then, a funnier tone.

"Hey," They protested, a smile on their face as I was now putting on the black jacket.

"Relax, just joking," I repeated the same words they told during their 'lesson' before I was thinking of something. "You never told me: how did you propose to Portnova?" I asked them in a curious tone, just knowing that they did it when I was 'sleeping' after that mission in Cuba a month ago.

"I wanted to wait that you woke up after you shot yourself to kill Stone but I was...impatient." They started, removing themselves from the wall to stay near the door. "So, a day after, I went to our room and I kneeled...and I showed her the ring." They added.

"To say that she was surely surprised," I exclaimed, now fully dressed up in that suit as I was going back to check myself in the mirror. "At least, tonight, we're celebrating your union." I continued, looking back at them. "I guess that I'm ready now."

"Yeap." They agreed, opening back the door near them.

"Are Park & Portnova ready?" I demanded as I followed them outside the room, knowing that like me, Portnova needed to borrow a robe to Park.

"They should be still in our room." They replied, walking to get to the living room as we start now to await them to come to us. "It's okay for us to give you clothes, it's not usual for you to have these clothes on you." They commented, taking back my words earlier.

"I think that we will soon find a way to buy our own," I said, scratching the back of my head until we heard the sound of a door getting open and we peeked our heads to see if they were going out of the room they were.

"Is everything looking good?" It was Portnova that was going out, wearing a long red dress that was going to her feet, she was looking beautiful and Zasha was literally blushing at her sight. We both nodded but she was all alone to get out.

"Where's Park?" I asked her

"Was I asked ?" I heard a seductive voice going out of the room behind Portnova...and then, I could discover Park herself in a long black dress with make-ups on her face...she was...astonishing...

"Wow..." I breathed at her sight, blushing but also my jaw was slightly dropping down by seeing her, she was like a goddess to my eyes.

"You're looking very nice, Yiri." Park complimented me as she was coming next to me, wrapping her left arm around her right one. "So, are we going now?" She questioned everyone.

"Of course, of course," I responded in a low voice as Zasha & Portnova nodded before we started to walk out of the apartment, letting Beans in charge of it.

Honestly, I was staying astonished & hypnotized by Park's beauty in that black dress and it was going to last all night but for me...I make me remember that I was happy to be with her at her side. It was a rare moment that we were going to spend tonight and we all going to make sure that we enjoy it to the best without talking at any moment about work, only about ourselves and what the future can give to us.

Instead of going too far in London, it was better for us to eat in a restaurant in the Lambeth district and for that, it was Zasha themselves who decided about the place and when we arrived, we all realized that it was a good choice from them, getting greeted by the waiter at the door by our names as Zasha reserved a table for us...they were still full of surprises and I was happy to see them happy too.

The dinner went pretty fine, our discussions were not even focused at any minute, at any seconds about work as everyone except me for a part, to talk more about themselves. All of that, tasting the wine and the gastronomic food that were a surprise for me since they were mostly specialty from England and I was loving it...England was now home for me but I still have things to discover...

"Tell me, when did the two of you first kiss?" Park asked the married couple as we were at the end of the dinner, having ordered coffee for us before we could go away.

"I'm sure that it isn't work-related so we can tell, right, Yiri?" Zasha said, putting their hands on Portnova's left one on the table as she was drinking her coffee.

"A kiss isn't something common in work so yeah." Portnova agreed.

"I'll be curious to learn that," I muttered, holding my head with my right hand, my left arm on the table.

"Of course because you were there," Zasha told, making my eyes go wide as it wasn't something I didn't recover for the moment in my head so I was now very curious and wondering why I was mentioned.

"Here? How?" I demanded.

"Well, we're going to tell," Portnova replied, putting down her cup before purposely coughing to clear her mouth. "It was back at the Lubyanka and if I remember, it was in November 1979." She started, moving her hands to join Zasha's ones. "I...let's just say that I needed to talk in private with them while you were away from your office." She continued as Park was listening well & Zasha was blushing.

"I remember to have got up from my desk before...I make the first move to her." Zasha revealed, speaking up and I smiled about it. "We both got into a big kiss until you stepped in." They gestured at me with their head.

"And what did I say?" I questioned them with a raised eyebrow.

"You only say 'wow' in a low voice, almost jaw-dropped and then, you left like that before you came back 5 minutes later," Portnova responded with a grin on her face, making me discover how it happens. "You were pretty happy about it and also surprised."

"I can say that," I whispered, thinking of learning this now and also about their situation.

"And what about you two?" Zasha asked us back.

"Yiri makes the first move," Park replied without any hesitations from her like that, taking me by surprise. "I was working alone in a Dark Room of a CIA safehouse when she came in and revealed to me her feelings." She added, moving her hand above my left one, causing me to do the same with my both hands.

"I wasn't really ready to do this but a friend advised me to do so," I told them, remembering Lazar's pieces of advice to do something in those days...I can't forget them...and him as I saw Park's look about this 'friend', a bit sad. "I wouldn't be with her if not for him."

"She's right," Park said in a low voice, grinning a little to comfort me. "Since, she knows that I'm always here for her." She affirmed clearly to them before moving to kiss me on the left cheek, making me blush as always.

"Me too," I whispered with a smile on my face to her as the dinner was now finished.

The dinner ended, everyone all happy about the night we spend and we wanted to make a little walk along the Thames but even in June, the night was somehow colder and since we didn't take anything too much protective against it, we decided to come back to the apartment and to finally rest ourselves after that long day, Portnova having worked all day to the University and me, Park & Zasha to Century House.

Of course, as we all expected to face, we've been greeted by the meows of Beans when we arrived back at the apartment and I volunteered myself to go fill up her green bowl with her food and some water for her other blue bowl, both having her name on them. It was looking cute, making some tap on her head before I decide to head back to my room when Park was already under the blankets.

"It was a lovely night, Yirina," Park told me as I start to remove my jacket and then my tie off me after I came to the room.

"I know, nothing much to make me happier to see them united." I grinned in the mirror as I was having her at my sight by it before putting the tie away with the jacket... easier to remove than to put it on..."With their honeymoon that will do in the next days..." I muttered, releasing a little laugh about it.

"They said that it was about 4 days, did they say where exactly?" Park asked me as I removed my pants, putting them gently on a chair away after getting off my shoes.

"I think it was in the south of England, you can ask them tomorrow before they leave," I suggested as I moved to get on the bed, keeping the white unbuttoned shirt on me. "You're curious about where they could go," I said.

"I just wanted to know, that's all." She smiled at me as I was installing myself in the bed, staying above the blankets, almost exhausted. "Something's wrong?" She asked me worried.

"No...it's just that...if only I can live those good moments for a long time..." I replied in a low voice before I lie down, holding my head with my left hand and looking away from Park. "I just want to be happy," I whispered to myself as the pain of living those troubling moments against Perseus wasn't going to end any sooner.

"I love you," Park affirmed in a good & low voice as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and her lips, kissing me at the back of my neck and it was enough to move me.

"Thank you." I was feeling tears in my eyes when she told me that, feeling secure with her...and happy with her arms around me before I could close my eyes, still crying.

I was alone in a forest, leaning against a tree & wearing a black Perseus military uniform and smoking a cigarette before I threw it away as it wasn't even fully finished at all. I looked back behind me to see from afar a sort of military base and by hearing it from here, music & people were singing, dancing, and drinking but me, I wasn't really into the mood of doing so. I was feeling a pain in the shoulder & a part of it in the leg, probably from Afghanistan.

The only thing that was with me right now was the cold air on the part of my skin that wasn't covered by my clothes, mostly my arms & my face above all. In here, I was just neutral but in me, I was mainly angry about things...a lot of things, things that happened recently and in my head, I could know right of the events that were making me angry & staying alone from the others...I wasn't in the mood.

"Why are you away, Yiri ?" I didn't even flinch at once from my spot as I heard Freya and hear her footsteps coming behind me.

"Why are you coming ?" I asked back to her in a harsh tone, crossing my arms and looking away in the darkness of the forest. "I don't want to be disturbed."

"Are you mad?" She demanded, approaching me, hearing her footsteps closer to me.

"Why I shouldn't be?" I said, moving away from the tree, seeing her dressed in her uniform, her hand that was going to touch me. "I'm mad at you, at everything," I explained. "I never saw you raise your gun against a civilian, why did you do this ?" I questioned her but I raised my hands towards her, meaning that I didn't want to know.

"I'm sorry, okay." She whispered in a low voice, looking down at her feet.

"I'm mad because of what you did and you reacted & talked to me after this day, it was only two days ago, and since, that's why I'm staying alone." I clarified to her, putting my hands on my waist.

"You don't have to stay alone, you have me." She tried to reason with me, starting to approach me upfront.

"I know but I can't look at you in the eyes since you pulled that trigger," I told her, true in my words as I wasn't looking at her. "When I think that I proposed to you one day before you did this."

"No, please, don't say that." She pleaded, finally moving to get her hands on my own. "It was great, I loved it and sincerely, I'm sorry, I wasn't myself that day when I killed him." She added to me, her left hand getting my head up by putting it below my chin. "I'm sorry, Yiri, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." I apologized too to her, thinking at first that it was because of my harsh attitude like if I didn't want to hurt her.

"That's okay." She smiled at me before her left hand goes back to my right one, now both looking at them with a grin on our face as they were now interlocked.

"Uhm...I don't want to return to the others but can we have a slow dance?" I asked her like that, a thought flying through my head, thinking that it was something to do after a proposal. "It must be weird from you but can we?"

"Why not?" She agreed with a smile before taking a breath.

"Show me the way," I ordered in a passive & low voice as she was moving her both arms on my shoulders.

"Put your hands around my waist and we could start." She said and I complied, moving them around her waist as she said before we start to move...slowly, turning around our spot and not looking away from each other. "I love you."

"Thank you," I said as tears were coming from my eyes before Freya moved to kiss me on the lips, seeing her also cry a little from it, and then, we moved our heads on each other's shoulders, still crying and feeling Freya's hands behind my shoulders, knowing her love for me...

"I can't think of losing you, Yirina...I can't live without you!"

[writtenonreceipts]

The fanfic no one asked for, not even me.  Based on characters from the Throne of Glass Series.

When Aelin and Elide have their car impounded by police, they turn to their boyfriends for help.  Modern AU.  Lorcan and Rowan are idiots together, bromance at its finest, I hope.

Boys Night Out

Despite the fact that he without a doubt loved his girlfriend and the fact that he would do anything for her—Rowan Whitethorn questioned her sanity more often than not.

“All I need is the cellphone charger,” Aelin assured him.  Her slim fingers straightened the collar of his shirt before slowly running down his chest.  A pert smile rested on her sinful mouth as she leaned into him.  “And when you get back, I promise to make it up to you.”

Rowan groaned tilting his head back when she pulled away.  She was going to be the death of him.

Humming to herself, Aelin flashed a dazzling smile as she delved deeper into the apartment she shared with her cousin.  Without saying anything else, she began putting away the dishes that he had washed just a few hours ago.  

“Aelin,” Rowan began, trying desperately to come up with excuses to get out her request.

“Charger, Whitethorn,” Aelin said.  She pointed a knife at him before sliding it into the wooden block holder beside the sink.

“And silver pumps!” Elide, Aelin’s cousin, sashayed into the kitchen from her room down the hall.  Her long, dark hair hung around her shoulders. She smiled pleasantly at Rowan. “I borrowed Manon’s shoes without her permission.  I need them back.”

Rowan looked between the two girls.  Between Aelin’s deft ability to throw a punch and sever a carotid artery and Elide’s charm and manipulation, Rowan knew he was cornered.

“I already called back up,” Elide said when Rowan hesitated.  She flashed a brilliant smile before winking at a cackling Aelin. “He’ll be here—”

A knock thudded against the front door of the apartment.  Without waiting for anyone to answer, the door swung open and Lorcan Salvaterre stood in the hall.  His ever-present scowl was carved deep into the sharp lines of his face, though his eyes softened when they landed on Elide.

“See,” Elide chirped glancing back to Rowan, “back-up.”

The two men glared at each other.  They’d been close friends, up until Rowan started seriously dating Aelin.  Since, they’d only seen brief spurts of each other. Thing improved, barely, when Lorcan and Elide began seeing each other.  Still, there was unresolved tension between the friends that Rowan had no idea how to fix.

“Great,” Rowan said.

#

“So, you’re saying that Aeilin’s car got impounded and she can’t live eight hours without her charger?” Lorcan asked as the two stalked around the outer fence of the Adarlan impound lot.

It was barely one o’clock in the morning making everything take on a dull stillness.  Gratefully there was an almost full moon over head making the yellow streetlights a little less eerie.  

“And Elide’s shoes,” Rowan added.  He stared at the chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.  “You think there are cameras?”

Lorcan grunted from beside him and hefted a large black bag from off his shoulder.  “I came prepared.”

Tying his black hair out of the way, Lorcan opened the bag and pulled out a sleek black weapon.

“You brought your paintball gun?” Rowan asked, quirking a brow. “Seriously?”

“Always be prepared,” Lorcan said.  He glanced over his shoulder at Rowan. “We were in boy scouts together, remember?”

“You hated boy scouts.”

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t pay attention.”

Rowan didn’t even want to know why Lorcan had a paintball gun ready and able in his car.  

Kneeling next to the fence, Lorcan readied the gun.  It was outfitted with a scope and everything.  This was a bad idea.  But Rowan had no room to protest as Lorcan took aim and shot out the camera perched on a tall post in the middle of the yard.  It was a direct hit.

“Scouts?” Rowan asked unable to help the grin.

“You try playing paintball with Elide,” Lorcan replied.  A ghost of a smile flashed across his mouth.  “Ruthless.”

As would be expected of the petite girl.  An old injury left her with a slight limp, but Elide never let that stop her.  And while Rowan hadn’t spoken with Lorcan much in the past few months, he knew that a girl like Elide was just what his friend needed in his life.  

“I’d say we have twenty minutes before security notices us,” Rowan said as Lorcan put the gun away. He put a hand on the fence and rattled it gently.  There was a padlock and chains keeping it in place, obviously, but Rowan wondered if there was a way to slip between the two fence parts.  

“You think there’s dogs?” Lorcan asked.  He peered through the fence only slightly wary.

“You’re not afraid are you Salvaterre?” Rowan mocked.

“Dogs don’t like me.”

“I thought I heard Elide say you were going to adopt one?”

“She,” Lorcan emphasized, “she is going to adopt one.”

Rowan snorted back a laugh and examined the fence again.  “I don’t hear anything.  You know Mayor Havilliard’s cut police funding, there’s no dogs.  Now start climbing.”

Lorcan cursed, but indeed began to climb.  It was only when the two men reached the top of the fence, face to face with the barbed wire that they paused.

“My jacket’s leather,” Lorcan said.  He glanced at Rowan.

“So, I’ll just sacrifice my shirt then?” Rowan looked down at his button up.  It had been a hot day and the night had contained that heat leaving it unnecessary for more than a long-sleeved shirt.

They examined the barbed wire.

“Oh hell,” Lorcan said. With surprising ease, he slipped out of his jacket and slung it over the barbed wire.  As he hefted himself as best he could over the top of the fence, he tried to remember why he’d agreed to this plan. “Because you love her, because you love her.”

“What?” Rowan hissed as Lorcan descended the other side of the fence.

“Reminding myself why the hell I’m here!” Lorcan snapped back.  He dropped down the last five feet, landing in a crouch. “Don’t rip my jacket.”

“You sound like Aelin talking about her nightgowns,” Rowan said.

“I did not need to hear that.”

Rowan barked out a laugh and pulled himself and Lorcan’s jacket over the fence.  He received no scratched himself, but there was no mistaking the soft rip of one of the sharp barbs on the jacket.  

Cursing thoroughly, Lorcan snatched the jacket from Rowan after he’d landed.  In the dim light of a few overhead lamps, he examined the rip at the left shoulder.

“Think of it this way,” Rowan said bumping into him lightly, “you can put some more of your boy scouting days to use.  Wasn’t there a sewing badge?”

“Shut-up,” Lorcan said. He yanked the jacket back on and stared mournfully at the rip.

Rowan didn’t wait.  He had a sinking feeling that they weren’t going to get out of this alive.  Well, alive yes.  But completely free?  Unlikely. Especially if Chaol was an on-duty cop tonight.  He was a good buy but had too much damn honor to let things go sometimes.

“Silver Lexus,” Rowan said. He looked over the lot and saw mostly beat up trucks or Toyota Corollas composed of ten different car parts.  Was this the impound lot or the junkyard? Hell, it was going to be a long night.

“Of course the bitch-queen has a Lexus,” Lorcan muttered.

Rowan was certain his friend hadn’t meant to say it so he could hear, but Rowan had hearing better than most.  He stooped over and grabbed a piece of plastic that had fallen off the bumper of the car next to him.  He tossed it at Lorcan.  The other man dodged the attack with ease and cast Rowan a vulgar gesture.

“Don’t talk about my girlfriend like that,” Rowan said.  He glowered in Lorcan’s direction.  Jaw setting, Lorcan shrugged and continued the search.

In all honesty, Rowan wasn’t certain what had transpired between the two.  But in all the time Lorcan and Aelin had known each other, which was nearing on two years, there was little diplomacy or kindness shared.

Lorcan turned away from Rowan so he couldn’t see his reaction, but something told him it involved eye rolling.

“She’s a good person,” Rowan called out as the search continued.  He glanced over to see Lorcan had launched himself onto the hood of a red corvette.  Given that Lorcan was practically a giant, the action seemed a bit overkill to Rowan. “If you’d give her the chance you might actually like her.”

He heard a dark chuckle echo across the distance between them, but no answer beyond that.

“Sure, be all broody, is that what Elide calls it?  Silent and broody.”  Rowan said. He mostly just wanted to get a rise out of Lorcan, see how far he could push his friend.  And of course, try and get to the bottom of the hostility that always seemed to be brewing. “Broody, broody, broody.”

“Whitethorn would ya shut-up?”

Rowan grinned and ducked down to peer through a car window, maybe he was missing something in the other row.  If this was some wild goose chase Aelin had constructed, Rowan was going to murder her. Even if it meant facing Elide. And Aedion.  And Lysandra.  He’d need to think the murder through.

The two searched in silence for another few minutes before Lorcan let out a sharp whistle.  “Over here.”

Rowan wove through the rows of cars until he reached Lorcan’s side.  They stared at the sleek Lexus where it nestled between a Ford and a conglomerate contraption of at least four different cars.  Aelin would have a fit if she could see her car now.

“Let’s get the stuff and get out,” Rowan said.  Thankfully, Aelin had given him the spare keys to the car.  As he unlocked the doors, Lorcan stiffened.

“Did you hear that?” Lorcan asked.  His eyes narrowed and he looked around the lot.  

Rowan threw open the driver side door and paused.  He glanced toward the old guard station, but it was black, looking distinctly empty. Whatever Lorcan had heard didn’t sound again.  Slumping into the car, Rowan poked around for Aelin’s charger.  The car, miraculously was kept clean.  A miracle considering how much chocolate cake Aelin ate on a regular basis and how often her snacking occurred in her car.  The lingering scent of her perfume wafted from the seats and despite how annoyed he was at this lucrative situation; Rowan made a note that he should buy Aelin both chocolate cake and another bottle of perfume.

He found the charger in the glove box.  “Found the charger.  I don’t see the shoes.”

Rowan straightened to see Lorcan was still examining every inch of the lot.  His brow furrowed in concentration.  Rowan was about to ask what was the matter when he heard the distinct howl of a dog.

“Crap,” Rowan said. He and Lorcan met gazes, neither moving. “Someone could be walking by?”

Lorcan shot him a withering look when the bark came again.  Louder and definitely closer.  “Oh hell,” Lorcan hissed.  The bark was joined by another dog.  “Oh hell, oh hell.”

“Lorcan get the damn shoes!” Rowan yelled already spinning away from the car.

Lorcan dove into the front door, half splayed over the front seat as he dug around the back of the car. He flung one sliver pump over his shoulder to where it settled on the front seat.  The other soon followed.  Wiggling and cursing, Lorcan dragged himself out of the car, shoes in hand.  He looked half-wild with his hair splayed over his face, dark eyes wide.

“Run you idiot!” Lorcan said.  He clutched the shoes to his chest and dashed past Rowan as the barking took up in earnest.

“I’m not wearing the right shoes for this.”  Rowan stuffed Aelin’s charger in his pocket and launched himself atop the closest car. His shoes, indeed were not conducive to jumping on top of cars and sprinting passed pissed off guard dogs. For some stupid reason he was still in his sleek office shoes that had no traction whatsoever.  This is what he got for getting a 401K and benefits.

“You’re worried about your shoes?” Lorcan yelled back.  He was already halfway back to the front fence intermittently jumping onto the hood of various cars and back down to avoid raging Cujo’s.

“You have your jacket, I have my shoes,” Rowan called.  

The dog leaping toward him was a Doberman with sharp ears and sharper teeth.  It snarled at him chomping its jaws wildly.  With dexterity he’d forgotten he had, Rowan launched himself over the hood of the car behind Aelin’s and over the top towards a beat-up truck that was massive enough it should prevent the dog from getting to close.

“Rowan, get your ass over here!” Lorcan bellowed.

Launching himself on top of the truck, Rowan ran over the tops of the row of cars toward Lorcan.  The dark-haired man was already out of his leather jacket and climbing the barbed fence. Despite his bulk, Lorcan could move damn fast if he wanted.

From somewhere behind Rowan the dogs gave chase.  He could hear the heavy breathing, the nails on pavement, the growls.  And then came the human shouts.

“Hey!  Adarlan Police!” The voice, thankfully didn’t sound like Chaol’s.  Though maybe Chaol would have been more pliable to let Rowan and Lorcan off with a warning.

In three long lunges, Rowan made it the final distance to the fence and began climbing.  Lorcan was already up and over the fence, the bag with the paintball gun slung on his shoulder.  

Rowan hauled himself unceremoniously over the top of the fence, grabbing Lorcan’s jacket in one fist and scrambling down the other side.  He dropped too high off the ground, but managed to stick the landing. He looked over his shoulder in time to see the Doberman launch at the fence, claws rattling against the metal and slobber flecking out from it’s mouth.

“Hell,” Rowan gasped.

Lorcan grabbed his arm and began pulling him down the side walk in a brisk walk that quickly turned into a run.  The two didn’t stop until they were as far from the impound lot they could get. Rowan’s car left forgotten along the street.  They’d been so desperate to get away and avoid any sort of detection that the car seemed to scream trouble.  

Nearly ten blocks later, after several pauses to curse Aelin for parking in an illegal zone, Rowan and Lorcan sagged against a the side of a building near a popular club.  Music pulsed around them as well as the thick stench of smoke, alcohol, and vomit.  

Lorcan spat before looking at Rowan. “So remind me, what is it about her you like so much?  Her wilds schemes that land her into trouble?  Or her wild schemes that land others into trouble?”

“You’re one to talk,” Rowan fired back.  He brushed his hair out of his eyes. “You and Elide are polar opposites.”

“She sends you out at two o’clock in the morning to get a phone charger,” Lorcan continued.

“You’re holding onto those shoes like they’re gonna save your life.”

“Have you met Manon?”

Rowan snorted and shook his head.  He paused as the bass from the club behind them rumbled.  Whatever he said wasn’t going to help Lorcan see Aelin in a different light.  But he could hope that it would mend whatever bridge had been broken between him and one of his oldest friends.

“Aelin makes me want to be a better person,” Rowan finally said.  He shrugged glancing Lorcan over.  “And I have a feeling the same could be said for Elide about you.”

Lorcan said nothing. He merely leaned his head against the brick behind them.

“Plus, I know I can do this,” Rowan added.  He pulled his phone from his pocket and made a phone call.  When the line connected, he grinned.  “Hey Fireheart.  We need a ride.”

[d0llpie]

Tendou x reader

 Part 1    Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5

Warnings: angst, mentions of insecurity, self harm (not explicit), sexual assault, ooc ushijima and smut, please let me know if i missed anything

Word count: 2.7k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You woke up and took a shower, as you were getting ready you decided to text Asahi to let him know what you were up to

y/n: Hey Asahi, i'm going out for brunch with a friend, hope you had a good practice and tell the team i said hello :)

Asahi: Who's the friend? Do you have enough money? I can pick you up later if you need

y/n: it's Tendou, the red head we saw on moving day, he's on the boys Volleyball team, it's okay :)

Asahi: Text me after and keep your location on

y/n: i will, love you <3

Asahi: i love you too <3

You put on a black tennis skirt, white collared tee and an oversized navy blue sweater on top. You put on some simple jewellery and make up before tying your (h/l) (h/c) in a half up half down style. After checking yourself in the mirror you wondered if you were too dressed up. You heard a knock on your door which brought you out of your thoughts and you opened to see Tendou. He was wearing black dress pants, a striped long tee with a thin collared jacket and some rings on his hands. His hands. You noticed his defined hands and how attractive they looked decorated with rings.

"N/n-chan.." he pulled you out of your thoughts while he looked you up and down blushing

"Ten-chan, you look great! I thought i might've been dressed up but it seems we have similar style" you smiled sweetly at him, feeling your heart beating faster than usual.

"You look great too, shall we head out?" he smirked grabbing the door handle behind you and closing your dorm door.

The walk to the cafe earned you both many stares as people in the streets gawked at you both who seemed caught up in your own world.

Tendous POV

This was going to be harder than expected, he felt so carefree around you and he wanted to push his doubts away and trust you just wanted to be with him, friend or more, just him. But deep down he doubted you and he hated that he did. You were holding his arm walking, talking mindlessly about different topics, he watched as you rambled on and he felt comfortable being the less energetic friend for once. You matched his energy and for now he was satisfied seeing you be the ball of energy.

"Would you get any piercings ten-chan?" he snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at you who was still clinging to his arm.

"Oh i have my ears pierced i just haven't worn them in a while, see?" he showed the 3 holes in his earlobe and y/n looked up at him surprised with a smile.

"Woah, you should've worn them today" she looked up at him and he searched her eyes for any tell that she was joking, any sign that would give him an excuse to push her away, he found none. They arrived at the cafe and sat in a small booth by the window, the sun catching y/n's hair and making it seem to glow. Tendou looked in adoration as she read the menu, why did you have to be so cute, he was still prepared, prepared to hear you say it, to say that you weren't interested in him and wondered if Ushijima was single. He'd heard it all before and was no longer shocked at the lengths girls had gone to in order to try get with the captain.

"I'll have the french toast and fruit salad please" he looked up at you and realised he hadn't even read the menu yet.

"Uh me too, thank you" he said to the waitress before handing over the menu. He heard y/n chuckle from across the table and shot her a teasing glare.

You watched as Tendou seemed to zone out while staring at you, you wanted to know what he was thinking, after all, being the only two in your dorm building would be difficult if you weren't friends.

"Tendou, are you alright?" you asked sweetly

"I'm great n/n-chan, are you?" he looked relaxed but his eyes gave away that he was avoiding something, he wouldn't even look directly at you

"Sorry if i'm wrong, but i've noticed you tense up a lot and zone out, are you sure you want to hang out with me?" He looked into her eyes and once again saw nothing but sincerity, he was so worried about her using him he had barely spoken to her all day, he hadn't even been trying to consciously push her away but it had become habit. He felt awful

"What? You're amazing i'm just, i guess i was wondering why you wanted to be friends with me" he started twirling the rings on his fingers

"Oh c'mon don't doubt yourself, you're so nice and always take me to practice, plus you're the first friend i've made at this school and your style matches mine, it was just made to be" you said dramatically, looking at the ceiling. He laughed and felt his worry release.

Back at the dorms you asked Tendou what he liked to do and he started talking to you about Shounen Jump, he seemed so excited and you wanted to share that with him

"Could i maybe borrow yours and read it?" you asked

"Yes i'll go get it right now!" his face lit up and he ran off to his dorm room, after a few minutes he ran back and handed it to you, you laughed at his excitement.

"You're beautiful you know that?" he said staring down at you, you blushed and looked up at him not knowing how to respond, before you could he went back to his dorm with a smirk on his face.

y/n: Asahi i'm back at the dorms

Asahi: are you okay? how was brunch?

y/n: it started off a little rocky but it was really fun :)

Asahi: that's great, do you want me to come visit you tomorrow?

y/n: if you're free that'd be cool, i have a question tho

Asahi: what's up?

y/n: back at the dorms Tendou called me beautiful and then just walked away..

Asahi: you cannot get a boyfriend after a week of school y/n

y/n: i never said anything like that

Asahi: introduce me to him tomorrow okay?

y/n: ugh okay, bye <3

Asahi: goodbye <3

You changed into some shorts and top before lying in bed and reading shounen jump. You heard knocking on your door but you snuggled deeper into your bed. You don't remember falling asleep but you remember you were almost finished shounen jump at some ungodly hour in the morning. Asahi was knocking on your door and calling out to you

"y/n open the door" he groaned as he'd been waiting for 10 minutes now

Tendou had woken up to the banging down the hallway and looked out to see Asahi outside your door. He made eye contact with the male and started to worry as he walked towards him, he assumed this was your brother but he seemed frustrated.

"Hi..um Tendou? is it?" he rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke to the redhead

"Yep, you're y/n's brother right? the ace?" Asahi looked up at him and smiled,

"Haha yeah i guess, is y/n in her dorm?" he asked

"Yeah she should be" Tendou said before walking towards your dorm with Asahi following. He knocked on the door and heard some shuffling before y/n opened the door.

"Asahi can you relax i'm coming-" you looked up and saw Tendou and blushed before you saw Asahi behind him

"Oh sorry, um, come in" you moved out of the way and they both walked in, Asahi watched tendou before he wrapped you in a bear hug, suffocating you.

"Asahi- let go" you squirmed and laughed as he put you down. Tendou was sitting by your desk holding his shounenjump manga and watching you, he saw how cute you looked in your pyjamas and he smirked, admiring you.

"N/n-chan, did you start reading it yet?" he said snapping you and Asahi out of your greetings.

"I actually finished it last night, that's why i was still asleep this morning" you smiled at him blushing, Asahi noticed.

"n/n-chan?" Asahi looked between you and Tendou.

You both just laughed and Tendou was smiling like crazy, ushiwaka had never read shounen jump and he never had anyone to discuss it with.

Tendou left and you and Asahi started talking

"so y/n, that's Tendou" he started the conversation

"yep, do you like him?" you asked nervously

"well do you?" he suggestively asked, you slapped his arm and rolled your eyes

"We're just friends Asahi, don't worry" you rolled your eyes at him

"But about what i said, he called me beautiful...what do you think he meant?" you looked up at Asahi

"I think he likes you, please get to know him more though, i barely even know him" Asahi sounded protective but you knew he was a big softie that would support you no matter what.

"Thanks Asahi" you smiled

After Asahi left you caught up on some homework, watching more anime than working and took a shower.

Over the next few weeks Tendou let you borrow his Jump magazines and you discussed them when going to and from practice. One of his practice matches was coming up and he invited you to come watch him play, you accepted of course.

At training he would always put his arm around you when talking to his teammates and Semi, the setter, seemed to find it amusing how smug he acted around them. You didn't mind, you enjoyed talking to the boys team and you noticed when tendou would tense up at the interactions you and Ushijima shared. You brushed it off and tried to avoid making Tendou uncomfortable.

At the practice match against some college team you sat with the girls volleyball club, next to Miki the captain and Yachi the setter. You stopped chatting when you noticed the boys team walk in, Tendou looked so laid back especially in comparison to Ushijima who looked more serious than usual, something you thought was impossible. Tendou looked up at you and dramatically waved while smiling, you laughed at him and waved back being just as dramatic. Yachi elbowed you lightly and raised her eyebrow suggestively, you rolled your eyes in return.

You watched as Tendous face changed when he made eye contact with the players in front of him, he was filled with so much intensity and he really did suit the name guess monster. Every spike he went to block he ended up killing it, he was insane. You smiled at him in amazement and he glanced up to see you looking at him from the stands, his heart fluttered and he stared back more demonic looking than ever.

They won both sets easily and as the game ended you ran down to the gym entrance ready to congratulate the team, particularly Tendou. You looked around for the tall redhead as Shirabu and Goshiki walked past, you smiled at them and gave them small congratulations as well as the rest of the team.

Finally Tendou began to approach you with Ushijima and you ran up to him and wrapped your arms around his neck giving him a hug and mumbling congratulations into his chest.

You stepped back after realising how long you'd been hugging him in front of the doorway and you looked up to see him blushing.

'cute' you thought.

"Thanks n/n-chan" he said and you smiled at Ushijima congratulating him too, he smiled back at you earning a shocked look from both you and Tendou.

You waited outside for Tendou to get changed and finish up with team, after he did you walked back towards the dorms. He noticed you started to shiver and he grabbed your hand, enveloping your smaller one in his much larger one. You looked up at him and grabbed his arm, cuddling into his side with your head resting on his shoulder as you walked. Both of you lightly blushing and enjoying each other's company.

"Y/n, do you wanna go out with me this weekend?" Tendou asked squeezing your hand lightly

"Yeah sure where do you wanna go?" you replied obviously not realising what he meant. You both hung out together often and went to the cafe down the road several times a week, but Tendou wanted to take you on a date.

"I was thinking dinner in Tokyo, there's a nice restaurant near my mums work, i've been there before and the prices aren't too bad" he hand subconsciously brought his hands into his jacket pockets, bringing yours with his, you blushed at the gesture.

"Wow Tokyo, that's fancy, are you gonna propose?" you beamed at him dramatically while giggling. He smirked at you and you answered 'yes of course' and you arrived at the dorms a few minutes later.

"Well goodnight n/n-chan thank you for coming to the game" he took his hands out his pockets and noticed he was still holding yours.

"Of course, you really were incredible out there" you said and hugged him again. You felt him tense up against you and you pulled back not wanting to make him uncomfortable but his hands snaked around your waist and pulled you back in as he held your head. You wrapped your arms around him and smiled into his chest.

"Goodnight ten-chan" you looked up at him before walking back to your dorm room feeling excited for your date in the city. A date. You hadn't confirmed if it was a date or not, you didn't want to assume so you decided to text him after your shower.

y/n: Hey Tendou

Tendou: Already miss me?

y/n: shut up

Tendou: hahaha whats up?

y/n: so this weekend..is it a date?

Tendou: Do you want it to be?

y/n: Do you have you answer everything with a question :(

Tendou: Alright, lets call it a date :)

y/n: okay :)), also i finished your other shounen jump can i borrow the next one pleaaseee <3

Tendou: Of course n/n-chan, i can bring it over now if you're too impatient to wait ;)

y/n: >:(

Tendou: i'm kidding i'll bring it to you now :)

Not long after their conversation y/n heard a knock on her door and she opened it excitedly and invited Tendou inside. He stood awkwardly by her desk while she grabbed his last copy

"Tendou.." you looked at him with a scared expression and he began to worry

"please tell me he isn't dead" you looked up at him dramatically while gripping his weekly jump copy. He relaxed and began to laugh at you, he'd never had anyone to discuss his interests with besides volleyball, and with you he could discuss both freely.

"You'll have to find out-" he was cut off by your snatching the next copy out of his hands and running to your bed, he giggled and began to leave when you looked up at him

"Don't you wanna see if he dies?" you knew he knew the outcome but you wanted to talk to him about it and he knew this too, he turned around and hesitantly sat on ur bed and watched you read.

After a while Tendou was sitting against your headboard and you were in between his legs with your back to his chest reading the manga. He was following along the storyline occasionally and playing with your hair absentmindedly. It was around 3am when he noticed you slump further down, you had fallen asleep.

He watched for a while as you slept in his arms, your chest rising a falling peacefully, he knew he should head back to his room so you wouldn't be startled when you woke up so he lay you down under the covers and grabbed the manga from your hand placing it next to your bed. He pressed a small kiss to the top of your head before returning to his room and falling asleep.

[celestialraes]

The “Bye-Sickle” (Not Funny Owl House Ideas & Headcanon Tings-) Part 3

(Before The Events Of Wing It Like Witches)

So my beautiful brain, (and @callmemichie giving me ideas and curing my writers block, ty love) created this idea.. And I turned it into a full blown story! Enjoy as you may! You also can not tell me that Luz wouldn’t grab human objects and then proceed to give lectures to all her friends about them-

This is also my head writer audition for the @theowlhousemusical

“So, this is what you humans call the ‘bye-sickle?” Gus pondered, inspecting the object before him as he walked around it in a circular type motion.

“Oui my witch friend! But it’s actually called the ‘bicycle’” Luz explained, echoing the word bicycle as if it were the most important thing she’s ever said.

After a recent human trash treasure collection day, Luz had discovered none other than a human bike in the pile of used junk Owlbert has collected. So, the spunky human took it upon herself to steal borrow it from Eda.

After she finished speaking, Gus began to franticly scribble notes on a scroll, adding new human information to be studied later.

“I still don’t understand the point of this..” Amity countered, nudging the wheel of the strange human device with the tip of her foot.

Luz grabbed Amity’s shoulder and hugged/squeezed her to her body, causing Amity to blush profusely. “It’s for transportation~” She explained once again, gliding her hand through the air for some silly Luz reason.

“But we have the egg for that!” Gus exclaimed, gesturing to the weird egg bus that opened up, collecting demons and witches before closing back up and rolling away.

Luz shuddered, keeping hold of Amity even after she did so.

“Right, Amity?” Gus asked after realizing that Amity had been staring at Luz’s face the entire time.

“OH RIGHT- EGG- TRANSPORTATION- BYE-STICKLE, THING- LUZ'S PRETTY FACE- I MEAN-” Amity froze in place, her hands forming into fists as they rested to her sides.

“Awwee Amity, I think your face is pretty too!” Luz exclaimed, finally letting go of Amity’s shoulder, and playfully punching her in the arm.

Thus, causing Amity’s entire face to turn a dark shade of crimson as she began to rub her arm awkwardly.

Gus blinked up at the two, (specifically eyeing Amity), before speaking up again. “Riiiiiiighht...”

“Any hoosit, Gus! Would you like to ride this fair chariot!?” She exclaimed, dramatically walking over and gesturing towards the bike.

“OH, WOULD I!” The 12-year-old exclaimed, tossing the scroll he was once holding behind him and into Amity’s arms, before running over and sitting down on the seat of the bike as instructed by Luz.

He sat there for a few seconds before he frowned and stared down at the bye-sickle. “How do you- How do you make it go?” He asked scooching forward in an attempt to get it moving forward.

Luz crouched down so she was at level with the wheels of the bike. “You see those flat, twirly thingies? You have to put your feet on them, and move your little leggies in a circular movement forward!” She instructed, standing back up and stepping backwards a foot.

Gus inspected the flat, twirly thingies before he reluctantly put one foot on one of them, and the other foot on the other once, before the bike immediately tilted over and he fell to the ground.

After probably a dozen or so more fails, more instruction from Luz, and a 5-minute-long training montage, Gus sat on the bike once again.

First, he put one foot on one flat twirly thing. Then, he ever so slightly pushed off the ground with his other foot. Finally, he put that foot on the other flat twirly thingy, and he was off! Beginning to bike down the hill they were on and through the streets of Bonesborough!

Luz stood next to Amity, sniffling as she dabbed at her eyes with a hanky Amity had given her. “I’m so proud...” She choked out, taking the hanky and blowing her nose obnoxiously into it.

Amity moved her head to look at Luz and blushed ever-so-slightly. “I must say Luz, that was some pretty superb teach-”

Before Amity could finish, there was a distressed scream in the distance. “HOW DO YOU STOP THIS THING!?!?!?”

Both Amity’s and Luz’s heads shot forward, they looked down the hill to see a distressed Gus, on an out of control bicycle, plowing through the streets on Bonesborough, destroying stands, speeding through intersections, and screaming much louder than a normal boy would.

“You forgot to teach him how to stop the bye-sickle.”

“Bicycle.”

“I forgot to teach him to stop the bicycle.”

“I FORGOT TO TEACH HIM TO STOP THE BICYCLE!?!?!?��

[myhockeyworld87]

Choices - Tyler Seguin/Jamie Benn - Part 29

Word Count: 2,259

POV: Reader

Warning: Language

Notes: Back by no one’s demand...haha I’m not sure if anyone wants this back or not, but I promised I’d end it so here we go. There will only be a couple chapters left. As always, you’ll have 48 hours to vote, you can vote by commenting or sending it in on anon. Voting will close at 8pm EST on July 2nd. Happy Reading!

Choices Masterlist

You sat in Tara's kitchen just looking around. It was an open concept, so it gave you a view into her dining and living room as well. Her place, wasn't lavish by any means, not like Tyler's or Jamie's, but it did speak of someone that was well off or at least scamming enough money off of people to buy nice things. The place was neat and meticulous, nothing was out of place; which seemed odd for someone with a one and half-year-old. There should be toys lying around and a baby gate on the stairs, yet none of those things seemed to be anywhere.

 What was interesting, was that the prosthetic maternity belly she'd had on the other day lying on one of the dining room chairs. "What do you have that for?" You blurted out before you could even think of what you were saying.

 "Um…oh…I don't know what you mean. Do you need water or something? Should I call an ambulance?"

 Oh shit, you forgot you were supposed to be in pain. "Oooo," you moaned slightly. "I feel like it's getting a little better resting, and you know focusing on other things. Which is why I'm trying to figure out about that baby belly." You groaned again, hoping she would answer and help take your mind off of things.

 "Oh…um…that old thing. You see…I wanted to be an actress…Yeah, that's it." She said basically giving away that she was making this up as she went. "I had this role a long time ago, that I needed for it, and well…now a friend wants to borrow it. So I have it out for her."

 It would've been a plausible excuse had you not already seen her scamming that man the other day or the fact that she'd stammered her way through that excuse. You also had to wonder if the 'friend' was Kathleen. "Oh wow, being a mom must have really put a damper on things."

 "Yeah, it's really set my career back." She rattled off more easily this time as she settled into the lie. "There's just no time you know."

 You really weren't sure if she was asking or not. "I get where you're coming from. I have no idea how I'm going to do it. You know with leaving Tyler and all." She nodded, so you continued. "Like how do you keep this place spotless? I really need to know your secret. My place is a mess since I haven't felt like unpacking. I can't imagine what it'll be like with the babies."

 "Oh…well…you just have to do it when you can." She paused when you cocked your head to the side looking for more of an explanation. "I'm just a really active person I guess."

 You knitted your brows together because no mother was that active to have all her baby's stuff put away. Tara had given you enough information. Granted, you had no physical evidence but it was enough to go to Tyler with your suspicions. "I wish I had your stamina." You got up then. "Thanks for letting me sit down; I really think I just overdid it. I feel much better. I won't trouble you anymore. I know you were on your way out."

 "Oh, it was no bother. I'm glad your feeling better." She walked you out to the door, following you out.

 "So, I guess I'll see you around the neighborhood sometime then?"

 "Oh…uh yeah. I'm sure we will."

 The two of you walked to the end of the drive. "Thanks again. Maybe we can exchange numbers and get together. I'd love to meet Christopher sometime. You know get some real baby experience. It's been a while."

 "Yeah, next time I see you." She said opening the car and getting in. "I'm really late right now." You moved out of the way as she backed out of the drive and waved goodbye. You rolled your eyes as you made your way back to your vehicle which was parked out of sight. You knew she'd never exchange numbers with you, mainly because there was no Christopher to meet.

 By the time you got to the car, you knew that you had to tell Tyler what was going on, but you also knew that Jamie would be upset with you for doing it. You hated that the thought crossed your mind, but you knew that you had to meet Tyler without Jamie knowing. The problem was how. Jamie was practically attached to your hip when he was home and after being on the road this long you assumed it was going to be worse. The only thing you could do was head to Tyler's house and wait for him to get home.

 You shot a quick text off to Jamie, saying that you were out doing some shopping for the baby and would be home shortly; then you headed over to wait for Tyler. You parked in the driveway, just scrolling through emails when one caught your eye. It was from the paternity testing site that you'd used. You didn't have time to open it though, for Tyler's car pulled in beside you. He glared over at you through the window, before you both got out. "What are you doing here (Y/N)? I thought you never wanted to see me again."

 "We have to talk Tyler."

 "Apparently, we'll be doing that through our lawyers from now on." He slammed the car door shut with such force it made you jump.

 "Look this isn't about us." He started to walk away, so you blurted out. "It's about Christopher." That made him stop.

 "How do you…I mean…what…" He gave up then, you could see it on his face. "You better come in."

 You trailed him inside. The dogs greeting you like they hadn't seen you in months instead of days. Though you wanted to give them love and attention, now was not the time. Tyler reached into the fridge and grabbed a beer, cracking it open and taking a long swig out of it. "Do you want anything?"

 "Just a bottle of water please." You took a seat at the island like you had so many times.

 "So how do you know about him?" It was a simple question yet such a complex answer.

 "Remember when I said that the first sonogram was canceled." He nodded. "Well, I lied."

 "Jesus, (Y/N), you were shutting me out way back then?"

 "It's not like that. I hadn't planned on it, but I saw you in the parking lot with Tara and I recognized her." He winced, yet you could see him understanding why you'd cut him out of the appointment. "Once you left, I ran to talk to her. She told me that she'd had your child and you paid her to keep quiet."

 "Listen, I can explain."

 "No Tyler there's more, let me finish." He stayed mum then. "I was hurt and angry, and if I'm being honest; I still am, but we can deal with that later." The questioning glance he shot you made you keep going. "Other things started to not add up. I saw Tara with Kathleen, and then I ran into them at the coffee shop." You could see the news that the two knew each other, was something he didn't know. "Something they said, it just didn't sit right with me." This was the part you knew he wasn't going to like. "So while you were gone, I broke into your place." You ducked your head kind of sheepishly at your actions and waited for him to yell at you.

 He didn't. "Look (Y/N), I don't care that you were here. This place was always meant to be ours, but I have a feeling there's more than just that."

 "Oh, there is." You added quickly changing the subject back to the matter at hand. "I found the paternity papers. You know the ones Tara gave you and the ones Kathleen blackmailed you with."

 "You mean in the safe?" He was mad now, but you had a feeling it was more about the engagement ring that was in there and not you breaking in to find the documents.

 "Um…yeah. But look, Ty, the papers don't match." You pulled out your phone and brought up the photos. "There's a slight difference. See right here the fonts are off." He peered at the pictures, squinting in an effort to notice the subtle difference. "And here, the address is misspelled. I know it's hard to tell flipping back and forth, but if you put them side by side." He took off down the hall to his bedroom and you followed. It wasn't long before he had the documents out, to see if you were correct.

 "Fuck me, you're right."

 "The signature's even a tad different. See the S." You pointed out to him.

 "Ok, so this means that one of them is lying."

 "I think it's worse than that Ty." He pulled his head back slightly as if he couldn't believe your words. "Let me ask you something. Have you ever seen Christopher?"

 His hand went to the back of his neck and he dropped his head down so he didn't have to look at you, a tell-tale sign he was nervous, only this time you knew he didn't want to admit something to you. "No, no I haven't. It's just…" He went to tell you his reason why but you stopped him. There would be time for explanations later.

 "I don't think he exists Ty." His head snapped up to look you straight in the eye.

 "How do you know this?"

 It was your turn to be ashamed now. "I went to her house. Well, I actually followed her and Kathleen first. I found her pulling the scam on someone else. She has a prosthetic baby belly and when I was inside there's nothing there that says she has a kid, not a bottle, rattle, anything."

 You saw him processing the information and what a toll it was taking on him. He sat down on the bed heavily, papers falling to the floor as he did. "You mean all this time; I've been paying for my son and he just doesn't exist." You hadn't expected him to take it this hard; though it was a lot to digest.

 "I don't think he does Ty." You sat beside him then, rubbing his back in a soothing motion. "I'm so sorry."

 "I don't even know what I'm feeling right now. Like part of me is relieved and, yet...I feel sad." He looked over at you then. "I could never really acknowledge him, you know? When she told me, all I could think of was that was the reason you left me, and every time I thought about him…" He exhaled a heavy sigh. "God I can't even say his fucking name."

 "It's ok Ty. I get it," and you did. You realized that Christopher was just an extension of your failed relationship and would always remind him of that one night he fucked up. It made sense when you looked at from his point of view, but it didn't make the fact that he lied about sleeping with Tara any easier on you.

 "What am I going to do?"

 "Well for starters, I think you need to ask Tara for a paternity test. Someplace where you all can go and get tested at the same time. That way she can't trick you in any way. You'll know then if she's telling the truth because she'll have to bring Christopher with her."

 "Yeah, yeah," He nodded. "That's a good plan. Where did you go?"

 "Well mine was mail in, but I think they have a place here in Dallas. I just got an email from them." You pulled the correspondence up on your phone, flicking it open for the first time. "What? No? This can't be right?"

 "What? Is something wrong?"

 "It says here that they mixed up my paternity samples and gave me someone else's by mistake." It started to sink in then. Tyler may not be the father of your unborn children. "Oh my god." You could see the confusion written on Tyler's face.

 "(Y/N), what does this mean?"

 You'd said so much this afternoon to him, you didn't know how to break this news, but you still had to do it. "I don't know if you're the father of these two babies." He pulled back as if you'd slapped him across the face; he was so stunned, but then so were you. You had so many questions, but the foremost thing in your mind was you had to tell Jamie. You got up, ready to head out of the room.

 "Where are you going?"

 "I have to tell Jamie, Ty. He has to know the truth."

 "I don't know if that's a good idea."

 "Why not?" Honestly, you couldn't see any harm in this news. In fact, Jamie would be ecstatic.

 "What if you get his hopes up, just to be let down. I know he loves you (Y/N). Cause god knows I still do. Don't crush him, if you don't have to." You sat there weighing your options, not knowing what to do. Part of you knew Tyler was right, but it just seemed so wrong to lie to Jamie.

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

  Your turn to make a choice!

A)     Tell Jamie the truth, he needs to know.

B)     Decide to get a paternity test with just Tyler. Once you know the results you can tell Jamie.

[emwritesfootball]

Threesome | Kylian Mbappé and Benjamin Pavard

Request: a threesome with kylian and someone of your choice, please

You’d been friends with Benjamin since childhood, the two of you thick as thieves. You didn’t get to see each other as often as you’d like, but whenever Benjamin was playing he stayed with you.

“You’re coming with me tonight,” he says while the two of you are out eating lunch.

“Where?”

“Kylian’s. He’s hosting a welcome back party for us and we all get a plus one - obviously, you’re mine.”

You rolled your eyes despite the bright smile on your face. “Obviously.” You took a bite of your salad. “And yes, I’m down.”

****

Five hours later, you and Benjamin were driving up to Kylian’s massive house. You could already hear the bass thumping from outside the house and you knew it was going to be a night to remember.

Kylian couldn’t keep his eyes off you the moment you walked in the door with Benjamin. Your skinny jeans hugged your ass and your crop top showed just enough skin to leave enough to the imagination. You were laughing at something Benjamin had said and Kylian couldn’t help but be a little jealous.

“Kyky!” You shouted when you caught sight of him, your face breaking out in a wide smile as you rushed towards him, barreling into him for a hug. “I’ve missed you!”

“I’ve missed you, too, YN, but it’s only been a week.”

You laughed, smiling up at him. “Six days too long, then.”

You were, of course, referring to the last PSG match you’d attended. Since you couldn’t attend Benjamin’s all the way over in Germany, you had the next best thing. You also couldn’t deny the attraction you felt for Kylian, especially on those match days when he scored against the opposing team. Neither of you had ever acted on it, but it was definitely there.

“C’mon,” Ben cut in, his hand on your lower back. “Let’s go get you a drink.”

It felt good to be reunited with the team, Benjamin thought, smiling down at you who’d been glued to his side. He always loved coming back to France - Germany was nice and all, but having the opportunity to represent his home country on a national scale was a feeling unlike any other. It also helped that he got to spend time with you when he wasn’t travelling or on the pitch. Maybe one day, he’d gather up the courage to tell you how he really felt, but for now he was content to have you by his side as a friend.

Kimpembe had started a game of Truth or Dare and it was your turn.

“Truth or Dare?” Matteo Guendouzi asked, smiling as he took a sip of his drink. He’d been shamelessly flirting with you all night and you didn’t want to risk him daring you to do something ridiculous like make out with him.

“Truth,” you reply, eyebrows raised.

He didn’t miss a beat. “If you could have a threesome with two players here, who would they be and why?”

You refrained from rolling your eyes; Matteo was clearly hoping one of the two footballers you named would be him. “Sorry, chéri. That would have to be my two best friends, Kyky and Ben. Kyky and I have made out before and I know how good he is with his tongue,” you shot Kylian a smirk, referencing the one drunken night after the World Cup. “Ben because we’ve known each other so long and I’m sure he knows enough about me to make me feel good.”

The rest of the game continued on, laughter and truths and dares all around. You didn’t think much of what you’d said during your one round of truth - deciding to go with Dare after that - until the party was winding down.

“YN?” Kylian called out as you left one of the guest bedrooms, your hair down and your teeth freshly brushed. “Can you come here?”

“Coming!” You called out, walking down the hall to Kylian’s bedroom. “What’s up, Kyky?”

He turned to face you, a funny look on his face. “I had a question and I’d just like to know the answer.”

You shrugged. “Okay.”

“Did you mean what you said tonight in your truth? Would you really sleep with me?”

Your stomach dropped and heat flooded your core as you nodded. “Yes,” you breathed, the word barely audible.

That was all Kylian needed and his lips were on yours. Memories from the World Cup celebration came back to you and you moaned into his mouth. Kylian’s hands slid down to cup your ass, squeezing your cheeks and pressing you further into him.

“What the hell?!” Came Benjamin’s voice in the hallway.

You and Kylian broke apart, guilty looks on both your faces. Benjamin looked livid and you didn’t know what to do. “Ben-” you started to say but he walked towards you, the expression on his face cutting you off.

“If he gets a taste, I get one, too,” Pavard growled, pulling you flush against him.

It was at that moment where your dominant side came out. “You’re gonna have to earn that, Boy,” you said, stepping out of his grasp. “I was the one who picked the two of you for my threesome so you’re going to be playing by my rules.”

Benjamin backed down and for a moment you couldn’t believe it. “Can I have a kiss, YN?” He asked, his voice low and his gaze heavy-lidded as he looked down at you.

A slow smile spread across your face. “Only if you call me ‘Mistress’.”

“Can I have a kiss, Mistress?”

“Just one.”

Benjamin bent down to kiss you, capturing your lips in his in a soft kiss that almost left you breathless. “Merde,” he swore after you broke the kiss, “that was better than the fantasy,” he confessed, his thumb brushing lightly across your cheek.

“Don’t get all sappy on me, Pavard,” you said, turning back to Kylian. “Kyky, do you have any toys?”

Kylian raised his eyebrows, but showed you where his drawer was. You opened it, biting your lip as you peered inside. He had everything: handcuffs, lube, a dildo and a vibrator, but your eyes landed on the best thing you’d never have expected him to have.

“Is this what I think it is?” You asked, pulling the item out of the drawer, making Kylian blush.

“An ex gave that to me,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Some ex,” you said, smirking. “I like her already.”

You walked back over to Pavard, the toy in your hand. “Wanna try this out for me, Benjamin?” You asked, your voice dripping with innocence and sweetness.

He nodded and you got to work. You took his shirt off, running your hands over his torso before getting to his jeans. You knelt down at his feet, sticking a hand down your panties to collect your juices while you looked up at him. Once the toy was sufficiently covered, you slid the cock ring down Benjamin’s shaft, watching him get hard as the toy stroked him. You placed the ring over his balls, groaning when Ben’s hand tangled in your hair.

“Good boy,” you praised, kissing the tip of his cock. “Now, are you gonna sit in that chair for me nicely or am I gonna have to tie you up?”

“I’ll be good, Mistress,” Benjamin promised, taking a seat in the corner to watch as you sashayed back over to Kylian.

“Kyky,” you murmured, placing a hand on his cheek. He was sitting on the edge of the bed and you seemed to tower over him. “Take off your clothes.”

“Yes, Mistress,” he mumbled, reaching for his shirt.

You watched him undress, your hand sliding between your legs as your gaze roamed over his naked torso. When he was finished, he reached out for you, his hands grabbing your hips. “Are you next, Mistress?”

A smile played on your lips. “I can be, but I’m keeping my lingerie on.”

You moaned as his hands slid up your crop top, kissing every inch of skin he bared. “Belle,” he praised, cupping your tits as he pressed a kiss to the tops of each one. You gasped when he reached for the button on your jeans. Just as he was about to slide them down, you heard Benjamin moan.

You turned, just in time to see Benjamin with his hand on his dick, stroking it quickly. “I’ll be right back, Kyky,” you murmured, dropping a kiss to his forehead. “I’m gonna borrow some ties.”

“Hands. Off.” You growled, crossing over to Benjamin and covering his hand with yours. “I didn’t say you could touch.”

He whines as you pried his fingers off his dick. “I’ll be right back. You touch again and I won’t be giving you the orgasm I’ve been dying to give you for months,” you said, shooting him a glare.

You walked into Kylian’s closet, quickly finding his ties. You walked back out to Benjamin, pleased to see that he had kept his hands off.

“Good boy,” you said, smirking as you leaned down to kiss him as a reward. “But not good enough, love.”

You took you time tying him up, leaving light kisses along his bare chest. Once you’d tied his hands behind his back, you straddled him, sucking on his collarbone to leave a mark on his neck. You ran a finger up his shaft, your eyes meeting his as you made him moan.

“I’ll be back later.”

You made your way back over to Kylian, stopping in front of him to take off your pants before sinking to your knees. You ran your tongue up his shaft, reveling in his moans. Kylian’s hands threaded in your hair, groaning when you took him in your mouth.

“Mistress, please!” Came Benjamin’s whine as he watched you give Kylian what you weren’t giving him.

You continued to work your hands and mouth over Kylian, ignoring Benjamin’s pleas. The tip of his cock hit the back of your throat and your mascara started to run. You looked up at Kylian and you watched him as your mouth fucked him just right and he came right then.

Swallowing his cum, you got up, wiping your mouth.

“Fuck, that was hot,” Kylian moaned, reaching for you.

“Don’t worry, Kyky, we’ve still got more to do. Come with me.” You took his hand and led him over to where Benjamin was still tied up. “Poor baby,” you teased, running your hand over his cheek. “Does somebody wanna cum?”

Benjamin nodded quickly, his breathing heavy. “Yes, Mistress. Please.”

“Maybe later,” you said dismissively, placing your hands on his shoulders as you leaned forward, pressing your ass out towards Kylian. “Right now, you’re gonna watch Kyky put his mouth all over my pussy and make me cum hard.”

You gasped as you felt Kylian part your folds, running his tongue between your legs. “Fuck, Kyky!” You moaned, your eyes glued to Benjamin. “Your tongue feels so good!”

Benjamin growled, straining against the ties.”I wanna kiss you, Mistress,” he said, looking up at you through his lashes.

You’d heard him but you couldn’t form words when Kylian’s mouth was on your pussy like it was, sucking on your clit. You whimpered, dropping your forehead onto Benjamin’s shoulder as Kylian brought you closer to orgasm. Benjamin took the opportunity to kiss your neck, wishing he could use his hands the way he wanted to. He nibbled on your earlobe while Kylian hummed around your clit. “Kyky!” You cried out, lifting your head off Benjamin’s shoulder. “I’m gonna cum.”

The moment Kylian slid two fingers inside you, your lips were on Benjamin’s kissing him hard as your orgasm tore through you. You moaned into his mouth, biting and sucking on his lower lip as you rode your high.

“Kyky, that was…fuck!” You said, catching your breath. You giggled a little as you turned to look back at a proud Kylian, his lips wet with your juices. “I can’t wait to feel your cock inside me.”

“What about me?” Benjamin asked, making you turn back to him.

“Well, I am down for another orgasm, but you can’t cum yet,” you said, straddling Benjamin. He let out a low whimper as your hand wrapped around his shaft and guided him into your dripping cunt.

“Fuck, Mistress,” he ground out, straining against the ties. “I really wanna touch you.”

“You should’ve thought about that before you started touching your dick without permission,” you chastised, your nails digging into his shoulders as you rode him. “Kyky, come play with my tits so Ben can see what he’s missing.”

“My pleasure, Mistress,” Kylian whispered, dropping a kiss to your shoulder. You shivered as you felt him behind you, his calloused hands running up your sides to palm your breasts. He ran his thumbs over the sensitive buds and you moaned.

“Touch my clit so I can cum,” you ordered Kylian, your eyes meeting Benjamin’s again as you said, “Benjamin’s cock just isn’t doing it for me.”

Benjamin’s eyes darkened at your words. You couldn’t help feeling a little badly about teasing him - his cock was hitting your pussy in all the best ways, but you didn’t want to tell him that and risk him cumming.

“Oh, fuck! Kyky!” You whimpered, tilting your head back to look at him while you came again. “I’m cumming!”

It was all Benjamin could do to not cum, and he was almost grateful that you’d put the cock ring on him. He felt your juices run down his shaft and he moaned.

“Wanna be untied now, baby?” You asked, turning your attention back to Benjamin.

“Please, Mistress.”

You untied him, kissing his neck and praising him for being so good. Both boys followed you to the bed, watching intently as you laid down, crooking a finger at both of them. “Kyky, fuck my pussy. Benjamin, come here so I can suck you off.”

That was how the night ended, Kylian cumming in your pussy and Benjamin cumming in your mouth, the three of you falling asleep together, Benjamin and Kylian on either side of you, all three of you satisfied.

[jaxsteamblog]

Sunset

Click here to read the full fic on AO3

When Katara woke up, she was in a giant, fluffy red cloud. Pushing on the downy comforter, Katara swam up to the top of the linens. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw someone sitting on the other edge of the bed, their black hair pouring straight down their back.

“Ah-” Katara started and began to sit up.

“I’ll save you the embarrassment.” A woman’s voice interrupted. Katara sat fully up, scooting back against the headboard. Mai turned her head enough that Katara could almost make out her profile, but still couldn’t read her face.

“Zuko is my best friend, outside of Ty Lee. I was forced to be Azula’s playmate because of my family and I was forced to be his girlfriend for the same reason. I was forced to do a lot of things because of who my father is and because I have a little brother.” Mai said. “I am not an emotional person and it was kind of assumed that I would just be miserable all of my life. Zuko makes me less miserable.”

“Mai-” Katara started but Mai held up a hand.

“I’m not in love with him, but I always thought he was my best chance at happiness. I’m not so certain of that now, and I’m definitely sure he’d be happier with someone else. But I’ll tell you this,” Mai stopped and stood from the bed. “I’m not going to let him go until he says he wants to leave. And there’s a lot you don’t know about him.”

“Nothing is happening between him and I.” Katara said quickly. Mai turned now and held her hands together down in front of her. She looked regal, if not a little bit like the proverbial stick in the metaphorical mud.

“Unlike you, Zuko tells me everything. It’s why I’m being nice right now. These things reflect on me, so I have to know.” She replied. “I was the one there when he was burned and when he was sent away. I’ve gone through more with him than your one moment of broken vulnerability.”

“For all your talk, it sounds like you’re pretty threatened Mai.” Katara shot back. The corner of Mai’s mouth hitched upward and she scoffed.

“I put up with Azula’s threats, I have little to fear of this summertime crush. I’m telling you this because I’m trying to help you. You don’t know certain important aspects of Zuko’s life and they are things that can and will blow up in your face. If I was really threatened, I would’ve stayed quiet, or taken a picture of you sleeping in my boyfriend’s bed. But I’m warning you, there’s a reason why I’m his girlfriend. Whether any of us like it or not.” Mai explained and then turned, walking briskly to the bedroom door.

As she opened it, Katara could see Sokka’s startled face.

“Mai.” He said and she brushed past him.

“Sokka.” She replied coolly and continued walking. Sokka watched her go but quickly turned back to Katara.

“You okay?” He asked.

“Yeah. What’s going on?” Katara got out of bed and twisted the large sweatpants around to straighten them out. She hadn’t thought Zuko was that much bigger than her; taller sure, but he seemed rather thin.

“We’re having dinner, and something special.” Sokka said with a grin. Katara walked around the bed, looking concerned.

“What’s that?” She asked.

“Just come out.” Sokka insisted. Katara followed him and marveled at the size of the apartment. The hallway opened up as the interior wall ended and she could see down to the first floor. The stairs were walled in by glass but they looked like they were floating. It gave her a bit of vertigo and her clammy hands clung to the railing.

The first floor was an open floor plan, so she could see Mai, Zuko, and Suki standing around a large island.

“Are you sure you won’t come?” Zuko asked Mai, who shook her head.

“Your sister wants to return to Caldera. Where she goes, I go.” She answered. Suki leaned across the island, looking bored.

“One would think that, all things considered, you would not be doing that.” Suki said.

“Well, one doesn’t think that, so off I go.” Mai replied evenly. She put a hand on Zuko’s shoulder and glanced at Katara as she approached.

“But I’m sure you’ll have fun without me.” She added.

“I’ll call you when I get back.” Zuko said and Mai gave him a small wave as she walked to the front door. Sokka went to the stove and pulled a lid off a pot, letting fragrant steam waft into the air.

“Where are you going?” Katara asked, standing uneasily in her borrowed clothes.

“Not him, we.” Suki said, standing now and throwing her arms wide.

“Us?” Katara asked, looking between her and Zuko.

“Sokka made a killing on the lilies and wants to take a trip.” He said.

“Sokka saved a lot of money so that he could hang out with his sister who trashed his shop this morning.” Sokka clarified. He was stirring whatever was in the pot and Katara could smell meat.

“I didn’t trash it!” She balked.

“He’s decided to actually take a vacation for once and we’re going to spend the week at Ember Island. He’s rented a house there.” Suki said. She then leaned over to Katara to stage whisper. “I may have convinced him to go so don’t blow this for me.”

“I,” Katara stammered and looked around. Focusing on her brother’s back, she wondered why he wasn’t facing her. She wondered what he had thought of the broken glass.

She wondered why she didn’t tell him.

After dinner, Suki drove Katara back to the shop to pick up her car. Driving back home alone, Katara found that her mind was blissfully empty. Having poured herself out earlier, she knew it would slowly trickle back in, but for now she was at peace. Katara knew that she’d have to address it eventually, the very least of which being a talk with Zuko. That was for later, and that night she spent time packing and getting ready to leave.

They met up in the morning at the airport. Suki was animated, talking about the beach and seafood, but Sokka was more reserved. Even Zuko looked relaxed, putting her brother more at odds with the tone of their departure.

Then Katara got her ticket and she choked.

“First class?” She sputtered.

“Okay, that was my doing.” Zuko said and smiled sheepishly. “I don’t do business class.”

“Oh spirits you’re one of them.” Katara murmured and Suki laughed.

“We deserve it honey, but heavens know my pension doesn’t cover much and you two don’t get anything from the Poles.” She replied.

“We could.” Sokka remarked and Katara flinched. He didn’t sound bitter or resentful, but it was just another reminder of what she was avoiding. Another thing she was keeping from him.

Suki and Sokka sat together on one side of the aisle and Katara took her seat next to Zuko.

“Have you flown much?” Zuko asked as they watched the other passengers file in.

“Not really. It wasn’t safe before, and I got used to boat travel.” Katara replied and slid open the shutter of the window. “But I did make the initial flight out to Republic City for school.”

“I hear Rep U is a good school.” Zuko said. Katara shrugged one shoulder, watching the ground crew on the tarmac.

“It definitely benefited from the occupation. The Fire Nation takes schooling seriously.” She said.

“Ah, yes, well.” Zuko cleared his throat and Katara winced. “Are you excited about living in Ba Sing Se for med school?”

“I was.” She muttered.

“Is, did you not want to come on this trip? With me?” Zuko added and Katara looked at him.

“No, Zuko. Sorry, it’s not about you.” She said and sighed. “I’m thankful to be taking this trip. Trust me.”

It was a short plane ride from Ba Sing Se to Ember Island, but the stewards still went down the aisle with the drink cart. Suki insisted that they get champagne and Zuko obliged, making a laborious display of handing over his credit card. Suki made some off-hand joke about reparations and Zuko blushed as she laughed.

When they landed, Katara was grateful for the drink. Standing in customs made her anxiety mount and she nervously twisted her passport in her hands. Her throat was dry and she struggled to swallow. Looking at the Fire Nation guards, her breathing became shallow.

How many blockades had they crossed? How many guards had they surprised in the dead of night? What if her name was on a list?

Sokka stood ahead of her, his passport in one hand, the other leisurely holding onto his suitcase handle.

Zuko had stepped into another lane and was a few people ahead of them. The customs agent looked surprised but Zuko passed through the border quickly.

Sokka stepped up and handed over his passport. The agent stamped it. He went through. And then it was her turn.

“Business of pleasure?” The agent asked as she scanned Katara’s passport.

“Vacation. Pleasure.” She stammered.

“Length of stay?”

“A week.”

“Anything to declare?”

“No.”

The agent stamped Katara’s passport and handed it back with a smile. “Welcome to the Fire Nation. Enjoy your stay.”

Katara took her passport and walked through, rolling her suitcase behind her. As she waited for Suki, she stood next to Sokka and Zuko, who were chatting about famous surfers. Off to the side, in what she supposed was a waiting area, a TV silently projected the news. Thuy’s standoffish portrait surfaced followed by another, more familiar picture. Katara’s shoulders rose with tension as she saw the picture she had buried under a stack of old newspapers with other relics of the war.

Arnook and her father, standing behind her and Sokka.

Luckily, the others were distracted and when Suki joined them, they walked away from the TV and out to the taxi pickup.

The air was muggy in the Fire Nation. It was always humid and Katara could feel her hair start to float up as it frizzed. Still, she could smell the sea, and she felt the tension leave her as the breeze blew over her.

“Ready to go?” Zuko asked as a taxi pulled up. Katara nodded with a genuine smile. She almost started laughing with the sudden change in her mood, and even Sokka seemed happier now.

They piled into one taxi, Zuko sitting in the passenger seat while the rest of them squashed together in the back. The driver turned on the radio and suddenly Zuko and Suki were singing along to some pop song.

It was late afternoon by the time they reached the beach house and Zuko went in to see about dinner. As the rest of them fumbled like new foals into the house, somehow already covered in sand, they looked around in slight awe.

The place was modest, but still better than Katara and Sokka had ever known. Zuko announced that he had dinner in the oven and they all scattered to find their bedrooms.

Katara opened a door and laughed as she realized there were themes.

The one she opened was beach themed; meaning specifically sand and seashells. Rough rope was used as chair railing instead of molding separating the two different paint colors. The bottom was a textured beige, while the top was a flat sea green, and the whole thing looked delightfully awful.

Framed shadow boxes of perfect sea shells were hung tastefully over the sandy colored dresser, and the bed had a large blanket printed with types of shells. The hardwood floor was clean and one woven rug laid like a worn out animal in the center of the room.

It was perfect.

After they all got settled and Zuko pulled a premade dish out of the oven, they all went out onto one of the many porches to eat. Suki opened a bottle of wine and they toasted to a good trip.

“Does anyone want to go to the beach after dinner?” Zuko asked.

“And get eaten by whatever swims at night? No thanks.” Sokka answered quickly.

“There’s a reef, the worst thing you have to worry about are the nursery sharks bumping into you and they’re harmless.” Zuko said.

“No thank you.” Sokka said forcefully and took a loud sip of his wine.

“I’ll go. I haven’t been in the ocean in a while.” Katara said.

“I’ll stay here too.” Suki said and Zuko nodded.

They all cleaned up after dinner and Katara went off to change before heading to the beach. Her bathing suit was new, as she normally wore a wetsuit when she swam at the Poles. Purchased while in college, the one piece had the Republic University logo on it. It was odd to wear it, as if she had some sort of school pride when the whole experience had just made her feel awful.

Pulling on a pair of shorts, Katara then tied up her hair and walked out into the living room. Zuko was wearing board shorts, making her curious if he actually surfed considering his conversation with Sokka.

“Ready?” He asked as he slipped into his sandals. Katara wiggled her feet into her flip-flops and nodded.

They had beach access, which was another wonder. Just a short staircase down from the porch was sand dunes. Being so close to the water, Katara wanted to sprint towards the waves. She felt the ocean call to her and a joy she had forgotten swelled to meet it. But she calmed herself, pulling her energy back into her center.

“So how are you doing?” Zuko asked as they walked closer to the water.

“Better. And thank you, by the way.” Katara said, putting her hands behind her back and twirling to look at him. “I appreciate you helping me.”

“And I didn’t even get hurt.” He replied. “You suck at prophecy.”

Katara scoffed and kicked off her flip-flops, already tired of how they dug into the space between her big toe and the line of other toes. Picking them up, she had to resist the urge to chuck them into the water. The rise in impulsive thoughts was concerning.

“Not yet anyway.” She said.

The sand was cool underfoot and the water that rushed over her feet was warm.

“Did you want to talk about it?” Zuko asked.

“Me being a murderer? Not really.” She remarked and kicked her feet in the shallow water.

“I’m not going to debate your definition of murder, but I will argue that what you did was in the defense of not just your home, but of the spirits as well.” Zuko said.

Katara focused on the clear water, watching the sand swirl up around her feet as the rush swept over her.

“It would be easier to accept if it was just La that had wanted him dead.” Katara said as she crouched down, making sure to keep her backside up from the water. “But I willingly made that pact so I could destroy him myself.”

“He had just killed a spirit, Katara. Your spirit. I think that anger is justified.” Zuko replied.

Katara shrugged and ran her fingers through the water. She could feel La call to her. She could always feel the spirit calling when she was in the ocean.

“Yue gave up her body for Tui. I would’ve gotten my bending back and stopped him that way.” Katara said.

“But you didn’t know that.”

“If I had just waited, instead of letting my anger take over, I wouldn’t have killed somebody.”

“Katara, do you know what makes a person good?”

Zuko crouched down next to her and she crossed her arms on her knees, resting her chin there.

“When a good person does something bad, they make amends and they learn from it. They do better.” Zuko went on. “Your brother doesn’t talk about the war. I don’t either, though not for the same reason. I don’t know what you did but I do know you didn’t continue killing Fire Nation soldiers. I know you’re a good person.”

Katara looked out toward the horizon, seeing the sky turn the color of sorbet as the sun set. The pinks and oranges reminded her of an order for the Jasmine Dragon and she sighed.

“I don’t feel like a good person.” She said.

The waves broke a little faster now, the water spraying up and soaking the back of Katara’s thighs. She yelped and stood up, patting her damp backside.

“I think La disagrees.” Zuko said and gave in, sitting down on the wet sand.

“Yeah? Well what does that dumb spirit know.” She countered, kicking at the water and sending up a bigger spray. Zuko sputtered and she chuckled.

“Sorry.” She said.

“So.” Zuko said, trying to sound casual but lingering on the word for too long. “What did Mai say to you?”

“Oh that?” Katara said with her own fake casual tone. “Only that I don’t have a chance and you won’t leave her for unspecified reasons.”

Zuko blinked and then frowned. “Chance at what?”

“At being with you. Since I so clearly have feelings for you.” Katara stated. Zuko blinked again and then looked down at his legs.

“Ah.” He said.

“Not that it matters. I have my whole future outlined by other people and it doesn’t include you.” Katara said.

“What do you mean?” Zuko asked and looked back just in time to see Katara throw her sandals backward onto the sand.

“It means that while I’m this war criminal that’s trying to redeem herself by becoming a healer, my father and the King of the North Pole have decided that I’m to take over the throne and don’t get to have my own life.” She said and unbuttoned her shorts.

“You’re. You what?” Zuko asked, genuinely stunned.

“Huh, I had figured Sokka told you about that already.” She said and wobbled as she lifted a leg out of her shorts.

“Sokka talks about you but not, like. He hasn’t.” Zuko stumbled over his words. “He definitely didn’t tell me that.”

“Yup. I can go ahead and grapple with morality however I want, but ultimately I’m going to be responsible for three tribes of people with blood on my hands.” Katara freed her other leg and tossed her shorts back onto the beach. It didn’t make it far and Katara frowned as she used her bending to push both they and her sandals further up on the beach.

“Which doesn’t leave the possibility open for canoodling a rich kid from the Fire Nation no matter how cute he is. So you can tell your girlfriend not to worry.” She continued. Katara then stopped and looked at Zuko, who was gaping up at her.

“Let’s go for a swim.” She said. Zuko stood and took off his shirt, balling it up and throwing it back toward Katara’s things.

It looked like he worked out.

The tips of Katara’s ears burned and she looked away just as Zuko turned back to her.

“Let’s go.” He said and walked into the water. Katara followed after him, looking at the lines of his back. It made her heart race and the water leapt up to meet her hands as she waded in deeper.

The manic anxiety she had been feeling, what had been mounting for weeks, suddenly shifted at the sight of his skin and it sent Katara reeling. A wave broke against them and sucked Katara under, but she moved with it and dove further into the ocean. When she popped back up with a gasp, she smoothed her hair back and looked around. Zuko came up a moment later, coughing and rubbing seawater out of his eyes.

“Was that you?” He asked.

“Maybe.” She replied with honesty. The waves calmed as they got further out and Katara pushed up onto her back to float. Her feet pointed toward the horizon, she watched the slow spill of the night sky pushing back the sunset. Zuko swam over to her, bouncing on his feet and treading water.

“I really like being in the ocean.” He said suddenly. Katara closed her eyes, slowly moving her arms to stay in place. The water on this side of the reef was much calmer, especially now that she had relaxed.

“I wish I could just live here.” She murmured.

“You’d have a better chance than me.” Zuko said.

“Do you really think I’m a good person Zuko?” Katara asked.

“I certainly don’t think a bad person would spend their time hurting themselves and pursue an education in medicine.” He answered.

“You’re very nice to me.” She said with a laugh.

“You’re very easy to be nice to.” He replied and pushed on her legs, making her spin a bit. The stars became visible overhead and Katara sank into the water, using her bending to suck herself deep into the water. As her back hit the rough sand, she felt the bite of a shell on her legs and grimaced. Pushing back up to the surface, she rubbed her leg and looked at Zuko before looking back at the sky.

The sunset faded and the moment passed.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

[yanderelovebites]

Yandere Headcanons: Villain Deku

I made these specifically cause a tumblr user requested a prompt with Villain Deku! This is my interpretation, enjoy 💞

- Villain Deku is obsessive and perhaps slightly...delusional. Unlike normal Deku, Villain Deku is far more aware and isn't as clingy due to his obsessive behavior. Plus, if he doesn't want you hurt, he has to keep his work with the League up to make it appear less like you're a distraction. He does his work and when all that is said and done, he takes you in his arms if you're not fighting him and his obsessive nature takes hold.

- You are his infatuation because you were there. When Izuku was ready to take Katsuki's advice and jump, you stopped him. You didn't know Izuku that well, only being in the same class as him the year before, but you did know that he was quirkless and bullied. You saw the act coming, you stopped it. It was just that simple and yet that's what sparked his interest. You saved him, you stopped him as he was going to jump. You had to be an angel~! His angel! It just got worse as time progressed.

- Unlike normal Izuku, he isn't a pushover when it comes to you. He always falls through with his promises. He will punish you and may take joy in it depending on why. He loves you sooo much he has diluted himself into thinking you'll love him eventually. You can't hide. On a scale of 1 to 10 he is an eight.

- He will use your feelings against you. Towards crushes, friends, family, enemies, even things like politics and ideals. He will twist them and make you think in a way that makes his life easier. He will also use any fear if necessary. You're afraid of pain? You made it easy for him. The dark? Sharp items? Bugs? Whatever it is, he'll use it to get you to behave. He will stop if you apologize.

- After he went down the path of villainy, he stalked you for awhile. He got to know the you without your censorship. He scarily knew you in ways one couldn't understand but him. How he kidnapped you was simple. You fell asleep in your warm bed and he simply tied you up and carried you away. When you woke you were on a soft bed and the room dark. You are cuffed to the headboard and sweetly tucked in. You can't move and honestly you're too scared to.

- If you manage to build the trust and have the mind necessary to even have a shot at escaping, go somewhere you wouldn't. You have a higher chance to not be recaptured. If not, he'll wait five days as to give you a false sense of security and right when you think you're safe he'll walk out from the shadows "Did you think I'd let you leave me, Angel?"

- When you return, you spend some time in the torture room. Like every clique, he makes you pick a punishment out of what he has as options. If it's bloody, he may hint that his lovely friend let him borrow her knives. If fire related, he'll mention a certain fire user gave him tips. Honestly he mentally tortures you while you're taking the physical part of the punishment.

- He's very calculating when it comes to his killing. Each person he kills for you is under a checklist. If all boxes are filled, they die. He may mention some people he's killed as a warning, as while he won't kill anyone platonically close to you–he could as a consequence of behavior. Depending on who they were to you honestly decides how painful their death is.

- It's really hard to make him snap since his first snap was what made him a villain. However, the only way he could snap is if you are hurt by someone beside himself or yourself. Sure, if you hurt yourself he just needs to talk to you, if he hurt you, he can just soothe your pain. If someone else hurt you, they're scum and don't deserve to be any form of organic life. He will kill that person and won't let them go quietly either. Once it's all said and done, he'll pamper you with whatever amount of his time you yours.

- He is moderately sexual. He's not raging but he isn't exactly a gentleman either. Typically he'll try for your body after two weeks, long enough where you're used to him. When he does it, certain things must be met like the mood, the time, and current situation at the organization.

- Forcing himself on you is honestly your aftercare for punishments. He will do what he wants and doesn't care that you're against it. If it's a matter of you being scared rather than simply not wanting to do it with him, he can be swayed to just make out but he's getting some sugar either way.

- His kinks include biting, DDLG, Mild BDSM, somnophilia, edging, creampies, breeding, rape play, and sensory deprivation.

- He spreads his affection in pet names, head pats, kisses, cuddles, and compliments.

- Honey, once you accept your fate and love him, he will try to make you pregnant with his children. He will stop tying you up. If you're useful then perhaps he'll let you join LoV. He loooves giving you gifts and dressing you up. May let you see his um... shrine. Only one able to calm him down. You actually are completely brainwashed into thinking you’re in danger if you leave the sanctuary Izuku made for you. He’s made you that paranoid.

[bandsconcertsfood]

Let Go

Part 2 to I Never Stood A Chance, Did I?

Don't really have to read part 1 to read this part However here's the link to part 1: Link! 

Jace Wayland/Herondale x Reader

Summary: After Y/N leaves Central City she moved back to the Institute and Jace finally reveals his feelings for her and they start dating. What happens when Team Flash decides to come look for her in Brooklyn and accidentally capture her parabatai, threatening to kill her, unless she tells them where Y/N is. Will she reveal herself to them?

4 Months Ago: "Y/N I know it's only been two months since you got back from Central City but I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me" Jace says as I walk into the weapons room. "Clary told me y'all were dating" I tell him as I grab a Seraph blade, semi confused. When I met Clary, she seemed kind of jealous by how close Jace and I were but eventually warmed up to me and we became good friends, not close friends though. "Well she lied, so yes?" he asks, slightly irritated that Clary lied to me. "Yes, tomorrow night" I say and go and train with Izzy, telling her what happened. As I'm walking out of training I bump into Clary, "I don't want to repeat what happened in Central City so please don't hate me but I'm going on a date with Jace. We've been best friends for years and I've always wanted this" I tell her truthfully. "I'm sorry, after what you went through two months ago, I shouldn't have been selfish, ever since I was forced into this world all I did was be selfish, I won't get in between you guys, forgive me" she asked sincerely. I smile at her and we hug, slightly giggling.

Present: "Y/N would you like to go on a  date with me to maybe the pizza place on main street?" Jace asked, so many things have been happening with Lilith that we haven't gone on a date in a while. "Sure, usual time?" I asked as I walked into the common room as Alec is talking to Izzy. "Of course" he says kissing me on the cheek and walking towards the Lightwoods as Clary approaches me. "You guys seem happy together" she says smiling. I know this must be hard for her but she's been super supportive of us, something I realized I should've done with Barry and Iris. I wonder how they're all doing. Especially Caitlin, last we saw each other was painful. "Wanna help me get ready for tonight?" I ask and she nods excited. We giggle and walk to my room. A few minutes later Izzy walks in, "you didn't invite me" she pouts giggling. I decided on leather pants, a noodle strap black crop top and some black wedges. I decided not to wear makeup other than red lipstick that Izzy let me borrow. "Have fun" she says "What are you guys going to do" I asked curious. "We're going on a mission, apparently a fast mundane has been asking about shadowhunters so we're going to find him" Clary replies before Izzy says anything. I freeze. Bartholomew. "Go on your date and don't worry about it. We'll take care of it" Izzy says and grabs my hand and leads me to the common room. "I know who it is, please don't go after him. He's looking for me" I tell her quietly. "Who is he" "He's the one that got me killed" I say before Jace walks in. He kisses me and I look at Izzy one last time before we go to our favorite pizza place for a nice night. Not knowing Izzy was going to talk to Barry... alone.

Barry's P.O.V.

We were next to an old abandoned church. It was me, Caitlin, Iris, Cisco and Joe. They wanted to come with me, I had finally managed to ask Caitlin why she didn't want me to search for Y/N's body when she finally told me the truth. Now I'm in Brooklyn, wanting her to come back. After I saved Iris, she started dating Eddie again, that's when I realized the one for me was Y/N. Out of the church came a woman in all black. She had long black hair. I ran and grabbed her, tying her up, there was a chair and Joe made her sit on it. "What do you know about shadowhunters" I asked her, noticing she had the exact same tattoos as Y/N. "Leave" is all she grumbles. "I think she's a shadowhunter" Cisco says excitedly. "Where's Y/N?" "She's better of without you getting her killed. At least here she's loved" she spits out. "Please I'm her best friend" Caitlin begs. The lady laughs, Iris goes and slaps her leaving everyone shocked. "You? Her best friend? I have a rune that begs to differ. Her and I are connected, our souls are as one. If you kill me, you kill a part of her, how's that for best friends" she says. "Find her phone" Joe says. "You won't reach her, her phone is always left at the institute during date night" the mysterious woman says. I feel a pang of jealousy, she's on a date?  Joe looks through her contacts, "I feel like we should call Jace or Simon" Cisco says giggling, excited to be meeting nephilim. "This is serious Cisco" Caitlin says, not regretting her choice to tell me the truth. I noticed how the woman's eyes widened when Cisco said the name Jace. "Try Jace" I said serious.

Third P.O.V.

Jace and Y/N were talking when he got a phone call. "It's Izzy" he says answering, putting it on speaker since we were the only two at the pizza place. "This is Barry Allen. We're next to the broken church on main. Give us Y/N and this woman goes unharmed." he says and hung up. "It's Barry" Jace says getting mad, the only ones that knew the whole truth about Central City were Magnus, Jace, Raphael, and Alec, Y/N didn't want Izzy to worry so she never mentioned the details, just the overall that she got shot by a crazy man.

Barry's P.O.V.

"She hates you" the woman, we found out her name is Isabelle, says. "She is my best friend and I will take her home" Caitlin says, proudly. "Again, she's my best friend, my sister, my literal other half. Also Jace won't let her go. And if you think she'll leave with you, you're going to have to get through vampires, werewolves, seelies, warlocks, shadowhunters, and lastly me. Every downworlder and shadowhunter loves her. Like I said, we protect our own here, you just let them die." Isabelle says, I notice Iris, Joe and Cisco suddenly look afraid. "I'm not afraid of monsters" I say, knowing I'll be taking Y/N home, especially once I tell her i love her. "Maybe we should leave" Cisco suddenly squeaks out. "I'm going to agree with Cisco" Joe says but Caitlin answers before I do, "we're not leaving without my best friend."

"Back away from Izzy" I hear a very angry deep voice say. "Hi Alec!" Isabelle says happily and walks up from the chair. I just realize she was untying herself as we talked. "call for backup" he tells her and he points an arrow straight at me. "I'm the fastest man alive, so that won't really work" I say and flash to him and get the arrow then back to my original spot. He immediately has another arrow pointed at me.  He's almost as good as Oliver. Almost.

Caitlin's P.O.V.

I notice Isabelle is calling someone, is it Y/N? "We just want Y/N" Iris says and the guy named Alec points the arrow at her. Now I'm starting to get nervous. Suddenly there's some type of portal and 3 guys walk out with a redhead. "Heard you're here for Y/N/N" the palest guy asked, he had some latino features but he was extremely pale. Barry grabs the Isabelle girl and holds her tight. "Let go of her" Alec says and grabs Iris, this is getting extremely dangerous. Suddenly someone walks in and says, "You let her go or I swear to god!" I turn around and it's..

Y/N's P.O.V.

"You let her go or I swear to god!" I say walking in and notice Bartholomew had grabbed my parabati. "You heard her" Barry says to Alec, Raphael starts to laugh. "Y/N-" Caitlin starts as she steps closer to me. "I meant you Bartholomew Henry Allen, don't you dare lay your hands on my best friend" I say ignoring Caitlin, I am furious with her. She promised she wouldn't tell them. "What? Y/n I love you, let's go home, to Central City" Barry says, I sigh and take out my seraph blade, "let go of my best friend" I say getting into a stance, that's when I notice everyone had gotten into their own fighting stance. "Ok, let's just talk this out" Cisco says getting in between me and Barry. "Francisco move before something happens to you." I say looking straight at Barry. "We won't repeat ourselves, let go of Izzy and you can have your mundane back" Alec says, his grip on Iris tightening, she winces but I don't even care. Barry lets go of Izzy, knowing that he may be the fastest man alive but he won't be able to save his entire team. Once Izzy gets to me safely Alec throws Iris back at Barry. Immediately Izzy is standing with her snake out. "What the fuck are you doing here? Couldn't you just stay in Central?" I ask pissed but slightly more calm when Jace stands next to me and holds my hand. "Y/N I love you" Barry says and I can't help but laugh. "You sure didn't love me when you looked into my killer's eyes and told him to spare Iris and not me. You could've saved us both but no, you wanted me dead" I tell him, knowing it was easy to find us because he had made us all get tracking rings so he'd be able to find us. "I didn't know where you were" he said crying trying to get close to me. Jace gets in front of me and Izzy gets ready in case he gets too close, "What about the rings? You gave us rings so you'd find us, you could've saved us both but you wanted to be the hero in her story, not our stories" I say knowing he wanted to save her so she'd fall in love with him. "I made a mistake" is all he whispers. "Y/N-" Caitlin starts. "Don't even speak bitch" Is all I tell her and begin walking away. "Go home Flash. You're not needed here. I see you again and I will kill you, that's a promise" Is all I say and walk into the Portal that Magnus had created, I needed a movie night at the Bane apartment with all my friends, they quickly follow behind, understanding what I wanted.

[doreatheinvisiblegirl]

Kintsukuroi

Just to preface this, I’ve never posted my writing to Tumblr before so if anyone has any pro tips, please hit me up! Enjoy ;)

Chapter 1

“Jeez, you guys, again?” Tsutsumi Aiko chided with a smirk, stepping through one of her own portals. “The best heroes this world has ever seen yet you two somehow always end up trapped and then I gotta come rescue you.” Her wormhole closed the moment she was through it. “If I’m always out here rescuing the number 1 and the number 2, then shouldn’t I be number 1?” She queried, raising an eyebrow at the two young heroes sitting back to back, quirk cuffs cutting into their wrists. They were blindfolded and bound to each other at their torsos with rope and their hands and feet were tied together rendering them immobile.

Todoroki Shouto was the first to respond, sighing heavily, gesturing with his head at Midoriya Izuku behind him. “This guy.”

Izuku rolled his eyes, though it was missed by Shouto given their current state of imprisonment. “Nobody forced you to follow me.” Both of them laughed a little at that, everyone knew Shouto would never let Izuku go into a dangerous situation alone if he had a choice in the matter.

They froze at the sound of footsteps and Aiko’s head shot up. “Shit, someone’s coming!” She whispered. “We have to go, NOW.” She knelt next to them on the floor, looping her right arm through their bindings.

“Hey!” The husky male voice came from the doorway. The light that shown from behind was almost blinding and it was impossible to see any of the features or distinguishing marks on the person standing in it, just the outline of a body that didn’t look particularly imposing, but she had no idea what this person might be capable of. “What do you think you’re doing with my prisoners?” The voice sounded exasperated by the intruder who appeared in the makeshift jail cell.

Aiko smiled at the darkened figure in the doorway, “What prisoners?” She asked as her left hand splayed out on the floor and a portal opened below her and her two friends and they fell through, hitting the ground within a few seconds with a thud. 

Shouto groaned in pain. He had landed face first from who knows what height, because he was still blindfolded and still tied to Izuku, with all Izuku’s hulking muscle landing right on top of him. He tasted dirt. He could barely breathe under Izuku’s dead weight.

“Izu..” He choked out, just barely. He could feel Aiko tugging on the rope tying them together. “Tsut…Tsutsumi…” He managed.

“Oh!” She yelped and rolled them over so they were laying side by side and Shouto gasped for air as soon as the pressure was alleviated from his lungs. “Sorry.” She gritted her teeth.

“It’s all right.” He panted, Izuku had said nothing nor had he moved and Shouto determined he must be unconscious. “There’s a utility knife on Izuku’s belt in the front.” He offered and Aiko stopped tugging for a moment. When she resumed, he could feel ropes being cut away one by one. Once she was able to separate them, she removed Shouto’s blindfold. 

They were in the grass, tall trees began a few meters in front of Shouto and the forest extended beyond his field of vision. He sat still as Aiko was still cutting away the rope at his feet, and there was still the issue of the quirk cuffs. They could only be removed with a special device and he silently hoped she had thought to bring one. His feet were finally freed and he moved to stand, his body stiff from sitting on the cold hard floor of the cell they had previously been stuck in as well as sore from falling to the earth only to cushion Izuku’s own fall. Once standing, he stretched a little and then turned to take in the rest of their surroundings. Aiko was already busy cutting an unconscious Izuku free. His first reaction was to check Izuku for injury, but he was interrupted before he could kneel in front of the number 1 hero by the sight of someone several meters away staring at them as though she was looking at a ghost. When he caught her eye, she started toward them tentatively.

“A-are you guys ok?” She was American, he recognized almost immediately. She was clearly of some sort of western European decent but her accent was clearly American.

<Where are we?> Shouto asked in Japanese to no one in particular.

“Oh, you don’t speak English.” She said a little dejectedly, looking rather confused as to how to communicate with them.

“We speak English.” Aiko offered. “And yeah, we’re ok. Well, we think he is.” She stated gesturing at lump on the ground that was Izuku, newly liberated from the ropes. 

The American girl looked at Aiko wide eyed, the way she was looking when Shouto noticed her. “Where the hell did you come from? I literally just watched you drop out of a hole in the sky.” Her eyes narrowed conspiratorially, “Are you guys aliens?”

Aiko had just closed the pocket utility knife she’d borrowed from Izuku’s belt and she let out a hearty laugh. One corner of Shouto's mouth even raised in a slight smirk. 

“No! We came from Tokyo!” Aiko explained, catching her breath. “Aliens.” She muttered before erupting with laughter once again. The girl looked down, seeming even more confused than before, almost as if she would have preferred to accept that they came from outer space than another country on her own planet. 

<Tsutsumi.> Shouto demanded and displayed his wrists behind his back still in the cuffs. <Do you have the device?> He asked, still speaking Japanese.

“Oh! Yes.” She pulled the quirk cuff removal device from her back pocket and stepped behind Shouto, he heard the click and then the cuffs fell away from his hands. Aiko threw them in the grass and Shouto knelt next to Izuku, checking him for serious injury and the strength of his pulse. He seemed fine enough, he must have been knocked out during the fall, though if anyone should have been rendered unconscious by that, it should have been Shouto. He sighed in relief and absently put his fingers through Izuku’s curls.

“They’re not in love.” Aiko said suddenly and he looked up at her, realizing she was speaking to the American girl next to her as they both gazed at the two men. He ignored her and looked back at Izuku’s peaceful face. “At least, that’s what they keep trying to tell all of us. Anyway,” she stopped and bowed to the girl. “I’m Porter, I’m a rescue hero in Japan. These are my friends, I’m sure you already recognize them.” She bent down and also freed Izuku’s hands from the quirk cuffs.

The girl looked at her strangely. “Rescue hero? I’ve never seen them before in my life.”

“Ohhhhhhh.” Realization bloomed on Aiko’s face.

<What?> Shouto stood again, eyeing her.

“I think I brought us to a parallel world.” She nodded. She spoke English, ignoring the fact that Shouto still spoke Japanese, she figured he didn’t want the strange girl getting any information regarding who they were or where they came from. Aiko wasn’t so tight lipped, she enjoyed meeting new people and making friends, and in order to make a friend you have to share information with that person. “I’ve only done this once before when I was a 3rd year at UA. Yeah, it was 3rd year, because you guys had already graduated.”

<Can you get us home?> He asked, panic rising in his tone. 

“Yeah, of course. What do you take me for, Todoroki-san? I didn’t really think about it when I opened the portal, I was just trying to get us out of there. I don’t know if that guy had a quirk or what it was, I didn’t have time to think, I just acted. When I don’t think about my destination, I get dropped somewhere random. I’ll take us home after Izuku-san wakes up.” 

“Did you- did you just say a parallel world?” The girl asked in disbelief. “What is happening?”

Aiko opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by a groan from the ground, signaling the return of Midoriya to the world of the living. <Jesus, Aiko-chan. What’re you trying to do to me?> He croaked and Shouto snorted but said nothing. Izuku sat up slowly, his head still slightly spinning, he must have hit it on the way down. He’d had worse.

“Again, I rescued you guys. If it weren’t for me, who knows how long you would have been stuck there.” Aiko argued. “Why do guys always complain after they’ve been rescued? No ‘thank you’, no appreciation. Just a lot of whining.”

<Thank you, Tsutsumi.>

<Thank you, Aiko-chan.> Both responses came at once.

<You’re welcome.> She started a little defensively but then softened, <Thank you. That’s all I wanted.>

<Do you have any water?> Izuku turned to Shouto, who opened one of the vials on his belt and looked inside of it, grimacing.

“Water?” Aiko said in English to the girl.

“I could go get some from my place. It’s right over there.” She pointed in the direction of a path through the woods. She shrugged, as though she felt she had nothing to lose. “You guys could come with me if you want.”

Izuku got up and brushed the dirt off his hero costume. “Thank you.” He switched over to speaking English and walked over to her. “I’m Deku.” He stated as if he didn’t expect her to know who he was.

“Jade.” She smiled at him, whatever tensions she’d been holding previously suddenly gone. Izuku had always had a way of making people feel at ease around him. 

“Like the color?” His face lit up. “You know, your eyes are sort of that color.”

“So I’ve been told.” She smiled shyly, looking at the ground. The attention seemingly made her a tad uncomfortable, a hint Izuku caught onto.

“You know, my name is actually Midoriya Izuku, midori is Japanese for green.” He pointed at his hair and then his eyes. Jade looked up and met his friendly gaze and smiled again. 

She looked back at Shouto and Aiko behind her and gestured to them. “Come on, I’ll show you the way.” They followed her to the wooded path.

<Shouldn’t we be getting back?> Shouto hissed in low tones to Aiko beside him, Izuku and Jade a few paces ahead.

“Oh, come on Todoroki-san, live a little.” Aiko teased and Izuku snorted a little, glancing back to catch Shouto’s eye briefly.

<We don’t even know this girl and we’re following her blindly into the woods.> Shouto spoke freely, growing comfortable in the fact that the strange girl didn’t understand him. <Am I the only one here who finds it strange that she seems completely comfortable inviting people that ‘dropped out of a hole in the sky’ into her home without knowing anything about them?>

Jade stopped in her tracks and turned around to face the pair behind her. “I have a lot of questions. But I’m not as stupid as I may seem to you.” She directed her statement at the one person who hadn’t yet spoken her native tongue. Shouto was certain she didn’t understand his words but something about her eyes told him she was very aware of what bothered him. “I already know what I need to know about each of you.” She smiled a little mysteriously and turned back down the path, the end of which was in sight, a modest ranch style house painted red with a fenced in backyard at the other end. 

At the clearing on the other side, they came upon a row of cookie cutter houses, all of them appeared exactly the same save for the exterior paint. Jade led them between the red house and the white one next to it. They crossed a quiet residential street and approached one of the houses, painted dark blue. Jade turned to the 3 heroes again, “Do you guys want to come in? I’ll understand if you’re not comfortable with that.” Her question had been posed to all of them, but the statement she directed to Shouto. Aiko looked over at the man standing to her right, a turquoise iris glancing at her from the corner of his eye, then fixing on Izuku who stood next to Jade smiling.

“It’s ok, Shou. What do you think she’s going to do to us? To us?” Izuku emphasized that last part and Shouto sighed. He supposed Izuku was right, they were the best heroes their world had to offer. True, they got themselves into more than a few binds but Aiko was a really good ally to have in times like those. Between the 3 of them, they should be able to neutralize this girl if she’s planning something nefarious. Shouto wasn’t sure why this girl was putting him on edge but there was something about her that ignited a strange fear inside of him, there was something. He wondered if the fear was a side effect of whatever it was about her, he couldn’t quantify it, he just knew he wanted to leave. He also knew it was almost impossible to say no to Izuku. Izuku always got his way with Shouto, that’s how they ended up captured by villains in the first place. He nodded slightly at Izuku, who took it as an agreement. “Lead the way, Jade” He gave her one of his best, brightest, number 1 hero smiles. Shouto stepped closer to Izuku, in a protective manner, before they followed her through the door.

The inside of Jade’s home was cozy. To the left of the entrance was the living room, a bay window stretching across the majority of the front wall. A fairly large U-shaped sectional sat in front of it a few throws draped along the top and some pillows haphazardly strewn in various area of it, with a large leather ottoman in the center of the room. On the far wall was a floor to ceiling bookcase full of books in seemingly no particular order. A television hung on the wall opposite the bay window before that wall was cut short to lead into the open kitchen in front of them. To the right of them sat a small dining area and just behind it was a corridor, perhaps that’s where one would find the bed and bath rooms.

“Do you live alone?” Aiko asked, the home looked well lived in, but it was currently silent.

“No, I live with my two brothers. Taylor and Ryan. They’re both at work right now.”

Jade entered the kitchen and collected a few glasses from the cabinet above the sink. She moved to the refrigerator and retrieved a gallon jug of purified water from it, pouring a glass for each of them on the island in the center of the room. “So you guys are seriously from some other world, aren’t you?” She put away the jug and turned to them. “I mean, it sounds really, really far fetched, but it doesn’t feel like you’re lying. And I’m usually really perceptive when it comes to that kind of thing. Then there’s your strange hair colors,” She gestured to the two men, Shouto standing behind and to the left of Izuku, so close that their shoulders touched. “I mean, sure, people dye their hair all the time, but your eyebrows and eyelashes too? People sometimes dye their eyebrows but I’ve never seen anyone dye their eyelashes, I don’t even know if that’s possible.” she pointed to Shouto. “And he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who wants to draw attention to himself, so I can’t imagine he would willingly change his appearance to stand out.”

Izuku thirstily took the glass of water she offered and quickly threw it back, the refreshing liquid sliding cooly down his dry scratchy throat. “Wait.” He started after finishing the glass, “Another world?”

“Yeah, I managed to bring us to what I think is a parallel world. Jade seemed confused that we are heroes and she doesn’t know who you are.” Aiko caught Izuku up on the little bit he missed when he was out cold.

“What exactly do you mean by heroes?” Jade cocked her head to the side. “And you, Porter, is it?”

She nodded, “But you can call me Aiko, if you want.”

Jade smiled and continued, “Aiko, you said you’re a rescue hero. Like a firefighter or an EMT?”

“No, I use my quirk to rescue people. It’s called portal. I can open up holes to other places. If I have a clear destination in mind, I can control it. If not, it’s random.”

“That’s what you guys dropped through?”

“Yes. I usually don’t open them up in the floor but we needed to escape quickly, these two were indisposed and I couldn’t very well carry them out of there.”

“Where?” Jade had more questions with each answer she received.

“A shady industrial district of Tokyo. They were after a villain, they managed to get caught by said villain so I was sent in to retrieve them.” Aiko smirked a little. “That’s happened before, usually means they haven’t had time for, you know…” 

“Aiko.” Izuku interrupted, fixing her with a look that pleaded ‘Not now.’

“So you guys are a thing?” Jade sipped her own water, leaning against the counter behind her, smiling at them comfortingly. She’d already guessed but she didn’t want to assume.

“Uh, well. Not exactly. Kind of? Maybe. I don’t know.” Izuku stumbled on his words a bit and Shouto said nothing. 

Shouto owed this girl nothing. Her eyes bore holes through him and he averted his gaze to the wall on his right. It felt like she was searching his soul.

“Friends with benefits then.” She stated more so than asked. “You’re not necessarily in love or committed to each other. But there’s a lot of trust between you and you care deeply for one another.” She surmised with a smile, then cocked an eyebrow. “And sometimes you enjoy each other privately.” Both women giggled a little and both men turned beet red, Izuku’s hand coming up to rub the back of his neck nervously.

Shouto had to call upon his right side to suppress the flames threatening to escape his left. “Who are you?” He spat irritated, finally choosing to speak English.

Jade’s eyes widened in alarm, “I didn’t mean anything…” She trailed. “I just- I can feel the things you aren’t saying. I know that doesn’t really make sense, but it’s just a thing I do. I guess I’m just kind of sensitive to people’s feelings. I don’t know if it’s just I’m good at picking up on gestures and body language or…” She trailed off, uncertain of how to explain what she felt.

“Like a quirk, maybe..” Izuku picked up where she had trailed off.

“What is a quirk even? I don’t know what that means. A quirk is a strange habit that someone has. It doesn’t make people open portals to other worlds or have Pokeball colored hair. Explain what quirk means to you.”

“It’s an ability. Like a super power.”

“No. My ability to read people is not a super power.” Jade shook her head disbelieving. “Super powers don’t exist. At least they don’t here. I can’t speak to where you came from.” She paused. “What is your power?”

“Um…” Izuku was uncertain how to explain One For All to her, “It’s uh..kind of hard to explain. I’m best at close combat, my quirk helps to enhance my strength and speed. Detaining villains for the authorities and search and rescue following a disaster is typically what we are called upon for. We also run patrols throughout the city day to day in a bid to keep the crime rate low.”

“And you?” Jade’s eyes shifted to Shouto, his irritation still present in his expression.

“You know so much, you tell me.” He said bluntly in a low tone.

“Your super power is being rude then?” She quipped and Aiko stifled a small laugh.

“Shouto’s power is half-cold, half-hot. Hence the half and half appearance. He wields both fire and ice.” Izuku explained and Shouto glared at him for sharing additional information with this stranger.

<Can we go home now?> Shouto asked, again speaking Japanese.

“Not yet.” Izuku replied, still watching Jade. “We just got here. And this girl, she’s interesting. I like her.” He smiled over at her and she smiled back.

“Thanks, I like you too. Should I call you Deku or Midori?”

“It’s Midoriya.” He corrected. “Deku is my hero name, but you can call me Izuku if you want. Todoroki-san’s hero name is Shouto, which is also his given name. I think he’d probably prefer you call him Todoroki-san for now though.”

<I would prefer to leave now.> Shouto pressed and Izuku shoved an elbow at his friend’s ribs, silently attempting to remind him to be polite as they were guests in Jade’s home. <Don’t you think everyone at the agency is wondering where we are? Why Tsutsumi hasn’t returned with us yet?>

“That’s true.” Aiko piped up. “We should probably get going.”

“Can we come back?” Izuku asked hopefully.

“Sure.” Aiko nodded. “I don’t see why not. Now that we’ve been here, I can bring us back.”

“Maybe I could even come see your world sometime.” Jade shrugged. “Sounds more exciting than mine.”

“That sounds like a plan. Ready?” Aiko asked the two young heroes she arrived with.

“Yeah, I guess.” Izuku rounded the small island countertop that separated him from Jade. He bowed to her. “Thank you for your hospitality. And I definitely think you should visit us sometime. We’ll have Aiko-chan bring you. I think you’d fit in well there.” Izuku took her hands when they parted and lightly squeezed them giving her another of his famous grins.

Shouto said nothing at all and waited near Aiko for her to open the portal home. Aiko also bowed to Jade, thanking her in a similar fashion to Izuku before opening a portal on her kitchen wall. Jade craned her neck over to where Aiko had opened it and could see a busy lobby on the other side. A few people stopped and looked back in, presumably able to see the heroes and Jade in her home, but most people seemed not to notice.

“Izuku.” Shouto’s tone was urgent.

Izuku smiled at Jade one last time as he rounded the island and headed for the portal. “We’ll be back.” He promised as he stepped through, Shouto following him. 

Aiko waved to Jade and as soon as she stepped through it, the portal disappeared and Jade was alone in her kitchen.