#undercover ch 9

[potatomountain]

CIY- CH 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

📍Pairing: detective ateez ot8 x detective afab reader 📍Summary: "Turning Point" 📍WC: 3.3k 📍AU: detective/mafia 📍Genre: action, dark themes, poly romance 📍Warning(s): 18+ rating, some angst, dark themes implied, oral (male receiving), body piercings, cum-eating, semi-public sex, slight voyeurism/exhibitionism 📍Nets: @pirateeznet | @mirohs-aurora-society 📍Beta readers (and sole motivation): @flurrys-creativity , @candypop1611 , @yourfatherlucifer , @skteezcursed and edited(usually) by the amazing: @daemour 📍dividers made by: @cafekitsune 📍AN: As a birthday gift to me (9-24) I am posting this hecka early. But also annoucing that there will not be another CIY posting until after October (most likely. who knows, i might get impatient myself) as ill be focusing on Kinktober and some fics i have planned for October! There are 6 chapters left (roughly) so please enjoy <3

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Three weeks. Three weeks had gone by and you had to admit, you missed them. Well, some of them. Wooyoung’s incessant need for you. San and his flirting- his dimples. Yeosang’s cute little lisp and the sound of him tapping away on his keyboard. Hell you even missed hearing Mingi fuck others and keeping you awake at night. You might even miss Jongho’s constant scowl in your presence.

Seonghwa had been taking you to and from the club every night, five nights a week, and would tell you to rest the other two. You wouldn’t come into the office but now you wanted to. Maybe then you could do something about this odd bundle of emotions in your stomach. Yeosang sent you instructions on how to fill out a report of your undercover work on the program he installed in your laptop, which automatically stored the vital information and categorized and compared it with the rest. So in short, now you couldn’t even tell them about the new rumors you’ve picked up at the club.

At least now you knew why they were so busy, far too busy for you. The Vipers and the Wolves were still at each other’s throat, fucking up cash grabs, stealing product, or raiding known businesses of the other. San told you he was cleared to head back to fighting soon, and it worried you that the Wolves would hit the fighting ring while he was there.

But, what could you do about it? Undercover work was something that took months to years to gain enough influence to make a difference. You were nothing more than a fly on the wall gathering information, searching for weaknesses to use against the big players. A slip up that could get them behind bars.

Once more you thought of the dead boy in the alley. Once more you pictured someone else as that dead body. And once more you realized that, as a detective, there was nothing you could do to prevent that. It was a frustrating feeling.

And that’s why you found yourself heading to the gym on your next free day, ready to punch the frustration out or work up enough of a sweat that your muscles would be screaming at you until tomorrow.

It was a nice sweet surprise to find Hongjoong there, working on one of the machines, a thin sheen of sweat coating his bare arms and calves. He was wearing a hat, black tank and black gym shorts with an airpod in as he was chatting with someone. He didn’t notice you at first, but when you got close enough to hear his conversation, you frowned at how quick he hung up when he did notice you. “I’ll call you back later.” The weights dropped as he let go of the handles to turn the call off, shifting to look up at you with a bright and charming smile despite your deepening frown. “Firecracker, lovely to see you here.”

“Cut the bullshit” you weren’t having it today. Had the three weeks away changed something? Had your observations just been wishful thinking? Why was he hiding things from you? They still didn’t trust you fully did they? Ah, that hurt. Hongjoong seemed to catch on by your tone and stance, the smile softening to something more genuinely welcoming. “It was San, he was giving me an update on the Vipers I-” “Am I not allowed to hear what you had to say?” You cut him off, still staring him down. You shouldn’t be getting so worked up, you really shouldn’t.

But Hongjoong seemed good at reading you, reaching out and holding his hand palm up. “Would it ease your mind to know what is going on? What he was telling me? Or can I ask you to trust me on this, and you can learn all about it later?” You stared at his hand for a moment, eyes running up his arm to the tattoos that covered his bicep. Briefly you glanced at the ink before meeting his eyes. “It’s a delicate matter?” You decided to ask, arms uncrossing to rest at your sides. “Yes. The war they have going on is turning into a bloodbath.” He didn’t elaborate, just smiled wider when you did take his hand finally. Gently he pulled you closer.

Relaxing a bit further, you let him. He didn’t need to explain, because you realized what he meant. The Vipers were losing everything, and the Wolves would take what they could from them. Killing, maiming, or selling off each member or even associate. “I see… what are we doing about it?” He lifted a brow at your choice of words, pulling you right between his knees and holding both of your hands. You don’t know why he insisted on this sort of touch, but you didn’t mind one bit. “Nothing we can do. We can’t pull San out safely, but there isn’t a way we can stop the Wolves either. Not without risking more. Did you come here to blow off some steam? Worried about him?” Slowly you nodded, staring at your joined hands. “I don’t want to punch anything, just not think. The Boas don’t care much for either, but I hear how ruthless the Wolves are. They’re scared of them much more than the Vipers and-” Your words were cut off as he pulled you onto his lap. “Captain?” “How do you think San can get out of this unscathed? I’m worried too, Firecracker, and even if we can’t do much, it’s better to have some hope that something can happen to save him. Right?” He was comforting you, wasn’t he? The notion had your cheeks warming, mind shifting to the question. With everything you knew, what needed to happen for San to be truly safe from the Wolves? “I… well the Vipers are no match for the Wolves alone but if they had help… then San’s chances of- well you know. The Guardians are the only ones who can stop the Wolves, but I don’t see how they would get involved. Not unless this war causes significantly more damage, or they believe it will.” Your original thought was the Guardians getting rid of the Wolves anyways. After all, the more you learned about them, the more you realized that the biggest, scariest monster out there was the Wolves. The Vipers would be easier to take down, same with the Goblins. The Golden Circle could just be bought out, most of them just greedy cowards. And the Guardians and Pirates? They cared more for regulation to an extent than chaos.

The Wolves enjoy being cruel for cruelty’s sake. Sadists, killers, men who wanted to see the world burn and wanted to be the hands responsible for it. People were toys to them. Ones they wanted to break and use any way they saw fit.

You’d rather see San with his busted lip and black eye from a fight in the ring rather than the possible torture the Wolves would put him through. “The Wolves won’t stop until every last Viper is dead or turned to them or sold. I’d rather the Vipers win, and that can't happen without the Guardians. Either working together or the Guardians step in to apply pressure to the Wolves to back them off.” Hongjoong’s sudden bright smile threw you off and you were on your feet in a second. “What?” He chuckled, just to pull you back down with enough force you tumbled into him, hands on his chest and lips suddenly on his. He swallowed up your squeak, pulling you fully onto his lap as his tongue sought yours. You hadn’t expected it, but he tasted so good that you didn’t want to pull away. Yet as soon as melted into him, he was separating your mouths. “You really are a genius, I think. That’s something we never thought of.” You blushed at his compliment, staring up at him as his fingers carded through your hair. “What ideas did you have?” “Ones that involved what the Vipers alone could do, or we as detectives. Sometimes we forget to take a step back and see all this from a different angle.” “I see… but can we really do anything like that?” He shrugged. “We could have Wooyoung or San suggest it. If the Vipers are smart, and want to survive, they’ll latch onto that idea hopefully before it’s too late.” Pride swelled through you, as well as respect. Hongjoong did respect you, to go from easing your worries, to turning your thoughts into something productive, and then backing your idea as an equal. All while he was kissing you, touching you, melting you in his arms like you were his lover.

“Captain-” “Please call me Hongjoong, or something like that outside the office. Especially when you’re in my arms like this.” He stopped you, arm tightening on your waist while his other hand massaged your scalp a bit. He chuckled at the pleased sound you made at the touch.

“H-Hongjoong… did Seonghwa- ah Hwa- tell you about…” You trailed off, eyelids getting heavy the more you relaxed in his embrace. He nodded. “S-so you know how much this means to me?” “I do, Firecracker. And he told you how things work, and his unofficial invitation?” When you nodded, his hand tightened in your hair enough to pull an unexpected moan from your lips. “I’m going to take how pliant you are in my arms as an acceptance of that if you keep this up. Wooyoung might be the most vocal about his desire for you, but I feel it just as intensely.” Your hands gripped his tank tightly, lips parted as you enjoyed the way he was getting a bit rough with your hair. Massage, then tug. Smooth then tug harder. “Then why pull me onto your lap?” “To treasure you, though I didn’t think you would let me.” He admitted, shifting you on his thighs a bit until you could feel his hard on against the side of your thigh. “Yeosang is going to get another show at this rate.” Laughing under your breath softly, you shifted on his lap. “Good. I’m not too happy about him telling you all about San and Chan. He likes to watch and then run his mouth to you all? I should show him what he’s going to miss because he’s always hiding behind those screens.” Detaching yourself from Hongjoong, you stood back up between his legs, wrapping your arms loosely around his shoulders to card your fingers through his hair at the base of his neck, just under the cap. Latching your lips onto his to keep him from questioning you, your mind wandered to Yeosang and the expressions he made when he had been watching you and Wooyoung. Would he make those now? Better yet… What expressions would Hongjoong make?

With your lips still attached, brushing over his soft ones, letting him chase yours with each stroke, your hands ran down his chest. His shirt stuck to him with damp sweat, muscles tensing under your fingertips: first over his pecs, which had a nice curve to them, and then over his stomach. The lower they got, the more desperate his lips on yours.

The sound he made, the breathy whine as you cupped his sizable bulge in his shorts, turned you on even more. So eager to see just how far you could push him.

In a way, this was your first time initiating with them. As you slipped down onto your knees, palming at his hardening cock through the material of his shorts, you acknowledged the fact he hadn’t asked for this, or done much to make you want him: you just wanted him, and wanted to do this. Wooyoung had begged and begged. And Mingi had wanted to prove to you how much he wanted you. You just let them have the opportunity, reaping the ecstasy they gave you. And as much as you loved taking what they had to offer, you wanted to give back as well. In particular to the man before you. The man who was trying so hard not to pull your hair too much. Who was gripping the seat beneath him as his hips rolled up into your hands, pretty lips parted and swallowed from your kisses.

If Hongjoong had turned you away, or tried to block you at every turn like you had expected him to do before meeting him, you wouldn’t have this growing warmth in your heart at every thought of them. The swell of pride at your ongoing work. You wouldn’t have a confidant in San and Seonghwa. Wouldn’t have the eager lovers Wooyoung and Mingi. The witty banter of Yunho and Yeosang.

And perhaps, pressing your lips to where you could feel his tip twitching beneath the material, you wanted to convince them that they had to have you, just as you had to have them.

Selfish, greedy, maybe a little manipulative: that’s what you thought of yourself as you pulled his shorts down enough to expose his cock, staring up at him with a question in your eyes. 

Maybe you were all those things, but it was worth it as he tightened his hold on your strands significantly and pulled you against his cock, smearing the bit of precum and sweat on your lips and cheek, pleading with you. “Take what you want, gorgeous, I’m yours to use.”

How could you deny him- deny yourself- when he looked so delectable like this? 

Taking the invitation for what it was, your tongue ran up his length as your hands worked his pants down further. His words rang in your head, the adoration mixed with lust in his expression adding to the pit of emotions coursing through you.

With your lips wrapping around his tip, eyes focused on his expression, you marveled at the warm metal now clicking against your teeth. Quickly you pulled away and glanced down, breath hitching at the metal bar on the underside of his tip, right through the soft flesh in between the twi curves of his hood. “Oh fuck-” Mingi and him? Different places but you could remember how the piercing felt… if you took Hongjoong inside, you’d feel the metal scraping against your walls and the thought had you dripping in your underwear.

Wanting him to want that just as much, you took him back in your mouth, humming as you quickly took as much of him as you could. His eyes rolled back momentarily, breath hitching and fingers curling in your hair. He could fuck your mouth right now and you’d let him.

You’d let him do a lot of things if he continued to let out sweet whines like the one that just fell from his pretty lips. He wasn’t small, but definitely not Mingi’s size. But Hongjoong never needed size to get his point across, or for you to notice him- there was much more about him and the man utilized that to command a room and gain a grip on anyone he wished. 

Right now you were the one in his grip, both figuratively and literally, as you pushed his shorts down and spread his thighs wider. Shuffling a bit closer, you took more of him in, humming around his cock once more as it hit the back of your throat, nose so close to his pelvis, but you managed. The sweat didn’t bother you, neither did the feel of the hard floor under your knees, not when he seemed to be unraveling at your touch. You were enjoying him so much you swore you could suck him off for hours without a reprieve. So what if your throat was sore? If you were tasting his cum and sweat for hours after with every drink and food you devoured? Pressing your tongue up as you pulled off his length, sure to add even more pressure to the piercing and was rewarded with a whiny moan as his body reacted: hips bucking and hand tightening in your hair to hold you still.

Oh so it made him sensitive?

Bobbing your head back down, taking as much of his length as you felt comfortable with, you focused more attention on his tip. Every time you pulled away you added pressure, letting your teeth scrape against it or twisting your head just enough as you pushed back down.

Hongjoong was noisy, between high pitched pants, to low curses under his breath, his fingers in your hair a give away to what he liked best. You used that to your advantage, nails digging into the inside of his thighs when you realized he liked that.

“Ah- fuck- gorgeous- Gunna make me- mmm fuck fuck~” His head kept rolling back but he would push forward to watch you as much as he could, mouth hanging open, teeth clenching in little hisses of pleasure. You hummed and moaned around his cock, picking up pace and pressure as your own need was clouding your thoughts. Have him cum first then maybe you could convince him to fuck you in the showers.

Your nails dug into his thighs more when he started pushing you, just slightly as if guiding, down on his cock. His head rolled back again, moans gaining volume as your name and praise joined the sweet sounds.

In awe of him you nearly choked when his thick cum hit the back of your throat in spurts. You pushed away a bit, lips still latched onto his twitching tip as he emptied his pretty balls on your tongue.

He lifted his head once he was spent, panting heavily and meeting your gaze. He slipped out of your mouth with a loud pop, your tongue lolling out to show the bit of cum still pooled there before you made a show of swallowing it.

“Fuck, Firecracker… I didn’t expect you to do this.” He smoothed out your hair, your scalp a little sensitive from how hard his grip had been.

Smiling, you rested your head on the inside of his knee, smoothing over the crescent marks you had made with your nails and admiring the piercing on his softening cock. “I wanted to. Wanted to show I want you too. I know I wasn’t as… vocal about it. Maybe with work but not in this way.” You tilted your head to look up at him, licking your lips and still tasting him on them. “If you have time… would the showers be private enough? I think Yeosang got enough of a show.” He chuckled, pushing the hair out of your face before gently tapping your cheek. “I should. Stand up for me?” 

Once you did you watched as he pulled up his underwear and shorts. Now you had a moment to admire the work on his arm, you liked learning about them and most people got tattoos that represented a part of them. Plus, tattoos were big in the underworld, often a way to show your rank or who you belonged to.

You noted a few portraits, black rimmed hats and masks, the eyes sharp. There were eight, you counted, surrounded by waves with… with a pirate boat detailed on the upper part of his arm. 

He called your name, moving just as you took note of a few letters on his arm. Sex was no longer on your mind, your brow furrowed as your mouth fell open to speak the first question that formed instead.

But the words were overshadowed by an alarm ringing through the gym and Hongjoong cursing. “Fuck- there’s an emergency.” He quickly pecked your cheek. “Head back to your apartment and wait for a call? I’ll let you know when everything’s okay.” He started grabbing his other things, but you were in shock.

The alarm turned off once he was gone but you were still rooted in place.

From the letters you had been able to make out, two of them had been “B” and “P”, just like Mingi had. 

Were they part of the Black Pirates? Were they… the enemy?

Taglist (Capped): @mingsolo | @wowie-hockey | @crispybaguettes | @tiny-apocalypse

| @philijack | @lelaleleb | @isiloiale | @vannabanana1995  | @piratequeen-queenofgames

| @starstruckforyou | @minheeskitten | @amphiroxx  | @cloudysannie | @sugarnspice630

| @sanhwalvr | @plutoneu |  @sousydive |  @fatalt | @iwishiwasrichasfuck

| @bitchwhytho | @st4rhwa | @thesafecafe | @alextheweeb7 | @ddaeing

Taglist will be continued in a reblog!!

[sitp-recs]

HP Rec Fest 2024

day 9: a wip

so very excited to be reccing two of my favorite authors for @hprecfest today! what a privilege to have WIPs from both of them this year. it feels like an early Christmas gift and I’m so hyped up. I’ll try to keep this short & sweet (LIES) and not give too much away, but I’d love to scream about these with anyone else who’s following them!

First Watch of Night by @tackytigerfic (E)

Harry Potter defeated Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts on May 2nd, 1998. But what if he didn't?

Tacky’s FTH started posting a couple days ago and it’s already consuming everyone’s hearts and minds (as it should). this is the Voldemort wins AU meets time travel multiverse we’ve dreamt about and deserve. the tags were clearly crafted to meet my cravings and paint the most exciting scenario: wartime politics, magical theory, undercover, the list goes on and up to perhaps the most important tag of all (This Fic Asks the Question Would Harry Potter Have Sex With Himsel ‼️) and I am ready to inhale this in an obsessive frenzy. Tacky is my reference when it comes to Drarry romance and gorgeous prose, so I just know this is gonna be epic, heart-wrenching and potentially ruining in the most satisfying ways. I’m extra excited bc (don’t ask me how) I was able to avoid all excerpts posted this year hoping to stay in the dark and I’ll save the experience for my birthday as a lil treat!

I will also say (this time as a personal note) that having been friends with T for some time now, I know what this accomplishment means and how much this journey took from them over the last few years - there’s a renewed sense of pride and appreciation you develop watching your friends achieve something massive like this, I couldn’t be prouder of them!

Little Gods by @the-starryknight (M)

The Ministry claimed that the restrictions on magical education were for the good of wizard-kind, but it doesn't feel like that when Harry works his dull machinist job. With a new mission and the advent of a snowy winter season, Harry and his compatriots might find a way to keep their underground organization alive and plan for future teachings one banned artifact at a time.

my second rec is Starry’s advent fic, which caught me completely off guard and made me scream at my phone in excitement for about 5 minutes. their Christmassy fics have a little altar in my heart and figure in all my comfort lists (see also: A Room Up There). something about the tender and unhurried slow burn, quiet contemplation and wistful tone hit a deep personal place for me. this fic opens up with such an intriguing vibe it got me immediately hooked and in love with this melancholy Harry. I wanna learn everything about his post-war life, his mysterious job and this grim corrupted world that Starry crafts with such impressive detail in about 3k (so far), contrasting with the merry holiday aesthetics. the mood is tense and enthralling, the world building perfectly executed and the hints of a complicated Drarry relationship got me at the edge of my seat yearning for more. now excuse me while I go check ch 7 and you should be doing the same 🫡

[myfavouritefoodismilkbread]

Underworld Ties

Amidst the shadows of Seoul's underworld, Lee Know of Stray Kids Mafia finds himself entangled in a dangerous game of alliances and rivalries. When he crosses paths with a formidable adversary from the Kangs, tensions ignite, revealing a past fraught with unresolved tensions and undeniable attraction. As their worlds collide in a tumultuous dance of power and passion, they must navigate a treacherous path of loyalty, love, and betrayal.

Chapters:

Ch. 1: Blood Feud Ch. 2: Shadows of the Past Ch. 3: The Contract Ch. 4: Hostile Negotiations Ch. 5: Fractured Alliances Ch. 6: Veiled Threats Ch. 7: Dangerous Liaisons Ch. 8: Unlikely Allies Ch. 9: Undercover Ch. 10: Cloack and Dagger Ch. 11: Loyalty Tested Ch. 12: Betrayal Ch. 13: Heart of Darkness Ch. 14: Point of No Return Ch. 15: Revelations Ch. 16: Crossfire Ch. 17: Redemption Ch. 18: Breaking Point Ch. 19: Surrender Ch. 20: Epilogue - Beyond the Shadows

Warnings: enemies to lovers, Lee Know centric, smut at some point, angst, slow burn, violence, guns, (mafia world related stuff). I am not good at warnings sorry.

I'll update every Thursday. <3

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: December 27/24

Happy Final Friday of 2025! Check out these fics to close out this year that have been on my radar this week! Enjoy!!

SIGNAL BOOSTING

Fluent in Silence by justin_case (G, 2,829 w. 2 Ch. || T6T Fix It, Angst with Happy Ending, Mutual Pining, Mary is Not Nice, Cooking, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Texting, Domestic Fluff, Doctor John, Friends To Lovers) – Sherlock never put a tracking device in Ajay’s A.G.R.A. memory stick. Mary sedated Sherlock, left John and Rosie, and never came back.

RECENT MFLs

My Heart at Your Door by Calais_Reno (T, 3,055+ w., 1/7 Ch. || WiP || Pre and Post TRF, Alternate First Meeting AU || First Love, Nostalgia, Undercover Missions, POV Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Reunions) – Years ago, Sherlock Holmes loved John Watson, but they were schoolboys, and when it came time to part ways, Sherlock decided it was for the best that they not stay in touch. The only thing certain about his life at that point was that it would surely tear him and John apart. When he meets John again, he’s just faked his death and is ready to leave London.

'Til the Light Shines by anactoria (M, 6,516 w., 1 Ch. || Johnlock & John/OFC || Post-TRF, Angst, Infidelity, Bad Decisions, Non Fix-It) – When Sherlock reveals he's still alive, things aren't all sunshine and roses. John can't forgive him, and can't promise that he ever will.

Military Man by Sirius3e (T, 7,577 w., 1 Ch. || Pre-Slash, Slow Burn, Therapy, Night Terrors, Slow Romance) – John could concede but not explain how risking his life under the white afghani sun brought him the same enraptured feeling as simply residing under the azure prison of Sherlock’s gaze.

Wee Doctor Series by americanjedi (T, 283,224 w. across 9 works || Time Travel / Adult in Kid Body AU || Grown Up John in 8 Year Old Body, Magical Realism, Conspiracies, Not Kidfic-Kidfic, Paternal Lestrade, Angst, Comfort, Past Abuse) – Dr. John Watson is turned into an eight year old child, dealing with Sherlock who doesn't know him in a world where he was never born. He's a little stressed out, but he's got his priorities straight. Original characters and London as a war zone, and John's accidentally inventing a super genius.

[badbatchposts]

Quiet Corners of the Galaxy, Chapter 9

While on a routine mission for Cid, the Bad Batch encounter a woman fleeing from the Empire. Crosshair suspects her seemingly free-spirited, nomadic existence is actually a cover for something else, but struggles to keep his attraction toward her in check as their personalities and ideals clash.

Relevant tags: Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Periodic Smut, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use

Chapters posted 1-2x weekly!

Read the full fic so far on AO3

Read previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 l Ch. 2 l Ch. 3 l Ch. 4 l Ch. 5 l Ch. 6 l Ch. 7 l Ch. 8

Chapter 9 summary: The Bad Batch debates what to do about Dara as they prep for a mission that will require them to go undercover.

Echo, Hunter, and Crosshair were drinking caf in the cockpit in silence—companionably for Echo and Hunter, grumpily on Crosshair’s part—when Rex’s message came through early the next morning. Brow furrowing a little, Echo summarized it for the others. “Rex says he doesn’t have much for us. Nothing on Dara from his sources or any of the databases he has access to—but he does know that nothing happened on Takodana like she described.”

Crosshair looked vindicated, but Hunter was hardly surprised. “Well, we already thought she was lying about that,” he acknowledged.

Tech joined them. “I have similarly been unable to locate any information on Dara.” 

 “Well, that is concerning,” Hunter admitted. For Tech to somehow come up emptyhanded was much more worrisome.

“Indeed,” Tech replied, eyes glued to his datapad. “While it is predictable that recent information may not be available—given her lifestyle—I am surprised not to have discovered more about her prior residences or activities.”

Crosshair’s expression crossed into triumphant. “See? Now can we get rid of her?”

Hunter hesitated a moment, thinking it through, but Echo interjected before he could voice his opinion. “I think we should keep her around a bit longer. This doesn’t give us anything we didn’t already know, and she could just be lying about Takodana because she doesn’t trust us yet. She showed us yesterday that she can be helpful.”

Tech nodded. “I am rather inclined to agree. Cid’s next task for us requires some intelligence-gathering. Dara is the least likely among us to draw attention while doing so.”

“And maybe we can find out more about her in the meantime to help direct Tech’s background check,” Echo added.

The sniper glared at them. “You all just want to sleep with her,” he accused.  

Hunter bristled. “Come on. We were just kidding around, Crosshair.”

“Is that what you were doing in your bunk last night, then?” Crosshair hissed back.

The pair were moving swiftly towards a fistfight, which was a semi-regular occurrence, although Omega’s presence among the squad had rather toned them both down. Not wanting to have to waste any time mediating or patching them up, Echo and Tech were grateful when they heard their last brother coming on board.

“Wrecker is back with the supplies. Let’s get things squared away so that we can go,” Echo said, a little sternly.

“Dara comes with us until we find a reason otherwise,” Hunter decided. With a final glare between them, he and Crosshair separated, and the squad set to work with their preparations.

The woman herself emerged from the cargo hold a few moments later. “Anything I can do to help?” she asked.

“We are quite alright. Our departure will take place in approximately 30 minutes,” replied Tech, who was overseeing the organization of their new inventory.

“In that case, I just need to pop out for a quick errand. I’ll be back in no time.” Dara exited the Marauder in good spirits, bouncing a little on her heels.

Hunter nodded to Crosshair, who was looking at him expectantly. “Go.”

Once again, Crosshair followed Dara through the city from rooftop to rooftop, trodding the familiar path to the curio shop. As insistent as he had been with his brothers about leaving her behind, a part of him knew that would mean never satisfying his curiosity—never finding out exactly who she was, what made her tick, what she looked like when all those careful walls came tumbling down. He got no answers from his observations; traveling through the city alone again, she was still guarded. Nevertheless, he did notice her amiability drop away, to be replaced with a seriousness and determination, something deadly but controlled. She walked through the streets like someone you didn’t want to fuck with.

Dara was inside the shop for no longer than five minutes before he saw her emerge, returning the way she came. He easily made it back to the ship in advance of her and was sprawled leisurely on one of the benches, a toothpick between his lips, when she arrived back on board.

“Have fun?” he drawled as she sank into the seat opposite him. She ignored him, studying her fingernails disinterestedly as Tech and Echo readied the Marauder for launch. Once they had entered hyperspace, the rest of the squad gathered nearby for their briefing.

Tech began with the background details. “We are heading to Caameris, which hosts the seasonal residence of Fait Prium, founder of Kumalon Laboratories—currently the most profitable pharmaceutical company in the galaxy. The scientific advancements behind Kumalon’s proprietary drugs and technologies are, as might be expected, closely guarded. However, Cid’s client has discovered that Prium maintains backup copies of this information—everything from drug formulas to manufacturing schematics—in a vault somewhere in his villa. Our job is to retrieve that information for the client, which I would surmise is a rival company seeking to discover their competitor’s trade secrets.”

Hunter took over. “The planet is sparsely populated, and the villa is located on a lake on the outskirts of a nearby town. Intel says that a good chunk of the town works for Prium—either in a small lab dedicated to his pet projects or at his estate. Apparently he has something against droids and will only hire organic beings. We’ll need to do some information gathering in the town and surveillance at the villa so we can find out what kind of security we’re facing, worker schedules, and the location of the vault before we finalize our infiltration strategy.”

The team nodded. As Cid’s missions went, this one seemed low stakes; breaking into a mansion was nothing compared to a prison or an imperial facility. Tech continued, “Dara, as you are the least likely among us to attract attention in the town, it may be best for you to attempt to acquire information from the locals while the rest of us conduct surveillance at the villa in shifts.”

Hunter regarded her seriously. “I’m not sure how I feel about you going on your own. There shouldn’t be any danger, but I’d feel better if one of us were there to watch your back.”

Dara smiled charmingly at him. “Of course. One of you can come with me, but it would mean getting out of your armor for a change. And maybe toning down some of your more…conspicuous traits.”

“Not likely,” Crosshair growled.

Echo grinned a bit sheepishly. “That might be a bit harder for some of us than others,” he pointed out, waving his scomp link.

“Fair,” Dara chuckled. “I personally think Tech is our best candidate. Wrecker and Echo are too memorable, and, well…” She traced a finger along the side of her face, mirroring Hunter’s tattoo, and winked at him.

Tech shook his head. “I will need to be with the surveillance team to assess the villa’s automated security systems.”

“I can just go alone, then. I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Dara offered.

Hunter’s face remained thoughtful, as though he were seeking the most viable solution, but the sniper swore for a moment that he caught a mischievous gleam passing through his eyes before he ordered, “Take Crosshair.”

Seeing them both immediately open their mouths to protest, Hunter retreated to the cockpit before he had to hear their objections, leaving the pair glaring at his back.

Next chapter

Tag List: @stardusthuntress @skellymom

[harrowreads]

❥ Yoongi Fic Recs

❣ Each blurb gives a glimpse of the contents of each fic, but be sure to read the warnings before proceeding! ❣

Yoongi is my main bias + main obsession so plz don't perceive the length of this list, okay. It's going to be absolutely ridiculous.

❥ 12 Lays of Christmas: Day 2 by minisugakoobies | drabble, tumblr ↳ Gift wrapping with your boyfriend goes a little awry. ❣ Gender Non-Specified Reader ❣ smut, pwp | established relationship ↻ read my review

❥ All That Holly Jolly Sh*t by daechwitatamic | oneshot, tumblr ↳ You haven’t seen or heard from Yoongi since he broke your heart five years ago, laying out a logical list of reasons why you were better off breaking up. When a Christmas Eve blizzard traps you together for the night, you have no choice but to examine how few of those reasons are still true. And if they’re not… where does that leave you? ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, fluff, angst | exes to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Best Served Cold by anotherbtswriter | series, tumblr ↳ Yoongi shields his eyes from the flames. Smoke coats his throat, and he pants for breath. As he lies on the wet pavement, he realizes that this Molotov cocktail, this cheap-ass, dime-store intimidation tactic currently burning through his club, is a plan to intimidate him. First, he was annoyed. Now he’s pissed. ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, fluff, angst | exes to lovers ↻ read my reviews: ch. 1, ch. 2, ch. 3, ch.4

❥ Blackthorn by sweetestofchaos | series, tumblr ↳ Min Yoongi, the last Emperor of the Joseon dynasty was betrothed to a foreign Princess from the time he could walk. The two exchanged many letters and gifts over the years as their love bloomed. Emperor Yoongi loved his Princess and it was on their wedding day that he was finally able to express his true feelings with his actions and not just his words. The love story of Emperor Yoongi and Empress Keena has been passed down from generation to generation; a love story so strong that it had surpassed the passage of time. Now a millennium later, the Emperor and Empress have been reborn at the same time…will history repeat itself or will the two become victims of the difficulties placed in their path? ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, fluff, angst | strangers to lovers, arranged marriage au, soulmate au, fantasy ↻ read my reviews: ch. 1, ch. 2, ch. 3, ch. 4, ch. 5, ch. 6, ch. 7, ch. 8, ch. 9, ch. 10, ch. 11, ch. 12

❥ Cybersex by gimmethatagustd | oneshot, tumblr ↳ The whole point of being a phone sex hotline operator is that you’ll never have to meet your clients. So what are you supposed to do when you find out your favorite client is your brother’s best friend?  ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, fluff, humor | brother's best friend, friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Defrosting Ivy by moccahobi ↳  In a world where the 3 apex predators (humans, vampires, and werewolves) have been in a long standing power imbalance, Y/n is tasked with going undercover as a diplomat for the start of peace talks. What do they need to do? Find a talisman their organization has managed to identify as vital in resolving the conflict and ensuring the safety of all humans. ❣ Female Reader ❣ fluff, angst | supernatural au, enemies to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Devil Town by park-jimin-isnt-real | series, tumblr ❥ Chapter 1: Somewhere Lost - the guide ↳ You wake up on a bench in a forest, with no memory before then or recollection of how you got there. The person greeting you gives you three options: going into the Great Unknown (to never be seen again), wandering the woods (until you become an Edelwood tree), or spending a month in Devil Town. ❣ Female Reader ❣ platonic, light angst | over the garden wall au, speculative ↻ read my review

❥ Drip by here2bbtstrash | oneshot, tumblr ↳ When Yoongi makes the bold statement that any girl can squirt, you decide to call him on his bluff. ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, pwp | friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ F*ck Christmas by sailoryoons | oneshot, tumblr ↳ Making hating Christmas your entire personality was never the plan. Then again, it seems bad things only ever happen around Christmas - like discovering your fiancé cheating on you, forcing you to move back to your sleepy hometown. But Min Yoongi happens to love Christmas, and if there is one thing your very stubborn childhood crush is going to do, it’s try to reignite your Christmas spirit. Even if he has to force-feed it to you with gingerbread cookies and too-sweet eggnog. ❣ Female Reader ❣ fluff, smut, humor | friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Good Fortune & A New Beginning by moonleeai | oneshot, tumblr ↳ Grumpy neighbor Yoongi is secretly a softie. ❣ Female Reader, 1st person ❣ fluff | strangers to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ If Walls Could Talk by btsrunmyiife | unfinished oneshot, tumblr ↳ You’re part of a web series of paranormal investigators that take cases from clients who believe their homes are haunted. While working in such close proximity, it’s only natural for some of you to gravitate toward one another – whether it be for stress relief or more. ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut | coworkers who fuck ❣ warnings: paranormal themes, mention of suicide ↻ read my review

❥ Invisible String by btsrunmyiife | series, tumblr ↳ Sometimes the hardest thing in life is letting yourself be seen. ❣ Female Reader ❣ queer, smut, fluff, angst | social media au, college au, strangers to friends to lovers ❣ warnings: topics of sexual assault & racial discrimination ↻ read my review

❥ Kick Up the Fire and Let the Flames Break Loose by ffion451 | series, tumblr ↳ Years after you gave up on him, Kim Taehyung appears back in your life: Are you the same person you were back then? Do you still love him? And why is it, with the supposed love of your life back, that you can’t stop thinking about the taciturn rapper who you has just come into your life? ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Taehyung ❣ smut, angst | friends to enemies to strangers to ?, strangers to friends to ? ↻ read my reviews: ch. 0, ch. 1

❥ Let Me by sailoryoons | oneshot, tumblr ↳ You’ve been friends with Yoongi for as long as you remember. When he tells you he’s never - and he means never - received oral in his life, you take it upon yourself to lend a mouth hand. ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, pwp | friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Nothing to Hide by gimmethatagustd | oneshot, tumblr ↳ It’s your boyfriend’s first Pride Month since coming out, and you’re determined to make sure he has the time of his life. ❣ Female Reader ❣ queer, smut, pwp | established relationship ↻ read my review

❥ Obsidian by sailoryooons | series, tumblr ↳ You remember everything. The first time you radiated at garnet, feeling the power of the jewel rushing through you. Remember the energy pulsing at your command. And you certainly remember the face of the man who ruined your life. Then there’s Min Yoongi, the Chaotic who is the key to your revenge.  ❣  angst, eventual smut | strangers to lovers, urban fantasy, crime syndicate ❣ warnings: graphic violence, morally grey characters ↻ read my reviews: ch. 0, ch. 1, ch. 2

❥ Please Linger by matchy6812 | series, tumblr ↳ After terrorizing the villagers with one too many pranks, you’ve been locked away in The Tower to atone for your petty crimes. As far as you know, The Tower is impenetrable. Nobody can get in, and nobody can get out. It seems you’ll never escape—until one night, a man named Yoongi barges in… ❣ Female Reader ❣ humor, slow burn, smut, angst | fantasy au, strangers to lovers ↻ read my reviews: ch. 1, ch. 2, ch. 3

❥ Right Here Right Now by hobidreams | oneshot, tumblr ↳ What if little red wants to be eaten by the big bag wolves? ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Hoseok & Namjoon ❣ group, smut, pwp, humor | werewolf au, college au, friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Suga's How-To Guide: How to Tr(eat) Them Right by sailoryoons | oneshot, tumblr ↳ Min Yoongi has been a cam boy for a few years now. The work is easy, the money is good, and he has loyal viewers. When he approaches you and asks if you want to be his muse for a ‘how-to’ series, your view on the infamous Yoongi changes. ❣ Female Reader ❣ smut, pwp | friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Taste by 7deadlysinsfics | drabble, tumblr ↳ Hoseok is in a sharing mood and his best friend is so, so thankful. ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Hoseok ❣ threesome, implied smut | established relationship, strangers to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Taste So Sweet by btsrunmyiife | oneshot, tumblr ↳ Yoongi is helping you experience something new, something you’ve always wanted to try. All you wanted to do was kiss a girl. You should have known it would be so much more than you imagined.  ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Hwasa ❣ threesome, queer, pwp, smut | college au, established relationship + friends to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ The Earth, Your Butt, and Other Big...Flat Things? by matchy6812 | oneshot, tumblr ↳ When your world-famous boyfriend reveals himself to be an apparent flat earther, you decide to hold a modern exorcism—as in, you’re gonna try to fuck the stewpid out of him. ❣ Female Reader ❣ humor, smut, pwp | idol au, established relationship ↻ read my review

❥ Twirl for Me by gimmethatagustd | series, tumblr ↳ You’re perfectly content with admiring your ballet student’s father from afar, until he discovers the secret of your second job when he pays for a VIP room at the local strip club. What’s worse is your new knowledge of his secret life that won’t let you get him off your mind, no matter how awful it is. ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Jungkook ❣ smut, angst, slow burn | stripper au, strangers to lovers ↻ read my review

❥ Versus by minisugakoobies | series, tumblr ↳ Supervillain exes Yoongi and Hoseok are sick and tired of having their plans for world domination wrecked by you, aka Vitality, the world’s most powerful superhero. When fellow villain Jimin suggests a little competition to see who can bring you to your knees, they both eagerly accept. Now the battle is on as both men engage you in fight after fight to see who will conquer you first. Will you finally defeat these two, or will they destroy you - and possibly take each other out in the process? ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Hoseok ❣ smut, humor, fluff, angst | supervillain au, enemies to lovers ❣ warnings: some violence, use of weapons, fighting ↻ read my review

Yoongi x Reader as a side pairing:

❥ Business as Usual by blog-name-idk | series, tumblr ↳ The first thing Jin noticed about you was that you were hot. The second was that you were fucking brilliant. The third was that you were kind of a bitch. Basically, you were perfect. | The first thing you noticed about Jin was that he was hot. The second was the professors already called him by name. The third was that he was an insufferable prick. Basically, you hated his guts. ❣ Female Reader | Feat. Seokjin as main pairing ❣ smut, fluff, humor | college au, enemies to lovers ↻ read my reviews: masterlist, ch. 1, ch. 4

❥ The Love Witch by gimmethatagustd | oneshot, tumblr ↳ Despite being a popular romance blogger, Yoongi isn’t interested in finding love. He only summons a demon boyfriend to prove to his followers that it’s possible. He’ll send Taehyung right back to Hell once he’s done with him, obviously. ❣ Yoongi x Taehyung ❣ smut, fluff, humor, hint of angst | modern fantasy au, fake dating, strangers to lovers ↻ read my review

Namjoon | Seokjin | Yoongi | Hoseok | Jimin | Taehyung | Jungkook

[daydreamgoddess14]

Slow Horses Masterlist

FULL MASTERLIST

Tumblr & AO3 links included throughout.

* = Complete

🔥 = Smutty

River Cartwright / OFC

First Impressions *🔥

CH 1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6 | CH 7

River gets arrested and ends up making an unexpected friend.

River Cartwright/OFC. romantic fluff, mature rating (language, sexy sex)

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45296293/chapters/113959621

Guilty as Sin *🔥

River Cartwright/OFC (you/reader insert, no use of Y/N, L/N). Lots of smutty smut and jealousy, River feeling feelings, language warning. Mature rating.

You're undercover and it turns out River is incredibly jealous.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58567966

Stitches *

River Cartwright/OFC (you/reader insert, no use of Y/N, L/N). Cute little fluffy fluff in response to a reader request: OC fixes him up when he gets back to Slough House a bit worse for the wear. You know he’d hate the fuss of it.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58570063

The Ties that Bind *🔥

CH 1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6 | CH 7

River Cartwright/OFC. Romantic fluff, mature rating on the way (language, sexy sex)

River decides, finally, that David needs some help at home, so sets about employing someone to do just that without really thinking of the consequences.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58728271/chapters/149654842

The Escape Artist *🔥

River Cartwright x OFC

Warnings: *I want to be super clear on warnings so this might give away a handful of spoilers* Mentions & depictions of DV (not graphic or laboured), minor mentions of SV (not dubcon or rape, more like coercion and 'feeling obligated'), stalking, impact of all of this shit on a child, OFC is a single mother so there are depictions of motherhood.

Ella Cole - the only reject at Slough House to view her banishment as a fresh start and a chance to change her life for the better. Ella never again wants to draw attention to herself the way she did at the Park, but the past has a nasty habit of catching up with even the most cautious of people, and Ella is about to find out that keeping herself distanced from everyone is no guarantee she can keep them safe.

CH 1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6 | CH 7 | CH 8 | CH 9 | CH 10

Bad Day *🔥

One shot taken from an excellent prompt:

River x female!reader insert, where after a really shitty day, River wants to help make his girl feel good/take her mind off her day, by spending the evening going down on her? I mean… have you seen the guy’s mouth?!

Blurb *🔥

Based on the hottest photo I've ever seen 🥵

Christmas Spirit(s) * 🔥

From the Ficmas 2024 Prompt - Work Christmas Party

River x female!reader insert

[fxreflyes]

Hello! I saw the end from the begging and the bloodlands sound fire 👀 can you please tell me about them? :))

hi Nico!!! 💖💖 thank you for asking 🥰

Answered the bloodlands here! But as a short summary it is an prequel to my marauders clue Au and would take place in 1944 on the eastern front & the MC’s would be Remus, reg, barty & Evan as undercover spies in a Soviet gulag

I saw the end from the beginning is a POA au if it had happened 9 years earlier! So Sirius escapes, but Remus is very much not doing well. drama ensues. I really haven’t figured out the plot a lot this one is a whole lot of angst haha. Including a snippet from a few ch in the future under the cut :) (i don’t rlly like it but its what we got haha)

He might have been a beast, but what he hungered for wasn’t to sink his teeth into flesh. He starved for someone to sit with, to laugh with, to talk to, not out of obligation, but because they could think of no better way to pass the time.

He wondered if he was the first monster to be lonely. He wondered if all monsters were lonely.

He wondered if that was what a monster was: a creature permanently alone. 

Every time he considered joining the others, he thought of the price his skin would fetch and the pages in the library he had read and so Remus hungered in silence and kept his head down the way one did when they lived always waiting for the next blow, his entire being held in a permanent flinch. 

Wip fic game

[soupernatural]

wip tag game! tagged by @deanology101

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs

under the cut because i need to be stopped and there are too many

1. jo/meg 2. empty freak sex 3. robela 4. annamaryruby 5. rhonda?????? 6. rituals of healing 7. annaruby 8. scientology 9. wall lovin. ch. 2 10. lonely hearts club 11. big ol armed cas 12. bloody mary 13. mary infidelity fic 14. itgnatural 15. passionnatural 16. two discount lives c2 17. marylie mario cart 18. alien abduction housewife mary 19. anna cupid 20. dexternatural 21. ruff life 22. deancas shaving help 23. annamary fall 24. hitman / serial killer 25. fanning the flame 26. moonin' 27. forcing forget 28. barista dean 29. uniformed 30. dean undercover fake dating to lovers 31. florist cas 32. moc alternate cure 33. baby stolen rogue cop dean 34. autoshop art studio 35. grease 36. you'll think of someone 37.when we drive 38. claire weed fic 39. john killed mary au 40. destiel ai au 41. gone girl sam 42. annamary possession fic 43. mother mary 44. gracefreak claire au

[saiilorstars]

ch.9: And It All Came Crashing Down

Steve Rogers x OFC fic • squeeze your eyes for a Bucky Barnes x (2nd) OFC

taglist: @ocappreciationtag​​​​​​​​​​​​ @arrthurpendragon​​​​​​​​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​​​​​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​​​​​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​​​​​​ @gloryekaterina​​​ @averyhotchner​​​ @foxesandmagic​​​​​​​​​​​​ @lenonizi @kmc1989​​​​​​​​​​​​

Story Masterlist • Seren’s Masterlist• Chloe’s Masterlist​​

Also available on Fanfic ○ Ao3 ○ Wattpad

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

Steve followed Rumlow all the way to SHIELD dead silent, not having anything to say despite Rumlow's subtle attempts to get him talking. Knowing what he knew now, Steve knew that SHIELD was not the place to be honest. It was infested with liars and moles and double intentions and the worst part is that he didn't know who was who. He couldn't take the chance right now. Chloe was on the verge of a mental breakdown and Seren was only just escaping death now. Natasha was still in the gray area, truthfully.

He got into his stealth suit, his intuition just telling him it was better to be prepared in case anything happened. He was led to Alexander Pierce himself who was talking to a very familiar agent (just another reminder of the lies).

Sharon turned to leave Pierce and regarded Steve politely, even asking him how Seren was doing. Only out of gratitude for helping him save Seren, he answered her. He still kept his tone short and he did not look at her. Luckily, Sharon took the hint and continued on her way.

"How is Agent Soul?" Pierce asked once they were alone.

"Doing better now," Steve replied. She was practically kicking to get out of bed and back to work; she was back to her normal self. Still, he didn't add anything extra. He remembered Seren mentioning that the World Council wasn't exactly fond of her and her work.

"Good, that's good," Pierce nodded, leaving behind the subject soon after. "Well, I know introductions aren't very well needed from your end but I'm Alexander Pierce." He shook hands with Steve.

"It's an honor," Steve said quietly. What else could he say?

"The honor is mine, Captain. My father served in the 101st. Come on in." He led Steve inside his office and soon showed him a photo of himself with Fury. "That photo was taken five years after Nick and I met. When I was at the State Department in Bogota. ELN rebels took the embassy, and security got me out, but the rebels took hostages. Nick was deputy chief for the SHIELD station there. And he comes to me with a plan. He wants to storm the building through the sewers. I said, 'No, we'll negotiate' Turned out the ELN didn't negotiate, so they put out a kill order. They stormed the basement, and what did they find? They find it empty. Nick had ignored my direct order and carried out an unauthorized military operation on foreign soil. He saved the lives of a dozen political officers, including my daughter."

Not telling someone what he was going to actually do sounded exactly like something Nick Fury would do. "So you gave him a promotion."

"I've never had any cause to regret it. Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?"

Well, at least Pierce was direct. Steve would give him that.

"I don't know," Steve replied.

"You know he had the apartment bugged at one point?" Pierce saw the horrified look on Steve's face and took it as the answer. "Agent Winters made him take it down but Fury only allowed it on the condition that special Agent 13 take up an undercover post next door."

"That I knew," Steve said, "Because Agent Soul informed me once she found out."

"Mm…" Pierce didn't seem that surprised. Steve suspected that Seren's inability to fall in line with the lying part of the job is what made her undesirable in Pierce's mind. "I want you to see something." Pierce picked up a tablet on his desk and showed Steve footage of Batroc in an interrogation room.

"Is that live?" Steve asked, genuinely curious as he watched a SHIELD agent painlessly try to get information out of the man.

"Yeah, they picked him up last night in a not-so-safe house in Algiers."

"Are you saying he's a suspect? Assassination isn't Batroc's line."

"No, it's more complicated than that. Batroc was hired anonymously to attack the Lemurian Star and he was contacted by e-mail and paid by wire transfer. And then the money was run through seventeen fictitious accounts, the last one going to a holding company that was registered to a Jacob Veech."

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Steve said just as Pierce handed him a file.

"Not likely. Veech died six years ago. His last address was 14-35 Elmhurst Drive. When I first met Nick, his mother lived at 14-37."

It took only a second for Steve to realize what Pierce was getting at. "Are you…are you saying Fury hired the pirates? Why?"

"The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. The sale went sour and that led to Nick's death."

And as much as Steve was irritated with Fury, he just couldn't see that being the reason. Fury was everything you believed, except a traitor. "If you really knew Nick Fury you'd know that's not true."

"Why do you think we're talking? See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry. Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"

"He told me not to trust anyone," Steve said, "As well as Agent Winters."

"Mm, I wonder if that included them both," Pierce said with a small frown. "Agent Winters was also asked to make herself present." Steve started noting the growing irritation in the man's voice. "She takes too much liberty just because she's under — was under — Fury's direct orders."

"I asked her to stay with Agent Soul," Steve said, now really patting himself on the back for making Chloe stay behind. Something wasn't sitting right anymore and the further away they were from SHIELD, the better. "I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse me." Something in his mind was yelling at him to get back to the hospital as fast as possible.

"Captain," Pierce's call stopped Steve by the door. "Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone. Tell Agent Winters to report herself immediately."

Steve nodded. "Understood." Not in this lifetime. He picked up his pace down the hall to leave.

~ 0 ~

Seren was done lying down. As much as Chloe told her not to, Seren pushed herself into a sitting position on the bed. She wasn't stupid. She took the opportunity as soon as Natasha stepped out of the room for a moment.

"Alright Chloe, whatever you need to say, say it now or I swear to God that I'm gonna get out of this bed right now!"

"Seren, please don't over-exert yourself," Chloe came around Seren's bedside to get her to lie back down but unfortunately, she was no Steve Rogers and so Seren easily shoved her away.

"Enough with that!" Seren practically yelled. "I am not lying back down, I am not just going to stay here and do nothing while God knows what is happening out there!"

Chloe panicked when Seren started swinging her legs to the side of the bed with all the intentions of getting up. "Okay, okay, okay!" Chloe threw her hands in front of her. "I'll talk but just — put your — please stay in bed!"

"Then talk," Seren said through gritted teeth. "Who the hell killed Nick?"

"I-I'm pretty sure it was the Ghost—"

"I don't know who the hell this 'Ghost' is!" snapped Seren. "But I'm willing to bet that you already told Steve because he had this look on his face that I..." She shook her head. "And I'm trying not to feel offended because we've known each other longer than you've known him."

Chloe sighed and started pacing in front of the bed. "It's not good, Seren. It's really not good."

"I can tell," Seren said, gesturing to Chloe's current act. "What is going on?"

Chloe stopped pacing for a moment to meet Seren's waiting eyes. Her stomach was in knots. Steve was right, she had to tell Seren everything but how? Years worth of secrets were about to come to the surface and all of them were going to hurt her best friend. "You know that I'm very grateful with you, right?"

Seren sighed. She knew a tactic when she saw one. "Yes..."

Chloe licked her upper lip nervously. "Then you know that no matter what, I do not regret meeting you."

Seren raised an eyebrow at Chloe. "Why do you say that?"

"You have to understand that if I didn't say anything before is because I truly thought — I truly believed — that keeping you in the dark was the better option. I didn't want to put you in more danger and I just didn't want to disillusion you with something that has been your entire life."

"'Disillusion'?" Seren frowned. "Why-why do you say that? What didn't you tell me about?"

"Just remember that no matter what, it wasn't all fake and that there are people who truly adore you and appreciate all your work," Chloe said, stopping her pacing to face Seren. "Like me—"

"Chloe—"

"—and Natasha, Fury, definitely Steve—"

"CHLOE!"

"There's moles in SHIELD!" Chloe blurted and for a long while, there was nothing but silence.

Seren's lips parted as she gasped with Chloe's words. Very slowly, but surely, her eyebrows pinched together and her nose scrunched. "What the hell did you just say?"

Chloe passed her hands through her hair, hoping that she wasn't going to sound as crazy as the story was. "There are moles in SHIELD. Too many to count and we don't know who's one and who's not except for me, obviously you and Steve, then Natasha and Maria. Fury, of course is a given."

"What?" Seren glanced at her monitoring machine and wondered if the meds had affected her hearing.

"It's true, I swear," Chloe said once she realized what Seren was thinking. "There's moles within SHIELD and some of them, or maybe all of them, have been trying to hurt me ever since I joined."

Seren's eyes flickered to Chloe. "Excuse me?"

Chloe sighed. "Ever since I joined S.H.I.E.L.D., somebody—people—have been stalking me. In the beginning, they tried to kill me but then they stopped. They just...watched. I knew they were there, no matter how much I traveled. They wanted to kidnap me, I knew it. There were subtle attempts but they hadn't tried to kill me anymore until today."

"Oh my God, I am going insane..." Seren went to rip out her monitors from her fingers when Chloe pushed her hands away.

"No, stop! I'm telling you the truth!"

"What!?" Seren exclaimed. "You're telling me that the place I have worked for since I was a kid, basically, is filled with liars and murderers!? Stalkers!?" There was absolutely no way to describe what she felt and Chloe was conscious enough of the fact to not be offended that for a split moment, Seren didn't believe her. "I-I have worked there my entire life. I have—"

"I know," Chloe sighed. "You have given so much to...to people who didn't deserve it. And you have no idea how sorry I am—"

"No," Seren gritted her teeth. "This isn't...this isn't happening, no." She shook her head.

"I would have told you but...Fury thought it would be best to keep the circle between just us."

"Fury?" Seren frowned. "He did this?"

"He helped me, Seren," Chloe said before Seren started throwing any accusations around. "He made sure that only he knew the exact locations of my missions. It's why they were always spontaneous and all over the world. He had to keep the moles out my business."

And then something struck Seren's mind, something that she had dismissed because she felt compeltely awful for ever doubting in the first place...

"Do you realize that you've been working here for years and you didn't even know that your Agent Winters has little, almost nothing, to prove that she actually works for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"That's impossible," Seren said flatly. "I've written reports about Chloe over her time here. In fact, I was the one who brought her to S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place. I've seen her grow up from a teenager into a young woman."

"Yeah? Well there's nothing to show for it."

"Stark knew..." Seren mumbled. Her hands fell one either side of her and gripped the bed. "Stark told me this the first time we met. He told me...he told me that your record had very little to show that...that you worked for SHIELD." She raised her head to see Chloe's guilt-riddened face. "And then I went—" she pointed at herself, "—and got your file out and it was—"

Chloe nodded. "It was filled with all your reports about me." Seren was shell-shocked. "Yeah, I...I knew that would happen. Fury, he...he—"

"He fixed it," Seren said sharp enough to make Chloe wince. "He lied. Oh my God..." She brought her hands up to her hair. "I hate liars and you...you have been lying to me for years?"

"Seren, I didn't want to, I was...I was scared. I'm sorry!" Chloe swallowed hard. "I truly thought that this was the only way to keep you and everyone else safe. It's why I never contacted my parents again, why I kept my visits to my aunt and cousin very short. But I never thought that...that they would try to hurt you."

"What?"

"It was a mistake of targets. Seren, the cyanide poison was meant for me, not you. My chocolates were poisoned, I know they were. They had to be. Cyanide kills humans. You just got lucky you're not entirely human."

"Cyanide poisoning can be reversed if treated on time," Seren recited by memory. "SHIELD is very thorough with training. That's the training I was taking as a frikin teenager. Because that's where my life has been..." She didn't want them but tears were pooling in her eyes. "They were trying to kill you...or kidnap you..."

"It's the tech piece and the Hive Mind," Chloe said quietly, her own eyes glistening with tears. "It's gotta be. I touched something I shouldn't have and the people who owned the tech want it back. There's always been something wrong but we never had the evidence to support it."

"You could have said something," Seren gritted her teeth. "I have always defended S.H.I.E.L.D. from everyone, including my own family! And now they may actually be right!?"

"I'm really sorry Seren—"

Seren raised a finger to stop Chloe. "You have been lying to me for years?" Chloe nodded silently. Seren brought her hands to her forehead, pulling back her hair as she took in a deep breath. "I brought you in...I wanted you to be safe. But instead I brought you into more danger…"

"Seren, it's not your fault," Chloe quickly said. "You are the least culpable party in this. Whatever has happened at S.H.I.E.L.D….you have always been the best of it. You...you're Stardust. You saved my life—"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes!" Chloe exclaimed. "Because if you hadn't found me, those people might have kidnapped me a long time ago. I may not have made it."

Seren stayed quiet. Chloe looked close to crumbling. She looked far younger today, almost like the 17 year old she found in the abandoned building. But she was also furious. She was furious at everything around her.

"I'm sorry, Seren," Chloe sniffed. "I know I shouldn't beg you not to be angry with me because I deserve it. I deserve your anger but you're the only person I have who I can really trust. My family hates me and I can't imagine where I'll be if you end up hating me too!" She got down on her knees in front of Seren and grabbed both her hands. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Seren was gently pulled with Chloe's sobs but she didn't say anything. She was speechless, and yet her mind was spiraling with so many different thoughts and feelings. The whole time she thought she was doing something good for the world, she could have been doing someone's dirty work instead. She gave up so many years of her life — some would say her entire life — and now she comes to learn that it was all for nothing?

"Chloe, get up," she ordered. "First of all, it's a hospital, the floors are disgusting — get up." She shook her hands until it forced Chloe to get back up.

Chloe's entire face was stained with tears. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. You have every right to hate me."

"I don't..." Seren let out a heavy breath. "I don't hate you, Chloe. I can't. But that doesn't mean that I'm happy with you right now. Or anyone else for that matter."

Chloe wiped her tears with the backs of her hands. "You should only be mad at me. Nobody else knew, except for Fury of course."

"And Natasha? What about Steve? I mean, that is why you two were acting so strange before he left."

"Oh God no!" Chloe panicked when she saw new ire flash across Seren's eyes. "Neither of them knew! I just told Steve the truth and that was only because he and Natasha basically cornered me. But I swear that Steve didn't lie to you. He told me that...that I had to tell you. Either I did, or he would. Don't get mad at him because of what I did."

Seren swallowed hard. "He didn't lie?"

"No," Chloe said, quickly bending down in front of Seren again. She took both of Seren's hands in hers. "God, everything is already so wrong, I don't want to ruin anything else for you."

As angry as Seren was, and she was, she couldn't help the heavy feeling that settled in her stomach knowing what she knew now. "That...that's my entire life," she whispered. "My whole life has always been about SHIELD. All the countless arguments with my parents...my mother and my grandmother hate each other because of this. Because of me...because I worked for them..."

Chloe began to shake her head. "N-n-n-no, this isn't on you. It's not even on Atria. Some bad people decided to infiltrate something that was supposed to be good."

"Yeah, but..." Seren's expression began to crack and suddenly the anger that was once there was quickly being replaced with anguish. "Chloe, that's been my life! My—my—!"

Chloe started to hear the monitor beeping and realized Seren's pressure was rising. "Oh God, Seren you have to calm down!"

"I can't!" Seren cried. "SHIELD is a whole lie! You've been — you've been stalked for years, almost killed! Everything I know is a lie!" And then she panicked when she thought about the implications it meant for others. "Oh my God!" Her eyes widened. "My parents! My-my phone! Where's my phone!? I have to tell them what's happening!"

Chloe continued to hear the monitor practically raging at this point. "Seren, I'm begging you to calm down! You're still not completely well—"

"I DON'T CARE!" Seren then looked at her hands and started ripping off any monitors attached to her.

"No! Stop that!" Chloe hurried to put things back on her but she was no match against Seren's strength. Seren would push her hands away every time and rage about her phone and getting to talk with her parents.

Natasha came rushing in with a 'what the hell is going on?' and immediately went to help Chloe put Seren down. "God, Winters, what the hell!?" Natasha couldn't help but blame Chloe just a little bit. "She's supposed to be taking it easy—"

"I know!" Chloe exclaimed, already ridden with guilt about everything else. "But she's—"

"Screw this, and sorry in advance, Seren!" Natasha quit trying and ran out of the room again.

"Get off me! Get off!" Seren continued to yell against Chloe's hands. A few seconds later, her fears returned in full-fledged form as a few nurses came rushing into the room. "N-n-n-n-n-no!" She immediately pulled her hands away from Chloe.

"Wait, wait—" Chloe was shoved to the side by one of the nurses and as she tried moving on them again, Natasha came back inside. "Natasha, what—"

"It's for her own good!" Natasha said, yanking Chloe to her side.

"That's for her own good?" Chloe said incredulously, gesturing towards the chaotic scene of nurses trying to put Seren down.

Seren screamed and thrashed against the nurses, begging for them to leave her alone. One of the nurses managed to inject her with a sedative and little by little, the cries and thrashes slowed. Seren's words slurred and finally, she fell unconscious.

Chloe felt completely awful. As soon as the nurses left, she hurried to Seren's bedside. "I did this...I did this to her...I told her everything..."

"Gave her a crisis," Natasha said, coming up to the foot of the bed. Chloe glared at her. "Don't look at me like that, Winters. She was going to have a whole breakdown and neither you nor I are strong enough to keep her down."

"What are we going to tell Steve when he comes back and he sees this?"

Natasha shrugged. "Exactly what I just said. I'm sure he'd rather have her here then rampaging down the block in her state. Besides, Seren's metabolism runs faster so the sedative won't last as long."

"And if she wakes up in another crisis?"

"Then we'll do the same thing."

Chloe ran a hand from her forehead through her hair. "This isn't how things were supposed to go. What the hell do we do now? I'm supposed to go to SHIELD..."

"No you're not. Not until Steve gets back and we know exactly what's going on. Until then grab a chair and make yourself comfortable." Natasha started making her way out of the room when Chloe called to her.

"What are you going to do?"

"Get a snack," Natasha said, "Maybe some gum," she said before disappearing.

Chloe had no idea what to do so she grabbed the chair in the room and pulled it close to Seren's bedside and sunk down.

~ 0 ~

Lately, Steve felt like he was running faster than ever. He couldn't reach the hospital any sooner and he had done everything to get there as fast as possible. He practically fled SHIELD and to avoid any trackers on him, he abandoned his stealth suit and grabbed some normal clothes. He wanted to appear normal but that was impossible given how he dashed down the corridors. He couldn't help it.

SHIELD was coming after him and no doubt Chloe. And where was Chloe right now? With Seren.

His anxiety calmed for a brief moment when he saw Natasha standing outside Seren's room keeping guard. He gave her a slight nod then stopped at the vending machine just two doors down. He looked down at the choices and...panicked. The USB he'd stuck in there wasn't there anymore. Before he could even think about where it went, he heard footsteps draw behind him followed by the distinct sound of bubblegum popping. He looked up and saw Natasha's reflection on the vending machine. She blew a bright pink bubble with her gum and popped it like nothing.

After everything he'd gone through, everything his friends and girlfriend went through...Steve snapped.

He whirled around and seized Natasha's arm. He dragged her down the end of the hall and shoved her into one of the small break rooms, straight up against the wall. "Where is it!?" He demanded.

Even through all that, Natasha wasn't at all phased. "Safe," she barely uttered when Steve slammed her on the wall again.

"Do better!"

Natasha had never seen him that irate about something, nor that aggressive. "Where'd you get it?" She said curiously. Her mind was working up some plausible reasons for this behavior. "What happened at SHIELD?"

Steve towered over her. "Why would I tell you?" He was well aware that she was studying his new change of clothes.

"Fury gave it to you," she worked it out. "But why?"

"What's on it?"

"I don't know—"

"Stop lying!" Steve snapped through gritted teeth.

"I only act like I know everything, Rogers!"

"I bet you knew Fury hired the pirates, didn't you?" Of course as soon as he asked the question, Steve knew that she didn't.

For a brief moment, Natasha allowed her bewilderment before she reclaimed her coolness. "Well, it makes sense. The ship was dirty, Fury needed a way in, so do you."

"I'm not gonna ask you again…too many people have been hurt because you all keep lying."

"It's a game, Rogers. We all have to play it in this line of work."

"Not everyone," Steve said, eyeing her until she admitted that the 'game' had not been played by every single employee.

Natasha barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "We get it. You like Soul."

"Natasha, I swear to God—"

"I know who killed Fury." The certainly in Natasha's tone brought Steve to a pause. "So does Winters, she just doesn't know it."

Steve's brows furrowed. "The Ghost?"

Natasha nodded. "Winters told me everything and I realized who she was talking about. Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years."

"So he is a ghost. A ghost story," Steve almost rolled his eyes. He needed facts right now, not stories.

"Don't be fooled," Natasha said. "Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me." Natasha lifted part of her shirt to reveal a scar on the side of her stomach. It couldn't be faked. "Soviet slug, no rifling. Bye-bye bikinis."

Steve was dead silent. She wasn't a mole. "Yeah..." he stepped back from her, "I bet you look terrible in them now."

Natasha wanted to smile. "Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried." She raised the USB for him to take. "Like you said, he's a ghost story."

Steve took the USB from her. "Well, let's find out what the ghost wants. I'm pretty sure it has to involve, at least partly, a scared blonde with an alien tech piece in her head. Stalking her?"

Natasha shrugged. "First step in a long plan."

"Maybe. But I'm not interested in learning what the next step is."

"What happened at SHIELD?" Natasha made a clear point of looking Steve over with his clothes. She heard him sigh. "Not good?"

"Very," Steve said, letting his head hang low. "Chloe can't go back there. I'm going to take her and get out of here before they think to look here."

Natasha raised an eyebrow at him. "What? And leave Seren here?"

"I hate it but I need to keep her safe and out of this."

"I hate to break it to you but Seren know everything and she didn't take it very well..."

Steve looked at Natasha for a moment. "What do you mean...?"

Natasha didn't say anything but her face spoke volumes. Alarmed, Steve bolted from the break room and hurried down the hall to reach Seren's room. He ran inside and found Chloe sitting beside an unconscious Seren in bed.

"What happened!?" He looked at Chloe who quickly stood up. He moved around her to Seren's side, lowering to her level.

"I told her everything," Chloe said behind him. "And she..."

"She had a breakdown," Natasha finished for her.

Steve wasn't surprised by the news. He was almost mad with himself for not being there when it happened to help Seren get through it. He passed a hand through her hair, sighing to himself. "I'm sorry, Seren." It had to be hard finding out the truth about SHIELD.

"We had to sedate her," Natasha explained. "She was freaking out, trying to get out of here."

"And I'm sure the sight of the doctors must have really helped," Steve said, glancing back at the woman with a slight edge in his face.

"We did what we had to," said Natasha while Chloe ducked her head.

"How long has she been out?"

"Couple hours now. If you want to run, we can wake her."

"Run?" Natasha frowned.

Natasha ignored her and told Steve that Seren metabolized sedations quicker. "Waking her up would speed up the process."

"I don't..." Steve rubbed his forehead. He only had two options and neither of them were sitting well with him. He was supposed to help Seren and neither option would be helping her at all.

"If she wakes up and finds out that you ran without her, she'll never forgive you," Natasha said like she'd read the thought off his head. Steve glared at her, but she shrugged and stuck to her stance.

"Wait, running from what? What is going on?" Chloe demanded an answer from either one.

"SHIELD is coming after me because I didn't give Pierce what he wanted," Steve said. "And then I was attacked by Rumlow and his STRIKE crew. They want you too, Chloe. We need to go."

"Oh god..." Chloe pushed down a lump in her throat. "It's started..."

"And if you two run, it's only a matter of time until they reach Seren," Natasha continued to advocate for the unconscious agent. "In her state, they could do so many things to her..."

Steve scowled. Absolutely not. "Natasha, get her some clothes. Chloe, get her things. We don't have a lot of time."

Natasha gave a nod and quickly left the room. Chloe went to Seren's belongings left on a table in the corner of the room. Steve then started taking off the monitors off Seren's hands while gently trying to wake her up.

"C'mon, Seren, just wake up for a little bit, please?" He shook her a bit. "Just a moment, sweetheart, and then I promise you can go back to sleep again." He slid an arm under her neck and another under her legs. "Chloe?"

"Ready!" Chloe rushed to him.

Steve had no choice but to lead the way out with Seren in his arms. They met Natasha halfway down the hallway and then together hurried towards the elevator. Naturally, the sight of them caught various employees' attention.

"Winters, what are you doing?" Natasha muttered as they hurriedly reached the entrance of the hospital. She had already scared off a few employees trying to near them and she was ready to continue it but the fact that Chloe was making time for a text message was a bit over the top.

"Seren may have been frantic about things but she did make a point about her family," Chloe said, briefly meeting Steve's glance. "She wanted to tell them to be careful and I...I think she had a point now. If SHIELD is coming for us, and we have Seren now, what do you think they're going to do to her family in order to get to us?"

Steve didn't have to think too much to know the answer. "Do it. But keep it brief. Let them know that Seren's safe with us." He led them down a small hallway just at the entrance. "And tell Rebeca too. Seren's team might be in danger too." He stopped in front of the women's restroom. "Natasha?"

Natasha had thought just like him and got on it. "Yup. Chloe?"

Chloe quickly sent a brief joint text to Seren's grandmother and parents. She then sent another message to Rebeca and dropped Seren's phone on the phone, stomping on it for good measure. Meanwhile, Steve let Seren's body down between Chloe and Natasha and the two brought her inside the women's restroom for a quick change.

Steve kept looking around for anyone suspicious and thankfully nobody showed up. He was relieved that when the women returned, Seren was semi-conscious. She was blinking in a dazed manner, and tired. He felt awful and that was still an understatement.

"She's not entirely there," Chloe said as Steve helped Seren stay on her feet. He was basically keeping her up by the waist and even then he had to still lift her on their way out of the hospital.

"How'd you get her to wake up in the first place?" He asked curiously.

"Rough..." Seren mumbled the word and leaned her head on his arm. "Natasha..."

Steve sent a look towards Natasha. He thought about asking her what exactly she had done to wake Seren up but he quickly decided that knowing the answer would probably make him feel worse.

"Where exactly are we going now?" Chloe asked once they were on the street.

"We need to figure out what your ghost friend wants," Natasha answered her and ignored Chloe's confused glance.

"You say 'friend' like I had a choice in the matter."

"It's the fact that you weren't killed that worries me," Natasha said and that time, Chloe's head whipped in her direction.

"Uh, thanks?"

"The Winter Soldier murders, so that begs the question as to why you weren't put on the same hit list," Natasha explained. "What do you have that the others didn't?" Chloe didn't need to ponder about it. "And" — Natasha continued before Chloe even opened her mouth — "why was it so special that they didn't just rip it out of you?"

Chloe's eyes widened in horror. Steve didn't blink. Leave it to Natasha to ask the cold hard questions and out loud. He had thought about it too but didn't want to freak Chloe out more than she already was.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, August 2 – Thursday, August 3

LORNE (takes the phone away from his ear, covers the mouthpiece with his hand, talks to Fred and Gunn) They say we need bloodroot. GUNN Bloodroot? Man, we just raided the spice rack in the kitchen. There ain't no bloodroot in there. LORNE (puts phone to his ear again) Uh, 86 on the bloodroot, ladies. Anything else we can— Well, yeah, I have, uh, (reads off the labels on the jars Fred and Gunn brought) paprika, ginger, allspice, clove— Cloves? That'll work? Oh, got it. Beautiful. Hey, soon as FTD's delivering in the city again, expect a big "Thanks a Bunch" bouquet from me, girls. Ciao! (hangs up) Ha ha ha!

~~Salvage~~

The Sunnydale Herald is looking for at least one new editor. Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! Find out more here.

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Worried But Proud by badly_knitted (Joyce, Buffy, Giles, PG)

Rebellious Teen by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike & Dawn, PG-13)

Surprise Party by EllieRose101 (Buffy/Spike, Scoobies, T)

A Matter of Mothballs by 23Murasaki (Scoobies, T)

Reprieve by Scribes1015 (Buffy/Angel, M)

Soul Guardian by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, G)

Love Day by Scar_Eve (Spike/Drusilla, T)

Backstage 48 - Listen to the Mockingbird by Aadler (Giles, Drusilla, G)

Lawyering up by Aragorn_II_Elessar (The Flash crossover, Lilah Morgan, T)

dream(ed) girl by voices_not_echoes (Dawn & Drusilla, T)

Spuffy Undercover by To Be Hers (Buffy/Spike, G)

for it is in giving that we receive by jedibuttercup (Firefly crossover, Buffy, FR13)

5 o'clock weather by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, OCs, G)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Can't Salvage This - Chapter 1 by fatalfae (Angelus/Buffy, Angelus/Dawn, Spike/Buffy, M)

shining just for you - Chapter 1-2 by buffysbeanie (Buffy/Faith, ensemble, T)

Cornered - Chapter 1 by Lythande1972 (Buffy vs. Angelus, Buffy & Scoobies, not rated)

These Violent Delights - Chapter 1 by Mirrored_Illusions (Stargate Atlantis crossover, Buffy, G)

The Girls Without the Gift - Chapter 1-3 (COMPLETE!) by duh_i_write (Cordelia, Anya, Drusilla, M)

Nanna’s Gift - Chapter 1-12 by VolcanicThread (Giles/OC, Ethan/Joyce, Cordelia/Willow, ensemble, E)

The Problem with Rifts - Chapter 1-2 by G85atkins (crossover with The Avengers and Dragon Age: Inquisition, Buffy, T)

An Avalanche of Echoes - Chapter 1 by Mirrored_Illusions (Stargate crossover, Buffy, T)

binds - Chapter 1-3 (COMPLETE!) by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (Jenny Calendar, OCs, G)

Lost and Found - Chapter 1 by SpiderQuinn (crossover with Supernatural, Buffy, T)

Vanilla and Spice - Chapter 1-7 by MaggieLaFey (Buffy/Spike, E)

Use It or Lose It, Ch. 36 by Dynamite (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

More Found Family Ties, Ch. 6 by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

Keepsakes, Ch. 39 by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

A Second Chance- Their Story, Ch. 2 by Loup Noir (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Because I could not stop death, Ch. 6 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, R)

The Plunge, Ch. 7-8 by Harlow Turner (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

The Plunge, Ch. 8 by Harlow Turner (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

The Roads not taken, Ch. 9 by Lluvia (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Time I Dated a Puppet, Ch. 7 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, R)

From Hell with Love, Ch. 20 by temporarytitle (Buffy/Spike, R)

Vegas Mishap, Ch. 6 by mmooch (Iron Man crossover, Buffy, FR13)

Keepsakes, Ch. 39 by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Dream, Ch. 15-18 by Dusty (Buffy/Spike, R)

Creative Solutions, Ch. 5 by Harlow Turner (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Part of the Family, Ch. 3-4 by Harlow Turner (Buffy/Spike, Oz/Willow/Tara, PG-13)

College Is Awesome! Ch. 2-3 by Grief Counseling (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Time We Had, Ch. 49 by Dusty (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Buffy Summers gifset by maliaatate (worksafe)

Drawing: Will you be slaying? by kiestrokes (worksafe)

doodle referenced from a something blue screenshot by spikedru (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Drawing and fic rec: Girlfriend Club by tubesock86 (Tara & Spike & Anya, worksafe)

Drawing: twilight energy spuffy by tubesock86 (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

The Buffy Re-watch: S1E10 (part 1) [Nightmares] by jvstheworld

So I've been watching season 6 of BtVS. I don't think I like it much. by spangelmybeloved

Best cold open? by ArcadeViolet

My thoughts on Buffy season 1 and season 2 by Quiet-Living8975

Pop Culture Role Call: Rolls-Royce - Angel S05E03 - Unleashed

[Recs & In Search Of]

More Links Than A Bag Of Sausages by petzipellepingo

[Community Announcements]

Kink of the Month for August announced at thespangelkink

Final roundup of 2023 Summer of Giles

[Fandom Discussions]

Giles giving Buffy nicknames by angelique-of-the-volturi-guard

I don’t think there is a show out there that hates pinball machines more than Buffy by anon, disco-tea, aphony-cree

Things that bug me with portrayals of the Fanged Four in many fics by gh-0-stcup

I don't dislike Andrew's presence in season 7 of Buffy , but... by thericeballofcamelot

Is Snyder's insistance on making Buffy participate in school things... kind of solid? by whimsiebat

If you could remove any story line or plot point from BTVS and Angel... by emperor-spriggan

Would you date one of the main cast? by Smart-A22

Riley's Age by TomorrowNotFound

Poll: You have a choice to become one of these characters... by rfresa

No One Else Could've Stopped Dark Willow by cvscvs2

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

James Marsters Dublin Comic Con 2023 Schedule via jamie_marsters

Get Your Stakes Ready: Buffy Watch Parties and more at mag.remarkist.com this August

Saving the World: A Buffy Quiz, Gothic Heroines, Slayer Bracket Challenge, and 90s Grunge at mag.remarkist.com

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

[rosewoodconch]

RWCH Readathon 2024: Day 4

Undercover Princess - Chapter 10

And were back to a weird chapter

I dont like that lottie keeps it from ellie, as much as she says she wants to tell her

Im a bit sad we never see these random prefects again, even if its just a throwaway line or something

The clubs! Does... lottie join a club?

Allergic to apples! Like... snow white!

Again i love that in all these little ways lottie mimics all of the princesses, i also love that these all look like throwaway lines to be all princessy and so lottie look at her but then they actually all come back to help her later!

Im so sick of people interrupting lottie when she wants to tell someone something

My hypothesis is that Ani wears sunglasses all the time because shes been crying over what to do about saskia

Lola is the sweetest in the whole world

I wanna know who told and how it got out

Ani is a bitch but i love her so much

Yknow what though i guarantee that line about ruining breakfast being punishable by death is definitely an old maravish law that ellie thinks shes so funny for saying

I feel so so bad for ellie

She never wanted this. She wanted to be underciver, and now this girl has stolen her identity and might've lied about everything so far. The one person she thought she could trust has, in her mind, done the worst thing another person could do.

The saddest thing is that Lottie genuinely doesnt get the credit for getting in on her own abilities after this. She did something so amazing and cant even be proud of herself for it anymore

Ellie is scary. Shes like a storm. But shes so valid. This rumour has put everything about her in danger, her freedom and identity, but also genuinely her life.

I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THIS MOMENT

Its so powerful

It exudes both fear and power

Im the princess of maradova

Did they close the door? I hope they closed the door? Im on audiobook rn so i cant check ahahah

This is such a good chapter, especially leading off of the end of ch.9 and the ominous weeds etc etc

The build up to the reveal is heightened by the fact that we as readers have probably figured out who Ellie actually is, and you feel that anxiety and fear and you completely sympathise with both of them.

Ugh. Connieeeee your minddddd

[thepaperclip]

Chapter 2 time let’s gooo

I have my thoughts abt ch 2 down now lol

(Also lmao I have no clue how to do a Cut in the tumblrs every time I add the html it doesn’t seem to stick for some reason? Lmao)

Araki doubling down on ACAB lmaoooo nice

Jodio is still very much a 15yo here. His interaction w the undercover cop displays a naïveté plus a failure to read someone as well as his og Jojo line parallel, Giorno. The female cop also blatantly lying to Jodio is also very telling about the type of law enforcement in Part 9 that I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of.

This portrayal of law enforcement is interesting to compare and contrast to other portrayals of police in Jojo. Part 1 had a whole brigade (Scotland Yard?) become paper cannon fodder when Dio vamped up, but were otherwise generally treated as a force for good and portrayed uncritically. Part 2 had racist dirtbag cops trying to extort Smokey Brown before Joseph kicked their asses. Part 3 had the Singaporean officer who mistook Polnareff’s luggage for rubbish (not necessarily bad as much as an overzealous stickler for rules). Part 4 had Ryohei who was a fair and Justice-oriented small town Japanese cop; he’s also the most positive law enforcement character in basically all of Jojo. Part 5 had crooked cops all over the place in Naples and Italy, even protagonist Leone Abbacchio was a former cop who became crooked. His partner was the only “good cop” around, who not only sacrificed himself to save Abbacchio but also was shown doggedly trying to gather evidence even if Justice might not be met.

Jodio possibly has antisocial personality disorder, he was screened for it at school. As someone who does not have this condition, I cannot really comment on how accurate a portrayal of this condition will be, but I will say again that Araki will do his best and Your Mileage May Vary. It’s too early to see how this will play out but I definitely look forward to how Araki will flesh it out.

That said, Barbara Ann’s reaction and Jodio’s seem promising to see—Barbara is operating mostly on behalf of how that label may stigmatize her child. Jodio is actually upset by this, he wonders if he can find happiness but is frustratingly aware of knowing that he’ll still encounter terrible people like the police who harass he and his brother. Jodio also replies to the school psychotherapist, “I’ll try better in the future,” as though he’s somehow failed a test, and to me it really shows his age as well.

Araki has already done a great job at humanizing Jodio, and with this reveal, by consequence humanizing someone with aspd. Jodio does have people he cares about, and he’s capable of expressing that to them. His mother and brother both clearly love him and look out for him. Jodio has a quicker fuse to violence but he’s not some sort of uncontrollable beast—he deliberately chooses to not kill the officers, and in the previous chapter he stopped the beat down when Dragona asked him to.

Hot Dog Boy is now forever officially Usagi Aloha’oe. His name is literally Bunny [that one famous Hawaiian song/poem]. His last name was a song in a Disney movie. No notes lmaooo

Usagi showing up late to a heist with takeout and shopping when he’s supposed to be getting the car for the heist—iconic amazing, Araki he better live to the end of this part.

That his Stand only works if someone else makes a demand is interesting. I wonder if it will be commented upon or useable for some character analysis like how Josuke’s Crazy Diamond expressed how kind and selfless Josuke is. I’m also noticing how the ability is a bit of a parallel to Hermes’ Kiss, like how Smooth Operator has a similar ability to Diver Down.

ROHAN????????

No seriously how the hell is he here is it the same person is he different does he not have Heaven’s Door is he aware of other universes ARAKI EXPLAIIIIIIIN

The ramifications of Rohan in this story might be far-reaching, especially given that the definition of Stands from page one is attributed to “a certain Mangaka,” which heavily implies Rohan. However on a more meta note, it could also mean Araki himself given that he could also apply as “a certain mangaka.”

Also Jodio seems to be a fan, talking about having some manga volumes by Rohan. Certified GenZ weeb Jodio no notes lmaoooo

Jojolands live-blogging let’s goooooooo

1st impressions under the cut:

Jodio is such a wild name especially considering there’s a Spanish meaning (look it up lol). It makes me think of the Jorge Joestar novel where it says that Erina spelled George II’s name as “Jorge” to keep the “Jo” and it’s like ah yes, it’ll play out how you think in the Spanish-speaking Canary Islands.

Jodio’s narration makes him sound like an actual 15-year-old, and there’s something a bit charming about that. He goofs around and wants to become rich, but he also follows other people’s orders and definitely is flying by his pants as he goes through this process. Araki did a great job establishing Jodio through his narrative voice, stuff like, This may sound like bullshit” and his tangent admiring Meryl’s designs.

There’s definitely the “Giorno” connections (Giorno was the child of both Jonathan and Dio and Jodio is like combining “Jonathan” and “Dio” as names, both are 15 in their stories and have jobs connected with crime, and both of them have clear ambitions). Both of them definitely are observant and can read people very well. However, unlike Giorno, Jodio is not a smooth criminal. He reacts with violence first as opposed to trying to charm his way out of situations. Jodio’s been a low-level grunt for gangs since he was a child, rather than Giorno being a solo petty thief who, once completing initiation, dethrones the Boss and takes charge in like a week.

Another notable thing in this story is that Jodio is a Jojo who comes with a sibling, an older sibling at that. Jodio is definitely protective of Dragona, and also defers to their choices, and listens when Dragona begs Jodio to hold back. I love their rapport, it definitely feels like accurate sibling energy. They crime together, goof off with each other, both of them protect their mother and each other. I love how Dragona was begging for the police to leave Jodio alone because he’s a kid, a minor, and that Dragona holds Jodio back from going too far when beating up the cops who’d assaulted them. I also love how Jodio saw what was going on with Dragona and went “aight time for violence” immediately.

Definitely a new dynamic for the Jojo and JoBro, and also a refreshing take on Jojo sibling dynamics. Jonathan and Dio was about the worst way siblings could go (understatement), and Josuke and Joshu plus the other Higashikata children had a rocky dynamic given that…well, the amnesiac teenager being adopted into the family is a lot to get used to, so in some ways Jojolion was in part the Higashikatas learning how to accept Josuke and give him the family he needs. Johnny and Nicholas seemed to have a positive relationship, but of course that ended with tragedy given Nicholas’ passing.

Regarding the discourse over Dragona’s pronouns, I admit, as someone who is cis, I don’t feel I have a right to comment on this detail beyond that this is only the first chapter, and we don’t know how Araki will handle it for the rest of the run. Given that Araki is a cis Japanese man in his 60s, and that his writing and portrayals of other marginalized folks doesn’t have the best track record (Part 2 the anime had to cut out some rather unsavory caricatures of Mexicans, and Part 3 tended to play into uhh questionable “exotic land” stereotypes especially along Southeast Asia), I wouldn’t recommend getting one’s hopes up for the most stellar execution of representation for Dragona here. I will definitely say that no matter what happens with Dragona, it’s a Your Mileage May Vary situation, but beyond that, I’ll leave that to people who know more and have lived experience when it comes to talking about Dragona’s gender identity.

Meryl is the tallest Jojo character now after the Pillar Men and that is amazing also, yeah, how many hustles does she have? The fact that she’s a school principal as well as a small business owner as well as a crime boss (not sure how big her gang is though). I’m sure there’s a joke about the US educational system in here somewhere lol.

Also, a Jojo in a US public highschool. No notes lmao

There’s several references to our time, like Dua Lipa, Uber, and Covid. We can assume that means this takes place past 2020, most likely around 2022-2023 since no one is wearing masks, but Dragona doesn’t like the officer getting that close and cites social distancing as a reason—notably, the officer is shown as Asian since he asks “do you not want me to get close to you because of my race?” which also references the spike of hate crimes against Asians during the height of the pandemic. There’s also a bit of a meta mark of the times given how Araki went ACAB in the first 5 pages of chapter 1.

The Filthy Frank lookin’ ass dude. No notes lol

This part’s theme seems to be focusing on a new concept called “Mechanisms”. As far as I can understand about how it works given what we have so far about it, it seems to be something to do with “social systems.” Jodio built a social system of ��trust” through being a good Gofer for the gang he works for, while the classmate he compares himself to is bullied because he doesn’t have a system like that for the school. Even though the unnamed student is larger, maybe smarter, and presumably wealthier, he’s singled out for bullying because he doesn’t have a good “mechanism” and will be due to leave the school soon. We’ll have to see how this plays out in the coming chapters…

HEIST HEIST HEIST HEIST

The jewel in the heist will not be how Jodio gets rich, or else, perhaps it will prove more trouble than it’s worth. I say that based on nothing. Araki might pull a different trope regarding this jewel, but I doubt he’d make this into a Maguffin for very long.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: July 14/23

Happy Friday everyone! Start off your weekend with some more fics added to my MFL list! Enjoy!

RECENT MFLs

We're Not A Couple! by Gregorovitch (G, 1,472 w., 1 Ch. || ASIB Fic, Declarations of Love, POV John, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Romantic Friendship, Hopeful Endings, Pining John, Canon Compliant) – In a heated argument with Irene Adler, John didn't realise that Sherlock was right there. He didn't know that Sherlock actually does follow him everywhere. Part 3 of I Heard You

Eight Minutes by NovaWasTaken1 (T, 5,736 w., 1 Ch. || HLV Fix It Fic, Messy Sherlock, Messy John, Doctor John, Hospitalization, Injury) – Sherlock dies three times in three years, and John makes a different decision. Part 1 of I Dream of Dying

Flatline/Lifeline by LipstickDaddy (T, 9,904 w., 5 Ch. || Post HLV Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Hospitals, Alternating POV, Blood and Injury, Eventual Romance, Love Confessions, Eventual Happy Ending) – Sherlock’s in surgery after being shot by… well. John doesn’t know who shot him, but he’s going to find out.

The Adventure of Downton Abbey by PlaidAdder (T, 13,427 w., 1 Ch. || ACD Canon / Downton Abbey Crossover || Undercover for a Case, Case Fic) – Desperate to free her husband from prison, Anna Smith Bates tracks down Holmes in the country retreat he shares with Dr. Watson and persuades him to come out of retirement and investigate the death of Vera Bates. Holmes visits Downton Abbey under an assumed identity, with Watson in disguise as his valet. Working together again helps them cope with a recent trauma that severely tested their longstanding relationship--and also allows them to uncover a solution consistent with and yet so much more satisfying than the one used on the actual show.

Brick by Brick by WritingOutLoud (NR, 14,314 w., 9 Ch. || TRF / THoB Divergence, Sherlock’s Past, Drug Use, Sexual References, Whump, Angst with Happy Ending) –  The walls Sherlock has built around himself are so high, he's not sure anyone will ever get close to him again. But John Watson arrives and they start to fall, brick by brick...

[badbatchposts]

Quiet Corners of the Galaxy, Chapter 10

While on a routine mission for Cid, the Bad Batch encounter a woman fleeing from the Empire. Crosshair suspects her seemingly free-spirited, nomadic existence is actually a cover for something else, but struggles to keep his attraction toward her in check as their personalities and ideals clash.

Relevant tags/content warnings: Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Periodic Smut, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use

Chapters posted 1-2x weekly!

Read the full fic so far on AO3

Read previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 l Ch. 2 l Ch. 3 l Ch. 4 l Ch. 5 l Ch. 6 l Ch. 7 l Ch. 8 l Ch. 9

Chapter 10 summary: Dara and Crosshair go undercover and look for new and exciting ways to annoy each other.

“I really don’t think it’s necessary for him to come. His tattoo might be less noticeable than yours, but he still stands out too much.” It was perhaps the dozenth time Dara had tried to convince Hunter to let her leave Crosshair behind, and still he wasn’t budging. The trip through hyperspace had been long, and they’d landed in a quiet meadow on Caameris late in the night cycle, opting to wait until the morning to begin their surveillance. This was Dara’s last chance to object, as she waited at the bottom of the ramp into the Marauder while Crosshair finished changing into his civilian clothes. The ground was damp, and the air was heavy with moisture, but the temperature was pleasant and the threat of rain seemed far off. Hunter only smirked a little, unmoved.

When Crosshair emerged from the ship, she eyed him critically and shook her head. “No rifle.”

The sniper scowled. “I’m not going anywhere unarmed.”

“This is a nice, peaceful, mid-rim planet, not outlaw country. It sticks out too much. Concealed weapons only. I have an extra blaster for you here.” She gestured to the basket she was carrying, where a carefully folded blanket disguised the hidden pistols.

Hunter looked from one to the other, not bothering to conceal his shit-eating grin. He felt a little bad sticking Dara with Crosshair for the day, but not so guilty that he wouldn’t take the opportunity to punish his brother for his earlier comments. With an exaggerated grumble, Crosshair removed his Firepuncher from his back and handed it to him. “Have fun, you two,” the Sergeant chuckled as they set off.

They kept their distance from one another and walked silently. Tech had set down the Marauder beyond a forested area that separated the town and the villa, far off the main road, where they hoped it would go unnoticed. It was a tense thirty minutes, in which each refused to acknowledge the other, before they approached its outskirts.

Dara narrowed the gap between them as they began to pass neat little houses and businesses, all roofed with colorful tiles. Locals watched them with open curiosity on the streets. It became busier as they approached the center of the town, entering a bustling, open-air market. “Follow my lead,” she muttered to Crosshair.

“Do I have to?” he sighed miserably.

She pursed her lips briefly before pasting on the easy, charming smile that she seemed to direct toward everyone else besides the sniper and began perusing the stalls attentively. She had purchased small items from several of the shops, filling her basket with fresh fruits and vegetables, before one of the merchants finally acknowledged the stares still being directed at the newcomers in the crowded marketplace.

“We don’t often get new faces around here. What brings you to Caameris?” The woman asked.

Crosshair fought to keep the surprise off his face as Dara intertwined her arm in his, gave his bicep a quick squeeze, and sent an admiring glance his way. “Oh, we only just arrived,” she explained brightly. “We’re here to spend a nice quiet honeymoon. It’s not often that we get to travel, and we just wanted the opportunity to have some quality time together away from it all. We’re nature lovers, and we couldn’t think of anything more romantic than camping together under the stars.”

“Oh, how lovely! I remember my own like it was yesterday. My husband and I have been married for nearly thirty years.” The shopkeeper, while never exactly suspicious, was certainly more open now that she had a ready explanation to satisfy her curiosity about them. In fact, as he watched a few passersby blatantly listening in, Crosshair had the impression that the whole population would be aware of the story behind these new strangers before long, the engines of small-town gossip running quickly and efficiently. He had to begrudgingly admit that Dara was good—a little too good.

“How wonderful,” Dara gushed. “Well, we were hoping to take a hike tomorrow. Is there anything we should be certain to see? We saw that lovely mansion across the lake as we were landing—I don’t suppose you know whether the grounds are open for visitors, do you?”

“Ah, I’m afraid it’s a private residence, and the owner is off world for the next week.” The shopkeeper leaned in companionably. She was already well-invested in passing gossip along to fresh listeners. “The whole estate is quite lavish, in fact. My daughter works in the kitchens.”

“Oh my! It’s quite a large house! I’m sure it keeps your daughter very busy. It seems the ideal place for some very fancy parties…”

Crosshair thought that if this conversation got any more boring he might ruin the mission by shooting himself just to get out of it. The two women, engrossed in their talk, didn’t spare him a glance as he wandered off amid the other stalls, keeping an eye on Dara between squinting warily at the locals, who were still nosily appraising him. He surveyed the market square; while it was largely surrounded by squat, unassuming buildings, one of them—taller, newer, more impressive—stood out. Prium’s satellite lab, he presumed, based on the bored-looking security flanking the doors.

He had nearly completed a full circuit of the market when he noticed that someone else had joined Dara and the shopkeeper. The uniformed Sullustan man was speaking animatedly as he approached. Thinking that perhaps Dara had not fully thought through the implications of her little ruse, Crosshair smirked as he threw a protective arm over her shoulder, feeling her stiffen nearly imperceptibly beneath him.

“Your husband, I presume,” the Sullustan observed magisterially.

“Yes,” Dara said warmly. “Allow me to introduce my husband… Hunter.” Crosshair flared his nostrils, but tried to minimize his scowl—just barely—for the sake of the mission. So, as much as she had chosen to ignore him since the other night, she certainly hadn’t forgotten their earlier altercation. She had just been biding her time to find the best way to torture him. “This fascinating gentleman,” Dara continued, “was just telling me how he is the director of the private research lab of one of the greatest geniuses of our time. You’ve heard of Kumalon Laboratories, haven’t you, sweetie?”

“Dr. Nor Raab. A pleasure,” the scientist greeted him. “Although I must say, if I were on my honeymoon with such a lovely young woman, I think I would look quite a bit…happier.”

Dara laughed, the sound generous and moving, like the tinkle of bells. He didn’t care one bit to hear it directed it toward Raab, any more than he liked Dara’s wink at the pretentious Sullustan. “Oh, don’t mind him. He’s just upset that I wouldn’t let him keep me cooped up in our ship all to himself. Newlyweds, you know.”

“I can’t say I blame him,” Raab replied with a knowing smile.

Crosshair tightened his arm, drawing Dara closer, and nuzzled his nose in her hair, not bothering to suppress a wicked grin when she shivered a little. She smelled earthy, like the beginning of rain. “Speaking of which… I think we’re just about done here, don’t you?” he asked.

“Actually, I was just about to ask Dr. Raab if he would be so kind as to elaborate a little more on his work with Dr. Prium,” Dara insisted. “You see, I’m a teacher and I would love to be able to tell my students all about this when I go back. I think it’s so important to inspire future generations of scientists, don’t you?”

“Well, I also must be returning to my duties, but perhaps you could return later this evening and we could all share a drink nearby. It’s so rare we get visitors.” Raab gestured to a bar at a corner of the square.

“Sounds wonderful. We’ll see you then.” With a small wave at Raab and the shopkeeper, the pair left the market, Crosshair still holding Dara close until they reached the outskirts of town, where she unceremoniously shoved his arm off of her.

“Tell me,” the sniper drawled as he dogged Dara through the woods in the direction of the Marauder, “how many classes dedicated to lying did you take while studying linguistics? Is it a big part of the coursework?”

“My appreciation for theater is extracurricular.” Dara bent over suddenly, drawing a knife out from where it was concealed beneath her pant leg. She rolled her eyes when she noticed Crosshair tense up, preparing for a fight. “Please. If I were going to kill you, I’d know better than to do it when your brothers are my only ride off this planet.”

He crossed his arms, watching her as she knelt and used the knife to dig in the dirt. “What are you doing?”

“It’s springtime here. Things are growing.”

He thought about telling her that wasn’t much of an explanation, but his curiosity got the better of him as he observed her activities. Where he could see a few green tufts peeking out through the dark soil, she unearthed a series of tubers the size of his thumb. Straightening, she ran her fingers along the bark of a few nearby trees until she found one where a thick, meaty fungus grew in shelves, cutting it down in slices. Ignoring him completely now, she wandered along the forest path, collecting her bounty.

Minutes passed before Dara realized the sniper had disappeared. She glanced up into the treetops, catching sight of him perched on a tall branch, still watching her idly, and shook her head in annoyance. But Crosshair could see the corners of her mouth twitching as she returned to her work.

Next chapter

Tag List: @stardusthuntress @skellymom @megmegalodondon

[tarithenurse]

Undercover ch. 9

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader Contents: a tad of angst, maybe some cussing, mentions of past trauma and current injuries, finally a lot more fluff. A/N: This is the last chapter, because if I don’t restrain myself you’d end up with a book length fic. Thank you for reading. Thanks specifically for the feedback to those who have commented <3

9 - The last Chapter?

Something is itching the back of my hand, but my limbs are too heavy too move and lying in the plush, warm cocoon is the most comfortable I can remember being for half an eternity. I can’t recall how long. Stirring my sluggish memories, I catch fragments and glimpses out of order. It feels like I should know the combination in much the same way as a puzzle I know I’ve completed in the past, but don’t remember the image of and looking at the individual pieces gives too little information. To top it all off, each attempt makes my brain work slower. It makes me tired.

The itch on my hand is back. Maybe that’s what wakes me again or perhaps it’s the distant murmur of voices. Who’s talking? The female voice doesn’t belong to any of the girls, and the man…no, that’s not how the boss’s goons would talk to us. I have to fight my eyelids before they agree to stay up, allowing me to look around the room I’m in. White and blue linen covers the bedding which in turn is tugged neatly down on either side by the bed rails. I find my hands lying on top of the covers, and into the back of one of these slightly alien limbs is a dropline. Oh…that would explain. Fumbling, I try to get my hands to meet over my belly, but somehow, I’ve got my left arm stuck in some wires, and I feel the tug on my skin under the white hospital gown I’ve been dressed in. Grabbing the wires, I tug sharply the other way, and I’m mighty proud of myself as I feel them let go of whatever plug they’ve been in…but the pride evaporates the instant an incessant beeping fills the room. It’s not loud as such, just annoying enough that I try to block it out by clasping my palms to my ears.

A door, which I only now notice, is slammed open to grant entrance to a flock of people. There she is, leading the charge and with the red hair whipping around her face. Natasha. She’s got jeans and a tank top on with a sweater over that looks a million sizes too big, completely different from the monochrome suit she last was sporting, but even in casual clothes the agent’s still unable to hide that she’s ready to fight anything if she must.

“[Y/N]!” It’s a wonder to behold as the thin line of a mouth unfurls into a bright smile, making Natasha’s face radiate. “You’re awake…kept me waiting long enough, babe.”

The endearment awakens butterflies in my belly. She’s by the bedside now, ignoring the doctors and nurses who’re plugging the wires back in the machine and do all sorts of other things. I can’t be bothered to check what they’re busy with either, all I care about is her smile and the way she holds my hand as if I might take off running any minute. But where would I go? In fact…

“Where are we?” I grimace at the hoarseness of my voice.

Reaching out, Natasha brushes some hair out of my face. “Somewhere safe.”

Although it’s comforting to hear, it’s not very informative or even surprising. Anything involving this kind of medical care and this hero must be good. The entire place is, now that I begin to look around, impressively high-tech and too spacious to be part of any publicly accessible hospital, not to mention that the bit of the view through the windows is full of sky and the top of buildings trying to reach as high as the one we’re in. By the door that everybody came running through is the triangular shape of Captain America and a smaller, but well trained, guy with short, messy hair. He looks friendly enough, I try to convince myself half-heartedly.

“You remember Steve, right?” Natasha has been watching me as I take in the surroundings.

“Yeah.”

The Captain. The hero of old, an incorruptible good guy according to all the stories I’ve heard. For me, however, it’s hard to feel any trust at the sight of him because of what he is: a guy. So what if both of those men helped at the club? The sight of them makes me tense.

Next to me the perfect face brightens with a new smile as if she’d expected me not to recall anything. “The other guy’s Clint, he’s my best friend.” Leaning in to rest her forehead against mine, she whispers, “Why didn’t you say you got hurt? We would have gotten you out of there.”

“Didn’t realize, I think.” Her brows furrow against my skin. “I had to uhm…had to see the b-that Stein got what he deserved.”

Never before in my life had I shot anyone, and not only had I expected it to be harder to actually pull the trigger, I also don’t feel any of the guilt I thought I would have to deal with. Maybe it’ll come. Pushing the concern away, I refocus on my body, sensing a dull ache in my right side for the first time. Yanking the covers and the gown they’ve dressed me in aside reveals very little (except that the movements makes it hurt a bit more) because the area is covered by thick bandages.

“It’s time [Y/N] gets some rest.”

It’s a petite Asian doctor talking, and she might as well have cast a spell because my eyelids get too heavy to keep open and the voices seem to come from further and further away.

…

I’m not entirely awake at first, but the pain that burns through my right side as I try to turn does the trick. Swearing loudly doesn’t soothe the pain, but it feels good anyways and I add few extra for good measure.

“You were lucky,” the petite Asian doctor addresses me from the door, “out of all the things that could’ve happened, it only hit your liver.” She’s made it to the tower of screens and is studying my vitals or whatever it shows. “I’m Doctor Helen Cho, by the way. You might be able to go home in a week if you come back daily the first while and someone’s there to look after you.”

Home. The home I’ve had is not a place I want to go back to, and before that…no, that’s not an option. “That…might not be possible.” I really try not to sound pathetic. “I’ve got no one and nowhere.”

Nearly black eyes pierce me as I lie there in the hospital bed. “Miss Romanoff would be sad to hear that…” The tiniest of smiles is tugging at a corner of Doctor Cho’s mouth. “She didn’t leave your side until the day you woke up, and since then only under protests.”

…

At first, I don’t like not knowing where I am, but as time passes where people are treating me nicely and the doctors and nurses tend to the wound expertly…it changes. They acts like they want me to get better for my sake and not to make money off of me. Both Steve and Clint drop by a few times, and the initial mistrust starts to fade slightly as they tell about their lives as Avengers. I almost start to enjoy their company, but what truly keeps my spirit up is Natasha.

Doctor Cho’s right about Natasha who insists on staying at my bedside at any opportunity, sometimes she chats about anything on her or my mind and if not, then we just sit quietly together. It feels right to be close to her and the feeling’s bolstered when she introduces the habit of holding my hand and I discover myself recalling the kiss we shared at the club. Her lips had been soft and demanding, molding perfectly against mine...but each time the urge to recreate that sensation presents itself, I get too nervous. Why would anyone want me for who I am? It’s too foolish, too conceited, to dream that Natasha’s feelings could be at all similar to mine, that she’d want to hook up with me when she knows what life I’ve led.

…

We’re watching a movie one evening, when she pauses it and turns to look at me. Her grey eyes scrutinize the tiniest change in my mimic, making me nervous.

“[Y/N]. I can barely begin to imagine what sort of hell you’ve lived in and everything you’ve had to survive…” She bites her lip in a way that makes me wish it was my teeth…or lip. But still I look away because I don’t want to talk about my time as Stein’s property. “[Y/N]…” The slender hand cups my cheek, turning my head carefully, gently. “You don’t have to talk about it, but if I say or do something that upsets you because of it...please tell me.”

“Uh…’kay.” A heavy lump is cooling down my stomach and making it hard to breathe right.

Natasha repositions herself before continuing. “Normally, I’d just…do it, but I don’t wanna scare you so…is it alright if I kiss you?”

I don’t answer, I just go for it, crushing my lips against her mouth greedily and ignoring the pain in my side. Her reaction is tender, and she allows me to set the pace as the kiss deepens and my tongue runs over her lips in search of a gap to slip through. She tastes of sweet bubble gum and the coffee she’s been drinking earlier. As if on their own, my hands reach to hold this fabulous woman closer, but the movement makes me wince.

“Okay. Alright.” She coos, pushing me gently back onto the bed. “I don’t want you hurt, babe. You need to get well so you can get out of the med-bay.” And go where? “Well…about that…” It’s impossible to hide the blush when I realize I must have spoken out loud. “Would you want to live with me? Maybe find out if we can work things out together? I don’t like the idea of you alone somewhere and…and…well, it makes me happy to wake up and know I’ll see you the same day.”

The lump in my stomach had melted while we were exploring each other’s mouths, in its place are butterflies and a serene feeling of belonging and a happiness I can’t recall ever having felt.

“I’d love that, Tasha.”

…