#we may not be used to being met with such vehement hate (though i'm sure some of us unfortunately *have* dealt with that

[zerodaryls]

"how are we going so backwards with queer/trans rights in the u.s. these days?"

i keep finding myself falling into this mindset.

but the truth is, we haven't been going forwards for very long.

marriage equality wasn't a thing in the u.s. until 2015.

i was already 2 years outta high school.

hell, the stonewall riots were only just in 1969.

there are people still alive today who were alive during the riots.

the hiv/aids epidemic was at its height in the 80s-early 90s.

my own parents were in high school/college during that time. i was born in '95.

my ex-uncle was a gay guy who was being "counseled" by my religious grandmother who set him up with my aunt so he could stop being gay. needless to say, it didn't work. this was in the mid-90s. i was alive when this happened.

when i was in middle school, it was Big School Gossip that our music teacher was gay. this wasn't even two decades ago.

when i was in high school, it was Big School Gossip that our art teacher was a lesbian. this was barely over a decade ago.

caitlyn jenner came out as trans in 2015. (i know, but it's an important moment in recent trans history.)

i remember seeing tabloids in grocery stores for several years up until that point, photos of her on the cover spreading the "shocking" idea that she could be "a Transgender". people making jokes about her. pitying her family.

when i came out as trans/nonbinary, i was privileged to be living in california, where my legal and medical transition was (fairly) easily accessible (and i'm sure my being white, middle-class, and able-bodied helped in that area).

but there were still roadblocks.

they still forced me to be "examined" by a doctor to make sure my genitals were in order before he'd sign my gender change form. (a completely pointless legal requirement that accomplished nothing but make both of us uncomfortable.)

this wasn't even a decade ago.

i'm 28.

seeing queer and trans people living out loud is largely a New Thing for the general public.

being safe to walk around in rainbows and pride pins is a New Thing in the u.s. (and not even true for all parts of the u.s.!)

acceptance of queer and trans folks is still new. still uncomfortable for many cishets, even some of those who consider themselves Allies.

there have always been queer and trans people.

there have always been queer and trans allies.

but our rights, our acceptance, our place in society has always been a battle.

the battle didn't end in 2015.

"how are we going backward all of a sudden??"

there's nothing sudden about it.

bigots have been pushing back against our progress from the get-go.

they're raising younger bigots, and they're doing all they can to limit our ability to speak up and call for continued progress.

we aren't even a decade into marriage equality in the us.

there's nothing sudden about the shift away from our rights and wellbeing.

to my fellow younger millennials and gen z folks: we're lucky to have been alive at a time where such progress has been made.

but the ugly battles of earlier generations are not behind us.

it's fucking terrifying, but i think we really need to be prepared to face some truly ugly shit in the coming years.

we need to empower ourselves and each other.

those who came before us (and are still here, by the way! the queer population doesn't end at 30, holy fuck!) found community, banded together, and lifted each other up even when the future was bleak.

listen to them.

listen to each other.

and don't for one second give up hope for a brighter future.

that's what bigots want.

do we give bigots what they want in this house?

[braveclementine]

Detroit

Warnings: 18+readersonly, trigger warnings of kidnapping, mentions of rape/non consensual sex, creepy men, read with caution

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OCs, which consist of Penny Fury, Elizabeth Nelson, Elijah Chan, Katya Venice, Violetta Moscow, Lan Le, Josh, Trang Tien, Ahni Jallow, Mai Ito, and Ghaida Kashual as well as other OCs that will come up throughout the story.

"Alright." Penny watched the Vietnamese girl that was addressing her and Violetta with wariness. She had never seen Trang in such a bad mood before. She wasn't sure if she had done something to upset the girl, or if she was pissed off at something else. Violetta on the other hand, looked as though this was a normal occurrence, "So Fury wanted me to make sure that you had an adequate way of communicating with us."

Trang held up very small microchips. "These are not going to last long. They're meant to be imbedded under the skin, right at the wrist. They will dissolve after three months."

"Really? Why?" Penny asked curiously.

Trang scowled and Penny almost instantly recoiled. "Because I believe that people have freedom and don't deserve to be tracked for long periods of time. I was asked to design them for a bad purpose and I hated that. So I made sure that they don't work for long, in case they are used against a person's will."

"Oh, well that's humanitarian of you." Penny said nervously.

"Is it Riri again?" Vi asked with a sigh, holding our her wrist first for Trang to insert the chip.

Trang scowled- if it was possible- even darker. "Gee. How'd you guess?"

"What'd she do this time?" Vi ignored Trang.

"She exists." Trang replied vehemently and then sighed, "She keeps asking if I want help with my Iron Woman suit because she's 'oh so much smarter' than me. Bullshit. She didn't even build her own suit! She just took Tony's design and made some adjustments! And then she brags about how smart she is. She's fucking annoying."

Penny looked between the two of them. "Who is Riri?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Trang asked scathingly. "Everyone knows the fucking brilliant 15 year old genius."

"You're. . . fighting with a fifteen year old?" Penny asked uncertainly and then actually did recoil under the glare Trang sent her.

"She's eighteen now!"

"Trang, don't lash out at Penelope." Violetta sighed, rubbing her arm where Trang had injected her, "Just kindly tell her to fuck off and sit down."

"She said I didn't have talent." Trang snapped, looking frustrated, "Just because I'm Asian I was just born smart. Asians aren't smart! Have you met Lan and Jay? They're fucking idiots! I worked my ass off to build the suit and I was fifteen too! And did I mention she didn't even build her fucking suit?"

"Can you stop arguing with my intern?" Tony's voice came from across the room as he walked in, holding a box of stuff.

Trang scoffed and didn't answer, motioning for Penny to hold out her arm. Penny gave her, her arm hesitantly, not sure she really wanted to have a very pissed off woman insert the chip into the fragile skin of her arm.

But, surprisingly, Trang was very gentle in her movements and besides the pinch of it digging into her skin, there was almost no pain.

Tony looked at Violetta and Penny, "We're not sure what they're going to let you keep and what they're going to take off of you. We're suspecting they'll probably try and drug you two before taking you to the compound, so we've got these pills. They're dispel any sleep inducing agents, but you have to take them before. They last for an hour. And of course, you'll have to feign being knocked out."

"Thanks Tony." Penny said, taking the small bag that contained about five or six pills in it.

"No problem sweetheart." Tony responded, still looking worried as her and Vi put the pills away. "I just wish we could give you weapons or something."

"We know how to make our own weapons out of whatever is there." Violetta said, crossing her arms, "Can we leave now?"

Tony sighed, "Sure. Penny, can I talk to you real quick?"

"Yeah." Penny followed Tony over to the other side of the room and the taller man enveloped her into a tight hug.

"Okay." Tony said, pulling away for a moment and taking a deep breath. "Good luck on the mission."

Penny giggled a little, "Tony, I'm not going to be gone forever. This mission isn't even dangerous!"

"I know." Tony mumbled, "But the idea of a strange man putting his hands on you or you having to be a sex slave for these people, I hate it."

"Well, you know who is going to hate it more?" Penny asked with a bit of a smile, "Violetta. So you can bet that we aren't going to be there for long. I'll be home before you know it."

Tony smiled a little too and then glanced over at where Trang was stalking through the door after saying good-bye to Violetta, "Listen, Penny. Violetta. . . Elizabeth. . . Katya. . . Ghaida, they're all going to be biased in the view of Riri because of their friendship with Trang. But. . . Riri is a good kid. She is smart."

"I don't doubt that Tony." Penny said softly. "I'm sure she is smart, otherwise she wouldn't have gotten an internship here."

"I think. . . I mean, I don't know what it's like to make something and have someone else come out with it first because I was always ahead. But. . . Trang has her own talent and she is just as smart as Riri. In fact, sometimes I would even claim she's as smart as me. I don't want this feud with Riri to screw either girl up and make them think that they're no longer smart, ya know?"

"Yeah. I understand." Penny said softly. "I don't know how to help though."

Tony smiled a little, "Don't worry, I wasn't asking for a solution. Anyways, stay safe please. I love you."

"Love you too." Penny said, reaching up and kissing Tony.

"Oi! Fury! Let's go!" Violetta shouted.

"Bye." Penny said and raced over to join Violetta.

👩‍🦳🛵 𝓽𝐈ｍ€ 𝔰Ќ𝕀ℙ 🥦🐢

"So. . . what all did happen, with Trang?" Penny asked Violetta curiously as they flew towards Detroit.

Vi looked over at her, "Well, Trang has always been an inspired engineer. Course, I didn't actually become friends with her until I was around nineteen or so. But when she was fifteen, she created an Iron Woman suit. But at the same time, Stark was in court and they were going to take his suit because they were afraid that others would make suits like it. But he proved in Court that no one could. Trang, not wanting to get Tony in trouble, decided to hide that she made a suit."

Penny was surprised that Trang went to those lengths, even when she didn't even know Tony personally.

"Anyways, later when Elizabeth kind've founded us as superheroes, she invited Trang into the fold. Trang went on a few missions under the name 'Iron Woman'." Violetta continued, staring out the quinjet window. "It was mostly undercover missions. She was kind've the one who'd hack the cameras and make sure we could get in and out without being spotted."

Violetta drummed her fingers against the seat and then said, "Anyways, that was when Riri Williams became the nations' new Iron Man. Under the name of Iron Heart. She was an intern at Stark Enterprises. It was said that she was going to take over for Tony one day. A brilliant, fifteen year old. And of course, being the racially motivated society we are today, they were promoting her for being a young black woman."

"Nothing wrong with that." Penny said, feeling slightly stung. Even though she didn't look it, she too was a black woman.

"Oh, I know." Vi said with a shrug. "I just didn't like the way they treated Trang later when she joined the Avengers. We had to go through interviews and stuff. For the most part, our faces weren't really put out there. We're not as well known as like Steve or Tony or Loki. But anyways, when the news found out about Trangs' Iron Woman project, they wanted to know more about it."

Violetta pulled up a few news articles on her phone and passed it over to Penny so she could take a look.

"Basically, she was proposed either as a copy cat, trying to copy Riri, or she was believed for making the suit first. Instead of complimenting her, they just said that because she was Asian, it was a no brainer and that probably all Asian people could do it too if they really tried. Some news articles, as you can see there, even went as far as to say that Trang was just trying to steal the glory from the black people."

Penny scrolled through headline after headline of unflattering name-smearing of Trang Tien. "That's terrible. They should never have done this to her."

"Yeah, well." Vi shrugged, "That's why she doesn't do missions anymore. Her Iron Woman suit is to unique. Like, it can be hard to tell the difference between Iron Man and Iron Heart, because the colour scheme is the same. But Trang made hers unique in the colours of blue, purple, and some green in there. So if she attempts missions, they just make fun of her."

Penny felt anger flare up inside of her, "That's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair. I learned that a long time ago." Vi said, and then fell silent for the rest of the trip.

🛺🥰 Ⓣᶤ𝕄€ 𝓈𝕂𝔦ℙ 🥬😘

Detroit was not a fun place at night. Both Penny and Violetta had taken their knock out pills and were now walking the path that all of the other girls had been kidnapped off of.

They were in a run down neighborhood. No lights were on in the houses or on the front porches. There were not street lights either, so the only light that the two of them had was by the stars and moon.

The smell was rank as well. It had rained recently and water had collected in large potholes in the roads. Garbage bags were sitting in the water, wearing out the bottoms of the plastic bags, letting the stale water and old food mix and rot together.

"This is nasty." Violetta muttered, putting her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. The two of them had dressed to look slutty, hoping to really catch the eye of the sex traffickers. Violetta was rocking black fishnet stockings with a short red dress that just barely covered her ass. She'd put a leather jacket over that. She was also wearing a fake nose ring and head done her hair messily.

Penny was wearing dark jade green as her dress, with diamond cuts across the middle of her stomach. She wasn't wearing tights of any kind, with her feet tucked into small black heeled boots. She'd pulled her long white hair up into a bun with a few curls coming down around her face. She'd played up the makeup and had put a matching brown contact into her blue eye.

"Maybe they're not out tonight?" Penny muttered, wrinkling her nose as well as she skirted a puddle. "Or maybe we're supposed to look more normal and less like hookers for them to come after us?"

The two fell silent when they heard a splash behind them. Penny spun, pretending to clutch onto Violetta's arm in fright, "Did you hear that?"

"C'mon." Vi muttered, pretending to pull her along faster, "Don't worry so much, it was probably just a dog or a cat or something."

The two sped up just a little, keeping their heads down. They could hear something tracking them on Penny's right, but neither of them acted as though they noticed.

Suddenly, three men stepped out in front of them and they both came to a screeching stop.

"Hello girls, can we help you somewhere?" The man in the middle asked. He had a heavy Hispanic accent and was somewhat on the squat side. The man on his right was tall and muscular, with a dark skin tone that probably matched Penny's father. And the guy on the left was probably the same height as Pietro, with shaved sides, and a pink streak going through the brown hair he had piled on top. He was probably as pale as Violetta.

"No, per favore muoviti." Violetta said in an accurately scared tone. [No, please move]

"What'd she say?" The guy with the pink streak asked in a high-pitched voice. It took Penny a back for a second.

"It's Italian, I speak Spanish." The other guy cut him angry eyes. "Italians hot anyways. Grab 'em and let's go. If they're foreign, they don't have family here."

Violetta spun and the two of them went to run, before they were blocked off by two other guys. Penny fought feebly in one of their arms, before she felt the cloth pressed over her nose and mouth. She continued to struggle, knowing that chloroform didn't actually work for a few seconds, before she let herself sag into the man's body and closed her eyes.

She felt herself be carried, listening to the sounds of the now rushed men. She heard the sounds of car doors opening and felt herself being placed on leather seats. She felt rope being tied around her ankles and wrists, before being left alone.

She cracked one eye open and saw that she was in the window seat, with the guy on the other side so he couldn't see her face.

She kept her eye open for the majority of the ride, letting street signs imbed themselves in her mind for when she had to give very clear instructions on how to find the compound.

"Separate them for now." The man ordered as the car came to a stop and Penny shut her eye again. "I'll see to the Italian in the morning. You can have this one."

"Think she's a virgin? We have that Japanese man who would pay double for a virgin." A deeper voice asked.

"We'll ask. Course we might not get a truthful answer." The Hispanic man, who seemed to be the boss, answered.

She felt herself being lifted out of the car once more and waited until she felt herself being laid down in a bed. The door was closed again and she let herself open her eyes. Once she made sure that she was all alone, she lifted her wrist to her mouth, and started to speak.

[justtessasworld]

connected | kai parker

Guess who's back?? Btw I'm sorry for the format, Tumblr doesn't allow me to make paragraphs anymore?? Idk why but everytime I post it with paragraphs they're suddenly gone 🤷‍♀️

~

In which y/n sees Kai in her dreams.

~

“That was a good one!”, y/n laughed.

The young woman was sitting at the table in the kitchen of some house somewhere in Virginia. At least Kai said so.

Said man was sitting in front of her, they were playing some game but he had interrupted it by his corny jokes.

“So what are you up to today?”, y/n asked after her laughter had quieted down.

“Hm, we'll see”, Kai stated, pouring himself a glass of water. “Probably going to watch some TV, steal something from the store down the street. The usual for living alone in a world.”

Y/n sighed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “I wish I could be there for you. Be here.” She looked around the room, around this small piece of Kai's prison world she was in.

“Oh, don't you worry! I'm just going to wait till you go to sleep again.”

Y/n chuckled dryly, scratching her fingernail over the table.

“Yes, I know, but I just-”, she stopped abruptly.

Y/n felt the strange pull in her stomach, that weird feeling she still hasn't fully become comfortable with after all these years.

“Is it already time?”, Kai asked, standing up and swiftly walking towards the woman.

Y/n nodded, gripping his arms as her legs grew weak. “I frigging hate this feeling.”

Kai chuckled, holding her waist with one hand.

“See you tomorrow”, he said, gently caressing her cheek with his free hand.

Y/n felt her face grow hot, he was so close to her and he smelled so good and-

“See you tomorrow”, she whispered and then she was gone. Disappearing into thin air.

Y/n groaned annoyed as she stopped the ringing of her alarm. 7 am.

Kicking away her blanket, the young woman pulled the ring on her necklace to the front.

It always fell to the back when she was sleeping.

Turning the ring around in her hand, y/n thought of Kai.

The ring had been his once. All those years ago before he was put into this prison world.

Y/n's grandma had found it in the woods in Portland, where Kai had lost it in the night of his imprisonment.

The ring was her gift from her grandmother at her 14th birthday. And also the reason for her dreams. Or whatever they were. They started a few days after her birthday and just never stopped. At first y/n was scared out of her mind of this strange young man in her dreams, living completely alone in the world and being so incredibly rude too. But after some troubles they really got to know each other and y/n Kai became friends, somehow.

She thought she was crazy when she was younger and she still did, sometimes. But she just couldn't believe that her mind could make up such a realistic person. Y/n never told anyone about her dreams though. Not her family nor her friends, she knew better than to try it, she had watched supernatural movies after all.

Letting the necklace go she stood up, making herself ready for work.

“Elena! How are you?”, y/n exclaimed as she saw the Gilbert sitting in the Grill.

Y/n worked there in the summer to pay off her student loans, just as a few other of her friends.

“I'm fine”, Elena snapped. Wowie, y/n thought, someone was in a bad mood right now.

Elena's gaze softened and she turned to the other young woman. “I'm sorry, y/n. It's just-”

“It's just that Damon and Bonnie are still gone?”, y/n interrupted, she might not be one of Elena's best friends but they got along more than good and so y/n knew about the absence of Elena's boyfriend and her best friend. Even though y/n didn't exactly knew everything.

“Well, Damon's back”, Elena stated. “I'm actually meeting with him here, but Bonnie's still… away.”

The way Elena's said ‘away’ made y/n frown. Bonnie wasn't missing, was she? No, if she really was missing, y/n would know. All of Mystic Falls would know.

“Well I hope she comes home soon”, y/n said, smiling brightly and said goodbye.

On her way to the bar she saw Damon and waved, a small grin forming on his normally frowning face.

After a long day at the Grill and with her friends and studies, y/n was more than happy to change out of her clothes and fall on her bed. Looking at her clock, she saw that it was already 10 pm.

Snuggling into her blankets she clutched her fingers around Kai's ring and fell asleep.

There was the feeling of falling and then suddenly she stood in the same house as last night, the sunlight bathing the dark room in bronze colors.

Turning around, y/n couldn't spot Kai. Hm, normally she would just appear in the same room as him, where was he?

“Kai?”, she shouted, walking into the hall. No answer.

“Malachai? Where are you?”, still no answer.

Without a warning the front door opened, nearly knocking y/n off her feet.

“Hey!”, she cried out taken aback, stepping back a few steps.

“Y/n? What are you already doing here?”, Kai snapped, glancing behind him. What the hell?

“Wow, Kai. I'm happy to see you too”, y/n snarled, putting her hand on her hip and looking at him suspiciously.

“You can't be here right now”, Kai growled, slamming his hand against his head.

Y/n flinched, grabbing his hand and hiding them tightly.

Kai always had the habit of punching his head and everything when something was with her, as if that would make y/n disappear. Because even though they knew each other for years now, Kai still thought that she was just a hallucination, a way of making him feel better in this lonely hell.

“Hey, Kai. Kai!”, she shouted, catching his attention. “You know I hate it when you do that”, she said quietly, her eyes sad. It hurt her so much, when she saw him in pain.

“Kai? Who are you talking too?”, a feminine voice said, standing behind the door. Before y/n could react the woman walked into the hall, looking at Kai and then at her.

Y/n knew the woman. It was-

“Bonnie?”

“Y/n?!“

Gasping y/n sat up in her bed. Fuck, her head hurt. In all these years of having these dreams she never had left them this abruptly, being more like pushed out of them than slowly pulled out.

What the hell happened?

She saw Bonnie and then she suddenly woke up. Oh God, Bonnie! Her shirt had been full of blood and she'd looked like hell. And most importantly she had been in Kai's prison world. Kai had told her that he was there because of murdering his family (with which y/n was still not comfortable with), so what had Bonnie done to get imprisoned there?

Or was she accidentally there?

Glancing at her clock, y/n saw that it was only midnight yet. Not too late to hit up Elena.

Standing in front of the massive Salvatore mansion, y/n snuggled more into her warm jacket and ringed the bell.

She had picked up Elena here a few weeks ago, the two of them wanting to go shopping with Caroline.

Now she was waiting for someone to open up, Elena or one of the Salvatores, she didn't care.

The door opened and y/n saw Damon, looking annoyed at her with an open shirt. Apparently y/n interrupted Elena's and Damon's sexy time.

Y/n smiled shyly. “I'm sorry to disturb you, but I have to talk to Elena.”

The vampire looked at her sceptically.

“It's about Bonnie.”

“So you saw her in your dreams?”, Elena asked slowly.

Y/n nodded slightly, maybe it wasn't the best idea, now they probably did think she was mental.

“And in your dreams you are in a prison world with Kai?”

Y/n nodded again.

“How do you know that psycho-boy?”, Damon looked at her closely.

“Psycho-boy? Do you know him?”, y/n asked surprised, turning to him.

“I was in that prison world with him for months. I only escaped alone because your murder-boyfriend shot Bonnie in the stomach!”, the man spat, his face furious.

Y/n gaped at him. “No, he- he wouldn't do that”, the woman whispered, then cringing.

“Well, he did kill his family, so… “, Elena mumbled and y/n frowned. She was right, though.

“How do we get her out of there?”, Damon asked annoyed.

“Well-”, y/n interrupted Elena. “What do you mean ‘her’? We have to get both of them out of there!”

“Oh no, no, no, no, no”, Damon laughed pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

“We won't help that psycho-murderer get out of there!”

“But-”

“No!”

Y/n frowned deeply.

“Well, I don't know how to get anyone out of there”, y/n snapped, “so I'll get going.”

She stood up, taking her coat from the couch.

“You may not know a way but you can help us with the witchy-woo”, Damon said.

Y/n turned around to the two of them. “Witchy-woo?”, she asked.

“Well yeah, or whatever you witches call your magic.”

“Damon, I don't think-”

“You- you think I'm a witch?”, y/n spluttered.

Damon nodded confused. Elena rubbed her temples.

“I'm not a witch!”, y/n laughed hysterically, “We're not in some kind of fairy tale!”

“Y/n, you have to have realized that these dreams aren't normal”, Elena said in a soft voice. “They're pretty common for witches.”

“I mean, of course I know that it's not normal, but I'm not--I'm not a witch.”

Y/n shook her head vehemently. “If I'm a witch, what are you? Vampires?”

Elena and Damon went silent, looking at each other.

“Oh, you've got to be kidding me”, y/n groaned, having to sit down again. “I'm in a damn Twilight fanfiction.”

It had been a week now since y/n found out about the supernatural world. And her probably being a witch. They couldn't confirm it yet, y/n couldn't actually use her ‘magic’ specifically but Elena and Damon and all the other vampires, y/n had met this week (well she did already know them, she just never knew that they weren't human) were sure that was a witch.

God, it felt so weird, saying that. Her, a witch.

There's also been another weird thing. In this whole week y/n had never dreamed of Kai. Not once. Sleeping, actually sleeping and not spending time with Kai, was strange for her.

It was like he didn't want her there, with him. As if he pushed her away.

Y/n awoke, in the middle of the night again, she had slept, like a normal human being but it felt wrong.

She grabbed the ring, thumbing it around.

“Kai, please, let me in”, she whispered, near tears. She couldn't sleep and not being able to dream of him, to be with him with her visions, she didn't just feel like she couldn't relax she felt like she had lost her best friend.

Crying out, y/n pulled off her necklace, throwing it into her room.

She couldn't sleep that night.

A few weeks later, y/n was walking home from the Salvatores, having spend the whole day trying to find a way to use her powers, as she saw a man standing on her front pouch.

“Can I help you?”, she shouted, pulling her keys out of her jacket.

The man turned around and y/n let go of her keys, clanking down to the ground.

That tall frame, dark hair, these dark intense eyes. Malachai Parker.

Y/n gasped, looking at him shocked.

Kai smiled. “Hello, love.”

The young woman cried out, letting her bag fall to the ground and running towards him.

He laughed deeply as she threw her arms around of him, picking her up. Her legs wrapping around his waist.

Kai sighed, burying his face into her hair.

“Why! Why would you keep me out? I was so worried, I thought- I-”, y/n sobbed, clutching his back.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry”, Kai mumbled, squeezing her thigh.

She looked at him, into these deep brown eyes. God, they were shining and so full of emotion. Her smooth hands stroked his jaw, up to his hair, pushing some strands back. He was so handsome and he was here.

“I can't believe you're here”, she whispered, fingernails lightly scratching his neck.

He nodded, his nose nearly touching hers.

Suddenly she was more than aware of their closeness, her legs around his middle, their faces only inches apart, his grip on her thigh.

Y/n breathed shallowly, her gaze flicking to his lips, just as his did the same.

Both of them flinched as the sound of a horn echoed from the street.

Y/n coughed slightly, awkwardly getting off of Kai.

The man grumbled something quietly.

“Let's- let's just go in”, y/n mumbled, picking up her stuff and walking to her apartment, making sure not to meet his eyes.

He was hot on her heels, following her into the small apartment y/n was able to afford.

They had spoken about that exact home once in one of her visions, Kai had never listened that closely. He was happy he did, otherwise he wouldn't have found her.

“Home sweet home”, y/n chuckled, shrugging out of her jacket.

She walked into the kitchen, drinking some water.

Kai appeared in the door frame, leaning against it.

“Love”, he started.

“How are you here? Why are you here? Why didn't I have these dreams the last weeks? You once said you're a witch? Are you a witch? Am I a witch? Elena and Damon said so but-”, y/n rambled.

Kai laughed lowly. “Breathe, y/n, breathe.”

Y/n nodded, sitting down.

“I'm going to explain everything later”, the young man said, walking to where y/n was sitting.

“But firstly I have to get some magic.” Right, y/n thought, she remembered that he was a siphoner and now being in the real world again, he could get magic again.

“Right, of course. I don't know how, though.”

Kai kneeled down in front of her, gently grabbing her wrists.

“Let me try something, that way we also find out if you really are a witch.”

Kai watched her closely. Y/n nodded, she trusted him with her life.

His grip on her wrists tightened and a hot feeling shot through them. It traveled up her arms and spread out until her whole body was hot and prickled.

“Kai”, she moaned, her body growing weak.

He stopped abruptly, letting go of her and nearly falling on the floor, his eyes dark with ecstasy.

“Y/n”, he groaned. “Well now we're sure you're a witch.”

“Why?”, she asked, slumped again the chair.

“Because I just took a bit of your magic and you have more magic than any other witch I've ever known.”

“If you want to stay you can take the bed”, y/n said, putting their dinner in the fridge.

They had spent the entire afternoon with talking, catching up with what happened in the last weeks.

Kai nodded thankfully.

“Elena called, they found Bonnie but they don't know where you are.”

Y/n felt bad for lying to Elena but she didn't want the vampires to do anything to Kai.

"Thank you", the siphoner smiled softly. "And I can take the couch if you don't mind."

"OK", the young woman whispered, turning to her bedroom door. "Goodnight, Malachai."

"Goodnight, love."

Y/n was a light sleeper, so when she started to hear mumbling from the living room she was nearly instantly awake.

"Please- I- father, please", a voice groaned loudly. Kai.

Y/n slowly stood up. He had to have a nightmare. He told her about those years ago. Moments of his childhood when his family would punish him for, well, living.

"Kai?", she called out, standing at the door. The young man was laying on her couch, his tall frame nearly to much for the small couch. He was withering under the thin blanket, hands gripping the sheets, his face sweaty and hair clinging to his forehead.

"Let me go- I'm sorry- please don't- father, please, why-", he muttered, feet kicking away the blanket.

"Kai, hey, Kai!", y/n said loudly, sitting down next to him and touching his chest.

"Kai, wake up, Kai!", she shouted, she couldn't see him like that, it hurt.

Gasping, Kai sat up, his chest heaving and his eyes scanning the room disoriented.

"It's okay, it's okay", y/n mumbled like a mantra, hugging him close.

Kai sobbed lowly, gripping her waist and pulling her even closer.

"Oh God", he groaned quietly, his body calming down slowly.

She let him go after he calmed down mostly, still holding his hands.

"Do you wanna talk about it?", y/n asked, watching him closely.

He shook his head, not meeting her eyes.

"Where-", he cleared his throat, "Where is my ring", he was looking at her neck where his ring would normally hang since she was 14.

"Oh that. I- I'm sorry, I took it off when you didn't let me in anymore. I was so angry and worried.", y/n whispered, squeezing his hand.

"I'm sorry that I did that, I only pushed you out for a few days and after that you never appeared anymore. I was worried sick, myself. Ask Bonnie, I was really grumpy the last weeks", he muttered and y/n laughed quietly.

"It's OK", she said, "And I'm sorry for taking off the necklace."

Kai smiled, squeezing her waist.

She was sitting nearly on top of him and when she realized that, she blushed.

"Oh, shit, sorry", she whispered, making a move to stand up again.

Kai shook his head, pulling her back so that she sat in his lap.

She gasped, grabbing his shoulders. Oh God they were so close.

His arm wrapping around her waist, he pulled her even closer, their chests touching.

Y/n's eyes were wide, her cheeks rosy and her hair falling out of her braid.

Kai smiled softly, his hand touching her neck and cheek.

"God, you're so beautiful", he mumbled leaning towards her and before she knew it their lips touched.

Y/n moaned lowly, her hands gripping his shirt. Angling her head, she kissed back, slipping her tongue between his lips.

Kai's grip around her waist tightened, his hand teasing her braid.

His kiss turned more passionate, her hand clawing at his back, his neck.

"Fuck", Kai gasped as he pulled away, his eyes nearly black.

Y/n nodded shakingly, her lips swollen.

"I've waited so long for this", he chuckled, pecking her lips. Y/n grinned heartily, closing the gap again.

They were finally together.

~

Kai Parker taglist:

@kikii-stfu @panic-naran