#whenever i’d ask him why he’s staring he’d shoot a question back ‘why? am i getting you all flustered?’

[chrollogy]

nobody asked but before we confessed to one another, mr wanderer obviously knew i had feelings for him, and he’d make an effort to get me flustered every time we studied together because he liked seeing my reactions. he’d purposely lean in veeeeery close whenever he read something over my shoulder or stare at me longer than necessary because he knows i don’t hold eye contact well

[nethercomfies]

Oh gOD OH DEAR CONGRATULATIONS YOU DESERVE SO MANY FOLLOWERS HON!! I'm almost making myself sick w excitement why am i like this-

I'M BUZZING AND I DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE TO PICK BUT-

Kaeya, Thoma and Xiao with "I've dreamt about this" because I want mushy, intimate heart-to-heart, opening-up-to-one-another moments under the starry night sky. In my head the reader says the line at least to Kaeya and Xiao since they're more Angsty™ in general but obviously you go run w this and do whatever you want!

I'm going to send this in before I second-guess myself for the characters.. I'm so sorry Itto but you fill me with very lighthearted soft warm loving thoughts rather than something like this but I love you, you big goof-

Anyway- CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN WOOHOO CCCC:<

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

I swear your excitement over like… EVERYTHING I post is one of the things that keep me going whenever I start doubting myself ToT I really really appreciate all your support 💛

Those actually turned out longer than expected but oh well, I'm sure noone's gonna complain about that-

Character: Kaeya, Thoma, Xiao

Prompt: "I've dreamt about this"

Content: Lots of fluff, a bit of angst for Kaeya and Xiao, confessions, kisses, holding hands

My 200 followers event

Kaeya:

Mondstadt at night really is a sight to behold. Seeing the ever so lively city bathed in a peaceful slumber with only a few lights remaining lit here and there sends a strange rush of calmness over you as you watch the city from beyond Starfell Valley with your knees pulled close to your chest and your head propped on top of them. It’s most definitely the second most beautiful thing you’ve seen today.

The first place goes to Kaeya, who’s silently sitting next to you, propped up on his arms as he gazes off into the distance. He appears to be relaxed, glad he can let his guard down for once when it’s just the two of you. Whenever you see him like this, your heart beats just a little faster, a million confessions blooming on your tongue. Tonight as well you force yourself to swallow them down, in fear of ruining the moment. You like to think you’re better at reading Kaeya than most other people, but it’s not enough to tell how he’d react to a confession. Having seen time and time again how quick he can be to shut people out, you’d rather not risk it.

He glances over to catch you staring, cracking a grin as you quickly avert your gaze. “Like what you’re seeing?” He asks and you gently shove his shoulder with a giggle.

“Yeah, you wish,” you say, trying not to let it show that yes, you like it quite a lot, actually. You’re not quite sure how successful you are at hiding it, but try not to overthink it.

Kaeya chuckles and just shrugs. “I don’t see why I wouldn’t want a pretty person to find me attractive,” he notes casually. It might just be a remark without much meaning, but it’s enough to let your world slow down as your eyes shoot over to him. His attention is already directed back at the night sky, but the faint smile remains on his face. After a few moments of you silently staring at him, Kaeya laughs and turns to look back at you again. “Is it that hard to believe I’d think you’re pretty?” He asks. The usual teasing in his voice is definitely still there, but it’s slightly muted, overshadowed by a more earnest tone.

You feel the blush creeping into your cheeks. “I would have thought someone like you had probably countless of far more attractive people than me all lined up to get your attention,” you quietly admit. Kaeya’s look softens a little at that, his easy grin fading away for a small pout.

“Even if that were the case, who’s to say I wouldn’t still choose you?” You’re pretty sure the words physically knocked the air out of your lungs.

“Come on,” you laugh, “Why would you do that?”

Kaeya looks at you like you just asked the silliest question ever possible. “Because there’s more important things than the way a person looks. I like you for who you are, not what you look like, you know?” Once again you just look at him, your mind working hard to process what it just heard. When you don’t respond for a while, Kaeya adds a more cautious “Did you think I didn’t like you?”

You shake your head, suddenly feeling very shy. “No, I just… Never would have imagined you’d like me this much,” you admit.

Kaeya leans over to cup your cheek, the smile on his face unusually gentle. “I do. I always thought you knew that. I haven’t exactly been subtle about it,” he admits and you’re a little taken aback. Although, in hindsight, maybe he’s right. Kaeya has a habit of shutting people out when he’s not interested in them or doesn’t have much to gain from talking to them. But you’ve never received that kind of treatment. Not to mention the occasional gifts and invites to get food together… Or the fact that he’d rather sit on a hill and look at the stars than to go for a drink right now. You can’t believe you could have missed all of that.

When you look back at Kaeya to say something, his face is right in front of yours with a soft smile, one hand raised to cup your cheek. It’s a quick, shy kiss that the two of you share, but it’s enough to make your heart flutter. Once your lips part again, you catch just the slightest hint of nervousness in Kaeya’s face, but it quickly fades into a cheeky grin. "I've dreamt about this,” you whisper, something you usually would never have admitted to out loud -- But right in this moment it just feels like the right thing to do.

“Well, did I live up to your dreams?” Kaeya asks, one of his hands playing with a strand of your hair.

You chuckle and give him another kiss on the cheek. “It was even better than I imagined.”

Thoma:

Thoma holds onto your hand as you make your way down to the beach. The sun is already setting in the distance and the summer heat slowly makes way for a slight evening chill. It feels kind of refreshing, especially with the gentle breeze coming in from the sea. In your other hand you’re carrying a blanket, while Thoma has a small basket of food in his. The plan is to find a nice spot for a picnic where you can watch the sunset and later enjoy the fireworks.

It’s something you’ve been looking forward to almost the entire week now, ever since Thoma had approached you, looking uncharacteristically shy and asking if you’d like to spend his day off with him to go watch the fireworks together. You had immediately agreed -- After all, being able to have Thoma all for yourself is a rare thing. Usually most of his attention lies with cleaning, cooking, groceries, fulfilling requests for the Kamisato family… So you were quite happy he wanted to spend his free day with you.

“Here’s a nice spot, don’t you think?” Thoma asks in his usual cheerful voice. You just nod and give him a smile -- The spot really is beautiful. Secluded, with a perfect view of the sunset and probably an amazing place to see the fireworks from. The two of you set up your little picnic and sit down, into the food Thoma had prepared. He’s made some onigiri, egg rolls, sushi and skewers, along with dango and mochi for dessert. Seeing all of it, you wonder how the two of you will be able to finish it off all by yourselves… But that only means you’ll get a chance to take some of the leftovers with you and have some of Thoma’s delicious food for the next couple of days as well.

The sky is glowing in a deep, burning orange as the sun is slowly setting. It covers Thoma in a warm glow while he leans back on his arms with a smile, closing his eyes and enjoying the last bit of sunlight for the day. He himself is as radiant as the sun, you think, entranced by the sight in front of you. You’re dying to just reach out a hand and touch him -- To feel his warmth directly against your skin, to make sure he’s actually real and not just a hallucination you dreamed up.

At that moment Thoma opens his eyes again and turns his head to you with a warm smile. “How’s the food, y/n? Everything to your liking?”

You quickly shake yourself out of your previous trance and nod. “Of course! It tastes amazing like always. I can never get enough of your food,” you praise him, resulting in an even wider grin from him.

“In that case it’s good we’ll have leftovers, huh?” He winks at you and you can’t help but blush a little. He knew exactly you were hoping to have some of his food left after this. Thoma laughs at the sight of your expression. “You’re always praising my cooking so much… I had a feeling you might want some extras.”

“You really didn’t have to put in all the extra work for me,” you pout, but Thoma just pats your shoulder.

“It’s no problem at all. Anything to bring that sweet smile to your face.” Your blush only deepens, feeling very shy all of a sudden. You had no idea you were that predictable for Thoma… What other things you tried to hide is he aware of? You give him a weary look, but are met with nothing but Thoma’s usual bubbliness. “Oh, come on! It’s really not that big of a deal! I’d cook for you any day if you asked me to, you know?” He says it in the same carefree voice as always, not knowing that the idea of being close enough to Thoma that he’d be making food just for you every day makes your heart race.

You’re about to stammer out a reply, but it’s at this moment that you hear a loud cracking sound in the distance, followed by a flash of bright colors against the darkening sky. Your eyes dart over to watch the fireworks, fully absorbed by the way the colors rain down over Inazuma City. Even Thoma stops with his usual chatter to look at the sky in absolute awe.

You’re a little caught off guard when you feel a comfortable warmth against your hand -- Fingers hesitantly toying with yours before intertwining with them. You look over at Thoma, a little startled at the action, only to see him give you a shy smile. “Do you mind this?” He asks, voice barely loud enough for you to hear with the fireworks in the background.

“Not at all.” For once it’s you with the reassuring smile, scooting over a little closer to Thoma to rest your head against his shoulder, heart beating so fast that you’re almost dizzy. He’s just as warm and comfortable as you would have imagined, snaking an arm around your shoulders to keep you close.

“You know,” he starts after a while, his voice still sounding a little shaky with nervousness, “I’ve dreamt about this. For quite some time, actually. I’m glad I get to watch the fireworks with you.”

You turn your head slightly to look at him and smile. “Me too. I’d like to spend every summer watching the fireworks with you. There’s no person I’d rather do this with,” you admit, causing Thoma’s face to light up.

“Sounds wonderful. Let’s spend all the future summers together as well, then.”

Xiao:

You quietly make your way to the rooftop of Wangshu Inn, hoping not to startle Xiao. He's leaning against the huge tree, staring off into the distance. For once, there's an almost peaceful expression on his face.

"Hey," you almost whisper, standing a few feet away from him. Xiao glances over at you then back into the distance, not saying anything. Well, at least he's not telling you to go away. You carefully approach him, letting yourself drop down onto the wood. It's quiet for a while.

"Have you been busy recently?" You ask, leaning back against the tree until your shoulder is almost touching with Xiao's.

"Not particularly, no," he just says with a shrug. You can't help but frown. So much for your only possible explanation on what was going on with him lately.

"Then… Are you avoiding me?" You're not sure you really want to hear his answer. Then again, you'd like to at least understand why.

"No… I mean…" Xiao sighs, goes quiet for a while and stares up at the stars again. When you're almost certain he won't say anything else, he begins to speak again, voice barely above a whisper. "I just don't think you should be getting so close to me." When you give him a questioning look, he continues. "You'll only get hurt by being near me that much… I don't want you to get hurt." The last bit is barely audible, but you hear a faint crack in his voice.

You place a gentle hand on his shoulder to which he barely reacts. "I'm fine, Xiao. I'm not getting hurt by you or… By being in your presence or anything. I actually feel pretty safe, knowing you're always there to protect me."

Xiao glances over at you with a frown. "But, what if-"

"I promise, I'm fine," you cut him off, subconsciously moving closer towards him, your arm now carefully wrapped around his shoulder. "I understand that you're worried… But I swear I'm doing okay. And I'd like to just stay by your side, if that's okay."

He turns his head to look at you, seeking for any shred of hesitance in your expression, only to find nothing but warm sincerity. "Are you sure?"

You nod firmly. "I like being with you. So, if it's okay with you, I'd want to stay with you."

Xiao lets out a small chuckle as he allows himself to lean against you. "I guess if I can't convince you otherwise… I may as well enjoy the time I have with you."

Your head sinks against his shoulder and the two of you sit in silence for a while, just looking up at the stars. It's nice being with him like this. There's been countless times where you imagined a scene just like this one, yet none of them ever got close to feeling this perfect. "I dreamed about this," you whisper after a while, scooting closer towards Xiao. He wraps his arms around you and just hums in agreement.

[cocochannel00]

Things that Husband!Harry would definitely do (a thread)

(If you don’t think that Tiny Desk Harry doesn’t give off mad husband!harry vibes - he looks so fluffy- then we can’t be friends)

- He’d sneak into your room the night before the wedding because he missed you even though he knows its bad luck and when you’re mad at him for it he would just smile and place a kiss on your forehead and say “I don’t need any luck, I just need you”

- At your wedding reception he would walk around the room introducing you to everyone as “my wife” as if they didn’t already know who you were 

- During your wedding dinner he’d spend the whole night whispering dirty jokes in your ear trying to make you laugh because he knew that even though it was your wedding day you were still spooked by all of the attention

- On your first year anniversary Harry wanted to surprise you by making you breakfast in bed so he started making pancakes as you slept. You woke up to the sound of your fire alarm going off and Harry blowing the smoke off a pan with a pillow. He’d give you a sheepish smile before mumbling a “maybe we get takeout this year?”

- During the holidays he’d hang mistletoe all around your house and force you to kiss him at every one. “Look love it’s mistletoe, you know what that means” he’d state with a grin. “Harry I just kissed you literally 2 minutes ago in the other room” you’d grumble “Doesn’t matter love, it’s mistletoe and those are the rules. Now come here and kiss your husband”

- Anytime the two of you would get into any sort of major fight where you would say “I hate you” he would shoot back “Well I love you so I guess you’re stuck with me” before going to sulk on the couch

- Whenever you went to his shows or stayed with him on tour he would force you to sit back stage and watch him from the wings so he could watch your reaction to his corny jokes and steal a kiss from you in between sets and on his bathroom breaks

- You agreed to be the designated drive for your group for a night out so Harry gets drunk and becomes extra clingy. He spends the entire night stuck to your side, shoving his face in your neck whispering “I’m going to marry you one day” to which you’d remind him quietly that you were already married. He’d then nod thoughtfully and mumbled “Well then I’m going to marry you again just in case” 

- One night you would be tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep and you would accidentally wake up Harry. You’d apologies because you knew he had to wake up early the next day, but he would just shush you with a quick peck before repositioning you so that you could lay your head on his chest. He’d then softly start humming the tune to one of the new songs he was working on until you’d fall asleep

- Harry would convince you that he was capable of building the Ikea coat rack the two of you had bought for your new home on his own so you’d go into the room next door to take a nap. When you woke up and hour later you found him laying on the floor facetiming Mitch as he tried to figure out why the last piece wasn’t fitting properly only for you to look at it and realize he had built half of it backwards

- Harry would come home late from one his movie shoots and would mumble a quick hello as he walked in through the door. You’d be sitting on the couch watching and episode of Dateline and he would throw himself next to you and lay his head on your lap. You’d start running your hands through his hair as you finished watching the last couple of minutes of the episode before asking Harry how his day was only to realize he had passed out on your lap and was now quietly snoring, a small trail of drool slowly coming out of his mouth

- The next season of your favorite show Handmaid’s Tale had come out so you and Harry started watching it. Every five minutes Harry would ask you a question about the show until mid way through you looked at him and bursted out “Harry if you ask me one more question about the show I’m sending you to our room”. Harry would pout at you and sink into the couch, grumbling about how it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t remember what happened last season before he shoved some popcorn into his mouth

- You’d need to go shopping at Target one day to get some decorations for your niece's birthday party and Harry would decide to come along. “This is our list Harry, we’re not buying anything that’s not on the list” you’d say in the car before getting out, but it would be hopeless because every other aisle Harry would pick something up and say “babe we need to get this” and you would stare at him and say “is it on the list?” and he would grumble a no before sulking back down the aisle to put it back

- On road trips when he let you pick the music he would grumble when you would change the song every 30 seconds. “Love just choose a song, it’s not that difficult, gave you the bloody playlist” he’d state as you would continue to skip through the songs mumbling “I’m tired of that song though, just wanted to hear the chorus”. “Is that what you do with my songs too, just skip all the good parts to get to the bloody chorus?” he’d ask mockingly as you gave him a sheepish smile and mumbled a “sometimes” before finally picking a song

- It would be nearly 4 am and you would still be awake reading your book in bed as Harry slept soundly next to you. You could feel the tears running down your face as the main character just had their heartbroken and a soft sniffle left your nose which caused Harry to startle awake. “Babe what time is it?” he’d mumble as you continue reading, paying him no mind. He’d turn on his phone and groan as he saw the 4 flash at him before turning to see the tears on your face. “Oh no love did she get her heartbroken again? Sure they’ll get back together by the end” he’d state, knowing this was your third rom-com book of the month. You’d mumble a yes as Harry gently dog eared the page before you could protest. He turned off your lamp before tucking you into his side, pulling the covers up to your chin, letting you crying into his chest over your fictional characters

- You and Harry going to your 15th high school reunion together and he gets jealous when he sees you talking to your ex-boyfriend from when you were 16. He’d come up behind you and wrap an arm around your waist while placing a kiss to the side of your temple before reaching out his free hand to introduce himself. “Hello I’m Harry. The Husband” he’d say as he shook your ex’s hand just a little tighter then necessary

- Harry would be overly invested in your work place gossip so when the two of you would have dinner together he would constantly ask questions about what happened with your coworkers that day. “So did Stacy and Justin get caught yet or does Janet still have no idea? Did Kathleen ever get that promotion? If I ever see Garrett I’m going to punch him”

-  He’d force you to wake up early with him so the two of you could workout together in your home gym, but you’d just sit on the floor against the mirror in your workout clothes staring at him. After several attempts at trying to get you to stretch with him he’d give up and say “If you’re not gonna workout at least give me some motivation babe” so he’d do his abs workout in front of you and every time he came up from a sit-up you’d give him a kiss

- Harry would come down with a cold and he would turn into a 5 year old boy and try to milk it for everything it’s worth. “Think the doctor mentioned that cuddles would really help with my headache, love.” “Harry I don’t think that’s what the doctor said” you’d reply as you placed a cold wash cloth on his forehead. “Don’t think I would have forgotten such an important order from her. Now, come here I want to cuddle my wife” 

- He’d come home from the studio fidgeting with his beat-up blue iPod in his hand as you were finishing up a quick dinner for the two of you. He would gently place the iPod on the counter next to you as he poured himself a drink to calm his nerves. You’d stare at it for a minute before asking “Is it finished? Can I listen?”. He’d nod before you gave him a quick kiss and took the device to the living room, leaving him there with his thoughts. An hour later you came back into the kitchen, tears streaming down your face as you ran up to hug him. “Liked it?” he’d ask nervously, this being the first time you’d heard the finished album. “Absolutely loved it” you’d whisper back causing Harry to release a deep breath before taking your face in his hands and kissing you roughly

- He’d start every award acceptance speech with “I’d like to first thank my wife for always supporting me” and then try to catch your eye in the crowd, giving you a soft smile that was only meant for you before going on to thank everyone else

- “We need an intervention Harry. Why are your suits in my side of the closet?” you asked as you came down stairs with one of Harry’s Gucci suits. “I was running out of space and I didn’t think you would notice” he replied with a blush. “Well I did so either you move them or I’m throwing them out” “Love but they’re Gucci you can’t just-” “Ah ah ah I don’t care. My side of the closet” you’d state before dropping the suit in his lap and walking back upstairs

So many others come to mind but these are just a couple that came to mind. I’ll probably do a Dad!Harry version at some point as well 

[simpz-art-stash]

Late beginnings

Summary: Mac goes out for a drink, and happens upon some advice he takes into consideration about his skewered relationship with Wukong. Before finally taking some action to mend the long burnt bridge. (Author’s note: I barely did any beta reading for this so if it’s worded strangely that’s just how I write without the normal filter on. I’m country so HOWDY) Next Page ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The night was late, but he didn’t care, he might as well have been nocturnal with the way his whole life revolved around the whole stereotype of shadows and shit. He’d walked into a bar he’d passed through a few times before, donning his human disguise of course beforehand, and walked in without sparing anyone else a glance. Before planting his rear in one of the stools seated at the front bar, ordering a drink to get the night started. “I’m really looking forward to seeing that new Monkey King movie with the trailer they just released. You saw it too right?? The whole style of the film is on par with their most recent game- OH, you think they’re gonna make a game of it?? I bet you they wiiiill!~” Ugh, great, just what he’d come here to avoid.

Mac’s eyes glanced to the blabbermouth boasting about whatever new movie was being made about his ex, to see two girls residing a ways down near the other end of the bar a few seats away from him. Both looking to have had a fair night themselves already if any of the cups and plates hanging around their spot was anything to go by. “Probably. I hope it’s better than last game that came out on the Brick 360, the bugs in that thing were gross to deal with.” Their friend commented back. Before looking down at their phone and claiming that it was getting late and that they had to go. “Yeah I’ll see ya Monday!” The chick waved their friend off a lazy farewell after they’d paid their bill before going back to their drink, now taking less tedious sips as the mood seemed to smooth out from their conversation prior. “I see someone’s a pretty big fan of that ol’ man.” Macaque piped up from where he sat, earning the attention of the stranger he’d directed his comment towards. “The Monkey King yeah?” Sparks danced in the chick’s eyes at the recognition of the name, before the stranger perked up and beamed a smile back at him, “You betcha! I’m a total nerd for that legend.” ‘A legend, hah.’ “S’the whole reason I moved to China in the first place.” She jabbed a thumb at her chest, “All the way from America!” Mac whistled, “That’s a pretty far leap to take, even for a legend. What, you hopin’ you’ll get the chance to see em’ or somethin’?” He sneered, taking his glass and lazily swirling it in his hand. “I wish!” She laughed, “Nah I mostly just moved here for work. If anything though it’s cuz a them for where I am now. I’d never even heard of him till about five years ago!” Mac blinked, lowering his drink from his lips, “You’re joking…”

“Not at all! No one hardly knows the story back home. Only reason I found out was cuz I just started gettin’ into anything monkey-related as a hobby.” She pointed at him, “Don’t laugh either, it’s a wildly popular standpoint to have these days online.” Mac quirked a brow at that, he’d hardly touched the internet these days save for whenever he needed some quick info on something he couldn’t find elsewhere. He held his hands up, “Hey I ain’t judging…” He smirked a little to betray the look that he totally was though. It was kinda funny how ironic it was him being there right then. She squinted at him, “Anyways...Yeah, I’d seen stuff of him online, but I’d never paid much attention to it up until recently.” “What made you change your mind?” Mac boredly probed, taking a sip. She simply shrugged, “I was in a dark headspace, guy made me laugh.” He paused, “Wait, seriously??” “I mean have you HEARD half the crazy shit he’s done??” ‘Babe I’ve LIVED through half the shit he’s done.’ “Like, literally, the guy is HILARIOUS. My favorite story out of them all being one where he literally tricked THREE taoist immortals into drinking his own piss!!” She burst out laughing while Mac choked on his drink a little, not having expected to hear that of all things. Sure he’d heard a few of the shenanigan’s his peaches had gotten up to throughout his journey to the west but he’d never heard that one before. Nor had he the patience to read through all that mess of context that had been published either. “Ahhh man, it still gets me…” The chick sighed with a few leftover laughs as she wiped a tear from her eye. “What about you? What’s your favorite story?” She asked. And suddenly Mac felt like he’d been put on the spot as he stared back at her. “Come ooon, surely there’s one that’s gotten your gut rolling.” She pried. ‘Plenty, but there ain’t no way in hell I’d tell a soul.’ “Bahh...there ain’t the first one that comes to mind that I’d like. Honestly I’m not even much of a fan.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Whaaat?? Aw come on! There’s tons of cool n’ funny stories!” “Heh..can’t imagine what you find so charming about a guy who’s too good for his own friends.” Mac spitefully twacked himself mentally for spewing something so personal like that out. Ugh, and he hadn’t even finished half his drink yet… The chick sitting to his left seemed to tilt her head a little before she squinted at him. Her silence being what brought his attention from his drink to her as he blinked back with a quirked brow. “What?” “Your eyes, they’re like raging storm clouds.” She pointed out. He blinked, not really sure how to feel about that. The only one who’d ever really pointed that out to him before was… “...So?” “Nothing!...” She shrugged, turning back away towards her own drink as if no conversation at all had happened between them. Whatever...he had his fill of shit to drink to either way. The night might’ve been late but he was just getting started. “He makes me laugh though.” She pointed out, earning her a glance. “All his stories n’ stuff. If there was ever a man I’d want, it’d be one who could always make me laugh.” “Hmph, not one for strength?” He took a long sip. Ignoring the bitterness of others fawning over someone he’d come to love before he’d gotten so popular. “Strength is fine n’ all, but it can only take a relationship so far..you gotta have more pieces to put in that crockpot of a relationship if you wanna make it taste good. Stuff like patience, honesty, a little bit of everything to help it all come together to make it juuuuust right.” “Hm…” “It can’t be all just you putting the stuff in there either, it’s gotta be a contribution from both gardens. Otherwise you’ll just barren your lands and be left with nothing to spare yourself or others in your life with.” She glanced at Mac, “Relationships are tricky like that, but they should always be a 50/50 split~” She winked. That...actually sounded like pretty sound advice. Something he’d heard a little here and there before but never so simply laid out. Though it made sense from his standpoint, fairness n’ all that. But he’d been that way with Wukong before and it had never worked out, all the bickering and such, so what had gone wrong? “Can I...ask you something?” Mac inquired. “Shoot.” “What’re your thoughts on..a relationship that seemed fine, but then the other changed so much that everything about it fell apart?” “Mmm...care to sprinkle in a lil more context?” The chick eyed him. Mac’s face scrunched up a little, no idea why he was asking some random mortal for relationship advice of all things. “Hey man. We’re both probably never gonna meet again after tonight, so if you’ve got skeletons in your closet, your best place to let em’ out is here. Bartenders are known for being the most well kept secret keepers in all the world after all~” She winked at the bartender in question who simply looked the other way with a look that might’ve suggested such a fact as truth. “Hm…” Ah screw it, “Alright alright…” He sighed and put his drink down, “There’s..someone. We used to be real close, we were strong together but then uh..shit got real and he had to go deal with it. But when he came back he uh, wasn’t the same as before, an I might’ve sorta assumed he was cheating on me so…so we kinda fell out.” The chick nodded, “Ahh..the classic misunderstanding of change and cheating, a tale as old as time.” She seemed to hum a moment before she turned from where she was seated, if not to hop down off her stool and plop down on the one right up next to him. “Uh-” “Shhh, lemme see those eyes.” She squinted, leaning in and staring deep into his. It’d would’ve been really unnerving if she hadn’t said anything about them before, now he was a lil put off that he might’ve been asking a witch of all things for advice… “Right. Well, at least you feel bad about it. So there’s that.” He blinked and his brows furrowed, “Wh- of course I feel bad about it, it was his fault-” He suddenly had a finger pressed to his lips. “Nope! Nooononono, you do not get to throw all the blame elsewhere like that sweetheart. There ain’t no way in hell you’re gettin’ a second chance with them if you keep that up.” She pulled her hands back. His face scrunched up and he found himself crossing his arms, if he had his tail out it would’ve been irritably swaying behind him right then at just how annoyed he was getting at this weird lady and her words. “Oh yeah? An what do you think’s best then huh?” “I dunno if you’d be up for that kinda challenge…” She idly fiddled with an imaginative piece of lint off her sleeve, which only seemed to irritate Mac further at the thought of him not being able to handle Wukong of all people. Like sure he’d gotten his ass handed to him before but he could still hold his own! “Try me.” The chick glanced back at him with a smirk, which caught him off guard for a second before he shot her a glare back. “Alright, but it’s definitely not gonna be as quick or easygoing of a recovery as you might hope it’ll be. Nor is there even a chance of you recovering it in the first place. But, you at least got that spark enough to try so who am I to deny?” ‘Hmpt, dam right I got a spark.’

“First of all, no more blaming, if you’re gonna tackle this properly, you gotta do yourselves a favor an quit it with the blame placing. Sure it’s easy, but it ain’t gonna get you nowhere but back to square one. It’s all in the past, the now is now. So push forward to fix it and put it behind you two so you can focus on the more important things.” “Easier said than done…” “Hey man, even if they don’t follow the same ruleset at first you could always work things out to make it one later on. I’m just tellin’ ya right now so you won’t just go diggin’ yourself a deeper hole.” Honestly at this point he was pretty much six feet down under, death to him would’ve been a mercy right then. “Fine…” He rolled his eyes. “Next up, apologizing…” -----------~----------- “I thought I told you to stay off my island.” Mac didn’t really glance back from where he stood high up on one of the breathtaking ledges that which Flower Fruit Mountain bolstered. His arms crossed, eyes sternly held against the leftover warmth of the late afternoon sun as it shifted the skies hues from blue to blood red. Hopefully that would be the only tinge of red the Mountain would see after today. “I know.” “What, no witty remark? Give me one good reason-” “I just wanted to talk.” Mac stated plainly. “Why the hell should I give you the chance?” “...” Mac wasn’t sure if he could come up with a good enough reason after the shitshow he’d caused him the last few centuries, most recent being his spat with him between MK. “I’m sorry.” That seemed to catch the king off guard, as he paused in his vicious glare to stare at the other. “Excuse me??” “I’m.Sorry.” Mac turned finally to Wukong, that look of fiery malice having softened immensely upon meeting their eyes. “I was wrong for what I did and I’m sorry.” Wukong’s face looked like it had had a stroke with how frozen in place it was, almost like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Hurting everyone around you just to get back at you, I was wrong for doing that. And I just wanted to apologize.” Mac’s face twisted a little, the words coming out a little rougher than he’d liked, but he’d managed to get three steps in so far… “If you think a few sorry’s are gonna be enough to make up for all that crap then you gotta nother’ thing comin Mac.” Wukong finally shook off the surprise and crossed his arms with a steely gaze. “Nah I know they ain’t worth shit with as long as it's been...which it’s been..a really, really long time come to think of it..nearly 3000 years…” Fucking yikes. “What’s your point?...” Wukong raised a brow at him. “My point is...my point..” What was his point? To make amends and hope they’d get back together? To go back to the way things were? That couldn’t be done with the way things were now. Wukong had a successor, a moral compass, a lotta shit that Mac didn’t. A lotta shit that he wanted but never could figure out how to get his own. His face scrunched up a little and he sighed, “I..just wanted to make things right.” “Oh-hoh? After so long you finally decided to admit you were at fault? Sorry Mac, but it’s waaaay too late for that.” Wukong huffed, “Honestly, this is probably just another one of your stupid tricks if anything. The old Macaque would never throw himself down like that.” “Well maybe I’ve changed!” Mac exclaimed suddenly, his temper flaring a bit as his eyes flashed lightning. “3000 years later? As if…” Wukong rolled his eyes and turned away, “You’ve still got that same look in your eyes you always do whenever we fight. Do me a favor and just keep away from the hot springs this time yeah? The last time you were here you sent a whole dam boulder over there and smashed half the pools.” He waved his hand dismissively. “And I happen to take my once a month bath’s very seriously.” Mac’s nostrils flared a little at just how flamboyant Wukong was acting towards him and his attempt to make amends. How he just saw his attempt as a joke and nothing more, it pissed him off. Wukong had changed and everyone had accepted him, well not everyone, but still, why couldn’t the same be for him? Had he really fooled himself into believing that there was a chance he and Wukong could be together again? His shoulders slumped a little. Of course, who was he kidding. A 3000 year old pit of grudges wasn’t about to just up and disappear at the wave of a white flag. This was Wukong, the same guy who still playfully pestered the gods and demons around him for past conflicts that had happened between them. -----------~----------- “But you can’t just go, ‘ooo I’m so sorry for what I did.’ Nah, you gotta follow the five steps.” The chick claimed. “Yeesh, this a learning course now?” Mac tilted his head to the side. “It is if you wanna make things right.” She claimed matter a factly. “The five steps have never failed me before and have worked wonders for any an all my relationships. Might not quite have the same range of effect you’re going for but it’ll at least be a good start.” “Heh, you got the guts to back up that case?” Mac sneered. “I will if you don’t manage to screw it up.” The chick pointed out. “The five steps go as follows.” - express sorrow (I’m sorry) - own guilt (I was wrong) - name specific wrongs (I did X) - name impact (I hurt you) “And finally...” -----------~----------- “What can I do to prove myself to you?” Macaque asked finally. “What can I do to at least make it to where we can..not fight anymore..and just talk?...” Wukong stood there for a long moment, his features unreadable as their silence was muffled by the wind bellowing between them both from being so high up. “You really are serious about this aren’t you?...” Wukong’s head shifted ever so slightly, but not enough to where Mac could get a reading on his emotions. “I’m tired of fighting and waiting and thinking that if enough time passes things’ll go back to the way they were...when they never will. Trying to hurt you isn’t gonna make the old you come back, no matter how many times you beat me down...It’ll never be the same.” Mac admitted finally. A quiet gust settled down between them, before Wukong seemed to let out a dry chuckle and shook his head. “Can’t believe it took me 3000 years to beat the sense into you.” He turned and looked back at the other, where he no longer held a look of seething hate, but more akin to that of the same tired look just as the one Mac wore. Mac felt a sliver of guilt wriggle its way into one of the cracks of his heart and he glanced away, pulling a hand back and scratching his head. “Yeah well...your kid hit me pretty hard last time, enough to knock it in place.” A small smile crept a little onto his face. “Hm~ He’s gettin’ pretty good at hittin’ stuff with that old stick.” Wukong’s eyes glinted a little at the appeal of how proud he was for MK having taken Mac out the way he did. A little over the top and flashy, just like him.” “He’s got a pretty strong master to thank for that…” Mac found himself yearning a little for that same glint to be reflected on his memory the same way as MK’s. Not that he couldn’t see himself holding the same appeal for MK the way Wukong did, kid was strong, just a lil desperate in some of the cracks that shaped his outline. Something Macaque found that was easy enough to take advantage of, and something Wukong held a blind eye to. “Hm.” Wukong’s reply pushed him out of those thoughts for the moment as they shared a brief look between one another. A glimmer of reconsideration flashing between the two before Wukong finally turned his head away to drink in the sunset before them. “One chance.” Mac felt his heart nearly stop at that answer. “I’ll give you one chance, but if you screw this up, don’t even think about showing your face to me again.” Wukong replied, “I mean it this time…” Mac swallowed a little and nodded. Anything, he’d be willing to do anything to gain back what little trust he could from Wukong. “Good...you can start making up for it by apologizing to MK.” Mac blinked and sputtered a little as Wukong turned away and began to make his way back down the mountain. A smile playing on his lips while Macaque groaned to the heavens about his next trial.

[wpdarlingpan]

hello, just wanted to tell you how wonderful your work is, keep it up and keep rocking :) I was wondering if you could do a yandere Peter Parker x reader oneshot where the reader has powers and she's completely badass? But she kinda has self esteem issues and thinks her feelings aren't important. I'm sorry if I made you sad TvT

I will try my best! And thank you so much for the compliments ♡

Silent Shadow. That’s what she was. At least that’s what it was before the Avengers came. She was a assassin for a group called Hydra. Hydra was all she knew and that’s all she thought there was for her. She was there strongest asset, she was even able to rake down the Winter Soldier. She had beaten every hydra agent in a fight and she had many skills. You’d think she would just run away since she was able to overthrow them but Hydra made sure she would have no one to go to outside of them so they killed her parents and took her. She was alone. At least that was until she grew a relationship with her partner. A platonic one. She thought she had no one.

Until the day they showed up.

“Cap, how’s it looking out there? Need Code Green?” Bruce said from inside the quinjet.

“No, I think we are good Bruce. Tony is taking out the rest alongside Thor. Guess this base wasn’t as important.” Cap replied through the coms. It was true. It was a pretty easy mission, that was until they went towards the cells.

Bucky Barnes alongside Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver got rid of every Hydra Agent in the cells. At least the thought they did until they reach the very end cell with a complex lock. Bucky nodded at Wanda and she quickly used her powers to undo the lock.

Once inside they see a girl. She looked around 16 years old. Bucky froze.

Another assassin.

He knew her.

He rushed to the cyrochamber and opened it to the dismay of the team. They didn’t need another Hydra Soldier to deal with but he was not going to leave her in there. Steve walked into the room and saw him opening the chamber.

“What are you doing Buck?”

“I’m getting her out of here.” He spoke leaving no room for arguments.

“What if she’s dangerous?”

“I know her. She was my partner. She never wanted this. She always fought.”

“How do you know she will still fight?”

“I don’t.”

and finally it was open and he grabbed her then made his way back to the quinjet. The team that didn’t go to the cells were already there.

Tony was the first to notice Barnes carrying a girl.

“What do you got there?”

“...” Bucky didn’t respond. He wouldn’t explain back at the compound. He just wanted her to wake up. He wanted his little sister back.

Back at the compound

Her senses slowly came back to her and she woke up to her hand resting in somebody’s. She opened her eyes and saw.... Bucky! She lightly shook his hand making him shoot up.

“Doe!”

(I thought Doe would be a cute nickname since it forms from the only name they know which is Shadow.)

“Snowy!” She said happily. She was free. She was with her older brother. Everything would be okay.

And it was. For awhile. They took a blood test from her and found out she was Tony’s missing sister who was taken after the car crash with her parents. Her name was Y/N but some still called her Shadow or Doe in Bucky case. She didn’t blame Bucky but he sure blamed himself but he wouldn’t let himself cut her out of his life because of guilt. She developed relationships with the team. Tony and Bucky were her protective older brothers, Steve, Bruce, Clint and Thor were like uncles. Natasha was her aunt. Pietro and Wanda were like siblings. Then there was the day she met Peter. She had finally worked back up her courage and bravery, not to mention her cunningness. She was herself again, just more confident than before the accident. She walked around in stride, almost matching up to Natasha. She would work on her powers with Wanda and then make sure to spend time with her family.

He had come over to the tower after hearing about the new person at the tower from Tony. He had invited Peter to come over and meet his sister, Peter being addicted to pleasing his idol said of course and made his way over.

He was of course expecting a older woman since he knew Tony’s parents had died many many years ago, he was not prepared to see her.

Peter made his way up the elevator of the expensive tower after telling Jarvis what floor he wanted to be on. The elevator opened and there the team was in all their glory sitting on the couch waiting for him and the other guest to be ready.

“Hello Man of spider!” Thor boomed loudly as Peter stepped out of the elevator. Peter waved shyly at Thor and the others followed with their hellos. After a little more waiting Tony was impatient and called his sister to come down.

“Alright, Alright I’m coming! I didn’t even take that long! It would take longer to say your full title thing you like to say about yourself. Isn’t Genius, Billionaire Playboy, Kiss ass?” She smirked as she walked into the room. Peters eyes widened.

She was Tony Stark’s sister?

“Who’s did you want me to meet?” She questioned her brother as she smiled at him cheekily after forgetting the name of the person for the billionth time.

Tony rolled his eyes but he couldn’t stay mad at the sister who came back miraculously from the dead.

“Peter meet Y/N my little sister and Y/N meet Peter Parker aka Spider-boy.” Tony introduced and Peter stepped forwards almost in a daze and held out his when to shake formally.

“Nice to meet you.” Y/N said cheekily as he continued staring. He lightly shook his head and blushed embarrassedly.

“Nice to meet you too.”

She was more confident now away from hydra and he liked her personality.

And it truly was because that was the day that started his obsession with the one and the only

Y/N Stark.

He always came over to the tower to hang out with her as they had grown to be friends but Peter wanted more. Sometimes he came over and stalked her outside of the windows. Peter had hacked the tower from the inside to not detect him as Spider Man on the outside of the tower. Whenever he was in her room he’d touch everything he could and he secretly undid the latch to her window. He snuck into her room every night just to watch her sleep, watching as her chest raised and called from her steady breathing . He took pictures of her whenever he spied and had a secret collection of them filling his closest. He had even entered the room when the other Avengers had decided to run to the store for groceries dressed in their typical jacket, sunglasses, and baseball hats disguises. He cuddled into her blankets and breathed in her scene as he held into her pillow.

He was undeniably in love with Y/N Stark.

And he wanted her to be his.

His plan was soon put into action. He knew her schedules, wasn’t too hard she was required to stay at home as it was too dangerous because of Hydra.

One day he just got lucky, the team had to go out on a mission and she was required to stay home but Tony didn’t want her by herself so he called his trusted intern, Peter Parker. He was asked to go over to the tower to keep Y/N company and he immediately said yes.

And the day started off as usual for Y/N. She woke up and had breakfast, then sat by the tv watching her favorite show Once Upon A Time. She always like watching it because the character Jefferson reminded her of Bucky. She was halfway into episode 16 when Peter arrived in the Elevator.

“Hey Peter!” She called from the couch. She didn’t even look at him. It made him slightly mad. He should be her one and only. Not the stupid tv show.

“Hey Y/N.” He replied after he got over his anger.

“What do you want to do?” She questioned looking at him with a eyebrow raised.

“There are so many things I’d like to do.” He thought to himself but restrained from saying.

“It’s up to you.” He replied shortly continuing to think through his plan. He was confident it would go right if he followed each direction.

They went to the gym and she began to work on her powers while Peter watched her intently. He needed to know her powers if things were to go south with his plans. She first turned invisible then made force fields.

She continued to make the force fields bigger and Peter had to continue to back up to avoid getting hit with it. He began to get too far away. He also didn’t want her to thing that she could push him away like this.

“Y/N stop. You need to get food in you before you continue practicing. Your low on energy.” He faked looking concerned in order to manipulate her to feel bad. Of course she was usually defiant but she just wanted Peter to be happy. So she gave in.

“Alright.” He nodded in praise at her giving in. He knew how to get her now. She needed to please others. Probably a side effect from Hydra but it could be used to his advantage.

They then began baking... well more like Peter while she watched he made her sit down after he was worried about her burning herself. She needed to be taken care of. He also didn’t need her catching onto his plan, taking a pill out from his pocket and crushed it onto the cupcake he was going to give her. It looked like sugar. After being at hydra you’d think she would check her food before she ate. But she didn’t. She had to trust Peter of course. That’s what her brother wanted from her. She felt bad not being able to help around the tower. She felt as if she wasn’t contributing enough. Y/N thought it would help if she did what she thought was expected of her, not what she wanted. She wanted to bake. But if Peter didn’t want her to then she couldn’t deny it.

Then they watched tv but Peter hated it because again her attention was somewhere else. Halfway through Star Wars he turned off the tv and waited for it to work.

Just as he looked at her he could see her eyes be going to droop.

“Oh Y/N are you tired?” He questioned with fake concern.

“Oh, I am. Just a little bit. I slept well last night-“ she was cut off by a yawn. “I don’t know why I’m so tired. I’m sorry Peter. I knew you came over to hang out.”

“It’s fine Y/N. Just got to sleep.”

Just as he said that her eyes shut and he smiled victoriously. She was his. And she wasn’t ever going to leave.

He picked her up bridal style and took her into her room and sat her down on the bed while he changed into his Spider-Man uniform and packed her some clothes. They wouldn’t be coming back here. After packing clothes into a small back pack he picked her up once again and they went swinging out of the tower with Jarvis not even alerted because of Peter hacking it before to not detect his suit.

He arrived at a small house in the middle of the woods and carefully opened the door and brought her inside. Peter glanced around the rooms just in case then sat her in the bed, attaching a chain to her ancle. The clasp part of the chain had a little padding so it wasn’t hurting her but it did keep her there. He kissed her on the head and quickly changed out of his suit. Then got into the bed wearing boxers climbing in next to the sleeping girl. He wrapped a arm around her waist and sighed content.

She was finally his.

The Avengers got back to the tower and saw no one there. No struggle. Nothing.

Tony Lost his sister. Again.

Bucky lost his little sister. Again.

And

Peter had taken the love of his life to be all his.

At least until they check the tapes.

Sorry it’s taken me forever to write this. This was my first shot at a Yandere and I hope it’s good. Sorry if I should have done less back story and more Peter but I hope you like it. Anyways thank you for the suggestion. ♡

[eliemo]

Something Long and Stupid

Summary: Remus knew he wasn't a good person. He was Deadpool, a killer for hire, "the merc with a mouth." He'd come to terms with what he was a long time ago. He didn't need Spiderman to remind him of what he was.

He didn't need Virgil to come into his life and make him question it for the first time

TWs: Violence, threats, strong language, blood

Notes: Superhero au, Spiderman Virgil, Deadpool Remus, enemies to lovers Dukexiety

New project that nobody asked for. I know I should finish my ongoing wips before starting a new one but I do not control the hyperfixation.

(Part 1) (Part 2)

When Virgil kicked Remus in the chest and sent him hurtling off the building into an active construction site, Remus found himself thinking about how they’d met.

Honestly, it hadn’t started off much better. Spiderman was a piece of shit who thought he was so much better than Remus just because Deadpool killed some people every now and then.

Well, that had been the first impression anyway. They hadn’t exactly started off on the right foot.

Remus had been doing his job, thank you very much, he was a mercenary for hire, it wasn’t like he’d been going after a gang of strangers for fun. And he certainly hadn’t needed help.

There were three of them and one of him, just some standard thugs that had been causing a bit too much trouble for people with more money to spend, their names already set to pay for Remus’s rent this month.

He’d unsheathed his swords, (guns would make it over too quickly, and what was the fun in that?) letting the assholes get their hopes up by grabbing for their own weapons and then—

Then all his targets were all suddenly covered in webs, firmly plastered to the nearest wall with threats and screaming that Remus ignored in favor of whirling around, slicing the air with his blades.

“Hey, what the fuck?”

Spiderman was half hanging off the wall, stepping back down onto the ground when he saw Remus staring. “You’re welcome,” he called, like Remus had asked for him to come in ruin is fun.

Remus scoffed, because rude. You don’t just steal someone’s kill like that. But at least they were immobilized now, which meant shooting them and getting the day over with would be a piece of cake. The webs weren’t budging no matter how frantically they kicked.

He yanked his gun from his belt to do exactly that, only to have another web (seriously, fucking spider webs had no business being this strong) wrapped around his wrist, another pulling the pistol right out of his hand.

“Uh, motherfucker?” Remus took a step back, furiously grabbing at the lingering webs with his bare hands, grimacing at the way it clung to his leather. “Jeez, you want me to decapitate them instead?”

“They’re already down,” the asshole said, like Remus hadn’t noticed. “Back off, Deadpool.”

Remus didn’t have time to be surprised that Spiderman knew who he was, far too busy wanting to run over and punch him right in his stupid masked face. “Ok, clearly you don’t know my deal. Move it, Webs.”

“Then you don’t know mine,” he said, masked eye staring blankly from underneath the hood over his suit. “I’m not letting you murder defenseless people.”

“They’re not fucking defenseless.”

“They’re not breaking free,” the spider said. “The cops will take whoever I capture for them. Call them and leave.”

Remus scoffed and tightened his hold on his sword, wondering if he really wanted to get into a fight with Spiderman in the middle of the afternoon. It was only fucking Tuesday, he was too tired to deal with this shit. “And they can take them in body bags. Give me my gun back.”

Remus was a good foot taller than him, and loaded with about three times as many weapons, but the masked asshole didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. God, he was probably smirking under his suit.

“I finished the fight, I get to decide.” He turned around, his back to Remus like he didn’t even care. “Maybe try to be faster next time.”

“Oh, fuck right off with that,” Remus snarled. “Fuck off. Fuck off and suck a fat dick, you fucking—”

“Either you walk away, or I leave you tied to the wall.”

“Kinky,” Remus smirked, even if Spiderman couldn’t see it under his own mask. “But fat fucking luck. No way in hell am I letting some bitch in black and purple spanx steal my kill.”

Spiderman actually had the audacity to sigh, like he was dealing with a petulant child. “Nobody’s getting killed.”

“You know, I’ve got more than one gun,” Remus said, mentally calculating how fast he’d have to move to shoot every single person in this alleyway. “I’m playing nice. Get out of my way.”

“You’re not shooting someone who can’t fight back.”

“Oh, are you the moral police?” Jesus, Remus wanted to punch this guy. “Man, fuck off. It’s none of your business.”

He grabbed for his other gun, only to immediately feel something wrap around his waist and legs, yanking hard and lifting him into the air. He shouted something he really hoped no pedestrians were close by enough to overhear, doing his absolute best to give Spiderman his coldest glare as he was slammed against the brick wall, upside down, held firmly down by fucking spider webs.

“Oh, you bitch.”

Remus twisted and thrashed, and while he could feel the webs giving way already it would be a good few minutes until he was free. That fucking asshole.

“Next time I see you I’m cutting off your spider ass and hanging it on my fucking wall!”

Spiderman ignored him, and Remus watched as he grabbed the thugs Remus was supposed to kill and one by one swung them out of the alleyway before disappearing completely.

That whore.

It hadn’t been long, unfortunately, until they’d met again, and Remus had of course tried to punch the asshole right in the head.

They’d ended up on the same rooftop, which was even worse because Remus came up here to relax. Spiderman had just been sitting there, legs dangling over the edge as he watched over the city, looking almost peaceful with his hood down and the sun beating against his mask.

So Remus had immediately vaulted over and swung at him as hard as he possibly could.

And then he’d missed, because of course Spidey had to have fucking inhuman reflexes, which was bullshit. He’d ducked away and managed to jump to Remus’s side before Remus even registered that his fist had met nothing but air.

“Can you leave?” Spiderman asked, so unbothered it only made Remus angrier. “I’m busy.”

“Doing what?”

“Making sure people don’t get killed,” he said, moving back towards the ledge. “You should try it sometime.”

Remus crossed his arms, watching the vigilante in disbelief. “You get that I’m a mercenary, right? You’re surprised by the killing thing?”

“I’m not,” he said, and he still wouldn’t even look at Remus. “But I’m stopping it when I can.”

“Oh? So you’re ruining a small business?” Remus threw his arms out and turned towards the ledge overlooking the bustling city. “Spiderman doesn’t support small businesses, you heard it here first, folks!”

Spidey was staring at him now, and Remus had a sneaking suspicion he would not appreciate the look he was being given if the mask was taken off. Asshole.

“I don’t support killing people, Deadpool.”

“Sucks,” Remus said. “You should’ve stayed out of the way. If I wasn’t so kind and generous I would have shot you.”

“You mean if you hadn’t been tied up and defenseless,” Spiderman corrected, and Remus was right back to wanting to punch him. “You’re lucky I didn’t get you arrested.”

Remus dramatically put a hand to his chest and gasped, walking along the roof’s edge. “Oh no. What ever would I have done? I’d be defeated! My one weakness. C ops.”

Spidey didn’t respond, but he did get up and move away when Remus got a bit too close to where he was perched on the ledge. Ha .

“Maybe I should have called the cops on you, Spidey,” Remus added. “They’d finally catch the masked menace. Some jail time might humble you.”

“I’d be fine,” Spiderman said. “I wasn’t the one tied to a wall.”

Remus hopped back onto the roof with a growl, grimacing at the reminder of how long it had taken to get those webs off his suit. “Yeah, don’t do that shit again. Seriously, I can and will end you.”

“Get in line behind half the city, Deadpool.”

Remus scoffed, something he apparently did a lot of whenever talking to Spiderman, and followed him across the rooftop. “Man, your ratings are shit. At least I don't act like a hero.”

It was hard to see, barely noticeable, but Remus saw Spidey’s shoulders tense, just a bit. Apparently he’d struck a nerve. Good.

“I don’t act like anything,” he said, and it was just a little less cocky than before. “I’m just trying to help people.”

“Oh, so you’re playing hero.” Remus grinned, moving until he was crouched right in front of the vigilante. “Ooh ooh, let me guess...you’re in college. You’re ...22. Maybe 23, or 24. You got these big bad powers one day and figured you were the only one in the whole wide world who could protect the people who couldn’t protect themselves.”

Spidey didn’t answer, just looked at him with that blank, unamused stare, so Remus continued. “Or were you born with them? Doesn’t seem like it, you’ve only popped up in the last two or three years—”

“It’s none of your business,” Spiderman cut in, and Remus smirked. “And you’re wrong, for the record.”

“Oh I am, am I?” Remus asked, amused despite himself. “If nobody wants you, why are you even trying?”

Spidey was tense now, and doing a real bad job of hiding it. “Maybe I don’t give a shit what people think.”

“Right.” Remus didn’t need to see the guy’s face to know that wasn’t it. “You do realize how much money you could make with those powers, right?”

“I don’t care,” he said. “I’m fine doing what I’m doing.”

Remus looked him over, he’d seen spidey all over newspapers and on TV before, but this was the first time actually talking to him in person, besides the other day when the asshole had ruined his afternoon. Honestly, it was kinda underwhelming. He expected the suit to be higher tech, at least.

“Are you broke?” he asked. “You seem broke. I could make you a way better mask, by the way. It looks like shit.”

“I’m sure,” Spidey said, completely ignoring his generous offer. Rude. “And how much do you get paid for killing people?”

“A lot.”

Spiderman hummed nonchalantly, no longer looking at Remus. “Well, I’m glad it’s worth it.”

“It is! I sleep like a baby in my king sized bed.” And yeah, that was a little bit of a lie. Barely.. He wasn’t living that luxuriously, New York was expensive as shit, but based on his tech he was way better off than Webs.

“That’s wonderful,” Spiderman said and damn, apparently the masked menace was capable of being a sarcastic bastard as well as a cocky asshole. “You done pretending now? Can I go?”

“I’m not pretending anything.”

“Yeah, ok.” Spiderman was back to sounding arrogant, and Remus couldn’t remember why they were talking instead of fighting to the death. “I know you sleep like shit.”

Remus actually laughed, humorless and cold, because what the fuck?

“Oh yeah?”

“Nobody kills for a living if their life is going great,” Spidey said. “What horrible trauma pushed you to that decision?”

Oh, this motherfucker. This piece of shit. He was so dead when Remus could catch him off guard.

“Nobody puts on a costume and fights crime when half the city wants him dead if his life is going great, either.” Remus smirked, moving to try to get Spidey to look at him again. “At least I get money for it. No student loan debt at 26 is pretty nice.”

He probably shouldn’t have given the vigilante that was quickly turning into his sworn enemy his age but eh. What was he gonna do, kill him? Remus didn’t stay dead.

“That’s great,” Spiderman said. “And all it cost was people’s lives.”

“Yep!” Remus hoped it came out cheery enough to piss him off a little more. “Think of it this way, Spidey. They’re gonna die anyway.”

Spiderman immediately straightened up and stalked to the other end of the rooftop, clearly wanting the conversation to end. Mission accomplished. “Jesus Christ.”

“It’s true!” he called, just to drive home the fuck off a bit more. “Someone would have gotten to them eventually.”

“They’re still people, Deadpool.”

Remus shrugged. “Good people don't get hits put on them.”

“Maybe not,” the vigilante agreed. “But good people don’t murder in exchange for money, either.”

Remus barked another laugh at that, more genuine this time because... yeah? Duh. “No shit. I never fucking said I was a good person.”

“You’re lucky you haven't killed anyone innocent yet.” And goddammit there was that ‘hero’ shit again that made Remus want to throw up. He’d just been starting to have fun, too.

“It’s still not your business.”

“It will be,” Spidey said, perched on the ledge in a way that would make Remus dizzy if he cared. “Stick to killing criminals and we'll be fine.”

“Oh?” Remus followed, smirking in a way that would probably get him punched if he took off his mask. “Are you gonna come get me if I’m not good?”

“That’s my job.”

“Aw, don’t worry,” Remus teased. “I’ll wear something sexy for you.”

“Gross.”

“Love you too, Spider Babe!”

Spidey scoffed, responding with a gloved middle finger when Remus winked. Remus watched a web shoot from his wrist, and suddenly Spiderman was gone, swinging across New York rooftops, leaving Remus to try to figure out how he was getting down.

Remus honestly hadn’t expected to see him again. He was fucked in the head, but he didn’t have any plans to lose control and start killing everyone in sight. He was an asshole, but he wasn’t a villain Spiderman needed to spend time tracking down. New York was busy enough for both of them already.

He did plan on chucking the nearest heavy object at him if he ever saw Spidey swinging past. That never ended up happening. Not that he cared. He didn’t miss him.

He expected to catch a glimpse of him eventually, maybe close enough to yell a few lighthearted threats or call him names, but nothing as entertaining as the argument on the roof.

What he hadn’t expected, was to run right into the masked menace while walking home in the middle of the night.

Remus had just finished a job, something standard and quick, and after wiping the blood from his blades he’d decided to take the long way home. The sun had set, the night air was crisp and relaxing, and it helped Remus forget about the blood stains he needed to wash away.

He’d been cutting through sidestreets, mentally mapping out how to get back to his place. He turned a corner into an alleyway, and—

And there was Spiderman, hunched over himself and leaned against the wall like he’d been using it for support, shaking, gasping, and completely drenched in deep red blood.

Remus froze, and Spidey did too as soon as he registered Deadpool standing just a few paces away, the two of them staring silently for what felt like an eternity.

“Dude,” Remus said when he found his voice. “What the fuck happened to you?”

Spiderman was clutching at his chest, black and purple suit barely able to hide the red stains, leaned heavily against the brick wall as he watched Remus warily. “Nothing.”

“Don’t be stupid. Whose blood is that?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he snapped, and his voice was wavering. “Keep walking.”

Remus took a step forward, frowning at the way the vigilante went tense against the wall. He ignored it. “Whose blood is it?” It came out more of a command than a question this time.

“Mostly mine,” Spiderman said, and Remus could see it pooling around his gloves now that he was closer. “It’s fine.”

“Why’re you bleeding?”

“None of your business. Go home.”

Remus tried to get a better look from where he stood, well aware that approaching might not be the best idea right now. “Was it a gun or a knife?”

“It was none of your business and you need to go away.”

Remus watched him, incredulous, because the idiot was barely standing and losing way too much blood way too quickly, and he was pretty sure Spiderman didn’t have Remus’s whole immortality deal.

“You really want to bleed out on the street like some street thug?”

The vigilante hesitated, and Remus listened to the way his breathing was turning into awful sounding wheezes. “I’m...not going to bleed out. I’m fine.”

“Oh, yeah?” Remus challenged, probably a bit more aggressively than was needed for someone who looked like they were about to keel over. “Walk over to me then.”

He’d expected the lack of response, but even though the eyes built into the suit were practically lifeless (he really should get him some more advanced goggles. He’d be a lot more approachable if his eyes weren’t so blank) Remus could still see his whole body tense in fear.

“No,” he said, low and trembling. “Fuck off.”

“Spidey, this isn’t a joke.” Jesus, that was a lot of blood. “You’re gonna bleed out.”

“And you can throw a party—”

“Fucking come here.” He hadn’t meant to snap, but he wasn’t going to just stand here bickering with the city’s hero until he dropped dead. But Spidey still shook his head, pressed even further against the wall now, and Remus sighed. “Fine.”

Remus took a few steps forward, initially planning on prying his arms away to get a better look at the wound, but Spiderman flinched back, trying to scramble away like Remus was coming at him with a weapon.

Well, Remus supposed that made sense. He had threatened to kill him a couple times last time they spoke.

“Chill it, Spidey.” Remus crouched a bit, suddenly painfully aware of how much taller he was, carefully holding his hands out. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“I don’t believe you,” he shot back. Which...yeah, fair. “I know you want to.”

“Does it look like I have a knife in my hand?” Remus asked. “No. Chill out and let me see.”

Spidey didn’t pull away when Remus took his shoulders, but he did flinch as soon as Deadpool touched him, probably involuntarily. Remus ignored it, focusing instead on figuring out where the blood was coming from. It was almost impossible in the dark lighting, especially up against the black suit.

“It’s...not that bad,” Spiderman rasped. “Seriously.”

Remus wasn’t buying that for a second. “What happened?”

“I was stupid, that’s what happened,” Spidey said, arms still wrapped firmly around himself. “It...there were five of them and one of them got lucky with a knife.”

“Jesus, fuck.” Remus pulled back, trying to figure out what to do. “You are stupid. Where?”

He only hesitated a moment. “Uh, my chest. I heal fast.”

“Jesus. How fast?”

Spiderman shrugged, then obviously regretted it when it pulled at the stab wound. “Hopefully fast enough,” he said. “I’ll be fine tomorrow or I’ll be dead.”

“Jesus,” Remus said again, because what the fuck else was he supposed to say? “Sit down. Jesus Christ.”

Spidey thankfully did as he said, though Remus suspected it had more to do with the fact that he couldn’t keep himself standing anymore rather than actually following instructions.

He wasn’t fighting anymore, almost limp as Remus took his wrists and moved them to his sides, but he did look like he was ready to bolt the second Deadpool made one wrong move.

Like he wouldn’t fall right on his face and hurt himself worse if he tried.

Remus could see the source of the blood now, a deep gash across his upper chest that had apparently sliced the black and purple suit like butter, still gushing crimson with each passing second.

Shit.

“Alright, uh.” This wasn’t his expertise in the slightest. Other than digging out some bullets, Remus didn't have to tend to his wounds. “I don’t think I have any fabric or...oh, your hoodie. Hand it over.”

Spiderman stared, and if he didn’t hurry up and get with the program Remus was going to knock him out and handle this himself. “Why?”

“Because you’re bleeding out. Give it.”

Spidey at least had the sense to listen and carefully peel the hoodie away from his suit, sliding it down his arms even as his gloved hands shook violently. Remus couldn’t help but wince at the noise Spiderman tried to choke back, because that had to hurt like a bitch.

“Maybe, like...lay down?” Remus suggested. “Yeah, do that. It’ll help.”

Spidey still hesitated, even as the blood continued to flow and he started to slide down against his will. “I...need to see what you’re doing.”

Remus sighed, bunching up the hoodie and pressing it firmly against the wound, ignoring the strangled gasp that came from the vigilante. Blood was quickly soaking through the cloth, and Remus just pressed harder.

“I’m just putting pressure on it to stop the bleeding,” Remus said. “If I wanted to kill you I’d leave you here. If it stops bleeding you’ll heal, right?”

The only answer he got was another wet, trembling gasp when Remus pushed harder, Spiderman’s blood soaking into his gloves. It took a second for him to realize he was grasping at Remus’s wrists, his hold weak.

“H-hopefully,” Spidey managed, and he really didn’t sound great. His eyes were drooping, and Remus figured the biggest danger right now was letting him fall asleep. “Or, you know. I’ll die.”

“You’re not gonna die,” Remus said without thinking. “I’m gonna stop the bleeding, you’re gonna heal with whatever weird powers you have, and then you’ll be less of a careless idiot next time.”

A few moments passed without an answer, and for once Remus wasn’t entirely sure how to fill the silence. The only sound between them was Spiderman’s labored, ragged breathing, which at least sounded a bit less shaky and faint as Remus continued to press down.

“What are you doing?” Spidey asked eventually, catching Remus completely off guard with the stupid question. “Why are you...trying to help?”

Remus wasn’t trying to do anything. He was helping. The city’s beloved hero would have been dead five minutes ago if he hadn’t managed to interrupt Remus’s perfectly nice, peaceful walk.

He hadn’t even really thought about it. Remus was an asshole, a murderer for a living, but he wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t the guy who was going to leave New York’s savior to bleed out in an alleyway.

Besides, he’d been the first person Remus had been able to have a somewhat entertaining conversation with in months.

“Somebody’s gotta save everyone,” he eventually settled on, still pressing hard against the wound. “And I refuse to be the city’s only mouthy vigilante.”

Another beat of silence, and for a moment Remus thought he might have fallen asleep. “I don’t...save anyone. And I’m not mouthy.”

“You do,” Remus argued. “And you are.”

“I don’t,” he snapped, and at least he didn’t seem inclined to argue about the mouthy thing. “You do your job better than I do.”

Remus took a moment to look over the bleeding hero. He was weak and trembling, and probably dangerously pale and clammy under that suit. The blood flow had definitely slowed, but it hadn't stopped. There was a good chance he wouldn’t remember a damn thing Remus said to him tonight.

And if he did, it’s not like he really gave a shit, anyway.

“I’m a mercenary,” Remus said. “Anyone can kill someone. It takes something a lot stronger to save them. So shut up and stop being self deprecating.”

Spiderman shuddered when Remus carefully peeled back the bloody hoodie, leaning in to get a better look at where they were at. Either he was just that good at fixing stab wounds, or Spidey’s healing powers were gradually starting to kick in.

Remus decided to go with the former. He deserved it.

“I got someone killed tonight,” Spidey said, quiet and unbearably sad. “She...she died because I wasn’t fast enough, and I didn’t—”

“You can’t save everyone.”

The vigilante pulled his hands away from Remus’s wrists, like he’d just realized he was holding them. “I should have tried harder.”

Remus sighed. “You tried hard enough. You did fine.”

That was apparently the end of the conversation, Spiderman falling back into silence as Remus went back to making sure he didn’t start bleeding all over the place again. He didn’t have anything on him to properly clean it up, he wasn’t sure he even owned a first-aid kit, but Spidey’s breathing was starting to even out, and after about ten minutes or so the blood stopped flowing completely.

“You, uh...you good?”

“I’ll be fine,” Spiderman said, and it didn’t sound like a desperate lie this time. He still looked like shit, but he was able to slowly sit up on his own. “Not dying this time. Just...still hurts.”

They were plunged back into silence, slightly less tense than before but no less uncomfortable. Remus eventually relinquished his hold on the hoodie when Spidey was able to carefully take it from him.

Right, he was fine now. Remus didn’t need to stay, it wasn’t his business anymore. It hadn’t been his business to begin with.

“I...owe you,” Spiderman said, almost like it was strange for him to admit. “So, thank y—”

“Don’t thank me, Spidey.” God, this had been a mistake, hadn’t it? “Seriously. Just buy me a pizza sometime and we’ll call it square.”

Spiderman stared for second, unsteady hands holding his own hood to his chest, but the small laugh that escaped at least sounded genuine, and no longer quite so pained.

“Ok,” he said. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Remus hesitated before standing, not really sure if it would be more rude to leave or stay at this point. Spiderman probably didn’t want a mercenary for hire standing over him while he was wounded, whether Remus had saved his life or not.

Remus was still just as far from a hero as the villains Spiderman fought, and both of them had a reputation to keep.

“You sure you’re ok?” Remus asked. “I can like...stay. Or call you an ambulance or...something.”

“I’m good,” Spidey said, sitting up with a small hiss of pain until he was propped up against the wall, breathing still heavy. “You stopped the bleeding, I’ll live. You can go home, Deadpool.”

“Right.” He carefully stepped around the vigilante, still keeping a close eye on his chest to make sure the bleeding didn’t start again. “Just don’t die after all my hard work. My gloves are fucking soaked.”

Spiderman scoffed, but it was more good natured and light than it had been the last time they talked. “You got it.”

Remus kept walking down the alley, only turning around once more before turning the corner at the end. “And don’t forget my pizza, Spidey!”

[blue-mood-blue]

No one asked about the eye.

It wasn't something Peter Nureyev even noticed that he'd noticed, just another unnecessary piece of information filed away in the back of his mind for use later if he needed it. He was doing his best to stay out of Juno Steel's way, after all, ensuring that they weren't stuck in a room together alone and forced to make stilted, polite conversation; he rarely had reason to spare extra energy in observing the way the rest of their strange band interacted with Juno.

When he caught a glance at Juno rubbing his eye one morning under the patch, shuffling past where Peter was seated at the table and nodding along to whatever tangent Rita was prattling away about behind him while obviously retaining nothing, the thought occurred to Peter again: no one ever asked Juno about his eye. It went mostly unremarked upon entirely, even when "family dinner" devolved into "taking cheap shots at each other."

Like as not it was just good manners, Peter decided as he shifted his attention back to the tablet in his hand. It would be in poor taste to pepper someone with questions about a serious, visible injury, and if Juno didn't bring it up it hardly fell to any of the rest of them to bring it up for him. And Juno had been without an eye for some time - if he wanted a cybernetic alternative, he could have gotten one long before now. He could have listed it with his other requirements for working with Buddy's crew, even. That was his own business.

No one said anything about the eye - asked any questions, voiced any concerns, made any offers - and Peter put it out of his head. Peter put it out of his head when Juno forgot his patch and still seemed surprised to find an empty socket, when Juno’s depth perception still suffered despite the time he'd had to get used to it, when Juno took emptied cans from a meal and lined them up outside whenever they were somewhere with enough gravity to make it worth his while and practiced his shooting.

Juno went wide every time. And every time, Peter remembered his precise shooting from before, and felt a pang in his chest.

"He isn't getting any better." Peter wasn't sure why he spoke up, and to Jet, who seemed absorbed with whatever he was doing to the Carte Blanche while Peter idly watched Juno practice. He hadn’t meant to say anything, it was the kind of pointless sentiment that was best left in Peter’s head if it had to be anywhere at all, and it was a small mercy that he’d said so softly enough that Jet had plenty of room to pretend he hadn’t heard.

"He is not," Jet replied.

Should have kept his mouth shut, Peter thought, while continuing to not keep his mouth shut. "It's concerning that he hasn't improved by now, considering when he lost the eye. He might never get that sharpshooting back."

"He might not," Jet agreed.

"He could consider getting it replaced - the technology exists." Just because it would make their work easier, Peter justified to himself. The only reason he cared about Juno Steel's sharpshooting was because it might be necessary to save their lives at some point. Otherwise, he would leave well enough alone.

There was no reply from Jet, and Peter assumed the man had finally decided that the conversation wasn't worth continuing. He was surprised, then, when he looked up and found Jet regarding him seriously, that steady gaze unwavering.

"I do not think Juno would want such a thing. I would advise you not to mention it to him." Before Peter had the chance to ask what he meant, to figure out how Jet could have come to that leap of a conclusion when he barely knew Juno and certainly hadn't been there when he'd lost the eye, Jet stood up, collected his tools, and went back inside.

Peter watched another wide shot, lost in thoughts that didn't get him anywhere.

~~~

It was late, and the Carte Blanche was quiet, and Peter didn't know why he was awake.

It might have been that the bed felt too empty; a startlingly vulnerable conclusion, since Juno didn't spend every night there even after their conversation, but there was no point denying the possibility. More likely that he'd heard something, and the ability to wake quickly had saved him too many times for him to easily put aside the habit now. When he didn't hear it again, he rolled to the far side of the bed and resolutely tried to fall back asleep.

Five minutes later, with a put-upon sigh, Peter dragged himself to his feet. The idea of the empty bed had wormed its way into his head and he couldn’t stop thinking about the cold, extra space. It was ridiculous and mortifying that he was actually considering knocking on Juno's door in the early hours of the morning to ask for a space in his bed; worse that he knew he wouldn’t, and that he would never get back to sleep now that he’d allowed himself to consider it. Might as well find a distraction, since he was up anyway.

He'd already passed the living area on his way to the kitchen when he stopped, a delayed reaction to something sending a chill down his spine, and slowly walked back in. It was dark - the faint lights of the hallway filtered in and mixed with the ambient light from the windows, giving only just enough illumination for Peter to find what unsettled him. There was someone in there, on the couch, sitting straight as a mannequin who’d been positioned that way and whispering something in a low, unnaturally steady thrum.

Peter froze in the doorway. It was Juno.

He didn't seem right; it was a vague conclusion that didn't do the pit in Peter's stomach justice, but it was a hard thing to define besides a sense of wrong. The muttering and the blank stare told him that Juno was probably sleepwalking, or something like it; the rigid way he was sitting and his sharp focus on nothing implied something else. He hadn't reacted at all to Peter passing through the room, to Peter walking right in front of him and right past that focused, unfocused stare, and he didn't react as Peter quietly walked closer.

"Juno?" Nothing. Not a twitch to indicate he'd heard, not so much as a pause between the stream of muttered, whispered words. Peter crept closer, sat slowly down next to him on the couch, and as he was reaching up to touch his shoulder he heard what Juno was saying.

“Goodness-is-the-only-purpose-I-have-little-potential-for-Good-therefore-I-am-worth-little-the-Tower-has-great-potential-therefore-it-is-great-"

It all felt deeply, deeply unsettling. It was Juno's voice but not his words; the cadence was even and emotionless and mechanic, as if something else were speaking through him with no concept of how to be Juno. Peter's hand stopped because suddenly, foolishly, he was afraid to attract the attention of whoever it was sitting next to him. And just as foolishly, he was afraid to leave Juno alone and lost.

"It's a dream, Nureyev," he muttered to himself, disgusted that a simple act of comfort was beyond him, even momentarily. Juno was trying, and what was Peter doing? Sitting next to him, unable to touch him, useless to him. Ridiculous. "Just wake him up and maybe you can both get some sleep."

"Boss?" Peter nearly jumped out of his skin, and he jostled Juno next to him; in his focus on listening to what Juno was saying, he hadn't heard Rita walk in. She was rubbing sleep from her eyes, looking between Peter and Juno. "Boss, you feelin’ okay?"

"-systems-are-beginning-to-fail-Emotional-Danger-Avoidance-Protocol-has-been-deactivated-request-received-diverting-remaining-processing-power-from-pain-numbing-functions-"

"Oh." Rita didn't seem confused. Concerned, though, in a quiet way that was so unlike her it made Peter wonder what happened to people on this ship at night to change them so thoroughly. Or perhaps, not on this ship at all. “You better leave this to me, Mista Ransom. I mean, you could try, but he probably wouldn’t remember you and it’d get pretty confusing.”

The pit of unease at the bottom of Peter’s stomach was widening, quickly. He stared at Juno. “He wouldn’t… remember?”

“He gets a little scrambled when he gets like this - it’s not really surprising after spending all that time with someone talking at him in his head all the time, you know, he told me about what it was like and I don’t think I’d like it myself, someone tryin’ to tell me what to do -“

“What… what are you...” Peter shook his head. Not important. It wasn’t important for him to understand right now, while his questions would only leave Juno stuck in his own mind longer. “Can you help him?”

Rita smiled at him reassuringly, as if the situation had not left her terrifyingly out of her depth. All the better, Peter thought faintly, as he continued to sit by and be useless. “Oh yeah, I got him. You can go to bed if you want.”

Peter shook his head. He would not be sleeping tonight, not until Juno was well. He could think about what his inability to leave meant later.

"Must've been a bad day if you're dealing with this again, huh?" She was talking to Juno and he wasn't hearing her, so she sat on his other side and tapped him on the shoulder. He didn't react. "Mista Steel, it's Rita. You remember me, right? Rita's gonna get you outta there, don't you worry, boss."

"Ri-ta." He pronounced it like the sound was something strange and foreign, like he was making a first attempt to say something he'd never tried before. “Rita. Rita. Rita Rita Rita Rita...”

Suddenly, Juno's head snapped to look at her. It was unsettling; someone who was asleep should have been slower to react, but the movement was unnaturally swift. He looked right at Rita, and this time when he spoke, he almost, horribly, sounded like himself. He was smiling. "The net Good of: save the Tower and bring peace to every human in the Galaxy. Outweighs the net evil of: killing every person in this room, one by one, until you reveal yourself."

Rita just took one of his hands and patted the back of it. "Okay boss, that's real nice and all, but I'm sitting right here. You don't gotta lure me out, and besides we're not even there right now and we haven't been for a long time now. If you really wanna get back at me the only thing you can do is fire me, and we both know you’d never actually do that because then where would you be?"

The silence was so much bigger after her chatter; there was a tension in her shoulders that she wasn’t letting show on her face. And then the tension in Juno collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, and Peter heard a beautiful sound. "Rita?" He sounded exhausted, but that was unmistakably and mercifully Juno’s voice. "What am I... doing on the couch?"

Rita's smile was big enough to light up the room - big and genuine and relieved. Peter wondered if she would ever explain what he'd just seen, and somehow he doubted it. "You promised to watch a movie with me and Mista Ransom, boss! And since you're awake now anyway and you always say you're too busy to watch a movie in the middle of the day I just thought we might as well watch something in the middle of the night instead, since all you're ever doing then is sleeping anyway -"

It didn't seem like he was keeping up very well with what Rita was telling him, but the mention of "Ransom" must have caught his attention because he turned around to confirm that Peter was there. Snapped out of whatever trap of his own mind he'd been caught in a moment earlier, Juno just looked tired; Peter reached for his other hand and gave it a squeeze, smiling in a way that he hoped masked his uncertainty. "Might as well watch something until we all fall asleep, hm?"

Peter wasn't sure if Juno was too tired to comprehend what either of them were talking about, or if he was just comfortable enough in their combined presence that it didn't matter that he didn't understand; whatever the reason, instead of answering either of them or asking any more questions he lay his head on Peter's shoulder and was almost asleep already by the time Rita got back with her tablet.

~~~

It was only a voice, robotic and designed to be soothing. The message calmly explained the steps of the security procedure before the event during the elevator ride, and Juno reached for Peter's hand.

His grip was tight and desperate, like a vice, but he wouldn't look over to Peter. He wouldn't explain if he could, wasn't allowed to explain here even if Peter was allowed to ask and they weren't already in their characters for the latest job. Juno wasn't ready to talk about it.

Peter squeezed his hand and took a step closer, disguised behind a subtle shift in his stance. "Just hold onto me, love," he muttered under his breath, hoping Juno could hear. "We'll make it through."

~~~

It was garbage television, what Peter finally settled on while he worked his way through an enormous bowl of ice cream in the preciously rare, quiet evening on the Carte Blanche. He'd probably have joined the festivities planetside if not for the badly-sprained ankle and cracked ribs, and he'd probably have been more upset about the whole thing had Juno not volunteered to stay with him. As it was, he allowed himself to enjoy the evening for exactly what it was - quiet and calm that he usually didn't get, and alone time with Juno with blissfully few expectations for either of them.

Juno had settled him in, placed the bowl and the remote in his hands, and kissed the top of Peter's head before promising that he'd be back in a minute. Peter took advantage of his absence to find something really awful to watch, fully planning to use his injuries as emotional manipulation if Juno started to complain. Remote privileges were rare in their strange little group.

He'd settled on a conspiracy program before Juno got back, a recent special set in Hyperion City - ought to be good for a laugh for Juno, too, who'd probably spend the entire time arguing with the host about everything she didn't know about the city he'd grown up in. Peter had seen the odd article about it circulating the tabloids - New Town, home of experimental brainwashing that no one could prove. As unlikely as it was interesting, far-fetched as it was entertaining.

Juno walked in as the theme started to play, already groaning. "I have no idea why you like this show. It's such a crock of shit and you know it." The criticism was tempered by good-natured laughter.

"Some of us like a good story well-told, Detective, even if it's not quite true." He smiled as he looked above him, where Juno was leaning over the couch... and stopped when he saw his expression. "Juno?"

Juno was staring at the tv, looking for all the world like he'd just seen a ghost. The program opened on a scene of former Mayor O'Flaherty, giving a speech about good to an awed and eagar public, specifically about creating a better home; Juno stared, so still and yet hanging on every word.

"Juno, dear? Are you... alright?"

He shook his head and cleared his throat. "Uh, what exactly are you watching?"

"That 'New Town' conspiracy, the one with the brainwashing." Juno didn't say anything, didn't seem to react in any way Peter could see. "Juno. Tell me what's wrong, please."

Juno rubbed at his eye, first over the patch and then under it, still watching the tv. The footage had changed from the speech to a dramatic shot of New Town's grand opening, played in slow motion with tense, swelling music to make the moment appropriately dramatic. "It's... nothing's wrong." He glanced down at Peter, and cracked an uneasy smile when he saw exactly how much Peter believed that. "Okay, nothing's wrong right now. It's just..."

"Just...?"

"A bad memory. A few bad memories."

Peter wasn't sure if he should ask, wasn't sure if he was allowed. Juno had put so much work into being open; wasn't it his part to respect the boundaries where they were, and to trust that Juno would talk to him when he was ready? They'd invested so much time and effort in building something that wouldn't collapse and hurt them both. So instead of pushing, he asks: "Sit with me?"

And when he does, Juno asks him: "Did I ever tell you how I met Buddy?"

When Juno starts his story, honest and well-told, Peter turns off the television to listen to him.

[plaidbooks]

The R Drug part 4

A/N: I’m so sorry this took so long! I got swept up in bingos and lost motivation for it along the way. But it’s here now, and I hope you all enjoy it ❤

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Tags: alcoholism, mentions of alcohol poisoning, a lil bit of a steamy make out, but that’s it

Words: 2114

Taglist: @witches-unruly-heart  @beccabarba  @thatesqcrush @itsjustmyfantasyroom @permanentlydizzy @ben-c-group-therapy  @infiniteoddball @glowingmess @whimsicallymad @lv7867 @storiesofsvu @cycat4077 @alwaysachorusgirl  @glimmerglittergirl @joanofarkansass @caracalwithchips @beardsanddetectives​  @reading--mermaid  @averyhotchner  @mrsrafaelbarba @detective-giggles @crowleysqueenofhell @dreamlover31 @objection-argumentative

Year 1:

Sonny hardly contacts you. You go weeks with nothing from him, only to wake up at 4am with a phone call and a very drunk Sonny.

“Sonny? It’s 4am here—”

“Doll…I’m so—” you can hear how his words slur, and you can also hear that he’s crying— “so sorry, doll. I shoulda neva touched ya like that—”

“Dominick, are you drunk?”

You pinched the bridge of your nose, worried and annoyed at once. “So—sorry…so sorry…” and then he hangs up. You fell back onto the bed, concerned about him; Genoa was only six hours ahead of Manhattan. He was drunk at…10am. That wasn’t healthy.

Unable to fall back asleep, you shot him a text, making sure he was okay before you got in the shower. But he never responded. Sighing, you call his mom; you still had her number since Sonny called her from your phone, and you had been growing close with his parents.

She tells you that she’s worried he’s drinking away his problems, but every time she offers to go to Genoa, he shoots her down, telling her he needs time alone. You’re just worried that time alone means him sinking further and further into the bottle.

 ********************

Year 2:

You saw when your phone lit up, Sonny’s number flashing on your screen. You glanced around the precinct before answering your phone, heading for the on-call room for privacy. It had been three months since you had a drunken call from him, and you were going to lay down the law with him.

“Listen, Sonny, I can’t listen to your drunken ramblings while at work—”

“Ah, shit, ya at work, huh?” he asked, cutting you off. But he sounded lucid rather than drunk. “I’m sorry; I forgot the time difference. I just wanted ta talk, let ya know…I’m not drinkin’ anymore. Look, I’ll let ya go; text me when ya free so we can catch up…please.”

You felt bad for assuming, but with your only contact for the past year being drunk Sonny, it had become habit. “Y—yeah, I’ll see if I can leave early, okay? But don’t stay awake for me.”

“Don’t get in trouble fer me,” he replied, making you chuckle. “I’ll talk ta ya soon…and I’m sorry, fer the past year.”

 *******************

You were no longer with SVU; it had been too hard working there, especially without Sonny. But you also couldn’t deal with the stares, even from your squad. So, you transferred to Homicide instead. And your boss thankfully let you leave early.

You texted Sonny the moment you were home, and instantly he was calling you.

“First, I wanna say I’m sorry fer the drunk calls—”

“Dominick Carisi Jr. If you say the phrase “I’m sorry” one more time, I’m going to fly to Genoa and smack you,” you replied, cutting him off.

He fell silent for a moment before he let out a laugh. “Yeah, I bet ya tired of hearin’ that, huh? Well…After ya left here, I—I spiraled. Hard. Turned ta the bottle, if ya couldn’t tell. But I hit the bottom, and I’m startin’ ta work my way back up.”

“What happened? What bottom did you hit?” you asked, breathless. You were happy he was telling you all this, because you had been so, so worried. But you also didn’t want to pry into his personal life or make him uncomfortable.

It took him a moment to respond. “I…it was 5am when I woke up, shakin’ fer a drink. I remember the first three shots as I made a cocktail, and then…. I woke up in a hospital bed, my stomach pumped. I guess I dropped ta the floor when I lost consciousness, and my downstairs neighbor heard it.”

“Oh my god, Sonny! Are you okay now?” you asked, wanting nothing more than to give him a hug, hold him to you.

“Yeah, I’m good now. I had my stomach pumped and part of my liver cut out, but I’m okay. I no longa have the urge ta drink, and I dumped everythin’ I had. But please, tell me what’s goin’ on with ya; how’s life at the precinct?”

You spent hours talking to Sonny that night, even though it was getting later and later for him. He had so many questions, wanting to know everything going on with you. He vaguely mentioned that he got a job at a grocery store as a cashier, but otherwise, he was focused on you.

 ****************

Year 3:

You and Sonny talked almost every day, falling back into your habits before all this mess happened. You joked around, sent funny pictures to each other, ranted about your days; it was almost as if nothing ever happened. Almost.

From the pictures, you could tell that he was getting tanner, and he started growing out his hair and beard, making you swoon. Not that you’d tell him that; you weren’t sure if he’d be okay with you flirting yet.

But you were happy that things were getting back to normal with you two. It had been almost 4 years since the club incident, and it barely crossed your mind anymore. You had dated since Sonny was in Genoa, but no one seemed to be working for you. At least you could make out with someone without having flashbacks, so you called it a win.

You knew why it wasn’t working out for you, though; you were in love with Sonny, had been since the moment you met him. You were able to move past the club, but you couldn’t move past him. That’s why you had hated yourself so much, and that’s why you felt terrible leaving him behind in Italy. When he kissed you outside the airport in Genoa, you had thought that maybe he had felt the same way about you. Then that first year with drunk Sonny happened, and you weren’t sure about anything anymore.

You were still close with his family, too. Ma Carisi often invited you over for dinner, and you met Sonny’s sisters. You were the emergency babysitter for both Mia (who didn’t think she needed a sitter, until she met you and had fun with you) and Bella’s little girl. And Pa Carisi enjoyed having debates about laws with you, plus the odd sports talk. Slowly, you became one of the family, and you loved them all like your own.

 ***************

Year 4:

Ma Carisi called you, inviting you over for dinner once again. You accepted, telling her you’d be there in thirty. You had to park on the street with all the cars there; the Carisi girls were home for dinner, as well. You smiled as you made your way up the path to the front door, then knocked. The door opened, but instead of Ma Carisi greeting you with a warm smile, it was Sonny.

“Hey doll,” he said, eyes lit up with amusement. You froze for only a moment before you were crushing him in a bear hug. You heard the huff of air as you took the air from his lungs, but you didn’t care; you had missed him so much. You had pinned his arms next to him, so he couldn’t even hug you back.

“Doll…ya crushin’ me…” he gasped, and you finally let him go. Though, you kept your hands on his arms, not believing that he was there, in front of you.

“Are you back for good?” you asked, your voice hushed. You were waiting for him to deny it, for him to say he was only visiting.

“I’m back fer good. Already got my apartment—” He was cut off again as you hugged him, burying your face in his chest. You couldn’t stop the tears that appeared, so happy to have your best friend back. He rubbed your back, murmuring that it’s all okay now, and you had the sudden urge to kiss him. You fought the urge, not wanting to complicate things.

Instead, you ran your hands over his back, then leaned away to look at him. “Have you been working out?” It was true that he was deliciously tan, his hair coifed, and his beard trimmed neatly. He was already so much more attractive than you remembered, even with the pictures he had sent.

He barked out a laugh, a gleam in his eye. “I have, yeah. Whenever I felt the urge ta drink, I instead went to work out. I’m not a body builder or anythin’, though.”

“I’m proud of you, Sonny,” you said, and you meant it. You had gone through hell after the club incident, but Sonny didn’t have a walk in the park either. And you were glad he had found himself.

A pink tint appeared on his cheeks as he smiled at you. He took your hand, kissed your knuckles, and you swooned.

 ******************

After the surprise greeting at the front door, he brought you into the house. Ma Carisi and all his sisters gave you a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek, and Pa Carisi patted your shoulder; the normal greeting from the family. But now that Sonny was there, too, the energy was truly alive. Everyone was smiling and laughing, having a fantastic time together. The talk was loud, happy, and energized. It was almost as if Sonny hadn’t been hiding in Genoa for four years.

After the talk had finally died down, it was time for you to go home. Sonny offered to walk you to your car, and you agreed, not wanting to leave him quite yet.

“I’m so glad you came back, Sonny. I’ve missed you,” you said as you stood by your driver’s side door.

He grinned at you. “A promise is a promise. I told ya I’d come back once I was…better.”

“And are you better? Did you date at all in Genoa?”

His smile faded, and you worried you offended him. You were about to apologize when he spoke. “I am and I did. But no one there was…it fer me, ya know?”

“Yeah…same thing here. I dated a few people, but no one felt right—the spark wasn’t there. At least I had no flashbacks; I hardly remember that night anymore, to be honest,” you said, looking into his eyes, trying to gauge his reaction.

Sonny simply nodded. “Me either, really. It was so long ago…plus, I bet the drinkin’ didn’t help. But I do remember you, showin’ up outta nowhere on a random street in Genoa. Talkin’ me through the worst time of my life.”

“And I remember you, comforting me during a thunderstorm when you didn’t have to do that. Your emotions were everywhere; I couldn’t imagine the turmoil I must’ve put you through—”

“No, no, look at me,” he muttered, his warm hand cupping your cheek. “No matter what happens—in the past or the future—I wanna take care of ya, make sure you’re okay. Comfortin’ ya, it was a slice of normalcy after I thought I’d neva have that again. I needed ya there, and I’m so thankful I had ya.”

You smiled up at him, melting into his touch. His thumb stroked your cheekbone, and you felt closer to him than ever before. “You know what else I remember, Sonny?”

“Hm?”

Slowly, you leaned forward, going slow enough that he had plenty of time to pull away. But instead, he also leaned in until your lips brushed against each other. You smiled softly before you pressed your lips more firmly to his. The hand still cupping your cheek tilted you slightly, letting him kiss you a little more forcefully, his beard tickling you as he moved.

There was the spark that was missing from all your past relationships; you had felt it in the airport, but it wasn’t the right time. Now, however, there was nothing holding you back from deepening the kiss, your tongues coming together in a beautiful dance.

Sonny gently pushed you back against your car, the kiss getting more heated. Your hands went to his shaggy, luscious hair, tugging softly and making him moan into your mouth. His hands dropped to your hips, pushing you back against the car as his tongue memorized your mouth.

Reluctantly, he pulled away from you, both of you panting hard. You were about to suggest he show you his new apartment when he muttered, “I wanna take this slow. Please.”

You shut your mouth, nodding. You’d do anything to make him comfortable and happy. “I can do slow. As long as I have you, Sonny.”

His eyes brightened and he gave you his signature goofy smile. “Ya have me fer as long as ya want me.”

[tommybaholland]

Hi! I love you blog. May I have a one shot where Todoroki has a huge crush on the reader and has no clue what to do. So he goes to the flirt of 1A Denki. And can it be fluffy with a hint of suggestive. Thanks! 💓

setting up shoto

featuring: todoroki

was inspired by the first ep of s5 and really ran with this idea so i hope it’s okay! this turned out pretty long so get comfy and enjoy the read! x 

todoroki had felt many intense emotions before, but none as intense as a romantic love. he didn’t know what he was feeling whenever he saw you. he felt as though it was just simple admiration, that you’re his friend and he is your friend. nothing more and nothing less. he wrote off the pang in his chest when he would suddenly see you as a surprise, like he felt when he watched you walk outside the grounds of the dorm building. however, he didn’t feel the same feeling when another voice appeared behind him. 

“hey, todoroki! whatcha doing? oh, spying on y/n i see. planning to make a move?” kaminari observed.

“i wasn’t spying, i was just passing by. and what do you mean? i am moving.”

“no, dude, like, tell them you like them.”

“why would i have to tell them that? they’re already my friend.”

“no, like, more than friends.”

“i’m not sure that it’s like that.”

“so you don’t like y/n? you just stare at them all the time on purpose?”

“i don’t stare. and of course, i like them. i just told you that they’re my friend.”

kaminari looked at him in disbelief. “you can be really dense sometimes, you know that? look, man, i have a sense for these things and you like them way more than a friend.”

todoroki never took the time to let his feelings marinate and process them properly. he didn’t need people to tell him how to feel but it could be difficult to compartmentalize when many years of your life were spent in spite and anger. he considered that kaminari could be right about this. if someone else could play witness, he feels as though he can’t be wrong in liking you more than a friend. 

“besides, i think if you tell them you like them, they can’t say no!”

“why?”

“because you’re like a babe magnet! and that’s coming from the guy with an electricity quirk.”

“why me?”

“i’m pretty sure most, if not all, of the girls secretly fawn over you. also, i’d be lying if kirishima and i hadn’t talked about who’s the best looking guy in the class, not including ourselves, of course.” 

he had heard this once before, but he couldn’t really care less about who’s the ‘best-looking’ in their class. not to mention that todoroki had absolutely no idea why they would pick him. he could say he is strong and has a pretty good handle on his quirk but other than that he’s pretty regular and nothing out of the ordinary. the fact that he’s hearing this from no one other than kaminari makes it even less credible. 

“look, man. i know you’ve been pining after them for three years now, ever since we all joined class A! i think it’s time you guys get together! and you came to just the right guy.”

“you came to me.” 

“so you’ll let me help you?”

“uh, sure?”

“yes! okay, you won’t regret this. actually, you’re probably going to be thanking me so you better practice now.”

“...thank you?”

“okay, come by my room later tonight. by then, i’ll have a plan that is sure to work for you.”

todoroki didn’t really see the point of this and he almost didn’t go but he said he would let his friend help him. so that’s how he found himself out front of kaminari’s dorm room, not knowing what to expect. 

he knocked politely on the door. there was some shuffling around and then he heard a voice through the door.

“password, please.”

“denki, it’s me.”

“i texted you the password.”

“yeah, but i don’t really want to say that--”

“just say what i texted you!”

“i don’t even know what it means.”

“it’s okay, you don’t have to know what it means! you just have to say it.”

todoroki sighed, preparing to humor his friend. “uh….big dong boys?”

“password accepted.” the door opened and as he entered the room, todoroki was greeted by another familiar face.

“hey, man!” 

“hope you don’t mind that i invited kirishima as well. he’s good support,” kaminari explained. 

“so todoroki,” kirishima began. “i heard about your crush on y/n.”

shoto liked these guys but sometimes he really didn’t know how to interact with them. 

“uh, sure?”

“that’s awesome, dude! i’m sure they’ll love to go out with you. kaminari and i have been brainstorming for a bit and we think we’ve come up with something good. you wanna explain?”

todoroki looked over to denki who nodded. “thank you. alright, so you and y/n are at the same work study, right?”

“yeah. it’s me, them, and camie.”

“okay, good-- wait, CAMIE?! that chick from shiketsu?”

todoroki blinked in his pause. “yeah.”

“why didn’t you say anything? that girl is so hot. oh my god, dude, you have to help me after this--”

“alright, man, can you just keep going with the plan?” kirishima chimed. todoroki appreciated that at least one other person didn’t want to completely waste his time. 

“right. right. so we were thinking that you and y/n could go on a mission together to ‘fight a villain’ or something dangerous like that.”

todoroki was perplexed by this seemingly simple solution. “but...we always go out on patrols together.”

“yeah, but this time, you guys will apprehend a villain and save people together and they’ll see how totally awesome and manly you are!” kirishima added. 

“i still don’t see how that’s any different from what we do normally.”

“hmm, yeah, now that i think about it, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of stakes here.” kaminari thought out loud. 

“hey, wait, remember that thing we read about earlier?” 

“oh, you mean that quiz about which haikyuu boy would hate you? i already told you, man, atsumu would definitely have beef with you. no question.”

“no, not that!” kirishima refuted. “although i do agree. he’d be pretty jealous of me.”

todoroki was rethinking about trusting these two with something like this. 

“but i’m talking about that thing we read about with the bridge?”

“oh, yeah...but can you explain it? i’m still a little lost by it,” kaminari admitted.

“okay, so earlier before you came in, we were doing some research on how to make someone more attracted to you and we found this study where they had people walk across a super tall bridge and rate photos of people. and they monitored their heart rate when they were on the bridge so they figured out that there’s, like, a connection between liking people and dangerous situations.”

todoroki grimaced while trying to work it out in his head. “so...you want to put y/n on a bridge and then they’ll...be attracted to me? i don’t get it.”

“no, i’m saying that there should be some kind of danger to them and then you save them or something--”

“and they’ll be like, ‘oh, todoroki, i love you! kiss me!’ mwah, mwah, mwah.”

kaminari made kissing noises at todoroki, very close to him, in fact. 

“okay, i think i see now,” he replied, pushing kaminari out of his face. “so do we just wait for a villain to show up or?”

“no, that’s part of the ruse!” kaminari clarified. “don’t worry, dude. we got it all sorted out. you just have to be your icyhot heroic self!”

“but you’re not actually going to hurt them or anything, right?”

“no, because you’ll be there to help them!” kirishima jumped in again. “i think we all know you’re pretty capable of handling anything.”

“i’d at least like to know what i’m up against.” 

“no, that’ll ruin the fun! then it’ll be more like a real fight,” kaminari justified. 

it was true that most villain encounters are a surprise and you never really know what you’re getting yourself into as a hero. in fact, that’s the majority of being a hero entailed: being ready for anything. however, todoroki could not escape the feeling of something going awry, despite this being planned out. but he figured that it could be worth it to try. 

“alright, let’s do it,” he agreed with the other two boys.

“yes! don’t you worry one bit, man. just leave it to me and kiri,” kaminari promised as kirishima nodded in agreement. 

they told him that they would shoot for two days’ time, after they got the villain or whoever set-up and it was during a shift at the agency. however, not even a day had passed until word got around the dorm of what was going to happen.

“todoroki,” yaoyorozu caught his attention one day in the common area of the dorm, while some of the class was eating dinner together. “is what kirishima and kaminari been talking about true?”

suddenly, almost everyone’s eyes were on him. luckily, you weren’t in the room but this conversation seemed to take place at an unfortunate time. 

“uh, what have you heard?”

“that you’re trying to woo y/n by saving them from a villain,” ashido interjected. “as if they couldn’t already save themselves!” 

“i know they’re capable and strong, but kirishima and kaminari said it would help,” he explained, recalling what he could of their conversation from the night prior.

“that sounds like something those idiots would come up with,” jiro pointed out.

todoroki shrugged. “they said it was based on science.”

“yeah, hold on a second, jiro,” called out the electric boy himself, who entered the room with mineta. “it’s backed by science, so it has to be legit!”

jiro only rolled her eyes while uraraka tried to de-escalate. “it just sounds really dangerous, that’s all.”

“gosh, it’s like you guys have no faith in him. i mean, this is todoroki we’re talking about!” kaminari refuted. “try telling me you guys wouldn’t want to be saved by him! that’s right, you can’t.”

“listen, it’s not that your plan won’t work, kaminari,” yaoyorozu reasoned. “it’s just that he might want to try something more practical and...sensible.”

“yeah, like take them out on an actual date!” ashido exclaimed. 

“but that’s so boring!” 

“guys, why don’t we ask todoroki what he wants to do since he is the one involved,” yaoyorozu offered. 

“okay, yeah. you have been pretty quiet. what do you think, todoroki?” kaminari questioned. 

todoroki blinked a few times, thinking lightly on his options. “i’m not sure. i agreed to let them help me but--”

“BUT,” kaminari interrupted, getting in his face again. 

todoroki pushed him out of the way before continuing. “yaoyorozu and the others do have a point.” 

“yay! now you can let the girls help you out!” ashido declared. 

“oh, yeah! we could set you and y/n up on a cute date,” uraraka chimed while the other girls nodded in agreement.

“okay.”

“what?! you’re just going to let them take over? ugh, fine. i guess it’ll be better this way. but don’t blame me if their plan gets completely messed up,” kaminari huffed. 

“yeah, but imagine if it does work, dude,” mineta spoke up. “it’d be so hot to watch them kiss and feel each other up.”

everyone ignored that comment and continued to help form a new plan for todoroki. while he appreciated the concern and help from his friends, the girls did ask a lot of questions. 

“what do you like about them?”

“should we tell them that you like them?”

“have you thought about tonguing them down yet? c’mon man, we need details!”

todoroki had half a mind to freeze the perverted grape. nevertheless, thoughts and feelings had crossed his mind many times. he had more time to think it through and at this point, his feelings cut through him deep. he tried to express everything he could about the subject at hand. 

“well, i feel different around them. different than i do around everyone here. even though they’re my friend just as much as any of you, my body feels...weird around them. there’s this pang in my chest when i see them and even when i know i’m going to see them, i feel these tingles throughout my body. sometimes i find myself not being able to speak around them and it’s harder when they’re looking right at me. i don’t know what it is, but their eyes just make me lose my words. my face gets warm whenever they smile or laugh or even when they talk, i feel different. despite that i feel like this, i never want them to be too far from me because i kinda enjoy the feeling they give me. i hope that all makes sense.”

everyone just stared at him with expressions of awe. there was no other way he knew how to say it.

“oh em gee,” ashido finally broke the silence. “you sound like you’re in love, todoroki!” 

“yeah, this is more serious than we thought,” kaminari added with everyone nodding in agreement. 

love? 

“are you sure? i thought i just had a lot of admiration for them,” he replied. 

“while a lot of admiration is one thing, having a physical reaction to their presence seems to be another,” yaoyorozu analyzed. “you seem to like them a great deal and that could be something comparable to love.” 

he had never considered the possibility of being in love with someone. sure, he had felt love from other people in his life like his mother, his siblings, and his friends. however, those were different kinds of love; familial and platonic. those were types that he was comfortable with or grew to be more comfortable. 

romantic love, though, was completely beyond him. there was a time when he barely had any friends, let alone romantic prospects. but now he has many friends and the fact that out of all his closest friends that you were the one he has immense feelings for, must mean it’s love. 

-

after replacing the fake villain ploy with a date idea, todoroki thought he might feel a little more at ease. but that was not the case. 

he had been trained his entire life to be the strongest, greatest hero of the new generation. although part of that had been an ulterior motive to spite his father, todoroki felt more natural in situations where he could put all that work into practice. he wanted to be a hero so that’s what he was meant to do. 

he never imagined he’d be sitting alone at a small side street restaurant waiting for you. the plan involved you meeting up with him for lunch after you finished getting a few extra work study hours at the agency. the girls urged him to ask you out and with a little more encouragement, it seemed to work out alright. although it was a little awkward, considering he decided to ask you right after you came from a shower.

“hey, y/n?”

“yes, todoroki?” you replied as you shifted your weight, standing in front of him in nothing but a towel, your hair damp and your shower kit held against your chest. 

“uh,” he tried his hardest not to stare at the idle droplets of water still resting on your shoulders and chest. “do you like noodles?”

“well, i like pho. you know that,” you smirked in response. 

“right. of course,” he shook his head, almost forgetting where he was going with this. “there’s this noodle bar place and it's kind of in a weird spot in town but they have really good soba and other types of noodles so...i was just wondering if you wanted to go or something? maybe tomorrow for lunch?”

“oh, um, yeah. i could do that. i have a small shift tomorrow at the agency. camie and i are doing some teamwork building type stuff but i can meet you there after that. is 4 too late? we should be done by then.”

even though he likes hearing your voice, he almost blacked out after you said, “yeah.” it wasn’t until he heard your voice again that he caught himself staring.

“todoroki?”

“oh, um, i’m sorry. what did you say?”

“it’s okay,” you let out a small laugh. “i asked you wanted to meet up at 4 after i’m done at the agency.” 

 “oh, of course. sounds perfect. i can text you the address.”

you nodded in response, turning slightly on your heels to leave. but he wanted a little more confirmation. 

“so i’ll see you tomorrow?” 

“yep! see you.” 

he had been texting you ever since then but your messages had slowed down due to what he assumed was your start of your shift at the agency. he checked the group chat that kaminari had made called ‘setting up shoto’ which included everyone who became involved in this whole thing. kaminari said it was where he could tell them the ‘deets’ after you and him had met up. he didn’t really think he would need to tell them but even if he did, there was nothing to report. he did show up thirty minutes before your agreed meeting time, but he wanted to make sure you didn’t show up early somehow, therefore making him the late one. he felt like he’d rather be safe than sorry. 

4pm came and went. soon fifteen, twenty, and now thirty minutes had gone by without a message from you or the others. he thought about texting you to ask if everything was alright, but knowing how strict the agency was with phone use, you probably wouldn’t answer right away. he figured everything was probably fine and that you were just running late. he couldn’t argue that there were several occasions in which you all had to stay a little later because things just happen sometimes. 

although, he admitted that he wished that you would show up soon so the hard part would be over or he would stop feeling so ‘lovesick’ as ashido would say. suddenly, his phone vibrated loudly against the steel table, making him jump in his seat. 

it was kaminari.

“hello?”

“DUDE!”

todoroki pulled the phone from his ear, wincing at his loud voice coming through the speaker. 

“ow. that hurt my ear, you know.”

kaminari seemed to ignore him as he frantically continued. “todoroki, you gotta get downtown. there’s a freaking huge, scary villain here and y/n is--”

todoroki sighed. “denki, i thought we agreed that we weren’t doing that anymore. i’m sitting here waiting for them to eat with me but they seem to be running late.”

“that’s because they’re here fighting this thing!”

he heard loud background noise that was comparable to screaming. 

“wait, are you serious?”

“yes, i’m serious! kirishima and i came out to make sure they were on their way to you but then we heard screaming-- wait, here i’ll show you. hang on.”

todoroki pulled the phone from his ear to watch the screen change from audio to video mode. kaminari’s face showed up for a second before flipping the camera to show the view of the street. they seemed to be hiding with several civilians behind a building as the camera creeped around the corner. todoroki watched and his eyes widened as he saw a huge, black, slimy-looking villain which was filling up the street and trapping people in its path. the quality wasn’t great but he could pick out what looked like you and camie trying to stop or distract it from causing any serious destruction. however, it seemed to only be provoking it more. todoroki stood up from his seat as he recognized where this was all happening.

“can you see him?”

“yeah. i--”

“you have to come help us, todoroki! i don’t have my support item and kirishima can’t land a good punch on him without getting stuck in this gross tar stuff. you have to hurry!”

“okay, i think i know where you are. just try to stall until i get there and get people to safety.”

he quickly hung up and focused on getting to the scene as soon as possible. he was still only a student, a hero-in-training. he’d probably get in serious trouble for taking matters into his own hands but he couldn’t sit back and watch his friends and you get hurt. he didn’t have his hero costume, support items, first-aid, nothing. he also didn’t have time to run back to campus to get his hero costume or any supplies. he’d have to make do with just his quirk alone. 

he arrived at the scene from the alley where kaminari and kirishima were gathering civilians to safety into an entrance on one of the sides of the buildings. kaminari and kirishima exclaimed simultaneously at his presence. 

“oh, thank god. you’re here!”

“alright, todoroki!”

todoroki tried to quickly assess the situation. “did you call the police or any pros?” 

“we reported it and the police should be here soon,” explained kirishima. “there are also several pros but this thing is really putting up a fight. even fat gum couldn’t handle him!” 

“looks like i’ll just have to freeze him--”

“wait, dude, no!” kaminari grabbed him. “that’s why this has been taking so long. he’s able to hold hostages easily!”

todoroki observed the scene in front of him. the sticky goo was everywhere and seemed to have no limit as to how far it could move. there were several civilians still trapped, along with you and camie at the center of it all. 

“trust me, i thought about electrifying it all but that wouldn’t be fun for the people who are, you know, trapped.” 

“we need to get everyone to safety before we do anything drastic!” kirishima reasoned. 

todoroki kept quiet as he tried to think it through. there wasn’t going to be enough time to try to save everyone and stop it from taking anyone else. 

“i think i have an idea but we’re going to have to be fast.”

maybe he couldn’t freeze all of it but his fire could be just as powerful as his ice. he started at the back, where the goo seemed to end and couldn’t move much further. he used his fire to put pressure back on it while freezing any parts that tried to attack him. kirishima and kaminari quickly collected the freed civilians and the pros that were there followed suit to help them out. camie was freed at the base of it with the rest of the hostages and helped to distract it from what todoroki was trying to accomplish. 

“wow, shoto. it’s like you have a sense for danger. so cool!” she complimented brightly. 

the thing was holding you up high, presumably to keep you from attacking, which made it more difficult to free you. todoroki decided it was time to freeze the rest of it so it could be stopped. he used ice that wouldn’t freeze you to death and stopped it so the ice wouldn’t completely cover you. 

the goo stopped moving and seemed to be fully imobile. you were safe but todoroki still had to free you. he sliced through the ice with his left hand, detaching you from the whole. he had kirishima catch you, as you were still caught in ice and goo. 

“i’m going to melt the ice away now,” he explained as he was back at your side again.

you nodded, too cold to speak, and he placed his left hand on top of the ice, melting it away quickly. unfortunately, the goo was still intact underneath and apparently could still move when detached from the source. it looked like it was expanding to cover your entire body, which made you begin to panic. 

“todoroki! what’s happening?”

“i, i don’t know but just relax, okay? we’re gonna get you out of this.” 

he looked around to see the top that was left exposed in the ice detached itself and moved over to where they were. 

“todo-- mph”

“y/n!” 

he looked down to see that the goo was slowly covering your face. he tried to pull it down but the sticky, thick substance was almost unmoveable. suddenly a deep, ominous voice appeared.

“release the rest of me or they die.”

todoroki gritted his teeth, an angry scowl on his face. “you have no room to make threats.”

“and you have no room to compromise. they’re going to suffocate if you don’t make a decision.”

he looked down to see that you stopped struggling, your eyes closing as the goo had almost covered your entire face. 

“fine. take it and leave,” he replied, angrily throwing a fireball at the ice. steam flew into the air as the body was released.

“much obliged,” the villain snickered before snaking into one of the sewer drains. 

the rest of the goo on you had moved up and off your limp body. 

“y/n?” 

-

you opened your eyes with a jolt, your brain fuzzy for a moment as you took in your surroundings. it looked like you were back at the dorm in your room. it was strange as you last remember seeing todoroki’s face. 

“are you awake?”

you gasped at the sudden voice. 

“todoroki!”

“sorry. i didn’t mean to scare you.”

you didn’t know what question you should ask first. “why-- where-- what happened?”

“well, you were unconscious so i brought you back here. i wanted to make sure you woke up so i waited,” he explained. “are you feeling alright?”

“um, yeah. i’m okay,” you replied as it was all coming back to you. it also explained why you were still in your hero costume. 

“what time is it?”

“it’s late. almost 11. are you hungry?”

“yeah, a little-- wait, we were supposed to go to that place, right? you and i?”

he grinned at your sudden thought. “yes.”

“i’m sorry i missed it! i really wanted to go but didn’t think we’d have to take care of a villain.”

“it’s okay. it happens, right?”

“yeah, that’s true. do you want to order something and eat now? i know a place that delivers late and i’m pretty sure they have soba,” you offered. 

he felt that pang in his heart when you grinned at him. 

“yeah. i’d like that.”

he ordered the food and remained in your room as you went to wash up and change out of your costume. when the food arrived you simply ate and talked. he was grateful that you did most of the talking, as he was a bit sleepy and he was normally in bed by this time. nevertheless, he enjoys listening to what you have to say even if he’s a little out of it.

“by the way, how did you know about the villain?”

“what?” he asked incredulously. 

“the villain, how did you know?”

“oh, um, well, i, um, kaminari told me.”

“oh, right. i remember him and kirishima being there too. what a coincidence, huh?”

“actually, it wasn’t,” he admitted, causing you to look confused.

“what do you mean?” 

“they were there because, um, because…”

“because?” 

“because i love you.” 

your expression kept him talking. his heart was talking. 

“i really admire you and kaminari and the others think that i’m in love. today was supposed to be part of a plan to get me to spend time with you. i don’t want you to blame yourself for what happened though because to be frank, i’m happy wherever you are. even sitting here while you were lying unconscious in bed. sorry if that’s weird. i practiced how i was going to tell you what i feel but it’s so complicated. now i am thinking that there’s only one way to say it. everyone was right. i’m in love.” 

todoroki had felt free only once before now. when midoriya told him to claim his power as his own. claiming his love for you felt the exact same. 

“i love you too.”

it was his turn to look shocked. 

“y- you do?” 

“yes. and i’m so glad you told me. i could never really gauge how you felt so i hid it for a long time and tried to enjoy just being as close as i already am with you.” 

his head was a mess upon hearing this but in a good way. he didn’t think he’d come this far or have this result. he’d admit that it was a bit overwhelming. 

“can i...can i hug you?” you asked, breaking the pregnant pause. 

“oh, um,” he stuttered. he really, really wanted to hug you. he’s held you before but that was different. that was when you were unconscious. this time would involve awareness.  something about the thought of touching you in a rather sensual way made him even more rattled. 

“it’s okay if it’s too much right now. you can let me know when you’re ready.” 

“i would like that. to hold you, i mean,” he answered. 

“okay,” you grinned before slowly moving over to him. 

you wrapped your arms around his shoulders to pull him against you. no matter how prepared he thought he could be for this, he wasn’t at all. he gasped softly at the impact of your body against him, part of his face slightly smooshing into your neck. his arms slowly came to wrap around your waist, his fingertips barely touching your back. soon enough you felt his arms tighten around you and his face nuzzling deeper into your neck. he gripped the back of your shirt lightly and the noises emitting from him sounded like he was crying. 

“are...you okay, todoroki?” you questioned, concerned that you were making him uncomfortable. you pulled back slightly, your eyes meeting with glossy, familiar ones. 

“yeah, i,” he chuckled to himself, wiping the stray tears. “i think i love you more than i thought.”

“me too,” you agreed. 

“can you say my name?”

“todoroki.”

“no, my first name.” 

“shoto.”

“i like that,” he mused, his eyes bright and cheeks red. his hands trailed up your back, pressing you back into him. 

“and i love you.”

“i love you too, sho.”

he planned on never letting you go. 

-

bonus:

“what a beautiful sight,” kaminari observed, watching the young couple hold hands as they walked in the distance. 

“yeah, they’re so cute,” agreed kirishima.“i can’t believe it’s already been almost a month since they started dating.”

“yeah,” kaminari concurred, wiping a fake tear from his eye. “our little shoto todoroki is growing up so fast! i’m still gonna credit myself for that, even though he hasn’t thanked us yet.”

“well, y/n did almost die, dude. i don’t think he’d be too happy to hear that we were behind it,” kirishima point out.

“maybe so...but like i said, he had it all under control!”

“i still can’t believe you went through with that, just to get to talk to camie.”

“that was not the only reason! i did it for todoroki and had complete faith in him. it only proved how much more he loves them, really,” kaminari justified.

“yeah, i guess i can’t argue with that.”

“and besides, i guess karma has come. camie already left me on read.”

“aw, that sucks dude.”

“but thanks for helping me set everything up with rappa. how did you repay him for getting the asphalt guy?”

“oh, i put in a good word for him at the reform program at fat gum’s agency and he seems to really like it.”

“that’s so cool! you know, i always believed that most villains could turn around. it’s like-- oh my god, dude! camie just texted me!”

“well, what a coincidence. maybe now you should be the one thanking todoroki and y/n.”

“yeah, yeah, yeah. whatever.”

last one for tonight’s bnha night! requests still welcome..

[kimnjss]

capital h | pjm + jjk

⇢ pairing: jungkook x reader x jimin ⇢ genre: smut. ⇢ word count: 7.6K ⇢ theme: established relationship | threesome.  ⇢ rating: explicit. ⇢ warnings: cursing, dirty talk, slight nipple play, oral (f/m receiving), threesome, semi-public fingering, humiliation kink(?), slight dom!jimin, slight switch!jungkook, slight sub!reader, voyeurism, exhibitionism, penetrative sex, unsafe sex (wrap it up, loves!). a hint of jikook at the end. ⇢ summary: after learning of the activities your boyfriend and his best friend use to partake in, you can’t help but what to be apart of them. everyone always says, two is better than one, right? ⇢ A/N: this has been in my drafts for about three months, lmao. finally, i finished it and posted it! im lowkey excited because this was a lot of fun to write, and i’ve never written anything like it so! alright, yeah... let me know what you think x.

Your damp locks laid sprawled against your boyfriend's muscular thigh. Warm fingers twisting the wet curls between his fingers. Movements slowed due to the toe-curling, orgasm-inducing, mind-blowing tub sex you just shared. The last thing you had wanted was to get out and brave the cold air, but laying here, wrapped in his sheet with nothing underneath, you didn't want to be anywhere else.

 Being in Jimin's arms was a rare occurrence these days, moments like this becoming cherished treasures that you looked forward to. Excitement was the easy way to describe how you felt when he and his six best friends were pulling up in front of your house, inviting you to spend their day off with them.

 Of course, it was all Jimin's doing, you wouldn't have met any of those guys if it wasn't for your chance meeting with the handsome dancer. They liked you enough, though. Each showed you that they accept your relationship in their own way.

 Seokjin, the oldest, had become something of a big brother to you; oftentimes taking your side on the rare occasion that you and Jimin argued. Never failed to give you insightful advice after the fact. Yoongi didn't really pay you any mind, but he thought you were cute and often times found himself cooing at you. You were closest to Hobi and Joon, becoming fast friends due to your like personalities and sense of humor. They thought you were hilarious, Jimin didn't see it.

 As for the two youngest... despite you dating his best friend, Taehyung didn't really show much interest in you, neither did Jungkook. Yet, Taehyung did put in the effort to make conversation and make you feel included, unlike the youngest male. You had been convinced that he didn't like you, until a few weeks ago when his blatant staring began.

 He'd be quick to look away whenever he knew he was caught, but he wasn't that sneaky. You never missed the cocky grin he'd try to hide or the knowing look he'd shoot in Taehyung's direction. There was definitely something up and it definitely involved you.

 “What do you think of Jungkook?” The question was falling from your lips and you had your never-ending thoughts and overthinking to blame. 

 Jimin let out a snort of a laugh. “Jungkook? My best friend, and teammate? The guy that's been like a brother to me for the past 7 years? I guess he's alright,” Sarcasm dripped from his words and you rolled your eyes, lifting your head from his lap.

 Your hand met his shoulder, gently pushing him back against the headboard. “I'm being serious. What do you think?”

 “So am I. He's like a brother to me, why?” He found this sudden interest in the maknae odd...? Especially for you. It was obvious that the two of you didn't really socialize, so why were you asking about him all of a sudden? “What do you think of him?” Jimin prompted when your answer didn't come fast enough.

 Taking a moment, you debated whether or not you should even bring this up. As he said, Jungkook was like a brother to him... what if calling out his weird behavior ended up rubbing Jimin in the wrong way and now you were without a boyfriend.

 Jimin wasn't the type for dramatics, though. Everything was comfortable with him, not many things reaching his 'serious business' radar, so this should be fine, right? Right. “He's fine...” You buffered, teeth chewing at your lower lip.

 Jimin pinned you with an expectant look, hated whenever you, or anyone, beat around the bush when there was obviously something on their mind. Taking this, you urged yourself to go on. “...I've just noticed like lately he's been... checking me out?” Mentally, you flinched, hoping the news wouldn't upset your boyfriend.

 His chest rumbled as he barked out a laugh, head cocked back as the sweet sounds left his plump lips. Pillow soft punches met his stomach as you tried to get him to focus. “I'm being serious, Jimin! He's always staring at me with that stupid face,”

 You imitated Jungkook's seemingly signature facial expression, eyebrows raised and tongue pushed into the inside of your cheek, eyes tracing over your boyfriend's body hungrily like Jungkook had done to you many times before. Another laugh left his lips at the sight of your face and you were scoffing, pushing him back again.

 “I don't know why this is funny to you. I just told you one of your friends has been mentally undressing me, you should be livid!” You were quick to silence the insecure thoughts that his lack of reaction had floating around your mind.

 It was no secret that Jimin was a jealous guy. What's his, is his... you were his! He should be enraged that some guy was looking at you like a piece of meat, he was the only one that was supposed to look at you like that. So why was he laughing?

 Seeing that you were obviously upset, Jimin was reaching for your arms, uncrossing them from your bare chest. His hands held loosely on your wrist as he pulled you toward him, landing a soft kiss to your lips. “I think it's funny because it's not a big deal. Me and Jungkook are boys, he's not gonna try anything with you.” He assured you, another kiss landing on your lips.

 “Okay, but, I heard him and Taehyung talking and-” You weren't even able to finish your sentence because he was sitting up, squinted eyes finding yours. “Taehyung was talking about you?”

 Oh, now he wanted to be jealous? Scoffing, you pushed him back against the headboard. “Yes.” You couldn't help the roll of your eyes. “I was trying to tell you. Not only is Jungkook always checking me out, but I heard them talking about you and us... and something about an H?”

 Jimin's expression softened, eyebrows relaxing as his cheeks tinted a few shades light of red. “Oh.” Crooked teeth worried his lower lip as he reached a hand up to push his hair back on his forehead.

 “Oh? What does H stand for, Jimin?” Obviously, he knew exactly what they were talking about and it was making him... blush? “It's nothing.” He answered a bit too quickly. “It's something.” Your words chased his, a slight bite in your tone.

 His eyes widened. “What are you gonna get mad if I don't tell you?” Laughter laced his words, but it wasn't the 'Ha-ha so funny' type of laugh, it was a type of nervous laugh he let out when he felt like he dug himself in a hole.

 You were nodding your head simply, shoving the blanket from your waist. “Yup!” Hopping from the bed, you began searching the room for the jeans you had ditched the second you were entering his bedroom. Jimin was sitting up quickly, voice stopping your movements just as you got your jeans over your thighs. “Alright, alright! I'll tell you. Come sit back down,”

 A triumphant smirk spread across your lips, as you crossed the room back to his bed. You sunk back down onto the comfortable mattress, crossing your legs underneath your bum as you awaited his explanation.

 “First of all, this was before I met you so you can't hold this against me,” He prepped and you nodded your head, gesturing with your hand for him to go on. “A while ago... with my exes, or just like girls that hung around us... Jungkook and I would, you know...”

 You had pretty a good idea what he was alluding to, but you weren't the type to graciously take a hint. “No, I don't know... you would, what?” He was rolling his eyes at the smirk on your lips, hands pushing his hair back out of habit.

 “Share them, our girlfriends, the groupies... It was fun, you know? Capitol H doesn't stand for anything, it's literally what our bodies do,” He let out a short laugh and you picture the way an H looked. “...So I'd be the middle part?” You clarified, your words making Jimin's eyes snap up to you.

 “Who said...” His words trailed off, brows furrowing as he visibly went through the thoughts bubbling in his mind. You didn't blame him. Despite the occasional interesting position or location, you liked to keep it pretty vanilla.

 Well aware that Jimin was more experienced than you, you didn't want to disappoint. You always thought vanilla didn't technically mean boring... at least it didn't to you. But after hearing that he use to partake in regular threesomes you couldn't help but wonder what else the other girls he's been with let him do.

 Just the pure fact that you were considering this, putting yourself in the situation was enough to baffle your boyfriend, confuse him enough to convince him that you were just fucking with him. A laugh slipped past his lips as he shook his head. “Come on, Yn. You wouldn't be into that.”

 “How do you even know?”

 “Well, because I know you. It was a long time ago, Yn. They were just talking shit, you don't have to-” Annoyed, you were cutting him off.

 “I might want to. I could be into it, you don't know. Jungkook is cute and...”

 His face was twisting, and you were afraid you had said the wrong thing. Sure of it when the words left his lips. “Are you saying you want to fuck, Jungkook?” Thankfully, he didn't exactly look angry... just a little bit put off?

 A hand reached out for his, easily lacing your fingers together. “Listen, I know I'm not that... adventurous, when it comes to sex... but if it's something that you enjoyed doing or if you just want to, I'm just saying... I wouldn't be against it.” Your thumb soothes over the back of his hand and enjoys the smile that pushes onto his lips.

 His eyes soften again, staring up at you lovingly. The confusion of whether or not you had just admitted you were into his bandmate gone and forgotten. “I promise, I like the sex we have just fine, don't worry.” He was leaning forward, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead, his arm wrapping around your waist to pull your body into his.

 Four days passed since your conversation with Jimin. More and more time was spent around their dorm, soaking up as much time with him as you could before he was jetting off to his next schedule. Being around him all day, though, meant that you were around his friends all day too.

 It wasn't a big deal, these guys were cool. At least, most of them were. In the past days, Jungkook had become bold, to say the least. Not looking away when he's caught staring, instead of waiting for you to be the one to break. On top of that, it was like the kid never knew when to shut up, always coming up with a snarky comment or undermining you but at the same time calling you 'Noona' with that boyish grin of his.

 Jimin no doubt told him all about the talk that you two had if those boys were sharing girls... there was no way they weren't sharing secrets. You don't know what you knowing about their sexcapades did for him, but it clearly had gone to his head. It'd be best to just ignore him, you decided. No matter how undeniably attractive he was, there was nothing there for you. You didn't want him. Didn't need him, no matter the dampness that ensued whenever he smirked. And of course, you didn't ever notice the size of the bulge that constantly pushed against his pants. Was that boy always hard, or something!?

 Like right now, just walking across the lawn in search of the ball he had been playing with, but right there fighting against his swim trunks... a huge boner! You cursed the moment Jin suggested a pool party would be a fun way to spend the afternoon.

 It had sounded fun at the moment. Yoongi said he was going to barbecue and you were even more convinced when your boyfriend was making his way down the stairs shirtless in his swim shorts. The sexy one-word tattoo on full display, ripples of his abs seemed to glisten, the single trail of hair below his belly button disappearing underneath his waistband.

 Yeah, you'd definitely enjoy this afternoon. So sure of it, until you were catching sight of the man that followed him down the stairs. Jungkook, of course, who else could irk you just with their presence?

 A lot taller and more muscular than your lean boyfriend, black shorts hanging loosely on his hips, giving you a perfect view of the well-worked on V-line that acted a huge fucking arrow to his dick. Gentle lips found the top of your head, a strong arm wrapping around your waist. “You look pretty,” Jimin mumbled into your ear, and you grinned, leaning into his chest.

 Jimin was always very vocal when it came to the things that he liked to see. You showing some skin? Definitely at the top of his list. Took that into account when you picked out your swimsuit for this gathering; a red triangle string bikini, lacy black flowers decorating your breasts, and hips.

 It was obvious that Jimin thought you looked good, could tell with the lingering glances in your direction as you laid on your back trying to soak up some sun. What you didn't account for was the slight chance that his friends might think the same. And by friends, you meant Jungkook, of course.

 Poor kid couldn't take his eyes off of you, not even for a second. Which explains his constant need to get out of the pool and retrieve the ball that he kept failing to catch. The situation almost funny, if the sexy flex in his arms as he pulled his body out of the water didn't always catch your attention. If your eyes weren't automatically trailing over every ridge and bump of his muscles.

 He'd smirk when catching you, toss his long wet hair before slipping back into the water. Wouldn't even wait to see the annoyed roll of your eyes, not as it mattered – he had already caught you staring, more than once. Acting as if he didn't affect you was a waste. And to make matters worse, Jimin was always right there observing each and every one of your interactions with the kid, face giving nothing away.

 Not angry, or annoyed. Just watching, as if he was curious to see what you'd do. How you'd react. As if he had put this whole entire thing in motion earlier and was observing the aftermath. 

 By the time Yoongi was announcing dinner, your body was buzzing with annoyance. Or was it desire? Either way, you were about two seconds from ripping your hair at the roots. Jimin sat beside you, the first time he was within arms reach the entire evening. He grinned, wrapping a strong arm around your waist and pulling you close engulfing you with his sweet scent. 

 Stupidly, you found yourself relaxing in his arms. Head falling on his shoulder while a hand lifted to press against his stomach. He was warm but still a little wet from the pool. You felt the movement of his head but didn't bother with lifting your head to see who he was speaking too. Stupid, because seconds later the spot next to you was being taken up.

 Guess who.

 Of course, Jeon Jungkook was slipping into the space beside you, a cocky grin playing on his most likely soft lips. His eyes flickered over to Jimin's before he was dropping his focus back onto you.

 “We've got burgers and hot dogs, and Jin is coming out with the chicken,” Yoongi called out, stepping toward the table with a tray of meat in hand. The second the food was in reach, the boys were hurrying to load their plates.

 Like the ever so dotting boyfriend, Jimin loaded up your plate as he did his. Comfortable conversation surrounded the table, voices overlapping and thick strings of laughter falling from their lips. You weighed in where you could, beaming when you were able to make a few of them laugh along with you.

 It was fun. Talking to them, getting along. Despite the fact you had been dating Jimin for a while, conversations with most of his friends were surface level at most. It didn't really bother you, but it was a good feeling knowing that if needed, you could get along with these guys.

 “No, yeah... if you're into old-time movies, you should definitely check out...” Taehyung's words were fading into the background, your attention slipping from what he was saying and to the warm hand on your thigh. Jimin's. An unsuspecting smile on his lips when you looked up to catch his gaze. 

 Just barely catching the title of the movie Taehyung was referring to, you turned your attention back to him. “It's good? I should check it out.” He nodded, all at once losing interest in the conversation, Jin's story catching his ear.

 There was a mischievous glint in Jimin's eye as he spread your legs apart, tips of his fingers trailing up your bare thigh. His head tilting until his lips were able to reach the skin of your neck, leaving a wet trail of kisses down the length.

 You felt your body melting into him. Ready to succumb to whatever he had in store for you, the tingle of anticipation rushing through your veins. A familiar heat spreading throughout your body, lips curling into your mouth as you waited. The press against your left side had your eyes snapping open, darting to the cool tattooed hand making it's way up to your thigh. Jungkook.

 His fingers inching up your thigh, closer and closer to your core while Jimin held your legs apart, fingers tight against your flesh. “If you don't like it, tell him to stop.” His words are hushed against your ear, and you're nodding quickly, hearing the sincerity in his voice. 

 Jungkook wastes no time, callused fingers finding your clit through the fabric of your bikini bottoms. He presses down, fingers moving in circles as your body jolts at the sudden friction. “She's sensitive,” He speaks as if he's taking notes rather than trying to hold a conversation. You hold your breath, legs spreading slightly. Jimin's lips fall from your skin, cheek resting against your shoulder so he can see.

 Never did you think you'd be the one to have such a penchant for something as risky as public foreplay, but here you were growing wetter by the second, the thought that either one of his friends could catch you with a simple turn of their heads. It had you unbelievably turned on, mixed with the fact that your boyfriend was watching you rather than doing it definitely added to it.

 Jungkook laughs beside you, but not at you. Delved in a conversation with Namjoon across the table as if his fingers weren't pushing your bottoms out of the way underneath the table. A long finger lazily traces over your wet folds. Jimin's chuckle covers the gasp that leaves your lips when Jungkook's fingers graze over your bare clit.

 Jin is smiling appreciatively in his direction at the support of his joke. You were going to get caught. The thought and the consequences weighing heavily on your mind, causing you to shift attempting to close your legs. “It's fine,” Jimin assures you with a whisper, strong hand holding your leg in place.

 The moment you're relaxing, Jungkook's hand is reaching down to grasp your other thigh. Easily lifting it to hook over his own, giving him total access to your throbbing pussy. It's not lost on you how hot it feels to be exposed like this, but you're not given any time to analyze what it means as soon as Jungkook traces his fingers over your entrance.

 The tips of his fingers take their time with gathering the wet arousal that had accumulated between your legs before they're moving back up to tease your tight hole. Teeth digging into your plump lip as the tips of his fingers slowly begin slipping into your core.

 Trying your damnedest to keep your face from giving away what was going on underneath the table. You force yourself to concentrate on the words coming from Namjoon's mind, although they're just words... not coherent enough to follow the actual story.

 Slowly, Jimin is reaching his thick fingers down between your legs, using his middle and index fingers to spread your lips further apart, giving him a better view. You gasp, Jungkook's fingers pumping shallowly in and out of you. 

 For a moment, your body stills, afraid you had been too loud just then. Calming when you realize none of them were looking in your direction, not even Jungkook who was the cause of all of this. No, he was seemingly wrapped in conversation with Taehyung, a teasing smirk on his lips that you guessed was meant for you.

 Jimin was the only one look at you, watching Jungkook's long fingers bury themselves deep inside of you. He's flexing them, curling and uncurling as the pad of his thumb fingers your needy clit. He's basically drooling at the sight, wet lazy kisses landing on your shoulder. His hand resting over his covered crotch, palming himself through the fabric. 

 A louder, desperate whimper is falling from your lips. This time catching the attention of Taehyung. Words coming to a halt as his eyes dart between the three of you, a wide smirk slipping onto his features. “Are you alright, Yn?” There's a teasing glint in his eye, letting you know he's not at all asking if you're alright. No, he knew exactly what was happening underneath the table and he was making it all of his business to tease you about it.

 Plastering a tight-lipped smile onto your lips, you muster all the strength you can to nod your head. “I'm fine,” There's a strain in your voice, giving him enough reason to pull a look of concern, his head tilting to the side.

 “Are you sure? You look a little flushed,” His brows furrow, topping off his fake worry and you're suppressing the urge to roll your eyes. The encounter is catching Namjoon's attention beside him, his gaze lifting to study your face. “Oh, yeah. You don't look so good.” He weighs in, actually looking worried about you.

 Jungkook takes this growing attention as an invitation to speed up the movement of his fingers. Hand tightening on your thigh, keeping you from snapping your legs shut. Two fingers plunging deep inside of you, tips brushing against the spongy spot inside of you. Jimin's domineering gaze watches your face, waiting for your response.

 However, it doesn't come. The thrusts of Jungkook's fingers, mixed with the relentless strokes of his thumb on your clit has a moan falling from your lips. It's loud and breathy, and definitely recognizable even if all attention wasn't on you. You see Jungkook's eyes widen from the corner of your eye, but he's being really careful about not looking directly at you.

 You do, actually, see him steal a glance in Jimin's direction... almost as if he's asking for guidance, but he's being ignored, Jimin's lust-filled eyes never leaving your face. “Take that kinky shit upstairs,” Yoongi speaks flatly, bored expression on his face as he stares at you.

 Jimin's hand is quick to reach between your legs, adjusting your bottoms as Jungkook withdraws his fingers from inside of you, pushing your thigh from his. You ignore the way your walls flutter at the sudden emptiness, snapping your legs shut as embarrassment reddens your cheeks and dampens your pussy.

 “Let's go.” There's no room for protest with the way he speaks, excusing himself from the table as he looks expectantly between you and Jungkook. The younger male is quick to stand, watching you as he pushes his glistening fingers into his mouth. Your heart pounds as he slowly sucks your juices from the digits.

 The other boys have turned their attention from you three, still, your body felt hot. Cheeks flushed and pussy pulsing with want. Need. You needed them, both of them. Need to have both of them on you, around you, inside you. With a breath, you're standing, following them into the house and up into Jimin's room.

 Jungkook shuts the bedroom door, flicking the lock as Jimin turns to look down at you. “You still not against this?” Eyes much softer now, gentle hands finding your hips in order to pull your body toward his. You're nodding without a second thought, want buzzing in your veins. No way were you backing out now.

 Despite the grin rapidly growing on his plush lips, Jimin was still asking: “Are you sure?” Your words chased his, hands reaching up to land on his jawline. “I'm sure,” Your lips found him, instantly being parted by their thickness. His tongue twists and tangles with yours, a single hand reaching to grasp your jaw, holding your head in place as he licks into your mouth.

 Suddenly, he's pulling back, soft eyes tinted with a dark desire. He's turning your head with the grip of his strong hand, your eyes finding Jungkook who had moved to stand directly behind you.

 Jungkook is quick to capture your lips with his. Soft lips tasting heavily of cherry, you kiss him back, body turning, melting into his as the erection between his legs brushes against your lower belly. He bites into your lower lip, tugging it slightly and pulling a whimper from his lips.

 You feel his smirk as his tongue slips past your parted lips, mapping out every inch of your mouth while his hands drop to your scarcely covered ass. Hips pushing back, involuntarily surrendering more of your ass to his. Jungkook's lips are falling from yours, hands sliding underneath the fabric of your bottoms to cup your bare ass.

 “Jungkook,” You gasp out when his hands squeeze down hard on your ass, grip pulling your body tight against his. With little to no effort, Jungkook is lifting your body off of the floor, your legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. He walks the two of you to the bed, laying your body onto the soft mattress.

 When he had moved was lost on you, Jimin now sitting comfortably on the chair adjacent to the bed. Hard cock straining against the fabric of his swim trunks, his hand resting over it as he watched you with his best friend.

 With your legs hanging loosely from his hips, Jungkook leans down to bury his head in the crook of your neck. Sucking wet hickeys into the skin while his large hands trail down the gentle curves of your body, fingers finding the tight bows on either side of your hips. Your breaths come out labored, rapidly losing yourself in the way he's tonguing at your skin, teeth grazing its sensitivity.

 “Fuck,” He groans, hips pushing into yours. The sound of his voice nearly startling you, with how quiet he has been since the start of all this. “I never thought I'd have a chance to have you like this,” He sighs softly against your skin. Only a second was spared for you to wonder just how often he thought about having you like this. If Jimin knew.

 Jungkook's hands were quickly traveling up your back, a single tug on the string of your bikini had it loosening around your chest. He wastes no time with discarding it, tossing it somewhere behind him before leaning down. Hot tongue connecting with your hardened bud, rolling it around in his mouth. A soft moan slips past your lips, head falling back just enough to catch sight of Jimin.

 Teeth worrying his plush lips, a hand-dipped into the front of his shorts as he watches you. Hooded eyes find yours and you swear you see his cock twitch in his hand. Your fingers tangled in Jungkook's hair, holding his head against your chest as he grinds his covered cock against the flimsy material of your bathing suit.

 Your legs tighten around his waist, pulling his closer as you lift your hips. Jimin's groan mixes with the sound of yours, Jungkook's head lifting only for a moment to catch sight of his older friend, only to drop back down mouth latching onto your neglected nipple.

 “Make her cum, Kook,” Jimin speaks hastily growing impatient with how slow Jungkook was being. How he seemed to be taking his time, reveling in each moment he had with you. Allowing himself to memorize every inch of your body while he had the chance.

 The sight demand has Jungkook's body jumping to action, teeth grazing over your nipple as his hand travels down the front of your body dipping into your bottoms and covering your pussy without pause.

 Your legs squirm while his fingers toy with your bundle of nerves a wet trail of kisses, creating a line from your breasts down the middle of your body. You're sprawled out beneath him, legs wide as you wait for what you know is coming. It's not long before his head is between your legs, looking up at you with the sexiest pout and you feel as though you could cum at the sight.

 “You're soaked,” His head is tilting slightly, licking along your slit in one click motion and you're moaning out. “I've always wondered the sounds you'd make having your cute little pussy eaten.” His thumb is covering your clit, stroking it gently as your core flutters, from the growing smirk on his face, it's safe to say he noticed.

 Strong hands holding your legs apart, Jungkook lunges forward to press his soft lips against your folds. He sucks kisses against your damp lips, tongue stroking against them slowly. You're whimpering, can feel your pussy dripping as you reach down to tangle your fingers in his soft locks.

 He's quick with the up-down movement of his tongue against your slick pussy lips, tracing over each ridge and cure but avoiding that one spot he's sue would have you falling apart instantly. Instead, kept his thumb pressed against it still, motionless.

 Your hips lift, rocking into his face while his tongue lowers to tease your wanting entrance. Large hands curling around your hips to grasp the cure of your ass, pulling your body tighter against his mouth. “Fuck, Jungkook!” The shout falling from your lips as he ups his speed, the tip of his nose nudging against your clit.

 Jimin's breathy groan sounds from behind you, the familiar fap of his hand working against his hardened cock filling your ears and egging you on. His thumb slowly plays with the head, spreading the precum leaking from it. Having him watch you, turned on by the sight of you moaning his friend's name, turned on enough that he was jerking himself off at the sight. It made you feel hot, an unexplainable rush of desire coursing through your veins.

 Jungkook is pulling his tongue from inside of you it quickly being replaced with two long fingers. He pushes all the way to the knuckle, curling them to press deep inside of you. You feel the coil in your stomach slowly tighten as he continues his movements, your orgasm approaching.

 A silent scream leaves your lips the moment his lips are wrapping around your neglected clit, sucking softly as his tongue teases it. Hips lifting and rolling, body convulsing as your orgasm begins to wash over you. Jungkook's grip tightens around your shaking thighs, holding your legs in place as he pushes another finger inside of you.

 His lips suck down harder, head tilting to the side to twist your clit along with it. That paired with the new stretch of his added finger have you cumming hard all at once. His name leaves your lips in a desperate mewl, grip tightening in his hair as your back arches off the bed.

 Jungkook's pulling his fingers from your body, letting up on the suction around your clit relaxing into gentle licks of his tongue. His strong hands cover your ass, holding your body against his mouth as you ride out your orgasm. He laps up every bit of your wet cum, ignoring the sensitive twitch of your legs until he's finished. Until he's satisfied and sitting upon his knees, licking your arousal from his lips.

 He's staring at you with so much want, lust, lips slightly swollen and very red. His hair sticks up messily around his head from the grip of your fingers, chest heaving with heavy breath as he watches you.

 Jimin stands from his position behind you, hands tugging his shorts the rest of the way down his legs before he's taking slow strides in your direction. With much effort, you're lifting your body until you're seated. He grins down at you, a hand wrapped around his length while the other reaches for the nape of your neck.

 “I want you to suck me off while Jungkookie fucks you open, how's that sound?” He's wearing such a sweet smile on his face, a direct contradiction to the words that fall from his lips and the vulgar things they convey. You're nodding your head quickly, either way, leaning into his touch as his hand travels to rest against your jaw.

 Jungkook has stood from the bed, discarding his shorts in the process. He's rummaging on the other side of the room, but your focus is not on him. No, your attention is stuck on the man in front of you. His soft thumb brushing against your lower lip, your mouth falling open. He grins.

 “You made me so hard baby. Loved seeing you cum on Kookie's tongue, did it feel good?” You're nodding your head, eyes snapping up to find his. He chews on his lower lip, tracing the curves of your lips with the tip of his cock. You try to move your head to coax his cock into your mouth, but he's having too much fun teasing you to let that happen.

 Pushing your tongue out, you manage to slide it over the underside of his cock. He groans, head lolling to the side as he gives in, slowly guiding his cock past your lips and into your mouth. Your lips latch onto his dick and quickly begin licking and suckling at his length. His teeth dig into his lip as he watches you, hand reaching to grasp your hair.

 “Your mouth feels so good, baby.” He pants, rocking his hips forward slightly. Your body warms at the praise, sucking harder and speeding the bob of your head. His lower belly tightens, both hands tangled in your hair and tightening to hold your head still. Mouth widening, you allow him to push his hips forward, taking more of his cock down your throat. 

 You let him gag you, spit gathering around your lips as tears brim in your eyes. Hands braced on his hips as if that'd be enough to slow his movements. With the fucked out look on his face, the grip in your hair; it was obvious he didn't plan on letting up any time soon. Not like you even wanted him too, anyway.

 Jungkook was coming to crouch behind you, large hands finding your hips. The palm of his hand is slapping against one of your cheeks, forcing your body to jolt forward a muffled moan leaving your lips. The movement pushing you down further onto Jimin's cock, the head hitting against the back of your throat causing a cough to fall from your lips.

 Reluctantly, you pull back, a thin string of saliva connecting your lips to his length as heavy coughs shook your body. Jungkook let out a loud laugh, hands on your hips positioning your body onto your knees. Jimin's unmistakably gentle hand rubbed at your back, attempting to soothe your coughs as he lined his cock with your lips once more.

 You were taking him into your mouth once more, sucking with much more fervor this time. He chuckles above you, eyes flickering up to Jungkook who's fingers caressing your wet pussy lips. “She's so wet, Hyung. Think she liked choking on your cock.” He comments, fingers lazily stroking your pussy.

 Warmth spreads through your body at his words. Jungkook was much different from Jimin, sexually as well as everything else. Where Jimin never mentioned how much he knew you liked to suck him off, Jungkook was more than willing to voice his revelation that you were particularly dripping. As if he got off on the thought of embarrassing you, and it should annoy you, but it only made you want him more.

 Wanted to prove to him that you didn't so easily wither, that it would take a lot more to make you shy away. No matter the blush the took over his cheeks every time he was crude.

 His hand reached for your hair, tangling in the soft strands and slowly pulling you off of his friend's cock. Your back was soon pressed flush against his chest, a strong arm wrapping around your waist. You can see Jimin clearly now, muscles glistening with a thin layer of sweat as his palm stroked his wet cock.

 Jungkook's dick is pressed firmly against your ass cheek and your hips slowly rock back, rubbing against it. He bites back a groan, hand dropping to hold your hips in place. “You want me to fuck you, Yn?” His mouth is right by your ear, but he's speaking loud enough for both you and Jimin to hear. “Want me to make you cum, again? But this time on my cock... make you fall apart while your boyfriend watches, you'd like that, huh?” Rough fingers find your clit, flicking and tugging at it. And you nod frantically, spreading your legs wide from him and avoiding the lust-filled gaze of your boyfriend.

 He reaches for your chin, lifting your head so you're looking directly at Jimin. Jungkook moved behind you, shifting his hips until the tip of his cock nudges your awaiting entrance. “Say it,” He hisses into your ear. “Tell him,” His lower lip drags over the shell of your ear, fingers dipping lower to spread your lips for him.

 “I want-,” You feel heat growing in your chest, Jimin's expectant gaze making you feel small. He's stroking his cock much slower now, waiting on labored breaths. Jungkook's fingers pinch your clit and pleasure shoots through your veins, body twitching. “Don't be shy, princess. He can take it...” His fingers rub figure eights into the bundle of nerves.

 There was no telling how you looked right now, fucked out and panting. Desperately trying to wiggle your hips in hope to steal away more than he was letting you have. Lips are swollen and cheeks tear-stained from having Jimin's cock down your throat moments before. Your back arches against his chest as he drags the length of his cock over your slit, teasing you.

 “I want!” You shout, an electric shock of pleasure fueling you, “Jimin, fuck... watch me. I want you to watch me when Jungkook fucks me,” You plead, crazed eyes staying trained on your boyfriend. “Want you to see him make me cum.”

 “Fuck,” Jimin groans, at the same time Jungkook is pushing inside of you. His thick cock spreading your folds and breaking through your walls. You let out a loud whine, pushing back against him welcoming each inch of his length. He's groaning only when he's bottoming out, hands falling to your hips, body dropping onto your knees again.

 “She's so tight,” Jungkook sighs, pulling his hips back until the tip of his cock is catching on your pursed entrance. He pushes forward quickly, pulling a wail from your lips. Repeating the action until he feels your walls loosening around him.

 He's soon falling into a steady pace, hips snapping against yours as his fingers bruise your hips. Your legs spread wide as you fist at the bedsheets below you, whiny moans leaving your lips as you move back against him. Jimin steps back, no doubt taking in the sight in before him. The way your eyes continue to roll, flushed cheeks and mouth open wide. How your back curves into the globes of your ass the ripple with each strong thrust of Jungkook's hips. “Fuck, baby. You're taking his cock so well,” Jimin praises with a proud look on his face. 

 His soft hand brushes your hair out of your face, holding it back in a makeshift ponytail. “How does it feel, baby?” Weakly, you lift your gaze to look up at him. “S-so good,” Voice hoarse and breathy. Jungkook grins behind you, angling his hips to slide deeper inside of you.

 “Such a good girl,” Jimin's free hand wraps around his cock. And your mouth is opening before your mind can register what he wants, warm cock filling your mouth, your lips wrapping tightly around the base.

 He's sliding down your throat easily, your head bobbing in time with the slow thrusts of his hips. You reach your hands forward to grasp his balls, hands massaging against the velvety skin and his pants. Incoherent mumbles of praise fall from Jimin's lips as his head falls back.

 He looks so hot, even from this angle. The veins of his neck prominent with the clench of his teeth. Collarbones thick and on full display, housing his well worked on pecks and the tight ripples of his abs. His hand lifts to grasp your hair, holding your head in place to thrust shallowly down your throat.

 “S-shit, I'm cumming.” Jungkook whines from behind you, hips pressed flush against your ass while his legs tighten. You feel the familiar expansion of the condom around his cock as the sounds of his whiny moans fill the room. Jimin lifts his head, a chuckle leaving his lips as his eyes find the pink-cheeked man in front of him.

 “That was quick,” Jimin teases, pulling his hips back until his cock is falling from your lips. Jungkook does the same. Your body shocked instantly with emptiness, you whine in protest, hips wiggling in search of your release.

 “It's been a while,” Jungkook defends, slumping against the mattress, arms lifting to cover his eyes. Desperately trying to slow his breathing, not paying any mind to the cum that leaks the condom in thick globs painting the sheets underneath him. “Did Kookie even make you cum?” Jimin's words are directed to you and you're quick to shake your head.

 He tsks, hand reaching for your thigh and flipping your body onto its back. Your legs spread as he lowers himself between them, cock easily pushing its way deep into your pussy. A moan falls from your lips, hips lifting to meet his thrust. “Let me show you how to do it.”

 Jungkook is removing his arm from his eyes, turning his attention to yours and Jimin's bodies. He watches as Jimin's firm ass lifts and drops into you, each powerful thrust pushing your body up. Watches as your nails mark up his smooth back. Listens to the way his groans mix with your whimpers.

 Your eyes catch his for a moment, and you're soon realizing that he's not watching you. Mouth parted and eyes dazed as he stares. But not at you. Jimin's reaching his hand down, fingers finding your clit as he pushes you toward your nearing orgasm. Eyes screwing shut, you let yourself feel it.

 Toes curling and back arching as your release washes over you. Jimin hisses from the way your walls clench around his cock, his thrusts becoming sloppy, untimed. Jungkook watches as he cums, filling you up. Your name falling from his lips in a breathy moan. Your legs tighten around his waist, holding his body tight against yours.

 Minutes pass before Jimin is pulling out, rolling onto his back with a huff. He grins wide down at you, lips catching yours in a loving kiss as his hand moves between your legs, pushing his escaped cum back into your pussy. You can't help the giggle that leaves your lips from the feeling.

 ���You did so well, baby.” He's complimenting you after his lips are releasing yours. You smile wide, eyes shifting between him and Jungkook. “It was amazing, thank you.” Jungkook nods his acknowledgment while Jimin presses another kiss to your lips, before standing from the bed.

 “I'm gonna go run you a bath,” Jimin grins, kissing the top of your head gently before disappearing into the bathroom. The second he's gone, Jungkook is standing from the bed. His cheeks are flushed, hair messy, and he looks out of breath; but nevertheless he's moving as if he couldn't get out of there fast enough.

 You let him. Don't bother to ask him why. You know why. And now that you knew, all the little things surrounding were starting to make sense. As if a neon sign had been flashing the warning from the beginning, but you had chosen to ignore it. Explained it away as Jungkook being a protective best friend, but you were wrong. You were so wrong. Realization was hitting you all at once and you wondering how many of their conquests found out the exact same thing.

 Jungkook was in love with Jimin.

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[miki-snake]

loading... The Other Brother

character selected: Osamu

played for: 2.8k words

A/N: So, this is my piece for the HQHQ SFW Collab, check out the work of all the other amazing writers and with that, I hope you enjoy it! 

It was planned to be a nice family dinner at Onigiri Miya. The restaurant was closed earlier that day so you and Osamu had enough time to prepare everything before the rest of the family would arrive. His parents, Atsumu, you, and Osamu, just a little get-together to catch up on everyone. It was a light mood at the dinner table, Atsumu was cracking jokes and his mother scolded him for his terrible table manners, while Osamu and his dad talked about the great development of his restaurant. 

His family, especially his father, were surely proud of Osamu to take the risk and reach for his dream. Since the beginning, they were all supportive of his decision to open up Onigiri Miya and you couldn’t be more happy and proud to be a part of this journey. 

You and Osamu were staying strong since the last year of high school when Osamu finally had the courage to come up to you with a homemade bento and the question if you’d like to be his girlfriend that he delivered with a light stutter and blushing cheeks. Of course, you said yes, you had a crush on the grey-haired Miya twin for over a year and everyone around you could feel the mutual, but oblivious pining the two of you had after each other. 

So when he asked you out you were ecstatic to finally call him yours. 

From then on, you two were an unmatched team. After high school, you followed your dreams while he continued down the road of being a chef in his own restaurant. 

 You were right at his side whenever he needed you, at his brightest moments but also when he was close to falling apart. 

As the night went on, the attention shifted over to Atsumu and his current life. He was part of Japan’s Olympic team and he just continued to gain prominence by other athletes and sports fans but especially by his female fans. Wherever he went it was like a hoard of ladies followed him and it was really scary to see how few boundaries these women knew. 

“You know Atsumu, if you’d stop going to the club every weekend, you might be able to use your free time to meet a proper woman out there.” That was what his mother would tell him almost every time they’d see each other. Somehow she was worried that Atsumu wouldn’t find the right person and well, you always had to laugh when the topic comes up. He’d get flustered and tries to change the topic but ultimately he’d fail. 

Miss Miya turned over to face you with a bright smile on her face.

“I’m really happy that Osamu got you by his side y/n.” 

Her eyes were shining with pride and you were sure that you had the same look on your face because you were proud to be Osamu’s girlfriend. You were proud of what he has achieved and how far you two have come. 

You loved him and there was never a day when you doubt your decision to be with him. 

“Yeah y/n, you’re a really good girlfriend for Osamu. If only I hadn’t pushed him to confess to you and asked you out myself.” Atsumu topped his words with a smirk and a wink but you knew that was all show to tease you. You and Atsumu had always been great friends, he was the goofball in the group and every time you’d have a good laugh with him. This situation was no different from the rest, so you just laughed about his comment, shaking your head no when he jokingly offered that it wasn’t too late to choose the “obviously better” twin. It was all taken with lighthearted laughter and you shoot back at him that you already were with the better twin. 

 And for you, it was simple as that, not that you could really compare the two twins like that but to you, it had always been only Osamu. 

It was a great night with the people that you adored, which is why you don’t know how only two days after the meeting, you ended up on the couch in your apartment, feeling like you’d fall right off the earth. 

“What did you just say?” You heard him perfectly fine but the words didn’t register in your brain. The shock was written all over your face, as your body reacted before your mind really knew what was going on.

“I said that I wanted us to break up.” Osamu’s face was wiped from any emotion, his voice strong and stern but you’ve been with him way too long to not hear the slight hesitance in his words. 

You frowned at him and wondered where this was coming from. 

You were already at home, the apartment that you and Osamu shared, waiting for him as you mindlessly scrolled through your phone. When you heard the familiar sound of keys jingling and the door opening with a creak, you got up to greet him. Right at the sight of him, you knew something was up, though you just assumed it was something at work. With a tug on his arm, you directed him to the couch where you sat down but he just stood there as if he was ready to turn around and leave again. 

I want us to break up. 

 He really said that but your mind couldn’t wrap around his words. It felt like your body was burning from the inside, you wanted to scream or to punch something. 

“Why?” In the end, it was all you could get out. Your voice sharp as a knife and if only you knew… if only you knew how it pierced through Osamu’s heart. Though what would it change if you knew, it wasn’t as if he didn’t just shatter yours. 

“Do I have to give you a reason? It’s not like I’d need you to accept that this is over.” His words were harsh, maybe even harsher than he intended. But in his mind it was the right thing to do, in his mind his hurt was much more than yours. That’s what you don’t know though, but what you knew was that you were enraged by his words. 

Your breathing picked up, nails digging holes into your palms as you stared at him with eyes full of disbelieve and anger. 

“Do you have to give me a reason? If you are really that slow then yes, yes you have to give me a reason Osamu. I have every right to know why you want to end things out of nowhere.” 

“I’m not asking you y/n, I am telling you that we’re done.” He seemed to get annoyed and his voice picked up in volume but you won’t back down. 

“Too bad Osamu, because it’s always two in a relationship and I am the second person in this one. So, I ask you again, why do you want to break up.”

“I don’t have to tell you.”

“Stop being childish!” You were beyond frustrated. He really thought he could get away with it by just telling you that you two were done? This wasn’t just a fling or a summer flirt, you two have been together for years and you won’t give up until he told you the truth. You knew him like no other and it was clear to you, in the way that he acted towards you that he was trying to hide something. 

And yes, Osamu just wanted to run away and not look back but he was rooted right in front of you just by the unforgiving look you gave him. 

“Oh, now I’m childish? What else am I huh? Tell me y/n, what else bothers you.”

 “What are you talking about? ‘Samu this has nothing to do with what bothers me because it is you that wants to break up with me!”

“Everything has to do with you y/n!” He yelled at you, his chest heaving as he struggled to control his breathing. He was prepared for you to yell back at him but all you did was look at him confused while you patiently waited for him to continue. 

You knew there was more to it and you wouldn’t let him rest until you got to the very bottom of it. 

“Tell me y/n, what would you have done if Atsumu would’ve been the one who confessed to you.” You really didn’t expect this conversation to turn that way. 

“Why are you asking that? I don’t know, it didn’t happen.” 

“But what if?”

“What do you mean what if? It didn’t happen, so why does it matter when the situation never occurred?”

“It matters because now you’re with me.” He sounded exasperated, but to you, it was just ridiculous. Osamu was never one to worry about the past, always looking forward to achieving his dreams, so seeing him like this was… it was challenging. 

“Yes, I am with you. I am with you and I wouldn’t-“

“You’re with the other brother y/n, okay? That’s all I am right? Atsumu the shining sun and then there’s the other brother.” 

His words shocked you. 

 Never in the entire time of your relationship did he talk about that. He looked so vulnerable, so desperate and it hurt you to see him like that. The two of you had a lot of up and downs, many fights and disagreements but in the end, you always talked it out. When something was bothering him, he never hesitated to talk to you about it, so hearing this for the first time makes you wonder how long he’s felt that way. 

You never wanted him to feel like he couldn’t come to you and you never thought you did. But no matter how worried you were, his next words hit you square in the face. 

“If Atsumu would’ve asked you back then, you probably wouldn’t be here.” 

When did you give him the impression that it was Atsumu that you loved? Sure, he played a big role in your life. He was one of your closest friends and the brother of the man you loved. He was the brother of the man you loved but not the man you loved. 

“When… when did you feel like I loved him and not you?” 

“I’m not blind, everyone can see the way you two smile at each other. You laugh at everything he says and your eyes are basically glued to him y/n.” 

“He makes me smile because we’re friends, but I’m not in love with the first person that I smile at.” You tried to reason with him but it didn’t seem like he’s listening to you. It was frustrating because what did he wanted to hear from you? You tell him every day how much you loved him, you’re always right by his side and you’ve always supported him so what is it that he wants?

“Don’t think I am dumb y/n. I am just a placeholder for you.”

Now that struck a nerve.

You know that his words were coming from a place of insecurities but that didn’t mean he could just say things without having to take the consequences. 

“A placeholder? Do you really think that lowly of me ‘Samu?” A bitter laugh escaped your lips, your eyes burning from the tears that started to well up. Never, from the day that you’ve met him, did you think he’d say something like that. Your heart was burning, lungs struggling to keep a steady breath. It was insane, everything must’ve turned upside down because this 

“So you think I am just a shallow person, using you so I could eventually get to Atsumu?” Your voice was getting louder with every word, your anger winning over the bone crushing hurt that you felt. 

“I tell you what Osamu, if I would’ve wanted to be with Atsumu I could’ve gotten there without playing around with you.” He flinched at your words and you know that you’ve hurt him, but you didn’t care. He started this so he has to be ready to take your words

“You don’t understand it y/n. You know what, I can’t even blame you because everyone loves Atsumu. He’s the golden boy, the rising athlete, the older brother that I’ve, even if we’re only a few minutes apart, looked up to. 

No matter where we went people always looked at him, smiled at him and wanted him.” You could see the tears in his eyes, the way his voice trembles and he bit on his lip to hold himself back. “They always chose him. I mean, I also chose him, I followed him around, did whatever he did but now our paths are changing and in the end, people still choose him first.” All this time he was avoiding your gaze, looked behind you at the wall but now his eyes were piercing right through your heart. The man in front of you, the one that you loved so dearly, he was broken into pieces. 

“But when will I be someone’s first choice? Tell me, when?” It was one thing that he was questioning your love for him but for him to feel like no one would choose him? It broke you just as much because he no matter what he’d said, you loved him. 

You stepped closer to him, until you were nearly chest to chest. The warmth of his body was seeping through your skin and you desperately wanted to take him into your arms, but you couldn’t. You placed your right hand on his chest and you could feel how fast his heart was beating and somehow, in a familiar way you feel as if it synced with yours. 

“I don’t think you can ever really understand how much I love you. Because no matter how many times I tell you that I love you or what it is that I love about you, I know that in the back of your mind you will always question it. 

And I’m not going to lie, it hurts. It hurts knowing that no matter what I do, you will never let loose of those insecurities.” Tears were now streaming freely down your cheeks. You couldn’t hold back anymore.

“But even then I will never stop to tell you how much I adore you. ‘Cause, what I feel for you is nothing but unconditional love. Do you know why it’s unconditional? Because I don’t expect anything in return. I don’t expect you to love me back or to do something to prove yourself. It’s unconditional because no matter what you’d give me and what not, I’d still love you. I would lie if I’d told you that I wouldn’t want to hear “I love you” from you. Though if you say it or not won’t change the way I feel for you. ”

His tears were trickling down his face and right onto you, both of you crying, not in each others arms but so close. 

“You got me hooked on you, the moment you walked through that door with that gorgeous and calm smile on your face. I knew there was no way back for me and no other respond than yes when you asked me out.“ And through the tears you still managed to smile, you smiled because of him. 

“But loving you unconditionally also means that I have to respect your decision to back out of this relationship. I’m not giving up on us without fighting, because 'Samu, I fought. I fought for us, bled and cried countless nights, hoping that this could work out whenever we had a fight.“

“I was- am ready to love you and help you to love yourself but I can’t help someone who doesn’t want me.  It hurts that I couldn’t give you what you wanted, what you so desperately needed. I hope that one day you’ll find that person who’ll give you that breathtaking feeling you gave me. Someone, who can make you feel loved because that’s what you deserve Osamu. You deserve to be someone’s first choice.”

Of course you weren’t giving up, but you were waiting. You would give him his chance to think and gather his thoughts but for now you needed to step back and that’s what you did.

With that, you stood up and gathered your belongings in your bag. You got ready to walk out of the door, walk out of his life. As always you wore your heart on your sleeve, you told him what you felt and not it was his time to decide. What was his first choice?

His pride and insecurities or you?

Paralyzed by his feelings and mind still pondering about your words, he just sat there staring into the blurry world. You chose him and he decided to end it. He knew that you’ be there waiting but not forever and so now it was his time to choose. 

[eveningstar1516]

Rise of the Demon King ~ Chapter 8

Rise of the Demon King

Fic: Multi Chapter Paring: MC x Everyone (Mostly Lucifer) Type: Angst with a Happy Ending Total Word Count: 26,758 TW: Major Character Death, Reader gets stabbed with a sword through their chest so..., Abusive Parents, Past Child Abuse, Demon Hunters, Loss of Control Summary: You’ve done it. You’ve finally done it. You’ve managed to anger the demon king. Now you hold your head high as he hands down your sentence. AO3 Portal: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27065362

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Previously:

His brothers would always know whenever he went to see her as he’d always come back with a content smile on his face. Deep down, he wished that Y/N could’ve met Cynthia. They would have made great friends as they were the only 2 people who could make him smile like this. Mammon may not have been able to save Y/N, but he swore that he would protect Cynthia, no matter the cost.

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

CHAPTER 8 - The Great Pancake Debate (2261 words)

It’s been almost 6 months since you arrived in the Celestial Realm. Needless to say, you are quite certain that these last 6 months have been the craziest and stressful months of your life! When you told Simeon and Luke about you staying here, to say they were ecstatic would be an understatement. Luke jumped for joy and wouldn’t stop rambling about all the fun you were going to have. When you told them about God appointing them to help teach you about the Realm, Luke practically did a double take and it took an hour to calm him. Now you have Simeon teaching you about politics and Luke about how to use your wings and powers. On your second day there, Michael woke you up, or well came to get you as you didn’t get any sleep. Turns out, while the Devildom is constant at night, the Celestial realm is constant day and thanks to the floor to ceiling windows, there was no way for you to stop sunlight from coming in. You were introduced to the council at breakfast. Note to self, the brothers breakfasts are QUIET AND PEACEFUL compared to Archangels off duty. The first thing you saw were 2 angels passionately arguing over which pancake topping was the best, strawberries or blueberries. At some point a third angel cut in claiming chocolate chips were the best and all heaven (would you replace hell with heaven here? idk) broke loose. As for me, I just started chuckling in disbelief while making my way over to pick up a pancake of my own when the angel arguing on behalf of the strawberries saw you.

“Hey kid, what topping do you prefer, strawberries, blueberries, or chocolate chips? It’s strawberries right?”

“Actually, I prefer them plain with maple syrup. Although if Satan was the one making it, I’d go for the one with poison berries. Contrary to their name, they’re not actually poisonous and quite sweet.” All the angels present looked at me with a mix of shock and disbelief, save for Michael who just sat there eating his breakfast hoping to leave soon and get to work.

“Kid, did you say Satan?” The angel arguing on behalf of blueberries asked. “Yeah… Blond hair, teal eyes, Avatar of Wrath, Luci’s son? Ring a bell?” Turning to Michael, blueberry angel asked,

“Micheal, who are they and why are they wearing Lucifer’s old get up?” “This is Y/N. They will be staying here and taking Samael’s spot on the council until their agreement with Father ends and they return to the Devildom. Father has asked us to teach them about how our Realm operates and how to successfully fulfill Samael’s former position flawlessly, unless they want to return now and leave heaven early?” Michael turned towards you with a smirk on his face as he asked the last part.

“Very funny Mike. You and I both know I won’t do that no matter how bad you want me to.”

“What did I say about calling me that?!” Micheal’s smirk turned into something short of a snarl.

“Well, if you won’t take me seriously, neither will I. You want me to call you by your name, earn it and stop being an butt… I meant an butt… Why can’t I swear?!”

“This is the Celestial Realm Y/N. Angels don’t swear.” Michael said smugly over the rim of his cup of coffee.

“God Dang it! Argh! Fudge!. Dang it! Ya know what, forget it, my entire mood is ruined. Thanks Michael!”

“Anytime.”

Shooting Michael one last glare, I sighed and turned to the rest of the baffled angels in the room.

“Yes, what Michael said is true. Stuff happened in the Devildom which I will not get in too-”

“The demon king made Samael kill them.”

“Ok, Mike, first off, he didn’t, I ordered him too, second, I thought I said I didn’t want to talk about it. What gives you the right to tell them huh?”

“I felt like it.”

“You son of a beach.” I turned back to the rest of the angels. “Not a word about it. Anyway, due to some personal issues, I made a deal with Father to stay here on the condition that I take over Lucifer’s spot on the council until he either kicks me out or until our agreement has ended.”

“If I may, when will this agreement of yours be over?” The blueberry angel asked.

“I will be returning to the Devildom once Lord Diavolo has been crowned king and his father is 100% out of the picture. Now if you don’t mind me asking, could you introduce yourselves?” “Oh how rude of us, I’m sorry, I am Gabriel.” Gabriel had chestnut brown medium length hair, reaching shoulders. His eyes were a dull green. He wore a white turtleneck and had a light green shawl with golden tassels. He pointed to the strawberry angel. “This is Raphael and he’s Uriel.” He pointed to the chocolate chip angel. Raphael had long reddish-orange hair put up in a high ponytail. His eyes were a stormy gray. He wore a simple light gray half sleeve with an off the shoulder white cape and little decor. Uriel had short gray hair and golden eyes that almost seemed to sparkle. He wore something that reminded you of an off white scholar's robe with gray accents. “These are Saraqael, and Raguel.” He pointed to 2 of the quieter angels who didn’t participate in “the great pancake debate”. “We make up the Archangel council and we’re happy to have you Y/N.” Gabriel finished off with a smile. You were just barely able to make out a little “Not all of us” from Michael. You decided to ignore it, and then, like all the decisions you’ve ever made, it was the wrong one. Sitting back down you asked,

“So, quick question. What started The Great Pancake Topping debate?”

.

.

.

.

Breakfast ended 2 hours later with upset angels, and pancakes, everywhere…

In the Devildom. After they lost Y/N

Levi went straight to his room as soon as they got home. As soon as he closed and locked the door he went straight to Henry’s fishbowl, picked it up and sat in his bathtub, hugging the bowl as he cried. ‘Why do I feel like this?! I only like 2D characters and Ruri-chan, not 3D people. How do I miss them?... Why did they leave me? They were my player 2.’ “Well it makes sense, no one would want to stay with a worthless shut in of an otaku like me” he said to the empty room. Henry 2.0 glubbed a bubble in response. “You wouldn’t leave me, would you Henry?” *Glub* “No you wouldn’t… I miss them.” Levi stayed in his tub hugging Henry 2.0 until he fell asleep.

Present

It was another late night, Levi was bingeing a new anime ‘I fell in love with a 3D girl but I’m afraid she’ll leave me after finding out that I’m an otaku who rarely leaves their room’ . He was halfway through the 9th episode when he got a notification from Mononoke Island. One of his raid mates was stuck and needed some help. He paused his marathon to help his fellow mate and stayed up until the early hours of the morning switching between playing Mononoke and watching his anime. Stumbling into the dining room for breakfast the next morning, he was met with complete silence. Lucifer had left early, Belphie was asleep, Beel was too absorbed in eating, Satan in his book and Asmo on his phone to even notice him enter the room. Mammon was busy in the human world helping out sone witches. Levi sat down in his normal spot, taking whatever was left as he mentally prepared himself for the day. As soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of the day at RAD, still dressed in his uniform, Levi left as quickly as he could. There was an anime expo happening in the human realm right now and there was some ultra-rare limited edition Ruri-chan merch being sold there. He had gotten Lucifer’s permission to attend the expo so long as he was back by 11. Existing the portal and making his way to the expo, Levi thought about the last expo he attended with Y/N. They cosplayed as Erin and Levi from Attack on Titan and spent the entire day surrounded by fellow anime nerds. They had also booked a room at a nearby hotel. It was 3 days of bonding time for them. Entering the expo, Levi decided he would get something for them as decor for their headstone put in memory of them in the backyard of the House of Lamentation. Nearing the line for Ruri-chan merch, Levi noticed someone staring intensely at him. He decided to ignore them but keep a loose eye on them, just in case. He got to the front of the line and purchased 4 of the Ruri-chan collection kits. One for use, one for display, one to keep and sell in the future, and one for Y/N. He decided to wander around a little more to see if anything else would catch his eye while he was here. He spotted a Black Butler station and remembered the jokes he and Y/N would crack about Barbatos and Sebastian. He passed a Fate/Stay Night stand and remembered their conversations on which heroic class they would belong to. Levi would have been the perfect Lancer. He passed countless other stalls, each of them holding a memory he made with Y/N. Distracted by his trip down memory lane, Levi forgot all about the person stalking him. He went and purchased some dinner from one of the stalls before sitting down and pulling out his DDD and looked at some pictures of Y/N and him at their last expo. He didn’t look up from his phone until he felt someone sit opposite of him. Levi looked up to see some middle aged man just sitting there on his phone. He didn’t have any food, merch, or even look like someone interested in an anime expo. Feeling an uncomfortable aura emitting from this man, Levi got up and left. He took a quick look over his shoulder and saw that the man wasn’t following him. He left the expo and went down an alleyway to open up a portal back to the Devildom when he accidentally bumped into someone dropping his purchases.

“S-sorry”

“That’s quite alright.” The stranger extended a hand out to let him up. “Say, I’d love to know where you got your uniform from. No schools around here have uniforms like that one.”

Looking up, Levi saw the same man that was watching him with a twisted smile. Masking his fear, he mumbled an excuse about being in a rush and tried to dash around him. Before he could get 2 steps down the alley, the man grabbed him and pushed him further into the alleyway. Levi’s head struck the wall hard leaving him dazed for a moment.

“I didn’t think my intel about finding a RAD attendee at the expo would be true but whaddya know? Seems I caught myself a demon.”

Levi, now more aware of his surroundings, realized he was cornered by a demon hunter. Despite being in an alleyway, there were too many people around for him to do anything rash. Without missing a beat, the hunter pulled out an enchanted dagger aiming straight for Leviathan’s heart. Levi rolled and dogged last minute before colliding into someone’s chest. That person in question wrapped his arms around Levi’s chest and put their own dagger to his throat.

“I know you’re there! Come on out and I might spare your friend's life!” The hunter holding Levi yelled. When no one stepped out, the dagger held by Levi’s neck began pushing on his skin. Levi felt a flare of pain and against his better judgement, transformed. His tail wrapped around hunter 2’s leg and flipped him over while the first hunter charged at him, only to be blown to the ground as a powerful gust of wind knocked him over.

“Jeez Levi, you’re lucky I was here. Seriously, why didn’t ya do somethin’ earlier? Maybe then I wouldn’t have ta save yo ass.” Mammon stepped out from the darkness with a bored look on his face.

“Come on, Lucifer’s waiting for ya back home. LOOK OUT!” Levi turned around just in time to see Hunter number 2 taking a swing at his neck and managed to duck just in time. Mammon then charged over punching the hunter square in the face, knocking him out cold.

“T-thanks M-mammon.”

“No problem. Come on, let’s get ya back home before any more of them show up.”

Stepping through the portal, a question plagued Levi’s mind.

“Mammon, how did you know I was in trouble?”

“Some witches summoned me. I overheard them talk about some hunter group getting a tip about a possible demon being at some expo. Then I realized that it was the same one you were going to, so I decided to go there myself to make sure ya weren’t followed. I’m glad I did too.”

“Th-thank you Mammon. Really.”

“Of course, what are big brothers for. Anyway, about my payment, maybe you can forget about the money I owe ya?”

Groaning, Levi started walking faster, leaving Mammon and his whining behind as he made his way back to the safety of his room.

[bouncingkadachi]

Blessed Rain

Summary: A Hunter’s weapon of choice says a lot about them. OR: Kyle upgrades his weaponry and gets caught red-handed in the act. Luckily (?) for him, only Tsukino seems to know exactly why he's having an emotional crisis over this.

Word count: 3,260

Note(s): set post-game

Also available on AO3!

Kyle’s had his new bow for a good couple of weeks before the feel of the limbs and the weight of the draw became comfortable enough for him to consider upgrading it. If he’s going to be injured, he reasons, he’d rather it be purely by way of monster and not because he pulls a muscle wrestling with a bow that hasn’t been properly broken in. His wallet despairs as he forks over the zenny, but this’ll hopefully let him take on some of the bigger hunts like the ones that Reverto goes on. It’ll all be worth the investment up front once he has his completely finished bow and restocked his coatings and finally drops the last of his coin on a couple new talismans.

He refuses to think about the implications of his reasoning with a literal coin, rolling it around and around his fingers as he pushes through the market throngs towards the smithy’s. Perhaps he ought to have a change of scenery—the fog-shrouded summits of Terga were said to be particularly beautiful at this time of year, and the heat in Lamure was becoming just shy of unbearable.

The final product that the blacksmith puts into his hands when he finally makes it to collect is nothing short of gorgeous. Blessed Rain is sleek where his old Rex bow was bulky, far lighter and certainly not as clunky. The upgrades on the riser gives the entire weapon a pleasant solidness in his hand, yet the delicately reinforced plating on the limbs doesn’t retract at all from its flexibility. The decorative grip protector gleams. Just looking at it makes Kyle excited to shoot.

“Bring her back if you’re finding that you need anything adjusted,” the smith tells him after Kyle’s diligently inspected every inch of the bow. “Kept the poundage the same for you, but added another inch to the draw length like you asked.”

“Thanks,” Kyle says. Eventually, he’d like to work up to the point where he can up the poundage again. Even just another five pounds would be good. He can do most of the hunts in his skill range alone now, but extra firepower would make him just that much more efficient, or that much of a better support for team hunts. 

The smith laughs when Kyle sheepishly admits this. “Well, I always like to help a Hunter improve, and you know where to find me,” he says cheerily, clapping Kyle enthusiastically on the shoulder. “Come by again anytime if you need a tune up or want to test out something new.” 

And with that, he waves Kyle away so that another Hunter can step up, holding a tired-looking sword and shield and looking equally exhausted. “Aye, rookie Hunter?” Kyle hears as he wanders off to find a more relaxed corner of the market in which to admire his new bow some more. “If you’ve got the materials I can repair and upgrade that for you.” The conversation peters out and melts into the general din of the marketplace as Kyle slips into the crowd, taking care to step out of the way of a Felyne carrying an absolutely massive basket groaning with produce. He watches the precarious load totter away, trying and failing to locate Tsukino in the brief respite the parted crowd affords him. They’d split earlier that morning and he hasn’t seen her since.

He still hasn’t managed to find even a whisker of Tsukino’s whereabouts by the time he settles into a decently quiet nook next to a stall selling all manner of spices. Pity, because the dappled light spilling through the colorful drapes of the marketplace catches so beautifully on the milky-white sheen of the bow, and he’d been looking forward to showing it to her. As a Hunter, Kyle will always care more about weapon practicality than aesthetics, but as a normal human being he certainly won’t turn down the opportunity to have both an aesthetically pleasing and perfectly functional weapon. He’s still grinning a little when he goes to strap the bow to his back, and it’s in the process of looking up that his gaze catches onto wide eyes staring plainly at him from across the street. 

He freezes, arm suspended awkwardly halfway to sheathing. His beautiful bow glints damningly in the bright Lamure sunlight as his unexpected friend wades through the throngs of people towards him, gesturing for him to stay put with a wave of her hand that really can’t be mistaken for anything other than a greeting.

“Hey,” he says cautiously and lamely when she finally reaches him. Belatedly, he remembers to lower his arm. He is momentarily thankful that she doesn’t try to reach up for his face in the Mahanan greeting, although his goodwill evaporates when she leans in to inspect his bow, body thrumming with unexplainable anticipation.

“Oh, that’s pretty,” she says finally. Kyle can’t help himself from preening just a little, shifting his grip so that she can get a better look. After all, what was the point of spending all that money and materials if there was no one to excitedly show the end product off to? Besides, it’s been a while since they last saw each other. Last he heard, she had been traveling, keen to finally see the world on her own terms and at her own pace.

“It’s fresh off an upgrade,” he answers smugly. “Easier to handle than the Rex.”

“Slightly less intimidating though,” she chimes in, and Kyle bristles, not liking where this conversation is going. And true to form, she goes in for the kill: “Mizutsune? I recognize the plating.”

Kyle can feel the flush crawling up to his ears. Logically, he knows that there’s nothing for him to be embarrassed about. It’s a mark of good smithing that one can tell at a glance which monster a weapon was inspired by, and a Mizutsune was both powerful and extremely iconic. This bow in particular had good stats and the ability to fire rapidly, which admittedly took him some time to get used to after focusing mostly on piercing shots. The paralysis coating that works so well on this bow has also already saved his skin on more than one occasion. There is little more a career Hunter can ask for out of his weapon. It’s not like he’d been heading out to Pomore Garden at any given opportunity and holding onto an increasing multitude of Mizutsune materials just because he wanted some physical reminder of what was probably the most pivotal moment of his life, something that never failed to put a very complicated and jumbled mess of emotions deep within his chest whenever he thought back to it.

He’s starting to feel very, very hot under his collar. The sun is terrible. He resolves that his next big hunt really needs to be somewhere outside of Lamure.

His friend, however, just looks more and more baffled as he launches into an unprompted defense of his newest purchase. Every time she opens her mouth, Kyle talks a little faster. Eventually, she doesn’t even bother trying to interject, which is arguably worse, because instead she just looks progressively more and more thoughtful. Kyle wished desperately for Tsukino to peel away from whatever hidey hole she was tucked in. Then, his train of thought screeches into a rude and abrupt halt.

“What,” he croaks. “What are you doing.”

One of her brows quirks up. “I sure hope your eyes are still working because that’d be a detriment to your job,” she says plainly. “What does it look like I’m doing? I promise it’s not a trick question.”

What she’s doing is holding Kyle’s hand—the one not clutching his new bow—the one that had apparently been waving about with increasing agitation as he jabbered on and on. What Kyle doesn’t understand is why. It’s not like he just did some impressive shot to give them the edge in a battle or anything else that was cool and hand-holding worthy. He’d just been yammering about bow mechanics, and maybe embarrassingly dipping into his talisman hopes and dreams. He stares a little helplessly at his trapped hand. Her kinship stone winks up at him.

“Look,” she says patiently, when it becomes very clear that Kyle is going to need a moment before he can get his brain back online. “There’s nothing wrong with a bow made from Mizutsune parts and I am the last person who will ever turn down pretty things. What I was going to say was that this is an interesting departure from your whole—” She pauses, as though looking for a specific word. “Well, your whole image as a very grown-up and serious and intimidating Hunter or whatever it was you were trying to convey with that scowl you used to like so much. And you weren’t letting me get a single word in.”

“You’re getting plenty of words in now,” Kyle scowls, just to be contrary. “And I’ve grown since then.”

“Someone’s in a mood today.” She smiles, crinkle-eyed, up at him. Kyle very seriously debates wrenching his hand out of her hold like he did the last time this happened and then pointedly doesn’t act on the impulse.

“Why’re you in Lulucion?” he asks instead with a truly remarkable level of self-restraint. “Thought you’d never want to come back again after what happened.”

She shrugs, the greatsword on her back heaving with the movement. “Guess I’ve grown too,” she says loftily, though she sobers quickly. “I was actually visiting my grandfather. He used to go back to Mahana around this time of year… he can’t do it anymore of course but I’ve got Ratha now, so I figured I could do it instead. And then I figured I’d stop by Rutoh before going home, to see Ena and Alwin and wheedle a few more stories out of them.”

She lets go of Kyle’s hand. He tries not to miss it. “Even Ratha can’t make the trip in one go, and Lulucion was closest, so we’re stopping to rest. I dropped by the Scrivener’s Lodge earlier because I was hoping Reverto could give me a few weapon pointers as I’ve saved up just about enough for an upgrade, but they told me that he was out on an urgent mission and wouldn’t be back for a while.”

“Oh,” Kyle says, a little stung that she hadn’t come specifically to see him first, out of all the Hunters in the city. He’s slightly mollified when she grins at him, though.

“And then I met Tsukino by the cannons. She said I could find you here, so here I am.”

“I don’t know anything about greatswords,” Kyle blurts out, and immediately wants to kick himself. She blinks at him, and then bursts into laughter.

“I was just going to ask the smith,” she wheezes when she’s got herself somewhat back under control. “Can’t I see a friend just to say hi to him anymore?” Kyle stares very intently down at some of the finer detailing on his bow.

“Where is my Palico anyway?” he finally settles on, falling into a tried and true grumble. “I haven’t seen her all day.”

She waves her hand vaguely in the air. “Navirou said something about getting donuts. I wasn’t really listening.”

But there was a donut stand right here in the marketplace, Kyle wanted to cry out. He should have seen Tsukino by now if they’d really been going to buy snacks! And how was it possible that he had missed Navirou in his entirety, between the Felyne’s penchant for wearing ridiculous little outfits and his inability to shut up?

“Why? You have a hunt you need to run off to?” 

“Yes,” Kyle says hotly. It’s a lie. He’d accepted a subquest that wouldn’t depart until later that evening for the sole purpose of testing out his new weapon in a relatively stress-free environment. Before that, he’d just planned on hitting up the shooting range in the training arena to break in the new string. His schedule was very, very free. Tsukino was perfectly aware of that.

His eyes widened. Tsukino had been with him on every excursion into the Gardens. She went where he did (usually), and it’s not like Kyle would ever begrudge her a visit home. But she’d been with him every step of every single Mizutsune job he’d ever taken—had watched him craft traps when he needed to capture and had kept watch for opportunists hoping to sneak up as he’d carved. She’d been the one who’d recommended the spinner for all the excess purplefur he was ending up with. At first, he’d simply thought that she’d wanted the thread to mend some of her own items, or to send back home to her brethren, but instead she’d tucked each skein of vibrant, silk-soft thread into the bottom of his pouch with gentle paws, cryptically talking about how strong a material it was, and how nice it looked when woven. Kyle has never touched a loom in his life, but now he’s looking at someone who he definitely knows has.

His stomach drops. Hadn’t Tsukino looked particularly smug ever since he’d lingered on the blueprints for Blessed Rain after getting a look at its stats and required materials?

“She got me,” he groans. His friend just looks at him bemusedly, though perhaps with a touch of wariness at his ferocious frown. Hastily, he tacks on: “It’s nothing. I, uh—I just remembered that I needed to tell Tsukino something. Important. Later, when I find her again.”

“Alright,” she says, though she doesn’t quite look like she believes him. “A quest’s a quest, though, so I won’t keep you here. The bow really is pretty though. I know I just said it doesn’t match your image and all but I really don’t think you can go wrong with something you like. You’ve got the skills for it, anyway.”

“Thanks,” he croaks, feeling a little overwhelmed. He manages two whole steps out of the nook before he pauses, worrying at his lower lip. “Actually,” he says sharply, spinning around on his heel and nearly causing his friend to startle right into a spice display. “How long are you staying for?”

“However long it’ll take to upgrade my sword, I guess,” she says after she collects herself, the words lilting into a question. “Three days or so, I guess?” She skirts nervously away from the glaring vendor, careful not to overbalance on her greatsword.

“Cool,” Kyle says with a nod, steeling himself. “Great, even. Look, how about this. Your last visit to Lulucion was terrible—” an understatement, “—so when I get back from my hunt I’ll show you some of the better sights Lulucion has to offer. There’s a hole in the wall that I think you’ll like. Dad used to take me after hunts—they grill really nice queen shrimp. And the parapets—you can climb them, and they’ve got all these little carvings in the stone that you can search for like a scavenger hunt.” He’s keenly aware that he’s rambling again, but she looks interested, so he barrels on. “I’ll come pick you up tomorrow just as soon as I can get a nap in. We can stay in the city or take Ratha out to the Barrens, down by the water. Just make a day of it.” He’s pretty certain that he looks at her with something akin to hope as she considers. It feels like a lifetime before she finally comes to a decision. 

“I want to take Ratha out in the evening,” she says finally. “I don’t want him to be cooped up too long here ever again.”

“Yeah,” Kyle breathes out, the word rushing out of him in a flood of relief. “Yeah, I can work around that.” She beams at him.

“I’ll look forward to it,” she says, sincere and looking more than a little surprised despite herself at the prospect of looking forward to doing anything in Lulucion. “I’m staying at the inn closest to the stables. Pretty sure I’m the only Rider there currently so they’ll know who I am.” Kyle nods, and lets himself get his hand squeezed again, though not without her hands first hovering in an instinctual bid for his cheeks before she remembers herself.

“Good luck on your hunt. If I see Tsukino I’ll let her know you’re looking for her.”

“She’ll show up in due time,” he mutters darkly. “I’ll let you know if Reverto gets back early or if he’s just been loafing around this entire time. For your next upgrade or whatever.” She laughs, bright, and then slips off into the crowd to wrestle her way into the smithy’s queue. Kyle is left staring in her wake before his gaze is drawn back down to his bow.

“This is all your fault,” he tells it. Predictably, it doesn’t answer. Also predictably, Tsukino takes that exact moment to drop down from seemingly nowhere. 

“I didn’t know we had another job lined up,” the Felyne says delicately, carefully brushing crumbs off of her coat. Kyle groans, sheathing his weapon.

“Don’t tease me,” he huffs. “I’m going to the shooting range. Are you coming?”

“Hmm,” says Tsukino. “I suppose I can spare the time.”

“Of course you can spare the time!” Kyle hisses, indignant. “You just spent the day eating donuts and eavesdropping!” He pointedly doesn’t look towards the smithy, where his friend was patiently browsing the display while another Hunter was getting their hammer looked at.

“One must always be prepared with the latest intel,” Tsukino says mildly. “I’m glad the upgrade went well.” 

“It’s got good stats,” Kyle protests weakly in what is quickly becoming a tired argument. “The rapid shots have been going very well. And I had a surplus of Mizutsune parts.”

 “Yes,” his hunting partner agrees readily enough. “Have you thought of what you’re going to do with the thread?”

“This conversation is finished,” Kyle says abruptly, making a very determined push towards the market’s exit. “Either come or don’t, so long as we meet at the gate for tonight’s hunt.”

Tsukino looks at him with exasperated fondness, which is frankly a little insulting, but readily falls into step next to him. Kyle wonders how many rounds he’s going to have to shoot in order to clear his head again and rid it of thoughts of Hazepetal Garden or Mizutsune or high-grade thread that he’ll never use himself. He’ll examine them again someday—because he’s not a coward—but that day is most certainly not today.

He does his rounds in the training arena and marvels at the way the string slides off his fingers with a satisfying twang, even though it’ll still be a good few days before it’s fully broken in to his liking. Tsukino’s saved him a donut, the cakey sweet sticky with honey and practically melting in his mouth. He’s got some free time even after stocking up for the evening hunt, so he takes a few minutes to browse the quest board, taking careful note of the jobs that were situated near the Harzgai Rocky Hill, or the ones from further afield in Alcala that’ll take him closer to Rutoh. And when he leaves the city, he pointedly doesn’t look up at the familiar shape circling in the dusky sky, even as he knows that they’ll surely see the last rays of the setting sun winking off of the plates of his bow like a beacon.

[casspurrjoybell-17]

HEART'S REDEMPTION - CHAPTER 33

*Warning: Adult Content* 

On the return to the lodge, Antonia Martinez rides with Ian Foley and Sam Asato in Ian’s truck while Carlos Martinez goes with Jack and Elliot Walker. 

It's a tense, uncomfortable trip, with Sam squeezed as close to Ian and as far from Toni as he can get.

For her part, Toni looks out the window, chin resting on her hand, not saying much except to comment on the landscape and the weather. 

They've almost reached our destination when Sam voices what's been bothering him since she showed up.

"Are you still in contact with Karin?" he asks. "Did you tell him where I am?"

She looks surprised by the question. 

"No, and no," she says. "Since... that day at my shop, all I've cared about is finding Carlos. I wasn't 'in contact' with Karin in the first place, I don't truck with necromancers. I'd just picked up word he was after you and that he'd pay good to get you back. I saw an opportunity and tried to take advantage of it. Now that I understand a little better, I'm sorry I did."

Sam is quiet a moment, his hand unconsciously sliding up and down Ian’s thigh who covers it with his own to make him stop.

Ian had preferred not to crash his truck, even if he does have a mechanic riding in the cab.

"Did you really think Karin could help you find the demon that killed your sister?" Sam asks.

She glances at him, the lines around her mouth deepening slightly. 

"To be honest, I don't know. I just..." 

She lets out the rest of her breath in a huff and stares out the window. 

"I'm not getting any younger and I'm worried about Carlos. His... ability... didn't used to be so strong or so dangerous. In the last few years, it's become harder to control. I'm afraid that if the thing that killed Sonja ever comes back..."

Sam's brow crinkles. 

"You don't look that old," he says. "Why worry so much?"

She gives him a wry, half smile. 

"Forty-five is old for a Slayer," she says. "Even for one who doesn't Slay. My grandma made it to eighty-three, died in her sleep but just about everyone else on that side of the family didn't live past fifty. When you're out to get things, things try to get you back."

"Can you blame them?" Sam returns with a slight edge on his tone.

Toni doesn't seem offended. 

"I suppose not," she says. "I was raised to view demons and the like as 'the enemy' as intruders in our world who don't belong. I guess my perspective needs some updating."

Ian’s truck bumps and jolts as he turns on to the unpaved road leading to the lodge.

"My dad once told me the definition of a weed," Ian says. "He said a weed is simply a plant growing somewhere you don't want it to grow. By that logic, even roses could be weeds, if they popped up where you don't think they belong. Your opinion doesn't make 'em any less pretty, though."

"You're right," Toni admits. "My family spent generations making enemies. Maybe they'd've lived longer if they'd tried making some friends."

As they pull up in front of the lodge, Ian checks his cell-phone and sees a missed call that must have come in while he was out of the service range. 

It's Alpha Dane Hunter's number and as the others get out Ian stays in the cab and calls him back.

Dane answers on the second ring and after exchanging perfunctory greetings, he gets to the point.

"I did some digging on Inez Walker," he begins.

"Actually, I have good news about that," Ian interjects and tells him about Inez's unexpected reappearance, as well as finding the burned car and the possible human remains inside.

"Well, that's something, I suppose," he says, "but I still think you're going to want to hear what I found."

"Okay, shoot," Ian says when Dane doesn't go on.

Ian rarely talks to Dane one-on-one but whenever he does it seems like he has to drag the words out of him one at a time.

"I didn't find anything relevant on Inez herself, so I expanded my parameters and searched for anything related to the Walkers. There wasn't much, so I decided to broaden the time-frame as well. I had to go back almost fifty years but finally, I hit pay-dirt."

Dane pauses again and Ian hears papers rustling and imagine him shifting things around on his desk. 

Instead of prompting him again, though, Ian just waits.

 After a few beats, Dane continues.

"Fifty years ago, forty-nine, to be precise, seven people related or connected to the Walker family died in mysterious ways. Accidents but all unlikely and bizarre and all in the space of a few months."

Ian looks out of his window to where Sam Asato is standing with Toni and Carlos Martinez, showing them his new ability to partially control his transformations, his skin darkening to gold and then lightening to ivory once more. 

Carlos makes a gesture with his arms indicating wings and Toni looks impressed. 

Cass, Elliot and Jack Walker are somewhere nearby, while Maria, Sofia, and Inez Walker went into town for supplies, whatever Inez had picked up at the airport the day she disappeared burned along with her car.

"Fifty years is a long time," Ian says. "If someone was behind the deaths back then, it's hard to imagine the same person is behind what's happening now."

Dane makes a sound like a huff or a soft grunt. 

"I agree but I'm not done. I got curious and kept looking. From what I can tell, the Walkers and their kin have been dying in batches of seven every forty-nine years for the past two centuries. The pattern might go back even further, that's just where the records end."

"Great," Ian lets out a sigh. "So, depending on who and what the bones in the car belonged to, either two or three more people are supposed to die?"

"That's how I'd read it," Dane says. "Foley, I'm not a man who gives advice often but I'll give you some now. Quit that game while you're ahead. You know better than anyone what can happen when Shifters and their fucked-up family traditions slip their leash."

That rankles but Ian bites back whatever reply he'd like to give.

"Thanks," Ian says instead, "But I think I'm already too deep in the shit to get away clean." 

Briefly, Ian tell Dane about the mark.

He's quiet for a moment and Ian wonders if Dane lost interest or if he's merely thinking. 

When he speaks, he doesn't say what Ian expect.

"You want me to talk to Julian?" he asks.

"What good would that do?" Ian returns. "This has nothing to do with the Fae and Jules' psychic thing doesn't work at a distance, unless he's learned some new tricks since I left."

Again, Dane doesn't answer right away. 

"He'll want to know what we talked about," he says at last, sounding a little self-conscious. "That's all."

"Oh... In that case... no, don't tell him. No sense making him worry over something he can't help. Not that he would worry," Ian adds.

Dane makes a noncommittal noise in his throat and then, after a few more words and ends the call. 

Ian sits for a moment afterward, just holding his cell-phone.

Dane is far from Ian’s favorite person in the world but hearing his voice reminded him of home, his cousin and her girlfriend, his dad's old house, Julian Hart and even Alpha Dane Hunter and his siblings. 

Even knowing that not all of them see him as a friend or even as a welcome presence, Ian still misses them and he hopes he'll see them again. 

Ian knows that, while his return might not be cause for celebration, Sam will fit right in. 

Julian, for one, Ian suspects, would take to Sam as a kindred spirit of sorts.

He realizes with a little, not unpleasant, jolt, that he’s actually looking forward to it,  bringing Sam home.

He also realizes that he’s going to have to talk to Sam about it. 

He’s been assuming he'll be happy to go wherever Ian goes but assuming that he knows what another person wants is a mistake he’s made before and one that he doesn't ever wants to make again.

Getting out of his truck, Ian circles around it to where Sam and the others still stand, noticing that Sam seems more relaxed than he did before. 

He looks over at Ian and smiles as he approachs.

"What did your detective friend say?" he asks.

Ian hesitates to tell him in front of Carlos and Toni but then he decides that it's better, safer, if they all have the same information.

When Ian finishes relaying what Dane Hunter found, all three share the same unhappy frown.

"Do you think they know?" Sam asks, meaning the Walkers. 

Ian Foley shrugs. 

"If they do, they've kept it well hidden, on the other hand, they're Shifters, so..."

"You're a Shifter," Sam says, his little frown deepening slightly as he looks up at me, "and you're honest."

Ian shrugs again. 

"Maybe. But I don't typically go around telling strangers all my secrets, either. When you're something that most people don't believe exists or would call a monster if they did, you get used to hiding stuff as a matter of habit."

"What will you do?" Toni asks. "Confront them or watch and wait?"

Rolling his head slowly to the side to try to relieve some of the tension in his injured shoulder and back, Ian sighs. 

"For better or worse, I'm not a 'watch and wait' kind of guy. I think it's best if we..." 

“Ian," Sam cuts me off, pointing at something to his left.

Ian turns and see a huge brown bear coming around the side of the lodge and recognize Elliot's Shape.

"What's he doing?" Ian wonders aloud, watching as the bear sniffs the ground and then shakes his massive head. 

The motion fluffs out his fur, making him appear even bigger.

"Hey, Elliot! Whatcha doing?" Carlos calls, starting to step towards him.

Sam catches at his arm.

"Carlos, wait. Something's not right."

"Is he possessed?" Toni asks.

Sam squints. 

"I don't think so. But...he looks different somehow."

Ian notices it, too. 

Elliot's form has an aggressive, dangerous bearing, no pun intended, that it didn't the first time Ian saw him. 

Then, he'd look powerful but also friendly, a tame, well-trained animal. 

Now he looks like something to run away from.

Ian realizes why when he raises his massive, squarish head and fixes his small brown bear-eyes on them.

Or, more accurately, on Ian.

Opening his wide jaws, he releases a deep-throated, pulsating bellow of rage and then breaks into a charge.

Despite the damage it will do to his arm, Ian has little choice but to Shift. 

At least as a bear, he stands a chance.

As a man, he'll be torn to shreds.

He has barely reached this conclusion though, with Elliot already having closed half the distance between them, when something else steps between them and blocks Ian’s view, gold-feathered wings angled aloft.

It's Sam, in all his demonic glory, a sight that at once makes Ian’s heart pulse with love and his blood run cold with fear.

Not because Sam scares him but because he's standing in the path of a 1,000-pound, murderously enraged bear with the intelligence of a man.

And Sam was doing it for him.

[ithebookhoarder]

Can I get 83 off the angst list with Javier??? It's: Stay there I'm coming to get you

100 ways to say ily Prompt 83: “Stay there. I’m coming to get you” (Javier Peña x F!Reader)

A/N: Ooo, right in the angst. Let’s get to it! I also assume you meant this prompt list rather than the angst one as that’s only up to 20 ;) Don’t worry. I got you tho! I hope you like it x  Apologies for my terrible attempts at Spanish, so let me know if I got any of it wrong.

Warnings: Swearing, violence, blood, references to death (let me know if I missed anything)

Masterlist:

-------

“Javi?”

“Y/N?” 

The sound of his voice was soft as you held the phone to your ear. You could hear the soft echo of music playing in the background telling you he was definitely at home. 

Why wouldn’t he be, given the hour? It was the morning. 3 am to be precise. He should have been asleep. You should have been asleep, but no, you’d had to chase this lead alone. Like an idiot. A strong willed idiot who should have known better. 

But no. The idea of being able to catch one of Escobar’s top employees had been too tempting an opportunity to miss despite the fact the ambassador had said otherwise. In fact, he’d said fuck no, telling all of you to wait it out and get another source to confirm it. 

Apparently a friend of one of Javi’s ex informants wasn’t what they called reliable... even though she had direct access to the people supposed to be gathering tonight at the club you’d been staking out. 

Two hours you’d watched from your car, having snuck out to do so. If Javier and Steve had wanted to behave for once, then that was their call. They could stay and fill out paperwork to their hearts content. 

You didn’t need them for what was supposed to be a routine stake out and observation mission. 

Or so you’d thought. 

The fact you’d been made by one of the gang about thirty minutes after you’d entered the club had put a pretty big dampener on your plan. You hadn’t noticed as they’d arrived, recognising you after you’d almost caught them at a raid only days ago. 

The sicario had slipped away, managing to leap across one of the roofs as you’d chased them across. Had Steve not grabbed your arm and told you it was too dangerous a jump to risk, you’d have followed. 

But here he was, back and ready for payback... and he’d been quick to point you out to the others surrounding him. 

You knew it had been risky to be here and unfortunately, you were proved horrifically right. The fact you’d got away was a minor miracle, even if you were now bleeding. Badly. 

Damn bullet had missed but the graze was agonising, causing you to wince as you clutched at your side, trying to stem the bleeding as best you could. 

“Javi... I messed up.”

“Y/N, hermosa. What is it? What’s wrong? Where are you?”

His questions were relentless, firing one after the other as he detected the fear in your voice. The pain and regret too. 

“I’m ... I’m in an alley... by Fiebre... I’m sorry...”

“No, no. Don’t be sorry. It’s ok,” Javi soothed, panic underlying each word. You could hear him clattering about, most likely grabbing his keys and rushing out of the apartment next to yours. He didn’t need to ask to know what you were doing or why you were there. He knew you too well. He also knew you wouldn’t be calling like this if you weren’t in trouble. Trouble serious enough he had to get to you. Fast. “I’m on my way. Just stay there. I’m coming to get you.” 

A tear rolled down your cheek as the air suddenly felt a lot colder. Like Javi had just turned on the stupid faulty AC unit in your apartment, like he always did when it got late and he was staying over to look over material or keeping you company. 

God. What you’d have given to have him there to hold you right then. To wrap his familiar leather jacket around you like he always did when you forgot a jacket of your own, still forgetting that the hot days often fell into cooler nights. 

You longed for its touch, its scent, its comfort as you stared at the sky and prayed you lived long enough to regret this. 

“Fuck.” Your car was just down the street. You were so close but you didn’t know if you had the strength to make it there. “Javi... I’m bleeding... the bullet... it hit my side... it won’t stop.”

“Y/N, baby. Listen to me. We’re coming. Steve and I. It’s gonna be ok. Just keep talking to me, ok? Put pressure on it and don’t fall asleep. You hear me?”

“Javi-“

“I’m fucking serious, hermosa. You hear me? You better keep your damn eyes open long enough so I can look at them when we get there, and you make some stupid wise crack about all this.”

A car door slammed. Voices rang out over the line. You could hear an engine start. 

“Javi... I love you... I really do...”

“Y/N? Y/N?”

His voice sounded desperate, terrified even, as you faded away, failing to reply. You simply felt the edges of your vision beginning to dim and the inevitable pull of sleep tugging you toward an abyss you knew there would be no coming back from. 

You couldn’t fight it any longer.

A single tear trickled down your cheek and you felt the phone drop from your hand onto the cold concrete beneath you. 

“I’m sorry.”

——— 

“-y tienes suerte de que te quiera mucho. Odio los hospitales. este lugar es jodidamente horrible. No puedo dejarte aquí solo. no cuando te vas a despertar en cualquier momento. ¿Me escuchas? Tú vas a-“

The voices were coming in waves, washing over you and disappearing just as quickly. 

It was hard to try and hold on to, even if you wanted to. This voice in particular was soft and tempting, familiar even... Coaxing you in over and over every time you slipped back into the darkness that was so warm and soft. 

You’d always been a deep sleeper, slamming your alarm harder than necessary whenever it tried to wake you. 

Now was the same... even if you knew it shouldn’t be. Even if you felt odd, like you were supposed to be somewhere and you’d forgotten... 

But where?

“She should have woken by now-“

“Javi, calm down. She’s gonna be fine. The doctor said so. She just needs to rest. Have a little faith in her. She’s tough. She’ll pull through this.”

“But if she doesn’t ... Steve, I can’t...”

“Hey. Look at me, Peña. It’s gonna be alright. Now come on. Connie said she’d bring some clothes for you...”

There they were. The voices again. 

Somehow, you knew that they were trying to pull you back to wherever you were supposed to be. 

To the aching you felt. To the mechanical beeping you could hear. To the painfully bright lights hovering overhead. 

To the weight and warmth of someone’s hand holding yours. 

To the familiar face pressed against the bed as he slept, holding you hand tightly as if scared to let you go. 

“Javi?” you croaked. 

Like that, he was awake. 

You worried he’d have whiplash, he sat up so fast, eyes wide in disbelief as he realised you were awake. “Y/N? Oh, thank God!” 

“Y/N?”

“Steve?” you rasped, noticing your other partner as he leapt out of his chair in the corner of the room. The relief was clear as he smiled and hurried to the door. 

“Thank god. I’m gonna grab a nurse.” 

“Ok.” You smiled and turned to Javier who was still holding your hand tight, watching you with bloodshot eyes. “What... how long was I-?”

“Three days,” he whispered. “You really scared me there for a second, hermosa. You... you lost so much blood and they weren’t sure you were gonna make it.” 

“I’m sorry.”

The sight of tears in his eyes was more painful than the bullet hole that was currently sending white hot agony shooting through your side. You’d never seen Javi so torn up before. Never. The worst was when he’d sit silently and smoke for hours without even moving. 

As much as you hated that, you’d take that any day over this. Knowing you were the cause. 

“No. Don’t be,” he dismissed swiftly. “I mean yeah, I wanna shoot you myself for running off and pulling a dumb fucking stunt like that but I get it... I really do. I’d have done the same thing. Hell, I have done the same thing. I just wish you’d asked me to come. Or even Murphy. We would have.”

“The ambassador had his eye on you after the raid this week,” you protested weakly, wincing at the pain in your side as you tried to sit up. “I couldn’t risk you or Murphy or your jobs like that.” 

“Fuck our jobs.”

“Javi -“

“No, hermosa. Listen. I mean this. You come first, understood? Always,” Javi snarled, kissing the back of your hand. “I love you and I mean that. Life isn’t worth it without you. This job means shit all without you. You come first? Ok. Always. Seeing you lying there with all the blood on you... it made me realise a few things and this is one of them. I don’t want a life or a future without you in it.” 

You couldn’t help it as the tears began to flow again, your heart swelling with love for the man in front of you. You couldn’t help but reach out and brush your fingers through his hair as you’d done so many nights before. 

“I love you too, Javier Peña.”

“Good. Remember that when Steve gets back and starts ripping into your ass,” Javier teased, lightening up now that your were awake and talking again. “I won’t be able to save you then, carino. Sorry. Sicarios are one thing, but Murphy? He’s almost as terrifying as Connie.”

Oh fuck. You’d forgotten about Connie. Oh she was gonna kill you. Big time. 

That woman was the biggest mother hen you’d met in your entire life. She’d also probably have your ass on house arrest for the rest of your life after this stunt. 

“Shit,” you whined, dropping back against the pillows. “It was good while it lasted.”

“And good thing we get to do it all again another time,” he hummed. “Just ... not for a while, ok? Not until you’re on your feet.” 

“You mean, not until Connie says so?”

Javi didn’t even flinch as he nodded, deadly serious. “Yep. 100 percent.”

------

Translation: “and you are lucky i love you so much. i hate hospitals. this place is fucking horrid. i cant leave you here alone. not when you are going to wake up any minute now. you hear me? you are going to-”

[spicynamericano]

Perception. - mk lee

sypnosis: you meet a stranger in the park, who helps you prepare for your interview with renowned author, mark lee.

word count: 2.1k

genre: fluff, strangers to friends!au, author!mark x reporter!reader

a/n: i impulsively wrote this in the wee hours of the morning because i can't stop thinking about mark lee and his poems! btw, this is my first time posting an au on this platform, but i do have ongoing twitter fics (written in eng/fil)!

I had just finished my late night shift at the office and was on my way home from work. Being a field reporter is not an easy job. I have to work my butt off to always stay up to date on the latest news and make sure to grab even the rarest exclusives.

I have to travel to basically anywhere, just to gather the most accurate information for the daily primetime news. And even if work is done for the day, I would usually go overtime to make sure no single detail is left out for tomorrow’s reports.

My workplace isn’t that far from home, or what I call home now. Moving into my elder sister’s old apartment was not a hassle. It was actually quite a blessing since I always used to stay over whenever we visited the city. I really thank the heavens that her place was near my workplace. Imagine the struggle of moving in and out from scratch. Actually, I wouldn’t even dare to imagine.

I would usually ride my bike to and from the office, but since I was running a bit late earlier in the morning, I decided to take the bus. Convenience at its finest. But it’s late now. A fifteen minute walk back home won’t hurt, right? Besides, I needed a breather. A walk in the nearby park would suffice.

It’s midnight and of course, the park is empty. Although Seoul is alive 24/7, I really like how some areas still have that laid-back vibe. I walk to the swings and place my bag on the ground. I do wish someone would push me right now. I just wanna be free from all the hectic stuff I’ve been doing lately.

But no, the quick rest I thought of didn’t stop me from going over tomorrow’s duties. I scan my little, brown notepad and check the work I have yet to accomplish. I mostly finished them before I got off work, but there is one more that I needed to do for tomorrow: interview Mr. Mark Lee, the author of the best-selling Late Night Scribbles.

It’s a collection of poems and prose he’s written over the course of five years during his travels to different cities as a renowned travel writer. His travel reviews and recommendations were something I always looked forward to reading. Maybe someday I could go on a stress-free holiday trip thanks to his advice.

I have read his book. For someone who’s trained into more technical writing like me, I could still clearly resonate with most of the poems he’s written. Not too shallow, not too deep. Though you do need to have a sense of literature in order to understand more of his deeper works. He isn’t famous for nothing.

What appalled me though is that he never showed his face to anyone, not even once. Some say he’s actually the main rapper of the world-renowned boy group NCT, since they bear the same name. I think otherwise. Well, it could be, though. Rappers do make their own lines and tell their own stories.

But I don’t think that Mark Lee would be the same person I’d be interviewing tomorrow. It’s weird because I won’t be actually meeting him face to face. He said he’d rather converse through email. Works for me since I don’t have to travel tomorrow. Thank God.

Well, let me tell you a secret. The reason I don’t think author Mark Lee is singer Mark Lee is because singer Mark Lee is actually my childhood best friend. Crazy, huh? I used to live in Vancouver when I was young until my family and I moved back to Korea during my teen years.

I don’t think he remembers me, though. But I do remember him. Our moms were practically best friends. I couldn’t say the same to us, only if he still actually remembers me.

I stretch my arms up high and bend it side to side. God, I need a massage asap. I was about to pick up my bag when a basketball rolled over and hit the tip of my loafers. A man dressed in black waves from the court, signaling to toss the ball to his direction.

I would toss it if I could but I walk over instead. Blame my poor strength and reflexes. And I obviously do not want to embarrass myself. A rough day’s a rough day. I don’t want an addition.

“Uhm, are you looking for this?” I ask the guy, tossing the ball mid-air.

“Yes, thank you…” he pauses. “uh…”

“Oh, it’s (y/n).” I introduced myself, “And you are?”

“Minhyung.”

“Well, you’re welcome, Minhyung. Good luck with your basketball practice!” I gave him a nod before finally turning back to go home.

“Wait!” he calls out. “Do you maybe wanna have a cup of coffee? There’s a nearby convenience store still open. I figured you might need it.”

Was it that obvious? I can’t imagine how stressed I look right now! He has probably seen the dark circles under my eyes. Gross.

I finally turn around and give him a smile, “You know, maybe I do need it. Let’s go?”

This man and I walk to the nearby convenience store just a few meters away from the court. It’s midnight and not many people are here. Well, just exactly like how I want it. The park can actually become full, even until 10 pm. But I guess these people also need some shut-eye. I’m actually surprised this man right here still has some energy left.

I wait outside and sit at the nearest gazebo while he buys instant coffee for the both of us. He arrives with three in hand. Does he like coffee that much?

“You’re really gonna drink two?” I ask him curiously.

“It’s actually for you,” he says as he hands me one of the cups. “I feel like you’re going to be staying up late tonight.”

Well, he’s right. I am gonna be staying up late. I still need to prepare questions for tomorrow’s, or later, rather, interview. I really won’t be getting some sleep tonight. I also need to do research on him too.

“Well, I do have an interview for tomorrow. I still need to prepare as it’s a very important one.”

“With whom, may I ask?”

“Mark Lee, the author. Not the singer.”

“Oh,” he lets out a soft sigh that can be heard, even through his mask. Is he offended that I don’t think author Mark Lee and singer Mark Lee are the same?

“Why do you sound so disappointed?”

“Uh, nothing. I just remembered the book he recently released. Have you read it?”

“Late Night Scribbles?”

“Yes, that!” he answered enthusiastically. Wow, I guess I found a fan right here. He might actually help me with my interview later. I need to grab this chance.

“Do you mind helping me? I’m actually going to interview him about it tomorrow.” I gave him the widest smile, hoping he’d say yes. I normally wouldn’t do this to strangers, especially at night. But I really just need to get this over with.

“Well, as someone who’s a fan of his works. I’d like to give it a try and interpret it,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee. “Just imagine I’m Mark Lee. Shoot your questions.”

“Hmm, I can’t be answering personal questions since you’re not Mark Lee.” I scratch my head. Damn, I can’t think of anything. My brain is not working right now! “But if you were Mark Lee, what would you want to be asked?”

“If I were Mark Lee? Well, rather than asking what my inspiration was behind the works I’ve made, I’d rather be asked on how I tried to convey my thoughts and feelings to this piece of work,” he explained, staring at the night sky.

I followed the direction of his gaze, and he’s looking at Orion, one of the brightest constellations out there. I gaze at it too while waiting for him to continue explaining.

“But isn’t it basically the same as drawing inspiration from something?” I ask profoundly.

“Not really. You can draw inspiration from anything. And you can come up with different outputs based on one inspiration. What’s important is how you’re able to connect the context of what you’re writing to the feelings you want to draw out,” he continues.

“With a single inspiration, I can come up with two completely different works based on how it’s written. The idea may be the same but the context is not.”

“Hmm, care to explain a little further?” I ask politely.

“We can use Black Socks as an example.”

Black socks are underrated

The way they connect the bottom sleeves of

my black sweatpants to my black sneakers

is just perfect

Pleasure from perfect alignment

That also goes for the ability to be parallel

with my thoughts and actions

I try to live out what’s in my mind, and keep

it consistent even when forgotten like a

working habit

A moment to think twice about what

seemed unimportant

Black socks have been making my day

these days and I knew I had to return the

favor by acknowledging them

I throw you in the bin only so that you can

be renewed again

“Black socks, literally an ordinary object that is tossed to the bin right after use. But what caught my eye is his appreciation for this mundane thing.”

“Through his words, you can tell black socks gave him comfort. He used a simple subject to convey his inner thoughts of how every little thing we don’t really recognize can actually be part of our routine, our life,” he said, looking me in the eye seriously.

“He found comfort in the most ordinary things no ordinary person would take notice of.”

Minhyung stands up and stretches his arms. He then continues, “It’s actually cool he shared this piece with us. If I were him, I’d go on and ramble how black socks could ruin my laundry.”

We both chuckle at the thought. It’s true. I hate how some of my black socks actually ruin my laundry. I dread the thought.

“It’s only a matter of perception, (y/n). Sometimes, you have to open your eyes and see, not look. Listen, not hear. Savor, not taste. Feel, not touch.”

“You know, you could actually be Mark Lee himself,” I tease him, “You do know your literature.”

I know he smiled at my remark. I can see his cheekbones rise from the edges of his mask.

“Sometimes, you just have to ask the right questions in order to get the answers you want,” he said teasingly. “You can’t get what you want if you don’t know what you want.”

For a stranger, he’s indeed a good talker. I actually learned so much from our talk tonight.

“Thanks for tonight, Minhyung. I really learned a lot.” I thank him before gulping down the last cup of coffee he bought me. “And thanks for the coffee, by the way! I now have energy to prepare for my interview later.”

“No problem. I’m just glad that I was able to help.”

I stood up from my seat and we both started walking away from the park.

“It’s 1 am. How are you gonna get home, (y/n)?” Minhyung asks worriedly. Yeah, it is pretty late. It’s a good thing I just live near.

“My apartment’s just two blocks away. I can manage,” I say with a smile, a genuine one at that. “How about you?”

“I’ll just grab a cab. Do you mind if I walk you home?” I don’t know why but I felt flustered for a moment. Surprisingly though, I just nodded my head, giving him permission to accompany me home.

We both arrive at the entrance of my apartment building and we say our last goodbyes.

“For a stranger, you really do know how to make people comfy,” I say, crossing my arms and giving him a stare, brows furrowed to tease him.

“Well, that’s just how I am,” he says while giving me a wink. Okay, now he’s flirting. Someone stop him, please. Just kidding.

“By the way, you haven’t taken your mask off the entire time except when drinking coffee. I couldn’t get a good glimpse at you since it was dark,” I explain. It’s true. Add the fact that I’m barely keeping myself awake the whole time. “I might’ve actually thought you’re an idol of some sort. Perhaps, maybe you are Mark Lee.”

“What?” he asks, puzzled and clearly taken aback. “Why’d you think so?”

“Because you share the same name with him.”