#yes I made him a REDhead I hate those orange freaks

[cordaged]

Average overdramatic redhead.

[bakibakini]

a monster & his soulmate | s . tendo ( haikyuu ) -- 1

pairing : satori tendo x gn ! reader

genre : fluff , kinda angsty 

taglist : no one yet !! but comment to be tagged <3 

notes : ughhgahwa this was so cute to write !! i love this mans so much & i was entertaining the idea of making this a series while writing this & u know what . i finna . i rlly finna . 

MASTERLIST 

Satori had loathed the concept of soulmates.

It wasn’t the idea that he was tied to a single person since birth, not the fact that he couldn’t choose, else society would frown upon him, no, he was sure that he’d love whoever his soulmate was. In contrary, he was the problem. A weirdo, a scary monster; he didn’t want to meet his soulmate, couldn’t bear to hear what they’d think of him. Unfortunately for him, just as the little words etched into his abdomen, soulmates were fated, he couldn’t avoid his no matter how much he tried.

It happened in the gym, back in elementary school. He stood there, eyes cast downwards, tiny hands balled into equally tiny fists as a few of the kids from the volleyball club continued to talk him down. The mean names were nothing unusual and he wished he could say that he was used to them, but it took all of his self-control to keep himself from bursting into tears.

“Stop trying to get into the volleyball club, freak.”

“Yeah, no one wants you here! You’re a monster.”

And the more they said, the more he felt his heart sink. He was glad, at least, that his face could remain so stoic, still, he wanted to scurry away right about now. His heart suddenly leapt, though, at the sound of another pair of footsteps approaching. Nose scrunched in preparation for even more berating and finally, the new addition to the group began to speak.

“Hey, hey, stop it! I didn’t know my big brother was such a meanie, it’s so low to make fun of someone!” The person spoke, tugging one of Satori’s bullies by the hand. “Mom is here to pick you up anyways, let’s go!”

Satori’s eyes twinkled at the sight of you defending him. Anyone sticking up for him was rare in general, it was strange to see someone so cute pushing his bullies away. As soon as they started walking off, you turned to him, a bright smile on your face and a faint blush dusting your plump cheeks.

“Don’t listen to those idiots, I don’t think you resemble a monster at all!”

An ache was all he could feel at the moment, not just on his abdomen, but in his little heart as well. His mouth opened, as if he was ready to speak, hands absentmindedly moving to grip his shirt, right over the mark, but before he could do anything, say anything, his feet were already carrying him out of the gym at an immense speed.

He cried that night, much to his poor mother’s surprise. And after that, he never saw you again.

  “Go, go, Karasuno! Push it, push it, Karasuno!”

Shiratorizawa hadn’t expected Karasuno to be so good, neither did they expect the 5th set to be so stressful, as all of them really thought it’d be a clear win. Satori, of course, shared that sentiment with his team, but he was more surprised at the overwhelming amount of cheering that came from Karasuno’s side of the bleachers. The Flightless Crows having so many people cheering them on? Even stranger than that annoying middle blocker. He didn’t see the point in staring at who was in the opposing team’s bleachers, but frankly, he was quite bored sitting out during the action, so he let his eyes trail.

To say he nearly collapsed at the sight of you, that same lopsided grin on your face and bright orange pom poms in hand, would be an understatement.

He wasn’t entirely sure how he managed to recognize you, perhaps it was his soulmate sense, but he knew he wasn’t mistaken. The only pair of eyes that looked at him with such kindness back in elementary school, even if for a brief moment; he’d be a fool to not recognize them. It was odd to see his soulmate as a cheerleader for the opposing volleyball team, but he couldn’t deny that the colors looked nice on you. Besides, he had no rights to feel jealous, he had never even spoken to you. That didn’t stop him from feeling a little bit envious of Karasuno though, snatching up his soulmate just like that.

For as bummed as he was that their team lost in the end, he wasn’t surprised, they had you as their cheerleader, after all.

Lining up and, later, hearing Karasuno was going to advance to Nationals was excruciating, but it was somehow worse to see you right over there. Hardly being able to keep his eyes off of you, he kept on entertaining the thought of catching up to you later, saying something, just so you’d know he was your soulmate.

I can’t, he thought to himself, they’ll hate me.  

And before he knew it, the bleachers were empty and he and Wakatoshi were already cleaning up. He could see the two Karasuno managers cleaning up as well, which meant you might’ve still been somewhere around here. Useless thoughts, not like he was going to do anything. Unfortunately, he hadn’t noticed Wakatoshi’s analytical gaze following each and every one of his movements.

“You look like you’re in thought.” Satori was snapped out of his daze by the deep voice of his friend. “Are you out of it because we lost?”

“Hmm?” Wide eyes blinked, surprised at the sudden concern. “Yes, obviously! Didn’t it take you by total surprise?

Wakatoshi nodded and the conversation was over, but Satori couldn’t hide just how antsy he felt knowing that he was about to lose his other chance. God, he hated talking about these serious things, especially with the team captain, who was the voice of reason most of the time. He knew what the other would think of this, but…

“I know who my soulmate is-”

“Talk to them.” Wakatoshi wasted no time, shutting down Satori before he could even elaborate. “Don’t you want to?”

“Mm, you’re no fun!” Satori exclaimed, throwing one of the towels that sat on the bench at Wakatoshi. “What if they think I look weird, you know?”

“They don’t, have you seen your mark?” The captain’s eyes trailed to Satori’s abdomen and although it was covered, he knew what lied underneath his volleyball shirt. “Besides, it’s a little selfish to keep your soulmate from knowing who theirs is.”

“Huuh, I hate how much sense you make sometimes, Wakatoshi!” With a whine, Satori turned back to the two Karasuno managers who looked like they were about to leave. “Alright, but I’m only doing it so you wouldn’t nag me later!”

With that, Satori left his poor teammate to clean up for himself, all the while he mentally prepared to face Karasuno’s managers just so he could ask them where you were. For a moment, he thought about his teammate’s soulmate mark, a mark that simply said ‘excuse me, can you pass me the baking soda from the top shelf there?’. It’ll probably come easy for him, meeting his soulmate in a seemingly mundane situation and being a looker to boot, whereas the only interaction Satori had with you was him running away from you the second he realized you’re his soulmate, he’ll consider himself lucky if you still thought the same thing.

“Heey~!” The redhead yelled, perhaps a little too obnoxiously, as his hand moved to grab the shoulder of one of the Karasuno’s managers. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

The girl unfortunate enough to be the one Satori directed his attention to jumped at the sudden contact, then yelped ever-so-slightly after glancing to see who it was. The other one didn’t seem phased at all, on the other hand, walking up to the two, taking Satori’s hand and removing it from her blonde friend’s shoulder.

“We’re not interested.”

“Ah, no, I’m not interested in you either!” The redhead grinned, hands making their way to his own hips. “Can you show me where the pretty Karasuno cheerleader is? They’re my soulmate, I wanna see ‘em~”

That exact second Kiyoko noticed how much Hitoka’s face shifted at the mention of soulmates, from scared to excited, even. She now stared at Satori with wide eyes, eventually looking over at her fellow manager, as if searching for her blessing to play Cupid. Kiyoko, fully sensing Hitoka’s excitement, only smiled.

“You can go, I’ll finish up here.”

Getting the clear, Hitoka wasted no time in grabbing Satori’s hand and beginning to tug him along out of the gym, surprising him this time. Obviously her mood shifted so much, she was a hopeless romantic, the idea of soulmates excited her way too much, even if the situation didn’t concern her. She scanned the halls filled with people for the familiar faces of Karasuno with upmost care and attention, all so she could point Satori to you.

“What does your mark say?” Hitoka suddenly exclaimed, but wound up covering her mouth with her free hand seconds later. “I- I mean, if you don’t m-mind me asking!”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” He smiled, though it didn’t look as enthusiastic as he wished it would. “Don’t listen to those idiots, I don’t think you resemble a monster at all; that’s what it says.”

In an overdramatic fashion, the girl’s eyes filled with tears. “A- Ah, that’s so cute! What does l/n-senpai’s say?”

“I wish I knew!” Satori said, a small groan promptly leaving his mouth. He was playing it up a little bit, but it’d be a lie to say he wasn’t feeling the frustration. “I ran away when they said that. How stupid, right?”

“What? Why’d you do that?!”

He shrugged and opened his mouth to speak, but got interrupted by his chest hitting Hitoka’s back, seeing as she had stopped running. He followed her gaze and wound up seeing you, the same pom poms in hand as you spoke with the 3rd years of Karasuno, a wide grin on your face. He felt his throat close up.

“I’m a bit nervous now.” Hitoka whispered, but he couldn’t hear. He thought he was going to die.

He supposed it was admirable how much just the sight of you made him seize up and want to run away. The famous Guess Monster of Shiratorizawa weak at the knees after seeing the face of his soulmate whom he hasn’t even talked to before; he really hated it. Did all people feel like this? Did all people feel fear while looking at their soulmate? No, he was supposed to feel butterflies in his belly, so why couldn’t he-

“l/n-senpai!” Satori’s startled daze got cut short by Hitoka yelling out to you. His grin never got wiped from his face, but if one looked close enough, they could see that it was wavering just slightly.

You turned, looked at Hitoka, then at him, with a smile much more genuine than what was on his face. He saw the brief confusion in your eyes at the sight of him, noticed your brows furrowing for a second. How could he not? Not only was he naturally analytical, despite the growing fear in his heart, he still couldn’t take his eyes off your face.

“Hm, what’s up?” You turned away from Koushi to fully face Hitoka and Satori. “Hah, did you make friends with the Guess Monster? Nice to meet you, I’m l/n y/n!”

With your focus completely on him, he thought he was going to sink into the ground. Were you really going to think…he wasn’t a monster after finding out he was your soulmate? He supposed he wouldn’t know without trying.

“Uh…hi.” He uttered and the second he realized what he said, his soul nearly jumped out through his nose. Hands flew to cover his mouth, completely in disbelief.

Hitoka snorted, but he couldn’t even hear it, busy focusing on what you were going to say. Your smile faded and was replaced with surprise coating your features. He was ready to run off yet again, he could take a lot of things, but not his soulmate rejecting him in front of so many people. But then you smiled all over again, erupting into giggles mere seconds later.

Huh...?

“You know, all my life I’ve been wondering how awkward my soulmate is going to be, I could’ve never guessed-!” Your cheeks were red, the grin plastered on your face reaching from ear to ear. “Wait till my mom hears that Shiratorizawa’s Guess Monster is my soulmate! So cool! Do you think you can teach me how to block like that?

“Wha…what?” Satori’s voice had risen by five octaves as he spoke. Tilting his head, he moved to point at himself. “You want to learn how to block from me?”

“O-Oh, I’m sorry, I’m getting a little bit too ahead of myself!” You chuckled, waving your hand. “You’re Tendo Satori, right? I don’t want to keep referring to you as the Guess Monster, it’d be weird, right?”

Satori’s fingers twitched, he so desperately wanted to jump at you and hug you tight and he would’ve, really, he was quite shameless, but he could still barely comprehend you weren’t scoffing at him and instead, looking at him as if you’d been waiting for him to show up for your entire life. It made his heart flare up in a way it hadn’t before, the fear he felt previously subsiding and turning into those nervous jitters he wished he could feel. He exhaled the breath he was holding in for way too long, tense shoulders dropping in relief. Hours filled with hatred for himself for never speaking up in elementary, sleepless nights thinking about how unfair everything was; it all boiled down to this and he couldn’t believe that he felt genuinely happy, like he was a little kid frolicking in a field of flowers with no worries in the world. Of course, he was an idiot for not realizing you were too good of a person. It was safe to say now, that he was glad he had confronted you, even if it was slightly against his will.

“I-”

“Tendo!” The loud, stoic voice that belonged to Wakatoshi rang through the halls and successfully interrupted Satori. “We have to go now, hurry it up!”

“Aah, it seems like I have to go!” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’ll reach out to you later and we can go on a date some time, okay? I’ll make sure to teach you lots of things, l/n-chan~”

Seeing you look flustered at his words made him content for now, so he turned and began to make his way to Wakatoshi, sending you a small wave. He could already imagine himself showing you how to play volleyball, or rambling to you about Shonen Jump- he couldn’t believe how far more exciting this was than he’d ever thought it’d be.

The concept of soulmates was still weird to him, he couldn’t deny, but he also couldn’t wait to fall in love with it, and you, now that he finally had you by his side.

hi if u made it this far pls send requestz thank u ahah jd

[tw-anchor]

05. Attack of the Alpha

Anchor

Stiles Stilinski x Original Character (Reader)

Episode: 1x05; The Tell

Word Count: 6508

Warning(s): Mature language, dead body, blood, medication, cannon violence

Author’s Note: Olivia and Stiles bond! Enjoy and make sure you reblog and like this chapter!

Masterlist is in profile description!

"Look, Hoosiers is not only the best basketball movie ever, it is the best sports movie ever," Jackson declared, glancing between Lydia and Olivia as he tried to convince them to watch his movie pick.

"Uh, excuse me?" Olivia looked up from her phone to raise an eyebrow at Jackson. "High School Musical is the best basketball movie. Go Wildcats."

Jackson rolled his eyes at her and gave Lydia his full attention.

The redhead instantly denied him. "No."

"It's got Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper," Jackson added, hoping that would convince her. Lydia was a sucker for any movie with gorgeous guys.

Lydia shook her head. "No."

"Lydia, I swear to God you're gonna like it."

"No."

"I am not watching The Notebook again!" Jackson said strongly. He had watched that damn movie almost twenty times since he started dating Lydia. If he had to watch it again, he'd probably do something drastic.

"We're watching A Walk to Remember," Olivia said, popping her head in between the couple. "Remember? It's my turn to pick."

Lydia pursed her lips and then nodded. "Fine. A Walk to Remember."

Jackson scoffed. "You've got to be kidding me."

Olivia and Jackson left Lydia's Beetle and walked into the town's only video rental store. Like most nights, the store was completely empty—most of the people in town preferred to rent from Amazon or YouTube than to go to an actual store and pick out what movie they wanted. Jackson and Lydia couldn't relate.

Olivia pursed her lips and looked down the aisles, trying to find where the romance section started. Jackson followed her, aimlessly looking from movie to movie to see if something caught his attention.

"Can somebody help us find A Walk to Remember?" Jackson called loudly as he split from Olivia, looking around for an employee. "Hello? Is anybody working here?"

Olivia beamed and grabbed the movie from shelf, waving it over her head so Jackson could see. "I found it, Jax. Let's get out of here."

Jackson sighed in relief and they both turned to go to the register, only to find it empty. "You've got to be kidding me."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "They're probably in the back or something," she told Jackson, turning around to get a good look at the store. There was a ladder set up in the middle of two rows, a florescent light balancing on one of the steps with the light overhead flickering ominously. "I'll go see if someone's there."

Jackson nodded, still annoyed, and grabbed the movie from Olivia's hands, setting it on the counter in front of him along with a pack of Twizzlers for Olivia and Skittles for him and Lydia.

Olivia walked down the aisle, passing rows of horror movies organized in alphabetical order. She stopped in the middle, her eyes narrowing when she saw shoes laying on the ground a few feet in front of her.

Goosebumps popped up on her skin all over her body as she drew nearer.

I have a bad feeling about this, she thought to herself.

Olivia let out a short scream when she saw the body of the store employee propped up against one of the shelves. His glasses were askew and his shirt was heavily stained with the blood that poured from his slit throat.

"Olivia?" Jackson called, slightly panicked, and ran over to her.

Olivia couldn't speak, her sight becoming blurry with the onset of her tears. Jackson gasped when he saw the dead body and grabbed her around the waist, backing both of them up into the ladder behind them.

The ladder tipped over and the light above it came down with it, sparking and causing the other lights to flicker on and off repeatedly.

Once the two teenagers gained their footing back, Olivia came to her senses. She had to survive for the moment, she could freak out later.

Realizing that it was probably the alpha who killed the store employee and was hanging out somewhere close, she grabbed Jackson's arm and looked at him urgently.

"Let's get out of here," she whispered sharply.

Jackson nodded in agreement, the both of them turning to run out of the store.

They stopped in their tracks,  unable to take one step, when they saw a dark animalistic shadow in front of them. Red eyes gleamed sharply as the lights flickered on and off and the alpha started snarling deep in its throat.

As Jackson gasped, Olivia tugged on his arm, bringing him into a crouch next to a shelf of movies. She knelt next to him, pressing her finger to her lips to tell him not to make a sound. Jackson nodded.

She hated seeing the fear in her friend's eyes all because of this stupid alpha werewolf jackass.

Olivia ducked her head out of the row, trying to see if the alpha was still in the store. Unfortunately, the werewolf sped through the aisle a few rows down from them, making her gasp and flinch back.

Jackson let out a heavy breath and Olivia shook her head frantically as she heard movies start to fall to the floor at the front of the store. She ducked her head out once again but flinched back when the shelves started to fall into one another like a set of dominos.

"Go!" she urged Jackson as the shelf ahead of theirs started falling.

They attempted to jump out of the row they were hiding in but were trapped when the heavy shelf fell on their backs.

Olivia groaned loudly next to Jackson when the wood slammed against her lower back, pushing her into the floor. Jackson was stuck too, and that worried her, but the pain she was experiencing was almost too much to allow her to concentrate.

Jackson fidgeted next to her, trying to free himself of the shelf on top of him but abruptly stopped when he saw the shadow of whatever was attacking them. Olivia froze, seeing the same shadow that Jackson had spotted.

The shelf on them got heavier as the alpha climbed on top of it and crawled over to Jackson, coming to a stop right over his back. Olivia didn't dare move and neither did Jackson as the alpha pulled down the neck of his leather jacket to check out the scratches Derek made on the back of his neck.

And then the weight was gone as the alpha retreated, running out of the store. It crashed through the front window tearing a frightened scream from Lydia's throat as it sped past her.

-

-

Stiles quickly unwrapped his cheeseburger with one hand, digging into the diner to-go bag with the other to search for his curly fries. His dad hummed from the seat next to him as he bit into his own burger.

"Hey, did they forget my curly fries?" Noah asked, watching with slight envy as Stiles popped a curly fry into his mouth.

"You're not supposed to eat fries," Stiles reminded his dad of his declining health. "especially the curly ones."

Noah rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm carrying a lethal weapon," he said stubbornly. "If I want the curly fries, I will have the curly fries."

Stiles pursed his lips and gave his father an annoyed look as he grabbed his soda from the drink holder next to him. "If you think getting rid of contractions in all your sentences makes your argument any more legitimate, you are wrong."

Noah narrowed his eyes at Stiles but Stiles just chuckled and took a long sip of his soda.

Loud static came from Noah's radio before a man's voice was heard. "Unit one, do you copy?"

Stiles excitedly jumped in his seat and reached for the radio, only for Noah to slap his hand away.

As Noah pointedly cleared his throat, Stiles muttered, "Sorry."

When Stiles backed off and stuffed some fries in his mouth, Noah grabbed the radio and held it to his face. "Unit one, copy."

"Got a report of a possible 1-8-7," the dispatch reported.

Stiles whipped his head toward his dad, a lone fry falling from his mouth. "A murder?!"

-

Back at the video store, Olivia sat on a gurney in the back of an ambulance. She winced as one of the paramedics prodded at her lower back where she had already started to bruise.

"Did that hurt?" the paramedic asked softly, noticing the movement. Olivia nodded. The paramedic nodded and prodded slightly above the bruised area. "What about here?"

Olivia nodded again, a grimace spreading across her features.

The paramedic nodded and gave Olivia a comforting pat on her shoulder before lowering the back of her shirt. Turning away from her patient, she dug through one of the metal cabinets and pulled out an orange bottle of medicine almost identical to the one she gave Lydia."

"Here," the woman handed the pills to Olivia. "Those are for the pain, okay? Only take one at a time, five hours apart."

Olivia nodded, reading the label. Hydrocodone. "Yes, ma'am."

The paramedic nodded, satisfied, and grabbed some gauze and antiseptic cream. "Let's get that cleaned up," she gestured to the cut on Olivia's forehead.

Olivia reached up and touched it, not even aware that she had a cut. She looked at her bloody fingertips thoughtfully.

That's why my head hurts.

Once her forehead was stitched up and the paramedic gave her the all-clear, Olivia joined Lydia at the end of the cab, a shock blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Lydia grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly, silently comforting the younger girl.

Olivia sighed heavily and, ignoring the pain in her back, leaned her head on Lydia's shoulder.

The whoop of a siren made her jump as another police car pulled up to the crime scene, driving past the spectators gathered to see what was going on. Jackson was already talking to a deputy as Sheriff Stilinski got out of his cruiser and walked up to the three of them.

"Why the hell can't we just go home?" Jackson asked him harshly, not allowing him to get a word in. "We're fine."

"I hear ya," Sheriff Stilinski tried to placate the angry lacrosse captain. "but the EMT says you hit your head pretty hard. They just wanna make sure you don't have a concussion."

Jackson gritted his teeth and Olivia could see him clenching his jaw. "What part of we're fine are you having a problem grasping? I wanna go home."

"And I understand that."

"No, you don't understand!" Jackson retorted, fuming. "Which kind of blows my mind since it should be a pretty basic concept to grasp for a minimum-wage rent-a-cop like you! I want to go home!"

"Jackson, please!" Olivia exclaimed breathlessly, rubbing her temples as her head started pounding.

She wanted to get out of here, too, but her aunt wasn't at the scene yet to release her and Lydia and she didn't think that shouting at the sheriff was going to get them home any quicker.

"Woah, is that a dead body?" a familiar voice called out from Sheriff Stilinski's car.

Olivia noticed Stiles standing by the passenger side of the cruiser and looked to where he was pointing. The paramedics from the other ambulance rolled a gurney out of the store, carrying a black body bag that Olivia just knew the store employee was in.

She gulped and lowered her head as Lydia squeezed her hand in a death grip.

Sheriff Stilinski sighed heavily and held up his hands, getting the crowd to back away from the scene. "Back up, back up."

"Um, hey, Olivia."

Olivia lifted her head, hoping that the body was in the ambulance, to face Stiles. He was looking at her worriedly, scratching the back of his neck like he usually did whenever he was feeling awkward.

Most of Olivia hated that he was here to see her so vulnerable but there was a tiny part of her that was relieved to see him.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. "Did you see the—"

"Those are my girls!" Olivia heard her aunt declare to a deputy a few feet behind them. "I'm Natalie Martin, Lydia's mother and Olivia's guardian."

Sheriff Stilinski glanced at Olivia and Lydia before waving her over and nodding at the deputy.

"Mrs. Martin," he greeted her formally, stopping her a foot away from Olivia and Lydia. "If at all possible, I'd like to ask Olivia and Lydia some questions."

Natalie huffed impatiently, wanting to get to her daughter and niece. "I'll bring them in tomorrow. If you'll excuse me."

Stiles stepped away from the Martin girls as Natalie approached them, feeling his worry lift when Olivia gave him a small smile over her aunt's shoulder.

-

-

"Just a friendly reminder," Mr. Harris announced as he slowly walked through the chemistry lab, glaring down at his students. "parent-teacher conferences are tonight. Students below a 'C' average are required to attend."

Stiles rolled his eyes and continued marking his textbook with a bright yellow highlighter, glad that he was earning a 'B' or above in all of his classes.

"I won't name you because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment," Mr. Harris continued, stopping right next to Stiles' desk. "Has anyone seen Scott McCall and Allison Argent?"

Stiles looked up, the highlighter cap between his lips, and saw Mr. Harris staring down at him. He shook his head minutely; he had no idea where Scott and Allison were.

The classroom door opened then, and Jackson came in, looking tired and pale with dark circles under his eyes. Everyone stopped and stared as he walked to an empty lab table and sat down without a word.

"Jackson," Mr. Harris walked over to him, patting him on the back. "if you need to leave early for any reason, you let me know."

Jackson nodded, looking uncomfortable with the teacher's attention on him.

Mr. Harris nodded and turned away, heading toward the front of the class. "Everyone start reading chapter nine," he ordered. As Stiles started highlighting his book again, he added, "Mr. Stilinski, try putting the highlighter down between paragraphs. It's chemistry, not a coloring book."

Stiles narrowed his eyes at his asshole teacher and tilted his head back, spitting the highlighter cap out of his mouth and catching it easily. He capped the highlighter and set it on his desk before looking in front of him where Danny was sitting.

Danny, who had homeroom with Olivia Martin, who had not shown up for chemistry class—or any other class they shared.

"Hey, Danny," he greeted him, leaning forward in his seat. "can I ask you a question?"

"No."

"Well, I'm going to anyway," Stiles persisted much to Danny's annoyance. "Uh, did Olivia show up in your homeroom today?"

Danny sighed. "No."

Stiles frowned, worried about the petite brunette. "Can I ask you another question?"

Danny shook his head. "The answer's still no."

"Does anyone know what happened to her, Lydia, and Jackson last night?" Stiles asked bluntly.

He hadn't gotten to actually speak to Olivia the night before and he was worried about her. He didn't know how that guy died, what happened in that shop, or what injuries she sustained. His dad wouldn't tell him anything, much to his intense frustration.

And, of course, Scott didn't give him anything, either.

Danny hesitated for a few seconds before reluctantly admitting, "He wouldn't tell me."

Stiles raised an eyebrow at him. "But he's your best friend," he pointed out, causing Danny to give him an annoyed glare. "Okay, one more question."

"What?"

"Do you find me attractive?" Stiles asked, ignoring Danny's exclamation as he leaned forward in his lab stool.

Danny didn't get to answer—not that he would—because Stiles had leaned too far. He fell off his stool and onto the floor, jumping up right away. He spastically looked around, hoping that no one had seen his shame, and sheepishly sat back down.

-

-

"And what do you think attacked you in that store?" Sheriff Stilinski kindly asked Olivia, who sat at the other side of his desk with her aunt beside her.

Sheriff Stilinski had already questioned Jackson and Lydia, so she was last to go. They weren't in any trouble—Sheriff Stilinski made sure they all knew that—but the police still needed to ask questions and get their written witness statement.

"A mountain lion," Olivia answered dutifully, knowing that was what Lydia and Jackson reported.

She just wanted to be done with this whole thing. She hoped that Derek would get Scott to help him find the alpha because this situation was getting out of hand. Not only was Laura dead, but so were two other people. It was a disaster.

And now Jackson and Lydia were involved and that was the last thing she wanted. She loved them and didn't want them in the line of fire. The alpha, whoever they were, knew about them now. Who knows what would happen next?

Sheriff Stilinski nodded and wrote down Olivia's answer before flipping through the file they had on her. "All right," he sighed. "we have pictures of your injuries for the record and your statement. I think you're good to go, Olivia. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Of course, Sheriff," Olivia said politely, shaking the hand he held out to her.

"You'll call if there's any progress?" Natalie added, shaking his hand as well.

"Of course, Mrs. Martin," Sheriff Stilinski assured her before looking back at Olivia. "I hope you and Lydia feel better."

Olivia gave him a thankful smile and allowed her aunt to lead her out of Sheriff Stilinski's office. She couldn't believe that he was Stiles' dad. The cool, calm, and collected guy in there didn't seem anything like the spastic, sarcastic, and weird brunette she knew and was sometimes annoyed by.

Then again, she wasn't much like her parents, either. Her dad had been sneaky and narcissistic, though he loved her very much, and her mom—what she remembered of her, anyway—was kind-hearted and soft-spoken.

Now that she thought about it, she wondered why her parents ever got together.

Natalie led Olivia and Lydia out of the police station and once they arrived home, Olivia went straight up to her room. She was ready to take a pill for her pain and pass out for the afternoon.

She took a shower and changed into some pajama shorts and a tank-top before wandering over to Lydia's room to check on her.

Lydia hadn't really spoken since the incident the night before and Olivia was worried about her. The only reason she wasn't going crazy was because she actually knew what attacked her and Jackson but Lydia didn't know about werewolves, so she was pretty shaken. Olivia honestly didn't blame her.

She knocked on her cousin's door and opened it when she heard Lydia's loud, slurred reply. Lydia was lying on her bed, checking her manicured nails, her lips pursed fiercely. She turned to face Olivia, her nightgown sliding up and revealing her panties.

"There you are!" she squealed when she saw Olivia, a beaming smile on her lips. She shifted around and patted the space next to her so her cousin could sit. "What are you doing?"

"I'm checking on you," Olivia said, covering Lydia up with her pale-pink throw blanket. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fantastic!" Lydia breathed happily, resting her head on Olivia's shoulder.

"What did that EMT give you?" Olivia chuckled, spotting an orange medicine bottle on Lydia's nightstand next to the stuffed giraffe she gave her. She grabbed it, her eyes widening. "Ah, the good stuff."

"Mhmm."

"I bet you can't say 'I saw Suzy sitting in a shoeshine shop,'" Olivia dared her.

Lydia sat up and gave her a determined look. "I saw Shuzy," she mispronounced. "I shaw—I saw—"

Olivia stiffened as Lydia stared off into space, as though she was reliving the night before. She placed a comforting hand on Lydia's shoulder and asked, "Lydia, what did you see?"

She really hoped that Lydia didn't see the alpha.

"Something."

"Something like a mountain lion?" Olivia questioned softly.

Lydia nodded and turned to her with a bright smile. "A mountain lion!"

"Are you sure that's what you saw?" Olivia had to make sure.

"A mountain lion."

Olivia sighed and grabbed the stuff giraffe, holding it up in front of Lydia. "What's this?"

"A mountain lion!" Lydia smiled goofily.

"Okay, you're high," Olivia concluded, exhaling heavily. She couldn't exactly make sure Lydia didn't see anything if she wasn't even herself right now.

"I'm gonna go," Olivia told her cousin, standing up from her bed. "You should get some rest."

Lydia nodded and promptly face-planted into her pillow, her soft snores starting up immediately. Olivia shook her head, smiling, and went to leave, when Lydia's phone buzzed with a text message.

Olivia grabbed Lydia's iPhone and gasped when she saw what was already on the screen. There was a picture of the alpha—big, black, and disfigured with red eyes—jumping out of the video store.

So she did see the alpha, Olivia thought sadly.

She really wished she could keep Lydia out of all this. It was too dangerous.

Olivia left Lydia's room, keeping Lydia's phone, and went straight to her room. She popped a pain pill and sat on her bed, staring at the picture of the alpha.

What was she going to do?

-

-

The final bell of the day rang and Stiles practically sprinted from his Spanish class. It was torture without Olivia there and he was still worried about her. And, with the fact that he hadn't seen Scott at school at all, he was beginning to get restless.

His idiot best friend hadn't answered any of his text messages or calls, either.

He ripped his phone from his jeans and dialed Scott for the third time. Thankfully, he picked up.

"What?" Scott snapped at him.

"Finally!" Stiles exclaimed, accidently hitting the person walking down the hall next to him as he waved his arms excitedly. He gave them an apologetic look. "Have you been getting any of my texts?"

"Yeah, like all nine million of them," Scott answered.

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" he demanded. "Olivia and Lydia are totally M.I.A., Jackson looks like he's got a time-bomb inserted into his face, another random guy is dead, and you have to do something about it."

"Like what?"

"Something."

It was quiet on the other end of the call before Scott sighed. "Okay, I'll deal with it later."

As Scott hung up the call, Stiles let out a groan of frustration.

Shoving his phone back into his jeans, Stiles hustled out of the school. He intended on visiting Olivia to see how she was doing and give her the school assignments she had missed for the day. He knew how important her academics were to her, especially chemistry. He braved Mr. Harris' glare to get her extra work, so hopefully she'd be grateful enough to tell him what happened the night before.

Olivia's aunt answered the door with a bright smile and when Stiles told her why he was there, she perked up even more.

"That's so kind of you," Natalie gushed as she led him up the stairs to Olivia's room. "She didn't say anything but I knew she was worried about falling behind."

"I don't think she could ever fall behind," Stiles chuckled. "I'm pretty sure she's ahead of our teachers."

"Both of my girls are bright," Natalie bragged, the both of them coming to a stop outside the last door in the hallway. She knocked. "Liv, sweetheart, can I come in?"

"Yeah!" Oliva called, shocking Natalie and Stiles by how loud her voice was.

Natalie opened the door, revealing Olivia. She was lying upside down on the end of her bed, the top of her head brushing against her area rug.

"Honey, Stiles is here to see you," Natalie informed her niece, gesturing to the boy beside her.

Olivia's eyes widened when she saw Stiles waving at her. "Did you know Stiles rhymes with miles, files, and biles? Ooh, and Kyle!"

Natalie chuckled awkwardly as Stiles grinned in amusement. "I'm guessing she had some of her pain medication. You can go on in."

"Thanks," Stiles said graciously, shuffling into Olivia's room and looking around.

Olivia's room was large, the walls painted a light lavender. There were two doors that led to different rooms, a desk, a bookshelf, and a vanity all painted white. A pale-pink area rug was thrown on the hard-wood floor, matching the pale-pink, purple, and navy comforter covering her queen-sized bed. Everything was organized meticulously and there were pictures of Lydia, Jackson, Derek, and others pinned neatly on a cork board above her desk with a large painting of an elephant above her bed. What surprised him most was the two whole shelves dedicated to comic books and geeky knick-knacks, which included a Harry Potter wand collection and small replicas of Captain America's shield and Thor's hammer.

If he was honest, he didn't expect this when he pictured Olivia's room. Stiles wouldn't say that Olivia was cold, but he knew how much she kept her emotions to herself. In fact, it seemed like she kept a lot of things about her to herself. He would have never guessed that her room was borderline-girly and she was a huge geek like himself.

It surprised him, but it was a nice surprise.

"Why are you here?"

Stiles spun back around to face Olivia, who was still upside down, noticing that her eyes were already on him.

"I wanted to see if you were okay," he told her, shrugging off his backpack. "And, uh, I brought you the work you missed."

"Oh," Olivia scrambled off her bed, doing a messy roll onto the floor. She popped back to her feet before Stiles could help her and sat back down on her bed. "Thank you! I thought you came to find out what happened last night."

"Er," Stiles rubbed his head. "Actually..."

Olivia rolled her eyes, sobering up a little. "I don't wanna go over it all because I'm sure Derek will be here soon to ask for the full run-down, but I'll tell you some," she sat against her headboard and patted the space in front of her with her toes, gesturing for Stiles to sit.

Stiles rushed over to her bed, heart pounding because he had dreamed about being in Olivia's bed a thousand times—it wasn't the most ideal situation, but maybe he'd get there soon—and sat down, giving the petite brunette a grin.

"We went to get a movie, Hoochers, or—" she shook her head. "No, it was The Notebook, I think. I can't remember right now."

"Hoosiers?"

"Maybe, I don't know," Olivia admitted, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them. "Jackson and I went in the store and saw the dead guy. The alpha came in. End of story."

"That's it?" Stiles prodded, just to make sure.

"I'm pretty sure, Stiles," Olivia said, louder than intended, as she harshly rubbed her forehead, looking upset. "It's all fuzzy, I can't—"

"Hey, it's okay," Stiles said earnestly, leaning forward and pulling her hand away from her forehead. "Are you all right? Your aunt said you're on pain meds. Is it for that?" he gestured to the small butterfly bandage on her forehead.

"Yeah," Olivia gave him a shy smile, looking at her hand that was still in his. For some reason, she didn't pull away. "And a shelf fell on me, so..."

Stiles winced, horrified. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "my back is all bruised up."

"Wow, I'm sorry."

Olivia waved him off.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm more worried about Lydia, to be honest," Olivia admitted. She reached over to her nightstand and grabbed Lydia's phone, handing it to Stiles. "Look what I found on her phone."

Stiles stared at the picture, horrified. That was the alpha? That was what Olivia, Jackson, and Lydia saw? The alpha was terrifying and ugly at the same time.

"Wow," he murmured, handing the phone back to Olivia.

Olivia scoffed. "Yeah."

"I should call Scott," Stiles declared, looking back at the photo. "He'll want to know about this, right? Do you mind if I—?"

"Go ahead," Olivia shrugged. "Here, I'll send the picture to you so I can delete it on here."

"Okay," As Olivia deleted the picture, Stiles pulled his phone out and dialed Scott once again; he got his voicemail. "Hey, it's me again. Look, Olivia found something and we don't know what to do, okay? So, if you could turn your phone on right now, that'd be great."

He huffed and glanced at Olivia, noticing the small smile on her lips.

"Or else I'll kill you," he continued to leave Scott a message. "Do you understand me? I'm gonna kill you. I'm too upset to come up with a witty description about how exactly I'm gonna kill you, but—"

"Tell him you'll hang him by his toes and make him eat dog food," Olivia suggested, giggling to herself.

"That's kind of weird, Livvy, but not bad," Stiles admitted, going back to the voicemail. "Goodbye, Scott!"

Olivia giggled again, her eyes bright. "You sure showed him."

Stiles rolled his eyes but he couldn't help but chuckle. "Shut up."

-

An hour had passed since Stiles called Scott and they had yet to hear a response but they weren't exactly bothered by it. The pain medication in Olivia's system had waned, so she was more sober than before, and she and Stiles had started debating about math being more than just a way to calculate tips.

"I'm telling you, Stiles, almost everything you do involves math," Olivia declared. "Nurses use it. Scientists use it. Bartenders use it."

"You don't use math to write an essay," Stiles argued.

"It depends on what the essay is about."

"I'm just saying," Stiles raised his hands defensively, liking how he could easily get a rise out of her. "when I'm in the FBI, I probably won't use math except to pay tips."

"You're so frustrating!" Olivia exclaimed. "You know perfectly well that FBI agents use math!"

Stiles snickered. "Yeah, I do."

"That's what I thought—wait," she gave him a suspicious look. "are you messing with me?"

Stiles grinned. "You look very cute when you're angry."

Olivia gaped at him, a little amused—just a little—and grabbed the throw pillow next to her, whipping it at him. "Stiles!"

When Stiles laughed, catching the pillow before it hit his face, she couldn't help but join in.

A knock sounded from her door, causing them to calm down, and Natalie popped her head in. Sirius, Lydia and Olivia's corgi puppy, ran into the room and hopped onto the bed.

"Hey, sweetheart," she smiled, happy to see the happy look in her niece's eyes. "I'm heading to your parent-teacher conferences."

"Okay," Olivia smiled and stroked Sirius' back as he snuggled into her lap. "Tell Uncle Thomas I said hello."

"I will," Natalie grimaced, thinking about her ex-husband. "Stiles, are you staying?"

"Uh," Stiles looked at Olivia, who nodded. "Yeah, if you don't mind."

"No problem," Natalie smiled again. "Liv, order pizza if you get hungry. Lydia's still sleeping but make sure you get her something."

"Okay, Aunt Nat," Olivia waved. "Bye."

Natalie waved back and shut the door again.

"So," Stiles turned to the puppy in Olivia's lap. "Who's this?"

"This is Sirius," Olivia grinned. "Lydia wanted to name him Prada but she relented when I suggested Sirius. She said he was, indeed, a star."

"Sirius Black is my favorite Harry Potter character," Stiles commented, reaching forward to pet Sirius. His golden hair was so soft and fluffy it made him want to cry with joy.

Olivia beamed. "He's Lydia's favorite, too."

Stiles grinned back at her. "How old is he?"

"Almost a year."

Stiles' phone started ringing, the main theme from Star Wars, which startled Sirius. He apologized as the puppy yipped and jumped off Olivia's bed to cuddle up on the dog pillow in the corner.

"He startles easily."

"Sorry," Stiles saw that it was his dad calling him. He groaned and answered the phone. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey, where are you?"

"I'm at Olivia's house."

There was a pause, as though Noah couldn't believe what Stiles was saying. "Olivia Martin?"

"Why do you say that with such surprise?" Stiles asked, a little offended.

His dad knew how much he liked Olivia but did he think Stiles wouldn't have a shot with her?

"What? No, no, I'm not surprised," Noah said quickly. "Anyway, please tell me I'm gonna hear good news at this parent-teacher thing tonight."

"Eh, that depends on how you define good news," Stiles grimaced.

Noah sighed. "I define it as you getting straight 'A's' with no behavioral issues."

"Well, you might wanna rethink that definition," Stiles admitted. His grades were fine, of course, but he had some work to do in the behavioral department.

"'Nuff said," Noah said and Stiles could tell he was rolling his eyes. "Get home before curfew, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Bye."

Stiles sheepishly looked back at Olivia after he hung up. "Sorry, that was my dad."

"It's fine," she waved him off. "So, did you want to study, or...?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could help me out," Stiles grabbed his backpack and pulled out the files he snuck from his dad's office about the video store victim and the bus driver.

Olivia took them, reading over the names. "You stole these?"

"Stole, borrowed, same thing," Stiles shrugged. "I was going to try to see how they're connected."

"Like why the alpha went after both of them?"

"Exactly," Stiles nodded, seeing the small grimace on her face. "You don't have to, though. I know it might be hard."

She had seen the store employee's body, after all.

"No, it's fine," Olivia inhaled deeply. "I want to see how you do your detective thing."

"Well, prepare to be amazed, Livvy."

-

-

"Let me tell you, there's plenty to say about Lydia," Mrs. Everett, one of the sophomore English teachers, said, closing Lydia's student file as she faced Natalie and Thomas Martin.

Natalie and Thomas were the typical divorced couple; they fought almost every second they spent in each other's presence. It wasn't pleasant for anyone, especially Lydia and Olivia, who suffered from it the most.

Thomas Martin scoffed. "Did I not predict this?"

"Oh, here we go," Natalie sighed, rolling her eyes. "Total nuclear meltdown as usual."

"What is it?" Thomas asked Mrs. Everett. "Is it her grades, concentration issues, erratic behavior?" he punctuated his question by glaring at Natalie.

"I'm not the one who told her she had to choose who she wants to live with," Natalie snapped at him before facing Mrs. Everett. "As if that wouldn't warp a sixteen-year-old girl."

Thomas shook his head. "Just tell us what the problem is."

"I wasn't aware there was a problem," Mrs. Everett said sternly. "Academically, Lydia's is one of the finest student's I've ever had. Her AP classes push her GPA above a 5.0. I'd actually like to have her IQ tested. Socially, she displays outstanding leadership qualities. I mean, she's a real leader."

"Okay," Thomas looked surprised by Lydia's accomplishments. "How about Olivia?"

"Olivia is a fine student," Mrs. Everett declared. "After Lydia, she has the highest grade point average in her grade, which is amazing considering the fact she skipped her fourth-grade year. Mr. Harris noted that she shows initiative in all of his classes and has great promise in the sciences. With all she's been through, she's turned out to be a great young woman."

Natalie smiled, glad to know that her girls were doing so well with their academics.

Across the school, Noah Stilinski sat across from Coach Finstock, watching as he rummaged through the numerous student files on his desk.

"Stiles, that's right," Coach said absent-mindedly. "I thought Stiles was his last name."

"His last name is Stilinski," Noah sighed.

Coach raised his eyebrows at the sheriff in disbelief. "You named your kid Stiles Stilinski?"

"No, that's just what he likes to be called," Noah said. God forbid that anyone knew that Stiles' real name was Mieczyslaw.

"Oh, well, I like to be called cupcake," Coach commented. "What's his first name?"

Noah reached over Coach's desk, brushing off another files from Stiles' and tapped the tab where Stiles' real name was written. Coach gaped at it, his eyes wide.

"Wow, that's a form of child abuse," he said, amazed. "I don't—I don't even know how to pronounce that."

"It was his mother's father's name."

"Wow, you must really love your wife," Coach scoffed.

Noah pursed his lips sadly, reminded of the fact that Claudia was no longer there with him. "Yeah, I did."

Coach got the hint. "This just became incredibly awkward."

"Hey," Noah leaned forward in his seat. "what do you say we get to the conference part of this conference, cupcake?"

"I like your thinking," Coach pointed at him with his lacrosse net pen, opening up Stiles' file. "So, Stiles. Great kid, zero ability to focus. Super smart, never takes advantage of his talents."

Noah furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for his final question on his midterm exam, he detailed the entire history of the male circumcision," Coach informed him.

Noah shifted uncomfortably, cursing Stiles' ADHD for what seemed like the millionth time. "Well, I mean, it does have...historical significance, right? I mean—"

Coach cut him off. "I teach economics."

Noah sighed, his cheeks burning. "Ah, crap."

-

-

"Have you found anything?" Olivia asked, peeking over at Stiles.

Stiles shook his head. "Not really. I mean, the guy used to be an insurance agent before he was a bus driver."

"This guy was arrested for arson a couple years ago," Olivia looked back at the file in front of her. "That doesn't seem to be related, though."

"So we have no idea why the alpha targeted them," Stiles huffed in frustration, closing the bus driver's file.

"Well, sometimes two people don't make a pattern, right?" Olivia shrugged.

"Right, three's a pattern," Stiles agreed. When he caught the curious look on Olivia's face, he added, "One's an incident, two's a coincidence, three's a pattern. It's something me and my dad say..."

"Oh," Olivia grinned. "Clever."

"Yeah, I—" Stiles paused as his phone rang. He scowled when he saw that it was Scott. "Nice of you to finally call me back—"

"Stiles, it's your dad!" Scott said hurriedly.

"Wait, what?" Stiles shook his head. "What about my dad?"

"He was hit by a car in the school parking lot. Get down to the hospital, okay?"

Stiles paled considerably, his heart racing. "I'm on my way."

(Gif is not mine)

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

The Bad Guy (1)

Bucky x fem!Reader

CHAPTER 1: THE FAKEOUT

Series: A Bad Guy ruins Bucky’s day. But turns out it’s the bad guy he needs to seek help from after all. New York may not have changed much for him, but there are certain things he is discovering to be quite new!

Chapter warnings: swearing.

A/N: @writing-prompt-s​ once gave a prompt last year that stuck with me…I don’t remember the exact wordings but it had something to do with the reader/writer being the villain having a crush on the hero, always finding excuses (or crimes) to meet them. One day they are getting their ass beat and you decide to jump in and save the day. This one is same but with a liiiiiiiitle twist

Word Count: There are times I wish I was a llama. or a cat. Now is one of those times.

“You can do it. You. Can. Do. It. You’re the man. You’re the freaking man. Yes. Yes. You got it. You absolutely got it.”

“You okay, man?” Bucky had to ask.

“You absolutely don’t got it. I can’t do it, man. I’m outta here.”

Bucky grabbed Scott’s arm before that guy could rush back to the SUV they had come in. As much as he wanted to kick this sweaty ex-thief out of here, he knew the plan wasn’t going to work in Scott’s absence. He needed a guy to make him seem legit. At least that’s what Natasha had told him.

“Calm down,” Bucky reassured the man who was sweating tennis balls by now, “you just need to show the ID. Natasha has taken care of the rest and I would be doing the talking. Okay?”

Scott was half-listening by the time Bucky had finished. “Huh? Yeah! Yeah! Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool!”

Bucky could empathise on some level with Scott. After all, it was weird for an ex-con to visit a prison as a fake lawyer while trying to get a felon out of there under the noses of the authority. 

The plan was pretty simple. Arrange a meeting with that woman whom Bucky had met earlier, gain her trust, get her out of jail under the pretence of getting her to help with an unsolved case and find out the location and identity of the people behind the theft of Tony’s precious painting.

Simple.

Then why was Bucky’s back feeling so wet whenever a humid wind blew at the opening of every rusty door in the maximum-security prison?

The room was covered in cameras in all corners. To Bucky’s satisfaction, Natasha already told him and Scott they did not record any conversations for lawyer-client confidentiality- so any conversation that was about to happen was going to stay between these three. The musty smell of the room was somehow familiar to both of them, bringing mixed feelings to the surface- to which they barely had time to react when a figure in orange jumpsuit walked in, forcing all their attention on it.

“Hey boys!” You greeted the party, already recognising Bucky from the rendezvous you two had a few days ago. “Ay!! You’re that beat cop no one listened to that day!”

Bucky did not know how to react to that. He was not really expecting their interaction to go this way. Scott, on the other hand, was a little relieved to have your attention glued on anyone but him.

“Oh, right! I told you we’d be having the conversation after I get processed,” you added with a tone of realisation, “Wow, I didn’t know you were so into that robbery!”

You dragged the chair out with your leg and sat on it, legs spread wide- keeping comfort over societal mannerisms. Resting your cuffed hands on the table you gave a knowing smirk to Bucky, who was trying to figure out what exactly was going on behind that viciously delicious smile. “Or is it something else that is intriguing you?” You raised a brow. "Did I use that right? Intriguing you? Something that you're intrigued by?"

"That sounds better," Scott blurted out, regretting it the very second because now your suspicion-filled eyes were all for him.

"You…" you narrowed your eyes at Scott, making the man sit straight in his chair.

"He's my lawyer," Bucky was quick to dive in, "I mean, he's the lawyer we-I... he is interested in represen...He’s a lawyer." For the first time in his life, Bucky was glad Scott and Sam had forced him to watch Law and Order.

“...ok...kay.”

"Scott. Scott Lang," he introduced himself, bringing his hand forward for a shake.

“You have the eyes of a thief,” you stated while Scott’s hand was still in the air, making the poor man slowly take it back while his pale face looked at Bucky with an ‘I told you so’ expression. “No wonder you’re a lawyer.”

Next moment, you slumped into the chair, looking a little offended at something Bucky did. Or so he thought. “Did I hurt you?”

Bucky blinked at you before his brain smacked his accelerating heart to give something instead of just sitting there. “I’m sorry?”

“Did I hurt you the last time we met? I get that I have some kinda...powers but I don’t just throw them around. We could have had a conversation over some prison coffee. You didn’t have to bring your friend here.”

It took three seconds at minimum for Bucky’s brows to shoot up and his lips to crack wide in a smile. “W-what? No! He’s not here for me. He’s here for you. We’re getting you out of here.”

It was hard to put a word into the expression you just gave. Your eyes shifted between the two men while your open lips were shut and your face tilted a little towards the door.

“Uhhhhh-” was the only thing coming out of your mouth till your body got up from the chair and your cuffed hands pressed together towards your company- “listen, cop guy...man. I really meant it in a casual way when I said we’ll ‘talk later’. I don’t really know how much you’ve read into this. I mean, I would say ‘at least buy me dinner first’ but I am kinda scared as to where that might lead us. Good, God! Now I’m wondering what would you have done if I’d said something more like ‘hey, let’s f-”

“NO!” Bucky nearly jumped off his seat, his hands over the table trying to stop your words from coming out from a safe distance. “I’m not getting you out of here because I like you-” he stopped right when he heard himself, watching your curious eyes witness his mouth play him like a ten-cent flute- “no, I mean I like you but not in that kind of...what I mean to say is I know why you tried to steal that painting. I found out from my sources that these paintings are being used by this new mafia around the world supplying narcotics and codes on the trafficked girls and boys to their buyers for bids. And I was hoping you could help us catch the people behind the...painting.”

Bucky was cursing himself right and left, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks at nearly messing it up. Why did she have to be this accurate? His inner voice mocked him before smacking him in the head and calling him a jock.

“I don’t know if you remember but I was caught by you guys while threatening the New Yorkers.”

“While you were trying to help Ste-Rogers. Captain Rogers. And no one caught you. You surrendered yourself.”

“I hate cops. I can’t work with them.”

“You won’t be working with them. You’ll be working with us. Me and a couple of my friends.”

“I don’t work for free. And before you put a price tag on my work, remember that I am inside this prison because I want to stay here. For now.”

“How about a date with Steve Rogers?”

“Dude, you can’t put a price on my-wait what?”

“I’ll ask him to go out with you if you catch those sons of bitches.”

Maybe it was the serenade playing from somewhere inside the prison. Or maybe it was the sun strolling in from the windows. Or maybe it was the mention of his best friend that made your pupils go wider, your fingers work over the skin on your arm, doodling some invisible hearts with a bitchface before you straightened from the table and the sound from your cuffs nearly made Scott fall off his chair.

“I don’t work with supes. They disgust me. Especially Tony Snark and his redhead sister and that C-grade Legolas. I’m out.”

“We won’t be working with them. But I can pull a few strings to get you that date. I promise. And I’m sure Steve...Rogers would be more than willing to go out with you if there is one less bad guy walking out on the streets.”

“...you better not be joking about this-”

“James Barnes.”

“James. Because if you are, I will drive a monster truck into your house, take away your pet and fuck your mother till she forgets her own name.”

“My mother’s dead,” he was quick to add while Scott gasped at the audacity of this bitch- you; you were the bitch.

“Your girlfriend, then,” you simply shrugged. Bucky’s brain straight away flashed to a two-second fantasy of you and Natasha in her room, on her bed.

“Bold of you to assume he has a girlfriend,” Scott chortled till he could see Bucky’s Winter Soldier parts staring at him with all the coldness.

.

It wasn’t in his nature to give a place to bad things inside his Bucky heart. It definitely wasn’t in the now peaceful Winter Soldier’s nature to peek from inside Bucky and stare with stars in his eyes at the woman coming out in her shirt and jeans topped by a leather jacket. She’s bad, his mind kept ringing the gong, real bad. And when that wasn’t enough, she put on those aviators to shield her eyes from the harsh noon sun, walking towards him with the strut that said she was woman enough to grab someone by the balls if need be. You’ll get yourself killed by a woman, Barnes, his mind went off again.

“No, I won't,” he muttered out loud.

“What?” Scott asked.

“What?”

Bucky tried to ignore him, his eyes stuck on you as you came and stood by them.

“Keys,” you ordered, watching Bucky fish his pockets without breaking eye contact and handing the keys of the Land Rover to you. “Let’s go.”

Scott grabbed Bucky by the arm to pull him closer. “Dude! She has the keys!”

“...okay? Why are we whispering?”

“Wh-What are we gonna do if she tries to do something...evil!”

“Like what?”

“Like I don’t know, throw us off a cliff! Or drive us into a wall. Or worse, go over the speed limit in the city!!”

“Relax! I’m here,” Bucky reassured before opening the door to the back seat of the car for him. “I got you.”

Hopping in and sitting next to you, he noticed for the first time how you smelled like a pleasant mixture of spring and citrus.

“What cologne is that?” you called out from nowhere while turning on the engine, turning to look at Bucky.

“Uhhh….it’s an aftershave. For men.” He nodded, cursing himself instantly for adding that last bit. Of course, it’s for men, you twat!

“Smells nice,” you complimented before turning out of the parking spot.

“I’m glad you’re on board with this,” Bucky stated, trying to undo the mess he made a few seconds ago, “I wasn’t trying to overstep when I-we decided to get you to help us out.”

You chuckled, shifting gear.

“Oh, sweetheart! One, I loved this isn’t an automatic. Those are for weak testicled-babies. And two, you clearly misinterpreted me in there. When I said I was not expecting you to bail me outta jail for a date, I wasn’t grossed out by it, darling. I liked it.” You leaned a little closer to Bucky- having a glorious view of his pupils go wide like oceans with endless pits- to end him with one last whisper and wink. “In a very kinky way.”

And just as the car swerved out to the wide road, Scott could feel the air leave his lungs. “What have we done,” he whispered to himself, questioning all that was about to come.

[ongnable]

upperclass(men)

“Does it still bother you? The fact that they didn’t even wait to accuse us?”

“Hm…? No, I was just distracted by the balloons.” Clear reds and cyan blues were made sunset orange and leafy green by the transparent yellow ones in front. Very pretty. Hopefully distracting enough to clear your mind.

“You know you can’t lie to me. You can try, but even if I didn’t have my abilities, I’d still see right through you.”

’Why?’ you’d wanted to ask. Instead, it’s “how?” that comes out.

“Because I care about you.” 

Because I like you, I’d obviously pay attention to you

{ supernatural au } kdn | bjy | pwj | osw | hmh | hsw

a/n: haetae sungwoon~! think something along the lines of haetae in god of high school and hoozuki. sungwoon x reader bicker like an old married couple.

“You two students at the institute?” The vendor gestured at your sharply cut uniforms, attempting to make small talk as he took your orders, the monochrome fabrics standing out amongst the swathes of playground coloured clothe whilst Sungwoon and you shared a knowing look.

There were children that stood up to your waist openly staring at every movement – fascinated. Their parents wary of every step.

Though magical creatures didn’t look different in their humanoid form, something about the two of you would’ve still felt different to them. Your aura, your scent, your touch, or something else. 

There was no point hiding it – to change out of your uniforms – when the Peace Treaty required you to wear your identities around human settlements anyway. At least this way, they’d know you were part of a neutral facility.

Luckily, the ice cream seller didn’t seem to ask it mockingly, just curious. Perhaps not having seen many of you during the busier weekend periods. 

Alas, final year students couldn’t afford wasting school days out and the younger ones had to stay on campus – no roaming around unless chaperoned. The round trip there and back took up a good portion of the day, after all.

“Yes.” Sungwoon answered politely, shielding you by his side as the high schoolers behind popped up to ask for two ice creams over your shoulders. The vendor busying himself with preparing the four cones.

He’d handed you the ice cream and ushered you away from the store before the two of you were abruptly stopped by a shout- 

“Yah, you thieving freaks, you didn’t pay!!”

Snickering whispers surrounded the two of you in seconds, and you felt Sungwoon stiffen a growl. Constricting the guttural sound inside him before he turns around and lifts a neatly groomed brow (damn him and his perfect skincare routines for making you self-conscious at a moment like this). 

Scanning the crowd, you could see the fine golden mist surrounding him even if it was invisible to the non-supernatural around you. His hair taking on a richer vermillion tone as his gaze settled on a woman cradling a baby. 

You recognized her as the person paying the next counter down.

“Ma’am?”

“I… yes?” Hypnotized, she followed Sungwoon’s line of sight, back at the vendors.

Silence filled the normally boisterous area as parents told their children to be quiet and teenagers adopted hushed voices. People around were now even more cautious to approach the two of you, a circle in the crowd forming as if you had taken the woman and her toddler hostage. You wanted to throw up.

This had happened before too. 

Blaming the supernatural for crimes they didn’t commit, for natural disasters caused by human negligence, for the evil desires that arouse naturally that they didn’t want to acknowledge. But you, yourself, had never been so publicly condemned.

“Won’t you help us out?” It had sounded like a request, but you knew better than to doubt a haetae’s abilities, strengthened even more in his human form. 

As a mythical beast, Sungwoon’s true form took up too much spiritual energy to maintain – usually at the cost of his other abilities; but in this state, it was pressurized in a stabilized core – as if all the power in his true form were to be laser thin and pin pointed.

Walking over, the young mother tilted her head at the high schoolers from before, shaking her head in their direction and dropping her eyes in disappointment. But disappointment in what – you didn’t know.

“Those two walked off before paying,” she voiced what she’d seen without any of her earlier meekness, courage withstanding even when one of the boys stepped forward, fists balled and her baby began crying; only to be stopped when Sungwoon placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Let her finish.”

“They told the part-timer who changed shifts with you that they were with those two, they said that the institute students should pay for them since human taxes were used to help fund the school.” 

It was your anger this time that made everything look hazy. 

“Said that the supernatural should stay with the supernatural instead of mingling amongst humans.”

Sighing, the fire in your breath didn’t cool until you reached Sungwoon’s side, his body warm, calming, next to you. And he’s smiling and cordial as he apologizes to the vendors for the misunderstanding. As if he did something wrong.

“Let’s go. They’ll sort it out. It wasn’t anything serious.” He pulls you with him towards the ferris wheel. Somewhere you could be alone. Away. Above the from the crowds.

“Does it still bother you? The fact that they didn’t even wait to accuse us?”

“Hm…? No, I was just distracted by the balloons.” Clear reds and cyan blues, made sunset orange and leafy green by the transparent yellow ones in front. Very pretty. Hopefully distracting enough to clear your mind.

“You know you can’t lie to me. You can try, but even if I didn’t have my abilities, I’d still see right through you.”

’Why?’ you’d wanted to ask. Instead, it’s “how?” that comes out.

“Because I care about you.” 

Because I like you, I’d obviously pay attention to you

“It’s just… hard to not be bothered.” One or two accusations you could deal with… but with crowds, it was always difficult. You also hated how fast he was to apologize. To admit to a wrong he didn’t commit. But you didn’t have to tell him that.

“Look at it this way… we’re lucky that we have humanoid forms. Imagine how they would have treated us if we had to wear modified uniforms.” 

Modified to fit tails, or four legs, or wings and scales. Creatures such as centaurs rarely left the institute for such reasons. They didn’t return with good stories to tell. 

“They say that we’re monsters, as if being human is the ultimate compliment. Calling other races monstrous, as if they’re not monsters themselves. They really think being human makes them humane.”

You knew it was one of the reasons Sungwoon preferred to remain in his human form even though it was more tiring. You gripped his hand tighter.

“What an eventful first date.”

“Eventful… that’s a good word. Very neutral. You’re doing great with this ‘politically correct’ thing.”

“Well, at least one race should try. And the non-magical mob just now clearly wasn’t very accommodating.”

“Did you know? Apparently first dates should always be at the amusement park.” 

That’s one you haven’t heard before. The redhead says it with a determined look on his face, and you can tell he’s trying hard to change the sullen mood as he leads you towards the ride, the two of you settle in line steadily and without trouble. 

No one seeming to mind approaching the uniforms when faced with the threat of getting their place cut in the queue.

“Why?”

“That’s what Daehwi said-” Sungwoon hurried to explain when he saw your unbelieving face. “You never run out of things to do at the amusement park and you’re forced to talk while you’re in line! That’s what he said!”

Stifling a laugh, you could definitely imagine it. 

The 101 dorm boys lazing in their ridiculously luxurious building (a donation courtesy of the magical community’s royalty), eating whatever unhealthy snack they could get their hands on (or was it paws on?) while complaining about their respective love lives like girls in the changing room.

“Is that what you talk about with the underclassmen? Where to go for first dates?”

“He’s not just any underclassmen! He’s Lee Daehwi! You adore Daehwi!”

“I adore him because he’s Daehwi,” you explain with a flick of your wrist, as if the action was synonymous with the sassy young wizard. “You’re very brave to follow his dating advice.”

Provided that while the spell caster was indeed popular, it didn’t exactly translate well into his love life.

“It’s not like I had anyone better to go to. All the guys back in the dorm collectively share one brain cell.”

“You included?”

“Me, excluded. You didn’t let me finish.” 

Tutting, he leans back, the rails of the queue you’re standing in shifting back slightly at the weight before getting stuck into a new crook in the concrete. 

“Used to think that it belonged to Jinyoung – but he’s consistently proving me wrong these days. And don’t even get me started on Minhyun! All the smart ones are the ones that apparently crack the hardest. I really worry for the future of our world.” Sungwoon sighs, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d be tricked into thinking that he was legitimately concerned.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Wha- how am I the ridiculous one?! I had a girl I liked and I pursued her like a normal person!” You had to give it to him. Compared to unconventional courting methods of the dorm 101 occupants, Sungwoon was doing an exemplary job. 

Stellar even.

“You’re still pursuing.” You corrected. 

Smug at the appalled look on the mythical beast’s face before he began to form a pout. How he looked so cuddly and cute in his human form, but fierce and intimidating in his other confused and fascinated you to no end. 

“So you don’t get to make fun of the younger ones.” 

“I didn’t expect the haetae to look... Well. Like you.”

“What? To look normal?” His mouth is pursed to one side of his face, but his expression amused.

He’s rounded corners, lilted laughter, petit statute and fluffy cloud-like hair. All the makings of a pretty fairy. He didn’t need to know that though.

“No.” It was your turn to find laughter. “To look handsome.”

The unexpected flush that merged his face with his reddened hairline did nothing to mask the mythical beast’s cuteness, and the roundness of his cheeks looked even more prominent as he presses his lips together.

“Gods. You’re so-“ 

Tilting your head to the side, you wait for what he has to say since words seem to have failed him as he just continues to stare. 

“You’re so embarrassing!” Sungwoon muttered, looking away.

“Embarrassing for me? Or embarrassing for you? I’m not the one that can’t take a compliment.”

Miffed, or flustered. Maybe a bit of both, Sungwoon glanced at you with his face is still turned.

“Well, I’m sorry not all of us are so forward.” Blunt. Or just shameless. You didn’t mind either.

“And I’m sorry not all of us are subtle.”

Oh, how the tables had turned. Now he was the one that consistently made you blush. You still can’t put a finger on when exactly it had started, what day of the week had it been and of which month did he start becoming the one to make you the shy one?

You’re just glad he doesn’t seem to realize it himself either.

“You could always rectify that. Change our status so that I do get to tease the younger ones. Maybe we should even do that selfie announcement thing where we time our Facebook status change a minute within one another and have matching display pics.”

You hoped he wasn’t for saying that you should really do that. 

“We’ll be the ones get teased for doing ‘old people stuff’ by the kids then!” 

Who even used Facebook anymore!

“I hate how you didn’t even bother to hedge around the fact that we’re getting old – gotta give them something to tease us back for though,” he shrugged. “They’ll call foul if we don’t.”

“Gods above and below, you’re such a hyung. One minute you complain about them and the next you plan to give them something to make fun of you for just so its reciprocated. I don’t know whether to be impressed or worried!”

“You can be both. Both are fine. Just give me twice the amount of attention.”

“You’re incorrigible. I’m glad your kids know that you’re that way.”

“Their your kids too!” 

Reminding you of the fact that you practically adopted the savage JinHwi duo the day you were assigned as their mentor when they transferred halfway through the term. He nudged you by the shoulders. 

“And I’m lucky you have a habit of being that way too.”

“Oi!” You nudged back.

“It’s fine. No worries. I like you even though you’re like that. I don’t trust anybody else to handle you.” 

Sungwoon let go of your hand as the two of you stepped into the ferris wheel capsule.

“Not to mention; I’m good-looking, kind, and very good at catching liars and thieves. By extension, I also hate liars, so I’m a great judge of character. What’s more, I’m also taller than Guanli-“

“I thought you hated liars!”

“Taller than Guanlin once I transform. You never let me finish!

“Guanlin’s still a growing boy!” The haetae were one of the largest creatures throughout any of the realms, so that was a given. But transformations for mythical beasts were unpredictable, and given Guanlin’s race…

“Well, for the time being, his mythical form is still smaller! And what did I say? They’re as much your kids as they are mine. Even while we’re on our date – they’re still interrupting!” 

You want to say that he’s the one that’s consistently bringing them up. But decide that it’s probably better to not let him know just how much he cares, lest he actively avoids the subject.

By now, a smile had stuck on, but you purposefully let it drop a bit, almost guilty when you saw the way Sungwoon’s expression flickered to confusion. “Thanks, you know,”

“You’re welcome,” comes out quick, like an automatic reaction,

“But I still think eventful isn’t the right word. Being politically correct isn’t really my thing.” That was Jisung’s thing. 

The two of you may be final year students at the institute – but you were still young. What was the point to dwell on such things? 

Leaning forward, you whispered lowly; as if planning a much more elaborate prank on the others than what you actually propose.

“Also - let’s tell the others that we had an awful first date.”

“Why the hell would we do that?” 

He stood, and the capsule swung back and forth. The sky coming into view one moment, and the ground the next. People smaller than ants from where you sat.

“Passengers, please stay seated during the duration of the ride. Thank you for your cooperation and we hope you enjoy your time with us tonight.” The loud speaker announced as the ferris wheel came to a temporary halt.

“Cooperation my ass.” Rolling his eyes, the haetae sat back down. Visibly annoyed.

“Didn’t Daehwi tell you?” 

You really wanted to reach out and pinch his cheeks when he sulked. Evidently, Daehwi didn’t tell him. 

“Awful first dates don’t count. You owe me another first date, Sungwoon-sshi.”

masterlist

[bechloeislegit]

PITCH PERFECT HORROR WEEK DAY 5

(#PPHW5) - Alien Abduction

Beca isn't sure what happened. One minute she was watching the ex-black witches go through the portal door and the next Flora had grabbed her and dragged her through with her. When she looked back, the door was gone.

Beca tore her arm away from Flora. "What the hell?"

"I didn't think that would work," Flora said with a laugh.

"Why did you bring her here?," Meadow said.

"She's the Chosen One," Flora said. "If anyone can get us out of here, it's her. We can use her."

"You forget you have no powers," Beca said with a smug smile.

"No, but you do," Flora said. "We can help each other. You have the powers, and we have the knowledge. If we work together, we can all be back home before anyone can miss you."

"I can get myself out of here," Beca said. "What makes you think I'll take you with me?"

"Because," Flora said smugly. "It's like you said. You're not evil, and you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you left us here."

"Where exactly is here anyway?," Beca asked ignoring Flora's comments.

"I, uh, I don't know," Meadow said.

"It's kind of a weird looking place," Flora said.

"I don't think we're on Earth," another voice piped in. "Look over there."

Seven heads turn, and their eyes got wide. "Holy shit," Beca exclaimed. "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know," Meadow said with a tremor in her voice. "But they're headed this way."

"Quick," Beca said looking around. "Hide behind those orange rock things."

The women all ran and hid amongst the rocks. Beca stuck her head up to see what was going on. She quickly ducked back down when the horde stopped as if searching for them. They could hear some weird clicking noises but had no clue as to what it was. Beca breathed a sigh of relief when it sounded as if the things were moving away.

"Thank God," Beca whispered aloud.

Suddenly, she was snatched up as if she weighed nothing. She saw the other women being grabbed as well. They started screaming and squirming and then there was quiet. That was the last thing Beca remembered.

~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~

Chloe and Melissa sat on the basement floor with their backs against the wall just staring at the center of the pentagram where they last saw Beca. Each lost in their thoughts about the girl they loved. Not knowing where she was; or even if she was alive.

Aubrey, Stacie, Amy, and Sky stood near the stairs watching the pair.

"We have to do something," Stacie said.

"Beca's the Chosen One," Amy said. "Do you think she can make her way back on her own?"

"I believe she can," Sky said. "But, she has yet to learn how to tap into her powers. We need to figure out a way to tell her to repeat the spell wherever she is and call the portal door to her. She is the only one who can open it. I hate to say it, but she may need the others to get her back. Which means they will probably insist that she bring them back with her or they won't help her."

"God, this is so messed up," Stacie said. "Do you think Flora planned this? To grab Beca and take her with them?"

"I don't think so," Sky said. "She had no clue as to where Beca would be. I think she saw an opportunity and took it."

Aubrey let out a heavy sigh and walked over to where Chloe was sitting. She knelt next to her.

"Come on, Chlo," Aubrey said quietly. "You should come upstairs and get some rest. It can't be good for you to be sitting down here like this."

"I can't, Brey," Chloe said as a tear fell. "I have to be here when Beca comes back."

"Sweetie, we don't know when that might be," Aubrey said. "She'll want you to be at your best when she sees you again."

Chloe just let the tears fall and remained where she was. Melissa reached out and grabbed Chloe's hand.

"Aubrey's right, Chloe," Melissa said. "I want Beca back as much as you do, but sitting here is not going to bring her back. We need to be proactive and work on this side to find a to reach out to her."

Chloe wiped her eyes and nodded. "Okay," Chloe said. "What do we need to do?"

"I have an idea," Melissa said and took a deep breath, then let it out. "But, I'll need to speak to Warren, Beca's father."

~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~

Beca stirred awake. She looked around and saw the other women stirring as well. She shook her head to clear it and looked around once more. They were in some kind of enclosure. Beca stood and walked over to the wall and touched it. She felt a small shock and pulled her hand back quickly.

"What is this place?," Meadow asked looking around.

"I don't know," Beca said. "The walls have a current running through them. I got a small shock when I touched it."

Suddenly a door opened that wasn't there before. Everyone turned to watch as three of the alien things came into the room.

"Ladies," the first alien said. "Welcome."

"You speak our language," Meadow said. "How?"

"We have seen your kind before," the alien said. It then turned to the other two and made some weird, guttural type sounds, and they left.

"Where are we?," Flora asked.

"We're are told you Earth beings call it Mars," the alien said.

"So, you're Martians?," Beca asked. "And, you're telling us that we have been abducted by aliens?"

"Actually," the alien said, and suddenly he looked like Jesse Swanson. "We are whatever we want to be."

Beca's eyes widened, and she gasped. "Jesse? What? How?"

"We can tap into your memories and become someone who would make you more comfortable," the alien said.

"So, why are you holding us prisoner?," Meadow asked.

"It is to protect us," the alien said. "From beings like you. We have found Earth beings to be very…voilent and have tried on several occasions to attack us."

"Could you turn into someone else?," Beca asked as she found herself staring at the alien Jesse. "You're freaking me out."

The alien then became an older woman who looked a lot like Meadow.

"Mom?," Meadow said as she stared at the woman.

"This is all fun," Flora said. "But, we need to get back to where we came from."

"How did you get here?," the alien asked.

"We came through a portal," Beca told him.

"We have heard mention of this portal," the alien told them. "There are others like you here."

"You have other witches?," Meadow asked.

"Yes," the alien said. "They are in other enclosures. They have tried to -" The alien was cut off by a loud commotion happening outside.

The alien turned back to his original form and ran out to see what was happening. Flora and the banished witches ran out behind him.

Beca stayed where she was. She did not feel well and put her hands to her head. She felt as if her head was going to explode. That was all she remembered as he body fell limply to the ground.

~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~

"Why do you need to talk to Beca's father?," Chloe asked.

"I can work up a spell to tap into Beca's mind," Melissa said. "Let her know what to do to get back. I need her father's blood to do it."

"Why?," Stacie asked.

"She is part of him and part of me," Melissa said. "If I combine our blood and use someone who is very close to Beca we can reach her telepathically."

"Can't we just teleport her back?," Chloe asked.

"No," Melissa said. "Her body would have to remain there."

"Use Chloe," Aubrey said. "There is no one closer to Beca than her. And if Beca will listen to anyone, it's Chloe."

Chloe looked wide-eyed at Aubrey. She thought about it and realized that Aubrey was right. She was close to Beca, and she was also a witch.

"I'll do it," Chloe said.

"I'll go talk to Warren," Melissa said. "This should be a fun conversation."

~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~

"I think she's coming around." Beca heard a voice and thought she was dreaming.

"Chloe?"

"It's Meadow," Meadow said. "You've been out for a while. Can you sit up?"

Beca nodded and, with the help of Meadow managed to sit up. She blinked her eyes a couple of times to regain her focus and looked around. She was laying in a bed in a room with several other beds set up.

"Where are the aliens?," Beca asked.

"Aliens?," Meadow said. "What aliens?"

"The ones who brought us here," Beca said. "The Martians."

Flora and Meadow looked at each other with confusion on their faces.

"Some of the other banished witches brought us here," Flora said.

"But, there were aliens," Beca said as she sat straighter. "They could tap into our memories and change into someone we know. One of them turned into my ex-boyfriend and your mother."

"Beca," Meadow said softly. "You and Flora fell when you came through the portal. You hit your head and have been out for several hours. You must have been dreaming."

"What?," Beca said. "Wow, it seemed so real." She put her hand to her head and felt a bump. "I dreamt all that? About being abducted by aliens?"

"It would appear so," Meadow said with a small laugh. "Aliens? Really?"

"Yeah, well," Beca said somewhat embarrassed.

A door opened, and two women and two men walked through carrying trays of food.

"We thought you all might be hungry," one of the men said. "I'm Daniel. This is Michael, Dianna, and Victoria. Ah, I see the young one is awake."

"It's Beca," Beca told him. "Who are you?"

"We are like you," Daniel said. "Banished witches."

"I wasn't banished," Beca said. "I was dragged here unwillingly."

"She is the Chosen One," Flora said with a crazed look in her eye. "She can help us get back home. We are going to teach her how to do that."

~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~

The conversation with Beca's father went better than Melissa expected. He was willing to do whatever was necessary to help get Beca back. And that his how he found himself in the basement of the Bellas house standing in the middle of a pentagram with his ex-wife and Beca's best friend, Chloe.

"What do I need to do?," Warren asked nervously.

"I will need to cut your hand so it will bleed," Melissa explained. "I will do the same to myself and Chloe. You and I will then join hands and have our mingled blood drip onto Chloe's. She should then be able to mentally reach Beca and tell her what she needs to do to get back here."

"Okay," Warren said. "Let's do this."

"Chloe," Melissa said looking at the redhead. "Are you ready? You need to tell Beca to get somewhere alone and repeat the spell she used to open the portal here."

"I'm ready," Chloe said.

"Everyone, please take your places," Melissa said.

Stacie, Aubrey, and Amy stood on the corners of the pentagram as they did before. A fourth witch, another Water Witch, stood in Chloe's place. Once everyone was set, Melissa took a small dagger and made the cuts. She took Warren's hand, and Chloe held her's under them as the blood dripped into her blood. Melissa gave her a nod and Chloe closed her eyes.

~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~

"Beca," Chloe said. "Beca, can you hear me?"

"Chloe?," Beca muttered looking around.

"I am reaching out to you telepathically," Chloe said. "I am in your head. Can you hear me?"

"Yes," Beca said to herself. "I, I can hear you. Can you hear me? This feels weird. Um, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Chloe said. "How are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Beca said. "I have a bump on my head from when I fell into the portal with Flora."

"You need to hurry, Chloe," Melissa said. "The connection won't last long."

Chloe had her eyes closed but nodded to let Melissa know she heard her.

"I need you to find a place where you can be alone," Chloe told Beca. "Once you're alone, you need to repeat the spell you used to open the portal. It should summon the portal door to you, and you should be able to get back here."

"Really?," Beca said. "Are you sure it will work? I needed you, Stacie, Aubrey, and Amy to help last time."

"You are the Chosen One," Chloe told her and Beca could picture her smile in her head. "You have the power; trust in yourself. You can do it."

"Okay," Beca said. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too," Chloe said. "Once you're back, can we talk? About us?"

"Yes, I'd like that," Beca said. "And, Chloe?"

"Yes, Beca," Chloe said.

"In case this doesn't work, I-"

"Don't talk like that," Chloe interrupted. "You have to believe so that it will work. I have to go now. I'll see you soon."

"Chloe, wait," Beca said. "I just want to say I love you."

Beca waited for a response, but none came.

~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~

The connection was broken, and Sky handed Melissa, Warren, and Chloe towels to wrap around their hands.

"Is she okay?," Melissa asked Chloe.

Chloe smiled and nodded. "She said she got a bump on her head when she fell through the portal," Chloe told her. "But, she's okay."

"Will Beca return here?," Aubrey asked. "To the basement?"

"She should," Sky said. "Hopefully she can get alone to repeat the spell and be back soon."

"Thank you, Warren," Melissa said and hugged her ex-husband. "I know how much you disliked all this."

"I still do," Warren said. "But I love Beca more."

"Let's wait for our daughter to come back to us," Melissa said.

Melissa moved from the center of the pentagram. Warren and Chloe followed, and they sat on the floor with their backs against the wall and waited.

~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~ ~(^-^)~

"Beca, are you okay?," Meadow asked.

"Um, yeah," Beca said. "Just a bit of a headache. I think I'm going to walk around a bit. Get some air."

"Do you want me to go with you?," Meadow asked. "Make sure you're okay."

"No," Beca said. "I'll be fine. Just a lot going on in my head and I need to clear it."

"Okay," Meadow said.

Beca got up and made her way out the door. She found herself in a hallway and heard what sounded like voices, so she walked in that direction. She was quiet and came to a landing that overlooked what looked to be a large dining hall. She stood behind a post and looked down. She barely held in the gasp that nearly escaped from her mouth. Down below, were what looked like the aliens she had dreamt about. They were making noises which she determined was their way of speaking to each other.

"Maybe I wasn't dreaming," Beca thought. "But, what are they? And, why don't the others know about them? Is it because I'm the Chosen One that I can see them for what they really are?"

Beca slowly backed up to return to the room. "No," she thought. "I have to do the spell to get back to Chloe."

She was halfway back down the hall when she decided to make noise as she proceeded forward. She got to the railing and looked down to see human faces looking up at her. She made her way to the stairs and walked down. Daniel met her at the bottom.

"Hi," the one she recognized as Daniel said. "Can we help you with something?"

"Um, yeah, sorry to interrupt," Beca said. "I just needed some air. Is it okay if I take a walk."

"Sure," Daniel said. "I'll go with you. There are still too many dangers out there for you to go alone."

"Oh, okay," Beca said. "That would be nice."

Daniel motioned toward a door, and Beca walked to it. She waved at some of the people in the room as they went outside. She was surprised to see trees and grass.

"It's beautiful," Beca whispered. "Peaceful."

"Yes, it is," Daniel said.

Beca started walking, thinking the whole time, "How can I get someplace alone?". They walked quietly for a few minutes when an idea came to her. They were far enough away from the building they left when she saw several smaller buildings. She decided to take a shot and turned to Daniel.

"Um, this is embarrassing," Beca said sheepishly. "But, I really need to use the bathroom. I don't think I can make it back. Does one of these buildings have a bathroom?" Beca even did a little 'I really have to pee' dance to make it believable.

"Of course," Daniel said. "Right this way." He led Beca to one of the buildings and stopped. "I'll just wait for you here."

"Thanks," Beca said and went inside. She quietly locked the door and stood in the middle of the bathroom and closed her eyes.

Forces of dark, forces of light

Hear my call this hallowed night

Open that which has been sealed

Let the other side be revealed

The air around Beca suddenly swirled, and a door appeared. She could hear Daniel yelling from outside and then the guttural noises she knew to be the 'alien' voice.

Beca quickly grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open just as the alien burst through the bathroom door. She held onto the doorknob with one hand and used the other to grab the door jamb to pull herself through the doorway. She let go of the doorknob and had both hands on the door jamb in an attempt to pull herself through the door when she felt something grab her leg.

"She's coming back!," Sky yelled as the saw the door open and Beca holding onto the door jamb with all her might.

Sky and Aubrey grabbed for Beca as Beca looked back and kicked as hard as she could. The alien let her go, and Sky and Aubrey pulled Beca through the door causing her fall to the floor, hitting her head. Beca laid there limp as the door quickly slammed shut behind them. Sky reached over to Beca and pulled her into her arms. The others moved quickly to stand over her, Melissa and Chloe both hitting their knees to be closer to Beca. Tears were streaming down both their faces.

Sky's hand shook as she felt for a pulse.

"She's alive," Sky said and gave a relieved sigh. "She's alive."

Note: I have to admit, today's theme was a bit harder to tie-in with my story but I think I did okay with it. I hope you enjoyed it.

[doe539]

The Little Doe

Summary: In a world where the British magical community is on a verge of extinction in the next century due to the decline in magical births caused by pureblood inbreeding, laws are passed that only served to further degrade the already low position muggle borns held within society by reducing them to nothing but broodmares. The cocky arrogant James Potter finds himself with possession of the shy but fierce Lily Evans, a little doe that suddenly makes him question everything he knows about the divided society he lives in.

Chapter 1

In all of her 16 years of living, Lily Evans knew nothing outside the black walls she was caged in since the moment she was brought here as a child with all the other muggleborns , or as Umbridge likes to call them, “Filthy Mudblood Whores!” when she is particularly angry. She could barely remember how her parents could look like but she can distinctly remember her older sister calling her a freak for making a wilted flower bloom again. It was really funny how the memories she could remember depicted her being ostracised for being a witch while in the magical world she was hated for being born to those who weren’t magical. It seemed that muggle borns truly were considered anamolies in both worlds with only themselves to turn to.

Alongside the other muggleborn girls, Lily soon learned that they were brought to the ‘Mudhouse’ as they called it for one sole purpose: to learn and accept their future roles of bringing future magical offspring into the world.

Lessons concerning cleaning, childbirth, and how to obey your Pureblood superiors were routinely thought. All of which Lily found herself sleeping through, as shown by the scars in her arms as punishment for doing so. The only academic lesson that was really thought was the History of the British Magical Community, which only really focused on how a crisis regarding the decline in magical births caused by inbreeding resulted in the British Ministry passing the Handmaids’ Act in 1950. Although there was fierce opposition to the bill by those supporting Muggleborn rights such as Albus Dumbledor, Newt Scamander and a few Pureblood families, their voices were squashed by the vast number of families concerned with their future. From the whispers Lily heard around, she found out that muggleborns were already treated ina deplorable manner at best before the Act was passed so many chose to leave the British magical community as soon as they entered for more tolerant communities.

While initially pleased at the decline of muggleborns, karma served to come back ane bite the community’s ass when they learned that lack of new blood led to less powerful offspring and more squibs. Hence one of the clauses in the Handmaid’s Act strictly forbade any muggleborns from leaving the community and moving elsewhere.

“Pshh first they don’t want us, and when they do, it’s purely for our vaginas those fucking psychos”, muttered Lily under her breath.

“Ahem Ahem did you say anything Miss Evans?” Lily turned her head from the window to stare at mocking eyes of the hideous pink monster otherwise known as Dolores Umbridge, the woman in charge for educating muggleborn woman for their future roles as Handmaids. Coincidentally, she was also one of the women who helped to pass the very Act that would lead Lily to living the miserable life she has and the even worse life that awaits her.

Pausing to quickly compose herself after envisioning how it would be like to strangle the woman, Lily quickly shook her head and stood up straighter. Umbridge merely smirked and pointed her wand at Lily.

“As you can see class, this is a prime example of a behaviour that should never be commited near any Pureblood. A muggleborn woman is to stay still and quiet at all times, not letting anyone know of her presence unless required”

“What are we? Humans or statues?” Lily muttered again, causing her companion Mary McDonald to stifle a giggle.

“Miss Evans, for demonstrating that act of behaviour again, you will have to come to my office after this class to receive your punishment”

Umbridge had a wide grin on her face, eerily similar to how the Joker in the Batman Series looked like based on the muggle magazines they were able to smuggle into the building.

The rest of the muggleborns looked sympathetically at Lily who only shrugged,

being used Umbridge’s form of punishments. It was only a matter of time anyway that she was to be sent to a Pureblood household and be forced to have a dozen children.

After class and a whispered ‘good luck ‘ from Mary, Lily trudged herself to Umbridge’s office and waited outside the door. She could hear two female voices from inside the room, one that she could easily point out as being Umbridge who sounded delighted for whatever reason and another voice she couldn’t pick out but sounded pleasant despite the owner of the voice sounding rather annoyed. Lily couldn’t help but be excited after hearing this new mysterious voice, since the only people she could remember interacting with in all her years here were Umbridge, the other muggleborn girls, and the Pureblood guards who liked to leer at her and the other girls every time they walked past.

Finally after nearly plastering herself to the door, Lily could hear footsteps and quickly moved away. Umbridge opened the door and looked slightly confused when she saw her but realisation quickly struck.

“Ahh I apologise Mrs. Potter, you see I had a student who was behaving in a quite atrocious manner you see, if you would like to come another time-“

“Bring her in Umbridge, I would like to see the state you put these girls in”

Lily quickly looked up at the firm but pleasant sounding voice and took a step inside the room after Umbridge ushered her in.

“Ahem well Mrs. Potter this is Lily Evans a fifteen year ol-“

“I’m sixteen”

“ Shush child, yes this girl has unfortunately not been one of my best students. While she may fool you into thinking she is some innocent doe based on how quiet she is, she often displays great acts of disobedience”

Lily knew the irritating woman was not only referring to the minor incident that occurred today but in the past when her magic tended to spiral out of control. While Lily’s fiery personality had slowly died down throughout the years as a result of the oppressive treatment she faced, there was still some fire she held onto. Lily knew she was a powerful witch and she knew Umbridge knew that too despite her constant preaching on why muggleborn women were magically inferior than their Pureblood counterparts. As muggleborns were forbidden from having a wand, Lily developed her skills in wandless magic and using all the information she was able to learn from the outdated magical books dumped in the trash, she was able to perform such a level of magic practically unheard off from a witch with no magically education. Using her knowledge she was able to teach all of the other muggleborns and helped to hone their skills as well. Of course Lily bring Lily, used her knowledge to also annoy the hell out of Umbridge. Vanishing her chair, changing the colour of all of her outfits from pink to a hideous orange, and lifting her skirt when ministry official were sometimes around were some of her favourite tricks. As she she was not using a wand, they couldn’t trace it back to her, but Umbridge always seem to knew it was her and hence made sure Lily was never there when she had an important meeting. Judging from the warning and panicked look in her eye, Lily could practically hear the nasal voice of Umbridge warning her to not embarrass her or else.

Mrs Potter on the other hand seemed perfectly calm and even a bit amused as she appraised Lily. Lily suddenly found herself being self conscious of her appearance. From the past she could also remember children teasing her for her hair colour and many seemed to find the bright green colour of eyes creepy. The ugly red colour of her dress only served to further lower her self esteem infront of the smartly dressed woman infront of her.

“Well aren’t you a pretty one” she remarked, much to Lily’s surprise. Her gaze quickly zeroed on the necklace around her neck.

“That’s a very pretty necklace sweetheart. Who gave it to you?” Not being used to anyone talking to her in such a tone Lily nearly forgot to speak or even move until Umbridge suddenly grabbed the necklace and tore it from her neck.

“Oh forgive me Mrs. Potter, she must have stole it from somewhere! Oh you know muggleborns, can’t trust this lot!” Her highpitched voice combined with the loss of the only item she had of her parents caused a surge of magic to ripple within Lily and in a flash the necklace was back in Lily’s hand.

The sound of a pin dropping was all that could be heard in the room as everyone registered her actions. Lily quickly closed her eyes in terror and awaited the verdict of being sent to Azkaban for simply acting like a witch when the Wizarding world didn’t see her as one.

“Oh Mrs Potter I am so sorry!” Lily never thought she could see someone look so pitiful and gleeful at the same time. The slight curve of Umbridge’s mouth indicated her excitement of finally sending the redhead to the Wizarding prison.

“Don’t you worry Mrs Potter, I will send her right to-“

“I’ll take her”

The elderly stylish woman’s statement was met with incredulous looks from the other two people in the room.

“Wh- What Mrs. Potter please I am sure that there are other more suitable and obedient girls-“

“Enough Mrs Umbridge, I will take this girl and that is final. I would like all the arrangements done by today and I will be here for her tomorrow.”

With that, Euphemia Poter turned to Lily, winked and disappeared through the floo.

[bullymagnet]

Mr. Max

(by write-or-wrong72)

During childhood, Max, along with his father and sister, had been sustained solely on what could be delivered to their door or what could be prepared by waiting five minutes next to the microwave. The closest Max had gone to home cooked meals was when he was over at Sam’s and Doghouse’s place. Never was a kitchen utensil ever used for its intended purpose- Mr. Puckett often went to them when he needed to knock down spiderwebs. Mysterious objects that only the people on TV knew how to use. It wasn’t until he was forced into being friends with kids outside his type of people did anyone take pity on his lack of culinary skills. Oddly enough, this person was mostly Ed. It was a rough training regimen that Burger put him through. He couldn’t JUST known the basics, oh no, he had to learn to be CREATIVE. It was terrible. With the years going by, Max eventually got comfortable cooking with people and their creativity, AKA putting up with Johnny as they made anything together. They ended up getting married and moved to a tiny apartment, and it got easier. Their cramped kitchen forced them to communicate, so mishaps were a rarity. Well, as rare as the two could manage when they were together. But now? Max had to learn to cook with rules.

“-I know you always put the peppers in with the eggs, but you’re just going to have fry them up after, you get me? Juney won’t eat ‘em with the veggies, and then Ally will make fun of him, so then he’ll beg you for plain eggs, and that goop right there is plenty for the lot 'a us.” Johnny threw some frying pans out from under the sink, his husband trying desperately to keep them from from making a clatter on the floor. “Don’t you dare wake them up!” Max hissed through his teeth, setting the cup of whisked yolks on the counter to pick up the pans. “You are not going to make me do this on my own while expecting me to remember all that.” Max craned his legs to work around the man, just as Johnny peered up at him. “Ha, don’t pretend you wouldn’t get super distracted if they woke up. You’d ditch me in a second.” He drizzled orange dish soap on one of the pans, giving the inside a diligent scrub. Bottles of various cleaning chemicals and musty rags were shoved back into the cupboard below. Johnny sprang up like a shark in a Jaws movie, but he planted a huge kiss on Max’s cheek instead of taking a bite out of it. “Aw, you know you’d just have to yell at me to come back!” Max’s scoff at that made him grin. “Hey, it always worked on you.” “In all fairness, I usually didn’t come back. You hunted me down.” “'Worked then, no reason it wouldn’t now.” Johnny took the smaller pan and rinsed the suds off. Max lifted his head up, trying to make sense of that. “In this hypothetical, the only reason I can imagine you needing to hunt me down is because you got distracted, left me on my own to which I burn everything, and find that I ran out of the house in fear that it was seconds away from igniting.” “Speaking of igniting, do you think I could skip the frying and cook these in my bare hands?” One glance showed that he had tore open the package of processed sausages, clenching some in each hand. He was giving them a stupidly thoughtful look. Half-lidded, Max began, “Please don’t man-handle the m-” He closed his mouth tightly, his words swept away in a dawning realization. “Please just don’t do that.” He corrected. Johnny rolled his tongue in displeasure. “Man, if the kids weren’t here, I’d’ve torched them. You know this. You know I would make you eat them too.” “Oh my god, I better not be seeing you pointing one of those at me in the corner of my eye-” “Ow, Junior…” Quincy’s sleepy voice hissed from the next room. Johnny put his finger to his lips and gave Max a stern look. “You’re the one who’s been throwing metal.” Max whispered sharply. It was pointless to place blame at this point, however. A twelve-year-old boy was already shuffling through the doorway, rubbing his arm. “Hey, buddy!” Johnny greeted happily, a whispery tone to it. “Sleep good?” Max poured the yellow slime into his pan, leaving the cutting board of peppers and onions on the sideline. He mused at how Johnny sounded like what Max’s own dad would say when saw him in the morning, all while glancing at the pan of sausage Johnny hadn’t put on the stove yet. “Yeah.” Quincy stopped at their little dining table in the corner, getting a stretch in before sitting down. “Those two toss around a lot, though. I sleep in the middle so they won’t hit each other in their sleep, but I woke up in the middle of the night to them somehow wide awake, trying to kick each other to death.” Max snrked. Johnny turned his gaze down, and it seemed like he set the pan on the eye as an afterthought, at least to Max. “…Yeah?” Johnny asked in the way one does when they feel guilty but are too afraid to admit it. “It’s pretty funny, though.” Quincy folded his arms on the table to rest on them. “I wouldn’t trade them for a trip to the circus.” From what Max knew, Quincy was probably the sweetest boy on the planet. Against all odds of being brought up as the Jang’s first permanent friendship fusion, Quincy managed to be demure, kind, and thoughtful. Sometimes it especially freaked Max out, to see this kid who lacked a rude bone in their body, not a trace of cruelty at the selfish age of twelve. Knowing this, Max figured that Quincy was immediately trying to take back what made his dad pause. “It’s because they’re so close in age.” Max shrugged. “Honestly, if Ollie could have waited a few more years!” “Hey, he thought he was moving away indefinitely! 'Not his fault.” The redheaded defended. The coupled argued some more in good spirit, and Max started to see himself feel a bit better. Quincy sat staring out the window, likely still blinking off sleep. After a while, he inevitably spoke up again, and Max felt guilty at the twinge of irritation that suddenly hit him. “Could I help?” “You know how to make pancakes, right?” Johnny called in response. “Mm-hmm!” “Then why haven’t you started yet?” The father pointed his spatula towards the boy in mock-chastising, even though he was the worst at actual discipline when it came to Quincy’s parents. That fell more into RJ’s or Ollie’s realm. The preteen made brisk work of bending around to get a bowl from under the sink, scuttling around to get ingredients for the batter. He settled at a bit of counter space behind his dad and his dad’s husband. Max smirked to himself at the sound of excessive amounts of chocolate chips being poured into the mix. After a while, an apprehensive “Erm…” sounded behind them. Quincy was ready, but had turned to the stove to find that there was no room. At the sight of them both turning to him, the boy offered a quick smile. “I’ll wait until you’re done-” He stared to place the plastic bowl onto the counter again. “NO, how could this be?!” Johnny yelled. The other two cocked their heads in confusion. “I promised Max that I wouldn’t leave him alone, but I can hear the others waking up!” He cried dramatically. However, his voice was the only sound in the whole house. Johnny punched his fist onto the counter continuously, chanting, “THEY’RE WAKING UP,” until the pullout started to squeak. “See?” “Good god, Jhonny.” Max griped. Johnny perked up. “I have an idea! I"ll replace myself, so no one can say I left unjustly.” To the child, “Please, take my place!” He rolled the meat onto a plate he had set out before hand. “And take this.” He turned the handle towards Quincy. The boy laughed, face scrunched up in the universal 'Jeesh, Dad’ expression. As he ran hot water over the grease, Johnny turned back to Max with another smack with his lips. “Sorry, did I do that 'waking up the kids’ thing you told me not to do?” In the next room it sounded like persons on the pullout couch were rustling. His grin never faltered “Love you, love you.” He told each person, ruffling Quincy’s brown hair before he sprinted out. Max just groaned loudly, but he doubted Johnny heard. Quincy laughed again. “How’d you sleep, Mr. Max?” “Eh, fine enough, I guess. 'Sounds like I slept better than you.” Max finished shoveling his scrambled eggs on their own plate, to scrape off the vegetables into the frying pan. Breakfast sure had a lot to do with frying. “Ah… ha.” Quincy said with a twinge of nervousness. The two heard Johnny’s voice boom, “Wake up!” and the pullout bed creak loudly as he jumped onto it. The younger children shrieked, Junior going 'Oh my god Dad! Don’t do that!’, while his sister cackled. “It sounded like he felt bad for cramming all you in here.” Max mused. He felt like twelve was the age where he could start talking about stuff without having to dumb it down for the kid. “You think he’ll want to get a bigger place?” “I hope not,” Max peered down at the boy as he flipped a pancake. “You’re only two people. It’s not like we live here.” Max’s thoughts exactly! Thank you, kid, thank you. “Ha! Well, I’m putting you in charge of telling your dad that if he ever tries to convince me to move.” And honestly, Max felt like Johnny was going to do that sooner than latter. He absolutely hated having to stuff all his kids on the pullout whenever they visited- Max could tell. Max also knew that his husband would be devastated if his kids stopped wanting to come over. Quincy agreed with a chuckle, then went back to his pancakes. Max wondered if he made the preteen feel awkward to be around. “I have been thinking…” The boy started. The adult held back his 'Uh oh’ snark inside his head, opting to just let Quincy finish. “A sleeping bag? Yes, so one of us can sleep on the floor, and the bed won’t be so cramped.” Max nodded. “But why stop there? Think about it!” He put on a high-pitched voice. “'Dad, I want a whole tent set for my birthday! It’s the least you could do for forcing me to sleep with those demons!’” “Nooo, Mr. Max!” Quincy giggled. “But- a tent would be really cool, though.” “You get that from Stephen.” Johnny suddenly stomped through the doorway, towing a child in each arm. Ally was tossed over his shoulder, still laughing her head off, and Junior kept kicking his legs in protest as he was held at his dad’s side. “He used to be a maniac for the outdoors.” “Really?” The eldest perked up in interest. “-'Cause Quincy was telling me he’s going to bully you into buying him a tent.” Max cut in. Johnny gained a sparkle to his eye as Quincy turned to Mr. Max, betrayed. “Ooh! Let’s go camping!” Ally cheered at Johnny’s head. “Please, Daddy? We never go places anymore!"  Under his breath, Max heard Quincy grumble, "Don’t say that, Ally…” And Max knew where he was coming from. For the youngest at six years old, Ally had a way of guilt tripping in a polite manner. Max could forgive it at her age, though. She probably saw that only one of her dads was living away from home, and couldn’t understand why he couldn’t be with the rest of her parents all the time. She worked her magic, and Johnny’s eyebrows curled up sadly. “That sounds cool!” He lowered her down next to a chair, which she crawled onto. Junior was still angrily flailing in his other arm as Johnny added, “You should ask Stephen-Daddy about it; like I said, he’s the outdoors-y one. He’ll have to plan everything.” “AuGh, you’re the worst!” The middle child cried. “Put me down already!” “How ungrateful!” Johnny huffed, turning his only blood-related kid around to face him. “Most dads are so weak they can’t even hold their kids when they turn eight!” “I wish you were that weak! I’m not a baby anymore!” Junior- or 'Juney’ as he was nicknamed- kicked his legs fitfully in the air. “Are you suuuure?” Max asked over at the side as he finished cooking. Juney growled moodily as he was set on the ground. He took no time at all to sprint and run straight into his older brother at the stove. “You making pancakes?” Quincy seethed as he arched his back in pain, to which Juney only added, “How many chocolate chips did you put in 'em?” Max stuck around to gather plates and silverware, just in time to see Quincy shift his eyes mysteriously, leaning down to whisper in fake-secrecy, “Eighty-five percent,” to his brother. This made sense to Junior, apparently, as he put on the widest, most mischievous grin that only Johnny’s genes could pull off. He skittered over in joy to the table, sat down, caught the look Quincy gave him from the stove, stood up to walk to Max, and yanked half of the tableware from him. “Oh, thanks.” Max said as the boy helped him set the table. Ally awkwardly sat there, looking between her oldest brother finishing the last of the pancake batter, her other brother helping Mr. Max, and the proud expression on her father’s face at them. She slid off her chair and hobbled to the refrigerator. Within two trips, she placed the orange juice, milk, and a stick of butter on the table. Johnny was literally squealing in delight at the scene. Max lifted his head in, about to go, 'Really?’ Instead, he listened to his husband as he cried, “I love my kids!” He once again scooped up Ally, and she shrieked in delight as he swung her around. “I love my husband! I love my whole darn family! Help me make some toast!” He dropped his daughter, and she followed him happily to a loaf of bread. “Mr. Max?” Max looked down to Juney. “Do you have any idea why he’s so crazy?” Max made a gross sound, smile taking over his face. “No, but I married him for the sole reason of cancelling him out.” He patted Junior’s dark hair. “Thank you!” The boy said in all earnesty. It made Max feel like he was actually doing the world a favor, the way Junior put it. Quincy was smiling, too, when he brought the plates of food over. “And also thanks for breakfast, Mr. Dad.” He added to his younger brother’s statement. “I, uh?” Max gave an unsure glance to the eldest child. Did he call him that on purpose, or-? Quincy gave him a confused look. At the toaster with Ally, Johnny was staring at his spouse intensely. The pride and joy in Johnny’s face could match no other. Quincy’s long hair swayed as he looked worriedly between the adults. “What? What?” “No, no, you’re- you’re welcome.” Max felt a little hot, and he hoped with all he had that he wasn’t blushing. “Juney, wanna try a pepper?” He immediately asked. Junior stuck his tongue out in disgust at the green thing Max thrusted to him on a fork. Ally called him a baby from across the kitchen, and Max mentally sighed.