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grymmnox · 3 years ago

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weekly fic recs #2

decided to do saturday, instead, since it’s the end of the week instead of the beginning of a new one. we’ve got a mix of fandoms now! bsd, atla, toh, and bnha..mostly bsd fics. still working on getting through the series, but i have a tendency to expose myself to spoilers. anyways, here we go! fic recs are all under the cut, as per usual :)

Bungo Stray Dogs Recs

the heart is always searching - thishasbeencary

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, m/m (soukoku aka chuuya/dazai)

complete, 12,187 words, 5 chapters

topics to be aware of: n/a (i think?? possibly some dazai-typical behavior and thoughts, though)

summary:

Dazai wakes up at a desk at the Port Mafia headquarters. Chuuya wakes up in an unfamiliar apartment. It doesn't take long to figure out what happened.

But why are they stuck in each other's bodies? And how the hell do they fix it!?

soulmate bodyswap shenanigans. what more could you ask for?

songs of bygone days - Origamidragons

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, gen

oneshot, 8,477 words

topics to be aware of: some violence

summary:

It’s like a bomb goes off in the room, and then it’s like the bomb keeps going off, the shockwave not dissipating but instead intensifying moment by moment. Everything is heat and light and darkness and above all pressure, pushing relentlessly, shoving the combatants into the walls with such crushing force that the concrete cracks.

Atsushi’s head hits the wall with a sickening crack, hard enough that he sees stars for a moment. There’s a weight on his chest pressing down, down, down, like a cinderblock between his lungs, squeezing his ribcage in a vise, and his vision is flashing black and red and he- can’t- breathe-

Then, just as suddenly as it began, it’s done. The choking red mist filling the air abruptly clears, everything and everyone clatters unceremoniously to the floor, and in the center of what was once a rather tasteful bank lobby and now charitably resembles a war zone, Dazai is holding a child by the wrist.

A Human Element - Fan_ofmanythings

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, gen

oneshot, 2,929 words

topics to be aware of: dazai-typical behavior and thoughts, probably (past) child abuse considering the whole..everything

summary:

"Dazai? Looks like you've shrunk." Chuuya barked a single laugh, more baffled than anything else. He couldn't imagine this being part of Dazai's plan.

"And you must've hated milk growing up if you're this short and this old." Dazai said in a flat voice, the insult blunter than usual, and more blatant in its bite. Chuuya huffed.

"Might want to find new material instead of letting yourself get hit with an ability that's somehow turned you shorter, likely weaker, and even more annoying. Don't expect me to save your sorry ass when you can't even lift a gun with those match-stick arms."

Or: Chuuya gets some uncomfortable answers when Dazai becomes a younger version of himself with no memory of the last 6 years.

(My go at a de-age Dazai fic! I'm so sorry if they're OOC lol, I tried.)

yeah i went on a bit of a de-aging fic streak

past horrors (make future problems) - DeviBlue

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, m/m (soukoku- NOT while dazai is de-aged.)

oneshot, 6,222 words

topics to be aware of: child abuse, childhood trauma, dazai-typical behavior(?), some violence

summary:

“Dazai has been de-aged by an ability and—”

“How old is he?” Chuuya said, completely cutting Kunikida off without a care.

“Ten.”

“Shit,” Chuuya cursed. There was a commotion on the other end, and it sounded like Chuuya was running. “Don’t take your eyes off him and don’t let him touch you. I’m on my way.”

Dazai's childhood before the mafia taught him to be dangerous in more ways than one.

the hazard of doorknobs - Seito

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, gen

oneshot, 1,171 words

topics to be aware of: dazai-typical behavior

summary:

Dazai vs Doorknobs! Who wins?! (if you guessed Dazai, you're wrong.)

Doorknobs were Dazai’s greatest enemy. Truly. One would think his greatest enemy was life itself, due to the increasing complex way he kept trying to die and failing.

(One of Dazai’s many secrets was that he didn’t try very hard to kill himself.)

But no! The truth was indeed Dazai’s greatest enemy was doorknobs. Namely doorknobs that like to snag and catch his bandages. It doesn’t matter how he approaches the door, mindful of the knob. It doesn’t matter what type of doorknobs either! Nor does it matter how well Dazai tied his bandages.

The truth of the matter was simple.

Every time Dazai reached for a door, he most likely got tangled in the doorknob.

lovely crackfic. bandages and doorknob shenanigans

On a need to know basis - insi

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, m/m (soukoku)

oneshot, 4,617 words

topics to be aware of: dazai-typical behavior, child abuse??, generally just. port mafia related warnings

summary:

There was something strangely novel about the days when the entire Agency ended up squished into Yosano’s infirmary in the aftermath of a mission. Tanizaki, Kenji and Atsushi were lined up like ducklings along one bed, Ranpo and Kyouka sat on another, Kunikida stood by the wall. And, they all got to watch as Yosano manually patched Dazai up.

“You’re not getting painkillers?” Atsushi asked.

“Nope.” Dazai tilted his head to the side slightly and looked at him. “Why would I?”

There was a beat of silence and then Atsushi’s eyes jolted towards him. His expression morphed to one somewhere between confusion and alarm. “Well… Doesn’t it hurt?” he said slowly.

Rx: #32924 - Techni Kolor (KaiserKorresponds)

teen and up audiences, no archive warnings apply, gen

complete (it’s a collection of drabbles), 12,510 words, 22 chapters

topics to be aware of: dazai-typical behavior, drug usage, medication (and negative reactions and side effects to said medication), medical trauma, mori is his own warning tbh

summary:

A collection of one-shots about Dazai's experiences with psychiatric medications over the years.

[Title is a reference to the prescription number reading as "Dazai" when it's typed on a phone keypad.]

making our way towards the credits - kazoosoda

teen and up, creator chose not to use archive warnings, gen

oneshot, 2,674 words

topics to be aware of: implied self-harm, i think that’s it

summary:

“Ah… Chuuya-san.” He says politely, watching as Chuuya's face immediately morphs into a strange mixture of disgust and abject horror. “How are you?” He asks, a very strained smile making its way onto his face.

Chuuya twitches so violently that Atsushi fears he may have broken him, then skitters back a solid five feet. “Who are you?”

(Or: Nakajima Atsushi's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.)

14. i saw a trash bag on the side of the road today. reminded me of you. - elijay

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, m/m (soukoku)

oneshot, 556 words

topics to be aware of: n/a

summary:

Ranpo lunges for the phone as it's on its fifth ring, hitting ‘accept’ and ‘speaker’ in rapid succession.

Atsushi lifts his hand to his mouth, and has a one-second internal crisis.

Or: the Agency is, as usual, mildly traumatized by Soukoku’s unconventional mating rituals.

(standalone)

those dead mackerel eyes of yours (so creepy) - elijay

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, m/m (soukoku)

oneshot, 439 words

topics to be aware of: n/a

summary:

Atsushi and the Agency get curious, where'd the name mackerel come from?

Chuuya takes the opportunity as it is: a chance to rant about Dazai to (mostly) willing listeners.

(standalone, part of a drabble series)

ten - elijay

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, gen + m/m (soukoku)

oneshot, 1,398 words

topics to be aware of: dazai-typical behavior, homelessness (it’s honestly not very angsty, but dazai is dazai)

summary:

“How old are you?”

Someone had asked the question, when he was young, before Mori and the mafia and all the darkness, and he’d stared at them for a little before guessing, “Ten?”

They’d asked if he was sure, because he didn’t sound sure. He had shrugged, and they had simply clapped him on the shoulder, and that was that.

He didn’t ask their age - he didn’t care.

So that was his age from then on out - he was ten.

Or: Dazai doesn’t know how old he is, he never has. He can guess, and that’s all that really matters. After all, age is just a number.

(standalone)

would you believe me if i said i was blinded by the light? - elijay

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, gen + m/m (can be interpreted as daizatsu)

oneshot, 1,203 words

topics to be aware of: uh. n/a?

summary:

Everyone stares at him, and Ranpo cackles.

“YOU’RE HALF-BLIND?!” Kunikida roars, and then the questions begin to pour in.

(standalone, part of a drabble series)

That's me, standin' in the mirror - minukke

not rated, creator chose not to use archive warnings, gen

oneshot, 2,968 words

topics to be aware of: dazai-typical behavior

summary:

“So...you’re Dazai from four years ago?” Kenji broke the silence first. He tickled his chin thoughtfully. “Wow, you’re really different!”

Dazai made a non-committal noise.

Or, teenage Dazai, Port Mafia executive and dubbed the "Demon Prodigy", finds out how much he's changed in four years.

The man who cries wolf - Scarlet_Nin

not rated, creator chose not to use archive warnings, gen

oneshot, 2,667 words

topics to be aware of: dazai-typical behavior

summary:

„This is ridiculous.”

Dazai snaps, trying to twist his coat free from the beast that had it in it’s jaw. All he gets for his trouble is a tug, that pulls him onto dry land. Standing up, he quickly steps away, a glare on his face that would have sent men crying.

The beast looks unimpressed, staring up at him with blue eyes and whines.

Hurt - Scarlet_Nin

not rated, creator chose not to use archive warnings, gen

oneshot, 5,338 words

topics to be aware of: dazai-typical behavior, kidnapping, torturing, violence, implied depression

summary:

“He was annoying as hell. Couldn’t keep his mouth shut and wouldn’t stop mocking me. It’s not like I killed him.” “I hope you didn’t. We need both of them alive.”

The other man hisses lowly as he walks over and uses his foot to roll Dazai over. He frowns when he sees the pale face, smudges of blood and dirt clinging to it and glares at his partner. “Does it look like he’s breathing to you?”

“He is, I know he is!”

The man walks over, crouches down in front of Dazai and Kunikida’s stomach drops. Heart beating a mile per minute, he watches as the man feels for Dazai’s pulse only to furrow his brows.

“Fuck. There’s no pulse, what should we do—”

Feeling like the ground beneath him just crumbled, Kunikida blinks furiously. Dazai can’t be dead. He can’t be. Throat closing up, he opens his mouth a few times only for no sound to come out.

Petals Of Nostalgia - Scarlet_Nin

general audiences, no archive warnings apply, gen

oneshot, 2,833 words

topics to be aware of: dazai-typical suicide references, otherwise it’s a fluffy fic

summary:

“Now you’re just making fun of me,” Puffing out his cheeks, Dazai huffs as he glances around the colorful ray of flowers. “You’re mean, Odasaku. After I showed you my coffin too!”

“Coffin?”

“Yeah!”

At the slow blink of his friend Dazai grins as he gestures to where he had been laying before.

“Death by breathing in poisonous flowers! That way, the sweet aroma would have put me to sleep and I’d never would have woken up again. Nobody would have to leave flowers on my grave too, since they’re already here.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but none of the flowers here are in any way poisonous.”

Do It For Him - dietpopcorn

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, gen

oneshot, 9,725 words

topics to be aware of: mori is his own warning, implied childhood sexual abuse, depersonalization

summary:

「you do it for her, that is to say, you do it for him」

A friendly summer shopping trip with some harmless cross-dressing sounded like a fun Agency bonding activity. Then again, hindsight is 20/20.

The Heart of Your Murderer - full_moon_pills

not rated, creator chose not to use archive warnings, gen

oneshot, 7,231 words

topics to be aware of: medical trauma, surgery (specifically, open heart surgery), blood, dissociation, implied child abuse, panic attacks, mori makes some creepy comments about dazai’s hands being pretty, manipulation i suppose?

summary:

“Dazai,” Ranpo interrupts. “You do the emergency surgery.” He’d foolishly believed no one would make him do these things anymore—that he was free.

or: Dazai is forced to operate on Poe, and unwanted memories arise.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Recs

Zuzu - romanslegs

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, gen

ongoing, 54,981 words, 6/? chapters

topics to be aware of: transphobia, homophobia, child abuse

summary:

“I think they made a mistake when I was born. Everybody says I’m a girl but I feel like a boy. We should tell everyone I’m a prince, not a princess. Then they wouldn’t say the wrong things anymore.”

“Zuzu, honey, you mustn’t say things like that.” His mother grabs his shoulder firmly.

“Why not?” She doesn’t answer for a long time, gazing at the pond before finally turning back to him, the tranquility of her face contrasting with the urgency of her grip.

“It could make people very angry.”

“Like how Father gets angry?”

“...Yes, your father would get very angry.”

“Oh. Okay.”

________________________________

(aka: a trans!Zuko AU where Zuko says "fuck chasing the Avatar" and becomes a boy instead)

The Owl House Recs

just frame the halves and call them brothers - ClausLucas

general audiences, no archive warnings apply, gen

ongoing, 47,426 words, 8/9 chapters

topics to be aware of: child abuse

summary:

In which Hunter and The Collector become friends while Hunter's uncle isn't paying attention.

Boku no/My Hero Academia Recs

Your Golden Sheen (Flakes Away) - MarInk

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, gen + m/m (erasermic, they foster shinsou and izuku)

complete, 25,733 words, 6 chapters

topics to be aware of: (past) child abuse, running away, mentions of bullying

summary:

If being fostered by Aizawa and Yamada is a dream come true, then the arrival of Midoriya Izuku, Hitoshi's newly minted foster brother, has turned it into a nightmare.

Hitoshi pets cats, does his homework and tries to navigate the suddenly tumultuous waters of his foster family with varying degrees of success. If only Midoriya wasn't here... wouldn't that be great?

hitoshi is a traumatized teenager. izuku is also a traumatized teenager. hitoshi has some quirk issues to work out. it gets messy, but it has a happy ending

When Realities Collide - LowlyWriter

teen and up, creator chose not to use archive warnings, gen (erasermic)

ongoing, 49,559 words, 4/? chapters

topics to be aware of: uhh. bullying??

summary:

(Formerly known as Into the Deku-Verse)

Shota sneers at the teenager across from him. His defense raises like the hairs on the back of his neck as he glares steadily, ready and waiting for whatever will come from this encounter. He narrows his gaze when the teen shifts; just the thought of sharing this rooftop with Japan's most notorious villain makes his skin prickle. “Deku.”

“Y-yes!” the teenager cries out in relief, taking a small step towards Shota, “I’m Deku! I’m so g-glad you—”

“Deku,” Shota growls darkly, flicking out his capture weapon hastily to snag the villain before he can make his move. He's quick to tug it taut, leaving no room for Deku to escape. “You’re under arrest.”

“I-I’m what?! W-wait!”

tl;dr

Hero Course student Izuku comes to the realization that he is definitely not where he's supposed to be.

reconcile - whatagoodegg

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, gen

ongoing, 46,013 words, 4/? chapters

topics to be aware of: bullying, child abuse, afo’s treatment of shiggy, nightmares, self-harm (shigaraki’s scratching)

summary:

Midoriya and Shigaraki get hit with a Quirk that basically locks the both of them in an indestructible box and makes them unable to physically harm each other. The only way for them to get out?

They have to reconcile their differences.

Obviously, this is easier said than done.

(not a ship fic, but ig this could be read as pre-slash? shrug)

Crossover Recs

Into Your World - leedonghyucks

bungo stray dogs + my hero academia

teen and up, creator chose not to use archive warnings, m/m (shin soukoku aka akutagawa/atsushi + tododeku)

complete, 110,256 words, 20 chapters

topics to be aware of: canon-typical violence, past child abuse, past bullying (i think that might be it)

summary:

A case gone wrong had caused Atsushi and Akutagawa to be transported to an unknown universe set 200 years into the future, where Abilities (now known as Quirks) were as rampant as ever. The renowned new Double Black have faced many fearsome enemies but can they survive the trials and tribulations of hero high school?

Spoiler alert: Barely.

yes, a bsd and mha crossover. expect more of these. it’s all the crossover section is.

The (Tainted) Sorrow of Being Tossed Into Another World - justaglitch

bungo stray dogs + my hero academia

general audiences, no archive warnings apply, gen

oneshot, 2,920 words

topics to be aware of: n/a, although there may be hints of. dazai-typical behavior.

summary:

“It’s like being a babysitter,” Iida moans. “Tell me about it,” agrees Kunikida. “How do you do it?” Kunikida pointedly turns his back on the scene in the dormitories’ main room. “Sometimes I yell at them; sometimes I just ignore it all.” Behind him, Chuuya stands on the ceiling with his hands wrapped around Dazai’s neck. The bandaged man’s feet aren’t touching the floor, and he’s clinging onto the chandelier which sways dangerously. He’s grinning even as his face goes purple. “...does it help?”

crackfic! shenanigans galore

You long to end your life, so you never will die - pluton1um

bungo stray dogs + my hero academia

teen and up, graphic depictions of violence, gen + m/m (soukoku + shin soukoku)

ongoing, 47,111 words, 11/? chapters

topics to be aware of: violence, dazai-typical behavior, generally just the usual bsd warnings

summary:

For Aizawa, it seemed to be a normal day; after patrol, he was planning to go home and sleep for eighteen hours. That was until he saw the two bloodied teenagers sitting in an alleyway.

"What the hell."

(In which Dazai and Chuuya are sent into the world of heroes and villains. How will they hold in an environment where moral code is placed at such high esteem?) (TLDR 2.0: Dazai and Chuuya become problem children who bring nothing but trouble and stolen alcohol into UA.)

I’m No Hero - Mirani

bungo stray dogs + my hero academia

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, multi (soukoku + erasermic)

oneshot, (part of a series but unsure if it’s going to be continued) 2,990 words

topics to be aware of: n/a

summary:

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” “Language, young man!”

—————

Nakahara Chuuya and Dazai Osamu find themselves 200 years in the future. It goes about as well as you’d expect.

Monsters & Men - monoul

bungo stray dogs + my hero academia (fusion)

teen and up, creator chose not to use archive warnings, m/m + multi (soukoku)

ongoing, 19,060 words, 6/? chapters

topics to be aware of: some violence, dazai-typical behavior

summary:

Yokohama has long since sealed itself from the world. Anyone who comes out of Yokohama doesn't speak of what's inside. Heroes have no jurisdiction there. Everyone wants to know; how does a city where the majority of the population are quirkless survive?

The new exchange students might know, though.

"Seriously? You want us to play babysitter?"

"Think of it more as intelligence gathering."

OR OR

Mori owes Nezu a favor, Mori also wants to keep an eye on the League of Villains. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

The Sticking Point - Anxiety_Pickle

bungo stray dogs + my hero academia (fusion)

teen and up, creator chose not to use archive warnings, gen + m/m (soukoku)

ongoing, 27,816 words, 5/? chapters

topics to be aware of: violence (probably), dazai-typical behavior, child abuse

summary:

When Nedzu called him to his office for a meeting this morning, with no indication of its subject other than that name, Aizawa knew it was going to be a shitshow, because everything involving Yokohama always was.

"Tell me, how do you feel about transfer students?"

The deal has already been sealed by the time he looks over his tea. For the love of any god that’s listening, he hopes the two transfers aren’t going to be anything like the rest of his class, and knows he’s wrong by the time he steps foot out the door.

(Or: Nedzu and Mori have an understanding, and everyone suffers for it).

Between Scheming and Babysitting - Alcore

bungo stray dogs + my hero academia (fusion)

teen and up, creator chose not to use archive warnings, gen (can be interpreted as soukoku)

ongoing, 10,281 words, 3/? chapters

topics to be aware of: dazai typical behavior, likely going to be violence and such in future chapters

summary:

Mori wants Double Black to infiltrate the U.A. Nezu wants them to work for the Hero side. Dazai and Chuuya just want to be done with playing heroes/babysitters/part-time spies.

What could possibly go wrong?

Don't mind us dropping in - Raja_Myna

bungo stray dogs + my hero academia

teen and up, no archive warnings apply, gen

ongoing, 6,216 words, 4/? chapters

topics to be aware of: implied abuse, dazai-typical behavior and such

summary:

Chuuya's not used to waking up eating grass, feeling like someone kicked his ass all over Yokohama, with a bunch of kids in school uniform staring at him. Those are the least of his problems, however, and being stuck here with Akutagawa, the Agency's weretiger, and Dazai, is not making it better.

This is all Dazai's fault.

OKAY finally done. that took like an hour, almost two. if i missed any warnings or got any links wrong or anything, please tell me and i’ll try and fix it.

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abitscrewystein · 4 years ago

Text

Metal On The Brain

A rework of an old one-shot!

Warnings for: Blood Self-experimentation Self-harm Depression Separation anxiety Intrusive thoughts Trauma Hallucinations Heavy dissociation

The majority of the fight was a blur for him. He should have been more careful, thought through it more thoroughly. He should have factored in the sudden rainstorm that had passed only a half an hour ago. Marie was worried, he could feel that much from her soul alone.

The kishin egg they were hunting looked just as unsightly as the rest he’d faced thus far. In all, including those he collected with his previous partner, he had captured a hundred and twenty-five. This would end just as the rest had. They would stop its rampage, collect its soul, and move on.

He was only eighteen, even then only barely. Marie, his current weapon partner, was only a month or so younger than him.

The thing was about as high as a two-story building, bearing claws and jagged teeth, its flesh just barely clinging to its bones. Its spine jutted out like cracked spikes, only putting more strain on its already-stretched flesh. Disgusting, but he’d still enjoy tearing it apart.

He was angry. He should have listened when Marie suggested they take a while for him to calm down. He didn’t listen, and he’d regret it for the rest of his life. Any time he looked into her eye.

He glared up at the creature and took note of all the data present.

Blind bloodlust; Advantage to Stein Large equates to slow; Advantage to Stein It had rained; Disadvantage to both sides He was angry; Advantage to the kishin

It had eaten so many souls by this point that it had begun to go berserk. When it finally noticed Stein, its full attention was turned from its intended victim. Stein rolled his head, cracking the joints, adjusting the grip on his weapon. Not loose enough. Too tense. Too angry.

He’d lost all that work for what? Some woman Spirit won’t last a year with. Damn that woman.

Stein charged the beast, using his advantages. His speed, delayed reaction response from the kishin. He was able to keep most of his friction on the ground, making a conscious effort to step on the drier of stones in the cobble street. He slammed his weapon into the back of what might have been a knee once and jumps back as the thing tumbles to the ground.

It would have been the perfect position, but there was one problem. He misread it. It wasn’t as slow as he thought it would be.

It backhanded him, like swatting a fly. Humiliating. Degrading. Taunting. The young meister flew through the window of a crumbling shop and slammed into the counter. He wishes he’d have woken up faster, that he’d come to his senses quicker. That wasn’t the case.

When his eyes opened he saw Marie, kneeled in front of him, worriedly looking him over. He had plenty of glass embedded in his back, and what he’d guessed to be at least a mild concussion. He groaned, his eyes finally coming back into focus.

Some part of him wished that they hadn’t. He saw the kishin’s hand —at least seven feet in length— reaching in through the broken window. Stein tried to reach out, push Marie out of the way, try to tell her to change back into her weapon form. Too late. Too slow. Not enough time.

It grabbed her by the head, dragging her outside. It held her daintily, taunting him as he staggered and nearly tripped over the edge of the window. He warped his wavelength, felt it buzzing under his skin, ready to send a burst of force into the creature. Too late. Again.

He felt his stomach churn as one of its claws stabbed through her eye. Popped like a grape. He still remembers her scream, echoes of a nightmare of a mistake. One damn mistake, one miscalculation, one stupid decision, and there she was. Hanging from its claws, passed out, tears streaming from her remaining eye.

He jumped onto its back, grabbing those spikes of bone and tearing across the skin with his charged wavelength. Its arms were long enough to grab him as well. Another miscalculation. Too much anger, not enough room to process before the fight.

Stein grimaced, feeling its bladed claws slice easily through his clothes and his flesh. Agony. Marie. Rain, water, pain. Pain. PAIN— No! Think. Strategize. Rationalize. Where did it hit me? Concussion... Abdomen, chest, back. Metal claws. Metal.

He took a breath as far as he could considering the grip the thing had on him, and reached inward. His wavelength surged, crackling with energy saved from Marie’s own soul. The blast was more than enough to shatter its hand and make it drop his partner.

Another wound to add to the count. Sprained ankle, potentially fractured talus and metatarsal bones. A shockwave of pain shooting through his leg. Can’t stop. It wasn’t dead yet, and he only barely caught Marie before she would have hit the ground.

He set her down and dodged an angry swipe above his head. He grabbed onto its wrist and ran up its arm. Good thing he always keeps something extra. A scalpel. Versatile, small, easy to conceal. Easy to use, as well. It’s quick enough to slice across the kishin’s throat.

Stein staggered and fell when he hit the ground, the monster’s form dissipating and compressing until it was nothing more than a floating red orb. That was far less important than making sure his weapon partner wasn’t dead. He couldn’t lose another one, not so quickly after losing the first.

Once he had confirmed she was alive, he promptly passed out.

He was vaguely aware as agents from the DWMA came to collect them, the lights of an ambulance, hospital ceilings. All covered by a hazy, painless fog. All he could think of was Marie. Was she alright? Would she live? Considering his rather extensive wounds, he probably should have been wondering about himself as well.

When Stein was finally somewhat lucid —at least for his standards— he noted that his bed was next to Marie’s. The nurse explained that she’d been asking about him, exasperated and worried. He learned he’d been asleep for nearly a week. Understandable. Bodies need time to heal, and do so best when resting. If he hadn’t been asleep, he probably would have made it harder on himself. He hated doing nothing.

They stayed in the hospital for quite some time, though Marie was discharged earlier. She spent most of her time with him, quietly muttering apologies when she thought he was asleep. Why would she feel guilty? Why did he feel guilty?

Weapons are trained and willing to die for their meisters. How fucked up is that...

Worse than that, how could she forgive him? He was reckless, he lost her an eye because he was angry and didn’t listen to her. It was her. She was always there for him, always willing to help. Stabilize, quiet the insanity of his internal dialogue. She wasn’t afraid of him. He couldn’t blame her, really, she’s an incredibly powerful weapon. Named for the legendary Mjolnir. Though, she’s a tonfa. Not a hammer.

She made his recovery easier. She brought him food, helped him remember how to laugh and smile. Sort of. He could still feel the weight of everything in his chest. For the first time in his life, he regretted his actions. It was a disturbing new feeling, and he hated it.

He started getting anxious when she left to do other things. Fell into dissociative states, filled with anxiety at the lack of her presence. A doctor and two nurses ended up rather bruised, and he ended up strapped to his cot. Frustrating. Annoying. Too many memories. Something could happen. Anything could happen to her, and he would be helpless. Useless. Pathetic.

Of course, nothing happened. She would come back, same as always, worried when she noted his distress. There was something else, though. He couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe she was finally getting tired of it. Tired of his constant panic attacks when she would leave. When he would beg her to stay just a little longer.

It was such a relief when he was discharged. He didn’t want to go back to his apartment with her. There was a pang of overwhelming guilt when he looked her in the eyes. Eye. One eye.

He started to take missions more seriously. Controlled himself, though only barely. He slipped back into other old habits, instead. Finding animals to gut. Gouge. Slice. It felt... helpful.

He made her a Death Scythe at twenty-two. He was proud, more so of her than himself. They were a team, but she consumed the souls. She absorbed their power, something he could never imagine doing. He took some pride in his work, but he was more happy for her. What he felt for himself was... Fear.

What would he do? She was going to be transferred to Oceania. She told him she wanted something simple, something easy. As if life for anyone from the academy would be either of those things. Still, he told her to go, that he was happy for her, that he’d be fine. He was lying.

Stein found himself with random episodes of anxiety. Voices creeping around in the shadows of their now-empty apartment. Everything about those rooms was wrong, now that she was gone. It was too lacking. She’d brought most of the furniture with her, which made sense. Most of it was hers anyway, not really his style.

When he tried to ignore his emotions, the anxiety, the depression, they just came back stronger. He had no one to go to. Spirit was married, they had a daughter back when they first got together. So young. Not to mention, Spirit was terrified of him and his wife always glared daggers when he saw them.

He had to stop thinking about her. She’d send him emails, voicemails, which he started to ignore until she just stopped. Somehow, that made it even worse. He couldn’t get any of it out of his head. He needed a barrier. Something, anything to make it better.

He moved out. Bought some broken-down building with what he’d saved up. He busied himself, fixing it up. No one really came out there, so it was perfect for a man hiding from everything. A hermit. Closed off in more ways than one. He refused the offers from Lord Death to keep working for him. Finished several degrees online.

It kept getting worse. He kept getting worse.

He needed a barrier. Something between him and the rest of the hell in his head. Finally, after four years without her, without anyone... He snapped. The walls warped around him, his vision swam, his head was filled with images. Blood. He needed blood. No one to slice, no one to alter. No experiments to carry out.

He pushed himself into a corner, heaving breaths that felt like lead. His stomach churned, the whispers didn’t stop. He wanted it to stop. Needed it to stop. He stumbled as he stood up, leaning on the wall as he walked. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going. He could stop it. He had to.

It’s all in your head. All in your head. In your head. Something between me and my mind. In my head.

“In my head.”

He’d collected enough scrap metal for another hobby, made little trinkets and gadgets. He found something that seemed fitting. Ironic. An oversized screw. He had plenty of medical supplies —dubiously acquired— . Drugs, sutures, stitches, scalpels, pliers, bandages...

He spent so long in that over-lit operating room tearing himself apart. Putting himself back together. Pull apart. Stitch together. Over and over and over. Gave himself several more scars. The last of which was heavy and metal. He’s not sure how he survived. Maybe his soul was too spiteful to let him die.

That was something else, entirely. Altering his own soul. That’s something he doubts he’ll ever remember. He didn’t record it, didn’t take notes. Couldn’t, really. He could hardly breathe, much less speak. It was all so oddly numb but fascinating to watch, see his own blood pooling beneath him.

When he came back from the brink, he noted the mirrors. So many of them propped up everywhere, just so that he could operate on himself. He studied his reflection, his hazy eyes, the fresh stitches across his face and his chest and his arm. The moment he saw the screw embedded in his head was the moment he fled from his body. It felt like a camera had zoomed out to show him his broken flesh.

Somehow, he survived. Lord Death called on him, said he saw what happened. The shinigami insisted he continue working for the DWMA, if only to keep himself in check. He could run the lab like a clinic, if people dared to go inside. Mostly he did autopsies.

He adjusted. He got used to the occasional migraines, found that turning the screw readjusted his thought process. It became a strange little habit, but one he felt calming and helpful. He began to enjoy himself again, just a little bit, a new spark in his life.

Or in someone else’s lack of life. Poor Sid, someone he remembered from school. Stein hadn’t interacted much with the other students, but Sid was a good man. A good a person as any for such an odd experiment. Even if it was commissioned by Lord Death. A human soul and a corpse was an odd package to find on his doorstep. Never a dull moment, he supposed.

He had some fun tormenting those students for their remedial lesson. He remembered how good it felt to be in control, to be intimidating.

Things felt normal. He became a professor. He liked teaching.

Then a witch infiltrated the academy. She woke the kishin, Asura, from his eons-long slumber.

But that’s another story.

#Monologue ; One-Shots #File ; Professor Stein

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totaldramafan-lauri · 5 years ago

Text

Dancing With A Stranger (mini songfic)

OK, so, I’ve been planning my next big fic, but it’s been taking some time....I know how I want it to go story and emotion-wise, but thinking about all the details and the worldbuilding is stressing me out right now....I’m probably gonna start writing it next week anyway, and let myself fill in the blanks that way, but it’ll most likely take a while to finish.

In the meantime, have this small thing.

A couple days ago, I was having some pretty bad anxiety. My Discord friends helped cheer me up, and I can’t thank them enough for that, but it also really got me in the mood for something a bit more....wholesome than usual. Sure, there’s the possibility of danger underneath the surface here, because I really can’t resist, but...for my standards, this is really tame.

I wanted something to cheer me up from the low place I was at. Something about letting her taking my mind off of it and making me feel better...but also telling me that I’m not alone, and that she’s there for me. And then I heard the song, and the scenario just.....leant itself to me on a silver platter. XD I’m a lot better now, but I’d thought of this idea yesterday and wanted to get it out there before it left me. So here it is.

My situation isn’t exactly like the reader’s here (I had to change it to fit the song better), but the emotions - many of the worries - are the same. Feeling like I’m annoying everyone, that I’m secretly hated, stuff like that. Also, it’s in first-person to match the song.

---

I don't wanna be alone tonight It's pretty clear that I'm not over you I'm still thinking 'bout the things you do So I don't wanna be alone tonight, alone tonight, alone tonight

I didn't know why I was here. All I knew was that I was thinking with my broken heart, and not with my mind.

The words echoed in my head...over and over..."I'm sorry." "I haven't been feeling it for a while." "I met someone better for me, and I hope you do, too." What a crappy way to break up with someone, on a date night. We'd planned it together, even...I thought he was looking forward to it...so much for that.

Did he meet this other person recently? Or had he been hiding this from me longer? Had he been planning this, or was this a rushed decision? I was still having a hard time believing it...

What did I do wrong? Why did he leave me? Why wouldn't he tell me what I did? I'd tried so hard to please him, every single day...I did everything he wanted me to...If he told me, I would've tried to fix it.

I must've just not been good enough for him...Not good enough...

Every single insult that had ever been thrown at me came to mind. I was boring. Annoying. Needy. Wimpy. Too submissive for even the likes of him. I didn't deserve him. I didn't deserve anyone...

I didn't deserve to be happy...

I wanted so bad to feel wanted, to feel worth something...to feel loved. I thought about telling friends or family about what happened, but I couldn't bring myself to. I'd just bother them. That's all I did, was bother people.

That must've been why I was here, in this club. Because no one here knew me. No one knew how pathetic I was. I could have a quick pick-me-up, a good night, and would start fresh the next day. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

But the bad thoughts wouldn't go away.

Can you light the fire? I need somebody who can take control

Tears had started streaming down my face. The people around me were all talking amongst each other, or dancing to the happy swing music playing, so there were thankfully no eyes on me, but I felt embarrassed with myself, and hid my face in my hands, choking back the sobs in my throat as I tried desperately to calm down.

Even in this crowded place, it still felt like I was all alone with my thoughts.

No one will ever love you. You're pathetic and worthless. Who could want to take care of someone like you? Everyone hates you, they just won't say it. You know it's true.

"Hey...you OK, toots?"

I jumped a bit when I suddenly heard a voice, one that sounded closer than the rest. I uncovered my face and meekly looked up into the eyes of a woman who was looking back at me. She was tall, wearing a dress shirt and black shorts with suspenders. Her long hair was a dark pink, held up in pigtails. Her eyes were soft, a slight smile on her face.

I sniffled, and tried to speak, although I was frazzled. "Me? I'm fine..."

"But you're cryin'..." the woman leaned forward, looking me over. "What's wrong? Did something happen to ya?"

Crying...Oh crap. My hands went to my eyes, trying to rub the tears away. This stranger caught me crying. How embarrassing... "I-it's nothing," I said, "I just..."

I paused, trying to think of something to say, but my mind went blank. How do I even try to cover this up?

"It's OK, you don't gotta say anything," she said, "Only if you wanna."

Her voice was soft and smooth, in an almost soothing kind of way. I didn't expect to meet someone like that at a club. It almost didn't feel real...

She handed me a napkin, which I used to wipe my eyes more. "Thanks..." I muttered.

"No problem, doll," she said softly, "Someone as cute as you shouldn't be cryin'."

Cute? She's joking, right? I thought, And did she just call me "doll"?

Before I could react, she sat down next to me, crossing one leg over the other. Her gentle gaze never left me, and I could feel my heart start to beat faster. "Y-you..." I gulped, "It's OK, you don't have to worry...I'm always like this..."

"Always?" she tilted her head, "Oh no...No wonder ya came here! Here I was wonderin' why someone like you would be at a crazy place like this..."

I looked down at my hands, going silent. I could feel her judging me now. If I hadn't been so weak and started crying, this wouldn't have happened...I hated having to force people to worry about me. Like my ex. I'd always act like this around him, making him worry about me. And my friends, too.

You're such a burden. You keep guilt tripping everyone around you. Stop doing that, you crap. This is why he left you.

"Are you lonely?"

My head shot up in surprise when she spoke again. "Huh? What?"

"Are you lonely?" she repeated.

My eyes widened. "L-lonely...?"

"Do ya want someone to be with ya?" she leaned closer to me, smiling still, "Someone who won't run away?"

She had read me like a book. A soft noise escaped my lips as I instinctively leaned away from her, my heart racing a mile a minute.

"Remember, ya don't have to say anything. I was just wonderin', is all," she gently reminded me.

One of my hands went to my chest, and I gulped down the lump that had been in my throat from crying. I hesitated, before nodding.

I know exactly what I need to do 'Cause I don't wanna be alone tonight, alone tonight, alone tonight

"Poor thing...Did someone hurt ya?"

I nodded again, wordlessly. The memories were so fresh in my head...I felt myself getting close to tears again, and I sniffled, bringing the napkin to my face again...

...I felt her hand on my shoulder. A gentle touch, one that sent shockwaves through my body.

"I'm so sorry...I wasn't there, but I can still tell ya didn't deserve that," she said, "Don't waste your time carin' about people who don't care about you...that's what I always tell myself."

I let her words sink in. I shouldn't care about people who don't care about me? But...what if it's someone I want to care? Is it hopeless to want that?

"Look somewhere else, doll. You'll find someone who'll take ya..."

I didn't know this woman. I didn't even know her name. But I was paying attention to every word she said. I was in so much pain, and here she was, talking to me. I should've been wary of her, but in the moment, I didn't believe she'd hurt me. Was that why I was like this? Because I'd trust anyone who was kind to me?

She turned to the dance floor. "Song's almost over..." she muttered, and then stood up. My eyes followed her, and widened in surprise when she offered a hand to me. "Dance with me?" she asked.

I felt my cheeks flush at that simple question. Dance? She wanted me to dance with her? I opened my mouth to try and speak again. "Ah- I-" I cleared my throat, "Um, th-thanks, but I think I'm better now...You don't have to worry about me...You can go now..."

I knew I wasn't fine. I knew I didn't want her to leave. But at the same time, I was guilty about taking up her time. I had planned on leaving soon, anyway. This had clearly been a bad idea.

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm not leavin' ya here like this. I know what you're feelin', and I know it sucks," she looked me dead in the eye, and spoke in a voice that made a shiver race down my spine. "I want ya to have fun...Isn't that why you came here? To have fun? To escape all the crap goin' on in your life? Lemme take you away from it...Lemme be your escape~..."

More and more heat rushed to my cheeks with every word that came out of her mouth. I sat there, staring at her, as her hand was still extended to me. She knew how I felt? She really understood? So she wasn't just taking pity on me? I couldn't believe it...It felt like I was unable to move.

"Dance with me, doll...I promise, I won't hurt ya~"

My thoughts were racing. Should I trust her? I wanted so, so badly to...But trusting people had only led to pain. I was a burden to everyone. But right then...I couldn't resist her...

"But I- I can't dance..." I stuttered, "I-I never learned how..."

"That doesn't matter," she assured me, "Just follow me, OK? Let me take care of everything."

The idea of letting someone else take control for a bit, as I focus on nothing but her...Letting all my sadness and heartbreak fade into the background as I do so. It felt too good to pass up.

So, I took her hand.

Look what you made me do I'm with somebody new Oh, baby, baby, I'm dancing with a stranger

Having my hand held in hers...it was almost surreal. It let me know this wasn't a dream.

She led me to the center of the room, where the music was louder. She immediately put her hands on me. I stiffened in nervousness. "Just focus on me," she instructed, "Follow my steps. I'll start slowly for ya..."

I never thought I'd ever do this. But I didn't wanna think about anything else. If my thoughts wandered, I'd end up in that place again. I wanted to leave it behind, and to believe in her. But...swing dancing was clearly not my calling. I did as she said still, copying her movements to the best of my ability.

"There ya go!" she said, "Just like that!"

She started moving faster, and I continued following. Her praise made me happy in a way I didn't know I could have been right then. Her smile turned into a playful smirk as she went...

"You're a bit stiff...Relax a bit, OK~? No one's watchin' us~"

"Yeah...like that. You're gettin' it...Just don't worry 'bout a thing~"

I felt myself slowly melt...

Look what you made me do I'm with somebody new Oh, baby, baby, I'm dancing with a stranger

It was only a matter of time before I stumbled, causing me to lean on her for balance. I squeaked in embarrassment, my face flushing brightly as I backed away. "I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

She giggled, though not in a mocking way at all. "It's fine! I told ya, this is just for fun!"

My ex would've made a comment, like "You gotta pay better attention", or something else that would make me feel worse. But she...didn't mind me messing up? And she wasn't uncomfortable with me being so close to her then?

"Ah, yeah..." I tried my best to calm myself down again. However, when I looked back at her, and saw that smirk, I felt like I was going to explode.

"Don't worry about impressin' me, doll~" she said with a small chuckle.

That only made me stiffen even more. What did she just say? Impressing her? Was that...really what I was trying to do? Did I want to impress her?

I stumbled again, causing more giggles. "OK, OK, maybe I'm goin' a lil' bit fast. Want me to slow down again?"

"N-no, it's fine! I-I'll adjust," I said, "It's just for fun...just for fun..."

I didn't wanna admit defeat. Crap, maybe I was trying to impress her...but she didn't mind my screw-ups at all. She didn't expect me to be an expert. She just wanted me to enjoy myself. I kept telling myself this, and slowly, I believed it more and more.

By the next misstep, I was laughing along with her. "Sorry..." I said, still a bit nervous, "I told you, I'm not good at this..."

"But you're gettin' better, and that's what counts~" she said, smiling down at me.

"B-better?" I sputtered, laughing again, "Am I really now?"

"Yeah, you are! You're laughin'! That's what I like to see~"

It took me a second to realize what she meant, and I blushed yet again. So that's the "better" she meant...

She continued swaying with me, humming as she pulled me closer to her. I closed my eyes, everything else around us beginning to fade away in my mind. No more exes, no more heartbreak, no more worries, no more anxieties. Just me, her, and the music.

...And even that began to fade, to give way for the sound of my heartbeat, when she spoke again, softly.

"Y'know, doll...You're so much prettier when ya smile~"

Dancing with a stranger...

#fics by lauri

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thewhiterabbit42 · 6 years ago

Text

Three’s Company: Part 3

Key

Chapter Pairing: Gabriel x reader

Series Pairing: Loki x Nymph!Reader x Gabriel

Summary: Gabriel shows up and does what he does best.

Word Count: 2483

Chapter Tags/Warnings: pre-relationship, a little UST

Series Tags/Warnings: Nymph!reader, slow burn, indebted!reader, smut, poly-relationship (more to come)

Author’s note: Please check the warnings / tags with each update, as this series is only loosely planned and ever evolving.

Series Masterlist - coming soon!

<< Part 2

You wonder if Gabriel knows you can sense him. Not so much his energy. He keeps that off the grid so well even your most concerted efforts can’t uncover it, and you’ve come to realize there must be some element of magic involved to help hide him.

Still, there’s something about his presence that registers. It alters the atmosphere in ways you don’t understand. It’s not a physical change. You can’t detect it with your eyes, but your other senses wake up when he’s near, as if shaking off a long sleep, and everything feels brighter.

He doesn’t announce himself, and you don’t acknowledge him. You’re in the middle of reorganizing Loki’s office, something you’ve meant to get to for weeks. More importantly, you’re not done moping yet, and you know the moment the archangel realizes you’re in a sour mood, he’ll not only try to drag you out of it, but succeed.

He gives you space, allowing you to work in silence while he lingers. The absence of him even when he’s there is just as distracting as Loki’s overbearing presence. Part of you wishes Gabriel would leave, while another doesn’t want to be alone.

The dissonance only inflames your irritability, and you shove a text onto the shelf so hard the entire bookcase jostles.

It’s the opportunity he’s been waiting for, his body suddenly rounding the side of the desk as he saunters up beside you. “What did..,” he pauses, reading the label along the spine. “The death records of the Athenian temple for Aphrodite ever do to you?”

The words are barely out of his mouth before he’s pulling it back off the shelf to verify that’s what it actually is.

“Why do we even have this?” He asks, slamming the book shut before waving it in front of you.

“What exactly do you do around here, again?” You snatch it back from his hand, and your barb earns you a pointed look.

To be fair, if he doesn’t want you asking questions you know the answer to, then neither should he.

“Bother beauties like yourself and look good doing it?” The smile he gives you is devastating, and you’re already responding. Your mood and lips lift around the edges as he leans closer, brows waggling.

Without thinking, you place your palm over his face, smothering his charm as you playfully give him a push. “Put that away.”

He bats your hand to the side, amusement dancing across his features. “I saw that smile. Don’t try to hide it. I see all.”

Clearly not, but you imagine he could if he opened his eyes a little more. Your thoughts stray to recent lore you just happened to be perusing on archangels. Special ordered. In no way related to your current company. Just like your current hotel has nothing to do with it being close enough to a library to make a reasonable request (with a reasonable tip) for staff to make a pickup for you.

He tilts his head, leaning against the bookshelf, and his stare shifts to something more appraising. “What’s that look for?”

With Loki you tend to pause before answering, mindful of the words you choose, but with Gabriel the need to censor yourself doesn’t exist. He may look like your boss, but he holds no key to your bonds.

Besides, there’s nothing you can say that’s any worse than what you’ve heard come out of his mouth.

“I was just wondering what your true form was like.”

His brows raise in tandem, and for a moment he looks on the verge of a serious answer. Any hope is dashed the moment a familiar twinkle enters his gaze.

“If you’re really interested, how about a trade: I’ll show you yours, you show me mine?”

You’re not even sure what that means, but instead of trying to make sense of it, you simply roll your eyes. You don’t need to play his game to notice what lies beneath the innuendo; a slow simmering curiosity that builds the longer you know him.

You imagine he’s seen just about everything in his long life, but you’re certain he’s never received a full blown whammy from something like you. Some can harness it. Some lose their mind. Most simply muddle through it or succumb.

You have no idea how he’d react. You’ve never tried unleashing your magic on the divine. Archangels, in particular, are a wild card. Their grace is powerful, completely unknown to you and many others. Heaven’s children tended to keep to themselves over the ages, and into their corresponding worshippers’ territories. Gabriel is a rarity on so many levels.

Which includes the fact that bad pickup lines actually sound good coming from him. Not that you’ll ever let him know that.

You snort. “Does that actually work?”

He lowers himself onto the edge of the desk, his facade dropping and revealing the casual veneer you’re accustomed to. “You can’t tell me you’ve never used a cheesy line before.”

You’ve dropped many over the ages, back when Loki used to take you into civilization. He used to allow you to mingle among humans under his distant but watchful eye, so long as it was far, far away from other supernatural beings.

The irritation from earlier bubbles up inside you, and you fix the archangel with a direct stare.

He winces before you even snap at him.

“And when do you suppose I’d have the chance to do that?”

Part of you wants to be furious at the ever closing collar around your neck. Part of you realizes you’ve long since lost the taste for meaningless encounters, so there’s little point in being let out. At least not among society.

“Is that why you’re not yourself lately?”

He’s noticed. You’re not sure why this revelation stuns you, but it does. Loki’s usually the one keeping close tabs on you. Too close these days, you guess, which is why he can’t see the forest for the trees, or your increasing need for either of them.

Gabriel has been the one hovering, however. While his counterpart often equates him to the annoying fly buzzing about one’s head, you find him amusing, increasingly endearing, and distracting in ways that have your heart rate climbing and your stomach fluttering whenever you make eye contact.

That, combined with your surprise, has you fumbling with what to say. He picks up on this as well, but this time is different. Everything about him goes eerily still.

“Just because I act shallow, doesn’t mean I always am.”

Merciful Zeus, he’s offended. You’ve seen him angry, bitter, but rarely like you’ve plucked a feather straight out of his wings.

The darks of his eyes grow wider, slowly eating away at the edges of gold, and you realize what the problem is.

“Gabriel, you should keep your distance.” You shrink away from him, allowing time for the quiet assertion to sink in as you turn and pretend to wipe lingering dust off some of the books.

His brow furrows before spiking again. “He hasn’t let you out at all, has he?” There’s no time to answer as he runs a hand through his hair. “That sonofa --”

You’ve only heard Enochian a handful of times. Loki forbids it from being spoken, but there are times, like now, the archangel slips. You have no idea what he’s saying, other than it can’t be very flattering.

He’s still muttering when he jumps off the desk, grabbing you without warning. “C’mon.”

There’s a jolt before his hand even closes around your wrist, energy sparking against your skin and sending a shockwave of effervescence through your system. A dizzying rush follows, the room whirling as the sharp, pristine contrast of black and white melts into muddied, earthen tones.

You can smell it before you see it; know on an instinctual level where you are before foliage springs up around you. You’re far from the city, but not completely off the map. You can feel the lingering imprints of human energy, but it’s background noise against the vast symphony of flora and fauna that greet every one of your senses like a long lost friend.

You let out a breath, watching the way it crystallizes on the air, before wide eyes take in your surroundings. You’ve missed the vibrant colors of autumn, arriving just in time to catch the last vestiges of life echoing in faded, ruddy, and dull tones. What remains is still breathtaking in its own way; a quiet contrast to the neutral browns and smatterings of green that still remain.

The natural beauty of this place becomes lost, however, against your panic.

“You need to bring me back,” you insist. “I don’t have permission to be here.”

You don’t have permission to be anywhere save Loki’s suite, and he’s already issued his judgment on this matter not two hours ago. He’ll be livid if he finds out you left, but it’s what remains when his pride retreats and the flames of his fury have burned out that worries you.

“Please.”

Gabriel’s taken aback by your words, and you realize you’ve never seen what disappointment looks like with him.

Anxiety overlays your misgivings, creating new ones, sending conflict careening against the constant reminder that everything you’ve craved is close enough to touch. You forget yourself, eyes closing as you breathe deep, letting it all sink beneath your skin, if only for a moment.

Gabriel whistles, low and long. “That right there, kid? Exactly why we’re staying.”

You’re head’s not above enough water to realize he’s called you a name he reserves for moments of condescension or great sympathy. All you’re aware of is need, crashing heavily over you, sweeping away your resolve with the tide and leaving a flurry of what ifs in their wake.

There’s a slow, creeping euphoria as the fibers in your being extend, reaching out to reconnect their fraying ends to organic, sturdy threads. Your arm extends, fingertips seeking out a solid source closest to you. Your feet are already moving, guided by a sense that exists only for your kind, until your hand connects with chill kissed bark and everything suddenly stills.

There is peace. It’s in the slumber radiating beneath your palm and the small pearl of life tucked away from the cold. It resonates, with the rays of summer that have kept its leaves well fed, with the rain that’s kept its innermost layers nourished.

You lean forward, your dress snagging at intervals along its rough body. You rest your cheek against it, drinking in its silent conversation with everything you have. It calms and energizes you in a way you nothing else has and you imagine never will.

The moment morphs into something different as another presence shifts closer to you, one that is unmistakably vibrant and demands to be acknowledged.

“By all means, get whatever you need to out of your system,” he tells you. “But I gotta say, if you start humping that tree, I am outta here.”

You open your eyes, pupils large and owlish, and you let out a small laugh that borders on manic.

Gabriel peers around the side of the tree, his own stare dilating in response. “Holy shit, you look about as high as the first time we took you out.”

Out. You’re out without permission. The reminder collars your innate drives, putting them back into check so you can think again.

“We should go.” Resignation has you deflating against the sturdy maple.

“Like hell we are,” he insists, hands on his hips. It’s the most serious you’ve seen him since you offered yourself as a distraction to get him (and Loki by association) out of hot water in Beijing ages ago.

He didn’t listened to you then, either.

“Just who do you think he leaves in charge when he’s away, hmmm?” He questioned. “And as temporary head honcho, I am ordering you to be here.”

Power is shared. Equal? No, not quite. Not in all matters, but hope catches in your throat nonetheless.

You try to recall the exceptions. He never deals with her. He rarely deals with you. Not in official capacity. Not often. Not without orders.

It’s clear the trickster in front of you is not used to being the leash holder, and he begins to shift beneath the weight of your silence. “...if you want to, that is.”

You continue to stare at him, and it’s as if you’re seeing him for the first time.

Gabriel, beneath the hijinks and human vessel, is as unfathomable as his true form; an infinite being, so vastly powerful, and yet he is the softness to the hardened edges that is his shared identity. He has the power to take your freedom as much as to let you taste it, and yet, his offer is based on what you want and need instead of what serves him most.

The gesture has you on the verge of tears or kissing him. You ride the impulse halfway, releasing your wooden anchor to slip your arms around him.

He goes stiff, your enthusiasm knocking him back a step as you leap at him. A part of you knows - shouldn’t touch - but he always has a way of making you forget yourself.

“Yeesh, you must be really desperate if you’re this grateful for fresh air.” He eases his awkward reaction with a good-natured tease and a small pat on your back before extricating himself from your grip.

“Go on,” he gestures toward the forest. “Enjoy, before the clock strikes midnight and we both turn into pumpkins.”

Midnight.

His eyes narrow intently. “What?”

You have no idea what’s showing on your features, only that it’s confusing the hell out of him by the look on his.

“Can we really stay out until then?” Your voice is uncharacteristically timid, a fail-safe chiding with a distant too much the moment the words have left your mouth.

You immediately regret it. You shouldn’t ask for more, not when he’s being so generous already. A brief but intense debate sparks, the outcome muting the brightness in your eyes.

“Never mind.” You shake your head, ashamed to have even thought of pushing, let alone saying anything.

A brief touch along the side of your face brings you back again, though you hold off on looking up. You don’t want him to see your disappointment, to mistake it for being thankless.

“Sweetheart, we can stay out as long your heart desires.”

His answer sweeps you completely out to sea, gratitude restoring the brightness to your gaze. This time you do kiss him, lips catching the corner of his in thoughtless haste. You dance away just as quickly, twirling through the leaves, your excitement blinding you to the way every molecule in his being grinds to a halt and how he deliberately keeps his distance for the next few hours.

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entropic-introspection · 7 years ago

Text

Part the third! I feel like its a sort of. Odd part, because its when suddenly there’s plot and me attempting to start explaining the whole nonsense with Cybertronian submissive/dominant coding, but hey! It’s done!

And for those of you who don’t like reading this on tumblr- eventually, a cleaned up version will be uploaded to AO3. I’ll post a link when it happens! For now though, this is titled I Love You for Psychological Reasons, abbreviated ily4pr because that is. An astonishingly accurate acronym actually.

So, what is the Autobot high command like? SNAFU, honestly.

“Ow! Ratchet, are you sure this is necessary?” Optimus asked, trying to squirm away. He received an especially fierce jab with the welder for his troubles.

“Maybe if someone didn’t run off like a partially plated sparkling, no,” Ratchet said. “Quit squirming or I’ll weld your arm to your chassis by accident.”

“Accident,” Optimus muttered. “Right.”

Ratchet cracked the barest hint of a smile that he let seep into his field, but kept his eyes on his work. “Don’t you two have anything better to do?” he called over his shoulder at the annoying buzz of conjoined fields behind him.

Jetfire and Jetstorm looked at each other. “No?” they said in unison.

“We be taking Prime to see Ultra Magnus and maybe sort of Magnus Sentinel after this!” Jetstorm said. “So until then, we be waiting.”

“Prime’s a big bot, I’m sure he can make his own way there,” Ratchet said sardonically.

“Sentinel maybe Magnus gave us specific orders!” Jetfire said. “He be wanting us to be ready to drag you in by your unecessary wingtips to be explaining this mess to the Ultra Magnus. Though those be missing right now.”

Ratchet could feel the tiny twitches in Optimus’ plating, cables suddenly tensing and trying to recalibrate for a missing weight. His processor was probably stuck on a loop, looking for his jetpack and its associated protocols plus its weight. Not uncommon for an injury like that, but it could be a sign of further damage. He’d keep an eye on it.

“I thought he wasn’t supposed to get too much unexpected news,” Optimus said.

Jetfire and Jetstorm gave Optimus pitying looks. “You thinking he miss whole planet shaking from huge warp? Or missing hammer? Sir tell us he be telling Ultra Magnus just so he not worry so much!” Jetstorm explained.

“And conveniently means he can’t explain what all he’s mucked up or else it might be too much for that poor old spark,” Ratchet muttered cynically, too low for the twins to hear. Optimus glared at him, but made no other movements. Smart bot. Most of the Academy bots learned pretty quick that the one person you never argue with was your medic, but Ratchet’s heard a few stories to suggest that Sentinel definitely-not-Magnus took a few tries to get it through his thick helm. That threat to weld arms to chassis wasn’t uncommon, nor was it entirely un-acted on. With a few adjustments, of course. Such as possibly welding a big mouth shut.

“All right,” Optimus said. “Can you tell Sentinel I’ll be there shortly? I’ll bring the hammer as well.”

Ratchet frowned. Optimus would be tired from both the battle and the repairs, not to mention a full submissive shouldering their way through a full dominance challenge could bring its own problems. If he had his way, Optimus would be resting for the day, alone or with friends as he preferred.

(Some part of him rolls its optics at his use of the word day, but, well, Earth had affected all of them. He feels awful to even think it, but he’s glad that Optimus ended up stuck with their horrible little rag-tag team of misfits on Earth, because the thought of him going through the rest of the Autobot Guard training alone-)

“I’ll come with you,” Ratchet said instead.

Optimus cycled his optics. “What? Why? I thought you said-”

Ratchet waved him off sharply. “I just fixed you up, and that hammer is slagging heavy. I don’t want your whole arm falling off because you were careless.”

Jetfire and Jetstorm frowned. “Is not being a good idea,” Jetfire said. “Too many bots! Without security clearance, even!”

Ratchet snorted. “If I wanted our Magnus dead, I could’ve just let Shockwave finish him off, and if I wanted the hammer, I had plenty of time to make off with it.”

The twins drew themselves up and approached together. “Still not allowed,” Jetstorm said. “No good!” Jetfire said. They both glared at Ratchet, their fields shoving their assorted bits of dominance at the both of them. Young bots, honestly. Medics didn’t give a slag about dominance and submission because that’s stupid when you’re saving lives, and Optimus hadn’t even stuttered at dominance challenges much stronger than whatever these two could dredge up. Still not good for them to get ideas.

Ratchet raised an eye ridge as he put his welder down and turned around, and neatly swatted them down with a burst of sharp edged medical grade dominant EMF. “Don’t get into a code off with a medic,” he drawled as the twins flinched backwards. “It doesn’t tend to impress us much.”

“Just… go ahead,” Optimus said to them. “I’ll convince Ratchet, or take responsibility.”

“I’m my own responsibilty,” Ratchet growled, but the twins had already fled. He looked over at Optimus. “You ok, kid? Can’t be fun dealing with any of this on top of a full challenge from that slag eating idiot Megatron.” Primus knew he’d have a raging helmache after that, even with a lower sensing capacity.

“I’m fine, Ratchet,” Optimus said. “I’m just… out of practice.”

“Heh. Earth was a lot quieter, wasn’t it,” Ratchet said.

“I recall there being a few Decepticons,” Optimus said with a smile.

“Details,” Ratchet said dismissively. “At least we weren’t socializing with them.”

Optimus stifled a laugh as Ratchet stretched, working out the kinks in his back cables. He relaxed his field as well, dropping the medical coding that let him project whatever was needed to calm patients. A vague neutral was the most popular, but he could vary it towards either dominance or submission as needed. It was supposedly indistinguishable from a natural EMF, but there was always something off about it. Made bots jumpy, and feeling others constantly probing his EMF without thinking to find that wrongness made Ratchet irritable.

Still, it had it’s advantages sometimes. He eyed Optimus, wondering if he should have tried to soothe him with unassuming dominance. He could scrounge up a bit of that from his own code, although it wouldn’t be very strong.

Optimus caught his look and rolled his optics. “I’m fine,” he stressed. “Besides, I think after getting hit by Megatron’s field, any dominance is going to feel like acid.”

“Fair enough,” Ratchet shrugged, but quietly decided to keep a close eye on the kid. You never knew when complications would pop up, and Optimus was annoyingly stubborn about actually telling him what was wrong. Dominance and submissive coding was a nightmare to deal with, being stuck somewhere between a physical ailment and a mental one, but he’d do his best.

Optimus was still side-eying him, so he made a small show of examining Optimus’ scratched faceplates. “Well, your face will look like you lost a fight with the ground for a while, but it’s nothing your self repair can’t handle. I suppose we should get moving.”

Optimus opened his mouth to argue, only to be stopped by Ratchet’s look. He sighed. “We should,” he agreed resignedly, grabbing the hammer from where it rested on the wall.

The journey to Ultra Magnus’ room was uneventful, although security seemed to be a little non-plussed at how to handle Optimus carrying the Magnus Hammer since it was, technically, a weapon of possibly mass destruction.

Sentinel eventually stuck his head out the door, scowling. “Would you get in here already!” he said impatiently. “And give me that!” he said, snatching the hammer from Optimus’ hands, hissing in displeasure when its handle sparked.

“I’m sorry, Sentinel,” Optimus said as they walked inside, trying to cover Ratchet’s snort, “I just assumed-”

“Haven’t you learned your assumptions get bots killed,” Sentinel snapped, placing the hammer gently against the wall by the medical berth.

“Enough,” Ultra Magnus said, vocalizer rasping and popping from lack of use. “What is done is done.” He was propped up on the medical berth, attached to various silent monitors. A few tubes ran through his emergency intakes on his chest, carrying fluid in and out. Optimus saw Ratchet squint and frown, but stay silent.

“Ultra Magnus, sir,” Optimus said respectfully. “It’s good to see you up.”

“For a given value of up,” Ultra Magnus said. His optics roamed over Optimus. “You look quite good for someone who took on Megatron.”

“I was lucky,” Optimus said, trying to shove the embarrassed flush out of his field. “I didn’t think I would be able to do much besides stall him until help could arrive.”

“Well, you couldn’t even do that,” Sentinel drawled. “And if you hadn’t hung up on me, I could have told you that all of our forces were occupied with evacuating civilians and holding the line to keep the Decepticons contained within the districts around Trypticon.”

“All of them?” Ratchet said blandly. “Goodness me, I thought that the increased militarization in Iacon was to prevent this sort of thing.”

Sentinel scowled, and Optimus hurried to speak before he could open his mouth. “I am sorry for, ah, taking the Magnus Hammer,” he said, layering submissiveness into his field. Sentinel tended to like that. “I wasn’t sure if I could take on Megatron without it, seeing as how it’s too easy for him to shrug off my axe. Besides which, I thought that if I were to walk into an ambush, the Hammer’s electrical abilities would be able to take out a larger number of enemies at once.”

“Well reasoned,” Ultra Magnus croaked with a nod. “But you cannot do that again, Optimus Prime.” There was a brush of dominance in his field, so weak and far gone from its usual vibrant rush that Optimus felt almost off-balance.

“Of course, sir,” he said automatically. “I understand.” I don’t mean that, he realized. He felt as though that should bother him more than it did.

“Do you now,” Ultra Magnus said. “Perhaps…” Sentinel and Optimus exchanged confused looks over Ultra Magnus’ head as he stared off into the distance, humming slightly to himself. This certainly wasn’t normal behavior. Optimus heard Ratchet quietly sigh behind him.

“In any case,” Ultra Magnus said suddenly, focusing back on the two Primes before him, “There is always much to be done, now more than ever. I did not expect to wake to the news that we had captured Megatron only to have a mass escape, but this means we are in more danger than ever. Be on the lookout for unusual behavior that may hint at new Decepticon movements. We know they are out there, and they will return. They have proven they may already be here.” He paused to take a few ragged inhalations. “I fear that I must rest now. Protect the Commonwealth, soldiers. Dismissed.”

“Sir!” Optimus and Sentinel said, saluting. They turned to leave as a medic entered the room. Ratchet said something to them in a low tone, but the other just shook their head and pushed him towards the door.

“Is it very bad?” Optimus asked quietly as the door slid shut behind them.

“Of course everything’s bad,” Sentinel snapped before Ratchet could say anything. He glared at the guards, who were staring straight ahead uncomfortably, as if optic contact was what would make this supposedly private conversation awkward.

Sentinel moved forward, grabbing Optimus’ elbow to guide him. Ratchet trailed after them, hovering like a particularly irritated Earth storm cloud.

“Optimus needs to rest-” he started.

“Optimus needs to stop causing new problems!” Sentinel hissed. “I’m trying to take care of things and you two are ruining it!”

“What have I ruined?” Optimus asked in confusion. “From the sound of it, no one would have been able to stop the Decepticons-”

Sentinel groaned in exasperation. “See! You don’t even know what our real problems are. Fine. You know what?”

“Since you’re incapable of keeping out of trouble, I’m sending you to where you at least can’t make it worse. Your pet techno-organic said that something was wrong on that disgusting mudball of a planet and said that your underling Bumblebee couldn’t talk to me at the moment.”

“What?” Optimus said, alarmed. “Sari and- What sort of trouble?!”

“I don’t know, and I really don’t care,” Sentinel said in annoyance. “There’s no reason for any Decepticons to still be there, and you rounded up the All Spark fragments to repair it. As far as I’m concerned, anything else is those squishies problems. But for now? You can go check it out. It’s not like you can make anything worse there.”

“And as for you,” he said, rounding on Ratchet with an accusatory finger already pointing. “You are to remain here, in Iacon, on Cybertron, since you refuse to find a secondary pilot for Omega Supreme.”

Ratchet looked more like a storm cloud than ever. “I have told the Council-”

“Too bad,” Sentinel snapped. “I don’t care what you think, I still hold authority until Ultra Magnus is back on his peds. And I want you here on Cybertron, and Optimus can go back to those stupid squishies.”

“Alone?” Ratchet said archly. “Didn’t we just prove that’s not a good plan?”

Sentinel rolled his optics. “It’s not like there’s anything on Earth that could seriously threaten him anymore.” - “Get outta here!” Mixmaster sneered, chivying off the tiny organics attempting to investigate their build site. “Shoo!”

“Ey, they’re kinda cute when you look at ‘em right,” Scavenger said. He winced as a bullet pinged off his plating. “Kinda noisy though.”

“They’re messin’ up our timeline,” Mixmaster grumbled. “You know how boss gets about that.”

“Yeah, well, boss is busy right now,” Scavenger said. He looked off into the distance, where Dirt Boss was busy yelling at some humans from atop the tank he had cerebro-shelled. The little bug dude was yelling back at him, but wasn’t getting much of anywhere. “We ain’t on the clock ‘til he gets back. ‘Sides, what’s so important here anyways that we gotta build here? Thought with Megatron gone we’d be doing stuff more discreet like or somethin��. Ain’t worth the trouble.”

Mixmaster shrugged eloquently. “This pink stuff’s worth a ton to the right folks,” he said. “Guess it’s good for us too? Got no flavor to it, not like that good oil though. Still, we set up this here mining rig and we can get set for life.”

“But do we really gotta set up here?” Scavenger said, leaning back against the scaffolding they already had up, ignoring how the humans seemed to panic as it groaned under the stress. “Organics like these are a workplace hazard. We can just go’n find some more-”

“There ain’t more!” Mixmaster argued. “Not yet, I think, if Dirt Boss’ is right. I’m lookin’ at this here energon stuff and it ain’t natural to this here planet, but it’s wellin’ up for some reason. Nearest I can tell, somethin’ pushed a reaction that’s causin’ this here organic scrap to start cyberizing. Gave it a bit ‘a sentio metallico to kick-start some slag, and the rest is some chemistry mumbo jumbo that you ain’t gonna understand anyhow.”

“Yes, but I might,” a new voice broke in.

The two Constructicons looked up to see one of the Starscream clones floating down, touching down with barely a sound.

“Who’s you?’ Mixmaster asked, instantly suspicious.

“Slipstream,” she said with a smile. “I think I can help you boys with your problems. Pro-bono, even. For free,” she clarified at their blank looks.

“Yeah?” Scavenger said, trying to make his leaning pose look as nonchalant as it had been a few clicks ago. “’Cause since you showed up, I got this real big problem-”

“I have null rays and a willingness to use them to take care of that ‘problem’,” Slipstream said. “Wanna keep that sentence going?”

“No ma’am,” Scavenger said, hands moving to cover his more delicate cyber-anatomy.

She gave a flinty smile. “Good. Now then. Do I talk to you, or is there someone else I need to terrorize first?”

#tf #fanfic #maccadam #tfa #ily4pr

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pinknerdpanda · 8 years ago

Text

Bad Blood - Part 4

Characters: Reader,Benny, Dean, Sam

Series Summary: You stop at a small cafe in Louisiana on your way home from hunting with the Winchesters. There is something about the man behind the counter that makes you hungry for more than just the pie.

Warnings for this chapter: A smidge angsty, with like possibly something almost, but not quite, entirely unlike smut.

Word Count: 2,102

A/N: This is Part 4. Thank you to Lee aka @wheresthekillswitch for being my amazing beta - love you!! :) Your feedback is so appreciated!

Behind? You can catch up here:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Tags are below the cut - please send me an ask if you would like to be added or removed from my tag list! :)

Bad Blood

Part 4

Highway 61 between Carencro LA and Baton Rouge LA

“Excuse me? Who died and made you boss, Dean? I am fully capable of driving myself.” You take a few steps toward Dean and the floor starts to tilt beneath you as your head begins to swim again. You fall forward and Dean reaches out to catch you, grabbing your waist. The feel of his hands on you sends a shockwave throughout your body and you look up at him. His face is a mask of indifference, but you can’t help but notice the way his pupils are threatening to overtake the green of his eyes and how his nostrils flare. He releases you quickly, taking a step backward.

“I think you just answered your own question. But for the record I think you’ve more than proven that you’re not exactly the poster child for sound judgement, so for the rest of this hunt, I will be calling the shots. You gotta problem with that? Tough shit.” Dean turns on his heel and storms outside.

“I’ll be in the car, please try to hurry.” Sam looks between you and the vampire, before following his brother out the door.

“Well, cher. Looks like things just got interesting.”

-----

You would never admit it to Dean, but you are grateful the bastard made Sam drive your car back to Baton Rouge. You sure as hell have no desire to be in the car with him after his hyper-macho shit show at the cafe. Between the dark, sparse rural highway and the rumble of the car, exhaustion gets the better of you quickly, lulling you into a restless sleep.

Distantly the muffled sound of a phone ringing rouses you from your slumber. You curse silently, refusing to open your eyes, hoping you will be able to slip back out of consciousness soon.

“Yeah Dean, I know.” Sam’s deep voice is low, trying not to disturb you. The younger Winchester had always seemed to be more considerate than his brother. “Y/n? She fell asleep before we even hit the city limits sign.”

The sound of your name peaks your interest, and you crack your eyes open the tiniest bit and listen carefully, making sure not to draw attention to yourself.

“You know Dean, I really think you need to talk to her.” He paused, and you hear a faint muffled voice coming through the small speaker of his cell. “No, man. You need to tell her how you...” Sam’s words are cut off by more muffled mumbles. He slams down his phone, scrubbing his palm down his face and sighing.

You clench your eyes shut again and attempt to fall back to sleep. Your thoughts drift back to Dean and the way your body responded to his touch when he’d caught you. Even now, nowhere near the man, a pulse of heat flares in your core as his face flashes through your mind. He’d never had an effect like this on you before. Maybe you really are concussed.

You feel the car turning and you blink your eyes open as the car comes to a stop, stretching your sore limbs.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Sam’s voice is warm and edged with concern.

“I’m ok. Where are we?” You sit up straighter in your seat glancing out the window.

“Gas station about 30 minutes outside of Baton Rouge. Thought it would be a good time to regroup. Dean says they have a plan.”

Sam pumps the gas while you go inside, grabbing 2 bottles of water and a package of Twizzlers before stepping up to the counter to pay for your snacks and the gas. Tucking the change into the pocket of your jeans and grabbing your purchase, you turn around to walk out but a large wall of muscle and plaid blocks your path. The anger in Dean’s eyes has dulled a little and they search your face. You smile weakly, not trusting yourself to speak, and step around him, heading for the car.

Sam is perched on the trunk of your car and his head snaps up as you approach and toss him one of the bottles of water. He catches it easily with one hand, nodding appreciatively. You rip open the candy, offering some to Sam. You are just ripping off a piece of the sugary red rope with your teeth when you feel a presence at your back and you know without looking that it’s Benny, his now familiar scent filling your nose.

“How was your trip, darlin’?” The sound of his voice sends sparks through your body as you turn to face him. His hand brushes hesitantly across your lower back before dropping to his side.

“Fine. I slept the whole time.”

“Alright people.” Dean’s voice is firm and controlled, all traces of emotion he displayed earlier seemingly gone. “So this is how this is going to play out.”

You, Sam and Benny all turn your attention as Dean quickly lays out his plan.

“Everyone clear? Benny you drop y/n off at the hotel before you go to find the daddy Cullen. Sammy and I will head to the sheriff’s station to check in and we will meet up with you when we are done.”

“So wait, I am just sidelined?” Irritation sharpens your tone and you jab a fist into your hip, looking up at Dean.

“For the moment, yes. You are injured and probably have a concussion. We don’t need you getting in the way.” Dean meets your gaze, not flinching as your eyes burn with anger.

“Listen Winchester, I am getting tired of you ordering me around.”

“Cher, he’s right.” You turn slowly toward the sound of Benny’s voice, your mouth forming a perfect ‘o’ shape as you stare at him in disbelief.

“Excuse me?”

“Not that you’ll be in the way, but you are hurt. I’d rather not have nothin’ happen to you.” His brows furrow in concern as the corner of his mouth inches upwards. His hand tenses slightly, as if he wants to reach out and touch you, but stretches his fingers instead before crossing his muscular forearms across his broad chest.

“Well, while I appreciate your concern, I have no intention of sitting on my ass while you three do all the work. What if I go with Benny?”

“I bet you would like that wouldn’t you.” Dean huffs, rolling his eyes. You choose to ignore his childish behavior this time. You don’t feel like going for round two right now.

“I mean, what if I go with Benny, act as his blood slave or something as part of the decoy. Or maybe I can be a hostage. Might make it easier to get in to see the head honcho.”

“Yeah, and then what happens if they decide to kill you, you being one of the hunters that took out a chunk of their nest.” Sam’s tone is reasonable, though it is obvious he’s not thrilled with the idea.

Dean’s eyes bore into yours, his expression unreadable, the muscles in his jaw twitching.

“Benny will be there. And I am still capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much. Concussed or otherwise.”

“She does have a point, chief. ‘Sides, I won’t let anything happen to her.” Benny’s words are directed at Dean, but his gaze is fixed on you.

Dean sighs, shaking his head. “Fine, but she better come back in one piece, you understand me, Benny?” The two men share a look before Benny nods curtly and Dean turns to walk towards the Impala.

“I still don’t think you should be driving, y/n. Be careful. Please don’t do anything stupid?” Sam’s words are gentle, his dimples peaking out as the corners of his lips lift slightly and he wraps his arms around you. You breathe deeply and hug him back, appreciating the warm gesture and then stepping back. He tosses the keys to Benny, giving him a pointed look, but says nothing before sliding into the passenger seat of the shiny black car and slamming the door behind him.

Benny cocks an eyebrow at you, his blue eyes glittering under the lights overhead, before slipping into the car and starting the engine.

-----

“Benny? What brings you here? I thought you were mainstreaming these days?” Dark eyes roam hungrily over your body, making Benny’s grip on your shoulder tighten and he pulls you back, growling possessively.

“Don’t even think about it. She’s mine. Where’s the big man?”

The vampire turns, leading you through a dimly lit maze of hallways. Benny drags you roughly along, his hand now wrapped around your left wrist, both of you knowing you have to sell it. A large wooden door is at the end of the hallway, and Benny shoves the vamp aside before plowing through unannounced.

A small, dark haired man is seated behind a large desk, the polished wood a stark contrast to the rest of the room. Candlelight dances across the peeling wallpaper that covers the wall in large patches. A bare mattress sits on the floor to your right, trash and debris scattered around it. Dark reddish brown patches dot the ground and a sickening realization makes your stomach churn.

The man’s head snaps up, eyes darting between you and Benny.

“Well, well, well! What do we have here?” His voice is higher than you imagined and has a sing-song quality about it that annoys you immediately.

“Well, Charles I thought long and hard ‘bout what you said and I thought what the hell? Found this one lurking about, so I thought I would bring her along.” Benny thrusts you forward, his grip never loosening on your wrist, and your shoulder pops loudly, making you wince in pain.

Charles stands, stepping around the desk, his fingers prodding at the open wound on your neck, making you cry out. Benny jerks your arm back, placing himself between you and the other vampire. Charles’ tongue darts out, lapping the blood from his fingers and humming lightly.

“Sorry chief, but she’s mine.” Benny’s chest swells and he looks down at the smaller man, daring him to test his luck.

“I see why you would want to keep that one all to yourself. She is delicious.” Charles leans back against the front of the desk, crossing his arms across his polo clad chest. “But you see, your little bitch here wiped out half of my nest along with a couple of other hunters. You understand my predicament, don’t you Benjamin?”

Benny’s voice is rough, his teeth clenched as he leans down into the vamp’s face. “I said. She’s. Mine.”

Charles tips his head from side to side in thought, lips pursed, before putting his hands up, palms out.

“Ok, fine. So What? You have decided to join our ranks here? Decided mainstreaming isn’t really all it’s cracked up to be?” His tone is patronizing, his face drawn up in mock concern.

“Somethin’ like that.” You feel Benny relax slightly, his voice returning to it’s usual warm, charming drawl.

“Prove it.” Charles says flatly.

“‘’Scuse me?”

“I said, ‘prove it.’ Show me you mean what you say.”

“And just how do you propose I go about that?” Benny’s voice is tight. A flicker of movement from the back of the room catches your attention and you glance up as four dark figures emerge. You have no idea where the other vampires have been hiding, but dread quickly floods through your veins as you realize you are now very outnumbered.

Charles gestures toward you before waving his fingers vaguely in the direction of the stained mattress. “Prove it.”

Benny drags you the short distance to the mattress, throwing you down on top of it. His face is hard, but his eyes are sad, almost apologetic. He kneels down on the mattress, jerking your arm to pull you to a sitting position, your back pressed up against his firm chest. His fingers fist in your hair as he yanks your head to one side and lowers his nose to the curve of your neck and inhales. You feel him grow hard against your lower back as your scent fills his nostrils. Despite the circumstances, you imagine memories of your encounter earlier this evening are flooding his brain as much as they are yours.

A groan escapes his lips as his mouth hovers over your pulse, his breath warm against your skin.

“Stop.” Charles’ high pitched voice pierces the silence and Benny stills, lips still ghosting over your neck. “Not there.”

Benny’s gaze snaps up, tilting his head in confusion.

“The femoral artery, please.” Charles smiles sweetly and your fear and lust fogged brain struggles to make sense of what he is saying.

You feel Benny’s cock twitch against your back, as his grip in your hair tightens painfully. His breath comes out in a rush and he releases his hold on you before shoving you down onto the mattress, and savagely yanking your pants down your legs before you can stop him. He forces your knees apart before settling between your thighs.

His eyes meet yours briefly, shame and guilt twisting his handsome features, before he dips his head between your legs. This whole situation should be terrifying, but all you can think about is the delicious burn of his beard against the inside of your thighs, and the way his warm tongue dances across your skin. Every nerve in your body is alive and you fight the urge to claw at his head, wanting him to press his talented lips against your now soaking core.

Every thought of pleasure is ripped from your mind as his razor sharp teeth clamp down on your thigh, and you cry out his name for the third time that night; this time for a very different reason.

Read Part 5 Here

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real-life-pine-tree · 8 years ago

Text

Arc-V Aftermath: Predaplant Metamorphosis (11/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

"Polymerizatiooooooooooooon!"

The next day, Team Obelisk was practicing their Opera Duels with Ricardo Soprano. They didn't tell the others why they had to train with him because they wanted it to be a surprise. It was part of their new Dueltaining style…in a way. They have plans on doing an introduction and what better way to prepare for it than take part in Opera Duels.

They were basically like Action Duels except the duel field was a theater and it causes their clothes to change to help fit the duel. Another requirement is the Duelists have to sing their moves, which was no big deal for Dennis and Sora. They both have decent singing voices and Sora had some experience with Opera Duels when he was qualifying for the Arc League Championship. Yuri, on the other hand, was a different story; he explained to his counterparts how his high, "flamboyant" voice cracks whenever he sings last night. Today, he was trying different tactics to sing as little as possible. What he just did was an example of it: he's singing very few words whenever it was his turn. As long as he's following the rules of Opera Duels, no one will notice what he's trying to do.

Yuri continued his turn as he clasped his hands together. "Fuuusiooon!" he sang out loud.

"Wait a minute..." Sora said. Then he looked alarmed. "Yuri, what do you think you're doing?!"

Sora looked on as he watched Yuri Fusion Summon Starving Venom Fusion Dragon. He knows his friend normally saves his ace for later on in the duel, but this wasn't like him. He wondered what the Predaplant user was planning and how it would affect their training.

After successfully summoning his dragon, Yuri laughed and activated his newly-learned power. It was time for him to see if what Yugo said really was true. Starving Venom let out his roar as his owner underwent the mind merge, with his body soon fainting and falling on the ground. This left Sora shocked and silent; even Dennis and Ricardo were speechless at what Yuri just did. They all became worried if he was going to be okay.

"Uh... Does your friend normally pass out during duels?" Ricardo asked.

"No, he doesn't," Sora explained. "But something's up." He grabbed Yuri by his jacket uniform. "If you think pretending you passed out is your way of trying to weasel out of Opera Duels, it's not working!"

Sora slowly let go of Yuri's uniform upon suddenly hearing the sound of repressed laughter. He asked Ricardo and Dennis if they knew where it was coming from, only for them to point at Starving Venom. He looked to see the dragon trying his hardest not to laugh, but when he saw Sora and the unconscious Yuri, he ultimately cracked up. This was clearly unlikely of it to be behaving like that, but the three Duelists recognized the laugh. Albeit the dragon growls, it sounded just like the cabbage-haired Fusion user's laugh. They were still processing what happened, but they haven't caught on that his plan worked. Now nothing will stand in his way of taking part in Opera Duels, let alone sing his moves; he always thought they were ridiculous ever since he started training.

"Something doesn't sound right," Dennis said. "First Yuri passes out, then his dragon starts acting like him."

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Unless..."

As Sora was determining what Yuri just did, Ricardo pointed out that Starving Venom was glaring at one of his Opero Stars, almost as if he was preparing to attack it. With a single roar, he activated his effect, gaining ATK equal to the special summoned Opero Star - Specter Soloist. Now it was ready for the Battle Phase; he expanded his wings, preparing to shoot out multiple cyan lasers when he suddenly stopped, as if he was starting to think about something…or someone. In Ricardo, Sora, and Dennis' eyes, all they saw was the dragon stopping midway through the Battle Phase and not continuing, baffling them even more.

"Uh... Hello?" Sora asked Starving Venom. "Are you gonna attack?"

In a fit of rage, the Fusion Dragon punched the ground, which was basically a "No" for Sora's question. The force of the punch was strong enough to not only leave a huge dent on the duel field stage, but it also sent a small shockwave through the ground. They needed to figure what the dragon’s deal was and why he’s behaving so strangely.

Suddenly, Starving Venom stopped moving as Yuri bolted awake. "What does he have that I don't?!" he angrily asked.

Yuri waking up scared Sora and Dennis a little, now with a few more questions they have to answer. When did this issue suddenly become about "him"? Who is the cabbage-haired teen referring to? What did "he" do to make him angry? Once they managed to relax after the sudden scare, they resumed figuring out what was up with Starving Venom and their friend, how the dragon had s owner's mannerisms, and why he is upset—no, jealous about "him”. Eventually, they figured out his backfired plan. A plan that would have gone smoothly if it weren't for his abrupt jealousy.

"Wait a minute..." Sora said. "You tried to use your Duel Skill to weasel out of the Opera Duel!"

"Do you mind?!" Yuri snapped. "I must figure out why Miss Celina would fall for that Sawatari person!"

Wait, is he talking about Sylvio? Did Yuri saw him with Celina yesterday night? If so, then what did he do to make him upset? Just when Sora and Dennis answered something, more question keep popping up in their heads. If the situation keeps up, they'll never be ready for the Team Duel Tournament.

Dennis patted Yuri on the back, causing the cabbage-haired teen to look at him with tear-brimmed neon green eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" the redhead asked.

"I saw Miss Celina yesterday," Yuri explained after calming down a bit. "But she looked different. Not only did she cut her hair, but she was smiling. I do enjoy irritating her, but her smiles seem to make her prettier. I wondered what had caused her to change, but I soon realized it must have been because of Sylvio."

Yuri believed that Sylvio must have won her over; he wasn't sure how, but he's certain those Pendulum cards were involved in it. What he was saying revealed to be a love confession: he admitted that he does have feelings for Celina, so in a way, the Synchro crew was right. He enjoyed teasing her and making her annoyed, but in actuality, he wanted her to be more than his rival, friend, or teammate; he just wanted a girlfriend. Last night was an obvious indicator and it wasn't because of Team Lancer showing, but Yugo had to announce to the entire festival that he's dating Rin, which didn't help his problem.

Yuri let out a frustrated sigh. "If only there was some way to show Miss Celina how special I am." He took his deck out of his Duel Disk to search through his cards. "How am I supposed to woo her...?"

As he searched through his deck, he saw a very familiar monster. It was Predaplant Banksiogre; he was surprised to see that Tuner monster didn't change back to normal after the second separation. He figured being exposed to Clear Wing Synchro Dragon for too long caused the change to remain permanent. All of a sudden, an idea popped in his head on how he can win Celina over.

"That moron's a genius!" Yuri exclaimed, holding Banksiogre up in the air. "My beloved Predaplant, you shall be the key to Miss Celina's heart! Come, my friends! We must go to Card Craze this instant!"

Sora cleared his throat, reminding Yuri about the Opera Duel. "Right..." the cabbage-haired Duelist said, placing his deck back in his Duel Disk. "We'll go to Card Craze after our training."

"And you better not try to use your Skill this time!" Sora exclaimed.

After they finished another day of training, with Yuri not using his Skill this time, he, Sora, and Dennis returned to Card Craze. He wanted to see if there are any Tuner and Synchro Predaplants available as part of his new plan. In all honesty, this was better than the last one. He may have not used his Skill for the rest of the Opera Duel, but he still can't tolerate his inability to sing. He was hoping this will all be worth it once his singing voice improves before the tournament.

As the Obelisk trio entered the card store, they instantly noticed how it wasn't as packed as it was when the booster sale was going on. It looked more like an average day at Card Craze, which was perfect for Yuri. The last thing he needed was to have trouble maneuvering through a crowd of Duelists. The three decided to search all over the store to see where the Tuner and Synchro Predaplants were; they searched, scanned, and skimmed through different cards based on archetype, type, Synchros, and Tuners. They barely found a few, but is it enough for Yuri to woo Celina? Looks like they might need help.

"I see..." Yuri said, looking at the three plant Synchro monsters Sora and Dennis managed to find. "So these are the only ones that would work with my Predaplants?"

"We asked the store manager for help," Dennis said. "But it seems there are no plans to make Synchro Predaplants."

Yuri continued to look at the three Synchro monsters he currently had; they seemed out-of-place from his Predaplants. These three monsters were Queen of Thorns, Splendid Rose, and Aromaseraphy Rosemary. Despite their stats and effects, he wasn't sure if he was okay with getting them until he noticed Splendid Rose's artwork. There was something about her that he couldn't help but stare at it, specifically her uniform. He can clearly picture himself wearing it and being noble and handsome as he's winning Celina's heart. Sora and Dennis could tell from Yuri's awestruck face that he may be satisfied with what they managed to find at the store.

"Why, yes, Miss Celina," Yuri muttered, too lost in his fantasy. "You can marry me."

"Uh... Yuri?" Sora asked. "You feeling okay?"

Yuri snapped out of his fantasy. "I'm more than merely okay, my friend," he said. "In fact, not only will these three cards work in my deck, but I am due for a new image. Once I purchase these cards, we're off to the nearest clothing store!"

"What a great idea, Yuri," Dennis said. "You could use a new outfit and maybe a new hairstyle."

It was actually really smart of Yuri to reinvent his image. After all, Celina is always mentioning about how his looks are as ugly as his personality, but not for long. Once he's done going through this makeover, she'll realize that this won't be the same Yuri and will prefer him over Sylvio.

He, Dennis, and Sora paid for the three Synchro cards and soon went to the first clothing store they can find. Their main goal was to find an outfit that screams nobility, handsomeness, charm, and retains his interest in plants. They searched so many clothes to see what goes together and meets their priorities, but this was also a bit easier said than done. They picked out a good handful for Yuri to try on, as well as mix and match. As he was in the progress of putting on the next set of clothes, Dennis and Sora were sitting outside the fitting room, talking about if one of the employees can help.

"You want to know if we have this in purple?" the employee asked, referring to a t-shirt with vines printed on the front.

"Yeah," Sora answered. "It's for a friend."

"I'll see what I can do," the employee said.

While the employee browsed through a selection of shirts to help find the short Sora and Dennis were looking for, Yuri looked at himself in the mirror in one of the changing stalls he was in. He was figuring out what kind of hairstyle he should go for. He pushed his hair back, thinking if he would look good with bangs; a plus side to this is they can help cover his eyebrows…sort of. This thought occurred to him because he usually combed his bangs back while he was growing up at Duel Academy. He wasn't entirely sure, but he also wanted to try it out.

"Hmm..." Yuri mused, finger-combing his usually-neat hair. "Would I look better with bangs...?"

After a few minutes of careful consideration, he soon realized that having bangs would be a better fit. Besides, since he was getting new clothes, a new haircut was also necessary when it comes to changing an appearance. With his decision made, Yuri resumed trying on the different clothes; he then became curious about how Sora and Dennis' search was going.

"Hey Yuri!" Sora called out from outside the changing stall. "We found something for you!"

"What is it?" Yuri asked.

Upon putting on one of the shirts, Sora showed Yuri a lightish-blue T-shirt that say "I WISH YOU WERE AS INTERESTING AS MY PLANTS" on the front. He explained that it was a little hard to find, but it was worth it; as an added bonus, this shirt was in his size. The cabbage-haired teen's eyes lit up while surveying the quality of it. He immediately tried it out and later said that it was definitely a must-have. His candy-loving friend knew he would love that shirt and asked what style he should go for; he hasn't thought about it until now, but he was thinking about a more casual look. Sora replied that he may know what else he can wear.

With some help from Dennis, the two picked out a few pants and pairs of shoes Yuri can experiment with. The trio soon settled on black jeans and dark blue sneakers. With his new attire officially made, Yuri put on his normal clothes as his friends returned the clothes he tried on and paid for the ones they were keeping. As they all left the clothing store, they discussed about a new haircut that the Predaplant user had in mind.

"Are you sure you want bangs?" Dennis asked. "I never really thought you could pull it off."

"Neither did I," Yuri admitted. "But I suppose it would help cover some rather unappealing features."

"Like the bushy eyebrows that should probably get waxed?" Sora casually asked.

"Precisely-" Yuri started to say. "What do you mean waxed?"

Sora laughed. "I'm just messin' with ya," he admitted.

Yuri chuckled in amusement as he playfully punched Sora in the shoulder. "You really are quite a trickster," he said.

"But in all honesty, you should try having bangs," Sora said. "The cabbage hair is kinda iconic for you, but it doesn't really look attractive."

"I thought so," Yuri said. "Perhaps that's why my counterparts were able to get girlfriends before me."

Yuri wasn't wrong; Yuya, Yuto, and Yugo all have bangs and they ended up with Zuzu, Lulu, and Rin. Hopefully, getting bangs will increase his chances of winning Celina. He and his friends all headed to the local barber shop, where he requested to have a hairstyle that has his hair pushed back and included bangs. While that was getting done, Sora and Dennis sat down on a couch, with the Shaddoll user taking a look at a few magazines. The first one he picked caught his attention.

"Duelist's Weekly?" Dennis read, seeing Declan on the cover with an unfamiliar teen.

Sora noticed the magazine. "Who's the blue-haired guy?" he asked. "I never saw a Duelist like him."

Dennis picked up the magazine and opened it to the featured article. "He's not," he said. "His name is Aichi Sendou and he's a Cardfighter. It seems he was that CEO Declan talked to."

The featured article covered the conversation Aichi and Declan had a few days ago and how they agreed to make Team Duels legal to play in tournaments as a way to promote teamwork and trust among Duelists after the Interdimensional War. Sora and Dennis knew about that, but as they continued to read, it also covered on how it recently led to an increased rivalry between Duelists and Cardfighters. They weren't surprised about that because Rin and Yugo explained about how the banana-banged Duelist had a rough encounter with a Cardfighter and he ranted about it. Despite that, they continued reading the article and conversed about their opinions on it.

"Whoa!" Sora said. "It look like the Cardfighters had their own problems two years ago."

"No kidding," Dennis agreed. "It seems they had to deal with some kind of hypnotic virus called Link Joker, causing families and friends to turn against each other."

"Guess Duelists and Cardfighters aren't as different as we thought," Sora realized.

Meanwhile, while the two were discussing about the article they read, Yuri was done with getting his hair cut. Upon looking himself at the mirror, he was surprised at the results. He was clearly not the same Yuri he was before; he practically looked like a different person.

"My god..." Yuri said, surprised by the results. "Is this really me?"

Looking at his reflection, his new hairstyle was much like how he requested it. Most of his purple and magenta hair was pushed back, leaving a few thin streaks and a thick, purple streak separated from the rest, but also flowing in the same direction. His bangs were split into three sections: one on his forehead and two on the sides that don't completely cover his eyebrows. The barber asked Yuri what his opinion is on the haircut he received.

"Are you alright?" the barber had asked.

After a few more seconds of stunned silence, Yuri smiled softly. "Of course," he answered. "I feel like a new person. Thank you."

The barber answered "You're welcome" to Yuri before he got off from the chair. Sora and Dennis spotted his new hairstyle and were amazed at how it looked. He was a little flattered at their compliments, but managed to maintain his composure as he paid for his haircut. As they left, Sora mentioned to Yuri about a featured article he and Dennis read on Duelist's Weekly. He gave him the nutshell of it since virtually everyone knows about it, but what he really wanted to tell him was the name of the CEO of Vanguard Association and how Cardfighters had to deal with this Link Joker virus two years ago.

"I see..." Yuri said. "So this Aichi Sendou person had to deal with a virus that was spreading among Cardfighters."

Sora nodded in response. "That must be why he told Declan about the Vanguard Tournaments," he said. "He probably felt bad about both Duelists and Cardfighters going through their own issues, so he wanted him to know there was a way to restore trust among Duelists."

"How interesting," Yuri said. "Perhaps our new Dueltaining style will entertain both crowds. Hopefully none of the Lancers start jumping to conclusions before- Why are there so many girls looking at me?"

The girls noticed Yuri's new hairstyle, and from the looks of things, they really like it. He was obviously not used to this amount of attention, let alone female attention. When he was growing up at Duel Academy, people avoided him because of how immensely strong, skillful, and talented he was. Sora and Dennis also looked at the audience their friend formed; although impressed, they were more concerned about them becoming a love-struck, fangirlish mob.

"Don't worry, Yuri," Dennis said as he and Sora activated their Duel Disks. "We have your back."

"Yeah!" Sora agreed. "If these girls want to see you, they have to get past us first."

"Thank you," Yuri said, also activating his Duel Disk. "But I refuse to let my friends duel without me."

With their Duel Disks ready, the Obelisk trio were about to engage in a three-on-crowd Battle Royale…or so they thought. They were too busy jumping to conclusions that they didn't notice that most of the girls don't have Duel Disks. Once they realized it, things went a tad bit humiliating for them.

"Oh..." Yuri said, realizing the non-Duelists that were present. "I apologize." He and his friends deactivated their Duel Disks.

"Sorry about that, everyone!" Sora exclaimed. "My friend here is new to this kind of attention, so if you could just give him some space, that will be great!"

The female non-Duelists gave Yuri the space he needed as he, Sora, and Dennis headed back to Duel Academy. Well technically, Yoko adopted Sora, so he told his friends he'll see them tomorrow before taking a different direction to the Sakaki household. Later, it was close to evening and the two made it to their shared dorm. With them being former members of the Obelisk Force and still students at Duel Academy, Yuri, Dennis, and Sora are still considered Obelisk Blue students, but with the light blue-haired teen now living with the Sakakis, the dorm was shared by the other two Fusion users.

Now that Yuri obtained three Synchro monsters, bought new clothes, and got a new hairstyle, when will it be time to initiate his plan to win Celina's heart? He leaned against the dorm's wall in deep thought when Dennis' voice snapped him out of it, startling him a little in the process.

"Are you alright?" Dennis asked.

"Sort of," Yuri admitted. "I'm worried that Miss Celina won't like the new me. I really want to make amends for the wrong I have done, but what if it's all a waste?"

"Don't say that," Dennis encouraged. "You won't be sure if it would work unless you see it for yourself." He gave Yuri the shopping bag containing his new outfit.

"You are right," Yuri said, accepting the bag from Dennis. "What would I ever do without you?"

Yuri went into the bathroom to change into his new clothes. Several seconds later, he revealed the complete attire to Dennis, who really liked it a lot. Looking at the bathroom mirror, he was impressed with how he looked. He was also starting to slowly go through a personality change, becoming more compassionate while also maintaining an ego.

"Not bad," Dennis said. "Certainly better than your uniform."

"Indeed," Yuri agreed. "I have become quite a hottie."

Dennis was surprised by that comment; Yuri has never used "hottie" before in his life. He asked Yuri if he was alright, with the latter responding that he's fine yet admittedly felt a tad bit strange. He wondered if this was either part of his plan or if he is becoming a different person.

"It must be the new look," Yuri suspected. "It seems to make me feel like a new person."

"You don't mind?" Dennis asked.

"Of course not," Yuri answered. "This is the new and improved me. This new leaf I have turned is bound to work."

Suddenly, Yuri heard the sound of a growling stomach. He turned around to see it was coming from Dennis. Placing his hand where his stomach is, the Shaddoll user commented that he was starting to get hungry. They should probably eat dinner in a bit; Yuri went back into the bathroom to change into his usual uniform. Once that was done, the two left the dorm and made their way towards the dining hall where all the Obelisk Blue students gathered to eat. Today was generally enjoyable for the trio, but the Predaplant user was hoping it will be worth it once he puts his plan into action.

#Arc V Aftermath #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #Zuzu Boyle #Yuzu Hiragi #FruitShipping #Yuto (arc v)#Lulu Obsidian #Ruri Kurosaki #FallenAngelShipping #Yugo (arc v)#Rin (arc v)#AppleShipping #Yuri (arc v)#Celina (arc v)#Serena (arc v)#PredatorShipping

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australet789 · 8 years ago

Text

Fractal

Summary: Chaos, besides its own natures, has a little order on it. Chaos, without order, leads to destruction itself. When the object holding the chaos of the world is damaged, maybe a little more than order is going to be needed to fix it. Abomination! AU

AO3

Chapter 1

Akumas were always weird.

No matter how intimidating they looked on the exterior, their motives were something that, if it weren’t for the fact they were busy trying to protect themselves, would make their victims tilt their head in curiosity. At least Chat, admittedly, had done that several times in the past.

Didnt’t mean those motives were less important for the akumatized person.

Or make them less dangerous.

“Shockwave” was the name of the new Hawkmoth’s victim. His outfit was something brought up straight of a costume shop: grey spandex suit with a big white drawing of a lighting bolt in the middle of his chest that looked like a stylized “S”, black gloves and a pair of boots of the same color and material and a fanny pack that was hanging lazily around his hips – which seemed to be the akumatized object. But what immediately caught up the attention was the big lighting bulb that acted as a helmet and covered his head and neck. The whole set was a little bit hilarious.

“Chat, stop laughing we have work to do”.

“I’m sorry, my Lady, but you have to admit his looks are kind of shocking to see”.

Ladybug tried to shut down the groan that was forming in the back of her throat, but couldn’t suppress her own mortification at the sight of the akuma’s clothes. If Bubbler wasn’t already bad enough. Her fashion designer eyes were hurting.

“C’mon”, Chat said, playful smile on his face, “lighten up a little, Bugaboo, I bet you have something brilliant to say about his costume too.”

“Chat…” Ladybug said with a dangerous tone in her voice.

“Maybe he just needs someone that guides him through the dark path of bad fash-“

“Alright, fine!” Ladybug hissed, annoyed. “It’s hideous and I want to punch Hawkmoth even harder for his obvious lack of imagination and terrible sense of fashion!” She huffed, glaring at her partner which was obviously enjoying her little display. “Are you happy now?”

Leaning at her slightly, his smile only grew wider. “Delighted”.

The heroine rolled her eyes but felt the corner of her lips lift up in amusement. No matter how bad Chat’s puns were, they were still better than seeing Hawkmoth trying to play the fashion designer and she would gladly prefer to spend a patrol with the cat boy just running over the rooftops and beating him at his own game.

But they still had an akuma to stop.

“Let’s go, minou,” she sighed, throwing her yo-yo to the next building, ready to jump, “we need to stop Shockwave before he reaches the Eiffel Tower and I really don’t want to do my homework in the dark if that happens.”

Chat noticed the change of mood and immediately followed her without saying another word. He knew that while Shockwave looked like a character of a badly drawn comic book, his intentions were far from laughable: his plan consisted of using the Eiffel Tower as a big antenna and with the help of his electric powers, cause a blackout that would plunge the whole city in complete darkness.

With the power out, hospitals, traffic, the communication system, everything would stop working and the city would stay in an indefinite limbo.

They needed to work fast.

While pursuing the akuma, Adrien couldn’t stop himself from remembering his earlier conversation with Chloé –well, a conversation consisting on her just talking and never letting him say a word unless it was to agree with her- and his suspicious about who was the person behind Shockwave’s mask: she has told him about how a boy ‘with a horrible flannel fanny pack, ugh, does anybody have a good taste on fashion anymore? Except for you and me, Adrikins, obviously,’-not older than them, probably a recent graduate student- has approached her father’s office to advise him ‘can you believe it, Adrikins, someone telling my Daddy how to do his job??!! Unbelievable,’ how to better manage the energy cost of the city. The poor guy tried to explain the Mayor –with a big presentation- the whole study he had done and the results he had obtained but, apparently, the Mayor had barely paid attention to him and told him they will “consider his words but right now they have more important things to do”. Disillusioned and heartbroken, the young man left the building crying.

And Hawkmoth took advantage of the student’s anger.

The Bourgeois at this point were almost Hawkmoth’s sidekicks.

“Chat, I think he is already there. Get ready”.

Ladybug’s voice brought him up of his thoughts. Hiding behind a wall over a near rooftop, the duo could easily see where Shockwave was standing. Looking up at the big monument from the base, he seemed anxious and excited, twitching his fingers in anticipation, like he was preparing a big attack.

“I think he is measuring the amount of electricity he will need.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Ladybug muttered. “He charges each attack very fast, so we need to get closer.”

The few moments the heroes fought against Shockwave in their attempts to stop him before he escaped, Ladybug noticed the big lighting bulb turning on for a few seconds and after that, the energy formed traveled to his gloves, charging them. If they decided to attack, it’d have to be before that happened.

“Are you sure the akuma is in his fanny pack, right?”

Chat faked a hurt gasp. “How can you doubt my capacitance of recognizing akumatized objects, my Lady?” he pointed to the center of his chest, “my heart hertz over your cruel words!”

This time, Marinette let the groan flow freely through her mouth. Her partner was so dramatic sometimes.

“Fine, I believe you.” Chat grinned looking up at her. “Just, distract him enough while I prepare the Lucky Charm. Don’t let him touch the Eiffel Tower.”

“Got it,” he said. Shuffling his shoulders, he extended his baton.

“And, Chat,” she put a hand on his back, pausing his actions for a moment, “don’t let him touch you either, ok? I need you to win this.”

Chat felt his heart jumping a little and his pulse getting a bit faster.

With a soft smile, he turned back at her. “Don’t worry. I won’t.” And with a two fingers salute, he leaped out of the roof. “He will need to be lighter than this mighty cat to catch it!”

He swears he heard how his lady rolled her eyes at him for the second time that night.

When Chat landed carefully over the streets, the only sound his ears could perceive was his own breathing. He knew everyone were in their houses waiting for this to end or, the ones who were close to the battlefield, trying to get any update about the attack –probably reporters or gawkers. Or Alya- so they wouldn’t try to go out near them or the akuma. For now, he only needed to focus on keeping Shockwave distracted long enough for Ladybug to summon the Lucky Charm.

He moved easily, using the lack of light on the Parisian streets-almost every light had been turned off, thanks to a message sent earlier by the Mayor- and his agility to approach the akuma quietly. He glanced Ladybug out of the corner of his eyes, moving at the same pace as him, body tensed and eyes narrowed in concentration. They needed to be in sync to defeat this guy.

Once he got close enough, he waited for the moment to act. He saw Shockwave’s silhouette standing in the same spot, his hands still shaking with excitement and impatience and it seemed that he hadn’t changed his position at all, but when Chat adjusted his vision he could see the butterfly shaped mask over the akuma’s face and his mouth moving quickly, mumbling something to someone that wasn’t there–Hawkmoth, probably, was giving instructions to his new puppet. There was no time to lose. Chat tensed up his muscles, tail twitching in anticipation, hand clenched over his baton and a snarky line ready to come out of his mouth. He just needed the confirmation of Ladybug being ready and he wil-

His cat’s ears perked up at the characteristic sound of a lighting bulb being turned on, telling him that their time had run out.

It was now or never.

With a rapid swing of his arm, he threw his baton right into the middle of the big bulb, the force of the impact making Shockwave lose his balance and concentration.

“Hey, Firefly!” Chat taunted. “Careful where you put those hands! If you wanted a night tour, you should have asked first!”

The akuma growled in response, moving his head as quickly as he could, looking out for the source of the attack.

“Show yourself!” Shockwave snarled. “Stop being a pest and fight like a man!”

“Oh you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Picking up his baton, he circled the akuma, “unlucky for you, I’m a cat, so I think we already have a little problem with your request,” and with another swing, this time directed toward Shockwave’s feet, he made him fell to ground ungracefully. “Ha! Grounded.” Chat chanted.

Shockwave, however, let out a dry laugh. “Maybe we should light up this situation, shouldn’t we?” And with those words, the whole base of the Eiffel Tower was filled with the brightest light.

And Chat Noir was momentary blinded.

Blinking quickly, he tried to adjust his vision to the new light and regain his composure, but Shockwave was already standing. Two powerful hits –one to Chat’s right arm and the other to his ribs- made him drop his baton and lose his breath.

‘C’mon, Agreste, you need to fight back.’

Trusting his other instincts and what he could see with his damaged vision, he tackled the akuma, making them both roll on the ground and he hoped that that was enough to make Shockwave stay, at least, a few meters away from the tower.

‘Ladybug, where are you?’ Chat desperately begged.

And like his thought were heard by the universe, the sound of a yo-yo told him that his Lady was approaching them. He sighed, relieved.

He was lifting himself up, his vision finally returning to normal when a powerful grip on his right hand stopped his movements. Chat’s eyes widened when he saw Shockwave’s fingers tugging at his gloves –the finger where his ring was- obviously wanting to take the miraculous out. Adrien desperately tried to recover his hand back but Shockwave hadn’t planned to let him go.

A vicious smirk crossed the akuma’s face.

“I think this kitty needs to learn how to stay static.”

What happened next only took a couple of seconds but for Adrien it was like time has slowed down and make that moment take hours.

He could feel the electricity running through his muscles, his bones, his tendons, making his blood boil and his heart beat faster and faster and faster. A sudden burst of energy took over his body, like his Cataclysm was activated but instead of staying in his hand waiting to be used, it was all over himself, moving, shaking, living. He wanted to scream, he wanted to find his voice but all he could do was moan pathetically, kicking, trying to free himself over the claws of his captor. His ring was beeping uncontrollably, turning on and off without a pattern. His head felt like it was going to explode and his eyes only grew wider and wider…

Someone screamed his name.

And suddenly it was over.

He felt himself floating in the air, all his limbs lethargic and his mind dizzy. He saw the Eiffel Tower getting far, far away from him as well as two figures: a red one (‘Ladybug?’) colliding into a gray one, the red one chasing the gray one, the red one…

His body crushed hard against a wall and he slowly fell down onto the cool pavement. ‘Shockwave probably threw me away and I landed in an alley’, Adrien thought. Like never before, he felt the desire to take a long nap. But Shockwave hadn’t been defeated yet and he needed to help Ladybug. He groaned painfully at the prospect of moving.

A few seconds later, when his mind was starting to clear, he heard a loud beep and his transformation abruptly wore off.

Putting his pain and his surprise beside, Adrien extended his palms to catch the apparently tired Kwami.

“Plagg?” Adrien poked the cat kwami’s side. “Plagg! Are you okay?”

“Ugh,” Plagg whined, opening his eyes, “kid, what happened? Is the battle over? Can we go home?”

Adrien shook his head. “No, we can’t. Shockwave is still out there.” He noticed he could see the Eiffel Tower from the alley they’d landed, so they weren’t that far. “He tried to pull my ring off,” he continued, “but I resisted and he electrocuted me and apparently threw me in this direction.” Looking into the Kwami’s green eyes, he asked, “Why did my transformation wear off? I didn’t use my Cataclysm. Was it because of the electricity? Is the ring damaged?”

“I don’t know.” Plagg answered. He examined the ring carefully. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

“But how do you feel?”

“I-“

But what he was going to say was cut off because of the sight of the Eiffel Tower starting to glow dangerously.

“Oh, no” Adrien whispered. “We need to help Ladybug. Plagg! Are you able to transform me?”

“Yeah, I think so.” He looked at his holder. “But don’t let him touch you again.”

“Awww, you care.” Adrien teased. Plagg only rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breathe, causing Adrien to laugh a little. “C’mon, Plagg. Claws Out!”

Ladybug was angry.

When she saw Chat being tossed aside like a ragdoll and being thrown away like he was nothing –like he was dead- her thoughts were murderous. The Timebreaker incident was still fresh in her mind and she swore by all the good she possessed that when she finds Hawkmoth she will make him pay for every scratch he caused to her partner. Every angry punch that connected towards Shockwave’s body was a direct message to Hawkmoth:

‘You hurt him and I will hurt you twice.’

A part of herself however was telling her to stop and think a plan to cleanse the akuma, that it wasn’t his fault he was being manipulated by a cowardly man that couldn’t fight his own battles, that an innocent person existed under the horrible disguise, not being conscious of what he was doing.

But damn it was hard.

Especially when she kept blaming herself about everything: if she hadn’t been a couple of seconds late, if she had cast the Lucky Charm earlier, if she hadn’t been so damn tired because being a student and a superhero were energy drained and of course the Bourgeois had to be the cause of yet another akuma; that said akuma had not only been a difficult one but she had to spent the whole day chasing it no matter how much work she had to do for the next day…

A moment of distraction was all that Shockwave needed to free himself of Ladybug’s yo-yo and with a strong hit, send her flying away to the other side of the tower, making her crash into the trees and with a final ‘thump’, she landed on one of them. That only made Marinette more pissed about the whole situation. The battle needed to end now.

She blew her bangs from her forehead with a huff and with a cry she finally summoned her power.

“Lucky Charm!”

‘Please be an outlet’, she thought. The spotted object fell into her palms and Marinette looked at it with curiosity.

“Wait, this is-“

“Oh! A Chinese finger trap!”

“AHHHHHHHHHH!” Marinette screeched, not expecting a voice so close to her ear. She barely recovered her breath when she noticed the source of her not-so-nearly heart attack. Which was laughing at her reaction. “Chat Noir!” she lightly punched his shoulder, the scold only making him laugh harder, “don’t scare me like that again!”

“I-I’m sorry, m-my Lady!” Chat said between laughs, wiping a tear from his eye. “But your reaction was priceless!”

Ladybug pouted at him.

“Anyway,” Chat continued, taking the magic object from her hands “I used to play with these things a lot when I was a kid.”

He inspected the cylinder and proceeded to put his right index finger into the little toy.

“My dad taught me the trick to not get trapped. You see, once you have both fingers in, what you need to do is push and…” he pushed but nothing happened, “push and…”he tried again, with no success, “I…ehm…wait you need to…” Ladybug started giggling at Chat’s obvious distress.

Now it was her turn.

“My Lady! Help me!”

Ladybug rolled her eyes without stopping her giggles and with a quick move of her wrist, she freed the poor cat boy.

Chat Noir just stood there, slack jawed.

“There. Now, c’mon, we need to stop Shockwave.” Ladybug started to run away but, after a moment of consideration, she turned back towards her partner. “I’m glad you are here.” And with that, she was gone.

Chat only blinked, letting her words sunk into him and finally, after a couple of seconds, a soft smile adorned his face.

‘Me too’.

When they arrived near the Eiffel Tower, it was almost impossible to look at it: Shockwave had already accumulated a ton of energy and it was a matter of time until he decided to liberate it.

Without wasting any moment, Ladybug threw her yo-yo around the akuma’s feet and pulled on the string with all her force, attempting to drag him away of the tower. Shockwave only managed to let out a yelp before face-planting over the ground.

“Chat!” Ladybug screamed. “His lighting bulb! Destroy it and he won’t have anything to recharge his gloves!”

“On it, Buginette!” Chat prayed that the previous attack hadn’t ruined his powers. “Cataclysm!”

Feeling his usual bad luck running around his arm and having it controlled in his hand once again, Adrien let out a sigh of relieve.

Shockwave meanwhile, attempted to touch the string that tied him down with his electric gloves, causing Ladybug to let him go. The akuma stood up quickly and after a brief appearance of the shaped like butterfly mask in front of his face, he charged towards the superheroes.

Chat Noir jumped over the akuma and while evading Shockwave’s attack, he grabbed his mask with both his hands and he pulled it off like it was a real lighting bulb, his Cataclysm making the glass crack, little pieces falling all over the ground.

The movement made Shockwave fall backwards and Ladybug took her chance to use her Lucky Charm, connecting one of the ends of the Chinese handcuffs to one of his index fingers and using it to pull it towards the other hand and connecting both fingers, closing it like a circuit. The accumulated energy traveled through his body, destroying the fanny pack in the process. A small dark butterfly came out of it. With a shriek, Shockwave fell on his knees, dark energy abandoning his body and a confused young man was left in his place.

Ladybug felt more relaxed noticing that the fight was over and with a rapid swing of her yo-yo, she caught the running away insect and cleaned it, a beautiful white specimen emerging from her weapon. A soft ‘Bye, bye little butterfly’ left her lips while she watched it go away. With a sigh, Ladybug threw her Lucky Charm up into the air, letting the cure do its job.

Chat meanwhile stood near by the student, his suspicious confirmed about the identity behind Shockwave’s persona.

“Hey,” the student snapped his head towards the superhero, fear reflected in his wide eyes, “it’s ok, it’s over. You are safe now.” Chat reassured.

“W-what…w-where I am?” When the swarm of little ladybugs surrounded them, realization sunk in the boy’s mind. He gulped. “D-did I do something? Is that why you are here?”

“Ehm…” Adrien hesitated for a moment but he knew he needed to tell the truth. Partially. “Yeah, kind of”. The young man dropped his eyes at the fact. “Don’t worry, you didn’t hurt anybody…just blew up a street light or two, nothing big.” Chat explained, not mentioning the early fight under the Eiffel Tower.

The boy, still on his knees, only nodded.

“I just…I just wanted to help, you know. I wanted to be listened to.” Tears were forming in the corner of his eyes, his thumb lazily stroking the repaired fanny pack. “I wanted to prove I could do something for the city I love.”

“I know the feeling.” Chat said. “And I’m pretty sure your ideas are great and will help everybody.”

“You really think that?” The student exclaimed with hope in his voice.

Chat winked. “Call it cat instinct.” Helping him to stand up, Chat continued. “But maybe you would want to make an appointment first, you know. That way the Mayor will know when you will come to talk to him.”

“I will.” Finally looking to the hero’s eyes and extending his hand, the boy spoke with security in his voice, “thank you, Chat Noir.”

Adrien accepted the gest and shook his hand. “No problem, ehm..?”

“Aaron.”

Chat smiled widely. “I can’t wait to hear about you, Aaron.”

Aaron nodded once more and walked away slowly, staring at the big tower that covered the city with its light, a feeling of forgiveness in his heart and a new goal in his mind.

Ladybug, who had been watching the whole exchange from afar, approached her partner quietly.

“I’m happy you talked to him.” Marinette put her arm over Chat’s shoulders, making him jump in surprise. She giggled. “You handled it well, even with what happened earlier.” Hugging him tight, her voice was a soft murmur between the two. “I’m proud of you.”

Adrien thanked the fact he was wearing a mask. And that he had something to blame for his shaking legs.

He coughed awkwardly. “T-thank you, my Lady.”

A beep coming from Ladybug earrings interrupted the moment between the two and, to Chat’s disappointment, Ladybug had to end the contact.

“That’s my cue to go.” Ladybug said. With a final look to her partner, Ladybug swung her yo-yo and leaped away, looking forward the warm of her home. “Goodnight, Chat Noir.”

Chat Noir followed her movements until she was out of his sight, a warm feeling spreading to his chest. Shaking his head, he extended his baton and jumped over a near rooftop, a whisper leaving his mouth and losing itself into the dark night and the silent streets of Paris.

‘Sweet dreams, my Lady.’

It took Adrien a few minutes reach the Agreste’s mansion. He knew his father was going to come back late –he was working on the last details of a big fashion show- and that Nathalie was with him, so he didn’t expect anyone to notice his absent nor if there were any lights on.

He wasn’t any less surprised that the only thing that welcomed him was his big cold room.

Still, he was very tired and the previous events were finally starting to show their consequences. The Miraculous Cure helped with the pain and healed the scratches from the battle but the exhaustion was something that he needed to fight on his own. But right now, he only wanted to sleep and relax. He still needed to go to school tomorrow, his schedule was already planned. The next day was going to be the same as ever.

Knowing that Plagg would probably want to recharge and rest, he closed his eyes and said the words that would drop his transformation.

If he weren’t so tired he would have noticed that his ring wasn’t beeping.

If he had noticed the ring wasn’t beeping he would never dropped his transformation.

And if his screams weren’t the only sound that filled the empty mansion, he would have stopped to think that maybe, not everything was the same as before.

#miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain-cheng #chat noir #ladybug #ladynoir #marichat #adrienette #ladrien #ml fic #australet writes a fic #fractal #abomination au #sorry for any mistakes guys im nervous and excited #long post

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bffhreprise · 8 years ago

Text

Entry 178

James was home. I felt his presence, the heat from his body as he stepped out of the limousine. The flames around me intensified as where he had been came to mind again. Why had he gone on a date with Maxine of all people? What use did he have of her when I had vastly more resources? Wasn’t I enough company?

I took a deep breath and calmed the fires around me as I calmed myself. I needed isolation at the moment. An errant thought of annoyance could be enough to incinerate someone if I wasn’t careful. Every moment of every day needed to be cool and calm to avoid casualties, but the temper within me fought against my control.

James stepped into the ballroom where the others were at play. I fought the urge to cast a spell and listen to what they would tell him. I did not want to stoke my inner fire with more irritants. Ai and Mai could be more than a little vexing in their playfulness.

I took another breath and thought back to when I was a child, little more than an infant. Mother chided me for being unclothed, despite the isolation of the forest where I sat, floating in the air. Even then my temper was a problem, but I had run away without injuring anyone that day. She would not approve of finding me like this again. She never had, but she never commanded me to go inside after that day.

We had argued, which turned into a fight. I went nuclear, not even understanding what the term meant yet. The blast could have killed so many, including myself, but I hadn’t known. I was young, angry, and far too dangerous to be left unsupervised. Mother recognized what was happening as the heat’s intensity grew and created dozens of spells in an instant to save as much as she could. The shockwave still threw her with me cradled in her arms, but nothing save for a relatively small part of the forest paid the price.

James was coming, jogging toward me. He was so delicate, so very human. I knew part of my attraction to him stemmed from exposure to his magic, but I did not care. James was good in a way which made everyone around him check themselves, wanting to better themselves. No one ever wanted to do something which wouldn’t meet his approval, because disappointing James was too painful to bear. I knew firsthand.

I thought of running, knowing I shouldn’t let him see me like this. I knew he wouldn’t be able to see my body through the smoke and the fire, but he might be disappointed that there was fire. I failed to control myself well enough.

A quiet voice in the back of my mind wondered how he would react if I let him see me for a moment. I smothered it with all my might. Such a lapse of propriety would be far too inappropriate. We weren’t even dating, much to my dismay.

:Oh cousin, I noticed.: whispered Adelmar in my mind.

:Do be quiet!: I screamed at him, only to hear mocking laughter.

I sometimes wondered if he trusted me, so often he came into my mind.

:Cousin, you know I have faith in you. Just don’t destroy the poor boy.: he teased.

James was sprinting toward me now. Unfortunately, Adelmar’s teasing only made me more anxious. I needed to be calm. I carefully prepared spells to shelter James from the magic swirling around me and then unleashed them. He floated toward me, safe from the wind and fire. Part of me wanted to embrace his broad back, but I couldn’t, not now. Possibly not ever. The thought made my heart sink.

I took a breath and carefully said, “I apologize for catching you in a spell, james, but I am not currently fit to be seen. Please don’t turn this way.” I couldn’t risk having my sinking heart affect my voice as thoughts of losing him swirled through my head.

I knew he wouldn’t turn. James was completely trustworthy to his core.

“I was worried when I returned home and heard that you were upset.” he replied.

A smile touched my lips, and I felt elevated instantly. He really did care.

“I’m fine.” I assured him. “I just wanted to let loose for a bit.” He would forgive a little lie, wouldn’t he?

“Would you believe that Maxine spent the whole day trying to convince me of how just her actions were? I had a rather horrible day. Figure I might join the others at gaming for a bit to unwind. Care to join us?” he asked.

I had to fight back my fires the moment he said her name and felt unjustly satisfied when he admitted to a terrible day. He deserved better than this. I was supposed to be better, but the war inside me was being waged to the best of my abilities. What more did he expect of me?

Calm. I took a breath. Calm. Then I said, “In a bit. Do you ever let something minor get under your skin and have it grow and grow until you can’t think of anything else?”

I was feeling slightly more relaxed. Just being around James helped. The way he smiled could lift my day as easily as his anger could ruin it.

“I’m sure everyone experiences that from time to time.” he assured me.

He was so very kind.

“Watching my temper is far more important for me than for most.” I admitted. Then I found myself explaining “Only my cousin seems to really understand, having to fight with his constantly as well. Our tempers are volatile and so, so fierce. My magic responds to mine, raising the temperature of my body. If I fail to counter it, I can set things on fire with a touch or incinerate someone who’s annoying me.” Was I getting through to him? “Magic like mine doesn’t care about reason. I feel, and the magic acts.” Something was off. What? “Sometimes, I need a moment to myself, so I can just let things burn. Don’t worry. I’ll pay Emma to fix this part of the yard tomorrow.” The soil was gone beneath me, a perfect dip made by the initial blast of my heat.

I still couldn’t put my finger on what was bothering me. James was fine. I started reaching toward him, and the fire simmered down to almost nothing around me as my foot touched the ground. If he turned, he’d see me wearing nothing but a thin, stylized fog before him; such an insubstantial barrier could never hold back desires.

“Oh, no. I’m so, so sorry, James.” I told him, realizing what I had done. The yearning for him was tremendous, and I was losing ground fighting it. “You can’t be around anyone for a while, especially not me. Find somewhere isolated to run.” The constant use of magic in this area had charged James with energy, the very energy his magic used to enchant people.

My arm was inching toward him even as I fought to keep it back. I wasn’t in control, but I was losing a war I had never fought before. I needed to find more strength. I felt so weak. I wanted to embrace him and… and…

“What? Why?” he asked, spinning toward me.

I bit my lip, fighting the words that wanted to come out. I fought against my arm, clenching my other fist. As I was now, I could kill him on accident by merely embracing him too tightly. I couldn’t trust myself, not with the wild thoughts taking over my mind. He needed to be away.

“James, please. Please, leave.” I begged, my voice trembling as I spoke. “I’ll explain later” I promised.

Just a little more, and I would touch him. I wanted to feel his skin and stare into those eyes. His lips might help quench the burning desire within me. I knew they wouldn’t be enough. With the last of my strength, I made a spell and threw James across the yard.

I was down on one knee, fighting for control. The urge to chase after him was so very intense. I feared nothing could keep him safe from me, and then anger flared within me once more. A naked girl seemed to appear out of nowhere, jumping into James and hugging him.

I almost killed her, but I resisted. My inner battles had merged now, anger and passion fighting for dominance. The girl was pulling him to the forest. Others were there. Dozens of creatures had stepped to the edge of the forest. Were we under attack? Move… I needed to move!

When I felt Aaliyah arrive beside James, I worried what had happened. Why was the Reaper here? I created a spell to protect my mind and ran to them, but no one else was in sight.

“What happened?” asked James as I approached.

“You’re looking scary today!” exclaimed Aaliyah, staring up at me.

“Where are they? Who are they?” I demanded.

“This is James. I’m Aaliyah. Is your memory gone?” asked Aaliyah.

I nearly lashed out at her, but I restrained myself. I was too close to James at the moment, too out of control. I felt his magic sweeping away the meager protection I had made. I didn’t have the will to reinforce it.

“There were others here. Many for that matter.” I told her. “We need to keep people away from James right now. Even now I feel my spell’s insufficient.”

Her gaze had shifted to James, and they stared and stared at one another. He started patting her head. What was happening. Think. My mind felt heavy, foggy. I was exhausted from the strain of my inner turmoil. No. No, no, no. I needed to make a spell, something to stop this, but my will was too weak. I could barely keep myself from embracing James.

“Please. Not you too.” I pleaded, realizing that James was even affecting Death herself.

“Don’t worry, Alpy. You don’t need to protect me. He can’t affect me now.” stated Aaliyah as a tear rolled down her cheek.

There was a sadness to her I couldn’t even comprehend at the moment. I believed her. James approached me, acting as if he was about to hug me. I imagined the feel of his hand against my skin and mustered all I could to move away from him.

“Please, James, keep your distance. Aaliyah, promise me that he’s safe with you.” I demanded.

“He’s safe, Alpy.” she assured me.

I ran and ran and ran. I didn’t stop running until I was out of the city and hiding in the nearest forest. Tears streamed down my face as I collapsed. I desperately wanted to go back there and find him, but I couldn’t. I knew I couldn’t trust myself any further. One more glimpse of him, and I’d have no will left. I was so weak. How could I ever face him again?

#Best Friend For Hire Reprise #Best #Friend #For #Hire #Reprise #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story #Aaliyah #Alma

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