#I kept going back and checking but nope it’s grey and green

[fictionaltrvlr]

a very desaturated aroace flag color-picked from yelena’s official poster 🫶 (that blue eyeliner is not as blue as it looks lol)

[wonder-womans-ex]

When In Vegas

It was loud in the locker room the next morning, but Saint was quiet.

Three days had passed since someone else’s world had been turned upside down, and Saint wasn’t sure whether he was more angry or scared—or relieved that it hadn’t been him.

Those fucking pictures, god. He had stared for hours, maybe more, hands frozen around his phone. The knowledge was unbearable—someone had done this. Someone was out to get people like them.

People like him.

But, in a way, it was also liberating. If he had to guess, he would say that no one had known about Black and Lupin. Judging from the way Tremblay had acted at All-Stars, they probably hadn’t even told their team, and god knew Saint hadn’t told his.

So, really, who was to say he was the only one? Any of the guys here, unlacing their skates beside him, could have grown up amidst thoughts of don’t look and stay silent and focus on the hockey. Any of the guys here could have had boyfriends in high school or college. Any of them could still.

He reveled in the thought. Maybe he wasn’t alone.

Black. Lupin. Tweedle.

Three names on a list wasn’t many, but it was better than one.

Saint glanced up when he felt someone watching him. His eyes met a pair of gleaming yellow ones—before meeting Greyback, he hadn’t even known that eyes could be that colour—and he steeled himself, resolutely not looking away.

Greyback smiled, and Saint recoiled internally. If there were others on the team—others in the league—Greyback was certainly not one of them.

As if Saint would ever, in a million years, want him to be.

He pulled off his second skate with one good, sharp tug. His helmet sat on the bench beside him, and he rested one elbow on it briefly. It was common knowledge that playing professional hockey was difficult, but the thing most people didn’t know was how near-impossible it was just putting on and taking off the necessary gear.

Next, after his skates, were his shin pads—big, bulky things that got hot altogether much too quickly, but at least they protected his legs. Then his jersey, his shoulder pads, his pants, until he Saint could finally lift his undershirt over his head and make his way to the showers.

The warm water felt like bliss against his aching muscles, but a part of him still pleaded to skip this bit and head straight home. All he really wanted was to curl up in bed with a bowl of ramen—decidedly not on his diet plan, but, hey, a guy could dream—and an episode of Drag Race.

And, of course, Luke. But he wasn’t allowed to think about that. Not here.

Or maybe, he realized, mind darting back to pictures taken through the windshield of a car, he could.

He had just begun to put on a pair of jeans and a tank top—grey, with the Golden Knights logo on the front and his name and number on the back—when there came a shout from the other side of the locker room.

“Hey, Tweedle!”

It was Pettigrew, one of his teammates, brandishing a ring of keys in the air. “Need a ride?”

Saint forced a smile. “Nah; I’m good. My roommate’s picking me up. Thanks for the offer, though.”

Pettigrew smiled back. “All right. See you tomorrow, Tweedle.”

“Yeah,” said Saint as he turned back to his stall. “See you.”

He packed up his gear in a sort of half-trance, thinking less about where he was and more about where he was soon to be. Saint loved hockey, true, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t love other things, too.

Other people.

The army green jeep was already waiting for him outside. He glanced around briefly, scanning the parking lot for any of his teammates, then pulled open the passenger side door. He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d checked to see if anyone was watching—it was, after all, nothing out of the ordinary: just a completely heterosexual hockey player getting into his completely heterosexual roommate’s car.

“Hey,” Saint said, meeting Luke’s gaze in the rearview mirror and grinning.

“Hey yourself,” Luke responded, a teasing tone to his voice. “How was practice?”

Saint just shrugged. “Same as always, I suppose. What are we having for dinner?”

Many things could be said for Luke Deveaux, and one of them was that he was a master of recognizing a subject change when he heard one. “Thought I’d finally cook up that chicken that’s been sitting in the freezer. Sound good to you?”

“Sounds fucking incredible. You really do know the way to a man’s heart.”

They smiled at each other again as Luke pulled out onto the main road—the soft kind of smile that said everything for them. Carefully, Saint reached out, resting a hand on Luke’s leg. The simple contact was really all they needed as they both looked back out to the road ahead, letting silence envelop them.

Finally, when they came to a stop at the second or third red light, Luke looked over. “What is it?” he asked quietly—genuinely, in a way only he could.

Saint made a noise of confusion. “What’s what?”

“You’re thinking.”

This time, Saint didn’t say anything for quite a while. He kept his eyes forward as the light turned green and Luke began to drive again. Eventually, just as Luke had begun to think that he wouldn’t get a response at all, Saint spoke up: “What if I introduced you to my teammates?”

Luke had a feeling he knew what Saint was getting at, but he wanted to be sure. “I’ve met a couple of them,” he said, slowly. “Pettigrew. Reaves. Dearborn. Greyback—though I didn’t like him much.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Saint said, and took a breath before continuing. “I meant like… what if I introduced you to them as my boyfriend?”

“Husband,” corrected Luke idly, jerking the wheel to the right.

“Right, yeah. But I’d still probably introduce you as my boyfriend, because, y’know—”

“Nineteen.”

“—Elvis.”

Another beat of silence. Another deep breath. “And I just thought—I was thinking that—that…”

Luke waited.

“Obviously I wouldn’t want to come out to the whole world. Not yet,” said Saint, starting again, “but… you know. People know about Black and Lupin—though they didn’t get to tell people; people were told for them. And if I said something, maybe… maybe, if there are others, they’d know… they’d know they aren’t alone.”

It was Saint’s turn to wait, now, as Luke took a left onto a side street and narrowly missed the curb. He swallowed back the slight lump in his throat—he’d said his bit; now it was time for Luke to say his.

“I love you.” Luke’s words were hushed, and, yeah, it was always nice to get reassurance, but that didn’t really clear anything up.

“I love you, too.”

“And I—” Luke sighed. “Can I have a little while? To think about it? Or, rather, not to think about it, but to think about how I’m going to say it.”

Tilting his head, Saint looked thoughtfully over at the man in the driver’s seat. “Yeah. Yeah; of course. Take all the time you need. It was just something I was thinking about.”

“But you’ve been thinking about it for a while.” It wasn’t a question.

“Well, if the better part of three days counts as ‘a while,’ then, yeah; I guess. Consciously, at least. Subconsciously… maybe longer.” He shrugged. “Who knows. All I do know is that I’m absolutely crazy for you, and I’d like someone who isn’t us or the guy who officiated our wedding to know that.”

“Especially because he almost definitely doesn’t remember either of us anymore.”

“Exactly.”

This next pause was different from the previous ones—more pause-like, though that didn’t make sense, even in Saint’s head.

“It’s like,” said Luke, thoughtfully, as he turned onto their street, “remember when we got married? And neither of us said anything about it for almost a month?”

“Yes?”

“Do you remember why?”

“Um, because typically you don’t get married to someone you’ve only been dating for a week and a half?”

The car slowed to a stop in front of their house. Luke pulled the key out of the ignition and sat back in his seat. “Bingo.”

When he didn’t elaborate, Saint asked, tentatively, “And, uh, what does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s like that, because I could only see that going one of two ways: either we stayed in a marriage neither of us was ready for, or we ended both the marriage and the relationship. And so, of course, the solution my nineteen-year-old and slightly stupid self came up with was to ignore the situation entirely. You can’t annul a marriage that you don’t acknowledge exists, right?”

Saint furrowed his brow. “But… we didn’t annul the marriage.”

“Exactly.”

“...I think you’ve lost me.”

“Yeah; probably.” Luke sighed “I’m going about this all wrong. I suppose the thing I keep getting stuck on is that it would make everything more difficult if—you know.”

“No,” Saint said, “I don’t know.”

“If we broke up.” It all came out in one breath, and Luke looked anywhere but at Saint while he said.

Suddenly, Saint found it difficult to breath. “You—you think we’re going to break up?”

“No. No; god, of course not. It’s just one of those irrational fears; yeah? Like, you know the elevator isn’t going to break and send you falling to your death like Tower of Terror, but you still worry about it.”

“Not quite sure I follow.” Saint waited a moment, then added, “So… I take it you aren’t planning on breaking up with me?”

“Nope.” Luke smiled as he said it, popping the p. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for a little while longer.”

“A lot longer, hopefully.”

“Amen to that,” said Saint, then reached to unlock the car door.

“Wait,” Luke said quietly. “I’m… there’s something else.”

Saint turned back, letting go of the door handle. “Yeah?”

“I—” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

“What was it?”

“I just—it’s been five years—or it will have been in a week, technically, but still—and… and I guess I was wondering if you… might like to do it again. That. Without Elvis, this time.”

“What, get married?”

Luke took a breath. “Yeah.”

“Again?”

“Jesus Christ, Saint; weren’t you listening to anything I just said? It doesn’t matter, anyway. Just—forget I said anything.” Now it was Luke’s turn to begin to open the car door, a rush of cold air seeping in through the gap.

“Wait—Tweedle—”

Luke paused. Saint didn’t often call him that, and, even when he did, usually when he was trying to be serious. It was something Saint would say when they were fighting—it was his way of saying I love you; I don’t regret being with you. It was not something Saint would say to someone he didn’t want to be married to.

“Yeah?” Luke didn’t look over—he kept his gaze on the sliver of pavement he could see in the space between the door and the rest of the car—but he could imagine the look on Saint’s face.

“I want to.”

“What?” He knew what Saint had said. He wasn’t asking for clarification. He was giving Saint one last chance to change his mind, and hoping desperately that Saint wouldn’t take it.

“I want to marry you. Fucking hell, of course I want to marry you. Again. Preferably sober this time. Definitely without Elvis.”

A noise that was halfway between a laugh and a sob escaped Luke’s lips. “Is that your way of proposing?”

“Actually, I think it was my way of accepting your proposal. And, either way, it was better than last time, when I think I just stuck my hand up your shirt and called it a day.”

This time, Luke really did laugh. “And they say romance is dead.”

“No kidding.” A pause, then, “Do you still have your ring?”

“Do I still have my—what kind of a question is that? Of course I do! I—” he cut himself off, clearing his throat. “Why? Do you still have yours?”

Saint looked down, avoiding Luke's eyes. His hand went to his neck, where he pulled out a thin gold chain. On it hung the ring Luke had given him so long ago: slightly battered and riddled with notches, but in a way better than it was when they had exchanged them all those years ago, giggling on the alcohol. "Of course I do." His voice was soft—almost timid. "I'm not sure I could have gotten rid of it if I wanted to."

Luke let himself smile. “I wear mine, sometimes, you know,” he said, in a voice nearly as gentle. “When you’re not around.”

“Yeah. I—I do, too.”

“I love you.”

Saint didn’t even think before he did it. He knew, somewhere, that it was a terrible idea—that this was exactly where Black and Lupin had gone wrong—but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Luke was his husband, goddammit, and if he wanted to lean across the console and kiss him until he forgot his own name, then nothing in the world was stopping him.

Well. Nothing except his seatbelt, and even that only took him a few brief moments to discard. Then he was turning in his seat and reaching out and cupping Luke’s cheek in the palm of his hand and whispering “I love you, too,” against his lips.

"God," Saint said, pulling away. "How could I ever have stopped."

Luke quietly laughed, pulling himself away from Saint's lips. "I don't know, love; it could have been you withdrawing yourself from me. It… it almost made me think you—well, not hated me, but at least that you regretted ever getting married."

Saint made a small sound, as if Luke's words were paining him. "I would never." His eyes were starting to water. "I could never. Sure, we were too young; sure, we were drunk. Sure, it was stupid. But it was the best mistake of my life."

Another laugh, this one slightly louder. “Best mistake of mine, too.”

Luke leaned in for another kiss. “Wait,” said Saint, ignoring the noise of protest he got in return. “I have to…”

Saint reached around the back of his neck, sighing in frustration as he fiddled clumsily with the clasp of his necklace. It took him a good ten seconds, but finally he was able to lift it off and slide the ring into the palm of his hand.

The thin gold band fit perfectly around his finger—the weight was familiar; the cheap metal had already been warmed by his body heat, almost as if he had never taken it off.

“People—” Luke cleared his throat. “People will ask questions.”

“I know.”

“And what—what will—”

“What will my answer be?”

“...Yeah.”

“Sweetheart,” murmured Saint, leaning in to brush their noses together, “there’s only ever been one answer.”

“And what’s that?” At this point, Luke was just playing along—and they both knew it.

“You.”

.

amazing characters by @lumosinlove

thank you so much to @im-oknutzy-trash for being my #1 supporter while I tried to get the words to work (and letting me use some of their words when mine inevitably didn't)

note: this is based off that one ask hazel received literal months ago about how if saint were in SW he'd be on the golden knights bc he looks good in gold. no one else seems to remember it, however, so maybe I imagined it. who knows.

and, yes, Saint's last name in this is Tweedle.

[anythingforspence]

the capstone - chapter one

Summary: Reader is a semester away from getting her masters in Psychology and duringher last semester she has to complete her capstone, or passion project if you will. This year, the professors decided that each student will be personally mentored by a psycologyst in distinct fields. When Y/N meets hers, she can’t decide whether she is lucky or if it will be a long 5 months.

Pairing: Female reader x Spencer Reid

Word Count: 1.8 k

Chapter warning: harsh language, sexy talk, no smut yet

A/N: omg tysm for all of the love on the teaser post. i hope i dont dissapoint.

Although I’m wide awake, I let my alarm clock keep beeping and beeping and beeping as I stare up at the white ceiling of my cheap studio apartment. My neighbor woke me up bright and early this morning by doing what sounded like lugging a dead body throughout his apartment. I lifted my head slightly just to slam it back against my bed, whining about being awake at 5:30 am. I’m probably just nervous. I have to complete this passion project for my psychology class by being mentored by a famous psychologist and write a paper about their career and their wisdom I guess. I have a meeting with my mentor today and I don’t know what to expect. My professor kept the identity of our mentors a secret. For the “excitement” and whatnot.

With a sigh, I swing my legs over the side of my bed and bend over to switch off the alarm. Resting my elbows on my knees, I run my hands down my face, basically prepping myself for the fact that I have to stand up soon. The moment I stand, I stretch all throughout my body, ending with my hands high above my head, stretching into the ceiling. My mouth getting ready to yawn when a bang was heard next door, like a book being chucked against the wall ajoined with my neighbors apartment causing me to yelp. I’m pretty sure I heard a chuckle in response to my scream. I glared at the wall, thinking of all the ways I could storm in there and punch my neighbor. I had two choices. I could storm in there and do all the things I wish I could do, or I could mind my business and get ready for the day.

Rolling my eyes I decided to just get ready. I still wanted payback, however, I blasted Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by The Smiths as I head into the showe. I grab brown trousers, a white button up, and a sage green set of lace undergarments. Not that anyone would see them, unfortunately there has been a drought of sorts in my pants. I just wear them for the aesthetic. Getting undressed, I put on my favorite playlist with all of the songs that make me feel like I’m the main character in an indie film. I heard a light tapping at my door, like some wanted my attention but at the same time wished I never paid attention to them. I decided to ignore it and step under the stream of water in my shower.

Once I was all finished with my shower, I stepped out into my foggy bathroom. Singing along to Bug Collector by Haley Heynderickx, I start drying off and slip on my outfit for the day. I keep my hair in a towel to help it dry some so I don’t have to use any heat on my hair. For my makeup I decided to go for a red lip, neutral blush, mascara, and brows today. Something simple and professional. I let my hair out of the towel and brush it out, not doing too much to it. Blowing myself a kiss in the mirror, I grab my purse and wrap my student ID around my neck, letting it fall next to the golden flower chained to my neck.When I open the door, I laugh in shock at the note my neighbor left for me.“nice taste in music”

I felt something against my leg and knew exactly who it was. “Hi, Payton,” I sweetly spoke to the Sphynx cat at my feet. I named her Payton even though she’s not technically mine and just wanders through the apartment complex. I bend down to give her scratches at her neck. “How’s my cutie patootie. Did you see the asshole who left this not?” She just tilted her head more into my hand, telling me to keep on scratching. “Guess not.” I stand back up and check the time on my watch, “Shit”. I had five minutes to get there.

-----

A bell rang as I entered the coffee shop I was supposed to meet my mentor at, of course with my favorite mask on. My eyes scan the place a little before I walk up to the counter to order my favorite drink. “Hi can I just get a 16 ounce Earl Grey, please?” The barista said something along the lines of yes of course and how my total was 2.16. “Alrighty, thank you.” It didn’t take too long for it to be done. They weren’t very busy and it’s just a tea bag and hot water.

“Excuse me, are you Y/F/N Y/L/N?” 

Woah. His voice sent a tingle down my spine. Probably just because I haven’t had much human contact or the fact that I haven’t been laid in a while but, my god, what I would give for him to say my name again. But that was nothing compared to what I saw when I turned around. I’m just glad I was wearing a mask so he didn’t the way my lips parted when my eyes met his. He had curly brown hair and he dressed like an old man, doesn’t sound like much but for me, that’s everything. Oh my gosh, and he had nerdy little cute glasses? When I realized I was staring I averted my eyes and started blushing.

“Um, yes, hi, that’s my name. I’m so sorry, but what’s your name?” The tremor in my voice made me want to just drop dead. I’m a woman of science but if the Earth knew how to open up and swallow people, now would be the time to prove it.

“Oh hi. I’m Doctor Spencer Reid. I’m your psychology mentor. Did your professor not tell you?” He seemed so confused, oh my god he’s so cute.

“Oh. Oh my God I’m so sorry! My professor didn’t let us know who was mentoring us, just in case we did prior research or something. I’m sorry. But yes um I’m Y/N. It’s very nice to meet you, sir,” I kept on rambling, looking anywhere but his eyes. Unfortunately, it made me look like I was checking him out. Oh fuck.

Chuckling a bit, he goes, “Oh no your fine. No need to apalogize. It’s a pleasure to meet you miss Y/N.” Not going to lie, the way he said my name sent tingles to my pussy. Oh my god what is wrong with me! I can’t be thinking these things about the person who is going to mentor me! Stop being so horny.

I started to blush and I cleared my throat and gestured towards the window. “Um, should we go sit out there?”

“Oh yes of course. Please after you,” he said, his hand finding the small of my back, hitching my breath and making me nervously mess with the rings on my fingers. We sat at the iron tables outside of the coffee shop, he pulled my chair open for me, finally his hands off of me. I felt like I could breathe again but at the same time I felt sad, empty. He took off his mask to take a sip of what he was drinking and holy shit. He had some scruff and his lips just looked so inviting. I wanted to distract from the silence that was biting at me. “So, uh, what do you do?” My voice trailing off, making everything so much heavier with awkwardness and the sexual tension that was just coming from me.

“What do you mean what do I do?” Fuck. I looked so stupid of course he does something in pschology. That’s the whole reason you’re here.

“W-well, um, like what specific area do you work in?”

“I do criminal profiling with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI.” My eyebrows bunch together in confusion. What does that have to do with psychology? Almost as if he’s reading my mind he continues, “We psycho analyze crime scenes, victims, bodies to understand why a criminal would do what they did, which helps us to understand the type of person they are, their background, and it leads us to the criminal, or unsub.”

“Wow that’s actually really cool. But, like, how does that all work?”

“Tell me, Y/N, when was the last time you had sex?” I didn’t say anything. I was so shocked. First off, how inappropriate, but also how did he know? “When I first walked in, you kept on looking me up and down as if you’ve never seen a man before. You keep fidgeting with your rings. Usually new jewelry makes people fidget but the stains on your fingers suggest you wear rings frequently which means you're nervous. Also ever since I’ve taken my mask offyou haven’t stopped staring at my lips. So, sweet girl, tell me when was the last time you were satisfied?”

I just sat there, gapping at him like a fish out of water. What was I supposed to say? Why thank you for asking, although the last time I’ve had sex was a year ago but the last time I’ve orgasmed has been longer? Before I could come up with an answer he got a phone call. Someone named Morgan needed him or something. Whatever it was, it seemed urgent.“Sorry our meeting got cut short, Y/N. Very important FBI business came up. Here is my card, has my name, email and phone number. I recommend calling me because I don’t usually check my emails or my texts. Your professor already gave me your contact information so I know how to find you. I am very excited for the upcoming months.”

“Oh- uh, thank you,” I whispered, still shocked. He grabs my hand so that he can hand me my card since I haven’t moved a muscle. 

“Oh and Y/N?” My head wips up at him and I let out a “hmm?” that could be mistaken for a moan. “Green is a nice color on you.” Confused, I looked down to see my button up shirt had popped open, letting my green covered tits be seen by the world. Eyes blown open, I immediately cover myself and say a thank you that sounded so embarrassing because my voice cracked. He just chucked and told me he would contact me soon. Before he left, I could’ve sworn he looked at me as if I was a sexy hollywood actress or something. But I brushed it off. Maybe he was concerned for me. After all, I had my tits out and made it obvious that I was desperately horny. God these five months will be awful if I keep thinking about Dr. Reid as a sex partner than a mentor. Then again the concept of having sex with your mentor can be hot. Nope. No. I should stop there.

[starbuckie]

𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤

challenge: time travel challenge by @justagirlinafandomworld​

prompt: “we’re divorced?” 

pairing: sirius black x reader

words: 5.7k words

warnings: FOURTH WALL BREAK!!(sorry im very excited about that), lots of angst, almost smut(hehe), sirius lowkey has a breeding kink, sirius is an asshole for a bit, the smallest bit of fluff, fix-it, and the same time travel theory as back to the future

summary: an unnatural occurrence lets a woman go back in time to try and change everything she’s known for the past twenty years.

a/n: wow, i normally don’t write for harry potter so this was a nice change. anyways, this is for yvette’s time travel writing challenge, and everybody say HAPPY BIRTHDAY YVETTE! i’m so sorry this is late, it got deleted and i needed to re-edit, but i truly appreciate your friendship and your lovely, amazingly beautiful self, and I’m so so glad that we became friends :)  this fic is not beta-read at all, so if you see any mistakes tell me, but otherwise i really hope you enjoy this fic<3

main masterlist || harry potter masterlist

It still wasn’t over. After all she had lost, more specifically everyone she had lost, and the shitty cycle that she had to call her life, it still wasn’t over. The people she had watched the life drain from, the screams of those suffering from the loss caused by the Dark Lord, and yet life still hadn’t had its fill of torturing Y/N. Grimmauld Place felt empty without the kids, without the Weasleys, but they had gone back to their home and soon enough she would have to as well. Harry had gone back to Hogwarts with Dumbledore, though she’d argued to hold onto him just a bit longer after-

After Sirius had died. 

Time had passed, maybe two or three weeks, but no matter what the woman couldn’t bring herself to get out of Sirius’ old bedroom, simply staring at the ceiling with her tears at bay. Her and Sirius had been a complicated thing, to say the least, a topic nobody had brought up since 1983, when she had banned it. Not as if there was much to talk about after the divorce and Sirius going to Azkaban. After Lily and James had died, after she had fought with Dumbledore for custody of Harry, after she had become a professor at Beauxbatons and moved to France without a second thought. Sirius had been locked up after he’d hurt her in the worst possible way, and Y/N’s heartbroken soul found no other reason to return to England. 

But, she pushed those bad memories to the back of her mind. It seemed so trivial, looking back on it. Not the broken house, of course, that had been his own mistake. But Y/N had many regrets, all of them seeming to revolve around the mischievous black-haired man who she had fallen in love with as a teen. The night it went down, the night their relationship had fractured at the seams and fallen down, was her greatest one however. It had been so stupid, so, so stupid, but they’d both gotten caught up in the moment, and Y/N had let him die without knowing how much she was sorry for that night that they let their fears consume them. 

The cries that she had tried so hard to contain finally broke free from the restraints of her heart. “I’m so sorry, Siri,” she whispered into the air, “I couldn’t save you this time.” As the hot, salty tears ran down her cheeks, Y/N shuffled across the room, letting her feet drag her to the old Black family room, the dark green walls embracing her rainy emotions. 

A little gasp escaped her lips as she looked at the portraits among the wall. The Black family tree was faded along the age-old wall, but what she was really looking for was the burned out image of her raven-haired love. There, right next to Regulus, was a black spot, scorned and scarred by the prestigious family for being a blood traitor. Y/N smiled and traced the burn with her finger, remembering their fourth year when she had accompanied him home for the holidays so he wouldn’t be completely alone in the hellhole he had to call his house. Sirius had snuck them up to this room and spent the night talking in hushed whispers sworn secrets. “I’ll be yours forever, Siri, and I’m sorry for fighting with you. I wish-” she sniffled, glaring at the spot in the wall as she tried to garble out her words, “I wish, I could go back in time, and just fix it. Just me and you, and that stupid night, with the bloody fight about children because you deserve it all, darling.”

“Ah, I think you can.” 

Y/N turned around, her eyes wide with fear. That was not Kreacher’s voice. There stood a younger woman, around nineteen, a scroll of paper and a quill in her hand. There was a whisper of a smirk on her face, brown eyes glittering even in the dimness in the room. “Who the hell are you?” Y/N looked at the door, which was still closed as she left it. She cast her wand out, pointing it at the stranger who did nothing but smile. “How did you get in here? Are you with the Lord?”

“With Voldemort?” The woman simply laughed. “Dude, I’m not with ‘the Lord’,” she added with air quotations. “Also I’m not really even here, so don’t you worry about that. My name’s Malia.”

Malia held her hand out, but Y/N kept her guard up. “You’re American. What brings you here? Are you a muggle?”

“Oh, nope, not a wizard, I’m just the author of this story.” Malia confided. “I’m here to tell you that you can fix this.”

“Fix… what?” Malia just rolled her eyes and sighed, staring up towards the ceiling as she spoke.

“God, did I write you to be hard of hearing now, too? I ought to fix that when I get back.” The woman blankly stared at the strange girl, wondering what the actual fuck she was talking about. “I can give you the chance to go back in time, Y/N. It won’t be for long, it’s really not gonna be interesting for more than two hours at most, but that should be enough time to tell the gang about what’s to come with Voldemort.”

“Like... time travel?” Y/N asked. The only way she knew how to time travel was the time turners. “But all of the ti-”

“Time turners were destroyed in the Department of Mysteries, I know, I know. Trust me, I’ve read Harry Potter more times than I’ve said ‘I love you’ to my parents.” Malia smiled. “I’m the author, I make the rules, and my rule is that I’m giving you two hours in 1978 to talk to Sirius so he can fix the emotional fucking mess left behind by J.K. Rowling.”

“Who’s J.K. Rowling?” Malia shuddered at the name.

“A raggedy-ass, transphobic bitch who wrote y’all into existence, but she’s not of importance right now.” She checked the small, rectangular box in her hand, which glowed and provided little light in the darkened room. “Let’s see, it’s currently eleven-forty, so you have until one-forty to find the Marauders and fix this future. It may not be fixed in the books in the future, but if you are able to do it here that’s all that matters.” Malia’s brown eyes were downcast, her bright and loud personality dimming for just a moment before returning to Y/N’s confused gaze once more. “Try not to screw up too much while you’re there, just enough that you defeat the Dark Lord the first time. Tell Sirius all you know and that should be enough for him to fix all the mistakes, but do not under any circumstances let him or anyone else know who you are. I wish you luck, Y/N, it was nice to meet ya in person.” 

And with a peace sign in front of her face, she disappeared into a flash of neon pink light. 

“Bloody hell! Fix my future? Talk to Sirius? If this even is time travel, then how am I supposed to get there- AH!” Y/N’s body felt like it was turning inside out, her guts being torn from her stomach and back into it again. A delirious giggle arose from her lips in the black void she was pulled into, and a soft chatter could be heard, like voices at the end of a tunnel. 

“Blimey, looks like we got ourselves a nutter on school grounds.” Y/N’s arms flailed around, desperately seeking some sort of grounding surface to hold on to when her back hit a rough surface. There was an audible crack somewhere in her body, but she felt so sick that she couldn’t tell where. 

“Are you okay, ma’am? You just appeared from the sky and hit the ground.” Warm, brown eyes met Y/N’s, a familiar mess of black curls resting atop of the boy’s head. Large, rounded glasses sat perched on the tip of his nose, and an impish smile, one she used to know so well before he died, met his lips. 

“James,” she sighed. The boy stared at her strangely, and only then did she notice the three other boys and girls each behind them. Remus, Peter, Sirius, Lily, Marlene, and Alice. 

Sirius.

The sight that met her eyes made her nearly emotional. It had technically been only three weeks since she had seen him, but here was the young boy she had fallen in love with. The one who charmed her with his smart words and witty retorts to her brush-offs, who used to hold her in his arms in the most intimate and gentle ways. His grey eyes sparkled with curiosity, the infamous Marauder mischief swirling within the silvery pools.  

Seeing him so young tugged at her heartstrings, and though she wanted nothing more than to hold him in her arms and never let go, a small, niggling feeling at the back of her head held her back. Was there something wrong?

“You know me?” Oh right, she was currently thirty-five. Looking around she noticed that she was outside the quidditch pitch, and there were other students, staring at her with widened eyes. No one knew she was Y/N L/N, their fellow schoolmate and probably one of the very few of them that survived the Death Eaters attacks. None of them were aware how it ended, or how it was currently going for them back in 1996, and in this time there was the first Wizarding War going on and they had every right to be terrified for their lives.

James now took a more defensive stance, standing tall and holding his wand out. “Who are you?”

She couldn’t give him the answer, instead letting her mouth gape open as she stared at him with wide eyes. Y/N looked across the grounds for the nearest exit, which was down by Hagrid’s hut and into the Forbidden Forest. It was her only choice at this point, to hide in the dark, creepy space, maybe just until the students went away so she could find Sirius and talk to him alone. It’d be hard to separate him from the boys, but if Lily were occupied with James it sure would be easy. 

Her younger, seventh-year self didn’t seem to be in the audience, thank Merlin, and with that knowledge, she got up and ran, ignoring her screaming muscles. That time travel really did a number on her. 

As she ran through the crowd, shoving people aside, she heard the students mutter, too much in shock and disarray to stop the crazy, old woman who knew James Potter.

“This is dodgy.”

“Someone ought to tell Dumbledore about this.”

“She kinda looks like Y/N L/N.’

“Don’t insult the poor girl like that, that wonker is ages old.”

“Come back here! Who the bloody hell are you?” Y/N’s heart beat quickly in her chest, threatening to burst out. Only three minutes in the past and it was all going straight to shit. “Stupefy!”

Shit. “No, James, please don’t-“ Her body hit the ground and her eyes closed, the last thing she saw being the pumpkin patch by the hut.

-

“I see you’re awake now, Ms. L/N.” Dumbledore stood above Y/N in the hospital ward bed, his grey beard dangling in front of her face. Her first instinct was to start blaming him for everything that had happened, starting from Lily and James’ deaths to Sirius’, already opening her mouth to call him an old, senile cow, but then she realized that Harry hadn’t been sent to the Dursleys yet, much less been born yet, so none of it would have an effect on him. Y/N’s second instinct was to question how Dumbledore knew who she was in 1978, but her former Headmaster started to speak before she could do so. “I must admit, it’s very courageous, that stunt you just pulled. I don’t think Ms. Louie will be too happy about that.” Y/N sent him a questioning stare. “Malia, the girl you met earlier. Malia Louie.”

“Headmaster Dumbledore, how did you know it was me?” She was dressed in a white gown that went to her knees, and behind him she could see her blouse and jeans folded and clean. Ah, the Hospital Wing. She had brought the boys here more times than she could count in her years at Hogwarts. “I don’t exactly look as young as I used to.”

“Ah, don’t worry Ms. L/N, you’ve kept your good looks quite nicely, even in your older age.” He stroked his beard thoughtfully, his wrinkled eyes sparkling with joy. “And speaking of young, if you are still worrying yourself about your younger self, you can put that to a stop. I am aware that you are not able to tell anyone who you are, and time travel is exceptionally dangerous if you are seen by the other version of yourself. I’ve already told the students that you were just a stray witch, misguided in your ways and that you were well taken care of. However, I think that brings us to the question of what your intentions are in the past, Ms. L/N.”

“Headmaster, I don’t think I can tell you about my business here. I’ve already messed up by letting the school see me by letting everyone see me, I don’t know why that girl even sent me here, it’s clear that this was a mistake.” Y/N sat up on the headboard, feeling her eyes fill with tears once again. The tall arches of windows let the sun in the room, and she could see the specks of dust swirling around in the golden light. It had to be close to the end of the year for them, maybe sometime around April or May, near the end of N.E.W.T.s at least. She could imagine that it’d be easy for her to get out of Hogwarts for the day, with all the students studying for the stressful exams in the library, maybe she'd make her way to Hogsmeade and walk around or visit Hagrid under a false name to have some tea. He was always open for a nice cuppa with strangers on any free day he had. “Thank you Headmaster, for your kindness, but I really ought to be going. I-it was nice to see you.”

Y/N started to help herself out of the bed, swinging her feet over to touch the cool stone ground. Bones cracked with pain and fatigue, her muscles stretching sluggishly. Merlin, that she was not expecting that much hurt from the fall, but she should have never underestimated James Potter. No one ever should if they want to keep their good mind and sanity. 

Dumbledore handed her her clothes, cracked lips set in a straight line as he nodded solemnly. “I hope you accomplish whatever it is you are here to do, Ms. L/N, but I have no doubt that you will.” With a sly wink, he added, “You were always one of our most ardent and bright students.”

Y/N let herself smile, and with a wave, swiftly brought herself to the door. “Thank you, Headmaster.”

After slipping outside, she ran down the corridors, echoes of her feet ringing lightly behind her. The courtyard proved to be empty and she quickly ducked behind a column and tugged her jeans on hastily, making sure that no professors came walking past. Though the sky proved to be bright and cheerful, a slight breeze carried through, making her fall off balance and fall on the cemented ground. 

“Are you okay, darling? You look like you’re in need of a little help.” Y/N looked up to the speaking figure, one that she both loved and dreaded to see. 

She gathered herself quickly, her mind running fast and heart beating out of her chest as she tried to get out. “Yes, I am okay, thank you for asking. I think I’ll just get up and going now, I don’t need to take time out of your day like this-”

“I know who you are, Y/N.” 

Y/N came to a full stop, going against her brain that screamed at her to run away. Sirius looked downtrodden, his grey eyes watering despite the small hint of a smirk on his face. Though he was always one for playing around and not taking anything seriously, she knew when it was time to stop pretending and get real. “How’d you know it was me, Sirius?”

“You really don’t look bad for your age, darling.” He offered her a hand to help her up and she took it graciously, eyeing him nearly guiltily and forgetting about her promise to Y/N. But that was useless now, this moment with her first love was much more important. “Also you have the tattoo on your chest. I knew it was you the moment you landed on school grounds.”

She traced his gaze to her left collarbone, where a paw print, just barely visible beneath her low-cut blouse, sat. It was his, or Snuffles’, paw print, and at this point in time they had probably gotten it done about three months before. He had one for her too, a horseshoe for her horse patronus, right on his left side of his chest too. So they’d always be right next to each other’s hearts, as cheesy as it seemed.

But they were dumb, lovesick teenagers, and they acted the part well too. Their love was all-consuming, shagging in under the bleachers at the quidditch pitch and making out under the stars. It was fast, everything was fast, decisions, ideas, classes, all of them under the impression that they had to do everything right then or they’d be dead before they got to actually live. They had dreams of marriage, and a big, big family, obviously so far away from his family so they could never hurt their children’s lives the way they had hurt his. 

They were fantasies, Y/N had known that well enough when she and Sirius got divorced, but it was something that eighteen year-old Sirius Black held close to his heart. No matter how shitty his life got, he was always a firm believer in a happy ending. In their happy ending. 

“How am I right now?” They now stood over the Black Lake, staring into the glittering depths of the water where some mermaids could be seen sneaking peeks at the handsome boy and the strange lady who had fallen from the sky. 

Sirius stared at her questioningly for a moment. “How are you doing right now? I mean, I believe that I should be asking you that ques- oh, Merlin, I’m such a git, you meant your younger self.” Y/N laughed at that, her heart lifting with the goofiness of the old Sirius relieving an ache in her heart that she had had for so long. Not that old (it felt weird to say that) Sirius had been anything less than silly and snarky, but it was never directed towards her. It was nice to have the resemblance of their old relationship back, even if it was just for a fleeting moment. “I suppose that you’re okay. You didn’t see, well, your big moment on the field, but at this point Lily has probably opened her big, fat mouth and told you. N.E.W.T.s are just finishing up, so you’re much more light-hearted than during the study season.”

“I really did have a stick up my arse during exam time, you always told me to loosen up-” 

“Y/N, cut out the small talk, I think it’s okay for me to ask how and what is happening.” Sirius cut in.

So she told him. Y/N had always been upfront with people about everything. Or rather, she had learned how to be upfront with people after her and Sirius’ divorce. Without details of the deaths, she explained how she was sent back into the past to fix it in some conceivable way. However, she did tell him about the fall out. Maybe she wanted him to understand her pain, even though it was a younger him, but she had to admit to herself that it was because she just wanted Sirius, in whatever form life gave her to hear out her grievances and apologies. 

Since her Sirius was dead before she could.

“We’re divorced?” Sirius looked about ready to break down into tears, almost as if the concept of them breaking up or separating was foreign to him. “What exactly did we fight over, Y/N? That doesn’t seem normal for the two of us.” Sirius asked.

“Well, to be fair, it wasn’t a normal predicament for us. either…”

Sirius slammed the door shut, efficiently pinning her against it with his white button up ruffled up, navy tie hanging from his neck loosely. Y/N’s arms were held down tightly against the oak wood, the sensation of the cold door burning into her rather warm skin making her squeal. Her husband’s tongue worked its way through her parted lips, low groans rising from the back of his throat from the way she moaned in tandem with his hips pushing into hers. Legs wrapped around his tapered waist, the pink, floral skirt Y/N wore rising high on her thighs, revealing more of her flesh to the lust-filled man. Both of their giggles echoed off the hallway walls of their small cottage home, just four miles west of their best friends’. 

As the twenty year-old man threw his wife unceremoniously on the bed, he shed himself of his shirt and swiftly unbuttoned his slacks, throwing them haphazardly across the room. Merlin, Y/N looked ethereal laying spread out on the bed, panties around her left ankle, swollen lips parted with short puffs of air leaving them. “You just get right down to business, don’t you, Black.” 

Crawling over his body, his hot breath hit her neck as he growled against her skin. “Could say the same thing about you, darling.” Sirius’ lips made their way down every inch, every curve, nook, and cranny of Y/N’s body, smoothly slipping her clothes off as he did so. Her sweet gasps filled the bedroom, back arching off the bed to meet his chest. “I’m going to put a baby in you tonight, sweetheart, we’re-”

Y/N sat up straight, her eyebrows trained in confusion at her husband. “What? A baby?” 

Sirius’ heart pounded in his chest. “Yes.” He remarked in a clipped tone. “Is that not what you wanted?” 

Her mind recalled her words from earlier that day, as she chatted happily with Lily about the news of her pregnancy. “Siri, I said I may one day enjoy having a kid of my own. Not right now, of course, but later. After all, we only got married a few months ago, don’t you think we should hold off a bit on that? We’re twenty years-old, Siri, there’s so many years for that.”

Rage filled Sirius’ blood like a spreading fire. In all honesty, it wasn’t so much about his anger as it was his hurt and fear. Fear that she had realized how fucked up he truly was, fear that she realized what he had known all along- that she deserved better than him. “So you don’t want a baby with me?”

“I never said I didn’t want that, Sirius, I just said that I’m not ready!” Y/N yelled back. At this point both of them stood on opposite sides of the bed, faces hot with tears. “We’re in the middle of a bloody war, people we know, people we love, have lost their lives, and it is not the ideal environment to raise a child, Sirius! Just because James and Lily are ready to have one doesn’t mean that I am too!”

“When will you be ready, Y/N? When will it ever be enough time for you? When will I be enough for you?” The heartbroken girl tried to interject, but her voice was cut off by her husband’s quickly enough. Sirius climbed onto the bed, holding her chin harshly with one hand. “Tell me, did you ever want to be with me in the first place?”

“Yes, Sirius, of course I wanted to be with you.” His heart hurt looking at the love of his life in tears, but even that was able to melt his cold facade. “I love you more than anything in the world.” 

“Then fucking prove it, Y/N.” With that declaration, he removed his hand from her face and gathered his clothes, slamming everything in their shared room as Y/N quivered, knees ready to buckle on the spot. “I’m going out, don’t wait up for me.”  

As soon as the front door shut, she fell to the ground in tears, the laughter that once filled their home replaced with the sound of her shattered heart. 

Y/N had done her best to not tear up during her explanation of the events that had taken that night, but Sirius' eyes watered, refusing to believe the truth. “No. No. I didn’t do that. Y/N, tell me,” he gripped her biceps with trembling hands, “please tell me I didn’t really do that. I can’t believe that I-I, that I-”

“You were drunk, Sirius, I don’t think you truly knew what you were saying at the time.” She sighed, “But people always say that drunken words are just sober thoughts.” Y/N rubbed her arms, just shivering slightly in the Scotland breeze. “You came back two hours later punching the wall and breaking it, and that’s when I knew that we wouldn’t last.” 

The raven-haired boy’s head started to shake, even more mortified of the actions that his future self, the man he’d be in just two years' time, had done. “I packed up my things, not that there were many, we’d only moved into the house a month before, left, and I sent the divorce papers a week later. It was probably better that way, you would’ve divorced me if I hadn’t done it first.” Y/N had gotten used to telling her sob story to colleagues at Beauxbatons, to her family, but it felt different with pre-divorce Sirius. Of course, she had never thought she’d be in this citation either, so no one could really blame her for feeling weird. “You signed them easily, and my lawyer made sure that I never had to see you again.”  Until Lily and James died.

“Until…” Sirius led on.

“Merlin’s beard, Sirius, you’ve always been able to read my mind. Shouldn’t have doubted it for a second.” He smiled at the sentiment, gesturing for her to continue. “I can’t tell you, Sirius, I hope you can understand that.”

“Why, Y/N, what happens that can be any worse in the future?” Oh dear, Sirius, you really do not want the answer to that question. She needed any way out of this conversation, after all running away was what she did best, and her eyes already searched for several routes to which she could run. Not that Y/N could ever outrun Sirius in his animagus form, but it was nice to have the belief that she could. The boy sensed her distress and grabbed hold of her hand. “You don’t have to tell me, darling, but I have to admit that I am a bit worried, just in the slightest.”

Y/N let herself calm down, squeezing Sirius’ hand and noticing his watch. She had actually given him that watch, gold-plated and dark grey metal, but it wasn’t the beauty of the gift that caught her eye, but rather the actual time on it. One-thirty. 

How had that much time gone by so quickly? She was going to be sucked into the black void of time travel again in ten minutes, and that wasn’t nearly enough time to unload nearly twenty years worth of history onto Sirius. No, he would go insane from that much knowledge, which was exactly against what Malia had advised. 

“I don’t have enough time to tell you everything that happens in the future, Sirius. But what I am about to tell you is vital, absolutely vital for the good of all of us in the future.” Sirius nodded with a serious sort of smile on his face. “Don’t let Peter be Lily and James’ secret keeper. When the time comes that they move away, I’m not going to tell you where yet, do not under any circumstances let Peter be their secret keeper. I know he’s one of our best friends right now, and do not tell anyone about this, but he’s going to betray us in the worst way possible.” 

While Sirius was shocked, he nodded solemnly and ran a hand through his long hair. “I won’t tell anyone, Y/N. Can I fix us, Y/N? I don’t know if you should be letting the key to a happier future rest in my hands.”

“I full heartedly trust that you’ll do some good, whatever the outcome may be. As for fixing us, I hope you can, but depending on what happens we’ll just have to wait and see.” She sighed, “If you want my opinion on it, I think that we both should have waited longer to get married. It was right after James and Lily got married, but we aren’t and never will be them. We both had a lot of growing up to do, so I would take it slowly. Communicate your wants and needs in the relationship and in the end it may not even be us together. But I know you, Siri, don’t let this get in the way of your entire life. The most important part is that you tell James and Lily about Peter.”  

She glanced back up the school grounds where students could start to be seen leaving their classes. “You better get back to the castle, Sirius. McGonagall is going to come for your arse and this time the boys aren’t going to be able to cover for you.”

“If they knew where I was, darling, I don’t even think they’d believe me.” Sirius chuckled.

Y/N nodded in agreement and pulled Sirius into a tight hug. “You can do this, sweetheart, and even if you can’t, it will not stop me from loving you any less. Maybe the future wasn’t meant to be changed, but regardless of whether that is true or not, I know that you will try your hardest, Sirius. Just try not to die, okay?”

The boy was still clutching onto her tightly, his tears soaking her rose-colored blouse. “I’ll do my best, darling.”

With one last kiss on the forehead, she smiled at him. “I know you will, Siri.” 

-

Y/N’s arse hit the floor once again, her spine cracking once again. “What’s the year?” She yelled out, reaching for the walls of the black family room. 

But it wasn’t there. Upon opening her eyes, she saw James, Lily, and Sirius sitting at a wooden table in her old white cottage. A nice tea set, her grandmother’s as she realized later, sat in the center, along with a large stack of letters. “Y/N, what the bloody hell happened to you, I’ve been worried sick!” 

Her red-headed best friend scurried over to her, brushing invisible dirt off her shoulders and pulling her up abruptly. James fixed the glasses on his nose, cleaning them off with his striped jumper. “You look a little disheveled right now, Y/N, what ran you over?” 

“You know who she reminds me of right now, Jamie? That crazy witch friend of Dumbledore’s that made her way onto campus back in seventh year.” Lily giggled as she hugged Y/N.

“Merlin’s beard, you’re right!” James walked over to the woman of the hour, ruffling her hair with a smirk on his face. “If you were about twenty years older I’d have no trouble believing you were the same person.”

While Lily and James recalled their memories from the strange woman all those years ago at Hogwarts, Sirius pulled Y/N aside, an arm wrapped around her waist. The warmth radiating from his body was nice, embracing her in a comfort she hadn’t felt in so long.

“I’m going to go ahead and believe that I did something right?” Sirius grabbed her hand, and only then did she notice the coolness of metal sitting on her left ring finger. There sat the single band of gold, a small ruby encased in its plating. She had once joked that diamonds were too overrated, and he went out and got her the most vibrant gem he could find, claiming that it was just like her. But regardless of its shape, size, or type of gem, it was there.

“Yeah, Siri,” Y/N replied with tears in her eyes, “you did good.” 

“Oi, Blacks, stop making out and get over here, we got a letter from Minnie!” James yelled, making both wives chuckle. “Harry’s gotten himself in detention for punching Malfoy again.”

“Oh, thank Merlin, the boy deserves a few more good hits.” Sirius laughed. 

“McGonagall still talks to us?” Y/N asked in amazement. “You’ve got to get me caught up.”

“Don’t worry, darling, we’ve got all the time in the world.” Sirius gently placed his lips onto hers, and for once in nearly twenty years, Y/N felt at peace. There were no more hasty warnings of the future, no psychotic old men coming after her family, no young girls rushing in to tell her how to fix her screwed up life. Cracked, pink lips moving against her own, his tongue delving into her mouth, and Y/N knew she was finally off the clock.

[liquid-luck-00]

I Hate You

Part 1: You’re not just my Friend

#2: I hate you from @zambie-trashart Prompt List

Next

DC Supersons x Miraculous

~~~~~~~~~~

Dick wasn’t sure what was going on, but it probably wasn’t good. After Tim and Damian came back from the Kent’s Damian has been in a worse mood than usual and Tim had a grin that reminded him of the Cheshire cat. That could not be good. Surprise is putting it mildly when Tim finally spoke about it the next morning.

“Did you know Jon has a cousin from Paris?” Tim asked and his grin was plastered on his face and it was starting to become unsettling. Hearing this Damian started to scowl harder into his plate, how is that possible.

“No. Why? ” Dick was almost to scared to ask, and he really should not have asked.

“Well apparently they always try to fool and prank Connor and well the two ‘twins’ got me and the Demon Spawn over there”

“What do you mean with ‘twins’ and ‘got you two’” it was Jason who spoke up this time.

“The two of them swapped places and I thought Jon’s cousin was him and he her” Damian practically growled.

Jason burst out laughing “Your serious two kids fooled the Demon Spawn and the genius!" Jason all but fell out of his seat from laughing. "Oh that is absolute gold”

Dick couldn’t help but smile and agree with the second eldest.

———

That was when Bruce entered the dining room.

"Do I want to know" he asked with a tired sigh sitting down. Damian was seated glaring at Jason, who was laughed hysterically, Tim wore a cheshire grin but his face had an embarrassed blush, while Dick seemed the most composed you can tell he is close to laughing as well.

"So you know how Tim and Damian went over to the Kent's yesterday" Dick began.

"Yes what of it" Bruce replied.

"Apparently Jon has a cousin who looks and acts like him"

"I still don’t get why this is relevant Dick"

"So these two thought Jon was his cousin and that she was him" This time Jason did fall out of his seat.

"Why don't we invite them over" Bruce grinned this is something I want to see.

———

Dick and Jason could not take it. Both of them were literal rays of sunshine. They tended to answer questions for themselves and one another. Making it hard to figure out who was who.

One of them was in a light grey jacket with a blush shirt, light washed jeans and white sneakers. The other was in a red shirt with a black and white open flannel shirt over it, blue jeans and red sneakers. Both of them were wearing a baseball cap to hide the length of their hair.

Because both sides were a part at this game kept everyone on their toes.

They tried to swap their phones but didn't work. She and Jon set them identically however they pointed toaster that there was a minute difference in the screen saver.

After two hours Damian seemed to be done. So everyone placed their or votes on who was Jon.

The four siblings all pointed at her thinking she was her cousin.

"Nope" she smiled. The three older boys began to laugh while Damian was beginning to fume.

"If you guys thought we were tricking you with our clothes you were wrong" Jon explained.

"You two figured it out huh" Mari looked to Bruce and Alfred.

"It was slight but Miss Marinette is more graceful, dance perhaps?" Alfred responded but also asked.

"Ballet" she smiled.

"Also it is hardly noticeable but Jon's eyes are a bit more electric where Marinette's are more bluebell." Bruce stated.

"Looks, like four people can now tell as apart Mars" Jon smiled.

Damian huffed and stalked back into the manor.

She was going to go after him when she was held back.

"He's just mad you two got him again" Jason spoke between laughs.

"Give him time" Dick reassured, she nodded her head.

———

About half an hour later Alfred said Lunch would be soon, and since Damian was still gone, she went to look for him.

She found him in a gym going through forms with a sword.

"Lunch will be soon" he stopped and watched her.

"Why act like Kent?"

"Huh."

"Why act and attempt to be someone else?"

"I'm not trying to be anyone. Jon is my cousin and we are alike. If we like to play pranks together it doesn't mean we are trying to be another person."

"Tt. How am I supposed to believe you. If you are Kent's cousin, I hardly know you. If you are Kent, then you are deceiving me. So why should I trust what you say?"

"Do or don't but I'm not lying."

"Tt. We'll see." faster than Mari could process Damian charged at her sword still in hand. Her legs wouldn't move but she still had enough sense to guard her head with her arms. Unfortunately the tip of the sword still got her. A cold sting ran about a centimeter above her left eyebrow, cut through it to almost four centimeters past her eye. Then she felt a burning sensation the longer the wound is exposed to air.

"Tt. so you are Kent's cousin"

"If by that you mean not Kryptonian yeah" she turned on her heel and walked out looking for a bathroom. Her breathing coming in shaky gasps. She had taken off her jacket and was using it to stop the blood while applying pressure.

———

She isn’t kryptonian, but she didn’t run. Why didn’t she try to leave not just attempt to block.

Damian went to the dining room for lunch. Kent’s cousin wasn’t there but everyone else was. He simply sat down and began to eat.

“Hey Damian do you know where Mars is?”

“Tt. Why would I know where she is?”

———

That was when Marinette walked into the dining room. Her jacket was folded and she was holding it and her hair was now parted to the right and not the left as it was earlier.

“What happened?” Jon’s voice was steely the opposite of his usual cheeriness.

“Please drop it” Marinette spoke steadily, but her eyes were pleading with her cousin.

“You never told us that your cousin was human” Damian spoke almost bored still eating.

“Because it wasn’t relevant” Mari bit out. Now all attention was on her and in a house full of detectives she was not going to get out of this.

Jon flew over to her and was examining her. That was when he noticed the cut on her brow. “Mari”

“It’s not as bad as you think” but he didn’t listen he grabbed the jacket she had set down and unfolded it. That was when the entire family saw the blood stains on the light grey fabric.

“Miss Marinette, may I” Alfred now came up to her and began to check her as well. “It needs to be closed. Unfortunately it will scar.”

“Now we will be able to tell them apart” Damian deemed it appropriate to speak.

“I hate you.” Mari glared at the green eyed boy “I hope your proud of yourself.”

“Tt. I don’t see the problem.”

“Of course you don’t”

“Damian care to explain.” Bruce demanded.

“It seems self explanatory”

“He attacked me”

“You attacked Pixie” Jason seemed to take offense on her behalf.

“Why aren’t you more upset or in pain that looks bad” Dick went into mother hen mode.

“Because there is no use dwelling on it. And thinking about it makes it hurt more”

“Still Mars it’s bad, you really shouldn’t need to hide this” Jon was starting to become overprotective.

“I’m a klutz I’ve had worse. Besides I’m just tired at this point.”

“But” Jon was going to argue further but she didn’t want to hear it.

“Hey look at it this was Conner will finally be able to tell us apart.” Jon pursed his lips and so did everyone else in the room. Mari gave a smile as to lighten the mood but was unsure if she succeeded. Well there is no point in dwelling on it now.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist:

@iloveitwhen @greatcatblaze

JPS: @zambie-trashart @loveswifi @wannajointhecrabcult @ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole @mochegato @thatonecroc @professionalfangirl1738

[idy-ll-ique]

Winter Baby.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

Requested: Nope

Summary: Bucky and Y/N meet when he goes to her library for the first time.

Author's Note: Hi there!! Whew, that was a long hiatus... anyway, I feel like some of you might enjoy this; personally, I'm not a big fan of my old writing but since I've not written anything new recently (marvel-related), I don't have a choice. So enjoy!

---

Y/N POV:

It wasn't easy owning a whole library alone.

But for money and livelihood, anything.

That was my mindset, I'm Y/N. I owned a small library in Manhattan, New York. To give you a more detailed address, it was on the same block as the Stark Tower, where the Avengers resided. 

Customers swarmed my library frequently, it had been well-known for decades. The thing is, it was inaugurated by my grandpa. It was then handed over to my mom and now, after her retirement, I handled the shop with a few of my friends. I loved the library with my life. 

Currently I was sitting on my seat at the reception, a Kafka book in my hand. When I heard the bell above the door ringing, I groaned in my mind. 

"Welcome to Twice Upon A Time, how may I help you?" I drawled, without looking up. When I heard someone clearing their throat, I looked up. My eyes widened slightly but I smiled at the Kennedy assassin, also known as Winter Soldier, or White Wolf, or, Bucky Barnes. 

"How may I help you, Mr Barnes?"

I was alone in the library, my friends having gone to eat lunch. I kindly refused, because someone needed to stay at the library. 

"Please tell me where the Divergent series is kept, doll," Mr Barnes questioned politely with a friendly smile. I stood up and led him to the fiction shelves. He got whatever book he needed, put the money on the counter and left. He said he'd return the book within seven days. As he left, I stared at the back of his head. 

To be really honest, I had a crush on him. I genuinely had a problem, I think, falling for the wrong person. First, my school bully (yuck), then Loki for a brief amount of time and now Bucky. As soon as I had seen him on the news, I was enticed. Obviously, I didn't tell anyone about my infatuation with Bucky. They'd judge. 

Once, I saw him in a café with Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, laughing and having fun. That was the day when I realized I had actual feelings for the guy. My heart involuntarily fluttered in my chest, snapping me out of my thoughts. I chuckled, shook my head and continued reading Kafka. 

Bucky POV:

I stared down at the book in my hand, which was suggested to me by Nat. It was the first book of a four-book series. I entered my bedroom, running a hand through my hair. 

As I sat reading, my mind wandered back to the small, cosy library, with the cute receptionist. I think she was the owner, I wasn't sure. She was famous in the area. 

I did hear a lot about the bookstore, everyone had something promising to say about it. That's what made me go there in the first place. Now I know why everyone said that 'Twice Upon A Time is a great place to buy books!' One round around the bookstore, I fell in love. 

The library held all kinds of books, from educational to adult, fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi... I shook my head and continued reading Divergent. 

Throughout the book, I couldn't get the owner's face out of my mind. Her Y/H/C hair, eyes as grey as mine, small figure, her curves, her clothes... whoa.

"Goddamn it, Bucky!" I groaned to myself, snapping the book shut. I stood up, deciding to go back to the library to ask her her name. If I didn't, I knew I wouldn't be in peace until I did.

And maybe ask her to coffee, suggested my mind. I agreed. The library was quite close by, it took me five minutes to get there. When I walked in, I didn't see her anywhere. A guy was sitting on her spot. "How may I help you, Mr Barnes?" he asked, smiling. "Uh... you know that girl who was sitting in your spot an hour ago? Where is she?"

"Oh, Y/N? Wait." He got up and disappeared into the back of the library. I stood where I was, Divergent still in my hand. My hands started to sweat. 

Why was I so anxious? Maybe because Y/N was so cute. The guy returned, Y/N behind him. "Hello, Mr Barnes," she greeted with a smile. 

"Hi, Y/N, I wanted to ask you something," I implored, glancing at the guy who was watching us with a smile. He got the indication and departed. 

"Anything," she mumbled, perplexed. "I wanted to ask you if you'd like to have coffee sometime," I chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. 

"Of course, Mr Barnes, I'd be honoured! Shall I give you my number, so you can contact me?" she asked with a cute smile after being momentarily stunned. I readily handed her my phone. She added her number in and gave the phone back. "I'll text you," I nodded. "Okay, Mr Barnes, have a good day," she called out as I turned to leave. 

"Bucky, please." I gave her one last smile and left the place. I went back to the Stark Tower, only to bump into Steve on my way in. "Hey Bucky, where have you been?" he inquired with a smile.

"Twice Upon A Time," I shrugged, holding up my book. "Oh, the owner of that store is a really sweet gal, do you know her? She's so polite!" he gushed. He knew her too? Damn. "I'm taking her out for coffee."

Hearing that Steve smirked at me. "Have fun, okay? She's awesome, I'll be the happiest if you two start a relationship," Steve wiggled his eyebrows. I gave his shoulders a push, laughing. "See you, champ." We did a fist-bump and he left the building. I went inside, straight to my room. 

I smiled to myself as I started reading Divergent again. This time, I didn't mind having Y/N's face implanted in my brain. I read the entire book in 5 hours. When I finished reading the book, I gasped. That was such an interesting book, I wanted to read the second part! 

The next morning I borrowed the second installation of the series, met Y/N, went home, read the book and finished it within a few hours once more. That happened until I finished reading the series. After finishing the series almost 5 days after I met Y/N, I finally decided to ask her out. I couldn't stop thinking about her, she was... attractive. 

Y/N POV:

“Jesus, fuck-” I cursed when my phone startled me. Why would someone want to call me at midnight? Sighing, I picked up the call. "Hello?" I answered, instantly recognizing the voice on the other end. "Y/N, hey, I was wondering if we can have that date tomorrow."

"Oh." I checked the calendar, "Sure. Tomorrow's Saturday anyway, the library is closed on Saturdays." He dramatically heaved a sigh of relief, which made me titter. "How about 8 pm, we meet at the restaurant down the lane?" he asked hopefully. "El Diablo? Sure! I love that place! Bye Bucky, I'll see you later!"

He ended the call and kept my phone away. I stood up and stretched, yawning. I turned the TV off, picked up my phone and went to my room. 

---

“Where are you, Buck?” I was waiting at the entrance of El Diablo for Bucky, dressed in a sweet, green dress. It reached my knees and it was strapless. I normally didn't dress like this, I felt uncomfortable. My friend, Anne said I looked beautiful and I trusted her, so... When I looked around again, I saw Bucky walking towards me, dressed in a suit. 

I almost drooled, damn, he looked so handsome. His hair was tied back, a few loose strands hanging around his shoulder. His stubble seemed too perfect to be real. His grey eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on me. A smile bloomed upon his face as he walked towards me. With each step he took, my heart fluttered. 

"Hi Y/N, you look beautiful."

He took my hand and pressed a kiss to it. Such a gentleman! I smiled as both of us walked into the restaurant, Bucky's arm around my waist. Half the restaurant turned to look at us. Their eyes widened, because what was the sweet bookstore owner doing with the Winter Soldier?  Bucky and I ignored the looks and sat down at a table. Water was served and two menus were placed on the table. I didn't even bother. 

This date seemed too fantastical to be real. Never in a million years would I have imagined I would be on a date with Bucky Barnes. Yet, here I was maintenant...

When Bucky was done with the menu I called the waiter over and placed our orders. When he went away, Bucky turned to me.  "You didn't even pick up the menu," he teased. I shrugged and crossed my arms, unfolding them with a blush when I realized they attracted his attention towards my accentuated... ahem...

"I have been here 2-3 times before, I know my favourite dish from here," I chuckled, playfully glaring at him when he smirked at my blush. Both of us were  chatting until our food arrived. We talked about our favourite book series as we devoured our food. His favourite series at the moment was obviously Divergent, while I was an avid Potterhead. 

---

After dinner, Bucky decided to take me back to my house. As we walked down the lane, a gust of wind blew, making me shiver. "Cold?" Bucky asked instantly, taking off his jacket. He placed the jacket over my shoulders and I thanked him. When we reached home, I turned to him. 

"Bye Bucky, I'll see you tomorrow."

I hugged him, kissing his cheek in the process. When he pulled away, both of us grinned at each other. He left. After the first date, Bucky and I hung out at the library a lot. Sometimes, he even bought Steve and Sam along, who were fun to hang out with, too.

Eventually, a few weeks later, Bucky asked me out again. This continued for 3-4 dates. As the 4th date ended with us standing outside the door to my house, Bucky turned to me. "Hey, Y/N, will you be my girlfriend?"

I froze and looked at Bucky, who was smiling at me, confident. “Wasn’t that already established?” I smirked, crossing my arms. “I thought so too, just wanted to make sure you knew.” I laughed loudly at his joke and a lopsided grin bloomed on his face.

My laughter abruptly stopped when he pulled me close to him, cupping the back of my head and holding it close to his shoulder with such intensity that I melted against him. When the hug felt too elongated, I tried to pull away. Bucky surprised me again when he gently pressed his lips to mine in a perfect kiss, according to me. 

I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck. His arms went around my waist, pulling me closer. “I wanna tell you something, don’t be mad,” he murmured against my lips. I hummed in a questioning tone, my mind still reeling in from the brilliant kiss.

“I love you. I know it has been only 4 months since we’ve known each other but I’m sure I love you. I’m not expecting you to feel the same way, but I wanted to get it off my chest. I really do love you, darling.”

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I was flabbergasted. He loved me? Me, of all people? To be honest, I didn’t want to ruin this moment with unnecessary questioning, especially since I loved him back.

So I smiled.

“I love you, too, winter baby.”

“Never call me anything else ever again.”

“Deal, winter baby,” I chortled.

---

A/N: Please leave a like, it would mean a lot! Thanks for reading :)

[sgtbradfords]

LOVE YOUR WRITING!♥️♥️♥️

I would love if you could write something with this phrase “I don’t want this.” but in a cute beautiful way maybe?🥺♥️ anyways, whatever you write will be perfect!

I hope you’re good with undercover!Chenford anon because that’s what you got! Enjoy my anonymous friend and thank you for the prompt!

Lucy Chen was going to be honest, she hated undercover operations. But, when Sergeant Grey had assigned her and Tim Bradford to go undercover, together, she bit her tongue and began mentally getting ready for the op. Lucy, now an official P2, and Tim officially the Sergeant for nightshift, had not worked together in months, only seeing each other coming and going, and the few times everyone was off at the same time.

Turns out Angela Lopez had specifically requested the two officers to assist, stating “They’re the only ones that will work.” And what six month pregnant Angela wanted she normally got. The operation was simple really, go to the park and people watch. Specifically, people watch for a major drug deal going down and not get caught. The meeting ended and both were redirected to their respective locker rooms, their undercover outfits already chosen for them.

“I don’t want this.” Lucy said, wrinkling her nose as she was handed a bag, pulling out the outfit Angela had likely chosen for her. The leggings were a soft dark blue tie-dye, reaching mid-calf, the sports bra she pulled out afterwards matching the leggings. “How do you even know my size?”

Angela shrugged. “I asked Jackson.”

Lucy changed, gesturing to the outfit that clung to her body. “And where am I supposed to hide a gun or cuffs in this?”

A small metal canister came flying at her. “Put this and your badge in your bra, your cuffs should fit in the key pocket in the back.”

Lucy grumbled as she began storing things in the places she could, lacing her tennis shoes before walking out the locker door.

Standing outside of the door was Tim, wearing a black muscle tee and navy athletic shorts.

“Not a word boot.” He glared. “Let’s go.”

They stepped out of the surveillance van thirty minutes later, five blocks from the park.

“I’ll move closer once you two get far enough away. Chase and Jones are on the basketball court, they’ll catch the person making the pick up, you two catch the drop. The deal is supposed to take place near the pavilion in an hour.” Angela told them as she pulled the door shut.

“So, what are we supposed to do, pretend like we’re exercising for the next hour?”

“Not today Chen, think of it as one of our morning runs with Kojo.” He told her as he stretched.

“But it’s already over 80 degrees out.” She complained, beginning to stretch.

“Would you rather it be over 100?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

She huffed. “No. I just don’t see why they couldn’t have chosen an earlier time.”

Tim chortled. “Maybe because they’re criminals? Besides, crime goes up the first week the heat goes up.”

Lucy began doing sprints down the sidewalk, her hair falling out of its ponytail, bouncing in her face as she ran back and forth, becoming irritated she threw the long strands up in a high pony. “So what, we’re supposed to look like a couple out for their afternoon jog?”

“Pretty much.” Tim said as he jogged past her, waiting for her to catch up. “We wait until both parties have exchanged everything then we move in.”

They kept their strides even, though Lucy knew Tim could easily out pace her. Soon the park came into view, grass and trees vast and plenty, a large pond in the middle spewing water with a few children standing near, feeding the ducks, a basketball court and playground on the other side was just barely visible.

They entered the park, keeping a steady pace as they ran, making one and then two laps. On the third lap, Lucy found herself getting bored.

“Last one to that tree, has to buy beers.” She said pointing to a large tree near the pavilion before taking off in a run.

“Hey! Chen! Come on!” Tim yelled as he increased his speed, quickly catching up to her.

Lucy laughed manically as she thought she had the jump on her former training officer. Tim caught her easily, both tagging the tree at the same time.

“I won Bradford!” she gloated, her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath.

“Not so fast Chen.” He glared, lifting the hem of his shirt, wiping away the sweat from his face. “We got here together.”

Lucy opened her mouth to argue when a soccer ball came flying at them, Tim stopping the ball with his foot.

“Sorry!” a girl, no more than eight years old apologized, stopping a few feet away.

“No problem.” Tim said as he kicked it back.

“Thank you!” she yelled, running back towards a group of other children.

Tim and Lucy began doing a series of cool down stretches under the shade of the tree before Tim sat down on the grass, his back against the bark as he stretched his feet out in front of him. Lucy moved next to him, changing her mind at the last second and resting her head on his thighs.

“Lucy…” he warned.

Lucy turned her head, looking up at him as she feigned innocence. “What?”

“What are you doing?”

“We’re supposed to be a couple so, I’m doing the coupley thing and resting my head in your lap.” She told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, turning her head back to look at the leaves and branches above them

“And how do you expect to see our suspect?”

Lucy sighed, sitting up. “Fine. Are you happy now?”

Tim grunted, as Lucy moved next to him, her back against the bark as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Wanna play I-Spy?”

Tim rolled his eyes. “This is a stakeout boot, not Where’s Waldo.”

“Cop eyes Bradford. I’ll go first. I spy with my little eye something… green!”

Tim decided to humor her, looking around before guessing. “The grass?”

“Nope.”

“That tree?” he asked pointing.

“Nope.”

“That tree?” he asked pointing to a different one.

“Tim…” she whined.

“Fine, that kid in the green shirt?”

“Which one?”

“Lime green?”

“Yes. Now, your turn.”

“I spy something… orange.”

“That basketball?”

“No.”

“That lady’s shirt?”

“Yes.”

“Really!”

“No. Give up yet?”

“Never. Ok, what about… that orange traffic cone.”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, it’s the orange traffic cone.”

“Ok, I spy… wait, your three o’clock, isn’t that our suspect?” Lucy asked, turning her head, smiling at Tim flirtatiously.

Tim glanced out of the corner of his eye before turning his head to Lucy, pretending to smile at something she said. “Looks like he’s heading towards the picnic table to our left.”

“Shit.”

“Do you trust me?” he asked, propping his right elbow on his bent right leg.

“Always.”

Tim leaned in, “Then please forgive me.” He whispered as his eyes glanced at her lips, his right hand softly caressing her cheek. Lucy gave him a questioning look as his calloused hand touched her, his body leaning in as his lips brushed against hers. Her eyes fluttered closed, her body leaning in towards his as her left hand came up, fisting the shirt beneath her hand, pulling him closer. Lucy opened her mouth, his tongue taking advantage as it swept over hers, the hand on her cheek moving, finding it’s way to wrap itself around her brown locks, pulling. Her toes curled at the sensation, a low moan finding its way out of her as he pulled back, the lack of his rough lips on hers slowly bringing her back to her senses.

“Holy fuck.” She whispered, opening her eyes, her hand still fisting his shirt as she fought to catch her breath.

Tim smirked, his own breathing heavy as he forced his fingers to untangle themselves from her hair, looking over Lucy’s shoulder, clearing his throat. “He’s dropped the bag. Let’s go.”

Tim stood, extending his right hand for her to take, pulling her up to her feet before intertwining their fingers together as they followed behind their suspect.

“Stop acting so stiff.” Tim mumbled, faking a laugh.

“Sorry.” She grimaced, mentally chastising herself to loosen up as she plastered a giddy smile on her face. “You just… took me by surprise.”

“I gave you a heads up.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Asking if I trust you then asking me to forgive you, are very contradictory Bradford. I don’t by the way.”

Tim frowned, glancing over at her. “You don’t what?”

“Forgive you. You can’t just kiss me like that and and-“

“I’m sorry Lucy.”

“Yeah well, I’m not Tim.”

Their suspect stopped, his tail doing the same, looking around at his surroundings.

“We’ve been made.” Lucy said, turning her body towards his, her free hand landing on his shoulder.

“I don’t think so. Ten o’clock.” Tim told her, nodding his head to the shop on the curb.

“That ours?”

“I don’t think so, check the bike rack on the back.”

“Great, now he’s spooked.” She sighed, as their suspect began walking away again. “He’s going to run.”

“He’s not going to run.” Tim said as the man picked up speed.

“He’s going to-“ No sooner had the words began leaving her lips did he take off in a run.

Lucy yanked her hand out of Tim’s, taking off in a sprint, her small stature and lack of duty belt allowing her to gain speed as Tim quickly passed her, his long legs carrying him further.

“LAPD! Stop!” Lucy yelled reaching for the pepper spray in her bra, her voice echoing off the passing buildings and cars.

It might have been the criminals footing or just pure luck when their suspect tripped, falling to the ground, scrambling to get to his feet as Tim took the man out at his legs, tackling him to the ground as he quickly sat down on the man’s back.

“You got a gun?” breathed Lucy, jealously in her tone as looked at the gun in Tim’s right hand that was pressed into their suspects back. “All I got was pepper spray.”

“Cover me.” He said as he pulled the right leg of his shorts up, exposing the thigh holster as he re-secured his weapon. With her free hand Lucy reached around, digging for the cuffs in the back of her leggings, pulling them out and handing them over to her partner. Tim leaned over, reciting the suspects Miranda warning as he latched the cuff on the man’s left hand before pulling it around back, his other hand reaching for their suspects right, pulling it back to latch the other piece of metal on.

Tim pulled his bodyweight off the man. “Roll onto your back and sit up, we’ll help you to your feet.”

The man grunted, doing as instructed as another person joined them. “I didn’t do anything! It’s not my drugs.”

Tim raised an eyebrow as Lucy helped the man up. “Who said anything about drugs?”

“Well done Sergeant Bradford, Officer Chen.” Angela told the two as they walked the hundred feet towards the surveillance van. “It feels good to get out from behind the desk, right?”

“Better than staring at the mountain of paperwork sitting on my desk.”

“Tell me about it.” She agreed, rolling her eyes.

A shop pulled in, Jackson West smiling from behind the wheel. “Nice tackle their sir.”

“I’ll be paying for it later.” Grumbled Tim.

The suspect turned his head back, looking between the two officers that had followed his foot chase. “So, do you two get paid to make out like that or what?”

Lucy blushed as Tim coughed. “We didn’t- It’s not like that.”

Angela and Jackson gave each other a knowing look as they loaded the arrest into the shop.

Lucy cleared her throat. “What about the other guy, they get him?”

The other two officers decided to let it go, for now. “Yeah, Chase and Jones were able to apprehend our other suspect and get almost a million in drugs off the street.”

Tim let out a low whistle. “That’s way more than we anticipated.”

“It is. Thanks again for your assistance today by the way. You two go load up and we’ll get back to the station.”

The rest of the day passed by in the form of reports for Tim and a lone domestic dispute for Lucy. Not that either was complaining, still feeling the burn and stretch in their muscles from their workout earlier.

Lucy had just finished pouring herself a glass of wine when a knock sounded at her front door. She abandoned the glass, not expecting company as she opened the spare drawer next to the fridge, pulling the gun out as the knocking began again, her finger undoing the safety before moving onto the barrel as she looked through the peephole.

Lucy sighed, her shoulders dropping as she undone the locks on the door.

“Tim.” She acknowledged as she opened the door, leaving it open for him to come in as she flipped the safety back on and placed the weapon back in the drawer.

Her company walked in, shutting the door behind him as he watched her move about the kitchen.

“You turn the safety back on?” he asked her as he kicked his shoes off.

She raised an eyebrow at his actions. “Of course.” She said, taking the glass from the countertop, lifting it to her mouth, taking a sip. “You staying?”

Tim hesitantly nodded. “Please?”

Lucy shrugged, stirring what was cooking in the pan on the stove. “Sure. Jackson’s not in tonight so they’ll be leftovers. Red wine and honey baked chicken in the oven with risotto and broccoli.”

“Smells good.”

“Drink?” she offered.

He shook his head. “Anything I can help do?”

“Nope.” She said pulling the chicken out.

“About today…”

“Is that what this is about? You coming here, just so you can spare me my feelings? I’m just going to stop you right there-“

“Lucy, wait.”

“Let me finish. I’m a big girl Tim Bradford. No, scratch that, I’m a woman. And I will damn kiss who I want to, even under other pretenses. I don’t regret what happened today and if we’re being honest with each other, today was a long time coming. I’m not meaning you and me undercover we’ve done that numerous times, I’m meaning you apologizing before you kiss the ever-loving shit out of me which I happened to enjoy more than I probably should have considering you’re here to-“

She found her rant cut short, the feeling of a hand on her cheek turning her head in the blink of an eye as those same chapped lips that were assaulting hers less than twelve hours ago, began attacking hers once more. It all happened too fast for her liking, him pulling back before she got to get acquainted.

“You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to do that Luce.” He whispered as he pulled back.

Lucy smiled, loosely wrapping her arms around his neck. “Then why did you stop.”

“You were on a roll.” He told her, shrugging, his hands finding her waist.

Lucy rolled her eyes as her nails began to scrape over the hairs at the base of his neck. “What was I saying again?”

Tim let out a low laugh. “Hell if I know.”

Lucy slapped him on the shoulder before pulling back, his hands staying on her waist. “Let’s eat and then we can talk, I’m starving.”

“Me too.” He said, smirking as he let go. “But not for food.”

“Sustenance first Tim,” she said fixing a plate of food. “some of us haven’t had anything to eat besides an old protein bar - which I found at the bottom of my duffle mind you - since this morning and my stomach is about to eat itself. I require food Tim.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“Maybe.” She shrugged handing him the now full plate of food. “But do I need to remind you what happened last time you had to face a hangry Lucy Chen.”

A look of horror came over his face. “N-no.”

“Good.” She said fixing her own plate. “Now, sit and enjoy because I’ve had this chicken on my mind the entire day-“

“The entire day?”

“Ok fine, I was momentarily distracted by a lapse in judgement but most of the day then.” She said as a matter of fact, cutting the meat into pieces.

“Lapse of Judgement?”

Lucy glared, pointing at him with her fork. “Stop or I’ll start psychoanalyzing you. So, it wasn’t a lapse in judgement more like a really really really good idea that I am completely onboard with.”

Tim laughed “You are so weird.” He told her, sticking a bite of food in his mouth.

“You like it.”

Tim swallowed, staring his last rookie in the eye. “Yeah, I do. And just so you know, I am onboard for this too.”

Lucy could not help the smile that overtook her face. Neither knew, in that moment where this new road would take them, the only thing they did know? Was that it was going to be one hell of a ride.

[sillyrabbit81]

Her Heavy Cross

Summary: Three years after tragedy hits, Lana she decides to start dating again. She meets Will through a dating app and they begin an online romance. After months of constant requests, Lana relents and agrees to meet and go on an irl date with Will. But is Will who he says he is? Lana is quickly pulled into an intense relationship forcing her to confront her tragic past. Will Lana face it or will she close her heart forever?

Pairing: OMC x OFC

Word Count: approx 2.3k

Warnings: swearing, recreational drinking

Authors Note: The story started as a Henry Cavill fanfiction but I changed it to be an original character, but shades of Henry are still there. Hope you enjoy the story and thanks for reading.

Part 2

Part 1

"It's a cruel, cruel world to face on your own,

A heavy cross to carry along..."

Heavy Cross - The Gossip

He's not coming. I took a deep breath in. I knew this would happen. Why did I believe for a second that he was going to show up? He was only 5 mins late, and he could just be parking his car. I was sure he said he was getting an Uber.

No, he was late, it's the first date, and he seemed like the kind of guy who is 10 minutes early for everything. His watch could be slow, and he thinks he is on time. Except everybody has a smartphone, so everyone knows the correct time.

Why wouldn't he message to say he was late? He had messaged me to say he would call late last week. If you're the type of guy who messages someone when you're going to call them 10 minutes late, surely you'd message if you were late to actually meet them.

Damn him. He's the one who pushed for a date. After nearly three months of chatting online, texting, calling, he finally wore me down. Then he doesn't show up? Dick move.

I looked around the pub again, hoping to see him come in. The pub was dark but not unpleasant. It wasn't very crowded for a Friday night. It was the kind of place you dropped into, have a few quiet ones, and head out somewhere else.

I was the only person sitting at the bar. The bar runners smelled faintly of stale beer, earthy and sweet. I breathed the smell in, letting it soothe my nerves.

Three 20-something women were sitting at a table. A group of four guys were sitting at another not far away. Each group kept eying the other off, the girls exploding into giggles when the guys looked at them. I rolled my eyes, willing the guys to get off their arses and talk to them.

I looked over to two guys in their 40s drinking wine. They seemed so in love sitting there playing with each other's hands. I could see them playing footsie with each other under the table. One of them caught my eye. Sprung. I smiled briefly and looked away.

I jumped as the shrill ring of the pokie machines spilled out of the gaming room. I needed to calm down. I took a drink from my vodka. I wanted a cigarette.

I rechecked my outfit. I shouldn't have worn a white skirt. I don't know what I was thinking. Looking down, I noticed a bit of my bra was visible. I pulled my baby blue singlet up. I should have worn jeans and a t-shirt. Wasn't dressing like this false advertising?

The shirt felt tight. I sat up straight and checked for fat rolls. Then I slouched and checked again. Nope, not a good look. I ran my hand over my hair, checking to make sure it's still neat. It didn't feel frizzy. I put a stray curl behind my ear.

I looked at my phone again. No messages. Maybe...

"Hello, excuse me," a voice from the stool next to me said. I flinched. That was Will's silvery voice. I smiled, relief easing over me.

Turning around, my smile faltered. That's not Will.

The man sitting next to me was living proof God had favourites. He had dark curly hair, a bit long on the top but short on the sides. He had blue, almost green eyes framed by thick, dark eyelashes. Coarse stubble covered but didn't hide his strong jaw and dimpled chin. He was an Adonis. A Hellenic God brought to life.

I wanted to run a finger along his jaw, feeling his skin and prickly hair. I shivered.

"Sorry, I just saw your phone cover, and I wondered if you could help me? I'm sure I've seen that symbol before. What's it's from?"

Simultaneously, my jaw dropped, and I tried to swallow. I made a strangled noise from my throat and started to cough. I grabbed at my drink and took a huge gulp, regretting it instantly as the vodka and bitter soda caught me off guard. I managed not to spit it out, barely.

The Adonis patted me on the back as I choked. "Are you ok?" he asked.

He wasn't from around here, English like Will. But Will doesn't look like this guy. The Adonis was looking at me, his eyebrows coming together. Oh yeah, he asked me something.

"Uh," I cleared my throat. "Ah, it's the Allomantic table of elements from Mistborn," I explained.

He smiled. I giggled. I. Fucking. Giggled. I felt the heat in my cheeks.

Still smiling, Adonis raised an eyebrow. "That's where I know it from. They are great books. Have you read other Brandon Sanderson?"

He was built like a rugby player. His shoulders were broad, and he had thick thighs. I could see the definition of his muscles through his dark denim jeans. He was wearing a light grey knitted jumper. It was so light and thin that it clung to his chest and tufts of dark hair poked out the top. He had pushed his sleeves up, exposing his forearms which were, like every part of him it seemed, toned and defined. Everything about this guy screamed masculinity.

He was very likely out of my league. Although he looked around his late 30s, guys who look like him are after 22-year-olds, not girls who were 30 last birthday. Yeah, that was it. He isn't hitting on you; he was actually curious. This realisation was what I needed to stop being a dribbling mess and return to a normal state of being.

"Yeah, I have a bit. I'm really enjoying The Way of the Kings." I felt my shoulders relax. I hadn't realised I was clenched up.

"Yeah, I've read that too. It's great. My name is Liam, by the way."

"Lana," I replied and stuck out my hand. He took my hand and shook it firmly. His hand swallowed mine.

"Pleased to meet you, Lana," Liam said in an almost formal way. He was still holding my hand. I felt the return of the Dribbling Mess. His hand was so warm. My stomach reminded me of a book I  read as a kid, 'there was an old lady who swallowed a spider, that wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.'

"Yeah, you too," I managed. I tried to take as much of my Australian accent out of the reply as possible. He sounded so posh, and I sounded like a bogan.

He smiled again, or did he smirk? He let go of my hand. I was barely able to stop myself from putting my hand to my cheek to feel the warmth still there. I smiled back at him and turned back to the bar. My hand went to my cheek.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

I looked back at Liam to make sure I had heard right. Yes, he was looking at me expectantly, his finger pointed to my drink. "What are you drinking?"

"Vodka, soda and fresh lime." It was my usual drink, and I said it instinctively. I could say the order even when I'm three sheets to the wind.

Liam signalled the bartender and ordered. I took the time to calm myself. I counted to 5, breathing deeply through my nose and out through my mouth. It worked, and my muddled thoughts cleared.

I had forgotten Will. I supposed it's not a good look for a random guy to buy you a drink when you're supposed to be on a first date. But then, Will wasn't here. I checked my phone, no messages or emails. Nothing.

Liam got himself a beer, grabbed my drink and stood up. "Would you like to go to the beer garden? It's a nice night out, and I'm really enjoying this Sydney weather."

"I uh... I'm waiting for someone."

Liam sat back down. "Surely they can find you outside when they get here. It's not that big a place."

"Yeah. I guess, but..." I was interrupted by the group of women I had seen earlier. They were bouncing as they stood, eyes flashing and huge grins on their faces.

One of them asked, "sorry, excuse me, are you, Liam Cross?"

Liam looked at me. His eyes clouded for a moment, and then an awkward smile was plastered to his face. He looked back at the women. "Yes, I am. Would you like a picture?"

Excited squeals and jumping came from the women, but I zoned out. Liam Cross. What the fuck? I stared at him. How the hell did I not recognise him? I've watched nearly everything he has done since he started acting.

I never really thought much of him playing superheroes or spies. Then I saw his last movie where he played a magic enhanced warrior, and he entered my fantasies. A strong, rough, capable man of action with a heart and moral code, what wasn't to love?

My God, it really was him. Liam Fucking Cross.

Liam cleared this throat, and I snapped back to reality.

"You're really him," I said.

"Sorry?" Liam cocked his head to one side.

"You're really Liam Cross."

"Oh yeah. I am." Liam grinned.

"I'm sorry I didn't recognise you. I don't know. I guess it didn't even enter my head, even when you said your name."

"And here I was thinking you were playing it cool," Liam said.

I scoffed, and before I could stop myself, I said, "yeah, nah, nothing about me was cool from the moment I laid eyes on you." I wanted to die.

Liam laughed, a proper belly laugh, and his shoulders seemed to bounce up and down. "Well, alright then, you weren't playing it cool. But it's ok. I don't need to be recognised by everyone I meet."

"Yeah, but I should have recognised you. I've seen heaps of your work." Just stop talking, Lana!

Liam waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. Where were we before we were interrupted? Beer garden, you and me."

I nodded. I grabbed my bag, and Liam took our drinks. "After you," he said, gesturing and inclining his head.

As I walked outside, I could feel my skin heat up. It was a warm March night and only slightly humid. A cool breeze was coming in from the harbour. We were close enough to smell the salt in the air.

"Where did you want to sit?" I asked. Only one bloke was having a cigarette outside, so plenty of tables to choose from.

Liam looked around and indicated to the tables down the back. "Down there, I'm less likely to be noticed there."

"That must suck."

"Yes and no. I like that people like my work and want to tell me and meet me. It feels good. It's just that sometimes, like now, I'd like some private time."

We sat down, Liam with his back to the pub. I sat opposite him.

"If you want some private time, why go to a pub?" I said. I covered my mouth. "Sorry, it's not my business," I added.

"Direct, aren't you?" Liam's lips twitched. "I am also here to meet with someone."

"Oh shit, Will." I rechecked my phone. "30 minutes late." I sighed, "I think I got stood up."

"Really? He must be an idiot." My eyes widened. Liam's lip twitched again. Was he laughing at me? "How long have you been dating?"

"This was supposed to be our first date. We met online, been chatting for a few months." My voice was quiet.

Will isn't coming. The realisation hit me, and I felt like I'd had a brick hit my chest. I turned away from Liam. If I was going to cry, I wasn't going to cry in front of him. I'm an ugly crier.

"Oh, Sweetheart, I'm sorry." Sweetheart? It must be an English thing because Will calls me that too. "Have you called him?"

I shook my head. I didn't entirely trust myself to speak yet.

"Why don't you?" Liam asked. "If he has a flimsy excuse for not coming tonight, then at least you'll know where he stands, and you can stop worry about it."

I took a few deep breaths. "I guess you're right." I got my phone out of my bag and stood up, "Give me a minute?"

Liam nodded. Twitchy lips again. What's with that?

I walked a couple of metres away and called Will. I started to pace, glancing at the back of Liam's head every few steps. Liam's phone began to ring. After a few rings, Will picked up.

"Hello Lana, how are you?" He sounded nonchalant. Did I get the day wrong then? No, I was sure I had it right. I had checked his message so many times.

"I'm ok. I am waiting for you at the pub." I paused and looked at Liam. He was on the phone too. "Did I get the day wrong?"

"No, you didn't. I'm here." I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding.

"That's great. Did you just arrive? Can you see me?" I looked around. I couldn't see him. I looked back at Liam. He was still on the phone but had turned in his chair and was looking at me.

"I can see you. You can see me too," Will said. I turned around in a circle. I still couldn't see him.

"I'm sorry, I can't see you at all."

"I'll come to you then," Will said.

Liam got up out of his chair and walked towards me. Liam was close now, and he stopped. Liam hung up the phone, and the call with Will went dead.

My heart thundered in my chest. I could hear the blood rushing through my body with each tremendous beat. The ground seemed unstable, and I wobbled. This isn't happening. It can't be happening.

Liam bent to my ear, his breath tickling my neck. His lips brushed my skin as he whispered in a low voice, "I'm right here, Sweetheart."

Part 2

[aellynera]

Restrained (Santiago “Pope” Garcia x Reader)

RESTRAINED

(i just do what my brain tells me to, guys. it wouldn’t shut up until i wrote this.)

Word Count: 2660

Summary: Santiago issues a challenge. Purely innocent of course. But to be fair, those should not have been in the supply closet.

Warnings: Little bit o’ language.

(with prompts: “do it. i dare you.”; “how about a hug, hm?”; “is this your first time?”)

Santiago Garcia walked back into the munitions room with two more canvas duffel bags and threw them on the small counter. “Hey, got more bags.”

“Thanks,” you replied, turning around to grab one. You almost bumped into him in the close quarters. “You load ammo, I’ll check and load the weapons?”

He nodded in agreement, grabbed the other bag and started packing it. You worked in a comfortable silence.

It was more of a closet than a room, really, but it had all the fun toys you needed for your next mission. So here you were in over 100 degree heat, in a teeny room, getting things ready to go. You puffed a piece of stray hair off your forehead and wondered if the temperature in the small room wasn’t just being caused by the brilliant sunshine outside.

You side-eyed your partner, noting (not for the first time) that it wasn’t fair for him to look that good in fatigue pants, dark grey tank, and combat boots. The thin sheen of sweat on his brow as he worked only added to the effect. You felt the tips of your ears start to color and turned back to concentrate on the rack of artillery in front of you.

Pope was giving you some side-eye too, but he was equally subtle about it. You were dressed the same as he was, only your tank was olive green and he thought you wore it better. He turned his attention back to the ammo crates next to him.

You had worked together for two years, after both being assigned to operations in Colombia. One semi-drunken night not long after you’d arrived at base, you had bonded with the group you fondly called The Boys, Pope in particular. You just had an easy-going back-and-forth, he was easy to talk to, and you’d had some similar experiences in both your families that helped to deepen your connection. You considered him your best friend; he felt the same.

The Boys, much to your annoyance, had a bet going on how long it would take you and Pope to get together. It was no secret they all thought you would make the perfect couple, or at least the perfect hookup. Both of you laughed it off. It was not a time to even consider having a relationship, much less with your best friend.

Not that you hadn’t actually considered it. More than once. Okay, maybe a lot. And neither of you would even consider that the other might have done the same. You were best friends.

Suddenly his short, sharp laugh broke the silence. “What in the hell?”

You looked over and saw him holding up something silver. Definitely not a weapon or ammo. You squinted, huffing that damn piece of hair out of your eyes again.

“Are those...handcuffs?”

Pope sounded a mix between amused and surprised. “Um, yeah.”

“Santi,” you tilted your head. “Why do you have a pair of handcuffs?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. They were just here in the ammo crate.”

“That’s incredibly odd,” you chuckled. “Why would we have any use for handcuffs?”

Pope laughed full-on at that. You reached over and swatted at him. “That’s not what I meant, you ass. I know what handcuffs are for.” Okay, so you really were trying to get your work done, but you couldn’t help joking with him. It was just what you did.

He looked at the handcuffs in his hand, then up at you. One side of his mouth lifted in a smirk and he raised an eyebrow. 

You took a step back and pursed your lips. You knew that look. That look was never good. That look meant trouble and shenanigans when you were not inside a munitions closet, and probably meant exactly the same thing inside one, knowing how Santiago worked. And you knew how he worked. He might be a master tactician and an exceptional soldier, but his sense of humor and penchant for mischief was definitely off-kilter and somewhat juvenile at times. You could almost see the thoughts forming in his head.

“Seriously, Pope? We need to finish packing this shit up and get it loaded. We leave in two hours. Put the cuffs down and get back to it,” you said sternly.

He paused a second, but his expression didn’t change. “What if…”

Your heart suddenly vaulted up into your throat. The room was getting warmer.

“What if we make a bet? I bet you can’t finish packing that bag in less than five minutes if you’re cuffed.”

Now your heart was almost oozing out of your ears. You put on the blankest expression you could muster. “I’m sorry...what?”

“You can’t pack that bag in less than five minutes while you’re cuffed,” Pope repeated, more of a challenge this time. He took a step closer.

“What’s the wager?” you asked, trying to sound normal. It was...sort of working.

Pope thought for a moment. He pulled his bottom lip with his teeth as he did so. “Okay, if you win, then I pick up your KP for a month. If I win...I take you into town for dinner and dancing next time we have leave.”

Your jaw dropped. You weren’t sure which was more unsettling right now: the fact that you were almost one hundred percent certain you could actually do it, how much shit you could give Pope for having to cover KP, or the fact that your best friend wanted to put handcuffs on you and watch you try. Or maybe it was that you were one hundred percent sure you were going to let him. And on top of all that...did he just ask you out on a date? By challenging you to do tricks while handcuffed? Well, if that’s the game he wanted to play...before you could stop yourself, the words flew out of your mouth.

“Do it...I dare you.”

A strangled sound echoed throughout the room as Pope nearly choked on his tongue. He did not expect you to actually agree. But he quickly recovered and in an instant he had closed the few steps between you and slapped one of the rings around your right wrist. He was about to put the other one on you but you grabbed his hand. You had just thought of something.

Your eyes narrowed. “Do you even have the key for these?”

He shrugged and you noticed that mischievous flash spark in his eyes again. “Nope. But don’t worry, honey, I can pick the lock.”

He almost had time to catch the matching glint in your eyes before you moved your hand in a flash, grabbed the metal ring, and locked the second cuff around his wrist.

“You do not play fair,” he snapped, eyes glued to your now-joined wrists.

You couldn’t help the wry grin that broke out on your face. “You’re the one who wanted to put these on me and have me pack a weapons cache!”

He bobbed his head from side to side slightly and smirked back. “Fine, fine, points to you. But, um, how are we getting out of this now?”

“Pope! You said you could pick the lock!”

“I can,” he shot back, “but the tools I need to do it are over there and we have one small problem.”

As if being handcuffed to your extremely attractive best friend in a supply closet wasn’t a problem.

He lifted his left wrist and grabbed the support pole that was between you.

Oh. That small problem. The pole basically split the worktable in two, and it was only about an inch away from the wall. Which was fine except you hadn’t noticed the handcuffs had somehow gotten threaded behind the pole before you attached yourself to Pope. There was no way for either of you to maneuver around the pole, and the tools were definitely out of reach. Just out of reach, of course. You had been so distracted by him and his newly-acquired apparatus and you silently cursed yourself and Pope for this major oversight.

You were stuck.

“Damn it, Pope!”

“It’s not my fault!”

“How did you even get the cuffs around the pole?!”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t cuffed me!”

“This would have happened at all if you weren’t so...so…”

“So...what?” 

Before you knew what happened, you were only inches apart from each other. The room was definitely getting warmer. A lot warmer. Both of you stared at each other, breathing hard and not speaking for what seemed like forever.

Your eye contact broke first. You couldn’t look at him anymore. You were too close, too sweaty, too nervous, too fucking handcuffed to Santiago Garcia.

“Hey,” he said suddenly, as he placed his index finger under your chin so you looked back up at him. His eyes had lost the up-to-trouble spark, and now he looked like he might be worried that you might actually be mad at him. But, being Pope, he only let that show for a second. “Is this your first time?”

“My...what?” your lips curled in confusion and you just...stared...at him.

“Is this your first time in handcuffs?” He tried to keep a straight face. He really did. But it was so hot in the room and the ridiculousness of the situation had really started to dawn on him. So did the idea that this was a chance he did not want to waste. His face refused to cooperate and the bastard was laughing.

You punched him in the shoulder with your free hand, a bit harder than you intended.

“Ow!” he yelped as you muttered “Sorry” and tried to look away again. He didn’t let you.

Pope raised an eyebrow and you couldn’t help it, you started to smile back. Might as well keep playing the game. You could still win. “No,” you replied.

“No?” There was no way Pope could hide the amusement in his voice now. Not just amusement, he thought. Definitely not just amusement.

“Nope,” you sighed as you reached your free hand up towards the strap of his tank. “Just the first time in handcuffs with you.” The inflection in your response made it abundantly clear that...oh god, your brain screamed at itself. What were you doing.

“Mmhmm,” Pope hummed as he pulled you as close as possible, what with two of your hands stuck around a pole. His eyes darkened and you thought his voice sounded more raspy but at this point your brain wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders so you just kept your stare focused on his. And also his lips.

He looked at your lips, too. Despite the way your nerves were suddenly misfiring, you were very aware that Pope stared at your lips. He did that damn thing where he stuck the tip of his tongue out over his bottom lip and then pulled his lip with his teeth.

You shuddered ever so slightly.

You were now even more aware that his lips were centimeters from yours.

“How about a hug, hm?” he practically whispered, that stupid grin still on his face. His hand moved to brush that rogue strand of hair off your sweaty face.

“Just a hug?” you whispered back.

Your breath hitched and you both felt your hearts beat faster and faster and the room got even hotter and you swore the walls were actually shrinking as made the barest movement towards each other…

“Oh! That’s where I left those! I’ve been looking for them everywhere.” Frankie’s voice rang out in the room.

You and Pope quickly pulled away from each other and swung your heads to the doorway in surprise. Frankie stood there, hands in his pockets. He looked between the two of you.

“Aren’t you supposed to be packing for a mission?” he asked, nonchalance radiating off him.

Pope ran his free hand over his jaw. “Frankie. What are you talking about?”

“My handcuffs. I’ve been looking for them.” Frankie made it sound like it was the most obvious explanation in the world.

You and Pope exchanged a confused look and Pope sighed. “Why do you have handcuffs and why were they in...you know what? Never mind. I don’t even want to know.”

Frankie wagged his finger between you and Pope. It seemed like he had just noticed your predicament. “I’m not sure I want to know either.”

You rolled your eyes. Of all the people who had to show up. “Fish, trust me when I say I don’t want to know either, and never mind how this happened, but...”

Frankie giggled. You ignored it and continued. “Anyway, do you happen to, I don’t know, maybe have the goddamn key?”

“Of course I have the key,” Frankie replied, as if it was perfectly normal to lose a set of handcuffs and also just happen to have the key in his back pocket. He pulled the key out and walked over. “How long have you two been stuck like this, anyway?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Pope replied, stealing a glance at you. Not long enough.

“Can you just let us go so we can get back to prep?” you asked sweetly, stealing a glance at Pope. Not long enough.

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Frankie said and unlocked the cuffs first from you, then from Pope. He put the cuffs and keys in his back pocket and passed a suspicious look between the two of you. “You know, you really should stop fucking around in the munitions closet.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose.

Pope closed his eyes. “Frankie, you had a pair of handcuffs in here.”

“Didn’t say anything about me and the munitions closet.” He ducked Pope’s hand and ran out of the room. His laughter cackled down the hallway as he went and you heard him shout, “Benny! You’re never gonna guess what just happened and you owe me $10, fucker!”

Pope looked up at the ceiling like he was praying for strength. 

You turned back to the abandoned weapons bag and started to pack it up again. Pope turned back to the ammo bag and did the same. You worked in an awkward silence for several minutes, until you zipped up your bag and turned towards the door.

“I could have done it in less than four.”

Pope didn’t turn his head to look at you, but the corners of the eye you could see crinkled deeply. “I know you could have.”

“Were you going to...” A light bulb went off in your head. “You were going to cuff me to the pole the whole time, just so you could win the bet, weren’t you.” Your lips twitched as you leaned on the door and fixed him with a stare. Was Pope blushing? He would probably argue that it was just really, really hot in this little room...but you knew better.

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t look at you. He just cleared his throat and kept packing the bag.

“Santiago Garcia, you could have just asked me. I would have said yes.”

He looked up quickly. “Really?” That was the answer he had hoped for. It was not the answer he actually expected, but definitely hoped. 

“Really. There’s that cantina down by the water. I want enyucado when we get back,” you gave him a sweet smile before you turned and left the room to pack your bag into the transport.

A moment later, you head poked back into the doorway. “Oh, and Santi?”

“Yeah?” he asked, a somewhat dumbfounded grin still on his face.

“If you wanted to have me in handcuffs that badly...I would have said yes to that too.”

Santiago’s jaw hit the floor as he watched your retreating form. He finished packing his bag in a daze and followed a few moments later. Oh, he was definitely going to take you up on that offer.

~end~

[takonei]

Beta AU - Main story, Chapter 6, Investigation (Part 3)

Note of the author: jfc this investigation is long. But that’s to expect from chapter 6. Also: Updated the warning list. Please check before reading.

Also I apologize for the terrible formatting at a certain point in the chapter. Tumblr is a bitch. If it really bothers you, I suggest reading on AO3.

Chapter 6: My killing game, our killing game

...

Miu and Shuichi stared at each other.

"So... What is even left to investigate in this room?" Shuichi looked around.

The wall with Motherkuma was covered, Kokichi and Kirumi were taking care of the computer, and all that was left was, well, a kitchen. A simple trashcan, a fridge, and several cupboards.

Miu shrugged. "Well, I would hate myself if some clues were hidden in this section and we ignored them because we said 'who would hide major clues in the fridge?', if you know what I mean."

She started making her way there. Shuichi blinked, a bit confused by her statement. Who would even hide evidence in a fridge?!

But perhaps she was right. He could try to look up in those strange places.

He opened a cupboard to see packs of coffee and different types of food: Almonds, dry nuts, and other non-sugary snacks. Whoever owned this place clearly didn't have a sweet tooth.

"Why the hell are there hard drugs in the fridge??"

Shuichi immediately turned around to see Miu holding what looked like a blister of tablets. "What do you mean 'hard drugs'?!"

She looked just as confused. "I don't know, there are dozens of them in the fridge, that's the last thing I expected to see here."

He approached the fridge to see what she was talking about. And true to her words, dozens of blisters were placed there. He could only stare wide-eyed at the questionable sight.

Miu sighed. "I am seriously wondering what the hell is going on in the mastermind's head."

"For now let's just... Put it back where it was." Shuichi said.

Obtained truth bullet! Drugs in the fridge

He closed the fridge, then turned back to his friend.

Miu shook her head. "Anyway, let's just- let's just investigate somewhere else!"

It was clear she was asking herself as many questions as him.

Why would the mastermind need drugs…?

Shuichi eyed the trashcan on the side. It was ridiculous, but judging by what they found in the fridge, he wouldn't be surprised if something important was in there.

He lifted and shook the bin to empty it on the ground. And just as he thought, two items fell off. It was... a book and a USB key?

The book was heavy and old-looking, although that aspect looked like it was done on purpose. It didn't have anything written on the cover nor on the back, but instead, he could feel his eyes staring at the odd and mysterious decorations on the front. If anything, it looked like a dark magic grimoire.

He opened it and saw the title on the first page.

"'Necronomicon'...?"

Shuichi flipped through the pages. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw a resurrection ritual being mentioned, but his hopes were cut short when he noticed that all the pages had tacky doodles of Monokuma everywhere. It was very hard to take this book seriously, and it probably didn't have any real value. No wonder it was thrown in a trashcan.

But where did it come from? That was another mystery...

He set the book down and took the USB key. Black and white with Monokuma's signature eye on it. But on a closer look, it didn't seem to be a USB key. Perhaps another storage system that didn't fit a normal computer.

Whatever these were for, they had a reason to be here. And he would have to find it.

Obtained truth bullet! Book and key

He took them both to show them to Miu. Perhaps she will know more about their uses than him.

"Hey... Did you find anything yet?" he asked.

The blonde woman closed the cupboard she was searching in. "Nope. What are these?" she pointed at the two objects.

He handed the book to her.

"I found them in the trashcan. It looks like Monokuma wrote the book, but... I don't really get it. What is it even for?"

Miu inspected the cover and back of the book. She opened it and looked at the inside cover.

"... I've seen this pattern before. I don't know where, but I've seen it."

Shuichi raised an eyebrow and his friend showed him.

However, it was a simple abstract mix of black and dark grey hues. There wasn't anything concrete, just monochrome splashes.

"Are you sure that's not just... a random pattern?"

"Hey! Don't doubt my-

She abruptly stopped herself. Shuichi felt guilty seeing her fierce expression deteriorate into sorrow. "Nevermind... Maybe I'm hallucinating as you say."

Miu gave back the book. "As for the key, I don't have a clue. Never seen anything like that before."

He glanced away. It wasn't his intention to make her doubt her abilities as an artist, but he did. But before he could apologize, she walked away to the next cupboard to inspect, clearly wanting this conversation to end.

… Perhaps he should do the same.

After putting the book and the key on the table next to the sink, the blue-eyed teen opened the next cupboard.

But just as he tried to reach inside, something heavy fell from the top of the shelf directly on his head. He heard the object hitting the ground as he rubbed the spot.

Of course, he would get karma for that with Kokichi a few meters away from him.

But what had hit him?

He looked on the ground to see a... hacking gun?

Shuichi inspected it. It was remarkably similar to the ones Ryoma had created, if not the same. But this one was painted differently and had started accumulating dust. It was black and white, and the symbol on the side was Monokuma's red eye instead of Ryoma's sigil.

With the dust, it looked like it was created before the actual hacking guns, but Ryoma hadn't built this one for sure.

Upon turning it on, his eyes widened as he looked at the number of shots left in the gun.

49.

It had been used once before, but... By whom?

Obtained truth bullet! Hacking gun

Shuichi set the gun on the table and sighed.

None of these ‘clues’ led to anything other than more questions. It was frustrating.

He turned to Miu, perhaps she would-

...

She was staring at a document with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Miu...?"

Her eyes shot up to his, and he instantly felt a chill down his spine.

She was filled with pure terror.

She swallowed and walked up to him, clenching the paper tightly.

"Shuichi, what the hell is this?!"

The blonde shoved the paper in his face.

He stumbled on his feet and took the paper, confused.

...

What...

What the hell was this?!

"Saihara... family contract...?"

Miu was silent as he was reading, the dread slowly settling on his face.

It was a contract between his family and an organization known as ‘Team Danganronpa’ to finance and advertise a killing game with himself as the ‘protagonist’.

"Did you or did you not sign that shit?!"

Her voice became louder, and his heart started racing in his chest.

"I-I don't remember any of this! I've never seen this paper in my life!!"

"Then whose signature is at the bottom?!"

...

He froze.

His gaze drifted right next to the scarlet red stamp that had the form of Monokuma's eye, on the three signatures written in dark blue ink.

Respectively his father, his mother... and himself.

He felt his throat tighten at the sight of his own handwriting.

Shuichi Saihara.

His hands were trembling as he kept staring at the paper.

Shuichi Saihara.

It was the truth, wasn't it?

His family was responsible for the killing game.

He was responsible for the killing game.

…

Everything became white noise. He could feel his senses leaving him.

All he could see was his own handwriting. Blue stains from a past he could not remember, taunting him endlessly. All he could hear were muffled voices clashing together, drowned in a constant dissonant ringing that didn’t want to stop. All he could feel between his fingers was the paper stained with his own mistakes, now wet with the warm, fat tears he didn't even feel falling.

...

What...

What had he done?

What kind of monster was he?!

The noise became louder and louder, until...

Shuichi felt the paper being taken from his hands, and everything instantly became clearer in his mind.

He raised his head to look at Kokichi and Kirumi, who had joined them supposedly because of the ruckus. The latter was reading the paper with an unreadable expression.

Her intense green eyes suddenly met his. The cold wave was another hit to the chest.

There was a long silence in the room.

"This is your signature, isn't it?"

Unable to mutter a word, he closed his eyes, breaking the painful eye contact. "... It is."

For some reason, he couldn't feel her judgmental gaze on him. What was she thinking about?

They had all the reasons to hate him, and he deserved it. He agreed to make them suffer, to let them die and decay miserably, away from their loved ones.

Rantaro's words kept playing in his head.

He may not remember it, but the evidence was here. He did sign this. He agreed to let them rot.

And he doesn't even remember it.

"I'm... I'm sorry I... I don’t…"

The three pairs of eyes were surely locked on him, but the words never came out of their mouths.

...

"Kirumi... What do you think of all of this?"

He couldn't bear looking at her.

"... Something about this contract doesn’t sit right with me."

Shuichi felt his heart skip a bit.

"I do not know what, though.” She brushed the paper with her fingers.

“I do not think this is the original but rather a copy. However, correct me if I’m wrong, Miu…” Kirumi gave the paper to the other girl. “… But the writing does give me the impression that this was not edited in any way.”

“I don't have any reason to think that this contract was faked, but... It's too easy."

He heard Kokichi shifting his feet to turn to her. "What do you mean?"

"Miu, you find this in a cupboard of all places." she said. "Not a safe, not in a drawer, but a cupboard anyone could open, in the middle of glasses and plates. Why would a contract that important be here, and not in a secured place, or at least a real drawer?"

Shuichi lifted his head.

"From what I remember, I have spent countless hours in mansions either stealing important documents, taking care of evidence that could expose me as the culprit, and sometimes placing fake evidence to incriminate another maid or worker."

"And never have I ever found a document that important in a cupboard nor have I ever placed fake evidence here."

Miu seemed to ponder for a moment. "And... What do you think that means?"

She sighed. "To me, there are no logical explanations. The mastermind is just making a fool out of us."

The blonde's eyes widened. "You're the one who said this thing couldn't have been faked! It has to come from somewhere!"

"It's… exactly like the Sanzu garden."

The three turned to Kokichi.

"Kiyo... He had made his plan because the mastermind knew Tsumugi's attitude was suspicious to him! They manipulated the academy for days to separate us! Maybe they're doing the same here to throw us off!"

Shuichi's eyes widened. "You... You think so? But-

"You might be right. That's the most plausible theory in my eyes." Kirumi interrupted him.

"With the proof that our memories could have been altered, I decided to only trust the memories we made in this killing game, and nothing else."

"And perhaps you guys should do too."

"So you think... Shuichi doesn't have anything to do with the creation of the killing game?" Miu hesitantly asked.

...

Silence.

"Maybe, maybe not. Because our memories may have been altered doesn't ultimately prove his innocence. This contract looks real, after all." she said.

"But Kokichi is right. Letting our emotions get the best of us would be our greatest mistake, and that's exactly what the mastermind wants right now."

His other two friends nodded in understanding.

... But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to feel relieved by her words.

After all, he might be more of a monster than he remembers.

And that terrified him.

Obtained truth bullet! Saihara family contract

Shuichi still had trouble looking at any of his friends.

"Should we... go back to the computer?" Kokichi broke the silence.

"Of course."

Miu, Kokichi, and Kirumi started walking towards the engine. But Shuichi still had a word to say.

"Kirumi..." he muttered.

She stopped in her tracks.

"Why did you defend me?"

The young woman said nothing, then side-eyed him.

“First of all, learn when it is appropriate to start conflicts between us.”

He winced at the remark.

"I don't know what you did before we all met. I don't know why you supposedly agreed to finance this killing game.”

“You could even be faking your emotions and try to create unnecessary conflicts to make sure we don’t find enough hints to end this killing game for all I know."

"You may have signed this contract, but I could be worse than you in every way imaginable, rotten to the core and deserving hell more than anyone else on this wretched planet. I remember being a mercenary, I might as well be the devil."

"To blame you for everything that happened to me, knowing there is a possibility that I am a monster viler and more vicious than you could ever be... would make me a hypocrite."

Shuichi pondered to himself, eyes low.

"Kirumi! You coming?" Miu's voice took them out of their thoughts.

"I'm here."

The sound of her heels resonated in his ears. He followed them, and his eyes landed on the computer screen.

The long-haired girl started typing again. "I don't know what I can do at this point. As I said, I'm not an expert hack-

Kirumi was interrupted by a sudden explosion that blew up the door that was right next to them, scattering debris and... burned books?

He had forgotten about the door leading to the library. And standing there, a cannon pointed at the room, was Monoshi.

"SECRET-ENTRANCE-UNLOCKED: LIBRARY. NO-SECRET-ENTRANCES-REMAINING."

The modified bear left as suddenly as he came, leaving a gaping hole replacing the sealed door between the two rooms.

"Guys! Look!"

Shuichi suddenly turned to Miu.

"We finally got access to the computer!"

Kirumi raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "How...? I didn't even enter anything."

Shuichi hummed. "Maybe... Karma did the job?"

"Whatever happened, it worked. We shouldn't waste time wondering about that right now." Miu scanned the screen with her eyes.

There were several applications and files, it was hard to choose what to click first.

"Look, there's a file called 'flashback light list', maybe we should start with that?" Shuichi suggested.

Miu clicked on the file.

Sixteen files, all named with... Two letters.

"Okay... What are we choosing first?" the blue-eyed teen asked.

"The first, duh."

The blonde clicked on the file named "AY".

Anterior_AY.cmr Chapter_2_AY.cmr Chapter_3_AY.cmr Chapter_4_AY.cmr Chapter_5_AY.cmr Character_AY.ccr Motive_05_AY.ccr Motive_05_END_AY.cmr Talent_AY.cpr

Miu frowned. "... I have several questions."

"The ‘character’ file matches what we saw in the flashback lights guide." Kirumi noted.

"But what about the 'chapter' ones?" Shuichi asked.

Kokichi blinked. "I don't even know what I'm looking at."

He couldn’t deny things were very confusing, whether they knew what was in the guide or not.

"Maybe we should check the others...?" the other boy suggested.

Miu went back and clicked on the second file: "GG". It was the exact same list, with the 'AY' replaced by 'GG' except...

The 'Motive_05' files were missing.

"Could you go back for a second, Miu?" Kirumi frowned.

The girl did as told.

The other stared at the screen for a moment. "... Those are our initials. Each of those files is about us."

Shuichi's eyes widened. But just as she said, he noticed the file named 'SS'. And indeed, the list was about them.

AY, GG, HY, KA, KM, KT, KO, KS, MH, MI, RA, RH, SS, TC, TI and TS.

Miu immediately clicked on her file. It had all the same files as the others, without the 'Motive_05' ones.

"What the hell...?" she muttered.

They checked each of the files to spot the differences.

Angie had the 'Motive_05_AY.ccr' and the 'Motive_05_END_AY.cmr' files.

Ryoma had 'Motive_05_RH.ccr' and 'Motive_05_END_HR.cmr'.

Tsumugi had 'Motive_05_TS.cmr' and 'Motive_05_END_TS.cmr'.

However...

Kokichi was missing the 'Talent' file.

Shuichi was missing the 'Character' file.

Kirumi was missing the 'Anterior' file.

And Tatsuya was missing those exact three files.

Shuichi swallowed. Should he be happy that he didn't have a 'character' file? Should he be mad? Worried?

He didn't know.

All those files were the same for everyone, except the initials at the end of each of them, unique to each participant.

But Kirumi, Kokichi and Tatsuya... Why were they missing files?

Especially Tatsuya. He would understand if he was a robot like they all thought until tonight, but Tatsuya was a human just like them before being transferred into K1-B0.

...

When were those flashback lights even created?

Obtained truth bullet! Flashback light list

Miu turned to the others- those with the missing files.

"I don't get it... I know I should be mad that I have those flashback light files but what about you guys? Why are you missing some of those files?"

Shuichi nervously looked away. "I wish I knew..."

Kokichi was still staring at the screen. "I think we skipped a file..."

Miu froze. "I-I don't know what you're talking about?"

She was clearly lying.

Shuichi scanned the screen, until...

"... It's Rantaro's file, isn't it?"

Her shoulders dropped, her hands clenching into fists.

"I... I don't know what it's gonna be and I'm scared."

Kirumi crossed her arms. "Unfortunately, he could be like us, missing a file. We have to know if there is a difference.”

She swallowed and clicked.

And indeed, his file was different. But not in the way they expected.

Anterior_RA.cmr Chapter_2_RA.cmr Chapter_3_RA.cmr Chapter_4_RA.cmr Chapter_5_RA.cmr Character_RA.ccr EmergencyTherapyRantaro.ccr Talent_RA.cpr

Shuichi's eyes widened.

What the hell was this new file?!

Miu jumped from her seat. "Emergency therapy...?"

She didn't think and immediately clicked on the odd file to open it. But...

... An error message popped up, indicating that the file was corrupted and thus impossible to recover.

They stared at it, defeated. They didn't even do anything, but it still felt like they failed at keeping one person safe.

Seeing a file named 'Emergency Therapy' exclusively for Rantaro corrupted and beyond repair gave him a sick feeling in his stomach.

If there was one file that they had needed, it was this one. And yet, it was completely ruined.

This message reeked irony, and Shuichi hated it.

Obtained truth bullet! Corrupted file

Miu slammed her hands on the table. "Why?! This isn't fucking fair! Why is this file even here if it's just to stand there and taunt us?!"

...

No response.

Indeed, why did this file even exist? Why would the mastermind even create this?

The more they searched through this room, the less he understood their intentions. It was getting harder and harder to look at the hints and clues that were ‘offered’ to them.

But was there really something to understand?

The mastermind was a monster. Someone who would make them suffer for their own amusement no matter what. But...

'The 'mastermind' is only a pawn in the greater scheme that this killing game is.'

If they were merely a pawn, then how disgusting were the people above them...?

... This was terrifying to think about.

Kirumi leaned forward and closed the error window. At least they wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

The girl next to her stared at the file's name. She seemed to ponder to herself.

"Hey, is it me or..." she trailed off. "... Nevermind."

She closed the tab. No one wanted to see those files anymore- this grotesque mockery of their despair.

Shuichi couldn't find the courage to look at the screen anymore.

Kokichi broke the silence. "Was this icon here before?"

He pointed at a logo that looked like Monokuma's eye. Titled 'FLIBD - SRD subjects'.

Kirumi frowned. "No... It definitely wasn't there."

Miu got the message and clicked on it.

What appeared before them looked like an information sheet. A picture of a young girl their age, and some data about her.

She had incredibly beautiful traits, the bright blue eyes of a doll, and voluminous blond hair attached in two pigtails. She wore a thin black necklace that contrasted a lot with her fair skin.

But something caught his attention. His heart skipped a beat when his eyes landed on the hairpins.

Two Monokuma heads, one fully white on the left and one fully black on the right.

"W-Who the hell is she?!"

"She's wearing Monokuma like a fucking trophy. Whoever she is, I already don't trust her." Miu hissed.

Only an ally of Monokuma would wear such a gross accessory.

"Her name is Junko Enoshima, according to the info on the profile." Kirumi noted.

Junko Enoshima...

He has never heard this name before in his life.

At least, from what he remembers.

Was she part of those behind the killing game as a whole?

Obtained truth bullet! Junko Enoshima

They decided to look into the written details about her.

Junko Enoshima - #01-006 Ultimate analytical prowess - Type primary: O Type secondary: M Intensity: A- High Beginning: / Conflict status: Tame Keyword: Despair Status: Dead - 6M - 1/26

"Wait, she's dead?" Miu raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently so." Kirumi said. "Although I do not know what the '6M' means."

Shuichi neither. But what did those 'types' even mean? And all the other info given here?

"Wait, look at the keyword!" Kokichi said. "Isn't Monokuma always babbling about despair?"

"So you do think she has some kind of relationship with Monokuma, right?" Shuichi asked.

"She has Monokuma hairpins, so there's no questioning that." Miu turned to her friends. "She does give me the impression that she’s like… The creator or something."

The creator of Monokuma...?

"But she's dead! Does that mean the mastermind was her, but she was actually dead all along?" Shuichi exclaimed.

"I don't think the mastermind is dead. Someone has to take care of Monokuma and the killing game somehow." Kirumi pondered. "Though I don't deny she must have a connection with him."

Shuichi stared at the screen. "Wait, there's a '1/26' at the bottom of the screen... Are there other people like her?"

Miu span around to face the screen. "That's what we'll find out."

She tapped the right arrow on the keyboard, and another information sheet appeared. But the person on the screen looked... Completely unrelated.

It was a boy this time. His face gave Shuichi chills. He looked like he was a ghost. Messy hair white as snow with weak scarlet ends, and skin almost as pale as a corpse. His grey eyes looked empty, devoid of life. He seemed to be wearing a green hoodie, but he could only guess. However...

... He did not wear a single accessory related to Monokuma.

Nagito Komaeda - #02-028 Ultimate lucky student - Type primary: O Type secondary: / Intensity: A- High Beginning: / Conflict status: Tame Keyword: Hope Status: Dead - 5V/S – Terminated - 2/26

"Dead too?!" Miu yelled. "Are all of these people dead?!"

"This one indicates 'terminated'. That was not on the first one." Kirumi pointed out.

Whatever that meant, it was not a good sign.

"But look... The keyword..." Kokichi said.

Hope.

The exact opposite of Junko Enoshima.

"Do they or do they not work for Monokuma?" Miu raised an eyebrow. "It's confusing as hell."

"I don't think we were right when we assumed this was a list of those who worked for the game." Kirumi explained. "This is something else. The icon said 'subjects' with two acronyms. But if we don't know what the acronyms mean, we are not going to get far."

Subjects...?

It sounded like an experiment. This was... worrying, to say the least.

"So what? Do we look at the other info sheets to see what is actually going on?" Miu suggested.

"We can only try."

And so, they did. Each of those info sheets contained the same kind of info, although the parameters changed.

There didn't seem to be a pattern in the talents- they were at random, from art, to knowledge, and sometimes even murder related. Ultimate vocalist, assassin, poet, anthropologist, psychiatrist… How many ultimate students even existed in the world?

The ‘types’ changed letters. Some had both primary and secondary filled, some had only the primary.

The intensity part was generally either low or moderate. Sometimes it was marked as 'high', but only on rare occasions. The letter 'A' also seemed to have turned to an 'N' around the 5th person.

But he also noticed that for some, unlike the two first, the 'beginning' part was filled. Sometimes it was a person's death, a day, a random event, and sometimes... A trial? They did wonder if other ultimates had been in a killing game just like them.

The fact that they were probably not the first victims made Shuichi want to puke.

They then noted that the 'beginning' part was only filled for those with the letter N in the ‘intensity’ part.

The 'conflict status' part was completely random, with no apparent pattern. This was probably the part he understood the less.

On the keyword part was often noted notions or concepts, but he had seen a name or two on these info sheets.

As the status...

All dead.

Not a single one was noted 'alive'. One or two had the 'terminated' note, but all of them were dead, for some reason or another.

It was painful to look at, even though none of them recognized any of the people in the pictures, or even the names.

On the 25th info sheet, Miu clicked on the keyboard to see the last person, and...

It was like time had stopped.

They recognized this face all too well.

Messy green hair, an intense emerald gaze powerful enough to petrify someone, and young, slightly feminine traits on a male teenager they had all known as...

"R-Rantaro...?" Miu muttered, her voice shaking.

This was him. There was no doubt about it. But... Why...?

Rantaro Amami - #53-844 Ultimate medic - Type primary: T Type secondary: P Intensity: N- High Beginning: Tsumugi Shirogane's death ~ Ch4 trial ~ Night 16 Conflict status: Very aggressive Keyword: Save Status: Dead - 5E - 26/26

"W-What does Rantaro have to do with these people?!" Kokichi exclaimed with his feeble voice.

Kirumi approached the screen and narrowed her eyes at the picture that was in front of them. "As much as I hate to say this, we will probably get a better understanding of this list with him there."

Unfortunately, she was right.

However, something immediately bugged him. "Hey, is it me or are those '53' everywhere? This is the third time in a row I've seen the number written.”

Kokichi turned to him. "Wasn't it also written on Keebo's plans?"

Shuichi's eyes widened. "It was! I don't get what it means, though."

"Can we talk about like, everything else?" Miu frowned with a mix of both confusion and annoyance.

Perhaps it was nervousness that made him focus on the less important details. Whatever the reason, he hated it. The rest of the information was much more primordial to their investigation and understanding of the situation, after all.

"'Tsumugi's death’, ‘Ch4 trial’, and a certain night…“ Shuichi muttered to himself, low enough so he wouldn’t be heard by anyone.

He did have an idea of what had happened during that time, but… He didn’t have the courage to say it out loud.

Kirumi was reading the info sheet. She seemed to be focused on trying to get a clue out of this.

“Did you… figure out anything?”

She only narrowed her eyes. “I do have a theory, but it lacks evidence, so I suggest you take what I say with a grain of salt.”

“I do believe this has something to do with his mental state.”

Bingo.

“What do you mean?” Miu raised an eyebrow. “I mean… We all figured out something wasn’t right, but… What does this have to do with that?” she gestured to the info sheet.

Kirumi seemed to be choosing her words, then sighed.

“It’s after Tsumugi’s death that he… started acting strange, to put it lightly. And as much as I tried to talk to him about it during the last few days, it was useless.”

Shuichi felt his heart sting as those moments started invading his mind again. The fourth trial was a nightmare. Four hours of figuring out who had orchestrated Tsumugi’s execution, and a quarter of it was spent deciding if it was Rantaro’s most trusted friend or the beloved therapist who was the culprit.

And the fifth trial… He didn’t even want to think about it.

“Hold on, you knew he was in this state and you didn’t say anything?” Miu frowned.

… He didn’t like where this was going.

“Look, some things happened that you probably don’t want to know. This group was already fragile to begin with. To tell you the truth would have been like smashing an already collapsing vase with a baseball bat.”

“And you just left him alone thinking telling us would have made things worse than they already were?!” she yelled.

“I severely fucked up, I know that already!! Don’t you think I realized by now?!” Kirumi’s voice was growing louder, filled with rage.

Her eyes, bright green, and a glare as powerful as…

Shuichi instinctively took a step back.

“Why didn’t you tell us?!” the other girl stood up. “What did you have to gain by doing your little thing alone on your side?!”

“Miu-“ he approached her.

“Shut it! It’s between me and her!”

“No! I’m just as much at fault for this if not more!”

She stopped. Everyone turned to him.

Oh no.

“You… What?”

He turned away. “I… I knew about this as much as Kirumi. I’m the one who told her in the first place. I tried to investigate with her but… We were never successful. He always turned us away.”

Kirumi looked at him, silently.

“And what’s your excuse? Why did you decide to hide all of this from m- from us?”

He could tell Miu was mad. But her anger was not his biggest concern.

Why was this moment still intact in his mind, replaying itself over and over again?

The cold blade against his throat, steady and ready to slice through it like a vulgar piece of meat.

A gaze… His gaze…

“I-I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Please.”

He felt his voice cracking at the last word. He probably looked miserable, which was something that happened way too often for his liking.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. He couldn’t blame Miu for wanting to know, but that was not something he wanted to even think about right now.

Kirumi sighed. “Look, Miu. I know we messed up. You have every right to be mad. But this-“ she vaguely gestured at the group. “-is exactly what I wanted to avoid at a time like this. If you want, you can take a small break while we continue to investigate.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. It’s just… a lot to take in. All of this.”

While he knew she could not even begin to understand how he felt back there, to learn that two of your friends hid such important things about the person you cared about the most…

Miu rubbed her eyes. “I’m fine. Let’s just- let’s just keep going. Sorry for the outburst.”

Kirumi put a hand on her shoulder. “Listen. I might have been too harsh and I’m sorry. When I say take a break, I mean it.”

She lowered her gaze. “… Alright, I’ll- I’ll be right back.”

Miu walked to the back of the room. She needed time for herself, and Shuichi respected that.

Kokichi glanced at them both. He looked like he wanted to ask about what had happened but didn’t dare to.

“It’s… It’s complicated.” Shuichi muttered.

“I wasn’t going to ask… I’m just wondering if you at least talked about it properly to someone.” He replied. “When I talked to Miu, I felt a bit more… refreshed, I don’t know how to explain it.”

Shuichi weakly smiled. “Thanks. I talked a bit to Kirumi about this already, but it- it’s still not something I want to share. At least not now.”

The white-haired boy turned to the picture of Rantaro. “Save…”

An obsession he developed, to the point of ending his own life in some twisted plan.

“I don’t think I will ever understand him…” the boy muttered.

Shuichi swallowed. “Maybe we could have been true friends… If only we met differently, then things would have been better.”

Kirumi had her eyes on him. “… That’s nothing but a distant dream, now.”

She looked at Miu, then back at the computer, deciding to close the haunting file.

They would have to figure out what it all meant, but right now they were drained. Whenever Rantaro was mentioned, things did not end up well.

Obtained truth bullet! Subject list

Shuichi glanced at the ground for a moment. He was the one to start the meaningless investigation, despite himself.

He thought it had been completely useless in the end, since Rantaro ended up achieving his wretched goals, but perhaps... Not all of it was for nothing. There was still more to this, and this list was the proof.

Miu came back to them. “Alright, we done with this file?”

It was obvious she was still shaken.

Kokichi hummed. “We… figured we could go onto something else.”

She went back to the chair and thought for a moment. "… What are we checking next?"

Shuichi approached her to look at what could be useful, pushing his thoughts to the back of his head. "Hey, doesn't this look like a chat device?" he pointed at an icon. "Maybe the mastermind was talking to an ally, or someone they're working with."

The girl cracked her fingers. "Let's see what this bitch was up to."

After clicking the icon, one single conversation appeared on the screen.

"We might need to read all of this, maybe try to scroll up to see where it starts?" Shuichi suggested.

And so she did. Unfortunately, they didn't seem very talkative, and they did not know when those conversations really happened.

But now, they could read actual conversations from the mastermind and their accomplices, and that was more than enough.

Or superiors, if Rantaro was right.

=====

                                                     I request an alternate motive. This is urgent. <

> Which one?

                                                                                                        Number 05. <

> Understood. Please give me the details in a voice call.

                                      (Voice call lasted 19 min 47 sec)

=====

"Alternate motive...?" Kokichi tilted his head. "We were supposed to have another motive at some point?"

Shuichi slammed his hands on the table. "Wait! Motive 05! It's the flashback lights file!"

"The flashback lights for Ryoma, Angie, and Tsumugi only." Kirumi noted.

Miu frowned. "Wait, if this is about the despair disease, why didn’t Kokichi have a file? You had the disease, right?"

He stiffened. "Y-yes? I had the disease!!"

And yet... Nothing was proving it. Neither the files, nor the attitude back then.

"That's... odd, don't you think?" Shuichi raised an eyebrow. "Kokichi did not change attitude and did not have his memories of that period erased..."

The young boy looked panicked, to say the least. "I don't know! But I... I had the disease, Monokuma said it and I know I had it..." he trailed off.

The three looked at each other. After what had just happened with the contract and the file, preying on it would only make things worse.

Instead, Rantaro's words ringed in his head.

'No existing disease infects people that differently.'

And he was right. This was no disease, but instead flashback lights. Which made a lot more sense than whatever explanation the bears came up with.

... And with how much Angie changed because of 'the disease', he started wondering what the flashback lights were truly capable of.

Pure terror, and nothing else. he thought to himself.

Miu scrolled down to look at the next conversation.

=====

The next motive will be an alternate one as well. This is an important demand.<

> I expected that. Which one?

                                                                                                        Number 13. <

> Are you sure? This is not an easy motive to handle.

                                      Yes. I believe it is the best way to continue the game. <

> Understood. Shall we make a voice call for the details?

                                                                                                                    Yes. <

                                    (Voice call lasted 1h 49 min 04 sec)

=====

"Wait, the Sanzu garden was not planned from the start either?" Shuichi raised an eyebrow.

"Forget about that, look at the voice call!" Miu exclaimed. "Two hours of babbling about how to make us suffer?!"

"No, Shuichi is right." Kirumi frowned. "The motive was planned after the despair disease to an extent. This means that the mastermind somehow managed to put all of that into place in a few days at most."

He didn't think about that. "That's... how?!"

"Shuichi, I think at this point we should stop asking 'how is this possible' and more 'what is going on’. This entire bullshit sounds like science fiction, but here we are." Miu sighed.

And she was right, unfortunately. He didn't expect science to be able to transfer a human soul into a robotic body nor to be able to mess with memories in such a way, but he had to accept that this was real.

"Still... They planned and prepared all of this way too quickly..." Kokichi muttered.

If the mastermind worked alone, that would have been impossible. But as Rantaro said, they don't know how many people are behind the scenes.

It was terrifying.

They kept scrolling to see what happened after that.

=====

> This trial was a wonderful success. You have made an excellent job handling this motive.

> Rare are those who can make it work correctly.

                                                                                                         Thank you. <

> However, we will once again need you to keep an eye on someone for tonight. You might already know who I'm talking about.

                                                                                 Yes, I do. And understood. <

=====

"Wonderful success my ass." Miu hissed. "As long as we get hurt, they’re happy. Fucking bastards."

"I think we should talk about the 'Rare are those who can make it work correctly.'" Kirumi noted. "Did other people have to do this in the past?"

That was more of a rhetorical question. This conversation was just blatant proof that...

... This was not the first killing game. And enough of them had the Sanzu garden as a motive for this to be said. How many had to be trapped in those chambers, or were hurt by the countless traps placed to terrorize them?

It was sickening.

"Um... Why are they talking about 'keeping an eye on someone' though?" Kokichi asked. "And 'once again'? Did the mastermind already have to do that?"

"It does seem normal that they are tasked to keep an eye on us, but that message seems to hold more importance." Kirumi said.

But for what, though...? What is so important that the mastermind needed to be reminded to do that?

Whatever the reason, he already hated it.

He glanced at the screen and saw that Miu had scrolled down a bit.

=====

                                                                                We need to talk. Right now. <

> What is it about?

                                                                                         Don't feign ignorance. <

> We are already working on this. You do not need to intervene.

                                                                                                        Understood. <

=====

"What the hell?" Miu raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

It was odd to see the mastermind be mad at whoever their colleague was. Whatever they did must not have pleased them.

But was it a good or a bad sign?

"It must have happened after the fourth trial, but not on the same day as the other conversation." Kirumi pondered. "Although I doubt this has anything to do with the fifth trial."

He nodded. Judging by how they talked, the chances were low.

But unfortunately, there wasn't much they could deduce from this conversation.

Miu scrolled down and they realized this would be the last conversation the mastermind and their accomplice had.

======

> This entire trial was a full-blown disaster. How did you mess up that badly?

> Do you realize we might have executed Mr. Amami for nothing? We don't even know if he was indeed guilty.

                             I didn't ask for him to be executed, as far as I know. You did. <

 Also, don't act like you didn't want him to die. I do have a part of responsibility <                                                 in this, but do not put 100% of the blame on me.

       There are things and people I simply cannot control, you should know that.<

> You do know executing someone without concrete proof of the crime is not something we can do out of the blue.

> Someone like you shouldn't be in this position. You knew him better than everyone else and there is no excuse for your failure.

  Once again, you are also to blame. I warned you about him. I specifically told <         you he was a force to be reckoned with, someone to never underestimate. 

                                                       Why do you think I chose him of all people? <

> You could have made the job easier for yourself and for us, and you didn't.

     What is done is done. This game will come to an end very soon, and I have <                                                 no choice but to take another route for the finale.

> You know we cannot afford to end the killing game like this.

         It is too late for that. We underestimated him, and we must pay the price. <

 I'll let you handle the preparations. You might need to hurry up, though. I have <                                              a feeling he prepared more than we first expected.

> Understood.

======

The four of them stared at the screen with wide eyes.

Shuichi had his eyes locked on one single sentence.

'I didn't ask for him to be executed.'

Rantaro...

"Rantaro was supposed to live?!" he yelled.

"Hold the fuck up! If the mastermind didn't want him dead, then why was he executed?!" Miu turned back, panicked.

Shuichi paused, then glanced at her. "W-

"He was right."

He suddenly turned to Kirumi.

"Rantaro mentioned Monokuma possibly getting new orders during the trial, when he suddenly turned against him and gave us a very explicit reason to vote for him."

"So that wasn't the mastermind?!" Kokichi exclaimed.

Then... The mastermind was actually not in total control of the trial...?

What on earth had happened back there?!

"So they fucked up, the mastermind wanted to let him go but whoever the fuck was actually behind the scenes wanted him dead?!"

This was almost exactly what Rantaro had predicted.

His foresight was one of the greatest qualities he had, to their dismay.

But...

"Who are we even calling the mastermind if they don't even have full power over the game?!"

"A pawn." Kirumi bluntly said. "The 'mastermind' has a certain amount of power, but they’re at the lowest level of the hierarchy."

He swallowed. "Still... The fact that the one we considered our greatest enemy for so long might be nothing next to whoever was behind them..."

A graveyard silence settled among them.

He couldn't even bring himself to fear the mastermind anymore.

Rantaro had told them. He had told them that there were more people behind this horror, but... He never imagined anything like that.

"But... Look at this..." Kokichi pointed at the screen. "The other person says they can't kill us out of the blue... Are they still bound by the rules? I thought the mastermind was doing this game for them?"

"Then there must be more layers to this." Kirumi crossed her arms. She raised a finger, pointing at nothing in particular, then raised it up as she talked. "The 'mastermind' is at the bottom, then it's the second layer- this person, whatever their role is, and finally someone else at the top, who has given them the instructions and is only watching."

"That's my understanding of the situation."

Shuichi pondered. This looked like a decent explanation.

But still, whoever is at the top...

... What kind of power did they even possess for multiple killing games to be organized?

Miu stared at the screen, still reading the messages. "The mastermind knows Rantaro more than anyone else... What does that mean? Do they know us as well?"

"That does seem logical. They have 'chosen’ Rantaro, whatever that means, so they probably ‘chose’ us as well. Though I don't know how they could know us enough to the point of creating the Sanzu Garden." Kirumi said.

"That doesn't surprise me at this point, to be honest. What I'm worried about is the last message the mastermind sent. They seemed to know Rantaro had prepared something, so Monoshi must have not been that much of a surprise for them."

If they knew something was going to happen, then... Why didn't they do anything? Was it because the game was already supposed to end?

Was the game successfully ended by Rantaro, or was it already supposed to end, making his sacrifice utterly useless?

"Does that mean they knew we were going to end up in this room?" Kokichi asked.

That... was actually a good question. They didn't seem to have tried to hide major clues like the flashback light guide and the computer, but at the same time, the contract with his family was here. And they were actually able to go past the computer security.

"Maybe... I wouldn't be surprised if they did, but here we are, looking at their conversation with their boss, so who knows." Miu sighed.

Obtained truth bullet! Conversation with the mastermind

The group stopped talking for a moment. They needed to process this. Not just this part of the conversation, but the rest of the investigation. From Tatsuya Idabashi and his corpse, Keebo, the contract with his own family, the subject list to this...

What did he get himself into?!

Kirumi let her shoulders drop. "We should go back to investigating the academy while we still can. I think we’ve seen enough from this computer."

Shuichi turned to her. "Wait, there might still be info on this…"

As much as he hated it, he knew he was right. This computer was a gold mine, despite all the nuggets being coated in poison.

Miu pondered. "But she's right on one thing. We’ve all been on this computer for a while instead of the usual two-by-two. We should get back to that strategy."

Just as she finished her sentence, the sound of another explosion from the outside was heard.

"I... I think I'll stay here…" Shuichi nervously said.

"Fine. I'll go outside." Kirumi took a step back. "I'll try to investigate alone."

"I might also need some time to process all of this bullshit or I think I'll have an aneurysm." She muttered to herself, although Shuichi did hear her.

The sound of her heels faded away as she passed through the destroyed entrance in the library.

Miu crossed her arms, gaze to the ground. "I'll go to the surface too. Can I leave you two with the computer?" she asked.

"C-Count on us."

Shuichi muttered this unconsciously, but he didn't even know if he was ready to see more.

Miu gave him a weak smile and walked away, leaving him with Kokichi.

Once she was out of sight, Shuichi sighed, putting his face in his hands. “What are we even doing…?”

Kokichi put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

It was impossible to keep calm.

“I’m sorry, I- I just don’t know what to think anymore…” he mumbled.

The other boy let his hand drop. “It’s fine… I know this is dumb coming from me, but… Please talk if you need to.”

He paused.

“I just… I feel guilty about Rantaro. I should have said something to Miu… I know I shouldn’t have stayed silent but h- he…”

His throat tightened.

“I don’t know what happened to you exactly, but… He did something bad to you, didn’t he?”

His silence provided him the answer.

“I can’t blame you for reacting the way you did… I know I shouldn’t talk behind people’s backs, but I know Miu is biased, and I can’t blame her either.”

“What I’m trying to say is, you shouldn’t feel bad about keeping it a secret. Maybe things would have gone differently if you talked about your worry, but… You are not the one who is responsible for his death.”

Shuichi stayed silent, a bit surprised by his words.

“Kokichi…”

“If anyone is at fault, it’s whoever organized the killing game, right? So the only thing we can do is to stop them.”

He felt a smile form on his lips, despite the tears threatening to fall at any moment.

“… Thank you.”

“No problem, that’s the least I can do now.”

Shuichi glanced back at the conversation.

"Do you think we should try communicating with them?" he asked. "I don't even know what we'll get out of it, but we could try."

Kokichi frowned. "It feels weird talking to the people who did all of this to us... But we don't have anything to lose, right?"

"I don't think so..."

Shuichi approached the keyboard and took a deep breath.

==

         I managed to get back to the room. What's the next step of the plan? <

==

"Wait... Aren't they watching us with the cameras?" Kokichi asked. "Don't they know it's us?"

Shit.

Shuichi slowly turned to him. "W-What do we do now?"

They stared at the screen for what felt like an eternity.

"I don't think they'll answer..." Shuichi mumbled.

He reduced the window size to look at what was available on the computer. Unfortunately, there weren't many icons, but one stood out to him.

"Mastermind rules...?"

He clicked on the icon. It looked like a set of rules they had to follow.

Overall, nothing was alarming or too out of place. Check the room and give updates as often as possible, always keep an eye on the participants, interact as little as possible with the environment not to disturb the game...

... But then, his eyes landed on one specific rule.

#10. Prevent suicides

There is always a possibility a participant will try to end their life at some point in the game, and at a time it is not welcome (i.e.: less than 24 hours after a trial, a participant's death -unless chapter 3- or at any moment the death will be too obvious for a proper trial to be done). In that case, make sure the participant stays alive for the sake of the game by whatever means necessary. Keep an eye on them until the situation is suitable enough for them to do so, or if they simply don't want to commit the act anymore.

Shuichi's eyes widened.

"That's... That's what we're worth to them?" Kokichi's voice was shaking.

The blue-eyed teen swallowed, taking a step back. "This… This is..."

…

If he had truly wished to end it all... The mastermind themselves would have come to his rescue, for the sole purpose of continuing the game...?

How was he supposed to feel about this?!

Obtained truth bullet! Mastermind's rules

He instinctively closed the window.

Thankfully, there wasn't much they could search in this computer anymore, aside from one icon Kokichi pointed out.

"Hey, look at this, maybe... Maybe this is about the cameras?"

Shuichi clicked on it, and to their surprise, all the screens lit up, showing different cameras around the academy. But the cameras looked like they were... flying? They were at the very least not attached to a wall, the ground, or a ceiling, and they were moving.

He spotted Kaito's exisal and Monoshi still hardly fighting against the other bears, Miu running around the main building and Kirumi walking towards the dorms' building.

Another screen showed their faces, staring at the camera. And yet, there was nothing in their field of vision aside from the screen of the computer.

Very disturbing, to say the least.

On the main laptop was a gigantic list of... 'nanokumas'?

There seemed to be hundreds of them, each marked as active, aside from a small portion of them, marked as destroyed.

Were they the cameras? Cameras small enough not to be noticed by anyone?

Rantaro was right on many more guesses than he thought.

Obtained truth bullet! Nanokumas

Since there wasn't much to see here, he closed the window.

"So... What do we do now?" Kokichi asked before glancing at the table. “Hm?”

Shuichi turned to him. “What is it?”

“Kirumi and I found a key next to the computer, that she guessed was a master key, something that could unlock all rooms. But it’s gone now, she might have taken it.”

A very useful item that he despised the existence of.

He looked at the entrance in the library. "There is nothing left to check in this room, so we might as well get out. I hate this place."

His friend nodded. "Yeah…”

And so they did. Once they were out, they decided to split up to check places they might have missed.

There was one place Shuichi needed to go to.

He glanced at the dorms building where Kirumi had supposedly gone to.

He needed to get there. He ran as fast as he could to avoid any possible damage.

Shuichi immediately closed the door behind him, and the ruckus outside became less loud. But the silence of the dorms was not that much more reassuring.

His eyes drifted to the different rooms, now all empty, as their owners were either dead or investigating. However...

... He noticed one door was slightly opened.

Rantaro's.

He swallowed and approached the room.

...

...

After what felt like an eternity, he found the courage to quietly open the door.

He felt himself gag right after stepping into his room.

There was a strange mix of unpleasant smells- nothing like Tatsuya's lab, though. A mix of sweat, chemicals and medicine drowned in a sea of heavy enclosed air. The room itself was incredibly messy and disorganized. He noticed a needle on the bedside table with a bottle of liquid medicine, a half-emptied bottle of water, and pills.

The bed was not even made. The pillow was thrown away and the blanket had fallen on the floor next to the bed.

His eyes glanced towards the wardrobe. It was supposed to have a mirror, but... The shattered shiny pieces of aluminum on the ground told enough for him to understand what had happened.

Looking at this scene made his heart ache. Everything he had seen in the mastermind's room had been messed up, but...

Seeing the madness in the most intimate place they had for themselves was something else. It felt like he wasn't entering a simple room, but rather getting a glimpse of the fragmented mind of his former friend. The one who laid down his life for them- for their safety and out of spite.

His head turned to the bathroom, and that's when he noticed the other person in the room- who hadn't noticed him yet.

Kirumi was staring in front of her, an unreadable expression on her face.

She placed a hand on the mirror, gently brushing it with her long, thin fingers.

After swallowing, he stepped forward.

Kirumi suddenly turned around, just noticing him.

"... It's you."

Shuichi looked down for a moment. "Sorry if I surprised you."

Her shoulders dropped as she turned back to her reflection. "It's fine."

It’s only then that he noticed the state of the mirror, which had been out of his sight until now.

Shattered.

Three strikes that left crackles all over the piece of furniture. The mirror was barely keeping it together. One move too brutal and everything would fall apart, breaking into a million more pieces. Their reflections were distorted by the splits, one of the strikes ironically placed around Shuichi's head.

He could only stare, a hand clenching his heart and his mind drowning in never-ending dread.

(BGM)

They stared at themselves, not even daring to look at the other’s reflection, in a silence that he would have enjoyed at any other moment, but right now, he couldn’t describe it as anything other than suffocating.

His eyes drifted to the glass shards in the sink and the opened tubes of painkillers. The unpleasant smell was stronger, it was impossible to ignore it.

"..."

"Kirumi..."

She glanced at his reflection. "Yes?"

"Can we even stop them?"

She stayed silent for a moment, looking at herself.

"I don't know."

"The mastermind and their allies are powerful, and they seem to have total control over us."

"I would be lying if I said I truly believed everyone would get a happy ending."

Shuichi looked down.

"What even is a happy ending? One where we at least survive? Do we escape the academy? Will we able to go home?"

"What's... What's your happy ending, Kirumi?"

Her eyes widened a bit. Was she… caught off guard?

"..."

"... My happy ending, huh?"

She narrowed her eyes.

"It’s not like I can choose my destiny. The moment this game started, the possibilities for my future narrowed down to very few thin lines.”

“I do not care what happens to me in the end. I know my purpose was to stay alive at all costs, but… There’s no point believing in that anymore.”

“Perhaps I will die, perhaps I will live, and it doesn’t matter. What I truly wish for is to stay true to my morals.”

She paused.

“I know this might sound nonsensical, but I despise cruelty. I’ve seen many flaunting its greatness, but I always believed those people were the weakest humans to ever live.”

“Being cruel is admitting you are unable to suppress a mere urge, that you are nothing but an animal.”

“A simple proof of inhumanity.”

Her eyes hadn’t moved from her own reflection.

“I don’t want to die as a beast, a slave taking orders without second thought, nor as a killer.”

“My happy ending… is to die as Kirumi Tojo.”

…

Shuichi looked down.

“And you?”

His eyes darted up.

“What is yours?”

He looked back at himself.

... What was his happy ending?

"You don't have to answer me. All that matters is that you know what you want and what you believe in."

"Believe me, it takes a lot of mental strength to bring yourself to question all of this, but once you do, it's a new path that opens to you."

"One that you won't regret, even if things may not go exactly as you wanted."

She walked out of the bathroom.

"This killing game changed us all. It's our job to gather the misery and despair we felt for so long and throw it back in the faces of the wretched monsters who ruined our lives."

The sound of her heels faded away.

He stared at where she was standing for a minute before turning to the mirror again.

He wished to say his happy ending is one where they all escape and go home, but…

That was dream out of his reach, and he had to accept it.

Perhaps they would never stop those behind the scenes. Perhaps they would never find peace.

Perhaps they were all going to die.

But…

He couldn’t wallow in what-if’s.

He was going to fight until the end, for those who died, and those by his side.

He may never achieve a true happy ending, but to die trying to get it would be better than to let everyone’s sacrifices be in vain.

And he had just the right idea for a way to end this game.

After sharing one last glance with his shattered reflection, he left Rantaro's room.

He opened the door of the dorms building to see the long-haired woman standing there.

Kaito's exisal was down, surrounded by the four others.

The mecha opened to reveal their friend coughing. He lifted his head to look at them both. He was...

Defeated.

"Kaito!!"

Miu's voice echoed in the courtyard as she sprinted with Kokichi towards them.

"Puhuhu! My, my! You put up quite a fight! I'm impressed!"

Monokuma's laughter ringed in their ears.

"Unfortunately for you, it looks like your little temper tantrum is over!"

Kaito tried to get himself out of the exisal but was struggling to do so with only one functioning leg. Miu ran up to help him, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"So... How was your little period of free time without your beloved headmaster? Did you have fun running around? Going into my super-ultra-mega private rooms?"

"Fuck you." Kaito spat.

"I will take that as a yes!~" the robot laughed. "Now, now. Since this unwanted chaos is finally over, shall we-

"I demand a trial!!"

Everyone turned to the source of the voice.

Shuichi had taken a step forward. That might be the dumbest idea ever, but if this game had to end, it had to be like this.

He stared at the bear in the eyes.

“I want one last trial to end all of this.”

Kaito looked at him with eyes that screamed ‘what are you doing?’. But… That was the only way.

“Rantaro said it himself, this game is over. We have seen what was behind the scenes and we will not partake in this madness anymore!"

He pointed a finger at him. "This is your trial! Your trial as the culprit of everyone's murders in this killing game! And if you don’t want to accept this reason…”

“… Then think of this trial as the one for Keebo’s murderer, since you lied about Kaito being the culprit of the case.”

...

Monokuma looked surprised, although it was hard to read his mechanical face.

"Puhuhu... You do have some guts! Can’t say the same about my sweet monokubs… and myself, but that’s not the point.”

His glare did not falter.

“Very well! I accept the deal!”

"Everyone, please gather at the shrine of judgment!"

The bear and his cubs jumped away to their destination.

Once alone, everyone turned to him.

"Shuichi... Do you really think this is a good idea?"

He wanted to say he wasn't sure, but now wasn't the time to doubt.

"This is our only choice if we want to end the game. I don’t think Monokuma would have accepted to do anything else."

Kirumi crossed her arms. “Monokuma has already accepted the deal. I can’t say I had better ideas, though.”

Kokichi nodded in agreement.

Shuichi looked at his friends with a weak smile. "Let's end this, everyone."

Miu put a hand on his shoulder. "Then let's go. Together."

"You guys are going to have to sum up the situation for me, because I have zero clue how your investigation went." Kaito sighed.

The four others glanced at each other. He was lucky not to have seen the horrors of the mastermind’s room, but they would have to tell him at some point.

"We'll... We'll do that in due time, don't worry." Miu mumbled.

Kaito sensed her worry and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I know you guys did well. We'll talk about it during the trial, alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

They arrived at the shrine, which had been slightly damaged by the exisals. The elevator opened, and the five survivors stepped in.

This was it.

The final trial where everything would end.

He could feel his heart racing in his chest as they got closer and closer to the courtroom.

He glanced at each of his friends, the ones who were still alive with him.

Kokichi, who, despite the hardships he went through before and during the game, gathered the strength to surpass them all, with the help of the kind hearts of the group.

Kaito, who, despite his disability as well as the false accusations thrown against him during the third trial, was someone one could count on, a great friend who wouldn’t let you down.

Miu, who, despite her willingness to kill for her cherished son at the beginning of the game, turned her sorrow into determination to end the game and to fight against their captor, and used her compassion to help whoever needed her.

Kirumi, who, despite her title, was one of his greatest allies, helped him through the hardest times, as well as the rest of them with a great strength, intelligence, as well as the double-edged sword that her condition is.

Friends that he would never, ever forget.

…

The elevator ride was even longer than last time- were they in yet another room?

His question was quickly answered when the door opened.

The courtroom did not even look like one anymore. The decoration was as futuristic looking as the podiums, with bright neon colors vibrating in the dark. And yet, the room was illuminated well enough for them to be able to see each other clearly.

They went to their podiums. And now, eleven of them were occupied by portraits stained by pink crosses.

They looked at each other, all uncertain about the outcome.

But they had to do this.

This killing game was going to end, right here and there, at last.

[charlettebffxiv]

Prompt #29 Debonair

Clean-up is such a process, especially when you spend most of your sun elbow deep in soil, compost and whatever Maxim’s Gelmorran sapling secrets. It was truly an incredible discovery for Charlette, just how much like gum sap can be when it’s found purchase in your hair. To find out how dirt really does love to stay beneath your nails, after a long morning packing it in there one planting at a time. Yes, she was serious about her personal maintenance, but the workload triples every time she steps into that Greenhouse. It’s a good thing then, that there are few things she enjoyed more than ‘straightening-up’. Anyone that has plucked an annoying stone from the sole of their shoe can understand, just a little, the satisfaction there is in taking something blemished, and polishing it to a shine Especially when that thing is you. Even moreso, when that thing is your hopelessly slovenly friend.

“Hold this, and hold still while you do.” She’s stern with him, but you really had to be considering how poor Maxim’s posture could be when he’s protesting. She had him seated in front of her dresser, it was half the size of her sister’s to accommodate a bigger reading desk, but it was enough. He had his back to the mirror, and Charlette was facing him. She had shoved several of her tools into his hand, the rest sprawled on the side of her bed next to her. It kept his often too busy hands in one place while she worked. And what a piece of work he was. “Ow! Stop plucking so hard!” His brow creased, the skin reddening where Charlette had just plucked several hairs “Then stop trying to hold onto your stray-brows so much.” And she plucked another with a swift yank. The same way she plucked her own, immaculate eyebrows. She could tell he’d never done this before, by how overgrown they were and how intolerant he was of the process. “Tsk, I’m not holding onto them, they don’t want to leave me. I’m an addiction after all.” Considering how much Charlette was enjoying his beautification, he might have a slight point. “Roll up the ego Maxim, you have squeaked and squealed far too many times to have one by now.” He pulled his shoulders up, and took the chance to quickly nod between another pluck. “Ow! That’s true, and yet, I still think I’m the best.” Charlette snorted, and wrenched the last wandering follicle away. “The best indeed. I have not heard someone reach such a high pitch since A’nidreah tried to teach us her tribe’s whistle-speak.” She freed one of his hands, taking the pair of scissors from it and pulling at his long fringe. He took the opportunity to rub at his brow and wince. “You nearly skinned my face Charlette, what did you expect? You know I’m a screamer.” Maxim had very soft hair, the almost white-blonde colour of it giving his unkempt mane a richness to it, like it was spun from pure gold. “Hmh, do not admit that to Chloe. She will use it liberally, and cruelly against you.” She snipped, cautiously, taking away only split ends for now, but it was much too long to leave like this. “Think so? I mean, if she enjoys it, isn’t that a good thing?” Charlette leaned back just far enough to look him in the face. “No, no it is not. Gods, have some dignity boy, are you trying to get her attention or be the plaything she swats at like a cat? You know they get bored quickly with their toys, yes?” Maxim pouted at her, it made his lips look even more full. Dare she say kissable? “Yes, do that as much as possible. Chloe is an utter sap for pretty boys, and once we get you cleaned up, you will be the prettiest boy in the Village.” Snip, snip, snip. More hair fell away. Each series of strands that Charlette cut drew a concerned dart from his eyes. He looked up at her, wide-eyed and with a simpering tone said “Really? Oh, it’s my dream come true! When do I get to try on the dress and shoes? I want to feel like the Sultana on her wedding night!” Charlette combed his hair, only the very points of his bangs hanging down to the corners of his eyes. The perfect length to frame his deep-green stare, and long enough to hang and sway, but with a few ilms to twirl around a venturous finger. “Gods I am good at this.” She let him turn to the mirror. He brushed a hand through his neat, recently washed locks “What did you do? I don’t see a difference…” She hit him atop the head with the handle of the scissors. Charlette’s father, Algernon Bellamy, was a tailor by profession. Which, of course, meant he had plenty of suits for Maxim to choose from. Once Maxim had been properly groomed, so as not to look like the mud-digging Botanist that he was, they had gone to the Bellamy Patriarch for help in getting him properly dressed. The tall Duskwight stared down at the shorter Wildwood, tapping a finger to his lip. “He is a little burly for an elezen is he not?” Charlette nodded, Maxim pulling his shoulders up and crossing his arms. “Botanist, axe swinging, scythe wielding, log carrying. Can’t really avoid it.” Algernon waved a hand, puffed out a sigh and turned to the collection he had pulled out. Hanging from a long rack were several suits, all of them beautifully tailored to fit a tall, lithe man. Algernon did not deal in bright colours and garish schemes, there were no white, pink, or otherwise suits here. Greys, dark blues, deep blacks were his domain, he called it the Gelmorran suite. However, he did pull one of the brighter ones from the rack, and held it against Maxim. A shade or two darker than sapphire blue, but enough that it would stand out against a sea of navy, Maxim’s pale skin and hair stood out brighter for it. “It makes him look like a bobble-headed mammet.” Back it went, Charlette’s cackle following it, Maxim’s coming only a little after. Another suit, a darker colour. Midnight blue, but with an almost purple suggestion to it. “Ah, I like this one.” Charlette smoothed it over his chest, the shirt beneath was a steel-grey, the waistcoat a slightly brighter colour to the rest. Algernon nodded, and pressed it into Maxim’s grip. “My daughters rarely allow themselves to agree on anything, Maxim. But I am confident that, in this one, they will find common ground. If one likes it, the other should too. Try it on, let us see.” and he spun Maxim around and shoved him toward the little changing booth at the back of his studio. Maxim took his time changing and Algernon had to go in, twice, to help him with buttons and cuffs. But, once he emerged it was well worth the wait, or so Charlette thought. Maxim cut such a clear figure, the suit pulling against his shape, but adding the little debonair edge to his silhouette. The jacket smoothed his broad, for an elezen, shoulders and the waistcoat emphasized the flat of his chest and stomach. A thing you did not often see, with the baggy clothing the man favoured most suns. She raised her hands, clapped quickly along with her father who was doing the same but much more politely and with far more restraint. Maxim bowed low, his shirt popping loose from where he had half-tucked it into his trousers. “Thank you, thank you. And for the next part of our act, the Bellamy’s will turn me into an actual opo-opo in a suit.” Algernon smiled, but Charlette was up and walking around Maxim. “You look almost perfect, but there is one, very important thing I need to check first.” She reached-up, pulled his jacket from his shoulders and grabbed one arm. “Ah, c’mon Charlette! It took me ages to get that buttoned up.” she had undone his cuff, and started to roll up his sleeves. “Shut up, you will thank me later.” Once both were up, she stepped back “Cross your arms for me.” Maxim hesitated, she smacked him on the shoulder, and he complied. “Ah, there we go. Perfect.” “I don’t understand.” Maxim looked to Algernon, who shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “The arms are the most important part, Maxim. Make sure you do this at some point during the evening. Chloe likes your arms.” And Maxim blushed, almost beet-red. Charlette had never seen him do that before. Maxim was combed, cleaned, clothed and just about as ready as they could get him. Though, as per usual, the calmest person throughout the entire process was Maxim himself. The man never seemed to lose his nerve, unless his hair was being cut. “No butterflies in your stomach?” She asked him. “Nope, I’m pretty sure they’ve digested by now, but I might swallow another handful so that I get that nice, fluttering sensation when you hit me again. It’s like shaking a jar full of the things! Good fun.” She hit him, and he shivered and let out a dramatic groan. “Where is Chloe, the sooner she takes you off my hands the better.” Maxim gasped, hand on heart, looking offended in a way a person who is never offended pretends. “And here I thought we were having a moment! So cruel, no wonder you’re the least popular Bellamy.” She hit him again. It was just at that moment that the door to the Bellamy home opened, and Chloe came striding into the room. “Hey Charlette. Hello dad.” She kissed Charlette on the top of her head, her father on the cheek, then rounded on the Wildwood seated between them. “Maxim! You look good, best get going or we will be late!” and she grabbed him by the wrist and all but dragged him out of the house. It was over in a handful of seconds, she had barely even looked at him. Charlette and her father exchanged glances. “That boy is doomed.”

[brelione]

The Surfer And The Siren

Chapter Two:The Blondes,The Dog and The Girl in the Woods.

Chapter One

@kelsiejayy​ designed this mood board :) 

“Why is it always the blondes?”Richard asked.You shrugged,folding the snack bag closed. “They remind me of him.”You answered.Richard just nodded,pulling the strings of the bag tight. “Will you tell him stories about me when im gone?”Richard asked.You pouted. “You’ve still got a few more years,Rich.”You mumbled.He just chuckled. “Lets get going,weve got thirteen hours to go.”he locked the door as you walked out.You two got into his older car,driving down the bumpy roads to his house.You ran up the small grassy hill and up to the front porch,kneeling to pet Blue on his stomach.You then ran inside,jumping onto the couch and holding your favorite pillow to your chest.Richard let the dog in,going into the kitchen to show you that he had already set out your favorite cookies.ayou ate seven before you ran into the backyard to see how much taller the sunflowers had grown since the last time you had been over to the house.You rolled in the grass,lifting yourself into a tree and giggling loudly.

It felt like it had been a long time since you had even touched a tree.Probably because it had been.Richard placed his phone on the outdoor table,allowing your favorite songs to play.There was some Queen,some Disney,some instrumental and some early 2000’s music.You got down from the tree,telling him you were going to take Blue for a walk.Richard nodded,standing up.He wasnt as fast or energetic as he had been 60 years ago.He couldnt give you piggy back rides anymore or play soccer in the middle of the woods.It didnt really matter though.He was still good old Richard with his shitty jokes and his big grey hound.You grabbed Blue’s leash,clipping it to his collar.RIchard shouted to you to let you know that you could go without him.You ran down the street,racing the large dog all the way to figure eight.You ended up on the beach behind the kook mansions.You had watched as they had been built all those years ago,wondering what kind of rich straight white dudes were going to move in there.

You were unaware of the camera watching you from a tall tree,oblivious to the notification that was sent to Rafe Cameron’s phone.Blue leaned against you,laying down at your feet.You sat indian style,allowing the dog to rest in your lap. “Are you a handsome baby?”You grinned,tapping the dogs nose.He sneezed,moving upwards to look your chin.Rafe came up behind you,his eyes focusing on your hair.He hadnt been prepared or even thought about what he was going to say.He just didnt want to miss you. “Hello?”You called out,feeling someone looking at you.He inhaled sharply and his fists clenched. “Sorry,sorry-I didnt mean to scare you.”He spoke awkwardly.Blue sat up,staring him down and growling.You looked over your shoulder,grip tightening on Blue’s leash.That wasnt Ward.Ward was a normal person,he aged.You had watched him age. “Ward?”You asked,not calling off Blue.Rafe shook his head,not being able to form words.You dragged your fingers along the back of Blue’s neck to calm him.The dog leaned into your touch,slumping against you. 

“Um...Im Rafe-Rafe Cameron.My dad’s name is Ward,though.”He answered.You nodded,standing up and brushing the sand off of your clothing.He looked just like Ward when he was in his early twenties.Ward had always been a bit of the sketchy type but never too bad.He wore his long sleeve shirts rolled up to his elbows,socks and sandals and always had some sort of fancy watch clinging to his wrist.You had been to the Cameron’s dock countless times just to check if Ward Cameron was still alive and walking.You wrapped Blue’s leash around your wrist so he wouldnt go too far. “I like your hair.”He spoke,pointing to the blue curly mess.Your eyebrows fell over your eyes,Blue sensed the tension and licked your fingertips.He glanced up at the tree where the camera was hidden before looking back up at you. “Okay.”You mumbled,not wanting to continue the conversation.He didnt have good intentions.It felt like you were talking to Ward,In fact,you could remember Ward telling you the same thing.Rafe sucked in a big breath,looking down at Blue and trying to ease his mind.

 “Is this your dog?”He asked,gesturing towards the greyhound.You gulped,glancing around the beach for other people. “Friend’s dog.”You answered,your voice hitting him like a wave.He stumbled a bit,deciding to just sit down.His legs couldnt hold his weight and it seemed like his head was full of wet cotton.He felt exhausted and not just from running down the road.He nodded,hands in his lap. “I will see you around,Rafe Cameron.”You spoke softly,allowing the power to sink into the air.It was probably enough to enchant the boys inside houses across the whole neighborhood and more than enough to cause Rafe to fall forward with his eyes closed.You grinned,biting down on your lip and holding back a chuckle.Men were just too easy.You jogged back up the sand and to the street,seeing a boy asleep on his lawn.It only made your smile widen as you ran back to the cut,Blue panting as he sprinted with you.When you got to the cut you were a sweating and panting mess,laughing at the feeling of pain in your kneecaps.

You kept running,savoring the sore feeling at your ankles and heels as your feet smacked the cement.When you got back to Richard’s Blue had dragged himself up the stairs tiredly to drink some water.You went inside the house,leaving the door open for Blue and laying down on the couch.Your cheeks were flushed,your skin damp from sweat. “Did you have a good run?”Richard asked.You nodded,sitting up. “I didnt know that Ward Cameron had a son.”You frowned,pushing the blue hair from your face.Richard gulped,sitting down in his reclining chair. “You saw Ward Cameron?”He asked nervously.You shook your head. “Just his son.Strange looking boy...kind of like Ward with moist hair.I didnt tell him my name,just Blue’s.He’s asleep on the beach as of right now.”You explained.He nodded,opening a bag of skittles.You giggled. “God,do you remember back in 82’ when those things first got to the store?”You asked.He nodded. “How could I forget?I was trying to get you a bag but the buggers were sold out.The rich boys were mixing them with vodka and throwing up on the streets.”He let out a wheeze like laugh.You grinned at the memory,holding your pillow to your stomach.

 “The boy...JJ.Do you know him well?”You asked.Richard raised his eyebrows,shaking his head as he poured skittles into his palm.You sighed,leaning back. “He looks like him...I saw them while I was out today.JJ and Pope,I mean.They were with another boy and a girl.The other one….I forget what he’s called.He looks like an Adam,though.He’s very terrible at surfing,I had to rescue him during a storm.And the girl...she was diving near the caves to clean up trash that had sunk.I feel drawn to them like im supposed to be part of their group.It was that feeling I had when I saw you on the beach on the night we met...I knew it would lead to something good.”You tried your best to explain your feelings.He nodded,reclining in the chair and stretching out his sore legs. “I understand,(Y/N).But I dont know enough about these kids to let you go around them.Im not trying to control you,Im just concerned for your safety.You’ve seen it all before where your kind gets involved with the wrong human folk and winds up dead or trapped in a tank.You cant let that happen,I cant let that happen.I’ll learn as much as I can about them,okay?”He asked.

You sighed,watching as Blue slowly walked in and sat by the door. “I wouldve felt if he had bad intentions or anger,he didnt.When I was out for my swim they tried to find me again to make sure that i was okay.If they were bad they wouldnt have done that.”You mumbled.He nodded. “But they didnt know who you are and what you are.Maybe if they had they would act differently but I dont exactly want to find out.Let me learn about them first,alright?”He asked.You nodded as he turned on his television. “Netflix has new films this month,why dont you flip through them until you find something you’d like to watch?”He offered,leaning forward and handing you the warm black controller.You grinned,biting your bottom lip as you watched the preview for H2o Just Add Water. “Hey-hey Richard.”You laughed.He looked up at the television,holding back a laugh as his nostrils flared. “No-nope.”He shook his head.You laughed,looking through the episode titles before snorting. “Siren effect!”You giggled.He sighed,pinching the bridge of his nose. “If that is what you want to watch than go for it.”He grinned.

You shook your head,going back to the home page.You settled on a show called I Am Not Okay With THis.You werent really paying attention because you were too busy thinking about all the things you wanted to do in such little time. “It really sucks that we cant go into the woods like we used too.”You sighed.Richard frowned,nodding in understanding. “You know that its not safe for you out there alone.”He reminded you.It was dangerous for anyone to go out at night especially young girls.The Cut had some pretty dangerous places that became even more dangerous at night. “Do you think I could go if Blue came with me?”You asked.Blue’s ears perked up at his name,his mouth falling open in a dog smile.Richard nodded hesitantly. “Alright.Dont go too far and stay away from the graveyard.”He leaned back in his seat.You grinned,standing up.You didnt bother with the leash,hopping down the front steps excitedly with Blue right behind you.You didnt think you’d ever get used to the smell of grass and the feeling of dirt between your toes.Your hair got caught in a few branches but you couldnt care less.

You could see the faint green glow of fire flies a few feet away. “Why do I always have to get the firewood?They’re perfectly capable but no,no of course theyre just too high to do basic things.”A feminine voice ranted to herself.There was no way of telling exactly how far away it was but you assumed it was pretty close when the fireflies dispersed.Blue barked softly,a growl coming from her throat. “Hello?”The voice called upon hearing the noise.You huffed,silently thanking the gods that you wouldnt have to speak to yet another boy. “Hello.”You replied,finally seeing the owner of the voice.Her dark hair was tied into a fancy french braided bun that probably took years of her childhood to master.Her skin was the color of werther’s chewy caramels.She wore a white and black hoodie that was large and a bit baggy on her small frame along with a pair of light shorts.You knew she probably couldnt make out your features in the dark.That was one of the advantages you were grateful for.You had always been able to see close to perfectly in the dark which definitely helped with your insecurities when you knew for a fact that others couldnt.

 “Why are you in the middle of the woods?”She asked.You held onto Blue’s collar so he wouldnt lunge at the pretty girl. “The dog needed to pee,what about you?”You asked.She giggled,playing with her fingers nervously as her legs got a tingly feeling. “Oh-um-firewood.What’s your dogs name?”She asked.You slowly let go of the collar.Blue walked forward eagerly to sniff at the girls shorts,hands and shoes. “Blue.”You answered.She kneeled down to pet the large dog as he sat down in front of her,licking a slimy streak on the side of her face. “And what’s your name?”She asked,directing the question towards you.You grinned upon realising that this was her.This had to be a sign. “(Y/N).”You answered,watching as her face fell and her mouth fell agape.You were the girl JJ spoke so fondly of.She could absolutely agree with him about your voice.She had never heard one quite like yours with that weird accent.

You could probably make some really incredible ASMR if you wanted too. “Do you….by any chance have blue hair?”She asked.You smiled to yourself. “That would be me.”You confirmed.She blushed,biting her lip. “Im Kiara.I think you know my friends,JJ and Pope.”She muttered.You hummed,swatting a mosquito away from your face. “I met them briefly.”You told her,snapping your fingers by your side to get Blue to come back to you.You rubbed the back of his left ear,seeing Kiara stand up straight again.The original blue was missing part of his left ear after getting into a fight with a rat the size of a puppy.That was definitely in the top ten scariest moments of your life.You and Richard had been inside the house baking a cinnamon peach cake for his mother when she came home from a long day of work.You had started to smash up butter in a large bowl that you had actually made for them when you heard a mix of screams,hisses and whimpers coming from the backyard.

He had grabbed the broom,ready to break up a fight between two young children.You had both ran outside,screaming in shock at the sight in front of you.Blue had been shaking his head back and forth,trying to get the rat of of him.You had to tackle the poor dog,ripping the rat off and practically suffocating it.Richard had ran inside to grab one of his old dirty shirts,running it under the cool faucet water before running back outside and holding it to Blue’s damaged flesh.You had thrown the rat down the hill as adrenaline coursed through your veins.He had gotten the bleeding to stop,the red liquid had stained the already dying grass.You used your bandana to hold his ear down and bandaged.That had happened only a few months before you had lost your ring and became pretty much completely confined to the ocean.Since then Richard had tried his best to keep everything the same.When the first Blue died he was quick to find a similar looking grey hound from an animal shelter.He’d created a raft out of branches and grape vines and fitted sheets so he could float out to your cave.He put newspaper into plastic wrap so you could keep up with things going on in the land.He didnt go anywhere outside of North Carolina without telling you first.Pretty much his whole life revolved around you.

“Cool,cool.So are you visiting from somewhere?”She asked.You had gotten used to that question. “No,actually.I kind of just stay under the radar,you know?”You asked.She nodded. “So are you a kook or a pogue?”She asked.You shrugged,scratching your nose. “Um...I’d say its complicated.”You answered.She hummed. “Yeah,I get that.So where do you live?”She asked. “Between friends,I suppose.I should probably get this handsome baby home before he falls asleep.It was great meeting you though.”You grinned.She nodded. “Ill see you around,(Y/N).”She smiled.You walked back through the woods the same way you had came,eventually coming back out outside of Richard’s house.

You went through the back door,the dim kitchen light making you realize the scratches on your ankles.It brought a smile to your face.You felt like a normal teen girl for the time being and you knew you only had so long. “(Y/N)?Are you back?”Richard called from the living room. “Yep!”You shouted back before heading to the bathroom.You looked in the mirror,smiling at how dry your hair was.It was dry and hanging at your shoulders,not flowing in the water or getting pushed into your face by currents.The small slits behind your ear were covered with skin and you could move your feet in circles.You werent sure which part of your life you preferred.You turned on the faucet,staring at the water that flowed out of it.You turned it off,looking back up at the mirror angrily.Your sisters never had to deal with everything you had gone through.They were all dead anyways and only god knows how many others there were out there.Hell,there could be some walking around Outer Banks right now with their rings keeping them safe.The shit you would do to get your ring back was ridiculous.

At this point you might even kill for one. “Are you okay in there?”Richard shouted.You flicked the light off,coming out of the bathroom with your hand sin the pockets of your jeans. “Rich,I just met the girl.”You told him,standing in the doorway of the living room.He say up straight,placing his bag of skittles down. “What girl?”He asked.You sighed,sitting back down on the couch indian style. “The girl.The girl from the group I saw earlier today.Ive encountered all of them now,that cannot be a coincidence!”You exclaimed.He shrugged. “Well,lets not jump to conclusions now.You say the Maybank boy looks a lot like him,yeah?”He asked.You nodded. “Well then maybe he’s related to the fella.You still have your old photo albums in the caves?The ones I laminated for you?”He asked.You nodded,waiting for him to continue. “This might be jumping to conclusions but what if Jesse is related to him?”He asked.

You sighed,shaking your head. “No,no he never had any kids.”You answered.He grinned. “Yeah,he didnt.But that doesnt mean his older sister didnt.Linda,I think.Wasnt it something like that?”He asked.You gulped. “Linden.She died in 55’ though.I dont know if she ever had kids.How would we find that out?”You asked.His eyebrows knit together,the bags under his eyes seeming darker. “We have google now.Hand me my phone,please.”He requested.You grabbed his phone off the kitchen counter,looking at his screensaver.It was a picture of a sunset taken awfully close to your cave system.You remembered that sunset in particular because of how bright the pink and purple hues had been.You didnt remember him taking the photo though.You tossed it to him,the strange object falling into his lap. “Hey siri.”He spoke to his phone.A ding came from the device. “Show me all information on Linden Silslip.”He requested.A few articles came up so he handed the phone back to you for you to scroll through.It wasnt until you got to the very bottom that you found an article about “The Sea Monster of OBX” with and interview from Linden.You looked through the article,pressing down on Linden’s name.A whole page of information came up.You couldnt believe what you were seeing.

Comment a smiley face if youd like to be added to the tag list

@milamaybank @drewswannabegirl @teamnick @unmotivatedwritings  @danicarosaline @sexualparkour

[gumnut-logic]

Take a Minute

This is another case of me just indulging myself. It took longer than expected and ended up at around 2400 words, none of which really go anywhere.

Many thanks to @i-am-chidorixblossom​ for the read through and cheering.

I hope you enjoy it.

-o-o-o-

The hatch creaked as the hydraulics let it down to the dry hard packed dirt. A small puff of dust billowed up around the hot cahelium and it caught in his nose, tickling in the heat.

The horizon was flat and the earth iron red as it disappeared into the ominous grey of the cloud blocking the sky.

Virgil’s boots made their own puffs of dust as he stepped off the hatch and emerged from under the shadow of Two. The puffs followed him as he walked the length of his ‘bird. The dirt gritted under his specialised soles as he avoided the heat of her cooling VTOL and the scorch of her now quiet thrusters.

His landing was precautionary. A warning light had come on during the flight home and dumping himself in the middle of the Outback for a mechanical check was preferable to taking a swan dive in the middle of the Tasman.

Outside appearances gave no clue to the issue and unfortunately, he would have to wait for her engines to cool off before attempting to access the thruster that was the problem.

A sigh and he turned back to look at the horizon.

He truly was in the middle of nowhere.

“Thunderbird Two, status report.”

Typical Scott. His brother was hip deep in a rescue on the other side of the planet, but his brother radar still managed the range.

“Status a-okay, Thunderbird One. Just taking a moment to gaze at the scenery.”

“John says you have a mechanical fault.”

“Quite possibly. Fine for the moment. Just need a little cooling time. I’ll keep you updated.”

“FAB, Thunderbird Two.”

And then it was back to the silence.

True silence.

There was no wind.

No water.

No birds.

Just the heat of a dying day leaching out of the sand, the creak of his cooling ‘bird, and the potential energy in the air.

It was going to rain.

The Kansas farm boy could tell that much. Even in another country and an entirely different environment, he could feel it.

He didn’t need fancy instrumentation to predict that.

The impending storm raised the hair on his arms under his uniform. It itched at his skin and spoke of change.

Ants crawled across his boots, winged queens and drones launching to join a cloud of them off to his right.

It was eerie.

He shifted where he stood, unsure of what to do next. He wasn’t one for killing time. Time was a valuable thing and needed to be used to its upmost. But this stop was unplanned and there was little he could do while waiting.

Sure, there were tasks. There were always tasks, nitty gritty maintenance jobs. He was never short of work.

But the air was still. The sense of building atmospheric release buzzed across his senses.

It was tantalising.

He shivered.

There were still a couple of hours before sunset, but the air was dark due to the heavy cloudbank looming over the landscape.

A thought.

A flash of guilt followed by stubborn determination.

He turned and climbed back on to the hatch and retracted it, only to lower it again a few moments later with a folded chair and a box in his hands.

He parked it in the sand.

The silence was a physical presence.

He opened the box to reveal a portable watercolour kit – a neat palette of half pans, a fine brush and a small block of high-quality paper.

It was an indulgence he kept aboard his ‘bird. One he had yet to use, so this was definitely an opportune moment. A tiny amount of time to throw down some colour and capture this red-on-blue-grey intensity.

It didn’t take him long to realise he had forgotten a couple of things. A muttering step back into his ‘bird and he returned with a small table and a cup full of water.

He finally managed to settle himself. Painting while wearing his uniform wasn’t the most comfortable. It was bulky and in the way. He did shed his gloves, which meant he had to take off his wrist controller. Scott would frown enough to dent his nose, but he couldn’t paint with his gloves on.

There was heavy lifting, but there was also sensitive and tactile manipulation. He liked to think he was capable of both.

A dip of his brush into clear water, a dab of cadmium red, and colour spilled onto the paper.

Payne’s grey filled the sky in soft billows with just a hint of ultramarine. He tried to keep his touch gentle. Watercolour was so unforgiving. Fast and delicate, the colours could easily be overdone and unlike acrylic or oils, could not be undone satisfactorily.

It took all his concentration to sketch out the worn landscape.

The parched air dried the colours quickly and it wasn’t long before he was flicking strands of yellow ochre spinifex in the foreground, the little painting almost done.

In the distance, the clouds rumbled warning.

He dabbed in a second layer to bring up the contrast, the greys echoing the thunder on the horizon. Just a touch of green brought out the red of the iron in the sand.

“I really don’t know how you do that.”

Virgil nearly fell out of his chair.

“Scott!” His heart thudded in his ears and he clutched the drying painting in his hands as it tried to slip from his fingers. “What the hell?! How did you…?” He shot to his feet and turned to find his brother standing behind him. Beyond, at a respectable distance, sat Thunderbird One.

Scott held up both hands, taking a step back. “Hey, I saw you were painting, so I parked back a ways. Figured you wouldn’t want VTOL messing with your paints.” But then his brother was smothering a grin. “You were kinda zoned out there, Virg.”

“You were in Prague! How did you get here so fast?” It was a stupid question. He was Scott Tracy. Fast was part of his genome.

But his brother frowned. “It’s been over an hour since I last contacted you. The situation is resolved. I was on my way back and thought I’d check in. John said he hadn’t had an update.”

Virgil stared at his brother. An hour? He brought his wrist up to check the time, but his controller was on the little table beside his chair with his discarded gloves.

Oh.

Scott arched an eyebrow at him.

Virgil grunted before putting the painting down carefully and retrieving his equipment. A moment later, his gloves were on and his wrist controller back in place.

It was indeed over an hour later.

Thunderbird Two would have cooled down enough forty-odd minutes ago.

“You were lost in your painting, weren’t you.” It wasn’t a question. His brother sighed, walked over to the table and picked up the piece of art. Blue eyes scrutinised it. “Nope. I don’t have a clue how you do that. It’s great, Virg.” He handed it over and somewhat numbly, Virgil took it.

He stared at the strokes in which he had been so absorbed earlier. The landscape stretched into the paper, reds bouncing off blues, the stillness captured in pigments.

Okay, so he had to admit, it was working quite well. He had muddied the colour a little in one corner and there was a patch where he’d left more white paper than was probably necessary because he was too worried about over doing the paint, but overall it mostly did what he wanted it to do. Oh, his wash hadn’t quite worked in that bit. Damn.

But…

He could get away with it.

“Earth to Virgil? You okay in there?”

Scott was smirking.

Virgil glared at him before cradling the watercolour block in one hand, picking up the palette with the other and packing it away. He stomped his way back to his ‘bird.

He ignored the laugh behind him.

He was stashing the paints in their locker when Scott joined him in Two, both the table and chair folded up in his hands. “Where do you stash these?”

Virgil gestured in the direction of the utility store and his brother put the equipment away.

Back in the cockpit, Virgil pulled up the suspect control and found the red light still glaring accusingly as Scott entered behind him.

“Give me ten. I need to inspect her starboard thruster.” He grabbed a safety line and threw back the overhead hatch. The gloomy atmosphere crept into the cockpit, but he ignored it and elevated the himself up so he could climb onto the top of his ‘bird.

“Virgil, you do know there is a storm coming in. You’re standing on the highest point for miles.”

“I’ll only be a minute.” Keep your pants on.

But his brother was right. His dawdling with his paints had cost him time and the weather was moving in.

He hurried across the back of his Thunderbird sliding carefully onto her starboard intake, and making his way down to the access hatch. He hooked in his safety line, prodded his controller to release the security, and hauled the hatch open.

Five minutes later, with several profane words that had Scott even more concerned, he yanked an obstruction out of her secondary intake valve.

It was a bright yellow, now somewhat grimy, Thunderbird Four.

No more than four inches long.

“I’m going to kill him.”

“Virg? What? Who?”

“Gordon.” He didn’t elaborate. The sky was well and truly rumbling now and he needed to get inside.

Tightening the valve, he gave it a good once over to check for damage. Another poke at his controller and the dash confirmed the issue resolved.

Access secured, he unhooked his line and made a run for the main hatch just as the landscape lit up white with lightning.

He leapt into his ‘bird as if he had that lightning on his tail.

His boots hit deck plates. Virgil reached up and threw the hatch closed and sealed away the angry sky.

Scott was staring at him.

Virgil met that gaze before walking past his brother towards his pilot seat. He casually chucked the little Thunderbird Four to his brother like the grenade it was.

Scott caught it. “What the hell?”

Gordon was dead twice over and he didn’t even know it.

“You better get back to your ‘bird. The sky’s going to open up any minute and we should probably be above it rather than below it.” Virgil poked at the weather read out. It was only a weather front, nothing compared to the cyclone forces the Thunderbirds were capable of tackling. “You might get wet.”

Scott was still glaring at the model in his hand. A distracted grunt.

Gordon was definitely dead.

Possibly more than twice.

“Okay, less imaginary brother murders and more getting back to your ‘bird.”

“Huh?”

Yeah, so now who was zoning out?

Virgil nudged his brother onto the hatch platform and stepped on himself, lowering it onto the red dust again.

He stepped off the deck plates just as the first fat rain drops started to hit the dust.

Damn. “Too late.” And as if he had given the sky permission, it really opened up.

Water hit dry earth in big splats, puffs of red rose only to be taken down by more rain. The stipple of water fast became patches and then the land deepened in colour. The bright iron red darkened almost to a burgundy. The spinifex he had so finely painted not half an hour earlier, shifted from a yellow ochre to a gold that almost glowed in the remnant light.

As Scott stepped up beside him, secure under the protection of Two’s nose, the landscape bleached suddenly and the sky grumbled and cracked. The air smelt of ozone and the sharp evaporation of precipitation in the heat. But there was more water than the air or the earth could take and it puddled in the indents between the rocks.

Some kind of thorny lizard darted out from a tuft of spinifex and hurried under the shelter of Two beside the brothers. At the lack of the rain on its back, it looked up as if surprised. Two reptilian eyes stared at them before darting back out into the rain.

Scott took another step forward and Virgil put a hand on his arm.

“You’re not going to try to run through that.”

“I’ve got to get back to One.”

“Why?”

“Because…” His brother trailed off.

Virgil squeezed his arm gently. “Take a minute. This is a desert storm. It will be short lived. We can wait.”

Blue eyes stared at him.

Okay, so waiting wasn’t part of Scott Tracy’s genome.

“Take a minute. Watch.” Virgil turned back to the storm and revelled in the release of the tension that had been building for the last couple of hours. He watched the rain hit the earth, the patterns, the dance of spinifex leaves. He listened to the roar, the wet splat against cahelium, the sigh as the water disappeared into the grass and the grumbles in the clouds.

Scott eventually turned to look and, for a short while there, they were just a couple of brothers staring out at the storm.

The fact they were sheltering underneath one of the most advanced technological creations on the planet was unimportant.

“This is all your fault, you know.” Scott’s voice was soft.

A grunt. “I think Gordon’s is the more likely culprit.”

“If you hadn’t stopped to paint, we’d be home by now.”

Virgil didn’t answer immediately. He took a breath. “But then we would have missed this.”

At that moment the sun finally hit the horizon and slipped through a gap in the clouds to light up the wet landscape in gold. Rain still fell, but it was as if it was liquid sunlight failing from the sky. Water glistened on everything and the clouds lit up from underneath.

Thunder rumbled in clouds turning pink in the east.

“Yeah, we would.” But the acknowledgement was distracted as Scott stared at the spectacle.

Perhaps they had something for which to thank Gordon. It was a moment that they would never have experienced if Virgil hadn’t had to stop.

He breathed in the freshened air and let it out with a relaxing sigh.

No.

Gordon was still dead.

-o-o-o-

FIN.

[zaynesnursey]

The Enemy Crypto

Apex Legends short story

Mirage x Crypto (Cryptage)

Warnings: violence, graphic descriptions

Matches were usually long and boring and especially repetitive when you’ve been around long enough to call yourself a veteran. It was usually the same, land get guns and fight and eventually die or live long enough to see yourself become a champion. It was never anything new. Nothing to exciting except when you become kill leader.

It was just the start of the match however, sort of. Round 2 to be exact. And it was quiet. Squads must be looting. Mirage and his squad were doing just that at that exact moment. They were all planning to move towards fragment after leaving Harvester. There’s bound to be some good loot there, especially after hearing all those gunshots. Unfortunately for mirage, he was stuck with some pretty aggressive companions: Wraith and Bangalore. Both were becoming pretty antsy, the bloodthirsty desire for kills beginning to take a hold of them. As much as mirage wanted to stay and loot the rest of Harvester, because there were some spots left unchecked, he couldn’t argue with the two bloodthirsty battle angels.

“Alright ladies, have it your way”. With that, the trickster hesitantly followed. He’d like a few kills himself, he was honestly shocked he didn’t feel to aggressive. Well, he was the laid back type, just kinda went with the flow. He was better at stealing kills honestly, he could sneak a few off of Bangalore whenever she decided to pop smokes. The trip to Fragment, also known as the city, wasn’t to bad. Wraith didn’t spit out any warnings suddenly which meant no one was around. Good. Hopping over some large walls, the finally entered the dangerous territory where most bloodbaths occur. Everyone looking to pick off easy players without guns, then ending up dying themselves. If you survived, you were pretty good.

The sight was already gruesome, death boxes scattered about of all different colors. Blue, purple, grey, gold. Even a red, with undoubtedly a vault key inside. There’s no way that poor bastard could’ve gotten a red Evo that quickly. The squad split up momentarily to check different boxes, snagging anything they needed before moving to the next one.

“Jesus, we certainly missed a party” mirage quipped, picking up a few syringes and a good bit of ammo, even a med kit.

“Saddle up, we gotta move. Rings close, got time but we should get there” Bangalore spoke out through the coms, just letting everyone know. “Copy that” wraith responded. Honestly mirage was to preoccupied with his own loot to notice, still picking off small things he needed, like gun attachments for his 301. However he finally looked up from a golden death box and watched as the two females began to walk away.

“Oh- uh- yeah! I’ll uh- I’ll catch up in a bit you just got one ahead. I can handle myself for a bit” the trickster muttered out but the other two didn’t seem to care at all as they just kept moving on without him. Mirage didn’t expect any answer, as usual. The man just sighed to himself and moved on over to a new area, that area by the train station where the train always stopped. He found himself near the busted up building hanging out by the giant lava patch that anyone could easily fall into if they miss-stepped, kneeling down and opening another gold death box. He was pretty lucky enough to find an anvil receiver, taking in and attaching it to his 301.

Satisfied, the man stood up to leave. But something suddenly caught his ear. Mirages body instantly froze, whipping out his gun and turning around, facing the source of the noise. It had sounded like a groan... a very soft groan. Enemies. Possibly. But mirage wasn’t so sure, but he’d definitely remain at the ready. He was dumb enough to stay behind, but there was no point in turning back now. He decided not to ping, this seemed a little to odd to him. He wanted to check it out on his own.

And it may be a good thing he decided to.

Mirage slowly stepped out of the building he was in, staring at the rock where the sound had seemed to produce from. From behind it that is. His steps may be able to be heard, but he didn’t care. Another groan sounded, but it sounded softer, more alert and distress, like the person knew he was coming, knew he was here. Mirage tensed and moved a little quicker, he didn’t want whoever was behind that rock to get away. He suddenly moved and slid over the rock, landing directly in front of the source of the sound.

What he saw next had mirage frozen in... shock?

“...kid?”

Crypto... propped up against the rock, one hand covering what appeared to be a pretty gruesome sized bullet hole in his abdomen. Oh man the poor kid. That looked like it hurt. The blood completely soaked the hackers hand, along with his dark green tank top he wore under his jacket, which was also splattered with a good bit of blood. The sight was pretty horrifying... and sad almost. Yeah mirage had seen this stuff before plenty of times. But for some reason seeing a victimized crypto just had his heart ache a bit.

He may have a soft spot for the kid.

Crypto had been there for a while, clutching his wound and just focusing on breathing. His squad had decided to land here in the beginning, feeling a little to blood thirsty for his liking. Even after he said it was a bad idea they still dropped, and they were very quickly wiped. His squadmates were killed, leaving only him alive with a Wingman. As he had tried to recover the banners he was shot right through the back with... a gun obviously. He collapsed and crawled his way over to the rock where he remained downed as the rest of the squads around him fought until the last of them either parished or moved on. He was stuck here. And now mirage was here... hopefully he’d just kill him. He was in pain and couldn’t take much more.

The hackers eyes slowly opened, gazing up at the trickster kneeling before him, clenching his teeth as a bit of blood seeped through them.

“What are you doing-.. gh-.. old man....” the hacker just barely breathed out, his eyes rolling closed as he winced, the effort of speaking burning his torn diaphragm.

Hearing crypto try to speak just hurt mirage in the chest, wanting to shush him but that may only distress the hacker more. He was obviously left here to bleed out. That wasn’t very fair...

“Well kid, I was just looting around and I caught the sound of a damsel in distress so I figured I’d check it out and well- you’re hurt” mirage summed it up. Crypto didn’t seem to react to his words, only breathing heavily and occasionally letting out low soft moans of pain.

“You should just kill me...” crypto then mumbled out, a small cough leaving his throat afterwards. His eyes opened again, locking with mirages. There was a little hint of nervousness in the hackers deep dark eyes. That was pretty rare to see from crypto, but he couldn’t blame him. If he was in a situation like this is crypto’s position, and crypto was the one that found him, he’d be pretty nervous to. And damn did it hurt to see the kid nervous. Nervous about what? Dying?

Looking at the situation right now, it seemed dying would be the better option, for crypto of course. But that would just be cruel... he didn’t want to do that to him. As much as he hated seeing crypto in this much pain, knowing he could end it all for the hacker in one shot to the head, he wouldn’t kill him. He just couldn’t. Mirage didn’t have the heart to do that. Especially to crypto...

“That would be easy, but nope. Sorry kid” mirage finally huffed, standing up and moving closer to the wounded hacker. To his crypto actually flinched, his eyes widening as mirage got closer.

“What are you-“

“Just relax. I got this under control” the trickster shushed before carefully gripping the hackers shoulder and trying to move him to lay him down. To this crypto had flinched again, grunting in pain but he didn’t fight the man. How could he in this state? He allows mirage to lay him down on the rough rocky ground, groaning out in pain as the hand still covered his bloody wound. His eyes were trained on mirage, wide and worried almost, like a scared animal. But crypto didn’t look scared, only nervous. Mirage pulled out the familiar syringe you would use to revive a teammate. He planned to use it on crypto. An enemy. Someone of an opposite team. Was that against the rules? Most definitely

Crypto stayed quiet, but as mirage moved his hand down and suddenly jabbed him in the shoulder with the syringe, crypto couldn’t help the small but semi loud groan that left his mouth. Mirage winced a bit but slowly began to help the kid sit up as the syringe did its work, slowly but completely healing the wound in crypto’s abdomen. “There we go”. Mirage hummed and slowly lifted crypto to sit up again, leaning back once the hacker had his back against the rock again. “Good as new right?” Crypto didn’t have the words, staring at his stomach before looking back up at mirage. He was still in pain.

“Oh right- sorry. Take this” mirage said before handing crypto a medkit he pulled out of his blue back pack. He set it down on the ground for crypto to take if he desired. The hacker didn’t move for a while, staring at the offer before actually taking it. Wow! Mirage couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he watched crypto use the medkit. He felt good. Really good for helping the hacker.

Crypto stuck his arm with the syringe, wincing as the affects took a hold immediately and completely healed him. He sighed and dropped the useless syringe once it was empty, slowly sitting up a little more. He felt a lot better, no more pain. Reguvinated. “Thank you...” came the hackers low but smooth voice. And another bright smile bloomed on the trickster face.

“Hey you my friend, are very welcome” mirage said back happily before standing up. “Alright kid, the rings closing, we should probably get going”. He informed the hacker before stepping back and surveying the area.

Crypto was quiet, staring at mirage with an unreadable expression. What an idiot... what an actual idiot... did he really think saving him was going to change anything? This was still a game... they were still enemies. You gained nothing from helping an enemy. You only screwed yourself, and that’s exactly what mirage did.

“You’re a fool... old man”. Suddenly crypto stood up, aiming a gun to mirages head, the wingman he had picked up earlier. To this sudden action mirage jumped back in alarm instinctively pulling out his own 301 and aiming it at the hacker defensively.

“Whoa whoa whoa kid- this doesn’t have to be this way- c-come on! I just saved you!” Mirage almost whined to the hacker, who in return glared are the trickster. If mirage had to kill crypto then he would. This was threatening but he wouldn’t back down. Maybe he could talk crypto out of it? “Kid- what are you going to do against me with a pistol? Huh? And no shields? I know you’re smarter than that-“

“You should have just killed me. You’re an idiot to think helping an enemy would aid you” the hacker bit back as cold as ice, his eyes narrowing as his finger applied pressure to the trigger. Mirage tensed and also added a little pressure. He really didn’t want to have to do this... “crypto- easy! Come on- I’m giving you a second chance! Your match wasn’t fair and you know that! Hell- if I were you I’d die for a second chance right now! Come with me and we’ll get you suited up, and then you can go kill as many people as you want! Hell you can even kill me if it makes you feel better” the trickster tried you reason.

The words seemed to have crypto thinking, and mirage loosened up a little bit, feeling hopeful. Crypto blinked, looking down as the air gently blue his long black locks around in front of his face and over his eyes. If mirage wasn’t focusing he’d think that was pretty hot... huh?

Crypto seemed to focus back on the man, giving him a cold wary glance before lowering the wingman, his arm slowly dropping to his side. “For now...” the hacker mumbled and put his gun away. Mirage let out a breath of relief he didn’t even know he was holding in, lowering his own weapon as well and putting it away.

“Phew- for a second I thought I’d actually have to kill you. You know that would’ve broke my heart” mirage cooed, covering his heart with his hands dramatically. To this crypto rolled his eyes and walked past the goofy man with a soft groan. “Just find me some loot and I’ll be on my way...”

“Of course! Just follow me and you’ll have plenty!” Mirage piped up and gently grabbed crypto’s arm and pulled him along, to which the hacker flinched but followed. Crypto seemed to be relaxing a little bit which was good for now. Maybe mirage could convince Bangalore and Wraith to... hm... adopt crypto? A 4th partner would be awesome! But a little unfair... he knew he strict Bangalore was with the rules. Maybe he could sweet talk her into keeping the kid? I mean, mirage felt pretty bad for crypto in this situation, he wanted to help even if the korean seemed to deny any and all help. He seemed to want to blow his face off for helping him more th an anything.

Mirage didn’t dare mention his squad to crypto though, he didn’t want to risk panicking the paranoid weirdo. Last thing he needed as a bullet going through his skull or a drone whacking him across the face. It wasn’t pleasant. It really wasn’t. Mirage lead crypto through that small tunnel that lead to more buildings and that one tall building with the Respawn tower on top of it. That’s where his team was.

“Why did you help me?” A low korean tone suddenly spoke out. Mirage was to distracted with calling his teammates down to notice crypto speaking, but when he did he turned to face the kid and shrugged his shoulders.

“Because I know if I were stuck in your position I’d love some help. Plus I felt a little bad for you because I know how unfair it is to be killed off so quick. Well- overall I felt bad” he summed it up and sighed. Crypto stared long and hard at mirage with a confused expression before looking away and just walking along side him. He secretly appreciated mirage not actually killing him. Maybe he’d express his gratitude later.

“If it had been anyone else you probably would’ve killed them” crypto then said which was unexpected. This even caught mirage by surprise, looking at the kid before smiling with a small chuckle.

“You’re probably right. I’ve only got a soft spot for you”.

This had crypto’s eyes widening, glancing to mirage before looking away.

“You’re weird, old man...”

The sound of loud footsteps slowly approaching the two, a mirage froze, standing in front of crypto with a wide and hopefully convincing smile. Slowly Wraity and Bangalore appeared, looking none to thrilled to see the trickster alive, but whatever was behind the mans back had them clearly puzzled. Mirage could barely contain his excitement, moving out of the way to reveal crypto, who immediately looked up and took a harsh step back.

Was this man crazy? Crypto grit his teeth together, his hand hovering over the hilt of his gun. Mirage didn’t seem to realize the danger he just put crypto in. Instead, he spoke.

“Ok, I know this may be against the rules and all but, I just happened to find crypto bleeding to death in the city and- well you know me and my big caring heart, I couldn’t leave him there! So I helped him and brought him with me. I was hoping we could spare some shields or something? Help him out a little?.... maybe even keep him?” Mirage said, looking like a child begging their parents to by them a toy.

Wraith and Bangalore both had hard gazed pointed towards crypto, who also returned the gaze, now clutching his wing man. Although, the two women found themselves listening to mirage babble, exchanging glances before looking back at mirage, then to crypto.

The moment was extremely silent, a cold atmosphere seeming to fall over them all. Mirage grew tense, noticing how both the women were staring down crypto. He looked between the three and was about to step in front of crypto to protect him. “Hold on- before we do anything rash-“ and suddenly a shot rang through the air, and then a familiar groan of pain as the sound of a body hitting the ground.

Mirage barely had time to register what happened, seeing wraith holding up her G-7, the end of the barrel smoking, signaling that she had fired the weapon. Mirage then glanced behind himself, seeing the poor hackers body, laying on the ground with a bullet hole in his head. Mirages skin went white, the sight a little to hard for him to bare. Yes he’s seen worse! But for some reason seeing this happen to crypto was just unsettling... mirage immediately fell to his knees and gathered up the hackers limp body, his head lulling to the side, hitting against mirages shoulder. Mirage felt upset, really upset. After helping the poor kid this is what happens to him...

“Why!- why did you do this! He could’ve helped us- you didn’t even give him a chance!” Mirage spoke up, looking back to his two teammates who only exchanged glances before Bangalore spoke up.

“Can’t have tangos hangin around the squad. It’s against gameplay. You of all people should know that...”. Her words had mirages heart aching. He knew he was stupid for trying to help but how could he just leave crypto there to die?! Well he really was wrong to try to help. He just got the poor kid killed... it was his fault... he stared down at crypto’s lifeless body, something inside his chest snapping, which was probably his heart.

“She’s right. But we need to keep moving” wraity spoke up, looking to Bangalore who nodded and turned to walk away, in which wraith followed. Mirage was stuck staring at crypto’s bloody face, a shaky sigh leaving his lips as he closed his eyes.

“Aw... I’m so sorry kid....” he murmured and opened his eyes again. It was his fault... it was... and the guilt was really beginning to eat him up. He should’ve just killed crypto. It would’ve been so much easier for the both of them... he slowly opened his arms and laid crypto down on the ground on his back, stepping back and watching as his lifeless body finally faded into a death box like the rest of them did. Mirage let out another soft whine of sadness, starring at crypto’s banner. The banner made him smile softly, before that smile slowly faded as he turned to walk away, so he could painfully finish this game. Suffering through the rest of the match knowing that he got crypto killed. He should’ve just branched off away from his squad...

The rest of the match had been painful, the guilt eating away inside him made it hard to fight. But eventually their squad had been wiped. What a relief for mirage. He had been so done in that arena. He just couldn’t stop thinking about crypto...

When he had finally repawned back on the drop ship he was sat in his chair in his room. He gazed around and let out a sight before standing up. Finally some peace... he stretched and groaned, brushing his hair back with his hand before heading out of his room. Everything seemed the old same old same old, nothing new as usual. Octavio playing video games, Makoa and Ajay chatting on the couch. The normal. Mirage was happy to see everyone, walking into the room and letting his charming presence fill the room, saying hi as he walked by.

His presence wasn’t unnoticed, at least by one person.

Mirage had moved to the kitchen to grab himself a drink, for he so desperately needed one after that dreadful match. He grabbed a cup and filled it with some water before drinking it and setting the cup down in the sink. “Woo, that feels much better” he mumbled to himself before walking out. Once the living room was out of view for mirage, walking down another hallway, a voice seemed to stop him in his tracks.

“Elliott...” a very familiar korean voice spoke out from behind him. Mirage froze in his tracks, immediately spinning around on his heels to face the hacker now standing infront of him. Crypto seemed to be partially hanging out of his room, his legs inside his room while the rest of him stuck out. Once he seemed to have mirages attention crypto sighed and slowly moved the rest of himself out of his room, gazing up at mirage with a nuetral expression.

Mirage seemed excited and relieved at the same time to see crypto ok and alive. His arms moved along with his mouth, gawking at the kid.

“I- hey- kid- oh- you’re alive...” he couldn’t stop himself from speaking. Crypto raised an eyebrow at the mans excitement and almost seemed a littl uncomfortable with it, taking a step back with a small grunt. The hacker opened his mouth to speak.

“I wanted to-“

He was suddenly cut off... but not by mirage speaking, no... it was a feeling. A physical feeling. The trickster has suddenly moved forward with open arms and wrapped them around the lean hacker in a form of a hug, a nice warm hug. Mirages head was rested on crypto’s shoulder, his eyes closed as he just gently squeezed the hacker in a nice hug. Crypto was frozen, his eyes wide and confused. Normally he would be very sensitive to physical contact, pushing people away and even snapping at them. But he could almost feel the relief washing off of mirage. He could tell the man sort of... needed this. So crypto let it happen surprisingly. His expression softened only the slightest, but only because mirage couldn’t see his face for now, standing still and letting the man hug him.

“I’m so sorry kid- I shouldn’t have- I was stupid...” mirage muttered out, opening his eyes as he stared at the floor. Crypto rose an eyebrow to those words, hesitantly placing a cold hand on mirages back, as a small form of comfort.

“Don’t apologize you idiot” crypto muttered back. The hug had lasted long enough and crypto grew a little tense, so mirage pulled back, a small smile covering his face as he even looked a little flustered. Crypto wasn’t mad at mirage if that’s what he thought, but he just brushed it off and straightened back up, shoving his hands back into his pockets.

“As I was saying. I... wanted to tell you... I’m grateful you helped me” the hacker stated, the hesitation very clear in his voice. “Even though you should’ve killed me...” he then added lowly.

Mirage couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face, even bigger than before. He waved his hand in an ‘aw shucks’ motion and chuckled. “Don’t mention it kid, just doin my duty. Just couldn’t let you die there all alone” he said with an added wink.

Crypto’s eyes narrowed and widened at the same time, looking a bit disgusted by the words and the wink. “Never say that again...” he scoffed.

“What? Duty? Sorry I have no filter kiddo” mirage teased back with a shit eating grin. Funny that some words could annoy crypto. And that certainly had made the hacker groan, rolling his brown eyes at the man.

“Whatever, old man...” crypto said before turning away to walk back into his room. But before he went in he stopped inside his door frame, casting a side glance to mirage. For some reason he just felt the urge to he nice to the man after he helped him. “Goodnight Elliott” he spoke softly.

Mirage smiled at this, not even caring if his cheeks hurt from smiling. “Goodnight Crypto, sweet dreams” he sing songed before watching the hacker disappear into his room again, closing the door.

Mirage sighed and walked away with a soft smile. Something felt warm in his chest, his heart was fluttering. Could he be feeling... attached? Inside the dark bedroom a certain hacker may be feeling the same sensation. Crypto lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling wondering what exactly he was feeling right now. His heart was beating and his cheeks felt hot. Of course crypto understood emotions, but he just couldn’t force himself to believe he was feeling them. He couldn’t...

But he was...

“Damn you Elliott...”

[avis-writeshq]

Damian Wayne x Reader: If by Fate

Oh my god she’s writing

Requested: Nope

Pairing: Damian Wayne x Fem!Reader

Summary: Things happen for a reason. People do things for a reason. According to science, there was no such thing as ‘fate’ or ‘miracles’. Soulmates don’t exist either. But maybe, just maybe, things can happen for no reason. Maybe things can occur without a solid explanation. In other words, things can happen by fate. And if love and romance can bloom from nowhere, perhaps it really was by fate.

Warnings: Swearing, fluff, and trash writing

Other: Kinda soulmate AU? But not really? Damian and Reader are 17-18 (Bc driving and stuff…)

Word count: 6,714                                                                                                   

Things you probably wanna know, for all you ‘x reader’ illiterates:

(Y/N): Your Name

(H/C): Hair Colour / Color

(E/C): Eye Colour / Color

(N/N): Nickname

 ***

You remember the day it all started. 3 years ago; the first time you had met Damian Thomas Wayne. It had been a stroke of luck, or rather, a blessing in disguise. It wasn’t the first time you had met someone on such strange accounts. If you hadn’t, you never would have met Sakura, your dearest friend. If you hadn’t met Damian Wayne, perhaps you wouldn’t be lying beside him, tucked into his side. Maybe you wouldn’t have met all your close and dear friends. If by fate this was meant to be, you were going to let it.

 *** 3 Years Ago, Gotham City, Fall/Autumn ***

 You let out a laugh as you weaved in and out of lampposts and people, Sakura on your heels. You heard her giggle from behind you, and you ducked from an old lady waving her umbrella around. Ignoring Sakura’s cry of slowing down, you ran faster to the grass areas where couples were enjoying the aesthetic of the red and orange leaves. You suddenly paused, Sakura almost hitting your back at your abrupt stop.

 “Really, (N/N)?” She frowned, but you knew she was joking.

 “Do you hear that?” Your words were quiet, contemplating your decisions.

 The girl stopped for a moment, playing with a strand of her strawberry blonde hair. She was flawless like that. Tall, Sakura had brilliant blue eyes that could charm anyone she meets. She had a few guys at Gotham Academy staring after her, you were sure. “I don’t hear anything.”

 “It’s a bird.” You were quiet again.

 “All I can hear is a baby crying,” she drawled, a smirk playing at her lips. “Are you sure you don’t need your hearing checked?”

 Ignoring her sarcastic reply, you took a few steady steps towards a bush, purple peonies growing from it.  The cry of a bird became louder to your ears and you did your best to be as quiet as you possibly could. Well, you were sure you would have gone undetected if Sakura wasn’t being the whiny and complaining girl she was.

 “(Y/N), there’s nothing here!” she whined, a pout on her face.

 You twisted your head around to glare at her. “Shut up,” you hissed before turning your attention back to the bush. Lo and behold, there truly was a small bird in the bush. With black and grey wings with an orangey-red chest, you were pretty sure you knew what it was. The small bird let out another cry, and it was then you noticed the blotchy scratches on its wing.

 “It’s so cute!” Sakura squealed, but you shot her an icy glare to silence her. “What kind of bird is it?” She whispered softly, being as quiet as she possibly could.

 “Turdus migratorius, otherwise known as the American Robin,” you recited dutifully, a small smile on your face.

 “You really know your birds, huh, (N/N)?” A smirk rose to her face.

 “I did the robin for my 6th-grade science assignment, remember?” You rolled your eyes.

 “And you got 110%! I can’t believe you got extra credit.” Her eyes lit up and she pulled you around by your shoulders. “What if this is a sign?”

 “A sign?”

 “You know, what if your soulmate, the man of your dreams, is Robin? You know… the vigilante who works with the Big Bat himself?” She grinned at you. “Isn’t he dreamy?”

 “You’ve been reading too many fan-fictions,” you mutter, pulling away from her. “And think realistically Sakura! I’ve never met this guy before in my life, and I think that’s more of a blessing than a curse. Besides, who knows how he is under the mask?” You shook your head, attention turning back to the little bird. Taking off your cardigan, you scooped the little bird up, cradling it against your chest.

 “Great. Now what, genius?”

 “There’s a pet store a few blocks away,” you answered, your eyes still trained on the small bird. It didn’t struggle as much as you would have thought; instead, it let out a small chirp, opening and closing its eyes. You knew it was still alive from its breathing- but for how long was the question?

 Racing to the pet store, you made your way to the counter.

 “Excuse me, sir?” You offered a smile to the middle-aged man. “I found this injured bird a few minutes ago. Do you know any vets that can look after it?”

 The man peered at you from behind his glasses. By now, Sakura was off looking at the little puppies being groomed. “Is it wild?”

 “Yes, sir,” you nodded.

 “It’s just a bird,” he drawled, and you glanced at his nametag. Mason.

 “It may be just a bird, but it still deserves to live, Mr Mason,” you said coldly. “It was scratched and beaten with nobody and nothing to support it. I don’t know about you, sir, but if I was lying on the side of the road, I would want to be picked up and taken to the hospital.” You shot him a harsh glare, properly scaring him.

 “Right, yes, well, I’ll see what I can do.”

 “If I find out you have put him down,” you began slowly, watching the man cower in his seat, “you will be very sorry. You got that?”

 The man nodded frantically, “y-yes ma’am.”

 You stood up straight, a bright smile on your face. “Thank you very much. Let me know what the fees are and I’ll pay for the treatment.”

With that, you walked over to where Sakura was watching you, “wowie, (N/N)! Remind me to never get on your bad side!”

 You shrugged, “he was being an ass, that’s all. I have consumer rights, ya know.”

 “I don’t think that’s in the law…” she mumbled before looking up at you. “I have the tea!”

 You raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

 “I mean… guess who I saw in the pet store!” You blinked, opening your mouth to answer when she quickly cut you off. “Damian Wayne!”

 “How is that ‘tea’?” you asked, referring to her elaborate word choice moments earlier.

 “I know that’s not super important to you, but he’s drop-dead gorgeous! And he was looking right at you!” She let out a dreamy sigh. “You’re lucky, (Y/N). Damian Wayne and Robin… you can choose between them.”

 You scrunched your nose in disgust. “Why would I have to choose? I’m not gonna have either of them. Besides, I was causing a scene before. And everyone in our school goes to the pet store. He might just be looking for a pet.” She didn’t seem to be listening as her mouth was wide open, pupils dilating. She let out a few unintelligible sounds before pointing behind you. “What are you-?”

 You turned around, only to be met with fierce green eyes. “Oh, hi Damian! What brings you here?”

 The said boy shrugged. “I was just looking around. I saw you at the counter just now. You rescued a bird?”

 You nodded, “yeah, it was a robin. It is migrating season, after all. It must have hurt its wing while it was regaining some energy.”

 Damian hummed. “You seemed to be having a hard time. Are you really going to pay for the bills?”

 “I was just letting him know that he was a sorry excuse for a human being…” you mumbled, “I guess in the heat of the moment I told him I’d pay for the vet bills,” you let out a groan. “I don’t even have that kind of money! I truly am an idiot.”

 The green-eyed boy just smirked. “Remember who you’re talking to? I’ll pay for the bills.”

 Your eyes lit up. “Really? You don’t have to; the bird is my responsibility…”

 He shrugged again. “I got it. But, do me a favour?”

 With a frantic nod, you agreed.

 “Please tell your friend to stop gaping at me in the halls.” With that, he turned tail and left.

 You blinked, turning around before shooting you friend a glare. “You ‘gape at him in the halls’? Sakura…”

 “Don’t mind about me, what was that?!” She took hold of your shoulders, shaking you. “Are you secretly dating Damian Wayne?!”

 You scoffed, shrugging her hands off your shoulders. “You really don’t have a brain in there, do you?” You rolled your eyes, “he was just helping me out. Besides, he’s the son of the richest man in the world.”

 “Then why did he talk to you?!”

 You hummed, thinking to yourself. “I don’t know. I was his biology partner for a day and-” You paused when you saw Sakura looking at you with a smirk. “GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE GUTTER, SAKURA!”

 ***

Damian took one last glance at you over his shoulder. You seemed to be telling Sakura off about something. With a small smile and heavy heart, he put his earphones into his ears before stuffing his hands into his pockets. Ah, the things he does for love. He never wanted to admit it, but you intrigued him. Sure, he was only in your science class and he was your partner for an hour, but you were different. At least, you were to him. You actually had the courage to speak your mind and show people who’s boss, and you did it all without violence. If it were him, he would have punched the store clerk’s face in a second.

 Just as he turned the corner, he felt and arm over his shoulders. “Hey, Damian! It’s nice to see you again!”

 Taking one of his earphones out of his ear, he turned to respond, but kept walking. “TT, Grayson. What are you doing here?”

 “Ah, don’t be like that, Dami! I’m here for the Autumn Carnival like every year. Bludhaven holds one, too, but it’s nothing compared to Gotham’s. Maybe because Bruce is sponsoring it.” The man paused for a moment. “You are going, right? You didn’t go last year, and from what Bruce told me, you didn’t go 2 years ago, either.”

 “Father needs to stop telling people about me,” Damian huffed, looking away. “And to answer your question, Grayson, no, I would not be attending the carnival.”

 “Well, that’s too bad. It’s a good thing Bruce thought of something to get you to go.”

 The Arabian boy eyes his older brother wearily. “And that is?”

 “It’s either you go or you have to go to another one of Bruce’s balls. And…” Dick mimed a drum roll resulting in an eye roll from the younger boy. “I’ll tell him about (Y/N)…”

 Damian choked, trying his best to ignore the heat that rose up the back of his neck. “TT, what on earth are you talking about, Grayson?”

 “Oh, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. (Y/N) (L/N). You’ve been crushing on her for months now.”

 “And how could you tell?” He challenged, “Do you have any evidence supporting your ridiculous claims?”

 “Well… you were at the pet store just now, correct? From what I heard of the conversation, you’re paying her vet bills.” A smirk made its way on Dick’s face.

 “You are not a clown, Grayson, you are entire circus.” With that, he put his earphone back in his ear, closing the conversation.

 When Damian arrived at the manor, Dick bombarded him with questions again. “So… when are you going to ask her out?”

 With an unamused eyebrow raise, Damian let out a huff. “Maybe you should annoy Drake. I heard he and Stephanie were going through some tough times.”

 “That is a lie and you know it!” A voice called out from the top of the stairs. “And who is Damian asking out?”

 With a pointed glare, the said boy took his leave, racing up the stairs and jumping over Tim’s sad attempt of trying to trip him. Muttering to himself, he slammed the door shut, flinching when his cat let out a yowl and jumped off his bed, scurrying away. Titus strolled up to his master, giving a pleading look. That meant either 2 things; he was either hungry or in need of pats. Damian guessed it was in need of pats.

 “Stupid Grayson,” Damian muttered as he scratched Titus from behind the ears. “Always meddling in other people’s business…” the black dog nodded its head as if to agree with his master’s comment. The boy smirked. “Even you could see it, right, Titus?”

 The canine let out a bark of agreement, lifting his head up for a moment. Damian smirked, patting Titus’s head fondly. “I suppose I should train now, shouldn’t I?” Another bark of agreement came from Titus. Rolling his eyes, the boy grabbed his suit before racing into the cave.

 ***

You let out a small yawn as you held your head on the palm of your hand, tapping your Maths textbook with the end of your pencil. It was late – too late, in your opinion, – and you were bored beyond your mind. You were doing some extra revision in your room while your parents went out for a ‘date night’. You were just about to call it a day when a shadow loomed over you.

 “What…” you spun around, only to see a figurine on top of a building. “Wait until Sakura hears this.”

 You rolled your eyes at the thought of your best friend fangirling about what you had just seen, when the figurine took out his grappling hook and left. You pushed your window open, shivering slightly when the cool night air hit your skin. The t-shirt and sweatpants weren’t doing any justice at the moment, and goosebumps prickled your skin. You leaned over slightly, your hair whipping around in the breeze. Hearing the flap of a cape, you looked up, only to be met with the white lenses of a domino mask.

 Letting out a yelp, you jumped backwards, tripping over your own feet. You saw Robin cringe at your fall, and you shot him a glare to silence him from laughing at you. “Stalker much?” You muttered to yourself, knowing full-well that he could hear you.

 “Who said I was stalking you?” Robin huffed, climbing into your room, much to your surprise.

 “Why the hell are you in my room?!” You demanded, scowling at him as you pushed yourself up from the floor. “Did Sakura put you up to this?”

 The masked vigilante feigned surprise. “Who is ‘Sakura’?”

 You shrugged, “a friend of mine. What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be out wresting the hulk or something?”

 “Trying to get rid of me so easily?”

 “Considering the fact that you are inside my room without permission, yes, I do want to get rid of you.” You crossed your arms over your chest.

 “Fine, then. Have a good evening, (Y/N).” With that, he jumped out the window and grappled away.

 “Wait, how do you know my name?!” You yelled after him, only receiving a chuckle before silence. Yeah, Sakura was going to have a field day of fan-fiction when she hears this.                

 ***

 “ROBIN WAS IN YOUR ROOM?!” Sakura demanded, and you flinched at the cacophony she was creating.

 “Shh, not so loud!” You slapped a hand over her mouth, faking a smile when one of the juniors looked at you weirdly. “And, yes, he was in my room. But it was only for a second and by mistake.”

 “What do you mean, ‘by mistake’?! He climbed into your room.”

 You shot her an icy glare. “I fell. He was just helping me up.” You slammed your locker door shut, clutching your science books in your arms. You spun on your heel, making your way to the Science Lab, Sakura chasing after you.

 “No offence, (Y/N), but Robin has was better things to do other than help a girl up.”

 “Chivalry isn’t completely dead,” you hissed. “And even though this school is the definition of haughty, that does not mean people can’t be nice. Besides, if people weren’t nice, there wouldn’t be any Robin or Bat-guy, would there?”

 “You have a point,” Sakura nodded, “and it’s Batman.” She was quiet for a minute before her eyes lit up. “Are you going to the Autumn Carnival?”

 You shrugged, “sure. I think my parents already bought me tickets, so we can go together. They can’t come though, another shitty business trip.”

 “That’s 3 in the past month!”

 “I know. Anyway, I better head go into class. You know how Mrs Medaleve gets when we aren’t in class when she is.” You huffed before giving her a look. “Don’t say a thing about what happened last night to anyone.”

 “Alright, alright. Put in a good word to Jeremy for me!” She let out a sigh. “I caught him looking at me this morning. Do you think he likes me?”

 “Why wouldn’t he?” you challenged, “Now go to your French class!”

  “Bye!”

 With a short wave, Sakura raced down the hall to her French class on the other side of the school. You rolled your eyes, a smile gracing your features. You turned around to enter the classroom when you felt a person run into your back. You let out a yelp, falling forwards, your books dropping to the ground. “Ouchie…”

 “My apologies. Are you hurt?” A very familiar voice sounded from above you.

 “Oh, Damian. It’s not your fault, don’t worry,” you smiled, getting to your knees to pick up your books. “I’m okay, though. Thanks.”

 He nodded, picking up your biology textbooks and handing it to you. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. You met Robin?”

 You sighed, “of course Sakura would be loud enough to let the world know. Anyway, to answer your question, yeah, I kinda talked to him last night. It was an accident, so no biggie.” You offered a smile, placing your books down on your desk.  

 Damian was quiet as he placed his belongings on the desk beside you. He finally opened his mouth to comment. “That’s a bit strange, don’t you think?”

 “Well, Sakura’s convinced that we’re soulmates and she’s gone off about way too many crazy things, so to tell the truth, that wasn’t the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me.” You shrugged. “But it was kind of weird. Maybe he just got bored on patrol.”

 “Maybe…”

 In reality, Damian was bored last night. He didn’t mean to talk to you last night, though, that’s for sure. He just so happened to be in the area and you caught his eye. Well, to be fair, every single time you were within a 10 metre radius of him, you always caught his eye.

 After the whole ordeal, Bruce had reprimanded him for leaving his perimeter, even though nothing really happened. For Gotham, it was a quiet night which was unknown to the established city.  

 Class ended on a boring note, and Mrs Medaleve had requested you to clean the classroom before leaving to lunch (it was really unfair to you because you always paid attention to her classes). Luckily for you, Damian stayed behind to keep you company and to help clean the mess your classmates made.

 “Thanks for staying behind, Damian,” you said once the classroom was clean.

 “Take it as an apology for running into you earlier today,” he told you as the two of you walked into the cafeteria. “If you could excuse me, I have soccer training to get to.”

 “Oh, sure thing. I’ll see you later, okay?” You smiled before walking deeper into the cafeteria, searching for a free table.

 “(Y/N) GUESS WHAT?!” A voice sounded behind you, and you jumped in the air.

 “Sakura, can you not scare me like that?” You huffed, “what happened?”

 “So, Jeremy waited for me for me to finish class just now and…” she mimed a drumroll, “he asked me out to the Autumn Carnival!”

 A grin stretched across your face. “Sakura, that’s great news!” You paused. “But what about my extra ticket?”

 Horror dropped on the girl’s face. “(Y/N), I forgot all about that! I’m so sorry! Maybe you can come hang out with me and Jeremy, and give the ticket to someone else…”

 “And ruin your first date with the guy you’ve been crushing on since freshman year? Saki, I can’t do that to you. I’ll be fine, you can go with Jeremy. I’ll find someone else to go to the carnival with, okay?”  

 “Thanks, (Y/N), you’re the best!” She wrapped her arms around you, smiling. “Come on, let’s have lunch with him and his friends. Maybe we could go on a double date.”

 You laughed but nodded. “We’ll see how today goes.”

 ***

 You came back to your home to find your parents out of the country. They had left a note on the kitchen counter explaining about what you’ll be having for lunch and dinner on the days they will be gone, as well as all the emergency numbers you can use in case of, well, an emergency.

 You threw yourself on your bed with a groan. You were way too tired to deal with all this stuff. You probably won’t be going to the Autumn Carnival, either. As much as you wanted to go and check out the festivities, you really didn’t want to go by yourself. You sighed. At least tomorrow was a weekend. Then you could wallow self-pity for as long as you would like.

 Morning came far too quickly for your liking, and you decided to take a walk. Maybe that would help let off some steam. You quickly changed your clothes and stepped outside, taking a walk to the park a few blocks down. After an hour of steady-paced walking, you took a seat on one of the park benches.

 “Oh, (Y/N)! It’s a surprise to see you here!” A masculine voice said from beside you. A man with black hair and crystal blue eyes was sitting to your left, a bright smile on his face. “Wonderful morning, wouldn’t you think?”

 “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

 He was just about to respond when a very angry person yelled out, “GRAYSON, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”

 ‘Grayson’ let out a giggle and you saw Damian come into view, absolutely fuming. You frowned. “Damian?”

 “Oh, (Y/N), I would like to apologise on behalf of my idiot brother.” He pulled his older brother up by his shirt, glaring daggers into his head.

 “It’s alright,” you smiled. “I was getting lonely, anyway.”

 “Where’s Sakura?”

 “Hanging out with her boyfriend, probably,” you shrugged. “By the way, are you going to the Autumn Carnival?”

 “Damian here is a party pooper,” Grayson piped up. “He hates carnivals.”

 You deflated slightly. “Well, that’s too bad. I had an extra ticket if you wanted it.” You hummed, getting up from your seat. “I’ll see you guys around.” You waved goodbye and turned to leave when you heard someone call your name. “Damian?”

 “I’ll pick you up at 10.” Was all he said, looking away from you. He tried his best to ignore the heat rising up on his cheeks.

 “I’ll see you then!”

 As soon as you left, Dick smirked at his youngest brother. “Ooh, la la, Damian has a date.” He grinned, nudging him on the arm. “Aw, look, he’s blushing!”

 “Shut up, Grayson.”

 “Don’t be like that, Dami! I’ll get you ready for your date with (Y/N), okay? Relax; just leave everything to big brother Dickie!”

 Damian groaned. “My dream come true…”

 ***

The following Saturday, you were sitting on your couch. It was half-past 9, so you weren’t fussed about waiting. After all, it was you who was early and not him who was late. You decided to wear a pretty basic outfit that consisted of a grey coat that went mid-thigh, a Batman t-shirt, blue ripped jeans, black lace-up boots and a baby pink beanie. Because, well, why not? You were pretty calm while you were getting ready and had a decent breakfast. At Wayne Manor, on the other hand? Not so much.

  “Damian, come on, I told you that you would look good in the blue!” Dick whined, shoving the shirt in his face.

 “And I told you that I am perfectly happy looking the way I am,” Damian deadpanned, crossing his arms over his chest.

 The two men were going on about outfits since 6 in the morning while Jason did his best to not decapitate both of them for not giving him his beauty sleep. Damian grit his teeth in agitation as his older brother tried his best to ‘help’ him with his outfit. Not that the younger boy needed it. He got his impeccable sense of style from his father. I mean, who else would think of putting an extra Batarang in their suit? Only Batman himself.

 “Grayson,” Damian began slowly, “I know what I’m doing. I’m not a child. And I think I look fine in what I’m wearing, for your information.”

 In all honesty, Damian did look good in his outfit. It was a casual red and black plaid collared shirt with black jeans. His hair was gelled back in its usual style, and instead of his usual dress shoes, he went with a pair of casual converse.

 “Dammit, Dick, just let him go to his stupid date already…” Jason groaned from the other side of the wall. “He probably looks like a piece of shit like always.”

 “Shut up, Todd,” Damian growled. He plucked his leather jacket off the back of his chair and powerwalked to the kitchen. Down a flight of stairs, turn left… Grabbing a pop tart from the pantry he swiftly tore his car keys off their hook and basically leapt into his car. He had 20, maximum 22 minutes to get to your house. Then it’s rush, rush, rush to get to the carnival to avoid unneeded traffic.

 Being careful not to go over the speed limit, Damian pulled up in front of your house, doing his best to calm his nerves. The game plan was simple; ring your doorbell, walk back to the car without tripping on his feet, open the car door for you and attempt small talk. Not that hard… right? After all, Dick, Tim and Jason do it all the time with their significant others…

 With 30 seconds to spare, Damian rang your doorbell. The door opened almost instantly, leaving Damian with zero prep time. ‘Stick to the game plan, stick to the game plan…’

 “Hi, Damian!” You chirped, a bright smile on your face.

‘Shit, she’s cute…’ “Good morning, (Y/N),” Damian nodded at you. ‘Dammit, Wayne, smile for goodness sake!’

 “Good morning to you, too!” You followed Damian to his car (a very expensive looking car, mind you). Like a gentleman, the young Wayne opened up the passenger side door, allowing you to step inside. With the nerves almost getting to you, you did your best not to trip while sitting down (that’s possible, by the way). “Thanks, Dami.”

 You bit your lip through most of the car ride, trying to calm yourself down. The awkward tension was in the air and you tried your best to wrack your brains for a conversation topic. Unfortunately for you, your brain decided to die last minute without letting you know.

 From the driver’s seat, Damian cleared his throat. “Have you been to the Carnival before?”

 “I went last year with Sakura while my parents were on another business trip.” You shrugged. “How about you? I’m guessing from what your brother said, you didn’t go last time?”

 He nodded stiffly, his emerald green eyes still trained on the road. “I wasn’t one for loud places.”

 “Well then, thank you for accompanying me today. It really means a lot to me.” You leaned back in the seat. “People are always really busy… Sakura has a boyfriend now and had to bail on me last second. Both my parents are on another business trip and I guess- sorry, I shouldn’t be rambling to you!” You flushed, looking away.

 “It’s fine, I don’t mind. Is there a particular music genre you listen to?”

 “It depends on how I’m feeling,” you admitted. “Sometimes I listen to classical. I usually listen to soft pop, if you get what I mean,” you shrugged. “I’ll listen to anything as long as it isn’t overly loud.”

 Damian hummed in thought. “I think it’s one of those things you just get used to. My other brother, Jason, plays rock music on blast all day.”

 “It must be fun having all those brothers,” you said, looking out the window.

 “Sometimes,” Damian admitted. “They can be nice when they want to be.”

 ***

 Apparently, now was not one of those times. The night before Damian left to pick you up, Tim, Jason, and Dick had devised a plan to see everything that was happening. Tim, being the technology geek he is, strategically placed a hidden camera inside of Damian’s car, making sure it was properly hidden. Dick and Jason would be at the carnival; Dick wearing a full-body bear costume while Jason dressed up as a clown. They were both entirely unrecognisable. Hopefully.

 “You guys know the plan?” Tim asked through the microphone.

 Jason and Dick nodded, “absolutely.”

 The two men were situated in the middle of the carnival area, around a large fountain. They were getting their carts read that was filled with popcorn and ice-cream .

 “Let’s hope Demon Brat is too busy talking to his girlfriend to notice us,” Jason muttered through his intercom, holding onto the multitude of balloons.

 “I doubt it,” Dick said honestly, rolling his eyes from underneath the bear mask. “He’s too observant for his own good. Timmy, how’s it going in the car?”

 “They are… making a poor excuse of small talk,” Tim admitted. He could practically hear his older brothers sweat-drop. “Gah, they’re so in love it hurts.”

 “What, what are they saying?” The eldest brother asked excitedly.

 “They’re talking about… ice-cream.”

 “… ice-cream?” Jason repeated.

 “Yep… they both like boysenberry, though!”

 “This hurts more than the time Joker killed me.”

 ***

 You and Damian arrived at the Carnival, 10 minutes earlier than their opening time. Thanks to Damian being Bruce’s son, the two of you were allowed an early-bird entry, meaning you could play a few games without having to wait in a queue. Unfortunately, some of the games weren’t read yet, so you had to settle with the generic ones like darts. There was one particular game that you wanted to beat…

 “You are aware this is rigged, right?” Damian asked as you passed the man a 5 dollar note.

 You shrugged, taking the bucket of rings. “It’s still fun! Frustrating, I suppose, but fun.” You did your best to aim before launching the red ring at the glass bottle. With a clink, it fell to the side. “Aw, man.”

 Damian rolled his eyes, watching you miss time and time again. With only five more rings in the bucket, you needed to get at least four of them in to win the big prize; the big teddy bear with a red bow around its neck. You threw the ring at one of the glass bottles and… missed. Again. And you kept on missing until all the rings were gone.

 You grunted in frustration. “Dammit.” You shrugged, turning around to smile at Damian. “Oh well, there’s always next time. Come on, let’s go to another stall!”

 The green eyes boy paused. “Didn’t you want the bear?”

 “You were right, this game is rigged.” Your shoulders slumped. “It would’ve been great to get the prize, but… I don’t think anyone wins it.”

 That sounded like a challenge. “One bucket of rings, please,” Damian said finally, passing the man a 50 dollar note, “keep the change.”

 You raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Damian narrowed his eyes in concentration, gripping the ring in his right hand. With a flick of the wrist, the ring was shot right at a bottle. With a clatter, it landed right around the neck of the bottle.

 You grinned, “you’re good.”

 “Thank you,” Damian said curtly. In the span of 10 seconds, he had achieved to get four more rings around four bottles. “I believe that is the big bear, sir.”

 The man gaped at the young Wayne but said nothing. Taking the bear off its hook, he handed the bear to the young adult who smirked at you with triumph. You giggled but said nothing until Damian extended his arms to you, still holding onto the oversized bear.

 “I believe this is for you.”

 A small blush dusted your cheeks and you grinned. “Thank you.”

 “My pleasure. Now,” he stood up straighter. “Is there anything else you would like to do?”

 With a twinkle in your eye, you looked up at him. “Photobooth?”

 His smirk turned into a mischievous grin. “Absolutely.”

 ***

“Mayday, mayday, they just entered the photo booth!” Dick exclaimed.

 “Why is that so bad?” Jason asked, rolling his eyes.

 “That, my dear brother, is where couples go to do the do!”

 “That’s crazy,” Tim muttered, “They’re probably just taking a few pictures, what’s the big deal?”

 “The big deal,” Dick began, “is the fact that they are in there making memories! And not the photo kind!”

 Jason scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “You are the biggest idiot I have ever met. Look, they’re coming out now, giggling over some stupid photo they took.”

 The two met watched as you tucked the photo in your coat pocket before taking Damian’s arm and walking. Wait… the two of you were walking straight to where Dick and Jason were.

 “Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no!” Jason panicked. “WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS STUPID PLAN?!”

 “Shut up, you idiot!” Dick hissed, nudging his chest.

 From the other side of the fountain, the two men heard you speak. “Hey, Dami, do you wanna get something to eat?”

 “I believe there was a popcorn stand around here. At least, according to the brochure there is.”

 “Oh, they’re on the other side! Come on, Damian! We could get ice-cream as well!”

 The two of you walked around the fountain and looked the clown in the eye. Of course, neither of you knew that he was actually Jason Todd in disguise. You smiled cheerfully, “Hello! Can we get 2 medium-sized popcorns and 2 boysenberry ice-creams?”

 The clown nodded and took what you requested, all the while Dick watching you carefully. “That’ll be 12 dollars.”

 You fished into your purse to take out your card, but Damian beat you to it. “I’ll pay.”

 You looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

 “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have offered.” He said, taking back his card from the clown. He was quiet before eying the clown sceptically. “You sound familiar… have we met before?”

 “What? No, no, no, I would have remembered if we had, ho, ho!” Jason chuckled nervously.

 Dick kicked his shin, “you’re a clown, not Santa Claus.”

 Damian blinked, before shrugging. “Come on, (Y/N), why don’t we eat at those benches?”

 “Sure. Have a nice day!” You waved at the clown and the bear before following Damian.

 As you walked beside him, you couldn’t help but feel slightly uneasy. “Is it just me, or did it seem like they knew us?”

 “You felt it too?” he smirked, lowering his voice. “They’re my brothers.”

 Your eyes widened, “Seriously? I bet they were following us. Wait… aren’t most of your brothers adults?”

 “Even though they don’t act like it, they are all adults,” he confirmed, “Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake.”

 You nodded before smirking up at him. “Why don’t we play their game?”

 He raised an eyebrow but seemed intrigued. “Go on…”

 ***

Jason and Dick let out the breaths that they were holding, watching you with their youngest brother. Jason huffed, grumbling as he bounced the balloons up and down in his hand. “Damn, I can’t believe Demon-brat found a girlfriend before me. Gah! Can’t we just go home, Dick?”

 The older man scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I have it worse than you, remember? I’m burning in this suit. Get ready for deep-fried Dick.”

 Jason grimaced, shuddering. “Never say that again.”

 “Please don’t,” Tim said through the intercom. “They left the vicinity, correct?”

 “I saw them heading into the haunted house,” Dick said thoughtfully. “Do you think he’s using the rollercoaster effect?”

 “That only works if there are no feelings to begin with,” Jason grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

 “Yeah, and neither of them are scared,” Tim said, indignation in his voice. “Seriously, they’re just making fun of the dumb costumes.”

 Before Jason or Dick could respond, Tim let out a shriek. “HOLY GUACAMOLE, I THINK DEMON GOT HIS FIRST KISS!”

 “WHAT?!”

 ***

“Did you think they bought it?” You whispered, pulling the huge teddy bear away from Damian’s face.

 The Wayne boy blew some fluff from his face before nodding. “Good thing we’re in a dark room,” he murmured back. “Tim’s watching through the security cameras. I connected their intercoms to my phone. I know exactly what they’re saying.”

 You raised your eyebrows in surprise before a sly grin was plastered to your face. “Let’s hear it then.”

 Walking out of the haunted house, Damian handed you an AirPod and you both listened to the 3 grown men. Before long, both of you burst into fits of laughter as you listened to the immature grown men talk about the most hilarious topics.

 “They must really care about you,” you said, a gentle smile on your face. “Either that, or they’re really annoying.”

 “It’s always the latter,” Damian rolled his eyes, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. Leading you to a bench nearby, he quickly changed the topic. “How is the robin you rescued?”

 You shrug slightly, “I’m checking tomorrow afternoon. They sent him to the local zoo for rehabilitation. Do you want to come?”

 ***

You met Damian at exactly 1 o’clock the following day. Right outside of the aviary in Gotham Zoo, it was a strangely warm day for an October afternoon, so you were shifting your weight from 1 foot to the other in anticipation. Of course, the aviary was going to be no better; a lot of the birds they were boarding were from tropical climates. According to the vet and the staff in the zoo, everything was fine and the robin you rescued will be free within a week or 2. Meanwhile, Damian agreed (much to your disdain) that he would pay for the boarding and the hospitalization of the little bird.

 You thanked him graciously for the rest of the day, vowing that you would pay him back as soon as you could. It seemed as though you were annoying him as you saw his eyebrow twitch upon multiple occasions. In some ways, Damian found your apologies tiresome and unnecessary. His father was a billionaire; he could board a million of those birds if he wanted to. On the other hand, he found it sweet; you truly weren’t like the other girls he met. Unlike them, you had an appreciation for the money you earned and you didn’t find wasting money to be a small matter.

 When you thanked 43rd time you thanked him (yes, he was counting), Damian snapped. “You can thank me by being my girlfriend.”

 He didn’t think when he said those words. You didn’t think when you responded to his words. “Okay.”

 ***

Nevertheless, it was smooth sailing from there. Within a few weeks you found out he was Robin, and you couldn’t help but laugh at the irony from the whole ordeal. Thus, you explained to him exactly what Sakura was telling you a matter of months ago, and he couldn’t help but smile with you.

 So here you were, lying beside the youngest Wayne, his arm wrapped loosely around your torso. Within moments his eyes blinked open, revealing his bright green eyes against his sun-kissed skin. You smile at him, to which he responded the gesture.

 “What are you thinking about?”

 His voice was rough from the drowsiness and you felt a heat rush up to your cheeks. “Us,” you said, snuggling closer to him, “I’m thinking about us.”

 **End**

If you like my work, please leave a heart and reblog!

[rachel-rebellio]

Autumn is the Best Time of Year

part 1

          It was a crisp autumn, November 3rd to be precise, and y/n was trying to distract herself from her post-Halloween depression the best way she knew how. She was tired of the typical Southern California sun and fires, so she decided to get in her car and drive up to Big Bear so she could see the autumn colours she had grown to love so much. She took in the sights as she slowly drove ‘round the lake with the windows down, letting the fresh mountain air hit her face and fill her lungs. She pulled into the Big Bear Village to bum through some of her favourite shops and get a bite to eat at a local restaurant.

          As she was wandering through town, she came across an art gallery that hadn’t been open on her previous trips. Being a lover of art, y/n quickly wiped the wet leaves off her boots and fixed her beanie to better sit on her head. It was a small gallery, but it was showcasing multiple local artists from all over Big Bear City. The pieces were all beautifully done, but one in particular caught y/n’s eye. It was an oil painting of the lake surround by autumn foliage with the sun gleaming off the water. She had seen that sight plenty of times, but this artist brought a whole new perspective to it.

          Y/n stood admiring the painting for several minutes when someone bumped into her. She quickly turned around saying, “Oh, I’m so sorry! Was I in your way?” just as this stranger also turned around saying, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there, are you okay?” Y/n was taken aback by handsome stranger when their eyes met. She was just as tall as he was, but it still felt like she had to look up to make eye contact. He made her feel small in the best way.

          “Hey, have we met before?” Y/n asked.

          “I don’t think so. I would’ve remembered a face as beautiful as yours.” He said, causing y/n to break eye contact so she could look down and try to hide her cheeks flushing red. Y/n looked up after a couple moments and said, “Well, my name is y/n. It’s nice to meet you-“

          “…Ma-Matthew. My name is Matthew.” He said, stumbling over his words through a chuckle to fill the silence where y/n trailed off.

          “I love that name. So, are you a big fan of the arts Matthew?”

          “Yeah! I’m actually a little bit of an artist myself! I published a book that I wrote and illustrated about a green monster named Rumple Buttercup.”

          “Whoa, really? That’s so cool!”

          “What about you? Are you a big art fan?”

          “I love it! I’m a black and grey portrait artist, myself. I love drawing people.”

          “I bet you’re amazing. I’d love to see your work sometime!”

          “I definitely have room for improvement, but I’m a lot better than I was when I started a few years back. I’m totally self-taught; so it’s been a bit of a slow process.” Y/n said, trying not to sound too self-deprecating right away.

           “So, what caught your eye about this piece?” Matthew asked y/n in an attempt to keep the conversation going.

          “Well, I’ve been up here so many times. I like to come up here and enjoy the colours of my favourite season every early November to try and help my post-Halloween depression. I’m not ready for Christmas quite yet and Halloween is my favourite holiday, so I need some time between. But, I don’t know. This painting just captured a scene I’ve personally seen so many times, but in a brand new light; and their colour theory? Are you kidding me? So good! Autumn is my favourite season, so it’s not too often that I find something that allows me to see it in a new light and through a different lens. I’m so sorry, I’m just rambling at this point. What about you? Do you like it?” Y/n asked, blushing and nervously playing with her hair as she looked over and saw Matthew paying full attention to every word she was saying.

          “I haven’t been here many times, but I love their use of colour and the blending of the oil paints. Oil always gives it that nice gleam and blend to the colours.” Matthew said with a smile, physically pointing out the things he was talking about. Y/n couldn’t help but notice how beautiful his hands were as they gestured about and pointed to specific details as he talked. She could have listened to him talk passionately about anything for hours on end without ever getting tired of hearing his voice. Suddenly, Matthew turned to y/n, who was watching him closely even after he finished talking, and said, “I’m sorry if this is too forward, but would you like to get some coffee or cider with me? I saw a little coffee shop just down the street.”

          Y/n tried to hide her excitement and answered as calmly as she could, “I would love that. I could always go for some hot apple cider.” Matthew walked with y/n out of the gallery, holding the door open for her on their way out. She couldn’t fathom what was happening; guys never paid attention to her, let alone a guy who looked like this. His brown, curly hair was just long enough to curl over his forehead and ears, barely touching his neck. His glasses framed his face so well and were large enough that you could see his brown eyes that crinkled nearly closed whenever he smiled his smile that was so warm and inviting. On the way to the coffee shop, they made small talk about some of their favourite artists.

          They walked up to the counter to order heir drinks but when y/n pulled out her wallet to pay for her own, Matthew placed his hand on hers and said, “Hey now, getting cider was my idea, I got you covered.”

          Y/n smirked at him and said, “Fine. But the next one’s on me.”

          “Sounds like a plan.” Matthew said with a quiet smirk right back at her as she, in that moment, wondered if there would even be a next time. Once they got their drinks, they went outside and saw that the fireplace had been lit, so they decided to sit on one of the benches next to it to enjoy their drinks and talk. It was now around 5p.m. and the sun had started to set so the autumn leaves looked even more beautiful in the olden light. Matthew and y/n were sipping their respective drinks and talking about how they celebrated Halloween after finding out that it was both of their favourite holidays. He went as Vincent Price and y/n was convinced she would never beat that costume, as Vincent Price was easily one of her favourite actors of all time. Y/n was about to finally admit what her costume was when Matthew quickly scooped up some of the leaves and dumped them on y/n’s head.

          Y/n gasped, set down her apple cider, and said, “Ohhh, you’re on. I declare war!” as she scooped up an even bigger pile of leaves to throw at him. The two of them threw leaves at each other until Matthew wrapped y/n up in a one-armed hug, pinning her against him so he could take off her beanie off and continue dropping leaves on her head until she yielded. Laughing, y/n tapped Matthew’s arm saying, “Okay! Fine! I yield! Have Mercy!” which caused Matthew to also laugh until he fell to the side, still holding onto y/n. While lying on the ground, he looked to her and said, “Well that was fun hon! I always appreciate a woman who can hold her own in a leaf fight.”

          Y/n shook her head at him before grabbing one last handful of leaves to throw at him and then stood to her feet yelling, “Victory is mine!”

          “Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be?! Fine, you win this time.” Matthew said, standing to his feet and raising his hands in defeat which caused them to both start laughing as they picked leaves out of each other’s hair.

          “I really didn’t think this weather through.” Y/n stated, starting to shiver. “I had such a one track mind about coming up here that I was stupid and forgot a jacket… and this flannel really isn’t doing the job. Mind if we step into the shop across the street so I can get a jacket?”

          “Here, you can wear mine, if you don’t mind the possibility of it clashing with your flannel.”

          “Not at all, but aren’t you going to be cold?”

          “Nah, I’m fine. Maybe you could hold my hand to keep me warm.” Matthew remarked, trying his best to be smooth; although it may have come across as more awkward than savvy.

          “Now there’s a nifty idea huh?”

          “I try.” Matthew said with a chuckle in his voice. Y/n accepted the offer to wear his jacket and when she put it on, she noticed three things.

          1.       It was still warm from him wearing it.

          2.       It smelled amazing.

          3.       There was a single ping pong ball in the left pocket.

          “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly do you have a ping pong ball in your pocket for?” Y/n asked, pulling the ball from the pocket.

          “Oh, so one thing you don’t know about me is that I’m actually a magician. Here, I’ll show you a trick!” Matthew practically yelled in excitement.

          Y/n handed him the ping pong ball and Matthew knelt down in front of her saying, “Okay, now watch closely.”

          Y/n did as she was told and watched as Matthew’s hands showed her the ping pong ball and encased it. He held his hand out to her and said, “Okay, now blow on it.”

          Confused, but eager, Y/n blew on the small white ball. Matthew made a weird noise and said, “My turn now.” and blew on it before making yet another weird noise. Y/n started laughing, but kept watching closely as Matthew opened his hands to reveal the ping pong ball had disappeared.

          “Whoa! That’s so cool! Where is it?” Y/n gasped through her smile, wanting to know how it was done.

          “Check the pocket again.”

          “What- wait… HOW?” Y/n exclaimed as she pulled the small ball back out of the jacket pocket.

          “Nope! Nu-uh. A true magician never reveals his secrets.” Matthew explained with a smirk on his face and his arms folded.

          “What about an amateur magician? Can he reveal his secrets?” Y/n asked, smirking right back at him. Matthew looked shocked at her response before dramatically pretending to be deeply hurt by her calling him an amateur.

          “I’m sorry! I had to! Forgive me?” Y/n asked, giving Matthew her best please face.

          “I guess.” Matthew said, pouting. “But you’re going to have to make it up to me for that remark little miss.”

          Y/n asked hesitantly, but also very excitedly, “Oh? What did you have in mind?”