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cinnamonest · 4 years ago

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Kaeya Alberich - Yandere Profile

YES I love my eyepatch boy!! I really like him as a yandere, because he's definitely got several traits and behaviors that would make him a very unconventional/different yet absolutely terrifying one to have. Him or Diluc as your yandere is basically like playing a game on maximum difficulty. He's so arrogant dammit why does he have to make it hot

More importantly, someone take the ability to write n/sfw away from me I s2g... I go from trying to make serious content to nasty weird kinks and completely feral in .002 seconds the moment I add that readmore

tws: gaslighting, manipulation, yandere, mentions of mutilation

tws (below cut): noncon, a good deal of sadism, mentions of an*l

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What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

He's actually one of the worst yanderes you could have in almost every regard, for two very simple reasons: his crippling psychological issues, and his intense selfishness. The first manifests as severe abandonment issues. It's the origin of his unhealthy feelings, most likely. Kaeya doesn't like the instability of people - based on his backstory, people always leave, or die, and even if they don't intend to, somehow it feels like abandonment, and he resents it. People leave him all alone and afraid and uncertain. That's generally all he knows, and despite the smug exterior, he's actually pushed people away quite a bit, keeps everyone at arm's length to ensure they can't become someone too important for him to accept their sudden absence. He can't care about someone, because that someone is fated to inevitably leave him, no matter who it may be.

That's why, once you manage to worm your way into his feelings and heart despite his best efforts, once he finally caves to acknowledging the feeling, he's aware. Painfully aware, because be can't stop worrying every waking moment about you, your well-being, your location. It reaches a point where he can't go about his job because he's simply too consumed with his worry.

The solution that kept him safest in the past was to avoid developing emotional attachments, but when he does, he's terrified of both your safety AND you intentionally abandoning him. Really, the latter would hurt worse, since he can't fault you for dying, but to abandon him? It would break him.

And, to some extent, he's developed a lot of prideful anger about it, deep, deep down. He feels that he doesn't deserve to be abandoned, doesn't deserve to just be left behind under the guise of some greater purpose, and he'll be damned if he just lets you toss him aside like he feels others did. Even if you reject him, he won't accept it. You don't get to reject him. He won't allow that. What has he ever done to deserve everything that's happened to him? Nothing. You're the one person who has stayed with him, and you're going to continue to be with him. Forever.

That being said, he's still somewhat confident because he's got that arrogance about him. He doesn't perceive rejection, because he's always gotten a lot of attention for his looks, even if he's never actually followed through on anyone else's attention out of those same fears. He'll write off any perceived rejection as being for some other reason, something besides an actual rejection, and he'll seek to eliminate whatever he feels is keeping you from just accepting him.

Honestly, one of the most likely to have a full blown, classic-yandere-style psychotic breakdown. He can be driven to a snapping point, if there's enough stress or obstacles, and in case of that, he'll be a lot more willing to kill, and a lot more willing to hurt you, but it's a point that would still take a lot to reach.

But what's really terrifying about Kaeya is his delusions, primarily his ability to mentally justify everything he does without hesitation. Even most delusional yanderes struggle - they feel like it's wrong, they know it is deep down, and they take time to convince themselves of their delusions, tell themselves it's ok over and over, beg for reassurance, and get defensive when called out because they know they're in the wrong. The same isn't true for Kaeya. He automatically justifies his actions by default, and has absolutely zero doubt or hesitation to do so. He doesn't even need a complex reason for justification - it's a simple one. He deserves what he wants. Anything necessary to achieve that is fair.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

Highly likely and very quickly, right up there with Diluc and Razor. And he's absolutely remorseless about it. It ties back into his delusional state and ability to justify anything he does - this is what's best for you. If you don't get that, that's your problem, not his.

He's another one to not want to pull some barbaric move like knocking you out, rather, he'd rather just trick you into walking right into your new home. He gets that you'll be upset about it, but to him, that's just part of the process. Not that he'll tolerate it for too long. 12, maybe 24 hours is enough time for you to reasonably be upset, but if you're still trying to fight him on this after that, he's going to get snappy about it, thinking you should already be over that by now.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape?

You're not leaving.

It's not worth trying, really. How he manages to do it is a mystery to you, but he'll manage to keep you locked in right there at the headquarters with him. How Jean and Lisa haven't found out about you being there, how he convinced all of his guards to be on his side of things, you have no idea. Realistically, if you get out, he's likely to make you out to be some kind of criminal that needs to be found -- just not to hurt you in any way, so goes the order, and the knights know better than to question why.

He has eyes and ears everywhere, it won't take them anytime at all to find you. He's so confident in that, and combined with his pride, he doesn't feel the need to go get you himself. No, it's a lot more satisfying to sit back and watch as they drag you through the doors of the headquarters, slowly pull you to the end of the room and drop you down at his feet, where he can look down on you with that closed-eyed, artificially wide smile that tells you that you have seriously fucked up.

Escape attempts aren't going to be met with a single shred of mercy, really. The thing about Kaeya is he's ultimately a selfish, selfish bastard with a lot of deep-seeded, highly repressed emotional issues, and he has absolutely no problem with keeping you bound hand and foot, or maybe even make some permanent modifications to your body if that's what it takes to keep you. It's not a wise idea to even try unless you're absolutely certain to succeed, otherwise you may find yourself never getting the opportunity again. You don't really need those Achilles tendons intact, you know. And your ankle bones are just so fragile, they'll snap with just a little twist. Actually, that wouldn't be too bad, giving you more reasons to be grateful when he's doing everything for you.

He's not one to just let it go, either. No, escape attempts are the one unforgivable thing for him, the one thing that will make him totally and completely snap. You don't get to do that. You're the one thing that doesn't get to just disappear out of his life in a flash. Half the reason he sends the knights to get you rather than going himself is to give him some time to let the rage settle down, otherwise he knows he might not be able to control himself and might end up hurting you even worse than he intends to. He's not going to buy any excuses and won't go any lighter on you if you beg and grovel or anything. But you will apologize -- you get to choose how hard it is. You can apologize the easy way, or, if you don't want to, there are many ways to force it out. But by the end, he'll get an apology, and a promise to never try again, out of you, no matter what that takes. It's by far the worst state you'll ever see him in, and really, once is enough to dissuade you from trying again.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

You'd have to try pretty hard. He doesn't have the sheer amount of years of life experience like Venti or Zhongli, but he's not the captain for no reason - he's perceptive, and highly intelligent.

Rather than simply mastering reading human voice and facial expressions for telltale signs of deceit, he's good at learning individuals in particular - memorizing the patterns of thought and action of a particular individual, and predicting how they will act. He can do it with everyone else with ease, how much more, then, with the object of an obsession? If you're trying to formulate some plan to trick him, he'll already predict what you'll do, if you lie, he already knows. It's creepier than the others, really, because it's not just that he can tell when you're lying, but rather he already knows you're going to lie or try some scheme before you do it. It feels so tailored and personalized to your thought patterns, it almost feels like an invasion of the privacy of your mind, which, really, is the one privacy you thought you had left.

He's great at gaslighting himself, too. He's a very good liar, and can make you believe anything he wants. He'll target your fears and paranoias, make you believe you're going crazy, and he'll do it all so perfectly you'll never suspect a thing. You'll end up coming to him for protection and guidance, exactly as planned.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

Pretty strict. He doesn't let you have any outside contact, and you're limited on what you can do when he's gone. He'll bring you some books, maybe something to draw on -- no sharp writing utensils, though. In his mind, that should be enough to occupy you.

You won't get outside walks or visits. It's just too risky for him, and he really doesn't like seeing other people look at you. If you really, really beg, and you've been on amazing behavior, and you're well into your relationship, maybe a few months or so, there's a chance he'll take you out at nighttime, or sunrise, but at the slightest sign of intentions he doesn't like, you'll be dragged back, and you won't see the sun for a long time.

You'll have a very limited wardrobe, he doesn't see why you even need to wear anything, but if you're going to be stubborn, he can get you something simple, like an old shirt and some underwear, but that's about all you can have. Any requests for actual clothing are going to be denied. It's ridiculous for him to spend money on something you don't need, and besides, he prefers it this way, y'know?

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

Generally, it's a simple one: obey. You do what he tells you to do, and you don't do something if he tells you not to. This stems to similar rules that develop: be submissive, don't be argumentative, don't be defiant. Follow those, and you can both be happy, and that's what you want, isn't it? It had better be - he's not very lenient, and will harshly punish even small offenses. As for that punishment... most of it isn't going to be sfw. That's just how he is.

What he will do is emotionally manipulate you, and he's rather good at it. You wanted to escape? Ok. He'll let you have your way, let you be alone. All alone. All by yourself, in a little room, with no one at all, which is exactly how you would have left him, had you succeeded. He knows very well how that kind of loneliness bites. He's not totally cruel, though, and he won't withhold affection from you by the time he returns -- he doesn't need to, you'll already be crying and apologizing, which is exactly what he hoped for. Not that he won't briefly mock you for it.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're crying like that because you actually missed me. Oh, you did? Being all alone isn't particularly fun, now is it? I'm sure you understand that now."

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

Kaeya's an insanely jealous person. It doesn't show on his face, but it eats at him internally. It doesn't matter if it's a love interest, a platonic friend, even a family member. It's all the same -- people who want to take your attention away from him, people who you smile at that aren't him, people you love that aren't him. He's not one to delude himself into thinking everyone secretly loves you romantically, rather, it doesn't matter. Romantic interests are the worst threat, sure, but friends and family aren't much better.

He sees himself as above killing, though. He has people to do that for him, and he likes knowing that he has that much power. He's not going to dirty his hands with it, and frankly, they're not even worthy of his time and effort to kill them. Knights and other connections can take care of it just as well.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

As somewhat previously discussed, the primary form of making him mad is attempting an escape. That's on a whole new level of anger because it strikes at a very deep, wounding insecurity. On a normal day, though, he's more easily exasperated than angry. He gets frustrated somewhat easily, especially if you're trying exceptionally hard to be a brat. He has very clear warning signs. His signature little smirk drops, he gets quiet, he balls his hands into fists and digs his fingernails into his palms. At that stage, he's irritable and might snap at you, but won't get too angry until you ignore those signs and push it.

If you do push him, though, he gets genuinely mad, which is a very quiet anger at first -- he doesn't talk much when he's mad. He acts. You'll know he's snapped when he puts down whatever he's doing, and just silently stomps over to you, face completely empty and flat, looking down at you with a cold expression. It's enough to put fear in you, but at that point, even if you apologize, you're not getting out of whatever he's planned.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

Strongly in the "below" camp, a rather unusual stance for a yandere. Like many things with him, there's an inexplicable duality going on there. You would think that if you loved someone so strongly you'd kidnap them, kill for them, and potentially suffer consequences just to have them, that you would really think highly of them. On the flip side, you would think that if you really saw someone as lowly, you wouldn't care for them, you'd see them as disposable.

But neither is true for Kaeya, no, he balances both obsessive love and complete narcissism regarding you. You're not disposable, no, he can't live without you, he needs you. But at the same time, you're not gonna be on any kind of pedestal. No, if anything, he sees himself on one, more like a throne, and you on the floor before him, how things should be.

He has a similar mindset to Zhongli or Albedo - you're fragile, you're dumb, you're incapable, and you need someone to care for you, protect you, guide you, someone who knows what's best for you, since you clearly don't. However, he's lacking in the attitude those other two have -- there's no seeing you as an angel here. There's no viewing himself as being absolutely honored to take care of you, or viewing protecting and caring for you as some kind of privilege that they're blessed to do, the way those two do.

No, as much as he loves those things, he'll never admit it, not even to himself really. Rather, his mentality is that you should be grateful. Here he is, a very highly respected, accomplished, capable person, and you...? You have what to offer, exactly? That's right, nothing, really, only cuteness and obedience, the latter of which you refuse to give him even though you really ought to. He's taking on the burden of making sure you don't get yourself killed, and how do you repay him? By getting mad about it, throwing a fit like some little kid? He puts up with your tantrums, which are really undeserved, by the way. He puts up with your disobedience and repeated rule violations, your sheer determination to defy him when he's going out of his way to do what's best for you.

One day, he thinks, you'll mature a little bit and understand why he does what he does, and when you do, you'll come groveling and sniffling about how sorry you are, how you'll never defy him again, how you'll be good and obedient from now on, and he'll love every second of it. He looks forward to that day quite a bit.

"Sigh... you know, you're pretty lucky I love you so much. You could stand to show me a little thanks, don't you think?"

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

He's strongly determined, and yet... doesn't do much to try. It goes back to his mindset that really, you're the one who should be grateful for him, and eventually, you will love him. He's not gonna grovel to you or try different ways of making you love him, no, he's far too proud for that. But he's a smart man. He knows the effects that complete and total isolation other than one other person can have on someone. He's just going to sit back and wait for that effect to kick in, and slowly watch your fragile little mind deteriorate until you're desperate for affection. At which point, well, he can use it against you.

"You were so mean to me before, weren't you? You fought me every step of the way, and now you're just going to turn around and act like that didn't happen...? Well, if you're really sorry, I'll forgive you. But how am I supposed to believe you really are...? Maybe you can think of a way to prove it, hm?"

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

Probably the severity of his degradation. As aforementioned, most yanderes, even the more confident or cocky individuals, either worship the ground their beloved walks on and sees themselves as beneath them, OR sees their darling as some sort of fragile, angelic being, and they are simply a protector or caretaker to that being.

It's a bit different with him, ever the narcissist. It's a strange duality born out of a rare mix of neediness, obsession, and pride. You're more like a toy, or a pet - an invaluable pet that he could never part with, but a pet nonetheless. He certainly looks down on you more than the average yandere - he mentally associates you as naive, fragile, even dumb like a lot of the aforementioned protector/caretaker types, but without the reverence to make up for it.

It's a bizarre duality that not even he fully understands - don't think for a moment that that means he'll ever tire of you, or view you as disposable. No, he's actually one of the most obsessive ones, yet very demanding of attention and praise, rather than giving it.

He frequently tests you - things like leaving the door unlocked, waiting outside just to see if you'll try it. Seeing you open that door, watching your face go from ecstatic excitement and drop to wide-eyed terror, it's priceless.

"My, my, you didn't waste any time at all, did you? Why do you look so surprised...? You should know I wouldn't slip up that badly."

Pet names, but in the most infuriatingly condescending way, and uses them more often when he's mad and trying to warn you that you're pushing his limits. Particularly fond of "sweetheart," especially with a low warning tone and clenched teeth.

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

Horny fucker, all the way. The man has a lot of stress and frustration in his life already, that much more if you're... less than compliant with your new lifestyle. Sex, especially rough and hard, is a fantastic stress reliever.

Very little reservation. He's not crude about it, but he tends to make subtle innuendos very frequently, and laughs at your embarrassed reactions. Definitely the type to pull the whole shtick in which he says something with a blatant sexual undertone, then elaborates in a way to make it sound like having meant something else, follows with that smirk and says, "Why? What did you think I meant?" It's something he really enjoys doing, and loves to get embarrassed reactions out of people, particularly yourself.

"Touchy" doesn't begin to describe it. Pretty much from the moment you meet him, he's got his hands somewhere on your person. He grabs your shoulders when he stands behind you, he wraps an arm around you from the side when he walks up to you, he's always pressing his hands on your back and sides whenever you're navigating the streets, walking through doorways, wraps an arm around your waist when sitting next to you. It's highly uncomfortable, but really, he's just got something very subtly, but very strongly intimidating about him. You almost don't want to confront him on it. If you do, he'll laugh it off, and stop -- for maybe 48 hours or so, and then he'll be right back at it.

To the surprise of, well, everyone who's ever met him, he doesn't actually live up to the rumors of having been around the block, so to speak. His experience is actually little to none - that kinda happens when you push everyone around you away. Not that he'd ever let you know that, of course, and will probably lie if asked, but you can gleam a little bit of truth from slightly awkward movements and a bit of noticeable shakiness.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

Kind of like Razor, the issue is that he loves you, and what better way is there of expressing love? He's not much for gift-giving or words of affirmation - no, he's a lot better with words of degradation, it comes more naturally to him. And he's certainly not one to enjoy acts of service -- well, not doing them, he'll gladly take them as a sign of your love, though. No, he expresses love through touch. It's like how, when you hug someone you really love, someone you missed, you squeeze them extra tight - the love manifests as a physical urge for some strong expression. Humans are physical about their emotions -- we punch walls when we're mad, we jump up and down when we're happy, and when you love someone, sometimes you just really, really want to pound them into a mattress as hard as physically possible. That's normal. That, and really, he's got his vices. He's actually fairly weak when it comes to resisting temptations, and prone to give in to urges for physical sensations like drunkenness and sex.

Is another one to be convinced that, with time, you'll come around. And is absolutely the top candidate to be one for using your own body against you - if you get wet, if you whimper, if you cum, that's just proof that you really do want this, that you're just being difficult because you enjoy being a brat, and he'll be sure to tell you that.

What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

This is nearly indistinguishable from punishment, sadistic bastard

D/S dynamics

Arrogant fucker wants to be served and worshipped, you could see it coming from a mile away. Anything that puts you beneath him is going to make him happy - anything where you're where you're supposed to be. There's a lot of options, but it doesn't really matter, as long as he feels like he's in control and ownership of you in some way, and as long as you act accordingly.

He wants it to be something that’s not just for sex, but rather, he’ll end up carrying it over into normal life, whether you like it or not. If you just went along with it in hopes of getting it over with once he cums, you’re going to be in for a treat when it starts to carry over. He gets a little too used to being worshipped, and decides he likes that submissive attitude on you enough to want to see it all the time.

Petplay/Collaring

It really helps that he sees you as something of a pet already, but really, the collar is the selling point. Even if you never go outside, there's something unbearably hot about the possessiveness of it all - really, it's there to remind you of your status as property. He wants to own you, and for you to be forced to acknowledge that he owns you, and there's really no better way to do that than something with his name on it. It's even better with a leash, one he can pull on when he's fucking you to pull you back onto him over, and over, and over, hearing it choke you the more he shortens it.

But really, having you crawl towards him on all fours and obey little commands so simple they're humiliating is pretty nice, too.

Impact pain/painplay

There's really nothing quite so powerful feeling as watching you cry and squirm from it, y'know? He's another one that just likes the marks his hands, belts, or anything else can leave all over the skin of your ass and the back of your legs. The thing with him, though, is it's not even always a punishment, he just does it for fun, and that makes it unpredictable. Will definitely make you count, it's a sadistic torture for your mind and body.

Throatfucking

May be used as a punishment measure, may just be because he's craving it, either way, even if you have a gag reflex, you won't for very long. He'll train it out of you gradually, grabbing the back of your head and just slamming all the way down into your throat, holding you there, making you choke - it's a beautiful sound, really, listening to you gag, all while your throat spasms around him, it's the best feeling, really, and will definitely be used as a threat if you need incentives to behave.

Choking

Ties into the dynamics, but really, there’s not much to say on this one. He likes the power trip from having his hands wrapped around your throat, seeing you struggle, watching your face go red, hearing those little choking noises. It puts power over you into his hands, and if you get pleasure from it against your own will, that’s even better.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

Absolutely one of the ones to use it as a tool. If you have a baby, you'll be so much more bound to him. You'll need him more, you'll want him around more, you'll be much less likely to leave, and in a way it feels a little bit like a sign of ownership over you.

That being said, he's also acutely aware of his jealous tendencies, and realizes he would also be very likely to become jealous if he felt like you loved a baby more than him, or gave it more attention and affection than you do him. He doesn't like the thought.

So ultimately, the latter side prevents him from willingly trying, but if you really, really have defiance issues even after he's tried everything he can to break you help you adjust, he might consider it.

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

If it's mild enough, he can just take the route of extremely rough fucking - it gets rid of the frustration, he likes hearing you whimper and squeal, and he can leave lots of little bruises as reminders of what not to do in the future.

But, again, he already gets off to putting you in pain - it'll be that much worse when you've done something to deserve it. Harder hits, no mercy whatsoever, and he just loves all your little cries, wiping away your tears and smiling at you, right before bringing down whatever instrument of pain he's chosen again. If you really, really make him mad, and he really wants to make you cry, he's not above fucking your ass, either, watching you cry and beg, but you'll learn with time that begging doesn't ever get you out of anything.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

Definitely an ass man. Likes fucking you in doggy, seeing the ripple every time you bounce back off of him, pulling your hair or arms to add some force. He likes seeing all the little red marks that his hands and belts and anything else will leave on the skin, views it like marks of possession. Grabbing, beating, fucking, it's all good.

#Jesus take the wheel im too nasty for this #yandere x reader #yandere genshin impact #yandere kaeya #tw: dark content #tw: noncon #tw: non/con

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volleychumps · 5 years ago

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Ok finally (my last one) a scenario where the Karasuno boys (I will always trade Kenma for Tanaka) are at a Halloween party and their crush comes in wearing the sexiest/hottest costume that boy could ever wet dream of (they’re crush lost a bet and had to wear it). I’d love to see what each boy would want their crush dressed as and to see them flustered when their crush comes over to chat them up. Again you’re an amazing writer and I hope you see these! I’m crossing my fingers.

This request was suuuper fun to write and I chose the costumes off the personalities of these nerds, I hope you enjoy!!!

I wrote for the ones I chose in the mix of our boys considering they’re scenarios, hope that’s okay!!

Karasuno Boys (+Kenma) w/ a Crush in a Sexy Halloween Costume

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Daichi (lmao don’t blame me for the choice of costume Dai is a simpleton)

“Consider yourself lucky I even came.”

“Boo, no fun, Dai!”

The captain narrows his eyes at his vice-captain as Suga shares a knowing grin with Asahi and Kiyoko as the first and second years run about through Kuroo’s abnormally large house. The shared halloween party hosted by the Nekoma captain himself consisted of the teams of Fukurodani, Nekoma, Aoba Joshai, and Karasuno along with their managers- a party in which Daichi Sawamura was not informed of the magnitude.

The Karasuno captain was decked out in a pirate costume, chosen to match with Sugawara, a costume Daichi would have never agreed to wearing had he known the party would be consisting of people outside the team he trusts.

However, there was no purpose in pouting. Before Daichi could scold Hinata and Kageyama for perpetrating a challenging game of Just Dance against Lev and Yamamoto, Yachi tugging on an arm of someone who had yet to emerge into the entrance caught his attention.

“Y/N~, come out!”

“I said I would wear it, not that I would show myself in it.” Your voice snaps, and Daichi involuntarily feels heat rise to his cheeks as he realizes: as a manager-in-training for the Karsuno team, the invite also obviously extended to you.

Daichi looks away from his conversation with his fellow third years to gape at the sight. He had definitely wondered what the girl he liked would look like in one-

he just wasn’t expecting to see it. In person, and not out of his late-night fantasies of seeing you in his jersey with nothing underneath it.

Yachi, dressed as a simple princess, giggled as you attempted to pull down the volleyball shorts that clung to your legs so tight almost like a second skin, a Karasuno jersey just barely covering your ass with low in behold-

The number one gracing your back.

Instead of the standard ponytail or braids, your hair fell in delicate waves down your shoulders, your goregous makeup out of place for the volleyball player costume you wore. You glare at Kuroo’s wolf-whistle and manage a small grin to the first-years that rush up to you-

“Y/N-chan, you look soooo pretty!”

“Shut up dobe, it’s not like our uniform is anything special-”

“It’s still a costume. She doesn’t play volleyball.”

“Thanks for the analysis, Tsukishima.” You laugh a little, moving through them to get to try and get to your seniors as you glare at the one who made the bet with you.

“Why Dai’s number, Kiyoko?” You whine, leaning on Daichi with totally platonic intentions as the captain feels himself stiffen. In more places than one.

Daichi keeps his lips sealed shut at the wink from Kiyoko as said woman shoves both Asahi and Sugawara along, claiming she needed their help with getting more drinks with the intention of leaving the two of you alone as Daichi bites back a groan. The usually steady captain leans against the wall, looking away nervously.

“U-Uhm y-you look-”

“Nice costume, Daichi-senpai.” You wink once they leave, moving to lean against the wall as well while running a hand through your hair. “Guess you could say I’m you, huh? It’s weird being in the uniform, not being a player and all-”

“Y/N.”

You arch a brow at the crack in the captain’s voice, surprised at how flushed the captain’s cheeks were before realization dawns on your features.

“You look really really nice tonight. The jersey suits you.”

“You think?” You fiddle with the hem of the jersey, noting the darkened expression on the captain’s face: either one of restraint or lust, you couldn’t tell. You smile through a bitten lip, finger tracing up his chest as you glance around, making sure no one could see as your breath tickles the captain’s ear in a surge of confidence.

“I think I’d look better without it, don’t you think?”

Daichi’s jaw slackens as you giggle, walking off to watch the Just Dance battle emerge with a sway to your hips, feeling the captain’s eyes bore into you from afar.

Looks like he could consider himself very lucky he had come tonight.

Sugawara

“Y/N, I will drag you. Don’t doubt I won’t.”

“Nooo Bokuto, You never said anything about actually coming in to the party.”

“You’re making a commotion, sweetheart.”

Suga frowns, raising the rim of his cup to his lips at Bokuto’s choice of names for you as the Fukurodani captain attempts to drag his manager into the party. Although the vice-captain knew damn well you would never make the mistake of going for the playboy known as Bokuto, Sugawara still felt an itch of jealousy at the close bond the two of you shared, hence the slightly tightened plastic cup in his hold.

Bokuto smirks at the stare from the gray-haired boy, thinking that the vice-captain should actually be thanking him, as a final tug pulls you into the party.

Suga chokes on his juice.

“A-Are you a sexy nerd, Y/N?” Akaashi manages out at the sight of his manager, heat flooding his cheeks at your knee-high socks and short school girl skirt, a pair of frames resting on your nose as your white button up only had two of the bottom buttons buttoned. Your hair had been pulled back into a messy braid, complete with a pair of open suspenders as you groan at all the eyes on you.

Sugawara moved his damn eyepatch just to make sure what he was seeing was the real thing, feeling sensual emotions wash over him at the unexpected sight.

The vice-captain remains shocked when you move through the herd of your boys to make your way over to him, a pout on your lips that was so unnecessarily attractive Suga had to gulp as you cross your arms over your chest, covering your red exposed bra with both arms.

“You’re the only sensible one here right now, Suga.” You sigh to your friend, plucking the cup out of Suga’s hand and drinking from it. “Is this capri sun? You know me so well.”

Snapping out of his trance, Suga clears his throat before chuckling lightly, tugging you out of the common area of the living room and into a more secluded, yet not completely empty room. Karui and Saeko point at the two of you excitedly, before leaving the room quickly as Suga takes even breaths through his nose- amazed he’s able to keep his composure.

“This-” Suga pulls you forward by the two sides of your exposed button up, fingers buttoning up the rest of the buttons, covering your bra. “Is dangerous in a house full of men.”

“Oh tell me about it.” You sigh as your close friend finishes closing up your top. “I lost a damn bet to Bokuto and-”

“You exposed yourself to these boys because of a bet?”

You blink at the raspiness and irritation now prevalent in Suga’s voice, suddenly at a loss for words as the look in his eyes makes your knees slightly weak.

“U-Um...yes? Is there a man to show it to only?” Your tone is teasing, but Suga’s burning stare makes your mouth go dry.

Suga clicks his tongue, eyes tracing over your figure one more time possessively as he suddenly turns, hand on your wrist.

“I have extra clothes in my car.”

He doesn’t have to turn around for you to see the redness on his features as a smile tickles the corner of your lips.

“Only if you want them.”

“Oh I do!” You chirp, letting him guide you out of the house as all tension drains out of the atmosphere, and Suga smiles to himself-

his hand moving to clasp in yours just a little tighter with his heated skin.

Nishinoya

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m a ninja. Duh.”

Nishinoya huffs, wondering why he had to explain it for the third time as Asahi laughs heartily, decked out in a sailor costume that exhibited the definition on his arms vividly. The shorter boy goes to pull his mask back up until the sound of your groaning voice catches within his hearing, the libero’s heartbeat automatically picking up.

“No! Oikawa, don’t be more of an asshole than you usually are-”

“Rude. A bet is a bet Y/N-chan~”

Pulling up his mask can wait.

Your sexy devil costume was tight in all the right places as your cheeks matched the shade of red your attire adorned as you stepped into the party, a steady silence settling around the room at your entry. Bokuto broke the silence with a sharp whoop from his spot next to Noya, who still had his jaw on the floor as you shyly pull at the leotard that resembled basically a red bikini, your attempt being futile.

Shoving out of Oikawa’s hold, you rush over to to Kiyoko, pouting all the while as the woman dressed as an angel giggled and adjusted your devil horns as she strokes your hair in a there there motion, making Noya’s heartbeat skyrocket even higher at the sight.

“N-Noya-san are you alright? You look faint.”

“I can die now. As a happy man.” The libero sniffs, not noticing you come over to the drink table and startling him from his position in front of the coolers. Now suddenly the most timid boy at the party, Noya blinks once to see that Asahi had left with the purpose of leaving him alone with his crush.

The shorter boy gulps when your finger presses at the bottom of his chin, shutting his dropped jaw as wide brown eyes gape at you, pink dusting over his features.

“You’ll catch flies.” You say simply, smiling a little through your bright red lipstick as Noya’s cheeks suddenly match your costume.

“HahAHAH flies. Right.”

You arch a brow, pulling at your stockings- oh god you were wearing stockings- as Noya tries to find steady ground, thinking that if any deity was ever giving him a sign- this was it.

As you throw back a drink, Noya does as well, the sound of the shot glass hitting the table.

“You look extremely sexy tonight, Y/N. I’m saying that in the least pervy way possible.” The words come out rushed as an amused tilt to your lips makes the libero calm a little, hand over his heart as if he was swearing something.

Your devilish attire had sent a rush of confidence through you as you find yourself playing coy.

“Well,” you take another step forward, Noya gulping when your fingers find the cloth of his mask. “I suppose this costume did make the guy I wanted to see it most find it that way.”

Noya remains frozen in shock as you pull down his dark ninja mask to place your lips over his cheek sweetly, winking once before escaping back to Kiyoko right as the adrenaline could rush down-

Noya soon following in your escape path soon after, your scent filling his nose as he wonders if he would be sinning tonight.

Kenma

“Your parties are lame.”

“Says the guy who didn’t even wear a costume.”

Kenma rolls his eyes as he relaxes more into his seat on the couch, the console in his hand sounding with beeps and the like as he mildly points a finger to the top of his head to an annoyed Kuroo through the heavy music and beer pong.

“This is a costume.”

“A pair of dollar-store cat ears is not a costume, Kenma!”

Kenma blinks at the foreign voice, looking up once to not only see a smirking Kuroo, but you-

your sensual cat costume hugging your figure amazingly along with drawn whiskers, a pair of more appropriate cat ears resting on your head than his as your sheer tights seemed to show even more skin than without them.

Subconciously, Kenma turned off his console right away, wondering just when the team manager of Nekoma he just so happened to have the biggest crush on walked into the party, much less up to him.

“Great party, Kuroo!” You beam innocently as Kuroo shrugs with an I-told-you-so expression to his childhood friend, Kenma glaring at him with flushed cheeks as the setter tries to find the right place to look. Anywhere else to look, please.

“What are you drinking, Y/N?”

“Juice. For Kenma too- and you better not be drinking alcohol Mr. Underage-”

“You’re not a manager tonight, remember?” Kuroo grins cheekily as you take a seat next to Kenma, ignoring all the pairs of eyes on you. “That was apart of the bet~”

“I’ll shove your bet right up your ass if you keep it up~” You respond in kind as Kuroo barks out a laugh before taking his leave, leaving you with the brain of Nekoma in the middle of a Halloween costume party.

Kenma clears his throat, setting his console down before looking off to the side shyly, a hand on the back of his neck.

“W-What bet did you make with Kuroo?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know- I came here in this cat costume and that’s that.” You giggle, crossing your leg over the other as Kenma’s eyes slowly trail towards the movement, looking quickly away again before shyly looking down at his lap.

“Can I take a turn?” You nod over to the shy boy’s console as Kenma mumbles a barely coherent yes, before handing it over, giving him an opportunity to calm his racing heartbeat as he watches you take it excitedly.

“Parties really aren’t my thing.”

“...Same.”

Kenma feels a quirk to one side of his lips as he watches you- something out of a wet dream- excitedly fight against a computer in his game as he suddenly becomes glad he came to this lame-ass party.

“Are you gonna watch all night or play with me?”

“I suppose beating you once or twice won’t bite.”

“Did the Kenma Kozume just give me sass?” You raise your brows at the challenge as Kenma brushes some of his hair back, shrugging confidently as the man of the hour breaks your little moment.

“How are my two favorite kittens doing?”

“Go to hell, Kuroo.”

You and Kenma look at eachother before laughing at the simutaneous reply, the Nekoma captain biting back a comment at the fact that they were bonding over insulting him-

honestly glad that his plan had worked.

Tsukishima

“I really let Saeko help Y/N get ready for this halloween party.”

“...and why are you telling me this?”

“Oh you’ll see.”

Tsukishima spares Tanaka’s shiteating grin another moment of wonder before shrugging and going back to watching Hinata and Kageyama try to outdo each other in a (furious?) game of Cards Against Humanity, finding it wonderfully hilarious that neither of them seemed to be very funny at all as Bokuto won every round.

“And so she arrives.”

“Tanaka-san, why are you telling me like I care?”

“Cut the shit, Tsukishima! The whole team knows you’re a big softie for her.”

Before the cynical blonde could absolutely deny that claim, the loud cheer of Saeko grabs his attention before doing so. Tanaka’s older sister pulls you into the party with a knowing grin on her face as you embarassedly comply, stepping into Daichi’s house party timidly.

The nurse costume your body adorned was unreasonably tight, highlighting your upper and lower body parts amazingly, matched well with a nurse hat atop your head innocenly along with knee-high socks that seemed to make your already short skirt even shorter. You wave with a shy grin to the players from Karasuno as Tanaka has to hit Tsukishima to get his attention.

“I-I’m sorry-what?”

“I knew it, you softie.” Tanaka snickers, eyes widening when he sees Hinata and Kageyama making it a race towards you to compliment your costume, shoving Tsukishima before he can think about it.

“Go! Before those two can!”

Tsukishima goes to deliver a snarky rejection to the wing spiker only to find himself bumping into you, crude words falling on silent lips as your chest presses up against his frame in the process.

“Oh crap, Tsukishima-Kun, I’m sorry!”

The blonde moves to speak, but no words come out- only a blush coming instead to involuntarily spread across his cheeks.

“D-Did I hurt you?” You squeak out, and Tsukishima finds it extremely hard to meet your eyes when literally every aspect of your body he had admired from afar before-

was simply magnified with your costume.

“No.” The blonde rasps, taking his glasses off to wipe them at the bottom of his shirt. “I’m fine.”

“Are you really? Do you need a check-up?” You joke, doing a little jazz hands pose that the blonde couldn’t help but think was absolutely adorable.

“Sure.” Tsukishima finds himself saying before he can stop himself. “Give me one. You’re supposed to be a nurse, right?”

You blink, surprised, as Tsukishima glares at the crowd of Karasuno players looking on from behind you, suddenly wishing he could whisk you away somewhere private as a majority of them giggle like little schoolboys.

You timidly take out a prop stethoscope, looking down at it and fiddling with it. “I don’t really know where your heart exactly is, much less if this thing works at all-”

Tsukishima takes the device gently from your hands, moving to put it into both his ears and the circular part over your chest, trying his best to be as gentlemanly as possible.

“Here.” The blonde arches a brow. “Your heart’s beating out of control.”

“R-Really? Oh crap, you can tell?” Your eyes widen as Tsukishima continues to pretend to listen, a smirk overtaking his features as you had fallen for his trick.

“Nope. But I now know that it is.”

You squeak when Tsukishima returns the stethoscope to your nurse pocket, leaning down to mumble in your ear,

“It’s just a prop, but you’re cute for trying.”

So, as you stood there with a dazed look in your eye and reddened features to match the red cross on your hat, Tsukishima shoved his hands in his pockets before turning and walking off, looking pleased with himself as Tanaka and his sister high five from a distance.

3K notes · View notes

wisteriashouse · 4 years ago

Text

winter’s warmth.

pairing: kamado tanjirou x sumiyuri hayami (oc)

genre: fluff

word count: 6046

remarks: i’m sorry this took so long but this fic was so!! cute i was melting every second :(( i hope hayami was in character as usual, and thank you for trusting me with your commission @hinokami-s 💖

Hayami wakes up to the feeling of cold air biting at her bare toes.

“Hnng…” Eyelids too heavy to open yet unwilling to submit her extremities to any more of the freezing temperatures of late autumn, she feels about the futon she’s lying in with a fumbling hand, searching blindly for a corner of the blanket to pull at. Instead of the cotton of her blankets, however, her hand finds warm skin - and for a moment, Hayami frowns, confused.

Rolling over in her bed, she opens her eyes fully this time - and comes face to face with her sleeping husband.

For a while, Hayami doesn’t move an inch, content with simply watching the person lying before her. Mahogany hair falling over his forehead and a gentle curve to his lips, the rise and fall of his chest a steady rhythm, Tanjirou is a lovely sight to behold in the early rays of this morning’s light. It’s the only sight Hayami wants to wake up to for the rest of her life.

Reaching out, her fingers wrap around a wizened, skeletal hand and bring it to her, her lips brushing gently over the wrinkled skin. “Good morning,” she whispers against it, feeling a secret, tender smile tugging at her own mouth.

“Good morning to you, too.”

Taken by surprise, Hayami glances up to see Tanjirou’s eyes open, a sweet smile on his face as their gazes meet. Although his eyes are still clouded with sleep, the sweetness in them is unmistakable. “You got up early today,” he says, sleep roughened voice like music to her ears. When he gestures for her to come closer, she does so, hand still gripping his tightly as he leans forward to press a kiss on both her eyelids - as gentle as the flutter of butterfly wings. “Did something wake you?”

“Just the cold,” Hayami giggles quietly at the ticklish feeling of Tanjirou’s lips ghosting over her skin. Tanjirou smiles at the sound of her laughter, the expression on his face so tender Hayami can’t help but feel gentle heat burning at her cheeks. Glancing away for a moment to collect herself, she squeezes Tanjirou’s hand lightly. “Do you have anything to remedy that?”

Tanjirou’s smile alone warms her heart, but the slow embrace he takes her in chases the cold out from her very bones. With a sigh of happiness, she settles in her husband’s arms, her back against his chest and his chin resting on her shoulder. They should probably get out of bed, Hayami has the sense to wonder, but forgets it as soon as Tanjirou begins rubbing at her hands gently. After fighting so much, so hard, for so long - isn’t this idleness the least that they deserve?

Sometimes, Hayami wakes up with the urge to pick up her sword again, to train until her hands are numb and her legs are weak. Her mind chants Muzan’s name over and over again, the desire to kill the progenitor demon so overwhelming that it renders her breathless. But now, there is no trace of Muzan left except the weakened state of Tanjirou’s arm that will never heal, and the scar tissue over her left eye from the injury that had rendered her partially blind.

Still, she can admire Tanjirou enough with a single eye, and Tanjirou’s one armed embraces are just as warm as the time he still had both.

The demon slayers have disbanded officially as an organisation - with triumph and grace, after having completed their destiny to defeat the evil that has plagued the world for years. The swords that they had carried with them for so long rest on a stand in the main room of the house, but Hayami hasn’t had need to pick it up since that fateful battle so long ago. Life has been good to them so far-

A gentle kiss to her shoulder blade pulls her back. She’s reminiscing again, Hayami realises with slight horror, in a manner all too similar to that of an old lady. “Thinking about something?” Tanjirou says with a light laugh, and Hayami quickly shakes her head to dispel her thoughts. Why, she and Tanjirou are barely into their twenties - they have their entire lives ahead of them!

And Hayami intends on spending every second of it with Tanjirou by her side.

“Nothing, just thinking about what needs to be done around the house.” To be honest, there was nothing that needed to be done with the house even as winter drew nearer - the current head of the Ubuyashiki, Kiriya, had ensured that every slayer would have the means to live comfortably after the disbandment. This house had been constructed upon the Ubuyashiki head’s command after hearing of Tanjirou’s intention to propose to Hayami as a wedding gift. Hence, it is still relatively new with no maintenance needing to be done, and Aoi has sent them enough hand pickled cabbage to last an entire winter and the rest of the year. Nudging Tanjirou in the side lightly, she asks, “What do you usually do for winter, Tanjirou?”

Tanjirou rests his chin on her shoulder for a moment to contemplate this question. “Well, when I was with the demon slayers, I would make snow bunnies with Nezuko. But before that, when I was still living with my family,” the word family makes Hayami’s heart give a little squeeze, “I would chop lots of wood to make charcoal. People in town would usually buy more around winter, but our house was located in the mountains where it’s colder, so we needed plenty of wood to stay warm as well.”

“Chopping wood?” Hayami repeats, curious. This is the first winter she will spend with Tanjirou, and back when she stayed at the Sumiyuri Estate, the family servants would take care of such household affairs. It’s a little embarrassing to think that she could have forgotten something as important as firewood. Sure, they could always buy from the merchants in town like she’d done while living alone in the mountains (with their inexhaustible supply of money from Kiriya), but where is the fun in that? “That sounds nice. How about we do that today?”

“That sounds nice,” Tanjirou mumbles into her shoulder, and Hayami glances at him to see him wearing a peaceful smile on his face, eyes shut in contentment. “But can we stay like this for a while longer?”

Hayami smiles, and rests her hand on his, lacing her fingers with his. They fit together perfectly, as if this had been their very purpose since the beginning, instead of gripping the handle of a sword. Those days are behind us, Hayami reminds herself.

“Of course you can,” she says. “We have all the time in the world.”

>>>

It’s much colder than Hayami expected.

“You didn’t have to come with me,” Tanjirou frets over her as both of them make their way up a mountain path. After bundling her in an excessive number of layers and asking three times if she needed gloves, Hayami had finally been able to reassure him that she would be fine, and that she would definitely be accompanying him up to the thicket a short walk from their house. “What if you catch a cold? The mountains are cold around this time of the year, and-”

“You’re forgetting that I stayed at Mount Saigiri for a while with Urokodaki-san,” Hayami reminds him with a light squeeze to his hand. The wood axe that they’d found in the shed earlier is hoisted over Tanjirou’s shoulder, and although Hayami had initially worried that he would struggle to accomplish this task with only one functioning arm, Tanjirou had reassured her that he would be fine. “Besides, I could help you.”

“But-” Tanjirou begins to say, before he cuts himself short with a small, slightly embarrassed smile. “Right, I… I’m just new to this idea of marriage. I know your strength, but I can’t help but want to spoil you… is that strange?”

It seems that Tanjirou will never understand how easily he can fluster Hayami, with his simple yet genuinely sweet words that have Hayami melting on the inside. How could she possibly catch a cold in the winter when he insists on making her cheeks heat like this? And perhaps, she too, will never get used to this - the gentle warmth as Tanjirou lays a swift kiss on the eyepatch over her left eye.

“As if I would ever complain about my husband wanting to spoil me,” she says, in an attempt to exact some revenge for her blushing cheeks. The moments those words leave her lips, Tanjirou’s own face colours, bright red against tan skin. Both of them stand there awkwardly for a moment, both too embarrassed to look the other in the eye.

“Well, it’s only natural to want to spoil my wife...:” Tanjirou answers shyly. When he holds out his arm once more for her to take, Hayami takes a moment to look at him in the sunlight and thinks - yes, this is the man she would be with for the rest of her life.

“Mm, of course.” Leaning over, she kisses him on the cheek before taking his arm, and both of them continue through the woods hand in hand. Not too long after, they come across a small thicket that Tanjirou declares suitable for firewood.

As Tanjirou lines up the axe with the tree, Hayami decides to take a seat on the ground to watch him. Overhead, only a few birds remain in the trees, peeking down curiously with bright eyes as they watch Tanjirou at work together with Hayami.

“I haven’t done this for a while,” Tanjirou says over his shoulder, shifting the axe blade as if deciding where would be best to cut the tree. “Don’t laugh at me if I miss it, would you?”

As if he would, Hayami thinks to herself with a quiet laugh and shakes her head. “Don’t worry about that, honey.”

Only with one hand, Tanjirou takes a deep breath and lets loose a powerful swing against the trunk of the small birch. For a moment, nothing happens. Confused, Hayami frowns, squinting at the tree with her good eye. She’s sure she saw Tanjirou cut the tree, and Tanjirou looks just as perplexed as she feels-

There’s a creak, a groan, and when Hayami looks upwards, the tree slants over dangerously - and goes falling to the ground with a deafening crash.

After the leaves settle and the birds have taken off into the sky, startled by the noise, Tanjirou and Hayami look at each other with wide eyes.

Tanjirou begins to speak. “I didn’t mean to-” he tries, when Hayami suddenly dissolves into a fit of giggles.

“So much for not being able to cut it down,” Hayami shakes her head, mirth dancing in her eyes. “Seems like you’ve still got it.”

“I guess some things can never really be forgotten.” Looking down at the axe in hand, he gives a slight smile before turning to another tree, carefully lining up the blade of the axe with its trunk once more. “This brings back memories.”

Hayami hums lightly, placing her chin on her arms so that she can watch Tanjirou more comfortably. “Oh? What of?”

“I used to bring my younger brother Takeo with me when I went into the forest to cut wood for the charcoal,” Tanjirou explains. Drawing the axe back, he swings it again, strength more controlled this time. The blade sinks into the tree and leaves a deep notch in the wood. “But he wasn’t strong enough to swing the axe yet, so he would just sit there and watch me, just like what you’re doing now.”

“From the way you talk, he sounds adorable,” Hayami says. Tanjirou smiles, a gentle warmth in his eyes. “Mm, he was. I miss my family a lot.”

Family. Thoughtfully, Hayami picks up a leaf on the ground in front of her and holds it up. She’s aware of her own desires in life - and having a family is one of them, has been ever since she was still trapped by the name of the Sumiyuri clan. But now, she wonders if Tanjirou would still truly want to start a family, considering the circumstances behind his own family’s death. If Hayami told him that she wanted children, she was sure Tanjirou would agree - but

“Hayami, do you want to help me with loading the logs?”

Tanjirou’s question pulls Hayami’s head out of her thoughts, and she scrambles to her feet. “Of course!”

She’ll have to ask him about this later.

>>>

The kotatsu is delightfully warm.

Sighing happily, Hayami tucks both her legs under the thick quilt, enjoying the warmth of the charcoal brazier as it chases away the cold from their little outing earlier. Not too long later, there’s a creak of the dividing screens that separate the rooms in the house, and Hayami looks up to see Tanjirou stepping in with two steaming cups, one in each hand.

“Here, I made us some sencha. Careful with it, it’s hot.” He places one cup in front of Hayami before taking a seat next to her, their bare feet brushing together underneath the table. With thanks and a smile, Hayami picks it up gingerly with her fingers, blowing lightly over the surface of the tea to cool it. “How’s the kotatsu? It’s been a while since I’ve set one up, so…”

“It’s fine. Lovely, actually,” Hayami tells Tanjirou as she takes a sip of her tea. The hot liquid scalds her tongue in a strangely pleasant way, warming her down to the tips of her toes. Tanjirou smiles from next to her, raising his own cup to his lips, and the two of them enjoy their tea in comfortable silence and the warmth of the kotatsu table.

It is this warmth and the familiar grassy flavour of the sencha that lulls her into a drowsy haze, the atmosphere blanketing her in cozy comfort.

“Don’t you think it’d be nice to have a family?”

Hayami almost spits out her sencha.

“Excuse me, what did you just say?” She barely manages not to spill the contents of her cup all over herself despite the shock, testament to her bygone days as one of the Pillars of the demon slayers. Hayami would have pat herself on the back if it weren’t for the words that had just escaped Tanjirou’s mouth. “I… I…”

Tanjirou’s cheeks are blazing red, which Hayami would have normally fawned and cooed over if it weren’t for the scrambled state of her mind at present, but her husband only coughs to clear his throat before he continues. “I said,” he repeats, more slowly and clearly this time, “it’d be nice to have a big family.” His voice cracks a little at the end, but Hayami is all too willing to overlook it in favour of his words.

So much for asking Tanjirou about his thoughts on having a family, because he’s beat her to it… he can’t possibly have read her mind or something along those lines, could he?

Tanjirou’s good eye is fixed intently on her face, although his good hand is fidgeting with the sleeve of his checkered haori, betraying just how much her answer will mean to him. For a moment, she dreams - of a little girl with Tanjirou’s eyes, the colour of the heart of an ancient mahogany, a young boy with Tanjirou’s smile and laugh.

Hayami imagines waking up in the morning to the sound of pattering feet on the wooden floorboards, the voices of children calling them to awaken and make them breakfast, the warmth of a humble home filled with laughter and love - one that she’s been craving for her entire life.

She can’t help the smile that forms on her face. How could she?

“A big family would be nice,” Hayami muses out loud, more to herself than to anybody else. But Tanjirou, of course, hears every word that she’s said.

The red hue on his cheeks don’t fade. From the way his hand reaches out to rest lightly on hers, however, Hayami knows he’s more than content with her answer.

>>>

A family.

Chop.

A family. Hayami wants a family. With him.

Chop.

The tree groans as it keels over to the side, the sound of branches snapping filling the winter air. Huffing out a breath, Tanjirou watches it fog in the chilly temperature and dissipate before he steps towards the fallen tree, his axe hoisted over his shoulder. Kneel down, check the condition of the trunk, before splitting it into smaller, more manageable logs. Repetitive. Familiar.

He remembers the way Takeo would sit behind him, grumbling that he wanted to have his turn at swinging the axe instead of just trimming the branches off the trunks. He remembers his first time trekking up the snowy mountains, close on his father’s heels as he explained the path to him. He remembers returning home to a hut in the woods, the fire roaring in the hearth, Nezuko and Hanako making fresh rice crackers over the brazier for them all to share.

It feels as if he has only blinked, those strong feelings of affection now laced with nostalgia, those days a tender, yet bittersweet memory.

Tanjirou had been thinking about it for a while. After getting married to Hayami with the Oyakata’s blessings, it had only seemed natural to move on to the next stage - that was, having children together and starting a family. That was until he’d remembered Hayami’s own relationship with her now estranged family. The thought had led to some hesitation on his part - on one hand, he dearly desired a family of his own, but on the other hand, if it was against Hayami’s wishes…

Hoisting his basket of neatly trimmed logs over his shoulder, he turns back to the path leading home, boots crunching in the fresh snow. Hayami had still been asleep when he’d left the house, and knowing her, she’s probably still fast asleep even now.

He hadn’t planned on asking on that day, so abruptly and out of the blue. For a moment, Tanjirou had almost regretted speaking when he’d seen the expression of shock on Hayami’s face, but when she’d smiled and told him that she would like a big family, he had almost felt his heart overflow with emotion - too much for him to convey with words, so all he could manage at the time was a light squeeze of the hand.

The walk from the thicket back to their house isn’t very long, and by the time the sun has just begun to rise over the snow capped mountaintops, Tanjirou is at the door to their house, shaking the snow from his boots.

The house is silent, just as he expects it to be, but what he doesn’t expect is for the futon in which they both sleep in to be completely empty.

Tanjirou’s out of the door before he knows it, heart racing in his chest with worry. Part of the instincts hammered into him after years of battling scream demon, but the more logical, rational side of his mind shuts that down immediately - no, Muzan has been defeated, and no demons would be returning to harm his family. Hayami is strong, strong enough to face demons and survive, surely she is fine.

Still, still…

Reaching for his boots, Tanjirou makes up his mind to go and look for her. She can’t have gone very far, and he’s worried. It’s not like Hayami to leave the house in the middle of winter, and something could have happened to her-

Scent! He smacks himself on the head. His nose, how could he have forgotten? The very thing that allowed him to hunt demons when he first started out as part of the demon slayer corps! Tanjirou has been with Hayami so long that her very own scent is mingled with his. If he can’t see her, he can definitely smell her out!

Raising his head, he takes slow deep breaths to calm himself and clear his mind, before sniffing the air carefully. Almost instantly, he catches a whiff of familiar scent on the wind, the faint floral fragrance of lavender comforting to his senses. The scent is strong, nearby. Tanjirou moves as fast as his feet will take him, circling their small wooden house and following the scent until he sees…

“Hayami!” Tanjirou cries out in shock the second he sees Hayami, slumped over on her knees. He rushes over to her side instantly, his hand reaching out to rub soothing circles on her back. Under his palm, he feels Hayami cough and retch, and panic shoots through him like Akaza’s fist through his chest.

“What’s the matter?” He asks, trying to keep his voice level so as to calm her down. Hayami shakes her head, sucking in uneven, unsteady breaths - and Tanjirou’s heart thumps in his chest with fear.

“I-I’m fine,” she reassures him, even as Tanjirou wipes the side of her mouth with his sleeve as gently as he can. To his concern, her skin feels clammy to the touch, colder than normer. It’s worrying. “I just woke up feeling a little sick, so I went out to get some fresh air. I didn’t think that this would happen… sorry for making you worry about me.”

“You have nothing to apologise for,” Tanjirou tells her before she can continue apologising. “Do you think you can walk?”

Hayami nods, looking pale. “Yes, I think I can. Just give me a moment.” The second she tries to stand, however, her knees buckle under her and Tanjirou lunges to support her before she can fall.

“Hayami!’

“Sorry, sorry,” Hayami manages weakly as Tanjirou dabs the sweat from her brow. “Maybe it was the sudden change in weather… or did I eat something wrong at dinner yesterday? I really didn’t mean to fall ill like this… I’m being such an inconvenience-”

“There’s nothing to apologise for,” Tanjirou repeats, more firmly this time. Reaching out, he scoops Hayami into his arm, struggling slightly to hoist her into a comfortable position. “Hang on tight to me, I’ll get you inside.”

Hayami’s hands curl into the fabric of his shirt, and Tanjirou carefully makes his way into the house, careful not to jostle Hayami too much. He makes a beeline straight for their bedroom, settling Hayami on the bedding. Should he call for a doctor? Someone from the Butterfly Estate, Aoi, or Kanao, perhaps? He could send a crow, but in this weather the message would take too long to deliver. He could fetch Kanao or Aoi from the Butterfly Estate himself, but he couldn’t possibly leave Hayami all alone in this state-

A gentle hand touches his cheek.

Tanjirou snaps out of his thoughts, realising that Hayami is smiling at him from the futon fondly. “You’re such a worrywart,” Hayami says, her hand moving up to poke at his forehead. “Go away, go away, frown lines…”

A small smile manages to break through the worry gnawing away at Tanjirou, and he raises a hand to clasp Hayami’s to his cheek, pressing a gentle kiss against her palm. “How can I not?” He says, with a shake of the head. Hayami only laughs, as if she wasn’t just sick and retching into the bushes earlier. Even her scent seems to have changed a little, for reasons that he’s not completely sure of. It worries him.

“I know my body, Tanjirou.” Hayami assures him, her fingers running through his hair in a rhythmic manner. Slowly, Tanjirou feels his taut muscles begin to ease. “I don’t think it’s anything serious, but it wouldn’t hurt to send a crow to the Butterfly Estate. You can stay here to keep an eye on me in case anything happens. Does that sound alright to you?”

“Sounds like a plan.” An obvious one, in fact. Was he really so worried he couldn’t even keep his head on straight for a few seconds? Embarrassing… Making to get up, Tanjirou glances over his shoulder. “I’ll send the crow off with a message right now-”

Hayami’s hand wraps around his wrist, stopping him from leaving. Tanjirou looks at his wife in surprise, but Hayami only smiles.

“Stay with me for a while longer first.”

At her behest, Tanjirou manages a slight smile through the anxious beating of his heart and seats himself next to her bedside, running his hand through the long platinum strands of her hair. In response, Hayami only closes her eyes and hums pleasedly.

When she asks him like that, how could he possibly refuse?

>>>

Tanjirou’s footsteps crunch in the snow as he makes his way back to his home.

In the distance, he can hear the sound of songbirds chirping, the steady dripping of water, the running of a trickling stream as the ice finally begins to melt, winter giving way to spring at last. This afternoon, Tanjirou had been kicked out of the house earlier - by Kanao, who got the message that Tanjirou had sent via crow and decided to make the journey all the way here to give Hayami a medical (and very private, Kanao had informed him as she steered him out of his own house) check up.

Hayami has been getting better, much to Tanjirou’s relief. She’s still sick some mornings, but the number of that happening has been decreasing steadily after Tanjirou picked out the foods that Hayami seems to have developed a sudden distaste for. Perhaps it’s the change in environment, or the change in diet due to the food available in the mountains, Tanjirou reasons with himself, as he continues up the slippery path. All he needs to do is figure out the rest of the things Hayami can’t stomach, and she should be fine once more. Besides, Kanao is here to give Hayami a look over, and she’d trained under Shinobu in the medical department while the latter was still alive. Hayami is strong. Hayami will be fine.

Tanjirou had decided to pass the time by gathering mountain herbs that his mother had used to brew tea with. Now, his basket is laden with an assortment of flowers and grasses, and he sniffs each of them carefully to make sure that he has the right ones - plants can be tricky to the eye, so it’s much safer to use his sense of smell. Satisfied with his haul, Tanjirou walks towards his house, hoping to catch Kanao before she leaves so that the two of them can catch up a little.

“I’m back!”

When he enters the house, the first thing he notices is the scent of something baking in the oven. Mildly surprised, Tanjirou glances at the clay oven in the kitchen as he sets his basket of herbs on the table. He wasn’t aware that Hayami was intending on baking anything today. Perhaps it’s for Kanao to have?

“You’re home, honey?” Hayami’s voice comes from the next room. Tanjirou sniffs the air lightly. It seems that Kanao has already left, her scent no longer as prominent in their house. “Kanao said she had other matters to attend to, so she had to leave first.”

“That’s a pity, I managed to get a few herbs for tea,” Tanjirou lets out a rueful sigh, reaching for the kettle. “Never mind, it’s alright. I’ll brew some tea for both of us, then. How was the checkup?”

“It was completely fine. Nothing’s wrong with me in the least.” Hayami’s answer is a little softer, and Tanjirou has to strain his ears slightly to catch her words. He doesn’t detect any hint of untruth in her words or in her scent, so he doesn’t question the slight change in her tone of voice. Filling the kettle with water from a wooden bucket, Tanjirou moves to put it on the fire when Hayami suddenly pipes up again.

“Oh yes, Tanjirou, could you get the things out of the oven for me? They should be done anytime soon...”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Turning to the clay oven that Aoi had made for their home, Tanjirou pulls the cover aside, reaching for the tray baking inside. When he pulls it out and sets it on the table to cool, he takes a moment to look at what Hayami was baking earlier.

Two simple, round buns sit on the tray. Tanjirou peers at them curiously, mildly confused. Only two buns? Hayami usually bakes in bigger batches than this, since their clay oven is rather large in size.

He turns to call over his shoulder. “They’re out! Do you want me to set them aside to cool?”

“There’s no need for that. Actually put them back in the oven.” The door to the kitchen slides open slowly, and Tanjirou looks up to see Hayami standing in the doorway, a hand pressed to her abdomen and a gentle, tender smile on her face. Her good eye falls on the two buns sitting innocently on the tray, and her smile widens before she looks at Tanjirou once more. “They’re not done yet… maybe, they’ll take another nine months.”

Tanjirou frowns, opening his mouth to comment on how he has no knowledge of any bun that takes a whole nine months to back before something hits him. Nine months… that duration of time sounds familiar, but why…

Nine months… a new dislike for foods Hayami had previously loved… the short bouts of nausea… a change in her scent…

The breath in his lungs seems to be trapped there, unwilling to leave, his heart pounding in his throat. Hayami smiles at him, watching the emotions play out over his face, his eyes fixed on the hand that’s resting on her belly.

“Are you…” Tanjirou’s voice breaks from sheer emotion alone. “Are you… pregnant?”

Hayami’s radiant smile is answer enough for him.

He doesn’t really remember what he does next, all he knows is the next second his arms were wrapped around Hayami, his lips pressing gentle kisses to every inch of her face he could reach. Faintly, he tastes salt on his tongue, Hayami’s tears of joy streaming down her cheeks as the two of them share this precious moment together, just the two of them.

“I…” Tanjirou can’t seem to form words. “I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“Not a dream at all,” Hayami tells him firmly, and that’s when tears finally escape the corners of Tanjirou’s eyes, overflowing with emotion.

“I can’t believe it… I can’t… we’re going to have a family, Hayami,” Tanjirou whispers, his voice rough with emotion. His own throat feels thick, and Hayami looks back at him with wet eyes, shining like the stars with the happiness contained in them. “I… I can’t thank you enough for the gift you’ve given me.”

“No need to thank me, silly, it’s going to be our family,” Hayami teases lightly through her tears, reaching up to kiss Tanjirou’s forehead. Subconsciously, Tanjirou’s own hand reaches down between them to touch Hayami’s stomach reverently, closing his eyes as if that will be able to connect him with the life growing within his wife’s belly.

“A child of our own,” Tanjirou says aloud, as if trying to test out the words on his tongue. To his surprise, Hayami only shakes her head with a little giggle, pointing back to the tray on the table. The two buns sit there innocently, the only witnesses to the joyous occasion happening in the kitchen right now.

“Two buns,” Hayami repeats, emphasizing on the number with a little poke to her husband’s nose. Tanjirou’s eyes widen, before he stares down at her belly once more.

“Twins?” He says, so hushed with shock that Hayami barely manages to catch it. Still, she laughs, nodding indulgently at her husband. Seriously, Tanjirou can really be dense sometimes.

“Yes, dear.”

Hayami squeals in surprise when Tanjirou suddenly scoops her up with his arm and spins her around once, laughing so brightly that Hayami’s heart feels like it’s singing. For all she knows, it probably is.

“I can’t wait,” Tanjirou says when he finally sets her down, his cheeks flushed from exertion and breathless. His arms remain tightly wound around her waist, loathe to let her go for even a second. “I can’t wait to have a family with you, Hayami. I want to be a good father and a good husband, I really do. I swear that I’ll do everything to take care of our family together with you. So,” he presses a kiss to her lips. “Thank you so much for blessing me with your presence in my life, Hayami.”

“You will, Tanjirou.” Hayami whispers against his lips tenderly. “I know you will.”

The two of them remain like this for a while, arms wrapped around each other as they bask in their shared happiness together, until Hayami suddenly takes a step back and twirls a strand of hair around her finger shyly. When Tanjirou looks at her with concern, she only smiles a little embarrassedly, a sight that has Tanjirou’s heart fluttering in his chest.

“So, about children’s names,” Hayami begins, “do you have any ideas?”

>>>

The mountains that the Kamado household reside in are always cold.

“Daddy, give me a hug! It’s freezing!” A little boy with chestnut hair and lilac eyes skips along the path to tug at the hem of his father’s shirt, dragging out the last word to make it as dramatic as possible. The father pauses chopping at a tree to smile at his son, before he sets the axe down and extends his arm to his child. The boy squeals in delight and throws himself into his father’s chest, laughing happily all the while.

“Oh dear, your fingers are all cold, Akihiro.” The father says, concerned as he looks over his son’s hands. The little boy nods excitedly. “Whatever will your mother say? She’d probably scold me if she sees your hands like this… let’s head back home, then.”

Akihiro barely manages to contain his energy long enough for his father to pack away all his woodcutting items before he’s jumping around his father. “Piggyback! Piggyback!” He chants, and his father smiles indulgently at him.

“Come on, Akihiro. Let’s go.”

The little boy clambers up his father’s back, before his father straightens up and the two of them make their way back, down a little mountain path marked with colourful ribbons that his wife had used to wear in her hair, tied there by their daughter so that her father and brother would never lose their way home. In the distance, not too far away, a warm glow lights up the stark mountain air.

The closer they draw to the light, it reveals itself to be a small mountain house. Small as it may be, the light pouring from the windows radiates warmth. As the two of them step onto the porch, the charcoal markings on the wooden pillars show the increase in height of two children every year, taken precisely during the first day of every new year.

At the door, father and son repeat a familiar ritual - take off boots, shake off snow, the father blowing lightly on his son’s fingers to warm them before he opens the door to his house.

“Daddy!”

A small weight throws itself into his arms and the father nearly stumbles backwards from the force. When he looks down, bright lilac eyes flicker up at him with excitement, the exact same shade as that of her twin brother’s. “Daddy, I missed you!”

“Mm, I missed you too, Ayaka.” The father leans down to press a light kiss to his daughter’s forehead, and the little girl giggles brightly. Behind him, his son pouts, waving his fist at his twin sister.

“Daddy missed me more!”

“You were with Daddy the entire time!”

“Both of you, stop bothering Daddy.” At the voice of the master of the house, both children immediately cease their squabbling, both running over to their mother, clamouring excitedly for the freshly baked sweet buns that she’s holding. With a sigh and a contented smile, Hayami steps over to her husband and kisses him on the cheek. “Welcome home, sweetheart.”

Tanjirou smiles.

“I’m home, Hayami.”

#demon slayer #demon slayer fanfic #kny fanfic #kny #kny tanjiro kamado #tanjirou #kamado tanjirou #kamado tanjirō #kimetsu no yaiba #kimetsu no yaiba fanfic #demon slayer fanfiction #kamado #kamado tanjiro x reader #kamado tanjiro

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nvvermore · 4 years ago

Text

Move

Amaryllis and Vissenta surprise each other over and over during a night at the Raven [ @vissenta-senadz ]

words: 2166

cw: drinking

NSFW: (semi?)public sex, manual sex, oral sex, orgasm denial,

accompaniment

—

“I’m going to go get another drink,” Amaryllis rises from their regular booth in the back corner of the Rowdy Raven.

“Are you sure you need another?” Julian taunts, and they’re all too aware of his eyes on them.

“Oh, cause you’re one to talk,” they pull down their veil momentarily, for the express purpose of sticking their tongue out at him. It shuts him up. “I’ll grab you another pint, it’s not like you’re able to walk in a straight line anymore.”

“I can’t do anything straight my darling-“ the rest of his retort is cut off by Amaryllis strutting away and to the bar. The two of them are barely two drinks in— hardly even buzzed at this point. But they do question their sobriety levels for a moment when their eyes catch the sight of a petite brunette at the bar and their heart races. They simply brush it off, but silently admit to themself that they might be a little too intrigued by Vissenta, if they’re doing cliché things like seeing her wherever they go.

But then Amaryllis leans up against the bar, intending to address Barth, when their eyes flirt over said brunette to find it is in fact the exact one they can’t stop thinking about.

“Ma poupée?” Vissenta turns in her seat so fast, Amaryllis is a little worried she might tip out of it and their arms almost reach out to steady her.

“Amie?” She certainly looks particularly surprised to see them here.

“In the flesh,” they grin, close enough to her that surely she can see it through their veil. “What are you doing here, cherié?”

She gestures towards them with her half-empty glass. “It’s been a long day at the shop.”

“Pauvre fille, perhaps you’d like to join me? I have a friend who’d love to meet you.” Amaryllis attempts to flag down Barth, but he merely nods their way before heading into the backroom to fetch a bottle of their regular.

Vissenta blinks. “I- sure, that sounds great.” Amaryllis holds out an elbow, and she stares at them for a moment before sliding off the stool to take it.

“Here you are,” Barth speaks up, uncorking and then sliding a dark red bottle across the bar.

“Already passing off the whole bottle, is that what you think of me, Barth?” The man merely scoffs and rolls his eyes, getting another drink for Julian. He passes off the overfull pint with a friendly wink, and Amaryllis turns and leads Vissenta back to their booth.

“So, you come here often?” she asks, and Amaryllis can’t help but giggle.

“I think we’re past the point of bad pick-up lines.”

“I was asking a question,” she pouts.

“I do, quite often actually,” they crowd her into the booth, where Julian is nowhere to be found. “Have you found yourself in here before now?”

“Yes, a few times. It’s a... cozy little place,” she comments. Amaryllis refills their own glass, and fills up Vissenta’s empty glass too.

“You say ‘cozy’ like it’s a bad thing.”

“No, I just wouldn’t have expected to find you in a place like this.”

“Oh?” Amaryllis’s brow quirks.

“You blend into all the glamour and regality so effortlessly, I never pictured you in a dive bar.” Her eyes run over their form, taking in their outfit, which— when compared to the things she’d seen them in before— was simple. “Or as dressed down as this.”

“Then it may be a surprise to hear that this is my favorite bar.”

“And people don’t mind you here?” she asks, clearly confused as to why anyone from the South End would put up with someone from the royal court. Amaryllis bursts into laughter, amused by the pieces she’s missing from the picture.

“We love them here!” Julian reappears, clapping Amaryllis on the back before sliding back into the opposite booth. “How could anyone around here not welcome such a generous benefactor!”

“Ilya…” they warn with a glare that only encourages his roguish attitude, and turn their head to meet Vissenta’s inquisitive eyes. “I’ve been haunting the South End for much longer than I’ve been in the palace’s employ.”

Julian actually notices Vissenta now, and has the sense to change the subject. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your lovely friend?”

“This is Vissenta-“

“The Vissenta?” he gasps, as if he didn’t already know, from the way Amaryllis has told him all about her. He reaches across the table for her hand, and leans forward to place a kiss on the back of it. “I’m Julian, and what an honor to finally meet you, my dear. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“All bad things, I hope?” Vissenta grins.

“Absolutely deplorable,” he takes a sip of his bitters, “Amaryllis hasn’t talked of anyone but you for weeks now.” They can feel their face heat as Julian exposes them, thankful for the veil covering most of it. Throwing another scalding look at Julian only seems to amuse him further, and he winks their way, despite the eyepatch.

“Oh?” Vissenta turns her eyes on them, “Is that so?”

Julian opens his mouth, and Amaryllis delivers a firm— but ultimately harmless— kick to his shin. “So then, you’re new to the city?” He asks instead of whatever torment he’d planned instead.

Amaryllis sits back, content to listen to Julian and Vissenta chat, sipping on their bitter wine. Vissenta gives him minimal information, but Julian is more than happy to fill in all the blanks with his own wild stories.

Somewhere along the way, Vissenta had rested her hand on their stockinged knee. For a while, she’d just left it there, every so often rubbing circles into their skin. It was comforting, intimate even, and they thought little more of it.

Until the hand starts ghosting up their leg, sliding across nylon to touch the bare skin of their upper thigh. When her fingers meet the slit in their skirt, she continues on and slips her fingers underneath. Amaryllis expects simple teasing, light touches, encouragement for them to whisk her away for the night. But it seems Vissenta has other plans, because her fingers don't stop until she finds them already bare and wet for her. Beside them, she hums as her finger grazes through their folds, pretending to still be fully absorbed in what Julian is saying.

Amaryllis has half a mind to stop her, but they can’t deny— to themself, at least— how incredibly hot this is. Vissenta deciding that she’s going to touch them, and that she can’t even wait until they’re alone to do so. Tucked into the dim back corner of the populated tavern, with Julian looking directly at the two of them while none the wiser. They aren’t all that worried about getting caught, they started sitting here years ago for a reason, after all, and the worst case scenario is Julian catching on.

They have to bite down on their lip, hard, to stifle the moan that threatens to spill out as Vissenta firmly circles their clit. All the while she's chatting away with Julian, seemingly fully engaged in the theatrical anecdote he's telling. She really has no plans to tease, and alongside the intense pleasure they’re uneasy. Vissenta is working them in just the right way, the way she knows quite well will make them come undone in a matter of minutes. They attempt to focus on his tall tale, barely managing to hold back their sounds. But trying to distract from Vissenta’s pointed caresses was useless.

It only takes a few more strokes before Amaryllis is coming against her hand, in the middle of the crowded tavern. They’re got a white knuckled grip on the edge of their seat, and the noise of the bar and Julian’s voice becomes a dull thrum. Amaryllis doesn’t tune back in until Vissenta’s voice cuts through their daze.

“Amie, you doing okay?” she grins, all too satisfied with herself. At some point, she’d pulled her hand out from under their skirt, and— ever so discreetly— pops her fingers into her mouth. “You look a little pale.”

“You know, I haven't eaten much today,” they smooth down their skirt, hoping they hadn’t soaked it in the process.

Julian pauses his story and ungloves his hand, reaching across the table to feel their forehead. “You are a little warm,” he decides.

“I’m fine, Doctor Jules.” Amaryllis half-heartedly bats away his hand. “Perhaps I’ll go get some air.”

“Perhaps, you should eat something.”

They glance at Vissenta. “Oh, I will.”

- - -

Amaryllis only has to wait a few minutes at most, when the alleyway door to the Raven opens and quickly closes, Vissenta appearing before them. With one last drag, they toss aside their cigarette, crushing it under their boot.

“Well that wasn’t very polite,” they comment sarcastically, to a very smug Vissenta.

“You’re the one who taught me all about the advantages of dresses. I was just showcasing what I’ve learned.” She closes the distance between them, her hands sliding around their hips to cup their ass.

“Then, I think I have another lesson for you.” Amaryllis’s hands fall to Vissenta’s, snatching them up and flipping their positions. She moans when her back crashes against the stone wall.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“And what was it exactly, that you thought so much about, to the point you couldn’t even wait until we were alone?”

“Your mouth…” Amaryllis unlaces her pants, and slowly inches them down.

“What about my mouth?”

“On me, tasting me,” she whines, eyes flitting down to watch Amaryllis get down on their knees and pull down their veil.

“Since you’ve been waiting for so long…” Amaryllis digs their nails into her thighs as Vissenta spreads them further, and they seal their mouth over her cunt.

Amaryllis follows her lead from inside, no teasing tonight, only vigorous lapping and sucking in exactly the way they know will have her keening in a matter of minutes.

Her legs shake, knees threatening to buckle as she grinds into their mouth. One hand is yanking on their hair, hard enough to get them going all over again, and the other is sealed over her mouth, muffling her cries. Amaryllis counts down in their mind, just a few more seconds, and then—

—Amaryllis abruptly gets to their feet, stepping backwards as their eyes rake over her debauched form.

Vissenta cries out, no longer in pleasure but in utter betrayal. Amaryllis licks their lips, collecting what they can of her taste before tugging their veil back up over their face.

“This should teach you not to be so bold as to touch me before you’ve earned it.”

“Fuck, Amie,” she begs, “please, I’m so sorry, I won’t do it ever again, I swear, I’ve learned.”

“Oh, you will learn cherié. And I’m punishing you to make sure.” Vissenta groans in frustration, head falling back against the stone. “I’d tell you that you aren’t allowed to make yourself come, but your own fingers pale in comparison to my mouth.”

In an expected show of complete bratiness— exactly what they were hoping for— Vissenta glares at them and starts to touch herself. With an amused laugh, Amaryllis turns on their heel and re-enters the tavern, Vissenta’s complaints falling on deaf ears.

- - -

It doesn’t take very long for Vissenta to follow Amaryllis back inside either, but instead of cocky, now she's very incredibly displeased. Perhaps it’s not as obvious to anyone else, especially not to Julian, whose lap she's been seated upon as she flirts away with him for the better part of an hour.

Amaryllis knows what she’s trying to do, but what she doesn’t know is that it would never work, not in a million years, and certainly not when it's Julian she’s batting her lashes at. It's cute, how unaware she is. The more unaffected they look, the harder she tries, going as far as to nip at his earlobe when she whispers something that turns him as scarlet as Amaryllis’s hair.

It’s that move that scares him off, and suddenly he’s realized how late it’s gotten, and he needs to get some rest before working all day tomorrow. All of which, Amaryllis knows is bullshit.

“Nothing?” Vissenta asks, indignant, when Julian is out of earshot.

“What?” Amaryllis sips the last of their wine. Vissenta doesn’t answer, just leans back in the booth with a pout. “Were you expecting me to become jealous?” Amaryllis laughs, which only serves to deepen her scowl. “He's the last person in this whole bar I'd be jealous over seeing you with. He's not capable of fulfilling your needs the way I can. In fact,” they rise from their seat to stand in front of Vissenta. Amaryllis grabs her chin, tilting her head up to force her to look at them, and their voice turns into a low murmur. “I'm sure he’d be the perfect example to show you how good sluts are supposed to behave.”

#u know what im posting at ass oclock #deranged #anyways #amaryllis leroux #vissenta senadz #visamie #not quite visamilya #amie fic #spicy #lemon #my fic

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wicked-game-black-butler · 5 years ago

Text

Lithium

Tick. Tock.

The room descended into a midnight blue, the golden rays of the sun having chased their way out of the study some time ago. Dying embers crackled in the hearth where a large wingback chair was tucked close to the mosaic lined fireplace. It was cold. The frigid, numbing tendrils of winter’s dusk slowly crept into the grand room. But Ciel did not move from his seat to stir the embers back to life. He did not call for Sebastian for a blanket. A blanket wouldn’t help. Ciel was always cold.

Tick. Tock.

He cast a scathing glare at the clock which sat above the mantle. The vexing machine still marched on, just as he did, with automatic purpose- to document the passing of time. Time. It was a cruel thing. It took from all, ever hungry. Heartless. Unfeeling. Insatiable. Everything he had striven to be. But even the great Earl Phantomhive was not immune to time, just like he was not immune to the feelings he had so desperately tried to deny. And as it carried on, it had taken from him as it did all things until he was left an echoing husk. Empty.

Tick. Tock.

With a heavy sigh he rose from the leather chair, his joints aching from sitting for so long. His fingers reached toward the ceiling as he stretched his petit frame. Casting the mocking instrument one last condemning glance before leaving the room and stepping into the dark hall. Sebastian would be venturing up soon to inform him that dinner was prepared in the dining room, but Ciel couldn’t be bothered. He wasn’t hungry. Nothing could satisfy the gaping void which had made its home inside him.

Tick. Tock.

His eyes ached as he ventured down the dimly lit hallway, the only light from the deepening shades of twilight. Sebastian. Now he was a creature who was kin to time. He was just as heartless, as unfeeling, and as ravenously insatiable. Just as Ciel’s revenge had been. How he wished his vengeance would be fulfilled. Hadn’t it taken enough? Would such a hollow victory be worth everything he’d had to offer in return? There had been a time when he had thought it was. But that was when the manor was filled with warmth, light, laughter, and the love of his remaining family and devoted servants and friends. Now it was nothing but cold darkness. The rooms which were once kept with pristine care had, according to his order, fallen into disrepair. Dust and cobwebs were now their greatest adornment. And the halls which were once pathways, like veins, directing the life that resided within, were only haunted with the ghosts of those who had once traveled them.

Tick. Tock.

The sun had fully set by the time he made it to his chambers. Though that was no issue- he could navigate the sparsely furnished room even in the consuming darkness. His hand ran along the soft down duvet, the mattress giving ever so slightly under his weight as he sat on the side of his bed. Even now the balls of his feet barely grazed across the cold, smooth surface of the wood floor. In all this time not much had really changed, yet everything was completely different. Suffocating silence descended on him, the gaping maw of its soundless scream deafening and his chest tightened. Nights were always the most difficult, when his loneliness was most acute. For when he was surrounded by the blinding, oppressive cloak of darkness he found his vision most clear. He was alone. Yes, terribly alone. In the night. In the dark.

Tick. Tock.

He had known Sebastian was there before he announced himself, had felt the pull of the demon’s presence before he had set foot into the room. Ciel squinted, a jabbing pain shooting through his temple as, with a snap of the butler’s fingers, a healthy, roaring fire sprang to life in the hearth, a fresh flame dancing atop the candles of the candelabra which sat on his bedside table. Sebastian always brought warmth.

“My lord.” Sebastian said quietly, “You are in bed.”

“I am.”

Ciel did not look when the demon soundlessly made his way to the corner of his bed.

“But you have not taken your dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.”

Silence.

“My lord.”

His call was barely a whisper, but the tenderness in that honeyed tone made his heart ache painfully. Without thinking, he desperately grasped a handful of his shirt and took a shuddering breath, twisting the pressed fabric as if that alone would seal the weeping cracks of his heart.

“My lord.” the whispering call came again and Ciel looked up in time to see Sebastian kneel before him, “Your hands are cold.”

With gentle movements, Sebastian pried his fingers from his shirt, taking the Earl’s hands in his own. Ciel sighed at the contact- skin on skin- and closed his eyes, relishing in the warmth of Sebastian’s touch. Both had stripped off the charade some time ago- Ciel his eyepatch and Sebastian his gloves. There was no need to hide any longer. There was no one left to see.

A sob sat at the back of his throat, tears burning his eyes beneath closed lids, as the demon wrung his master’s hands with his own, his fingers prickling with discomfort with the return of feeling. Only Sebastian could bring back feeling.

“My lord.”

The third call fell from his servant’s lips and Ciel opened his eyes, a few stray tears escaping from his mismatched gaze. Before him Sebastian still knelt, his expression calm and neutral as always, though his crimson eyes were lit with hungry curiosity.

“Is there anything I can do to help you?”

Ciel paused at the question, knowing full well what the demon meant. There was only one thing which could make him feel, could lift him above the drowning waters of nothingness. Something that satisfied more than any cake, more intoxicating than any of Lau’s drugs. Sebastian.

“Yes.” he answered quietly, yet firmly, “Sebastian, please. Make me forget.”

Tick. Tock.

Sighs and groans filled the room. Sweat glistened off alabaster skin. The air was thick and heady with desire. The bed, which had been neatly made but a half hour ago was a wrinkled mess, blankets strewn about from the passionate, undulating movements of the two men. For every cry of Sebastian’s name, he answered in kind. Every touch, every thrust was like fire in his veins- all consuming.

Ciel rocked back against Sebastian as he buried himself deep inside his master, the electric current of pleasure traveling from his cock and up his spine, his back arching from the sensation. His face pressed against his pillow, which was wet from spit and tears, losing himself in the brief refuge of this blissful moment. In this moment there was no empty manor, no dead loved ones, no revenge. Only the burning of desire, the intoxicating pleasure, the stretch, the fullness, the pain. Sebastian.

Tick. Tock.

The candles still flickered with the same healthy light they had an hour ago. Ciel watched the dancing flames, laying on his back, naked, his cheeks flushed, and his eyes drooping with satisfaction. His body was spent, but in its wake something vaguely resembling contentment rested in his chest, however short lived it might be.

The bed shifted as Sebastian rose and Ciel’s gaze roamed the demon’s form, memorizing every dip and curve of shapely muscle before, with a flourish of his hand, his butler’s uniform materialized and enveloped his frame. Once properly dressed, he turned on his heel to face his reclining master.

“Is there any more I can do for you, my lord?”

And there it was- the professionalism, the indifference. With one question the facade shattered and, with a wrenching twist of his heart, Ciel was plunged back into his melancholy. Sebastian did not care. The pleasure he derived from him was no more than what the butler could extract from a common whore. Sex was a duty, part of his service to his mature master, and nothing more.

He turned his attention away from the other man and fixed his gaze on the canopy of his four-poster bed, the tendrils of numbness already beginning to spread out from his heart to take hold in other parts of his body.

He had asked Sebastian once, if revenge was always so lonely. After chiding him for his odd display of sentimentality, his tone became more serious and he answered that he could not be sure. Given he had no capacity to love, he had no grasp on what loneliness might feel like. Though he had heard the same sentiments from some of his previous masters and human literature seemed to reflect the same, providing a new twist to the phrase “revenge is a meal best served cold”.

Sebastian waited, ever patient, for his master’s command. Ciel closed his eyes, the welcome, ebbing lull of exhaustion moving him closer to longed for unconsciousness. With each breath, silence pressed in on him, the only sound which dared to defy the consuming void was that of the steady ticking of the clock, both constant and mocking. It sneered at his suffering, cruelly reminding the Earl it would continue on- with or without him. And how Ciel longed it would be the latter.

“Leave. And take the clock with you, too.” he commanded, not bothering to open his eyes.

“Yes, my lord.”

Ciel remained still, chest rising and falling with each second. And, though he could not see Sebastian, he could feel him as he moved about the room. The candelabra was extinguished. The fire was stoked. The only other sign Sebastian had left was the soft click of the door as it closed behind him.

The tears flowed freely now- silent, a welling sorrow breaking free from his chest in the butler’s absence. He turned, burying his face in the pillow to drown out the strangled sobs that fought to slip from his lips and cupped the sides up to cover his ears. For, though he was sure Sebastian had carried the clock from his chambers, he could still hear the steady rhythm in his mind- cruel and taunting.

And, in that moment, the realization of his solitude crushed him. He was so terribly alone- in the night, in the dark.

Tick. Tock.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

This is a submission for @griever-bit-my-finger‘s SebaCiel song event, for the day for Sad Songs. It was inspired by Lithium by Evanescence and Still Here by Digital Daggers.

#sebacielmusicweek #sebaciel music week #kuroshitsuji #fanfiction #aged up sebaciel #sebastian michaelis #ciel phantomhive #black butler

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lesbiancookies · 4 years ago

Text

Thank You For Your Time

Timekeeper pays Millennial Tree a visit.

word count: 1,002

ship: TimeTree

based on this art (made by me)

if you like this, please consider reblogging so others can see it!

“Hello!”

“Good to see you again.”

The voice rang in his ears like the pleasant gong of a clock tower, deafening in all the best ways. He loved the sound; it was a commanding announcement of her presence, despite being alone with him. Millennial Tree smiled gently, hands folded politely in his lap. Never mind the fact that the chronokinetic woman had shot full force out of a portal, one leg swung over the other in that classic position of theirs. Only did she stop when the tip of her scissors ever so barely grazed his throat.

“What brings you here today, Timekeeper?” he asked, tilting his head ever so slightly so as to be careful of the point pressing lightly against his skin. She hummed at the query, pulling the scissors away and stretching out.

“Only wanted to see how my favorite all-powerful god was doing… oh, wait. That’s me! Hmm, well, then I don’t know. I do what I want, that’s all,” they punctuated their words with a giggle, grinning like the cat that got the canary. “Anyway, how are you doing?”

Millie laughed under his breath, standing up and brushing out his robes. “I am assuming that you asking that is.. unrelated to your visiting me? I am doing well, if you must know,” the tree teased.

“Of course I must know! How else am I to defeat you one day if I am not checking up on you regularly?”

The two of them had been through this many times before, going in circles like a dog chasing its tail each time. Millennial Tree and Timekeeper were on good terms, but how much of it was real and how much of it was unspoken rivalry was another thing entirely. Millennial Tree was enamored with the fantastically absurd woman, finding her antics silly. She acted on a whim at all times, deciding things at the drop of a hat and never planning out her next move, it seemed. they did what they wanted, when they wanted to. He supposed that was the magic of having the ability to travel through time and space at her will. He felt comfortable around her, despite her constant threats and the poking of a pointed blade at his body whenever she visited.

Even with her quick wit and impulsivity, she was still calculative plenty of the time. She never caught the tree off guard in a way that would actually threaten his life. She wanted a battle on equal footing, because what was the fun in catching someone at a low point and snapping their head clean off? Easy, definitely, but very boring. She loved fun! And what fun Millennial Tree could be! Timekeeper didn’t respect him or his power, no, but they enjoyed toying with him and seeing what buttons they could push. He was so level-headed; it was fun seeing him get irritated. Oh, she could only hope for the day he actually got angry enough to attack her.

“I do not think defeating me will be a necessary achievement at any point, Timekeeper,” Millie responded, soft smile still in place and tone laced with amusement, “I do enjoy my time spent together with you, of course. I would hate to discourage you from visiting me as often as you do.”

“No matter, I will become stronger, you know!”

Ah, there was that flame and determination in her eye that the tree loved so much. The tension was faint, but it was there, as it always was when he provoked them like that. As with most things, he found it very entertaining, especially with such little risk behind it. She would never attack him, not unless he did so first. He had no plans to; he only had plans to continue teasing her like this and observe her reactions fondly.

“I am sure you will,” Millie said, expression unchanging.

Timekeeper was silent for a moment, staring intensely. The smooth gem imbedded in the gear-shaped eyepatch gleamed mischievously and the catlike grin never dropped. Her head was laden with millions of ideas, practically swimming in them. Why couldn’t she read him? Very well, she would simply have to do more research. Though she could see him within other timelines, it was difficult to access and even harder to understand. Such is the way of his own powers, she assumed.

Timekeeper hummed in thought and tapped a finger against their chin. “Our time together has been informative as always,” she finally said. She hadn’t learned anything this visit as per usual, so that was a lie, “but I should go. I have many matters to attend to.”

“I very much enjoy spending these moments with you. I do hope you’ll come around again soon, yes?”

“Perhaps,” was the contemplative response as scissors tore a rippling portal into the sky. Timekeeper took one last look into Millennial Tree’s practically adoring gaze, waving him a goodbye behind her as she zipped into the portal. The tree’s hair whooshed in the wind that the rift whipped up.

As it closed, something dropped into the grass, clearly having come from the still rippling sky where the portal had been created. The tree knelt down to pick it up, curious. A broken key..? He didn’t know what to do with this, assuming the long gone woman had left it behind. Though… Timekeeper had most likely left this on purpose. He had not a clue what to do with it, but perhaps he could ask around amongst the others. Either way, he would hold onto it. It felt important to do so, and maybe she would come around to visit him again if he kept it on his person.

Millie turned away from the closed rift, making his way back into the woods to clear his head. Timekeeper seemed to have that effect on him, making him feel some kind of way that he could never describe. He didn’t dislike it, but he had other matters to tend to now.

#cookie run #millennial tree #timekeeper #timekeeper cookie #millennial tree cookie #timetree #fanfic #writing #im so sorry i havent written anything in like 300 years its not the best but im proud of it #also in case anyone is wondering timekeeper alternates between she and they pronouns here #thats my own personal hc #timekeeper is a she they bitch #enemies to lovers #enemies to lovers fuels my soul

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songfell-ut · 5 years ago

Text

Chapter 13, something luck something

I gave myself the feels, @lostmypotatoes send help

Link here.

“…AND THIS, MY INTREPID YOUNG FRIEND, IS…THE ROYAL GUARD!! NYEHHHHHH!”

They’d stopped at the head of the staircase in the Grand Hall. Her new skeleton friend had thrown his arms wide at a line of monsters standing motionless in shiny black armor, as proud as a child showing a visitor his favorite toys. “NYEHHH,” he added reverently.

The Royal Guard was quite impressive, like gleaming statues that could come to life and kill you, but Frisk wasn’t scared. She could see their ears poking out from their helmets, and some of them looked pretty silly: a couple of dogs, a cat, a rabbit, a bug, something like a lizard or dragon…

But then there was their Captain, who had just removed her helmet. She did not look silly. “UNDYNE!” Papyrus blared at the tall, eyepatched fish-woman. “THIS IS KRIS! SAY HELLO TO HIM! …ER, UNDYNE? HIS NAME IS KRIS, NYEH HEH! …HE IS A HUMAN! …NYEH? UNDYNE?”

No answer. Undyne’s scarred, scowling, evil-toothed countenance did not waver. Her webbed hand was clenched on the shaft of her spear, cerulean scales and mostly-yellow eye glittering in the witchlight. Even her red ponytail looked menacing as it fluttered in the breeze of passing dignitaries.

The human’s path was clear. Her expression went blank with determination. Frisk looked around and saw vases full of fresh flowers against the wall; as the monsters glanced at each other in confusion, the child selected a vase, tossed out the flowers, lugged the vase back to the Royal Guard Captain, and, with one almighty heave, threw the water right into Undyne’s face.

Frisk woke him even earlier than they’d planned, looking as though she hadn’t slept and sounding very businesslike. Sans was too groggy at first to remember last night, and before he could wonder if it had even happened, she was already laying out their plan for the day.

And…it was not what they had discussed yesterday. It was the opposite. “Lemme get this straight,” he said when she was finished. “Ya don’ wanna sneak out anymore. You wanna tell everyone an’ their mom that we’re takin’ the monsters back t’the Underground as a goodwill gesture in exchange for more cool monster stuff.”

“Yes.”

“So we’re goin’ out as a big deal that everyone knows about, on purpose?”

“Yes.”

“We’re gonna let ‘em think you already cleared it with the King ‘n everything’s fine?”

“Yes.”

“That’s…that’s a big fat lie.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Yes it is.”

“No. It isn’t.”

“Yuh-huh.”

“I’m not an idiot, Sans! If we disappeared without any indication whatsoever of where I’d gone, His Majesty would assume I’d been abducted and send soldiers after me. I just woke him up a few minutes ago and told him where we were going, and why.”

Something about the way she said it made him ask, “And he’s okay with it?”

Frisk smirked. “We’re going.”

Departing with a lot of fanfare actually took less effort than Sans expected. All he had to do was go down to the stables, announce that Her Eminence was leaving immediately on an important diplomatic mission, hand over her written instructions, and then stand back. For once, his scariness was a real advantage: by the time Frisk brought down the group of silent, shivering monsters, the wagons were already in place, the horses hitched up, and the cargo nearly loaded.

The priestess had been busy mobilizing a small army of assistants, which was a lot easier than their original plan to have him teleport everything from her room. Their provisions and gifts for the Underground were brought down and loaded according to the diagrams Frisk had drawn for the monsters: one wagon was for Ice Cap, who would travel with the majority of the food, while the other had Pyrope and Vulkin, who were wrapped in fireproof blankets and seated away from anything flammable. The other monsters would ride with them in order to stay warm—the canvas wagon covers were good for privacy, but didn’t keep out much of the wind.

Sans had made himself scarce while the work was going on, but when everyone and everything was in place, he stepped up to make Frisk get in with the flame monsters instead of riding up front in the lead wagon. She’d been standing in a corner of the freezing yard to supervise the last preparations; in her full High Priestess regalia, she was as impressive as ever, but he’d watched her closely and seen her trying not to cough.

As her personal guard, and her…whatever the hell they were now, it was his duty to not let her get sick again, but his official consideration was for her safety. They were traveling with a cortege of twelve guards, which would deter most attackers and also help clear traffic ahead of them, but there was no point in putting her on display for someone to take potshots.

They wheeled out of the castle gates and onto the main thoroughfare just after sunrise. Sans wasn’t a big fan of walking, or being in the cold, but his slippers and overcoat were mostly adequate. He wished he could poke his head into the wagon to check on Frisk, but she had asked him not to let the other monsters see him yet; besides, he heard her humming at a couple of points and figured she was busy keeping them calm. Pyrope was a twitchy little bastard, and Vulkin had a bad habit of “helping” via lava, so he’d just leave her to it.

The day passed, and to their pleasant surprise, they reached Frisk’s house on the outskirts of the city long before dark. That gave them more time than expected for Frisk to unload the monsters and shepherd them into the house; Sans grabbed enough food for that night and the morning, and the attendants took the wagons and horses to the nearest inn. Two guards took up positions outside the house before they locked the door for the night, and that was that.

None of the monsters had spoken or made eye contact with anyone all day, to Sans’ knowledge. As soon as they were gathered in the dining room, the priestess allowed him to step in and say, “Heya.”

Frisk retreated as the monsters came alive, swarming around the giant skeleton and all babbling at once in frantic relief. He had been somewhat scary to them in the relative peace of the Underground, but seeing him now was the best possible reassurance that the High Priestess had not been lying or playing some kind of sick game with them: they really would be home by the day after tomorrow.

After a few minutes, Frisk came back into the room, bare-headed and wearing a loose white gown, for Sans to re-introduce her as “Kris,” the not-really-a-boy from the human delegation. Six of the eight remembered her, and Pyrope got so excited that he left a couple of smoking holes in the carpet.

When everyone was done eating and talking, Frisk directed Ice Cap to the attic, where they could safely leave the little window open to keep it cold, while Sans built up the kitchen fire and made an asbestos-blanket fort for the flame monsters. The others sprawled out on the beds or any patch of floor they could, safe and well-fed; still, Sans noticed how uneasy they were, and understood what that was like. He just hoped they’d be able to feel safe again.

Once everyone was settled, Frisk was nowhere to be found. Of all the damn places she could’ve slept in, Sans finally found her wrapped up in her cloak in the bathtub. “Frisk,” he said accusingly.

She made a noise explaining that she was fine, a monster could have the remaining bed.

“Nope.” The priestess squeaked as he bent to scoop her up in both hands. “C’mon, kitten. Time ta sleep literally anywhere else.” Before she could object, he walked her into the smallest bedroom, dropped her onto the bed, and threw a comforter over her. “There. G’night.”

Frisk struggled to sit up. “Wait, where—”

Sans lay down on the floor and sighed noisily. “We’re not t’the Underground yet. Let’s just go ta sleep, okay?”

“…Okay. But, Sans—”

The boss monster emitted a loud, sustained fake snore, cut short by her pillow landing on his face.

Either the demon-child was still satisfied from the other night, or they were just too tired to be reachable, because they woke from a dreamless night to another stiff, sore day of travel.

The monsters were more animated today as they loaded into the wagons, which Frisk took as a good omen. Granted, there was a delay when Sans got too close to the draft horses and scared them so badly that the grooms had to unhitch them for a quick jog around the block, but the crowd gathering on the street to watch still cheered and waved as they set off.

It was another bitterly cold day, and as Frisk leaned into Vulkin, she tried not to think too much about spending the night in the no-man’s-land. King Stephin had still been sleepy when they talked yesterday morning, and the best objection he’d come up with on the spot had been the diplomatic ramifications of bringing so many humans so close to the Underground. She’d countered with the proposal that they leave all their attendants at the border and have Sans handle both security and transportation from then on, as he was a monster and knew the area well. The King tried to backpedal, but Frisk had gone on about a smaller group being faster and safer, attracting less attention, needing fewer provisions, etc., until he gave in.

“Very well. I will ask His Holiness to arrange the necessary financial matters for each monster,” the King had said coolly. “I am trusting you, Frisk, to bring back favorable news, and prove that this mission is any better than a child’s tantrum over not getting her way.”

“I wonder that Your Majesty has ever spent enough time with a child to see one,” she shot back, eliminating any chance of leaving him on a polite note.

Unfortunately, Frisk was now so busy thinking of that conversation – and trying to ignore the bruises she was accumulating from riding in a big, jouncing cargo wagon – that she forgot to mention it to Sans until they stopped for a break several miles outside the city. He’d started bemoaning the logistics they had to work out for that evening, trying to get all these guys fed and coordinated and bedded down and what they were going to do with the horses, and she had to cut him off with “They’re not coming.”

The guards and drivers looked up from their roadside sandwiches at a furious, smothered explosion of sound. They glanced at each other as the massive skeleton growled down at the priestess, but she didn’t seem worried, so they resumed eating as Sans carried on snarling and gesticulating.

Frisk could understand why he was upset, but the third time he ended a sentence with “—‘n did I mention I’m not a fuckin’ horse?!” was enough. “Sans,” she said, and he stopped. “Calm down and think about it. This may actually be safer. Have I ever shown you how I can hide something with a barrier?”

“Uh…” The boss monster shrugged crankily. “I know you’ve got a lotta different tricks.” Snort. “Any chance ya have somethin’ that’ll pull the wagons for us?”

“Yes. You.”

Sans blinked, and covered his face with one hand. “God damn it.”

Frisk turned her back to the guards so she could grin at him through the veil. “It takes a lot of strength, but if it’s just the two of us and the wagons, I could keep us completely hidden for short periods,” she said, more somberly. “In your opinion, is it safer to move by night, or camp outside the border till morning and then make as much time as we can?”

The skeleton tapped his dusty slipper on the grass, thinking out loud. “It’s probably better t’go at night. A lot of this place is so flat that you can see fer miles on a clear day. I can get by pretty well in the dark, so yer right. If we don’t have all of these dorks walkin’ with us ‘n makin’ noise, you’d just need ta cover up the wagons. It’s mostly bedrock out here, so with the wind blowin’ the sand around, we shouldn’t hafta worry about tracks.”

“I see. How far should we try to get tonight? I don’t think we can make it all in one push.”

“Not if I’m all we’ve got,” he grumbled. “Let’s get t’the fence and see how we’re doin’.”

Frisk had a word with the drivers; when they started again, they went at a quicker pace, the better to reach their destination and allow the men and horses time to get back to the nearest village before dark.

She grew more and more apprehensive as the hours passed, and finally dug out her satchel of clothing, asking the monsters to close their eyes so she could change into a more practical dress than her High Priestess leg-trap. Not long afterward, the wagon slowed and ground to a halt; they were at the border, a day’s journey from the Underground.

Sans waited till the other humans were almost out of sight to tell the monsters, “Come on out, guys.”

All but the flame monsters piled out to stretch their legs and wings while Sans ran a trace of red magic along the wire fencing. Frisk watched him pluck at a seemingly solid strand, revealing a length of twine holding two cut pieces together. “Humans go in ‘n out this way,” the skeleton informed her. “’s like havin’ a gate. They just untie it and tie it back up behind ‘em.”

Frisk shook her head and hugged herself tighter under her cloak. Sans didn’t have time to admire how the cold air had turned her cheeks red, or be really irritated at how the men had all gawked at her without her veil, but he did it anyway while the monsters got ready to resume their places. “So,” the skeleton said, resigned, “how’re we gonna do this crap?”

Five minutes later, Sans was trudging along in the fast-fading light, his hands shoved in his pockets, the wagon’s shafts wedged between his wrists and his hipbones so he could pull it in lieu of a horse. Frisk sat in the driver’s seat of the second wagon, whistling softly and watching the tufts of red magic keeping its shafts upright. Sans had to admit that the flat terrain and the laws of physics made it easy to keep the wagons going once they’d started…but it still sucked.

“Are you doing all right?” the priestess asked at one point.

“Neigh,” he responded, and she started snrrking so hard that he threatened to stop and make her pull the damn wagon. Then he had to deal with that mental imagery until it got darker and he could focus on maintaining a tiny speck of magic to sharpen his night vision. It was nearly a new moon out, perfect for moving in secrecy.

It happened some time after midnight. The monsters had fallen asleep; the priestess was dozing, and Sans was on the verge of stopping for the night when a shriek rang out from the wagon behind Frisk, who nearly fell off her seat. Sans had to lift her down for her to run back, leap into the wagon, and rouse Vulkin from a nightmare, humming urgently to quiet her.

“Shit,” Sans muttered as a torch flared in the distance. “Hey, kitten?”

She didn’t waste any time: a whistle raised a golden bubble around them, and Sans winced at the sheer power crackling through it. For the first time, he found he was less worried about being trapped inside a barrier than he was about the amount of magic it was costing her.

Minute after minute passed. Strange human voices drew way too close, and Sans could only stand there while Frisk held the spell steady, diverting enough magic to soothe the terrified monsters. The giant skeleton had no idea how she was blocking both sound and light and hiding the barrier’s presence from the other side while she hummed, but she did it, because the poachers soon concluded that it’d been a false alarm and wandered back the way they’d come. “They’re gone, sweetheart. Drop it,” Sans ordered, and he heard a ragged sound as the barrier evaporated.

That was enough. Sans set the wagons’ brakes, grabbed as many rocks as his remaining magic could carry, and formed stacks under the shafts to hold them upright, then stuck most of his head into the back of the wagon. “I’m so sorry,” whimpered Vulkin. “I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s not yer fault,” he said roughly. In the monster’s glow, he could see the priestess lying on the wagon floor, resting her head on her forearm as she struggled to catch her breath. “Hand ‘er over.”

Later, he would kick himself for dragging Frisk into the cold again, but he had to see for himself that she was okay. Sans bundled her under his coat and sat down against the wheel, folding her into the crook of his arm while he summoned up heat and softness, everything a skeleton usually couldn’t offer.

That was all well and good, but as she turned toward him, trying to reach up around his neck, something weird happened. He allowed her to stand on the ground and rest her weight against him, her arms sliding under his coat and over his bony shoulders; he’d almost gotten used to that amazing, fluttery, possessive thing his SOUL did when she was on him, but this time, it got physically warmer, and he felt like something was…leaving him? What—

Frisk’s whole body jerked. She pulled her head back enough to stare at him. “Sans? What did you do?!”

“I…” Sans had to close his sockets against a rush of dizziness. “I dunno.”

The priestess withdrew her arms and looked down at her hands. She raised one and snapped her fingers, and another barrier roared to life around them. “What the crap, Frisk?” Sans rasped. “Ya don’t have the strength fer that!”

“I do now,” she said blankly. “How…how did you give me magic directly? Is it—”

Just like that, the dizziness had become full-on vertigo. “Sansy needs t’go night-night,” the skeleton mumbled, and the darkness politely stepped up to pull him back down with it.

A band of poachers had made camp near the river. Their sentry glanced up from his breakfast, then leapt to his feet and called out as someone emerged from the morning mist. “Whoa! Easy, pal,” said the stranger, stopping a polite distance away and holding his hands up. “We’re not lookin’ for trouble. I’m just checkin’ somethin’.” He made a strange face, as if he wasn’t entirely sure how faces worked. “Have ya heard who’s s’posed to be out here right now?”

“Maybe,” the sentry admitted. He eyed the interloper’s oddly pale hair, the contrast it made with his black coat and red shirt, and lowered his crossbow. “Depends what you’ve heard.”

“Someone from the High Priestess is passin’ through, doin’ somethin’ with a buncha monsters,” said the newcomer, lowering his arms very slowly. “I was makin’ sure ya weren’t them. We’re pretty new at this, so—”

The sentry gave a bark of laughter. “Dumbass! It’s the High Priestess. She’s out here with nine or ten monsters, all by herself.”

“Really?” The stranger blinked too many times. “Hot damn.” He laughed, too, sort of. “Too bad we can’t get magic outta her, huh?”

The sentry leered at him in male camaraderie. “Ever seen her in person? I know what I’d get out of her!” He slapped his leg, oblivious to the stranger’s twitching eye and clenched fists. “Well, if you’re new to the business, take it from me: keep any humans you find and save ‘em for ransom, ‘specially her.”

Blink. “Ransom?”

“Yeah. Ransom,” the poacher said impatiently. “You know who her dad is, right?”

The pale-haired stranger blinked again. “Duke Whatshisface?”

“Seriously?” The sentry shook his head in disbelieving pity. “Her dad’s the King, dipshit. You never heard about it?” He gestured expansively with the crossbow, enjoying the stranger’s dumbfoundment. “No joke. The old man used to fuck anything that’d hold still long enough. There’s five or six kids left that we know of, and she’s his favorite.” His grin broadened. “You really didn’t know? Man, you’re fuckin’ stupid.” He flapped his hand. “Get out of here. Go on home before you trip ‘n kill yourself.”

In a daze, the stranger put his hands in his pockets and turned around. “Oh, by the way,” he said, and without warning, something erupted from the ground, impaling the sentry’s foot.

His screams brought his comrades running to see him clutching a huge white bone sticking out of the bedrock, and a stranger pointing wildly toward the river. “Holy crap, it came from over there!” he shouted. “It’s that big-ass skeleton thing! It’s definitely over there!”

Only one of the poachers tried to say, “Who’re you?” before another line of projectiles slammed into the ground heading away from them; he ran to follow the rest of the group, leaving the luckless sentry to try to wrestle the bone free. When he looked up to demand the stranger help him, there was no one there.

“Fuckin’ fuckstick,” Sans muttered to himself from a few hundred yards away, jerking a hand to summon more bones and make it seem like they were still under attack. “I oughta fuckin’…” He kicked a rock so hard that it hurt his stupid wimpy human toe.

Fuck-a-duck. He couldn’t go back to camp like this. With the mist covering him and the poachers haring off in the opposite direction, he could think things over for a minute, starting with whether Frisk had ever come out and said who her father was.

…No, she never had. He’d just remembered something about Rosa – who he now knew wasn’t even her mom – working for a duke, and reached a reasonable conclusion that was totally wrong. It was probably such an open secret that she either hadn’t thought to tell him or hadn’t wanted to in case he treated her any differently. She was probably sick of that already…

Sans was too lost in thought to see something moving in the mist, following him away from the poachers’ camp along the riverbank. When he absently turned to stare at the water, it vanished, only to reappear as he turned again.

So, Frisk had pulled this crazy stunt because there was nothing else she could do about the monsters being sold. According to everything Sans had seen, only the Cardinal or the King could go over her head; therefore, while Duke Whatshisass was in charge of doling the monsters out to new owners, it probably wasn’t him who’d actually decided to sell them. The Cardinal hadn’t bothered her since she said she’d be retiring, and she hadn’t mentioned him at all, which just left the King.

Sans had seen for himself how much the old man treated her like a daughter, go figure. Knowing Frisk, she’d probably told His Majesty to his face that she intended to free those monsters, and he’d decided to keep her out of serious legal trouble and also remind her who was boss by ordering them sold right away. No wonder she’d been willing to flip him the bird right back by stealing the monsters and getting public opinion on her side.

Against all logic, Sans felt his poofy lips curling upward. In a weird way, this was the push he needed to be a little less miserable about not deserving her and a bit more smug that she’d picked him over the zillion guys desperate to snag an illegitimate princess. At this point, she transcended the concept of anyone deserving her. He still thought he sucked, but so what? If he hadn’t imagined what she’d said the other night, then…

The mist was beginning to thin out as the sun came up. Sans paused and glanced behind him, but nothing was there. He turned back toward their camp, reaching for his chain. Better not confront her about something she hadn’t really been hiding in the first place, though now he was determined to ask about her m—

Only the hiss of something flying through the air alerted him in time to fling up a wall of bones, barely deflecting a blow aimed at his neck. Before he could even swear aloud, more things came at him, and he instinctively turned to run away from their camp.

“Hey! HEY!” a voice shouted. Sans’ human ears perked up at the sound. “Come back here, meat-wad!”

His aim wavered as he threw a wave of pointed bones behind him, just missing the figure in the mist. It easily caught one and threw it straight back at him, only to see it glance off another wall of bone. “You!” the figure snarled. “How did you get Sans’ magic? Where is he?! Tell me, you damn coward!”

Sans dodged another one. “Hey!” Dodge. “Hey, listen, ya crazy broad! It’s—”

“Sans?” They both froze at the sound of Frisk’s voice. “Sans, where are you?”

The boss monster finally understood that expression about blood running cold. Fighting chills, he turned his head and opened his mouth to tell Frisk to run.

That moment of distraction was all the figure needed: Frisk came up just in time to see a bone spin end over end and smash into the back of his head, nearly knocking him out.

The High Priestess had heard Sans’ attack on the poachers as she was balancing a frying pan on Vulkin, who’d volunteered to help cook breakfast. Frisk just prayed Sans could divert them without killing anyone, or that he would at least try.

Several minutes later, though, he hadn’t returned. She was passing the pancakes around and had retrieved the bucket for more water when she heard shouting. Her stomach lurched at the sound of bones breaking. Sans!

Telling the monsters to stay put, Frisk reflexively grasped the bucket handle and ran out of the warded camp, keeping another barrier ready. “Sans?” She looked around, squinting through the last tendrils of mist. “Sans, where are you?”

She saw him a split-second before someone threw one of his own bones straight back at him. Frisk choked on a scream as he hit the ground, blood darkening the sand. “Sa—"

“Hey. You.”

Frisk gulped as their attacker advanced on her from the edge of the water. “What’d you say about Sans, human? You know where he is?” The tall monster emerged from the mist, removing her helmet as she glared down with one mostly-yellow eye. “Oh, come on! Don’t tell me you took out a boss monster! How’d you do it? Cheating?” She almost spat the last word. “Start talking, you—”

“Undyne?” Despite her fear, Frisk smiled. “Undyne, it’s you!”

A spearpoint flashed in the air, stopping the priestess as she tried to step forward. “How’d you get my name? Did you torture it out of someone, human? Huh? Was it Sans?!” The spear poked at Frisk, forcing her backward. “Tell you what,” Undyne snapped, pivoting toward the human-shaped boss monster, who was still struggling to get up. “Let’s assume you care at all about your accomplice here. Either you tell me what I want to know, or…” The spear rose.

“No!” In sheer panic, Frisk threw a barrier between Sans and the other monster.

A moment later, she realized her mistake: Undyne had only been threatening him, but as she looked back at Frisk, her gaze was now murderous. “That’s it! That’s how you did it! You used a frickin’ barrier!” She stomped the ground so hard that Frisk felt the bedrock tremble. “I ought to gut you like a fish, you damn cheater! Do you hear me? A FISH!”

“Wait!” The priestess held up her hands, too distressed to be amused by Undyne’s choice of words. “Undyne, please! I’m—” She bit her lip. That wouldn’t work; Undyne wouldn’t believe that she was Kris. It might make her so angry that she’d try to kill them outright. Frisk racked her brains for some way to prove it—she had never shown Undyne her scars, but…

The Royal Guard Captain scowled deeper, this time in puzzlement, as Frisk stared at the bucket dangling from her forearm. “You’re what, human?” Undyne demanded.

Frisk swallowed hard. “I want to show you something,” she said, and took a deliberate side-step toward the water, ignoring the raised spear. “It’s not a barrier, and it’s not some kind of trick. Just watch, all right? And don’t hurt him!”

Undyne glanced around them in case this was a diversion, and at Sans, now lying still and silent. Frisk saw him, too, and her expression made Undyne lower her spear ever so slightly. “What is it? Make it quick!”

Frisk took a deep breath. To Undyne’s bewilderment, the human’s expression went neutral. She went to the river, dipped up a half bucket of water, carried it back to Undyne, and threw it into her face.

Through the haze of pain and gut-wrenching fear, Sans distantly heard Undyne yelling at Frisk, and he felt the barrier she put up to protect him. He wanted to shake her for thinking of him and not herself, and for showing Undyne she could do it. Then there was a dreadful silence, and he couldn’t get up to—

“NGAHHHHHHH!”

Sans threw himself forward, not quite gaining his feet. Hitting the ground again on all fours, he looked frantically for Undyne and whatever horrible things she was doing to—

Frisk was dangling, not from a spear’s bloody point, but from Undyne’s bear hug as the dripping-wet monster swung the human in time to a joyous bellow of “My little bestiiiiiiiiie!”

What the…no, never mind. With an effort, Sans pulled off his disguise and tried not to collapse as the world lurched sideways. “Ow,” he muttered, just to be part of the moment.

Undyne froze, not quite releasing Frisk. “Sans? What the—where’ve you been?” she demanded.

Sans’ glare would have set a lesser monster ablaze on the spot. “Almost gettin’ murdered by yer crazy ass!”

“Really?” Undyne looked puzzled. Then her face lit up. “Ohh, that was you! Ha!” She gave her giant-toothed grin. “Sorry about that, boss. How’d you do that? And why were you saying all that crap to that human back there?”

“I was tryin’ ta throw him off our trail! We’re the monsters and the High Priestess!” Sans sat up and raised one hand to heal his aching skull, indicating Frisk with the other. “Now let ‘er go before ya squeeze her t’death!”

“Hm? Oh, right.” Undyne set Frisk down, letting the priestess catch her breath. “So you’re Kris, huh?” The Captain planted her hand on one hip, watching Frisk brush herself off. “Did you know she was a girl?” she asked Sans.

“Nope. She had us all fooled.” Sans closed his eyes to focus his magic. Fuckin’ Undyne. If he hadn’t been a boss monster, that would’ve killed him!

“It wasn’t my idea,” Frisk protested as she picked up the bucket. “I was only ten, and they said it’d be safer. Can I help you with that, Sans?”

Undyne waved her spear. “Whatever! You’re here now! Ignore him, he’s being a big baby.” She glanced around. “Let’s move out before any more damn humans show up. No offense.” Frisk inclined her head. “You say you’ve got more people with you?”

If the monsters had been happy to see Sans, they nearly turned to dust when Undyne strolled into camp and announced that she would be escorting them the rest of the way home. Once everyone had calmed down, Sans had to admit the fish-lady knew how to get people moving: they scarfed down the remaining pancakes and some leftover oranges, then loaded right up and took off toward the Underground.

“Man…” Undyne was holding it together better than he had the first time he found himself inside a barrier, only betraying her fear of the dome overhead with a tighter grip and her eye darting back and forth. “I can’t believe it. She really is the High Priestess, huh?”

“Yep.” Sans was very pointedly nonchalant, sauntering along as the barrier crackled and the fish monster twitched. Served her right. “She coulda killed me a zillion times over, but she never did. Hell, I tried ta kill her a few times, an’ she smacked me down without hurtin’ me.”

Undyne shook her head. “It’s just…Kris is back, and he’s a she, and she’s the High Priestess, and she’s crazy strong…but she’s still Kris. It’s a lot to take in, you know?”

“Tell me about it.” Sans adjusted his grip on the shafts. He was pulling one wagon, and Undyne was pulling the other one alongside him; all it’d taken to get her going was a hint that she couldn’t do it. She was puffing a bit, but doing well now that they were moving. “So how’d you suddenly know it was her?” the skeleton asked.

“It was from the first time Papyrus introduced us,” Frisk said from the driver’s seat behind him. “I thought Undyne must’ve been upset because she was thirsty, so I grabbed a flower vase and tried giving her some water. …In her face.”

Sans guffawed, freeing one hand to slap his femur. “How’d that work out? Did the nice fish say ‘thank you’?”

“No, she just looked surprised. I thought she was feeling better, so I went back and—”

“The little punk tried to do it again! It was the stupidest thing I’d ever seen, but the kid wasn’t scared of me at all.” Undyne shook her head. “Then the King ordered us to be friends with the humans, so I figured I’d be the best damn friend Kris ever had.”

“And you were.” Frisk sighed. “When we get there, Undyne, I have something for you. In fact, we brought gifts for everyone. Did Alphys ever read the last two Adventure Lady novels?”

“Nah, and it’s been bugging her for years, the poor—” Undyne’s eye widened. “No. You didn’t!”

Sans let them chatter, profoundly grateful that they weren’t doing that weird thing where women hated each other for no reason. Having Undyne on their side, both physically and for moral support, was worth a dozen other monsters. “Did you get him that outfit?” she asked Frisk, nodding at the boss monster. “He’s been growing nonstop, so after a while, he just quit buying new clothes. It drives Papyrus nuts.”

“He’s my bodyguard, and it pays pretty well,” Frisk explained. “Those were a bonus for helping me shop for everyone.”

“Nice!” Undyne couldn’t reach over and smack him in congratulations, so she contented herself with jerking her head. “Good job, boss. Way to find a nice—what do humans call it? A ‘sugar mama’?”

Frisk burst out laughing and couldn’t stop, Undyne joining in as Sans sputtered. Stupid women, he thought sullenly. Why couldn’t they hate each other instead of giving him shit?

A few hours later, Undyne called a halt. “At this rate, we can get there by nightfall,” she said, offering a hand to the priestess half a second before him. “Er…do you have to, uh, go?”

Frisk looked uncomfortable enough for Undyne to nod hastily and point behind the wagon with her spear. “Not much privacy out here. We’ll just pretend you’re not doing anything, okay? Here, I’ll dig a hole for you.”

If that was awkward – and it was – it was nothing compared to the piscine monster making the others talk to cover the sound of Frisk’s business, then leaning over and whispering to Sans, very matter-of-fact, “Is it just me, or is it weird that Kris turned out to be so damn cute?”

Sans wished the ground wasn’t so flat around here, because then he could find a nice big pit and jump right on in. Luckily, Frisk suddenly said to herself, “Oh, dirt, why now?” and stuck her head beneath the wagon to call, “Undyne? Can you please get the little gray bag out of my satchel for me?”

The Captain obligingly found the only satchel with human clothing in it, rummaged around, and tossed the bag over the wagon and into Frisk’s lap. The young woman mumbled her thanks, but sounded so aggravated that Undyne asked, “What’s up? Are you okay?”

A prolonged sigh. “It’s nothing, just a stupid, ridiculous thing that human females have to put up with.” Frisk came back around a few moments later, stuffing the bag into the satchel. “Now, once we reach the Underground, should we all come in through the Grand Hall, or should Sans and I go through the Ruins into Snowdin?”

Sans exchanged glances with Undyne, who was munching on a roasted potato as if it was an apple. “You’d probably better not go straight to Asgore,” she said reluctantly. “When Snowdrake came back, he was pretty messed up, and the King was…uh…”

“Not happy?” Sans guessed.

Undyne’s eye closed. “Yeah. Not happy.”

“We’ll tell him what happened,” piped up Vulkin from inside the wagon. “We all heard the humans talking. Lady Frisk’s in big trouble for bringing us home, but she’s doing it anyway.”

The monsters made generally affirmative noises, and Frisk managed a smile.

“You are?” Undyne scowled. “Here, we’ve got to get going if we want to make it home before dark. Why don’t you give me the whole story on the way?”

They did, starting with Frisk being brought to the convent after her stint in the Underground and her memories being removed at her father’s request— “Oh, crap, that’s right,” Undyne interrupted. “That scumbag said the King’s your dad. Is that true?”

Frisk looked down at Sans in alarm. “Yeah, that’s what the guy told me,” Sans confirmed, not turning his head. “He was talking about her being worth a lot for ransom.”

The priestess grimaced. “I might not be, after all this.” She swallowed. “I wasn’t sure if you knew. I’m sorry if I—”

Sans made himself shrug. “It’s fine, kit—kiddo. Not like ya ever actually lied about it.”

“I don’t get it,” said Undyne. “If your dad’s the king, why aren’t you a princess?”

“Because I was one of many, many children the king had with women he wasn’t married to,” Frisk replied. “To be a princess, I’d have to have come from his actual wife. The first queen died childless, and his second wife died having the Prince.”

Undyne started. “Wait, so he…with just anyone, and you didn’t even count? What the hell is wrong with humans?”

“There’s the million-g question,” Sans mumbled.

Frisk sighed. “Anyway,” she said, “once I stopped begging to go back to the Underground, I settled down and studied as hard as I could. I was ordained a priestess when I was sixteen—”

The story continued until it was time for Sans to pick up with how he’d been caught by a party of five sorcerers almost a month ago. “I figured I’d hang out in jail until someone came ta get me, then kill ‘em,” he said conversationally, “but guess who came strollin’ downstairs?”

“The Duke asked me for help. There was a huge monster in the cells, and no one could decide who would be suitable to take him,” said Frisk. “I figured he must be a boss monster, and I scared them with stories about how powerful he was and how lucky they were that he hadn’t destroyed half the castle already. Then I said I’d take care of him.”

“And you tried to kill her?” Undyne snapped at Sans.

“Tried to burn ‘er, squish her, and blast her,” the boss monster said, almost proudly. “Nothin’ worked. Next thing I knew, I’d signed up fer a month of bein’ a witch ta learn how to grow better crops.”

“Which turned out to be much closer to three weeks, thanks to His Majesty,” Frisk said sourly. “I had each of these monsters taken from humans who were mistreating them so badly that even the Church wouldn’t allow it anymore, and I brought them out here to keep them from being sold again.” Even over the sound of the wheels crunching on sandy rock, they could hear her teeth grinding. “The King knew what I wanted to do, but he thought I shouldn’t have to worry my pretty little head about it anymore, so here we are.”

Sans considered pointing out that the King probably just wanted to keep her out of trouble, but decided he’d rather not be murdered. Undyne’s sole contribution was “…Damn.”

They rolled along in silence. “In three days or so, we can go back to the village and pick up the grain and other things Sans ordered,” the priestess said. “It won’t feed the entire Underground, but it will help.”

“That reminds me, Undyne—ya know the big farm over that way with the maple trees?” Sans nodded in a direction. “She’s gonna get it fer us.”

The Captain gaped at him. “She what?”

“I shit you not,” said Sans. “The human who owned it croaked, an’ she’s been negotiatin’ ta buy it. Turns out bein’ High Priestess makes ya super rich.”

Undyne muttered something under her breath, taking a fresh grip on the wagon shafts. Then her head swiveled, and without being told, Frisk immediately began whistling again. The air around them, which had been a translucent gold, solidified until it was nearly opaque. “They can’t see or hear us at all?” asked the fish monster, glancing up warily.

Frisk shook her head, and paused long enough to say, “They’d have to literally be touching the barrier to know we’re here.”

“No kidding?” Undyne squinted to watch the far-off group of humans through the barrier. Sure enough, they were moving away. “So,” she said presently, “how long are you gonna stay this time? Another month?”

“’Bout ten days,” Sans answered for her.

Undyne nodded slowly. The whistling stopped, and the human said, “Yes, if all goes well. It depends how long Asgore will let us stay, and what we’ll be allowed to bring back to the castle afterwards.”

“‘We’?” repeated the Captain.

It took Sans a second to realize what Undyne was even asking. He and Frisk had yet to discuss whether he’d be coming back to the castle after her visit, but the possibility of leaving her hadn’t even occurred to him, and she obviously felt the same way. “Yeah, I’ve gotta learn more witchy crap,” he said, hiding his elation. “Plus, the more monster stuff she gets ta show the other humans, the less trouble she’ll get in fer cartin’ these guys off in the first place.”

“And I’m not pulling the wagons back on my own,” Frisk added.

“Got it,” Undyne murmured, and Sans breathed an inward sigh of relief. Another thing they needed to hash out: what to tell the other monsters about…whatever they were now. Everything still depended on him working on himself, didn’t it? It would be easier to learn to control his magic in the proper directions inside the Underground. Who knew? Maybe if he kept thinking happy thoughts and not actively loathing himself, it’d really be possible. Maybe, if he was in good enough shape by the time they straightened things with Asgore, they could really—

The priestess resumed whistling, snapping him out of it. Undyne began bobbing her head along with the melody, and immediately started getting the rhythm wrong, but Sans decided not to say anything; he had a lot more thinking to do before they got home.

Very much against her will, they left Undyne just out of sight of the Underground’s principal entrance. She would announce their arrival, see the monsters to each of their homes, and then report to Asgore; knowing the King would insist on the wagons being inspected before he allowed them inside, they would also remain here.

Undyne checked over the little group of monsters as they climbed out, then paused. “Hey. Sans? Are you…gonna talk to Her Majesty?”

Frisk knew a loaded question when she heard one. Sure enough, Sans took a much longer time to reply than usual. “Yeah, I kinda have to. If she’s asleep already, I’ll leave ‘er a note.”

“Okay.” The Captain picked up her helmet from one of the shafts, pulled it back on, and nodded to them. “I’ll be in Snowdin as soon as His Majesty’s done with me. Good luck, guys.”

“We’ll see you soon,” Frisk replied, giving her a smile and ignoring the butterflies in her stomach. This was it. They were here!

The monsters trotted off, and they very faintly heard Undyne hail the sentries from atop the rise. “Welp,” Sans said. “This way.” Frisk obediently grabbed her satchel, which she’d stuffed with apples and potatoes, and set off after him, trying to be happy and grateful and not on the verge of barfing.

It was another cold, boring day in Snowdin. The monsters were pretty sure they knew what was going to happen today – nothing – and that it was going to keep happening, and it was hard to care much about it anymore. Sure, Papyrus kept nattering about how Sans and a mysterious human had told him they were going to come back to the Underground soon and everything would be all right, but…Papyrus. The denizens of Snowdin carried on with nothing as usual, secure in the knowledge that—

Every monster in town stopped what they weren’t doing and looked around in confusion. Magic was building in the air like smoke from a barely contained fire; there was a hhhwp, and in the empty space in front of the skeleton brothers’ house, there now stood a boss monster in black slippers and a tiny human peeking out from beneath his overcoat. “I told you to wait,” she scolded him, moving the coat aside like a giant curtain.

“What? You were the one whinin’ about how cold it was,” retorted the skeleton.

“Hey!” To their surprise, Undyne sprang up from where she’d been sitting on the step. “Where have you nerds been?” she snapped. “It’s been five frickin’ hours! Were you talking to Her Majesty, or what?”

“Nah, we got lost in the Ruins,” said Sans. “Tori’s asleep, so I left her a note like I said. What’re you doin’ here already? Is everyone okay?”

Undyne looked at them narrowly, then said, “Yeah, it turned out Asgore was already in the Grand Hall, so we didn’t have to waste time finding him.” She had changed into the outfit Frisk remembered: a short jacket, wool shirt, long pants and red boots. “Everyone’s home by now. I left Ice Cap with his family a few minutes ago.”

Frisk nodded gratefully. “What did the King say?” she asked, setting her satchel down.

Undyne hesitated. “Well…he was happy to see everyone, but then they started talking about how the High Priestess was coming in through Snowdin, and he wasn’t happy anymore.”

“How not-happy is he, exactly?” Sans demanded. “Is Frisk in any danger?”

“Nope. The others kept going on about how you saved them from the other humans, and when I told him you were Kris, he got really quiet.” Undyne put her hands in her jacket pockets. “He said you could stay until we ‘know your true intentions.’ I have to babysit you, and he wants to talk to Sans as soon as possible, but that’s it.”

Sans and Frisk breathed sighs of relief. “Good enough,” said the boss monster. He stood on tiptoe, the better to see most of the way across Snowdin. “Where’s Pap?”

Shrug. “I don’t know. No one’s in the house. He must be at the store or something.”

Frisk rubbed her arms unconsciously, turning in circles to look around them, especially at the light-spangled house. “I can’t believe it,” she murmured. “I—” She swiped at her eyes.

The Royal Guard Captain stepped over to the High Priestess and put an arm around her shoulders. “You know what? May I be the first, K—Frisk, to say: welcome back.” She gave the human what was, for her, a gentle squeeze. “C’mon. We’ll introduce you to everyone again. We can take it nice and slow, no pressure to—HEY!” Undyne had spotted a nearby cluster of monsters staring at them. “What are you looking at? Haven’t you ever seen a human before? I know you have!” She pointed at Frisk, who was still tucked beneath her arm. “Remember Kris?”

Frisk quickly forgot her irritation as several monsters hurried over. “Kris! Bro!” One dinosaur-like creature shouldered its way through the crowd, hopping from foot to foot. “Is that really you? Do you remember me? Hi, Undyne!”

Of course she remembered Monster Kid, who was only a little bigger now, still wearing the same armless sweater—twelve years obviously didn’t go as fast for monsters as it did for humans! There was the bunny who ran the store, Gyftrot – stuff still dangling from his horns – a couple of the various dogs she’d petted and thrown sticks for…

Once the first wave of pleasantries had subsided, it was time to tell them the reason for her visit, what Sans had been up to, and why “Kris” had turned out to be a lady. She noticed a few of those who hadn’t greeted her falling back to go spread the news, but saw no signs of Papyrus.

She wasn’t the only one: right in the middle of a very important discussion on someone’s baby sister being ready to hatch soon, Sans let out a growl that shut everyone up at once. “Where’s my brother?” he asked.

Shrugs and mumbles all around. “He was staring at the river again,” volunteered Gyftrot.

Sans waited for more information, then nodded. “Okay, everyone,” he told the little crowd. “We’re gonna head inside for a minute. If anyone sees Pap, don’t tell him I’m back yet, don’t mention Kris, and don’t do anything to freak him out. Got it?”

A chorus of agreement. “Don’t freak out,” someone said helpfully to Papyrus, who had just stepped into view.

Papyrus froze, staring up at Sans. “BROTHER?” he said. Then: “BROTHER! NYEHHH HEH HEHHHHH!” He leaped up and threw his arms around Sans’ massive ribcage, doing a pullup of sheer joy. “YOU’RE HERE! YOU’RE REALLY HERE THIS TIME, LAZYBONES! I THOUGHT…THE GREAT PAPYRUS THOUGHT—”

“Yeah,” Sans mumbled. “Hey, Pap.” He hugged him back for a long moment, then glanced downward. “She said she’d bring me back safe, didn’t she?”

Papyrus looked at Frisk, who was grinning. He looked at Undyne, who was grinning and nodding. The younger skeleton released his brother and launched himself straight at his best friend, tackling her with a wail of “THANK YOU, UNDYYYYNE! NYEHH!” Before the Captain could correct him, Papyrus dropped her and caught Frisk up in a less forceful but similarly enthused hug. “THANK YOU, HUMAAAAN! I—” He stopped, and turned his head to look at her quizzically. “NYEH. WHY AM I THANKING YOU, HUMAN?”

“Ya met ‘er the last time we talked, Pap, in the dream,” Sans reminded him. “An’ you were right. She is Kris.”

Papyrus blinked, still holding on to her. “I SEE,” he said sagely. “NYEH HEH HEH! OF COURSE THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS RIGHT! I…I…” His eyes rolled up, and Sans caught Frisk just before she hit the snow along with the fainting skeleton.

“Geez. He probably hasn’t eaten anything or slept in a couple days. No worries, we can fix that!” Undyne punched Sans reassuringly in the ribs, then bent and rummaged in her friend’s “armor,” helping herself to the house key before slinging Papyrus over her shoulder. “Listen up!” she shouted at the assembled monsters. “This is all very exciting, but these guys’ve been traveling for a couple days straight to bring the others back to us. We’ll see everyone in the morning, okay?” She poked Sans as he turned to teleport into the house. “Not you! Asgore’s waiting. Get your bony butt over to Alphys’ place before he comes looking for you.”

Frisk gripped his sleeve, but she made herself say calmly, “It’s fine. We’ll be here when you get back,” as she picked up her satchel.

He stared at her for a moment, then gently removed her hand, and was gone.

Undyne let them into the house, flipping the witchlights on and kicking the door shut as Frisk walked into the living room. It wasn’t the biggest or nicest of dwellings, and it didn’t help that Papyrus had probably been stress-cleaning—it would explain why the couch cushions were still damp from the last time he’d mopped them, and why the pet rock by the kitchen was barely visible under a pile of rock-candy shards. Had Sans set those out for his brother to use, just waiting for the pun to sneak up and hit him out of nowhere?

“Here you go, Pap,” Undyne said briskly, tramping up the stairs while Frisk marveled at how much smaller everything was than she remembered. The priestess heard her deposit Papyrus in his pirate-ship bed, slam the door behind her, and come back down to pull a kitchen chair out for Frisk. “Have a seat. Sorry, but they don’t have anything in the fridge.”

“That’s all right,” Frisk said. She unbuckled the satchel and offered Undyne an apple.

The Captain took it politely, but as Frisk glanced down to dig another one out for herself, the monster chomped the apple nearly in half, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. “So,” she said casually, “what were you and Sans up to in the Ruins? No one’s dumb enough to just get lost in there for that long.”

Frisk felt her face grow stiff and hot. “I had to stop and rest because I used too much magic today,” she answered truthfully, and Undyne nodded. “I…actually, maybe you’d know this—is it possible for someone to directly give someone else some of their magic?”

The Captain paused, her eyebrows rising, a smile growing into a giant grin. “Haven’t you heard of—”

Frisk’s face got even hotter. “Not like that! I just mean, if you were weak and needed a little extra power, could, say, Asgore or Alphys give you a handshake, or a hug, and lend you some magic?”

“Nope. They couldn’t.” When Frisk looked skeptical, Undyne sighed, then made a fist. “Look, pretend this is my SOUL.” Another fist. “This one is…we’ll say Alphys.” Frisk wondered if it was her imagination, or if her friend’s face was turning red, almost purple under the smaller blue scales. “My body’s made of magic, and so is hers. But my SOUL is self-contained, and so is hers. Even if I took a chunk of my magic and handed it to Alphys—” She knocked her fists together. “Nothing would happen. She can heal me, but that’s just repairing damage, not giving me power that I could use to attack someone or do my own spells, assuming I knew any. There’s no way to combine or exchange magic unless you’re trying to have a kid, and that’s a whole different thing. It takes a lot of power and concentration, and…it’s different.” She was definitely purple now. “Why are you even asking?”

The priestess thought about it. She made a fist, and loosened her fingers until she could slide the fingers of her other hand through it. “After you left today, I was tired, and Sans gave me some of his magic again,” she said distantly. “Monsters can absorb a human SOUL, but…” Her fingers wiggled. “I don’t think it works both ways. Humans can’t take a monster’s SOUL, at least not directly into ourselves.”

Undyne suddenly looked very, very uncomfortable. “That’s true,” she commented, “for normal monsters. For Sans, the rules are a little different.”

Frisk was so startled that she dropped her hands. “Are you saying I was able to take some of his SOUL because I’m human and he’s a boss monster?!”

“Hell no!” the Captain snapped. More calmly, she said, “It doesn’t work like that. If you really took something from him that he couldn’t get back, he’d be acting a lot weaker, or he’d be dust already.” She shrugged. “If he did somehow give you magic and you had to wait for him to recover, and he did, then nah, there’s no permanent damage.”

That was something to think about. Frisk remembered last night, when she’d just wanted him to hold her. There was that jolt of energy, and he’d almost immediately passed out… She thought of a few hours back, when she’d gotten anxious and her magical exhaustion had suddenly kicked in, forcing her to sit down. Sans had – somewhat correctly – assumed that she was getting cold feet, gotten impatient, and picked her up, and when she turned to put her arms around him, it’d happened again.

Then, of course, they’d been in a uniquely ridiculous quandary where she was brimming with magic that wouldn’t help them get anywhere, and he couldn’t even stand up. Thank God she’d had something for him to eat in her satchel, or they might have been stuck out there all night waiting for him to recover. When she half-jokingly suggested she try giving his magic back to him, he’d almost bitten her head off.

Wait. Wait a second. If his magic was supposed to be so dark and terrible and evil, etc., how had she not felt anything like that from him, much less been poisoned? Frisk had the sudden, idiotic, schoolgirl-ish urge to giggle—did the good magic come out of the top half of his body, while the evil stuff came out of the other thing?

Undyne was shaking her head in wonder. “You need to tell all this to Alphys. She’d have a better idea of what’s—”

Crack went the window.

Both women whipped around at the sound of shouting outside. Undyne wasted no time, slamming her chair back and throwing the door open to roar, “What the hell is going on?”

A moment of quiet; it might have ended there if Frisk hadn’t peeked around her friend’s shoulder. A group of four or five young monsters stood a few yards away, holding stones, their body language scared but defiant. Their ringleader was a feathery snow monster who looked very familiar. “Chilldrake, isn’t it?” the human asked.

The hoodlums drew back as Undyne’s face darkened. “What do you want, kid?” she snapped. “If you’ve got a good reason for breaking Pap’s window, I’m listening!”

“We want her gone,” the drake said, shifting his feet and glaring at Frisk. “Haven’t you seen Snowdrake? He’s not Snowdrake anymore! How can you let a human in here after what they did to him?!”

“And what if she blows us up?” his friend added.

Undyne grabbed a spear from thin air and thrust it in the monsters’ direction. They shrank back, but stood their ground. “That’s not up to a bunch of kids like you,” the Royal Guard Captain snarled. “His Majesty said she could stay. Are you telling me you know better than Asgore?”

They shuffled back again, but a moment later, Chilldrake drew himself up. “Does he know she’s the humans’ High Priestess?” He raised his voice for the monsters standing nearby to hear: “Does he know she makes barriers?”

That got an anxious murmur going. Frisk felt sick; this was everything she’d been afraid of, no matter what Undyne said, or Sans. She glanced around instinctively, but he wasn’t there.

“He knows way more than you do, punk!” snarled Undyne. She advanced down the steps, leaving Frisk in the doorway. “Now get out of here before I get you out of here!”

“Fine!” Chilldrake shook his ruff, dancing a little in place. “If she’s here, it’s not safe anyway! We should all leave before she traps us and drags us off!”

The murmurs were louder and more upset now. The Royal Guard Captain looked at the other monsters in disbelief. “Guys, you were just telling her how glad you were to see her again! She’s the same damn person she was fifteen minutes ago! Are you going to listen to this little—”

“Is she really the High Priestess?” the shopkeeper asked Undyne.

The piscine monster’s face said it all. Too late, she snapped, “It doesn’t matter! She only uses her magic to—”

Everything happened at once. A stone came sailing over Undyne’s head, straight at Frisk, who did not stop to think that it was better to get a black eye or a bad cut than to confirm their worst fears. Reflex kicked in, and a barrier flared in front of her, pinging the rock away.

Her one piece of luck was that every monster froze in place instead of screaming or running to spread the tale of the human who had snuck Underground to use barriers on them—every monster but Chilldrake. “See?” he screamed, flapping his wings so hard that ice crystals flurried off them. “What did I just tell you?! Get out, human! We don’t want you here, and if I have to go tell His Majesty that you’re using barriers, I’ll—”

Whump.

It wasn’t a rock, or a spear, or a barrier. A ball of pure flame struck the ground in front of Chilldrake, who yelped and hopped backward, crashing into his friends.

The monsters’ heads turned toward the magic’s source, the edge of the field to Frisk’s right; each one immediately dropped to their knees or the equivalent thereof, with the hoodlums dropping the rocks and throwing themselves flat on their faces.

Undyne took one look, shook her hand to dispel the energy spear, and went to one knee as another monster advanced. “Your Majesty,” she said in wonder, then apprehension. Her head ducked. “Majesty, I can fully explain and take responsibility for—”

A gesture silenced her. The monster came to stand in front of the house, her amber eyes coming to rest on the High Priestess, features impassive.

Frisk’s heart constricted. She was suddenly ten years old again, not knowing whether to be afraid, whether she should bow or do something royal. She came down the steps, and to her horror, she found herself breathing harder, eyes prickling, throat tightening. “Lady Toriel,” she whispered.

Toriel folded her arms at the waist. She wore a plain robe, adorned only with the Delta Rune in white—the same thing Asriel had worn the day she fell into the Underground, only purple instead of black. The former Queen regarded Frisk for a long, terrible moment. “Where is the human named Kris?” she asked sternly.

It took all of Frisk’s training, all her experience as an exalted and lonely member of the Church’s highest echelon, to speak up. “The human child you knew was not a boy, and his name was not Kris. He was a girl, and his name was Frisk.” She swallowed. “I am Frisk.” Damn it, her voice wouldn’t stay steady. “I’m back, Lady Toriel. Please—”

Toriel took a step toward her. Another, and another. Her white-furred hand came up to brush Frisk’s hair from her face. The boss monster stared into her eyes…

And she stooped, opening her arms and folding Frisk into a huge, warm, cloud-soft hug.

Everything pent up behind Frisk’s defenses rose in a surge that crumbled the walls like wet paper. She still smelled like cinnamon and golden flowers, Frisk realized, and she wasn’t ashamed to grab hold of the velvet robe and get it soaked with tears again.

“My poor child,” the boss monster murmured, stroking Frisk’s hair as the priestess’ shoulders heaved. “My poor, dear girl. I’ve missed you so much.” She hugged her tighter. “I cannot tell you how very glad I am to see you again.”

Frisk was sobbing without restraint now, not caring what anyone saw or heard or thought of her. Toriel rested her hand on the back of the young woman’s head and looked up for the first time, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Am I to understand that this human is not welcome here?” She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t have to. “Would anyone like to say anything?”

Chilldrake had collapsed in on himself. His beak moved, but all he could muster was “…High Priestess, Majesty.”

Toriel’s hand grew heavier. “Is this true, my child? You’ve become the High Priestess?”

Frisk didn’t have the courage to raise her head. She just nodded.

The boss monster inhaled, and sighed, her diaphragm moving under Frisk’s cheek. “Then we are very fortunate to have you, Frisk.” She glanced up, once. “Wouldn’t you agree, young man?”

Chilldrake did not nod so much as vibrate his head too fast for it to be visible.

“Splendid. We…what, my child?” Toriel listened as Frisk turned her head to mumble more clearly. “They broke Sans and Papyrus’ window? My word.”

Frisk didn’t see who rushed forward, but she heard a scramble to be the first to check the cracked glass and figure out how to fix or replace it or something right now.

Toriel waited for the priestess to get herself under control, then stepped back and took Frisk’s hand. “Captain,” she said, and Undyne was instantly on her feet, fist on her chest. “We have much to discuss. Please accompany us.” And with as much grace and ceremony as if the old house had been a marble palace, the boss monster went inside, allowing Undyne to glare once more at the crowd, then shut the door gently behind them.

#songfell man i love my mom but

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roselen-mylady · 5 years ago

Text

In Another Life

Bucky Barnes x reader ° part two

Summary: Waiting 88 years to find your soulmate? It was cruel. But it was a cruel fate Bucky would have to face whether he accepted it or not. Bucky was a tortured man all his life and he wasn't even granted the solace of having his soulmate at his side. All he had was the promise of one in another life.

They were separated by two different times.

But the pain in their lives were connected. Y/n had been alone ever since she could remember. All she could depend on was the soulmate that was destined to be at her side. Yet when the snap occured she lost him.

And Bucky never got to meet her.

A/n: For those who read this book before, I had to do some major redrafting so please be patient with me! Enjoy🤟

2014

“She’s a child, Fury.” The woman’s voice scolded. Y/n winced hating the fact that she was the source of conflict between the two. Fury wore his usual monotone and mildly pissed off expression as his eyes narrowed on the woman. Councilwoman Hawley’s face hardened as she turned to Y/n, “Do your parents know you're here?” She questioned, her voice loud and demanding.

Y/n's eyes drifted to Fury, uncertain and intimidated. Councilwoman was right, Y/n was just a child. But she had a mind that only Tony Stark himself could rival and that mind quickly realized that the only way she was going to stay at S.H.I.E.L.D was if she lied.

"Yes. They wanted to thank you for the opportunity S.H.I.E.L.D has given me." Y/n said cooly, trying to muster up enough confidence to fool the woman. Though she didn't seem convinced, Hawley was tired and after a few moments of staring down Y/n to see if she would relinquish her testimony, she sighed.

Councilwoman then turned to Fury, looking at him with less than pleased eyes. "I trust you'll handle the affairs then." Fury offered no acknowledgement in return and Y/n wondered if everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D was this cold. "Fury, I'm taking a chance here for you. The minute this proves to be more of a burden than a service, I'm ending it." The harshness of her tone shot through Y/n like a bullet but Fury appeared unphased giving her a little solace.

"You'll find the council will be grateful for what I'm doing here." Fury's proclamation seemed to grip the councilwoman, stopping her dead in her tracks as a conflicted expression fell over her features. She shot him a deadly glare however what rage bubbled up in her wasn't enough to compel her to reply and she continued on, leaving smothering tension in the air.

"What are you doing?" Y/n asked cautiously, turning to the man who had convinced her to leave her old life behind. The leather of his eyepatch squeaked in protest as his eyebrows furrowed, his eye landing on her small frame beside him.

"We are going to take the first step in protecting our world for the future. Welcome to the Next Generation Initiative." Y/n swallowed thickly to try and relieve the dryness of her throat as Fury moved toward the door.

"We start immediately." His voice called and she quickly followed after him, hoping to not agitate him further. "First let's see what you're capable of."

•••

The months that followed were hard, harder than she had naively expected. Fury was true to his word, providing her with a living space at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters along with necessities such as food passes and clothes, though all of them sported the S.H.I.E.L.D logo.

At first it had been exciting to live a new life, the pride that came from becoming independent being enough to distract her for the first couple of weeks. But soon she found that being isolated from the rest of the agents wasn't just the normal separation from the pack that came with being new.

Communication with other agents was limited by her new guardian and her access around The Triskelion was even more restricted. It didn't take much for her to catch onto the fact that she was meant to be a secret instead of an agent.

This annoyed her but she hardly saw Fury which prevented her from questioning or even opposing the situation. And in the times she did see him she never got any answers. Fury pushed her constantly and while she knew she had signed up for it, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd made the right choice.

In order to stay at S.H.I.E.L.D she had to avoid all contact with her parents and adjusting to her new life without them was hard. The only person she had to trust with her well being was Fury and while he made sure she was taken care of, he wasn't exactly a parental figure. He was cold and abrasive and having conversations with him were frightening and offered very little support.

Her wish to be a hero convinced her that maybe it'd get better once she adjusted to the way things operated at S.H.I.E.L.D but it never did. Loneliness crept into her every second she was there and nothing she did seemed to help.

Doubt seeped into her heart and she started to question the cause she now stood for. Her parents had always rejected Fury's propositions toward making Y/n an agent but Y/n had never understood why until then. Fury was shrouded in a thick layer of mystery and the appeal it once had quickly faded away when she began to realize she had left everything behind for a promise of doing something great.

She felt like a naive and stupid child chasing the dream of being a superhero like so many children had and she longed for the guidance of her parents.

Training was even more miserable than her solitude. Fury wanted her to be ready for anything even though all of her missions so far were from the safety of a control room. He trained her himself, claiming that it was easier that way instead of taking other agents off of missions.

While she felt like it was a lie she accepted it and attended training everyday. And it wasn't long before she learned that his cold exterior was frozen all the way through.

"Agh!" Y/n cried out in frustration, forcing herself up from the ground. Fury almost smirked as she rushed forward, messily slamming her fist into his arms that had moved to block his face. A pained groan escaped her lips as she retracted her fist trying to conceal the red spotting through from under the wrap.

Another hand entered her view and she gave a defeated sigh as Fury took her bloodied knuckles. "I don't understand why I have to do this. You just want me for my brain anyways." Her irritation flooding off of her.

"It's so that nobody kills you. What good would your brain be if you're dead?" Fury said, offering no warmth or ease as he spoke. A frown tugged at her lips and she jerked her hand away, getting herself into stance.

It wasn't long before she was on her back again, her lungs struggling to replenish the air that had been knocked out of her. But Y/n found herself strangely motivated with each failure. Each time she slammed into the mat she was filled with an overwhelming amount of rage and whether it had been his plan all along she didn't know but she rose to her feet again with more strength than before.

With her fists drawn to her sides and her shoulders coming back in a brilliant pose of purpose, she stood before him anger radiating off of her. Her eyes narrowed on Fury with a determined shine and she advanced again, this time landing a hit to his ribs. While she wasn't too intimating in size, she easily calculated places to strike in which would leave the attacker most weakened and with her new found strategy, Fury fell.

Before she could even process her victory, a foreign sound echoed through the gym making her freeze. It was an eerie sound that shouldn't have sent a chill down her spine. A sound that heard from anyone else would've made her smile. Yet coming from the usually stoic man she couldn't help but recoil as if hearing it was the equivalent of being stuck.

Fury's body shook in laughter as he pushed himself up off his knees. "Motherfucker." He exclaimed, his eye landing on her with a glimpse of something she'd never seen from him before. Pride? Amusement? Either one brought a disbelieving and hesitant smile to her face as she quickly moved to help him up.

"I was wondering how many times it would take getting the crap beat out of you for you to finally put that brain of yours to use." Fury grunted, his hand coming to his ribs as he stood. Y/n's brows creased looking up at him in confusion.

"Wait, you're not mad?" She questioned, rattled by how entertained he was with her finally snapping at him. He moved to unwrap his fists looking up at her with a lifted brow.

"Am I supposed to be? Taking me down was your objective." He replied, glancing over his shoulder as she mimicked him, tugging the wrapping carefully as to avoid further hurting her split knuckles. She offered a shrug, allowing her prideful smirk to appear.

"Well, you just got taken down by a girl." Fury's gaze hardened on her cheeky grin and he shook his head, his amusement diminishing with her childish humor.

"Don't give me that bullshit. I've been training you for months, you taking me down once ain't nothing to be excited over." He grumbled, trying to dismiss her win.

Y/n's smile lingered for the rest of the day.

•••

"So what's the point of the 'Next Generation Initiative'? Aren't some of the Avengers, like, immortal?" Y/n questioned, poking at the keyboard in front of her. Fury's annoyed gaze fell on her for the fifth time in the past ten minutes and he sighed heavily pushing the keyboard away from her. She lifted her head off of her elbow and turned to face him as his chair swiveled toward her.

"Thor's practically immortal. But the rest aren't." Fury explained. Y/n reached out to grab the pen on the table only to have Fury slam his hand down on hers, forcibly stopping her. "Do you always have to mess with something?" He questioned, his tone sharp.

Y/n gave him a glare before retracting her hands and wedging them between her thighs. "What about Hulk? Not only did the gamma rays make him immortal, he can't die as either Bruce Banner or Hulk. And what about Captain America? I mean isn't he like 100?" She rambled.

Fury massaged his temples, reminding himself that he had to put up with her if he wanted his project to succeed. "96. And no he's not immortal." He corrected, ignoring Y/n's mockful expression as she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. You didn't answer my question." She accused, shooting him an expectant gaze. He peered down at her, his brow lowering in an unamused scowl.

"Like the Avengers Initiative, Next Gen's purpose is to protect Earth from all threats, whether it be from other worlds or our own." Fury droned, his own statement seeming to bore him. He'd given the same speech to the council a million times before and he wasn't someone that cared to repeat himself. Yet in enthusiasm Y/n easily had enough for the both of them as she listened carefully to his every word, enjoying the fact that he was finally telling her something.

Sure she'd known that joining S.H.I.E.L.D especially with her skills would mean some kind of hero work. Fury had explained to her and her parents once before that with Y/n's brain she could help set the world forward into technical advances and with the right training become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. All she knew about S.H.I.E.L.D was what could be linked to the Avengers so she had automatically been hooked but her parents didn't share her eagerness.

Yet never did she imagine becoming a part of a project similar to the Avengers, a team she'd grown up idolizing. Suddenly any doubt she'd felt washed away with her fascination toward becoming a superhero. The idea of putting her skills toward something bigger than herself was what had drawn her away from her friends and family after all.

"So, the next generation of superheroes?" She assumed, unable to hide the thrilled smile that crossed her face. Fury nodded slowly, unsure whether he should be encouraging her so much. Her unwavering grin stuck as he turned back to the computer in front of him, tapping on the keys with a quick sweep of his hand.

"Then why don't the Avengers know about me?" She questioned suddenly.

"The council doesn't want anyone to know about you. At least not until this succeeds." He answered shortly, his concentration unbroken as he did so.

"When will that be? And why aren't there more of me? I mean aren't there more superhero kids you should be scouting?" Y/n began questioning again making him sigh heavily. He was beginning to regret recruiting her, finding her intuitive and adolescent need to question everything bothersome.

"You are what we call a trial basis. That's when-"

"I know what a trial basis is. I'm not stupid." Fury's eyes narrowed on the girl who'd interrupted him, nearly chuckling at the irony of what she'd said.

"Well, then stop acting like it." He retorted, drawing an unhappy pout from her. With arms crossed and her brow creased she glared at him but he ignored her turning back to the computer.

"I'm not acting stupid. Trust me, I'm sure I'd be a lot more help if I actually knew what was going on. This is the most I've gotten you to talk since I got here." She challenged, making sure not to provoke him. If she had there'd be no way to get answers out of him. "I'm just saying I left everything to be here and you can't even give me the time of day to explain why I'm really here. Why would you recruit me? I don't have powers, I just happen to be smart. Why would you pick me to start such an important project?"

The doubt she'd been feeling for months was beginning to flood back as she confessed to him. His persistence in wanting to recruit her at the start had convinced her enough that she was worthy of being a part of whatever he had planned but now that she knew what it was she was becoming painfully aware of how minuscule she was in comparison.

Fury kept his stare focused on the monitor before him, a sigh flushing through him and escaping out his nose as his hands stilled on the keyboard. He knew she was right. All the information he'd given her up to that point was the name of the project and the vague details he'd offered her parents.

He needed to give her a sign of good faith, something to earn a bit of her trust and acceptance in order to continue with the project.

Y/n watched with an intense gaze as he grabbed the mouse, directing the cursor toward another file. Everything in her was screaming to press for an answer but the contrast in his behavior kept her from doing so. Never had he gone silent before and she wondered if this was finally it. Was he finally going to reveal his true intentions?

After effortlessly bypassing several forms of security, a file was brought up, her own picture dragging her attention away from his silence. To the left of the photo was her name, birthdate, social security number and several other pieces of information like her parents' names and her education records.

Yet beside her name was another name, this one bubbled in quotations like an alias.

"Next Generation Stark?" She read aloud, the words rolling off her tongue like she was accusing him of a lie. Fury sat back in his chair, crossing his arms as he studied her baffled face and slack jaw. "Stark? Like Tony Stark? What the hell does that mean?" She demanded, all restraint on herself to remain polite out the window upon such an absurd comparison.

Fury pierced his lips gesturing to the computer, "Exactly what it says." He told her, his tone much more matter of fact than she felt was appropriate. Her head frantically shook as she tried to make him see how absolutely insane he sounded.

"I can't be. Tony Stark is my hero and a literal superhero. Not to mention a billionaire, genius-" She was cut short by Fury sitting forward, a smirk playing on his lips as he snidely remarked.

"I thought you were a genius. IQ of 224 and all." The sarcasm practically dripped from his words and Y/n's glare returned with more intensity than before.

"If that's the only similarity between us we're going to have a lot of problems." She pointed out earning a returning glare from Fury. The fact that he was arguing with a teenager was enough to make him question his life choices but the fact that she was calling him out on the outlandishness of his operation was enough to make his blood boil.

Though his pride was unwilling, he managed to release his irritation with a deep sigh. The entire program rested on his ability to train and create the next line of defense and though it frustrated him, the only 'defense' he had was Y/n.

"Look. I didn't recruit you because I wanted you to be Stark." He began, the tension that built in his shoulders and between them easing some as he spoke. "I recruited you because you have the potential to be someone just as great."

Y/n tried to fight the warmth that spread through her chest. It had been the kindest thing said to her in months and her need to please others simply jumped for joy at the praise.

Her once defensive posture slacked a bit as she fell back against her chair, sending him an irritated yet pleased look. "You're strangely motivational. Were you born like that or did you take lessons?" She questioned, her snarky manner returning with the lightness in the air.

"I know a guy." Fury shrugged before returning to his work. Y/n rolled her eyes, growing used to the way that everything he said had to hold a bit of secretiveness.

"If you say yourself, I will slap you regardless of who you are." She replied, lifting her legs up and placing her feet up onto the desk. Fury eyed them with a disdained look before pushing them off with one swift movement.

"You know that code name is all the more fitting with that attitude of yours." He countered, slightly entertained as her feet fell back to the floor forcing her to sit up right. Her expression remained annoyed unable to muster up the effort to glare at him once more.

"Tony Stark wishes he had an attitude like mine." A short scoff escaped Fury as Y/n crossed her arms, a smug smile tugging at her lips.

•••

The months that followed were easier with her new found purpose. As Fury had hoped, giving her more details on the project insured her compliance and even inspired her to take on more tasks and missions.

It was a few months after their discussion before he decided to untrust her with Project Insight. With the help of the 15 year old genius the work went smoother and a lot of the technical issues they faced either became minor inconveniences or vanished all together.

And with her new access to the labs containing some of the most advanced technology she spent almost all her free time tinkering away. Whenever Fury asked what it was she was devoting so much time and energy to, she immediately shut him down, a little embarrassed by the idea of telling him.

But it didn't stop him from checking surveillance in the lab. He had to confess it was a pretty good replica of the famous Iron Man though he'd never tell her. He was almost tempted to alert Stark that his precious suit wasn't as exclusive as he'd hoped.

Though it was slow at first and unwanted, Fury grew used to Y/n's presence and rather than a nuisance she became a normal figure in his life. He'd never admit it but whenever she wasn't at his side or where he'd left her a small bit of panic would set in. The instinct Maria pointed out to be paternal was often and annoyed him beyond belief but happened nonetheless.

The feeling seemed to be mutual because Y/n frequently came to him with anything and everything that happened during her day to which he reluctantly listened.

"Some of the other agents were talking about their countdowns. I can't wait to get mine." Y/n spoke, glancing up at Fury as he faintly listened from his desk. Not yet satisfied without his full attention, a mischievous smirk curved onto her features and she leaned on her palm to look at him. "Who's your soulmate?"

The hard stare he directed at her would've been enough to make a grown man quake but Y/n had become immune to such glares. "None of your business." He replied, his tone callous and indifferent. But Y/n noticed something, a fleeting glance to his left just before he spoke.

Her knowing smile riled through him and he huffed, moving aside his monitor to properly scowl at her. "Is it Maria? Nah she's too nice to be your soulmate. Or maybe it's one of those opposites attract types of situations?" Y/n unleashed every thought that buzzed through her mind and Fury wasn't sure which one to be most enraged by. So he remained silent, allowing her curiosity to brew.

Sensing his disinterest in answering her she sat up, moving to climb to her feet. "Well, I guess I'll just have to ask Ms. Hill." The sigh that filled the air was playful as if getting the answers she so wanted was a chore but Fury knew she had no issue in seeking out the woman in question.

"Leave her be. She's leading a covert mission right now." He cautioned. Y/n paused, sinking back into her chair as he folded his hands. "She's my soulmate, is that what you want to hear?" His confession sent a bit of joy through her from being right but she didn't speak her pride, instead allowing him to continue.

"When she joined S.H.I.E.L.D we found out we were soulmates but we never let it get in the way of our work." The explanation came easily but the troubled expression on his face was anything but. She almost felt a bit guilty for dragging the truth out of him.

"So you guys aren't together?" For the first time ever, she watched him shift uncomfortably. His action only seemed to urge her to press more, sensing him beginning to crack.

"We are a part of the percentage of the world with platonic soulmates." He described. She nodded slowly, not believing him for a second. She may have only been there for a little under a year but she had never seen such a profound bond between two people. A little envy from their relationship had established itself in her even if it was a 'platonic' relationship.

"Does she know that?"

Fury froze, his single eye widening ever so slightly. She'd struck a nerve.

"Y'know what? I'm done telling you shit." Fury snapped, turning away from her with an agitated growl. Y/n instantly sat forward, guilt grasping hold of her creased brow as she scrambled to apologize.

"Wait no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." It came rushed but was heard making Fury haltingly glance back up at her. Her lip had been pulled back between her teeth as she chewed at it nervously. "My-my mom used to tell me that just because I know a lot doesn't mean I need to know everything. She usually keeps me in check but-..."

Her words dropped off into a deafening silence. Y/n tended to question everything and while her mother believed it to be some form of OCD her father argued it was just her paranoia. Whatever the case it led to a lot of frustration for those who were being interrogated and Y/n realized for the past year Fury had been the focus of that.

His hardened expression faltered and if one truly studied his expressions they would recognize a bit of remorse had surfaced to match her own.

"I really miss her. My dad, too." Y/n confessed, solemn and longing. "I wonder if they're mad at me. Maybe that's why they haven't tried to visit me."

An unfamiliar pang of guilt hit Fury's heart and his gaze fell onto the file in front of him. Anywhere to avoid looking at the child before him. How was he supposed to tell her that her parents had tried to see her? Tell her that each time he sent them away, insisting she was safe and that they should leave? Tell her how many letters and calls they'd received from them over the past year in hopes it might reach her.

How did he begin to make up for such a wrong yet necessary act?

"Maybe it's time you visited them." The statement left him before he even had a chance to properly analyze it. What was he thinking? Letting her leave would compromise the whole project.

But he couldn't help it. Something deep inside him needed to make up for all the secrets and lies and his unwanted connection to the girl only justified his actions.

"Really?" Fury nodded, yet again surprising the both of them.

"I'll have an agent take you tomorrow. But only under one circumstance." He told her, the seriousness he was known for returning. She nodded instantly ready to pay whatever price to see her family.

"You must come back to S.H.I.E.L.D."

A tense feeling she'd only felt upon her arrival rested in the air, easily thick enough to make her choke. But the excitement she felt outweighed any rational thought.

"I promise."

Part three

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goldenkamuyhunting · 6 years ago

Text

Quick outline of the changes in Golden Kamuy Vol 20

Here is a general outline of the more relevant changes that take place in Vol 20 compared to the magazine. Note that as usual I won’t dig into minor changes unless they seem to be relevant for the plot or characterization (or I really like them).

We spend a moment on the cover, which sees the return of Sugimoto on it.

Sugimoto has appeared already on two covers in the past. I tend to think the next one will be Asirpa, Tsurumi will appear on the one of Vol 23 and Ogata on the one of Vol 27 as in the past they rotated in a regular manner.

Said this I also expect Golden Kamuy to end with Vol 28, in short to have as many volumes as the chapter of Matthew’s gospel... though this might be just me. Honestly, if this were to be wrong, I don’t expect it to go past 29/30 volumes. Considering the magazine version is already at vol 23 we’re getting close to the end... ;_;

It’s also worth to mention that the backcover this time doesn’t have JUST Asirpa like the previous Sugimoto cover but Asirpa AND Ogata, Ogata taking Asirpa away from Sugimoto, in a clear reference to what happened in Vol 19... although during it Ogata was a lot less calm and confident than he looks in this cover, as if this scenewas seen in Sugimoto’s vision... and it’s worth to mention in the cover Sugimoto is trying to pull out his bayonet to likely kill Ogata with it, as he had attempted to do in their first meeting and as he likely considered to do in the hospital when he learnt Ogata would die.

We then move to the colour page.

It’s no new illustration, it was the cover for chap 205, ‘Cinematograph’ which will be in the next volume. Not one of my fave covers but it can be fitting considering the plot of the last chapters of this volume.

The downside of it is that we lose the colour cover of chap 193. I wonder if Noda will use it later.

It’s worth to note though how Noda drew for chap 193 a new black and white cover.

Always in regard to covers, the cover of chap 191 now is used as background for the summary.

As usual the volume presents a cute summary.

And now let’s talk of extra pages and panels which are added to the story.

Same as in past volumes the new pages seems to have the purpose to expand scenes that already were in the magazine version so we can better understand what’s going on.

Note I’m not going to add them all but only those which are plot relevant (or that I particularly like).

Let’s start with chap 191.

Maybe nobody noticed it but volume pages are longer. This allows us to better see Shiraishi’s expression as he buries Kiro.

Asirpa’s expression as Shiraishi says Kiro was too serious for his own good is also redrawn (and they added some background behind Tanigaki, Koito and Tsukishima).

Tanigaki’s dialogue line about Inkarmat reporting how Kiro told her Wilk had changed is cut as Noda had added some panels in the past volume with Sugimoto telling this to Asirpa.

This allows Noda to expand the scene in which Sugimoto tells Asirpa Nopperabou told him he didn’t kill the Ainu, to which she replies ‘really?’ when in the magazine version she just looked down sadly.

Noda shortened the scene in which Sofia unbury Kiro to say her goodbye to him to add one in which she joins her men, even though it was too late to save Kiro.

It should hurt her horribly.

We go on. At Noboribetsu Noda added a Kikuta panel with the man saying something. No idea what but I love Kikuta so enjoy him.

We go to Chap 192.

The inside of the ryv is now more detailed and Ogata looks a little better... as in his bandages seem cleaner than in the volume version. Also Noda gave him a fur cover which matches with the one has in the othe scenes.

Sure the cloth placed against his eye is still not perfectly clean but the one in the magazine seemed much dirtier.

On the opposite side Tsukishima looks worse, his lips chapped now.

Noda expanded Sugimoto’s reply to Asirpa’s question ‘what are you going to do, Sugimoto? Will you cooperate with Tsurumi?’

We jump to chap 193.

As said before the color cover is removed and Noda drew a black and white new cover for the chapter.

When Kikuta notices the man with the eyepatch, the guy looks much worse than in the magazine and Ariko doesn’t turn toward him as well but looks at Kikuta. Noda also changed a little Kikuta’s expression in the following panel.

Ah, it’s not really relevant but Noda changed a little how one of Toni Anji’s men look so as to help differentiate him from Toni Anji’s other man. I’m not going to post all the scenes in which he looks different but here you can get a glimpse of him and compare him with how he previously looked in the magazine.

Noda took better care of Ariko’s mother, drawing her in action instead than still as a statue.

(and yeah you also get a glimpse of Kikuta as he says ‘the sound of geta’ as Noda redraw him)

Noda also made more clear how Kikuta removed the eyepatch (you can now see him moving something above his left eye and said eye widening and also being visible although Kikuta’s face is darkened when Toni shoots him) and Noda also drew better Toni shooting at Kikuta.

Let’s go to chap 194.

A lot more fog is added in almost all the scenes better showing how it was hard to see something in it for Kikuta and Co. No idea why but the Nikaido panels have now him looking in the opposite direction and there are minor redrawing here and there.

Overall though there is no terribly relevant change.

Chap 195 presents only one small yet relevant change.

In it it’s Ariko who volunteers to go after Toni while Kikuta remains with Usami, when in the magazine version it was Kikuta who told Ariko to go after him.

To chap 196 we go.

Ogata is confirmed to look as bad as in the magazine version in this chapter, as to imply his conditions has worsened quite a bit.

There are some minor redrawings here and there but nothing terribly relevant (still enjoy Kikuta looking more awesome... yes, if you hadn’t figured it out yet I’m partial to him).

And now we reach Chap 197 and things turn interesting.

While Asirpa remains very distressed at the idea Ogata might die...

... and we have no explanation whatsoever regarding to the Russian doctor’s odd behaviour, we get a lot of changes in regard to how Koito and Tsurumi’s first meeting went because the volume version changed it A LOT. Not only Tsurumi’s face isn’t kept in the dark for as long as it was in the magazine but Koito definitely isn’t the well mannered kid we met in the volume version but a real bonbon, spoiled, bossy and angry, much more fitting of the personality he’ll have as an adult. Tsurumi also will show here he’s not going to let a young boy bully him.

Again Noda have someone slap some sense into someone else.

While the scene can look violent it’s clearly for Koito it was catartic. He knew he was acting like an asshole and he likely did so because he wanted to draw attention on himself but, as he says also in the magazine version, his father won’t scold him. So fundamentally Tsurumi hitting him for his bad behaviour gave him the attention he wanted and makes tematically sense with how he pointed out his father didn’t scold him.

After that fight Tsurumi’s kindness also likely made more of an impression on Koito.

It’s also worth to mention Tsurumi is freakingly strong. Remember how Ogata warned Sugimoto he shouldn’t try to block Koito’s first strike, the info box informing us it should be dodged at any cost? Well, Tsurumi blocks it with his arm and breaks Koito’s ‘sword’ (actually the cane of a poor man Koito took using his status).

So we move to chap 198.

The panels post Koito’s kidnapping are expanded. Now it’s more obvious Koito’s tricycle is in front of the consulate. Many panels are also expanded but, overall, I couldn’t detect relevant changes.

So we reach Chap 199.

The whole run in the tricycle is expanded, the chase between the Kidnapper (Kikuta) and the duo Tsurumi/Koito senior is now longer and Tsurumi gets to show off more and even express his Tsurumisexuality on two women passing by.

The destruction of the tricycle is now in a spread page, Koito senior calling for his son in another, below him the background of the Goryokaku.

And so we reach the last chapter of the volume, chap 200.

Interesting enough Noda removed Tsukishima leaving the room when they hear Koito senior calling for Koito making the scene entirely a Koito-Ogata one.

Tsukishima will remain present, we can see his hat when Ogata ties Koito, meaning he heard Ogata saying Барчонок ‘Barchonok’ (ボンボンが ‘Bonbon ga’ "pampered little rich boy’“).

This means it was clearly Tsurumi the one who knocked out Koito senior, showing us again how Tsurumi is actually quite strong but this also tells us that when Koito will mention the word Барчонок ‘Barchonok’ Tsukishima probably felt very, very uncomfortable about it as he might have understood from whom Koito might have heard it... while in the magazine version Tsukishima knew nothing about it and Koito could hope Tsukishima was actually the kidnapped who used it (unlikely, not only it’s Ogata the one with a bruised nose but ‘black hat’ was shorter than ‘white fedora’ and a much better fighter, all things that match with Tsukishima).

By the way, not only Ogata’s nose is confirmed to remain bruised (so yes, it was him the one who rubbed Koito’s back) but now we can see the number on their shoulders, which in the volume version wasn’t clearly visible although the bands showing their ranks still aren’t present.

It’s also worth to mention Noda expanded the meeting between Tsurumi, Koito and Koito senior when Koito has enrolled in the army.

No idea why they say but they discuss again how Koito was saved. I’ll say Tsurumi succesfully has managed to make Koito senior feel in debt.

Ogata’s escape is also expanded, with Sugimoto trying to shoot at him more than once. None of the shoots is remotely close to the horse as Sugimoto was clearly aiming above it, to Ogata. Not that he gets him.

Koito is shown coming out of the hospital on unsteady legs as Sugimoto wishes for Ogata to come back so he can fucking kill him though his gaze here is a little more normal.

In short Ogata didn’t put Koito completely out of service but, between the blow at his head and Ogata’s kick Koito was definitely not in his best shape.

As far as I’m involved the worst part is that nothing is explained about the Russian doctor who first didn’t want to have anything to do with them as his hospital was full, then realized they were Japanese and was threatened by Sugimoto into going with them EVEN THOUGH HIS HOSPITAL WAS FULL AND HE CLEARLY WAS BUSY, and once he sees the poor shape Ogata is in, decides to bring him to his hospital going so far as arguing with them, even though before being threatened he didn’t want to help them.

Then he perfectly smoothly acts as if Ogata is about to die, not even a drop of sweat on his face, before we discover that it’s highly possible he was being threatened by Ogata? That or there’s more and we hadn’t been told yet?

Hard to say, it’s possible Noda just wants to handwave this but really, it’s weird and it’s not addressed at all.

Anyway the volume ends here.

Ariko and Kikuta do the thanks.

...and the spoiler for the next volume is the cover of chap 210. I’ll be evil and let you check which one it is if you don’t remember it. :P

Anyway that’s all. I recommend everyone to get the volume as, as usual, it’s much better than the magazine version.

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tournesolia · 6 years ago

Text

Chaos Lineage Kanato Chapter 5 Translation

Place : Orange mansion – Kanato's room

Yui : (Since then, I tried finding ideas but I can't really think of a good way to restore everyone's memories...)

(First of all, even if I want to know where this land is located, Ruki-kun's watching me so I can't get out of the mansion)

Sigh...

(What should I do ?)

(Even if I get depressed, it won't get me anywhere. I shouldn't give up)

Kanato : What is it ? Your face is brightening and darkening since then...

Yui : (That's right, I have to be positive and do what I can !)

I know ! Kanato-kun, do you want to eat pudding ?

Kanato : Pudding... ? There's pudding ? I really want to eat it !

Yui : I was thinking about baking pudding. So shall we do it together ? If you're okay with it...

Kanato : Of course. Now that we're at it, let's make a giant pudding

Yui : Okay. Let's see if we have the ingredients to bake one

(Thank godness. He's surprisingly motivated)

Scene change : Orange mansion – Kitchen

Yui : Milk, eggs... Yes. It looks like we have all the ingredients to make pudding

There's not much sugar, but... I think it will still do

Kanato : Then, we can bake pudding, right ?

Yui : Yes. But there's not enough ingredients to make a big one... Are you still fine with it ?

Kanato : Is that so ? What a shame. But it can't be helped, right ? I'm fine as long as I can eat pudding

Yui : Good. Then let's stark cooking right now !

*some time passes

Kanato : Speaking of which, there's something strange

Yui : What's the matter ?

Kanato : I never questioned it before realizing my memories were falsified, but...

In this land, it seems supplies such as ingredients are being replenished on their own

Yui : Eh ? Doesn't one of you go buy them somewhere ?

Kanato : There isn't a place to go buy them. Because there's only a forest, three houses and a church in this world

Yui : … I-I see... Now that I think about it, this land doesn't seem to have a supermarket

Kanato : Indeed. Because of this, I can't eat sweets until I'm satisfied

So when I wanted to eat some, I had to ask Ruki

I wanted Ruki to make sweets. It was really stupid of me when I think about it now

And I only noticed this thing because I regained my memories...

Yui : I see

(It's not a natural occurrence that they have proper access to necessary supplies, right ?)

… Does this mean someone provides us with supplies ?

Kanato : That's right

In other words, it would be natural to think this place and this situation were prepared by someone

Yui : … You're right. I also feel that way a little

(Because it would be unlikely that someone haven't designed this land on purpose)

Kanato : Yes, there's someone who looks down upon us in such a situation

I can't eat sweets, I became miserable, and it's all because of them

I don't know who's the one behind this but I'll never forgive them. If I find them, I'll tear them to pieces...

Yui : Yes. We should find the person who's behind all this. We have to do something...

Kanato : Please wait... Will the pudding we made be okay ? It won't suddenly be erased, right ?

Yui : I-I think it will be fine. When baked, it'll only cool down. So ? Are you relieved ?

Kanato : No, I'm worried. Watch over the oven

Yui : … But I think it will be fine

(And if it really disappears, there would be no point in watching over it...)

Kanato : We can't lower our guard. It may be snatched away by Shin or Ayato

Yui : R-Right

(I guess it can be physically snatched away like this...)

Kanato : So watch over it. Now, please hurry up and finish it

…

Yui : (Hehe... He's serious. I think it may be fine, but...)

(I'll leave it as it is because it's cute)

*some time passes

Yui : Is it done now ?

(The pudding is cooling down in the refrigerator, I wonder if it's ready to eat ?)

Kanato : How is it ?

Yui : Looks like it properly cooled down. It's properly baked so it's all okay. However...

Kanato : What is it ?

Yui : I'm not sure if the pudding is sweet enough or not since I made it with the minimum ingredients

Kanato : Is that so... ?

It's something you made so I'm sure it will be delicious

Yui : R-Really ? I feel on the contrary pressured when you said this with so much confidence...

Kanato : I only said what I really think. I shouldn't ?

Yui : No, that makes me happy. Thank you

Kanato : Then let's eat right now

Yui : Yes. I'll eat with you as well

Scene change : Orange mansion – Living room and dining room

Kanato : Let's eat

Yui : Let's eat

*Kanato tastes the pudding

Yui : H-How is it ?

Kanato : Pudding is pudding, but it lacks sweetness a little as you said

Yui : Just as I thought... I was right

(There was little sugar left. And I wanted to make something more delicious for Kanato-kun to eat...)

Kanato : … Please don't make such a depressed face

Yui : Yes...

Kanato : If it lacks sweetness, we only need to add more

Yui : But there's little sugar left so Ruki-kun may get angry if we use more sugar...

Kanato : We don't need sugar. I wasn't thinking about it...

Yui : Eh ?

Kanato : You are still slow no matter how much time passes. You know what to do when this thing happens, right ?

It's not sweet enough, right ?

Yui : (Errr... In other words, that's...)

Choice 1 : Looking for honey (Black roses)

Yui : Wait, there's maybe honey ! Let's apply honey on the pudding

Will it be fine with this ?

Kanato : Good grief, you didn't understand anything

Yui : Eh... ?

(He shook his head as if he was disappointed...)

Kanato : There's another thing that only you can do, right ?

Yui : Ah...

Kanato : It seems you finally realized it now that I see your cheeks turning red

Choice 2 : Blush (White roses)

Kanato : It seems you understand now that your face turned red

Yui : … Maybe...

Kanato : Hehe, this expression is so cute

Yui : … !

(W-When he whispers in my ear...!)

Kanato : I'm happy that you show this face to only me

Yui : This face... I can't show it to anyone but you

Kanato : That's right. Because I'll never forgive you if you show this cute face to other men. If by any chance you show it...

I'll put out their eyes

Yui : That's too much... !

Kanato : Then, please show both your smiling and embarrassed expressions only to me

Yui : … O-Of course

– End of choices

Kanato : Hehe... This expression of yours is the best

Yui : Ah... !

Kanato : Please give me sweet... Only to me... *kisses her

Yui : (His kiss... is sweet...)

Kanato : Of course, there's something even sweeter

*sucks blood

Yui : (Ah, he's sucking from my shoulder...)

Kanato : *sucks blood

Yui : Ah... Hmm...

(My mind is foggy... It feels good... unlike before)

Kanato : Hehe, just as I thought, it's very sweet... *sucks blood

Yui : Ah...

Kanato : As expected, there's nothing in this world that is sweeter than your blood

Yui : (I feel dizzy, but... It feels good... His bloodsucking is about to drown me...)

(When it's like this, I forget all the sad and painful things...)

(Only now... If it's only now, can I only feel Kanato-kun ?)

Kanato : You seem to feel it as well. Then, I'll suck from this place this time...

*door opening

Ruki : Kanato, you of all people...

Kanato : … !

*Kanato moves back

Yui : Ruki... kun

Kanato : Another disturbance came

Ruki : Don't eat Eve greedily without considering the consequences. The smell of blood is spreading throughout the mansion

Kanato : You said it's fine as long as I don't break her, didn't you ? I'm properly protecting her

Ruki : I allowed you to be her guard, thinking you would have some common sense

However, if you behave selfishly and attempt something on Eve, I will have to reconsider this

Kanato : You're shallow, aren't you ? But this is not of my concern

Ruki : I tried to let some things pass, but you went too far, Kanato

Kanato : … Hmph !

Shin : Hey, what's with all this ruckus ?

Ruki : There's no ruckus. I'm only talking to Kanato

Shin : Heeh, I see. Anyway, there's an incredible smell of blood in this mansion. It stinks. How much of blood did he suck ?

You disobeyed big brother again and acted on your own ?

It's time to hand Eve over to big brother. Or else we won't be able to find a way to become the supreme ruler, no matter how much time passes

Ayato : Hey. Don't just decide by yourself ! I told you that the one becoming the supreme ruler will be Yours Truly

Yui : (Ah, Ayato-kun as well...!)

Shin : You're saying that again ? The one suitable to be the supreme ruler is big brother. You're not the right person for that

Ayato : Shaddup ! You won't know unless I try !

What if I prove it by beating you up right now ?

Shin : Haha, you immediately lost your temper. You're really a feeble-minded idiot

Ayato : What did you just say, you fucking eyepatch-glasses !?

Yui : (At this rate, they're going to quarrel ! If I don't stop them right here, it may end up becoming a big fight...!)

Kanato : Good grief, these people are only being noisy

Yui : Kanato-kun...

Kanato : What on earth is this ? They're all surrounding my lover like flies...

I can't associate with them

*Kanato grabs Yui’s hand

Yui : Ah, Kanato-kun, your hand...

Kanato : Now, let's head back to my room. We have no reason to stay in this place any longer

Ruki : Wait, Kanato. We still haven't finished talking

Kanato : What are you doing ? Please open the door. I can't return to my room like this

Ruki : You can't afford to leave considering the flow of the conversation. If you're leaving, leave Eve behind

Kanato : Are you messing with me ? I will never hand her over. She has been mine and only mine from the beginning

So what I'm doing to her isn't your business. You have no right to tell me what to do !

Yui : (Kanato-kun... I understand what you feel, but no matter what you say to Ruki-kun and the others, it may be no use)

(Because what Ruki-kun and the others are thinking is also correct)

Ruki : I see. So you mean that you aren't going to change your mind no matter what I said so far

Then you leave me no choice. I will make you reflect back on things for a while until you follow my instructions

Shin

Shin : Yeah, got it, big brother

*Shin puts chains on Kanato

Yui : Shin-kun !

Kanato : Hey ! What are you doing !? Please let me go, Shin !

Shin : Didn't he say you're getting punished ? You'll be locked in jail from now on

You'll reflect on your whole behavior here, okay ?

Yui : (No way ! Kanato-kun got captured by Shin-kun !)

Ayato : Hah ! Interesting ! The Great Me will help too !

Yui : Ayato-kun, you too !? Stop it ! If something bad happens to Kanato-kun...

Ruki : Don't interrupt, Eve

*Ruki grabs her

Yui : Hiya... ! Ruki-kun, let me go !

*Yui struggles

Ruki : I can't do that. As Eve, you're supporting Kanato too much

You will stay by my side from now on

Yui : Noooo--- !

Kanato : Stop ! Let go of Yui-san !

Ruki : Shin, Ayato, take Kanato away

Shin : Got it, big brother

Ayato : Serves you right ! You're gonna reflect firmly on yourself in jail

Kanato : Let me go ! LET ME GOOOOOO !

*Shin and Ayato take Kanato away

Yui : Kanato-kun !

Please, let me go ! Let me go, Ruki-kun !

Ruki : Stop struggling

*Ruki gets closer

Ruki : The Sleeping Beauty wakes up with a kiss, huh... For a princess, you have nothing out of the common... but only the smell of your blood is exceptional

Yui : (Ruki-kun is whispering to my hear... Is he going to suck my blood ?)

Ruki : You will show me the way to become the supreme ruler. I will take the time to try becoming one from now on, so be prepared

No matter what it takes

Yui : (His expression is serious... I'm scared...)

(What on earth will happen to me from now on ?)

(And Kanato-kun... I don't know what will happen to him at this rate)

(What should I do ? What should I do !? I have to think...!)

Chapter 5 : End

#Diabolik Lovers #diabolik lovers translations #diabolik lovers chaos lineage #Sakamaki Kanato #Komori Yui #Mukami Ruki #sakamaki ayato #tsukinami shin #chapter 5

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purplerose244 · 6 years ago

Text

Of Koi and Kindness

Hello everyone, here’s a fic for the Ninjago Secret Santa hosted by @coco-jaguar! Thank you so much for you work and dedication, I had a lot of fun like every year, it’s one of my favorite events 😍

This is my present for @ookamihanta, one of my favorite artists in this fandom! An absolute pleasure writing about your OCs, I hope I gave them justice! I love your art and I hope you spent the best Christmas! 😊😊

Here we go, enjoy! ^ ^

(These characters do not belong to me, they belong to ookamihanta for Sunny and Chiru, and the Ninjago crew for Ronin)

“Chi, I don’t wanna be that person… but it’s been one full hour since you started trying, so I’ll be that person.” Sunny sighed, shaking her head at her friend’s apparently unbreakable concentration over the target. “You’ve tried enough. It’s time to go. Come on.” There were many other ways she could had spent that snowy night. Stuck in front of a shooting gallery with a very mediocre thrower didn’t really come first on her list.

Chiru pouted, holding the ball in his hand for dear life.

“But this is the one! I can feel it!” That guy could have a future as a writer. ‘But this is the one I can feel it’, a biography by sore loser Chiru. He squeezed his eyes, eyeing the cans that were his targets. “I just… have to… aim…”

Sunny shook her head.

“Cupcake, there’s a Cafe with a special menu for smoothies just waiting for my order, please? I’m dying for a strawberry and banana right now.” And for a warm place to stay in in general, her coat was warm enough but her cheeks were starting to hurt. Winter festivals were fun, especially in the center of Ninjago City. But only there someone could find a shop for antiquity – apparently in possession of a very flawed heater –, that for some reason decided to set up a very attractive looking shooting gallery with koi fishes as prices. Just what she needed with Chiru and his newborn burning desire to have a koi fish.

When the fist sneeze came out Selene gulped nearby, her big blue concerned eyes all over her. Her cat grabbed her pants, almost climbing the girl by herself. Sunny picked her up, leaving her snuggling around her neck like a black fur collar. She was fluffy and warm, the perfect scarf. Sunny scratched her head to thank her, earning a satisfied purr.

Chiru grunted, throwing the ball again. It got the cans, but not enough to make them fall over. The man at the stand, sitting on a chair with his feet on the counter, snickered. He had a big hat slightly inclined over his face, partially hiding his eyepatch.

“Not like I wanna interrupt the stream of money… I really don’t, keep going.”

“I’m gonna get the fish, you just wait old man!”

“Feel free to try as much as you want kid, you don’t hear me complaining.” The man looked at the teens, smirking. “And it’s Ronin. Wanna know an old man, spend like two minutes with one of the ninja. That geezer master can come from everywhere.”

Sunny’s eyebrows went up.

“That Ronin? Aren’t you supposed to be in jail? Or with the heroes?… or both?” That name sparked too many controversial big newspapers titles.

“Not today, today I got these koi fishes from an old client and discovered that for Christmas kids don’t want fishes… but dragons. ” He shrugged, bring his hands behind his neck. “It’s a sad time of the year for pet marketing. Alas this is the only productive method I came with to earn some money and try to get rid of these little things at the same time. They call me many, many, many unhappy names, but lazy isn’t one of them.” Looking at the robot arm and the variety of mechanical components of his body, it seemed a sincere statement.

Aaand another ball thrown pointlessly got stuck into one of the items hung on the wall – some kind of trophy with a blade on top of it, how bizarre. Chiru growled, dropping his head on the counter, the red and blue locks of his white hair falling flat on the surface.

“This game is rigged!”

Sunny smiled sympathetically at him. She turned to Ronin.

“Can’t I just buy one? You said you just want money and for the koi fishes to be gone.”

“I mean yeah. Although, first, that defeats the economy purpose. Statistically I gain more by his tries than his victories. Then second… of course, I wouldn’t have half the fun I’m having right now.” The ball slipped from the trophy and fell down, Chiru growled louder in response. “Aha, see? I haven’t had this profitable entertainment since fire boy tried to negotiate with me for an aeroblade!” Ronin shook his head, getting more comfortable into his position. “Wanna try too, kid? To avenge his fall or some hero baloney?”

Sunny frowned, looking at her friend still dulling over the counter. After all, it was a Christmas present like another, and he really wanted a koi fish. But she had another plan in mind for the execution. She took Selene off her neck – shivering – and placed her down, then scooted closer to the guy, a hand on her hip.

“How about a deal instead?”

Ronin arched an eyebrow.

“I’m listening.” She leaned her elbow on the counter, offering a hand. “Arm-wrestling? Please sweetheart, I’ve been in Ninjago long enough to recognize an elemental master when I see one. Not gonna fall for the old ‘I’m totally not magical’ trick.”

Sunny smiled brightly at him.

“Elemental master of Moonlight to be precise, nice to meet you. With my good friend master of Blood right here.” Chiru waved without getting his head off the counter. “And I wasn’t going to use my powers, don’t worry.”

“How can I trust you?”

“Well… I’m not you?”

The man snorted, pondering for a moment with the face of someone who just really wanted to forget for a moment about working in a freezer-like shop as a living – or maybe it was just her. Ronin looked at the guy dulling all over his counter and shrugged, getting up and grasping her hand. It was the rough hold of someone who’s been through a lot.

“Why not. Bring it on, kid.”

“Gladly.”

They looked at each other for a moment, her calm expression and his sly smile. Then, on an imaginary bell somehow replaced by Selene’s determinate meow, they both started to push through their hold, trying to make the other fall back. Ronin grunted, holding on as Sunny’s hand trembled for the effort, putting more strength. They stayed in the middle long enough for the both of them to silently pant – and for the defeated with white hair to take a little peak. Then finally Sunny’s blue-polished snails clenched strongly around her rival’s hand, slowly and with an unbearable pace pushing him against the counter.

As soon as he lost the man exhaled the longest breath, looking at her in disbelief.

“You gotta leave half of a dignity, girl. Please tell me you used your powers.”

“It was a power, yes… it’s called workout.” Ronin widened his eyes then started laughing. Sunny giggled too, while Selene jumped skillfully over the counter happily watching her. “But it was a nice challenge, I thought all the strength you had was in the robot arm, not this one. And I’m pretty sure I would had noticed a hero slash public enemy walking around a gym.”

“Pff, I would never do something this fancy, I just need to compensate for what I do for money.” Ronin shrugged, pointing at his treasures for sale. “If you run away as much as I did you end up putting some muscles without really trying. Well, Moony, a deal is a deal I guess.” He looked a little grumpy, the kind you pretend to be just to playfully make things a little less too easy. He opened the fishbowl with all the koi fishes, pointing at it. “Alright kid, which one?”

Chiru finally got up from his gloomy position, wearing a very annoyed look. He slowly put his black mask over the mouth, then pointed at Sunny, who blinked in confusion.

“Didn’t need help. Could’ve done on my own.” His muttering against the cloth sounded extremely sheepish. And his pouty voice and freckled cheeks reddening said otherwise.

Sunny snickered.

“You’re welcome, cupcake.” The colorful koi fishes were swimming rapidly in the little container, scooting a little further when the master of moon peaked at them closely. White, red and black, so color so bright over the scales. “They are so beautiful… Selene don’t you dare!” The black cat stopped the paw in midair and looked annoyed at her master, even while obediently complying. “Well, which one do you like the most?”

Chiru took the mask down. He hummed and looked over as well, still squinting his eyes.

“I don’t know…”

“Is anyone looking at you?”

“Of course they are, I look like a beacon of light!” He grinned, blowing a lock of hair with superiority. Then his eyes widened and he suddenly squished his nose against the glass. “Wait a second, why is that spot so slow?”

Ronin frowned. Sunny shrugged.

“He has bad eyesight, he means the fish.”

“Oh, well, I think the little guy or gal has a lame fin, don’t know if it happened during the fishing or the transport. It can’t help it I guess.” Those big eyes were definitely ahead of him, since Ronin immediately frowned. “You want this one?” The guy nodded convinced. “Well alright, it’s your choice.” Ronin took a plastic bag and a little net, making sure to properly seal the bag with the little koi fish inside. “Here you go kid.” Chiru looked in awe at the fish being extended towards him. He slowly took it with his left hand, never taking his eyes off. The coat he was wearing barely hid his missing right arm, the stump was leaving half sleeve empty. Moving it right now, it kinda looked like a fin. The same fin that was still making it swim. No matter what happened.

Slowly a sweet smile appeared over his face.

Sunny’s eyes softened. Selene immediately rushed to get to the same spot around the girl’s neck, purring softly. The elemental master of Moonlight then turned to the man, leaving on the counter a handful of coins in front of a very confused expression.

“Why…?”

“I kinda played at your shooting gallery, so I’ll pay it as a shot.” She smiled at him. “Thank you, you didn’t have to just agree with my little game.”

“… ah, you kids are so corny.” The man rolled his eyes and took the money, a big smirk on his face. “Get out of here and get yourselves a nice Christmas I guess. At least until this city will be under attack again.” He went to get busy over his merchandise as the teens got out, muttering something about strong female elemental masters always getting the best over him.

The streets were covered in white wonder, it had been since a few days already. The roads and the buildings all together looked created a winter wonderland, with different areas set up for ice-skating and random stands selling hot cocoa. The decorations were bright and colorful, from the big neon signs of the different shops to the Christmas lights climbing every single corner. Walking along the main street many citizens were just wandering around, cute families getting closer to each other with big smiles, nice couples holding hands running towards the closest warm place. It was a rare sight in such a chaotic place.

Sunny sniffed the air, the coffee scent already present. Just one of her favorite Cafe, with a big selection of smoothies in the menu. Just when she eyed the wolf shaped sign of the place, with the irreplaceable O&H signature, Chiru cut her off, suddenly entering some kind of bakery nearby. Sunny froze, a little startled, looking through the shopping window. The guy looked very impatient as he ordered, struggling to hold that new package and the fish with one hand.

When Chiru finally got out he looked at Sunny, still pouting a little. Then he slowly gave her the little pink box of what seemed to be a strawberry shortcake.

“I could’ve got them without help, really! But… thank you.” He blushed, more for the embarrassment than the cold – so there was no backup excuse for that. And even though it was one extremely cute reaction, the master of Moonlight decided that seeing him frowning for an hour over a game was teasingly enough. So she smiled thankfully, taking the present, slowly starting to walk again with the master of Blood by her side.

“So, how are you going to call it?”

“… I don’t know if it’s male of female, I would like to know first. Until then… Nemo I think.” Chiru shrugged. “Too obvious?”

Sunny giggled, scratching her cat’s chin.

“You’re telling me? She’s Selene because of the moon goddess, I can’t exactly judge.” A big bang made them both tremble, but the shiver turned into excitement as a bright green firework exploded into the night sky. “Would you look at that…” Selene meowed, a little concerned, snuggling closer to her neck. After a few more bangs she was already getting used to it, her tail twirling just a little harshly after every single boom.

Chiru held Nemo as close as he could, looking at the show just like all the people that had decided to just stop and watch. Like there was time for beautiful things. Like there was no rush when there was enjoyment. He looked at his friend, smiling.

“Merry Christmas, Sunny.”

Sunny turned to him beaming. Another explosion of light reflected sparkles of purple into her soft cyan irises, adding just another shade of beauty.

“Merry Christmas, Chiru.”

#ninjago #lego ninjago #christmas #christmas fanfiction #ninjago oc #original character #ookamihanta #oc #sunny #chiru #fanfiction #ninjago fanfiction #ronin #ninjago ronin

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middleearth2asgard · 6 years ago

Text

Halloween with the Avengers

“Here you go, sweet cheeks,” Tony said with a wink and a smile as he handed you an envelope over your breakfast.

“What is this?” You asked once you’d finished chewing.

“Open it and find out,” he replied simply before turning and heading back out the door, humming a happy tune as he did so.

With a shrug, you tore open the envelope to find a party invitation inside. It was for an Avengers-only (What was that about? That was very unlike Tony), costumes-required Halloween party that was to be held at the training facility on the evening of October 31st.

You were in the middle of reading all of the costume rules (which clearly stated that wearing your superhero uniform did NOT count) when Natasha entered the kitchen holding her invitation in the air.

“Well, do you have any idea what this is about?” She asked.

“You mean why is Tony throwing a party here at the facility and not inviting anyone but us? No idea. He rushed out of here before I even got the thing open.”

“I’m not the only one who thinks it’s odd, right?”

“No, he’s probably up to something. At least that’s my guess.”

“You going to go? Well, it’s here, but you know what I mean.”

“Don’t know of any reason not to. It’ll be fun. As long as no one kills each other, that is.”

——————

“I’m not going,” was Clint’s answer to your question about what he was going to wear to the party.

“What do you mean you’re not going?” You asked.

“I mean I’m not going. I’ve got better things to do,” he replied, plopping down on the couch across from you.

“Like what?”

“Like not go to the party of the guy that put me in jail.”

“Clint, come on, you know he wasn’t responsible for that. Not really.”

“He’s got a point, y/n,” Bucky said. “He gave me an invitation too, and considering our history, it was awkward. I just said ‘thanks’ and decided I was definitely not going.”

“Guys,” You began, “I talked to him. He wants all of us to have a fresh start. Try to become a team and all that. The least you can do is show up and give it a go. Please?”

You gave them your best puppy dog eyes and Clint was the first one to cave.

“Fine, I’ll go,” he said with a sigh.

“Me too,” Bucky added.

“Good! So, do either of you have any ideas for your costume?”

“Are you talking about Tony’s party?” Steve asked as he entered the room.

“Yeah, I was asking them what they’re going to wear. What about you, Steve?”

“I don’t have a clue. Neither does Sam. I thought about some kind of soldier’s uniform, but that seems sort of predictable.”

“I could help you guys out, if you want?”

“Did I hear you say you were going to assist them with their party attire?” Thor asked from where he had just appeared in the doorway. Without giving you time to answer, he continued, “Would you mind helping me as well?”

“Of course not, Thor. I’d be happy to.”

“Too bad you decided not to go, Loki. Y/n is going to help me dress for the evening,” Thor said over his shoulder.

“Well, I never actually said I wasn’t going,” Loki said as he slid past his brother to give you a large smile. “I am putting myself into your very capable hands.”

Clint let out an annoyed groan from where he was lying on the couch.

“What about you, Hawk? Do you also require my assistance?”

“I appreciate the offer, baby, but I’ve already got something in mind.”

——————

You only had a few days to figure out six different costumes, including your own. Why did you ever offer to help any of them? This was going to be a disaster.

By the time the evening of October 29th rolled around, you still hadn’t come up with a single idea. You were lying in bed, trying to decide what to watch, when you suddenly had an epiphany. You hopped up and ran out of your room to find that Bucky, Sam, and Steve were thankfully still up.

“Ok, I have three questions for you guys. Steve, do you have a good suit?”

“Yeah.”

“Great! Do you and Bucky mind shaving?”

They looked at each and shrugged before saying “no.”

“Awesome! Sam, are your ears pierced by any chance?”

“No.”

“Okay, I’ll have to find clip-ons then. Thanks!”

Then you ran back to your bedroom as quickly as you had left it, leaving three confused men in your wake.

Smiling happily, you said to yourself, “Four down and only two to go.”

——————

On the night of the party, you spread each of their outfits out on their beds, complete with written instructions on how to perfect the look. Your own costume was relatively simple. The only difficulty was the hair, but you managed to get the overall effect close enough that it shouldn’t matter.

As you looked over yourself in the mirror, you were interrupted by a knock on your door. You opened it to find a clean-shaven Bucky standing there.

“Well, how do I look?” he asked.

“The hair is all wrong. Come here,” you said, pulling him over to your vanity and pushing him down on the seat.

“You told me to pull it up,” he said defensively.

You snatched the ball cap off his head and pulled the tie out of his hair, ruining his ponytail.

“I meant pull it up in a way that the cap would hide how long it is,” you said as you ran your fingers through his dark hair.

He sighed softly and leaned his head back until it was resting against your body.

“This is nice,” he whispered, smiling up at you.

Returning the smile, you replied, “I can’t fix your hair like this.”

He let out a playful huff and sat up straight so you could finish styling his hair. When you were satisfied, you put the cap back on his head and nodded your approval. He stood up and you studied him from head to toe. From the blue cap all the way down to the black and white Converse, he looked perfect.

“You look great,” you said.

“Just great? I was hoping for drop dead gorgeous,” he said, earning a laugh from you.

“That compliment is reserved for me,” Steve interjected from where he now leaned against your bedroom door.

His assessment wasn’t far off. He wore a dark suit and blue tie that was a spot on match for his eyes. He made for a truly stunning sight.

As you stared at him, you actually found yourself at a loss for words. Luckily, you were saved by Sam coming into view. Honestly, if you hadn’t been so distracted by Steve, you probably would have heard his pounds of gold chains jingling long before he reached your room.

Steve’s eyebrows shot up when he saw him, and Bucky snorted before breaking down into laughter.

“Shut up,” Sam growled.

Walking towards him, you placed your hands on his arms and said, “I think for tonight, ‘Shut up, fool’ would be the more appropriate response.”

“I hate you,” he muttered.

“No, you don’t,” you said, reaching up and thumping his large feather earring with one finger.

Pulling a cigar out of your breast pocket, you put it between your teeth and said with a grin, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

—————

“Oh my god, you came as the A-Team,” Clint said when he saw the four of you. Directing his next comment to you, he added, “And I didn’t think I could be any crazier about you.”

“Oh, shut up, Clint,” you said with a laugh while giving him a hug. “Or do I have to call you Indiana Jones tonight? That costume is spot on. You even have the whip.”

“I was hoping you’d notice that part,” he said in a low voice that made your cheeks feel hot.

Before you could think of a response, Natasha and Bruce walked over to join you.

“Hey, your costumes turned out great!” Bruce said. “Can you guess who we are?”

You stared blankly at the pair of them. Bruce was wearing a suit and Natasha had on a 90’s era pantsuit, neither of which gave you any idea who they were dressed as. You noticed Bruce’s hopeful expression and quickly turned to look at Natasha, hoping she’d give you some kind of hint. She silently mouthed something that you didn’t catch, then crossed her two index fingers over each other to form an “X”.

“Mulder and Scully, of course!” You blurted out as if it was completely obvious.

“Yeah! See, I told you people would get it, Natasha. She thought it looked too ordinary.”

“Not at all,” you lied.

“Oh, excuse me,” Bruce said. “I’ll be right back.”

After he was out of hearing range, Natasha said, “You didn’t have a clue, did you?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Good evening, ladies,” Tony said as he slid up next to you with a pipe hanging out of his mouth.

“Sherlock Holmes?” You asked.

“Mmhm, What do you think?” he asked, holding his arms out and doing a little spin.

Glancing over his shoulder, you said, “I think I see two of you.”

He turned quickly towards the entrance and swore under his breath when he saw Stephen Strange wearing the exact same outfit.

“What the hell?!” Tony called out.

Even from that distance, you saw Stephen’s face drop as his features took on a disappointed and annoyed expression.

“Seriously?” Stephen asked once he had joined you. “We look ridiculous. People are going to think we matched on purpose.”

“Uh, they’re definitely not going to think that about me. You maybe, but not me,” Tony said. “And, by the way, that’s the worst attempt at a British accent I’ve ever heard.”

“So, What did you pick out for Thor and Loki?” Natasha asked, changing the subject.

“They were actually really tough to come up with good ideas for, so if you say their costumes suck it won’t hurt my feelings. Well, you can see for yourself. There they are.”

Thor was still sporting a large grin in spite of the fact that you made him wear his eyepatch to go along with his pirate costume. Beside him, Loki seemed to be having a hard time adjusting to his fake vampire fangs. He kept pushing them back up like a child with an oversized retainer. Thor waved to you above his head before the two of them crossed the room to join you.

“Don’t you two...I’m sorry, you three...look handsome tonight,” you said, petting the fake parrot that sat on Thor’s shoulder.

“It is all thanks to you, y/n. You did a truly excellent job!” Thor said. He reached over, took your hand in his, and gave it a playful kiss which made you giggle.

After shooting his brother an angry glare, Loki grabbed your other hand and said, “Yes, you did wonderfully. Thank you, darling.”

He pulled the hand he was holding up to his mouth, but before his lips made contact with your skin, his fangs fell out enough to bump you. He sighed in annoyance, pushed them back in, then planted a soft kiss on your hand that lasted much longer than his brother’s had.

You tried not to show your embarrassment at their attention and muttered a quiet, “You’re welcome.”

“So, What am I supposed to be exactly?” Loki asked you.

“A vampire. You bite people on the neck and drink their blood. And by people I mean young, attractive women usually.”

“Oh, really?” he asked with a heightened level of interest to his voice as he eyed your neck with a fanged smile.

“Down, Boy,” Tony said. “Or I’ll have Mulder and Scully here drive a wooden stake through your heart.”

“Uh, Tony?” Bruce said as he rejoined the group almost on cue. “If this is a party, where’s the food and everything?”

“I’ll explain that once everybody is here.”

“Hey, guys!” Scott yelled as he jogged over from the entrance. Everyone stared at the red, white, and blue clad man who was carrying a painted cardboard shield.

“Oh, so I’m the only one who thought it’d be cool to dress up as one of my teammates, huh?” he asked as he looked over the other costumes in the group. Pointing to Tony and Stephen, he added, “You two match. That’s...cute.”

——————

After the rest of the team had dragged in, Tony gathered everyone around and said, “Okay, since this is Halloween, I’ve got some activities planned before the actual party begins. First, the entire facility, except for this room and the living areas, has been turned into a haunted house. Don’t go crazy and assault any of the actors. I don’t want a lawsuit. The goal is to make your way to the main exit on the backside of the building. There, I’ve had a giant, enclosed outdoor maze constructed. It’s completely dark inside, no cell phones or flashlights are allowed, and each of us enters alone. I didn’t design the actual path so I don’t know the way, either. Once you make it out...if you make it out, that is....you’ll find the party waiting for you on the other side. So, let’s get started.”

Although not as cool as being one yourself would have been, having a billionaire as a friend was pretty awesome. The haunted house was absolutely spectacular. The special effects and attention to detail were amazing. And even though it wasn’t that scary (you were an Avenger after all), it was still a lot of fun. There was only one part in the whole thing that made you jump. It was when a man in full body paint came crawling out on all fours from around the corner. He startled you, and he would have gotten an instinctual kick in the face if not for someone wrapping their arms around you from behind.

“Remember what I said about a lawsuit, honey,” Tony whispered in your ear.

“Of course. Sorry, Tony,” you said with a nervous chuckle, still jumpy from the scare.

It wasn’t until you had all reached the entrance to the maze that an uneasiness settled over the group. Looking into the dark, quiet tunnel seemed to have a sobering effect on everybody.

“Tony?” Clint began. “This is just a maze, right? You didn’t set any rats or snakes or anything loose in there?”

“Just a maze, Barton. Who’s going in first?”

His question was met with several moments of silence.

“I’ll go,” Peter said at last.

“Way to go, kid. You’re making all of us look bad.”

Every few minutes, another Avenger would enter the maze until it was your turn. You wandered through the darkness with your hands outstretched, feeling along the walls as you went. The first thing you noticed was how eerily quiet it was. You should have been able to hear someone else walking around, right?

“Tony?” You called out.

No answer.

“Steve?”

Nothing.

“Anybody?”

Still more silence.

You kept moving, running into one dead end after another. After awhile, you began to lose track of time and started getting fed up with the whole thing. You were tempted to sink down to the ground and wait for someone else to come along, but how long might that take?

As you contemplated your options, you ran into something hard. But unlike the metal walls that surrounded you, this one apologized for getting in your way.

“Steve?”

“Y/n?”

“Oh my god, I’m so glad I found you! I was so sick of wandering around this place by myself. Do you have any idea where we are?”

“No, I was headed that way,” he said, pointing in the dark even though you couldn’t see him, “but I ran into a dead end.”

“Here,” You said, reaching down and feeling until you found his hand, “I’m going to hold onto you so that neither one of us gets lost. It’ll be so much nicer than being alone.”

“Yes, it will be.” If it hadn’t been so dark, you would have noticed the sweet smile and warm blush on his handsome face.

You pulled him along behind you through the many twists and turns. Having Steve around for company boosted your confidence, and you were walking at a much faster pace than you had been previously, which turned out to be a bad decision. In your rush, you ran nose first into something very solid.

“Son of a bitch!” You cried out, rubbing your nose while your eyes welled up with tears.

“Are you alright?” a concerned Steve asked.

“Yeah, I ran into the wall.”

“Sorry, doll, but that wasn’t the wall. It was me,” Bucky said.

You reached out and rested your hand on what had to be Bucky’s metal arm.

“It’s alright, Buck.”

“How are we going to get out of here?” He asked. “I’m about ready to punch my way through the walls.”

“Bucky, we don’t know how many walls there are,” Steve said calmly. “Not to mention we don’t know what direction to go in. We might just get in deeper.”

“So we keep tearing up the place until we get out.”

“This is supposed to be fun. We aren’t punching our way out,” you said. “Now, let’s go.”

You grabbed Bucky’s arm and let Steve lead the way, with you in the middle, and Bucky taking up the rear. After a few minutes, you stopped dead in your tracks, let go of both of them, and said, “Shhh! Listen!”

Somewhere in the distance, you heard the faint sound of bickering. As it drew closer, you recognized Thor’s deep voice. If anyone could pierce the soundproof nature of this place of course it would be him.

“Thor!” You yelled as loudly as possible.

“Y/n!!” he bellowed in reply.

Once your group met up with him, you asked, “Who’s with you?”

“It’s just me and my brother, darling,” Loki purred beside your ear. You jumped in response, surprised at how silently he could move in the darkness.

“Well, our little group is growing” Steve said. “Of course, that doesn’t seem to be helping us get out any faster.”

“I still say we punch our way out,” Bucky muttered.

“That’s not a bad idea!” Thor said.

“Yes, it is. We already threw out that suggestion.”

Before Bucky could respond, a high-pitched, girlish scream pierced the air.

“Wanda?! Is that you?”

“Uh...no that was me,” You heard Scott say from a few yards away. “Something brushed against my leg.”

He walked forward with his hands out until he felt something with his right palm.

“That’s my face, Lang,” Loki hissed.

“Sorry, man.”

“Ok,” You began, “I vote that we all stick together and keep moving. We have to be close to the exit by now. We should all hold onto each other so no one gets separated from the group.”

Your statement was met with a few moments of silence before Bucky said, “I’m not holding hands with anyone unless it’s you.”

“I second that.”

“Definitely.”

You sighed and rolled your eyes while the rest of the guys murmured in agreement.

“Fine, do whatever makes you happy.”

You grabbed onto Loki and Scott, who led the way, and once again started walking. Not more than ten minutes later, you were outside and felt the chilly fall breeze hit you in the face. You were pleasantly surprised to find a big campfire surrounded by tables of food and a full bar.

“You guys finally made it. Took long enough.”

You looked to find Clint perched on top of a picnic table working on a candy apple.

“We can’t be the last ones?” you asked as you glanced around, not seeing anyone else.

“Nah, it was just me before you guys showed up.”

“How long we were in there?”

“It took me about ten minutes. You were in there...about forty five,” he said, squinting at his watch.

“Only forty five minutes? I thought it was at least an hour and a half.”

“It felt like an eternity,” Scott said.

As you looked around, you noticed that your little group was one person short.

“Shit! Where is Bucky?”

“I thought he was behind me,” Steve said.

All of a sudden, the loud sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air. About eight feet down from the exit, the wall of the maze warped outward. On the third hit, his fist broke through. Everyone stared as he ripped the metal until there was a hole large enough for him to climb through.

Amazed by what you had just witnessed, you simply shook your head and climbed up beside Clint who passed you a candy apple. The rest of the team eventually found their way out in groups of two and three. After that, there was plenty of drinking and laughter. You witnessed civilized conversations between people who normally wouldn’t even take the time to tell each other to go to hell.

As you sat next to the fire watching your friends, Tony came up beside you and handed you another drink.

“You can go ahead and say it,” he said.

You responded by giving him a questioning look.

“You’re a genius, Tony. You’re absolutely brilliant, Tony. You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met and I need you, Tony.”

You cut your eyes at him before breaking out into laughter.

“Okay, maybe I’m stretching it,” he said with a chuckle. “But, you’ve got to admit, this thing seems like a success.”

“You did good,” you said. With a soft smile, you added, “And you are brilliant, Tony.”

Wrapping an arm around your shoulder, he said, “This feels like a toast-worthy kind of moment. To new beginnings? Nah, that sounds pretty cheesy.”

Looking out over your team, you clinked your plastic cup against his and said, “To the Avengers.”

“To the Avengers.”

————Epilogue————

“Okay, even with the fire, it’s getting pretty cold out here. I vote we go to the screening room and watch some scary movies,” Tony announced to the group.

While the other Avengers murmured in agreement, you studied the group with furrowed brows and a frown and asked, “Hey, where’s the kid?”

“What?” Tony asked.

“Where’s Peter? Has anyone seen him lately?”

No one spoke up.

“Is he still in the maze?” You asked.

“That’s been like three hours now,” Clint spoke up.

“Tony, are there emergency exits or lights installed that we don’t know about?” Steve asked.

“Uhh...no.”

When his response was met with a disapproving glare, he continued defensively, “How was I supposed to know someone would get stuck in there?”

“Ugh, I guess there’s nothing else to do but go in and find him,” you said, rubbing your hand across your face. “I take back what I said earlier, Tony. This party really stinks.”

“I can’t be blamed for this!” he cried out as he followed you into the maze.

****Elsewhere****

“Wait, where is everybody?” Peter said out loud. “Am I—how did I get back to the entrance?”

With an exasperated sigh, he headed back inside the facility, grabbed the giant bowl of Halloween candy out of the kitchen, and set himself up in the screening room.

“I guess there’s nothing else to do but have my own party. Happy Halloween, Peter.”

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harmony283 · 6 years ago

Text

[DGM] Lead

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY @a1y-puff !! I actually got this out in time I’m so proud of myself! Ahem, originally based off the prompt “putting their hand on your back to lead you”. Managed to expand this past the initial Drabble it was 💚

Kanda wasn't quite sure when he started doing it, just that one day he started pressing his hand to Allen's back when he started walking in the wrong direction. At first it was so they didn't get even more lost than they already were--being in unfamiliar territory, after all, was pretty confusing on it's own. It didn't help that this city had alleyways upon alleyways that were commonly used as shortcuts. So really, who could blame him?

But then he started doing it on the main roads, where many people traveled and where it was impossible to miss the gigantic signs advertising what street name they were on, or where they were being led to. Yet even here, Allen didn't seem to notice much, which maybe was why Kanda didn't notice.

Or at least that was what he told himself.

It got even worse, though, two months later when their vacation was coming to a close. It was supposed to be a senior trip, despite Lenalee and Allen not being anywhere near senior age, but they wanted the trip to be about the four of them before Lavi and Kanda eventually moved into the dorms to start their first semester of University at the local, but hot shot, University.

Point was, when Kanda started leading Allen through the hallway of the small bungalow house they somehow managed to rent for the summer even he couldn't ignore it anymore. Especially when, on the last night, when Lavi and Lenalee had already gone to bed, Kanda found himself leading Allen down the hall to his bedroom. A hall even Allen couldn't get lost in because it only led to their bedrooms, dammit!

He tried to pull his hand away, but he knew it was already too late. Allen was overly conscious of him, just like Kanda was overly conscious of the fact that yes, he could feel Allen's warmth through the thin tshirt he was wearing. So when they got to Allen's room, where before it would have been natural to part ways, Allen asked, almost tentatively, “Did you….want to come in?”

Like Kanda could really say no to that tone of voice. Didn't that say something too?

****

Allen wasn't quite sure when Kanda started doing it, just that he noticed that hand on his back more often than not. Maybe it was because of the twists and turns of the alleyways here and the fact that Allen knew he had no sense of direction, but he hadn't really expected Kanda of all people to be the one to guide him. It was Lavi's idea, initially, to go on this trip. Allen half expected him to be the perky as heck tour guide, claiming something or other about visiting this city at some point with his grandfather ‘way back when’....whatever that meant. Lavi was also the only one who knew the language fairly well, but at least they'd had almost a year to prepare for the 2 months they'd be here.

It was supposed to be a last send off, before Kanda and Lavi went away to university. Really, maybe that was why Allen was so overly conscious of Kanda now? Because he knew somewhere in the back of his mind that he wouldn't see him every single day like he had since sometime in, what, middle school?

They'd met on a rainy cold March, nothing like the steamy humid end of May heat of this city because he accidentally got shoved by someone else and got Kanda's, as well as his, backpack soaked when some jerk drove by and sloshed muddy road water up onto the sidewalk.

He'd apologized, but of course Kanda didn't forgive him. Maybe that was what started it, or at least the animosity. Allen wasn't quite sure when the actual friendship started, if he could even call it that. He knew they knew similar people. That day was just a day that Lavi hadn't been there to calm Kanda down, apparently (seeing as none of them could drive, even moreso Lavi because of the eyepatch none of them ever talk about). He somehow even knew Lenalee, who was closer to Allen's age and it seemed like that friendship preceded even Lavi's by years. Allen didn't ask about that either, until Kanda visited one day when Allen was over and her brother treated Kanda like family.

It maybe happened two years later, when Allen finally entered high school. Two years of occasional fights, bloody noses, getting patched up, but also learning about each other so really maybe it was just natural they became friends? It really was the four of them making their way through life as awkward teenagers, even if Kanda never looked like he had an awkward stage in his life.

But right Allen was getting off track.

The point was somehow they went from that….to this, where even on the main roads Kanda would do it. The hand pressed against his back as they tried to catch up to Lavi who somehow always knew where he was going. He was probably doing this on purpose now, too, something Kanda kept pointing out. Even Lenalee started doing it, or even when she didn't Kanda's hand refused to move and Allen was left dealing with Lenalee's increasingly inquisitive looks.

It made him feel very uncomfortable, but Kanda never once seemed to notice. Allen was almost thinking they'd go the entire trip with Kanda painstakingly Not Noticing.

But then it happened. The last week or so of their trip. Suddenly that hand wouldn't move, even when they got back to the tiny little place they rented. Now, Allen knew he was directionally challenged but this place was tiny enough that really the only things he couldn't find were some of the canned vegetables that one time Lavi asked him to help cook some local dish and even then that was because he hadn't paid attention to where Lenalee put it and there were several cabinets to choose from.

Case in point he knew exactly where his room was. It was down one hallway, same as with Lenalee, Lavi, and Kanda's rooms. It was impossible for him to get lost on the way from the front door.

And yet Kanda still did it.

Allen had a feeling Lavi had noticed for a while now, just like Lenalee, because no matter how many times he'd trail off ahead of them (and be a horrible tour guide) he'd always wait and see, no matter how quickly (or not) they'd get to their destination. So yes, usually that meant Lavi would get to their rented place sooner than them. Usually Lenalee would nab the shower first, under the telltale reason of “ladies first” so Lavi would loiter on the couch watching the local news or reading. So he'd see them come in, which meant he saw when Kanda still didn't move his hand even to lead Allen to the kitchen.

Maybe that was when Kanda started to ‘get it's. Allen didn't really want to know what was going through his head when he did, just that he caught Kanda staring more. But the words would always get stuck in his throat before he could ask. Or Lenalee, or Lavi would always barge in. At this point they were probably watching closely too because--

God. It felt like they were on the cusp of something, but Allen didn't want to get his hopes up. Why was he hoping for anything?

Or maybe he was his own dosage of oblivious too. Maybe Kanda really had noticed the entire time how often they'd get stranded together, where Kanda had to lead the way home. Maybe Kanda was just as overly aware of all the staring being done too, or maybe in typical Kanda fashion he didn't give a rats ass about that and instead only noticed because he just. Kept. Doing it.

Even on the last day, when they finally made it home and there was only one tiny desk lamp on for them. The house was silent, the TV wasn't on, if Kanda really focused he could hear Lavi snoring through the thin walls. Lenalee was probably in bed too. They were the only ones awake, and /that/ was when it hit. All because he looked back to see Kanda staring at him, with his hand still there on his back. It didn't even move as they made their way down the tiny hallway to Allen's room. Here, where they would normally part ways so Kanda could just /turn back around/ and walk to the room he always passed for this last week or so just to make sure Allen got to his.

But this time the air was thick, Allen's heart was in his throat, where it had no place being, so he had to wheeze out the words, “Did you….want to come in?”

****

Surprisingly Kanda didn't say no. In fact he didn't say anything at all, he just nodded his head and followed Allen in. Somehow, even in the dark room, Allen managed to not stub his toes on anything though a part of him was cursing for not packing earlier. They'd probably laugh at him in the morning but honestly it didn't seem too important now. He just slowly waded to his bed, to the small side table to turn on the bedside lamp.

He really didn't know what to make of Kanda's expression, just that he could maybe kind of see why he was so popular to the general populace. Sharp cheekbones, shadowed just right in the dim lighting, broad shoulders that led down to a well defined muscular chest, stomach and--oh. He jerked his eyes back up and mumbled out, “We--you should probably change. I--sorry, what was I thinking, we've been out all day--” Would Kanda want to shower now or was it too late to? Did Allen smell? God, why didn't he think of that? Though now they'd run the risk of waking everyone up with the creaking pipes--

Suddenly he felt a hand on his head ruffling his hair, “Oi, you're thinking too hard. I can take one in the morning.” Allen hesitantly glanced up, “And unless you have shit that fits me in here I can sleep shirtless.”

So he didn't want to leave?

Allen swallowed thickly and tried desperately to pretend his face wasn't as warm as it was, “W-Well okay then. Let me just change out of my shirt and then we can--lie down?” It occurred to him then that if Kanda had been a bit more aware of...everything, then what might this look like to him? He'd learned a year or two ago that Kanda didn't necessarily care, at least about….certain things. Like gender.

Allen was still trying to figure that out for himself, but when he backed up and nearly sent the lamp careening off the table, well suffice to say Kanda pressing up against his back and half pinning him to the table helped make his mind up.

“Be careful.” Talking in his ear definitely didn't help. Did help. Allen was confused now but his ears were probably red and even in the low lighting it was probably obvious.

“R-Right.” Allen stuttered out, stumbling a bit when Kanda righted them both, “I'll. Um. Find a shirt now.”

Kanda said nothing, only raising an eyebrow and walking to the bed where he--yes, he was stripping off his shirt and tossing it in the ‘dirty clothes’ pile Allen created, along with his jeans--

Oh he was staring again.

“Well? If you're just going to stare get over here.” Sometimes Kanda had no tact, but at least Allen knew how to respond to that. With a huff, and doing exactly what Kanda didn't suggest. He even took his time picking out a shirt before sliding off his dirty shirt, khaki shorts, and sliding on his fresh sleep shirt before making his way back to the bed. Whatever mood from earlier had not necessarily disappeared, but at least he could breathe a little easier and seeing Kanda in his bed wasn't as earth shattering.

In fact he looked kind of comfortable, even on the clearly old mattress.

So Allen poked his side and said, “Scoot over.”

For once Kanda listened with very little complaining. They'd done this before--sharing beds. It was a necessity after all, if they wanted to sleep over for the night and not sleep on a couch. Allen didn't mind this, even if it was a little different too. For one, Kanda usually never faced him in his sleep, and for two normally neither of them slept shirtless for fear of a parent barging in.

So yes, okay that was distracting.

“You're staring again.” Kanda hummed, a small smirk on his face.

Immediately Allen pouted, “I was just thinking.”

“About?” Kanda prodded his leg with his foot, but it wasn't enough to be considered a kick so really Allen couldn't complain.

But then what could he really tell Kanda what he'd been thinking about? Would that really be a bad thing? It wasn't the most awkward thing, no, he could think of several moments that were possibly worse--

Which had him thinking of those, of how even through it all they stayed friends, became friends. That was what this trip was about, right? Thinking about that, and how much--

“I'm going to miss you.”

That clearly hadn't been what Kanda expected to hear, judging from the look on his face, but then something happened. Something soft, but resolute, Allen could see it in Kanda's eyes just as he could see that smirk soften to a smile. He really was gorgeous when he smiled, maybe Allen was lucky to see it, he knew, it meant Kanda trusted him.

So maybe when he scooted closer Allen shouldn't have been so surprised, this trip showed him a lot, after all. Maybe this was just a natural progression of that? This friendship, the memories, yeah he might not see Kanda as much over the next few years, and what if he goes out of state for university himself? If he went at all? That sent a jolt through him, and that's when he saw it too--the same reflection back in Kanda's eyes. He wasn't normally a sap, so Allen knew he'd probably always remember them:

“I'll miss you too. Doesn't mean we can't still see where this goes.” Then he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Allen's and added, “Now sleep. Our flight's early tomorrow.”

Allen felt himself smile, “Okay.”

#d. gray man #my fanfiction #Yullen #kanda x allen #Allen Walker #Kanda Yuu #Lavi #lenalee lee #AU

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