#anyway I would chew on the spikes of his helmet

[datapilled]

I have so much restraint not to go absolutely feral about Zero, I hope you all know that

[stefciastark]

Worthy ~Webpril Day 8

A/N: At almost my 4a.m, here it is! The concluding part to yesterday's little 'hidden injury' combined prompt fill. For some reason, these last two were harder for me to write, and I couldn't quite get this one to sound the way I wanted it to in my head (being sleep deprived probably hasn't helped haha). The struggles of writing sometimes - some ideas are just stubborn and don't always come out how you want them to haha Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

~Read it on AO3

~Read it on FFN

“I’m good, just a bit tired...had a big week of homework and helping Aunt May with the charity stuff y’know.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed from behind the suit’s helmet, his gaze a level of intensity usually only directed to dealing with complicated circuitry, mathematics, or playing the intimidation game with Nick Fury. Now that was some bullshit. Tony had known Peter for long enough to know that the more excuses the kid gave, the more likely it was that he was lying. Tony could practically taste the blood that Peter kept trying to subtly spit onto the pavement when he thought he wasn’t looking.

Above all, however, Tony wasn’t sure whether to be angry that Peter was trying to lie about how he was feeling and thought his biometrics weren’t being transmitted to Tony’s HUD at all times (it’s Stark technology, of course it would be), or whether he should be concerned about some form of brain damage because it didn’t seem to cross Peter’s usually so sharp and quick mind at all that his biometrics would be transmitted.

Tony decided he couldn’t watch Peter struggle with moving what were some of the lightest pieces of rubble anymore. Cutting the power to the repulsors, he landed next to where Peter was trying and failing to nonchalantly lean against the tower of debris they had begun to stack, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re done, kiddo. I’ve got it from here.”

The HUD inside the suit displayed an increase in blood pressure, which F.R.I.D.A.Y informed him was likely a result of ‘the human body’s response to acute pain.’ Tony knew Peter was a tough kid, but the way Peter moved looked stiffer than the Doombot metal corpses that were now strewn about the streets of Manhattan.

“No no, I’m good, see?” Peter returned to shifting the (smaller) pieces of rubble onto the pile. Tony had a feeling he was only continuing to wear his mask to prevent the undoubtedly pained expression on his face from telling Tony all he needed to know.

If Tony could pinch the bridge of his nose through his helmet at that moment, he would. He knew a compassionate and understanding approach should be the first port of call, but it would take the strength of a god like Thor himself to summon the patience he needed to deal with the situation at hand. He was tired, possibly mildly concussed after his skull had repeatedly hit the inside of his helmet at least eighteen times that afternoon, and he couldn’t wait for the day to be over so he could hit ‘reset’ on life and enter into the welcoming void of sleep.

Peter would have five minutes to come clean. Five minutes was about as long as Tony gave himself before his celestially bestowed patience wore out. Tony gave Peter a once-over once more as he continued to collect the smaller pieces of fragmented concrete. Tony returned to scanning the surrounding buildings for any hidden damages to the infrastructure, still making sure to keep Peter in his peripheral, his biometric data continuously updating on the top left of the suit’s inner display.

After five agonising minutes and another spike in Peter’s heart rate, Tony sighed in resignation and approached Peter. “Kid. Stop.”

Peter looked up, having taken his mask off moments before, happy to feel fresh air on his face for the first time since the fight began. Moreso, Peter was happy to have anything that felt like it restricted his already strained breathing off of his face. Tony could empathise with the feeling - experiencing an elephant sitting on your chest didn’t make the job of breathing any easier.

Peter’s expression to his instruction was one he’d seen too frequently; it was the one that bled with innocence, accompanied by the wide-eyed stare of a young Labrador puppy. “Yeah, Mr Stark?”

The helmet receded from Tony’s face so Peter was able to take in his blended countenance; it was something hovering between disappointment and barely concealed concern.

“Is there anything you’d like to tell me? Maybe...I don’t know, an injury?” Peter blanched as he felt Tony’s probing eyes drilling into his own before clearing his throat.

He began to return to cleanup duties, hoping that if he ignored the situation for long enough, it’d go away. “No, Mr Stark, everything is -” Big mistake.

Another round of Peter’s half-baked excuses and deflection were cut off as Tony interrupted. “Zip it, you’re busted. You can try to hide it from me all you want, but F.R.I.D.A.Y knows better.”

Peter cursed under his breath. Even after spending considerable time in Tony’s Spider-Suits, he still sometimes forgot about the extent of the capabilities of the technology and AI programming that came with the package. While there was no point in hiding it anymore, Peter couldn’t stop himself before he insisted, “really, it’s okay.”

“It obviously isn’t,” Tony said, unable to prevent his tone from taking on a scathing and acerbic quality. Dragging his hand down his face, he paused and took a deep breath, seeing the way Peter’s features were pinched with hurt he was trying so hard to hide. Tony had a feeling that that hurt extended beyond just the physical; it was just wrong. “Look, kid, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to hide your injuries. I mean not like it’s possible anyway, you’re wearing my suit, for one. You should’ve known better.”

Tony supposed his frustration stemmed from the fact that he felt like he was looking into a mirror. He had wanted for Peter to find that little grey area to operate in in more than one capacity, yet instead Peter was currently taking a page out of Tony’s book, and not one of the good ones. ‘Don’t do anything I would do’. Well, attempting - poorly - to conceal any and all injuries unfortunately fit the profile. ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do’. Tony had to give Peter credit; that book hadn’t been opened.

“I just didn’t want to disappoint you again.” Peter saw the way Tony almost imperceptibly flinched as soon as the word ‘again’ left his lips. Chewing on his bottom lip momentarily and stopping when he tasted blood, Peter waited for Tony’s response. The silence persevered and Tony didn’t offer one.

Peter couldn’t quite tell what was going on beneath the surface with his mentor. At times, Tony was able to make himself so unreadable that it made Peter both envious and afraid. Envious, because Peter hated the way he was such an open, easily read book at times, and afraid for the aftermath of whatever Tony kept repressed under the surface. It was like a game of Russian Roulette, except Peter sometimes wondered which he’d really prefer; Tony’s disapproval or the actual bullet.

“I…” Peter continued, fixing his eyes on one particular pigeon feather that was floating in circles just in front of his left foot. He found himself pouring out his latest insecurities against his own will; at least he told himself it was against his will and that it was the pain’s fault. “I don’t feel like I belong with you guys. You’re all older, you’ve seen more stuff, battled more aliens and wizards. You all know what you’re doing and here I am, the young kid from Queens who doesn’t really deserve his place next to the Avengers.”

Silence.

Before Peter could react to the shadow that started to loom over him, he felt himself being pulled into a not-too-tight embrace that managed to expertly avoid his sore spots. He couldn’t help the tears that prickled at the corners of his eyes and fought to keep them from flowing over.

“Just so we’re clear on a couple of things. First, none of us know what we’re doing, get that out of your head. Second, you’re every bit worthy of being here.”

The sound of propellers were suddenly very close, and Peter wondered how on earth he’d missed them altogether.

“Third, get in the helicopter. I don’t want to hear a single complaint about it, kapeesh? We’re taking you to medical.”

A/N: Tomorrow's prompt is going to be quite an interesting one to fill. Tomorrow's prompt fill might also be a little bit later than usual. I've got quite a lot on my plate approaching the weekend, so worst-case scenario, I'll update twice in one day ;) Definitely going to try not to let that be the case though :) x Thank you for your continued support and encouragement!

[youngcheesecaketale]

Clonetober #10 Commander Fox’s Training

Today was a BIG and IMPORTANT day for Commander Fox. He was going to help train the new Batch of Coruscant Guard Brothers’s K9 Unit. He didn’t do it alone. He had Senator Riyo Chuchi to help him. She also knows how to train a Massiff. She has one that she named (with help with Fox help because they are secretly married. I will tell you guys later on how they got married) “ Peanut Butter” because when he was little, he would lick the Peanut Butter jar when every Fox forgot to put the lid back on. Just imagine a little Massiff puppy getting his face in the Peanut Butter jar and seeing it all over his face with those CUTE little PUPPY EYES! Those EYES are so hurt to look at that you can’t get mad at him for something he did wrong. Riyo knows because after Peanut Butter chewed on one of Fox’s boots. Fox was about to give Peanut Butter a lesson but it didn’t help when he told him that he was a bad boy when he saw to PUPPY EYES. At time Fox didn’t have his helmet on so he couldn’t stop himself by looking at those BIG PUPPY EYES. Plus, he would give Peanut Butter some dinner scraps when ever Riyo wasn’t looking.

Know that you got the idea of the story, it’s now time for me to tell you have the training went. I got some ideas on what names I should use tag: @bloom-domino-akrum  who came up with some suggestions on what names that I could use for the Clones and their Massiffs in this story. I’m still trying to figure out how to tag people in my stories. Anyway, here are the names of the Clones and their Massiffs. (Note to self, I will put the Clone name first and then their Massiff and secondly, I did not know that Massiffs were reptiles in Star Wars. So saying that, I’m just going to call them Canines.

First we have Scout and Spike. Those two are just like Peanut Butter. Always getting in to trouble. When ever they do something wrong (When Spike tore apart Fox’s report papers to give to the Chancellor Bail Organa who is now Chancellor) would always give Fox the Puppy Eyes. Scout learned how to do it too so in other words, it was hard for them to get away with not getting into trouble.

Second we have Claw and Thrasher. Those two are a little bit crazy but in a good way were they get so excited whenever they were going to practice taking down a Criminal. Also, Claw got his name because Thrasher got so excited when he was playing on the floor with Claw who was sitting on the floor that Thrasher accidentally scratched Claw in the face. So that how Claw got his name and why he name his Massiff Thrasher.

Third we have have Justice and Rogue. Justice got his name because after Chancellor Palpatine was arrested and that all the Clones had their Chips remove, he wanted Justice. He would keep on, and on, and on about what Senator Commander Fox should do to Palpatine. Plus, he also thought that since Fox was a now a Senator, he could have Fox make every Tuesday to be “TACO TUESDAYS!”. Unfortunately, that idea didn’t happen because Fox HATES TACOS. They reason why he hates them is because when he was a small Cadet on Kamino, Cody and Rex would put Cayenne Pepper in his Tacos. Since then, he has never liked Taco. He won’t eat any Tacos when ever Riyo cooks with makes him sad because he ALWAYS loves what she cooks for him yet he is still a bit traumatize just think about them. Now the reason why Justice named his Massiff “Rogue” is because when he went to the Pet Store to get one, he found out that he was lucky to find one. Every since one of a Famous Movie Star or a Famous Person got something, EVERYONE would want that same thing. As he looked at him, he said the little Massiff Puppy, “Well..It looks like your the only ONE I’ve been able to find so far. So in that case, do you want to come and be my partner?”. After he said that, the little Massiff Puppy got so excited that it wagged his but in the air and barked. That’s how Justice named him Rogue because he was the last ONE he could find.

WARNING: THIS LAST CLONE AND HIS MASSIFF MIGHT MAKE YOU CRY. YOU JUST BEEN WARRED! READ IF YOU DARE OR you know what just read it! Since you guys like my stories so far, it would be hard to stop right here and not know who the Last CLONE and his MASSIFF are.

Last we have Cuff and Alley. How those two met is so sweet that it might make you cry when you read it. Cuff was a great Coruscant Guard Clone. He had the most number of putting “handcuffs” on Criminals (I don’t mean to brag but he actually put more handcuffs on Criminals then Fox did.) that that’s how he got his name. Since Fox was jealous of Cuff for getting more handcuffs on Criminals that he had Cuff reassigned to the K9 Unit. After he got move to his new Calling, he went to find a Massiff at one of the Pet Stores near by. Unfortunately, he didn’t find any Massiff at any of the Pet Stores on Coruscant. As he walking back to Coruscant Jail to tell Commander Fox that he couldn’t find any Massiffs at the Pet Stores here on Coruscant, he heard a small whimper coming from one of the Alleys. He carefully walking down the Alley where the sound was coming from. As he was walking, he could hear the whimpers getting louder and louder. He finally stopped when it was coming from a small cardboard box. When he looked inside the box, he was shocked. In the box was a tiny Massiff puppy shivering from the cold water from a broken pipe that was dripping on her. She was also hunger. Cuff’s heart started to melt after seeing her shaking. He picked her up placing her in his arms and took her back to Coruscant Jail to show Fox and the others what he found, he was trying to figure out what to Call her. Since he found her in a Alley, he decided to name her that cause that was the only name that popped in head as he was carrying her. As he was walking back to the base still holding her, she was trying to climb on his chest but was too weak to climb on him. Once he saw that she was trying to get up closer to him, he stopped and reposition her that she basically had her whole body on his neck. That how small she was. After they got back to the base, she was being checked out by one of the Coruscant Guard Clone Medic. He told Cuff that she might not make it through the night but that didn’t stop him on giving up on her. He picked her up and took her to his quarters where he took care of her and thinking that this might be his last time he would be able to spend time with her. He took of his chest plate and lay down. He put her on his chest having her head on his neck and put a blanket on her to keep her extra work. He also fed her every 2 hours. He wanted to let her know that she was being loved as she was going passing away that night but she didn’t want to go. She started to show him that she still had some strength to get through the night and she did. Each day she slowly was getting better that soon she was healthy and ready to start her training.

After I told you those Clones and their Massiffs, I’m just going to say that all of them pass their training and their test. They were FINALLY part of the Coruscant Guard Clone Family. I did want to mention that after they all passed their test, Thrasher had to pee SO bad that he accidentally peeing on Commander Fox’s thinking he was a FIRE HYDRANT. After he did that, there was NO WAY that Thrasher’s PUPPY EYES would work this time even if he learned it from Spike. Thrasher was in so much trouble but Fox wasn’t TOO hard on him because for a Massiff has to go, IT HAS TO GO no matter what. I should also mention that Fox DID have his HELMET on when Thrasher peed on him. Those helmets help block out some of the light on the Massiff’s PUPPY EYES but it doesn’t work when ever Senator Riyo Chuchi guys him her BIG PUPPY EYES as she is looks at Fox.

Thank you for reading my Clonetober Story! I would like thanks @bloom-domino-akrum for helping what coming up with some names for the Clones and their Massiffs. Hope you guys in joy this story.

[4dtk]

read part one here! there’s more dialogue in this one, oops. plus, this isn’t based on any song but there’s undertones of ‘love song’ by nct 127 in it, enjoy!

[jaemin, 6:38pm] the next time you meet jaemin is when the rain’s pouring heavily, creating music on the metal roof of the convenience store. it was just your luck to reach the store before the rain intensified, but now you were probably stuck for a good hour until the downfall subsided. he was holding a blue packet of chocolate hearts, talking to a friend who was situated on a bike.

“jaemin?”

he spun around at your familiar voice, arms going up in excitement at seeing you.

“is this the girl you were talking about jaem?” the other male giggled, putting on his helmet before starting up his motorcycle. you looked at him funny, wondering what things jaemin could’ve told him.

“sorry for laughing, but jaemin has only told me good stuff about you, don’t worry about it. i’m jeno,” you bowed slightly, smacking jaemin lightly after his friend had left the area. there was a subtle rev from the biker before hearing him speed off in the rain. you stole a chocolate heart from him as punishment, waiting for the familiar flavour to kick in but grimaced instead at the bizarre taste. snatching the packet from him, you noticed that it was a limited edition of blueberry chocolate hearts, shooting the male a disgusted look.

“what? blueberry chocolate hearts aren’t that bad.”

hearing the pitter-patter of the rain calmed your nervous heart, as you wondered what jaemin could’ve said for his friend to react like that.

“who was that?”

“he’s in my class, he majors in geology like me.” jaemin looked over to you, waiting for a reaction from you. was being interested in the earth weird?

“geology? it never struck me that you would be a man interested in rocks.”

“yeah, this man is also rock… hard,” you only sighed at that, leaving the male to laugh at his dick joke while you enter the store for the original flavour of chocolate hearts. you hoped he didn’t actually… have a boner, or that would be disturbing as hell.

“you kinda set yourself up for that one, (y/n), plus you make it seem like it’s a boring thing to be interested in, we also learn about volcanoes and earthquakes and anything that relates to the earth and its processes.”

you put your hands up in surrender, “i’m not saying it’s not intriguing—i did do geography in high school, i was pretty good at it, but i think i forgot most of it.”

jaemin smiled, bringing his arms into a big circle, mouth wide open even though there was a half-chewed blueberry heart in his mouth. “but that’s just the surface of it, we learn a lot more than high school geography.” you glanced at the boy, noticing the unique way in how his eyes gleam from the refrigerator light and how his gestures travel everywhere to get his point across.  

“yeah? like what?" giving up your usual drink, you settled for the coffee service at the counter instead, knowing you'd rather enjoy a hot beverage rather than an iced coffee in this weather.

“normally, the geology of an area changes over time—rock units are deposited and inserted, deformational processes alter their shapes and locations. they are first emplaced either by deposition onto the surface or intrusion into the overlying rock. the former process can occur when sediments settle onto the surface of the earth and later lithify into sedimentary rock, or when as volcanic material blanket the surface,” you cut him to show off your high school level geography, poking fun at the male while your smile got through to his heart, “like, ash and lava.”

jaemin could only laugh in reply, waiting for you after the cashier as you waited for your cash to be returned and for your coffee to be made.

“igneous intrusions such as batholiths, laccoliths, dykes and sills, push upwards into the overlying rock, and crystallise as they intrude.” he ended off his small speech with a bow, passing him to receive the scorching hot beverage before going outside to sit with the rain.

“did you read that off wiki before this?”

“in a way, i… guess. i did have a test a few days ago, i have another tomorrow.” jaemin giggled, frowning right after at the last blueberry heart in the packet. he offered it to you, anyway, but turned it down due to its questionable flavour.

before you could insult him for his weird tastebuds, you heard a crash from inside the store, causing you to check out the sudden sound. umbrellas were scattered over the floor, having fallen over from its box when it was unstable. you and jaemin helped the cashier on duty to place the umbrellas back in place while you debated on whether you should purchase one to head back.

just do it.

“hey, sorry, can i purchase one of the umbrellas?”

the cashier only smiles at your question. “rushing to head back home, huh?”

you didn’t know how to answer her question, so you stayed quiet as she checked your item out. removing the plastic from the new umbrella, you tugged on jaemin’s arm to drag him under your shelter with him. at this, he shook his head.

“what?”

“i hate the rain,” he muttered, hand visibly tightening around the blue wrapper of blueberry chocolate hearts.

“i’m not gonna leave your sorry ass waiting here for the rain to ease off, you said you had a test tomorrow, right?” you tried your hand at tugging on his arm again, but he remained glued to his spot.

“iiiiiii just remembered it’s just a small quiz, doesn’t need much studying,” jaemin grinned, looking into your eyes for some kind of message, but all he got was your unimpressed face staring back at him before sighing, “okay fine. whatever. let’s go.”

it doesn’t take much for your heart to spike up in speed, his arm naturally going around your person as he takes over holding the umbrella. you can see how he pouted while leading the way back to the university dorms, noting how he kept looking down at his shoes. new shoes? was that why he didn’t want to go into the rain? jaemin’s enigmatic behaviour remains unanswered as you feel his breath on your hair, occasionally turning back to look at incoming traffic.

“you’re really warm, did catch a fever?” you asked cautiously, despite loving the warmth the boy gave out. it felt familiar and comforting, like a knitted sweater or blanket that resided in your dorms. said boy could only show you a small smile, eyes crinkled at its tips softly as he went on to cross the road that led to your destination. you definitely saw your own reflection in his eyes with how close you were standing, with how big and expressive they were.

“…dent pass?”

huh?

“do you have your student pass?” jaemin repeats, using his head to gesture to his occupied hands.

“oh no,” you said, not intending the other to hear your wave of panic.

“what is it?”

“my friend tapped me out, do you have yours?” your heart was at the verge of dropping, awaiting his answer that would decide your fate.

“so did mine,” jaemin could only purse his lips, halting in front of the dormitory gates in the pouring rain, “i am really hating this right now.”

“you don’t think i’m uncomfortable?” you scoff, looking up at him with an annoyed expression. his arm went from around your shoulders to your waist almost immediately, hands hovering right after he’d seen your surprised expression.

“sorry, about that.” he trailed off, looking anywhere but in your line of sight as you struggled to hide your smile. you shake your head, stepping closer to the geology major in a leap of confidence. both of you wish you could’ve stayed like that a little longer, though, the atmosphere was ruined with a ding! of your phone. it was a picture of the two of you smiling down at each other, prompting you to eye your roommate from where you were.

curse the room that was facing the dormitory gate; plus, she was being unnecessarily annoying today.

with a whoosh!, you sent out a text for her to pick you up before turning your attention back to the boy in front of you.

“hi.” you mumble, not knowing whether to smile when he was looking at you like that, where the strands of his hair were a little damp and his cheeks reached his eyes due to his wide smile.

“hey, (y/n).” jaemin whispers back, arm tightening around your body, hoping your friend never comes and that you could remain here forever.

funny, you were hoping that would be the case too.

[vanilla-bean-buttercream]

Through the Dark - Chapter 1

Parings: End Game Romantic Moceit, Intrulogical, and Prinxiety Main Characters: Deceit (Damian), Remus, Virgil, Patton, Logan, Roman Warnings:  Bullying, suicide mention, that’s about it Word Count: 2264

Summary: Ah, senior year. The golden year of High School. The year where Princes become Kings, Jocks become Gods, and Class Clowns become Legends. It's the year of self-discovery (or lack of), the year of make it or break it, the year where you have 9 months to leave a lasting impression.

It's the year where the star running back is failing Biology and has to get help from the person who he made life a living hell for the past 3 years.

It's the year where the coolest guy in school watches a rising star and falls into a secret relationship that not even the star knows about.

It's the year where moral enemies are forced to work together if they want to make it through the year. 

Love it or hate it, this senior year is going to be the one that trumps them all.

Ao3 Link

Author’s Note:

Well, this is by far the last thing I thought I’d write, but here I am already 3 chapters deep and no idea what I’m doing :D

I never thought I’d write an “enemies to friends to lovers” fic, but it happened. I can’t tell you whether it’ll be good or not, but hopefully, it’ll be a good time nonetheless. 

Just letting you know, Virgil, Remus, and Deceit (Damian) are not exactly nice in the beginning, so if you're not into redemption arcs, this story is probably not for you. There's also a relationship between two female OCs, but it's not the main focus... kinda a background bonus. :)

Now without further ado, please sit back and relax as I try to write a fluff fic :D

--------------------------------

Damian let his motorbike roll to a halt and turned off the engine. He pulled his helmet off his head, gave his thick hair a shake to sweep it from his eyes, and dismounted it. The leather over his shoulders hissed as he moved. He put the kickstand up and twirled the golden glinting snake key chain around his finger.

Heads of all shapes, sizes, and color turned to him. Some greeted him with a coy smile, some ducked their heads in submission while trying not to maintain eye contact, and some offered their hands to high five or fist bump him.

Ah, his kingdom. And what kind of king would he be if he didn’t bask in their adoration?

Damian acknowledged those who mattered and ignored the others. He tucked his helmet under his arm and put his sunglasses over his eyes. Really, his heterochromatic eyes were what made him the heartthrob of all the school (you know, if you cut out the star player of the football team from his title) but they made him look too mysterious to resist. One couldn’t easily see into his soul when his eyes were covered. He could blend in. He could be one of them.

He caught the real people he was looking for standing at the top of the school stairs. Damian raised his head high and strutted down the cobblestone pathway.

The first one draped himself across the stone railing, his thumb scrolling through his phone. Every once and a while, he’d read something that brought a smirk to his face, but he moved on without another word. His patched jacket, torn shirt, and ripped jeans gave off an air that he couldn’t care whether you loved or hated him.

The second one was perched on the stone by the balls of his feet, his sneakers untied like normal, and dangling over the side. He chewed obnoxiously on gum (at least Damian hoped it was gum) and draped his arms over his kneecaps. His spiked hair didn’t move in the almost Autumn breeze, but his head did turn to catch Damian approaching the stairs.

“Well, good morning King of Darkness,” he greeted.

“Good morning, Duke,” Damian responded. He turned to the other and responded, “Good morning, Prince.”

“Don’t call me that,” he grumbled, not looking up from his phone.

“Aww, but Virgil,” the other said as he jumped off his perch. He slung one arm around Virgil and one around Damian. Virgil curled his lip in annoyance, and Damian rose a brow. He continued, “what’s a little dark humor between family?”

“You guys are not my family,” Virgil mumbled back.

Damian’s lips curled into a smirk. “Speaking of family, where is your little brother, Remus?”

“Oh, the positively perfect pixie?” Remus purred. He turned his head over the stair railing and replied, “Last I knew he was running after my car as I drove out of the driveway.”

Virgil snorted. Damian shook his head and chucked.

“Oh, you really are evil, aren’t you?”

“Guilty as charged.”

The bell rang, and the trio walked into the school together. Floors so polished with wax reflected everything like a distorted funhouse mirror. If you inhaled deep enough with your mouth open, you could taste the Lysol in the air. People chattered amongst friends and caught up with acquaintances they hadn't seen over the summer.

Remus picked one person in particular out in the crowd and slammed them against the lockers with his left hand. His victim's face squished against the lockers, and their glasses creaked against the pressure. They groaned and let their eyes shut.

"Good morning, Logey bear!" Remus chirped. He dug his elbow into Logan's back as he leaned against Logan, his fist propping his head up. "You ready for senior year? That is if you live through it. I heard the student suicide rate rose 2% last year. Isn't that fascinating?"

Logan groaned and attempted to push Remus's elbow off his back, but he failed. "Hello, Remus."

"Oh, good, you remembered me! I'm honestly flattered."

"How can I forget the person who has made my life a living nightmare for the past three years?"

"Soon to be four," Remus responded. "Hey, you're short two nerds! Where are the other two?"

"You're Roman's brother. You tell me."

"Oh no, I don't mean them. Roman's probably still on Elm Street running for his life." Remus laughed at that. "No, I meant Pattycakes and Cassienova."

"Remus!"

As if on cue, the two people in question approached, looking like a squad of irritated teddy bears. The boy, Patton, looked like he just stepped off a golf course. The girl, Cassie, wore a dress so bright it’d put the sun to shame, and her black curls bobbed up and down as she stormed towards them.

“Let Logan go,” Patton ordered.

“Or what? You’ll bore me to death with good manners?” Remus asked with a laugh.

Cassie marched up to him next, her finger pointed in his face. He watched her move and quirked a disinterested smile and dared her to bring her worst. She growled, “Remus, you let him go right now, or-”

The first bell rang, warning everyone they had to be in homeroom soon.

Remus sighed and removed his elbow from Logan’s back. Logan scrambled away from the locker, adjusted his glasses, and scowled at his previous captor.

“Fine. I was tired of playing anyway,” Remus said with a wave of his hand. Virgil snorted through his nose, put his headphones up over his ears, and followed Remus down the hall. Damian watched as Logan’s two friends went to his side, both examining if he was alright. Patton shot Damian a rather nasty glare, but Damian merely rolled his eyes and walked away.

“Are you okay, Logan?” Patton asked.

“I’m fine,” Logan said with a sigh. He straightened out his shirt. “I’m used to Remus by now. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t locate me sooner.”

“The big jerk,” Cassie spat. “If he wasn’t the football team’s running back, he’d be expelled for sure.”

Patton asked, “Have you seen Roman this morning?”

“I have not,” Logan responded. He recalled what Remus said, and he winced, “but I believe I know why. From my earlier conversation with Remus, he made Roman walk to school this morning.”

Patton looked at Cassie, “I knew I should’ve asked dad to pick him up.”

“It’s not your fault, Patton. You couldn’t have predicted that.”

Cassie added, “Yeah. Besides, Roman is a fast runner. I’m sure he’ll be here in no time.”

As they spoke, the second bell to send everyone to homeroom rang. Students scattered like sheep so they wouldn’t be marked absent. Like a fish going upstream, a boy pushed his way through and excused himself. His forehead glistened with sweat, and he inhaled air like a cactus absorbed water in the rain.

“Roman!” Patton cried out. He raced over to check his friend. “Are you okay?”

“That absolute villain!” Roman yelled. Patton fussed Roman’s hair back into place as Logan pulled a tissue out of his pocket to dab Roman’s forehead. “He made me run to school! Of all the dirty deeds. Why did I think he’d actually give me a ride to school? And now my foundation is running everywhere-”

“Shh,” Patton said as he pressed a finger to Roman’s lips. “We can talk about this more at lunch.”

Roman huffed in annoyance. He pulled out his schedule and looked at the room numbers. “I guess so.”

“Have a good day,” Patton chirped as he started to walk away. Logan gave a brief nod before heading off in his own direction. Roman sent Cassie a look, and the two of them traveled down the hall together.

“At least I have someone I know in my homeroom,” Cassie said. Roman hummed in acknowledgment. And as the two of them rounded the corner, they both groaned to find a familiar person with dark bags under their eyes and headphones still covering their ears glaring at them.

“Oh great, the Prince of Darkness is here,” Roman grumbled.

Lucky for them, Virgil didn’t seem too keen on acknowledging either one of them. They took their seats in the front as far away from Virgil as they could get and waited for the teacher to begin calling out names.

As they minded their own business, a small object hit the back of Roman’s head. It didn’t hurt, but it caught his attention. He turned his head and caught Virgil smirking in the back. A few other students looked mildly amused and snickered. Roman sent a glare and turned back in his seat.

Another piece of paper hit the back of Roman’s head. He clenched his teeth and hands.

“Just ignore it,” he mumbled under his breath. Cassie sent him a worried look from her seat beside him. Roman sent her a smile back just as another piece of paper clipped his forehead. He folded his head into his arms and let out a long sigh.

It was going to be a long year.

--

The first thing Damian realized when he entered his Psychology class was they had a new teacher this year. No one knew who this Mr. Picani was, what he was like, or what his teaching style was. All they knew was he’d be easy to mess with.

The second thing Damian realized when he entered his Psychology class was none of his friends were there. He specifically told them both to pick Psychology so he wouldn’t be alone. Thankfully, a few football team members were there, so he wasn’t totally alone, but he’d rather have Virgil or Remus to stir up trouble.

The third thing Damian realized when he entered his Psychology class was there were tables instead of desks with two seats at each table, and the only seat available was one next to a very annoyed Patton Shea watching him walk into the room. Obviously, he came to the same conclusion, and neither of them was happy about it.

Damian sat beside Patton and set his backpack on the floor with a heavy thump. A few football players sent him amused and pitying looks, and he resisted the urge to flip them off. The teacher walked into the room and cleared his throat.

“Good morning! My name is Mr. Picani, and welcome to Psychology 101. I think it’s mighty nice that you all decided to take this class as an elective, even if most of you are probably taking it only to graduate. It’s going to be a great year!”

Great, he reminded Damian of the very person he despised the most in this classroom.

The person in question hung on this Mr. Picani’s every word. Patton took notes, even when he wasn’t prompted, and had this attentive look that Damian absolutely despised. What a suck up. What a teacher’s pet. What a-

Wait, what did Mr. Picani just say?

Whatever Patton was doing, he snapped his head up, a look of disbelief on his face as well. He glanced at Damian out of the corner of his eye and then back at the teacher. A few groans sounded throughout the room.

“And it’ll be 25% of your grade for the semester, so I hope you work together and do your best,” Mr. Picani finished.

The bell to end the class rang, and students started to gather their things to move on. Patton hurried to grab his books and pulled his messenger bag over his shoulder. Damian grumbled as he situated his backpack.

“Hello, Mr. Picani, I’m Patton Jo-Shea. Patton Shea,” Patton introduced and held out his hand.

“Ah, Larry’s boy! He told me you’d be in this class,” Mr. Picani said as he took Patton’s hand to shake. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“And you too,” Patton said. He bounced on his toes. “Um, about that last assignment-”

��Oh don’t worry! You can pick any topic you want,” Mr. Picani informed.

“It’s not that,” Patton said with a nervous laugh. “You said that- well if I had known about that last rule where your table mate was your partner-”

Mr. Picani’s smile fell. He tilted his head to the side. “You have a problem with your partner?”

“Well, yeah,” Patton chuckled. “We’re not exactly… friends.”

“We actually hate each other,” Damian added as he stood beside Patton. For once, Patton didn’t seem to shy away from him or send any rude glares. For once, they were in agreement on something.

“Well,” Mr. Picani said, “if you can find two people to switch partners with you, I have no problem letting one exception fall through, especially since no one started the assignment yet.”

“Oh, thank you!” Patton said with a sigh of relief. He adjusted the strap on his shoulder. After casting one last glance at Damian, he walked out of the classroom.

Damian sent a wary glance at Mr. Picani and sighed. “Honestly, you expect everyone to work together just because they sat next to each other?”

“Well, I believe there’s a reason you all chose your seats,” Mr. Picani replied.

“It was the last one left.”

“Next time, don’t be late.”

Damian glared at Mr. Picani, who sent him a sickeningly sweet smile. Damian rolled his eyes and walked out of the classroom. He hoped at least someone would be willing to switch with him. The thought of being stuck with the boy scout mascot made him want to puke.

If he was stuck with Patton for the assignment, it was going to be a hell of a year.

--

Chapter 2 ->

[multifandomfanficss]

Pippin x Reader

Killjoys

Changing Chapters

Prompt: This fic follows the events of Reckoning Ball. The reader has had a crush on Pip since the fist time he helped them and she’s excited to see him on the ship again until a Hullen prisoner escapes.

Warnings: You are an orphan

A/N: Okay, but I had no idea those things were called hand trucks until I wrote this. Also here’s another Pippin fic because he is underappreciated and I couldn’t find a single reader insert for him anywhere!!

You walked into the room to find Zeph, Dutch, and Dav having a conversation on how to get the Hullen’s false information that will save Dutch. Things had been pretty tense around here lately because of the oncoming war led by Dutch’s doppelgänger Aneela. Well, to be fair Dutch was technically Annela’s doppelgänger, but whatever. We needed to stop this bitch. “I think I know someone who could help with that memory swap” Dutch says with a smile. “Yeah, me too” D’avin agrees. “Wait...are you guys thinking of who I’m thinking of?” A slight blush comes to your cheeks at just the thought of getting to see him again. “I’ll go get Pippin” Dav says before heading out. “You don’t need the sack!” Dutch calls after him. “Oh, I’m bringing the sack!” Dav yells back as he laughs. I dash after him. “So, uh D’avin...do you need any help?” You ask. “You only call me by my full name if I’m in trouble or you want something. What do you want?” He asks. “I just wanted to know if you needed any help” You inform him. He doesn’t believe you. “No, I’m good” He tells you. “Are you sure?” You ask. “I think I can handle Pippin Foster on my own” He laughs. Your heart skips a beat when you hear his name. I see the wheels start to turn in Dav’s head. “No...No!” Dav starts. “Not him, (Y/N). Why him? Of all people. Pippin Foster? Really? That’s weirder than Delle Seyah carrying my baby” He says. You’re broken out of your embarrassment by confusion. “What?” You ask. “It’s a long story I’ll explain it later” He tells you. “Anyway, no I don’t need any help. You should stay back and help Dutch. I’ll be back with Mr. Perfect soon” He teases me. “Shut up!” You yell at him. “I swear to gods D’avin Jacobis if you tell anyone about this I will personally feed you to Delle Seyah...she is eating for two ya know” You tell him. He gives you a wide eyed face and pretends to be scared. You both laugh. “Go help Dutch. I’ll tell you as soon as we get back” He promises. “Deal” You smile and walk back to help Dutch. You can’t stop smiling. You hadn’t seen Pip in weeks. The last time you actually saw him was when Dav and Dutch kidnapped him to get a weapon to fight the Hullen and infiltrate one of their bases. Pip was a flirtatious, affluent, idiot with a big mouth, but he was cute, funny, and brave. Most people thought he was annoying, but you couldn’t help, but feel butterflies whenever you heard his name.

Not long after he had left Dav was already back with Pippin. You were helping Dutch escort a Hullen prisoner when you got the alert. Your excitement was the only thing that kept you from cringing as you watched Dutch stab a knife through the prisoner’s neck. You knew it was necessary, but it was still gross. Knowing that the prisoner was paralyzed was the only thing keeping you from being petrified of her. When you had gotten back with the prisoner the boys had already gone again. You wanted to go with them, but Dav said they had to go to a place he wasn’t comfortable bringing you. He wouldn’t explain much more.

By the time they got back they had some weird helmet thing. It had spikes on it and you could only assume that’s what would be helping with the memory stuff. “Well, hello ladies. Long time no see” Pip says very awkwardly as he stumbles onto Lucy. “Pippin, always a pleasure” Dutch says sarcastically. You can’t hold back and a giggle escapes your mouth. “At least somebody here is happy to see me” Pip says to you. You blush. “Okay, so how does this thing work?” Dav interrupts. “I think I just have to put it on and if I press this button I’ll be able to record whatever I see. Then once we plug my memories into the Hullen they should believe it” Pip explains. “Yeah, well, they better” Dutch tells him. You enter the kitchen and get to work on making some memories.

You sit on the kitchen counter next to Pippin as you watch Dav and Dutch try to act out a fake conversation. Pip stops them to critique every aspect of their performance. He’s not wrong. It’s awful. “You guys need to get it together. This looks so bad and if you want the Hullen to believe you, then you guys have to start showing some emotion” You tell them. “Thank you!” Pip says as he gestures to me. You start to blush, but he has his back to you so he doesn’t notice. You look at Dutch and she looks at you as if she knows. Meanwhile Pip is trying to fix how Dav is moving his hands. You have to hold back laugher due to how stupid that helmet looks. Dav gets confused and embarrassed about his acting. The whole thing is very funny. After he finishes lecturing, Pip comes to stand next to you again. When they start again this time Dutch speaks from the heart. Dav gets lost in it and he starts to act like himself again.

After finally getting the perfect shot you move to the next room and you watch Pip set up the helmet for the Hullen prisoner. You wait with Pip and Dutch for Dav. You watch as Dav pulls up with the prisoner strapped to a hand truck. She had always freaked you out. You had never liked the Hullen. You especially didn’t like this Hullen. She did kill your entire family after all. That’s why you were with the killjoys in the first place. “How did you know it was my birthday? You even got me my own little boy to chew on!” She says in her usually bitchy tone. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Pippin asks. “Come a little closer and I’ll show you” She says in her bitter voice. I was ready to fry this bitch. “I can’t wait to send you to the deepest pit of hells” You tell her. You don’t exactly know where your confidence is coming from, but you can’t take it back. “Oh, I’ll see you there darling” She informs me. You suddenly feel a shiver go through your body. You feel uneasy so you take a step closer to Pippin. You hope he doesn’t notice. “Behave” Dutch tells her as Dav puts the helmet on the prisoner’s head. “We’ve got a few tests to run” Dutch explains. “You ran all sorts on me in the brig” She says with a fake smile. Dutch uses a tranquilizer to knock her out and just like that she’s asleep. “It’s showtime” Pip says looking at the monitor. He looks down at you and smiles as he hits a couple buttons. You can feel the blush on your cheeks, so you pretend not to notice as you keep your eyes glued to the screen. The ‘memory’ starts to play. “My voice doesn’t sound like that” Dav complains. You and Pip try to refrain from laughing at him. “Does it?” He asks. Pip hits a button and suddenly the video disappears. “What happened?” You ask. “I don’t know. The tech is super prototypey. Hold on” He says as he starts to mess with buttons on the screen. Then you hear laughter coming from behind you. You get the uneasy feeling again and take a step behind Pippin. You turn around to see the Hullen prisoner awake. “Like that’s not creepy” You say quietly. Pippin puts a hand on your arm as if to say it’s okay and you blush like crazy. You hope he doesn’t notice. “Aw. Were you trying to noodle with my noggin?” She asks. Dutch and Dav look at each other with concern. You can’t help, but worry and wonder how she was able to withstand that tranquilizer. She should be paralyzed and asleep right now. You feel your breath catch in the back of your throat. ”What are we gonna do?” You ask. “What are we gonna do?” She mocks you. Pip moves his hand to your back. Your breathing starts to get heavier. You’re nervous and you don’t want him to see you like this. “I need to go to the bathroom!” You blurt out in an unexpectedly loud voice.

You speed walk to the bathroom, lock yourself inside, and sit on the floor against the door as you try to keep back the tears. You hear a knock on the door. “Somebody’s in here!” You shout through the door. Your voice comes out shakier than you wish. “(Y/N), it’s Pippin. Are you okay?” You hear through the door. Shit. “Yeah, I’m fine” You tell him. “You’ve been in there are really long time. You looked like you were a little nervous back there” He informs me. “I’ll be out in a minute I’m just doing...girl...stuff...” You come up with a terrible lie. “You know I can see through the crack between the door and the floor that you’re sitting in front of the door right? Your body is blocking the light from coming out” He informs me. You get embarrassed. “Pippin Foster...are you spying on me in the bathroom?” You ask, your voice dripping with sarcasm. He gives a small laugh. “Please unlock the door, (Y/N)” He begs. You stand up and unlock the door. You open it and take a step back for him to come in. “What’s wrong?” He asks me. He drops his cool guy act and shows genuine concern for you. Your breathing becomes heavier as you work up the courage to tell him about your family. You feel your breath catch in your the back of your throat again. Suddenly you can’t breathe as you feel tears start to swell up in your eyes. Pippin puts a hand on your shoulder. “Everything will be okay. We’ll figure this whole memory thing out and-” He’s interrupted when you burst into tears. He pulls you into his arms. “Shhh shhh it’s okay. It’s okay, (Y/N). It’s okay” He rubs small circles into your back in an effort to calm you down. When you finally get your breathing under control Pip pulls away a little bit and wipes your tears. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to” He tells you. You want to tell him. “S-she killed my whole f-family” You barley get it out between hiccups. Pippin looks at you with concern. He keeps one hand on your shoulder and takes your hand in his other hand. He rubs small circles over your hand with his thumb. “If this all goes wrong and I lose Dutch-“ You break out into another sob. “(Y/N), Dutch is strong. She’ll get through this. She promised me once that she would never get me into something she couldn’t get me out of. Ever since then I’ve trusted that she would keep me safe. I know that she’s going to keep you safe from that Hullen and she’s going to save the world in the process. She’s Dutch! Nothing can stop her” He reminds you. You nod. You know he’s right. You take a deep breath. “I could use your help back there if you want” He tells you. “Dutch is gonna tranq her again. She won’t be awake. She won’t be able to move, she won’t be able to talk to you” He assures you. You nod. He wraps you into another hug and places a kiss on the top of your head. Your blush comes back.

You walk out of the bathroom and back to the room where Dutch and Dav are messing with some Hullen goo. You stand to the side as Dav memory jumps through the Hullen’s mind and Pip replaces the memory. “You better not pee on me” Dutch says as she sticks the prisoner’s hand into the bowl of goo and just like that the memory is streamlined through the Hullen consciousness. Now every Hullen around will think the fake memory is real.

Dav and Dutch head to the kitchen and leave you and Pippin to babysit the monster. Pip starts complaining under his breath about how they left us to babysit. You start to giggle quietly to yourself. He is so cute. “They treat us like slaves, Lucy, not people” He says with a sigh. “I’m a computer, Pippin, I’m better than a person” She responds. You start to laugh. He looks at you and then continues to try to defend himself. “Okay, easy now. I’m sure you’re very special, but being human we have this kind of...inherent awareness that’s just-“ Pippin is cut off by Lucy. “Are you aware that the prisoner is awake?” She asks. You feel your heart drop. You turn around to see the Hullen prisoner is in fact awake. “Pippin...” You say quietly. He turns around, looks back at the monitor, looks to you, and then looks back at the prisoner “Hi-“ He says as if this is JUST FINE. THIS IS NOT FINE. You start to freak out. “What did you do to me?” She asks. “Pippin, I can alert Dutch” Lucy informs him. “No...no...um” He looks back at you as you start to panic. “I can handle this” He says to Lucy. You know he means for his words to calm you down as well. “Morning. You should be asleep little lady. Um...I can fix this” He says as he turns back to the monitors. You move closer to him, but you don’t take your eyes off of her. “Pippin, please do something” You beg him. You can feel the fear bubbling up inside. You know that without Dav and Dutch you guys don’t have a chance. “It’s gonna be okay, (Y/N). I promise” He says looking through the medical equipment. “You really shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep” She laughs. “Pippin, do you know what happens to a knife the longer it’s been sitting in spinal fluid?” She asks. “That’s an oddly specific question” He responds. “It gets wet and slippery and then it falls out” She answers. Pip puts a hand on your back “Stay over here” He tells you before walking behind the prisoner. “Shit” He says quietly. “(Y/N), stay over there” He repeats. Then you see her move. She gets out of her restraints and walks behind him. “Pippin!” You yell. “I believe that belongs to me” She says before hitting him in the head. “Pippin!” You scream. “Pippin!” She mocks you. You start to breathe heavier. “Don’t think I don’t know who you are” She tells me. “You may be older now, but I still remember you” She smiles. You keep backing up slowly until you hit the monitor. You almost knock it over. She picks up the helmet. “You do seem very fond of him” She starts. “But I need him for something” She adds. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t still have some fun” She tells you before strapping the helmet to your head. Then she hits a couple switches.

Everything is darker. The ship is in shambles. You see Pippin lying on the floor. The Hullen prisoner walks up to him and picks him up off the floor. Then she stabs him over and over again with a piece of the broken ship. “NO! PIPPIN!” You scream. You try to run to him, but your body is frozen. You’re incapable of moving even the smallest amount. You’re forced to stand there and watch as the life leaves his body. “Why are you doing this?!” You cry. “Because I want to see you lose everything you’ve ever cared about. You will lose it all...and that’s a promise” She laughs.

“PIPPIN!” You wake up screaming and hyperventilating. You somehow ended up on the couch. The ship is still in shambles. You start to cry. Everyone you care about is dead. She killed them all. “Hey, hey, hey, hey...shhh it’s okay. I’m here” You here Pippin’s voice as he approaches the couch. He sits down next to you and pulls you into his arms. “B-b-but she killed you” You barley get out between sobs. You still can’t breathe. “She used the AR helmet on you. I’m okay. Dutch and Dav are okay” You look around to see that everything is still a wreck. “Where is she?” You ask. “She’s dead. It’s over. You’re safe now” He tells me. It’s over. It’s finally over. You begin to cry harder. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” He repeats for you as he rubs your back. “It’s okay. I’m here and I’m not leaving you” He promises you. “I talked to Dutch. You guys need me. I’m staying” He tells you. You start to feel a little better. You can finally start to breathe again. You take a look around the ship and start to wonder why it still looks like this if everything was just a fake memory. “Pippin?” You get his attention. “Yeah?” He asks. “What happened to the ship?” You ask. He starts to laugh nervously. “It’s kind of a funny story-“ He is cut off by Lucy. “Pippin crashed me” She tells you. “You what?!” You ask laughing. “Thanks, Lucy!” He thanks the computer sarcastically. You smile and snuggle in closer to Pip. The last chapter has finally closed. You can move on. You feel safe moving on as long as Pippin is around.

[paper-stars-and-fireflies]

6. Dancing with a wolf

The sixth story in the Grimm Omens series! As before, both main characters are OCs: Magnolia is mine, and Omen belongs to the wonderful @splanoot.Thanks for reading!      When Omen woke up the next morning, he found his bed empty, sheets cold. He growled, reaching out across the bed. So much for whatever last night had meant- or what he thought it meant. There was a shuffle in the other room and the sound of his door shutting that caught his attention after a moment. The crinkle of plastic and sound of his stove clicking on followed, and Omen willed himself to check it out, absentmindedly grabbing for his helmet. He crept around the corner, peeking into the kitchen. Maggie stood by the sink, unpackaging something, a pan set on the stove to heat. She was dressed in different clothes than last night, and wore clunky headphones as she worked. She’d definitely had a shower recently, and her makeup was fresh. Omen crept closer, trying to see what she was up to. Completely unaware, she slid back and forth, humming, jumbled lyrics falling from her lips as she continued on with whatever she had.

I’m interested but distant to a fault. And I’d never wanna complicate your heart. I’ve gotta let you know, that I think that I love you so You could be my only one, cuz I think that I love you so. 

     She kept working, starting on breakfast, washing things as soon as she was done with them, and doing her best to keep quiet as she went about cooking. Omen crept closer, setting his helmet on the pub-style table in the corner, leaning on the wall to watch her, lost in her own mind. 

I know we only just met, so why do I feel invested,  And do you feel it too? Do you feel it too? I could be your best yet, future favorite regret,  Do you feel it too, do you feel it too? 

     Maggie continued on, finishing up two plates and turned to take them to the table, startling when she saw Omen standing there, practically right in front of her.       “Having fun?” he asked, the smile not just in his voice, but on his face for once. She smiled back, setting the plates back down on the counter and yanking the headphones off, settling them around her neck.       “Good morning,” She stepped closer, wrapping her arms around him in a loose hug, giving him the opportunity to step away at any time. “Sorry, did I wake you? I wanted to surprise you.” She gestured vaguely to the plates.       “You left?” He asked, helping her carry everything over to the table. She made a face, noticing his helmet, but said nothing.       “Yeah, I just stopped by Ruya’s, I have spare clothes and stuff up there. Didn’t wanna be a mess.” She chuckled, short, but comfortable. “And I got groceries from the market, I didn’t know what you had, didn’t wanna use up something you needed. You like steak and eggs, right? Breakfast burritos?” He nodded along, pulling her chair out before she could. She smiled again, wide and bright and climbed up, letting him push her back in before taking his own seat. They ate in peace for a moment, Maggie tapping her nails on the table as she chewed. Half-way through her food, she cleared her throat, trying to pick the right words to start.       “Hey, Omen, can you just, hear me out a second? Real quick. I, uh, I’m not sure what you, ya know, thought of yesterday and all, but just. I thought it was really important and special and I uh….” She buried her face in her hands, muffling a groan. “Can I start over?” She asked, peeking out from between her fingers. Omen smiled back, nodding, waving his hand as if to say, ‘go on’. She took in a deep breath, waited, then blew it out slowly. She pressed her left hand flat against the table, knuckles going white as she lifted the palm to bend the fingers farther.       “I trust you, and I hope you trust me, and I know someone knowing you, knowing what you look like, and your other form and everything, it’s scary. Probably scarier for you than it is for me, and I never really wanted to do this, but um, well.” She flipped her hand over on the table, curling her fingers in one by one, a motion she’d picked up from watching Alastor while he waited on his contracts to deliberate.       “I want to make a deal. In exchange for not mentioning my… other appearance, I swear to keep anything I learned yesterday, not limited to, but including your identity, hunting methods, form, appearance, all of it a secret, until my extermination or until the deal undone.” She recited it carefully, her eyes kept closed tight as she focused on forcing the words out in just the right order. One word misspoken could create loopholes and disaster, and he was the last one she wanted snared in that. Really, she was trying to protect him. She just hated this was all she could come up with to keep anyone from compelling the information out of her. If she had her eyes open, she might have known to stop, to think of something else.      “Is that all this was?” Omen snarled, hands slamming on the tabletop. She flinched back, mouth open in a tiny gasp. “Was it all an act? Some way to gain something you could blackmail me into a deal with? Is that all you want?” He thundered, snatching at his helmet. Her eyes were glued to it, terrified he’d throw it at her, or worse, lunge over the table at her and hold her down all over again. She could almost feel his claws in her skin, and the words caught in her throat, sputtering incoherently. She withdrew her hand, clasping it with her other in her lap, shoulders slumping forward, the slightest tremor breaking out despite her best efforts.       “No, Omen, I-”       “Save it! You crossroad demons are all the same, I should have known. You’re just like your boss, that two-faced venison bastard.” He stood, shoving away from the table, huge, furious, too close. She stumbled out of her own chair, almost twisting her ankle as she tripped and reached for the couch arm for balance. He took a step towards her and she snatched for her bag and belongings, all piled in the corner of the couch, and raced for the door, biting her lip hard enough to bleed as she tried to swallow gasping sobs. She paused by his door, her back almost pressed against the wall. Her face was red, tears rolling down her face and dripping from her chin. She tried to swipe at them, but only succeeded in smearing her makeup. Omen took another step towards her, crossing the threshold into the living room and she bolted, practically ripping the door open in her haste. She ran from the room, down the hall and up the steps, headed straight out the front door without a word to anyone. She hesitated only briefly in the dark alley that housed Omen’s bike, yanking on a jacket and pulling her bag on, wiping her face clean in an attempt at normalcy. A shadowy form peeled itself off the wall, leaning over her, and she sighed, offering it a look at her face, the smudgy remains of her makeup, the redness, the remaining tremor. The shadow leaning closer, what might have been a face tilting in her direction as if it had eyes. She huffed, stepping past it into the city light.       “Let’s just go home,” she told it, waiting for it to slink into her own shadow on the sidewalk. Then she started the long, silent walk to the Radio Tower, arms wrapped around herself the whole way.       Back in his suite, Omen righted the chair he’d toppled over, grumbling to himself. He couldn’t have anything, ever. He picked up both plates, scraping the leftovers into the trash and dropping the plates in the sink. He’d deal with it later, and his appetite was gone anyway. Guilt nagged at him, prodding at his stomach, his sides, tugged at his heartstrings, lagged behind his every thought.       “She wasn’t trying to hurt you, she was being sincere. She was trying to protect you in her own way,” it urged, begging him to go after her, talk to her, make it right. He huffed again, checking the lock on his door and putting on the deadbolt. She was a crossroads demon. One of Alastor’s.       “You have to protect yourself. No one else is gonna do it. Who knows what she could have made you do with her deals. Crossroads demons are shady business. You’re smart,” another part of him applauded, bidding her a bittersweet good riddance. Omen groaned, thumping down on the sofa. His discarded helmet had rolled over to the coffee table. He leaned forward, scooping it up and pulling it on. It didn’t make him feel as safe and contained as it had yesterday morning.       Maggie sat on the couch in what was quickly becoming her room at the Tower. Her heels were wedged on the edge of the couch, arms wrapped around her legs, drawing them up close to her chest. Alastor sat on the far edge of the couch, silent, cradling a china cup of coffee older than Maggie’s grandmother. Neither of them spoke, save for the subdued crackle of her boss’s radio static, but she could feel the shadow who’d followed her home over her still. She pressed her forehead against her knees, wishing he would just leave her alone. Her left hand burned, she could feel her crossroads mark carved into it. She flexed it, rolling her knuckles and burying her nails in her palm, trying to stop the ache. She’d rather be sitting at Husk’s bar, whining her blues and drinking away the pain, or cuddled up on Ruya’s bed, letting her friend’s cards and runes make sense when she couldn’t, but both of those would mean the Hotel, and the Hotel meant Omen. It always would to her. The Tower was her home now.       “I see someone refused your deal.” Alastor finally spoke, taking a gentle sip from his cup. It must have gone cold, waiting her out.       “Yeah. Funny, I was trying to protect them.” Her voice was bitter and she just let it hurt for now. He offered her a glass, and she was surprised to find it spiked. Al’s expression didn’t change, and she took a sip, setting it on the table to her other side. They settled in the silence again, until Magnolia felt strong enough to ask what was on her mind since Omen had screamed at her, since Al’s shadow had walked her home.       “Hey, Alastor. Can crossroads demons have lives without deals? Love, have friends, all of that, without contracts all over the place?” She looked up at him, a powerful demon of unimaginable influence and presence. Anything there was to have in Hell, if he wanted it, he had it. But he was always alone. He took another sip of his coffee, setting the cup and saucer aside. He turned towards her, just so slightly.       “I don’t know, my dear.” He spoke softly, almost mournfully. She dipped her head again, steadying herself from the wash of despair. Finally, she leaned her head back, resting back on the couch.       “Alastor,” she whispered. “I think you should give Angel a call. I think that’d make me feel better.” She didn’t bother specifying for who, or why, and the way he turned, taking his cup and leaving without letting her see his face was answer enough. She slumped over the arm of the couch, letting herself slip into a fitful rest. 

[lamesorrow]

Call of war

Kargan wiped his forehead and tucked the sweat-stained rag behind his belt. His shoulders and neck ached, but—as always—the orc found himself reluctant to take a break. Not when there was still so much to do.

The demolisher still had a long way to go before she was fit for duty. So far Kargan had removed the damaged wiring, fixed the phlogiston-powered boiler, cut off the mangled remains of the armour plates and replaced one of the wheels that had obviously caught on a landmine. That was the boring part; mostly simple physical labour that required raw strength and not much creative thinking. He was only starting to get to the fun parts.

Kargan straightened out his back, cursing quietly when his knees buckled after being stuck in a kneeling position for so long. He awkwardly hopped to the side, ignoring the amused glances of two goblins who worked on another demolisher.

The orc looked at the row of damaged siege engines. The front in Arathi was not kind to machinery; it was a good thing that the land was rich in both wood and metal, for otherwise the Horde would quickly run out of weapons given the rate at which the Alliance was ruining them.

He still couldn't get over how primitive some of the technological standards employed by the Horde were. Goblins were brilliant engineers, he had to admit, but at this point Kargan was well aware that their genius was focused more on short-term gains, spontaneous decisions and makeshift solutions. Many potentially groundbreaking things were dismissed and skipped in order to cut cost, or replaced with cheaper and more unstable alternatives. Kargan had always fancied himself a pretty resourceful engineer, but it wasn't until he came to Azeroth that he learned of the many uses of chewing gum and band aids.

Kargan took a deep breath and smiled. The air in the workshop smelled like smoke, gasoline, oil...

...barbecue?

His nostrils flared when they caught the faintest traces of a very enticing smell. With a loud rumble, his stomach reminded him that he hadn't had dinner yet. Or breakfast.

The orc gave the demolisher a contemplative look. She was an incredibly tempting view and he couldn't wait to stick his hands in her guts again.

“Exom, I'm out for twenty!” he yelled.

“Make it fifteen, ya lazy oaf!” the foreman screeched back from somewhere down the line of damaged demolishers.

The orc smirked. At this point it was just a little back-and-forth between the two of them. In reality they both knew that he would be gone for ten minutes most. The call of oil and metal was impossible to ignore.

Kargan walked out of the workshop and into the everyday chaos of Ar'gorok.

The fortress was hectic as always. Peons were running around, carrying resources and reinforcing the walls and buildings. Grunts were grunting. A small group of elementalists was invoking spirits of wind and water at the Altar of Storms. Sentries were feeding and cleaning their windriders after their shift in the skies.

Kargan sniffed the air and promptly followed his nose. The smell of char, spices and meat led him to the western edge of the fortress.

A large firepit was surrounded by makeshift chairs—empty crates, wooden logs, other such things that were not needed at the moment. Flames happily licked a large metal rack, on which thick slabs of meat were unleashing an outright irresistible aroma. Kargan waved at a large group of off-duty grunts, but they were all too busy pigging out on beautifully seared steaks to respond to the greeting.

A large orc in grease-stained apron beckoned him over. “Come here, I just got another one done!”

“Give him a big one; he's all skin and bones!”

Kargan blinked and looked over his shoulder.

“Ha-ha-ha,” he said dryly. “Aren't you supposed to be dead?”

Mador grinned and shuffled closer. He had tied his injured leg to the crutch so he could walk around without dragging it behind him, but he still moved with significant difficulty.

“Takes more than a landmine to take me down. Hey, got some chow for an injured veteran, Kozgal?”

Neither of them asked, Hey, wanna eat together? And yet, after receiving their steaks—Kargan's had a beautiful piece of bone embedded in the meat—they sat down on the same bench in some unspoken agreement.

The meat was perfectly cooked—brown on the outside, while still juicy and soft on the inside. Kargan happily sank his fangs in the steak and tore out a large chunk. Hot droplets of melted fat burned his fingers, but he didn't mind. Frantic growling of his stomach motivated him to eat faster. Next to him Mador was happily devouring his steak at a comparable pace.

Once his hunger was sated and the steak was gone, spare for some last scraps of meat stubbornly clinging to the bone, Kargan glanced at his friend's leg. It was swollen to nearly comical proportions and wrapped in a thick layer of relatively clean bandages. Kargan wasn't there when Mador was injured, but he heard the explosion had nearly blasted the orc's leg off where he stood.

“How's your leg?”

Mador shrugged. “Healers say that I will never run again,” he said dispassionately. He glanced at Kargan and snorted loudly. “Bah! Don't give me that look, Kargan! Who listens to healers? When my father was gored by a boar they told us he wouldn't live to see another summer. Three weeks later he was walking, and three weeks after that he had the hide of that boar on his wall.”

Kargan licked his lips. “I'm surprised they didn't send you back home,” he muttered and used his teeth to scrape some last scraps of meat off the bone.

Mador laughed jovially in response. “They tried!” he said. “But I told my commander I don't need legs to make explosives. So, I stayed.” The orc gave Kargan a vicious grin. “Like hell I'm gonna miss my chance to help burn some Alliance bastards alive.”

Kargan grinned back. His people were still newcomers in this world and much nuance of local politics was no doubt lost on them, but war was something all Mag'har—no, all orcs—understood instinctively. It was something they were born into.

Of course this war, like all other wars, had its traitors and dissidents. During his stay in Orgrimmar he's heard enough of that nonsense, mostly coming from the mewling elves or the apathetic tauren—about how this war was costing the Horde its honour.

These hushed words angered him. What did those cowards know about honour? Honour was putting your life on the line to protect your own. Would they rather lay down their arms and let the Alliance murder their people as... what? Some kind of compensation for what happened to the tree?

No. There was no honour in dooming your people just so you could feel good about yourself. Besides, Kargan did not escape the tyranny of the Lightbound on Draenor just to submit to the Lightforged on Azeroth.

He looked at Mador, but before he could say anything he was interrupted by a bellowing roar of the commander's war-horn.

Both orcs tensed up. Around them the grunts were dropping their half-eaten steaks and reaching for axes and spears before freezing in tense anticipation.

“Think it's time?” Kargan mumbled. His eyes were fixed on the sky, where windriders were frantically circling over the fortress.

“I sure hope so,” Mador whispered darkly. “Been too quiet...”

A moment of tense stillness turned into a pandemonium the moment the horn sounded for the second time, signalling that the Alliance spotted by the windriders was more than just a scouting party. Kargan grabbed his axe, jumped over the bench and nearly crashed into a grunt. The orcs snarled at each other, but there was no time for fighting, not now when there were Alliance dogs to kill.

“Fucking—out of my way! A veteran coming through!” Mador howled somewhere behind Kargan, but the engineer didn't slow down. He had more important things to do right now.

The first demolisher was already rolling out of the shop by the time he got there. He heard Exom's screech before he saw the goblin himself. “You were supposed to be back in five, you lazy fuck!”

Kargan snatched his rifle from one of the junior technicians and dashed down the line of siege weapons. “Yeah, yeah,” he growled angrily. “Which one?!”

“Fourth!”

One-two-three...

Someone threw a helmet at him as he ran around the fourth demolisher. The driver was already heating up the engine. Kargan grabbed the nearest Azerite tank and quickly plugged it in. The liquid gurgled menacingly as it started to flow down the tubes.

Kargan secured the clamps. “Done!” he yelled and grabbed one of the spikes that dotted the wheels to pull himself up. He jumped on one of the platforms, put the helmet on and held on tight as the engine roared and the demolisher surged forward, rolling out of the shop. The junior technician—possibly the one that had handed him the rifle earlier, Kargan couldn't tell most goblins apart anyway—chased after the siege engine, brandishing a bag of ammo. He had a chance to catch up when the demolisher stopped briefly so a troll shaman could hop on the other platform.

“'ey, mon,” she said cheerfully. “Ya wanna hear a joke?”

“Sure,” Kargan said absentmindedly and started fumbling with the straps of the ammo bag, trying to attach it to his belt. “I like jokes.”

“Wat be Bloodlord Mandokir yellin' wen he be ridin' tah battle?”

“Dunno. What is he yelling?”

“Guru-bash-ya!”

Kargan looked up at the grinning troll. She stared back, expectantly.

After a few moments of awkward silence the engineer cautiously said, “You know, I'm sure it's a great joke, but I might be missing some deeper cultural context here.”

The driver sighed deeply and hit the gas.

He had a feeling it was going to be a difficult battle.