#old ahh edit again

[ramonaandsunsetsam]

two children in a motel - ethel cain

[shwarmii]

i never realized Viktor was missing from Disenchanted Fashions before (or at least tumblr isnt showing him) and i am having so much fun with that bit of freedom towards his wardrobe jfc

[milfvael]

Love that I just got a notification about this 9 year old post

Concept #whatever

(partially created by @lieutenantriza)

It’s the Promised Day. Two minutes in, Al opens his armor and let’s out a massive swarm of bees. He attacks Father, who has an apparent bee allergy. The Promised Day is done. Al gets appointed fuhrer by the government, but he has more sinister plans. Al isn’t leading the government, the bees are. The bees are controlling his every move. Al is a figurehead, a puppet being controlled by the bees of Amestris from the background. They will make their move soon, with nobody in Amestris to stop them, as nobody suspects it’s the bees.

Long live Amestris. Long live the bees.

[springismss]

ᱬ⛧ heaven ~ i. midoriya

sum: after years of not seeing him, he finally shows up, asked to join the agency you work at. you remembered him, but did remember you?

pairing: pro hero! izuku midoriya x female pro hero! reader

content: 18+ - mdni. p in v, slight teasing, dirty talk, marking, multiple/implied multiple orgasms, fingering, reader gets called princess/baby/good girl, general NSFW content, aftercare.

a/n: slight spoiler ahead - set in an au where the end events of the manga didn’t happen, where izuku doesn’t lose one for all, still finishes u.a and is currently the world's number one pro. this has been rotting in my drafts for a while, but i didn’t have a chance to edit it. as always, likes, comments and re-blogs are deeply appreciated!

word count: 1.9k

links: bnha/mha masterlist | masterlist

Looking around the semi-crowded street, you let a soft hum of annoyance pass your lips as you continued forward. Due to there being hardly any criminals for the past few days now, you had found yourself, yet again, on patrol on a slow day. Not only were you patrolling, but you also caught glimpses of three other pro heroes who were in the area, looking as bored as you were.

A sudden chime in your ear made you stop as you looked at the other heroes, noticing they were still patrolling and talking to citizens. How odd. Lifting your finger, you tapped on the device and placed your free hand on your hip as you continued to scan the area out of habit. "What’s up?".

"(h/n), can you come back to the office? We have someone coming and we want our best hero here when they arrive". Furrowing your brows, you glanced in the direction of the voice, opening your mouth to question the communication when they spoke again, seemingly reading your mind.

"And yes, it's been cleared. We've heard it's another slow day, so there's no need for you all to be out there".

Letting out a hum, you turned on your heel and began to make your way back to the agency you were working at. "Sure you're not trying to butter me up there? I'll be there in ten".

Walking through the doors, you stretched and sighed softly, the cool air of the air con lapping against your skin felt refreshing. You had a few spare moments before heading to the meeting room, so you opted to grab a drink, making your way to the meeting room not long after.

Opening the door with a click, you noticed quite a few of the other heroes you worked alongside already there. A sea of murmurs greeted you as you greeted them back, taking your place at the side while you all waited for whoever they had made you come back for.

Up front, you saw the owner of the agency standing there with another figure by their side, most likely their assistant, who called you back. "Ahh, (h/n), now that you're here, I can introduce you to the newest hero to join us~". Your boss lifted a hand and motioned to the door as eyes followed, looking at the door that was clicking open again.

Green was the only colour you could focus on as your eyes widened. You had to be seeing things, this couldn't be real, right? You had to be in some sort of dream. Yeah, that's right, a stupid dream. You and the rest of your classmates thought he'd disappeared, seemingly moving away to the other end of the country or beyond.

No one had heard from him in years. Yet there he was, walking past you as everyone followed with their gaze. "~The number one pro hero, Deku". A confident wave and bright smile replaced the once timid and shy movements of the young boy you remembered.

As you tried to wrap your head around what you had just seen, a group began to form around the hero with words of excitement buzzing in the air. By the time you had managed to somewhat comprehend things, the group had disappeared, giving you the perfect time to go over and say hello to an old friend. Would he recognise you? You'd doubted it, but it didn’t hurt to see. "Well, if it isn't Izuku Midoriya in the flesh".

The sudden intrusion of your words, and the fact that his name had been used, seemed to take him by surprise as he took a closer look at your face. It took him a moment longer than usual to put the pieces together, but he got there, eyes widening as you smiled brightly at him. "(y/n)? Is that you?".

Ever since that day when you had both been reunited, the two of you had been virtually inseparable. Spending more time together, be that on missions or in general, had resulted in the two of you becoming close again. Closer than what you both had been before.

Then came the rumours that surrounded you both, some sweet and innocent and others downright dirty. Of course, the latter made Midoriya blush. He couldn't imagine people saying those things, and yet there they were, plain as day. You were nothing more than a friend to him.

Sure, it had been a good few years since he last saw you and the rest of your friends, but he couldn't deny it even if he tried; you had become a beautiful young woman. Foreign feelings stirred deep inside of him, feelings that caused his body and mind to react in ways he hadn’t had since he was a teen. Sure, he'd had partners, but none of them fired him up the way you did.

Feelings he thought he had buried were starting to resurface all over again. Starting to increase each time he was with you until he couldn't handle them any more, the way he felt became too much to bear. Doing the only thing he could think of at that time, acting on how he felt around you, something he should have done back when you were both younger.

Everything seemed to move in a bit of a blur. One minute, you were sitting on the couch in Midoriya's house with him, TV on in the background as you both sat talking about various things. The next minute, you were on your back, pinned to the cushions as you both shared a hot kiss. The feelings that poured out between you both during that kiss had been pent up for some time.

A dark blush covered his face as he pulled back, trying to catch his breath, frame hovering over your panting form. "I-I can't take it anymore, (y/n), I-I need to do s-something~".

In what felt like mere seconds to you, articles of clothing had been scattered all over the floor before thick digits thrusted into your wet cunt, walls stretching deliciously making you whine out at the burning desire you felt again. "Hah, Izuku, p-please. I need you".

His fingers disappeared, causing you to whine out from the sudden emptiness before his stout cock began to press deep within you. Pressing past the ring of resistance, as desperate moans sounded. The overwhelming feeling of Midoriya stretching you made your back arch, hips wriggling as he buried himself deep inside. The pro hero took a moment to savour the feeling of your walls pulsating tightly around his cock, your needy cunt desperately trying to keep him there.

“Shit, you’re gripping me so good princess. Like that pretty pussy was made for me”. Those words alone had you moaning out, hands grabbing any part of him you could. You had to keep yourself sane.

With the slow pull back of his hips, you gasped slightly as the emptying feeling until you felt him thrust hard back into you. You swear if your eyes could roll any further back than they were already, they would. Bringing your legs up, you wrapped them around his waist, ankles locking behind his back as you pulled him closer to you. Your fingers dug into his forearms, nails leaving crescent moon marks as you tried to ground yourself.

Green eyes glanced at the fucked out look on your face, before dragging down your body, watching the way your tits jiggled with each desperate thrust. Watching the way your body bounced in time with his movements, the small sheen starting to cover your body. He was eager to show you how much he needed and wanted you, even after all these years. "F-Fuck, why did I wait this long to get in this cunt of yours?".

The words caught you off guard as a loud mewl slipped past your lips, hands flying to his back before you dragged your nails down, red marks being left against pale skin as you arched further into his body.

You could feel that knot in the pit of your gut tighten, and you knew, knew it wouldn’t be too long before you were crying out from the pleasure. You could already hear how wet you were, messy sloshing noises only added to the way you were feeling. "Izu, fuck, I-I'm gonna~".

His rough thrusts never ceased as he reached between you both, pad of his thumb rubbing circles on your clit as his fingers pressed against the small bump he was creating inside you. “Come on, baby, let go for me, want to feel you all over”.

All it took was a few more harsh thrusts to have you lose your sanity, to have your back arch beautifully as you gasped out. Broken cry of Midoriya’s name sounded from your throat as your vision blurred. You were almost sure you felt some of your slick squirt out, no doubt coating not only his cock and thighs, but the sofa beneath you.

The overwhelming feeling of feeling full took over your now overly sensitive cunt, breathy moans sounding louder. “That’s a good girl, but I'm far from done, princess".

Before long, you’d lost all sense of time as you continued to be fucked senseless by the man above you.

Your legs were numb, your clit and cunt were overly stimulated and your body began to grow tired. Despite that, you felt another wave of euphoria nearing, gripping Midoriya's arm as you anchored yourself, a strangled sob left your throat as tears slipped from your eyes. Your nails were sure to leave more marks, marks that would no doubt bleed, not that the pro seemed to mind.

Deep moans sounded from above you as you turned your watery, glassy stare to the man responsible for the state you were in. You could tell he was close as his thrusts became sloppy, desperately rutting into you as he chanced his own euphoria. After a few more sloppy thrusts, Midoriya let out a guttural moan, hips stalling as he filled your cunt with his cum. “F-Fuck, that’s it (y/n), take it all. Going to fill you so full you’ll be dripping me for days”. The hot fluid seeping deep within you as sparks of his quirk flashed around you both.

Lifting your arm, you brought a hand up to his face and cupped it, guiding him down to your lips as you held him close. You took a moment to press a soft kiss to the corner of his lips, humming softly as you mumbled against the skin. “I love you, Izuku”.

The words took him by surprise, green eyes widening as they looked down at you, face still flushed as hair clung to you, offering his own sweet smile a moment after. “I know you do, and I love you too, (y/n)”.

Wrapping his arms around you as best he could, he pulled his cock out of you. A moan of loss sounded from you before you felt yourself being moved, held close against his chest as he carried your sore body to the bathroom, helping clean you up once you were settled in the hot water.

A thumb rubbed the small of your back in a comforting manner. No words needed to be spoken, but at that point, you both knew what you were to each other. The feelings you both held were finally shared for the other to feel.

Although you had both been caught up in the throes of pleasure a few minutes ago, nothing could have prepared you for the words that were uttered next.

"Next time, I’ll show you that blackwhip is good for something other than restraining villains".

© springismss 2025 - don’t repost, copy, translate, steal or modify.

[darnell-la]

𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗟𝗬 𝗠𝗜𝗫

pairing: dark!dom!Logan Howlett x non-mutant!fem!reader

warning: drugging, head butting, oral (fem receiving), nightmare fuck, woken from sleep, rough fuck, multiple orgasms, obsession, etc.

note: we can’t stop writing about this man. he’s everything we need.

please like, COMMENT, follow, reblog, and REQUEST us!

follow our Instagram @ darnell.la so we can start posting random videos, photos, edits and memes of the people we write about!

————————————————————————

𝟯𝗥𝗗 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗢𝗩

“Maybe you’re just no one’s type anymore, sugar. That attitude doesn’t sit well on women like you,” Logan said across the bar after hearing y/n complain to Storm that it’s hard to find a person she’s interested in.

“Or maybe you can mind your business!?” Y/n turned to look his way with a yell. Storm slightly touched her back to calm her now. “No! — I’m tired of him talking. It’s not like you’re so sweet yourself!” Y/n said.

Logan looked at the frustrated young lady with a grin as he placed his cigar in his mouth. “Ain’t like your dick could stand up still either,” she said, making the people who were listening, laugh.

“Ahh, wouldn’t you like to know,” Logan said, unfazed by the small words she tried to use to hurt his feelings. “Actually, I wouldn’t, because even Jean didn’t want a piece of you. And that was when you were younger,” she said.

People were shocked at her words, still laughing but watching out how much. They knew mentioning Jane was a topic he hated hearing.

“Watch what you say. Just because you ain’t a mutant, don’t mean I won’t handle you,” Logan said. Of course, her heart rate raised, but she stood her ground as she got up from the bar seat.

“Try me,” she said, making the metal-boned man laugh as he approached her. He could see her chest rise, knowing she wanted nothing she challenged him to do.

Logan looked back at Storm who was shaking her head as she pointed at the shit glasses y/n had downed. A whole tray that hold at least fifteen was insane for a human.

Logan looked back at y/n understanding why she felt so much emotion tonight. Her eyes were glossy and she slightly swayed back and forth. She was definitely halfway to passing out.

Logan leaned forward, mouth slightly grazing Y/n’s ear. “Go to bed, sweet cheeks,” Logan said as his hot breath hit the side of her face before heading to his room.

It’s been a few weeks since the incident at the bar with Logan. Y/n decided to keep it cool for a while until no one expected anything.

“Logan, can you please get my phone from the living room while I cook, please?” Y/n asked. He sighed loudly, always grumpy about something as he got up and walked out of the kitchen.

Y/n quickly pulled two pills out of her pocket and dropped them into his full glass of liquor. She had gone through the pharmacy they had for mutants downstairs, and searched for something that would make him rethink what he said to her.

Y/n went to walk away until she stopped and thought of his constant bullying since she got here.

Y/n pulled two boxes from her other pocket, took every pill from their wrapper, and dumped them in his drink. “One for your lazy dick, and the other energy since I should go to sleep early,”

Y/n quickly through the trash in the bin before running back to continue cooking. “Almost done,” she smiled as he placed her phone down with a fake smile back.

“For a mutant, you sure do get tired walkin’ room to room,” y/n snickered as he downed his drink. If he looked at the glass, he would’ve noticed something off, but he didn’t think of it.

“Does liquor get old these days? Fuckin’ hell,” Logan spoke with a few coughs. Y/n did her best, to keep her laughing. He had no clue.

“Logan, relax!” Y/n heard Scott yell somewhere in the mansion. At first, she thought they were arguing again until something broke and Jane screamed. What the hell is going on?

Y/n quickly got up from her bed and ran out of her room, toward where ever they were. “Logan, relax! Y-You’re safe!” Jane spoke. She’s told y/n she had to use those words whenever he got out of control.

“What’s wrong?” Y/n asked as she stepped around the corner. Logan’s head instantly snapped towards her. “No,” Scott said, having a feeling what Logan was going to do.

“Y/n, stay back. H-He’s not doing well right-“ Jean spoke but got knocked out of the way by Logan running towards y/n. As well as Scott.

Y/n tried to run, but before she could turn all the way around, he grabbed her, quickly throwing her over his shoulders before running away.

“Hey! — Let me go, Logan! Stop it!” She yelled as he ran towards the front door. Where was he taking her? Why was he taking her? He almost made it out of the mansion with her in hand until Storm used the wind to drag y/n back.

Logan stumbled, realizing she wasn’t in his hold anymore. He turned around stepped forward followed after y/n was dragged back until he looked up to see the whole crew staring right back at him.

Logan let out a loud growl before running off and out into the darkness of night.

“What the fuck!” Y/n shouted as Storm lifted her up and Jean checked her for any bruises. “What the hell is his problem?” Y/n asked as Scott ran out of the house to see where Logan had run off.

“Motherfucker’s taking my bike!” Scott shouted. “We don’t know. He was sitting on the couch, eatin’ the rest of the food you cooked, as always, then — then he started switching,” Jean said.

“At first it was mild, but I noticed it first. He then asked where you were and if we thought you’d be asleep yet,” Storm said. “We said we didn’t know, and he instantly grew angry,” Jean said.

“Motherfucker got up to go to your room and I stopped him before he could,” Scott said as he ran back into the mansion. It was late and y/n was confused. What was happening?

Y/n’s currently in her room as the crew took the yet to go find Logan. Xavier came with them. He said, maybe if he got closer to Logan, he could ease into his mind.

The school has been out for a couple of weeks, so the kids are either with their parents or in buddy groups somewhere in instate.

This means y/n has the whole mansion to herself on one of the worst days possible. While an animal is loose. A wild animal.

Y/n thought if she closed her eyes and went to sleep, she wouldn’t stress as much, so that’s what she did. Now she’s deep in her sleep, dreaming about what she was trying to distract herself from. Logan.

Logan was chasing her through the long halls. Every door being locked and the hall getting longer was the most terrifying part of the nightmare.

He chased her for what felt like hours. Each time he spoke, it felt like he was closer.

“Don’t run” “Stay still” “Mhm — That’s it” “All that shit talkin’ and you’re cryin’. Pathetic,” he said with a chuckle following behind his voice.

“Please, someone help!” She yelled in her dreams as she felt his breath on her neck. She was caught. Logan grabbed y/n and dragged her to a room that would’ve been locked for her.

“You’re a fast one, but I’ve gotcha,” he growled low as he hovered over the girl, lips inches from hers. “Smellin’ so good for me. You’re such a tease,” Logan ripped her clothes off. They disappear into dust. She knew she had to be dreaming.

“Runnin’ from me, but you’re soaked. You’re a lair, baby,” he said as he slipped her panties off, sniffing them before placing them in his back pocket. “Now how about ya cum for me?”

Y/n woke up slowly, hearing a voice in her room. “Now how about ya cum for me?” She heard for the second time, but in between her legs. Y/n whined as she looked down, not knowing what was happening until she saw him.

Logan was in between her legs, sucking on her pussy like a starved man. “Logan!” She screamed, scared at first until her back arched from the full effect of his tongue all over and between her folds.

Logan watched her reaction as he ducked on her hard, eating her out rougher than before. He’s been at this for. Good thirsty minutes and still couldn’t get enough.

“Gimme another,” he said. “What? — I-I don’t- Fuck,” y/n’s eyes rolled back. He was working her just right. He knew he was. He’s been waiting all night. From when he was eating the rest of dinner, to when he hid in the woods, waiting for the crew to leave, to sneaking in her room, hoping not to wake her up too early.

“Give me a 6th one, heh? Then I’ll fill ya up,” Logan said as he slipped two fingers into her cunt, curling and pumping into her to force another one he so desperately wanted.

The instant pressure of his fingers sent y/n over the edge with a loud cry and shake. She came all over his face, wetting him like a waterpark.

“Fuuuck,” Logan groaned, feeling in heaven. “Can never get tired of that, princess,” Logan said as he crawled up and over her until he attacked his lips onto her, softly.

Y/n kissed back for a second, feeling too deep into the mood. She only lasted for a little bit after she woke up, but she was sure this was the best orgasm she’s ever had.

“Logan- Logan!” Y/n pushed at his chest, making him lean back. “W-We can’t. They’re looking for you and you’re — You’re here eating me out and making out with me and-“ y/n’s mind ran everywhere until he cut her off with a short kiss.

“It’s okay, sugar. I need them out of the house for what I’m about to do to you,” Logan said, confusing her. “Logan — You’re feeling this way because I drugged you,” y/n blurted out.

Logan forced over her as she slapped her hands over her face in embarrassment. “Saying that out loud makes me feel bad, but, yes. I put a whole box of energy pills and Viagra on your drink when you went and grabbed my phone — I-I’m sorry,” y/n genuinely apologizes.

She thought he was going to lash out before she heard him chuckle. That chuckle turned into a laugh as he leaned up off of the bed.

“Baby, I pieced that together when I was in the living room, eatin,” Logan said as y/n backed up against her headboard. “My plan was to go up to your room and confront you before fucking you into your mattress, but Scott stopped me,”

“Then I saw you come around the corner and thought I could fuck you into the dirty in the woods like the low and pathetic slut you are, but Scott stopped me again,”

“So I ran — I knew they’d come looking for me. I waited in the woods for nearly an hour. Cock throbbing. Balls waiting to empty. I wanted to jack one off right then, but I knew it wouldn’t have been enough,”

“Besides — I’d rather fill every whole you’ve got to satisfy my needs,” Logan said before lunging at y/n. Y/n screamed and fought, trying to get from under him, but there was no use. He was stronger and wild. He needed her now.

“Keep fightin, baby. Always seemed hot knowing you couldn’t overpower me, even if you tried,” he mocked as he ripped his jeans off of him, as well as his boxers.

“N-No, no, no! Logan, I-I’m not doing this. I’m not doing — That!” Y/n said after seeing his length. He was long. He was huge. Veins nearly covered the whole thing. His balls looked stiff and in need of release.

“You’re gonna take it. You brought this on yourself, princess,” Logan said as he ripped his shirt off. Y/n had just noticed she was fully naked. He had stripped her from her nightgown when she was sleeping.

“I-It was a mistake!” Y/n tried pushing back as he came in between her legs. “Was it though? I smell how wet you get around me every day. All that anger is just an excuse because you’re too bitchy to ask for my cock,” Logan looked directly into her eyes, just a few inches away.

“Well, you won’t have to ask anymore. I’ve got the picture from now on,” Logan forced his huge length inside of y/n, stretching her walls in an instant. She cried at the pain but moaned at the pleasure.

“Yeah,” he growled, teeth stuck together. “Gonna fuck you all fuckin’ night,” Logan’s hips began to move at an ungodly pace. The huge man leaned over y/n like an inhuman form. Deep down he was.

He placed her legs on his shoulders and pushed down into her like some duck doll he had ready in his room for him.

Her lower back was slightly in the air. She could him thrust into her fully. She was forced to watch him use her cunt like some movie.

“L-Logan,” y/n threw her head back as she came unexpectedly from the angle he had her in. “Look at that waterfall. So fuckin’ pretty,” Logan wished he could slurp her up, but he was too busy digging in her guts for more.

“You know — That comment about Jean back at the bar — It was unnecessary,” Logan began a conversation with y/n. She was so confused about how because she was struggling to keep her mind straight. Her head already seemed light.

“I should’ve dragged you to my room then, but I was calm. Noticed you had a few drinks. Drinks always make sluts act out,” he spat.

“Anyway — About Jean. Yeah, I lost feelings a while ago. You wanna know when? When you came along,” he admitted. “Those sexy jeans and top that hugged your body set me off, quick. Jean was outta there,”

“Then your personality. Sweet and precious but evil to people like me. People who’re assholes,” he leaned closer to her face. “But, you know what, baby? I think you like assholes. Just look at the way you take my cock. I’m basically bullying myself into you,”

He wasn’t wrong. Before y/n signed up to teach at the school slash mansion, she was always caught up with some deuce. She wouldn’t be lying if she said she felt a type of way around Logan after realizing how grumpy and mean he can get.

She didn’t realize at the time, but when he felt the need to let some steam loose earlier today, he asked, looking for y/n. Not Jean. His mind was all on y/n.

“Such a slut — You’re squeezing me,” he teased as he felt himself grow close. “Keep goin’ — I know you like this,” he said as y/n’s mouth parted. The groan leaving Logan’s mouth as he watched y/n cum on his cock for the second time tonight, sent him over the edge.

The man had no words. All he could do was groan and growl loudly as he pounded into her, watching the light leave her eyes. She was definitely done for tonight.

“Fuck!” He yelled, cum spilling into her throbbing cunt. Logan thrust slowly, watching their cum coat his cock. He knew after tonight, that he’d need her every night. He was going to make that happen whether her attitude matched his or not.

[oracleofevil]

𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 || 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐋 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍.

author's note: you can find the men's version right over here.

warnings: slight angst, major fluff, slight toxic behaviour.

characters included: 𝗔𝗱𝗮, 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗷𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗰𝗮.

,'✿— 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 —⁠✿,'

𝐀𝐃𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐆

she memorises your habits but doesn't let you learn hers, she knows everything about your schedule from your doctor's appointments to the way you behave when you're nervous. you don't know anything about her.

she doesn't verbally says 'i love you' but buys you things that you didn't ask for, your missing jacket? replaced with a brand new expensive one. favorite chocolates from another country? a whole bag is kept on the countertop. you really wanted that special edition merch hoodie? you now have two.

has a habit of staring at your lips when you talk.

she disappears for weeks on end, but when she comes back all bruised and bloody, you kiss her like none of it ever bothered you.

Doesn't let you go on her phone. Ever.

𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃

has a habit of mothering you, it's her way of showing you love. extra blankets whenever you feel cold, your favourite home cooked meal whenever you feel like it. packed lunches. It's an old habit.

she gives you her jacket when she's the one who's freezing. has a habit of overcommitting and doesn't know when to draw a line.

leaves emergency med kits all over the house as if it's a battle zone.

accidentally over-parents you. it's out of fear of the fact she wasn't able to protect her brother's peace or sherry's childhood. maybe she can protect you.

cuddles like a koala.

𝐉𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄

she doesn't hold your hand when she's nervous, she holds your wrist. she needs to feel your pulse to know that you're actually here.

she NEVER lets you see her breakdown, but more often than not you find her sitting on the shower floor, with the water running ice cold.

she smells like antiseptic all the time, even at home, even in bed. she has a habit of scrubbing herself raw in the shower.

she organises your drawers and shelves because it's oddly peaceful for her.

says "text me when you get there" even if it's the grocery store.

𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐌

reads in bed and always falls asleep on your chest.

she decorates the place with little trinkets, silly cat mugs, colourful dreamcatchers and those goofy ahh rugs.

you guys need to have everything matching together, toothbrushes, t-shirts, mugs, even handguns. she throws a fit if you deny.

has a habit of over-apologizing.

buys you veryyy expensive things and is very nonchalant about it, you once mentioned your dream of having your own private jet. guess what happened the next morning.

𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐂𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒

has a habit of keeping a mental record of your bruises or scrapes, makes sure every little scratch has been properly treated.

diagnoses your moods as symptoms. "you're acting irritable, did you just have coffee for breakfast again?".

has built you a medicine cabinet enough to treat an army.

sleeps with her phone on full volume with the loudest ringtone known to man.

has a toxic habit of using her kindness as a leverage against you. "after all that I've done for you?".

𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆~!

[harleith-harlot]

@ajoure's Harleith art masterpost

(bold was added to the list in the most recent update, italic is a several page comic. Last update: April 7, 2025)

Non-AU

they both don't get personal boundaries at all (evil gays) (the OG omg???)

more evil scientists

time passes but habits remain the same

and they were roommates

worth a shot

them 🫶

horrible things (ft securityangel)

sketches

everyone should be thanking god for making ajoure an artist with free will

boys being boys again (Skullsz_Writes fic)

they like to tease each other soooo bad

Valentine's Day went wrong for them, eh?

Looking at this person who asked me to draw 'em evil gays again

pet owner moment

pet owner moment pt2

portrait study

"elaborate...?"

700 people asked for wireplay

painted nails are the least gay thing Pierre can do

a not-so-good morning for Pierre

british men (not Harlieth but I wanted to include it)

Angel barber

something sweet

oh they're at it again

hypermobility

puzzle pieces

Out of context (ft. Stella & Eddie)

"uhh well that just happened"

Harley is absolutely insufferable

AU (4cmit)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

I got a really silly idea, hear me out

aww, they're bonding by bullying Pierre in cardboard games <3

Sensitivity test

Mistakes were made (metalkitty fic)

Harley is touch starved

Cassidy they're fucking the robots-

Two bodies pt 1

Two bodies pt 2

Eepy evil scientists

Possessive (and very creative) robot gf

Ship of Theseus

Please don't take this body from me

In front of Eddie's soup

Two bodies pt 3 (spice edition)

People with blue eyes be like

The sunrise

The sunrise follow-up (metalkitty fic)

eepers

Harley Sockser

They're not on the spectrum, they are the spectrum

Harley would rather die twice than show affection (yet)

The Blue Danube Waltz

Harley's conducting an experiment

Overthinking

Pay attention to him, Leith!

Lipstick marks

Two silly kids trying to bring their evil fathers together

Harley's body just got updated

Rendezvous

Midnight snack (not Harleith)

Sleepy morning (metalkitty fic)

Shorty

Animal Parallels

Instructions unclear - the apple didn't work

Apple follow-up

But can we blame Leith for this?

Boys care about their Shorty

Ruthlessness

Run Rabbit Run

Doggyboy and Catboy

Guess who made this body for me (my fic)

I'll make it enjoyable

Harley's slowly getting more senses back

Nightmares (metalkitty fic)

Harley's having fun with his taste back 👀

ahh, kids are having fun with their chewing toy<3

Harley is having fun with his taste back again

Harley's having more fun (beware erotic machinery)

Immortality is the curse of the weak

Look at them, all dressed up, so elegant

A place to belong

hey we get you Leith don't worry (Eddie don't ask questions you wouldn't want to know the answer to)

damn that's certainly a creative way to use wires

people asked for some more wires chewing<3

*angry British yelling*

girls fighting 💔

Leith's nail polish (ask)

Ah this goofy old man

Fics inspired by this AU in general

"Way Down We Go" by @ombroberry

"reflections, in tension" by one last touch of flesh anon

"almonds, whiskey, lavender milk" by anonymous

Song fic by @midnight193

[stars4gojo]

Sweet Nothing

Gojo x Fem!reader // Gojo and reader being Megumi’s parents lol  // fluff // 1k words

Itadori and Nobara already feel like Megumi hides too much so how will they react if they see him with a woman that seems way too old for the 16 year old.

(not proofread rn I’ll edit it later - ignore any silly mistakes)

Taylor swift sweet nothing🤍

Some of my other work - Masterlist

When Megumi told Nobara he was too busy to accompany her and itadori during her weekly shopping free - she did NOT expect to see Megumi laughing and buying coffee with a woman that was definitely way older. 

“Hey Kugisaki!” Itadori spoke suddenly as Nobara went ahead of him. 

“Is that fushiguro with a woman?” He questioned as his mouth fell agape.

“Huh? What are you talking about? You sure you’re not seeing things?” Nobara spoke as she dismissed him with the wave of her hand.

“No really I’m not lying!” He spoke again stopping in his tracks as Nobara made her way towards him to get him to shut up so she could continue shopping.

As Nobara turned towards the direction Itadori was still looking at in shock - she expected to see a guy that looks nothing like Megumi and was ready to snap at itadori for interrupting her, but she was in much more shock when she saw Megumi but worse with a woman who very obviously had a ring around her finger, a huge one at that.

“No way…” She spoke.

“That Fushiguro…She literally has a ring on her finger, I’m going to go teach him a lesson. Hold this!” Nobara added as she shoved her coffee into Itadori. 

“Hey hey hey! Don’t you want to do this more carefully I mean we don’t even know if they really are in some sort of relationship like that.” Itadori replied as he tried to hold Nobara back.

Nobara was about to reply but was cut off with the voice of someone awfully familiar.

“Hmm what are we looking at?” Itadori and Nobara jumped at the same time at the voice of their teacher, Gojo.

“Oh Goj-“ Itadori started but was soon cut off by Nobara.

“That Fushiguro is hanging out with some married woman and I’m about to beat his ass for breaking up a marriage.” Nobara spoke with her hands folded around her chest in confidence.

“What are you doing here anyways?” itadori asked clearly ignoring Nobara. 

“Well I’m about to meet my wife.” Gojo replied with a slight chuckle as he watched his two student’s mouths fall.

Nobara and Itadori turned towards Megumi and his mystery woman and to Gojo again and then the realisation hit.

“Oh.” Nobara and Itadori said at the same time.

“Huhhhh!!?!?” Nobara started

“Since when are you married?!??” Itadori added while looking like his whole life was a lie.

“You don’t even wear a ring???” Nobara questioned.

“Well if I wear such an expensive ring while fighting I would very obviously lose it and it’s too precious for that.” Gojo spoke proudly - putting emphasis on the words expensive and precious. 

“Seems like Megumi already met up with her, you guys wanna go and meet her?” 

“Yeah!” Nobara and itadori shouted excitedly as they made their way towards you and Megumi.  

You were quite surprised when you saw two children Megumi’s age run towards you both but everything made sense as you saw your husband trailing behind them, hands in his pocket and his usual blindfold replaced with his glasses.

You smiled as he waved at you but you couldn’t ignore the frown that was becoming more apparent on Megumi’s face.

“Those your friends Megumi?” You asked as you suppressed a giggle at his annoyance. 

“They’re NOT my friends.” He replied fast as he grabbed your arm so you both could go the other direction and you swear you saw his eyebrow twitch. 

“Hey Fushiguro!” Itadori spoke excitedly as he wrapped his arms around Megumi as he swatted them away. 

“And hey to you too!” Itadori spoke looking at you, unaffected by Megumi’s actions. 

“My name is Nobara Kugisaki and this is Itadori Yuuji!” Nobara spoke this time as an attempt to stop itadori from embarrassing her more. 

“Ahh hi! So you’re Megumi’s friends, I’m y/n and I’m Sato- well, your teachers wife.” You spoke as you shyly waved at them.

“We can just ignore them.” Megumi spoke nonchalantly as he turned on his heels once again trying to go the other and you frowned at his actions.

“Megumi you embarrassed of us or something” it was Gojo who spoke this time and Megumi felt as if all of his peace was now really destroyed.

“Hi there.” Gojo said softly as he went to kiss your head, “seems like you didn’t tell Megumi I was gonna be joining you two today.” Gojo added.

You turned towards Megumi with wide eyes as you rubbed the back of your neck, “did I really not tell you” you questioned awkwardly.

“No, you did not.” Megumi spoke as his last bit of patience ran out. 

“So Gojo you can just leave and you two can leave too.” Megumi added as he pointed to the others with his finger.  

“What! That’s literally my wife you cannot control me!” Gojo replied childishly as he leaned down to Megumi. 

“Oh cmon Fushiguro! It’ll be fun!” Itadori added only to get a smack on the head in return by Megumi.

“No one is inviting you in the first place anyways.” Megumi spoke with a frown.

And as you watched the entire scene unfold infront of you, Nobara made her way towards you.

“You sure you’re not being held hostage by those two?” She asked with genuine curiosity.

“Oh cmon” you said as you laughed. 

“I wouldn’t trade them for the world.” You added as light giggles escaped your mouth. 

“Nobara was it? Leave those two to solve it on their let’s go to that cafe over there.” You said while interlocking your arms with her walking towards the cafe. 

“Satoru’s treat of course!” You added with a wink. 

The two boys and your man child of a husband immediately stopped their little fight as they watched you two walk away.

“How are they friends already…?” Megumi questioned in surprise.

“Hey kugisaki don’t leave without your bags!!” Itadori called out as he started running towards her.

“Dont go ahead without me.” Megumi shouted out as he chased after Itadori.

Gojo slightly chuckled to himself as he put his hands back in his pockets slowly making his way towards the cafe as well. 

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Ahh shit here we go again

It's a battle royale style game does this mean we all get to kill each other

Edit:

Devastated. I'll give you guys my address and we can all beat each other using sticks. We'll play it old school

[just-some-random-blogger]

Make You Mine

You make a mess out of everything and your husband makes a mess out of you.

Otto Hightower x Reader | 1k+ | cw: fem!reader, wife!reader, menace to society!otto, smut (cunnilingus, overstimulation), fluff ig?, typos, etc.

A/N: madison beer ahh title. i just want this old man to fuck me so i dont think of anything else. IM SORRY I HAVE NOT PROOFREAD THIS FILTH I HAVE TO GO TO WORK ILL COME BACK TO IT edit: i was too hasty and it didnt post before i left anyway goodnight manila. This is part of my birthday haberdashery

"Lord Hand."

Otto, with his clenched jaw, looks up from his desk upon hearing the door open. Whatever anger he wished to spit out fades when he sees your face. He releases the papers in his hands, the line between his brows softens. He mutters, "Lady Hightower."

He leans back as you walk over. You link your fingers behind you. When you bite your lip, he knows exactly why your here. Still, he asks, "what can I do for you?"

"Do not be cross," you mutter.

He chuckles under his breath. He spreads his legs, eager to play your game, "do not delay then."

His smile slowly flattens when you rapidly ramble. The truth is, your voice is so high pitched and frantic he can hardly make out a word that you were saying. Then of course, you had to start getting teary and eyed.

"Enough," he mutters.

You do not hear him. You are far to upset by the errors you say you've done that you cannot think of anything else.

Otto speaks your name. And again. Finally, he shouts it.

You jolt, clutching your heart.

He sighs and leans into his hand when your lower lip begins to wobble. He places the same hand on his lap, "come."

You mumble, "you are cross."

"I am not cross."

"You shouted at me."

"You would not listen-"

"I did not mean to-"

Otto silences you by raising a finger.

You gulp and hold your breath. You begin to chew on your lip until it feels sore.

"Come," your husband repeats, "do not actually make me cross by repeating myself."

You release a breath and walk towards him. You sit on his lap, and he immediately wraps an arm around your belly, pulling your back flush against his chest. He brushes his nose against your neck. He inhales your scent and kisses your skin, "now, from the start. What unpardonable crime has my foolish wife committed again?"

You sigh when he kisses the tears off your cheeks. A line forms on forehead as you turn to him to whisper, "do not be cross."

He makes a sound akin to a purr or a growl, "I shall be what I ought to be upon hearing your confession."

You deflate, lowering your head in defeat, "I..." you sniffle, "I... was... embroidering a pattern on one of your worn shirts... I ended up making a new hole."

Otto hums, "mmm. Flogging might be sufficient punishment."

You groan and turn to him.

He raises a brow.

"I am serious, husband."

"As am I," he responds, brushing your hair back, "darling wife." He nods, "continue."

You look away and begin rubbing your hands, "I know you've told not to... but I fixed the papers you left in our chambers. I thought I did them to your taste, but then... I saw some correspondents were out of order and-"

"You stacked my papers out of order," Otto sighs, grabbing your hand, "meddlers lose their fingers, did you know? Your offence will cost you eleven, girl."

You turn back to him, the line between your brows deeper than before.

"Continue," he says, rubbing the back of your hand with his thumb.

You pull your hand away and clench your jaw, "Otto."

"Is that al-"

"I spilled wine on your papers!" you blurt, eyes immediately watering, "I spilled your wine as I fixed them, and I tried to get them dry, but then I burnt them, and I tried rewriting what I could remember but I could barely remember what I saw and-

"That's enough."

You clench your jaw at the stern sound of his voice. You muster weakly, "forgive me. I did not mean it-"

"If I left it at our chambers, it was nothing of note," Otto explains, hands resting on your hips.

"But-"

"Do think me so reckless?"

You look at him with your beady eyes before turning away.

"You insult me by believing me thoughtless of my work."

You sigh, turning to him again, "I did not say that."

"Still, here I'm sat, offended," he tilts his head.

You chew your lower lip. Your heart quickens when he squeezes you and he leans in.

"And as Lord Hand, I must exact justice and punish you for it," he mutters against your nape, "on the desk."

You wordlessly stand and lean your hands on his desk.

Otto takes a moment to examine your swift obedience but then he clicks his tongue, "face me, foolish girl."

And so you do. It's slightly challenging, considering Otto did not offer you any space to do so, but you manage. You lean back on your bum and your nails dig into the edge of his wooden desk.

Finally, Otto moves back, chair skidding along with him. He rises to his full height only to drop to his knees. Your stomach instantly rolls, knowing exactly what your punishment will be. You reach for his face, "Otto, ple-"

"Mmm, I do so love it when you beg," he bunches your skirts up, "but it will not save you from my mouth, darling."

You can do nothing but watch and shiver as he rids you of all the fabrics that would hinder his lips from meeting yours. You have to shove your finger against your teeth to stop yourself from making the noises that threatened to rip out of you.

Your body is rigid and unyielding as your husband slots himself between your legs. Your toes curl as you try to find your footing, but then his hand comes to your belly and he pushes you back, urging you to sit back. The desk skids slightly at the force.

Your mouth drops as you sit yourself on his desk. Your expression twists and an guttural sound rips from your throat when he lifts your legs and drapes it on his shoulders.

You scratch down his scalp and tangle your fingers into his hair. He moans when you begin tugging at his roots. His hot hands trail up to the most sensitive part of you. You nearly fall back when he squeezes your inner thighs before parting them.

His tongue for easier access this way. Soon, he could feel a mix slick and dribble streaming down his chin. The combined heat of his breath and brush of his nose against your clit made your skin feel like it was on fire. His nails bite in your flesh and his teeth give you the faintest of grazes. His cheeks brush against you and the feel of his fear against your sensitive skin only heighten your arousal.

With all the combined sensations, it's not long until you reach your peak. You cannot sustain any form of silence as searing pleasure seizes your body.

Otto wrings out every shiver and every moan. He drinks in every drop of nectar you offer him and hungers to take in more. He does not relent until your noises sound weary. Just as you feared, he pushes your thighs apart when you try closing them.

You whine and yank at his hair. Failed attempts of asking for respite leave your lips. You gulp and sigh, "Otto-" but you only end up squealing when he begins prodding you deeper with his tongue.

Peak after peak washes over you until you're breathless and delirious. You melt against the desk, no longer able to keep yourself upright. You are left spineless and dumb. You don't even know how many times he makes you come with his tongue, but you do know you cannot possibly come another time.

But he makes you, so you do, and you can do nothing but whine about it as tears fog your eyes.

You are so out of it that when a knock comes upon the door, only Otto hears it. He lifts his head from your thighs, face glistening with slick.

You gulp and breath in a sigh of relief, weakly lifting your head up at the sight of him. Your mind is hazy, and gods you were exhausted, but you could not deny the way your stomach rolled at sight of his face, beard all wet with you.

The knock comes again, and this time a voice follows, "Lord Hand?"

"What is it?" the Hand snaps, evidently irritated.

The man behind the front door hesitates, fidgeting with the letter in his hand, "I have a correspondence from-"

"Is it important?" Otto snaps once more.

"Quite."

"..."

"..."

"My lord. Shall I g-"

"Come in."

The door to the office of the Hand opens. The man holding the letter beholds the Hightowers— Otto's eyes are fixed on his wife who was stood before him. You are wiping his beard with a handkerchief. The Lord's hands are fixed on your waist as he mutters something.

Very quickly the man realizes he's interrupted something.

"Important?" Otto turns to him, softened features immediately hardening. He reaches a hand out.

You swipe off the remaining sheen on your husband's chin before pulling away.

The man hands Otto the letter, "from the Lannisters."

Otto rolls his eyes, taking the letter before turning back to you, "we will finish this later. I expect you to serve me my dessert at supper."

You clear your throat but it does not stop the way your face burns, so you turn to your feet.

Your husband grabs your hand when you try to walk off without a response. He raises his brows at you, "yes?"

You clench you jaw and nod slowly, "of course, my lord."

Otto kisses the back of your hand before releasing you.

[supergraphicgirl81]

With A Little Help From My Friends ⋆⁺₊❅.

Oscar Piastri ⋆.⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ˎˊ˗

Formula 1 college hockey team social media AU! Instagram Edition

The tight-knit college hockey team, the Silver Blades, run by team captain Max Verstappen, isn't just about scoring goals—it's a chosen family. On and off the ice, the team has each other's backs, whether that's through college assignments, throwing awesome parties, or winning the championship together. Follow these overworked, tired, college students as they post through their day-to-day life.

With A Little Help From My Friends Masterlist ✴︎˚｡ Oscar Piastri Masterlist ✴︎˚｡

OscarJP

liked by AlexandraSaintM, LandoNorris4, and others

OscarJP We took the kids outside

tagged ItsYourname

View Comments

AlexandraSaintM UGH! my queen, thank you oscar, i really needed this today

OscarJP I know what the people need

LandoNorris4 AHH OMG JACK FNQEFE AND BAILEY AWEE SJCJIFOEW (liked by OscarJP)

CollegeHockeyFan we love to see healthy siblings in a loving home (jack and bailey)

MaxVerstappen i need to know they love me

DanielRicciardo you are not their godfather i am therefore they love me not you

MaxVerstappen @OscarJp LITERALLY SINCE FUCKING WHEN??!?!?!!??

OscarJP He literally just made that up??? Our cats don't have godfathers

ItsYourname and even if they did they SURE as hell wouldn't be either of you monsters

DanielRicciardo homophobia (liked by MaxVerstappen)

ItsYourname i am cold (liked by OscarJP)

RandomHockeyFan they 😭 literally 😭 have 😭 a 😭 family 😭 screaming 😭 crying 😭 throwing 😭 up

view all comments!

liked by CharLeclerc, LilyMuniHe, and others

OscarJP Hockey stuff lately

tagged ChargingSarge and Albono

View Comments

ChargingSarge If Alex shoots one more hockey puck at me I think I would literally crumble on the spot

Albono Oh come on, they weren't even hitting you (liked by OscarJP)

ChargingSarge UHHH I'M PRETTY SURE I WOULD KNOW IF THEY WEREN'T HITTING ME ALEX

RandomHockeyFan I have hopes for better playing this season, seems like they've got a strong team built, even some newbies.

Random Who new has been added? I thought it's been the same players since Lando and Oscar arrived with Logan and Yuki???

RandomFan Franco Colapinto!!!!! He's actually a freshmen, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out

GeorgeRus Have Jersey in the laundry room by 9 if you want it washed. (liked by OscarJP)

YukiTsunoda22 sorry again osc, i let the blind rage take hold, soup in the kitchen

OscarJP All good Yuki, thanks mate

view all comments!

liked by MaxVerstappen, Franco43Colapinto, and others

OscarJP 5 years, it never gets old :))

tagged ItsYourname

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LandoNorris4 WAAHHHHHH 😭🙏 M-MY MY BABBIEESSS 🥹🥹🥹🥹 !!!!!!!

OscarJP Lando we've been dating longer then we've known you

ItsYourname WAHHH LANDDOOO 😭 😭 😭 😭 I LOVE YOU

LewHamilton I love to see it in my feed. (liked by OscarJP)

DanielRicciardo mama y papa?

MaxVerstappen I hope you guys know you literally have the longest, most stable relationship I've ever seen in my life, genuinely.

ItsYourname is this trauma dumping?

ItsYourname AYYYYY PASTA WAS BOMB

OscarJP Is that all you want to say?

ItsYourname AYYYYY dick was also bomb? (liked by OscarJP)

ItsYourname i love you ♡

OscarJP I love you too!

view all comments!

liked by ItsYourname, LewHamilton, and others

OscarJP Team wins a championship and all of a sudden I'm in a suit (I hope we get invited back next year)

tagged CharLeclerc, GeorgeRus, MaxVerstappen, LilyMuniHe, AlexandraSaintM, LandoNorris4

View Comments

ItsYourname OSCARRRR !!!!!!!! LOOK AT YOUUU !!!!!!!! (liked by OscarJP)

ItsYourname my favorite most polite cat in the world !!! 🥹🥹🥹

OscarJp What did I say about calling me a cat online

MaxVerstappen Great work this year Oscar, keep it up. (liked by OscarJP)

OscarJP Appreciate it man

CharLeclerc Proud dad moment 🥹

OscarJP I am not your son Charles (thanks dad)

Albono 4 points up next season, betting it now (liked by OscarJP)

view all comments!

[thechaoticcherub]

Thoroughfare Chapter Two-Old Man

Thoroughfare Chapter Two Old Man

Pairing: Dark!Joel Miller x Reader

Fic Summary: Cross country road trip turns into way more, opening up questions about who you’re traveling with, what his intentions are and if he’ll actually let you go.

Chapter Summary: After discovering something about Joel that you hadn't expected, you plan your escape but things go wrong

Rated: Explicit-This chapter has no sex

Warnings: AU-No Cordyceps, Big Age Gap, Reader is not described, no use of y/n, DARK Joel, Eventually: daddy kink, rough sex, violence, blood, dubcon, kidnapping elements, murder, sexual assault, dom/sub dynamics, intoxication, non-con elements, More Warnings will come with each chapter.

Notes: AHH! Finally got the second chapter done. I'm hoping to get ahead now so I don't think I'll post chapter three until I get a few more chapters at least written. Thanks to my best friend for editing and beta reading. Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list!

Tags: @shivispunk @codenamekitten (cannot remember if there was anyone else)

Fic Masterlist

You didn’t sleep for the rest of that night, you were too focused on what you were going to do. You wondered if you’d be able to get far enough away from Joel fast enough that he wouldn’t grab you and stop you. You wondered if there was a way you could steal his keys and drive the truck away. When the sun started to come up, you had finally settled on either slipping out quietly while he was in the bathroom or telling him you changed your mind and wanted to stay in Texas. 

When Joel finally started to stir in the bed next to yours you feigned sleep, trying to make your breathing deep and even while he slowly woke up. You listened to him roll over in bed, sit up, take his phone off the nightstand and look at it for a minute. Finally you heard him stand up, bedsprings creaking, and go into the bathroom. This was the opportunity to rush out, grab your bag and just start running. Maybe you’d call the cops. You tried to remember where you had left your backpack the night before and figure how long it would take you to grab your phone and charger before running out. Fuck! Your sneakers. When you sat up, you found them discarded near the door. No time to put them on, you’d just have to grab them and put them on later. You were about to jump up when the bathroom door opened and Joel stepped out,

“Oh, mornin’,” he said, shooting you a smile. The memory of him standing in the doorway of that same bathroom, covered in blood was at the forefront of your mind as you tried to act normal. You smiled back. 

“Morning,” You replied, rubbing at your eyes, trying to pretend you had just been fast asleep. You opened your mouth to start making excuses and say you had decided you wanted to stay in Texas, 

“Hey I-”

“Look-” You both spoke at the same time and he chuckled,

“Go ahead,” He nodded to you and you immediately lost your nerve,

“No, no, you,” You said, trying to smile at him like you weren’t terrified just to be looking into his eyes. 

Joel cleared his throat, “Well, I know we were hopin’ to head out west today but I think I gotta stay jus’ one more day here in Fort Worth,” he said, “I gotta finish up this job or I aint goin’ to get paid what I’m owed.”

Was he a fucking hitman? Maybe his job wasn’t actually construction but was just…murdering people. You swallowed. Would him being a hitman be better than just a straight up cold blooded murderer? At least he wouldn’t be murdering for fun…

“Oh,” you said, but then the realization that that meant he would be leaving for the day again hit you. The perfect opportunity to get away from him and get far away from him. You could use some of your money to get a taxi or something, have it take you somewhere to meet the guy from the internet you had originally planned on finding in Dallas. At least then you’d be far away and with someone else. “That’s okay!” You said quickly, “I’m not in some huge hurry,” You shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant about it. You glanced at the clock, it was 10 AM, you had thought it was much earlier than that but clearly Joel had been exhausted from everything he had done the night before.

“Okay, well…what do you say to a little breakfast across the street and then I’ll be headin’ to the work site after that,” He suggested. If you were being honest you would scream, no, no, no! Over and over again and run from the room but you knew that wasn’t exactly an option. He could catch you easily if you ran right now so you just nodded. 

“Sure, sounds good.” You said, and you wondered if your fear was evident in your voice or your face because Joel was just looking at you. The crinkles around his eyes deepened as he seemed to examine you. 

“You okay?” he asked. The image from the night before flashed in front of your eyes again and you swallowed, hitching a smile back up, reminding yourself you needed to at least try to act normal…just through breakfast. You could do that.

“Y-yeah I’m good.” You said, nodding. 

“Alright, well, get dressed so we can go get some food, I’m starvin’” he put his hand on his belly, rubbing it. You got up and grabbed your backpack, heading into the bathroom and trying your hardest not to think about what he had been washing off in this sink only hours before. 

Barely fifteen minutes later Joel was opening the door to the diner and stepping back to let you through first. It was a cheerful little place with a counter and a few tables. It felt almost identical to the diner you had eaten burgers at just yesterday. This place felt a little cleaner, a little more tourist-y, they even sold t-shirts from behind the counter. The one waitress working that morning smiled when she saw you, 

“Go ahead and sit anywhere, hon!” She said, you glanced around, there were a few old men sitting at the counter sipping coffee and eating eggs, then a young couple across the restaurant at a table. You made for a table in front of a window and sat down, Joel settling down across from you. You pulled your phone out and shot a text message to the guy you had been chatting with previously, it was simple and straightforward: 

I’m in Fort Worth, I’d love to see you.

When you looked up, Joel was just looking at you. Your cheeks flushed, as if he had caught you doing something wrong. 

“Sorry,” You said, realizing he probably thought you were rude for texting while at the table with him. He was practically geriatric, he had different ideas of manners than you. 

“It’s okay,” he said. “Just never understood your generation bein’ on your phone so much.” He shook his head, “It’ll rot your brain.” You snorted with laughter but before you could answer the waitress had come over with a pot of coffee and two menus. 

“Cup a’ coffee for either of ya?” She asked cheerfully. 

“Yes, Ma’am, thanks so much.” Joel said, pushing his cup towards her. She filled it and turned to you, Joel was looking at you expectantly, his eyes lingered on you as you answered her. 

“Yes, thank you.” You said, she filled your cup and said she’d be back in a couple minutes before turning to leave. You immediately reached for the bowl of little creamer packs and the jar of sugar, while Joel sipped his black coffee. 

“I don’t think a phone will rot my brain,” you said. It irritated you that this…this murderer would judge you for something as ridiculous as being on your phone too much. Joel smiled around his coffee mug and nodded as if he didn’t agree but wanted to placate you. 

“Have you ever tried just living in the real world? No phone, nothin’?” he asked as he set his mug down and looked at the menu in front of him. Your brow knit and you had to stop yourself from fully rolling your eyes. You focused on pulling open the plastic top of one of the tiny creamers and dumping it into your coffee. 

“Have you ever tried being less of an old man cliche?” You asked without even really thinking about it. Joel barked out a laugh that made you jump as you worked on opening another creamer. 

“You got me there, sweetheart. Nothin’ but an old man cliche, and proud of it.” He said.  You hated to admit how charming he was. The way he smiled so politely, called you sweetheart and you melted at it sent a chill down your spine. He shouldn’t charm you and yet here he was.  You dumped that creamer into your coffee, automatically reaching for another one. 

“Okay, Old Timer, maybe you should go sit with those guys up there.” You nodded towards the counter where the youngest man sitting there had to be pushing 78 and one of them had dripped ketchup onto his shirt. 

“Y’know, I remember when kids respected their elders.” Joel teased, he was smiling. You dumped your third creamer into your coffee and then upended the sugar shaker into your coffee and watched the sugar run out into the mug. 

“I bet you also remember the Louisiana Purchase,” You countered immediately. Joel’s lips pursed, he was trying his hardest not to start grinning, and you had to admit it was fun to banter with him. But every time you started to relax, your heart would squeeze with anxiety, the memory of the night before flooding in. This Old Man was a murderer. He had come back to the hotel room you were sharing and washed blood off of him while humming for God’s sake. 

“You want some coffee with that cream and sugar, kid?” Joel asked, eyeing the way you were still pouring sugar into your coffee. 

“Not really,” You responded, giving the sugar shaker another shake for emphasis before setting it down and picking up your spoon, stirring your light beige coffee. “Just because your elderly body can’t process sugar and dairy like it used to, doesn’t mean all of us can’t enjoy life,” You reached out and patted his hand in a silly little comforting gesture as soon as your skin touched his your throat constricted and Joel’s eyes caught yours in their stare. It had been such a casual touch but with this level of eye contact, it felt like maybe you shouldn’t have touched him. You tugged your hand back from him and shot him a nervous smile before sipping your coffee. 

The waitress came back then and asked for your orders. You hadn’t even opened the menu yet, so you hurriedly glanced down at it before ordering pancakes and bacon. Joel got something called the “Rancher’s breakfast” and said he wanted over-easy eggs,  bacon and whole wheat toast. She took your menus and left you alone again. 

“Y’know for someone so interested in cowboys and the wild west, you sure do like mockin’ the type of people who’d be able to tell you real stories of cowboyin,” Joel said. 

“You mean old people?” You asked. Joel just raised his eyebrows so you shrugged, “Nah, I just like mocking you.”The cowboy thing made you think though. All your heroes growing up had killed people. All the cowboy movies and westerns you loved had bunches of murder and you never had a problem with the idea of running off with one of them. Was this so different? Joel shook his head and laughed, 

“I think this is karma,” he said. 

“Oh?” You asked and something inside you jumped. What, getting picked on by some eighteen year old girl was karma for his murder? No. Clearly that wasn’t what he meant. 

Joel leaned forward putting his forearm on the table as he did, “I was just like you when I was your age, a little shit.” He teased. You let out a relieved laugh and shrugged, 

“Old Man, I’m a lot like you were,” You spoke the lyrics absentmindedly, not looking at him. Your fingers ran over your coffee mug as you thought. About what you were on your way to becoming, about murderers, diners, the spots on Joel’s hands, cowboys, and the promise of Jackson, Wyoming. When you looked up again, Joel was staring at you, his expression hard but indiscernible. You looked at him for as long as you could before you got uncomfortable and had to look away again, you could still feel his eyes on you. Was it completely horrible of you to half wish you could stay with Joel? Maybe deep down that was what Joel sensed in you, that made him feel like you were like him when he was young…a horribleness that could only come from a murderer and someone who…who what? Forgave murderers? Fear squeezed inside of you and you stared into your coffee, Hoping you weren’t about to start crying. Maybe you had finally found the Wild West and it wasn’t what you wanted in reality. How fucking disappointing. Your thoughts were interrupted by your food arriving. There wasn’t need for conversation anymore, just the sounds of eating and asking each other to pass the salt, pepper or napkins. 

*

Back in the hotel room, Joel was getting ready to head off to his “job site” whatever that meant to him, and you were texting that  boy from the internet you had been talking to all along, planning to meet up with in Dallas. Now it was imperative that you did meet up with him. His name was Travis, and he had asked how long you were in Fort Worth for or if you were coming to Dallas. You told him you had no way to get to Dallas so he’d have to come and get you if he wanted you. It was easy to flirt with him over texts, it was easy to work on getting what you needed from him. Male presence as protection. A place to sleep. Someone to drive you to Dallas. Plus, he seemed nice and easy going.

So do you want to meet me at Rusty’s Tavern, it’s across from the hotel I’m at now, so that’s easiest for me. 

…

Yeah, I get off work at 5, so does 6 work?

…

You looked at the time, it was 12. Joel had implied that he still had quite a bit to do and wouldn’t be back until after dinnertime so hopefully 6 wouldn’t be pushing it. 

6 works, see ya then! 

You didn’t want Joel to know you were still talking to this guy, you didn’t want him to have any idea that you were planning on leaving so when he came out of the bathroom, you quickly shoved your phone under the pillow next to you. 

“Are you done in the bathroom? Can I shower quick?” you asked, standing up and taking a few steps to the bathroom. Joel was looking at you in a strange way, you wondered if he had caught the movement of you putting your phone under the pillow in a hurry. Maybe it would have been less weird to not try and hide it. 

“Yeah, I’m about to head out anyway,” He said after a moment. 

“Okay!” you said breezily, trying to convey a sense of nonchalance, like it didn’t matter, like you weren’t planning on getting as far away from him as possible while he was gone. “I’ll see you later,” You ducked into the bathroom and locked the door. You started the shower but decided to wait until you heard the door shut before you got undressed.

You heard the door shut from the other room so you decided you could shower. You took your time in the shower, washing away some of the stress of the last couple days. You let your mind wander to your plan to get away from Joel, to Joel himself and why you felt like you had to leave. Leaving was the smart idea. Clearly, Joel was not a safe person. But when you had run off from your home, had you been looking for safe? You had decided to hitchhike to Dallas to meet up with someone from the internet you had never met before and the only thing that had stopped you was the man who picked you up from the side of the road and the promise of him taking you out west. No, none of this had been safe. Joel had had plenty of opportunities to hurt you, but  he hadn’t. But what were you supposed to do? Forget the sight of him covered in blood? The water was hot and it did a lot to ease the tension in the back of your neck but it wasn’t soothing the unease in your belly. 

You were trying to talk yourself into staying with Joel and that scared you. You shouldn’t want to stay with him at all. You should have already run screaming and yet you hadn’t. You had gone to breakfast with the man, you had laughed with him, joked with him. What did that say about you? Deep down you had always known you were trash, but okay with murder? 

I try to bring you up good but you’re bound and determined to act just like the no goods you came from. 

You had brushed off those words when your aunt had flung them at you. But now, maybe it was just true. Maybe your parents had been trash. They had died like trash, and had left a daughter who was bound and determined to end up just like them. So maybe Joel was what you deserved. You were sad to leave him and so maybe you should lean into it and just…stay. 

By the time you were getting out of the shower, the water had gone from boiling hot to tepid and your skin was raw from the heat and how you had scrubbed it. You left the bathroom in a towel, leaving your clothes from that morning on the floor for you to grab later. You went to your bed to get your backpack from where you had left it but it wasn’t there. Your brow furrowed and you looked on the opposite side of your bed, not there either. Your heart squeezed in fear. No. This was silly, you had just seen it. You turned and went into the bathroom, had you grabbed it before your shower? It wasn’t there, just your clothes, abandoned on the ground. You turned back and opened the closet door, no backpack. You looked over at Joel’s bed, nothing. Your heart hammered so hard you felt it in your throat, pounding out your fear. You hurried over to your bed again, practically tripping over your own feet in your haste.  You ripped the pillow you had shoved your phone under off of the bed. Nothing but empty white bed sheets. Panic really settled in now, you tore all the blankets, pillows and sheets off the bed. Your phone was gone. Your backpack was gone. You hadn’t left them in the car, you knew that. You had them both right before Joel left. 

That settled something inside of you. You had to get away from him. Thank God you had set up your plans with Travis before your shower. Thank God your phone was locked and Joel wouldn’t be able to look at the messages…but who knew, maybe he had some criminal way of  breaking into your phone. 

Despair washed over you. No phone. No backpack. Only the cash you had shoved into the pocket of your pants the day before and nothing else. You let yourself sink onto the floor, sitting in just your towel, you pulled your knees up to your chest and buried your face into your hands. Your breathing was ragged, your hands shook against your face. Every choice you had made since you had left your house the morning before felt like a mistake. Stupid mistake after stupid mistake. 

Fuck up. Fuck up. Fuck up. 

You looked up after a long time. You couldn’t just give in and wait for Joel to come back. What would you even say to him? No. You were going to meet Travis and you were going to beg a ride to Dallas and then…you didn’t know, but there had to be something, right? Anything was better than your home in Austin. Anything was better than staying with a murderer who stole your shit so you couldn’t leave. You finally got up and put your clothes from that morning back on, doing your hair as best you could. You had another moment of clarity and thought to check and make sure Joel’s truck wasn’t in the parking lot. It wasn’t. So maybe he wasn’t lying about everything. You tried to kill time in the hotel room, but you mostly ended up pacing, counting and recounting the money you had shoved in your pockets the day before. Five ones, two fives and a handful of coins you had grabbed from the counter as you left your house in Austin, maybe as a final ‘fuck you’ to your aunt. When the clock next to the bed finally said 5:30 you decided to take the quick walk across the street and be at Rusty’s Tavern early, in case Joel ended up getting back. 

You could feel eyes on you when you walked in. It was clearly not normal for young women from out of town to come in here on their own, but no one questioned you when you sat down at the bar and looked over the drink menu. You wondered if they’d serve you without an ID, or if it was better to just get a lemonade while you waited for Travis. You played it safe and got a lemonade while you waited. You didn’t have a phone to kill time with so you anxiously waited for this person you didn’t know at all to show up and hopefully save you from the murderer you only kind of knew. 

When he walked in you tried not to be shocked at how different he looked from what had been on his tinder profile, clearly the photo had been a few years and quite a lot of hair ago. He wore a baseball cap but you could see the receding hairline of a guy who was refusing to acknowledge it. 

“Travis!” you flagged him down, he waved and walked over to you. 

“Hey! It’s good to finally meet you.” He said, you stood up to give him an awkward hug. You had been talking for a while so he didn’t feel completely unfamiliar but it was still odd to be there with him as he settled into the barstool next to you. 

“You too,” You said, nodding. “Thanks for meeting me here, honestly, the guy who I got a lift from Austin with is giving me the creeps,” You said, laying the groundwork for needing an out. 

“Oh yea?” Travis asked as he flagged down the bartender to order a drink. You weren’t sure how much to tell him, but you knew you’d have to explain the no-phone thing at some point so you decided to just go for it. 

“Yeah I think he took off with my backpack and phone to make sure I couldn’t like…leave him, and yeah it’s weird,” You said, hoping not to sound as freaked out as you were. Travis’ eyebrows raised,

“Jesus,” he said. He ordered a Titos and Redbull when the bartender came over and then looked at you expectantly, “I got you, darlin’, just order what ya want.” He shot you a wink so you decided to try your luck. You ordered a gin and tonic because it was the first thing you thought of. The bartender looked you up and down, he didn’t believe you were of age for a second but he nodded anyway and turned to make the drinks. When he set the drinks down in front of you, it was a relief to have something that might numb you a little to how weird these last couple days had been. You sipped it. You talked a little about Joel with Travis, telling him he never made a pass at you but he just gave you the creeps and now he had stolen your shit you wanted to get away from him and fast. You moved on briefly to stuff about Travis’ job, his roommates and how they were all out tonight anyway. It felt like he was dropping hints. You worked your way through your drink and he leaned into you to talk more and more as the bar got louder with more people coming in. 

“You still lookin’ for a way to Dallas?” Travis asked as he flagged down the bartender again and indicated he wanted another round for both of you. 

“Yeah, I mean…” you trailed off, trying to think of how to play this. You didn’t want to seem desperate enough to sleep with him for a place to stay…but maybe you were. That thought sent your heart hammering in your throat again. You didn’t want that. “I don’t have any plans up in Dallas but staying with this guy seems like a bad idea,” You mumbled. “I don’t got many options though,” you added. The bartender set down your second round and you stirred it with the little black straw that was in it. 

“I mean, we could work somethin’ out for ya, I think,” he said. Your stomach dropped. No. You weren’t going to sleep with him, you didn’t want it to be like this. You couldn’t stomach that thought. You smiled, it was coy, practiced and came to you easily. 

“Well maybe we could,” you said, you tilted your head to the side, “but I’m a lady and I don’t sleep around just for a room to stay in,” you said, keeping your voice light and teasing. For the briefest moment you watched disappointment register on Travis’ face. It was clear that was what he had been expecting from tonight and now you had pulled a bait and switch on him, at least that was probably how he saw it. Then he smiled, 

“Of course, I’m a proper southern gentleman, darlin’ if you need a place to say, I’ve got an extra bed and no expectations.” He said. What a load of shit. But at least he wasn’t pushing it. Maybe he was a  nice guy, just adjusting what he thought he’d get tonight. 

“I’d appreciate it,” you said. “I’ll make sure to cook you breakfast in the morning,” You said, giggling. He smiled again, you watched him shift closer to you. So he was going to adjust his expectations, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to pull out all the stops to try and get you to change your mind. 

“Oh you better,” he teased. You sat back, feeling anxious about how close he was, how much you could smell his breath and cologne. 

“I’ll be right back, gotta run to the bathroom,” You said. You got up and went back into the small, dingy ladies room of Rusty’s Tavern. You took a second away from him to consider everything. Joel was a known evil. Travis was…well, was he unknown? You had talked for a while. You had met him now. He seemed fine. He had taken your refusal for sex pretty well even if he was still hitting on you, wasn’t that just in boys’ nature? 

You felt itchy. This was the type of “no good” shit your aunt would accuse you of. Using your charms to get what you wanted. In this case, a way out of a bad situation, a place to stay. But was forgiving and forgetting a murder worse? Yes. Of course. You splashed water on your face, washed your hands and returned to the bar. Travis had gotten you another drink while you were gone. You drank it, trying to make sure you would have the nerve to get in his car without your phone and head off to Dallas. You had gotten the nerve to leave home, to hitchhike, to accept a ride from a complete stranger. This was no different. This was just as easy, and getting easier every second. Talking to Travis was a lot easier now, you told him about leaving home, about how your Aunt had raised you. You talked about Joel again, maybe too much. He kept looking away when you brought him up. So you stopped bringing him up and let Travis guide the conversation. Favorite music. Favorite movies. If you had been on any good dates recently. How many boyfriends you’d had, what your body count was, what his was. His hand found its way to your thigh and it was easy to let him keep it there. You tried your hardest to giggle and brush off his comments and questions like they weren’t invasive, like they weren’t clearly trying to push this somewhere that you had said wasn’t going to happen. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to allow him to think there was a chance something could happen. 

You hadn’t realized how much you were drinking until the room started to tilt as you sat up on your stool, glancing around. Wait…no, you hadn’t had this much? The room shouldn’t be blackening around the edges, you shouldn’t be slipping in and out of focus just as you sat there. Not after…what…three drinks? That you hadn’t even finished? You rubbed your eyes. 

“You okay?” Travis asked, his hand had been firmly on your thigh this whole time, now it started to rub up your jeans, higher and higher on your thigh, fingers pressing in. You felt suffocated by his hand, heat rising in your cheeks, and the world tilting around your vision. 

“Y-yeah,” You heard yourself mumble and you unsteadily pushed yourself off of your stool. You stumbled and had to grab the bar to steady yourself. Your body felt heavy. You had been drunk before. You knew what drunk felt like, but this wasn’t it…or was it? Were the drinks just strong? No…you felt hot and itchy all over. Something was wrong but you couldn’t form thoughts to try and put it to words. Bathroom. You needed cold water on your face. “I…bath…gotta” You shook your head and tried to take a stumbling step forward. Travis caught your arm, 

“Whoa there, honey,” he laughed. “You’ve had a lot to drink, I guess.” He said with another chuckle that didn’t sound right, it sounded far away. 

“N-No,  I…dint…jus” You heard yourself slurring but there was nothing you could do to stop it. Travis put his arm around your waist, tugging you into his side and holding you up right. His fingers dug into your ribs, his breath was against your neck as you felt your toes drag across the floor of the bar. You could see the flickering lights in the windows as you got to the door, the cool air from outside wafted on your face, a blessing and a curse. You were going to get in his car, go all the way to Dallas, stay in his home and you couldn’t even form a sentence. Joel sprung into your mind and you half wished you had never left that hotel room. 

“Come on, let’s get ya out of here, honey,” Travis grunted, you could hear his breathing sort of begin to labor as he supported you down the steps right outside the front door. 

“Can weuh wait..minute…hol’ on,” you struggled with words and with his hot hand on your ribcage, you wanted to shove it off of you because you couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t think, and everything was wrong. You were supposed to have it together. You were not supposed to lose yourself like this. Travis was walking you around the side of the bar, towards the back parking lot. It was dimly lit here, illuminated by the neon signs from the front and one lone light over a side door. Between your blurred vision and the darkness, you couldn’t make out much. 

“Aw, would you quit lettin’ yourself fall all over the place?” Travis asked, it sounded like a joke but there was an edge there, irritation. He redoubled his grip on your waist and grabbed your arm. 

“Leggo,” you moaned, trying to push away, you managed to pull from his grasp but you stumbled back and hit the brick wall of the building. 

“Jesus Christ,” Travis grunted. “Makin’ this too much fuckin’ work for me,” Travis grabbed your arm again and bent as if he was about to haul you over his shoulder. You knew if he got you onto his shoulder you’d have no autonomy, No decision, and that made you feel sicker than you already were. You tried to stumble away from him. 

“No, no…” your back hit the wall, the skin of your arms and shoulders scraping along the rough brick. Travis  hands found your hips and he pushed you back against the wall, 

“Fine, you don’t wanna go easy? We can do this here,” he growled and you felt your muscles tighten as you tried to reel away from him but there was nowhere to go. Your head smacked against the wall and your vision dimmed more. You could hear movement, feel his hands on you, pulling at you, it felt like he was going to pull your skin off, tear at your guts. Hot tears added to the heat on your cheeks and you tried your best to catch your breath but you were completely addled. Nothing made sense, your hands wouldn’t move where you told them to and his hands were everywhere. 

You were about to pass out, to be gone from reality entirely and it partially felt like a death sentence, partially it felt like a blessing. No memories of it. No awareness. It was overwhelming heat in your face, in your chest, a heaviness in your body that was so consuming that the only thing that kept you tethered to reality was sudden space between you and Travis’ hot breath. The hands ripping at you were torn away and you slid down the wall. 

“What the fuck?” Travis asked of an unknown, unseen force that had made it so you didn’t succumb to an unknown burn. Maybe you heard another yell, maybe you dreamt it, maybe you heard a choked cry or the sickly thump of fist connecting with face but maybe that had just been something you made up later because after those moments. There was nothing. 

*

I've been first and last

Look at how the time goes past

The music that was streaming into your consciousness was a song you had heard thousands of times before, the lyrics familiar, the strum of the guitars stitched into you from childhood. 

Give me things that don't get lost

You still couldn’t open your eyes, everything hurt. Your head. Your shoulders. Your neck. After the music and the pain, the next thing you noticed was the movement. You were in a car, a truck, rumbling down a road, fast. Your throat was dry and you were slumped to the side in your seat, probably why your neck was hurting so much. You turned your head. 

But I'm all alone at last

Rolling home to you

You blinked, trying to open your eyes, squinting in the daylight. Joel. Joel was sitting to your left, driving his truck. For one second you were relieved. Joel. Known Evil. An old man who bought you pancakes and burgers and laughed when you called him an old man. Who hadn’t drugged you or shoved you into the wall of a dingy bar. The shining second of relief was glorious and you reveled in it  but then you tried to pull your right hand up to rub your eyes and something jangled against your wrist, catching your arm and stopping it from moving any further. 

Old man take a look at my life

I'm a lot like you

You tugged your wrist again as you looked down at it. The silvery bangle glinted in the sunlight. Your heart felt like it stopped as you realized what was going on. You were handcuffed to the door of the truck. 

I need someone to love me

The whole day through

Ah, one look in my eyes

And you can tell that's true

You tugged your arm again, as if that would detach the handcuff in some way. Nothing gave way.You turned your head slowly, taking in the man in the driver’s seat. Joel Miller caught your movement out of the corner of his eye and quirked his head towards you, 

“Hey kiddo, glad to see you’re awake,” He said as you heard blood rushing through your ears, cold sweat beading on the back of your neck. 

Old man look at my life

I'm a lot like you were…

[pneumaticshift]

I just read the latest chapter of BLP!! SO GOOD. Hal’s quiet resignation is such a mood haha. He’s in it for the long haul, unfortunately. It also made me think of a prompt if you’re interested.

What if established batlantern featured a Hal that was a master guilt tripper? I feel like the bats are so emotionally repressed that open emotion or, dare I say, even open crying from Hal would immediately give him an upper hand against most of them.

Now who could fuck up enough in the family that the normally chill Hal would use this power for evil? Who’s to say haha.

Love your stuff! Hope you’re having a good day :)

Ahh, thank you so much!! Really glad you're enjoying it.

I had a lot of fun with your prompt. I feel like Hal's not much of a dick to be emotionally manipulative for big serious things, but he'd definitely use it to be the petty little shit he was always destined to be. I hope you like it 💚💚🦇

———

Jason liked to limit his time in the manor, mostly because he didn’t want Bruce to get the wrong idea. The last thing he needed was the old man to think he was on the verge of some grand, heartfelt return to the family. He certainly wasn’t planning on moving back in or, god forbid, partaking in some kind of formal reinstatement into the fold. 

No, obviously Jason wasn’t here out of any sense of comfort. It was all strictly practical. Maybe his safehouse had a busted boiler. Maybe his internet was out. Maybe Gotham was just particularly miserable tonight and he still hadn’t fixed the window in his apartment.

Then again, there was something about the quiet hum of the Batcomputer that made his shoulders loosen just a fraction. Not that he’d ever acknowledge it, out loud or otherwise. He leaned back in his chair, boots propped up on the console just to annoy Bruce in absentia. Jason planned to be gone way before the old man came back from whatever corner he was brooding in, but Jason liked to believe he’d feel a vague sense of irritation by proxy. 

He wasn’t staying, obviously. He’d just come to borrow some gear. A few upgrades, maybe a couple of batarangs. Not because he needed them, but because stealing from Bruce had always been a real satisfying hobby. Sure, he might have taken a detour to the library to swipe a few of Bruce’s first editions, too. One of them had even been bookmarked, which made it infinitely more enjoyable to take.

Now he was sprawled out in front of the Batcomputer, making a dent in some leftover sesame chicken straight from the container. He didn’t know who’s it was, but Batfamily law decreed that if it had been in the fridge for more than a day, then it was fair game. 

Jason had been in the middle of watching a blurry video compilation of Cursed Gotham Sightings — which included at least three separate clips of himself when he was still running about in his more homicidal phase, and one video of Bruce eating shit after his grapple broke — when the Batcave’s security gave a low, lazy chime. That meant someone with clearance had entered. Which, in turn, meant that Jason didn’t have to shoot them. A shame, really. 

He barely had enough time to decide on his excuse for being there when Hal Jordan floated in like he belonged. 

And, okay, technically he did these days, and that was something Jason was still struggling to wrap his head around. Hal had been dating Bruce for a while now, long enough that Jason stopped expecting it to be some elaborate prank or an undercover operation that Bruce had neglected to inform the family about.

Somehow, against all logic, rhyme or reason, the Green Lantern actually wanted to spend time with Bruce. Voluntarily. Without, like, an ulterior motive. And Jason had yet to determine if that meant Hal had some kind of latent head injury or if he just really enjoyed the suffering that came with a man who’d rather break a bone than express any kind of positive emotion. 

Hal took one look at Jason, then at the takeout box in his hand. "Is that my sesame chicken?”

Jason paused mid-bite and very deliberately glanced down at the takeout box. There was a smudge of sauce on the lid, a logo he hadn’t bothered to look at before, and something suspiciously close to Hal’s name scrawled on the side in what was probably Alfred’s neat handwriting.

He looked back up at Hal. “...Dunno. Might be.” And then, because committing to the bit was a family trait, he popped the chicken in his mouth and chewed nonchalantly. 

Green Lantern was well known for deliberately being a dick when the situation called for it, so Jason had been expecting some pushback. He’d seen the guy bicker with Bruce enough times that it was fairly reasonable to assume Hal would at least attempt some petty retribution. At the very least some half-assed back-and-forth that would pass the time before Jason inevitably got bored and left.

He really, really didn’t expect for Hal’s entire body to slump mid-air. Hal just, like…deflated. His shoulders hunched, his mouth opened a little like he didn’t know how to continue, and his mask fizzled away so Jason could see the very specific kind of disappointment that would’ve been more apt on a kid that just got its favourite toy taken away. Hal blinked and his feet drifted down to the ground with all the enthusiasm of a man being lowered into his own grave. 

“Oh,” Hal whispered, his voice so alarmingly soft. “Oh, okay.”

Jason panicked. This wasn’t in the script. This wasn’t how arguments were supposed to go. He could handle a petty quarrel or a physical altercation, but this… this was new, and Jason really didn’t like where this was going. 

And Hal just stood there. He wasn’t exactly a short guy, but he suddenly looked so small. He was radiating wounded sorrow and his eyes — god, his eyes. They looked moist. Not quite full-on tears, but the kind of damp, glossy sheets that made it very clear that Hal could cry if he wanted to. 

Jason felt a cold sweat start to form. He couldn’t handle tears. 

“Uh…” he started, shifting uncomfortably. “Are you—”

“No, no.” Hal waved him off, his voice too steady. Like he was holding something back. “I get it. It’s fine. I just…”

“Dude. It’s just chicken…”

“Was chicken,” Hal corrected tiredly, looking deeply, viscerally wounded. “Was mine. And now it’s—-” He cut himself off and inhaled sharply like even saying it was too much. His head shook slightly, eyes fluttering shut like he was physically stopping himself from falling apart right then and there. Jason had seen people die with less drama. “It’s gone,” Hal finally whispered.

“...I don’t—”

Hal let out another long, shuddering sigh and he tilted his head back to gaze up at the ceiling. “I thought you were different,” he continued, almost to himself. “I believed in you.”

“Are you being serious right now?”

“Serious?” Hal let out a humourless laugh and he looked back at Jason, eyes filled with pain. Jesus Christ, was he being legitimate right now? Jason felt something foreign and incredibly uncomfortable curl in his chest. Guilt. Actual guilt. Over takeout. This was not his natural state of being. “Jason, I dreamed about that chicken.”

“Oh my God—” “I held on,” Hal continued, placing a fist dramatically over his chest. “Through asteroid fields. Through alien war zones. Through deep, endless space.” He inhaled sharply, eyes fluttering shut again. “And I told myself, ‘One more day. One more patrol. And when I get back home, when I finally, finally touch down, it’ll be waiting for me. Warm. Safe. Loved.’” His voice cracked on that last word. “You’re messing with me, right? You’re not actually…upset about this, right?”

Hal made a wounded noise. “I trusted you man,” he murmured, just loud enough for Jason to hear. And those were exactly the words that always made him crumble, because trust was such a beautiful, sad commodity in his life. Hal proceeded to make it even worse by slamming the final nail in the coffin. “I thought we were family.”

And god-fucking-damnit, that was what broke him. 

Jason clenched his hands into fists around his chopsticks. This was a setup. He knew this was a setup. Hal Jordan simply didn’t break down over something a stupid as food. He didn’t break down, period. The guy had dealt with way too much shit in his life to let takeout dictate his emotional state. 

But Hal looked so goddamn broken. He just stood there with his chest barely rising with each soul-crushing sigh, and his big hazel eyes were dim and devastated. He looked like Jason had personally ripped his heart out and stomped on it. And that was dangerous.

Because Jason was used to the cold. He was used to the sharp blue eyes of his family and the way their gaze straight up cut. His dad — uh, Bruce (goddamnit) and his brothers had disappointment that was quiet and knife-like, slicing just deep enough to leave a scar. He knew how to brace against that, knew how to fight against it. 

Hal wasn’t cut from the same cloth as the family, though. Hal didn’t cut. He ached. His disappointment was soft, open, an exposed wound bleeding out realtime, and Jason didn’t know how to deal with that. 

“It’s just takeout, man,” he tried weakly in one last ditch attempt at retaining some kind of control of the situation. 

“You don’t get it,” Hal murmured, shaking his head. His voice was quiet. Too quiet.

And Jason was apparently a weak fucking man, because he hissed an impassioned “Fuck you,” under his breath, and shoved himself away from the Batcomputer so violently that the chair nearly toppled over. He stormed out of the room before he could let Hal see just how much he’d won.

Exactly twenty-seven minutes later, he came back. He shoved a fresh box of sesame chicken onto the console, slamming it down with force. If he was doing this, he was gonna do it petulantly. 

“There,” Jason growled. “Happy now?”

Hal, now lounging on the chair and watching the compilation videos Jason had left open on the Batcomputer, didn’t even flinch. He just blinked at the box, tilted his head a little, and then — then, like he hadn’t just emotionally manipulated Jason into doing his dark bidding, grinned brightly. 

“Oh, sweet, thanks, buddy,” he said casually, already opening the lid and digging around for the chopsticks.

Jason stared at him. He just...stared. Mute, disbelieving, a little put in his place. 

When did he become so easy to manipulate? How in the hell had he let this happen? More importantly, why — why, why?? — was a small, twisted part of him actually impressed by the gall of this bastard. Jason kind of wanted to fight him.

Hal, chuckling at a grainy video of Batman falling out of a window, barely even acknowledged his crisis. He just hummed happily around a mouthful of chicken, clicked through another video on the Batcomputer, and without looking up, said, “So, you staying for dinner or not?”

Jason opened his mouth. Then he closed it. Sighed deeply. And, so completely resigned, he muttered, “Yeah, fine. Whatever.”

[allieebobo]

Do you have any if recommendation?

Ooh! I have really, really bad memory(!!) but these are current faves that I have played/replayed recently that I can think of. A lot of the authors are also THE BEST HUMAN BEINGS EVER. So, double recommendation.

I probably missed a bunch out, so take this as a non-exhaustive list! In no particular order:

(Edit: Added some descriptions but yeah I got a little unhinged so I'm sorry nothing makes sense or if the quality of the write-up went down over time/did not actually give you any useful info)

WIPs with demos

Citadel, @bouncyballcitadel (I think of all the IFs on this list, this one makes me sweat the most. And I've said it once and I'll say it again: the dialogue is so snappy and well-written, and characters are SO DAMNED LOVEABLE.)

Infamous, @infamous-if (I've been manifesting Band/Musician IFs for the longest time, and then this popped up! I've even played Choice of a Rockstar, that's how desperate I was... Anyway, this is legions better than that. Angsty ex routes are my kryptonite, and Seven is just. Inevitable.)

Defiled Hearts: The Barbarian, @defiledheartsblog (I went into this wanting something juicy and fun/historical—and it's all of those things, but I didn't expect it to be so damned funny, too. The ROs are all impeccable.)

Raiders of the Caravan and Apartment 3-3, @leftski-if (A'ight listen, fantasy slice-of-life is my fave genre, and these are IT. Like, everything I never knew I needed in my life, and SO cozy/wholesome, with a cast of characters that I want to befriend in real life.)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: An Affair of the Heart @doriana-gray-games (First off, the customization in this game is INSANE, and the branching too. I've replayed a couple of times and the little variations I discover each time just blows my mind. Secondly, it's so funny and written so well. Ngl I'm not a Sherlock fan but that's just testament to how amazing this IF is.)

When Life Gives You Lemons, @when-life-gives-you-lemonssss (Modern slice-of-life with an adorable kid, a bunch of hot ROs, CC. Hill's humor, what can I say?)

Golden @milaswriting (Really interesting world-building, one of the coolest fictional cities I've read in an IF, AND I'm obsessed with the ROs, in particular K de la Renta. Also Mila is such an awesome writer, I'm beyond excited for @beyondthegame.)

A Tale of Crowns @ataleofcrowns (This game is beautiful, polished, and SO exciting. Honestly, it looks like the kind of game created by a whole-ass game studio and would cost $50 to buy, it's that good. I really got swept up by this IF—probably played it all in one go.)

Rougi @rougi-if (Again, another game with scrumptious visuals/UI and also is just so well-crafted. I love the premise too, it's so original and fresh.)

Scout: An Apocalypse Story @anya-dev (Unfortunately this one might be on hiatus but I am/was really, really obsessed.)

Wayfarer @idrellegames (Love the game mechanics of this one, and the visuals. Probably controversial, but I like the D&D / random dice effect. And I also like the fact that it feels like an old-school RPG.)

Chop shop @losergames (The premise is all I needed to be sold, really—I'd always wanted to buy GTA as a kid but my parents were like NO WAY. Anyway, this IF did not disappoint, and let me live all my childhood dreams.)

Edit: AHH! How could I forget, one of my recent faves, Folksaga @folksaga-if (Lush atmospheric writing, super unique premise—norse mythology, plus I'm head over heels for Katla).

Completed IFs

Butterfly Soup 1 and 2 @brianna-lei (these are completed and I will never not promote them. Honestly the most adorable, wholesome, funny sports/coming-of-age IF I've read)

Elsinore: After Hamlet @lapinlunairegames (Insanely cool premise, insanely cool execution)

The Thick Table Tavern @manonamora-if (I love bar/tavern games, and this one actually lets you mix drinks! Instant fave.)

Other HGs/COGs I love: Slammed, Tin Star, Fallen Hero, If it pleases the court, A Player's Heart (these last two are so underrated, though I guess cause it's mainly wlw)

[trxstiezz]

*not edited*

This is my first time writing abt an anime characterr ahh so im sorry if i dont get rodys character right! Or if i mess up some things up, i had so much fun writing this! I apologize for how long it is, but i hope everyone enjoy it!

Readers quirk! (got this off tt) : Crystals - You can make crystals from your hands, or by touching the ground to make them, you can also shoot crystals like bullets and color/shape them into whatever you want, initially using them as a shield or weapons. (Similar to shotos ice quirk)

As everyone was sent to different locations across the globe you were taken with the heroes of the Endeavor Agency as you were doing your work study there, although you totally didnt expect things to go south so fast and to also fall in love during this mission..

-

“God one second im out running errands and the next thing i know im hiding from the police because im being framed for mass murder!” You said clearly frustrated, “hey, I am too you know! But i just cant seem to wrap my mind around as to why we are being framed for this.” Izuku says with a slight frown as he fixes his hat, thinking.

“It doesnt matter, we just have to lay low for now and keep this stupid briefcase safe.” You say with an annoyed tone, readjusting your new clothes the best you could as you sit on top of the bus.

You look at izuku staring at his phone whispering a small “come on..” in hopes of shoto being able to understand his coded message, you bite your lip worried so you decided to glance over at the boy you met a while ago instead.

He had a worried expression on his face as he stared at a picture in a necklace of two little kids, “those yours? Not gonna lie you do look really young for being a dad of two.” You say chuckling softly.

He looked up at you and shook his head slowly, “No, those are my little siblings, Lala and Roro.” He said, looking back down at the small picture of them.

You give him a small nod, not wanting to push any further.. you all decided on getting down since the place looked empty, you sighed in relief using your quirk to make a big crystal, sliding down it safely then shrinking it. Izuku using black whip to get him and rody down aswell.

Izuku and rody talked before seeing him walk over to the phone. You stayed behind with izuku, stretching your arms and legs, you looked over at him seeing the worried expression he had plastered onto his face, “im sure they understood the code ‘zuku, shotos pretty smart id be surprised if he didn’t understand it.” You said, placing a hand on his shoulder hoping to make him less worried.

“Yeah, you’re right! Im sure by now they are fixing this mess…” he says, a little bit unsure but still keeping a smile on his face. You nod and place your head on his shoulder, “i hope so too..” you mumbled, closing your eyes.

We heard a loud bang paired with a “damn it!” so you both walked over to where rody was at, “hey is everything okay?” You heard izuku say softly, you nodded looking at him a bit worried.

He turned around and scoffed a little, “Oh yeah, life couldnt be any better.” He said sarcastically. You looked at one another before deciding to start moving again.

-

Hours later, the sky was dark and you all had decided to take a break in an old farmhouse to get some rest and figure out everything that had happened tomorrow.

You were beside izuku reading the same map he had of Otheon before speaking out, “thats not great, doesnt look like anythings crossing the border from here.. we’ll have to borrow some sort of vehicle tomorrow, otherwise we’ll be stuck walking..” he said continuing to read the map.

You let out a loud groan, “walking? You’re crazy! Did you forget how heavy this thing is??” You heard the boy say as he sat up looking in your direction, shocked and annoyed.

“If you get tired i can just carry you on my back, thats what strength is for right? To help people when they are in trouble!” Izuku said smiling while flexing his muscles in a playful way. You and rody both give him a look before you rolled over to your side, “beats me, wake me up when you find a vehicle alright?” You said, yawning and closing your eyes.

You hear rody let out a scoff, “maybe fix our current situation rather than treating me like a backpack.” He says, then hearing izuku agree saying we will, you were gonna respond back to the boys somewhat snarky comment but decided to just close your eyes instead.

After a while you had fallen asleep to the quietness that surrounded you, then waking up to a small bird chirping frantically in your face. You sat up and rubbed your eyes, “huh?..”

“Hey whats going on?” You said before seeing how frantic the bird was getting, urging you to look over at the empty space. “Ah shit. The boys gone!” You said, getting up and shaking izuku awake, “hey zu! Wake up, hes gone!” You said, shaking him even more.

“Huh whats going on?” He said getting up quickly, “no, he wouldnt..” he said panicking, “god the briefcase is gone too!” You said, also feeling panicked as you noticed the briefcase wasnt anywhere in sight. The bird then rushes outside so you both run after it, following the small pink bird.

You werent running for long before sighting a helicopter and a big man towering over the boy, “over there!” You say, then using your quirk to shoot crystals at the man, only distracting him for a bit so izuku can get closer and go over towards them, using his quirk. You run over to the boy that was on the ground, “idiot! are you okay?” You yell, helping him up.

Out of no where you both get pushed out of the way by izuku, you look over and see a lady with arrows, the same one that had attacked you guys before, shooting one at izuku before he uses his quirk again.

The boy goes over to izuku worried, “why did you do that?..” he says shocked, “no time! I need you to hold onto me tightly,” izuku says, kneeling a bit, “zuku! You’re injured, i can take him dont worry, ill follow you!” You say as you grabbed onto him, blushing a little at how close you were.

You take a deep breath in and start shooting out big crystals to run on, following izuku in the dark not daring to look back.

-

After stopping somewhere izuku had pulled out the arrow, drops of blood gushing out. You looked at his injury as you crouched down next to him, disgusted at the sight.

“Wait here, ill find a doctor or something!” The boy said a bit panicked as he looked around for help, “it wasnt that deep in, ill be fine dont worry..it destroyed my phone though.” Izuku said, breathing heavily.

“Turn around, i think we packed a first aid kit.” You said remembering, but feeling a bit guilty. As a hero in training you shouldve looked out, being ready for anything, you got lost in your own head as izuku kept on talking, drowing out the noise of them talking and searched for the kit, grabbing it and removing the shirt that he had on, patching him up as best as you could.

Once you were finished you walked around for a bit, finding a small cave to hide out in. For the most part the way there was silent, and it was also silent while building a small fire inside the cave to stay warm.

While izuku was reading his map again the boy and you sat in silence for a while around the fire, you were a bit surprised when he spoke up, “why did you take the arrow back there?” You and izuku both looked up, “what are you asking?” Izuku said, confused.

He inhales a bit frustrated, getting up, “i betrayed you guys, i took the briefcase while you were sleeping.. instead of worrying about me you couldve grabbed it and ran away...” He said staring out into the dark night sky.

“Uhh why would we do something like that?” Izuku says, still confused. “I was the one with stolen jewels earlier, im one of those bad guys you heroes hate and want to throw in jail.” He says shrugging, still not looking over.

“Well we cant ignore when someones in trouble. Hero or not you’re still a person, so we want to do everything we can to help” You say standing up. He turns around and looks at you slightly shocked, then looking over at izuku.

“But why would a criminal like me be worth getting hurt over?” He said still not believing it, “its always worth it if im able to help someone, no matter who it is!” izuku says with a happy genuine smile on his face.

“I do not get you both..” he says shaking his head, stepping back to sit down on one of the big rocks in the cave.

You sit back down aswell, “ha, you and me couldnt be any more different.” He said chuckling, “huh?” You say looking up at him, although he already had his head turned as he looked up at the sky, seeing the night stars.

“My futures pretty much set in stone, i dont have the luxuries of saying some nonsense like, ‘i wanna be a pilot.’ All i can do is provide for my younger siblings..” the boy said, still not making any eye contact with either of you.

You looked at him a bit shocked, feeling a bit bad for him.

“Well maybe-” izuku said getting up, the boy snapped his head back finally making some eye contact, “dont say a word, i dont want your pity!” He said a bit loud.

Izuku stayed quiet and sat back down, you bit your lip at the awkward and quiet moment before rody spoke up again, “i always thought heroes just wanted fame and money, you see the pros never come to where i live, they wouldnt make a buck there..” he said getting quiet for a second before speaking up again, “but.. i guess there are heroes around like you two.” He said now looking at the floor.

You look at him with wide eyes, cheeks a little pink. “The more i sit around and know more about you two the more i wonder about what im doing with my own life.” He says with closed eyes, smirking a bit, “truth is im pretty lame.” He says with a small chuckle, shaking his head.

You chuckle at what he says, you listen to how izuku thought he was weak, and how he still wants to be a hero with a smile on his face everytime he helps someone, “if im being honest myself most times i feel very weak..but thats why i push myself, im determined to be the best hero i can be!” you said with a big smile, “ and zu, you’re pretty inspirational, i can totally see you being the number one hero.” You say chuckling a bit.

“Look, everyone has their doubts about themselves, but if you dont push yourself and work for the future you want, it wont happen. Things are tough, and i definitely know how life isnt fair, but i say try your best to reach for your goals however you can! Step by step.” You say flashing him a smile, he looks at both you and izuku in awe for a while then smirking a little, getting up and walking closer.

The little pink bird appearing on top of izukus head, “oh yeah, thats pino.” He says with a small chuckle as pino starts chirping and flying above yours and izukus heads. “Hey pino.” You said with a smile as the bird kept chirping happily.

“Oh and by the way the names Rody Soul, we sort of skipped intros earlier.” He said with a small chuckle. Izuku stood up with a smile on his face, “and my names Izuku midoriya but call me my hero name, deku!” He said with another big and bright smile, “deku.. thats easy to remember.” Rody said with a smile as he placed his hands on his hips.

You stood up, “my names y/n l/n, but you can just call me by my hero name, Gem! Or both, doesnt matter to me.” You say smiling, letting out a small laugh.

“Gem.. well y/n you have a beautiful name, guess ill just have to switch around both yeah?” He said giving you a small smirk.

You nodded staying quiet as your face turned a bit red.

“Well lets get some sleep rody, y/n.” Izuku said looking at you both sending you a knowing look, you ignored it and nodded.

“Yeah sounds good to me deku,” rody said with a smile. He nodded and found a spot to lay down in, placing his hat over his face.

You layed down aswell and tried your best to sleep, you thoughts flooding your mind. After a while you could hear soft snores coming from izuku as you also heard a small whisper, “hey… y/n you asleep?” You looked over at rody and sat up a little, “yeah.. cant sleep, just keep thinking about this big mess we got into.”

You said grabbing your knees, “yeahh.. me too…” he said quietly, you pressed your lips together for a moment before speaking, “want to talk about it?” You said with a small smile.

He looked at you for a while before nodding slowly, you scooted over closer as you looked at him. “Alright.. whats keeping you up then?” you said, staring at him.

“Well.. i guess im just worried about my siblings.. i mean i guess i just wonder if they’re okay. Their still kids so i dont want to leave them by themselves..” he said huffing and placing his hand on his cheek.

You nod, “i understand, im sure their okay! So dont worry too much alright? We’ll fix this mess soon so you can go home and see them!” You said looking at izuku sleeping.

He looks at you and nods, “yeah.. by the way, are you both..?” He said hinting at you and izuku. Your eyes open wide and you shake your head, “oh nono! we’re just friends!” You say chuckling nervously as your face immediately turned red.

“You sure?..” he says chuckling, enjoying the way your face turned red, “i mean i love izuku but hes just a good friend to me! Like a brother, we’ve been friends for a while now and im sure you can tell by the way hes so positive hes a pretty good friend.” You say chuckling softly, looking at rody.

He nods, “yeah he seems like a good guy huh, dont worry i was just teasing ya, glad you’re not together though, gives me a chance to tell you how beautiful i think you are.” He said looking back and sending you a small wink.

You blush and turn your face away again, “ah well thank you!” You said quickly, not really knowing how to answer him.

He flashes you a smirk and a nod, “well we should go to bed, im sure youll need the energy for tomorrow.” He said, putting his head on his hands as he moved his knees closer to his chest.

“Yeah.. goodnight rody.” You say with a smile, admiring how good he looked with the moonlight shining down on him.

“Goodnight y/n..” he said, with a small smile now, closing his eyes. You felt a sudden warm feeling in your chest and closed your eyes, trying to ignore the feeling.

_

You woke up the next morning to a loud sound of a truck running, you opened your eyes and looked around seeing izuku and rody both gone. You had a confused expression on your face and stood up, deciding to follow the noise.

To your surprise you saw both izuku and rody talking, “hey, whats this?..” you said, rubbing your eyes.

“Sorry did i wake you?” Rody said looking at you as he walked a bit closer, you yawned and shook your head, “its fine, i shouldve been up by now anyway.” You said stretching your arms a little.

“Hey y/n, i just woke up too seems like we have a ride now, im going to get the suitcase really quick, be right back!” Izuku said as he goes back to get the suitcase.

Rody opened the car door and stepped to the side, “ladies first.” He said, with a playful smirk that you chuckle at before climbing into the car.

He smiles and gets in himself as you both see izuku running up and getting in, he starts the car, squishing you as you sit in between them both.

You groan and blush a little when you turn your head seeing how close you were to rody, you close your mouth and look straight as to not make a big deal out of it.

You ended up falling asleep in the car ride as rody and izuku talked, still feeling a bit tired from the previous day, you didnt even realize your head on rodys shoulder until you woke up later on.

“Finally awake huh?” Rody said giving you a quick smile, going back to pay attention to the road. You straightened up and nodded, “yeah sorry, i mustve moved alot.” You said flustered at the thought of how you had slept on him, he didnt seem to mind though.

“Its okay, you look cute while sleeping so ill let it pass.” He says teasingly, you nodded slowly, freaking out on the inside, only hearing izukus small laughs.

You give him a quick look that shuts him up but sneakily snickers once you turn your head straight again.

The next few days were full of some tiny accidents but mostly just hanging out with eachother and talking, even almost getting recognized by a gas station worker, thankfully rody distracted the guy in time to not notice.

During these days you had managed to learn alot about rody, getting closer to the sweet charming boy. He was cute alright, but you didnt think anything would work out since his priorities were strictly on his siblings, but for now you thought this little crush wasnt so bad to keep to yourself.

One night rody was helping deku patch up his injuries again as you helped with the small fire, you were really focused until you heard izuku say something that had interested you aswell, “what about you? Do you have a quirk? Ive been wondering.” He said with another smile.

“Yeah do you? Ive also been pretty curious about that.” You said, finally getting the fire up, you jumped excitedly and sat down next to it to warm your hands up.

Rody made a face while finishing up “I dont wanna talk about it.” He said hiding his face, embarrassed, “oh, sorry!..” izuku said turning back around, you looked at the boy curious as to why he would be embarrassed to say if he had one or not, but you didnt say anything as to not push him, understanding that not everyone likes to talk about quirks.

“You guys wont laugh right?..” he said, izuku turned around quickly, “i promise!” Rody then glanced at you, “Really?” You shook your head, “id never laugh at that!” You said with a serious look, “we swear!”

Rody sighs, his cheeks a little pink, “okay.. its kind of weird..” he says, giving in, “you may think im joking but its pino..” he said as the small pink bird started chirping appearing on top of his head, then turning around hiding her face clearly embarrassed. “Her actions show my true intentions..” he said looking up at pino.

“Really?” Izuku said looking at pino fascinated, he was always like that with everyone quirk so you smiled at this, knowing how excited he always was to learn about somebodys quirk. “No matter how good i am at lying, pino always gives away my true feelings..” he says blushing again, “honestly its not much of a quirk..” he said again holding pino in his hands.

“Dont say that! I think your quirk is cool, and pinos pretty adorable too!” You say smiling as you scooted closer, trying to pet pino instead seeing her curled up in rodys hands, shy.

You chuckle at this and shake your head, smiling. “I think its a wonderful quirk too! I find everyones quirks to be super cool since their all pretty unique!” izuku says smiling.

Rody nods, still a bit shy, “thanks guys..” he says chuckling. You smile at him and nod, “we should get to bed, im sure that by tomorrow we’ll make it by the border.” You said, wrapping your arms around yourself to be warm.

- *lil skip*

Once you had made it to the border izuku checked it out, noticing how heavily guarded it was, “seems we wont make it past the guards without a fight, looks like we’ll have to go up.” You nod, agreeing as izuku tells rody to get on his back.

“Deku take this.” Rody says as he hands over the suitcase, you and izuku looked at him with confused expressions on eachothers face, “whats the deal?” izuku said, “you wont be able to carry me with that injury from the arrow, this is where i say goodbye.” He said looking at the both of you with a smile on his face, “hold on, the trucks out of gas! We cant leave you alone at a place likes this?!” You said concerned, also feeling a bit disappointed, you didnt want to go your seperate ways so soon.

The small crush you had on rody was only supposed to stay like that, but after hanging out with him and getting to know him for a couple of days you had started realizing that the feelings you had for him were more than just a small school girl crush.

“Guys come on you know how fast i can run at a pinch, ill scrounge up some food and ill wait for you both.” He said with a slight smirk, shrugging. “Go figure out whats up with this case, thats what we’re here for after all.” He said handing it to you.

“But rody..” you said staring at him a bit sad, izuku also looking at him a bit upset, “Im counting on you heroes.” He said, izuku nodding firmly and walked over to him going to take the suitcase from rodys hands while you stood there a bit shocked.

The loud sound of a helicopter coming close took your attention away as you looked up at the sky staring at it. You spot the same lady ready to shoot an arrow with a man standing behind her, your eyes open wide but it seems as though izuku noticed she shot the arrow, using his quirk to move you both out of the way again.

You gasp as you used your own quirk to make big crystals to block the arrows from hitting you. You let out an annoyed groan noticing that she started shooting something that turned into big boulders, causing you to lose balance.

“Oh damnit their going to flatten us!” You heard rody say, you pressed your lips together trying to creat a bigger crystal to provide some shield but it was no use as she just kept dropping more, not giving you enough time.

You see izuku use his quirk again kicking the helicopter away, causing the force to push it back, crashing it but also pushing you, izuku and rody back.

You hit the ground, groaning as you got up, “god that hurt!” You said wiping the rocks and dirt off of you, looking around seeing izuku standing up as well, “rody are you okay?” You heard him yell back.

“Yeah maybe.. oh no the case!” He said looking around, trying to spot it. Once he does he bolts towards it, hearing another yell shortly after, “Rody look out!” izuku says as some big boulders crash close to him, “rody!” you yell out with wide eyes as you see them knock him away.

He manages to grab the suitcase but you dont see him anywhere in sight, “ah shit, rody!” You say worriedly, running over to find him.

“Deku catch it!” He says throwing the suitcase over as izuku ran over to catch it but getting close to being hit by an arrow, you see rody fall as you let out a yell, “Oh my god Rody!” You say running towards him, tears filling the brim of your eyes as you try to shoot out a big crystal only for it to not work.

You see a bunch of ice wrap around the big man, then circling back to get rody back up, “that ice..” izuku says, “its todoroki!” You yell out, then seeing him run out of the way, bakugo also using his quirk, aiming it at the helicopter.

It went by quick but you decide to instead see if rody was okay, you run up and embrace him into a big hug, “are you okay?!” You say worried, checking him for any injuries. He looks shocked at the scene and just nods slowly not really taking your words in.

“I was so wor-“ your words got cut off at the big crash of the helicopter then seeing the woman falling, you were in disbelief yourself so you didn’t expect rody to be any better.

Izuku ran over to you both, making sure everyone was alright, “yeah but im not sure how..” rody said looking at the ground, gasping and looking around, “where is it?!” He said, then hearing shoto come up with the briefcase.

“thanks todoroki, but how did you find us?” Izuku said, “well thanks to their flashy attacks we spotted you from the train, is he the one you were talking about on the phone?” He said with a calm demeanor, “yeah, his name is rody soul, they’re also calling him a criminal just like us.” You said trying to keep yourself calm.

“Yeah thanks for the assist!” Rody said with a flashy smile, before jumping at bakugos unexpected yelling that you have all gotten used to by now.

You noticed izuku staring at the bottom of the briefcase, seeing a small compartment open up, “hey look!” He said grabbing it. You looked around and decided it would be better to be protected incase of another attack.

You stood up moving a bit closer and crouched down, placing your hands down onto the ground building a large crystal with a color similar to the rocks, shielding you all from any possible attacks.

You grunted at the feeling it left behind in your palms, wiping them on your shirt to get rid of it then standing up and walking back over to see them trying to figure out a little puzzle that was supposedly in the little compartment.

“Hand it over, ill blow it up!” You heard bakugo say, frustrated already with the small puzzle. You rolled your eyes smacking the back of his head, “you cant do that idiot! Its a puzzle for a reason, there must be something important inside.” You said huffing, ignoring whatever he was yelling at in response to you.

You see rody handling the puzzle then somehow being able to solve it, “rody thats amazing! Howd you do that?” You said looking at him in awe as shoto and izuku figure out what the little pieces inside are.

“I did a puzzle like this before when i was a kid.” He said, flashing you a big smile and oh how you loved it.

You blushed nodding, “thats cool! I dont think id be able to wrap my head around a difficult puzzle like that.” You said, walking a bit closer to him, “its simple once you learn its tricks..” he said in a soft tone, inspecting the small puzzle carefully.

-

Once everyone was in the air and gearing up you glanced over at rody that was focused on flying, you put on the last set of your support gadgets that you had gotten for your suit and waited, admiring how helpful rody was being. Also the fact that pino was chirping happily showed you that he was pretty excited but also nervous about flying, you were just happy that he finally got to live out his dream even if it wasnt in the best situation.

“Thats it the base, going in for a landing, brace yourselves!” Rody said turning his head a little to look at everyone.

“No Rody you turn back.” Izuku said pressing the button to open the door, “Extras like you should stay out of the way.” Bakugo said following right behind him, “He has a point.” Todoroki said agreeing, you rolled your eyes and gave rody a frown, “Sorry rody but this is very dangerous, please get back safe alright?” You said, getting ready to go aswell.

You didnt wait for his response as everyone had already jumped down, you took a deep breath in and jumped aswell, making sure to stay straight as you shot out big crystals, shielding yourself from the attacks of the Humarise soldiers.

You shot out many big and sharp crystals taking down a couple of soldiers before landing down, making another crystal in the shape of a slide to keep you from injuring yourself at the landing. (Sorry if it doesnt make sense guys, use ur imagination the best u can 😣)

You got swooped up by todoroki as he was also holding deku with him, you let out a small gasp since you didnt expect it but you didnt complain, wanting to help in any way you could.

Todoroki used his ice to go over some of the soldiers but you all soon got hit by some lasers that broke the ice, causing you to fall on izuku, “sorry!” you said, a little hurt from the fall, but helping each other up “Todoroki!” Izuku yelled out, calling for him.

“You guys go on ahead as fast as you can!” He said, shooting out some fire, aiming it at the soldiers that were all rushing in quick.

You nodded, following behind izuku, using your quirk to get some of the soldiers out of the way as did izuku.

He knocked down the door and walked in, you peeked a little before following behind him, “seems empty.. something doesnt feel right zuku..” you mumbled, getting an uneasy feeling in your stomach.

He looked around and noticed a door, “the trigger bomb controls should be around there, lets go!” he said running, you were about to go until a laser shot at his feet, “how dare you, this is not a place where someone so diseased should step foot.” A man said, slowly walking out.

You glared at the man, “this must be the leader..” you thought as you stood ready in case of anything.

The man was still talking but you were completely focused on the fact that the room was starting to board up. You let out a small gasp, turning around to see the whole room boarded up before hearing, “Ill stop your trigger bomb if its the last thing i do!” you turned around quickly seeing izuku lunge forward, towards the man.

“Deku wait!” you yelled out, then seeing him getting thrown back, you raised your hands shooting a couple of crystals at him, only to see them shoot back at you.

Your eyes opened wide as you dodged some, only getting scraped a little by a couple on your arm. “What the?..” you said, in shock.

The man went on to speak about have the ‘disease’ himself, saying that his quirk reflects everything he comes in contact with, which helped you figure out why your crystals bounced back at you.

You see izuku keep on attacking, only to get his attacks reflected back onto him, “deku!” You said running over to him, helping him up.

“His quirk, every punch or kick or whatever you try will only reflect back at you!” You said helping him wipe off some of the dust and rocks.

“We’ll run, avoid him completely!” Izuku said, as you nodded and both started running to the door, the time starting to run out.

Out of no where many lasers had started to appear, one badly injuring your left side and arm. You groaned out in pain, using your right to hold your side, you then hear a yelp from izuku alerting you that he had also been injured.

You try moving but end up falling onto the ground clutching your arm and side, “i have to keep going.. i.. cant let rody down, my friends and family...” You thought as tears pricked your eyes, you had realized how important his siblings were to him and they were in the area of a bomb, you didnt want anything bad to happen to him either.

You noticed the blue man distracted so you used your left hand to shoot out some crystals, hoping that the angle you were shooting them from would work, although you ducked your head as you saw them reflecting back towards you. Hitting your body as you let out some screams.

You looked over at izuku and saw all the blood pooling next to him, he stood up looking in your direction, “y/n!” He said worriedly, you gave him a thumbs up, not wanting him to worry about you right now, he turned back after giving you a small nod to look at the man.

You couldnt quite hear anything the man was saying, nor deku, just the screaming in pain was all that you could hear and It terrified you.

You knew you had to do something so with all the strength you had in you, you tried using your right arm to lift you up, only to fall back down, you let out a groan and tried your best to move across the room, only being able to push yourself slowly.

You glance to your side seeing rody holding deku as blood gushed out, “r-rody?” You said with wide eyes, confused and worried. He looked at you for a second, then giving you a genuine smile, “its fine now y/n, deku. Dont you worry.” You tried to move again but only winced in pain, “you.. have to run.” Izuku said in a low voice.

“I will, once i hand this over to the blue guy.” He said, holding the deactivation key, you look at him in disbelief, then laying izuku down softly, “know that i am sorry, but they said they’d stop the Otheon explosion if i helped them out.”

“N-No…” you mumbled, trying to push yourself closer to rody leaving a trail of your blood on the ground, “Dont do this, if we work together we can stop him and help everyone, please!” Izuku said trying to get up, groaning in pain.

“How are we going to stop him if you’re both all messed up? Times almost up, the bombs are going to explode its game over..” rody said shrugging, “No!” You shout out, he looks a little bit over his shoulder with a blank face.

“Atleast im going to protect my family.. i can do that much.” He said, starting to walk up. You couldnt believe your eyes, as they started clouding up with tears. You heard rody speak but everything was looking and sounding foggy.

Was this how it ended? Your heart was starting to hurt more than any of the injuries you currently had, feeling betrayed by the boy you had started to grow big and real feelings for.

“Sorry heroes but this is how it all ends.” You hear rody say with a calm voice, you looked up wincing again in pain, “thats life, people get betrayed, if its any condolence it happened to me too.” He said turning his head back to the blue man, “nothing to cry about.” He said, going to hand the key over.

You and izuku both look at him in disbelief, “rody no..” you said, until you saw that little pink bird in his hoodie shaking her head, it took you by surprise but you used up all the strength in you to stand up.

You looked to your side seeing izuku up aswell, you saw rody flip up the key, then running out of the way, izuku kicking the blue man in the face. “Y/n!” Rody said as he ran over to you, pino grabbing the key quickly as she had it in her mouth.

“Seems like the plans working huh pino!” He said happily before you hear the man yell angrily and you see the lasers again, you pushed rody out of the way quickly, “Run! Ill cover myself, go!” You said shooting some crystals at the lasers to break them, izuku doing the same.

As you shot most of them one suddenly turned back on hitting rody on his right side, “No!” Izuku said, rushing over to use his quirk on the man, you stared at rody as he was spread out on the floor, you yelled out, running up the stairs and over to him, “rody!” You said kneeling down to his side, trying your best to help him up.

You both look over and see izuku getting pushed into the ground, “oh shit.. deku! Dont you dare die you kick his ass!” Rody said as you both held onto eachother, “ ill stop the bombs, you- you take him down hero!” He said holding the key up.

“You got this rody!” you said, and he nodded giving you a quick hug, he winced a little, leaning on the wall, “i wont hold you back, i believe in you rody!” you said, “be safe y/n, you really are a gem. You got this hero!” He said giving you one last smile, starting to walk towards the room.

You smiled at his words, nodding and grabbing your side making your way down next to izuku. As he threw a punch you lifted your right hand getting ready to try and block the reflection only for it to come back so quickly, knocking both you and izuku down.

He stood back up, ready for another but you fell onto your knees gasping for air, panicking as you saw the room starting to go dark and fuzzy. “You got this deku, beat him!” You said before mumbling a curse word hoping that rody makes it in time, “i cant give up.. not now..” you thought, trying to stay awake but instead getting knocked out cold.

-

You opened your eyes to find yourself in a bright room, you blinked a couple times before realizing you had made it to the hospital. Your eyes filled with happy tears seeing that rody did it, he saved everyone.

You tried to sit up but winced a little, “y/n! You’re awake!” Deku said, going over to you, “how are you feeling?” He said with a worried expression, you chuckled and shook your head, “im fine izuku feels like i barely got a scratch, wheres rody?” You said jokingly but glancing around the room, he pointed at the bed on the other side and sure enough there he was with his arms wrapped around two little kids.

“Im assuming that roro and lala?” you said chuckling, smiling and staring at the cute sight in front of you, you moved your legs to the side getting off and walking over to the boys bed.

“Hey hero.” You said smiling at him, getting a bit closer to the bed, “gem!” He said excitedly, “im so glad you’re awake.” He said, sitting up more to hug you.

You moved forward and accepted his hug sighing in relief, once you pulled back you noticed the little kids staring at you, youre face turning red in embarrassment, “im so sorry for not introducing myself! My name is Y/n L/n! Or you could call me gem if thats easier!” you said, giving the two kids a nervous smile, chuckling.

Rody looked at his sibling and nodded at them, “this is my friend, you can say hello..” he said telling them that it was okay.

Your heart dropped a little at the word friend but you shook it off, knowing that you werent really anything, reminding yourself that he was a good friend, that you maybe had feelings for…

You talked with his siblings getting along pretty easily with them, you could totally see why rody loved them, they were adorable!

After a while you had sat on the edge of rodys bed making small crystals in fun shapes for the kids. Your moment got cut short when izuku interrupted with some bad news, “Hey y/n, i meant to tell you but we’re supposed to be leaving tomorrow, your stuffs all packed and everything ready to go.” He said, and you nodded before he walked away.

“Well.. ill let you rest.” You said to rody, standing up from the bed, he looked at you like he was gonna say something but instead he just mumbled out a “Yeah okay.. thanks for being so nice to my siblinga and well…. to me.” He said with a genuine smile, a faint blush spread across cheeks.

You chuckled, nodding “of course, dont worry rody their good kids, and very adorable. Goodnight now.” You said giving him a smile as you returned to your bed.

You let out a sigh once you got in bed, closing your eyes to rest.

_

You were at the airport already on your way to board the plane with the rest of the heroes as you walked talking with izuku, a small frown on your face as you told him how you didnt want to leave already.

He chuckled and teased you knowing about your crush on rody since you werent really good at hiding it, you were about to respond until you heard a little chirp.

You turned around seeing pino and rody, waving. Your face lit up in shock but also feeling extremely happy that youd see him one last time before going home.

“Rody!” You and izuku said, walking over to him, “we didnt think youd be out so soon!” Izuku said smiling, “eh they said i was good to head back home.” Rody said with a shrug and a smirk.

“Glad to hear it.” You said giving him a smile,”althoughh.. if i had died stopping those bombs i would have become a total legend!” He said jokingly, “thats a morbid thing to say!” Izuku said before you all heard a loud “HA!” coming from bakugo.

You all bursted out laughing before letting izuku have his final chat with him, meanwhile you remembered something and grabbed a small piece of paper, scribbling your number on it and then stuffing it back into your pocket.

Once you had seen that they were finished talking you walked back over and looked at izuku before he chuckled and waved goodbye, walking away to give you space.

You took a deep breath in and smiled at rody, “ill miss you alot…” you said, your smile turning a bit sad. He shook his head and embraced you into another big hug, “yeah i will too but do me a solid and stick to Japan okay? Nothing good seems to happen when you heroes are here.” He said, calmly. You stepped back and looked at pino, seeing how her eyes were all teary and sad.

“Ill come back for sure then. I swear..” you said smiling, “theres something i also have to tell you.” You both said at the same time, you blushed and looked to the side before giggling, “you go first.” He said with a chuckle, “well.. meeting you was probably the best thing that has ever happened to me rody, i mean it. I hope this doesnt cross any boundaries but if im being honest these past few days i caught really enjoying your company, so i guess what id like to say is.. well, i like you!…” you said looking down, your face now completely red, “thought id get it out now instead of holding that in.” You said letting out a sigh.

He grabbed your cheeks and pushed your head up to look at him, “I do too y/n.. look im not the type of guy to really care for people but i have definitely gotten really close to you, and well even liking you too.” He said, also a bit shy now.

You chuckled, hearing the intercom call out the name of your flight, you sighed and reached in your pocket, “here, my number incase you ever want to get a hold of me.” You say handing it to him, he takes it and gives you a smile placing it in his pocket.

You quickly take your right hand and make a small pink crystal in the shape of a heart, “andd maybe a little something… so you dont forget me alright?” You said chuckling, feeling the heat in your cheeks spread out onto your whole face.

He took the crystal placing that into his pocket too before looking into your eyes and leaning in closer to you, your heart stopped a little as you leaned in placing your lips onto his. The moment felt unreal, you had definitely felt sparks and you were so ready to tell the girls back at UA about this.

The kiss was short but sweet and filled with a lot of emotion but you had broken it, hearing the last call for your plane, “i should really get going now.” You said biting your lip.

He nodded and gave you one last hug, “ill see you soon gem.” He said with a sad smile, you nodded and pet pinos head, “dont miss me too much mkay?” You said smiling at him, “ill try.” He said with a playful smirk giving you one last kiss.

You definitely didnt expect to fall in love on this mission but you also dont regret it. Youd be back to visit the boy from Otheon the soonest you could, maybe even bring a couple of gifts for him and his siblings too. Doesnt matter, all you know is that you’ll be waiting for the day that youll be in his arms again.

[whatitsdecending]

Is It Really You? (II Oneshot)

II x Female Reader

After a long shift you’re invited to watch a friend participate in something you’d never expect from him. Turns out, you had every right to be worried about it.

Word Count: 5.3k

Content warning: Violence, blood, descriptions of injury, some suggestive commentary, language

Edited by: @artificialstardust

“…let’s search the skies, for a while, you and I…”

—————————

Your keys jingled as you fought against the keyhole of the door, the twenty-something year old door is nearing its end of being a normal working item and definitely needs to be replaced. But you didn’t have much time for all that at the moment.

The door swung open and smacked the edge of the table just inside of your townhouse, making a loud noise as the heavy woods collided together. You kicked the door back after you stepped inside, tossing the keys into the ceramic bowl on the table and pressed the door shut with your back.

Four shifts back-to-back and all twelve hours long in the busiest ER in your city had to be one of the most draining jobs you’ve ever worked in your life. But also the most rewarding. When you went into nursing school, you knew the type of career you wanted to pursue was going to keep you busy and on your feet for long hours. Those medical TV shows always made it seem so easy… until you’re actually doing it.

You pushed off the door and hung your bag on the coat rack, taking a quick peek at the state of you after your shift. Yep, looks the same as last week.

It was 4pm. Night shifts were something you didn’t see yourself doing, but once you got stuck covering for someone, you sort of fell in love with it. Despite it getting absolutely insane sometimes, you still loved the chaos. Especially when you had the chance to help deliver a baby earlier today. You smiled at the thought, remembering how the mother lit up with joy at the little thing that you’d placed on her chest.

You were just about to head upstairs and start your shower when your phone began to ring. You pulled it from your scrubs pocket and gasped at the name that lit up your screen.

“No fucking way.” You said into the phone immediately after answering it.

The sweet voice of your dear friend filtered in through the other side, his accent thick as you sensed the smile in his words. “I did not expect you to pick up.”

“Why would I not pick up? You’re my friend, II.” You started up the stairs.

“I just didn’t know if you were working or not.”

“Oh I just got home from my last shift of the week.” You said, grabbing clean clothes to change into after your shower.

“Ahh okay. So I’m assuming you’d be too tired to go out tonight?” He asked.

You paused. “It depends on your definition of ‘going out’, since it tends to change each time you invite me.”

He laughed on the other end of the line. “You’re right about that. Would you like to come watch me participate in a fight?” That was the last thing you expected to hear from his mouth.

“I’m sorry?”

“You know, I get in a ring with some dude and we punch at each other until one of us wins. Pretty cool stuff, done a few fights already and I think I’m getting pretty popular with people at the club.”

You raised a brow. “Club? What club?”

“Mortals Meeting Ends.”

“II!” You exclaimed. “We get guys coming in left and right who have been beat to a goddamn pulp because they thought they could be good money fightin-”

“Alright darling, save the lecture for later. Am I seeing you there or not?”

“What time?” You ask.

“Midnight.” Oh great, even more ominous than it already was. At least it gave you time to shower, eat and get some rest before you went.

“I’ll be there.” You finally say after thinking it over a little bit more.

You could hear that smile over the line again. “Wonderful, I’ll see you then doll.”

You rolled your eyes at the nickname. “See you.” The line went dead after he hung up and you took in a shaky breath. What kind of deep shit has II gotten himself into?

You stripped from your scrubs and hopped into the shower. As you let the warm water soothe your muscles, your brain wandered to thoughts of II fighting these random dudes in a ring. Picturing your friend in your mind, you remembered him not being super built and rather a little more slim. And of course, he was a short guy.

But that was from a year ago. It’s been so long since you last saw him in person that he definitely could’ve built his body up into something worthy of being in a fighting ring. And especially if he’s been winning a lot of fights and becoming favorable towards the crowds.

Eventually you realized the water had been scalding your skin and quickly finished your shower, getting out and drying off. You wrapped your warm, fuzzy robe around your body and decided that a nap was more important than having something to eat. So, you laid down and fell asleep for a few hours in your robe.

Your room had turned dark when you finally woke up to the alarm blaring in your ears. It was hard to roll out of your bed, especially since it was currently 10pm and usually you’d still be asleep by now if you had work. Your grumbling belly is what got you to force yourself out of bed and go to the kitchen to heat up some leftovers for yourself.

You checked your phone, seeing a text from II that was really just the same bullshit he spews from his mouth when he’s built up on adrenaline. Usually you’d get these texts when he was touring with his little band and was about to go on stage, but it seems like he’s got another thing to get him that worked up between touring.

The time neared closer to when you had to leave, making you quickly gather things you’d need and changing into something cute but casually comfortable. You did not want to dress to impress at that place.

You ordered yourself an Uber and waited until the car pulled up to take you to the fight club. Traffic was nonexistent at this time of night so it did not take long for you to arrive at the club. It was as menacing as a place called ‘Mortals Meeting Ends’ could look, and just as predictable. Dudes who looked like bodybuilders walked around looking like they’d punch anyone for looking at them the wrong way.

You thanked the driver and stepped out of the car, heading to the bouncer working the front door. “ID?” He asked as a way of greeting. You fished the plastic card from your purse and handed it to him, watching as he looked down a list of names. “Alright you’re all good. Be careful in there, sweetheart.” You nod as a response and walk into the club, holding your purse just a little tighter than before.

Yeah this place is a cliché of a fight club. It was dark, except for the circle of lights over the fighting ring. Which really wasn’t a ring like you typically see for WWE type of events, but more like two pieces of rope surrounding a three foot pit made of dirt in the middle of this dump.

You looked around for any familiar face in the crowd, but nothing so far. It felt like a fever dream being in this stuffy place. Perhaps you were still exhausted from the last four days of work and running on fumes, or you were in fact dreaming and none of this was real.

You walked around a bit more, trying to get a feel for your surroundings while simultaneously trying to find II. If he was even out in this part of the building. There was a bit of a clearing of bodies as you made your way through to the bar and released a sigh when you saw your friend leaning against the bar and talking to some man. II’s attention grabbed onto you as you approached, slowly to make sure you didn’t interrupt anything important.

“Well look who it is.” He says with the biggest smile on his face and pulls you into a tight hug.

You squeezed him back, noting that your theory from earlier was true. “Couldn’t miss the opportunity to watch you beat people up.” He laughed as he pulled out of the hug and turned to the man he was just speaking to.

“Vincent, this is my good friend Y/N. Y/N, this is Vincent, the owner of the club.” Oh, well no wonder he looked so important. Vincent put his hand out for you to shake and you gladly let him.

“Nice to finally meet you, Y/N. I’ve been hearing some things about you recently.” He smiled down at you, flashes of gold on his teeth distracting you from anything else.

“Oh- Well, I haven’t heard anything about you.” You became a little flustered and turned to II, who was rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“I’ve just been telling him old stories, that’s all.” He gave you a toothy grin as he looked at you. You rolled your eyes and turned back to the owner in front of you.

“I hope you’ve been able to handle him, he’s a bit much when he wants to be.” You joked and earned a gentle elbow to your side.

Vincent smiled. “II here has grown from the weakest link to one of the strongest fighters I have working here. His growth was impressive and he learned quickly. I’m hoping he’ll put on a good show tonight since he’s got an extra special audience member.” He turned to II and patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you alone, be sure to be in that ring in five minutes.” You watched as he left and cut through the crowd, leaving you to be with your friend.

After a few long seconds, you turned back to him. “What is wrong with you?”

“I-”

“You’re gonna get yourself seriously hurt doing this shit. And what if you end up so hurt that you’re unable to play with the band anymore?” He avoided your eye contact for just a moment. “Look at me, II.” He finally did and your heart hitched at the sight of his eyes, the most beautiful blue you’d ever seen and something you never stopped staring at.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I know how you feel about this kind of thing, but I’m having fun and I’m able to work out some things I’m dealing with. I’ll be okay, I promise.” He says and places a gentle hand on your cheek.

“But-”

“I gotta go, it’s showtime.” He pecked your forehead ever so slightly and ran off to where Vincent had gone earlier, leaving you to find somewhere to view the fight.

You found your way to the edge of the crowd, sneaking between a few tall guys who let you in so you could see. People surrounded the ring, chatting loudly with excitement as the time neared for the fight to take place. You watched as II’s opponent entered the ring, a man who had at least four inches on him in height and maybe a good fifty pounds as well. Alright, not a fair fight physicality wise but it also depended on how skilled of a fighter II was.

That’s when he entered the ring and your eyes shot open at the sight. Yeah, your theory was extremely accurate as you stared at the muscles that now packed his whole upper body and shifted with each movement he made. He had bulked up so much in the last year that it was hard to believe it was him. But it was, and you were staring hard.

The referee stepped into the ring and the match began. You cringed when you realized neither of them wore boxing gloves and were bare knuckles for the fight. II already had so many scars that were on his knuckles from previous fights and it made you wonder how many times he’s broken one.

His opponent swung and swung hard, but luckily II was fast enough and dodged his fist, landing a punch into the guy’s ribs once they were exposed to his attack. You stood there watching the two men circle each other, the one seething for revenge against the hit II got on him. The anticipation of who was going to get punched next made your stomach twist and you nervously twirled your hair in your hands.

You noticed Vincent on the opposite side of where you were, watching the match intently as more punches were thrown and dodged. His eyes didn’t seem to be on II, despite him being such a ‘prized possession’ here. No, he watched his opponent and only seemed displeased when II dodged the hits, not the other way around. You didn’t know that much about fight clubs, but from the little bits you’ve heard when taking care of one of the fighters in the ER, you knew this was going to go badly for II.

“Shit.” You muttered under your breath when II took a hit to the gut and groaned at the impact. He took a small step back and held a hand to the spot, taking a deep breath and then moving back to his opponent. You watched as he got some punches and kicks in, noting how fast he moved and how agile he was. It was interesting, but it still felt wrong.

A minute goes by and the time seemed to slow as his opponent took an opportunity to punch II in the side when the area became exposed. This man hit him hard enough that you heard his ribs crack, gasping as he stumbled back from the force of the punch. Then the opponent was on top of him, landing hits left and right to any part that was exposed.

The crowd yelled and roared. Some with excitement and others were shouts claiming an illegal move in the ring. All of that you were unsure of, the only thing you were sure of though is the fact that II was bleeding heavily from multiple injuries on his body and the man wasn’t stopping. And Vincent wasn’t stopping him either.

Eventually, the referee stepped in and pulled the guy off II. People cheered as he was announced the winner of the fight, taking in the roar of the crowd and the money that was tossed at him. You stared at the man covered in blood and dirt on the floor, barely breathing but alive. Why was no one helping him? You frantically looked around for anything that could help him, the same guys that let you through earlier doing the same.

“Can you guys help me get him to the bathroom?” You shouted at them over the crowd. They all nodded and rushed to get II from the floor while you ran to the first aid kit you had spotted. You followed the group of men to the bathroom and they plopped II onto the floor, resting him up against the stall.

“You need any help, miss?” One guy asked.

“I’ll need you guys to stick around in case I need to get him to the hospital.” You glanced over your shoulder to the club outside the bathroom. “And also maybe to make sure no one comes in to try and finish the job.”

“Yes ma’am.” They say and went to stand outside the bathroom, leaving you to some quiet to take care of the bloodied man in front of you. His breathing was decent, better now that he was sitting up but you knew that broken rib was not letting him get a full breath in. You found gauze packets in the first aid kit and pressed them to the gaping wound on his forehead that was left by some knuckles.

“W-what are you doing?” His voice was quiet as you found tape to hold down the gauze.

“Making sure you don’t bleed out and die like they wanted you to.” You said, your voice catching in your throat as you said it out loud. They were going to leave him to die.

He pushed at your arm. “You need to go home, Y/N. I’ll be fine-” He clutched his side and groaned in pain.

“You are hurt and I’m the only one here that is capable of making sure your ass doesn’t die from blood loss.” You sternly say, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall. “I don’t care if they want to beat me up too, I’d rather you be okay than walk away because of some threat like that.”

His blue eyes glistened under the dingy lights. “Don’t say that.”

“Too bad, I already did.” You examined his face that was swelling and covered in bruises, palpating his definite broken nose and cheekbones. “You are my friend II and friends don’t leave each other’s side in shit situations like this.”

He closed his eyes and sighed, cringing in pain as his lungs tried to expand with that broken rib. “I fucking hate that word.”

You stopped shuffling through the first aid kid and glanced at him. “What word?”

“Friends.”

You raised a brow. “What’s so wrong with it?” You organized the contents of the first aid kit more so they were in better reach in case you needed to change the gauze on his forehead quickly.

His eyes opened again, staring at you with a vulnerability you’d never seen before in him. “I hate when it comes out of your mouth to describe us.”

A pang of hurt cut through you. “Do you not like us being friends?”

“Why are you acting dumb?” He asked, coughing a bit after he spoke. He must’ve noticed the confused look on your face. “You don’t want to remember what we had for a moment, do you?” Of all times and places, he chooses now to talk about this? Well, could be the state that he’s currently in, you’ve seen it plenty of times that you can’t really blame him.

“Because you broke my heart, II. That’s why.” You say. “I need to wrap a bandage around your ribs to hold them in place, it’s gonna hurt so I need you to prepare yourself.” You sat up more on your knees and scooted closer to him, preparing yourself for moving him forward so you can wrap the bandage around him.

“At this point, the pain doesn’t really faze me.” He said as you pulled him forward, doing the familiar maneuver was so much more difficult without other staff to help you, but you managed. “I didn’t mean to break your heart, Y/N.”

You pulled the first portion of the bandage around his chest and he grunted in your ear at the pressure of it. You focused on getting this wrapped before speaking again, leaning him carefully back against the stall.

“Well, you did and that’s as far as I’ll go with this right now.” You replied. He just stared at you and didn’t mutter another word.

There was a knock on the door and one of the men from earlier popped his head in, bringing in the even more chaotic noise of the club with him. “Uh does he need an ambulance?”

“Not right now, no.”

“Good.” He said and glanced over his shoulder. “A huge fight just broke out, so it’s best you guys stay right here so you’re all safe.”

“Thanks.” You nod to him and he closes the door once again.

“I don’t need to go to the hospital?” II wondered.

You glanced back at him. “No. For now you’ll be fine, I just have to keep an eye on that forehead wound and clean it. Your rib is definitely broken, but that luckily shouldn’t kill you unless it shifts and impacts your lung. Which I doubt will happen, but there is always the chance.”

“God I’m glad you’re a nurse.”

You smirked as you stood to wash some of his blood off your hands and so you can cleanse the wound on his forehead now that most of the blood has been taken care of. “You lucked out there.” He chuckled softly as you gathered some supplies you could use to clean it up.

II had stretched his legs out, leaving a spot between them for you to sit as you cleaned. “Thought this would help you to get that spot better.” He says.

“You’re right, it will. Thanks.” You sit on your knees once again as you fold the gauze off the wound, eyeing the area for any signs of infection that may be starting to show. Luckily, nothing yet. You commended the club for having a decent first aid kit that had supplies you could use to patch up this wound, will it hold completely until it healed? Absolutely not, but it was the best resource available until he could get stitches.

You set everything up to your right, II watching your every move as you organized yourself again. You took alcohol swab sticks from their packaging and looked at II. “These might sting a little, but they’re gonna help clean the wound.” He nodded and you moved to his forehead, following the same old procedure you’ve done since nursing school. He winced as you rolled one swab directly over the wound. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He patted your thigh gently. “You’re doing your job.” His hand stayed on your thigh as you continued to work. You didn’t mind the contact, you knew it was probably something that might be comforting him at the moment. He won’t admit it, but you could tell he’s shaken up by everything and there is so much more to what happened that he doesn’t want to tell you. Not yet, at least.

You finished cleaning the wound and put some adhesive strips across, trying to close the wound together as best as you could with them. A fresh piece of gauze on top and tape to hold it down, and that wound was all taken care of.

“You more than likely have a concussion because of how hard your face got hit.” You say.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” He mutters. You glared at him and went to scoot back, but the hand on your thigh gripped you just a bit. “Please stay here.”

You looked at him, his eyes sad as he believed you were ready to leave him here. “II I wasn’t going to leave you. I was just going to throw this all away.” You held up all the packets that had been emptied so he could see them.

“Do that later. I need you right here, right now.” He said. You stared at your friend and the clear agony he was currently in. His ‘tough guy’ facade had disappeared and now he was here, as vulnerable as ever and in so much pain.

You smiled softly. “I’ll stay.” You set the trash back on the floor next to you and leaned back on your heels.

“Come closer, please.” He whispered softly. “I need to hold you, Y/N.” Your heart ached at his words and you nodded, carefully climbing into his lap and gently wrapping your arms around his abdomen. You rested your head on his chest and listened to his heart beating, the rapid thumps had slowed a bit as his body relaxed. This calmed him down, probably reminded him of older times when he had your heart.

After a moment of listening to the muffled sounds of the fight still going on in the club, II spoke again. “I’m sorry for what I did.” You began to make a shushing sound but he continued over you. “It was the last thing I ever wanted to do to you, Y/N. And it kills me every single day that I left you broken and-”

“Stop II, not here.” Your whisper was harsh and you pressed your hand to his chest, hoping he’d stop his rambling.

“I love you, Y/N. And I never stopped loving you.” He says. “I want us to search the skies together again.”

You sat up off his chest to get a better look at him. Tears rolled down his cheeks, making streaks in the blood that covered them. “You’re concussed II. You’re just saying things-”

“Will you stop that?” He demanded. “I may be concussed and shit but I know exactly what the fuck I’m saying to you right now.” Your heart stammered in your chest. The look in his eyes was truthful. And you knew damn well that II wasn’t the kind to lie to you about something like this.

“I-I don’t know what to say.”

He shook his head. “You don’t have to say anything at all. I just needed to get that off my chest.” You sat there in his lap as he looked away from you, his eyes roving over the contents of supplies on the floor.

You couldn’t bear the sight any longer. The bullshit the two of you dealt with last year was something that you forbid to speak about. You forced the friendship back to how it had been after he left you. His reasoning? Being too busy to be a good boyfriend to you, claiming you only deserve the best and he couldn’t offer that to you at the time.

That devastated you. After spending months together, sneaking around with him and not admitting to your friend group that you two had something going on. It was exciting. The adrenaline you felt when he snuck a kiss at a party, and then when you tiptoed out of a closet to avoid being caught by anyone after you two hooked up in it. For the last year you ached for that kind of thing again, but mostly because you wanted it to be more real than anything it had been before.

You knew that you’d never be able to go back to being strictly friends after that. And you were okay with that fact.

II’s eyes eventually landed back on yours, the blue dimmed in the light and by the emotions he felt. Your hand reached out to caress his cheek as gently as you could, as if any kind of touch would be enough to fully break him. “I still love you too.” His eyes widened and suddenly he engulfed you in a hug, his body bent over to hold you tight to his chest. “Your rib.” You say as you hold him.

“I don’t care.” His words are muffled by your neck. He pulled away ever so slightly and looked down at you. You leaned up and closed the space between your lips, pushing them together so gently that you could barely feel his. He pressed you closer with his hand that rested against the back of your head, sealing the kiss more.

After a moment you pulled away. “You should care because I know that rib is absolutely killing you right now.”

He smirked. “Actually I don’t feel a thing. Looks like the best pain killer is kissing you.” He leaned in again and kissed you, more and more. “I missed you so much.” He whispered against your lips.

“I missed you too.” You said, running your hands through his blood caked hair.

“I want you to be mine forever.” His voice grew a little bit slurry, indicating that the concussion was making itself known.

“Let’s get you to the hospital before you start making any promises.” You kissed him again and climbed out of his lap, heading to the door and opening it. The club had gone quiet, most people had left and the mess of the fight was still covering the floors. You were shocked to see one of the men still hanging by the door, he was on his phone when he noticed you come out.

“How’s he doing?” He asked, standing up to his full height.

You smiled. “He’s okay but has a pretty bad concussion and a broken rib. So we need to get him to the hospital.” The man nodded and went into the bathroom, getting II up via your instructions to make sure he didn’t hurt his rib any further.

You lead them out of the fight club, soaking in the fresh air as much as you could. The guy luckily had driven himself here and was more than willing to drop you off at the emergency room, and even offered to stay around so you could get home and shower the blood off.

“I’m alright.” You said. “Thank you, though. I honestly don’t think I can thank you or your friends enough for helping me tonight.”

The man nodded. “It’s our pleasure. II is a good man and we hated to see him go down that way.” He turned to leave. “You take care.”

“You too.” You smiled as you watched him leave the ER. The doctor you usually work with found you and asked you to go over everything that happened. So you did, leaving the team to work on II’s injuries.

A few hours had passed and you sat beside II’s bed in the ER. Your coworkers were kind and got you a fresh pair of scrubs to change into, since your clothes had become caked with his blood and you refused to leave and go home. You had been right, II’s rib was broken and he had a severe concussion from all the punches he received earlier. The wound on his forehead was stitched up and already looking a little better.

“You look good.” His voice was raspy as he woke up. You reached for the cup of water that the nurses left for him, and helped him drink it. “Thanks.” He said.

“You’re welcome.” You put the cup down and rested your hands over his. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a truck.”

You smiled. “Well yeah, you almost did in a sense.” He chuckled as you pushed back the hair that had fallen on his forehead.

“Thanks for taking care of me.” He whispered.

You smiled. “I’ll always take care of you.” You leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“You know I wasn’t talking out of my ass earlier.” He said, caressing his thumb over the back of your hand.

“It’s okay, II. I know what you-”

He shook his head. “No. I mean, I do want you to be mine forever. Actually, I need you to be mine forever. I don’t think I’d know what to do if you weren’t.” You blinked back the tears that threatened to break, and stood up to lean over and kiss II.

“Then let’s search those skies forever, II.” He smiled against your lips and pulled you closer, to the point where you eventually climbed onto the bed with him and snuggled up to his side.

“I can’t wait to get out of here.” He said, kissing you more and more.

You smiled. “Why’s that?”

He poked your side. “So we could get back to what we were really good at doing.” He winked at you and you laughed.

“You’re ridiculous. Heal that rib first and then we’ll talk.” You say and poked him right in the spot you knew would hurt.

He flinched a little. “Alright, alright. You’re the boss.” He kissed your head and pulled you closer again. This time, your eyes grew heavy and the exhaustion weighed down on you. You fell asleep to the monitor that beeped, letting you know II was still alive and well, safe here in your arms.