#^^^ I know at least 1 other person has trouble drawing him so uh. *throws in tags*

[anothermonikan]

hey guys. guys did you know that Gabriel's face is like. consistent. guys. guys

[kate-m-art]

I'm disappointed in meself for not finding your amazing art sooner! I'm most curious about your AU and who Maggie is, perchance coulda infodump? *readies pen and notebook*

Oh my gosh this ask made me so happy you have no idea TvT Im happy you enjoy my silly drawings, and I'm always super happy to talk about AUs. I apologize in advance if this get super long and rambley though 😅

So Legacy AU is an AU my friend @scarin-aaarin and I are working on (please go check them out and support their work if you havent already, they're an amazingly skilled writer and come up with the majority of stories, plots and characters for most of the AU drawings I share. They're a freaking talented person and a great friend and I wouldn't be able to share any of this without them.) We kind of decided to go with the name "legacy" because it follows the Hero of Legend (the hero from Link to the past, the Oracle games and Link's Awakening) and explores the legacy he leaves behind; in this story that's his family.

I suppose there are kind of two different branches to the story we've been exploring. The first follows the Hero of Legend himself post adventure and how his life went, while the other follows his descendant (also named Link, although we nicknamed him Autumn) who has also been called into the role of the hero. Autumn is pretty grossly under-prepared though so he ends up getting some help from someone's who been through it many times before.

In this AU Legend kind of gave up the hero title and hid all his items away after he had kids. It was way more important to him that his family stay safe from those that wished the hero harm than that he had any lasting recognition or glory for his adventures. He only wanted to be remembered as husband and father, with all traces of connection to the triforce or Ganon as hidden as possible. Even his family didn't get to know where the crown laid him to rest after he passed,,,

Magnolia (Maggie for short) is the Hero of Legends wife and Autumn's great great great (many more greats) grandmother. She's a great fairy who wanted more out of life than to be tied to a fountain for eternity and gave that all up to explore the world and find her own path. She ran into Link a few times during his travels, saved his life on at least one occasion with her healing and I suppose the rest is history 😅 (gosh there's so much more I could get into with these two, for now I'll link to different times I rambles about the two of them here and here)

We were inspired to make Maggie a fairy because it says in Hyrule Historia that the Hero of Hyrule from LoZ 1 and 2 is thought to be a descendant of the Hero of Legend. Since Hyrule can use a spell that turns him into a fairy in Zelda 2 and has very strong raw magical capabilities, I've always liked the idea that he had fairy blood in him. And how interesting would it be if that came from the same line as the hero's blood?

And uh yeah! They have three kids, all of whom inherited some kind of magical ability from their mama. (My gosh Legend thought he had seen everything life could throw at him traveling the world but marrying a fairy and having three half fairy half hylian kiddos? askdkdk surprises never stop akdk). Eileen and Gayle are twins and the oldest two. Eileen is a hyper bundle of energy and a free spirit, and she inherited her mama's love of sweets and her ability to fly (without the wings though.) Gayle is a bit quieter than his sister and has healing magic (although he's also a bit squeamish and doesn't like seeing people and creatures hurt so it's a bit of a struggle sometimes.) Also! Both Autumn and the Hero of Hyrule would be descended from Gayle ♡

Then little Lir, I adore her so much. She's a sweetheart with water magic that she has some trouble controlling. I just learned a few days ago and still have to incorporate it into some sketches but Lir is deaf and only speaks through sign. Her parents call her their "little" both cause she's the youngest and cause she inherited her mama's small stature TvT

Aahhh there's so much more but I think that's the basics so I'll stop there for now! But yeah, I care this family so so much. That his family was happy and loved him, that's really the only legacy Link wanted <333

[aurora077]

Securing Sect Leader Jin

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13926514/1/Securing-Sect-Leader-Jin

Chapter 1 - Before securing Sect Leader Jin, you must first secure the donkey.

Disclaimer: This will be a mix of canons so like in CQL, Wei Wuxian goes travelling after the temple’s events. However, he has been resurrected in Mo Xuanyu’s body rather than his own, like in the novel. Also I do not own MDZS/CQL that belongs to MXTX.

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“Wei Wuxian?! What are you doing here?” Jiang Cheng scowled.

“Shhhhhh! They’ll hear us!” he hissed, barely refraining from clapping a hand over Jiang Cheng’s mouth. That would have certainly gotten them caught because Jiang Cheng would probably have murdered him on the spot.

Jiang Cheng reluctantly shut up but glared fiercely at him. The effect was rather lessened by the fact that they were both hiding like thieves behind a large bush and spying on their nephew.

“Wen Ning couldn’t come today so I’m following the juniors in his place,” he whispered.

It had been a few months after the incident at Guanyin Temple, and while travelling was something he’d always wanted to do, he could admit to himself it was a bit lonely when his only company was a recalcitrant donkey. By chance he had stumbled across Wen Ning and A-Yuan who had just set out on their journey to give the Wen Remnants a proper send off and Wen Ning had expressed his dismay that he would not be able to look out for Jin Ling during night hunts while he was gone (he still felt guilty for being partially responsible for the death of the boy’s father and had dedicated himself to keeping him safe, especially since Jin Ling seemed to have forgiven him). Wei Wuxian had enthusiastically volunteered to be his replacement while the newly discovered uncle-nephew pair took the time to bond with each other. “Everything will be fine Wen Ning, you’ll see! I’ll be Jin Ling’s guard until you get back!”

It had reassured Wen Ning only partially, because while he could agree that Jin Ling would be safe, he worried that Wei Wuxian would not be. Far be it for him to comment on Wei Wuxian’s choices but he did worry for his friend who had no self-preservation skills whatsoever. But regardless, Wen Ning went along with A-Yuan and trusted that Wei Wuxian would keep both Jin Rulan and himself safe.

He did however forget to warn Wei Wuxian that he might bump into Sect Leader Jiang, who  took his nephew’s safety very seriously and followed him along on night hunts (in secret because Jin Ling was now Sect Leader Jin and he felt it was beneath his dignity to have his uncle trailing after him the entire time.)

To Jiang Cheng it just seemed like his little nephew was whining about being ‘a big boy now jiujiu’ and ‘you don’t have to hold my hand anymore jiujiu’ (well Jin Ling hadn’t used those exact words but Jiang Cheng had on jiujiu-coloured glasses). Jiang Cheng, of course, disagreed with Jin Ling’s assertion that he didn’t need to follow him. Being Sect Leader Jin actually brought Jin Ling even more danger than before because his position was not solid and many people wanted to kill him to take over the sect themselves or to destabilise the sect even more than it already was. So like it or not, when Jin Ling was on a night hunt, Jiang Cheng would be following closely behind. No assassin was going to get Jin Ling on his watch!

Luckily for our two stalkers the night hunt was relatively simple and Jin Ling, together with the loud Lan and the lone Ouyang with any sense in his head, had finished it up swiftly and they were just looking for an inn to stay the night before heading back to their sects in the morning. The boys got their rooms and tiredly went to take baths before dinner, unaware that they had been followed. This left Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng standing awkwardly outside the inn (because they couldn’t stick too close, they’d be noticed!), neither knowing what to say to the other. It was much easier back in the forest where they couldn’t speak because neither wished to be caught skulking around.

“Ah Jiang Cheng could you um….” Wei Wuxian rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “Uh, nevermind…”

“What is it?” “It’s nothing, don't worry,” he said nervously. He was always nervous around Jiang Cheng now. Their days of easy camaraderie were a thing of the past.

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, “Just spit it out!”

That was familiar enough that the words spilled out before he realised it. “Uh so I left Lil Apple tied at the edge of the forest and I need to go feed him or he’ll get cranky and will wake up the entire town with his braying tonight. I just wondered if you would maybe, um..reserve-a-room-for-me-as-well when you go in…” he said, rushing the words, then stammering, “B..but it’s okay if you don’t want to! I’ll just try to get one afterwards, if they have any left by then haha.”

“Still travelling with that ridiculous donkey then are you? I thought you’d be holed up in the Cloud Recesses with Lan Wangji. Didn’t you leave together with him?” Jiang Cheng scoffed.

“Hehe, well Lan Zhan is busy, you know. Zewu-Jun is in seclusion so he has to help Lan Qiren run the sect.” “That doesn’t explain why you’re not there with him. I mean I never expected you to fall for Lan Wangji of all people especially when you’d have to live in Cloud Recesses with their 4000 rules and Grandmaster Lan who hates your guts, but hey there’s no accounting for taste.”

“Hey! Lan Zhan is great! Anyone would be lucky to have him even with their 4000 rules. And I told you, we’re just friends, it’s not like that,” he replied, pouting slightly. The truth was Lan Zhan hadn’t asked him to stay and he… well he didn’t want to impose. He’d already caused Lan Zhan so much trouble, with his sect and otherwise. It’s not as if he could have stayed forever anyway, he wasn’t a Lan and Jiang Cheng wasn’t wrong, Lan Qiren did hate him.

“Right, so you bowed in the ancestral hall for no reason other than to pay respects together with your “very good friend”, nothing more to it?”

“Exactly!”  he replied brightly.

Jiang Cheng huffed in disbelief but didn’t pursue the matter. He couldn’t tell if the sarcasm was lost or if Wei Wuxian was being purposefully obtuse. But whatever, far be it for him to help out that condescending, Wei Wuxian-stealing, Lan Wangji anyway.

“What have you been doing if you haven’t been in the Cloud Recesses then?”

“Oh you know, just travelling here and there. Seeing the world. All that good stuff. Experiencing the life of a rogue cultivator.” He didn’t really have a place to go back to after all, travelling was all he could do, but it felt pathetic saying it out loud.

Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow, “Then how did you land up back here, checking on A-Ling? Isn’t that what The Ghost General does now that he has more free time than he knows what to do with? What could he have possibly been busy with that he had to ask you to do it? Not like he needs to eat or sleep.”

“How did you know Wen Ning does that,” Wei Wuxian asked, surprised. Jiang Cheng scoffed again, “Who do you think I usually end up behind bushes with Wei Wuxian? I’m surprised he didn’t warn you that I would be there.”

Wei Wuxian grinned slyly, “Behind bushes with Wen Ning huh, and here I thought you didn’t like him.”

It took him a second but the comment registered and his face turned red. “Wei Wuxian you..!”

Jiang Cheng was ready to throw hands. Wei Wuxian laughed and dodged and for a second the sense of familiarity was so strong it felt like no time had passed at all. But the moment soon evaporated and they were both left feeling wrong-footed. Wei Wuxian shifted nervously once more, fidgeting with his sleeves.

Jiang Cheng cleared his throat, “Well anyway your picky donkey isn’t going to feed itself is it? Get going Wei Wuxian! I really don’t need to wake up to the sound of an angry donkey in the middle of the night.”

“Right, well uh I’ll just go.. do that...” he dashed away quickly to escape the awkwardness.

Jiang Cheng sighed forlornly. It never used to be so difficult to be around each other. But he didn’t know how to interact with Wei Wuxian anymore. He’d fall back into his natural mode of grumpiness only to realise that instead of laughing about it Wei Wuxian would get nervous. Like just now. When he literally ran away to go spend time with a donkey instead of Jiang Cheng. Once upon a time he used to be the stubborn ass in Wei Wuxian’s life. Oh to get replaced by an animal! Called Lil Apple! Who’d bite his master if he displeased it! At least Jiang Cheng didn’t bite. He pouted internally. Shaking himself out of his thoughts as a large group of people passed him by to get into the inn, he made his way to the counter, even more annoyed now that he’d have to wait in a line to book a room. He’d normally warrant attention because of his status but it was crucial that he keep a low profile at the moment thus he didn’t draw the innkeeper’s attention to himself. As such, he ended up not-so-patiently waiting in line like a normal person.

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian felt like he could breathe freely again. “Ah Lil Apple, at least I know what to expect with you,” he said, trying to pat the donkey and almost losing a finger for his efforts. “Fine, fine, you only want me for the food don’t you?” he groused, pulling out a few apples and leaving them on the ground. “You’re a smart donkey aren’t you? I’ll be back in the morning so be sure not to eat them all at once or you’ll be stuck with this forest grass.” Lil Apple brayed contemptuously. “Oh don’t use that tone with me! Do you want to go back to the Cloud Recesses and share with the bunnies instead?” Lil Apple side-eyed him but took a deliberately slow bite out of an apple to show he understood the threat and would heed his master’s words, but that he did not appreciate it. When he was in the Cloud Recesses those darned furry rodents had covered almost every inch of grass and he could not get a bite in between. He had unhappily brayed, hoping to get some of those carrots the young humans would bring for the rabbits to sate his hunger, only to be unceremoniously tossed out when his master came back because the older white clad humans had been annoyed by his hungry cries. One of them in particular, the one with a tail on his face, also seemed to hate his master. He made sure to spit on his robes before he left. Only he could dislike his master. He really did not want to go back there, so he just ate his apple mutinously.

Satisfied that Lil Apple would be sated and would not cause a disturbance, Wei Wuxian made his way back to the inn.

“You there, with the flute!”

“Who me?” he asked, surprised.

“Yes, you. Your companion has booked you room 13,” said the woman, who he realised was the innkeeper, “He’s ordered dinner to be brought to the room when you arrive, so you should probably head upstairs. Dinner will be served in thirty minutes.”

So Jiang Cheng did reserve a room for him after all. He let out a sigh of relief. He’d wondered on his way back if he’d come back to find that he’d been left to find another inn as this one would surely have been full by the time he got back (he had sat for a while just chilling with Lil Apple). He’d even been ordered dinner. Jiang Cheng was being particularly generous. He wondered how he’d pay him back though. The silver Lan Zhan gave him was running kind of low.

He opened the door to room 13 (which he suspected was close to the juniors’ rooms given that it seemed to be one of the inns’ better ones) and came face to face with Jiang Cheng. He startled a bit but before he could say anything Jiang Cheng scowled, “There you are. I was wondering if you’d decided to disappear with the damn donkey. What took you so long? Don’t you know it’s a chilly night? What if you catch a cold with that weak body of yours?”

“You were looking for me? I was just reassuring Lil Apple, nothing major. Thanks by the way, for ordering a meal. And for the room. I promise I’ll pay you back as soon as I can. You can go back to your room, I’ll be fine, I’ve lived through worse than a cold night,” he said,  touched that Jiang Cheng had come to check on him.

“I am in my room,” Jiang Cheng said nonchalantly, “And don’t be ridiculous, did anyone ask you to pay? Dinner will be here soon, you should probably go wash the eau de donkey off of you before it arrives.” “

“Oh. Sorry, I must have gotten the wrong room then, which one is mine?”

“You are also staying here.” “Huh?” came his bewildered reply. Did Jiang Cheng just not want to bother paying for a room for him? He’d still be grateful for dinner and at least the floor of the inn was clean as opposed to outside in the dirt but he couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened. He had gotten his hopes up for a bed.

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, “Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. There were no other rooms left. So you can either suck it up and share with me for a night or go sleep on the donkey.”

When Wei Wuxian looked like he might actually be considering going back outside, Jiang Cheng’s scowl returned with a vengeance. “Oh I see how it is. You can go gallivanting around half the jianghu, sharing rooms with Lan ‘just a friend’ Wangji but you can’t stay one night with me, who you lived and shared a room with for years before...shit happened.”

“Th..that’s not it! And how do you know that anyway?” he sputtered, slightly impressed with Jiang Cheng’s knowledge of things that he wasn’t present for given that he didn’t think Jin Ling talked with his uncle about that time in their lives.

“Juniors talk to each other on night hunts, Wei Wuxian. I have overheard some conversations.”

Ah. Eavesdropping. He was slightly less impressed.

“A..anyway it’s not like that!”

“Then what is it like? You got him drunk and he tied you up with his forehead ribbon and then you went to the same bedroom. You can’t seriously expect me to believe it isn’t a little ‘like that’.”

“What’s the big deal with everyone and that damned forehead ribbon? It’s not like I stripped him,” he huffed.

Jiang Cheng was astonished. “You mean to tell me all of these years later and you still don’t know?” Shit, he was starting to feel a sliver of pity for Lan Wangji.

“Look I know it was my bad the last time at the archery competition, but this time it really wasn’t me! He did it on his own. And he was drunk, he had no idea what he was doing. So whatever importance it has to the Lan at least this time I wasn’t the one who started it.”

Yup, that was definitely pity he was feeling. The poor sod. He absconded with him in front of all the sect leaders who would have been happy to think Lan Wangji was being deceived, hid him from said sect leaders, bowed in the ancestral shrine with Wei Wuxian, shared a bed with him, tied him with his ribbon, and still got called just a friend. Any lesser man would break.

But also, wait… “If it’s not ‘like that’ then why did you act all shameless and say he was your type?” Jiang Cheng grumbled, annoyed upon remembering that first day of meeting him as Mo Xuanyu. “And then go on to share a bed with him in Cloud Recesses and in all those inns?” he continued.

“You’re not still hung up on that, are you Jiang Cheng?” he pouted, “You know, I was just trying to escape; from both of you at the time. I didn’t mean anything by it. Don’t you remember how easy it was to rile him up when we were in Cloud Recesses? Anything I said or did was against the rules. He’d get mad so easily. I tried my best to scandalise him this time so that he would kick me out and I could go off on my own but I had no idea he’d grown so tolerant in the years I’ve been gone. I only got away from you because of A-Ling. As for him, I thought it would be easier to escape so I did things that would make him want to kick me to the curb.  But nothing I did helped me to escape. Not even getting drunk, in fact, he even joined me in drinking once! I never thought I’d see the day. Eventually we got caught up in the mystery and he stood by my side when things went pear-shaped. You know I always considered him a friend even though I thought he hated me. Turns out he didn’t really hate me after all! Isn’t that great? You always said he did!” he accused.

“He always seemed like he did! Even you agreed. He was always so stiff. It’s not like we could have read anything else from his perpetually stony expression. I had no idea how he really felt until...well...” Jiang Cheng trailed off awkwardly.

Clearly Wei Wuxian was also not keen on broaching the ribbon or the shrine topic so he sidestepped it easily and went back to Lan Wangji. “Yes, exactly. Lan Zhan is such a good friend. I’m really glad that he doesn’t hate me. I value his friendship very much so don’t badmouth him Jiang Cheng, okay? You can badmouth me all you like but Lan Zhan is a good person and he doesn’t deserve it.”

He certainly doesn’t deserve this level of obliviousness, thought Jiang Cheng. It was somehow both good and bad for Lan Wangji that Wei Wuxian didn’t realise it. If Wei Wuxian did not return those feelings and truly did see him as a good friend, he wouldn’t have to go about feeling all guilty and obligated about it because that would 100% happen and Lan Wangji himself wouldn’t want Wei Wuxian to bear that burden. On the other hand it was bad because Lan Wangji would just be there pining away with no definitive answer and getting his feelings inadvertently stepped on when Wei Wuxian did something that was like rubbing salt in his wounds. But hey, he still didn’t like the man so, not really his problem. Especially since he would have had no feud with him if Lan Wangji himself hadn’t started acting like Jiang Cheng was enemy number one. He would have thought Lan Wangji of all people would know better than to listen to rumors. Clearly Lans did gossip after all. Wei Wuxian on the other hand...well he’d been dead for thirteen years, he had to get his news from somewhere.

He had such complicated feelings when Wei Wuxian first came back to Lotus Pier, and even though the truth had not yet been revealed, he’d still wished they could somehow go back to the way they were. That was until Wei Wuxian broke their unspoken mode of communication (through arguing of course), by actually physically attacking him in his own ancestral hall. Though he was starting to realise that maybe their shrine talk had devolved so completely because of the presence of Lan Wangji. If Lan Wangji hadn’t been there without his permission then Jiang Cheng would have had nothing to say about him. But he had been an outsider in a private space and had the nerve to bow in front of Jiang Cheng’s parents with Wei Wuxian like he was family. It had rubbed Jiang Cheng the wrong way and his words were even more scathing than usual. After now being explicitly told that he shouldn’t badmouth the man in front of Wei Wuxian, he really believed that things wouldn’t have gone so poorly if Lan Wangji just wasn’t there. Wei Wuxian was always the type to get mad on everyone’s behalf but his own, and in this case, he thought highly of Lan Wangji which didn’t help. All Jiang Cheng was looking for was an explanation, instead he had gotten an unwanted show.

“Anyway,” Jiang Cheng deflected, scrunching up his nose, “Whatever my thoughts on Lan Wangji, at least the man is always clean. You stink. Go wash up idiot.”

“Is it really that bad?” he sniffed himself. Okay it wasn’t that bad, A-Cheng, rude! But he was smelling a bit like a barnyard animal so he went behind the screen to take a quick wash before their dinner arrived. There was a basin with water and a clean washcloth to the side. Jiang Cheng had already freshened up since there was a scrunched up cloth in the corner. He felt like he was having an out of body experience. How many times in their youth had they been in this situation? Him coming in all messy from creating mischief somewhere and Jiang Cheng chiding him while making sure he took a bath and didn’t get sick.  Jiang Cheng never said what he meant. Always scolding him but worrying about him at the same time. Back then they were carefree kids, a vast difference from their current situation but maybe, just maybe, that at least was still the same.

Back then also had two beds, he thought mournfully, as they finished up an awkward dinner and he was faced with the reality of having to sleep on the floor.

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Author's Note: So I had this idea and have been trying to finish it for the longest time, but I decided to post chapter one at least and see how it goes because it is taking me longer to finish than I hoped.

[ziracona]

The second of my ready updates:

The Kid (pt: 1, … 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 ?) [Fate Grand Order AU]

We don’t find Ritsuka where we left her. It’s easy to follow the trail of carnage back, but there’s nothing there when we arrive, and Robin curses and hits one of the walls, muttering something I can’t make out. I want to say something to help him, but I’m feeling too much the same way myself. At least she’s alive, but if they’ve caught her…

“I told her to call us! And if she used that much mana, she knew she was in trouble, and she tried to fight instead!” snaps Robin.

“It’s possible something else happened,” interjects King David, “Couldn’t she have found someone else?”

That’s true. That’s true, and that would explain a lot! God, I hope so. I really, really hope so. I try to sense for another connection to a new spirit, but again, I find nothing, just like I can’t find my master.

“Come on,” says Emiya, “We need her back either way, and there’s nothing to do but search. If she left, she’d have started from here and had to head r—”

He stops.

I turn and follow his gaze. A little ways down the hall in that direction, there’s a door whose entire lock panel is melted. Bingo.

“Come on!” I call, rushing towards it.

As soon as I get there, I start to push open the door, but Robin catches me by my shoulder, and when I look, he’s pointing down the hall. “That way.”

“You can sense her?” I ask, amazed.

“No, but there’s faint mana traces in the air, and I’m extremely attuned to my own signature,” he replies, “She was wearing my cloak when we left her, and I can sense it picking up here—the trail goes that way. This way!” he calls to the others, “I’ll trace it!”

We tear off after Robin, turning down halls and up an elevator shaft. Alarms are blaring, and I still hear shouts in the distance. We only hit one patch of guards though, on the floor we get off on. They’re kneeling beside the downed bodies of other guards, whose blood has begun to dry already on the floor, and we catch them by surprise, knocking them out easily. She wasn’t alone, then, I think as I hesitate once the guards are down before moving on, And whoever she was with, they’re violent. And she wasn’t in control of them.

Not Ur-shanabi is good. Violent and not in control is really, really bad.

We go faster. A blur of tense, desperate movement down halls and past empty rooms and faint traces.

“I sense her!” shouts Robin, skidding to a stop halfway down a hall and changing course, “This way!”

He’s right! I check and I can sense her again too—one floor above us now, and a few halls over. King David breaks a hole through the ceiling with his sling and we move up as fast as we can, following her signature. We’re getting close, and overcome with a surge of intent, I pull ahead as we’re right on top of her and round the last corner first, and she’s there! She's there! She’s alive! She’s alive, and then the relief is immediately replaced with fear, because there’s a tall man I’ve never seen before, a heroic spirit like us, with some very intimidating energy coming off him, and two unmoving bodies slung over his shoulder, one a second heroic spirit, and the other Ritsuka, both unconscious and limp.

I draw and let a flurry of bullets slam into the wall all around his head. “Drop her!” I shout, “Or I won’t miss the next one!”

The man spins on his heel to face me and takes a step back, and I see on his face he’s thinking fast as the rest of the group slides into the hall behind me.

Seeing so many of us, the man grits his teeth and summons a long, thin sword made out of something I’m having a hard time looking directly at for some reason, simultaneously tightening his grip on Ritsuka and the other body and turning to angle himself between us and them. “What do you want!” he shouts desperately, “Aren’t all of you spirits too? Why are you attacking! What, are you dogs for this place?”

“We’re attacking because that’s our master’s unconscious body you’ve got highly god damn suspiciously slung over your shoulder!” snaps back Robin, bow aimed and leveled.

Eerily calm, beside me, King David readies his slingshot with a kind of poise and concentration that is genuinely unnerving. I do not think he will miss.

“Your master?” says the man in disbelief, “Do you think I’m an idiot? Outside of a ritual, a human being can barely sustain one spirit alone, let alone a human child—and this girl is my master. –‘Our master’? You expect me to believe this young girl is sustaining not just two, but six heroic spirits at the same time, alone?”

Wait.

Ahhhhh shit. Shit! That makes so much sense. Whooo second time today I’m real glad my instinct is to threaten and not to shoot strangers that only might be a huge threat!

“I don’t know what you want her for, but you’re not getting her!” continues the man with a ferocious intensity that makes him feel daunting, even heavily burdened and so clearly outnumbered. There’s a surge of mana around him, and in one burst of energy the grey suit is gone, replaced by a black and red uniform with a cloak and a full face mask, and the pressure in the room itself has changed and I’m suddenly hearing unsettling whispers in the air, and ah shit shit he’s flinging both bodies he was carrying out behind him and going to move which can only mean heee—crap crap crap; he’s about to use a bigass area of effect noble phantasm, and everyone knows it, and it hits me I’ve got about a third of a second before somebody shoots somebody in here’n—

“Wait, wait, wait!” I call, spinning my gun into my holster and stepping into the line of fire for the first few people beside me, hands up and out, because I like to think we’ve all hit the conclusion I just did, but everyone in the group is exhausted and tense and I’m not takin’ chances, “This was a mistake! Nobody shoot!”

To my surprise, no one does—not even the new guy. He stands, so tense he’s almost shaking, sword still leveled, but whatever he was about to do, he doesn’t—the mana level in the hall holds, and he listens.

Behind him in the sudden silence, I hear Ritsuka and the other guy hit the floor and roll with little thuds, and wince internally. I keep my focus on the guy in front of me and my hands up. “Sorry—We jumped the gun on you there-outah concern for our master,” I say apologetically, “I know this is gonna be real hard for you to believe, but she really is our master too. –If you find that hard to believe, you can check for yourself!—'parrently if you’re co-contracted, you can sense the connection to each other a little—you should be able to sense it from every one of us. Sorry I didn’t notice yours sooner; with our Master right on top of you, I wasn’t picking up the weaker signal under such a strong one. I can find it now, though.”

Taken aback and mistrustful, the man hesitates, then very slowly lowers his sword just a few inches, and beside me I sense the others do the same with their weapons in response. Taking that as a good enough show of faith, the man turns his head towards each of us in turn to sense for connections, then cranes his masked head to look at Ritsuka’s limp form where she landed, and says, “But. That’s impossible.” The earlier viciousness is gone now, and the air pressure in the room returns to normal. Wheeew, thank God! I let myself relax.

“She’s an unusual person,” replies Emiya, “Usually, you’d be right.”

“No wonder she passed out after forming a contract with me, the poor girl,” says the man softly like he means it. I decide I really like this guy. Got less than no idea who he is, but he was gonna get himself killed just now trying to keep Ritsuka and whoever else he’s got there from gettin’ hurt, instead of droppin’ ‘em and savin’ himself, and he clearly already likes her, so what else do I gotta know?

Shit—speakin’ of—

“I’m uh—just gonna go pick her up off the floor then? If we’re all cool?” I declare just in case the guy hasn’t decided he’s on board completely yet.

“… Oh. Yes,” he says with a note of chagrin, turning himself to look at where they’ve landed.

I go to her as fast as I can, unsurprised to hear everyone else coming too. The new guy comes as well, but he goes to the other body.

When I reach Ritsuka, I’m relieved to see she doesn’t look injured anywhere, just a little bit pale. I take a knee and scoop her up gently, trying to make sure there’s no damage I don’t see.

“Well, you look like you’re in one piece at least.” Robin, speaking softly. I glance up and watch as he takes a knee too and looks her over too. She’s still wearing his cloak, and he touches the hood, which is hanging loose, then sighs and pats her on the head. “And you took it off, I see. But I guess your judgement was okay, since things turned out like this. I won’t give you the worst time when you wake up again. You damn fool.”

The others are above us too now, and I glance up at King David and Emiya. I stand up so they can see too without trouble. “She’s fine, right?” I ask, since they both do healing to some extent. She seems like it, but bein’ unconscious always means somethin’ ain’t quite right.

King David reaches over and places a hand on her face for a second, then smiles. “She’s alright—just exhausted. –Good throw!” he adds cheerily to the other heroic spirit, who glances over in surprise from where he’s just stood up again himself with the other body he threw in his arms, “I don’t think that even really bruised her!”

The man seems to consider responding, but have no idea what to say, and shuts his mouth and just kind of gives an awkward nod. He hesitates, then moves closer to get a look at how she’s doing himself.

I haven’t had a chance to get a good look at the second heroic spirit—the one he’s holding—before this, but I do now. And…it is grim.

Shit. Whatever they did to him, it was bad. Weird that after what most have been two months of absolute hell I ain’t comfortable enough with to look at, I still feel like I got comparatively lucky. Least I knew what was going on…

“If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly is a teenager like her doing here, and with six heroic spirits contracted to her?” asks the new man, glancing over at us.

“Uh, rescue mission,” says Robin, gesturing vaguely, “Happened to see that one in trouble,” he indicates me, “broke him out, summoned him for backup,” he indicates Emiya, “and they came back here to clean house. The rest of us were all in about the same position I expect you two were.”

“Ah, then is that why he’s…?” says the man, gesturing to our unconscious lancer.

Emiya gives a nod.

“What about yours?” I ask.

The unconscious spirit in his arms is in way worse condition than our lancer is—at least, he looks a lot worse. The guy’s body is covered in deep purple runes and markings I don’t recognize that glow and pulse faintly, carved into his skin, and his body is swollen horribly all over and covered in tiny red bumps. The bags under his eyes are deep and his face gaunt and hollow looking, even swollen, which is somehow worse than either would be on its own. His long blonde hair is lifeless, damp with sweat and caked to his body, and he’s breathing raggedly and weak. I have seen spirits in conditions as bad as this from wounds, in the heat of battle, but never…sick? I can’t think of any other way to describe this, but he looks sick, which we don’t get any more—and he looks terminal, at that.

“Yes. This is what they did to him. …I…haven’t been able to fix it all. I thought my master might be able to help me when she woke,” answers the man. He’s stayed in his armor and mask, so I can’t see expressions at all, but he’s got a trustworthy voice—real sad, though.

“Can I take a look?” asks King David, “I may be able to help.”

The man hesitates, then says, “Yes. Uhm. —alright. –Might I ask who the rest of you are?” like he knows it was stupid to still be untrusting at this point, but he can’t help it. I think he and the other spirit must be friends, because I can’t imagine him being this level of protective over a complete stranger, and it’s about how I expect I’d be with Robin or Geronimo.

“You first,” says Robin at the same time Emiya says, “After you,” and they both look incredibly pissed that the other had the exact same impulse.

“Right. My apologies,” says the man formally, and I buy that—he seems frazzled and stressed. “My true name is Antonio Salieri.”

God damn it. I try to smile and not let my absolute lack of knowledge show on my face. Now there’s two spirits in the party whose names I have never even heard—this sucks. It always feels low-key rude not to know. It looks like King David’s in the same boat as me, so I feel a little bit better, but Robin and Emiya I think recognize it.

“And him?” asks Robin. Emiya was definitely about to say almost the same thing, but he stops himself from overlapping this time and gets some kind of an expression on his face.

“—I’m Billy the Kid,” I interject as friendly as I can, because I feel like we’re pilin’ it on a little harsh here.

“Thank you,” he tells me, then turning to the others, “This is Mozart—Wolfgang Amadeus.”

Oooooh, the composer! That’s pretty cool. Robin and Emiya both get incredibly strange looks on their faces, though, and I know Robin well enough to tell he’s suddenly trying really hard not to laugh nervously. The heck’s that about?

“King David,” chimes in King David, oblivious to this and holding up a finger in greeting. Salieri turns to stare at him. Then he begins softly to laugh hysterically, and everyone gets real quiet.

He doesn’t seem to realize how weird that is, and just looks down at the body in his arms and says, “It appears once again God looks out for you only, and particularly.”

“Guys?” I prompt in the hopes of turning this conversation back to semi-normal, and because it’s kinda bad form not to exchange names once an ally tells you theirs.

“Robin Hood,” says Robin, punching his timecard back into the present.

“…Emiya,” says Emiya like he doesn’t want to answer.

Salieri glances back up, serious and normal again, and nods slowly.

“May I?” says King David again, and Salieri obliges. King David starts looking over Mozart thoughtfully, muttering to himself in what I’m pretty sure has gotta be Hebrew, and he flicks his wrist without looking and his kinnor appears by him. As I watch, he shuts his eyes and begins to play. It’s the longest and most intricate melody I’ve heard from him, and it’s fascinating to listen to. Beautiful. Nothing I’ve ever heard before either, and he sings softly with it in his own tongue. It’s…really incredible. I’ve heard some pretty good piano players and guitarists in my own day, but seeing somebody like this, you understand for the first time the concept of a genius on an instrument—it’s so unlike anything I’ve heard before, it’s like it’s a totally different thing than what I thought of as music. While he plays, the glowing purple markings start to twist and dissolve on Mozart’s skin, a piece and a few at a time from foot-to-head, and as they go, his body begins to repair itself. It’s a strange thing to watch, curses leaving a body, but it's pretty amazing too.

“Damn,” I whisper under my breath.

“You said it,” agrees Robin softly with a smile.

“So, uh?” I ask, focusing my attention back on Ritsuka and glancing over at Emiya, “Any way to wake her up?”

“You could smack her,” says Emiya offhand, and then there’s a half-second delay and he gets a look on his face that says very clearly he did not think before speaking and wishes greatly he had. He grimaces, and gives Ritsuka a glance, then reaches out with his free hand.

“—You ain’t gonna smack her, right?” I make sure—to bother him, not because I’m really worried he would.

Emiya sighs at me and I grin. He places a hand on her chest and I watch geometric patterns runs along her skin for a moment.

“She used too many circuits she wasn’t used to using,” he tells me, eyes still on Ritsuka, “Flooded them and burned herself out a little. –She’ll be fine, though—I’ve seen a lot worse of the same. I think it just tired her out, the same way an intense amount of physical exertion someone isn’t used to might after an adrenaline rush would. This should help her wake up.”

He removes his hand, and the patterns vanish. Ritsuka stays still for a few seconds, then groans and turns a little in my arms to snuggle against my shoulder, muttering incoherently, and I smile.

“Thanks,” I say to Emiya. He gives a nod. “How’s the lancer doing?” I add with a little concern. I really expected him to wake up again already. Emiya’s expression darkens and closes off.

“It’s complicated,” he answers after a moment, “But not well. …I can’t really fix what’s wrong with him; neither can David, and the problem’s not his mana supply from the kid. It’s what they did before, and don’t think any of us can fix it.”

“Not even with a command spell?” I ask, taken aback and feeling a chill settle on me. Thinking about him vanishing and getting dragged back here to…that shit again. We got to raze this place to a pile of ash. A part of me wonders if that’ll really be enough, though. We’re lucky in that mages tend to guard any breakthrough like hoard of gold, but at the same time, these mages are selling, and if they’re selling, god knows how much they were willing to part with for money.

Emiya shrugs. “A spell could forestall death a little, but they’re not really meant for repairing a spirit origin with a gaping hole in it. This is something that’d take time and experience to figure out, if it can be fixed. The good news is that he’s not going to die in the next few hours or anything, unless he takes a lot more damage—if there’s one thing he excels at, it’s being damn near impossible to put in the dirt quickly—so, we don’t have to rush for a solution while we’re here. If we stay focused and on task, we should have a chance after we deal with this place. And if not, so long as we bring this place down, he should at least be able to avoid being brought back here.”

He's really thought this through. I know he’s a tactical fighter anyway, even not having known him long, but something about the amount of detail makes me think despite the weird interaction they must be some kind of friends. I’m distracted from considering that any further though, because Ritsuka shifts a little again and opens her eyes about halfway. “Mnnn…” She blinks unevenly at my vest, then turns her head up and squints at me. “…Billy?”

“Heya,” I say with a smile, feeling immense relief seein’ her up, “Feelin’ better?”

“Oh?” says Emiya, moving in too, “You’re up faster than I expected.” I feel pretty sure that’s his version of saying he’s relieved to see her okay.

“I am?” asks Ritsuka, still a little foggy.

“Hey kid,” says Robin, leaning over from the other side, “I see you did the exact opposite of what I asked you to.”

“No I didn’t,” she mumbles, blinking and trying to focus, “I was gonna call. I almost did—when I thought I was in trouble. But it was okay. I met a new…Oh!” Her eyes get clearer, and she tries to sit up before realizing she is being held and can’t very much like this. “Antonio! I met this other spirit—did you find—“

“—Don’t worry,” says Emiya, “He’s safe and sound; we already met.” I move to accommodate her view. “He’s right over there with David and Mozart.”

Salieri and King David are both looking over already, and King David gives a grin in greeting but keeps playing. Salieri starts to say something, but Ritsuka does before he gets a chance.

“With—‘Mozart’?” she asks, face scrunched up, looking from him to the other three and staring with absolute blankness at them “—The…composer?? Where did he come from?”

Wait.

“Wait, you weren’t—you didn’t contract with that one?” asks Robin before I can.

“No—I never saw him before,” says Ritsuka, just as confused, “Do I need to?”

Ohhhhh—of course. Salieri didn’t think she could contract with more than one person, and he said she passed out soon as the two of them made a pact—we’re all idiots. I can’t believe I didn’t even think to check.

“Hey,” says Robin to Salieri, almost accusingly, “How’s your friend still solid?”

“I’m maintaining him,” answers Salieri, almost taken aback, “I can’t for long, but I can slow down his consumption. It’s a…” He glances back at Ritsuka and sees the same confused look on her face and his tone changes immediately, warmer. “class ability. Mana replenishment.”

“What class?” says Robin, in a tone that tracks, because I have never heard that one before either.

“…Avenger,” answers Salieri after a moment. ‘Avenger’? “You’re awake again,” he adds to Ritsuka in the most friendly tone I’ve heard from him, “Are you alright?”

“…Antonio?” asks Ritsuka, staring at him.

It takes him a second to realize why she looks that way, then he gives an, “Oh,” and flicks his wrist, and the helmet vanishes to reveal his face again.

“Oh—hi,” says Ritsuka, a little stunned still, “I’m sorry—I didn’t recognize you for a second—that’s really cool armor you have.”

He doesn’t look like he knows how to process or respond to that.

“I think I’m okay now. A little tired and sore, but pretty good actually—How about you? How are you feeling?” she adds. “Better? -I hope?”

Again, he seems taken off guard by the question, but he glances down at himself, then up at her. “I’m…alright. Certainly better than I was, at the least. Thank you.”

She smiles. “Good. Sorry I passed out before explaining anything.”

“Well, it’s no wonder,” he says, looking at the assembled people she’s keeping up, “And I think I’m fairly up to speed now.”

“Did you rescue him on your own?” asks Ritsuka, indicating Mozart. He nods. “And that’s Mozart? The composer?”

“Yes,” says Salieri with a very specific tone that I weirdly can’t place.

“Wow,” says Ritsuka. She hesitates and looks over the whole group before looking up and settling on me, “How long was I out?”

“I don’t think too long—maybe ten, fifteen minutes?” I suggest.

“You work fast,” she says to Salieri with a grin, “Thanks for saving him!”

Salieri, king of not knowing how to respond, looks back blankly for a moment then gives a hesitant nod.

“Uhm,” she continues, glancing up at me, “I think I can stand up now, if you put me down.”

“Oh! Sure thing,” I say, setting her down but keeping my hands up in case she isn’t as steady as she thinks. She’s not, but she catches herself just fine, then gives herself a second to get her sea legs back before trying to walk again.

“Sure you’re okay?” asks Robin.

She nods. “I’m just a little dizzy. I really do feel a lot better—I think I should be able to anchor another one of you just fine once he wakes up.”

“Are you sure though?” I ask, “You got six contracts runnin’ now, and the last one took you out for a little bit. –Don’t you think another one might knock you out even longer?”

“I don’t think so,” says Ritsuka, who in fairness is bouncing back wildly fast, “I know I passed out after making a contract, but I don’t really think that was why; I was already really faint before that—it happened during the fight with the gashadokuros—when that one popped out of the floor, and grabbed us? I think maybe it just hurt me a little or something, and I hadn’t recovered yet.”

“Oh,” I say, heart sinking a little.

“My ribs feel fine now though!” she assures me.

Yeah, I don’t really think it was the gashadokuro that did it. I feel kinda guilty, too, because I knew when I did it I was putting all of us at risk of vanishin’, but what else could I have done? …I mean, we were about to get smashed, and she’s supposed to be my top priority as a servant. Even though she said that ain’t what she wants, if I’m just pickin’ my own priorities for me, that’s still up top. Plus, we all made it, so it turned out okay.

“That was me, I think,” I admit.

She blinks at me and tilts her head.

“I used a noble phantasm,” I explain, “I’m sorry—I knew you were tapped out already, and we’d agreed we’d all have to not, because of about what happened when I did, but I didn’t see another sure way out of you and me gettin’ smashed—and it did work! And turned out fine—so.”

“But. I thought yours doesn’t take much mana?” she asks, confused.

“Well, Thunderer don’t,” I explain, “But I got more than one. Whole lot of us do. And they ain’t the same.”

Beside me, Robin gives a nod.

“Oh.” She thinks about that, then beams at me. “Well wait, that’s great then! If that’s all it was, I don’t have to worry about making contracts!”

I smile back.

“Oh—how’s the lancer doing?” asks Ritsuka, turning to Emiya, seeing for herself how he’s doing, and face falling a little, “He’s still not awake?”

“He was for a little, but he passed out again—probably when you did,” answers Emiya, “He’s weak, but he’s holding on. In his condition, it’s just going to take more of a mana flow to keep him awake than the rest of us.”

“Okay,” says Ritsuka thoughtfully, “Well. Since I’m awake, that means he’ll probably be feeling better again pretty soon too, right?”

Emiya gives a nod.

I wonder why he doesn’t tell her. I guess he doesn’t want her to worry about something she can’t fix, but I think she should know. I would tell her now, if Emiya and the lancer didn’t seem to be some kind of weird friends, because that means he might know and be doing what the lancer would want if he was up to pick for himself.

“Okay—can you let me know as soon as he wakes up?” she ask. He nods. “Did the plan go okay?”

I give a nod, and Robin says, “Sure thing—we left them on an upper level, made sure to give personnel a chance to flee, but scare them enough to motivate them. It’s gotten quiet too, so I expect they’ve un-summoned the things.”

“That’s amazing!,” she says, “Wow, everybody did a really good job on their own. Thank you—OH! Wait—Mozart—this means we’ve got all seven—six, I mean, right? –One for each catalyst?”

“Think so,” I agree.

“I haven’t sensed any more of us,” adds Emiya slowly, “Which should mean all that’s left is bringing the building down, and destroying research. Taking care of staff.”

Ritsuka looks worried by the last note there, but she nods seriously.

“So we go looking for heads of staff next?” I ask.

Emiya gives a nod.

“We should find the security office then—checking the tech will probably be the quickest way to find them,” says Robin, then with a sigh, “Damn shame we didn’t pick up an assassin. They’d have come in real handy right about now.”

Ritsuka turns to Salieri and David, I think because I’m gettin’ more used to her problem-solving style, to ask about Mozart’s class in case it’s Assassin, but when she gets a real look at Mozart with her full sense intact, what she was gonna say goes right out of her head and she freezes and just looks horrified instead. Then takes a little step closer and asks, “…What happened to him?”

“Some intricate curses,” answers King David, still playing his kinnor, “It’s a nasty bit of spell work, but I can undo it—I’m almost done. It’ll take a little for his vessel to repair itself after the curses are gone, especially with such a weak supply of magic, but it should work just fine.”

“We should get moving,” circles back Robin quietly to just Emiya and me, watching them, “The yokai scattered them pretty well for us, but that won’t last us forever. Don’t want to tempt fate here.”

“Which one was the kunai?” asks Emiya in the same tone.

“Huh?” I say, taking about five seconds to mentally shift subjects back to catalysts, “Oh. Uh.”

…Who was the kunai? I try to mentally figure this through. “Picture,” I say pointing to myself, then gesturing to Robin, “Coin.”

“Earring,” says Emiya, indicating the ones the lancer is wearing.

“Earring,” I echo in confirmation, then glance at King David and the other two. “…I…King David’s gotta be the pitcher, right? And one of them must be the letter, the other the knife—could Salieri be the kunai?”

“If it was a common dagger, maybe,” says Emiya, “But a kunai? For a classical Italian composer?”

He’s got a point.

“Let’s find out,” says Robin, then louder, to Salieri, King David, and Ritsuka, “—Hey—sorry, quick question. These people had six catalysts for sure, and we have found six of us now. But we’re not sure they match up. –Don’t want to leave someone behind, you know. So, aside from us, there was a pitcher, a kunai knife, and a letter. We’re assuming you weren’t the letter or the knife,” he adds to King David, who gives a nod.

“From that list, I would have to be the pitcher—it was probably an oil pitcher,” confirms King David.

“That leaves two, and two of you, but neither of you make sense for the kunai,” says Robin.

“No, we don’t,” agrees Salieri, glancing up from the body in his arms, “We were both the letter.”

“You were both the letter?” I ask.

“Yes. It was from him, about me,” says Salieri tiredly, “And it called us both.”

That’s the worst possible timing to get dual-summoned anywhere. Almost any other situation it would at least be nice to be in a foxhole with an old friend. Talk about grim luck, I think. “So we’re still one short?”

“…I guess,” says Emiya slowly, “Or they simply haven’t used it yet. It seems like most of you haven’t been here long yet, Lancer only a few days; we don’t really know what schedule they’re on. The research stations aren’t far from us or the security huh, though—If we go  there first, we can probably find the answer.”

“That sounds smart,” says Ritsuka hopefully, “Let’s do that—we can’t leave somebody.”

“So was that a success?” Robin asks King David, glancing over at Mozart. The composer looks a lot better now. The glowing curses are gone, and while his body still looks kind of messed up, it looks a lot less on the verge of death. I guess that’s in line with what King David said. Still, poor guy is still pale and breathing shallow and weak. Whatever the spells were, they must have been hell on him.

“Yes, his vessel is resetting itself,” says King David proudly. He lets go of his kinnor and it vanishes. “It was some intensely specific spell work, they have a gifted and dangerous mage on staff. The mental effects should be already gone as they were more curse alone than inflicted physical damage, but it’ll just take however long it takes for his mana supply to replenish him enough to heal the rest.” He absently pats Mozart’s head once which almost startles Salieri. “Poor man. They really did a number.”

“Will it be enough?” Ritsuka asks, glancing up at Salieri, “To heal him okay, if it’s just from you? –I’d form a contract with him if he was awake, but, I can’t—I could give you a command spell though, for the energy, if you need it!”

“That’s kind,” says Salieri, “but you should keep them for true emergencies.” He looks at the man in his arms fondly and a little sadly. “I can tell he’s bouncing back remarkably fast as well, for all the damage done, so I expect he’ll be alright in a short time if things continue the way they are. He won’t be in danger of vanishing before that happens.”

“That’s good,” says Ritsuka, clearly relieved.

“We should get moving, then,” Robin almost interrupts, “We’ve already been in one place too long, and we can’t afford to lose momentum—especially if they’ve got tricks like earlier at their disposal. They seem to have temporarily lost us, and I’d love to keep it that way.”

“Right,” says Ritsuka, straightening up, “Okay—if David’s done, then let’s go.”

David gives a nod.

“Could one of you carry him?” asks Salieri hurriedly, like he’s afraid we’ll take off first.

It takes me a second to get that he means Mozart despite how obvious that should be, just because it’s so totally out of left field as a thing I’d expect him to say.

“I can continue to sustain his mana if I’m fairly close, and I can trade—I’ll take that one,” he adds quickly, indicating the lancer Emiya has, which visibly throws Emiya more than anything I’ve seen since Ritsuka calling him ‘Dad’, “—I have no trouble fighting while holding someone, but if I keep Mozart with me much longer, I may kill him.”

…

“You’ll what?” says Ritsuka.

“I. May kill him,” Salieri echoes himself quietly, glancing down at the unconscious body in his arms.

“…But.” says Ritsuka helplessly. Yeah.

“I thought you were friends?” I ask, lost myself.

“We are,” agrees Salieri, “Or—I am. I. Was—it’s complicated. I, Salieri, was his friend—am, his friend, but, I, as I am now—as the thing that has been carved onto the throne, am also his sworn enemy.” He’s struggling a little. It’s strange. Aside from the one time he went into hysterics he’s seemed as normal as the rest of us, but it’s suddenly like he’s trying really hard not to completely fall apart—not in a crying way—like he’s frazzled and shaky mentally all of a sudden, and struggling to ground himself. It…makes me sad. Almost agonized, he turns to Emiya and Robin like some last-ditch hope. “Tell me—you recognized my name. What do you know it from?”

Robin doesn’t answer, but Emiya says, “Stories. About you killing Mozart.” There’s something about his tone. Low, and something else too. Between pity and understanding. I think he gets what’s going on, even though I don’t yet. Though. …I think I might be afraid I’m starting to…

“Yes,” says Salieri bitterly, “That’s what everyone remembers, true or not, and so it is what the Throne wanted, and what the throne got.”

Oh.

Oh God. … I—s-shit. That’s…I’ve heard of that happening before, sort of. I’ve met people, just a few, that were a little like this—people from stories so many folks believed were true, the throne grabbed someone as like them as possible, and twisted them—fucked with their personalities and memory and abilities, and threw them on the throne as only a little who they were before, and a lot who it wanted to force them to be, to try and make someone who never was. I hadn’t thought about that happening with personal rumor—public opinion versus the truth, but of course it must. Which is…awful. …

“But you didn’t,” says Ritsuka, a question, but not at all a ‘did you?’—it’s very much a ‘so it doesn’t make sense?’.

Salieri glances at her and smiles a little sadly, exhales slow. “No. I didn’t. But that doesn’t get to matter for me now. I’m an Avenger.”

“I.” Ritsuka looks at him, then us, settles on Emiya, “I don’t know what that means.”

“They’re…embodiments of resentment,” says Emiya in a level tone, “Unlike us, associated with a legacy of skills or feats, they’re tied to an injury or hatred from their life, and manifested as an embodiment of that rage and the desire to chase it—to avenge.”

“So…You’re. …trapped?” she asks slowly, eyes big with worry as she turns back to face Salieri. He watches her solemnly with a kind of resigned, quiet sadness I recognize very well. “As…the desire to. ...”

“Kill him,” finishes Salieri for her simply, “And a personification of hatred of him as well. Always.”

“That’s awful,” says Ritsuka.

He tries to smile at her. “Yes. But there’s no escaping it. I ask only that you take precautions, with both of us here. It will be difficult, perhaps impossible, for me to do so on my own.”

She looks at him, then down at the floor, fist clenched, thinking hard. “But,” she says desperately as she looks up at him again, “But you didn’t do it—you’re still you. From before. You remember everything, right? You said—And you think like you, and—and when I was unconscious, you went and rescued him all on your own; you didn’t kill him!”

“Yes, you could say that,” says Salieri quietly, looking at something far past all of us, and I think maybe long ago, before returning to the present, “But it would be as fair to say that I am only a small part of him—of who I was. And that I am also very much the fabricated Man in Grey whose purpose and desire is to kill him. As well as a manifestation of people’s lies, and their hatred, and my hatred of them for it. I am more than one thing; I am enough things now that I could not say with certainty which one I am even the most, or if I am one the most at all, or if I am truly any of them, but I can say with absolute certainty that I cannot be trusted to stay the one I or you would wish for an entire summons.” He looks at her sadly. “I told you when you offered me a contract that I am dangerous. Not to you, not if you’re careful. But I am afraid I will not be as useful as you would wish. Despite my best efforts…”

“But,” says Ritsuka again, “No—it’s not about that. It’s—"

“—Think of it as like a command spell,” offers Emiya gently, taking a step up to be beside her, “But woven into him on summon, instead of lasting a short time. Even if he’s still who he was, none of us can resist compulsion forever. That’s not his fault or something you can fix for him. It wasn’t added to his manifestation here—it’s an integral part of it. Let him be careful.”

There’s something he doesn’t say, but I hear it just the same, from his tone and his expression, and the one on Salieri’s face. That this is Salieri’s way of trying to be himself, by achieving the goal he’d have wanted, even if it can only be attained by keeping himself at arm’s length and gunpoint.

And I think he’s right.

Ritsuka I think gets it too, at least mostly. She looks from him to Salieri in distress, then lets out a breath and nods. “Okay. …I’m sorry,” she adds, looking up at Salieri with so much sorrow on her face.

He smiles weakly. “Thank you, Master.”

“Oh,” she says worriedly, “please don’t call me that—you can just call me Ritsuka.”

He cocks his head at her.

“Like I said before,” she continues hopefully, “I don’t want a servant—I just want to help.”

“Oh?” says King David, who I’m realizing didn’t get the pitch when we snagged him. He seems both amused and happy about this development.

“Very well, then,” says Salieri, with a little half-bow.

“Oh—and you—” she adds, “Do you prefer Antonio? Or Salieri? Or Mr. Salieri?-“

“Salieri is fine,” he responds.

“Salieri,” she echoes in confirmation.

“Alright then, let’s get moving—Like Robin said, we’ve already lingered here too long,” says Emiya, moving forward and offering an arm, “I can carry him.”

“Alright, I’ll take yours then,” says Salieri.

“I can take both,” replies Emiya.

“But then how will you fight?” asks Ritsuka.

“Oh for crying out loud,” exclaims Robin, cutting off whatever reply Emiya was about to give and shooting him a look, then turning to Salieri and holding out his own arms, “Here—I’ll take him.”

Salieri passes the body carefully to Robin, though he looks unhappy about doing it.

“Oh—your cloak,” says Ritsuka, taking it off and handing it to Robin.

He glances back and takes it with a wink, casually slinging it over his shoulder, “Next time I lend this, you might want to actually use the invisibility.”

“Well, I did as long as I could,” she tries, but he’s already grinning at her, and she gets she’s being teased and smiles back.

“Let’s move,” calls out Emiya, a little annoyed now, and he takes off. Robin follows, but Salieri and King David both hesitate and glance at Ritsuka.

“I got ‘er!” I call, snagging her with an arm and bolting off after the others. She makes a surprised sound between a laugh and a yelp and then grins at me. I think it must be fun, going this fast when you’re still a human. I woulda enjoyed it for sure. Really should bring her goggles though—what if we have to go really fast at some point? I file that away.

Behind me, Salieri follows close, King David taking up the rear. I’m very glad we got Emiya on the team, because he’s got a good sense of direction and an ability to channel his mana into physical objects to read layouts and mechanical workings. I mean, we’re all not bad at figuring the layout of anywhere as heroic spirits, but the level he’s on is truly impressive. Guess Ritsuka got the summon answer she really needed after all.

As one, we dart down halls and through an empty gallery. Instead of hitting the elevator shaft again, now that they know we’re here, Emiya snaps a hole through the floor above with his bow and just takes the fast route from point A to point B. I can sense people nearby and a lot of mana not far above us myself now. I take a corner right after Robin and by the time I’m in the next hall Emiya has already downed six of eight guards, and Robin is taking shots at the next two. They are quite a tag-team, but I have a strong feeling they would both hate being told that.

“They were surprised,” Emiya informs us mentally, “It appears the distraction with the gashadokuro worked better than expected—they seem scattered.”

We race through this floor, passing offices and closed doors. I sense a large amount of mana behind one, and Emiya must too because he stops to kick it down. There’s no one inside, but there’s an automated familiar defense system, and a bunch of little magecraft wasps fill the air in a swarm. My gut tells me they got some kind of poison, and I slide to the side to take Ritsuka out of the line of fire before taking some shots at the swarm from the cover of the doorway. I’m thinkin’ Emiya, Robin, and I can all easily deal with this, but it’s gonna be hard not to damage everything in the room doing so, when I suddenly hear the sound of a grand piano behind me and turn in I think the only emotion one can have hearing a grand piano where it shouldn’t be, to see Salieri with the faint glowing outline of a phantasmal instrument at his fingertips. His fingers flash across the keys with precision and incredible force, and myriad of little grey figures appear between us and the swarm and destroy them in a flash of light.

“Thanks,” I say, kinda stunned. He gives a nod.

Emiya has wasted no time and is already inside, searching.

“What? Why did we stop here?” Ritsuka asks me.

“Something with a lot of mana was inside—we couldn’t tell what,” I reply, then to Emiya, “What was it?”

“Yours,” says Emiya by way of answer, stepping back out and chucking Robin his coin, which he catches in surprise and then turns over in his fingers with a very hard to read expression on his face. “Yours,” he adds to King David, tossing a clay pitcher, “And yours,” he adds, handing Salieri a very old letter in a sealed package.

“Where’s mine?” I ask at the same time King David says, “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“I can carry it!” volunteers Ritsuka, “I brought a backpack!”

He can’t seem to think of a reason not to, and gives it to her.

“Yours wasn’t in there,” says Emiya, “Neither was the kunai, or the earring.”

Huh. I…guess maybe it means they were already setting up a circle somewhere, to try and drag me back. That’s a great feeling…

Nothing to do about it though, so I give a nod and let myself puzzle through that while we move towards our target. There are a lot of alarms going off throughout the building now, which isn’t good, but I am starting to notice as we go that the security cameras aren’t tracking our movement. Emiya was taking care of them earlier, but I haven’t seen him do that in a bit—I think we’re past caring. But…

We hit the end of this floor and move up again, right through the floor like before. I hear Emiya’s voice in my head say, “Focus up. We’re nearing the research stations.”

He’s right. The layout of this building has been fairly similar before now, long halls, large rooms, similar numbers of rooms per floor. Interspersed with open areas like walking intersections. This floor is different. We come up in an abandoned office room, but the second we exit it, I see a huge metal door blocking us. I can feel the enchantments on it too—and it’s not just blocking a room, it’s making the entire rest of this floor inaccessible. On top of that, the thing fuckin’ looks like the entrance to a bank vault.

“Talk about extra,” Robin says, thinkin’ the same thing I’m feelin’. He glances at Emiya. “Can you tell if there’s any weakest point to the bounded field?”

Emiya touches the field, and it seems to shock him. He snaps back his hand and shakes it, then reaches his hand up like he’s going to call one of his swords, stops, and grimaces. “…It’s strong, but it’s far from the best one of theirs I’ve seen. I could break it right here, but it might put too much strain on our master.”

“-Ritsuka,” corrects Ritsuka.

“Ritsuka,” he echoes in our heads. He studies the door, then places his hand on the wall beside it, just before where I can sense the bounded field begin, and I feel a surge of mana from him. “I can point you to the weakest spots in the walls, but you’ll have to break the outer seal with your phantasm,” he informs me, “The rest of us don’t have the firepower right now.”

“Let’s go,” I agree, setting Ritsuka down and drawing my gun.

Emiya summons his bow and blows through a wall on our left easily, then indicates a spot to me on the forward wall, about eleven feet beside the door, and 3/4th the way up the wall. “There’s humans past this. Be ready to fight,” he warns us mentally.

I step up. “Let’s do this here and now.” I feel mana from Ritsuka flood me and level my gun with a surge of energy, “Fire!” The bullets tear into the wall and there’s one moment where they’re there in the wall, stuck on the bounded field, still pushing forward but not moving, like watching a fish try and break free from a net, then the bullets win and the wall shatters in a mass of metal and magic shrapnel. Emiya throws up a shield that looks like flower petals to me between us and the debris, and the second the initial burst is over, he dives in through the haze of dust. We all go with him, weapons ready. And he was right—there are people. About six mages sit at workstations, two of them already on their feet, shouting warnings and sending spells our way. There are four guard on our right side, and I can hear more people in the next room too. The first mage up summons a line of long needles, and is tactical enough to send them flying not at Emiya, but at Ritsuka past all of us. I move to deflect them, but Robin does the same ahead of me, furious, knocking them out of the way with his bracer and drawing on the mage who sent them, sending a bolt from his crossbow into their shoulder. The next one is smarter, summoning two golems from the ground to buy time. Robin takes a shot at one just before Emiya physically collides with it, ripping it to shreds with his shortswords, then spinning on his heel and taking the head off the second one. Panicked, the mage starts to cast another spell, but I hit him in the side before he can, and he goes down. It is real hard hitting someone deep enough with a gun that they go down for good, but don’t die, but I am tryin’ my best here. For the little boss.

The other four mages are all up now, and the guards have drawn their guns. King David’s gone in a flash, reappears by the heavily armored group, and starts taking them down with a shepherd’s staff which has to be one of the most cool things I’ve ever witnessed. He’s so floaty. Keeps springboarding off their machine guns when they try to take a shot and kicking them in the head, spinning around in the air and bringing his staff down right on top of another’s helmet. Springboards off that one’s chest as they fall back, then off the first one he hit too to project himself towards the last two, ramming his staff into both their necks at once.

Pretty sure he’s got that covered, I turn my attention back to the remaining four mages. One of them has summoned an arc shield around herself and the woman next to her, while the other is firing bolts of energy at Emiya and Robin from inside, and the other two have split up, one using mana to accelerate their own movement and try to move to flank us, the other getting some distance and trying to coordinate with the others by firing off stuns at range. He actually gets a hit on Emiya’s sword when the guy goes to deflect it in the middle of bringing down a golem and dodging another bolt, not catching it’s a stun in time, but he shakes it off somehow almost instantaneously—That’s right. The bounded field didn’t do much to him before, did it? Or not for long. Maybe he did know what that was. He’s good at that kind of thing. I call behind me to Salieri to take care of the flanker, and take a shot at the guy firing stuns. He manages to summon a shield fast enough to deflect my first shot, but the second one shatters it, and the third slams him in the shoulder and knocks him hard against the far wall hard enough he goes down.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Salieri pull what looks like violin strings made of blood from out of his own neck, and use his sword like a bow. Bursts of magic slam into the floor in front of the mage trying to flank us, and they fall partway through the floor and are left unable to dodge the last shot, which slams them squarely in the head and leaves them unconscious. I hope. Haha shit. We forgot to tell him Ritsuka pleaded with us to go non-lethal, huh? Whoops…

Ahead of me, the mage in the shield realizes that hitting Emiya isn’t going to work, and takes a shot at the unconscious lancer on his shoulder instead to throw him off. This has the opposite effect. Emiya barely rotates to keep the guy on his shoulder from being shot, then flings his shortswords at the barrier with so much force it shatters, and he’s in there almost as fast, catching the mage by the throat and flinging her into the far wall. Robin slides in and sweeps the feet out from the other, then knocks her unconscious with an elbow.

“Next room!” calls Emiya, indicating the same door I heard noise behind myself. The faster we go, the less chance they have to set up defenses. It occurs to me all of a sudden we have not assigned someone to bodyguard Ritsuka—a potentially fatal oversight—and slide back to stay with her as ahead of me, Emiya takes down the next door.

“Stay close, okay?” I ask her, trying to reassure her because she looks incredibly overwhelmed. Guess for your average teenager this is a whole lot of intense violence.

“Y-Yeah,” she manages, a little pale.

Shit.

“Hey, Salieri,” I call to him mentally, “Forgot to mention—Ritsuka bein’ a soft-hearted teenager, really wants us to kill as few folks as possible.”

“I’ve been informed,” he responds the same way, “She begged me to be merciful when I went to attack.”

I check with the senses I have as a servant to see if I can pick up the sound of the guy breathing from here. I can. Damn, I think, watching Salieri follow the others, And you held back. Guess you really like her too.

“Don’t worry—we’re doing what we promised,” I tell Ritsuka, “I can hear the heartbeats. –We’re holdin’ back.”

That seems to reassure her, and she gives me a nod. I pick her up and run after the others. They’re already breaking into a fight when I make the door. Less people here—just a couple security officers guarding the room, two people working tech diagnostics of some kind at terminals connected to a very large databank, plus one mage who seems to be overseeing things. The tech workers have taken one look at us and gone for the smartest human solution—an attempt to surrender—and curled up under one of the desks with their hands over their heads. The mage is shouting at them, and us, and security. One of the security members tries to shoot us, but King David lands a shot from his slingshot down the barrel faster than he can pull the trigger, and the weapon explodes on the guy. Emiya launches a couple swords at the other and pins him to a wall. The mage throws up a hand and starts to summon something, but I cap him in the knee and he falls to the ground cursing, then gets a kick to the head from Robin that lays him flat.

Beside us, Emiya flips the desk the tech workers are under and sends it skittering across the room and they both scream and try to crawl back. He’s way too fast to avoid, though, and darts past them, hitting them both behind the neck in passing, and they collapse, unconscious.

Emiya informs us mentally we’re almost to the core research station. That means probably a lot of people.

“When we get there, we’ll be able to find out if they summoned the last one?” checks Ritsuka.

“Probably,” comes Emiya’s reply, “Unless they’ve predicted us and flushed the system, we should be able to, so the faster we go in, the better.”

“Do you think they know where we are right now? The defenses have been surprisingly uncoordinated,” says Robin, flexing his fingers absently to keep them limber.

“There’s something wrong with security,” agrees Emiya, “Like we guessed before. Whatever is happening, it’s clearly deliberate, and I think it’s likely at this point we can agree it’s not a trap—it’s someone working towards their own goal.”

“Oh yeah! There definitely is! Someone was helping me earlier,” cuts in Ritsuka, “—I forgot-“

“-You forgot?” asks Robin.

“So much happened!” says Ritsuka, “But yeah, you were right,” she adds, turning to Emiya, “Someone is either helping us, or trying to hurt Ur-shanabi—or both—because they opened the door to Salieri’s cell for me, and sent me a message to go in.”

“Oh my god and she went,” says Robin so quiet only I can hear him. I feel him. You’re so nice but that sounds like such an obvious trap, I think, feeling the same distressed emotion I hear in Robin’s voice.

She reads the look on our faces. “Well, it worked! And they didn’t try and hurt me at all,” she pleads, “So my intuition was right!”

“I understand trusting your gut, and I respect that,” says Emiya very tiredly, “But please. Don’t do that in every suicidal situation that presents itself to you?”

“—Either way, that’s good, right?” says Ritsuka, “It helps us.”

“It does,” concedes Emiya in an exhausted done, “Probably, anyway. I wish you’d given us the full version earlier, because we really can’t postpone hitting the hub any longer without giving them way too much time to flush information or prepare. Once we’re out, please tell us everything.”

“Right,” says Ritsuka with a nod, serious now, “Sorry.”

He returns the nod. Then gets an annoyed  look on his face. “…Shit, if whoever is attacking Ur-shanabi is tapped in enough they’re communicating openly and controlling security feeds and doors for extended periods of time, we might run into trouble trying to hit the security station to find organization heads. We might not be able to access their information there at all.”

Oh. Shit… “What then?” I ask, “We still try and figure it out if that fails?”

“It’ll be dangerous to try and comb the whole building, if it comes that,” offers Salieri thoughtfully, “We should move preemptively if we can.”

“He has a point,” agrees Emiya. He considers. “Robin, you’re by far the best scout here. You should split off and try and find any head offices or command centers they have, or any leads on where leadership might be that you can find. If security is totally down, that’s the best shot we’ve got.”

Robin gives a nod and flips up his hood.

“Will you be okay alone?” Ritsuka asks worriedly.

“Sure he will,” I answer for him, “I never knew anybody better at keeping a low profile in a tight situation.”

Robin snorts and gives me a smile. “Something like that. –Who’s taking the composer?”

“I can,” says King David, happily taking Mozart from Robin and slinging him over both shoulders like he’s carrying a sheep. I feel like maybe I oughtta volunteer, since I ain’t at all so far, but I’m even shorter than King David…

“Alright. Best of luck,” says Robin with a two-fingered solute. He activates May King and vanishes.

“Okay!” Ritsuka calls after him, “But if you get into trouble, call to me, and I’ll use a spell!”

I hear him laugh quietly. “Well if that ain’t familiar,” he says, the sound of a smile in his voice, and he’s gone then.

“Okay—let’s be quick,” says Emiya, to the rest of us, “Last time they figured out where we were, they sent yokai after us.”

[axemetaphor]

im definitely not ripping off my friend by making a list of au ideas i have no siree //gonna slap this under a readmore cause i. well i say a lot. all of the time. i tried so hard to format this Good but tumblr fucked me up i am so sorry

so first-off i know i already have one WIP AU (Auckland) on ao3 so i wont talk about That one cause like. spoilers. i actualyl have it like 80% created so its likely gonna truly get finished for once and i dont wanna ruin shit

the other one ive posted about is something me and ben (catgirlrepublic) have worked on together its not at all close to done or anything but it's. a fun little crossover. Between jdate and my fuckinuhm. Original characters story “Untitled Villains Project”. the sketches of the comic version ive started is actually my pinned post 👉👈 its like the first chunk of the story, i think half of part 1? yea.

Tldr john fucking Somehow is able t oget into contact with a certain curious scientist from another reality who’d just love to study the Soy Sauce, most certainly not for her own nefarious purposes

John and Dave meet up with the scientist, her name is Boss, and her lab assistant, Toxic, and after a bit of a preliminary Vibe Check where john determines her trustworthy (which Dave doesnt agree with,) the two agree to be taken to the world UVP is set in. from there they stay in Boss’s lab (big old fucking abandoned military lab). John and Toxic are fast friends due to mutual love-of-chaos. John n Dave get to fuckin, camp out on an air mattress.

The day after they arrive, the two get split up, not exactly intentionally; big plot points of UVP are liek. Fueled by Boss sending Toxic to go fetch her “research materials,” which are usually important artifacts

Fuckin side note i guess i have to explain my dumb bullshit: Boss’s, uh, field of expertise so to speak is actually fckin, basically the scientific study of magic and superpowers n shit like that. This shit’s all real in that world. Toxic’s got fuckin superpowers, so do 4 other main characters, whatever. It’s got a bit to do with spirituality, iss Boss’s hypothesis. So she has Toxic fetch important artifacts that might have “energies” to them. The thing is actually way more fuckin complictated than that, this is just Boss’s initial hypothesis.

Motherfucking anyways. So Boss gives Toxic a job to do, and John get excited about how Cool that sounds, and ends up going with Toxic, leaving Boss and Dave alone. Neither is thrilled about this. But Dave and Boss get to have a bit of conversation (while Toxic and John are off bonding and having a good time) and come to a… mutual grudging understanding of some kind. They still dont like each other though lmao

Theres gonna be deeper shit going on but we havent sorted it out yet/tbh havent like Written For It in a while but i still like thinking about it a lot lol

Also pretty sure our endgame is john and dave steal toxic and bring them back with em lmao boss is kind of not nice and toxic would most certainly be better off in Undisclosed. Actually theyd fucking love it. Theyd become a local cryptid im sure. Undisclosed’s mothman is a teleporting spike baby.

I have. Another crossover AU that i might. Post something about for halloween? Maybe? If i have it finished?

Crosses over into, you guessed it, another one of my original-character projects. God, am i vain or something?

I promise this is just because i think blue and dave should get to team up to beat up some monsters

Quick briefing on my fuckinuh. Original character story, this one doesnt have a name (yet? Idk lol my work never actually goes anywhere sso who gives a shit). It centers around two grim reapers, Red (26, bi woman) and Blue (22, aroace agender asshole). In this reality or whatever, grim reapers function kind of like low-level office workers. They get told who’s going to die + when by some middle-management types, and upper management only involve themselves when punishment needs to be doled out. These Higher-Ups can be seen as analogous to Korrok; they’re decidedly not human, never were, and fucking terrifyingly powerful. Additionally, grim reapers are sort of .. designed to be “background noise” people. In reality theyre supernatural beings and, uh, look Real Fuckin Weird (the whole deal has a neon aesthetic im terrible at drawing uwu) but most humans just perceive them like extras in a movie. A body’s there but the camera’s not focused on it.

To the narrative: the shit starts when Red n Blue get relocated to Undisclosed. Relocation is something that just happens every now and then to reapers; they usually work in teams, but they get split up into different cities to avoid any strong bonds forming (a counter-union strategy from the Higher-Ups).

Red, Blue, John and Dave end up running into each other for the first time in a McDonalds where John n Dave are getting some 4am “hey, we just survived another horrific monster fight” celebration burgers. John and Dave are the only two people who can see how… strange Red and Blue are. Nobody else notices.

John unintentionally pisses Blue off, leading to Blue whacking him upside the head with a dildo bat. They all four get kicked out of McDonald’s. Dave and Red both are less than thrilled

Blue and John end up resolving their differences, somehow. Red and Dave briefly bond over their dumbass best friends being, well, dumbasses. They all part ways amicably.

somehow-or-other (idk yet) they end up running into each other a few more times, and eventually john invites them over to his place, and the four (plus Amy now!) get to know each other a little better

while there, Blue gets a text about some guy who's gonna die and John offers to drive them to where that's gonna go down. they take him up on the offer and get to have a bit of one-on-one conversation

after that ordeal though Blue has had Enough of people and bails, leaving John to head home alone

theres a sort of mirror-development going on with the five of em. Red, John, and Amy would all like everyone to get along, though theyre a bit tentative about it (John moreso than the other two, actually, jsut cause. well Red n Blue could still be Sauce Monsters). Dave and Blue on the other hand do Not like people enough for this shit, and Dave's not unconvinced theyre Sauce Monsters. he will not trust them until proven he should

the story's kinda nebulous but i got an idea for some Shit going down that involves both Sauce Monsters and also the Higher-Ups to have some fuckin absolute chaos go down.

Oops! All Trans

Everybody is transgender. Everyone

Ive actually workshopped this one both with ben (catgirlrepublic) and ghost (ghost-wannabe) lmao its a fun lil concept ive had from the get-go cause i mean. What’s an internet tran gonna do other than hit all their favourite media with the Everyone’s Trans beam

Dave transitioned post-high school and faked his death for it. People go missing in Undisclosed all the damned time, after all. He moved to the next city over, transitioned fully, then came back as a completely new man. Yes i know this doesnt exactly fit with the “everyone knows David from high school” thing alright, hush.

Anytime anyone brings up John’s old best friend (pre-transition Dave) John throws an entire fit like an overdramatic grieving widow. Full-on sobbing “why would you bring her up?! I miss her so much—” to the point that people just stop bringing up because Jesus Christ That Sure Is Uncomfortable KJHGFDS.

This is a scheme he and Dave came up with prior to Dave leaving, though Dave hadnt exactly anticipated John putting on this much of a performance about it— but it’s stopped Dave from ever having tto hear his deadname again, so hey.

Amy transitioned sometime in middle school/early high school. Her family was super supportive and loved her a ton and most people just know her as Amy. she was super shy her whole life really so. Yeah. people just dont think to bring it up lmao also i Feel Like big jim would absolutely wallop anyone who gave her trouble of any kind

John’s nonbinary (genderfluid specifically) and not exactly Interested in transitioning ? like hes fine with how he is. mostly.

he came out to Dave in high school but hes not out to anyone else exactly. Maybe his bandmates. Probably any other trans person in Undisclosed knows, too, cause theyre safe to tell lmao. Johns mostly a “he/him out of convenience” kinda nb who’s cool with any pronouns but does prefer they/them most. Dave and Amy use they/them when the trio are alone

Also this is a totally self-indulgent caveat that i think would be great, Dave’s actually agender but because he's transmasc and transitioned when he thought there were really only two options, and being Boy at least felt less weird than being Girl, he just kind of assumed he was a dude. It’s only through a lot of (like fucking years and years hes probably in his 30s/40s when he puts 2 and 2 together on this one) talks about gender with John that he realizes he actually feels like No Gender. Masc aesthetic with none gender.

I Just Think It’d Be Neat Is All Okay

Also Amy came out to Dave about being trans early on in them seeing each other and his response was to get very nervous before blurting out “me too” and then just being too embarrassed to talk about it for the rest of the day. Hes got a lot of hangups on talking about it actually it takes years for him to get comfortable in that

by contrast when Amy comes out to John about it his response is to yell “EYYY ME TOO” and give her a big ol hug lmao

I think itd be neatt if Amy ran a like. Transfem help/advice blog on tumblr. Kind of helped-with by John who can give her transfem nb insight for certain asks. I also just think that would be neat.

Cowboy AU - i put this one last cause its got drawings to it actually. Theyll be at the bottom

Basically just. Hey you ever watched a western. I think they look neat

This is another one me n ben have come up with lol

The soy sauce and all that shit still exist, im not sure where korrok fits in yet but ill figure it out

Theres no real like solid narrative yet ? but heres the barebones of everybody’s arcs.

John

Johns an absolute troublemaker, Of Course. Hes wanted in several towns for absolutely stupid shit. Hes a loner who shows up, causes chaos, gets drunk, does some drugs, runs away if people get too mad at him

He definitely had the same kind of deal with the soy sauce as in canon— he was at some kind of party, somebody offered it, he took it cause why the fuck wouldnt he, now he can see monsters and shit

Hes kind of a mooch also. Like. dont let him stay in your barn man he’ll never fucking leave and drink all your booze.

He runs into Dave when they happen to just, cross paths in the same town. the bullshit John stirs up ends up involving Dave in a way that makes it seem like it's his fault too, and they both get run out of town

after that he just tags along after Dave. hes decided this guy's Cool he wants to stick around. Dave is pissed at first, but not enough to shoot him or anything, and eventually, John grows on him

Dave

Dave also is a loner but unlike John hes simply so fucking awkward and bad with people. He doesnt feel like he belongs anywhere so he just travels

He’s the stereotypical Lone Ranger tbh. He wanders from town to town, solving their problems, though hed deny its out of any moral obligation (it kinda is, a little bit, tbh. He does like feeling useful). He shows up, fixes things, leaves. He's kind of a legend but most people think he's hiding something dark. other people jsut know him as that guy who farted real loud in the middle of the saloon and promptly skipped town out of sheer embarrassment. you know how it goes with Dave

He ends up involved with the Soy Sauce when a snake (not Actually a snake,) bites him. The snake’s more like the wig-monsters, really. Anyway, it injects him with the soy sauce, he fucking trips balls in the middle of the desert, he can see monsters now

He runs into John and shit goes tits-up, as said, but they become traveling buddies after that. he'd never say so, but he's glad for the company, actually. it's nice. hes not used to companionship but he feels a strange kind of easiness hanging out with John....

not sure how the Monster Dave concept will like fit in to this reality but like. trust me i want it in here. I'll Figure It Out.

Amy

Amy’s been living in a town John and Dave end up passing through and she is very curious about these two new Handsome Strangers who claim to fight monsters and just kinda. Persistently tags along til they let her join for real

Her family’s all dead, unfortunately, just like in canon, and she’s been living alone for a few years before meeting John n Dave. she had nothing left in that town to stay for, she'd been fantasizing about escaping on wild adventures for a long time and this felt a little like a dream come true. (Dave still gives her a spiel about how Difficult it is, but really, her fantasies were pretty grounded-in-reality already. i jsut think thats how she is, yknow?)

Shes the first person to react to the whole “we see monsters” shit with a kind of “oh, okay. neat” kind of response lmao

John and Dave fix whatever the fuck is up with her town (maybe that’s where the Korrok shit can fit, who knows) and Amy ends up being integral to that. After, she insists they take her with them because “they need her now” and Dave just cant really say no. John too is very much "the more the merrier!" and hes actually glad to have another person along he loves people lmao

At the start she has long hair but after she joins them she chops it short with a knife for convenience

also she still is an amputee. justt. idk. it was a wagon/stagecoach accident rather than a car accident lmao. just to clarify since i hadnt mentioned it, i wouldnt rob her of her ghost hand or yknow. all of the significance to her character that Missing A Hand has. although also now im going to have to research what was used as painkillers way-back-when, but im betting shes still got, like, her pain pills, they probably had those, maybe i wouldnt have to try too hard there. old timey medicine could be WACK though,

Shitload

Yeah hes in tthis shit mostly cause i liked designing his cowboy self lmao

Hes a kid (like 16, 17, technically i think in those days that was more Young Man than Kid but whatever. Hes Young i mean.) who got possessed by the Worms out in the desert and, by his family’s perception, just went missing!

Hes also a wanderer, but he ended up at the same town john and dave met in, at that same time, and starts following them after, already aware of who/what they are.

He keeps his face covered 24/7. actually he covers a Majority of his self for reasons. kinda want him to be a slightly more horrifying Worm Entity rather than human idk,

I kinda dont have much for this boy yet sorry Shitload

images !

with some editing notes for me cause im doing a very specific aesthetic with this lmao. i might change some lil details/colours though ...... idk

im also kinda 🤔 about shitload's colour palette. i want things assoicated w the sauce to be black'n'red predominantly but i think his palette might mirror dave's too closely. also im working on a korrok design i jsut am too busy to draw it now

[kbstories]

impression//expression

“It’s not like Kirishima had come all this way to U.A. to immediately break the promise he made to himself upon arrival.

It’s just that Bakugou is as feral as they come, and the moment Kirishima recognizes it’s fear he felt crawling up his spine that day, he makes it his personal mission to face it head-on until it’s gone.”

(Or: Being friends with Bakugou Katsuki is anything but a linear experience. Kirishima Eijirou would have it no other way.)

Tags: Kirishima POV, Developing Friendships, First Impressions, Slice of Life, Character Study

No additional content warnings apply. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9.

***

Kirishima Eijirou had stared at the grin on Bakugou’s face when he pulled the pin in his gauntlet and thought: Holy shit, this guy is insane.

Over multiple screens, a good chunk of Ground β went up in a blast so strong the floor trembled with its aftershocks even here, miles away. Concrete and steel and glass were incinerated in a gust of fire and debris until all that was left was Midoriya’s crumpled form amidst plumes of smoke and Bakugou standing tall in the ruins.

The cameras shorted out once, twice before the image stabilized; the transmission remained silent. There was no sound needed to see how Bakugou’s grin got an edge sharper in the wake of the explosion.

Insane and absolutely deadly.

It wasn’t Kirishima’s first impression of him, per se. Certainly he’d had some sort of reaction to the only name ranked above his own after the Entrance Exams and the total sum of zero rescue points listed beside it. He can even remember the twinge of something in his chest after seeing that infamous quirk in action on day one – be it awe or envy or plain curiosity, that innocent question of How does it work, though? that accompanies most encounters with a new power.

Still: In those first few days, when Kirishima thinks of Bakugou Katsuki, he thinks of the mad glint in his eyes as he went above and beyond in his attempt to murder their classmate (or seriously maim him, at the very least).

In hindsight, having him play the villain was perhaps less coincidence and more fate, given the optics of what could reasonably be described as a shitshow. And, okay, Kirishima knows it’s not exactly fair to judge someone based solely on fleeting observations. His parents taught him better than that. Crimson Riot showed him better than that. It’s not like Kirishima had come all this way to U.A. to immediately break the promise he made to himself upon arrival.

It’s just that Bakugou is as feral as they come, and the moment Kirishima recognizes it’s fear he felt crawling up his spine that day he makes it his personal mission to face it head-on until it’s gone.

Endure and overcome, just like any other obstacle looming over the difficult path ahead. Kirishima smiles around the pencil he’s chewing on as Aizawa drones on, eyes trained on the uniquely tense set of shoulders across the room.

Yeah. Bakugou won’t even stand a chance.

*

It takes many cold shoulders, rebuffed lunch invitations and countless glares – and a villainous intervention Kirishima could’ve honestly lived without – for a rough voice to say:

“You there. Shark Teeth.”

The sun is starting to peek into the room as it hangs low and lazy in the sky. Class 1-A has just been released into a well-deserved weekend: Kirishima is very much aware his mothers want him home as fast as possible after what happened at U.S.J., and he’s throwing his things into his bag at peak velocity. Only after a tap on his shoulder and a subtle nod from Sero does he register it’s him Bakugou is talking to.

Perhaps ‘growling at’ would be a better description, but… semantics. Kirishima throws the guy a look and a smile over his shoulder either way, “Hey! What’s up, man?”, and given Bakugou’s eyes only narrow a little, he’s about 70% sure he’s not done something to land on his shit list.

Yet.

All Bakugou does is direct a decidedly less neutral look towards Sero, who jolts and stumbles over a quick “Um. Gotta– Yup, okay, bye!” before he books it out the classroom. Kirishima watches him go with some bemusement and a muttered “Dude”, not that Bakugou reacts to it in any way.

“Spar with me”, Bakugou says instead – demands, really – and Kirishima feels his brows tick upwards before he can stop himself, hands pausing in his quest to cram his notepad next to his books without wrinkling its cover page too badly.

“Uh. Like, right now? ‘Cause I can’t. Well, I could but I’m about to miss my train as is and I’d have to tell my–”

A slow blink, and even that is threatening when it’s coming from Bakugou. “No, asshole. This weekend, or something. I don’t care.”

Oh. Kirishima blinks. Something about Bakugou approaching him out of his own free will must be causing a substantial lag between different areas of his brain because– Oh.

“Wait. You wanna hang out?”

Maybe he could’ve hidden the clear surprise in his voice a bit better, that emphasis on you that sort of slipped in there without him really wanting it to. Kirishima’s heart sinks at the twitch to Bakugou’s brow that pretty much guarantees whatever he actually meant to say is forever lost to the ire perpetually simmering in that red gaze.

Well, it was nice knowing what going to U.A. is like. At least none of his classmates are present to see Kirishima’s inevitable – if incredibly untimely – demise.

Then Bakugou… rolls his eyes, exhales a harsh tch for good measure. “Whatever.” He shoves his bag further up his shoulder and, without a glance back, walks out the room–

Oh no, you don’t.

Out of all foolish thoughts it’s that one that shoots through Kirishima’s head before he grabs his stuff and goes after him. Bakugou somehow manages to maintain that no-fucks-given air to his gait despite how fast he walks, and Kirishima falls into a light jog to close the gap.

“It’s a great idea, man. Can’t have us going soft over the weekend! Plus Ultra, just like All Might said, right?”

Bakugou gives him a withering glance of a side-eye for his trouble. Kirishima notes the distinct lack of explode-y manslaughter, though, and allows himself to settle right into Bakugou’s pace.

“Besides, it’s been like a week and we’re already having villains crashing our lessons. I mean, we showed ‘em what’s what and all, but still! Some extra training can’t hurt.”

It’s not like Kirishima minds being the one to carry a conversation yet the fact that he hasn’t been told to shut up is… something? Not enough for Kirishima to point out, it’s just a thing he notices, just something, so he keeps talking. Past U.A.’s gates, down the stairs and onto the busy sidewalk they go, and Bakugou’s hands never leave the pockets of his pants as he marches past clusters of people in an unflinching line.

Head held high, eyes dead ahead. Cutting through the crowd with his presence alone, and in his wake Kirishima follows.

The afternoon light is hitting that glow-y hue that paints even the most mundane of things in shades of gold when Kirishima realizes they’re headed to the train station. He draws up short, slows his step in the split-second it takes to ask himself if the other even takes the train home or–

Bakugou’s eyes are on him, “What?”, that one word barked so impatiently Kirishima throws the thought right out the metaphorical window and keeps walking.

“Nothing!” A flash of his home screen proves: Five minutes left. They’re making good time. Which, actually– “So what time were you thinking for our sparring sesh? I’m good whenever, unless it’s super late at night. Overprotective parents, you know how it is.”

That gets a huff out of Bakugou. That, and a gesture that’s sort of a grab, sort of a wave that has Kirishima a little stumped until Bakugou sighs gruffly. “Your phone, dumbass.”

“Oh, sure! Here.”

The device changes hands. Kirishima contemplates feeling embarrassed about the obvious crack that takes up half the screen; he’d designed his hero costume without his delicate tech in mind, and with the whirlwind of starting and then surviving week one of the new school year, he hasn’t been able to spare a minute to get neither the phone fixed nor the costume amended.

Bakugou doesn’t comment on it – in fact, he pulls his sleeve down to hold the thing as if to cushion it, and when he taps the screen it’s with his knuckles. Before Kirishima can ask, the pre-installed voice control AI chirps its distinct jingle and Bakugou tells it to make a new contact, rattling off a long string of numbers.

Even before the AI has confirmed the input, Kirishima is catching the phone chucked rather carelessly at his head. “There”, Bakugou says, starting to climb the stairs to the tracks two steps at a time.

Kirishima doesn’t have much time to process any of that before the telltale rattling of an incoming train sounds above them. “Oh shit”, he breathes, hurrying onto the platform and to the closest door just in time to see the last passenger get out. Once inside, he pumps his fist.

“Hell yeah! Dude, we–”

The person next to him, who is not Bakugou, looks rather startled. What the…? Kirishima turns a full 360 degrees before a knock just inches from his face startles him and he meets Bakugou’s smirk, firmly on the other side of the window.

Not a moment later, the train starts pulling away. Kirishima presses close to the thick, faintly scratched glass to watch Bakugou turn and walk right back where they came from. His hand is raised, the light catching white and glinting on something in his hand.

A phone. Oh, right!

Kirishima swipes across an image of Crimson Riot’s iconic pose to unlock and reads Bakugou Katsuki, having left the tab open in his haste. First things first: With a soft snort and a few swift taps, the name is changed before Kirishima hits the speech bubble icon next to it.

Baku💣💥

bro what the hell (sent 17:14)

but thanks (sent 17:14)

it’s kirishima btw (sent 17:15)

just text me the details whenever 💪🏻 (sent 17:15)

He watches the tick next to his messages turn blue almost immediately and waits. One station passes, then two. By the third Kirishima is sure he’s been left on read and laughs, shaking his head. Of course.

The rest of his way home is spent assuring Sero he has not, in fact, exited life in a flurry of explosions as well as letting his moms know he’ll be home in a few. The next time Kirishima checks his phone is between brushing his teeth and climbing into bed, two unread messages waiting for him.

Baku💣💥

[link] (received 19:35)

6AM tomorrow, don’t be fucking late (received 19:35)

The link leads to a location which his phone matches to a quirk-friendly gym pretty close to the U.A. grounds. Kirishima scrolls through a few images of the facilities with some interest before his brain registers–

6AM. On a Saturday.

Baku💣💥

/dude/ (sent 22:08)

srsly?? (sent 22:09)

😩😩 (sent 22:19)

f @ my sleep schedule but ok (sent 22:25)

Minutes later, Kirishima stares at the near-painful sight of an alarm set to 5AM before he sighs and flops face-down into his pillow. The things he does in the name of friendship.

>>Chapter 2

[eleanor-devil]

Boruto: Sacrifices [Remade] | Chap.5 - Mitsuki's Decision

Written by: Eleanor-Devil & @mirage-05​​

Prologue | Chap.1 | Chap.2 | Chap.3 | Chap.4 | Chap.5 - You’re here

He was making a lot of noise in the early morning, but he didn't care. Ever since Sarada called him the other night and told him that Mitsuki, his best friend... was being mistreated, he couldn't sit still. It took him a great deal of self-control to wait until the morning, when they decided to meet. So, by any right, if he was waking up some people and they were complaining about it, he wasn't about to give them a rat's ass. “Boruto…” Sarada was practically running to keep up with her friend. It wasn’t exactly rare to see Boruto getting worked up about something, but he was really pissed off now. “Just try to calm down for a bit…” “How can I calm down?!” was his answer as he didn’t even break his pace. “How come he didn’t tell me he was being harassed?!” Sarada had no words to offer to that… She hadn’t seen anything other than the graffitis on the door but she had spoken to Shikadai… “Well, let’s see what he has to s-” The Uzumaki’s words were cut in half as they reached his friend’s door. Eyes huge in disbelief, he took them all in, one by one, getting more and more terrified and outraged the more he looked at them. These were not just simple harassments - they were threats, and pretty horrible ones at that…

“What the hell…?” he mumbled, raising a hand to touch one of the drawings. Then he turned to Sarada, the look of shock still in place. “W-wait, did you also know about these…?” “W-well, I…” And then they heard a click, and they were suddenly face to face with Mitsuki. The blue haired boy took a look at his expression, and sighed. “Boruto…” “When were you going to tell me?!” the blond practically spat out of gritted teeth. “Tell you what?” “Don’t play dumb with me!” Boruto yelled, banging his fist on the door, and Mitsuki flinched a little. “I’m talking about these graffitis Mitsuki!” “Oh…” the boy mused, giving the said graffitis a fleeting look. “Oh? Oh?! That’s all you have to say?!” “Boruto please…” Sarada glanced awkwardly around. “You really should keep your voice down…” “I would have if Mitsuki told me about this earlier!” The blue haired boy sighed again. “Boruto, I didn’t want to worry you about this. I wouldn’t have told Sarada either but she saw it… I didn’t want to worry either of you.” "How can I not worry when my best friend is being harassed?!" Boruto yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why are they even doing it, huh?! But you know what?!" The blond took his cell phone out. "Boruto, that's not nec-" "Shut the hell up." At that time, a neighboring door opened and a groggy-looking man popped his head out. "Hey, brats, keep it down, will you?" "And you just shut up, too, okay?!" Sarada turned an apologetic look to the man, who just silently slid back into his apartment. Boruto took a few photos of the door. "There. My dad is going to hear about this." "Boruto..." the Uchiha began. "I can't believe you didn't tell me about this! What if you got seriously hurt?! I thought we were friends!!" At these words, the blue haired boy couldn’t help it. "We are. That's the reason I didn't tell you." "Because you didn't want to worry me?!" Boruto scoffed, and actually took a step to his friend. "Bullshit!" At that, the girl finally stepped in front of him, putting her hands on his shoulders and actually pushing him back a little. "Boruto, please!" she said urgently. "Calm down before you say or do something you will regret!" And just like that, Boruto's furiosity vanished on the spot, leaving behind only remnants of resentment. The last time he had almost... lost his father. He didn't want anything like that to happen - ever again. He gulped and stepped away from Sarada, his eyes on his best friend. "...fine. But don't think that this matter is over. My dad will know of this." Sarada sighed, a little relieved that the storm had passed. "Okay, um... let's get going, shall we?" … She had really, really hoped the day would proceed without any unpleasant incidents - but of course, in the current situation, it was too much to ask. They haven't even reached the outskirts of the village yet. Boruto was still seething and Mitsuki was quiet, but Sarada was on the lookout, just in case. And then she heard a rustle, quick footsteps and her instincts took over. "Boruto!" she called to her friend as she quickly stepped in front of Mitsuki, activating her Sharingan, as he turned at her voice. The blond had acted very quickly indeed, their months of team-work had really paid off. Before the person Sarada felt a minute ago could do anything, he was by his side, grabbing his wrist. The girl felt sad when she saw the boy couldn't be older than eight years old. "Just what do you think you are doing?!" Boruto asked through gritted teeth. "Throwing..." he looked at the squished red blob on the ground and raised an eyebrow. "Tomatoes? Seriously?" "We don't want him here." the child said stubbornly, nodding towards Mitsuki. "He's making everyone restless. My mom and dad had not stopped arguing since yesterday!" The blond's look got darker. "Well, it's not my friend's fault if your parents are dumb." "Guys, drop it, he's just a kid..." Mitsuki began, but Boruto wasn't about to listen. "You land anything on him, and you.are.dead.meat." he hissed dangerously, inching his face closer to the boy. "What the hell is going on here?" An older boy has stepped out from the corner of a building, a menacing look on his face. "Who do you think you are, bullying my brother like that, you little piece of..." As Boruto turned towards him slowly, seething with anger, the boy came to a halt. "Wrong," the boy said, and the elder boy actually took a step back. "The question is, who do YOU think you are, messing with my best friend?!" It took the boy a moment, but he finally snapped out of it and hurried forward, taking his younger brother by his shoulders. "Fumio, what did I tell you? Do not mess with that snake while the Hokage's son is with him! Now we're going to get in trouble!" "Stay away from him if you know what is best for you!" Boruto yelled at them as the brothers scampered away. After they were out of sight, he turned to look at his friends. Sarada deactivated her Sharingan with a sigh. Mitsuki wasn't looking at him, his eyes on the ground. "This is not your fault!" he said fervently, bothered by how Mitsuki wasn't even meeting his eyes. "They need to know that in Konoha you can't bully someone because of his origins! No one will allow it!" The blue haired boy sighed. "Boruto, just please... let's move on." "No! Not until you stop letting these stupid people get to you!" "I can't give you a promise I can't keep." Mitsuki said curtly before turning on his heels and started walking again. Boruto and Sarada looked at each other for a brief second before they started following him. ... The walk to the orphanage had been no different. Noone bothered them this time, at least not verbally, but every now and then they found at least a pair of unfriendly eyes peeking at them from around a corner. It came to the point where Boruto had it and turned to snap at one of those; "What are you looking at?!" But they never stayed long when they saw the Hokage's son was with them. They were now just a few blocks away from the main building. Not knowing what they should be expecting, because they never got to come to the orphanage after the attack, Sarada felt her pulse quickening as they approached. All three of them came to a halt when the campus came into view. The news never covered much, and although they knew it was bad, they had no idea of the scope. The whole front of the building was in ruins, seemingly blown apart by an enormous force. Pieces of rubble laid everywhere, and there were stains on them... dark stains... Stains that reminded all of them terribly of... Dried blood... As if he was in a trance, Mitsuki took a step forward, stopped for a moment, and then kept walking. Boruto, snapping out of his shock, noticed him. "Mitsuki - wait, don’t just walk inside like that!" The boy was aware that someone was calling for him, but he couldn't understand what they were saying. This much pain... Why...? Someone grabbing his arm finally made him come to a stop, and he turned to see Sarada, with a worried expression on her face. "Don't rush inside!" she said. Mitsuki opened his mouth to say something, but someone cut him off before he got a word out. "Oh hey, it's you guys!" All of them looked up to see Inojin, Shikadai and Chouchou coming out of the building, their arms full of rubble and other things. "Yo, what's up?" Chouchou said nonchalantly, approaching them. "I thought you guys weren't supposed to be here?" "Not... supposed to be here?" Mitsuki mumbled, not quite understanding. "What she meant to say was, we didn't know you were also assigned here," Inojin immediately interjected before his friend said anything else. "We didn't come here on an assignment," Boruto sighed, coming up from behind his friends. "We just wanted to, uh..." "See how the renovations were coming up," Sarada finished helpfully. "Well, they are coming up pretty troublesome," Shikadai said with a bored expression. "At least the director is a pretty nice guy - even after all this..." Mitsuki's eyes widened. "Wait... Is Kabuto-san here?" "Of course," Shikadai raised an eyebrow. "Where else?" The blue haired boy then turned to his friends. "I need to talk to him." "Cool, I'm coming with you." "Boruto," Mitsuki sighed. "I'm gonna talk to him alone." "I can wait outside." Mitsuki looked at Shikadai with a bored expression. "Please... do stop him if he comes after me." ... He found Kabuto-san in one of the back rooms, one of the few rooms that didn't sustain a lot of damage. The man looked up when Mitsuki entered. "Oh, Mitsuki..." he said. "I didn't expect to see you." "I just wanted to see all of this myself." Kabuto sighed, and they both stayed silent for a while. "Why...?" "Hm?" Kabuto turned to the boy, questions in his eyes. Mitsuki was gazing out of the doorway with a distant look in his eyes, and it wasn't too hard for the older man to understand where the boy's mind was. "You are one of the few people who knows my father like the back of his hand. Why? Why would my father do this? For what motive?" "I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that question. The truth is that Orochimaru always has a reason behind his actions..." "Exactly." the boy turned to the man, grasping for some answers. "So why would he attack innocent children? Not just the Shin clones, but other children, too." The man put a hand on the boy's arm, and his tone was gentle as he spoke. "Mitsuki, I understand that it's hard for you to handle it and I wouldn't believe it, either... But I saw your father's curse mark on that man with my own eyes." The boy didn't know what to say to that, and he lowered his eyes to the ground. Kabuto-san looked at him carefully. "Anyone bothering you?" he asked, quickly assessing the situation. Mitsuki gave a small smile as he thought about his friends. "Nothing I can't handle. And I have some very good friends." "I'm glad to hear that." Mitsuki kept looking around, his gaze taking a serious quality once again as he took in the damage, people rushing around... "Kabuto-san..." he said after a minute. "How did you become a medic?" "Where did that come from?" the older man asked, totally confused. "Just wondering... And how did you become a director at this orphanage?" Kabuto thought about it for a second. "They are actually connected." "Connected? How?" "You know... I was orphaned in the Third Ninja World War. Konoha took me in and in this orphanage, I was raised by a woman who taught me about medical ninjutsu. I guess you can say that I wanted to do what she did to me... To raise children in a family environment, to heal their wounds in one way or another..." He sighed and looked away. "It's too sad it didn't work out that way... I guess your past never really leaves you." They didn't say anything more as Mitsuki thought bitterly how true those words were... ... His mind was in overdrive when he was making his way back to his friends. Working to save, heal people... That seemed like a noble cause. Frankly, before he came here, even when he started his way as a ninja, he didn't have a clue of what will become of him in the future. He remembered it like it was yesterday, the day they met their sensei and Konohamaru asked what his future dream was. He had simply smiled and said that he wanted to become as great a ninja as his father, maybe even surpassing him one day. He wanted, no, needed so badly to make Orochimaru proud of him. He didn't know if this path he was about to choose would make him proud or not... But working to heal the wounds his father might or might not have caused, well... That seemed like a noble cause, too. Now if his sensei asked him just about this moment, he would say that he wanted to become a med-nin. He didn't know yet who he could be trained under to pursue this goal. Hopefully... not even all of the adults were against him? Naturally, the first person to come to mind was Kabuto, an uncle to him in more than one way. But he already had so much on his plate to take in a pupil. Of course the most famous med-nin in Konoha was Sarada's mother, or the Fifth Hokage, but Mitsuki wasn't exactly sure how he could approach them. Well... there was always Karin as his back-up plan, but... An unpleasant tingling was triggered in his chest just thinking about it. That would mean he would also have to leave his friends behind, and he... really didn't want that. Boruto and Sarada... The first real family he had in Konoha… He wasn't really paying attention, lost too much in his own thoughts. "What the hell do you think you are doing here?" Many things happened all at once that Mitsuki couldn't really find the time to react. When he turned back, he saw someone running towards him with a hateful expression, but before he could come too close, someone stopped him by throwing himself on that person. Metal Lee raised his head to look at him, and his eyes widened. "Mitsuki, watch out!" The blue haired boy turned just in time to dodge a punch aimed right at his face. "Asahi, Fuuto, help us!" Metal called. But no one helped him and Mitsuki actually had to grab the assailant's fist the next time. "I don't want to fight you." he declared in a calm tone. "Too bad, because I'm about to turn you to a pulp! How dare you even show your face here?!" Then the boy came to a sudden stop and the younger let go of his hand. "Two on one? You really are looking for trouble, aren't you?" Just by the manner of his speech, Mitsuki was quick to understand how the attacker had been stopped. "I'll show you who's gonna turn into a pulp!" "Boruto, no!" the boy yelled when he saw his best friend charging, but Shikadai acted before him. "Sheesh, hold your horses, won't you?" "Shikadai..." Boruto, who had also been stopped dead, growled through his teeth, clearly pissed off. "You better let me go. I really don't want to take this out on you." "Not before you calm down, no." "How can you even expect me to calm down?!" the blond yelled. "These two were just about to attack my best friend!" "Boruto, just calm down..." Mitsuki sighed, already getting tired of this. "How can you even call that thing your friend?" one of the other boys asked, and everyone tensed. "You better watch out what you're saying..." said Sarada, at the end of her patience. "It's way better than hanging out with the likes of you!" Boruto yelled at them, trying hard to get out of the shadow mimic technique. "Well, seeing that we outnumber you by at least a third, I would advise you to back down - unless you want us to get really mad." Inojin put in, all with a sweet but dangerous smile. The two thought about it for a second. "We will be back." they said, throwing dirty looks at the blue haired boy. "To get your asses handed to you? Anytime!" Boruto countered. As the two ran away, Metal looked at his teammates. "Why didn't you guys help us out back then?" The girl didn't say anything, but after a second of hesitation, Fuuto spoke. "Why... did you help?" he asked, and his tone was confused; not accusing, not degrading; just curious. "Seriously?" Metal asked unbelievably. "You really think I would just stand aside and let a friend - anyone - get bullied right in front of me?! We were taught better than that!" "Don't bother, Metal," Boruto said, a little ruder than he normally would. "Thank you for your help, anyway." ... The way back had been awfully quiet. They had stopped by a fast-food restaurant to have lunch on their way back, but the glares never ceased, even with Boruto glaring right back at those. They were almost at Mitsuki's house when it happened again. "You still here in this village, you snake?" Boruto tensed and turned back, his hands balling into fists. "You have any problems with your eyesight?" he growled at the group that gathered behind them, especially to Sarutobi Ichiro, who had just spoken. "I can't see any snakes here but you, waiting to strike, hidden behind corners!" "You know, you are overly confident, being the hokage's son and all... But we're gonna make our voices heard, too. He can't be hidden, protected under your wings for too long." "Try me..." Boruto hissed, shaking with anger. "Boruto, don't..." Sarada began. "And why do you protect him, anyway? Do you really think he would do the same for you if this situation was reversed?" one of the other kids shouted. "Don't... play... with fire...!" "Oh yeah? Well let me tell you one thing, not all of us agree with daddy dearest!" Mitsuki was having a hard time processing his emotions regarding this - did they really think that low of him? Why was it harder to just ignore this, tell himself this didn’t matter anyway, like so many other times before? He snapped back to the moment when he saw Boruto hurrying forward, and grabbed his arm in a fruitless attempt. "Let it go, Boruto." "Well, too bad for you that my 'daddy dearest' is the hokage, and you have to follow his orders!" "Well, you see... things can change, and then we will have our say!" "Boruto!" Mitsuki yelled, but it was too late. Already too agitated, Boruto freed his arm from his best friend with an angry yell, and actually charged the group before Sarada or Mitsuki could react properly. He had aimed for Ichiro, and as the two actually tumbled to the ground with Boruto's momentum, the other kids stood back a little, clearly indecisive about whether or not getting in a fight with the Hokage's son is a good idea. But they did hold back Mitsuki and Sarada when they rushed to help their friend. The fight didn't last for too long, really, but for the two, it seemed to drag on as they watched, helpless. Boruto and the older boy traded punches and kicks, none of them seemingly stronger than the other. It was after one particularly hard punch which left a cut over Boruto's eyebrow that Sarada finally snapped. "You little..." she growled through gritted teeth, and felt her chakra growing in her hand as she pushed away those who were holding her back. "Shannaro!" When she hit the ground with her fist, all the other children were thrown back by the force, including the one the blond had been fighting. Mitsuki was there to catch his friend. "Now run away before I get really angry!" Sarada yelled at the group, who didn't stay long after that. Boruto got up, wiping some blood that was making its way to his eye. "Come on, we're going to my dad's office NOW." "We should check on that wound first..." Sarada countered. "It's just a little blood, I'm fine. Come on..." Mitsuki had remained silent for a while, but he shook his head when he heard this. "No, I... I need to be alone." "I'm not gonna leave you alone anywhere, 'ttebasa, so you better move it!" the blond snapped at his friend. But that was too much. He had let his best friend get hurt over him... This wasn’t what a friend was supposed to be, was it? How could he hope to help people even when he couldn’t protect his own friend...? Maybe it was because this was the first time he saw this haunted and sad look in his friend's eyes… but it surely took the blond by surprise. Boruto's frown started to soften, actually turning into a look of worry. "You're not safe around me anymore..." Mitsuki mumbled, the slight cracking in his voice the only give off in his otherwise perfect facade. "I'll... I'll just stay at home, I promise..." "Mitsuki stop this, it's just a little blood, I'm not dying here..." the blond tried to reason, but the younger didn't look back as he rushed inside. "Shit..." Boruto mumbled and him and Sarada followed their friend inside. Mitsuki was quicker - he opened his door and slid inside before his friends made it. Boruto reached the door first and knocked it normally. "Mitsuki! Come on, this is nothing, and it certainly isn't your fault! We have to report this to my dad!" When there was no reply, Boruto banged his fist on the door. "Dammit, stop doing this! You can't just stay down because idiotic people make idiotic remarks about you! Come out so we can talk about it!" "Boruto..." Sarada put her hand on his arm. "Let's just leave him for the day." "What? Are you out of your mind?" "I... I think he needs it. We have training tomorrow, we can talk to him then." It was pretty obvious that the boy didn't like this, but he finally sighed and nodded. ... Mitsuki had been behind the door all the time, listening to his friends. When he heard them walking away, he slowly slid against the door, bringing his knees closer to him. His presence... was no longer wanted, nor needed in Konoha, that much was pretty clear. But his friend getting injured for that... He felt something wetting his cheeks and raised his hand to check. He stared at the tear on his fingertip for a moment, mesmerized. So that was… how crying felt like then? A let out of emotions, emotions that were too foreign and… simply too much for him. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. This was not the time to show weakness. He had other things to do. ... A knock brought Naruto back from his thoughts. "Come in." A ninja peeked in. "Lord seventh, your son is..." Before he could finish his sentence, the said son pushed his way through the man, tailed by Sarada. "Dad, we need to talk." "Boruto, how many times do I have to tell you, don't call me da..." Naruto did a double take when he got a closer look at his son's face. "What the hell happened to you?!" The blond sighed, trying not to roll his eyes. "For the last time, I'm not bleeding to death." "You should go check with the clinic immediately..." Naruto began. "Stuff it, dad, this is not about me!" Boruto snapped. "Do you even know what's been going on??" "About what...?" "Mitsuki! My best friend is being threatened and harassed all day! Look at this!" When his son shoved his phone under his nose, the hokage's eyes widened for a second, then he snatched the phone from Boruto and took a look at the other pictures as well, his expression growing darker with each one. "When did this start?" he asked finally, looking up at the two. "Yesterday," Sarada replied. "It just started as verbal assaults first, but then those graffitis and people attacking him today..." "Attacking?" Naruto felt his anger boiling. He was actually planning to send someone, maybe Konohamaru as he was their sensei, to check on the boy, but... this was taking it too far. "He didn't even do anything! He kept telling all those morons he didn't want to fight! Why are they doing this?!" Naruto sighed. "I should've known this." "Dad?" Boruto asked, his tone shocked. This wasn't the reaction he expected. "Some of the villagers... They are not very happy with my decision of letting Mitsuki stay in Konoha." "Wha... what...?" Boruto asked blankly, not even knowing what the hokage's words meant. "Where... where else is he supposed to live?" "They wanted me to exile him." Naruto said openly, looking at the two right in the eyes. Boruto and Sarada were so appalled that they couldn't say anything for a while. "Why...?" Sarada mumbled at last, her voice weak. “Is it because… what was discussed in the meeting…?” “What are you talking about?” the younger blond was looking at his friend incredulously. Naruto simply nodded at Sarada before explaining further. "Because he is the son of a villain this village is not about to forget anytime soon." He was playing all cards on the table. Being his teammates and close friends, they needed to know. "But that is no reason!" Boruto shot back, snapping out of his shock. "No two people are ever the same! Dad, you can't-" "Of course not." Naruto cut in seriously, and his tone made his son go quiet. "He belongs in Konoha, a member of our family. I'm not going to give up on him." The two just stared up at him in awe. The man's expression softened a little. "I am going to deal with this, make sure anyone who is involved gets punished. Now, please go check with the clinic and leave the rest to me." Boruto gulped and nodded. "Thank you dad." ... The two were quiet as they walked out of the Hokage’s office. Sarada wanted to say something to cheer Boruto up, but if she was being honest… she didn’t feel like she would do much, she herself had a heavy heart. Feeling the blond coming to a halt, Sarada followed his gaze, and felt another pang in her chest. “Konohamaru-sensei…” she mumbled. It seemed like the jounin wasn’t even aware of them, not until the girl spoke anyway. Blinking in focus, he gave them a small smile that didn’t really reach his eyes. “Hey, you two. What are you doing out at this hour?” “Well, we-” Sarada started to say, but Boruto cut her in. “Konohamaru-nii-chan…” he started, catching the brunet off-guard - it had been some time since Boruto addressed him like that… And more so, the look in his eyes… it was sad, as sad as his voice, but also… disappointed somehow. “Let me just ask you one thing.” “What is it, Boruto?” It was true that he was out of it for the last couple of days, which he was coming to the realization and slowly coming out of it… he should as well start by paying closer attention to his team. “Was that… the reason you’ve been so distant with Mitsuki…?” And Konohamaru just blanked out for a moment, staring blankly at the pre-teens. “I… what are you talking about…?” “You barely talk to him and  then yesterday, at the training… Konohamaru-nii-chan… are you blaming him too…?” The words were more like a slap on his face. The jounin had to keep his poker face, but it was hard… He… wasn’t even aware… “I… don’t blame him for anything, Boruto.” he said with a sigh, passing a hand through his face. “And I didn’t intend to be especially distant towards him… You three are all equal and important to me.” Boruto’s eyes softened a little at the sincerity in his words, but his expression was still very serious. “Well, you might wanna look at it from Mitsuki’s side. You might’ve come off as just the opposite, nii-chan…” “He had been through a lot, sensei,” Sarada put in, looking down with a sad expression. “There are a lot of villagers who want him gone… and they’re not being quiet about it…” “That’s an understatement!” Boruto almost yelled, he had been pushed way off his limit of tolerance today… and Konohamaru finally realized the cut above his eyebrow, making him frown a little. “They’d been harassing him, and now even with the attacks…” “I heard enough.” the jounin said, raising a hand… his stomach had become quite queasy. Just how much had he missed, god… he was feeling really lousy now. Yes, he had to do something to make this up… and quickly. “Don’t worry… I’m gonna talk to Mitsuki now.” That brought a smile to Boruto and Sarada’s faces. “Thank you, Konohamaru-nii-chan.” … “For the last time,” Mitsuki sighed as he looked at his two companions, his expression exasperated. “I didn’t summon you here to scare Mikazuki, Isis.” The scene would’ve been funny really, if it wasn’t for the fact that the kitten was so scared that he had been meowing non-stop… while Mitsuki’s summon, Isis, was hissing at him. At his words, though, the snake turned to shoot him a resentful look. “It wasn’t my fault, Mitsuki-sama!” “Neither was it his,” the blue haired boy explained calmly. “He is just a small kitten, he doesn’t know better.” And Isis was territorial, so she didn’t take it well that Mikazuki tried to paw at her swishing tail the moment she appeared. Striding forward, Mitsuki took the distressed kitten in his arms, before he alerted the whole apartment complex. So much for secrecy… “Listen Isis, I need to ask you a favor.” Isis decided to quit her hissing fit, although her eyes were still on Mikazuki. “What can I do for you?” “I want you to go to my father," Mitsuki replied clearly. "Tell him to meet me outside of Konoha's eastern border, to the end of the river." He couldn't have been more vague if he tried, something that Isis noticed herself. "If you need his help on a mission, you have to give him a more specific address." "No, I..." Mitsuki let out his breath and closed his eyes. "I'm leaving." "Not on a mission, no? Why then?" "I don't belong here anymore." There was a moment of silence. "Mitsuki-sama..." Isis began, her thin pupils regarding him carefully. "You do know you shouldn't satisfy anyone's needs by leaving..." "I'm not leaving to make anyone happy," the boy countered. "I am leaving to protect my friends. I should have never gotten them involved." The snake coiled around silently, deciding not to push forward. "When are you leaving?" Mitsuki checked his clock, and did a double take. Time really flew by. It was already nine pm. "In about two hours." "Got it." Opening his window, the boy watched as the snake slid out. And then a knock almost made him jump out of his skin. Calming down, he made his way to the door. Who could be visiting at this hour? He hoped it wasn’t his friends… not that his intentions were too visible - he didn’t have many things to pack after all - but it would just make things harder. It didn’t really help much that it was his sensei at the door. “Konohamaru-sensei…” he said simply in greeting, while Mikazuki meowed in unison. A small smile crossed his face as the brunet looked between the two of them. “Good evening, Mitsuki. Mind if I come in?” “Um… yeah, sure.” He stepped aside to let the jounin in. Konohamaru patted Mikazuki on the head, earning himself a purr from the now slightly calmed down kitten. As he walked in further, the brunet came to a halt. “Sorry it isn’t too much…” “Not at all…” It was more so the fact that… Mitsuki didn’t seem to have any personal belongings… pretty much the only sign of someone living here was the kitten in his student’s arms and the items all around the small apartment to take care of it. True, he hadn’t been to Mitsuki’s house before, but this wasn’t something he expected… “Umm… you can sit on the bed sensei…” It was kind of awkward for Mitsuki, he didn’t really have much accommodations to begin with. His sensei didn’t comment on it though, as he took his advice. For a moment neither of them spoke, although Mitsuki couldn’t help but make a mental calculation… he really didn’t have a lot of time to finish all he had to do and still make it in time… He could just hope his sensei would keep it quick. Although, well… Konohamaru seemed to be a little awkward now. “I see you’re taking good care of the kitten.” the young man said at last. The look in the boy’s eyes softened a little as he scratched Mikazuki behind the ears. “He has grown so much into me… I didn’t know how boring it could get before we started sharing this apartment.” “It seems that the feeling is mutual.” the jounin’s voice was gentle. “Yeah.” A thoughtful look crossed his eyes. “I… now I can’t imagine a life without him.” It wasn’t exactly easy to say that with a straight face, thinking about how he had to indeed leave Mikazuki behind, he couldn’t just take him to the hideout. “Here is to hope that it won’t ever come to that.” When his student raised his head to look at him with questions in his eyes, Konohamaru sighed. “Well, in truth… I think I’ve stalled this long enough.” “What is it that you want to talk about, sensei?” the boy asked quietly. “Look kiddo…” It had been a while since he addressed him like that, Mitsuki realized with a start. “I owe you an apology…” “What for?” Mitsuki asked, perplexed, and Konohamaru only sighed again. “The last few days had been… challenging on my part… And while I know this doesn’t justify my actions…” He paused for a moment before looking at his student directly in the eyes. “I just didn’t realize I probably came off as distant and… cold…” The boy didn’t know what to say for a moment. “Konohamaru-sensei…” The jounin raised a hand to stop him. “Please, just let me finish. It wasn’t my intention to make any of you feel sad. I care for each of you equally. And, well…” the look in his eyes turned pensive as he bowed his head. “I didn’t expect things to get so… out of hand so quickly…” he looked at Mitsuki again. “Why didn’t you say anything…? I heard from your teammates about the attacks and those… graffitis…” Yes, those drawings really didn’t help his mood. Mitsuki didn’t say anything for a moment, wondering how best he should reply… Their sensei was known to read them like clear water… “I… didn’t want to worry you sensei. You already have a lot on your plate.” Konohamaru’s gaze turned soft at these words. This boy… he was always so selfless, thinking about others before himself… sometimes it was just too much. “Mitsuki… there are times you should allow yourself to be protected as well.” And just like that, Mitsuki felt a slight lump in his throat. After what he had been through these last couple of days, these words, and the fact that it was coming from his sensei, just… touched him… almost enough to make him reconsider leaving the village… but no, not after what had happened… not after his best friend got hurt because of him… Petting Mikazuki to calm himself down a little and keep his stoic face, he finally said, “If these get any worse, I’ll report to you immediately.” “I’d appreciate that… although with Hokage-sama on the case, I doubt it will get any further.” The jounin got up on his feet and took the necessary couple of steps to approach him. Mitsuki was even more surprised when Konohamaru pulled him in for a tight hug. “We are and will always be here for you kiddo… Don’t ever forget that.” The boy had to blink a couple of times to make sure his eyes stayed dry. “Thank you, sensei.” The jounin patted him on the shoulder when they broke the hug. “Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow in the training.” He was just about to walk out of the door when the boy’s voice stopped him again. “Sensei?” The young man turned to him, question marks in his eyes. “Yeah?” There was a small, soft smile on Mitsuki’s face, one that… almost made Konohamaru feel a little… restless. “You should really make peace with Lady Hanabi.” Konohamaru was so taken aback that he just stared at his student for a moment. How could he think about such a thing with what he had been through…? “Yeah, well… we will see about that.” he mumbled for lack of a better reply before blending into the darkening evening. Why did Mitsuki’s last words feel almost… like a farewell…? … Even with his mind set, Mitsuki couldn't help but feel empty walking away from the place he called home for a year. Each step he took felt like a ton, and his mind was fogged by all the good memories. At least Mikazuki had stopped meowing, so he was hoping he wasn’t drawing much attention. "Hey, guess who's back, loser." 'Not again,' the boy thought, already too tired as he raised his head. This time, there was a bigger group of kids from various ages gathered in front of him. He realized that it was a hit-list of all those who already made their opinions about him heard - the boys from the orphanage, the Sarutobi kid, even those from yesterday. "Let me pass." he said calmly. "I have no intention to fight." "Why not? Do you only attack those who can't even defend themselves, you coward?" The blue haired boy sighed. "Let me pass." he repeated as he put the kitten’s cage on the ground. They would probably do so without a question if they knew what he was about to do. "No, you know what, come on. I dare you to attack us." The boy who tried to punch him in the orphanage came in front of him pretty quickly and shoved him. Mitsuki staggered back one step, but stood his ground. And he didn't do anything, not even raise his fists in a defense position. He just let it happen. "What's the matter? Go on, defend yourself." Another shove. "Afraid to go up against a large group? Afraid we would beat you?" Some of the other kids, mostly younger than him, the boy noticed, started cheering for the older boys. Still, he chose to do nothing. "We are not gonna let snakes spread their venom in Konoha!" "Enough." With the calm voice intervening, the children came to a stop, turning around to look at... Kakashi Hatake, the Sixth Hokage. "What do you think you are doing?" the older man asked, eyebrows furrowed. "At least ten on one?" All of the children around the boy took a step back, and one of them actually grumbled, "We were just talking." "Is that so? Well, be sure that your little 'talk' will be notified to Lord Seventh." As the kids ran away, Kakashi turned to look at Mitsuki, a little bothered by the fact that... The kid really didn't do anything... Anything at all in response, he just stood there. "You alright?" he asked, worry coating his tone. He just nodded. "Yup, I'm fine." "Where are you headed to at this hour? It's..." Kakashi checked his watch. It was almost ten pm. "Getting late." The boy didn't look at him. "I was actually headed to Lord Seventh's office..." Something that never occurred to him before then clicked on his mind. "If he is there...?" "He is," the former Hokage said, carefully gazing at the boy. "Let me escort you there then." ... Naruto had gained the habit of looking at his phone every few minutes in the last couple of hours. He had given Konohamaru two days to come back with his report, he wanted him to gather every possible lead he could trace back... But he still sat on edge, just waiting for a call... A soft knock on the door made him snap out of it. "Come in," he said, having a brief moment of dejavu of the late afternoon. He was surprised to see Mitsuki making his way into the room. "Good evening, Lord Seventh." the boy said, politely formal. "Good evening, Mitsuki," he said, and then gave the boy a warm smile. "What can I do for you?" He didn't know what brought him here at this hour, but then he thought that he might want to report the ongoing harassment on his own account, which made him feel glad. The boy came to a stop a little while away from his desk, and didn't know what to say for a moment. Naruto just waited for him to take the first step. "I am sorry." "Huh?" the Hokage asked, totally confused. "What for?" "For what happened to Boruto... I couldn't stop them..." "Mitsuki..." The older man began, but didn't know how to continue for a while. How could the boy even blame himself for this? "It's not your fault. The ones who did it will pay. They will pay for what they've been doing to you, too." Mitsuki smiled a little. "I... heard about it. But Lord Seventh... That's not why I came here." "Then what is it?" Mitsuki took in a deep breath. "I'm planning to leave Konoha tomorrow morning."

[seven-oomen]

The way I tend to be | The DILF Club

Happy Holidays to everyone! Have some delicious smut or our favorite DILFS, there's even some plot in this! Hope you like it because I have a universe thought out for this and if it does well, I'll share more!

It wasn’t doing as well on Ao3 as I was hoping for and I’m curious to see if it’ll do better here. If you enjoy it, please reblog, like, and/or comment on it. This is also a test to see if people still reblog fanfiction from me and if Once Upon a Time would do well on Tumblr. Which is my longest and most elaborate fanfic to date.

Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Chris Argent/Peter Hale/Sheriff Stilinski, Chris Argent/Peter Hale, Chris Argent/Sheriff Stilinski, Peter Hale/Sheriff Stilinski Characters: Chris Argent, Peter Hale, Sheriff Stilinski Additional Tags: Sheriff Stilinski's Name is Noah, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Porn with Feelings, Porn With Plot, Cabin Fic, trans chris argent, Bisexual Peter Hale, Alpha Peter Hale, Trans Male Character, Bisexual Sheriff Stilinski, Bisexual Chris Argent, Double Vaginal Penetration, Double Penetration, Breeding, Creampie, Unprotected Sex Series: Part 1 of The way I tend to be

-

Fate could be a very cruel mistress when she wanted to be. And often she came together with a little vicious thing called irony.

The last year had been crazy. He discovered werewolves, banshees, wendigos, and werecoyotes were real, and so was whatever Kira was supposed to be. Chris Argent, Allison’s father and Isaac’s foster father, turned out to be a hunter, and the little bane of his existence during his career as a deputy, a certain Peter Hale, turned out to be a werewolf. As was Peter’s nephew Derek and his niece Cora. He still couldn’t completely wrap his head around that one.

They’d fought together, protected the town together, and now protected their children together.

That didn’t always go well, of course. One of them was a hunter, the other a werewolf, and somehow he always found himself right in between the other two trying to break up their fights.

A lot, and a lot of therapy for all three of them, had fixed that for the most part.

Still, there were times when he really wished he could duct tape Peter to the ceiling, mostly because the man was still a delinquent with a golden tongue, but mostly just because he was annoying. At least the werewolf was now firmly on their side and had proven that by nearly dying for both the other adults and all of the kids on multiple occasions. He’d really turned a new leaf. Still annoying as fuck, don’t get him wrong. But at least not reprehensible.

It was Peter’s new loyalty and Chris’s new code that had led him to go along with them on this particular mission. A mission to find a lone werewolf kid causing trouble around Mount Shasta. Since it was only two hours from Beacon Hills, he’d agreed to go over with the other two.

Their cover?

They were the chaperons on a school field trip to go skiing on the mountain for a week. Which had been the luckiest of coincidences in the history of coincidences but he’d take it. And since Stiles, Mikey, Malia, Jackson, Isaac, and Allison were all going, well, the rest of that was history.

“Peter, I swear to god if I find your socks anywhere near my bed again I will throw you through this window myself!” Chris snapped, holding up a pair of light blue socks with pink flamingos on them.

Ah. So that’s where his socks had gone off too. He was wondering where’d he left them.

“Those aren’t mine!” Peter bit back, looking so insulted at the mere idea of having to wear said socks that he couldn’t help but be offended at his offense. “I would never wear those monstrosities!”

“Right, I just keep finding random people’s socks in my bed for the last three days…” Chris growled, “You expect me to believe that?”

He bit his lip, wondering if he should admit to being the culprit. Since he was the only other person who had a bed in this room he figured Chris would draw that conclusion as well. But apparently, the hunter really hadn’t considered it.

The werewolf cocked his head to the left and sneered. “I’m not the only one who has a bed here beside you.”

Those fierce blue eyes turned to him and he couldn’t help but smile awkwardly at the both of them. “Yeah, those are mine.”

Peter smirked triumphantly at Chris, his eyebrows raised in a clear; I told you so.

To his credit, Chris pursed his lips and wordlessly handed him the bunched up socks of the last few days. His silver-blue eyes lingering with something that wasn’t quite a glare, but the man wasn’t exactly happy with him either.

“Thank you.” He quickly put his runaway socks into his duffel bag and straightened out the covers on his bed to keep himself busy.

“You owe me an apology, Christopher…” Peter’s voice sang through the room and a glance found the hunter glaring back at the wolf.

“I’m sorry for blaming you immediately.” Chris sighed, straightening out his own bed before checking the equipment in his backpack.

“Thank you,” Peter turned back to him and stared at him rather expectantly. “Noah?”

He had to admit he felt a little bit guilty for what had happened. He sighed softly as he shoved his water bottle, his sleeping bag, and some provisions into his backpack, looking up at the wolf sheepishly. “I’m sorry Peter, I’ll uh-” His eyes flicked to an expectant looking Chris, “I’ll keep a better eye on my socks and speak up when you’re blamed again.”

The wolf smiled mischievously at his apology, his eyes flicking from Chris to himself for a brief moment. “Thank you, now we really need to talk about your fashion choices, because those socks-”

Chris’s laughter followed him out of the room as he grabbed his packed bag and his orange ski jacket and headed out the door.

-

The trek up the mountain was not an easy one and they only had until nightfall to explore the area. He pulled the black beanie further over his ears and his gloves on a little tighter and looked over his shoulder.

Chris walked ahead of him, his blue ski jacket standing out against the white snow, a red beanie pulled over his ears to keep him warm.

Peter brought up the rear, his red ski jacket and brown beanie complementing one another in a rather surprising way. But if anyone could pull it off, he supposed it was the wolf.

They pushed through the snow and the wind, hoisting backpacks up higher and threading on while trying to find one lonely werewolf kid who needed their help. The wind started picking up as the hours progressed and once the snow started coming down and whipped around them, he realized that they weren’t going to be able to get back any time soon.

With their sight blocked off by the sudden incoming storm and nowhere to huddle they had no other choice but to walk on. He could no longer see where he was walking, only saw the bright blue of Chris’s ski jacket in front of him and before he knew it, he was face down in the snow and heard someone yelling his name.

“Noah!”

Someone picked him up and he felt two gloved hands cup his face. It took him a moment to register that it was Peter who picked him up and was currently cradling his face. He wasn’t sure how the concerned look on Peter’s face made him feel.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad feeling, but it was one he hadn’t been expecting. It was warm and tingly. Peter’s blue eyes made him think of the ocean and moonlit beaches with a soft breeze and the soft calls of whales in the background-

“Noah… Are you still on this planet?”

Peter’s words pulled him out of his thoughts. “What?”

The wolf frowned at him and gently patted him over his body to check him for injuries. He swatted at the wolf’s hands to put a stop to it and pursed his lips. “I’m fine, but we need to get out of the cold.”

Peter raised an eyebrow but nodded in agreement, turning back to Chris who had come towards them. “We need to get out of this wind, find shelter!”

“I know!” Chris yelled back, trying to carry his voice over the roar of the wind. “I think I saw a cabin up ahead!”

Chris looped his arm over his left while Peter looped his through his right and together they started tracking up the slope. The silhouette of the cabin quickly came closer with every step and they quickly headed over. They had to let go of each other to walk up the porch and Chris tested the door. It was locked, of course.

“Shit.” Chris muttered, “Look around for a key, usually-”

He started looking under several pots next to the door and found a key under the second one. Though a loud bang told him that they would no longer need a key.

“Or we could kick in the door…” Chris sighed while Peter held the door open for them to let them in.

Chris went in first, drawing his gun from inside his jacket as he checked the cabin room for room. He followed after the hunter, trying to suppress his hands from shaking and his body from shivering as the cold started to set in around him. Some snow had gotten into his jacket when he’d face-planted into the ground and it was creating a wet spot on his clothes as his body heat caused it to melt. The water also cooled down his body, especially in these temperatures.

Peter brought up the rear once more, eyes glowing a bright red as he scanned their surroundings and scented the air. The wolf behind him relaxed after a few moments, closing the door behind him by propping a chair from the little kitchen under the handle so it stayed locked.

“Cabin’s empty.” Peter and Chris said in unison. They walked up to him, frowning as they noticed his shivering, though he was doing his best to suppress it. He felt Peter’s incredibly warm hand against his forehead and couldn’t help but lean into it. He wasn’t sure how hot Peter ran in general, but it was definitely a few degrees higher than Chris or himself. Right now, that was a very welcome feature of the werewolf.

“He’s colder than he should be,” Peter muttered, gently guiding him towards the large fireplace in the middle of the room. “Come on, let’s get you heated up.”

“Did his jacket rip?” Chris asked, looking around for paper, wood, and other items they could burn.

Peter patted him down, despite his best efforts to keep the wolf’s hands off him. Werewolf strength could be quite unfair and if he wasn’t so damn cold he would have complained about the little shit sitting him down and throwing his own red ski jacket over him.

“Doesn’t seem to be but the collar is all wet and against his skin, looks like snow got in.”

“Aren’t you gonna get cold?” He raised an eyebrow at the black sweater Peter was wearing but also pulled the jacket closer and breathed in the wolf’s scent.

“I run a hundred and two degrees on a normal day.” Peter smiled, his face illuminated by the first sparks of the fire that Chris got running. It gave him a warm… almost soft look.

“It’s a werewolf thing,” Chris added, “Their body heat is higher than ours, it protects them from hypothermia, aids in their immunity against disease as well. One of those unfair advantages.”

He chuckled in response, his shivering already dying down now that the heat from the fire picked up and he had an extra layer. “That so?”

Peter hummed in agreement. “As is our superior sense of fashion.”

“Even Derek?” He asked, earning a laugh from Chris.

Peter pursed his lips and squinted his eyes. “Derek’s the exception to that rule.”

A laugh escaped him as Peter sat down next to him, though the laugh died on his lips as he noticed the concerned look Peter was giving the fire. It sobered him up considerably, knowing what Peter had been through, how close he was now sitting to something that had hurt him so much.

“Are you okay?”

The softness of his voice must have drawn Chris’s attention as well as the hunter had turned to look at them, his brow furrowing as he watched Peter’s face carefully. “Peter?”

Chris sat down on his other side, keeping a close eye on Peter while pretending to stare at the fire. Still, he noticed how Chris’s hands twitched in his lap and his eyes kept flicking to the wolf.

For a moment it seemed like Peter was lost in thought, staring into the growing fire with widening eyes. He noticed the wolf’s breathing picking up and his shaking hands. He carefully reached out and laid his own hand on top of Peter’s, startling the other man.

“What?” Peter relaxed at his touch and leaned into him unconsciously. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. It’s just-”

His eyes flicked back to the fire.

He didn’t have to say it out loud.

“Yeah,” He pulled Peter’s jacket closer and pulled his legs up to minimize the loss of warmth. “We can turn it down if you need that.”

Chris frowned at those words, eyes flicking from him to Peter, before slowly nodding in agreement. “It wouldn’t be ideal, but if it’s hurting you-”

“No.” Peter quickly interrupted him. “No, I’m fine. And you both need the fire. I just- I might need a distraction.”

“Distraction?” Chris raised an eyebrow at the word, earning a smirk from Peter in the process.

“Yes, the dictionary defines it as a thing that prevents someone from concentrating on something else. Or do you need a clearer definition, Christopher?”

“You don’t have to be a dick about it, Peter…” Chris looked down at his hands and shrugged. “We all have our own demons we want to forget.”

Peter went a little quiet at that, staring down at his feet while he scooted closer to him. “You’re right, it’s just-” His eyes flicked back to the fire.

“I get it…” Chris’s smile was soft as the hunter reached behind him to lay a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

It was nice, to be wedged between the two younger men and feel their warmth seep through him. He let himself lean back against Chris’s arm and laid his head on Peter’s shoulder. It just felt like the right thing to do in that moment. “It’s okay.” He whispered.

Chris frowned as he noticed the color difference of his gray sweater and trailed a hand over it, stopping at the collar as he felt the dampness. His warm hand trailed down over his collarbone and down his chest until he hit a dry spot. “You’re half soaked, we need to get that sweater off you and get you in something dry.”

He looked down at his body and froze. He didn’t show his bare chest to anyone. Ever. Even while sharing a room with the other two, he’d always gone to the bathroom to change. There were certain things he didn’t want anyone else to know, his past being one of them.

If anyone understands, it would be these two.

A little voice in his head told him. Yeah, it was right and he knew that. But what if they’d look at him differently?

Chris handed him a dark green sweater from his bag, having dragged said bag over with his foot, and gently started lifting his shirt. The hunter stopped after an inch and raised an eyebrow.

He was asking for permission.

He slowly shook his head. “I’ll do it.” And gently peeled the half wet garment from him and over his head. Constantly aware of what his aging body looked like. At fifty-three his best days had passed. He wasn’t as muscled as Peter or as lean and strong as Chris. His chest had a softness to it from all the fast food he’d been eating and he was showing his age with little marks, freckles, and the scars from years of abuse. The most obvious one being the scar on his left shoulder.

He paused for a second, jumping a little when Chris’s hand hovered over the scar. Though the hunter pulled away quickly and looked like he might apologize. Though the words seemed to get stuck in his throat.

“What happened?” It was Peter who broke the silence.

He wasn’t sure what he could say, felt tears prickling in his eyes and for a moment he heard his father’s booming vague voice ringing through his ears. “My father happened, he uhm, I didn’t let him hurt my mother,” He sighed, “and he pushed me through our coffee table.”

“Jesus…” Peter whispered, gently squeezing his right shoulder in comfort.

“I’m sorry…” Chris muttered, rubbing his own scarred hands in discomfort.

“We all have our own demons… Right?” He shrugged and put Chris’s green sweater on, quickly figuring out that the fit would work but was on the tight side as the edges of his sleeves stopped a little too high on the wrist. It was also a little on the short side at the middle.

He sighed. “At least it’s dry.”

Peter bit his lip and looked like he was having great difficulty with keeping his laughter contained. “It doesn’t look that bad…”

Chris wasn’t as kind and snorted before trying to cover it up with a cough.

He glared at the younger man but smiled after a minute or two. “Thank you, Chris.”

Chris let his eyes roam down and grinned. “You’re welcome.”

He laid his head back on Peter’s shoulder and pulled Chris closer for his warmth.

“So neither of you is going to distract me then?”

He didn’t know why he found that statement so funny but he couldn’t help but laugh at the annoyance in Peter’s voice. He felt Chris smile against his shoulder as the hunter laid his head down on it for a second.

“How do you propose we do that, Peter?” The hunter lifted his head and leaned in just a bit, just inches away from Peter’s face.

The wolf answered Chris with a smirk. Gently putting a finger under Chris’s chin to pull him closer. “I have an idea, it’ll also keep you both warm.”

“Will it now?” Chris’s smooth deep voice send a shiver down his spine and made his cock twitch. He swallowed rather heavily in response.

God, he wanted Chris to command him in that voice, to tell him to take off his clothes and put his ass up in the air and-

“I think someone likes the sound of that voice…” Peter purred into his ear, the wolf laid a finger under his chin and lifted his head to face Chris.

“Do it again.”

He stared into Chris’s silver-blue eyes, warmth traveling down his body and stirring in his loins as the hunter smiled deviously.

“Hmm, what do you think sheriff ?” Chris purred the last word, he couldn’t help the little sound of desperation that escaped him. A sound that he echoed as Peter leaned in and gently nipped at his ear.

“I think he hates it.” Peter grinned against his cheek and slowly started nipping his way down his jaw and to his neck. “I think he might want us to stop.”

The wolf paused and he growled in response, reaching behind him to cup the back of Peter’s head and pull him back down. “Don’t you dare, Peter.”

Peter laughed in response and gently pulled him into his lap before continuing his lovely assault on his neck. He moaned happily and wiggled a little to get more comfortable and rub his ass against the growing bulge beneath him. Peter’s laugh dissolved into a moan.

Chris smirked at them, slowly trailing his hands up Noah’s thighs though he stopped just short of his groin, a silent question in his eyes. He nodded enthusiastically, too occupied to answer due to Peter biting the sensitive skin at the nape of his neck without breaking it. “Fuck me…”

Peter paused in his marking efforts, growling into his ear as he forced him to focus on Chris by grabbing a hold of his jaw. He felt Peter’s nails gently scratching his skin. “Oh, I think Christopher might have a better idea.”

Chris’s hand traveled up and cupped his cock through his pants, gently rubbing and stimulating the hardening member. He in turn squirmed in Peter’s lap and felt the Alpha’s clothed cock press against the cleft of his ass.

“Does he now?” He moaned softly.

Chris scooted closer and placed a leg on each side of his lap, sharing a passionate kiss with Peter before he turned his focus back on Noah. Chris pulled him up a little by the collar of his borrowed sweater and for a moment he thought the younger man would kiss him as well. Chris leaned in but stopped just short and smiled. “I’m gonna ride you both at the same time.”

As hot as that sounded, his brain short-circuited for a moment. He paused and blinked, cocking his head to the left as he tried to figure out how exactly that was going to work. “How is that gonna fit, we don’t have lube.”

Chris chuckled in response and gently lifted Noah’s hands to cup his ass. “You’re just gonna have to get me wet enough.”

Wet enough? He was missing something here. Not that he was complaining, Chris’s ass was phenomenal.

Peter took pity on him. “I think he doesn’t know. Maybe you should show him.”

The absolutely feral grin Chris gave him made his breath stutter.

“Let’s have some fun then.”

He felt Peter smile against his neck, the Alpha going back to his assault to suck a few more hickeys into the sensitive skin. That was gonna be a bitch to hide from Stiles, Mikey, and Liam but considering that every touch sent electricity through his body, he wasn’t going to complain much.

Chris opened his own pants but didn’t slip them down. Instead, he zipped down Noah’s and continued his teasing touch.

A soft squeaky moan escaped him as Chris’s hand rubbed him through the fabric and slowly massaged him to a throbbing erection. Peter in the meantime had started rubbing himself against his ass while continuing his assault on his neck and even his shoulders. He was gonna be bruised and sore by tomorrow, that was for sure.

“He’s pretty when he’s marked up,” Chris commented as he slipped his hand inside Noah’s underwear and wrapped a hand around his hard cock. The other man stroked it slowly, keeping his touch light and gentle as he worked from the sensitive head to the base, and then slipped him out of his restraining clothes as he worked himself back up.

“Pretty down there too…” The hunter remarked, smiling as he studied Noah’s cock for a moment, fingers tracing over the thick veins down to his balls.

Peter let out a delighted moan behind him, one that he echoed as the wolf made him grind down on while Peter thrust up. It was a goddamn shame they didn’t have any lube because he really wanted that thick cock to wreck his ass right then and there. But Chris clearly had a different plan.

The hunter guided one of his left hand from its place on Chris’s ass up to his own mouth, offering him his own fingers with a firm. “Suck on them, get them wet.”

Processing that command took him a second but he caught on quickly and started sucking on his index and middle finger. Bobbing his head up and down and swirling his tongue around the digits until they were coated in his own saliva.

Chris gently pulled Noah’s fingers free after a few moments and guided his hand down Chris’s pants. His mouth opening in a little ‘O’ when his fingers didn’t brush over a hard cock but instead found soft curls and a wet cunt. Oh, that made a whole lot of sense. His cock twitched excitedly and he couldn’t help but grin and lick his lips as he slowly started rubbing the soft folds and sensitive clit. Using his wet fingers as lube to ease his way.

Chris’s breath hitched as he circled the sensitive little nub and applied varying amounts of pressure. He enthusiastically met him for a passionate kiss, causing Peter to groan, followed by a desperate moan once the wolf caught on what they were doing.

He heard a zipper behind him opening and felt the brush of Peter’s hand against his ass. Knowing Peter, he was practically drooling while jerking himself off as he watched them make out.

“Fuck that’s hot,” Peter whispered.

Chris grinned against his lips and leaned back, watching both of them with a hungry leer. The hunter leaned back and pulled away much to his dismay. His wet hand dropped to his side and he held it up to get a quick taste of Chris. He felt Peter practically vibrate behind him as he let out a hungry moan.

Chris came back quickly with one of the sleeping bags, zipped it open and laid it out on the floor before he took off his pants and commanded him in that silky voice, “Lay down on your back.”

The command made him shiver and he scrambled quickly to do the hunter’s bidding. Laying down on the sleeping bag. He was rewarded for his quick action by a gentle blow on his cock and the hunter’s questioning gaze.

“Please…” He begged softly, squirming at Chris’s burning look. God, he wanted Chris to ride em like he stole em and talk dirty to him until his toes curled and he came screaming their names. Judging by the hungry smile the hunter sent him in return, his fantasy might just be fulfilled tonight.

“Please what, sheriff ?” The hunter’s voice vibrated through him and he noticed Peter shuddering as well. The wolf’s breath ragged and his cock leaking precum.

“Oh for the love of God, Chris if you don’t start sucking me off-” He moaned as Chris licked a path from his balls to the tip of his cock before deep throating him in one smooth move, effectively cutting him off.

The hunter hollowed his cheeks and slowly worked his way up, making his toes curl as warmth exploded through him, and his heart hammered in his chest.

He felt Peter settle, one knee on each side of his head, and looked up to see the wolf was offering him his own hard member. He smirked and lapped at the leaking head, moaning at the slightly bitter but not unpleasant taste.

“Turn your ass around Chris I want to taste you,” Peter growled.

Chris demonstrated just how flexible he could be by putting a leg on either side of him and raising his hips in the air without hitting him in the process, his lips never leaving their attention to his cock.

Peter’s appreciative moan had him shivering in response. He continued his worship of the wolf’s member with short licks to the head and worked his way down to the heavy balls, taking each in his mouth and rolled it around on his tongue before working his way back up.

He heard Chris moan, long and filthy above him, and watched as Peter’s enthusiastic licking, sucking, and tongue fucking of Chris’s cunt was met with equal enthusiasm as Chris fucked the wolf’s face. He felt the hunter’s legs contract and shudder after a few minutes, gasps escaping Chris as he came hard on Peter’s tongue. He even felt some fluid hit him on the chin as the hunter squirted his juices over them, much to his surprise and Peter’s delight.

“I hoped you could still do that.” The Alpha growled, playfully biting Chris’s ass without breaking the skin and slapping his other cheek.

Chris pulled away from them and took a few strides and deep breaths to come down from his high. Then grinned and swayed his hips as he walked back to them and smoothly straddled him.

“Oh, I can do far more than that.” The hunter chuckled. “What do you say?”

He groaned softly and quickly nodded his consent. “Please…”

Peter growled in response, red eyes glowing as he walked around them to sink behind Chris. “Why don’t you ride us, sweetheart?”

Chris smirked in return. Gently grabbing a hold of his cock and guiding him into the hunter’s tight wet heat. He nearly came on the spot but managed to hold back just enough by focusing on a spot on the ceiling and letting out a slow breath to ground himself while Chris slowly got used to his length and girth. He wasn’t the biggest or thickest guy, and thankfully neither was Peter or this was never gonna fit, but neither of them were exactly small either and Chris would need to adjust to each of them.

After a moment or two, the hunter slowly raised himself and moved his hips in slow, long strokes until he slid in and out easily and Chris could pick up some pace. His toes started curling and the warmth in his belly started pooling slowly, gradually building with each thrust and stroke until Chris pulled up enough to keep only the tip of his cock in.

He hadn’t even noticed Peter coming closer until the wolf aligned the head of his cock against his own as he slowly pushed the first few inches into Chris’s cunt beside him.

“Fuck…” He moaned, eyes rolling back into his head as Chris slowly sank on both of their cocks. They rubbed together in the tight wet heat of Chris’s cunt and he could feel every pulse, throb, and twitch coming from the wolf’s cock.

Chris paused once he had them both down halfway, his chest heaving with every breath and a large grin on his face. The hunter leaned over him, sinking himself further on Noah’s cock but forcing Peter’s further out. Chris then grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head, checking over his shoulder to see if Peter was on board, who grinned in return.

The moment Chris started moving, riding him like a prized stallion, Peter pushed his hips up every time Chris pushed down. Rubbing both their cocks together, lubed by Chris’s juices as the entire lengths met and rolled together with each thrust.

A string of moans and desperate little sounds left his throat as he surrendered to the warmth and feelings of pleasure that surged through him with every move. He felt it intensifying with each stroke, each move. Amplified by the wet sounds of Chris’s cunt and his little moans of pleasure, Peter’s growls and harder thrusts and by the twitching and throbbing of the wolf’s cock besides his own.

He managed to hold out for several minutes before his toes curled, his body convulsed and heat exploded in his loins. His cock twitched and pulsed as he came hard and in long spurts, while Chris continued to ride him and Peter continued to thrust in beside his twitching cock.

It didn’t take long for the wolf to let out a long moan and join him. Their cocks twitching and throbbing together as they came deep inside Chris and filled him with their cum. He felt Peter slump forward, held up by Chris as the wolf shuddered his last wave of ecstasy.

Chris continued to ride them, though the movement of his hips was greatly reduced due to Peter’s weight on his back. Milking them for every last drop they had. Only when they were spent and Peter was practically napping from exhaustion did he let them slip from him.

The hunter gently maneuvered Peter from his back to lay him down on Noah’s right, furthest away from the fire and rummaged through his own backpack for wet wipes to clean them up.

“Now that was a distraction.” Noah grinned, pleased when Chris winked at him.

It took a minute for Peter to come back to them with a dopey grin. Watching with interest as Chris did his best to clean them and himself from all traces of their fucking. Pouting a little as the hunter pushed out as much of their cum as he could and wiped it away.

“That’s a damn shame…” Peter muttered. “We tried so hard to breed you.”

Chris merely chuckled. “Wasn’t gonna work anyway, I’ve been on testosterone for sixteen years and have an IUD. The odds of you knocking me up are astronomical.”

He couldn’t help but frown at Chris’s words, for tempting fate was never a particularly good idea. But on the other hand, the hunter did have a point on how unlikely it would be. They weren’t the youngest, Chris was on hormones, and if he also had an IUD. What on Earth were the odds then? They couldn’t be high to begin with, even if in the best circumstances.

So he scoffed and pulled his pants back up. Peter did the same and Chris located his and put them on as well. Another sleeping bag was pulled from somewhere. His jacket was put up near the fire, on the back of a chair to dry further. And Chris laid down next to them on the sleeping bag to hunker down for the next few hours until the storm died down.

At least they were warm, comfortable, and utterly sated for now.

He dozed off knowing that their dynamic had shifted. Yes, he still wanted to duct tape Peter to the ceiling. And Chris could still be a jerk when he wanted to be. But at the very least, this was the start to a very fun beneficial rump for all three of them. Whatever else fate wanted to throw at them, they could only wait and see.

-

So what do we think? Do we want more of this universe? Do we want more DILF smut? More Chris/Peter/Noah?

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[goth-girlfriend]

Heyy could I get a matchup please? I’m a pansexual non binary person excepting and loving to all, I have short black hair and I am 5’1. Tbh I’m more interested in the 1A boys but I do love all the pro hero’s and the villains too. I can be shy at first but once you get to know me I can be very chaotic and alt. I’m very open minded and understanding no matter what your situation is and I am very patient, I rarely get angry. I also do a lot of art from pairing to potter and photography, I love to try new things. I also love your work so much and I hope your doing well 💕

Thank you! 🥰 It means a lot! I hope your doing week in this time ☺️💙 sorry it took over a month 😅 but! I’ll make it up to you! And! The other four waiting....and the few in my inbox! Well! I hope you like it!

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✨Denki✨

Kaminari, you wouldn’t think five inches is enough for him to look down and bully you about your height. But...honestly? You couldn’t be mad at it considering it’s what made your friendship with the blonde bloom.

Then again, when you first met him you were kind of a wreck and didn’t have the guts to tell him, “I’m not an arm rest stop leaning on my shoulder.” Instead you let it be, fidgeting fingers and looking ahead until her smiled brightly at you, “SHORT FRIENDS ARE GREAT!” he looked down at you eyes closed, “I should keep you around more.”

Well, after that you were adopted by, THE BAKUSQUAD! Bakugo not really caring, but when Kirishima and Denki followed him around he always made sure to grab you and drag you with them, because “I WAS SCARED AND PANICKED! I DIDN’T WANNA BE ALONE!”

So, for the first and second week he treated you like a quiet kid, mostly starting conversation until you got into a comfortable groove, and he almost died seeing how you really turned out. YOU started to bully him, when he entered his short circuit, the jokes you made, but still, you took care of him making sure he didn’t get into trouble or hurt. At times you’d become a bit impulsive and your chaotic side came out.

“MOVE! IM GONNA DO IT!” You screamed “Y/n! NO! I LIKE YOU BETTER ALIVE!” He screamed. Silence, you moved your head, trying to pull back, but no luck, your eyes moved in panic looking at Denki, his own eyes wide before he started laughing. You tried to move your head regretting it instantly. Your right hand came up, forefinger and thumb pulling at your tongue that was now stuck to the pole you had made victim to your weird antics. “mm thuck.”

you have great goofy moments together, but the moment he hears Bakugo screaming and silence, and then he hears you screaming? Hah, no. All relations are canceled/expired/rejected/blocked/denied/gone. He likes being alive, and right now, you were a threat to his life, so “Oh, uh yeah I got a thing to do in the other ro-“ RUN

he’s more than great full to have you around, your patient with him when he just can’t do something but he’s determined to. Like the month he dragged you of the dorms every night, because “IM GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS HAUNTED HOUSE WITHOUT SCREAMING.” The haunted house opened the first of October, and ended on Halloween, it was terrible, at one point he passed out, another frothed at the mouth, his screams were priceless, he clung to you more than a few times crying about being scared. Decked a few jump scare people, and at least twice went into Pikachu self defense mode and electrocuted the groups of workers around the two of you at least twice. Honestly, you were surprised they let you both keep coming back. But the last day, he managed to only let out squeaks and squeeze your arm and hands but he did it. Thirty one long nights of walking the same halls, jump scares, and voids, mesmerizing the right way of the maze, you mad wit out fine, he was only slightly shook.

Art? Denki doesn’t get it, claimed he can’t draw to save his life and when you watched him try you believed him, BUT THE COMPLETE AND UTTER SHOCK WHEN YOU FOUND OUT HE WAS BASICALLY AN ART MAJOR WHEN HE SHORT CIRCUITED..... you started saving his drawings and sketches, and then you’d show him and he’d be impressed, but completely denies that he ever did it. “Nope, you got the wrong guy, you’ve seen me, I can’t draw a circle.” But he loves to watch you paint, and take photos, but don’t take him to wildlife sets with you. He will get hired of waiting for birds and throw himself on the grass and start sighing loudly and rolling around, “Nothings coming y/n!” “MAYBE IF YOU SHUT UP THE BIRDS WOULDNT FLY AWAY LIKE ITS THE END OF THE WORLD!” Silence, you can definitely feel him staring you, “Well that’s just rude.... you scared off the only bird that was actually here.” Pottery? He watched you, and he wanted to try, the first time he ended up slinging clay everywhere, second he can’t keep his hands still enough, the third time you took pity and ended up like the cheesiest movie scene, but, you were behind him guiding his hands, he became a flustered mess and crushed the almost pot when you spoke to him and he felt your breath on his shoulder. He was blushing and flustered and then started apologizing for ruining the pot... in the end you both together did make a lopsided pot, it now sits in your room, home to your shared black prince succulent. When you brought it home he made anyone who would listen come see his first pot and new child.

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“Y/n?” You heard knocking and groaned getting up off your bed to open your door.

“I brought someone else to meet prince...” the look you gave him was one of ‘Are you sERIOUS?’

You closed your door a bit to look at the digital clock that was hanging just above your desk, 1:37 in the morning...

“It couldn’t wait till sun up?” You asked eyes kinda squinty as the hall light started to flood into your room now that you opened the door wider to let whoever in.

“It’s important everyone knows my new son!” He stepped in and you moved and plopped onto your desk chair.

“Alright, but be careful, you bruised one of his petals last time.” You stretched and looked at your abandoned school work, you looked at it reading the question you had struggled on, and by some miracle, being half groggy and half awake, you read it and the answer came to you. You started to write it down before you forgot. And you were so proud of yourself, until you heard the feminine voice.

“Kaminari, you’re an idiot.” And then a slightly muffled laugh.

You didn’t have a problem with Jiro, in fact you liked her as a friend, she was nice, had good taste in music, bullied Denki with you sometimes, friendly and you’ve never seen her angry or get snobbish with anyone. She was laid back and cool.

But, one thing you didn’t like, was the fact she was slowly becoming the center of Denki’s flirting. Jealous? Nahh....well....no.... maybe a little? Nope, nah that’s not it.......okay yeah.

“Y/n Chan! Jiro is bullying me.” He came and shook you by your shoulders pulling you from staring at your school work.

You turned your head to look up at him. “What?” You asked.

“She called me an idiot.” He pouted and closed his eyes.

You laughed and dropped a hand onto his head, after he kneeled to plead you defend him, “Oh Denki, if you want me to disagree it’s gonna be a long night.”

He pouted at your words but sighed in defeat, until the next words came, “So (y/n), if Denki’s son is in your room does that make you the mother of his son?”

You looked at Jiro a faint blush tinting your cheeks as you registered what she said. You gave a few quiet laughs but before you could say anything Denki became a stuttering flustered mess. Catching both of you and pulling you both out of the conversation that almost started.

“Well! (Y/n)! Well go! A Princess does need her beauty sleep!” He winked at you as he left in a hurry, Jiro just quirked a brow before she told you good night and you returned it as she left. You yawned and got back into bed, before your phone buzzed and you cursed, but the blush on your cheeks wirsned at the flirty text you’d gotten from Denki, you’d think you’d gotten used to it already, but maybe the feelings you thought you’d pushed away never really left the surface.

‘Good night princess 😉 Don’t forget to dream about me 💛’

Cringe yes, but that’s literally the best flirting line he has. Apparently getting comfortable with Denki meant he was comfortable flirting with you 24/7, no hesitation. And you enjoyed the attention and flirted back with him, but things kinda changed when Jiro started to give him attention too.

******

“Mornin’ babe,” you yawned at Denki’s greeting and gave a wave and small smile as you walked to a table and plopped down. You didn’t get much sleep, you finished your homework so now you had the weekend free, but what were you going to do? You stared at the empty table in front of you thinking about nothing, head empty, until Mina came and sat across from you, “So babe huh? Is it official!” She whisper screamed.

“Pfft, just about as official as me being All Might.” You had a small smile, small but genuine. “Boooooooo.” She pouted, “I have my own theories but I really want to tell you this one, soooo! Bakusquad girls day! But... just you and I. Get ready let’s go!”

So, after deciding you’d buy something to eat instead of cooking you got ready and then both you and Mina set off to talk theories and what’s really going on in her head. “So, I think he wants something serious but since you guys joke so much I think he thinks he’s in the friend zone and don’t even deny it I know you like him, I’ve seen the way you smile at all his stupid jokes even I don’t laugh at all of them and I try to be nice. Plus the way you loook a Jiro is enough to show your jealous but he doesn’t see that, I’m pretty sure he thinks you just don’t like her humor or something, but from what I’ve seen your good friends with her when Denki isn’t around so that lets me believe your jealous of his attention going to someone else. Soooo, what do you say? What do you think? And I think he’s trying with Jiro because you guys kinda have similar personalities and hair cuts? Well not really but you know? When your in love you call broccoli Midoriya and a grenade Bakugo but that’s a different story, so? What do you think?” You just stared at her, the takoyaki had with your toothpick just to far from your lips as you wondered if she was right. A shot smile pulled at your lips as you looked down and closed your eyes to let out a sigh, “Well, I won’t say your wrong, I’ve done lot of things but being in denial has never been one of them. I’m not going to confess or anything but I do have one question.” You looked at Mina through the corner of your eyes while your face was still pointed to the ground. “Yes!” She cheered and nodded looking at you with a big smile, “If this is about a plan I’ve got it all figured out so don’t worry!”

You shook your head and faced her completely, “Nope! Keep the plan well use it later but, if I do something about this Denki thing you have to so something about tape boy.” Mina became flustered at your words but nodded, “well, your first lady she smacked you back causing you to slightly choke on the Takoyaki you’d finally started to eat, after catching your breath and wondering around for a bit you both talked it out and it’s go time.

****

The next morning you started the plan (titled by Mina) “Seducing Pikachu” Taking a deep breath you readied yourself to take your flirting next level, he called you babe you had to call him daddy, he gave you a hug you pulled his face down to peck his cheek, he draped an arm over your shoulders you had snuggle closer and hug his waist, he tried to tease you by taking your hand you can’t pull away, in stead you interlock fingers and squeeze, if he leaned into your ear to whisper something you can’t push him away. And we’re you ready? No, in fact you felt queasy, and like you had to bathroom, but with a shove from Mina you entered the kitchen and like usual “Good morning babe!” And the usual flirty wink, but this time instead of getting flustered or yawing you locked eye contact and with everything you had, “Mornin Daddy.” You smiled at him and walked to the fridge to try and occupy yourself. In the background you heard Mineta screaming about the name daddy. You looked at Denki with the same smile after grabbing a juice and he was flustered, red cheeks and it looked like his hair had fluffed up a bit. It’s working! You waved at him and walked to the common room and sat down on one edge and looked at the tv, it was playing some show about volleyball. Jiro came and sat across from you on the other sofa joining you and a few others in watching this show, right now, the only empty seats are the spot next to you on the love seat, or the two seats beside Jiro. He sat by you and was strangely quiet, oh gave him a smile when he turned to look a you, he smiled and looked at the tv, after an hour or two your hands began fiddling with the juice in your lap and you felt a tug at your hand, you felt Denki place his hand on yours usually you’d pull away and punch his shoulder, but this time. You didn’t take your eyes of the tv when your intertwined your fingers and squeezed his hand. You brought your other hand and squeezed his hand between both of yours and snuggled closer to his side and laid your head against his shoulder, he tensed a bit then relaxed quickly. He laid his head on yours and you eyed Mina real quick, you gave you a thumbs up and you motioned to Sero with your eyes and she stopped and pouted. After another hour you started to get up and pull away from Denki. You felt a hand pull at yours and you looked at Denki, “Where are you going?” You titled your head, “Gonna go buy lunch maybe.” He looked up at you still holding your hand, “Don’t leave me.” He said, “Come with me then.” You gave his arm a tug and without second thought he jumped up outside you were cool, but inside, you were going ballistic, inside you were nothing like usual, you were honestly so surprised that this plan was working, with your attention he didn’t even pay attention to Jiro,,,, were you really jealous?

Getting to a ramen place you both sat down and filled our sheets with your orders, casually sitting in silence your phone dinged, “So.... did he confess? Or do women really have to do all the work, 🙄, Sero didn’t understand what I meant until I- never mind, how’s it going?”

You smiled at the message and shook your head.

Denki being curious why you were smiling tried to peek, “Mina is trying to confess to Sero and she says he’s an idiot.” You smiled and turned to Denki explaining before he could see.

“Yeah, I didn’t wanna say anything sometimes Sero isn’t the smartest.”

You felt a smile pulling at your lips, “Yeah, I know someone else who is just the same.” You propped your elbows on the table and placed your chin on your palms. He did the same and pushed his cheeks so they looked chubby against his palms.

“Kaminari,” you called his name in a chirpy tune with a smile, he closed his eyes and smiled before he said your name in the same way.

****

“How good are you at noticing small things?” I asked and tilted my head. “Hmmm, did you grow out your hair?” His head tilted, and he smiled.

“No? It’s been this short for a while.” I dropped my arms flat against the table palms up, “try again.”

“Yooouuuu,,,, are wearing contacts?” He asked. “I’m not blind.”

“Yoouuuuu.....are trying a different Boba?” “No... well yes, but not what I’m talking about......try one more time and I’ll give you a hint if you can’t guess.”

He nodded and squinted at me looking like he was concentrating hard.

“I know!” He took my hands in his and squeezed them, I felt my heart start to race, “You’re fingers are cold, the tips are turning reddish.”

I smiled and looked away and licked my top lip trying to not laugh, “That wasn’t it but a good guess.”

“Then what is it?” He asked pouting.

“Close your eyes.” I said and waved a hand, he nodded and then closed them, I placed my finger tips on the left side of his jaw and tried to pull him closer, after getting him halfway across the table I leaned forward and lightly pressed my lips against his cheek.

I pulled away, and moved my hand away from his jaw.

“I...so think you should try again, I didn’t get the hint.” He looked away with a bush slowly becoming prominent on his cheek.

I smiled and shook my head, silence fell over us as I shifted around, “Another hint huh?”

“Maybe just one... or two... or a few....” he still didn’t look at me hands now fiddling together.

“You know, for a flirt you sure do get nervous when someone actually makes a move on you.”

“Heh, yeah.” He was smiling but not looking at me, “Sooo, when?”

“Do you remember the day, you got sick and made me baby you for a whole week? It was that Thursday, you feel asleep on my chest, and I held you and had to pull the blanket off, I realized then, how much I cared about you, and how much I’m willing to do to make sure you’re okay. I realized how much I love your terrible jokes and cheesy pick up lines, your warm hugs and the face times late into the night, and the movie nights passing out at three in the morning and rushing to class when we woke up late. Holing your hand when you were scared, and bullying Bakugo, honestly, I wouldn’t wanna die at the hands of Bakugo with anyone else. I’m not saying I love you or anything, but if this is what falling for someone feels like...I don’t not like it, especially when it’s you.” I looked out the window we sat by and could feel his stare, I looked at him through the corner of my eye.

“I wouldn’t want to be murdered with anyone else.” He held his hand out and I tilted my head to look at him, I took placed my hand on his and he smiled, before he shifted his fingers and closed them around mine. I smiled and closed my fingers squeezing his hand.

“So? Are you going to ask?” He said.

I felt my brows furrow, “Ask?”

“Ask me to be your boyfriend.” His smile widened.

“You’re supposed to ask me!” I scolded and shook our hands.

He tucked his head between his shoulders, “okay okay, fine.... now you’re going to wait because you yelled at me.”

***

“Y/n!” I turned to look for the person who called my name, “yeah?” I asked and pulled my blanket tighter, the Christmas season was here and I was freezing on the sofa.

“Come look! The snows falling again! And the it’s pretty on the blossoms that are still around.”

“Fine.” I grumbled and stood up, I walked to the second floor windows and looked out. Sero, Denki, Kirishima and Bakugo were all outside, I could hear Katsuki screaming at them while the ran around dropping things on the floor.

They all stopped and moved away as Bakugo screamed at them and took off his gloves, it looked like he was grumbling something until Denki slung an arm I’ve this shoulders, Bakugo brought up his hand causing sparks and Denki to smile nervously before patting his shoulder and moving his arm off.

Mina tapped on the window and they looked at us, we waved when three of the four waved. Denki turned to Bakugo and with a simple blast a chain reaction started and lit up a circle, inside the circle were the words made in very sparse but still pretty blossoms, “will u be mine?” Your phone began to ring and you answered it.

“So, after two months of non official dating, will you be mine?”

You smiled, “Yes, Kaminari, yes.” You swallowed and over the phone you heard cheering and watched to em high five minus Bakugo who was pulling his gloves back on. That night, you spent under the blue keys you two piled high, his head on your chest, and you kissed his head running your fingers through his hair, “I love listening to your heart, it’s pretty, like you.” Your take his face in your hands and kiss his lips or forehead, and eventually would change spots, still cuddling to keep the warmth and love between you while the rest of the world was slipping into sleep or madness.

✨🤍🖤🤍🤍💙🤍🤍🖤🤍✨

I hope you have a good day, and remember to stay hydrated 💙

[leahxx129]

The Last Descendant (Sam Winchester x Reader) pt.2

Summary for pt.2: You wake up in an entirely unfamiliar place but soon run into a familiar face. As the days pass, you grow closer to each other but every good thing has to come to an end, right?

Warnings: cursing, careless medication use

Word count: 2.850-ish

Read Part 1 HERE.

You wake up with a headache and an unusually dry throat, but these are minor inconveniences comparing to the fact that the room you’re in strikes you completely unfamiliar. You have no idea where you are. You throw off the covers and try to get up, but a painful throb in your left leg slows you down a bit. You examine the aching limb just to discover an apple-sized deep purple spot on it.

„What the hell happened?” you mutter under your breath. Eventually, you bring yourself to get up and limp over to the bathroom. 

„Well, you look like crap, princess!” you compliment your reflection and decide to wash your face, which, you conclude, doesn’t help at all. 

You find some painkillers in the nightstand drawer and pop a few pills, not caring to read the instructions regarding the dosage first. You find your stuff on a chair in the corner but decide against putting the skintight jeans on. Your leg definitely isn’t in the condiotion to be sexy, so you just slip into your ankle boots that go surprisingly well with the oversized male plaid shirt you’re wearing. Walking gives you a great deal of trouble, but being the stubborn ass person you are, you choose to ignore it and leave the room anyway. The corridor is way too lit and it gives off a hospital vibe, but you can tell this place isn’t one. There is a strange symbol on each door which seems remarkably familiar, but you can’t quite put your finger on it just yet. You wander aimlessly through the corridors that follow each other until you hear a noise coming from a room. When you limp closer and peek in you can see a man standing in what appears to be a kitchen, back turned to you.

„Best defense is a good offense, so here goes nothing…” you think to yourself as you creep up behind him as quietly as possible. You grab a frying pan from a hanger and just as you are about to give it a swing, the man turns around and grabs your wrist.

„Whoa..hey..Y/N!”

You stand there speechless for a second but regain your composure considerably fast.

„Abercrombie?! What are you doing here??”

He rolls his eyes.

„I thought we’ve established it’s Sam and I live here.”

„Then what am I doing here?!”

„Y/N, just calm down, okay? I’ll explain everything-”

„Well, I’m listening!” you cut in nervously.

„Give me the frying pan first, before you hurt anyone!” he commands, and you hand him the kitchen utensil despite your unwillingness. „Great. Now take a seat, I doubt your leg is already as good as new.” he comments, his eyes lingering on the purple spot. „Want some coffee?”

„Sure.” you sit down on the chair closest to you „I drink it with two loads of sugar, sprinkled with a little bit of an explanation.”

He gives you the most authentic bitchface you’ve ever seen in your life as he sits down across to you and hands you your coffe.

„It’s kind of a long story.”

„I’m listening.”

„Well…in a nutshell, you forgot something in the hotel room and when you came back for it, I invited you to have a few drinks as a sign of my gratitude for saving my ass. Then after a few too many we caught up on that kinky wild sex you had joked about before.”

You stare at him doumbfounded, which he finds very entertaining.

„We drank absinthe, didn’t we?” you finally manage to say while running both  hands through your hair „I mean I love that shit, but it can fuck me up real bad.”

Your comment seems to break him, and he starts chuckling.

„What? What’s so funny, Winchester?” it takes a couple of second before it dawns upon you „This didn’t happen, did it?” you ask through gritted teeth.

„Nope. But you should’ve seen your face.” he shoots you a content smile.

„Quit messing with me because bad leg or not, I can still kick your 6”2’ ass.”

„Is that really the way you’d treat someone who saved your life?”

„What do you mean? And I want the truth this time.”

He sighes and his expression turns grim just in a matter of seconds.

„Remember the blonde chick with the vampire you killed?” you nod „Turns out she wan’t a victim you saved from becoming monster snack. She was his mate.”

„Oh, okay. And?”

„And… you could say that she was kind of pissed off that you decapitated her one true love. So, when you took off on your bike and turned on the interstate road, she hit you right in the side with a truck. It’s basically a miracle that you got off with nothing more than a fractured leg bone.”

You gulp your coffee slowly.

„Based on that look on your face, this is not the end of the story, is it?” 

„No.” his voice is barely above a whisper „She then took you to a nearby abandoned warehouse and… and she wanted to turn you. That’s when I arrived. You see, the part of you forgetting something in the hotel room wasn’t entirely a lie. You left your machete there. I went after you immediately, assuming you left the way you did as that’s the only way out of that town. I saw your bike in the bushes and the signs lead to the warehouse…. I was just on time.”

You can feel tear drops forming in the corners of your eyes, so you wipe them off before they have the chance to surfice. The fact that he cared enough to save you stirs up so many unwanted feelings, feelings you thought died a long time ago.

„Thanks.”

„No problem. You did the same for me.”

A long silence falls on the kitchen.

„Y/N?”

„Hmm?”

„When I fought with the vampire, something weird happened.”

„Yeah?”

„Yeah. When I cut her on the arm with your blade, she just… froze. Like… almost as if something was already killing her from the inside.”

You hesitate a little. Should you tell him? After all, he saved you. He deserves to know. Certain parts, at least.

„It was forged with dead man’s blood. Incapacitates those fuckers just long enough for hunters to cut their heads off. Real piece of work, might I add.”

He nods as if he’s confirming a theory.

„One more question… where’d you get it?”

„Every girl’s gotta have her secrets, Sam.” you smirk at him mysteriously.

You steal quick glances at Sam whenever he’s not looking. And when he’s researching, he rarely looks at anything but the lore book. What is it about this man? What is it that makes you sit here and help him instead of running? What happened to staying out of everyone’s business? A few hours ago he told you everything… he’d been drunk the night you met, because his brother’s in trouble and he has no idea how to save him and he just lost it. But the worst part came when he mentioned the Men of Letters and that you’re currently at a safe house of theirs. This only should’ve made you grab your stuff and get gone, but the part involving angels and Michael above all is kind of the main reason for leaving and never looking back. And yet here you are, helping him, convincing yourself it’s because he saved you and your leg still needs time to heal… You shut the book you’ve been reading a little too fast, drawing his attention to yourself.

„If I have to read one more sentence, I swear my eyeballs are gonna start spinning around in their sockets and I’ll see my brain.” you say quickly in your defense, looking as innocent as possible. The right corner of his lips curls into a barely visible smile.

„Go get some shut-eye. You’ve been very helpful, Y/N, thanks.”

„Yeah, I’ve been helpful at finding nothing….” you murmur in response.

„Hey, you went through an entire book in just a span of a few hours! I call that help, even if there is no relevant information in it. Sleep well.”

„Will do.” you force a smile knowing exactly how big of a lie your reply is.

You limp back to the room you woke up in and read the manual on the painkilling drugs.

„Shit!” it’s not strong enough to knock you out for the entire night. „Well then, Sam might crap his pants later this night when the show starts…” you whisper to yourself and take a couple of pills.

The fatigue and the warmth of your blanket soon sends you to sleep. You don’t know how long you usually go without dreams, but at one point they always appear. First, they start off nice, mostly memories of your family. You, your father, mother and brother having a barbecue in the backyard, or just watching TV in the living room, anything basic you enjoyed doing with them. Then there’s a turning point when everything goes to hell. They appear and slaughter your whole family in front of you, one by one. Your father is the last one. He sees you hiding and tries to mouth something to you, but he’s choking on his own blood and you can’t make out anything, at least not until it’s too late. Every scream, every death rattle stops once and for all and that’s when you realize what he was saying. And you do it, regardless that it’s almost no use. You always wake up exactly when this happens, sweaty and screaming, but this time it’s different. There is someone calling your name.

„Y/N, wake up…Jesus, Y/N, wake UP!!” you hear a deep manly voice. Still in the haze of your recurring nightmare, you’re not able to identify who and you do what any person in this line of job would – try to incapacitate the intruder. In a blink of an eye you pull the person onto yourself, then shift so you would be on top and point the gun you got from under your pillow in their face. You’re seeing stars from the pain that shoots through your leg as a result of your swift movements, but you do your best to ignore them and supress the urge of crying out. The only thing disturbing the heavy silence is your panting.

„Sam?!” you finally recognize him.

„Uh, yeah!” his hands are in the air, his gaze is shifting between the gun and your eyes. „I heard this awful screaming coming from your room and I thought something happened…”

You let the gun down and avert your eyes.

„Yeah, not so much. I mean, when people witness this, they freak out, but it’s just another typical night of fucked up sleep for me.”

„You were tossing and flailing and… it honestly sort of looked like you could hurt yourself.” he adds in a low tone.

„Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don’t. It’s fifty-fifty.” you admit, which quite frankly surprises you. You don’t really open up to anyone.

„I see…” his eyes then slowly travel all the way down your body from your face to your thighs as you are still stradling him.

Feeling your cheeks heat up, you slide off him to his right side.

„Sorry about that. And, well, for the whole thing.”

„Oh, don’t be, it was nothing at all. I’ve seen a lot worse actually.” ha pauses for a second, but can’t keep himself from asking „Hey Y/N…Was this…was this about the reason you got into the life?”

„Make a guess.” you respond sarcastically, and he draws his brows together in confusion, awakening some guilt in you. Sam is just trying to be there for you to which your reaction is pushing him away.

„I’m sorry.” you sigh „Yeah. It was about the reason, damn straight. You know how everybody gets into the life by losing someone?” he nods „Well, try losing your whole family at fourteen. Now that can mess your head up real bad. Even though it’s been more than a decade now, my subconscious makes sure I never forget what happened.”

„You know, if you’d like to share-„ he starts but you jump in.

„I appreciate it, Sam, I really do, but I don’t think I can do it.” 

„Of course, it’s fine. „ he gets off the bed and starts towards the door but stops halfway and sits down in a chair. You look at him perplexed.

„Uhm, Sam? What are you doing?”

„Nothing. Just making sure that if you fall asleep, you won’t hurt yourself.”

„By sitting there and watching me sleep like a weird-ass creep?”

„Now that you say it out loud, yes, I admit it sounds way worse than it actually is-”

„Sam, I don’t need a sleeping nanny. I’m a big girl, I can handle a few bruises every now and then.”

„Y/N, please. I’m pretty sure that seeing my naked butt added to your trauma, so please let me do this for you. Let me help you. Or at least let me try.” he pleads. You suddenly realize the weight of his words. He really wants to do this for you and for himself. He couldn’t help his brother, and this chance strikes him as a step on the path of redemption.

„Okay. I hope you don’t snort.”

He smiles at you gratefully. You replicate his expression and turn to the other side and try to fall asleep again. You have no idea how much time has passed but you can’t take it anymore. You sit up abruptly.

„Okay, this isn’t working. I can’t fall asleep knowing that you’re sitting there and staring at me.”

„What? I’m not staring, don’t be ridiculous.” he scoffs.

„You know what? Come here.”

„Beg your pardon?”

„Sit here beside me. Or lay down. Or whatever. This way the whole thing won’t have that creepy stalking vibe.”

„You sure about that?” maybe you’re imagining it, but his voice sounds a bit higher than usual.

„Yup. Although I might kick you a few times, which I apologize for in advance.”

„O-Okay.” 

A couple of second pass when you feel the bed sink in a little bit on your left side.

„We can share my blanket if you’d like.”

„Thanks.” he whispers, and you feel him tug on the fabric.

„Good night, Sam.”

„Good night, Y/N.”

When Sam lays beside you, he makes sure to keep a certain distance between the two of you. But during the night when you wake up, you find yourself a little too close to him. Your head is on his chest, your right arm is around his torso. One of his arms is around you, his lips brush against your forhead. You can feel his hot breath fanning your face. Your very first intinct is to jump out of the bed as far away from him as possible, but somehow you don’t follow it. What the hell’s wrong with you now? Or was something wrong with you earlier when you thought cutting everyone out was the only way? You have no idea. And the fact that Sam’s hold around you tightens does not aid you in finding an answer.

The next morning you prepare breakfast by the time he wakes up. None of you mention the proximity you’ve experienced the previous night. The day goes by with researching. You try to crack a joke occasionally and it appears effective – he rewards them with a smile, even with a laughter once. 

Later on, your attempt at a peaceful slumber is again ruined by your restless subconscious. Sam bursts through the door. This time you don’t pull a gun at him – your shaking hands and tear-blurred eyes wouldn’t even let you - but sternly express your desire for him to leave. Being a Winchester, he does the exact opposite, this time not bothering to keep a distance.  Somehow your figure and his fit perfectly. This goes on for a few days, but you decide to leave. The research isn’t going anywhere, but Sam’s Mom and a friend named Bobby supposedly have a lead on his brother. Plus, you have your own business to run, you can’t keep on playing vacation and miss out on everything.

As a surprise, Sam’s fixed your bike that got trashed in the accident.

„I’m nowhere near my brother, but I did learn from the best.” he says shyly, scratching the back of his ear.

„No, Sam, it’s perfect. Couldn’t have done a better job myself.” you say as you stand on your toes to press a kiss on his cheek. Your lips may linger a little longer than they should. „Thanks. For everything.” you add, your voice scarcely a whisper. He smiles down at you, not saying anything.

You walk to your bike, but before you put your helmet on, the words basically just fall out of your mouth. 

„Hey, don’t be a stranger, Winchester. You should call sometimes.”

[badchoicesposts]

Loyalty Or Royalty

Chapter 2

Summary: Mia Bhatt spent years trying to escape her past, trying to escape the feeling of betrayal that was left in her heart after the fire, and she finally had. She was marrying the King of Cordonia and was finally going to get her happily ever after. But, after a momentary lapse in judgement caused her to send a wedding invitation to someone she was sure had forgotten about her, she realizes that sometimes the past has a way of crawling back to you.

Author’s Note: In this fic Anton and The Sons of Earth were caught before the wedding. Also this story will contain flashbacks that will be in italics.

Pairing: Liam x MC (Mia Bhatt), Platonic!Colt x MC, MC x The Mercy Park Crew

TRIGGER WARNING: VERY BRIEF MENTION OF PARENTAL ABUSE

Taglist: @flowerpowell​​, @dcbbw​​, @texaskitten30​​, @kingliam2019​, @hopefulmoonobject​, @lovehugsandcandy​, @los-cafeteros​​, @desiree-0816​, @lovemychoices​

Prologue, Chapter 1

Mia watched with a smile as Colt blew out the seven candles on his birthday cake. He was only two years older than her, and she didn’t understand what the big deal was but she knew that as soon as his parents left the two of them alone, he would be teasing her for still being five while he was seven. It was a small celebration, with just the two of them and both of Colt’s parents, and although they were doing their best to fake smiles, both children could feel the tension in the room as Teppei and Annya shared subtle glares.

Annya rose to help Colt cut the cake, guiding his hand and portioning out two pieces for both children, leaving them alone to enjoy the chocolate dessert. Annya exited the room to place the knife in the kitchen sink, and Teppei followed soon after her, the sound of a whispered argument making their way out to where both kids were sitting.

“They’re always fighting,” Colt sulked, picking at his cake unhappily. 

“At least your dad doesn’t hit you and your mom when they argue,” Mia said, having been no stranger to unhappy parents. 

Even at such a young age, she knew it wasn’t right, and she couldn’t help but wonder why her mom didn’t do anything to stop it. She supposed it was because after her dad did it, he would always apologize and buy the two of them flowers.

“I know what would make me feel better,” Colt said, a mischievous smile breaking out over his face. 

Mia was just about to ask him what he was talking about when she gasped at the feeling of cold chocolate frosting on her face. 

“That’s not nice!” she exclaimed.

However, Colt could tell that she wasn’t actually angry because of the wide smile she had on her face as she reached over to grab her own piece of cake. She pushed it into his face and giggled softly at the angry scowl that she could see through the clumps of brown cake and frosting on his face. The two continued to throw cake at each other, laughing uncontrollably until Annya’s scandalized gasp caused them to stop. Even as she ushered the two of them into the bathroom to get cleaned up and tucked them into Colt’s bed for the night, they continued to laugh quietly to themselves. 

~~~

“We’re going to the reception in an actual horse drawn carriage?” Mia asked, a small laugh escaping her lips as Liam helped her into the vehicle. 

“It seemed appropriate,” Liam responded, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into his side.

“Have I told you that I loved you recently? Because I really do,” she said, nuzzling her face into the side of his neck. 

Liam let out an uncomfortable sigh, causing Mia to pull away. 

“What is it?”

“I... I hope you still feel that way in a few minutes,” he mumbled, squeezing her hand gently.

“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked with an amused smile.

“I may have asked the staff to change around the seating arrangements so that Colt and Ellie could sit with the rest of us at dinner,” he said nervously. 

Mia immediately moved away from him.

“What? Why? Why would you do that?” she asked.

“Because I can see how much you care about him. He should be there to properly celebrate with us, and I figured it would give you two a chance to talk,” Liam tried reasoning with her.

“Liam, this is our wedding reception not a therapy session,” she argued.

“I know,” he said, reaching over to grab her hand. “I just thought that it would be a good chance to just enjoy each other’s company instead of fighting.”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but you shouldn’t have,” she said, just as the carriage pulled up to the reception venue.

Liam helped her out of the carriage, and the two entered, the sound of cheers meeting their ears. They made their obligatory rounds around the room before settling in for dinner. Mia shot a glare in Liam’s direction as she sat at the largest table in the room, which was actually two tables pushed together to form one large enough for them and all of their friends and family. She wasn’t shocked at all to see that she was seated directly across from Colt and reminded herself not to roll her eyes in front of the entire court. 

“So, Mia, are you going to introduce us to your friends?” Leo asked, causing her to share an uncomfortable look with the rest of the crew. 

“Right, um, everyone this is Colt and Ellie. Colt, this is Leo, Maxwell, Hana, Olivia, and Liam’s stepmother Regina. And you already know Drake and obviously Liam,” she said making the awkward introduction as the first course was served. 

Everyone else already knew each other because the rest of the crew had arrived a few days before the wedding. 

“Well, it’s an honor to meet you, Colt. I can tell you’re obviously someone who means a great deal to Mia,” Liam said kindly.

“Someone who used to,” Mia muttered under her breath, although everyone heard her. 

She grabbed her wine glass and downed it all in one go, and one of the servers quickly stepped forward to get her a refill. She saw Colt raise his brows in surprise at the action, but he didn’t comment. Liam cleared his throat uncomfortably and rested his hand on Mia’s thigh in a reassuring manner. 

“So, Colt, what do you do for a living?” Liam tried again, to which Mia let out a loud laugh. 

“Yes, Colt, what do you do for a living?” she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 

She watched as Colt’s jaw clenched ever so slightly and his grip on his fork tightened. 

“I, uh, I’m in between jobs right now. But, my last job was… as a mechanic,” he said through gritted teeth. 

“Do you live in New York as well?” Liam asked. 

“You know, Li, that’s a great question!” Mia exclaimed, turning to Colt and giving him her full attention. She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly as she waited for him to answer the question. 

“I’ve spent the last few years moving around a lot,” Colt answered, and Mia saw Ellie give him a nervous look. 

“Moving around where exactly?” Mia asked. 

“A lot of places,” he said, meeting her gaze head on.

“Like where?” she asked more insistently. 

“It’s not important,” Colt responded. 

“Mia, maybe we shouldn’t-” Logan tried to interrupt.

However, at this point, Mia was too far gone to stop. She held her hand up to silence him and kept her eyes locked onto Colt’s. 

“Where have you been, Colt? Where have you been for the past seven years?” she exclaimed, everyone going silent around her. 

“Look, Mellie,” Colt began, letting out a tired sigh.

“No! Don’t take that tone. Don’t act like me wanting to know is some kind of inconvenience to you or like I’m being unreasonable!” she whisper yelled across the table to keep from drawing attention from the tables around them. “And you don’t get to call me ‘Mellie’ anymore!”

He was always the only person that called her that and hearing him say it now only added to her irritation. It had originally started because he had trouble saying “Amelia” when he was a kid, and it just stuck, even when everyone else around her started calling her “Mia”.

“You think I left because I wanted to?” he asked, dropping his fork and leaning in towards her from across the table. “I left because I had to!”

“Yeah, Colt I know. I understand that just fine. I understood that when the cops came looking for me to get information on you and your father. I understood that when everyone else left too. But, you see the difference with them is that they had enough common sense to get in contact with me. They had enough common sense to let me know that they were okay. They had enough common sense to let me know that they were still alive!” she said angrily, finally letting all of her hurt and anger out. 

“I’m sorry, Mellie,” Colt whispered, his voice just as pained as hers. “I couldn’t risk it.”

“Sorry isn’t good enough!”

“Mia, please. He didn’t stay away because he wanted to. You should have seen how much it hurt him not to-” Ellie began to say.

She stopped though when she noticed the murderous look on Mia’s face. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You kept in contact with her?” she gasped out, the guilty look on Colt’s face answering her question. “Go to hell, Colt!” 

“Are you really jealous right now?” he asked, his voice almost amused. 

This only served to make her even more angry. She was angry that he could even find it in himself to think of any of this as funny when she felt like she was falling apart. 

“Yes! I am! You were always the only constant that I had in my life. You were the only person I ever fully trusted, the only person I ever felt safe with. You were the only person I had left after that fire, and you up and left in the middle of the night with no warning. You didn’t even say goodbye. Do you know how much that broke me? Do you know how much sleep I lost wondering if you were okay or if you were in jail or if you were lying dead in some back alley? Do you know how long I waited to hear back from you? How long your mother did? And trust me I know how ridiculously co dependent this all sounds, but it’s still the truth. But, instead of getting in contact with the only two people who would have done anything to hear from you, you reached out to some girl that you knew for four months. Of course I’m jealous! I thought I meant more to you than that!”

She pushed herself out of her chair and stormed out of the ballroom. She could hear footsteps running behind her, but she kept going until someone’s strong grasp on her shoulder stopped her from moving any further. 

“Mia, I’m sorry, okay? I get it. I shouldn’t have handled things the way that I did, but I’m here now,” Colt said. 

“No, you shouldn’t have,” she said, her voice cracking as tears streamed freely down her face. 

Mia broke down completely and collapsed into his arms, crying uncontrollably into his chest and gripping him like her life depended on it. 

“I’m sorry, Mellie. I’m so sorry,” he mumbled into her hair as he gripped onto her just as tightly. 

Mia wasn’t sure how long the two of them stayed that way before she pulled away and wiped her face. 

“I’m still so pissed at you,” she confessed, looking everywhere but at his face. “But, I won’t have you thrown in the dungeons. Yet.”

Colt laughed nervously.

“Thanks. Your, uh, husband seems nice,” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“He’s great,” she said with a small smile. “He’s wonderful, and I’m so lucky to be with him.”

“Did you, uh, tell him anything about me? About the crew?” he asked.

“No. The only person that knows anything about that stuff is Drake,” she admitted, feeling a bit guilty.

“Well, you’re going to have to tell him now. You kind of made a scene in there,” Colt teased, causing her to roll her eyes.

There was something so normal about Colt teasing her, something that felt so familiar and happy. But, there was also a part of her that still wasn’t okay with it yet. 

“Don’t do that,” she said tiredly in reference to his joke. “I can’t do that with you yet. I can’t joke around like that when I’m still not completely okay with all of this.”

Colt stopped smirking and nodded his head awkwardly, looking to her for an indication of what they should do now. 

“I’m going to go to the bathroom. I’ll see you back in there. We still have to get through the wedding toasts and the first dance before this is all over,” she said. “By the way, you’re probably going to have to make a toast. Try not to say anything that’ll make me mad at you again.”

With that Mia turned and went to the restroom, pressing her back against the closed door and taking a minute to catch her breath. After a few moments, she pushed herself off of the wall and looked at her reflection in the mirror, cringing when she noticed how puffy her eyes looked. She pulled her phone out of her bra and shot a quick text to Ximena asking her to meet her so that she could help fix her makeup, and then grabbed one of the spare hand towels from the bathroom cabinet. She ran it under some cold water, removed her glasses, which she refused to get rid of no matter how much Maxwell encouraged her to get contact lenses instead, and placed the cloth over her eyes. It was a trick she learned years ago to help reduce the swelling, and one that she had used countless times when she wanted to make it look like she hadn’t just had a breakdown before returning to her regular activities. 

“Everything okay in here?” Ximena asked, opening the bathroom door and pushing her way in. 

“Yes. No. Kind of,” Mia said, moving the rag away from her eyes as the other woman approached and began shuffling through a makeup bag. 

“What did he say?” 

“He apologized. He didn’t give any kind of explanation or tell me where he was or what he was doing, but he apologized, and I know how much of a big deal doing that probably was for him,” Mia said as Ximena set to work on her face. “I’m still upset, but it’s tiring being so mad, and I would actually like to enjoy the rest of my wedding.”

“Your new friends all have a lot of questions,” Ximena informed her. “They kind of fixated on the words ‘fire’, ‘police’, ‘jail’ and ‘dead’. Logan did his best to fend them off, but you’re going to have to tell them something.”

“I know. I’ll talk to everyone tomorrow. But, now I’m going to go back out there and slow dance with my handsome husband,” she said, linking her arm through her friend’s and leading her back to the ballroom.

Mia took her seat beside Liam and leaned over, giving him a sweet kiss on the lips, grabbing his hand where it rested on the table.

“I love you, and I’m sorry for losing it,” she whispered in his ear. 

“I’m sorry for changing the seating arrangements,” he murmured back, resting his forehead against hers. 

“Don’t be,” she said with a soft smile, “I know you meant well.”

The couple turned back to their friends just in time to see Leo standing and raising his glass for a toast.  

“So, as everyone knows, I’m the brother of the groom and the family disappointment,” Leo began, causing chuckles to erupt all over the room. “Even growing up I knew that Liam would make a better king than I ever would. He’s kind, compassionate, and there’s nothing he loves more than Cordonia and her people. Or, at least that’s what I always thought. From the moment I met Amelia Bhatt I knew that there was finally something he loved more than this country. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look happier than when he’s with her, and if there’s anyone in this world that deserves to be happy, it’s Liam. So, here’s to the new couple. I wish the two of you a lifetime of happiness.”

There was a light applause from all of the wedding guests, and Mia and Liam both stood to give Leo a hug. 

“Take care of him,” he whispered in her ear right before they moved away from each other. “He needs someone to put him first because lord knows he doesn’t do it for himself,”

“Don’t worry. I will,” she said, squeezing Liam’s hand as the two took their seats once again. 

The room filled with silence as they waited for someone else to begin speaking, and Mia kicked Colt’s leg under the table. He jumped at the intrusion and glared at her as she motioned for him to stand up. He did so grudgingly, glancing around the room with a nervous look on his face before clearing his throat and beginning to speak. 

“So, um, I’ve known Mia my whole life. She is one of the kindest, smartest, and toughest people that I know. I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t always been the best friend to her. But, even when I mess up she’s always there to help me set things straight because that’s just the kind of person she is. When she loves someone or something she does it with her whole heart. She looks past the bad or negative, and she tries to see the best in everyone and everything. That’s one of the greatest things about her, and I can tell that that’s exactly how she feels about Liam and about Cordonia. Not that Liam or Cordonia is bad!” he said frantically when he realized what his words implied. 

Mia facepalmed as he continued floundering for a way to correct himself. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Colt was never really good with words.

“I just mean that when it comes down to it, she’s willing to fight through difficult times if it means doing the right thing for the people and things that she cares about. What I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t take a genius to see that Mia loves Liam, and I have no doubt in my mind that she’ll make an amazing wife and queen,” he concluded, nodding to the room awkwardly before dropping back down to his seat and chugging all of his champagne. 

Mia bit back a laugh at his discomfort and reached across the table to squeeze his hand. 

“Thank you for saying that,” she whispered kindly, causing him to smirk at her.

“So, did I succeed in not pissing you off any more than I already have?” he asked.

“You almost ruined it, but you fixed it in the end there,” she said, removing her hand from his and letting Liam shake his hand. 

The rest of their friends took turns giving a short speech about the two of them, and by the end of it all, Mia and Liam were both holding back tears of happiness as they cuddled into each other. Even Regina, who Mia was sure hated her, had nothing but kind words to say. Soon after the toasts were over, the orchestra began to play and people slowly began to make their way onto the dancefloor. 

“Dance with me,” Liam muttered in her ear, pulling her out onto the dancefloor where he began leading her into a waltz.

Mia matched all of his steps and everyone’s eyes were on the newlyweds as they continued to glide across the room effortlessly. Liam spun her out a side door in the ballroom and onto a private balcony, causing Mia to laugh softly as she remembered how he had done the same thing the first night of the social season. 

“Those were some smooth moves, Your Majesty,” she said, pressing her lips to his. 

Liam kissed her back softly, and the two of them melted into each other’s embrace. They pulled away from each other after a few moments. However, Liam didn’t release his hold on her. Mia rested her head against his chest and began fidgeting with his bowtie. 

“I’m sorry that today was such a mess,” she said softly. “I invited Colt because as hurt as I was, such a big part of me still wanted him here. I just didn’t anticipate all of the negative feelings that would come along with him actually showing up.”

“What happened, love?” Liam asked, pulling away so he could look down at her but keeping his hands on her hips. “You’ve never told me much about your past, about your life in LA, and I wanted to respect your space, but I need you to talk to me.”

“I wanted to tell you, Li. I really did, and I still do. I was just so scared of what it would bring up. It’s not a time of my life I like to think back on, and to be honest, I was worried you would judge me for it,” she admitted nervously. 

“Mia, I love you with everything in me. There’s nothing you could say to change that,” he said, looking down at her with a tender gaze. 

“You do deserve to know, but not tonight. It’s our wedding night, and I want to focus on us. I’ve already spent enough of this day worrying about Colt and forcing you to worry about him too. Tomorrow we’ll have everyone meet us in Valtoria, and we can talk about it then. Okay?” she asked, smiling at him hopefully.

She felt terrible that their entire day had been spent focusing on Colt, instead of the two of them actually enjoying the fact that they were finally married. 

“Okay,” Liam said swooping down to pull her into another quick kiss before guiding her back into the ballroom. 

Liam pulled her onto the dancefloor, and the two of them spent the rest of their reception swaying in each other’s arms

[starblazerm31]

Azalea/Imalia Apprentice April Asks #2

Man, I did myself in on this one!  It only took me the whole week!  So many "Whoa...I haven't come up with that yet..."  But that's the point of these asks!  To develop characters!  Thanks so so much to @samjmorgan​​, @mechaspirit​​, and the several anons for sending me asks!  I hope you like my answers!  Once again, novel below the cut. XP

1. What does your character feel when they see their LI for the first time each day?

Julian:  He's always awake before her, but won't move until she does.  As soon as her bleary eyes see him, she smiles; that warm blossoming feeling filling her chest.  Her beautiful disaster is alive, well, and right where she left him.  She wraps her arms and legs around him and pulls him in tight for a full-body hug.  "Good morning, angel," he whispers to her.

Lucio:  Their connection usually has them waking up at the same time.  Even with a messy bedhead, Lucio makes Azalea's heart flutter the moment she lays eyes on him.  His skin is warm and soft, and it gets cute little goosebumps as soon as she touches him.  Lucio.  Her Lucio.  *Que make-out session.*  Morning breath?  Meh, who cares.

Her sleep is sporadic due to her nightmares, and she wakes up multiple times during the night.  Every time her eyes land on Asra next to her, her heart rate slows down and she drifts back off to sleep.  When it's finally time to get up, however, she will whimper and pull him close, letting her deep emotions and love spill over to him.  He's been the longest constant in her hellish life, and she's just so happy to have him next to her.  To be able to call him hers.

2. What things does your character love about their LI?

Julian:  She LOVES how smart he is.  She feels like she can have an actual intelligent conversation with him about absolutely (well...almost) anything.  He askes intellectual questions about magic and she is more than happy to go on a spiel about the little intricacies and science behind magic.  And she loves to ask him about medicine and how the human body works.  It ends up benefitting both of them in their respective professions.  She also loves how he towers over her but will fall to his knees in an instant.

Julian loves Azalea’s stubbornness.  Once she gets her mind set on something, it’s gonna go her way. (she snagged him, didn’t she?) He absolutely loves it when she throws off all of her inhibitions and goes on a night run across the rooftops.  He can’t keep up with her when she’s elevated.  The sky is her playground, and it makes her look even more angelic to him.  He adores the way she speaks to him and holds him when he’s feeling stressed.  She’s so soothing and comforting, and she won’t let him go until he asks.

Lucio:  She loves his energy and excitement.  He's not the smartest pickle in the jar, but he can match her when it comes to being active.  Running races, playing sexy hide-and-seek, sparring...he's the only person in the world who can wear her out.  And he has been the most encouraging person to her.  His wonder and awe when he watches her do magic makes her feel as awesome as he says she is.  And he loves it when she reads one of her new stories to him.  He sits there, riveted by the images she's weaving with her words.

Lucio loves how completely and utterly kind she is to him.  She actually listens to him and encourages him, believes in him.  No one has ever done that before.

Imalia loves everything about Asra.  She loves how beautiful his magic is.  Watching him cast leaves her utterly spellbound.  The glowing swirls, the glittering lights, the musical trills his magic makes.  It is unlike anything Imalia has ever experienced.  She loves how she can talk about anything and Asra immediately seems to understand.  Magical theories, sacred geometry and leylines, blessed and cursed artifacts, enchantments, ancient incantations...he is just as invested and curious as she.  She can teach him a new spell and he can get it right almost immediately as well as understand it.  And he is the most calming presence she could be around.  If her anxiety is flaring up or if she had a particularly nasty nightmare, Asra can calm her down within minutes.

Asra loves how giving and encouraging Imalia is.  She spends so much time learning new things only to turn around and share her knowledge with even more enthusiasm.  She simply can't keep knowledge to herself.  And she would gladly give her life to save someone she loves.

3. What things about their LI annoy them?

Julian:  He can still be a spastic dumbass.  And sometimes he will go on these long tirades about how he just doesn't deserve to be with her.  She will let him get his grievances out, and then calmly explain WHY he is wrong.  And he has this really annoying habit of leaving his dirty socks right beside the laundry hamper.  And Julian tends to leave cups of cold, unfinished coffee just lying around the place.  As for Azalea herself, she tends to think that he doesn't always understand what she is talking about, so she will spend too much time re-explaining a concept he already knows.  And sometimes she can be a little to micro-managey when it comes to stuff around the shop.

Lucio:  As above, spastic dumbass.  He also has absolutely NO idea or sense of money management.  And he can be lazy.  And if she's spending too long on her shop's expenses/cleaning, or if she's reading and not paying enough attention to him, Lucio will start to whine and flop around like a little kid.  Azalea herself still has a few trust issues with Lucio on certain things like money.  He’s so used to lavish things and sometimes needs reminding that Azalea’s shop doesn’t bring in THAT kind of revenue.  Azalea KNOWS Lucio doesn’t understand what she’s talking about sometimes, so the re-explaining isn’t so bad.  But it does bore Lucio.  He can’t help but feel put-out with Azalea’s micro-managing.  He wishes she would just sell the shop and move them back into the Palace since she is Court Magician.

Asra still likes to run off on his own without giving any specifics about where/what he's doing.  The running off is fine, but Imalia would at least like an idea of what he's planning.  Just in case he might need some help.  Her worst fear is for him to get in trouble and need her, but she isn't there.

4. Who does what chores?

Julian:  Azalea handles the cooking, laundry, and cleaning the floors.  Julian handles the dusting (putting that height to good use!) and the dishes.  They both do random little fix-its around the shop, but Azalea is better at it since she had spent three years randomly alone.  Azalea loves Julian's expressions when she climbs on the roof and hangs upside down to fix a shingle or the shop’s sign.  He’s trying to catch a glimpse of his favorite boob.

Lucio:  (assuming he is no longer Count and lives with her at the shop) OMG this lazy bum.  It took Azalea a while to get him used to the idea of washing his own clothes, and even longer to teach him how to do it right.  She still takes care of cooking (he is NOT allowed!) and the floors, but they share dusting duty.  And she taught him how to fix things.  The first time he got a chair to stop wobbling, she had to stop him from throwing open the windows and yelling "I AM THE FIX-IT KING!!!" to the entire neighborhood.  She also gave him a job as shop courier.  He needed to learn how to earn his living.  Also took him a while to figure out how to deliver orders without breaking anything.  😒

Well, Imalia has servants at her estate, so she doesn't really NEED to do any chores.  But she's not the lazy type, and will at the very least cook for herself and the entire household.  She likes seeing their faces when they taste her latest atroci-uh dish.  In seriousness, she's a pretty decent cook.  Asra will usually gather reagents and ingredients they will need in their magical research.  As far as household chores, he keeps the windows clean.  He loves how the sunlight filters in through the stained glass.

5. Do they prefer to stay at home, or do they like to go out?

Julian:  Being the working stiffs they are, they will usually stay at home.  But a few times a week they will head down to the Rowdy Raven for a good time, or visit with their friends.  Azalea does eventually become Imalia's apprentice again and gets tutored three times a week; they will usually go out somewhere as a group afterward.

Lucio:  Lucio, being the exhausting booger he is, has to go out and mingle with people.  So they will typically go out when the workday is done.  When Azalea becomes Imalia's apprentice again, Lucio is encouraged to do ANYTHING else but come along.  (Imalia and Lucio dated for three years, and that ended badly; so she tries to steer clear of him)  It doesn't always work, however, because Lucio is nosy and he remembers how well Imalia's head-of-household Ben made desserts.

Since she and Asra both like to travel, they typically go out somewhere.  Even if they stay at home they will be traveling the Magical Realms.

6. What are some little things they do for each other throughout the day?

Julian:  She will make him coffee and prepare him lunch to take to the clinic with him.  She will leave him little notes in the lunch telling him how amazing he is and how much she loves him.  If he is working late, she brings him dinner.  He will tie little notes to Malak's leg for her to receive, or bring her flowers when he gets off work.  He has also become the new bearer-of-pumpkin bread.  When he gets home, she will sit him down in a chair and give him a shoulder and back rub or draw him a nice hot bath.

Lucio:  She keeps a full cookie jar for him.  She keeps the pantry stocked with food he likes and will cook it just perfect for him.  She also whispers dirty little nothings in his ear and will give him sneaky butt pinches.  He needs to know he's wanted, after all!  If his prosthetic is bothering him, she will help soothe the irritation.  He will give her random shoulder rubs and neck nibbles and will make sure Corva's food and water are always full.  He also likes to blow most of his money on random gifts for her.

She will paint Asra's nails while telling him lots of "no shit, there I was" stories.  Smoking green with him while reading, going on long walks with him, and constantly praising him.  Asra will wash Imalia's hair when they bathe together and give her amazing scalp massages to ease away tension.  He also loves to brush her hair and come up with new braid configurations for the top of her head.

7. What are some private jokes they share?

Julian:  There was this one time when they were adventuring overseas and they wanted to grab something to eat before they set out to investigate this temple that Imalia had told them about.  It was supposed to have this magical jar that could hold a human soul.  The only vendor in the town they were in sold this strange grilled fruit on a stick that smelled absolutely awful.  They still ate them and it didn't taste too terrible.  But it strangely filled them with energy and they made it through the temple just fine.  Now when they see kebabs, they look at each other and snicker.  Also, when they pass a haberdasher and see a nice pirate-style hat, Julian will pass Azalea a quirked eyebrow and grin.

Lucio:  Whenever Azalea hears a goat bleat, she will glance to Lucio and snicker because his laugh sounds exactly the same.  Lucio will laugh like a madman when Corva will imitate Azalea's frustrated "Fucking hell!"  He also taught her how to say "Mama's ass" in his accent.   Lucio:  "Ey, Corva, what's the solution to this problem?" Corva:  "Mama's ass!" Azalea:  "OMG!!!" *blush* Corva:  "Fucking hell!"

She and Asra have run afoul of a few bandit gangs with the most ridiculous names.  So now when they hear of bandits causing trouble, Asra will say "Is it The Fighting Dragon's Blood Macho Men again?"   Imalia:  *snarfs her drink* "It might be the Serpent's Hand." Asra:  *laughs out loud*   Faust:  ?

8. What are some embarrassing couple stories?

Julian:  One time Azalea was bringing him lunch at work, and the thank-you kiss became rather intense.  A patient came in, and Julian realized that he had gotten...ahem...excited.  He had to come up with a lame excuse to give himself time to calm down.

Lucio:  One time he and Azalea were toking up in the loft of the shop when Nadia came in.  It was a new strain that was really potent, and Lucio couldn't hide the fact that he was high as hell.  When he tried to follow Azalea down the stairs, he lost his balance and tumbled the rest of the way down, ending up in a pile at Nadia's feet.  He instantly blurted out in a loud exaggerated whisper:  "Azzie, don't tell Noddy that I'm high!!" Nadia:  "Don't worry Lucio, I will never find out." Lucio:  "Good.  Hey, Azzie, are we gonna screw when she leaves?" Azalea:  "....Omg...I am so sorry, Nadia." Nadia:  "It's alright, you took him off of my hands after all." (I'd draw this if I could XD)

One time she and Asra started "getting down" in her study.  They were so focused on each other that they didn't notice Ben come in and set down a tray of refreshments for them.  When they were done, Imalia noticed the tray and said "How long has that been there?" Asra:  "I don't know...I swear it wasn't there before...we..." Imalia:  "...Shit, Ben, why do you have to be such a ninja?" They couldn't look him in the eye at dinner that night.

9. Is their relationship open or exclusive?

Julian/Lucio:  Exclusive.  Azalea gives her heart to one person only.  Her love envelopes her lover and all she longs for is them.  More than one person would feel mediocre and cheap because she would have to divide her love.  She loves with everything she is.  And it turns out that both Julian and Lucio get really jealous at the thought of sharing her.

Imalia and Asra are exclusive and deeply committed to each other; but they would have a threesome if they met someone who struck both of their fancies.  That hasn't happened yet, however.

10. How often do they need to be intimate?

Julian:  They need to be intimate at least twice a week.  Jobs can be stressful, and they need to relieve that stress.  Azalea is all too happy to indulge Julian's desires, and he is happy to service her needs in return.  He's amazing at following direction.  ^_~

Lucio:  Sex is a daily occurrence with them.  Rarely, they will have had such an exhausting and busy day that sex just wasn't in the schedule...but rarely.  More often than not, it's vanilla sex.  But they make an effort to have several spicy sessions a week.  There have been weeks where they went at it a little rough at the beginning, and they were too sore to keep up their normal routine.  Those were sad weeks.

At the very least they have sex once a week; however sex can happen at the drop of a hat with these two.  Anywhere, anytime.  The longest sessions happen in the Magical Realms where they can explore and experiment for as long as they want.

11. Have they ever fought?

Julian:  Over little things, more than most.  Things get tense with two people trying to be in a committed relationship.  Something as stupid as “geez, dirty socks on the floor AGAIN?!  The laundry basket is right here!” can, unfortunately, escalate into a rather heated argument about something entirely different.  But dammit, we are COMMITTED!!! (I’m NOT leaving this bitch/bastard because I LOVE them, and we have been through WAY too much SHIT for something as amorphous as emotions to drive a wedge between us!)  Cue some time apart to get their thoughts and emotions together and a very teary-eyed snotty apology.

Lucio:  Yeah, mainly over money management.  Lucio always thought the word "budget" meant "cheap."  He didn't understand that you can't use the money for shop repairs to buy that gaudy cloak he saw in a store window.  He also didn't know that shops had to buy the things they sell.  He thought store wares just...appeared.

Asra gets irate at the risks Imalia is all too ready to take at a moment's notice.  He wants her to stay safe and it's quite hard when she suddenly decides that she has to drain a quarter of her blood as a reagent for a spell that will lift the curse on a village.  She thinks that she will be alright since she merged with the Lord of Nightmares.  But Asra reminds her that Lon is a chaos goddess and might not save her.

12. Describe their perfect date

Julian:  It's been busy at the shop and the clinic, and Azalea and Julian have been wanting a date night for a while now.  Azalea closes the shop early and prepares a picnic for the two of them.  Meanwhile, Julian closes his clinic and hauls ass down to the Rowdy Raven to pick up a special bottle that he ordered from Barth.  He gets back to the shop just as Azalea is tucking everything away in a basket.  Arm in arm, the walk to the hidden garden.  They spread out a blanket and set everything up.  Under the glow of the Deadly Starstrand, they feed each other and enjoy that entire bottle.  They giggle and snuggle together, talking about the "remember whens" of their first meeting.  Azalea then pins Julian against that crumbling wall and enacts her secret desires of that night long ago.

Lucio:  Lucio got permission from Nadia to set up a special rendezvous in the palace garden.  (She adores Azalea and helped him come up with the idea)  A table with a magnificent spread was set out for them with a chilled Golden Goose.  They spent the evening laughing and talking, Lucio telling Azalea stories of his past glories.  Azalea confesses that she didn't think much of herself or her talent until he came into her life.  Lucio spends a while kissing up and down the length of Azalea's arms, showering her with praise.  He then takes her up to his old wing via the portal in the garden and gives her the full Count experience. ^_~

There is a meteor shower tonight.  Imalia sets up a tent (looks small, but is huge inside) in a clearing in the Dark Forest that has all the trappings.  A magician's feast, different types of drinks and wine, and big fluffy bed covered in tons of vibrantly colored pillows.  Outside, they lay in the grass and stargaze.  Imalia tells Asra the history and mythology behind the constellations overhead and what significance they have to different kinds of magicians and mages.  Asra already knows all this, but he loves to hear Imalia talk.  They watch the shooting stars flit by overhead, and both exclaim when a particularly bright one passes by or makes a loud popping sound.  They then retreat into the tent where they eat and weave light magic in the air to entertain each other.  Then Asra pulls out a stick of that special incense and the rest of the night is spent rolling in those pillows.

13. Do they have an evening routine?

Julian:  When they are home for the night, Azalea will make some tea for them and Julian will pick out a good book.  They will sit and read together for a while before drawing a hot lavender bath.  They will wash each other and cuddle until the water gets cold.  Then a cup of chamomile before going to bed.  Fun times may occur at this point.

Lucio:  Azalea will spend some time teaching Lucio how to read for as long as she can keep his attention.  She will then reward him with some intimate time followed by the lavender bath.  She will pour him a glass of wine and tea for herself, and they will talk and tell each other jokes and stories until they fall asleep.

They don't really have a routine; the only routine thing about their evenings is the fact that they go to sleep.  They are usually working on experiments together, exploring, reading, drinking, or playing games.

14. Describe a "paid scene" with your character and their LI

Julian:  Julian and Azalea are getting ready to attend a soiree at the palace.  Azalea helps Julian button his cuffs and slips in some sweet kisses to his wrists.  She then tells him to hold his arms up and don't move.  She slowly buttons up his shirt, leaving smoldering kisses up his chest as she fastens each button.  Julian is a blushing mess, each kiss making him hotter and hotter.  When she closes the final button at his neck, she gives him a mischievous love bite right below his collar.  She then tells him to help her fasten the back of her dress.  He gets a wicked glint in his eye and does as she says, but throwing in a little bit of the temperature magic she had been teaching him.  Icy touches make her shudder while hot touches make her groan.  He finishes off with a blazing kiss to her shoulder which he drags up her neck and ends with a playful nip to her earlobe.

Lucio:  An aerial dancing troupe had performed in the palace earlier that evening.  Azalea talked to Nadia and got the troupe to leave their rigs up.  The room seems to be littered with draping curtains and ropes.  Azalea easily coaxes Lucio into the room and ties a blindfold around his eyes.  She tells him to count to ten and then come find her.  He does as she asks, but pouts when all he can see are the curtains and ropes swaying.  He creeps around each one, listening for her.  He hears her giggle and sees some of the curtains move.  He dashes forward to find her, but she isn't there.  She leads him around the room like this for a good while until finally she spins down from one of the curtains and hangs upside-down in front of him.  She gives him that classic Raimi Spider-Man upside-down kiss.  He asks her what else she can do from that angle.  She replies by sensuously touching him while swaying from the fabric.  Eventually, all riled up, he plucks her down from there and hurries off with her to her room.

Imalia tells Asra that she respects the Arcana, but doesn't really hold much reverence towards them since they seem rather useless to her.  Asra pulls out his deck and offers to give her a reading.  Imalia sighs, but agrees.  He lays out three cards and flips one.  Just as he suspected, it's The Empress upright.  He listens to the card and tells her what it says.  "Of all the opportunities you've had, there is one you have wanted more than any other.  It scares you, but it's embedded so far down inside you that it's part of who you are.  You want more than anything to be a mother."  Imalia starts, her face turning a deep red.  "It's expected of you," Asra continues, "so a large part of you wants to reject the idea.  The idea pins you down to your royal bloodline.  But that isn't why you want it.  You want it because you want to share the bond that you had with your father with a child of your own.  You want to teach them, encourage them, and watch them grow into something amazing."  He puts the cards away and looks at her mischievously.  "What do you think of the Arcana now?"  Imalia grimaces and says "I think they talk too much."

15. Would they go on a double date?

Definitely!  Azalea/Julian and Azalea/Lucio have gone on double dates with Imalia/Asra many times!  (However, with Azalea/Lucio, Imalia and Lucio typically end up trying to outdo each other with stories of their badassery)

16. Who pops the question?

Julian:  They propose to each other!!  They both wanted it, knew they did, but weren’t exactly sure how to go about it.  They snuck around each other (the only time in their relationship that this happens) and bought rings.  Then, on the night each had planned, Julian goes to the kitchen to make them tea and get the ring he’d bought.  When he turns around, Azalea is already kneeling in front of him with the ring she’d bought.  He’s flabbergasted, and kinda numbly holds out his ring.  The next day was full of them guffawing and telling the story to everyone else.

Lucio:  He did.  It was not at all what Azalea was expecting.  She always thought he would propose at a party, in front of everyone in Vesuvia.  But no...he waited until they were alone and comfortable, lounging in the grass of the palace garden.  He just...asked her.  No flourishes, no showy display.  As for the ring...he did really well.  It wasn't some huge gaudy thing that wouldn't look right on her at all.  It was a simple silver band with three gorgeous moonstones set on it.  He really thought about what she would like.

She does.  They are on holiday together in Nopal during the Painted Daisy Festival.  While sitting next to each other at a bonfire, Imalia stands up.  She proclaims that she has had the vast fortune of traveling the world, having many adventures, performing great deeds, and teaching some of the brightest minds the world has ever seen.  But it all pales in comparison to the person she has fallen in love with.  She simply can't see herself doing anything greater than spending her life with him.  She kneels down in front of him and produces a golden ring etched in magical runes.  She says that he has been there longer than anyone else in her life.  Would he mind keeping that bad habit up for a while longer?  Say, forever?

17. Describe the wedding

Julian:  It takes place at the Palace (at Nadia's insistence).  Julian is a nervous wreck, thinking that surely Azalea will change her mind and leave him standing at the altar.  Portia smacks sense into him, reminding him that she was part of Azalea's bridal party and had JUST seen her.  Imalia is Azalea's maid-of-honor, and is bossing people around like a drill sergeant, accompanied by Mazelinka; they wanted to make sure Azalea could just enjoy this day and not be bothered by the minutiae.  When Azalea walks down the aisle, she is a glittering spectacle of white pearls, moonstones, crystals, and feathers from Corva. (she had been saving Corva's shed feathers for this occasion).  When they exchange vows, Corva perches on Julian's shoulder, and Malak on Azalea's.  They present them with the rings.  Que smooches and a hell of a reception with lots of table dancing!

Lucio:  Same as above, at the Palace.  Nadia and Azalea arranged everything, but kept Lucio's tastes very close in mind.  Azalea wanted a nice wedding, but not anything as huge as the Masquerade.  The palace was littered with white roses and moonflowers.  Imalia actually tended to Lucio in this one.  His mother was invited and actually showed up, which made Lucio nervous as hell.  Imalia assured him that everything was going to go smoothly, and if Morga did anything, Imalia would do something worse.  Despite her choice of groom, Azalea was still her best friend and this day was going to go PERFECTLY.  Down the aisle, Azalea was escorted by Mercedes and Melchior.  They looked amazing, all clad in white.  Azalea’s dress was the same as above, but she actually wore diamonds (even though she hates them).  The rings were tied to M&M's collars...which could have been a horrible decision if the dogs got riled up, but Imalia had Balthazaar at the ready to pursue and snatch, should that happen.  With the final kiss, sealing the deal, M&M tore out of the sanctuary to chase birds.  The reception was a big party, just like Lucio wanted.  He never left Azalea's side for a moment, showing her off to everyone in the kingdom.

She and Asra elope.  Something to spring on Azalea randomly.  XD  Plus, Imalia is exhausted with royal and court life; arranging a royal wedding would cause so much headache, and she just knew she would be sending a few nobles to the infirmary with their murmurs about Asra's social standing.  Better to just say "Oh, by the way, this is the person I married.  Suck it."

18. Any babies?

Julian:  Two kids:  Nora and Rylen.  They both inherit Azalea's premature greying so they enchant their hair like their mother.  Auburn at the roots, but Nora's fades into gold.  Rylen's fades into deep green.  Nora is tall and has the same proclivity for acrobatics that her mother does.  She also has a tendency to get into fights.  Rylen is shorter and is a bookworm who wants to be a doctor like his father.

Lucio:  Two kids:  Darien and Etoile.  As with the previous two, they inherit Azalea's greying.  But they don't enchant their hair.  They both like how the blonde roots fade into silver at the ends.  Darien is a sweet kid who is just really unlucky.  He gets into jams, his magic goes wild, and he tends to lose important things.  This is due to whatever deal Morga made when Lucio was a baby.  Etoile is an overachiever who is headstrong and bulletproof like her father.  She inherits Azalea's smarts which makes her even worse as far as being headstrong because she is, unfortunately, always correct.  She does deeply care for her older brother, however, and will knock someone out if they mess with him.  She ends up helping him with his crappy luck by making him MANY good luck charms to counteract.  The two of them become an adventuring duo, furthering magical research and discovery.

She and Asra have one child (at first; I want to create two more), a daughter named Celestia (Lessie).  She is slightly darker of skin tone, with Asra's beautiful white hair and Imalia's crimson eyes.  She is coy and mischievous, but can also turn on a dime into a yelling ball-buster.  She is best friends with Azalea's kids (both versions) and they get into all sorts of trouble together.  She is very good at inventing new magic spells.  Mainly good for pranks.  She eventually follows in her mother's footsteps and becomes a Magister as well as a potential heir to the throne of Seiruun.

19. Do they stay in Vesuvia, or eventually move somewhere else?

Julian/Lucio:  Vesuvia is home.  It's where her heart is and it's where she learned all of her greatest lessons in life.  She could never leave.

Imalia and Asra set up a portal to Imalia's home country of Seiruun.  They have dual citizenship there, and Asra is given the title of Prince since he married Sairuun's only Princess.  As such, they have to make appearances at court functions.  But Vesuvia is home.  Until (or if ever) Queen Dreen Suval has children of her own, Celestia is named the heir to the throne of Seiruun.

20. Talk about that family life.  What's it like?

Julian:  Azalea continues to run the shop and Julian his clinic.  But since the family got so large, they had to move out of the loft and buy a house (they found a nice one close by).  Azalea teaches Nora and Rylen how to make potions and tinctures, as well as nurture their magical talents.  Rylen wants to be like his father, so Julian takes him on as his apprentice at his clinic and teaches him everything he knows.  Azalea has to come to get Nora from the guards after she gets into fights on a somewhat regular basis.  She decides that Nora should get a proper "schooling" from Imalia.  So Imalia keeps Nora nice and busy and helps her channel her energy to more productive means than fighting.  Meals are always spent together as a family.

Lucio:  Azalea continues to run the shop, and Lucio actually steps up to help in raising Darien and Etoile.  They move into a fancy house.  Morga steps in every so often and insists on taking the children out on hunts.  When she sees how horrible Darien's luck is, she spends more attention on Etoile.  Azalea isn't pleased with this.  So she makes Darien her helper and apprentice at the shop and teaches him ways to counter his awful luck.  Etoile is the one who figures out exactly what he needs and makes him a LOT of luck charms.  They need to be re-energized every so often, but they seem to do the trick and Darien's true potential starts to shine.  Morga is forced to eat her words on one hunt when he slays a bear larger than any Morga has ever seen.  She begins to piece together Darien's condition and realizes who is actually at fault.  Her.  So she sets about to rid Darien of the curse of bad luck.  Lucio and Azalea love spending time with their kids, reading, telling stories, and playing with magic.  Meals are a family event with everyone taking part.

Imalia tries her best not to dote on Celestia, but she just can't help it sometimes.  The child is so amazing, and she loves how much like Asra she is.  She and Asra take her on family trips the the Magical Realms and help her construct her own Magical Gateway.  Asra introduces her to several of the Arcana, and the Magician absolutely adores her.  At one point, Celestia manages to slip into the Devil's realm and paints a penis on the frozen Arcana's face.  Imalia is immensely proud when Celestia agrees to take on the massive responsibility of becoming heir to Sairuun, but she doesn't put off her education either.  Through her own effort and hard work, she becomes a Magister.

BONUS.  Petnames.

Azalea calls Julian "Beautiful Beanpole" and "my darling doctor" and Julian calls Azalea "Angel," "darling," and "dearest"

Azalea calls Lucio "Hot Stuff" and "babe" and Lucio calls her "Azzie" (sounds like Ozzy) and "baby"

Imalia calls Asra "Starlight."  Asra calls Imalia "Professor."  Imalia also calls Lucio "Shitiot" (Shit/Idiot)

[elisaphoenix13]

The Doctor Is In

(5 times Stephen took care of Tony and Peter and 1 time they took care of him)

Stephen fled from the Tower the moment heavy metal music echoed through the surrounding floors of the lab. It wasn't that he hated the music, it was the fact that he knew exactly what it meant.

Tony and Peter were blowing things up.

He could meditate through a majority of things that went on in the Tower. Like if Clint and Sam took over their living room to play video games, Peter crawling all over the ceiling, Tony  cursing at something he's tinkering with on the coffee table...or Clint crawling through the air vents. Their floor was constantly taken over by the other Avengers, and he had grown used to it, but explosions from the lab was another thing entirely. It was random and had different levels of noise that startled Stephen's astral form back into his body and left him momentarily confused and disoriented. Not a fun feeling.

Stephen sighs when Wong drops a stack of books on the table in front of him and he opens a single eye. "Do you mind?"

Wong ignores him as he sits down. "AC/DC?"

The sorcerer supreme stretches out in his chair. "Metallica."

"Wouldn't blasting music hurt Peter's ears?"

"He's used to it. He's usually the one controlling the volume anyway." Stephen slumps in his chair.

"How's motherhood treating you?" Wong grins.

Strange groans. "Not you too. How did you know?"

"Tony calls you Mama Bear almost all the time. It was obvious." Wong flips through one of the books. "...and I heard Peter call you Mom."

"That boy will be the death of me."

"I thought I saw some more grey hair."

He wouldn't be surprised. Both Peter and Tony had very little consideration for self-preservation to the point that...well...they were blowing things up in the lab. He could confidently bet the Eye of Agamotto that he would go home to at least one of them in need of first aid. Bruce only helped them in emergencies for how often they got themselves into trouble. He was tired of fishing glass out of broken skin because of a stupid idea.

"I'm tempted to cover them in bubble wrap so I can have a minute of peace without having to worry about what trouble they're getting into."

"Your domesticity is nauseating."

Stephen smirks. "You're just jealous."

"Hardly."

Stephen's phone starts ringing and he looks at the screen, sighs, and answers.

"Yes Spiderling?"

"Holy crap! Where are you?! Dad got knocked out by the fire extinguisher--"

Stephen coughs to hide his laugh. He was definitely going to watch today's recording of the lab to see how that happened. "I'll be there shortly."

He hangs up before Peter can utter another word and glances at Wong.

"What's the damage this time?"

Stephen grins. "Technical knockout by a fire extinguisher."

Wong laughs.

_______________________

"Peter I swear--" A Lego smacks painlessly against Stephen's forehead. "Did you just throw a Lego at me?!"

The teen flattens himself against the ceiling. "That was my venom! I'm a spider!"

The Vishanti are testing me.

Peter had just recently gotten all of his wisdom teeth pulled and was on very strong pain killers. Something Stephen prayed he would never have to give the boy again because he was a menace. Peter refused to stay in bed and had taken to the ceiling instead, leaving Stephen no choice but to follow him and try to coax him down. He hoped to whatever entity that was listening that the boy wouldn't fall and hurt himself.

The first thing he tried was Levi but Peter stubbornly clung to the ceiling so he had to wave the cloak off from that attempt. Bribing him with ice cream was a dead end as well.

"Spiderling, you don't spit venom." Then another idea came to mind and Stephen didn't know why he didn't think if it before. "How does a movie night with cuddles sound?"

Peter looks at the sorcerer and seems to think over his offer. "'Kay."

Peter was a sucker for physical contact no matter how high he was.

Stephen sighs with relief when the teen moves down from the ceiling and immediately clings to the older man's front like a baby. The sorcerer wraps his arms around Peter to hold him steady, and makes his way back to the boy's bedroom where he gently deposits his burden. He murmurs to the boy to stay while he leaves to change into something more comfortable, and thankfully returns to Peter's room a couple minutes later to find the boy curled up under his blankets.

"Where's Dad?"

"At an Accords meeting. He'll be back by dinner." Strange slips into bed next to Peter and the teen wastes no time in curling up against him. "What do you want to watch Spider-Baby?"

"Disney movie."

Stephen has Karen (Tony connected Peter's AI to his bedroom) start a Disney movie, and gently strokes brown curls. It didn't take long for Peter to pass out between the ministrations and snuggling. One would think the boy was touch starved.

_____________

The tower was calm. Peter was at school and Tony was at a meeting, so Stephen felt he could relax. He really should have known better. As soon as he stretched out on the couch with an actual book not related to the mystic artes, Tony strode out of the elevator with blood streaming down his temple. The sorcerer sighs when his boyfriend flops onto the couch when he sits up, and he retrieves the first aid kit and some ice through a couple of small portals.

"I'd ask how your meeting went but that would be pointless."

Tony hisses when Stephen applies some antiseptic. "The meeting was fine. The private meeting Ross wanted...not so much."

"Just say the word and I can have him free-falling for a couple of hours."

"That would be counter productive since I'm trying to keep you and Peter out of the Accords. You're both special cases."

The doctor finishes by applying a butterfly bandage and then hands Tony the ice. The engineer did have legitimate reasons for keeping Stephen and Peter away. Stephen was the Sorcerer Supreme, and had a responsibility to protect the world from magical attacks. Peter was simply underage.

"Head feeling better?" Stephen asks softly.

Tony nods and grimaces as he places the ice pack on his head. "I think I'll live."

Scott slips into the living room and sits in an armchair sipping at a juice pouch. "Hey Strange, your Mama Bear is showing."

"That better not be Peter's Capri Sun."

"Case and point." He grins and loudly sucks every last drop.

"Quit raiding my fridge Lang." Tony snarks.

"Quit buying all the good stuff." Scott kicks his legs up onto the coffee table and turns on the t.v.

Stephen simply laid out on the couch again with his legs across Tony's lap and read while the other two watched reruns of Friends. He would take the quiet while he could. It was a rare occurrence.

____________________

"Doctor Strange, you have an incoming call from Peter." Victor calls from his bracelet.

Stephen sighs and puts his tea down to pull his phone out of his pocket. He was at school so either he had gotten into trouble (Not likely unless it was an attack an earth kind) or he wasn't feeling well. Something still unlikely because of the spider bite.

"What's wrong Spiderling?" The sorcerer asks when he accepts the call.

"Uh...Doctor Strange?" That was not Peter. In fact it sounded like...

"Ned? Where's Peter?"

"We're in the boy's bathroom on the second floor. I think Peter is going through a sensory overload."

Shit. That was the one thing that Peter truly hated. "Alright. I'll be there in just a minute."

Stephen hangs up, uses his magic to change into his street clothes, and then opens a portal to just around the corner to the school. With long strides, he shoves his way through pedestrians and into the school and makes a quick stop in the office.

"I'm here to pick up Peter Parker." The secretary looks up, blushes, and reaches for the intercom phone until Stephen reaches out and stops her. "Please don't. He's not feeling well and the intercom will only make things worse. I know where he is if I may go get him myself."

The woman quickly gathers herself. "Of course sir. I just need your name and have you sign him out."

When he relayed his name to her, she looked at him with a mixture of confusion and skepticism, but thankfully cleared him to retrieve Peter. She was probably wondering where his robes were since he was dressed like any other person.

Stephen rushes out of the office and up the stairs and to his relief finds the bathrooms fairly quickly. He wrinkles his nose in disgust as he walks in but says nothing when he spots Peter curled in the corner with his hands over his ears. Ned looks up and relief crosses his features as he promptly moves away from his best friend and the doctor takes his place and gently pulls Peter's hands down.

"I'll get you home in just a second Spiderling." Strange looks up at Ned and accepts Peter's backpack from him. "Thank you for calling me."

Ned nods. "I can call him later and tell him what his homework is."

"I'm sure he would appreciate that."

He then turns and opens a portal, the sound of the sparks drawing a whimper from the suffering teen beside him, and Stephen ignores his breaking heart as he helps Peter through. He closes the portal and leads the teen to his bed where Peter quickly sheds everything but his boxers to, Stephen assumed, get rid of his itchy clothing.

"Karen, Overload Protocol please."

In an instant, the window is covered, the lights are dimmed, and Peter finally relaxes when the room is soundproof and nearly dark. Stephen gently lays the covers over his son and Peter cracks open an eye in response.

"Mom?" Peter croaks out.

"Just relax Spider-Baby."

Peter nods and rolls onto his side before settling against his pillow.

_____________________

An explosion startles both Stephen and Happy from their naps on their respective couches, and both jump to their feet before rushing down to the lab. The sorcerer punches in the code to open the lab door and he looks around the trashed and smoking lab for Peter and Tony, faintly registering that DUM-E was successfully taking care of any fires. He soons spots the engineer slumped against the wall and he rushes over before kneeling down to examine him and tend to his injuries.

"I've got Peter!" The bodyguard yells from the other side of the room. "He looks fine. Just knocked out!"

Stephen exhales when he finds Tony in the same condition. "Tony is the same. It must have been a repulsor explosion."

Tony groans and slowly opens his eyes. "Peter..."

"He's alright. What happened?"

The billionaire stands with the doctor's help and rubs the back of his head. "One of my gauntlets short-circuited."

Happy approaches them with a smirk. "The kid just woke up and he's talking a mile a minute. I'm pretty sure he's fine. I'm going back upstairs to finish my nap."

Tony rolls his eyes as Happy leaves the lab and both parents walk over to Peter to find him patting DUM-E.

"Good job putting out the fire buddy. Now Dad won't have to donate you to a community college." The robot trills at the praise.

"Now FRIDAY is risking reprogramming." Tony says irritably.

"I tried to warn you Boss but you didn't listen." Could AI be annoyed? FRIDAY definitely sounded annoyed.

"That sounds like something you would do." Stephen drawls and Tony throws his arms up.

"Traitors! I'm scrapping FRIDAY and breaking up with you!"

Peter looks up at Tony's declaration and watches the couple in alarm, but Stephen simply smiles and the teen relaxes and turns his attention back to DUM-E. The poor kid really feared that his family was going to fall apart over something trivial and it hurt Stephen. It really showed how much Peter loved them.

"You won't have anyone to kiss your boo-boos then."

Tony stares at Stephen until he barks out a laugh that turns into something hysterical. "That's true. Brucie isn't the type." He finally wheezes out.

Stephen then decided to take it a step further. "Besides, if we break up, I'm taking Peter."

The boy himself pouts. "Don't drag me into your marital problems."

"Okay, first of all kid, we have to be married to have marital problems. Second, Stephanie, he was my kid first."

"You guys might as well get married. You already act like an old married couple." Peter grumbles and the older two glance at each other.

"...and there's the headache I get from dealing with you two." Stephen says and rubs his temples.

_____________________

+1

Stephen groggily opens his eyes when a cool hand finds itself on his forehead and he purrs when he finds Tony leaning over him. Something he would completely deny later because he wasn't even aware he could even make that noise.

"Feeling under the weather Mama Bear?"

"I'm fine."

"I'll believe that when you stop trying to hack up a lung while you're sleeping."

The sorcerer bats Tony's hand away and sits up, only for his boyfriend's hand to settle on his chest to stop him from getting up. It was weird for him to be fussed over and he also wasn't about to let a cold keep him from the research he needed to do.

"If you put one foot on the floor I am going to sic Peter on you."

That actually got Stephen's attention. Tony had gotten sick a few weeks back and when Peter got wind of it, he hovered. The teen took it upon himself to make sure that the engineer took some medicine, fed him, and even checked in on him to make sure he was resting. Stephen found it hilarious and let the boy help take care of Tony as long as he didn't disturb him.

To be on the receiving end of that though? That was a scary thought. He was the doctor in the family. He was supposed to worry about them, no matter how many headaches that might cause, not the other way around.

So he laid back down.

"That's what I thought. The only acceptable reason for you to get out of bed is for the bathroom."

"Asshole."

"I love you too Mama Bear. Now let us take care of you." Tony kisses his forehead. "I'll send Peter in with some water and pills."

Stephen glares up at him. "You're going to let him hover anyway?"

Tony frowns. "He already knows you're sick. He promised not to hover."

"...fine."

After Tony left the bedroom, Stephen expected Peter to stumble in a couple minutes later.

He never did.

Tony was the one to bring him whatever he needed, and the doctor immediately knew something was wrong. It took him a few minutes to think about what happened, but then he finally remembered Peter's enhanced hearing. The boy probably heard his parents' earlier conversation and assumed Stephen didn't want to be bothered by him and decided to stay away and respect his wishes.

Just the thought squeezed the sorcerer's heart painfully.

Precious, wonderful Peter ignored his own insecurities so Mom could rest without disruption.

Tony's cellphone ringing pulls Stephen out of his own head and he watches as the older man looks at the screen. He grimaces in irritation before pocketing the phone and places a glass of water on the nightstand by Stephen.

"Pepper needs me for something SI related."

Stephen waves him away. "I'll be fine. I'll have FRIDAY annoy Bruce if I need something."

Tony opens his mouth as if to say something but seems to think better of it and closes his mouth again. Stephen relaxes against his pillow when the billionaire leaves and allows himself to doze off until a thud and a soft curse wakes him later in the evening. Blue eyes blink open at the disturbance and he immediately makes eye contact with doe-like brown eyes wide with horror.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you! I'm only in here because Dad asked me to check on you. Y-You're obviously fine so I'll...go. Yeah." Peter turns to leave and Stephen quickly reaches out and grabs his sleeve.

"Come here Spiderling."

"I swear I wasn't hovering!"

Stephen smiles softly and pulls the younger onto the bed next to him. "You can watch tv if you want...just keep me company."

The horror slowly eases away as the sorcerer pulls him into a hug, and Peter quietly turns on the tv with low volume. If this wasn't enough to show his son he wasn't bothered, he didn't know what was. He really did need the company though. After living in the chaos of the tower for months, the quiet was unnerving.

Stephen found that he really didn't mind.

[numba99]

The Arrangement Part 6

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Summary:  You’re an aspiring model in NYC who is offered an opportunity of a lifetime - an arranged relationship with a famous Ranger. Things start out rough and are further complicated by the fact you’re already in a relationship. Will you be able to figure things out or will it all end in disaster? Word Count:2,655

Warnings: None! sorry this took so long lol

The next morning you woke up the couch. In your emotional stupor, you somehow managed to pull yourself up to sit, despite the protest of your achy muscles. You blinked hard, trying - and failing - to get the sleep out of your eyes.

You couldn’t believe what happened last night. You had a feeling that this whole thing would blow up with Eric eventually. but you never thought it would happen like that. Everything happened to fast it felt like a blur. The one thing that did stand out was Mika’s words. It felt like a knife to the chest all over again thinking of him saying he never wanted to see you again.

You partly felt like you deserved it. What you said to him was awful. You don’t even know why you said it. Everything has been so crazy you went into self-defense autopilot and ended up fucking up something you really wanted.

All you wanted to do was mope all day, but apparently Alice had other plans. Your stomach lurched when her number flashed across your phone. She told you you needed to get down to the agency immediately. She wouldn’t say why, but she did not sound happy.

Your heart was thudding as you got ready. You looked in the mirror before leaving,red puffy eyes staring back at you. You weren’t at all happy with how you looked, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

You walked briskly through the city, wanting to get whatever Alice was going to talk to you about over with. With each block closer you got, your nerves grew. Your mind wandered to worst case scenarios, wondering if you could be fired. Standing outside Alice’s office, you took one last deep breath before opening the door.

Three head’s whipped around: Alice’s, Mika’s, and an unfamiliar man in a suit. You stood there awkwardly for a second, half considering turning around and sprinting away, before taking the open seat next to Mika. Alice and the suited man stood behind her desk, making you feel like a kid getting in trouble with the principle.

“Y/n this is Steve, he works for Mika’s team’s legal team,” Alice explained. Your heart stopped. If the legal team was here, you must be in some deep shit. “We called both of you in today because someone by the name of Eric Holmes came in and told us some pretty troubling things.” You stole look at Mika, to see his reaction, but he was only staring blankly ahead.

“Ms. Y/L/N, Eric said he was your boyfriend and he told us that you told him your relationship with Mika was a publicity stunt. You’re aware that is in direct violation of the contract you signed, yes?” Steve questioned you. You stared wide-eyed, feeling like a deer in headlights. Eric was an asshole, but you couldn’t believe he was actually trying to destroy everything you worked for. You opened your mouth to respond, but your words got caught in your throat.

“It was me,” Mika answered for you. All eyes fell on him, yours being the most surprised. “I was helping y/n with her bags and Eric ambushed us at her apartment. If I hadn’t said anything, he would have gone nuts.”

“Are you sure about that? Because he told us specifically that it was y/n and that she told him the two of you slept together, which is a violation of both of your contracts,” Steve pressed on.

“Of course he would say that, he’s an asshole just trying to get his ex in trouble. The dude swung at me and pushed her, clearly he’s not trustworthy,” Mika replied.

“Then why are there pictures of you and y/n kissing?” Alice jumped in.

Mika shrugged casually. “I’ve kissed people during publicity relationships before. I thought I was supposed to. I misunderstood.” The two of them eyed him skeptically, then turned their attention to you.

“Is this true?” Steve asked. You looked at Mika, who nodded, telling you it was okay to go along with it.

“He’s right,” you agreed, “Eric’s crazy, he was probably just trying to hurt me.”

“You’re going to need to cut contact with him,” Steve instructed.

“That will not be a problem,” you replied, more than happy to never see him again.

“And the two of you are going to have to be more careful when you’re out on the last couple dates. No more kissing,” Steve continued.

“That definitely won’t be a problem,” Mika muttered. You kept a poker face as best as you could, trying to ignore how that stung. After a few more reminders of how we were supposed to behave, we were set free. Mika left without a word, but you caught up with him in the lobby.

“Mika wait,” you called after him, wanting a chance to explain yourself.

He sighed, reluctantly turning around. “What?”

You froze, suddenly feeling nervous in front of him. “I- uh I just wanted to thank you for- for saving my ass in there,” you stumbled.

“You’ve got a lot more to lose than I do,” Mika shrugged.

“Right, well I really appreciate that,” you replied awkwardly. He could have easily thrown you under the bus, but he didn’t.

“Sure,” Mika replied halfheartedly.

“About everything that happened yesterday, I’m so sorry, I didn’t-” Mika put his hand up, cutting you off.

“I’ve been thinking and you’re right y/n,” He began, “We’ve caused problems in each other’s lives. I was never the type to cheat, yet I knowingly slept with someone who had a boyfriend. I don’t want to be that person. Let’s just get through these last couple dates and then we can move on with our lives.”

His words weren’t necessarily mean, but they felt so harsh. So final. “Okay,” was all you could bring yourself to say. With that, Mika left and you were alone again. You sulked back to your apartment, ready to return to your moping.

As much as you wanted to do nothing, you decided you had to check your email, something you hadn’t done in a few days. Just because you personal life was going to shit didn’t mean your professional life had to. You scrolled through a bunch of spam when suddenly your heart stopped. You had an email from Gucci.

You clicked it immediately, finding an invitation to a casting call for their New York Fashion week show. You wanted to jump up and scream with joy. You’ve wanted to do something like that since you started modeling and you couldn’t believe you may actually have a chance.

For a second you wondered if you should even take it. Was it right to take an opportunity from Mika after everything that happened? Part of you felt bad, but you reasoned that you should get something good out of this mess. If you landed this, it could change your world. You weren’t about to let a stupid mistake get in the way.

A few days later you were walking towards the building where the Gucci casting call was taking place. You tried to calm your nerves with slow breaths, knowing Gucci wouldn’t be looking for someone who wasn’t confident. You walked into the waiting, surrounded by other beautiful girls. You sat in one of the only empty seats, getting yourself in the zone.

When your name was called, you took a final deep breath and got into your work mode. The creative director of the fashion show flipped through the photos you bought and complimented much of your work, boosting your confidence.

Now it was time for your walk. This was the scariest part. You were pretty confident in your runway walk abilities, but all it could take was a bump in the floor to throw you off. Nevertheless, you killed the walk and you felt like she was impressed.

The woman told you that in about a week or so she would be making calls about who was walking for the show. Although you wouldn’t know for sure, you felt like you left a really good impression and had a decent chance of getting a spot in the show. As you walked out of the building, you felt the best you did in a couple days. However, there was a cloud hanging over your joy. All you wanted to do was call Mika and tell him how well it went, but you couldn’t.

Whatever, you thought, you’re going to try the best to enjoy this little high you were on. You treated yourself to your favorite coffee drink, then picked up some cookie mix. By the time you got back to your apartment, you couldn’t wait to start baking and draw up a bath to relax in. However, Alice had other plans.

When you saw her name on your phone you considered ignoring it and pretending like you didn’t see it. However, after the shit that happened the other day, you weren’t trying to get yourself in more trouble.

Alice told you that tonight you had to go out to a fancy restaurant tonight. The exact opposite of what you wanted to do. Not that it mattered to her.

“Maybe tomorrow,” you said to the cookies, as you reluctantly put them away. You retreated to your room, now needing to get ready to spend a night with someone who barely wanted to look at you. Fun.

The only dress you felt was nice enough for the occasion was a silky black one you bought awhile back. It was one of those slinky dresses that seemed to just fall on your body and hit you in all the right places. Ironically, you purchased it with the intention of wearing it on an anniversary date with Eric, but that definitely wasn’t going to be happening. Nevertheless, it was a a sexy dress and shouldn’t to waste. If you didn’t feel good, you wanted to at least look good.

Fred’s ‘here’ text came way too soon. You braced yourself for an awkward car ride, but when you opened the door, Mika was not there.

“He wanted to go separately,” Fred explained noticing your confused expression.

“Oh,” was all you could manage, slumping down into your seat.

“I may be out of place for asking, but is everything alright with you and Mika? You seemed so happy the other day,” he questioned.

You sighed. “I messed up. I said something stupid and hurt him and now I’ve ruined everything.”

“Do you like him, y/n? I mean like do you really, really like him?” Fred asked.

“Yes,” you answered without having to think about it, “I do. But I don’t know if that matters now. After what I said I doubt he feels the same anymore.”

“Y/n, I’ve seen the way that boy looks at you. He’s head over heals crazy for you. The feelings behind that kind of look doesn’t go away over one stupid fight. If you like him like you say you do, you need to let him know. Love’s not easy, but it’s the most amazing thing when you get it right. And I think you and Mika could have something beautiful if you’re willing to fight for it,” Fred stated.

“Thank you Fred,” you replied, biting back tears, “I really needed to hear that.”

“Of course,” Fred replied, “I’ve driven a lot people around over the years. A lot of people who’ve said they’re in love, but don’t have anything between them. You and Mika have something special and I would hate to see that end.”

“I swear you’re more like a therapist than a driver,” you laughed, grateful you had someone to talk to.

“Just doing my job,” Fred smiled as he pulled up to the restaurant. “Now go in here and get your man.”

You flung your arms around Fred from the backseat, hugging him the best you could. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” you gushed, before hopping out of the car. You felt a million times more confident than you did before.

However, that didn’t last too terribly long. Seeing Mika, especially dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, took a bit over your nerve away. Nothing like an insanely attractive man to mess up for confidence.

“Hey,” you said quietly, taking a seat across from him.

“Hey,” Mika replied with no enthusiasm. You fell into an awkward silence. You tried to think in your head how you wanted to say this. Or if he would even let you say it. He cut you off when you tried to apologize the other day. Maybe he didn’t care and wouldn’t want to listen.

The waiter came and filled the silence. You and Mika both absentmindedly ordered something, clearly not very interested in food at the moment. And then the silence returned. It was crushing. You couldn’t stand it any longer so you decided it was now or never.

“Mika, I need to talk to you and I- I need you to just listen, okay?” you tried sounding confident, but you weren’t sure it was convincing.

“Okay,” Mika replied with a sigh. Here goes nothing.

“What happened with Eric,” you began trying to find the words, “What I said, it couldn’t be further from the truth. I was scared and upset and I let my stupid emotions speak for me. You haven’t made my life worse, you’ve made it so much better. I’ve only known you for a few weeks, but they’ve been some of the happiest I’ve had and I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose you. If you really want nothing to do with me, then fine. I’ll go on the last date and never bother you again. But if you feel anything for me, let me show you I mean what I’m saying. Tell me there is something left fighting for, and I swear I will fight for you with everything I have in me.”

You were slightly breathless from all the words that just fell out of your mouth. You were proud of yourself for making it through he whole thing without crying, though. Mika looked at you with a face that was hard to read, and you wondered if you made a fool of yourself.

Suddenly, Mika’s hand slipped over yours. A small graced his face. “Of course there is something to fight for. There always will be with you.”

“Seriously? You meant it?” You couldn’t believe your ears.

“Absolutely,” He confirmed, “You’ve been under a crazy amount of stress, especially after Eric pushed you like that. I shouldn’t have let my anger get the best of me the way I did. I’m sorry I said those things and made you feel like I didn’t care about you.”

“Don’t apologize,” you shook your head, “I deserved that.”

“But you didn’t,” Mika replied, “I should have been more understanding to what you were going through. You had it a lot worse than me.”

“It’s okay, Mika. I just want to out that behind us,” you told him.

“I would be more than happy to leave that behind,” Mika agreed. “I just want to focus on a future with you.”

“Are they going to let us be together?” you asked nervously. As much as you and Mika wanted to be together, the contracts would always put that in jeopardy.

“Nothing they do is going to stop me from being with you,” Mika stated with certainty.

“What do you think they’ll do to us?” you asked, scared of what could happen. Would they really take everything from you? The lawyer Steve seemed pretty damn serious.

“Don’t worry about that now, love. We have each other right now and that’s what matters,” Mika assured you. He brought your hand to his lips, kissing it softly. You smiled knowing he was right. Everything else didn’t matter in that moment because for now, you were safe with him.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

The Blood Moon

Summary : With great powers comes great responsibility, so why bother with them, when you can just chill back and relax? That’s what Katrina always told herself in a way to calm down whenever she felt herself lose control, but nothing will stop her from getting in trouble with literally everyone around. Her world was chaotic, like the last seconds of a fly trapped in a spider’s web, but what happens when the world literally goes Upside Down for her, has to take care of a group of nerds much bigger than herself and even worst, she feels her heart beat for the first time, but now, not because of anxiety, but due to a much warmer feeling.

Pairing : Billy Hargrove x OC (Katrina Black)

TW : Stranger Things, as a TV show, explores a lot of themes, including childhood trauma of various types, which I am going to go along with.

—

This story contains and explores a variety of trauma and darker themes, most of them relating in canon to a certain character, others that I’m more familiar with then I wish I were and so on.

I have this story written on AO3 that I wrote in like 3-4 days because GODS I am in L O V E with Billy Hargrove and someone please save me, all my feelings are in here, from sorrow to glee, from fluff to angst and so on.

But I’ve never been prouder of a story I’ve written like I am with this one.

—

Chapter 1: The Fox and the Lion

I had no idea how the hell I managed to get wound up in a group of 12 year olds’ troubles, but I can’t deny that it wasn’t fun, if not, just crazy dangerous and deadly. I met up Mike and his little group of nerdy friends whilst going to the arcade one day and them cursing my nickname for not being able to defeat my high-score in any game. Of course, since all arcade games only had a 3 letter maximum for each name, I put mine.

“FOX”

Because I have red hair and can be pretty sly and sneaky, despite how very introverted I am. Now it’s my last year at Hawkins High School, this one being the most important because if everything goes right, I may get a scholarship and be able to continue my studies further, to University, pursuing Vet Medicine, like I’ve always dreamt of.

Now, to tell a little bit about myself…

Officially, I was called “3”, just like the number tattooed on my shoulder, which is to brand me as one of the many experiments the Russians/Americans did on children. Somehow, and very thankfully, I managed to run away, thanks to my weird powers that I’m still not 100% sure, and found myself in the woods, where I stumbled upon this policeman named Hopper who was nice enough to take me in for a while, before getting me to an orphanage and making sure a real family gets to take care of me.

The date of me meeting Jim was January 3rd, a very cold and snowy winter, so from that day on, that has become my birthday. Since I didn’t have a name, he let me stay a few good weeks with him and taught me how to read and write, which was pretty easy, to say the least, and upon reading so many books, I found a name that finally suited my tastes.

“Katrina”

That was 5 years ago, when I was 13, and now I’m at my own little house close to the Byers, I recently found out, living alone with Jim visiting me often, or having the kids have sleepovers at mine from time to time, when I’m not too busy with my studies.

After the incident with the monsters, Will’s disappearance, El and everything, we’ve really bonded, and gotta say, being a Rogue in their DnD party was super fun!

Life hasn’t been easy, that much is sure, isn’t it? Many bad things happened that cannot be changed or unmade, so you have to life with them through the rest of your life.

But things never stay the same, do they…?

Life at highschool ain’t the best, especially not with all these mean girls and boys around, but how I survived 3 years, I can survive one more, right? Also, recently, Will and the gang told us about a new girl coming from California called “Max” who apparently beat all their records as well and from their description, I really wanna meet her. Now, I’m wondering if this is a coincidence or not, but my Sherlockian instincts were tingling, and she may or may not be our new colleague’s little sister. Oh, yes, new colleague… His name is Billy Hargrove and he’s the most intimidating man I’ve ever seen in my life. He is literally radiating masculinity and his eyes make everyone either kneel at his feet or stay away from him, because he won’t take anyone’s shit. In a very short amount of time, he managed to gain the reputation of “Keg King”…I think that was? Beating Steve Harrington at popularity, now being the literal best student at sports (especially basketball), having the most number of uh…Charmed ladies, as a count, and beat up a ton of boys who dared disrespect him. So, uh...FUN!

I could have said that I’ve been pretty lucky so far, seeing that I didn’t have the need to directly interact with Billy so far, but fate was never as you’d expect and the weirdest of changes always happen when you least expect them.

Wednesday morning -

I wake up, eat a bowl of milk and cereal, go to wash my fave, brush my long red hair and look through my clothes.

I choose an over-sized AC/DC Tshirt, light blue boyfriend jeans, a red plaid shirt tied to my waist, round shades, a black hat and black combat boots, take my bag and go to my motorbike that I recently managed to buy and went to high school. Maths went pretty fast by, Chemistry too, but during Biology, we had to make a project for the final grade, which will affect the overall grade by a huge percent, which completely got my attention.

But that wasn’t all.

Mrs. Green insisted on assigning us partners…And I was to do the project with none other than Billy Hargrove, which made me gulp in anxiety and start to slightly scratch at my neck, not daring to look at him…Or anyone, for the matter.

Mrs. Green: Kat, Billy, may I talk to you at the end of the class for a moment? Billy: Sure. Me: Okay…

After this, the class went on as if nothing happened, but I could basically feel the burning and poisonous glares the many girls in my class would throw at me. After all, who wouldn’t want to be partnered up with THE King Billy?

Ha.

Me.

What a fool.

All I did the whole class was to draw on my notebook, habit which I found out managed to calm down my anxieties pretty well, even if I didn’t really pay attention to the teacher…But hey, for someone like me, it’s no big deal. After all the other students left the classroom, I grabbed slowly got up and went in front of Mrs. Green, not managing to look in her eyes, my gaze fixed on the floor as I bit my lip and fiddling with my fingers. Billy, as well, stood just next to me, but he looked extremely laid back.

Mrs.Green: Billy, I am sure you are aware that, despite your pretty good grades, slightly above average, in most subjects, you are somehow failing Biology. So, I wanted to ask you, is it just disinterest, or are you not understanding something? I thought that, compared to Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics, this would be at least a bit easier. Billy: Well, uh…I dunno, I guess I don’t really get it or something. I guess I started with the wrong foot and continued even worse and…Yeah, you get it. Mrs.Green: Kat, dear, I am very sorry to ask this of you, since I know you’re extremely shy, but would it be okay with you if you were to help Billy with Biology? You told me you want to pursue Medicine at University, and so far you’ve been exceeding all expectations at my subject, which is why I paired you two up. Just a bit of tutoring, once in a while, if you both agree. Billy: If it helps with my grades, I don’t see why not. Mrs.Green: Excellent! What do you say, dear? Me: Uh, w-well, I…Uhm…I-I mean, s-sure, but…But a-are you sure I’m the right person for this? I-I mean, as you said, I’m painfully shy…A-And I’m afraid I might be more annoying than useful and I don’t want to waste anyone’s time and- Mrs.Green: Dear, Kat, calm down. I’ve seen you help and explain to some of your colleagues before at different subjects and you did an extraordinary job at it! I think you shouldn’t be afraid. Who knows, maybe Billy will be able to help you out with your shyness, since he’s so popular and sociable. Me: *hiding my face* I-I-I w-well, I don’t know what to say… Billy: You can start by saying ‘Yes’ ? Me: Uhm…I guess you’re right. S-Sure, I will tutor you, I am fine with that. J-Just tell me when you don’t understand or if I’m being annoying, I’ll try to stop. Billy: *chuckles* Don’t worry, toots, I’m sure we’ll get along just fine. Mrs.Green: *winks* Think of it as opportunity. It will look very good on your recommendation letter. Me: Y-You mean, you will…? Mrs.Green: *smiles* But of course, dear! How could I possibly not recommend my top student to the best University? It was supposed to be a surprise from me and your Physics and Chemistry teachers, but oops! Busted~. Me: I-I-I can’t thank you enough!! Really, thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me! I am forever grateful for you and your patience and kindness with me! Mrs.Green: *pats my head* Dear, your only fault is worrying too much and enjoying life too little. Take the advice of the bands you listen to so much and you might learn to live a bit. Now, off you go, your next class is about to start! Me: See you tomorrow, Mrs.Green! And thank you so much for everything again! Billy: Good bye, Mrs. G.

Outside of the classroom, I gripped my notebook close to my chest and walk to my locker, but Billy was still following me with a smirk on his face, and then leaned on the locker nearby.

Billy: So, I just got a very hot teacher as a reward for failing the class, the more you know. Me: I…I think it’s more of a punishment. Billy: Why’d you think that, Kitten? Me: Wh-Why did you j-just call me “Kitten” ? Billy: Mrs.G called you “Kat”, so, why not? Me: My name is Katrina, not Kitten, so please call me that. Billy: Fine, fine…Kitten. *winks* Me: *pouts* Guess I can’t convince you… Billy: You give up pretty easily, babe. It’s almost like you like that. Me: *cringes* I-It’s nothing of the sort. I-It’s just…Over the years…I learn that if saying “No” doesn’t work the first time…It won’t work no matter how many times you repeat or struggle…So might as well just get it over with. Billy: *raises an eyebrow* That sounded oddly specific. Me: *eyes widen* Ah, n-no, forget I just said that! S-Sorry, I, uh…I gotta go to Physics, excuse me. Billy: What a coincidence, I have Physics too. Why don’t we talk about the project and my tutoring on the way there? Me: Uhm…If you’re okay with it, I guess okay. Billy: Have any specific topic you wanna do? I kinda have no idea what we’ve studied so far. Care to enlighten me? Me: Well…We started with the Nervous system, followed by the Sensory organs, then Glands, the Locomotor system, Digestive system, Excretory system, Metabolism, some pretty basic Genetics, some plain Environmental things…And…Uhm…Well… Billy: *smirks* You missed out the Reproduction thingy between Excretory and Metabolism on purpose, didn’t you? Me: *gasps* Liar! You said you didn’t know! You tricked me! Billy: *chuckles* I might have. Say, toots, it’s almost like you missed it on purpose. Are you embarrassed? Hey, what about we do the project on tha- Me: NO!!!! Billy: *wide eyed* Whoa, slow down, there, I was only teasin’. Me: *slaps hand on mouth* I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to shout at you! Please, don’t be mad. It’s just…I really don’t like it and it makes me feel very…Very bad. Billy: *shrugs* S'okay, I got it, don’t worry, I’m not mad. Jeez, Mrs.G was right, you really do worry too much. Me: Yeah…I’m really sorry, I told you it’d be more of a punishment than anything. I know I can be very annoying without even realising. Billy: Chill, babe, chill. So, when and where shall we meet? Me: Uhm…Tomorrow after class for the project? Billy: I have Basketball training, sorry. Me: Oh, right, you’re in the team. When’s your next match? Billy: In 2 weeks. Wanna come and cheer me? Me: *smiles* If you want me there, sure, I will be there. Billy: Huh, would ya look at that, Kitten has a pretty smile. Ya wanna make me swoon? Me: Ah, n-no, really, I’m not. Billy: You’re melting my heart, babe! Me: S-Sorry! Uhm…How about this Friday? About 5pm? At…Uhm…There’s this pretty cafe in town called “Ma Cherie” and they have amazing tea and sweets. Billy: Friday…Friday…Ah, yeah, sure. Had a date, but- Me: Oh, shoot! Okay, we can find another day so you won’t have to miss it! Billy: *chuckles* Nahh, don’t worry, I’ll just cancel. I’d much rather stay with you than with her. Me: *bites lip* Uhmm…I…Flattered? I think? Billy: Good then, it’s a date, see you then, sweet cheeks! Me: WAIT WHAT?!

I stopped in my tracks but he only laughed and waved at me, jogging ahead in another direction. It was only then that I realised that I was in front of the Physics classroom and he, in fact, had a complete other subject, not Physics.

Smooth bastard…

And so, Wednesday came to an end, Thursday as well, Friday went by unnoticed and then, I had to go full speed to the Animal shelter nearby to help out. They never told me how much to stay, seeing that my schedule was hectic due to College and Uni preps, so I would just come and go whenever I could. Problem is, I lost track of time and when I looked back at the watch again, it said 4:46pm.

F U C K.

I bid the workers farewell and ran to my motorbike, going as far as I could back to Hawkings and at the cafe, getting all the two bags full of books and running into the cafe, and looking at my watch at the same time.

5:13pm.

Kill me please.

Entering the cafe, I nod at the waitress, as I’m a regular here and we’re on friendly terms, and scan for Billy, who was writing something in a notebook. I rush to take the seat opposite, but before I sat down and let the books fall to the ground, I start apologising to Billy a bit too much.

Me: I’M SO SORRY!! I-I really didn’t mean to be late, but it’s entirely my fault and I feel horrible for making you wait for me! Please don’t be mad, I-I’ll make up to you! I’ll pay each time we go out to study, okay? S-So take anything you want a-and I’ll pay! I know it won’t really make a difference bu- Billy: Babe, sit down and breathe. Me: H-Huh? Billy: I’m not mad. I can clearly see you rushed to get here. Lost track or time, huh? What were you doing? Me: Yeah, I know, I’m stupid. I got a watch today so I can make sure I leave at the right time, but I forgot to check it and…I am late. So, uhm…Y'know how I mentioned I want to pursue Vet Medicine at Uni? I work at an animal shelter nearby and it takes sort of…Almost an hour to get here. Well, more like 40 minutes, but I rushed and got here in like 25. It kinda helps to get in at a top Uni…With a scholarship. I couldn’t afford to study at University otherwise, so I gotta do what it takes. Billy: Well, babe, you look pretty hot in you lab coat. I wanna see you like this more often. Me: M-My lab coat…? AH, DAMN, I FORGOT TO TAKE IT OFF! Godamn it! Billy: *chuckles* You’re pretty amusing, doll. Come on, sit down and let’s order. Me: Okay. Leila, dear, could you please come and take our order? Leila: Hey, Kat, rushed again from the shelter I see. Regular? Me: For me, yes. Billy, what would you want? Billy: Just a black coffee, thanks. Me: Are you sure? Billy: Yeah, sure. Me: O-Okay… Leila: Okay, then. A Cherry Vanilla tea with extra cinnamon, a chocolate cake and a black coffee coming right up! Me: Thank you for your time, Lei-Lei! Leila: Any time! Billy: Seems you calmed down a bit. Me: Yeah…This place always manages to sooth down my anxieties. Uhm…I literally only come here every time I want to study. Billy: I’m not surprised. It’s pretty nice, I guess. Me: *smiles* I’m happy that you liked it. Billy: Say, forgot to ask you on Wednesday, but today I see you have a Metallica Tshirt. Are they your boyfriend’s? Me: *blushes* B-Boyfriend? But I don’t have a boyfriend, what do you mean? Billy: You don’t? How come? Me: Why are you surprised, who’d want someone like me? Trust me when I say this, I know what I’m talking about. Billy: But you’re smart and pretty, what’s not to like? Me: Many things. So uhm…These are my Tshirts. 90% of my tops have band imprints. And…Well…AC/DC, Iron Maiden and Metallica are my Top 3 favourite bands. I have all their vinyls and cassettes. Billy: You just keep getting hotter and hotter the more I know you. Me: Hahaha, no, no way that could ever happen. Billy: If I were to give you one of my band Tshirts, would you wear it on our next date? Me: D-Date?! C-Come on, Billy, I’m literally the last person you’d want to date, I can assure you. Billy: What if I prove you otherwise? Me: How do you know you’re my type? Billy: *smirks* Oh~? So I’m out of your league, sweet cheeks? Me: Ah-…! Wait, no, I didn’t mean it like that! I didn’t want to insult or offend you, I’m sorry! Billy: Just teasin’, relax. Me: *pouts* Whatevs… Billy: So, wadya say, dollface? About us? Me: D-Don’t you think we should, like, get to know each other first? Become friends and trust each other and all that? Billy: Awww, toots wants one of those cutesy romance novel relationships, how adorable. Me: *blushes* W-Well…Y-Yeah…I guess…I know I’m asking for too much…And there’s no way in hell that could ever happen to me…S-So…I just…I guess…I kinda gave up on even thinking of dating long ago. Billy: *sighs* Maybe your expectations are too high of people that are too low. People suck, y'know? The world sucks. You’re expecting a happily ever after? Me: If I ever get to be in a relationship, I want it to be that kind of shelter that would be protective from all the chaos and evilness in the world. The only place where you can feel safe and be yourself. And if that Happily Ever After, as you call it, won’t happen with another person as my significant other…Then I’ll be very content with saving animals’ lives and travelling the world at my leisure. Billy: *smirks* Have I ever told you you’re pretty hot when you speak like that? Me: Uhm…Okay, so, I was thinking that maybe we could talk about the Nervous system in our project? Leila: Kat, you don’t need to talk about the Nervous system. You literally ARE a Nervous system. Me: … *laughs* Oh jesus, that was a good one. I won’t forget that…Actually, I might even use it as a joke when I do the presentation! Leila: *winks* Don’t forget the author’s right! Me: Okay, okay! As per my lovely barista friend joked, instead of presenting you the Nervous system, I will introduce myself, for I am, in fact, a Nervous system. Leila: Hey, Billy, was it? Please film her or something, I want to see that part. Billy: Consider it done. Me: I call this a conspiracy! Don’t try to overthrow my reign! Leila: Oh, shut up, nerd. Here’s your tea, honey and cake, and here’s your coffee. Good luck with your project! Me: Thanks, dear! Billy: Okay, that looks and smells pretty good. Me: *smiles* Wanna try? I can give you half of everything, if you want? Billy: Y'sure? Me: *nods* Sure! Do you like your tea sweetened? I usually put a lot of honey in it. Billy: Make it as you like and I’ll drink after. Me: Here, you can eat from my plate as much as you want. I usually drink the tea first anyways. Billy: So generous, toots, you’re melting my heart. Me: Ahem. So, the Nervous system? Billy: I have no idea what that’s all about, but just for the sake of the joke, I will say yes. Me: Cool! I kinda thought of specialising in Neurosurgery after Uni. B-But that’s really very far in the future, so it’s pretty irrelevant. Billy: Teach me your magic, babe, and let’s fuck them up big time.

Pretty excited, I got the books from the bag and handed them to him, showing him the tons of notes, scribblings, ideas, details and so on that I’ve gathered so far, and for the next 4 hours, everything we smoothly, but we had to leave because Leila had to close, and we decided to meet again on Monday at lunch time in the courtyard and study while we eat.

I have to admit, the time spent with Billy was…Well…Really nice. It seemed almost like he was a complete other person, not the scary guy who looked like he would snap at anyone if they even as much as blinked around him. Sure, he was a huge flirt, but it didn’t seem too…Ill-willed, to say the least. I just hope it won’t turn into a crush or something. I absolutely canNOT and will NOT allow myself to catch feelings…Not again…Not after everything that has happened. He is right. There is no Happily Ever After, so why bother?

The weekend passed by very fast as I prepared notes for both the project and some tutoring ideas for the Nervous System, since we had to start with the very beginning of Biology, so after the first 3 classes in the morning, I tried to rush outside, but I got pushed into a locker with a boy that I couldn’t recall the name of, but I knew was pretty popular…Like many others. I think his name was Dennis or something, and he wasn’t alone, but surrounded by 3 cheerleaders, Clarisse, Carol and Christine, or the Triple C as they were called.

Boy: Hey, freak, 'sup? Me: Uhm…Hi. Boy: Didn’t you hear me? SPEAK UP! Me: I-I Said hi! Boy: I SAID SPEAK UP!! Me: HI! Boy: Thaaat’s more like it, you ugly sow. Now, what the hell were you doing around King Billy? What you’re tryina get him to like you with that pity party of yours? Your face implores pity and sympathy, but you’re nothing more than a nerd! Me: W-We have to make a p-project together… Carol: Yeah, right, as if! You have the goo-goo eyes for him! Y'know, just 'cause he likes the bands you claim to like, doesn’t mean he likes YOU! I bet you only like that music 'cause HE likes it! Me: N-No…That’s not true…

By now, my eyes were watering, and Dennis pinned my wrists above my head and started screaming very close to my face. I could feel a panic attack beginning to form at an alarmingly fast rate.

Clarisse: Aww, look at her! What, gonna freak out again and cry? Christine: Pshh, yeah, right. What a stupid crybaby. Never got past the stage of a 10 year old? Dennis: You and your stupid red hair, better stop hanging out with Billy, or else you’re gonna get it. Me: B-But I h-have t-to- Carol: *slaps me* Billy. Is. Mine. Slut!

After she slapped me, everyone around started laughing and belittling me again, but I couldn’t get out of there because Dennis was exponentially stronger than me, so I knew there was no use in even bothering. A booming voice, however, echoed in the hallway, making me flinch at the noise. “SILENCE! What the hell is going on here?!” the deep voice rang out, a funeral silence taking over, only my soft whimpers being heard.

Dennis: STOP CRYING, YOU BITCH! Didn’t you hear our King asked for silence?! Me: S-Sorry… Dennis: And open your eyes when he’s here, stop being so disrespectful for someone clearly superior to you! Come on, now, on your knees, like the little bitch that you are!

Dennis laughed as he put his hand on my throat, squeezing a bit before throwing me to the ground, in front of Billy. I could only tremble on the ground, not daring to move. I learnt it the hard way that getting away always made it worse.

Billy is the most popular guy in the High school, making all the ex-popular guys hang out with him to gain popularity. He has always been the talk of the school, the womanizer, the rebel, the cool guy everyone loved and feared. Despite everything, I expected him to side with his friends…Even if a little part of me wished for him not to.

The silence in the halls was far more excruciatingly painful than the mockings and the laughter, but it soon vanished as a voice darker and lower than before started talking. He was clearly pissed off.

Billy: …What the fuck were you doing here…? Dennis: We were teaching this bitch a lesson, of course! Make her remember her rightful place! Clarisse: No, no, if you were doing that, you’d have thrown her in the trash bin, 'cause that’s what she is! Carol: Hey, Christine, look at her! She’s staying there like she wants to suck King Billy’s dick! What a shameless slut, on her knees in front of everyone! Billy: Did I, even once, ask ANY of you to do anything like this…? Dennis: Well, no, but she’s been rubbing her pathetic germs all over you! Following you like some lost puppy just 'cause you’re popular, and even more! Lying to us! Carol: Ha, yeah! She kept saying she’s dating you and that you already fucked! Pshh, whore! Me: I…Never… Carol: Oh, shut up, nobody cares what you’re saying, get a hint! Billy: Are you 4 fucking out of your GOD DAMN MINDS?! Dennis: Uhm…B-Billy, what’s the matter? Billy: WHO THE FUCK TOLD YOU TO DO THAT TO HER?! SHE’S MY PROJECT PARTNER AND MY TUTOR, OF COURSE SHE’S HANGING AROUND WITH ME! You fucking idiots, I’m gonna FUCKING KILL ALL OF YOU! All of you stay around me like whores on the sidewalk wanting to get some cheap money, but you’re all good for nothing! Dennis: Come on, Billy, you’re new here, but she’s a freak, okay? I mean, look at her! There are only bad rumours about her and you should hear what her EXes say about her!

Before Dennis could say another word, he was slammed on the locker behind him and choked. I cringed at the sudden noise, but when I saw the outright rage on Billy’s face as he choked Dennis, he drew back one of his arms, wanting to punch him, but I threw myself on his arm.

Me: Billy…Please don’t… Billy: Get back, dollface. This fuckass needs to be taught some discipline the hard way! Me: Billy…Please, I beg of you. Please let him go. Please. Billy: But look at you, they made you cry! I can’t let them get away with this! Me: Billy…Please, for me, please don’t do it. Please stop. Please. Let’s go work on the project. Please. I beg you with all my heart. Billy: *glaring* What the hell is wrong with everyone in this fucking town?! You’re all a bunch of submissive fucktards with no brains at all!

Billy sneered, throwing Dennis away from him and walking down the corridor. I took 3 deep breaths to calm myself, before I ran to him and hugged him tightly from behind, making him freeze in his tracks, extremely tense.

Me: I-I’m very sorry, Billy. I know I only bring you troubles. Even now, I can feel that you hate me touching you like this, but it was the only way I could think of thanking you. And…And…I really appreciate you saving me…And not fighting in my presence. Billy: I really don’t get you. You just stood there, letting them do whatever the hell they wanted with you! There was no struggle, no fight in you! Nothing!

By this point, I let my arms fall down my sides and he turned around to face me, yet my gaze was still on the floor.

Me: You really think I could have gotten out of there? That I could have managed to throw Dennis off of me? Look at me, Billy. My arms are literal noodles, I can’t even punch. Hell, sometimes I struggle to open the water bottle cap. And if I tried to scream…Who do you think would have helped me? Harrington? Wheeler? The lovely Carol and Tina? Or Tommy? The only person who was okay with me in this high school has been Jonathan Byers, but people hate him too, so I can’t possibly make him get bullied more because of me. What would you have me do? It’s been 3 years already…What’s one more? Billy: …You’re so godamn irritating. Me: I know…I’m sorry. I’m really sorry for causing you so much trouble. I…I will go tell Mrs. Green to assign you a new project partner and I will continue tutoring you, if you wish, where people won’t have to see us in the same room. Billy: Did I ask you to do that? Me: N-No, but- Billy: But nothing. Shut up and let’s go, you’re supposed to be tutoring me today. Me: I-I know, but we said outside, and if people see you with me- Billy: Then let’s skip. I don’t have Basketball practice today, so I don’t really care. Me: I-I…I never skipped before… Billy: *shrugs* There’s always a first time for everything. C'mon, if you get in trouble, you just say I kidnapped you or somethin’, chill out. Me: A-Are you sure about this…? Billy: Yeah, yeah. Hop along, I’ll drive. Me: Where are we going? Billy: My place. My parents won’t be coming home tonight so nobody to disturb us. Me: Uhm…Well… Billy: I won’t do anything to you, fuck’s sake. Me: W-Well…If you’re sure it’s no problem… Billy: Get in the car, then. Me: B-But my motorbike- Billy: You have a motorbike? Me: Y-Yeah…Couldn’t really afford a car. And it’s pretty neat. Billy: Fuck, babe, you’re so hot. Me: Ah, I-I’m really not. Billy: I’ll get ya to your house and pick you up tomorrow then. C'mon, sweet cheeks, lemme show you my love. Me: Okay, okay.

He winked at me before signaling me with his head to follow him to his car, where he patted the hood very proudly and smirked, leaning on the door. He got inside, starting the ignition, which was a cue for me to get inside too, putting on my seat belt and gripping it tightly.

Billy: How d'ya like it? Me: It’s very pretty. What car is it? Billy: '79 Camaro, Chevrolet. Complete chick magnet, ya get me? Me: It is very nice. Billy: Fancy some music! Me: Oh, yes!

Smirking at me, he put “You shook me all night long” by Scorpions at max volume, making me grin at him in glee and start singing the lyrics of the song, and he followed my lead, making both of us scream like idiots above the music. Then, the perfect Mixtape with AC/DC songs started, featuring “Highway to hell”, “Hells bells”, “You shook me all night long”, “Dirty deeds done dirt cheap” and my favourite, “T.N.T.”, but by the end of it, we already got to his house, which made me pout a bit before laughing and getting out of the car.

Me: Thanks for this, Billy! It was super fun! Nobody I know listens to the same kind of music I do, and being able to sing with someone else was sooo cool! Billy: Next time, try screaming my name, 'cause damn that was sexy as hell. Me: *laughs* Don’t be silly. Billy: *winks* I’m not.

He guided me to his room which was filled with band posters over which I started gushing about as he brought some snacks and soda for us to munch on as we study. I took off my boots before I jumped on the bed criss-crossed as I spread my noted for today’s tutoring, repeating some things myself, so I won’t stutter explaining too much, but before I realised it, he already threw the bags of crisps on the bed over my notes, making me yelp in shock.

Billy: You get scared pretty easily. Me: Y-Yeah, I mean, that was pretty unexpected. Uhm…Let’s clean up a bit, you made a mess of my notes. Oh, bring your notebook, you’ll need it. O-Oh, right, I brought coloured crayons, I wasn’t sure you had…And your sister might have needed them. Billy: How did ya know I had a sister? Me: Well, I kinda guessed. Both you and her transferred from Cali on the same day, at the same time. Billy: Why do you know about little brats? Me: *shrugs* I have a few little friends. They don’t mind that I’m a nerd…'Cause they are too. It’s pretty fun, actually! Billy: *raises eyebrow* Right. So, why’d I need crayons? Me: Drawings, of course! To understand Biology better, one must need tons of schemes and drawings. I already have mine and I will give them to you for as long as you need, but I’d appreciate it if you were to draw them by yourself too, since it will really help you understand and memorise better what you’re about the learn. Billy: Right…Okay, fine. Me: So, if it’s okay with you, should we start talking about Cells? Shapes, roles, the organelles inside it and what they do. Then, we should cover the tissues a bit, before starting to talk particularities, mainly, to explain the Neuron, how reflexes work and why, and then cover the nerves and organs. Billy: *blank look* Good luck. Me: Huh? What do you mean? Billy: It’s gonna be tough getting me to understand this shit. Me: I don’t think so. I have faith in you. Mrs.Green said that all your grades are above average, which is really good! If you manage to get a B at Biology as your final mark, then you have a very strong chance at a scholarship! Billy: How d'ya know that? Me: You are the best at sports, Billy. The teacher always praises you, despite all the…Uhmmm…L-Let’s call it problematic behaviour. I’m sorry. And, uhm…Our highschool has 1 Sports Scholarship, and 1 Studies Scholarship. Billy: And clearly, you’re the one to get the Studies one, right? Me: *blushes* Well…Y-Yes, it seems so. Billy: And how are you so sure I’m the one qualified for the Sports one? Me: Well…I…I spend a lot of time around teachers. It’s kind of a safe haven where nobody can bully me, and I get to find out a few things as well. Billy: Holy shit, you’re such a Vixen~! You, little, naughty vixen! Me: *chuckles* I…I’ve been called Fox before. Billy: And rightfully so. Me: Y-Yeah, carrot hair, I know. Billy: Oh, shush, it’s hot. And damn, looks damn good with your green eyes. Me: *clears throat* N-Nobody said that before. Uhm, s-so! As I was saying, because you’re currently the top choice…That’s actually why Mrs.Green wanted you to pair up with me. She saw potential in you and she didn’t want it wasted. Before you, there was Steve Harrington, but since you came… Billy: Oh, babe, trust me, I’m gonna come very soon if you keep praising me like that. Me: *confused* What do you mean? Billy: You…Didn’t get that? Me: *shakes head* Should I have? Billy: Never mind. So, what am I supposed to do? Me: Basically, get that B in Biology, win at least 3 of your upcoming Basketball matches until the end of the year…And I think it’s settled. Billy: I’d kiss you right now. Me: *scratches the back of my neck* You wouldn’t like it. So, uhm…Is this enough of a motivator for you? Billy: It could be…Okay, babe, work the hell outta me. Me: S-So, I was thinking, if it’s okay with you, that I should give you a test after each chapter we finish. Like a revision. I think it would be nice and it would help you not forget some things, and also, see where you didn’t understand well enough and all that stuff. Billy: What’s the passing grade, teacher? Me: *flustered* D-Don’t call me that, please, I would be a terrible teacher. I think…A 75% should suffice Billy: That’s quite a lot, babe. Me: *smiles* You can do it, Billy. Your future self is going to thank you for your struggles and hard work. Billy: How about a motivator? Me: Isn’t the Scholarship enough? Billy: It is…But Y'know, it’s gon’ be hard. Me: I suppose you’re right…Okay, what do you have in mind? Billy: *smirks* Each time I get a passing grade at your tests…Let me kiss you. Me: *eyes wide* Wh-What?! Billy: Aww, come on, babe, it’s just a kiss and it’s gon’ help motivate me to study hard. Don’t cha wanna help me get that scholarship? Me: *blushes furiously* I-I-I…Wh-Why w-would you want that?! Billy: Because you’re adorable as hell and I like you. Me: L-Like you like all girls? Billy: Who said I liked them? They’re all dumb and want the same thing. Can you guess? Me: *shrugs* Dunno. Billy: Come on, babe, think, you’re smart. Me: I guess? Billy: You’re the smartest babe I’ve ever got the pleasure to meet. All fucktards at school want just one thing, 'cause they’re all shallow brain dead suckers. They aaaaaall just wanna fuck. Me: A-And don’t you do the same? Billy: I do. Me: Th-Then why’d you want me to kiss you? To add me to your list or something? Billy: Nahh, I’d be a real shithead if I were to take advantage of you like that. Me: *mutters* Wouldn’t be the first one… Billy: *raises eyebrow* Do you trust me? Me: Don’t take it personal, I don’t really trust anyone. Billy: Huh. Not bad. Let’s make a deal, toots. I’ll do my best to raise up to your expectations and you’ll give me those little rewards. If by the time we finish everything you won’t be satisfied with how I behave, then you can hate me all your life and I won’t bother you again. Me: B-But I don’t wanna hate you. Billy: *gets closer to my face* Even better. So, wadya say, sweetling? Me: Uhmm…Well…I-I don’t know… Billy: Come on, Kitten, what’s the harm? It’s just a kiss. Me: *blushes* Uhm…Uhmmm…F-Fine…If it will help you… Billy: Thanks, babe! Now, how about I see what to expect~? Me: NO!

With each question, he just kept getting closer and closer to my face, while I leaned backwards, until the last where I got so flustered that I didn’t realise I was completely on the edge of the bed… Until I fell off with a high-pitched squeal and a thud, while he just laughed his ass off looking at me, as I pouted and looked at him done with life.

Me: You could’ve caught me, y'know? Billy: Sorry, toots, I was too shocked to realise. But, shoulda seen your face, t'was hilarious! Priceless! Me: Yes, yes, I’m hilarious, ha-ha! Just wait till you see how hilarious the tests are gonna be! And I’ll laugh in your face like you do right now! Billy: Ohhh, mrrrr, babe, you’re on fire! Fine, you’re on, then! But I’ll show ya it’s gon’ be worth it. Me: You better.

Stretching a bit I get back in bed next to him and putting on my best game-face, I grab the first pages of notes, the drawings and schemes and start explaining him in detail every little thing, telling him to repeat what I said from time to time, to make sure he stays focused, and make him explain what he understood so far, in his own words.

Despite everything, he was actually really great company to have and I’m kinda…Actually, really glad that Mrs.Green made me be his partner for this project, and more, tutor him. If only he could tone down his excessive flirting, he’s surprisingly soft and nice. Or well…That’s what I think. I could also be wrong, like I’ve been so many times before, and I wouldn’t be shocked in the least bit.

But…I really hope I’m not wrong.

Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

@klassickb

[pi-cat000]

MSA time travel idea (part 13)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Vivi POV, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Lewis POV, Part 12

Part 14: here

Arthur sits wedged between Lewis and Vivi, arms and legs crossed, gaze averted towards the open living room door. Right now his brilliant strategy is to try and wait out his friend’s concern, hoping they get fed up sitting around in silence. Was it subtle? No. Not really. But Lewis and Vivi already know something is wrong and he’s too tired to maintain the ‘everything’s good’ attitude.

Vivi clears her throat impatiently, “So Arthur.  You’re dead on your feet, your hair is a bird’s nest, and you’ve been pretty run down these last few days. Something’s happened, so spill,”

Unfortunately, his strategy relies on Vivi and Lewis caring a whole lot less than he really deserves, making for anxiety-ridden anticipation on his part.

“Gee Viv. You really know how to butter a guy up,” He goes for an awkward chuckle, trying to lighten the heavy mood. The statement lands like a wet paper plane, going by Vivi’s scowl.

“Don’t you ‘gee Viv’ me,” She jumps on the comment, “We’ve spent hundreds of hours hanging together. As if we wouldn’t notice when something’s bothering you. Give us some credit,”

He exhales uneasily, frustration itching along his shoulders, “I don’t know what you want me to say,” He starts defensively, “I went shopping, lost track of time, and have had a bit of trouble sleeping due to headaches. It really is nothing for you worry about.”

He doesn’t like being ambushed or pressed into a corner. It doesn’t help that Lewis is just sitting there, staring searchingly, not saying a word. Over the last few days, he’s relied on Lewis and Vivi being more focused on each other than on him, having all the spotlight isn’t doing the irrationally paranoid side of his brain any favours. Claustrophobic is an apt description of his current situation.

“How about starting with why, exactly, you’re getting headaches. One or two we can chalk up to heat, but it’s almost been five days. Last I checked you only get them this bad when you’re stressed.”

“…and don’t say it’s this new project,” Vivi quickly continues, “We’ve seen you work on hobby projects before and if anything, they seem to reduce stress.”

Sometimes, it’s really inconvenient having close friends. It makes it hard to hide things.  

“Uh…it’s not the new project?” He stalls. Internally, Arthur’s mind is doing cartwheels, trying to come up with a believable excuse and regretting not putting more effort into acting normal.

Vivi frowns, almost irritated. However, Lewis interrupts her next verdict, breaking his unusually long silence, “Is this because of the paint?”

“What,” Arthur stumbles, registering the sentence a few seconds too slow, eyes flickering to meet Lewis’s then immediately away.  Now is not the time for a panic attack.

“…because I can always try and return it,” Lewis continues, deeper voice softer that Viv’s deliberately probing one.

“Come on Lew,” Vivi is directing her concern at Lewis this time, “Arthur wouldn’t be mad at you over something like that,” She hesitates and squints at him, “Right Arthur?”

“No, no, that’s not…I’m not mad about that,” He rushes to reassure, somewhat thrown. Honestly, he had forgotten all about the excess paint. It’s been sitting in the garage, unused.

Why would Lewis think he was mad about paint of all things?

He doesn’t have the time to dissect this most recent turn because Vivi has paced a hand over his crossed arms, prompting him to momentarily freeze. The small action reminds him painfully of future Vivi, so he begrudgingly lets her untangle his limbs and thread her fingers through his.

“If you don’t tell us what’s wrong then we can’t help,” she says carefully, squeezing his hand to provide comfort. To the side, he can see Lewis nodding, equally troubled. Guilt, at causing their unneeded stress, is now mixing about with the anxiety and fatigue. In other words, he feels like shit.  

If only it were that easy. What would Arthur even say?  ‘Oh, by the way, I’m from two years in the future. It sucks. Vivi, you have amnesia and forget the man you love. Lewis, you die, somehow, then you come back as a fiery ghost and kill me. But that’s fine because I ended up time travelling instead of dying. Also, Mystery is some type of Kitsune, and maybe we shouldn’t trust him because of  reasons which may or may not involve limb removal.’

The last two years had been an extended nightmare and more people knowing wouldn’t change anything. It would only make them all unhappy. If they even believed him. He barely believed it, and he’d lived it. No. Only one person needed to be miserable, and that person was him.

“Arthur,” Vivi is ducking, trying to get a look at his eyes, obviously taking his extended silence as a bad sign, “What’s wrong? We’re your best friends,”

He's acting far too stubborn. Younger Arthur would have folded by now, unused to the direct attention and scrutiny. He needs to come up with something but his tiered mind drawing a whole lot of nothing.

“Maybe it’s something about this upcoming trip that has you worried,” Lewis asks cautiously.

“You can tell us,” Vivi adds.

Huh? He takes a moment to quickly glace between them. Blaming his behaviour on the road trip would be a believable excuse. It also had the bonus effect of being partly true. He latches on to the plausible explanation before he can really process its ramifications.

“I guess all this talk about supernatural hotels and haunted places has been stressing me out…” He begins, adding “more than it should,” to help fabricate his new lie. He pulls his hands away from Vivi under the guise of taking a sip of tea. It also hides a grimace.

“You do still want to come with us, right?” Lewis asks, sounding almost urgent in his question.

“Yes,” How else was he supposed to keep an eye on them, “Of course I want to come with you. I’m just a bit nervous about the other stuff. Pretty stupid, huh?” He runs a hand through his hair, puts the cup down, and gives a strained smile.  

“Okay,” Vivi says slowly, tapping a blue painted nail against the counter, seeming only somewhat disappointed, “We don’t have to do anything supernatural right now…we can start off by going to a few national parks, do some normal road tripping, see the sights and stuff. If it makes you more comfortable?”

She has been planning and anticipating this trip for so long that her instant willingness to complexly restructure it on his account does not help his growing guilt. But, forcing Vivi and Lewis away from anything supernatural is really for the best. Even before encountering The Cave they’d run into a slew of problems, cultists, and crazies in their pursuit of the unknown. It’s better they skip that madness this time even if it takes a few lies on his part to do it. This is fine.

“That would be better, yeah,” He confirms awkwardly, keeping his gaze down on Vivi’s hands.

Vivi exhales wearily, “I wish you had told us this earlier. What did you think would happen?”

He grimaces, “I don’t know. We spent so much time planning…. I guess I thought I could deal with it?”

“Well, next time, tell us straight away when something’s bothering you so we can figure it out. No haunted house is worth all this,” She gestures around at the room in reference to the tense and unpleasant atmosphere.  Easy for Vivi to say, she’s always been a vocal person when it came to personal problems.

“Also, maybe tell Uncle Lance something cause he seems worried as well…” Vivi trails off, giving him a securitising stare. She seems to be in the process of settling for his explanation. For now at least. Lewis is still watching him, still mostly silent, expression neutral. It’s had to tell if he believes Arthur or not. One thing is for sure is that he needs to get better at being younger Arthur because he’s apparently been worrying Vivi and Lewis more than he thought.

His hometown didn’t have a high school, being far too small, meaning he, Vivi and Lewis had travelled via school bus, for an hour and a half each day, to the adjacent town. The shock,  transitioning into a significantly larger social environment, coupled with growing family drama had hit him particularly hard, resulting in, what Vivi had termed as, ‘not a great time for anyone.’ Compared to The Cave, and its extended aftermath, it was small potatoes. It was almost laughable to be bothered by trivial things like his dad being his predictable jerk self or his extended asshole family when struggling with blackouts, a presumed dead friend and varying levels of amnesia. Of course, none of that’s happened. The biggest upset this Lewis and Vivi have had concerning their three-person friendship had been those rocky high school years.

After The Cave he had quietened down into a more naturally reserved and contemplative state, happy to play off Vivi’s exaggerated fervour, becoming the sensible, straight man, to her hairbrained plans/schemes. Now Lewis is back in the picture, and he’s having trouble recapturing their old dynamic. Normal for him is not normal for younger Arthur.

“We should probably start heading off,” Lewis comments in the wake of his and Vivi’s thoughtful silence, attention flickering between the two of them. Arthur pulls his focus outward and back to the present, pushing uncomfortable revelations about the younger him to one side.

“Oh right, it’s almost eight o clock, ” Vivi jumps, checking the time, “I need to get home. Mystery still needs his walk.” She moves to stand, throwing Arthur one last half-troubled glance, “Sorry to rush off. We can sort out re-planning tomorrow after work… or the next day after if that’s better for you Arthur,”

“Err, better make it the next day after,” He says because he’ll probably need at least a day to get himself together. Surreptitiously, he squashes his guilty relief upon hearing that they're finally leaving him to get some much-needed sleep.

“Right, um,” She hesitates again, “don’t feel bad about the road trip stuff. We’ll figure it out,”

“Thanks, Vivi,”

“And try to get some more sleep,”

“I will,”

Lewis rises and pauses while Vivi ducks around him, starting for the front door. Arthur hesitates, caught between a sitting and standing. Lewis is watching him again.

“Guess I’ll see you in a few days,” The larger man comments, stepping back to provide more space.  

“Yeah. See you then,”

Lewis hesitates, looking like he’s about to say something else. Arthur tries to keep the nervous fidgeting to a minimum. In the end, Lewis just frowns, remaining quiet. He follows both of them to the door and can’t help but think he’s missed something important.  

NOTE: Man, this part went through so many rewrites you would not believe. I settled for the slightly less dramatic version because it seemed more natural.

Anyway, will probably do a time skip next to get to the start of the road trip, so I’m going to say this is the end of arc two. Definity didn’t plan to write so much, considering this was supposed to end on part 6. Thanks for all the support, everyone has been so nice. 

I hope you all had a good New Years. 

Part 14: here