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#“you used a smoke bomb to actually hide something bad you were doing. not to save us”
curaree · 14 days
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started playing the train game
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allgremlinart · 2 years
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Any angsty recommendations of superbat fanfic that crushed you so bad, that you had to check if you were still breathing? Hahahah thanks 🙏✨️
not sure if these actually suit your request because any and all angst I read usually has a happy ending or hurt/comfort in it lol :"3
but enjoy these angsty (tho not exactly soul wrenching) fics I've collected :3c
Perhaps Hopeless Isn't a Place by ShowMeAHero
Clark is stupid, self-sacrificing, selfish, selfless. He flies a kryptonite bomb into space like it doesn't mean anything, without a second thought. Bruce wants to give him a piece of his mind, wants to pull him out of the sky, wants to do something, anything, except he can't. He can't do shit except watch.
Heart Filled With Smoke by Catchclaw
“God, Bruce.” Kent’s eyes were wide suddenly and goddamn sad. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you they love you before?”
a smile from you that i can barely believe by fishfoods
Clark is used to hiding. It's one of the overarching motifs of his life, having to hide one part of his identity, no matter who he is. Clark Kent or Superman, he has to choose. In comparison, this doesn't even rate. But it still hurts, sometimes, a distant ache in his throat, to see Bruce flirt with someone else, even if he doesn't mean a word.
World's Finest: Giving Thanks by WingFeathers
Bruce quietly breaks down in the Kents' bathroom in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner, and Clark comes to talk.
Leaving Love by JustAJellyfish, nabawrites
Clark is done living like this, so he decides to leave the planet. Bruce shows up on his last night in Metropolis to try and convince him to stay.
What We Don't Say Hurts Us by Batsymomma11
“Love you too,” Bruce murmured the words, hung up the phone, then laid back into the cool embrace of the sheets numbly. His heart was slamming into his ribs, pressing hard on his lungs, making it difficult to breathe.  Clark had lied to him. Clark was lying to him.  Clark never lied to him.
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hirik0 · 1 month
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Back to you part 6
Makarov/Yuri
When Yuri wakes up he's in an awful mode his alarm is way to loud and happend way to early. Working for Makarov? Forget it! Why did he even thought that's a good idea in the first place? This also means his plan to get Jack a phishing link also needs to change, god fucking damm it. He groans covering his eyes with his left arm, the sun is to bright, he sleeped to less, his throat hurt and has a cut and he has a video call with his lawyer in 30 minutes and the worst problem he has is that Makarov will be at his doorstep or a killer send by him at anytime. He more falls out the bad then rolling and he just want to sleep a littel longer. First thing he needs to cover the bandags around his throat, like his laywer can't see this, so he searches for a scarf or a turtle neck in his closet, nearly not finding either. In his hast he nearly dressed in the dress shirt with blood on the collar. Rushing half dressed, who needs pants if everybody is only seeing the upper half of your body, to the kitchen, where he nearly drops his full coffee cup. He will go back to bed after this call, nothing good will happen to him today. The call also starts in the worst way possible, his laywer looking clearly displeased before she drops this bomb question on him. "Did you sent anyone to intimate your husband?", Lucy Harris is asking him looking angry. "No", Yuri answers being confused by the question, to tiered to even entertain whi she even could refer too. "Well I had a phone call if your ex husbands laywer yesterday and they told me that you sent somebody to provoke him in his favourite bar to get a better case to divorce him." Yuri frowns taking a sip of his coffee trying to get his brain to work. "When was that?", he asks he would remeber if he ask anybody to do this. "The night you were in Moscow with your old friend." Yuris frown gets bigger at this what is she talking about. The realisation hits him like a train, she's talking about Makarov. "I never asked anybody to piss of Jack. If this person was there it was their desition and I don't have anything to do with it." "Well it would be good when it don't happen again." "Of course, I will talk to him." A fat lie because Makarov would do it anyway, especially now that they are fighting. "Good, well they are still push the dates for mediation around so their is honestly not much we can do for now, I can complain to the court over this of course, but I don't think it's to much if an issue now", she explains and Yuri just nods along money is not really an issue sure it sucks but thanks to Zakheav he actually has some really good paying jobs on the line. He also needs the time to adjust his plan now that... oh oh genius of course that can work perfectly. Getting Makarov of Jack with the fake Instagram perfect genius, if he dont get killed later this day. "Of course that sounds great", Yuri says to something he only half listened. And soon after the call ends, what means he can just go back to sleep for few more hours or till Makarov kills him.
Makarov didn't even sleep yet, breathing hurts and well nobody said he can't do work from the bed. So just simply started working. Going through the information he had on the last gig before 141, Europoles new wunder weapon against organisation crime, fucking losers in his opinion, confiscated half of his weapon shipment. Who was on it, who know what who is the mole? He even didn't most analog, do no text, no mails and somebody still got information out, the tablet he uses right now can't even connect to the Internet. Oh this rat will suffer, touring him will be so fun, so satisfying, but he first need to smoke them out. His eye burn from exhaustion, he's getting a nasty stress headache. Circulation a few false information, drawing the circel closer and closer like a shark swimming around a seal hiding on a rock, before taking the lethal bit. But he also need somebody on the outside, somebody that can keep track of what false information is circulating and who was told what, he can always ask Milena he made her husband fall on a knife 8 time after all and she is also profiting from his buisness in more indirect ways, but he dont want to. Everyone knows that he and Milena are close so his men will be careful around her he needs a new face. He lets himself fall back against the pillows when his mind sets on Yuri. Yuri would be perfect, few people know him, he could join easly, well till last night he would say he can trust him, but not with the Zahkeav situation. He's honestly not even angry at Yuri anymore well maybe still a littel bit, but he's now mostly angry at Victor Zakhaev how did he even found Yuri? Depending on what he will learn at 3 pm there are probably a lot of persons trying to recruit Yuri to work for them exclusively. But Yuri is his, only his.
He sits in his office the pain meds finaly working. Waiting for Paval, his man for cyber crime what makes a good stable amount of money every year. Yuri claimed he sometimes sold to Pavel and well truth soon will be discovered. Pavel looks pale when he walks in as to be aspected, being called in by the boss with out given a reason is usally a very bad sign. His hands are slightly shaking when he sits down ready to throw a subordinate under the bus if needed. "What can you tell me over the Magpie, Pavel?", Makarov asks enjoying the effect he has on the other man. "His malware is amazing, but the windows you can buy from him are rare, he sometimes even offers to write custom programs for the right amount of money, but nobodyever could confirm that. His work is good, he's on time, I always buy something when his shop is open." Makarov nods along so if Yuri is who he claims to be he is a very valuable asset to the organisation. "What do you know about him?" Pavel frowns that is the whole point of him only selling a few times a year is to make sure he can't be found that easy, there is only one think that is seen as confirmed that he must work on cyber security. A insider making money on the side with crime. "He works in cyber security, besides that he's hiding his identity very well. Makarov frowns at this so how did Zakheav found him then? Pavel starts to sweat under the angry gaze of his boss, not sure if he is of the hook or not. "Would you reconices his work?", Makarov asks having to suppress a yawn, he needs more coffee. "I even have some of his latest work to directly compare it to anyone that claims to be the Magpie", Pavel nearly wispers not wanting to unleash Makarovs anger on himself. "Perfect, be prepared to do so, you can go now." With this Makarov dismisses Pavel who has the feeling he's a gazelle getting away from a very hungry lion. So he walks out of the place as fast as he can without looking like he's running. Makarov makes himself another coffee he really wants a drink, but he don't mixes medication with alcohol, the risk of accidently killing himself out of stupidity. That would be embarrassing because he's the man with at least 5 back up plans, the man that knows how to use legal grey zones for his advantage, the one never been pinned down for the big crimes, always getting away. Not for a lag of trying and the 141 is becoming a pain in his ass, Captain John Price had a interesting team. His attack dog Simon 'Ghost' Riley who lost his whole family because of a cartel, Kyle 'Gaz' Garrick his protégé since he finished college with degree in forensics, the hard to kill Gary 'Roach' Sanderson who lost his voice in a undercover mission he barely survived and the new guy John 'Soap' MacTavish who before worked in the bomb squad. Not to forget his supporters behind the scenes Nikolai somebody that left crime to become a police officer, Kate Laswell and Alex Keller that are their contacts to Interpol, Shepard leader of a anti drug unit of the several US agencies and his attack dog Graves who is in lead in the fight against Mexican Cartels.
He takes a sip from his coffee if he had to bet money on it he would put it on Graves having installed a mole. He's actually know for doing highly questionable undercover missions, most aren't as lucky a Sanderson and survive when the cover is ultimately blown. 141 stared to target him around 7 months, ruining plans of his all over Europe, but the mole must be here for longer. Makarov knows the failing rate for new people to join his organisation is around 70%, most of them die, the next biggest reason he rejects them because their work is bad, they are unreliable, some cracking under the pressure of police when all they have to do is shut their stupid mouth. So for somebody to get this high to get that valueable information to seriously hurting his organisation they must work for him for nearly two years, must be working directly under one of his Lieutenants. His coffee mug is half empty and the damm drink can't keep his exhaustion at bay anymore. He can visit Yuri after he sleeped, making a strategic move tiered can end disaster because Yuri is probably well rested by now and would likely not put up a fight this time. Also when he breaks into Yuris place at a unsuspected time or when Yuri is asleep he has the uper hand.
Yuri is still tiered when he wakes up again in the late afternoon. He is still alive, what don't mean that Makarov is not in his living room when he leaves his bed room. But their is no Makarov in his living room waiting for him, what honestly is worse, if the other Russian would be in his place he atleast knows he is about to die. Now he hast to wait, he turns on his laptop so he can check his mails. He puts a pizza in the oven because well he need to eat. Before laughing at his silly thought, you can just text Makarov and ask. While waiting for his pizza he checks over his mails, seeing a familiar mail address from work. Kate Laswell wrote him, he frowns should he read it, should he just delete it? He can still delete it after reading. He already cringes when he reads the first part of the mail. Sure Kate probably don't know he's divorcing their interaction were always exclusively business.
Dear Mr. Blaire,
Mrs Potter was so friendly to give me your new business mail address. We were very grateful if we could still use your expirince for some of our cases, please send me a list with your prices as soon as possible.
Regards
Kate Laswell
He looks dumbfounded at the mail for a while. He never planned to keep working in cyber security, did he told that his colleagues sure, but it was a lie. Also of course Alice gave out his e-mail out, one he also only uses to keep the lie from being to obvious. He thinks about simply deleting the mail account, does he really still need it? It would be foolish to keep the account now that he has the first profitable jobs to modify certain malware and bots for the people Zahheav introduced him. The smell of pizza is slowly filling the room so he takes a look at it, the cheese isn't melded enough for him. When he goes back to his laptop he nearly clicks delete account when he rembers he also gave this mail also to his lawyer. So he does the next best think blocking Laswell and deleting her mail with out answering. This is probably something he should talk with Makarov about if ge survives the fight ring problem. After getting the pizza out if the oven he grabs his phone opening his chat with Makarov. Seeing his drink text from the night in Moscow with Milena and he laughts at the absurdity on how their relationship did a 180 by now. He still sends the silly text he about Makarov killing him.
Yuri: you decided on killing me yet or can I do work?
Its such a stupid text, why did he even send it? He bits in his pizza the cheese and tomato sauce burning his mouth. Great really a bad day, he sits down on his couch laptop on his lap pizza on the couch table and it's fucking nostalgic. He can't even recall how often Makarov, Milena and him sat after university together in a living room all doing homework and complain about it. How often they would ask Makarov about the law, how often he helped Milena with the math for her buisness degree how often the other looked over his code to find the one missing semicolon so the code would work. He was happy back then. All of them working their ass of in university at day and at the fighting ring at night to finance their degrees. Then Jack happened and Makarov and Milena stayed away, because they could not stand his boyfriend. How they would fight, because of Jack their friendship crumbling honestly a wonder they even came to the wedding. But now after all this time after he came back it don't feel like things never changed, like Jack never happened, well besides Makarov maybe killing him after he already gave him a unheard second chance he won't get a third.
Makarov: Andrei will come by and you will give him an USB-stick with some of your code for comparison
Y: you can read code by now?
M: I have people for that
Y: of course you have
Yuri sighs so his contact person in Makarovs organisation want to see some of his work, to compare to what he sells. He rolls his eyes coding a classic first generation malware. He eats the next slice of pizza thinking what to do add to it to give it his spin. Something that screams Magpie. Mid chew he knows exactly what to do. Does he have to prove to his claim of being the Magpie sure to a stranger, but he also can do something that Makarov knows from back in universety.
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cheemscakecat · 3 months
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Missing In Action 4
Chapter 4: Passageway
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During Scout’s tour of Spy’s crusty smoking room, he and the new guy discover a secret passage.
Hey, Maybe they were gonna keep the new guy if Spy stayed gone! The thought felt half-good, which was better than mosta the thoughts he’d had in a while. Jeremy led the new guy to his old man’s smelly hideaway and waited for him to catch up. Medic had given him a survival kit or somethin so he’d have a blanket and stuff like that. It was weighing him down, so the little thing musta been stuffed.
It’d been seven months since Scout stepped foot in this place, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He stretched up against the wall sleepily; that one good dreamless sleep felt great, but it didn’t do much. New guy came up, hunched a little cause of the kit in his hand.
Shame mosta his stuff was lost. Sniper gave him a smelly bandana to wear, which he put on without hesitation. But he didn’t leave it on his face for long. Sniper peed way too much, and that bandana reeked of the stuff. Still better than anything Soldier mighta given him.
“This is where our old Spy used to stay.” He started. God, it was hard to talk about. Scout opted to just open the door and talk from there. The smoking room was still dark and stinky. The fireplace hadn’t been lit for weeks, but the wall lights turned on without a hitch. “This part’s the smoking room. There’s a bathroom behind that door..” He walked in and started pointing stuff out.
“Don’t know where the bedroom is, probably hidden. Sorry about that. And y’know, I’m sorry about that awful cigarette smell and these dumb*** paintings too.” He blurted that last part out. But it was true. Spy had all these dumb paintings with his mug smacked on top of the others. And people called Jeremy a prideful ***.
New Spy looked around curiously at the paintings. He glanced at the one over the fireplace, then did a double take and went over to it. Scout followed him. “Why is fruit painting here?” “I dunno. Why, you like it?” It was the only one without Spy’s face painted on it.
“Why is it so different from ze others?” Scout looked at it, then at the other pictures, then back at it. He noticed something else. “Hey, it’s kinda crooked, isn’t it?” New Spy reached up to adjust the lopsided painting and stopped quick. “There is something… em… caught behind on ze wall.”
Jeremy cocked his head and put his hand on the new guys chest. “Let me look. I dunno if he’s got booby traps.” “What is booby trap?” …It hadn’t crossed Scout’s mind that the new guy might be bad at English since it wasn’t his first language. Kinda like Heavy. Maybe that was why he talked funny when he got interrogated. “It’s like… you know how Demomen put bombs down for people to run into later?” “Oh, is like hiding bomb behind wall.” “Pretty much, yeah.” Not really, but Jeremy wasn’t gonna make another guy feel bad for not getting English. He sure freakin didn’t.
He slowly turned the painting the same way it’d been tilted when they noticed. Eventually, he uncovered a keyhole that’d been hidden by the bottom side of the frame. The duo stared at it, and then at each other.
“I wonder where ze key is.” “Wish I knew, too. I’m curious now.” It couldn’t be the way to Spy’s musty bedroom, he’d hide it better. Actually..
“Hey, ya think it might open a door to the kitchen?” “Do all members on ze team have their own?” Newbie asked. “Nah, we got a shared one. But uh, Soldier isn’t allowed to use it since he brought roadkill-“ He remembered new Spy wan’t good at English. “Uh, dead animals off the road to cook.” Jeremy almost burst out laughing at the offended face the new guy made. “But anyways, I never saw our old Spy use it. He might have a pre-tent-chee-us kitchen in here.”
New Spy looked around the fireplace. The marble didn’t have any fancy moldings to hide junk in. But Newbie looked at Spy’s armchair funny. “Is this em… his place?” He gestured at the chair vaguely. “You mean his spot? …Come to think of it, yeah! I ain’t ever seen the others use that one.” Scout decided that the new Spy might take that as a rule he should follow. “But he’s not gonna be around to get mad. You sit wherever you want, man.”
The Newbie sat down and shifted around a little. He looked lost in thought. “Hmm. Am I the same tallness as ze other Spy?” Jeremy nodded. He got up and moved off to the side. “You try sitting in his chair.” Scout stared at Spy’s spot for longer than he wanted to before willing himself to shrug and do it. He plopped down on the red leather and-
“Ow! What the heck?!” He got back up and rubbed his lower back, cause something hard poked him. “I knew it! I knew there was secret pocket!” The new guy said. “How?” Jeremy was confused. Newbie gestured to his own back, which curved in a little more at the bottom, since he was tall. “Other Spy would not want ze secret pocket to bother him when sitting.”
Scout looked at the chair and felt around the cushion where it hurt. It felt like there was a box under the back cushion near the bottom seam. New Spy crouched down and tapped the wooden bottom of the seat until it sounded hollow. “Help me put this on its side.”
In the light, they could see a snug little rectangle of wood on the bottom of the chair. Newbie took his knife -one of the only things that he still had- and stabbed the edge of the rectangle until he could pry out the box.
Inside was a silver key, and when they put it in the lock it fit like a glove. New Spy crossed his fingers and turned the key. The bookcase to the right of the fireplace slid aside, and there was a dark passageway. They nearly smacked their heads together from rushing to look at the same time.
“Should we… go in?” Newbie asked. “It’d be lame to stop now. But watch your step, I guess.”
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The duo carefully tiptoed through the hallway until they reached a door with a bar instead of a regular knob. Scout tried pulling the door to the left and it didn't work, but pulling it to the right did.
Wherever they were, it was dark as hell. Jeremy felt around for a light switch. He got blinded real bad when the Spy suddenly found it. It was on the side of a cabin-net that was at a real comfy height for him.
The kitchen actually didn’t look like some pre-tent-chee-us fancy restaurant; it looked like a magazine picture though. Kinda girly, like Ma’s kitchen if she didn’t have 8 guys makin messes for 20 years in there.
New Spy wandered around, somehow not bumping into anything even though he didn’t look where he was going. He stopped suddenly by a weird cabinet door in the wall and frowned.
“Something is rotten. Other Spy must have had food out!” Scout made it over just as he threw open the door. There were a buncha rotten vegetables and fruit growing mold. New Spy pre-zoom-uh-blee started cursin up a storm in French. “Gross!” Jeremy plugged his nose.
The new Spy stalked over to the sink and dug around angrily; he came back wearing elbow long rubber gloves, carrying bleach and garbage bags. He kept muttering in French as he dumped the mess of goo and mold into the bags.
Scout didn’t exactly wanna do nothin, so he went and got a wet rag and a bucket of soapy water. But by the time he came back, Newbie had already pulled the sloppy juice into the bag using the long gloves. “Can you pour ze bleach on that, please?” Jeremy nodded and did it while Spy threw out his nasty gloves and put on some new ones. It smelled horrible even to a guy who had bathroom duty with 7 brothers.
Spy used the rag on the leftover chunks of dead fruit and veggies, scrubbing like he was getting years of anger out. Again, Jeremy found himself standing aside while their guest cleaned with the soap bucket. “You’re really good at this.”
“It’s what must be done. I was taught better than to keep a dirty kitchen. That is how you make someone sick.” It was kinda weird that such a young guy was this strict about cleaning, but this was a nasty mess. Oh. Speaking of that…
“Do’ya think there’s more rotten crap in that fridge?” Spy stopped and stared at it like a cat about to start a fight. He groaned and stomped over to it, ranting in half English, half French about “****ty salmon-ill-ah.”
Scout hoped that meat juice wouldn't leak out onto the floor, or Spy’s clothes.
Thankfully, everything was wrapped in parchment paper or tight plastic. There were like 12 or 13 chickens stuffed in there though. Spy pulled off his gloves and looked at the tag on the nearest chicken.
“Some of these are not good. We will need to throw them away.” Scout looked at the tags and threw out the ones that matched that first one. He used a different bag to keep the plant slop off the floor. “Sorry for lettin ya do all that yourself man. I mean, you just got here.” Spy shrugged. “Well, I don’t mind. I do not want ze black mold to grow on this room and make ze team sick.” Scout nodded and accidentally pressed the back wall of the fridge. Which opened another little door.
“Another one?! Really?” New Spy looked at the dates on the other chickens. “Ah, these are still good. Ze other Spy must get new ones every two weeks. Ze newest ones are only 2 days old.” Jeremy looked at the secret fridge door. “So he’s been gettin food shipped here and crammed through these doors?”
The Spy opened the freezer and it was full to the brim with meat, and plastic containers of random crap. “Oh my God, why does he have all this?! It’s not like he even shares!” Scout realized a little too late that he shouldn’t have gotten mad. New Spy looked at him with concern.
”You and ze other Spy. I feel you do not get along.” Jeremy tried to be calm and say something normal next. “Well, I don’t think he’s coming back to be honest with ya.” Good. Not too many details for this new guy to know. But the Newbie stopped and went quiet for a minute. “You think he is dead?” He said it with sympathy. “What? No- dude. I just-“ Scout sighed. “I think he abandoned the team. He and I were fighting, and he ran away so he didn’t have to fix things.”
Spy lowered his head sheepishly. “I am sorry for assuming. If he really did leave all this to rot, he must not have been a very nice man.” Truth be told, Jeremy was having trouble figuring out why Spy would leave all his food hoard to go to waste himself. “It’s fine. I didn’t say it clear enough.” They both kinda stared at the fridge without looking at anything.
“Well, I should find a use for ze Cornish game hens in this fridge. I do not have room in my stomach, and ze freezer does not have space either.” “Yeah. I’m gonna take out this rancid trash. You cool with me leaving you alone now?” Spy nodded, but he was still staring at the fridge looking unhappy about the wasted food.
What Jeremy didn’t understand is that Spy bought 6 Cornish game hens in one week instead of 4. Why’d he get extra if he wanted to leave?
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Antoine sighed and got the showering supplies from the survival kit. He was grateful that the other Spy had a usable bathroom with a shower that was not hidden away.
He hadn’t been planning to cook for himself, much less a strange team. Not so soon. But that good hen was going to go to waste if he didn’t cook it in a few days. First though, he needed to get any rot water off of himself, and clean the desert sweat from his clothes. It was not right to cook in such a dirty body either.
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sophiefilo16 · 1 year
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Quick Write #2
Title: The Honorable Family
Dario Ricci, son of mob boss
Lila Winston, daughter of police chief
Context: They kidnapped her to bribe the chief into looking the other way on a crime/letting one of their own go.
 -
I gently tug my wrists. Yep, still tied. Do I honestly expect the zip tie to magically go away? No. Am I still going to keep checking every five minutes? Yes.
The guard on my right straightens at the sound of the garage door rattling open. This must be who they’re waiting for. With the sun at his back, the man steps in. I greet him with a sneer.
He saunters over to me in all black like he thinks he’s someone special. In a way, he is. But not any way I care about.
Sporting an air of whiskey and cigarettes, he comes within a foot of me and crouches to meet my glare. If my hands were free, I’d punch him right in his square jaw. Which admittedly, isn’t quite as punchable as I always imagined. He’s actually kind of cu—
What the hell am I thinking?!
“Don’t worry. We ain’t gonna hurt you none. Just need to make ya pops a little scared is all.”
He speaks with that classic mix of a New York-Italian accent. I’m half-convinced it’s fake.
I harden my glare as I respond. “Sure, as if I’d believe what a Ricci has to say.”
The man simply smirks with a sparkle in his eye. How infuriating! Does he think this is a game?
But the way he’s so relaxed in his suit as he looks at me calmly… Maybe he really means it? Actually, now that I’m really looking at him, he’s pretty young. Probably barely older than me. He’s clean-cut with a dangerous charm to him, but knowing he’s bad news doesn’t stop me from being lured in.
No! Focus, Lila! You’re the daughter of Deputy Chief Brian Winston. You can’t get wrapped up in shiny hair and soft lips.
I spit at him. Or try to. It doesn’t get very far since these jerks haven’t given me in water since they kidnapped me. But it’s the thought that counts.
“You think I’ll cooperate?” I jeer. “Like hell! I’ll never play nice for the people who killed my mom!”
That wipes the smirk off his face. He tilts his head a bit. Imagine that. A kidnapping, murdering gangster trying to play innocent. It only riles me up more.
“Don’t think I don’t know!” I continue. “You strapped a bomb to her car thinking it’d be my dad. You murdered an innocent woman just to avoid getting caught! I’ll never cooperate with you! I’ve spent every day since then determined to make you pay for what you did to her! To us!”
As I glare at him with enraged, teary eyes, he stares back at me with a cool gaze. Are these really the eyes of a cold-hearted killer?
 My boys weren’t kidding when they said she’s a handful. This girl really is something else. She’s got guts, though, talking to me like that when she knows my father runs this town. Look at her. Makeup half-ruined and clothes a mess but still glaring at me like she could actually take me with her hands behind her back.
It’s cute as all hell. If I didn’t have business to take care of, I’d see what she’s really all about. Wouldn’t mind a pretty little voice like that filling my bedroom.
I stand up and pull out a smoke. She somehow looks even more disgusted with me. It’s a good reminder of the beef between our bloods and keeps me from getting too distracted by that face.
“We ain’t the ones who snuffed ya ma,” I comment as I light the cig between my teeth. I take a deep drag and hold the smoke in my lungs for a moment before continuing.
“The Riccis don’t mess with family that don’t mess with us, and if we gonna get dirty, we don’t use no pussy tricks like no bombs.” I take another pull to hide my disgust at the thought. The Riccis pride ourselves on being the last honorable mafia family in the state. But Little Miss Cop Jr. wouldn’t understand that.
“Nah, if we really had beef, we would’ve settled it up close and personal. In fact, only reason we didn’t make a move on your old pop sooner…is ‘cause of you. We weren’t tryna leave some girl to the streets. You should be lucky the Riccis look out for stuff like that ‘cause these other families wouldn’t have given a damn no matter how old you are.”
As I tap the ash off my cig, I level her a steady gaze. She can think whatever she wants, but she’s not going to slander my family’s name like that without me having something to say about it.
We stare at each other for a while until her face softens. With wide eyes, she asks, “You…didn’t kill my mom?”
“You deaf or something?” I scoff.
“Then…who did?” For the first time, she’s looking at me without hate in her eyes. Honestly, I hate it. It was easier to treat this as just a job when she wasn’t looking so desperate.
“…Probably the Bruscas. Or the D’Amicos. They do coward shit like that. But back in those days, it would’ve been Raffas running things. Who knows?” Taking another long drag, I stare over her shoulder to avoid those big green eyes.
“Can…can you help me? Figure out who did it?” I choke on the smoke. Is this chick crazy?
“And why should I help you?”
She scoots forward with that pleading voice, and I can’t help looking at her. “Please… I don’t have anyone else I can ask.”
Damn. I always was a sucker for a cute face. Running around with these goody-goody girls is nothing but trouble. Cousin Rob can speak to that. Still, the poor girl’s looking for who messed with her family. There’s respect in that.
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five-rivers · 3 years
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Danger First
Chapter 7
@pocketramblr
.
"Hey, Midoriya?" asked Uraraka, after Aizawa passed out a costume revision assignment and feigned passing out.
"Yes?" said Midoriya, knowing that his eyes were preturnaturally wide and fine tremors were running through his body. He was a wreck.
"Are you okay? Why did you come to class with Mr. Aizawa?"
"And what's that you're holding onto?" asked Kaminari.
"Um," said Izuku. "I was sort of... abducted by the support department? But in a nice way... And they gave me this grappling hook."
"Wow, cool! I didn't know we could get stuff like that from the support department."
"You should really read the student handbook, Kaminari," said Iida, pushing up his glasses.
"But it's so long!"
Iida tsked and adjusted his glasses more vigorously. "You're a student! You should at least be familiar with what is expected of you! Speaking of which, Midoriya, do you know how to use that?"
As much as he could learn from a ten-minute crash-course. "... yes," said Izuku, but it was clear from Iida's face that he had hesitated too long.
"Midoriya! You shouldn't have something like that in the classroom without knowing how to use it!" Iida half stood up, and Izuku clutched the grappling hook closer to his chest.
"No! Mine!" Maybe he was too attached to something he'd only had for a little over an hour, but the support department hadn't been able to give him any smoke bombs or flash grenades due to 'new school regulations regarding explosives' and he'd gone through a lot this morning.
Distress washed over Iida's face, and Izuku wondered if he'd accidentally smacked into some old trauma.
"I wasn't going to take it!" he said, earnestly waving his hands. "I just wanted to make sure you knew where the safety-"
The door to the classroom slammed open. "Is that my little brother I hear?" asked a beaming man in a track suit. Without waiting for an answer, he bounded over to where Iida was sitting and clapped him on the back. "I have come to embarrass you horribly!"
From the expression on Iida's face, this venture was doomed to failure. "I thought you were joking when you said you'd see me today!" exclaimed Iida, beaming.
"Why... why would I joke about that?"
"You joke about a lot of things. Like knowing vigila-"
"Okay! Yes, haha, funny jokester, that's me! Now why don't you introduce me to your classmates?"
"Of course! I have been remiss in my duties as vice president." He stood and executed a ninety-degree bow. "Forgive me! This is my brother, Iida Tensei! Also known as the pro hero Ingenium!"
Izuku could almost see his classmates start to put together the puzzle pieces of Chibiida and extremely tall older brother. He was more concerned about whether or not it would be rude to ask Ingenium for his autograph... and to check his analysis page on Ingenium...
"That's me! And I'll be your special guest TA today! Now, where's Aizawa? You're supposed to have him for homeroom, right?"
As one, the class pointed to the giant yellow caterpillar in the corner of the room.
"Oh my gosh, Shouta, I thought you were joking-"
.
Ingenium was, to put it in a single word, cool. To put it in two words, he was unbelievably cool. So cool Izuku was almost able to forget the impending field-trip-related DOOM they were all facing.
But not quite.
So Izuku slogged through his classes, still thrilled to be there and waning to do his best, but unable to truly focus past the crushing weight of what might happen. His classmates and maybe-friends hovered at the periphery of his suffering, clearly wanting to help, but just as clearly unsure how, or what lines they could or couldn't cross, leading them to resort to painfully awkward normal small talk.
Until they sat down for lunch, that is, by which time Monoma and Iida had gotten into a conversational spiral about how amazing UA was, how awesome Ingenium was, and how UA was truly superior for being able to have pro-heroes like Ingenium come in as TAs on such short notice.
"Midoriya," said Uraraka, startling him out of his fourth or fifth 'Kacchan sweep.'
(It was still possible that his bad feeling was related to Kacchan hunting him down and blowing him up. He'd be mortified about making such a big deal over it if that was the case, but it would be preferable to, say, a terrorist attack.)
(Why did he keep coming back to terrorist attacks?)
"Are you... okay? You've just seemed really down today, and-"
"Invisible hug!" shouted Hagakure before grabbing Izuku and lifting him over her head.
There was a beat of whispering near-silence. Then Uraraka stood up, slamming both hands on the table and inadvertently making it float. "You have got to tell me your work out routine!"
Izuku agreed.
("Strawberry," someone whispered.)
.
"I generally say what's on my mind," said Asui as the Iidas had radically different reactions to the bus seating arrangement.
"Aha," said Izuku. The swaying of the bus plus the strain of probably-Danger-Sense was making him nauseous. "What is it, Asui?'
"Call me Tsuyu."
The first time a person his age let him call them by name since kindergarten, and he couldn't properly appreciate it. Figured.
"I was watching the videos of the battle trials I missed last night," Tsuyu continued, "and I realized, I don't think any of us know what your quirk is."
Izuku's first impulse was to lie or redirect the conversation. Years of quirklessness had left their mark. But on second consideration... was there really a reason to lie? He wasn't going to talk about One for All, obviously, but the rest of it was harmless and bound to come out eventually anyway.
"Well," said Izuku, adjusting the fit of his air filter self-consciously. "That's a good question, actually."
"If you're keeping it a secret, I won't press."
"No, no, that isn't it!" Yes, it was. "It's just that, um, it's really subtle? As in, so subtle I thought I was quirkless until recently. Haha."
"Oh, wow," said Kirishima, "that must have been hard. I mean, I got teased for having a boring quirk, I can't even imagine-"
"Your quirk isn't boring! It's more than enough to be a pro!"
"But what is your quirk?" asked Monoma.
"Um," said Izuku, "well, we're not entirely sure, but... We think it lets me sense things that are dangerous? But I've also got anxiety, so..."
Monoma was frowning, but before he could speak, one of Hagakure's gloves waved frantically in front of his face.
"Is that how you knew I was there?" she asked. "In the battle trial and the entrance exam?"
"Maybe? I think so?"
"You were kind of anxious this morning," said Uraraka, concerned. "Did something bad happen to you?"
"Not- not yet," said Izuku, weakly. "It- We still don't really know how it works, so it could just be the anxiety..." He trailed off. Everyone was kind of staring at him. He pressed back against his seat, wishing there was somewhere to hide.
"Well!" said Uraraka, suddenly pumped up. "We'll just have to keep an eye out! We're hero students, aren't we?"
There was a general cheer of consensus and Izuku managed a shaky smile. So, this was what it was like to have friends.
Eventually, Mr. Aizawa told them to calm down, but there was no heat in the scolding. Maybe, Izuku thought, past the ever-increasing buzzing in his head, today would be okay after all.
.
"Yeah," said Hikage, "there's really no chance of that."
.
The Unforeseen Simulation Joint was an incredible space!
Space Hero Thirteen was about a thousand times cooler in person than on TV!
All Might, in his golden age rescue-specialized costume, looked like he'd just stepped off the pages of a comic book!
But just like Tsuyu's name, Izuku didn't have the ability to appreciate it.
As the other students marveled over the USJ, Izuku watched the adults quietly talk to one another. It seemed to be something serious.
.
"Did you find anything else with the safety checks?" asked Shouta.
"A few of the areas had the difficulty set too high- apparently some of the third-years decided to get some practice in and their supervisor didn't reset everything. Other than that? Nothing." Thirteen shook their head. "No signs of structural failure, no security gaps. Everything seems, well, normal."
"Well," said All Might, "whatever happens, we're prepared!"
Aizawa seriously doubted they were prepared for anything, but the most obvious, most likely things? Yeah.
"What do you think, Ingenium?" he asked.
"Everything looks fine to me," said Tensei, shrugging. "But if it was something obvious, then it wouldn't be so much of a threat, right?"
"We're still not sure how Midoriya's quirk really works," said Shouta. "It could be a threat just to him." He sighed heavily.
Tensei smiled in a way that just about guaranteed Shouta would be teased about this later.
"Well, I'm going to start my speech now!" said Thirteen giving the others a thumbs up. "Wish me luck!"
.
As soon as Thirteen finished their (surprisingly moving) speech, all of Izuku's attention zeroed in on the air next to the fountain. A swirl of dark mist appeared next to it.
Izuku felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Mr. Aizawa-!" But he was already looking in that direction, already watching the man made covered in emerge from the dark hole, followed by a veritable horde of villains.
And Izuku didn't use the term villain idly here. Several of the people he saw were on wanted lists.
Ironically, now that he was faced with real danger, the panicked siren in his head eased off slightly. Evidently, at least some of the strain had been fear of the unknown, and now the threat was very, very known in the worst way, that particular stressor was gone.
"There he is!" cried the man covered in hands. "All Might! The one we've all come for! Nomu! Get him!"
A large villain with an exposed brain who practically sang with danger charged All Might, who grabbed him by the wrist and flung him away, towards the landslide zone. "Ha! That's not much of a challenge! You'll have to do better than that, villains!"
"Maybe," said a villain made of the same mist as the portal that had brought the others. The large villain came charging out of the landslide zone, none the worse for wear. "Maybe not."
"You might be an elite player, but can you fight the boss and protect the noobs you're powerleveling?"
The other villains surged forwards.
This is when Mr. Aizawa and Ingenium jumped into the fray, and everything immediately got more chaotic. Izuku rapidly lost track of the multiple battles occurring around him - except, wow, Mr. Aizawa was really mowing through villains, wasn't he - that Nomu guy had to have a regeneration quirk, there was just no way - he'd have to write down that villain's monolog as soon as they got out, it might have clues - Izuku had no idea that Ingenium could fly and wow that gave him some ideas for Iida-
Speaking of Iida-
"This is no time for analysis! Hurry up and evacuate!"
Right.
"I won't allow that."
Yeah the misty villain definitely had some kind of teleportation quirk, which made this whole thing even more gutsy. Quirks like that were always monitored by the government. These guys must not care about their identities.
"Greetings," he said, a metal colar slipping into place around his neck. "We are the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity, but... today we've come to-"
A gust of air from All Might's fight pushed the mist villain back. But the move had left him partially unguarded, and Izuku watched helplessly as Nomu pounded a fist into his exposed side-
Nomu knew about All Might's injury.
Oh, no.
Izuku didn't have time to process that, however, as Kirishima and Monoma jumped forward, attacking the mist villain.
The feeling of danger spiked, and Izuku barely registered Monoma's bewildered expression.
"Only students... but the best of the best... yes he was right to say you'd be a threat." Darkness spread like an ink stain from the villain's body. Darkness... and portals.
Izuku slammed into Tsuyu and Kaminari, pushing them out of the way of forming portals. He wasn't able to do the same for himself.
"Begone," intoned the mist villain, his voice echoing all around Izuku. "Writhe in torment until you breathe your last."
The next thing Izuku knew, he was in clear light and falling. From at least two stories up, over the flood zone.
And then he stopped.
.
The ghosts whipped their heads around to stare at Nana. She was sitting on a stool, hiding her face in her hands, though whether it was out of embarrassment or fear for Izuku was unclear.
"Nana..." said Yoichi, softly.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry I saw him falling and pani-"
"What did you do that for!" exclaimed Banjo. "He was only fifteen, twenty meters up! Into water!"
"That's twice as high as Olympic divers go! And they screw up their bodies all the time if they hit wrong!" shot back Nana, other emotions abandoned in favor of rage.
"Uh, guys...?" said Yoichi, weakly.
"Who still watches the Olympics?" muttered En.
"If we had to give him a new quirk, it should have been a combat one!"
"You're just jealous that he has Float and not Blackwhip!"
"So what if I am?" demanded Banjo. "If he had Blackwhip, he wouldn't need that stupid grappling hook gun!"
"So, you admit Blackwhip is just a glorified grappling hook?"
"Better than a glorified- glorified-" He puffed out his cheeks. "I'm going to give him Blackwhip right now!"
"NO!" shouted the other ghosts.
"Banjo," said En, "what do you remember about people who All for One gave three quirks to?"
Banjo went pale.
"Oh, hell," said Banjo. "I'm sorry, I got carried away."
"You can say that again," grumbled Nana.
"But," continued Banjo, "doesn't this mean we can't give him the stockpile?"
They turned to Yoichi, who was far and away the expert on the stockpile quirk. He held up his hands and offered a sick, shaky smile. "We've already started the process of giving him stockpile access. There's... there's really no way to stop it."
Nana started swearing, and even Second and Third looked tense.
"But that's borrowing trouble! Maybe he'll be compatable?"
"With three quirks?"
"It's possible!" protested Yoichi. "I mean, he's- um, he's got One for All? Maybe it's more like All for One than we thought?"
"Disgusting."
"No."
"Absolutely not."
"Never say that again."
"But, again, that's a future problem, unlike the villain attack, which is a now problem."
"I see what you're saying," said En, "but we can't do anything about the villain attack, but we could theoretically do something about quirk troubles. Unless you'd rather watch helplessly while our latest-possibly-last holder is murdered?"
Yoichi sighed. "Okay, yeah, let's take a look."
.
Izuku's first thought was that Uraraka must have tagged him, but he had been way too far away from her for her to do that. Unless she had run at him when he dove for Tsuyu? Tsuyu had maybe sort of been between them...
But, no, this didn't feel like Uraraka's quirk. He'd only experienced it a couple of times, but it felt like falling. This felt more like floating on the surface of a pool.
This was, he realized as he drifted helplessly upwards and slightly sideways, Shimura Nana's quirk.
It would be really, really cool if the circumstances were different or if he had any control over the quirk whatsoever. As it was, he didn't appreciate the way he was getting progressively higher. Hitting the water at his previous height would have sucked, but he probably would have survived. Now? Not so much. So, if the quirk decided to stop as suddenly as it had started, he was doomed.
Beyond doomed.
He'd be dead.
Wait! The grappling hook!
He pulled it carefully out of its holster, making sure to wrap the loop around his wrist. He could get back to the ground with the grappling hook, anchor himself at a decent height and make use of this, or even attack, but if he dropped it...
Well. Doom and all that.
His best bet was the top of the downpour zone. It was the closest structure by far. He lined up his sights, fired, and watched as the hook fell several meters short.
That was less than ideal.
He rolled over and looked up. He wasn't that far from the ceiling-
Danger Sense screamed at him, and he was falling, just in time to miss getting hit by a jet of water from below. Izuku, naturally, started screaming as well and fired the grappling hook blindly. He rejoiced as a metallic thunk told him it had hit something and immediately hit the stop button, almost wrenching his shoulders out of their sockets. However, his joy quickly turned to horror as he realized he was now headed toward the hard, unforgiving side of the downpour zone at a dangerously high speed. He squeezed his eyes shut.
Float turned back on.
Izuku let out a somewhat pathetic whine in relief, and hit the retract button on the grappling hook gun, letting it pull him up to the roof.
From here, he had an acceptable view of the rest of the USJ. He shaded his eyes to look back at the main plaza and entrance. He could see Eraserhead and Ingenium fighting back to back in the central plaza. All Might and Nomu were tearing up trees in one of the forested areas, and near the entrance he could see Thirteen, Iida, Uraraka, Shouji, Sato, Sero, and Ashido facing down the mist villain. Hopefully, with those numbers, they'd be able to get past him.
Looking elsewhere, Izuku had to assume Todoroki was in the landslide zone, with the spiky ring of ice in the middle of it. He must be holding back. He could make out a fight happening in the mountain zone, but couldn't tell who was involved.
That was more than half the class unaccounted for, including Tsuyu and Kaminari, who he'd thought he'd pushed away from portals. They were probably in the other zones, but...
He took a deep breath. Focus. Where would he do the most good? Danger Sense couldn't tell him that right now, with all these bright threats all around him. He had to decide on his own.
The fight in the mountain area wasn't going well. The number of visible villains was only increasing.
Could Izuku get there? He bit his lip as he contemplated the distance, then jogged back to the opposite side of the downpour zone roof.
Then he ran.
Then he-
-jumped-
-off the roof.
Float activated at the top of the arc of his jump, and his momentum sent him tumbling forward towards the mountain zone. As he approached and began to slow (air resistance still being a thing, apparently), he was able to see Yaoyorozu and Jiro fighting for their lives. Yaoyorozu did not look good.
This wasn't a great way to be proven right about her quirk having drawbacks.
He aimed the grappling hook at one of the larger, closer villains, not really caring about how much damage it would do, and fired.
.
"Wow," said En. "Kid definitely has a bit of a ruthless streak."
"Imagine how much better he'd do with Blackwhip."
"He wouldn't have been able to get there in the first place without Float."
"Honestly," continued En, "I don't get why Second and Third don't like him. They never shut up about Nana and Eighth being too soft, after all."
"What? They said that stuff about me, too?"
"Yeah, I think they're just unsatsifiable at this point. It's annoying."
"I was much more violent and ruthless than Toshi, though."
"I know."
"Yoichi," said Hikage. "I'm not seeing any sign of additional stress on Ninth's body."
"That's because Izuku is the best."
"Or," said En, "it's because he's only had Nana's quirk for, like, five, ten minutes, tops."
"Or because he's the best. Just look at how he's helped his friends defeat all those villains!"
"Compelling argument," said Hikage.
.
"What- what now?" asked Yaoyorozu, holding herself up with one of her staffs. The mountain zone was littered with various weapons and shrapnel from Yaoyorozu's quirk use. This included a canon. Which was really cool, but seemed a bit over the top... and maybe not the most efficient thing to make, considering Yaoyorozu's limitations.
"I don't know," admitted Izuku. He'd been flung around the field as a makeshift flail/bola by the girls a few times, and was a little dizzy.
He looked back out at the battles still taking place in the plaza. "I think... Maybe we should go down, and make our way around the edge to the entrance. We could pick up Todoroki and see if there's anyone in the ruins zone who needs help-"
Then he saw the hand villain step forward, facing down Eraserhead as Ingenium was lured away in defense of Tsuyu and Kaminari, who had just run out of the wooded area, trailing villains. Danger flared in his mind's eye, and, for the second time in his life, his body moved by itself.
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neonacity · 3 years
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HYACINTHE | CHAPTER 3: JAEMIN X READER
SUMMARY:
Na Jaemin is far from being your typical 20 year old. Instead of slaving through college, he wastes away his hours cracking safes. Weekends that should be spent partying with friends consist of illegal races on good days and small scale bombings on bad ones. Na Jaemin is far from being average, unless you consider being a member of Seoul’s top organized crime family normal.
There is no such thing as a sense of normality and peace in his trainwreck of a life, so when he met a barista who was brave enough to call out his dangerous taste in coffee, he was like a moth to the flame. Everything about her is normal, which means she is forbidden to him, in all sense of the word. So why, then, does he always find himself at the front steps of her shop, breaking all his personal rules even if he wishes he could stay away?
A/N + Disclaimer: this is a side story to Black Daisies, my main mafia fic feat. 0T23. While the plot is based on the main story, this can also be read as a standalone fic. As usual, this is purely a work of fiction and in no way am I implying any member of NCT to behave the way I write them here. tw: crimes, heists, potential death, mentions of drugs and other illegal activities.
PAIRING: Jaemin x Reader
TW: illegal activities, gunshot wound, mentions of blood
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
FIC TRAILER
MASTERLIST
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"Another bank was looted last night around 11PM, this time in the Geumchon district. This is the second bank that was broken into in the past week and the fourth that is rumored to be the doing of one of Seoul's organized criminal…."
I sighed and put down the pen that I have been using to scribble on a piece of napkin. A frown creased my forehead before I grabbed the offending piece of flimsy paper and crumpled it with my hand. Jeno, who was silently watching the news, looked up and shot me a curious look. He was leaning over the counter lazily, his cup of half finished hot cocoa beside him. 
"You okay?"
I winced. "Yeah... Actually. Actually, no. I am not okay," I said finally as I threw the used napkin to the closest thrash. I have been scribbling all the things I have to pay for the coming month there and couldn't bear to take another look at it. Jeno grabbed his drink and silently took a sip of it, obviously waiting for me to elaborate.
After my initial 'unplanned' meeting with Jaemin's friends, it has become more or less of their routine to drop by the cafe to hangout. Jaemin was initially against it at first, always scowling whenever he would see one of them already in the shop, though it seems like he has gotten used to it lately—or rather, he didn't have any other choice but to simply accept it. They would often sometimes come in groups—Jisung and Chenle are big fans of the pastries—but other times it's just one of them who would drop by to visit like Jeno now. My favorite is when all of them drops by to visit, not only because I've started getting closer to them too, but because customers would automatically flock into the shop whenever the "handsome gang" is there. Honestly, I couldn't blame them.
"I'm a little bit short on money this month. I was supposed to get my monthly allowance from my scholarship but something happened so it will be delayed. I have lab things to buy and well—everything sucks." 
Jeno nodded slowly, though I have a feeling he doesn't really understand my plight with money. Spending time with the seven of them has given me a better understanding of each boys' personalities. Jeno, for example, is definitely the calmer one of the bunch. While the others would cause chaos every now and then—Jaemin included, he would be on the side watching them usually with that adorable eye smile of his. He is different from Mark who would mostly jump in to join the fun before calming everyone once things get overboard, though both seem to share the same responsibility over the group. He also seems to be the closest to Jaemin, so by extension, I am also most comfortable around him. 
"How much money do you need?" 
I gave him a look as I reached out for a paper cup to make myself my own hot cocoa. 
"I heard the same question from your best friend before. Are you also going to offer to be my sugar daddy?" 
Jeno choked on his drink and hid his laughter behind his raised cup. 
"Do you want Jaemin to kill me?" 
That made me inappropriately blush.
"Sometimes I just want to bust out a bank like that group everyone is talking about." 
Jeno didn't say anything and continued watching me from the brim of his drink. 
"You think you can do it?" 
"Do what?" I asked as I poured hot cocoa on my cup. I said that off-handedly, I almost forgot my words the moment they left my lips. 
"Rob a bank. You know, do something illegal." 
I leaned back against the counter and craned my head a little sideways as I thought the question over. I didn't actually think of that before so I had to listen to my moral compass a little bit before answering. 
"It depends on the reason." 
Jeno looked surprised by my reply. He was probably expecting a goody two shoes answer from me, which I don’t blame him for, to be honest. Even I am mildly shocked by what I said. 
"The reason?" 
"Yes. I mean, if the only reason I would steal is because I don't have money to support my studies, then no, I wouldn't do it. I have other options. I can work extra jobs or I can just drop out from uni. But if I didn't really have any other choice, if I had to do it for someone really close to me, for example, then I would do it." 
"That is very…"
"Cliche, right? I know. But that's how it works, at least for me," I said with a laugh. "I do know what's good and bad, but I'm willing to jump the gun if I have to." 
I didn't know if it was my imagination, but I thought I heard Jeno murmur something under his breath as I turned to get back to work. 
"I bet Jaemin wouldn't like that." 
-----
PRESENT DAY, a little over one month after the happenings in the first chapter. 
They disappeared like bubbles. No, he disappeared in thin air, like smoke that was blown over by a strong gust of wind. After that night when Jaemin bust through my cafe door, hiding god knows what and asking for temporary shelter, he hasn't shown himself again, apparently leaving while I slipped into a light sleep. Even his friends stopped visiting the cafe which, for a few days, made me genuinely feel scared. Are they okay? What happened to him? Who was he running away from?
That worry slowly and gradually morphed into anger as the days lengthened. I know it was my way of coping with my emotions, but I couldn't help myself. I tried calling him, but the line was cut. It even came to the point that I had to call each of his friends, but it seems like the numbers they gave me were all temporary ones, too. I felt frustrated. I felt...abandoned. 
Was it really easy for him to just cut off all contact with me? 
Was it foolish of me to think that there is...something deeper here than just friendship?
It was the start of winter when the loud ringing of my phone woke me up from my nap. Eyes still heavy with sleep, my first instinct was to look at the clock by my table which registered 1:19AM. I frowned. I was in the middle of finishing a paper before I decided to take a nap but who could be calling me at such an ungodly hour? 
I blearily reached out for my phone and barely looked at the unregistered number before hitting the answer button. 
"Hello?" 
"Noona?"
I froze. Just like that, I felt the sleepiness slowly melt away from my consciousness. I know that voice. 
"Jisung?" 
"Noona, we need your help." 
I sat up on my seat after registering the panic in his voice. I heard another tone suddenly hiss at him from the background before a rustling sound overtook the speakers. It sounded like someone grabbed the phone from his grasp before he could even react.
"Jisung. What's happening—"
"Hello?" The new voice that spoke on the other line made my heart stop. I stared at my wall, wide-eyed.
"Jaemin." 
"I'm sorry. We didn't mean to—"
"Jaemin, we don’t really have any other choice but her, give me the phone," another one jumped in. It was Mark. 
"No. Hyung—"
"We're losing him," my lips parted in shock at what I heard. His voice sounded clearer now and I could very much pick up the iciness on it. Mark has always been so friendly and warm that it threw me off guard. 
"Give me the phone." 
The authority he held made me assume that Jaemin did as he was told. Next thing I know, he was calling out my name from the speaker.
"Mark, yes, I'm listening." 
"Hey. I'm really sorry about this, but we need your help. We really have no other choice, Haechan is in such a bad state—"
That made me stand up and push away from my desk.
"What the hell is going on? What do you mean about Haechan?"
"I'll explain later. We're on our way to you now."
"Wait, what? You don't know my address."
"We'll be there in seven minutes."
That was all he said before he cut off the call, leaving me standing shell-shocked in the middle of my room.
---
They banged on my door not even five minutes after. I had barely pulled on a cardigan when loud knocks rang through my small one bedroom unit causing me to quickly run and grab my knob open. 
I stood frozen at the sight of the seven boys crowding my doorway. Everyone was covered in some sort of soot, leaving them almost unrecognizable in their black outfits. Mark and Jeno were in the middle of the group, carrying a half-conscious Haechan between them. Jisung, Chenle, and Renjun brought the rear, their eyes moving wildly as if checking for eavesdroppers. Jaemin stood closest to me, his jaw tense and his eyes apologetic. My gaze snapped back to the center of the group when Mark called out my name. 
That's when I saw it for the first time. I didn't notice it at first because of its dark color, but Jeno was holding a towel against Haechan's stomach. Except it isn't black, it was a deep dark red.
Blood. 
"Oh my god." 
"Please help us." 
Maybe it was the shock, but I quickly stepped aside to let everyone in. I had barely slammed the door shut when I heard a crashing sound from my small dining area. Jeno pushed everything on top of my table to the ground as Mark and Jaemin gently guided Haechan on it. 
"What—what is going on—"
"He's been shot. Thrice. We're not sure but I think two of the bullets are still there," Renjun answered me as he grabbed the soaked towel from Mark's hand and replaced it with a new one. Jisung and Chenle worked on closing all the shutters of my windows while Jaemin tore off a lamp from my living room to move it close to Haechan. He closed all other lights other than the ones on the dining area and the small lamp.
It was then when my training finally kicked in. I ran towards the table to peer at the wound, my shaking hands gently moving the new towel that is quickly getting soaked by blood again. Haechan gave a soft grunt of pain before slipping to unconsciousness again. 
"I think there are still foreign objects there. It's what causing the severe bleeding."
"Can you take it out?"
My eyes shot to Jeno. The harsh lights from the lamp threw strong shadows on his stressed features. 
"I'm not a licensed doctor."
"We don't need a licensed doctor right now, we need someone who can patch the hole in his stomach. Please." 
I gritted my teeth. I have a ton of questions running through my head right now, but he's right. We need to act fast or else we will lose him. I rolled up my sleeves then and called out to whoever can act fast to my orders. 
"Somebody get the black box under my bed. I have all my surgery practice tools there. I need hot water and lots of towels. Everyone move. Now."
As soon as I said my orders, each of the boys were moving in a flurry to get everything that I asked for. I was adjusting the small lamp directly over the wound to peer at it better when I felt a gentle hand circle around my arm. I looked up to see Jaemin staring at me. 
"Thank you." 
I didn't say anything at first. I don't know if it was the shadows playing over his features, but he looked different from the Jaemin I knew in that brief moment.
"Don't thank me yet. Say that once we're sure he survives."
---
I was stirred from my sleep by the light snoring of someone to my right. Turning my head, I was greeted by the sight of Jisung who was currently sprawled on my sofa, his legs so long that they were dangling on one end. Chenle was on the floor below him, his face covered by one of the pillows he probably fished from one of my love seats cradling Renjun's curled up form. Mark and Jeno were both sitting upright, the former close to Haechan and the other by the door like a sentinel. They seemed to be in deep sleep too, they're heads hanging low. Jaemin was on the floor next to my seat, his breathing slow and relaxed. 
I blinked slowly as my gaze moved from boy to boy. It took me a painful two hours to do the impromptu surgery, first working on taking the bullets out before sewing everything back together. Haechan was lucky enough that the bullets didn't hit any vital organs or important vessels, and that the extreme bleeding was only caused by the wrong muscle being hit by the impact. He slipped from being conscious to unconscious throughout, and everyone had to work together to help me while I did my thing. 
I couldn’t really blame any of them from crashing the moment we made sure that Haechan’s safe—for now. 
After rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I tried to silently move from where I was curled on, careful not to stir anyone. I still have a ton of questions, but those can be taken care of later. I padded as carefully as I could towards the table where Haechan was still resting and peered at the IV that I had hooked on his arm to make sure everything was moving well. 
They even have spare blood bags with them for emergency transfusions. 
...As if this kind of thing normally happens.
"He's going to be okay, right?" 
I hastily turned to see Jaemin staring at me. His voice was low and was only loud enough for me to hear. 
I stared at him for a bit before looking away. 
"Yes. He'll survive."
"Thank you so much." 
I didn't answer. He also didn't say anything else, though I could still feel his gaze heavily on me. I braced myself before speaking again.
"We need to talk." 
I didn't wait for him to reply. I simply walked towards my room, leaving my door open for him to follow. I only turned back to look at him when I finally heard it close softly behind him.
"Who are you?" I asked, before he could even say anything else. I watched as his jaw tightened and released, his eyes full of indecisiveness. I didn't waver. Not this time. 
"You said…"
"That I will never ask questions? I did. But I can't do it anymore, Jaemin. You disappeared for a month without even saying goodbye then showed up on my door with your friends, one of them with a hole in their stomach. You have blood bags—freaking blood bags. What the hell is going on?" 
I tried my hardest to control my voice, not wanting any part of this conversation to be heard outside. My legs felt weak at the moment but I tried my best to continue standing so I could hold his gaze. 
The look in Jaemin's eyes, however, almost made me want to give up. I knew from the pain and hesitation there that I wouldn't like whatever it is he is about to say.
"I'm a criminal."
My stomach dropped. 
I was expecting it, but hearing it straight from him didn't soften the impact and the shock. 
"A…" 
"We steal. We do illegal things. There is absolutely no good way for me to describe this, but yes, I am a runaway who was stupid enough to bring you into this mess," Jaemin said through gritted teeth as he tore his eyes away from me. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to take a deep breath to steady himself.
"I was stupid and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone back and tried to befriend you after that order of coffee. I'm sorry I ran to you that night a month ago. I seriously thought I was going to die and I wanted you to be the one that I see for the last time. I'm sorry for today, or that I couldn't answer any of your questions back then. It was selfish of me to keep you in my life without giving you anything back," he stopped and forced himself to look at me again. My heart squeezed painfully in my chest when our gazes met. 
"I'm sorry." 
I didn't… couldn't say anything. One part of me had already expected this because it is the only reason that makes sense. Those vague answers, his detachment from normal society, the money, every clue seems to point to one direction, but that didn't spare me from my moral dilemma now. Because while I knew, I didn't exactly consider how it relates to me.
I was afraid to.
Because the truth is, I like Na Jaemin to the extent that I'm afraid of what I can do for him.
"Do you kill…" I asked in a whisper, my voice shaky. A frown passed his already stressed features before he answered.
"No. None of us do," he answered, and I knew then that he was telling the truth. Regardless of what he is or what he didn't tell me, I trust him to not lie to me.
"Am I—am I in danger?" I asked next. He firmly shook his head.
"No. I made sure of that. No one would dare—" he stopped, as if gauging what words he can use to not scare me even more. "You have always been under protection." 
That’s when it clicked. The cafe visits from his friends. The random strangers who seem to spring out from nowhere every time I was out and about and needed sudden help. 
My legs finally gave way and I collapsed on my bed behind me. My mind was trying its best to wrap around the situation, leaving my thoughts in a jumble. There are a million things I wanted to say, but I couldn’t get a single one out at the moment. 
Jaemin seemed to know what I was feeling at the very least because he simply stood there, silently watching me. I'm not sure how long the two of us stayed in that bubble of silence, but it was also him who brought me back to reality when I felt warmth cover my hands.
I looked up to see him kneeling in front of me, both his hands gently enveloping my clasped ones. The look in his eyes made my heart lurch, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything still. 
"I'm sorry if I was selfish… I promise, after this, you won't have to worry about anything else."
No. 
"When I met you, I saw something that's so different from the life that I have. Believe me, I tried my best to leave you alone, but I wanted more of it—more of —you, so I kept coming back." 
Are you going to leave me again?
"But you'll be safe now. I promise. You can go back to how it used to be before I… almost ruined it." 
Please don't leave me. 
Jaemin gave my hands one last squeeze and I felt him move to straighten himself. Before he let them go, however, another gentle warmth pressed against my forehead as he grazed it with his lips. 
"Thank you."
My tears dropped the same time the doors closed behind him. 
---
Chapter 4
120 notes · View notes
persephone-plasmids · 3 years
Text
The Storm
Danse and Nora fic
[Read on AO3]
[Part 1] [Part 2]
The abandoned house at Coastal Cottage wasn’t much to look at. The second floor was almost completely destroyed and a large Mirelurk nest had been hiding under the floorboards before Nora and Danse made quick work of them. Danse had to admit though, as far as prospective settlements went, this one actually had potential.
The two companions had spent the day clearing out debris to make the rebuild easier for the Minutemen who would eventually move in, but as the sun began its descent in the sky, Danse looked out over the water in the distance.
“It’s pretty, isn't it?” Nora asked, suddenly beside Danse with a handful of branches she’d cleared from the second story.
“It is,” Danse agreed, still feeling uneasy around the vault dweller.
Since their kiss, he didn’t know how to act around her. He felt equal parts guilt, humiliation, and desire, and none of those emotions put him at ease.
“I wish you could have seen it before the bombs,” Nora went on, dropping her pile of brush on the ground just outside of the house.
“You’d been here before?” Danse asked, confused.
“Not here specifically,” Nora answered, her voice distant. “I just wish you could have seen all of it. It was so… green.”
Danse looked over at Nora for a moment, studying the way her eyes softened at the corners as she spoke of her former life. She pursed her lips, still looking out over the water.
“I miss the trees. And the seasons. I know it’s such a small thing when you think of everything else I should miss… but you never realize what a big difference a full green tree makes,” she said, now looking up at Danse with a sad smile. “I loved sitting out in the backyard under our tree in the spring and reading a book.”
The mental image this conjured up in Danse’s mind brought a soft smile to his own lips. “I would have liked that.”
“I know you would have,” Nora said, her features holding less sadness now. “You would have liked a lot about the old world.”
As she spoke, a crack sounded above the pair, causing Nora to jump.
“Seriously?” she asked in exasperation. “Is that another rad storm?”
“Looks like it,” Danse said, frowning at the clouds that were slowly taking on a green glow. “We won’t make it back to Sanctuary in time”
Nora’s brow furrowed as she looked around the ruined home they stood in. Nora hated the rad storms. Of course, Danse didn’t think anyone but a Ghoul could really love them, but there was something more to it for her. Danse suspected that the thunder reminded her of the bombs dropping.
“This house won’t help us much, but that red barn over there should provide adequate shelter,” Danse said, taking Nora’s hand and leading her over to the structure.
He told himself that he had to take her hand to shake her from her quickly growing anxiety. He’d never been a very good liar. Not even to himself.
Closing the doors to the barn, Nora ignited the green light on her PipBoy, taking the device off and propping it up against the wall to provide the pair with at least some illumination.
“I have some RadX if you need it,” Nora said, popping her own pill before handing one to Danse.
He gratefully accepted it before stepping out of his power armor. They were going to be there for a while and his power armor wasn’t exactly comfortable.
Nora sat on the ground with her back up against the wall but Danse continued to stand awkwardly beside his now-empty power armor, unsure of what he should do.
“I can’t believe I didn’t see the signs that a rad storm was coming,” Nora said, closing her eyes as another round of thunder made the walls rumble. “That was stupid. I should have been paying better attention.”
She was trying to sound logical about the whole thing, but Danse could hear the fear in her voice. It was that same anxiety that always plagued her when she heard some deep booming sound. He’d first seen it during a fire fight where one of the raiders had gotten their hands on a Broadsider and loaded it with cannonballs. Then again during their first rad storm together. And yet again when the Institute had finally gone up in smoke.
Nora always tried to hide her PTSD from the day the bombs fell, but Danse could easily see through it.
“We’re going to be okay in here,” Danse said, his voice softening now as he took a seat beside her.
He wanted to comfort her without letting her know that he could see how distressed she was. Nora didn’t like to be perceived as weak in any aspect of her life.
“What else would I have liked about the old world?” Danse asked, desperately looking for something to distract her.
Though her breathing was shallow, Danse could see the way Nora’s lips curled as she thought.
“Museums,” Nora said, now  looking over at Danse in the soft green glow of the PipBoy. “You would have loved seeing all of the displays laid out so neatly without a single smashed relic in sight.”
Now it was Danse’s turn to smile. He tried to push away an image of Nora and himself walking hand in hand through a pristine museum. He needed to let go of those feelings for her. His little fantasies would only make that harder.
“Oh and you would have loved the whole ‘American Dream’ thing,” Nora said, her grin now wide and unbothered by the thunder outside.
“What do you mean?” Danse asked, his brown eyes crinkling in the corners as he smiled at her.
“Having a wife and kids,” she began. “White picket fence. Baseball with your son while you grilled. Your wife making an apple pie. The whole thing. You would have loved it. You were made for that life.”
Nora’s words once again conjured up an image in Danse’s mind. An image so different from the barren wasteland they were currently in that it actually made him homesick for something he’d never even experienced.
Nothing about the Commonwealth looked like this fantasy. There was no time for leisure or pleasure when you were just trying to survive.
“That sounds amazing,” Danse said, and he was surprised by just how sad his voice sounded. “I’m sorry all of that was ripped away from you.”
Nora nodded as she watched him closely. “I’m sorry you never even got to see it. It was really something.”
“Waking up to all of this death and destruction must have been like a living nightmare,” Danse said.
Nora nodded slowly, looking thoughtful before she spoke. “You would think so… but the one thing I didn’t really account for, is the fact that you can find good people anywhere. Even in the worst situations. I’ve met so many good people since I came out of the vault.”
“And a lot of bad ones,” Danse said.
“Dealing with the bad ones is still worth it to get to know the good ones,” Nora said, the smile back in place.
“I love that about you,” Danse said, before catching just how familiar he was being and shutting his mouth.
This made Nora grin. “Love what?”
Danse wanted to clear his throat and change the subject, but he didn’t. Instead, he opted for uncharacteristic honesty. “Your optimism. The fact that you can see good in everything. I love that about you… there’s… there’s a lot to love about you.”
He couldn’t be sure in the low light of the PipBoy, but it almost looked like Nora blushed at his words.
“There’s a lot to love about you too, Danse,” Nora replied, instantly making the Paladin tense up with that familiar pull he felt towards Nora. The pull he had to try to ignore.
“I’m good in a fight,” he said with an uncomfortable laugh, trying to lighten the mood.
Nora nodded in agreement. “But you’re also kinder than you give yourself credit for. I know it hasn’t been easy for you to change your mind about Synths and Ghouls, but you’ve already made a lot of progress. And the fact that you’re willing to try says a lot about you.”
Danse looked down at the ground, unsure of what to do with Nora’s praise. He loved it, even though he wished he didn’t. “I’ve still got a long way to go… but thank you.”
Nora leaned her shoulder against his as she went on, her voice closer than he had anticipated. “There’s a lot more to love too.”
Danse looked over at Nora. Her eyes held something he couldn’t quite place, but it made that pull towards her even harder to resist. Like a string attached to his chest that she just kept tugging on.
“You make me feel safe,” she began, leaning closer to him. Her eyes darted to his lips for a brief second. “And you make me feel… something I didn’t think I’d feel again after I lost Nate.”
Danse swallowed hard, unable to keep his eyes away from her lips now. He wasn’t good with reading people’s emotions, but he wasn’t sure how he could possibly be misreading this situation.
“What’s that?” he asked, his voice almost too quiet to hear.
“Want,” she said simply, before leaning closer and pressing her lips against his.
This wasn’t like the previous night. Nora wasn’t drunk. She wasn’t emotionally distraught. She was kissing him without any reason that he could see.
His mind raced to analyze what was happening, but his logic couldn’t compete with the overwhelming desire he felt to pull her closer to him.
Her lips started out hesitant and soft, but as soon as Danse kissed her back, it was like a switch flipped. Nora’s kisses became hungry. Persistent. She moved her lips against his in a desperate way that he eagerly matched.
Everything about Nora was soft. Her lips, her skin, her hair, but when she began kissing him, she wasn’t soft. She pushed her lips against his forcefully before repositioning her legs on either side of him, straddling him as he sat against the wall.
Nora moaned into Danse’s mouth when he pulled her against him, his hands finding her hips and holding them tightly.
To say he was inexperienced would be an understatement, but somehow Danse’s instincts easily kicked in as he parted Nora’s lips with his tongue.
She breathed him in as they kissed, their bodies moving together naturally. Danse felt like every inch of him that she touched was ignited by an unseen fire and all he knew was that he wanted more and more of her.
Her hands roamed across his chest before circling around to the back of his neck where she grabbed his hair to pull his lips even harder against hers. Pushing her hips against him, he could hear her breath hitch.
He wanted to taste every moment of this kiss. The way her tongue moved over his. The way her body moved against him so deliciously.
Danse’s chest felt like it might explode from the incredible feeling of kissing Nora and he slowly moved his hands from her hips up her back, reveling in the feeling of her. But as their lips moved together, the barn was suddenly illuminated by the green rad storm outside.
Danse and Nora broke away from the kiss to see that the barn door had blown open in the storm. The event wasn’t exactly life-threatening, but it seemed to be enough to break the moment between them.
Nora didn’t pull away from Danse right away like he thought she might. Her anxiety over the storm didn’t seem nearly as powerful as it had been only a moment before.
Instead, she kept her fingers tangled in his hair as she looked back at him.
The pair were breathless and looking at each other with wide eyes.
Had this really just happened? And what did it mean? Danse’s instincts had taken over when he’d first started kissing Nora, but his mind was quickly working to overanalyze the situation now.
Should he move her off of him? Should he apologize?
She must have seen his brain working overtime, because Nora smiled at him.
“I’ve wanted to do that for so long, Danse,” Nora said quietly, her voice still breathless. “You have no idea”
“You have?” he asked, unable to comprehend her words. “I… I assumed that because of… what I am…” His words trailed off. He wasn’t sure he wanted to come right out and remind Nora of what he was. Especially because he was half convinced that she only kissed him because she’d temporarily forgotten.
Nora leaned forward and gave Danse a long, slow kiss; taking her time as she moved her lips softly over his.
The Paladin was embarrassed by the goosebumps that sprang up all over his body at this gesture.
“You’re a good man,” she said softly after she pulled away from him. He could feel her breath brush across his lips as she spoke. “That’s all that matters to me.”
Danse furrowed his brow, his brown eyes staring at her in earnest. He wasn’t sure what to make of this.
“I don’t understand how you could feel that way about me.”
Nora smiled now. “I know you don’t. And that’s part of the reason I do.”
She lightly brushed her hand against his stubbly cheek, cupping his face as he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. He didn’t realize just how starved he’d been for physical contact until this very moment. Kissing Nora had been incredible and intense, but this soft touch filled something inside of him that he didn’t know was missing.
“Danse, I want to be with you,” she said quietly, still cupping his face as he brought his hand up to cover hers.
“I want that too,” he finally said, after a moment of quieting the voice inside of his head that told him he wasn’t good enough for her. That he was an abomination. That he was unworthy of her affection. “You just might have to be patient with me as I try to understand why on earth you'd want that.”
Nora placed another soft kiss against his lips; this one brief. “I can be patient.”
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pagingdoctorbedlam · 3 years
Text
Ready for zombies, Zoro, and some hurt/comfort? Then take a swig of this potion for @quirkyseastone ‘s “Brew a Love Potion” event! (But please read the warnings first!)
Characters: Zoro x Reader; appearance by Bartholomew Kuma
Genre: Zombie/Apocalypse, Hurt/Comfort (a bit light on the comfort though, woops)
TW/CW: Violence, guns and swords, blood, light gore, mentions of cannibalism, undead bodies
Inspiration: The concept for zombies in this fic is inspired by the novel Breathers by S.G. Browne (at least, what I remember from having read it over 10 years ago...)
Word Count: ~3.1k words
...
"Hold still, we're almost..." You apply the last bit of blush before appraising your handiwork. Not bad, if you said so yourself. At a glance, Zoro doesn't even look dead. "There. Want a mirror to see?"
"I trust you not to doll me up too bad." Roronoa Zoro yawns, even though the legendary zombie hunter no longer needs to sleep, having recently been turned into a zombie himself. Which, contrary to popular belief, is not in and of itself a death sentence. Most zombies act as they did in life, even if their bodies no longer recover the way a living human's does. The danger comes from the zombies who try to stop this decay by feasting on human brains...and sometimes more dangerous are the humans who've decided that every zombie is a ticking time bomb regardless of said zombie's intentions. 
At least Zoro had never been that way, but now he's got to hide from the hunters who once considered him a legend. Sure, it wouldn't be hard for him to fight off hunters, even if you've had to stitch each limb back on at least twice (and you're still not sure where one of his eyes ended up). But you'd rather your newfound partner in protecting innocent zombies not cause a scene simply by walking through the market.
"Remember, don't rub your face. This makeup cost me a fortune. And try to fake breathing this time, okay?"
"Yeah yeah, I got it." He manages to take a breath that's believable but isn't so deep that it rattles the loose bones and organs in his slowly decaying chest.
Both of you get to your feet and finish the rest of your preparations for the outside world. Your clothing hides as much skin as possible, even with the warm temperatures outside. You spray Zoro down with cheap cologne so he smells less like roadkill and more like a teenager trying to cover up a bad case of B.O. And you slip on filtration masks in a vain attempt to avoid the ever-present smoke and dust beyond your walls.
No one's sure if the zombies came about because of the bombs, or if the bombs were secretly launched because the powers-that-be learned about the first nascent zombies and failed with their pre-emptive strike. But now much of the world is a wasteland, and bargaining for resources is bad enough without half the population lobbing accusations of cannibalism at the other half. You can't hold off this trip any longer, because you've ended up looking after a number of innocent zombies, and they need medical supplies before they fall apart any further.
You shoo Zoro away from the driver's spot on your motorbike. "Nuh uh buddy, we aren't getting lost today." You've heard a new band of hunters is coming to town, and the last thing you want is to run into them before you have a chance to secure your supplies.
"I don't get lost! They just keep changing where the market is." Zoro still reluctantly waits for you to take your place at the front before he sits behind you and firmly snakes his arms around your waist. You pretend you can feel his pulse when he holds you, even though you know the heart in his chest has long stopped beating.
Markets are supposed to be neutral ground. Everyone needs resources to survive after all, and one of the few things that bombs and zombie outbreaks couldn't kill is commerce. Stalls line the aisles of what was once a grocery store, faded advertisements promoting foods that no one's seen in years, and someone has fixed the speaker system to play the same old pop hits in a vain attempt at normalcy.
You hold tight to Zoro's hand, both to keep him from getting lost and so he stays close in case of danger. He obliges, and even holds bags for you as you pull him around. You might've called this romantic in the times before, back when your purchases would've been far more frivolous than bandages and shelf-stable rations, but you're unsure how close you and Zoro would've been without being thrown together by circumstance.
You pause by one stall, eyes wide. Zoro doesn't notice and keeps walking until he notices that you won't budge. He raises an eyebrow when he finally joins you. "What, some kinda' plastic plant?"
"Not plastic. It's real." You forgive him the mistake though, as the plant has sturdy, waxy leaves that almost look sculpted. It feels like so long since you've seen anything green (aside from Zoro's hair), much less an actual plant. But you note the name scribbled in tape on its battered plastic pot. It's nothing useful, not medicinal or edible in the slightest. Just a begonia that hasn't even bloomed yet.
The shopkeeper asks, "Gonna gawk, or you gonna' buy?"
You know you can't afford a plant, what with how rare they are. You might be able to bargain and beg if it were something more useful, but...
"We'll buy." Zoro slams something down on the table. "This'll be enough?"
You catch the glint of gold peeking from between his fingers. Jewelry isn't useful anymore, but human greed has a hard time giving up old habits. The shopkeeper smiles wide and practically shoves the begonia at you with one hand while snatching up Zoro's earring with the other. You thank him and depart the stall without another word, clutching the flower close to your chest.
"What was that about?" You hiss at Zoro.
"Looked like you wanted it," he says with a shrug. You squint up at his remaining earrings, only to realize that in his haste to remove the one he traded away, he tore the hole in his ear a little in the process. Probably didn't even notice that he'd done so, the stubborn fool...
Well, what's done is done. "Thank you. I'll make sure to take excellent care of it."
"Don't mention it." Which you know is Zoro-speak for "you're welcome". So you smile back at him without saying anything more on the subject, and continue the rest of your trek through the market.
You make the mistake of thinking this is a surprisingly nice day. But you don't realize that someone has noticed how Zoro isn't bleeding.
When Zoro pulls out one sword and tightens his grip around your midsection, you don't have to ask why. You're being followed.
You absently wonder what gave you away. Never removing your masks? A smudge in Zoro's makeup that revealed the deathly pallor underneath? It doesn't really matter, you think. Whoever is after you will chase you down until they can swing their weapons and play at being heroes, so all you can do is fight on your own terms. You avoid going home and swerve the bike toward the burned-out husk of an abandoned store that not even the most desperate zombies would hide in.
You glance at the tilted rearview mirror on your bike. The figures chasing you are hulking brutes, but nothing compared to their ringleader. He's built like a brick house with legs, and his imposing figure is thrown off by the pristine white hat topped with small bear ears. Instead of a holstered weapon, he has a bible strapped to his side. You've heard of this man. Judging by the look in Zoro's eyes, he does too. One of the most notorious zombie hunters in the country: Bartholomew Kuma.
What is he doing here, of all places?
Zoro says, "Soon as we touch down, hide. It's me they want."
"I can't just leave you. You know who that is back there?"
"Doesn't matter. I already died once. They can't do worse than that to me. But they could still hurt you plenty. 'Specially if you came back before they were done with you." In the rearview mirror, Zoro's eyes are sharp and cold as his blades.
You know how to handle a weapon in self-defense, but you're nowhere near the master that Zoro is. And he has a point. You're still human, you can bleed, you can hurt. And that might chew Zoro up worse than anything Kuma and crew could throw at him. You resign yourself to your fate and think of where in that burnt-out building you might be able to hide, preferably while still keeping an ear out for danger.
You speed on, trying to shake your pursuers, but soon the road runs out. The bones of burnt buildings jut out before you like oversized tombstones. You remember scouting here before, trying to usher out displaced zombies before the remnants of the building could collapse on them. Much of the ruins have fallen since you were last here, but there's still a concrete bunker that was once a stockroom, and it's mostly intact. You can lay low there until the fighting's over. 
You relay this plan to Zoro, and you tell him, "I'll be safe there, don't worry about me. Once the fighting's done, I'll come back down and patch you up. So don't die on me again, alright?"
Zoro nods, even though he surely knows the claim is more for your comfort than anything. He's a zombie, after all, and they don't heal the way humans do unless they devour human brains. He won't bleed, but if he looses a limb, or even his head? There's nothing you can do to fix that. And to be honest, you're not sure if that'll do him in, or if he'd continue living in pieces. You don't want to find out.
You park. And you know you should hit the ground running, but your heart is hammering in your chest. You turn to Zoro as he pulls out his blades.
You quickly put your warm hands on his cold cheeks and pull him in for a kiss. You two never attached words to what's simmered under the surface for so long, but in case of the worst...you couldn't handle him not knowing how  you truly felt. He blinks as you pull away, briefly stunned. You wonder if he'd blush if he could.
You run into the burnt-out husk of a building. The touch of your lips on Zoro's is replaced by a sword between his teeth.
In another lifetime, before people stopped dying right and the world went to hell over it, this building was a clothing store. You shopped here for outfits you haven't seen in years. Once, a friend who worked here snuck you into the back room, and you ate cheap takeout while surrounded by wall-to-ceiling racks of clothing and shoes. If you took time to wipe away the dust, you might still find graffiti left by the workers during their final shifts. You wonder if your friend left one.
You cannot look because you are huddled on a shelf and trying not to make a sound. The shelves are sturdy metal and easy to climb even without the rolling ladder. You're hidden high above the heads of anyone who might come in and pressed against a wall. No one should find you here.
For awhile, you heard sounds from outside. Speaking at first, though you couldn't make out what was being said. Then battle, swords colliding and guns firing. Screams. Then...nothing. You don't know if it's safe to come out. You'll find out soon. There are footsteps approaching.
A voice you do not recognize says your name.
"Roronoa Zoro is dead. Again. I am sorry that it had to happen." Heavy footfalls contrast a voice that is soft, almost even kind. "I understand why you might want to save him. You've built quite a reputation for that, you know. But I'm afraid it ends here. We cannot allow you to keep any more abominations alive. You understand that is what they are, don't you?"
You know he's trying to goad you into revealing yourself. It takes everything in your power to hold still and silent.
Metal crumples nearby with a shrill squeal, as if it could protest its false bones being broken.
"If you were to go on a trip...where would you like to go?"
The question throws you off guard, almost enough for sound to escape your lips.
"We do not have to kill you. All the government wants is to talk. If you cooperate, you'll be transported somewhere safe. Free of zombies, even." More metal crumples, and you wonder how Kuma is doing it. Does he have a weapon, or is he strong enough to break the storage shelves with his bare hands? "All you have to do is come willingly, and when we're done, you can go wherever you'd like, and you'll be kept safe."
But the only place you can think of is home. With Zoro. No matter what might come after you there.
The shelf under you shifts, and your body spasms as if you fell in a dream and awoke with your mind still lurching. You reach for anything to grab onto, but your fingers only touch air. (For the briefest instance, you spy graffiti drawn by a familiar hand upon the wall.)
You do not immediately recognize the feel of the arms, because they are warm and pulsing with life. You stare up at Zoro's face in disbelief. He's missing an eye and his face is smeared with blood, mouth drawn in a thin line.
"You survived," Kuma intones softly. "You ate them." And you wish you could refute him, but even before he spoke, you knew it to be true. Zoro's bloody fingers dig into your clothes to hold you tight. You hear his heartbeat for the first time, and it rarely skips a beat. Kuma says, "Let your friend down, Roronoa. You don't want to do this."
"Think I'm some mindless cannibal? Think again." Zoro sets you down and looks  you dead in the eye. "Told you I wouldn't die. And neither will you. Now, get out of here." Half a second before returning his sword to his mouth, his tongue flickers over his blood-stained lips. "Hurry!"
You do as he asks and flee to the doorway of the building. You know you should run to the motorcycle and drive out of here, but there are two problems with that. One is how you don't want to leave Zoro again. The other is that even if you admit the truth to yourself, that he finally gave in and consumed the brains of his enemies like the zombies he used to put down...you don't want to turn around and see what he did to the corpses of Kuma's followers.
The fight is swift and brutal. You've seen Zoro fight before, but while he's normally a whirlwind with his blades, now he's a demonic torrent. Much as he tries to stick to his traditional fighting forms, they slip into more instinctual slashes when Kuma pushes back, and the only thing that keeps Zoro on top is sheer ferocity. He moves so fast, you swear he's slashing three times faster than a normal man, leaving the afterimages of a three-faced demon. (You've heard rumors of zombies growing entirely new parts when they've eaten too much mortal flesh, but surely those are only rumors, survivors not understanding what they're seeing...)
Kuma is far quicker than his size would suggest. But even he begins to buckle. He blocks one blade with a bible far sturdier than it appears, and then lunges forward in a final desperate attack. Zoro braces to parry an attack, but is taken aback as no blow comes. Something metal and blinking is clasped onto his wrist.
"We will not meet again."
And Kuma is gone. You blink in surprise. You swore you didn't see him leave through the other holes in the building, didn't feel anyone pass you, and yet...
The normally composed swordsman growls as he sheathes his swords and tries to pry the blinking metal bangle (a tracking device, what else could it be?) off his arm. You want to approach him, but are unsure if you should; all you can do is watch as he uselessly paws at the bangle. Until he stops suddenly. You catch a glimpse of fresh crimson.
Zoro freezes as the reality of what he's done, what he's become, finally settles in. He's a statue slowly dripping red, most of which isn't his own. His breath shudders, and that too takes him off-guard. He sways where he stands, almost falling to his knees but somehow staying upright.
Before you can stop yourself, your feet carry you toward him, and you reach out. Your fingers brush against his back. He growls, "Don't. I'm not..."
"It doesn't matter what you are. You're still Zoro." 
Gentle pushes at his shoulders turn him around so he faces you. His face has more color than you've ever seen, blood red and flesh pink and mottled blues and violets of bruises. His closed eyelid twitches as the eye underneath regenerates. How long will it be until all the color's gone, and electrical impulses run short to leave his heart to hang heavy and empty in his chest, and how much longer than that until he gets a taste for life again regardless of the cost?
That doesn't matter right now. The future looms taller and more frightening than Kuma, but right now, you're two scared humans in a broken warehouse. You wrap your arms around Zoro and pull him close.
For the briefest moment, you feel his mouth open, hear the click in his jaw. His teeth brush against your ear. You close your eyes and refuse to think about it.
His chin rests on your shoulder. Mouth closed. Arms wrap around you right and your hearts beat together, lungs scramble for air together, blood and worry (and tears, you think, but you're not sure whose) intermingle and crawl to a slow stop until only a numb and temporary peace remains.
"You'd be forgiven for walking away." His voice is raw and tired with the weight of living again and all that took.
"Maybe. But someone has to keep you from getting lost." You give him one final squeeze before letting him go. "Come on. Let's go home and get you cleaned up."
When morning comes, you'll have to face what the future holds for a brain-eating swordsman and the one who looks out for him despite it all. But tonight, the both of you are miraculously alive and breathing, and there's a green new plant in the window ready to soak up all the sunlight tomorrow can offer.
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truglori · 3 years
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Homebody (Ch.9)
Summary: Amiyah is the younger sister of local drug dealer (Durkio). Shy and reserved she keeps to herself and stays out the way. But lately she began to find interest in his right hand man/ best friend (Erik Stevens). Wanting to get him to notice her she discovers that he already had her wrapped around his finger without even trying! There was only a few problems that kept her away from her fantasies , her brother that controlled almost every single breath she took and would kill anyone who looked at her that way and lastly Eriks girlfriend, Alexis , who they called the queen of the hood according to her lavish lifestyle as well as being with the next newest top boy in the making. While Alexis was his girl to the streets all Amiyah wanted to do was be his Homebody...
Pairing: Erik Stevens x Thick OC
Warning: Language, Smoking, Oral
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“Nigga you wanna give me one fucking reason why I shouldn’t blow the bitch head off as soon as she step in my shit.” Durk stated calmly as he blew out the smoke of his blunt before knocking the ashes off of it.
Erik shook his head. “Cause nigga it’ll be too hot for you after you do that shit. We don’t know if she told someone she was coming here or not. So take your finger off the trigger and relax.” Digging his hands in his pockets Erik leaned on the desk looking at the office door.
Durk was on edge since he got the call from Alexis two days ago. Erik wasted no time coming down at the auto to meet him. When he made it inside he seen Durk laying on his leather couch relaxed. That’s when Erik knew he was heated for real. Whenever Durk got angry he would be silent before ticking like a time bomb.
So he didn’t take Alexis threat too kindly after making him aware of what she knew. He was even ready to send one of his shooters to her place but Erik had to stop him especially after he got a text from her saying that she wanted to have a meeting with just the two of them. It was hard to get Durk to agree to it but after talking some sense into him he finally gave in to see what she had to say.
Checking his watch it was going on five thirty in the evening. She was supposed to be here by now but Erik knew her to always be late. Out of his peripheral vision he seen Durk getting out of his chair to stand beside him.
“No disrespect but ya bitch is running late and I’m getting impatient.” He stated while readjusting his Rolex.
“I told you that’s not my bitch. She’ll be here.” Erik spoke quietly annoyed with the fact he kept associating them together.
As if on cue the door open revealing Moe,one of Durks lookout guys, and Alexis dressed down in a beige and black Balenciaga sweater dress along with the black trainers. Her hair now back to her natural brown curls with a side part that fell along her shoulders. It was Erik’s favorite look on her and she knew it. Erik started to check her out but averted his gaze when he noticed it.
Walking over to a chair she sat down.“Hello gentlemen. How are you guys-“
“Stop the bullshit and give me a good explanation why I shouldn’t out yo ass after calling me making threats you can’t keep.” Durk cut her off ready to get to the chase.
She laughed taking off the shades she had covering her eyes. “Well one I told a friend, who is by the way a part of law enforcement, that I would be here and that if she doesn’t hear from me within the next 24 hours...come here. Is that good enough for you?” She mocked his tone.
“Alexis why the fuck are you here?” Erik decided to step in before she made the tension in the room any worst than what it already was.
“I’m here because I have a proposition for you. I changed my mind about the $15,000. You can keep it. Because like the saying goes money makes more money.”
“Yeah well I got another quote for you, you can’t take it with you when you die so are you gonna keep wasting my time with ya bullshit ass TedTalk or you gon say what the fuck you got to say.” Durk folded his hands growing impatient.
Erik’s eyebrows knitted together trying to figure out why she was here. Alexis didn’t come to collect the $15,000 she supposedly was going to black mail him for, she came for something else. She wanted to do business..
“Let’s work together. Start us a team.”
Erik chuckled realizing that he was spot on. He knew her too well and knew that she would take on an opportunity like this to make it good for herself. Alexis was money hungry and was will to do whatever it took to get to it.
Durk laughed looking back and forth between Erik and Alexis. He walked over to where she was and pulled up a chair sitting directly in front of her.
“Now you wanna tell me why I would work with a scheming ass person like you? Please inform me.” Resting his hand on his chin, Durk was taking her for a joke.
Alexis rolled her eyes scooting her chair back.
“Because the nigga that you robbed the other night ain’t lose out on shit. You think that million dollars that you stole from him did anything? Nah, you didn’t even take a small portion compared to what he has hiding out in Upsate.”
Now she had both Durk’s and Erik’s attention. Durks because he wanted to know how much more money that Shawn had that he didn’t know about and Erik’s because he wanted to know where she was going with this.
“Why you think he was so quick to give it up without a fight? He got plenty more where that came from and I know where it is. But I want a fraction of whatever you’re able to take. I’ll help you if you could help me.” Crossing her legs Alexis let the information she gave to them sink in.
Durk looked back at Erik searching for any sign to see if she was telling the truth or not but Erik couldn’t tell himself. So he questioned her.
“How we know this isn’t a set up? How do you even know where his stash is? I mean didn’t you just meet this nigga.” He bombarded her trying to see what she knew.
“No it’s not a set up and no I didn’t just meet him. I’ve actually known him for quite a while.” She stated while inspecting her nails.
Erik took in everything she said. He began to wonder about how did she know all of this information and in such little time. He was with Alexis for at least nine months so that only meant that she had to been messing around on him with Shawn.
“So you must’ve have been fucking him after you met me then huh? How do you know so much Alexis.” Erik questioned hoping to catch her off guard not taking his gaze off her.
She turned her direction towards him. “No Erik I’ve actually been fucking him before you and I know all of this because he’s my ex-fiancé. We’re sometimes on and off.”
Silence filled the room for a full minute before Durk began to laugh. He got up from his seat and went to his desk. Taking a fresh blunt he sparked it up doing a long pull.
“I don’t know what’s more fucked up. You fucking around on your fiancé and made my mans here the side nigga or the fact that you want to rob the nigga for everything he got. You one grimy bitch shorty.” He blew smoke in her direction.
Erik stayed quiet.
Getting up Alexis stood in front of Durk. She took the blunt out of his hands before hitting it once herself.
“Listen I don’t give two fucks about him. I wanted out anyway. Now do you think this is something we can work out or should I take my offer somewhere else?”
“Hell nah we not accepting that shit.” Erik retorted with his anger coming out after hearing that she was sleeping around on him. If there was anything that he couldn’t stand the most in this world it was disloyalty.
“Hold on, wait a minute.”
Glancing over Erik seen Durk in deep thought meaning he was taking what she said into consideration. He shook his head with disbelief. Durk was no different than Alexis when it came to getting a bag. It was the power and money that controlled him and he would do anything to remain on top. Even if it meant being friends with the enemy of his enemy and right now Alexis was definitely fitting the description.
“How much does he have?”
She lifted her shoulders up and smiled. “22 million.”
“22 million fucking dollars. You gone make me a young rich nigga. Walk with me.” A huge smile was displayed on Durkio’s face.
Erik watched as Alexis smiled when Durk led the way out of the office. She gave him one last glance and a wink before disappearing.
______________________________
“Ladies I need to see more working and less talking please.” Rhonda shouted from the back room. She was watching the cameras again.
Kelley rolled her eyes silently mocking her. Amiyah laughed while going over to the register. Popping the lid off the tupperware, she dug in the freshly homemade fruit salad she got from Kelley’s house and ate one of the pineapple slices. Hearing the sound of her phone ding she looked down. It was from Cane.
Cane: Thinking about you. See you soon...6:23pm
Amiyah sighed as she clicked her power button leaving him on read. After he kissed her on their date two nights ago Amiyah knew that she made a mistake when she agreed to going with him. The image of Erik stayed on her mind the entire night. When Cane dropped her off after, the feeling of guilt over took her so bad that she cried in the bathroom. She knew she was wrong and wanted to make it right. She planned on telling Erik about the whole ordeal but she wanted to wait for the right moment.
This was the third text she had got from him today that she didn’t reply to and he just wouldn’t get the memo. Kelley noticing her mood change, walked over picking up a piece of fruit and popped it in her mouth.
“What’s wrong girl?” She covered her mouth chewing.
“It’s Cane. He keeps texting me.”
Kelley gave her a confused look. “Isn’t that what you want him to do though?”
“No, of course not. I’m with Erik now, remember?”
Nodding her head she smirked. “Yeah and you were also with him when you went out with Cane. So what’s your point?”
Amiyah slapped her hand on the counter out of frustration. “My point is if Cane wants to be more than friends then I can’t keep him around. I already made one mistake and if I continue to keep being naive then I’m going to fuck everything up with Erik.”
“Well have you told him that you’re not single? Did you tell him you just wanted to be friends?”
Amiyah avoided eye contact with her. “No.” The answer came out just above the sound of a whisper.
“So then tell him! People can’t read your mind Miyah. How is he supposed to know if you’re not making it clear? Sounds like to me you’re leading him on.” Kelley gave her a ‘you know what you’re doing’ glance before walking away.
Amiyah rolled her eyes as she wrote down the chores in the work assignment book. To her there was no way that she was leading Cane on. Yes she kissed him but it was only because he came on to her. Even after the fact ,her vibe had changed and made things awkward during the dinner. How could he not interpret that she wasn’t feeling him the way he felt her.
Feeling the breeze from outside, Amiyah knew that a customer was making their way in. She stopped what she was doing, getting ready to greet them but halted in her tracks. There stood Cane dressed in a Gucci tracksuit holding flowers. He walked up to her with a wide grin.
“Hey...told you I was thinking about you.” He lifted up the flowers and leaned over kissing her on the cheek quickly.
Shock but yet not wanting to be rude Amiyah accepted the roses. “Wow Cane y-you didn’t have to do this. Thank you.”
With his hands now in his pockets he gave a shrug keeping his gaze on her. “It’s nothing. I missed you.” He spoke truthfully.
Cane thought that the date between them went great. Better than he expected. At first he took her out with a motive, expecting to get sex in return but his outlook changed when he got to know her. She was sweet, caring, unselfish, and thoughtful. She was everything he wasn’t used to and the feeling of her lips on his didn’t make it any better. He was crushing on her.
“I remember telling you where I work but how did you know when I would be here?” Amiyah asked him curious to find out.
He laughed. “I had to call up here. A lady name Rhonda told me.”
Amiyah mentally rolled her eyes.
Bringing her hand up to her forehead she gently placed the flowers to her side. “Cane I have something to tell you.”
“Go ahead.”
“We can’t be more than friends. I have a boyfriend and I really hope that I wasn’t leading you on the other night. I’m sorry.” Amiyah was starting to feel bad.
Cane did a quick scoff looking down. “Why didn’t you just tell me in the first place? I would’ve understand.”
“It’s complicated and I just-“
“It shouldn’t be.” He spoke cutting her off.
“What?”
“If he’s ya man than it shouldn’t be complicated. Only simple. I know I wouldn’t let it be and I damn sure wouldn’t let you go out on dates with other niggas...If I was your man.” He stepped closer invading her space.
“I respect you Amiyah and if backing off is something you want me to do than I’ll do it. It might take me some time to get over not seeing your pretty ass smile anymore, but what can I say? You win some you lose some.” His thumb and index finger held her chin up.
Amiyah tried not to blush but failed. “Cane your a great guy but I can’t.”
He shook his head. “Well can I have one last hug?”
He sent her a sweet smile that Amiyah wasn’t able to deny. Giggling she opened her arms. He wrapped his arms over her neck and hers went around his torso. Amiyah inhaled taking in his scent. He smelled so good right now but she had to shake the feeling. They hugged for at least ten seconds before letting go.
“I’ll see you around.” Cane gave her one final wave as he walked out the door.
Watching the whole thing go down in front of her eyes like she wasn’t there, Kelley marched over to Amiyah.
“Sis that nigga was fine as fuck. Between him and Erik I wouldn’t know who to choose either.”
Amiyah gave a light smile. “Well I do.”
________________________________________
Eight o’clock had came around faster than Amiyah anticipated. Kelley had went home an hour ago and offered to wait for her but she declined. She had to stay behind to lock up but also had to make a stop before going back to her place. Amiyah was running low on clothes so since she still had the key to her apartment she figured she can get in and out grabbing her belongings before Durk got there.
It was still early so she suspected she had some time to get it done. When Amiyah reached the lobby to the apartment building the feeling of being homesick rushed over her body. It’s only been a little under a week but it’s the longest she’s ever been away from this place since her and Durk first moved in. It took less than five minutes before making it to their door.
Going inside Amiyah searched around. Everything still look the same besides the few clothing objects that Durk left hanging out in the livingroom. Whenever Amiyah was here she’d have to pick up after him so out of habit that’s what she did. She gathered his clothes and brought them to his room putting them in his hamper. Then she walked into her room. The smell of Glad Hawaiian Breeze automatic spray hitting her nose. She missed it.
Her bed was still made up the way it was before she left. Sitting her purse and phone down on the nightstand she slipped her shoes off and got in. Her eyes closed from the warm plush blanket and mattress she felt against her body. The couch at Kelley’s was starting to become uncomfortable so right now Amiyah’s body was getting the relaxation it yearned for. She was only planning on resting for a few minutes before she got her things and left but the tiredness in her eyes betrayed her as she drifted off to sleep.
Being a light sleeper was always a blessing and a curse for Amiyah but for this instance it was a blessing. With the apartment so quiet that you can hear a pin drop she was also able to hear the sound of keys unlocking the front door. Her eyes opened quickly as she sat up in her bed. Picking up her phone she checked the time. It was 11:52pm. She overslept.
“Shit.” She cursed softly. Walking to her dresser she grabbed three tops and some jeans along with fresh bras and underwear and put them inside of her Pink tote bag.
Her ears was finally met with the voice of Durks who was talking to someone. Even though Amiyah told Erik that she was willing to talk to her brother she didn’t think it would be this soon. She wanted some more time before she had a conversation with him. She felt that they still needed time apart hence why she tried to refrain herself from being here at the same time he was. But there was nothing she could do now but face him. Getting her things she slowly walked out her room.
“Damn nigga I can’t believe that bitch played you.” Durk laughed. He was standing in the middle of the livingroom with his arms folded where he could be seen from the hallway. His body was facing the furniture. That’s when Amiyah seen that he wasn’t alone and looking at the person from behind who was sitting she knew it was Erik.
The creaking noise coming from the floor gave her away. Durk quickly looked in her direction with a hand ready to grab the gun off his waist. His eyes showed that he was both surprised and confused.
“Amiyah?” He questioned to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
The sound of her name coming from his mouth made Erik’s head flew towards him. He followed his gaze and stood up when he saw Amiyah holding a bag of clothes. Observing her he noticed that her eyes were a light red. Like she just got finished either crying or sleeping but when Erik saw the frizzy-ness to her hair he knew she had just woken up.
“Hey I just came to pick up some things. I’m leaving now.” Her eyesight averted between the both of them.
“Why? I mean where have you been? How are you doing?” Being the protective brother that he was Durk rushed her with questions.
Lifting her shoulders in a half shrug she answered. “I’m good and I been at Kelley’s. Which I should be going back to now.” Amiyah tried walking to the door but was stopped.
“Amiyah we don’t have to keep doing this shit. I’m sorry okay. You my lil sis and I love you. I was fucked up kicking you out the way I did but I didn’t expect you to leave for real.” Durk dropped his hands to his sides. He wanted his little sister back home with him.
Amiyah folded her arms snickering to herself. “Not only did you kick me out but you called me a bitch Derrick.”
“And I’m sorry. I was in the heat of the moment. Shit we both said some things that we didn’t mean but to hold grudges, that’s something we never do and you know that. Dad would’ve never let us go this long without talking to each other.” He walked in front of her putting his hand on her shoulder.
With the burning sensation creeping around her eyes Amiyah held back her tears. The reference of their father struck a nerve in her. Her and Durk never mentioned him that much since he was sentenced to life. So when he brought him up Amiyah became emotional.
“Listen Durk I’m sorry for the things that I said. Yes sometimes I speak without thinking and that’s something we both do. But it hurt having my own brother kick me out of a place where I am supposed to feel safe and protected. You gave me no choice but to leave so I did.” Amiyah paused wiping away the tears that fell.
“Look you’re my brother and I love you but I just need a little bit more time.”
Durk nodded before wiping her last falling tear. “Okay I understand but before you go I just want to know if you forgive me. I can’t go another day without knowing.”
Without saying a word Amiyah embrace him. He rested his chin on her head while closing his eyes.It reminded her of the hugs he used to give her when she was younger. Amiyah missed them.
Erik massaged the back of his neck watching them make up. It even gave him a sense of relief that he no longer had to wonder when it would happen. He was happy to be here to see it for himself.
“I have to get back to Kelley’s.” Amiyah separated from the embrace throwing her tote over her shoulder.
Patting down his pants Durk searched for his keys.
“Let me take you-“
“No it’s fine. I’ll take an Uber. It’s how I got here anyways.” She gave a small smile.
“Miyah you know how I feel about that. Just let me drive you there and that’s it?”
“Thank you Durk but I’m fine. Remember I still need some time?” She nudged him before it went quiet.
“I’ll bring her.” Erik stood in the middle catching attention from both of them.
Amiyah smiled in the inside when she heard him speak. Not wanting to be too obvious she faked declined his offer.
“No it’s okay.”
“Amiyah look I know you mad at me and all but Erik ain’t got nothing to do with what we got going on. At least let him bring you. I trust him.” He gave her a look hoping she agreed.
“Fine. Let’s go.” Amiyah did a false sigh while rolling her eyes. Walking past Erik to the door she gave him a quick glance with a smirk.
Erik had to hide his smile as he shook his head. He knew that she was trying to make it seem like she didn’t want him to bring her but he knew it was a front. Getting his things he gave Durk a dap.
“Aye man make sure she make it inside safely before you pull off.”
“Of course. I’ll catch you later to talk more about business.”
___________________
The hip hop station played in the background. Erik was trying to pay attention to the road but failed with the beautiful distraction sitting next to him. They were currently talking about how Amiyah had to fake an attitude just so her brother wouldn’t suspect anything. She couldn’t help herself from laughing as she talked about the look on Erik’s face.
“You did not know, liar.” Her giggles filling up the car.
Erik smacked his lips. “C’mon stop playing with me. I could tell you was faking. I know you ma.” Reaching over he picked up her hand kissing the back of it. He held on to it for the rest of the time.
“Whatever.” Looking out the window Amiyah noticed that they weren’t in Kelley’s neighborhood. They were driving for a while so they should’ve been there but weren’t even close to the area.
“Where are we going?” She asked fiddling with his watch.
“Uh I want to show you something. It’s a surprise.”
For the first time since knowing him Amiyah could observe from his body language that Erik was nervous. The repeated roll of his shoulders with the clutch of the steering wheel gave him away. It was cute to her being that she never seen him in this state before.
“Erik...are you getting nervous?” She teased leaning forward to get a better look at him.
He turned his head blocking her view. “Chill mama.”
Amiyah laughed as the car came to a stop. Looking around they were in a parking lot with a tall building next to it. From her point of view it looked like apartments. She glanced at Erik as he pushed the button shutting the car off.
“What’s this?”
He stroked his beard before answering. “This is where I live.”
Amiyah was taken back when the words left his mouth. She couldn’t believe that he brought her here. To his place. Knowing how Erik was a private person she didn’t think she would get this far at an early stage.
Erik noticed that she hardly said a word. It was making him rethink his actions. “You want to come in or should I bring you back to Kelley’s?” He began to gabble.
“No let’s go in. I want to see where you live.” Her smile was wide. She was curious and couldn’t help herself.
As they walked through the building Amiyah’s wandered everywhere. She was taking it all in. From the structure of the walls even to the boring art work that laid on them. It was the excitement in her that had her roaming everywhere. They reached the elevators and stepped in. He pressed the eleventh floor before closing the doors. Erik stood against the wall and pulled her in front of him holding onto her hip.
“Eleventh floor? You’re living pretty high and mighty Mr.-“ She paused realizing that she didn’t know his last name.
“What is your last name by the way?” She tilted her head looking back at him.
He chuckled. “Why you plan on making it yours or something?”
She blushed facing forward.
“Stevens.”The raspiness of his late night voice had Amiyah clenching her thighs.
“Erik Stevens. I guess it goes together.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer with her back against his hard chest. She could feel her ass pressing into his length. It made her jump from surprise as the throbbing in her kitty appeared. Moving her hair to the side Erik bent down putting his face in her neck.
“Just like you and me go together.” He spoke softly rubbing on her hips.
She panted biting her lip. She placed her hands on top of his not knowing what else to do with them. Erik heard a moaned escape her lips when he kissed her neck. Kissing over the faint hickies that were still there. When the elevator doors opened they walked out hand in hand as Erik lead them to his door. Taking out his keys he unlocked it and it open with his free hand.
When he flipped on the light Amiyah’s face lit up. Her eyes drifted everywhere. She was amazed with how he was living. He was doing good for himself and it looked like a true bachelor’s pad. An all black sectional with grey pillows. A sixty-five inch flat screen tv mounted on the wall. His kitchen was neat and clean which meant he probably doesn’t use it as much or he was just a clean person.
Amiyah giggled softly placing her things on the couch. “Babe you stay here all by yourself?”
Erik placed his keys on the counter before walking to his bar. He pulled out a bottle of Hennessy cracking it open and pouring it in a glass. The burn going down his throat when he took a sip.
He lifted his shoulders. “What you think mama?” He asked her sarcastically.
She rolled her eyes. “I think I want to keep looking around.” She dragged her nails across the couch.
The was a flight of stairs attached to the same wall that the tv was on. Amiyah strolled over glancing at them before going up. When she reached the top she walked through a short hall to be met with his room.
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“Wow just wow.”
He was truly living like a king and she couldn’t believe that he was living in this palace alone. She heard footsteps coming up so she plopped down on the bed posing.
“How do I look?” Taking a piece of her locks she tucked it behind her ear.
Erik stepped inside sipping on what was to be his third glass of Henn. The liquor was doing its job as he already felt the effects of being tipsy. He sat the finished glass on his nightstand as he took of his jacket.
“You look like you supposed to be there.” He lifted his eyebrows removing his shirt next with his chain swinging from the sudden quickness.
Amiyah sat up from her spot. Her nerves going crazy when she saw his bare chest. The flex in his muscles whenever he moved his arms created a dampness in her panties. It was the littlest things he did that would always set her off.
“What are you doing?” Her eyes roaming over his body.
“Bout to take a shower. You wanna join?” The look on his face read that he was serious as he asked that question like it was nothing.
Amiyah scoffed with surprise. “No but I’ll take one first...without you.” She stood up walking towards his bathroom. He followed behind chuckling.
“I don’t know why you acting like that. It’s not like I ain’t see that pretty pussy already.” He leaned against his sink. The definition in his arms were showing.
The wetness between her thighs were flowing. She folded her arms glaring at him softly. “Just give me a towel Erik.”
He hung his head laughing as he went into the bathroom closet grabbing an extra wash cloth and bath towel. He handed it to her before going under the sink and grabbing a bar of dove soap.
“Here, hurry up. I want to get in next.” He tossed her the bar.
“And if I don’t?” She asked smartly.
“Don’t act surprised when I come in there with you.” He stated seriously and walked out.
_
It was easy for her to work the shower. The hot and cold handles were separate so there was no difficulty in trying to find which way it went. Amiyah allowed the water to cascade down her body. She gave a relaxed sigh as she foamed her body up with the lather. This was very much needed after the day she had. Being at Erik’s place was so peaceful. It was mellow and quiet. Something she could get used to. If this is what it felt like to live alone than she was definitely going to start putting in application for a spot.
Her shower ended after fifteen minutes. Since it wasn’t her place she didn’t want to be rude and take a long one as well as using up all of his hot water. Reaching her arm out of the glass door she grabbed her towel making sure it was secure before stepping out. She was so busy trying to hurry up and wash the day off she forgot her clothes downstairs.
Amiyah picked up her dirty clothes. She rolled her eyes knowing that Erik was going to see her in nothing but a towel at any moment. She did a light jog downstairs making sure she had a grip on the linen so it wouldn’t fall. Spotting her bag on the sectional she walked over to it. For a minute she thought she was alone until she saw Erik drinking a bottle of water standing between the doorway of the kitchen and livingroom. He cocked his head to the side staring at her as he drunk. Then he called her over.
“C’mere.” With his deep voice it was loud and clear.
Erik watched as she eyed him up and down. The way she looked in nothing but his towel had his dick on ten. How the bottom of her hair stuck to her back due to its wetness. The way her thick thighs had the towel rising up. He was ready to devour her. He was no where near drunk but the liquor was aiding into his horny-ness.
“What do you want Erik?” Her tone was teasing yet playfully annoyed. She grabbed her bra and panties but had no night clothes. She slapped her hand against her thigh when she noticed.
“Come over here and come find out.” His tongue hanging out before swiping it over his bottom lip. When she didn’t listen once again he began to walk over.
Amiyah studied his actions. Watching him draw nearer to her she started walking away going back up the stairs. He followed closed behind. Amiyah felt his stares on her ass. Making it back to the masters she stood beside his bed. She became nervous feeling him up her back. Not sure what to do she gripped the top of her towel to occupy her hands.
“Why you don’t listen ma?” He pulled up the pants that were hanging dangerously below his waist. Lightly grabbing her arm he turned her around. She was gazing up at him the same way he fantasize her doing in the shower the other day. He wrapped his arm around her pulling her in for a kiss but she put one between them creating space.
“What do you want Erik?” Amiyah asked softly for the second time and smiled blocking his advances. She was liking this game of making him work hard for it. This time he was yearning for her and she was in control.
Chewing on his top lip he told her straight up. “I want to eat ya pussy.” His tone was blunt.
When he stepped forward she stepped back which resulted in her stumbling and falling on the bed. They both look down at the same time to see her towel risen up just inches away from showing her treasure. She left it that way.
“You not gonna try and pull it down?” Erik leaned over her placing his hands on either side of her.
Resting up on her elbows she shook her head. “No.”
Amiyah reached up playing with his chain. The ring that accompanied it catching her attention. Erik admire her as he watched. Amiyah was just as horny as he was. She could feel the sticky wetness coating her lower lips. She never received oral before so she was willing to jump at the opportunity that was thrown at her. She leaned into him giving what he was longing for, a kiss.
Erik’s tongue swirled in her mouth. He followed her as she laid flat on the bed. Her legs opened inviting him in. He felt her small hands rubbing up and down his back before they started to tug at his pants. He grabbed her hands holding them down by her hips as he moved his kisses to her neck.
“Can I move this towel?” He asked coming up from her neck.
Amiyah’s eyes shifted down. She wanted this badly but she didn’t know if she was ready for Erik to see all of her yet. The thought of being completely naked in front of him caused butterflies to erupt in her belly. She still had insecurities that she was dealing with.
Erik noticed that she was overthinking it. He kissed her shoulder blade and the open area across her chest. “Get out your head mama. You beautiful.”
Even though Erik wanted to see all of her he could tell that she wasn’t ready. So he respected her wishes but he still wanted to show her how beautiful her and her body was to him. Leaving the towel in place he skipped down to her uncovered thighs. The dove scent being easily detectable. Getting on his knees he pulled her body closer to the edge making her shriek. He kissed the top of them causing her to shiver.
“Can I eat this pussy?” His breath touching her skin.
Leaning up on her elbows once more Amiyah nodded but Erik wanted to hear verbal confirmation. “Speak.” He demanded ready to open her legs and dive in.
“Yes daddy.” She bit her lip hiding the trembling in her voice.
Amiyah’s body shook lightly with every kiss he placed on her legs. He took both of his hands gripping her thick thighs before separating them exposing her wet bare pussy. He bit his lip inhaling her natural aroma. Amiyah was no longer watching as she laid on her back one hand already gripping his covers and the other covering her face.
Erik hooked her by the back of her knees spreading her wider. He gave her light kisses on her inner thighs getting both sides. He watched as they shook after each one. His eyes traveled to her middle finally coming face to face with her phat pussy. His mouth watered remembering the teasing taste that he had on his fingers last time. He’s been craving her pussy ever since and tonight he was going to take her for every drop.
“Hold your legs for me baby girl.”
She replaced his hands with hers and jumped when she felt his fingers spread her lower lips open. Her breath picked up as she felt the heat from his mouth get close to her aching core. Leaning up and looking down in time she watched as Erik gave her one swift lick from her hole to her clit. Her body jolted letting go of her hold on her legs.
“Don’t start that runnin shit.” He held her legs opened again this time her stringy lubricant showing when her pussy lips spread. “Damn ya shit wet as fuck.”
Erik took one hand separating her meaty lips. Using his long pointy tongue he flicked her clit a few times bringing it out of hiding. Amiyah covered her mouth moaning into her hand. The feeling of his wet tongue bringing the vocals out of her. When her nub was nice and perky he swirled his tongue over in a rotation before making a tight suction with his lips over it.
Amiyah ,not used to the feeling, clamped her thighs on his head. The involuntary whimpers left her mouth. She couldn’t stop them from coming. Sitting up she used one hand to try and push his head from between her thighs but couldn’t when Erik gripped them wrapping his arms around them.
“Erikkk...I can’t.” She moaned trying to back away.
He was going back and forth between sucking her clit and giving firm flicks. She wanted him to stop but keep going at the same time. She didn’t understand what was going on. But what alarmed her the most was when she felt her legs shake and muscle jerking from the inside. Amiyah gripped the covers searching for something to hold on to.
Erik continued his movements. Between clenched thighs he watched her make faces that she couldn’t fake. The taste of her cream coating his tongue made him almost animalistic. He wanted to ease up but he couldn’t. Bringing his hands to the back her thighs he snatched them from around his head as he pushed them all the way back. Now standing up he was bending down eating her pussy.
He paid attention to her body and noticed she would always start to jerk when he sucked her clit. So that’s what he did. Repeatedly. He was going to suck that pussy until he made it cum.
Reaching down Amiyah pushed his head into her pussy biting her lip. Tears producing in her eyes. A tight cramp feeling in her lower abdomen. Yet he kept eating her out. Her hips rocked up towards his mouth as she couldn’t explain why she still wanted it even through overstimulation.
“Daddyyy...” She whimper watching him flick her clit. Her toes curled from the feeling.
“Mhmm.” He moaned against her pussy causing a shake within her body.
“What are you doing to me?...daddy.” She whined in hush tone not caring about her towel that had started to come undone.
Erik repeated off and on sucking drove her crazy. He lifted up with a string of her wetness attached to his full lips and beard. “I’m taking care of the pussy. This what you wanted right?” He teased while sending one long slow dripping spit that landed directly on her bud.
Amiyah’s legs jerked when he went back to sucking her sensitive clit. “Mm I think I love youuu.” She threw her head back. The vibration of his laugher could be felt through her nub.
‘Got that ass!’
Erik thought as he laughed while remaining his assult on her pussy. He was ready to taste her nectar. Bringing his hands up to her tittes he pulled and twisted her nipples before flicking them with his index fingers. It took nothing but a few seconds for the double stimulation to have her pussy oozing out her juices right on to his tongue.
Her thrusting hips came to a stop as Amiyah placed her hands on Erik’s that was resting on her breast. Her stomach that was now showing caving up and down as she tried to catch her breath. Looking up at his ceiling she felt his light kisses traveling up her body stopping at her head. She felt exhausted and drained but very much relaxed.
Erik putting his nose in her hair inhaling her scent brought a hand up to her throat. He then moved his lips against her ear and spoke lowly. “You better not give my pussy up to nobody but me.”
He kissed her softly before getting up to take a shower.
____________________________________
Please excuse any mistakes!
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thatpinkbetch · 3 years
Note
okay but!! BNHA Souleater AU, as in a SE AU for the BNHA kids
AAHHHHHHHHH okay sorry for taking so long to get to this, it made me excited and i had to make sure i consulted a professional before attempting to answer (aka my sister). Side note.....i havent actually finished the anime 😅😅😅 im close though!!
So anyways i mainly care about bakudeku but i have many things in mind, if you will let me agsivjeofnwodkw
I cant really figure out what weapon Bakugou would be....but i feel like him and Midoriyas souls would resonate against his will :) my sister suggested flame thrower for him and i suggested grenade launcher, but I also want Midoriya to be a badass close range fighter who does more than shoot, you know? I guess scythe would be the go to for this AU, but trust me, i am ALL EARS. So anyways, Bakugou would definitely want to be like Justin and become a death scythe all on his own, and for sure he would only partner up with Midoriya (at first) as like, a stepping stone, a way to get stronger and or whatever he says to rationalize sticking around with the nerd. In the end hes fucking in love with him, and they will perfect their soul resonance, but thats for the end of course ;)
At first i thought All Might could be Death, but then I thought, what if One For All is Death, and All Might is the death scythe he keeps by his side, and the other death scythes are the previous users? 🤔 All For One can be the first kishin 😬 my sister then suggested that what if All Might is cracked, or even missing a piece :( anyways, All Might gets to be Midoriyas father, but rather than hating him like Maka, hed idolize him, because he never got to see him so much, so he isnt even like a dad to him, but a hero figure :( going to school he sees him more often and he fanboys and All Might feels so bad about it because he knows he wasnt around for so long, but also hes hiding his injury from the public eye.
And now, Todoroki. Hes the same as Tsubaki, where he has that special family bloodline, and he probably has the same backstory as usual, abusive dad that wanted him to surpass All Might as death's personal scythe. And also he got many of the weapon forms; katana, shuriken, smoke bomb, etc. And...of course...Dabi, the enchanted sword...well lets just say that Shouto ends up getting that form too...
Anyways my sister actually suggested that Todoroki would enter the school on his own, no meister, also looking to do it on his own. This obviously would anger Bakugou, who would be irritated with the respect he feels for the other, and also make him more anxious to get better and to leave Midoriya, who can sense his weapon distancing himself, and he would struggle with his own self esteem trying to keep Bakugou by his side. Okay but this was supposed to be about Todoroki avfohkwovjwkcks lets make it work! Midoriya and Bakugou fight Todoroki together and they break through to him, the way Midoriya did at the sports festival. And after finally deciding to go with a meister, he goes with Momo. She would be super skilled in all forms of combat!! Perfect for Todoroki :) but the thing is...she struggles to make decisions, which really sucks when she has to decide which weapon form to chose! :( but Todoroki believes in her because hes seen her do great and knows what shes capable of 😤😤😤 and together they will work on her self doubt and his struggle with obedience avdobjeovjaofjwp because he is NOT used to having a meister, especially since hes such an unlawful little guy that knows no respect for authority.
There isn't much for this one but fuck yeah Kaminari and Kirishima would be twin weapons and Sero would be their meister 😊😊
Also i kind of want Uraraka to be like... nunchucks? Idk something that just kind of beats the shit out of someone using martial arts ajdjgkehfiajdkw idk who would wield her, maybe Iida? 👀👀
Also my absolutely favorite part of this whole thing: Aizawa -> zombie teacher. And his husband, Present Mic, is his weapon. Who happens to be a megaphone. Thank you.
Okay so. The bakudeku. Im sure plenty of people will ask them, maybe mostly Midoriya, why they continue to partner with each other if theres so much rupturing their resonance all the time. And of course there will be a little flash back to them as kids, because obviously, they were childhood friends. And they promised each other that Bakugou would become greater than All Might, and everyone can tell that Midoriya wants to create a weapon better than All Might just to get attention from his dad, right? But like...still, he remembers how those red eyes looked at him so earnestly, so passionately as they promised him that they would succeed, that they both would. Kacchan can do anything, in his eyes, and its always just an awe-inspiring sight to him. He truly does believe that, with or without him, Bakugou will become the greatest death scythe, and he very much wants to be there the whole way. And even as Bakugou tries to struggle on his own, his heart is still always with Deku, because that asshole really did go and just take it without even asking for permission way back then, didnt he? When he fucking told Bakugou that it would be him who made him great, the first one to ever believe in him, the actual child of All Might, and he still never once doubted Bakugou, not even after the times he failed.
Okay i think thats all i got TT_TT anon thank yoooouuuu i love this so much and i love you 😭😭😭
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Silva Lining (Saul Silva x Reader) Chapter 18
Warnings: swearing, angst, sexual harassment? (Andreas is a creep)
Word count 2.9k
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It wasn’t a mirage, your weren’t going crazy. You couldn’t believe what your Mum was telling you.
“She just thought she killed me, I could sense you were there and I knew her true motives. Before she could strike I confused her with my magic, tricking her mind and everyone arounds minds into seeing what I made them see. In reality, I was still standing there, hidden by a vale of magic, very much alive. I’m so sorry I put you through that, but she knew you were hiding there, your reaction needed to be real or she would never had believed I was truly gone.”
You didn’t know if you were crying sad tears or happy tears, all you knew is you were relived that it was all just a cruel trick of the mind and not reality. You were exhausted and couldn’t help but yawn as you sat around the fire. Looking around you watched the withered and tired faces of your friends too, Sky, who’s hair was disheveled from the amount of times he’d ran his fingers through it, a trait he’d no doubt picked up from Silva. The other specialists, rigid and too on alert to fully relax and rest. Your Winx girls, all weary eyed and weepy from your mothers story. Sam, still rattled from his almost deadly encounter with the Burned one and then Mr Harvey, who probably had the most to worry about. His children in danger, the reappearance of his thought dead childhood friend, his missing childhood friend Silva and the fact the school is under siege. Would you ever catch a break?
Budging up and being flush, side by side next to Farah Dowling didn’t seem like a weird thing to you anymore. If anything her not so deadly death put things more into perspective for you. You would be lost without her after just finding her again. The warmth that radiated from your mother was comforting, your eyes felt heavy, but still, your mind didn’t rest. No, not without your Saul.
One by one your friends turned in, calling it a night. Now that your mother was back and had helped Ben Harvey reinforce the barrier, it might be the first night some people actually got a decent sleep. Just like old times you were sharing a room with the girls. The ‘Winx Cabin’ as Musa liked to say.
It wasn’t long before you were snuggled down under your stolen duvet, wondering about what would happen next. Surely the next step was getting Saul back, but how? Your thoughts were interrupted by your mother, approaching your bedside she dipped down. You were on the bottom bunk, Stella on top.
“I’m so proud of you, you know that. Bringing all these people to safety, finding a way to stay strong even when you thought all hope was lost. I’m sorry for what you had to see, but i’m here now and trust me, we will get Saul back.” With that she whipped the tears that fell from your eyes, kissing your forehead she whispered something you couldn’t quite make out and then before you knew it you were sleeping, for the first time in a few days.
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Saul smiled at you. The same old smile that made your heart squeeze in joy and so so so much love. You had never loved anyone or anything as much as you loved the man in front of you. You knew looking at him you would take a bullet, arrow, blast of magic, whatever it was, you would die for him.
His fingers traced the line of your jaw, calloused but at the same time soft and tender, he knew how to touch you, you were his, to him you were the most precious thing in all the worlds.
“What are you thinking about?” His rough voice made your core tingle, your nipples hardened against the light fabric of your top.
“Us, how much I love you, how i’d do anything for you.” His eyebrow raised and he couldn’t help but smile. If he felt anything like how you felt in that moment, his heart would be beating 2x faster and his emotions would be overwhelming.
“Before I met you, I didn’t really believe in Soulmates. I knew they were a thing, just like i’m a Specialist and you’re a Fairy, but part of me thought it couldn’t be real, maybe because I didn’t think I deserved someone as amazing and loving as you, but now I know, I know that all this time I’d been wrong. I love you more than you could ever know Y/N.”
Lately you were used to waking up with tears in your eyes but your pillow was soaked. You’d been crying in your sleep, your eyes were bloodshot red and your nose blocked. God, another memory. Your heart was starting to physically hurt from being away from Saul. Maybe it was a soulmate thing? You had to get him back. It had to be today, you couldn’t wait any longer.
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“You can’t just barge in there without a plan, it’s a suicide mission!” Your friends were having none of it. You’d decided that you were travelling to wherever the hell the Royal prison was and you were going to get your man back. Your mother had seen where they had taken him, being a mind fairy had its uses.
“Well you’re more than welcome to come with me, but I need to get him back, I can’t wait any longer! God knows what he’s going through and i’m not just going to sit here and wait for someone else to swoop in and save the day. It’s not going to happen!” You looked at all of your friends, they all had people now, boyfriends, people they were getting to know, they should know how it felt, even if it was just a fraction of what you felt for Saul.
“Terra what would you do if it was Helia, or Stella, what if it was Brandon! I could go on and on but you know what i’m getting at. If it were any of you in the situation, you’d be doing the same thing!” The shouting had attracted the rest of the camp, the Specialists running over to see what all the commotion was.
“You know, I agree with Y/N.” You were certain that Sky would have your back, even though he was fighting with his emotions as well, Saul was more a father to him than Andreas, he’d been alive this whole time and instead of seeking out Sky, spent his years fathering Beatrix instead.
“But first, I think we need to get a few things.”
With that, a plan was set in motion. As all good plans went by teenagers, it was on a need to know basis, which meant the adults… didn’t need to know. They would stop you if they knew what you were planning which is exactly what you didn’t need right now.
The plan was simple. Well, it seemed simple. You, Bloom, Stella, Sky and Sam would go through one of your portals back to Alfea for the supplies that you’d need to get Saul back. It was a risky plan, but everything you needed was in your Suite. You’d be in and out before anyone knew you were there.
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The castle seemed quiet. The whole atmosphere seemed different since you’d last been at your school. It looked darker, less vibrant, sad almost. Everyone would be in bed by now which gave you the perfect opportunity to get in and get out again. Your portal had opened right in the centre of the living room. Your heart shattered when you noticed things out of place, up turned furniture, items strewn across the room. It wasn’t as bad as you’d expected though.
Sky and Bloom stood watch at the suite door while you got to work. First you’d need a bag, luckily your man had no shortage of military grade duffle bags laying around. Next, Sauls wardrobe, you grabbed some outfits for him, packing jackets, shoes, boots, the lot, not knowing where you might have to run to next. Then it came to weapons. The vault didn’t look like it had been tampered with. You looked sheepishly at Stella and Sam when they let out a low whistle. Impressed. Wait until they saw what was inside.
The code hadn’t changed for as long as you’d known the vault to an entire bedroom war room existed. The date Saul found you crying over one of the monsters your father had created and Rosalind had used, even before you found out you harnessed ancient magical abilities. With a click, the door swung open and you listened for the sure gasp of your friends behind you.
Guns lined one wall, Knives another. You went over and clicked a button on a hidden panel and even more sections of room appeared. Multiple stacks of uniform, cash, smaller objects like tiny daggers, grenades and smoke bombs and even some tactical equipment like ear pieces and tiny cameras. Your man had everything, was he a Specialist, a spy, an evil hit man? Who knew when you looked at his haul. It was pretty impressive. Each with a bag, you started filling up with everything you could take, swords, guns, even the little things. Anything that would help you in your quest to getting back the man you loved with every fibre of your being.
After you’d cleared out the vault and heaved the bags into the centre of the room, you packed a bag for yourself, you didn’t want to have to steal again just to get clean clothes, plus, it would be nice to have some home comforts. You saw Stella eyeing up your stuff, it hit you. You suddenly felt guilty.
“If were quick me and Sam could go and grab some clothes and personal things from the Winx suit, but not a lot okay. We’ve already been here too long.” She nodded and smiled gratefully. Bringing Sam was a brilliant idea, his ability to walk through walls would no doubt prove to be useful over and over.
You met him in the dorm, your swirling black portal closing behind you with a swoosh. Nothing was out of place, un-like yours and Sauls suite. It was as if time had just stood still. You both wasted no time, as quickly as you could the packing began, clothes for each of the girls, Stella’s makeup bag, Musa’s tapes, Terras travel bag of potions and powders as she liked to call it, Blooms sketchbooks and Aisha’s books.
Looking at the time you cursed in annoyance. You wanted to get things for the Specialists, Mr Harvey and your mum too but there was just no time, you had to get back to the others. With the bags, you and Sam in the middle of the room, the portal opened around you and you were sucked into the darkness.
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“Well, look what we have here. I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to come back so soon. Theres me thinking Saul used to go for the smart girls, obviously I was mistaken.” You froze as you stepped out of the darkness. Andreas. His sword was flush against Skys neck, Bloom and Stella pinned to the wall by some of his royal guard goons.
“Drop the sword, we both know you’d never hurt your own son.” His mouth cocked to one side in an evil smirk. Your hands flexed at your sides. You were ready for a fight, lord knows you needed to take your anger out on someone.
“That’s where you’re mistaken.” To emphasise, he pressed the sword harder against his sons neck, small beads of blood pooling around the broken skin.
By now, your eyes were as black as the night sky. You could tell the sight had unnerved the guards, their hold on your friends loosening.
In a flash Stella warned you to close your eyes and her light erupted around the room stunning those who didn’t react fast enough. Luckily, you and your friends knew what she was doing and the only ones effected were the people it was intended for. It didn’t stop Andreas from charging forward though, his heavy muscled body colliding with yours, sending you flying to the floor with a hard thud. Your ears were ringing, the knock to your head making you feel like a cartoon with tweety birds flying around. With blurry eyes you could see Bloom and Sky fighting off the Royal Guards, while Sam and Stella were running to you. Andreas got to you first, landing his fist on the side of your mouth, his body coming over yours, pinning you down, straddling your waist.
“I see what Silva saw in you, pretty little thing.” His breath fanned across your face, his tongue sneaked out between his chapped lips and darted across your cheek, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. “Too bad, when i’m done with you, you won’t be so pretty anymore.” His fist came back again, but this time you were ready. Sauls fight training kicked in, you bucked him off you and rolled away from under him, it surprised him which you used to your advantage. Your hands thrown forward, black tendrils of your smoky magic sprung free, encasing Andreas. They wrapped around him like vines, tightening, his arms unable to lift from his sides. With one flick of your wrist, you sent his body hurtling into the wall. Then there was silence.
Bloom and Sky had taken down the Guards, Stella and Sam had gathered all of the supplies and you, you looked around at what was left of the room you once shared with your Saul. Meeting in the middle, you took Skys hand as he took one last look at his unconscious traitor of a father, before you all sank away into the abyss and back to the safety of your camp.
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The camp was just as quiet as the school had been. There was no way they could have found you, right? You’d half expected your mum and Harvey to be screaming at you by now but the screaming didn’t come. Instead, raised voices could be heard beyond the barrier that protected you all from whatever was out there. This couldn’t be good. One knee to the ground, you were unzipping a bag with weapons, passing them out to those around you. Swords for you and Sky, a gun for Sam, Bloom opted for her magic and Stella, Stella had her badass ring, which before now you didn’t know doubled as a frikin magical sun staff? She shrugged when you looked at her.
“We will be talking about this later you secret sun ninja.” You jumped when the voices got louder. Following the direction of the heated talking, it didn’t take you long before you saw…actually, you weren’t sure what you were seeing.
A man and a woman dressed in some weird sort of black armour, face to face with your mother, the other Winx girls, the specialists and Mr Harvey. Now you as well. Your appearance attracted the gaze of the scary looking strangers. You raised your sword.
“Who are you and what the hell do you want, it’s been a long fucking night and I can’t deal with anymore shit right now.” You groaned, holding your head, a pain blooming behind your eyes, that fight with Andreas must have done more damage than you thought.
“Princess, we come in peace. We are mere messengers sent by your father, King Tenebris. You are all in danger, in 30 minutes royal troops will descend on your camp, we’ve been monitoring the situation. Rosalind deceived your father and now he wants to make amends with you. You are in danger if you stay here. Please come with us.” Information overload or what. You scoffed. These people and your father were just as bad as bloody Rosalind, why should you believe them?
“Why should we trust you, when all my father did was send the burned ones to attack my school!” The female guard took a confident step forward and held out her hand.
“An hour ago, your father ordered a specialist trained team of dark guards to extract Saul Silva from the Royal prison of Solaria. He is waiting for you at your fathers castle where you are all invited for safe housing.” Your heart felt like it skipped a few beats, how did you know it wasn’t a trick?
“He said you’d think it was a trick, he asked me to give you this.” In her hand, the dog tags Saul wore everyday. He never took them off, you touched the diamond ones around your neck. They were telling the truth. You looked to Musa and your mum, the mind fairies nodded, conforming the truth.
A booming sound ricocheted through out the forest. Time was up, it was time to go get your man.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heyyyyy! So, a lot went on in this chapter but I hoped you enjoyed! We get our Saul back next chapter yipeeeee <3 Bit of a longer one for you as a sorry for my lack of posting recently!
Let me know what you think in the comments, like, share and FOLLOW ME <3
CHAPTER 19 ------ CLICK HERE
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the-slasher-files · 3 years
Text
ANDREI KULOKOVA HEADCANONS
Clearly I cannot get this man out of my head.. like ever! Honestly I’ve been in a big big writing lull lately and I only want to write for Andrei, so I happy to share these hcs with you!.. hope you enjoy 🔪💕
MASTERLIST
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Andrei’s code names in the army were ‘The Wolf’ or 'North’
He has O negative blood type, meaning he is a universal donor. Andrei always (when he is wearing his vest) has IV tubing and needles, just in case.
On that topic, Andrei is very knowledgeable with medical information, he has saved many of his brothers in the army from death. He can save you, but the issue is if he cares to.
Yes he is a very hot bloodied man, but under pressure he is calm and cool, especially with his s/o. Feral rage can turn instantly off if he sees someone he loves really hurt, calmly giving orders and helping you.
Andrei never went to school after his mother died, at age 12. He may not be super educated in math or sciences but this man is smart. Never underestimate him. He can fix a truck, be your handy man around the house, and has amazing people skills.
He is a history buff.. Yup, you heard me. Andrei loves history, specifically war history. After his uncle died he was free to explore more education and he found a deep love in history, learning it all himself through reading, documentaries and listening to people around him. (Me and @horrorslashergirl have a weird AU where he is in college and works in a museum, in a suit with glasses 👀)
Andrei is trained in many things but one I don’t talk about often is bombs and specifically land mines. This guy loves to blow stuff up for fun and has a few land mines in specific places on his land, and abandoned town.
His favorite drinks are a deep earl grey (a Russian blend of course) and Vodka on the rocks.
He loves bath time.. yup a hot bath, even with bubbles he doesn’t care, he loves it.
One of my favorite things about Andrei is when he needs to think or stop his active mind, he goes into his field (usually shirtless) and just stands out there, closes his eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet.
Andrei HATES condescending and controlling people, it brings him back to when he was a kid or in the army. Now that may seem hypocritical but honestly it is not. Degradation is for sexy time and teasing only, and Andrei is only controlling with his playthings but even then he lets them decide and have a good amount of freedom.
Man is a furnace and doesn't feel cold what so ever
He loves action movies, even though he will comment on how unrealistic they are. Also he loves documentaries.
Andrei listens to all kind of music. Mainly rock or metal but he loves Russian new wave and some rap. He also had a HUGE punk phase so that occasionally comes on.
He will do any dare or bet, not even kidding. His army buddies stopped daring him to do stuff because he would just do it. Andrei is a big thrill seeker and will do so much stupid stuff.
He used to have a wolfdog, a brother to Amaria’s wolfdog Dyn. Unfortunately it had too high of a concentration of wolf in it and he had to let it go, but he does still see him every once and a while. He even named him Alexei, meaning “great defender” in Russian. Andrei always leaves one of the outbuildings open for him just incase the weather gets too cold or dangerous. Also he may or may not use him to get rid of bodies, if he sees him wandering around.
Andrei drives a 1995 Range Rover all black with giant snow tires, or his black old Russian truck.
He can ice skate and used to play hockey with his buddies
He is secretly loaded. Yes he has money in his walls and all over the town. Andrei knows what he is worth and his rates aren’t cheap, plus it’s all in cash so there is no paper trail. He is never one to flaunt his wealth, you probably won’t even know until you see him coming home from a mission with a duffle bag of cash, throwing it in under the floor boards.
Andrei had a secret male s/o in the army, it was his first male relationship but they had to hide it from everyone. In a dangerous feral state the wolf had killed him, that was his last undercover mission.
This guy can read people like no tomorrow, every tiny subtle thing you do he notices. Could be the way you bite your cheek if you’re nervous or the way you rub your hands together when excited. He knows.
Also Andrei is very good at manipulation but doesn’t use it often.
He is a terrible sleeper. Andrei wakes at every noise in the house and only gets about 5 hours a night but only 1 hour is actually deep sleep. Sometimes he gets so exhausted that his body gives out and he will sleep for 12 hours fully clothed, in his cargo pants, vest and jacket. However he is much better with an s/o to sleep with, it’s still bad though.
I say this a lot but Andrei has an incredibly active mind, and it’s hard for him to relax or ease up. He uses drinking and smoking as a way to calm down, also just walking into the field for peace.
His favorite food is a nice hardy warm stew with rabbit meat.
Andrei adores just holding his s/o in his arms as on the couch or in bed.
He is honestly kind of paranoid, not so much by himself but if he has a s/o. You can come with him to the nearest town, but never ever draw attention to yourself or him, for your safety. He has people after him.
The wolfs signature is ripping off someone’s jaw or ripping out their spine by gutting them and reaching in.
If you mess with him but he dubs you as not a worthy hunt or not a good kill, you might see a bear trap in your home the next morning.
His tattoo on his left palm 'NO GODS’ is something he got to remind himself that he has control of his life and take his fate into his own hands, not his paranoid controlling uncle. It also holds him accountable for his actions, there are no gods to blame, he did it. The tattoo connects to Amaria as well. She is a lil crazy and does kills for 'the gods’, but Andrei sees that as foolish, he does his kills for himself, nothing else.
The 'grateful for the hunt’ thing I often write in Andrei’s stories is what his uncle would always say to him, with people or animals. It’s burned into his brain and it will never leave him. The words remind him to breathe and take in every deadly detail, that Andrei loves so so much.
Alright time to get.. a little odd lol… me and some friends have an interesting thing going where Andrei has a 'wolf pack’.. Dallas (@slashersins oc) is his husband, not legally, but Dallas wears a wolf ring for him. Xaviera (@horrorslashergirl oc) is Andrei’s soul mate and girlfriend. Xaviera’s cousin Akshay is Andrei’s best friend, they fight constantly but have so so much fun.. plus they fuck when they’re drunk lol. I am Akshay’s 'snow queen’ aka girlfriend. Andrei also has 2 'playthings’ Bianca (@horrorslashergirl) and Sights (@thesightstoshowyou)… the house is too full and Andrei may or may not regret having all these people lol.
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hanna-writess · 3 years
Text
The Walking Dead, Season 8 Spoilers!!!!
Stop reading here if you don’t wanna see the spoilers (pictures ahead)
Also CW/TW mentions of death, guns, bombing, etc. Okay. I just finished episode 9 of season 8 and lemme tell you.. I sobbed. This one broke my goddamn heart. There was so much going on, like a freaking whirlwind, but the end is what really had me.
I love all the characters don’t get me wrong, but I never thought I’d bawl my eyes out watching this show. Before we get to the main reason I’m posting, it’s crazy. Eugene is going through some major shit at the Sanctuary, Dwight siding with Alexandria and betraying Negan, Morgan going through his own stuff.. (I’m stalling here as you can tell)
But when Alexandria was being bombed and shot up (by Negan and The Saviors) and Carl was at the gates, talking with Negan, I was like: “damn he’s brave.” then when everything was burned down, fire everywhere, ash and smoke in the air, then they were forced to hide in the sewers, drains (whatever you wanna call them) 
And Carl was leaning against a wall and pale as hell, breathing heavily I was just “Oh no. What the fuck happened.” and learned that he got bit when helping a stranger honor his mother and so forth (while honoring his own as well) and showing us how he was dealing with it, didn’t tell anybody and spent his day with Judith 🥺😭
The looks on Rick, Michonne, Daryl, and Tara’s faces. Everyone was shocked and sad, and that’s when the emotions bubbled up, when Rick and Michonne started crying. I could not stop man. But the talk with his little sister Judith, the goodbye, that’s what really took me out.
When giving her his hat and saying goodbye, he said: “You be good okay? For Michonne, For Dad. You gotta honor him, listen when he tells you stuff. You don’t have to always, sometimes, kids got to show their parents the way. This was Dad’s before it was mine. (his hat) now it’s yours, I don’t know.. just- just having it and.. it kept Dad with me. It made me feel as strong as him. It helped me. Maybe it’ll help you too.  Before Mom died.. she told me I was gonna beat this world, I didn’t. But you will, I know you will.” 
How he cried while talking and at the end Judith cried before being picked up by Daryl (she’s still young and tiny) I was just done, tears running down my face. Then when he was alone with Rick and Michonne in a ruined house, talking about the future, telling them there had to be something after.
Then when he shot himself, while they were outside. The looks on their faces were brutal, and it made the tears worse, then when he was being buried (his grave being dug) they showed another scene at the end.
The future vision and how everyone was there: Rick, Michonne, Judith, Daryl, Eugene, but the last person.. is what SHOCKED me. The one and only Negan. I even gasped and said: “Negan?!” I didn’t know what to think and never expected for Negan to be forgiven
It’s just the fact that most of the time a bad person can change, that they do have good in them but it doesn’t always show, shit happens but sometimes it can be made up for or fixed.
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Him helping and actually seeming joyful, how he immediately turned around at the sound of her voice. 
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LOOK HOW HAPPY HE IS TO SEE HER. THE SMILE ON HIS FACE. GAHH MY FUCKING HEART. HE LOOKS SO HAPPY. FINALLY. 
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The fact he calls her ‘darlin’ 🥺😭 I can see them being close (y’know to a degree.) actually being friends or something, this lessened the sadness to be honest. It made me smile like an idiot. (I love Negan and believe he deserves happiness) Everyone in this show has done bad shit, he was pretty horrible but I still liked him (sorry to anyone who doesn’t or didn’t 😂) I knew there was more to him
Especially after his confession to Gabriel about Lucille. I’m so invested in this show and this episode tore a piece out of me, but I’m going to continue watching and fall in love with the characters more, and probably go through heartbreak and shock (worth it.)
I just had to post about this!! 💔💖
Breanna 💜
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joezworld · 3 years
Text
More Sodor Shenanigans
Not every prank on Sodor involves strategically used F-bombs. Sometimes your appearance is enough...
2015
“No! An’ that’s final! I hate paper mache an’ you know it!” Douglas said finally as Henry rolled into the shed. 
“What is it now you two?” He asked  - hoping he wouldn’t be involved in yet another daft argument about some intricate Scottish custom.
“The daft basterd over here disnae’ like my idea of a halloween costume!” Grumbled Siobhan. She’d been driving Donald and Douglas since the early 90′s, and the trio were so used to each other that they acted like they were fathers and daughter rather than engines and driver. Including the arguments.
“What costume?” Henry asked, wearily - he really didn’t want to be the replacement for Donald in tonight’s bickering. 
“I wan’ to do this wit’ him or Donnie and they both think it’s daft!” Siobhan stuck her ‘smart-phone’ in front of Henry’s face. A looping video was playing, showing an engine dressed up as a “ghost train”. The costume was quite frightening, and looked like it would scare children and adults alike. 
Henry told Siobhan this and she threw up her hands in irritation. “It’s a halloween costume ya great green wedge! O' course it’s supposed to be scary! People are supposed to get the piss scared out o’ themselves!”
“Well, I don’t think that sounds very fun.” Henry said finally. 
“Lands sake! You’re all a bunch o’ sissies!” Siobhan finally gave up and went home, grumbling the whole way. 
Douglas chuckled as she left, and went to speak to Henry. Before he could so,  he was rudely interrupted by the arrival of James and Gordon, who had decided that ‘waiting until they got into the shed to start an argument’ was out of date, and were therefore already bickering as they pulled in. 
-
The details of their argument were so mind-numbingly stupid that they don’t bear repeating, but they managed to keep going all through the night. 
Douglas and the other engines managed to eventually tune them out, and fell asleep around midnight. 
Henry, on the other wheel, was a very light sleeper on a good day, and was acutely aware of exactly when the Dynamic Duo stopped arguing. 
It was at 2:30 in the morning.
The Flying Kipper left at 3:15. 
As Henry blearily backed down onto his train at the docks, he began to plot an idea for revenge. 
-
Later that morning, Henry cracked open an eyelid as Siobhan wandered in to raise Douglas’ fire. 
“Siobhan - about that Halloween costume...”
-
October 30th
A good prank was not done alone, and Henry made sure to rope in Bear to ensure maximum efficacy. 
He chose the diesel hydraulic because unlike Edward and BoCo, who both had massive reserves of Tact and would therefore skimp on the truly messed up scary stories, Bear had no opposition to scaring the unprepared into a frightened, whimpering, traumatized stupor. 
It was actually a quite horrifying story that Bear ended up telling - about an (hopefully fictional) engine that was caught in a chemical spill, and was forcibly mutated into a ghostly monster as result - and Henry had to school his expression so as to not appear like a psychopath when he gleefully realized exactly how scared James and Gordon were. 
-
Halloween
On the night in question, everything was ready. Siobhan and her husband had spent most of the last week manufacturing a large amount of decorations that could be mounted to Henry’s boiler and tender, along with a giant, skull shaped mask that fit over Henry’s smoke box. It had red lights in the ‘eyes’ and belched ‘smoke’ from a fog machine under the jawbone. Henry saw himself in a reflection and agreed with the stationmaster’s assessment that he looked like he’d escaped from the bowels of hell.
A whistle had been sourced from America - a loud, deep, “hooter whistle” that the ‘ebay listing’ had said could be heard for miles.  
Finally, as the sun fell, Henry was ready. 
Siobhan had managed to get Henry on an empty stock train from the Crovan's Gate Works all the way to Arlesburgh, meaning that they’d pass through Tidmouth just as the other engines were returning for the night. (Dulcie and Isobel were thrilled to take part, and assured the pranksters that they knew how to scream and wail like they were being eaten - much to Siobhan’s delight!)
Just as the sun set, the signal dropped, and train 666 left the works, bound for Arlesburgh via all 7 Circles of Hell.
-
Their first “victim” came much sooner than they’d planned - roaring around the blind curve near Kellsthorpe Road station in a whoosh of steam, a high-pitched scream could be heard from the ‘up’ line. As his vision cleared, Henry could see a line of High-Speed coaches roll by, and realized that he must have given Pip or Emma a huge fright. 
“Sorry!” He whistled to the other power car - he thought it was Emma - as he went by. 
Of course, Henry hadn’t realized exactly how frightening his new whistle was, and proceeded to scare Emma just as much as he had Pip. 
“HOLY FUCKING SHIT LET’S GET OUT OF HERE!” Was the only response he got as the HST sped up and raced out of sight. 
Henry felt a little bad - he had no quarrel with the HST - but Siobhan, who could barely see through her laughter-induced tears, thought it was hilarious. 
-
Next up was Wendell, the works diesel. 
He had been hauling a rake of hoppers back to the works, and saw something coming towards him on the ‘down’ line. 
It whistled hello at him in a deep, demonic pitch, looked at him with beady red eyes, and whooshed smoke at him as it rolled by. 
Wendell stopped where he was - and neither he, nor his trucks, nor his crew, said much of anything for the rest of the night. The rescue engine sent out for them tried to get answers out of them, and only got: “I saw the devil, and he greeted me like a friend...”
-
At Knapford, Daisy was taking part in the station’s annual trick or treat festivities, when The Train roared past. 
The children were delighted to see an engine taking part in the costume competition, and immediately decided to award the ‘scariest costume award’ to the mystery engine. 
Nobody noticed until much later that Daisy had been so frightened that she’d burst an oil line. 
-
Tidmouth
The station’s annual Halloween celebrations were in full swing, and the humans were enjoying themselves. 
The engines? Not so much. 
“What a bunch of hoopla over nothing!” Grumbled Gordon. “Why would anyone ever admit to being scared?” 
“And why would anyone ever want to hide what they look like?” James said, clearly more horrified at the thought of people being unable to see his shiny red paint and dashing facial structure. 
“Because not all of us are emotionally bereft sticks-in-the-mud like you two.” Said Bear thinly. He had dressed up - in full British Rail Diesel Locomotive Green with the Double Arrow logo - and was very annoyed that none of his coworkers had noticed. 
“Aye.” Said Donald, who was eying the festivities with suspicion. Siobhan hadn’t made an appearance yet, meaning that she either wasn’t showing up - a statistical improbability - or she’d found someone to rope into her daft ‘ghost train’ idea. 
“I will say, Gordon,” Put in Duck. “For someone who speaks so definitively on not being scared, you seemed very frightened last night.” 
“Stow it.” The blue engine snapped. “You were scared too!”
“Yes I was, and I admitted it.” Duck said. “Although I believe you just admitted it as well...”
“Why you!” Gordon wheeshed and dissapeared in a cloud of steam. 
-
On the platform, The Fat Controller (the third) stared at the engine yards. 
“I do wish that more of the engines would get into the spirit of things.” He said to his wife, who was struggling to contain her mirth at the clash between her husband’s dour face and his absurd clown costume. 
“Just leave them Stephen,” She said. “Halloween isn’t for everyone.”
“Yes, I suppose you’re r- what the dickens?!”
He was cut off as a very loud whistle sounded in the distance.
It was long, it was low, it was loud, and it was ghostly. 
It stole the attention away from everything else in the area, and drew eyes to the station throat. 
In the yard, most of the engines began babbling to each other about something - they were inaudible over the confused murmuring of the crowd. Stephen noted that the only ones who didn’t seem frightened were Bear and the Scottish twins, who seemed eager and disbelieving, respectively. 
-
As they passed through the final signal before the station, Siobhan couldn’t help but keep a smile on her face. “Ready Henry?!” She said as she pulled down her skeleton face mask.
“Let’s do this!”
“Atta boy!” She crowed as she hauled back on the whistle cord, allowing the American whistle to bellow its haunting note across Tidmouth. 
Her fireman grabbed the paint-pot full of sawdust and chucked it into Henry’s firebox, while Dulcie and Isobel began screaming like banshees.
Henry, overcome with the absurdity of the situation, began cackling like an engine possessed as he rolled into sight of the platforms. 
-
It was a train. Right?
Right?
Stephen Hatt couldn’t be sure as the demonic, skull-faced, fire spouting monster rolled through Tidmouth. It was cackling madly, and hauling a train of the damned that squealed and shrieked as it went by. The monster, crewed by skeletal beings, rolled through the freight platforms without stopping, its glowing red eyes casting odd shadows on the terrified partygoers. 
He was sure that people were screaming, but the beastly whistle emanating from the ‘train’ was so loud that he couldn’t be sure. 
When it finally passed, disappearing into the distance like the Flying Dutchman of old, dead silence reigned over the platform. 
Then, a child somewhere on platform two spoke up: “That was bloody amazing!” 
The platform broke out in cheers, and Stephen collapsed onto a bench. 
“Did you plan that?” His wife whispered in his ear. 
“No!” He said at last. 
-
The shed
Gordon and James eventually stopped screaming around midnight, falling into a whimpering fugue state before finally passing out. 
Duck was paralyzed with fear, and the next morning he had to be hauled out of the shed and pushed onto his train before he started moving again. 
BoCo - who had been sleeping in the back of the shed, woke the next morning and told his co-workers about the horrible nightmare he’d had that night. When he was informed that it was no mere nightmare, he left the shed a wide-eyed, quiet, and subdued engine. 
A visiting diesel from a mainland freight company who had been parked by the diesel pumps said nothing for the remainder of his time on the island. When his story was confirmed by an equally frightened Pip and Emma in Barrow the next morning, he left the island, never to return. His tale of the ‘Ghost Train of Sodor’ spread far and wide across the British Isles.
Donald and Douglas, who noticed that the ‘demon train’ looked a lot like Henry, said nothing that night. The next day they privately told Henry that it was the greatest prank they’d ever seen, and never turned down one of Siobhan’s Halloween ideas again.
Bear was amazed to see one of his scary stories come to life, and was practically beside himself with pride at a job well done.
-
Arriving at Arlesburgh about half an hour later, Henry was greeted by horrified screams from Oliver - before he passed out in fright - and astonished looks from the small railway engines, who immediately knew it was Henry and demanded to know how he did it. 
Siobhan showed their controller the video she’d based the costume on, swore the small engines to secrecy, and was able to remove most of Henry’s decorations before Oliver woke back up. 
Isobel and Dulcie laughed themselves silly at a prank well pulled, and all parties settled down for a well-deserved sleep. 
-
The next day
“I can’t help but feel like I’m forgetting something...” Henry said to Siobhan as she drove him down to Tidmouth the next morning. 
“Me too.” She said as they pulled into the passing loop at Haultraugh. 
A very pale looking Duck rolled in with the morning’s train. He whistled a weak hello to Henry, and practically jumped off the rails when Henry’s ‘hooter’ whistle replied. 
“WHERE Did yOU geT ThAT?!” He demanded shakily. 
Henry now knew exactly what they’d forgotten. “I found it on the ground.” He said quickly. 
Duck looked more horrified than before. “It was REAL!” He said, scuttling away in terror. 
Fin.
--
Henry’s appearance is based off of the following ideas: 
https://youtu.be/8grHpQAB1jA?t=205
https://youtu.be/zBm-ONvNhS4
https://youtu.be/ZB1rTgUesDc?t=64
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headfulloffantasies · 3 years
Text
Legacy Returning
Din Djarin is not fit to be the Mand’alor. He runs from the responsibility and more specifically from Bo-Katan.
Ao3
Legacy Returning
Din received a hail while he was flying between planets on the Outer Rim. He opened the hail without thinking, expecting Karga or Cara with a new bounty.
Bo Katan’s face flickered through the hologram. Din dove for the disengage button.
“Din Djarin.”
Too late.
Din slumped in his seat. He had come to hate that stupid headband so much. “I’m not fighting you for the Darksaber,” he cut right to the chase.
Bo Katan pressed her lips together in a frown. “If you will not face me in combat then you must return to Mandalore and begin reparations.”
Din had never stepped foot on Mandalore. It was hard to return to a place you’d never been.
“No thank you,” he said. He reached out to end the call.
“Consider your fellow vod,” Bo Katan said.
Vod. Brothers. Din had no brothers. His covert had been destroyed. He had broken his Creed. He had no one but the foundling he’d given away.
“Mandalore needs its leader,” Bo Katan pleaded.
“That’s not me,” Din said. “If you want the Darksaber, I’m throwing it in the nearest supernova.”
He hung up.
Din arrived on Tatooine at Peli’s shop. She came out of her office wiping her hands on a rag. “Where’s the little womp rat?” She asked in place of a greeting.
Din swallowed hard. “He’s with his kind,” he said.
Peli’s face fell. “Well, next time you have him, bring him this way. I like the little guy.”
Din smiled under his helmet.
“I need some help,” he admitted.
Peli came over and banged a fist on the side of his new ship. “Doesn’t look too bad. Better than your old rust heap.”
“Not with the ship,” Din said. “I need someplace to hide.”
Peli turned on him with a finger pointed in his face. “I know you’re a good person under that bucket, Mando, but if you bring trouble to Mos Eisley I won’t forgive you.”
“Noted,” Din nodded.
Peli dropped the offending finger. “So, what kind of trouble are you in now?”
Din sighed loud enough that it crackled through his helmet. “I accidentally became ruler of Mandalore.”
Peli blinked. She burst out laughing. “You? You can barely take care of the kid!”
Din bristled at that. He’d done excellent with Grogu. He’d found the Jedi for him, hadn’t he?
“Do you know of anywhere I can lay low?” He asked.
Peli shrugged. “People come to Tatooine to disappear all the time. You might want to ask the new crime lord at the Hutt Palace if you’re looking for work.”
Din startled. “There’s a new crime lord?”
Peli waved her hands. “Regimes fall every day. Do I look like a newswave?”
Din thanked her and decided he’d make his way to the Hutt Palace. Work was good. It would keep him occupied until he could figure out his next move.
At the Palace a pretty girl led Din down the stone steps to the throne room. Din’s footsteps echoed in the quiet halls.
They rounded the corner. A throne sat on a raised platform. Din let out a soft curse. “Boba Fett?”
The green helmeted Mandalorian leaped off his throne. “Mando! I thought you’d been killed by that kriffing Mandalorian princess.”
“Not yet,” Din extended his hand. They clasped vambraces. Fennec appeared from behind the throne, carrying a bottle of blue spotchka.
“Nice to see you again,” she smirked.
“What can I do for you, my friend?” Boba asked.
“A job, if you have any,” Din answered. “A hiding place, if not.”
Boba exchanged a glance with Fennec. “You’re running from Bo Katan?”
Din sighed. The sound came from the depths of his very core. “She’s decided if she can’t beat me, she’ll join me.”
“Which means what?” Boba asked.
“She’s trying to put me on the throne of Mandalore,” Din explained.
There was a beat of silence. Boba Fett burst into laughter. The sound bounced off the stone walls. Fennec tried her best, but her smile broke into giggles. Fett bent over and braced himself on his knees while he caught his breath.
“That girl has no taste,” Boba Fett said.
Din wasn’t sure if he should be offended.
Boba sent Din on a task to collect a wayward dealer who’d skimmed some money off the top of Boba’s operation.
“She’s way out in the Dune Sea,” Boba said. “That should be far enough away from Bo Katan.”
Din borrowed Peli’s speeder and set out. As he rode into the sweltering heat of the desert Din reflected on his friends’ reactions to his supposed rulership. No one thought he could do it. Kriff, even Din didn’t think he should be the Mand’alor, but some support would be nice. He definitely could not accept the throne, though. He was dar’manda; he’d lost his Way. He couldn’t lead Mandalore. Especially when he’d come to understand that most Mandalorians did not in fact follow the Way. He should just accept Bo Katan’s challenge and let her have the stupid Darksaber. Kriff, what a stupid system to have a laser sword determine the right to rule. What if it got stolen?
Din arrived at the coordinates Boba Fett had given him. Amid the towering rocks jutting out of the sand Din found a cave. It seemed like the place a normal species would take cover from the suns.
Din stepped into the shade. His visor adjusted to the dimness. A blanket, a dead firepit and a mess of used ration wrappers strewed on the ground. And- was that? Yep. That was a bomb.
Din came to with his ears ringing. He blinked through his visor. Twin suns pierced his vison. He took a breath.
Dank Farrik, that hurt. He ground his teeth against the wave of pain. When it faded enough to manage, Din took stock. It didn’t feel like any shrapnel had pierced his skin. At most, his head hurt. And his ribs under the chest plate.
Gingerly, Din sat up. Smoke billowed out of the cave. The blast had obviously thrown him backwards into the sand. It would take days to clean all the grit from his armour.
A shadow fell over him. Din looked up, a hand on his blaster.
“Dank Farrik,” he hissed. Blue Mandalorian armour filled his vision.
Bo Katan lifted her helmet. Behind her, Kaska Reeves held the collar of Din’s bounty.
Din wobbled to his feet. “What are you doing here?”
Bo Katan had the audacity to look shocked. “I’m here to speak to you. You are the Mand’alor.”
“No.” Din unclipped the Darksaber from his belt. Bo Katana stiffened. Din drew back his arm and pitched the Darksaber as far as he could. He nearly toppled over. The Darksaber winked in the light of the twin suns and vanished into the desert.
Bo Katan made a sound like a choked loth cat. Din did not care. He stomped over to Kaska Reeves and snatched his bounty from her.
“Wait,” she said. “She has to stand trial for trying to assassinate the Mand’alor.”
“No,” Din repeated. He tossed his bounty over his speeder and took off. Bo Katan yelled after him. Probably something about disrespecting his cultural heritage. Din still didn’t care.
Boba Fett took one look at Din at decided he needed a drink. Din agreed, but he’d prefer to drink alone. Besides, any planet with Bo Katan on it was not a planet he could stay on.
Din stayed one step ahead of Bo Katan for longer than he actually expected. Say you want about the princess, but she was competent and crafty. She managed to lure him to a backwater swamp with a fake bounty puck.
“I don’t want it,” Din said. Bo Katan held out the Darksaber to him imploringly. She must have spent hours cleaning the sand from its mechanisms.
Din sighed. “Do you want to arm wrestle for it? Would that work?”
Bo Katan’s eyebrows creased. “The Darksaber must be won in combat.”
Din sagged. He was so very tired of people telling him things he didn’t understand.
“I don’t know anything about it,” Din explained. “I don’t know how it works.”
He meant it as an excuse to pass the light sword along to her, but Bo Katan took it as an invitation to recite the Darksaber’s history.
It was… a lot.
Din latched onto one very important detail. “So, it hasn’t always been a symbol of the Mand’alor.”
Bo Katan faltered. “Well, no, but-.”
“And it was stolen from the Jedi,” Din said.
“Yes. But it was Mandalorian first,” Bo Katan emphasised. “The Jedi had no right-.”
“So, it actually belongs to the Jedi,” Din finished his train of thought.
He swiped the Darksaber from Bo Katan’s lax grip. He whipped around and ran up the ramp of his ship.
Bo Katan yelled after him, “Where are you going?”
“I’m giving it back to the Jedi,” Din shouted back. Glowing satisfaction filled his chest at the strangled noise Bo Katan made.
The best part was that he had an actual excuse to go see Grogu. Usually, he showed up to the Jedi academy with a half baked defense about protecting the children or something. Luke humored him, for which Din was eternally grateful. It wouldn’t do to have to kneecap his son’s teacher.
Din knew Luke was dramatic. The man wore a cape. Din did not wear a cape; it was a cloak and it was different. Capes were for dramatic entrances. This time though, Din thought Luke had taken the cake. Upon being presented with the Darksaber, Luke had vaulted into a tree and refused to come down.
“It belongs to the Jedi!” Din shouted up at Luke. He could just see his pale blond hair through the thick foliage.
“I want nothing to do with that thing!” Luke shot back.
Fine. Din could play dirty then. “Isn’t your sister Force sensitive? Does she need a laser sword?”
“Do not give the Death Saber to my sister!” Luke hissed.
Din did not move from his position of holding the Darksaber up towards Luke. He realised he looked much like Bo Katan had when she offered Din the sword. Kriff, why was she only person in the galaxy who wanted it but wouldn’t take it?
“Do any of your other students need a weapon?” Din suggested. He perked up. “What about Grogu? How long until he gets a sword? I can hold onto it for him until he’s ready.”
Luke sobbed.
Rude. Din thought it was a great idea. “It’ll be like a family heirloom.”
“I will murder you in your sleep,” Luke mumbled in the tree. “I will smother you with your pillow.”
Good luck with that. Din wore the helmet to sleep while he visited the academy. He’d had a close call with curious children the first time he’d come to see Grogu. Force users had no regard for locks that couldn’t stop them.
Anyways, Luke could not stay in that tree forever. Luke seemed to realise this too. He finally dropped back to ground level with surprising grace. He had a leaf stuck in his hair. It made him look much younger.
“That thing,” Luke jabbed a finger at the Darksaber. “Has been used to destroy the Jedi. It has no place here.”
Din looked down at the blade. “I don’t understand,” he admitted. “It’s just a thing. An object. But everyone acts like it has a will and a destiny. It’s a tool. Tools don’t care what you use them for; they don’t know the difference between good and evil.”
Din had Luke’s full attention. It was a bit daunting. Din swallowed. “Instead of giving more power to the stories of evil deeds, why don’t you use it for good? Reclaim its legacy.”
Luke squinted at him. “You’re a very clever man, Din Djarin. And a very tricky one.”
At least someone thought so.
“Does that mean you’ll take it?” Din extended the Darksaber again.
Luke hesitated. “I think,” Luke said slowly. “That you should be the one to reclaim the Darksaber’s legacy. The Force is working very strongly around you, Din Djarin.”
Din sagged. “I don’t want to be the Mand’alor.”
“Then don’t,” Luke said.
Din’s gaze snapped up to the Jedi.
Luke shrugged. “Part of the Darksaber’s dark legacy is the bloody war for the throne of Mandalore. If you hold the Darksaber but refuse to claim Mandalore then the Mandalorians will have to come up another system to choose their leader.”
Din narrowed his eyes. Luke had a devious mind. It might just work.
“You want me to spend the rest of my life defending the Darksaber from would be assassins and someday die a natural death without ever being defeated?”
Luke shrugged. “Something like that.” He grinned. “You’re doing great so far.”
Din resolutely did not mention he’d been blown up earlier that month.
Din clipped the Darksaber to his belt. “Fine. But if anybody calls me a Jedi, I’m bringing the sword right back here and burying it forever.”
END
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