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guesswhojusttt · 8 months

Text

when I’ve learned how to love

Covey!Reader x Sejanus Plinth

Summary:

Lucy Gray is Reaped. The Covey each handle it in different ways.

When she comes back, you're all not sure how much of her she's left behind.

You are nothing but hatred and anger and desperation- a tall boy with soulful brown eyes somehow carries the same anger, but kindness, too.

AO3

Chapter 1: one foot in the door

Word count: 6891

Summary: When the first punch flies, it’s you who pulls the plug and kills the lights.

“Still awake?”

“No. You?”

“No.”

“Lucy Gray-“

“Let it go, sweetheart. There’s nothing any of us can do and we all know it.” What killed you was the resignation in her voice: while you knew her voice when she wasn’t on stage, while you knew what she was like when she wasn’t flirting or charming or singing, she rarely sounded so defeated, so utterly deflated. But under the black veil of this cold night, where you both huddled under a scratchy green blanket while CC snoozed on the couch and Barb Azure curled up on a yellowing mattress, there was no need for pretense.

Still.

Still. “Still, you could just go hide out at the lake house and-”

“And what? And let someone else get reaped? Maybe- maybe someone younger? Maybe Maude Ivory? Is that what you want, for Maude Ivory to be carted away-?”

“Of course not,” you hissed, clutching your threadbare pillow like it was a stuffed animal, “I just meant, it’s stupid how it’s rigged, all because of some petty love triangle.”

She scoffed, her dark locks pooling round her head while she stared up the ceiling. “No love there. Besides, I only think Mayfair’s tried to do me in. It’s just a hunch; I don’t actually know. I could be wrong.” You weren’t sure if she was trying to convince you or herself.

“Hm. At least if you go hide away- let me finish!- then whoever’s reaped, it won’t be because of some privileged mayor’s daughter, it’ll be a random name, a slip plucked by chance, at least it’ll be fair-“ but you bite your tongue, and she didn’t say it and neither did you: the word fair was a cruel joke, now. Always was, really. “I just… I don't want you to die, or to come back traumatized for life. It’ll be bad either way, you know? Death or a life plagued with nightmares.”

A silence stretched out over you, the only sounds of sleep were Clerk Carmine’s near-inaudible snores, Tam Amber’s head shuffling on his pillow, and Barb Azure’s soft puffs of air out the nose, Maude Ivory curled next to her. You wondered if Lucy Gray had decided to sleep now, too- until she poked you just below your rib cage.

“Thank you.”

“For worrying about you? We’re all-“

“For so naturally assuming I’ve an equal chance of living as of dying. For not speaking of me as if I’m already dead. For even considering that there’s a possibility I might survive this.”

“Well, of course you do,” you said obviously, “we’ve survived District 12.”

The next day, there’s this silent, mutual agreement amongst yourself and the Covey that Maude Ivory shouldn’t watch the Reaping- she never does; you can’t let her. Once when you were 6 or 7 this woman was reaped but refused to go- the Peacebreakers (Peacebreakers, you call them) had dragged her, kicking wildly and screaming ferally, and when they’d dropped her in a heap on the stage she’d try to run off only for them to yank her back. She’d shrieked and lashed wildly, swinging her arms in haphazard attempts at self defense- and no matter how they beat her, she wouldn’t succumb- until she did. Until they had to call up another tribute, and her mangled corpse, beaten to a raw pulp like a smashed pumpkin, was dragged silently away by her husband.

So, no. You wouldn’t let Maude Ivory see the reaping.

“Hey, I’m actually feeling a little nauseous,” you said tenderly, “could you stay, please? It’s too scary for me.”

“You’re such a scaredy-cat!” Maude Ivory giggled, but stayed with you the same while Barb Azure and Tam Amber and the rest went to the Reaping. You kept her entertained by teaching her how to do a fishtail braid.

It really all was less than a theory, a paranoid guess. It was natural to assume Mayfair would use her position to harm Lucy Gray, but would she really go this far?

This was the deal: you kept her occupied during the reaping, but when they came back, when she asked where Lucy Gray was- and none of you would lie to her, you would not keep her in the dark because honesty, honesty and communication fix half the world's problems- but the deal was, since you kept her occupied, you wouldn’t have to explain what had happened to her. Instead, you went to a client’s house in the Seam, to a little 5-year old named Nathaniel, to play with him and feed him and keep him company while his father went off to work in the mines. Mother long since dead, birthing what would’ve been his little sister. Honestly, you felt guilty for charging money for spending time with children, as if you did it only for pay and saw them as a product rather than as human beings you genuinely cared for. But this line of thinking was ridiculous: you needed money like anyone, and you were able to earn it while helping parents too busy to stay home and raise their kids.

After him was a bright 10 year old, Makayla, who needed tutoring since, despite her teacher’s efforts, nothing she learned in school stuck. Truly, it wasn’t her fault: she just had a hard time paying attention or absorbing information on an empty stomach.

And everyone here lives on an empty stomach.

None of the Covey so much as suggested playing at the Hob, or anywhere else. It was sort of like you’d all lost a tooth and were constantly running your tongue over the gap, and chewing always feels strange, now. You pick up more shifts, keep yourself busy every hour of daylight, both to avoid sitting with your thoughts and to make an income to make up for the lack of any performance.

“And how’s everyone’s favorite lost soul doing today?” You plopped next to Tam Amber, who was polishing his tear-drop shaped mandolin with a threadbare rag that had been oiled and used again and again- used to be part of a loose white shirt. And here was the thing about quiet people- around the right person, they’re more talkative than anyone.

“Thinking.”

“About?”

“Wish I had some oil for the doors, and olive oil for my hair would be nice.”

“Is that really what’s put your face in a permanent frown?”

He heaves a sigh. “If I’d been reaped. What I would do, how I’d survive. And I’ve played it out in my head again and again and come to the same conclusion: I wouldn’t.”

“No? But you’re faster than any of us.”

“Sure, but I haven't got any muscle. None of us do, so the victors are probably going to be someone from districts one or two. Three or four, barely. You?”

“Me…” you reclined next to him, crossing your ankles before you, “I’d hide, if there’s a place to hide, but I’d probably get caught and killed before that. I wouldn’t kill anyone, though. Or at least I like to think I wouldn’t. Not because I’m a good person or because killing is wrong- because it’s self defense and it’s an arena and all but one will die anyway - but because I feel like if I did kill someone I'd be giving in. I’d be giving them what they want: a show, a bloodbath. I know it won’t mean a thing to anyone watching, I know being one of the many to die in the battle royale makes me insignificant at best, but I’d like to know I died without succumbing to their wishes. You can drag a horse to an arena but you can’t make it run.”

He nods silently. Pinched the rag over the mandolin’s first string, running it down its length and back again. “If Lucy Gray doesn’t live, what’ll we do? Keep doing what we’re doing now? How will we explain it to Maude Ivory?”

“Maybe she’ll live,” you shrugged, “maybe we’ll all storm the Capitol-“

“Not this again-“

“There’s more of us than there is of them-“

“But they have more weapons, more food, they’d outsurvive-“

“They’re privileged and pampered, they wouldn’t last a week-“

“The rebellion’s still fresh in their minds, there’s military men and not to mentioned trained Peacebreakers-“

“Then we’ll all go on strike-“

“Oh, yes, that worked out so well for District 8-“

“What else, Tam Amber? You know full well the only thing keeping me sane is devising increasingly elaborate strategies of overthrowing the Capitol! It’s not impossible,” you added eagerly, “you know what else seemed impossible to abolish? Divine right. Did you know, thousands of years ago, there were kings and queens that ruled over nations and credited it to divinity, so they could assert control and no one could do a thing about it.”

“Sounds like what we have now.” Tam Amber grumbled, now polishing the long, elegant neck of his mandolin. “We didn’t get rid of it, we’ve just replaced it.”

“Not quite, because now, anyone- I mean, anyone in the Capitol who gets an education and has connections and wealth- can become President. It obviously doesn’t include any of us, but at least it leaves the ground open for us to do it, unlike divine right, which keeps authority within the bloodline.”

“So what do you say? We stage a coup, guillotine the Capitol sheep?”

“At least it would be some thing,” you fumed, “every day of my life feels like a waste, you know? What’s the point in babysitting and tutoring these kids who are just going to grow up to be even more miserable and malnourished than they are now? Remember that girl I spent two years looking after, only for her to be Reaped? You know what we need.”

“No.”

“Just hear me out-“

“We do not need a rabies-“

“Outbreak! That would fix everything.”

“We’d all die out while they hoard their precious resources. They have better access to medication than we do.”

“No, because it would only happen there, not here.”

“Then District 1 would replace the Capitol.”

But you went to bed like you always did, except you shared the scratchy green blanket with Barb Azure tonight instead of Lucy Gray.

When the feed was finally rigged up with a makeshift antenna-foil contraption, and the interview flickered to life, you huddled on the couch next to Tam Amber, while CC and Maude Ivory sat criss-cross applesauce[1] before the screen and Barb Azure sat aloft on the couch arm at a careful, if awkward, angle. She could sit next to you, but chose firmly to be on the other side, and you were equal parts guilty and indignant because you knew the fight was, admittedly, mostly your fault.

“She’s alive,” said CC breathlessly.

“She looks awful,” you muttered, unsurprised by the raw heartbreak in your voice, “it- I don’t know why, but I assumed they’d give them enough food and water to make it into the tournament?”

Tam Amber heaved a sigh. “Enough for them is just barely to keep them from collapsing. Remember, we’re less than animals to them.”

“Her dress! She’s still wearing her mom’s dress!” Maude Ivory leaned closer to the screen, wide grin pinching her cheeks into dimples. Even in her cheer, what was between the lines wasn’t hard to miss: she’d thought, at least a little, that they’d take it away from her.

But her hair was matted and knotted- and that must be killing her, more than it would you, considering how she values her appearance- half-crescents stamped beneath her weary eyes. You could tell she’d cleaned up, she’d washed her face and hands and had likely smoothed out her rainbow ruffles a dozen times and a dozen more, but the sallowness of her cheeks, the peeling of her parched lips- even with all the energy she put on before the camera, you wondered privately if sleep deprivation or raw thirst and starvation would crumple her to her knees before the audience.

“What’s with that guy?” Barb Azure’s eyebrows tugged to a frown, the same tone of “what’s with that garbage?”

“The one with a funny mustache, I think he’s there to add some entertainment.” Stated CC thoughtfully.

“No, the one staring at her, right? He reminds me of someone but I can’t put my finger on it.” You mused.

“I don’t like it.” Tam Amber agreed.

“He looks like he adores her.” Said CC.

“Like he’s proud of her!”

“No, like he thinks he owns her.”

“I don’t know, those eyes seem pretty passionate either way. You don’t think they…?”

“I think he’s nervous. Like if she does poorly it’ll reflect on him.”

“Well, now I hope she does do something embarrassing just so it does bring shame on him. I mean, what are they gonna do, kill her?” When she sings, you find yourself first relieved she has her voice and second, a near-imperceptible twitch of your fingers, running to pick at the blemishes on your face, and- as soon as the broadcast cut off- stated you were going out to get some water.

Your thoughts came one after the other, like a necklace whose string was cut and now the beads all slipped away:

I don't know who I want to kill first, but I guess the order doesn’t matter if it ends with both their corpses in a ditch.

Or the lake- no, can’t subject the poor fish to such rotten meat.

Since Billy Taupe is CC’s brother, we can’t actually kill him, can we?

No, but we sure can traumatize him.

This is why, you know? Why I’m so angry at Barb Azure for- for seeing that girl. Hasn’t she seen what romantic relationships do to people? All the fighting, the arguing, the yelling- how quickly their love turns to loathing!

You trudged down the Seam, eyes ablaze. The clouds above you are dusted pink and orange- with the sunrise came a dark night, all the better for paranoia, for jumping at the slightest sounds.

All the better to avoid being caught.

I’ll get them back.

I won’t. I can never truly- even if I tear them limb from limb- it’s not enough, nothing will ever make up for losing her- she’s a piece of us and no amount of revenge-

I can take a long white string, tie it around a tooth, tie the other end to a doorknob and slam the door and rip their teeth out one by one from its roots until their gums are loose and gushing and- why bother? Nothing, neither torture nor death, undoes what they’ve done. And that’s the issue with revenge, isn’t it? It’s just not satisfying enough. Nothing is.

Except Lucy Gray coming back?

No, because there’s a chance one of us will be reaped some day. Again and again until we’re too old, but if any of us have kids we’ll live with that fear just the same. It’s a cycle and the only way out is- is- to fix it or to flee.

But you were wasting your time: you always were. While at first you were naive enough to voice your views, idealistic enough to think that it was so obvious that once you explained it, your friends… would what? Agree? Yes, you had even thought one would side with you and be angry on your behalf. Would defend you. But they didn’t, ignorant and stupid and selfish as they were, privileged as they were- no. Where were these thoughts coming from? You love them. They’re your family. Not one of them is selfish, not one of them is ignorant. What kind of thoughts are these? You don’t believe them, yet they intrude as the most unwelcome of guests: They don’t care about you unless you don the tightest mask. They’ll never understand you; how could they? You could not speak of your passions, or your beliefs, of your values or-

“Stop.” Stupidly enough, you did- and it was Barb Azure who whirled on you. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Nothing.” You said, and before Barb Azure could roll her eyes, you added hastily. “Oh, come on, I haven’t done any harm! I just wanted to give them a good scare, not actually hurt them- just give them paranoia so they can’t sleep at night like the rest of us. It’s only fair.”

(There it was, that cruel word again, the same one when talking to Lucy Gray that night: fair.)

(What is fair, anyway?)

Barb Azure worried at her lip, and you took her in: worn sooty shoes, a dress that hung several inches over her ankle because she was taller than you but thinner so sharing dresses meant what you borrowed you was tight around the waist and what she borrowed- like this pretty chocolate-brown dress- had sleeves that hugged just below her bony elbows. Her lips, despite always being chewed up from constant worrying, were still thick and plump and, like everyone and everything, just a little dehydrated. Her eyes, big and brown and always warm, had recently taken on a pesky little shine that she refused to admit was due to a certain someone she’d started seeing.

As if she’d ever put so much effort into smoothing out her hair, before now. Even going so far as to tie Lucy Gray’s cerulean scarf like a bandanna, knotted at the base of her neck and weaving up to the top, her dreadlocks flowing to between her shoulder blades.

“I don’t care about them, I care about you. Who do you think the Peacebreakers will side with, the mayor’s daughter or some-“

“Some performers that you know they like more. You said, at the Reaping- they cared more about the mayor hitting Lucy Gray than about the snake that had bitten Mayfair.”

“Mayfair,” Barb Azure said firmly, “has too much influence. I know you’re hurting, and you want revenge, and that’s fine, that’s normal. It shows you love. But it’s not safe to do anything- not as long as, in the eyes of those who hold the guns, we’re not equals.” The underlying We never will be. didn’t need to be stated.

“Come on,” she said softly, “come now. Lucy Gray wouldn’t want you to get shot for this.”

“Don’t you? Aren’t you mad at me for- for not being supportive of whoever it is you’ve started seeing?”

“You’ve never been supportive of a couple in your life,” Barb Azure quipped, and you began to head back, arm-in-arm, “I honestly didn’t expect you to start now. You’re protective, and… and since I’m practically the mother of the group, it’s nice to have someone looking out for me. Really.”

And that was it, the last push to drag you back home, at least for now. That night- having seen her sing, alive but dehydrated and exhausted but alive, she’s alive - you curled up in your bed and smothered your face in your pillow and, for the first time since she’d been reaped, let yourself sob and shake and weep, because she was so hungry, so tired, and all the confidence you’d had that she might win had gone out like the most fickle of candles.

Clerk Carmine lays out breakfast- and a plate for Lucy Gray. Always, a plate for Lucy Gray. “It’s not like the nuts or bread will go bad,” he’d argue, when Tam Amber wanted to have a bite, “the Games should be over in what, a week? She’ll need plenty of food to recover.”

You liked babysitting Nathaniel, really. He was such a sweet boy, so excited, so full of life. Quick to burst into tears but quick to race and play, you always felt his head was a bobble head, and when he said the kids he played with made fun of him for having a big head you’d poke his cheek and tell him it’s because his brain is so big.

He says he’ll use his brain to invent a forcefield.

A forcefield for what, Nathan?

A forcefield to keep the Peacebreakers out!

You spend a good while finding long sticks, then pretend sword-fight with them, then use them to review his counting (he was capable of counting if he did it all in a row- 21, 22, 23- but had a very hard time counting from memory- what number is before 20? , for example, would take a little bit. But he was getting there, and quickly, too.)

It won’t be long before you can add, Nathaniel. I’m so proud of you.

When his father comes home, you’re extra nice, always telling him Nathan was very good and polite and smart and anything you could muster up to keep him from beating his son, which you know full well he does whenever, like today, he has a drunken little step to his feet. Maybe you’ll stay to serve him dinner, just to delay it longer.

Maybe you’ll take the long way home, just to have the time to slouch and frown before you get home and put on the mask, the same one you have to put on before Maude Ivory and CC of cheer and strength, a bright pillar, because it wasn’t fair to leave all the mothering to Barb Azure and all the responsibility on Tam Amber. The mask of semi-maturity had to be worn for Barb Azure because she got stressed if you were too serious about the things you wanted to do- the bad things. The mask of strength in front of everyone, even Tam Amber, who shared your burning loathing for the Capitol and the reaping and the Games, but before whom you couldn't be weak and pathetic- you could, technically. You know these people and they are good and kind and they’ll probably be okay with you acting like that, quite honestly they probably wouldn’t even think you pathetic and would probably appreciate your transparency. Probably.

But probably just isn’t worth the risk. You still felt guilt gnawing at you for those vile thoughts you’d had the night you’d all watched Lucy Gray’s performance. How dare you think poorly of them? Why do these thoughts, that you know full well you don’t mean or believe, intrude on you?

Nathaniel’s father shoves a meager payment into your palm, and is quick to usher you out: “You’ll be glad. Your pretty friend’s back.”

And you abandon any thought of taking the long route home and run and sprint until you’re back and there she is, there she is in the same rainbow dress, in all her songbird glory, and you’re pumping your legs and she sees you, mid-crouch to be eye-level with Maude Ivory, and a grin nearly splits her face and then she’s running too, and you’re not sure which one of you reaches the other first but you do, you finally do, and you’re flinging arms round each other and pulling each other in and she’s burying her head in your shoulder and you’re grasping fistfuls of the back of her dress, and she’s gasping sobs and you’re heaving “you’re alive you’re alive you’re alive.”

And then Barb Azure’s wrapping her long arms around her from behind and resting her head in the crook of her shoulder and Tam Amber engulfs you both, and drags Clerk Carmine in, and you grasp blindly for Maude Ivory and pull her in too.

Rather than celebrating with generous food or going to the Hob or catching up, the moment she enters the wooden home her eyes widen and she kneels and picks up a pillow- the same one you’d sobbed into a few nights ago. She kisses it all over until CC mumbled to save some kisses for the rest of us.

“A pillow,” she said breathlessly, “my head has touched nothing but metal and hay and rock since their pillow.”

“Hay?” Tam Amber said dubiously, “they treat you like barn animals?”

“At least animals are fed.” Lucy Gray mumbled, then cocooned herself in a blanket- despite the unforgiving heat, she burrowed into it. “All that rain, cold enough to kill the snakes. And nothing but this dress to warm me. Oh, I didn’t think I’d ever touch a blanket again.”

And touch it she did, running her hand over its weave and trailing her fingertips over it as tenderly, as reverently, as she did with her guitar. Finally, she lay down to sleep, and you all followed suit although it was just barley past sunset, and that morning while you all ate breakfast still she slept, and when CC and Maude Ivory went out to get water she slept and when you went to babysit and came back still she slept, catching up on the exhaustion of the past two weeks.

When she wakes up, you run a wooden comb through her hair while she talks animatedly of her time in the Capitol, cherry-picking the tiniest details to expound upon in great earnest but leaving out anything big that would normally be included. She doesn’t mention anyone she killed, the if or how, but she does describe the little girl who gave her food through the bars while a melted popsicle ran down her arm. She doesn’t tell you a thing about her time in the arena but she does tell you that she thinks Jessup and Lysistrata definitely had a little something-something going on. But then the mention of Jessup clams her up until you ask her to please teach you to pronounce Lysistrata and then she’s back, and so it goes. Any time she approaches a big or serious event, she quickly ricochets off it and clings instead to a minor, light-hearted detail.

Barb Azure comes in with a shallow well of golden, glistening olive oil.

“Oh no, I can’t-“ Lucy Gray begins.

“It’s barely enough for one slice of bread,” she says gently, placing it on the ground and sitting cross legged, “we won’t miss it, really.”

So she gives your fingers a rest from working through Lucy Gray’s knots and your wrists a break from tugging through her matted hair, dipping the wooden comb into the oil to help soothe and detangle and gently encouraging Lucy Gray to continue her story.

She tells you of the blonde you all saw on TV, that he smells like roses, that he was the only good thing in the Capitol. Barb Azure gives you a look as she massages the olive oil into Lucy Gray’s scalp, a we're not going to ruin this for her look, but you’re both thinking it: she speaks of him a little bit like she spoke of Billy Taupe. The analogy, the association, makes you dislike him all the more- just as someone who’d gotten food poisoning from a certain cheese never wants to eat it again.

Everyone goes about their day as normal: Lucy Gray, reunited with her beloved black guitar, seems to be normal too, or is trying very hard to be. When she sees the food Clerk Carmine had stored up for her, she insists you all divide it in equal portions and eat together.

She is preparing this lunch, and when you walk in to help, she swipes at you with the butter knife, which scratches your arm (but, being a butter knife,) you only utter a dull “ouch.”

“Sorry! I- I didn’t mean-“ she sets the butter knife down on the counter with a clatter, a bitter laugh, “once a killer, always a killer, I suppose. Can’t look Maude Ivory in the eye since I killed a girl scarcely older than her. Can’t look anyone in the eye, really.”

“Oh, Lucy Gray, you know full we won’t think less of you. You did what you had to do.” If the first time she’d mentioned anything she’d done in the arena took you by surprise, you didn’t let it show on your face.

“Sometimes I think, I know it’s selfish of me but I wonder, what was the point of surviving? Because Reaper, he was a better person than me. Taking the weapons out of each tribute’s hands and folding their arms and covering them with the Capitol flag to give them death with dignity, lining them up for some semblance of a funeral. He said he’d kill us but never killed anyone. I killed and he showed so much more kindness to the tributes than I did and he deserved to win- or Wovey, she was too young, she shouldn't have died! She should’ve gotten the chance to grow up and- and I stole that from her. From all of them. So sometimes I wonder why I bothered to survive.”

Tam Amber pushed the door open with Maude Ivory on his shoulders, holding two feathered hats they’d been retouching for this weekend's performance. “And then I see you all and I remember what I was fighting to come back to.”

You all mutually decide not to treat her like glass. Not to walk around eggshells, nor to pretend that nothing happened. To comfort her after nightmares and when she’s jumpy and flinched in a way she never has before or gets incredibly, inexplicably, panicked over a gnat bite on Barb Azure’s neck.

You’d almost never seen her panic before.

“Would it make you feel better if I killed two people?”

“What?”

“Just- oh, it should be three. That way mine will be worse than yours and you don’t have to feel so guilty anymore.”

“Sometimes I think I’ll understand it was for survival. Sometimes I think I’ll live with myself. Then I see Maude Ivory and she’s Wovey and I realize I’ll never, ever forgive myself for the blood on my hands. It won’t wash off. And… there’s actually a third kill I haven’t mentioned. I did it with a snake, just like I did with Mayfair.”

“Why- um- why haven’t you brought it up?”

“Well. My feelings for that one are complicated. I know I should feel burning guilt for Wovey and Reaper because they did nothing wrong, never lifted a hand against me. Though with Reaper it was a mercy kill, I still feel… and Treech… was trying to kill me, and since it was self-defense, I don’t think I know how guilty I should feel. It really was self-defense, so why do I feel…?”

You clasp your hands in both of hers: you need her to understand her hands are capable of more than killing. “You’re allowed to feel as intensely as you want, or not guilty if you prefer. Whatever you feel, every one of us loves you and missed you and will continue to love you and be so, so relieved to have you back.”

She tries for a smile, but it wobbles and breaks. Still. She’d talked about her time in the arena now more explicitly than she had since she’d gotten back, and that was a start: you can’t heal a bullet wound if you pretend it’s not there.

Outside, all grass and sunshine, Barb Azure sat Maude Ivory in her lap, braiding her hair, every girl having something to say about Lucy Gray’s mentor. “You do realize that’s what Peacebreakers do, right? They view us as primitive but exotic, that’s why you’ll hear of some Seam woman pregnant with a soldier’s child- they fetishize us, but they still don’t view as fully human-“

“I don’t think that was it,” Lucy Gray said thoughtfully, working her fingers to milk Shamus, “I think, you know, I think such a large part of it was winning the prize he gets as a mentor- meeting me on the platform just to get a leg up on his competition. That much was obvious. I can’t pinpoint when it changed, or how. Like how if you keep your eye on the sky, you can’t quite tell when it goes from late afternoon to early sunset, but it does it anyway.”

You held the dented bucket firmly below Shamus as she worked, keeping it steady.

(Once, a few months ago, it had been particularly windy and the bucket had blown over. You’d all cried over spilled milk that day.)

“It’s just all too convenient, don’t you think? That everything he did to help you just so happened to be the same things needed to get him the money? Even the fact that he stole for you or gave you that compact- is there anything he’s done purely for you? Any action, no matter how small, that he did just for your sake, no strings attached?”

“When he was hungry and he told me he once ate sticky paste-” she broke off, almost a chuckle but not quite, “I don’t think he’s like the others in the Capitol. He knows poverty, which is why he always snuck me food. He was ashamed of it, I could tell, he tried so hard to be confident and appear wealthy but he’s madly insecure. He didn’t have to tell me about his hunger, that day, but he did. He did.”

You resisted the urge to gag. The very fact that he was a mentor meant he was complicit in the Games, the very Games that kept Lucy Gray awake at night and jumpy during the day, though she tried so hard to conceal both.

“Well, he made you happy, which makes me happy!” Said Maude Ivory, admiring Barb Azure’s handiwork in the form of a newly-woven braid, sweeping it over her shoulder [2]. “You’re both making it too complicated. You were hungry and he brought you food, you were crying and he wiped away your tears. What else is there to say?”

You know she misses him, and the truth is, though you know she loves Covey, some part of you wonders if she wishes she could- could what? Have moved in with him, stayed with him? She wouldn’t do that, of courses, not even if the Capitol let her- but did she wish it?

But then again, CC misses his brother, and he’s staying here, too.

“People will be glad to have you back,” says Barb Azure, “our band just hadn’t been the same without you. But… are you sure you’re ready to perform?”

“Yes.” Lucy Gray says it with the most confidence she’s had since she’s come back, and rifles through the shared outfits to pick out a dress for the occasion. Clerk Carmine and Tam Amber wear their feathered hats, Maude Ivory bouncing on her heels. “In the Capitol, I sang to impress, to win people over, to convince me I was worth being alive. I want to perform for the sheer pleasure of it- and for the happiness it brings others, too. Black or green?”

“Green,” you all said in unison, and it was enough for Maude Ivory to giggle, for CC to break into peals of laughter, and the Covey house filled with enough light and laughter to make up for the absence of these two necessary things for the past month.

Barb Azure secured the drum round Maude Ivory’s neck while you sat Lucy Gray down, smearing greasy red balm on her lips and dusting rouge along her cheeks.

“You know you could be a makeup artist?”

You scoffed, smoothing her hair down and clipping a strand back. “There’s no such thing.”

“There is, in the Capitol, sweetheart. I know because the comedian who interviewed me- remember, the one who hosted me when I did that song you watched?- he had makeup and some powder in his hair. You could get paid to do this, you know.”

“Were there coal miners there?” Asked Maude Ivory, and now that she was all dressed, she sat on the dresser and swung her legs above the ground, impatiently signaling for you all to get on with the prep, too.

“No coal miners, dear, that’s what we’re here for.”

“Were there bands?” Asked Clerk Carmine, slipping on his black shoes (which were once Billy Taupe’s, when he was his age), the heels nearly peeling off.

“No bands. No music except for once, Coriolanus sang the anthem. That was it, though.”

“No music,” Barb Azure pondered, “maybe they’re the poor ones.”

Such a statement seemed to be the perfect one to tuck away between your rib cage, and you headed out to the Hob, which had already garnered quite the chattering, drunken crowd.

Backstage- if a blanket being the partition made it ‘backstage’- Maude Ivory went out to introduce the Covey as usual. Lucy Gray shut her eyes tight, the way one would before plunging into a very cold shower.

“Hear that?” You said gently, “All these people who missed you. All these people whose whole week is brightened just from hearing you.”

“But the last time I sang- snakes, there were so many snakes- I was singing but there were just so many of them, too many- hissing and slithering so fast, too fast- where could I run? How could I outrun them? They were nothing like my snakes here- I thought it would be my swan song-“

“But it wasn’t.” Tam Amber said, and it was so little that he said- but it was enough. Outside, cheers rang out, and Lucy Gray smoothed out her dress, tucked in a strand behind her hair- picked up her guitar, fire in her eyes, and stepped out onto the stage.

What you loved most about Performance is that everyone wore masks and then you didn’t have to feel guilty about your own. Lucy Gray was all sparkly, though you knew full well much of it was genuine, and Barb Azure’s shyness and Maude Ivory’s good cheer and everything else stayed just the same- but everyone was bigger, on stage, and brighter. When Lucy Gray gets a bottle and after she takes a swig of it, she passes it to you so her hands are free to play. You hold it with one hand, your colorful tambourine in the other.

(It wasn’t always colorful: Clerk Carmine had done the kindness of dying it for you.)

At some point Lucy Gray’s face shadowed with confusion then with raw elation, and you followed her gaze to a man who, quite frankly, looked as bland and simple as any other Peacebreaker around him.

But, no. As Lucy Gray declared this might be the greatest night of her life and went for another song, you watched him- yes, there was the smile, yes, for a moment he looked so besotted that you were convinced he was truly in love with her- but, what was that? You edged closer to the lip of the stage, needing so desperately to understand that look in his eyes- not quite hatred, but certainly not love. Almost like anger, but closer to desire…

Jealousy. You didn’t know what or why, but it was bare envy if you ever saw it- the disapproving curl of his lips, the stare that was no longer a yearning gaze but a glare. You’d seen it when Mayfair saw Lucy Gray and Billy Taupe together, had seen it back when your mother spoke of your neighbor’s wedding, had seen it most blatantly when Lucy Gray flirted and charmed and once even kissed the cheek of one of the audience- that flare of Billy Taupe’s nose was enough.

The same look the blonde-buzz cut man wore now.

But Lucy Gray was dazzling the crowd- of course, she was too busy to pause and study his facial expressions- so you would pull her aside during the upcoming duet of Tam Amber and Barb Azure, you’d go backstage and you’d tell her, because she was sharp and clever and she’d understand.

You are so focused on how to word it, how to describe it most accurately, that you don’t notice Billy Taupe’s entrance until he begins pleading to the Covey.

But you can’t focus on his entreaties- you keep your eyes on the blonde. Is he jealous of this, too? Or satisfied to see the rejection? Both?

Billy Taupe’s voice grates on your eyes, and you permit your eyes to wander over to Mayfair instead- ha! She wears the same face as the man, anger and jealousy which are both insecurity. Her hair is in a bun, her dress pretty and pressed and pink, and there it is, the hatred you’d been tending to well before the reaping- how you want to wring her neck, how you want to punish her and Billy Taupe for ruining Lucy Gray’s life- she may have survived, but she certainly has enough pain now, enough trauma, to last till the end of her days. And you fix your gaze on Billy Taupe and his drunken stupor and think how easy it would be, when he’s inebriated like this, to kill or at least severely injure him, too. He deserves it. She deserves it. Romance and love triangles are one thing, cheating and two-timing and sending Lucy Gray to near-certain death and sentencing her to a life of nightmares and flinching and guilt are another. It wouldn’t be fair for them to get away unscathed- it wouldn’t be just.

(Those words again? So deluded. Fairness, justice. You think you have the power to bring them forth?)

When the first punch flies, it’s you who pulls the plug and kills the lights.

—

Author notes: It wouldn't be right to write a story about oppression- the world tolerating and even encouraging the deaths of children- without acknowledging the genocide in Gaza right now. So, this is your reminder to email and/or call your representatives, sign a petition, donate, attend a protest, or reblog posts you see- to demand an end to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. (If you have call anxiety, don't worry- it tends to go to voicemail. And if it doesn't, there's a script you can use). Refer to my pinned post for ways to help.

[1]- 'crisscross applesauce' is a colorful expression, one I can't see the Capitol ever using- so I thought the Covey might use it in tandem with their other phrases

[2] Maude Ivory wearing a braid over her shoulder is a nod to the theory that she's Katniss's grandmother

Let me know your thoughts in a reply! The story so far, currently six chapters, below

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cullen-by-choice · 2 years

Text

Say It… Out Loud

Series Masterlist

Carlisle Cullen x Fem!Witch!OC (Elise Dumont)

9/?

Warnings and Tags: Monsters, Bickering, Revelations, Arguments, An Obvious Reference to a Canon Moment ™️

Notes: Another reminder this is a non-canon depiction of characters and dynamics, etc. :)

please don’t ask me how I’m getting so much written recently I couldn’t tell you

When she was young, she encountered a mermaid for the first time. They were not magical or kind creatures- ones that looked ugly as sin. Elise was four, staring over the side of a fishing boat of the harbor of Seattle.

She remembered the haunting, fishy humanoid staring up at her from beneath the water. While she was terrified, Elise found herself drawn. Wanting to reach her small hand out into the water, grab hold and let herself sink or swim.

Belle Dumont had screamed- shrill as nails on chalk- once she realized, pulling her daughter to safety. Elise had a disdain for open water for a few years, but all in all, it turned out fine.

Besides the feeling of dread, and horror.

She hadn’t felt that way again… until right about now.

Damn.

Elise policed her breathing, her hands glued to her steering wheel.

Amber eyes stayed upon her. She kept eye contact with it, not daring to blink. Elise swallowed as the eyes multiplied. Two pairs now drilled into her from a distance- once taller than the other.

Was it safe to get out of the car? Did they expect her to? She moved with a shaky hand, switching on her brights to get a better view of the creatures ahead of her.

Rosalie and Edward Cullen illuminated. Where a normal person might’ve been blinded by the lights, or been bugged by the downpour outside. They stayed focused on her, not even blinking as the water rushed down their cheeks.

She was staring at the end of the metaphorical barrel.

“… fuck.”

What was she gonna do? What was there to do? She couldn’t outrun them…. Well could she? Her phone was nearly dead- not enough time for emergencies. Who would even be able to help… against these creatures? These.. uncanny valley moving statues?

Something told her that was the wrong thing to do. That she wouldn’t make it, or get someone hurt.

That left her with one desperate idea.

This was gonna be stupid. But she now knew something. They knew she knew, it seemed. Maybe some answers could be given to her… before she died.

She let out a breath, pressing the unlock button on her ever withering car.

Elise had barely finished before she heard the car doors opening and shutting. Rosalie’s long, golden hair dripped with the water from the outside. Her jacket was soaked down to the bone. Edward scrounged into his seat in the back, looking like quite the gagged and drowned cat… perhaps that came more from his vibes…

“You can stop insulting me any day now,” the Cullen brother commented.

She mentally stopped. What?

“Really? Drowned cat?” Edward frowned.

“Oooh,” Rosalie narrowed her eyes, looking back at her brother, “She called you a drowned cat. Looks like someone is gonna be pouting for a week again.”

What an unusually domestic conversation for the context this whole situation had. Even paired with bickering.

The blonde turned around. Suddenly, Elise remembered she had some reason to be concerned. Edward had heard the whole insult in her head… Crap. What was this bullshit? Is this why her mother tried to keep her away?—

“Your mother, huh? Interesting,” his gaze darkened, meeting her eyes in the rear view mirror.

“You stop fucking doing that or I’m kicking you out of my car right now,” she fibbed. The terror at him knowing- just knowing- made her skin crawl.

“How about we all stop arguing?” Rosalie cut in.

The whirring of her poor car’s engine vibrates under Elise’s feet.

“Your car sounds terrible,” the stunning woman spoke impassively, looking down at the floor with a hint of disdain. “Let’s get driving.”

“And if I don’t wanna go on a drive with you two?” Elise asked, finding her will to talk.

“I don’t think any of us have much choice,” Edward muttered under his breath.

Like he was just as put out about this than she was. She had to spend time alone in a car with two predators- and even worse, she had to be stuck in a car with him.

He was right, nonetheless. Fucking prick…

Elise sighed, her shoulders relaxing, “You guys better know where you’re going already.”

The journey so far was…. Quiet. Still. Elise checked the clock again- 8:47pm. They had been driving for nearly thirty minutes. The storm outside of the car rumbled. Elise didn’t recognize the side road Rose had directed her to. They lived along the edge of town, opposite to where Elise’s cottage stood on the other side…

God. Nyx was still at home, probably wondering where her owner was. It was easy to see her little buddy concerned, staring at the window for any sign of the car. If she had to get out of this situation for anyone, it was for that feline...

Rosalie simply stared ahead, her mouth taut. Edward- as she could see in the mirror- had been staring out the window like he was some sad pop star. That also could describe him, if she was honest.

“Do you ever stop going on tirades?” Ed finally asked.

“I’ve been silent,” she glared up at the rear view, “this whole trip.”

“You’ve been an inconivience this whole time,” he muttered.

“Says the man who ruined my sweater.”

“Both of you, shut up,” Rose shook her head, before sparing a look to the man in the backseat, “You are a dick for that whole situation, though…”

They continued bickering, leaving Elise to be contemplative.

Lights ahead caught her attention. Panels of warmth, struck out against the darkness of the woods that surrounded it. It took her another few moments to register that it was a house- no. Fuck that. This monolith was a goddamn mansion.

The windows of the building touched roof to bottom, scattered along almost every wall. Well. So much for privacy…. Then again, she hadn’t even known this had existed. This might as well be the most secluded place in Forks.

She rolled up the driveway, trying hard to focus on parking properly and not gawking.

It didn’t take long for her to piece together that this was their-

“Home sweet home,” Rosalie sighed.

Elise placed her car into park near the entrance. Wow. This all looked so-

A figure suddenly standing at her door made her shout, leaning away from the door. She collided with the body in the passenger seat. Chilled, and strong. Rosalie made a noise of disdain, pushing Elise off of her.

“It’s just Carlisle,” the other woman audibly rolled her eyes, climbing out of the car.

Elise took a moment to confirm this fact. Carlisle had already had her door open. The rain had lessened in its momentum, just droplets falling onto his face. Sliding down his cheekbones, down the planes of his cheek-

“Can we get out now?” Edward bitched, moving out of the car.

Oh. Yes. This wholly bizarre affair still had to be dealt with. She moved to climb out of her vehicle.

Carlisle offered a hand to help her up. Almost like she had forgotten, she accepted. Her memory lapsed on the vampires, the messenger bag, the anticipation of the truth. She allowed Carlisle to guide her out of the car with grace, shutting the door behind them.

He let her hand drop, his eyes stuck on her face, “How are you this evening?”

Elise didn't know what to say. She had her share of the whimsical and terrifying in her life. The woman had walked hand in hand with the mythical and strange. To be frank, the witch thought anything new wouldn’t have thrown her off.

This had.

And it probably wouldn’t have, had Carlisle not been involved.

“Oh brother…” she heard Edward mutter again, moving around her to get into the house, “How about we all catch up away from the rain, huh?”

The blonde brother frowned, looking to where Edward was sulking off. He glanced at Elise, “Well. He’s right. We don’t want you getting pneumonia when you narrowly avoided it yesterday.”

Yesterday.

That fucker. He just confirmed it.

‘You’re a fool. Stay out of the rain.’

Oh my god.

He just confirmed it. Just barely. Maybe it had all been a touch distant before, but it had come out of his mouth. He looked her right in the face earlier- in the face! - and berated her about getting sick. How had she not seen it?

How did she miss the fact that the man in front of her was…

“You’re a vampire. You’re all vampires,” she found herself saying plainly.

He stared at her. She caught the movement of a raindrop rolling off of his eyelash, onto the mable of his cheek. The anticipation of the answer made the edges of her vision vignette itself.

“Elise…”

“Doctor- Carlisle, don’t lie to me right now. It’s all right out in front of me,” she spoke, her speech growing faster, “I felt like I was going crazy. Like I was catching all of the signs and fucking ignoring it. If this is some sort of scam, or trick, end it now. I have other important things that would love my attention- obligations that you have also interrupted and caused.”

Oh God. Jacob’s face, and wolf form, flashed behind her eyes. The vampires in this area had caused this. His transformation and pain. All of her hard work to suppress it- undone. This family could’ve been the entire reason her last year of (moderate) spell work was now fucking wasted.

But she couldn’t know until she knew. She needed him to answer.

“Say something!” she snapped, her chest growing tighter, “Say it! I wanna hear it, out loud!”

Carlisle stayed still. His eyes went through their thousand thoughts, mouth tightening for a moment.

He nodded, “Yes, Elise. I am a vampire- we are vampires. You’re right…. you’re right.”

Fuck.

She felt her knees go out, but she didn’t feel herself hit the ground.

~~~

Tag List: @not-ellie

#twilight #fanfiction #at this point i’m just effervescent #cullen #carlilse cullen #carlisle #carlisle cullen #oc #x oc #edward #Rosalie my beloved

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percontaion-points · 19 days

Text

TBWSIMBW chapter 8

Today's review might be difficult for some; reader discretion is advised

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Click here for the rest of the series!

Chapter 8

“I don’t know what’s happening to me, one day I can’t even stand to have anyone touch me and the next day I….” I trailed off, unsure how to finish that sentence without giving him the wrong impression.

“The next day, what?” he prompted, leaning up on his elbow so he could look into my eyes.

“The next day you’re turning me on so badly that I can’t even help myself,” I admitted, blushing like crazy.

I think this is the best that we’re going to get about her constant flip-flopping attitude about touch.

Don’t get me wrong, because I think that people who’ve been sexually assaulted should have rich and full lives, especially in regards to having a healthy romantic relationship. But this story ain’t it.

“It scares me,” I admitted, feeling stupid and childlike.

“I know it does, but I would never hurt you. If you ever felt like things are going too fast, you would only ever have to say, I promise.”

Christian Grey could and would never be so kind.

“You might want to calm down a little before you leave. What would the neighbours think if they saw you leaving my house like that?” I joked, nodding down towards his crotch, then blushing because I had just looked again.

He laughed. “They would think that I have an incredibly beautiful girlfriend, who has just kicked me out of her bed,” he stated, shrugging casually.

Yeah, here’s the thing: I don’t think that people outside of Amber’s little social bubble actually exist.

Neighbours? Don’t exist, because not once in 8 years has anybody noticed Liam coming and going THROUGH HER BEDROOM WINDOW.

Liam’s parents? Also haven’t noticed that their son never spends the night in his room.

Hell, the people at the Chinese restaurant didn’t exist! The waiter only popped up because the author thought that it would be fun to throw in a bit of drama… even if it didn’t make sense for the dude to hit on her, because not even two seconds earlier, Amber’s tongue had been down Liam’s throat.

“I’ve not slept with her. She believes in no sex before marriage.” Liam smirked.

Jake looked like he nearly passed out, he was looking at Liam like he had grown another head. “You…. she…. what?” he stuttered, shaking his head violently.

The problem is that, to Jake, this probably seems like Liam is messing around with religion simply so that he can try to corrupt some innocent church girl. All because he thinks that it would be fun.

There’s no way that Jake is taking Liam seriously about the relationship he’s being so vague about.

“Finally, you’ve learned to use the head that’s attached to your neck,” Jake joked, making me flinch at his words.

Again, literally every single person, INCLUDING AMBER HERSELF, thinks that Liam is nothing but an out-of-control fuckboi.

I honestly don’t know what Amber expected.

…I asked Kate as she was applying her usual ton of make-up.

How are you friends with somebody yet still somehow manage to shame them for applying make-up?

At least in other books, the bitchy mean slut girl is the bully. This relationship makes zero sense; they don’t even seem to like one another much.

“Please come [bowling] with us? Then you can see how skilled I am with balls,” Kate purred, fluttering her eyelashes.

Ewwwwwwwwwww

“Damn it! Lucky cow!” she muttered quietly…

I am once again questioning why Kate and Amber even hang out, since they don’t seem to even like one another much.

“Damn it! Lucky cow!” she muttered quietly, making me chuckle.

Chapter 8 summary: When Amber’s alarm goes off, she wakes up Liam. They start making out, but she tells him that he has to go before anybody finds him there. She also tells him to “calm down”, because the non-existent other people in the neighbourhood would see.

Jake later asks if Amber talked to Kate about inappropriate touching. Amber makes a joke about “maybe she’ll move on to Liam”, but Liam says that he’s now off the market. That he’s dating a girl who “wants to wait until marriage”. Jake is honestly kind of floored about the entire thing, and seems to be of the opinion that Liam is only messing around. Again.

Amber can’t stand this, so she goes upstairs to Kate. Kate suggests that they should go bowling, so Amber calls up their other friend, Sarah, who promises to bring I guess her boyfriend, Sean. When she hangs up, she finds Kate sitting on Jake’s lap, making gross comments in an attempt to convince him to come.

Then Liam starts talking about his “mystery girlfriend” again, and Kate drags Amber into the bathroom. Kate has randomly figured out that Liam’s girlfriend is Amber. And then she tells Amber that after Liam pulled the college dude off from Amber at the party, he beat the other dude up a little. Amber had run off to vomit, so she’d missed all of that. Amber expresses her fears and doubts about being with Liam, but Kate is mostly jealous.

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fishfingersandjellybabies · 2 years

Text

Tear It All Down (Part 2) - fic

Characters: Damian Wayne, Maya Ducard Pairing: one-sided/future jondami, kinda jonjay Summary: Maya did what he asked. She came over so they could both drown their sorrows with the most expensive alcohol in Gotham. A/N: I know last chapter I said their ages are whatever but I changed my mind, they’re 18-20, and fuck canon ages or whatever. (and changed the first chapter's a/n to reflect as much.) Dick does make them soup the next day. Tim comes with and gives Damian a lecture on drunk calling/texting.

Ao3

After the doorbell rang, Damian barely had a chance to open it before Maya was leaping forward to take him into his arms.

“I’m sorry.” She said immediately, hiding her face against his throat. He closed his eyes and smiled. “Oh my god, Damian, I am so fucking sorry.”

“Honest mistake.” He hummed softly. “You didn’t know.”

“And I shouldn’t have opened my fucking mouth until I did.” She pulled back a little, but cupped Damian’s cheeks in her hands. “…Was he already here?”

“Of course.” Damian sighed. Maya’s hands dropped to her sides. Damian smirked as he turned towards the kitchen, gesturing for her to follow. “Here and gone…or rather, here and kicked out.”

Maya was almost surprised by that. “You…kicked him out?”

“I had no need to hear what he had to say. What did it matter?” Damian shrugged, sitting on one of the barstools at the counter. The counter itself was full of bottles and glasses – everything out of that liquor cabinet he’d mentioned, if she had to guess. “It was self-serving on his part, anyway. He only came to apologize or talk or whatever to make himself feel better.”

Maya joined him on the stool next to him and watched as he lined up about ten shot glasses and began pouring a way too generous amount of alcohol into each of them. “…Do you actually believe that or are you just telling yourself that?”

Damian paused for a moment, then lowered the bottle to pick up the glass he’d just filled. He stared into the amber liquid for a second, then swung it back into his mouth, before replacing the glass in the lineup and refilling it. “…I don’t know.”

Maya glanced at the shot glasses. “…Are these all for you or are you gonna share?”

Damian snorted a laugh. “I’ll share if I have to.”

“You’re really going to take ten shots by yourself?” Maya asked dubiously. “Or…eleven, since you refilled that one.”

“I’m sure I can take more. These were just the amount of glasses I could carry at once.” Damian shrugged. “Father has a set fit for a whole gala in there.”

“You don’t know how alcohol works, do you?” Maya laughed, picking up a shot for herself. Damian replaced the shot glass’s spot with a pint glass, glancing at her questioningly. She smiled and raised her glass, waiting for him to pick one up himself. “Here’s to broken hearts.”

He snorted a laugh and picked one up himself. They clinked their glasses and downed them. Without speaking they both slammed their glasses face down on the counter and picked up the next one in line. Maya held hers out for another toast.

Damian smirked and they repeated their routine.

Maya stared blankly at the glass shards on the floor from the couch. She was trying to remember how many hours ago they broke that glass, and why they hadn’t cleaned it up right away.

Oh. Because they were fall down drunk. That’s why.

“You know what the stupid part is?” Damian slurred below her. His head was currently in her lap and he was staring angrily at the ceiling.

“That Tim even knows how to remotely shut down your phone?” Maya asked back, squinting. “I’m shocked he answered thirteen of your calls before cutting you off.”

But Damian ignored her. “He’s not even that cute.”

“Tim?” Maya asked. “That’s rude.”

Damian scoffed. “Not him.”

“Oh right.” Maya shook her head to clear it. She dropped her head to stare at him. “Jay. The boyfriend.”

Damian shrugged. “He’s not that bad I guess.” He waved it off. “Jon. He’s not cute.” Damian sniffed. “Actually, he’s pretty ugly.”

“The ugliest.” Maya agreed absently. “Fuck those farm boy muscles.”

“And his stupid perfect eyes.” Damian added. “And his stupid flawless smile. And his obnoxious positive attitude. And his…” Damian sighed, dropping his arm so his fingers brushed along the carpet. “…Whatever.”

“Mhm.” Maya agreed. “The worst.”

“Jay deserves better.” Damian pouted.

“Probably.” Maya nodded. “We should call and tell him.”

“I don’t have his number.”

“Tim might.”

Damian stared blankly up at her, eyes glassy and unfocused, but still so judgmental.

“Oh yeah.” She remembered. “He blocked you.”

“No, he shut my phone off.”

“Right. He extremely blocked you.” Maya hummed. “Could Dick get it?”

“Yes, but he wouldn’t.” Damian scoffed. “He’d be disappointed that we’re underage drinking, at least in the US, and then insist on coming over here and like…making us soup or something.”

“Is there a hangover soup?”

“How should I know? I’ve never done this before.”

Maya laughed and was about to make fun of him for that, when her own forgotten phone buzzed in her back pocket. She shifted to pull it out and Damian grumbled at her pathetically.

She looked at the screen and sighed.

Fucking Jon.

I’m sorry Maya. I really am.

She pursed her lips, unseen by Damian who had now closed his eyes. Carefully, she typed back.

I know

The text was immediately read, which means Jon was either doing that pathetic thing where he was just sitting there waiting for a reply, or was already on the phone. Probably with that boyfriend.

She wondered, briefly, if Jon would tell this Jay about what happened, about the revelation about Damian. Or if he would tell his father or mother or any of his other friends.

For a second she hoped not. She would kill him if he did. She would never let him see Damian again. Would keep her little brother away from the new Superman for the rest of their lives if he went around blabbing and gossiping about him and his private emotions.

But then…it was about him, so he’d have every right, she supposed.

She thought about what would happen if Batman found out that the son of Superman broke his boy’s heart. She smiled at the idea of Batman beating up Little Superman. Of Bruce Wayne publicly beating the shit out of a reporter’s son.

But the smile dropped when she saw the three bubbles appear on her screen. Then disappear. Then reappear. Then sit there blinking for over a minute.

Are we still friends?

Her first thought was no I hate you, but even drunk, she knew that wasn’t true. He was a stupid kid who put his foot in his mouth, stuck in the aftermath of an incredibly raw situation.

I guess

Again, it was instantly tagged as read, but the typing bubbles didn’t reappear. She sighed and shifted to put her phone back down, when Damian let out a snore so loud he woke himself up with a jerk, elbowing her in the stomach.

Though it hurt, she felt a cackle rising in her throat, bursting out her lips as she doubled over Damian’s head. She wrapped her arms around him, laughing as she kissed his creased, annoyed forehead.

Another buzz from her phone, this time making Damian jump again, since the phone was in her hand pressed into his hair.

She glanced at it.

Have you seen him yet? Did you make it to Gotham?

Is he ok?

She groaned, hiding her face in Damian’s chest.

“What.” Damian mumbled sleepily. Then suddenly shifting. “Is it an ‘mergency? I can be dressed in-”

“Shut up.” Maya ordered, sitting up and putting her hand on Damian’s collarbone. “You shut up, he shut up. Both of you need to shut up.”

Damian squinted. “What are you on about?”

“Nothing.” She huffed, holding her phone in both hands.

Jon

Stop

She paused, glancing over her phone as Damian leaned over, looking for the half-empty scotch bottle he’d dropped earlier.

Leave it alone

Go to bed

Talk later

She dropped her phone on the floor, then. They were both too lazy to get up to answer it, even if he did text back. (Which he did, she heard it buzz about five minutes later.) And luckily, Damian was still none-the-wiser.

She watched as Damian put the bottle to his lips and took quite a few big gulps. Then he put the lid back on it and put it back on the floor.

“I’ve decided.” He announced, licking his lips thoughtfully. “Romance isn’t for me. Love isn’t for me. I hate him.”

Maya smiled. “No, you don’t.”

Damian frowned, closing his eyes. He suddenly rolled into Maya’s stomach, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“I wish I hated him.” He corrected in a mumbl into her stomach.

“Yeah.” She gently stroked at his hair. “Me too.”

“…I’m tired, Maya.” He whispered. Maya knew that meant a lot of things. Tired, in the moment. Tired of trying to get people to like him. Tired of emotions, of putting himself out there, of loving people, only to not have it reciprocated either at all, or in the way he hoped.

“Go to sleep, little brother.” She cooed. “We’ll deal with it in the morning.”

“Can we not deal with it at all?”

“Sure. Sounds like a plan.” She kept petting at his hair, even as she shifted and laid her own head against the sofa’s arm rest. “Love you, Dames. Goodnight.”

Damian tightened his arms around her. “You too, Maya. Sleep well.”

Maya closed her eyes, letting her last thought of the evening be a silent prayer for a better tomorrow, a better future, for herself, Damian and Jon alike.

#jondami #Damian Wayne #maya ducard

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starbuckie · 3 years

Text

𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬

pairing: highschool!bucky barnes x reader

words: 1.0k words

warnings: senioritis, fluff, and bucky being a clingy little shit

summary: senioritis is a bitch, and that virus certainly extends to two teens in brooklyn.

a/n: i’m tired of high school and shit and finals are kicking my ass so i wrote this lil thing. (also look at this lil skinny noodle theater boy, i woulda dated the heck out of him) anyways, please enjoy <3

main masterlist || sebastian stan characters masterlist

Y/N’s eyes focused in and out on the pot of pasta her mother was cooking on the stove. There were many other things she should have been doing, pressing matters like the fifteen unfinished assignments she had to turn in by the next Monday, but the combination of a near-summer school day and the stress of not actually doing the assignments was getting to her.

“Honey, I’m home!”

Great.

The bane of her existence came in the form James Buchanan Barnes, God-like dick game and loved by all mothers. His fluffy chestnut hair was swept under a baseball cap, and he carried two bags of groceries, for her mother, into the kitchen where she sat.

It wasn’t as if she were bothered by her boyfriend, but with him around there was no way in hell she would get anything finished. Turning back to the half-assed, half-written page she had been working on for hours, she tried to ignore the presence of Bucky hugging her mother hello.

Once again, an absolute kiss ass.

“Hey, pumpkin,” Bucky dropped a kiss to her forehead as he started to put the groceries away. Fucking suck up. “How come you didn’t answer my text? I asked if I could come over.”

“I did answer your text, asshole.” Y/N turned over her phone to check the texts for evidential proof. “Yeah, see, I texted you no.”

Bucky shoved the phone away from where she held it out to him, placing an orange on the table. “And I chose to ignore that text because I wanted to see you.” He sang with a smile.

That little smirk he wore was enough for Y/N’s tough resolve to break and she stood to pounce up on him from behind with a hug. She nosed his neck gently and smelled his cologne, amber and oud filling her senses and making her mind all boggled with thoughts of him.

“Hey, if you two are gonna be gross, then go upstairs,” Ms. L/N smacked her shoulder with the dirty dish rag and she squealed away from the hit. “But if you two are gonna bang, then go to his because I’m not washing those damn sheets for you do that.”

Both of the teens blushed at her ribbing, and immediately grabbed their stuff to scramble upstairs. As they trudged up the stairs with their backpacks, Bucky noticed the way Y/N’s eyes would flutter shut for a moment and the way her steps faltered. It was no secret that her five AP exams were kicking her ass, and the studying was no better.

The way he saw it, there was no point in struggling onto the slippery grasps of sleep in replacement of studying. Highschool was three weeks from being done, and soon enough they’d be out of Brooklyn and on their way to California to hit the sun and study their asses off in college.

As soon as they entered her ivy-painted room Y/N slammed the stupid essay on her desk and slumped into her swivel chair. Bucky knew the drill well enough by that point, dropping his backpack by the foot of her bed and flopping onto the pristine white sheets with an obnoxiously loud groan. “God, this bed feels so good, pumpkin, I don’t know how you can stay out of it for so long.”

“Well, when you’re falling behind in school it’s a lot easier than you’d think.” Y/N quipped back distractedly. The words on the paper seemed to swirl and move right under her stare, and there was no way she could focus. She knew that eight more pages of blank papers sat right under the first, all waiting to be filled out with sentences about the effects of cardiorespiratory coherence on the spectrum of human emotions.

Bucky groaned, hauling his legs onto the sheets and turning towards his girlfriend with a pout. “C’mon, babydoll, if you come over here, you can have sex with me. How’s that sound? You wanna have sex with me? I’ll do that thing you like, even make you shed a few tears...”

Though his offer sounded more than appealing, Y/N had to turn it down and shift herself in the chair to ease the throbbing of her core. “As much as I would like to cry on your dick, and trust me, I would very much like to cry on your dick, I unfortunately need to cry on my essay instead. I was getting work done all until you walked in with that cute lil’ smile of yours.”

Bucky blushed at the comment which made her grin. It was amusing how flushed he got after making such raunchy things to her. “Well, what do you want, babydoll. I can bring you a bowl of mac and cheese from your ma, or,” he scooped her up in his arms, reveling in her squeals of laughter, “I can snuggle ya to death. How’s that sound?”

Her voice was muffled against the fabric of his henley, but he could kinda not really understand the words she gurgled out. “I’m gonna take that as a yes.”

Y/N laughed in his hold, turning over to smush her face into his chest. “I’m just tired of this bullshit. All the assignments and late nights, and don’t get me wrong, I love my mother, but if I get one more comment about my study time management, I’m going to scream.” She sighed, clutching just a bit harder around his back. “I want it all to be over, I guess. Just you and me in California already, sitting in the sun and drinking green juices, or whatever shit they do over there.”

Bucky didn’t even have to say anything, Y/N knew he shared the same sentiment. College was fast approaching and scary, and the stress of the impending graduation did nothing but make it seem that much farther away.

“God, you’re so warm, I wanna lay with you here forever. Studying can go fuck itself.”

“Then stay with me, pumpkin,” he chuckled, pulling her closer. “I ain’t going anywhere yet.”

Legend has it that there was no studying done for the rest of the night, and Y/N’s mom would find them passed out in each other’s arms before six o’clock.

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #highschool!bucky #bucky x yn #bucky barnes x yn #sebastianstan #marvel

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chockfullofsecrets · 3 years

Text

Critical Role: The Opposite of Cuddling

(Read on AO3)

Rating: Gen

Summary: And maybe it wouldn’t be too bad, but - “That’s not gonna work,” he says, feeling a little bad as her face falls. “I’m way too ticklish for that.”

Jester’s expression rebounds at lightning speed. “Caduceus! You’re ticklish?”

“Oh. Yeah,” he grins.

Dome cuddles don't quite work out, but the Mighty Nein make do.

Wordcount: 1.8k (it would be short if it wasn’t supposed to be a snippet fic aaa)

A/N: maybe i am just in the mood for cuddly gang tickles. maybe so.

---

“So,” Jester is proselytizing, brandishing a diagram from her sketchbook into dubious faces, “if we cuddle up around Caduceus just like this it’s going to be super soft and comfy and warm until we get out of this stupid weather! Any questions?”

Caduceus puts his teacup aside and leans down to peer at the sketch. It’s really good, especially the faces. She must have drawn it while watching them sleep last night.

And maybe it wouldn’t be too bad, but - “That’s not gonna work,” he says, feeling a little bad as her face falls. “I’m way too ticklish for that.”

Jester’s expression rebounds at lightning speed. “Caduceus! You’re ticklish?”

“Oh. Yeah,” he grins. It feels good to see her happy, tail flicking as she clutches her sketchbook in clear delight - after two days of nonstop freezing rain, even her forceful cheer has been wavering. “It’s nice, sometimes, but not when we’re, you know. Sleeping.”

“So I could tickle you right now and you wouldn’t be, like, really mad at me?” Jester presses. She’s scooting towards him as she asks, practically trembling with excitement. It’s awfully cute.

Well, it’s been a while, but he can’t say he’s not a little eager for the contact. He ignores the looks from the rest of their group and flops back onto his bedroll, wriggling a little to get comfortable. “Yeah, that’d be good.”

“Um,” Beau says from somewhere behind him, a little strangled. Oh, right.

“We’re not keeping people awake, are we?” he asks, craning his neck to the various edges of the dome people have settled in. “Anyone set on sleeping right now?”

Beau makes a face. "That's not the weird part, Duceus."

“They can help!” Jester chirps, and then she’s cuddled into his side and wiggling tiny tiefling claws above his belly. “Oh, Ca-du-ceus!”

She’s pitching her voice as deep and scary as it can go. It’s not very far. “Yeah?”

“Where’s your very worst tickle spot?”

He laughs. “Telling you that feels like a bad idea.”

“Then I’ll just have to fi-ind it!” She tugs his shirt up with one quick move, and he barely has time to feel the cold before she’s latching onto his sides and burying her entire face into the downy fur on his belly. “Ooh, you’re so soft and warm! I want to cuddle you forever, Caduceus.”

It tickles, but just a little - honestly, he’s more amused by her. “Can’t say I’ve heard that before,” he chuckles, reaching out to poke gently at her side. “You’re not bad yourself.”

She squeaks, pulling her head up just enough to gasp at him. “Oh my gosh, Caduceus, did you just tickle me back? Guys, you have to come help me!”

“Nah, I’m good,” Beau snorts.

Jester lets out a massive sigh and flops back down onto him, and for a pleasant minute or two it’s just her nuzzling into him as he watches raindrops pelt off the amber dome overhead.

Then there’s a rustle, and some clinking, and before he can do anything more than lazily twitch one of his ears in the direction of the sound Yasha’s upside-down face pushes into his field of view.

“Do you mind if I join?” she asks in her quiet way. “I don’t want to overwhelm you.”

Jester springs upright, grabbing happily for her hands. “Yes! Join us!”

Caduceus echoes her, snorting out a quiet laugh as Jester regains some of her energy and starts to scribble her way up his sides. He doesn't have any quiet siblings - Yasha reminds him a little more of the mourners, so it’s always nice to see her reach out. He's good at appreciating that sort of thing.

Yasha smiles shyly down at the both of them as she pulls his head into her lap and starts to play with his ears. “These are so soft,” she marvels. “Are you ticklish here?”

His ears have always been one of his siblings’ favorite spots to tease him with, and apparently they haven’t gotten any less sensitive in the last ten years. “Yeah,” he gasps. “Heh - just - hehe - a little bit.”

There's a frustrated groan off to his right. “Okay, I’ll bite.” Footsteps track around to his side, fleet and quiet, and he waits patiently for a flash of blue cloth to cross his gaze. “But only ‘cause ears are a fucking weird spot and I want to see if this works on you.”

Beau crouches by his side and curls her fingers loosely. “I’m gonna punch you,” she warns. “Probably not that hard, but don’t tense up.”

He nods as best as he can while tilting his head to better let Yasha worry her fingernails at the backs of his ears - he’s not sure if he could feel more boneless if he tried, right now.

The heel of her fist strikes him right in the middle of his chest, fingers clutching around something intangible - that something scurries its way down every nerve he has, and he coughs out a startled laugh before he can help himself. “What was that?”

“Payback for growing lichen on me back at your house,” she quips, but her eyes are narrowed in clear concentration. “Okay, ears, ears… wrists? And knees? And - fuck, man, your entire back? Really? Jes, let’s flip him over, this is going to be good.”

Well, that’s unexpected.

“Wait - ha!” Caduceus yelps, squirming as fingers start to pry their way underneath him. “Hold on now-”

He’s bigger than both of them by far, but they’re strong and not above tickling the backs of his ribs until he starts to squeal. "You're so thin, Caduceus!" Jester exclaims, hooking a finger into the tender gap between two bones and wriggling it mercilessly - his back arches entirely without his permission, letting Beau pry him another inch off the ground, and he whines defensively. "We have to feed you more!"

They get as far as rolling him onto his side before Beau loses patience and starts prodding smugly at his spine. “Your ki is pretty shivery around here, Duceus,” she teases. “Trying to hide your worst spots, huh? Bet you thought we weren’t gonna take this seriously.”

Caduceus is too busy laughing to deal with - any of that, really, especially when Jester slings herself over him so she can reach his back too. “I’m - ahaha! aaa! - oh, that tickles!”

As if in direct response to his babbling, a small weight bundles into the back of his knees. He curls up reflexively with a strangled shout - it’s Nott, cuddling up to him with a shivery sigh as an invisible hand starts to pinch at his kneecaps. “You’re right,” she crows to Jester. “He is soft.”

It does feel nice, being buried under this many people and tickled till the marrow of every bone in his body shivers, happy and helpless, and when Fjord finally sits in front of him and presses a questioning hand to his shoulder Caduceus doesn’t resist the impulse to clutch his hands and pull him in closer.

Fjord comes easily, huffing in quiet amusement as Caduceus buries his face in him and Yasha and wriggles like a freshly surfaced earthworm. “You alright there?” he drawls. “You sound like they’re trying to kill you.”

Nott snorts from somewhere near his belly. “We should stop, then, we’ve only got the one cleric.”

“Hey!”

Everything abruptly derails as Jester launches herself towards Nott and, from the sound of it, kicks Beau right in the face - there’s wheezing, and then shouting, and then the telltale sugar-sweet scent of Jester’s healing magic.

Caduceus holds very still. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah," Beau confirms, mangled. He can practically picture Jester frantically squishing her cheeks around as she checks for damage.

A typical tickle fight, as far as the Clays are concerned, just with a different smell - the Wildmother's healing tends more earthy. Even though they’ve stopped tickling, Caduceus can’t help but laugh.

He’s not sure if he imagines Fjord fluttering light fingers along the insides of his wrists as he catches his breath, but by the time he wheezes out one last fit of giggles and rolls himself back over everyone seems to be keeping a respectful distance, if a good deal closer together than they were at the beginning of the evening. “I think that went pretty well,” he says, pleased.

“...so you’re stupid ticklish,” Beau says dryly, scrubbing a bit of dried blood from her lip. “No cuddling Duceus while he’s trying to be unconscious, message received.”

There’s a chorus of agreement from all but one - Caduceus looks around and spots their final member for the first time since they sat down for dinner, nose buried in a book and ears suspiciously red.

He hasn’t moved an inch all night, even to escape the noise, which leaves him only a few feet away from the rest of them. Caduceus gets the feeling he’s about to regret that. “Oh, I’m sure there are those that have it worse,” he grins. “Right, Mr. Caleb?”

Caleb’s gaze snaps up over the edge of his book. “Ja,” he rushes out, strangled. “I mean - nein - of course I am not - I am just trying to read here-”

Jester doesn’t wait for him to dig his grave any deeper. “Oh my gosh, Cay-leb, are you super ticklish too?”

Caleb stuffs his book back into its holster and holds a hand out preventatively, reaching with panicked precision for a strip of leather tied just above his knee with the other. “No, I am not-”

“Oh, no you don’t.” Fjord rocks backward and reaches out with one broad hand, latching onto Caleb's wrist, and Caleb promptly abandons all spellcasting to kick at him like a startled rabbit.

Despite that, he reels Caleb in gently, scooping him into a neat little ball before he heaves him into the middle of their little circle and squarely on top of Caduceus. “I think we owe you a nice, long thank you for this lovely dome, don’t we?”

There’s a moment of silence as Caleb presumably thinks about how easy it would be to kill them all in this enclosed space. “This,” he says, as severely as he can with his feet in the air and hair in his eyes, “is the opposite of cuddling, and if you do not leave me alone then tomorrow night I am going to make all of you sleep in the rain.”

Even the seasoned homebody in Caduceus knows that’s the exact wrong thing to say to a group of damp and grumpy adventurers - if the mood in the dome was mischievous before, it takes a steep dive into outright evil.

Beau cracks her knuckles. “Yeah? Let’s see what you have to say when we tickle you again tomorrow.”

And if Caduceus laughs as Caleb gives one startled owlish blink and then scrambles to hide as much of himself behind Caduceus as possible - well, that’s not from the tickling at all.

#Tickling #critical role #caduceus clay #jester lavorre #the mighty nein #bc i cannot tag all seven of them that feels illegal #chocfic

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ficforce · 4 years

Text

Making Friends

Benimaru x Pregnant Reader SFW

“Oi!” Benimaru shoved the papers he had been holding onto one of the builder’s he was speaking with and rushed to Y/N’s side, “What have told you about carrying stuff…” He took the box from her, further annoyed that it weighed more than a feather, and took it to the corner with everything else. The boxes were care packages for people who had just been made temporarily homeless, they could come an collect them but Y/N was just trying to help out as much as she could – she was going mad just sitting around waiting. Arthur and Hinawa walked into the Guardhouse and the blonde pointed at Y/N whilst turning his head to his Lieutenant, “He’s not got bad aim, he’s just protecting his Queen.” The young man was oblivious to the glare he received from Hinawa even as he pushed Arthur’s pointing finger down. It was obvious to Arthur, even in his skewered perception of reality, that Captain Shinmon, standing so close to the woman and with his hand laid protectively over her large stomach, was so mean because he was protecting his family. They had broken into his castle just before an Infernal appeared and he was aggressive because of his Queen’s condition. Y/N looked at Arthur with a tilt of her head and placed her hand on the middle of Benimaru’s back as she felt his body temperature rise, “He really does have bad aim.” “Y/N!”

“He called me a Queen, Beni, I can’t get mad at that.” Although it was an odd thing to say and Arthur seemed to exude stupidity, Y/N couldn’t help but be flattered. He could have called her a scullery maid or a witch if he’d wanted to. “You should be resting,” he murmured to her and gently nudged her back toward their room, Benimaru paused and turned sharply on his heel, his red eyes lit as he saw Arthur with his plasma sword out, the blue flame making the air crackle around it. The Captain shielded Y/N behind him, “The hell…!” Hinawa let out a sigh and walked out of the Guardhouse, he wasn’t staying for this, he could only take so much before the urge to shoot someone was too strong. He wasn’t there as Arthur got down on one knee and pledged to protect the ‘Fair Queen and the Heir to the Castle’, he also wasn’t there to see Benimaru be lead away like a confused, aggressive pup. He didn’t know whether to be pleased or worried about the pledge. Once they reached their room Y/N was giggling into his shoulder, he really didn’t know how to react to Arthur and he supposed as long as he kept the oddball away from her then all would be fine. “Did you see the guy with glasses? He looked like he was gonna murder the poor kid!” Benimaru ruffled his hair and let out a frustrated click of his tongue, “Beni, lighten up a little – they seem nice.” The last few months he had been more protective than usual, she figured he was anxious for the birth of their child and felt helpless that he couldn’t do more. He wouldn’t let her lift or carry, he didn’t like her going far from home and never alone, every ache she had he would worry over and there were times he downright wouldn’t let anyone within arm’s reach. The twins were careful around her, they were boisterous but they knew she was due any day now. Konro was taking her out of the house to give her a little space as he was the only person Benimaru seemed to trust entirely with her. It would have been sweet if she wasn’t anxious too… “Beni,” Y/N took his hands and place them palm down on her belly, it was almost an instantaneous reaction of their baby to press a foot against the light pressure of his hands, they had a theory that they were reacting to the Captain’s unique heat signature, “Baby is fine. I’m fine.” Her hands cupped his face whilst he remained distracted by the bump, “I’m really nervous too and I need distractions or else I’m going to go mad – Now, calm down and help out with the building works whilst I help Konro out.” “I’ll do it,” Benimaru mumbled and a second later he looked up at her annoyed expression, “Not because I don’t want you to but I need to talk to him.” His thumbs stroked over her and he smiled when he felt movement under his hands, “Why don’t you help out with ordering materials? You’re good at admin and we’ll need to order more stuff after today.” Pressing a kiss on her forehead they both headed out. — - “When are you due?” Maki asked excitedly as she approached the little table and chair set up for Y/N to work at, Tamaki peeked from around the older woman and looked just as excited by the prospect of babies. Y/N smiled at them both and placed her pen down, “Any day now.” “Really?!” Tamaki covered her mouth and spoke a little quieter this time around, “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl yet?” “No idea. Benimaru is hoping for a girl and I kinda want a boy – as long as they’re healthy, right?” Maki nodded, “Are you excited?” She nodded her head as she unconsciously stroked her stomach, “I’m kinda scared too.” The women from the 8th were nice and Y/N fell into conversation with them easily, Maki got all gooey over her story about finding out she was pregnant and Tamaki had that fascination in her eyes that young girls had when love and babies came up. After half an hour Konro and Benimaru came back from checking out the damage from Block three, Benimaru’s direction began to alter toward the three women but he was cut up by Hinata and Hikage rushing past him to grab onto both his and Konro’s pants to drag them toward a different problem in Town.

Y/N hid her smile and silently thanked the twins for saving her from interruption. Benimaru sighed loudly, he could see that Y/N was enjoying the attention and he didn’t sense any malice from Maki or Tamaki, he supposed he could let them be for now. — - Y/N let out a terrified cry as she saw the scaffolding fail and begin to buckle and collapse, the heavy bamboo rods hurtled down toward her and she couldn’t move fast enough to avoid them, instead she crouched low and wrapped her arms around herself – her only concern was to protect her unborn child. There was a loud crash all around her and dust was kicked up from the street, after a moment of feeling nothing Y/N took a deep breath and raised her head. “You okay?” Obi’s arms shook a little as he gathered the strength to throw the scaffolding he had caught to the side, builders came rushing over to help clear the debris and two of them helped Y/N to her feet, “Get her home, I’ll help out here.” “Y/N!” “Y/N!!” The twins ran toward the woman and Hinata began crying as she hung off of Y/N, they had witnessed the accident and had been scared for her, “Is the baby okay?! Y/N, are you hurt?!” Big, watery, amber eyes looked up at her but Y/N was still too shocked to reply. Shinra seemed to come out of nowhere and coax the girls away from her, promising to give them candy and play. He seemed to be good with children and was able to tell them that it was important that Y/N get checked over - they were reluctant but let her go. When she got inside, Benimaru was halfway out the door after hearing what had happened and as soon as he saw her he wrapped his arms around her tightly, “Y/N…” He could feel her shaking in his hold so he put his arm around her waist and held her hand in his free hand, “Konro, call the doctor.” “No,” Y/N murmured and reached out to catch the Lieutenant’s arm, “I’m fine, really. I was just… it surprised me. I… I was… 8th Captain was there so -I…” Her voice became weaker and weaker before cracking, Y/N’s throat seemed to close up and tears began to slip down her cheeks. Benimaru took her to their room and helped her down onto the futon, pulling her close he began to run his fingers soothingly over her scalp to calm her. She wasn’t usually one to cry easily but the hormones during her pregnancy had her emotional over every little thing. Konro came in with a glass of water and handed it to her, he wiped her tears away and gave Benimaru a look to say he’d deal with the trouble outside. His eyes closed and he let out a deep breath, he was full of tension and just as shaken to hear what had happened, he shouldn’t have left her out there alone, Benimaru knew that agonising over it wouldn’t help her calm down and continued trying to force himself to relax - she had always been good at picking up his moods and his fear would only feed hers. “Nearly fucking died when I heard…” “Don’t s-swear in front of the baby!” Her voice was still small but he felt her pinch his arm when she warned him about his language. Benimaru stayed with her for a long while until she fell asleep, it had been a shock to her system and he knew she was tired already so Benimaru made sure she was well and truly out before moving to the next room to help Konro with his treatment. He had been about to start before he got the news about the accident… he hated to admit it but he was thankful Company 8 had come. — - It was pretty impressive how Benimaru was able to stand after taking out a demon only a few hours before. “Going back to Company 8? Thanks for all your help.” Obi and his team turned to face the other, they had been going to leave quietly to let everyone get on with repairs and healing, “That’s all right… It’s possible we started all this by coming here.” “Maybe so, but we still had the Evangelist’s cronies lurking in our streets. It could be they’re the ones who were causing all the ‘spontaneous’ human combustion we’ve been dealing with,” Benimaru seemed calm on the outside but there was a sort of excitement buzzing around him that was putting Company 8 at unease, “And

now we’ve managed to stop it. Konro, bring it here.” Konro nodded and left his side quickly. The Captain of the 8th shifted onto his other foot, worried he was about to end up in another fight with the other - He still hurt from the night before. “Bring what?” “I don’t like the Empire’s Fire Force toadies but I like Company 8.” Konro returned with the bottle of Sake and the Captains exchanged sake cups to mark their new friendship, a few seconds later Benimaru’s face lit up in a smile and his Lieutenant explained the situation with Benimaru’s smile and sake. There was a commotion at the Guardhouse door as the Townspeople began to gather, they had come because they had heard the news and all of a sudden Arthur pulled out his plasma sword. Anyone near him jerked back but the blonde didn’t care as he swore his allegiance to Asakusa’s Queen and the new heir. At first, the rest of his Company were confused and Shinra moved to hit him in the head for scaring everyone but then he realised that Y/N had come in whilst they had been talking - a tiny baby bundled in her arms. “It’s good to know a Knight is looking out for her,” an excited squeal escaped Maki and she began to bounce excitedly with Tamaki. Y/N grinned at them proudly and let Benimaru take his daughter, the baby fit him perfectly, cradled in his arm like she belonged there and Y/N saw his smile become gentler and more genuine. During the night she had gone into labour, it had been frightening to not have her family there but the midwife had looked after her, there had been several Hikeshi who stood outside the room to ensure she was safe from the fighting and confusion. Benimaru had made it for the last ten minutes of delivery and blamed his tears on being overheated rather than admit he was overwhelmed with happiness when he held his newborn daughter. “Heroes are better than Knights!” She smiled as Arthur and Shinra began to argue over who would be the better protector, out of the corner of her eye Y/N saw the tremble in her lover’s body as their little girl reached out to grab his fingers and she just knew that no one would protect their family better than Benimaru.

#shinmon Benimaru #reader #enen no shouboutai #fire force #enn enn no shouboutai #garth ennis

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heli0s-writes · 5 years

Text

Eat the Rich*

Summary: You’re just a girl in a bar way above your tax bracket and Ransom really doesn’t care for what you’re wearing.

A/N: There are no spoilers for the movie. But, there IS... Smut. Dirty talk. Class warfare in the form of hate-fucking. 2.9k words of FILTH. I need to be exorcised for this. Thank you @evanstarff and @tropicalcap for sending me straight to hell.

The entire lounge seems to turn when you enter. Eyes slide back and forth your way, mid-conversation mouths dipping into low frowns. Amidst the old-money frat boys from Cambridge, Beacon Hill Barbie socialites, and Downtown business young bloods, you’re a flagrant contrast in ripped jeans and an old hoodie.

A favorite hoodie. An incendiary hoodie.

The kind of hoodie that is worn with pride around these West End parts. Even the group you arrive with tried to hackle you out of it— bachelorette party decorum, they cried, will you please take that thing off?

Your cousin might be marrying Silverspoon Asswipe and stringing herself up pretty next to all his call-girl friends, but you are a Jamaica Plain girl through and through and you will not stuff yourself into a glitzy cocktail dress before this hoodie.

She waves her hand at the hostess to distract her from your outfit, rustling the satin sash over her glossy sweetheart neckline, “Reservation under Prentiss; it was booked this morning?” And then a sharp look at you as if to say, you made the reservations, right?!

Duh. Your eyes respond when the hostess begins to lead your party back. You follow the tail end of the throng, veering off towards the bar; the miasma of Chanel perfume is enough to gag, and the cigar smoke is only a tiny bit better. Not like they’d care or even notice.

“Do you have PBR?”

The bartender stutters and before you can make him any more uncomfortable, a deep voice from beside you nips it in the bud.

Broad shoulders turn until you see his face. Amused, with a single raised eyebrow, mouth just barely tilting up at one corner. Mid-thirties and extremely well-groomed. Slicked back brown hair and classic Ray Bans hang from the collar of his sweater. Too handsome for his own good with the unmistakable swagger of someone grown up filthy rich.

“She’ll have the Glenfiddich. Neat.”

Certainly smug enough to butt in like you’re old friends.

“Will she?” You ponder defiantly at the pursed lips nestled over a strong jaw.

His own thick crystal glass is easily tipped into his mouth when he takes a too-large swig. Signet rings on two left fingers glimmer, and with a low exhale bordering a growl, he hisses through his teeth, “Yeah. I think you will.”

Bold blue eyes roam over your top and the statement printed there for a second before he scrutinizes your face. Then, purposefully—and knowing that your eyes are on him-- he looks back down to the swell of your chest.

A hum of approval before he faces forward again, only giving you his side profile.

“Wow,” you scoff, “Dick.”

The grin that splits his mouth for a second looks angelic if angels could be full-grown men with full-grown egos to match. “Close. It’s Ransom.”

Amber sloshes when the bartender returns, and you chance a sip because even your pride isn’t stupid enough to pass on a free glass of Glenfiddich.

The whiskey bites for a second before rolling smoothly down your throat. There’s an inherently superior taste to these luxury drinks, but you pull a face all the same, unwilling to give him the satisfaction. Ransom chuckles, head turning just a tad as he looks to you from the corner of his eye.

“You making a statement with that thing on, or what?”

“You’re the one making a statement with that ladies wool scarf from Drake’s.”

Ransom jerks to you fully now, attention snatched by your wit as he leans in, “Where’d you come from, little girl? Not everyone walks into Carver’s dressed in rags.”

He really is a piece of work. When you tell him your neighborhood, as expected, he snorts with disdain, but his eyes fall back on you again, highly intrigued. “There’s more to you, isn’t there? My scarf, that attitude. Someone taught you a thing or two, didn’t they?”

The single-malt mouthful is singing in your veins and if your confidence was thinking about simmering down for a second, it’s forgotten itself inside the furious swirl. The hand around your empty glass clutches just a tiny bit tighter.

“Oh, come on,” Ransom waggles two fingers for another round, “Let’s see, I’m thinking… blue-collar parents, siblings, maybe with shared rooms in your dilapidated Jamaica Plain home?” A tap of his finger to that pink bottom lip too damn pretty to be on his wretched face, he pretends to mull a thought over.

He looks you up and down, taking just enough time to where you feel violated under his gaze, “I know: Public college. Two-year community. Working a day job in Back Bay made you bitter, didn’t it? Hence, statement piece.”

“Asshole,” you snap, unraveling at the seams with rage, and the bartender quickly flits away again, “Full ride to Northeastern, four years with honors. Back Bay can’t fucking afford me.”

You don’t know how he does it, but his derisive silence incenses you even more. He couples it with a slow flick of his tongue over teeth, flagrant staring, and the piercing blue of his eyes spotlight a trail—across your shoulders, down your arm, jumping from your fingertip to your thigh, and then it dips between.

Every inch of your body prickles alive with reaction, so naturally, you spit, “Fuck you.”

Ransom’s smile grows until it nearly looks genuine, but then the sharp points of his canines sink right into your gut.

“When?”

There is something ugly and incredible simmering behind his thick curtain eyelashes. A clear ocean grows stormy, sizzling like a cruel tempest rushing to life. The yellow gaussian blur from dim scone lights suddenly cast shadows over his sharp nose.

He slaps too many bills on the polished ebony and the swish of his scarf flicks over your knee when he stands. Ransom towers over you, light pink flush of inebriation and excitement growing hotter on his sculpted cheeks. He leans in, the open flaps of his overcoat falling around your shoulder, threatening to swallow you inside all his dark.

Low timbre and dusky spice goads, “Put your money where your mouth is, scholarship; that sweater’s not all talk, is it?”

Dick!

Big hands yank the hem up over your head for a second before something changes his mind. The heavy steel door is latched twice over and he’s pushing you into it with his imposing frame. Your skull hits the metal as his knee parts your thigh, leg shoving itself up in-between until you’re on your tip-toes, with nothing to do but land on him. The heat of it rushes all the way up to the top of your head, pouring from your mouth in a choked mewl.

Ransom rucks the top over your breasts until the words scrunch up at your collarbones and you think it must bring him some masochistic satisfaction to know their unforgiving glare:

Eat the Rich

His warning chills your spine.

“I’m gonna fuck that line from your brain. Fuck it right out.”

He yanks everything south of your waist to your ankles and pulls himself free from his pants, effortlessly tearing a condom from inside his leather wallet and slipping it on. Between the time he gets your bare ass on the counter and the sound of the rubber snap, he’s already branded a purple streak onto the side of your neck and you’re embarrassingly wet.

Your breath hitches in your throat when you see his length rising from beneath his cable-knit. Bright pink and angry, and so goddamn thick it makes you whimper. Ransom smothers it with his demanding and hungry mouth, impatient at being empty, stinging with whiskey and force. He’s probably never waited on anything in his life and within a short fifteen minutes of meeting him, you know that to be true.

Not a care in the world is given as goosebumps break out all over your arms.

He spins you into the sink countertop and then the two of you are staring at each other in the mirror’s reflection. His hands return to your hips with a bruising clutch and those thick fingers begin to rub the slick between your folds all over your thighs. Fucking A-- It’s good. Idiot rich boy does have the Midas Touch.

One long leg kicks your jeans completely off, sole of his shoes stomping all over them. He’s unforgivingly large and he knows it because everything about Ransom Drysdale is a statement: his clothes, his attitude, his dick. There’s a joke in here somewhere about him being the very epitome of it, but he’s glaring at you with that pretty bottom lip stretched between perfect white teeth and maybe you can forgive the fact that he’s leaving boot marks all over your jeans and bruises in the shape of fingerprints on your back.

“Tell me,” he teases, slipping one finger in, the metal of his ring pressing up against your clit, “Tell me you’ve had it like this before.”

A slow roll of his hips against your ass, letting the weight of his cock pressed hot and tight between his body and yours. You find yourself inching higher, micro-movements attuned to his, staring but unseeing at his face, buzzing with the raw need to be clenching around more than one finger.

“Not like this, not off Glenfiddich, in Jamaica Plain…”

And without thinking, because there isn’t much to think about, you hiss, “Oh, fuck you!”

Ransom chuckles into your ear because your voice breaks just a tad and he’s going to win this fight. Claws and teeth out sharper than knives, he bites down on your shoulder and slips in another finger. The distinct sensations—soft, slippery, strokes and the sting of his teeth—are scrambling your brain.

He grips himself tight, pushes in with uncharacteristic restraint, and you’re so desperate and aching for it all you can do is push back and pray the sound you might be making isn’t loud enough for everyone in the damn place to hear.

You stifle a grunt with his next languid stroke and Ransom raises an eyebrow, “What? You suddenly shy now?”

It might be just a restroom, but it’s one of the nicest places you’ve ever been inside. Carver’s cigar room’s private single occupancy nook and he’s usurped it to screw you senseless. As if reading your thoughts, he rolls his eyes and continues, glaring at your half-lidded reflection.

“Who gives a shit?” Then, another smirk, “If you’re gonna scream, get my name right.”

Your belly is quivering from the pressure, holding yourself together as best you can before he takes you to pieces. The grooves in his rings cut into your skin. His hand squeezes your neck, fingers crawling up your chin to shove inside your mouth.

Like everything else he’s ever wanted in his life, he’ll own this, too.

And then it’s only punishment. Ransom twists your hair around one fist, other forearm pressing like an anchor on your sternum, wrist shoved through the neckline, hand splayed open and clutching your throat and it goes nearly all the way around. The reflection of your panting mouth and bouncing breasts matching his every thrust is lewd and vile and so goddamn good.

“I bet you fuck on top, don’t you, scholarship?” He releases your throat to pinch your cheeks together, tipping your head derisively, making you nod yourself stupid—awful and humiliating but it unexpectedly thrills.

“Bet you’re too proud to ask.” He makes you nod again, “Bet you want someone to fuck you open just like this—all filthy and sloppy—“

And he doesn’t have to make you agree that time, you’re already limp in expectation and your reflection, damn her, she nods.

He’s still fully dressed, coat swaying to cocoon the both of you in what is probably a hundred thousand dollars. His watch, his rings, his fucking boxers. That stupid cable knit sweater.

A yelp leaks out with your orgasm- unexpected and high and quick, like a wounded animal as you tip your head back onto his shoulder. He doesn’t stop, even for a second. Ransom thrusts deeper, and on the cusp of your second undoing, he licks an errant bead of sweat down the back of your neck.

“You got one more. Yeah, that’s right— one more— God, your pussy loves it. Squeezing me fucking good.” He’s sick. He’s sick and Jesus Christ, aren’t you, too? “Yeah. Push back on my cock. Fuck yourself with it…”

He guides your fingers to your clit with his free hand and begins to rub in motions. Your eyes flutter when he breathes into your ear, “There you go, scholarship, you’ll never get dick this good again—so go ahead and be selfish. I wanna see you all fucked out, fucked stupid, coming all over my dick.”

With two fingers sluiced with your spit, Ransom crams them up next to his cock and you can’t believe how he did it so easily but maybe you can. Yes, filthy and sloppy and never like you’ve had before. Your hands grip the counter top so tightly the tips look white and bloodless and the strained coil inside snaps clean in two.

“Fuck! Oh fuck! God!”

You slump backwards, fingertips to toes shocked tingly numb, boneless and empty of all thought, but he holds you up with ease. Ransom shushes your gasps, paws your breasts and fluttering sternum, runs his hand over your face and throat. The pinch of his fingers returns to your cheeks and he drags his other hand from inside your pussy up into to your mouth. Slick and dripping, a little rubbery from the condom, but otherwise just like yourself.

“Well, look at that. Aren’t you just…”

He pauses to view your blissful face, covered in a sheen layer of sweat, head resting on his shoulder, slanted just enough so that the tip of your nose brushes his jaw. A quick laugh, strangely knowing and a bit sweet or maybe you’re imagining it in your delirium, before he turns cold again.

“Make good on your slogan. Get on your fucking knees.”

His hand looks ridiculous, big and strong and wrapped around the best part of him, completely filthy with you smeared over his fist and you slide to your knees, forehead resting briefly on his knee. His pants have fallen around his ankles, boxers still midway, and you’re so exhausted you can hardly do much more than give him a light kiss to his inner thigh—God knows why—before you peel the rubber off.

It lands into the toilet and you obediently stick out your tongue, still panting to catch your breath as Ransom aims toward your open throat. “There you go,” he groans, fisting himself, “That’s it. Don’t let a single drop go to waste.”

And you don’t.

“So,” your old mentor asks, familiar low drawl of his voice crackling with the tone of a lifelong smoker, “What do you think?”

A hum passes through from your end as you think about all the ways Ransom Drysdale Thrombey pulled you apart and in all the ways you’ll probably think about for at least a couple of months.

“He’s exactly who you think he is.” You rock back and forth on your feet near the curb, “Disrespectful…” Scholarship, Ransom’s voice sneers, “Selfish…” Who gives a shit? “Manipulative.”

Well look at that… aren’t you just… And the glimmer of those big blue eyes half-crazed with lust and control, drinking in your reflection in the mirror, makes you clench up right there in the parking lot.

“You think he’s a killer?” Blanc asks quietly.

“I don’t know,” You reply, “Depends. He takes what he wants when he wants it… Could care less if he burns the world down with him. You divine the rest.”

Benoit Blanc’s frustrated sigh is all the response you expect him to give. This case with the Thrombeys really has gotten him all twisted up. He wouldn’t have called you for a favor if it didn’t. Of course, when he asked you to check Ransom Drysdale Thrombey out, he’ll be at Carver’s tomorrow around ten, he probably had other scenarios in mind…

“Well,” he mumbles, “Thanks again. These people sure are hell to be around. Give the new Prentisses my best, won’t you?”

You say your goodbyes and tuck your phone back into your pocket, shifting with a wince when the soreness between your legs throbs again. With a sigh into the dark autumn night, you shove your hands inside the center pouch of your hoodie, keeping your head low but still wary enough to find your Uber.

Ransom left you in the restroom about ten minutes ago, sitting on your haunches, still trying to remember how your lungs work. Right before the door shut, he had turned around and gave you one last smirk, pointing right at your top with glee. “How’d I taste, baby?”

Blanc needs to be careful, not that he isn’t— because he always is, as nutty as his brain works, he is. But Ransom is the only Thrombey you’ve met and if there are ten more of them… Blanc would do good to watch his ass and maybe get some extra help.

A jangle disrupts the quiet when you begin to play with what you’ve taken. Jagged metal edges. Heavy iconic insignia laying benignly in your palm before you tug it out.

Idiot. Good dick or not, an idiot is an idiot is an idiot— especially his kind. Didn’t even notice you slipped these right out of his coat pocket. You swing the ring around your flexed pointer in swift, angry circles, keys clanging together before your hand shuts it up.

With a hard wind of your arm back, you fling the set long into the night, satisfied when it lands behind a building some distance away.

Ransom Drysdale, you think, enthusiastic smile growing on your face as your ride pulls around the corner, have fun looking for those tonight.

Dick!

Ransom tags: @mermaidxatxheart @dumbubblegum @sapphirescrolls @gothambrat @southerncross47 @bubblegumpeeeach @fiercephantasmagoria @saliarheva @amberakawolfie

Perm tags: @whothehellisbucky @serpentbaby @badassbaker @alagalaska @cake-writes @crist1216 @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @infinity-saga @jamesbarnesthighs @pinknerdpanda @xoxabs88xox @imsoft-barnes @momc95 @typicalangel @wretchedgoddess @readeity @iwannasail @ya-lyublu-tebya @geeksareunique @wildefire @satanxklaus @jhangelface0523 @wkemeup @ixcantxdecidexwhosxmyxfave

#knives out #ransom thrombey #ransom drysdale #ransom x reader #smut #fanfiction #reader insert #ransom drysdale x reader #ransom drysdale thrombey #ransom x you #eat the rich heli0s

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nct-lian · 3 years

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relationships outside of sm

JENNIE + LIAN: JENLI

so iconic omg like how they do it, i have no idea

they hang out all the time and lian is literally ALWAYS on jennie’s instagram

the two of them once had an instagram story conversation over pigtails

like,, jennie posted a picture of lian’s pigtails for that one bicycle performance on her story and captioned it “pigtail baby” and then lian reposted it on her own story with a picture of jennie’s pigtails, captioning it “pigtail eomma”

speaking of eomma, jennie is genuinely her mother

jennie takes her shopping all the time

and in return, lian buys her food

the interactions these two used to have at award shows were SO CUTE

everyone remembers when jennie pretty much yelled out lian’s name and she just came running over to the members of blackpink after taeyong let her leave :(

i’m crying just thinking about it help

jennie also posted a full on instagram post for lian on her birthday and had such a sweet caption with it

it was something like “my daughter is finally 21 today! i hope she has an amazing day and i can’t wait to see her later tonight to give her a gift :) haneullie, lots of love from jennie eomma”

SPEAKING OF THE GIFT,, jennie bought her a whole ass $9000 necklace from chanel because she knew that lian was looking for more

IM IN TEARS AND SO ARE YOU ADMIT IT RN

jenli kpop bestest duo

dispatch once thought jennie was on a date with a girl but it turned out to just be her walking lian home after going shopping with her so they never posted anything about it

they were embarrassed they got something wrong so i get it

omfg when news came out that lian and jinwoo broke up mama jennie was threatening to punch the shit out of him

KEVIN + LIAN: LIMOON

what i’ve been waiting to write for so long okay here we go

so mf chaotic like there are compilations made of these two that scream “go crazy go stupid”

their time as guest mc’s for inkigayo was probably some of the best kpop content we’d gotten in a long ass time

KEVIN IS CAUTIOUS WHEN LETTING HER MEET HIS MEMBERS

cause she’s such a good friend to him and wtf why would he wanna share

“mine mine mine mine” constant dory vibes 24/7

lian thrives off of calling him by his korean name because she knows it annoys him

he’s constantly teasing her for having bagged milk in toronto so he deserves it

the one time lian and jacob talked to each other they seemed to be getting along too much for kevin’s liking so he really went:

“okay lian isn’t it time for you to go” because he WAS GETTING JEALOUSJCLSJX

their styles are pretty much complete opposites and everytime they take pictures together kevin never forgets to mention how off it all looks

“tf is that why are your clothes so boring”

“okay sNaKe pAnTs” because of that one eric moment on kpop daebak show where he said kevin had pants with snakes on them

ALSO BTW LIANS CLOTHES ARENT FUCKING BORING SHES JUST FANCY LIKE THAT

i’m getting heated let me calm down.

they normally speak in english to each other but since lian seems to be stuttering over her words when she isn’t speaking korean, he mixes in a few korean phrases every now and then to help her out

kevin is arguably the most hype every single time lian performs, like he really thinks there isn’t anything better

LIAN MAKES SURE TO UPDATE HER INSTAGRAM STORY WHENEVER TBZ HAVE A COMEBACK SO NCTZENS GO SUPPORT THEM

LIA + LIAN: LILIA

more lian x the canadian line WOOHOO

lia spent her trainee days really looking up to lian and she’s even mentioned before that she’d love for itzy to get the chance to collab with her for a song

she really has her fingers crossed for that btw

they actually met during an award show when ryujin, chaeryeong and yuna all had to leave because it was past curfew

lian decided to sit next to them and during all the intermissions between performances she, lia and yeji conversed to pass time

they ended up growing a friendship together but lian has a stronger bond with lia

she loves all the girls either way but yk

lia and lian love going to cafes together and taking adorable pictures :(

like whenever lia posts on itzy’s instagram midzeys don’t exactly know whether or not lian would be on it too :0

like lian normally posts all the scenery pictures she gets to keep her instagram pleasing whereas lia posts the pictures the two of them take together

my heart </3

lian treats lia like a whole daughter because it isn’t often she finds girls that are younger than her

*screams in the fact that majority of sm’s female artists are all from 2015 and under*

like when i say lian SPOILS her i’m not joking

she will randomly call lia up like:

“hey i’m gonna get you out of that dungeon, come get some chicken with me”

and then they’ll just hang out together

but only if lian is out of the dungeon herself because wbk she ain’t treated very well </3

EUNWOO + LIAN: WOOLI

their chemistry is fucking insane holy shit

like their acting for past to present was seriously so praised, netizens found it hard to believe it was all just for the show

dating rumours follow these two everywhere,, like everywhere

it’s one of the most popular ships inside ncity when it comes to lian and other idols

i kid you not one tweet said “chanhyeok treated jihye so well in past to present, i’m only wondering how well eunwoo would treat lian 👀”

LIKE STOP PUTTING IDEAS INTO PEOPLES HEADS YOURE KILING ME HERE ISTG

but yeah they do look really good together

and they’re an amazing pair for acting

when eunwoo started working with inyeop for true beauty, he said:

“hyung’s dating my girlfriend” because of the fact that both of them have acted with lian and BOTH of them dated her in the dramas

what a coincidence though

we all cried when we saw chanhyeok and jihye kiss for the first time DONT LIE

EUNWOO FOLLOWS HER ON INSTAGRAM

and they wished each other happy birthday on their instagram stories

there’s actually people who like to think that they dated while filming for past to present andddd they radiate big delulu vibes

like you know liskook shippers? wooli shipped are kinda the same, but not as intense (thank god)

BUT CAN WE BLAME THEM LIKE THEIR CHEMISTRY? THE WAY THEY TALKED TO EACH OTHER? PLEASE

they took a lot of cute pictures together behind the scenes (ノ﹏ヽ)

MOMO + LIAN: LIMO

DANCER DUO DANCER DUO

this ship isn’t actually as popular as we would like it to be, but nonetheless people love limo

a lot of interactions during award shows !!

like for example momo’s fancams always captured her dancing perfectly to lian’s choreo

and lian smiling in momo’s direction

i love them

when lian found out about heechul and momo’s relationship, she asked momo if she was her mom now because of how much of a father figure she considers heechul to be JDFJK

“i mean sure”

they’ve actually done a vlive together before (ᗒᗨᗕ)

it was when lian visited her at the twice dorms and they ended up getting bored so they decided to do a vlive in the living room

THEY PLAYED DARE OR DARE AND LIAN HAD TO DO THE TEARS CHALLENGE (so chan whee) ON MOMOS KARAOKE MACHINE

her throat was dry for the rest of the night

after seeing momo’s hair for the i can’t stop me era, lian actually wanted to cut it like that

but she decided against it because she loves her long hair too much

the two of them met on hit the stage where they competed against each other in a freestyle dance battle

after that they just started casually talking over the phone and became great friends

with the way momo talks about lian, you’d think they’re dating-

“oh, lian- she’s so pretty! i love her a lot!”

and the same goes for lian, she loves talking about momo’s dancing skills

JACKSON + LIAN: JACKLIAN

her dad :/

adopted her with amber liu like a year ago so now she’s just his daughter

supports each other like crazy not even joking

jackson promotes her on instagram and twitter 24/7

THEY HAVE SO MANY INTERACTIONS THANK GOD

lian was once given a ridiculously short dress while attending an award show and jackson gave her his jacket to wear over her legs because she wasn’t provided a blanket :(

(keep in mind, she went there without the members!)

lian added all his music to her playlist :)

once got drunk together and spent like three hours doing karaoke but it’s okay cause it was fun

speaking of getting drunk, jackson’s the cool dad that lets her do whatever she wants

he has his protective moments where he’s like “ma’am where are you going on that short of a dress” but he’s also like “hey wanna go get chicken and soju”

they both appeared on a radio show together as guests and they ruined the whole broadcast because they were too loud

like they kept getting out of their seats to go wave at all the fans outside the window and they were just fighting back and forth about whether or not lian’s extensions look real

according to jackson, they’re “NOT AUTHENTIC ENOUGH- LOVE YOUR HAIR FOR WHAT IT IS, LIANNA HANEUL BAE.” lian’s hair lives matter :/

PLSSS WHEN HYOSEOP AND LIAN STARTED DATING- no

jackson was so proud that his good friend was smooching his other good friend but the protective dad instincts really kicked in

“break her heart and you die no cap”

was surprisingly chill when they broke up though, he was just glad lian didn’t cry

SUNMI + LIAN: SUNLI

SUNMI IS HER MOM OHMYGOD

so many interactions

honestly took lian under wing once she debuted as a soloist

female kpop soloists gotta have each other’s backs in this industry man :(

sunmi calls lian her princess SOBS

lian always hugs sunmi at award shows, like if they’re sitting close together

or if they’re standing next to each other on stage

you bet your ass lian is gripping onto sunmi for dear life

did a photoshoot together for marie claire korea

they’re so hot bro

BUT THEY FIRST MET ON WEEKLY IDOL NOT LONG AFTER LIAN DEBUTED AS A SOLOIST

they were kinda awkward ngl uh

but by the end of it they were besties :DD

and they’ve been besties ever since

lian is the ceo of doing dance covers for sunmi’s songs

cmon lian we’re waiting for tail 👀

sunmi has actually met lian’s grandma </3

like her and lian were hanging out at the dorms while the boys were out on a schedule and her grandma just randomly showed up with homemade food so that was definitely a win

BANG CHAN + LIAN: LICHAN

they’ve been friends for a LOOONGGG time

and chain’s known her since dating back to like, smrookies era when lian was still a red velvet member

like at that time she had no idea he existed, but he was keeping up with her daily :(

chan plays her music on vlives all the time and he always knows the dance moves

like he just dances along in his chair and mumbles the lyrics

we love to see it

a lot of fans ship them together

SURPRISE SURPRSIE AH

only because chan gives off big pining energy

lian only looks at him like “:D” whereas he looks at her like “♡��♡”

kinda sad but

lian promotes him on live so often HVKSVU

“my friend chan is coming back with his group soon, you should check it out! :)”

and the way she just says “my friend chan” LIKE ITS SO OBVIOUSLY A FRIENDZONE BUT HE THINKS ITS ADORABLE

he once got a comment on a vlive to react to lian moments, obviously complying because who wouldn’t

there was this one clip of her saying “my friend chan from stay kids!” and whoever edited the compilation added in squishy noises right after while zooming in on her face

AND CHAN BLUSHED SO HARD NOO

“oh- hahaha, uhh, she’s so cute aw hahahah”

ASHLEY + LIAN: ASHLI

oh god not another lian x mom ship

ASHLEY LOVES LIAN WOAH

like she’s submitted lian’s resume to bm so many times so they could be part of the big tiddie committee together

ashley is constantly, and i mean constantly, reposting all of lian’s posts on her story with captions like “LOOK AT HER GO”

and lian has even discovered all the cool instagram filters because of ashley, and now we get the quality content from her that WE DESERVEEEEE

back when lian’s album came out, all ashley’s story really was was just screenshots of her streaming all the songs and calling them bops

when they first met in person after texting back in forth, ashley spammed her instagram story with pictures of lian that she took without her looking

these two radiate a lot of “YES GIRL WORKKK ITTT TURN THIS WAY OKAYYY POSE POSE POSE” energy

lian’s been featured in one of ashley’s youtube videos and it was when they met for the first time :)

they exchange a lot of gifts through the mail

like lian once found a mug when shopping with doyoung and she thought that it would fit ashley’s taste so she sent it to her apartment

and ever since then they just send random little gifts to each other’s houses

it’s so cute

MATCHING BUCKET HATS THEY HAVE MATCHING BUCKET HATS !!!!!!

ashley talks about lian all the time

she always says that for someone so young, she’s accomplished a lot and she’s really proud of her

they wanna do tiktoks with each other but they never have the time </3

lian spam comments on ashley’s instagram like “WOAH” “OKAYYYY” “YESYESYES”

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latte-fairytaekwoon · 4 years

Text

𝑾𝒐𝒍𝒇'𝒔 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 (𝑾𝒐𝒍𝒇! 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒊 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒐) 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟! 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨 (𝐀𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳)/ 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 (𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞)

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟, 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭, 𝐒𝐦𝐮𝐭, 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲/𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟 𝐀𝐔

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐘/𝐍 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠.

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"How long are you going to keep this up Jongho? She has to find out eventually."

The tall red haired male looked at his friend, who was currently pacing back and forth around the room. Sighing, he looked out the window and stared into the night sky.

"The yearly mating season will start in a few days.... and you're choosing to run away and leave her alone, wondering where you are..." He continued to say.

"Will you shut up Mingi!? Don't you think I know that?! Don't you think I'm suffering because of this?!" Jongho finally snapped.

He slammed his fist into the wall, frustrated and anxious at the thought that had been haunting him since he found out she was his mate: abandoning her for a few days so she never finds out about the secret he's been hiding his entire life.

"You know you don't have to Jongho. You could tell her everything."

Jongho shook his head, once again refusing to give in to the older male's suggestion.

"For goodness sake Jongho, she's your mate! She deserves to know! Stop being a coward about this!" Mingi shouted.

"Easy for you to say! It was easy for all of you! None of you had problems with your mates, because they were all wolfs! None of you know what it's like to have a human mate! None of you get it! The complications that come along with it!" He cried out.

"You're only making it complicated for yourself. Y/N loves you, she's not aware yet of the bond you two hold, but she will one day. And when you're gone for a long time, both of you will suffer. You will miss each other's absence and go mad if you're far away for too long, and you know it's as dangerous for our kind as it is for her."

Mingi's words began to sink into his heart. It was true. He's noticed how it had changed over time. While the first months, Y/N simply got mopey and pouty about not seeing him at times, it began worsening lately. He'd sometimes come back to find out she hardly ate in days, hardly slept and when she did, she'd often cry herself to sleep as she felt an overwhelming longing for him that she couldn't even comprehend because he wouldn't take the time to explain it to her.

"I can't....." Jongho whispered.

Mingi walked up behind his younger friend, whom he cherished like a brother. He gently patted him back in a comforting manner.

"You love her Jongho, so why hesitate? Don't you want to mate with her? Mark her and make your bond permanent?"

Jongho's wolf growled, prompting him to hold himself up against the wall. God how he wanted to mate her. The impure thoughts would get more and more stronger, especially with the mating season fast approaching, and each time it was harder to resist the urge of pining her under his body and take her. His wolf was constantly fighting with him, protesting against leaving his mate, and scowling at him for not doing something about it.

"I don't want to hurt her." Jongho said.

"You won't. And honestly if you ask me, she probably wants it just as much as you do." Mingi assured him.

Jongho's mind was made up though. He'd tell her one day, but it wouldn't be anytime soon. Right now he had to focus on packing the necessary for his journey out in the woods, far away from Y/N. It was going to be torturous, that much he knew, but at least Y/N would be safe.

Right?

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Y/N let out another heart wrenching sigh as her fingers idly drew unrecognizable shapes on the window. It was currently day two and there was no sign of Jongho. Not a call, a message, nothing to ease her mind or let her know Jongho was all right.... or thinking about her.

She couldn't help but ponder on why had Jongho been distant lately? Why did he refuse to let her know where he was going? Or for how long? And....the most puzzling thing to her......Why did he not even want to get physically close to her? As if he didn't want to touch her?

Could it be that he was seeing someone else?

Y/N shook her head, trying to get out any dark thoughts that threatened to invade her mind. But it was no use. She felt an agonizing pain in her chest. She started feeling it a while ago, but at that time it was a mere tingle, but now it hurt to the point she felt palpitations and she struggled to breathe at times.

"I need air."

Quickly getting up, she slipped her shoes, jacket and her favorite red scarf that Jongho had gifted her on their 6 month anniversary. Making sure to lock the door behind her, she looked out at the outstretched path that led to the forest near the town and started making her way inside it. When she first moved in with Jongho, she was scared by the close proximity of it. She often thought about scenarios involving kidnappings or murders. However Jongho loved taking walks through it, and he often surprised her with midnight picnics. So she grew to see the beauty of the dense trees, rustling of leaves and the tiny creatures that often skimmed past her feet. And she especially learned to love observing the omnipotent moon. For some reason it was calming and soothing to see it, shining brightly in contrast to the dark indigo night sky, accompanied by the glittering stars spread here and there.

And that's what she wanted to do right now. She strolled through the all too familiar path she often took, giggling softly whenever a rabbit or fox rushed past her. She looked at the setting sun, signaling it'd almost be completely covered and would soon be replaced by its nightly counterpart. Once she reached her favorite spot, in the form of a huge rock, she dusted off a few leaves and dirt before sitting down on it. Taking out her phone, she held it up to snap a quick picture of the horizon to send to Jongho. Maybe he'd respond to her and she'd at least get a word from him.

She heard some bushes rustle behind her but she didn't pay attention to it. It was probably another animal. But when she heard a branch snap harshly, she paused to listen more carefully. Her thumb quickly pressed the flip camera switch on her phone. Tilting her phone slightly, she looked at her own image on the phone and examined what was behind her.

Fear fell over her as she noticed a large tawny colored canine bearing its fangs at her. It seemed to have noticed or sensed her apprehension since it began snarling at her and edging closer and closer. Taking a deep breath, she quickly got up and ran as fast as she could. She didn't dare look back but based on the bark-howl she heard behind her, she knew it was chasing after her. She looked around at the trees, hoping to spot one easy enough for her to climb. Shifting to the left, she hurdled over a log, slightly tripping, but managing to get up as quickly as possible. She kept running even though she could no longer hear the animal chasing after her. Perhaps she lost it?

Big no.

She felt something lunge at her from the side, knocking her to the ground. She thrusted her elbow behind her, effectively directing the wolf's face away from her as it let out a pained whine. Then she kicked its abdomen, forcing its weight off her. She hoped it did enough damage to let her get away and it briefly did. She only got a few meters away though when she let out a yelp when she felt sharp teeth dig into her leg. She held her hands out to prevent her face from hitting the ground as she toppled forward. She cried out in pain as the beast dragged her back to god knows where. Y/N tried to kick itself face with her other leg, but it was no use. Her hands aimlessly claw at the dirt beneath her, trying to desperately clutch onto something. She began tearing up and screaming her lungs out. For some reason, her mind urged to suddenly cry out:

"Jongho!"

She thought she was as good as dead when she felt the wolf's mouth detach itself from her bloody leg. She heard what sounded like a struggle behind her. Using what little strength she had left, she turned herself onto her back and widened her eyes when she saw a dark amber colored wolf fight off her attacker. This one was noticeably larger and bulkier in size. It lunged at the other wolf, going for its neck and pining it underneath him. The tawny wolf bit at the other's leg, halting his assault on him enough for him to escape from his clutches. They stood in front of each other, the tawny wolf getting ready to attack when the amber wolf began howling. His howl was soon followed by what sounded like 3 or more wolves, signaling they were on their way. Knowing he'd be outnumbered, the tawny wolf let out a low grumble as he began sauntering away before the others came.

Y/N panted heavily. She gasped and began retreating when the amber wolf came closer to her. She tried to lift herself up, but her injured leg made her fall back into the ground.

"Ow!" She clutched her leg, hissing from the pain.

Y/N didn't dare move, afraid of this wolf doing something to her as it stood right in front of her. She heard it let out a tiny whimper and watched in surprise and confusion as it examined her wound, nudging its nose against her ankle. It looked right back at her and for some time she didn't feel afraid. There was some sort of familiarity and comfort in the wolf's dark brown orbs that looked at hers with intensity.

"Are.....are you...if you're going to kill me just get it over with..." She felt stupid for her words and even more stupid for even believing that creature could understand her.

But he did.

The wolf looked down before looking back at her. Y/N widened her eyes as the wolf began to morph right in front of her eyes. Its fur replaced by light tanned skin, paws replaced by strong, muscular arms, until in front of her stood an all too familiar face and familiar eyes that she had been missing for a while.

"J-Jongho?" She gasped out, her hand flying to cover her mouth at what she just saw.

"Uh....hi Y/N." He awkwardly replied, his hands trying to cover himself protectively as he was standing in front of her all nude.

Whether it was the adrenaline that was still rushing through her, her injured leg that was pouring crimson blood, the shock of seeing her lover transform in front of her, or a mix of all, Y/N's head began to get dizzy and before she knew it, she had passed out right there.

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"Will she be ok?" "She'll be fine, the bite wasn't that deep. Luckily." "Why hasn't she woken up?" "Give her time. Her kind don't heal as fast as we do." "Stop fretting. She'll wake up soon enough."

Y/N could hear hushed whispers around her. Slowly, she fluttered her eyes open, trying to adjust to the light. She looked up and saw 4 strange faces looking at her.

"Y/N? Baby? Are you ok?"

She looked to her right when she felt someone take her hand. It turned out to be none other than Jongho, who was watching her closely anticipating her reaction.

Y/N let out a high pitched scream when she remembered the events of the night before. Jongho, as well as the others covered their ears, which were extremely sensitive.

"You! Last night! At the woods! You you you....." She sputtered out incoherently, not knowing if what she saw last night was real or not. Was she going insane?

"See? If you had told her from the beginning, this whole situation could have been avoided." A tall male with red hair shook his head disappointedly in Jongho's direction.

"Now is not the time for the 'I told you so' speech." Another male, with platinum blonde hair spoke up.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?"

A girl with ebony hair directed her attention to Y/N, pressing her palm against her forehead to feel her temperature. Y/N relaxed under the girl's touch, making her feel more calm.

"I....don't know...what's going on? Who are you? Jongho-"

"Shhh." The girl rested her hands on Y/N's shoulders, keeping her from getting up when she began shifting. She continued:

"It's ok. We're not going to hurt you little one. Please relax and let us attend to your wounds."

She looked over at the tiny ginger haired girl standing next to the tall male.

"Hana, get the water and medicine ready. You three." She pointed to the males. "Shoo. You're terrifying the poor child."

"But Noona-" Jongho protested.

"I know you want to stay by her side Jongho, but she's gone through a lot. Leave her to us. I promise we'll take care of her." The girl told him.

Jongho seemed to struggle to obey her orders. He looked over to the platinum blonde male, who signaled him to follow him and the other male out of the room. Jongho sighed and looked over at Y/N. Without thinking, he leaned in and tenderly kissed her forehead, which made Y/N's heart flutter. Whispering an 'I love you' to her, he went over to the door, taking one final look at his mate before shutting it behind him.

"I'm really sorry about all this. You must have had such a scare last night." The ebony haired girl smiled softly at her, brushing some stray hairs out of Y/N's face.

"Who are all of you?" Y/N repeated her previous question.

The girl tilted her head down at Y/N.

"My name is Aurora. My friend here is Hana." She introduced herself.

"Hello." Hana spoke up for the first time, her voice matching her tiny frame.

"The two men you saw before are our mates, Hongjoong and Mingi." Aurora continued her explanation.

"Mates?" Y/N furrowed her eyebrows.

"I guess the term your kind use might be... boyfriend? Spouse? Lover? Depending on the situation?" Hana tried to help her comprehend.

"My kind...?" Y/N looked back and forth between them. "What exactly are you?"

Aurora and Hana looked at each other, with Hana urging Aurora to take the lead.

"We're.......wolves." She simply answered.

"Wolves?" Y/N asked, as if the events from last night didn't serve as a big hint.

"I'll explain as much as I can while we attend to your wound." Aurora smiled warmly at her, making Y/N feel at ease with them.

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Y/N learned so much about Jongho and the others in the days that they stayed to attend to her while she healed from her injury. She learned that Hongjoong, the platinum blonde male, was the Alpha of the pack, and Aurora was his Luna, which explained why she had such a motherly nature to her, even though she was only a few years older than Y/N herself. Mingi, who frightened her at first with his tall build and stoic face, was the pack's Beta. He was so different from his mate, Hana, who was small and on the timid side, but was extremely helpful and hard working.

Then there was Jongho, whom she found out was the lead warrior in their pack. It didn't seem that shocking to her when she found out. He was extremely strong and skilled. He kept his distance at the beginning, afraid of scaring her more than he already did. But Hana went up to him one night, urging him to go talk to Y/N, telling him that she was yearning for him.

Instantly, Jongho sped to her room, where Y/N was waiting for him. She pouted at him and made grabby hands towards him, which he couldn't refuse. He embraced her tightly, inhaling her scent that he had missed so much. His wolf inwardly howled, happy to feel his mate's touch and affection once again.

"Y/N I'm really sorry for keeping all this from you. I was afraid-"

Y/N silenced him with a kiss, unable to hold herself back. She pulled away enough to say:

"Don't apologize. I understand why you did it and I want to tell you, it's ok. I'm not afraid anymore. I'm just happy you're back here with me...."

Biting her lip, she admitted shyly:

"I missed you."

Jongho blurted and grinned.

"I missed you two love."

He pecked her lips several times, both of them letting out soft giggles every now and then when their noses would accidentally bump against each other's.

Once her leg was healed enough, the rest of the party deemed it fit for them to leave. After all, it was still mating season and no doubt it would be best to have them be alone for a while. Y/N hugged Aurora and Hana goodbye, both of them making her promise that she'd keep in touch with them, which she readily agreed to.

Everything seemed to go back to normal for Jongho and Y/N, although she did felt him to still be a little tense around her. But now she knew why. She recalled the conversation she had with Aurora when she confided in her that she believed for a moment that Jongho was seeing someone else, which Aurora promptly refuted.

"Once a wolf finds his or her mate, they are loyal for life." She told her.

That was how she explained to her that Jongho was simply fighting his urges to mate with her.

"How do wolves mate?" Y/N asked her.

"Well...you know.." Aurora made a circle with one of her hands and began inserting a finger with her other hand, making both her and Y/N burst out giggling.

"You mean it's just sex?" Y/N tried to understand.

"Technically yes...but you see. He's going to want to mark you, symbolising his ownership over you and making your bond official. And there's the case of knotting..."

When Aurora explained the knotting process to her, Y/N's eyes nearly bulged out. Hesitantly she asked:

"So...does it hurt?"

Aurora quickly shook her head. "No. Well I guess for your kind it might be a little uncomfortable, but trust me. Jongho would never allow you to be in pain. Just leave it all to him. He knows what he's doing."

Ever since then, Y/N had been very curious about mating with Jongho. More than curious. The more she thought about it, the more aroused she began to feel as she pictured his thick length inside her, which she had actually already seen. She blushed every time she recalled when she saw him naked, standing in front of her with his glorious body, her hands going in between her thighs, rubbing tentatively at them.

Jongho was suffering because of it. He could feel and smell her pheromones. It was affecting him deeply. The close proximity to her wasn't of great help either, as neither was his wolf.

"What are you waiting for? Can't you smell her? Our mates sweet and delicious scent? She wants it and so do we! Do something about it!"

"No! It's not time yet! She's not ready!" Jongho tried to protest.

"It's the perfect time you fool! The moon will be full tonight and she's more than ready. She's in prime heat. You know what that means."

Jongho decided to shut out his wolf, refusing to listen to him anymore. He was not about to lose his self control.

But Y/N wasn't making it any easier. All day she had been teasing Jongho, either by doing seemingly innocent things that had double meanings or simply by touching him out of nowhere. Jongho simply wanted to get through the night unbothered, but Y/N wasn't having any of it.

Tired of him not picking up on her hints, she straddled him when they both got into bed.

"Y/N, what are you?-"

She cut him off when she kissed him desperately, as her hips grinded down on him, making him moan into her mouth.

"Jongho.... please just mate me." She fluttered her eyes at him, her bottom lip out in a pout, causing Jongho to swallow harshly.

"What are you waiting for? You're just going to leave her there when she's yearning for us? You're even more foolish than I thought." His wolf reprimanded him.

"Y/N...please don't- oh my god."

Jongho let out a groan when Y/N's mouth attached to his neck, which was extremely sensitive. Y/N began kissing and suckling at a particular spot that sent shivers down his spine.

"You like that? Are you enjoying it Jongho?" She whispered teasingly in his ear, chuckling when she felt him let out a hiss.

"Well if you won't mark me, I'll mark you. I'll make sure to mark you very prettily. " She giggled.

Y/N squealed when Jongho harshly gripped her hips and pulled her off him. She gasped sharply when he pinned her down on the bed, his hands holding her wrists down above her head.

"Listen to me very carefully my lovely mate. You don't get to mark me. Only I get to mark you. Got it?"

Jongho's dominant tone turned her on more than she already was. She quickly nodded and let out a tiny 'yes'. Smirking he leaned down and kissed her jaw and neck, trailing sloppy kisses across it as his large hands began to roam around her body. Sliding under the silk fabric of her pajama shirt, they began fondling her breasts. He cupped and squeezed them, his fingers occasionally pinching her sensitive nipples, making Y/N squeak whenever he did.

Jongho chuckled as he tore the flimsy fabric with his bare hands, tossing the now ruined clothing on the floor. He picked up right where he left off, his mouth quickly attaching to one of her breasts. Y/N arched her back, prompting Jongho to take more of her in his mouth. Her hands clutched at his hair when his mouth began moving south. He smirked as he pulled back the elastic band of her shorts, releasing it and letting it snap against her skin, the slight sting making her clench around nothing.

"Stop playing around and get down to it man! Can't you feel she wants us inside her now?"

"You'll get your fun soon. Right now, I'm having my little fun with her."

Jongho maintained eye contact with her as his fingers hooked on each side of her shorts.

"You know.....I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you... I always hated this pajama set."

Without warning, he ripped her shorts and panties apart as if it was a mere piece of paper. The cool breeze the she felt in her wet core had Y/N clenching her thighs together, slightly rubbing against each other. Jongho tapped her ankle that wasn't bandaged.

"Open." He ordered her.

Y/N slowly slid her legs open, allowing him to peer down at her completely exposed body. Jongho suppressed a moan as his wolf howled inside him.

"God our mate is beyond beautiful."

For the first time in a while, Jongho actually agreed with him. He took the opportunity to use one of his hands to glide up her inner thighs. His fingers collected some of the slick from her folds before he brought them up to his lips, licking it off, making Y/N blush intensely and look away from such a dirty scene.

Jongho's hand gripped her chin to make her look up at him.

"Don't look away love. I want you to keep your eyes on me the entire time. Ok?"

"Y-yes..." She replied.

Y/N watched in anticipation as Jongho began to remove his clothing. Her breath hitched when she gazed once again upon his muscly and toned arms. And she could not look away when he freed his cock that she'd been fantasizing about lately. It looked bigger than what she remembered, probably because right now it was wanting to be inside her, to fill her up with his cum.

Jongho stroked himself and looked at Y/N

"Are you sure about this love? If you want to back out, I won't stop you." He reminded her, prompting his wolf to snarl grudgingly at him.

Y/N leaned up and pecked his lips.

"Mark me my mate."

With those 4 words, Jongho no longer had any doubts. He hovered his body on top of Y/N's, his hand cupping her chin as he kissed her softly. His other hand aligned his cock against her entrance. Getting the head in, his hand then moved to the back of her left thigh, to steady her body as he began pushing the rest of his length inside her. Both released a series of low moans at the newly found feeling. Jongho resisted the urge to start pounding into her, remembering she wasn't as strong as he was, letting her get adjusted to his size.

He gave an experimental roll of his hips, to test if she was ready.

"Ah Jongho!- d-do that again." Y/N asked him.

Jongho complied to her wish and began repeating the same movement from before. His hand moved between their bodies, rubbing at her clit to help stimulate her even further. Y/N threw her head back and moaned even louder. Aurora was right: Jongho definitely knew what he was doing.

She felt something start to build up on the pit of her stomach, and while Jongho was already doing an amazing job, Y/N's body was begging for more.

"Jong- Jongho?"

Jongho slowed down, thinking she was feeling uncomfortable or in pain.

"Yes love?" He asked, completely halting his movements which made Y/N start fussing.

"Don't stop! Go faster!" She whined as she rolled her hips, trying to desperately get the feeling from before back.

Jongho hesitated, silencing his wolf which was encouraging him to be a little rougher with her.

"Jongho!" Y/N's cry of anguish snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Please..... fuck me." She pleaded with tears brimming in her eyes.

Jongho widened his eyes at her use of such foul language. But the way she was practically begging him to ruin her....he could no longer resist. His hands gripped her waist as his snapped up against hers, his cock hitting back and harder on the spot that made Y/N turn into a whimpering mess.

"Yes! Right there! Oh my god!" She cried out in pleasure.

Jongho felt her walls tightening against his cock. God it felt so amazing. He internally cursed himself for having waited so long to claim her as his. He couldn't wait to mark her, to swell up inside her and fill her up with his semen.

"Jongho.. I'm close." She warned him.

"It's ok. Go ahead love." His hand stroked her cheek, assuring her it was ok.

Jongho clenched his teeth when she felt him tighten on him. The feeling was overwhelming and Y/N's body writhing underneath him, chanting his name as she came, only served to pull him closer to the edge. His hands went to grab Y/N's, intertwining their fingers as he felt himself swelling inside her. Y/N let out a tiny whimper at the foreign feeling, shutting her eyes.

"Hey baby, look at me. It's ok. I promise it won't last long." Jongho comforted her as he continued to thrust in and out of her.

Once he felt himself swell up completely, he halted his movements when his knot began releasing his cum inside of her.

"Fuck! Oh my!" Jongho grunted at the blissful feeling as his body collapsed on top of Y/N's.

They both panted heavily, trying to come down from their highs, beads of sweat dripping down both of their foreheads. Jongho stayed inside her for a few minutes, wanting to let his knot go down before pulling out of her. He knew how painful it could be for both of them, but especially Y/N if he pulled out when his knot was still swollen.

He took the opportunity to kiss at the nape of her neck. Y/N shuddered when she felt his fangs come out.

"My mate....all mine." Jongho whispered softly against her skin.

Y/N inhaled sharply when Jongho bit down on her flesh. It definitely wasn't as painful as she thought it'd be. It hurt but it was a pleasurable kind of pain. Jongho pulled back and stared at the mark he left, feeling proud and accomplished with his work. Retracting his fangs, he licked around the bruised spot to soothe it and placed a loving kiss afterwards.

"How does it look?" Y/N asked, her hand reaching to touch where he bit.

"It's beautiful." He answered, nuzzling his nose against hers.

He pulled out of her and layed next to her, realization hitting him that he had finally mated the love of his life. Jongho wouldn't keep the cheerful smile that overtook his features. Rolling over, he pulled Y/N against him so her back was pressed to his chest and kissed her shoulder. She hummed softly when he began drawing shapes on her arm.

"What are you thinking about?" She turned to look at him.

"How insanely happy I am to have you." Jongho smiled adoringly at her.

"Are you?" She giggled.

"I am. I love you." Jongho confessed, kissing her lips softly and squeezing her closer to his body.

"I love you too Jongho." Y/N returned his statement.

Jongho began to poke at the freshly made mark, making Y/N snort.

"Are you proud of yourself?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Can you tell?" Jongho giggled.

"Is everything scratched off your wolf bucket list now?" She joked.

Jongho hummed, pretending to think about it for a bit.

"Almost..."

"Almost?" Y/N tilted her head in curiosity.

Jongho snickered as he replied:

"All that's left now is to impregnate you with my pups."

Y/N's head snapped to look at him in complete shock that he said that. Jongho began laughing at her reaction, making Y/N slap his arm.

"Choi Jongho! Don't scare me like that!" She exclaimed.

"Oh come on, don't frown too much at the idea. I think you'll look absolutely adorable with your belly swollen from carrying our babies inside you." He cooed at her.

"Well there's plenty of time for that in the future." She said.

"Yeah.....plenty of time indeed." Jongho teased as he shifted his body so she could feel exactly what he meant.

Y/N looked at him incredulous when she felt him poke against her thigh.

"Jongho! What the hell?! You're up already?"

"Hey don't blame me love. It is mating season."

Wiggling his eyebrows, his hand moved to lift her leg up a little so he could easily slip his cock inside her again.

"And like you said, we have plenty of time."

Y/N giggled at his words.

"How long exactly does this mating season last?"

Jongho shrugged.

"It changes every year. Maybe a week, maybe a month. I'm not exactly sure..... one thing's for sure though..."

With one swift move, Jongho slipped himself inside Y/N once again. Smirking down at her, he continued:

"We're not sleeping anytime soon my precious mate."

❂✿❂✿❂✿❂✿❂✿❂✿❂✿❂✿❂✿❂✿❂✿❂

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avengerscompound · 4 years

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The Tower: Family - 29

The Tower: Family An Avengers Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Pairing: Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 1858

Warnings: Pregnancy, labor, delivery, medical proceedures

Synopsis: With new powers, Thor now living on Earth full time, a wedding to plan, and Natasha and Wanda expecting, a lot is changing for Elly and her large and rather unconventional family. When Elise’s parents try to reestablish connections, Elly questions what being a family actually means.

Chapter 29: Becca

When Natasha went into labor it was about as dramatic as what you’d expect it to be for her.

It was a week before her due date, but well into the zone the doctor’s call full term. She was uncomfortable and hating it but she still insisted that she be the one that walked the kids to and from school every day so that she could cloak them. Because it was getting so close to her due date, Clint and Bucky had started to shadow her again. That meant, rather than a random changing of the guard for the people doing the drop-off and pick-up, it was always Clint, Bucky, and Natasha.

They had been out for around half an hour when they returned. I was sitting in the living room with Sam and Wanda while she nursed the babies.

Wanda had been such a star with breastfeeding. With Riley and Pietro I’d ended up needing a bottle supplement which had turned to complete formula diets when they realized the bottle was a much easier way to get lots of milk. I also remember struggling to feed them both at the same time.

Wanda had no such trouble. I don’t know if it was just her and she would have been fine no matter what, or if it was the fact her powers pretty much allowed for anything - or a combination of the both - but she could feed both twins at once, never complained, and the babies were steadily gaining weight.

If there was a way for a person to burst through elevator doors, Natasha did it. All three of us looked over startled as Nat hurried inside, beelining straight to the stairs. There was a shadow of wetness on her maternity pants and a look of frustration on her face.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked his eyes flicking from Natasha who was already halfway up the stairs to Bucky and Clint who were following after her.

“Nat’s water broke while we were dropping the kids off at school. She started getting contractions on the way back,” Clint explained.

Wanda gave an excited squeak that made Rose give her the dirtiest look a newborn can muster.

“Wow, alright,” Sam said. “El, you go with them. FRIDAY, let the others know it’s happening. And tell Happy, Travis, and Amber that I need to see them.”

“Yes, sir,” FRIDAY replied.

I gave Sam a curious look. “Well, the kids are going to need to be picked up, I figure if Happy drives one either Travis or Amber. And they’re both going to need to be extra hands-on, because I’m pretty sure Wanda’s going to want to come down and be with Nat too, right, honey?”

“Oh yes,” Wanda agreed. “I’ll come up to feed these two, but I don’t want to miss that.”

“Alright, I’ll go check on Nat,” I said getting up. “I’m sure we’re still many, many hours away. She probably won’t come until tomorrow morning.”

“Wanna bet on the time?” Sam asked.

I smirked at him. “Yeah, alright. I think 3.30 am.”

“I’m gonna say 11 am. Rebecca’s going to sleep in,” Sam said.

“Closest to it wins? If it’s exactly in the middle it can be you,” I suggested.

“Sounds good,” he said, holding out his hand for me to shake.

“What’s the prize?” I asked.

Sam smirked at me. “I’m sure we can think of something.”

I giggled and headed upstairs to check on Natasha. I found her in the shower with Bucky, while Clint lazed on the bed. “How are you doing there, Nat?” I asked.

“Completely mortified,” she said. “I was talking to one of the other mothers and I just … exploded all over them. Amniotic fluid went everywhere. All over her pants legs. And the floor. The worst part was that I think the labor started this morning, but I thought it was those Braxton Hicks contractions so I ignored them.”

“That is very dramatic, Tasha,” I teased. “Perfectly you.”

“I am really glad I have those powers, I tell you,” Natasha said. “I would have to murder half the population of the planet if pap photos came out with me looking like I wet my pants.”

I smothered a laugh. “No, we wouldn’t want that.”

“Careful, El,” Natasha warned.

“Yeah, El, don’t anger the assassin that’s in labor,” Bucky teased.

Natasha got out of the shower and I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her as Bucky turned off the water.

“What no towel for me?” Bucky asked, stepping out onto the bath mat.

I grabbed another towel and threw it at him. He caught it laughing and I giggled and turned my attention back to Natasha. “Have you called the medbay?”

“Yes,” Natasha said. “I called them on the way home. They said to wait until five minutes apart and then come down. I only had -” she looked at Bucky. “-two? Since my water broke, so I think we are a ways off yet.”

She wasn’t kidding. Most of the rest of the day was spent just as normal. Only every half hour, give-or-take, Natasha would have a contraction. Happy and Travis went and collected the kids from school. By dinner time Natasha was beginning to feel it and opted out of eating anything but she sat at the table with us. She only winced once during the meal but tried not to let the kids see her discomfort. Bruce even had time to read Riley and Pietro their bedtime stories before things started to get serious.

At around 11.30 Natasha was in serious pain and not able to hide it anymore. Given her background and the super-serum her pain tolerance was higher than most, so it was difficult to see her struggling so much with it.

We took turns pacing with her, rubbing her back, and feeding her ice chips. At around one I ran a bath for her and Steve sat on the edge of the tub and held the nozzle against her back.

By two she couldn’t take it anymore. We went down to the medbay and Clint supported her while they put in an epidural. When that kicked in, it was like Nat was a completely different person. She just kicked back in the hospital bed dozed through her contractions and we all spread out around the room doing the same.

We all awkwardly slept where we could, only waking when the nurses came in to check her progress. At a little after three, they told us it was nearly time for Natasha to push. They turned off the epidural and the pain of childbirth returned to her in full. She hunched forward grabbing her knees and bared down. Sweat clung to her skin and her face flush red.

“That’s it, Natasha,” Doctor Shroeder coached. “Push.”

There was nothing beautiful or romantic about the way Natasha gave birth. It wasn’t a magical moment where life miraculously entered the world. It was messy and bloody and loud. After half an hour of pushing, Rebecca began to crown, and right away we could see she was going to take after her biological mom more than her biological dad. She had a little cap of pale red hair that was just visible.

“We can see her, Nat,” Sam said, excitedly.

“Not long now, Tasha,” Bucky added.

“It’s gotten to that freaky horror movie part, Nat,” Clint said. “You want a mirror so you can see?”

Natasha nodded and Doctor Schroeder grabbed a mirror and held it up for her to see. “There she is. Your little redhead girl.”

Natasha smiled and started to sob. She had gone past the point where she could speak it seemed and everything had gotten too much. Bucky patted her forehead with a damp cloth.

“Alright, Natasha, next time you feel the urge again, push,” the doctor said.

Natasha bared down. “I hate you so much, James Barnes,” she moaned as she pushed.

“I know, Tasha,” he said. “I don’t blame you.”

“You’re doing so well, sweetheart,” Steve praised.

She shot him a look that screamed bloody murder. “Shut your stupid, positive mouth.”

Tony tried to stifle a laugh as Steve’s cheeks flushed.

It was another two pushes until Rebecca’s head was clear, and only two more after that before she joined us screaming her head off. “Here she is. Your daughter has a lot to say.”

Natasha lay back exhausted but looking very pleased with herself. I was ushered forward and cut the cord and the little squawling baby was put onto Natasha’s chest. “Hey, Becca,” she croaked. “You made it.”

Her cries began to settle and she lay staring up at all the faces peering down at her. “You did so well, Natasha,” Wanda praised. “Look at that perfect little girl.”

“I can’t believe you did this with two and no drugs,” Natasha sighed, caressing Rebecca’s back.

“What time is it?” Sam asked, reaching over and playing with Rebecca’s hand.

“Her official birth time is 4.23 in the morning,” Doctor Shroeder answered.

“Ha! I win,” I teased.

Sam smirked at me. “Seems to me, we both win, princess.”

“Okay, okay, enough of that talk in front of the baby,” Bruce joked.

The medical staff fussed around Natasha, giving Rebecca her shots and a shot to Nat to help her deliver the placenta. We were all too caught up in Rebecca’s presence to pay that much attention. Though Bruce and I both looked over the placenta fascinated when it was out.

Eventually, the nurses took Rebecca off Natasha to clean her up a little and check her over. Thor rubbed my back. “Only one more to go,” he said.

“He can stay put for a little longer,” I said. “Let him get fully cooked.”

Once Natasha had been taken to her room with Rebecca and she’d showered and changed into her pajamas it was just past breakfast time and Amber and Travis brought Riley, Pietro, Sarah, and Rose down. It was funny, even though Sarah and Rose were almost three weeks older than Rebecca they were still a little smaller than her. We once again got Riley and Pietro gifts from the newborn and they were much more interested in opening those than interacting with their new sibling.

“Alright kiddos, you better say goodbye to everyone, it’s time to get to school,” Amber said.

“Do we hafta?” Riley asked.

Steve shrugged. “You can stay if you want, but we’re all very tired and everyone will most likely be sleeping.”

Riley seemed to ponder the predicament for a moment and then nodded. “Otay, we go.”

“Sounds good, bug,” I said and kissed them both goodbye. “Are you going to say goodbye to all your sisters?”

“Otay,” Pietro said and the two went around kissing first all their parents and then the babies goodbye.

“Bye-bye!” They called as Amber led them from the room.

“Okay but that was really cute,” Clint said.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I have to say I am really glad we have FRIDAY recording things because I definitely want framed pictures of them kissing the babies goodbye.”

// NEXT

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reinerispretty · 4 years

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rotations. (zuko x f!reader) pt 8

hi!! thank you all so so much for reading!! i’m having so much fun writing this and i’m glad you’re enjoying it :) this is a bit of a shorter one, but i’m gonna post one more for the night!

pt 1

pt 7

pt 9

Her fire wasn’t nearly as hot as Azula’s, but it was still fire. She remembered when she was young and what her instructors had said was her advantage against Azula and Zuko: control. They both used their anger to fuel their firebending. (Y/N) used her determination.

The group had been traveling on the sky bison’s back for a few days, ever since a suspicious looking machine had started tailing them. They were all exhausted and cranky and certainly taking it out on each other. Even Sokka and (Y/N) had begun making snide remarks to each other again. But Toph and Katara were by far the worst. The two girls led very different lives. Toph was more of a loner and a free spirit, who liked to do things on her own terms. Katara enjoyed order and regularity. Their differences caused them to butt heads and the lack of sleep wasn’t doing them any favors, either.

After Toph and Katara’s heated argument, the group had separated. Toph ran off on her own, Aang took a bag full of Appa’s fur, and Sokka, Katara, and (Y/N) flew Appa in the opposite direction. Mai and Ty Lee quickly caught up with them, but their fight was swiftly ended when Appa sent the two Fire Nation girls into the river.

They flew to where Aang had told them he would be. As they landed, they could see their friend fighting off the blue flames that could only belong to one person.

Once they arrived, (Y/N) could feel her limbs being weighed down from exhaustion. She knew that she was far too tired to fight, but she would push through it. The people of her nation were headstrong and determined, and she would not allow Azula to bring harm to any of her friends.

She darted toward Azula, running up the side of one of the abandoned buildings to kick her flames at her. Her fire wasn’t nearly as hot as Azula’s, but it was still fire. She remembered when she was young and what her instructors had said was her advantage against Azula and Zuko: control. They both used their anger to fuel their firebending. (Y/N) used her determination. So she led the attack on Azula with her friends following closely behind. It felt like they were different limbs from the same body; their bending techniques complimented each other so seamlessly that she felt like they were unstoppable. Azula, of course, was always one step ahead of them.

To say that (Y/N) was surprised to see another blast of flame pass her was an understatement. She knew she hadn’t produced it. She turned quickly to see Zuko standing at her side. His hair had grown since the last time she had seen him in the North Pole. He no longer wore his signature Fire Nation ponytail. He looked different, but in a good way.

Still, she could not completely let her defenses down around him. She brought her hand back to shoot at him, but he ran past her. It wasn’t her that he wanted to fight. It was Azula.

With the work of their team and the additional help of Iroh and Zuko, they made quick work of cornering Azula. “That’s alright,” the girl said. “A princess accepts defeat with honor.” In the next instant, Azula struck Iroh down with lightning. She heard Zuko’s muffled shout, but her ears were ringing from the crack of light. She looked back to see Iroh on the ground and when she turned around, Azula was gone.

It felt like she was running over to him in slow motion. Azula had hit him right in the chest, over his heart. Regardless of what side they were on, Iroh was a good man. He was kind and selfless. The few times that he had visited the palace when she was there were always filled with good memories.

“(Y/N),” he had said, on the eve of her tenth birthday. “Your destiny is not set in stone. You have the power to change the fate that has been given to you.” Looking back on it, his words were almost like a warning of what was to come.

He seemed to be one of the few people in the Fire Nation that had an ounce of humanity within him.

Zuko reached Iroh before before she did. She dropped to her knees and reached out to touch him, to comfort him, but Zuko wouldn’t let her. “Zuko, please,” She begged. “Let Katara help, she can heal him--” She reached out to touch Iroh, but this time Zuko shoved her away.

“I don’t need your help!” He shouted at her. Tears streamed from his amber eyes. They had been children, the last time she had seen him cry. “Go away, all of you!” He cradled his uncle in his arms.

Sokka helped her get to her feet. He pulled her away and toward Appa, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of Zuko. Despite how he had treated her, she longed to comfort him like she had when they were younger. To pull him into a hug and tell him that it would be alright. She felt sick.

She didn’t speak to anyone when they began flying away. She sat at the back of Appa’s saddle, watching as the little abandoned town became smaller and smaller. She couldn’t untangle her emotions. She thought that she had taught herself to forget about Zuko. She thought she had convinced herself that he was evil and that there was no hope for people like him. So why did she feel so sad?

And the way that he had spoken to her... Even when she had captured her, he had never sounded that way. His voice was harsh and he was so hurt and angry. He sounded like he hated her.

So, she did as she always did when she needed comforting. She pulled her knees into herself, wrapped her arms around them, and rested her chin atop her kneecaps.

Sokka looked back at his friend. He knew how hard this must be for her. While he had no doubt that she was as good as good could get, he didn’t expect her to just forget her friends from her old life. They were a big part of who she was. He couldn’t imagine having to fight someone he had grown up with.

He made his way across the saddle and sat next to her, close enough so that their arms were touching. He didn’t say anything to her. He didn’t want to make her talk if she wasn’t ready to. But much to his surprise, she turned to face him. She was so sad, but her eyes were free of tears. He suspected that she was too tired to cry.

“He’s done so many bad things.” Sokka nodded as he started rubbing her back. “Then why do I still feel like this?”

Sokka pulled her into a hug, resting his head atop hers. “I wish I could give you an answer.”

---

Tag List!

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#avatar #atla #zuko x reader #aang x reader #sokka x reader #katara #toph #iroh #azula #sokka #aang #zuko #writing #fanfiction #the last airbender

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yariwrites · 3 years

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Once Upon A Dream

Royal Prep is doing Sleeping Beauty for this year's play. This is my entry for the Hugfia Appreciation Week 2021! Day 2 - Fairy Tales ps: english it's not my first lenguage let me know if there's any mistakes!

Royal Prep was known for their incredible programs that were there to help the future Kings, queens and advisors from all around the Ever Realm become better people. But the truth is, kids just want to have fun. And that’s why Miss Elodie’s class was always full. Even the kids that didn’t enjoy theatre that much like being in her plays. And they were just about to graduate so that was one of their last chances of doing something together.

Miss Elodie had decided that the play this time would be The Tales of the Sleeping Beauty! She even got Flora, Fauna and Merryweather to help her with the details of the play. And today was the day she was finally going to assign roles! The auditorium was full of noise, princess and prince whispering in every corner.

“God, I hope I get to do costumes this time too!” Amber sat next to Sofia and Clio, looking as bright as usual. “Aurora’s gown is the most beautiful gown ever!”

“I’m sure you get it, you’re the best for that Amber.” Sofia nodded, agreeing with Clio’s words. “Who do you think will get the role of Prince Phillip?”

“Desmond tried out for that part, maybe he will get it” Said Sofia

“I’m not sure about that” Amber looked to the other side of the theatre, where all the boys were seated. “He doesn’t look like a Phillip to me.”

“Then maybe James, or even Zandar” Sofia followed her sister’s eyes, yeah, James would be a nice Phillip. He had already fought a dragon and everything.

“I think Zandar actually tried out for the role of king” Came Vivian’s voice, from the row in front of them. The princess had turned her head back to them, with a shy smile on her face.

“Oh, come on. Everyone know the prince part of going to be Hugo’s.” Maya joined their conversation, looking at them with a smirk.

“Well, he is still the most popular prince of the school after all.” Amber said, and everyone had to agree to it.

The conversation couldn’t go on because Miss Elodie finally made her entrance. She stood on the center of the stage, looking over the children with a kind smile on her face. A big stack of papers laid on her hands, probably the scripts for the actors and the task list for the ones that didn’t like to be in the play but wanted to help.

“Thanks for your patient everyone! Now, I’m going to be going over the cast list in just a second, ok? But I’m going to be keeping the roles of Phillip and Aurora a surprise until the very end!”

The teacher voice sounded loud and clean, she knew how to make herself heard in a room full of excited kids.

“Okay, let’s start but wait until the end to celebrate, okay? I need this to be fast!” She cleared her throat a few times before starting to speak again. “Now, for the role of King Stefan and Queen Leah… Prince Zandar and Princess Clio. For Maleficent we have… Oh yeah, Princess Zoey! And for the three fairies we have Maya, Jun and Kari. King Hubert will be Prince James.”

She kept on assigning other small roles for a few minutes. Finally, Miss Elodie stepped down the stage, walking through the seats, handling down scripts until only two of them were on her hands.

“And now, for the roles of Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora… Prince Hugo and Princess Sofia! Congratulations, everyone. You can celebrate now.”

She, once again, handed the scripts to the kids, first Sofia and then Hugo. Soon enough everyone was up and chatting away, the room filled with noise again. Hugo approached Sofia, holding his script tight on his hands.

“Hey, congrats on getting the big part, Sofia!”

“Thanks! It’s actually pretty easy… I only need to sleep and wait for you to wake me up!” Sofia giggles. “I’m glad you got Phillip’s part. It suits you, actually.”

Hugo’s face became pink suddenly, he wasn’t expecting those words from Sofia. He wanted to say something nice back to her, but he didn’t have the time. Sofia told him goodbye and left the theater with the rest of the princesses. Rehearsals didn’t start until tomorrow after school so at least he had some time to think about what he could say to her.

Sofia was his best girl friend, that’s for sure. But he had to be honest with himself, lately he hasn’t seen her only as a friend and that scared him a lot. That feeling was new for him, and Hugo didn’t even know what to do with it. Hugo tried talking to his brother about it, but the conversation wasn’t as rich as he expected and his father wasn’t going to help either. So yes, he was lost.

Once the next day arrive Hugo couldn’t even concentrate on his classes, all he could think about was rehearsals. And when the time came he stood there, in the theater’s doors.

“Are you coming or not, Hugo?” James asked, waiting for him on the other side of the door.

His friend’s voice shook him out of that stupid trance he found himself in. Come on, he had already performed with Sofia before, during the Ice Skating Recital… This shouldn’t be that much different.

“Okay everyone, attention please!” Miss Elodie clapped her hands a few times. “People who will be making props and backdrops will be using the left side of the stage and actors the other side, understood? Try and not bother each other so much. Now… Amber needs Sofia, Maya and Jun for costume and the rest of us will stay and practice some scenes.”

Once everyone was on their way the actors started to rehearse their parts. After a few tries Hugo finally was able to calm himself. Yeah, that wasn’t so bad after all. He was having so much fun and being part of the main part of the play… that was awesome!

“That was amazing, kids!” Miss Elodie congratulated them, grabbing the script next to her, looking over the papers for a few seconds. “Where’s Mike? We need to go over the fight with the dragon scene”

“He is sick today, Miss Elodie.” Clio answered, sitting down on the stage floor, looking over her shoulder to where Hildegard was giving directions to the backdrop painters.

“Oh, well… Who wants to fill for Mike for today then?”

“Oh, I’ll do it! I’ve been inside of a dragon costume before. I have the experience.” Said James, walking towards the prop.

“I think that’s the strangest thing I’ve heard today… But okay! Just be careful, James.”

And he was. Just not for long. Hugo and James were fighting like the scene was a real battle, but they really got carried away in the heat of the moment. Amber was coming out from the back of the stage in that same moment, to show Miss Elodie how the dresses were turning out, but of course James had to get in her way, making the princess trip all over the stage.

Paint was thrown, props were ruined and people were mad. Amber finally landed right next to a beautiful painting of a ballroom, work of Hildegard herself. She tried to get up on her own, only to ended up slipping on a puddle of paint next to the buckets and brushes.

“James! I’m going to kill you!” She screamed, kicking a bucket next to her foot.

Hugo was too busy trying to hold back his laughter to realize the bucket was going for his feet. Luckily for him Sofia saw it and was able to be right on time to catch him once he tripped on it. Yeah, Hugo wasn’t expecting to end up in Sofia’s arm, that’s for sure.

“I don’t think this is how the story goes, you know?” He managed to joke about it, good move, yes.

“Yeah… But I don’t mind saving you here and there, Hugo” The princess giggled, looking right into the prince eyes.

Maybe sharing the protagonist role with Sofia wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

#hugfiaweek21 #hugfia #sofia the first #implied #they have a crush on each other!!#clumsy james is clumsy

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lunarsaga · 3 years

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EPISODE 5: The Band of Seven, Resurrected

WELCOME TO EPISODE 5! So far, episode 6 is up on my Patreon already, and episode 7 is in progress. Support me on Patreon to see stuff first!

IMPORTANT: I am starting to integrate the art into the story a little differently! Instead of just visualizing a moment in the scene, the image will replace the lines it's depicting. It'll work more like a hybrid graphic novel, that way it'll flow better. (So don't skip over the art, read it like you would a western comic!)

Reminder: [Dialogue like this is English!]

EPISODE 5, LESSGO! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆

It was a bit of a long flight between the bone-eater’s well and the spot where Luna last left her sister and her friends.

They were still headed northeast, still trying to find Naraku. But Luna’s supply of ammunition only lasted so long, and she decided she probably needed more medical supplies if they were all gonna make it past this war with Naraku. So she’d gone back to the modern era for a few days, and called Alice to get her connections with other Hunters in Japan—so Luna could make more Sacred Salt rounds without having to explain to international customs why she was getting a bunch of empty shotgun shells, non-native herbs, and a few other assorted (weird) things she needed.

So she’d gone home for a few days. Thankfully, she didn’t have to walk; Airisu (who still objected to Luna calling her ‘Alice’, but agreed to the simple nickname ‘Ai’) in full demon form could fly pretty fast, but she ran out of steam after about an hour. It took them a full day (including rest time) to get back to the village, and the same on the way back.

But before they joined back up with their friends, Luna had a stop to make.

It ain’t hard to miss, she thought snarkily, he’s like a damn homing beacon.

Finally, among all the green of the forests, she spotted a speck of white. Easy. “There they are!”

Ai set them down just behind the little group of travelers—Rin, the little imp Jaken, the big horse-dragon (Ah-Un, Luna believed?), and heading the line was, of course, Lord Fussy Britches himself. Rin spotted them before they touched down, and greeted delightfully:

“Miss Luna!”

The Hunter’s arrival brought the others to a halt, and for some reason, Luna found a very smug satisfaction in the incredibly irritated, over-the-shoulder side eye she got from Sesshomaru. But she paid him no mind; she was here for Rin.

Luna held out her hand, unfolding her fingers to reveal three beautiful pearls, strung on a little leather cord. Each of them glinted with an odd pink sheen and were warm to the touch; anyone with any sort of spiritual senses might’ve picked up on the soft energy radiating from them.

Luna tied the cord tightly at the ends and moved to slip it over the little girl’s head.

“As if she would ever need such a ridiculous thing!”

Luna swore one of these days, she was gonna drop kick that little frog. “Look, dude—”

“It’s Jaken, insolent human!”

“—I’m just looking out for her. No need to burst a blood vessel.”

“What is she to you?”

Luna was actually shocked to be addressed by Sesshomaru himself. He was still giving her the side eye, but there was less irritation and more of… something Luna couldn’t place. Maybe she was flirting with death, but she couldn’t resist.

She stood tall, chin high, and responded: “What is she to you?”

There was the anger: contained, but frigid and harsh as the Arctic behind those amber eyes. Sesshomaru did not answer her, but Jaken sure did.

“How dare you, human! Your nerve is surpassed only by your stupidity to speak to Lord Sesshomaru that way! Surely you wish for death!”

Only sometimes. “Can it, Kermit!” She snapped at him, “I ask because he’s always leaving her alone, with nothing but you to protect her! You, who are half her size and don’t have much in the way of defense!” She moved her challenging gaze to Sesshomaru again, steadfast. “So I ask again, what is she to you, if you leave her with barely any protection so often? Because to me, she’s a friend and I care about her, so I brought her these as a last resort option, in case you’re not around and she needs help.”

There it was, that unreadable expression again. Sesshomaru was definitely incomparable at hiding his true emotions—something Luna could absolutely not stand. Tense silence hung in the air for a moment, before Luna shrugged, holding her hands up.

“Hey, think of it this way,” She said, trying a sly little smile, “You’re a busy guy. It’s one less thing you have to worry about. And if she never needs them, at least it’s a pretty necklace.”

Man, this guy was good at keeping quiet. But now, the icy glare was gone. Luna swore she could see just the tiniest arc of a silver eyebrow before the demon turned back around on the path they’d all been heading.

“Jaken, let’s go.”

Flabbergasted, Jaken tripped over himself trying to follow. “Y-yes milord!”

Grinning, Luna got back down to Rin’s level. “You take care, okay kid?”

“I will! And thank you so much for these— I don’t think I’ll need them because Lord Sesshomaru always comes to save me, but I’ll wear them anyway!”

“That’s all I ask,” This little angel was definitely gonna need it at some point. “But if you do need me, I’ll always be there for you, okay? I promise.”

The smile on Rin’s face could’ve melted the ice caps. “Thank you.”

Luna stopped her as she started to leave. “Hold on, one more thing. Each one only works once before it shatters, so you gotta save them for when you’re really in trouble, okay?”

“Okay, I will! Bye, Miss Luna!” Rin grinned, waving at her friend before hurrying after the demons.

Luna chuckled, turning back to Ai for a second before something occurred to her. “Hey, Sesshomaru!”

He didn’t turn to look at her this time, but he did pause in his walking.

Good enough. “I heard there was something going down in the Northeast—direction of the Ox and Tiger. Something to do with Naraku. Thought you might like to know.” She didn’t wait to see if he heard or registered what she said; she just hopped back on Ai’s back, and the two of them took off.

“I hope you know conflating bravery with stupid pride is more than likely to get you killed one of these days.” Ai said as she lifted into the sky.

“Oh most definitely,” Luna laughed. “But as much of a pompous man-child as he is, you can tell he cares for that girl more than he’s willing to admit.”

“That may be, but he’ll definitely kill you if you keep disrespecting him.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take, for Rin’s sake.” Luna’s voice was soft, carried off by the wind. “That little angel’s been through enough, she deserves someone in her corner.”

~ ~ ~

Finally catching sight of their friends again was a bit of a relief for both Luna and Ai. It had been a long couple of days, going all the way home and coming back. Part of Luna hoped they’d get just a little bit of rest before whatever shit hit the fan next, but another part knew the odds on that were pretty low. Still, it was nice to be back.

Kagome was the first to spot them as they flew in. “It’s Luna!”

“Luna’s back!” Shippo proclaimed joyfully.

“Hey, y’all,” Luna greeted as Ai touched down. She hopped off the demon’s back as her friends offered their greetings. “What’d I miss?” She asked.

Miroku was the one to answer. “Quite a lot. It seems that we may encounter a new enemy: the local villagers recently informed us of a group of mercenaries called the Band of Seven. The villagers believe these ruthless killers may have been brought back from the dead.”

With a grin on her face, Luna shrugged at the idea. “Undead mercs, huh? Nothin’ we can’t handle.” She held up her fist for her sister to bump it, and as Ai changed back to her human form, Luna noticed their little group was smaller than it should’ve been. “Where’s Sango?”

Kagome bumped fists with her sister, smiling at Luna’s nonchalant comment. “She went off with Kilala. I sensed a Jewel Shard nearby earlier… so I think she may have gone to look for Kohaku.”

Luna didn’t have time to respond. Off in the distance, she heard the distinctive echo of a sound she was all too familiar with.

Inuyasha hopped up onto a tree limb, hoping to get a look at what was happening. He couldn’t see it, but he sure as hell could smell it. “And it ain’t from just a handful of people, either.”

So much for a second to rest, Luna chuckled to herself as she tightened the straps on her backpack and immediately kicked into gear. “What’re we waiting for, then?”

And off they were, charging headlong into danger as always. Luna could sense something was up; more so than usual. The stench of blood was never a good sign in the first place, but there was something else setting off warning bells. Something she couldn’t put a finger on.

The smell got stronger and stronger, until… they reached its source. Despite the amount of nasty shit she’d seen in her ten years of hunting supernatural monsters, there were some things that still turned her stomach, and seeing a single human being standing in a veritable ring of blood and gore was definitely one of them. His black hair was pulled into a twist; his lips were painted red, he had blue tattoos like tear tracks under each eye, and one side of his kimono was tucked up under his belt. The dude was just squatting in the middle of the carnage, eyeballing the barrel of a matchlock gun like it was his first time seeing one (which, hell, it might be, she thought to herself; in this time, they would’ve only recently been invented). He seemed completely unbothered by the dozen and a half bodies of freshly murdered warriors and their horses surrounding him.

Inuyasha was the one to get to the scene just ahead of the others, calling back over his shoulder: “Stay back! Don’t come over here!”

Instinctively, Luna remained in front of her sister, her arm out to try and block her view. Her stomach was churning, and her hand was poised to pull her gun if needed. No way this guy could be human… right?

“Did… that one person do all this?” Kagome’s voice was a shocked whisper.

It was then that the guy in the middle noticed them. He stood, his sword over his shoulder and his head cocked slightly to the side.

“Are you the one I’ve been looking for?” He asked, a grin on his face as he shielded his eyes from the sun. “Are you Inuyasha?!”

“Got a bad feeling about this.” Luna mumbled, “That guy isn't a demon, is he?”

“I don’t think so,” Kagome uttered back to her, “I don’t sense a demonic aura….”

“How’d you know my name?!” Inuyasha demanded.

He got no answer out of the guy with the sword. Instead, the guy squealed: “You’re adorable!”

A dumbfounded silence fell over the group. Luna glanced around at the others to make sure she didn’t just lose her mind—but no, the general consensus among her friends was along the lines of ‘what the actual fuck?’

“I especially love those fuzzy ears of yours!” The guy continued, licking his lips. “I want them~”

Alright, so this guy was nuts. Luna had had enough of ignoring the bad vibe she was picking up from him. She dropped her bag next to Kagome’s bike and readied herself for a fight: detached the ammo bag and shotgun holster from her pack and slung them over her shoulder, slipped her short sword through one of the belt loops on her jeans, and pulled her shotgun to make sure it was in hand and loaded. She kept her eyes moving back and forth between Inuyasha and the dude with the sword during the next exchange:

“Who are you?” Inuyasha demanded, “What are you after? You don’t smell like a living person, you reek like corpses and graveyard soil!”

No answer.

“Inuyasha,” Miroku said in realization: “Could he be—?”

“Yep,” Inuyasha confirmed, before calling out to the guy with the sword again: “Some villagers were talking! They said some disgusting specter rose up from the grave. That’d be you, I presume!”

Right, zombies, Luna thought to herself; if he really is undead, the Sacred Salt won’t do as much as it would a demon… It’d sting, but what I really need is-… She smirked and holstered her gun again, grabbing a different weapon from the bottom of her bag.

“Are you one of the Band of Seven?!” Miroku asked of the specter as Luna was tuning back in. “Answer me!”

After a long pause as the specter seemed to size the monk up, his response was even worse than before. “Inuyasha really is good looking, but you’re pretty sexy yourself~”

Luna snorted so hard she thought she was gonna eject her brain through her nose. Ai whacked her in the arm as a warning.

“No one minds if I suck him up, do they?” Miroku grumbled.

“No.” Inuyasha said, flatly.

“Hold on!” Kagome said, “He’s got a Sacred Jewel Shard! He must’ve been revived with the power of the Shard!”

“So that was what I was sensing,” Luna mumbled, “but why does it feel off...?”

“Where’d you get the Jewel Shard?!” Inuyasha once again attempted to pose a question to their opponent, only to once again receive a weird, adoring response:

“You know, you’re cute when you’re angry~!”

“Shut up!” Inuyasha shouted, jumping forward and drawing his sword. “Alright, dead man, you’d better start talking to me, and I want real answers!”

The expression on the specter’s face shifted from one of reverence to one more sadistic as he regarded Tetsusaiga. “That’s an interesting sword you have there… let’s see whose is stronger.” He lifted his own sword, making an odd motion around his head and shoulders with it as if he were gearing up for something. “Yours or mine?!”

When he brought his arm down, something that looked almost like a bolt of silver lightning shot from his blade. Inuyasha barely had the chance to block it as it cut an arc through the air toward him.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome called out in surprise.

“Stay back!” Miroku threw his arm out in an attempt to shield the others. “It’s some kind of trick sword!”

“That’s my cue!” Ai shifted into full demon form, jerking her head at the sisters and the little fox. “All aboard!”

Kagome climbed on no issue, but Luna glanced at Miroku, who made no move to follow them. “You coming?”

“I’ll be alright, you keep them safe.” Miroku said, resolute. Not about to argue, Luna climbed on the demon’s back and Ai leapt into the air above the fight.

“You gonna be okay holding all of us after that long flight?” Luna asked her friend.

“I’m fine, it’s the same weight as you with your pack on.” Ai sassed back.

“Yeah well, fuck me for being prepared,” Luna laughed, starting to prep the other weapon she’d brought.

Kagome managed to tear her eyes from the confrontation below to try and see what her sister was doing. “What did you bring, Luna?”

Luna grinned as she clicked the last accessory into place, then turned back to show her sister. “This? This is my baby.” She held up her favorite weapon: it was a fully-customized folding compound crossbow as long as Luna’s arm. She pressed a release on the side, and the arms shot into place, making both Shippo and Kagome jump.

“Whoa!” The fox demon exclaimed, “What kind of a weapon is that?!”

“It’s a crossbow, Shippo,” Kagome explained, “It’s kind of like my bow, but the arrows are smaller and it’s easier to fire.”

“Self-loading, too,” Luna smirked as she strung it up, “The ‘arrows’ are called bolts or darts. This thing can shoot way faster than a longbow, and since we’re dealing with Zombie Harley Quinn down there—” She grabbed a bolt from her ammo bag to show it to them, “—we’re gonna need these. They’re tipped with pure silver. Great for dealing with Vampires, Werewolves, The Undead, and The Unholy.”

Shippo reached out to touch it, but Kagome stopped him, shaking her head rapidly. “It’s safe to assume you shouldn’t touch anything Luna has in her bag, Shippo.”

The kid swallowed nervously. “G-got it...”

Below them, the fight continued. Inuyasha could barely avoid each strike of the snakelike sword, and his opponent only seemed to be having more and more fun.

“What do you think of Jakotsu of the Band of Seven, huh?!” He shouted as he swung the sword once more.

“Not too much!” Inuyasha came back at him with Tetsusaiga, but to no avail.

Kagome gasped. “He needs help!”

“That’s what this baby’s for,” Luna grinned, patting her crossbow. “Ai, can you stay out of reach of the sword but get me close enough to shoot?!”

“It’ll take a miracle!”

“Better start praying, then,” Luna lined up the shot, finger still as stone on the trigger. There was a familiar voice in the back of her head; she could hear her father saying: “Aim for where they’re gonna be, not where they are.”

I know, dad. She tried not to sigh audibly as she managed to get Jakotsu’s head in her crosshairs and pulled the trigger, quick as a viper.

And… almost missed him.

The consecrated silver bolt seemed to burn through the air as it shot just centimeters shy of the specter’s nose and grazed his arm, burning a hole in his kimono. He whipped his attention to the woman who shot it.

“How dare you interfere?!” He snarled, rearing his arm back and whipping his blade toward them.

Luna felt her stomach drop.

“You idiot!” Ai snapped at her, trying to fly out of range of the sword as Kagome and Shippo both clung, screaming, to Luna’s back. Just as the sword arched toward them, there was a familiar cry of:

“HIRAIKOTSU!”

And Jakotsu’s blade was then tangled around the aforementioned boomerang. All three riding on Ai’s back sighed in relief when they saw Sango swoop in on Kilala. Ai touched down just as Kilala did, transforming into her human form and unceremoniously dumping the sisters on their asses.

“Are you all okay?” Sango called over to them.

“We’re fine!” Shippo answered.

“Perfect timing, Sango!” Kagome said.

“Some weapon, Luna!” Ai huffed in the Hunter’s direction. Luna just stuck her tongue at her.

Jakotsu was practically red in the face, shrieking in frustration: “What is with all you vile women?! Can’t you see I’m trying to battle Inuyasha?!” In the same breath, he whipped his sword again, toward Sango this time. The movement freed Hiraikotsu, and ended up leaving a small slice on Sango’s arm as Jakotsu pulled it back.

“Stay out of this!” He continued, “None of you will interfere!”

But their “interference” had served Inuyasha well enough: it gave him just the opportunity he needed to rear back and punch the specter in the face.

“Shut up! I’m tired of listening to your pointless babble!” Inuyasha growled.

Jakotsu grunted as he tumbled back, then rubbed his cheek and pouted like a kicked puppy. “That was cruel…”

“Oh, get over it!” Inuyasha snapped, “Now tell me who gave you the Sacred Jewel Shard before I have to seriously hurt you!”

Kagome and Miroku rushed to see if Sango was okay, but she assured them that it was just a graze; she was fine. Her attention was more on the subject at hand.

“I have a feeling that the shard came from Naraku,” She said, somberly. She looked at Kagome. “When you sensed a Jewel Shard earlier… it was Kohaku. I saw the Saimiyosho around him as well.”

“That means that your brother is still under Naraku’s control…” Miroku said. Sango nodded.

Luna had set her weapon down next to her backpack, and came back with a bandage for Sango’s arm. Her mind was going at a million miles an hour, trying to figure out how the hell they were gonna handle this—first an undead band of Ronin, now they have something to do with Naraku. What was Naraku playing at...?

“Gotta wonder what the hell is next…” Luna mumbled sarcastically.

Seconds later, she would regret asking. A cloud of black smoke poured over the cliffside, drifting right toward them.

Like he knew what was happening, Jakotsu got up and collected his sword. “Inuyasha! You should get out of here while you can! Bye!” And with that, he was just… gone.

“What the hell—” Inuyasha broke off with a startled yell when the cloud reached him. “Its poison!”

“But where’s it coming from?!” Miroku wondered.

“We need to move.” Luna reassembled her bag in less than thirty seconds—side effect of doing it so often. “We can figure out what the hell is going on when we’re safely away from here!”

Why do I feel like we stepped into something huge here? Luna thought to herself as the group of friends moved away from the cloud of gas.

#fanfic #inuyasha oc #inuyasha au #the lunar saga #kagome higurashi #inuyasha fanart #inuyasha #sesshomaru #sango #miroku #shippo

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