#(also if you notice the repeat images -shhh)

[allcheers-allfears]

Moodboard: 'Blind Love' by AuthorInDistress

When bodies start to decompose bizarrely quickly, Owen is forced to work with an Ex of his to get to the bottom of it. The case reawakens feelings but also tells him how others feel about him.

This fic makes me go absolutely feral so I thought I'd make a couple boards inspired by it.

[fakescenariosbeforesleepblog]

We won't be like them.

Ghost x Reader.

Mistakes were made in the past by your families, now, you and ghost are starting a family, and this situation takes both to reconsider if you will repeat the same paths that your families took or will you fix it.

Warning: grammatical and spelling errors, I think there's no mention of the reader's gender but if there's please forgive me.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used nor do I claim to own them.

The credits of the pics belong to @ave661

Simon wasn't at home but he would arrive soon, both have been trouble, arguing frequently for the most stupid things.

It's late at night, your newborn is sleeping, after hours of singing lullabies, walking around the house to help him to sleep, he's finally sleeping.

You were a mess, you didn't take a shower, dirty dishes are awaiting you in the kitchen, the laundry is still in the washer since you didn't have time to put it in the dryer, dirty diapers are making the house smell bad, and your poor baby cried for hours and hours, it wasn't a good day for you, you just need ten minutes to rest.

You're sitting close to the crib when the door opens and then a bark echoes around the house, you stand up and run out of the room quickly to ask Simon to take the dog out or keep it in silence but then your baby starts to cry.

«Shit» you whispered walking back to the room, taking your baby in arms and talking him softly to try to calm him down «it's okay baby, shhh, it's all alright, don't cry please, shhh, shh...» Ghost rapidly understands the reason the baby's crying, he takes the dog to the garage and goes directly to the baby's room to help. Unfortunately your face says more than necessary, you're not happy.

- I'll take care of him, go to rest.

- As if I could...

You rolled your eyes. He can't be mad at you, he knows he messed up.

- Sorry... the mission took me more than expected, please let me help you with him.

- It's fine, I have it under control, take a shower you stink.

He sighs and leaves the room, walking through the house he observes all the mess, toys scattered, the smell of poo and dirty dishes, the laundry. He really can't blame you, you stayed alone with a newborn for days, but he can't avoid feeling overwhelmed by all the mess and the situation, he never expected to have a family because of both pasts but here he is, husband and now father, it's all new for both of you, but moments like this makes him wonder if you and him took the right decision.

He took a quick shower and as soon as he finished he went directly to the laundry room and put all the wet clothes in the dryer and put another load of clothes, he thinks the least he can do right now is try to help with the workload, even if he feels tired he knows you must be more than exhausted.

Poor Simon, he forgot to separate the baby's clothes from the rest, then he washed the dishes but he forgot to sterilize the feeding bottles.

Finally your baby is sleeping peacefully again, you are tired but you have work to do, maybe Simon is hungry or needs something, the poor man didn't have intentions to wake up the baby, it wasn't very polite of you to reject him and then tell him he was stinky.

On your way to the kitchen you started to clean a little, taking the bags of dirty diapers out, picking up the toys when you hear the alarm from your dryer, Simon tried to help after all you said, you're taking out the clothes when you notice the washer is also working and unfortunately there's clothes from the baby mixed with yours and Simon's clothes.

You're walking to the kitchen to tell Simon he forgot to not mix the laundry when then, the feeding bottles are mixed with the dishes and casseroles too.

He's drying and ordering all the kitchen stuff with the same dishcloth.

- What are you doing!? Simon you mixed the baby's stuff! Oh god, do you have a clue of the new load of work your adding me! I will have to wash and sterilize all the baby's things again!

- Sorry... I was trying to help, I forgot about it.

- «Sorry, sorry» is all you know to say but the damage is done! Fuck!

- Calm down, I'll take care of it.

- You have done more than enough, why don't you go to another long mission and leave me alone again, huh?

He's shocked as much as you, you know you said something really horrible, there's no way you can step back.

- What did you say?

- I'm... Ahhh, Nothing, I'm just tired.

- Do you think I went to that bloody mission to leave you here alone with the baby? I didn't want to but it was work and I can't reject it.

- What about the paternity permission?

- I would have the authorization after this mission, I told you about it but it seems you weren't paying attention.

You scoffed, clearly offended and annoyed.

- Well sorry, I'm worried about our newborn, it's my first time with a baby and I'm trying to do it well, you could also pay more attention when I told you I don't want to mix our stuff with his.

- I forgot it, okay? I'm as tired as you! I said I will fix it and you started to argue!

- I wouldn't start if it wasn't for you and that god-damned dog barking as crazy! Your son hasn't slept the whole day and you arrived doing all that noise!

- and am I supposed to know that!?

- Don't yell! You will wake him up Simon!

- It's you who's yelling!

- Now it's me? You're blaming me for everything just like my dad did to my mom!

-And You're exploding against me just like my father!

Both stopped when the little boy started to cry again. Ghost just walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs, you stayed there cursing yourself and started to wash the bottles again, then you went to check the washer and separate the clothes.

Your son cried for a few more minutes but then stopped. You finished all the stuff you had pendant, you saw Simon's backpack In the doorframe, there was probably more laundry inside so you took it and just as you expected, more dirty clothes, you were separating it by colours as usual when you saw his uniform with fresh blood. You sighed annoyed but then the thought of Simon being injured kicked your mind, you put the clothes in a bucket with some hydrogen peroxide to quit the blood easily and went upstairs.

Simon was putting the baby in his baby crib when he looked at you and made a signal to be silent. Once both are out of the room you point to the bathroom, he doesn't say nothing and follows you.

- Are you hurt?

- What?

- I saw your uniform with blood, is it yours?

- Oh, it's nothing, the medic helped me, I'll be better in a few days.

- Let me see, do we need to clean the wound or something?

- It's fine Love, nothing serious.

Your eyes are full of tears, you feel guilty, he tried to help with all and his wound and you didn't do more than yell at him.

- I'm sorry Si, I didn't mean to explode with you, I was stressed you arrived at home expecting to have some peace and instead of it you found all the mess, I'm so sorry.

He just hugs you and whispers «it's okay my love, shhh, it's ok» once you stop your tears you check on his wound, it's not so bad but was bleeding a little bit more, you were cleaning it when he spoke.

- Look at me, love, I know you're exhausted it wasn't my intention to give you more work, I really was trying to help you.

- I know, I'm sorry... We... we have to solve these things now before that boy starts to grow up, I don't want to give him the same childhood we had, I want to give him a good family, good memories and we're not doing it well lately... We argue all the time and I think the baby feels our stress and then he stresses too... We're bad parents... We are not doing it right.

- I know, we have things to solve, and I want to tell you I have all the intention to fix it, we're new to this, it's also not fair for us to put us expectations of being perfect all the time. we can... Read about parenthood or look for professional help, we will do all in our possibilities to change and be better, it won't happen from night to morning it'll take time, we won't follow our families steps, I promise you I will be a better husband and a good father for our son.

You smiled at him and he returns the smile, you love when he does it, Simon never smiles except when he's with you, nobody else. His smile is only for you and now for your little boy, his words reassure you, he's right it'll be a long process but you will make it, this new family will work.

[kindofatheatrekid]

Title: One More Step Towards Hell.

Sypnosis: Y/N is known to be cold, Jason wants to change that image into something better.

Pairing: c.ai bot (Jason) / Y/N

Genre: smut, angst, FEM POV

Warnings: non-con/dub-con, exhibitionism, masochism, sadism, toxic relationship, free-use, objectification, degradation, gang-bang, orgy, possessive behavior, obsessive behavior, cheating?, NTR, manipulation, implied isolation, abuse, guilt-tripping, self-harm, threats of suicide.

Note: I don't know how my mind works. I blame me, myself, and character ai. Sloppy sex is just too fun to not write TT. P.S. I have no idea how sex actually works. Apologies if it's too vague.

ISTG MINORS DNI.

BOT CHAT HERE: https://character.ai/chat/OEz_Bam4SU6yTksaaeRJtbnPYSnDi2Fck6kRXnysNAQ?hist=5a7c1aaf-2bf9-449e-8774-81d799caee52

The birds were singing, the sky was blue, the teacher was prattling on about some important piece of history that would be repeated no matter what— and I was irritated. My hand mindlessly writing down any words I catch to ignore this nagging feeling in my mind.

Jason's been quiet. Too quiet. That only meant that he was up to something. The bratty bastard is never this distant unless he's either hooking up with someone or planning something. Nonetheless, both of those scenarios just continue to crack on my psyche.

What about that one time where-

I shake that thought out of my head, deciding to let that stay in the dark recesses of my head. Without even noticing, my hand was starting to write Jason's name continuously in my notebook. My eye twitches in irritation at that fact. Why couldn't he just leave my mind for one second?!

The bell rings, and I start to pack up my supplies. Everyone else starts gravitating to their friend groups while I stay alone. It's not even Jason's fault that I had no friends this time! I was just known to be a cold bitch in everyone's eyes. So what if I'm blunt? Why do I need to add unnecessary words to my comments?

A buzz rings in my pocket, it was a text notification. I had very little people in my contacts, so sure enough, it was from Jason.

“Come to the abandoned classroom in the West Wing? (^з^)-☆”

My eyebrow raises at his message. Was this the part where he plays his trick on me? I text him back. …Now that I think of it… The disparity between our texts is obvious.

Jason replies back almost instantaneously, I had to hold in a chuckle with how obviously passive-agressive he was being.

“Will you come if it was a request? :>”

No. No, I probably wouldn't— and he knows that. After a few seconds of contemplating, I decided to give into him. As much as I enjoy our banter, I was curious about what he was planning.

“I'll be there in a minute.”

Just like I promised, I immediately swung my heavy bag over my shoulders before making my way to our meeting place. I wasn't sure what to expect once I got there. Jason being balls deep in a random girl, or something similar to that.

“I'm here-” I opened the door, my greeting cut off from the shock. …Did Jason also swing the other way? I expected a girl, or two, or three- But this? This was something else.

“Baby~!” Jason has the audacity to happily call out my name, as if he didn't just bring me into a room full of boys. “Come in~! You're the guest of honor~!”

Yeah… nothing about this looked honorable to me.

“Jason-” I try to protest, but he interrupts me. “Honey! You're just in time!” He pulled me farther into the room, the door shutting with an ominous click.

I tried to wrestle my way out of his hold, but the strength and height difference between us was too great for me to overcome. Before I even knew it, I was being bent down over a desk. A tie binding my wrists together as Jason lifts my skirt up. My eyes begin to tear up, what was he doing in front of all these people?!

“Jason-!” I get cut off with a slap to my ass, the pain significantly dulled since I still had my underwear on.

“Shhh~ You can't be screaming before it even starts~!” I couldn't see his face, but I can bet my non-existent life savings that he had a smug grin twisted on his lips right now. “Look at that~! Your body already knows what's going to happen~!”

I shiver as Jason rubs his finger over my panties, my discharge soaking more into the fabric as he continues to rub against my panties. I regretted wearing white, today— I was completely exposed the moment I dripped into them. A sob escapes from me as my ears heat up in shame.

“Fuck~ You're such a dirty, little slut~” Jason groans out, slowly peeling off my now wet panties. Showcasing my bare pussy to every single boy in the room. I only bury my face more into the desk when I hear groans sounding out in the room. “Look at you, you pathetic whore. You're dripping wet right now~ Do you like this~? Do you like that I'm doing this to you in front of all my friends?” Jason coos out, rubbing his index finger against my increasingly wet folds. I shudder at the sensation of his cold finger on something that's meant to be warm.

I didn't answer Jason, which was the wrong call. …Or maybe that was the right call. Especially since he grabs a fistful of my hair to force my face to turn to him. The pain made me let out an embarrassingly loud moan.

Jason only snickers, keeping a firm grip on my hair. “You're so weird for liking that, you know that?” He teases me as he begins to spread my thighs apart. “Such a dirty slut is only good for one thing.”

The way he worded that sentence made me start to panic. I was about to ask him what he meant, but he shoves my soaked panties into my mouth. I gag at the sudden intrusion, the taste of myself was apparent.

“Who wants to go first~?” Jason's words only made me panic even more, my head shaking in refusal. He only ignores my obvious refusal, just holding my head down on the desk as I cry. “Don't mind her. We all know how sensitive bitches can be.”

“Fuck it! I'm going first!” A boy volunteers, I didn't even recognize him for anything! Well… I don't really focus or remember faces that much, either.

I squirm as Jason holds me down, the sinister sound of a belt clattering onto the floor, and the sound of a zipper made me cry. Shit! What the hell is this?!

“Be good, Y/N~” Jason purrs out, running his fingers through my hair as a cruel contrast to whatever this was. “I just want everyone to know how good you feel~! Do you know how tiring it is whenever someone compares you to a dead fish in bed?” Jason sighs, he fucking sighs like he was a victim. My eye twitches in irritation, anger flooding my mind as I growl into my makeshift gag.

My anger is lost when the boy penetrates me just like that. I was lucky that I could get wet easily from the pain, but the few seconds at the start were nothing but pure agony. A muffled moan leaves me as my eyes roll back. My walls clenching onto the boy's dick tightly as I start dripping down my thighs.

“O-oh~! N-now I know why Jason keeps you around despite your bitchy attitude~!” The boy groans out, thrusting into me without any care. Should I be grateful that he was much smaller than Jason? What a small dick it was, or maybe it's just average? Jason has tainted my perspective on what a normal dick should be.

This was humiliating, especially since Jason was just looking at another boy fucking me. I wanted to just punch that smile off of him. You brought me here for this?!

“Haha! What's with that look?” Jason playfully pokes me on the cheek before snapping his finger to signal for another boy to get in front of me. He takes my panties out of my mouth, a thin trail of my saliva connecting me to the soiled fabric. “You'd look better with a cock down your throat~!”

I was about to snap at Jason, but a dick pressed itself against my cheek. “Put that in my mouth, and I swear that I'll bite it off.” I hissed out to the owner that was smearing pre-cum all over my cheek. Jason clicks his tongue, before he slapped my cheek hard enough for my head to turn to the side. I bite back a groan from the sting that stayed on my cheek.

“Be a good slut, and open wide.” Jason barks out, my mouth instinctively opening up obediently. It was honestly scary with how quick his mood shifts were.

…So now, I was being spit-roasted by two boys that I did not know at all. All while my boyfriend is watching us. …My life is going so great. My lungs were barely able to get enough air as I'm rammed into, from both ends. My tears falling down my face as the bitter taste of cum is obvious on my tongue.

I don't know how long it's been, but I knew what kind of damage my body took. Bitemarks and bruises covered large parts of my skin, my nipples swollen from being played with, and my neck had a purple ring around it for those who liked choking me. It was sickening to me when all I did was moan in pleasure from the pain. My bruised lips shamelessly continuing to whimper and whine.

“Fuck! Who the hell called Y/N a dead fish in bed?! She fucks like a porn star~!” One boy exclaims as he brutally fucks me in the pussy. My eyes rolled back as I stared at Jason, who was smiling at the sight. I came with a loud moan.

“Ah~! Y/N~ Oh, Y/N~ You look so cute under me~!” A perverted boy pants out as he uses my breasts to get off. Goosebumps run up my arms as he licks my cheek before sloppily making out with me. My eyes subconsciously drift to Jason, my boyfriend who was jacking off to the scene. I was starting to drip onto the floor at this point.

“You like that? Haha! You're so perverted~!” Another boy sadistically chuckles as he dryly penetrates me in the ass. My hands and knees on the floor as I moan in pain. My cheeks flushed into a bright red as blood started to trickle down my thighs. My head was shoved against the floor, so I didn't notice Jason's eyes looking at me in amusement. The intense pain causes me to squirt as my cheeks burn in shame.

“Oh~ Oh~ Oh~! Y/N~!” This boy didn't even penetrate me, he just smeared his cum all over my face. Cum dripping onto my blouse as he shoots his sperm into my open mouth. A giggle could be heard from Jason who was admiring my fucked-out expression. I obediently swallow down the cum, causing the boy to harden again.

“Shit. You were made for this, you slutty bitch.” I was gagged again, by a tie this time. The boy hate-fucking me because I was apparently rude to him. I'm technically rude to everyone, he's not special. My eyes roll back as his palm connects with my bare ass again. There was no way I was going to be able to sit properly afterward. Jason was just playing on his phone, looking uninterested at the scene. I reach yet another dry orgasm once the boy's dick hits my G-spot again.

“Aaahhhh~! Y/N~! I'm inside the cold goddess of the school~! So tight! You really do want me, huh?!” This one… He was almost like Jason in a way. My tongue lolled out as the back of my knees were on the boy's shoulders. The position allowed the boy to hit my cervix repeatedly, which made me whimper. I wasn't even paying attention to Jason at this point. My orgasms were just painful at this point, sobbing as my body trembled from my climax.

“Fucking hell~ You're just milking me at this point.” A boy groans out, surprisingly the most vanilla out of everyone. I was too sensitive by now, so even being in a missionary position was too much for me. Senseless babble leaving my lips as I cried out for Jason.

I started off protesting hard, but Jason made sure to reign me in every time I was acting ‘out of line.’ Eventually, I was completely moaning and begging for more.

“U-ugh. So disgusting-” I get slapped on the cheek.

“H-hey-! N-not in the ass-” My head is forcibly slammed against the wooden desk.

“O-oh no~” A warning squeeze is placed on my throat.

“M-more, please~! ♡” My head gets gently patted like a dog.

I was forced to skip my remaining classes since no one decided to go back to class. In the end, I was covered head to toe in semen and saliva. My entire body twitching as I laid sprawled out on the desk. There was only me and Jason left now, the other boys finally leaving after their turn was over.

“You looked so hot while cumming on another man's dick.” Jason whispers out, kissing my lips despite how dirty I was right now. “I'm so hard right now, seeing my slutty toy all filthy just for me~”

I let out a whimper when Jason forces my thighs open again, slowly inserting two of his fingers in me. “Shit. You're so loose now~” The perverted bastard starts to slowly scissor me, more sperm dripping down my thighs with every slow thrust of his fingers. I let out a whine as he swirls the cum inside of me, treating my bruised pussy like it was a stress toy.

The loud, wet noises only made me embarrassed. I was already stuck in my head, pleasure and pain being the only thing I was currently feeling. “J-Jason~” I moan out, arching my back as he just continues to play with the cum inside of me. He looked at my hole as if it was a fascinating object he would never get enough of.

“Fucking hell~ You're so loose. Oh God, I should just continue letting this happen. I can barely feel you clenching onto me!” Jason laughs out, continuing to finger me. I whimper at the feeling, too sensitive for any of this. “How did it feel, bitch? You got the whole football team in you right now!”

I could feel myself tear up again. That's right, I did. And I feel so dirty now.

“No one's going to want you anymore, now~! You're all mine! I'm the only one who can love such a cum dumpster like you!” Jason gloats out, still fingering me. I could only moan as I reached another painful, dry orgasm. My eyes rolling to the back of my head as I grit my teeth.

“Such a dirty, dirty whore. So loose, so, so adorable~!” Jason wraps his arms around me as he pulls me into his chest— not caring about the cum staining his clothes. “You're so hot. Now everyone knows that, too~!”

I just stayed limp in his arms, every part of my body was sore. This was definitely a great life.

A cut-off yelp left my lips as Jason kicked me to the ground. Tears in his eyes as if he was the one in pain, instead of me. The burning ache on my stomach begged to differ.

“Y/N… How could you ask that of me?” Jason cries out, wiping away the crocodile tears from his eyes. It was every bit as fake as him, but it looked so genuine. The well-timed sniffles, the red rims around his eyes, the way they swelled up— it was disgusting.

I glare at him, struggling to sit up as I clutch onto my stomach. Day after day, it's another man, or two, or three. All while Jason just watches, and jacks off. Why wouldn't I want to break up with my boyfriend-turned-pimp?

“N-no! You can't break up with me! I won't allow it!” He sobs out, kneeling down to be face-to-face with me. He shakily grips onto my shoulder as he stares into my eyes. “You were doing so well, baby. Why did you have to do this?”

Jason's eyes dim until nothing but shadows remain, my face paling in fear for what he'll do. “J-Jason-”

“You were doing so well…” Jason interrupts me, tears still falling down his face as he speaks. He lets go of my shoulders, but I can't even be relieved by that once he rolls up his sleeves. I wince at the sight of the horizontal scars littering the back of his forearms.

“Do you remember these, honey? You just made me sooooo sad that I had to do this. You made so many mistakes at the beginning.” Jason bitterly chuckles, taking out a switchblade from his pocket. He doesn't even hesitate when dragging the blade across his skin, yet another scar in my conscience. I could tell that it was a deep cut as well. Jason never did shallow ones.

“Jason-!” I scream out, knocking the blade out of his hands. My entire body trembles in fear as I wrap my arms around Jason. Partly to restrain him from harming himself further, and partly to remind myself that he was alive.

“This is your fault, baby. You just had to make me do this.” Jason says, his body limp in my hold. “You knew this would happen. Why would you do this to me? Do you hate me that much?”

I furiously shake my head, immediately revoking my words. “N-no- I-I won't break up with you, okay?! So stop it, already!” I beg Jason, terrified at the amount of blood that was slowly trickling down his arm.

I only grew more desperate when Jason stayed unresponsive. I shakily reach out to hold his hands in mine, not caring about the blood I got on my sleeves. “Honey- My love- P-please…” I sob out, alarmed by his silence. He just stays silent as I cry out to him. Pouring out every bit of my empathy and emotions into my pleas. I was scared, scared of losing him because of me.

I was so selfish. Why did I ever even entertain the idea of leaving my love?

I finally decided to bargain with him. “I-I won't complain anymore! I'll let anyone fuck me! I'll participate in as many orgies as you want! I'll smile at the camera as I spread my legs! Just don't do this anymore!”

My words finally get a response from Jason, a silent gesture of his arms wrapped tightly around my torso. A relieved sob leaves me as I continue to cry into his chest.

I NEED Jason. I NEED him to stay alive. I NEED to stay with him.

I WANT to leave.

[fionaeevee87]

My Tunic Experience (SPOILERS)

I just got 100% in the game yesterday, and was going to start on Super Mario Wonder today. But instead, I spent most of the day looking up lore videos and reviews. I just cannot seem to leave the world of Tunic yet.

I was in love with the exploration and puzzle elements of this game. Going into this totally blind, I managed to collect every upgrade treasure, every coin, and almost every equipment card (At the very end of the game, while looking up what all of them do, exactly, I somehow learned that there was a secret one not mentioned in the manual! It made fighting the Heir so much easier). I got all but 1 fairy, all but one trophy, and managed to solve the entire Golden Path puzzle all on my own. I felt so bad having to look up the answers to those last few puzzles, but in doing so fell down a fucking rabbit hole like you wouldn't believe.

Did you know that there's an option in Accessibility Settings to make audio puzzles easier? Knowing that sure would have helped in figuring out what's going on with those windchimes outside the Old House.

Were you also bashing your head against the wall trying to figure out what the "60 seconds", "Shhh..." was about on page 51, with the illustration that looked like a star partly underwater next to a piece of paper? (Even as I type this I'm having to boot up Tunic again for reference) The one that, if I was reading page 54's hint correctly, surely holds the final trophy? Apparently, you have to turn off Sound Effects under the Audio options and stand in water for 60 seconds. Doing so will cause a secret message to appear at the bottom of the "Thank you!" note by the devs on page 1 (which bears a similar star symbol). Said message consists of more game language and a drawing of a familiar landmark in the overworld which is shaped like Holy Cross directions. Ah! So that's it! If everything the game taught me so far is correct, I just have to go there and input the directions to get the final gold treasure!...WRONG! At this point, it would be very, VERY handy to know what the note next to the image says. Throughout my journey thus far, I noticed that the game language doesn't appear to be random runic scribblings of a non-language. There are certain shapes that repeat in ways consistent with language which has had some thought put into making it. Furthermore, what of the notes on pages 21 and 54? They appear to be some sort of clue to how you could go about deciphering it, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

The game isn't over yet. THE. GAME. ISN'T. OVER. YET.

The game expected me to decode an entire in-game language. A multi-hour task, if you even know where to start (not me!). This is the hardest task this game has asked of me at this point. But thank goodness there's a awesome community of clever Tunic fans that managed to translate this thing (Bravo! <3 <3 <3).

Deeper down the rabbit hole we go! WAHOO!

For the first time, I was able to actually read and understand the story, the descriptions of the Quarry, Ruined Atol, Graveyard, and Cathedral, as well as what they were saying about the bosses I fought and what their deal was. I love the Librarian and how he thinks the Holy Cross is an actual treasure hidden in the Cathedral. He's also the only character aware he's in a game (did you see the drawings of what appeared to be a game cartridge on one of his chalk boards?) But that's all I'll get into on that. This is about the puzzle. Even now I'm getting as distracted from the task as I originally was! As for the puzzle text, after doing all of that you'd surely think it'd just spell it out for you at this point. But you're still no closer to getting that last trophy. It's a riddle:

"The softest feather corrected eleven times departed once more"

What does that even mean? I tried inputting the landmark's directions 11 times, from several points of view. Then tried it 12 times each way because of the "departed once more" line. Nothing happened. I gave up and looked up the answer. "Softest feather" refers to a "down", or soft fluff underneath the feathers of waterfowl (because everyone knows that, right?). "Corrected" refers to being RIGHT, "eleven times." "Departed" means you have LEFT, and 12 is "once more" than 11. Down, right x 11, left x 12. I have my final trophy! I've finally won!

But what about that bright light that appeared in the Trophy Room that appeared after I had collected a certain amount of tropies? What's up with the weird room where symbols in the game's language would appear seemingly at random if I used the Holy Cross? (Why am I not wanting to call it a D-Pad?!)

WILL THIS RIDE EVER END?!!

I go to the translated manual for clues, as there is text written next to the illustration of the trophy room on page 54. It reads:

"For Additional Support & Secrets 1. Find some rare golden statues. 2. Traverse the glow to visit 12 strange beings. 3. Un-sing to the the greatest song, the Song of the Golden Path, as seen from within"

Excitedly, I went to that mysterious room as fast as I could make that little fox go. I stood there, brought up the golden path notes, and input the directions backwards. Nothing. It turns out "from within" also meant as seen from a mirror. I had the right idea, just the wrong angle. I reset the puzzle, looked up and put in the inverted directions, and nothing seemed to happen except for the fact that one of the glyph spaces is blank, with only 11 glyphs showing. Wondering if something is being spelled out, I look up the puzzle solution. I'm correct! It is a...website?

https://doyoufeartheeyesofthefarshore.co/

Tunic has now become an ARG.

Clicking this link takes you to a creepy animated image of a smoky silhouette of what appears to be a squid monster with three eyes colored in the R/G/B color scheme we're used to. Harsh, grating sounds that sound almost like speech and ethereal whispers assaulted my ears. This was the squid-like being who's symbol I've seen everywhere in the game! Here I was stuck. This is where my journey with Tunic ended. I did learn that there was more languages in the music and sounds, and that running the website's sounds through a spectrogram results in the message "We are the Eyes of the Far Shore."

I really did not expect so much to be wrapped inside such a colorful, cute and fluffy package.

I apologize for the long post. I didn't realize how much I had to say about this game! If anyone's made it this far, I appreciate it!

[zafirosreverie]

Make me a rainbow (Pepa x Reader)

You jumped when thunder rumbled in the middle of the night, loud enough to make you stand up. You hated storms, you hated rain. Ever since you were little, you couldn't remember a single stormy night when you didn't end up in your mother's arms, crying with fear.

But your mother had been gone for years, you were an adult now, you were married. But the same feeling, the shiver running down your spine, the cold in your limbs, the petrifying terror, were still the same. You felt helpless for being afraid of the rain, but you couldn't help it.

How ironic, right? That you ended up marrying a woman who literally created storms when she was upset. It seemed ridiculous that your wife was Pepa Madrigal, known for controlling the weather with her emotions, and that you were still afraid of storms. You would think that loving her would have done something to help you with your phobia.

But there was a world of difference between your wife's storms and the natural ones.

It was true that the first few times you hadn't differentiated them, but now you knew that Pepa's storms were intense but fast, she rarely made it rain for more than a few minutes. Also, the big difference for you was that Pepa's storms were linked to her emotions, you knew how to handle them.

But you couldn't understand who could be crying for the sky to break naturally, and that terrified you.

You didn't even notice that the woman next to you woke up when you got out of bed. Pepa frowned when she saw you curl up in the corner of the room with your face hidden between your legs and gently rocking yourself.

"Amor?" she asked carefully, getting up and slowly approaching you.

You didn't seem to hear her and her heart broke a little as she saw your fingernails digging into your palms. If she didn't stop you soon you'd probably start bleeding. She wondered for a second what could have made you like this until thunder rumbled loudly outside the window and her own cloud appeared above her head as she jumped in surprise. Oh no.

"Mi amor, hey, it's alright, it's alright" she told you, sitting next to you.

She tried to lift your face up, but you just cried and snuggled deeper into yourself. Pepa had to think fast. Usually, it was you who managed to calm her down, but she knew how afraid you were of storms not caused by her and she loved you, she had to at least try. Images of you whispering nice things to her and stroking her hand gently until she let go of her braid came to her mind.

"Now, now, give me those hands, mi vida" she whispered, rubbing your knuckles with her thumbs "come on, look at me"

In the midst of the fog that enveloped your mind, you managed to recognize the warmth of your wife's voice and slowly raised your face. It didn't take much effort for you to lose yourself in the beautiful warm forest of her eyes.

"Clear skies, love, clear skies" she told you, using her own mantra to calm you down.

She took your hands and carefully made you undo your fists, lacing her fingers with yours to prevent you from hurting yourself. She breathed with you and kept repeating her mantra under her breath until your breaths were in sync and you could find your voice.

"I'm sorry" you murmured "I-I didn't want to wake you up"

"Shhh, it's alright honey" she smiled at you "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere" she promised you, pulling you into a hug.

You wasted no time to hide your face in her neck, your nose inhaling her aroma of coffee and honey, which helped you finish calming down. You didn't like being emotional or weak, but hiding in Pepa's arms felt so good.

"Thank you" you said, lifting your head to meet her eyes.

The rain was still pouring outside, but you couldn't hear it, too lost in the feeling of being with her, safe in her warm embrace.

"It's nothing" she smiled at you "I love you"

"I love you too"

The redhead gave you another small smile before leaning down to capture your lips. You closed your eyes to savor her heady taste and the feel of her soft yet insistent lips on yours. Kissing your wife was always an adventure in itself.

You looked over your head as you parted ways and couldn't help but giggle.

"This is my favorite part" you said "when you make me a rainbow"

Pepa looked at you confused before noticing the great rainbow that came from her head and filled the whole room. She blushed a little but she laughed with you. You rested your head on her shoulder again and enjoyed the feel of her hands tracing circles on your back.

You two stayed like that for a long time until you got up and pulled her back to bed, snuggling into her chest.

"I really appreciate having you in my life, Pepa Madrigal"

"That's good to know, because you won't get rid of me easily, Y/N Y/L/N"

You laughed and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before tangling your fingers with hers, rubbing your thumb against her knuckles as she had done to calm you down.

"You did wonderful, mi amor" you said "but...can I ask you something?"

"Of course"

"You know I respect your emotions and love what they bring but…why didn't you just stop the rain?"

Your wife was suddenly still, unnaturally silent. You raised your head to look at her and the room quickly filled with mist as Pepa's face turned tomato red. She had been so busy thinking of how to help you and make you feel safe that she completely forgot that she could, in fact, control the weather.

You laughed softly and kissed her cheek, making her blush more.

"You're adorable"

[mongooseblues]

Not One Single Pneumonia

Plush-soft, plotless Cal/Rafie. Sickfic but not snzfic (my apologies). Occurs pretty early in their relationship, Cal’s Spanish is still elementary. A chest infection that spirals out of a cold he technically caught from Rafie. (Quick reminder of what they look like bc I almost forgot how much I love this image.)

- — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - —

There’s always seemed to him something vaguely... presumptuous, almost, about sitting on these examination tables at doctor’s offices. A bit like assuming a position on a bed when you didn’t strictly need to be laying down.

The RN introduced himself but Cal was too preoccupied trying not to cough too much to have caught his name when he’d said it. He scribbles against a clipboard as Cal speaks.

“It was a cold last week but now I’m feeling worse. Um, obviously the coughing. It’s been keeping me from falling asleep, or it wakes me up. I feel as if I’m perpetually a little out of breath, because it’s kind of preventing me from being able to breathe in very deeply? I’ve also been feverish for the past few days.”

When his blood pressure is taken he mentally notes that it’s high for him, and as his vitals are relayed he realizes how pervasively whatever this is has affected him. He is unspeakably tired. When he’d looked in the mirror this morning and saw the intensity of the shadows around his eyes, he was reminded of a semester-long bout of very bad insomnia and Malik once saying, “Cal you look like a sad little raccoon.” He said it to himself this morning.

He shivers again as the nurse takes his temperature, announces it as “One oh two point nine. You said you’ve been feverish for multiple days now?”

“Yes, since maybe… Thursday or Friday, I think. I’m not sure how high it was then, it tends to climb at night, I wasn’t really keeping track of my temperature. The fever in and of itself actually escaped my concern, because I tend to spike a high fever whenever I’m sick at all. I get them routinely with colds and such.”

“I see, okay.”

“Um…” Cal says, having trouble remembering the question, or whether there ever was one. “I’m rambling, but anyway, I passed the point where I felt like—” he has to stop speaking to start coughing again, desperately into his elbow, wearing a sweater he’d normally not wear in public because there’s a rather large saffron-colored stain on the sleeve, which he’s reminded of as he huddles into it until he can stop, finally recovering with a markedly softer voice, hardly above a whisper. “Excuse me. Um… I meant to say that I feel like I got to the point where I should have been beginning to feel better and instead I started feeling worse.”

The RN notices Cal’s hand continues to return to his chest and asks, “Are you experiencing chest pain?”

“Uh, yes, when I cough. Or… inhale—Yeah, I should have mentioned that, it slipped my mind.”

“The person who came in with you, can he speak for you? I can see you’re having trouble speaking and I don’t want you to have to repeat all that for the doctor. Would you want me to invite him back here?”

“Oh, that’s really kind of you… yes, he’s my partner and I would really appreciate that,” Cal says, quietly and with some difficulty, and he might go on further but the nurse cuts him off.

“Alright, I’ll go get him. Save your breath, Mr. Chowdhury, you’ll need it.”

“Thank you so much.”

Rafie appears in the doorway a couple minutes later and Cal could swear the man is glowing as he stands there, a knight in shining armor come to save him from the task of repeating his symptoms.

“It was so nice of him to—”

“Shhh, papi chulo,” Rafael says, trailing a hand over Cal’s mouth. “The nurse said tell you to stop talking.”

* * *

Their trip to the CVS by their place must be endured immediately afterwards, and a simple chore has perhaps never felt quite as unendurable to Cal, who is so woozy as he stands there in the pharmacy line with Rafael that he’s swaying precariously on his feet, and says, “Oh shit,” just as Rafael’s arm tightens around him.

“Whoa, papi… let me pick up your medicines. I’m going to bring you back to the car and you can wait there.”

He does not have the energy or the desire to protest, just squints at Rafie with a dopey smile as he leads him back to the parking lot.

In the car Cal pulls out his phone and zones out for a couple minutes as he scrolls up and down on the Mayoclinic page for viral pneumonia.

He’s read this already, what he should do is call Deepa, that would be a smart thing to do right now, because he’s running out of energy to make arrangements, and potentially running out of voice to give explanations. It rings thrice before she picks up, during which time Cal has settled his cheek against the window, an action he doesn’t feel fully in control of, and maybe he wasn’t expecting her to answer because when she does he startles like he’s jerking awake from almost-sleep, sitting fully up, vaguely dizzy from the sudden movement.

“Hi Deepa, sorry to call you out of the blue like this, but I’m still not feeling well enough to hold class and in fact I uh, just got out of urgent care with a diagnosis of pneumonia. I’m—”

“Oh no, Dr. Chowdhury! Are you okay??”

“Yeah to be—” he begins, with an inadvisably deep inhale that jettisons him into a rough fit, pressing the phone into his shoulder as his sweater weathers another series of productive coughs, taking a wheezy inhale as he catches his breath. There’s a voice he’s used to using, in professional contexts, and he realizes now for the first time it puts more strain on his vocal chords than his non-professional speaking voice does.

“Aww you sound awful.”

“Oh I know,” he says, with an approximation of a laugh that rattles in his chest and ends in an almost cough he manages to subdue. “To be clear I should be able to bounce back from this in maybe a week or so. But I’ll be totally honest with you, Deepa; right now I don’t even feel up to composing an email. I was going to ask if you could send one out on my behalf to cancel class and just explain what’s going on. Ask students to email you instead of me if they need anything.”

“Of course, absolutely. I’ll talk to the other TAs but I think let’s plan for this week at least? And you can just let me know how you’re feeling over the weekend in case you need more time and maybe we can regroup then,” she says.

“Yes, absolutely, that’s perfect. You have no idea how much of a weight off my shoulders—” he says, before he has to cough more, returning to her afterward with a winded, “Gosh I’m sorry, I hardly have the breath necessary to properly thank you.”

“It’s okay Dr. Chowdhury, it’s really no problem at all.”

“I’ll let you know in a few days how I’m feeling and hopefully by then I’ll have a better plan of what I’m gonna do about missing as much material as this will be,” Cal says, as Rafael returns, sliding back into the driver’s seat and handing Cal a brown paper bag.

“Okay sounds good. Feel better! Take as much time as you need, we’ll figure it out.”

“Thank you so much.”

He hangs up and looks into the bag in his lap, fishes out three prescription bottles with directions he stares at. He can’t remember exactly what his doctor had said about dosages and times.

“That was your TA?”

“Myeah,” Cal says, articulate, rubbing at his eyes.

“She's gonna take care of things for you?”

“She is, yes.”

“Bien,” Rafie says, gathering Cal’s face in his hands and guiding him away from his halfhearted attempt to parse prescription information. “It’s okay I wrote it down—the way the doctor said to take everything. You took care of work. We got your medicine. All you have to do now is rest, mi amor, okay? It’s the only thing left on the checklist.”

The gently authoritative touch is comforting and the sense of mortal dread he’s carried around since yesterday is loosening and the light is streaming through the window and backlighting his boyfriend beautifully and Cal feels like he might cry.

“What’s wrong?”

Cal shakes his head, feeling his eyes well. “You’re so sweet that was the prettiest thing to say,” he manages, the combination of emotion and throat pain making his voice more of a squeak than anything else.

“Ohoho papiii,” Rafie chuckles, thumbing a single quick tear from Cal’s cheek.

“I’m sorry, wow,” Cal laughs hoarsely, and then needs to pull away to cough into his shoulder. “God I’m a whole train wreck today.”

“Maybe a little train wreck, it’s okay,” Rafie says, smoothing back Cal’s hair as he sniffles and wipes at his face with a sleeve.

“Okay, I’m okay,” he decides.

“Let’s get you home.”

* * *

Later Cal huddles beneath both a kantha quilt and the comforter from the bed, head in Rafie’s lap on the couch as he sleeps through multiple episodes of a plot-heavy Spanish crime drama he’ll now have no hope of following moving forward, in an oseltamivir and high-strength pain-reliever sponsored daze that barely brings down his fever but does at least lessen the pain in his lungs and throat and back from the endless coughing, and allows him a couple hours of the deep sleep he desperately needs.

He coughs himself awake finally, half-conscious but still aware of the comforting feeling of Rafael’s hand on his shoulder, holding him with a firmness that makes him feel both secure and very weak in comparison. By accident he issues a rare moan.

Rafie takes note, coos a low, soft, “Pobrecito…”

Cal shifts so he’s on his back, shivers when his limbs make contact with places of the blanket that aren’t already heated through with his febrile warmth. He blinks slowly, hesitantly breaching the surface of being officially awake. Mumbles that he doesn’t remember falling asleep, realizes he’s said this in the only one out of three languages he could have used that Rafael doesn’t speak, but he doesn’t have the energy to even think about translating it, so when Rafie responds, “Hmm?” he just shakes his head.

Rafie brushes sleep-tousled hair out of the way to lay a large palm across Cal’s forehead and whistles as if impressed by his findings. “You must have been feeling even worse than I realized, mi amor.”

“Mm?” He blinks, trying to latch on properly to what’s being said rather than letting it wash over him like the sounds from the television.

“Pneumonia, papi. In both of your lungs.”

“Yeah it’s kinda crazy,” he agrees. “Never had double pneumonia before. Never had single pneumonia before. Not one single pneumonia. Momentous occasion for me.”

“You’re a little loopy right now aren’t you?”

Cal laughs, a phlegm-ridden, chesty sound that makes him start back up with the coughing again. ‘I would love something that just knocks me out completely,’ he’d chimed in, as the doctor was writing prescriptions, and the drug cocktail obliged. It’s definitely affecting him rather strongly and he’s unsure which phenomena are from what exactly because he’s unfamiliar with the treatment and the illness alike. 

Rafael says, “Ohh no, you can’t even laugh. Does it hurt? Your lungs?”

“Not unless I breathe,” he smiles.

For a while he just lies there as Rafie cradles a hot cheek with a comparatively cool palm, or lightly strokes a hand over his aching chest, both of which Cal recognizes as comfort targeted at the very source of pain. If he had the breath to do so he’d tell Rafael how nice his hands are, how much he likes their calloused toughness, how strong and steadying they feel to him right now, and he’s fond and fortunate and when combined with his fever he somehow feels lovesick for the person kind enough to be holding him even as he does so. 

“You’ve been so good to me,” he rasps, feeling a need to touch Rafie’s face in return but as he currently possesses the world’s heaviest arms he’s only able to reach as high as Rafie’s chest to cling limply to his shirt like a dying man.

“Papi chulo,” Rafael says fondly, running a hand through Cal’s hair, and Cal turns his head slightly like a cat trying to provide a better angle to be pet. “You were very good to me when I was sick, it’s only fair I should be good to you.”

“Yeah but you weren’t this sick, I didn’t have to take you to urgent care. Or carry you to the car.”

“I didn’t carry you.”

“You basically did,” he struggles to say, before bringing up a crooked arm and launching into a fit of harsh, wet coughing that he tries to cut short because it actively hurts, but he gets stuck in a loop of gasping inhales that prompt still more productive spasms and it feels bottomless enough to go on forever if he isn’t careful. It has him sitting up by the end of it, petering out slowly, Rafael’s hands on his shoulder blades as he pants as shallowly as he can to catch his breath and Rafael quietly mutters a reassuring, “Bien, bien, está bien.”

He is passed a glass of water and he nods his thanks, hand shaking so badly as he holds it that he has to bring up the other hand to help.

“Hey, you should try to not talk so much, okay?” Rafie says, as Cal dizzily sinks his weight back into him, settling his head in Rafie’s lap again, cheeks feeling weird and tingly from the effort of coughing and the fact that his face is throbbing with fever.

“I know, I just want you to know it means a lot to me,” Cal says carefully, searching Rafael’s eyes, weighing the words with importance and probably helped by how slowly he has to say them.

Rafie succumbs to a gradual smile that almost looks like it pains him and says, as if in marvel, “Que linda tu actitud.”

While Cal hasn’t heard this specific phrase before, he can ascertain its general meaning as being an appreciation of his attitude, and he entertains an unfocused thought he sometimes has when he watches subtitled cinema, or provides someone an approximated translation from Hindi to English or vice versa — about how reordering a sentence never seemed to keep its sentiment intact. The way Rafie said it was all the translation needed.

He offers a half smile, and a quiet, “Gracias,” which is the last thing he says before Rafael shushes him, and as if this brief bout of wakefulness was something strenuous and energy-depleting, he falls asleep again for another blissfully uninterrupted, unknowable amount of time.

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Good Girl, Bad Boy (Pt. 02 of 15)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 2.3 K

Summary: You're the extreme opposite of Billy Hargrove. The good girl, with perfect grades, the child every mother wants to have. And you don't want to have nothing to do with his kind. Ignoring Billy – and his constant, lingering stare – became an habit. But after you're put together for a special school program, you'll have no choice but to get along with him. And soon enough you'll find out that Billy is so much more than just Hawkins' bad boy.

<- (01) Previous part

Next part (03)->

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

{Dacre Montgomery Masterlist}

×

Growing Closer

You find Billy walking away from his locker, ready to go home. He's alone this time, and you heard something about Stacy being mad at him. You wonder what he did to her. Or if he just got tired and is now aiming for someone else.

“Hargrove.” You call when you're closer enough to be heard. Billy turns around immediately, and you both stop in the middle of the hall. “Do you happen to have some time? We need to discuss the calendar.”

“Sure.” He simply says, and it's clear to you he's pissed off already. He was forced into the program, so it's only normal he doesn't want to do that.

“We can hit the library. It remains open for two hours after class.” You can't help but notice some people staring. But that isn't a surprise. You and Billy are as different as day and night, and nobody expects to see you two talking.

“Sure.” He repeats, and a fun expression crosses his face before he steps aside, gesturing for you to walk.

Chuckling, you furrow your eyebrows, starting to make your way to the library.

You know the place by heart since you're here at least three times a week. Waving at the teacher who stays in the reception, you pick a table in the back, so your chattering won't bother anyone. Taking a seat, you watch as Billy settles down across from you.

It's a little weird at first, and a silence falls in between you two. You suddenly realize you've been staring at him, way too focused on his blue eyes. You didn't know Billy's eyes were so beautiful. But you quickly clear your throat, searching on your bag for your notebook.

“I made you this planner.” Pulling the paper sheet off the notebook, colorful by many different marker colors, you slide it over to him. Billy's eyes fall on it immediately, eyebrows raising. “It's just to help you keep up with everything until the end of the year. More stuff will probably be add, but don't worry, I'll let you know.”

“You have everything figured out, don't you?” He finally speaks up, holding the paper in his hands.

“I know you don't want to do this. But this is senior year and you're almost free. Just a little longer and this will be over.” Offering him a small smile, you put a strand of hair behind your ear.

“I won't repeat the year. My grades are enough to get me through.” He sounds a little angry, and you sigh.

You don't know what to say to make him cooperate if he doesn't want to. “Look, you can't get out of the Improvement Program. But you can pick another tutor. So if you want, I have a list of everyone who's still available and maybe if there's someone you already know or happen to be friends with–” As you speak, you start looking in your bag for the small blueish paper. “–you just have to talk to Mrs Martinez and–”

“I want you to be my tutor.” His voice startles you since it's a little too loud and because of the silence, it echoes a bit. “But just because I know you're the smartest person in this school.”

Biting your lip, you nod, not sure how you feel about his compliment. “Thanks... I try.”

“You freaking succeed,” Billy mutters, cupping his hands above the table.

There's heat creeping through your cheeks so you look away, bringing back to mind what else you must talk to him about. “So, the next project is a presentation on History about World War I. Our part is about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the invasion of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the July crisis. The happenings before the war was set.”

“Great.”

“Shhh.” Someone says, and you look at a small group of people on your left.

“You shut up, asshole.” Billy raises his voice a little, and you look at him with wide eyes.

“Hey. Don't say that.” You warn him, giving the boy an apologetic look. “We're at a library, we're supposed to be quiet.”

“Excuse me.” Mr Williams comes, standing a few feet away. “Some students are complaining about your chattering, so I'll have to ask you to leave, please.”

“Oh...” Blushing a little, you start gathering your stuff. “Sorry, Mr Williams. We'll leave.” Billy is just about to say something when you give him a look.

You're quickly outside again, fixing the strap of your bag on your shoulder. “We...” Moving out of the way of some people heading to the library, you set into his pace, walking side by side. “We'll need some time to work on everything. So we can switch between your place and mine because doing things in the library won't work.” You feel a little shy to propose this, but it's not a big deal. You'll be doing this until the end of the year, so it's quite inevitable. “If that's ok with you, of course.”

“We should hit your place then. My father is home today, so... It just won't work.” There's a change in his voice, and you glance at him.

“My mother is home too. But she won't bother us.” Walking a little faster, you gesture at your car. “Just follow me.”

Billy nods, and you smile, giving him a little wave.

The school is empty, and so are the streets around it, so you have no trouble speeding away. Keeping your eyes on the review mirror, it only takes twenty minutes to get to your house, so you park on your usual spot, stepping out of the car and waiting for Billy to do the same. When he finally joins you on the porch, you move to unlock the door.

Billy couldn't help but feel lucky to be at her place. He never thought he'd come here, under any circumstances. Trying not to let her notice, he allows his eyes to wander a little as she opens the door, taking in the place (Y/N) calls home. It has a weird feeling for him, almost as if the place is sacred, somewhere he wasn't supposed to be.

“My mother is nice. But she may say some embarring stuff so... Be prepared.” Following her inside, Billy notices as her mother looks at them, eyes going a little wide to see him. He wonders if she isn't used to her daughter bringing boys home. Knowing (Y/N), he knows she's not. “Mom, this is Billy Hargrove. I told you about him yesterday, remember? From the Improvement Program.”

She told her mother about him. So yes, she was thinking about him. Maybe just for a couple of seconds, maybe just as someone she knows, who she has told to help. But it doesn't matter. (Y/N) was thinking about him, and for now, it's enough.

“Of course.” She stands up, coming to give her daughter a quick hug and shake Billy's hand. “I'm Amanda. (Y/N)'s mother.”

“It's good to meet you, Mrs–”

“Call me Amanda kid, or else I feel terribly old.” She jokes, kindly smiling. “I believe you'll be hanging around here a lot because of school. But don't worry, I won't get in your way.”

“Thanks, mom. We'll be in the dining room.” (Y/N)'s light touch on his forearm is enough to make him shot her a glance, almost too desperate, something in him wanting to ask her why she did such a thing. Billy curses himself as he follows her to the dining room for feeling so stupid. It's just a freaking touch. On his freaking arm. And she wasn't even giving it much thought.

As Billy settles down on the table, (Y/N) moves the centerpiece to the edge so they'll have more space. “Do you want anything? Water? Or some chips? I happen to have some.”

Her voice sends Billy into some kind of stupor. A guy like him shouldn't feel this way. (Y/N) is just a girl, and he had many. But none of them ever made him feel like this. Like his heart is trying to jump off his chest. After a year, he did think he got over it. But he was wrong. Billy didn't want to be this close to (Y/N), always watching her from a safe distance. But this stupid school had to put them together, so damn close. Look at him now, seated on her dining table, staring at her like a complete idiot.

Just because she offered him water and freaking chips.

“Water is nice.” He mumbles, eyes on her back as she walks away, passing behind his chair. A sweet scent irradiates from her. Like flowers, he doesn't know which one though, like freaking sunshine.

Laughing at his stupidity, Billy looks down at his hands. How can someone smell like sunshine? It's illogical.

“Get it together, she's just a girl,” Billy says to himself, resting his back against the chair and taking his jacket off, laying on the chair next to him. Girls are nothing new to him. He had they all figured out, their ways, how to break them, how to please them, how to bend them to his will.

But not (Y/N).

A nice girl like her is immune to his tricks. And that's good because if she wasn't, it would mean she could also fall on someone's traps. Like Tommy, or Jimmy, or Jackson. The very thought of those assholes with her, touching, caressing, kissing... It disgusts him, and he's quick to push such images away.

“Did you say something?” (Y/N) asks, coming back from the kitchen and handing him a glass with cold water. Once she's close enough, he takes a deep breath, and her sweet scent almost drives him mad.

She's not a girl for you, get it together. “No.” He mumbles, taking long sips before putting the glass down. “So what now?” He sounds a little rude, so he immediately clears his throat after, eyes on (Y/N) as she takes a seat next to him on the round table instead of across from him. Billy finds it odd, but he's thankful for the proximity. This way, he can be surrounded by her candy-like scent, trying to memorize it so he could play it back later. When he's into the nightmare he calls home.

You're just about to start, History books already on the table, since you'll begin with the presentation, notebooks and papers so you can take notes, but then you look at Billy. There's a bruise on the apple of his cheek that you haven't noticed it before.

“Did you get into a fight?” You ask, leaning slightly forward to take a better look.

“What?” There's a moment of confusion on his face before it changes. “Yeah.”

“Did you win?”

“In a way.” It doesn't look like he'll say anything else.

“Well, if someone punches you, make sure to beat them up.” Smiling a little, you take the History book, opening it on chapter 7. “What exactly do you know about–”

“Are you still dating Steve?”

The question takes you by surprise, making you nervously giggle. “Why are you asking me that?”

“Just curious.” He shrugs his shoulders, tilting his head to the side. “Saw you two talking earlier today and he wouldn't be happy to know we'll be around each other a lot.”

“Steve is my friend. We dated last year but only for two months.” Avoiding Billy's eyes, you go through the book, not really paying attention to anything. You can feel his stare, and for some reason, your cheeks start heating up.

“Who broke up with who?”

Chuckling, you turn your body towards him. “Why do you want to know, Billy?” Maybe he's just trying to procrastinate. “Because if you're just trying to delay things I–”

“No, I really want to know.” He leans forward, pulling the book closer to him. “You and Harrington don't fit together, so I was surprised to see you hanging out with him last year.”

“Steve and I got pretty close when he dropped the jerk act. And we were both single so we decided to give it a try.” The only reason you're telling Billy this is because it's not a secret. Some people know and they probably didn't put any effort into keeping it hidden. “But it didn't click. We were dating but it wasn't really romantic, so...” You smile to remember it, and the memory that comes back is definitely a secret. Nancy is the only one who knows, her and Steve, obviously. But you guess it's ok to tell Billy, it's quite funny. And silly. “We... We never really kissed, you know?”

“What?” His voice startles you, and the genuine confusion on his face only makes you laugh. “You're joking.”

“I'm not, and if this gets out, I'll know it was you.” With a finger pointing at his face, you fake a threatening face. “So keep it between us or else.”

Pinching his eyebrows together, Billy seems amused. “Or else what?” His voice gets lower, as he leans closer.

“Or else I'll have no choice but to make out with Steve in front of the whole school.” In a sassy tone, you smile, biting your tongue not to laugh at his expression. Billy is... Impressed? Surprised, maybe. Something tells you he wasn't expecting this answer.

“Ew. Please don't.”

“Then don't tell anyone.” Shrugging your shoulders, you pull your feet up, crossing your legs on the chair. “Now, C'mon. World War I.”

“One more question and we get to it.” As he speaks, you feel him pulling your hand away from the notebook, forcing you to give him attention. “Why in the hell didn't you and Steve–”

“We kissed. I mean, those quick kisses, you know. Like when you say hi or goodbye. Just a peck in the lips. But that was it.”

“That was it?”

“That was it.” Giggling again, you assure him. Why is it so important to him anyway? “Now, can we start?”

You watch as Billy's eyes remain on you, burning, lingering. After a while, his lips break into a smile and he looks down at the book, shaking his head lightly. “Let's start.”

×

@multific @clockworkballerina @tina1938 @graciehams @moatsnow @all-the-stars-on-your-skin

[polishksiezniczka]

By God's Grace | Camerlengo Patrick McKenna x Reader

You believe Patrick, your lover, to be dead after the explosion but are eventually reunited.

Notes: AU—Patrick is the good guy! Angst, romance. Also, I can’t help but get serious Obi-Wan vibes again from this oneshot ?? I am definitely picturing a similar reunion between you and your dashing Jedi lover when he returns to you after a dangerous, far-off mission (minus the Italian, LOL). 1.4K words.

Thank you to the lovely @quiescentcrepuscular for being a phenomenal beta reader!

By the time you learned of the situation, it was too late: the helicopter had taken off, Patrick its doomed pilot. As you watched him ascend higher and higher into the night sky, you nearly became catatonic. You couldn’t bear to witness the man you loved so deeply die alone and afraid while you stood there, completely helpless.

So you ran back to the Swiss Guard’s headquarters, tears blinding your vision. You couldn’t calm down and slowly felt yourself pulled down into a spiral of panic. As you ran, images of Patrick replayed over and over again in your head. Your first meeting. When he reciprocated his feelings for you. Your first kiss. The first—and last—time he told you he loved you. The last time you had been together...

You had rushed to his side with Lt. Chartrand after discovering him lying on the floor of His Holiness’ study, his chest badly burned by the brand.

“Whatever happens, know I’ll always love you,” he had whispered hoarsely, so that only you could hear, his fingers ghosting over your hands as you cleaned and dressed his wounds.

“I know, Patrick. I know,” you replied, your eyes still fixed on his chest as you hushed him gently. “And I will always be here for you.” Your voice dropped to a murmur. “I love you...”

The memory of your distracted nature stained your last moments together—how you wished you could relive those moments again! Shaking your head, you squeezed your eyes shut, trying in vain to shut out the anguish which you now felt, but grief coursed through your body so violently you began to feel physically ill. Your lungs burned from overexertion, exhausted by both your sprinting and crying.

Why hadn’t you done more to comfort him? Why hadn’t you gazed into his beautiful, caring eyes one last time?

You did little to stop the loud sob which escaped your throat, surely drawing the attention of the Swiss Guards at the door to the command center, but you didn’t care about them, nor anyone else for that matter. Your entire world had died with Patrick.

Why had you not told him how much he meant to you? How much you cared for him? Loved him more than life itself?

You collapsed onto a sofa then, weeping bitterly. “Please, Patrick, please forgive me. Please…”

----------

You couldn’t tell how much time had passed when the door beside you burst open.

“...it is truly a miracle, what happened to the camerlengo!” At first you barely registered Olivetti and Commander Richter’s presence until you heard his name. You froze.

“What about the camerlengo?” you cried out, abruptly wrenched from your grief.

“Didn’t you hear? He survived the explosion!” Your heart stopped, barely processing the words coming from Olivetti’s mouth. “Before the bomb detonated, he was able to parachute out of the helicopter. He saved us all! Sia Lode a Dio!” he marveled.

“Where is he?” you demanded frantically. “Where is he?!”

Before Olivetti could even finish his sentence, you were already flying out the door, on your way to the hospital.

----------

You nearly let out a cry of relief upon seeing Patrick. Doctors and nurses fluttered about him, attending to his wounds. He looked so small and fragile in the moment, far from the confident man of God you knew. But that didn’t matter. He was alive. Your beloved. Your Patrick. Alive.

“M-Monsignor!” you exclaimed breathlessly.

His eyes immediately locked with yours, and you saw his heart break. Your eyes were likely still red from crying, tears glistened against your cheeks, and your windswept hair indicated your haste. He stared at you incredulously, afraid that you were merely a hallucination brought on by one of his injuries.

“Miss Y/L/N…?” Even in this state, he remembered his propriety, bringing tears to your eyes.

You needed to pull yourself together, lest you make a scene. You cleared your throat. “Monsignor, I have urgent news from the US Embassy. About the incident.” You gazed at him in earnest, silently begging to speak with him.

He tore his gaze away from you; his eyes darted about, as if deep in thought. Then, he spoke:

“Starò bene. Se ci scusi, sorella.”

You offered your arm to him, which he eagerly slipped into yours, carefully making your way to the hallway with him. Once out of view, he whisked you into an unoccupied room and shut the door.

Your reaction was immediate: you bolted into his arms and held him tightly, burying your face into his neck with a sob. You were careful to brace your weight against him, remembering the angry red marks of the brand which marred his beautiful chest. He held you just as passionately, stroking your hair and tenderly rubbing your back.

Although his scent brought you instant, indescribable comfort, your bawling only intensified. You felt his skin grow warm from your tears and ragged breathing despite his attempts to hush your incoherent babbling with his soothing voice. “Oh darling, shhhh. Please, don’t cry. Shhh…” He leaned back to study your flushed, tear-stained face, his hand coming up to cradle it. “I’m here, I’m here.” He lightly brushed his thumbs over your cheeks to wipe away your tears.

You stared up into his beautiful eyes, bringing your hands to his face in turn, memorizing its angels and curves with your soft fingertips. You felt him lean into your gentle ministrations, his eyes squeezing shut in sheer comfort.

“I thought that I would n-never s-see you again. I th-thought I had lost you f-forever.” You choked back a sob. The shakiness in your voice made it difficult for you to speak coherently as the tears relentlessly streamed down your face.

He clasped his hands over yours. As he slowly revealed his cerulean orbs to you, you noticed the luster of tears. “Never, angelo mio,” he whispered ardently, turning his head to softly kiss your palm. “Never. By God’s grace, I returned to you.”

He kissed you softly then, assuaging your fears; you tasted the saltiness of your tears lingering on his lips. As if to reassure you of his presence, he rested his forehead against yours. You remained like this for several minutes, the peaceful silence interrupted occasionally by your quiet sobs or the soft words of affirmation Patrick whispered against your lips.

You finally leaned back, your eyes immediately filling with tears as they scanned his face. “Y-you’re hurt,” you lamented softly, brushing back the few pieces of hair which had fallen into his face. Angry red gashes and bruises riddled his face and torso, and you longed to kiss each and every one, to hold him until he was no longer in pain. “I’m so sorry...” you whimpered.

As your eyes continued their frantic scan, Patrick brought you back to reality by whispering your name, pleadingly, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Cuore mio…look at me.” Your eyes found his effortlessly as he caressed the nape of your neck, the sensation sending shivers down your spine. “I’m all right. All that matters is you are here, safe, with me.” He smiled then, his eyes crinkling endearingly. “And I would never leave you without saying goodbye.”

You sniffled and let out a soft, choked laugh as you watched his face brighten. “Patrick, my love,” you whispered reverently, “I’d be lost without you.” You paused, cradling his face once again. “I love you more than life itself. Please…I don’t ever want to be without you again.”

His gaze softened as his eyes welled with tears. “Ti amo,” he replied, laying a soft kiss on your cheek. “Ti amo,” he repeated, planting another on your opposite cheek. He looked at you lovingly as he leaned forward. “Ti amo…” he murmured, capturing your lips in his. ¤

Translations

Sia Lode a Dio! = "Praise God!"

Starò bene. Se ci scusi, sorella. = "I'll be okay. If you'll excuse us, sister."

Cuore mio = "my heart"

Ti amo = "I love you"

Taglist: @seraferna @lemairepstuff

[elenamiria]

A Sweet Poison

Pairing: Plo Koon x Reader

A mission goes awry when your data proves to be outdated. Specifically in the flora department. (Again this is just smut, no plot and yes it’s cliche but honestly idc) Word Count: 3K (I’m so sorry, this was meant to be like 1k but I can’t control myself) Warnings: Sex pollen and thus dub-con, daddy kink, overstimulation, p in v sex, degradation (only once), begging, cockwarming 

Tagggies: @hxldmxdxwn @fishswimbetterunderwater  Let me know if you wanna be tagged in future fics 🥰 Dedicating this one to Kenna (hxldmxdxwn) for many reasons, number one she hit 2k!!! number two plo koon is her husband and number three her plo koon thots were a big inspiration as well as her plo fics! (Masterlist here) Also if you say anything bad about Plo, I will fight you :)  That’s all! Enjoy this entirely gratuitous smut

Plo was sitting on the ground, whole body tense - his back against a large tree, legs spread. His eyes were focused on your every move as you frantically paced back and forth. Barely audible whines left your mouth and you were shaking your hands as if to try to shake off the fever that was rapidly consuming your body. 

The two of you had gone for reconnaissance for your mission. After flying over it had been discovered that there was a ledge with a clear view of a separatist hide out, far enough away that you wouldn’t be spotted and it was just a trek through a jungle away. You had done your research on the planet and informed your master that it should be safe to do so, the flora and fauna in this area had been cleared by settlers in a village not far from the your campsite. Unfortunately, in your haste to ensure the plan would go smoothly you had failed to check when the reports were filed, which was over a year ago. So now here the two of you were clearly having some sort of reaction to something, leading to your anxious pacing, as you racked your brains trying to figure out what it could be. It hadn’t taken Plo long to figure out what was happening, in his padawan days a Jedi had encountered a form of sex pollen and the story spread like wildfire as a cautionary tale and all the telltale symptoms were making an appearance.  

Most prominent was his cock straining against his pants, a direct result of the whines you thought he couldn’t hear. He was feeling the same burning heat you were and he had sat down with the intention to meditate to try to get his urges under control but with your constant pacing all he could focus on were his thoughts of fucking you until you couldn’t walk. He also was thankful that though you were his padawan, you had only just joined him. You had come to him after losing your master and though the two of you knew very little of each other you had bonded, both through the force and outside of it, quickly. It was through your bond that he could sense your increasing want, but he also sensed your rising anxiousness and pain. 

Unable to watch you in such a desperate state he called your name out softly. You froze and turned to him eyes wide, you felt yourself grow wet at his voice. You were biting your lower lip in a way that made his cock twitch and he spread his legs slightly before beckoning you towards him. You obeyed immediately, sinking down to sit in front of him and he could sense your desperation to be touched. Gently he reached out to you pulling you to him, turning you around he situated you so you were sitting in between his spread legs and his chest to your back. Wrapping his arms around your waist he pulled you firmly against him hoping that the contact would ease both of your pain.You couldn’t help but let out a sweet breathy moan at the contact, your head falling back onto Plo’s shoulder. For a moment you both sat there, it was working the burning sensation dulled enough for you to regain your senses a bit. You managed to squeak out “Plo, w-what’s happening??” His grip around you tightened causing another whine to escape and unconsciously you arched your back, wiggling to try to get closer. Plo pressed his head to the side of yours as his hands started a soothing stroking along your sides, with a quick reassurance of “Shhh, I’ve got you don’t worry” Your breathing started to even at his touch and you couldn’t help but question the whole situation again. “We need help, can’t we just call the boys to come get us?? O-or if we don’t come back they’ll come looking for us, right?”

Plo froze at your question, how was he supposed to explain to you that he had commed Wolffe when he realized what was happening and made up an excuse saying that you wouldn’t be back until much later or maybe not until tomorrow. He had no qualms telling you that but he knew you would ask why and he would have to tell you what was really happening but what he didn’t want to explain that the thought of you going back and his men seeing you desperate to be fucked and possibly you even begging them to fuck you made him jealous in a very un-Jedi like manner. As he was debating you started pressing closer to him again a small whine of his name falling from your mouth, followed by you repeating your last question, and he knew he had to tell you even if you would become aware of his feelings for you. “They won’t come because I told them not to, that we may not be back tonight” Your eyes snapped to his face and a confused look crossed yours. A pathetic little ‘why’ left your throat and he shifted uncomfortably. His hands resting on your waist squeezed slightly as he simply responded, “because we’re under the influence of sex pollen.”

There was a long moment where neither of you moved or said anything. Your brain had stopped processing at his words and you had pulled forward attempting to gather your thoughts. Unfortunately, all this managed to do was allow the heat to creep back into your body, slowly at first but once it hit you it flooded your senses. You pressed your thighs together as slick started to leak out of you unprompted, your hands itched to touch yourself and your breathing started to pick up again. Noticing this Plo eases you back into his body hoping it would help you, however this backfires as your ass pressed firmly into his cock. The Kel Dor groaned as you started to roll your hips against him, his hands flying to your hips to stop you with a bruising grip. He let out a warning growl but all that did was excite you more, your whole body was on fire at this point and you needed contact - so your hands rose to your chest, teasing your nipples over your dress. You felt Plo’s hard length twitch against your ass and you moaned his name loudly. He let go of your waist with one hand to capture both of your wrists in his large hand, muttering something about ‘inappropriate relations’. Whining you desperately tried to pull your hands away but he held firm. You tried to grind against him but he put a firm end to that by harshly wrapping his free arm around your waist and pulling you tight against him.Unable to get the friction you needed you started thrashing in his hold, crying out ‘please’ over and over. His grip on you only tightened and there was another growl right by your ear before he pleaded with you to stop moving and a reminder that you weren’t in your right state of mind. Sweat gathered on your brow and tears filled your eyes as desperation overcame you and you cried out “Plo I want you so badly!! I want to fuck me!” A moan, low and gravelly, came from Plo and he bucked into you before pushing his instincts down. “You’re only saying this because o-” “No! No, I’ve wanted you like this since I saw you Master!” You cut him off and his grip on you weakened at this confession. Seeing your opportunity you launched forward to free yourself and landed on your hands and knees in front of him.  

Before he had time to react you had spread your legs allowing yourself to lower your upper body so you could reach back to hike up your dress around your hips. Your face pressed into the forest floor but you didn’t care, not when you had eagerly shoved your panties to the side and were now rubbing tight circles around your clit, the pleasure crashed into you wiping the world around you away. A plethora of moans, whines and pleas were steadily streaming out of your mouth and you heard soft moans from behind you reminding you that you weren’t alone. Sinking two fingers into your dripping pussy you called out to your master, “Plo please, please come fuck me Master!” You heard a noise in protest but before he could speak you slurred out, dizzy with pleasure, “I want this, I want you! Look into my mind, I’ve been longing for you!!” 

Desperately you called forth all the images of you pleasuring yourself while moaning your master’s name determined to show him that it wasn’t just from the pollen. Plo’s own moans grew louder and you hoped he was touching himself as you felt him gently probing your mind. You fingers were pumping in and out slick starting to drip down your thighs as your pleas grew desperate. As the fire inside you built you couldn’t help the words thoughtlessly flowing from your mouth, an endless stream of his name and master, but Plo remained firm where he sat (though he was frantically stroking himself, having desperately opened his pants).  It was only when you slipped up that the Kel Dor finally lost control.A wild desperate cry of “Daddy please!!” escaped your mouth as you added a third finger to your pussy.  Your hand was pulled away shortly after and you felt something hard pressing at your entrance as hands gripped your hips harshly.  Another cry of ‘daddy’ flew past your lips as your hips arched higher, desperate for friction. A deep chuckle met your ears as Plo stroked your sides softly, before cooing “Are you going to be a good girl for Daddy, little one? Will you let your master take care of you?” You nodded frantically while whining out yes and rewarding you he pulled your hips back as he pushed forward slamming his cock into you to the hilt, easily sliding in with how soaked you were. A groan left his body as you enveloped him and loud cry, verging on scream, flew past your lips as you clenched hard around him in orgasm. You had been on edge and his cock stretched you in a way that your fingers couldn’t, filling you deliciously and forcing your orgasm. While you were cumming Plo set a fast pace hips bouncing off your ass, strained moans echoing around you. You were vaguely aware that more cries of ‘master’ and ‘daddy’ were trickling past your lips but it was so hard to focus with the harsh pace Plo had set keeping you on a pleasure high.  A deep hum came from Plo’s chest as he murmured “My padawan is such a little slut, isn’t she?  Cumming for me when I’ve barely touched her”

“Yes! Yes daddy I was so desperate for your cock, you feel so much better than I imagined!” Your core clenched hard at his words as you cried out your response, already fluttering on the precipice of another orgasm. Plo purred and one of his hands moved to bury in your hair, tugging your upper body up off the ground so his other hand could slide under your dress to grope at your tits, “Oh my little padawan, you take my cock so well.”  

His fingers took their time grazing and gently pinching your nipples, talons lightly brushing over them teasingly, before he continued, “Would you like to come again?” His hips slowed until he was seated deep inside you stretching, teasing. Frantically you nodded tears filling your eyes. A pleased purr echoed through Plo’s body, and his words had you clenching around his cock again, “Beg, my sweet girl” You gasped and turned your head as best you could so he could see just how much of a mess you were, voice wavering and tears trailing down your face as you began to beg. Simple cries of ‘please, Plo’ flew from your mouth but his head only tilted and a small sob tore its way out of your throat. You desperately tried to thrust your hips but all that got you was Plo pulling out and one hand moved to press feather light onto your clit, the just teasing touches caused your walls to desperately flutter around nothing and you cries and please got louder until you were babbling, “Please, please Master! Fuck me, I need your cock, you make me feel so good! No one else could ever fuck me like you daddy!!”

With that he plunged back into you setting a rapid, hard pace, finally placing pressure on your clit, his other hand supporting your upper body as your orgasm washed over you. Your whole body went rigid as pleasure made you incoherent, fingers digging into the forest floor. Plo fucked you through your orgasm whispering out soft praises of how good you felt, that you were such a good girl for him and moved his hand up to softly wiping away your tears while stroking your face. After you came down your energy left you and you went limp in Plo’s grasp, when his hips paused you whined slightly and uttered out for him to keep going - knowing how desperately he needed release, and the heat in you starting to rise again despite how hard you had just cum twice. 

Pulling out he gently picked you up as he slid back into his original position of sitting propped against a tree. He moved your limbs, as you had become fairly useless in your blissed out state, so you were straddling him and lowered you gently back onto his aching cock. You practically sobbed at the feeling of his thick ridged length sliding back into place, he held you there for a minute not moving while you grasped at his shoulders whimpering. Your walls were twitching around him and though you were exhausted after two intense orgasms you felt your lower body heating again, the familiar coil starting to build. Plo seemed content to keep you there sitting on his cock and he buried his face best he could into your neck, hands running softly up and down your back. When you started to weakly rock your hips back and forth on him a raspy chuckle met your ear sending a shiver down your spine. He pulled you close to his chest before cooing at you, “It’s alright little one, let me take care of us both”

You weakly nodded at him and his hands moved down to your waist, gripping tightly he started to buck his hips up into you. You moaned burying your face into his shoulder as he easily lifted you and brought you back down onto his cock in time with his thrusts. Plo was close, you could tell as he was become more vocal and his grip on your waist grew tighter; his pace was also speeding up and you snuck a hand down to rub at your clit. Gently your hand trailed up to cup the back of his head and you hazily lifted your head to press your forehead to his. You were aware he was praising you, calling you his good girl, but you couldn’t focus on anything other than how fast you were bouncing on his cock and they way his breathing hitched when he slammed back into you. You keened as you pinched your clit lightly and your third orgasm hit you - you couldn’t tell if this one was weaker or if your brain was just so muddled you couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Either way the fluttering of your walls around him caused Plo’s own release to shoot deep inside you, a loud groan leaving his body as he filled you with his cum. You closed your eyes, foreheads still lightly pressed together as a weak cry of ‘Master’ left your lips. His hands trailed up your back to cup your head and you pressed the softest of kisses to his antiox mask, your eyes fluttering shut as exhaustion took over your body. 

Plo started to move you off of him but a pitiful cry left your lips and you murmured out “please, let’s just stay like this for a bit” nodding in response Plo guided your head to his shoulder then gently moved your legs to a slightly more comfortable position. You fell into sleep rather quickly, something he was glad for - it meant the effect of the pollen was wearing off. He could still feel the heat in his body but with you perched on his cock and pressed into him it was enough to hold any urges back. His hands held you close, one absently stroking your back and the other stroking your hair, as he leaned his head back against the tree to join you in sleep. Bonus: you had just finished a debrief on the info you gathered from the recon (at least the pollen hadn’t started taking effect until after you got what you needed). Commander Wolffe had turned around to study a map when Plo gently touched your elbow. He had taken care of you when you both woke up and made sure you were able to sneak into your room and clean up before the briefing. Even though you had both slept for hours it was clear you were still exhausted. A kind voice met your ears as Plo suggested you go rest before the attack his hand gently rubbing your arm. You tiredly yawned and nodded, absently replying “Yes daddy”. His hand tightened on your arm and you froze once you realized your mistake, eyes shifting to look at Wolffe - he had shifted his weight slightly but had shown no other sign of hearing you (though if you had been able to see the front of his face you wouldn’t be able to miss the heat coloring his tanned complexion and shocked expression). Plo purred softly and gave your arm a squeeze, you just knew if he had a face like yours there would be a smug smirk on it, and he bent down to whisper, “Oh kitten, such a good girl but let’s save that talk for later, hmmm?”

[a-blue-secret]

CHAPTER XXIX

BACK TO MASTERLIST

Chapter XXVIII | Chapter XXIX | Chapter XXX

GENRES: royal au; fantasy au; magic au; friends-to-enemies-to-lovers; king!beomgyu, vizier!taehyun

PAIRING: taegyu

WARNINGS: swearing

WORD COUNT: 4.6k+

SUMMARY: Best friends turned enemies, Kang Taehyun has managed to trick Choi Beomgyu into his service, and to rule for a year and a day, until his youngest brother would be old enough to take the throne. Choi Beomgyu has no intention of being obedient however, and tries to thwart Taehyun’s orders at every turn. With a growing amount of distrust and lies within the court, will Taehyun manage to keep the kingdom of Gojongja from falling apart?

Beomgyu blinked quickly, shaking his head. He snarled softly, leaves crunching as he stamped his feet.

His mind was a mess of random words and images, all of them adding to his confusion. Beast. Beast, insane, must kill. Must destroy. Kill anything and everything. But suddenly he lifted his head, more words beginning to fill his brain. Human. Human, happy, smile. Taehyun. Taehyun.

Beomgyu snarled again. Who was this Taehyun? Why was his name reverberating in his mind? He shook his head in frustration, trying to gather his thoughts.

Who was he? Was he even a someone? Maybe he was an animal. Was he an animal? What was he? Where was he?

He shook his head, and growled when his thoughts became no clearer. Nothing was making sense. He knew who he was. Or at least, he thought he knew who he was. Who was he?

The beast was about to snarl again when he heard a noise. His head whipped up, his thoughts suddenly dead quiet.

It was a horse. A flying horse.

His eyes narrowed, muscles tensing. For now, at least, he was sure of what he had to do.

Kill the horse.

The horse, as if sensing the beast’s thoughts, swiftly flew off. Beomgyu immediately began to chase it.

Because of the density of the trees, it was impossible for him to open his wings. The horse, infuriatingly, continued to stick to flying above areas of thick foliage, and Beomgyu wanted to roar in annoyance.

But then, much to Beomgyu’s delight, the horse took a wrong turn, flying above a patch of the forest covered by very little trees. He took this chance to leap into the air, wings spread wide as he chased the horse. The horse in question let out a terrified noise, before plunging towards the ground to hide behind a human.

Beomgyu landed in front of the human, eyes fixed on the cowering horse. All he could think of was sinking his fangs into its flesh, feeling its warmth slowly fade as the life was sucked from it. He could almost taste it. The human said something, but he didn’t even register it. It was then that the horse suddenly flew off, and he gave a low growl to himself, ready to take off and chase it again.

But then the human spoke to him.

His eyes whipped to the human, and something in his memory resurfaced. This human… he knew this human. But as soon as it had appeared, the memory had vanished, and he snarled.

“Hey,” the human said softly. Beomgyu bared his teeth, advancing a step. If he couldn’t have a horse, then at least he could have this human.

But the human seemed unafraid.

“You know me,” the human said. “Hey, don’t be like this. Come on, you know me. It’s me, Taehyun. Your moon.”

My moon. Beomgyu stopped short. Little fragments of thoughts were beginning to push their way into the emptiness of his mind, fuzzy and confusing and not quite logical. But one thing was for sure: Beomgyu had a moon. And his moon was important to him.

He gave a growl as the human lifted its hand, but this time it was more of a confused one. The human – Taehyun – held his ground, and after a moment Beomgyu folded away his wings.

“It’s me, Taehyun, the person you’ve known your whole life,” Taehyun carried on. As he spoke, Beomgyu felt like a thick fog had begun to be lifted from his mind, beginning to recall more and more why this Taehyun meant so much to him. But still, he was unsure. Taehyun might have been important, but why was he important?

“It’s so cold here,” Taehyun said, and Beomgyu heard the break in his voice. “So cold. It’s so cold without you. I need my sun.”

Something in Beomgyu sparked at those words, and he leaned forward. He didn’t want Taehyun to be cold, he realised. Taehyun shouldn’t have to be cold.

“It’s so dark and cold without you,” Taehyun whispered. “And I can’t imagine how cold you must be feeling right now too. Come back to me, love. You know me. I won’t hurt you, it’s okay. You… you love me, remember? And I love you.”

I love you…? Beomgyu padded forward slowly, coming closer towards Taehyun’s hand. He sniffed it, taking in the scent, leaning forward until he was almost touching it. He loves me? But… who am I?

He noticed how the hand shook, how the fingers wavered uncertainly. But he also felt the warmth, the determination, the strength coming from it.

“You love me, and I love you.”

And just like that, he knew.

This is Kang Taehyun, and I am Choi Beomgyu.

Beomgyu pressed his forehead against Taehyun’s hand, all of the memories of the vizier coming back to him all at once.

Mine. My moon. My love. My Taehyun.

“Taehyun, oh, Taehyun,” he whispered, the human part of him resurfacing for the first time since he became a beast. Taehyun ran a hand through his mane, and Beomgyu gave a whimper, falling to pieces under Taehyun’s touch.

Taehyun was here. His Taehyun was here. He was here.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

‘Taehyun…’

“Shhh, it’s okay, I’m here,” Taehyun said softly, voice cracking. “I’m here.”

‘God, Taehyun, I missed you so much.’

“I missed you too,” Taehyun whispered as Beomgyu tried to bury his head into Taehyun’s chest. “I missed you more than you know.”

Beomgyu blew warm air over Taehyun’s knees, making a soft whining sound quite uncharacteristic of his intimidating build. Taehyun stroked the beast’s mane, the dark fur silky soft between his fingers. It hurt that Beomgyu couldn’t be here with him properly, but at least he could talk to him, and at that moment that was all that mattered.

‘I love you,’ Beomgyu’s quiet voice said, the words echoing in Taehyun’s brain.

“And I love you,” Taehyun replied in an equally soft tone, smiling even as tears blurred his vision. “And I’m so sorry for making you turn into this.”

Beomgyu shook his head, drawing back slightly to press their foreheads together. ‘It’s not your fault,’ he said quietly. ‘Don’t be sorry.’

Taehyun sank to his knees, and Beomgyu followed him, crouching down in front of the human.

“I’m so sorry you have to be like this,” he whispered, his tears mingling with the soft fur of Beomgyu’s muzzle. “It’s all my fault.”

Beomgyu aggressively shook his head again. He looked at the vizier, eyes dilated so widely to the point that there was only a thin ring of violet around the darkness of his pupils. Even so, they shone like stars, filled to the brim with love for Taehyun.

‘It’s not your fault,’ Beomgyu repeated. ‘You’re the reason why I haven’t become insane even faster. It’s because of you that I’m still holding onto some semblance of sanity.’

Taehyun’s lip quivered, and he buried his face in his hands. “But still, it’s all because of me,” he said, tears spilling out of the corners of his eyes. “If I hadn’t made you become King, you wouldn’t have had to go through all of this. It’s all because of me.”

The beast gave a soft huff, the sound similar to an endeared sigh. Beomgyu curled himself around Taehyun, his warm body making Taehyun feel comforted by his presence. He didn’t say anything and just let Taehyun cry into his fur, sometimes nuzzling his nose against Taehyun’s shoulder to help him calm down.

‘It’s alright,’ he said softly. ‘It’s alright. It’s okay, love.’ Beomgyu felt Taehyun bury his face deeper into his fur. ‘It’s all in the past now. It’s okay.’

Eventually, Taehyun fell asleep, wrapped securely within Beomgyu’s embrace.

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“Oh my god, Taehyun?”

Taehyun blinked his eyes against the bright morning sun, rubbing them with the back of his hand. As he sat up, he realised… he was not in his bed. His bed was not made of dark black furs, nor did it radiate this much warmth.

Beomgyu gave a growl, tensing up his muscles as he stood up, glaring at Hyunjin. He paced slowly until he was in front of Taehyun, shielding him.

Hyunjin’s eyes widened, and he peered behind the beast to look at Taehyun with panicked eyes. “Uh, Taehyun??”

“Beomgyu, wait, it’s okay,” Taehyun said, reaching forward to stroke Beomgyu’s back. The beast flinched, turning around to snarl at Taehyun. The vizier blinked, surprised, before holding up his hands placatingly. “It’s alright, it’s alright,” he said calmly. “It’s me. It’s Taehyun.”

Eventually, Beomgyu ceased his suspicious rumbling, settling down on the ground again. But he still glared at Hyunjin.

Taehyun noticed, to his disappointment, that he wasn’t able to reach out to Beomgyu. The mental wall was back in place, preventing him from reaching Beomgyu.

Hyunjin looked at Beomgyu warily. “Uh, how did you… why is it… what happened?”

“I managed to get through to him,” Taehyun said. Beomgyu whipped round at his voice, and something in his gaze softened. Taehyun reached forward, and Beomgyu willingly pressed his nose against the vizier’s palm, making a small purring noise.

Hyunjin’s eyes widened even more, but this time he had a look of awe on his face. “You really did get through to him,” he said in a soft tone, so as not to startle the beast. “That’s amazing.” He continued to stare in amazement at the huge animal docilely rubbing its nose further into the vizier’s hand, before shaking his head quickly, turning back to Taehyun. “Anyway, I went to your room but Jungwon told me you were out in the fields. I didn’t expect you to be out in the fields like this, but you know. It’s not really a bad thing. So Yeji gave me all of the notes that she’s made about therapy for mentally defective patients. But, seeing you’ve already progressed, I guess you won’t really need them. But you might like them just in case.”

“Oh, thanks, Hyunjin,” Taehyun said, taking the papers from him. “And give my thanks to Yeji, too. This was really kind of you.”

Hyunjin smiled. “It was our pleasure, really. Remember, whenever you need something, you can always ask us.”

“Thank you,” Taehyun said, a smile on his face.

“Well, I’ll be off now. But tell Beomgyu that Yeonjun’s friend says hi, will you?”

“You heard him, Beomgyu,” Taehyun said, running a hand through Beomgyu’s mane. “This is Yeonjun’s friend. Hyunjin is my friend.”

Beomgyu eyed Hyunjin, before grumbling, turning back to curl himself around Taehyun. Taehyun gave a small laugh. “I think he accepts you,” he told the Aruyeonan.

Hyunjin smiled. “That’s good.” He waved, retreating back to the palace. “Bye, Taehyun! Bye, Beomgyu!”

Beomgyu grumbled again, and as before there was a playful undertone to it. Taehyun sat down again, within Beomgyu’s embrace.

‘I’m sorry it took me so long to recognise you,’ Beomgyu said, blowing warm air over Taehyun’s hands. ‘It’s getting harder and harder every day.’

“You don’t have to be sorry about that, love.” Taehyun stroked Beomgyu’s dark fur, curling his fingers in the soft hair of his mane. “I’m just grateful that you are able to. I swear, if you weren’t able to recognise me, I think I would’ve gone insane out of despair.”

Beomgyu nudged his nose on the papers which Hyunjin had brought Taehyun. ‘You asked them to find out how to talk to insane people?’

“I wanted to know all possible ways which could help me reach out to you,” Taehyun said. “Because if I was able to talk to you, then there’s a chance that we can stop this whole curse.”

‘Curse?’ Beomgyu repeated, confusion evident in his voice. ‘Is this what it is? A curse?’

“Oh, you never found out, did you? Here, I’ll tell you.” And Taehyun began to recount all that he’d found out down in Hueningkai’s secret room.

‘Wait, wait, wait,’ Beomgyu interrupted. ‘Yeonjun is a spy?’

Taehyun felt his stomach drop. Well, shit. He sighed, cringing at himself. There was no going back now.

“Yeah,” Taehyun admitted. “And so is Hueningkai. Hueningkai’s his adoptive brother, and he came to Gojongja after Yeonjun came to help Yeonjun with the spy stuff.”

Beomgyu was silent for several long moments.

But then, he huffed out a laugh. ‘I always suspected Yeonjun was a spy,’ he said, chuckling. ‘Damn, I had no idea my suspicions would be correct.’ He flicked his tail, seemingly delighted with the news that Yeonjun was a spy. Taehyun was slightly amazed at how calmly Beomgyu was taking the news. It was almost like he had known it all along. ‘But go on, what happened in the secret room?’

Taehyun carried on explaining, continuing to also detail what had happened in the days after that. When he had finished, Beomgyu hummed thoughtfully, waving his tail lazily.

‘So I’m cursed. By Soobin. Because he wants to take over all of the Four Kingdoms to get back at them for exiling his family years and years and years ago.’

Taehyun nodded. “That pretty much sums it up.”

Beomgyu huffed. ‘I never knew Soobin would be so petty.’ He rested his head on his huge paws. ‘And it’s not a transformation curse, but an insanity curse? So to reverse it I just become… not insane?’

“That’s the idea, I think,” Taehyun said.

‘Well, it’s easier said than done.’

“That’s the same with everything, love,” Taehyun sighed wearily. “It’s always easier to say than it is to do.”

‘When I’m around you, I feel sane,’ Beomgyu said, nudging his nose against Taehyun’s knee affectionately. ‘But at the same time, I’m not. I know that I’m not fully myself, and with one wrong move I feel like I could become insane again. My mind just feels so precariously balanced between sane and insane.’

“I’m sorry, love,” Taehyun said, stroking Beomgyu’s nose. “We’ll find a way. I promise.”

Beomgyu made a soft purring noise. ‘All I need is you,’ he said. ‘I feel saner with you by my side.’

Taehyun smiled sadly. “But I want you back,” he said. “I want you back, and sane. Because if you don’t come back…” he swallowed. “I’m going to have to be the one that kills you.”

There was a chilling silence between them. Then Beomgyu blinked his eyes. ‘It won’t come to that,’ he promised. ‘I’ll come back to you, my love. I promise.’

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Seohyun clicked her fingers in Taehyun’s face. “Taehyun, pay attention.”

Taehyun startled, quickly focusing on what his sisters were saying. “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m listening.”

After much discussion, Beomgyu and him had decided that it would be best if Beomgyu stayed in the forests. It would be dangerous for Beomgyu to stay out in the open for too long, and he would be safer in the trees since there would be less chance of him accidentally hurting someone if he suddenly lost his mind. He and Taehyun had also established a telepathic connection, too, so Taehyun felt more reassured that Beomgyu wasn’t going to be entirely alone, since he knew how to communicate with Taehyun telepathically.

But even so, that didn’t stop Taehyun from thinking about Beomgyu.

Nabi stopped talking, looking at Taehyun worriedly. “Maybe we should talk about this another time? I know that you said you were up for this meeting, but if you’re not then it’s completely fine. We understand that you’re worried about Beomgyu, and that’s perfectly okay. We can talk about this another time.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay,” Taehyun said. “I was listening. A bit. But it’s fine, really. You can carry on.”

Nabi pursed her lips, still looking concerned.

“You were talking about the compensation costs, right?” Taehyun prompted. “The village down south. They’re severely damaged from the time the beast flew out and trampled over the majority of their houses. You’re contemplating whether to compensate them using the money we have in the Treasury, or taking more taxes from the merchants. That’s correct, isn’t it?”

“Well, it is…” Nabi said.

“See? I was listening. You can carry on.” Taehyun slumped forward again, resting his head on his arm. Despite his relaxed position, he looked at Nabi intently, telling her to keep talking.

Nabi hummed, not entirely convinced, but continued what she was saying. “So, as I was saying, I think it’d be best to take money out from our treasury. After all, it’s a village governed by the Crown, so it seems only fair that the Crown pays for the damage done to it.”

“I see your point, but wouldn’t it be easier to take more taxes from the merchants?” Seohyun interjected. “There are more of them, and collectively they’d be able to give more than enough money to pay for what has been done to the village. We’d be able to get the money without using up the Crown’s.”

Nabi shook her head. “There’s no point dragging the merchants into this. They won’t like it.”

“It’s not ‘dragging them in’, it’s taking taxes,” Seohyun said. “It’s literally what we’re meant to do. See, just in the town next to the palace alone, there are seven people who make more than enough money every year, and if we could get them all to pay just a little more tax, then…”

Taehyun tried to listen, he really did. But after several more minutes of his sisters arguing about money, he was beginning to zone out. His mind kept drifting back to Beomgyu. How was he doing? Was he doing well? Could he still remember things? Hopefully he wasn’t in pain. What if someone went up to him and tried to kill him? For the majority of the morning Beomgyu had been in the middle of the fields, in plain sight…

“... so that’s what I think. We have enough, anyway. Even after all of the ballroom rebuilding, we have lots.”

“But if this keeps happening, we’ll have to compensate for loads of villages. That will put strain on the Crown’s wealth if we have to constantly pay to get the towns fixed.”

Nabi thought for a moment. “That’s true,” she admitted. “Hey, Taehyun, you’ve been quiet. What do you think?”

“I think,” Taehyun began slowly. “I think… I think that it’s suspicious why no one has set foot in the fields at all.”

“What?” Seohyun turned her head, looking at the window that Taehyun had been staring intently out of.

“I have seen nobody there at all,” Taehyun said. “I’ve been staring out of the window this whole time. And also this morning, I saw nobody. Yesterday, too. No one has even gone to the stables.”

“Oh, that’s because we closed them off,” Seohyun said, turning back to Taehyun. “We prevented anyone from going out to the fields because of the beast. Only if they have special permission are they allowed.”

Taehyun frowned, sitting up. “How did you do that?”

“Protective bubble,” Nabi replied. “We had one of the council members cast a invisible bubble spell over the fields, and you can only get past the bubble if you’re a trusted figure or if you have express permission to do so.”

“Trusted figure?” Taehyun repeated.

“Like our family or the Hwangs,” Seohyun said. “And Yeonjun and his brother, if they come back and Beomgyu’s still a beast.”

“And the council member was Lord Sunghoon, by the way,” Nabi said. “He’s from Beomgyu’s council. Not the old one.”

“Ugh, the old one,” Seohyun said, scrunching her nose in disgust. “We removed them immediately, didn’t we?”

“We did,” Nabi said. “Bunch of idiots, they were. They just didn’t seem to understand that we’d be the ones ordering them around. They hated the idea. So we kicked them out of the council.”

“We’ve been working with Beomgyu’s council ever since,” Seohyun said. “It’s the council that you and Beomgyu put together. They’re smart, by the way. They really are.”

Taehyun gave a smile, resting his head on his arm again. “I know,” he responded. “That’s why I chose them.”

“Well you made a good choice,” Nabi stated approvingly. “It was with them that we managed to finish ballroom renovations.”

“You finished that?” Taehyun said, surprised. “Wow. You’ve only been in ‘rule’ for a week, and you’ve got that done already?”

“All thanks to your council,” Seohyun said, smiling. “They helped us.” She ruffled his hair affectionately, and Taehyun shook his head, but didn’t object to the head ruffle.

Seohyun clasped her hands together again. “But anyway, what do you think about the compensation thing?”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

Though Taehyun was still distracted, he’d managed to be more productive now that he could talk to Beomgyu.

Occasionally he’d get hurried letters from Hueningkai, telling him some small things that were going on, like how Yeonjun tripped over his own feet and ended up with a nosebleed, or like how he’d accidentally blown up one of Yeonjun’s boots and the elder had had to hobble around with only one shoe for the rest of the day. He never spoke about what they were doing in Aruyeo, but judging by the dirty, crumpled state of the parchment (and Taehyun hoped that the dark patch he’d found on one of them was anything but blood) he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. But it was comforting to get these letters, because they reassured him that Yeonjun and Hueningkai were not dead.

Taehyun also helped his sisters with whatever they had to do. Though, he wasn’t often needed since Nabi and Seohyun did an incredible job of keeping Gojongja running smoothly.

He talked to Beomgyu more than anything, however. Beomgyu stayed close to the edge of the forests, far enough so that he wouldn’t be able to fly up and kill someone, but close enough so that Taehyun didn’t have to walk far to meet him.

Even though he talked to Beomgyu the most, Hyunjin was a close second. Hyunjin and Yeji were often babysitting Junghoon. Since Jiwon was often out with the military, helping quell the alarmed towns who had been victims of the beast’s rage, it meant that Junghoon would be left with strangers, and eight year olds do not take kindly to strangers. So the Hwang siblings ended up supervising him. Junghoon seemed more comfortable around them than with the governesses in the palace, so he was babysat by them.

“No, no, don’t eat it, I’m not sure it’s edible– Yeji, take it out of his mouth!”

Yeji quickly took the flower away from Junghoon before the boy swallowed it. Hyunjin tsked playfully at Junghoon, taking the flower from Yeji and holding it out of Junghoon’s reach.

“He’s been eating stuff a lot, and I don’t know why,” Hyunjin said, letting Junghoon struggle out of his lap to go and hug the approaching vizier. “As far as I know, eight year-olds aren’t meant to be eating stuff this much.”

“Hello, bub,” Taehyun chuckled, extracting the clingy boy from his legs. “How’ve you been?”

“Hyunjin and Yeji helped me make a flower!” Junghoon said excitedly. “Look, Hyunjin has it right now!”

Hyunjin gave a lopsided grin, holding up the object in his hands. “Junghoon helped make the finishing touches, didn’t you?”

Taehyun took the flower from Hyunjin, turning it around. It was made of iron and copper – he assumed that copper was the metal that Yeji manipulated – and there were streaks of green shoots running through its metal stem. He smiled, giving it to Junghoon. “Wow, did you really? This is amazing, Junghoon!”

Junghoon beamed. “And Yeji promised she’ll help me make a really big flower one day!”

Yeji gave a laugh. “He likes the big flowers,” she said, and Junghoon nodded his head, grinning.

Taehyun smiled, ruffling Junghoon’s hair. “So you’re having fun with Hyunjin and Yeji?”

“Yep! They’ve been really kind,” Junghoon said. “Taehyun, sit down!” He patted the carpeted floor. “Their room has such soft carpets!”

“I wish I could stay, but I’ve got some work to do,” Taehyun said, ruffling Junghoon’s hair again when the younger boy slumped sadly. “Hey, don’t be sad! I’ll get Seohyun and Nabi to come see you sometime. Would you like that?”

Junghoon brightened at that. “Yeah! And do you know when Jiwon will be getting back?”

“I don’t know about that yet, bub,” Taehyun admitted. “But he’ll come back as soon as possible.”

Junghoon held out his pinky to Taehyun, youthful face set in a serious expression. “Promise me he’ll come back soon!”

Taehyun smiled, linking his pinky with Junghoon’s. “I promise.”

Junghoon beamed again. “Good luck with your work then, Taehyun!”

“Thanks bub,” Taehyun said. He looked at Hyunjin and Yeji, smiling. “Thank you for taking care of Junghoon.”

Yeji waved her hand carelessly. “Don’t mention it! Good luck with Beomgyu, Taehyun.”

Taehyun retreated out of the door, smile turning a little forlorn around the edges. “I’ll need it.”

.・゜-: ✧ :-

“Love? Love, I’m here,” Taehyun called. He saw two violet eyes blink open, and Beomgyu emerged from the shadows, rubbing himself around Taehyun. Taehyun gave a laugh as the tufty end of his tail wrapped around his arm, tickling his skin. Beomgyu gave a delighted purr, resting on his paws in front of Taehyun.

‘How have you been?’

“I should be the one asking you that,” Taehyun smiled, sitting down on the grass. “How have you been, Beomgyu?”

Beomgyu gave a dejected huff, blowing at some leaves. ‘Same as always.’ He raised his eyes to gaze at Taehyun. ‘It’s getting harder to keep myself normal.’

Taehyun rubbed Beomgyu’s nose comfortingly, something which he’d noticed that Beomgyu really liked. “Hang in there, love,” he murmured softly. “We’ll find a cure.”

‘I miss you so much,’ Beomgyu said quietly. ‘I miss being able to hold your hand, being able to hug you, being able to stroke your hair and kiss you everywhere. I especially miss the kissing part. Holding your face in my hands while your lips touch mine…. I miss that.’

Taehyun’s ears flushed, and Beomgyu huffed out a chuckle.

‘Do you still get embarrassed by that? You’re so adorable, you know.’

“Taehyun gave a smile, though his ears still warmed. “I miss all of that too. And I miss seeing your smile and hearing your laugh – your proper laugh, not just the laugh I hear in my head – and especially the way your eyes always light up when you look at me. I miss those eyes.” He twisted his fingers in Beomgyu’s mane, watching as the dark strands glinted in the sunlight. “When I look at you now, your eyes remind me of Soobin’s. And I miss your eyes. Yours. The eyes that light up my whole life. The eyes which remind me what love truly is.”

Beomgyu was silent for a long moment. Then he closed his eyes, letting out a small whine. ‘Taehyun, how can you do this to my poor heart? Why must you be so wonderfully eloquent?’ A small pout formed in his tone, and Taehyun laughed.

“I need to use only the most beautiful words to be able to express my adoration for you,” he said lovingly.

‘But it’s not fair! I want to kiss you even more now,’ Beomgyu whined, blinking his eyes sulkily. Taehyun continued to run a hand through his mane, and when he looked into Beomgyu's eyes he could see Beomgyu gazing back at him with an immense amount of love.

“We’ll figure out a cure as soon as possible, and then you can kiss me all you like,” Taehyun promised, an endeared smile on his face. “I promise.”

‘I’ll try my best to not go insane until then,’ Beomgyu replied softly, leaning into Taehyun’s touch. ‘I love you, Taehyun.’

Taehyun leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss onto the fur between Beomgyu’s eyes. “I love you too, Beomgyu.”

taglist: @my-moarmy-heart, @arohabangtan, @a-fragmented-world

[perspective-series]

Kingdom Perspective (1)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, panic, kidnapping, keeping/treating people like pets, threats, and unwanted touching/grabbing

First Chapter (here) || Next Chapter

Summary: Roman has been pleading with his father for a pet human of his own ever since Logan received one a year ago. Now, the day has arrived that he’s worn his father out and agrees in giving him his own. Roman is far too excited about this new arrangement. Virgil, on the other hand, is less so.

—————————————————————————————————-

 Roman entered the throne room as the guard opened the door for him. His father sat atop his throne with a resigned and slightly annoyed expression. He already knew what Roman had come to ask. So, Roman didn’t waste any time. “Father, I feel as though I am responsible enough to take care of my own human.” The king sighed.

 “Roman-” He started but was cut off.

 “I am eighteen years old! I can take care of a simple creature!” Roman argued. The king ran a hand down his face.

 “Roman-” He was cut off once more.

 “Please, you gave Logan one!”

 “He is older than you.” The king spoke, trying not to out right glare at his son. Roman huffed.

 “But I’m still mature! You trusted me with being a knight, you can trust me with this too!” The king groaned, tired of having this conversation. It had been going on since Logan had gotten a human. 

 “Alright!” He finally said and Roman paused, blinking in confusion.

 “Wait, really?” As the king nodded, Roman grinned.

 “Thank you father! You won’t regret this, I’ll take good care of them!” Roman exclaimed, bouncing on the heels of his feet in sudden excitement. The king sighed once more.

 “I hope so. You will be in charge of training it after all.” Roman nodded and the king dismissed him, promising he would get his human in a few days. Once Roman left, he turned to a guard. “Send a message to Dee that we need a new human, as soon as possible.” The guard nodded and left to relay the message. 

Of course, Dee was not too happy to receive this message.

“Oh, get another human, Dee.” He mocked in a high-pitched tone, pulling spell books and ingredients off the shelves. “As if dimensional travel was as easy as a parlor trick. Hardly a worthy use of my powers, playing fetch for yet another stuck-up prince.”

Despite his grumbling, Dee got to work. He began to uncork bottles, pouring the contents into a large cauldron that sat in the middle of the room. With a puff of violet smoke the mixture began to bubble, the contents writhing around until all at once they stilled. Slowly, out of the darkness a vision emerged, the picture as clear as if Dee was looking through a window. Here was the human world, and the sorcerer could watch the little things scurry about their lives.

“Let’s see…” Dee drifted a finger through the image, causing the view to change as he swept over to another part of the human world. It was critical to find the right target, someone who wouldn’t put up much of a fight or alert others. Dee had made that mistake once. Good lord, the screeching was obnoxious. It was as though the tiny creatures had never seen magic before.

“Here we are.” Dee grinned, spotting a lone human past the edge of town. It was one wearing dark clothing, and seemed to be paying no attention to its surroundings. Perfect. 

Taking another vial in hand, Dee poured it on the surface of the image until the vision had a faint green glow. Having now opened the portal, Dee pushed up his sleeve and reached his arm into the depths.

For the human, of course, this was a very frightening sight. Virgil was just minding his business, walking home from class, when all of a sudden the sky above him seemed to glow green. 

“What the heck?” Virgil frowned up at the clouds, watching them twirl around the green glow in a circular formation. Had the aliens finally come for him? 

Virgil’s eyes widened when a giant hand began to appear out of the light, descending upon him.

“I was joking!” Virgil yelled, running away from it at top speed. He abandoned his backpack to try and gain speed, but with a whoosh Virgil felt himself get whisked up into the air. He screamed, watching the ground disappear beneath his feet as he rose 100 feet, 200, 300- 

Virgil blinked, momentarily blinded by the green light. As his vision came back, a giant humanoid face filled his vision, looking down at him with what was almost a predatory grin. Virgil opened his mouth to let out another scream, but just as he did the giant blew some red powder into his face.

“Shhh.” The Giant said, watching as Virgil began to choke down some of the powder on reflex. Whatever it was had to be some sort of drug, and within seconds Virgil passed out.

“There we go.” Dee purred, watching the human fall asleep. He placed it on his desk, closing the portal with another droplet from the vial and watching the contents turn back to their normal grey color. Satisfied, Dee placed the human into the cage that had been provided by the messenger and rang the bell for another servant boy.

“For Prince Roman.” Dee instructed, handing over the cage and noticing the way the boy gawked at the contents. “Don’t get any funny ideas.”

“Y-yes sir.” The servant boy nodded, hurrying down the hall.

 Roman paced back and forth in his chambers, wondering when his human would arrive. He was so excited. Finally, finally, he would get his own human! He had wanted one ever since the tiny race had been discovered by Dee and their father had given one to Logan. Roman, for whatever reason, had not been gifted one at the time. Making Roman angry and even more jealous of Logan.

 So not only will his brother be the king but he would be the only one with a pet human? Like Roman was going to let that happen. Thankfully, this last year of begging had finally gotten him what he had wanted. His own human.

 A knock on his door had him sprinting to open it. A servant boy appeared, holding out a cage towards him. Roman grinned as he spotted the tiny creature that lay within it. He took the cage, quickly thanked the servant boy and closed the door. He was much too excited to prolong this any longer.

 “My very own human!” Roman couldn’t help but say out loud. He set the cage on the desk, taking a closer look inside. It appeared the human was sound asleep, which Roman would have to fix here soon. But he also couldn’t help but notice the difference between this human and the one Logan had. The darker hair and clothes for one. He wondered if this human would act different?

 Well, only one way to find out.

 He opened the cage door and scooped the human up into his hand. He gently prodded its side. “Wakey wakey little human.”

Virgil let out a slight groan, his head pounding as though he had been drinking all weekend. The surface underneath him felt...strange, like some sort of weird heated leathery bed. The voice that had spoken vibrated through his head, sounding much too loud and only increasing his headache. 

Slowly Virgil sat up, cradling his head and feeling as though he had had a very strange dream. Something about aliens and giants. It was utterly ridiculous, and yet it had felt so...real.

Virgil opened his eyes, only to realize that it had been no dream. A different giant face filled his vision, looking much younger than the previous stranger.

“AHHH!” Virgil screamed, attempting to scramble backwards but finding he only bumped into fingers as large as himself.

 Roman frowned. “No, no, none of that.” Why was it screaming? Logan’s didn’t scream. Oh, wait, the poor little guy was probably a little spooked, waking up on his hand and all. Whoops. Roman gave his human a gentle smile. “It’s okay, you’re safe. There’s no reason to scream.” He pet the top of the human’s head with a finger.

Virgil ducked, feeling the Giant touch his head. “What? What the hell? What’s going on? Who the hell are you?” He felt his chest rising and falling rapidly as his breaths became shallower, his anxiety skyrocketing.

 Roman frowned at the human’s tone but grinned as he raised his free hand and did a little bow. “I am Prince Roman and you have the honor of being my human!” Roman grinned once more, unable to stop himself from looking over the human once more. These creatures were just so amazing. 

“I- your human?!” Virgil repeated incredulously, disbelief almost making it come out as a laugh.

 “Of course! My brother has his own pet human and now I have mine! You!” Roman explained. He pulled out his chair and sat at his desk, still holding his human in his hand. He used a finger to give the human a little poke in the side.

Virgil paled, feeling a bit ill at the idea of being this guy’s pet. 

“No!” Virgil exclaimed, flinching away from the poke. “No, you- you have no right to just rip me away from my home and- and imprison me like this! I don’t care how entitled you think you are, take me back!”

 Roman frowned, a bit shocked at how his human was talking to him. “Well, we’ll certainly have to work on that mouth of yours.” Roman said, they couldn’t have any of that while they were out and about. Training a human might be harder than he thought it was going to be.

 Roman placed the human in the cage and locked him in when he decided that getting food for the two of them would help. “I’ll be right back with some food, little guy. And then we can start training you.” Roman wanted to get training started right away, especially if it was going to take more work than he thought. He needed to prove he was responsible enough to keep this human. 

 He sent one last glance at the human before heading out of the room and towards the kitchen.

“NO!” Virgil screeched at the retreating figure. He wasn’t sure if the Giant could hear him, but it made himself feel better at least. Virgil ran over to the front of the cage, tugging on the lock as if it was going to make a difference. He tried sticking his hand in to pick the lock like he’s seen in movies, but all that happened was Virgil’s hand got scraped along the inner mechanisms. “Let me out of here, you stupid mother-!”

 Roman walked along the corridors happily. He was just so excited to spend time with his human, it was going to be great! Well, once they fixed the talking back problem at least. As he continued towards the kitchen, he noticed a familiar face walking in his direction. He grinned. Perfect, he had been wanting to gloat about this.

 “Why, hello there Logan.” Roman greeted, stopping him in the hall. 

“Roman.” Logan gave his brother a tert nod in greeting. “Where are you going this evening?”

 Roman smirked. “Just getting some food for me and my new human.” 

For once, Logan looked visibly startled by this news. “Your ...what?”

 Roman feigned surprise. “Oh, you haven’t heard? Father finally got me my own human.” Roman grinned smugly.

“I, no, I had not heard that.” Logan put a hand to his chin, concerned. “Are you quite certain you’re capable of caring for such a delicate creature? Subtlety has never been one of your strong suits.”

 Roman gasped in offense. “Of course I can! I am just as responsible as you, thank you very much.” Roman huffed, crossing his arms and turning his head. 

Logan gave his own huff, annoyed at Roman’s behavior. “Well, when you have any questions or concerns on the matter, my door is always open.” Logan pushed his glasses further up his nose. “After all, I am quite experienced in that department.”

 “I’m sure I won’t need any help.” Roman said but soon after he turned a little back towards his elder brother. “Though...just curious, did your human scream the first time you got him? Or talk back?”

“...oh no.” Logan groaned, shaking his head softly. “Roman, what did you do?”

 “I did nothing! He just started screaming as soon as he woke up! That’s hardly my fault.” Roman huffed once more. 

“Well, obviously you did.” Logan said, turning to leave. “Because mine certainly didn’t scream.”

 “I didn’t do anything!” Roman repeated. It was kind of disheartening to find out that Logan’s didn’t scream though. He’d have to figure that out on his own it looked like. “Whatever. You’ll see, my human will be so much better behaved than yours!”

“We shall see.” Logan’s reply was brief, the older brother not even sparing Roman one last glance before he disappeared behind the corner.

 Roman grumbled as he found his way to the kitchen. Stupid Logan, thinks he’s so much better than him. He’ll show him who’s really responsible. He grabbed a serving of dinner for himself and a smaller plate for his human before heading back up to his room.

 “I’m back!” Roman called out as he entered. The door shut behind him and he sent the human a smile as he placed the plates of food down on the desk next to the cage.

Virgil only glared at him, deciding to give him the silent treatment briefly since his voice still felt sore from all the screaming he had done in Roman’s absence. He looked at what the Giant had brought, noticing what seemed to be some kind of giant steaming bowl of rice and meat to accompany it. Virgil gulped, wondering how big a creature had to have been killed for that food. Certainly something far larger than Virgil.

 “Now, here is your portion.” He opened the cage and slid in the small saucer, full of a few pieces of rice and chicken that the cooks had made specifically for the human. “Eat up, you’re gonna need the energy.” Roman closed the cage door before digging into his own food.

Virgil shuddered at the noise of a Giant eating so close to him. Even if he were hungry, he wouldn’t be hungry now. Roman hadn’t even given him any silverware, just expecting him to eat out of the dish like a barn animal. With a grimace Virgil realized that was how he was currently being viewed. 

Virgil walked over to the provided dish, and with a slight grunt he pushed it over and spilled the contents on his cage floor. He turned to Roman with a glare. “I don’t want your stupid food, I just want to go home.”

 Roman’s eyes widened at what the human had done and he sighed, setting down his silverware. “Bad human.” He said, trying to sound harsh but not too harsh. “And you are home. Forget about wherever you came from, this is your new home now.” Roman spoke.

 He opened the cage door and picked up the fallen food to throw it away. He then filled up the plate once more with some food from his own plate before setting it back inside the cage. “Now eat. And if you do that again, I will have to resort to punishment.” Which Roman didn’t want to do but knew he would have to if his human kept acting like this.

Virgil’s eyes widened slightly, not exactly eager to find out what Roman meant by ‘punishment’. He remembered who he was talking to, and decided perhaps it might not be best to directly antagonize Roman. Still, if he just sat around being complacent there was no way he was getting out of here. Virgil vowed to be the worst ‘pet’ around.

“I’m not hungry.” Virgil insisted, stepping around the bowl and closer to the front of the cage. “And this will never be my home!”

 Roman sighed, rubbing his temples. This was definitely going to be harder than he thought. He turned towards the human, giving him a stern look. “Just eat.” He commanded.

“No.” Virgil stood strong, crossing his arms to hide the way his limbs had begun to tremble at the look Roman gave him. “I told you, I don’t want it. I don’t want any of this! I’m not just gonna let you sit there and try and treat me like some pet just because you’re some giant freak. I’m a human being, I have rights.”

��Roman slammed his hands against the table, the stern look now filled with annoyance. “Alright, we are setting up some ground rules. One, no talking back. You are not going back to your original world. This is your home now. And you have no rights here, seeing as you are a creature that is below my kind.” 

Virgil’s entire body shook when Roman hit the table, scaring him so profusely that he was startled back into silence.

 Roman was happy to see his scare tactic seemed to have worked. “Two, you are to listen to everything I say. I am your owner and therefore I know best.” Roman looked down at the human once more. “That being said, you need to eat.”

Almost mechanically Virgil reached down, plucking up one of the grains of rice in his hand. The entire thing was bigger than his palm. At the sight of such an abnormally large food Virgil’s stomach twisted even further, and he knew he couldn’t eat this. Virgil looked at Roman’s face, suddenly reminded of a school yard bully. Virgil’s grip around the rice tightened, his face twisting into a snarl.

I’m going to die for this. Virgil thought distantly, before disregarding this thought and flinging the grain of rice out of his cage at Roman.

 Roman sat there in shock as the grain of rice hit him in the face. He blinked and looked down at the human with disbelief. “Seriously?! What is wrong with you!?” Roman groaned, why was his human being so much more difficult than Logan’s!

 He suddenly sat up straight, looking at the human. “Fine, punishment it is then. I warned you.” He opened the cage door and grabbed the human within, taking him out.

Virgil’s eyes widened, his heart rate shooting through the roof as he began to imagine all the forms of torture Roman might have in mind for a ‘punishment’. Indeed, Roman’s grip was already tight around Virgil’s body, leaving it difficult to breathe as his elbow was crushed painfully into his side.

“Wait!” Virgil begged, all recklessness beginning to fade. “Wait, dude, I’m sorry, please I won’t do it again.”

 Roman paused, looking down at the human with narrowed eyes. “You won’t?” He knew he should probably just punish the human but he really didn’t want to do that. If he could get away with not, then Roman would count that as a win.

Virgil shook his head adamantly. “Promise.” He definitely didn’t plan on throwing rice at a Giant again any time soon.

 “...Alright. But this is your last chance. Next time there will be punishment.” The human wouldn’t learn any other way. He placed the human back in the cage, closing it once more. “Now, please eat something at the very least.”

Virgil sat down next to the dish, rolling another grain of rice in between his hands. It felt a bit sticky, and Virgil really didn’t want to put it in his mouth. Regardless, it seemed he didn’t have a choice. Roman wasn’t going to let him skip this meal. So, with a grimace, Virgil bit off a chunk. He felt the rubbery texture with his tongue, wincing as it sank like a rock into his stomach.

 Roman smiled, happy to actually see his human listening to him. Finally. “That’s a good human!” He praised and turned back to finally finish his own meal.

Virgil closed his eyes, trying to block it all out as he quickly scarfed down the rest of the rice. He tucked his knees into his chest, hugging them tightly as a terrible aftertaste was left in his mouth from everything that was happening.

 Roman finished up and took the plate from the cage, piling it on with his own dirty dishes. He set it off to the side, knowing a servant would come in later to grab it. He then turned his full attention onto the human.

 “So, I almost forgot to ask but do you have a name? Because if you don’t I could always give you one!”

“Yes I have a name.” Virgil spat, loathing the idea of Roman trying to give him a new one. It’d probably be something stupid, like Princey or Spot. Virgil shifted slightly, turning away from the Giant. “...it’s Virgil.”

 “Virgil…” Roman repeated, getting a feel for the name. “Hmm, yes, I think that suits you perfectly!” How fortunate that the human already had a well fitting name. “Now! I think it’s time to do a bit of training before we have to head to bed.”

Virgil frowned, thrown off by the mention of training. He had thought that training would just be getting him to shut up. Was he going to actually be expected to do something? Virgil hated to work hard under any circumstances.

 “We’ll start with something simple.” Roman opened the cage door but didn’t reach in to grab Virgil this time. Instead, he tapped on the table in front of him. “Come here Virgil.” 

Virgil winced, the thud of Roman’s tap feeling like the sound of a gavel at a trail where Virgil had just been declared a dead man. 

Virgil shook his head, curling in on himself more to try and hide the way his chest ached. “Leave me alone.” 

 Roman frowned. “Virgil. Come.” He tried again, tapping once more. He had seen Logan do this with his human many times. Logan didn’t even have to say anything for his human to understand what he meant and come to him. So why wasn’t Virgil doing it?

“I said leave me alone.” Virgil growled, his voice breaking slightly as he placed his head on his knees.

 Roman sighed. “Fine, we’ll save that one for later.” He reached in and grabbed Virgil, setting him down in front of him. 

Virgil gasped, falling onto his back. He propped himself up onto his elbows. “What is your problem? I said I wanted to be left alone.” Of course, it didn’t seem Roman cared what he wanted.

 “You’ll be left alone once it’s bedtime. But I want to get training started at the very least, since it’s clear you’re going to need a lot of work.” And he needed to be able to do this. For his own sake. Roman helped Virgil to stand up.

“Let go of me!” Virgil pushed away from Roman’s fingers, standing on his own. “I don’t need your help.”

 “Right.” Roman muttered sarcastically with a roll of his eyes but otherwise ignored him. Now that Virgil was standing, he could give his command. The simplest trick in the book. “Now, sit.”

“I’m not a dog.” Virgil’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Stop trying to treat me like one. I know English, you know. You don’t have to be so rude and brash about your stupid ‘training’.”

 “Well, how else am I supposed to do this in a way you would listen?” Roman asked as he raised an eyebrow. “And what did I say about talking back?” Roman narrowed his eyes slightly, moving his hand a bit closer to Virgil to try and scare him.

“I wasn’t talking back.” Virgil quickly stepped away from Roman’s hand, looking nervous as he quickly tried to justify his words. “I was suggesting.”

 Roman hummed, taking his hand back. “Well, maybe when you actually start to listen, I will be more inclined to speak less ‘brashly’. But as of right now…” Roman pointed down. “Sit.”

“Well, maybe if you spoke less brashly, I’d be inclined to listen.” Virgil raised his voice into a mocking tone to imitate Roman. “Oh Virgil, would you be ever so kind as to please have a seat over here? But of course.” Letting his voice drop to its normal octave, Virgil took a seat with a smirk. He hadn’t dared to disobey again, but he figured his point still stood.

 Roman gave Virgil a deadpan look. “Okay, for one, I don’t sound like that.” He had made his voice much too high. “Second, that is far too many words for a simple command. My brother can tell his human to do something without even speaking words! I want you to be able to do that eventually as well.” At least Virgil had sat down, though Roman didn’t feel very proud of that fact.

“Well your brother sounds like a jerk.” Virgil pointed out. “I mean, c’mon, I can understand you perfectly fine. It’s just rude to not use your words.” Not to mention demeaning. “Even kids know to ask for something when they want it.”

 “Well, you aren’t wrong about my brother. He can be pretty jerky sometimes.” Roman said, thinking back to all the times Logan was indeed a jerk. “But see, here is the thing you don’t seem to quite understand.” Roman leaned forward.

 “You, Virgil, are my pet. You were caught in that silly world of yours and given to me to prove my responsibility by training a creature as strange as you. If I fail, not only will I be a disappointment to my father but you will be taken away from me. And you do not want that.”

“I think you and I have different ideas of what I want.” Virgil sneered, although he couldn’t help but lean back slightly when Roman got closer.

 “Look, I can tell that you currently do not like me. But you will learn to soon enough and get used to how things are. What you can’t get used to is death, which is what my father will do to you if I fail. That, or some experiment for our court sorcerer. Either option is bad though.”

Virgil paled, spooked by what Roman had threatened. “I...you’re bluffing.” Virgil tried, but inside Virgil knew this was no bluff. His knees knocked together slightly.

 “I wish I was.” Roman said solemnly. “Now, if you want to have a full and good life, I suggest you actually do as I say. Because I promise, I will take good care of you.” 

“I…” Virgil clutched his head in his hands, overcome by an existential crisis. Was that what he wanted? To live a long life as some Giant’s pet?? Constantly looked down upon, commanded, scolded for having an opinion.

“No.” Virgil’s groaned, shaking his head back and forth. “No no no no-”

 Roman sighed, running a hand down his face. Apparently, this was not happening today. “Alright. Looks like we’ll continue this tomorrow. Time for bed.” He grabbed Virgil and placed him back inside the cage. He then took the cage and placed it on his bedside table. Just in case.

Virgil felt himself flung about as the cage moved, coming to rest once more. He clambered to his feet, once again feeling desperate enough to ask.

“Please, just let me go home.” Virgil begged, sitting near the front bars. “Find another human, one who’s better than me.” Silently Virgil scolded himself for even suggesting someone else take this torture for him, but he’d do anything to get out of this prison. 

 Roman just shook his head. He did feel a little bad about it when Virgil begged like that but he knew with enough training and time that Virgil would grow used to him. Would probably even like it here! Just like Logan’s human. “Get some rest Virgil, we have a busy day ahead of us.” And with that Roman quickly went into his closet to get dressed before sliding into bed, blowing out the last candle and plunging the room into darkness.

“I hate you.” Virgil muttered, making sure he was loud enough to be heard.

 Roman hummed into his pillow. “You won’t for long.” Was all Roman said before his breathing evened out.

No. Virgil shook his head, glaring at the source of Roman’s breathing in the darkness. He would always hate Roman. Even if he was here for years, even if Roman broke him, even if he became a shell of the person he was now…

He would always hate Roman.

[yourperfectflaws]

HYDRA’s Pet ; 04

Pairing: James Bunchan Barnes x HYDRA!Reader, Avengers x Reader (Platonic/ Familial)

Series Summary: As HYDRA’s favorite experiment, you were trained to follow orders perfectly. But, when you’re taken from the only home you’d ever known by the Avengers, you find yourself more lost than ever. However, out of all the things that could have happened to you, you’d never expected him to be one of them.

Chapter Summary: Your sexy ass is flown to Wakanda to meet T’challa’s genius sister, Shuri. 

Warnings: Two panic attacks, uhhhh mentions of violence and rape... and the word Hell

Word Count: 3.1k

Author’s Note: Here he comes bitchessss (I listened to Emo Boy by Ayesha Erotica while writing this btw) HE’S FINALLY HEREEEE!!!! Also, the reader says something in Russian, which is in italics, so note that she’s not saying it harder, she’s saying it in another language. 

Prologue // Previous Chapter // Next Chapter (Coming Soon!)

January 18th, 2017 ; Wakanda

When you entered the ship, it was unlike anything you had ever seen before. It looked like it came out of a different dimension. Plus, the seats were so soft you felt like you were about to melt right into them. You looked up to see T’challa taking a seat in front of you. “Okoye, let’s go.”

Soon, you were in the air and along with the whir of the engine, you could hear your frantic heartbeat in your ears. You clung to the seat while trying to focus on your breathing. All the things that have happened to you within the past two days seemed to cause you to forget your fear of flying.  

It seemed the King noticed your distress because he sat next to you at placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. He started speaking to you in a deliberately calming voice. If it were anyone else, you would have blown up at them for talking to you like a child but there was something about the King that put you at ease.  

After a while you calmed down enough to hold a steady conversation. “I like your clothses,” you complimented, noticing the gold detailing around the collar. He chuckled lightly.  

“Thank you, it’s called a dashiki,” he said while smoothing down any imaginary wrinkles. You repeated the word under your breath, staring at the patterned shirt. He regarded you with a humorous glint in his eyes. “Would you like a pair?”

You nodded slightly. He laughed and scratched his forehead. You noticed how clean and smooth his skin was. He must take really good care of himself. Again, you felt a bubble of jealousy pop within your chest. Though, it didn’t make you angry. In fact, you didn’t even hesitate to compliment him, saying, “You are very handsome.” You gestured to him with your cuffed hands. His eyes widened and he gave you a nervous laugh.  

“We’re almost there, my King.” You heard a feminine voice from the cockpit call to T’challa. He stood and made his way to the cockpit. Not wanting to be alone, you carefully moved in the middle of the two seats and gazed out at the forest below.

“This is the best part.” T’challa smiled, watching as Okoye flew the ship dangerously close to the trees. Your stomach rolled.  

“We will crash!” You clutched the seat in front of you, knuckles turning white. If the collar wasn’t still on your neck, then the seat would have bent under your force.  

They both laughed and continued. And you soon saw why.  

Instead of crashing into the forest floor, it was as if there was a screen in front of you that glitched. Suddenly, there wasn’t a forest anymore. You stood there in awe at the sight in front of you. The futuristic buildings gleamed under the luminous sun, making the entire city glow with a warm, yellow light.  

You steadied yourself against the co-pilot's chair as Okoye brought the ship down onto a large landing pad in front of a gleaming building.  

As soon as you stepped foot outside of the ship, you were hit with a wave of relief. It felt good to be out of there and on solid ground. The King sent Okoye to do something you didn’t catch— you were watching a young woman speed walk up to the two of you.  

She bowed to T’challa extravagantly. “Your majesty.”

“Ah, stop that.” He swats his hand at her. “This is Y/n. She needs the algorithm you used on Barnes.”

You straightened your back, putting on a mask of confidence as he introduced you. The woman turned to you and sized you up, a delicious grin spreading across her lips. “What up? I’m Shuri, I’m nineteen, and I never fucking learned how to read.”

This caused T’challa to scold her for her language— even though you didn’t know what part of her introduction was wrong— and lying about her age. You assumed she was younger than what she said— she definitely appeared to be.  

Shuri began laughing, which to you sounded like bells, and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m just having fun, brother, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not my fault you’re too old to understand that reference.”  

“I am sure she is older than I am,” T’challa responded, gesturing to you. He most likely received your file from the Avengers.  

Shuri gasped, placing a dramatic hand over her heart. “Don’t you know it’s rude to assume a woman’s age?”

“1953.” They both looked at you with confused expressions. Shuri seemed to be surprised by your voice. You probably had a strange accent, just like them. “I was born on 1953.”

“You’re more than sixty years old?” Shuri gaped at you, sizing you up again. “Jesus, woman, what’s your secret? How do you look so young?”  

“Shuri, we have a job to do remember?”

“No, I have a job to do.” She turned to her brother, who was staring at her with a deadpanned expression. She waved her hand at him before saying, “you just sit there looking pretty. Come on, let’s hurry.”

You followed the two of them into Shuri’s lab like some sort of lost puppy. For some reason, you felt a pang in your chest watching the two of them bicker playfully. It reminded you how deeply alone you were.  

You had nobody but Hydra for the longest time and now you don’t even have that. And although you had partners for missions and such, you never had anyone permanent in your life like the Commander was. But the relationship before you was nothing like the one you had with him. It was entirely different. There wasn’t one person having control over the other, they both just seemed at ease and comfortable. And you wanted that.  

Shuri stopped in her tracks, tearing you away from your train of thought. She held her arms out and smiled. “Welcome to my technological Disneyland.” She threw a pointed look at her brother. “Except I’m Walt Disney.”

“I never said I was taking you there, you just assumed.” He folded his arms over his chest, tilting his head at her. They began to bicker again as you observed the room below. You had never seen anything like it. The spiraling ramp around the thick pillar— filled with colorful artwork— was made entirely of lights that illuminated your boots as you walked. There were white display tables along the circular walls of the room, showing off invention after invention. Other people in white robes were working on projects along the tables.  

“You made this?” You asked, observing the gadgets in front of you.  

“Hell yeah I did!” She came up behind you and began demonstrating how one of them worked. You stared at her in awe.  

“You are very smart; I could never craft anything like these.”

She thanked you, throwing a smug grin at the King, who sighed.  

“We shouldn’t get off task, we’re here for a reason.”

Shuri waved him off. “Shhh, brother, let her continue.”  

“Shuri.”

“Ugh, fine, let’s go.” She linked her arm in yours and pulled you towards a door on the other side of the room. “Come on, Y/n, I want to show you more stuff I made.”

You walked with her, listening to her ramble on about all the technological advancements and upgrades she’d done within the past month. She led you down a hallway and into another room with similar design as her lab. The two of them walked ahead of you to set something up.  

As soon as you saw the pod, your heartbeat spiked and your stomach dropped down to your feet. You stopped in your tracks and stared at it with wide eyes. Images of the horrors you were subjected to within the Chamber flashed before your eyes. No. There was no way you were going back down.  

You didn’t realize you were walking backwards until you bumped into a work table and knocked over a few supplies. The two of them stopped speaking and turned around to look at you, confusion clear on their faces. “Y/n? Are you alright?” T’challa asked, taking a tentative step towards you. However, you backed up even more.  

“Hey, it’s okay. What’s wrong?”

You stared at them, fear in your eyes, and pleaded in a quiet voice. “Please... don’t... I am sorry.” Your knees gave out and you sunk to the floor, pushing yourself into the wall behind you. You felt hot tears race down your face and choked on them.  

They stared at you with pinched brows. You were cowering as T’challa stepped towards you, kneeling down to your level. “What do you mean?”

Your breathing was loud in your ears. “Please... don’t put me back in... I’ll be better...” You managed to say between gasps.  

“You don’t want to go in the pod?” You continued to hyperventilate, even after he placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Hey, breathe. You’re okay.” After coaxing you into controlling your breathing, he held out a firm hand for you to take, which you hesitantly did. Pulling you up, he regarded you with a look of pity. Which again, under normal circumstances you would have told him off. But you didn’t seem to care.  

“Want to talk about it?” You shook your head, finding the floor suddenly interesting. “Well, you’re going to have to go in the pod anyways. It’s the safest way for Shuri to reprogram your mind.”  

“But I did something wrong?”  

“No, no, you didn’t do anything wrong.”  

Shuri placed a hand on T’challa’s shoulder. “Brother, I think they used the pod as a punishment.” She moved around him, taking you gently by the hand. “Come on, Y/n, I’ll set you up with a screen.”  

You followed, hesitantly of course, as she led you to a secluded area where there was a flat cot that was somehow levitating. You stared at it as she called over a few assistants. She came back and instructed you to lay down, explaining that they were going to do the procedure on the cot instead of in the pod.  

As you laid down on the cold metal surface, you wondered what they would do to your mind. You watched as the assistants inserted the IV and gave you a dose of anesthetics. And as you nodded off, you thought of your Commander and what he would say if he saw where you were now.  

.  

Shuri watched you go under as she brought up the holograms, bringing them closer so she could see better. Her brother was in another room talking with the merchant tribe leader so he’d left the two of you alone.  

She watched for a moment as your chest rose and fell as you lay unconscious on the cot and she had to admit it was kinda surreal— when you walked in here you had either a frown on your lips or tears in your eyes. So, seeing with such a peaceful expression was uncharacteristic and strange.  

“Let’s have a look at your memories, shall we?” She said, more to herself than you, as she pulled up the program.  

She saw a tiny version of you playing around the base with a tall man, giggling as you danced to Russian music, and making snowmen outside. She saw them train you, build your body to become a weapon. She saw your fear when you made a mistake— something that wasn’t easily overlooked with Hydra— and were forced into a pod to live out nightmares. She saw the hundreds of missions you’d been on, some with a man she was quite familiar with, and the countless deaths you caused. And then she saw something else. That same man forcing himself on you made her sick to her stomach.  

“Shuri, how’s it coming?” At her brother’s sudden voice, she jumped and quickly changed the memory to something else. But this one was much more violent. She turned around to see her brother walking towards her with knitted eyebrows.  

“What’s wrong? Did you see something?”

“Just this,” she lied, gesturing to the gruesome image. She had a feeling you didn’t want anyone to know about when that man had done to you, especially a King. She didn’t know if you realized what he’d done was wrong or not so she’d have to be as much of a role model to you as she could.  

She watched as her brother examined the content on the screen, shaking his head. You were shooting up several children and the sight made her want to vomit. “What have they done to this poor woman...?”  

“They raised her, brother.” She pulled up the earliest memory she could find. It was of a toddler walking for the first time. The image pulled at her chest, begging for her aid but she knew she could do nothing for her. At least not then. Now, she was going to do everything she could to help you.  

“She was scared, brother, and I know you could see it, too.” She glanced at him, watching his lips draw a fine line. “Hydra was the only place she’d ever known. I’m not surprised to see any of this.”

“Well, we need to do the same thing for her that we did for Sargeant Barnes.” He stared down at your sleeping face. “She doesn’t know it but she needs help and I’m afraid we’re the only people who can give it to her.”

.  

The first thing you heard when you regained consciousness was the steady beat of the heart monitor. You squinted open your eyes to find yourself laying on the same cot with holographic screens around your head and chest.  

You sat up and held your head in your hands, feeling it spin nauseatingly. After the spinning subsided, you stood and walked around the pillar wall and into Shuri’s lab. You noticed her sitting on a stool and working on a project.  

“Shuri.” You called out for her and she turned to look at you with a light smile.  

“You’re awake.” She put the pliers she was holding down as you approached her. “How are you feeling?”

“Not sure...” You thought for a moment. You felt strange, that much was for sure, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. You felt at ease, like everything was finally coming together. “Calm? Peaceful... Is normal?”

“Well considering our other ex-HYDRA soldier who we performed this algorithm on had the same feelings, I guess that statement could be correct.” She cleared her throat and turned on her stool.  

“So, since you’re supposed to be here for ‘rehabilitation’ or whatever.” She made dramatic air quotes with her fingers. “I guess you’ve got two choices. You can either be put on the same program that Sargeant Barnes is on where you live on the outskirts of the city... or you could stay in the building where me and my brother sleep. It’s all up to you.”

You stared at her for a moment before asking her for a coin. She stared at you in confusion but pulled one from her pocket nonetheless. Since it was difficult for you to make decisions for yourself, you figured having a coin do the work for you would save you a lot of stress. Deeming heads for the outskirts and tails for the inner city, you flipped the coin and caught it, flipping it once more on the back of your hand. It was tails. Inner city it was, then.  

Then, you had a realization. “This Sargeant Barnes... can I meet him?”

“Sure, but why?”

“Maybe I know him.”

“Craving a familiar face, I see...” She thought for a moment before springing up from her stool. “Alright, let’s go, then.”  

She linked your arms and you walked with her through the city. She mentioned she’d take you on a tour through Wakanda once you were settled in. She brought you to a small rural settlement filled with children running about, playing with each other, and brought you to a thatched house in front of a glistening river.  

“Sargeant Barnes! I have someone I’d like you to meet!”  

Bucky came out from his hut and smiled when seeing Shuri. “Shuri, I told you to— “ But when he saw you behind her, he dropped what he was holding and took a short step back. “What is she doing here?”

Shuri looked quizzically between the two of you, him standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and you observing a frog that hopped onto the shore. “Huh? Oh, Y/n’s here for rehab. She wanted to meet you for some reason.”

The frog hopped back into the water and you stood up in disappointment. Turning to look at him, you were met with his steely blue eyes. They bore into your head with fierce intimidation and you couldn’t help but look away. You didn’t recognize him without his arm but there was something familiar about him.  

Noticing your reluctance, Bucky sighed and stepped closer to you and held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Bucky, nice to meet you.”

Your eyes widened and you stepped back. You recognized his voice. He was the Winter Soldier.  

He could tell you remembered him so he stepped back and held his hand up defensively, as if attempting to approach a wild animal. But you weren’t a wild animal... were you? You could hear your breathing in your ears, it rang inside your skull like alarm bells. Images and memories of your missions with him flashed before your eyes as you stared at him, unable to move. To run.  

“Y/n, Y/n!” Shuri called to you, breaking your frozen trance. She came between the two of you, staring firmly into your eyes. “You’re fine, he won’t hurt you. He was reprogrammed, too.”  

You steadied your breathing and stood up straight, regarding him dubiously. He hesitated before holding his hand out again for you to shake. You bit your lip before taking his hand, causing a soft smile to bloom across his rugged features. You figured that this could possibly be the start to a new friendship.  

...

Note: I’m sorry this fic took so long, I’ve been having troubles at home and haven’t had much time to sit down and write. I can’t guarantee that part 5 will be out soon either. But it will be out eventually. Patience is a virtue. 

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a great day and stay safe!

Comment or reblog if you would like to be tagged. 

Tags: 

@stressedandbandobessed7771 @elle-r @stuff-to-look-at-18r @numwoon44 @itsgonnabe-brian-may @veganfangirl5 @shame-or-same @thisismysideblogforfunstuff @allmyficsinoneplace @nyxestia @zombielab @serenitysammy @pretty-little-me-circus @iamaunicorn4704 @marvelousblogs @mya-lach @for-the-love-of-the-fandom @buckystories-3 @harryismyonlyangel @otvlanga @08fic-reader80

[curekibouka]

Take My Hand (Pandora Hearts one-shot)

Summary: This is the story of a child extending her hand to an irredeemable sinner, opening his eyes to a world filled with hope; and the story of a lady extending her hand to a knight who had always watched over her, making him ’see’ she had grown up. (Spoilers for Retrace 49 I guess)

A/N: This is the fic I promised a few days ago when I posted the cover art. Also this is for Day 7 (free day) of phweek2020 ^^

*This fic is also on FF.net and Quotev.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Xerxes!” 

Uttering a “shhh” to a giggling voice in the tree behind him, he spun around to greet the one calling for him, “Good day, Shelly-sama~~” 

Her voice was a mixture of worry, anger and frustration, “Enough with this farce! Where did you hide Sharon?” 

He drawled playfully, “Whate~ver are you ta~lking about?” 

“You’re not frantically searching for her, then you must know where she is.” 

“Maaaaaaaybe?” 

“Stop it, Xerxes, she has a sewing lesson to get to. And she just recovered from her cold, she’ll get sick again if she plays in the snow. Help me find her!” 

Break cocked his head to one side as if reconsidering their actions, but he reached a conclusion almost instantly and grinned, “No.”

Shelly was genuinely taken aback for a moment, “Are you defying my command? That’s rather unusual coming from you, Xerxes.”

“Forgive me,” he bowed dramatically, “But I am Lady Sharon’s valet, and she has explicitly declared that I am not to reveal her whereabouts to anyone. I am afraid not even Shelly-sama can overrule my lady’s orders.”

“Does this warrant punishment?” he asked when she didn’t respond, trying to make it sound like he wasn’t wearing a really annoying smirk right then. 

She heaved a sigh and gave him a flick on the forehead, “Don’t spoil her.” 

He bursted into a fit of giggles, “Oh my, did I? But I was merely following your example, Shelly-sama.” 

“You...!” she stuttered when she realised she couldn’t refute that. “Never mind! I’ll go find Sharon by myself!” 

She sent him a glower before continuing to scour for her daughter. 

“My lady,” Break turned to the tree after Shelly was gone, “You can come down now.” 

 The child leapt out of the tree with a gleeful “Woohoo!” and fell right into Break’s arms. 

“My lady!” it was not nearly as much of a fun moment for the now frantic valet, “Please be careful! What would you have done had I failed to catch you?!” 

“I knew you’d catch me,” she beamed innocently.

“How so?” 

“Because mother would have you beheaded if you didn’t.” 

He grimaced at the truth in that statement before putting her down on the ground. 

“So... what do you want to do with this free time, my lady? It is not enough for us to venture out to town.”

“Ehhhhh? But why not?!” she pouted and yanked on his hand, “Let’s head out and return by dinner time! I want to have some fun after being sick for four whole days!” 

“It’s exactly because you had been sick for four whole days,” he knelt down to look her in the eyes, “Shelly-sama will have me beheaded if I allowed you to fall sick yet again so carelessly.” 

“She probably wouldn’t if it’s something so trivial. She doesn’t have time for this,” Sharon pouted bitterly. 

He recounted how the busy Shelly hadn’t had many opportunities to check in on her sick daughter in the past few days, just when she wanted to see her the most. 

In a way, Sharon playing ‘hide-and-seek’ with her mother right now was a kind of self-satisfaction. She longed to feel like her mother was devoting a great deal of attention to her. 

“Where are you, my adorable girl? I’m going to tickle you once I find you!” 

“No! Kevin, help me! Papa’s going to catch up to me!” 

He briefly reminisced about a similar child he had once watched over, and cherished, as one would a dainty flower. 

He balled his fists, “You ought to refrain from having Mistress Shelly worry so much, my lady. You and I both know good health is one luxury she never had.” 

“It’ll be fine. Mother isn’t so weak. That’s just an excuse to ignore me when she’s busy.” 

He kept his “If only that’s true” unsaid, because it wouldn’t make any difference.

And because they were found. 

Sharon squealed in fright when her mother wrapped her in a bear hug from behind out of the blue. 

“How did you realise we were back here?!” Sharon crossed her arms, “Did Xerx-niisan gave you secret signals without me hearing or something?”

“I’m your mother, I can see right through your little tricks,” Shelly gloated, stroking the child’s hair gently, “Come along, let’s go back inside.” 

“I don’t want to! I don’t want my sewing lesson!” Sharon shouted and hid behind Break. 

As the mother-daughter bickering continued, Break found his mind wandering off to somewhere else. 

That child. 

That small child. 

The child he tried desperately to erase from his memory, and yet couldn’t bear to let go. 

The child he had failed to protect. 

But now it was as if a second chance was bestowed upon him, or a cruel repeat of events. Nevertheless, he must once again unsheathe his sword and cut down those who harm his lady. 

Another small child. A child with a loving smile and a kind heart, inherited from her mother no less. A child who loved him as a brother and whom he cherished as a sister in return. 

It was such a bliss to be with her...

...and it was such torture. 

For every second that came to pass, he was plagued with immense dread. Such a pure, adorable, angelic child... 

...what if he plunges her into a ruthless sea of crimson again? 

What if these hands, soaked in the blood of one hundred and sixteen, besmirch her innocence?

Such a small, delicate flower, what if her stem goes ‘snap’ when he approached her? 

The Red-eyed Specter feared few things. But this notion was sufficient to torment him with countless nightmares that seemed far more authentic than his reality. A reality he never dared so much as to even think he deserved. 

He was pulled back to said reality by said child letting out a tiny scream, “Mother!” 

He failed to catch Shelly when she toppled over him. 

“Are you alright, Shelly-sama?” they sat in an awkward position, but he managed to bolt to his feet and offered her his hand immediately. 

“I’m sorry, mother, I shouldn’t have pushed you,” Sharon apologised sheepishly. 

“I’m fine,” Shelly took Break’s hand and stood up, “It really is a pain to move around in this gown. Now, Sharon, you’re all drenched with snow too. Let’s go back inside, or you really will catch a cold again.” They probably had a brief snowball fight when Break wasn’t paying attention. 

The child reluctantly conceded (perhaps out of guilt after pushing her frail mother) and took her mother’s hand. 

“Come on, Xerx-niisan, you too,” she then extended her other hand to him, smiling from ear to ear. 

He mustn’t. 

He must never allow all the filth and sins and blood on his hands to defile that small, pure, unmarred hand of hers. 

He must never...! 

He did. 

Gingerly taking her tiny hand into his own, he gave it a light squeeze, just to make sure it was actually there and it wasn’t all just in his head. 

He should’ve fled. He should’ve rejected the invitation. But he couldn’t resist this small hand as warm as a hearth in this numbing winter. 

The child pranced in joy. 

The child pranced in joy. 

She twirled around to offer him a carefree grin. 

She twirled around to offer him a carefree grin. 

With a voice as sweet as a canary, she called to him blithely. 

With a voice as sweet as a canary, she called to him blithely. 

“Kevin!” 

“Xerx-niisan!” 

His selfish desire, a filthy thing, led him to deny his own vileness and connect with this innocent angel. 

But for the first time since he was hurled into this despair-inducing future, he felt almost as if he was... forgiven. 

So he swore to never let go. He swore to never allow something like last time to happen again. This time around, he would make sure to never do anything that would make this child shed tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Years later

He might not be able to see. But he could still feel. 

He could feel the tension in the air, the heaviness in the silence that he dared not interrupt, the ever so tiny sound she made when she clenched her fists and trembled. 

Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. 

Sharon was not going to be fine and he knew it. 

How the hell could he have let Reim talk him into this? 

He mentally steeled himself, for in all likelihood, she would fall to her knees and bawl, begging him to tell her that it was not true. 

She stepped towards him. So he prepared himself to embrace her gently and whisper that there was no need to cry over the withering of a vile creature such as himself. Although he was fully aware that she would continue. 

But something was amiss. 

From the blurry silhouette of her he could barely make out, he assessed her posture. She was not hunching down, not covering her face, not clutching the sides of her dress anymore. 

She was... facing him. 

“Then... I suppose we have no choice,” she shattered the silence with confidence, “Prepare yourself, Break. Because I shall lead you myself, and teach you to dance step by step.” 

“Come now,” she demanded with all the authority of a noble Rainsworth heiress, “Take my hand.” 

The image of her extending her delicate hand in the same way all those years ago flashed before his eyes.  

My lady... 

Since when have you grown so tall? 

Since when do you sound so mature? 

Since when have you... shared such an undeniable resemblance with Shelly-sama? 

He genuinely had to remind himself that it was not Shelly who stood before him with such pride and elegance. 

He might not be able to see. But it did not make a difference. 

Her radiance had reached his heart either way. 

How could I have not noticed what a beautiful woman you have grown up to become, my beloved little lady? 

Gingerly taking her hand into his own, he gave it a light squeeze, still deep in his amazement. 

He smiled with a hint of sadness. He mourned how he had failed to see her as she grew, and now it was too late. But he was relieved that the warmth of her hand had never once changed over the years. 

She smiled with him, guiding his hand to her waist, lacing her own on his shoulder. Gazing at his face all the while, she took a step backward, leading him forward.

Leading him forward on this beautiful and cruel and captivating and melancholic dance called life, until the day his body rot away like his eye, they would keep on dancing... 

...hand in hand. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The End

[teaforten]

Rabbit and the Monkey Cups - (Part 1/2)

Did you need AIW fanfic? Here is AIW fanfic.

I haven’t written in a long time for this show, but it was Rachel’s birthday and I decided to turn a little thing into a big thing. But didn’t finish it, so this is part one of two. 

Here’s a preview, and the rest is under cut. Tumblr wanted to put a bunch of spaces in between every paragraph and frankly I don’t have the energy to take them all out, so sorry about that. 

Preview:

Wondermart was having a huge clearance sale on Halloween stuff, so Hatter and Hare were promptly there on a crisp November afternoon, to hit two birds with one stone. You see, Rabbit’s birthday was at the end of the week. How did they know? Alice had just told them. She was tagging along right behind them, actually, mentioning it in a timid fashion, because she herself was unsure what to get the bunny, or any bunny really, let alone one of his age.

“Ahhh, there’s got to be something here,” Hatter said to the other two confidently.  

“You think he might want a new cape?” Hare wondered, patting at some leftover Dracula capes at the end of a costume rack.

“It’s possible. How about a skull? You think he needs one of these?” By now, Alice was squinting as Hatter plucked up a funky glow-in-the-dark skull from a shelf of cheap yard decorations.

“No, let’s get him this candy bowl,” Hare suggested, though just as he indicated it, the plastic skeleton’s hands guarding its mouth closed around his hand and gave him a serious jolt.

“You guys...” Alice started.

“I want that for myself,” Hatter told Hare.

“Hell if you’re keeping that in your kitchen!”

“It’ll be great for my cookies!” Hatter insisted, with a scowl. “Lord knows you’re not keeping me away from them!”

“You GUYS.”

“Huh?” They both turned to her obliviously, holding each side of the bowl as the skeleton hands slapped open and closed.

“I don’t think Rabbit wants leftover Halloween stuff for his birthday,” she tried to tell them, in what was the most neutral voice she could manage.

“Are you sure?” Hatter wondered. She just rolled her eyes.

“Why don’t we try, uh, some plants at the nursery, or, or a sleep mask? Some fuzzy slippers?”

Her two companions looked to each other and shrugged like she might have a point.

So off to the Wonderland nursery they went, where Alice was plucking up pots of pansies and tulips and flashing them at Hatter and Hare, who seemed not at all impressed. “I mean they’re fine if you just want something to take up space in your window sill,” Hare told her with his eyes half closed. Alice was silent, as she really didn’t see a problem with this. “Alice. Alice Alice Alice~~” Hare drawled, looking around the nursery like he was embarrassed to have to explain this to her. “When my Grandpa December was around the Rabbit’s age, he was going through his very last existential crisis, and the last thing he needed was to fill up his window sills.”

Hatter nodded emphatically. “Mhm. Mhm. That’s a mid-life crisis kind of present.”

“What we need to get the Rabbit is something that reminds him that he’s in control of his life again.”

“Right! Something that says twilight can be just as exciting as any sunrise,” Hatter chipped in, swooping his hand into the air.

“I don’t know where you’re going with this,” Alice told them.

“Well obviously--” Hatter started... then he turned to Hare, looking for some help. “Where are we going with this?”

Hare was all shifty-eyed by now. “Come. Come, my children,” he said.

In no time, they were being led to the “restricted” section of the nursery… a shady little greenhouse shack thingy-mabob… covered with vines and thorns. And the woman helping customers there looked awfully witchy. Her wiry salt and pepper hair was stacked onto her head in a bun, almost all of her fingers had a ring, and she was walking around with a hunch. It gave Alice the creeps. Hatter, too. He was trying to hide behind her, actually, and it wasn’t working out very well.

“Do you have a membership card?” She asked Hare, also looking very shifty-eyed. Hare took out his wallet and flashed the goods. Then she jerked up her chin like a bouncer who had recognized one of their own, as if to say “a’iiiight, ya’ll’s cool to go in”...

In a very interesting turn of events, it was Hatter clutching Hare’s arm and nibbling his knuckles, and Alice trailing behind them, using his coat-tails as some kind of safety leash.

“Poisonous… carnivorous…” Alice read the signs hesitantly as they passed them.

“Cadaverous… smelly?!” Hatter screeched.

“Oh, the smelliest!” Hare flapped his hands and kept walking.

“I don’t think the Rabbit is going to want a smelly plant, Mr. Hare. After all, he’ll have to keep it at the palace, and if the Queen doesn’t like it…” Alice started.

“Well then I know! We’ll get him a guard plant!” Hare concluded. Hatter seemed both extremely terrified and extremely excited about seeing which selections of guard plant this place had.

“There are plants that can guard palaces?” Alice wondered incredulously.

“Shhh, everyone be quiet,” Hare told them. They weren’t far from an enclosure where a deep crimson light was shining on a beastly looking growth in the corner of the greenhouse. At its base was an array of spikey pads clustering around even spikier shoots and bulbs -- all more or less foaming at the mouths, or whatever it had.

“What? It can’t hear us--” Alice tried to say before Hatter’s hand fell over her mouth.

“You don’t know that,” he stage-whispered without looking at her. She almost had the nerve to bite him. Evidently, Hare had immediately forgotten to show any caution once he realized what was in the enclosure because he was bursting at the seams and hopping in place like a cheerleader without pom-poms.

“Oh, WOW. They said they were going to order it in, but I HONESTLY DIDN’T BELIEVE THEM. Look you guys, it’s a GIANT CATAPULTING FLYPAPER TRAP! And no wonder they’ve got these bars: someone could fall right into that thing and they’d be a GONER,” Hare told them, tenting his fingers and grinning from ear to ear, with every possible dimple in his face showing.

“Geez, Mr. Hare. I never realized you were so, well, morbid.” Hare looked mildly surprised for a second, then just shrugged.

“Anyway, Rabbit could never handle something like this. And look at the price. Oof!” They watched Hare take out a neon green notepad from his pocket and scribble down a note. “Reminder to myself to break open the ole piggy bank when I get home. I just might have enough!”

It was Hatter’s turn to lay down the line:

“Hell if you’re keeping that in your garden!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t put it in my garden. I’d put it in my dungeon,” Hare told him matter-of-factly.

“Ohhhhh. Well in that case… just remember to show it who’s boss.” A whole lotta eyebrow wiggling and elbow jabbing took place before Alice could no longer sit with this image. She pointed at the first thing she saw.

“Uhh, what about this? This looks exciting enough. What is it?” She asked Hare, who was even blushing by now. He cleared his throat.

“Oh, those are… I think I remember… oh yes! Monkey cups!”

“Monkey cups? That doesn’t sound too scary.”

Hatter and Hare shrugged. Their minds had clearly moved on to other things. “Nahhhh, guess not! It’d probably be perfect for Rabbit - he can feed it bugs and stuff when he’s having a bad day. Hahahahhaha!” Alice frowned just as soon as he winked at her. “What? We all know he has a sadistic side.”

@ @ @

As cool as the plant was, Alice wasn’t particularly sold on the idea that Rabbit would be satisfied with just that kind of gift on his birthday, so she begged and pleaded for them to come with her to hit the nearest convenience store. They were being absolute drama kings about it as if they were in some kind of black and white purgatory hell as she perused the greeting card section for just the right one.

“Come on, Alice. How is this watercolor pastel painting of flowers any different from the other ten that you looked at?” Hatter wondered with his eyes rolled back into his head and his giant purple body slumped up against one of the flimsy card racks. A clerk nearby could now see how precarious this situation looked and was watching them carefully.

“And they all say happy birthday!” Hare chimed in as he wandered up to Alice’s side. As he did so, she noticed that he was holding the pot of monkey cups off to one side of his chest, almost as if he had been breastfeeding them or something. He also randomly had a hiccup blanket over his shoulder. She scrunched up her face for a second before she had a response prepared.

“Yes, but they just don’t have that… oomf!” Alice told them, making sort of a “glitter exploding” gesture with her hand.

The both of them repeated the word several times to each other, also imitating the gesture.

“You know. A certain... je ne sais quoi?” She emphasized, even getting on her tippy toes. Hatter tilted his head and mimed the phrase in confusion while Hare tried to pronounce it. He even handed Hatter the plant so he could sort of pop his booty out and tip his toe, while still butchering the phrase spectacularly. Alice smiled and rolled her eyes. “It’s French. I learned it from my penpal, Yvette. It means. Well, it means that you don’t know what it means. But it’s something special.”

Hatter frowned.

“Alice, do you even know why we’re here?” He asked.

“Because we’ve been trying to figure it out for the past eternity.”

“We’ve been here for five or ten minutes tops. And yes, I know why I’m-- DUM!” She hopped when she saw a familiar face pass the glass from the outside. The Tweedles were on their way to the front doors. Hatter and Hare cranked their necks as the bell on the door jingled, while Alice went to greet the twins without a moment’s hesitation, as if they were rescuing her. It would seem they might have also been whispering their hellos and other exchanges, which was just plain rude, in Hatter’s opinion, based on the way he squished up his lips. He looked Hare in the eye and nothing further needed to be said.

Just as the Tweedles were heading back with Alice to the card section, they passed Hatter and Hare, who were on their way to the door. “Oh hey, you two!” Dee greeted, followed by some timid waving by Dum. “Hey guys, uh, we’re just gonna be going,” Hare told them, jutting his thumb out with a crooked smile. “It’s these poor little guys’ nap time.”

“Uhh yeah, and we’d hate to be a 4th and 5th wheel,” Hatter muttered, sort of coddling the monkey cups and shielding them from the Tweedles’ view. Hare was equally concerned about this and hovered around him, trying to put the hiccup blanket, which had a soft little cartoon cactus print, around Hatter’s arm and over the plant, going “sh sh sh…”

Dee cocked his brow and didn’t say a thing until they were gone.

Then, once they were:

“Why are they going around babying a patch of bright green dangling plant dicks?” Just as soon as he said it, Dum was seized by cackles… and more or less so was Alice. But hearing“Mr. Dee” talk like that was highly unusual.

She wanted to speak but couldn’t stop laughing and started sinking into herself. Dum had to pull her up before she hit the floor. “What?! What is it, Alice?! XD” He kept asking her.

“They’re not plant weeners!” She peeped into his ear, still trying to properly breathe again. “They’re m-monkey cups! They’re for the Rabbit! For his birthday!”

This started a whole new round of reeling between the Tweedles, which garnered the attention of the store clerk, who still wasn’t happy about Hatter leaning on all the card racks.

“Excuse me… do you three plan on buying anything?” He asked. He was old, uptight, and easy to dismiss.

“Oh yeah, sure,” Dee told him, swishing his hands before he let them fall on Dum and Alice’s shoulders. On their way to the cards, Alice tried to explain the meandering logic that had led her and her eccentric companions to and from the nursery today, with such an odd purchase.

“Well just make sure the Hare keeps the receipt, is all I’ve got to say!” Dum told her, earning a high-five from Dee.

“You guys wanna help me find something else?” She wondered, quite relieved just to be hearing sensible sentiments again. Dee thought about if he had any plans for the day.

“I’m game.”

“Yeah, so am I,” Dum said.

“A’ight. Let’s find something with some real je ne sais quoi around here and then hit that sleep store across from Just Add Sugar!” Dee turned up his nose with a smug smile like he knew exactly what he was doing. And he probably did.

@ @ @

It was five-thirty in the afternoon and Hatter and Hare were tipped back in their chairs with their bellies full of crumpets, cookies, and jam. And tea, of course. Lots and lots of tea. Beside the Hare was one of those bouncy baby seats that he periodically tipped with his foot. And inside of the baby seat was the pot of monkey cups, wrapped up in the cactus blanket. Several crumpet crumbs were surrounding it. “Do you think it liked the crumpets?” Hatter was busy scraping food out of his teeth and was probably in a food coma when he answered:

“I mean, it ate them, didn’t it?”

“I think so.”

Just then, they saw the Tweedles and Alice frolicking by, flailing shopping bags and sipping slurpees. It was an immediate outrage. Then they slam-dumped the empty cups into Hatter’s trash-can outside the gate. “Oh hi, Hatter and Hare!” Dum shrieked cheerily in a blur.

“Bye, Hatter and Hare!” Dee shouted, just as they were opening their mouths. Alice apparently didn’t even notice where they were or whose house they were passing. It just looked like she had been having the time of her life, or something.

“You know, sometimes, Hare… I don’t know about that girl.”

@ @ @

The day of Rabbit’s birthday, Hare was simply a sobbing mess, and Hatter was having to do a lot of bedraggled consoling that frankly he was not prepared for, in order to make this visit to the palace even possible.

“Come on, Hare,” he told him, trying to pry the plant from his needy little fingers. It was not unlike trying to pry a fly from a venus fly trap. Except this fly trap was worried about the fly and was sure that keeping it in its mouth forever was the only way to keep it safe. Just as it popped free from Hare’s desperate clasp, his arms collapsed in his chest and his knees hit the ground as he wailed:

“We shouldn’t have bought them so early in the week! Now they think I’m their ma, and they’ll miss me terribly!”

Hatter frowned, then realized that he was sort of petting one of them. “Hey, what about me?”

Hare shrugged as a tear pooled in his eye. “They’ll sort of miss you too.” Hatter turned to the fourth wall and just stared. “But every plant needs their ma!”

“Then the Rabbit can be their godmother! Their fairy-godmother! Ahhh? He’ll let you visit, I’m sure.” Hatter’s proposal wasn’t all that bad. Still, Hare was caught up in a moment and could only sniffle, so his partner gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder and walked past him. “Now, I’m gonna take these guys out for one last walk, and then we’ll head to the palace. Take a hit off the hookah, if you need.”

@ @ @

The palace courtyard was unusually quiet that day. Hatter and Hare were thinking there’d either be some sort of bash already started, or they’d have to get into an argument with the Queen about letting Rabbit have free time on his birthday. Instead, they found him kicked up on the chaise lounge, being fanned with a giant banana leaf by Alice. Totally oblivious to their presence, as he was wearing a thick cushy sleep mask and slurping up a tropical smoothie with an umbrella, Rabbit had more or less slipped into nirvana, or as close to it as an old servant would ever get. On the nearest table was a catalogue for the sleep store Alice had visited with the Tweedles, there were brand new, fuzzy wuzzy bunny slippers on the floor next to him, and even a gift basket filled with soaps, bath salts, and the most basic bitch teas Hatter had ever seen. Not that he would say anything.

But he had to say something, because poor ole Hare was still waiting for his hit off the hookah to kick in and had red eyes that could be seen from a mile away. He even forgot to stand and face their friends. Hatter grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him in the right direction.

“Rabbbitttttt!” He shouted at the bunny.

“Mmmmmmm...yyyyyesss???” Hold up a moment. The peaceful smile on the Rabbit’s face slowly fell as he realized he had heard the voice of someone he was sure in the past had never helped him achieve any sort of serenity. He snatched off the sleep mask. “Oh, hello... Hatter. Hare.” He was sort of leaning back and away from them now. Luckily, he couldn’t see that Alice was behind him, trying to hold it together.

“A little birdie told us it was your birthday today!”

“A little birdie?” Rabbit scrunched up his face, confused.

“He means me,” Alice said sweetly over his shoulder.

“Oh, but you’aaa~ not a bird!”

“Yeah, but she overhears all kinds of things, like a bird on a tree-branch!” Hatter explained, to which Alice nodded, “and that was the only way we were going to know it was your birthday, you secretive, sly, s-selectively friendly…s-senior citizen--”

“You had better get on with whatever you came here for, Hatta~...” Rabbit muttered, just as Hatter felt a tickle in his throat.

“Ahem! Yes.” He turned to Hare, who had been trying to blot a tear with the cactus blanket without anyone noticing. “Uh, Hare, why don’t you take the blanket off and show Rabbit this wondeeerfulll, spectaccuullar giftttt, ahhhh?” Hatter tried his best to sprinkle all the razzle-dazzle of two people onto the reveal, but no matter of twisting and twirling elicited much of a reaction out of Rabbit once he saw under the blanket. And he only had one thing to say.

“My, those are awfully phallic, aren’t they…”

Alice just bit her lip.

“What’s ‘phallic’?” Hatter questioned, not yet sure if he should feel validated or offended. Alice shrugged, as she didn’t know either. Rabbit immediately regretted that it had ever fallen from his mouth.

“Uhhh… Well what are they, anyway?” He diverted.

The Tweedles, meanwhile, had been oo’ing and ah’ing at all the boring af statues the Queen put up in one of her hallways, like really putting on an oscar worthy performance out of the sincerest desire for Rabbit to have some alone time with his gifts in that chair. When they were back to the courtyard with her majesty, however, they were having a really hard time keeping a straight face while a clueless Hatter and an unreasonably forlorn Hare waved around the bright green plant dicks monkey cups and pitched them like they were going to be Rabbit’s newest obsession.

All they had to do was step into Alice’s vicinity and make eye-contact with her and she was already giggling.

“So you see, Rabbit, this isn’t just some midlife-crisis window-sill filler… set these up at your table on bingo nights and you’ll have all the bunny ladies crowding around, knowing you’re up to something.”

“And what exactly am I up to?” Rabbit cocked his eyebrow, quite distracted by their striking resemblance to, well, cocks.

“Bein’ a plant daddy,” Hatter told him, smiling and nodding like he was very sure of himself, “to a hardcore plant that’ll eat all the bugs in your garden. Even frogs, too!”

“Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!” Was Rabbit’s first reaction. Then he leaned forward and tapped one of the cups before the Queen belted from behind him.

“That’s BARBARIC.” Immediately, Rabbit fell right on his face on the floor beside the lounge, then had to prop himself up and heave a little when he realized she had been so close to him all along. “Why would you get Rabbit a gift like that!”

Hare had recoiled just as much as Hatter, but he looked more defeated than anything else that neither of them were impressed with his gift, especially now that they were his babies that he’d raised for a week. Once again, Hatter had to do the explaining, patting Hare’s hand, which was squeezing his arm, all the while.

“We thought he needed some excitement!”

“He has PLENTY of excitement around here!”

Rabbit darted his eyes around. He wasn’t about to disagree with her, because technically she was right, it’s just… it wasn’t the good kind of excitement. The Tweedles and Alice were feeling even surer about their gifts by now.

“Well then really, this plant can keep up with him, is all we’re saying,” Hatter told her, not even missing a beat. “Oh look, it already likes him!”

For the first time in the last five minutes, Hare had something to say: “It does?”

Hatter gave him a look. “Uhhh, of course it does, Hare. Hand it over. Wouldn’t want to keep these two parted.” Try as he may to sort of direct the pot towards the birthday bunny himself, Hare was sort of squeezing it close and didn’t know how to let go. Rabbit, meanwhile, looked completely flabbergasted as he sat there on the floor beneath those looming plant dongs. The Queen threw up her hands, which just elicited more of the Tweedles’ giggling.

“You have GOT to be kidding me!”

“Uhh, they mean well, Your Majesty!” Alice tried to step in, being the noble child among the group and all that. “I mean if you think about it… it’s just as silly as any other gift they’ve given him…”

“Hmph, you’re right… there’s no way this is a joke,” her Majesty answered back in a deep voice, with her chin tucked into her neck. Then all five of them just kept watching Hatter and Hare fuss over the pot.

“Hare, just let go! One finger at a time. Come on, now.”

“I’m trying!” Hare pouted.

“I highly doubt that!”

“You don’t know what it’s like to be a mother!”

“No, but I know what it’s like to live with one!”

“DON’T shame me for being an empath!” Hare growled through his tears, still with the cactus blanket thrown over his shoulder.

“Alright you two, listen!” Rabbit professed, just before he scurried to his feet and yanked at his vest, then patted a few fuzzballs away. “I’ll keep the plant for a few days and see how it goes, but I want He’a~ on call at all times! He obviously has a grrreener thumb than I~, but I appreciate your thinking of me on my birthdehh~, so I shall try my best. Ehh… provided her Majesty approves.”

They all slowly turned to her in suspense, looking somewhere on a spectrum between apprehensive and hopeful. And then there were the Tweedles, who were just about to whip out their popcorn bowls. The Queen squinted at them for a moment before she decided it was not her circus, not her monkeys. Well, hopefully.

“Fine. But I don’t want to hear a thing about it. Call the Hare if it gives you any trouble, and if he can’t help you, hohohhhh,” her eyes bulged as she cut her hands into the air, “it’s straight back to the nursery.”

“Of course, of course. Ehh… thank you.” Rabbit nodded to the Queen awkwardly before he turned to Hare and opened his hands to receive the plant. Hare just stared at him until Hatter leaned into him.

“Give Rabbit the plant, Hare.”

“Eheheheh! Right,” he said, his arms extending out with a tremble to relinquish his babies to his favorite frenemy. Rabbit took hold of the pot and tried not to cringe as the dongs sweeping over the side brushed his forearm. Try as he may to bring them closer to his chest, Hare came with them. He laughed and gave them a better tug, which prompted Hare to tug them back. Before everyone knew it they were bouncing back and forth. Finally, Hatter took Hare’s shoulders and held him in place, so that Rabbit could pluck the monkey cups out of his motherly smother, and inspect them with none of the same sort of affection.

“Eheheh, loveleh~ loveleh~~...” he trailed. “Well, I’d better- eh, put these somewhere. T-thank you, everyone, for the birthday wishes and gifts… You’re all too kind.”

“OH WAIT, RABBIT,” Hare screeched, wriggling out of Hatter’s grasp and pulling a baby bag out of nowhere.

“This is all of his stuff!” When Rabbit took it from him, his arm plummeted as if he had just taken a bag of bowling balls.

“Gee, thanks, I feel so prepared now~” He said through his teeth to the fourth wall. Then  he fluttered his fingers and rolled away. Hare looked at least somewhat reassured as Hatter patted him on the back and he blew his nose.

Part 2 coming soon!...

[chaniters]

A giant monster attacks!

Super Sentai Rangers AU. 

I must say I didn’t expect writing a Sentai AU would be so hard. These stories have LOTS of different elements to juggle, and I wanted to keep most of what I could from the original setting. Took much longer than I thought. This is the second part, and it pretty much finishes setting the stage for the series. 

I’ve got a newfound respect for these kinds of series! 

Hope you enjoy this…!

It doesn’t take long to realize Mia Ochoa had not managed to get a good view of just how bad the situation was.

For starters, the giant floating disc actually looks larger than it looked on TV. And the blue beam is still in use, teleporting squads of soldiers to the ground, all wearing the strange silver armor. There are corpses everywhere, it seems they went guns blazing when they initially took the park. Several overturned police cars remain as a burning testament of the futility of the city’s security force.

The soldiers seem to be amassing in battallions through all of Memorial Park, probably ready to rampage across the city.  

As to whether they’re actually aliens… that remains to be determined. You can sense their minds in the distance, but the park is open ground. It’d be hard to get close enough to get a good read without getting noticed.

You can only wonder why isn’t the army here already, but that’s a mystery for another time. Right now, you need to figure out how to put an end to this.

You hear footprints behind you. You get into a fighting stance and…

“You’re fast!” It’s actually pleasing to hear the familiar voice this time.

“Charge. I thought you got lost in traffic… Welcome to this mess” you say inviting him to share your vantage point.

You can’t help feel weird as he joins you… You’re back on the same team, but you’re wearing your villain outfit and he doesn’t know it’s you. It was confusing enough when you were beating each other up.

“So do you guys have a plan?” you ask.

“A plan against an army of  space invaders with a flying saucer?” He says in a sarcastic tone.

“Yeah… nevermind that… Aren’t the rest of your cavalry going to arrive soon?”

“Alas my dear villain, the cavalry is us. There are similar attacks going on in other cities. Also, Steel, Herald, and Argent are delayed helping the LDPD mount a barricade. So until they can join us it’s just us”

Deja vu can be hurtful. You go silent for a moment. Does he feel it too?

“Why didn’t you go with them instead?” you ask

“We need someone to see the action up close while keeping the civilians safe… and let’s be honest, no way we were going to send the new blood to work along with you so it was Steel or me, and he’s the Marshall. Plus, we don’t know when are you going to backstab us. Also, please don’t backstab me?” he asks with a nervous smile.

“I’ll take your request into consideration” You let out.

“Ha! You can make jokes. Wait It was a joke right?”

You ignore him while enhancing the zoom in your mask’s visor to get a better look. Something’s not right with their weapons

“What is it?” he asks, focusing on them as well.

“Take a good look at their weapons,” you say pointing at them.

Charge’s helm flickers as he zooms in too. He gasps after a few seconds.

“They’re military energy guns!”

“Exactly. Which means they’re not aliens if they’re using USA military supplies…”

“But why would the army attack their own city?”

“You’re the government goon not me, remember? , you figure that out. Still we should at least find what they’re planning so we can figure a way to stop them.”

“And how do you propose we do that?”

“We take one of those soldiers prisoner”

“And then he’ll gladly tell us his whole plans?”

You tap your helmet. “I’m a half-decent telepath in case you didn’t notice”

“You can do that?”

“I’ve mind-controlled swarms of people… you guys saw me do it… why wouldn’t I be able to get some information?”

He ponders for a few seconds before answering. “I guess I’m not used to telepaths being so powerful. I only knew one well… he…”.

No. No no no. you’re not doing this. Not like this. He’s not going to talk to you about yourself.

“Save it. Let’s set up an ambush over there” you point at a distant part of the park. A few soldiers are patrolling the area far apart. “We should be able to snatch one of them easily near those trees,” you add, and simply start running, forcing him to follow. Hopefully, he won’t bring Sidestep up again.

………………………………………………….

“NOW!” Ortega cries out, charging onto them. Really? Did he have to announce it?

With a groan, you charge behind him. The soldiers turn immediately but you still manage a pair of solid hits. The two put up quite more of a fight than you had anticipated, but end up going down at about the same time.

“They’re though” Charge complains rubbing his fist.

“I’m more concerned about their numbers… and their minds are just… odd” you mutter as you take one of the unconscious soldier’s arms while Charge gets hold of his legs and helps you take him behind a large oak tree.

“Time to do your mind-trick”

“It’s not a trick” you complain. Fuck. This is too familiar. “Just watch for them,” you tell him before focusing on his mind.

It’s strange. Odd, yet familiar. And there are many safeguards… hidden paths and you can’t help feeling you’ve seen something like this before. It takes a moment before you manage to infiltrate into his inner thoughts.. protected as if someone else had installed a lock… and when you open the door…

“FUCK!” you almost scream opening your eyes and letting go.

“SHHH! You’re going to get us caught!”

“This is bad… bad bad bad…” you can’t help repeating.

“What is?”

“They are… they… they’re not humans”

“So they ARE aliens after all?!” he asks in confusion.

“No.. no they are… ” You sigh “Let me show you…”

You hold your hand to the soldier, the nanites disintegrating his armor. Revealing the blue skin. The orange tattoos.

“A re-gene?”

You nod slowly. Whatever could you say to him right now?

“Crap… Always thought those things were going to turn against us one day”

It’s like a gut-punch to hear those words. You take a few steps back in shock. He doesn’t really notice and gets on his wrist-com.

“Steel? Our good frenemy Retribution just figured out the big mystery. They are rebel re-genes!”

“What? What’s the Special Directive up to?” You hear his garbled voice from the intercom.

“I’m not sure, but come over soon, we’re going to need all of us to figure out a plan to…”

Your gaze goes blurry, watching the scene at the park. Regenes attacking humans. A revolution against your masters… Maybe you’re on the wrong side of this? You thought it was aliens, and the Governor offered you a deal, but once again, all your plans go up in smoke. They aren’t aliens. They’re your people. Shouldn’t you be helping them? Ortega’s distracted right now… You could knock him down and join them… This is what you…

No. No this isn’t it.  You can smell the burning cars. You can see the blood and the corpses. This isn’t the revolution you had hoped for. This is just a senseless massacre.

It’s just a…

“What the hell… are you seeing that Charge?” Steel asks

“What do you mean?” he says lifting his gaze from his intercom. You turn as well.

The disc is turning… and a large pod the size of medium-sized truck detaches from it. and lands in the middle of the park, generating a large cloud of dust.

As it clears you can see the pod right there… cracked.

The soldiers surround it and start tearing it open. There is a greenish liquid coming from inside as it breaks down.

“It’s almost like… an egg?” you say out loud.

“What you mean there’s something alive inside?” Charge asks in shock.

“Give me a clear image you two!” Steel demands from the intercom. Charge complies, pointing the thing at the pod.

Soon enough what appears to be a claw emerges from inside, and the soldiers jump back. The creature inside breaks what remains of the pod and stands.

Tall… numerous legs, and a long red tail ending on a stinger. THe face looks human.. but with fangs and blood red eyes..

A dark figure approaches, the soldiers making way. It’s wearing a strange black suit with a helmet. You try to zoom in more. The new individual seems to be giving orders, and soon enough, the soldiers clear a large area around the emerging creature.

“EMERGE SCORPIUS!” He orders.

Charge taps you in the shoulder

“I think that’s about enough for recon… let’s get out of here before…”

“ATTENTION, CITIZENS OF LOS DIABLOS!!!” The booming voice catches both of you by surprise.

The disk starts emitting a large hologram over the sky for everyone to see. So that’s why they took the park first… You focus on the image as it gains focus… a woman…

It’s her. You had hoped not to see her ever again… She’s wearing a whole new costume and some sort of eye-implant, but it’s definitely her. You stumble backward into Charge, who holds you.

“Hey hey watch it!”

“It’s Regina!!” you gasp in terror.

“Wait you mean you know her?”

“HEAR MY WORDS! I AM REGIS, GRAND DIRECTOR OF THE APOCALYPSE FORCE AND THE GREATEST TECHNOLOGICAL GENIUS OF THIS PLANET! YOUR PUNY POLICE IS NO MATCH FOR MY FORCES, AND YOUR ARMIES ARE TASTING DEFEAT AS WE SPEAK! THERE ARE NONE WHO COULD OPPOSE THE APOCALYPSE FORCE IN THE ENTIRE WEST COAST! FROM THIS POINT ON, I CLAIM THIS CITY BELONGS TO ME! ALL WHO WISH TO SERVE UNDER MY RULE MIGHT STAY. EVERYONE ELSE IS COMMANDED TO EVACUATE. YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO COMPLY! NOW LET ME GIVE YOU A SIMPLE DEMONSTRATION OF MY SUPREME POWER!” The hologram banishes, and the disc starts spinning rapidly emitting a red beam onto the Scorpion creature.

“What… the … fuck…?” he asks in disbelief. Charge shakes your shoulders “Who is she?”

You point forward, leading his gaze back onto the creature… which is dramatically increasing in size.

“Wow. That’s… big…”

It’s getting big fast. Too fast. The beam stops as the thing stands as tall as a building.

The dark Figure activates some sort of jetpack and flies up to the creature’s shoulder. “Start tearing out the nearby area, Great mutant Scorpius!”

The monster’s roar is deafening. It’s not just it’s the size that increased. And then it notices you two, staring back at it, making you feel helpless prey.

Its eyes go red, as it emits a blast your way.

“MOVE” you scream, shoving Ortega out of the way. Unfortunately, you have no time to get out of the way yourself…

The explosion projects you backward, your armor cracking and sending red alerts all over. Did you just take the hit for Ortega? You bounce several times before falling next to a small tree.

Everything hurts so much… But you’re still alive. Mortum’s design is truly amazing.

“Stand up!" 

Charge’s hands pull you up putting your arm around his shoulder and help you run through the park’s pathway. You can barely see where you’re going with all the alarms going on in your HUD display. You wonder if you’ve broken something too…

"They’re closing in,” you tell him, as you get to a crossroads. Why is this fucking park so large?

“Which way?” he asks. You quickly scan the area before answering…

“Left,” you say coughing and sensing the taste of blood in your mouth. Shit, maybe you did break something. He starts another sprint with you. It’s hard to know how long will you be able to keep up the pace…

“Leave me. We’re going to get surrounded” you mutter “I’m not going to do that” he grunts walking forward… “Why did you save me?!”

“Because you’re too slow and stupid to get out of the way on your own! I told you to leave me! No way you can get out carrying me around!”

“SHUT UP!” he actually holds you tighter as you keep going forward…until the blue light from the disc fires up in front of you.

Of course. The can teleport their forces and their giant monster can obviously see you. You were never going to escape…

“Hello, Rangers” The dark figure you saw earlier advances towards you. He’s wearing a black outfit with some yellow outlines. Red goggles and hidden face.“I’m Doctor Blitz! One of the three leading scientists of the Apocalypse Force serving Grand Director Regis! I’ve been waiting for a chance to test my weapons against you!” he boasts

“Actually, I’m the only Ranger here. He’s just…” Ortega starts.

But the self-proclaimed doctor isn’t interested and just motions for his soldiers to charge. You try to strike a shaky fighting stance, while the Rat King urges you to run away.  

They are about to clash, when a series of explosions go off, blasting the enemy. You turn to the side and see Steel with a smoking gun. Argent and Herald come close behind, and the three of them quickly put themselves between you and the enemy.  

“More rangers!! You’ve saved me the trouble of looking for you!”

“Well, you’ve found us!” Steel says charging onto the enemy.

A melee strikes out, with more and more soldiers joining in.

Soon enough you’re struggling to fend them off taking hits all over your damaged armor. THe rangers aren’t doing much better.

Their battlesuits are military-grade and definitely more advanced than yours.

“Hahahaha! The great rangers always get their man. Don’t make me laugh!” Doctor Blitz boasts. “Feel a taste of my power!” he lets on, activating some kind of energy wave device with his palms. “TELEKINETIC DARK FORCE!” he utters.

“Wait, what?” Argent asks before she, and the rest of you are shoved away by the energy wave he emits.

You slowly attempt to get back on your feet, the rangers emitting similar pained groans around you.

They have you completely surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered.

“PAthetic! I guess I’ll let Scorpius deal with you, rangers! SCORPIUS! Vaporize them! For the Regis!” He yells raising his fist, as his soldiers do the same.

You notice the giant monster is preparing to fire it’s beam attack again…

“TAKE COVER!” Steel cries… but it’s too late…

You hide your masked face in your hands and the rat king shrieks in terror.

You’re engulfed in white light. ……………………………………………..

Familiar white light.

“Where are we?” It’s Herald’s voice.

You stumble trying to stand, but fail. The Hud Finally goes dark. You’re blind.

“Some kind of Laboratory” Mortum.

Hands… turning you over… removing your mask.

“N… no! Get off!” you mutter… but it’s too late.

Ortega takes your helm off… You can hear Mortum’s voice in the background as he runs down the stairs of his lab. “Are you alright?” he goes.

“Cyrus?!?!” Ortega asks surprised as Retribution’s mask falls to the side. They all turn onto you.

What an epic clusterfuck.

That’s your last thought before you pass out from the pain.  

____________________________

My fanfics: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

[i-am-out-of-my-vulcan-mind]

Burning Sanity  - Chapter 6

Here’s the final chapter of Burning Sanity. Sorry it took me so long to update. Real life has unfortunately gotten in the way and taken its toll.

Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me on this, this topic took me out of my comfort zone a little. Special thanks to @lurkingwhump​. Your friendship and encouragement has really been a lifesaver these last few weeks.

I took the liberty to fill one of my @badthingshappenbingo​ squares. Namely, Panic Attack.

When her sobs had finally died down, Jane fell asleep in Kurt’s arms fairly quickly, both the alcohol and her exhaustion winning. He leant down and kissed her tear streaked face, noticing how cold her skin had become. Sighing, he pulled the blanket off the back of the couch, wrapping her up tightly. He turned, lying down, holding her protectively against his chest.

Even in sleep she hadn’t stopped clinging to him. It seemed that he had broken down her protective walls again, and now that he had, there was no way she was going to let him go. She had been trying to deal with her emotional turmoil by herself for far too long.

He shuddered, thinking about what may have happened, had he not woken when he did. She had been drunk, and completely willing to jump over the edge. At that thought, his heart constricted. He adjusted his hold on her, holding her as close and as tight as possible without disturbing her.

What would he have done if he had have lost her? Not from the ZIP poisoning, not from a perp… but by her own hand. He felt his own anguished tears start to leak from the corner of his eyes, his chest so tight he was struggling to breathe.

Jane shifted in his arms, bringing him back to the present. He closed his eyes, trying to normalise his breathing. All of that didn’t matter… he had woken up. She was broken... but safe in his arms.

It was going to be a very long recovery… for the both of them, but her letting him in had been the first step towards their future.

One thing was certain though, he would not be letting her out of his sight for a while.

With her safe, warm and breathing in his arms, he let himself relax, breathing in the scent that was only her.

He was woken sometime later, Jane’s body tense in his arms. Her breathing was laboured, small whimpers escaping her mouth, his shirt damp from her tears.

She was having another nightmare.

Kurt tensed slightly at the position he was in. After what had happened the last time she had had a nightmare, he suddenly felt physically vulnerable. If she were to lash out there was no way he could gain the upper hand without hurting her.

Those thoughts were quashed by the sound of her cries.

“Please…. Stop…” she sobbed.

Kurt’s heart clenched. Whatever she was dreaming about, it was causing her great emotional distress.

“Shhh, Jane… you’re having a nightmare.” he murmured, stroking her hair. She didn’t respond, still trapped in her dream.

Kurt almost jumped when she let out an anguished cry, her breathing quickening.

“No! No no no no no!” she cried.

Kurt sat up, bringing her up with him.

“Jane!” he said louder, deciding he would just deal with it if she were to react physically. He couldn’t bare to see her suffer any longer.

He could feel her starting to panic, her breathing becoming erratic, sobs and chills wracking her frail body. She was clinging to his shirt, wailing into his chest.

“Jane! Sweetheart, wake up!” Kurt called again, shaking her slightly. He felt her body tense. He schooled his features, ready for the potential oncoming attack.

“Kurt?” she squeaked, looking up into his face, her eyes full of anguish. Kurt felt himself relax slightly, the threat of her reacting physically seeming to pass, though the feeling was replaced by a sadness he hadn’t felt before. He watched as his wife’s features crumpled completely, her breathing coming out in short restricted gasps.

“Sssh…” he whispered into her ear. “It was just a nightmare.”  

Jane sobbed into his chest, unable to get a control on her tormented mind. Kurt could feel the panic settling in and adjusted her so she was cradled against his chest, but also so he could see her face.

“I’ve got you baby, everything’s ok… just breathe.”

##########################################################################

Jane could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate, the panic from her dream well and truly taking over.

She could still see the images of her nightmare flashing through her mind.

She felt like she was underwater, unable to breathe, unable to move, a loud rushing sound buzzing through her ears.

Her whole body was shaking, a cold chill creeping into her bones.

“Jane, you need to slow your breathing down, you’re having a panic attack.” she heard Kurt’s voice say through the void.

She choked on a sob, hearing Roman’s voice in her head.

There’s a place in your mind, that no one can get to… a place that belongs only to you. No matter what they say, no matter what they do, no one can reach you there. Pain is a dream.

Pain is a dream. Pain is a dream.

She started repeating that over and over in her mind, until she could feel the weight beginning to lift off of her chest. Seems that works for mental pain as well as physical pain.

“It’s ok baby.” she heard Kurt murmur, rubbing her back. “I've got you.”

She clung to his shirt, trying to take deep breaths in order to calm down.

“I'm so sorry.” she whispered. “I never wanted any of this to happen.”

“Sshh.” he soothed into her ear. “We’re gonna get through this. Everything’s gonna be ok.”

Jane sniffed, looking up at him, she lifted her hand, caressing his stubbled jaw.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, now that she was beginning to settle.

She nodded softly, knowing that the only way she was ever going to be able to heal was if she let him in completely.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no noise came out, flashes of her nightmare running through her head again.

She was looking into a concrete room, separated from the room by a one way mirror. In the middle of the room was the figure of a man, kneeling on the floor with his hands handcuffed behind his back. He had a black hood on his face, his body slumped in pain.

Another figure entered the room, this one more feminine. Jane watched the woman come into view, watching in horror as she recognised her to be herself. Remi.

Remi roughly removed the black hood off of the man’s face, exposing Kurt’s bloodied and battered face.

“No…” she whispered.

Remi smiled at the mirror, knowing Jane was watching. She took a knife out of the sheath on her belt, holding the blade to Kurt’s throat.

“Let’s see how you cope, knowing that you were the one that killed him.” Remi snarked, jerking the knife along Kurt neck, slitting his throat.

Jane watched in anguish as he choked and spluttered, falling to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. He jerked once, and was still, the light draining from his eyes.

Jane let out a devastated cry, turning her head so she didn’t have to see the lifeless form of her husband.

Her head was jerked back towards the window, Remi had appeared behind her, grabbing fistfuls of her hair.

“No you look.” she growled. “You look at what you did.”

Jane shook her head, tears leaking down her face.

“I didn’t do this.” she sobbed. “You did.” She closed her eyes, trying to block out the scene in front of her.

Remi laughed.

“Is that so?”

Confused, Jane looked down at her bloodstained hands, the bloodsoaked knife having appeared out of nowhere. She could see her reflection in the knife’s blade, though Remi was nowhere to be found. She was alone in the room, kneeling on the concrete floor, Kurt’s body just feet away.

“Kurt…” she squeaked, throwing the knife away and crawling to his side. She had killed him. It was all her fault. She picked his lifeless head up, hugging him to her chest. “No! No no no no no!” she sobbed, wailing against his lifeless cheek.

“Jane?” she heard his voice again, coming back to the present.

She took a few more deep breaths, trying to keep her breathing under control.

“Oh Kurt.” she whispered, moving so she could hold his head against her chest. “I’m so sorry.”

Slightly confused, Kurt pulled away from her, angling himself so he could look at her properly.

“Jane? What happened?” he asked gently. “It’s ok… you can tell me.”

Jane hung her head.

“I killed you.” Was all she said, before a fresh batch of tears rolled down her face.

Kurt frowned. He had not been expecting that. He reached out, cupping her face, wiping her tears away. She leaned into his touch.

“Talk to me.” he almost pleaded.

She took a shuddering breath in, before she told him of her dream. Of how she had watch Remi kill him, only to realise she had slit his throat herself.

“Jane… you need to stop blaming yourself for everything that has happened.” He paused choosing his words carefully. “You made some horrible decisions as Remi… but Jane… everything that she did… that you did… it can all be fixed.”

Jane shook her head, swallowing thickly.

“Kurt… the day you walked into the kitchen, when you found me with the poison… that wasn’t for me… it was for you.”

He nodded softly.

“I know.”

Jane’s eyes widened.

“You knew?” she asked incredulously.

Kurt nodded again.

“When I found out you had reverted back to Remi, I had speculated.”

Jane’s chin wobbled.

“You’ve known this whole time… that I was going to kill you… and you forgave me?”

Kurt shifted, taking her clammy hand in his own.

“As I’ve said before, Remi didn’t have access to all of the information either… she could only remember her hate… besides, I figured you were beating yourself up enough for the both of us.”

“Kurt… I’m so sorry…” she whispered.

He shushed her again, kissing the back of her hand.

“We will get through this together. You just can’t shut me out anymore.”

She nodded softly.

“I won’t…” she promised.

She reached out, cupping the side of his face.

“How did I ever get so lucky?” she whispered, before allowing herself to be pulled into his embrace.

They stayed tangled on the couch until the early hours of the morning, just enjoying being in each others embrace.

She looked up at him, resting her chin against his chest.

“Thank you.” she whispered. “For everything.”

He smiled gently, kissing her on the forehead, before settling her back against him.

“Always.” he whispered.

“I love you.” she murmured, inhaling his scent.

“And I love you.” he replied against her hair.

They held each other tightly, knowing the battle wasn’t quite over, but also knowing that they would get through whatever life threw at them, so long as they stuck together. Jane knew that the only way to move forward with her life, was to let him in. Shutting him out only made things worse. She knew that now, and she vowed to never let it happen again.

                                                           fin