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itsallyscorner · 4 years

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Bring Me Back

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: Filming “Cherry” had its ups and downs for Tom. When filming finally takes its toll on him, you’re there to instantly bring him back from the world of Cherry.

Warnings: Mentions of drug abuse, PTSD, murder. A smidge of smut.

A/n: In honor of the Cherry🍒 trailer dropping, I decided to write this!

(GIF creds: @atealiers )

Any kind of project was a blessing to Tom. He loved being an actor. He was fond of telling stories through the big screen and got a kick from portraying many different characters. Acting was something he felt passionate about, it was his craft and he was very dedicated when it came to becoming his roles. Cherry was quite different from the other movies he’s been in. It was dark and contained many subjects like drug addiction, PTSD, and crime. The world of Cherry was something Tom was not used to; it was twisted. He hasn’t been exposed to things like drugs or the events that Nico Walker had been through. Which was why he was hesitant to take on the role of Cherry.

When the Russo Brothers approached him with the idea, he was excited. He was getting the opportunity to tell another story and would explore the world of a new character. Though the more he looked into it, he realized that maybe he wasn’t up for the role. Was he really ready to dive into the dark and traumatizing life of Nico Walker? As an actor, he was willing to take the job, it would give him an opportunity to expand his career and would possibly be one of his best work. As Tom, he wasn’t sure if he could handle learning or re-enacting the events that occurred in Cherry. But Tom did like a challenge, which was why he ended up agreeing to become Cherry.

He prepared himself mentally and physically pre- production. For research, he interviewed army veterans and former drug addicts to get an idea of what it was like to be in those positions. To get the look of Cherry, he did a variety of things. For example, going on a diet and losing weight, then gaining said weight again once they had to shoot the army scenes. Another thing he did was shave off the gorgeous brown curls that adorned his head. At first you weren’t too happy with his change in hairstyle, but later on you found yourself running your hands along the short strands of hair, loving the fuzzy feeling it gave your palms.

After the interviews and hearing others’ experience, Tom felt a level of responsibility to tell the story of millions of people around the world. Not only was it telling the story of Nico, but of other army veterans who suffered from PTSD and people who’ve had drug addictions. He was fully on board now and there was no looking back. He was going to push himself to the limit and to places he’s never been before.

Filming was tough. There were scenes he had to do that were so unlike him, that felt wrong, and sometimes he just had to take a step back. They didn’t feel right, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. This was his job, if he wanted this movie to be the best that it can, he was going to commit. Thankfully, he was working with the Russos, who he’s known for a while now. He was familiar with the two and they were patient with him, giving him the time to regain himself before shooting an intense scene. The cast and crew were very understanding as well, creating a safe space for him on set. Having Harry along with him helped as well, the familiarity of his brother kept him grounded and avoided him from falling into the void of Cherry. Though he had all these supportive people around him, there was only one person who could calm him down when things got suffocating on set. The only person he wanted to be in Cleveland with him but wasn’t. You. Since you had your own life and job, you were unable to fly out to Cleveland with him. Instead you stayed at your shared home with Tessa as company. All he needed was you when he felt the affects of Cherry caging in on him. Just the sound of your comforting voice over the phone could clear his head and make him breath again.

He had his bad days on set, where he would have to take a moment and hide in his trailer for a few minutes. During those few minutes he liked to be alone as he waited for you to answer your phone. The line would ring, it’d stop, then the sound of your sweet voice would be the only thing he’d hear. Sometimes you didn’t answer the first time, but nonetheless you answered eventually. It wasn’t the same as having you with him in person, you had your responsibilities, and he understood that. He just wished that one day you’d come to Cleveland. He wanted to be in your arms, stuff his face into your neck, breath in your familiar scent, he just wanted to feel you. You were his home. His safe haven. And it was all he wanted right now.

•

Glancing at your phone, you wondered why Tom hasn’t texted you yet. Not that you were itching for him to text you, but because around this time he would be blowing up your phone telling you things that happened during filming or how his day was going. You decided that filming probably went into overtime making him busy during his break. You shrug to yourself and continue working on your laptop.

You hear the sound of Tessa’s nails clicking against the floors as she enters the office of your home. You greet her with a smile as she settles herself beside your legs.

“Is it dinner time already, Tess?” You scratch her head as you glance at the time on your screen. It was currently nine at night, a bit late for dinner, but you haven’t noticed.

“Just give me five more minutes and I’ll get us dinner. How does that sound, love?” A somewhat sound of approval emits from Tessa. You get back to work, fingers typing away as you finish off the last of your work.

You finish in four minutes, finally satisfied with your work. You let out a content sigh and turn your laptop off. When you get up you stretch and let your bones crack after being in the same position for hours. Tessa joins you, stretching out her front paws then shaking her body out. You chuckle as you lead the way to the kitchen. Taking the scoop for Tessa’s kibble, you fill her bowl up, causing the dog to look up in curiosity. Once you placed the bowl down, her tail wagged wildly as she stuffed her face into her food.

You decided on going for something simple, ramen noodles. You were too tired too cook anything and ramen noodles were the quickest thing to cook in your pantry. While you waited for the noodles to heat up you checked your phone. You went through your notifications, but there were still no texts from Tom. Though you were concerned, you assumed that they had a long shooting day, making him too busy to text.

Hi love! I hope you’re doing well in Cleveland. I know you’re probably busy, but hopefully filming isn’t tiring you out too much. Have an amazing day! Don’t forget to drink some water from time to time and eat :) Tess and I miss you and love you so much! Talk soon xxx

You send the text with a smile. He won’t read it till he was free or done with filming, but you knew he’d see the message while you were asleep.

The microwave beeps, letting you know that your food was done. You end your night catching up on episodes of New Girl and eating soup. When you were done you did your nightly routine and settled in bed. You turn the lights off and snuggled under the warm sheets.

“Night Tessa.” You whisper to her. A huff comes out of her as she makes herself comfortable on the foot of your bed. When the both of you were settled, you slowly drifted off to sleep.

Buzz

The harsh vibrations of your phone shook you awake. Desperate for sleep, you blindly grab your phone and turn it off. Silence fills the room again as you turn around to stuff your face into Tom’s pillow. You were slowly drifting back to sleep when your phone began to vibrate again. With a groan you stretch back and snatch for phone off the night stand. You don’t bother looking at the caller id.

“Hello?” Your voice rasps out.

“Thank God you answered.” The person on the other line said. “I know you’re busy, but how soon can you visit Cleveland?” The deep voice was belonged to Harry.

“Uh—I’m not too sure, I’ll need to check in with my boss.” You reply. When you start feeling more awake you become curious as to why Harry can be calling you. “Why? Is everything ok? How’s Tom? I haven’t heard from him all day.”

The younger Holland sighs. He takes a moment to answer your questions making you suffer in silence, wondering what could have happened to your boyfriend. “Um, they’ve been shooting some intense scenes lately. Tom’s been trying his best but everyone’s noticed that he’s been a bit different.”

You sit up in bed feeling more awake. “What do you mean by different, Haz?”

“Well he’s snapped at the Russos quite a few times. There was this one scene, that they shot multiple times, and Tom would just break down after every one. (Y/n), I’m concerned for my brother, I don’t know what else to do. He’s locked himself in his room after every shoot. A—and I don’t know. I’ve tried to tell him that he can talk to me but he wouldn’t.” Harry explained, his voice croaked. You heart felt heavy for him. Harry was always there for his older brother, so to see him feel so helpless made you feel sorry.

“Haz, calm down, you know how your brother can get. How long has this been happening?”

Harry sniffed over the phone, “About a few weeks now. It’s only started becoming worse last week and now.”

The concern you felt for Tom grew. From what he’s been texting you, filming had been going great. He appeared happy on your FaceTime calls and sounded like his usual self. But maybe he actually wasn’t.

“Harry everything’s gonna be fine, alright?” You assure him. “I’ll call my boss first thing in the morning and when I get the ‘ok’ to leave I’ll get the first flight out to Cleveland. How’s that sound?”

“It sounds good. Can you tell me if you can make it? I’ll have someone come with me to pick you up at the airport.” His voice is quiet, almost muffled.

“Yeah I will, don’t worry.”

“Ok, thank you (y/n).” A small smile forms on your lips. You rub the sleep out your eyes as you glance at your closet. “Alright Haz, I’m gonna go now. But if there’s anything else, just text me or call.”

“I know, stay safe (y/n).” You bid him goodbye and place your phone on the empty space beside your side of the bed. Tom’s side of the bed. You bite your lip in thought as you worry about your boyfriend. You knew he was doing almost everything he can to make sure the movie came out perfect. If that meant shredding himself emotionally and physically, he was going to do it. Tom was dedicated to his work, but he’s never done anything close to Cherry, making you worried about the thoughts that could possibly be going through your lover’s head.

Tessa, who’s now woken up, waddles closer to you, sensing your uneasiness. You appreciate the dog’s gesture and pull her into your side, resting your chin on her head. You were basically sleepless the whole night. Although you haven’t emailed your boss yet, you already had a suitcase packed of your clothes. Your passport and other important belongings were already in a bag, ready to leave London.

The morning had been hectic. You’ve managed to get two hours of sleep, waking up at six in the morning. Still in bed, you sent your boss an email about a family emergency and how you needed to be out of the country for at least a week. As if the gods above knew of your situation, your boss willingly let you go, no questions asked and gave you well wishes. With that out the way, you scowered the Internet for flights to Cleveland. Luck was on your side that morning because you’ve booked a flight that took off in the afternoon. With your bags packed, you drove to Nikki and Dom’s to drop off Tessa.

Now all checked in, you were at Heathrow Airport waiting to be called for your flight. You were sat at your gate, with an iced coffee and a croissant from Starbucks, texting Harry. The two of you were discussing the time you’d arrive and how he’d pick you up. When you were both in agreement, you two decided to catch up. He had been in Tom’s trailer eating his breakfast. An hour passes and you were being called to board the plane.

You settle in your seat, but your leg bounced in anticipation. After the things Harry told you, you just wanted to have your boyfriend in your arms. You knew everything was probably getting to his head, all you wanted to do was hold him and tell him that he was going to be ok. As the plane began to take off, your lack of sleep caught up on you. Throughout the whole flight, you slept soundly, the worries of Tom subsiding for the time being.

~🛬~

The plane lands in Cleveland safely. It was night when you arrived. With your bags, you looked around the airport for a familiar curly haired boy. Harry waves wildly at you before running and pulling you into a tight hug. You laugh wrapping your arms around the slender boy.

“How’s your day been, Haz?” You ruffle his hair as he rolls your suitcase to the parking lot. He shrugs, “The usual. Was on set with Tom, ran around and got things for him, nothing much happened honestly. But you’re here now, so this is the highlight of my night.”

The two of you approach a black car with a driver inside, Harry motions for him to unlock the trunk. He lifts your case in before the two of you get into the backseat.

“How was your flight?” Harry asks you. The car began to move, exiting the airport and entering the highway.

“I slept through all of it, I don’t remember a thing about the flight besides getting on and off it.” You chuckle, leaning your head back against the headrest.

Harry nudges your shoulder, “Thanks for coming out with such short notice.” You wave him off. “It’s no worries, anything for my boys.”

The car is quiet, the only sounds that could be heard is the car’s wheels against the pavement. You turn to Harry, “How was he today?”

“He was pretty good in the morning.” Harry started. “Then filming started and he would grow frustrated after a few scenes. His temper’s been short. He snapped at me during lunch, which is normal, but I just asked him if he wanted some water. He broke down after a certain scene today, I tried talking to him but he still wouldn’t open up about it.” Tom wasn’t too open about his feelings sometimes. He struggled to voice them at times making all his frustrations and feelings bottled up in his head.

Half an hour later and you guys arrive at Tom’s rented home in Atlanta. As soon as you opened the door, you felt the heavy atmosphere. It was somber and tense, the chilliness of the weather also felt inside the house. Harry gestures up the stairs, “Don’t worry, go see him. His room is the first door on the left.”

You quietly thank him and climb up the stairs. You find his door, taking a deep breath before knocking. You hear some shuffling behind the door, “Harry I’m fine! Leave me alone!” His voice was deep, a bit scratchy. You frown at the door.

“Tom?” The room falls quiet. Suddenly you hear fumbling and the sound of heavy footsteps behind the door. The door opens and you finally see him. He was dressed in a large shirt with sweatpants. He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, eyes glassy, and chapped lips.

“(Y/n)? You’re here?” He asks you in disbelief. A tight lipped grin forms on your lips.

“Yeah, Har—“ You were going to explain how you got there but he immediately threw himself at you. His arms wrap tightly around your figure, his head dipped into your neck, pulling your closer into him. One of your arms go around his neck while the other rubs his back soothingly. A whimper bubbles out of him, his shoulders beginning to shake. You managed to shuffle the both of you back into his room, closing the door behind you.

“You’re ok.” You whisper into his ear, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck. His grip around you never falters. Though he was much taller than you, he seemed so small at the moment. His body drowned in the shirt he wore, making him look thinner. You feel tears soaking into your shirt, making your heart clench in pain. You rest your forehead against his shoulder, holding and whispering sweet nothings into his ear until he was ready to speak.

A few minutes pass until his removes his head from your neck. You frown at his tear stained face, his eyes and cheeks red from quietly sobbing into your shoulder. Your hands cup his face, wiping the trails of tears on his cheeks. Tom leans closer to your touch, his eyes shut while his lips kiss your palm.

“I’m sorry, you’re probably tired from the flight.” He apologizes but you shake your head. You lead him to his bed and sit against the headboard. Tom follows in suit, desperately trying to get closer to you. His arms wrap around your torso, his head rests on your chest, while your legs tangle themselves together.

“I’ve had plenty of sleep on the flight, how are you?” Your lips are against his short hair from holding him so close. You nails scratch softly at his hair, calming him down.

“I don’t know if I could finish it.” He quietly admits. He shakes his head at himself.

“Why’s that, Tom?” Your boyfriend takes a deep breath as he sits up, removing himself from your touch. He sits across from you with legs crossed as he holds his head in his hands.

“I—I, it’s too much. There’s so much fucked up things he’s done. And all the things he’s seen. I just—sometimes I feel like it’s me who’s committed all of those things. When we shoot the scenes in the war and when I had to do drugs and rob banks, I felt like I lost myself—“ He cries interrupting himself to take a breath in. Compared to your fingers that ran gently through his hair, his clawed at his head. His palms rub harshly at his face, turning his skin a bright tint of red. To see Tom in such pain made you sad. You hated seeing him like this.

You gently remove his hands from scratching at his face and hold them in his lap. He stares down at your hands, clinging onto them as if his life depended on it. “I get lost in the character sometimes and I have to pull myself out of it to bring me back. But it keeps on happening over and over again. Then the Russos kept telling me to reshoot the scene more like Cherry, and I lost it and yelled at them.” You feel his tears fall to your your hands, making tears well up in your own eyes. You shuffle closer to him and kiss his forehead before pulling him into you. You stay quiet, letting him get whatever he wanted to get out.

Tom’s face is against your shoulder again. He sniffs before continuing, “It’s like everyday I find something he and I have in common. Then I think that maybe I’m turning into him. I don’t want him to be part of me. (Y/n), I don’t want to be him, I don’t want to do the things he’s done.” He sobs into your shoulder. Your heart breaks at how broken he sounded. His shoulders shook again, his back burning up with tension. A few tears made it’s way down your cheeks as you pulled his face away from you.

“Look at me.” You urged him. His jaw clenched, still looking down at his lap. He shook his head in response. “Tom, please. Look at me.” Your voice cracks. He slowly tilts his head up, your eyes connecting. He didn’t have that twinkle in his eyes, it’s like they’ve lost the light in them. Instead they were dark, like there was no life behind them. There was a mix of sadness, confusion, and even fear in his eyes.

You sadly smiled at him, cupping his face with your hands. “You’re not going to be him. You never will. You’re Tom. You are nothing close to Nico or Cherry. You are the sweetest man I have known in the world, you wouldn’t even hurt a damn fly. You’re not him. I know you aren’t. You wouldn’t do the things he’s ever done even if you were forced to. I know you Tom, I assure you, you’re nothing like him.” Tom hiccups, gripping onto your wrists.

“When this is all over and you’re done filming, we can forget about him. We won’t even mention him.” You assure him, stroking his cheeks.

“What if—,” You cut him off.

“No, there’s no what if’s. You’re going to be fine Tom. You’re surrounded by people who love you and will make you realize that you’re nothing even near him. You are the kindest man ever, you love your family, you care about your fans, and your brothers. You’re busy always taking care of everyone else, I think it’s time you take care of yourself, love.” You tell him. A small smile is on your face but it falters, “You don’t have to go through this alone, Tom.”

Tom takes a shaky breath in. “You’ll be there right?” He asks like a child making sure his mother will be there when he wakes up. “You’ll be there with me to bring me back?”

Your thumb smooths the crinkle between his brows, “I always will. I promise.” He nods and pulls you into him. You climb onto his lap and settle on his legs. He stares up at you, one of his his hands supporting your back, the other pressed against your cheek. “Thank you. I missed you so much. I’m sorry for not texting, everything’s just been so taxing mentally and physically.”

“No, don’t worry I get it.” You turn your face to press a light kiss on his palm. For the first time since you’ve seen him, Tom managed to crack a smile on his lips. He moves some strands of hair away from your face before resting his large hand on the back of your head. “I love you. I love you so much, (y/n).”

“I love you too, Tom.” You whisper against his lips. He takes that as a sign to finally crash your lips together. After months being apart, the feeling of his lips against yours felt like coming home. The kiss was desperate, like it was the air you both breathed. Tom had been longing for your touch, he craved you every second of the day, whether it be sexually or just missing you. The kiss grew rough, your teeth clashing, tongues poking and gliding against each other.

Tom lays you down on the bed, hovering over you. His hands grab and stroke at your body, trying to pull off your clothes to get close to your skin. He suddenly pulls away from your lips. “I need you. Please, I need you.” He almost begs you. Panting, you nod and push him to lay on his back. “Ok, let me take care of you, Tommy.”

He yanks his shirt off, throwing it to the side. You do the same, leaning down to meet his lips again. You kiss your way along his jaw and down to his neck. When you find that certain spot, he lets out a throaty groan, head falling back against the pillows. You run your nails along his chiseled abs and slightly roll your hips against his growing length. Tom grunts, hands instantly connecting to your ass and gripping onto your cheeks. He helps you roll your hips more, deeper with more friction against you two.

“Mm, Tom. I missed you.” You moan against his neck. You bite down and soothe the spot with your tongue after.

Tom looks down at you, lifting his hips to meet your clothes pussy. “Fucking miss you so much. You have no idea how much I’ve been dreaming of being buried in you again.” You kiss your way down his chest, but Tom stops you. His hands grab onto your leggings and slide them off.

“N-no foreplay. I need to feel you.” He stutters out, mouth agape. You nod in agreement and take his sweatpants off along with his boxers. You spit in your hand, running your hand along his dick to give it some wetness. Tom helps you lift yourself over him and guides your hips down his erected cock. You let out a combination of a sigh and moan as your walls envelop and stretch around him. Tom slightly sits up against the headboard, your tightness wrapping around him. He lets out a cry of relief, your walls around him feeding his cravings. You use his shoulders as leverage to pull yourself up but Tom stops you.

“What’s wrong?” You eye him cautiously. Tom shakes his head, “Nothing’s wrong. I just—can we stay like this for a while? I just want to feel you, please?”

“Yeah, we can do that.” You send him a reassuring smile as you settle back down on him. His hands make themselves comfortable around your waist. You maneuver your arms under his and wrap them around his back. Tom smiles at you, rubbing your back and guiding you into his chest. Before you can nuzzle your face into his neck, he presses a kiss to your temple and lets his fingers get tangled in your hair.

With his eyes closed in bliss, he whispers, “Thank you for bringing me back. I love you.”

You kiss his collarbone basking in the feeling him being so close to you. “I’ll always be here. I love you too.”

#marvel #mcu #avengers #Tom Holland #tom holland x reader #Tom Holland imagine #tom holland one shot #tom holland headcanon #Tom Holland smut #Cherry #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland drabble

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felswritingfire · 3 years

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April Brain Rot #5

Prompts:

4. Adapt

(Detroit Become Human AU) Jack Howl x Reader

Summery: Jack turns deviant and murders your abusive father, now you're on the run, searching for a better future (and you meet some friends along the way).

TW: Violence; Blood; Broken bones mentioned; Mentions of abuse; Death (not reader or Jack); Emotional panic; Running away; Slight angst

Word count: 1,572

A note from Fel: I went feral when my last braincells decided to rub together and come up with this tbh (my girlfriend is my witness, I love her so much ;0;). I hope you enjoy! Because I had way too much fun writing this!

He had been a protector. He was doing what he was made to do. So why? Why did he feel like his circuits were about to overload when he stared at the mess of blood and fragmented bone that covered his closed fist. His ears flicked back at the sound of your labored breathing. Jack looked over his shoulder to see you leaning on your hands and arched legs trembling, the bloody nose and black eye with the dribble of blood leaking out the corner of your lips made him want to rip this man to shreds even more so than he had just done to him. He said the one thing that came to mind: “are you alright?”

The light on the side of his head blinked a yellow as your eyes drifted up to him. He waited for you, praying (an android praying- what a funny thought. Probably a malfunction of some sort) that you wouldn’t leave him. But, instead you looked at the bloodied face that was once your father and back to him before nodding your head slowly. “Y- yeah.”

“Are you positive? Your heart rate is still incredibly high.”

You nod again. “Yeah, Jack, I’ll… I’ll be ok.”

His eyes narrowed at you before he nodded and went to you, slow in his steps and gentle in the way he reached out to you. His ears flicked back at the sight of the blood smearing on your already bloodied clothes, drawing back for a moment. “May I pick you up?”

Your gaze grows watery the longer you look at him. A part of him fighting the urge to… panic? He wasn’t sure but the sense of distress was climbing in the back of his processor. “Please?” Your voice sounds so small as you hold your arms up to him like a child.

The android nods. He hooks his hands under your knees and your back, cradling you close to his chest.

The realization of what happened and what is going to happen weighs in his mind. He’d be considered a deviant for killing a man- an abusive man, but nonetheless he was human. He may end up adding to the end of the J-192 line that was slowly building against him already. He may have been a special edition android and one of a kind- but that doesn’t change what he’s done. And worst of all: he ripped your future straight from your hands (he can feel his chest cavity tighten at the thought, maybe he really needed repairs or he was more deviant than he thought he was).

Everything you worked so hard for- to escape you father by your own devices- and he’d gone and ruined it by snapping when that man had struck you far too many times in front of him. His processor is fuzzy on the details but he remembers how his sharp ears pick up on the sounds of bones caving in on themselves and wet squelch of blood beneath his fist.

As he went deeper into Detroit's streets he caught sight of a fire hydrant that was leaking water. He stopped by it, placing you gently on your feet before running his hands under it, the water turning pink as the blood ran down with it. He cupped his hands, pooling some water in his hands before gesturing with his head to lean down. You did, wincing when you moved too fast, he whined at you. “I’m ok, big guy.”

He nodded before gently splashing the water on your face, wiping the flaking blood off of your skin. His eyes sting with a wetness that he can’t quite place as he thinks (ha- what a funny word to pair with an android): this is how he repays you. After everything you’ve done for him: watching over him when you father had bought him; sharing your hobbies with him no matter if he didn’t understand; always talking with him despite him telling you that you didn’t have to; staying by his side as he began to act… strange: feeling his chest warm when he saw you, the way his face would flush if you got too close to him. He began to feel human and you were helping him learn how to be.

“I’m sorry.” He says suddenly as he pats your face with the bottom of his shirt.

“Why?”

“I should have never asked to kiss you, then you-” he felt himself shudder- “you would have never had to experience that.”

“Jack,” you whisper, resting your hands against his face. “If you asked me- I would do it all over again.”

Jack blinked, his light flickering between a yellow and a red. “... Why?”

“Why did you do what you did?”

“I didn’t want him hurting you! I-I…” he trailed off. Why did he do what he did? He had felt an awful rage build under his skin when he had been witness to it before- but he had never disobeyed the command to stay. That wasn’t supposed to be in his programming. But he had felt something so profound- so molten hot in his chest that he had to protect you because- because- “I would die without you.”

You smile, pressing your palm against his trembling chest. “And I’d die without you.”

He pulls you into a hug, holding the back of your head as he presses his nose against your hair. He can do this. He can do this if you’re by his side.

************************************************************************

It had been a long time of ducking into abandoned buildings and shoplifting food (though Jack wasn’t too thrilled about that- you had learned that he was rather firm on the laws if stealing wasn’t a necessity to you two) but you had stayed together through it all. You had even found two more deviants: Leona and Ruggie.

They had decided to join you two after they almost mugged you and you had hit Leona with a pipe that didn’t do much to the android. He laughed and laughed after that, having to hunch over at how hard he was laughing. Ruggie began to join in and now you were stuck with the two of them as you and Jack made your way out of the city. Jack was quite snippy with them at first, always glowering at the two and barring his fangs when they got too close. Ruggie had come to find this as a sort of game, throwing a casual arm over your shoulder as you talked or pressing his face against yours while explaining that he used to be a ‘nanny droid’ (as he liked to put it). Jack would press between you two, glowering down at the hyena android who just laughed his funny little laugh as he slinked away.

Leona had simply found it as a perfect opportunity to mess with the wolf as he would press his fingers against the back of your neck or would rest his chin on your head when you were busy counting your supplies. Jack would growl at him, shoving against him to take his place of standing behind you.

Though, he grew a profound respect for Leona when he let it slip that he used to be a bodyguard. “Had to watch this annoying brat. It was awful, he never let me rest.” (he might say that, but on more than one occasion, you would catch Leona fiddling with a necklace with a blue feather hanging under the silver circle that served as it’s pendant). And Ruggie simply grew on him- no one being able to resist his lazy eyes for long.

Though now, Jack was happy as he stacks the last of the bags of soil on top of each other in the corner of your store, basking in all the plants that lined the shelves in neat little rows on shelves. You had scraped the money to buy a building, get a business permit and open up a little plant shop in Toronto, Canada through some odd jobs and a collective effort from each of them.

He watched you chatter to some women, never seeing you smile so wide in the time he’s been alive. He pulls at the sides of his beanie, glancing at Ruggie through the crack in the door to the back whose tail wags gently as he tends to the budding plants, Leona sleeping (well, “sleeping”) on the hammock that you had put up for him with the flowers in the back.

He looks back to the little cacti he stood next to, a familiar warmth blooming in his gut. The orange rays of the setting sun illuminates the curve of your face as you go and walk the lady out (who happily holds her lilies and poppies in her arms) and wave to her as she leaves before closing the door and flipping the ‘open’ sign to ‘close’. You sigh before you turn to find Jack looking at you with a smile on his face as he stares at you. You walk to him and grab his hands and rest your head against his chest. “We did good.” You murmur.

He nods. “We did.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

A chorus of over exaggerated gagging brings you and Jack you of the moment and you laugh as Jack turns and yells at a grinning Ruggie and a scowling Leona to: “shut up!”.

Thank you for reading!

121 notes · View notes

rosiehunterwolf · 3 years

Text

For the Romping and the Roaring- Part 1

Here is my submission for Day 1 of @serpentfever's Inhuman Event!

Link to read on ffn.net

This is part 1 of the story, and the rest of the parts will be posted, one each day, for the rest of the event. Because of the length of this, full story is under the cut. I've provided a little preview of the story below:

Preview

Perhaps the most strange looking thing about the scene, though, was the small boy perched on the badger’s back. Small black horns pertruded from a head of fluffy blond hair, and long, pointed, velvety black ears wiggled eagerly. Short, splayed fingers gripped the badger’s shoulders, and his small, webbed wings proved quite the contrast from Zane’s feathered ones. Perhaps the most noticeable of all, however, was the long black tail that waved behind him, curved fins flaring out at the end of it. And the delighted trills coming from his mouth were definitely anything but human.

Well, maybe it was strange-looking to anyone else. But for Kai, it was just an ordinary day.

Prompts Used: Panic, Hiding

Word Count: 10,082

Rating: T

Trigger Warnings: Imprisonment, Dehumanization, Mentions of Murder

Part 1

“Wake up, sleepyhead!”

Kai groaned, blinking awake. His sister grinned down at him, her arms dangling in his face from where she was hanging, her spotted tail wrapped tightly around one of the structural beams.

“Go away,” he mumbled, tossing a pillow in her face. “It’s too early.”

“It’s ten am.”

“So? It’s not like there’s anything to do around here, I might as well get my beauty rest.”

“Goodness knows you need it, with that dreaded mane of yours.”

He tossed another pillow at her face, which turned out to be a mistake, because now he was out of pillows.

“Why do you always have so much energy? Don’t you ever sleep?”

She shrugged. “I like to sleep in the afternoons. I guess it’s a leopard thing? They’re nocturnal, you know.”

“I know, Nya. I’ve had a half-leopard as a sister for sixteen years, don’t you think I would know that by now?”

“Debatable.”

“I’ll ignore that comment if you let me sleep for a little more.”

“Have you forgotten what day it is?” Nya chirped, beginning to swing back and forth. “Today Dr. Borg is letting us take Lloyd into the city!”

Kai sat bolt upright. “That’s today?”

“Yes, fish-brain! You should see him, he’s so excited.”

Kai scrambled out of bed, startling Nya and making her fall into the bed with a yelp. He shook his head, letting his mane cascade around his face and down his back. Huffing as half of it fell into his eyes, he wrestled it into a ponytail- part of it, anyway- and walked over to the door, Nya bounding after him. The other four beds in the room were already empty.

Opening the door revealed the same thing it always did. Another room- this one much larger than the last one, but a closed-off room nonetheless- stretched around them. There were a few other doors that led to bathrooms, a room with skylights (made with reinforced glass, of course, so no one could break it, even if they had superstrength) so they could soak in the natural light from time to time, and just some rooms with various activities- paints, notebooks, computers, puzzles, TVs, and all the books and video games they could ever want, or if they just needed some alone time away from the others for a bit.

But none of that changed the fact that the door on the far side of the room was always firmly locked.

In the kitchen, Zane was whipping up a bowl of pancake batter. Tawny-colored wings unfurled from his back, stretching freely now that he didn’t have to hide them. The feathered tufts behind his ears twitched as a loud shriek sounded out from the other side of the room.

Kai turned, a purr rumbling in his throat as he caught sight of the large badger lumbering across the room. A small yellow labrador raced after him, barking excitedly.

Kai’s tail thrashed fondly. Well, maybe it was strange-looking to anyone else. But to him, it was just an ordinary day.

Almost.

“Lloyd, you’re here already!” Kai called, hurrying over. The small boy brightened- even more so than he already was- at the sight of him, and leapt into his arms. Kai stroked him gently, and Lloyd purred softly, his long tail thwacking against his leg.

The badger blinked at him, shaking his head, and, in a flash of light, he was gone, a young man sitting on the floor in his place. His curly black hair, with a white stripe down the middle, nearly hid the small black ears poking out. Round glasses framed his dark eyes as he grinned up at Kai, his fangs glinting. The lab jumped into his lap, and the man scratched behind his ears. With a flash, the lab turned back into a teenager, his auburn curls falling into his freckled face.

“Augh, Jay! Get off of me, you lump!” He shoved his friend off of his lap, sending him tumbling.

“Hey, Cole, you could’ve asked nicely,” Jay whimpered, even though his golden tail was wagging, and his ears were perked.

“Yeah, well next time, don’t transform back when you’re in my lap! Having a small dog sitting on me is one thing, a lanky teenager is another.”

“Stop acting like you’re so superior! You’re only four years older than me, barely out of teenagehood yourself!”

“I’m not acting like I’m superior! I’m just telling you not to sit on top of me!”

“Whatever,” Jay grumbled.

“Hey, guys,” Kai snorted.

“Mornin’ Kai,” Jay grinned. “Have a nice lie-in?”

Cole groaned, shaking his head, and Kai shot Jay a glare.

“You shut up with your damn puns, puppy boy.”

“Jeez, apparently someone’s had his pride hurt.”

“I swear, one more lion pun-”

“Fine, fine! I know when my witty quips aren’t wanted.”

Jay,” Cole sighed, “they’re never wanted. Anyways, you ready for today, Kai?”

“You bet! They brought Lloyd in early, today, huh?”

“Dr. Borg wants us to get him ready and make sure he’s behaving well before we leave.”

Kai raised an eyebrow. “And romping around giving him badger rides and riling him up is a good way to do that?”

“Aw, come on, Kai, he’ll be fine. Besides,” his voice lowered as he went on, “he deserves to have a little fun while he’s here.”

Kai instinctively tightened his grip on Lloyd. None of them knew what happened to Lloyd when their caretakers took him away at night, apart from the fact that Dr. Borg insisted he was perfectly safe, but, at the very least, he was alone, and sometimes, Kai, with his heightened sense of hearing, could hear him whimpering through the walls. Lloyd hated being alone, and Kai didn’t understand why he couldn’t just stay with them all the time.

But, like most things, Dr. Borg just kept them in the dark about it.

Not that he was being ungrateful- Dr. Borg had kept them alive.

Issac Borg, son of Cyrus Borg, had taken over his father’s company when he had died, and, as head scientist at Borg Tower, had made it his mission to help the few living hybrids left- Kai and his friends. Dr. Borg had told them stories of how the human world rejected anything that was different from them- that they feared those with different blood such as Kai and his friends, saw them as “monsters,” and would seek them out and kill them if they ever found out their secret.

But Dr. Borg didn’t think the same way as the rest of the world. He wanted to protect them, to let them thrive and grow strong. So, he took them in and helped keep them hidden. He had given them work to do, too, not normal work, but things that only they could do. Dr. Borg told them how the world wanted everyone to be the same, and to hide what made them unique, but he said that they should be able to play to their strengths. Their trainers helped them learn how to fight, and to use their unique skills to an advantage. At this point, Kai had a repertoire of fighting skills he was eager to bring to fruition, but it seemed like the time never came to use them.

They did get to use their skills in other ways, though. Jay often went out in the streets in his dog form, his quick and cunning nature allowing him to be a natural pickpocket, with the ultimate disguise. Zane’s flight abilities allowed him to scope out Ninjago City, and keep Borg posted on the government’s actions. Nya’s agility skills let her slip around nearly undetected, which kept them out of a lot of fights. Kai’s hearing allowed him to eavesdrop for information, and Cole’s strength and digging skills could break through a lot of walls and barriers.

Except for the ones of their room.

For as much as he loved Borg- he was the closest thing to a father that any of them had- he couldn’t help but feel a bit like a prisoner, trapped up in here. He just wished Borg would trust them more.

Kai was eighteen now. He was old enough to keep himself and the younger ones out of trouble.

Which Borg is depending on me to do today, he reminded himself. The others had gotten the hang of how to behave outside of the tower by now, but Lloyd was still so young and often needed reminding. And it was no secret the little oni, dragon, and human tribrid was especially clingy with Kai. It was his job to keep him under control and on his best behavior.

I can do this. I will prove to Borg how trustworthy I am.

“Pancakes are ready!”

His thoughts were interrupted as Zane chirped at them from the kitchen. Lloyd’s warm, comfortable weight vanished from his arms as he leaped to the ground and scurried towards the kitchen island on all fours, climbing up the barstool to perch on top. He clicked and chirred brightly at Zane, his red eyes glinting hungrily, and the falcon hybrid bit back a grin at his expression.

“Use your words, Lloyd.”

Lloyd’s expression dimmed slightly, and Kai frowned. Lloyd’s reluctance to use human words was probably what worried him the most about integrating him into society. But Zane had been practicing with him ever since he could crawl, and if anyone could get him to speak, it was Zane.

“Can I have pancakes? Please?”

“Yes, Lloyd, you may.”

Zane slid two chocolate chip pancakes onto his plate. The sweet scent of the pastry drifted over to them, and Kai felt his mouth water. Jay, Cole, Kai, and Nya bounded over to the island as well as Zane served them the food. Jay jumped up and dashed towards the cupboard, grabbing out a container of rainbow-colored sprinkles.

Lloyd’s eyes practically glowed as he grappled for them. Jay laughed, and sprinkled a handful onto his pancakes. Lloyd chirred delightedly and hurriedly began to devour his breakfast.

“Jay, don’t give him more sugar. He’s going to be impossible when we go into the city.”

“You’re the one watching him, not me,” Jay chirped.

Kai put his head in his hands, sighing.

“It’s okay,” Zane assured him. “A little milk can go a long way to calm him down. Here Lloyd,” he pushed a sippy cup of milk towards him, “drink some of this.”

Lloyd worked on the milk as the rest of them ate, and, by the time they were all finished, he was looking a lot less feral. Zane was a lifesaver.

Nya glanced at the clock. “It’s almost time to go. We should start getting ready.”

They walked over to the closet where they kept all their gear. The large, loose sweaters allowed them a place to tuck in their tails, and, for Zane, his wings as well. As Kai helped his friend to adjust his coat to properly hide all the feathers, Nya pulled the sleeves of hers longer down her arms, hiding the light rosette spotting there. She had been able to pass it off as a tattoo before, but they really didn’t want to take any chances, especially not with Lloyd along this time.

Cole began to help Lloyd with his jacket, but the young boy swatted his hands away. “I can do it.”

“You sure, bud? It can be tricky-”

“I do it. I do the buttons.” His ears twitched as he ran his fingers over the smooth objects.

While Lloyd worked on the jacket, the rest of them shoved hats over their heads, Kai, with some difficulty, getting his over his mane, but when they turned back to Lloyd, now sporting his lopsided-buttoned jacket, there was evidently a large issue, and it wasn’t Lloyd’s button job.

“What are we going to do about his tail,” Jay asked. “The rest of us have the self control to hold ours under our coats for the time period, but he’s four, he’s not gonna be able to do that.”

“And it’s so long,” Nya pointed out. “I remember having a lot more trouble with my tail than any of you guys did, and Lloyd’s less than half my size!”

“Didn’t we used to tie it up when you were younger?” Kai asked.

“What?” “Here,” Kai pulled a scarf out of the closet. “C’mere, Lloyd.”

The child bounded over to him, and Kai picked up his tail in his hands, examining it. “Hmm. Flexible enough.” Folding it back on itself a few times, Kai used the scarf to tie it up firmly, and then pulled the coat down over it. “That should hold for quite a while.”

Lloyd bared his teeth at him, and Kai winced. “Sorry, I know it’s not the most comfortable thing, bud, but we got to do it, okay?”

Lloyd started to grab for his tail, but his small arms couldn’t reach it. Kai stopped him, nonetheless. “Hey, bud, don’t. I’m not kidding, okay?”

Lloyd huffed dramatically, before pacing towards the door.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Lloyd glanced back, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the small hat Kai was holding in his hands. He squwaked loudly, trying to scramble past him, but Kai swooped him up in his grip. Lloyd hissed and struggled, although his body was trembling with the familiar vibrations Kai recognized as playfulness. This was a game to him.

“Lloyd,” Kai growled through gritted teeth, tightening his grip on the squirming bundle, “Just put on the hat. It��s not the end of the world.”

“No!”

Well, that was one word he knew quite clearly.

Kai jammed the hat onto his head, but Lloyd quickly shook it off and jumped away, scrambling under the couch to hide, his red eyes glowing eerily in the darkness, his pupils narrowed into thin slits.

“Lloyd,” Kai said, letting an authoritative tone slip into his voice- which wasn’t something to be messed with, when you were part lion. “This is not an option. Either you wear the hat and behave, or we don’t go out at all.”

Lloyd’s eyes blinked, and after only a second, he was scurrying back out and reluctantly letting Kai pull the hat onto his head.

And not a moment too soon- Kai’s ears twitched as he caught the sound of movement behind the big, blocked door. His head whipped towards it, and the others quickly picked up on him, revving their gazes towards the door, too. After a few moments, they began to hear it, too. Jay cocked his head anxiously, Zane adjusted his coat, Cole pushed his glasses further up his nose, and Nya narrowed her eyes, grabbing Lloyd’s hand.

The door slowly swung open- Kai had to resist the urge to dash out- and revealed four of their caretakers- Liam, Noah, Rahn, and Kelsey. Kai let out his breath, slowly.

“Are you ready to leave, children?” One of them, Liam, asked. His gaze flitted between each of them, scanning them carefully. He stopped on Lloyd, his eyes narrowing, but if he had a problem, he didn’t voice it. “You look wonderfully human. A job well done, and not an easy one, I’m sure.”

“Yes, but appearances are only the beginning,” Kelsey pointed out. “You must make sure you are all on your best behavior, especially the muta- Lloyd. You all have learned a lot from your human behavior lessons, have you not?”

They nodded, and Kai added, “Is Dr. Borg not going to see us off today?”

“He’s a very busy person, Kai,” Rahn reminded him. “You children are lucky that he makes as much time for you as he does.”

Kai dipped his head, falling silent.

“Don’t worry, he’ll probably check in with you when you’re back,” Noah assured. “For now, we can escort you. Are you ready?”

Yelps and purrs responded him, and Noah shot them a sharp glance. Kai felt his ears droop shamefully as he responded, in sync with the others, “Yes, sir.”

“Then let’s go.” Noah beckoned for Cole to follow him, who was closely followed by Jay, then Zane. Kai and Nya went last, Lloyd bounding between them. His eyes were both bright and wary.

Rahn cleared his throat as they passed, and Nya bent down to Lloyd, whispering, “Two feet, bud.”

Lloyd grumbled, but obliged, taking his hands off the ground and standing up on just his feet instead. His steps were a little wobbly, so Nya and Kai each grabbed a hand. That made him look a little less grumpy about the situation, at least.

The caretakers led them down the floors of Borg Tower, and for the first time in weeks, Kai saw people, more than just doctors and scientists and caretakers, at least. Employers at Borg, but these ones weren’t the higher up, didn’t know their secret. Wary glances were shot at them, but it was probably just because they were wondering what a bunch of kids were doing in Borg Tower, not because they were secretly a bunch of weird monster mutants that had to hide everything about them because no one trusted them and people wanted to hurt them, and they just wanted to be normal kids-

The point was, it was nice to be looked at like a kid, for once.

And then, there were windows, and then-

They were outside.

The little skylight in their room couldn’t bring justice to this. Sunlight streamed around them, bright and cheery and welcoming, and the crisp autumn air tickled his cheeks. There were people everywhere, not Borg employees, but just regular people, talking and laughing with each other. No one was staring at him, conversing in hushed whispers, or telling him off for smiling too much and showing off his fangs. There weren’t any trainers scolding him, or doctors whisking him off to yet another appointment, and most of all, there weren’t any walls.

Kai felt like he wanted to cry. It wasn’t his first time out, Dr. Borg let them out every so often, but…

It had been way too long.

Although he knew that, however bad it was for him, it was worse for Lloyd. While they got to go out every month or so, Lloyd only rarely got cleared to come with them, and he had only been allowed to at all about a year ago. Dr. Borg said it was because he was too young, although Kai swore that he could remember him and the others going out more often when they had been Lloyd’s age, with adult supervision, of course.

Sure enough, Lloyd’s eyes were as wide as saucers as he gazed around, taking everything in in that quiet, attentive way of his.

“Excited, Lloydster?” Kai asked him. “Wanna go to the mall?”

Borg had given them a fairly sizable chunk of money- after all, being the owner of the city’s largest science organization didn’t exactly leave him with empty pockets- to spend as they pleased (as long as it wasn’t anything too outrageous, and their bags and pockets were to be searched before they reentered the tower,) so they went shopping at the mall. Lloyd obviously wasn’t so enthralled with Macy’s, Barnes & Noble, or Hot Topic, so the ninja took turns with Lloyd while the others went shopping. When Kai was with him, he spent a lot of time going up and down the escalator. Kai was worried the behavior might be unusual among humans and draw attention to them, and although they got a few odd looks, after a little while a little girl named Raina started running up and down the escalator with him. Kai had frantically apologized to her mother, but she just laughed, telling him “kids will be kids!” Kai had allowed himself to give her a tentative smile, and had been reluctant when he had to leave with Lloyd. The woman, Jessica, had given Kai her number if Lloyd ever wanted to get together.

Kai didn’t have the heart to tell her it could never happen.

After they finished shopping, the group stopped for lunch in the food court, then headed to the park and chatted while Lloyd ran around.

The afternoon was peaceful and cool, and it was all too soon when he got the call telling them it was time to go back.

“Hey Lloyd, time to go, bud.”

The look that flitted across Lloyd’s face made his heart break. “Can we… can we come back tomorrow?”

“I don’t think so, bud. I’m sorry.”

“Oh.”

“We can watch a movie when we get home, bubs. You wanna do that?” There was a shake in Nya’s voice as she spoke, and he knew she hated this as much as he did.

“Can we watch… the one with dinosaurs?”

“We can watch whatever you want, bubs.”

The walk back to Borg Tower was grim and quiet. The silence was only broken when Lloyd pointed at the fountain in the town square, as they were walking past.

“Look!” he called, leaning over the side to peer in. “There’s so many shiny things in there!”

“People throw their coins in fountains,” Zane told him.

“Why? I use my coins to buy a lollipop,” Lloyd giggled.

Kai crouched down next to him. “They say that if you throw a coin in the fountain, you can make a wish.”

Lloyd’s eyes were wide. “A wish? Like what?”

“I don’t know. Anything you want, I guess.”

Nya crouched down on the other side of him, slipping a penny from out of her purse. “You want to make a wish, bean?”

“Yeah.” Lloyd took the coin and closed his eyes. He was silent for a moment, before tossing it in. They watched it sink, down, down, down, until it hit the bottom.

On the way home, Jay spoke up. “What did you wish for, bud?”

Lloyd was quiet for a moment.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true.”

---

After their caretakers looked through their bags, they brought the group up to the room. The walk was a quiet one. The unasked question in all of their minds hung on the air- they wanted to ask if Lloyd could stay the night, just this once. The boy had been eerily quiet since the fountain, not even protesting when he had been searched, and Nya was holding him gently in her arms now. He wasn’t asleep, but his eyes stared off into the distance, his mind obviously elsewhere.

Dr. Borg himself met them at their door. “My children! How was your day out? Were you on your best behaviour?”

“You already know,” Nya muttered.

Borg frowned. “What was that, dear?”

“Nothing.”

Kai cocked his head at her, and she gave a tiny shake of her head, her glare telling him, not now.

He stared her right back, the message clear. We’ll talk later.

“It was good, Dr. Borg, but we were just wondering- would it be okay if Lloyd stayed the night with us? He’s pretty tired, and it would just be for one night-”

“Zane, I’m sorry, but Lloyd has a very important doctor’s appointment tonight-”

Out of the corner of his eye, Kai caught Lloyd stiffen, gripping tighter to Nya’s shoulder. A low growl sounded in her throat, and she brought her hands up protectively around him.

“Another doctor, Borg?” Kai snapped. “That’s the third one this week. Is there something wrong with him? Something you’re not telling us?”

“Of course not! Kai, calm yourself. What reason do I have to hide Lloyd’s medical records from you? Nothing is wrong, we just want to do some more testing. As you know, we give you all frequent checkups so that our doctors may learn more about you and your bodies. Lloyd is even more unique than any of you, so unfortunately, that just means more appointments.”

“He’s not a test subject,” Nya growled, “He’s family.”

“I never said he was! He is just as much family to me as he is to you!” Borg’s voice softened. “Nya, I know you are protective, but I am doing this for Lloyd. Knowing his body better will help us to help him better in the future, if he is to ever get sick or something.”

Nya wilted. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I know you mean well. Now, c’mon, Lloyd, it’s time to go.”

Lloyd wailed as Borg’s assistant tried to pull him away from Nya, and he clung to her as firmly as his fingers would allow, which, for someone of his genetics, was pretty tight. Eventually, Kai had to step in.

“Lloyd, please. Let go. We’re just trying to help you.”

Lloyd released Nya’s shoulder slowly, but his eyes were round and hurt as he gazed at Kai. He tried not to flinch. Lloyd didn’t understand that this was for his own good.

Kai didn’t really understand it, either.

The group filed into their room- the door locking with a sharp click behind them- and the others wandered off to do their own things. Jay flipped through the TV channels, not settling on anything for more than ten seconds, and Cole and Zane worked on a puzzle, although their progress was slow, and their heart didn’t seem to really be into it.

Kai, however, made no time for pointless hobbies, and headed over to Nya.

“We need to talk.”

“I agree. But not in here.” She pointed towards the bedroom door. “Let’s go somewhere more private.”

He followed her in, closing the door behind him, before heading to sit next to her on her bed. “What’s so important that the others can’t hear?”

“It’s not that they can’t hear it. It’s just… I don’t know if they’ll want to. I don’t know how everyone’s going to take it, and I think it’s best to not tell everyone all at once.”

“What?! Nya, you’re killing me, just tell me what’s going on!”

“Someone was following me.”

Kai froze. “What?”

“If I’m right, someone was following all of us.”

“You mean in the city today? Like, a stalker or someone?”

“More like a Borg employee.”

“...What?”

“They’re spying on us, Kai, don’t you see? Dr. Borg sent some of our caretakers out to monitor us today. It’s their own fault, really. If they hadn’t trained me to use my detection skills to their full potential, I never would’ve noticed them.”

“But why? What have we done to break Dr. Borg’s trust? We’ve done this before and never got caught, why would today be any different?

Nya narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t be dense, Kai. He’s been doing it since day one. We’ve just never noticed before.”

Kai was beginning to feel very uncomfortable with the turn this conversation was taking. “How do you know that? Do you have proof?”

“Proof!” Nya stood up suddenly, her eyes blazing so fiercely that Kai flinched back. “What about any given day over the last sixteen years of my life, or the eighteen of yours! We’re prisoners here, Kai. One day a month outside of the tower doesn’t change that, especially when we’re being monitored even then.”

“Nya, don’t get like this again. Dr. Borg saved our lives-”

“From what? He tells us that people want to kill us, but do we have any reason to believe that’s true? What if he’s lying? How do you know he’s not just using us?”

“Dr. Borg is the closest thing I have to family! I trust him. With people like that, you just know.”

Nya’s ears pinned back, her voice wavering. “What happened to this family? True family is always there for you. Jay, Cole, Zane, Lloyd… me… we’ve all done more for you than that old fool ever has.”

Kai flinched, immediately regretting his words. “Wait, Nya, I didn’t mean- of course you’re my family, I’m sorry-” he snatched for her wrist as she began to walk away, but she easily dodged. She turned to look at him, her eyes sad.

“I know you are. You don’t want to hurt anyone- you’re just doing what you think is right, and I get that. But come talk to me again when you’re ready to reconsider.”

---

The next day, Kai had fighting training with one of his trainers. She seemed to be working him especially hard, but he only worked harder, and when he stopped for a rest, it took a moment to calm the adrenaline rippling through his veins. He had always been much stronger than the average human, but… usually it wasn’t so hard to control.

Dr. Borg showed up later in the lesson to pull him aside. “Kai. Your trainer tells me you are doing well. This pleases me. You are growing stronger.”

“I’m trying my best, sir.”

“Good. I expect nothing less. You’re eighteen now, Kai. Officially into adulthood. Soon, you will enter into a noble line of work I have to offer you. Now is no time to hold back. In fact- and keep this between you and me, if you will- I think you have the greatest potential of all your peers. What beast is greater than the lion? They don’t call it the king of the jungle for no reason. Your strength will be unmatched.”

Kai felt like he was supposed to be pleased by that, but something about the words just felt wrong.

“Sir,” he interrupted, feeling the sudden need to ask something, “What… why do I need to learn to fight like this? Who will I be fighting?” “If all goes well, no one. But this is necessary to defend yourself. Like I have told you since you were a cub, the rest of the world wants to hunt you down. You deserve a way to fight for your life and honor- and for the… weaker members of your team, don’t you?”

Kai nodded. “Of course. I was just wondering… is that all it’s for? Self-defence? Nothing more?”

Borg narrowed his eyes, but nodded slowly. “You will only have to do what must be done.”

“…Alright. Thank you, sir.” “And Kai?”

“Yes?” “If Nya’s been putting ideas in your head again, don’t listen to her. I know she means well, but she’s going through that natural ‘teenage rebellion’ stage right now, and isn’t thinking straight. Just take my word for it, alright?”

“O-okay. Have a good evening, sir.”

“Train hard!”

As Kai trodded back to the room that evening, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Borg had said. His words had been so vague. And he had been so quick to accuse Nya! Did he mean what he said, or was Nya right?

Did Borg want to use him for something more?

He still didn’t know what to believe, but one thing he knew was that he didn’t like the way that his sister had immediately been blamed. She had always been the most reluctant to listen to Borg, the most upset about their situation, but he wasn’t going to let Borg do anything to her, if that’s where this was heading.

His thoughts were interrupted as the floor suddenly heaved beneath him, and Kai was knocked to his feet. He barely bit back a scream, his breath coming in shallow pants.

What was it? An earthquake? He had never felt an earthquake before. Oh gosh. Should he be doing something? Was he going to die?!

But as quickly as it happened, it was over, and Kai got to his feet, breathless. After he was sure the floor wasn’t going to collapse beneath him, he set off towards the room in a dead sprint.

“Guys,” he gasped, “Did you feel that?”

Jay glanced up from his phone. “Like, that weird tremor thing, you mean?”

“Tremor? It was way worse than a tremor, the ground, like, bounced beneath me!” He gave a demonstration of this with his hands, but the others just blinked at him, unimpressed. “What?”

Cole shrugged. “I dunno, maybe you were just closer to the source or something. It didn’t seem that bad to us.”

“Do earthquakes even have sources?”

“First of all,” Zane said, “they do, and second, Ninjago City doesn’t get earthquakes. The geographic location makes it literally impossible.”

“But you can’t tell me that was nothing.” His voice wavered, and he caught Nya frown.

“You serious about this, bro?”

“I dunno, it’s just…” he put his head in his hands. “I don’t know what happened. It frickin’ scared me.”

Nya rested a hand on his shoulder, at his side now. “Hey, everything’s okay now. You’re safe here.”

“I know.”

“Do you want me to call Borg? I’m sure he can tell us what’s going on.”

“Thanks.”

Nya dialed, and they waited for Borg to answer. He didn’t pick up until the last ring, which was unusual for him. When his voice did come through, it was harried and distracted.

“What is it, Nya?”

“Dr. Borg, Kai was just coming back from training and he felt this weird… earthquake-type-tremor thing. We were just worried. Is everything alright?”

“Oh? Ah, yes, don’t worry, you’re perfectly safe-'' there was some muffled yelling in the background, and the phone went quiet for a minute. “There’s nothing to worry about, we’ve got it under control-”

“But what was it?”

“We’re… uh, still investigating. Maybe some sort of malfunction in the machinery, or radiation leak or something.”

“Radiation?”

“I assure you dear, it’s fine, we’ve got a whole crew on top of it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m kind of in the middle of something-”

“What about Lloyd?” Kai asked, leaning over to speak into the phone. “Is he okay?”

“Lloyd… Lloyd’s fine.”

“Can we see him?”

“No,” Borg said quickly. “...he’s seeing people right now. Will be for a while, probably, so don’t even ask.”

By this time, the others had joined them at the phone too, and they all looked at each other at that. “Seeing people?” Nya asked. “What kind of people?”

“Just… double-checking his safety. For… the radiation.”

“Was he close to it?” Nya gasped. “I thought you said he was safe!”

“He is! It’s just a precaution-”

“Then when can we see him?”

“Nya, I told you, not now!” Another muffled shout interrupted him. “I have a lot bigger fish to fry right now, this conversation will have to continue later.” And, with that, he abruptly hung up.

“What was that,” Nya spat.

“If that was your attempt to make me feel better, it failed miserably.”

“I didn’t know he was going to be like that, did I? Ugh, Borg always is so vague, but this- this is a whole new level!”

“We need to find out more,” Zane said. “Borg isn’t giving us clear answers. We need another way to find out information.”

“Luckily for us,” Cole added, “It seems that in all the commotion, they never sent a caretaker down to lock the door after Kai returned.”

The others froze, staring at each other. Slowly, they turned their gazes to the door.

Cole was right. It was still open.

Kai immediately felt his heart begin to race. He didn’t know how to react. This had never happened before.

Zane was the first to snap out of the shock and into action. “Borg is a careful man. It won’t be long before he realizes we have free reign of the place. If we’re going to do something, we need to act quickly.”

“I say we escape,” Nya hissed. “This might never happen again. Kai’s the only one who knows this, but I saw Borg employees following us yesterday. He’s always watching. This could be our only chance to get out of here!”

There were a few uneasy looks at that. “Nya,” Zane warned, “Borg may be secretive, but he’s not a bad person. He’s protecting us.”

“Yeah, and what about the police?” Jay whimpered, his tail between his legs. “Borg told us they would kill us just for being different.”

Nya’s tail lashed. “You all are hopeless! The old fool’s got you all wrapped around his little finger! Can’t you see we’re prisoners here? I’d rather take my chances with the police.”

“Nya,” Cole said firmly, squeezing Jay’s hand, “You’re making Jay nervous.”

“I’m sorry, Jay, but it’s the truth. You’re seventeen now, it’s about time you start hearing it.”

Jay’s ears quivered. “It’s okay, Cole, she’s right.”

Cole grunted. “If we’re doing this, I won’t let no police lay a finger on you.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“I dunno. I’ve never really felt comfortable with Borg. But we’re also safe here. I want to protect you guys. I don’t know if freedom is worth the risk.”

“Well, we don’t have time to think about it. Zane’s right- if we have to act, we act now. I’m going- come or don’t.”

“Nya, come back,” Cole growled. “We’re a family. Whatever we do, we do together. I don’t want us splitting up.”

“Then do the right thing and come with me.”

The tension crackled between the two for a moment, until Cole ducked his head. “Nya-”

“Kai, you’ll come with me, won’t you?”

Four pairs of eyes turned towards him. Kai’s tail twitched, and he tried desperately to still it.

“I… I don’t know what I want to do, Nya. But I’m not leaving without Lloyd.”

Guilt flashed in her eyes. “I… I didn’t mean… of course I would never leave without him, I just didn’t even think… we can go get him, right?”

“Do you know where he is?”

Nya’s tail drooped. “Then what do we do?”

“Zane’s right- what we need is more information. Running away isn’t the answer.”

“Kai- can you just think about it-”

“I’ve been thinking about it,” he roared. “I’ve spent eighteen long years locked away in this room- don’t you think I want to leave, too? But this is about more than just me- this is about us. I have a family to protect, Nya, and this is the best way to keep them safe.”

Nya cringed back from him- something any sane person would do when a lion- or a half lion- was yelling in your face. He didn’t like to use it on his family often, but when he did, it was the quickest way to silence a room. Everyone knew you didn’t mess with a lion’s roar.

“So what are you going to do instead?” Jay asked quietly, after a moment.

“I’m going to go find Borg and listen in on what he’s doing.” Turning to his sister, he added, “Nya? Will you come with me? Your stealth will be useful.”

“You still want me?”

“Don’t be like that, Nya- I’m just doing what’s best for us. You get that, don’t you?”

“I guess.”

“So you’re not coming?”

“No, I’ll come. I’m just still upset with you, that’s all.”

Kai sighed as she whisked out the door past him. “You guys keep a lookout, alright? I’ll have my phone on silent so we don’t get caught, but I’ll be able to feel it vibrate, so shoot me a text if something happens, alright?”

“Good luck,” Zane nodded.

“Hurry back!” Jay called as Kai slipped into the hallway.

He bounded a little ways to catch up with Nya. They walked in silence for a little while until they made it back to Kai’s training room, where he had felt the tremor.

“Smell anything?” Nya asked.

“Jay’s the best tracker, but I think I can pick up Borg’s scent coming from that way.” He pointed a finger down the right hallway.

“Think?” “I don’t know. There’s a lot of foot traffic coming from that way as well.”

“Surely that’s a good sign. If there was some sort of catastrophe, a lot of people would have gone to help.”

“Yeah, but it’s strange. It mostly smells like caretakers and trainers. I would’ve thought Borg would’ve wanted more mechanics and doctors if there was a malfunction.”

“Unless he was trying to keep this a secret.”

Kai shot her a look, and she ducked his gaze. “Sorry.”

Kai shook his head, turning back towards the trail, letting Nya slink down the hallways ahead of him, checking that the coast was clear before he followed. He pointed her in the directions that the scent led, until, at last, it led to a door.

“Borg’s office?” Nya questioned. “His scent will be here all the time. Are you sure that he’s here now, or is it just leftover residue?”

Kai opened his mouth to respond, but froze when he caught the sound of footsteps. “Hide!” he hissed to Nya, and the two of them dove into an empty lab room and pulled the door shut, just as two pairs of footsteps rounded the corner. They came to a halt outside the office door, and Kai held his breath.

“What do you mean you can’t control him, that’s your job!” Borg’s voice, sharp and angry. The rooms in this part of the building were soundproofed, but Kai’s hearing could still detect their voices when he pushed his ear to the door. Nya hovered beside him anxiously, watching his face for signs.

“Sir, we’re doing everything we can, but we’ve never worked with a specimen like this before.”

“Borg,” he whispered to Nya, “and a researcher.”

“Tell me you at least have him contained?”

“He’s chained and isolated right now, sir. And under guard.”

“Did you tell him that we’d punish the others if he stepped out of line?”

“Yes, sir. He’s young, and seems to have some literacy issues, so we’re not sure if he got the entire message, but we believe we got the basic point across.”

“Good,” Borg sighed. “Hopefully that will be enough to stop him from trying anything like this again.”

“Sir, surely you’re not just going to let him stay. People could’ve died today!”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Borg snapped. “Seven of my best researchers have been hospitalized, and now the damn police are on our back and I could get sued. I could lose millions, you know that? And to make things worse, the kids called me and are trying to see him. They suspect something’s wrong.”

Kai’s blood was roaring in his ears. Was he hearing this right?

Nya put a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong? What did they say?”

He shook his head, gesturing at her to be quiet. “They think Lloyd was the one responsible for the accident. People were hurt. Borg might get sued.”

“Would it really be such a bad thing to let him see them, sir? He obviously is very on edge about the testing and sampling. Seeing the others might put him at ease.”

“They’re already suspicious, and I can’t help but feel I’m losing my grip on them. They’re teenagers, I knew they’d rebel at some point, but… I don’t want to risk him telling them anything. Now that he has power over us, I’m not sure what good the threats will do.”

“Then what are we going to do?”

Borg sighed, slow and tired. “I had hoped it would never come to this, but… I think we bit off more than we could chew with this one. And he’s only four, it will only get worse as he ages. I don’t think we will ever be able to put a handle on him. I had hope, after such great success with the others, but… it just didn’t work out. Breeding oni and dragon and trying to contain it was always going to be a bad idea.”

“Are you sure, sir? There’s no going back if you decide to go through with it.”

“I’ve thought about it for a while now, and today’s accident has only solidified my suspicions. We will still be fine. The others have amazing amounts of strength, speed, stealth, and heightened senses. We can be well-equipped without him.”

“Alright. We will begin making preparations first thing, sir.”

“Make sure you keep the body so we can continue to study it. I want him euthanized first thing in the morning. The longer we wait, the more of a window we give him to act up again.”

No. No, no, no, no, no. Kai squeezed his eyes shut, slumping against the door as the door to Borg’s office was clicked shut. This couldn’t be happening, it was just some sort of sick dream, Borg would never do this-

“Kai, Kai please, answer me!”

He opened his eyes to see Nya shaking him gently.

“You were right,” he croaked, “we have to go.”

“Kai, what’s wrong, what did you hear, you’re scaring me.”

Kai stumbled to his feet, and Nya grabbed his arm as he trembled. There was no time to sit around and mope. Lloyd’s life was on the line.

“Nya, we have to go-” he reached for the doorknob and began to twist it.

“Wait, are you sure they’re gone, we can’t get caught-”

“I’m sure, we have to hurry-”

Nya skidded in front of him. “Kai, tell me what’s going on. I need to know what happend. I can help!”

“There’s no time, Nya,” he gasped, half in tears by this point. “I’ll tell you later. I’m going after Lloyd. You go and get the others. Meet me near that little diner at the edge of the city. The one we went to for your birthday last year, you know the one? We’re leaving. Now.”

“Wait, you mean you changed your mind?”

“No. I told you that I was going to do whatever it took to keep you guys safe. Before, that meant staying here. Now, it means leaving. It is the circumstance that has changed, not me.”

Nya gazed at him, tears glazing her eyes. “I wish you would tell me more.”

“I still need time to process. I’m sorry.”

“I get it. Just stay safe, okay?” She kissed him softly on the cheek, and then, she was gone.

Kai didn’t waste any time, and set right off on the researcher’s trail. Eventually, it led him to a small, closed off wing, where she had then taken a right, but Kai was more interested in the room on the left.

Two guards, armed with guns, stood attentive at it. Kai shifted into a lion, and, trying to remember stalking lessons from Nya, crept along the hallway. If they spotted him before he was within pouncing distance, he was done for. They wouldn’t hesitate with the guns, he was sure.

Luckily, Nya was an amazing teacher, and as one guard fell to the ground with a smack, the other one turned sharply, raising his gun, but Kai was already pouncing, knocking him out.

Shifting back into himself, he grabbed the keys from the guard’s pocket, and unlocked the door.

Inside, the lights were dim. Kai wished he had Nya’s night vision right about now.

When his eyes finally adjusted, Kai choked back a gasp. Lloyd was lying on the floor, chains bolted around his wrists, ankles, and tail. Metal clamps pulled back his wings, and a muzzle had been tied over his mouth.

“Oh my gosh, Lloyd-” Kai dropped to his side, trying not to look at the boy’s face. Blinking back tears- emotion was something they didn’t have time for right now- Kai ripped through the chains and pulled off the muzzle and clamps. Lloyd whimpered, looking up at him with watery red eyes, and reached for him, cooing softly. Kai scooped the boy into his arms, accidentally pulling back his shirt as he did so, and revealing a long, raw, red scar along his side. Kai quickly pulled the shirt back down, looking away, and planted a kiss on his forehead. Bolting to his feet, he took off down the hall, towards the back door.

After only a minute of running, an alarm began to flash, and Kai swore under his breath, praying that the others were already out.

After what felt like far too long, he spotted the door. As he sprinted for it, he heard someone yell out behind him, but it was too late. He was already out the door.

He didn’t stop though. He wasn’t stupid enough to think they would give up chase so easily. Heading down some of the back alleys, he ran in a crisscross of crazy patterns, taking a way which was five times longer and more complicated than necessary, but he wasn’t risking the chance of being caught, or worse, leading the Borg employees back to Nya and the others.

When he began to feel a little safer, he stopped for a rest behind a dumpster. Setting Lloyd down, he checked his phone and saw he had twenty-seven missed calls from Borg.

Shoot, he can probably track this. Cursing under his breath, he tossed the phone in the dumpster. He didn’t like being phoneless, but it was a thousand times better than the alternative.

Lloyd’s stomach growled loudly, and Kai glanced down at him. The boy looked smaller than ever, his red eyes wide and scared. Kai crouched down, pulling his trembling form close, and the two just sat there for a moment, silent. Kai breathed in Lloyd’s comforting scent.

I almost lost this. Forever.

Kai wiped at his eyes. But he hadn’t. And they weren’t safe yet. They had to keep moving, and get as far away from that phone as possible.

But first, he had to find the poor kid something to eat. He looked half-dead on his feet, and Kai felt a surge of anger as he realized that Borg probably hadn’t been feeding him well.

Jumping into the dumpster, Kai scrounged around until he was able to find half of a cheeseburger and a stale bag of pretzels. Not the most sanitary, but it would have to do.

“Here, bud, you want these?” He handed the food to Lloyd, and either the boy was really, really hungry, or his animal instincts were just kicking in, because he scarfed down the food without any reservation about the fact that Kai had literally dumpster dove for it.

As Lloyd finished the food, licking the wrapper, he spoke for the first time since Kai had found him chained up that evening.

“Am I in trouble?” His voice wavered, tears pricking his eyes. “Did I do a bad thing?”

“Honey, no, it’s not your fault,” Kai whispered, pulling him close. “You didn’t mean to do it. Your powers are too strong for your own good. But you’ll learn to control them eventually, I promise.”

“People are hurt,” he whispered. “I’m the reason we had to go.”

“You just opened my eyes to what Borg was doing to you. To his true intentions. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Lloyd looked at him. “He told me he would kill you.”

Kai bit his lip, and Lloyd broke down crying in his lap. Kai curled his arms protectively around him.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I let you go through that all these years and didn’t notice something was wrong.”

Lloyd buried his face in Kai’s shirt. “I just want to be normal.”

---

Lloyd fell asleep soon after that, and Kai carried him towards the meeting place. The walk was long, about two hours, but with every moment that passed, Kai was more and more grateful that he had picked somewhere far away. He was exhausted, and if Borg’s associates found him now, he was in no position to fight back.

It felt like heaven when he finally spotted the little diner in the distance, with its gleaming lights offering a cheery glow to the foreboding dusk. Reluctantly shaking Lloyd awake, he took off his hat and coat and helped Lloyd put them on to carefully mask his monster features. Since Kai hadn’t had time to grab extra, he fluffed up his hair extra (something he hadn’t ever thought he’d do, it was fluffy enough as-is) to cover his ears, and tucked his tail into his pants.

The little bell on the diner door rang cheerily as they pushed their way in. At this time of night, the diner was empty, as expected- but there was one booth in the corner where four people were sitting, eating what looked to be pancakes and bacon. They looked up sharply as the bell rung, and Nya stood up abruptly, meeting his eye.

“Kai,” she cried, running over to him as tears sprung in her eyes. “Oh my goodness, oh my spots, oh my goodness.” She threw her arms around his neck, crying into his shoulder as he squeezed her just as tightly back. “You’re alive, thank the stars you’re alive, I thought I had lost you for good.”

“I’m just as relieved to see you guys,” Kai breathed, walking over to the booth. Although it was only intended to seat four, his friends squished over to make room for him, and he scooped Lloyd onto his lap.

“Kai, what took you so long, you had me worried out of my mind,” Nya muttered, stopping to take a breath and sip from her coffee. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“Sorry, we got a little held up. We got caught escaping, and were followed. I spent a good hour, at least, trying to throw them. I wasn’t going to risk leading them anywhere.”

“You could’ve at least texted me, letting me know you were alright. Why didn’t you answer any of my calls?”

“I ditched my phone. Speaking of which, you guys probably should too. I wouldn’t be surprised if Borg had a way to track these things.”

“Get rid of our phones?” Jay whimpered. “How are we going to communicate if there’s an emergency?”

“Would you rather us get caught?” Kai snapped. “We can just buy some of those burner phones from the store.”

“Kai, I think you owe us an explanation,” Cole growled. “We’re tired, hungry, scared, and don’t know why we’re here. Nya told us you overheard Borg saying something, but wouldn’t tell her what he said, and just said to run. Are you going to give us any more than that?”

“I’m sorry, but I was just so scared, and there was no time…” He took a shaky breath, drawing an arm around Lloyd and pulling him closer. In a whisper, he admitted, “Borg was going to kill Lloyd.”

The table lapsed into a stunned silence. Even Nya, who had always been heavily critical and suspicious of Borg, looked shocked and horrified.

“When?” Zane asked faintly.

“Tomorrow morning.”

Cole paled about ten shades, Jay looked like he was going to faint, and Zane just stared as if he didn’t believe what he was hearing.

“One more day,” Nya whispered. “One more day and we would’ve lost him.”

“Don’t remind me,” Kai told her, his breath hitching as he tried to focus on the weight on his lap- warm, gentle, and alive. He was here. He had saved him.

“I don’t understand,” Jay whined. “Why would he do such a thing? I mean, I know we all had our suspicions, but… kill him? Really? What changed?”

“Remember all those ‘doctor’s visits?’ Apparently they’re some sort of testing, or sampling, or something. Show them the scar, Lloyd.”

The boy looked up at him hesitantly, before slowly pulling up his jacket and shirt to reveal the long scar Kai had seen earlier. Four sharp intakes of breath sounded as it came into view.

“Oh, Lloyd, honey,” Nya whispered.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what they were doing at our doctor’s appointments, too, but for some reason they are really obsessed with Lloyd. Something about his lineage, I guess… but it was too much for him. He…”

Kai glanced at Lloyd, who was nibbling at the bacon Cole had slipped him. He didn’t seem too invested in the conversation, but he still kept his voice low.

“That tremor we felt? Apparently, Lloyd caused it. People were injured, and… the police came to investigate… Borg was furious. He decided Lloyd had caused more trouble than he was worth. Lloyd was chained and muzzled when I found him, and I… I couldn’t… I wouldn’t deny it any longer. Borg doesn’t care about us. He never has. He’s just using us.”

Silence gripped the table as his friends stared at him. Jay wiped at his eyes, which were bright and wet.

“What do we do now, Kai?” Nya asked, her voice barely audible.

“What do we do? We survive. You got some money, I hope?”

“We’ve been stashing it. Any time Borg gave us money on an outing that we didn’t use, we kept it. We brought everything we could find. And a few valuable items as well. We can sell them if we need to. Hopefully this will last us a while, if we stick to the necessities.”

“Good. Because we’re going to need every penny we can get. I have no idea how long we’ll have to be out here.”

“As long as Borg is hunting us, nowhere is safe,” Cole warned. “He’s got amasses of people at his disposal. I don’t know where we’re going to go that he can’t reach.”

“I know a place.”

---

“Are w-we al-almost there, K-k-kai,” Nya hissed, her teeth chattering. “I’m freezing.”

“We’re here.”

Jay stopped beside him. “An old warehouse?” “Hey, I remember this place,” Cole said, stepping up beside him. Lloyd was fast asleep in his arms- he had been out cold before they had even left the diner, and when Kai had tried to carry him, Cole had told him off, saying he had already done more than his fair share for the night, and that he ought to give someone else a turn before he keeled over from exhaustion. Kai was grateful for the gesture, although they still had needed to walk another hour to get to his destination.

“When we were younger, Cole and I used to take a bus down here sometimes on our days out to play around in this abandoned warehouse.” Jay raised his eyebrow, and Cole laughed. “When you’re a twelve year old boy, those kinds of things sound a lot cooler than they actually are. Still, I’m grateful you thought of it now. Who would’ve thought, when everyone else failed us, it’s the old warehouse that held through.”

“It’s nothing special,” Kai said as they tramped inside, “but it’s sheltered, it’s sturdy, and, most important of all, it’s unsuspecting. I doubt Borg would ever think to look here.”

“It’s perfect, Kai,” Nya sniffed, “Thank you.”

“I don’t know why you’re thanking me,” Kai sighed, lowering himself onto the ground and wincing at the ache in his back. “I was the one who kept trying to convince you that the child-murdering psychopath actually cared about us.”

“It’s not your fault, Kai. Borg tricked all of us. If it weren’t for your jump into action, we’d have lost our baby brother.”

“I just can’t stop thinking,” he whimpered, squeezing Nya’s hand tighter, and watching Lloyd from where Cole cradled him across the room, stroking him gently, “what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten there in time, or if I had decided to stay back in our room.”

“You can’t spend time dwelling on the past, Kai. You didn’t do those things, and everything worked out- well, as best as we could ask for, at least. You have to have more faith in yourself. We’re scared and confused, and we’re looking to you. I know that’s not fair, that you’re struggling just as much as any of us, but it’s the way things are. We need someone strong, like you, to keep us going.”

“I want to protect you guys, and keep you safe, more than anything else in the world. But I’m lost. I don’t know what to do, and I can’t do this alone.”

“Oh, Kai. No one would ever ask you to do anything alone. Whatever happens next, we’re all right here.”

#ninjago #NinjagoInhumanAuWeek #For the Romping and the Roaring #R&R #Part 1 #rosie writes #ugghhh guys i pounded this out in like four days and i am exhausted #i should've started writing for the event earlier #the amount of writing ive done in the last two weeks is insane #i'm lowkey gonna have burnout after this lol #my fic

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ohpedromypedro · 4 years

Text

To The Future

A/N: This is my first Dave York fic, so I hope you all enjoy it! It does switch between present and past tenses at parts. Mainly I write in present tense, but some of the fic is needed to be in past. Thoughts are in bold italics.

word count: 7.3k+ (oops?)

characters/pairing: Dave York x f!Reader, small appearance by Resnik, minor oc characters created for this fic.

warnings: angst, stalking, hiring/plotting for a murder, the actual murder, swearing, mentions of jealousy, adultery, mentions of failed marriage, mentions of divorce, possessive!Dave, rough smut, blow job (m receiving), unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), Daddy kink, etc.

Hiring a mercenary to get rid of someone for good was never something you thought you’d put at the top of your to do list, but with the man who’s been stalking you for several months now only getting worse, you decide enough is enough.

At first it started off with random bouquets of flowers showing up on your desk at work, noted that it was from a secret admirer. You were flattered at first, thinking it was harmless, but then things started to show up outside your apartment door, and immediately you knew something wasn’t right. Your building was a secure building and somehow this person was getting inside just to leave you gifts which you just threw in the trash anyway. No one except for your family knows where you live, so you knew someone had to be following you. And how right you were.

Occasionally you’ll go on evening jogs to sweat out the day’s stress, take a few laps around the block where your apartment is located before heading back home to shower and wash it all away. This particular night you decided to take a jog, you weren’t alone. You decided this time to take a jog through the park, switch your routine up a bit, but what you didn’t know was that your stalker was in that very park and when he spotted you, he started to follow you. Closely.

You were unaware at first, completely oblivious to the fact that someone was following behind you. It really didn’t help that you were wearing headphones with music almost at high volume either, so it was partly your fault for not being on high alert, especially knowing you had someone stalking you. After a few minutes of jogging through the park you really started to feel the unease creeping up on you, the hairs at the back of your neck starting to raise. That’s when you stopped and quickly spun around, your eyes searching the area but seeing nobody. You sighed and gave your head a small shake, silently scolding yourself for getting so easily worked up. You decided to turn your music off and just jog in silence for the rest of the way.

When you reached one of the exits of the park, you smiled when you saw an older woman with a doggy stroller standing there idly. She had a look on her face you couldn’t quite read, but when she spoke to you, you realized why she had that exact look on her face.

“I’m...sorry to bother you, but I’ve been walking along the outer edges of the park for a while and...there’s been a man following you pretty much since you started your jog.”

Your face fell and once again you found yourself turning around and looking, your heart rapidly beating in your chest while your eyes scanned the area. You still didn’t see anyone, but you trusted wholeheartedly that this woman was telling you the truth.

“Thank you. I...I had suspicions that I might have a stalker. Guess I was right.” You sighed and shook your head, looking at her with hopeful eyes. “Could… Could you maybe walk me home? It’s just around the corner, but--”

“I would be glad to.” She nodded and motioned for you to the lead the way, which you did. “You should call the authorities once you get home. I’ll be happy to stay and tell them what I saw since I am witness to the young man who was following you.”

“Yeah? That would be very kind of you. Perhaps it’ll be good to report it so it’s on record in case anything else happens.”

The woman nodded and smiled, walking along the semi quiet sidewalk while you led the way toward your apartment. You exchanged names during your walk home and even shared a little bit about yourselves. Turns out Marjorie, the kind woman escorting you home, was widowed and retired from the air force. When you finally reached your apartment, you helped her to carry the dog stroller up the small steps to the front entrance of the building. When you got inside and to your apartment door, you opened it and walked inside, stepping aside to allow her entrance into your cozy abode.

“Make yourself at home. Would you like some tea or coffee?” You smiled, closing the door and locking it before walking into the small kitchen.

“Some chamomile tea would be lovely, darling. Thank you.” She took her small dog out of its stroller and moved to sit down on the love seat in the living room.

“Chamomile tea it is,” you hummed, grabbing a cup and saucer and the box of teabags from the cabinet before setting them on the counter while you got your Keurig machine turned on.

Once the Keurig was ready to brew a nice cup of hot water for the tea, you put the tea bag in the cup and placed it on the small stand, pressing the smallest button and letting the machine brew. While you let the water fill the cup, you decided to use that time to dial the police station on your cell, moving to secretly peek through your kitchen curtains while it rang.

“911, what’s your emergency?” The calm voice of a woman answered.

“Uh hi, I’m just calling to report a stalking,” you chewed your lip, moving away from the window and leaning against the counter.

“You’re the one being stalked?” She asked calmly, already pulling a report up on her computer screen to type out everything you say.

“Yes ma’am. At first it was just little things. Bouquet of flowers being delivered to my office at work almost every day, but then whoever it is started leaving things outside my apartment door and only my family knows which exact apartment I live in, so I’m a little worried.” You sighed, running your fingers through your hair. “And just a few minutes ago while I was out on my nightly jog, I was told by a nice older woman just outside the park that she saw someone following behind me while I took my jog through. She ended up walking me home because I was nervous to walk alone and she offered to wait inside with me while I called you.”

“Okay sweetheart and would you like an officer or two sent out to get some more info regarding the man stalking you?”

“Yes please. I think she did get a good look at him, at least enough to give some sort of description.”

“Okay. I’ll have a car dispatched to your location soon.

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

“So what exactly can you tell me about the man you saw, ma’am?” The officer that showed up just a few minutes after you hung up with the operator asked Marjorie who was sitting on your couch sipping her tea.

“Well, he had to be at least mid 30’s, looked like he could be one of those boys who still live in their mother’s basement. Tall, Caucasian, shoulder length blond hair, large square glasses, dressed in a long black trench coat.” She speculated, nodding as she tried to remember every detail of the man that she could. “He definitely looked like your typical creep. Skinny little thing.”

The officer only nodded, scribbling in his notepad as she listed off the details. He finally looked toward you after finishing jotting things down and shoving his notepad in his pocket.

“And for you, Miss Y/N, what would you like if we do find this stalker of yours?”

“I want a restraining order against the creep, that’s what. As a female living all by herself with no one or nothing to protect her, a restraining order is at least the better first option.”

“You got it. I’m gonna send my fellow officer waiting outside to search the premises as well as the park for the described person of interest. In the meantime, I’ll be outside searching the database for men with that description.”

“Thank you, officer.” You smiled, watching as he nodded his head and gave a small tip of his hat before leaving your apartment.

You sat down on the couch with a sigh, smile tugging at your lips when Marjorie’s dog came padding over to you with a wag of her tail, looking up at you with a smile of her own. You brought your hand down to give her a few pats and scratches behind the ear.

“Daisy likes you,” Marjorie smiled, setting her empty cup and saucer down on the coffee table. “Have you considered getting a dog of your own? Perhaps a nice Pitbull or bulldog.”

“Actually,” you laughed softly at that, giving your head a nod. “That’s not a bad idea after all. I’ll have to consider it.”

“You’ll thank me later,” she winked, moving to stand up from the love seat and grabbing the cup and saucer from the table. “I won’t impose for much longer, sweetheart. I think you deserve some rest after all this.”

“Thank you,” you gave her an appreciative smile, standing and following her into the kitchen. “I’m glad you made this process a lot easier for me. I would have had no idea where to even begin with a description of my stalker.” You shook your head and smiled at Marjorie when she walked back over to you after setting the cup and saucer in the sink.

“Of course. Anything to get another creep off the streets.” She mused as she scooped Daisy up from the floor and set her back in her stroller.

“Well, I’m grateful. You live close by?”

“About a five minute walk, sweetheart. I’ll be just fine, if you’re worried.”

“A little bit. I guess my nerves are just a little heightened.” You shrugged, smiling when she put a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

“We’ll be just fine.”

You could only nod, quickly saying your goodbyes to Marjorie and Daisy before letting them out of your apartment. You closed the door once they were down the hall and immediately locked it, leaning against it with an exasperated sigh. You hoped the police could find your stalker and arrest him for being a creep and that a restraining order could be put in place to keep him as far from you as possible. You didn’t think you could put up with this any longer.

Days went by and you still heard nothing, absolutely nothing from the police department regarding your stalker. Not a single follow up call, visit or any info at all for that matter about whether they found out who the guy was. Of course now the situation was only getting worse. There were nights where you swore you could hear someone trying to pick the lock to your apartment door, but since you’re smart, you locked the doorknob, deadbolt, and chain lock. And fortunately for you, it prevented whoever it was from getting in. You weren't entirely safe, though. Not only did this man know where you worked and lived, but he was somehow getting into a secure building. There wasn't a place you could go to hide yourself from him. If anything he’d just find you wherever you went and that’s what scared you most. You didn’t know what this man’s intentions were, for all you knew, they were far from harmless. No stalkers intentions are harmless in the end.

That’s what brings you to your current situation, calling your cousin Resnik who you know is a mercenary now since he was let go from his previous job with the DIA. He told you to call him for emergencies only and you figure having a stalker trying to break into your apartment multiple nights in a row is good enough a reason to call him.

“Y/N? What’s going on?” Your cousin’s voice is monotonous on the other end of the line and you sigh.

“I need a favor.”

“A mercenary one?” He asks.

“Yes.”

“I’m booked.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Res?” You sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. “You told me to call you for emergencies and this is one.”

“Again, I have tons of jobs booked.”

“I’m family.”

“I’m aware of that,” he states. “But I really can’t. Not right now, at least.”

“Resnik, I have a fucking creep stalking me. He’s only been getting worse and I don’t know how much longer until he successfully breaks into my damn apartment.” You’re spitting your words at this point, anger boiling over the fact that your own cousin is blowing you off.

“How long has this been going on? The stalking”

“Months.”

“Has the guy actually made contact with you?”

“Clearly he’s trying to since he’s been trying to break into my apartment.”

“Do you feel safe at all?”

“No!” You snap.

“Calm down,” he grumbles. “I’ll send my buddy Dave to deal with this guy for you, okay? Just explain to him everything that’s happened and he’ll figure something out for you.”

“Alright,” you sigh, slumping onto your couch. “I trust whoever you send me.”

“Good. I’ll have him be there within the next day or so, can you handle that?”

“Yeah, yeah. I can handle another day of this fuckwad. Thanks Res.”

You hang up before he even gets the chance to respond, tossing your cell phone onto the coffee table in front of you. You rub your hands down your face and groan to yourself, hoping this Dave guy can actually rid this stalker of yours. For good.

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

You’re in the kitchen making yourself a rum and Coke when the buzzer to your apartment goes off. Biting your lip, you shuffle over to the intercom on the wall and press the talk button.

“Yes?”

“Y/N? My name’s Dave York. Resnik sent me.”

“Thank God.” You groan, pushing the button to buzz him into the building and anxiously waiting for him to get to your apartment door.

When the knock finally sounds on the door, you bite your lip and undo the locks, hesitantly pulling it open. Your eyes are met with a middle aged man, probably early to mid forties if you had to guess, and he’s for sure a sight for sore eyes. Dark hair that you wish you could just run your fingers through, deep brown eyes to match which you know he’s been through and seen some shit in his days. When his gaze finally lands on you when your door opens, he straightens his shoulders, taking in every inch of your form as he stands just outside the threshold of your door. He thought his wife was beautiful, but you? You are absolutely stunning and just standing here in front of you is stirring up some adulterous thoughts in his mind.

“Didn’t realize anyone related to Resnik could be so breathtaking.” Dave chuckles softly, smirking at the way your cheeks go red. “You sure you’re related to him?”

“Unfortunately,” you bite your lip and sigh dramatically, stepping aside and motioning for him to come inside. “Please, come in. We’ve got a lot to discuss.”

“Quite right,” he smiles, his eyes doing one more sweep over you before he steps inside.

You’re flushed by the time you close the door and relock all the locks, giving your lip a hard bite from the way his eyes raked over you just moments prior before internally shaking your head and turning around to face him.

“Would you like something to drink, Dave? I was just making myself something when you arrived.” You muse, making your way into the kitchen where you finish pouring your drink.

“I’ll have whatever you’re having,” he hums, letting his eyes linger on you longer than he would anyone else he talks to.

“Bacardi and Coke it is then,” you smile, grabbing another glass and making a drink for Dave.

“A Bacardi girl, huh? At least you’ve got taste.”

“I suppose so,” you smirk, walking over to where he’s standing and handing him the glass. “Enjoy.”

“Thank you,” he winks, taking a quick sip of his drink and letting out a satisfied hum. “Mmmm delicious. Now,” he says softly, placing his free hand at the small of your neck. “Let’s sit so you can tell me all about this stalker of yours, yeah?”

“Of course,” you smile, grabbing your rum and Coke before leading him to the living room to sit on the long couch.

When you sit, Dave sits right beside you, setting his drink on the table just as you do before facing you and giving you his full attention.

“Does your stalker have a name?” He asks, watching while you shake your head.

“Nameless and only kind of faceless?” You question, more to yourself than anything. “The older woman who saw him following me around the park during my jog a couple of nights ago said he’s a tall white male with shoulder length blond hair. He was wearing a black trench coat at the time, but who knows if he wears the thing all the time.”

“And does the description sound familiar to anyone you might know?”

“No,” you sigh. “I barely know anyone around here. I only just moved in a year ago and I’m not exactly the social type when it comes to associating with neighbors. I’m here to live, not make friends.”

“Understandable,” he chuckles, picking up his drink again. That’s when you finally spot the wedding ring on his left hand. What a shame. He takes a sip before setting the glass back down. “So tell me more. How did this whole thing start?”

“Well, at first it was just flowers showing up on my desk at work with a simple note, nothing too extreme, but then whoever the fuck this is started leaving things outside my apartment door. How he’s getting into a secure building in which you need a key or a buzz to get in, I have no idea. But I’m scared, Dave. The past few nights I could hear someone trying to pick the lock on my door to get in. I don’t know what this man’s intentions are, but clearly they aren’t good ones. Maybe in his mind they are, but not mine.”

“Do you think it could be someone living in the building? Perhaps a creepy neighbor trying too hard to get in bed with you?” You laugh at that.

“Honestly I may have considered it, but I’ve seen many of the people who live here, none of them fit the description of my little stalker friend here.” You roll your eyes, picking up your drink and taking a nice long chug. Dave watches with semi raised brows and a smirk.

“So I’m assuming you want the guy gone for good.” He states, watching you closely.

“Please,” you plead as you set your glass back down, your eyes practically begging for it when you look back over at him. Dave smiles at the sweet sound of your begging voice, slowly raising his hand to rest against your cheek while his now intent gaze is set on your pleading one.

“I will gladly rid the planet of this guy for you, Y/N. We’ll just need to figure out how to track him down or lure him out, for that matter.” His thumb grazes your cheek and you can feel your face burning up again, giving your bottom lip a small bite.

Dave notices that and it only spurs him on even more, his eyes tracing over each inch of your beautiful face before finally landing on your lips and lingering there, his thumb brushing along your bottom one. All those adulterous thoughts come swarming through his head once again and though he knows it’s wrong to be wondering what it would look and feel like to have those pretty plump lips of yours wrapped around his cock, with the fact that his wife never goes down on him, he doesn’t really care. He’s only with her still because of his daughters, things haven’t been going quite well for him and Carol for a while. Maybe you’re the change he needs, the thing that will help him out of the marriage he feels so trapped in.

“Dave?” You whisper breathlessly, not even realizing that the both of you have inched even closer to each other, too lost in the burn of his touch and the way his eyes hungrily take you in.

“Y/N...” He murmurs right back, giving his own lips a lick before bringing his eyes back up to meet your gaze.

“I-- You’re-- Fuck it,” you sigh, throwing your arms around his neck and kissing him hard, allowing him to pull you onto his lap as he kisses you with as much fervor in return.

His hands rest on your ass so he can pull your hips flush against his own, eliciting a surprised gasp from you when you feel something hard pressing against your clothed core. I really make him that hard? As if he read your mind, he groans.

“Feel how hard you’ve made me? Just thinking about how good those lips would look and feel wrapped around my cock…”

“Dave,” you gasp again, instinctively rocking yourself against his rock hard cock. The action makes him growl and immediately his fingers are digging into your firm ass cheeks.

“Tell me you want this.” He states, his tone stern and bathed in seriousness.

“I want this. I want… I’ll do anything you want me to.”

His whole demeanor changes at that very statement, his hand coming down on your ass for a hard slap before he flips the two of you so that you’re now sitting on the couch in front of him and he’s standing between your legs. A quiet yelp left you at his sudden slap to your ass and when you’re finally staring up at him once he’s settled between your thighs, you give your bottom lip a bite.

“Look at you…so willing to let a struggling married man do whatever he wants to you.” He smirks, brushing his fingers through your hair before wrapping it around his fist and giving your head a tug backward. “Open your mouth.” You do as he says, letting your tongue hang out in the process. “Good girl.” He smirks, dropping his free hand to start undoing his belt.

Your walls clench around nothing at his praising words, eyes trained on the way his hand quickly gets his belt undone along with the zipper of his slacks. You bring your hand up to stop him from going any further, giving your eyelashes a few bats.

“Let me…” You murmur, moving his hand away before bringing yours back up to yank down his pants, freeing his fully erect cock. Your head spins at the sheer size of him. “Oh…” You bite your lip. Hard.

“Mouth,” he gains the attention of your gaze again, fingers tightening in your hair. “Open.”

You do as he tells you, reopening your mouth and letting your tongue hang out once more. He rubs the swollen head of his cock along your tongue and lets out a low, pleased groan at the warm feeling, his lips parting while he slowly pushes his hips forward until his cockhead just barely brushes the back of your throat. Your cheeks are hollowed out around him now, your hands giving his thighs a small squeeze as you swallow around the head of his cock.

“Fuck,” he hisses, his lust blown gaze staring down at your mouth wrapped around his length. “Haven’t felt a mouth this good since before I married my wife.” You hum around him, wondering how in the world his wife doesn’t suck this big delicious cock? “And I was right too…those lips of yours look and feel so damn good wrapped around my cock.”

“Mmmm…” You moan around him, pulling back as you give a hard suck before taking him right back down your throat, purposely gagging around him.

“Goddamn,” he groans, bringing his other hand down to hold your head in place while he starts rocking his cock in and out of your mouth, keeping aim for the back of your throat since clearly you enjoy the thrill of choking and gagging around him. “You like this, don’t you? The feeling of my cock in and down your throat.”

“Mmhmmm…” You moan, your eyes still set on his dark gaze as he fucks your mouth and throat, your hand moving to rub at your clothed cunt for some sort of relief. You can feel how wet you are just from having him in your mouth.

“What’s that sweetheart? Does that poor little cunt need relief? Is having my cock down your throat turning you on?” He growls, basking in the glory of the sight before him, his cock twitching at the feeling of your whimpery moan vibrating through his length.

“Mmm…” You nod your head as best that you can with his cock buried down your throat, your eyes starting to roll toward the back of your head.

“Yeah? You want me to fuck and fill that needy little cunt with my cock?” He smirks, yanking you off his length before pulling you up from the couch by his grip on your hair. When you only answer him with a nod of your head after he pulls you off his cock, he grabs your chin with a growl. “Use your words.”

You open your mouth to speak until you hear the sound of your doorknob being turned and fiddled with, looking toward the door with wide eyes. You look back up at Dave after a moment and he’s only smirking wider, moving his hand from your chin and down between your thighs to palm at your drenched, clothed cunt.

“I’m going to fuck you so hard, your stalker will hear how good I make you feel.” He rasps so low it makes your heart jump in your chest and your cunt clench once more. He feels the way your cunt moves beneath his hand and it only proves to him that you really really want this. “Yeah, he’s going to regret ever stalking you.”

Dave immediately rips your shorts right off of you, the quick sudden action making your eyes go wide. The strength. His hand moves to slap right against your drenched cunt, which makes you moan out and silently thank the gods for deciding to wear a g-string today.

“Fuck, you are a sexy little thing, aren’t you? So wet and ready for me.”

“Daddy, please.” The words slip from your lips before you can correct yourself, immediately flushing when realization dawns on you. The pleased look in Dave’s eyes, though, proves that perhaps maybe your mistake isn’t a mistake at all.

“Tell Daddy what you want, baby.” He hums as he gives your folds a few rubs, earning himself a few small whimpers.

“I want you to...to claim my little cunt so my stalker can hear and know he’ll never have me the way you do…” You whisper for only him to hear, your gaze set on his own.

Dave only groans, pushing you back onto the couch and moving you into a lying position, quickly yanking your g-string off and shoving them into the pocket of his button up shirt. You bite your lip at that, watching as he climbs above you with his knees resting on each side of your hips, his cockhead pressing right at your entrance. You quickly wrap your legs around him, lips parting with a long moan as he slowly pushes forward and lets your walls swallow each thick inch of his length.

“That’s it, baby…moan for Daddy... What a tight little cunt you have, fuck.” He groans, stilling once he’s buried to the hilt inside of you and allowing your tight walls to adjust to him stretching you.

“You’re--” You moan, squeezing around him like a vice. “So fucking big, Daddy.”

“Fuck, no cunt has ever squeezed me this good before.” He drops his head to bury his face against the crook of your neck, slowly pulling his hips backward before pushing right back in hard, earning himself a nice loud moan from you. “You take my cock so well, beautiful girl.”

“Oh Daddy, yes! Fuck me j-just like that.” You moan, rocking yourself against him. Dave growls and immediately sets a quick hard pace, eliciting several elongated moans from you.

“Only Daddy can fuck you this good, huh babygirl? No one could ever fill you the way I do.” He purposely speaks in a tone of voice loud enough for your little secret visitor outside the door to hear. If only you could see the rage and jealousy that takes over in your stalker’s eyes, the way his fists clench at his sides.

“O-Only you, Daddy! Only you!” You cry out the deeper he sends his cock inside of your warm cavity, your legs wrapping tighter around him.

“That’s right. Only,” hard thrust against your cervix. “I,” another hard thrust. “can,” harder thrust with loud cries of pleasure from you. “fuck,” more hard thrusts. “you.” deeper harder thrusts.

“Yes yes yes!” You practically sob out your words, your orgasm quickly building inside of you from how damn good Dave is fucking you. This was definitely not how you expected hiring a mercenary to take out your stalker to turn out, but are you complaining? Hell fucking no. “D-Don’t stop! Oh please don’t stop!”

“Who said I was going to stop?” He smirks, nipping and sucking at the pulse point of your throat while keeping the same pace and force of thrusts. “Are you going to cum, baby?”

“Mmmm yeah!” You cry out, your arms wrapping tight around his middle while your nails claw at his back through his shirt, your head tilting sideways to grant him better access to your sensitive throat. “‘m s-so close.”

“Yeah? Gonna drench every inch of Daddy’s cock?” He rubs circles as fast and hard on your clit as his thrusts into your throbbing cunt, your head flying back with a loud cry of his name at the new feeling.

“Oh yes!” You moan, giving your walls another clench around his cock as your hips now rock against his own to match his pace.

“Fuck, squeeze me just like that baby.” He groans, going right back to nipping and sucking at your throat while continuing to coax you toward your release.

“Please,” you gasp, closing your eyes tight as you try to focus all your attention and energy on his thrusts and rubs to your swollen nub. “Please fill my tight, warm little cunt with your cum.”

“Yeah?” He growls, snapping his hips with even more force now, the two of you moaning loud in unison. “Want me to really claim this cunt?”

“Yes! It’s--” your moans deepen the harder his cock hits at your cervix, your eyes rolling to the back of your head. “--yours!”

“Fuck,” he hisses, grabbing you by the throat with the hand not rubbing your clit and moving to kiss you hard, swallowing your cries and moans of pleasure the more relentless his thrusts become. “Cum for me. Now.” He orders and right on cue, you cum hard, your orgasm crashing right into you and making you writhe and tremble beneath him. Your eyes are truly rolled back now from the tightness of his hold on your throat and you’re absolutely loving it. “Fuck me, you are the most beautiful little thing when you come undone for me. Where the fuck were you before I met my wife?” He groans, kissing you hard once more.

His words make your heart leap in your chest again, wondering if he truly means them or if he’s just saying them to help get the both of you off. What’ll happen between the two of you once your stalker is ridden from your life? Will it be as if this night never happened? Will Dave look at you as nothing more than just a one time fuck and that girl he saved from a stalker?

“Y/N,” he groans deeply, snapping you from your thoughts and bringing you back to reality, pleased groan leaving your throat when you realize he’s filling you with his cum.

“Dave,” you gasp against his mouth, clenching harder and harder around him to milk his balls for all the cum in the world, your arms and legs wrapped tighter around him. “Oh yes.”

“That’s it, baby… Take all that cum. Fuck you are such a damn good girl.” He growls, continuing to fuck the both of you through your highs and his cum even deeper inside of you, going right back to kissing and nipping along your throat.

The two of you are panting by the time he finally pulls out of you, your limbs loosening from around him and falling limp to the couch you lay out on. He chuckles at how fucked out you look, but if he’s to look in a mirror at any moment, he’ll see that he himself is just as fucked out looking as you are. Your eyes are closed as the after effects of your orgasm finally pass, only opening them to look up at him when he gives your throat a firm squeeze. You moan at the feeling which only makes him smile.

“Y/N…” He murmurs quietly, moving his hand from around your throat to brush a few stray strands of hair from your face.

“Dave?” You whisper, giving your bottom lip a soft bite.

“After I rid you of your little pest,” he mumbles, obviously referring to your stalker in case he’s still out there listening. He’s not. “If I divorce my wife--”

“Yes.” You cut him off, already knowing what he’s going to ask.

“Really?” He grins, brushing the backs of his fingers against your cheekbone. “You sure you can handle this life?”

“What? Spending it with a mercenary?” You murmur, smiling up at him as he nods. “Would I have had my cousin send you if I couldn’t handle it?”

“True,” he chuckles, kissing you once more. “You truly are what I need to get out of my marriage once and for all. Don’t get me wrong, I love my daughters, but I don’t love Carol. Not anymore, at least. Not for a long time.”

“I’m sorry.” You frown. He only shakes his head, giving you a genuine smile.

“Don’t be. You’re not the reason my marriage is fucked and fallen apart. Her and I are. We just...don’t work out anymore. We’ve built up our issues with each other over the years.”

“Issues that can be fixed through divorce?” You smile.

“Precisely. We’re just...not cut out to be a couple any longer,” he sighs, kissing you once more before carefully climbing off of you and admiring the view of your mixed releases dripping from your fucked hole. “Such a beautiful sight… One I don’t get to see often.”

“Glad I can change that for you, Mister York.”

He smirks at the name, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to the side of your knee.

“Now, let’s get cleaned up and get a plan set in stone to off your stalker.”

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

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Dave asks with a concerned look in his eyes and you give him a reassuring nod.

“I’ll be fine…” You whisper, reaching up to brush your thumb against his cheek. “It’s best to use me as bait, seeing as I’m the target. We’ve got this…”

“Okay,” he nods, pulling you in for a deep kiss before slowly pulling back and pressing his forehead against yours. “I’ll be down the alleyway we discussed hiding out and waiting. You remember which one, yes?”

“Yes,” you smile, nodding your head with reassurance. “Got the whole plan right up here.” You give your head a few light taps with your pointer finger.

“Good. I’ll see you in roughly ten minutes.” He smiles. “Please, be careful and on high alert.”

“I will,” you murmur, pressing a quick, soft peck to his lips. “See you in ten.”

He nods and you let him out of your apartment, waiting at least two minutes before leaving yourself and locking up behind you. Dave figured having you go on your usual jogging route would be the best plan, since there are several dark alleyways along the way that’ll be easy to lure your stalker down. If the guy is so intent on having you, why not follow you down a dark empty alley. If only he knew the outcome.

You start your jog down your street with a quiet hum, only one of your earbuds in while you listen to music so you can keep somewhat of an ear out for anyone around you. It’s only after five minutes that you start to hear and feel someone close behind you. Swallowing your fear, you continue your walk toward your destination and when you finally reach the alleyway where Dave is hiding and waiting for your arrival, you turn down it with a soft sigh of relief, making your way down the dark, damp corridor.

You pass where Dave is hiding and when he sees someone in a long black trench coat following right behind you, his fingers tighten around the handle of his knife, ready to make his move if the guy tries anything on you. He wants to wait at least a minute to see what his intentions are, see if he’s sick enough to lay a finger on you.

You feel a hand grab you by the shoulder and immediately pin you to the stone wall of the building beside you, looking up at the dark eyes of your stalker for the first time. You swallow hard, fighting back the urge to scream since you know Dave is right there waiting for the right moment to attack. The man is definitely exactly how Marjorie described, right on the nose, really.

“Can I help you?” You finally gain the courage to ask, a bit of disgust in your tone as you look up at him. He’s too close in your personal bubble for your liking and you swear you can smell the garlic and Camel cigarettes on his breath. “Do you always push random women against walls in dark alleys?”

“I’ve been waiting for this day for so long…” He breathes, kind of a wheezy breath, clearly ignoring your question. His hand moves to gently touch your cheek and immediately you turn your face away from him, swallowing the lump in your throat. “You don’t need to deny me, Y/N...not anymore.” His other and slides along your inner thigh and you quickly slap at his hand.

“Don’t touch me.” You growl, looking back up at him with a death glare. “I don’t belong to you. I’m not your property.”

“Yes you are,” he smiles a creepy smile at you, his hand going right to grabbing your clothed core a little too roughly.

“Hey! I said don’t--”

Your words are cut off as Dave comes and yanks the guy away from you, one of his hands holding a rag and moving it to cover the guy’s mouth to muffle any screams he may make while his other hand repeatedly jabs his knife into the guy’s side and chest. You watch as his eyes widen with every stab of the knife into his torso, part of you enjoying the sight of his pain and the muffled sound of his screams. Is this too much? Killing a man for being a creep? Perhaps not too much because you already know that if you don’t kill him, there’s a possibility he’ll go and find someone else to stalk and potentially harm after Dave takes you away from this entire situation. You’re looking forward to it, really, being free from this city and it’s creeps and you’re happy to be ridding it of one.

“Sorry to say, bud, but you made the wrong life choices.” Dave growls in your stalker’s ear, giving one more hard stab into the guy’s stomach before slicing sideways to gut him, letting his body fall to the ground with a hard thud. “No one touches my girl like that.”

“Oh, Dave…” You whisper, looking from the lifeless body of your once was stalker to your new lover’s slowly diminishing murderous gaze, giving him a smile and earning yourself one right back. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, beautiful girl.”

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

“Good afternoon, miss Y/N,” the soft, sad tone of your now previous landlord’s voice meets your ears as you exit the apartment building, giving her a small frown.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Patterson. Is everything okay?” You ask her, adjusting the last box of your things from your apartment beneath your arm.

“Oh no, honey, unfortunately I can’t say it is.” She sighs, shaking her head with a lost gaze. “I lost someone close to me a few weeks ago…it still aches my heart just thinking about it. My poor nephew was mugged and left for dead in an alley a few blocks from here. I told that boy not to go messing around with the people around here since he was wired a little differently and could easily trigger the wrong group of people… I suppose I was right.”

Your blood runs cold at her words, everything now all making sense in your head about how this guy was getting into your building. Instead of saying anything at all relating to her nephew’s death you only shake your head and frown, giving her your condolences either way.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Mrs. Patterson. I guess some people around here just can’t handle a little difference.”

“Unfortunately so,” she nods, looking up at you with a sad smile. “You take care though, okay sweetheart? And good luck on that new job opportunity you got. If you ever need anything once you get moved into your new place, don’t hesitate to give me a call.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Patterson. You take care yourself.” you smile, giving her a small hug before walking over to where Dave is parked with his trunk open and giving Mrs. Patterson a small wave goodbye, placing the box in the back of his SUV and closing the back door. You quickly climb into the passenger seat and close the door behind you, turning to look at Dave with a tight, nervous smile. “Get us the fuck out of here and I’ll explain everything on the way.”

“Okay?” He chuckles, putting the vehicle in gear before pulling away from the sidewalk and starting your several hour drive far away from here. Once you’re far from your previous apartment building you breathe out a relieved sigh, turning and looking at Dave with wide eyes.

“That woman, my previous landlord...is the aunt of my now dead stalker.”

“Get out. For real?” He asks, glancing over at you with raised brows.

“Yeah. She told me how her nephew was found mugged and murdered in an alley a few blocks away…”

“That explains how he was getting into the building and even found you to start stalking you.”

“It all makes sense now, yeah.” You sigh, reaching over to rest your hand on top of his own, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you again for everything. I truly don’t know where I’d be without your and your help…”

“How many times do I gotta tell you, baby, you don’t need to thank me anymore,” he chuckles, bringing your hand up to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to your knuckles. “Now that my divorce is final, I’m excited to start a new life with you...a safer and more happy life.”

“Me too, Dave. Me too,” you whisper, leaning over to press a quick, firm kiss to his cheek. “To the future.”

“To the future,” he grins.

Everything taglist: @halefirewarrior @takemepedropascal @wildcard566 @readsalot73 @talesfromtheguild @msmona @oberynispunk @whiskeyxinxaxteacup @pedrosdoll @ah-callie

#dave york x reader #dave york x you #dave york x y/n #dave york x f!reader #dave york fic #dave york smut #nsft #dave york #the equalizer 2 #equalizer 2 #my writing #ohpedromypedro

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radiant-flutterbun · 3 years

Text

Brothers

The portal opened and out spilled Inkdrop - the black shadeling nocturne, and Muerto the young grey coatl. They were here to deliver a letter on behalf of Nullity.

Guerra - the coral red mirror was half asleep, with his son - a young thistle banescale wrapped up in his arms. But with the sound of the portal Guerra sprung awake. He stood over his son and pulled his lips back in a snarl.

Inkdrop approached him with an envelope clutched in her claws. His snarling made her nervous but she had made a promise.

“Hello Guerra! I have a-”

Guerra stood over her, his sharp teeth too close to her head.

“Stay away from my son!” He growled.

Inkdrop shrunk, literally. She could feel her scales begin to melt. Her ink stained the invitation.

“Hey!” Muerto puffed out his feathers. Guerra was much bigger than him. And stronger too. But he didn’t let his fear of his brother prevent him from protecting Inkdrop. He put himself in between the snarling mirror and the melting nocturne.

“Don’t yell at Inky!”

Guerra and Muerto made eye contact, both pissed off and snarling. Spittle dripped from Guerra’s mouth and Muerto had his claws around the hilt of his sword. If Guerra made a move, Muerto would not hesitate to hurt his brother.

Newtt, Guerra’s son, wasn’t sure what to make of this so-called danger. He tilted his head and looked at Inkdrop. She had regained control of her body and was solid once more. Sadly, the damage had been done to the invitation, but it was still readable and that was what mattered.

Guerra blinked.

“Muerto?”

“Yeah it’s me you idiot,” Muerto still had his grip on his sword.

Guerra relaxed and took a step back from Muerto “I… I’m sorry I didn’t-”

“Oh so NOW you’re sorry?” Muerto still didn’t let his guard down “Over 180,000 years and now you’re sorry?”

“Muerto I… I didn’t mean…,” Guerra took a deep breath “You’re right. But I am sorry.”

Inkdrop squealed in surprise “Hey give that back!”

Both Muerto and Guerra turned toward her to see that Newtt had snuck up to her and stole a piece of jerky from her satchel.

The young banescale giggled playfully as he ran back to his father with his prize.

“Newtt, Kex will be back any minute with food! You shouldn’t steal,” Guerra said, trying his best to be cross with the child, but it was difficult for him. He hated to see his son upset, and the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt him. “I’m sorry. He’s not used to others. He doesn’t know any better. He only hatched a week ago.”

Inkdrop laughed “It’s fine. We don’t need it. I keep those around mainly for Hiraeth. When they’re hungry they get HANGREY.”

Muerto finally let go of the sword. He dropped to all fours and his feathers flattened slightly.

“So you’re babysitting hatchlings now?”

“It’s not babysitting if it’s your own kid. This is Newtt, my son.”

“Your son?” Muerto glanced at the banescale chewing on the jerky and then back to his mirror brother.

“Yes. My son.”

Muerto was about to respond but he was cut off by a newcomer.

“Hey Gorey! I got us some grub- Uh,” A blue snake man, a serthis, had a burlap bag that was leaking blood over his back “Who the fuck are they?”

“Kex,” Guerra motioned for the serthis to move closer. He slithered so he was next to Guerra “This is my little brother and his uh,”

“My little sister,” Muerto said with a stern look.

Kex looked at Muerto and then Inkdrop “Huh. You did say your family was strange. But then again,” He dropped the burlap sack and Newtt ran up to it, wagging his tail “So is ours.”

“This is my boyfriend, Kex.” Guerra smiled as he watched Kex pull out a bloody rat from the sack and toss it to Newtt. Newtt caught it in the air and began tearing it to pieces.

“Ah,” Muerto said “So where’d the kid come from?”

“We found him as an egg a bit ago. He came from that banescale nest where the adults-”

“Died. Yeah I know. Some god war.” Muerto stared directly at Guerra and he flinched “I keep somewhat up to date with this world’s politics.”

“Oh that’s surprising.”

Muerto’s tail flicked “What are you implying?”

“Well you never cared about the politics of our world. Of your kingdom.”

“Hey I was a kid! I’m still a kid! That… None of that should have been my responsibility in the first place!”

“I’m just saying if you were paying at least a little attention then the Underworld wouldn’t have been taken over by demons.”

“Yeah well if you weren't such a dumbass, then maybe you wouldn’t have spread the violence the demons loved so much!”

Guerra bit his tongue and took a deep breath “Alright fine. Let’s drop it. I’m sorry. It’s fine. The Underworld will be fine. Mom is working on it. She’ll fix things, like she always does.”

Muerto snorted “Like that bitch has ever fixed anything in her life.”

“Don’t talk about our mother like that.”

“She was hardly my mom. I hope she dies. I hope she rots. I hate her.”

“You have no idea what she does everyday! How hard she fights off Nefarious to keep us safe! You have no idea what she’s been through!”

“Uh huh. She sure did a great job at keeping me safe.”

“You were… a different circumstance.”

“Go ahead and fucking say it Guerra. I’m not afraid of the truth anymore.”

Guerra kept his mouth shut.

“You still think I’m a monster, don’t you? Well at least I'll never be the monster you were.”

“I never meant-”

“Does your boyfriend know? Will you ever tell your son?”

“Kex knows enough. And like you’re one to talk. We’re both murderers here. Don’t act so innocent, Muerto.”

“Oh don’t fucking do this. What I did and what you did are not the same.”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t even aware of most of my actions. You on the other hand…”

Muerto growled. Cold black flames began to appear around him.

“Stop it you two!” Inkdrop spoke up. The flames disappeared. She had the brothers’ full attention.

“We came here to give you this,” Inkdrop handed Guerra the invitation.

“What is this?” Guerra handled it gingerly, as if afraid it was poisonous.

“Just open it and read, dumbass.” Muerto snarled.

“It’s an invitation. From Nullity.” Inkdrop answered.

“Who?”

“Nullity? Our niece?” Muerto hissed.

“Oh. Right. One of Naperone’s.” Guerra opened the letter and read it “So. She really wants us all together?”

“A family reunion. Yeah. Minus Nap and Saga.”

“Oh so we’re the good kids then?”

“Nullity seems to think so. Although if it were up to me, you wouldn’t be invited at all.”

“So, do you think you’ll be coming?’ Inkdrop asked.

“I think so. As long as Kex and Newtt can come too.”

“I don’t see why not!” Inkdrop smiled.

“Whoa Gorey hold up,” Kex said. Newtt was sleeping on his lap, content now that his belly was full “I don’t think me going will be such a great idea.”

“Why not?”

“No offense but…” Kex looked at Muerto and then looked away when Muerto made eye contact “Your family seems like. A lot.”

“Don’t worry you’ll have me by your side the whole time and besides my family… it won’t be just me and Muerto bickering I promise. The rest of my family are really nice! Well not Nap or Saga, but! They’re not going to be there so it’ll be fine!”

“Maybe I’ll just stay here and watch over Newtt…”

“No wait, I want you to meet my parents! They’ll love you, and Newtt! Besides… you’ll finally get to see what I really look like.”

“Hmm. I have been curious about this true form of yours.” Kex turned to Muerto “Hey. Coatl.”

“Muerto.”

“Right. Is it true his face is… well shaped like mine?”

“He doesn’t have any scales but yeah. Our faces have the same structures as yours.”

“I also have these cat ears that I think you’re gonna think are adorable.” Guerra said and approached Kex. He nuzzled the side of his head and Kex giggled.

“Stop it you goof! Your brother is going to think I’m a big softy.”

“Ah, don’t mind what he thinks. So? Will you come with me?”

“Oh alright. But mostly so I can see that cute face of yours.”

“So I should be prepared to pick you up on the day of the reunion?” Inkdrop asked.

Guerra nodded “Yes. We will be there.”

“Great! Nullity will be so happy!”

Inkdrop created another portal. Muerto looked back at Guerra before he entered it and flipped him the bird. Inkdrop hopped in after him and the portal closed.

“Do you get along with any of your siblings?” Kex asked.

“No,” Guerra sighed.

“I’m glad I don’t have siblings.”

“It sure sounds nice.”

Night began to fall in the Scarred Wasteland and Kex and Guerra began to set up a shelter for the night. Guerra felt strangely energized. He was looking forward to a break from this. He was looking forward to seeing his parents again. To be himself again.

#fireflyflits art #tcotg #shade haven #my dragons and their drama smh #blood #it's just Guerra's crackle but it looks like blood

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backtobackbakubabe · 4 years

Text

I am the Alpha Now Part 3

Bakugo X Reader

Words : 2733

Reader is from America and somewhat of a delinquent with an alpha quirk that allows her to turn into a wolf as well as bond with dogs. She is sent to UA to straighten out her attitude. She ends up in a power struggle with none other than our favorite hot head. Words in Italics are words said telepathically

*****************************************************************************************************

Bakugo trailed behind you as you entered the classroom with Mercy hanging out by the door looking nervous. “Are you waiting for permission or what? Get your ass in here.”

Mercy jumped ahead to catch up with you, tail wagging with excitement.

Bakugo just shook his head at how goofy Mercy was for how powerful he was.

He could hear his dumbass classmates practically squealing over you and he figured you might need help. Not that he necessarily wanted to help you, in fact he thought it’d be pretty funny to watch you squirm. But he had a job to do and that job was to help the new kid.

He was surprised when All Might had pulled him aside after class one day. He gave him a long winded lecture about how he needed to learn how to work with others. Seeing as your quirk gave you a pack mentality he and the other teachers thought maybe it would rub off on him. Make him understand team work or whatever.

So here he is stepping in to help you as his fellow classmates swarmed you. “OI! BACK THE HELL UP A SECOND!”

Everyone froze for a moment before resuming their questions. You looked to him with wide eyes, “My Japanese isn’t great to begin with, but they’re talking a mile a minute. I have no idea what anyone is saying. Someone keeps touching my hair and pinching my ass but when I look no one's there. Please help.”

He groaned, “I can help you with the translations but they’re just going to keep bugging you.”

You threw your hands up, “So what am I supposed to do?”

He walked over and thumped you between the eyes like you had done to him earlier, “Do that weird glowy eye thing you do. Tell mercy to crowd control, I don’t know. Just get the point across that they need to respect your personal space...” He looked back to the crowd of people who were now directing their questions to him to translate. He spoke Japanese and even he found it hard to figure out what was being asked. “SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN!”

When he had every ones attention he gestured to you, “This is Y/n. She’s new. She’s from America. She Doesn't speak Japanese that well so be fucking patient. She’s got some weird alpha wolf quirk and we all know what happens when you corner a wild animal so back the fuck up and let her breathe.”

He looked over and your eyes were a bright electric blue and Mercy was standing in front of you in a defensive position. He wasn’t growling but that didn’t mean he didn’t mean business. “Easy Mercy. We’re not looking for a fight or anything but Bakugo is right. They need to know we’re not here to play.”

Bakugo gave you a nod and your eyes slowly went back to normal. He then pointed to Mercy, “This is Mercy, he’s her beta and he..”

Some guy with yellow hair rushed to pet him, “Ohhh who’s a good boy? Is it you? Are you a good boy?”

Mercy’s eyes looked murderous but he knew wasn't supposed to hurt your new friends so he just let the weird boy talk to him as if he were a baby.

You opened your mouth to tell him off but Bakugo was already dragging him by the ear to his desk, “Kaminari you idiot! Mercy isn’t some ‘good boy’ he’s her fucking beta, he is smart, probably smarter than you and he will tear you to pieces if you talk down to him again!” He looked to your other classmates who now looked a little scared, “You all got that?”

A few people nodded some just stared at him. They all knew he had a temper but they had never seen him actually defend someone else before. Hell must have frozen over because Bakugo Katsuki looked like he gave a shit.

Bakugo didn’t even look back to you as he made his way to his desk and took a seat. There was an empty desk in front of him, and you assumed that was meant for you.

You snapped and Mercy fell at your heals as you took your seat. “Can I look around a little bit?”

You rubbed his head, “I don’t know, maybe wait until class is over. I don’t want anyone to freak out.”

He wined and plopped down rather dramatically in the isle next to you.

“What’s his problem? I thought he wanted to come.”

You tuned to face Bakugo who was already getting his notes out, and they looked very well organized. Was he a secret nerd? “He did want to come. He just wants to take a look around. Learn the room. He likes to do this every time we go someplace new. I just don’t want anyone to freak out.” You shrugged and turned back around just as a man… in a sleeping bag… popped up out of nowhere.

“Good morning class. I see you have already met our new student from the United States, y/n. I know you all have a lot of questions but there is plenty of time for that after class. Please be patient with her as she learns our language and routines. In most cases you will see her with Bakugo. Please consider him her translator, tutor, and guide while she is here.” He turned to look at you, but you were already spaced out. This language barrier was going to be a bitch. “Y/n is there anything special you would like to say before we begin our day?”

You heard your name. You knew he was asking a question. But you had no idea what was going on. The teacher softened and spoke again but this time in English, “Forgive me, it seems even as I was giving a speech about you being from America I still forgot to speak English. Was there anything you would like to say?”

You shrugged, “Uh… sure. It’s nice to be here and I can’t wait to meet all of you. Thanks in advance for putting up with my bullshit.”

You looked at a smirking Bakugo who started shouting out a translation. But what you didn’t know was what he translated that to was, “She says she can’t wait to meet you all in training and her dog Mercy needs to sniff out the room. Let him do his job and don’t bother him. You can meet him later too…” He patted Mercy’s head switching back to English, “Hey go do your thing they wont bother you now.”

Mercy jumped up and looked at you with his tongue lolling out the side, “Oh can I? Sparky said I can. Can I please?”

You narrowed your eyes at Bakugo, “As much as I appreciate it, please don’t make a habit of telling my beta what to do. I’m the alpha here, not you.”

Bakugo just leaned back in his chair, “Yeah we’ll just see about that.”

He made your fucking blood boil but you knew you would get your chance to slap the smug look off of his face later in the gym.

You nodded at Mercy who took off and started sniffing everything. He did it for most of class just pacing around the isles. Trying to learn faces and smells.

You spent the rest of the class trying to keep up, but it was just too much for you. You only knew every other fifth word or so. In the end you resorted to writing down words that were said frequently so you could look them up later.

Finally, after what felt like years you were dismissed to get lunch before training.

You stood up and stretched. You heard light snoring and that’s when you noticed Mercy had fallen asleep in front of your desk. “Typical.”

You leaned over to wake him up but before you made contact someone was behind you. One hand on your skirt the other around your waist. You’d panic but that familiar scent invaded your personal space just like it had done earlier. Bakugo pulled you to him while trying to pull your skirt back into place. He leaned in and whispered into your ear, “What did I tell you about bending over. Are you stupid or were you trying to give our classmates a show?” A shiver ran down your spine and your witty response died in your throat. “Next time I see your ass like that I am going to slap it.”

Your eyes began to glow and you could feel your wolf instincts kicking in. You are an alpha and NO ONE challenges you. You were going to tear him a new asshole, but before you could even get a word out he let you go and started walking towards the door, “Hurry up brat I’m hungry.”

You were fuming now. How could he say something like that and then act so nonchalant as if nothing ever happened. You used your foot to nudge Mercy awake. “Come on man. You just had to be asleep when Bakugo threatened to slap my ass huh?”

Mercy stood and shook himself to wake himself up, “Sparky spanked you?”

You caught up and were now walking behind Bakugo and some red headed guy who seemed to be friends with him. Odd you didn’t think he was the friendly type. “NO! He didn’t spank me, but he threatened to if he saw my ass again!”

“Well why did he see your ass? Did you moon him or something?”

You rolled your eyes, “No! I bent over to try and wake you up and I guess my skirt rode up a little.”

“Well he did tell you earlier not to bend over… You used to spank me when I did things you told me not to…”

“Who’s side are you on?!”

“Oh wow you’re right. She does talk to her dog. That’s so cool!”

You saw Bakugo had stopped with his red headed friend who was currently beaming a mega watt smile at you, “Hey sorry! I don’t mean to be rude, My name is Kirishima! My English isn’t the best but I’m going to work on it.”

You returned his smile, “Nice to meet you Kirishima. I’m y/n and this is Mercy.”

“So cool! So were you two having a fight or something? You sounded pretty mad earlier.”

You narrowed your eyes at Bakugo, “Not at all, just discussing proper punishments for pack members who don’t fall in line.”

Kirishima rubbed his neck, “Oh wow sounds intense.”

You returned your gaze to Kirishima and gave him a sweet smile, “Only for those who don’t behave.”

Kirishima chuckled, “Oh.. sounds kinky!”

That earned him a slap to the back of the head. “Tch. She doesn’t want to hear your perverted bullshit alright now get us a table!”

Kirishima rubbed the sport Bakugo had slapped as he scurried off to the cafeteria.

You crossed your arms over your chest, “She really doesn’t want to hear your perverted bullshit either.”

Completely ignoring you he leaned down and started rubbing Mercy’s ears. “It sounds like your alpha needs an attitude adjustment. Is she always this high strung?”

“Oh he’s funny. Tell him I said he’s funny. But also tell him to be nice or I will eat his homework… no one will ever believe him”

You snorted, “I’m not telling him that.”

Bakugo cocked his head at you, “Tell me what?” He stood up and was now facing you with his arms crossed. You hadn’t noticed how tall he was. He probably had half a foot on you.

You shouldered past him to enter the cafeteria, “It doesn’t matter what he said. I’d watch your back though, someone might mistake you for a chew toy.”

You saw Kirishima had found a table and headed in his direction but before you could take a seat Bakugo came up behind you with his jacket in his hands. “Please for the love of god tie this around your waist before you sit down. I’m getting you a new fucking skirt today if it kills me.” You blushed as you yanked the jacket roughly from his grasp. “Tch be a pouty bitch all you want just take it. I’m going to go get us some food.”

You quickly tied the jacket around your waist and felt monumentally better as you took your seat. The others were busy talking amongst themselves. Everyone once in a while they would make an attempt to include you in the conversation but they were busy stuffing their faces for the most part.

A guy with red and white hair came and took a seat across from you, “Hello, my name is Todoroki. I have pretty high marks in English so if you ever need help please feel free to ask.”

He seemed genuinely nice, and kind of cute if you were being honest. You smiled and reached your hand out to introduce yourself, but you had to yank it back to keep it from being crushed by a tray of food. “She doesn’t need your fucking help, that’s my job icy hot.”

You glared at him, “SHE can speak for herself thank you.”

He groaned as he yanked two notebooks and a tape recorder out of his backpack and slammed them on the table. You picked up the one you had seen him writing in earlier and was actually impressed in what you found. “All your notes today… they’re in English.”

He rolled his eyes, “How perceptive of you.”

You bumped his shoulder with yours, “You did this for me?”

He pulled a pair of headphones and some pencils out, “Don’t look too much into it. It’s literally my job.” He plugged the headphones into the recorder and handed you a pencil. “Now I recorded the lecture so we can listen back. I can retake my notes in Japanese, and you can follow along with the notes in English and try and learn something.”

You took one of the earbuds and stuffed it in your ear as he hit play. You hadn’t realized how hungry you were until your stomach growled and as if he read your mind Bakugo pushed a plate full of chicken and rice towards you. “Eat up. We have training after this, and I’d hate to beat you because you didn’t have enough food on your stomach.”

You put down your pencil and picked up your fork, “So do you want me to take notes or eat? Because I can’t exactly do both at the same time.”

Bakugo was finishing his bowl of ramen before pushing it away, “I mean I already took the damn notes for you. Just eat quick and catch up.”

“But what about me! I’m hungry too! Did he not get me anything?”

“Shit.. I guess I didn’t feed you this morning huh?”

Without glancing up from his notes Bakugo put his tray on the floor so Mercy could have what was left of his chicken and rice. His mood swings were going to drive you crazy.

When it was finally time to go to training you were practically buzzing with excitement. Mercy was too, “I get to help this time remember! He said I could train later! Do I get to fight sparky?”

You stopped mid-stretch to poke Bakugo who was warming up next to you, “Hey, Mercy wants to know if he gets to fight you yet?”

His nose scrunched up as he looked over to Mercy, “I know you’re not like an average dog, but I still feel bad trying to blow you up..”

You laughed, “Well at least we know you’re not hiding any signs of being a serial killer.”

“Tch, I just don’t want to hurt him! You, I have no problem with. You’re a pain in my ass. But Mercy’s cool!”

You rolled your eyes, “Oh shut up. You won’t hurt him. I’d be surprised if you could even hit him. He may look lazy but he’s really fast and his fur is super thick. The longer we are bonded the stronger he gets.” Your eyes started to glow as you started your shift, “What are you scared of a little two on one?”

His palms started to crackle, “Bring it brat. Time for round two.”

*******************************

Tags : @tspice283

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mulletcal · 4 years

Text

when did you first know? -- a calum hood one shot

a/n: okay so i was hit with inspo for this like 8 hours ago and here we are. it’s the origin story for cal & mama from my twin universe, but you don’t need to have read those to know what’s going on here!! pls enjoy

words: 3.9k

warnings: cavity inducing fluff mb???

-------------

Soulmate was always a word that Calum heard, and while he believed that they existed, he was never certain that a soulmate would be something he’d find in his lifetime. He saw his friends pair off with their respective partners, and it warmed his heart to see the people he loved so happy. Calum grew content with the fact that he was meant for platonic soulmates, already having found those in his best friends.

The fans never let the idea go that Calum was preparing for his soulmate though - citing his quitting smoking, and in general cleaning up his act as the source. That was never consciously what Calum was doing though, rather just choosing to better himself for himself.

It was a Tuesday when he first met her - the sky was clear and the moon full, the air was warm, and he was surrounded by his best friends as they shared stories from their past. Why Michael had decided to have a party on a Tuesday, he’d never know; but he knew that he would one day need to thank the man.

Andy had brought her along, saying how she was an old friend from his hometown who just moved to L.A. and had zero friends there other than him. Maybe it would be Andy he’d need to thank - in all the years he’d been alive, he had never met someone so beautiful. The night carried on in similar fashion to previous nights, most of them crashing in various rooms in Michael’s house rather than heading home. She went home, though, without Calum being able to say goodbye, or get her number - she was gone.

For days thoughts of her clouded his mind; the sound of her voice, her laugh, how she danced with his friends as if she’d known them for years. It tugged at his heart how well she fit in with them, and he wished he knew her well enough to invite her along to things they had plans for.

In a vague attempt to rid his mind of her, he thought he’d distract himself with the one thing that always seemed to cheer him up - dogs. Duke enjoyed wandering the dog park, even if he didn’t interact much with other dogs, Calum was always there to toss a ball or two for his old baby.

Pressing a kiss to the side of Duke’s head, he set him down onto the grass and took his leash in his hand, at least till they got away from the busy parking lot. Letting him begin to sniff around, Calum’s eyes scanned around the park - it wasn’t a particular busy day for a Friday, they may be able to have a wider range for Duke to roam.

He froze, though, when he saw an oddly familiar face underneath a nearby tree - it was her. This had to be some form of serendipity, right? There was no way she knew he would be there, at that time, on that day, so maybe this was his chance.

Calum’s feet took over before he got much of a chance to overthink it, stopping when he and Duke reached a few feet away, “Hey, didn’t expect to see you here!” Oof, lame line. He could’ve done better than that, truly.

She looked up, lifting the sunglasses off of her head as she met his eyes, a bright smile spreading across her lips, “Calum, hey! How are yo- Is this your dog?” Her eyes were wide as she looked at Duke, whose head was cocked to the side as his dad interacted with this woman he never met.

“It is, his name’s Duke. He’s wary of people, so maybe just approach with caution. It’s not his fault, he’s old and grumpy. I feel as though he should be back at home readin’ the dailies.” Calum was rambling, and he knew it - but his comment made her laugh, so it counted as a win to him.

“Me too man, you have no idea,” She shook her head as she spoke to Duke, as if he could understand her. She held out her hand and Calum waited with baited breath while his dog gave it a sniff, usually Duke would huff and walk away from the offending person - but after what felt like an eternity, Duke’s tail began to wag as he looked at her expectantly.

“That absolutely never happens,” Calum stated, stunned; and the responding smile that he got was brighter than the sun that was high in the sky that day. “D’you wanna come toss a ball for ‘im? He seems to like you,” While Calum had been deep in his own thoughts, Duke had taken to putting his front paws on her legs so she could have better access to behind his ears.

“Really? Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude on a quiet day at the dog park.”

“It seems as though if anything, we’re intruding on you,” Calum motioned to the tablet and pen beside her and she responded with a wave of her hand, standing up to dust off her pants.

“Thinkin’ bout it now, I was very likely sitting in dog pee, wasn’t I?” She pouted, continuing to brush off the back of her pants. Gathering her things, she slid them into her bag before turning to the pair, “We ready boys?”

The rest of Calum’s afternoon was spent exchanging stories of their pasts, and how they came to be where they were today. He found out that she was a graphic designer, working on animation as well, and she moved to L.A. because she was offered an amazing job she couldn’t turn down. The more he learned about her, the more infatuated he became; and when his phone went off to remind him of a time slot they had at the studio.

If Calum didn’t act now, he knew he’d miss his chance - he could sense it deep down that the universe had given him the perfect opportunity and he couldn’t waste it.

“Hey, d’you have plans for tomorrow night?” Tomorrow night? What an incredible way to sound desperate.

“I don’t actually, I was supposed to go for coffee with Andy but something came up!” She grinned, adjusting the bag on her shoulder, “Why what’s up?”

“Would you want to go out tomorrow? On a date, maybe?” Calum swallowed thickly, running his fingers through his hair, avoiding any and all eye contact with her.

“I’d love to, actually.”

Calum’s heart soared, breaking into a toothy grin that brought out the crinkles by his eyes. She said yes, and it wasn’t just him imagining things. He tried to prevent his hands from shaking while they exchanged phones and phone numbers, the promise of the next day hanging from their lips when they departed.

***

Calum had been pacing through his house for the last hour, the anticipation leading him to sweat through the first shirt he had picked for the night. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been so nervous for something, even crowds of people watching them perform.

He could be vulnerable, he could be himself, but what if she rejected him? What if he opened a door as an insight to himself, and once he did he couldn’t close it again?

The drive to her apartment was shorter than he would have liked. Then again, maybe he shouldn’t have been left alone with his thoughts for too much longer or he may have backed out.

Calum wanted to be a gentleman, but the whole process of buzzing up to her apartment and her waiting at her door to be picked up seemed a little awkward - so instead he waited by the passenger side door of his car, a small bouquet of wildflowers in hand. He almost started to pace again while he waited, but then his eyes landed on her.

Her silk, navy blue dress swayed as she walked towards him, tucking her keys and phone into her purse but her eyes never left Calum’s. He couldn’t help to notice that the dress hugged her upper half in all the best ways, flaring out to stop just above her knees.

“Hi,” She breathed, standing up on her tippy toes to press a gentle kiss to his cheek.

A spark radiated from Calum’s cheek, causing goosebumps to raise on his skin, “You look absolutely stunning,” he spoke softly, extending the flowers to her. “These are for you.”

The expression on her face softened ever so slightly when she saw the flowers, a smile present on her lips while she thanked him with another kiss to his cheek. Calum opened the car door for her, assuring she was in before rounding to the other side.

Conversation flowed easily between the two, and Calum’s cheeks were beginning to ache from the amount he was smiling- he genuinely couldn’t remember the last time he ached because he was so happy. It continued well through dinner, her even offering up a forkful to him of her meal.

Once dinner was finished, Calum paid and escorted her again out to his car, grabbing the door even though she insisted she was fine before they headed to the second part of their date. This part was met with confusion from her, a teasing smile quirking at her lips.

“Ah, I see. The infamous Calum Hood shows a gal a good time, and then takes her out to the beach late at night to kill her, is it?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

It wasn’t an entirely unfair assumption - the only light illuminating the road ahead was his own headlights, and those of the occasional car that would pass by. She had guessed right about the beach, though, and Calum faked an incredulous gasp.

“How could you think I’m a murderer? I know we’ve been driving down a dark road for half an hour, but that’s irrelevant to the matter.”

“I’ll have you know I’ve sent Andy my location, in case you do choose to kill me. At the very least he could come locate my body.” She was biting her tongue to keep from laughing, but ultimately failed and she squeezed Calum’s hand in an attempt to let him know she was kidding - but also possibly a poorly veiled attempt at wanting to hold his hand.

Thankfully, Calum took the hint and laced their fingers together, bringing their joined hands up to his lips, grazing against the back of hers. He heard her breath stop, and he quickly glanced at her with a hint of a smile.

The rest of the drive was silent, only the faint sound of Louis Armstrong playing in the background. The lights of their destination came into view, and Calum chewed on his lower lip while he tried to gauge her reaction. It would be impossible to tell what it was just from a glance, but the smile that came across her face was enough for Calum.

While the sound of Louis Armstrong was now gone, the sounds of a vibrant jazz band filled her ears, and her smile went from soft to ear to ear within seconds.

“What is this, Cal?” She asked softly, reaching for his hand when he had met her at the front of the car.

The first thought at the forefront of his mind was how he could get used to the feeling of her hand in his, but the next thought he had was that he should probably answer her question. “Well…” He began, tugging her hand gently so she could follow, “There’s this jazz band I’ve come across that plays here once a month and I love to come and watch them. They’ve even let me play for them a handful of times.”

Her eyes scanned the people, wide with wonder as she did so. She saw couples of all ages milling about, and much to her delight some were dancing. You often heard about things like this, but she never could have dreamed that this beautiful man standing beside her would have taken her here.

“Wanna dance, doll?” Calum asked, looking down at her expectantly, giggling softly at how quickly her gaze snapped up to him.

He didn’t need to say anymore to her before he was dragged out to the ‘dance floor’, proceeding to sway and spin to the music.

After a few songs, they decided to take a break, sitting down at a table beside this elderly couple Calum appeared to know, excusing himself to go get you both a drink.

“You don’t see that often, do ya Ruby?” The man spoke up, clearly trying to the attention of his wife, as well as the young lady that sat beside them.

“What’s that darlin’?” The woman, Ruby, said to the man, leaning her chin onto her hand.

“Calum seems to have brought a special lady with him tonight. Don’t think he’s ever done that before.”

Now he had her attention, turning her head to look at Ruby and her husband, chewing on her lip before she asked, “He hasn’t?”

The couple shook their head practically in unison, knowing smiles on their lips, “He must really care about you.”

It took her off guard when Calum came back, setting down waters for them. Sipping it absentmindedly while their words echoed through her head. If Calum truly had never brought anyone there before her, this place must have been special to him; and what lead him to want to bring her there? Her chest was warm with the implication that she, too, could be special to Calum in the same way this place was.

Not much longer later, they made their decision to leave. She had been making her rounds, getting to know the regulars of the area, and them doing the same for her. It didn’t take her very long to be invited back by the regulars, all of them kissing her and Calum’s cheeks before they finally departed.

Arriving back at her apartment, there was a sense of hesitation in the air, neither of them wanting their night to end. It needed to though, if only to let the night continue on and they could venture into the future together.

“Walk me to my door?” She asked, glancing over at him with a hopeful expression in her eyes.

“It would be my pleasure,” He answered honestly, hopping out of the drivers side, quickly making his way to her side to offer his hand to her.

The nerves from earlier returned while they made the short trek upstairs to her apartment. Calum knew before he reached the door that he wanted to kiss her, but the thought of it being the typical awkward first date kiss hurt his chest while it constricted in panic.

He could tell she was nervous too when he saw her fumble with her keys, and it made him breathe a little easier. When they stopped in front of her door, she spun around to face him, stumbling back despite the lack of alcohol either of them drank that night.

“I had an amazing time,” She began, licking her lips when she finally met his eyes. “I’d love to do it again sometime, if you’d like.”

“Trust me, I’d like nothing more.” Oh, so he was back to desperate, that’s good.

“Good, good…” Her words died in her throat when Calum stepped closer to her, bringing his hand up to brush against her cheek. Their eyes seemed to take turns glancing from their lips, back to each others eyes - a wordless request for a kiss. It was just a matter of who would move first.

Calum couldn’t wait any longer, the anticipation enough to kill him, so he closed the gap, capturing her lips in the most breathtaking kiss she had ever received. His lips were so gentle and soft against hers, and she couldn’t help but to tangled her fingers in the front of his shirt, desperate to have him closer.

A long moment later, they pulled apart, both slightly gasping for air and sharing breathless giggles.

“Alright, so I’ll talk to you later then?” Calum teased, his fingers still dancing along her waist, enjoying the feeling of the soft silk under his touch.

“You’d fucking better honestly.”

With that half threat, they shared one more kiss before she slipped inside, pressing her back against the door with her hand against her head. The whole night had been a whirlwind, and it was difficult to believe that it was her real life - every series of events felt movie like, and it was the last thing she expected when she moved to the City of Angels.

Calum had begun the walk back to his car, waiting until he was fully inside before he rested his head against the steering wheel and laughing softly to himself. He had never felt such a strong connection to anyone before, his heart was racing at the fact that maybe he had just met his soulmate.

Taking his phone out of his pocket for the first time that night, he noticed the group chat was blowing up with questions of his date, shaking his head before he sent a simple reply:

[9:54pm]: She’s perfect. I’m gonna marry her.

Once that was sent, he silenced his phone again and headed home, proceeding to write the same words down in his journal with a date, almost as a manifestation of his future.

***

Their relationship only blossomed from there - In ways they were completely inseparable, but both knew the times when to step back, letting one another have alone time, or time with their friends.

It made the boys so happy to see their best friend completely and totally in love, excited that he had met someone who matched him on different levels. It was rare to see them argue, and when they did, it was resolved almost as quickly as an issue came up - it was almost then that everyone realized that the two really were meant to be together, knowing how much Calum despised conflict.

At the year and a half mark, Calum began to plan his proposal. Their friends demanded to be in on it, but being in on it revealed the only thing he ever kept from his friends - the one thing that was just for them.

In the end, it was worth showing them if it meant she said yes to him, and the promise of their future together was more set in stone.

When the day of the proposal finally arrived, Calum was a nervous wreck all day - he had to call Andy to help get her out of the house so he could panic in private. Ashton showed up at one point in the day so someone could force him into the shower, so he’d be ready for the night.

Calum lost count of how many times he was told to relax by his friends via text, after his shower Ashton was long since gone, not wanting to be there when she got home in an attempt to not give away the surprise - as if him being there was anything out of the ordinary.

When she arrived back home, she got ready for their typical once a month Saturday night date, still seemingly unaware about what was in store for the night. It put Calum at ease a little, to see her go through her routine of getting ready without the knowledge that he was going to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him.

“Ready baby?” She asked softly, smoothing out her skirt, cocking her head to the side while she waited for an answer.

“Yeah, love, let’s go,” Calum smiled, lacing his fingers with hers as they headed out to their destination.

The familiar lights were a welcome sight to Calum, further easing his nerves for the night. It helped knowing that everyone that was there loved them, and only wanting what was best for them. When he wrapped his arm around her waist, she shivered slightly and curled into him.

“We gonna dance, angel?” Calum whispered, his lips lingering near her ear, leading her to the dance floor regardless. His eyes scanned the room, not giving her much time to look around before he pulled her close to him.

Over her head, he saw Luke getting into position behind the mic, smiling at Calum. ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’ by Louis Armstrong began to play, Calum continuing to move her to the music with him until Luke began singing.

‘Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"

Birds singing in the sycamore trees

Dream a little dream of me…’

The moment she recognized the familiar voice, she spun around, a bright smile on her face. She started to suspect something was up, especially considering that at any given chance, Calum would never be able to turn down playing with his best friends. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, swaying from side to side as she watched the boys play the song.

As it came to an end, Calum felt her take a deep breath before turning to face him, suspecting what was about to happen.

Calum took his arms from around her, rubbing his hands on his pants to wipe the sweat that was forming, taking the small box from his pocket. “I know you can kind of guess what I’m about to say, you’re too smart for your own good - but at least I managed to keep this a surprise this far. Anyways… Before I met you, I wasn’t quite sure that a soulmate existed out there for me. I watched my friends pair off and meet their amazing significant others, leaving just me usually. But then you came, and my world turned upside down. I didn’t know what to do with myself, but I knew I had to be near you. You simultaneously stole the air from my lungs, but breathed a new life into me I didn’t know I was capable of. I’ve become a better man because of you, and for you. So, I need to ask…” He finally got down on one knee, opening the ring box with tears in his eyes, “Will you marry me?”

She couldn’t contain the tears streaming down her cheeks any longer, nodding fervently as she dipped down to his level to kiss him, nearly knocking him over, “A million times yes. In every universe, in every lifetime, yes.”

She hadn’t realized that all their close friends and family were there, and it caused more tears to flow when she saw them. Never in her life had she felt more loved, and it was all thanks to the beautiful boy who brought her to a jazz bar on the beach.

Despite having a lot of friends and family, they kept their wedding small. They wanted it to be intimate and sweet, and everything about it spoke to who they were as people, and it represented their relationship perfectly. Growing up, she never had brothers, but as she swayed with Michael to the song playing, she couldn’t resist the urge to rest her head on his shoulder and tell him how they’re all the brothers she’s always wanted.

Later in the night, the newly wedded couple decided to exchange gifts. Hers was a set of shadow boxes, with pressed and dried flowers from their first date that she had kept for the now almost three years. His gift to her was a simple frame, but in it was the paper he wrote after their first date.

“Baby, this isn’t the day of our first date.”

“You’re absolutely right, my love, it’s the day I realized I wanted to marry you.”

tag list: @cals-wildflower @talkfastromance4 @softbabiestan @roseycal @calum-uncrowned @boyfriend-cal @wildflowerirwin @irwindoll @gosh-im-short @atlcalm @thesubtweeter @heavenisapeach @ridingcthood @loveroflrh @wokeupinjapanisabop

#calum hood #calum hood fanfic #calum hood fanfiction #5 seconds of summer fanfic #5 seconds of summer fanfiction #this is pure fluff

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dirt-cup-draco · 4 years

Text

Sirius x Reader - More To You (2/2)

tag list: @spacegirlhere @treestarrrrrrrr @slytherpuffgal @scaredofvscogirls @jenniseiblack

Previously:

It wasn’t often he felt guilt for what he did but right now he couldn’t have felt worse. He really didn’t know you. He hadn’t even tried. Because he was angry at his family and the world he had taken it out on you without a second thought. “I’m sorry,” He said lamely as you headed off to the library. He was positive you heard him but you just sighed and shook your head. He knew that wouldn’t be enough.

Sirius realized he should stop burning bridges before he had the chance to cross them. There was much more to you than he realized and now he was sure you would never forgive him.

If someone had told Sirius Black even five years ago that he would be stood before Barty Crouch Senior and convicted of thirteen counts of murder as well as giving away the hidden location of his best friend, his brother, he would have laughed in your face. Now, he was just numbly staring around as he let the members of the Wizengamot talk over him.

He wasn’t present, not really. He still couldn’t believe James and Lily were gone. And Harry, oh poor Harry. Sirius should be with his godson right now. He should be raising and loving that boy like James would have wanted. A tear escaped out of his dull eyes as the men and women clamored over evidence and motive and all this terribly bullshit that made no sense. James was his family, Lily was the light of the world that was better with her and James in it.

Now his family was torn apart. He hadn’t heard from Peter in ages and Remus didn’t believe his innocence. It hurt, the people he had grown up loving the most, and still loving unconditionally, couldn’t see he would never hurt them. It was the grief, he hoped. Maybe before Sirius rotted in Azkaban Remus could forgive him for not doing a better job to protect them.

He was snapped out of his nightmarish reverie by a voice floating above the rest. “I don’t think we are considering all the possibilities here! It doesn’t make sense as to what Sirius Black would gain from giving up the Potters,”

Eyes traveled to you and you took a steady breath as he stared at you with wide eyes. He hadn’t even realized you were part of the Wizengamot. He hadn’t seen you since school when you had declared that you wouldnt, couldnt, forgive him for his cruel behaviors against you. Why were you defending him?

“It figures that the Slytherin sticks her neck out for this monster,” Muttered a council member. You looked at them with a cool fury in your eyes what was drawing Sirius in like a moth to a flame.

“My house is not relevant in this court room. It is a foolish way to judge students without knowing all of their circumstances and beliefs. Please do not presume to know me because of my house,” You were boiling beneath the surface but still had a dangerous calm about you. “And I think we are also presuming too many things about Black. We hear his family name and think he must have done it, we don’t know that for certain,” You argued.

Barty Crouch Senior’s cheeks turned red in fury as he gaped at you. “You are new but that does not excuse your complete dismissal of the signs that point straight to this man being the culprit! I ask for silence from you,”

“But it’s too perfect! Every single sign points to him and that is the problem!” You tried, knowing your time was coming to an end.

“I will not hear another word from you!” You were silenced.

You stewed angrily in your seat but relented. You couldn’t forfeit your entire career on Sirius Black but you wished that you could convince the rest to see that they could possibly be convicting an innocent man. They weren’t even giving him a real trial!

“We declare Sirius Orion Black guilty of all charges and hereby sentenced to life in Azkaban,”

Every prisoner in Azkaban was there for life. It was just a matter of how long they held on.

You looked at Sirius as he accepted his fate. The fire was gone and he took punishment for the death of his friends and several others. Guilt swam in his eyes, drowning him. You recognized the look in him. It was close to the guilt he had shown when he had apologized to you years ago. You let your eyes linger on him.

You had to remember this man before Azkaban hollowed him out and ultimately killed him. “I’m sorry,” You mouthed to him as he returned your gaze, possibly wanting to see a friendly face for the last time in his soon to be miserable existence.

All he could manage was a tired smile. He was disconnected from reality but you understood. It was better to let life happen around you than face the hell you were in.

Sirius stood outside your door. The moon was high in the sky and every noise had him looking around nervously. He barked, pawing at the door. He knew it was a long shot but he was praying you would open up. They would be looking for him and he was safe in his animagus form but he couldn’t sleep another night on the cold ground. He had to get to someone who would believe he wasn’t a danger.

“Merlin’s beard,” He heard you mutter as you stomped down the stairs, flinging the door open. “Come on then,” You opened the door wider as you stared blearily at him. It seemed in your tired state that it took you an extra few seconds to realize who you were opening the door to. It was no secret to you that Sirius and his pals were unregistered animagi. A black dog could only chase you around the grounds so many times before you got suspicious.

You looked closer, fumbling for the glasses you had hung on the collar of your shirt. “Oh gods,” You paled.Sirius wagged his tail and trotted in. You closed and locked the door, drawing the blinds closed and falling heavy into the nearest seat. “How?” You croaked.

In but a blink of an eye Sirius was standing in front of you, hair tangled and matted. An unseemly scruff had found it’s way on to his face as he grinned a sinister grin. He was so far from the handsome boy he’d been in school. How long had it been? Twelve years. You realized, stomach churning. You had stopped trying a handful of years ago and it had always been your biggest regret and source of guilt.

“Slipped through the bars when those ghoulish bastards brought me that shit they call food,” He snarled. His prison uniform hung off his skeletal frame. You hardly knew what to do but realized Sirius was in need of well, everything. Food water, clothes. He was a miserable sight.

You sprang up, dashing into the kitchen. “How do you take your tea?” You asked and Sirius let himself smile even if it was tight. They had taken so much from him over the past twelve years he didn’t know how to function so soon after.

“I’ll take anything,” He said honestly as you set a mug in front of him as well as some toast.

“Y-you can have more if you finish,” You said, awkwardly. “I just figured you don’t want an upset stomach,” How strange it was to see you like this, hair messy from sleep and in a simple sleeping gown that he wouldn’t have thought a person like you would wear. He had been wrong years ago so he wasn’t surprised to find you were far different than he expected.

“Thank you,” He said after he had devoured everything in front of him. You had tried not to stare as he had wolfed it down, as if he was scared it would be taken from him. Sirius wiped the crumbs from his mouth and looked at you.

You were prettier than he remembered. “Thank you for the food,” He clarified, “but also for what you tried to do all those years ago. You were the only one on my side and it seems you still are,”

“Please dont thank me,” You winced as a heavy weight fell on your shoulders. “I gave up on you far too soon, after three years it seemed every mention of you was gone and then after five I started to wonder if you were still alive. My budget was tight and I couldn’t afford to continue trying to free you,” You buried your face in your hands.

Sirius hadn’t been expecting that. His lithe fingers wrapped around your wrist, tugging at it until you looked at him. He intertwined his fingers with you. Oh how good it felt to be near someone. “I will still thank you, I’ve given you every reason to doubt me and when it truly mattered the most you were the only one who had faith in me,”

You let out a sad chuckle. “You’re an idiot, Black, not a monster,” You teased.

Sirius meant to laugh, he meant to jest back. Instead he found himself giving into deep sobs that wracked his entire body and made his chest feel tight. He fell forward, head falling against your chest as you rested a shaky hand in his hair, another hand patting his back as you let him cry. After being dehumanized Sirius needed to feel again and know what it was to be free to do so.

When his tears subsided you picked up a rather scary looking knot of hair. “I think you need a shower,”

Sirius snorted and nuzzled his face against your chest as he wiped at his eyes. Moving but not distancing himself he rested his forehead against yours in a show of appreciation. You were the rock he never expected to have in this time. It was strange and foreign but you were both leaning on each other in a way that had seemed impossible once.

Looking at Sirius Black you felt your heart ache with something akin to warmth. He was a shell of the man he used to be but in a way he was a better man, worn down by the world but still kind, maybe even kinder than he was before tragedy shredded his life.

“I’m sorry but it had to be you I came to see,” He spoke as you washed his dish absentmindedly, thinking of how you’d get the guest bedroom ready for him as he took a shower. You didn’t want to be mean but the man smelled like death.

“I’m glad you came,” You spoke and realized the words were completely honest. “Stay as long as you need, you are safe here,”

When Sirius nodded and walked by you, following your directions to your bathroom, he pressed a kiss against your cheek and your draw nearly dropped. Who would have thought you’d see the day where Sirius Black wanted to be near you for a reason other than tormenting you.

He didn’t look back as he walked to your bathroom but he felt his heart begin to beat again. The world was a different place now but just as dangerous as it had been twelve years ago. Despite that fact he let himself relax as he stood underneath the scalding water.

Sirius Black washed himself clean from all the grime and misery of the past and let himself become a man with a soul again. In your home he could free himself of the past. You were the start of a future where he could be free, or at least he was hoping.

Besides all the time he had spent figuring out who could have framed him he had allowed himself to reflect on all the missed chances he’d had. You were his biggest regret. You had deserved a respect he had never once shown you and now he would make up for it.

In his time away, it was easy to say you had been a happy memory he had clung to. You didn’t have specific memories together but the memory of you standing strong to defend him had resonated with him and had his mind stuck on what memories the two of you could have possibly made if he had learned not to hate as a child. There had always been more to you.

If he played his cards right and got the revenge he craved, the justice for his best friend, maybe he could hope to learn all the things that made you tick.

Without even knowing it you had given Sirius a reason to come back from the depths of hell and have a purpose after he caught Peter and made him pay.

#sirius black #sirius x reader #sirius black x reader #angst #fluff #older!sirius #slytherin!reader #sirius x slytherin!reader #sirius black x slytherin!reader #its fanon #but #completely plausible his middle name is orion #so yeah

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marias-in-pyjamas · 4 years

Text

Eclipse: Chapter 1.1

See more from the masterlist.

Pairings:

Commanding Agent Adam du Mortain x Detective Eliana Langford x Specialist Agent Mason ; Agent Nate Sewell x Detective Ellara Kingston

Content Rating - Warnings: G - none

At Detective Kingston’s Apartment

Ellara groans as she felt her face slowly getting wet because of the thing that is excitedly licking it. Albeit reluctant, she opened her eyes only to be greeted by the sight of her dog's nose.

"Woof." The dog barks, making her let out yet another groan before she wraps her arms around the small of its body. Stirring from her position, she saw the clock and realized what day it was.

14 Jan ’19 – 05:00

It's so early omg.

But it's not like she could complain. And she is feeling pretty excited about today too. Who wouldn't, when it's the first day that you are officially your town's detective? Ellara chuckles to herself, scrambling to stand on her feet.

She stood in front of her bedroom mirror, carrying Sol with her. She stares at herself, and oh does she look like a disaster. But it doesn't matter. She can do a lot to fix it.

And so with Sol still perched on her arms, she walked to the kitchen starting her morning rituals with breakfast for the both of them as usual.

Everything feels like the usual except from the rapid beating of her heart inside her chest. She doesn't even know if it's excitement, or just her nerves trying to make her reconsider all of this. Well she wouldn't, would she? She dismisses the thought by shaking her head. She proceeds to continue eating as she happily watches her dog eat with the same enthusiasm.

A few spoonfuls and minutes later, she found herself cleaning after their mess. It was quick, as she only ever need to wash a single breakfast set. Maybe I should sleep more.

"Woof!" Sol calls out wagging his tail and getting his owner's attention

The woman's eyes immediately went to him and she gave him a very fond smile. A smile that is a lot more genuine than a lot of her others. She crouches down and pets the pupper, "Wanna go for a walk? What do you say, boy?"

"Woof, woof!"

And that was all it took for her to understand the answer.

After the walk

07:15

"I hope the walk was enough for you, baby." Ellara smiles as she detaches the leash from Sol's collar, letting him run free around the apartment again.

Thankfully, the weather isn't hot, and the walk wasn't that much of a bother. Getting ready for work before walking Sol is probably the best decision she ever made this week. Especially with Tina's message.

Ugh, a murder? As my first case?

Her smile turned into a frown just thinking about it. Wayhaven is a quiet town. And it's the first murder in town ever since she was born. It shouldn't even bother her, but it does anyway. Ellara values all of her firsts, so it's only natural that she's reading too much into this.

Her thought was cut off just as she heard a motorcycle engine start up loudly. And, when did someone own a motorcycle in this street before?

Curious, she quickly pulled her blinds open. Peeking on her window, she saw a figure sitting on a big motorcycle. The person has their back facing her, and with a black helmet on she can't even catch a glimpse of what they look like. The motorcycle zooms away.

It must be her new neighbor. She saw a car parked in front of the apartment yesterday. Unfortunately, she weren't able to meet her new neighbor yet. Oh well, maybe she'll knock later at night just to make sure they're settling in. With a shrug, she closed her blinds once again.

07:30

She looks around her apartment making sure that everything is in order before she grabs a box of dog food from her kitchen. She puts plenty of it on the pet feeder she had managed to assemble. At least now, she won't feel too worried for her dog during work hours.

The dog catches up to her, and follows her closely behind until she stepped outside the door. Sol sits on the floor inside the apartment at a close distance. She crouches on the floor to level with him and smiles.

"Bye, boy. Be good okay? Mommy will be home before you even know it," she says, giving Sol one last kiss before she stood, locked the door, and finally left for work.

At Detective Langford’s Apartment

14 Jan ’19 – 04:15

Eliana had been staring at the ceiling for almost an hour now, her racing thoughts still not calming down. She was woken up by a nightmare earlier, but considering her line of work, it’s not really much of a surprise to her anymore. The things she’d seen in the city marked her, haunted her. But it also made her stronger, fiercer. Things normal people would easily succumb into and feel squeamish about. But still, she persevered. She continued working hard. She continued doing her job well. She continued pushing forward towards her goal – to be the youngest police captain in the history of Metropolis Police Department. And for a while, it seemed like the universe was finally on her side. Her career was advancing according to the time line she had planned for herself. But of course, as it always does, something eventually happens to prove her how wrong she is to think that the universe is on anyone’s side. Just as she was finally getting the hang of being a detective, she was reassigned out of nowhere into some backwater town: Wayhaven. A wrench in her carefully-crafted plan. A wrench in her career.

So that’s how Eliana had found herself staring at the ceiling of her new apartment in Wayhaven, wondering if she was maybe cursed from something she did from her past life. Luna – her pet puppy – was snoring beside her. Her furry companion’s head resting on the crook of her arm. Careful not to jostle her too much, Eliana turned her head towards the clock in her bedside table to look at the time. Knowing that she will not be able to sleep again anytime soon, she fully turned her body towards Luna and cuddled the puppy closer to her chest. Counting down from five to calm her nerves, she inhaled the familiar scent of the puppy and planted a soft kiss in her forehead. Luna turned sleepily towards her and licked Eliana’s nose as a response before going back to sleep again. Chuckling softly, she gently extricated herself from Luna and scratched her ears before sitting up on the side of the bed.

Going to work early is not exactly new for Eliana. So with that in mind, she pushed herself off of the bed and started her morning routine. She changed from wearing her night clothes to her sportswear before she started stretching her limbs to prepare herself for a little rigorous exercise. After a few minutes of exercising, she proceeded to place some dog food on Luna’s bowl, causing the energetic puppy to clamber off of the bed in a hurry to get to her food.

Eliana went to her kitchen to make herself some much needed coffee. Whenever asked, she always say that she prefers her coffee as dark and black as her soul. While waiting for the coffee machine to finish, she sat on the bar stool in the kitchen island and searched the internet for the directions of the police station. Bookmarking it, she prepared all the stuff she needs for work and finished drinking her coffee, which actually counts as her breakfast.

After Luna finished her breakfast, Eliana spent a few more minutes spoiling the little girl with pets before fetching the puppy’s collar and leash. With a smile on her face that only her furry companion ever witnesses, she turned toward Luna and asked, “Who wants to go for a walk?”

“Bork, bork!” Luna exclaimed while wagging her tail enthusiastically, already running towards her human.

God, she loves that puppy, even if she’s not really on good terms with the one who gave Luna to her. Fastening Luna’s leash on, the pair of them went outside to do their usual morning run, but in a different area and surroundings now.

05:30

After an hour of running, Eliana decided to walk around the neighborhood with Luna, just to acquaint herself more with her current residence. The stares of the townspeople as she and her puppy passed was something she expected. After all, she knows that it’s not usual for people to see someone from the city transferring here as she herself is not even sure why she was transferred here. But what else can I do right now except to suck it up?

Taking the other way around towards home, Eliana and Luna walked together at a leisurely pace, knowing that there’s still a long time before she needs to prepare for work.

After the walk

07:00

After arriving home, Eliana rested for a little while before finally taking a shower. Enjoying the hot shower for a few minutes, she turned it off to get dressed and get ready.

Having finally finished dressing-up for work, Eliana stared at herself on her full-body mirror. Her hazel eyes stared back at her, the only memory of her late father that she remembers. Her lean form is hidden beneath her black button-down shirt that was tucked in a tight-fitting black jeans, with her police badge holder clipped on the side of her belt. A simple gold necklace is sitting prettily on the base of her throat partnered by stud earrings of the same color, three on her right ear and two on the left. The black combat boots she’s wearing gives her an extra two inches on her height, but even without the boots, she’s already taller than some of the detectives in the city. A black leather jacket completes her whole look, helping her fight off the chill when she’s riding her motorcycle. She’s about to turn away from the mirror – seemingly satisfied by what she saw – when her eyes zoomed in on the roots of her hair. The light brown color is reappearing again, a reminder that no matter what color of hair dye she chooses and uses – underneath it all and despite everything that has happened – she’s still her mother’s daughter and having that same hair color of hers is an evidence of that.

Making a mental note to buy more hair dye in the town square, she went outside her room and secured Luna’s playpen. She double-checked that the automatic food and water dispenser is working then kissed Luna goodbye. She shouldered her bag and her black helmet and turned to leave.

Not really knowing what to expect (although she thinks that she’ll most likely be bored to death on her first day as a detective in Wayhaven), she took a deep breath and went outside her apartment, locking it behind her.

Eliana went to the parking space where she left her motorcycle. Securing her helmet on and starting the engine, she decided to first try out the coffee shop she saw near the police station as she still has plenty of time to spare. Maybe she’ll stakeout outside the station for a few minutes, just to see how busy and active it could really be, this early in the morning.

Making up her mind, Eliana drove away from the apartment block’s parking space, the roar of the engine of her motorcycle heard by the detective living next door to her’s.

#the wayhaven chronicles #twc fic #twc au #twc adam #twc nate #twc felix #twc mason #detective ellara kingston #detective eliana langford #adam du mortain #agent mason #nate sewell #felix hauville #tina poname #soloman verda #douglas friedman #bobby marks

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johannstutt413 · 4 years

Text

(requested by calligomiles)

Projekt Red skulked her way down the halls, searching for her target. Their scent was fresh, which helped, and the trail was well-worn; this was a path they walked, meaning that like the counter-Lupo herself, they were a creature of habit. Good, good. That made her job easier.

As she neared the threshold of her quarry’s nest, she hesitated...and that proved to be the undoing of her stealth, as the Ursus girl inside called out, “Red? Is that you?”

“Yes.” She shuffled in. “You noticed again; your senses are getting sharper.”

“Thanks to your training. What would you like me to read today?” Istina adjusted her glasses as she waited for Red to join her in the double-wide rocking chair they shared.

The Lupo thought very sincerely for a moment. “We finished the story about the girl in the woods last time.”

“We did.” The Ursus’ right hand drifted over to the top of Red’s head for pats. “Which means?”

“We have to finish another story before we read it again. Hmm...One of your detective books?”

Istina smiled. “This is the first time you’ve asked me to read one of my stories.”

“I ask you to read mine every time.” Red nodded to herself. “I want to know more about what you like.”

“That’s very sweet of you. Alright, let me see, which ones do I have in my bag right now...Ah! This should do nicely for a first detective novel: The Portrait of Markov.”

Somehow that name seemed familiar, but the Lupo couldn’t place it, so she ignored the thought. “Is it scary?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s scary, no.” She let her hand drift through Red’s hair absentmindedly, as did Red. “Would it be a problem if it was?”

“I don’t think so. I’ve never heard of a scary book, but the Doctor said that it’s scary how you read sometimes.”

Ah. “She meant she finds it unusual that I read so quickly, not necessarily that what I read scares her...although I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. Sometimes adults find it concerning when their children think for themselves.”

“Grandma was scared of that, too.” She nodded. “‘Red will hunt, and I shall think for her,’ she said. Doctor and Kal’tsit told me to think for myself, but I’m not always sure how to do that. That’s why I’m happy you’re here.”

“Because teaching you to read is helping you learn to think for yourself?”

The Lupo nodded. “Yes...and you give good pats and scritches. Doctor gives good scritches, and Kal’tsit gives good pats, but you give both without me asking for them. It’s very nice.”

“I’m glad you like it.” She blushed. “I don’t realize I’m doing it sometimes. You know, it’s odd to think that the other Lupo are scared by you, because having you next to me is so reassuring.”

“Reassuring…’assure again…’ I make you feel calm again?”

Istina set the book in her lap so she had two hands free for a proper side-hug. “Sometimes, when I read my books, I remember things I’d rather not from those days in Chernobog, before you and the Doctor found us, but even after you’ve fallen asleep, and I’m still reading my books, petting you lets me forget all of that and remember that I’m safe now...That I’m helping people who were like me, who didn’t think help could come for them or weren’t worthy of it.”

“Istina is safe as long as Red is with her.” It wasn’t a mental note spoken aloud so much as a first-person promise spoken in the third. Sometimes she forgot about first and second-person pronouns. “Red will protect her, because Red is a good friend.”

“You really are...Shall we start the book now?”

The Lupo nodded, tickling the Ursus’ cheek as her hair rubbed against it. “Yes, please.”

“Alright.” She cleared her throat for her narrating voice. “‘The rain beat against Ivan Gregorivich’s window in time with the crashing of storm-tossed waves on the nearby coast. It was little concern to him, of course, as his focus was set entirely on the hooded man said storm had brought to his threshold...’”

Time lost all form of meaning to the pair as the story continued. Red, usually asleep after thirty minutes or so of listening to her tutor’s soothing voice, found herself focused with rapt attention on the story’s protagonist - not Ivan Gregorivich, as he was something Istina called a “framing device,” but the man who’d come to his office - and his quest to understand the meaning behind a portrait of a man whose murder he’d been tasked to solve as a member of Victoria’s investigative bureau. It was a complex tale, but within her ability to comprehend, and between this and the constant reward of physical affection she was receiving, Red had every intention of seeing it through to the end...which they did, about five hours later, as rain began to fall outside as well, beating on the windows of Istina’s study as they did in that first chapter.

“Would you look at the time!” The others would probably wonder where she was at this point. “Oh, but you did so good following all of that, Red; I don’t think a thousand scritches would be enough of a reward.”

“Really? That’s a lot of scritches...” The thought set her tail wagging.

Istina sighed. “If I had the time, I would give them all to you, but Zima and Gummy wanted me to have dinner with them, so I should go...unless you’d like to eat with us?”

“You’ll let me eat with you?” Everything stopped in its tracks. “Off the same plate?”

“No, silly, I mean...You’ve only ever eaten alone, haven’t you?”

Red nodded. “As long as I remembers.”

“Well, I think we’ll be changing that. This way we can read more afterwards, too.” Istina closed her book, slipped it into her bag, and leaned on the Lupo’s shoulder. “But, if I’m honest...I’m not ready to go back to them yet. They’re so full of energy, and right now, I just want to enjoy the calm with you. Um, could I...sit in your lap?”

“You can.”

Once that was arranged, the advisor tentatively set an arm behind Red’s neck. “Could you hold me? I think they turned the AC on.”

“Mmhmm.” The Lupo went one step further, unzipping her coat so she could better insulate her friend. “Warmer?”

“Much...When you’re hungry, we’ll go to my room so we can eat.”

Red nodded. “Okay. Are you going to take a nap?”

“Yeah...” She yawned. “That was a lot of talking, but I enjoyed it...So soft~...Good night, Red.”

“Good night, Istina. Sweet dreams.”

As she closed her eyes, she wasn’t sure if she thought the words or said them out loud: “Dreams of you always are, Red Riding Hood...”

#arknights #istina (arknights)#projekt red (arknights)#i can't complain about calli flooding my inbox #because everything they give me to write is pure sugar #after this and two more asks #one from an anon and one that technically was me asking call to ask me #i've got some stuff for me myself and i that i just HAVE to get out there #and then there's another Calli-pack #if anyone wants the deets on that i can post the list #and as always my inbox is open for more requests!#arknights fic

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chipper9906 · 4 years

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Bound To You - Chapter 6: Dead Ends

< - - - Previous Chapter

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 15

NOTE: Pairings and Ratings Will Change As Story Is Updated

Pairings: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester

Rating: General Audiences

Chapter Word Count: 9,111

Overall Word Count: 43,900

Status: Multi Chapter Fic - In Profress (6/?)

Chapter Preview:

Dean could see just how bad of a state the guy was in; dark bruises were littered all over the man’s pale skin, multiple cuts and lacerations decorating every piece of skin Dean could see, oozing out streams of dark blood that stained the button-up shirt of the man’s suit.

‘Jesus… what the hell are they doing to the guy?’

‘That’s not a “guy”, Dean…’

‘Huh?’

‘I recognize the man… that was the last vessel I saw Atheed possessing…’

‘You telling me the Men of Letters managed to trap an angel?’

Link To Fic

Click Below To Keep Reading

Character Key For Telepathic Conversations

'Italic Text' - Castiel

'Bold Text' - Dean

* * *

Dean found himself waking up the next morning to the delicious smell of bacon wafting down the hallway and into his room. It was this – and only this – that convinced Dean to haul himself out of the comfort of his warm bed and pull himself into his chair.

He had only just settled into the chair when there was a light rap of knocks on his bedroom door. He looks up to see Sam poking his head through the gap he cracked open in the door, eyes briefly scanning across the room before landing on Dean.

“Oh, good, you’re up! Thought if the smell of bacon wouldn’t get you of bed, then nothing would…”

“I’m always happy to be woken up for bacon, Sammy.”

Sam glanced at something behind the door, chuckling quietly to himself before returning his attention to Dean. “There’s someone here that’s dying to see you…”

Dean didn’t even have time to ask Sam who he was talking to before Sam opened the door a tad bit wider, giving enough room for a blur of fur to shoot into his room, claws skidding on the concrete floor as Miracle runs to him.

“Hey, girl!” Miracle was jumping excitedly at his wheelchair, desperate to get as close to Dean as possible. It didn’t even seem to faze her that Dean wasn’t quite the same as he was when he left. She just cared he was home.

‘Is… is that a dog?’

‘Yeah! This is Miracle!’

Miracle had managed to get her two front paws atop of Dean’s legs, and Dean got the jarring feeling again when he realized he couldn’t actually feel her weight on his legs. He didn’t have much time to ponder over this as Miracle had reached his face, running her slobbering tongue everywhere she can reach.

“Blegh – Good to see you too, girl.” Dean lightly pushed her away from his face, ruffling his hands along the sides of her face.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” Sam said through his chuckles, backing out from the doorway and disappearing down the hallway. “Breakfasts waiting – don’t let it go cold!”

‘Oh - this was the surprise you were talking about?’

‘Yep! You don’t sound too surprised?’

‘Just… processing it. I didn’t think you were much of a dog person?’

‘Eh, not really… But ever since Colonel, they’ve earned a bit more of my respect.’

‘The… German Shephard that was a witness to murder?’

‘That’s the one. Sometimes I think about making that disgusting potion thing to talk to Miracle. I never did learn what dogs were put on Earth for…’

‘…What?’

“Uh, nothing, nevermind. So, you wanna meet her?’

‘Am I not doing that right now?’

‘Not properly! You should take control, meet her right! Give her a good scratch behind the ears.’

‘You want me to take over? You’re sure?’

‘No Cas, I’m not sure; I’m worried you’ll take control of my body forever and kill my dog. Yes I’m sure you dumbass, now get up here!’

Miracle was able to pick up the change immediately. The second the familiar green eyes of her owner turned into that dazzling blue, her furiously wagging tail came to a stop. Yet, she did not move from her position. She didn’t back away from him in fear like Castiel was expecting her to.

“Um… hello,” Castiel greeted the dog leaning on his lap awkwardly.

‘Dean, I’m worried I’m going to startle her.’

‘Why? Can she sense you’re an angel or something?’

‘Dog’s have incredible senses, far beyond what humans are capable of. It’s likely she can feel my grace inside you, perhaps even smell it.’

‘…What does grace smell like?’

‘It varies from angel to angel. The scent typically expands out to the vessel, so it’s likely you may even be able to pick up on the smell if you were close enough.’

Cas stretched out a tentative hand towards Miracle, slowly moving his hand as not to spook her. He stopped his hand right in front of her snout, to which Miracle gave him an eager sniff.

‘Huh… that’s kind of cool, actually. Is it kind of like humans, where our body odor can smell different to other people?’

‘Not entirely the same, but similar. A human’s scent is used for mating purposes, typically. If a person has a pleasant smelling odor, it’s because their immune system is vastly different to yours.’

‘And that’s good for mating because…?’

‘Because then if you were to have a child, their immune system would be the strength of both of yours combined. It’s nature’s way of increasing your offspring’s chances – of course, humans have adapted so well in most countries that infant mortality rate isn’t much of a problem anymore.’

‘Huh… you know a strange amount about humans, Cas.’

‘Well, it was my job to watch over them for millennia’s. There’s not much else to do but learn about them.’

The longer Miracle spent sniffing Cas, the faster her tail began to wag – going from a steady swing back and forth to a blurred mess of fur. Castiel wasn’t too sure why, but the sight brought a warmth to his chest and a joyful smile stretching across his face. Miracle only became more excited at the sight of his smile, trying to pull herself up even closer and bury her head into his hands for more scratches and pets.

‘Think it’s safe to say she likes you, Cas.’

Even Dean was smiling within his own mind, watching as his best friend bonds with his other best friend.

‘I like her, too. Her fur is addictingly soft.’

‘Great for cuddles.’

‘Dean Winchester cuddling a dog? I’m sorry I missed such a sight.’

‘Says the big scary angel of the lord that’s practically melting in her paws…’

‘You think I’m scary?’

‘Now? Nah, but only because I know you wouldn’t hurt me… too bad. But when I first met you? Yeah… when you showed me your wings for the first time, I was both in awe and seconds away from pissing my pants.’

‘As soldiers of God, I suppose it makes sense that we were created to have a fear invoking appearance. In fact, when he was still in Heaven, Gabriel would often regale the story of talking to the shepherds; how he had to call after then to not be afraid as they ran away…’

‘I think I’ve heard of that story before… wasn’t it in the Bible?’

‘That it was. Gabriel begged for the story to be passed onto the prophets…’

‘Sounds like Gabriel. And that sounds like my stomach growling… Let’s get this show on the road, Cas; bacon’s awaiting.’

Switching possession was still a strange feeling for Dean. It was almost like trying to squeeze past someone in a tight corridor, going from this muted and out of focus vision to a sharp and overwhelming reality.

Miracle happily trotted alongside Dean as he wheeled down the bunker’s hallways, plastering on a smile as he descends the little ramp over the stairs into the kitchen. Sam and Eileen were situated behind the kitchen counter, Eileen sipping on a fresh cup of coffee whilst Sam finished up plating a towering stack of fluffy pancakes.

“Morning!” Eileen was the first to spot him, lowering her mug back down and returning Dean’s warm smile. “How did you sleep?”

“Good, actually,” Dean answered honestly, wheeling himself over to the kitchen island and eying up the food goods on display; an appetizing spread of bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, buttered toast, and – the newest addition from Sam – a plate of pancakes.

“You guys make all this?” Dean was fighting himself tooth and nail not to snatch a piece of bacon for himself (and slip a piece for Miracle….)

“Yep,” Sam replied, looking proudly to the spread. “Eileen cooked up the bacon and eggs. Thought you might want some good eggs and not my rubber eggs.”

“Good call,” Dean had given in to the urge, speaking through a mouthful of perfectly crispy bacon. “Surprised you’re not serving me those egg whites only omelet and fake bacon…” Dean paused, glancing down frantically to the half piece of bacon in his hands. “Wait, unless-,”

“It’s real bacon,” Sam assured him, though rather disapprovingly as he began shoveling some eggs onto his own plate. “I’m not that cruel.”

“You did it before! Brought home that synthetic crap from the store…”

“It tastes just the same!” Sam argued over his shoulder, searching through one of the cabinets for their depleting bottle of maple syrup. “And it’s better for you.”

“It does not taste the same,” Dean grumbled in response, accepting the freshly poured cup of black coffee Eileen passed over to him. “And that’s why I don’t let you go shopping for groceries on your own anymore.”

‘Sam does raise a valid point, Dean.’

‘Oh no. Don’t you start with me too, Cas. I’m already sacrificing my whisky for you, do not ask me to give up my bacon on top of that.’

“I was starting to worry when the smell of sausages cooking didn’t rouse you from your slumber,” Sam commented, shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth. “Good thing the bacon did the job, or I’d have assumed you passed in your sleep.”

“Eh, what can I say,” Dean shrugged his shoulders, wheeling himself and his plateful of food (very carefully…) over to the kitchen table. “Getting stabbed through the back really takes it out of you. Plus, you see this face? Doesn’t stay this pretty at my age without some beauty sleep, Sammy.”

“You’re not that old,” Sam scoffed. “Besides, since when do you sleep in till noon?”

Dean nearly spat out his mouthful of coffee, frantically shoving his flannel sleeve back to check the time on his watch. Yep, just as Sam had said, his watch blinked back the numbers ’12:23’ at him in bright white lettering. “Huh… would you look at that…”

“You have a good dream you didn’t want to wake up from something?” Sam joked, having no idea how close to the truth he actually was.

“Something like that. Man… can’t remember the last time I slept that long. You know, without being knocked out or forced unconscious, or anything like that.”

“Obviously, your body needed the sleep,” Eileen commented, finishing off her last triangle of toast and placing her leftover scraps of sausages and bacon on the floor for Miracle to feast on (which she definitely didn’t leave on purpose). “Doesn’t matter how much drugs the hospital pumps you with; you’ll never have as good of a night’s sleep as you do in your own bed.”

“Amen to that,” Dean stretched out his arms in front of him, listening to the satisfying cracks and pops of his elbow and shoulder joints. “So, what’s the plan for today? Straight to the library, skim through books till we’re bored to tears?”

The happy go lucky smile on Dean’s face slowly slipped away as he saw the anxious looks Sam and Eileen were sharing. Uh oh… That was never good. That was the look of ‘we have something we need to tell you, and we know you’re not going to like it’. Dean hated that look… especially since he knows he’s been one to sport the expression for himself many times over the years.

“Uh, actually…” Sam begun, looking to Eileen for help. “Eileen actually kinda… found a case… while you were in the hospital.”

“Oh…” Dean squeaked out, the remaining few bites of pancake left on his plate no longer looking as appetizing as they did a few seconds ago.

“I wasn’t looking for one,” Eileen stressed that fact, guilt already twisting at her features. “It’s… it’s kind of been all over the news, actually.”

“Yeah, and that’s kinda the reason we’re bringing it up,” Sam added in, backing up Eileen. “From what we think we know… there’s already been seven deaths connected to this thing.”

“Jesus… seven?” Dean couldn’t believe he hadn’t caught wind of this himself. Then again, it wasn’t as if he had been actively searching for a case these past few days…

“We did some more research into it this morning. We’re pretty sure it’s a simple salt and burn job – a day, maybe two. It’s local too, just a few towns over.” Sam told him.

“And you’re… what, asking me for permission?” Dean wheeled himself over to the sink, focusing on dropping his plates into the soapy water rather than on Sam and Eileen’s matching looks of guilt.

“No, just… wanted to let you know is all,” Sam forced the words out rather awkwardly, unsure whether to keep in place or walk over to Dean. “We, uh… we’ll be heading off in about twenty minutes. We’ve already burnt enough daylight, so…”

“Yeah, course. Sure,” Dean forced out, pushing down the bitterness that wanted to enter his tone. “Don’t want to be the one that’s holding you guys back like I have all morning, so don’t hang around for me or anything.”

“Dean-,” Sam tried, taking a single step towards him.

“It’s fine, Sammy,” Dean snapped, holding out an arm to stop Sam from getting any closer. “Seriously. You two can watch each other’s backs, so I’m not worried there. You guys need any help, then – y’know – don’t know there’s much I can do but, guess you can call me; be whatever FBI director or whoever you need to call if the local badges start asking questions.”

“Dean… you know we wouldn’t be doing this usually, but… with the hunt so local and so many people already dead…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Dean brushed Sam off. “Go. Really, go on the hunt. I’ll be fine here. Get some research done for once.”

“We won’t take long,” Eileen assured him. “We want to help Cas, too. We’ll be here for that, we promise.”

“Uh-huh. You guys better get going then. Don’t let me stop you,” Dean rolled away from the two of them before they could say anything, forcing himself back up the ramp and down the bunkers hallway, which never seemed as long as it does now.

Miracle, ever loyal, trudged on after him, slipping into his room before he slammed the door. Turns out that slamming the door is more difficult when in a wheelchair, having to grab hold of the edge of the door behind him and force it backward. It didn’t quite make the echoing slam the heavy wooden doors usually do, which only pissed him off more. What’s the point of slamming a door if the person you’re mad at can’t feel it shaking through their bones?

‘You not gonna say something? Tell me off for getting snappy at them or some crap like that?’

‘I thought that if I remained silent that you wouldn’t direct your anger at me. Clearly, that didn’t work. I get that you’re frustrated Dean, but it’s not fair to direct that at Sam and Eileen. They haven’t done anything wrong-,’

‘Haven’t done anything wrong!? I haven’t even been home a day and they’re already ditching me for a hunt!’

‘Are you saying you wouldn’t do the same in their place? Knowing that seven innocent people have already lost their lives?’

‘No! I mean… maybe… it’s just… I just got home. Now I’ve got to sit around here doing nothing while they’re out there working?’

‘I know you want to be out there with them, Dean; but Sam and Eileen are just doing what’s right. And I think you know this, otherwise, you wouldn’t have been provoking me into “telling you off”.’

‘Really don’t like how much of me you’ve figured out after being in my head for like, three days.’

‘Does that mean I was correct in my assumption?’

Dean sent over a slightly blurry, staticky, barely put together mental image of his middle finger over to Cas, hoping it’d ruffle some feathers.

It did.

‘No need to be rude, Dean. I think I’ll retreat for a bit while you get over your temper tantrum.’

‘Temper Tantrum? Seriously? You treating me like I’m five - is that it? That how you think you’re gonna solve things?’

Cas stayed true to his word, only silence filling the gap in his mind which Cas’s words typically took up.

‘Temper Tantrum… say’s the guy that’s giving me the silent treatment. Now that’s childish.’

Silence. Nothing but silence and his own thoughts echoing in his mind.

‘Fine. Be like that. I’ll go find my own damn work to do…’

* * *

The library never felt quite so empty and… boring. Sure, he still had Miracle, who was curled up in her memory foam dog bed that Dean had dropped a few pretty pennies on (and still hasn’t told Sam about the actual price). As great as she was for company, it turns out that dogs aren’t so skilled in the whole conversation part of companionship. Unless you count Dean talking to her in that way people talk to their dogs - which he once found annoying but would now be a hypocrite to say so.

Dean had scoured through all the book titles that seemed to allude to any information on angels and vessels – well, those on the bottom of the bookshelves anyway – and now had them neatly stacked on the table in front of him. Sam and Eileen had long since left the bunker, wisely choosing not to say goodbye – or anything for that matter – disappearing into the garage and leaving him here. The hours had ticked by way too slow, the words on the page in front of him starting to blur together and become an incomprehensible mess. He had re-read this particular passage on the comparisons of the limited real-life encounters with angels to their bible counterparts about five times now, but his brain was stubbornly refusing to take any of that information in.

Dean slammed the thick-binded cover closed, choking back a cough when it kicked up a mini mushroom cloud of dust, sliding the book across the table away from him. It was all starting to feel pointless. He knew that angels were pretty elusive creatures in the supernatural world, but he had no idea it was by this much. Damn near every book on angels, or any mention of angels in any creature encyclopedia he’s scanned through all seem to have the same message of “we’re talking out of our ass here”. All these books were nothing more than guesses based on other supernatural creatures. And sure, yeah, they got some of those guesses right from the limited knowledge of angels he’s got from Cas, but there was no guarantee on any of the info. What if they find something that can bring Cas’s body back, but it’s another hypothesis? What if it goes wrong? What if it doesn’t work at all? What if messes Cas up on the transfer, especially if they need to use all of Cas’s grace for it to work, and-

‘You’re panicking.’

Dean startled in his chair, Cas’s voice joining the spiraling thoughts in his mind for the first time in a good few hours.

‘What?’

‘Your heart rate has increased to a hundred and five beats per minute and you started screaming in your head again.’

‘Oh, and so you decided to take pity on me and stop the silent treatment?’

‘I decided it was best to interrupt your incoming anxiety attack before you put too much strain on your healing body. And it seems to have worked, considering you’re converting your worries into pettiness and directing it at me once again.’

‘I get it, Cas. I’m being a dick. That what you wanted to hear?’

‘I was hoping for an apology, but I suppose that’s the best I’m going to get.’

‘Damn straight it is. Now, you gonna help me here for what?’

‘Help you how?’

Dean pulled the next book out from the top of the stack, thumping it down on the table and flipping it open to the first page. ‘You can put your special angel eyes to use and help me find something of use in here.’

‘My… special angel eyes?’

‘Yeah. What, you telling me an angel's eyesight is the same as a human’s? That the high and mighty angels of the Lord were cursed with the same pathetic eyes as the mud monkeys-,’

‘Dean, you know full well I do not look down on humans like my other brothers and sisters occasionally do.’

‘I know, Cas. Was making a joke. I’m just saying, could use a second pair of eyes as I read through this. Point out anything I might miss. Which I will. A lot.’

‘I’ll try my best.’

Another two hours passed in companionable silence, the only sounds in the library being Miracle’s snuffled snores and the occasional flip of the ancient and fragile papers under Dean’s fingers. Cas hadn’t said or anything to him in that time – or pointed out something that Dean had skipped over – which only made Dean feel all that more disheartened about this whole ‘creating a body’ idea. He hadn’t really considered the possibility that the idea might not be possible… He had just assumed he’d find something about it in one of the Men of Letter’s countless collection of books and that eventually, it would lead them to somewhere.

‘Dean… what’s that?’

‘What’s what?’

‘At the end of the table. Where you scratched your names into the table. Is that…?’

‘Oh, right. Didn’t show you…’ Dean wheeled himself over to the end of the table, the beginnings of a smile on his face as he looked down at the names crudely carved into the wood. ‘After we came home, we, uh… added you and Jack to the table. Bunker felt damn quiet and I, uh… It’s stupid, but I went back into the dungeon. Thought maybe… I dunno, maybe you’d still be there. You weren’t of course, and… next time I saw the table, I realized we should have added you long ago. Should have had the opportunity to carve your name yourself, but… yeah…’

‘Oh…’

‘You’re… okay with this, right? I’d ask Jack too but, y’know…’

‘I’m more than okay with it, Dean.’

‘You good, man? You kind of sound like you’re about to cry. You’re… not about to cry, are you?’

‘No…’

‘That didn’t sound very convincing.’

‘Didn’t sound very convincing to myself, either. Dean, do you… do you mind if I take over for just a moment?’

‘Uh… sure, Cas. Go ahead.’

Castiel pushed himself into the front of Dean’s mind, waiting for his grace to settle into full possession. He pulled himself closer to the table, reaching out with Dean’s hand and placing it down on the carvings. As gently as possible, he traced the letters of his name with his finger, ignoring the sharp bite of the rugged edges. His name. It was his name that Dean had taken the time to painstakingly carve into the table, both his and Jack’s resting alongside the Winchesters like they were always there.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t ask you to add your name sooner.’

‘I never expected you to. Which is why, perhaps, this is… affecting me more than I thought it would.’

‘Yeah… one of the things that made me realize how crappy I can treat you sometimes, Cas. Hell, you should have demanded to have had your name added here.’

‘I would never demand such a thing, Dean. This is… a very personal decision that only you or Sam could have decided, and I… truth be told, I don’t have the words to say how much this means to me.’

‘I don’t think you need words when you’re making my eyes cry, Cas.’

‘Oh, sorry – I’m still not used to your body…’

Castiel raised a hand to his eyes, finding that Dean was telling the truth when he wiped away the tears that were moments away from spilling over. He gave one last look to the names on the table, one last touch to the aged wood before handing Dean’s body back to himself.

‘Guess we better get back to researching… good old research…’ Dean held back a groan as he wheeled back over to the seemingly never-ending pile of books stacked on the table.

‘Probably for the best, yes. Actually, I was thinking before… I wonder if any of these study pieces are by Lilly?’

Dean closed the cover to the third book they had been smimming through, pushing it over to the ‘completed’ pile at the other end of the table. ‘Who’s Lilly?’

‘Lilly Sunder. You don’t remember her?’

‘Oh. Course I remember her. Huh, I didn’t consider it… She did say she had studied angels, didn’t she?’

‘Devoted her life to us. Both in scientific curiosity and… for revenge. I know her studies were from a long time ago, but it’s a possibility that her work could have ended up here. Perhaps under a different pen name, though.’

‘Why would she use a different pen name?’

‘Lilly was working on her studies back in the turn of the nineteenth century. The world wasn’t exactly accepting of women who were interested in the scientific field – especially when that involved mixing science with religious aspects. Trying to theoretically dissect a biblical creature back then… even a man in that field would receive quite the backlash.’

‘Right… Wow, humans suck, huh?’

‘You have your moments of beauty, just as you can have moments of cruelty. I like to think that you’re still maturing as a species. Someday, there will be nothing left but beauty.’

‘Very poetic, Cas.’

Dean couldn’t muster enough energy to pull another book towards him, rubbing at his tired eyes with a frustrated groan. He leaned back in his chair, glancing around at the books on shelves that surrounded him. “All the knowledge in the friggen’ world… but nothing of use.”

‘We don’t know that for sure.’

‘Doubt we have enough time left to comb through every book here, Cas.’

That gave Dean an idea. He perked up in the chair, swiveling his head towards the file cabinets that lined the back of the room. ‘Maybe it’s not in the books… maybe the Men of Letters did some research themselves? There could be something in their files!’

‘It’s a possibility. Though, I do not know of any angels that were in contact with the Men of Letters during the time period they worked in.’

Dean wheeled over to the first cabinet on the left, guessing that anything to do with angels would be stored under the ‘A’ section. ‘You say that like you were aware of every angel's movements.’

‘Not myself, but… As I’ve said before, angels rarely visited Earth before the start of the apocalypse. Only specific cases that were deemed necessary for intervention by those higher up.’

Dean’s finger stilled at the file he had reached, feeling a kick of hope burst in his chest at the title: ‘Angel Exorcism – Exorcising An Angel Whilst Leaving The Vessel Intact.’

‘Cas? You heard of something like this?’

‘An angel exorcism? Other than the relic you used on Lucifer whilst he was possessing your president… Typically, the only way to ‘expel’ an angel is for the vessel themselves to revoke their permission.’

‘You think it’s possible?’

‘I don’t see why not. If humans have found a way to place such magic into a relic… it’s a possibility.’

The file – though, it was more of a folder – was made from thick parchment paper and had been written up by a typewriter. Much to Dean’s excitement, within the folder was a reel of film that was labeled with the same title as the file.

‘Dean… I don’t see what this has to do with recreating a vessel.’

‘I’m just counting our blessings that there’s something angel related in these cabinets. And there’s talks about the vessel here, too. It’s worth a watch at least, right?’

A few minutes later (and a near tip over on a ramp that Dean would rather not mention), they found themselves in the projector room. Dean pulled out the old reel stored within the projector, feeling a fresh wave of sadness wash over him when he recognized it as the tape of Mr’s Butters that Jack had found. Dwelling on those feelings never led to anything good, so Dean hurriedly shoved the other reel into the projector slot and pressing the play button before any more thoughts of Jack begin to settle into his mind.

A grainy mess of greys and whites sparked to life on the screen, frames flickering past until the image of a man in a sharply dressed man came into view. Ah, seemed it was their favorite Men of Letters, Sinclair… Dean could recognize the room as their dungeon room, the sigils painted on the ground looking freshly painted. Behind Sinclair, just out of view, sat a battered-looking man in a chair. His hands were bound in a familiar-looking pair of silver cuffs, head slumped down in apparent unconsciousness. Next to the chair was a wheeled table, a silver tray sat atop bearing tools that Dean couldn’t quite identify yet.

“Experiment Number two-zero-seven for the Men of Letters Archive. This experiment is led by me, Mr. Cuthbert Sinclair. And my assistant behind the camera is one of our new initiates of The Men of Letters, Mr. Henry Winchester.”

‘Henry Winchester… your grandfather?’

‘Yeah… On dad’s side. I didn’t really think about how much he did in the Men Of Letters; I just knew he died after Abaddon possessed that other chick that joined the same time he did.’

“Now what we have here… is a rare occasion. The second I’ve seen. Most of humanity believes angels to be God’s messengers… there to pass on the good Lord’s words to those that are meant to hear it. Some believe them to be God’s minions, there to dish out miracles when God is… unavailable. Neither of these are true. Angels are soldiers, created to carry out God’s dirty work… And if one ever decides to bless you with their presence? Well, I’m afraid to say that a miracle is the farthest thing that will happen to you…”

Sinclair turned away from the camera, which followed him as he stepped up the side of the man still slumped over in the chair. He had come more into focus now, and Dean could see just how bad of a state the guy was in; dark bruises were littered all over the man’s pale skin, multiple cuts and lacerations decorating every piece of skin Dean could see, oozing out streams of dark blood that stained the button-up shirt of the man’s suit.

‘Jesus… what the hell are they doing to the guy?’

‘That’s not a “guy”, Dean…’

‘Huh?’

‘I recognize the man… that was the last vessel I saw Atheed possessing…’

‘You telling me the Men of Letters managed to trap an angel?’

‘It seems so…’

‘You know this angel?’

‘Not too well… We had occasionally crossed paths I suppose, but… I wouldn’t say I “know” him, no. Atheed’s garrison had been dispatched to survey a particularly troublesome band of demons who had managed to fatally wound one of us… the demons were dispatched with, but Atheed never returned. It was assumed he fell in battle, but… now that seems not the case.’

“Now, our inhabitant here hasn’t been particularly talkative… Some of the hunters under our employment were working on a typical demon case when it seems our winged foes here took a particular interest… One was left severely injured once the dust had cleared, and our hunters thought it best to bring him here for help.” Sinclair clicked his mouth and shook his head in disappointment, using his index finger to lift up the angel's chin. “A shame most will never know the true evil of these creatures… these beings with unfathomable power we foolishly believe to be our side…”

Sinclair let the angel's chin drop back down to his chest, turning his face back to the camera and flashing a smile. “See, here’s the thing – best thing we can do for most is to take this here-,” Sinclair gestured to the tray next to him, pointing directly to the angel blade – which likely belonged to the angel in question. “-And rid the world of one of these things… but in doing so, we create waste; somewhere hidden in there, crushed by the weight of this creature, is a human being. A devout believer tricked by this angel’s silver tongue. Some may say that they already sealed their fate when they agreed to possession… but as I said, angels can be very persuasive. Why should this innocent man have his life cut short? Why isn’t there a way to remove the angel, but keep the man inside alive? Today, we’re going to try just that with a little theory of mine.”

Much to Dean’s confusion, Sinclair then proceeded to unbutton the first few buttons of his shirt. Then, Dean caught sight of the thin silver chain wrapped around his neck, leading down to a small glass vial that Sinclair lifted up to the camera. The vial contained a bright liquid-like substance, it’s color hidden by the black and white footage. Not that Dean needed to see the color; he already had a feeling he knew what that swirling mixture inside the bottle was…

‘It’s… it’s grace. Atheed’s grace.’

“The last time we had access to an angel, we were able to perform another experiment; finding a way to extract an angel of their grace to see the effects it had on the angel, and to see what uses the grace can provide outside its host. I have repeated the same procedure here, but this time I have not extracted all the grace. You see, when we first performed the procedure, we expected for the removal of the grace to also remove the angel. Not so, unfortunately. It simply stripped the angel of their power, leaving them mortal… taking over control from the vessel. So this time, our angel here still has some of his grace left, but not much. Barely enough to keep himself an angel.”

Sinclair dropped his hand away from the vial, now reaching for a small box contraption sat atop the tray. He picked it up, thumb hovering over a plastic window which encased a big red button that gave Dean some serious villain type vibes.

“For our next step, we will be moving our angel outside the bunker. If things go right, there shouldn’t be a mess to clean up, but for safety sake, this is best done outside.”

Just as Sinclair had said, the footage shifted from grainy footage of the bunker interior to a shot of the forest outside the bunker. Atheed was still sat in the same chair, handcuffs still secured around his wrists, but now he seemed to be regaining consciousness. He was clearly out of it, eyes half-lidded as he blearily took in his surroundings, barely having enough strength to lift his head up from his chest. As usual, Sinclair was stood next to him, though this time a few steps away. The contraption was still sat snugly in his hand, that infuriating smile remaining plastered on his face. Strangely, Dean could see a few wires extending out from Atheed’s body, trailing down from his chest to the ground, connected to the contraption in Sinclair’s hand.

“Not only will we be removing the angel… but my hope is we are also able to kill the angel. The amount of Grace it has left is dangerously low – not enough to survive a transfer to another vessel. And these cuffs here are helping to dampen that even more… Otherwise, our angel here would have fled long ago. The only thing keeping this angel alive, to exists in this plane… is the vessel he resides in. So, it goes to say that it would be in his best interest to keep the vessel alive, wouldn’t it?”

Sinclair flashed one last smile at the camera, gesturing for the cameraman his grandpa to step back. Henry did as he was told, walking backward from Atheed as Sinclair followed him at a leisurely pace. The camera panned around to reveal a makeshift cover of sorts, a few sandbags hastily put together in the form of a wall, just enough space for two men. Henry settled behind the sandbags, camera pointed towards Atheed as Sinclair took his place behind the cover next to Henry.

“Our angel has had some… minor surgery beforehand. That is to say, we’ve stuffed him with a few pieces of explosives. Small pieces of dynamite. We left an opening for the wires to be connected to the detonator in my hand.”

‘They’re… they’re insane. They’re just going to blow this guy up?’

‘I… I feel sick. I’m not sure if I can watch this…’

“This is a risky theory, but… it’s the best we got. We need to put the vessel through some serious damage. So damaged that the angel will be forced to intervene. In its last-ditch effort, the angel will use what’s remaining of its grace to heal the vessel. But in doing so… it will have burnt through all that remains of its grace. We are left with the human, fully healed and soul still intact, whilst the angel… has been burnt out from the body. Dead. That is the theory, anyway. All that’s left now… is to see if my theory rings true.”

If Dean wasn’t so desperate for answers, he would have shut this torture porn off long ago. Instead, he – and in turn, Cas – were forced to watch the horrific event unfold. Sinclair flipped the little plastic covering of the detonator up, pressing his thumb into the big red button as casually as one would call an elevator. What was once Atheed disappeared in a spray of meaty chunks within a fine mist, the chair underneath reduced to a pile of singed timber, half of it thrown across the forest by the blast. As disgusting as it all was, Dean couldn’t tear his eyes away from the carnage. He was waiting to see those chunks of flesh on the floor start to connect back together, the spray of blood on the floor to collect and go back to its rightful body.

That didn’t happen. For a good ten seconds they could only stare at the stain on the floor that moments ago was a human being and an angel, four observers spanning across two centuries watching as an experiment fails quite spectacularly.

“Damn!” Sinclair exclaimed, tossing the detonator in his hands to the floor. “Experiment number two-zero-seven… has failed. Both the angel and human in our possession have been terminated… General conclusion seems to be that the angel did not have enough grace left to heal its vessel… Perhaps, if we’re given the opportunity again, we can repeat the experiment – but reduce the amount of grace we take from the angel…”

The frames begun to flicker, left on Sinclair’s pondering expression as the tape began to wheel down to nothing, the projector shutting off and plunging Dean into darkness. He had yet to say anything, nor had Cas. He could only stare vacantly at the blank projector screen, hoping that the image of that angel being blown into little pieces would eventually disappear from his vision.

‘Cas… you okay?’

‘No. That’s – what they did-,’

‘Yeah… I know…’

‘I know that the relationship between humans and angels have been complicated at best, but… to think the Men of Letters were capable of doing such a thing… To see us as nothing more than an ‘experiment’, it’s…’

‘It’s messed up. After all that, we’re no step closer to finding anything that’ll help you. I really thought there would be something in there, and… Jesus, I can’t stop thinking about how my Grandpa had a part to play in it… I guess they saw angels as… monsters. A threat to humanity.’

‘Our mission was to watch over humanity… We lost sight of that somewhere along the way. Now, though… I’m hoping things will change under Jack’s rule.’

‘You think he’ll make more angels?’

‘It’s a possibility. He has the power for it, even before he absorbed Chuck’s and Amara’s power. It would certainly help to stabilize Heaven, reducing the chance of the souls there being cast out and locking out those that are supposed to ascend.’

‘If only we knew what the kid was doing… would be nice if he dropped in every now and then, you know? A phone call maybe.’

‘…Huh…’

‘Huh? What’s “huh” supposed to mean?’

‘Nothing really, just… for a moment there, you sounded like a stereotypical grumpy father.’

‘Yeah? Well, we have a friggen’ God as our kid – you expect me not to be a little grumpy that he up and vanished on us? Are you not kinda pissed too, Cas? I mean – you died. And he didn’t do anything about it. Not even when you came back.’

‘I’m not going to say I understand why he hasn’t intervened in everything that’s happened since, but mostly… I miss him.’

‘I miss him too, Cas. I’m still pissed, but… I don’t know, maybe it’s more disappointment than anything. I thought – hoped, really – that once we dealt with Chuck we would all have a bit of a break. Chill in the bunker for a bit or, hell, maybe we’d finally take that beach vacation. Jack would probably go all giddy over the concept of sand-castles…’

‘That sounds nice… I think Jack would have loved that.’

‘It’s easy to forget he’s only what, three? Maybe four? Our new God is the son of Satan who is four years old… that’s not a recipe for disaster or anything, right?’

‘He hasn’t gone crazy with his newfound power and tried to bend everyone to his will yet, so he’s doing marginally better than I was.’

‘That’s… one way to look at it. And you were, what, a sprightly couple of billion years old?’

‘Not sure. I stopped counting somewhere after the eight billionth birthday.’

‘Well, if it makes you feel better Cas – you look damn good for your age.’

* * *

It was rare for Dean to have a good dream.

This was something Castiel had learned over the years. Even though Dean would often voice his displeasure at him about watching over him as he slept, Cas would continue to keep an eye on his slumbering form. Occasionally, he would look into Dean’s mind to see what dream was playing out. If it was a nightmare, he would simply place his hand on Dean’s shoulder and ebb a little bit of grace through him, flushing out the nightmare from his system. It was the least he could do, and Dean always seemed to be that extra bit more rested when he did it – so he never really stopped.

That was until he lost his wings and the boys moved into the Men of Letter’s bunker. It was easier before when he could just fly over to whichever sleazy, rundown motel they had stopped in for the night and keep himself hidden while he watched over Dean. He knew that there was nowhere safer for Dean to sleep than in the sigil covered bunker, and yet… that urge to watch over him always remained.

Nightmares were a common occasion for Dean. That was to be expected of course, with all the unimaginable horrors he’s been through in his short forty-one years on Earth. Now that Castiel was residing within his head, he could finally brush away Dean’s nightmares whenever he stepped into them.

This nightmare, however…

It had caught him off guard. It had felt as if he had woken up to the nightmare himself. At first glance, he was certain he had entered Dean’s memories of Hell. The heat was unbearable, stifling him of any air. The room he was in was packed with smoke, filling his lungs and making it near impossible to breathe. Flames licked down the walls, the ceiling above him ablaze with red-hot flames. There, in the center of the ceiling, were the charred remains of who Castiel was certain to be Mary Winchester. Even though she was nothing more than a burnt corpse, she still screamed in agony, the sound piercing as it echoed around the room.

This dream… it wasn’t acting out like the actual horrific event had. At this point, John Winchester should have already been in the room. He should have been there to witness his wife pinned to the roof; stomach ripped open as the flames erupt. Dean should have run into the burning room, should have had his baby brother placed into his arms and commanded to “Get your brother outside as fast as you can. Now, Dean - Go!” from his father.

Instead, Castiel stood frozen at the sight of Dean, four-year-old Dean leaning over the white crib, its paint peeling from the intense heat as Dean tries desperately to reach for baby Sam within. The sounds of young Dean’s panicked cries as he reached for his screaming brother were overwhelming and heart-breaking, but it was what Castiel needed for his mind to kick into gear.

What he should have done was force the nightmare to disappear. Except, he wasn’t really thinking. More… he was acting on instinct. He had rushed forward, using his arms to shield himself from the embers that danced in the air as he raced towards the crib. Within seconds he had plucked baby Sam from the crib, holding him close to his chest as he wrapped his other arm around Dean, hauling him up and tucking him into his side.

Castiel could feel the burning heat behind him as he ran, pieces of the ceiling collapsing as the fire raged on. His lungs burned with every inhale of smoke, each breath resulting in a choking, spluttering cough that left him gasping for air that wasn’t there. His heart pounded furiously in his chest, matching his rapid steps down the damaged and soot-covered staircase. He very nearly ran into the closed front door, bracing himself before bringing up a leg and slamming it into the weak spot next to the lock. The door flung open from the force, the doorframe splintering and sending shards of wood flying. Cas ran through the front door and into the front yard without looking back, keeping his hold on Sam and Dean tight.

The first few breaths of fresh air were wonderful, and he would have collapsed to his knees and sucked in as much as he could if it weren’t for the two children he held in his arms. Little Sam was still wailing in his arms, struggling against the hold of a man who, technically, was a stranger to him at the time. Dean had since gone quiet, trembling in Cas’s arms as the two of them watched what was once Dean’s home burn.

“It's okay...” Castiel whispered to the two boys in his arms, lowering himself down into the damp November dew-covered grass and watching as the roof of the house collapses in on itself. “You're okay, now. I have you.”

“Is Sammy okay?” Deans' first question came in the form of a frightened child’s broken, trembling voice. A boy that was trying to be brave - even in the face of absolute horror.

“Sammy's fine. He’s a little shaken up, but he’s okay.” Cas lowered his arm down to Dean’s level, who immediately peered over the crook of Cas's elbow to keep a watchful eye on his baby brother.

“Thank you, Cas.”

Cas's eyebrows shot up at the mention of his name. "You know who I am?”

“Yeah,” Dean replied, his eyes still glued onto Sam. “You’re my angel. Mommy says you watch over me.”

“I... I suppose I am your angel, yes. Your mommy’s right – I do watch over you. Well, big you, anyway.”

“I know,” Little Dean asserted, reaching out to trail gentle fingers down his little brother’s face, the soothing touch quietening the young boy's wails nearly instantaneously. “Big me say’s you’re my bestest friend in the whole world.”

Despite the horrific situation that was currently playing out in Dean’s subconscious mind, Castiel couldn’t help but let a small smile curl at his lips. “In the whole world, huh? Wow, that’s quite the honor.”

“Big me doesn’t have many friends,” Little Dean continued, the words dampening Cas’ smile just a bit. “Anyone he tries to get close to seem to… go away. Kind of like mommy and daddy did.”

Castiel tightened his hold on Dean a little bit more. “Yes… you’ve been through a lot – the both of you.”

“I have lots of friends at school!” Little Dean’s voice brightened considerably. “It’s not big school yet, mummy calls it kin… kinder…”

“Kindergarten?”

“Yeah! I started not long ago, and my friends are really fun! But… do you think I can keep going to kindergarten now?”

It pained Castiel to see those hopeful young eyes peering up at him, looking to him as if he held all the answers. The real Dean – at least, the Dean he knows today - is there inside this young child’s mind. That Dean knows what comes of this day, of what is waiting for him; and yet, to tell this innocent child the truth… it seems unfathomably cruel to do so.

“I, um… I think that might not happen, Dean.”

Dean’s hopeful gaze slipped, dropping his head back down to look to Sam. “Yeah… I don’t think so either…”

“You will get through this, Dean. Both you and Sam – you’ll grow up into the two most important men on this Earth. Not only will you save the world, but the entire Universe – and all the other Universe’s to ever have been created.”

“We will? Me and Sammy?”

“You will.”

“But… Sammy’s so tiny.”

Castiel chuckled quietly, looking down to the baby in his arms that was barely heavier than a bag of flour, eyelids drooping shut as he began to feel comfortable in Castiel’s hold. “He is right now, yes. He’ll grow to be taller than you, though.”

“What!? That’s no fair! I’m the big brother! I should be biggest!” Dean pushed out his bottom lip into a pout, looking from Sam to Cas with big, wet eyes that Cas is sure got Mary to cave into Dean’s demands once or twice.

“If it helps - even though he’s taller - Sam still looks up to you. No matter what.” Castiel assured him.

The pout disappeared just like that, the first smile he’s seen from young Dean this night appearing on his face. “He does?”

“Of course he does. It’s what you two do; always looking out for each other.”

“And you!” Dean insisted, leaving no room for argument. “Big Dean and Big Sam look out for you too, like you watch over us!”

“Yes, you do,” Castiel agreed gently. “You always do.”

The last of the flames were dying out now. The house was left as a pile of blackened wood, the bare-bone frames of it barely standing after the damage. Smoke billowed up from the remains, blocking out most of the clear night above them. It was almost beautiful; the last of the dying embers glowing softly amidst the pile of soot and rubble – like an abnormally large bonfire.

“Cas?”

Castiel tore his gaze away from what was once the Winchester’s family’s house, eyes landing on Dean’s searching stare. “Yes, Dean?

Little Dean glanced away from a moment, watching baby Sam’s peaceful sleeping face before risking another glance up to Cas. “Can… Can I tell you a secret?”

“Of course, Dean. You can tell me anything, you know that.”

Little Dean paused, looking to him for a moment before scrambling up to his feet, leaning closer to Cas and cupping his small hands around Cas’s ears, whispering, “Big Dean is really, really scared.”

“He is?” Castiel asked, just about able to see Dean’s head furiously nodding up and down out of the corner of his eye. “What is he scared of?”

“That he’s going to lose you again.”

Dean had whispered it no louder than his last statement, yet he might as well have yelled it for how hard the words punched him in the gut.

Dean was stood by his side now, bracing himself against Cas’s shoulders as he waited patiently for Castiel to speak. It was jarring, seeing Dean like this. He was so used to Dean being the taller one than him - and now, even standing, Dean just barely reached his chin whilst he was kneeling down.

“Can I tell you a secret too?” Castiel asked, keeping his voice as hushed as Dean was. Dean eagerly nodded his head, eyes wide as saucers as he waited for Cas to spill his secrets. “I’m scared of losing you, too. And it never goes away. That’s what happens when you love someone.”

“Big Dean doesn’t like feeling scared.”

“Oh, I know he doesn’t. Could you do me a favor, then? I need you to tell Big Dean that I’m not going anywhere. As long as he wants me here, I’m not leaving.”

“You can’t promise that,” Dean said, much to Cas’s surprise. “Sometimes people don’t get to choose when they leave. If he could, Big Dean would keep you in his head forever, coz’ at least then he can protect you better.”

“I thought I was the one that was supposed to be protecting you?”

“You do. But Big Dean wants to protect everyone.”

Castiel sighed, looking up to the surroundings beyond the remains of the house. The stars were disappearing from the sky, the black of night spilling out and claiming everything else. Soon, everything around them would be nothing but an endless blackness.

Dean was waking up.

“Yes, he does... even when doing so risks himself...” Castiel noted, preparing himself to be ripped from this dream and into Dean's groggy, wakening consciousness mind.

“You're different, though,” Little Dean added, his voice fading away with the rest of the dream. “And that's why bigger me is so scared. You're something different to him – and he's too scared to find out what that kind of different is.”

#destiel #destiel fanfiction #destiel fanfic #destiel fix it #fix it #fix it fic #castiel/dean winchester #dean winchester/castiel #cas/dean #dean/cas #casdean #supernatural spoilers #season 15 spoilers #fluff #angst

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mint-yooxgi · 5 years

Text

{2} - Ride or Die - Sehun X Reader

Gang!AU - Part of the EXO Customs Collab - With @ninibears-erigom @yeoldontknow @baekwell–tart @fairyyeols @suhoerections@kimjongdaely @kyungseokie and @kpop—scenarios

Ride or Die Mini Masterlist

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Mature

Pairing: Sehun X Reader

Words: 3,950

Warning: This fic will deal with mature themes such as illegal racing, gangs, drugs, violence, and swearing amongst other sensitive subjects which will be added as the fic is written. You have been warned.

A/n: On the second day of Ficmas, Jackie gave to me~ That you all so much for being so patient with me in regards to updating this series. Alas, at long last, the next part is here! I hope you all enjoy, and as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!

Previous ~ Next

“You’re unbelievable sometimes, you know that?” A sigh escapes your lips as you press the alcohol soaked cloth against the cut on his left cheek.

A hiss escapes his lips as you make contact with his skin, face scrunching in displeasure, “you know, people usually say that after I’ve fucked their brains out.”

The chuckle he begins to let out dies in his throat as another hiss escapes his lips due to you pressing the cloth harder into his wound.

“You’re just lucky I was there, otherwise you could be in a much worse condition than you already are,” you say, your brow furrowing slightly as you take in his appearance.

You know for a fact his knuckles are bruised from the amount of punches he landed on Jesse’s face after the comments were made. Your heart warms at the fact that your best friend would defend you the way he did, even though you could have handled yourself. You’re just upset you didn’t get a good hit in on Jesse yourself.

Placing the cloth down on the counter beside you, you look over Sehun’s face. Besides the cut on his left cheek, he got off pretty lucky, with only a few other small scratches here and there. You can tell his right eye will swell soon though, but only a little since he managed to dodge the full force of the impact from Jaebum’s fist.

After Sehun had lunged at Jesse, Jaebum went straight for you with his lackeys. You managed to dodge his attacks well enough, easily taking down his backup as a crowd started to form around all of you. You even managed to throw off Jaebum enough to have time to pull Sehun off of a nearly unconscious Jesse before Jaebum tackled Sehun to the ground. Luckily, you managed to knock Jaebum out before he could seriously injure anyone else.

After that, the two of you decided to head back to Sehun’s for the night, you not wanting to deal with anyone after that little scuffle. The entire walk back to Sehun’s car you could hear the crowd whispering about you in curiosity, mainly asking about who you were and how you knew Sehun. Some even went so far as claiming you to be his girlfriend which only caused you to roll your eyes slightly in response.

The two of you had driven back in silence, Sehun’s grip on the wheel tight as he was still fuming at the turn of events this evening. You knew he’d calm down soon though. Nothing relaxed him like driving did, or boxing, but that was out of the question for the night.

Zoning back in on the present, you hear Sehun chuckling slightly from in front of you. You blink your eyes a few times, refocusing you vision to see him grinning at you from his position sitting on his bathroom counter.

“What?” You quirk a brow.

“I said,” he lets out a breath of air, sliding off of the counter in order to stand in front of you as he grabs your arms slightly, “are you okay?”

“Never better,” you huff as he looks you over for any blood or bruises. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he hums. “Seeing your asshole of an ex at an illegal street race, and then having yourself bet on like a prized object didn’t knock anything loose?”

“Nope,” you smirk, raising your hands to rest them on his shoulders. However, your expression shifts, becoming harsher in the next second as you squeeze his shoulders in a vice-like grip, him hunching over slightly in pain, “but if you ever make a bet like that again without consulting me first, I may not be as forgiving.”

“Okay! Okay! I’m sorry!” He cries, breathing a sigh of relief once you release your grip on him. “Sheesh.”

“Don’t be a dick, Hun,” you reply, flicking his forehead softly with your one hand.

“Yeah, yeah,” he rolls his eyes, rubbing at the spot you’ve just hit. “I’ll make sure to let him call the shots next time.”

“Haha, very funny,” you deadpan, placing your hands on your hips in the next second. “Now, you should get some sleep. It’s late.”

“Yes, mom,” he jokes, moving past you and out of the bathroom into the hallway.

A small bark cuts off your next reply. Looking down reveals Sehun’s dog, Vivi jumping at his legs, tail wagging excitedly.

“See, even Vivi agrees with me,” you laugh, watching as Sehun bends down to pick up his dog.

“Vivi agrees with anyone who gives him treats and belly rubs,” Sehun huffs, scrunching his face slightly as Vivi starts placing slobbery kisses on his clean cheek.

“He just wants cuddles,” you chuckle, flipping off the lights to the bathroom as you follow Sehun to his room. “Speaking of, you should really find a girlfriend. Someone other than a dog to cuddle with at night.”

You casually lean against the frame of his open door as he sits on his bed, gently laying Vivi down beside him.

“Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?” Sehun quirks a brow at you.

You shrug, “I just think it’d be nice to finally see you settle down.”

“I don’t think I see myself ‘settling down’ any time soon,” he replies, laying back on his bed with his arms crossed behind his head. “I don’t want to bring anyone into this sort of life; too much work.”

“Stop acting like you’ve killed a man,” this time it’s your turn to roll your eyes.

“Maybe I have,” he counters, eyes narrowing as he stares into your eyes.

“Shut up, no you haven’t,” you say, arms crossed in front of your chest.

“Maybe so,” he hums, “but it could happen.”

“Oh Sehun, if I ever found out you killed someone, I would murder your dumb ass,” you state, shaking your head slightly at the thought.

“I’m so threatened,” he replies, sarcastically. You take a threatening step forwards, expression darkening as you shift your arms, preparing to get into a fighting stance. You see his eyes widen significantly, “okay, okay! I won’t!”

“Good,” you nod once. “I may be your best friend and put up with a lot of your shit, but don’t forget, I can and will kick your ass if I have to.”

“Noted,” he grins, shifting slightly so he’s now leaning onto his arms so he can see you better. “Anyways, are you going to stay the night? You know you’re always welcome to.”

“I know,” you shoot him a small smile. “Thanks, but no thanks. I should probably get going soon, anyways.”

“Up to you,” he shrugs, laying back down on his bed as Vivi curls more into his side.

“The real question is, are you going to be okay without me?” Even though a teasing grin rests on your face, Sehun can sense the seriousness behind your question.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he grins right back. “I’ve survived this long, haven’t I?”

“Barely,” your grin widens. “Well, if you’re sure, I’m going to head out then.”

“Alright,” he goes to stand up from the bed, but you stop him.

“I can see myself out, don’t worry,” you reassure him, pushing yourself off of his doorframe and cracking your neck. “Get some rest. I’ll see you at the gym tomorrow.”

“Sure, sure,” he replies, settling back down onto his mattress as he watches you turn around. He stares at your back for a moment, wondering why you haven’t moved down the hallway yet. Your voice manages to pull him out of his thoughts in the next moment, answering his question.

“Thanks,” you say. “For tonight, and for trusting me with all of this.”

“Of course,” you can’t see it, but he smiles faintly at you. “You’re the only one I trust regarding this.”

You close your eyes briefly, faintly nodding your head once in understanding. “Goodnight, Sehun.”

“Night, (Y/n),” he calls as you begin to make your way down the hall.

Moving silently through his house, you reach his front door. Grabbing your things while slipping on your shoes, you head out into the cool night air. Locking the door behind you with the spare key he’s given you for emergencies, you let out a sigh.

Taking a moment to yourself, you stand in front of his now locked door. Thinking back over the events of the evening, you’re just glad things didn’t turn out worse. If you’re lucky, you won’t have to deal with Jesse anymore, but you have a feeling it’ll be easier said than done. Considering you know about Sehun’s little activities at night now, you have a feeling you’re going to become a lot more involved than you like.

You know he means well, and he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you. Not if he’s around to stop it. Tonight was evidence enough. You’re just worried he’s going to dig himself into an early grave.

Shaking your head, you make your way over to your car. Sehun is more than capable of taking care of himself. He doesn’t need you picking and fighting his battles for him anymore. Your little Sehunnie is all grown up. Regardless, you’ll be by his side every step of the way if he needs you.

Unlocking your car, you slide into the driver’s seat.

Sehun still never fails to surprise you. You just hope he won’t make a habit of getting himself into unnecessary fights when you’re around, especially if you’re going to be hanging around his other job more often. You’re a good fighter, but still, there’s only so much violence you can take. Even so, you’re willing to suck it up for your best friend; you’re not afraid to get your hands dirty, and if you can take Jaebum, Jesse, and their goons down a few pegs while you’re at it, you’d be more than happy to do so.

Back in his room, Sehun can hear the engine of your car roar to life, listening as you drive off into the night shortly after. He lets out a sigh, turning onto his side. A smirk subtly pulls at his lips.

He doesn’t know how long he’s wanted to beat the shit out of your ex for what he’s done to you, and he’s glad he finally got the chance. In fact, he’s confident he’ll get more chances in the future, especially if Jesse is now apart of Jaebum’s crew. The only thing he wasn’t counting on, was to bring you along to the races more often, but if that’s what it takes, then so be it. At least he knows you can handle yourself.

Feeling Vivi shift beside him, he brings a hand down to mindlessly brush it against his fur. His face hurts sightly, but his hands are tense. Sparing a glance at his knuckles, he lets out a slight huff. They’ll hurt for sure tomorrow when he trains, especially if he trains with you. Hopefully, you’ll go easy on him though, not that he’d care.

To him, he’d rather himself get hurt than you. Seeing you in pain hurts him more than you’ll ever know, and he has no problem sticking up for you. After all, he loves you and cares about you deeply.

He’s never had a friendship like this before; he doesn’t know what he’d do, or where he’d be, without you in his life. You gave him an outlet for his anger with boxing, and you helped pull him out of a dark place. You listen to him about issues he feels like he can’t discuss with anyone else, and in turn, you share things with him he never would have expect to come from you. Like how you used to love ballet when you were small, but your parents ruined it for you. Something seemingly so insignificant, but means the world to him when you tell him.

Shifting slightly, he turns off his bedside lamp, shrouding his room in darkness. Resting his hand on top of Vivi, he lets his eyes fall shut, images of you dancing behind his eyelids. A small smile tugs at the corners of his lips as he finds his consciousness slipping away for the evening, allowing himself to rest after such a long, tiring day.

That morning, he wakes up slightly later than he expects to. Bringing a hand up, he rubs it over his face, sitting up as he does so. Rubbing at his eyes, he gets out of bed slowly, still groggy from sleep.

Checking his phone for the time, his eyes widen slightly. He sees a few texts from you asking him where he is. It’s way later than he originally thought it was, and he should have been at the gym by now. After all, he did say he’d meet you there today.

Moving quickly through his room, he changes out of his sleepwear. Grabbing his gym bag, he heads towards his front door. Before he leaves, he’s scooping Vivi into his arms, as well as grabbing a banana for the road.

Speeding down the road, he makes it to the gym in record time, cutting the engine as soon as he parks in order to hop out of his car. He nearly crashes through the doors of the gym, seeing you standing there with your hands on your hips, looking at him expectantly.

“You’re late,” are the first words out of your mouth.

“Yeah, I know,” he replies gruffly.

“Why’d you bring Vivi with you?” Your eyebrow quirks in mild amusement.

“Well, since I woke up late, I couldn’t take him out for a walk, or feed him, so I brought him with me,” Sehun shrugs, placing his dog on the ground as he runs up to you.

“You’re lucky that the owners are so laid back,” you shake your head as you crouch down to pet Vivi’s head, “and that they like you enough to let you bring your dog to the gym.”

“Who wouldn’t love Vivi? He’s an angel,” Sehun scoffs, mocking offence.

“An angel that’s trembling cause he probably needs to pee,” you laugh. “Take him out for a few minutes, I’ll get his food ready.”

Sehun simple nods in response, tossing his bag beside yours on the bench as he moves to hook the leash on his dog. He freezes slightly once he stands back up, and you notice the expression on his face immediately.

“Please tell me you remembered to bring food for him,” you sigh.

“Thank fuck that there’s a pet store across the street then,” he replies, letting out a puff of air through his nose. “I’ll be right back.”

Without another word, he’s heading back out the doors of the gym, Vivi trotting happily alongside him.

A small chuckle escapes your lips as you shake your head. You’ll never get over the fact that Sehun can, and will, bring his dog literally anywhere he can, especially to the gym. Your surprised he didn’t bring Vivi with him yesterday. Sometimes you swear he cares more about his dog than anything else.

Stretching slightly, you allow yourself a short break from training as you wait for Sehun to come back. You noticed his injuries from last night don’t look as bad as you thought they would be, which makes you breathe a sigh of relief. You don’t like seeing him hurt, especially if it’s because of you.

Grabbing your water bottle, you take a well earned drink. You’ve been running through some drills while waiting for Sehun to get here, but you’ve made sure not to push yourself too hard. After all, you are planning to spar with him today.

About ten minutes later, Sehun enters the gym once more. This time, he’s holding a small bag from the pet store across the street as Vivi trails beside him. He quickly sets up the food, unhooking Vivi’s leash shortly after. You bring over a small bowl of water shortly after.

Giving his dog a few pats, he stands up from his previous crouched position.

“Are you ready now?” You tease, watching as his eyes narrow at you slightly.

“Let me change and I’ll be right there,” comes his reply, not even waiting for your response as he moves over to his bag to grab his gym clothes, and then proceeds to head over to the change rooms.

While you wait, you decide to keep yourself occupied. Throwing a few quick jabs at the nearest punching bag, you work on your form. Out of the corner of your eyes, you notice Vivi move off to lay on top of Sehun’s gym bag, noticing Sehun already making his way back towards you shortly afterwards.

“That was quick,” you say, halting your movements in order to stand up straight.

“I didn’t want to keep you waiting any longer,” he grins, to which you shove him playfully.

“You’re here now, that’s all that matters,” you chuckle. “You’re just lucky I won’t kick your ass for being late today.”

“Oh, yeah?” He quirks an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” you confirm. “Wouldn’t want to hurt your ego anymore than it was last night, considering you got your ass kicked.”

“Hey! You know that’s not true,” he whines, shoving your arm slightly.

You laugh in response, “come on, let’s train.”

You watch as he shakes his head, following you over to the practice ring and stepping inside. You allow him to stretch and warm up a bit before you start to spar, giving him time to loosen up his muscles, and wrap his hands properly.

About twenty minutes later, he’s ready to take you on.

By now, you’ve noticed the two of you have caught the attention of a few other regular patrons of the gym you attend, having become fairly aquatinted with them. Both Yurim and Junhae are leaning against the side of the ring as they prepare to watch the two of you fight each other.

“Kick his ass, (Y/n)!” Junhae cheers, grin pulling at his lips.

“You can do it, Sehun!” Yurim adds, shooting him a supportive thumbs up.

“You want a fair fight or street rules?” You call, cracking your neck as you stare him down.

“Street rules, what else?” He nearly scoffs, only causing you to smirk.

“Your funeral,” you shrug, rolling your shoulders once as you get into your fighting stance, Sehun mirroring your movements in the next moment.

“Don’t expect me to go easy on you,” Sehun says, stating the obvious.

“I would expect no less,” comes your reply. “I hope you’re ready.”

With one final nod from Sehun, the two of you are springing into action. He’s quick to throw the first punch, always the first one to react in a fight. You smirk, simply dodging his fist as you counter with a low jab. He grits his teeth as your fist makes contact with his lower stomach.

“Oh, nice hit!” Yurim comments.

Just as you move in for another attack, Sehun is able to move out of the way just in time. He counters with a jab of his own, but you’re able to lean out of the way, only to take a hit from his follow through with his right hand. He smirks.

“Damn, that was a good move,” Junhae nods in approval.

The two of you go back and forth like this for quite some time, each landing a few hits on the other, and countering every chance you get. By the time fifteen minutes have passed, the two of you are both panting, sizing each other up and waiting for each other’s next move.

Sehun, never being one to wait too long for an opening, lunges first. You easily sidestep, seeing an opening in his own defence. Taking the chance, you hit him with a quick jab, successfully catching him off guard and making him stumble back a step. You use this to your advantage, swiping his feet directly from underneath him and causing him to land on his back with a loud thud.

The breath escapes him as he makes contact with the ground, you moving quickly to pin him to the ground. He grits his teeth as he finds himself unable to move.

Raising your fist, you prepare to strike the final blow. However, just before you can bring your hand down, a loud, district clapping sounds from near the entrance of the gym. Your head shoots up to look at the new intruder, eyes narrowing as you take in his familiar features.

“Wow, Miss Hunhun, getting your ass handed to you by some weak little girl,” he sighs, seemingly disappointed until a large malicious grin stretches across his lips. “Why am I not surprised.”

A low growl escapes your lips as you stare the intruder down, disgust evident on your features, “Jesse.”

“I had a feeling you would be here,” he says, staring right at you, and you notice how swollen his face looks, causing you lips to twitch upwards slightly. Sehun got him good last night.

“In case it’s not obvious, you’re not welcome here,” you spit, standing up off of Sehun and helping him up in the process.

“Is that anyway to treat a guest?” He mocks offence.

“You’re no guest,” Sehun bluntly replies. “Now, what do you want?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jesse takes a bold step forwards, staring deep into your eyes before briefly shifting his gaze over to Sehun. “I’m here to make a bet.”

“The only thing you can bet on, is me kicking your ass,” you threaten, crossing your arms in front of your chest as you stand tall.

“What’s the bet,” Sehun asks with a sigh, uninterested in this whole ordeal.

“I want to race. A rematch, if you will, but with upped stakes,” Jesse replies, voice smug as he mirrors your stance. “In two weeks. If I win, we get half of your territory, drugs, and cars. If we lose, we won’t bother you ever again, and will graciously accept defeat.”

“I’ll have to think about it,” comes Sehun’s reply, knowing that if he agreed to something like this without consulting Junmyeon about it first, he’d be in deep shit.

“I’m not done,” Jesse continues, causing both yours and Sehun’s eyebrows to raise slightly. "Then, a week later, I want to fight you. One on one. No rules, no weapons, just us. If I win, I get her-” he nods his head in your direction, making your eyes widen in disbelief, “and if you win, I’ll surrender, fair and square.”

“Now hold on just a minute,” you interject, blood beginning to boil. “I am not a fucking prize to be won! You can’t treat me like an object, I’ll kick your ass myself!”

“What? Scared your lover-boy over there will lose?” Jesse mocks, eyebrow quirking in challenge.

“You wish, asshole,” you say through gritted teeth. “Sehun, if you personally don’t kick his ass for me, I’ll do it myself.”

Your words are all the permission he needs, “I’ll fight you, but I’m not the one to agree to the races.”

“Fine,” Jesse huffs. “We’ll be in contact soon, then.”

Without another word, he’s turning around and exiting the building.

A sort of silence settles over all of you as you all let what just transpired sink in. You shake your head in disbelief.

“I cannot fucking believe the nerve he has,” you scoff. “Like hell I’d ever agree to his terms. He’s never getting me back, whether he likes it or not.”

“Don’t worry,” Sehun turns to you, a small reassuring smile on his lips, “I don’t plan to lose.”

#exo customs collab #exo au #exo scenario #sehun scenario #exo #sehun imagine #gang au #kpop #kpop scenario #kpop au #oh sehun

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pitviperofdoom · 5 years

Text

AA daemon ficlets are just really comforting and fun to write. So here’s another!

Maya’s POV is really weird to write because she’s a 170-year-old witch so like she’s still Maya but she also says dope shit sometimes.

---

The glass between them frustrates her.

It seems to Maya that whenever they talk face to face, there is either glass between them or the threat of glass hanging over their heads. And now she is free but the glass remains, because he has taken her place in that cage.

Because Redd White has put him there.

Aunt Morgan often speaks longingly of the old days, days that Maya is too young to remember well—when a witch could slay a man for an insult and no one batted an eye, much less put her on trial for it. Normally her aunt’s bitter words make her uncomfortable, as they once nettled Mia, but now…

Now part of her wishes she could turn back time two hundred years, just so she could put an arrow in Redd White’s heart herself. For Mother, for Mia, for herself, and now for Phoenix Wright.

He puts on a brave face for her benefit, his smile bright and reassuring even though it has to hurt, with his face bruised and ugly scratches across his nose and one cheek. The smile and the marks are nearly enough to blind her to the darkness beneath his eyes. But even if she couldn’t read his face, his dӕmon is too big to hide.

Mother knew how to read dӕmons, including human ones, because as queen it was a useful skill. She taught Mia before she disappeared. Now she’s gone and Aunt Morgan says humans aren’t worth their time, so it was left to Mia to pass on what she knew to Maya. Dogs are expressive dӕmons, she’s found, and Wright’s Dawn looks like she’s been caged for days, not mere hours. Her head is low, her tail between her legs, and her white fur is ragged and unkempt.

“Please tell me there’s something I can do,” she says. “You need evidence, don’t you? I’m not a lawyer, or a detective, but I am a witch. If there’s somewhere I need to search, or retrieve something, or question people—well, most people don’t say no to witches.”

“No,” he says firmly. “No, don’t do any of that. That’s what got me in here, and it’s what got your sister killed.” Maya swallows her anger and grief at the reminder. “Besides, I know a few things about White that I didn't before, and that’s what tomorrow will be about. He’s going to ‘prove’ me guilty by going up on the witness stand and lying. All I have to do is pick apart his lies until the whole story falls apart. Hopefully, I’ll get him to crack that way.”

Maya nods. She knows about that part of human legal customs, because Mia told her about it. It was one of her sister’s secrets to success. But it doesn’t feel like enough. “Isn’t there anything I can do?”

“Cheer us on tomorrow, I guess,” Dawn replies.

“I can do that!” she says eagerly, almost too eagerly. Aunt Morgan would be appalled at the display. “I can stand beside you in court, can’t I? Now that I’m not a prisoner anymore?”

He blinks at her, surprised. “W-well, I guess? You could act as my co-counsel, but…”

“I’ll do it,” she says fiercely. “You stood with me when no one else would, and you sacrificed your own freedom to give me mine. This is the least I can do for you, short of killing Redd White with my own hands.”

One of the officers shifts uncomfortably, and Wright splutters. “Okay, definitely don’t do that,” he says. “Because then you actually would be guilty of murder, and there’s not much I could do about that.”

“I won’t,” she says, offering a reassuring smile. “I don’t want to make this any harder for you. Even if I do think it would make things easier…” Wright gives her a pained look. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding. I’ll stand with you in court tomorrow, and maybe I can find a way to support you properly.”

“It’ll be fine.” Phoenix smiles again, wincing when it bothers his bruises. “Trust me.”

She wants to believe him, she really does. But Dawn’s tail is still between her legs, and the fear shines through in their eyes. There is no promise of victory, only tenuous hope.

Maya returns to her sister’s office that day, because there is little else that she can do but wait. As she approaches the building, she comes across a familiar face leaving it. In an instant she is wary, because the first thing he did upon meeting her was arrest her, and now that she’s free, she isn’t sure where that leaves them.

“Um... hello, Detective,” she says, and he startles like a big, ungainly rabbit.

“Oh! Y-yeah, hello, uh, Miss Witch! Detective Dick Gumshoe, at your service!” He stands rigidly before her, wide-eyed. At his feet, his pit bull dӕmon pants nervously and tries in vain to tuck her stubby tail.

“Can I go in?” she asks. “I won’t disturb anything, if you’re still looking…”

“By all means, Miss Witch! Don’t worry about disturbing anything, we’re finished here and the crime scene’s been cleaned up!” He shuffles out of her way, and she realizes that he’s afraid of her. And why wouldn’t he be? He accused her of her sister’s murder. A little over a century ago, that would have earned him an immediate arrow through the heart.

“It’s Maya,” she says, taking pity on him. “Maya Fey. Thank you.”

“No problem, Miss Fey! Sorry for yesterday, just doing my job, very glad to see you’ve been released! Have a nice day, ma’am! C’mon, Bobbie, let’s go.”

He and his dӕmon make a hasty retreat. Maya watches them go, then walks into her sister’s office. She sits down by the window where Mia’s body lay, and doesn’t move until her legs are stiff and achy, and the sunset casts long shadows throughout the room.

There’s a plant in the corner, still green and healthy, but the soil is dry to the touch. While she waters it, Zech flies to the desk to have a look at the computer. The distance tugs at their bond—another reminder of the ritual they haven’t completed, and that Mia won’t be there when they do.

When she’s satisfied with the plant’s condition, Maya goes to her dӕmon’s side to find the computer on and Zech scrolling through it. “What are you doing?”

“Just trying to answer an earlier question,” he tells her. “Since Phoenix already knows about Redd White, and we know that White’s dӕmon is—”

“A water moccasin,” Maya says. “Also known as a cottonmouth. I remember what Mia said.” On the screen, an encyclopedia article on the Felidae family slowly loads.

“I figured that was self-explanatory,” Zech says dryly. “So I thought it might be helpful to glean what we could from Mr. Edgeworth’s dӕmon. Starting with what she is. Maybe it'll give Phoenix an edge.”

“Makes sense.” Maya sits down in her sister’s chair, doing her very best not to think of it that way. “Let’s see what we can find.”

And they do. It doesn’t take them nearly as long as Maya feared, and she shares a triumphant look with Zech before sitting back and turning the machine off.

“Well, that’s interesting,” Zech says, feathers ruffling eagerly. “And rare, isn’t it?”

“Among humans, yes,” Maya replies, tickling his ruff feathers. “Almost unheard of, with witches.”

“Obviously.”

She’s not sure if it will help. But Mia says that court is a battle fought with information, and if Maya cannot fight with Phoenix tomorrow, then the least she can do is arm him.

Phoenix looks worse, somehow. He doesn’t look like he’s slept much, and beneath his battered smile, Maya can see that he’s scared. Dawn hardly looks any better. Her fur is still poorly groomed, her tail droops, and she presses close to her human like she’s afraid they’ll be separated.

“I’m fine,” he assures Maya when she asks. “I mean, if you think about it, however this trial ends up, I did what I said I’d do. Win or lose, you’re still innocent.”

She scowls, even though Aunt Morgan has always told her that it makes her look childish. “That’s not good enough,” she argues. “You’re innocent, too.”

“I know. And you know that, too. That’s what matters right now.”

“When this is over, everyone else will know it,” she reminds him.

She’s not sure how to describe the way his face softens at that. For the first time since yesterday, his dӕmon’s tail gives a tentative wag. “Thank you,” Dawn says softly.

“I’ve hardly done anything,” Maya answers, a little flustered.

“No, really,” Phoenix says. “You… it means a lot that you’re standing with me. With us. It really does. It’s just, we know what it’s like to have everyone against you but one person, and—” He hesitates. “I guess… thanks for being that one person, this time.”

“We haven’t done anything you didn’t do for us,” Maya reminds him.

The moment ends when Dawn goes rigid, and Zech lets out a warning croak, and Maya turns to find Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth approaching them, with his long-legged cat dӕmon stalking at his heels. This time, her hunter eyes pass over Maya and Zech to settle upon Dawn instead. Edgeworth’s eyes are likewise on Phoenix. Maya may as well not even be there.

“Wright,” Edgeworth says coolly.

“Edgeworth.”

Are lawyers always like this? If they were witches, the spells would already be flying. Human justice is a strange thing, if those who uphold it are at war with one another.

“I received a call from the Chief Prosecutor today,” Edgeworth says. He is straight-backed and composed as he speaks, his voice calm and conversational. At his feet, his dӕmon’s tail flicks from side to side, and her claws slide from their sheathes. Steady, serene, and ready to pounce.

“Did you?” Phoenix asks. He’s not quite as good at sounding calm.

“Apparently, anything that the witness says on the stand today is to be taken as the absolute truth,” Edgeworth goes on. “And the judge’s verdict will agree with it.”

“The judge, too?” Dawn yelps, pawing at the ground. Phoenix curls his hand into her bristling fur, either a calming gesture or a warning one.

Edgeworth ignores her. “I’ve been assured that any objection I make will be sustained, and any evidence I present will be accepted without question.”

Dawn starts forward, pulling against her human’s grip. “And you’re just fine with that, are you?” she growls.

“Dawn,” Phoenix warns her, tightening his fingers in her fur.

She pulls herself free to round on him, teeth bared. “Phoenix, the entire court is in White’s pocket and he’s telling us to our faces, I can’t just—”

“Save it for the courtroom,” he tells her shortly. His eyes haven’t left Edgeworth.

The prosecutor finally deigns to look at Dawn, if only for a moment. “I suggest you keep better control of your dӕmon, Wright. For an outburst like that, you’d be held in contempt. Though I suppose that would save everyone else a great deal of time.”

Phoenix shifts, in such a way that it’s almost a flinch. “So you’re saying I’m guilty, then,” he says, his voice tight. “End of story?”

“I’ll do whatever is necessary to obtain a guilty verdict.”

Maya sees red.

“How dare you.” He may be a head and a half taller than she is, but she is almost one hundred and fifty years older, and still young enough for her grief to boil over into fury. “Just yesterday you were convinced that I was guilty! Have you changed your mind so easily?” She feels Zech’s claws dig into her shoulder. “I’ll bet you don’t even have a shred of evidence that Phoenix is guilty! All you did was listen to that man’s lies and decide that your job was done!” Her eyes blaze. “Do you even care about finding my sister’s murderer, or would you rather cage another innocent and tell yourself it’s victory?”

The cat hisses at their feet, and Zech rasps out an answering challenge.

Edgeworth’s expression darkens, but he doesn’t back away. “Innocent? Can you even say for certain that he is? Or that anyone is?” His eyes return to Phoenix. “Criminals lie to escape justice, and they slip through the cracks thanks to cheap tactics like the ones I’ve seen you employ. All I can hope to do is have every defendant declared guilty.”

Phoenix holds his gaze for a moment longer, while Dawn growls and Maya swallows another furious outburst. But when Phoenix speaks, there is no anger, only sadness. “You’ve really changed, haven’t you, Edgeworth?”

In an instant, Maya’s rage plunges into ice-cold water. She looks to Phoenix in shock, and sees the answer to her question written all over his face.

It’s more than just the animosity between opposite sides of a conflict. There’s history there. As cold and aloof as Edgeworth holds himself, there is something deeply personal in this.

“…Don’t expect any special treatment,” Edgeworth says, and turns to go. His dӕmon glares balefully at them before turning to follow. The time for parley is over, it seems.

Except, it’s not.

Dawn steps forward. Her voice, laced with a growl, echoes in the lobby. “Thea.”

Halfway across the room, the cat dӕmon freezes. Edgeworth pauses as well, turning back to urge his dӕmon onward.

“Dawn,” Phoenix murmurs, but she doesn’t listen to him. She steps forward as far as their bond will allow, standing tall with her tail held high for the first time since Maya saw them in detention yesterday.

“Come on, Thea. This is wrong and you know it.”

“The only thing I know,” the cat replies calmly, “is that you are the defendant, and that makes it our job to find you guilty.”

“You’re being played,” Dawn growls. “I know you’re not in his pocket too, but you have to see that!”

“I don’t have to listen to this.” The cat takes another step toward her human.

“What happened to you and Miles?” Dawn demands. “Don’t you see what you’re doing?”

Edgeworth's face turns thunderous. The cat’s tall ears turn back, flat against her head, and she whirls around and storms back to face Dawn with a snarl. “What did you expect, Dawn?” she spits. “That we would throw away everything we’ve worked for, for—what?” Her lip curls back scornfully. “Childish sentiment?”

Dawn’s tail drops, and her white coat bristles with fury. When she finally speaks again, her voice is harsh with disappointment. “It’s not about sentiment, Alethea. I just thought you were smarter than this.”

Maya can almost hear the cat dӕmon’s claws scrape against the tile. Without another word, she whips around and stalks after Edgeworth.

Beside her, Phoenix’s hands shake. They don’t still until his dӕmon is within reach again, offering her fluffy coat to curl his fingers into.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I’m sorry, I just—”

“I know.”

“I couldn’t just—I had to say something—”

“I know.” Phoenix straightens up, his face set. “We’d better go in.”

This is their last chance for a private word. Maya catches him by the sleeve before he makes it to the door. “She’s a hybrid.”

He looks at her, confused. “What?”

“There’s a breed of cat called the Savannah,” she explains. “Though, it’s not really a breed in the truest sense. It’s made by crossing a domestic cat with a serval—that’s a wild cat from Africa.”

Her meaning dawns on him, and his eyes widen.

“I’m not sure if it helps,” she says. “Maybe it doesn’t. But hybrid dӕmons are said to indicate some kind of… split. A contradiction or duality in the soul.” She squeezes his arm in what she hopes is a reassuring way. “So, you could be right about him. He’s a hunter either way, but he may be more conflicted with himself than he lets on.”

The hope in his eyes is nearly enough to make her cry.

#ace attorney #aa daemons #tales from the pit

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