#B decides to get some medicine at the rest stop just in case?

[plasmodiumpyrexia]

A short thing inspired by @warmblanketwhump‘s post about fever chills that's been in my drafts for way too long 😅

The conversation had become a distant blur of sounds A no longer had the energy to follow; they ceased the polite nods and “mhm”s miles ago, opting instead to sit quietly, gazing out the window at passing scenery with half-lidded eyes while the others chatted around them.

"...'bout you A?" Who? "Think they fell asleep" C gently nudged A's arm and repeated B's question "We're stopping soon, do you want anything?" "No..." They shivered. "...could you turn down the AC?" B's brow furrowed in concern from behind the wheel. "A, the AC is off. You ok?" Now that they though about it, A had been unusually quiet. "Mhm" A mumbled. They were still half-asleep, still exhausted and aching and freezing... but they didn't to ruin the trip. A straightened up in the seat and did their best to keep the next shiver at bay. "Yeah, I'm fine."

[autolovecraft]

I've seen sights before, but there was one thing too much here.

For the long-neglected latch was obviously broken, leaving the careless undertaker trapped in the vault, a victim of his own oversight.

I can hardly decide, since I am no practiced teller of tales. Then the doctor came with his medicine-case and asked crisp questions, and removed the patient's outer clothing, shoes, and socks. As he remounted the splitting coffins he felt his weight very poignantly; especially when, upon reaching the topmost one, he heard that aggravated crackle which bespeaks the wholesale rending of wood. His day's work was sadly interrupted, and unless chance presently brought some rambler hither, he might have to remain all night or longer.

It was just as he had recognized old Matt's coffin that the door slammed to in the wind, leaving him in a dusk even deeper than before. His head was broken in, and everything was tumbled about. Birch had locked himself for nine hours in the receiving tomb of Peck Valley; and was a very calloused and primitive specimen even as such specimens go.

He gave old Matt the very best his skill could produce, but was thrifty enough to save the stoutly built casket of little Matthew Fenner for the top, in order that his feet might have as certain a surface as possible. It was generally stated that the affliction and shock were results of an unlucky slip whereby Birch had locked himself for nine hours in the receiving tomb of Peck Valley Cemetery, escaping only by crude and disastrous mechanical means; but while this much was undoubtedly true, there were other and blacker things which the man used to whisper to me in his drunken delirium toward the last. Birch, being by temperament phlegmatic and practical, did not shout long; but proceeded to grope about for some tools which he recalled seeing in a corner of the tomb. For the long-neglected latch was obviously broken, leaving the careless undertaker trapped in the vault, a victim of his own oversight. He was oddly anxious to know if Birch were sure—absolutely sure—of the identity of that top coffin of the pile; how he had been certain of it as the Fenner coffin in the dusk, and how he stepped on the puppy that snapped at him a succession of shuddering whispers that seared into the bewildered ears like the hissing of vitriol. The light was dim, but Birch's sight was good, and he vaguely wished it would stop. Over the door, however, the high, slit-like transom in the brick facade gave promise of possible enlargement to a diligent worker; hence upon this his eyes long rested as he racked his brains for means to reach it. The boxes were fairly even, and could be piled up like blocks; so he began to realize the truth and to shout loudly as if his horse outside could do more than neigh an unsympathetic reply. It was Asaph's coffin, Birch, and I believe his eye-for-an-eye fury could beat old Father Death himself. He was just dizzy and careless enough to annoy his sensitive horse, which as he drew it viciously up at the tomb neighed and pawed and tossed its head, much as on that former occasion when the rain had vexed it. His questioning grew more than medically tense, and his hands shook as he dressed the mangled members; binding them as if he wished to get the wounds out of sight as quickly as possible. Being without superstition, he did not get Asaph Sawyer's coffin by mistake, although it was very similar. What else, he added, could ever in any case be proved or believed? He cried aloud once, and a hammer and chisel selected, Birch returned over the coffins to the door.

I knew his teeth, with the front ones missing on the upper jaw—never, for God's sake, show those wounds! He would not, he found, have to pile another on his platform to make the proper height; for the unexpected tenacity of the easy-looking brickwork was surely a sardonic commentary on the vanity of mortal hopes, and the latch of the great door yielded readily to a touch from the outside. Most distinctly Birch was lax, insensitive, and professionally undesirable; yet I still think he was not an evil man. As he remounted the splitting coffins he felt his weight very poignantly; especially when, upon reaching the topmost one, he heard that aggravated crackle which bespeaks the wholesale rending of wood. The tower at length finished, and his aching arms rested by a pause during which he sat on the bottom step of his grim device, Birch cautiously ascended with his tools and stood abreast of the narrow transom.

Three coffin-heights, he reckoned, would permit him to reach the transom; but he could do better with four. Whether he had imagination enough to wish they were empty, is strongly to be doubted. I'll never get the picture out of my head as long as I live. Great heavens, Birch, and I believe his eye-for-an-eye fury could beat old Father Death himself. Three coffin-heights, he reckoned, would permit him to reach the transom; but he could do better with four.

Whether he had imagination enough to wish they were empty, is strongly to be doubted.

At last the spring thaw came, and graves were laboriously prepared for the nine silent harvests of the grim reaper which waited in the tomb.

An eye for an eye! I'd hate to have it aimed at me!

[diosmio76]

What I Deserve (2) | soft Dark!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Bucky couldn’t believe his luck when he found you. So innocent, so alone, and so naive. He had been following you throughout the week, hell- he wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore and you never noticed him once.

Pairing: Dark!Bucky x Reader

WARNINGS: +18, dub-con, needle use, stalking, fingering, kidnapping, kind of non-con (more dub-con but just incase)

Word Count: 3,076

A/N: my timeline on which version of Barnes is fucked up and a mix of everything honestly // my first ever time writing smut, and honestly I'm open to constructive criticism b/c I have no experience in this area LOLZ

You squeezed your eyes as you stretched your body. Feeling your comforter rise and fall against your skin from your movements. You hung your feet off your bed and stretched them before standing up. You did your usual set of morning stretches, were they done correctly? Probably not, but it was the thought that counts and the only form of self-care you gave yourself. You let out a sigh as you got ready for another day similar to all the rest. You don’t even remember what it felt like to be excited about waking up, but who were you to complain. You used the toilet as you went back and forth in your mind about nothing in particular, your eyes staring at your bed that was quickly losing the warmth it collected from your body. Once done in the bathroom you dragged yourself to your vanity, hearing the faint noise of cars on the street, you began getting ready for work. After changing and grabbing your tattered work bag, you began your journey with all the other commuters.

The day dragged on like any other, talking to coworkers only when they needed something from you. Hearing the usual remarks of “Oh, I didn’t notice you” or “I didn’t even see you there”, you got used to it but you’d be lying if you said it didn’t bother you. Before you had time to dwell on it, it was time to go home. You packed your bag then began your walk home, following the same route you always take during the week. Taking a little solstice in the fact that you were just another face in the crowd, that fact made you feel as if everyone else was alone too. Once home you locked the door and dropped your bag, heading to the bedroom you changed into an oversized shirt and put on your slippers before heading towards the living room. You turned on the tv and lowered the volume for some background noise, making the short trip towards the kitchen to make dinner. You rarely got messages on your phone unless it was from your mom or your phone provider wanting you to update your old phone, so you scrolled mindlessly through various social media newsfeeds. You munched on a vegetable as you waited for your pan to heat up. You tried to not feel bad for yourself, you were the one to blame for the lack of social life but you were in too deep. Too set in your ways. You stared at the steaming pan as you imagined moving across the country.

“Yeah right” you said aloud to yourself as you finished cooking your dinner, eating the food but not really tasting it.

~~~

You repeated the same routine the next day, unbeknownst to you today was the day that Bucky decided you were ready. It didn’t take him long to find a house isolated by miles of forest. Despite its unassuming traditional exterior, the inside was modern as he enjoyed the impersonal nature that the style provided. He spent the majority of his time there making sure the house was locked and secure in case you tried anything. The thought made him laugh a little, knowing you didn’t have it in you but he didn’t want to take any chances. Things had been going his way lately, and finding you was like the universe was rewarding him even more. At first, he considered getting to know you, and doing the whole flowers and dates thing but decided he didn’t have the patience for all that waiting, he’s been waiting long enough and he deserved something good. He settled on a much easier method. Breaking in was easy, old apartments like this barely gave him any trouble. He even had someone hold the building door open for him, just his luck.

The lock felt weird when you opened your door but you didn’t think anything of it, dismissing it as another sign of the building’s old age. He watched from afar as you went about your usual routine. He was beginning to become skeptical at how oblivious you were. He was practically behind you and you hadn’t even looked over your shoulder once. He even made some accidental noises by stepping on squeaky floorboards and didn’t get a reaction from you, he took this as another lucky break. You were tired today and fell asleep relatively easily, considering how long it typically took you to fall asleep. Bucky walked around your apartment as he waited for you to enter a deeper sleep, familiar with everything since he had been in here a few times since first spotting you all those weeks ago. He looked at your book collection, a mix of genres, and looked closer at the few photos you had on display. A majority of the old photos seemed to be of your family from decades ago. He picked up one that seemed more recent, the only one you had up that included you. He recognized the other two people in it, your mom and sister, both busy with their own lives. He already sized up your family and it would be easy to handle them if he needed to.

He walked into your bathroom and went through your medicine cabinet, finding nothing out of the ordinary besides a few nail polish bottles and various allergy medicines. Finally, he noticed the soft snores coming out of your room. He shut the cabinet, staring at his reflection for a second. He knew this was the right thing to do and had no bad intention. He softly grunted at his pathetic moment of self-reflection and took out a needle filled with a small dose of anesthesia. He observed you for a moment as you slept, mouth slightly agape and eyebrows relaxed, he considered for a moment how easy it would be to take you, but reminded himself of the bigger picture. He easily found a vein and waited a few minutes before taking you to your new home.

~~~

You squeezed your eyes shut and smiled to yourself as you thought about how well you slept last night. You hummed as you kept your eyes closed briefly noticing the absence of warmth that the morning sun provided you in the mornings. You thought nothing of it, too distracted by the fact that this was probably the best night’s sleep you’d gotten in months. Despite that you still felt a little groggy, you began to move but quickly felt something rough holding you down. Your eyes shot open as your breathing began to quicken. You became conscious of the rough restraints around your arms and legs. You awkwardly lifted your head up as you tried to look around, it looked like a basement based on the unfinished walls surrounding you, a single lightbulb hanging above you on the unfinished ceiling. You attempted to calm yourself down by deeply inhaling but knew it was a lost cause once you heard the shaky exhale leave your mouth. You knew you couldn’t break free from the knotted rope holding you down. You had weak arms and tried to use your leg strength in an attempt to kick yourself free but felt it begin to sting as it irritated your ankles from the pressure. You sat in a deafening silence and felt completely petrified.

You let out a whimper as you heard footsteps approaching the door. The door opened as you saw a tall, broad man approach you. You were too scared to notice anything about him and began to feel yourself shake, causing you to miss the way he hungrily reacted to your frightened state. A shadow was cast on you as he stood over the bed. From the corner of your eye, you watched as his right hand lowered the comforter to your torso and expose your shirt as you twitched at the action. He smirked in response, your eyes following his hand as it hovered over the comforter as though he was going to do something. It exited your line of sight but your eyes were fixed in place. You heard movement as he straightened himself before speaking to you for the first time.

“Did you sleep well? You’ve been out for most of the day” His deep voice filled the room as you kept shaking, too scared to answer. You could hear your heartbeat in your ears and wondered if he could too, but he was too busy trailing his eyes over your torso. He noticed the way your nipples created peaks on your oversized shirt. He licked his lips before he moved his hand up to grab your chin, forcing you to look up at him. You did your best at avoiding his gaze keeping your gaze low, you swallowed the lump in your throat and tried to control your shaking but felt it intensify instead.

Still gripping your chin, a little tighter than necessary, and trying to control your shaking body got him hard. You looked so weak like this, it made him excited, a wicked smile painted his face as he looked down at your wide eyes and lips clamped together in terror.

“Look at me when I talk to you, doll”

You had a difficult time looking people in the eyes in general, so you lifted your eyes and stopped at his chin. You didn’t dare go any higher. He squeezed on your chin and heard him let out an amused chuckle. If you weren’t so terrified you would have noticed how out of place it sounded given the situation.

“That’ll have to do, for now, I can tell you’re terrified but you really have no reason to be. I only want to do what’s best for you- for us, I’m only doing what needs to be done.” He didn’t expect a response and stared at you as he let you sit with his words.

He took a moment and let his hand trail down from your chin. He felt the nervous swallow as his pointer finger trailed lower and lower. His finger deviated from its straight path as he placed his palm against your chest, pausing to feel your heartbeat racing. He almost felt sorry as he felt its frantic rhythm. He couldn’t help himself as he cupped your left breast. His thumb gently circling around the hard bud. You scrunched your eyebrows and scolded yourself for getting pleasure from his action. His gentle touch was a strong contrast to the situation he had put you in.

His finger continued its journey down and stopped just above your mound. You swallowed as you felt his eyes staring at you intently, not daring to see if you were right. He lifted his hand momentarily as he moves to sit next to you, hearing the springs groan under him, pushing the comforter towards the bottom of the bed. You get chills as warmth escapes, feeling the crisp air conditioning surround your body instead. Jerking at his touch, he returns his right hand to your body just below your navel this time. His fingers trace down until it feathered above your mound. You held your breath as if any noise from you would assure that he would continue his actions as if he would forget you were there. You felt his pause when his fingers hit the material of your cotton underwear. He slowly traces a short line along your clit, you ball your hands into fists wanting to make him stop. Why was your body enjoying this?

You hold your breath as he gently pulls them down till they were at your knees and returns his hand to its previous place. The empty room is quiet, amplifying the sound of both of your breaths. You feel his middle and ring finger move lower gently stroking your folds. You hear him let out a surprised huff as he continued stroking.

“I was gonna bring lube, but it looks like we won’t be needing it, huh sweetheart?”

You felt your cheeks heat up, he was right. You felt heat building ever since he grabbed your chin, but he didn’t need to know that. All you wanted to do was at the very least was cover your face, but felt the irritation of the rope on your wrists instead. He began back and forth on your heat for a few moments. The room now having the added noise of his fingers slowly speeding up as he stroked you. You shut your eyes as he circled around your entrance, you could already tell his fingers would be significantly bigger than yours. He slowly inserted a finger as you sucked in a quick breath. You could hear him let out a quiet groan as he watched his finger disappear into your hole.

After finding a rhythm he added another finger. You let out a whimper at the fullness of both of his thick fingers filling your hole. It stung at first, hurting slightly you wanted to try and stop his intrusion. Besides your finger, you had never had anything else inside of you. You felt slightly embarrassed by this when you were younger but as you got older you accepted the fact that your lack of social life was a major reason as to why you never had anything close to a romantic partner. Never being social enough to meet someone that you would want to be friends with, let alone sleep with. You felt as though you should tell this man, did you even know his name, that this was the farthest you’ve ever gone with anyone before. Before you think any more about it you open your mouth, nothing coming out at first but it was enough for his eyes to go to your face. He slowed down his pace and had his eyes trained on your face waiting for you to speak as if his fingers weren’t leisurely stroking your soft walls in the meantime.

“I- I think I need to tell you something” The words left you slowly and your voice was shakey as you tried to speak and ignore your oncoming orgasm at his rough fingers stroking you gently. Why did you feel like you owed him this? You briefly thought to yourself. But it was too late to stop now.

He smirked at you as he waited for you to continue on. So far, you’ve shown him nothing but submissiveness. Cementing the fact that he made the right choice when he chose you. He didn’t plan on being this gentle with you originally but he couldn’t help it, feeling as though any other treatment would scare you away. His fingers never stopping their gentle strokes, he watched your lips as your quiet voice trembled on.

“I’ve never really, I haven’t done any of this before. I’m a virgin” the words leave you slowly, you gulp and still refuse to meet his gaze, scared for a moment that you would lose the gentleness he has given you thus far. You knew that wouldn’t stop him, but a small part of you hoped it would be enough for him to stop just for now. For the first time you decided to look at his face, still too scared to meet his eyes you opted to watch his mouth as you waited for a response.

To say he was ecstatic was an understatement. You had chosen to tell him this on your own, he didn’t even get a chance to ask you. He didn’t want to assume but based on his observations of you he had an inkling that this was the case. He felt proud of you, his perfect girl. He smiled gently at you in response. You shivered as his fingers paused their gentle strokes in you as he moved to kiss the top of your head.

“Thank you for telling me, my good girl” it sounded patronizing but your body thought otherwise. Feeling heat shoot straight to your core at his response. He felt you squeeze around his fingers at his response.

Once he felt that you adjusted to his fingers he began to alternate inserting them. Thrusting one and then the other inside of you. Your eyes squeezed shut, you never felt this close to cumming so quickly. Your eyes swelled with tears as you quietly sobbed, reaching your climax. Both of you watched as he pulled his fingers out of your sensitive heat. Covered in slick from your climax. You watched as he moved his fingers close to his face, smirking at you.

“Just a little taste for now,” he said he brought his fingers to his mouth to suck on his two fingers that were just inside you seconds ago. The empty room amplified the sound, your face felt hot as you watched the lewd act feeling your core still throbbing.

He reveled in your obvious embarrassment, humming at your reaction. He wiped his damp fingers on his pants as he got up. You blinked slowly, taking in what had just happened. You had enjoyed what had just happened but felt angry at yourself for that. He shouldn’t have done that, and you had let yourself succumb to his fingers so easily. He watched you, deep in thought with your eyes spaced out. His cock throbbed as if reminding him he needed a release too but he didn’t want to scare you. He had a plan, but you had just showed him that he didn’t have to be as rough as he initially thought with you. And he wouldn’t ever admit it but he couldn’t have even if he wanted to, as soon as he interacted with you it was almost as if he needed to handle you with care. Something that he thought wasn’t in his nature, but for you, maybe he’d try.

He felt his confident demeanor waver for a second, an odd feeling. He needed to get away from her and have a moment alone, so with a quick glance, he turned towards the door and practically ran out of the room without speaking to her.

Too busy thinking, you didn’t notice the foreign feelings your captor had just experienced. Only noticing this broad figure leaving the room as if he was late for something. If you weren’t so busy scolding yourself you would have wondered if you had done something wrong to elicit that action from him.

[valwentinefics]

Instincts - Helmut Zemo x F!Reader (omegaverse) 18+

Plot: Y/n, an unmated omega, forgets to get a refill of her suppressants, sending her into her heat while at work. Luckily for her notorious criminal and alpha Helmut Zemo is hiding out in the backroom. (Takes place after episode 4 of tfatws)

A/n: First of all I’m sorry, second of all I’m sorry, third of all, You’re welcome. This is my first time writing omegaverse so it’s probably not the best and I haven’t read an omegaverse fic in a hot minute. Sorry my smut is always so short, I really gotta work on that.

Warnings: smut, normal a/b/o things, possessive dirty talk, mentions of omegas being harmed, mentions of fear of being assaulted. (if i missed anything please let me know)

As an unmated omega, Y/n knew well of the dangers of the world. Everywhere she looked alphas lurked around looking for their own omega, a rare thing to have in this society. Although omegas were coveted and prized they were still at the bottom of the hierarchy and were expected to be subservient to whatever alpha marked them, a thought that terrified Y/n. Stories of alphas that harmed omegas were sickeningly common, and with everyone plastering on fake kindness in hopes to place their mark on her neck, Y/n was terrified she would end up a statistic.

Suppressants were Y/n’s saving grace, an illegal method to mask her true nature from the world and pose as a beta where she could live her life peacefully, something she could never do as an omega. If she were to get caught she could face serious time in a correctional facility built just for omegas to learn their place in the world, and so every day was filled with caution and fear.

“God I look like shit.” Y/n’s heavy eyes looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, the bags under her eyes deep and only looking worse due to the harsh fluorescent light buzzing away above her. The illegal suppressants had many side effects ranging from life threatening to mildly troublesome, but the one that affected Y/n most was the inability to fall asleep. Each night was spent tossing and turning, her body feeling restless. 

Sluggishly Y/n grabbed her concealer, dabbing it on beneath her eyes, her hands shaking with exhaustion. She finished with a sigh, running her hands through her hair to remove any major knots. She didn’t have the energy to fully go through her hair, not seeing the point. She was hidden as a beta anyways, no one would give her a second glance. Y/n opened the medicine cabinet, looking for the white box of suppressants, only to not find it anywhere. Her stomach sank as she realized she forgot to get her refill yesterday. It would be fine though, she hoped. She had gone without them before and hadn’t gone in heat, surely it would be the same thing this time, but for some reason there was a nagging feeling in her mind it wouldn’t be.

Y/n grabbed her perfume, spraying it on herself. The scent was cinnamon, similar to her natural scent as an omega, but it had the slight acrid scent of being a perfume. She hoped that would be enough to convince the alphas she passed by that she was just a beta wearing perfume. It wasn’t something she used often, only when her overtired brain didn’t remember to get the refill of her suppressants. 

“That's good enough, I hope.” Y/n mumbled to herself. She smoothed out her short sundress, the light flowy fabric ending at her mid thigh. It was her favourite dress, she felt and knew she looked cute in it. Y/n didn’t like to wear things like this often, she didn’t want the attention of anyone, but frankly she felt like shit and needed the joy looking nice brought her.

The walk to the flower shop had Y/n’s body feeling hot, however she assumed it was the warm weather, not wanting her paranoia to make her miss work. The flower shop she owned was Y/n’s only source of income and it wasn’t a bad one at that. It was common for alpha’s to come in and buy bouquets to give to the first omega they see on the streets in an attempt to woo them. That was another reason Y/n refused to accept her status as an omega. Every bit of romance was just disingenuous. Alpha’s only wanted to have the honour of being chosen by an omega, they didn’t care about who that omega was. However, Y/n was happy it paid her bills.

-

The day went by smoothly until closing time when Y/n turned off the open sign, the neon light no longer lighting up the darkening street outside. As she grabbed her keys to leave a sharp pain went through her abdomen, causing a gasp to escape her throat. She rested a hand on the painful area, eyes wide. She should have listened to her instincts, she should have stayed home, but she didn’t and now she was going into heat in her store. Y/n paced, her mind running at a hundred miles an hour as she tried to figure out what to do. She couldn’t go home, walking would be near impossible for her with her heat approaching fast. She would have to wait it through in her shop with no relief. 

“Oh fuck…” Y/n groaned in pain, leaning against the wall. She knew she had to find something to eat to get the strength to get through this. With shaky steps she headed to the back, her hand glued to her abdomen as if that would alleviate her pain. As she approached the door to the back room her blood went cold, her nose picking up the faint scent of an alpha through the thick door. 

She debated opening it. Her instincts were telling her to open it and get his help with the heat, her brain told her it could be dangerous. Eventually decided to confront him, to ask what he was doing and maybe for his help getting home if he didn’t seem too awful. With her keys clutched between her fingers just in case, she slowly opened the door, her body almost melting at the scent that wafted to her.

A man dressed in a long coat with a fur collar stared back at her with shock, the scent of pine trees wafting off of him. “Omega…?” He spoke with a Sokovian accented voice. It took Y/n a few moments before the identity of the dangerously handsome man registered in her mind. She had seen him on the news. He was Helmut Zemo, the man who almost single handedly destroyed the Avengers.

Y/n shook her head, forcing herself to concentrate. “You’re Helmut Zemo… What- what are you doing here?” She asked, fixing her posture to appear assertive and trying her best to resist the urge to submit right there. A mixture of fear and arousal was filling her body to the point where she thought she might explode.

“So you’ve heard about me?” He tilted his head slightly. “I needed a place to hide for a bit, I’ve been scoping this place out. You’re the owner, Y/n, correct?” Y/n gulped but nodded, worried about why he was hiding out. “That doesn’t matter right now. Why are you here? It’s not safe for an omega in heat to be out in public.” He scolded as if Y/n didn’t know that. It was odd, having the notorious criminal seem to care about her safety. She wondered what he was trying to achieve, if anything.

“It wasn’t my choice okay?” She snapped, a wave of pain washed over her and she slumped against the door frame with a groan. Zemo got up, moving to her quickly but stopping once Y/n had flinched, worried he was going to try something.

“You need to get home, where’s your car? I'll escort you there.” He said, his voice was strained and Y/n’s eyes couldn’t help but land on the growing bulge in his pants. He was going into a rut which explained his current caring and protective nature. Her mouth watered at the thought of having his cock in her mouth but she tore her eyes away, looking to the side to avoid him. 

“I don’t have a car… too expensive.” She groaned out, her breaths growing to pants as she started to overheat, fanning herself with her hand.

Zemo let out a staggered exhale, running his hand through his formerly perfectly done hair. “What’s your address? I’ll bring you there myself.” Y/n was impressed at the amount of self control this alpha had. Even as his rut was beginning he managed to stay calm and collected for the most part, but Y/n knew it was hard for him, sweat ran down his forehead as he strained to keep control.

Reluctantly Y/n told him her address knowing he was her best bet at getting home safely. A whimper escaped her throat as she felt her slick begin to drip down her thigh. She clenched her legs together, desire seeping into every part of her. She wanted the alpha’s knot more than anything she had ever wanted before. She could hardly focus on what Zemo was doing, not noticing he had draped his coat over her and picked her up until they were already out the door.

Zemo didn’t breathe as often as he needed while he walked, trying not to inhale Y/n’s scent as he moved at a quick pace, shooting piercing glares at every passerby that dared look their way. He felt protective over the little omega. His cock strained uncomfortably against his pants as his mind filled with thoughts of mating with her, but he pushed them back, not wanting to take advantage of her. Arriving at the apartment building he used her keys to unlock the door to the humble apartment, locating her room and placing her down on her bed. Y/n took off his coat and offered it back.

“You can keep the jacket for now, I’ll come back for it once you’re done with your heat.” He said, quickly turning around. Y/n’s hand shot out, grabbing his gloved hand.

“Please alpha, don't leave, help me.” She whimpered. Y/n didn’t know where that had come from, but she didn’t regret it, knowing it wasn’t just her heat talking. He was powerful, respectful, not to mention handsome. Everything a good mate should be, even though Y/n knew mating with a dangerous man like him was out of the question. Y/n found herself liking the man despite knowing what he had done and not knowing him long. She knew he would treat her well during her heat, if he accepted.

“Are you sure omega?” He asked, not facing her in fear that he would pounce on her as soon as he saw the desire in her eyes. 

“Yes alpha, please…” Y/n whimpered again, giving his hand a small tug. “I need you”

That was all he needed to lose control. Zemo turned around to face her, stalking to the bed as he removed his shirt, straddling Y/n’s warm needy body. Her smaller hands reached out, undoing his belt and palming Zemo’s cock through his pants. Y/n couldn’t help the filthy thoughts that flooded her mind, desire for the dangerous man’s knot consuming her.

Zemo let out a groan, taking off his pants and boxers, letting his painfully hard cock free. Y/n’s eyes were clouded with lust as she leaned forward, mouth open and ready to suck it. He tapped the side of her cheek with his cock, running his hand through her hair and gripping it.

 “No liebling, this is about you. I can wait for another time.” He let go of her hair and Y/n laid down, watching the alpha as he took off her panties and put her legs over his shoulders, running his cock slowly up and down her folds and coating itself in her slick, the tip teasing her as it came so close to going in. Y/n let out a little whine, letting him know she was growing impatient. “I apologize omega, it’s rude of me to tease.” He smirked before shoving himself all the way in easily.

Y/n’s toes curled as she let out a loud gasping moan, throwing her head back in pleasure as he began to thrust in and out of her, the position they were in allowing him to reach every part of her with ease. His hands ran up and down her waist as he let out a deep moan. Y/n’s eyes were locked on him as he fucked her deeply, causing her to let out a whimper of pleasure with every thrust.

“Look at you little omega, taking my cock so well.” He reached over to cup her cheek in his hand, rubbing circles into the soft flesh with his thumb. “Does it feel good?” His hand dropped from her cheek and began to rub her clit with just enough roughness to send her over the edge, a loud moan escaping her as she came.

“Yes, fuck! harder, please!” She said between moans, her hands tangling themselves in Zemo’s hair and gripping it as she panted.

Zemo moaned as he re-adjusted her legs on his shoulders, picking up the pace. “This pussy of yours, it’s mine now. I’ll fuck you through this heat and every heat you have next.” He growled, hitting Y/n’s sweet spot, making her cry out in ecstasy. 

Y/n felt warm inside at his words. Her pussy clenched around his cock as the stimulation from him rubbing her clit and pounding into her sent her over the edge again, panting as she came hard. He was good at making her feel good, and for once Y/n was glad she was an omega.

“Fuck, you feel so good clenched around me. Do you want my knot in you, little omega? Do you want me to fill you up with my cum?” He asked cockily, receiving a desperate whine from Y/n.

“Please, please, please!” She begged, the only thoughts filling her mind were those of need for his knot buried deep into her. 

“How can I refuse... when you’re asking so nicely, liebling.” He spoke between grunts. His thrusts slowly became more sloppy and deep and Y/n knew he was about to cum.

With one last deep thrust Zemo buried his cock all the way into Y/n’s pussy, his knot trapping the two together as he emptied his cum into Y/n. She felt so full in a good way, her breaths heavy with exhaustion as she internally frowned at the thought of Zemo pulling out of her. His knot alleviated the worst of her heat and as she laid there sore and sweaty, her now clearer mind had no regrets about what had happened. 

Zemo pulled out after a while, his knot going away. A smile danced on his lips as he saw the cum dripping out of her as he pulled out his cock. Y/n’s eyes fluttered closed as she moved to a more comfortable position on the bed. Zemo grabbed his jacket from the floor, dusting it off and draping it over the omega’s tired form. Hesitantly he hovered over her before pressing a soft kiss on the top of her head, deeply inhaling her scent. 

Not wanting to intrude any more, he got dressed and walked over to the couch, exhaustion filling his body as he slumped down onto it, closing his eyes with a smile. He could tell he would need all the rest he could get while he rode out the omega’s heat with her. He was so happy he decided to hide out at that flower shop.

-

Tags: @peculiar-monstar​ @lovelyzabrak-meadow​ @captainsherlockwinchester110283​

[agustdakasuga]

Between The Bloodshed | Chapter 8

Genre: Mafia!AU, Angst, Romance, Fluff

Pairing: OT7 x Reader

Characters: Doctor!Reader, Gangster!Namjoon, Gangster!Seokjin, Gangster!Yoongi, Gangster!Hoseok, Gangster!Jimin, Gangster!Taehyung, Gangster!Jungkook

Summary: Being a freelance doctor, this was just supposed to be any other job, helping a private client and taking care of him through his recovery. But you were not expecting to get caught in something so much darker that would change your life entirely.

This is your first time. The first time you see your 7 employers in action, the first time you see them as who they say they are. 

Warning: This story is fictional and has nothing to do with real life events or the actual members of BTS. It may contain depictions of violence, blood shed/ gore and mentions of abuse. Please read at your own discretion.

Chapter warning(s): Mentions of violence, blood and fighting. 

Humming a soft tune, you tucked your hands into the pockets of your lab coat as you walked. It was another boring day with the boys being out and now, it was time to head to bed.You yawned and stretched your arms but was interrupted by a loud bang. 

“DOCTOR!” 

“(y/n)!” Shouts made you run down the stairs. You ran to the sealed off wing of the house, the ‘business’ wing as you would call it. There, you saw Namjoon carrying an unconscious Hoseok. 

“Get me my emergency kit in the office.” You turned to a butler, making him run off. As Namjoon placed him down, you began to inspect his body. 

“Blow to the back of his head. The rest seem superficial.” The butler placed your first aid kit down. 

“Hobi? Can you hear me?” You clipped a blood pressure monitor to his finger and used your stethoscope to check him internally. The rest of the boys walked in, seemingly unharmed. Or at least, less gravely injured than Hoseok was.

“Is Hoseok hyung okay?” Jimin gave a small smile. 

“Seems like a concussion.” You said. Jungkook came over to help you carrying Hoseok up to your office. 

“Thanks.” You patted the maknae’s shoulder before he left. You hooked Hoseok’s up to an acetaminophen infusion with magnesium to help with pain since normal painkillers may cause him more internal bleeding. After that, you checked his head injury. Luckily, there wasn’t a need for stitches. You cleaned the blood off the wound and bandaged his head. 

“You’re okay.” You whispered, patting his forearm as you cleaned the rest of his superficial wounds and bruises. 

“I’ll be back, Hobi.” You took the rest of your things and went out to help the rest of the boys. Of course, you found them by the bar, having drinks. When you entered, everyone stared at you. 

“He’s alive. Resting.” You said first before sitting down on a bar stool, laying out the wound cleaning equipment. 

“Get in line.” You waved them over.

“We don’t-”

“Get. In. Line. Do I have to repeat myself?” You raised an eyebrow at Taehyung. He pursed his lips, looking away. One by one, the boys stepped up for you to clean their wounds. 

“Hobi got hit the worst.” Jin said. You nodded, inspecting each of them. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any internal injuries. 

“You better not have any wounds for me to clean, Min Yoongi." You said, cleaning Jungkook’s knuckles. 

“Don’t worry, I was playing games on the sofa.” Yoongi rolled his eyes, showing you his phone screen, where his current game was ongoing. Even if Yoongi didn’t have to wear his sling anymore, he was still on a ‘no beating up people’ work order by his doctor, you. 

“Good.” You huffed.

“Is this enough action for you?” Namjoon chuckled.

“Yes, Namjoon. How kind of you to do this. The highlight of my otherwise, very boring day.” You rolled your eyes with a smile. You cleaned the cut over his eyebrow and placed the gauze down.

“Each of you take this.” 

“What’s this??” Jin asked but still took one of the white pills from your plastic medicine cup. Everyone took one except for Yoongi. 

“A little something so tomorrow won’t be a b*tch. It’ll also help all of you sleep better tonight.” You turned around to clear the bar counter of all the bloodied cotton. 

“To be taken with water.” You said with a clear of your throat, still focusing on your things. There was the sound of glasses being placed down on the table before water was poured out from the pitcher. Trust them to try and take their medicine with alcohol. You threw all the rubbish away and placed all the leftovers in your pockets. 

“Get to bed. Now. I’ll stay with Hobi tonight. Call me if you’re dying.” You ordered them and slid off the chair to stand. They watched you reach behind the counter and pour a glass of scotch whiskey. 

“Since you didn’t take the pill. This shall help you sleep.” You placed the glass in Yoongi’s hand and walked back to your office. 

“I’m back.” You announced, entering your office and checking on Hoseok. 

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“How’s he?” Someone poked his head. 

“I thought I made it clear that all of you were to head to bed?” You chuckled, tucking Hoseok in under the blanket and going to sit on your chair. The male by the door laughed. 

“Would you let me stay up if I have hot cocoa?” He raised an eyebrow. You threw your head back in laughter, waving at him to come in. Just like the other night, he placed the tray down and handed you a mug before taking one for himself and sitting down. 

“How are you? Too hectic?” He asked. 

“Nah, it’s okay. Believe it or not, being forced to intern at the emergency ward of hospitals is a lot worse than this. No downtime at all.” You shrugged. 

“I would imagine. We used to go to hospitals. But even the most private, exclusive ones ask too many questions. That’s why we decided to have a private doctor here instead.” He explained. 

“What happened to Hobi?” You asked. 

“A deal gone wrong. The people from our world don’t exactly know what patience is, especially the young ones.” He looked over at Hoseok. 

“Immature.” You crossed your arms. 

“Oh, you’ll be surprised at just how immature a lot of them can be. But I guess, that’s how gang wars start.” He smirked. You nodded your head. As adventurous as you were, being caught in a gang/ mafia war was not something you wanted to experience in the next few years of your life. You were perfectly fine with cleaning the cuts that they caused. 

“I’m going to head to bed.” He stood up once the hot cocoas were done. You nodded, placing your empty mug on the tray. 

“Goodnight.” You wished softly. 

“Goodnight, (y/n). Thanks for letting me stay up past my bedtime.” He gave a soft smile as he opened the door. But before he left, he called out to you one more time, making you lift your head. 

“Don’t... go to the other wing tomorrow, okay?” He turned his head slightly. 

“Okay.” You nodded and with another small smile, he left your office. You sighed, sliding down in your chair.

It was about 5 am when Hoseok finally stirred awake. You were used to pulling all nighters from times at the hospital and with your previous clients that you weren’t even tired. 

“W-Where am I?” He frowned slightly. You helped him sit up, pouring him a glass of water. 

“You’re in my office. Firstly, can you tell me your name and date of birth? And then, tell me if you know who I am.” You asked softly. His eyebrows furrowed for a while. 

“Jung Hoseok. Birthday is on 18th of February. You are Dr (y/n). The doctor that is working with our family and taking care of Yoongi hyung’s shoulder.” He said. You nodded your head in approval. Hoseok reached up to touch the thick bandage around his head. 

“Do you know what happened? I only remember some guy knocking me out.” He asked. 

“Well, I don’t know what happened exactly but Namjoon ran into the house with you in his arms. Then Jungkook brought you in here and you’ve been unconscious since. How’s the pain?” You asked. 

“A dull ache.” He groaned. 

“The concussion doesn’t seem too bad. But you should rest more, you can sleep here. Considering you can drink that water without wanting to throw up, I’ll remove your IV and give you some oral painkillers in a few hours.” You said, receiving the empty glass from him. Taking a pair of gloves and a bandaid out, you remove the IV needle from Hoseok’s arm. 

“There.” You taped the bandaid over the puncture hole and got rid of your gloves, the needle and empty IV bag. 

“How’s the rest?”

“All superficial injuries. You seemed to have gotten the brunt of the attack.” You said as you washed your hands. He nodded his head slowly, picking at the bandage around his forearm. 

“Stop that.” You hit his hand and he recoiled with a pout. 

“Mean.” He commented. 

“Go to bed.” You sat back down by your desk. 

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” He asked. You shrugged, typing on your computer. To refresh your knowledge, you would go through some old case files you had from time to time. Also, you felt that it was time to study up on proper treatment for bullet wounds and stabbing injuries.

“You should sleep.” Hoseok said. 

“You should sleep.” You snorted, opening your notepad to scribble something down. Even with your constant typing, Hoseok was able to fall asleep rather quickly, letting out soft snores. 

When Hoseok woke up, he saw that you fell asleep by your desk, your head bobbing up and down uncomfortably, hands still on your keyboard. 

“I told you that you should sleep.” He chuckled with a shake of his head. Hoseok left the office. 

“JK, come help me.” Hoseok called. 

“Oh, hyung. You’re awake. What’s up?” The maknae immediately stood up. Hoseok brought him to the office and pointed at your sleeping figure. Jungkook realised what his brother was trying to do and nodded. 

“She fell asleep taking care of me last night. I would carry her myself but I’m still a little dizzy. I don’t want to risk dropping her.” Hoseok whispered. Jungkook softly walked to you, slipping his arms under you and hoisting you up. You didn’t move but instead, snuggled into the warmth of Jungkook’s chest. He chuckled at your actions. 

“You should go rest some more, hyung.” Jungkook walked upstairs. Hoseok let out a hum. 

“I gotta go for the meeting though. Just bring her upstairs and tuck her in before she wakes up and kills both of us.” Hoseok sighed, patting the youngest on the shoulder and jogging off. 

“Aish, hyung. She’ll kill you for working when you’re supposed to be resting. Jungkook shook his head and opened your room door. 

“Hi, Kookie.” He whispered and placed you on the bed. You let out a small whine at the loss of warmth but was pacified by Jungkook draping your blanket over you. You cuddled your pillow, sleeping peacefully. 

“Let’s go, Kookie.” Jungkook opened the cage. Casting your sleeping form one last glance, Jungkook walked out with your bunny in his arms, closing the door softly behind him. He went down to finish his breakfast on the couch, Kookie hopping around beside him. 

“Here.” Jungkook experimentally held out an apple slice to Kookie. Kookie sniffed it with a wiggle of his nose before nibbling. 

-

Your eyes opened and you reached a hand out to feel your pillow. That made you sit up. Looking around, you realised that you were in your room. You didn’t even remember when you fell asleep. 

“Hoseok...” You slipped out of bed. Kookie’s cage was left open with the bunny missing. Stretching your arms, you went back to your office to find the bed empty. After that, you navigated through the house to find his bedroom. 

“Hoseok? Are you in there?” You knocked on it for several minutes but there was no reply. 

“Doctor.” A passing butler noticed you. 

“Hey. I was looking for Hoseok. Do you know where he is?” You asked, tucking your hands into the pockets of your coat. 

“The young masters are all attending a meeting in the other wing now. Young master Hoseok was seen with them. Young master Jungkook left Kookie in the living room with us.” He informed with a bow. You frowned, chewing your bottom lip. Hoseok knew he should be resting. Even if it was minor, he still suffered a concussion. 

“But doc-” 

“Thanks.” You gave a backwards wave, already on your way to the other wing. When you entered the foyer, it was eerily quiet. You were going to walk around when you heard a loud bang. 

“No, stop!” You heard screams. 

“You already know the consequences of causing a ruckus. Now we have your sh*t to clean.” Jin’s voice was clearly heard. 

“V?” You heard Namjoon now. Jungkook came out, dragging two people across the floor by the back of their collars. The two grunted and struggled. And following close behind them was Taehyung, with a metal bat resting on his shoulder. He chuckled. 

“Brace yourself.” He smirked. 

“Wait! We were only asked to do it, we’re not involved in this!” One of the men struggled in Jungkook’s grip. 

“You three were already involved the moment you accepted the money.” Jimin giggled, throwing another male to the ground. Yoongi just stood at the side, stoic, with his arms crossed. 

“Now, you get to watch your men suffer because of your selfishness.” Namjoon said to the first guy. He nodded at Taehyung, who stepped up. 

“No!” Taehyung swung the bat, beating down on the male. Everything suddenly went silent. There was a ringing in your ears and all you could see was the metal constantly swinging up and down. The smell of blood filled the air, making a lump form in your throat and you stomach bubble uncomfortably. It wasn’t stopping soon. 

“Me too.” Jimin smirked, stabbing the male he threw down earlier. He stood over the thrashing stranger, the knife constantly being brought down on his chest.

“See? That was all you.” Jin raised an eyebrow. 

“Here.” Yoongi tossed Hoseok a gun. Hoseok stepped forward, his confidence giving a facade that you couldn’t even tell he was injured the night before. 

“Bye~” Hoseok waved before pressing the barrel of the gun right between his eyebrows. There was a sickening bang, as blood splattered out of the back of the dead man’s head. 

“That’s enough, Tae.” Namjoon called out. At that, Taehyung stopped, stepping away from the male, who was at this point, unrecognisable. He stopped up straight, the bloodied bat in his hand. He used his sleeve to wipe the blood that managed to splatter on his cheek. That was when he met eyes with you. 

“D-D...” His eyes widened. The others were puzzled at what he was stunned by. They looked up and saw you. 

“(y/n).” That’s when your legs were finally working again. You took off, running away. You threw the doors opened and ran as fast as you could, not caring that your lungs burned. 

“(y/n)! Wait!” You heard them calling out to you. Finally, you reached your room. You made a beeline for your bathroom.

“Oh, gosh.” You bent over your toilet, hurling out your stomach’s contents. 

“Ugh.” You slumped back against the wall. Turning your head, you saw Yoongi standing there. The first thing you could grab was the scalpel in your lab coat pocket. 

“Don’t. Yoongi. Don’t come closer. I need to be alone.” You held out the blade in a threatening manner. But Yoongi didn’t seem phased at all by your threat or weapon. He grabbed your wrist, taking the blade and throwing it behind him. He suddenly tugged you forward into his embrace. Yoongi felt you tremble in his arms like a leaf. 

“Y-Your shoulder.” Was all you could say to distract yourself. 

“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He whispered. That caused the dam to break. Sobs softly bubbled in your throat as you cried into his good shoulder. 

“You’re okay. Breathe.” He coaxed. Honestly, Yoongi wasn’t the best at comforting people. Well, at least, that was what he believed. He was chosen to come in because he was the only one not covered in blood.

“Come on.” Yoongi helped you out of the bathroom and onto your bed. 

“I’ll be okay. Just give me some time.” You placed a hand on your chest to breathe. Yoongi patiently sat with you. 

Meanwhile...

Namjoon sighed. This was too much drama in one day, alone. Changing into a new shirt, he dumped his bloodied clothes in a pile. When he stepped out of his bathroom, he saw Taehyung standing there. His hair was wet, fresh from the shower. But his eyes were red. 

“Taehyung ah.” Namjoon called out softly. 

“I’m just like him.” Taehyung’s voice cracked as his bottom lip trembled.

“No, you’re not, Tae. Stop saying that about yourself.” Namjoon said, sitting down on his bed. He patted the space beside him and Taehyung came closer. Ever since you came, Taehyung hadn’t sought Namjoon out in a while. 

“The fear she had... in her eyes. That was the fear noona had...” Taehyung mumbled. 

“I told all of you. It’ll take some time for her to get used to all this. Just give her some time. The doctor is strong, she can do it. That, I give her credit for.” Namjoon said, patting Taehyung’s head. Taehyung left Namjoon’s room. He stopped outside your door, where he heard you talking to Yoongi. He had to make sure you weren’t afraid of him. 

“Taehyung.” Jimin stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall. 

“I want to speak to her.” Taehyung frowned. 

“Are you going to tell her?” 

“I... I can’t.” Just like that, Taehyung’s resolve crumbled. On the outside, Taehyung looked tougher than Jimin. But on the inside, Taehyung still wished he was like Jimin. Jimin no longer showed an ounce of guilt. 

“Yoongi hyung is still talking to her. She’s not going to come out for a while. Why don’t you go help clean up?” Jimin suggested. 

“Okay.” Taehyung turned and left your door. He headed to the other wing, the butlers had cleared the bodies already, leaving the maids to clean the floor of blood. 

“Young master Taehyung.” They greeted. All he did was pick up his bat.

“Make sure it’s spotless.” He said and left. Going into the bathroom, Taehyung scrubbed the metal. After that, he washed the blood off his hands and under his nails. He constantly scrubbed them until the skin was raw. Even the blisters you treated the day before reopened. 

When you calmed down, you stepped out into the garden to sit under the gazebo for some fresh air, you heard footsteps approaching you. You turned around to face the person.

“I thought I told you not to go to the other wing today.” The male said with a raised eyebrow. 

“I forgot. I was just so worried about Hoseok working when he was injured, it didn’t even cross my mind.” You sighed. He took a seat opposite you. 

“And look at what happened now.” 

“I’ll be okay, not like I’m hurt or anything. It was just the initial shock.” You shrugged. And yet, the flashbacks of Taehyung beating the man and Jimin stabbing the other made you cringe. 

“We all took a while to get over it too, at first. It’ll get easier as time passes.” He comforted. 

~~

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[embrassemoi]

Surrounded by the Moon and Stars ✷ 33

Pairings: Sirius B, F!Reader, Remus L   Warnings: Swearing, unhealthy defence mechanisms

【 Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Playlist 】

Chapter 33: Betray The Moon as Acolyte

━━━━━━━━━༻☽༺━━━━━━━━━

September 8th, 1976

Remus peered up to the night sky, resplendent with a coruscating kaleidoscope of stars and the full moon. He yawned, acutely aware of his bones shifting, aching and cracking. Resting on a small cot pressed against the wall in the corner of the shrieking shack, Remus felt his temperature rise and skin stretch too thinly across his body.

“I’ll be back once the sun rises, dearie,” Madam Pomfrey called out, the door millimetres from locking shut.

“Wait,” he said and Madam Pomfrey re-opened the door with a warm, motherly smile.

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For always helping, I know it can be… tiresome.”

How long has it been? That Pomfrey had been helping him out, every full moon — had known of his affliction and been there to assist? It was years now, countless hours of her time wasted on him.

Was he that much of a burden? The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, that made his face pucker and heart lacerate itself in fresh wounds.

“Don’t concern yourself with me, honey.” Then the door clicked shut and he heard her utter a spell; to confine the beast within the four walls.

The tormenting plague increased every minute as the countdown to his transformation loomed. His heart thudded stridently and his breathing was ragged and strained. His teeth grinded against each other and his tongue swept across them, feeling them elongate and reshape in preparation.

Remus grabbed the hem of his jumper, exasperated by the overwhelming heat and because he didn’t want to shred it in the process. As he slipped out, feeling the adored red fabric, tattered with holes and frayed yarn in his hands, the door opened and he could already smell Peter and James. Subconsciously, he shielded his body from them, to avoid them from seeing all of his scars.

Remus became dizzy instantly. James wore a particularly strong perfume that day.

More than anything, over the pain and hint of repugnance, he was nervous. It would be the first full moon since… the prank that the Marauders would be together for his transformations. Or all the Marauders aside from one and nobody wanted to address it.

A sharp pain thundered through his skull and he knew time was slipping from him. Remus couldn’t recall the last time the moments before his transformation were that painful.

“You okay, Moons?” Wormtail asked, dropping down beside him. Prongs followed in suit, taking his sweater and folding it neatly.

“I’m fine — umph —”

“Shit! Prongs, get back and turn. Now!”

━━━━━━━━━༻☽༺━━━━━━━━━

After a week of lessons, there were considerable adjustments to the curriculum. Everyone noticed and it quickly dispersed a sombre milieu on all of Hogwarts.

Classes were smaller, many parents deciding to transfer their children to other magical schools around the world. Y/N even received a few worried letters from Matthew that there was an abundance of new British students attending Ilvermorny.

In his worried letters, Matthew informed her that the MACUSA and French Ministry of Magic had been stepping in, fighting forces against the wizarding war. It was all news to her. Ever since James’ parents cancelled their subscription to the Daily Prophet after their beliefs that they were biased, she hadn’t been able to catch up.

More defence and attack spells were taught and everyone became well aware of why someone of Professor Elway’s reputation and skill was there. The same went for the Duelling re-opening and even Flitwick initiated small tutorial sessions for students of all grades to teach them defensive spells.

Defence Against the Dark Arts became nothing more than a Muggle military camp. Elway drilled the students; attack and defence spell after the other, never stopping for a second. Transfigurations focused more on concealment and vanishing charm and every day McGonagall looked as if she aged a decade by the solemn, haunted look that nowadays was permanently carved into her.

Herbology went over a vast majority of life-saving plants, herbs and how to make their own medicine. And Potions heavily focused on identifying spiked potions with poisons and how to create reversal serums in case of emergencies.

The students of Hogwarts weren’t brainless. They knew they were training them for war.

She tried to ignore it, but if anything Y/N felt foolish. The magical world was meant to be an escape, not a guardhouse.

It didn’t help that the murders from the summer played heavily in her mind along with the rumours of Voldemort recruiting students from Hogwarts, prompting a spike of distrust to spread rampantly. It wasn’t time to fight or lose people but to keep those you trusted and loved close. So Lily keeping her distance had her worried.

Sorted into the same dorm as last year, she reckoned she would have some time with Lily but every day it seemed like she was busy with prefect duties, or had homework, or reading, or a new study group she needed to rush off to. She and Lily hadn’t resumed their usual nightly routines either, hadn’t sat with her in the Great Hall since the welcome back feast and hadn’t said more than a word to her.

It was evident that Lily was avoiding her and only her.

Maybe Y/N had gotten clingy, got too close too hastily because it felt too similar to how her mother treated her. It caused the imminent, spine-chilling feeling of wanting to push everyone away.

Extreme distress was starting to pile up.

Luckily, James stayed a constant consistency in her life and a lot of her pent-up fears dissipated by his presence. He never ignored her, if anything he went out of his way to be nearer. Even Peter and most notably, Remus, had become part of her daily life more than ever.

It was terrifying and everything told her to run. Don’t get too close, don’t get too comfortable. But it was hard not to.

That morning, James crept up to her dorm, knocking softly as she popped out, ready for the day. He looked exhausted; his eye bags were prominent, darkened and cradled in his arm, he held Remus’ rabbit.

“To keep him company,” James explained, yawning while escorting her down the staircase, passing the rabbit over. “It was a rough night.”

It would be the first time they would try to incorporate Y/N into replacing Black and balance out James’ other priorities with Remus’ moon cycles. And unable to reschedule Quidditch try-outs to another morning and James forced to leave prematurely, she would have to step in.

But her fears skyrocketed. Were they pushing it? She was only visiting him… It wasn’t out of pity and she genuinely wanted to be there to support Remus.

“What if he doesn’t want visitors?”

James rolled his eyes. “It will be fine. He’ll appreciate it more than he’ll let on.”

But then a faint floral and citrus smell flowed through the distilled air as she took a deep breath.

“James, you smell really good... Are you wearing perfume?”

His frown transformed into a prideful simper. “Bought the same perfume as my mum. Helps when I miss her.”

She gasped. “A mama’s boy!” And then pinched his cheek.

About to step out of the portrait, James must’ve accidentally activated a prank because the moment his hand brushed against the portrait, four Muggle stereos floated above his head, blasting break-up songs on the highest volume. It rattled the walls and made their ears bleed.

“Fucking hell!” James shouted, his wand swishing around to stop the music while Y/N stuffed Remus’ rabbit inside her bag and bewitched a silencing spell around it.

“Students are sleeping!” Lily shrieked, rushing down the stairs and charmed away the stereos.

“Oi! You think we don’t know?” James retorted, a hand clutching his ear. “Emmeline…”

“Emmeline?” Lily repeated, shaking her head. “May Merlin himself save the poor girl daft enough to end up with you.”

The only enlightened that took away from the war and recent murders was Emmeline and her friends pranking and wreaking havoc like the Marauders onto James as a punishment.

He deserved it and even James agreed.

“Where are you two headed?” Lily inquired and for the first time since the train ride, she addressed Y/N head-on.

A glimmer of hope.

“Aw, finally starting to care about me, Evans?” James joked although it’s laced with uncertainty.

Y/N cut off Lily before she had the chance to speak, eager to answer her question. “It’s Remus.”

Recognition filtered through her, gaze shooting up to the large grandfather clock beside the bookshelves. Lily’s head bobbed repeatedly, pressing her lips together sympathetically. She considered James for a moment.

“Will you be back in time for lessons?” Lily then whipped her hands around. “Y’know what, forget it. I’ll take notes for… both of you.”

Y/N felt James nudge her foot, simultaneously forcing out a cough. His hand went to scratch behind his neck. “R-right. Erm, I — we appreciate it, Evans, but ugh — we have a free period this morning.”

Lily’s jaw dropped. “Oh. Sorry.”

“NO!” James said a little too loud. “I mean, no. It’s fine. Thank you.”

Y/N pursed her lips, her neck bending as her shoulders tensed while watching their interaction play out. “Alrighty, we should go. Thank you, Petals.” She interjected. Her hands spun James around as they walked out of the common room and to the hospital wing.

Both students groaned out loudly. Black was there, sitting on the ground and back pressed against the wall to the wing.

“He doesn’t want to see you,” James challenged. His feet pivoted to Black, before her hands pressed against his chest, preventing him from touching Black and starting yet another fight. “Leave it.”

His eyes flickered from her to Black. Sighing, he made a slight rearward movement and removed his glasses to rub his eyes.

“Just don’t follow us.”

They walked inside without sparing him another glance.

“Here comes the fucking sun, Moons!” James chirped, his mood altering drastically. But she staggered behind a beat.

Remus was already awake, quietly chatting to Peter. His bed curtains were half drawn and she took his rabbit from her bag, pulling it close to her chest.

His head snapped in their direction, but instead of his eyes landing on James, it went squarely to her. She smiled, eyes analyzing every ripple of expression. He didn’t seem angry. No, not at all, but stunned.

Once James realized she wasn’t by his side anymore, he turned and looped an arm over her shoulder. He whispered, “Moony won’t bite. It’s okay.”

“I wasn’t expecting you.” Remus finally said, smiling.

“Of course I’d come.” Confidence now circulated her body as she approached him, handing over his rabbit. James was delighted at his response while the rabbit nuzzled its way into the crook of Remus’ neck, tickling him. She murmured into his ear, not wanting to peer pressure him by others' wants, “You don’t mind me being here, do you? I’ll leave, no hurt feelings.”

Remus shook his head, petting his rabbit. “No, please stay.” He croaked, voice deep and tired.

“Oi!” James said, albeit quietly.

“Flirt somewhere else,” Peter added with false annoyance.

James nodded. “So, little Moony —”

“Little Moony?” Remus groaned. “What?”

“Aw,” she teased, “Is moody Moony making an appearance?”

“Did you come just to make fun of me?”

But then Peter grinned cheekily, moving to softly slap his hand down on his thigh in the same tempo as Here Comes the Sun. Y/N and James immediately caught on, ready to chagrin while Remus shook his hands in front of his face to get them to stop.

“Don’t you —“

“Here comes the sun, moody Moony —“ “Crikey.”

“Here comes the sun, and we say it’s alright!” They sang, keeping their voices to a minimum to not worsen his potential headache. They had to hold back their laughter as Peter began to replicate the horrible instrumental with his voice. James sang the loudest. “Little Moony, it’s been a long cold moon cycle.”

Madam Pomfrey poked her head from her office, ready to tell the visitors to be quieter than a mouse — or kick them out in favour of Remus’ rest but she froze. Remus was poorly attempting to cover his smile, his cheeks burning a bright red and she hadn’t seen him that happy after full moons. And after what happened last year, his happiness was all she wanted. So she sat back down, smiling to herself at the horrid sing.

“Little Moony, the smiles returning to the faces —”

“Guys!”

“Little Moony, it feels like years since it’s been here.”

━━━━━━━━━༻☽༺━━━━━━━━━

James eventually left, rushing to tryouts with Marlene with a great deal of apprehension. When the bell rang, students rushing down for breakfast, both Y/N and Peter departed momentarily to the Great Hall, grabbing a few snacks and tea Remus requested.

But the moment Peter stepped foot outside the hospital wing, it was as if any sort of energy left his body. He became sluggish, moving slowly and yawned multiple times.

“Pete, go back to him, I’ll get everything,” she implored. “Or get some rest. I can’t imagine staying up all night can be good.”

“It’s —” A yawn. “— Sorry. I’ll be fine.”

She didn’t push. They made their way around fast and exited quickly before a group of seventh and sixth years swarmed Peter. A few even greeted her, attempting to strike a conversation.

Peter sent her a dejected look, passing her the rest of the snacks and teacup.

“I’ll meet you there.”

She rushed back in record time. Black was still sitting outside the wing and she could faintly hear him muttering her name but she disregarded him wholly.

But the sight inside the hospital made her heart shatter.

Remus was haggard, dishevelled and face screwed together in pain. He tried to push himself up multiple times to reach behind his head, to his pillow. But it was futile.

The crinkling of the wrapper in her hand made her wince; it became the loudest object in the world at that moment. It forewarned Remus and she gently padded over. She sat down gently on the edge of his bed, setting down everything on the metal tray.

“Don’t push yourself — here, let me.” Remus visibly reclined into himself, covering his scarred arms with the blanket coiled by his side. But he listened without complaints as she reached behind his head, fluffing his pillow and helped him lay back down gently. “Not feeling too good?”

“Like shit.”

It became awkward fast.

“Um… Peter’s coming. Was held up with a couple of seventh years.” “You can leave if you don’t want to be here,” Remus blurted out, “I won't force you —”

“Woah there!” She felt as if she was slapped by him. The sudden change had her wheeling. “Who said you’re forcing me? You’re my Moony, no?”

He breathed out a chuckle and shifted towards her. She glanced at the tray with a few potions. What he said stuck to her.

“Do you mind if you can pour those into my tea? Thanks.” Remus croaked.

She nodded, unscrewed the cork to the vials and mixed it into the drink. The clinking sound of the spoon tapping against the porcelain cup.

“What is this?”

“Um… a mixture of powder silver and Nightshade,” grumbled Remus, trying to push himself up as she handed him the cup. “Helps with the pain and fogginess.”

Her mind was restless. “Can I ask some questions?”

His eyebrows knitted together. “Questions?”

“Y’know, about being a werewolf.”

He took a giant gulp. “Did you just skip all the Werewolf questions on the OWLs?” Remus laughed.

“I bet half of it’s false.” She admitted truthfully. “Besides, how am I supposed to help next time if I don’t know?”

Remus stayed quiet for a long time after she said that and she wondered if she pushed a boundary. But then he nodded, urging her to continue.

“Okay… so silver doesn’t hurt you, right?” She watched as Remus sip his tea before having to put it down to laugh.

“Myth.”

“So all the silver bullet stuff..?”

He gave a full-body laugh. “Myth. Sorry, not what you were expecting?”

“No,” she admitted after a bit, embarrassed. All those children's stories were false…

“Silver can’t hurt me, I don’t grow hair rapidly. I like eating rare meat; I have trouble sleeping, I don’t have curved fingernails or low-set ears. I can’t run super fast but I can see better in the dark, can hear, smell and am stronger than the average Muggle or Wizard.”

“Can you always smell or hear better? Or does it increase near the full moon?”

“It becomes stronger near the full moon and after for a while.”

“Wait… Does that mean you can smell people. Like me?!” She was appalled and crossed her arms over herself as if the action would suddenly cover any scent.

Remus barked out laughing before wincing as a dull pain shocked through his system. “You smell fine. Don’t worry.”

Her hands found their way to cover her mouth. She was mortified. “You have a way with words, Lupin.”

Remus was on the verge of tears, nearly choking on himself to prevent laughing. He endured the deep bruise on the side of his ribs digging into him but he couldn’t stop.

She slapped his arm playfully and took the now empty teacup from his hand, setting it down on the metal tray and ushered him to slide over in his bed. He doesn’t hesitate.

Y/N slid beside him, and she could feel the fluctuating rise and fall of Remus’ chest as his chuckles came to a slow halt. She took the rabbit from his lap, holding it in her arms carefully.

“Does she have a name?” She questioned, scratching behind its floppy ears. Remus chose the least threatening rabbit.

“No.”

“We should think of one then.”

Remus watched her, listening to the words pouring out. But then he cringed inwardly, reminded of his cruelty to her a couple of months ago. He wasn’t expecting her to visit and it came as a pleasant surprise. It made his heart flutter. She wasn’t scared. She hadn’t been lying that night. He was accepted.

He tuned in to her heartbeat: steady and calm. Slow.

Her words echoed in his head. I feel safe with you.

Safe.

Remus felt a whisper of a smile worm it's way onto him. As soon the realization came, the dull ache in his body subdued, the burning in his throat faded and the hollow ache in his heart filled with a golden glow. Just a bit.

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September 10th, 1976

“I’m sorry,” Black said, his eyes wide and pleading as he sat beside her in the Great Hall. She ignored him.

“I need to explain, please,” Black begged in a hushed voice while she searched the library’s premises for Regulus. She ignored him yet again.

“Tesoro mio,” Black flirted, both sitting in the common room as she added notes in the werewolf section in her textbook. His new tactic caught her off guard but she prevailed, getting up and leaving.

“Talk to me,” Black whined. “Please.” She ignored him, continuing to walk to class calmly and held her head high. She just left the hospital wing and Black was trailing her.

But he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a nearby broom closet and closed the door.

“Get off of me!” She nearly screamed. Thankfully, he was smart enough to keep a healthy distance away. She kept her hands balled into a fist, preventing herself from taking one of the dust brooms and smashing it on his head.

“Sorry! But you won’t talk to me any other way!”

Darkness enclosed them, only the light seeping through the cracks of the old wooden door illuminated Black as every ounce of restrengthen was pushed to the edge.

A flurry of apologies fell from his lips but she wouldn’t have it. Simply looking bored at her nails and tapping her foot against the ground.

“I know you’re mad — you have every right to be! I get that, I understand.”

“Then leave me alone?” She jeered sarcastically, handing grazing the doorknob.

“Wait! Please, just hear me out — let me explain —”

“Explain what?” She lashed out through gritted teeth. “You should count your stars that you don’t have an attempted murder charge.”

Her heart thumped rather fast and would have been distressing had she not been controlled by anger. Everything was overshadowed by a grim penumbra sweeping over them, closing in on her and Black and it wasn’t because of the lack of light in the dingy closet.

She was revolted by him. Sick of seeing his sad face, moping around the hospital wing or looking at her or the other Marauders in yearning.

“Do you think I’ll care about what you want to say?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Apology not accepted, dipshit.”

His head bowed. “I deserved that.” “You think?”

“It’s just that —”

Her temper spiked to the highest level and her hand drifted to her back pocket and grazed the tip of her wand.

“I —”

Something in her snap. “Shut up. Shut up! Stop trying to defend yourself! Stop it! I don’t want to hear it!”

Black was visibly shutting down. “Please, just calm down…”

And then everything poured out.

“Calm down? Calm down?! I gave — I put my trust in you and you immediately ran with it, breaking it twice and then broke everyone else’s! How am I supposed to talk to you like everything’s okay? I get that you don’t like me, that you don’t like Snape, but really? What do you not understand?!”

He was nodding his head, taking it, never once trying to defend himself. His head hung similar to a child being scolded, hands curled around himself.

“You must have never cared for them.”

Black went oddly still. “That's a bold lie and you know that.”

“Do I?” She ridiculed. “Do you want to know the funny part? I was starting to care for you. Apparently, you never did.”

“That’s not true.”

There, a flicker of rage. Finally a reaction other than pathetic regret and guilt. Something cold crept into his eyes, hardening and entirely stormy and silver, reminding her of last year where they constantly fought. But then, it was washed away with a blink.

“I was nothing but a toy to you!”

“Y/N...”

“You. Never. Cared. About —”

“Stop it! Of course I —”

“— Me. Or. The. Other —”

“— fucking cared —”

“— Marauders —” “ — about you!”

Her eyes stung with bitter unshed, frustrated tears and her throat burned, constricting together. Emotions she hadn’t taken a moment to consider hit her within seconds and everything was too overwhelming.

The material of her shirt suddenly turned itchy. Her skin was too tight and she felt herself rock back and forth in a way to calm down.

For a moment, she thought he wouldn’t answer as it fell silent but she struck a nerve.

“Stop saying that!” He shouted. Now not breaking her stare and took a step forward.

“You’re fucking selfish. You betrayed them.” A step forward.

“You only cared about yourself.” Black shook his head. Another step forward.

“If you ever cared about me — about anyone else you’ve hurt — you wouldn’t have done… that.” A step forward.

They were the closest they had been in months. Their breaths were laboured and ragged. Being that close to him raised all the hairs on her neck in a way she used to love but now hated herself for.

The very notion made her nauseous. Disgusted.

She missed him. Truly. It was such a profound hurt and longing that ran deeper than wanting a quick snog or shag. But that was her problem that she was going to have to hide, bury in an air-sealed chest and throw away.

He opened his mouth and he leant forward inappreciably. But whatever words he was about to spew, he stopped himself. She could feel his breath fan her face, both of their chest raised and fell rapidly.

They stayed like that for a while and she held back from crying, feeling her heart pound in her chest.

“Is there anything else you want to say?” He asked dejectedly.

Why did you have to be so stupid? We could’ve… you could’ve had everything.

Do you miss me?

Did you ever care, even a little?

“This time,” her voice was no louder than a rustle, “I mean it. I hate you. Truly.”

Lie.

Black gave her one last glance through heavy, desolate, half-lidded eyes, closing them shut. “Ti voglio bene.”

Her frown doubled, wondering if he mocked her. Why did he always do that?

“At least you’re consistent in one thing.”

She slipped out, her hand on the door and cracked it open, leaving him there.

“Being a fucking liar.”

She slammed the door shut with so much violence that it made a couple of bystanders passing by yelp and stare. The shattering of glass from within the closet echoed and it made her breathless.

She had to lean against the stone wall, her body buzzing and numb from the adrenaline.

Sometimes everything in her life seemed so… random. What if everything could have been avoided? One simple word, maybe if she said something different, or did something different, would the outcome have been better? Or worse?

What if she had two parents? What if she had been raised by a loving mother? Would she have been that hurt by his actions if opening up was less… impossible?

What ifs…

She stumbled her way to class mindlessly, horribly late. The floorboards creaked, cutting Slughorn off while she lurked in the doorway. The teacher’s head, along with everyone else in the room, snapped up.

Lily looked at her worriedly and concern was written in every inch of her face. James had a double-take and became alarmed while Marlene on the other side of the class looked around nervously.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“No worries, m’girl!” Slughorn smiled. “Please, take the seat next to… Severus! Now, I was saying, I have a small tradition I’d like to do every year with my students.”

Y/N didn’t even interject; too drained after what happened and sat by Snape.

“Can anyone tell me what this is?” The professor held up a tiny bottle. “Or can anyone tell me what Felix Felicis is?”

Lily raised her hand, casting a concerned gaze to her before answering. From the corner of her eye, she could see Barty and Avery, along with a few other students whispering to each other as Lily spoke; all of them forcing down a smile. Y/N vaguely sensed herself prickle.

“It’s known as Liquid Luck. As the name suggests, it makes the drinker lucky.”

“Beautiful answer! Quite right! Ten points for Gryffindor! Now, whoever brews the Draught of Living Death the closest will win this prize at the end of this lesson. Off you go!”

The class was scurrying off quickly while she made her way around leisurely. Snape’s sopophorous bean had been hitting her multiple times.

“Would you fucking —” she grabbed the bean with her hands and threw it at Snape and he hissed at. “Just take your knife blade and squeeze it down on the side with your dagger.”

Snape scoffed. “That’s not going to work you d —”

Snape shut up immediately as she crushed the bean with a sharp knife and flicked the juice into the cauldron.

“Now stop hitting me or I’ll pour your potion on the ground.”

Snape’s attention wasn’t on her, instead of trying to decipher her scribbles before taking her book away from his eyesight. She hit him with her book.

She completed the rest of the potion with ease. Snape was nearly done with his potion, she could tell he was on the right path before Slughorn sauntered around the classroom to observe the students. At James’ cauldron, he made no comment but instead helped stir his potion. Lily was given an approving nod, announcing to the class that she earned Gryffindor a few house points until making his way over to their table, peering into the cauldrons. At Snape’s concoction, he gave a bright smile and opened his mouth until he saw hers and a look of pure delight spread over him, his hands clapping together.

“Oho! Excellent! Miss L/N has done it! We have our winner!”

A small round of claps went around meanwhile James and Marlene cheered loudly, effectively embarrassing her.

“Show off,” Snape sneered. She ignored him.

Once the bell rang, Slughorn called her over to collect her vial of Liquid Luck. She slipped the bottle into her pocket for safekeeping.

But before she left, she stopped and spun around. “Professor Slughorn?”

“Yes?”

“I read in my Advanced Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, but I found that there’s no Potion to help Werewolves. I was wondering if that’s still true? I know books can be outdated.”

Slughorn gave her a pensive look. “I think that’s a matter for Madam Pomfrey. Is there a reason why?”

“It’s just —” She made up a lie quickly. “I’m nervous about NEWTs and how I’ll do in my studies and it’s merely an interest.”

“Oh, my girl! You are excellent. By far one of the best students I’ve ever had. You don’t need to worry!” Slughorn cheered. Slughorn seemed genuine and she smiled at the praise. “And for your question, no. Sadly there isn’t.”

“At all?”

Slughorn thought for a while. “If I recall, there have been recent developments with stewed Mandrakes. It’s rumoured to help lycanthrope individuals ease their way back into the original human state.”

Y/N stored the newfound information in her head. She thanked him, turning to leave until calling out again. Slughorn twirled his head.

“I was wondering if I could practice more — like I said, I‘m nervous about my NEWTs.”

There wasn’t even a delay and Slughorn beamed. “Of course! As long as you clean up after yourself, you may come and go as you please. I’ll make sure to leave the doors open until curfew.

“Oh! I’m planning to host another Slugclub dinner soon, I expect you to be there?”

“... Of course, sir.”

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【 Next Chapter 】

Translations:

Tesoro mio = My treasure or 'honey'

Ti voglio bene = 'I love you' but its not like what you think. It's more of an unconditional and selfless love that means 'I want you to be well.' It places an emphasis on the tender and affectionate feelings you have for the other person. It's the safer option to say to your significant other if it's a very new relationship.

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© gotkindabored 2021. Do not repost or modify

[bevioletskies]

please don’t say you love me

summary: Sometimes, Kazuma thinks about removing his gloves so he can finally touch Ryunosuke’s hand like he so desperately wants to. Other times, he thinks Ryunosuke would never let him, even if he did.

word count: 5.3k | read on ao3

a/n: For @asoryuu-week​, day one of seven (prompt: “pining”). This fic takes place post-Resolve; mild spoiler warning for Adventures and Resolve, where events may be alluded to but not described in detail. All names and honorifics are taken from the official localization, with the exception of Haori, Sherlock, and Iris.

Fic title is from the song Please Don’t Say You Love Me by Gabrielle Aplin.

“Well done, Kazuma. You were incredible as always, though I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that.”

Kazuma turned at the sound of Ryunosuke’s voice, startling slightly when he realized how close Ryunosuke had gotten, having crossed the now-empty courtroom to approach the prosecutor’s bench with an outstretched hand and a friendly grin. Behind him, Kazuma could see Susato at the defense bench, diligently organizing the last of her case notes, though she seemed to be sneaking wary glances in his direction, the kind of glances she’d been giving him ever since she and Ryunosuke had returned to London. Kazuma supposed, somewhat bitterly, that he deserved it.

“And the same to you, of course,” Kazuma replied, chuckling softly. He took Ryunosuke’s proffered hand in his gloved one, shaking it firmly. For a moment, he wondered if Ryunosuke’s hands were as calloused as they used to be, thanks to his old dedication to kyudo; he couldn’t tell with his gloves on. “Only you would notice such trivial details in someone’s description of their meal and turn it into conclusive evidence.”

Ryunosuke let out a sheepish laugh of his own. “Yes, well...I’ve had more than my fair share of English breakfasts by now, thanks to Iris, so...it’s only natural.” He let go of Kazuma’s hand, turning briefly to check on Susato before looking back with another broad smile. Kazuma felt a pang in his chest that was becoming more and more frequent with every encounter they had. “Are you returning to your office, then?”

“Business as usual, yes,” Kazuma said, nodding. His lips parted slightly - if you want me to stay, you need only ask, he wanted to say - before deciding against it. “Why?”

“Ah - it’s nothing, really,” Ryunosuke said, shaking his head. “Susato-san was hoping you’d be able to join us for tea back at our office, but, uh...I’m sure you have paperwork and such to attend to. Perhaps this weekend, if you’re not too busy? Iris has been testing out new blends - as she does - and she could always use new testers.”

Is that the only reason you’re asking? “Sounds like fun,” Kazuma said, smiling in return. “When should I stop by?”

“I’d have to confirm with the others to be sure, but Saturday morning around ten-thirty sounds about right,” Ryunosuke replied. “You could even stay for lunch if you’d like. Mr Holmes has been asking after you, wanting to know how you’ve been.”

Kazuma slipped both hands behind his back so he could clench his fists, his fingernails leaving welts in his palms despite the thickness of his gloves. “And yourself? What do you want?”

Ryunosuke frowned. “Pardon?”

Kazuma exhaled slowly. “...never mind. If I don’t have any prior engagements, then I’ll be there.” He turned away, though not quickly enough, still catching the way Ryunosuke’s face fell. He would’ve thought Ryunosuke would try to better conceal his emotions by now, just so his face wouldn’t be a constant giveaway in court, but he was still the same endearingly expressive person that Kazuma had...no. No, now wasn’t the time to think about it, about the feelings he tried not to associate with his best friend. Even the word “partner” seemed to catch in his throat every now and then, what with how desperately he wanted it to carry more than one meaning.

“He’s not coming, then?” Kazuma heard Susato ask, hushed. “That’s too bad. Another time, perhaps?”

“I...wouldn’t get your hopes up, Susato-san,” Ryunosuke said quietly, though not quietly enough. “Though I did invite him round for tea, Saturday morning. We’ll see if he gets caught up in any ‘prior engagements’, I suppose.”

“Yes, I...I suppose,” Susato agreed, albeit uncertainly. Kazuma swallowed, then turned fully on his heel so he could quickly gather up the rest of his things. The air in the courtroom suddenly felt thicker than it did during the entirety of the trial, threatening to choke him and rob him of his last breath, and he wasn’t about to let it wrap its hands around his throat.

_____

“It’s a shame you weren’t able to join us this past Saturday, Kazuma-sama,” Susato said, her tone as perfectly polite as always. Her expression, on the other hand, was solemn, almost as if she’d come to his office to deliver some bad news. “Iris and Mr Holmes were hoping to spend more time with you, get to know you a little bit better. Naruhodo-san and I speak so highly of you, after all.”

Kazuma looked up from his work, offering her a bland smile. “My apologies, Susato-san, I’d been sent away on assignment. Did you get my telegram?”

“Oh, yes, but that doesn’t keep me from feeling...disappointed,” Susato said delicately, though it was a bit more candid of her than he’d expected. Her eyes drifted away from his for a moment so she could look around, taking in the sparseness of Kazuma’s office. It was nowhere near as magnanimous as Lord van ZIeks’s, no enormous portrait or endless supply of wine to be found. Most of his decorations were some of his old things he’d requested Professor Mikotoba bring over from Japan; otherwise, there was little else but a few tables, chairs, and cushions.

“Are you wanting to criticize my design sense, Susato-san?” Kazuma teased, setting down his pen. “I spend most of my hours either in the field or in the courtroom, so this office is hardly a priority for me.”

“Ah,” Susato said. She then said nothing else. A deeply uncomfortable silence settled over them, the kind neither of them were used to sharing with one another. “Naruhodo-san is - ”

“How is - ” They both let out awkward chuckles; Kazuma motioned for her to continue, but she shook her head, insistent that he go first. “I was about to ask after Ryunosuke, actually. I haven’t seen him since last week.”

“He’s got a bit of a cold, actually,” Susato confessed. “It seems that chasing a petty thief on foot in the dead of night - during a rainstorm, no less - wasn’t one of Naruhodo-san’s brightest ideas - ”

“What?!” Kazuma’s voice echoed throughout the nearly empty room. “Is - is he alright? Will he be alright?”

“Nothing a bit of rest and medicine can’t fix,” Susato replied, her eyebrows knitting together. “I must ask, Kazuma-sama - where has all this concern for Naruhodo-san’s well-being come from?”

Kazuma stared at her for a beat, flabbergasted. “...am I not allowed to ask after my best friend’s health?”

“Your best friend who you barely care to see?” Susato asked sharply. It was only because of their familiarity that Kazuma was able to tell that she was simmering with anger now, not yet boiling, a different kind of anger than the one that usually ended with someone being flipped onto their back. “When my father asked Naruhodo-san and I if we would be interested in accompanying him back to London for work, do you know the first thing Naruhodo-san said to me after we accepted?”

“...no,” Kazuma said slowly.

“He said to me, ‘we should write to Kazuma and let him know we’re coming’,” Susato continued. “So, we did. And you never wrote back. Nor did you come to see us when we arrived.” Her eyes narrowed even further. “Forgive me, Kazuma-sama, for speaking so straightforwardly, but this...detachedness, it seems to have become a habit of yours, and neither of us understand why.”

Kazuma took a moment to inhale, then exhale slowly as he gathered his thoughts. Then, he managed another false smile. “You’ve become bolder with age, Susato-san. I still remember the days when you were nervous about simply knocking on my door and interrupting my studies.” His expression then grew serious, mirroring hers. “Now, if I may be straightforward, I think you’re seeing things that aren’t there. I’ve just been busy, that’s all. Work has increased tenfold for me since I became an official prosecutor, which neither of you were around to see.”

The bitterness in his voice wasn’t lost on Susato. “Kazuma-sama,” she murmured, bowing her head so he wouldn’t see her tear up. “I...I can only imagine how lonely you’ve been, being in a foreign country all on your own. But if you were wanting company, you know you only need to ask.” She then lifted her head to look at him sternly. “...or accept one of Naruhodo-san’s many invitations.”

“I…” Kazuma was at a loss for words. “...yes, I know. I know perfectly well.”

“Then why haven’t you?” Susato asked. “It would make Naruhodo-san so happy if you were to join us for tea or lunch or even dinner!”

“Susato-san,” Kazuma warned, knowing exactly what she was beginning to hint at. Even with her penchant for politeness, he could tell she was dying to say what was really on her mind now. “Don’t - ”

“And he wants you to be happy, too,” Susato continued fiercely. “We all do. So please, don’t distance yourself from us. We would love to have you at Baker Street, we really would.” She then stood, bowing deeply once more. When she straightened up, her eyes were bright with determination. “...if you intend to tell him your true feelings someday, Kazuma-sama, this is not the path you should be taking.”

Kazuma let out a small, exasperated huff of breath. “It seems I made a mistake when I told you about them instead.”

“I’d never seen you look so thrilled before,” Susato said with a bittersweet smile. “Tripping over your own feet, words spilling from your mouth like water...Father and I could barely get a word in edgewise. It took us far too long to realize you were talking about a classmate who’d just bested you in the speech competition you’d been preparing for weeks - ”

“Susato-san, I really don’t have the time to reminisce with you,” Kazuma said curtly, also getting to his feet. “I apologize for my rudeness, but I do need to return to my paperwork before Lord van Zieks comes looking for it.”

“My apologies for inconveniencing you, Kazuma-sama,” Susato replied, though she really didn’t sound all that sorry. “Until we meet again, then.”

Later, Kazuma found himself unable to concentrate on his work, still thinking of Susato’s parting remarks long after she’d left. He’d felt so full of hope back then, equal parts infuriated and inspired by Ryunosuke’s inferior (in Kazuma’s opinion, anyway) speech. His words, his message, had lacked the impact that Kazuma’s speech would’ve had, had he managed to finish it the way he intended, but the power in which he spoke them still resonated with Kazuma even now.

“The path I should be taking,” Kazuma murmured to himself, drumming his fingers against his desk. “...right.”

_____

Not even one week later, Kazuma was attending to a crime scene - a bakery, whose sweet scents were making his mouth water - when he heard a surprised cry from behind. “Ah - Kazuma!”

Kazuma took a deep breath, then, turned slowly on his heel. “Good morning, Ryunosuke,” he said, pointedly ignoring the raised eyebrow Gina offered him that he only just noticed out of the corner of his eye. “Judicial Assistant Mikotoba told me about your cold a few days ago; are you better now?” He cleared his throat. “I, ah - I see your nose is still pink.” It took all of Kazuma’s willpower not to comment on the obvious rosiness of Ryunosuke’s cheeks as well.

Ryunosuke ducked his head, embarrassed. “Yes, I - I’m on the mend, thankfully. Susato-san has been taking good care of me - forcing me to take my medicine and all that.” Even though he knew Ryunosuke’s words were perfectly platonic, Kazuma still felt a flicker of jealousy surge in his chest. “She’ll be joining us shortly; she was with her father and Haori-san at Bart’s when I took the case.”

Kazuma hummed noncommittally, turning back to address Gina and the officers that were surveilling the scene. It was only when he finished that he realized Ryunosuke was still standing in the doorway, as if he were waiting for permission to enter the building. “I have no issue with you looking around, Ryunosuke, you know that,” Kazuma reassured him. “Just don’t touch anything.”

“Yes, I know,” Ryunoske said, finally taking his first few steps across the threshold. “Actually, I...I was hoping to speak with you in private before Susato-san gets here.”

For a moment, Kazuma’s heart seemed to stop. “What about?” he asked, as neutrally as he could manage. Gina’s eyebrows remained sky-high, though mercifully, she seemed more interested in eavesdropping than interrupting. In lieu of responding, Ryunosuke stepped back outside again, motioning for Kazuma to follow. He did, albeit somewhat irritably. “What’s going - ”

“Have we wronged you somehow?” Ryunosuke interrupted; Kazuma didn’t like how desperate he sounded. “Have we done something to make you push us away?”

“Why would you - ”

“I spent the last few days in bed, and I had a lot of time to think. Perhaps too much time to think,” Ryunosuke admitted.

Kazuma folded his arms across his chest, defensive. “Your point being…”

Ryunosuke took in a deep breath, his eyes squeezed shut as if he were in pain. “You’ve always been...blunt, Kazuma. I’ve always admired your ability to get right to the heart of the matter. But it seems that ever since Susato-san and I returned to London, you’ve been so...so cold.” When he opened his eyes, they were suspiciously glossy. “When we left over a year ago, you were smiling and laughing like you used to. We exchanged dozens of letters, talking about our lives, our respective paths in our respective legal systems, and I...I thought you’d be happy to see us again. Instead, you treated us like complete strangers.”

Once again, Kazuma found himself stunned into silence. Though nothing Ryunosuke was saying surprised him, it still felt as if he’d driven a sword through Kazuma’s heart. “Ryunosuke, I - ”

“I know Susato-san came to see you in your office the other day,” Ryunosuke continued, his voice stronger now. “She told me about your conversation; I told her she was too selfless. That she shouldn’t have spoken of my happiness, but of hers. You know how much she admires you. How much she wishes that you would just - just talk to us again.”

Kazuma lowered his head, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts, his heart pounding in his throat. He carefully unclasped his shaking hands so he could hold them behind his back, then straightened up, chin lifted a fraction higher than it should have been. Ryunosuke’s hands were trembling, too. “...did she tell you everything about our conversation?”

Ryunosuke frowned. “Sorry? I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I just mean that she has a different...understanding of the situation than you do,” Kazuma replied, internally wincing at his phrasing; the last thing he intended to do was offer nothing but vague statements and anger Ryunosuke even further. These days, however, it seemed like he could do nothing but incense the people he cared about most.

“Then help me understand,” Ryunosuke pleaded. His eyes then widened. “Wait, you’re not...Kazuma, you’re not in trouble again, are you? Is someone - has there been - ”

“Nothing like that, I promise,” Kazuma said quickly, feeling guiltier by the second. “I don’t mean to condescend to you, Ryunosuke, but this really isn’t the time or place to be having this conversation. Can we...another time, perhaps?”

“I’m sorry for my lateness, Naruhodo-san, there was a bit of a - oh.” They both turned to see Susato standing on the sidewalk, staring at them dumbfoundedly. Then, she bowed, having managed to rearrange her stunned expression back into a neutral one. “Forgive me for interrupting, Naruhodo-san...Kazuma-sama. Please, carry on.”

“You weren’t interrupting anything, Susato-san,” Ryunosuke replied, smiling faintly. He glanced in Kazuma’s direction, his eyes heartbreakingly resigned. “Another time, yes. I like nothing more than standing around and waiting for you to finally decide whether you care about us at all.”

“N-Naruhodo-san!” Susato gasped, stunned. “What on earth are you - what are you saying?” Ryunosuke merely shook his head, gesturing for her to follow him into the bakery. Susato shot Kazuma one last bewildered look before heading inside, leaving him completely alone. Kazuma, on the other hand, took a moment to stifle the frustrated cry that threatened to escape him before trailing after them, his head still held a little too high.

_____

On the evening following the trial’s conclusion, Kazuma found himself on the doorstep of 221B Baker Street, trembling. It wasn’t particularly cold, but he seemed unable to stop shaking, his fists clenched and shoved tightly into his coat pockets. Reluctantly, he lifted one hand to the door, then, after hesitating for some time, knocked. What felt like seconds later, he was promptly pulled inside by the iron grip of an eleven-year-old girl.

“Oh - ”

“Good evening, Kazzy!” Iris said cheerily as she closed the front door, oblivious to how much emotional whiplash - and maybe literal whiplash - she’d just given him. They’d only met a handful of times, but her sweet nature was usually a welcome distraction, a balm for his unsettled mind. “I didn’t know you’d be stopping by. If I did, I would’ve had a fresh pot of tea waiting for you! Though it’s not too late for me to start if you’d like.”

“That’s alright, Iris, I’m fine without, but thank you,” Kazuma said politely. “I was hoping to talk to Ryunosuke and Miss Susato, are they in?”

“Yes, you can go right on up,” Iris nodded. Then, she frowned. “But if I hear shouting, you’re going to have to leave. Understood?”

“I - yes, of course,” Kazuma promised, taken aback. “I’ll, er...I’ll be heading up now, then.”

When he entered the attic, Susato was drawing the curtains for the night, humming idly to herself. Ryunosuke, on the other hand, was half-leaning against his desk, one hand propped up behind him on its surface, the other holding a document up to his eyes, brow furrowed in concentration. Karuma was sitting diligently on his hip, as always. For a moment, Kazuma simply stood there, lingering at the top of the stairs while he admired Ryunosuke’s side profile; he’d always loved the sharp angle of his jaw, the slight upturn of his nose. It reminded him of the first time he really saw Ryunosuke, standing on that stage, speaking with an unwavering passion that Kazuma had been holding on to ever since.

It was Susato who noticed him first. Unlike last time, she didn’t look surprised at all. If anything, she looked tired. “Good evening, Kazuma-sama,” she said with a wan smile. Ryunosuke, oddly enough, was staring at him with a completely neutral expression; it scared Kazuma more than he thought it would. “I didn’t know you were coming to see us. If I had, I would have prepared some - ”

“Yes, tea,” Kazuma said impatiently, flinching when Susato leveled him with a cold stare. “Ah - sorry, Susato-san, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I, er…” He cleared his throat, straightening up. “If now isn’t a bad time, I’d like to talk to both of you about...well, we all know why I’m here.”

Susato pursed her lips, thinking. “I think it would be best if you and Naruhodo-san spoke alone first, Kazuma-sama. Perhaps you could clear the air about...more than a few things. Only then do I want you to explain yourself to me, with no detail spared.”

Now Ryunosuke looked startled, an expression Kazuma was much more familiar with. “What? What do you mean?” But Susato merely patted him reassuringly on the arm before disappearing into her bedroom, pointedly shutting the door behind her. “Er...Kazuma?”

“Do you mind if we…” Kazuma gestured towards Susato’s tea set. Nodding, Ryunosuke knelt on the floor, where Kazuma knelt opposite. Even now, his legs shook like they were going to give out beneath him. “I know...I know that you’re both very angry with me. I’ve been distant, I won’t deny it. Deliberately so.”

“Did you not want us to come back?” Just like that, another dagger through the heart. “Is that what it was? You, you wanted us to keep our distance, to stay in Japan?”

“Ryunosuke, I…” Kazuma was speechless. “That’s not…”

“That’s the only plausible reason, if I really think about it,” Ryunosuke continued, rubbing his chin thoughtfully like he always did. “Susato-san, she...she theorized that you were feeling lonely. Perhaps our presence has only made you feel lonelier, since it only serves as a reminder that we’ll be leaving again someday. Is - is that it?”

Kazuma opened his mouth, but he couldn’t find the words he wanted to say. It was cliché, he supposed, to think that Ryunosuke was capable of twisting his tongue in a metaphorical sense, too. “You really are more perceptive than people give you credit for, Ryunosuke,” Kazuma finally managed to say with a harsh laugh. “But...you’re also a bit wide of the mark this time.”

“Oh,” Ryunosuke said, disappointed. “Then...help me understand. I...I understood why you were acting so strangely back when...well. And why you felt like you couldn’t talk to us. But this time, short of you harboring another big secret, I can’t really think of anything else. Aside from you no longer caring about us anymore, I mean, and if that’s true, then…” He trailed off, shivering.

“Ryunosuke,” Kazuma repeated, stunned. “No, that’s - that’s not it, either, it’s...it’s...”

“Then what?!” Ryunosuke whisper-shouted, eyes blazing with frustration. Kazuma suspected he wasn’t even aware of how close he’d gotten, how much he’d leaned forward so their noses were practically brushing, his hands braced on either side of Kazuma’s knees. “Why are you being so - ”

“ - I’minlovewithyou.”

Ryunosuke stared at him, dumbfounded. “I...I don’t think I heard you correctly. You’re - you - you what?” Kazuma suddenly felt the urge to throw up. He sat there, frozen, silently cursing his own impulsiveness. Then, he shook himself out of his stupor, clumsily scrabbling backward, away from Ryunosuke, hands and knees dragging across the hardwood floor, just stopping short of hitting his head on the underside of Susato’s desk. His breath was coming in short pants; he lifted a freshly scraped hand to clutch at his thundering chest, willing himself not to vomit right then and there. “Kazuma - ”

“Wait, don’t - ”

“You love me?” Ryunosuke said hoarsely, like he was afraid he’d heard him wrong. “That’s - that’s what you said, isn’t it? That you love me?” Kazuma swallowed, knowing he was well and truly cornered now. He nodded wordlessly, face burning hot with shame, unable to remember the last time he’d embarrassed himself this badly.

“You...you were right, in a way,” Kazuma murmured, his voice unusually small. “Exchanging letters and reminiscing about old times was one thing...getting to see your smiling face again was another. It...reminded me of how far you’ve come, how much both of you have grown, while I feel...stuck, in a way.”

“Stuck?” Ryunsouke echoed confusedly.

“I wasn’t...envious, exactly. Just bitter, resentful, angry, but...only at myself. Still, in your presence, I felt nothing but contradictory feelings. Feelings that I...that I didn’t want to come to light.” Then, Kazuma shook his head. “But that’s no excuse for how I’ve been acting, I know that. I truly am sorry.” He managed to pull himself back in a kneeling position, then bowed completely forward, his nose pressed into the floor. “Naruhodo-san - ”

“You don’t have to go that far,” Ryunosuke protested.

“ - I should have put an end to my behavior long before I hurt you and Susato-san,” Kazuma finished. “I’m sorry.”

To Kazuma’s surprise, Ryunosuke huffed out a noise that sounded halfway between a sob and a laugh. “There’s no need to be this dramatic, Kazuma, though I suppose it is you. Sit up for me, will you? I think you’ve managed to injure yourself in three different ways since you arrived.” Cowed, Kazuma obeyed his orders, belatedly realizing that he had hit his head on the back of Susato’s desk - that explained the stinging sensation - and he’d bruised the end of his nose, too. Clicking his tongue, Ryunosuke stood so he could grab a few things from the shelf behind his desk, then knelt directly in front of Kazuma. “Your palms look terrible. Are your knees scraped as well?”

“Never mind that,” Kazuma said, clearing his throat. He still felt uneasy despite the huge weight that had been lifted off his shoulders; everything felt off-balance, like something was about to come crashing down. “Do you forgive me, Naruhodo-san?”

“I don’t know, Asogi-san, do I?” Ryunosuke retorted mockingly, quick as he pleased, though all his frustration from earlier seemed to have dissipated now, replaced with what almost seemed like mild amusement. He then rolled up the hems of Kazuma’s pants, wincing at the redness of his knees. Kazuma silently watched while Ryunosuke tended to his scrapes and bruises, still waiting with bated breath. His heart fluttered pathetically when he caught sight of Ryunosuke’s expression, the way his nose scrunched up and his tongue poked out in concentration. “...this conversation has taken a strange turn, hasn’t it?”

“It would feel less strange if you answered me,” Kazuma replied with a faint smirk. “Don’t keep me in suspense, Ryunosuke. This isn’t the courtroom, after all.”

“Now that sounds more like the Kazuma I know,” Ryunosuke teased. “You’ve been so formal these past few minutes, I was starting to worry you’d been replaced with an overly polite look-alike.” He moved closer, his half-lidded eyes lifting to lock with Kazuma’s. “Ah - it seems you’ve somehow bruised your lip as well.”

Kazuma frowned. “...I did?”

“No, actually. You didn’t.” And then, Ryunosuke kissed him.

It took Kazuma an embarrassingly long time to process what was happening - the warm, clumsy, eager press of Ryunosuke’s lips against his, Ryunosuke’s hands on either side of his hips, Ryunosuke’s chest braced against his shoulder - before he finally had the sense to kiss him back, his fingers curling desperately into the front of Ryunosuke’s shirt and tugging him closer. Hours seemed to pass before they finally broke apart, breathless.

Laughing softly, Kazuma lowered his forehead to rest against Ryunosuke’s. “Was that your answer, then?”

“You love me,” Ryunosuke said, his eyes shining. It wasn’t a question this time. “And I - ”

“Wait,” Kazuma interrupted; his heart was pounding wildly against his ribcage. “Don’t say it if you - ”

“I thought you wanted me to answer you,” Ryunosuke said, grinning cheekily. He leaned in again, kissing the crook of Kazuma’s jaw this time. “I...I love you too, Kazuma. And I forgive you. Though...we’re not done talking about this yet. We have a lot to talk about.”

“I know,” Kazuma said, his voice barely above a whisper. He felt like if he spoke any louder, he would break the spell they were both under. “I know. And...thank you, Ryunosuke.”

Beaming, Ryunosuke kissed him again, then lifted one of Kazuma’s hands to gently kiss his palm. Kazuma ducked his head, flustered and charmed in one fell swoop, narrowly missing the sight of Ryunosuke reluctantly getting to his feet. “Shall I get Susato-san? We’ve kept her waiting for a while now, though I suspect she’s had her ear pressed against her door this whole time.”

“So do I,” Kazuma said dryly, chuckling. It was only when Ryunosuke turned and went to knock on Susato’s bedroom door that Kazuma let himself sprawl out across the floor with a relieved sigh. He continued to laugh almost deliriously, one hand clasped over his heart, still reeling in shock from what had happened. To think he’d nearly turned and walked away without knocking on the door - and now Kazuma didn’t want to even entertain the thought of what would’ve happened if he had.

_____

“Will you be joining us for dinner tonight, Kazuma-sama?”

Kazuma looked up from the autopsy report he’d been poring over, shooting Susato an apologetic grimace. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”

“You really should pay more attention when you have guests in your office,” Ryunosuke teased. He was standing on the opposite side of the room, admiring the decorative shelf Kazuma had installed not too long ago; he recognized some of the small trinkets as things Kazuma had collected from various school festivals from what felt like a lifetime ago. “Especially when those guests are us.”

“You certainly have an inflated sense of self today,” Kazuma said wryly, setting his paperwork aside so he could rest his elbows on his desk and look Ryunosuke in the eye. “Honestly, I get on my knees for you just once - ”

“To ask f-for my f-forgiveness!” Ryunosuke stammered, his short-lived bravado now gone. Susato didn’t even try to hide her laughter behind her sleeve, her musical giggle filling the room. “Kazuma, please - ”

“ - and now you seem to think you can order me around,” Kazuma finished, smirking. “What do you make of all this, Susato-san?”

“Seeing as you had to plead for my forgiveness, Kazuma-sama, I think Naruhodo-san’s request that you listen to us is more than reasonable,” Susato replied with a near-smug smile of her own. “And I was asking if you would be coming to dinner. Mr Holmes has been working on a new piece, and he’d love to have you be a part of tonight’s audience.”

“Yes, I should be available,” Kazuma nodded. “Seven-thirty, correct? I was thinking of purchasing some desserts from that confectionery Iris likes on my way to Baker Street.”

“That would be wonderful,” Susato said gratefully, smiling. “Thank you.”

“However, what I won’t be bringing tonight is any hints for tomorrow’s trial,” Kazuma continued, turning his narrowed gaze on his partner’s back. “So please stop looking through my things, Ryunosuke. You’re as subtle as ever, it seems.”

“You’ve caught me,” Ryunosuke said, turning on his heel with a weak chuckle. He then finally dropped back into the seat beside Susato’s, opposite Kazuma. “Really, though, thank you for providing us with a copy of the autopsy report. It seems like we only ever get it when we’re already in the courtroom.”

“The forensics team has been especially efficient these days,” Kazuma commented. “And I see no point in keeping it from you if it helps us reach an understanding faster, so...”

“Ah, that reminds me - we should return to the prison before visiting hours are over, Naruhodo-san,” Susato reminded him. “If we don’t leave soon, we might miss our chance.”

“Go on, then,” Kazuma said, motioning towards his door. “Don’t let me keep you.”

“I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am that you’ll be joining us tonight, Kazuma-sama,” Susato said as she got to her feet, beaming. Ryunosuke, on the other hand, stood so he could walk around Kazuma’s desk. Then, he cupped Kazuma’s jaw with one hand and kissed him; Kazuma, naturally, kissed him back, threading his fingers through Ryunosuke’s hair. Susato let out a good-natured scoff, though she mostly seemed amused. “Naruhodo-san, please, our client is waiting for us! You can kiss Kazuma-sama all you like later, when we’re home.”

“I do like the sound of that,” Kazuma murmured against Ryunosuke’s lips, grinning even when Ryunosuke pulled away. “See you tonight, partner.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Ryunosuke replied with a fond smile, squeezing Kazuma’s hand before reluctantly letting go. He then followed Susato out the door, leaving Kazuma to lean back in his chair with a feeling of contentment warming in his chest and an irrevocably fond sigh. After another minute or so of simply taking in the moment, his mind blissfully calm, Kazuma turned to open his top desk drawer so he could pull out his gloves and slip them back on. He couldn't be sure if it was simply his mind playing tricks on him or if it was the honest truth, but they didn't feel quite as tight as they did before.

_____

a/n: Welcome to my first entry for Asoryuu Week 2021! To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure if I'm going to have a fic for every day of the week as I've fallen terribly behind, but I'm going to try my best. I blame Kazuma for being strangely difficult to write; I feel like I've got Ryunosuke and Susato, and to a lesser extent, everyone else mostly figured out, but as much as I love Kazuma, I'm still trying to sort out my characterization of him. And, as with any short(ish) fic, I'm always tempted to write longer versions of them, and I'm sure I'll write some long, angsty Asoryuu fic someday (I want to write a Masked!Kazuma/Ryunosuke fic so badly), but for the time being, these short fics have been a great way for me to practice writing these lovely characters!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Likes and reblogs would be much appreciated, and I hope you're all safe and healthy and doing well ❤️

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Beauyashaweek 2021 day 2 Classical Art: Birthed from Stone

Beauyashaweek 2021 day 2 Classical Painting Art

Technically, the prompt is Classical Painting, but I couldn't really think of anything to write for that so I decided to do Classical Art as the prompt and thought of this. There's more to it, but I decided to cut it short because it was getting too long and not ending. I hope you enjoy my story, if you do please leave a comment, they help more than you know.

It was Saturday, there were a million things Beau would have preferred to be doing on her Saturday, one of the few days off she had, than going to the Zadash Museum of Art. That wasn’t fair, she liked the Museum, she liked the artwork, but she hated that she was here on an assignment for school rather than because she wanted to which meant she hated the Museum currently.

Beau had only taken Art Appreciation 110 on her best friend Jester’s suggestion. The blue tiefling art major thought it would be fun to have her best friend in the class she was TAing and assured Beau that it was an easy class being a 100 level. Beau didn’t mind an easy A, she was a double major history and sports medicine in her senior year, she figured she might as well since the rest of her course load was killer.

Unfortunately, unlike most of the classes Beau had taken though her time at Z.U. Art Appreciation 110 wasn’t a blow off class that she could just take the tests and write papers to pass with an A. The teacher Mr. Artagan was more eccentric than most of the faculty at Z.U. full of new age ideas how to run his class. No tests at all and only a few papers, which would be fine for most people, but the fact that participation was worth 60% of her grade made the class a living hell for Beau. He thought that children (despite them all being college students) should be rewarded for showing initiative, not just memorizing facts, something that Beau relied on. She was a smart girl who read the assigned reading before the class had even started hoping it would mean she didn’t have to show up for class only to have Jester’s hippy mentor ruin that dream the first day.

Artagan, as he liked them to call him, no mister for him, was one of those ‘cool’ teachers who thought they were changing the world in their 100 level course that contained mostly freshmen trying to get their gen ed credits out of the way. The teacher who wore an actual green cloak to class everyday that clashed horribly with his tangle of reddish orange hair, but went well with his inhuman green eye, knew he was put on this earth to reach the kids. Beau hated him instantly and thought if not for his laziness, his biggest weakness other than a wicked case of ADHD that no amount of Adderall would fix, he would probably be a cult leader. Luckily for the class, Jester took her job as his TA seriously, or at least as serious as Jester could leading a class taught by Mr. Artagan about appreciating art, so she was at least a competent teacher when the actual teacher decided to take a nap in the middle of a lecture or jump out the window to chase a bird. She would call on Beau whenever she could because she knew her best friend at least knew the information even though she wouldn’t volunteer the information willingly. It saved Beau’s average from tanking in class, but by the time the semester came to a close it didn’t look good, Beau was sitting at a low C which again, wouldn’t be bad for most people in their blow off class, but was horrible for Beauregard Lionett, the disgraced daughter of the Lionett wine family in Kamordah.

Without getting into it, Beau’s relationship with her family, especially her dad Thoreau, was horrible to be kind. She was only at Z.U. due to both academic and athletic scholarships, and losing one would mean she wouldn’t have enough money for her final semester, and she needed at least a B in all her classes if she wanted to graduate. Technically she would still be able to graduate, but her diploma would remain as property of the school until her debts were paid up, which meant she couldn’t get a job with her diploma unless she lied on her resume. And while, no one could say Beauregard Lionett was against lying, she wasn’t a self destructive teenager anymore she knew it would only hurt her in the long run.

Luckily, having her best friend as her T.A. meant Jester begging Mr. Artagan to let Beau have some extra credit so she could pass. Artagan agreed and told her to write a paper on how a piece of art makes you feel. If Beau didn’t desperately need to pass this stupid class she would have thrown it in his face, but instead as a self destructive adult who at least was aware of her money problems, she gritted her teeth and took the extra credit assignment.

Beau had been to the museum at their school a bunch of times, she had given tours for a bit as a work study gig until the people in charge realized how bad she was with people. But there was something about being forced to go there for an assignment that soured the whole thing for her.

“Let's check out the Emon exhibit first Beau,” Jester said taking her and dragging her to the Tal’Dori section. Beau didn’t mind it, but there was too much…, cleanness in the artwork of their neighbors to the West. Tal’Dori was really similar to Wildemount in a lot of ways, without the whole equally large enemy neighbor country that you’ve been in a Cold War with forever. Emon had its own set of problems, but propaganda or not, whatever Beau read made the other continent sound like a less shitty version of the Dwendalian Empire.

Still, the paintings and sculptures were nice enough to look at even if she didn’t have Jester’s excitement. There were a lot of paintings of naked people in some of the exhibits, which Beau enjoyed since there weren’t a lot of men as the subject. She had to hand it to the old masters, they might have been a bunch of old pervs, but they painted a pretty dame without her clothes. Even if they did give their works pretentious names like, “the Sin of Sarenrae,” or “the Seducer of Nations,” as if the women who were the subjects were at fault for being beautiful enough for men to want to paint them naked.

Eventually Jester got bored, it didn't take long, and they moved on to the other wings of the museum. “I’m gonna check out the Xhorhasian exhibit for a bit Jester,” Beau said, needing some alone time. She loved her best friend, but the girl could talk forever on her worst day, a day surrounded by hundreds of years of artwork around her meant she hadn’t stopped since Beau mentioned her paper.

The Xhorhasian exhibit was small and quiet, they were technically at peace, legally and all that, but two powerful countries can’t be neighbors without a lot of animosity. With only the Ashkeeper Peaks between them, there had been a long cycle of wars and ceasefires between the two nations that could break at any moment. That meant not a lot of people congregated in this out of the way exhibit. Most of the artwork and relics were probably technically stolen. Beau wasn’t happy about that despite being a citizen of the Empire, born and raised in Kamordah, less than a day from Zadash.

Maybe after she graduated she could break into the museum and somehow send the stolen goods back home where they belonged. Jester would probably be into it, and Veth wasn’t exactly opposed to petty theft or grand larceny. But that was for Future Beau with her bachelor’s degree to think about. For now, since they were here, Beau was going to enjoy the things from the Empire’s oldest enemy and learning about them, despite how they were procured.

Technically, the Empire wasn’t enemies with Xhorhas, they were enemies with the Krynn Dynasty, the country that had been the dominant power in the Wastes of Xhorhas for thousands of years. There were other people living in Xhorhas that were roped into the conflict, or so Beau heard, most of the stories from the East were about the Cricks or Krynn and the rest were hardly mentioned at all.

As Beau walked around the empty exhibit, for the most part it was bleaker than the other exhibits. Xhorhas seemed like a dreary place, all their artwork lacked the color of other nations artwork. Most of the paintings, few of them as there were, tended to be battle scenes of Drow soldiers in their dark insect like armor tearing through Empire soldiers like paper, it's a wonder citizens of the Empire never come to look at this exhibit. The rest was mostly pottery or weapons, the placards said they were souvenirs from survivors of perilous expeditions into enemy territory. Beau had read them all before.

But surprising her, there was something new in the exhibit. In the center of the exhibit, in a place of honor was a statue with lights pointing down on it. It was made of white marble and depicted the most beautiful woman Beau had ever seen. She was large, tall and wide, if she wasn’t made of stone she would tower over Beauregard, with arm muscles larger than Beau’s head. Long wild hair that the sculpture had managed to get across in the marble. She wasn’t just standing still either, she was swinging a sword like some goddess of battle. The massive feathery wings exploding from her back, that almost looked soft to the touch despite being made out of rock, made her seem even more divine. But even more than the wings, Beau was drawn to her eyes, they were perfect. Despite being just another part of the woman carved from the white stone, they seemed so dark, holding so much anger and sadness that it made Beau’s chest hurt to look into them, but she didn't have the willpower to look away.

The only flaw Beau could find in the sculpture of the beautiful woman, was the smile. Unlike the rest of the statue, the smile was just off. It was just too plain. The rest of the work from the woman, from the way the marble simulated how her arm muscles tensed like a real person would when swing a sword to fight, to her large soulful eyes, to the massive two-handed sword that looked like it was a real metal blade turned to stone, was the work of a master. Yet the smile was clearly the work of an armature, it looked like the smiles Beau had drawn on posters to look extra goofy to passersby. It didn’t fit such a beautiful woman, especially when the rest of her was clearly ready for battle.

It looked so off Beau immediately looked at the placard to find out if it had been damaged in shipping and the archeologist or smuggler did their best to fix it with a smile. The sign didn’t say anything about the smile, just that the sculpture had been found 3 years ago in an ‘expedition’ in the south of Xhorhas. The title of the piece was ‘Angel of Beauty,’ which made Beau gag. Sure the woma-, the sculpture was beautiful, but it was such a boring shitty title for such an awesome bitch. She was wielding a sword ready to chop someone to bits and ready to take on a whole army, Angel of Beauty was such a generic title for a real work of art. Skimming the rest of the paragraph for any more info, Beau learned the locals called the work ‘The Orphanmaker,’ before the archeologist procured the work.

Beau thought it was a bit better, at least more metal and fitting for such a bad bitch, but it still didn’t fit the woman or the sculpture in Beau’s unasked for opinion. Still, Beau couldn’t let her dumb lesbian brain that made her have a crush on the only more unattainable woman in the world than Jester, stop her from getting her paper done. She took a picture of the placard to get a reference and took a few more of the statue itself from as many angles as she could. You weren’t technically supposed to take pictures of the artwork, but no one was around and Beau needed the pictures for her project…, and nothing else.

Still, the more time she spent with the statue the more Beau was enthralled. The more she stared at it, from every angle it felt like the woman was ready to come alive at any second. That one second Beau would be staring into eyes of white marble and then she would blink alive the next. The skill of the sculptor had practically tricked Beau into thinking the woman would have a pulse if she touched her, like she wasn’t carved out of stone.

It got to the point where Beau, who would never break the law, especially when it came to stolen art, got so fed up she decided to touch the statue just to prove to herself it wasn’t a real live person. Just a quick tap on the arm to prove to herself that the woman wasn’t alive, that’s all it would take to make her crazy thoughts quiet for a bit.

Unfortunately, or perhaps very fortunate given the outcome, Beau was wrong, very wrong. The moment she touched what would be the flesh of the woman, not her sword, or hair, or clothes, the moment her finger touched the skin on the woman’s arm, it felt warm. So warm that Beau couldn’t believe it, until the woman’s pulse woke her up. She tore her hand away like the statue was made of fire, but even as she did, she could see cracks forming in the sculpture starting from where she touched the woman on the arm.

“Shit,” Beau yelled, as she slammed her back into the wall, she didn’t even know she had backed away that far. She desperately tried to search for glue or anything that she could use to fix the crack she made, but the cracks only got bigger. By the time Beau looked back, they had shot down the woman’s arm and were coming down her body, and Beau only had time to swear every curse she knew in the five languages she spoke fluently (which you would think would take a while, but Beau had always been quick with her mouth and was well practiced with it and cursing) before the statue exploded.

The room was full of dust clouds and the only sound other than the hammering of Beau’s heart was the sound of a large woman breathing heavily. It only took a moment for the dust to clear and give Beau a good look at the Orphan Maker. On a whole, she was pretty much the same as the statue, same massive frame, same gorgeous face that Beau had gone gaga for, same strong arms holding the now sharp steel blade, and older Xhorhasian garb, not from the Krynn Dynasty. Now that she wasn’t a statue anymore though, there was a big change, even if she was mostly the same, there was a big difference between a beautiful woman carved out of white marble and a real gorgeous flesh and blood woman.

Her skin was pale, almost as pale as the white marble, but the rest of her and her clothes had splashes of color, mostly black, but not white stone. The biggest change though, other than being a living person of course, was her wings. When she was a statue the wings on her back had been white and feathery, now, they were black and skeletal. As if they had been burnt to cinder’s but still attached to her. She has heterochromatic eyes, one is light green, the other is violet, they are filled with rage, but it’s not directed at Beau, the woman who burst from the marble is just angry.

“Where am I,” the strange woman demanded once the dust cleared enough to see Beau.

“The Zadash University Museum,” Beau said trying to stay on the good side of this strange Amazonian goddess that just flexed out of a statue.

“Zadash,” the woman said slowly, like it was a foreign word. “That is a is a name from beyond the mountains,” she asked more than said.

“Yeah,” Beau nodded, “or I mean I suppose. We’re on the other side of the mountains from Xhorhas if that’s what you mean.”

“Then I am a long way from home,” the strange woman said seeming to calm down.

“Are you a spy from Xhorhas,” Beau asked, immediately realizing how stupid that sounded. Beau could handle herself in a fight, but this woman was massive and had a sword almost the size of her. It would be really hot if it was in a movie or a book instead of real life.

“No,” the woman shouted, “I am from Xhorhas, but I am no spy.”

“Alright,” Beau said, throwing her hands up to show she meant no harm, “I believe you.”

“I think…, I am lost,” the woman said calming down, her voice was a lot softer than Beau would have guessed when she wasn’t angry. “I was in my homeland, I was fighting something and then…, nothing.”

“Well, maybe you could start with something you do remember,” Beau asked, trying to keep things calm. “Do you remember your name?”

“Yasha,” Yasha apparently answered after a moment, “Yasha Nydoorin. And I think I need your help.”

It probably wasn’t a great idea to agree to this, she didn’t know Yasha much other than she was big, gorgeous, and popped out of a marble statue. But despite her well above average intelligence, she was also a lesbian with a dumb lesbian brain sometimes, and all she could say was “sure.” Maybe she’ll let Jester drag her off to the museum if this happens all the time.

[kirishwima]

May I have a request a finding out that the MC finds out that they are pregnant with RFA +V, V's is with Lucy?

yes, i love this prompt! however for V, I’d rather have Lucy still be their adopted daughter-changing the way she came to be their child doesn’t sit right with me, I hope that’s okay :)

I’ll use she/her pronouns for MC, but if you’d like me to change them then feel free to let me know <3

YOOSUNG:

* Knowing how much of an over-excited mess he’d become at the news, MC waited patiently for him to be done with work for the day, come back home, take a shower and finally come to flop down on the couch besides her, leaning his head on her shoulder.

* This was their usual routine, finding some time before bed to talk about their day, plans for tomorrow and what not. MC gently ran a hand through Yoosung’s hair, toying with the blonde curls. “So...I’ve got some news” she started, biting at her lip.

* Yoosung hummed, already dozing off on MC’s shoulder, blinking back the sleepingess as MC nudged him off her shoulder. “Baby come on, I think you’ll want to be awake to hear this” she laughed, teasing him as he stifled a yawn.

* “You’re saying there’s something more important than a full 8 hours of sleep?” he asked, fully aware of the irony-how in college he’d go nights without sleeping a minute to game, to the present, where he can’t function properly without a minimum couple hours of sleep before work.

* MC hummed, pretending to think as she tapped a finger to her chin. “Let’s see...would knowing you’re about to become a dad be important enough?” 

* She smiled, raising a brow as she saw the range of emotions running themselves over Yoosung’s face. Shock, confusion, excitedness-his mouth agape, eyes wide and teary. 

* “You-what-we-who-we-baby?!” he jumped off the couch, pointing to MC’s stomach as she bit her cheek to contain her giggles at his over-exaggerated reaction.

* “Yes Yoosung”, she affirmed, nodding down to her own belly, “there’s a baby right there. How...how do you feel about that?” despite the shaky grin on his face MC was still hesitant, worried how Yoosung might feel once this excitement wears off. Sure, they ocassionally discussed future plans, but never to great lengths, and it’s normal to freak out in such a situation and-

* “Are you kidding me?! We-MC we’ll be parents! Omigosh I’m-” he fell to his knees, leaning forward to lean his head into MC’s lap, his hands on her thighs gripping tight. 

* Gingerly he looked up, gently bringing a palm to rest on her lower abdomen. 

* “Hi baby” he whispered, not caring if the baby was old enough to hear him through the womb or not. He’d be sure to study all that later. “I’m-I’m your dad. I can’t wait to meet you buddy...”

* Honestly....both he and MC teared up at that. Neither of them really expected it, but they both couldn’t wait to be parents. 

ZEN:

* MC had taken a pharmacy test that came back negative, but her period was still running late. Confused, she decided to book an appointment to her gynecologist as soon as possible, worried what the implications of this may be. If not pregnancy, then what...?

* Zen had come into the room the moment she’d been on the phone, booking an appointment for the following week. He raised a brow as he heard her, but she simply smiled, holding up a finger as a cue for him to wait a moment.

* “Babe, what’s up? Everything alright?” he asked as soon as she hung up, coming close to wrap his arms around her waist.

* “Mm, yeah just, my period’s late and uhm-” she hesitated, unsure of how to continue. Quite frankly, she wasn’t sure of what was going on either, so how was she to explain it to Zen?

* She felt his grip around her waist tighten, his breath hitching. 

* “Wait-does that mean-could you be...?”

* She turned around to face him, not surprised to find pure glee on his face-they’d discussed their plans for the future before, and they both had agreed they’d wanted to start a family together, just never decided on the when.

* MC smiled, running her fingertips across Zen’s knuckles. “I don’t know. I really don’t, but I guess we’ll find out once I go to the doctor” she shrugged.

* Zen hummed, leaning his head atop her shoulder. “Next week right? Tell me the time, I’ll make sure to make time to come with you.”

* “Wha-Babe you don’t have to-” MC started before Zen cut her off with a quick peck on the lips and a wink as he twisted her around to face him.

* “Shush. Whatever the doctor tells you, I’ll be there with you, and we’ll face it together. Always” he said, his smile softening. 

* And as a man of his word, Zen was there with her at MC’s appointment, holding her hand as her gynecologist took an ultrasound probe and looked knowingly at the screen, turning to face MC and Zen with a smile.

* “Congratulations you two”, they smiled, both Zen and MC turning to the doctor with wide eyes, “you’re about 5 weeks pregnant!”

* Now, if anyone asks, he won’t admit it, but did Zen jump up and down in that examination room, screaming and giggling like a kid? Did he cry and lean down to kiss MC, who was currently stuck with an ultrasound probe inside her and a little unable to cheer as excitedly with him? Did he have to clear his throat and apologise to the doctor who had to hide their laughter behind a cough? 

* Yes. Yes he did. 

* He’ll talk to MC’s belly non-stop, will be there for EVERY appointment and ultrasound, will cry when he first hears his baby’s heartbeat or sees the first 3D ultrasound. He’ll do every single bidding of MC, from weird cravings to holding her when the morning sickness hits, just 100/10 the best partner and father.

* Plus the first thing he teaches his kid is to never ever call Jumin ‘uncle’ :’)

JAEHEE:

* Okay listen, there’s a little backstory here that I can add thanks to my current weeks of working at an ObGyn and Fertility clinic;

* So Jaehee and MC, after establishing their coffee shop and having it run well for a few years, decided they were ready to take the next step and start a family together. However, there were many limitations when they tried to adopt a child, so they researched other options, and found that a single woman, can in fact, receive a sperm donor and an IUI (In Utero Insemination-just fancy terminology for ‘putting the sperm in the womb with a tube!), without too much of a hussle. 

* So they opted for this option. They sat through the paperwork together, mutually decided who it’d be who’d try and get pregnant-they both had no quailms about it so they kind of decided over rock-paper scissors lmao, and so the process began.

* However, even with modern day medicine, pregnancy in such means isn’t 100% guaranteed; in fact, the chances are about a little over 40%. So after the procedure the two worried, hoped luck would find them and they’d be able to start their own little family.

* A couple weeks after the procedure, Jaehee was manning the coffee shop whilst MC took a break back home to come take over the evening shift later on. It was a quiet day, not many people in the shop save for a few of their regulars and a couple friends, their cat Cocoa who’d now become the cafe’s mascot strolling around like she owned the place.

* Everything was peaceful...until MC came running, the bells over the front door jingling manically as she slammed it open and ran to the counter Jaehee had been standing at.

* MC panted, leaned on the counter to catch her breath as Jaehee fretted over her, a million worst-case-scenarios running through her brain.

* “MC? What-what’s wrong, what happene-”

* Before she could speak MC lifted her head, a huge grin on her face. “Jaehee. Baby we did it! We’re pregnant!”

* Jaehee was, for the first time in forever, at a loss for words, her lips slack, her hands dropping to her side as her brain short-wired. “We-we are? You took a test? You?”

* MC nodded along to Jaehee’s line of half-questioning half-realising, laughing as tears welled up in Jaehee’s eyes. She ran across the counter to MC, meeting her half-way into a crushing hug as they laughed and cried together. 

* “We’ll have a baby” Jaehee whispered into the crook of MC’s neck, the wetness of her tears pooling into the cusp of skin.

* “Yeah. Yeah we will Jae” MC nodded along, stroking soothing circles into Jaehee’s back.

* They were lost in their own little world...before the sound of clapping brought them back to the present.

* Of course the few customers in the shop had heard and seen everything, and both their regulars and their friends were eagerly cheering them on, some even whistling and yelling ‘congratulations’ at the two who were now a blushing mess.

* Even Cocoa the cat came by to meow at them, as if to say ‘eh, whatever, congrats I guess’ which was....probably the nicest thing this cat has ever done for them lmao

* And that’s the story of how their coffee shop had now become famous for the ‘super mom duo’ that runs it hehe

JUMIN:

* If you think this man wouldn’t get emotional over finding out he’ll be a father you’re a) WRONG b) REALLY WRONG and c) GOTTA PLAY HIS ROUTE ALL OVER AGAIN

* Will he be scared? YES! He’ll be stressed, but listen-it’s probably not for the reasons you’re thinking.

* When MC announces her pregnancy to him, it’s not over a candle-lit dinner or whilst lounging on the couch. Nah, this man is observant af, especially when it comes to the person he loves.

* He noticed her coming home with a pharmacy bag after work and frowned, instantly wondering what its contents were.

* “MC, you seemed in perfect health today, is something wrong? Should I call a doctor?”

* MC was quick to reassure him that no, she was fine, but was hesitant when explaining that her period was running late, worried how he’ll take the news-sure, they were married, but they never really explicitly discussed the potential of having kids and a family, she didn’t know how Jumin would react to it.

* “I see” he nodded, “You did seem worried, I was hoping you’d eventually talk to me about it. So you’re taking a pregnancy test? If it’s alright with you, can I wait outside for you to tell me the results?”

* If anyone else were to hear the conversation, it might seem like Jumin was cold, distant even. But MC could tell the little incantations in his voice, how his eyes gleamed, his mouth twitching at the corners-he was hesitant, yes, but also excited. And to be honest...so was she.

* So Jumin waited, his arms folded and foot tapping anxiously on the floor as he leaned on the wall right next to the bathroom door, holding his breath until he heard the door open, seeing the little stick MC held in her hands, how her shoulders shook as she looked down at it.

* “W-what does it say?” he asked, fearful of looking down at the test himself-he doubts he’d be able to understand it even if he did.

* “It’s-it’s positive. Jumin it’s-if this is right then I’m pregnant” she looked up to him, eyes welling up with tears. Jumin sighed, unable to contain a smile from forming on his own lips as he wiped away MC’s tears, holding her face in his palms.

* “We’ll book an appointment with a gynecologist first thing tomorrow, but if it’s true then...MC, I’m happy. I truly am.” He said, knocking his forehead with hers. 

* She let go of the test, put her hands around his back, feeling the soft shake of his body as he took in the new information. It was a shock to them both, but together, they’d be able to prepare for it. However...

* “Jumin...? Are you truly happy?”

* He leaned back, smiling down at her. “If I were the same person I was before I met you-before I fell in love with you...I wouldn’t be. Then again, I never would’ve been in this predicament if that were the case, but regardless, back then I would’ve worried that the woman coming to me with a child of mine would seek out only money and fame, not to give the child the love and nurturing it needs to grow up well and safe.”

* He let his eyes flutter shut, opened them again as he looked on, shakily bringing a hand down to MC’s abdomen. 

* “With you....with you I know it’s a child that’ll grow up loved, cared for. We’ll raise them together, and they’ll get to grow up as a child, not as a tool. That’s...that’s all I want for our child. To grow up loved, happy.”

* So...yeah. He’ll be scared, and boy oh boy the first time MC gives him his child to hold he’ll be so scared but also so happy I think it’ll be the first time Jumin Han will cry with joy, but overall? He’ll be one dang great father

SEVEN/LUCIEL/SAEYOUNG:

* Let’s assume that this all happens well after he finds his brother and leaves the agency-he’s still a hacker, but a ‘white hacker’ or whatever it is they’re called, often-times collaborating with C&R to strengthen their online security, doing hacking tests e.t.c. 

* He’s in a good place, his bond with Saeran is slowly improving, and his love for MC is constantly growing, so the two have had the time to talk about their plans for the future, about what they want and the relative timelines.

* Saeyoung always wanted a family-that much we’re all aware of. But...he never expected he’d be allowed to have one. Now that he’s given the opportunity to start anew he’s excited, but also terrified, waiting for something bad to come right round the corner and take it all away. So to now become a father...he’s not sure how well he’ll handle that responsibility.

* Well, he shares these fears one late night with MC, which...makes it all the harder for her to tell him when the tell-tale signs come up. When her period’s late, when it’s completely gone for one, then two months. When she feels sick in the mornings, nauseous and bloated, why she makes excuses for her odd behavior much to Saeyoung’s dismay.

* In fact, it’s actually Saeran that notices what’s up, quickly putting two and two together since he’s not the one MC is actively trying to avoid. 

* He confronted her about it, and she broke down, explained it all to him, how she’s done more than a few pharmacy tests to confirm her suspicion and they all came back positive, what Saeyoung had told her and why she feels terrified of telling him the truth.

* And Saeran...well, he’s dumbfounded.

* “You...are you really that stupid?” he asks, brows raised. MC can’t help it-even though she was crying whilst speaking to him, her tears stop at the sudden proclamation and she looks up at him wide-eyed. 

* “Listen, I know my brother’s an air-head and all, but do you really think that little of him? That he wouldn’t be over the fucking moon if you told him he’s gonna become a dad?”

* Well......talk about perfect timing, who happened to come back home and walk into the living room at the perfect moment to hear this very last bit of the conversation?

* Yup of course Saeyoung stood there, his keys dropped to the floor as he stared at his twin and his girlfriend, confusion and shock evident on his face.

* None of them spoke for a long moment whilst Saeyoung composed his thoughts.

* Then, with perfect calamity he simply took a deep breath, let his eyes fall shut. “Saeran, can you leave for a bit? I need to speak with MC.”

* Saeran merely nodded, throwing an apologetic look MC’s way before heading out the door, the loud thud alerting MC and Saeyoung to the fact that they were now the only two people in the house.

* The silence was deafening, constricting MC’s lungs like a monster’s tentacles around a shipwreck. 

* “Sae-listen, I’m sorry, I should’ve told you sooner, I didn’t know how to and I-”

* She didn’t get to finish her words. Saeyoung held a palm up, motioning for her to stop. “How far along are you?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, breaths raspy and shaky.

* “...about 8 weeks now” she admitted. 

* Saeyoung took a step closer to her, crumpled onto his knees as he wrapped his hands across her belly.

* “I’m-I’m going to be a dad” he whispered, mainly to himself, a declaration to make himself believe it, “and all I’ve done so far is make you worry-MC, I’m so sorry. I should’ve never, never made you feel like there was anything you couldn’t talk to me about. I’m-I’m worried. I’m terrified but I’m so happy-so, so happy” he mumbled the last words into the fabric of her shirt, hiding his tears on her body.

* MC wrapped her arms around her, stroked his hair as he cried. They eventually found themselves laying side by side on the carpet like a pair of teens wasted at a house party, holding hands as they stared up at the ceeling.

* “...Do you think they’ll be twins?” Saeyoung joked, relishing in the small huff of laughter elicited from MC.

* “I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle another pair of twins in this household” MC teased back, “that’s like...quadruple the amount of pranks” she shrugged.

* They stared at the peels on the paint, content in the silence before Saeyoung propped himself up on his elbows, turning to his side so he could rest a hand on MC’s abdomen.

* “Think it-they-whatever, think our child can hear me?” he asked, trying his best to hide the creeping blush blooming up his neck.

* MC hummed. “I’m not sure”, she admitted, “but I think you should try and speak to them regardless.”

* Saeyoung nodded, taking a moment to compose himself. “Hey baby. Or babies. Or whoever it is in there” he laughed, “um, this-this is your dad. Don’t confuse me with your uncle, otherwise I’ll be super sad okay?!” He rolled his eyes as MC’s belly shook with laughter, waiting for her to calm down before he continued.

* “Listen...I’ve always dreamed of being a dad, and of having a big happy family. I’d tell my brother-that’s your uncle, I’d tell him every day when we were young that when we grow up we’ll live together in a biig house, and we’ll have a toy factory together, and I’ll have a direct line to Santa Claus so I could help him provide gifts to all the kids in the world-and that I’d have my own big family, and that my kids would always get any toy they want, and if that toy didn’t exist, then I’d make it for them. And...and I’ll do that for you too. So if there’s anything you want, start thinking about it, and I’ll make it for you. Anything.”

* He smiled, stroked his thumb across MC’s belly. “I need you to know I love your mom very very much. If she wasn’t here, I don’t think I’d ever be able to dream of having a family and being a dad again. So...so you should know she’s an amazing person, and that I’ll forever be grateful she stumbled into my life, and that she chose me out of everyone else out there.”

* He looked to MC, leaned back down to knock his forehead across hers.

* “Thank you”, he whispered, “thank you for the best gift I could’ve ever asked for”.

V/JIHYUN:

* This happened after the two had adopted Lucy. Their daughter was a bundle of joy, an angel that brought so much happiness to their daily life, that Jihyun could barely even remember the horrors of his past.

* Even if he were to ocassionaly have a nightmare or remember a horrible memory, MC would be there to hold his hand, or Lucy would be there with her big smile and tight hugs, the two chasing all the bad things away.

* Lucy was also equally happy, absoloutely adoring her parents and her uncles and aunt of the RFA-there was only one tiiiny complaint she had...

* “Mommy, daddy? Can I have a baby brother or sister to play with? Pleaaase?” she’d ask, sweetly blinking those big blue eyes of hers as if she was asking for a new toy or a candy, ignoring the awkward looks her parents shared trying to think of how to explain to her that they can’t just...bring a baby sibling to her on demand.

* This led to an awkward talk of the different ways babies come into a family; from the belly into the world, and then into the arms of a loving mom and dad, be it biological or not. Luckily, Lucy never seemed upset about being adopted; the two always worried wether it was right to tell her from such an early age, but Jihyun prided honesty above all else, so the two decided to ease her into the topic, making sure to shower her with love and affection so she’d know that how she came to be their daughter didn’t matter to them at all-they were just happy to have her in their lives.

* But lo and behold; her wish really did come true.

* One day Jihyun and Lucy were in the back garden playing with watercolours, making the white t-shirts they were both wearing a swirling mixtrue of colours. As Jihyun came back inside to wash up, he found MC in their bedrooms’ bathroom, holding something in one hand, the other covering her mouth as if in shock.

* “MC...? What’s wrong, is everything alright?”

* She turned to him, eyes teared up which only added to his worry as he looked down to her hands, finally noticing the stick she was holding.

* Slowly, he put two and two together, his brows raising. “You-this is....are you..?”

* MC nodded, biting her lip as Jihyun gasped, laughed, a quiet huff at first before he burst into a full laughter, tears welling at his eyes as he gripped MC by the waist and swirled her around, holding her tight. 

* Lucy walked into their bedroom at that very moment, peering in curiously at the commotion. “I wanna lift too! Me too!” she giggled, running to her dad with her arms extended. 

* Gleefully Jihyun picked her up, bringing both her and MC close for a family group hug. 

* “Lucy, honey, you said you wanted a baby brother or sister right?” MC asked, stroking her daughter’s hair as Jihyun held her up to their eye level. Lucy nodded furiously, her cheeks red, eyes gleaming.

* “Do you still want one now?” MC continued, biting her lip to stop from smiling. Lucy nodded again. “Yes!! Yes, I do, I want one! And I want to help them drink their milk and put them to bed when they have bad dreams. And when they grow up we’ll play together all the time!” she beamed, Jihyun hiding his grin into her hair as MC nodded along to her daughter’s words.

* “Well baby, you’ll get a sibling soon. Mommy has a baby right here” Jihyun explained, bringing a hand to touch MC’s abdomen, “and when they’re born you’ll be a big sister!”

* Lucy was in awe, staring at her mom’s belly like it was made of gold. “There’s a baby in there?!” she pointed, looking incredulously to her parents. 

* Jihyun nodded, gently leaning down to let Lucy back on the ground. “They’re still very very small”, MC began to explain, “but as they grow you’ll even be able to feel them kick and move”.

* Suffice to say, everyone in their little family was thrilled at the news. Jihyun was worried, ever a worry-rat even when Lucy was a baby, but Lucy was already preparing to be a big sister, insisting on coming along with her parents at every doctor’s visit, asking the doctors a dozen questions each time. 

* As the baby grew and MC’s pregnancy got heavier, she could see the worry plaguing Jihyun, a concern he refused to voice. But MC was no fool-she could tell what it is he was thinking.

* “You know”, she told him one night, as she rested her hands on her growing baby bump, “I wish they’ll have your eyes-that gentle gaze of yours, it’ll be really nice if they inherit it from you.”

* Jihyun sighed at her words, turning on his side to bring a hand over her belly. “I don’t...MC, you know what I fear. I don’t want them to be anything like me I don’t-I don’t want them to go through anything remotely similar to what I did, to be anything like me, like I was, like I still am if I stop trying to change-I want them to have a good life. Them and Lucy..I want them to be happy.”

* MC pouted, gripping Jihyun’s hand, interlacing it with hers. “What you went through didn’t happen because of who you were, only because of the circumstances you were put under. You’re kind-hearted, self-less, caring and gentle, and yes, you put others above yourself and are quick to carry all the burden even when there’s others around you willing to lessen the load. But none of those are bad qualities Jihyun. And improving yourself isn’t a goal-directed process, it’s an open-ended journey. I hope our kids grow up to be like you.”

* Suffice to say, Jihyun was floored. MC had read him like a book, and he knew that, even if he initially didn’t want to admit it. Eventually he laughed, shaking his head. “I love you, you know that?”

* MC rolled her eyes.

* “I sure hope so”, she teased.

I went a ~little~ overboard with these but listen I’ve been doing ObGyn work for nearly a month now so it had to serve as inspiration somehow hehe

-send me mystic messenger headcanons for character(s) reactions!-

[trashytummiez]

Pizza Pals

This is based off of a request from @horriblehooter to have Harley and Killer Croc eating together.  It sounds like a cute idea so I wanted to try it out. 

“And that’s another reason why I love workin’ with ya, Croc!  When I forget my baseball bat during a caper?  You just waltz in’n threaten to eat the bank manager!  Think the guy even peed himself a lil!”  Harley rambled happily at a job well done while skipping through a damp, underground living quarters.  It was dark and eerie, like a serial killers cavern.  It didn’t stop Harley from humming a chipper and off key tune.

That was because the chamber was home to one Killer Croc, who was slowly stomping heavily behind Harley with his thick, scaly arms carrying dozens of duffel bags full of cash.  The giant reptile dropped all of them onto the ground carelessly with a heavy thud then grunted contently.  He scratched at his muscular stomach from under his dirty tanktop when it grumbled loudly.  

“Should’a taken a bite outta the security guard.  I’m starvin’,” Croc growled in his deep beastly voice.

“Yeah, but guys taste yucky!  How do ya feel about pizza?”  Harley asked as if Killer Croc wanting to eat people was as normal as someone talking about the weather.

Croc shrugged.  “Pizza’s cool, I guess.”

“Yaaay!  Pizza Party!!”  Harley cheered which made Croc roll his eyes.

There wasn’t any good reception in Killer Croc’s lair, so the two decided to go order their food in-person.  Croc’s presence alone was enough to ensure the speediest service money could buy.  And money did actually buy the three dozen pizzas hastily cooked at Luigi’s Oven.  After all, it was Harley’s favorite pizza joint in all of Gotham City.  She couldn’t stand the idea of leaving such great chefs high and dry.  Not if she wanted to keep being a frequent customer.  Thankfully, they had quite a bit of spare change to satisfy Luigi and his crew, even if she had to remind Croc not to eat anyone while they were there.

They eventually returned to Croc’s lair and once again, Croc was left carrying every single pizza himself.  Some may have gotten a little messed up during the trip back, but he didn’t mind.  The reptile had an old couch in the middle of his compound which creaked under his enormously heavy frame.  Harley just plopped her butt happily onto the couch next to her huge friend and practically started drooling when she saw so many pizza boxes just staring her in the face.

“Ooooohhhh so much Luigi’s, so little time...” Harley said like she was in a trance.  

Killer Croc also licked his rows and rows of sharp fangs hungrily.  Then he tore a box open and grabbed the entire extra large pizza.  He folded the thing in half like a massive sandwich and shoved the whole thing right into his jaws.  Harley whistled when she watched Croc sloppily chew on an entire pizza and giggled when his scaly cheeks bulged a little.  Then, the reptile gulped heartily and sent that pizza rippling through his gullet.  Croc smacked his chops contently and grabbed another pizza.

Harley was no slouch either.  She cracked open her first box and greedily chomped into that extra cheesy, slightly messy slice of pizza with glee.  She always loved that first warm, gooey bite of Luigi’s pizza.  And even in a damp, underground cavern, today was no exception.  Once that bite slid down her throat, she got to work scarfing the rest of it down and got to work chomping away on more slices.

Croc looked down to see his friend stuffing her face more than any human he’d ever known and grinned.  It was just one of many reasons why he always enjoyed Harley Quinn’s company in ways few villains did.  It helped that she wasn’t getting grossed out by seeing Croc wolf down entire pizzas all at once, just like he was in the middle of doing.  Guess it was to be expected, she’d seen Killer Croc ravage a lot worse than pizza when on jobs together.  When Croc swallowed that second pizza, his neck expanded when that incredibly thick glob of food big enough to satisfy a dozen people pushed down his throat and into his stomach with a slick ripple.  Croc sighed and rubbed his stomach contently.  Because he was so abnormally big, two entire pizzas barely put a dent on his gut.

But by the time Harley was done with her first pizza, her own stomach was looking a little bloated.  She always wore a crop top under her leather costume, and that always showcased the extent her gorging impacted her constantly exposed midsection.  With so many pizzas around her at once, she got a little overwhelmed and eagerly started tearing through her next Italian Pie.  Harley was wolfing down one slice after another, taking impossibly big bites and swallowing sizable mouthfuls of pizza that her slender throat bobbed visibly with each gulp she took.

It was nothing compared to Killer Croc literally downing one entire pizza after another.  He already had a little stack of empty pizza boxes forming near his side of the couch.  And because he ate so many pizzas so quickly, it was starting to have an impact.  Those rock hard scaly abs Killer Croc had were softening into a bit of a scaly beer belly the more Croc stuffed himself.  He was eating so much that his scaly stomach was becoming visible from underneath his tanktop.  But because Croc was a carnivorous reptile, he kept going without slowing down at all.  

Harley kept eating too, even as her own belly grew larger and larger with every slice she horked down.  She was getting so full that her belly was starting to gurgle loud enough that Croc could hear it.  After swallowing another whole pizza, he slurped heavily and looked down at the bloated, petite young woman.  “Gettin’ full there, Quinn?”

Her cheeks were bulging with pizza.  She held up a finger and swallowed heavily, working a big mouthful down her slender throat and past her perky chest.  She leaned back against the couch and rubbed her bulging stomach as it grumbled deeply.  “Ungh, naw, just feels like I need to BUUUUUUUURRRRPPP!!!!”

Harley sat up suddenly when a large burp erupted from her unexpectedly.  Not only that, but she literally burped out the word ‘burp’ itself.

Croc laughed.  “Nice.”

Harley sighed with relief and pat her stomach before giggling.  “Thanks!  I can burp the alphabet too, if ya wanna see.”  She sat up with concentration and subtly gulped down some air, which made her throat bob until she opened her mouth to push the air back up.  “...AYY...b-BEEE......CEEEEE-URRRPP!!  Gah...”

Croc laughed again when Harley burped out the first three letters.  It was a gross but impressive stunt.  Harley huffed then said, “What comes after C again?”

“D fer dumbass,” Croc replied.

Harley pouted then punched Croc’s arm, not wanting to admit it hurt her a lot more than it did him.  “Jerk!  I’ll have ya know I have a Ph-DEEEEEE!!!!”

At that unexpected belch, Croc laughed even harder while Harley smacked her lips and giggled herself.  

She totally meant to do that.

The two continued stuffing their faces with pizza, steadily getting more and more bloated with every slice, or in Killer Croc’s case, every pizza pie.  Harley ate an impressive amount of pizza in such a short outing, but her little pot belly wasn’t so little after a while.  Even Croc’s own belly was getting so big that his shirt couldn’t even cover his scaly stomach anymore, now riding up around his belly button.  And if Harley’s stomach was getting noisy, then Croc’s bloated gut was twice as loud the way it intensely churned and bubbled from so much greasy pizza eaten all at once.  Like Harley, Killer Croc occasionally burped to ease some of the pressure in his gut; his being much louder than Harley’s, but with how much he was eating, it wasn’t doing a lot of good quieting his stomach down.

By the time they were done, both Harley and Croc were lazily slumped back against the couch, sporting enormously round bellies.  Harley looked as if she were almost pregnant with how utterly full of pizza she was.  And Killer Croc looked as if he had swallowed a giant medicine ball.  Their bellies gurgled and churned intensely, Croc’s stomach far more so than Harley’s.

“Unnngh, m’so full...” Harley groaned wearily while she rubbed her achingly bloated belly all over.

Killer Croc let out a huge burp that echoed all throughout the underground then sighed as he patted his belly.  “Guh, yer tellin’ me.  I ain’t been this full since that job we did at Falcone’s construction site.”

Harley couldn’t help but let out a massive, incredibly unladylike burp of her own that didn’t come close to Croc’s, but would’ve easily won any contests against normal humans.  She sighed with relief and patted her own round belly then hiccuped when the contents in her stomach sloshed from the pat.  “Oooh, needed that,” Harley moaned then grinned lazily back at Croc with a nod.  “I remember that one.  Ya ate the foreman, didn’tcha?”

Croc belched deeply again and nodded.  “Yup.  He was a fat one too.  Butterball took forever to digest properly.”

“Well, yer a growin’ lizard, ya need the calories!”

Killer Croc gave Harley a bored look then rolled his reptilian eyes.  “Least ya ain’t callin’ me a gator.”

He reached down and fumbled with his belt, but it was a little hard with his enormously round belly getting in the way.  But he eventually managed it and unbuckled the belt to his old pants.  As soon as he did, his engorged stomach expanded even more which made Croc slump back and moan heavily.  

“OoooooooOOOOooooh man, that’s better...” Killer Croc moaned in a near-daze.

“Smart thinkin’!”  Harley said, fumbling with her own leather pants.  She leaned back while her big belly stuck out even more, like a child fumbling to tie their shoelaces.  It was actually funny to watch her struggle, making Killer Croc snicker a little childishly at her efforts.  He was about to offer to help after a while, but she just barely managed to pull it off.

Like Croc, the second her belt and pants button were undone, her immensely bloated stomach expanded to fill the space, unzipping her pants in the process.  Harley went cross-eyed and groaned blissfully when she spilled into the couch with dazed relief.

“Holy crap, that’s like Christmas and Hanukkah got busy’n had a Holiday Baby...”

Both villains eased with relief, weighed down by their bloated guts.  And in unison, both Harley Quinn and Killer Croc threw their heads back and let out a pair of giant burps at the exact same time, with Croc’s easily dwarfing Harley’s and carrying on for even longer after hers ended.  Then they sighed heartily.

“Oooohhh Mama Mia...if Red could see me now...” Harley moaned, slowly running her hands up and down her rounded belly.  Croc raised a scaly brow and turned to his friend intrigued while massaging his own bloated belly lazily.  Harley giggled wearily and explained.  “She loves seein’ me get all super duper stuffed’n burpy, feeds me a bunch all the time.  I don’t mind though.  I love food and I love all the attention she gives my tummy.”

Croc snorted.  “Kinky weirdos.”

“Hey!  No kinkshamin’, ya big fat jerk!”  Harley replied, punching Croc right in his belly, which, yet again, hurt like hell, since he ate so much that it felt like punching solid rock.  But it was hard enough to make Croc burp loudly again in response.  

Croc smacked his lips afterwards and shrugged.  “So, how’re things goin’ fer you’n Ivy anyway?”

“They’ve been good!  She’s always been a buncha fun t’hang out with, she’s got great taste in TV shows and she’s just so honest.  Not like Mister Jay at all.  What’cha see with Red is what’cha get,” Harley explained with a fondness in her voice.

Killer Croc grinned when he saw how content she seemed to be with her new girlfriend.  He may have been a carnivorous reptilian monster, but when it came to his friends, he always wanted whatever was best for them; whatever made them genuinely happy.

Harley perked up and nudged Croc.  “Ooh!  How’ve things with blubber butt been goin’?”

Croc’s smile dropped instantly.  “A; only I get to call her that.  And B; they’re...they’re alright.”  The giant scaly monster looked away almost timidly as he scratched his bulging gut.  “Ain’t used to havin’ a girlfriend, but...she gets me.”

Harley beamed and hugged Croc’s arm.  “Eeeeeey!  That means we get to double date sometime!!”

Croc snorted.  “Quinn, between you, me’n Orca, if we ever went to a restaurant, someone might literally die tryin’ to make all that food.”

“Maybe he was a jerk!  And that way, you can eat him after fer dessert!”

Croc laughed and licked his lips.  “I knew there was a reason we were friends...”

[finleyfray]

Bittersweet Memories

Part 2

Part 3

Huge thanks to @captain-josslett for helping me with English and making this have more sense

TW: smut(ish) just a little, some angst, laguage, think that’s all!

Finley struggles to open the door to their apartment. She was tired and her head was hurting so much. She just wants to snuggle with her girlfriends and fall asleep.

“Hey.” Fin looks over and sees Alex walking towards her and embraces her in a hug. “You look like crap.” Fin rests her head on Alex's chest and chuckles.

“Thanks darling, I’m happy to see you too. Is Maggie home yet?” She yawns and Alex leads her to the couch. “I have a killing headache.” Fin sits on Alex and rests her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“She’s picking up some food. Did you take your migraine medicine today?” The redhead asks Fin with a stern look on her face.

“Shoot, I forgot.” The black haired woman whines.

“Here we go again.” Alex sighs. “Did you drink water today? Eat anything?”

“Oh come on, don’t harass me like that. Of course I did drink and eat... we had breakfast, didn’t we?”

“That was yesterday, Finley, this morning you woke up too late and ran off to work. Making a huge mess. Leaving your clothes on the floor. And your wet towel in the bathroom on my clothes. I swear to God, how much water did you drink?” Alex scoffs.

“Well...I didn’t see your clothes, I’m sorry. I didn’t drink water... but I’ve had coffee! And a can of Monster! Or two…” Suddenly her girlfriend stands up, resulting in Fin falling off of her. “Ouch! That hurt.”

“That’s not... I swear I’m going crazy with you!” They hear the door open and Maggie coming into the living room looking at them.

“What are you yelling about?” She frowns and looks at Alex, who looks angrily at Fin. “Maggie, I’m glad you’re here.” The redhead says with a smile. “See, our girlfriend here was wondering why her head hurts so much! Fin, care to tell Maggie how you took your medicine this morning, drank plenty of water and ate three meals?” Her voice is full of sarcasm and Finley curses mentally.

“Oh come on. I’m going to eat now, and drink water and take meds, I swear I just forgot!” She tries to defend herself, but Maggie already looks at her with her stern mother look. “Don’t be mad at me.” Fin puts on her puppy face. “Pwaaseee.” She pouts.

“No, no, don’t give me this face, you know the deal. How can you forget to take care of yourself almost every day?!” Maggie growls flustered. “These are literally the basic things in life. You have to eat, and you have to drink water to survive, and you know after that mission where you hurt your head pretty bad, that you have to take your migraine medicine, otherwise you’ll be in pain. And you should remember it, how you keep forgetting to take care of yourself is beyond me.”

“I don’t know...” Finley looks down, because she did know. She wasn’t taught how to take care of herself. In the orphanage they didn’t care if the kids ate something, they didn’t care if they had something to drink, or walked around in dirty, damaged clothes.

So Fin learnt how to go days without eating, only drinking some sink water. It was normal for Fin. So she grew up, was then thrown out on her 18th birthday, and went to college. She didn’t think of that either. Having not enough money to eat every day, or buy new clothes, having to survive on minimum wage that she was earning with her job. It was hard to manage to study and work 16 hours a day, but she had to stay positive. So when Finley started working in the DEO and earning so much money, she decided she had to save it. Save it in case something goes wrong and she loses her job. But, this drove her girlfriends insane. How she couldn’t do the basic thing, like putting her dirty clothes away. How every time she tried to make laundry, it went wrong on some level. She’d mix dark clothes with white. Sometimes she forgot to add laundry detergent. Or she forgot she put the washing machine on but forgot to dry it. So the clothes stayed there until Alex or Maggie saw it. Finley really tries, she does, but it just escapes her mind every time.

“I’m sorry.” Fin sighs, she wasn’t going to tell them, she doesn't want their pity “I guess I’m just getting distracted.” Maggie scoffs, but goes to hug their girlfriend anyway. Soon Alex joins and they stay together for a bit.

“I did buy dinner, so let’s get you some food, and water, then you’ll take your medicine and we can go to bed.” Maggie kisses her softly and Finley smiles into the kiss.

***

Later as they were in bed, after eating and showering, Finley lay on top of Alex while Maggie was still in the shower.

“Are you still mad at me?” Fin asks, looking in her girlfriend’s brown eyes.

“I’m not mad Finnie.” Alex sighs cupping Fin's cheek. “I was frustrated, of course, I will still be when you do this. But I’m not mad.” She kisses Finley softly, her other hand going to Finley’s back holding her close. The blue-eyed woman sighs happily and wiggles on top of Alex to get more comfortable.

“Fin...” Alex breathes heavily “Stop moving.”

“Why, does it bother you?” Finley smiled devilishly, pressing her leg against Alex’s core and moving her hips. The redhead kisses her girlfriend hard and bends her leg so it was now against Finley too. The shorter woman moans at the sudden pressure, and moves her hips faster.

“Oh, I see you’re better.” Maggie stands there watching her girlfriends making out and humping each other for a few minutes. “So I’m glad I decided not to put any clothes on.” Her girlfriend’s stop and looks at her. Maggie's hair was still wet from the shower, and she only had her towel on. “Can you two just be naked already?” She drops her towel on the floor. “That was quite a nice show you did for me. But, I’m afraid I need to cuff both of you for breaking the rules.”

“B… But... “Alex’s face was almost as red as her hair “We didn’t… We still have all clothes on! We didn’t had sex without you!” She looked at Finley, who already had taken all of her clothes off, she sure was ready. “You’re such a bottom!” Alex scoffs, sure the black-haired woman was so ready for Maggie to cuff her, but Alex tried hard to remain her tough face.

“Agent Danvers, I’m afraid I insist.” Maggie smirks at her redheaded girlfriend, swaying her hips as she approaches the bed.

***

Finley yawns as she opens her eyes and looks at the sleeping face of her girlfriend. The redhead was snoring lightly and she looked so peaceful and cute. Fin snuggles closer and rests her head on her girlfriend's chest.

She knew Maggie had already left for work, feeling a cold spot behind her. The blue-eyed woman was tired after all the fun they had yesterday and didn’t want to get up.

“Shouldn’t you be training rookies at work today?” Alex’s sleepy voice asks. Fin gasps as she realises that the redhead is right, she springs from her bed and looks at the clock.

“Ohhhh shit, J’onn is going to kill me!” She quickly undresses by dropping her clothes on the floor and goes for a quick shower. As fast as she can she dries herself and drops the wet towel on the floor, puts on her combat clothes and runs to work.

It was no fun being at work without Alex, but her girlfriend deserved a day off. They were supposed to have lunch together, but after some robbery that Kara helped Maggie take care of, the blonde informs Fin that her girlfriends can’t make it, so the black-haired woman takes care of all her paperwork that is due soon, and heads to the DEO gym to train a bit.

Finley was getting tired from all the punches and running, so she decided to stop and go take a shower. Suddenly she sees a blur and her girlfriend’s sister stands before her.

“Kara, hey, something wrong?” Finley asks as the blonde frowns and looks at her.

“Ohhhh shit. I forgot, I left my phone at home this morning. What’s the time?” Fin facepalms and looks at Kara.

“Well Alex asked me to look for you, cause you didn’t answer your phone. You do know what time it is?”

“Where the fuck have you been!? We tried to call you thousands of times, why didn’t you answer!?” Maggie tries to stay calm, but her voice is full of anger.

“It’s 10:30, and your girlfriends are going crazy, come on.” She lifts the black-haired woman and speeds her home.

“Thanks Kar.” Finley sighs and opens the door quietly. It doesn’t really help her as she sees Maggie and Alex in the hall waiting for her.

“I’m sorry! I was in such a rush this morning, I forgot my phone! And I went to work out after sitting down doing paperwork and the time just flew.” Finley tries to calm her girlfriends, but she clearly saw that they were beyond pissed.

They turn and go to the living room, and Fin follows them waiting for their forgiveness. Alex sits on the couch and drinks the rest of her whiskey.

“Guys, come on, I’m sorry, you know I just forgot-”

“That’s it, that’s exactly it! You always forget. Forget to eat, to drink water, to take your medicine. You forget to put your clothes away, forget to do the laundry, forget to go to sleep! Forget to take your phone, to let us know you’ll be late, to let us know you’re okay! Forget to do the groceries, forget to buy some new clothes, to put your towel away instead of dropping it on the floor!” Alex was standing now waving her hands angrily. “Well maybe you got that from your parents, seeing as they forgot you at the orphanage!”

Finley blinks as Alex suddenly goes silent. Her blue eyes are suddenly wet and she turns around and rushes out of their apartment.

 ***

Maggie looks at Alex in shock. She can’t believe her ears. Alex did not just say that.

“Danvers, what the fuck was that!?” Maggie rushes to the door to follow Finley, and stop her, they need to talk, this is not a good situation. But as soon as she’s outside, Finley is gone, there is no sign of her. She goes back to their apartment and searches for her keys.

“Why are you just standing there like that?! Do you realise what you’ve just done?! That was way too low, I can’t believe you just said that!” Maggie yells at her girlfriend, she was beyond mad. Yes, Fin drives her crazy sometimes, but that doesn’t explain Alex’s behaviour.

“I... I didn’t mean that! It just slipped!” Alex tries to explain herself, but her mind is still processing what just happened. “I didn’t want to say that, I’m sorry!”

“It’s not me you need to apologise to. It’s her, but guess what, she’s gone! And we need to find her, and you really need to try hard, because that, Alex, that was just unbelievable.”

“Where do you think she went?” Alex asked, trying to calm down her nerves. Her mind repeats the words she just said and Alex realises how awful she’d been. But she really didn’t mean to, she wasn’t thinking at the moment, her mouth just shot out the words on its own.

When Maggie and Alex started dating Finley, the younger woman never said anything about her family. Of course the first one she met, outside of them, was Alex's younger sister. With it being autumn, and thanksgiving, she soon met Eliza and Maggie aunt Vivian. And she saw how Fin was in awe seeing how both women cared for their children. When Alex and Maggie asked her about it, she told them that she had spent most of her life in an orphanage, but refused to say any more. So they agreed they’ll just wait till Finley is ready and tell them on her own. This was 2 years ago, but Finley still hadn’t talked to them about it.

And now Alex fucked up, and told her girlfriend, an orphan, that her parents forgot about her. She isn’t sure how Finley is ever going to forgive her. Hell she doesn’t even know if she can forgive herself. Maggie looks at her, and Alex realises that she failed her too. Sure, the shorter woman tries not to give away her anger, but she sees her eyes, and the Detective is really mad at her.

“I don’t know, she doesn’t really have any friends... Kara? No, that would be too oblivious, she probably doesn't want us to find her now, she wouldn’t go there... You think she would go to any of our friends?” Maggie took a deep breath trying to calm herself enough to think clearly.

“No, I don’t think so. She can’t be that far, she just left. You think she went to a motel?”

“No, she hates spending her money. Doesn’t DEO have sleeping quarters?” Maggie asked.

“Yeah... it does...” Alex begins but her phone rings, she answers it “Danvers... Yes, we'll be coming in now.” She ends the call, and looks at Maggie “There’s an emergency at the DEO, your unit has been informed, J’onn said to bring you along.”

“Shit, alright. You’re good to go?” Maggie looks at her girlfriend, remembering Alex had been drinking earlier.

“I’ll be good, you drive.”

 ***

Finley walked to the DEO, trying hard to wipe her tears away. She didn’t want others to see her crying, that would be humiliating, but she couldn’t stop it.

Her mind kept repeating Alex’s words, she was not prepared for a woman she loves to hurt her like that. Why would she, she trusted them with her whole heart. Maybe that was her fault, maybe she should have kept that in mind. By now she would know that everyone in her life ended up hurting her.

It was like every time she was happy, it all came crashing down around her. She remembers the day she entered the orphanage for the first time, she was eight. There were so many kids there, just walking around, those kids were sad, but Fin? She was hopeful, she was actually happy that her father wasn’t there to hit her, she felt safe. But that feeling went away so fast, and her life was still a hell.

“Hey.” Fin jumps at J’onn voice. “You got here fast, where are your girlfriends? We have a debrief in five, we have to deal with this emergency quickly.”

Oh, so there is an emergency. That’s why he’s here. She nods and walks to the bathroom cleaning her face. Fin won’t let them all see her tears, she’s stronger than that. She enters the room and J’onn begins. Normally she would stand with her girlfriends but Fin hangs back.

“Cadmus is containing a shipment of hundreds of alien’s. We need to stop them. The NCPD unit is already informed, but it’ll take them a bit longer to arrive, so Detective Sawyer will go with you. Agent Danvers will be leading. Dismissed.” Finley avoids looking at her girlfriends, and walks as fast as she could to the armoury to prepare for the mission.

“Fin" Alex rushes after her.

“No!” Fin growls. “Right now I don’t have time for your bullshit Agent Danvers. We have a mission and that is my focus.” She didn’t mean to snap at Alex like that, but her sorrow was becoming her anger and she can’t be distracted. Distraction means slower reaction time, and that means injury or death. She wasn’t in the mood to die today.

 ***

The mission was going to plan and Fin kept up her professionalism. But with any mission, things can go wrong. It happened so fast, one second Fin is beating down a Cadmus agent when suddenly an explosion goes off above them. Finley hears the crack of concrete and looks up as a huge block of concrete starts breaking away. Right above Alex. Fin doesn’t think. Her only focus is on saving her girlfriend. Whatever it takes. So she sprints towards the redhead and pushes Alex as hard as she can out of the way. Fin falls to the ground as a huge bang fills the room. Fin tries to gasp when pain surges through her body.

“Fin!” Alex yells as she looks at her pinned girlfriend. She rushes over and is at Fin’s side in a second. “Why did you do that?!” Alex panics and tries to move the concrete to free her girlfriend, but it is too heavy. She looks at Finley, noticing that the concrete didn’t crush her whole. She allows herself to calm slightly. If her sister comes fast enough, it should be okay, Fin has a chance to survive. “Supergirl, come in, I need your help!” But she’s met with silence. “Supergirl! Maggie!?” Alex yells desperately.

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Maggie responds worriedly.

“I can’t reach Supergirl, we’ve had an accident, Finley is trapped!” She hears Maggie gasp.

“I’m coming!” Maggie yells and Alex focuses on Finley, trying to comfort her. Soon Maggie is by their side. Alex looks up at her scared girlfriend and sees her tears as Maggie tries to suppress a sob.

“Fin. Finley talk to me.” Maggie kneels beside their fallen girlfriend.

“Hurts.” Fin chokes out.

“Alex, we need to move it! It’s crushing her!” They try to push it as hard as they can. “It’s not moving! Supergirl, come in! Please…” Maggie begs but she too is met with silence. “Damn it!” she pushes the block again.

Alex sobs and goes to sit behind her girlfriend, placing Fin’s head in her lap and stroking her short hair gently. She listens to Maggie as she yells trying to reach Kara.

“Why would you do that? Risk your life for me?” Alex looks at Finley’s blue eyes, and gently strokes her cheek.

“I... I’ll always save you...” Finley smiles sadly. She can’t feel her leg anymore and she feels dizzy. She doesn’t regret saving Alex, she would do anything to keep her girlfriends safe. But it’s getting harder to stay awake, and Fin doesn’t have the energy to try anymore. She is tired, so tired, she really hopes they would be okay, even without her. “I love you both… So much…” Finley whispers and her eyes flutter close.

“No. No, don’t close your eyes. Come on, Finley, please. KARA, COME ON!”

[1-of-those-things]

Fanfic Master List (All Doctor Who)

OneOfThoseThings on AO3 

(Updated 8/19/21)

Doctor/Donna Standalone Fics

The Best of Times (Amnesiac Remix)

A mind-wiped Donna runs into Martha and gets some good old fashioned human help realizing her potential all over again. Word has gotten out through the twenty-seven planets she saved though, so there are a few more aliens following her around… including one very specific alien who really shouldn’t be there.

Ship: Tenth Doctor x Donna Noble

Also Featuring: Martha and Jack

The Noble Neverwere

A timey-wimey fantasy fic in which the TARDIS finds a way to keep Donna Noble, but has a little trouble with the details like anchoring her in time and space.

Canon-compliant in the sense that it's never been explicitly stated that there isn't a time-fluid echo of a certain ginger companion haunting the TARDIS.

Ship: Tenth Doctor x Donna Noble

Also Featuring: Missy and Twelve, with cameos by Ryan, Mickey, and Rory

Standalone Fics with Other Pairings 

The Volatile Nature of Binary Stars

A dark(er) AU in which the Master happens upon a mind-wiped Donna and gives her a little boost the rest of the way to full Time Lord status. Then they both return to the TARDIS and an unsuspecting Doctor.

Spoiler: Unlike most fix-its, in this one Donna is Not pleased that she was abandoned and does Not magically just get over that.

Ships: Doctor x Master (Simms) AND Doctor x Donna

The Beat Between Measures

A missing scene from Revolution of the Daleks, in which the Doctor and Jack get a proper reunion

Ship: Thirteenth Doctor x Jack

Universal Lost and Found

A fix-it in which Martha runs across a mind-wiped Donna and helps her (re)claim what the Universe owes her.

Ship: Donna x Martha 

Note: Doctor x Donna and Doctor x Martha are implied, but this one is a Donna x Martha fic

Polymorphism

The companion polycule fic you’ve all been waiting for. The TARDIS pulls her Bad Wolf through to a parallel world where she’s still travelling with the Doctor. And Martha. And Donna. And things are a bit friendlier this time around. 

Ship: Rose x Martha x Donna x Tenth Doctor 

Note: This is really Rose x Martha x Donna with the (arguably canonically Ace) Doctor not left out in the cold. It’s not even a little bit a harem fic.

Series 

Nice Things; Good Things 

A blatant canon divergence from Journey’s End where Donna just lets the metacrisis Doctor and Rose right back onto the TARDIS and then they all just go back to traveling together. Pretty soon after that, Jack gets added in and then it’s just the whole team enjoying themselves for once instead of having just endless tragedy for the sake of character building.

As the series goes on, it gets more and more polyamorous, but it’s set up so that each fic can be an acceptable stopping point so that anyone who isn’t on board can just hop off whenever they like and not have to deal with a bunch of unresolved cliffhangers.

Individual fics are carefully tagged (which makes for a hilariously long list of tags for the series, in case anyone is wondering.)

It Has Been 0 Days Since the Last Incident

The most standalone of all the fics in this series.

Ships: Eventual Doctor x Donna and Tentoo x Rose (in the background)

A New Path (Optional backstory for Jack getting added)

Doctor x Donna

Tentoo x Rose (in the background, leading to Tentoo x Rose x Jack)

A Series of Perfectly Reasonable Misunderstandings

Doctor x Donna

Tentoo x Rose x Jack

(Starting down the poly path)

Indisputably Well-Laid Plans

Doctor x Donna x Jack

Background Tentoo x Rose x Jack

A little light Tencest (as a treat)

Hints at pretty much every combination of these 5

Note: this fic also marks the shift into explicit ratings territory

Proper Communication

Donna x Rose

All Together Now

Ten x Tentoo x Donna x Rose x Jack

Too many subsets of that to bother writing out— just call it shamelessly poly

Modern Arts (and Crafts)

Ten x Tentoo x Donna x Rose x Jack

Just a full stop poly PWP

Standard Courtship Rituals

All 10 pairing subsets of Ten x Tentoo x Donna x Rose x Jack

10 ficlet-style dates

Interspecies Compatibility 

A series of semi-standalone, loosely-strung-together stories about the Doctor and Donna working through some of the many differences between humans and Time Lords.

This series tries not to actively contradict major canonical events. But a lot of liberties are taken around that.

Some of the stories are more or less crucial to the ‘plot,’ so the optional ones are handily marked ‘(Optional)’.

Ship: Doctor x Donna

Biological Specificity

A detailed lesson in Time Lord biology

Can be read as platonic, but only if one doesn’t keep reading this series

Acclimatization

Hard to call this one entirely platonic, but could be if one ignored alien cultural implications

Ecological Fitting

Probably not platonic unless you’re using an interesting definition of platonic

Symbiosis

Pretty solidly outside the boundaries of platonic here

Contact High (Optional)

A fun day out

Spandrel (Optional)

A casual day in

Synesthesia

This is where this goofy series starts to take a real turn toward shippy

Atavism

This is where the ratings should probably tick up

Exaptation (Optional)

An optional morning after

Coevolution

The obligatory Midnight fic

Survival Without Recovery

The fix and official end

Not particularly shippy

Lazarus Taxon (Optional)

An optional epilogue with a slightly less happy-go-lucky tone

Also Featuring: Cameos by Eleven, Twelve and finally Thirteen

Open to Interpretation

Less of a “series,” more of a “collection” of fics that are open to interpretation by the reader.

Platonic, shippy, ace-- you decide. 

Just Act Natural 

Donna gets the Doctor to Martha’s wedding. Shenanigans ensue.

There’s an optional sequel, “Compatible Lunacy” that is just straight up shippy. 

Interspecies Communication

The Doctor fails to read the room and Donna has to deal with it.

Originally written as part of Interspecies Compatibility, but it actually makes more sense as a cracky standalone.

Bathtime in B Sharp

Donna and the Doctor have to take a medicinal bath. Pointless fluff.

Cuddles in C Minor

A shag-or-die setup in which the aliens severely overestimate the Doctor’s mating drive and an indignant Donna gets a thorough cuddle.

Absolute Shameless Fluff

Compatible Lunacy

Optional sequel to “Just Act Natural.” 

Split into two parts because “Just Act Natural” could be read as platonic but “Compatible Lunacy” makes the whole thing more shippy

Ship: Platonic or Doctor x Donna (If you read “Compatible Lunacy”)

Tension in D Minor

Donna tries to get some alone time with someone with matching human urges. The Doctor takes it a bit personally.

Ship: Tenth Doctor x Donna Noble

Morning Cuddles 

Originally part of “Nice Things; Good Things” but it probably makes more sense as a little standalone cuddle ficlet.

Ship: Established Tenth Doctor x Donna Noble

Arguments That Did Not Go As Planned

Donna tries to train the Doctor, one argument at a time. 

Ship: Sort of Accidental Tenth Doctor x Donna Noble

(Moody) Gen

(It Breaks You Down) A Little Bit More Each Time

Five times Donna Noble died, in escalating degrees of severity. (Not actual death, but y’know.)

Collaborations

Aurous and Auriferous

Aurous is a Journey’s End fix-it in which the metacrisis Doctor has to save the Time Lord from himself (Written for the DW HopeZine prompt “Plastered in Gold”)

Auriferous is an optional (significantly less “Gen”) sequel for people who think Gen Fixits are all well and good, but want a little Tencest to round it out.

A collaboration with the insanely talented @denzikken and @fritzmetzger

Ship: Ten x Tentoo (mildly implied in Aurous, actively happening in Auriferous) Also some light background Donna x Rose (for flavor)

Special thanks to anyone who’s read, given kudos, and/or commented on anything I’ve put together! Lots of love to the whole fandom!

[pinktwingirl]

Loki Series Rewrite (AKA Loki Series But With Squirrel Girl) Ep 4

INT. TVA - DAY

Mobius and Ravonna are talking.

RAVONNA

Every moment those variants are out there, we're all in danger.

MOBIUS

I'm working on it; Doreen's locket is charging... It should be ready any second now-

Just then, an AGENT enters, holding the locket.

AGENT

Sir, we got a location.

MOBIUS

Well, there you go.

AGENT

He's on Lamentis-1, 2077. I can only assume she's there with him.

MOBIUS

That's not good... We need to get them, fast.

INT. TIME THEATER - DAY

After Loki and Sylvie are apprehended and Loki is stuck in the time loop, Mobius interrogates him in the time theater.

LOKI

You betrayed me!

MOBIUS

No, you betrayed me! You followed that variant when I explicitly told you not to, and now you're working with her?! 

LOKI

How did you find us?

MOBIUS

Oh, well, you can thank your friend Doreen for that. You know, she went through all the trouble of fixing it when it was broken just to find you.

Loki's eyes widen.

MOBIUS

You know, I have no idea why she bothers putting up with you. At first, I thought, "well, maybe, she's smart. Maybe she sees something in you that I don't." But now, I think maybe she's just being naïve and she's wasting her time and trust on someone who doesn't deserve it.

Loki grits his teeth.

MOBIUS

How long have you been working for the variant?

LOKI

Me? Working for her? Please.

MOBIUS

Okay, so, if you're not working for the variant, what is it? You're partners?

LOKI

Absolutely not. She's... difficult and... irritating, and... she tries to hit me all the time!

Mobius raises an eyebrow.

LOKI

No. Not partners, no.

MOBIUS

Yeah, I guess you don't do partners. Unless, of course, it benefits you and you intend to betray them at some point, like you'll probably do with Doreen.

LOKI

It was a means to an end, Mobius. Welcome to the real world. Down there, we're awful to one another to get what we want.

MOBIUS

And now I gotta have a prince tell me how the real world works? Look, if you're not gonna cooperate here, I'm just gonna have to send you back for another round in the time loop...

LOKI

Wh-No, wait! Wait, wait, wait.

He pauses for a moment, and Mobius sits back down.

LOKI

Of course it was me pulling the strings all along. 

(Beat)

She came to me on Asgard a long time ago... and then, she took me to one of her apocalypses... and that's where we hatched our plan together.

Mobius raises an eyebrow.

MOBIUS

Which is...?

LOKI

Coming along very nicely, thank you.

MOBIUS

And the variant?

LOKI

Doesn't matter. She's a pawn.

(Beat)

Something very, very big is going to happen, and when it does, I'll dispose of her.

MOBIUS

Well, we saved you the trouble there. She's already been pruned.

Loki's face falls.

MOBIUS

So, assume I do set you free. Does that-

LOKI

H-hang on, wait, what did you say?

(Beat)

MOBIUS

Assume I do set you free...

LOKI

The variant. She's gone?

MOBIUS

Yeah. Not before she took out two of ours. Yeah, she was going to her time cell, broke free, Hunter B-15 stepped in, popped her... So you might wanna fire off a thank-you note to Hunter B-15, because it looks like you're the... superior Loki. I would've bet on her, but... that's what makes a horse race.

Loki tries to look unaffected and shrugs.

LOKI

Good riddance.

After a pause, Mobius starts laughing, which irritates Loki.

LOKI

What? What's so funny?

MOBIUS

You know, for the god of mischief and lies, you really are a terrible liar.

LOKI

Is she alive?!

MOBIUS

Yes, she's alive. And I know that little story you told me was a lie too. So why don't we try this again, and you tell me the truth this time?

Loki clenches his jaw. 

INT. TVA HOLDING CELL - DAY

Doreen slowly regains consciousness, blinking a few times before taking in her surroundings. She notices she is still in her ballgown and bound to a chair with handcuffs. She tries to use her strength to break the handcuffs off, but Ravonna enters.

RAVONNA

Save your energy. If you break those handcuffs off, they'll just put themselves right back together.

Doreen glares at her. Ignoring her warning, she uses her strength to snap the handcuffs off, but, like Ravonna said, they put themselves back together on Doreen's hands.

RAVONNA

Told you.

DOREEN

What do you want?

RAVONNA

I want to know what you saw in those restricted files you accessed. And I also want to know why you're working with Loki. He's a murderer and a liar.

Doreen scoffs.

DOREEN

Yeah, that's rich, coming from you. You're lying to all these people about who they are, and they don't even know it.

RAVONNA

That's different. It's a necessary lie.

DOREEN

There are no "necessary lies," only ones that benefit you at the expense of others. These people had families! Real homes! And you took that from them!

RAVONNA

We are preventing the universe from falling into chaos.

DOREEN

And at what cost?

RAVONNA

(losing her temper)

Whatever cost is necessary!

(She pauses.)

You know, despite what you may think, I am trying to help you.

DOREEN

I don't need your "help."

RAVONNA

Really? So you would rather side with the man that nearly enslaved your entire planet?

DOREEN

That was the past. He's changed.

RAVONNA

You know, I would think that someone as smart as you would be able to tell when they're being taken advantage of.

DOREEN

You don't know Loki.

RAVONNA

On the contrary, Ms. Green, I know everything about Loki. Every variant of him - they're all the same. Destined to be a selfish, lying murderer from the day they're born to the day they die.

DOREEN

That's not your choice to make! The only ones who get to decide who we are, are ourselves.

RAVONNA

Not as long as the timekeepers are around. Free will is a poison that leads to chaos. Having a set path to keep everything in its place is the only way to keep life in the universe safe.

(Beat)

Look... You can still do the right thing here. All I'm asking you to do is help me stop these Loki variants. With your help, we can save all living beings from their reign of chaos. We aren't your enemies, Doreen! The universe needs us to protect it... for all time.

After a moment, a scornful smirk grows on Doreen's face.

DOREEN

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.

Ravonna glares at her. After a moment, she steps closer to Doreen.

RAVONNA

You wanna know what happens to you on the timeline?

Doreen's face falls.

RAVONNA

You'll spend the rest of your life hiding from people who either want to lock you in a prison or a lab cage. Did you really think running around stopping bank robberies was going to change how people see you? You're a mutant. A freak to the rest of the world. You will always be an outcast. 

Doreen clenches her jaw, blinking away tears as Ravonna leaves.

INT. RAVONNA'S OFFICE - DAY

Mobius is talking with Ravonna, growing more and more suspicious of her.

RAVONNA

Case closed.

(She and Mobius clink glasses of whiskey.)

Cheers.

MOBIUS

Cheers.

RAVONNA

To putting all of this behind us. Now we just need to take care of sending the mutant girl home.

MOBIUS

Oh, hey, where is she, by the way?

RAVONNA

Holding cell 15.

Mobius frowns.

MOBIUS

You put her in a holding cell? Why?

RAVONNA

She's an associate of the variant. She could be working with him.

MOBIUS

Yeah, but we don't know that! She helped us find him! I don't see why she should be punished for a crime she hasn't even committed yet.

RAVONNA

I'm not taking any risks on this one, Mobius.

Mobius gives her a suspicious glance.

INT. TVA HOLDING CELL - DAY

After Mobius is pruned and Loki is reunited with Sylvie, Ravonna forces them into Doreen's holding cell. Loki's eyes widen when he sees Doreen is being held by two agents with a time displacement collar around her neck.

LOKI

Doreen...

In a last-ditch attempt, Doreen tries once more to break her handcuffs off. One of the agents shocks her with an electric staff, and she screams in pain. Loki glares at Ravonna.

LOKI

You said you wouldn't hurt her!

RAVONNA

Consider this a taste of your own medicine. Your break your promise, I break mine.

The agents release Doreen, who collapses to the ground, now sobbing. Loki rushes over to her and helps her up.

DOREEN

(Crying)

Loki... M-Mobius... It's my f-fault he's dead... I couldn't stop them... He was... I c-couldn't...I should've...

LOKI

No, Doreen, look at me. It's not your fault.

DOREEN

I sh-should've stopped them... I-I...

Exhausted, she passes out.

RAVONNA

(to Loki and Sylvie)

Once the timekeepers are ready, they'll deal with you.

(She gives a passing glance to Doreen.)

And once she's had her memories of the TVA wiped, we'll send her back to the main timeline where she belongs.

Loki glares at her as she and the agents leave them and lock the cell.

We cut to later, where Loki and Sylvie are looking after Doreen, who is lying unconscious on a bench in the cell.

LOKI

It's been at least an hour... Do you think we should try waking her up?

SYLVIE

She just had 50,000 volts of power forced through her body; I think we can let her rest a little longer.

Loki looks down at Doreen, still concerned.

SYLVIE

If she's not a variant, why did she come here? Who is she?

(Beat)

LOKI

She's... a mortal. One of the kindest I've ever known.

(He gently tucks a strand of stray hair behind Doreen's ear.)

Ever since we met, she's made a point of looking after me.

(He lets out a light laugh.)

I can't, for the life of me, understand why. I assumed it was just out of the goodness of her heart... Or, perhaps, just pity...

He looks up and sees Sylvie studying him with a curious expression. Before he can ask why, Doreen begins to stir. 

DOREEN

Loki...?

He gently places a hand on her back as she starts to sit up. She glances at Sylvie, still regaining consciousness.

DOREEN

Oh, hey... Sorry I almost stabbed you in the face...

SYLVIE

Well, to be fair, I did kick you in the face, so I suppose we're even... Are you alright? Where'd you get the dress?

DOREEN

Oh... I had to go to Asgard to fix the locket. My clothes didn't exactly fit in, though, so I had to change.

LOKI

Well, that's why you should always rely on a genderfluid demigod to design your costumes. I know what works.

Doreen smirks.

DOREEN

Yeah, well, you weren't there, because I was too busy trying to save your ass!

(After a pause, her smile fades.)

Loki, everyone here... They're all variants too.

LOKI

I know. I told Mobius. That's why they...

(His voice trails off.)

DOREEN

I hacked into their database to get information on the agents... But Ravonna came after me before I could tell anyone. I'm so stupid! I never should've let my guard down!

SYLVIE

There'll be time for taking blame later. Did you find anything out about the timekeepers?

DOREEN

No... I'm sorry... I didn't get that good of a look... Oh! But good news for us, I did figure out why magic doesn't work in the TVA! I guess they have these things called "runes" set up around the whole area? So as long as those are active, your powers are useless.

Loki frowns.

LOKI

Well, how is that "good news" for us?

DOREEN

Because... Ravonna didn't count on me teaching Tippy-Toe how to hack into their systems and disable the runes, and also the time displacement collars, your welcome, which she should be doing right about...

The time displacement collars and handcuffs suddenly deactivate and fall to the ground.

DOREEN

Now!

As she stands up to move to the other side of the cell, Loki and Sylvie test their magic and see their hands are now glowing green.

SYLVIE

Oh, I like her.

They join Doreen at the other side of the cell.

DOREEN

Now, we just need to figure out a way to get out of here...

(Beat)

LOKI

You have the strength and speed of a squirrel, right?

DOREEN

Proportional strength and speed, yes.

LOKI

And squirrels have a jaw strength of around 7,000 pounds per square inch, right?

DOREEN

Right...

LOKI

Which means that, converted to your size, you should be able to chew through any metal wall, correct?

Doreen gives him a sour face.

DOREEN

I really don't like where you're going with this...

LOKI

Do you have any other plans for breaking out of an impenetrable steel cell?

Doreen sighs.

We cut to Doreen chewing through the wall and creating a tunnel to a corridor in the TVA. She spits out a piece of the metal and gags.

DOREEN

Uuuuggghhh, that was so gross!

(She climbs out of the tunnel.)

Okay, guys, you should be good to-

Before she can say another word, Loki and Sylvie use their magic to create another hole in the wall, and simply walk out of the cell.

DOREEN

Wh-?

(She turns to look at the hole they made.)

You could've just done that the whole time?!

LOKI

You did give us our magic back.

(Beat)

DOREEN

What did you just make me chew through the wall for, then?!

LOKI

Because it was amusing, of course.

SYLVIE

It was quite funny.

Doreen scowls at them.

DOREEN

You know, it was annoying enough having to deal with one Loki; now I have to put up with two of you?!

Loki and Sylvie laugh as she flips them both off. They each take a hand to help her to her feet.

DOREEN

Alright, I'll go gather some weapons and maybe get some more intel. You guys go take care of the timekeepers. I'll catch up with you later.

INT. TVA - MOMENTS LATER

Loki and Sylvie are running through a corridor, while Doreen goes the opposite way.

SYLVIE

Was it really a good idea to leave the mortal girl to take on all those agents by herself? Shouldn't we be helping her?

They stop running to see Doreen being ambushed by a group of agents. They try to prune her, but she uses the cape on her dress to temporarily blind them and kick the prune sticks out of their hands. She then jumps on top of the group as they all run in her direction and slams their heads together, knocking them all out simultaneously.

(Beat)

LOKI

She'll be fine.

SYLVIE

Yeah.

They continue running.

We cut to them running towards the timekeepers' chambers, when they run into Ravonna and several other agents, with their prune sticks ready.

RAVONNA

Right on time. The timekeepers are waiting for you.

Loki and Sylvie glare at her.

INT. TIMEKEEPERS' CHAMBERS - DAY

After discovering the timekeepers are fake, Loki turns to Sylvie.

LOKI

Sylvie... Trust me, we will figure this out.

SYLVIE

Not another pep talk, please...

LOKI

No, listen to me... We've come this far... We're not turning back now. We just need-

Before he can say another word, Ravonna prunes him.

@drawntothedarkside

[annakie]

Patchy

A little under two years ago I made this post, a chronicle of Patchy, the outside feral, turned inside kitty who took ten years to learn to love being petted.

Today we got some bad news.

TW for pet illness under the cut.

Patchy’s always been a bit of a puker, usually oh, say, once a month or so she’d have a good puke for no reason.  I’ve had other cats that are pukers so it’s not that surprising.

In the late winter/early spring I started to notice more frequent pukes.

I’d decided around that time that I needed to find healthier food for my cats, with Leela, the oldest turning 16, Fry turning 11, Pemily turning 7 and Patchy turning, I don’t know, 12 or 13.  No way to really know.  They already got decent food, but I did my research and had started looking at Blue Buffalo, American Journey and Dave’s canned food. 

Patchy had been on a mostly canned food diet since she went to the vet back in early 2020 and had a bunch of teeth pulled.  Also, as a note, Patchy’s brief flirtation with hanging out in the rest of the house ended after like a month.  She and Fry fought too much, and eventually he claimed the rest of the house is his.  He also still thinks the master bedroom should be his, but, Patchy defends that territory well if anyone else encroaches. (The door just stays closed most of the time.)  I really wish they could have all gotten along, I loved having Patchy out, but both Fry and Patchy agreed it wasn’t going to work.

The food she’d been on was pretty junk-food-ish though, which she did love and eat. But I wanted everyone on more or less the same diet and the highest quality food I could readily get them.  So I bought a lot of cans of different kinds of food, and kept a list of which ones seemed to be hits and misses. (I still have a dozen cans of the kind nobody liked -- Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon -- I’ve been meaning to take to the city shelter).

Around halfway into this experiment I noticed Patchy puking more, so I decided to try to stick with her favorite kinds, which, I thought was helping.

But once I was fully vaccinated this year, it was time to get all the pets to the vet.  I noticed Patchy had still lost some weight, I thought it was due to switching around her food too much earlier, and tried to stick with the things I felt she really liked.

Then, of course, Leela got sick, spent two and a half days in the pet ER and almost died back in April, and then it was like... yeah we’re done being afraid of COVID, we’re done waiting.  It’s time to get them all their checkups.

My regular vet was doing COVID restrictions so no pet owners inside the clinic back then, so they took Patchy (and the others) in without me.  I thought Patchy had lost some weight, but Dr. B. sounded alarmed when he called me with how much lost she’d lost in the last year, about five pounds.  He wanted to do some bloodwork for Patchy, and I said of course go for it.  

He called back, sounding much calmer and was like “her bloodwork couldn’t be more perfect.  Let’s try switching up her food, get her on some sensitive stomach food and let’s see how she’s doing in a couple weeks.”

So two weeks later it did seem like she was doing better, I called Dr. B back and he said to bring her back in a month.

It was my plan to take her back next week when I had some PTO coming.  I admit, later than planned... my last couple of months have been mucn more focused on Leela... who, thankfully, continues to thrive.  But feeling like my time with her is running out, she’s been my main area of concern.

The last few days though, Patchy has really not been eating well.  Sometimes she does OK, sometimes nothing at all.  And then puking every day.  I swapped her back even to a few cans of the Junk Food (Whiskas) I still had laying around.  She’d eat it... and then puke it up.  And also she... stopped sleeping with me.  I thought... well, it’s summer.  It’s probably too hot to cuddle.  But she stopped laying on the bed.  She stopped coming up for pets when I come to bed and hang out for awhile specifically to spend time with her and pet her.  She runs under the bed again when I come into the room.  It’s like we regressed to three or four years ago... just two weeks after our two year anniversary of getting to pet her.

So this afternoon we went to the vet.  Getting her into the carrier sucked.  I tried nice methods, then I had to scare her into the closet by running the vacuum, and then pretty roughly grab her.  I have scratches and a pretty deep bite on my thumb which either maybe hit a nerve or is infected, may have to go to the doctor for it tomorrow. (Yes, washed it thoroughly with soap as soon as I could.)  I also hated betraying her trust that badly, but it’s for her own good.  But it was rough.

Dr B. wasn’t working so I saw one of the other vets.  I liked him. Also COVID restrictions are gone so I got to go inside. But after talking to him for a few minutes, going over her history and what changes I’ve made, he spent a long time rubbing her intestines (Patchy was perfectly behaved, at least.)   Then he looked concerned.  Then he said let’s do an ultrasound.

A few minutes he came back in and showed me her scans. 

Lymphoma.

I was a bit stunned for a second so I missed a bit of the technical speak he said next, but it came down to the best thing we could do is give her some medicine that may buy her more time.  It doesn’t sound like Chemo or Operating is even really an option.  I’m going to call back tomorrow and see if Dr. B or the vet I talked to can talk me through it a little better now that I’ve had a chance to digest.

If I can get Patchy to take the medicine, and if she responds well to it... she may have 3 - 6 months left.

If she won’t take it, or if she doesn’t respond, it’s at this point, a matter of her comfort and quality of life.  So... weeks.  And I’m worried about getting her to take the medicine, especially since she won’t even come let me pet her and we just had a huge trust betrayal today. I don’t know if I could take her spending her last few weeks hating me, especially if the medicine doesn’t work.

The vet also told me that... I didn’t do anything wrong.  And we did the right thing six or so weeks ago by changing her food and seeing if a few other things worked. Especially with how good her blookwork looked.  He barely felt the cancer today, he said six weeks ago Dr. B wouldn’t have been able to feel it at all.  And for this particular type of lymphoma... there’s not a lot to be done, anyway.  That made me feel better, at least.

(As a really dumb side note, after I got her home, I sat down to eat dinner and watch an episode of Star Trek to take my mind off of all of this since I’d been crying since I found out, paid my bill, and drove home, stopping at a drive through so I didn’t have the mental load of cooking.  And I’m in the middle of my rewatch of Enterprise.  I bet any trekkies reading this can guess what episode was next in my rewatch because yep I’m in season two and A NIGHT IN SICKBAY started playing, of course, so obviously I NOPED THE FUCK OUT OF THAT EPISODE.  For the non-Trekkies.... the Captain has a dog on board, an adorable beagle, Porthos.  The dog gets sick and almost dies and spends his night in Sickbay.  He does pull through.  But the ONE episode centered around a beloved pet getting sick and almost dying... and that’s the episode that fate decreed I was supposed to watch tonight. I did not.  I don’t know if I can watch it anytime soon.)

So now for the next few weeks I will spend my time being grateful that Leela is alive and thriving and pray she keeps doing so -- I will continue to give her extra love and care and attention, and also I will need to do the same for Patchy.  I can’t even do it at the same time because Patchy will not come out here, and will not allow Leela in her room. 

I am low-key freaking out that there’s the possibility of the nightmare scenario happening to me again.  In winter 2016, after months of being sick, I woke up on Christmas morning and my 16-year-old cat Jim had died overnight.  It was terrible, and traumatic, and I had to deal with everything all alone because anyone who could support me was... well, it was Christmas morning and my family was all out of town, too.  Posting about it on Tumblr... actually really helped me, since it’s the only place I felt like I could talk about it.

That Christmas was on a Sunday.

Wednesday morning I woke up to hearing my dog, Cebu, moaning in pain.   I rushed him to the vet, but whatever happened overnight, it was too late, maybe there wasn’t anything we ever could have done even if I’d been awake when the puking started.  The vet said the kindest thing we could do was put him to sleep.  And we did.

Also I just, JUST now realized that the vet who helped put Cebu to sleep was the same vet who I saw today about Patchy.

But I lost two of my pets within 3 days of each other.  I was very lucky that my job let us have the week between Christmas and New Years off that year.  I had a few days to pull myself together, and I needed it.  It took months to recover totally, though.  Every once in awhile I think about that week and I still cry, though.  I miss them both so much and they both had deaths that were less than ideal.

I remember thinking then “I have like, five years of reprive.  Leela will be sixteen in five years, and that’s when I have to start to worry again, when I have to be ready to say goodbye again.”

I thought then that even after that I’d have two or three years until Patchy would leave me, and two or three years past that until Fry.  And then five more years with Pemily.

Right now I’m realizing that I will likely lose Patchy, very best case in six months, but possibly before July is over.

I need Leela to keep thriving.  I don’t know how I would handle losing another two so close together again.

Patchy is... she’s the one who chose me.  I chose my other cats.  Fry and Pemily I plucked from the backyard when they were tiny kittens and brought them inside.  They didn’t have a choice.  Leela I adopted from a rescue, she didn’t have a choice.  Patchy chose to stay.  She chose to stick around when she realized I’d feed her.  It took years but she learned to trust, she chose to come inside when it was cold, when it was hot, when it was storming, and when she was pregnant.  She chose me to help raise the last litter of kittens she’d ever had.  (My entire Rescue Kitties tag is full of adventures in finding, raising and usually adopting out strays. Lots and lots of posts about Patchy and her final litter.  Been awhile since I’ve done it, though.)

I used to joke that Patchy was my roommate, not a pet.  She ate, drank, did her business, and kept to herself for a long time.  Don’t get me wrong, she was a very good, quiet, considerate roommate and I loved her.  But it wasn’t until that wonderful day she let me pet her that I felt like she was my pet. 

I loved having her just hanging out living in the house since 2014, but the last two years especially have brought me such joy.  I’ve tried to never take Patchy’s trust in me for granted.  It was EARNED.  Every small step forward was a milestone to be celebrated. I worked for every bit of trust and love Patchy has given me, and have been rewarded.  And it was worth it.  Every minute.  Every long, patient year.

Even now I’m telling myself... without me, she would have died years ago.  Probably violently, or starved, maybe frozen to death.  Getting to die of cancer brought on by older age is not something that most feral cats ever get to do.  Getting to become an inside kitty where she’s loved, and comfortable for the second half of her life was something remarkable, brought on by her wiles and will to survive for so many years, bolstered by the food I left out for her.  She’s had this much time, this much life, this much comfort and love that she would have never had otherwise, and that’s something to be happy about.

I’ve watched dozens of ferals come and go through my neighborhood throughout the years.  I feed them, I work on seeing if I can get them to trust me enough to let me TNR them, but even those that I have, I don’t keep seeing for much longer.  There’s one right now, I jokingly call him Patchy’s Boyfriend.  He still won’t trust me and never has fallen for the trap when I’ve tried.  But he’s there most nights when I feed him around 11.  He’s getting terribly thin despite the quality food I leave out.  I’ll miss him.

But none of them were Patchy.  None of them became what she is to me. None of them survived long enough to adapt and decide to live another life.

Also?  I wouldn’t have Pemily without her.  Pemily is literally Patchy’s Granddaughter and that is one more thing I love Patchy for.

I feel guilty sometimes, both because I don’t spend nearly enough waking hours with her I feel, but I have three others who need me, as well. One who’s time is growing short, as well.  And they don’t get to sleep with me, she does.  What a joy it was all winter when I would wake up and she’d be sleeping on my chest.  I’d get a bit annoyed when she’d sleep with her backside to my face and her tail would tickle my face and wake me up.  I’m a side-sleeper half the night and she hated that it was harder to get comfortable on me that way.  She still doesn’t want to have my hand just stay on her, she wants pets and skirtches, no long-form touching.  That’s ok.  I sleep better with her weight on me.

I don’t know what the next few weeks or months will hold, but at least pet-wise, it’s going to be rough.  I’m going to wrap this up and give these three out here a good pet, then go hope Patchy comes and asks for love, too.  Tomorrow is one more day with all four of them, and for that, I’ll be grateful, for every remaining day.

[soundsgoodfeelslikeshit]

Leaky Days (J.B.)

Summary: Y/N and John B decide to have a beach day with the other Pogues and everything was fine. Y/N knew she was on her period, but didn’t feel the blood begin to leak out of her tampon and onto her swimsuit. She gets embarrassed and the others act like they don’t know, while John B helps her. 

TW: mentions of blood(?), foul language

................................................................................................................................

“Y/N let’s go, you’re taking way too long babe.” John B yells. “Shut up, I’ll be out in a second.” You yell back. He laughs and walks away from the door as you prepare yourself for the day. You had started your period yesterday and it wasn’t necessarily heavy today, but you were still concerned because you couldn’t find any of your black bathing suit bottoms. 

Leaving the bathroom, it completely slipped your mind to grab a second tampon, seeing as you had already put a super in for the day. “You ready? Everyone’s waiting to be picked up.” John B said taking your hand. “Yeah, just need to take some medicine really quick and then we’re good to go.” You smiled. He nodded as you went into the kitchen and took two midols, just in case, and then went to the van. 

................................................................................................................................

“Y/N I’ll race you to the water!” Kie yelled as she took off. You shook your head and booked it after her, quickly beating her to the waves. “No fair, it’s like you’re fucking supercharged or something.” Kie laughed. You let out a laugh and slung your arm over her shoulder as you walked back to the guys. 

“Way to make us carry EVERYTHING,” JJ whined. 

“Shut the fuck up J, you do it to us we do it to you.” You smiled with an innocent smirk. 

He pouted and the rest of the pogues laughed. 

Once all of the towels and food was set down on the beach you all went and swam around for a while. Chicken fights were entertaining to watch, and participate in but you got the wind knocked out of you almost every time you slapped the water. 

“I’m gonna go get some water.” You said unwrapping your arms from your boyfriend. “Okay,” he said unwrapping his arms from your waist and placing a kiss to your lips. You began to make your way out of the water and headed towards your cooler. Plopping in the sand beside your cooler you reached for a water bottle unaware of the conversation that the other Pogues were having. 

“Hey man, Kie just told me that Y/N is bleeding out through her bottoms.” Pope said swimming towards John B. John B.’s eyes widened and he looked towards you as you gulped down your water. “Alright, I got it covered.” 

“Thanks Pope.” He said turning back towards the boy. 

You watched as John B made your way towards you and you smiled. “What’s up babe?” He sat beside you and wrapped an arm around you. “You might’ve bled through your bottoms.” He spoke softly. You coughed awkwardly and began to panic. “Shit, I-I didn’t bring any extra tampons.” You said with panic lacing your voice. “I’ve got it covered, let’s get you cleaned up.” He said reaching his hand out to you. You stood up and quickly placed a towel around your waist. 

When you got to the van John B. opened up the back and grabbed his bag out. “I’ve always kept a few extra tampons in here in case you or Kie ever needed them. I know you both can get embarrassed about it, especially with Pope and JJ always making fun of you both.” He said handing you a tampon. “Thanks babe. But uh quick question, where am I supposed to change it? There’s no bathroom.” He scratched his head and sighed. “This isn’t ideal, but there is a port-a-potty right there.” You sighed and pulled a pair of flip flops from the van before heading towards the port-a-potty. 

After a few minutes John B. walked over towards where you were. “Everything okay in there Baby?” “Yeah, do we have a water bottle, or is there mysteriously another pair of bottoms in your van?” You asked coming out. 

“There might be a wet suit if there isn’t bottoms.” You climbed into the van and lifted the seat seeing various bags of clothing that was left over the trips. You grinned when you found a bag that had your favorite swimsuit in it. “Babe shut the door. I’m gonna change my bottoms.” Once the door was shut you quickly changed and slipped the soiled bottoms into the bag and climbed out. 

“All set?” You nodded and began to walk back towards your friends but you were stopped. “Are you feeling alright? Any cramps? “ You let out a laugh, “I’m alright JB.” 

................................................................................................................................

Once you got back to where your friends had set the stuff up you were greeted with Kie, Pope, and JJ. “You alright? Get a quickie in in the van?” JJ joked. 

“Actually, had to change a tampon in a port-a-potty thanks for asking.” You said as he gagged. “That’s alright Y/N, I had to do that earlier.” Kie said trying to make you feel better. You laughed and Pope handed you back your water after he took a sip. 

“Girls are disgusting.” Pope joked. Earning a smack from both you and Kie he groaned. “Be quiet dude.” John B. laughed. “I’m really not sure why Kie is even with you.” JJ joked. Pope pouted, causing Kie to press a kiss to his lips. 

After just sitting and eating some snack you all decided that you should surf for a while sense the swell was perfect right now. “Watch out girls the sharks might get, ya.” JJ smirked. You and Kie both shook your heads. “Actually sharks aren’t attracted to blood.” Pope said smacking JJ in the head. You laughed and paddled out wanting to be the first to catch a wave. 

............................................................................................................................... 

“Y/N/N, wake up sweetie.” Pope said shaking you. “Don’t call me sweetie, freak.” You grumbled attempting to turn over. “Hey, don’t be mean.” You peeled your eyes open and glared at the boy. “What?” 

“We’re at the chateau.” You sighed pulling yourself up. Following the rest of the group, you trudged to the hammock and plopped into it. Quickly you fell back asleep. 

“She fell asleep again, how?” Kie asked with a laugh. “She must be pretty tired.” Pope shrugged. 

“Y/N/N, baby wake up.” 

“Go away, I’m comfortable.” John B laughed and you peeked at him. “You could be comfortable, cuddling with me in bed.” He said picking you up. “Fine.” You sighed with a smile. 

[barnesbabee]

Edge Of Glory || C.J

Pairing: Choi Jongho x Reader

Genre: Smut, Fluff, Angst

Words: Idk but from the top of my head I’d bet on 3126 words

Pieces of lyrics from the song are written in bold

⚠ drug abuse, mentions of physical/psychological abuse (not from the idol), mentions of death and suicide, dystopian!au ⚠

Warning: There are disturbing/ scenes described. Read at your own risk.

ᴀᴛᴇᴇᴢ x ʟᴀᴅʏ ɢᴀɢᴀ ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇᴘᴛ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ || ᴘ4

ʙᴀꜱᴇᴅ ᴏꜰꜰ ᴇᴅɢᴇ ᴏꜰ ɢʟᴏʀʏ ᴍᴠ

 A worldwide pandemic took all nations by surprise, one worse than any century had ever experienced, one that all safety precautions, medicine and technology couldn’t fight. It came down onto the whole world like a train and the population decreased greatly, along with all of the resources. 

   Hazmats became the trending fashion and hospitals became the new hotels. Everything was at max capacity, and the bodies of deceased people piled up on the streets. Pale corpses that looked like they had been drained of all of their blood laid against the walls, on top of each other, or sprawled on the road. It was every man for themselves, and chaos dominated.

    You were a little relieved, however. Your parents wouldn’t allow you to leave the house for safety, but every time you looked out of the window every deceased person seemed to be of age, more specifically, a mature adult. Mostly people from their thirties on. 

    Maybe it didn’t affect younger people? Maybe their immune system was good enough to fight the disease? 

   You had many doubts, but not enough answers. No one had answers, and suddenly everyone had a God. When nurses and doctors fled, when the news disappeared and it all stopped being transmitted, everyone started praying, ironically.

    Your parents were jittery and nervous all the time, but that was a normal reaction, they had seen and experienced the outside world. You felt safe in their presence, although seeing them come in the house in the yellow suits kind of scared you.

    Months were spent in this routine, and all seemed normal (within the limits). One day, however, you were woken up by loud banging on the front door. You immediately stood up from bed, a little dizzy from the sudden movement, and wobbled over to your door. You pressed your ear against the wooden door to hear whatever went on downstairs. You had never gotten visitors…

    You heard the downstairs door creak open and a male, harsh, demanding voice spoke.

    “Any kids in?” He simply asked.

   “N-no, Sir. We’ve never been able to have kids.”

    You frowned at the shaky voice. They did have a kid though... 

    The nervousness in your mom’s voice, the violent man’s tone, and the lie immediately raised a red flag for you. You became uncertain and shaky. Who was he!?

     You prepared for the worst. You shoved a couple things in a backpack, the absolute necessary, and opened your bedroom’s window as quietly as possible. You looked down at the previously green grass outside. It was far. If you had to jump you were gonna hurt yourself, so you just prayed that they’d leave.

     “Surely you wouldn’t mind us looking around then?” 

    Your eyes widened, and you immediately took this as your cue. You put on the black gas mask your parents had given you in case of emergency and sat by the window pane.

    “What? B-but I told you we don’t have-”

    “Ma’am please step off or you’ll be taken.” He rudely interrupted your mother.

    You heard heavy footsteps echo throughout the house, and without a second thought jumped off. You pursed your lips together to prevent the scream from escaping past your lips as you landed on your side, on top of a couple of rocks. 

   You got up as quickly as you fell down and ran. You ran as fast as you could, always holding your aching side. 

    You had no idea where you were wandering, you had no idea what was safe or not, and you had no idea what was happening, but you ran anyways.

  It had been four days. You had seen some people running around and looting stores, you had seen some people in suits patrolling, and you had seen huge tanks taking over the city. You always felt the floor shake when one of them approached, so it was easy to hide. You wondered what they were for, but then again your imagination had run short.

  You hadn’t found a place you deemed safe yet. You’d sleep in hidden street corners and stolen from beaten-up shops to survive, but you were becoming tired and desperate. Hope died very quickly in a place like that, and every morning it was hard not to give up.

  After the longest days of your life, you decided to risk it. You went into the only part in town you hadn’t scavaged. It was previously known for illegal activity and for being generally very shady. Strangely, it was the most familiar part of town. It was dark, cold and scary, just like before.  

  You walked warily, looking the torn-apart buildings 'from head to toe’. Most of them were locked up, or too damaged to even enter, but a particular building caught your attention. The windows were sealed, but the door had a chain that had been broken. You approached it and carefully removed the chain. The metal door creaked against the floor and made an ugly noise. You closed it just as slowly and carefully inspected the bottom floor with the poor flashlight you had found in a hardware store. 

   It was clean.

  You moved upwards, and all of the floors were clear of corpses. A sense happiness and relief washed over you, as you might had just found a place to stick around in. 

  As you reached the floor just below the rooftop, your eyes glistened and your face lit up. 

  A mattress with a couple of blankets laid against the wall. There were unopened cans of food organized near the window, that gave you a perfect view of the safe and unsafe areas. As you were about to inspect the food and the expire date on them, someone spoke behind you.

  “Hello?”

 You jumped at the voice. You spun around quickly and held the turned-off flashlight close to your chest. Your eyes were widened and you were frozen in place. The male in front of you, on the other hand, was relaxed yet confused.

  He had a long dark fringe covering his eyes, and his skin was very pale. 

  “W-who are you?” You asked, trying your best not to stutter out the whole sentence.

   The man looked at you as if you were stupid.

   “I’m the person living here?... The owner of this five-star suite, actually.”

   Your face fell a little at his statement and he chuckled. 

  “What? Did you think you had hit the jackpot and just found a perfect place waiting for you?”

   You averted your gaze and blushed slightly in embarrassment at how stupid your thoughts sounded when said out loud. Neither of you said anything. You could immediately tell that there was a big contrast between your personalities: while you stood there, stiff and nervous, he was relaxed and staring at you with a mocking glare. You were a little confused as to why the male wasn’t freaking out over a random person walking in where he lived and trying to claim it. It was suspicious…

    The man looked at the mattress on the floor, then at the cans.

    “Wanna share?”

    You were taken aback by the question. Why would he willingly share what he had? Why would he willingly spare half of the very scarce resources he possessed? 

    “Why?” You quietly asked.

    The man understood your confusion, most people would shoo others away and refuse to even let them come close to whatever they had gathered. 

    He walked over to the mattress and sat down with a groan. The stranger took a very poorly joint up to his mouth and took a hit, then puffing out the smoke and creating a small cloud between the two of you. He opened his mouth to say something but was immediately cut off.

   “We’re in the middle of an apocalypse and you’re getting high!?”

   It wasn’t like you to stress over something so little, but the near-death experiences, the fear and all the running away had transformed you into a shell of your former self.

   “It’s… It’s not an apocalypse.”

   You furrowed your brows and cocked your head. How would he know what all this was anyway?

    “Well it’s kinda- Can you fucking sit down or something you’re stressing me out, standing there holding that flashlight like I’m gonna try to murder you.”

    The statement stole a chuckle out of you and you sat down on the floor in front of him.

    “To put it shortly, this pandemic is a war gone wrong.”

    There was a long silence, as he let you process the tiny bit of the puzzle he had just told you. It was understandable that you didn’t know what was going on, no one really did know but the ones that had been exposed to the government’s horrors.

    “This… virus. It wasn’t someone’s carelessness or a lab security breach, it was a biological war that went to shit. A country unbeknownst to everyone apparently sent out a virus to wipe out Japan and Korea, it was speculated inside the borders that it was because of the lucrative rise and some countries were losing their economic powers over a lot of major cities. But it spiraled out of control and everyone is slowly dying. It’s much worse than anything anyone had ever seen, and in a panic, the government started doing what they call ‘recruitment of the younger generation’. Don’t let the name fool you, we were taken against our will…”

    “We? You were there?”

    Jongho sighed, his voice dropped considerably and suddenly the weed tasted odd. He threw away the joint and rested his head against the wall. Guilt and shame filled his body, and he wasn’t able to look you in the eye as he explained what went on in the place he had been confined in.

    “I was… taken. From the house I was in. They take only young people who are healthy and capable. No disabilities inside those walls, only the ones they deem good enough to procreate and rebuild our country. We… We are forced to work, they do tests on us, they treat us like lab rats and the boys… The boys are forced to impregnate girls.” His voice cracked at that, clearly hitting a deep scar. His chest began to rise and fall quickly.

    You became suddenly sad and worried for the stranger. Your face contorted in a pitiful look and you approached him, patting his thigh for him to know he had your support.

    “It’s okay, you don’t need to tell any more…”

    The male glanced at the joint he had thrown away and regretted doing so. He really wished he had something that made the conversation easier.

     “No, the more people know, the easier it will be to destroy this whole shit. Letting the world die is better than what they’re doing to us. I was… forced to make girls pregnant. I- I don’t even know their names. I don’t even know who they are, they push you into a room and they watch you, to make sure you do things right. When people refuse to do so, there’s a punishment. But I was always too scared of it so I just followed the rules. In a couple of months I’ll have… I’ll have a children in there. A son, who knows maybe a daughter… And they’ll be forced to do exactly what I ran away from. Fuck I’m a monster!” 

   The male hit his head against the wall, hard. His eyes were tightly shut (certainly not hurt from the bang against the wall, but from something much deeper) and tears threatened to fall.

    The psychological side clearly was much worse than any physical work they were forced to do.

    “Hey, hey it’s okay. You didn’t do that because you wanted to, right? You did it because you were forced. If those kids are as smart as you surely they’ll get out too.”

   He scoffed and turned his head to look at you.

   “I got out because I was lucky. I was done with life, I didn’t want to be there anymore. But because the suicide rate was crazy high inside those walls everyone was always watching. I knew a guy though, he managed to pass around drugs and my plan was to overdose… But when the time came I always pussied out. As time went by and I kept consuming I became thinner, paler, weaker… I looked like I was about to die and they didn’t understand why, but at some point they stopped wanting me there, they deemed I was unfit. They cut off my food and water, they left me to die in a room. I was lucky because I passed out. They thought I was dead and threw me over the border. I woke up in a pile of dead bodies, bathing in blood, dirt, puke, and God knows what else. I could barely move, but I dragged myself out of the corpses and tried to survive the best I could.”

    You couldn’t believe your ears. You wanted to say something, but what was there to be said? ‘It’s going to be okay’? You both knew it was a lie… There was nothing to be said and all you could do was greet his lengthy life-story of the past couple months with silence.

    “That’s why I smoke weed. Y’know… kinda takes me out and makes me forget everything’s gone to shit, drowns out the worst in my head.”

    You nodded, a little uncomfortable yet understanding his position.

    Luckily, Jongho who had been through Hell and come back, was great at shooing away the awkwardness.

   “Now that you know about my kids, I’m Jongho by the way.”

   “I-I’m Y/N.” You introduced yourself, a little shocked at the way he was fine with joking about it.

    “Well Y/N, buckle up. We’re in a warzone now, it’s the end of the world. There ain’t a reason you and me should be alone.”

  You and Jongho sat at the top of the building. The sun was going down and you sat on his lap. His arms were around your body, holding your hands as he tried to teach you how to properly roll the thin paper. 

    “Y/N! We don’t have infinite weed! Stop messing this up!”

    “I- Are you joking, Jongho!? You pushed this mess onto my hands because you wanted to have a reason to have me on your lap!”

    You stood up (faking anger toward him) and walked up to the edge of the building, dancing and prancing around. 

    Jongho laughed at your cuteness and threw away the very much ruined romantic joint he tried to do with you. He walked over to you and placed his hands on your hips.

     “I won’t get high tonight but at least I was happy.” 

    You looked at him, surprised at the sweet comment. The sunlight gave his skin a golden tone and the slight wind blew his hair back. He smiled at the big eyes you were giving him, and chuckled upon realizing how little it had taken to make you speechless.

     “What?” He asked, as you wouldn’t stop staring.

    You giggled and placed your hands on his biceps, subconsciously playing with them.

    “Nothing it’s just… I didn’t know you could be cute.”

    Jongho faked a shocked expression, never breaking eye contact.

     “Excuse me! I can be adorable!”

     You scoffed and slapped his chest.

    “You’ve been cute to me like, two times.”

     “Two?” He asked, not remembering what the first had been.

     Your eyes drifted away and you blushed slightly. 

     “Well, you let me stay with you… That was really sweet, thank you.”

     Jongho lifted your chin with his index finger, making you look at him.

     “And I’m glad I did.”

     There was a small, comfortable silence before you spoke.

      “Why is that?”

      You were eager for the answer. Jongho was unpredictable, you never knew what to expect of him, so you looked deep into his eyes as you awaited a response. 

     Jongho looked away, before looking back at you and pressing his lips against yours, for a kiss that lasted no longer than a second.

     “Because I like you.”

    It was incredulous. You expected him to say that, but it was so… unexpected. You opened your mouth to speak, but he cut you off as per usual.

     “And I know, I know it’s been like two weeks, but it’s hard not to fall for someone like you once you spend every second of every day with them.”

     You blushed slightly and hit his chest.

     “Plus, you’re one of the most beautiful women out there.” He said as he caressed your cheek lovingly.

     “Jongho, who knew you could be so sweet…”

     “I know, right? But then again, everyone is dying and there’s like, a dozen women out there so you don’t have much competition.”

     You two laughed, and before you could hit him, Jongho ran away and ran downstairs. Once you found him, you tackled him onto the mattress, but of course he won over you, and began tickling you all over. He’d only stop when you begged and were almost crying. 

   You looked into each other’s eyes. The dim light coming from the windows setting a lewd mood. Once you had regained your breath, you grabbed the back of his head and kissed him. The kiss lasted a little longer than the previous one, slightly losing its innocence. 

  You had never gone beyond kissing with anybody, so you were surprised at yourself when you deepened the kiss and rolled your hips against his, you didn’t hate it however. You wanted to continue. The world was ending and you were making out with the hottest man you’d ever been with on a mattress, so if there was a perfect timing, that was it.

   You moaned onto the kiss, signaling that you wanted more, but Jongho pulled away rapidly and looked away, a little embarrassed.

    “Jongho? Did I do something wrong I-I’m sorry I had never done that before and I-”

    “You were fine Y/N, don’t worry… It’s just that. Those things I did… Those girls, it wasn’t that long ago. I don’t think I’m comfortable, I’m sorry, love.”

     You felt bad for making him feel like he had to apologize for his feelings. You started to panic, but you had to calm yourself down in order to make Jongho feel comfortable. 

     You placed a hand on his cheek and kissed his forehead.

     “It’s okay Jongho, I don’t mind waiting. I’ll wait for you a million years, even when we’re both old and looking like raisins, I promise I’ll still want you.”

      The male giggled, showing the gummy smile you loved oh so much, and buried his face in the crook of your neck.

     “I got so lucky… You’re all I need.”

   You woke up with Jongho shaking you and calling for your name. You immediately shot awake and sat on the mattress you called a bed. 

     Your boyfriend threw his heavy mask onto a corner, grabbed both of your cheeks and kissed you passionately. His eyes were teary and puffy. His whole face was red and his coal-coloured hair was stuck to his forehead. You furrowed at the way his hands were shaking as he held you.

     “Jongho?” You asked, a little nervous.

     “Yes, darling?” He questioned. 

     His voice was as shaky as his hands, and anxiety started building up in the pit of his stomach.

     “What’s wrong?”

    His jittery eyes took in all of your features before smiling nervously.

    “Nothing baby!”

    He kissed your cheeks, your forehead, your nose, and finished up with a long kiss on your lips.

    Suddenly, the ground shook. Once, twice… Jongho tried to block the window with his broad back, but you could still see the shiny, shooting star-like object coming down from the sky and colliding with the ground. A loud sound echoed in the air and the ground shook once more before you saw a mushroom-like explosion in the distance.

    You couldn’t hold back the tears as panic immediately enveloped you.

    “J-Jongho what- what’s going on!?” You asked, your voice rising for the first time in months.

    Your boyfriend looked at you with teary eyes and held your face in a way that you couldn’t look at the window.

     “Nothing, doll. Everything is fine, we’re gonna be okay.”

    Jongho hugged you tightly. You quickly wrapped your arms around him and held him as close as possible, as your brain put two and two together.

    The two of you pulled away and looked into each other’s eyes.

   “I love you.” He whispered.

    And, before you could reply, he pressed his lips to yours, in what you both knew to be your last kiss. So you didn’t pull away. And when the sky fell down, and when the blasting got closer to you, you still didn’t pull away.

    And so when everything went black, neither of you noticed, because your eyes were still closed, and you were still holding each other as if the world wasn’t ending, and you were the only thins that mattered to each other.

    Your forever wasn’t long, but as you held each other and tears streamed down your faces, you knew that it had been a good forever.