#But no. one little itty bitty thing happens to me and I shatter into a billion pieces

[catinasink]

I know you dont know me that well but I wanted to help too! So heres a little story

I have a cousin who really likes to throw stuff.. So one day I was at her house playing and I had a frisbee in my hands

I held it up to my face to show my sister and at the exact time it happened

My cousin threw something, i think a little plastic piece? and accidentally hit the frisbee

and the little plastic thing just

ABSOLUTELY SHATTERED

Into a million itty bitty pieces

And we all started laughing right after cause of how lucky i was ehehe

And heres a kitty too!

cool

[sneezefiction]

answers

oikawa x reader

desc: oikawa changes some lyrics in taylor swift’s song “love story”

a/n: please keep in mind that most of this is just humorous & there’s no serious characterization in this particular story. i laughed a lot while writing it :,,) for @cutiekawa because you gave me the idea; thank you for that! and also for @seroto-rin because this is very similar to your husband’s lyric changing habits lol – i still laugh whenever i think about it <3 warnings: language, mentions drinking/being drunk

wc: 3k

— It’s 2 am when you hear Oikawa pattering down the hallway and past your room. From the gentle footsteps and the occasional whisper of “shit” when the floor creaks, it's obvious that he’s trying to stay quiet.

But his attempts are in vain because, one, you’re wide awake and, two, he’s just knocked over an empty beer can from earlier. It was probably the one he’d left on the hall table – you’d told him to throw it away but he’d refused saying that he’d “throw it away in the morning when his arms weren’t so tired.” 

This is just karma.

The clatter of the aluminum on wooden floors echoes throughout the dorm. A much louder, especially frustrated, “fuck” follows right after it.

The word, though crass, sounds deceptively attractive on his tongue. But most things Oikawa-related just happen to be attractive. 

You muffle your laughter with a blanket. He’s probably disoriented from the alcohol – it’s only been an hour and 5 drinks each since you both called it a night. You’d headed straight to bed but he’d fallen asleep on the couch where you left him, hair a-mess and lips parted.

But, for someone who used to stay out till daybreak on weekends, he’s spent most Fridays hanging out with you instead.

This weekend was no different.

Oikawa ordered Thai takeout, you found a mindless Netflix series to binge, both of you had a little too much to drink, laughter ensued, the doe-eyed boy found his head in your lap, and…

You pull a face – one that goes unseen because of the dark, but you make it anyway.

Okay, that last part was a little different.

He’d had his head in your lap.

His head… in your… lap.

And, if you’re not mistaken (or delirious), you’d had your hands in his hair, twirling strands and tracing circles at the base of his neck. A foggy image of him gazing up at you with softened eyes, deep chocolate in color, begins to solidify. 

That lazy smile, a hand on your thigh, tresses tickling your skin...

You turn over in your bed, bunching up your sheets and holding them close to you like a shield of fabric — a flimsy, make-shift defense against tipsy mind-wandering. It isn’t very effective.

Your brain is not wandering but racing around this hand-in-hair realization.

Like an iron rod poking at hot embers, these prodding memories make your cheeks grow hotter by the millisecond. You bury your face in your pillow, embarrassment tight in your throat. 

Somehow you’d forgotten that he’d practically climbed into your lap. You’re not in the clear quite yet, but your brain is functioning well enough that it wishes you’d had a little more to drink – just enough to forget about it entirely. You starfish out on your bed, arms and legs dramatically splayed across the mattress.

Do (hot, charming, charismatic, windswept) flatmates usually get this... cuddly? Is that normal?

Does Iwaizumi wrap his arms around his roomies after a long day and a few bottles? How about Mattsun? Makki…?

Okay, no, none of them really seem like the type to get up close and personal with their roommates without good reason. Well, maybe Makki, but he’d do it to be a pain in the ass – not to charm the living-hell out of someone.

You try to take in a deep breath and wrap your head around what this means for you… but end up inhaling a feather from your pillow instead. As you hack and cough, you try to smother the noise in more cloth material – you really didn’t need him coming into your room, much less leaning over your bed to check on you.

Oikawa is messing with your head. 

If you knew any better, you’d have run away screaming the moment he’d asked you to room with him. No one that pretty and charismatic is good news. At least, not when it comes to shared housing.

But, here you are, writhing under the covers and hot like a fever all because he couldn’t keep to himself. Screw him and his charming smile for putting you in this position.

He either knows you’re crushing like he’s the last man on earth or he’s blissfully unaware and way too physically affectionate for his own good. 

You don’t dare consider that he likes you back though. Only deer and Olympic athletes made leaps like that. Oikawa had too many admirers… an irritating amount.

The blankets scrunch even tighter between your fists, likely thanking their maker that they don’t have nerve endings.

Every fiber of your being is begging to know if these feelings are reciprocated. You’d hate to live out the rest of this semester knowing the boy down the hall may not like you back. Worse, that he finds out you think he’s hot shit and doesn’t like you back – that would be unrequited love at its finest.

But, with a degree and your mental health on the line, why should you care about such minor, itty bitty, pointless details. 

This isn’t that big a deal.

And even if he did like you back? Well, Oikawa isn’t someone you can simply “pin down.” He comes with a distinctive, dramatic personality and a meddling side. Not to mention, he’s already the embodiment of chaos – he’s proven this to be true over the past 4 months he’s lived with you.

There’s a familiar squeak of the shower faucet handle and the hiss of hot water. You jump at the sound.

Maybe he’d forgotten, but your bedroom shares a very thin wall with the bathroom. Though you recall him saying he wanted to take a shower earlier, so you guess that he’s only just remembered.

You pick up your phone, blue light casting a less-than angelic glow on your sleepy face. You pray that TikTok will have some sort of life-changing “I’m in love with my hot, crazy flatmate” advice. Or that it will distract you from your inner turmoil. Either would be appreciated but the latter seems more likely.

Scrolling slowly, you get through about 3 videos before something else catches your attention.

There’s a deep reverberation buzzing through your wall. A gentle hum, much like a shower-concert lullaby.

But the noise is getting louder. And the humming? A lot more lyrical.

You shift into a sitting position, propping yourself up with your hands. With your side sunken into a pillow, you press your ear against the cool drywall. Your ears tune into the sound.

Oikawa, voice confident and free, is… singing.

“...But you were everything to me, I was begging you ‘please don’t go’…”

But he’s not just singing.

“And I said…”

He’s belting Taylor Swift with the enthusiasm of an 11-year-old Swiftie super-fan. Like the world would end if he didn’t put enough passion into this performance. Like the showerhead is his microphone and the surrounding tiles are his adoring audience.

“Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone. I'll be waiting; all that's left to do is run...”

Most people would be pissed if their friend were singing in the shower at 2 am… but you can’t find it in yourself to be anything but enamored.

God, you hate him for doing this right now. Hate that he’s inadvertently endearing you to him. Hate that, no matter what you do, he’s somehow always there.

Pressed up against you on the couch, meeting you for dinner at his favorite restaurant, fussing at each other over a shitty cup of coffee in your even shittier kitchen, calling you when he needs somebody to keep him company at the library… 

“You'll be the prince & I'll be the princess…”

And now he’s accidentally serenading you with Taylor’s “Fearless” album. In the shower.

You facepalm, sinking into your hands, exasperated and just so… done.

You sink back down into the bedsheets, wishing your earbuds were nearby to drown out the regrettably adorable performance. 

“It's a love story y/n, just say ‘Yes.’”

And your heart drops, panic setting in like the touch down of a whirling tornado. A fire tornado. A fire tornado with frogs and lizards and sharp objects spinning around inside of it.

What… did he just say?

The lyrics… they were muffled. You definitely heard them incorrectly. You… you just need to get your ears checked. Yes, that’s it. That’s all there is to it. You’ll schedule an appointment first thing tomorrow morning.

Because who the fuck sings like that at 2 am in a shared dorm? And who the fuck puts someone else’s name into a song like that? No one? Yes, no one.

Especially not the Oikawa Tooru.

And especially not with your name.

Because that’s just... weird.

The grip on your phone is mighty – thank God for durable glass because any other material would’ve splintered or shattered in your hold. 

But what the hell.

“Y/n, save me, I've been feeling so alone,” he sings as though he were Beyoncé’s son.

This time it’s clear as day. Oikawa is definitely still out of it and he’s undoubtedly singing your name.

No, no, no.

“I keep waiting for you but you never come…”

You bolt out of bed, feet hitting the floor at lightning-strike speed.

“Is this in my head? I don't know what to think,”

In one swift movement, you fling the bedroom door open and rush down the hall. You shouldn’t be listening to this. 

“He knelt to the ground & pulled out a ring, and said...”

And before you can stop your hand, it’s knocking rapidly on the bathroom door.

There’s a gasp, what you assume to a bar of soap hitting the shower floor, and an abrupt silence that follows.

You’d only wanted to stop him from singing.

However, you hadn’t thought through what you were going to say to him about this whole... lyrical mess. Your face feels like the surface of the sun, burning and flaring and flushing. What are you supposed to do now?

Oikawa speaks up, voice quiet, “Hello?”

Shit.

Maybe if you’re careful you can get yourself out of this. Just act like you didn’t hear anything and bring it up tomorrow when you’re both thinking straight. A thorough and sober discussion would be needed.

You had questions. Questions that needed answers.

Why did he have his head in your lap? Had you said anything to him that you’d regret later? Does he like you? Where should you two place your boundaries if he doesn’t like you back? And why Taylor Swift?

“Y/n, is that you?” He asks, nonchalantly.

Who else would it be?

The handle squeaks and, with that, the water stops. Only the gentle swirl of the drain and the occasional drips and drops from the showerhead are audible.

It’s too late. You’re already there. You’ve knocked and, in doing so, you’ve sealed your fate.

“...Yes,” is your whisper of a reply.

“What’s up? Was I too loud for you?”

You’ve got the entire building on high-alert singing that loudly.

...is what you would say if you weren’t currently imploding. This is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. And nothing you ever want to experience again.

“Um, yeah, sorry.” You look down at your shuffling feet.

The hallway is pitch black, hardly allowing for even a mere shadow. Rushing out of your room, you’d forgotten to turn on even a single light.

You hear him step onto the tile floor and the rustle of a tower from the bathroom closet.

“Wait, can we talk?” He asks as though it weren’t the question of the fucking year. “I mean, preferably after I get out of the bathroom.” There’s a lack of tact to his words.

This isn’t the charming Oikawa you’re used to. This is a blunt… confusingly straightforward Oikawa.

His tone wavers like maybe he’d had a little more to drink than you’d last remembered. Your memory was proving to be disappointingly unreliable tonight.

You swallow thickly, “Sure.”

Because what else can you say?

“Can I stop by your room in a minute?”

You take a deep breath, “Yeah.”

And you patter back to your no-longer very safe haven. Oikawa is about to infiltrate your space… with your permission. And the weapons he’ll bring will either harpoon you or leave you emotionally paralyzed – whether that emotional paralysis is a good or bad thing will be decided in the near future.

Your bed, though soft and blanket-covered, looks far less appealing now. It may as well be a bed of nails because you would rather hide beneath it than sit atop it.

But you sit anyway, letting the mattress dip and the springs twang.

The bathroom door cries as it opens, putting you on edge. Your heart is pounding like a drum at a summer festival – hotter and louder with every beat.

The trod of footsteps tells you he’s approaching and, sure enough, the open door reveals Oikawa.

With only a lamp to brighten the space, he’s more contoured than usual. His hair is wet and heavy against his head, taking on an even darker brown than before. You’ve seen him fresh out of the shower before, but this… is different. Oikawa’s shirt sticks to his chest slightly – he must’ve thrown it on without drying off fully to get to you faster.

He takes a few steps into your room, choosing to lean his back against a wall next to your work desk. Oikawa brings his hands behind his back, pressing his weight into them. Brown eyes flicker from you to the wall behind you and back again.

Naturally, tension lays thick as a fog in the air space. 

“Hey, I’m…”

You cut him off, “You don’t have to say sorry! It’s… it’s okay.” 

Oops, you’d said that a little too loud. Not that it mattered much after Oikawa’s passionate performance.

An eyebrow raises and confusion sparks across his face. Your body freezes.

He brings a hand behind his neck. “Oh, I was just gonna say that I’m still kinda drunk.”

You knew that much. Though you really thought he’d say something other than that. Preferably something about the, uh, devoted love-song?

Why is he acting so casual right now? Is this even Tooru? Had he read too many alien conspiracies and been abducted for learning too much about extraterrestrials? 

Maybe he doesn’t realize you’d even heard him say your name in the shower.

“Oh... right.” You say slowly, lips staying parted at the end of your sentence.

“Which… probably isn’t good for either of us,” Different words drawl out and there’s a soft slur to some syllables, but at least he’s easy to understand, “me drinking too much, I mean.”

“Yeah,” you mutter.

“I think we should both just go to bed then.”

Your chest tightens. Of course, you want answers.

They’re likely embarrassing, face-reddening, Taylor Swift-centric answers. But you want them, nonetheless.

Although, it’s probably for the best that you don’t bring this up tonight. It was all probably a joke or a harmless accident – and, anyway, he admitted to being drunk.

“Right.”

“But I think you should know that I like you. A lot.”

“Yeah,” you respond again, automatically.

There’s another heavy silence. The pretty boy just stares at you, cherry colors tinting his cheeks but showing no expression of fear or embarrassment. You stare back, processing his words at turtle-like speeds.

The words tumble out, “Wait, say that again?” You double back, your own face reheating to its earlier temperature.

“I’m gonna be mad at myself in the morning if I don’t leave right now. And I really need to stop listening to that stupid song,” Oikawa says to himself. 

“But I wanted to see how you would respond if I changed the lyrics,” the words are pointed back at you again.

He stands up, feet moving slowly toward the doorway. Did he just… completely ignore your question?

Your jaw drops, “Did…” you can hardly speak.

Clearing your throat, you try again, focusing intently on your words, “...did you mean for me to hear you?”

“...Maybe.” He draws out the “e,” looking back at you.

That’s it. He’s lost his fucking mind. You’re going to strangle him. 

No TikTok advice could have prepared you for the monstrosity that is Oikawa Tooru. How Iwaizumi put up with that... that child for all these years, you have no idea.

You have to make a note of sending him a “get well” card, because nobody could be mentally okay after dealing with him for that long.

“B- but… why? What?” You stammer out, back stiff as a board.

“You like me don’t you?” He tilts his head, hair flopping cutely with it.

You gape like a fish, mouth opening and closing.

And it’s not that you don’t want to respond.

It’s that you can’t. You have no words. You vocal chords are on a panic-induced lockdown.

Because he knew.

He knew this entire time. Which you thought he might, but that doesn’t make the situation any less infuriating.

“And I like you back.”

You’re dumbfounded. You can’t think. This is ridiculous.

You open your mouth once more but he has no intention of continuing this conversation.

“Sleep well!” Without further comment, Oikawa flashes you a sleepy smile and begins scampering back to his room after having wreaked havoc on your poor heart.

Your voice comes back just in time for you to wake up the entire building once more,

“No, you get your ass back here and explain yourself!”

[astaroth1357]

Congratulations!! So happy for you!! Do you mind writing a HC for the Tiny!MC, where the brothers see Tiny!MC in trouble with some lesser demons? Like, the lesser demon is bullying them or about to hurt them, how would the brothers react? You don’t have to write this if you don’t want to tho. Again Congratulations!!!

Demon Brothers React to Tiny!MC Being Threatened by Lesser Demons

You know, my first thought was "Which one of you fuckers lost tiny!MC in the first place?? Bad demons! Worse than usual! Keep better track of your itty-bitty human!"

Pretty much uses the same continuity to the rest of my Tiny!Series, I put this somewhere during the “Lucifer, I Shrunk Myself...” portion.

Warnings: Violence, Overly Protective Behavior

Intro:

Five minutes. Their demonic guardian said they were only going to put them down for Five. Minutes. It shouldn't have been that dangerous, or even risky, because everyone should have known that tiny!MC was under their protection. Sure, an itsy-bitsy human would make a perfect snack... but who would want to provoke the wrath of the student council for no reason??… Okay so, lesser demons aren’t exactly known for their intelligence but still...

This is not going to end well...

Lucifer

Doesn’t that lowlife know who he's messing with? Lucifer almost pities him for being so stupid, really…

He brought tiny!MC out to the gardens at their request because they were getting restless being stuck in his room. It wasn't supposed to be a dangerous area so he felt fine leaving them briefly to answer a call from Diavolo. When he came back he found a lesser demon standing over them... drooling...

What came out was a rather chilling side of Lucifer normally only seen by Mammon. One where he can walk up to a person, demon form out in full, then drag them away by the collar with an eerily calm smile on his face.

Tiny!MC didn't see what Lucifer did to the demon… but they did hear Cerberus get summoned before the firstborn returned to them. Their imagination worked to fill in the blanks…

Lucifer apologized to them rather kindly (a real rarity for him) but they noticed he cut their visit short and took them back to the House quickly. They got the sense he'd rather they be safe but bored in his room than entertained but vulnerable to such a dangerous world…

Mammon

Pfffffft, Mammon is protective of MC even when they’re normal-sized. Them being tiny doesn’t change much.

He had brought them along with him for one of his gambling nights. Unfortunately, he got too absorbed in the game to notice a group of lesser demons getting closer to tiny!MC than they really should have… At least until they shouted for his help.

It's rare to see Mammon mad. It really is. But there was nothing but pure rage in his eyes when he grabbed one of the demons by the throat and sent him crashing through the roulette tables. His speed made it pretty easy for him to round up all the others that tried to scatter and he gave them a similar treatment.

After everyone was thoroughly on the ground, bleeding, he asked the MC if they were hurt. If they were, then that'd just earn the downed demons another round of his fury. No one hurts his human like that! Big or small.

He'll apologize a whole bunch for letting his guard down… but also complain a little on the way back to the House because his luck was just starting to turn around too! 😖😞

Leviathan

Direct confrontation isn’t something Levi finds himself in often… but there can be exceptions.

He and tiny!MC were in one of the few stores in town that sold otaku goods and he had set them down to do some browsing in that hyper, distracted fanboy way he gets.

A couple of lesser demons were just some other patrons who happened by them, but who could pass up such a convenient snack?

Well, tiny!MC was convenient until the guys heard what was probably the world's most unholy hissing sound coming from the other side of the room…

Levi has never claimed to be at the peak of demonic prowess or anything, but just this once he was at their defense at a speed he’s never pulled off before. In practically a blink of an eye, he has one asshole lifted by the collar and the other getting crushed by his tail. It wasn't a pretty sight...

After the threat was dealt with, he snapped right back into the same ol'Levi like nothing ever happened, though. Blubbering apologies and frantically checking to be sure they were unharmed... What a somewhat terrifying sweetheart. 🤭

He pretty much refused to take them anywhere again until they were back to normal. Who needs the real world anyway?? His room is the only place they ever need to be!

Satan

You know this is exactly why he kept them so close in the first place...

Satan had to retrieve a book from the highest shelf in the RAD library so he set tiny!MC down in order to climb the ladder. A small gang of lesser demons decided to strike while he was up there browsing...

When he slid back down and turned to see the demons had surrounded the table that he left tiny!MC at, his shout alone was powerful enough to rattle the shelves behind him...

Needless to say, the Avatar of Wrath made very short work of the threat. And a library ladder can make a surprisingly versatile weapon if you put it in the hands of someone pissed enough to use it... and strong enough to rip it off its sliding track… What was it? Metal? Steel? Eh, not strong enough to stop an angry Satan anyway.

After the dust settled, he double-checked to be sure the MC was okay and apologized for being so careless... But they could tell he was still trying his best to regain his composure post berserker freakout. Someone's going to have to nurse those bloody knuckles for him later...

His overprotective instincts tripled afterward. If you think that Satan was ever going to put them down again then that’s a fantasy. Between the lesser demons and that sly bastard Solomon, tiny!MC was never leaving his hand at RAD again. Period.

Asmodeus

Excuse me?? Some lesser demon was doing what now?! Oh HELL no!! Not to his adorable tiny!MC!!

Asmo was shopping with tiny!MC and set them down outside a dressing room while he tried on a cute outfit. Apparently, a lesser demon was doing the same in the stall next to him and came out to find a little human waiting patiently outside… powerless… vulnerable… and tasty!

Asmo opened the door right as the demon picked tiny!MC up to have a bite. The fifthborn's scream shattered all the mirrors in the store like he was some kind of infuriated opera singer then he ripped the demon a very verbal (and physical) new one...

Once the attacker was pretty much decimated, Asmo tended to the MC like they'd just gotten dragged through an active war zone. He asked them, "Are you okay?!" so many times that the words "I’m fine" pretty much lost all meaning...

The sheer carnage left the store employees too damn petrified to ask him to leave so he bought the (now ruined) outfit he had on and took them right home. His sweet tiny!MC was definitely getting a spa treatment that night as an apology… Poor thing...

Beelzebub

Apparently, some people just want to go bear poking for fun...

He and tiny!MC were outside a food stall and he had set them down to go wait in line. In hindsight, he probably should have known the meals would attract other hungry demons… ones that wouldn't mind a free snack… And tiny!MC got cornered pretty quickly while his back was turned.

Those demons might have thought twice about their plan, though, if they had known Beel would attack them with the entire stall itself. 😰

Poor tiny!MC, by some miracle, barely got out of the way of the wooden structure crashing down on top of their attackers as if dropped by the heavens in a fit of rage... Those not crushed under the wreckage got squashed under Beel's fists...

In the aftermath, Beel was barely recognizable when he picked them back up, holding his bitty human so close that they might have suffocated against his chest. Even the stall's very upset owner just backed away from him after getting a ferocious snarl…

It took him a couple hours to calm back down… Then a couple hundred apologies to Lucifer who has to foot the bill for that guy's ruined livelihood… But hey, no one would ever be dumb enough to touch his tiny!MC again. 

Belphegor

Heeeey! Picking on tiny!MC is his thing! Like he’s going to let anyone else give them any grief…

Belphie likes to hide on the roof of RAD sometimes to take a midday nap so he thought it would be funny to hide tiny!MC from the others by taking them with him one afternoon. Both were peacefully napping when a lesser demon apparently had the same idea and found them.

Belphie woke up when he heard their distressed cries and saw the demon trying to carry tiny!MC away... Oh, he wasn't having that.

Belphie shot up and snapped the scumbag's wrist to get tiny!MC free before he effortlessly sent him flying over the edge in one fell swoop. Give this to the Avatar of Sloth, when he does get moving he’s pretty efficient.

The demon's fall got cushioned by a grove of trees below, which earned Belphie a slightly less severe lecture from Lucifer. He did, however, get a pretty rough one from Satan anyway because he took the MC like that in the first place…

Beel took custody of tiny!MC yet again but even he was grateful to his twin for protecting their little human. Tiny!MC noticed Belphie started sleeping a little lighter when he knew they were around, but he'd deny that any supposed “guilt” had anything to do with it… Whatever he says, I guess. 🙄

[dindjarinbae]

The Stars in Your Eyes (Din Djarin x Reader)

first of all, this is dedicated to @anakinshooker, because she gave me the softest little idea for a little Mando fic, in honor of the season 2 trailer’s release. i’m in big love with Mando, my Mando heart really melted with this one. this is really nothing but fluff, like the plot is just fluff.

TW: none, mentions of a cut.

WC: 4455

PART TWO HERE!!

You lived a fairly ordinary life, or at least you’d like to think so. 

Naboo was a fairly normal planet, and that’s what you loved about it. You ran your flower shop and you came home each night and you went to bed and woke up to do the same thing, and you never grew tired of it. Maybe it was boring to some, but to you, it was everything. As a flower merchant, you had many fields to pick from, to frolic in, to buy flowers from, to arrange them, to sell them and spread joy. With just flowers? Yes. You were a believer that flowers could express so much. 

So you were content spending your days with them, and you did not want that to change. Change was not your favorite thing, which is why you wanted things to be the same, with the flowers and Naboo, and each constant in your life. 

Unfortunately that changed on a beautiful spring morning, two days before the solstice. You sat in your chair with your hands busy weaving a crown of flowers at your little flower shop on the corner of a sweet little street, when the door flew open, the bell above it dangling chaotically. Your eyes flew to the door and you stood, the flower crown falling to the table below.

No one stood in the doorframe, no one was outside near the shop, and no one besides you was inside the store. Or at least, it seemed that way for a brief second before you heard a small intake of air, and the output of that same air in the form of a happy coo. Your eyes dropped to the floor and they settled upon a pair of the biggest eyes you’d ever seen in your life. A child, and it could only have been a foot tall, waddled toward you, swathed in a big brown robe that swallowed his entire body, making his head seem ever so tiny, and his hands appear almost minuscule. It was the strangest child you’d see, green in color with big, long ears off the side of its tiny head, and a bit of fuzz on the top of said head.

You stepped away from the table and walked around the counter to the child, who was now reaching up for you with the most pathetic, three-fingered little grabby hands you had ever seen in your life. You took your time before picking him up, blinking and looking out the window behind him for anyone that might be searching for a little child. But there was no one. 

So you bent down at the waist and grabbed him by his itty bitty torso and lifted the little creature into your arms, and to this, he had much to say. He began to babble in your arms and reach up for your hair, as if he had been looking for you after so long and he finally had this chance to catch up, like a chatty aunt. 

“Where in the galaxy did you come from? Hm?” You asked and looked down at him, his big eyes narrowing just slightly, as if he had no idea what you were saying, and his babbling ceased. This question seemed to cause the small thing a bit of confusion, and he huffed a couple of times before he closed his hand around a handful of your hair. He didn’t have much more to say after you spoke, your question clearly vexing him and his happy little rant in gibberish, and you took the opportunity to walk outside your shop to look around for a moment, but as it was moments ago, no one seemed to be missing a child. 

No one ever came, and it wasn’t like you could let the strange and adorable little alien go off on his own, so you brought him back inside and sat him down on the tabletop where your flowers and flower crowns laid. He seemed to take a liking to these, because he picked one up with his chubby little hands and he studied it the best way a child can: with his mouth. You fussed over this and pulled the flower from his mouth, the pretty yellow blossom becoming a bit withered with the level of manhandling it had just experienced. But the kid seemed to find this funny, your bewilderment, and he giggled and reached for the flower in your hands again. And though you wanted to be annoyed, the giggle that came out of his little mouth was enough to bring the happiest of smiles to your face. 

So the day was spent like this, you and a lost child, playing with flowers, tending to customers, and giggling. Giggling and smiling and messing around in the little shop. The sweet innocence of the day almost made you forget about the kid being lost and how no one came looking for him. He sat on the counter with a little cup of fruit that you had put together for him and he was making a bit of a mess on his face, while you tried to figure out what to do with the little guy. So you took him home, just for the night, you told yourself. You’d find his home tomorrow. 

But that didn’t happen. 

You spent the night giggling and smiling and giggling and smiling and even more giggling and smiling with that little creature, before you two finally tuckered out. The baby laid sleeping against your shoulder while you read and his little snores and grunts were enough to return the smile to your face, and soon enough, you were ready to sleep yourself. 

Your routine had changed completely for five whole days. You’d had this kid in your care for five whole days now. As always, he sat on top of your counter while you bundled some flowers into a bouquet, playing around with a spool of glittering blue ribbon he had found in a little basket next to him, chattering and babbling on as if the ribbon and him were having the most riveting of discussions, and you found yourself wondering just what it was you thought the small child was saying. You shook your head and continued to add flowers to your bouquet, completely unsuspecting to the door that flew angrily off of its hinges, and the bell above breaking free to hit the wall on the other side of the small shop. 

You gasped and dropped the bouquet, a strangely strong maternal instinct taking over your mind, and you snatched the child right off of the counter before dropping to the floor. You tried to hide your panic from the kid, but his face was already scrunching up at the sight of yours, which was most likely terrified. He touched your face and made a little cooing sound before you shushed him, tucking his little head against your shoulder. Fear struck through you like lightening and you didn’t dare turn around when heavy, metallic footsteps became ever so prominent in your little shop. You closed your eyes and huddled in the corner behind your counter, knees drawn up to your chest and arms clutching the little alien that clung to you with nearly the same intensity.

The table next to your counter was kicked and it flew to the side, vases shattering against the floor and loose flowers flying all over, and you yelped, your heart pounding against your chest. You kept your eyes shut and listened to the heavy footsteps grow closer and closer until the child was ripped from your arms. At this point, your eyes flew open and you grit your teeth, launching yourself upwards, savagely needing to protect this little creature. 

Even if that meant somehow getting rid of this six foot tall man. Slathered in cold steel armor. Crowned with a sleek helmet and a big, long weapon holstered to his back. He stood easily a head taller than you and was now looking down on you, his stance making you cower only slightly, and you prayed that he didn’t notice. 

“Give him back!” You said and tried to lunge forward to grab the baby, but this was rudely unsuccessful, because with one hand, he pushed you back and you lost your footing, hitting the floor with a loud crack. 

You looked down and you noticed then that you had fallen into a thick vase, the glass cutting deep into your hand.

But the blood and the horrified expression on your face didn’t stop the child from whining a bit and the silent warrior standing over you. You couldn’t see his eyes through his helmet, but the stare you felt seemed close to deadly as he crouched down and grabbed the neckline of your dress, yanking you forward. 

“Who do you work for?” He asked, his helmet distorting what was probably the otherwise smooth voice and turning it into a menacing fear tactic. 

“N-no one,” you mumbled and tried to pull away from his grip. It only tightened. 

“No one? So you just took my kid for fun?” He asked, and though his voice was cold and robotic, you could hear its incredulous tone. 

You shook your head and grabbed at his wrist, but you winced, the cut on your hand stinging nastily, “I didn’t take your kid... he wandered in here. I’ve been watching him.. I...” you tried to get away from him once more but gave up, “No one came for him, I couldn’t just leave him somewhere.. he’s a kid,” you explained, almost breathlessly as the pain in your hand only grew worse as you became more aware of the glass that stayed lodged within the cut. 

He held your neckline for a bit longer before pushing you backwards just a bit. You cradled your bloody hand against your chest and you looked down at it. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked, but from your standpoint, it seemed pretty bad. 

Above, the baby whined and you could hear him grunting, and your gaze flickered up to him as he tried to wiggle away from the armored man holding him. He turned his green little head toward you and he reached one fat little hand toward you, a frown on his face. 

The man tilted his helmet down to the baby and then back at you, and he did this a few times before he sighed and crouched down next to you, letting the child down as well. 

“You took care of him? That’s it? Nothing else? Because so help me god-“ he began, and the baby teetered his way towards you. 

You nodded and leaned your head back, “Yes, I swear. I only took care of him. He wandered into my shop five days ago. I didn’t know where to take him,” you insisted and reached out with your good hand to meet the hand of the child which was outstretched towards you. His little stubby fingers wrapped around one of yours and you smiled just a bit, and he seemed to pick up on the fact that you were relieved to have him grab your finger, and a little smile formed on his tiny mouth. 

He liked you. 

—

This was nearly six months ago. After having your shop turned upside down, the father of this kid, which you came to learn was a Mandalorian, helped you clean up your hand before he promptly offered you a job. You would come along with him and the baby and watch the little alien while he took care of work, which you also came to learn was bounty hunting. 

You almost said no. 

Almost. 

But that damn baby and his big stupid eyes looked at you so happily, that you couldn’t say no, and you quietly accepted. 

And you couldn’t say that you regretted it at all, because of said baby. 

At first, things were tense. You referred to The Mandalorian as ‘Sir’ and nothing else, and he never corrected you or asked you to call him something different until a month or so later when he told you that you could address him as ‘Mando’. 

Mando was a man of few words. An unreadable man of few words. He always seemed emotionless, always seemed like he was capable of nothing but his job, and in the weirdest way, caring for the little green toddler.  

Until nearly three months into your new life with the two of them. You and the kid were taken by a spiteful quarry, and disaster led to more disaster, and it took nearly three days for Mando to find the two of you. 

After that he wasn’t so emotionless. 

After almost losing the child and you, Mando began to notice things about you that he never did before. Until that point, you were beneficial to him, no more, no less. He didn’t like you, and he didn’t hate you. You were convenient and kind and caring enough to help him with the occasional wound. You never asked questions very often, and that made him happy. The only time you asked something worthy of conversation was when you nearly walked in on him with his helmet off, and his chastising snap was enough to cause you to ask what you did wrong, which in turn, he briefly explained that the helmet did not come off in front of anyone, and you seemed to want to ask more. 

But you didn’t. Instead you respected his silence and in turn, he respected your talkative nature. 

And god were you talkative. This was one of the things he noticed about you very first. You’d only met Greef Karga twice, and that was enough for Mando. It didn’t seem to occur to him that if you put two talkative people together, they’re gonna talk. For hours. And so he sat in a cantina while you chatted happily with Karga about your flowers on Naboo, and he chatted right back about some girl he met and his favorite drinks and things such as that. The second time, Mando didn’t let it get even twenty minutes in before he was corralling you back onto the Razor Crest with a baby on your hip that was talking just as much as you were. Sometimes he’d hear the two of you having little conversations down in the hull of his ship. You were speaking as if you were talking to a dear friend, and the child sat upon your lap, babbling intelligently, absolutely confident that everyone could understand these unintelligible sounds he made. This seemed to make both of you very happy, so Mando let it happen, even if it went on for hours and his head was so full of baby noises and your voice that he wanted to yell. He wouldn’t ever admit how cute he really found your talkative nature. 

Of course, it was the kindness he noticed about you next. You were perhaps the sweetest person he’d met in his entire life. You were selfless for that kid, staying up all night to bounce him as he cried, or you’d do just ridiculous things to make him giggle. Sometimes you’d stay awake until Mando came back just to make sure he got there safely, and if he was wounded? You’d sniff it out like a bloodhound and insist that he let you help him tend to his wounds.

He’d almost always let you, just so he could indulge just a bit to feel your soft skin against his own. 

Almost a week after you and the kid had been taken, he began to find himself watching you more and more. 

He began to notice and appreciate things about you that he’d never thought twice about in the past. 

Like how your eyes would glitter when you were happy. He liked that. He found himself nearly cracking a smile underneath his helmet when he would watch your eyes light up. Or how you didn’t like to sleep if the baby was awake, because it made you anxious. He especially liked the time of night where you’d sit and twirl your fingers through your hair and read, and most times, he desperately wished it was his fingers moving through your lovely hair. He knew you were always cold. It’s just how you were. You weren’t used to being in space all the time, so if you ever fell asleep without a blanket, he’d be sure to cover you with one. And if you were caught outside with him when it got cold? He’d put his cape around your shoulders and instruct you to wrap it around your front, which you did with ease, because the thick fabric was made to fit his broad shoulders and it enveloped your frame easily. Mando took great pride in seeing his cape around your shoulders, almost as if he had some sort of ownership over you in the most loving way possible. 

Nearly four months into this arrangement, and he found himself actively listening and more frequently than before, engaging in conversation with you. This seemed to make you happy, and he liked that. He liked that a lot, because then your eyes would do that... thing that he loved. 

And to you? This was wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that you began to find yourself drawn to him, and within absolutely no time, you found yourself hopelessly in love with The Mandalorian. You knew it wasn’t good, and you knew you’d never get what you wanted from him, but that didn’t stop your foolish heart. 

He’d take as many opportunities as he could to tell you he was thankful for you and to note that the kid loved you, and each time, your heart would flutter, sending pink to your cheeks. 

He noticed this every time, and it always filled him with a sense of gentle pride.

He liked you. He really did. But as far has he was concerned, it was a silly crush on a silly young girl that came from a place of gratitude. 

Or that’s what he’d tell himself, at least. 

One day, six months into your arrangement, the three of you found yourselves on Naboo, chasing a lesser criminal, and when Mando had caught him, you had begged him to let you show the kid your favorite field to pick flowers from. 

At first, he refused. The second time you asked, he also refused. But by the fifth, he gruffly allotted you twenty minutes, supervised by him, in a field of your choice. You gratefully bounced up and down in front of him and you gave him a quick hug in passing, and the small gesture wouldn’t leave his mind, though he was sure it had left yours. 

When he landed the Crest in the middle of the field, you wasted no time in scooping up the excited child and running down the ramp as soon as it came down. 

It was nearly sunset as the two of you played around in the flowers, giggling and smiling amongst each other while under the over-observant watch of Mando, leaning against the side of the ramp while you two messed around. After a few moments, you skipped up to him and held out a soft pink flower, and instantly, he became speechless with the way he easily compared the color of the plant to that of your rosy cheeks. 

“Here,” you offered and when he didn’t reach for it, you grabbed his hand and placed the flower in it, “These are my favorites. Also, I think they’re the kid’s favorites, too. He keeps trying to eat them,” she said and he babbled in your arms, like he was agreeing with you. 

He didn’t wrap his fingers around the flower, but he held it in his palm and looked down at it before nodding. He handed it back to you and you shook your head, frowning just a bit, “No, no,” she protested and set the kid down, “It’s for you. I picked it for you,” she explained and the child waddled a few feet away to plop down next to a tall patch of grass with little yellow blossoms growing within it. 

He looked curiously at the flower and back up at you before nodding once, “Thank you,” he spoke, not sure of what to say. 

You nodded and you stood on your toes to place a kiss against his helmet, right where his cheek would’ve been, “Think of it as a good luck flower or something like that. I don’t know much about good luck charms though, so maybe just keep it in my honor, Mando,” she said softly with a giggle and went to sit down next to the baby, picking flowers with him. 

As Mando watched you, he felt that odd feeling again, the one he’d chalked up to a silly crush, and the words were already out of his mouth before he could stop them. 

“Din.”

You looked up from the beginnings of a flower crown confusedly, “Excuse me, what?” You asked and studied him. 

He cursed himself silently for that, but he couldn’t brush it off as an accident now. So he sighed and walked towards you and the kid, lowering himself gracefully to crouch next to you, “Din. That’s my name. You may call me that when it’s just us three,” he answered, watching your face before rising back up. He made his way back to his spot against the ship, leaning there silently. 

It had been well over twenty minutes, because now the sun had gone down and the stars began to grow brighter in the sky. You looked down and noticed the little alien had fallen asleep in the soft grass and you looked over at Din, who was staring off at the horizon. Or you thought at least. It wasn’t like you could feel his stare on you. 

But it was. 

“Hey, why don’t you come over here and sit for a minute?” You asked softly and looked over at him. His head didn’t move and he made no indication that he’d even heard you until he uncrossed his arms from his chest. 

He shook his head once and tapped the side of the ship, “We need to get going,” he spoke and turned towards the ship to board it. 

“No. Not yet. Please. Come sit for a minute, you could really use a little bit of a breather and there’s no better place to do it than a field of flowers,” you were practically begging, and he seemed to not care as he continued to walk up the ramp, so you waited a second before calling out to him by name, “Din? Please? Just for a minute and then we can leave.”

The soft way his name rolled off of your tongue stopped him dead in his tracks and he stood unmoving for a moment before sighing, and you could hear this distinctly through his modulator. He turned around and seemed to be assessing where you sat next to the sleeping baby and he almost reluctantly walked back towards you two. He stood over you for almost three whole minutes before he sat down next to you, and you made a point to scoot a bit closer to him. 

“You know, I used to make the prettiest flower chains for like... parties and things. And then people stopped celebrating all the time, you know? Most of the party goes moved away from Naboo slowly and now it’s just a lot of tourists,” you explained and plucked a bright yellow flower out of the ground and tucked it behind your ear before you leaned your head absentmindedly against his shoulder. He didn’t say a word, and you were used to that. He didn’t usually respond to your conversation. 

Din shifted slightly underneath you and you went to pull away, apologizing under your breath about laying your head against him. But he placed a firm hand on your thigh and you froze, “It’s alright. You don’t need to move,” he spoke, sliding his hand away from your leg. 

You tentatively rested against him once more and looked up at the stars beyond the Crest. Din would’ve looked too, but he had already seen the same stars in your eyes, hundreds of times before now. He’d rather see them there anyway. 

His gaze was fixed upon the light sundress that you wore that day, how it fell around your legs, just above the knee, and how the pretty pale pink fabric looked against your soft skin. He stayed like that for a while, silently sitting there so he didn’t disrupt your rest, and it wasn’t until he heard your deep breathing that he realized you’d fallen asleep. 

Din could’ve cursed your name for letting yourself get so tired, and it settled with him right then that you worked much too hard for your own good, and made a mental note to relieve you of baby duties more often so that you could rest. 

Finally, The Mandalorian decided it was time to leave, and he reached over to scoop the baby up and lay him on your lap before he stood and lifted you into his arms simultaneously. He made lifting you and the baby look as simple as moving a leaf, but perhaps in your case, moving a flower would be more accurate. Once inside of the Crest, he closed the door and laid the two of you down against a cot, plucking the child off of your lap and putting him back in his little pod. He covered both of you up and knelt down by your bedside, watching you peacefully sleep, and he would’ve given anything to run his fingers across your cheek right then. 

His hands moved to your face and hovered above your skin for a moment before taking a new route to his helmet, taking on a mind of their own. Din removed his helmet silently and leaned down to press his lips against your forehead, leaving them there for a long time before he pulled away and put the helmet back on. He rose to his feet and turned away so that he could start the ship and get into the air, his chest sinking when he realized that when you were sleeping was the only time he’d ever be able to do that, when you weren’t even conscious, when you couldn’t even feel it. 

Though you’d never tell him, you found yourself half awake when his lips were pressed to your forehead. 

And without his knowledge, you felt it. 

Oh, you felt it.

[wannabemobwife]

Guns, Glamour, and Goodfellas - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

Dad!Mob!Tom Holland x Mom!Mob!Reader

-Pairings: Tom Holland x reader, Parker Holland x Charlotte Owens

-Warnings: Language, Blood, Death, Fighting

-Words: 3.6K

Author note: I really love this chapter. I love all the comments and would appreciate nice constructive criticism (please don't butcher my work lol) if you want. Feel free to leave in the comments or message me directly your feelings while reading the chapter :))

Chapter 3: A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

Word: 3.6K

“Haz are you okay mate?” Tom asked, seeing Haz freak out, they were about to land at Heathrow, on their way back from Dublin.

“No, I just heard from my neighbor that Henry never came home last night. With everything that happened yesterday, I’m just worried. I hope he is not lying in a ditch somewhere.” Harrison explained.

“He probably crashed at ours, everything will be ok.” You said as you comforted Haz. Oh boy, were you wrong.

Back at home, Parker awoke to his impending death once you and Tom, his parents’, find out what happened to their beautiful mansion. One party did all this damage. The curtains were torn down, there was red party cups everywhere and all the liquor bottles were displayed on the table. One amazingly epic party did all that.

“Bloody hell! That’s it I’m dead. I’m dead. I will never be allowed to leave this house ever again.” Parker said to himself. Picking up his phone he noticed 4 missed calls from you. Each one had a message and if there was one thing he knew about you is that you only left more harsh and frantic voice messages the more you called.

He only played the most recent one, you sounded really peeved “PARKER JACKSON HOLLAND! Please call me, I’m worried about you. I can’t get in touch with the staff either. I will be home in 20 mins, you better have a good fucking explanation for everything.” Parker’s eyes nearly flew out of his head when he saw that was sent 15 mins ago. Any moment now he would hear the Rolls pulling into the driveway.

The poor kid could only move so fast, he quickly gathered the liquor bottles and threw them into a plastic trash bag along with all the red solo cups that seem to be multiplying. All the meanwhile corralling all the squatters, from last night, who crashed there. He found some people by the pool and others passed out in the dining room. Running like a madman through the house, he caught a glimpse of what would be the reason for his demise. The door to Tom’s office was open. He swore to god he locked it, someone must’ve broken in. They could’ve taken anything, all the information about the mob was stored in that one tastefully decorated room. Parker quickly shut the door and hoped nothing would happen, he couldn’t live with himself if this one stupid party cost his family their livelihood.

“Rosie? Henry? Where are you guys? Mum and dad will be home any minute, I need your help.” Parker called out throughout the house. He didn’t expect Rosie to show up because of their fight last night, but where the fuck was Henry.

You and Tom pulled up along with Harrison in the black Rolls Royce, coming to a screeching halt. You all walked along the cobble stone path to the two large, intimidating front doors. You all simultaneously freaked out when you saw the door was ajar. Tom and Haz pulled out their guns and made it a priority to keep you safe by shoving you behind them. You all had no idea what you could be walking into.

Tom whispered to Haz to split up, Haz took the East Wing while Tom checked the main rooms. Rounding the corner he could her footsteps.

“Darling, stay behind me. I don’t want you getting hurt,” Tom whispered and you nodded in response.

“On the count of 3. 1, 2, 3,” Tom screamed as he jumped out, holding his gun straight ahead. He found his son disheveled, carrying grocery bags filled with empty beer cans and liquor bottles.

“DON’T SHOOT! DON’T SHOOT! Holy fuck! Dad is that you?” Parker screamed, dropping the bags to the ground, glass shattering and raising his hand up in innocence. Scared for his life her quickly caught his breath when he realized who it was.

“Parker, what the hell? Why the fuck was the door opened…. wait? Did you have a party!?!” Tom thundered as he realized what his son did. His voice gradually growing more furious. Parker just stood there with a shameful look on his face.

“Mum, dad. How was Dublin?” Parker sneaked to quickly change the subject.

“Don’t try to get out this, explain now!” You scolded, just as furious as Tom

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did it, I just needed to blow off steam.” “What the fuck do you think a sorry is going to do? I run a fucking mob, Parker. Are you a fucking idiot? Parker, for fucks sake, anyone could have stolen some information from my office or gotten into the gun room. What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I’m not that much of a div, I locked your office and I don’t know,” Parker explained.

“You’re not as dumb as I thought. Hope you were smart enough to lock the liquor cellar too,” Tom concluded.

“Yeah…about that,” Parker mumbled as Tom ran off to his liquor room. A loud clash and curse sounded throughout the house when he laid his eyes on his ransacked priceless collection.

“Mum, say something?” Parker pleaded with you as you just stood there in silence.

“2 months. You’re grounded for 2 months. No dates or parties, just school and home. I don’t think you understand how lucky you are that nothing serious happened here.” You said, your voice drenched with disappointment. “I know, I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about what dad and you asked me and —” Parker whispered as he was soon cut off by Haz walking in.

“Did you find Henry?” Haz interrupted.

“No, I’m going to check upstairs. Will you check on Tom?” Harrison nodded as you ascended the staircase. Making your way through the halls, coming upon Rosie’s room.

“Roo, honey you awake?” You said walking into Rosie’s room

“AHHHH! Oh my fucking god! Rosie!” You screamed at the sight in front of you. Your sweet, slightly bad tempered daughter asleep with a boy in her bed.

“Darling? You alright?” Tom yelled from downstairs after hearing your scream.

“Mum, what are you doing here?” Rosie exclaimed frantically.

“Hi, Y/N.” Henry whispered, praying he wasn’t going to be berated. You were a mother figure to him after his own mother left his father and never looked back. “This is my house and hi Henry. What the fuck is Henry doing here in you bed? What the fuck are you doing here?” You questioned bouncing between the two of them to get some answers.

“I can explain. But, firstly are you gonna tell dad?” Rosie inquired.

“The fact that he is already fuming downstairs, no. Not right now. And please explain, you have 5 seconds, but first you need to get Henry out of here.”

“Thank you mom, I just don’t —.“

“Ehh, eh, eh! Shut it, I’ll deal with you later,” you barked.

“Henry, I suggest you take the window and your dad is looking for you,” you said.

“Shit! Thanks Y/N… I mean Mrs. Holland” Henry said as you shot him a glare.

The moment Henry was in the clear, Tom barged in with his gun in hand. Someone needs to tell this man to put it down. All morning he has been traumatically scarring his kids for life, first with Parker and now Rosie.

“What? Is everyone all right? I heard a scream.” Tom exclaimed out of breath.

“Umm, yeah. I just saw a spider.” You stuttered.

“Oh love, you can kill a man in cold blood but can’t handle an itty bitty spider,” Tom joked as he pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead.

“You're afraid of them too, Thomas.” You quipped with a side eye. If looks could kill, yours definitely would.

“And for you missy, you’re grounded along with your brother.” Tom said, looking down on Rosie. “Me? What did I do?” Rosie asked in a high pitched voice. “You attended this party correct? And since this is also your house, you threw it by association. Am I right?” Tom inquired.

“I guess so,” Rosie huffed.

The twin’s exile was worse than they prepared for. Not only were they responsible for cleaning up the entire mess but they were given a list of chores to complete. This was no ordinary list. It was devised by you and Tom along with inputs from the maids and capos.

On it read:

Wash the Rolls

Clean the guns

Reorganize the pantry

Mow the lawn

Re-order all stolen liquor and stock the liquor room

Drain the pool, clean the pool, fill the pool back up again…

The list was never-ending. Each task more pointless than the next. It went on forever. The household staff was happy for their load was to be lessen for a couple weeks, unlike the kids. Harrison even forced Henry to partake in the chores.

The kids were only a couple days into their quarantine and were already going stir crazy. Parker was having withdrawals from Charlotte, missing her even more. The boy was whipped for her, really smitten. They would talk the night away. Some nights never getting any shut eye as their conversations would prolong hours.

Parker couldn’t believe this was where he was now. One night of unadulterated juvenile fun equated to 2 months of misery. Today was Charlotte’s birthday and he was supposed to take her to the London Eye on a surprise birthday trip, but all his plans were ruined the moment his parents came home and grounded his sorry ass.

“I can’t believe your parents grounded you. Assholes.” Charlotte said over the phone, fuming he couldn’t celebrate with her.

“I can’t go babe. I really wish I could but I’m grounded for life remember.” Parker said, the cold shoulder Tom and you had been giving him was killing him.

“Parker its my birthday. You have to come,” Charlotte pleaded

“There’s no chance in hell I’m allowed to leave.”

“Geez you just threw a party, it’s not like you killed someone,” Charlotte added. He might as well have. If he killed someone he wouldn’t be burdened with this punishment, probably praised instead, carrying on the family tradition.

“Just sneak out. Come on, we are all going to this nightclub downtown. It’s gonna be awesome. And I’m such a good girlfriend, I can’t let you miss it.” Charlotte pleaded.

“Alright, Char you wore me down.”

“I knew it. Pick you up at 11 tonight.”

“Park around the block, I’m going to have to climb out my window. Remember my house is like a fortress.” Parker said. He wasn’t lying.

Meanwhile, Tom was in and out of meetings in his office all day. He received one odd phone call in particular from his dad, Dominic Holland. “Hi dad, how are you” Tom said as he picked up the phone.

“I’m fine son, so how did the talk with Parker go. I’m excited to teach him all my mobster tricks,” Dom exclaimed. “Actually dad, he reacted like I did.”

“Oh well, he will come around just like you did” Dom said encouragingly.

“I don’t know if he will. Anyway it wouldn’t be so bad if he had his own path in life.” Tom murmured trying to stick up for his son’s decision.

“Tom, you know what will happen to this family if that happens,” Dom yelled.

“I know dad. I just don’t want him to feel trapped, like you did to me,” Tom exclaimed growing more annoyed by the minute.

“What I did to you got you to where you are today. Your life is thanks to me son and don’t you forget it,” Dom said with a stern, menacing voice.

“Understood sir,” Tom quipped. “Maybe Parker needs a push, in the right direction.” “Dad, I swear to god, don’t fucking do anything. Y/N and I are handling this” Tom yelled. “We’ll see how that turns out” Dom ended the phone call. Leaving Tom frustrated that his father sees him as his own puppet.

The night soon fell and Parker’s plan had been put into motion. He bribed a few of the Tom’s men with his allowance to let him sneak past. He jumped out the window, carefully walked on the roof as to not slip and make any noise. Finally on the ground, he scaled the iron fence to be met with Charlotte’s ice blue eyes. She was dressed in a pink party dress that hugged her figure perfectly.

“Wow princess, you look *chef’s kiss. Happy birthday baby,” Parker said while making his way back to the ground.

“Thanks doll. Now come on, before someone catches us,” she yelled whilst hopping into her silver Mercedes.

Arriving at the nightclub, everything was in full swing for 11 o’clock at night. Parker, Charlotte and her other friends were treated like royalty the moment Parker let his name slip.

“Right this way Mr. Holland and I will have someone bring you a bottle of champagne, on the house of course,” the hostess said as she sat them at their table.

“Oooo fancy, you should drop your name more often,” Charlotte whispered in Parker’s ear.

“Oh it was nothing, love.” Parker said while pouring himself and Charlotte a glass of bubbly. “Seriously Parker, how’d you do this? If I didn’t know any better I’d say your dad owned the club or something,” Charlotte said dumbfounded, causing Parker to choke on his champagne at her remark.

It was amazing what power could do. Having enough power to make your enemies disappear was unimaginable. Parker knew what turning down his father meant. He would have the name and the look of a Holland, but he wouldn’t be one anymore.

How could he give all that up. He enjoyed his cushy lifestyle. Sure it was day after day of worrying about your image but, he felt as though he belonged in that world. How could he go on being a kid for two more years knowing there was a metaphorical expiration date on his life.

He desperately wanted to want to be like them, his family. You, his mother, are the strongest person he knows. Having you in his life keeps him grounded, literally at the moment. Also his dad, Tom is a very loving and amazing father. He was there at all the football games (English football) cheering him on and at the spelling bees, also when he felt his first heartbreak, Tom was there.

Family has been the one constant in his life. Now it was being eclipsed by power, a power that could ruin lives or affect change. Turning his back on his family means they would never get see his future.

No one would be there at his graduation from college or when he first child was born, only Charlotte would be there. The girl he hoped to marry and have his kids. He couldn’t give up his future with her, no way. Parker eyes glanced at her, mesmerized by her beauty. He thought to himself, “This was it. This, she is all I’ll ever need, my princess.”

Most of Parker’s pet names for Charlotte were derived from Tom. He had heard his dad refer to his mother as: princess, queen, doll, darling, love. The list goes on. As long as Parker had his princess he knew he would be ok.

They danced the night away. Song after song. Feeling like the only two people in the room. Getting more drunk as the night progressed and other guests started to fizzle out. Leaving Charlotte and Parker alone on the dance floor.

“Char, I think it’s about time we head home. We are the only people left,”

Parker chuckled.

“Just two more songs please,” she muttered with her head nuzzled by his neck.

“It’s two hours til sunrise!” Parker exclaimed.

“Just a little while longer, I don’t want this moment to end.” “Me neither baby, I want to stay in your arms forever” Parker said. In a moment of love, coupled with champagne and a few tequila shots, Parker whispered, “We should get married.”

“What? Are you serious? Do you mean now or in like 5 years?” Charlotte asked as her voice slowly diminished

“Umm… yes and now. I love you,” Parker murmured. “YES! I will marry you!” Charlotte exclaimed pulling her boyfriend into a deep, passionate kiss. Parker’s dream was coming true and all he had to do was leave his family.

Just then a group of tall, stocky men, all dressed in black, funneled through the door of the club. They didn’t bother with sitting down, they just stood there blocking the only exit.

One of the men spoke up, “Parker Holland? I have a message for you.”

“Can’t it wait til morning, just tell him I’m sorry and he can ground me even longer,” Parker replied thinking the message was from Tom.

“It’s not that kind of message,” all the noise drifted away as the other man drew his gun. Both Charlotte and Parker grew tense at the sight of his pistol.

“Charlotte, get behind me,” Parker whispered, scared for both their lives.

“Boy, it’s not from your daddy,” said the leader of the men. “Do you know who my father is? He will have all of your heads if you so as much lay a finger on me,” Parker responded

“So the girl is up for grabs?” “Charlotte, RUN!” Parker Screamed

“Eh, not so fast. I’m going to enjoy this one.” The guy said, seizing Charlotte in his grip and motioning for this associates to grab Parker. Two arms holding Parker back from protecting Charlotte.

“LET GO OF ME! CHARLOTTE!”

“Why you hanging out this rift raft? I’m sorry but he needs to atone for his mistakes.” “Parker..” Charlotte whimpered.

“Such a pretty girl and such a waste” the man snickered as he pressed the gun into her abdomen. Tears slipped down her face as she felt the cool metal against her.

BANG

It was the shot heard round the room. Everything stood quiet as Charlotte collapsed to the floor. The leader of the men shouted he need a drink. “NOOOOO! ” Parker screamed as he was let go and raced to Charlotte’s side

“Hey, hey, baby look at me. Look at me,” Parker said as tears flooded down his face.

“I’m sorry, we should’ve left.” Charlotte whispered with labored breaths while blood poured out of her wound. “Baby, you have nothing to be sorry for.” Parker cried while rubbing his thumb on her cheek. Blood pooled around them and he could only be focused on one thing, the love of his life dying in his arms. “Parker, it hurts so much,” Charlotte cried. The pain was mind-numbing. Threatening the life inside her.

“I know, love. Just keep your eyes on me love, keep’em open”

“I’m so tired Parker… I want my last words to you to be I love you. I love you ok? So much.” she whispered, then broke into a coughing fit. Blood filling her mouth and running down her chin, scaring Parker.

“Don’t, don’t fucking start that now you, hear me. You’re gonna be fine, we’re gonna get married and have kids and grow old together,” Parker exclaimed as her eyes threatened to shut.

“You said yes, Char. You have to be okay. You said yes. I asked you to marry me and you said yes.” Parker cried as tears refused to stop coming. Charlotte’s eyes growing more and more to a close.

“Please, don’t leave me baby. Charlotte don’t leave me. Don’t fucking close your eyes. You hear me. Don’t.” And with that, the hand Parker held so close to his heart was limp. Her eyes had closed and heart stopped beating. She was gone.

“No! No, no no, hey hey hey, come on, come on baby stay with me. Stay with me please.”

“Wake up, darling. Please. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Just come back to me baby. , I need you,” Parker whimpered. He burst into a fit of sobs and hugged her close to his body, not wanting to let her go because then it all became real.

The woman who changed his life, no longer walked this earth. The love of his life was gone. All the bubbling life inside of her, vanished like it had never existed in the first place. Parker’s demeanor flipped like a switch. His sadness became infused with anger, he was out for blood.

“You bastards! Why did you do that? She had nothing to do with this?” Parker thundered as blood coated his knuckles. “I’m sorry kid, but it had to be done” The leader spoke.

In a fit of rage, Parker grabbed the empty champagne bottle and smashed it over one of the guy’s heads, knocking the muscular guy unconscious.

“Big mistake, kid. Thought you were smarter than that.” The leader said as he stood in front of Parker and delivered him a swift punch to the jaw, flooring Parker.

“She really wasn’t enough of a message? Want her death to be in vain?” He spat as he kicked Parker in the stomach.

Several kicks followed, two more to the stomach, one to the groin and one final blow to the head, demobilizing Parker. He laid on the ground coughing up blood, trying to gather enough strength to get home.

He looked once more over to the girl he had loved, lifeless with a whole in stomach, knowing if it weren’t for him she would still be alive. Charlotte was the only thing on his mind as he succumbed to all the pain and everything faded to darkness.

Guns, Glamour, and Goodfellas Series Masterlist

Taglist: @thenoddingbunny-blog @adriannauni @dummiesshort

[awritingtree]

Never Enough (3/7)

Sirius Black x daughter!reader

Summary: Arriving at the Department of Mysteries did not turn out as Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Luna, Neville and Y/N Black had predicted. With Death Eaters trying to steal a prophecy, what happens when the Order arrives and everything begins to spiral down?

Words: ~1.9k

Warnings: shitty father-daughter relationship, violence, torture, injury, 

A/N: Well this took a proper while to post. Watch the next part test your patience even more ;) but it’ll be worth it, I have great plans for it. Phrases I used a million times: you, dark, pain - I got tired of the words by the end of this fic. Every time I typed ‘orb’ I remembered @approved-by-dentists​. ORBS. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this xx

Series Masterlist

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“Very good, Potter. Now turn around and give that to me, nice and slowly.”

Black figures emerged out of the shadows. Eyes were the only things to be seen from under the hoods, wands pointed at you all blocking the way to escape from every direction.

“Uncle Lucius?” you asked at the time as Harry, “Where’s Sirius?”

Lucius Malfoy looked at you, failing to hide the surprise on his face. He was expecting the rest of Potter’s friends to be there along with him, but not you.

“Where’s Sirius?” Harry asked again, the panic rising within him. “You’ve got him. I know he’s here.”

“It’s time you learnt the difference between dreams and reality. You saw what the Dark Lord wanted you to see,” Lucius said, looking away from you to concentrate back on what he came here for.

You were pointing your own wand at the figure nearest to you. You didn’t know what you were expecting when you came here, but it certainly was not this. You were panicking. Your clammy hands were shaking; you couldn’t take on Death Eaters, none of you could. Cold sweat dripped down your forehead, matting your hair against it. You tightened your grip on your wand as it started to slip.

“Not yet-” you heard Harry mutter.

A voice cackled in the dark, “You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!”

“Oh, you don’t know Potter as I do Bellatrix,” said Malfoy softly, “He has great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this.”

You felt Neville tense up next to you as Bellatrix Lestrange walked into the light, a malicious grin on her face. Her black, curly hair was wild and unkept - making her look deranged.

“You’ve got him, I know he’s here,” said Harry adamantly.

“Give me the prophecy, or we start using wands,” ordered Malfoy causing you to take a huge gulp.

“Go on then,” challenged Harry, raising his wand up to chest level; Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna doing the same.

“Do anything to us and I’ll break it.”

“He knows how to play! Itty, Bitty, Baby. Potter,” said Bellatrix, her cold, empty eyes staring through the slits in her hood.

“Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt,” said Lucius coolly.

You noticed the Death Eaters were slowly closing in, moving so slowly and quietly, behaving like shadows in the dark. It wasn’t noticeable unless one was really paying attention, which you were. You were wrenched out of the focus on one of the Death Eaters in front of you as Bellatrix Lestrange shouted, “YOU FILTHY HALF BLOOD!”

“Why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?”

You didn’t hear them reply for Neville nudged you on your side, “Smash shelves on mark,” he whispered discreetly.

“So he’s got you doing his dirty for him, has he?” continued Harry, “He tried to get Strurgis to steal it - and Bode?”

“Very good, Potter,” Malfoy said slowly, “But the Dark Lord knows-”

“NOW!” yelled Harry.

Seven voices chorused “REDUCTO!” The curse flew in seven directions, hitting the glass spheres on the towering shelves. Voices echoed through the vast room amidst the glass shattering and wood splinting onto the floor.

“RUN!” you heard Harry bellow before you took off with Ron, Ginny and Luna.

You covered your head protecting it from the falling orbs and spells flying by. Death Eaters were chasing after you, throwing spells and all they had into capturing any one of you.

“Petrificus Totalus!” you shouted, throwing a spell behind you without looking. It had successfully hit someone judging by the thud that followed.

“There! Through that door!” Ron yelled over the noise, pointing to a door right ahead of you.

You all picked up your pace. Luna ran through the door first followed by Ginny. You’d almost made it, ducking spells being thrown left and right, when you felt a spell collide with your back throwing you face first against the floor.

“Y/N!” you heard before blacking out.

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The first thing you felt was pain. Pain, pain, and more pain. Your head was throbbing, feeling like it was going to split open from the pain’s intensity. You slowly opened your eyes, having to blink a few times before they could focus on your surroundings. You groaned, sitting up, reaching a hand to the back of your head, hoping some pressure would relieve the stabbing ache. You glanced around and recognized the Brain Room you all had previously found when you’d been looking for the Glass Orb Room. You could see Ginny laying a bit away from you, knocked out. You could see Luna a distance away near a desk and what seemed to be Hermione, both unconscious as well. Ron was giggling like a barmy man, fighting what looked like a brain? You steadily stood up and took a step forward wobbling slightly. The pain in your head increased at the motion of walking, but you ignored it; Harry was nowhere to be seen and you’d just glimpsed Neville running through a doorway. You picked up your wand from the ground and made your way towards the shouts coming from the other room, trying to prepare yourself for what was waiting once you passed the threshold.

You saw one of the Death Eaters roughly grab Neville as you entered the room. There were several Death Eaters, you observed. Harry was standing on the dais, upon which was the stone archway, still holding the glass orb with Voldemort’s and his name on it. You stealthily started to make your way down the steps, hoping no one would look your way or hear you which sounded to be possible because of their obnoxious laughs and taunts.

“No, no, no,” said Bellatrix excitedly looking at Neville, “Let’s see how Longbottom lasts before he cracks like his parents… unless Potter wants to give us the prophecy.”

Your eyes widened at her suggestion, knowing exactly what she meant. You rushed down the stairs, the sound of your feet stomping against the stone stairs masked over by Neville roaring, “DON’D GIB ID DO DEM. DON’D GIB ID DO DEM, HARRY!”

Bellatrix approached Neville, raising her wand as you had reached the foot of the staircase continuing to run towards him. You jumped in the way at the precise moment.

“Crucio!”

All you felt was pain. Agonizing pain. The pain from your head before was nothing compared to what you were feeling now. Your body felt on fire from the inside-out. It felt as if you were being stabbed by scorching knives at every inch of your body. An ear-splitting scream left your throat. It hurt, it hurt so bad. You wanted it to end. You wanted it all to end; it was too much to endure. Your body twitched and thrashed around, bruising your already injured body further. You could hear Neville and Harry shouting for Bellatrix to stop as she laughed pleasurably. The pain seemed to last a lifetime before the spell was lifted off. You laid there on the cold stone floor, breathing heavily as you let out small whimpers. The pain and soreness still there as an aftermath of what had just occurred.

“That was just a taster my dear niece,” you made out Bellatrix speaking as you laid there, tears streaming down your face. “Now, Potter, either give us the prophecy, or watch both your little friends die the hard way!”

Suddenly, figures started to appear. ‘More Death Eaters,’ you thought frightened, willing yourself to move and stand up - get yourself and Neville away from the coming danger. You pushed through the pain, forcing yourself up. Your body was shaking underneath its own weight. A hand quickly wound itself around your waist, helping you stay upright. You looked to the side to see Neville.

“Are you okay?” Harry yelled over the chaos. You finally looked around surprised but relieved; the familiar faces of Dora, Moody, Kingsley, Remus and your father helping ease the pain a bit - help was here.

“Yes,” said Neville.

“And Ron?”

“I dink he’s all righd- he was still fighting de brain when I lefd-”

The floor between them exploded. You were thrown to one side of the room and thankfully this time, you didn’t injure yourself. You leaned against the tier and pushed yourself up. Somehow, miraculously, you still had your wand with you. You saw Dora duelling with Bellatrix, your father duelling a Death Eater as Kingsley fought off two. You limped your way to help Kingsley; you wouldn’t be able to do much against a skilled dueller, but little help was better than none. Just as you were about to reach Kingsley, you saw a jet of green light fly past in the corner of your eyes and Dora falling down from the stone stairs. Bellatrix had triumphantly moved on to duelling with another Order member as you stood frozen to the spot, coming to think the worst. You wanted to go check on her; anything other than stand there as your mind came up with the worst-case scenarios but it was as if you were paralyzed - unable to move or comprehend anything other than Dora’s limp body in the line of your vision.

The sound of Lupin shouting snapped you back to reality, “Harry, round up the others and go! Take Y/N with you!”

You spun around towards Harry’s direction who was already staring in your direction. He nudged his head towards the door you had entered from, indicating to get a move on. You nodded weakly, stumbling over your feet as you started to walk towards him and away from Dora’s body. All you could do was hope she was alright; knowing you had to get out of here or she would kill you when she found you’d acted stupidly and stayed in the middle of this chaos only to check up on her. It was extremely difficult for you not to run to her, she was your sister - but you knew you couldn't, not if you wanted to make it out alive of this situation to give her a piece of your mind yourself.

You were by the dais now upon which your father continued to duel Bellatrix. He was standing close to the stone archway, gradually inching towards it without noticing. He was laughing at Bellatrix, ducking her spells. You didn’t know when you had changed your course but suddenly realized you were standing only a mere few feet away from their duel.

“Come on, you can do better than that!” his voice echoed through the room.

You didn’t know when you had broken out into a sprint - where the rush of energy had come from, only Salazar knows. You didn’t know when you reached your father and pushed him. You didn’t see Dumbledore arriving, furious and ready to take some Death Eaters down. Nor did you see Remus and Harry running in your direction, terrified. You didn’t hear Bellatrix cry out in anger or your own yell, “DAD!”.

The only thing you did realize was the spell heading towards your father, one that could’ve been fatal.

The only thing you did hear was the yells of your father, godfather, and godbrother before everything went dark.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

General taglist: @heloisedaphnebrightmore @pregnant-piggy @approved-by-dentists @kashishwrites @remmyswritings @angelinathebook @idont-knowrn @coffee--writes @kinkyduuh @ickle-ronniekins @the-mighty-bookworm

Never Enough taglist: @evilluciferisevil @slyther-inn @bloodyxheaven @gcdric @mycobrakai1972 @loony-loopy-lupinn @mads-bri @tessaem @hannah220506 @hariosborn @kpopgirlbtssvt @xapham

Lmk if you want to be added to either taglist :)

[whatshername-please]

Out of the Water - Chapter V

Synopsis: You were very proud to be a mermaid, thank you very much. You didn’t want to be where the people were. Actually, you’d rather avoid it. Defending the merfolk was the biggest goal in your life… well, it was until you meet a certain pirate… it seems that your family really had a thing for humans, after all. Not that you’d ever admit it…

Pairing: Harry x reader

Word count: 4514

Part 5 of ?

Warnings: none? Possibly grammar mistakes? Also, some cuss words

A/N: English isn’t my first language, so I’ll probably mess up some tenses, grammar and stuff. Go easy on me, please. Feedback is always appreciated.

               The sun was fading away in the horizon and soon it would be dark and, as you walked, you wondered why everything in this damned kingdom had to be so far away? Didn't they have magic carpets or something like that? Besides, since it was getting darker by the second, the sense of urgency was growing too. You had the feeling that Audrey was just playing with you - she obviously knew where you were, so why she didn't make a move yet? It was like a cat and mouse game and you were the mice heading towards a trap. Also, Mal having the Amber did not put your mind at ease since you didn't have the advantage.

You were literally entering to the lion's lair willingly.

"What happened between you and Hook?" You raised an eyebrow and Evie, who had come to talk to you, explained. "We heard the screaming. I know he can be difficult to deal with, but soon we'll all be in Auradon together".

Evie was way too good for this world, wasn't she? You didn't have the heart to contradict her or tell the atrocity the pirate had done to you.

"I know, sweetie. Don't worry, I'll try to be civil, even if the person in question is an utterly jerk who deserves a punch".

She sighed, looking almost disappointed. Obviously, you didn't give the answer she was hoping for but honestly, what was she expecting from you? Moreover, your response was nice enough, considering Harry was annoying and a water thief.  

"That's a beginning, I suppose. But I think we can work on the aggressive attitude, though" she said with a shrug.

Oh, maybe you should have skipped the punching part... If she thought that was violent, you hoped she never found out that you almost chopped Harry's finger off, then.

As the time passed you grew impatient, it was already night and no one was in a chatty mood anymore. As for you, you've never wished for a day to end so fast and, on top of that, something else was bothering you and it was not the perspective of facing Psycho Audrey. Maybe it was the fact that once everything was over, Mal would let the kids off the Isle (it was what she had promised, after all). However, as much as you want to believe her, you had your doubts. Either way, nothing would ever be the same.

Finally, you arrived at Fairy Cottage and crossed the garden very quietly, trying not to draw attention to yourselves. When you finally got at the building, Ben burst the door open.

Great way to go unnoticed.

However, in the end, it didn't matter because Audrey wasn't there and your little journey had been a waste of time, thereby she was still on the loose and you had no one idea where she could be or what she was planning to do (but whatever it was, it would be unpleasant). Suddenly, the sound of a bustling knock filled the air startling everybody.  Ben followed the source of the disturbence and discovered a very scared Chad locked in the pantry.

The poor thing looked completely distressed and hysterical and, soon after, he mumbled some nonsense and rushed off without a second thought.

"Well, at least he is pretty" you said out loud. How Cinderela could have had such a foolish son was beyond your comprehension, but his golden locks made up for the lack of discernment.

Harry laughed and the clumsy encounter with Chad lifted everyone's spirit and, when you left the Cottage, there weren't Mal's gang or Uma's crew anymore, just friends trying to save the world. Even if you were all doomed; at least you'd end up things in good terms.

Yeah, that's what you naively thought.

Evie told Ben about Mal's promise and apparently Mal had had other plans that she didn't bother sharing with anyone: she was going to close the barrier for good. No more in, no more out.

Nothing serious or extreme.

No reason to freak out...

Holly shit!

You felt like a fool!

Just to think that you gave your word to Harry and Gil that Ben wouldn't do that! You were so mad that you couldn't even talk and it never happened before! Also, you didn't have the heart to face Uma, not after you said to her things were changing for the better. You knew how Uma pretended to be tough, but right now her spirit had been shattered...

Harry confronted Ben about the lie and you thought he'd lose his shit and gut someone, but he just looked completely broken, like someone had taken away his will to fight. Even though Harry and Uma knew pain and betrayal, they didn't expect this. They trusted the people of Auradon were different and they were let down.

Things weren't suppose to go this way! You wanted to do something! Anything! But what?

It was then that Celia took the amber from Mal's hand and threw it into the water. Well, if you were screwed before, now you were hopeless. At least it was for a good cause, if people in Auradon thought their lives were worthier than the life of the inhabitants of the Isle, let them rot. You couldn't even be mad at Uma for leaving since that was what you wanted to do too, but you knew there was nothing you could do to help her in this moment. Actually, you knew Uma well enough to know that going after her would only bother her.

The words Harry said to you earlier about Auradon's privilege echoed in your mind and you couldn't stay put anymore.

"I know this is not my place to say something. I mean, most of the time I'm not even here, I'm not a VK and closing the barrier doesn't affect my life... but it does. It does because there are people there, good people destined to live a dreadful life just because they were born on that Isle! People in Auradon have been living their perfect little lives where everything is pretty and colorful while we claim to be the good guys, but what we have done to the villains and their kids is atrocious! There will always be good and evil, that's how life works and we can't run away from it. Deciding which path to follow is what defines someone's true self, but in order to make this decision we need to have a chance. Mal, you of all people should know that, you had a chance and now that your life is good you want to deny those children the same opportunity? From this day on, every time you play 'happily ever after' with your prince charming, know that you are doing it at the expense of a child on that Isle"

You wish you had heard Mal's reply, but as soon as you finished talking, the world froze.

                                                     _______

Legend says that you were indeed the hottest stone statue in Auradon, but it didn't soothe you a bit. To say you were pissed was not nearly enough to express what you were feeling right now. If Audrey weren't already dying, you would have gladly killed her yourself. The only reason why you were still in the awful human world was Uma... this, and also because becoming stone had consumed all your energies and right now you were way too busy drinking a huge bottle of salted water to not die of dehydration.

Your grandfather would have to choose another diplomat because you were never ever setting foot on land again.

Maybe, if you weren't so angry, you would have choked on your drink when Mal told Hades was her father.

It explained a lot about her, though.

So, Hades, Mal's father, was the only one who could save Audrey and they were going to fetch him on the Isle to help the dying girl. Oh! The double standard! When a kid from Auradon curses everybody is "a mistake", but if someone from the Isle does that is "they are too dangerous, let's lock them up forever". Is it fair? No. Does anyone care? Also no.

You thought it couldn't get any worse, but boy, you were wrong. Uma just said she was going back to the Isle, which was pretty understandable and expected, but you had one itty-bitty tiny hope that she would stay.

Oh, on top of that, everyone accepted Mal and Ben's selfish decision to close the barrier. You scoffed under your breath, salted water wasn't enough to deal with all this, you needed something stronger, like vodka. The good thing was, since everyone was leaving and your cousins were safe, you had no more business in the human world and you took your cue from the VKs to announce your own departure too.

You waited for the limo alongside Uma, Harry, Gil and Celia, the atmosphere was tense, and you had seen happier people at funerals.

"I thought you were going back to Atlantica" the teal haired girl said, breaking the overwhelming silence.

"I'll go with you... until we reach the barrier, at least" your voice was more hoarse than you expected it to.

"Yeah, don't want to risk getting trapped, right?" If this was supposed to be a mean comment, Harry had failed; he just sounded sad, like everyone else. The pirate wasn't expecting an answer but you gave him one, anyway.

"I wouldn't mind going to the Isle, but there is no magic there and no magic means no legs for me, so you would be stuck with a mermaid... unless you don't care to carry me around..." you half-joked.

The car finally arrived and you got into it. It was nice that Ben sent the limo to pick up the VKs, and the guard's vehicle was going ahead, probably to go find Hades. There was all sorts of food in the limo, but no one touched them because all of you were way too lost in your own minds to be hungry. As you were approaching the Isle the unsettling feeling in your stomach grew worst and there was definitely something wrong with your eyes. Just before the car crossed the barrier, you asked the driver to stop. For one second, it seemed he would argue against it, but you gave him a warning look, since you weren't in the mood for more useless fights.

"Uma, can we talk outside for one second, please?" you asked.

You two got out of the car and, as soon as Uma closed the door, you hugged her.

"I'm sorry, Uma. I'm so sorry" the only thing you could do was to repeat how sorry you were, but you knew your apologies didn't change anything.

"I know" she reassured you, looking in your eyes "It's not your fault, you shouldn't be apologizing".

"Someone has to" you said, your felt so tight in your chest that hurt. Then, Uma smiled and hold your hand.

"Thanks for everything you've done for me. I don't know how I would have gone through the past months without you"

"You'd have done just fine, you're a fighter" it was now or never, you lowered your voice so even if someone in the car was paying attention to the conversation, they wouldn't hear you "You can still change your mind, let's go back to Atlantica and, before you interrupt me, Harry and Gil can come too. I have no idea how this is going to work but we'll figure it out" you offered her - you had to try.

"You know I can't abandon the Isle, speacially now" her eyes were full of sorrow, she knew exactly what meant to go back "Maybe you can swim near the barrier so we can see each other from time to time".

You knew she would say that, but it didn't mean it hurt any less.

"Definitely!" you tried to sound cheerful, but the words that left your mouth were robotic and fake "We'll see each other again".

This was a lie, even if you saw each other it would never be the same. The realization hit you hard and that weird feeling that you had in the car, finally made sense when streams of salt water started falling from your eyes.

"I'm leaking!" you freaked out "What is that?! I'm leaking!"

"You're crying, you idiot" she laughed, her eyes watering too.

"Nonsense, mermaids don..." before you could complete the sentence, Uma hugged you again, which made you start crying even harder.

No, not crying, leaking.

"I promise, Uma. I'll not stop fighting for the Isle. I'll talk to Mal, Ben or whoever I must to! They will change their minds, even if, in order to do so, I have to summon up the wrath of the ocean upon them".

You didn't know how long you two stayed crying in each others arms but a voice with a thick accent called both of you after a while.

"Are you ladies alright?" Harry asked. The pirate and Gil were standing there next to both of you. The dark haired boy had a hint of curiosity on his face but he knew better than to tease his captain.

You two pulled away from the hug, Uma looked slightly embarassed to get caught in such an emotional moment.

"I can't believe I'm leaking" you said while trying to wipe away the tears from your eyes; however, they insisted on falling down.

This was so awkward.

"You're not leaking, you're crying" Gil's brow furrowed "Don't you know what crying is?"

"Yes, I do... it's just I've never cried before..." you said between sobs.

"Wow, life in Auradon must be really perfect if people don't even cry here" for the firts time since you met him, he sounded sad. The boy was probably thinking about all the opportunities he would never have in Auradon because he was destined to live on the Isle forever.

They took away Gil's bright smile and you could not forgive that.

"It's not that... I live in the sea, tears don't fall when you are under water" you explained, finally calming down.

"Maybe the ocean is just a big pool of mermaid's tears." Gil said absently, eyeing the vast blue ocean in front of him and you couldn't help but hug the blonde boy too.

The Sea Bitch was such a softie.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Gil. I wish we had more time to know each other better, but I know for sure that you're loyal, brave and gentle. I hope you are very happy. You deserve it".

You broke apart short after and Gil seemed very touched by your words.

"Thanks... that was one of nicest things that someone ever said to me" he offered you a shy smile "I wish you the same".

You looked at Harry, who looked back right into your eyes. You stared at each other until you hold out your hand, which he accepted. It was weird, Harry Hook has gotten on your nerves since the very first moment you met. He was smug, annoying and a little crazy, but at the same time he was very funny and fearless, qualities that you admired. You wanted to say something, but before you could open your mouth he let go of your hand.

That was it, then.

You also said goodbye to Celia and wished her the best. Then, the VKs got into the car again and, since Harry was the last one standing outside, you took the chance to ask him a favor.

"Please, take care of Uma"

His face broke into small smile and he nodded slightly.

You watched with a shattered heart the limo cross the barrier, taking away your friends from you forever.

There was nothing else you could do, so you jumped into the ocean and disappeared between the waves.

Not an hour ago all you wanted was to be back home, but now everything seemed pointless. For the last months Uma lived in Atlantica and going back without her gave you a knot in the stomach, things wouldn't be the same anymore without your friend there. The two of you used to spend hours plotting ways to get everyone off the Isle, finding a hole in the barrier or just talking about the future... and now you had nothing but crushed hopes. Of course you wouldn't give up, but you felt like you had moved backwards 10 spaces in the game, you fought for the merfolk on the Isle for so long and when it finally seemed that everything was going to be fine, it was a lie.

You were so absorbed in your thoughts that you didn't pay attention to where you were heading, which caused you to bump into your mother and younger brother.

"Where have you been"? Attina asked, her voice was somewhere between angry and concerned, but it was impossible to miss the vein popping out on her forehead "I was worried sick about you!"

"Sorry mom, I was in Auradon" you told her, knowing very well that this answer would only upset her more because there was no way she hadn't hear about Audrey and her little mishap.

"Auradon?!" The look of horror on her face made clear that she knew about what happened and wasn't happy about it. If humans thought you were hardcore, it was because they never talked to your mother "Do you know what Sleeping Beauty's daughter did?"

If you knew? You lived and survived it.

"I heard even Uma was there! Your grandfather was almost sending guards to look for you and your cousins! What happened?"

"Did you finally meet Uma, then?" your brother, Nereus, joined the conversation. He didn't know anything about Uma or that you two were friends. Also, he had no idea that he had talked to her many times when she was under the charm spell.

Then, your mother called by your full name, which never meant something good.

"You weren't there in hopes to befriend Ursula's daughter and bring all the merfolk from the Isle to Atlatica, were you?" Your mother knew you so well... and she wasn't happy.

"Of course not, mom..." I'm already friends with Uma, you added mentally.  

Before she started complaining, you explained everything that happened that day (ok, almost everything, you definitely skipped some parts). Her disapproval face grew to the point her vein was ready to explode, while your brother gasped and cheered at the most exciting parts, as you told the story. Under other circumstances you would have narrated the events in a dramatic and majestic way, not sparing any single detail; however, it was way too painful to remember that was your first and last adventure with Uma and her crew.

"Will they close the barrier forever for real?" Nereus asked and, when you nodded, he offered you a sympathetic smile. He knew how much you fought for the merpeople on the Isle.

Your mother, on the other hand, had other things bothering her.

"So, you tell me that they let a bunch of kids fight against a delusional girl who held one of the most dangerous tools of dark magic in the kingdom? Where were Fairy Godmother, the Blue Fairy, the 3 Good Fairies? You can't trust fairies, that's what I always say to your grandfather! Where were Belle and the Beast? Any adults?!" as she talked, her voice got more and more high-pitched, until she was practically shouting.

"They were probably under Audrey's spell" you enlightned her, even knowing that it would not ease her mind one bit.

"That's an absurd! How can we trust our kids to go to Auradon Prep if they can't keep the security system of a museum working properly?!"

You and your brother exchanged looks. Although your mother had a valid point, you didn't want to hear any of it, which was odd, because you never missed the opportunity to roast the human world.

Claiming to be tired, you excused yourself and swam to your room and, as soon as you got there, you glanced at the spot where Uma would used to stay, knowing that you'd probably never talk to her again. You felt like someone was crushing your heart and if you weren't under the sea, tears would be rolling down your face. You lay on the bed, trying to stop thinking about Uma, the Isle and everything. It was a good thing that you were exhausted, so you soon fell into a dreamless sleep.

You weren't sure how much time had passed, but, suddenly, you were woken by someone knocking on your door. You cursed under your breath, who, in the seven seas, was disturbing you right now? Not even bothering to look up, you invited whoever was at your door to come in, you heard them entering and closing the door and, after a moment, you felt the weight of someone sitting on your bed.  

They coughed and you recognized the deep voice that belonged to none other than your grandfather, King Triton.

"Grandpa!" you sat up quickly and hugged him.

"Hello, my dear" everyone feared your grandfather for he had quite a dauntless reputation (even you had to admit that he was frightening sometimes), also, his temper was known in all Auradon. However, when he looked at you with those gentle eyes, you forgot he was the King of the ocean, in these moments he was just your grandfather and you fell protected and loved near him.

"Oh grandpa, it was dreadful and I'm misarable" you hugged him again, hiding your face on his neck.

"Your mother told me what happened and that King Ben wants to close the barrier" his voice was so calm that it was difficult to imagine that when he was angry he could create storms and tsunamis.

"That's horrible. I feel so powerless and guilty! I know most of people think everyone in the Isle is evil but that's not true! They are kind and loyal and they don't deserve to be doomed to perish in that place! You should have seem their faces when Mal told them the program had been shut down" your grandfather wasn't know for his love for villains, everytime someone brought Ursula up he got riled up and changed the subject quickly, but you needed to speak out.

"And who are 'they' that you're talking about?" he asked, stroking you hair softly to confort you.

"You know... Celia, Gil, Harry... and Uma" you were nervous to talk about Uma with him. Actually, despite him knowing that you were in charge for her "search party" you have never discussed that you wanted to bring her to Atlantica, even more that you had brought her to the palace clandestinely and that she lived under his roof for months.

"Uma?" his voice was stern when he said your friend's name.

"Grandpa" you straightned up and looked him in the eye "I know it must be hard for you because Ursula caused great pain to our family but Uma has nothing to do with it, she is brave, smart and care so much about other people. She had the chance to stay in Auradon but she came back to the Isle because she couldn't abandon them! She might has taken some questionable decisions, but who hasn't? She was fighting for what she believed was right! Isn't it what you taught me?"

King Triton furrowed his brows; the wrinkles in his forehead were visible which could only mean he was deliberating something.

"You do seem to know a lot about her" he said after a while, his voice and face were severe and you swallowed... this conversation was taking a dangerous path.

"Well... I..."

Before you could finish the sentence, your grandfather cut you off.

"I know what you did"

You froze, he couldn't possibly be talking about Uma living in Atlantica. There was no way he knew that, if he had had any suspicion of what you did, he would have been beyond furious, so you tried to play cool.

"What are you talking about, grandpa?"

He raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"I know you brought Uma to live here in Atlantica"

And then you died.

The end.

Oh wait.

You weren't dead... but you were sure your grandfather just told you that he knew about Uma... Something was terribly wrong. He probably noticed your bulging eyes and horrified expression because he elucidated soon after.

"I raised seven daughters, my darling. I don't need my trident to see through a charm spell and a lie" it was weird, his voice was strangely serene and he looked slightly amused.

"But... how... like... why... Aren't you angry?" there weren't enough words to describe your shock right now.

"I learned to trust the people I love a long time ago, even when we don't agree on the subject." his tone was solemn and wise and it made you feel so small and pathetic because you knew you had disappointed him.

"I'm sorry, grandpa.... I'm sorry that I lied to you and that I disappointed you, but I'm not sorry for what I did" you didn't have the courage to look him in the eyes, but he lifted up your face and smiled.

"You didn't disappoint me. I trusted you enough to let you do what you thought was right, that was what I taught you. And considering everything I saw in the last months, I believe Uma is a good girl and I'm glad you're friends"

You returned his smile, not in your wildest dreams you thought your grandfather would understand this and it made you so glad how supportive and understanding he was about everything.

"I'm sorry for lying to you! I won't do it again" you promised him.

"You're young, you will" he laughed it off "But trust me when I say that I'll be by your side no matter what"

Everything should be perfect; however, there were a bitter feeling in your mouth and a knot in the pit of your stomach that you couldn't get rid of. In the end, it didn't matter if your grandfather trusted Uma or not, because she would be trapped on the Isle forever.

"So… I think I need your help" you bit your lip, uncertain of how to say it "We can't let them close the barrier for good, but I don't know what to do!"

"Don't worry, I promised I'll talk to King Ben about this. They can't just close the barrier like this without measuring the consequences" he reassured you "Now, rest, my darling. You had a long day"

He got up and swan towards your door, but before leaving he turned his head and said.

"Otherwise, you have my permission to summon up the wrath of the ocean upon them" he winked at you and left.

"Wait" you whispered to yourself "How does he even know?"

And then it hit you.

"SEBASTIAN!"

[myhusbandsasemni]

Underground Hero: The Beginning

Summary: Foxfire and Silas meet for the first time uwu

WC: 2327

Content Warning: Electrocution, torture, pain, near death, heart failure

......................

“Welcome to being a hero, Silas.”

Silas looked down at his new papers and smiled. He was a hero now. He could really officially help people the way he wanted to now. Not to mention that he'd get paid for it, but that hardly mattered. Pay really just meant money for supplies to help him become a better hero. And he would. He wouldn’t be number one, heavens no. The number one spot was way too much attention. Number one spot can get someone killed. No. Silas was happy to work quietly, doing the background jobs that no one ever found out about because it’s just not that glamorous. But he would do good.

“Thank you, Sam,” Silas said with a nod to the vice president as he stood in the man’s office. Sam’s walls were covered in pictures of heroes and newspaper clippings. As the vice president, Sam was the unofficial head of the superhero licencing committee. His term would go until he retired or until he was deemed unfit for the job in any way, shape, or form. The president was voted in separately from the Vice president. 

Sam smiled. “I’m glad to have you. You surprised us all, though, I have to admit. It’s been awhile since someone in their late thirties decided to be a hero. After all, heroing is more of a kids game.”

“Then what are you doing here, old man,” Silas teased.

Sam laughed, rubbing his hand through grey speckled hair. “You got me there.”

The memory shattered there.

Silas bolted awake as electricity skittered through his spine and wrists, throughout his whole body. This one went a lot longer than the others. When it finally let go, it was all Silas could do to remember how to breathe. 

Three weeks. It had been three weeks since he had been captured. Three weeks since he was taken and strapped to this forsaken chair with prods digging into his back and wrists, activated so randomly it had to be controlled by a computer. He was so exhausted he spent much of his time in a half daze, unable to sleep comfortably knowing he would only be waking up to another bolt down his back. Sometimes, the zaps went for much longer, other times they were itty bitty jolts to scare him. Silas hated it. He was tired. He had given up the thought of rescue. He didn’t have a team and the group who had captured him were very, very good at making people disappear. Still, he had thought Sam would have sent someone to look for him. They were friends after all and Sam knew a lot of people.

Silas hung his head and lamented his pitiful state. He had not been up from the chair since he got to this too bright room. He was filthy, to put it mildly. He ached in so many places, his muscles were atrophied, he was constantly hungry and thirsty, though he wasn’t actively being starved. And a pain had started up in his chest a few days ago. If Silas were to have a guess at that one, he would say that his heart was finally giving in to the strain. Silas probably wouldn’t live to see the next week. He had accepted that.

“...hero, amirite?” a voice said, passing the door. “Absolutely pathetic. What good are his powers now?”

The voice faded and Silas gritted his teeth. Ahhh, his powers. They weren’t much at all. He fought more with his brains and brawn than with his power. He had abilities with bio electrical pulses. He could change a person’s mood or knock them out with a touch occasionally. He could sense where electrical bugs were in a room or what was wrong in a system flowing with electricity, but he couldn’t really manipulate it outside of living beings. Only mess with it slightly. Which was probably why his captors thought it would be really funny to slowly electrocute him to death. 

Silas straightened and stretched as much as he could against the straps at his wrists, ankles, and the one across his bare chest to make sure he back stayed connected to the prongs. He relaxed as much as he could. The pain in his chest was getting worse. Maybe he should be planning to greet death a bit soon-

Silas screamed as another shock rocked through his body. It stretched on and on and on. When it stopped, the machine made a high pitch whine to match Silas’s own groan. His muscles were spasming badly. His chest pain was increasing. He came back to himself very slowly, like his soul was reluctant to still be in the vessel of pain. Silas could smell something.... Cooked? This was no longer burned skin and fat. The prongs were probably now in contact with his back muscles, having burned everything else away. It hurt. It hurt so badly. Silas wished he didn’t have to breathe. It stretched at the skin on his back and sent agony deep into his chest with every inhale.

There were tears on his face. He didn’t want to die. He had accepted that he probably would, but he really didn’t want to. He wasn’t scared of death. He was scared of dying like this. 

Silas fell back into unconsciousness at some point and was awoken not by yells of drunken henchmen or the electricity spiking in his body. Something had dimmed the lights for the first time in three weeks. He opened his eyes and stared at his lap. Then, he lifted his head. For a moment he thought he was seeing things, or maybe that this was the form that death decided to use when it came for him, but neither of those felt right. 

A slightly glowing blue globule squeezed under the doorway and came out from under it with the smallest of sucking sounds and then a strange pop. It rolled across the ground, wobbling back and forth a little bit, spreading and stretching weirdly. The blob became more of a globe shape when it stopped in front of him. Silas stared at it. He felt something rise up in his body. Maybe,... hope? 

The globe pushed forward, climbing up his leg and then his chest and neck and nuzzled the side of Silas’s face, pushing his hair back and snuggling in. Silas curled his head towards his shoulder to cradle it there. It-no...she was a perfectly normal texture. She had the feeling of soft, warm hands cradling his face. If Silas hadn’t been so tired, he would have started sobbing. She was warm and he could feel her humming.

Silas felt her slide across his face and out of his hair behind him. He bit his lip to keep from crying out to beg her to stay. He turned his head to see her zip around the machinery and then disappear inside. She vanished just in time for Silas to hear the quick warm up sounds of the machine. He winced and felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, but there was no pain. Not even a spark came through. Silas listened to the absolute silence after the machine made it’s winding down whine. Then came the stomping footsteps.

Two henchmen came running in. One was taller and thinner, and the other was short. The tall one looked Silas over and then turned to the machine, coming to the correct conclusion that Silas had nothing to do with the failure. Not in his state. The shorter one probably knew that as well, but Silas could easily tell he just wanted an excuse to fight.

“What did you do?!” Short yelled, stalking forward as Thin came around the machine to inspect it and see if it was fixable. 

Silas flinched away from the man and said nothing. Short growled and got directly in his face. Silas didn’t even try to look at Short’s face. The man snarled and Silas almost didn’t feel the first hit to his stomach. Then he couldn’t breathe. Blows were rained down on his face, his sides, his stomach, his shins, everywhere the horrible man could reach. Ever punch to Silas’s chest sent him back into the prongs just a little more, awakening the burns and aching flesh. The pain built up in his chest, tightening everything there so he couldn’t breathe. He could feel his body start to spasm under the blows as it tried desperately to right whatever was wrong. It took a full minute for either of them to notice this.

“Stop!” Thin exclaimed as Silas choked and his arms spasmed as he began to feel black encircle him. 

Silas barely noticed the two leave the cell at a run. All he could focus on was the feeling of tight bands constricting on his chest. He was sweating and the urge to throw up grew in the back of his throat. Darkness started to take his vision when he could suddenly think again. He had thrown his head back against the chair. He lifted it with a grown and looked down to the round blob that had rested on his chest. She pulsed gently to a heartbeat. No, he could feel his heartbeat. She was telling his heart when to pump. 

‘I broke the machine,’ a soft voice said in his mind. It felt like a small girl’s voice. ‘I couldn’t let them hurt you more.’

Something clicked in Silas’s mind and he could feel her there. She was communicating in his head. And he could feel her worry, childish love, and desire to help. He also felt her loneliness. He knew in that hazy, delirious moment that he would protect this girl from anything that dared threaten her. 

“Who.. are you?” Silas asked, voice cracking. 

‘I’m Foxfire,’ she projected into his mind. ‘That’s the name I chose. I’m here to save you, Silas. I need help, Silas.’

Silas had so many questions, but none of them seemed to matter now that the pain and tightness in his chest had lessened slightly. 

‘I can open your cuffs and unlock the door,’ she projected seriously, gathering what remained of his concentration. ‘But I’m tired. I’ll be able to tell you how to get out, but I’m going to be useless besides that.’

“Why are you tired?” Silas got out as she enveloped his hands and undid the straps. 

‘I wasn’t ready to come save you.’

“Why’d you come if you’re tired,” Silas asked, doing his best to keep a slur out of his voice. 

The blob, Foxfire, stopped. She moved in a way that reminded Silas of a small girl looking up innocently at him. ‘They were going to kill you. I couldn’t let that happen.’

Silas nearly fell forward as she zipped across his chest and undid the strap there. The weight of his body pulled him off the prongs, and Silas refused to think about the sounds or the pain that had caused.

‘You have to stand up,’ Foxfire projected, concern layering the command as she rolled over to unlock the door. She came back a lot slower as Silas struggled out of his chair, trying to ignore the aches that made themselves known all over his body. He could barely straighten his legs. Foxfire glued herself to his chest and pulsed gently. He put his arms across his chest under, cradling her tired form a little as he stumbled forward. By the grace of whatever powers were out there, Silas tripped only when he was at the door so he could lean against it and gasp for a moment.

‘Do you need a break?’ Foxfire, asked.

“No,” Silas breathed, grabbing the door handle. “No. I can go.”

Silas opened the door and stumbled into the corridor. He leaned against the wall across from the door as Foxfire murmured, ‘Go left.’

With one hand cradling the only beacon of hope Silas had left and the other on the wall, Silas started what felt like the longest journey of his life. He could feel how tired Foxfire was, and didn’t blame her for just giving directions, but it was nothing compared to how Silas felt. His legs complained with each step his heart pounded, his head throbbed, his new bruises stabbed with pain with almost every movement. And on top of it all, he was just tired. Tired all the way down to his bones. 

Foxfire finally told him to turn right and then open the door. They would be outside the base. ‘We’re in the city,’ Foxfire said, sounding very much like a child on the verge of sleep. ‘So just find someone to help.’

Silas nodded barely. He had no more energy to even think anymore. He was able to gain some control over his powers so he could sense the guards in the dark and avoid them easily enough for someone who was about to keel over and pass out. He slipped through the fence, ignoring the cuts he got on his arms and legs from the barbed wire. He stumbled down several alley ways. He must have looked to be in absolutely horrid condition. He saw several of the back alley way druggies giving him pitying looks that easily said, ‘At least I’m not doing as bad as he is.’

Silas stumbled out on a street and kept walking. He was numb all over now. The pain was gone due to adrenaline and built up shock. He only stopped when a man asked him if he was okay. He paused to see who it was, but without his forward momentum he started to fall. The civilian managed to catch him and pulled out a phone to call 911. Silas closed his eyes, ignoring the words over him and focusing only on the sleepy globe on his chest. He fell into a deeper sleep than he had experienced in three weeks. 

Underground Hero Taglist: @doubi-ixi @my-dump-of-whump @thethistlegirl

[xhanisai]

AU where Adrien is darker and has less morals

- Similar to how things are in canon but the show would be rated r15 cos of heavy violence >:D - Basically Adrien looks like a cinnamon roll but could actually kill you. Marinette looks like a cinnamon roll and is a cinnamon roll. - During the umbrella scene in Origins, Adrien works out that Marinette is Ladybug. He keeps quiet about it though to respect her privacy and will wait till she's ready to share on her own terms. - Marinette is unaware that Adrien and Chat Noir are the same person whilst Adrien is oblivious to her humongous crush on him. He tries to subtly win her over both as Adrien and as Chat, resulting in Blushinette or Sassinette. - Whenever an Akuma manages to get a hit on Ladybug or any of Chat's friends, he doesn't hesitate to pummel them down vigorously. - Ladybug always has to scold him for being too harsh on the Akumas, constantly reminding him that there's an innocent victim underneath being used as a puppet. - Imagine a scenario: "Goodness Chaton! Just because they gave me a black eye doesn't mean you can go ahead and break their arm or toss them off the Eiffel Tower! Only God would know what would happen if I were to bleed from an itty bitty scratch," "Then that would be the day we find out what Cataclysm does to a person, M'Lady," "...N-Nice joke Chat." "I wasn't joking Ladybug." - Since he already knows, Chat isn't insistent on knowing her identity or asking if they could reveal themselves to each other. - This mad lad is very protective over Marinette in school in his own way. He's infamously known for having eyes that would "burn your soul" if you get on his wrong side - He is sarcastic and sharp with Chloe, especially when he finds out that she made Marinette's school life a nightmare before he and Alya joined. In fact his mumbled threats have Chloe shit scared to come near him or Mari. - Chloe does try to improve as a person but our lovely trio: Alya, Adrien and Nino repels Chloe from coming near Marinette. Our Asian girl is blissfully unaware of this set up, too busy thinking about tonight's patrol with Chat. - Though, Adrien can be really sweet and selfless. When Nino admits that he's crushing on Marinette too despite knowing Adrien is aiming for her, Adrien encourages him to go for her. It killed him inside but Adrien thought that if he can't make Marinette happy, at least she'd be in great hands with Nino (Animan episode). Thankfully, Alya and Nino gets locked in a cage, bonds, and BOOM we have Djwifi~ - Chat Noir's solo patrols is when the beast wakes up. The good people of Paris may see him and Ladybug as a comforting presence but the bad, evil people know how brutal Chat can be. - Chat has broken limbs belonging to thieves, shattered ribs belonging to abusive people, left killers in a near death state. - Adrien feels bad enough that Ladybug is unaware of his actions during the night and the last thing he wants to do is shed unnecessary blood, scaring the heroine. - Plagg fully supports Adrien's actions as he's chaotic neutral "Listen kid, this is why the power of Destruction, us, serve as a counterpart to the power of Creation. We exist to show that mercy is a luxury and the consequences that befalls on the people that take advantage of kindness. Ladybug may turn the other cheek and forgive; we fight fire with with fire. We will take away life if necessary. So don't feel guilty at all." "Thanks Plagg...I just want to keep Paris...and my Marinette safe no matter what. I'd do anything. Everything." - (See the parallels between Adrien and Gabriel here~? ;D) - Hawkmoth/Gabriel is very intimidated by Chat Noir and Adrien also managed to scare him a few times. - When Ladybug contacted Chat Noir to protect Marinette whilst she plays as bait and goes on the date with Evillustrator, he cataclysmed Chloe's balcony to dust in rage for her recklessness. - During Horrificator, Chloe didn't interrupt the kiss between Marinette and Adrien; she stood there gawking. Adrien was a smitten kitten, full on kissed Marinette that Nino and Alya had to shout their names so that they pulled apart. - "Girl, you're one of the most smartest people out there yet you can't grasp the fact that Mini Agreste is head over heels for you???" "Alya-aaa! You're just saying that to make me feel hopeful..." "He. Made. Out. With. You. For. Ages. On. That. Film. We. Did." "Cos it was in the script!" "There was tongue!" "He was making it realistic?" "MON DIEU MARINETTE DUPAIN CHENG! HE WAS LIKE A SATISFIED CAT THAT GOT THE CREAM AFTER THAT DAMMIT!" - Oblivious Marinette is best Marinette. - During the Dark Cupid/Dislocoeur event, after getting hit by an arrow, Chat successfully cataclysmed Ladybug's mask. She pulls him in for a kiss to not only break the spell but also to hide her face. - When Chat regains consciousness, Ladybug found a plastic bag conveniently blowing past, puts it over her head to hide her identity. - The rest of the event goes as canon except Marinette had a plastic bag on her head this whole time. - Tikki finds out that Adrien is both Chat Noir and that he has known Ladybug's identity from the start. She finds that it makes sense with how extra protective he is over her civilian identity and thanks Adrien for keeping Marinette safe at all times as well as being a worthy partner. - A secret group of criminals that are against the heroes, plot the downfall of Ladybug and Chat Noir together. - Chat Noir, having underground links and connections from his feats, catches wind of this. - He's too late and Ladybug gets shot by a special bullet straight after an akuma attack, right in the chest. - Chat Noir cataclysms every single criminal that was part of the organisation into rotting corpses in pure rage. Hawkmoth tries to akumatise him but Chat cataclysms the butterfly too into dust. - Marinette luckily survives thanks to the hospital receiving her so quickly. She was born with Dextrocardia with Situs Inversus (which means that her heart is on the right side rather than the left). If her heart was in the normal position, she would have died. - Adrien doesn't leave her side during the day and Chat Noir during the night. Marinette has no recollection of the incident she got shot. - When Lila comes along, Adrien knew she was trouble and a liar from the start. He had the urge to cataclysm the whole school as they bought into Lila's lies without any questioning. Plagg almost encouraged him. - Adrien took the opportunity to mess with Lila. "I am Volpina. A hero much, much better and stronger than Ladybug. This is my miraculous," "Hehe...Lila, Lila, oh Lila... showing me your precious miraculous is a huge mistake. If you don't want a first hand view of a fox getting skinned alive, you will listen to I, Hawkmoth, and hand over your miraculous to me." - Lila literally runs off, scared shitless, shouting that she was joking and that Volpina doesn't exist. - Marinette overhears everything and has a crisis. "OH NO TIKKI WHAT DO I DO!? THE LOVE OF MY LIFE IS THE ENEMY OF PARIS AND ICANTFIGHTHIMWHAAAAT!?" - It takes Tikki 15 minutes to calm Marinette down and promise that Adrien isn't Hawkmoth. Said kwami swears internally to teach both Plagg and Adrien a lesson for riling Mari up to this level. - Adrien overhears Marinette's freakout cos he's literally 6 feet away and both he and Plagg are wearing shit eating grins. "Ah, so the stammering and shyness makes sense now. Love of her life hmmm? I love the sound of that~" "Keep your whiskers on kitten and run before Tikki throttles me for letting you go too far with that joke!" "Aww... but I wanna ask Marinette for a little kiss," "YOU WILL CAUSE THE LITTLE BUG TO COMBUST AND DIE AND BOOM PARIS IS A GONER!"

My artworks for this AU:

(x) - Doodles

(x) - Horrificator kiss 

(x) - Mini Comic

[granddaughterogg]

The day Death forgot something - part 1

Soo, guys, this was supposed to be a short story. Ya know, an itty bitty one. But it has grown to such a degree that I see no point in putting it here in its entirety. After all no one wants to read my long-ass posts.

This is mostly domestic fluff with a slice of life feel to it. Found family, sibling interactions, Reader being both Death and War’s girlfriend (not yet Strife’s, it’s Complicated) as a background and all that jam. Includes my headcanon that War hates spiders, because I find it hilarious. Perfectly SFW.

It seems that whichever chaotic deity stood behind those incidents, they’ve saved their best for War. 

It all started with a leaky roof.

The Four have bought themselves - and you - a house. They did so with coinage looted in countless different realms. You'd always treasure the facial expression of the bank clerk. Poor guy squirmed in his seat while explaining to four freakishly tall, fiery-eyed, fully armoured individuals that Makers' hacksilver (mere 26 pounds apiece) doesn't register as "money" in those parts. 

Most interesting day in his career, that's for sure.

The house in question was old.

Not dilapidated; just run-down enough to justify the low price. It has soon become obvious that it will have to be torn down and then rebuilt to fit the non-standard sized tenants. Poor War always felt so despondent among tiny human doorframes, their pitifully brittle walls and dainty knickknacks, prone to shattering at the slightest nudge. 

You know, like tables and such.

Strife could navigate among those just fine; despite being the noodle of the pack, he’s got the proprioception of a seasoned ballerina. Still claimed that all this hunching makes his back hurt. 

Death and Fury could fit into a human-sized environ without much problem. 

Yet she bristled at the thought of wearing lower heels, and your beloved would loathe admitting that he’s a short Nephilim. One thing is to know something; another altogether is to put it into words. 

Death has a recurring problem with this sort of thing.

So you didn’t make him. This house needed revamping anyway.

And it has been done. After countless trips to the local Home Depot, after summer weeks full of construction work - while you lived in a tent in the overgrown garden and the Four camped under the stars like they’re accustomed to. After amazing feats of Horseman cooperation and as much squabbling (Strife and Death had opposite opinions on anything), the house has been finally ready to be lived in. 

Under the latter’s lead, your boys displayed adeptness at carpentry, even if they didn’t pay much heed to the decorative side of things. War etched some protective sigils into the walls, the doorstep and the ceiling joist - and that was it. You had no idea what those exactly mean, but they sure glowed pretty in the dark. 

The house turned out to have a raw, pioneer aesthetic. There was a rustic stone hearth and lots of stained wood everywhere. You thought this starkness to be rather fetching.

Fury - who couldn’t be bothered to work with wood, but did care about them comforts and frills - made Death undertake another shopping trip. This time towards IKEA.

You enjoyed your first night spent in a proper bed like nobody’s business. Only partially because this was also Death’s bed.

And then the roof started to leak.

It was a slow leak at first. One morning Strife would drag his long ass down the stairs for breakfast, yawning and scratching, tendril hair pointing every which way, and claimed that he’s woken up to water splashing on his face.

„Maybe a bird relieved itself on you”, said Death flatly.

„In my own bed?!”

„Must have been a dedicated bird”, was the uncharitable response, followed by a swig of coffee. (Black, no sugar.) Fury rolled her eyes to high heavens but said nothing. You on your part couldn’t help but titter; even War’s dour Morning Expression gave way to a snort. Strife shot him a side-eye. 

„Don’t you neigh, my square-shaped brother. Birds don’t poop on your head cuz they can’t find it.”

The Big Guy harrumphed and focused on his cereal. Strife slumped on a chair with an annoyed puff, stuffing his face with two toasts at once.

Next time is was Fury who fell prey to the stealthy leak. One day you dropped by to chat. She was brushing that awe-inducing mane of hers while sitting in front of a large mirror. Fury had a proper vanity installed in her bedroom; a sturdy, antique-looking affair, covered with lots and lots of little bottles. As far as you knew, all of them contained some sort of magic. Fury took this whole beautifying thing to the next level.

So there she was, styling her coif with a self-indulgent smoulder when – PLOP! - something fell from the ceiling and landed precisely on the top of her head.

Fury shrieked.

„WET!” she cried out, eyes bulging, hands frantically pawing the ruined hairdo. „What was that, Little One? WHAT WAS THAT?!”

You suspected that the disgrace of having bird droppings touch her precious hair would cause someone as vain as Fury to shave it all off. And to remain bitterly bald while never, ever disclosing the reasons for doing so.

So it was with relief that you could state what you just saw:

„Oh, it’s just water.”

„Water?” She eyed the ceiling suspiciously, both hands still submerged inside the fluttering blue flame (Ice Hollow was the look du jour). „But...how?...”

Both of you glared upwards like two paranoid magpies. Still, nothing else has happened.

It seems that whichever chaotic deity stood behind those incidents, they’ve saved their best for War. 

It happened during dinnertime, too. You’ve just cooked a new dish – garlic butter shrimp pasta – and proudly displayed it to the Horsemen. The twins were already munching in abandon. Death excused himself politely. He seldom ate at all but would stay at the table nonetheless, sipping his extra bitter coffee or as unforgiving tea. You knew he did this entirely for your sake.

Meanwhile, the established big eater of the bunch seemed to have his reservations.

You watched the Red Guy pin his eyes to the full plate in front of him, fighting to retain his stony expression. The corner of his mouth twitched.

„What is it, baby?” You teased. „The shrimps are well and truly cooked. They ain’t gonna pounce at you.”

War exhaled. „Don’t misunderstand me, Little One...” he said, eyeing the dish with comic seriousness. „I would never dare to question your, eh, cooking abilities. I am just not that fond of food with tiny legs. It reminds me of many a thing I had to slay...”

„War’s afraid of spiders!” Strife chimed in, his mouth full.

The Big Guy sputtered in indignation. 

„I am not afraid of anything”, he stated, accosting his enfant terrible of a brother with a glare. „I just don’t like things that...walk like that.” He made a crawling gesture with his good hand.

„Too bad”, Strife licked his long fingers. „This shit’s delicious!”

War crinkled his wide nose and said nothing.

„So it’s about the visuals, huh?” you said, struck by an idea. „Would it be okay for you to try it just a little bit - if you couldn’t see it ?”

„Huh?” War clearly didn’t follow.

„Please don’t make our brother eat with his eyes closed”, murmured Fury between slurping in more pasta. „He makes a fair mess as it is.”

„Wouldn’t dream of it”, you grinned. „What I mean is: just close your eyes and I’ll hand feed you.”

„...Okay.”

Death cocked an eyebrow - his lip curving upwards - but he said nothing.

„Uh-oh,” said Strife. „Here comes the lovey-dovey stuff. Excuse me while I go and puke.”

„And put all this food to waste?” Fury taunted.

The gunslinger shrugged in defeat and went back to munching.

You picked a decent amount of food on the fork, lifted it and smiled at War, who stared you in the face with that endearingly earnest expression. He must’ve really hated arthropods in any shape or form, you thought. Yet he was willing to overcome his disgust. 

For you.

„Close your eyes.” He did, and suddenly there was much less light at the table. „Open wide!”

That he also did. You placed the shrimp inside his mouth with a jeweller’s precision. Strife sniggered.

„...Well?”

War’s snowy eyelashes fluttered while he pressed his jaws together, focusing on the taste. You saw his Adam’s apple bob a little.

You loved this big lug of a man so much.

„How is it?”

„Mmm. Good.” Those lightning blue eyes were looking at you again, wide and smiling. „This was really good.”

„Well then, ready for another round?”

War nodded, pressed his eyelids together and gaped, willing and trustful in that childlike way of his which always turned your cynical heart into jelly.

PLOP.

Suddenly many things happened at once. 

Strife howled with laughter, while Fury’s face became a picture of slack-jawed bewilderment. Death, always the quickest to react, was already standing up, one hand pushing his chair aside and the other outstretched protectively towards War. Who was clearly choking.

You watched the Big Guy wheeze and gurgle as if glued to your seat, paralyzed, motionless, the shellfish on your fork like some absurd sceptre.

You didn’t do this.

Death kicked War’s chair out of the way and held his brother in some Nephilim rendition of a Heimlich Maneuver, shaking him unceremoniously through the coughs until the latter went slack in his grasp. 

Finally, War stopped wheezing and did a dog shake.

Only then you were finally able to move.

„Oh, fuck. War. Are you all right?”

„I seem to be.” The Big Guy shot you a dizzy half-smile. Flyaway strands of hair covered his reddened face.

Death cautiously let him go and taxed you with a somewhat less-than-tender stare.

„I didn’t do this!” It hit as hard as a spoken accusation. You waggled the fork with the shrimp still on it. „I didn’t do anything!”

„Then what in the Nine Hells was that?” Fury wanted to know.

„Water”, gasped War, pointing upwards. „A lot of water fell into my mouth at once...I think.”

The four of you suspiciously eyed the ceiling.

Except for the lanky one, who was still guffawing.

„Strife. Did you see that happen?” Death’s voice was perfectly level. Focusing on the task at hand. You felt relief washing all over you; the Reaper clearly didn’t think that you just tried to choke his favourite brother.

Which was a good thing...your bond notwithstanding.

And out of the Four D might’ve been the fastest to react, but it was the gunslinger who had the perfect eyesight.

„Y-yeah!” Strife wiped the tears of mirth away. „Like, at least half a litre at once – boom! Hilarious.”

„What is so damn funny?” You could do with less of Strife’s sense of humour right now.

„Aw, come on there, pumpkin pie. It’s not like he could die from that. Or from anything else.”

You rethought this statement. „Right...yet D reacted!”

„Death used to do this all the time when we were kids”, Fury said softly, tilting her head in your direction. „We’d choke on anything, really. And back then, before we were anointed Horsemen we could have actually died, you know.”

„I guess old habits die hard”. Strife put on his shit-eating grin.

War nodded at his eldest and that was it. The whole „thank you for caring” compressed into one curt gesture. 

You smiled at War and then at Death. He caught your kind, appreciative stare, pressed his lips together and looked away.

PLOP!

(to be continued)

[one-spidey-boii]

BUMMER SUMMER || peter parker; ch ten

read ch nine here

masterlist

an; i’ve tried to post this chapter three different times and have had to make a new post all three times, im losing my mind. anyways thank you for your support, have a good day and enjoy :)))

*italics at beginning indicate itty bitty flashback*

warnings; mentions of battle wounds (i.e. blood/scars/etc), future smut, mature language, fluff, angst, both peter and oc are 18+!!

word count; 3.1k+

peter's pov

long story short- i couldn't throw the knife. or any knife for that matter. i either let go too soon or too late, my footing was wrong, my hips were angled incorrectly, blah blah blah. i knew edie was trying to make me feel better by blaming all those other factors, but it was just me. i'm not made for the knife throwing trade and that's okay.

what wasn't okay was that when i threw my first knife—the obsidian one—i missed horribly and ended up shattering the tip.

edie and i both run for the fallen object and she got to it first, cradling the shards in her hands. i look at her with innocent eyes and a coy smile, "im sorry?" i try to play if off, despite how horrible i felt in the pit of my stomach.

she wipes away her irritated grimace, "nobody's perfect?" she says, more of a question, still a little irked at the broken blade.

i spent the rest of the early morning throwing only steel, but still- i missed every time.

now late afternoon, edie and i are laying on the couch with our heads in the middle and our feet dangling over each armrest. we've been taking turns showing each other videos we saved on instagram, laughing immaturely at the childish jokes. her wavy hair falls into my eyes every time she adjusts her head on the cushion, which is a lot, but i don't mind. i enjoy the feeling of her next to me.

"here, here. look at this one!" she chirps as she pulled up a photo of a chubby cat trying to jump up onto the bed. he misses every time. "it kind of reminds of someone i know..." she trails off, poking fun at my failed attempts earlier in the day. i reach my hand over and flick her nose and my eyes light up at the way she scrunches it up.

"oh god, don't do that peter!" she squeaks out before she sits up and grabs desperately for a tissue to sneeze into. i roll my head back, stretching my neck all the way and look at her upside down, laughing at her reaction to the nose boop i gave her. she turns around after wiping her nose and tosses the used tissue at me. it's my turn to squeak as i shuffle away from the balled up paper.

"yuck! girl cooties!" i tease at her and kick the tissue off the couch with my foot. edie rolls her eyes at me as she bends down to grab it and throw it away in the nearby waste bin. when she straightens back up, a wild spark twinkles in her eyes. i perk a brow up at her.

"whaaaat do you think you're doing?" i ask, eyeing her change in behavior. without a word she pounces on top of me, pinning me down to the couch. i squirm beneath her strong hold, but she has my hands trapped against my legs with her thighs that rest on either side of my hips. i'm shocked at how quickly she was able to pin me down, her movements so sharp and unpredictable.

"cooties, huh?" she whispers and lowers her face to level with mine. i hum a 'mhm' and swallow thickly at her close proximity. we haven't been in this position since we shared our first kiss, both of us choosing to just tease each other since then to see who would break first.

her eyelids drop low and she looks at me through her thick lashes. they're so dark against her cool skin. i find myself wanting to run my fingers around the edges of them, to feel them flutter at my touch. but no, i'm not the one in charge here.

edie brings her hand up to my lips, tracing over them with two delicate fingers. she tugs on my bottom lip gently, her eyes never leaving mine. we stay there for a moment, our breaths mingling and matching as we fall into pace with each other. i tense up as her fingers slide from my lips to my check, and down to my jaw to gently caress it. she leans in impossibly closer.

"do you wanna kiss?" she whispers, her plump lips barely grazing mine. almost drawn by a magnetic force, my hips lift to get some kind of relief from the contact, or lack thereof. she tightens her steel grip on my limbs and connects our hips roughly, challenging my actions with a face that lets me know she isn't afraid to play along with my games.

i respond lamely, with a stuttering, "o-okay." edie smiles, i shiver.

"close your eyes." she demands.

of course if i do it without question, pushing away the thoughts of just how smitten i am with her.

i can feel her lips graze mine, so so soft it makes me sick. i move to close the gap, but every time i try she pulls away, avoiding the embrace with a cheeky chuckle. i sigh, but kept my eyes closed, wanting to prove that i'll do what she asks for her lips on mine. her lips do come, but they leave small pecks everywhere but on my own. my throat lets out a sound that makes my cheeks flush and her teasing gets worse.

the thumping of my heart in my ears clouds my senses until finally, my lips are met with something sweet. it's sickening and soft and...chocolatey?

edie rises up and out of my lap in a second, her body erupting into fits of laughter as she watches me open my eyes and chew the chocolate kiss with a shocked and bemused smile. she falls onto the couch next me, keeping her distance as i swallow in disbelief.

"hmm, very clever." i mumble. i will admit the chocolate is a nice touch, but i want what i was promised.

both of my hands grip each of her wrists, too fast for her to slip out of reach. i join both of her hands in one of my own as i pull her to me and push her back into the couch cushions. she sinks into them with a small 'o' across her lips and her eyes are wide and curious. i lean down and capture her lips in mine, the kiss is firm, but filled with warm emotions that float between us.

i keep her wrists together and stretch them above her head. edie's back arches into my chest and i can't help but smirk into the kiss. my mind races through all the moments i wished i could have pulled her to me and shut her up with my lips. now that we're here in this miracle of a moment, my brain can't wrap around how it came to be.

i bite her bottom lip and tug ever so slightly, but it's enough to pull a soft moan out of her. edie begins to tug against the restraints of my hand. i simply tighten my grip and move to kiss more of her body, trailing down her neck and collar bones. she shudders.

"peter, please. i wanna touch you." she breathily whispers in my ear, her lips barely grazing the shell.

i pull away at her words and look at her face. it's red and flustered, her eyes are half-lidded and filled with lust. she showcases a small, lazy smile across her swollen lips. i raise my other hand that had been resting on her hip up to her lips. they're soft and wet and soon my pointer and middle finger slip in between them.

she takes them gracefully, her tongue swirling around my fingers as she sucks on them with a grin. i scoff in disbelief at the girl beneath me. just days ago i was afraid to touch her, to see her, and now she's here doing things with me—to me—that i could only ever indulge in my head. and now all i can think is mine. she is mine.

as i slide my finger out from her mouth, i rest my hand on her cheek and pull in close once more, "you're amazing." i whisper against her lips. she just smiles.

with my moment of weakness, she turns the tables on me in the blink of an eye. edie releases her hands from my grip and rolls me off of her and onto the floor. i groan at the sudden impact and hold my hands over my stomach in shock. once again she rests on top of me.

"how is it that we always end up here?" i laugh, gesturing to our current position. she shrugs.

"don't you like me here?" she teases.

BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT

both of our hearts jump out of our chests at the sudden interruption, but instead of scrambling away, edie sits herself down completely in my lap and reaches for her phone that's face up on the arm of the couch. she swipes a button and holds it up to her ear.

"mr. stark? hello, sir." she chirps, seeming to have regained her composure without a hitch. i, however, am beginning to squirm underneath her. i mean, come on, she's sitting on my crotch.

i move to sit up, but edie places a firm hand on my chest and slams me back down on the floor with a small thud.

"hmm? oh yeah, peter's around." my eyes bug out of my skull and i shake my head furiously. there's no way i'm talking to mr. stark while she's on top of me. that man knows practically everything, and if he doesn't know something now, he'll find out soon enough. i squirm underneath her and try to shimmy away, but she stays put and won't let me move.

"sure, you can talk to him. i just gotta go find him." she's talking as if nothing bad could happen right now, while as my mind was flying through all the ways mr. stark could kill me and no one would ever know. suddenly, the hand on my chest slips down to the waistline of my sweatpants. i give edie a serious glare, pleading her not to go any farther. i'm already painfully hard from our activities a few minutes ago, and surely this teasing isn't helping my case.

"peter? where are you?" edie holds the phone away from her face and calls out into the otherwise empty room. as she does this, her hand finally comes to rest fully on my crotch and she begins palming me through my pants, "oh, there you are." she says into the phone sweetly, while i stifle a groan.

"here he is, mr. stark." edie brings the phone to my ear and holds it there, halting my silent pleas for her to stop.

"peter? are you there? why can’t you answer your own damn phone? i gave it to you for that specific reas-" tony's voice booms through the phone and my body stiffens. edie is still touching me and i feel like i'm on fire.

"m-mr. stark, hi! yep, it's me peter." i choke into the phone. edie lets go of the phone and i adjust myself to hold it between my ear and my shoulder. i move my hands to grab her hips hard, hoping she'll pick up on my warning.

"yes. yes, i got that. anyway, peter, i'm gonna ask you something and you need to be honest with me. is edie okay? i mean, does she seem like she's getting better?" his concerned voice only distracts me for a second before edie begins lowering herself down my body so that she rests between my legs.

"o-oh god. edie!" i says her name through clenched teeth. she stares back at me with doe eyes and lifts my shirt up to expose my stomach. her hands dance down my sides and she only breaks eye contact to leave a soft kiss right above my pant line.

"yes, peter. edie. what the hell is going on with you?" tony asks, suspicion lacing through his words.

my hands are now in edie's hair, grabbing fistfuls of it as she slips her fingers underneath the waistband. my breath hitches in my throat at her actions. why the hell is she choosing now of all times to do something like this?

"edie is good. she's really good. really really good." i mumble, no longer aware of how my words were meddling together. edie slides my sweatpants down my hips and i naturally lift them up to assist her in taking the article of clothing off. god i'm so hard. it's beginning to get uncomfortable.

"okay...good. can i talk to her now?" mr. stark's tone is unnerving. i know he knows something is up.

i can feel edie's fingers hook under the band of my boxers. at that moment, everything went out the window as i let out the most awful, embarrassingly obvious moan. mr. stark clears his throat on the other end of the phone and i want to throw the device across the room.

edie pulls away from me and has the evilest smile on her lips, confirming that she had done this to get that particular reaction out of me. i look at her in defeat, feeling silly and exposed. she crawls back up my body and kisses the corner of my lips, lingering there just enough to make me want more, and she takes the phone from my ear.

"hey, mr. stark, i'm back." she speaks into the phone with ease and shoots up onto her feet, letting them take her to another room.

i stare at the ceiling, wide-eyed and almost in pain from my situation downstairs. i blindly reach for a pillow on the couch and bring it to my face so i can scream as loud as i can into nothingness.

-

my suit feels tighter than usual, more constricting as i crouch on a random roof top in the middle of new york city. i snuck out of the compound shortly after edie left to finish her phone call and i got to it straight away.

from what i remember of edie's story from that night, she was attacked by two people- a man and a woman. my mind reels at just how many people live in new york (8.623 million and climbing). my only hope for finding these people is to patrol, all night, for as long as possible.

i haven't slept since yesterday. i was too busy throwing knives and oogling edie to even get a lick of sleep in. not that i mind, but i know i can only stay out so long tonight before i become drunk from lack of rest. i can already feel it coming, the sensation of my brain swishing around my head and settling at the bottom.

i snap myself out of it, determined to go through as much of the city as i can. i thought i had them a few buildings back, but it turned out to be an older couple making out in the alleyway, yikes. i got outta their way real quick.

i shoot a web at the next building and hoist myself over the edge, letting my weight swing me through the air before shooting another one with my other arm. i love swinging. its something only i can do, and i take pride in that. my head clears and my senses get kicked up to eleven, allowing me to do my job the way it should be done.

i fling myself through the streets, stretching my arms high above my head to aim at anything and everything. i think back to when i was first teaching myself to swing, the constant misses and face-plants make me scrunch my face up. gosh, how embarrassing. nevertheless, i smile at how far i've come.

i come to a stop on another random building a few blocks from where i started. the air bites at my skin, making goosebumps appear underneath my suit. i rub my hands up and down my arms and take in my new surroundings. the building i landed on is shorter than those around it, i'm no more than ten stories up.

my ears start to prickle at a nearby noise and i turn my attention to the sound. down in the alleyway, a group of people stand in a circle around something on the ground. i lean forward to try and get a closer look, but i'm too far away to make anything out completely. i hop over the edge of the building and begin to crawl down the side of it until i can see clearly.

i gasp when i see what they're standing around. a small grey kitten mewls from the center of the circle. it's body is unbelievably tiny and frail and it's just staring at them. the people begin to talk to each other, starting to argue and raise their voices. i pick up a few words like 'kick' and 'burn' and 'eat' and my stomach drops.

without a second thought, i'm letting go of the wall and dropping down in the middle of the circle, careful not to step on the small creature between my feet. i look around at the people and notice how disheveled they are. none of their clothes match and they all have ratty hair and bad breath. i puff out my chest.

"i have to ask you lot to leave the area immediately," i pause and take in their bored expressions, "now...scram!" i finish and cringe to myself when they don't move. one man steps forward and offers a grimy smile, he doesn't have very many teeth left.

"who gave you the right?" the man sputters out and points a crooked finger in my face.

"look guys i don't know what you were planning to do here, but it's over now." i say and lean down to gently pick up the kitten. it meows and nuzzles it's head into the crook of my arm. the group of people begin to back away and scurry off whilst leaving some choice words behind for me. i ignore them and use my free arm to shoot a web and land back on top of the building. i lower my chin to get a good look at the tiny kitten.

"hey there, little one. what am i gonna do with you now?" i whisper and chuckle when she stretches her limbs and yawns. she peers back up at me with big eyes that look like two perfectly polished gold coins, "i guess there's really only one option," i coo at her and scratch her softly under her chin, "i hope edie likes cats."

|| taglist; @my-patronus-is-mabel-pines @whycantileaveyou @lovewolfspirit @kitykatnumber @franksholland @goddamnit5sos @thehugslut @fandom-phaser

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Scary Stories

A Horror Septics Short

“...and all that was left were the bones! Ooooo!” The teenage storyteller lowered the flashlight, looking around at his audience—three other teens, all of whom looked very unimpressed. “Well? Not even a ‘oh no’?”

“I saw that coming from a mile away, Derrick,” said one of the others, adjusting her pointed glasses.

“Oh come on.” Derrick frowned. “You could’ve at least pretended to like it.”

“Your voice isn’t really cut out for horror, anyway,” said another, poking the campfire with a stick. 

“Well, can any of you do better?” Derrick looked around at the circle. The four friends were sitting on chairs, set around the central fire pit. There was a picnic table nearby with a kerosene lamp providing extra light, and a large tent big enough to fit all four of them. The campsite was a bit isolated, surrounded by large trees that hid the light of other fires lit by other campers. 

“Honestly, I don’t think any scary stories can get to me anymore,” one said.

“Oh really?” Asked the one in the glasses. “Why’s that, Winston?”

“Don’t say my name like that,” Winston scowled underneath the brim of his baseball cap. “And it’s because, Lilah, I know it’s all not real. I mean, yeah, if the story’s good it’ll come back to haunt me late at night, but that’s when all judgement has been abandoned. I can’t find a story anymore that’s good enough to freak me out as it’s happening.”

“Creepypasta has ruined you,” the last one muttered.

“That it has, Charlie. That it has.”

“Okay, I got an idea. Derrick, pass me the torch.” Lilah reached over and the flashlight, shining it under her face as was typical of scary-storytelling, though the illusion was a bit ruined by the sparkly pink ribbon in her hair. “Let me tell you an actual, real-life scary story. Let’s see if that rustles your jimmies, Win.”

“Let’s see if it does.” Winston smiled, settling back into his chair.

“So. You all know my cousin Eve, right?” Lilah started.

“The journalist one, right?” Derrick asked.

“Well, kinda. What she does is she writes articles for a travel magazine. So she goes around Europe, finding cities that don’t have much of a tourist industry and looking for things about them that would, like, draw people to the place. Also she had a partner, Kyle, who she had to write articles with.”

“Ugh, Kyle,” Charlie commented. “What a name.”

“Oh yeah, Kyle sucked. Whenever the family met up, Eve would always complain about him.” Lilah shook her head. “He was like, the kind of guy who always thought he knew best, and when people contradicted him he’d be all like, ‘yeah, sure.’ Then he went ahead and talked shit about them. She always had to double-check their articles before they went up to make sure he didn’t add any bullshit. Needless to say, he didn’t like her much either.”

All the teens muttered among themselves. The disapproval was clear. “Anyway, Eve and Kyle get assigned to go to this city in Germany,” Lilah continued. “And it’s like, a nice place. Clean, has some neat museums, the hotel they’re staying in is pretty swanky. So far, Eve is taking some favorable notes for the article. Kyle is annoyed at everything, though, bitching about how the service is terrible even though there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Okay, so that’s the set up, what happened to change it?” Charlie asked.

“So, end of the first day, dawn of the second. Eve’s taken notes of everything they could do in town, and she goes down to the hotel desk to get advice on what’s best. The hotel clerk is friendly, answers all the questions. It all goes normally, until right at the end of the conversation, when the clerk said, ‘oh yes, you und your frund vould do vell to be off ze ztreets by nightfull.”

Winston suddenly burst out laughing. “Is that supposed to be a German accent?!”

“Yeah, what’s that supposed to mean?” Lilah said defensively.

“I’ve heard more realistic accents from children’s shows!”

“What, can you do better?” Lilah muttered.

“Ah, in fact, I can!” Winston said, putting on an accent. “And I say your accent is simply terrible, Fraulein!” 

“Hey, we’re not here to judge by the quality of the accent, only the spookiness of the story,” Derrick said. “Keep on keepin’ on, Lilah.”

“Thanks, Derr,” Lilah said, grinning. “Anyway, the clerk says not to be on the streets after nightfall. Eve asks why, and the clerk says, ‘it gets very dangerus out zere, zat iz all. I vould hate for anyzing to happen to—’”

“Oh my god, stop, it’s hard to hear!” Winston groaned.

Lilah made a face in his direction, but obliged. “ The clerk says, ‘I would hate for anything to happen to you and your friend.’ Which is a bit sketch, and Eve knows it. She mentions this to Kyle, because even though Kyle’s a bitch she doesn’t want him to get physically hurt, and he’s just like, ‘This clerk was a girl, right? Of course she doesn’t want to walk out late at night.’”

“Ohhh, fuck this dude,” Derrick said.

“Fuck it sooo muuuch,” Charlie added.

“Right?!” Lilah nodded furiously. “Like, at this point with Eve telling this story, I was like, ‘I hope this dude gets eaten by a wolf.’”

“Wait, where did the wolf come from?” Winston asked.

“Shit, I forgot about that. Anyway,” Lilah continued. “They go throughout the city, visiting restaurants and these museums and looking around at the local architecture. At dinnertime, they go to this seafood place, and get chatting with the waiter. They mention they’re from out of town, and that they’re writing an article on the city to hopefully help out tourism. The waiter says, “Vell—sorry, well, if you are from out of town, you should know not to stay out after dark.’ Eve, having heard this for the second time, asks, ‘Why, what happens?’ And the waiter says, ‘Uh, well, we have some problems with wild dogs. They hunt at night.’ And Kyle says, ‘Well, that’s not gonna bring in the tourists.’” Lilah paused while all the others groaned. “So, after dinner, Eve notices it’s getting late, and convinces Kyle to go back to the hotel with her. But of course, he complains about it, and says that they have to check out the nightlife in town and see if there are any after dark specials running.”

“Well, from a business standpoint, he’s got a point,” Winston said. “I mean, he doesn’t have to be an asshole about it, but that is their job.”

“And I’m sure Eve would’ve agreed with you,” Lilah nodded. “But she’s noticing something weird. Most of the local shops and businesses are closing up. Not any of the chains, like McDonald’s or...I don’t know, chain clothing businesses. But the businesses unique to the city, that she’d usually be checking out and putting in the article? Closed. So she thinks there might be something to this. And, in the morning, she goes down to the lobby and there’s a local woman there. Eve starts chatting with her, and eventually the woman says ‘Oh, you are a visitor? Make sure to not go out after sunset, there are some gangs in the area that roam around after dark.’”

“Wait, what?” Charlie perked up, at attention. “Two different excuses? Ohhh that’s not a good sign.”

“Eve thought the same thing,” Lilah said gravely. “And she drew two conclusions. Either there are both wild dogs and street gangs, or the real reason why you shouldn’t go out at night is much worse than either of those. So it’s the third day they’re there, and it goes generally normally, but Eve and Kyle keep getting the same sort of thing whenever locals find out they’re not from around town: don’t go out after nightfall. So, most people would decide not to go out that night, right? Wrong!” Lilah jabbed her finger in the air. “Because here’s Kyle, an asshole who thinks he knows better than anyone else who’s ever lived. He starts to leave the hotel room, and Eve tries to stop him. Instead of doing literally anything sensible, Kyle blows up that she’s always been jealous of him and has always tried to stop him from succeeding, then storms off.”

Winston let out a long, low whistle. “Let me guess, he died?”

“Hmmm I didn’t say that,” Lilah said slowly. “So, Eve goes down and tries to stop him, but he’s already left, and it’s after sunset at this point. The clerk is like, ‘I saw your friend run off. Poor guy. Anyway, would you like some room service?’ Clearly trying to bribe her into staying in the hotel. Eve’s a bit nervous about Kyle, but she really doesn’t want to go out, so she stays in the room. Kyle doesn’t show up the next day, and she calls the local police, worried something happened. They say they’ll get on it, but in that tone of voice that suggests there’s nothing that can be done about this.”

“So, the Kyle guy just disappeared?” Derrick asked.

“Oh, no, not at all.” Lilah’s voice turned low and serious. “About a month later, she’s back home, she gets a call from this out-of-country number. And it’s a police officer from this German city. They need her to come in real quick so she can identify this head they found.”

There was a sharp inhale throughout the circle. “Just the head?” Charlie asked.

“So, Eve goes down to Germany,” Lilah continued. “She sees the head, and yeah, it’s Kyle. Missing his eyes and teeth and with a big hole in the back of the head. She asks the police what happened, and they found the head in a dumpster, along with a bunch of...flesh. And itty bitty pieces of shattered bones.”

Charlie covered their mouth. “Oh my god…”

“That is so fucked,” Derrick muttered.

Lilah looked over at Winston. “Well? What d’you think, Mr. Horror Aficionado?”

Winston adjusted his cap. “Pretty good.”

“‘Pretty good’?!” Lilah repeated. “This guy disappears, and the next month, he’s in pieces!”

“I’ve heard it before,” Winston said, a little smugly.

“Yeah, in stories, I have too!” Lilah put down the flashlight, and put her head in her hands. “This is something that actually happened to a guy my cousin knew, worked with a lot! And they never caught whoever did it, apparently!”

“Wait, how do you know they never caught them?” Derrick asked. “Do you just go down to—what’s the city name again?”

“Ah, I don’t remember,” Lilah shrugged. “Something that started with an A.”

“Do you just go down there regularly?”

“Well, no, but most serial killers don’t get caught, and given how everyone knew about this shit happening in the city, I’m assuming that’s what it is.”

“Where’d you hear that, Buzzfeed Unsolved?” Winston asked.

“Oh, speaking of which,” Charlie jumped in. “Did you guys see the last one? Of the last True Crime season? The finale?” The other three made various negative noises. “Oh.” Charlie shrugged. “I just thought it was funny.”

“What’s the case?” Winston asked.

“Oh, a recent one. I mean, like, two years ago. A YouTuber disappeared. And the boys went on this whole tangent about what if they disappeared.”

Lilah frowned. “How do YouTubers just...disappear? Wouldn’t people notice if they stopped uploading?”

“Not if it was a kinda small one,” Derrick pointed out.

“Well, this guy wasn’t small,” Charlie said. “He had like...ten million subscribers. But a few months before he disappeared he said he was gonna take a break from uploading and other media, so I don’t think the community noticed when he actually disappeared. Though, I guess they started wondering eventually...and that’s why it’s a famous case. Dude straight-up left. Why? The case remains...unsolved.”

“Maybe he just got tired of YouTube drama,” Winston muttered.

Charlie frowned. “I don’t think so. Personally, I think he went kinda crazy. Like...actually had problems or something. After watching the Unsolved episode, I went to look at his last uploaded videos and they were...weird. I’d link you the episode and the video, but y’know. No wifi.”

“Feel free to send it later, sounds interesting,” Winston said. “Anyway—”

“Do you guys hear that?” Derrick interrupted.

“Hear what?” Lilah asked.

The group fell silent. After a few seconds, Charlie said, “I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly.” Derrick frowned. “There were, like, crickets. But they just stopped.”

“...huh,” Winston said. “That’s weird. Why—”

“Oh my god!” Lilah pointed at something. “What’s that?!”

The group all turned, and saw a shadow, flickering against a tree in the light caused by the campfire. It got bigger, and shifted, and a large man rounded out from behind one of the nearby pine trees. “Sorry, did I frighten you?” he asked in a low, rumbling voice.

“Uh…” Derrick looked around the group, then back at the man. He looked a bit like a lumberjack, with a big bushy beard and a flannel, but the illusion was ruined a bit by the patterned pajama pants. “A little bit, sir.”

“Hmm.” The man nodded slowly. “It wasn’t my intention. I heard you kids discussing...scary stories?”

“Um, yeah,” Charlie said, picking up the stick they’d been using to poke the fire. “I mean, not exactly stories. True stories, I guess.”

“True stories,” the man repeated, nodding again. “I see.” He walked over to the picnic bench and sat down, stumbling on the last few steps. “Well, I have a few true stories of my own. Would you like to hear one?”

The teens exchanged looks, clearly uneasy. Lilah slowly reached into her pocket, seeming to grab something. “Uh...sure, mister,” she said.

“Excellent.” The man leaned forward, the firelight casting deep shadows on his face. “This is a true story, as well. It took place over a hundred years ago. There was a...person.”

“You don’t sound too sure about that,” Winston muttered. All the others instantly made shushing sounds at him.

“There was a person,” the man repeated, unphased. “They were a dollmaker.” Winston rolled his eyes quietly. Of all the group, he was the only one who was unphased by the appearance of a tall, burly man in the middle of the woods. He seemed more interested in critiquing the story’s cliches. “What did they do with these dolls? Which one became evil?”

“This is not a story about dollmaking,” the man said, suddenly stern. “I’m telling you what they do so that you can better understand. The dollmaker puts—put pride and care in their creations, trying to make them last as long as possible. Their life was average, for what they were. Until one day. The dollmaker was home, just about considering going out and starting on another doll, when the phone rang. Now, this was odd. This was long before phones could be carried about in your pocket, and in fact, phones were a new device. A phone had to be wired to a house, and the house the dollmaker was in had no phone wires connecting it. But they were curious, and thinking a friend had found a way to call them, they picked up the phone. ‘Hello?’ they said. But there was no answer. Just the vague crackling of static before it was called so. And after a moment, the dollmaker heard their own voice repeated back to them. ‘H-he-he-hello-o-o?’ Strange. Though the dollmaker said more, the other end never said anything else. So they thought it was a mistake, and dropped it.

“But the next day, the phone rang again. The dollmaker answered it again. And there was indeed a voice on the other end this time, but it was breaking, barely able to be understood as a voice and not just some strange noises. The dollmaker was not dull, it—they knew something strange was happening, knew something was behind it. But they were overconfident. They believed that whatever was calling could not touch them. The phone rang three more times over the following week, and they didn’t answer it at all.

“Then, one day. The dollmaker returned, having been out all night making a doll. And the lights of the house were flickering. Strange. The dollmaker went inside, and the phone started ringing once more. This time, they picked it up. The same voice was on the other end, though they still couldn’t understand what it was saying. Uneasy, the dollmaker dropped the phone. And then they looked out the window.

“There was something there. A many-eyed something, pressed against the glass, smearing blood across it. And it smiled at the dollmaker, and said something that was utterly incomprehensible, but somehow—somehow understandable. ‘I will make you mine,’ it said. ‘I will take what is yours and use it.’ And the dollmaker was frightened for the first time in m—in their long life. So they ran.

“They ran for three years. No matter where they went, the many-eyed thing was always right on their trail. Sometimes it caught up, and they had to fight it, and barely got away. After every conflict, they grew weaker. And the next time it caught up, they were not prepared. They were hiding in a house up north, alone with a single doll who they eventually lost. And when the many-eyed thing showed up, they couldn’t run fast enough. It took...them.

“It was nineteen years before they could find their way out. By then, they could not speak. They could not walk. They could not do half the things they once could, and spent one year with their friend in the wilds, finding new ways to do what they needed. And the many-eyed thing was still out there. Decades passed, and they heard of similar things happening to others, including a doctor who is very like themselves. Nobody and nothing is safe. The eyes continue to lurk.”

Complete and total silence fell. The group of four stared, wide-eyed, at the man. Even Winston, so cocky and unafraid before, was speechless, looking around as a chill ran down his spine.

The man stood up, the movement so quick it caused the four teens to jump. “Well, I’d best be going. You kids here for any longer?”

After a moment, Derrick cleared his throat and answered, “We’re going to leave in the morning.”

Suddenly, Charlie shrieked. Everyone tensed and looked over at them. “S...sorry,” they said. “I just thought I saw something...there.” They pointed at the tree behind the man—or rather, above the man, at the branches above his head.

“Don’t worry about it,” the man said dismissively. “There’s all sorts of wildlife out here.”

“It looked...big,” Charlie said hesitantly.

“Then it was your imagination.” The man tilted his head, and turned on his heel. Without another word, he left.

The total silence continued for a few moments more. Then Charlie jabbed their stick at the fire, and it started crackling again, the crickets chirping once more. “Should we...go to bed?” Lilah asked.

“Maybe some of us...but not all of us,” Winston said slowly. “Just to be...safe.”

Nobody said what they were trying to be “safe” about. Maybe none of them knew. But slowly, the group dispersed, and over time, fell asleep.

When they were leaving in the morning, they passed by a woman talking to one of the rangers, practically frantic. Her husband had disappeared last night. Nobody had heard anything. Anything at all.

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form: I can't find all your masterposts on basic world building. But so far the ones I've tracked down don't mention health issues. I'm involving dozens of planets, at least once a week gatherings of at least 3 million people and several transport hubs that carry 20 million passengers a day, etc. It's end of Jan 2020. Oops. I think I inadvertently created an ideal situation that mimics China's virus epidemic x1000 if that ever were to happen! Even if I'm not writing such a situation no world ever gets built and planned without considering such emergencies which I admit, I haven't given a single little thought to, until reality faces me to think about it. In fact, I've given 0 thought to building my world with any emergencies in mind because so far I'm not writing in emergencies.

Constablewrites: Planners in the real world frequently don’t give much thought to emergencies, either. Or there will be a few people who understand emergency planning but they answer to bosses who don’t see the profit in it.

Digging into the underlying logistics of a society is more about telling you how they think and what they value than realistically mapping out scenarios that don’t actually come up in your story. Would they invest a huge amount of resources into decontamination systems? Would they shoot anyone who sneezes funny out an airlock without a second thought? Those suggest two very different philosophies of rulership. Building plausible worlds is about depicting those philosophies consistently when it does come up, rather than trying to work out every possible manifestation of them.

So if you wanted to consider emergencies, it’s more important to think about the types of governments you’ve created and how they run things in general, than to work out the specific details of how they’d respond to a given crisis. (And there’s nothing that says they need to respond well. Ignoring the problem until it blows up spectacularly in their faces is a 100% plausible setup.)

Feral: “I've given 0 thought to building my world with any emergencies in mind because so far I'm not writing in emergencies.” Do you plan on writing this kind of emergency? I have a personal preference against spending time worldbuilding something that will never come up in the stories that I’m writing. Of course, if you’re worldbuilding for the hell of it or with the intention to use this universe as a life-long sandbox for who knows what kinds of stories, that’s a different matter. But if you are worldbuilding for a concrete story idea or ideas, then worrying about this might take your attention away from aspects of your worldbuilding that you do need to focus on to make your story work or, even worse, be a way of procrastinating actually writing your story.

As Constable has pointed out, the real world doesn’t have a terrific track record of preventing or managing health crises like the Coronavirus (or H1N1, Ebola, SARS, MERS, the effing flu…); if we did, these epidemics and pandemics would not keep happening.

Now, with your advanced, space-faring technology, maybe your universe does have great biorisk management in place. Maybe there are advanced scanners that everyone has to pass through to get on public transit that can immediately determine if they are carrying dangerous contagions. Maybe there is a special gas that can be added to the air supply that kills all airborne pathogens without harming the people breathing it in. You have as many ways as your imagination can think of to make outbreaks just not possible. And these are minor things that you can mention briefly to handwave away any concerns your audience could have to the effect of “what if one of these guys has a cold?”

And then, if you decide to come back to this universe with another story that is about a terrible outbreak, well, then one little, itty-bitty flaw in the system is enough to destroy it. WHO is going to be a great resource for you as you explore this topic. An article I found particularly relevant: How the 4 biggest outbreaks since the start of this century shattered some long-standing myths

You should also check out the CDC’s website; you’ll find the most relevant articles on their Emergency Preparedness and Response page.

Tex: Constable and Feral have hit the nail on the head with this. I think part of the reason why health issues are overlooked - both IRL and in worldbuilding - is the comparative incredulity of it. You can see an earthquake, you can see a forest fire, but how do you see a disease? By the visibly ill and the dead, but by that time the cat’s usually out of the bag, and the situation becomes “management” instead of “prevention”.

As someone in the engineering field, I know that the technologies Feral mentions would be incredibly difficult to create - this difficulty would exponentially increase if you’re adding in factors like multiple species, space travel, and travel between sufficiently different environments (e.g. tropical to desert).

Advanced scanners are a wonderful idea, and I think one of the paths of least resistance. Pocket-sized MRIs are currently being developed (Medica Magazine), and the issue with motion artifacts - necessary if you don’t want to overtly impede the flow of traffic - is also being tackled (Radiology Business). I can definitely see these ideas intersecting for the purposes of airport/starport check-ins, as well as any other significant nexus of transportation.

Theoretically, the wait period for a medical scan of inbound traffic would be reduced to a manageable rate, and could be incorporated into the things people need to do upon arrival. Whether this can be tweaked to scan for viruses/etc, I… don’t really know, but it could be a package deal in combination with a cheek swab test (PCR techniques + applicable programs are way easier to accomplish right now).

I don’t think we would see any society plan for strict precautions and screening unless there’s a sufficiently catastrophic disease that guts their population, because social memory is frankly quite short, and correspondingly requires widespread support for STEM fields to develop solutions to these problems.

Ultimately, the biggest vulnerability to disease tracking is that science is always two steps behind nature - anything we currently have catalogued could have a random mutation that we can’t predict, and we probably won’t figure that out until we see the ill and the dead of it.

[xserpentlife]

Mirror

Requested: Hey so I wanted to ask if like you could do a sweet Pea x reader that can help with the readers hardcore body issues because even though I’m a skinny girl I have the absolute worst body issues to the point of where I claw at myself in the mirror and some feel-good stuff for others who have my problem would be really nice cause there’s not a lot of love for the insecure twigs in the itty bitty titty comity.

A/N: I wouldn't say I am the best person to write this. I myself and plus size and deal with those insecurities. I tried writing it how I would write a plus size insecurity fic but instead switched the insecurities if that makes sense. I hope this is what you wanted and I hope it helps you. Remember anon you are beautiful in your own skin whether you believe it or not. I know it is hard, but you judge yourself so much harsher than others do.

Warnings: self-deprecation, insecurities

Word Count: 2147

You hated it, you had no curves, you had noodle arms, you had no breasts either and your body was always compared to a twig. You could never find clothes that fit, always too big on you in even the smallest section. It is not like it was your fault, it was just the way you were built, it was your genetics and there was nothing you could do, and god you tried. Tried so many times to conform to the standard of beauty, but in society ,you're either too big or too small. You grew up with this idea of needing curves, wanting so hard to fit in and be beautiful with hips and large breasts, but for you, it just wasn’t in the cards.

You wanted to be the first that could wear high waisted jeans with a crop top, but instead, you opted for oversized t-shirts, it made you comfortable to be hidden. But you never really wanted to hide yourself, at least deep down.

Pea was your best friend, for years he had known you, and grown up with you. You went to Riverdale though, and he to Southside, however, this year was the first time you would actually be in school with him because the Southside was transferring to Riverdale High, you were essatic. Finally, someone who knew you for you, not just as the skinny girl. But you always hid from him, hide your body, you never once swam with him during the summer and if you did you always wore those cover ups that hid everything. You could say you were closer friends but you never let it get further than a kiss here and there, always too afraid to let your body show at all.

He was coming to pick you up in the morning taking you to school, because you were now going to the same place, it had become a tradition for him to now pick you up every morning. Usually, you lock your door but you forgot to this morning. You were in a bra and panty set when you heard your door open, you turned expecting your mother but instead saw Sweet Pea’s eyes staring back at you.

“Fuck oh my god Y/N I’m sorry I called up but you didn’t answer I wanted to make sure you weren’t still asleep and your door was open and fuck I’m sorry uhm I’ll be downstairs”

“...”

You didn’t know what to do your body was frozen in the spot it had been since you saw him. He was so quick to leave. Your mind filled with the thoughts you had been plagued with for years. He saw you practically naked. He saw your collarbones, saw how skinny you looked, saw that you had no curves, or boobs. He saw everything and he left. You turned looking at the mirror dropping the dress that was in your hand, a dress you were so confident to wear because Pea had always smiled when he saw you in it now putting fear through you. You body staring back at you, looking so far from the idea that you began clawing at your skin. Scratching your arms crying wishing that you could change it but you couldn’t it was all that you wanted you just wanted to feel pretty, pretty for once in your life. To gain the curves, that you craved.

Pea knew that he never should have walked into your room like that, however, since you were not answering when he was calling your name from downstairs he figured that you were asleep. It wasn’t the first time that happened, he has had to wake you up so many times, so it wasn’t like it was out of normal, however, what he definitely did not expect was that you were one, not asleep and two, only in panties and a bra. He never expected to catch you like that, and it wasn’t like he did it on purpose. He just wasn’t that guy, and god did he like you. He has been in love with you for so , so long, but he always respected you and your boundaries never pushing forward until you did always afraid he would push too much. But seeing you like that shocked him, he on one hand felt bad that he invaded your privacy but on the other hang he thought you were so fucking beautiful.

Pea sat downstairs waiting for you to come down, figuring that you would have slipped your clothes on and came down instantly but you didn’t. He got worried when he heard glass shatter, and he ran upstairs instantly. And since past events, he would have knocked but his heart and mind were telling him you were in danger so he barged in once again.

“Y/N...” he barged in seeing you on the ground mirror shattered, a hairbrush laying on the floor, you clawing at your arms, sobbing. You didn’t even acknowledge him, you couldn’t, so in your head that you didn’t even think about that fact that he was there in front of you. “Y/N look at me!” he said it louder but even then you didn’t move. He didn’t want to hurt you, didn’t want to invade your privacy by touching you but he had seen your anxiety. Dealt with it maybe even more than you did, seeing as he’s the one that kind of helped you realize that you had it. He knew he had to touch you, you needed contact to get out of your head, when you were this deep in, words never worked. But you were lying there curled up, somewhat naked, seeing as you only had a bra and panties on. Would it be bad if he touched you? He wanted to help. He was having an inner turmoil with his mind but he needed you to be okay, and he knew it was the only way. So he did, he reached out his hand to your arm “Y/N hey… I’m right here, c'mon look at me princess”. But it still didn’t work. “I need you to let me in” you were still clawing at your skin, tears pouring down your face, not even paying attention to his presence like you usually do. He began coaxing you out, whispering rubbing your arms, eventually using a little force to pry your arms away from each other, so you could stop scratching. You eventually looked up at him, realizing he was there, kneeling next to you, looking at you like this.

“Pea…? Get out! Stop looking at me! I’m disgusting, get out, get  out, get out!!”

“What are you talking about! You’re beautiful, I’m not leaving you like this” Pea grabbed a blanket off your bed once you stopped a bit, he draped it over your body and leaned you towards him. “What’s going on? You gotta let me in what happened to you and what happened to the mirror”

“I broke it! I couldn’t look anymore! And stop looking at me…I’m not what you want to see, I’m not like other girls, I’m disgusting Pea”

“What are you talking about?”

“You saw my body! For the first time, you saw the way I looked I’m not…”

“Stop it! You are fucking gorgeousY/N you are so fucking beuaiful”

“I’m not Pea, I’m skinny, and, and I have no hips or boobs or anything, I just… I’m not…”

“Y/N you are!” He began to stroke your hair gently, knowing it always calmed you a bit. “You are so much more than enough Y/N. You are beautiful inside and out. You may be skinnier than a lot of girls yeah, but that is who you are, you can’t control that like I can’t control being big foot” You chuckled slightly. “Princess I… shit sorry, I hate, you know me and emotions. I love you Y/N so, so much. I love you for you, I've loved you since we were little, I loved you for your smile, your laugh the way you can always make me calm down by just a touch of your presence. I love how you scrunch your nose when you laugh or how your lips go tight when your mad, and I love your body too. And yeah I know you hide it and that is okay, but I need you to know that your body doesn't define you, you are gorgeous. You are hot and sexy and everything in between don’t youe ver think that a number ona  scale or how your clothes fit defines who you are becuase fuck princess you are so, so, so much more” His thumb made it’s way to your chin as he leaned down pressing his lips to yours.

“I want to believe you, I do Pea, but I can’t it’s so fucking hard. I’ve never felt like a beautiful girl. I don’t have curves…don’t have a womanly body. I know you say I’m pretty I know you smile when I wear certain things, and that makes me so happy but I just don’t feel it. I know it isn’t that important but sometimes… it’s nice to feel beautiful or even…I don’t know…seductive?”

“But baby you are, so many times you’ve made me… Oh god, this is terrible to say, but there have been so many times that you've uh made me… hard and I've had to walk out of the room because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. You are sexy, and seductive and beautiful. Let me make you feel like that”

“I don’t know if I can Pea…”

“Only if you want to try we can, I love you and your body Y/N”

“I wanna try…” He started slowly kissing your lips softly, making your mind melt into him. You then felt his lips disconnect but felt them gently press against your neck,  slowly sucking into your skin. His arm moving up to your breast as he gently squeezed his other hand unclipping a bra. You broke away gasping for a breath before covering your body. “Stop…”

“Like I said we stop whenever you want”

“I don’t know if I can do this”

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to but you gotta let me in that pretty little head of yours princess. I can’t help if I don’t know what you’re thinking”

You looked down playing covering your breasts with your arms. “I just… everyone one else… all these girls at school have these big breasts, and big asses and im here with nothing. My breasts are big enough for an a cup bra if that, I barely even need to wear a bra, it's like nothing's there. I don’t look like a typical girl and it…”

“Stop baby… your boobs so what if they are small, that is how you were made, tehy are fucking beautidul I hink you are so sexy, and yeah other girls may have big moodbs but you having small onces doesn;t make you any les feminine then they are”

“But I don’t get it bigger boobs are so much better, so much prettier”

“Baby I find you pretty cause I like you for you, big boobs or small it wouldn’t matter to me, would it make you mad if I had a big dick or a small dick… wait maybe don’t answer that...”  chuckle came out of you once again.

“No, I wouldn’t care…”

“Well that's good phew that could’ve went soooo wrong” You laughed again your hands coming up to your mouth to stifle the laugh ultimately leading to your breasts being on show. Pea looked down slowly cupping them in his hands as he pressed his lips to the supple skin. He slowly began sucking his tongue taking a moment to lick around your nipple as your head fell back and you moaned into the air.

“Beautiful Princess, my sexy girl”

You both went on like this for awhile, there were many times you had to stop, many times he made you tell him how you were feeling but he made you so comfortable, made you feel wanted and needed. You were still so scared, but with Pea, he made everything ok. Made you forget the thoughts that ran through your head, and no it wasn’t an automatic fix, Pea could not fix all the trauma you felt from years of hating who you were but it made it easier to talk to him about how you were feeling, he made it easier for you to feel pretty when he was showing you how you were, making you feel like the perfect girl even though you knew you were far from it. He made you feel so much better in your own skin, he made you feel like you.

[peachfyzzy]

risotto x reader: snooping  pt 2

s/o to my friend for telling me what to do with this chapter! 

cw: filth! pros fucking but a main focus on risotto

a03 link! https://archiveofourown.org/works/20921339/chapters/49998542

After your night with Risotto, you didn’t really know how your relationship would progress from then. Obviously, you were more than friends now. Surprisingly, however, all the tension between you two had completely dissipated. Passion filled nights and spontaneous sexual encounters took its place- which you were more than happy about. 

Still, deep within your heart, you wondered. Risotto only knew of your lust for him. He saw some of the most intimate parts of you, but still never got access to the love you felt for him. 

At this point, you had no idea what you would say to him. Would he be turned off by your sudden confession of feelings after one night of seeing that side of him? Or would he reject you and stop seeing you all together? Or would he take it lightly and continue to indulge your inner fantasies? Something about the goth man made it hard to analyse him fully. One night, all you knew about your prior engagement shattered into itty bitty pieces at your feet. 

You were awoken to the loud sound of grunting. Your half awake mind had no idea what to think of this, but with the little common sense you had, you decided to grab the nearest heavy object and run into Risotto’s room to look for a possible intruder. Risotto was a tank of a man and could easily take down an average man, which comforted you quite a bit. You leaped out of bed and quietly opened your door, peering into the darkness with a silver bat in hand. You tried your hardest not to creak against the old wooden floor...but you had a feeling whoever was in your house wouldn’t hear it over their own noises. 

The grunting and springing got louder and louder as you approached Risotto’s room. As you turned the corner to enter, you saw light leaking from the crack of his door. You were no idiot. One of two things was going on in that room, but you wouldn’t forgive yourself if you ended up leaving the situation alone and were met with a bloody Risotto. So, with bated breath and a shaky hand, you cracked the door a tad more…

An assortment of clothes littered Risotto’s hardwood floor. One’s that matched and others that didn’t- but certain too much for one person to wear outside. A blonde man you had seen a handful of times was hunched over one of Risotto’s pristine white pillows. You recognized him as one of his friends, one of the more serious ones. You had never spoken to each other, only stolen intrigued glances. An otherworldly pleasure was plastered over his face. You leaned in a bit more and saw the beginnings of Risotto’s torso…

 Once your brain finally caught on what was happening, you held in a yelp and tripped over yourself to get out of their line of sight as quickly as possible. 

Once again, your accidental snooping had gotten you in trouble. Luckily, they were too...wrapped up in what they were doing to notice you in any capacity. You took a deep breath and jumped into your bed as if something otherworldly was chasing you. You felt like an awful pervert for it, but your face was brighter than bright in terms of color. You made a mental note to keep out of Risotto’s room altogether unless asked. 

As you got comfortable in bed and let the embarrassment wash away, your heart began to ache, if only slightly. Risotto had no reason to commit himself to you and you only but...You groaned and slammed a pillow against your face, vanquishing any thought of sadness or Risotto with the calm limbo of sleep. 

~~

This time, you were more pleasantly awoken to the smell and sound of cooking bacon. Before you could let the claws of sleep fully grasp at your consciousness, three raps on your door fully woke you up. “Come in…” You sat up, your hair messy and your voice thick with sleep. Risotto cracked the door before opening it fully, a plate of bacon and pancakes in hand. 

“Good morning.” He took a step in and sat down the plate. You didn’t miss the way his eyes wandered around your barely clothed body. 

“What’s the occasion?” 

“You have a long day ahead of you. It’s best to eat three meals if you want to be fully energized.” 

“What do you mean? Is there anything important I missed…?”  

“I’ll tell you later. Come down to the living room around noon. We have a lot to talk about.” You knew that tone. It was his signature demanding one. You didn’t mind the way he took charge, but your mind went wild with thoughts. All of them lewd and very Risotto. 

~~ 

After a long day of going through your mundane routine, you were happy to finally reach the solace of your house. You were more than ready to retire into bed and glue yourself there until your body had it’s full of respite. But, given the fact you were you, that wouldn’t be happening. A loud ding signalled you to look through your phone. It was from Risotto, of course, and it was about earlier. Apparently, whatever he needed to talk to you about couldn’t wait until morning. You took one last look at the sunset behind you and twisted the faux gold knob to your shared apartment. 

When you entered, you were greeted with Risotto and a somewhat familiar blond man. At first, things didn’t click. It was only when you locked eyes did you remember him fully. His eyes were a gorgeous, piercing blue. Clarity was in abundance. 

The image of him hunched over a pillow, lost in pleasure, clouded your mind. Instantly, your face began to flush. “What do you need, Risotto?” You tried your hardest to sound indifferent and almost annoyed, but your partner could always see through your bratty attitude. You heard the man next to him ‘tsk’ quietly, to which you delivered a quirked eyebrow back. 

“I wanted you to meet a friend of mine.” 

“Oh?” You took a step closer but let the coffee table in front of you divide the pair from you. “Nice to meet you.” You delivered an honest smile, holding out your hand for him to shake. He happily took it, giving you a firm handshake. 

“Prosciutto.” His voice was deep and rich. One you could easily see yourself getting lost in. 

“Y/N.” You responded, taking a seat on the table. “So, is there any specific reason you wanted me to meet him?” 

“You two have a lot in common.” Once again, you raised an eyebrow. From the looks of Prosciutto, you expected little to be shared between you two. He looks conservative and put together, somebody that could kill with little to no remorse. 

“Like what?” You would come to love your curious attitude. 

~~

“Strip.” Your newly found partner held his lit cigarette to his lips, letting out puffs as he spoke. You had no idea what being with both Risotto and Prosciutto would be like. From what you witnessed the night before, you half expected to be the one ordering one of them around...but Risotto and his friends always managed to surprise you. You looked at Risotto, who was sitting right next to Prosciutto. He nodded, letting you know his conformation was final. 

Slowly, you began to undress. Article by article, you dropped your clothes to a pool at your feet and let their gazes burn into your soft skin. “Step closer.” Risotto beckoned you forth, his finger pulling you towards him. You complied, stopping within a few inches of them. 

“She’s gorgeous.” The not so subtle praise left Prosciutto's lips with a ghost of a smile gracing them. His rough hands reached out to cup one of your breasts. You curled your toes at his actions, trying your hardest to keep a straight face at his bold action. Finally, he locked eyes with you and delivered a harsh slap to the soft flesh. You recoiled a bit, but all the restraint in the world couldn’t keep your moans in. The blue eyed man hummed as if he figured out how to properly place a puzzle together. “Ah. I see. Risotto?” With a firm shove, you were pressed against the fully clothed goth man. You instantly picked up on how differently Risotto acted when working in tandem with his friend. His eyes seemed to soften just a bit, and his ministrations were more calculated- all as if to make up for the roughness of his friend. 

You imagined you’d crack if both of them came at you with full force. 

Your goth partner took a lock of your hair and began twirling it between his fingers. “If things get out of hand you know your safe words, yes?” You nodded, leaning a bit into his touch. As soon as he internalized your consent, you were pushed onto the bed and pinned there with strong hands. 

A loud yelp escaped your lungs, tempting laughter from the two men. Feverish kisses were laid over your body by your dominant partner. Your eyes were tightly wound shut, but you could hear and feel clothes dropping next to yours. The passing and shifting of bodies was almost too much to keep track of. 

When all of the clothes were finally off and your senses came back to you, you found Prosciutto on top of you. “Risotto has told me a lot about you.” His words drew you in like a moth to the flame. He gently tracked a hand down your stomach, then down the sides of your hips, and finally to the cusp of your ass. In one fluid motion, he flipped you over, and your bare ass was on display. 

With a firm grip on your ankle, he yanked you down towards the end of the bed. Finally, you were bent and ready for him. “Count.” 

Suddenly, his palm came down heavily on your ass. You scrambled within yourself to recover and respond. 

“One!” Your voice was shaky with pleasure and your growing nerves. A satisfied hum came from both of the men. Another hit. 

“Two!” Prosciutto was unrelenting, almost cruel. He happily delivered hit after hit, sending your body into the same pleasure he must’ve felt the night before. After 15 open palm hits, your ass was red and your lungs burned. Still, once Prosciutto pulled away and rubbed his palms, you inched backwards in a poor effort to get more. He simply tutted. 

“I knew you’d like her.” 

“Right as always.” 

Hearing the two men talk about you as if you were some sort of object turned you on even more- even if the thought was embarrassing. Just as you began regaining your composure, a bigger hand knitted into your hair and pulled you back. Your back was pressed firmly against Risotto’s front. He quickly locked his arms under yours, keeping you hoisted in the air as Prosciutto began lowering himself. “Make sure you prepare her properly.” 

Pros yanked your thighs apart, displaying your pussy for him fully. You fidgeted a bit at the sudden burst of cold air making contact with your wet sex. Just as Risotto ordered, he got to work. You were sure this encounter wouldn’t allow you any edge when the intimidating man below you left painfully low stripes up the length of your dribbling pussy. It was unlike Risotto. He wanted to bait out a please. A surrendering flag. He was going to watch you dismantle in a desperate plea to get the pleasure you so badly craved and he was going to enjoy it fully. “Please…”

“What’s wrong? Am I going too fast?” His teasing tone made your hips jut out further in an attempt to catch his lips and shut him up. 

“Fuck! You know what I want you ass-” Before you could even utter the full insult, your mouth was usurped by Risotto’s. He completely stole your breath away. When you pulled away and the string of saliva connecting you two broke, you headed his ‘warning.’ “Please go faster...Prosciutto.” 

“Better.” Finally, he placed his hands against your thighs and was once again, unrelenting in his attack and pace. His plush lips took your clit between them, sending waves of pleasure throughout your being. It seemed the man below you was talented when it came to any kind of person. Man or woman, he had the experience and ego to back it up. As you reached your climax, you reached back to grasp onto anything that would keep you grounded to Earth.

You finished in an excellent display of fireworks and stars. Your whole being was on fire. Prosciutto drank in the sight of you losing yourself to him and you knew it was fueling his expectations of you in the future. You came to with a satisfied, almost goofy smile. “Thank you...Prosciutto.” Your voice was beyond sore.

              “Is that good enough?” Risotto peered forward and let out a hum of approval. 

              “Very well done.” Risotto began to loosen his grip on your body. “Can you walk?” 

              You shook your head. 

              Delicately, Risotto sat you on the bed and watched you find comfort in the sheets. Both of the men looked at you, then back at each other. Risotto came to know your limits very well over the past few weeks, and you trusted his judgement. “Up.” 

                The position he had you in made you feel awfully lewd. Your legs were splayed just a bit too far by coarse, black rope and your head hung slightly off of the side of the bed. Your front was visible for all to see and your eyes struggled to capture sight of the men from your lewd pose.

                  The familiar feeling of Risotto’s tip teasing your eager pussy sent chills up your spine. Before you could moan or beg, Pros’ was already on you. His flushed tip ran itself down your lips. From his angle, he would be able to clearly see where his cock would enter your throat. It was deliberate, as always. 

                   Finally, they both thrusted in. Risotto was generous to slide in slowly, given his size, but you couldn’t say the same for your other partner. Within seconds he was ruthlessly fucking your face. You could hardly breathe with all of the pleasure and tension erupting in your core once again. They unlocked a fantasy you were unaware that you even had and fulfilled it while they were at it. Pros continued fucking your throat at a brutal pace, his grunting and groaning filling the room and hitting the ceiling. This seemed to stir something within Risotto. He quickly caught the smaller man’s chin, keeping it in place as they locked eyes. “Remember what I told you after. If you cum before I do, she won’t be the only one who can’t sit or walk properly.” This comment slowed his pace instantly. 

            With a moment to breath, you indulged in the breath you were allowed. His slow pace turned out to be more tortuous in the end. You wanted all of him. On the other hand, Risotto’s thrusts we’re picking up. The feeling of his thick cock stretching and filling you was something anyone could get addicted to- man or woman. He left you with only thoughts of him and the sound of his voice replaying in the back of your head over and over. You threw your head back more, gargling on the feeling and fullness in your mouth. Finally, Risotto showed his telltale sign of his impending orgasm. 

           His teeth gritted and his grip on your midsection tightened. The fulfilling feeling of Risotto’s release entering you sent you over the edge. With a final jut, he emptied himself fully and made sure you followed suit. Prosciutto looked back up at Risotto for approval and took your head in both of his hands, fucking you like you didn’t need to breath. He finished deep in your throat, giving you no choice but to swallow. Once the panting subsided, Risotto spoke. “I didn’t lie about you two sharing a lot in common.” 

[rnufharose]

Chapter 12

Words: 2.2k

Warnings: None

︻デ═一 ♥

Haneul bowed before the three males that accompanied Sehun, her eyes darting toward the man with cat-like eyes, then the tall one from hours ago—Chanyeol—and the third man who was much shorter. He was more like a boy than a man, his eyes twinkling and his smile wide.

"Annyeonghaseyo!" Baekhyun greeted cheerfully, not minding that his voice had slightly cracked during his greeting. "Wow... you really are pretty. My name's Baekhyun, want to be friends?"

"You remember me, right?" Chanyeol showed off his dimples while he smiled. "I'm sorry I lied to you too... but really, I want you to be safe too. Sehun-ah may look scary but he's very kind and loyal. When he takes care of someone, he is very gentle and loving."

"I'm Kim Minseok, but you can call me Xiumin oppa," the eldest of the four males walked toward her, chuckling a bit before patting her head. "You must have been very lonely here... Sehun-ah," he scolded the youngest gently, looking over his shoulder. "You should have stayed here with her... we could have handled FT. It's not right to leave a girl alone at home..."

Even though he was right, Sehun knew she wouldn't want to be in the same room with him if they were alone. It only made his heart shatter again, but he managed to push away the unpleasant feelings in his chest and speak toward the girl, "I'm sorry this is so sudden... I thought maybe having some more people to talk to could make you feel less scared."

He was right. She wasn't feeling very afraid right now. Even though he tricked her, Chanyeol was smiling at her, Baekhyun was buzzing with excitement, eager to talk to her, and Xiumin was very affectionate. Haneul remained silent, and the eldest gestured first her to go toward the living room.

"Why don't you make yourself comfortable? Standing isn't good," he spoke gently.

"Right! Come this way into the living room, Haneul!" Baekhyun said still holding his smile. He loved that he potentially had a new friend, but she just needed to warm up to him first.

Sehun stepped out of the way so she could follow after Baekhyun and Xiumin. He figured if she could get accustomed to his friends, maybe that would be enough to convince her to finally look at him and trust him. Chanyeol sat down across from the three of them with Sehun beside him, looking over the girl again. She sat with her eyes on the coffee table, her hands in her lap and her body was only a little stiff. Vivi leaped onto the couch and sat on Sehun's lap silently, his fingers absentmindedly stroking his fur.

"So, how old are you?" Xiumin asked her, hoping to ease the tension by asking her personal questions, wondering what her interests were.

"Twenty-two," she answered once she faced him. "I was born in ninety-eight, but I was able to go to school with the kids that were born in ninety-seven."

"Ah, so cool! You must be so smart!" Baekhyun cooed from his spot. "What did you study while in undergrad?" He sat forward, resting his chin in his hands.

"I studied music. I only graduated recently," Haneul replied. "I love to sing and play the piano. I was thinking of becoming an artist but things didn't go as planned. Instead, I sing at The Magic Shop. My friend owns that club." Xiumin looks very handsome, she thought as he watched her with intent. And Baekhyun... kind of reminds me of Taehyung. Chanyeol looks like a restless puppy...

"Musically gifted huh?" Xiumin chuckled, jerking a thumb toward the tall, dimpled male across from them, "Chanyeol is musically gifted too. He can play drums, piano, and guitar."

"Yeah, I taught myself, but I can't read music," he laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sure you can though. Maybe you can teach me next time!"

Sehun smiled slightly, happy that she was warming up to them. Having his older brothers come along turned out to be a good idea after all. She just needed someone to socialize with to feel more comfortable. "Perhaps you'd consider playing for us one day?" He asked, finally joining in on the conversation. He looked at her curiously, the cold look from earlier in the night completely gone. He was fascinated that in such a short time, he'd learned so much more about her. He'd have to repay his friends later.

"That's a great idea, Sehun-ah!" Baekhyun agreed. "Sehun loves music as well. He usually does dance routines and choreography work for songs he really likes." He said to the brunette, who heard the hitman's question, glancing his way, but the moment she saw his face, she averted her gaze, her knuckles going white and her body tense.

"H-Hey," Xiumin began, hoping to cut the tension that filled the air. "it's okay," he held her arm, smiling at her in assurance. "No one is here to hurt you. Sehun is a good guy. Go on, take a look at him. You'll find he looks like a little boy more than a man."

"Minseok hyung is right," Chanyeol said. "In time, he'll be running after you like a baby chick just to get your attention. He's got a very cute face!"

"Just one itty bitty look?" Baekhyun tried as well along with the others. "He really is a sweet guy. I mean he has a fluffy white cloud for a dog!"

"Haneul..." Sehun called out softly to her. He was beginning to feel sad knowing that she still couldn't look at him even after bonding with the others. His brows furrowed slightly, his eyes becoming narrow, and he didn't know how else to help her feel safe around him.

Haneul listened to their pleas, unsure if she could fulfill what they asked of her. After what happened in the alleyway days prior, all she could see was that cold glance. She wanted to hide, disappear so she wouldn't have to be afraid, but at the same time, she knew she couldn't stay like this forever. She would have to face him eventually. Maybe one look didn't mean he would kill her.

She slowly looking up, and she was met with Sehun's face. His eyes were dark but shone like stars, and his hair was black as night. His skin was pale, his nose tall and his lips thin, his features mature and chiseled, and his expression not so cold or murderous. In fact, he looked... normal. He didn't look as scary as she thought he was.

Sehun smiled a little more now that she had finally looked at him. She'd gone as far as to look him in the eye. Knowing this made some of the weight on his shoulders lift.

"That's better, isn't it?" Xiumin smiled between the two of them, content that she mustered up the courage to look at him. "She's much prettier when she looks at you, huh Sehun?"

"I agree with Minseok hyung, she does," Chanyeol have a single, firm nod, sitting back against the couch.

"There's still one thing missing though," Baekhyun squinted his eyes, looking over the girl's face with a hum. "It's the most important thing of all!"

"Smile!" The eldest male sang to her. "A pretty girl like you has got to have a pretty smile."

For a moment, Haneul wondered if she was capable of truly smiling again. After everything she had been through, she thought she couldn't smile anymore. However, these men thought she was capable of it, so she decided to humor them. Her lips tugged gently, and she smiled at Sehun, feeling her own heavy burden being lifted off her shoulders.

The raven-haired hitman couldn't help but stare at her now. He thought she was beautiful before, but now he was sure of it. It was like looking back at all the old photos from her house on the day of her grandmother's funeral. Her smile was beautiful in the photos, but in person, it was absolutely gorgeous. He was able to witness it now, and he hoped she would do so more often. "I like it when you smile. You look prettier."

"And here I thought I had the cutest smile. Looks like I've been beaten, so I give the title over to you!" Baekhyun clapped his hands together, and they all broke into laughter.

Sehun listened to her break into giggles, and he found the very sound to be cute like soft bells chiming. Just listening to her laugh made his heart skip a beat, and one single thought crossed his mind at that moment. She's happy.

︻デ═一 ♥

Hours later, after the three of them left, Haneul gave them one last bow before watching them leave, and she was alone in the apartment again with Sehun and Vivi. This time, she didn't run into her room and hide. She decided to stay out, her gaze trained on Sehun's back.

"Did you enjoy meeting them?" Sehun asked, facing her after he closed the door and locked it. "Sorry if they were a bit overwhelming. They can be a handful. And don't even get me started when Minseok hyung, Baekhyun hyung, and Jongdae hyung are together."

"It's fine... I enjoyed meeting them," she said, looking up at him again. The more she looked at him, the more she realized how sweet he looked. Right now, she noticed how his eyes turned into crescents when he smiled. It was as if he was a completely different person. She felt guilty for not looking at him before and even thinking that he would try to kill her.

He looked her over once more now that she was looking at him without cowering away. Her petite frame stood elegantly in a very proper manner, her healthy, long brown hair tumbled down her shoulders and back, shining in the light, and her beautiful eyes were like sweet chocolates, shining brightly with a lively innocence. Sehun cleared his throat and looked away, hoping to not scare her again with his excessive staring. "You must be tired. Why don't you get some sleep. I still have some work to do so I'll be up a little longer."

"Alright," she nodded, clasping her hands in front of her. "And... you make sure to get some sleep too," she proceeded to walk toward her room before coming to a stop, turning to face him once more. "Also... if you'd like, you can call me Neullie..."

"Neullie..." He tried out her nickname, which rolled off his tongue effortlessly, sounding rather pleasant. It was endearing, just like her, and he liked it. "Alright... Good night, Neullie."

She bowed once more and walked into her room, closing the door behind her, leaving Sehun to be the only one left in the middle of the living room. Vivi walked up to him, standing beside his feet and the raven-haired male glanced at his office. "Come, Vivi..." he mumbled, and the white Bichon followed.

Once he entered his office, Sehun took a seat at his desk, leaning back against the leather rolling chair with a heavy sigh as he recalled the events that transpired today. He realized this wasn't some weird dream. He wasn't living alone anymore. There was a girl four years younger than him staying in the other bedroom, she was the last surviving member of a powerful syndicate she knew nothing about, and he was going to protect her from this day forward.

How will this work...? He thought. He only ever lived with Suho and his family and that was when he was growing up in the Kim estate after they adopted him. As far as he was concerned, Sehun didn't know how to cook or do simple menial chores because the housekeeping staff always handled it. He didn't want Haneul to handle it all but it seemed she would either way. Though having a woman's touch would benefit his life—which wasn't a sexist mindset, not in the slightest—he would have to find some way to make up for his irresponsibilities.

You are such an idiot, he mentally kicked himself. Living off of ramyeon and steamed rice... she's not a prisoner.  You have to make her feel at home, Oh Sehun.

In her new bedroom, Haneul was laying between the sheets again, the comforter pulled up to her chin as she tried to sleep. She too was thinking about the day's events. Yesterday, she was living in the storage room of The Magic Shop before she was almost assaulted, and now, she was living in an expensive penthouse with a gorgeous man who happened to be an enforcer in the mob.

Guess I've been reading too many books, she thought as she hid under the covers. This isn't some stupid Beauty and the Beast scenario... he's just an intimidating guy who works for a powerful family. And you're a girl... who is living... with him... She groaned and burrowed deeper within the comforter. Crap... it is that kind of scenario...

Well into the night, after mulling over every little thing about each other and how they were going to live together, the two of them eventually came to the same thought.

At least we didn't run into a pack of wolves.