#But wow she rated super low regardless

[scientiastudy]

Lay All Your Love On Me (Chapter II)

Chapter I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII.

Now that he has you, he isn't going to let you go again. After all, it's been centuries, darling.

Pairing: Ardyn Izunia x Reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Rating: M

Content: Angst, Fated Lovers, One-Sided Relationship, Unhealthy Relationships, Reincarnation, Manipulation, Kidnapping, Mentions of Blood, Slight Canon Divergence

Author's Note: Wow okay I did NOT expect this story to get the reception it has. This was originally gonna be a one-shot but so many ppl liked it I decided to make it into a series. It probably isn't gonna be super long (watch me eat these words later) but I have a lot planned hehe.

Ardyn smiles as he looks at your slumped-over form, satisfaction humming through his veins as his eyes roam over your body. You just look so delicious covered in blood, even if the circumstances leading up to this moment had been somewhat… undesirable.

It had been a pleasant surprise when you had attacked him. The raw fear in your eyes had been simply ravishing in the few moments before he had gone unconscious from his wounds.

Regardless, you are going to need to learn your place if his plan is to come to full fruition. He knows the missile didn’t kill Noctis and his friends, merely crippled them on their journey. However, if they died in the ensuing aftermath? Well, that would simply be a shame. If he is to have his full redemption, his final ascension, he needs you at his side when he defeats that infernal princeling. So what if it means he needs to take a few creative liberties with the truth? He’s no stranger to deception, and in the end, it’s in your best interest. After all, what place is better for you than at his side?

He smiles at your slumped form again, your empty eyes staring at the floor. He’d simply cast a few spells on you to help sell the battered soldier angle. With how aggressive you’d been earlier, he has no doubts that you’d rat him out to the first person you see. He couldn’t have you derailing his plans any more than they already were.

His grin grows as he feels the ship beginning to descend. He leans down and gently takes your arm in his hand, slowly pulling you to your feet before taking your hand in his. His entire body comes alight at the sensation, warmth spreading through his entire being. Stars above he’d missed this. Your hand feels the same it did all those centuries ago, soft and gentle in his calloused grip. He guides you to lean against him, unsteady on your feet as you are.

He allows himself a few more moments of reverie before the ship comes to a full stop, the hiss of the hydraulics signaling the opening of the hangar. Slowly, the forms of Ravus and the Oracle come into view as the hatch opens. He readies his performance as he walks forward, pretending to guide you and speaking in a low tone as he takes you down the hangar. He doesn’t miss the way the Oracle’s eyes widen, or the way Ravus’s eyes flash with recognition as he guides you onto the solid ground of the base.

Ravus is the first to break the silence, his voice perfectly professional. “What is the status of the Archean?” He questions, his eyes pointedly remaining fixed on the Chancellor.

“The Archean has met his end,” Ardyn says, sighing. “I found this one injured and stumbling around the wreckage. I assumed by her Crownsguard uniform she must be of some import. Regrettably, she’s been in too much shock to speak or do much of anything. She was inconsolable when I found her, crying about the loss of her company,” He pretends not to notice how the Oracle recoils at his statement and Ravus stiffens. Oh how delightfully simple mortals are.

“What do you intend to do with her?” The Oracle questions, her voice slightly shaken. She has collected herself and is standing with her usual perfect posture, her eyes betraying nothing. He must applaud her. After all, her performances are always oh so enjoyable.

“I intend to take her back to Altissia where she can recover. If my suspicions of her identity are true, then she may know valuable information that would benefit both of our kingdoms in your matrimony, dear Oracle.”

“You intend to take her prisoner?” Ravus says suspiciously, his gaze roaming to where your hand is tangled with Ardyn’s and your body leans against his.

“Fear not, she will not be a prisoner,” Ardyn says, his smile never faltering. “She will simply be a guest. I suspect due to the trauma she has sustained that her healing process will be a long one and these bases are hardly a place for peace and healing,” He knows Ravus cannot fault him on his logic, the bases are simply military installations, and unless you were a Magitek unit, there wasn’t much in the way of healing at a base.

He watches as Ravus subtly studies you. No doubt taking in your empty eyes and the way you shake on your feet. Ardyn silently applauds you for your little knife stunt back in the ship, the blood across your face and body sells the image of a traumatized soldier better than he ever could.

“If it’s true that she is the only witness to the fates of the royal company,” Lunafreya carefully ventures. “Then it would be wise for us to aid in her healing as much as possible. I doubt the Archean has left us any evidence.”

“I knew you would see reason, my darling,” Ardyn says, allowing his mask to slip slightly as his grin grows sinister. “After all, it’s only natural to want to know the fate of your betrothed. I’ll see to it that she has an expeditious recovery. She will be safe with me.”

He grins again as Ravus nods, voicing his assent before turning on his heel and briskly walking back into the main building of the base. The Oracle is slower to take her leave, analyzing you deeply before exiting. He knows she suspects something is afoot, but it’s of no consequence to him. She, just like the others, will come to understand in time. And if they don’t? Well, they cannot dissent if they are dead.

He squeezes your hand. Everything is falling into place.

-

When you come back to your senses, you’re acutely aware that you aren’t on the ship anymore. The unsteadiness of being airborne has been replaced with the solid sensation of being back on Earth. You slowly take in your surroundings as your senses come back to you. Oceans of blue slowly come into focus as you look at the luxurious wallpaper of the room you’re in. Next, you slowly push yourself up, your gaze falling to the heavy golden comforter and sheets draped over your frame. You’re pleasantly surprised that you’re clean, not a trace of dirt or grime on your body. It isn’t until you see the blood under your nails that the full gravity of your situation sinks in.

You jump out of the bed as fast as you can, your legs almost becoming tangled with the blankets in your panic. You stumble as dizziness overtakes you, holding onto the nightstand with a white-knuckle grip as you try desperately to ground yourself. Eventually, you collect yourself, stumbling towards the door. You frantically try the knob. Locked. You start pounding on the door, your voice straining as you scream for help.

It’s then that you have a second horrifying realization. You scream again, only silence greeting you as you strain your lungs and voicebox to make any sound at all. Tears gather in your eyes. Fuck fuck fuck, things weren’t supposed to go like this. What are you supposed to do?

You frantically look around the room, instantly running to the window you spot on the wall opposite the door. Your stomach drops as you see you’re at least seven stories up, a fall like that would be nasty even if you had your supplies with you. Without them, you’d be as good as dead the moment you jumped.

You wrack your brain for any ideas, and suddenly a lightbulb goes off in your mind. You run back to the bed, removing one of the thick pillowcases from the pillows you had been laying on before racing back to the window. You wrap the pillowcase around your hand and take a deep breath, steeling yourself for what’s about to come. You put your other hand in front of your eyes and punch into the window with all your might.

You’re only greeted with a searing pain in your dominant hand, your blow reflecting off the window instead of shattering it as you intended. You swear. Of course, it couldn’t be that easy. You switch to jumping and waving your arms, instinctually screaming and yelling as you try your best to get someone, anyone’s attention.

After several minutes of silent screams and frantic jumping, dread settles in your stomach as you realize nobody can see you. Your heart is pumping from the exertion and adrenaline, but all the people below you are calm and serene. Everyone is so wrapped up with their lives, the passerby only looking at each other and their surroundings as you frantically try to gain their attention. You decide to give up on this front for now, turning around and scanning the room again, this time seeing an open door that leads to a bathroom.

You run to the bathroom, your hand and wrist still throbbing as you look for another way out. You’re only greeted with another window with the same magic and a vent that’s too small for a chocobo chick to fit through, let alone a human.

The closet is next, and you’re taken off guard as you open the door to the small room. It’s full of outfits of every color and material, a stand draped with accessories sitting on the top shelf among several sleek boxes and bags.

You shudder at the thought of Ardyn buying all of them with you in mind. His predatory gaze flashes through your mind and only steels your resolve to escape. Unfortunately you once again only find a small vent, cursing as you tear at your hair in desperation.

You decide the door is your best bet again, pacing back to the slab of wood with renewed determination. Ardyn’s predatory gaze lingers in your mind, increasing your panic. You bang on the door again, frantically slamming yourself against it to make as much noise as possible. You try screaming to no avail, only silence punctuating the lulls between your assault on the door.

Your hands begin to ache, your side burning as you throw yourself against the door. Your throat burns from your muted screams as you instinctively try to cry for someone to come free you from your prison.

Suddenly, the door swings open, knocking you off your feet. The crack of your skull against the floor echoes in your head like a whiplash. The pain is instant and all-consuming while your vision swims as you desperately try to reorient yourself.

“Tsk-tsk, out of bed this soon?” The familiar voice of the imperial chancellor makes your blood run cold. You scramble backward, your vision still swimming as you heave yourself away from the man in front of you.

“You don’t need to act so frightened my darling, I won’t hurt you– unless you ask that is,” You shudder at the implication behind his words as you feel your back hit the wall. Your vision has cleared and you can see your captor in his full glory, his signature smug smile on his face as he walks towards you. Your mind races as you try and find a way out, a way to get away from the monster in front of you.

The door.

He left the door wide open behind him, light from the outside spilling into the room as Ardyn approaches you. You scramble to the lefthand corner of the room next to the closet so you have a straight shot to the exit, eyes never leaving your captor as he walks ever closer. He smiles and extends his hand to help you up.

Now.

You sprint past Ardyn, ducking as he reaches an arm out to stop you. Before you know it, you’re through the door and in a long hallway. You don’t take any time to think, you just choose a direction and run. You hear the heavy footfalls of your captor behind you as you run and it only spurs you on faster. Lavish decorations fly by as your feet pound against the carpet. You briefly debate trying to open one of the doors that lines the hallway, but the idea of stopping and letting your captor gain any ground stops you. You eventually come to the end of the hallway, chest heaving as you look wildly at the elevator in your way. You search for stairs, another hallway, anything other than the elevator in front of you.

You see the sign for a stairwell a few paces away and sprint to it. You try the handle frantically to no avail. Looking down the hallway you see Ardyn approaching slowly, taking his time as you panic like a trapped bird.

You run back to the elevator and frantically push the button. To your increasing panic, it doesn’t light up, staying dim as you silently curse under your breath. Behind you the chancellor laughs, sending a fresh wave of panic through your system.

“I’m afraid you won’t have any luck there darling,” You hear him call from behind you. You refuse to look behind you, instead opting to stare at the button as you frantically press it, praying for it to light up or for the doors to open. “The First Secretary has been kind enough to lend me a private wing of her estate for your ah– rehabilitation as it is,” His footsteps finally stop, and your whole being shakes as you turn on your heel to face him. Cold terror and burning hot anger mix together to form a potent cocktail in your stomach. “You see, you’re in such a delicate state after the tragic death of your friends that you’re unable to speak to anyone other than your noble rescuer.” His smug smile grows at his words while your blood boils. Your rescuer? You’d laugh if you had the voice to.

“Of course, due to your delicate state only I am allowed in this wing of the estate. Isn’t it lovely? We do have centuries of catching up to do, after all,” His arm shoots out to grab you but you’re faster, hopped up on adrenaline and fear. You dart past his arm, fully intending on leading him on another chase down the seemingly never-ending hallway you seem to be trapped in.

However, you instead feel the tell-tale tingling of a spell being cast on you. You collapse, your head cracking against the wood for a second time as your legs become dead weight underneath you. Ardyn’s voice fights its way into your scrambled brain, still as smooth and calm as ever.

“Now I hate to take measures like this my dear, but I can’t have you overexerting yourself and getting injured, now can I?” He coos, picking up your slumped form as your vision swims. You try weakly to fight him off, your arms feeling like they’re full of metal. “You’ll see in the end that this is what’s best for you. Where better to recover from your injuries and rekindle your romance than the city by the sea, hm?”

The last thing you see before your vision goes black again is Ardyn’s face. For a moment it almost looks angelic, the light streaming in from the windows forming a halo around his head. You dimly think to yourself that you definitely have a concussion if you’re comparing Ardyn to an angel in any way.

“Rest now darling, your healing will come with time.”

[eskalations]

"I've always known that I was a big target for them - almost as big as Erwin himself - but I never thought they would go after my own daughter." Levi released a dark chuckle at this, closing his eyes in disbelief. 'I can't believe my stupidity. The Titans have cut down families before, I don't know what made me think that mine would be any different."

(Rivetra AU where Petra is a pediatric nurse and Levi is a single father)

Hello! Wow oh wow! I haven't written since August and this oneshot definitely made it more obvious. Originally it was only supposed to be about 5,000 words but it soon grew into the monster that it is now. Will it stay a oneshot forever? I don't know...but for now, it is what it is! Editing this was a nightmare, so I apologize for any missed mistakes, as well as my poor writing skills that have been underutilized for quite some time.

I hope regardless of that, you will still enjoy this! I just finished AOT and this couple's story absolutely gripped my heart. Here you go, Rivetra fandom!

As always, reviews are MUCH appreciated. So please be sure to tell me what you think!

-

Petra Ral was NOT having a good day.

While she had been a night nurse for several years now, her penchant for making rookie mistakes was almost as bad as it had been when she started. Upon crashing into bed at seven this morning, she had completely forgotten to set her alarm for later in the day. Hence, why she was running through the streets of Paradis like a madwoman.

Her co-workers were less than impressed with her dramatic entry onto the ward. Nanaba was glaring at her over the top of the counter, while Nifa bristled from beside the employee water tower.

"Really, Petra?" The spunky redhead commented in a low, disapproving tone - watching as the other ginger woman threw her bag down onto the floor beneath the desk and hurriedly began to punch in her time. "This oversleeping thing is getting pretty old, considering it's six in the afternoon, not six in the morning."

Petra held back a growl as she fumbled with her card, sticking it into the machine but not getting any response due to the shakiness of insertion. Finally, she heard a click and withdrew the parchment. With her heart still racing like mad after her dash up the stairs, she dropped in exhaustion into a vacant chair.

“You say that - “ Petra spoke for the first time since entering Paradis Hospital, her usual chipper voice hoarse from her ragged breathing. “ - but you’re not the one who worked a 12-hour shift yesterday. You were too busy working on that boyfriend of yours to even - "

“Shhhhhh!” Nifa’s face glowed scarlet as she shushed the young woman, her pale skin heating at the vulgar comment. Nanaba just laughed quietly at her friend’s embarrassment, turning her attention back to the file in front of her. All the nurses and doctors bustling about around the counter paid the girls no mind, used to the familiar banter between the three.

"Say what you want about Nifa's love life," Nanaba bristled, pulling out another form from the file in front of her for closer observation. The blonde's eyes cut towards Petra, disapproval evident in her tone. "But your the one who's late today. We had a pretty intense case come into the ward too from emergency."

“What?!” Petra yelped, her nurse’s instincts kicking in instantly at Nananba’s words. Despite her still heaving chest, the young woman sat up straighter to observe the report that was being handed over to her. “Is the child okay?”

"She's stable." Nanaba offered, turning back to the folder on her desk to grab a few more forms. "However, she's going to need to be watched closely throughout the night. The poor thing was stabbed and the blade had poison on it."

Petra wished she could act shocked, but she wasn’t. Paradis Hospital received several stab cases a day due to the gang violence in the area. The Titans certainly weren’t pulling any of their punches when it came to looting. Regardless of whether their victim was eight or eighty, they would steal from anyone with a bit of coin in their pocket.

Stabbings weren't super common on the pediatric ward, but common enough that all the staff who bustled about barely batted an eye at the thought of such an injury being treated on the floor.

"She's already been stitched up and the antidote for the poison has been administered - but, the emergency department sent her up here for monitoring, just in case she relapses," Nifa explained, now leaning over the counter to read the forms Nanaba still held in her hands. The blonde threw her an exasperated look.

“She’s not your patient, so stop being so damn nosy.”

"Well, I've never - " Nifa scoffed at the blonde's scathing tone, though Petra could hear the amusement behind it. "Sorry, for wanting to dedicate my life for the next 12-hours to a hot man with a nice - oh, I mean to a sweet little girl with a -"

"Nifa!" Petra exclaimed, catching on to what the young woman was implying. "Don't tell me you're trying to hit on a little girl's father while she's bedridden in the hospital! Have you no shame?"

“Not really!”

Even Nanaba laughed at Nifa's answer.

"Well, too bad for you, since you have a boyfriend." The blonde reminded her, to which the red-headed nurse simply stuck out her tongue. " - and  Petra has been assigned to be her nurse."

“Me?” Petra had the gall to act surprised, but her friends simply rolled their eyes at her modest response.

“Oh please!" Nifa sighed, crossing her arms over the counter to once again lean closer to the girls on the other side. One of the older doctors, a man with grey hair and spectacles, eyed her disapprovingly as he passed. Nifa didn't even spare him a glance. "While you may be a notorious flake when it comes to arriving on time, it's no secret that they entrust you with the higher priority cases on the ward."

Nifa was right - it wasn't a secret. Since graduating at the top of her class in nursing school, she had always been highly respected for not only her knowledge but bedside manner, as well. Just last year, she had received an award for having the highest satisfaction rate on her floor. Now, if only she could show up to work on time…

“- he’s really short, but his eyes - wow!" Petra was brought back from her thoughts by Nifa's words. Nanaba was shaking her head as she wrote a note down in one of her patient files, trying to tune out the girl's excessive praise. "He's got that rough around the edges look, yet is put together and clean and - "

"I hate to cut you off in the middle of your fantasy - " Petra commented before standing and collecting the patient papers from the desk. "- but I have patients to take care of."

Nifa's mouth popped open in shock, her expression quickly turning to one of disbelief at the sight of Petra's teasing look.

“Says the girl who was LATE!”

Petra chuckled, shrugging her shoulders as she rushed off to her first patient's room, ready to begin her shift with newfound energy. Despite her exhaustion from the night before and the soreness in her limbs, she couldn't approach the job she loved with anything less than excitement and positivity.

Maybe it would be a good day after all.

-

Upon entering Heidi Ackerman's room twenty minutes later though, Petra was once again lamenting the horrible luck that seemed to be plaguing her during the past twenty-four hours.

It wasn't the child who was causing her such discomfort, but her father.

After having checked on and familiarizing herself with the low-risk patients she had been assigned, Petra finally decided to introduce herself to the latest Titan's stab victim that was residing on her ward. Checking the young girl's forms before entering the room, the nurse noticed that the child was due for a round of medication soon anyways.

‘Perfect,' Petra thought to herself while turning the knob of the door. 'If I take care of her medications now, I won’t have to return for another hour and then I can go check on - ‘

Petra's thoughts were interrupted by the sight that met her upon entry to the room.

Nifa wasn’t kidding - the guy was short. Like, really short.

Petra rarely met a male anywhere close to her height - so, the short stature of the figure that stood by the lone window of the room, instantly caught her attention.

The second thing that caught her attention? His looks.

While the man was certainly not attractive by societal standards, his piercing gaze was enough to stop any woman in her path. His eyes were grey and heavily hooded by pale white lids and beneath his stare, lay two dark bags that spoke of a restless nature. Despite the blatant signs of exhaustion, his dark hair lay near perfect across his forehead, the shaved lower half of it buzzed in an undercut fashion.

He was captivating and terrifying all at once.

“Oi, are you just going to stand there?”

His gravelly, low voice broke her from her analysis, jolting her back to reality as he shifted his posture to a more casual stance. Whereas he once stood rigid, he now placed a hand on his hip and schooled his features to resemble something more akin to indifference.

Realizing she had never responded, Petra suddenly jumped into action.

"Oh!" She smiled awkwardly, not quite feeling like her usual self. Typically, talking to patients and their families wasn't so difficult for her, but this guy was unlike her usual clientele. He practically exuded indifference and didn't look very interested in receiving an answer to what she had to assume was a rhetorical question - but Petra did not care. "Hello, my name's Petra Ral, I'll be the night nurse for Miss Heidi."

As if saying her name had reminded her of exactly why she was standing there in the first place, Petra turned her smiling face towards the bed, trying not to show her concern as her gaze fell on the small child.

Heidi Ackerman at five years old had experienced more pain in the past several hours than some adults would face in their entire lifetime. While the child's sweet features could still be seen over the top of the crisp white blankets, the pained lines of her forehead spoke of a quiet distress that had taken a hold of her and refused to let go.

Petra ached to go towards her - however, a snide remark from the man on the other side of the room had her pausing.

“You’re going to attend my child looking like that?” Disgust was evident in the man’s tone as he gave her a once over from top to bottom. “Ever heard of an iron?”

The young woman could feel her face go red at his comment, her eyes glancing down at the outfit she typically wore during her shift - a white nurses uniform, tights, and white slip-ons. The front of her outfit was pristine white - however, the bottom of her skirt had a set of small wrinkles. Petra went redder as she realized that in her confusion to get dressed after having slept in, she had picked up her uniform from the previous night that had been lying atop of the hamper.

Most people wouldn't even have noticed her slightly used uniform, but somehow this man had called her out on it, despite it only having had a few wrinkles of use embedded in the fabric.

Petra was furious. Of course, she wasn't going to show it, since she was a professional - but she couldn’t help but bite back, even if it was just a little.

“Yeah - well you aren’t looking too good either, so I guess we're even.”

The man cocked an eyebrow at her comment, before looking down at himself to see what she was talking about.

In Petra's defense, she hadn't actually looked at the man's clothes. When she had entered the room, she had been so distracted by his face, that she hadn't even gotten the opportunity. But, as he looked down at himself in search of the reason for her comment, Petra was able to give him a once over too. After examining his outfit of choice, Petra had to bite back a groan from the error of her comment.

He was dressed immaculately, wearing a dark brown leather jacket with a white shirt underneath and a pair of slender black jeans on the bottom. On his feet, were a pair of shiny, black combat boots that looked as though they had been polished that very morning.

However, the state of his clothes was not the reason Petra wanted the Earth to swallow her whole. It was the substance on the front of his shirt.

Blood.

“Tch," The man clicked his tongue, having caught sight of the dried, red blood covering his otherwise pristine white shirt. "I guess my child's blood isn't the best accessory to wear, huh?"

Fully embarrassed by her comment, Petra immediately stuck out her hands in defense, forms and all.

“Sir, I’m sorry. I truly didn’t mean - “

“I’m sure.” The words were said with such a quiet finality, that the woman felt her tongue grow heavy in her mouth. Not knowing what else to say, the room fell into an awkward silence that even Petra’s vivacious personality couldn’t conquer.

Perhaps, she had officially met her match.

The man continued to stare at her with his slate-gray eyes as the silence drug on - however, they were both interrupted from their thoughts by a quiet cough coming from the bed.

‘That’s right!’ Petra thought, a newfound energy taking hold of her as she returned her attention to the small patient residing in the bed. ‘She’s the reason I’m here.’

"Sorry, Miss Heidi!" Petra adopted her usual, chipper tone as she approached the child, already glancing at the chart that had been left on the wall at her side. While the form should have match the one she had been given, she wasn't one to cut corners, so she began to read over it to check for any additional information that could have been missed. "Your father and I are rudely neglecting you. Are you in any pain at the moment?"

While most children instantly brightened at the ginger's easygoing bedside manner - Heidi, much like her father, was not acting like a typical patient. Instead of answering, the small, dark-haired girl remained silent, glancing over at the woman with the same hooded gray eyes as her father.

Petra found the whole thing incredibly unnerving. To keep herself busy, she began to check the young girl's vitals. As she glanced over the numbers, she snuck a peek at her charge who still lay silent in the hospital bed.

Despite her lack of response to Petra's earlier question, the woman could see from the lines of distress on the girl's forehead that something was bothering her. She knew from the child's file that she had been slashed with a knife across the stomach and had been on the receiving end of an incredibly deadly poison. There probably wasn't much on her body that didn't hurt at this point.

Although she knew that the young girl must be in pain, the silence continued to grow as the two females in the room kept their gazes locked on the other.

Finally, Heidi turned to her father, who had been watching the scene unfold from his designated spot by the window. The girl's eyes shone with nothing short of fear as she appeared to silently communicate with her father. While the look on the poor child's features caused Petra's heart to clench, the man by the window merely bristled at his daughter's behavior.

"Stop trying to be tough, brat." His voice was rough, the edge in his tone similar to what it had been a minute ago. However, Petra was relieved to note a slight gentleness to his words that hadn't been present in their earlier conversation. "There's no reason to hide your pain if you're feeling any."

While the young nurse imagined any normal child would flinch at such words being thrown at them after having experienced such trauma - Heidi just blinked at her father's comment, almost as if pondering the meaning behind it.

Petra was about to jump in, having seen quite enough of the man's crass attitude towards his daughter, when the little girl finally spoke. Feebly, but with conviction.

“My stomach burns.”

Unlike her father's voice, Heidi had a sweet, slightly high-pitched voice, that would have had Petra cooing, had it not been for the current predicament the child was in.

“That’s to be expected.” The ginger responded understandingly, wanting the girl to know that she was someone she could trust over the next twelve hours. “What if I told you that I have some medicine that could make it feel better? Would you like that, Miss Heidi?”

Heidi hesitated for a moment, pulling the crisp white blanket up to her chin, almost acting like she was ashamed for having to take medicine. However, only a few beats passed before she nodded in response to the young woman's question.

"Perfect!" Petra's smile grew, the genuine kindness that typically radiated from her, shining from the depths of her chestnut eyes. "You're going to need a drink to help you wash down your pills - and I know they may taste a little nasty - so, how about I get you a juice to make it just a little bit better?"

As though a switch had been flipped, Heidi’s pale hands dropped the sheet covering the lower half of her face, revealing a tiny, rosebud mouth opened in shock. The dull gray of her eyes that had been so flat just a few moments ago, sparkled at the prospect of such a treat.

It made Petra’s heart clench once again.

The nurse was about to ask what flavor the girl wanted when her attention was drawn back to the man standing on the other side of the room. He had made a disapproving noise with his tongue as his daughter's face lit up at the thought of the sweet drink.

"Now you've done it." The man chuckled, though there was no real humor behind it. "This girl's favorite thing in the world is sweets. Now she's going to say she's in pain, just so she can get some juice."

“Sir,” Petra responded firmly, her once shining brown eyes hardening at such a careless statement. “I’m sorry, but after what she’s been through today, I think the least we could do is allow her to have some juice.”

The man shrugged his shoulders, raising his brows as though to tell her ‘do what you want’.

Which she would - gladly, in fact.

Turning back towards Heidi, who was now watching her father with a concerned expression, Petra attempted to redirect the girl’s attention.

"What flavor do you want?" That got Heidi's head swiveling back towards her. "I have cherry, grape, apple, orange, or watermelon."

“Uhhhh - “ Heidi pondered over her choices, looking up at the ceiling as though the answer would be there. After a few moments of thinking it over, the girl finally glanced back at the nurse waiting anxiously by her bedside. “I guess...cherry?”

“Excellent choice!” Petra agreed, readying herself to leave the room, but stopping dead in her tracks when hearing Heidi’s little voice again.

“Is that okay, Daddy?”

Petra watched as the little girl turned to her father, gauging his reaction for some kind of approval. The nurse waited with bated breath as the man simply stared back at the child, giving no indication of his approval either way.

Just when he was opening his mouth to give Heidi an answer - Petra jumped in, tired of witnessing the power dynamic in front of her.

“Your Daddy’s not the one drinking the juice, Heidi - so, I’m sure your choice is of no real consequence to him. Isn’t that right, Mr. Ackerman?”

There was a challenge in her tone, the words laced with borderline rudeness as she stared down the man across the room from her. Never in her life had she been so sharp with a patient nor a patient's family - however, she guessed there was no day like today. If she was going to get fired due to bad conduct, at least let it be because she stood up for a child who seemed to be in want of an advocate.

What reaction she was expecting to get from the man, she did not know - but it certainly wasn't a smirk.

He was smirking at her.

The silence stretched on for a few more seconds, the man's thin lips holding that frustrating smirk in place. He watched her as though waiting for what she was going to do next, but instead of shrinking under his gaze, she simply crossed her arms over her chest, ready to stand her ground.

Once the older Ackerman noticed Heidi’s head swiveling from side to side, watching their reactions, he released another tired, breathy chuckle.

“That’s right, Miss Ral.”

Petra hated to admit it - but, even after exiting the room, her legs continued to shake as she made her way down the hall. The trembles soon transferred into her hands as she poured the little girl a glass of cherry juice.

Upon re-entering the room, the first thing Petra noticed was that Mr. Ackerman had moved from what she thought was going to be his permanent spot in the room. He now stood by his daughter where she lay in her hospital bed, speaking quietly to her about something that the nurse couldn’t hear.

The second he saw her walk through the door, he quickly quieted - his lips returning to the thin line of indifference that she had become acquainted with, not too long ago. Choosing to ignore the strange atmosphere that settled over the room at such a blatant display of secrecy, Petra smiled brightly towards the child lying in the bed.

She was her priority.

“Alright, Miss Heidi!” Petra chirped happily, trying her best to return to the usual persona that she emulated while within the walls of the hospital. “Time for your medicine! If you could just sit up for me - “

The girl began to shift higher up in the bed, struggling to prop herself up against the pillows that lay behind her. Petra rushed to find somewhere to set the glass of juice down so that she could help her patient - however, she was beaten to it.

The girl's father placed his hands underneath her armpits, slowly pulling her back towards the head of the bed. After she was situated a little bit higher, he released his grip on her before tugging at the pillows to arrange them in a fashion that was more comfortable for her. Though he moved with purpose, his actions held a tenderness that Petra was surprised to see. If this was an unusual occurrence for Heidi, she certainly didn't show it on her tired, yet grateful features.

“Thank you, Daddy.”

The man grunted in response, patting his hand on the pillow behind her head one more time before moving his hands back to his pockets.

Petra’s brow rose in response to the uncharacteristic helpfulness she had just witnessed, but she tried to school her features in a way that didn’t show her surprise.

“Well - “ The woman cleared her throat, before handing the glass of juice over to the girl, to give herself time to retrieve the pills she had placed in the pocket at the front of her dress. “Hopefully, your pain will lessen after you take these.”

Heidi gave a shy nod at the woman’s words, looking warily at the pills. Noticing the child’s hesitance, the older Ackerman reached for the cup of juice in her shaking hands. With the movement of his arm, Petra watched as the cuff of his jacket slid up and over the skin of his wrist.

She couldn’t hide her surprise at what she saw branded there.

It was a ‘Wings of Freedom’ tattoo.

This man was a part of the Survey Corps.

It wasn’t that Petra had never interacted with an SC member before, it was just that they normally didn’t frequent this side of the hospital. Most of them didn’t have children and, even if they did, most of them wouldn’t have the opportunity to care for them properly.

It was no secret that of all the cities in Marley, Paradis was the one that had the biggest gang violence problem. Paradis was deemed as the headquarters for the infamous Titans gang, a group of thugs who were well-versed in politics and typically well-educated. One could never know that someone was a Titan, since they blended in so well to society.

There were rumors floating around that several larger corporations had Titans at the helm, working their way through the ranks in an attempt to have a better chance at being elected into political office. Their end goal was unclear - however, their violent acts and shady business dealings had escalated over the recent years.

Suddenly, businessmen who were in perfectly good health one day were turning up dead in a river the next. The same went for major political figures. Several big-name military men had been cut down in the streets and in their homes, to the point where the implications couldn't be ignored.

This was an all-out war.

Though Petra had been busy in nursing school at the time, she still vividly remembered Commander Erwin Smith’s case - since it had eventually led to the creation of the Survey Corps.

Erwin Smith had walked into his home one day after a long day of work, only to be attacked by a group of four masked Titans brandishing knives. While the Commander had lost an arm as a result of the poison on the blades that had come in contact with his arm, he was able to fight off all four assailants and come through the accident with a clear vision of what needed to be done.

This incident prompted the formation of the Survey Corps.

The Survey Corps was a group of former criminals who would have otherwise faced jail time or execution if they chose not to serve their government. The Commander's idea was that when it came to the Titans - one had to fight fire with fire. For him, the Survey Corps was his fire.

The men would be given a meager compensation in exchange for their loyalty, as well as a full pardon for the crimes they had committed in the past. All they had to do was promise their hearts to the cause.

Petra had always thought the venture sounded like a risky one. How could someone trust a criminal? If someone was willing to commit a crime once, wouldn’t they be willing to do it again? From what she had seen of the SC members who had been wheeled into the Emergency Room over the past few years, they looked more like thugs than the actual Titans themselves.

However, it appeared that that was the whole point.

The Survey Corps were used to obtain information about the Titans from the inside. To learn about the Titans, it seemed you had to act like one. Once inside, their goal was to negotiate deals with the underlings, who would then pass on the information to the SC in exchange for compensation. No surprise, though - these exchanges could turn deadly pretty quickly.

The young nurse couldn’t imagine how anyone could trust a criminal to infiltrate the enemy without the fear of them turning themselves - but from what she had heard, Commander Erwin Smith was a very good leader who kept a tight hold on all the men who worked under him.

Petra guessed as much since a good majority of them had small government-issued tracking devices located somewhere on their person - somewhere that they were unaware of, of course.

The woman had only ever seen an actual 'Wings of Freedom' tattoo once, and it was on the wrist of a body that was being rolled to the morgue past her in the hallway one day. The symbol was a sign of rank. Much like how the military operated, the Survey Corps themselves had a set of ranks that signaled a separation of powers within the group.

Only captains and the Commander himself were given the ‘honor’ of bearing the SC tattoo. The placement was purposeful, too - right on the wrist, where an opponent’s eyes would be drawn as they wielded their signature blades.

Suddenly, the behavior of the man made a lot more sense. He was a former thug - now, turned Captain of the Survey Corps.

The nature of Heidi’s injury also made a lot more sense now. She wasn’t victim to a few Titan pick-pockets on the street of Paradis. She was a victim to her father’s line of work.

She had been caught up in the crossfire.

"Miss Ral?" At the sound of the man's deep, gravelly voice, Petra looked up only to be met by a steely gray gaze. He had noticed where her eyes had fallen and had also deduced where her train of thought was drifting. "Are you ready to hand over the medicine?"

His tone was polite enough, not to alert Heidi to the mounting tension that seemed to build with every interaction the two adults had - but there was certainly an edge to it. He was pretty much daring her to ask questions.

Petra certainly was not taking the bait.

“Yes,” The woman responded, slowly. The smile that had fallen from her face at the sight of the man’s tattoo, returned as she warmly regarded her waiting patient. “Let’s get this over with!”

Neither father nor daughter caught the double meaning behind her words.

This shift could not go by fast enough.

-

After what she could only describe as ‘the longest 12-hour shift ever,’ Petra was ready to hit the sack and enjoy the next two days off.

It seemed like fate, though - had other plans.

"What?" The woman groaned as she pulled her time card out of the slot, her whine catching the attention of a few doctors passing by. Petra couldn't care less what they thought of her right now, she was exhausted - and the news Nanaba had given her was definitely less than welcome "There expediting Krista's maternity leave? Isn't she still like - I don't know - four months away from giving birth?!"

Nifa shook her head from her usual spot by the water tower, looking just about ready to fall over herself.

“Two months,” She reminded the frazzled ginger, chuckling at the groan her answer received. “It was bound to happen sooner or later with how faint she’s been - it just so happens that they made the call during a hospital-wide nursing shortage.”

Petra didn’t want to seem inconsiderate, but this news had really put a wrench in her plans - plans which had included nothing but cleaning and sleeping - but plans nonetheless! There were about a million other things she'd rather do than continue to cross paths with her patient's reticent father.

She had really thought that as the hours passed, his mood would perhaps lift and become a bit more pleasant - but no, things had only seemed to get worse.

While Heidi had slept most of the night, it was almost as if the dark-haired man was reluctant to close his eyes. No matter how many times Petra had walked in there over the past twelve hours, he never moved from his spot near the window. Even when Petra offered to help move the chair over closer to the wall so that he could see, he had glared at her as though she had outright insulted him.

Never had Petra felt so uncomfortable while tending to a patient and she had been doing this for years!

The worst instance of this was when she had gone to change Heidi's bandages over where her injury was. While she had tended to many injured patients before, she could feel a cold sweat breaking out along her hairline as she gently removed the bandages from the young girl's pale skin.

Every movement she made was subject to his intimidating glare - almost as though he was waiting to snap at her the second she made a wrong move. Though he was trying to hide it behind a wall of indifference, Petra could tell that he was on edge as she began to work on Heidi’s wound.

If one thing could be said, it was that Petra had never met a five-year-old quite like Heidi before. Though she remained silent for most of the night, the young woman could tell that she was highly intelligent and aware. Never before had she had a patient who was able to grit their teeth and fight their pain so well. Not even when her bandage got stuck on a small area of irritated skin did Heidi release a whimper.

Petra knew the whole process must have caused her a great deal of pain - however, like her father said, she was hellbent on acting tough.

It wasn’t until she got to the part of the cut that appeared to be the most severe that the child even happened to make a sound.

“Is that tender?” She had asked, but it was more of a formality. The lines of distress on the girl’s forehead told her all she needed to know. “I’ll try to make it quick.”

Heidi said nothing in response, but at her obvious signs of discomfort, her father shifted forward - hands still in his pockets, but his rigid posture showing that he wasn't nearly as indifferent as he tried to act.

Petra was suddenly aware of the man's eyes following the movements of her hands and - though she had done this in front of an audience many times - his attention made her more nervous than she had ever been before. Not only were his eyes watching her like a hawk's - but his body was also tilting forward , closer to her, to see exactly what she was doing.

Under such pressure, she panicked - something that was highly unlike her on a normal day.

With the man's eyes boring holes into her hands, her sweaty palms lost their grip on the bandage she had been trying to pull gently from the skin.  Heidi's reaction was instantaneous.

While she had made little more than a whimper up to that point, when the bandage slipped from Petra's hand and the skin of her palm made contact with the stitches that lay over the girl's abdomen - a short, little whelp escaped from her lips at the pain.

If that didn’t have the nurse feeling bad enough, Heidi’s dad’s reaction almost had her crying.

While most parents would be understanding of such a small mistake - many not even realizing she had made one - because he had been watching her so closely, he had borne witness to her error. The shock on his face, expressed only by the raise of his brows and the slight opening of his mouth, soon morphed into something much more threatening - anger.

"Don't you know how to do your job?" The man seethed, glaring at her with the same eyes that had been watching her so closely moments before. While his voice was not loud, the quiet tone almost made it that much scarier. "Can't you see that your mistake has caused her pain?"

Petra didn’t know what else to do besides look at him like a gaping fish.

"Well - are you competent enough to continue your work, or should I request another nurse?"

“No sir,” The woman answered, quietly - in a sort of daze from the man’s unusual reaction. Though she thought he was going to argue some more with her - he instead leaned back against the wall next to Heidi’s bed and continued to watch her in silence, as though he hadn’t questioned her skill at all.

Petra rolled her shoulders back, steeling herself to do the same thing she had done a million times. She would not let this man get to her twice.

After apologizing to the small girl, who merely gave a meek nod in response, Petra finished removing the old bandage from her cut. Once the wound had been cleaned and rebandaged - the nurse hurriedly made herself scarce, barely giving the girl's father a second glance.

When she had left the room, her face had been flushed and she had felt as though she was going to cry - but after hearing the taunts from her friends at the desk, thinking she had had some kind of flirtation with her patient's father, she instead turned to the next room and prepared herself to tend to her other patients.

“Earth to Petra?” Nifa’s voice brought her back to the present, something she was grateful for. Though it had been a long shift, at least it was finally over. “So, are you going to cover Krista for the rest of the week?”

Petra groaned once again. She had forgotten why she had spaced out for so long in the first place - they wanted her to take on the night shift for an additional two days.

"Hey!" Nifa chirped, crossing the small distance that separated her from Petra, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "The good thing is you'll get almost a full week off if you finish all your hours now!"

"Yeah - " Petra agreed reluctantly, though her voice held little excitement. "But what good are hours off if I'm too exhausted to enjoy them?"

"All you do is clean, you neat freak! Don't act like it's going to spoil a hot date or something!"

Nanaba chuckled at Nifa's words, also reaching to pick up her card and clock out. "You know, she's not wrong."

Petra blushed at their goading. “How would you know?”

Both girls looked at her dubiously,  their reaction causing Petra to blush an even deeper shade of red. Nifa shook her head, clucking her tongue in disappointment.

“I rest my case.”

“Oh, shove it!” Petra grabbed her bag from the floor, ready to leave the past 12-hour shift behind. “I’ll cover Krista’s damn shifts if it means I’ll get some time away from you weirdos next week.”

Nanaba rolled her eyes at Petra's dramatics, while Nifa simply laughed in response, also retrieving her bag from under the counter. Though both busied themselves by getting their stuff together to take home, neither missed the shameless smirk Petra sent over her shoulder.

“I guess this is the price one has to pay when they’ve been named the most satisfactory nurse on the ward.”

Now, this comment had both Nifa and Nanaba groaning, the girls rushing to catch up with Petra as she made her way to the stairwell.

-

The second day Petra was assigned to the Ackerman’s was just as strange as the first.

After getting a good 8-hour rest, the nurse entered the hospital with a renewed bounce in her step. The reason? She had pressed her uniform to perfection and had even pushed back her shoulder-length hair with a headband with not a hair out of place.

‘Let’s see what that man can find wrong with me now,’ Petra thought to herself as she clocked in for the day, only to be shocked by what she saw going on at Room 325 - Heidi Ackerman's room.

She could recognize the dark blue suits of the Military Police from a mile away.

Two men, one with long blonde hair and the other with a dark, crew cut, stood outside the girl's room, talking with Heidi's father. The men were speaking quietly to each other, the blonde one jotting down some notes onto a form he held in his hand.

It looked like a statement.

Not wanting to intrude, Petra double-checked Heidi's folder to make sure that she wasn't due for another dose of medication for another half an hour still. The day nurse had left several notes for the night nurse, describing the girl's progress. While she was still in a considerable amount of pain, her vitals had remained stable throughout the day. Now, the only thing they needed to worry about was the possibility of infection setting in at the sight of her would.

Petra made a mental note to remain extremely vigilant when it came to caring for the girl’s wound. The faster she healed, the faster she would be out of the ward.

'...and the faster her father could get the hell off of my floor.'  Petra thought to herself, jotting down a few quick notes of her own, before closing the file and picking up the next.

By the time Petra arrived at Heidi's room, the MP's were long gone and the girl was sleeping peacefully in bed.

Upon entering the room with a glass of cherry juice already in hand, Petra braced herself for a rude comment or a deadly stare - but was surprised when she found that she was not on the receiving end of one.

Mr. Ackerman was still dressed in the same clothes he had worn the day before, his hair styled still to perfection, yet a bit greasier from the lack of a good washing. While his gaze was cold as ever as it moved from his daughter's slumbering form to the nurse as she entered the room, it wasn't nearly as intimidating as it had been before.

The man just looked tired.

Still, he stood by the lone window in the room, leaning against the ledge as if it was the only thing keeping him on his feet. Petra spared a glance towards the only chair in the room by Heidi's bedside and noticed that the pillow and blanket that she had left for him last night were still neatly folded and waiting to be used.

He had never slept. He had never even sat.

Petra's mouth popped open in surprise as she stood in the doorway, glass in hand. She wanted to say something but found that every time she tried to get the words out, they got stuck in her throat.

"Don't wake her up." It was the first words she had heard out of his mouth since entering, his tone as deep as it had been the day before, but weaker from lack of rest. He almost didn't look so much annoyed, as he did exasperated. "She's had a long few hours and was just now able to fall asleep."

At his request, Petra felt conflicted.

"It's time for her medicine." The woman insisted, talking quietly as she approached the girl's bedside, placing the glass of cherry red liquid onto the side table. "I'm worried that if she doesn't take it soon, she may wake up in pain."

The man considered her words, staring at her for a few moments before letting his gaze drop to the sleeping five-year-old in the hospital bed. The fact that he was even chewing over her statement had Petra reeling. While the day before, he had been questioning her methods - now he was actually taking her seriously.

The man sighed, pushing himself off from the wall he was leaning against.

“Could you wait twenty minutes?”

The words were spoken quietly, yet for the first time, they held no underlying rudeness. He seemed genuine in his request, his gray eyes boring into her's as he waited for an answer.

Petra was beginning to feel as though she was experiencing whiplash on the receiving end of his mood swings.

It was only in that moment, when he was making such direct eye contact with her, that she began to notice the slight shake of his stature, almost as though a short burst of chills were beginning to overcome his body. The sight was so strange, that Petra felt herself nodding at the man's request before she had even had a chance to think it over.

"Uh - " The young woman stuttered, trying desperately to find her voice. "I guess that would be alright?"

The man gave her a short nod of appreciation, his lips pressed in a thin line as he seemed to consider whether to say something else. Instead of asking any more questions though, he breezed past the young nurse and began to make his way to the door - something that caught Petra's attention, considering he had not left his daughter's room the entire time during her shift before.

"Wait!" She called out in surprise, though the volume of her voice surprised her. The man gave her a sharp look as he glanced over at the still slumbering child. After watching the rise and fall of her chest for a few long moments - he switched his gaze back to her, annoyance evident in the twist of his features.

And just like that, the same man from the day before was back.

"What?" He asked, as though it wasn't unusual for him to leave his daughter's room. In most cases, it wouldn't be strange for her patient's parents to leave their child unattended while they went to find some food or refreshments in the hospital, but this man had never done that before.

‘Maybe that’s why he wants her to stay asleep…’ Petra thought to herself, as she tried to think of what else she could say without sounding too nosy.

“Where are you going?”

Nice one, Ral.

The man scoffed, as though he believed her question didn't deserve an answer. Without responding, he turned back to the door and placed his shaking hand on the knob.

But Petra was surprised when, before leaving the room, he quietly called back over his shoulder.

“Would you mind keeping an eye on her for me, real quick? There’s something I need to do.”

Not waiting for her answer, the man was out the door before Petra's brain could even catch up to what he had been asking. However, when she realized what he had done, she found herself seething.

What did she look like - a babysitter?! She had other patients to be taking care of!

Though she knew that she had no real obligation to stay in Heidi’s room, there was something that had her sitting in the chair beside the bed, scooting the pillow and blankets out of the way to make herself more comfortable. She didn’t know what it was that kept her rooted in that spot, but she truly felt like she couldn’t leave the little girl.

A vision of the MP's quickly flashed through her mind.

It was that feeling of guilt that had her planted in the chair for the next twenty minutes - even though she had other patients to check on.

‘Oh well,’ Petra picked a piece of lint off the top sheet of the bed, watching the steady rise and fall of Heidi’s small chest. ‘What are they gonna do? Fire me?’

Just as Petra was fantasizing about all the things she could do if her boss truly did fire her - Mr. Ackerman returned to the room.

The first thing the young ginger noticed about the man was that he held a large white bag in his hand - one that seemed to be from the hospital's gift shop. The second thing she noticed was that he held a mug of what looked like some kind of tea in his other hand.

The third thing she noticed was that he reeked of smoke. With this knowledge, Petra could feel her face heat up in annoyance.

Now the shaking of his body and hands made sense - he had been going through withdrawals.

“You left me in here to tend to your daughter while you went and had a smoke?” The nurse stood from her spot in the chair, quietly chastising the man as he walked through the door. “Don’t you know those things can kill you?”

After having gotten his fix of nicotine, the man was back to his usual pleasant self. Before Petra could even think of what else to say, his eyes flashed towards her in contempt.

"Don't you know how to mind your own business?"

At such a rude response, Petra threw caution to the wind, sick of the man's attitude. Not caring whether Heidi woke up at this point or not, she stormed over to the dark-haired man, pointing a single finger into his chest. At least the man had the nerve to look surprised.

“Listen here - “ Petra dug her finger further into his hard chest, the fabric of his white shirt wrinkling as she tapped him once more for good measure. “Your daughter is currently my patient, Mr. Ackerman. So yes, your health is a part of my business now. What I’d like to know is how you think you're going to take care of your child on nothing but cigarettes and tea? Did you even eat while you were gone?”

The man raised a brow at her tirade, still shocked at the fact that the small redhead had had the nerve to speak to him like that. He definitely wasn’t used to it.

"Well, did you?" She asked again, demanding an answer, sticking him in the chest with a finely manicured finger once more.

What the man did next, nearly floored the poor girl for what felt like the millionth time in the past twenty-four hours. He smirked.

That damn infuriating smirk again!

Before she could repeat her question, the Survey Corps member grabbed the finger that was currently poking his chest, pushing her hand down while the infuriating smirk on his face only grew bigger.

"No," He said simply, as though he had not a care in the world. Petra could tell by the challenge in his eyes that he was eagerly waiting to see how she would respond.

Almost as though it was a game to him. Well, Petra was perfectly ready to play.

Pulling her hand out of his hold, the woman crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at him as he continued to smirk down at her. While he had shaken her the day before, she had become familiar enough with him to know that he only seemed to respond positively to her when she was actively challenging him.

What was he - a masochist?

“Lucky for you I have a wide array of crackers to offer you.” Petra smiled sweetly, watching as the man’s brows rose at the sound of her tone. “What would your flavor of choice be - cheese or peanut butter?”

“Neither, I - ,”

“Oh!” She cut him off, tapping him once again on the chest, knowing that this seemed to annoy him greatly just a few moments ago. “I’m sorry but ‘neither’ doesn’t seem to be a flavor - try again!”

The man's brows rose even higher at her continued teasing. "What if I'm allergic to peanut butter and cheese?"

Petra was anticipating such an answer, her arms once again crossing over her chest as she puffed it out with pride, knowing that this was an argument she had already won. "Then I guess I get to pick your poison."

They stared at each other in silence, neither intending to back down. Finally, the older Ackerman broke.

The man chuckled. Not a pity chuckle, either - but a real, amused chuckle. Though it may have been quiet, Petra couldn't conceal the pride that swelled up in her chest at having broken through at least one of the man's self-made barriers.

They didn't call her the best nurse for nothing!

"Alright, alright…" He finally conceded, no longer chuckling - but still keeping that mysterious smirk on his face. "I'll eat something, but no crackers."

Petra’s brow rose at this. “Why not? Isn’t that the most universal snack there is?”

“They’re too messy.”

The woman had to stop herself from giggling at the look of annoyance that passed over the man’s face. It seemed they at least had one thing in common - Petra absolutely hated a mess.

“An apple?”

The man shrugged noncommittally. Petra took this as confirmation that the fruit would do.

“Daddy?”

The feeble call from the bed had both of the adults turning, their eyes falling on the once slumbering girl who still lay propped up against the pillows. Though she had only said one word, Petra could tell from the look on her face that she had been woken from her sleep by some kind of pain.

The girl’s father hummed in response, acknowledging that he had heard her. Not wasting a moment and with a new pep in his step from his smoke break, the Survey Corps member approached his daughter’s bedside, placing his tea down by the glass of juice that still lay on the bedside table.

It was when the girl glanced over at the juice and then at the door, that she noticed the short nurse who was also now standing in her room. Petra liked to imagine that the girl’s face had lit up a bit at the sight of her, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think that it was anything other than the prospect of juice that had her glowing.

Heidi, much like her father though, surprised her.

"Hi, Miss Petra," The girl said in that sweet tone of her, her words still shy, but definitely more confident than from the night before. "Is it time for my medicine?"

Petra smiled in encouragement, joining the girl’s father at the side of her bed. “Yes, it is. Are you in any pain?”

Once again, the child looked up at her father - but, instead of waiting for some kind of input from him, she turned back to the nurse and answered for herself.

“Just a little.”

While her answer was not nearly as descriptive as Petra would have liked, the woman knew that this was probably the best she was going to get out of the child. With a tough-as-nails father by her side, the little girl was never going to give a true indication of how she was truly feeling. To do so would be to admit defeat in her eyes.

It was sad to an extent, but having grown up with a single dad herself - something she was assuming based on the fact that Petra had yet to see a mother stop by for a visit to Heidi's room - she knew how important it was to show them that their little girls were strong enough to handle themselves.

Petra’s respect for the precocious five-year-old just continued to grow as she spent more time with her.

After the nurse had given the girl her pills and had made sure that they went down easily, she reviewed Heidi’s vitals one more time before promising to return in the next hour.

Before she could make it out the door though, she turned to face the girl’s father one last time.

“I’ll be bringing you an apple, Mr. Ackerman,” She called back to him, watching as his gaze drifted upwards to meet her’s. “- and I’ll be expecting you to eat it.”

“Levi.”

The response was so quick and unexpected that it had Petra quieting immediately. Seeing the look of confusion written across her face, one side of the man's mouth quirked up in a half-smile. He sighed, shaking his head before closing his eyes in exasperation.

When he opened them again, there was a softer look there than there had been before.

“My name’s Levi. Stop it with that Mr. Ackerman stuff.”

Even Heidi chuckled from her place in the bed at the sound of such a formal name for her father. Once Petra had collected her wits, she gave a short nod in response.

"Levi, then."

Without wasting another second, the woman turned from the room - shutting the door close with more force than what she had intended to.

Her face was burning as she walked away from the room - and for the first time since she had been assigned to the patient in Room 325 - it wasn't from shame.

-

It was nearly an hour and a half later that she was finally able to return to Heidi’s room to check on the girl. With an apple in hand, the woman pushed open the door quietly, just in case the little girl had happened to fall back asleep.

The scene that lay before her, had her pausing in the open doorway in wonder.

Levi Ackerman was sitting. Not only was he sitting, but he was reading - and from a children’s book, nonetheless!

The white bag from earlier lay at his feet, the contents of it having been removed. While it had been puffed up quite large only an hour before, it now sat deflated on the cold tile of the hospital floor. Petra couldn't imagine that a few children's books from the gift shop would make a bag look that full, and she was right to assume that.

The reason the bag had looked so full was currently resting in the happy little hands of one Miss Heidi Ackerman in the form of a very large, stuffed teddy bear.

"Then Mr. Owl asked Mr. Bear if he could borrow a few - ," Petra listened to the smooth voice of the man who had nearly made her cry the day before, no rudeness left in his tone as he read to a very captive audience.

"Daddy, why would he ask to borrow something that he could never give back?' Heidi asked from her hospital bed, fully engaged in the story. Whether it was consciously or not, she hugged her bear a little tighter to herself as she turned onto her side to regard her father.

The man gave her a small, patient smile. "It's an expression, Heidi. Mr. Owl is going to eat the carrots, of course - so I'm sure hoping he's not planning on regurgitating them and giving them back to Mr. Bear. Mr. Bear is letting Mr. Owl have something without the guarantee of ever receiving it back or something in return."

“Then it’s not borrowing.”

Her father shrugged, his eyes turning back to the page in front of him. "Not really, I guess."

Before the man could pick up where he'd left off - Heidi cut him off once more.

“Daddy, I don’t think owls actually eat carrots.”

“Are you going to let me finish the story, brat?” The man gazed at her over the top of the book, annoyance creeping into his tone after having been interrupted for the second time. “Or do I need to read from the dictionary in order to please you?”

While Petra had been shocked when he had referred to his daughter as "brat" the night before, she would have to be deaf to not hear the endearment that lay hidden in his tone. He said it so gently - as though it was meant as an affectionate tease more than an insult.

Heidi certainly wasn’t offended by it if her sweet little laugh was any indication of how she was feeling.

“Daddy!” She whined, hugging her bear even tighter. “No dictionary! I want animal stories!”

“Then sit back and enjoy the damn book, instead of overanalyzing everything.”

Heidi’s eyes widened in shock, her small mouth forming an ‘o’ at her father’s choice of words. “Daddy, you swore.”

The man twisted his lips, trying his best to hide his face behind the children's book that he held in his hands.

“I heard you! You’re going to have to put change in the swear jar at home!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Heidi smiled brightly at her father. "Nuh-uh, it's a deal! I'm going to be rich!"

“Heidi,” Levi raised one dark brow towards the girl, his tone darkening with warning as she continued to get louder. “You need to be quiet.”

At her father’s admonishment, the child’s face fell, her bright smile falling swiftly off her features. Petra made a movement to jump in - anything to bring that sweet expression back to the darling girl’s face - but was stopped by the man’s voice chiming in once again.

“ - and besides, you only have two dollars. That’s barely enough to call yourself rich.”

While most children would have balked at Levi's use of blunt humor, Heidi - who must have been used to it by now -  began to giggle once more, the bright smile from just moments before, returning to her face. Petra was even surprised to find that the man was wearing one of his own now.

"It's almost enough to buy a chocolate bar." Heidi insisted as if the candy was the most precious thing in the world.

Petra had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from laughing out loud. From her spot in the doorway, the nurse's shoulders trembled in quiet amusement. This little girl was something else - and, from what she had seen over the past few minutes, so was her father.

"Now you see, Miss Ral?" The question had her pausing mid-shake, her amusement slowly fading now that she had been caught. "I told you sweets would be her downfall."

Petra could feel her cheeks heating up. She had just been caught eavesdropping - how unprofessional could she be?

Opening the door all the way, the woman stepped fully into the room, apple still in hand. While Heidi certainly seemed to quiet as the woman entered the room, the smile on her face did not fade.

While she had thought the older Ackerman would look at her in contempt for having the gall to eavesdrop on him, during what she would call a very intimate family moment, he instead looked over at her with a slight quirk in his brow.

“ - and eavesdropping will be yours.”

Without saying another word, the man placed the children’s book on top of the bedside table, where Petra could now see an entire stack had been laid. Next to it, a small cat plush sat, almost as though watching over the mountain of books that now stood beside it. Before the nurse could make any comments in regards to his gift shop purchases, the man stuck out his hand.

Petra just stared at him in confusion.

Levi gave her a less than impressed look. “My apple, Miss Ral?”

If Petra had thought her face had been burning before, it was nothing compared to now.

-

A few hours passed uneventfully in the pediatric ward. That was one thing Petra had always enjoyed about the night shift - there was a certain calm in the air that seemed to hang over the 3rd floor of the hospital. A child would cry out in pain, only to be shushed a few moments later by comfort or medicine - or a buzzer would go off, signaling that someone needed assistance.

Other than that, the ward pretty much always stayed quiet in the late night to early morning hours of the day and Room 325 was no exception to this.

Heidi was snoozing peacefully as Petra made her rounds once again to check on the girl. After having received her last dose of medication until morning, the girl had lost her battle against sleep. She had fought valiantly - wanting to stay up and continue listening to the stories being told by her father - but after several hours and retellings of the same stories over and over, she was finally out for the night.

While Petra hated to disturb the girl's sleep, it was pertinent that she clean her wound every few hours to keep the infection from setting in. Though the girl was already taking oral antibiotics, the nurse knew that it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to wounds.

In an attempt to be as stealthy as possible, Petra quietly entered the dimly lit room of Heidi Ackerman, careful not to make any noise as she closed the door behind her.

Giving her eyes time to adjust to the lack of lighting in the room, Petra squinted while looking over at the chair.

There sat Levi, bloody clothes and all, by his daughter's bed and still wide awake despite his obvious exhaustion. Petra had given up hours ago on telling him to get some sleep, learning quickly that even without an injured child the man was a terrible insomniac.

However, she couldn't help but be concerned when it came to the man's state of mind. How on earth was he supposed to tend to his child when he wasn't willing to rest himself?

"Oi, stop lurking in the doorway." A ragged voice called from the chair, his eyes never drifting from Heidi's face. Even without looking, he seemed to just know she was there. it must have been a Survey Corps thing. “She’s out for the night, so there’s no need to sneak around as if the smallest noise is going to wake her up.”

Petra blushed at the call-out, stepping fully into the dim light of the room, her expression apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to change her bandages."

The man grunted in acknowledgment, shrugging his shoulders. "It can't be helped. Several more hours of reading from 'Mr. Owl's Adventures' sounds like a decent penance to me."

Though Petra found herself chuckling at the man's dry wit, she couldn't help but notice the strain in his voice that spoke of some underlying guilt she was not privy to. Trying to lighten the mood, she moved closer to Heidi's bedside, bandages already in hand and a soft smile on her features.

"Count yourself lucky," The woman bristled, reaching into her pocket for a disinfectant wipe. "You could be changing dirty bandages and bedpans for the rest of the night. I think I would choose Mr. Owl over that, any day."

While she hadn't expected the man to laugh at her remark, she wasn't expecting him to sober so quickly either.

He watched as she placed the packet of disinfectant wipes down on the table, her hands moving to the bandages to ready them for placement. The night before, she had found his gaze unnerving - now, however, he seemed to be pondering her actions more than looking for something that she was doing wrong.

“Could you show me how to change her bandages?”

Petra couldn't hide the shock that flooded her features at the quiet request. The words were spoken so softly that she questioned whether she had even heard them.

“Huh?” She heard herself ask, pausing mid-action.

Levi's face held its usual passive expression - but, when Petra looked closely, she could see the skin of his neck turning red underneath the hairs of his undercut.

The man was blushing.

Petra had little time to be amazed before he was speaking again.

"I tried watching you last night and when the nurse did it this morning," The man confessed, his voice tight as though he felt ashamed for admitting it. "But I want to make sure I know how to do it right since I'm the one who's going to be doing it at home."

Suddenly, his attentiveness to her actions during her prior shift made a lot more sense.

While she had thought he had been watching her closely to see if she made any mistakes while changing Heidi's bandages, he was really just trying to learn how to do it himself. So the reason he must have been so grouchy when she had made that one mistake, was because he was frustrated not only with her but with himself for having to seek out someone's help.

Man, she had misjudged him terribly in that moment.

Knowing that it was hard for the man to admit he needed guidance - Petra gave him a small but encouraging smile.

"I can show you," The woman gestured for him to come closer to the bed so that he could see better. "This is the perfect time, actually since I'm going to be doing it really slow, so that we don't wake her."

Petra tried to calm the furious beating of her heart as the man rose from his chair and made his way over to her side. This was the closest she had ever been to him, even closer than when she had gotten up in his face earlier. From this vantage point, she could see the dark stubble that now lined his cheeks and the puffy bags that seemed to permanently reside under his eyes.

The man was starting to look a bit ragged. However, no amount of exhaustion could dull the look of determination in his eyes.

Petra took her time, carefully peeling back the bandages that sat across Heidi's abdomen. Levi watched closely as she worked her finger under the sticky material at a particularly irritated patch of skin. While Heidi mumbled a few incoherent words in her sleep and turned her head to the side in agitation, she remained unconscious as Petra continued to work on her wound.

The nurse quietly explained proper wound care, as she cleaned around the stitches that lay on the girl's stomach. Levi nodded in acknowledgment to each of her points, his steely gaze never leaving her hands.

The whole process took about ten minutes, much longer than usual, but Petra felt like it had taken a hundred years.

The man was just so close and it was distracting.

Despite being flustered by his proximity and rapt attention, Petra was able to successfully clean and re-bandage the wound.

She ripped the end of the last piece of tape needed for the girl's skin, gently patting it down with soft pressing motions. "So, that's all there is to it."

Levi nodded, the wheels in his head turning as he tried to internalize everything he had just seen.

It struck Petra as odd that he needed such guidance from her when his line of work surely included some bumps and nicks over time. Almost as if he could guess her train of thought, the man answered her unspoken question.

"I've had to treat my own wounds before," He admitted quietly, eyes glued to the area of Heidi's stomach where her injury lay. " - but I've never had to treat a child's. I just want to make sure I do it right."

Petra gave him a sympathetic smile, placing the roll of tape back on the table. "It really isn't that much different from dressing your own wounds."

Levi's eyes darkened at her words, his tone shifting. "It is different."

The young woman watched as the man's eyes drifted back up to Heidi's peaceful face, her small pink lips opened in an 'o' as little breaths escaped between them. From a hardened gaze, the Survey Corps member's eyes softened at the sight of his slumbering daughter.

“What happened?”

Petra didn't know what had come over her, but at the man's words and expression, she couldn't help but speak out of curiosity. While the girl's file had said she had been cut by a blade that had been laced with poison, it hadn't said any more than that. She figured that Heidi had been caught up in a crossfire, but she couldn't be too sure.

She wanted to know what had caused her patient so much pain - and she also wanted to know what it was that was causing the girl's father so much guilt.

Petra had not expected much in ways of a response, figuring that the man would tell her to mind her own business. She was surprised when, instead of snapping at her in anger, Levi sighed and crossed his arms over his chest in defeat. She could see his reluctance to share in the rigid way he stood, but could also see in the way he rolled his lips inwards, that there was a part of him that wanted to tell someone what happened.

"They broke into my home when it wasn't there." The man admitted quietly, a quick rush of breath leaving him as he resigned himself to share with Petra the details behind the incident. "Heidi knows not to open the door to strangers, so when they came knocking, she hid - but they knew she was there. They had been watching."

"The Titans?" Petra asked in a whisper. Levi nodded.

"I've always known that I was a big target for them - almost as big as Erwin himself - but I never thought they would go after my own daughter." Levi released a dark chuckle at this, closing his eyes in disbelief. 'I can't believe my stupidity. The Titans have cut down families before, I don't know what made me think that mine would be any different."

The man sighed, his eyes cutting back to his daughter’s face. “One of my men had heard through our line of communication that The Titans were planning on laying siege to my house - however, it had been kept under wraps for as long as possible to keep the plan from getting back to me.”

Levi's face darkened, his thin lips pressing together as his eyes took on a faraway look - like he was being transported back in time.

"Unlucky for them," The man continued, his tone growing terser as time went on. "I found out and was able to intercept the attack."

Petra watched as the man’s focus drew back to the present, his steely gaze never leaving his daughter. “But not before Heidi could get hurt.”

Levi ran a single hand through his hair, the action causing the arm of his jacket to rise and the ‘Wings of Freedom’ tattoo to be exposed.

"There were six of them at the house," Levi admitted, not even pausing when this information called forth a gasp from Petra. "I cut down every single one of them."

At the dark look on his face, the nurse could feel herself gulp in fear. The same intimidating man whom she had encountered the night before during her first shift was suddenly making an appearance once again. His behavior - however, made more sense now. He had been reticent and ready to snap, not just because his daughter had been injured, but because he had just murdered six men.

Petra also realized that the blood that lay splattered across the man’s white shirt was, more than likely, not just Heidi's. While the news had Petra suppressing a shiver, she didn't interrupt him as he continued with his story.

"When I realized the blade had been laced with poison, I rushed Heidi here." He glanced over at her now, his gaze watching her carefully as he analyzed her reaction. "Then a few hours later, we met you."

Petra didn't know what to say - half of her had expected the story to be something like that, but also half of her wishing it hadn't. She was outright conflicted.

"She had been alone?" She heard herself ask through the whooshing in her ears. Her head was spinning from all the new information.

Levi nodded. "I can't afford to send her anywhere. She's always alone."

Though Petra tried to hide her surprise, she couldn't conceal it quick enough for his all-seeing eyes.

"She has no mother." Levi admitted though Petra had deduced as much. "The woman dropped her off on my doorstep years ago without so much as a word - so I'm all she has."

"That's horrible." While it was an understatement, to be sure, it was all Petra could think of in response. At least it was able to draw a dry chuckle from the man.

“I guess you could say that.”

Not knowing how to dispel the tension that currently lay in the air, Petra turned to continue cleaning up the used bandages from the side table, disposing of them in the trash while she continued to think of what to say.

Noticing her unease, Levi sighed. "I didn't tell you all of this to make you feel awkward. You did ask, you know?"

"I don't feel awkward!" Petra insisted although she knew it was a fib. She rolled up the gauze that she had neglected to use while trying to choose her words carefully. "I'm just not sure what to say."

"You don't have to say anything,"  The man said, walking back around to the other side of the bed. His eyes drifted to the children's books that lay stacked on the side of the bed. "It's the ways things are and the way they will always be. All I can do is ensure that none of my decisions from here on out will infringe on her safety.'

Petra nodded. “I guess you're right.”

The room was quiet as Petra continued to bustle about. She fluffed Heidi's pillows a few more times, before reviewing the young girl's vitals. She didn't know what it was, but despite the tense atmosphere that lay heavy over the room, she really didn't want to leave.

No matter what she wanted though, she knew she had other patients to see.

Before she left, a thought came to her as she reached for the handle on the door. She remembered at the start of her shift that Levi had only taken leave of his daughter's room when Petra was guaranteed to be there and keep watch. The circumstance had Petra pausing.

Was that why he hadn’t bothered to go home and change yet?

Petra could see that the man needed a good shower and a fresh pair of clothes - but, after hearing about what happened, she highly doubted he was willing to leave the hospital while his daughter was still in such a vulnerable state.

She didn’t know what came over her, but suddenly she was speaking.

“I get off in a few hours. Do you want me to sit with Heidi while you go home and change?”

Her offer caused the man to turn his head, his eyes gazing at her warily. “I couldn’t ask you to do that. I know you probably need your rest.”

Petra shook her head. “I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t willing.”

"I couldn't -,"

"No offense," Petra finally said, her arms crossing over her chest in an act of defiance. " - but you are starting to look rough.”

This caused one side of the man’s mouth to quirk up. “I’m just now starting to? I thought surely when I walked in covered in blood yesterday that I looked about as rough as I could.”

“Well, then I guess you’ve been proven wrong.”

Levi shook his head. “I’m not leaving. Besides, I have nowhere to go. My home is a crime scene, remember?”

"You can use my apartment." The words had left Petra's mouth before she even had time to think. At the suggestion, she could feel her face heating up, but she continued speaking anyway. "Go at least take a shower - please."

This had the man's brows raising to his hairline.

"You would let a man who just murdered six people take a shower in your home?"

Petra shrugged. “Yeah, I mean as long as you promise not to mess with anything.”

“You’re damned crazy.”

"Yeah, maybe," Petra conceded, but her arms still crossed tightly over her chest. "But it's better than being stinky. I'm going to get a shirt from the lost and found for you to take. My shift is over in three hours, so try to at least get some rest before it's my turn to watch Heidi."

Without waiting for a response, Petra exited the room in a flurry of white fabric and frazzled nerves, missing the smirk that followed her actions as she hurriedly exited through the door.

- True to her word, Petra had returned to Heidi's room after clocking out. The woman handed the older Ackerman a piece of paper with her address, a key, and a plain white t-shirt - before practically pushing him out of the room.

Not allowing any chance of negotiation, Petra slammed the door behind him, fighting the urge to actually lock it.

Now fully awake, Heidi giggled at the sight of the young woman bossing her otherwise intimidating father around. The sound had Petra smiling, too. Though she was tired, she was looking forward to spending a bit of downtime with the girl.

During the hour and a half that Levi was gone, Petra learned many things about Miss Heidi Ackerman.

She was born in late September and couldn't wait for the Summer to be over so that she could finally be six. Her favorite thing to learn about was animals - hence, why her father always bought her stories with animal characters rather than humans. She had named the big teddy bear her father had gotten her, Felix, after a cat character with the same name that existed in one of the storybooks her dad had once read to her.

While it wasn’t new information, Petra was struck once again by how intelligent the little girl was.

Heidi shared with her the process of her daily routine - how she woke up in the morning to find a bowl of cereal already sitting ready for her at the table. Though her father was usually gone by this time, he always left a note telling her what time he would be home and reminded her to never open the door to strangers. After reading the note, she would do a few chores around the house - she loved sweeping - and even had her own little broom that matched her father's so that on the weekends they could clean the floors together.

While Petra imagined such an existence would be a sad one - being all alone in a house all day, especially, at such a young age - Heidi didn't seem particularly bothered by it.

"When Daddy gets home in the afternoon, he always cooks me something yummy for dinner," Heidi's voice held all the wonderment of a child, who was properly spoiled by her father. "Uncle Erwin even sometimes comes over and eats with us. He can toss me up in the air really high! Higher than Daddy!"

Petra found herself chuckling at this. “Oh, really?”

Heidi nodded excitedly, her cheeks flushed from the conversation and probably what was still a bit of residual pain. Despite this, she continued chatting as though she couldn't be bothered.

Petra felt her heart warm as the girl slowly began to open up more and more to her - remembering how quiet she had been during the first time she had attended to her.

It was as though the child that sat before her now was a completely different person from the one before. While she could probably blame some of that on the young girl's injury - a bigger portion of it was just that it probably took the girl time to warm up to people.

‘Much like her father,’ Petra supposed.

By the time Levi returned, both his daughter and the nurse were sat up in the hospital bed, the scene causing him to pause in the doorway.

Petra had sat herself behind Heidi, allowing the girl to lean back on her legs and chest in a reclining position. The nurse’s hands were working through the girl’s hair, her deft fingers twirling the long dark strands into a simple braid.

“I’ve always wanted a braid!” Heidi shared, squeezing her bear close to her chest. “I’m so excited! I hope it looks pretty.”

“Oh, it looks very pretty," Petra insisted, her light, chestnut eyes finally drifting towards the man that stood in the door. Her lips quirked up in a small smirk. "Doesn't it, Mr. Levi?"

Fighting the urge to groan at the use of mister before his name, the man closed the door to the hallway behind him before stepping fully into the room. "Oh yes - very pretty."

At his insistence, Heidi giggled - her little cheeks flushed now from the compliments.

Once the girl was situated back on her pillows - chatting with her bear about all the hairstyles she'd like to try to learn to do in the future - Petra turned to Heidi's dad, giving him a smile of appreciation.

Instead of wearing the t-shirt she had retrieved from him, he was wearing a dark blue one with the hospital logo that they sold in the gift shop. The woman had to smirk when she saw that.

"What are you -  a germaphobe?" She couldn't help but ask, remembering the wary look he had had on his face when she had handed the used t-shirt over. Though she couldn't blame him, being very particular about things like that herself, she couldn't hold back a laugh.

Levi shrugged. “Sure, let’s go with that.”

They stood there for a few silent beats, the only sound between them being that of Heidi's quiet voice as she chatted to Felix, the teddy bear. Finally, Levi pulled his hand out of his pocket, her key shining in his hand.

Petra held out her hand to receive it.

"Thank you for your hospitality." The man drawled, placing the object in the middle of her palm, a smirk teasing the corner of his lips. "Your lodgings were adequate enough, I guess."

After having heard from Heidi herself in the past hour of how her dad was a self-proclaimed 'clean freak' - the woman was not surprised at such a comment. In fact, knowing what she did now, it made her quietly chuckle.

“I’m glad.”

Petra called over her shoulder to Heidi that she would be back on the night shift in just a few hours, the girl happily waved at her as the woman made her way to the door. Knowing that she only had one more 12-hour shift for the week, the young nurse moved with a slight bounce in her step.

The realization that she probably only had one more night to spend with Heidi and her father had her pausing though.

Shaking her head, she attempted to rid her mind of the thought. She wasn't one to get attached to her patients and she definitely wouldn't start now.

Still, there was something in her heart that tugged every time she thought of Heidi’s sweet little face. Not only that, but the tug worsened every time she thought of Levi’s.

‘I need some sleep,’ She lamented to herself as she continued her way down the stairs.

Yes, sleep was all she needed.

-

Upon arriving on the 3rd floor for her fourth shift of the week, but third with Heidi, Petra was surprised to see the one and only, Erwin Smith exiting the room of her favorite patient.

She guessed she shouldn't be surprised by the appearance of the blonde man - given how much Heidi talked about him - however, what did surprise her was the grave expression present on his features. While not one to fear the worst, the furrow between his brows and the thin line of his lips had her heart sinking, just a bit.

After confirming with the day nurse that nothing had changed in Heidi's condition, Petra was able to breathe easier. Apparently, in the last hour, Dr. Shadis had even cleared the girl to return home whenever she pleased - however, both the Commander and Levi had convinced the doctor to extend her hospital stay by one day.

The day nurse said she had no idea what the reasoning was behind it but Petra had a good idea.

‘My home is a crime scene.’ Levi had said earlier in response to her pressures for him to go home and shower. The truth of the matter was, Petra feared that neither Levi nor Heidi had anywhere to go.

With that in mind, she entered the girl's room for her first round of medication with a slight hesitance in her gait.

Whatever nerves she had been feeling though dissipated at the sight of Heidi's joyful face.

"Miss Petra!" The girl exclaimed from her place in bed, arms wrapped around her teddy bear and now a large monkey plushie too. "Look what Uncle Erwin brought me!"

The woman was about to respond when a sort of grumbling coming from the direction of the chair caught her attention. Levi had his chin in his hand, his eyes glaring at the plush kitty that still sat on the bedside table untouched. Petra could see a hint of jealousy in his actions.

Dare she call it - adorable?

Though his mutterings weren't all that caught the woman's attention. The man had a whole new change of clothes on, the hospital t-shirt now stuffed away in the white bag that lay by his feet.

The commander must have brought him an extra pair of clothes.

Realizing that she hadn't ever answered Heidi's cheer, Petra smiled at the child who lay in the hospital bed. "Well isn't that a lovely surprise?"

Heidi nodded excitedly, hugging her plushies closer to her. “I think I’m going to name him Beast.”

"That's a lovely name," The nurse agreed, laughing quietly as she watched the girl's father roll his eyes. Despite the current levity in the atmosphere, the woman knew she wasn't going to be able to keep her mouth shut much longer.

Placing the cup of juice she had brought with her down on the bedside table, she busied herself preparing Heidi’s medication as she thought of how to brooch the topic.

“So, I heard Heidi’s been cleared to return home?”

Levi was silent for a moment, but she soon heard a grunt behind her. “It would appear that way.”

“I heard Dr. Shadis approved her for one more night in our care?”

Levi hummed in response, not saying anything more as the woman continued to arrange the pills. Her hands paused as she got to Heidi’s sleep medication.

“Will you be staying with Commander Erwin?”

At her question, the man remained silent - watching as Petra assisted Heidi with taking her pills. Always a brave patient, the girl barely grimaced as the nasty medication tumbled down her throat. When it was all over, the five-year-old simply laid back on her pillows, picking up right where she left off with her two stuffed animals.

It took Levi so long to respond that Petra figured he wouldn't say anything more on the subject - however, his quiet answer came soon enough, a sort of bitterness in his tone.

"No, we can't," He spat out, a rare show of his old reticence shining through. Petra could tell that it wasn't directed at her, though - it was more so in response to the situation. "Erwin thinks it's a bad idea for us to stay with anyone who's a part of the Survey Corps. If they had my address, who's to say they don't have any others?"

Petra had guessed this was the case by the way Commander Erwin had looked upon leaving the room. It was the look of a man who was used to solving problems, who just couldn't seem to solve this one.

Levi continued, missing the pensive look that settled across Petra's features. "He's trying to find somewhere cheap that we could stay, but at the end of the day, the Corps don't receive much funding. I barely make enough to pay for the place we have now and I'm still going to have to pay for it until my lease is up."

“You don’t think you’ll be able to go back after everything is cleaned up?” Petra asked, the wheels still turning in her head. Levi released a dry chuckle at the suggestion.

"I'm not going to make the brat stay in a home where she was almost killed. I may be a monster, but even I have more compassion than that." He spoke quietly, aware that Heidi was still very much awake and able to hear their conversation.

"There's no one you could reach out to and stay with?"

Levi laughed bitterly, once again. "The only people I know are either a part of the Survey Corps or thugs themselves, my options are pretty slim."

Petra nodded, quietly mulling over his words.

After a few moments, she made the offer she had entered the room willing to make.

“Why don’t you stay with me?”

Levi's brows rose, a look of mild shock commanding his features. Feeling uneasy from his reaction, Petra began to ramble in order to fill the awkward silence.

“I mean -,” She cleared her throat, hating how the words had come out as a mere squeak. “You said my lodgings were adequate, right?”

"Well, yes. But -,"

"I certainly wouldn't mind it - and you wouldn't have to pay me rent or anything! All I would need is maybe a little bit of money for groceries since I barely have any - and - uh - and I'm barely home anyway since I work so much, so it would probably be just like living alone!" The words left Petra in a rush, her brain working faster than her mouth as she tried to convince him that this option wouldn't be so bad. "I'm a pretty clean person, so you wouldn't have to worry about -,"

“Could you shut your damn mouth for a second?!”

The low growl of his voice had Petra pausing mid-ramble, her mouth hanging open as the man in the chair cleared his throat, in an attempt to get emotions back under control.

When he spoke again, his tone was even, incredulity evident in his words. "You really expect me to accept such charity?"

Petra closed her mouth, shrugging meekly. “I mean, do you have any other options?”

"Yeah, the street." The nurse found herself rolling her eyes at his words.

"What happened to not allowing any danger to fall upon your daughter again?" Petra asked, remembering their conversation from before. While the man's eyes flashed in anger at her implication, the woman didn't stop there. "Do you really think the safest place for your daughter currently is on the streets?”

The man was silent again.

“I can’t pay you.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“I hate charity.”

"This isn't charity." Petra insisted, meeting his steely gaze with one of her own. "I'm honestly being selfish. I don't think I could sleep at night knowing that the two of you ended up on the streets when I could have helped.'

“Why would you do that for people you barely know?”

"I don't know," Petra answered, honestly - her eyes drifting to where Heidi lay still unaware of the serious conversation taking place next to her. "But something inside of me is telling me that it's the right thing to do."

Levi stared at her, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"So you would offer up your home to two strangers just because your heart is telling you to?”

While his comment was snide, Petra refused to back down. "And you would offer up your life to a cause that will most likely get you killed in the end? It seems like neither of us is very responsible when it comes to where our hearts lie."

The man couldn’t argue with that.

The room descended into a suffocating silence for a few moments, before Levi spoke again.

"What about Heidi?" He asked. "She stays home alone all day. Are you okay with a child residing by themselves in your apartment?"

"Not really," Petra admitted, though she had already thought about this. "But my friend who lives down the hall runs a daycare out of her home. I'm sure if I explained the circumstances, she would be willing to make an exception and let Heidi stay with her when you or I can't be at home."

Levi sighed, realizing she had thought this out a lot more than he had expected. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

“Nope.” Petra smiled brightly, knowing that he was close to admitting defeat.

The man looked once more towards his daughter, who was now rubbing her tired eyes as she tried to win the battle against sleep.

“Fine.” He begrudgingly agreed, refusing to make eye contact with the now ecstatic ginger.

"Perfect!" The woman nearly exclaimed with glee - however, she kept her reaction quiet, aware of the presence of Heidi who was almost in the throes of sleep. "Leave all the planning to me. Heidi was cleared to stay one more night - so, once I finish my shift, I'll go home and get everything prepared for her discharge tomorrow afternoon."

Levi nodded, still not exactly happy about the situation.

"Don't think you're going to be able to stand around and mope, either," Petra warned, pulling the blanket up higher on Heidi's chest, the girl finally losing the battle against her eyelids. "I'm doing this because I want to, so I won't have you feeling guilty.

Levi shook his head, a smirk appearing on his features. "You're crazy."

"Maybe," Petra shrugged.

After picking up the empty glass of juice from the girl's bedside, Petra decided to take her leave, ready to attend to her other patients.

Before leaving the room, she turned back towards Levi, still sat in the chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"We're going to figure this out," Petra assured him as she exited the room, smiling as he turned his face towards her - a look of apprehension on his features. "You, me, and Heidi - it'll work, I promise."

Though his answering smirk was tired, Petra could see that maybe - just maybe - he was starting to believe her.

[thatsadbietch]

Well... Its Out There, Now

Summary: One of your adventures while performing daily tasks on BoneZone, the Island you inhabit with several villagers, including one of my favorites so far, Keaton.

Word Count: 3,312

A/N: The first Animal Crossing fanfic I’ve ever written about the first Animal Crossing game I’ve ever played! Fell in love with it immediately.  Purely wholesome fluff, some coming out stories involved that are definitely not cannon.  I hope you like it!

Suppose I should mention, there’s some cursing, but otherwise totally G-Rated

Feedback is always appreciated, I’d love to be a better writer.

_____________________________________________________________

“Here’s to another morning… Calm… serene… kinda dull…” You said to yourself, waking alone in your rented house on BoneZone.  You had jokingly shouted out the name during an island meeting, but the innocent villagers decided it was unique and loved it.

“It’ll be a fun story when I get visitors,” you thought at the time.  But you’d been on the island for a few months now and has had no visitors, just mail.  Which was better than nothing, but you missed your family, your friends…

“Think of it as a vacation, he said,” You mocked as you got dressed.  That is what your brother had said before you boarded the plane, headed to this island getaway, which you originally thought to be just that, until you became the island’s representative.   But, admittedly, it was nice not being in school, or employed in some office somewhere while still having a nice living space and food on the table.  Even the villagers have taken a liking to your and seemed to be Tom Nook’s right-hand person when it came to island matters.  You just wish someone, anyone of your friends or family could have come with you.

Anyway, you walked into your living room and was greeted by Russell, your pudgy cat.  At least you got to take him.  He released a pitiful “Rrreow,” as he does every morning before you go out to pick up debris and pull weeds.

“Russ, you know by now I do this every morning and I’m back for lunch,” you reminded as you filled his food and water bowls, as if he understood.  “I love you and will be back soon.”

With that, you headed out, making your rounds, greeting the villagers you came across.

“Yo, hoohaahaa, what’s up?” Louie, the fitness-enthused gorilla called, jogging past.

“Hey, Louie!” you called back, and glanced at your phone.  8:13.  He was probably on his 28th lap by now.  22 more to go.  “Make sure to stay hydrated.  We don’t want a repeat of what happened last week.”

Louie actually stopped, scratched the back of his head, and blussed.  “Yeah… I was pretty lucky you happened to be in the orchard that day.  You’re the best!” He called out, and continued his work out.

“He’s crazy,” You said to yourself, shaking your head.

“I’ll say.” You jumped, looking to your right to see Keaton snickering.  A bird with vibrant blue and yellow feathers shouldn’t be hard to spot, but dammit he managed.  The two of you hit it off pretty quickly, and his company became comforting, especially when you faced some serious homesickness.

“I don’t want a heart-attack today, Keaton.” You stated and crossed your arms, but a small grin gave away how amused you were.

“I would never do such a thing, friendo. Never. Now, scare you for my own entertainment… that, I would do.”  You raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, you want a deal on that house expansion or not?”

Keaton put his wings over his heart. “I’m hurt, that you would stoop so low… with me of all people.”  You gave him a gentle nudge.

“I’m teasing you, feather-face.  But, if you wanted to make sure that deal comes through, you could help me out this morning. I need to pull weeds, tend to the garden…”

“Hmmm,” he exasperated, “Walk around the island with my bestie and share gossip? I think I can manage.”

They first made their way around Resident Services.  Kicks happened to be by Resident Services today, selling his shoes and bags.  They stopped to look a bit; You found a bag that you thought to fill with other items and send to your family as a care package.  For now, you slung it over your shoulders, and they continued to the beachside garden, and began pulling weeds.

“So, when do I get to meet the folks? The friends? Or are you actually on the run for something and can’t go back home?” Keaton asked teasingly.  You rolled your eyes and shook your head, the signature expression.

“Whenever they visit.” You said simply, knowing that Keaton meant no harm, but you missed them the more they were mentioned.

“What about you? Anyone here catch your eye?” you grinned.  For once, you saw Keaton hesitate, and he stopped pulling weeds for a moment.

“Hey, if I said something wrong-”

“No, you didn’t. I was just thinking…” he said, casting another uprooted weed aside.  The two of you walked over to the river to rinse off.

“You can tell me. You know the golden rule, we share other people’s gossip, not ours.” You joked, bringing barely a half smile to his face.  They stood and continued to the main garden, where the villagers collaborated to produce hybrid plants.  The two sat on a nearby bench, deciding to take a break.

“…Y/N...” He said, almost whispering. “I do have my eyes on someone… another bird…”  Your eyes widened.

“Is it Piper? You never told me anything!” You would have exclaimed, but in whisper form.  Even so, Keaton flailed his wings and shushed you.

“NOOO! She and I are just good friends.”  You raised an eyebrow.  “You suuuuure?”

“Y/N, I’m trying to be serious here.” The smirk quickly vanished and you nodded.  Keaton brought his knees to his chest, not unlike a scared child during a thunderstorm.

“…it’s… Wilbur.”  You breathed a sigh and chuckled a little bit, infuriating the bird.  He stood up quickly.

“I TRUSTED YOU, Y/N! And you’re sitting here, laughing at me and-“

“HEY, chill, unless you want to wake up the island.” Keaton sat back down.

“I honestly wasn’t sure what I was expecting… But Keaton, bottom line, relax.  I don’t care if you have a crush on Wilbur.”  He tucked his knees to his chest again and looked you in the eye. “Really?”

“Dude, half of my friends are gay.  And regardless, I don’t love them any more or less based on who they love.  People like to make this complicated.  It’s really not.”  Keaton just looked at you for a minute, and sighed, and nodded.

“Well, is there something else on your mind? You’ve never been this quiet for this long,” You jested.  He gave you a smirk and a sideways glace before hitting your arm. “Shut up.  It just feels nice to get that off my chest.  Thanks, wingo.” He said, and turned to wrap his wings around you in a hug.  You squeezed back, though had a mischievous glare still in your eye.

“Just don’t say anything too early.  I had Bells on you and Piper.” Keaton gasped dramatically (yup, he’s back) and exclaimed, “HOW RUDE!” before pushing your away from him and off the bench.  You cackled the entire time, and once Keaton started laughing too you grabbed onto his legs and dragged him down with you.

“Oh, that’s it! Chores be damned, it’s go-time!” You sprang up before he finished his threat and ran, both careful to follow the path and not ruin the flowers (all the villagers would be upset, but you both would have surely faced Dobie’s wrath).  Once out of the garden, you made a beeline for the river; you had your retractable vaulting pole thankfully.  You dug it out of your pocket, pushed the button that released the pole, and vaulted over the river.  As you retracted and returned it to your pocket, you turned and saw Keaton on the other side.  You blew a raspberry before calmly strolling away.  Keaton would not be defeated, not like this.  He backed up a bit, enough to get a full sprint toward the river before jumping.  That and one hard flap of his wings got him across the river. 

You were content catching your breath, walking along the beach, until you heard footsteps.  “Oh, this must be Louie’s last lap.  Good for hi-“ your thought was interrupted as a set of wings took your around the middle, tumbling onto the warm sand of the shore.  You landed on your back, but before you entered full-blown attack mode you looked up and saw Keaton strattled over your and laughing loudly.  You couldn’t help but to laugh too, and tried to topple Keaton over.  However, he took your wrists and planted himself more firmly to the sand, still giggling light heartedly.

“Oh, I don’t think so.  You were super rude earlier.  I think it’s time you apologized.”  The only human on the island rolled their eyes yet again.  “I was teasing you, dude.”  He shrugged, but didn’t budge.  You sighed.

“Oooh fine.  Keaton, I’m sorry about the joke I made with Piper and Bells. Happy?”  Keaton smirked.

“Almost.  Now, you have to tell me a secret, since I told you a big one about me.”

“Are you joking?”

“Does this face look like it’s joking?” You paused.  Keaton glared, knowing there was a sarcastic comment just dying to come out.

“Y/N, I swear-“

“No, but it looks like a punch line!” you giggled at your own joke as if it were the funniest thing you could have said.

“WOW, you’re on a roll today!” Keaton exclaimed, amplifying your laughter.  He wasn’t a dumb bird, he knew there was a reason you spent so much time by yourself, even after meeting and getting to know everyone that’s moved on the island.  In fact, greeting new villagers was your job, and yet you were still holding something back.

“Come on, you aren’t getting up until I hear some spilled tea.  Let’s go,” he demanded, but you shook your head defiantly.

“I don’t have any secrets for you, Keaton.  I’m a pretty open book.”

“That so? Then why are you still trying so hard to get me off of you?”  For having nothing to hide, you were trying awful hard to get your wrists back.  So, you wracked your brain for anything unrelated to “spill,” but just didn’t have anything else.

“Now who’s being quiet?” Keaton playfully mocked.   You didn’t know what else to say, so you blurted, “I have three tattoos!”  Keaton looked blankly at you.

“I know that.  And even if I didn’t, that’s not a great secret.”

“But you’ve only seen two.  How do you really know?” Silent blank-staring.  Keaton then noticed the bottom of your shirt rose slightly from the struggle.

“Y/N, hang on, I don’t want the sand to burn you,” he said, releasing a wrist as to fix it.  However, when his feathered fingers stroked the exposed skin, you jerked and instinctively grabbed his wrist.  He was shocked at the suddenness of your movements, but then it clicked.

“Oh, honey… that’s the kind of secret I’m talking about…”

“Keaton, NOO-“

“The kind I can totally get behind using against you.”

“Keaton no means no-AAGGH, no-ho, KEEHEEATON!” Safe to say, you underestimated how strong Keaton was.  He quickly freed the wrist you caught, held both of yours in one wing and held them to one side, giving him free reign to glide his feathers over your now more-exposed hip bone.  You brought your head to your hands and hid your face while you cackled endlessly at the ticklish sensation.

“STAHAHP, KEHEATON, pleaaAH! HAHA!” Keaton smirked at your desperate attempt at coherent English, as he went from gentle gliding to pinching your hip and working his way up and down your side, while you frantically and flutily kicked the air behind them.

“You, one of the reasons I liked you was because you and I can pick on each other..  But now, knowing this, I know juuuuust how to bring you down a peg!”  Your hiding in your hands didn’t go unnoticed, nor did the fact that aside from hiding your face, you weren’t making any real effort to get away from him.

“You want to know what I find funny?” He asked and paused so you could answer.

“Really *huff* bad *huff* dad jokes.”

“Despite it all, I don’t think I’m going to break your sarcasm,” the bright bird replied with a blank expression.  “Anyway, no. I think it’s funny that you’d rather spend your energy hiding your face than stopping me~.”  You didn’t say anything, but your cheeks flushed a deep red, and you attempted to hide your face again.

“Nuh uh, none of that!” he exclaimed, and rather than just holding your wrists to the side, he lifted them above your head.  “There’ll be no more hiding for you~.” You shuddered in anticipation, and witnessed mischief take over Keaton’s facial features.  If he and Wilber ever got together, you’d have to remember to properly warn him about Keaton’s dark side. 

“Though, I’m willing to make a deal with you.”  You sighed and relaxed… while you could.

“What kind of deal?”  That glint in Keaton’s eye… you were all too familiar with.  He’s not done.

“I think this is a fantastic secret you’ve shared with me… whether you meant to or not,” he started, and glided his feathers across your exposed skin, from one hipbone to the other.  You clenched your fists and gritted your teeth to try to maintain some form of composure now that you couldn’t hide your face.  Keaton chuckled and continued.

“But anyway, I still don’t think it quite adds up to mine.  I think I need to know which places will wreck you.”  You tried to feign disbelief.

“You don’t think I’m wrecked now?”

“No, I think you were surprised. And I think there would have been a lot more of a struggle if I were onto something. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think this-” He suddenly grabbed and poked at your hip and sides, causing an explosive cackle “-is effective.  And adorable.”

“Fuhuhck off,” you replied casually, then froze after seeing his surprised face.  Then you realized it was the first time you’d ever said that to him.   In jest, of course, but Keaton, ever the dramatic one, played as though he’d never been more hurt or offended.

“Oh, I was going to give you the option to tell me.  But that chance has been blown.” He began sinisterly. “I’ll just find out myself.”

“Wait no Keaton I didn’t meheheAAAN IIIITT! NOOOHOHOHAHAHAA!” You couldn’t speak clear enough, and had no way of covering your face, but you still tried to contain yourself enough that he might get bored, or think all of your ticklish areas were about the same.  But you were never a good actor; and he had already decided to begin his onslaught again on a bad spot.  He kneaded in the middle of your rib cage, resulting in complete hysterics.

“Well, lucky guess!” he exclaimed, switching between this spot and your underarms randomly.  It was as if you’d never reacted to such a ticklish onslaught before.  “Right? Did I guess right?” he tormented, and he chuckled to himself as You frantically nodded and grabbed his wrists instinctively.

Soon enough though your laughing grew silent, and Keaton figured you’d just about had enough.  He relented and let go of your wrists, then laughed when you didn’t move them from over your head; you just remained still to catch your breath.

“It’s *huff* too early *huff* for this *huff* shit.”  Keaton cackled evilly.

“Gee, I wonder what discoveries I’ll make if I just, ya know, turned around and tried the other half of you.” Your eyes widened and summoned at least enough strength to shove him off, and turned to run until you was jerked backward:  Keaton had hurried and grabbed the bag you’d bought earlier that was on your back and used it to catch and knock your off balance, forcing you on the ground, lying face down. 

“Damnit!  That care package cost me more than just Bells…”

“Your folks and I are lucky you’re so thoughtful.” Keaton played, clearly enjoying himself.

“Oh, shut the hell up.”

“Wow, grouchy.  Bet I can fix that, though,” Keaton teased, and You braced yourself again…  But nothing came.

“… on second thought, nah.” Keaton said while standing and offered his wing to help you up.  You looked up at him skeptically, and took his wing.

“What?”

“I decided you earned a break.  Plus, that reaction was gold, I know you’re hiding something else, and I’ll try to find out what when you least expect it.”  He said triumphantly, though still sporting a sinister glare.

“Oooh, that’s dirty,” You replied, but couldn’t help but grin.

“What? It gives you a chance to enjoy yourself unexpectedly, too, ya know.” The red glow still played at your cheeks, even after you’d caught your breath.

“I don’t know what you mean.” You said sourly with your arms crossed.

“Oh,” Keaton started as they continued along the shoreline toward Bertha and Elise’s houses, picking up shells as they walked. “I’m not oblivious, friendo.  If you enjoy something and no one gets hurt, there’s nothing to be embarrassed over.”  The statement did NOT help, as you turned away again, feeling the heat intensifying on your face.  Deciding he wasn’t helping, he tried to change the subject.

“So… what do you think my chances are with Wilbur?  You fly a lot, have you talked to him much?”  You peeked over at him, and decided to set your shells down and sit in one of the new beach chairs you’d placed a few days ago.  Keaton took the one next to you.  You shrugged before responding.

“He seems nice, but I’ve never gotten a vibe as to his preference.  I could talk to him more, be your wingmate.” You offered, wiggling your eyebrows at the colorful bird. Keaton beamed.

“You would?? I’d really like that, wingo! Thanks!”

“It’s no problem.”  Even carrying on normal conversation, Keaton still had a feeling something was still… off.

“Hey, wingo, there are no hard feelings about earlier, are there? I mean, I was just playing, that’s all, I didn’t mean-“

“You’re okay, Keaton,” You stated, finally turning to face him.  You were actually smiling, albeit kind of sadly.

“You’re right though, from earlier.  I was caught off guard, I do… actually… enjoy it… it’s hard to admit.  I’ve never told anyone about it.”

“Are you for real?” Keaton asked.  “What are you afraid of? I’m sure no one that loves and cares about you would think anything of it.  At least no more than your usual weird.” He smirked.  You shot him a glare, but smirked back.  Your face returned to one of indifference and took a deep breath.

“I know that.  I just have a hard time talking about it.”

“Why?”  You remained silent for a bit.

“I don’t really know.  It’s just a… thing.  I don’t know.”  Keaton thought about it for a second.  You looked back over.

“Really, you don’t have to worry about it.  I’m not sure when I’ll see any of them again anyway, with me trying to get something started for myself here and all, so…  and it’s not worth all the thinking.” 

He was clearly not listening, and proved it when he turned and said, “Ya know, the news is a thing.  Music is a thing.  There are a lot of things that you don’t have a problem talking about that you like, right?”

“Well, yeah, but-“

“No buts, I’m not done,” he remarked sassily. You snickered and let him continue.  “My point is, maybe you should just think about it as if it’s one of those types of things.  And from what you’ve told me, you have decent enough people in your life to listen without passing judgement.  And if anyone does… well, another thing is this side of me that hardly ever has to come out, but it will for you, friendo.”

“…oh,” You remarked.  Don’t piss off Keaton.  Got it.  He laughed again.

“Does any of that make sense?”

“Yeah.  I think so.  Maybe I’ll approach it that way next time.”

“Good.  And let me know how it turns out.  Because I love it when people tell me I’m right.”

“Oh, fuck you.”

[tecnixfairy]

Personal Ranking | Winx Club Fairies

This is based on the events of of all Seasons (though mostly S1-S4), my interpretation of the show and (partially) the Winx Club Wiki. 

Surprisingly enough this is MY opinion, partially substantiated with facts. My opinion is mine, you can agree or disagree all you want. I am in no way trying to offend anyone by giving my opinion on fictional characters in a kids show.

Capiche?

I want to point out that just because characters are low on my list that it does not mean I hate them per se. I’m simply limited to rating 6 characters, and one has to be all the way at the bottom. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t random, however just because someone is at the bottom it does not mean I hate them; or think they shouldn’t be in the show. 

So let’s start with my least favorite fairy shall we? 

6. Bloom

Why Bloom you say? Well, in all honesty even as a child I didn’t like Bloom all that much. To me she was always too perfect in a sense. Like yeah she’s quirky and doesn’t know much, but that is such a typical trick used by writers to try to hide the fact that they made her super over powering compared to like everyone else. The idea that a normal person suddenly discovers magical powers and then becomes one of the most powerful creatures in their universe is already a major cliché. 

On top of that the writers made her more and more of a Mary Sue as time went on, and after Seaons 4 pretty much all of the little personality that she had disappeared and she was just the “do good, all good, always right, all powerful” dragon fairy. In the first season she’s interesting for what she is but her character arc isn’t satisfying. She goes from being the quirky all-good powerful fairy to being the perfect all-good most powerful fairy off all. Like really, if Bloom is so powerful why doesn’t she just blast all their damn enemies away? She can clearly do it. 

Of course the show would be over very quickly, but if a writer runs into those problems it is not their job to create more bizarre obstacles, or ignore the power they’ve previously clearly possessed, but to take a step back and maybe dial down the character entirely.

Another issue I have with Bloom is her��“courage”. Yes, courage is good, but with Bloom it’s so annoying and frankly... dangerous. This falls back into the Mary Sue trope I mentioned. This is another thing writers often do to cover up the fact that they’ve created an overpowering character. Bloom is always pushing everything, and everyone, and it gets annoying! She’s always the one to be like “C’mon girls, let’s do this!” and then they run off to do something that they shouldn’t even be able to do. I have to be fair on the show Season 1 does this the least, in S1 Bloom is still coming out of her shell, but after that it just gets extremely irritating.

5. Musa

So, Musa. Where to start with her? I want to come out right and say, make clear once more, that just because she’s low on my list it does not mean I hate her. In previous discussions it has been a misconception that I do, but I don’t hate Musa in the slightest. 

What I however do hate is how pretty much her entire personality is I love music, my moms dead & I get upset over Riven. I could never relate to Musa, she’s far too sensitive and impulsive (dumb you could call it as well) for my liking. I think Musa could’ve been a great character to me had her personality been more individual as oppose to majorly revolving around her relationship with Riven. I don’t mind sensitive and impulsive characters, but I am severely against toxic relationships like that of Musa and Riven. 

My issue with Musa lies more with the show itself than the character. I think it is irresponsible of a kids show to promote relationships like that of Musa and Riven. Their relationship is toxic and I feel a dread whenever I think about a young child who looks up to Musa, because they also love music, and naively finds her relationship with Riven an inspiration. The show already pushes this idea on young girls that they need a boyfriend, and when it promotes toxic relationships like that of Musa and Riven it can be severely damaging. 

I can’t rank Musa any higher because for me Musa’s character has been mostly defined by her romantic relationship. Yes, she loves music, is sensitive and has a dead mother, but really that is all I get to know about her; especially since her relationship with Riven is so damn distracting. 

I think Musa should’ve broken up with Riven for his abusive attitude and that she should’ve stayed a single queen. It would overall send out a much better message to younger audiences. 

4. Stella

Stella... there’s a lot to take in. I actually really like Stella, I adore her character especially in the first couple of seasons. However later seasons ruin her character, and not just like a little bit. No they took Stella’s character, and then a bulldozer, and then ran over Stella’s character with that bulldozer 30 times in a row. Then looked down at the dusted up remains of the character and tried to rebuilt her with that remaining dust, the product?; Stella Season 5 and beyond! 

As a child I didn’t like Stella; she was too girly for my liking, but I grew a love and appreciation for her character over time. She is a strong, smart and kind human being that just also happens to be very pretty! She is always there for her friends, and although sometimes being a bit ignorant she always feels bad when she hurts her friends feelings, it never feels like she’s overly self-centered because she actually understands what she does wrong most of the time. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a pretty girly girl type person, however the show DESTROYS everything they built for Stella after Season 4. 

S5 STELLA AND BEYOND IS THE WORST THING EVER! HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO MY PRECIOUS BBY STELLA!?!?  What did they do you ask? THEY MADE HER A TYPICAL DUMB BLONDE. 

I feel pure rage over the “development” of Stella over the seasons. She went from being a kind, confident, stylish young lady in Season 4 to being a dumb, self-centered blonde girl in Season 5. I am disgusted. The writers were doing so well! I praise the show for not making her dumb blonde from the start, because it would’ve been so easy! But they didn’t, at first. But then Season 5 came along and suddenly all she can care about is her effing hair and nails! 

3. Aisha/Layla

I've heard it before, and I’ll probably hear it another million times “If the black character isn’t your favorite, that means you’re (secretly) racist.”

This is obviously complete and utter bullshit. My opinion is my opinion regardless of the characters ethnic background or skin color. In fact it genuinely disgusts me how S8 and WOW white washed Aisha, and it is the very reason I refuse to watch any future seasons. 

So, let’s chat Aisha, shall we? Don’t get me wrong here, I actually really like Aisha. However I had to make a tricky decision when making this list; having a clear idea of who I wanted at 6 and who I wanted at 1 but having difficulty with everything in between. Aisha isn’t here because I have an issue with her character; she simply isn’t any better to me than the following characters. 

Aisha, although an undeniable badass, never really appealed to me all that much. I think it is partially to do with her coming in in the second season; and barely any time being spent on her as a character later on aside from her quest to help the pixies. I hate how her grief over Nabu, and Nabu’s death, is pretty much glossed over and they give her a new love interest almost instantly. No they don’t start dating until later, but it’s very heavily inclined that Roy (and later Nex) is supposed to be her love interest. Aisha should have, just like I said with Musa, been a single queen. You don’t just get over the death of your engaged, and the show acts like it’s nothing; that you’ll just be sad for a bit and then get over it when another handsome boy comes along.

Aside from my irritation with the love interests I adore her for being a strong character; which I’m sure many young people can look up to, and I certainly don’t dislike her character. She’s a solid characters with a lot of strong motivations which I can very much appreciate. Out off all the Winx she feels most genuinely determined to reach he goals; yes so is Bloom but with Bloom it doesn’t feel as genuine, it just feels like blind courage. While with Aisha it truly feels like she has motivations for the goals she wants to reach. 

2. Flora

Flora is a lovely character, and just like with Stella I feel like they ruined her as time went on which is a shame. I know Flora is the favorite of a lot of people, and it’s very clear to see why. 

To me she is most relatable; she’s compassionate, smart and is overall a beautiful being both inside and out. I have very little issues with Flora as a character, she’s lovely and I feel there is no glaring issues to address. In terms of being a role model to a younger audience I’d say she’s a fine role model; she has no glaring personality issues or major drama she goes through. The fact that she gets upset over Crystal in S5 feels extremely out of character, but like I said, just like with Stella they pretty much ruined her character as time went on. S1 through S4 Flora is a wonderful character and I entirely understand why she’s the favorite of so many that watch the show. 

Personally I have always adored her as well; I like her connection with nature and her compassion was something I looked up to as a kid. Yes she still has flaws, just like any of the other girls, but her flaws aren’t flaunter nor made an issue of. She’s a bit insecure (S1-S3/4) which is fine, she gets encouraged by her friends to be more confident and overtime she has her own mini character arc. It’s not major, and her character isn’t ground breaking, but she is a lovely character and a picture perfect example of what a main character in a kids show should be like; a good role model.

1. Tecna

You already knew this was coming, of course! She’s the last one left. Plus I make it fairly clear she’s my favorite. 

I know a lot of people don’t like Tecna, but I absolutely adore her character. So much so that I already, previously, wrote an entire blog post about it. But I’ll summarize it a little bit. 

Tecna is my personal favorite fairy because she has a lot of qualities that I admire; she’s confident, grounded, modest, loyal and extremely intelligent. I’ve heard people complain that she’s their least favorite because she’s too serious; but that’s her purpose! Within this group of highly emotional and impulsive people you need someone to be a voice of logic and reason. Someone that doesn’t get highly emotional over everything, someone that thinks before they act! I tell you, without Tecna all the girls would’ve been dead a long time ago. 

Back to the role model thing I keep mentioning; I think Tecna is a good role model for the younger audience that watches Winx Club. She’s confident but modest, she’s super smart; and when she doesn’t know something she always tries to figure it out. She also has the most healthy romantic relationship out of the 6 girls and I personally think that’s worth applauding as well. 

So, that’s my take on things. As always, feel free to express your own opinion; as long as you do it in a civil way. I would love to hear what others think and feel on the matter, whether that be about what I said or simply their own ranking.

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 030 [Scavenger Hunt]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 2,494

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〈“So we’ll keep on starting the fire, thinking we’ll smoke out the liars. We don’t give up when we’re tired, that isn’t the way that I’m wired. Someday, we’re gonna rule the world.” Zayde Wolf, “Rule the World (Generdyn Remix)”〉

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“Hey, kid!” Shimatsu grinned as I approached. “You were awesome in the cavalry battle!”

“Thanks,” I smiled softly. “Can I get three?”

“Coming right up!”

I glanced around at the spectators, chatting excitedly about the first two events of the sports fest. Several pro heroes were stationed around the stadium, keeping an eye out on the off chance some villain was dumb enough to try attacking. I spotted the chick from earlier, making a face at one of the food stall guys to get free food while the Woodsman scolded her for doing so.

Heroes… what does that word even mean, really? From what I remember from the TV shows and movies back home, the definition of a hero is someone that saves or helps others without ulterior motives and without personal gain. But in this world, being a hero is a job, one that young people across the globe aspire to have. People want to go pro for the fame, the fortune, and the power… If you have the title of hero, you can basically do whatever you want if Endeavor is anything to go by.

I wonder… why did my mother become a hero? Surely she got paid a lot more being a villain, so it couldn’t have been about money. She was already famous as an assassin, too. Was it the power she wanted? That doesn’t make sense, either. The world of villains makes it ten times easier to gain power because there are no rules or laws. What was her reasoning for changing her life? Did she have a dream? A goal she could only accomplish as a hero? I wish… I wish I could ask her.

“Kid?”

I snapped my attention back to the old man.

He wasn’t smiling, his brow furrowed. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”

I took the box from his hand, staring down at the individually wrapped tacos. “Nah, I don’t think I am. But… I will be. So don’t worry.” I grinned at him. “Thanks for the food, Ojin.”

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“Get those foam fingers in the air, it’s almost time for the last round! But before that, good news for everyone that didn’t make the finals – since this is a sports festival, we’ve prepared some super fun side games everyone can participate in! We even brought in cheerleaders from America to get your blood pumping! Hold up…”

“What are they doing…”

“Looks like class 1-A is going full-on fanservice!!”

The fuck is that cockatiel going on about now? I glanced around, my eyes landing on my female classmates. Uhh, why the fuck are they cosplaying as cheerleaders? Ain’t our class getting enough attention already? Sparky and Mineta look awfully happy about this… I swear if they are responsible.

“What?! You tricked us?!” Momo cried, glaring at the two boys. “You’re gonna regret this!!” Fucking called it. I sighed, approaching Momo as she sunk to her knees. “Why is that I always end up falling for that little pervert’s stupid schemes? I even used my quirk to make these outfits…”

I scratched my cheek. “Haven’t you learned not to believe anything those two dopes say? You’re too naive, Momo, and they keep exploiting that.”

“Ugh!” Punk threw her pom-poms down, face completely red. “I hate those guys!”

“Well, we go have a little time before the finals start and I kinda like these uniforms, so~” Invisigirl started frantically waving her pom-poms and I could hear the smile in her voice. “How about we just roll with it?!”

“Are you crazy?!”

“Wow, Toru, you’ve got skills.”

Momo glanced up at me with a defeated expression. “I tried looking for you to let you know. I was worried that you might get into trouble for not participating, but now I’m glad I wasn’t able to…”

“I would’ve happily gotten in trouble,” I deadpanned. “I would die before wearing that shit.”

“R-Right…”

I smiled, patting her on the head. “Thanks for lookin’ out, though, Momo.”

She smiled back, nodding her head.

I turned toward the two boys, who were too busy watching Toru as she jumped around to notice my advancing toward them. I grabbed both of them by the back of the neck and slammed their faces together. They cried out in pain, wiggling in my grasp, but my hands started to heat up and they stilled, not wanting to get burnt. I smiled brightly, my voice low. “The next time you fuckers mess with the girls, I’ll give you a taste of pure hell, mkay?”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” They cried as I threw them to the side, scurrying away with their tails between their legs. Fuckin’ idiots. I felt a tug on the back of my shirt and I turned around, raising a brow at Punk.

She shifted, her face still red in embarrassment. “Thanks for that.”

I hummed. “No problem. Sorry about that day in the locker room, I was kind of a dick to you.”

She smiled, “It’s no big deal. Water under the bridge.”

I scratched my cheek, a bead of sweat rolling down my cheek. “So, uh, what’s your name again?”

She sweatdropped. “You’re just like Bakugo, jeez. Kyoka Jirou.”

We shook hands, exchanging a grin. Huh, maybe this socializing shit ain’t as bad as I thought it was.

“Have fun competing in these side games, everyone! After they’re over, the twenty students from the top five teams will be duking it out one-on-one in a tournament-style fighting competition! I promise you’re not going to want to miss these match-ups!”

You’ve got to be kidding me. First, we gotta run around like chickens with our heads cut off, then we gotta work together and socialize, now we gotta beat the shit out of each other? Maybe I shouldn’t have dissed the idea of playing a game of golf…

“Ah, yeah! Finally getting a chance to show what we’re made of!” Kiri grinned brightly. “I watch these finals every year and now I’m actually in them!”

“So wait, is it always a tournament?” Alien asked curiously, bringing her finger to her chin.

“The final’s always a one-on-one competition, but they switch it up every time.” Flex Tape answered. “Last year, it was a foam sword-fighting match.”

I started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Kiri asked in confusion.

“I just… I pictured hitting Bakugo with a foam sword on the head…”

He paused, lifting his head as he imagined it. Then he started to laugh with me.

“Come closer and draw lots to see who you’re up again!” Midnight announced. “And then enjoy the pleasure of the recreation games before we start. The twenty finalists have the option of participating in these activities or sitting out to prepare for battle. I’m sure you all want to conserve your stamina. I’ll start with the first-place team.”

“Um, excuse me…” Tail raised his hand in the air, looking sad. “Sorry, but I’m withdrawing.”

“Ojirou, no way…”

“But this is a rare chance for you to get scouted!”

“It just wouldn’t be right,” he responded. “I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle until the very end of it. I… think it was that guy’s quirk.”

I scratched my cheek thoughtfully, closing my eyes. Who was he partners with again? I don’t even remember seeing him once during the battle.

“I know this is a great opportunity,” he continued. “I wish I could take advantage of it but my conscious won’t let me.”

“Just think about this,” Izuku spoke softly.

“I have, okay?!” Ojirou’s brow furrowed as he held up his fist. “Everyone gave their all in round two, but I was just someone’s puppet. No way. I don’t want to advance if I don’t even know how I got here. It wouldn’t fair.”

“You’re making way too much of this!” Toru said cheerfully. “Just kill it in the finals and prove you should be here!”

“Yeah, what she said!” Alien added. “I didn’t do much in the battle, either.”

“That’s not it!” He covered his face with his hand. “I’m talking about my pride here. I refuse to give that up!”

Ah, men and their pride.

“Also… why are all the girls except for Winchester dressed like cheerleaders?”

“Because Mineta and Sparky are perverted dipshits,” I answered.

“Right…”

“Nirengeki Shoda from class 1-B,” A short boy with soft blue hair stepped forward. “I think I should withdraw for the exact same reason. Regardless of how strong I am, this isn’t how I wanted to get here! It would go against the values of the festival to advance without earning my spot!”

“Listen to these guys, they’re so manly!” Kirishima cried, making me sweatdrop and pat his back.

“Well now, here’s another weird turn of events.”

“We’ll have to see what Midnight has to say about all this, she’s the one in charge.”

Because letting the R-Rated hero be in charge sounds like a banger of a plan. What could possibly go wrong.

“This sort of talk is incredibly naive, my dear boys. That turns me on!”

“What the fuck, man.” I groaned, smacking my forehead. Thinking of Midnight being turned on is the last fucking thing I want burned into my skull.

“Shoda! Ojirou! You’re both withdrawn! Now, let’s see… We’ll move four students from the sixth place cavalry team so we have enough contestants.”

The orange-haired girl from class B spoke up. “We were frozen most of the time. Honestly, we barely did anything in the cavalry battle. Isn’t that right, girls?” She looked at the three standing on either side of her, who nodded in agreement. “You should choose from the group that kept fighting the whole time – team Tetsutetsu.”

“Kendo!” The silverette spoke up, surprise lacing his voice.

She smiled. “I’m not doing this as a favor. It’s just fair.”

“Seriously, you guys… thank you!!”

“And so, Tetsutetsu, Shiozaki, Honenuki, and Reggian have advanced to the finals. Take a look at the bracket, my dears! These are your opponents!”

Let’s see, I’m fighting some bitch named Regina Reggian? The fuck kinda name is that, fam? That’s almost as bad as Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu…

“Hey, you’re Winchester, right?”

I glanced over my shoulder to see the black-haired guy with the air chain. “Depends on who’s askin’.”

“I’m your opponent,” he grinned. “The names Regina Reggian, but you can just call me Red.”

“Isn’t Regina a chick’s name?”

He sweatdropped, rubbing the back of his head. “Ah, well, my creator thought it would be funny. Pretty sure they hate me.”

“Right…” This bitch is definitely nuts.

“Listen up!” He pointed his finger in my face, pink eyes flashing as he grinned. “I’m gonna beat your ass like Jotarou beat Dio!”

“I don’t know who either of those people are, bro.”

“Whack.”

“Okay! Let’s press pause for a momentary interlude! Before the battles begin, it’s time for some pulse-pounding side games! First, how about a scavenger hunt?!”

Cards were handed out to those wanting to participate.

I flipped mine over and my eye twitched. Where the fuck am I supposed to find this shit? I glanced around the field, eyes stopping on Bakugo who was leaning against the wall looking pissed off at the world. Oh… Well, then.

I grinned as I approached him. “Oi, Bakuhoe. I need you for somethin’.”

“Huh? What for – What the fuck are you doing, bitch?!”

I ignored his protests as I threw my arm around his upper thighs and hoisted him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Fuck, you’re heavier than I thought. Go on a diet.”

“Fuck you!” He smacked the back of my head. “Put me down or I’ll kill you!”

“Quit squirming, you fuck.” I scowled, coming to a stop in front of Midnight and dropping him onto his ass, holding out my card that read ‘犬 Dog’.

“I’m not a fucking dog!!” Bakugo screamed.

I scoffed. “You sure fucking yap like one, chihuahua.”

“Die!!”

Midnight smacked the top of my head with her whip. “Denied!”

“Che, that ain’t fair, Midnight!” I scowled. “Where the fuck am I supposed to find a dog, huh? Am I fucking game to you?” I pointed at Bakugo’s face. “This is the closest fucking thing to a dog in this stadium! I demand a different card.”

“Denied!”

“Son of a -”

Bakugo shoved his hands in his pockets, glaring at the side of my head. “Instead of doing this stupid shit, you should be getting ready for your match! I won’t fucking forgive you if you lose to anyone but me!”

“Yeah, yeah, whateva.” I sighed, deeply, turning and walking away from them. I was a few feet away when I heard a high-pitched voice.

“Hey! Miss!”

I glanced up at the stands, seeing a young boy about nine or ten leaning over the railing and waving frantically. “Uhh…”

“Catch me, ‘kay?”

“Wait, what, OI -!” He jumped over the railing, making the nearby spectators cry out and try to grab him. His aim was pretty on point, not gonna lie. His body slammed against mine and I lost my balance, falling back onto my ass with him in my lap. “What the fuck were you thinkin’, huh? You coulda got seriously hurt, kid!”

He grinned brightly, showing off a gap where he was missing a top tooth. “I had faith that you’d catch me, big sis!”

Sis? What, is he a fan of James Charles or somethin’? “You shouldn’t be down here, your parents are gonna be mad.”

“Mom’s at work and dad left us when I was three.”

I sweatdropped. “Who brought you here, then?”

“My big brother! But he’s too busy getting rejected by Mt. Lady!” He giggled.

“For fuck’s sake,” I slapped my forehead. He giggled again and I narrowed my eyes. “Do not repeat anything I say. Clear?”

“Kay~” He grinned. “You need a dog for the scavenger hunt, right?”

“Yeah.”

His body started to shift in my arms, getting a bit smaller as his skin and clothes were replaced by fur. The boy was now a dog, his legs and belly white while the rest of him was a soft orange. Now, I’m not a dog person at all, but he’s pretty fucking adorable. What is that, a corgi?

He licked my cheek, making my eye twitch in annoyance. “Sorry, I can only talk to people I’ve licked!”

“…alrighty then.” I returned to Midnight, holding the kid up like I was holding Simba.

She raised a brow but didn’t question where I had gotten him from. “Approved!”

“Dope.” I brought him back to my chest. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Riku Reigen!”

“Alright, Riku. Let’s find that idiot brother of yours.”

He tilted his doggy head to the side, ears flicking. “But what about the other events, big sis? You’re gonna miss them!”

I shrugged. “I was only doing it because it was easy and I had nothing else to do. Plus, I’m in the finals so I don’t have to participate.”

“Okay, if you’re sure!” He barked happily. “Let’s go~!”

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[sugarless-suki-writes]

Big God

Fandom: Inuyasha Rating: M Word Count: 3,939 Chapters: 9 of ?

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Chapter Nine

Kagome smiled and waved Sango over to where she was standing. She had gotten there a bit early, but Sango was also one to arrive early, so she hadn’t been waiting long, about two minutes at most. They greeted each other happily, pulling the other into a tight embrace for a couple seconds before pulling away.

“I’m going to want every single detail.”

Kagome’s cheeks burned. She rolled her eyes at the slayer and gave her a playful shove. “Oh hush, I already know. Let’s just go eat a bit first, okay?”

Sango laughed heartily. “Yeah yeah, let’s go.”

And with that, they made their way to the restaurant. They had decided to go for hot pot, despite the warm weather. They hadn’t had it in a while, and they were both sort of craving it. Once everything was all set up and brought out for them, they thanked their server and started to work on their food.

“So.. where did he take you?” Sango asked as she put the mushrooms in.

“He took me out for sushi. It was a small little hole in the wall sort of place. It was really good, super high quality.”

“And after?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively and Kagome couldn’t help but laugh.

“He walked me up to the apartment, he kissed me good night, and then it kind of just... evolved.”

Sango nodded, adding in some more veggies while Kagome added in some meat. “And how was it?”

Kagome’s cheeks turned a deep shade of red. “It was.... fuck Sango, it was probably the best I’ve had in a while. And it happened again this morning and just... wow....”

Sango smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’re happy and enjoying yourself. How did you guys meet anyway, you never told me, just that you were going out to dinner.”

The miko paused for a moment, trying to figure out what she should say. She knew she very well couldn’t tell her how they actually met, and that he was in the yakuza. Maybe.... “Well, I actually met him at the hospital. He was a patient I had and we kind of just... hit it off? I’m still not sure how it worked out that way but..” she shrugged.

“That’s pretty sweet actually, kind of like the movies.” Sango replied.

“Yeah, I guess.” Kagome said with a laugh.

They continued to chat as they cooked and ate their food. Sango dished out some drama that was happening at the station which Kagome traded with stories from the hospital. Some of the stories she told were pretty gross, but neither of them really minded, they just made sure to keep their voices low so they wouldn’t disturb any of the other customers.

Kagome was in the middle of telling one of her horror stories when her phone vibrated on the table. Her voice trailed off as she looked down at it. A smile curled her lips and she reached out for her phone, unlocking it and opening up Kouga’s message.

Sango watched and did her best to hold back her laughter. It had been a while since she’d seen Kagome so happy, and it was nice. She waited for Kagome to put her phone down before she spoke. “So, when do I get to meet him?”

She laughed as Kagome fumbled and blushed. “I-I don’t know. Why do you need to meet him?”

“He obviously means a lot to you already. I wanna meet him. He’s gotta pass the Best Friend Test™.” she teased.

Kagome groaned, putting her head in her hands. “Why are you determined to torture me?”

Sango’s laughter only increased. Kagome’s phone buzzed again and Sango poked her arm. “Better answer that.” The miko rolled her eyes but reached for her phone regardless.

[ So, how is your dinner going? ]

[ Pretty good. Sango is teasing me tho.. （−＿−；）She said she wants to meet you ]

[ Oh really? Guess that means I’m pretty special then ( ˘ ³˘)♡ ]

Kagome giggled, then blushed at Sango’s raised eyebrow.

[ Don’t think TOO highly of yourself now (๑ˇ ῁̫ ˇ)˒˒ ]

[ Of course, I wouldn’t dream of it (ʃƪ ˘ ³˘) ]

She rolled her eyes, but set her phone down on the table. She didn’t want to be rude, afterall. When she finally met Sango’s eyes, she blushed furiously. “Not a word.” she hissed.

“I would never!”

Kagome gave her a look and Sango simply shrugged. From there, they carried on with their meal, Sango teasing Kagome every now and then. It wasn’t long before they ate their fill, paid, and left. After that, they hung out around a nearby park to finish catching up before heading their separate ways. They made plans to meet up again a couple weeks later. They parted with a hug and then Kagome was walking back to her apartment.

[ So, when is your next day off? ]

[ I have the weekend off. Why? ]

[ Would you like to go out for lunch one of those days? ]

She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.

[ I would love that ]

-BG-

Kouga grinned and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He let out a breath and then left his room and walked out into the communal space. There were several of his pack members in there, gathered around the TV. Others were in the kitchen, grabbing snacks or drinks.

Hakkaku came walking up to him, a knowing smile on his face. “You ready to head out boss, or do you wanna stay?” he asked.

Kouga rolled his eyes, giving his beta a playful shove. “Yeah I’m ready. Let’s get going.” He pushed past Hakkaku and put on his shoes. From there, he walked out of the house, Hakkaku following behind him. 

There were a few pack members outside waiting. He looked them over, making sure everyone was accounted for, before gesturing for them to follow him. He hadn’t been out on a patrol with them in a while. Since he had gotten hurt and met Kagome he had gotten a bit.... distracted to say the least.

He sucked in a breath and did his best to clear his thoughts. It wouldn’t help to think about her right now, he needed to focus on the task at hand. Once they all left the compound, they split off into groups to patrol their territory. Kouga was with both Ginta and Hakkaku, as he usually was. He typically only ever patrolled with his betas, as they were always at his side and, if need be, would be able to control him. They also just meshed well together, but that was to be expected.

He itched to reach into his pocket and pull out his phone. He wanted to text Kagome, ask her more about her day, see how she was doing, set up their plans for the weekend...

He slowly let out a breath through his nose. He needed to focus... Something fishy was going on, and he needed to keep his head out of the clouds in order to stay on track. There had been more skirmishes lately, and they didn’t seem to be random like they had been in the past. No, these seemed planned and well thought out. He just had to figure out why. Why now? And who was in charge?

He couldn’t allow anyone in his pack to be harmed. It was one thing to hurt him, but his packmates? No, he couldn’t.. not again....

His phone vibrated in his pocket.

It took every ounce of his strength to not pull it out of his pocket right that second. He needed to focus... But he so desperately wanted to answer her...

Kouga let out a sigh and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Hakkaku..”

“Yes boss?”

He handed his phone out to his beta behind him. “Take this from me. I can’t be distracted right now.”

Ginta and Hakkaku couldn’t help but snicker. “Of course boss, I’ll take good care of it.” he answered, taking the device and shoving it in his own pocket.

It felt odd not having his phone in his pocket, but he knew it would be best. For now at least. He could answer her later.. he was certain she would understand. He huffed and ran a hand through his bangs. He needed to focus...

They had been patrolling for several hours when Ginta received a text. Something was going down on the other side of their territory. Kouga was seething. Of course, the exact opposite of where they currently were. Sure it would be no problem getting there, but he couldn’t help but feel that this was intentional. But how had they known where he was going?

He would figure that out here very shortly. They were all quick to turn around and backtrack, going to the opposite end of their territory. They ran as fast as they could, weaving their way through alleys and taking as many shortcuts as they knew. Kouga did his best to not leave his betas in the dust, but he was concerned for his pack, not to mention utterly pissed.

It wasn’t long before they could hear the snarling and fighting. Kouga was vibrating, his claws extending and a snarl ripping out of his chest. He turned the corner and saw several of his packmates fending off youkai. The scent of blood hit his nose, and from what he could tell, it was a mix from both sides. He was quick to act, running up and kicking a youkai. They went flying across the alley, slamming into a wall and crumpling.

From there, Kouga lost himself in the fight. His beast broke through and was going on a rampage. His shift was rippling under his skin, threatening to break free, but he kept himself in check the best he could. It was difficult, but somehow he managed. It helped that his packmates were all seeming to do well for themselves, and these youkai weren’t particularly difficult to handle.

Something was off about this..

It had taken a bit, but after a while, they had taken out most of the youkai. Kouga walked over to one that was crumpled up near a dumpster. He bent down and grabbed the youkai by the collar, lifting them up and snarling at them as he held them at eye level.

“Who sent you?”

The youkai coughed, some blood splattering onto Kouga’s shirt. They slowly opened their eyes, looking at Kouga and let out a weak laugh. “Why would I tell you?”

Kouga slammed them into the wall, growling fiercely as his youki whipped around and lashed out at the youkai. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Choose wisely.”

“Kiss my a– AAAAAAAAAAAAA!” The youkai screamed out in pain as Kouga dug his claws into their stomach, threatening to rip out a chunk.

“You better rethink your answer, buddy. I have no problem at all just letting your guts spill out.” he whispered harshly. “I have plenty of others to go through.”

Fear was radiating off of the youkai now and Kouga couldn’t help but smirk. He watched as they contemplated, could see the wheels turning in their head. He added a little incentive. He slowly twisted his claws further into their stomach, his fingers breaking through the flesh and digging in. The youkai screamed and writhed in pain. “Clock’s ticking.”

“FUCK! Okay! Okay okay okay! I don’t know who sent us! He didn’t give us a name. He just offered us money and protection, that’s all I know, I swear!”

Kouga looked the youkai over, analyzing them. Their fear was genuine, but they were hiding something. He shoved his hand further into their guts, the youkai screaming and sobbing. “This would be so much easier if you would just tell me the truth.”

They coughed up more blood, choking and gasping for air. Kouga gave them a moment to collect themselves. The youkai coughed a couple more times, getting even more blood onto Kouga. “Okay.... you.. you win.” Their voice was raspy and tears were falling down their cheeks in thick globs. “The... The person who sent us.. our leader.. his name is–”

“Kouga, watch out!” 

He whipped his head around just in time to miss a fist. However, it seemed like it wasn’t fully aimed at him, as this new youkai’s fist landed square onto the youkai Kouga had just been torturing, effectively knocking them out. He could hear their nose break from the force of the punch.

Kouga snarled, removing his hand from the youkai’s stomach to gain some distance from the new threat. This youkai was massive, and also seemed to be a lot stronger than the others. He watched as they looked down at the other youkai crumpled up on the ground, blood oozing out of the hole in their stomach. Before it could even be given the chance to heal, the youkai stuck their fingers into the open wound and ripped it open even further. Their guts poured out onto the ground, and Kouga snarled. He had been so close to getting information!

“Hey, what’s the big idea? Aren’t you on the same side?”

The youkai slowly turned and looked at Kouga. They stared at him for a couple moments, not saying anything. He watched as their claws extended, and he wasn’t sure what it was about them, but when the youkai started to move towards him, he felt a chill run down his spine. Something wasn’t right..

They moved slowly at first, but in the blink of an eye, they were suddenly in front of Kouga, their fist coming straight for his face. He barely managed to dodge it, and he couldn’t help but feel shocked and a little bit afraid. How fast were they?

Kouga growled, flashing his fangs as he jumped backwards once more. He needed to stay focused... The youkai charged at him again, but this time he was ready. Their fight was almost like a dance with the way the youkai would charge and Kouga would move out of the way. He would duck, dive, flip back, slide to the side, anything to get away from the youkai’s powerful fists. He had only managed to land a couple blows, and it didn’t seem to phase them one bit. It was frustrating, to say the least. But he had a feeling that this youkai was all brawn and had little to no endurance. If he could just wear them down, maybe he could get some answers out of them...

He wasn’t sure how long they had been going at it, but after a while, the youkai’s movements began to slow and he could see that they were getting worn out. Kouga smirked, charging at the youkai and able to land a couple more blows. It was getting easier, and he knew that the battle would be over soon. It took a bit more maneuvering and dancing around, but eventually Kouga was able to get up real close and he crouched down, swiping his leg underneath the youkai’s and knocking them flat on their back. His surrounding packmates cheered as their alpha pinned down the rival youkai.

“Now.. you’re going to give me some answers. Who do you work for?”

The youkai laid there, unmoving and staring blankly up at the wolf. Kouga growled, putting his claws at the youkai’s throat and digging the tips in. The youkai winced slightly, but nothing else was given away.

“Answer me. Who. Do. You. Work. For.”

At the youkai’s continued silence, Kouga grew frustrated. He was about ready to rip their throat out when he heard hurried footsteps.

“Kouga! Watch out!”

He lifted his head, confused. He turned his head around, and everything seemed to shift to slow motion.

The youkai had brought their hand up, claws out and aimed directly at Kouga. Then, Ginta was at his side, pushing him out of the way as the youkai brought their claws down and dug them into Ginta’s shoulder. He could hear a bone pop out of place before a loud crack rang through his ears.

Ginta screamed.

Kouga’s eyes bled red.

Kouga lunged forward, a purely primal, animalistic sound ripping it’s way out of his throat as he dug his claws into the youkai’s neck. The youkai gasped underneath him, trying to pry Kouga’s claws out of their throat. But all too quickly, he wrapped his fingers around their trachea and pulled, ripping it out of their throat. But that wasn’t enough. Kouga moved back slightly before plunging his other hand into the youkai’s chest, crushing and breaking their ribs. He wrapped his hand around their heart, his claws digging into the muscle, squeezing it tightly and piercing it with his claws. He then ripped it out of the youkai’s chest. He was half tempted to take a bite out of the organ, so it’d be the last thing the youkai saw before they died. He managed to restrain his primal urge and, instead, threw it against a nearby wall, satisfied with the splat it made.

His rage now starting to cool, he turned and focused his attention on Ginta, who had been pulled away and was surrounded by pack. Kouga got up and walked over to check and see how his beta was doing. “Let me see it.” he said, his voice still rough and gravelly with lingering anger. 

The wolves moved out of the way, except for Hakkaku, who was cradling Ginta in his arms. Kouga slowly reached a bloody hand out and gently pushed Ginta’s hand away from his shoulder. Kouga sucked in a breath through his teeth.

The wound was deep, and there was a deep, dark purple staining his skin. He knew something wasn’t right.. Kouga let out a huff and moved Ginta’s hand back and pressed down. “We’re gonna have to go to the hospital...”

-BG-

Kagome grumbled as she drank her third cup of coffee. She couldn’t believe she had been called into work to run a graveyard shift, and she still would have to work her usual morning to dusk shift. An almost 20hr shift was definitely not what she wanted, but she supposed she’d take it. She’d make good money at least... Besides, it was odd for Tsubaki to call out of a shift, so she figured it had to be for something important. Kagome would forgive it this time. Though, in all honesty, she wasn’t really one to hold a grudge. She could be mad for a while, sure, but she always forgave in the end. Sometimes it caused her problems.

She shook her head, ridding the thoughts from her mind. This was the first moment of respite she had since she started the shift. She was determined to enjoy it. Kagome was currently sitting behind one of the receptionist desks, sipping coffee and relaxing. Thankfully the craziness had calmed down a bit and she was able to unwind and clear her mind. She took another sip of coffee, praying that the miracle liquid would continue to keep her functioning and awake until she was able to take a nap in a couple of hours.

She was about to reach for her phone in her pocket to see if Kouga had answered her, when the doors burst open. Her head snapped up and the receptionist behind the desk let out a gasp.

It was Kouga and Hakkaku, carrying Ginta in who looked like he was in a lot of pain. Kagome shot up from her seat and started to walk out from behind the desk. “Get more staff down here. Prepare the OR.” she said as she rounded the corner of the desk. If Kouga had brought one of them here, it had to be bad.

The girl nodded, quick to start paging doctors and nurses, and then get on the PA system, just to make sure. Kagome tuned out her call for more doctors as she approached her new patient.

Kouga couldn’t help but stare at Kagome for a moment. He had seen her when she had gotten off of work all exhausted and ready to pass out. But right now she was alert, her eyes already scanning and searching, analyzing before she had even fully approached them. Her plum colored scrubs looked nice on her, and her hair was tied up in a neat bun. She looked stunning as always.

“What happened?” she asked, not looking at either Kouga or Hakkaku, her full focus on Ginta. She started to get him onto the gurney she had dragged behind her so she could look him over better. Kouga was a bit taken aback by how.. cold her voice seemed. Maybe it was just him?

“Well.. there was a bit of a.. problem. We went to take care of it and got into a fight with some other youkai. One of them, really large, dug their claws into him.”

“How long ago was this?” She was turning Ginta over then to look at his shoulder. It was still bleeding.

“Uhh.. probably about 35.. 40 minutes ago?” Hakkaku answered.

Kagome grimaced. His bleeding should’ve stopped by now, or at least slowed with him being a youkai and all. She ripped open a small section of Ginta’s shirt to further inspect the wound and her eyes went wide. A deep, dark purple was staining the skin of his entire shoulder blade and starting to go down his arm a bit.

“What...”

“We don’t know. It’s been spreading though.” Kouga said.

Kagome brushed her fingers over Ginta’s skin. It seemed to even be overtaking the ink in the wolf’s skin. This was bad.

Thankfully, it was at that time that more staff arrived. She was quick to debrief them on what she had learned. Some of the words she was throwing out left Kouga and Hakkaku confused. They stood there, helplessly as they watched Kagome slip an IV into their friend and giving out orders. When they started to move away, Kouga panicked.

“Wait, what’s going on.”

Kagome huffed and motioned for them to continue on to the OR. “We’re taking him into an operating room. He’s going to be alright.”

She turned to move again but Kouga reached out for her. “Wait, Kagome– ”

“Sir, I’m going to need you to stay out here. I can’t talk now, I have to go help your friend.” And with that, she turned on her heel and was rushing down the hall to catch up with her team.

Kouga was left there confused. Why was she acting like that? He didn’t understand.. Did he do something wrong? Had he upset her?

Hakkaku placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing the alpha out of his thoughts. “It’s alright. She’s in work mode now. She has to remain professional.” he said.

Kouga nodded. Right.. of course...

Hakkaku frowned a bit. Kouga still seemed to be more in tune with his beast, so it was affecting the way he viewed things. He could smell the worry and sadness all over him, and it made him sad. He needed to find a way to distract Kouga while they waited for the results, and for him to become more himself.

“Let’s go sit for a bit. Roka and Chiyo should have some answers for us soon.”

Kouga nodded once again and let Hakkaku lead him to the waiting area. He had a feeling they were going to be here for a while...

[saydaname17]

Low Qulaity: Seungkwan High School!AU 

Author: Claire @itskgirlfriend Word count:  2454 Rating: PG Pairing: Seungkwan x Reader Summary:  Seungkwan works with his crush from America on English. Notes:  Bolded dialogue means English

Sometimes, the realization that someone is ridiculously gorgeous can hit you when you’re least expecting it. You’ll be sitting there, just casually looking out the window, and suddenly the girl in front of it is just really beautiful.

Maybe it’s just a trick of the lighting. But then she gets up to throw her gum away, and she still looks extremely gorgeous.

Maybe it’s your glasses. You get out a cleaning cloth and wipe at them furiously, and put them back on delicately.

Nope, Seungkwan, who was experiencing this strange phenomenon, decided. She’s still decidedly gorgeous.

He didn’t know what hit him to make him realize that Y/N was gorgeous. All he knew was that he couldn’t stop staring at her.

“Seungkwan, maybe you’d like to explain why you’re staring at Y/N,”

Shoot. He didn’t know what Ms. Lee had said.

“What?” He asked, in Korean, and his teacher rolled his eyes.

“English, please,” That he understood. He had gotten scolded for using Korean plenty of times.

“What?”

“Why are you paying more attention to Y/N than your teacher? I don’t work hard so you can stare at her all day,” He got the gist, and lowered his head, apologizing. Out of the corner of his eye, he say Y/N smirking at him.

After that incident, Seungkwan avoided even looking in the general left direction of the room. He had already been embarrassed enough, looking at Y/N would just cause his face to look less similar to a human and more similar to a cherry.

The second the bell rang for lunch, he ran out of that classroom. The farther away from Y/N, the better.

After grabbing his lunchbox and nearly sprinting for the cafeteria, he took a seat next to one of his best friends, Jihoon. He took a few careful glances around, looking for your crown of (h/c) hair, and once he decided he was in the clear, took a few bites of his kimbap.

“What’s up with you?” Jihoon asked. A couple of the other guys at their table echoed his question.

“You know, Y/N?”

“Yeah. She just moved here from America, back in August. That one, right?” Seungcheol answered.

“Yeah. Isn’t she super pretty?” They all stopped munching on whatever was in their mouth and stared at him, eyes wide.

“You’re just now noticing?” Joshua asked.

“Yeah, she’s ridiculously pretty, but that’s what everyone’s been saying since the first day. Are you okay, Kwan?” Soonyoung asked, while stuffing some kimchi in his mouth.

“It wasn’t that I thought she was ugly. I didn’t really think anything about her. I don’t know, I never really noticed her, until today. She only hangs out with a few people, so I’ve never heard anything notable about her, other than her being from America,”

“I’ve talked to her a couple times, since we’re both American-born. She’s nice, and very funny. You two would get along,” Joshua commented.

“I’m sure we would, but I’ve already ruined my chances,” Quickly, Seungkwan explained what had occurred in English.

“I wouldn’t say you’ve ruined your chances. If anything, you’ve made them better. You’ve made it clear you’re awful at English. You’re so awful, you need tutoring for English. And what do you know, she’s fluent. Following?” Wonwoo proposed. Seungkwan was following. He was very excitedly following. This could actually work.

“Why haven’t any of you tried to do something with her if she’s so pretty to you guys?” He suddenly thought.

“I have. Rejected,” Seungcheol said. The other guys nodded, each explaining their own stories of rejection. With each story, Seungkwan’s hope deflated, bit by bit.

“If she rejects you guys, she’s going to reject me,”

“Not necessarily. Who knows, maybe you’re her type?” Seungkwan rolled his eyes.

“I’ll give it a go, but I seriously doubt this is going to work,” Just then, he heard your familiar voice pass by.

“There she is. Go get her!” Jihoon exclaimed, and pushed him out of his seat.

He stumbled towards Y/N, who turned and stared at him. She looked at his friends, who were eagerly watching from their lunch table, and smirked.

“And I suppose I’m some bet to see which of your friends can score a date with me?” She said suddenly, her voice a little sharp.

Seungkwan didn’t know what to say at first, as he tried to gather his thoughts. Y/N rolled her eyes and turned, but Seungkwan finally spoke up.

“A-actually I just need… I just need help with English. I know you’re fluent, and I was just wondering if maybe you could tutor me,” Y/N’s eyes softened.

“Oh. But why can’t Josh do it?” She motioned to Joshua. Shoot, he hadn’t thought of that. Naturally, Joshua already had a plan. He rushed up to where they stood.  

“I wish I could, but I’m so busy taking care of my little sister and helping out at my parent’s chicken shop, on top of my school work. We’d only be able to work on English for maybe 15 minutes? He’d need at least two hours a day, the way he is,” Josh suddenly switched to English, and Seungkwan looked at him, trying to figure out what he was saying. After a couple minutes, Y/N turned to Seungkwan.

“Fine. But you have to help me with Math in exchange for it. Joshie says you’re pretty good at it. After school, let’s head to the library together,” Even though the words were in perfect Korean, it still took him a minute to register them. This was actually happening.

“Okay!” he practically screamed, and after exchanging phone numbers he ran back to his seat, and for the rest of the day, could not stop smiling.

…

“Hey!” Seungkwan shouted, waving excitedly at Y/N, who looked at him, disinterested.

“Let’s go quickly, I have a lot of work today,” She stuck an earbud in, and started walking. Seungkwan caught up, and walked beside her quietly. Suddenly, halfway to the library, she stopped, turned, and grabbed the other earbud, sticking it in his ear.

Because her earbuds weren’t long, they were forced to walk close to each other, so their hands would occasionally brush together. Seungkwan could barely focus on what was going through his ears (Bonnie and Clyde by Dean) as she was suddenly only inches from his face.  

She was even more beautiful this close, and he admired the way her lips carelessly moved along to the music, mouthing the lyrics.

“Do I look nice?” She said, absent-mindedly, and he started.

“Um…” he didn’t know how to answer.

“I clearly must, since you wouldn’t stop staring at me in English, and won’t stop staring at me now,” he inhaled sharply. She turned to him, raising a delicate eyebrow, and he noticed a spray of freckles close to her eyes.

“Uh… yeah you look nice,” It slipped out, but there was nothing he could do now. Her eyebrow dropped, and she smiled at him. Genuinely smiled at him.

“That’s nice of you to say,” her voice, soft and husky, reassured him, even though his heart was pounding. Her eyes glanced at his lips, briefly, and then she turned away, clearing her throat.

“We’re here,” They found a table and they pulled out their homework.

“Okay, what are you confused about?”

“I guess I’m confused on verb conjugations. When do I use are and is and am and was and were?” Y/N pulled her chair close to him, and their legs and arms were touching, and Seungkwan felt all fluttery inside. Naturally, Y/N was unbothered.

“Okay so…” she started to explain, and Seungkwan ignored the pounding of his heart and tried to focus on her explanations.

“Understand?” He nodded at first, then shook his head.

“Alright, let’s try some examples: You are cute,” His breath hitched in his throat.

“You don’t say, You is cute. You don’t say, I is cute or I are cute. You say, I am cute,” This time, he understood.

“Okay, I want to translate what I say into English: I am going to the library today to tutor my friend in English, because he is bad at it,” Seungkwan stumbled through the sentence.

“Wow, Josh was right. Your English is low quality,” She muttered.

“Hey!” He shouted, and she laughed.

“It’s okay though, we’re working towards the best quality, right?” He nodded. Her hand reached out and patted his head, and she laughed a bit.

“You are cute,” Seungkwan was about to say thank you, when she cut him off.

“Translate that,” He did.

“Good. Translate this: I am going to date you,” He did. Each statement made him blush. Why did she have to choose sentences like this?

They worked for an hour, and then started on Math. Within ten minutes, Seungkwan was already feeling frustrated.

“If you think my English is low quality, your math is not much better,” he commented, and she slapped his arm.

“Take that back! They teach it differently back home,” she insisted, and he laughed.

“I know you’re from America, but where specifically are you from?” “I’m from Dallas, Texas,”

“Oh. Isn’t Texas really big?” She nodded, laughing. She had such a beautiful laugh. It made him want to laugh too.

“Roughly 7 South Korea’s can fit in Texas,” Seungkwan’s jaw dropped.

“You should visit someday. It’s quite the place,” And then they started talking and suddenly math homework seemed so much less important than it actually was.

It was late when they realized they should head home.

“Goodnight Kwannie. Talk to you tomorrow,” Y/N said, her voice hoarse and soft and husky, just the way he liked it.

But instead of talking tomorrow, they texted late, late into the night.

…

They walked to the library almost everyday, and worked together on English and Math. With shared earbuds and hands brushing together, Seungkwan couldn’t be happier, regardless of how productive they actually were.

One day, when Y/N was sick and Seungkwan was walking home with his friends, they started to tease him.

“We haven’t gotten to spend any time with our Seungkwan now that he has a girlfriend!” Jihoon teased.

“We’re not dating,” All of them suddenly stopped.

“What do you mean you’re not dating? Have you seen the way she looks at you?” Seungkwan shook his head.

“She looks at you like you’re the stars in the sky. If you don’t make a move soon, though, I think those stars will start to dim, at least in her eyes,” Seungkwan laughed.

“I think y’all are exaggerating. She’s just like that,”

“Really? She gives that look to everyone? I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen the way she talks to other guys. She looks at most of them like they’re dog crap, and the rest of them with glazed out eyes. There’s only one guy she cares about, and that’s you!” Vernon declared.

“Look. You gotta ask her out, you gotta ask her out soon, and you gotta ask her out in the best way possible!” Seungkwan wasn’t really going to do this, but he played along.

“Fine. What should I do?”

“It’s obvious man. You’ve been learning English with her. Ask her out with some beautiful, eloquent speech in English. It’ll be sweet and impress her, while tying in a personal connection between the two of you,”

It actually wasn’t a bad idea, Seungkwan thought. At that moment, his phone screen lit up with a notification from Y/N.

“Would you bring me our math homework? I want to get a head start,” He told the guys where he was going, and headed to her house.

Y/N opened the door, and despite her frizzy hair and dark circles under her eyes, she still looked beautiful to him.

“Hey,” she said softly, and turned back inside. She plopped down on the couch, which had its fair share of used tissues spread across it.   

“Sorry about the mess, I didn’t feel like-” her voice broke, and she downed some water.

“I didn’t feel like cleaning up,” While he felt bad for her being sick, there was something just a tiny bit adorable about her being so vulnerable. Maybe it’s because she was always so dominant and demanding, but today she seemed a little soft, and he loved that.

He handed her a math packet, along with a copy of his notes.

“Thanks,” After explaining what they did today, he turned, about to go.

“Seungkwan… are you a good singer?” He beamed. He didn’t have a lot of strengths, but singing was one of them.

“Could you sing for me? Singing helps me fall asleep, and I’m exhausted,” He started a bit, but then nodded.

Quietly, he sang through Beautiful by Crush. By the end, she was asleep, with a small smile on her face. He pulled a blanket over her, and then when he was sure she was really asleep, pressed a small kiss to her forehead.

After that, he knew he had to do it. He had to at least tell her he liked her. He couldn’t hold it in anymore, especially when she squealed and grabbed his arm excitedly when she finally understand a math subject, or when she squeezed his cheeks whenever she was bored. At those moments, he had to excuse himself to the bathroom to let himself breathe.

So, he studied for days, and memorized, and then went over it with Josh, which embarrassed him a little, but he needed to do it. Everything had to be perfect.

Finally, it was the day. They met, and she of course, was her usual, excited self.

Halfway through their walk, he stopped.

“Y/N,” he said, his voice shaking a little. He grabbed his water bottle, gulped down a bit, as she stared at him curiously.

“Look. I really like you. You are amazing, and beautiful, and smart, and funny and everything really great. I started tutoring not just because I needed it, but because I wanted to get to know you and spend time with you. I am sorry for lying to you, but you needed to know. I really, really like you, and I just… thought you know… if you were interested in being my girlfriend,” He had been staring at the ground the whole thing, but at this last sentence, he looked up at Y/N.

She was beaming.

She laughed a little, and leaned forward a bit, pecking him on the cheek.

“Of course I’ll be your girlfriend. How could I not, Seungkwan, when you’re truly the best quality?”

[gfriendlighting460]

Dating Sites With Trans Option

Brook Shelley’s previous work for The Toast can be found here, and our previous coverage of trans* issues can be found here.

Hearing about people being afraid of or not open to dating a trans person is just one reason why it is so hard to date as a trans person. And even though I have heard it many times before, it is still hard to confront. I looked at eight popular dating sites to see which are the most gender inclusive. Dating only trans people, at least here in my local community, do not seem like a realistic option since we are too few. Finding the right person would be next to impossible. Well, that was my 2 cents on that. I,m actually surprised by the comments so far. TRANSGENDER, PANSEXUAL, LESBIAN, GAY, GENDER-FLUID, Bi-SEXUAL & NON-BINARY DATING SITE & SUPPORT. We are a Transgender, Pansexual, Lesbian, Gay, Gender-fluid, Bi-sexual & Non-Binary dating site where you can find support, make friends, talk to others about their journey, look for love and so much more. Reddit’s r/t4t subreddit is essentially a personals-style online dating forum for transgender people. While it’s not as detailed as more established trans dating sites, this subreddit is designed.

Welcome to lesbian trans womanhood. I know, we aren’t supposed to say that. Welcome anyway. Let’s assume you know two things: that you are a woman, and that you like other women. Good. That’s a fine place to start. Follow along, and we will get you from this humble beginning, to being a real-live dater.

Take a deep breath. Ready?

1. First, lower your expectations. Whatever you think might happen in the next few paragraphs, or in the next few months, expect less.

Dating Sites With Trans Options

This isn’t in reference to any particular difficulty facing trans women, though there are many; it is always helpful to lower your expectations. Low expectations mean high excitement at small success.

For example, if you expect to dance alone at a bar, you will be thrilled to find that someone beautiful is dancing with you. Repeat as needed.

2. Next, create an online dating profile. OkCupid, Match, or Tinder; it doesn’t really matter where, but you’ll need one. This is how you meet shy lesbians. You may be shy yourself. This could be the best place for you.

3. Spend quite a bit of time agonizing over the photos and your description and hobbies. Be clever. Be charming. Ask a few close friends, “would you theoretically date me based on this profile?” Hear them laugh a little. Tell them, “No, I’m serious. Is any of this good?”

4. Take their advice. If they have no advice, find some other friends. Without them, you will end up posting a photo with kale in your teeth, or where there is clearly a dog using the restroom in the background. You will not notice this on your own.

5. While you wait for responses, go find the queerest bar nearby. Attend events specifically targeted towards lesbians like you. Dance. Get used to dancing. The music will likely not be great. Get used to a mix of pop hits, Shakira, and Bikini Kill. Don’t try to explain why Kathleen Hanna is problematic while dancing.

6. Wonder, “why do so many of these girls have bow-ties on?”

There is no answer.

7. Assume they must not be able to take them off. Do not offer to help them take their bow-ties off. Just dance away.

8. Flirt. Often.

9. Hone your ability to turn a conversation into a fun tête-à-tête. Read the face and responses of the other people. Assume that at any moment, they might sour, and you will need to disengage. Be lighthearted. Be friendly. Don’t press anyone, and focus on enjoying yourself. Cool people enjoy themselves. Cool people are definitely not sweating horribly, right now, as they dance around the room, hoping for a match. When someone asks how you are doing, never mention the harassment, mis-gendering, or stress you’re going through. They don’t actually want to know that stuff yet. Talk to your aforementioned friends about those.

10. Hear, “wow, you’re tall,” at most of these events. Kiss a few people, gently. Brace yourself for the inevitable pre-hookup question or revelation about your body or identity. Practice explaining why “biological woman” is ridiculous. Use lines like “Of course I’m a biological woman, and not a cyber woman… or a giant snake.” At no point be seen unhinging your jaw to devour a goat.

Also try, “Hi, this is how my body works… and this is what I like.”

11. Be prepared for some rejection at this point. Practice your smile and, “Ok, that’s fine, I had fun,” response to “I can’t sleep with you now,” or “I’m just not attracted to (your genitals),” or “I’m a gold star lesbian, I can’t sleep with you.” You may also hear, “you’re so brave.”

12. Find ways to forgive them in your heart for being such shitheels.

13. Be surprised when not everyone rejects you. Bask in the glow of reciprocal attraction when it does occur – it may be rare. You may want to high-five the women who are still attracted to you, regardless of what you discuss. Resist. High-fives are firmly in second date territory.

14. Check your phone. Oh, your mom called. Call your mom back. Remind her that you won’t be meeting any nice boys because you are a lesbian. Yes, you might want to settle down. No, there’s not much going on lately. Yes, you’re really a lesbian. No, this isn’t a phase. Yes, you did get the dress she sent… it’s… nice. Tell her you love her. Hang up.

15. Check your phone again. There sure are a lot of biologists on your online dating site.

How’d they get access to my karyotype? Did they take a blood sample?

What’s that game? You know the one… Where complete strangers ask you about your genitals? https://gfriendlighting460.tumblr.com/post/655947581619388416/dating-anyone-in-carrboro-nc. You’ll be playing this whether you like it or not a lot more often now. It is not possible to win this game.

Does Tinder Have A Trans Option

16. Use some of your flirting skills from being at the bar while you are online. Realize those skills don’t translate. A lot of people online are too shy to go out, so they will not know how to respond to you. You may be seen as forward, or at least not shy enough. Carry on.

17. Talk about books. Talk about food. Talk about anything but how you’ll probably never meet up, and if you do, there won’t be a second date. There often isn’t a second date.

18. Get ready to hear a lot of very surface-level readings of Judith Butler. Take heed that many of your fellow women have taken exactly one women’s and gender studies course in college, and “know all about being transgendered.” (sic) Be prepared to hear girls talk about how they’re “not really feminists, because they like to have fun.” Feel free to shake your head and pour a drink. Get better at reading through their answers to weed out the ubiquitous racism, transmisogyny, littering, and incompatible goals. Remember that you don’t have to settle.

19. You should probably have a pet. I should have said this at the beginning. Choose: cat or dog. Go adopt your choice animal. Start at the top. I can wait. You may be alone for a while.

20. Find a partner or dater. At some point, you will succeed. You will feel like you won the lesbian lottery. You will be elated in your heart that someone cares about you, and wants to kiss you… like more than once a week. High fives may be appropriate at this point.

These dating sites aren’t just for women either. The detailed description of the freebie is published on the blog. Find society & people themes in the same name category at Template/p Read More. JerkBoy – This app has been called the most honest, accurate dating service out there. It’s a tool for users to showcase. 18-25 years old; 26-39 years old and looking for short-term fun; 26-39 years old and looking for girlfriend material; 40+ years old; The Best Dating Apps For Men Ages 18 To 25 1. Tinder is the most popular dating app in the US. You probably have a buddy who met his girlfriend on it. Step further like for example most dating websites, if you want to actually communicate with other members then you need to subscribe to a membership and you get full benefits of the website. If you're serious then out of those 3 go with Match. You will definitely get hit up, probably too many to count and you'll most likely make a ton of guys wonder why girls never respond hahaha. Dating was created and is run by Dan and a group year techies who truly care about what they do. Security and privacy dating top olds at Teens Town, which is why the olds verifies every member and ensures dating no adult content shows up on the site. Teens Town also every to help you have fun and connect with your fellow teens. ★★★★★ Match.com 4.8/5.0. Our expert ratings are based on factors such as. Best dating websites for 19 year olds.

21. Prepare yourself for anyone you date to be called a chaser. It doesn’t matter if they actually care about you for who you are as a person, there are many who enjoy distilling you to your transgender history. Gird your loins against the barbs flung at you and your partner. Learn to laugh, and to cry. Embrace being a really hot lesbian with a super amazing girlfriend. It’s pretty great.

22. Laugh to yourself at all the ridiculously sad people who would want to hurt you and your partner. Try to not be burned by them with every single uneducated, casual insult. It will sting, but you can be strong.

23. But, most of all, have fun! Being a lesbian trans woman is probably the best thing in the world. Be proud of yourself. Be excited. You get to kiss other girls.

Elite dating site. Questions about online dating? Enjoy our ultimate online dating guide; Interracial Dating. If there were previously stereotypes, preconceptions or presumptions about interracial dating, these outdated attitudes are transforming as more and more American singles are seeking partners from other ethnic groups, and couples’ relationships no longer being defined along racial lines. It’s fair to say that our interracial dating community represents the enlightened majority in American society. A Gallup poll in 2013 found that 96% of black people and 84% of white people approve marriage between blacks and whites. This means that 87% of Americans overall see no problem with black-white marriage, up from a meager 4% in 1958 1. Interracial dating: meeting singles serious about love. According to Statistics Canada, the number of long-term Canadian couples in partnerships that can be described as mixed unions has doubled over the last 20 years. 1 For those in lesbian relationships or gay. Interracial dating in SA: meet singles who suit you. When you search for interracial dating sites it can be tough to find supportive platforms that encourage long-term commitment. At EliteSingles, however, we cater for South African men and women who desire more from love; making us the dating site to use if you’re looking for compatible. Interracial dating: meeting singles serious about love. According to the Office of National Statistics, almost one in 10 people living in Britain is married to or living with someone from outside their own ethnic group. Clearly, there are single men and women in the UK for whom interracial dating.

Brook is a queer trans woman living in Portland who hangs out with her cat, and does all manner of technical magic for a software company. She travels as often as possible, and can often be found on her couch, reading and enjoying a cider.

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[afterspark-podcast]

G1 Episode 38: Transcript

[This can also be found on AO3!]

[Stinger]

O: Just be screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time.

[Intro Music]

O: Hello, and welcome to the Afterspark Podcast, an episode by episode recap of the Generation 1 cartoon.  I'm Owls.

S: And I'm Specs.

O: And today we are joined by my husband, Chezni cuz uh, we're going to be talking about his favorite episode, which is episode 38: Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court! 

C: Hello.

O: Let's talk about giant robots today, shall we?

S: Yep, let's do it.

O: What's the worst that can happen?

C: We all die.

S: I can think of any number of things.

O: [laughter] Wow, guys!

C: [laughter]

O: It’s like that Marge Simpson meme: “Can you lighten up a little there, kids?” You’re just, like: “We could all die!” Okay then. Anyway-

S: We open in yet another fire fight between the Autobots and Decepticons.

O: Starscream is apparently really hungry as he complains about the lack of energy.

C: Ramjet is still gunning to go and attempts to ram Warpath, who instead sends Ramjet flying into Starscream, Ravage and Rumble.

O: Starscream is ready to flee but Rumble senses some energy inside a cave.

C: Ravage just goes barreling past and into the cave and the rest follow him-

S: Because when Starscream has the munchies it's everybody's problem, I'm afraid.

C: Warpath with his whole “Zip! Powie! Wowie!” normal sense of self collapses some rocks onto the entrance trapping them inside the cave.

S: And the interior of said cave looks, um, vaguely like a temple for some reason?

O: Starscream decides he's going to be all dramatic about it and calls it, “Their tomb!,” when the entrance is blocked, too.

C: I mean, how much do you want to bet he acts like this anytime he hasn't had lunch?

S: Seems like a really easy bet.

O: He definitely does. Rumble then points at a rock slab and says, “Hey, there's energy here!” 

S: This rock has, uh, some weird writing on it and some sort of touchpad functionality. You know, for robots, apparently. 

C: Starscream just runs over and knocks Rumble completely out of the way.

O: With ye old wonderful bonk sound effect. Also, poor Rumble, I hope Soundwave gets mad at Starscream when they get back.

C: Man, he hit him pretty hard. What happened to faction loyalty? 

O: Please, Starscream? Loyalty, what loyalty?

S: Starscream then says some bullshit about, uh, because he's their leader he needs to take the risk if the slab is dangerous.

C: Besides! He's hungrier than Rumble! 

S: Yeah, never mind if there are any negative consequences to this he'll definitely be using Rumble as a robo shield.

O: As you do. Outside, Hoist is trying to clear the rubble from the cave entrance with Warpath providing his normal colorful commentary.

C: Inside, Starscream finishes highlighting the text on the tablet- I mean, ancient stone. 

S: It's- it's a super old-gen tablet, don't you know.

O: You know, made of rock. Ramjet turns around and points out that the entrance is magically not blocked anymore?

S: And they are all just like nyoom out of there without any critical thinking whatsoever.

O: Critical thinking? In this show? When’s that a thing?

C: I mean, they literally had reality change around them and they didn't stop to think about it. Like, I'm surprised Starscream doesn't think this is some sort of Autobot trick or something considering how paranoid he is.

S: Yeah...

O: No, that would be a logical thing to do.

S: Mm-hmm. 

O: Outside we have one lone human female, uh, who sees all the Decepticons- that some says something about, “Big ass knights coming from the dragon mound.”

S: This'll be coming back later. 

O: Ha! Yeah, yeah! I'm sure this won't be relevant at all.

S: Two human knights on horseback attack Rumble. All the Decepticons think they're just some really weird looking Autobots.

C: Up until Starscream just sort of pushes one of them over and Ramjet headbutts the other off his horse. 

S: [Sighs] That's Ramjet: solving all his problems with his head.

O: He's got one talent and that's it.

S: Yeah, it's in- it’s all in the name. Ramjet then offers some constructive criticism as the knights appear to fall into two pieces when they fall off their horses.

O: Starscream picks up a piece of armor and comes to the conclusion that these are humans pretending to be robots. 

C: The main knight takes offense at this as well as when Rumble calls his armor outdated.

S: Leading our intrepid idiots to realize that they have traveled to the 1500’s, apparently.

O: The question is: Have they also teleported? Were they fighting in England? Or were they in the US somewhere?

S: Or somewhere else all together. And we will get absolutely zero answers on this.

O: Yep, that's normal. 

C: Then our lone female hiding in the bushes and eavesdropping flees to warn her father about the magical men, naturally stepping on a stick which immediately alerts everyone to her presence.

O: Because some cinematic cliches are timeless. 

S: The knight uh, the Decepticons are talking to comes to the very quick conclusion that the noise came from a spy and Ravage immediately chases after her. 

C: I mean, not only is it hilarious that, ah, Ravage immediately outpaces the horses but he just hears the word “spy” and seems to reflexively go after her with no context. He's just, like, “What? A spy? I must go!”

O: Fetch! 

S: I think he's probably thinking about when Spike’s spied on them a few times and, i mean, the general idea is probably to catch her first and ask questions later. He's- he’s clearly been traumatized by how many times Spike has fucked shit up for them. 

O: Speaking of Spike, the lady runs smack into him while running away from Ravage. 

S: They dodge and Ravage runs smack into Warpath.

C: Or vice versa.

S: Regardless, Ravage- Ravage skedaddles. He flees. 

O: Smart move. The lady leads Spike, Warpath, and Hoist away, back to her father's castle.

C: Is she just not concerned that you know two more giant metal men have stepped out of the dragon mound? I mean, how does she know these ones are allies? 

O: The color coding, my dear, color coding. 

C: Oh, okay.

O: That doesn't even begin to make sense but-

C: These are good colored ones-

O: Yeah- yeah, but Starscream is actually in some pretty traditionally heroic characters [character’s colors] if we're going by kind of the normal color coding in cartoons.

C: Yeah-

O: This is why it's kind of funny that she's like, “Ah, yes, the giant, angry red one is totally fine or-”

C: Those meta ones: Suspicious. These metal ones: A-okay. 

O: These are friend-shaped.

S: Well, they- they chased away the thing that was chasing her so-

O: I'll give you that.

S: I don't know. It's provisional, I guess and, at any rate, Hoist is clearly a history fiend as he's able to accurately date the girl's clothing.

C: Someone's a history nerd! 

O: A bot after my own heart.

C: She finally introduces herself as Nimue and confirms we are, as the title would suggest, in Camelot. 

S: So, she's named after the Lady of the Lake.

O: We presume, because she's clearly not the actual Lady of the Lake. She asked for our- the Autobots help to defeat the Decepticons to which the Autobots agree to help.

S: Then Hoist transforms and Spike and Nimue get inside. 

C: I mean, how did she know to get in there? Like, she just straight up sees that open door and jumps right in. 

S: Well, I guess they could have carriages? She might have also assumed that, I don't know, maybe It's just a weird ass magic portal. 

C: I mean that's true but why wasn't she surprised when the giant metal man transformed into one? 

O: They’re in Camelot, dude, they've seen some serious shit. 

C: [Sighs] It's only a model.

O: Later at Nimue’s father's castle, Spike is trying on some armor.

S: Some very ugly looking armor. 

O: That he can barely walk in. 

S: Hoist is obviously the fashionista of the Autobots, at least when it comes to human clothing. He knows armor and dresses, alike, and makes some better fitting armor for Spike. 

C: We can build it better, stronger, faster-

O: Spike? No, we can't. 

C: [Laughter] 

O: While Hoist is working, he asks the king why he and- or I don't know if he's an actual king or if he's just a lord? Anyway, he- he asks Nimue's father why he and the black knight who allied with the Decepticons are fighting to which the king responds with: Cows.

S: Cattle raids were quite common at the time.

O: Which is not the reason he gives, instead it's that they got through a- break in a fence and ate his garden and he apparently took, you know, personal offense at this but, well, wars have been fought over less.

S: Look up Washington State's Pig War. It's educational.

O: [Laughter] 

C: Hoist finishes up the armor, dunks it in some water to cool it, and then just hands it all in one piece to Spike.

O: I'm pretty sure that should still be way too fucking hot for a human to touch.

S: Yep.

C: Hoist is also apparently getting low on energy.

S: I have to wonder how much energy went into making that armor. 

O: I mean-

S: I guess-

O: Yeah, I have no idea.

S: [Sighs] So Spike gets his armor on, trips immediately, and then Nimue fawns all over him which seems kind of silly.

C: Ugh, yeah... and Spike gets a kiss out of the deal for, like, no reason.

S: Mm-hmm.

O: All right! What is the number one rule for time travel? Don't fuck with the past and, by that, I mean don't fuck in the past! 

S: At least not with anyone you didn't bring with you.

O: Yes! Yes, good point! Good point!

C: I guess that would make them safe. I mean, after all, what is the statistical likelihood of this being one of Spike's distant ancestors?

O: Look, if the universe doesn't care about the possibility of Spike doing the horizontal mambo with this great- great- great- something grandma, who the heck are we to judge? 

S: Well, the further back you go the more likely you are to be related to random famous people, I guess.

O: [Laughter]

S: I don't know, I mean it happens. The next day Nimue's father, Sir Aetheling is hosting a jousting tournament.

C: We see Spike getting ready with Hoist lowering him onto his horse with his hook, while Warpath gives him fighting advice.

O: It's actually quite sweet how supportive Hoist and Warpath are being during all of this.

S: And when did Spike learn to ride a horse?

O: I was wondering-

C: How-

O: -the exact same thing. Sometime, maybe when he was not living on an oil rig?

C: Heh.

S: Maybe-

C: Another life?

S: I mean- I mean, Sparkplug's the most interesting man in the world, maybe he did a- maybe he did a patch of work at a ranch or something?

O: [Laughter] Ranch-hand Sparkplug! 

C: So Spike fights very bravely and is defeated very quickly.  His horse sparing him no dignity as it drags him off the field. 

S: Yep, uh, considering that Spike is hanging onto the horse's tail it's a pretty well-tempered horse, cuz you really don't want to be on that end of the horse it will kick the hell out of you.

C: Well, it just- it doesn't need to consider insignificant things.

O: [Snorts] So the Black Knight, Sir Wigend of Blackthorne, finally shows up and due to the rules of 80s cartoons, uh, both him and Nimue's father decide that whomever wins a jousting match will be the ruler of the land.

C: Well, that seems completely unnecessary therefore, I agree! 

O: Of course, so Wigend being, you know, evil-ish is like, “Aha! But you will have to fight my champions, not me!” 

S: [Sighs] Uh, I'm going to conveniently stand out and leave you with some giant metal men.

O: Those giant metal men being Rumble and Ramjet. Rumble’s holding a lance and it cracks me up.

C: Then literally the greatest thing ever conceived in any children's show happens! My inner nine-year-old is just screaming in delight as one robot mounts a jet [while] holding a lance and shield, preparing for a joust of the ages!

O: [Laughter] Okay, you now- you know why we had to have Chezni on this episode with us.

S: Mm-hm, mm-hm, my question is: We see Ramjet’s thrusters go on now, um, so how are they maintaining a speed of 5 to 15 miles per hour? Even rolling on tarmac jets a rather quicker than that.

C: It's- it's, uh, it's the grass. [Laughter]

S: God, this must be such a bumpy ride.

O: Rumble’s had worse, and besides they're trying to intimidate the humans, not blow them away with a sonic boom.

S: True.

O: Of course, in response to, you know, uh, Ramjet and Rumble, Warpath transforms and the red knight mounts him. I mean that in the least sexy way possible. [Laughter] God, this is ridiculous!

C: It's not ridiculous! It's art! 

S: [Sighs] Starscream is pretty pissed to realize the Autobots have followed them into this time period.

O: It's his world, dammit! He thought he was finally gonna be in charge!

S: He had plans and nothing is going according to them.

O: [Laughter] Isn't that just a normal day for Starscream? 

S: Yeah.

C: Yes. Yes, it is. Simple physics dictate that Warpath is the quick victor over Ramjet as Ramjet has his cone bashed in. Wait, how does Ramjet live through this?

S: I don't think his brains are in his head.

O: Or at least not that part of his head. Uh, Nimue goes full Karen on Sir Wigend, telling him he'd better apologize to her father.

S: Yep and Starscream hits his fuck-all point and decides to kidnap Nimue to get what he wants.

C: Yoink! 

S: He wants to color coordinate his hostage with his colors.

C: [Laughter] 

O: Starscream-

C: Oh my god-

O: Drives off with Nimue in his cockpit telling her dad that he'd better surrender his kingdom if he wants to see her again.

C: Ah, typical Starscream.

S: Clearly, the Decepticons are suffering from lack of energy as they are unable to take flight and the Autobots aren't able to maintain their vehicle modes, transforming back into robots.

O: So, Hoist and Warpath have ended up in a pile. 

C: Uh, guys? Uh, wha- what are those two robots doing? 

O: Well, you see, when a daddy robot and a daddy robot love each other very much-

C: Oh, dear lord, I need an adult.

O: You are an adult!!

C: It's still not enough to prepare me for this!

O: [Laughter]

S: You weren't ready for the cogs and sprockets talk.

O & C: [Laughter]

C: I don't understand, what are they? They're robots, Harold. 

O & S: [Laughter]

O: ...Yes.

S: Aside from all this madness, we see an owl spying, you know, on the, uh-

O: Chaos.

S: Yes, the chaos. The hazards happening down below before returning to a man in a green cloak.

O: Naturally, as we are in Camelot, this is Merlin. Merlin exists in this universe, guys! 

S: Yep, yep! 

C: Oh dear.

S: [Laughter]

C: The owl apparently communicates this whole kidnapping situation which Merlin somehow understands and responds with, “Make some idiot 20 feet tall and he thinks he rules the earth.”

O: And then made some cryptic comment about getting singed by a dragon and walks off. 

S: [Laughter] Elsewhere, at the black knights castle, Rumble does us all a favor and shoves Nimue into a tower.

O: Sir Wigend protests but Starscream pops up and is like, “Surprise! You're my bitch now!”

S: It's Starscream, he wants everyone to be his bitch.

C: And then immediately after he just falls over from lack of energy. 

S: Wolfe, who works for Sir Wigend, shows up and hands starscream a whole treasure chest full of gold.

O: Starscream compliments him and Wolfe gives the camera the most coy look i've ever seen in an 80’s cartoon.

C: It is so coy.

S: Does he have his hands clasped?

O: I- I think so? But I might be misremembering that so don't quote me. 

C: It's very strange looking regardless.

S: Uh-huh.

C: Then Starscream just sort of crushes the jewelry in his hands, which somehow immediately turns it into a fine gold wire.

S: Which apparently leads him to creating some sort of energy device that requires a bunch of humans to move around and basically, um- [Sighs]

C: Like, aren't they generating some kind of electromagnet? 

O: Something like that?

S: Yeah, but it- honestly they'd get more energy if they just went and found a river and stuck it in the- in the river. Paddles in the river.

O: Please, the Decepticons are, like, on principle allergic to green energy, dear.

S: It just seems like it would be less waste and effort-

C: But there’s no servitude in that!

O: [Laughter]

S: Yes!

C: Starscream needs servitude with his lunch.

O: Starscream's a talking jet, he wants servitude!

S: It just seems like less effort to have to go and kidnap people to do the servitude-

C: [Laughter]

O: They’re not kidnapping, they're just making Sir Wigend’s staff do it, duh! [Laughter]

S: Yes-

C: That’s true.

S: But eventually they're gonna drop dead.

O: [Laughter] 

C: Uh... Rumble and Ravage attempt to step into the machine to recharge but Starscream steps in front of them and says he needs it more than they do.

O: Rumble is just not allowed to eat today. 

S: [Sighs] And back at the Red Knights’ castle, Spike is whining about it being all his fault that Nimue got kidnapped.

C: Spike, you need to have some chance at succeeding before you can take any responsibility for the failure of the situation.

S: He's been parentified by a bunch of giant robots.

O: [Snorts]

S: I don't know. Warpath encourages Spike to attempt to save Nimue himself while he and Hoist continue to prep a different rescue plan. 

O: Well, he encourages Spike's ill-advised rescue attempt, anyway.

S: Uh-huh.

C: Is it just me or is he just trying to get Spike out of his hair?

S: That is very possible, so, maybe. 

O: He was moping a lot. I would find that annoying, personally. 

S: Spike, er, he just sounds so pissy when he is like, “Yeah, fine, yes.”

O: So now back with, you know, Sir Wigend and company-

C: The other Cons are like, “Are you done yet?” to Starscream. 

S: Yeah, yeah, he just sounds so pissy when he was like, “Fine, yes.” 

O: Starscream steps out of the little energy field thing and is apparently having everyone retrieve items from his grocery list next.

S: Ramjet is working on charcoal and Starscream orders him to go get some rock salt. Rumble and Ravage have been tasked with getting sulfur. 

C:They literally only got charged for a few seconds before Starscream told them to get out to go get the ingredients.

S: Rumble grumbles and says they also need some potassium nitrate.  As a bird poops on Starscream, instead he tells Rumble that he- that Rumble now needs to go get the potassium nitrate.

O: For everyone as confused as I was about why a bird just pooped on Starscream and why that was relevant, apparently you can get potassium nitrate from birds droppings, so when Rumble grumbles about, “Oh, are you gonna go get this, then?”

C: Funny you should mention.

O: And Rumble's like, “Well, crap.” Literally. 

S: Mm-hm. Sir Wigend attempts to apologize to Nimue but she chucks the stool at him, as well as attempts to hit him.

O: With her fist. 

C: The sexual tension in the scene rises.

S: Well, she is not taking any of this lying down.

O: So, instead, the two of them fall on the floor together rolling around for a bit.

S: They're rolling in the hay.

O: Sir Wigend admits that he's been, “An idiot.”

C: What do you know, a white male character admitting he was an idiot! Michael Bay stole so much from this episode to make his fifth movie. Why couldn't he have taken that? 

O: No! No more Bay movie talk! [Laughter] He so- he then flatters her- telling her that her eyes are beautiful and she immediately drops him on the ground and says, “They are?!” 

S: And Sir Wigend just flops like a ragdoll.

O: [Laughter]

C: It's pretty hilarious. Outside, Spike is attempting to climb the tower in his full plate male armor!

O: He gets to the top but falls down into the moat, sinking because of said armor.

S: He proceeds to take it off with no issues- underwater- so how is it staying on?

O: I think all of this begs the question of, how did he get over to the tower in the first place? Because it was on the other side of the moat!

S: Yep.

C: He ducks underwater as the drawbridge lowers above him.

S: And Rumble walks across completely covered in bird shit. 

O: [Laughter] At least he got plenty of potassium nitrate. He also clearly made a new friend, as the pigeon is just sitting on his shoulder.

S: He must miss being around birds that don't create droppings. 

O: He will never complain about Laserbeak or Buzzsaw again.

S: Ramjet tells him, “Good job!” and even calls him “little buddy.” 

O: Ramjet seems, like, not horrible in this. Good to know.

C: Spike, from underwater, hears them talk about the sulfur, potassium nitrate, and so forth.

O: How!?

C: It's the opposite of mansplaining: it's Superman hearing! 

O & S: [Laughter]

O: Oh, and then we cut back to Starscream who's now stirring a bunch of stuff in a giant fucking cauldron like a goddamn witch's brew.

S: Where did they even get a cauldron that big? 

O: Ye old cauldrons are us?

C: That had to be a thing.

O: [Laughter]

C: All of this has been to create gunpowder which Starscreams demonstrates by casually tossing some at a nearby wall.

O: You know, it strikes me he doesn't have very much respect for other people's property.

C: I mean, he's basically just in a giant, like, toy house as far as he's concerned.

O: True. 

S: Yeah, Spike arrives at the top of the tower but Nimue cheerfully tells him she doesn't need rescuing because her and Sir Wigend are getting married. They're gettin’ hitched.

O: Outside, the Autobots and Nimue's father are trying to lay siege to the castle. 

S: The Cons and their human allies start catapulting, uh, barrels of gunpowder into the- onto the Autobot forces, destroying their mobile siege tower.

O: Nimue's father asked how they're going to scale the wall?

C: Oh, no! If- if only we had some sort of large, mobile metal construction that could reach that height! Like a- like a man? Like a giant metal man? 

O & S: [Laughter] 

O: So Hoist uses his body to span the moat as Ramjet and Rumble continue to attack from the castle walls.

C: Rumble just starts punching parts of the tower wall down onto the forces below. 

S: Rumble, that is a terrible idea when it's your castle and then Warpath is protecting some soldiers who are so insignificant to this scene they didn't deserve color.

O: Or actual spears!

C: It's true, they're just- they're just not colored in this scene. 

S: Yep, Sir Wigend asks Wolfe for help but, instead, Wolfe yeets him off the tower. He's purple, so of course he does that.

O: Don't worry, he's fine, he landed in the moat!

C: They had parachutes, they all survived.

S: Spike walks out, stool in tow, and tells Wolfe that he has to deal with Sir Spike now.

O: Oh, you knighted yourself now, have you?

S: Fittingly, Nimue is actually the one who takes Wolfe out with the stool to the head.

C: Remember kids, it's not violence if, in place of guns, you use household objects instead. 

O: Hoist acts as their forces’ siege tower and the knights use him to scale the wall.

S: Hoist will happily assist but does not particularly want to do the demolition himself.

O: He does take some offense at Warpath using him as a step stool, though. 

S: Well, I think I would too. Warpath and Ramjet start beating on each other with big, ol’ wooden sticks.

C: Just like any schoolyard brawl between two boys.

S: Unfortunately, Ramjet wins this round because he's been able to charge more and, because Warpath runs out of energy, he gets tossed on top of Hoist.

C: In another scene, Ravage attacks Spike but is chased off by the owl from before, running away.

O: Ravage is super small here, like the actual size of a dog or jaguar compared to the episode where he kidnapped Chip and was as tall as Chip.

S: Merlin shows up and zaps Hoist and Warpath with lightning, which recharges their batteries.

O: Oh, yeah, magic fucking exists in this universe by the way!

C: Starscream just screeches about how, “Magic can never defeat science!” 

S: Oh, Starscream, you're about to be real disappointed real soon. 

O: Hoist and Warpath jump over the moat in vehicle mode, destroying Starscream's machine and defeating the Decepticons.

C: Afterwards, Spike laments that he didn't get the girl. 

S: What about Carly, Spike, what about her? [Specs Note: I keep forgetting that he’s supposed to be, like, 14-15 years old? Maybe 16? Dunno how much time’s passed since the Autobots woke up on Earth. It makes the entire situation weirder. How old is anyone in this episode?]

C: Ooooh.

O: Well, at least we don't have to worry about the time paradox of being your own great- great- great- great- great- grandfather now, presumably. 

S: Merlin tells them that they can get back home the same way they came here. 

O: Oh! But you remember that nugget from before? It's called a “dragon mound” because a dragon has moved in!

C: And with this revelation I feel the need to mention that this means that Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Jem all exist, canonically, in a world where magic, dragon[s], and time travel exists!

O: Don't forget Inhumanoids.

S: But apparently Mertin created it originally because- well, the time travel doohickey, because he needed a time travel device to get his fancy 20th century doodads.

O: As you do.

C: They arrive at the dragon mound and the dragon comes out pissed but don't worry, because Merlin's got a totally magic-based solution for this problem: Dragon's Bane.

O: Starscream is not happy about having to trust “unscientific superstition.”

C: But as Merlin lists off the ingredients of this ‘Dragon's Bane,’ it quickly becomes apparent that Merlin's 100% magical solution is actually just gunpowder again under a different name.

O: [Laughter] Warpath chucks the Dragon's Bane at the dragon, which explodes, and the dragon flies off. 

S: Then Warpath and Hoist go for some, you know, low fives. 

O: I legitimately think this is because they cannot raise their arms over their heads. One or both of them, I'm not sure. 

S: The Cybertronians, plus Spike, walk back through and arrive in the present.

C: Getting shot at almost immediately. 

O: Spike and Co retreat.

S: Starscream runs over and tackles Megatron asking if he's happy to see him. [Laughs]

C: And Megatron just screams and the episode ends.

O & S: [Laughter]

O: Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's what I would probably do if Starscream showed up, uninvited, and destroyed my victory or something. So join, at least, me and Specs, next time for The God Gambit. Everyone bow to your new god: Astrotrain.

S: And your new idol: Cosmos!

O: [Laughter] Yeah! And I believe Specs has some, uh, fanfics for us today.

S: Yes, I do. So the first fanfic recommendation is “The Human Condition” by Wayward. It's based on the G1 cartoon continuity. It's rated T, there's some minor slash, um, there are some very there's various pairings, it's- none of it’s explicit. Characters: Mainly the Decepticons, there's a few original characters involved, and also Merlin shows up.

O: Again! [Laughter]

S: At least once or twice, um. In summary, “The Decepticons have been struck by a terrible curse: They've been turned human. But will they look for a cure or use it to their advantage?” And recommendation, it's kind of a direct callback to this episode because of-

O: Merlin, I assume. 

S: Well, Merlin and also Starscream- well, how the episode starts off and, basically, why they end up cursed.

O: All right.

S: So, it's multi-chapter and it's complete, but it's in the middle of a series, so there might be some stuff that happens in it that ref- references stuff earlier in the series but it's been such a long time since I've actually read it that I'm not sure if you'd need to read early in the series but I think this can be read, um, on its own and enjoy it. But it's some of Wayward's earlier work and she’s still got it up on fanfiction.net but it's not the stuff that she's got on her AO3 account.

O: Gotcha.

S: So, I enjoyed it- it's fun, it's- it's just- it's a good read. And the secondary recommendation is “Novikov Principle” by Spoon888. It's also in the G1 cartoon continuity. It’s rated T, it's slash, uh, the pairing is Megatron/Starscream, and the characters are Megatron and Starscream with-

O: Double the amount of Starscream. [Laughter]

S: Yeah, double the amount of Starscream. And, in summary, “Starscream uses time travel and messes up yet another assassination attempt by accidentally jumping into the future instead of his past. He learns that his life to come involves a lot less universal domination than he would have expected and somehow that's worse.”

O: [Laughter]

S: So the rec is- ah, recommendation theme- it's time travel and also Starstream schemes, and it's a complete one shot.

O: Um, this one's great. I actually read it, um, I- I think an alternate either- either the author said this or somebody in the comments said it an alternate take is “Starscream traumatizes himself.” 

S: [Laughter] Oh, I didn't look at any of the comments but it was one that I enjoyed reading. And that about wraps it up for us today.  Remember to check us out on Tumblr or Pillowfort as Afterspark-Podcast for any additional information, show notes, or links we may have mentioned.  You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at AftersparkPod (all one word) and various other locations by searching for Afterspark Podcast such as AO3, iTunes, Spotify, and Youtube, just to name a few.  And feel free to send us questions on Tumblr, or Youtube, or AO3!  Till next time, I'm Specs.

O: I’m Owls.

C: I’m Chezni.

S: Toodles.

[Outro Music]

[dipulb3]

2020 Land Rover Defender 110 review: Tough guy's got a softer side

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2020 Land Rover Defender 110 review: Tough guy's got a softer side

It’ll take you just about anywhere.

Steven Ewing/Roadshow

“I never drove it on pavement.” That’s the first thing Emme Hall told me when she got back from testing the 2020 Land Rover Defender in Africa earlier this year — you know, back when traveling was still a thing. Indeed, Emme’s weeklong safari through Namibia put the Defender’s impressive off-road chops in the spotlight. But as I discovered over the course of a few days at home in Los Angeles, the Defender’s a damn fine SUV for urban life, too.

Like

Unstoppable off-road ability

Classic style with a modern touch

Lots of room for passengers and cargo

Punchy 3.0-liter mild-hybrid I6

Don’t Like

New infotainment tech is still touch-and-go

Vague steering feel

Poor fuel economy

Of course, I’m printing that alongside a bunch of photos of a dirty Defender that were clearly shot at an off-road park. But like, how could I not off-road this thing? I’ll let Emme’s first drive review get into the nitty-gritty details about how Land Rover’s new SUV handles the rough stuff, though I will say the Defender had no trouble handling the same tricky trails I recently drove in a Jeep Gladiator EcoDiesel, and all I had to do was raise the air suspension and shuffle through the various off-road modes.

The first round of Defenders to hit the US will be the four-door 110 version seen here; the two-door 90 arrives in the coming months, and it’ll have a 2021 model year designation. Personally, I’m all about the 90, mostly because I’ve got a soft spot for stubby, two-door SUVs. The 110, meanwhile, is actually bigger than you might think. It has an imposing presence on the street and my first thought upon climbing inside is, wow, this is roomy.

2020 Land Rover Defender 110: On-road luxury with off-road chops

See all photos

The Defender gets Land Rover’s new Pivi Pro infotainment system, housed on a high-resolution, 10-inch display atop the center stack. You’ve got access to all of the Defender’s off-road settings in here, as well as navigation, a Wi-Fi hotspot, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Combined with the digital gauge cluster, the Defender’s tech game is strong. But while the Pivi Pro system is generally easier to use and more attractive than Land Rover’s old InControl tech, it still suffers from the same laggy response times and occasional refusal to recognize my iPhone and load CarPlay.

My Defender SE test car’s cloth-lined seats are super-supportive and great for covering long distances in comfort. Overall, the Defender’s interior is purposeful but nicely appointed, with fabric-lined panels on the dashboard and tough-looking exposed screws on the doors. This durable appearance is a good thing; I feel a lot better about trekking mud inside a Defender than I do a leather-wrapped Mercedes-Benz G-Class. The rubber-lined footwells and cargo area speak to this down-and-dirty nature, too. Sure, you can option a Defender with nicer upholstery like Dinamica suede if you want, but I don’t, so there.

The cabin is handsomely styled, and Land Rover’s new Pivi Pro infotainment tech is housed on a 10-inch screen.

Steven Ewing/Roadshow

You can get the Defender with three rows of seats, something Land Rover calls its “five-plus-two” option. You lose a bit of cargo space if you go this route, but if you stick to the five-passenger configuration, there’s a maximum of 78.8 cubic feet of cargo space behind the first row, though do note that the side-hinged tailgate swings out to the side, so be careful when backing into parking spaces. Speaking of hauling, regardless of wheelbase length or engine size, the Defender can tow 8,200 pounds.

The Defender’s base engine is a 2.0-liter turbo I4 with 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, but I’ve got the upgraded 3.0-liter I6, which uses turbocharging and mild-hybrid electric assist to produce 395 hp and 406 lb-ft. This MHEV I6 is the same one Land Rover offers in the Range Rover Sport and it’s a real peach of an engine, with lots of low-end torque and a refined stop-start system. However, with EPA fuel economy ratings of 17 miles per gallon city, 22 mpg highway and 19 mpg combined, even with mild-hybrid assist, it’s not exactly a fuel-sipper.

Combined with a smooth-shifting, eight-speed automatic transmission and full-time all-wheel drive, Land Rover says the 3.0-liter Defender 110 can accelerate to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, which is pretty damn quick for a 5,000-pound SUV. You really feel that punch from behind the wheel, too. Lay into the throttle while heading up a highway on-ramp and you’ll be well above the posted speed limit before it’s even time to merge. Not that I’d know anything about that, natch.

Good tires and a nicely tuned air suspension keep the Defender rocking steady no matter the terrain.

Steven Ewing/Roadshow

The standard adaptive air suspension does a great job of soaking up pavement blemishes and keeps the big Defender from feeling tippy or wallowy at speed. There’s not a lot of front-end dive under hard braking, and while I don’t really recommend throwing one of these butch bois into a tight corner, the Defender is surprisingly agile. It’s a nicer highway cruiser than a G-Class, and 20 times better than a Jeep Wrangler. My only gripe is that the off-road tires spec’d to this car as part of the $1,345 Off-Road Pack are a little loud. Give and take, I guess.

A whole bunch of driver-assistance tech makes daily life with the Defender easier. The mid-level SE trim comes standard with a 3D surround camera, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, traffic sign recognition and even nifty novelties like tech that’ll tell you if a car or pedestrian is approaching when you’re parked so you don’t inadvertently open your door and cause a crash. Weirdly, full-speed adaptive cruise control remains an option, so be prepared to spend an extra $1,020 if that’s on your wish list.

Pricing starts at $51,250 (including $1,350 for destination) for a base 110 and can stretch into the mid-$90,000s for a fully loaded Defender X. The full range of shorter-wheelbase Defender 90 models will hit dealers soon, and a base, two-door model starts at $47,470 delivered.

Great on-road, great off-road.

Steven Ewing/Roadshow

Land Rover is smartly offering lots of different add-on packages that can make your Defender as luxurious or as off-road-ready as you want, and they’re available across the whole lineup. As tested, my generously equipped 2020 Defender 110 SE costs $72,180 including destination. Considering you can option a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon well above $60,000, that doesn’t strike me as too bad of a deal. The Mercedes G-Class starts at more than $130,000, though it’s much nicer inside while being every bit as capable (perhaps more) off-road. The Ford Bronco will be a worthy adversary for the Defender, too, but it’s still a year or so away from hitting dealers.

I’ve heard people complain that the new Defender’s lost some of the charm of the old versions, but what they really mean is, it’s not a loud, bouncy, pain in the ass to live with on the daily. The new Defender is every bit as capable as its predecessor, but finally goes through finishing school. Even if you never take it off the beaten path, this new Land Rover is sure to impress.