#HE SAYS ALL THE MEANWHILE standing there- with his tail moving slowly and his 'ears' perked-

[viijaya]

@ardenssolis​ replied ; ozy vc: are u a cat?

       ❝ I don’t understand . What is your reasoning for asking such question? ❞    

[deep-fried-egg]

Warnings: werewolf Vada, g!p, not really a warning but r keeps calling vada a he because she thought vada was a boy because Vada is stuck in her wolf form and she has a dick, r kind of kidnapped Vada without realizing it, r named wolf! Vada titan 

SMUT BELOW THE CUT

"Hey! Thanks for coming over!" Y/n beams as she opens the door, welcoming her friend into her cozy home.

Jaina grins, stepping inside. "No problem, I couldn't resist an invitation like that. So... let's see this new dog you got! I want to know if he's really as big as you say he is!" Jaina says excitedly, her eyes already scanning the room.

Y/n giggles and gestures towards the corner of the living room, where a massive dog bed sits. Lounging on it is a hulking beige dog with little dark brown patches scattered across its body. The dog has long fur, which gives its big fluffy ears and long muzzle a gentle appearance. Lying lazily, its tail wags slowly up and down as it leisurely stretches out and rolls onto its back, revealing its stomach area.

"Wow, he really is huge!" Jaina exclaims, her eyes widening in amazement as she approaches the gentle giant with Y/n by her side. "What's his name?"

"His name is Titan," Y/n smiles proudly at her new furry companion. "He may look intimidating due to his size, but he's actually a total sweetheart."

Jaina reaches down to pet Titan, who greets her with a deep but friendly rumble. "Aww," she coos as they watch the enormous dog lap up the affection.

After a moment, Y/n suggests they move on to what Jaina came for in the first place. "Well, Titan isn't the only reason I invited you over! Let's play some video games!"

The two friends exchange competitive grins before making their way to the couch. Y/n grabs her Nintendo Switch as they pass by the entertainment center and quickly connects it to the TV. As soon as everything's set up, they eagerly dive into Animal Crossing together: laughing, gossiping about their favorite villagers, and sharing tips on how to grow the perfect virtual garden.

Meanwhile, Titan contentedly stretches out across the floor, occasionally lifting his head to watch Y/n and Jaina as they enjoy their gaming session. The afternoon unfolds into an ideal blend of friendly competition and warm companionship – exactly what both girls had been looking forward to all week.

~

"Oh Jaina! I found this really cool bracelet at that new store they built about a mile away. it's in my room though... let me go get it!" y/n says as she quickly gets up from the couch, heading to her room to grab the aforementioned 'cool bracelet' she found. Her dog following behind her.

"Oh hey puppy! awww you're such a cutie... come here." y/n coos lovingly to her huge pet as she scratches under his chin affectionately.

"Where did you come from? I didn't even hear you coming." y/n turned away from the large dog to look for her bracelet. quickly turning back around when she heard a weird shuffling noise and then... there was a naked woman standing where her dog was?

"Oh thank God! Fuck I was stuck like that for weeks! that was the worst experience of my life. hey thanks lady. it's like you broke my curse or something!" The small woman spoke.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Y/n backed up against the wall, looking for something to defend herself with.

"Hey! calm down! I'm your dog!" the stranger tried to comfort y/n but it clearly wasn't working.

"WHAT? YOURE NOT MY DOG! AND PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON PERVERT!" Y/n yelled from across the room.

"Oh my god. it's fine. look... I have a tail! doesn't that mean something?" the short woman in front of y/n said.

"How do I know it's not a plug?"

"Ew! that's disgusting! I would never put something up my ass!"

"Prove you're my dog."

The stranger started to get hard but here's the thing... her dick didn't look normal. I mean it looked like a dog's dick!

"Look. I have a dick that looks like a dog's. I have a knot too. oh and I have dog ears but that's less interesting. I feel like I should have told you my name before I did all of this... I'm Vada." The werewolf woman says nervously.

"You expect me to believe that shit?" y/n says skeptically, raising an eyebrow at Vada. "You're just a pervert who likes acting like a dog."

"I promise I'm telling the truth! I mean why would I get surgery to make my dick look like this! that's stupid!" Vada responds defensively.

"Good point... but I still don't know you! you're a naked stranger inside of my house!" y/n points out.

"Yeah... I guess I am." Vada laughs awkwardly.

"Wait... what are you? if you were really my dog that means you're not human!" y/n realizes. her eyes widening slightly after realizing what she'd said.

"Umm... no I'm not human... I've been alive for like... 300 years." Vada responded nonchalantly. "but yeah I'm a werewolf." she adds.

Y/n sighs and shakes her head. "Well okay Vada, but that doesn't explain THAT." Y

pointed to Vada's obviously weirdly shaped dick. "It's kinda freaking me out."

Vada shrugs and chuckles a bit before responding. "yeah I understand your confusion.. I probably should explain A/B/O huh?"

"A/B/O IS A REAL THING? I THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST SOME WEIRD THING ON AO3!" Y/n says surprisedly.

"Uh yeah... I thought you humans would have a better grasp on how A/B/O works. it's actually pretty complicated..." Vada says sheepishly. "...but I'll try to explain."

she pauses for a moment. "Basically it's a power ranking thingie for us werewolves. I'm actually a beta which is the second highest. it means I'm like... submissive and dominant at the same time."

"Wait it's a sex thing?"

"No it isn't a sex thing! ...Okay it's kind of a sex thing. I actually came to your... human town... to look for a mate!" Vada explained. "I was actually hoping that you'd be my mate." She admits quietly.

"Me? why me? you don't even know me-" y/n tries to reason with Vada but she interrupts her.

"That's not true! I've known you for three months." Vada protests.

"Alright... good point. but how do you make someone your mate?" y/n asked confused.

"Well uh... we fuck. I have to mark you which means I have to bite you. and the most important part... I have to breed you." Vada explained hesitantly.

"Breed me? like... I have to be pregnant and everything?" y/n asks in disbelief.

"Well yes. the mating bond has to happen before you're ready to have my pups." Vada answers simply.

"It's more intimate though. we'll sleep together and all that stuff." Vada explains as she runs a hand through the fur on her lower stomach.

"Oh! I forgot. If I do bite you you'll turn into a werewolf too. then we can live together forever... and I can pump more and more pups into you... you'll love it." Vada smiles softly.

"...So do you want to become my mate?" Vada questions with hopeful eyes.

Y/n thinks for a minute and then nods. "Sure. Now how do we start this?"

"Right... I'll lay on the ground and you get on top of me. Okay?" Vada instructs, trying not to sound nervous. she's never done this before so she is EXTREMELY nervous.

Y/n mods her head and straddles Vada's hips.

"Alright... nowwww take off your clothes." Vada orders.

"Ummm okay..." y/n replies unsure.

"Don't be shy babe. I know you're gorgeous." Vada assures y/n as she lays her head on the ground. watching as y/n strips down to nothing.

"I think you know what to do next. put my thick, werewolf cock inside of you."

Y/n blushes bright red at hearing Vada say that but takes a deep breath and she slips Vada inside of her slowly. As soon as their bodies were touching she could feel how hot Vada was.

y/n groaned loudly and wrapped her arms around the shorter women's shoulders and squeezed tightly. Vada smiled at Y/n as she moans softly, beginning to move her hips slowly.

"Fuck... you're so damn tight." Vada compliments in between heavy breaths. drool beginning to spill out of the side of Vada's mouth, further revealing her growing arousal.

"Yeah I'm sorry. You're just really fucking big." Y/n says through clenched teeth.

"Ngghh you're so fucking beautiful." Vada moans out as she thrusts her hips faster causing y/n to grip onto her body tightly. causing her to squirm underneath y/n. both of them moaning and panting heavily.

After what feels like hours (and also what might be hours) Vada pushes Y/n over to lie on her back.

She kisses down Y/n's neck while licking and sucking along it leaving love bites and sucking marks along the way, causing y/n to whine lightly.

"Can I mark you?" Vada

whispers against Y/n's neck.

Y/n gasps quietly at the feeling of Vada's warm breath hitting her skin while nodding rapidly.

"Alright... you're sure right? because this is a lifelong-"

"Just do it!" y/n screams out impatiently.

"Alright!" Vada yells back before y/n feels Vada's little fangs elongate riiiight up against her neck.

"F-fuck! those are going INSIDE OF MY NECK?" y/n screams out.

"Sshhh you're gonna make your friend suspicious!"

"But it hurts!! IT HURTS SO MUCH!!" y/n shouts again as Vada continues to bite her mark into y/n's neck.

"Shhhhhhh you're doing good. Just keep breathing baby... I promise it won't hurt for too long..."

"You're saying that but it's already hurting so much! Fucking hell! I hate pain." Y/n whimpers out.

Vada continues pounding into y/n as she bites harder than ever and y/n starts to moan louder.

"FUCK! That hurts SO FUCKING MUCH! Oh God!" Y/n screams out as she begins to shake from the pleasure.

"Keep going baby girl! You're doing great!"

Vada keeps biting deeper as she pumps into y/n relentlessly until she feels her orgasm coming.

"Fuck baby... I'm gonna knot you! You're so perfect..." Vada moans out as she grabs onto y/n's thighs roughly and thrusts herself even harder, making y/n cry out loudly.

Vada shoves her now expanding knot inside of y/n, continuing to thrust her hips but she's just pulling on her knot.

"Come on baby! let me breed you! let me make you my mate!" Vada begs with pleading eyes.

y/n looks away from Vada, trying to hold back her own desire and nods silently.

"Yes!" she screams out loud, arching her back and letting out a high pitched whine as she cums deep inside of y/n. Her knot keeping all of her cum where it belongs.

"Fuck... I can't believe I just made a stranger my 'mate' or-" Y/n was cut off by her friend walking in, yelping in surprise.

"Shit! I was just trying to ask if you found that bracelet yet!"

[dndfuckhouse]

Session 49 - I Woke Up In My Roomate’s Body Aboard The Airship And Wraiths Are Attacking Us!?!

AKA: IWUIMRBATAAWAAU!?!

> 🎵   Unfolding Secrets / Jon Björk

Picking up again, the party find themselves aboard the Pelican coming close to the end of their journey. The night before they all touch down in Krenic they settle themselves in peacefully to bed, and after a time they find themselves dozing… slumbering as the airship sails through the night.

Dwelling within their dreams they find themselves standing within a grassy foggy plain in the dead of night. They glance around and see no one else around until suddenly…

Han and Rokka see each other Plum and Finn see each other Keva and Psalm see each other Cimmorro and Vinny see each other

As the duos stare at one another they feel their vision go foggy, both of them move to catch one another as they see the other stagger, and suddenly they feel themselves lose their sight entirely. They feel as if parts of themselves meld into each other, a strange sensation pulling at their minds. Just as suddenly they awake again lying in bed in the dead of night.

As they glance around in the darkness they suddenly notice they dont recognise these hands or your body, Plum in fact awakens in a strange box they certainly didn't go to sleep in.

Han: han thinks weird dream! and goes to morning stretch ^_^ gotta get them muscles moving ! Rokka: rokka looking at his hands "where...where did my fur go...?" Han: still doing exercises "hm? what are you talking about? its right here-" han just stops mid sentence and stares Rokka: rokka looks at her and shrieks at the top of his lungs "YOU- ME- WH- I- WHO- AHHHHHHH" Han: han immediately grabs her (rokkas?) ears "OH GODS STOP SCREAMING THIS HURTS SO BAD" Rokka: he looks at her and then at himself and start touching his "missing" ears, tail, snout, head fur "I'M SORRY I- OH GOD I'M FURLESS DON'T LOOK!!!" he goes to grab a blanket that doesn't fully cover hans body Han: han tries grab the blanket back and pull it away from him "YOU ARENT FURLESS IDIOT WE'RE IN EACH OTHERS BODIES !!!!!!!! WHY ARE YOUR EARS SO SENSTIITIVEVEE" clutches her head and almost crying Rokka: he gawks at her "HOW?" finally noticing how much pain han is in he softens his voice "it's a lupin trait...we have heightened senses." he points Han: sniffles "thats SO messed up... is that how i sound to you all time? im so sorry....  on the bright side im impressed with your stretches" han flexes and is like fuck yeah

Psalm: he unironically thinks he's having the usual weird dream and goes back to sleep. Keva: meanwhile keva sits up immediately, brain slowly processing that she is not on the side of the room she's supposed to be, and turns to look at psalm but all she sees is herself. looks down at herself, hands patting down her torso, checks under the blankets to see hooves and a tail... oh my fucking gods. "psalm!" she doesn't bother to be quiet Psalm: The sound of someone yelling his name with his voice wakes him up more, but he doesn't question it much, just rolling over and going "Keva? Something amiss?" Wait a minute.. Keva: keva tries to get out of bed but finds herself unused to not having feet, and practically crumples to the floor to a loud thud, taking some of her blanket with her. "oh my gods, what the FUCK?" in a bit of a panic she asks "this... did we do this? is this isn't because of that book, is it?" Psalm: At the sound of Keva(?) falling Psalm sits up abruptly  and wow, his line of sight is so low now. He gives her a once over, concerned, before saying, "Somehow I doubt a children's book that's basically just an aquatic picture show has the ability to do this." He frowns. It's always something. Not a single day without trouble. Keva: keva manages to stand up with some help with balance from the bed, but she wobbles and falls back on her butt onto the mattress "how the fuck do you... wait, ghester?" she calls out Ghester: you hear ghester speak up when prompted in both your heads "i believe something strange is going on..." Keva: "YEAH NO SHIT" Psalm: "Whose head are you in right now??"

Cimmorro: i think cimm is more or less same rn, thinking wow what the hell... too much wizard algebra i'm merging into vinny lol funny. rubs his eyes, sits up and sees his sleeping body across the cabin and jasper and he's like ? ?? ? ?? ? and practically just shrieks [rubbing his eyes aggressively] "what the fuck" Vinny: as you shriek vinny startles where he lies enough to nearly topple jasper as he shouts back in surprise, as he squints at you across the room he makes a wide eyed surprised expression, automatically feeling for his glasses that arent on his side of the room Cimmorro: cimm groans and continues to rub his eyes after that and vinny can see him blinking a lot as if to try and make sense of the fucked up vision "is the room full of smoke right now or... ARE WE ON FIRE??" Vinny: "o-on fire!?" you hear vinny stumble around as if something he's not aware of is happening in the room, he puts a hand to his throat as he speaks surprised as he glances around "no..? you're just...." he stares at you again dumbfounded Cimmorro: "i'm what? i can't fucking see!" he tries to get out of bed but standing all wobbly thanks to the absence of the weight of his tail Vinny: as you try and hobble out of bed hes snapped back into moving "oh uh-!" he squints in the dark and finds his glasses, handing them to you "this'll probably help?" Cimmorro: cimm lets vinny put it on him then he just blinks again x100 cimm yells again "WHAT? HELLO??? WHAT DID YOU DO"

Cimmorro sits for a moment to check if he can still use his divine magic, he soon feels a sensation like something gazing at him warmly for a moment before it disappears. He flexes his new hand and feels the divine magic coursing through his hand, though without his symbol itll be hard to cast anything.

Finn: finn has the creeping suspicion that something may have happened. he stares at the ceiling - or tries to, since his lack of dark vision doesnt exactly make that possible. hes already patted himself down. and yet, he thinks, if he just lies here it might just be a realistic nightmare rather than reality he will have to deal with. Plum: "what the fuck?" plum says out loud and starts rattling at the lid of the box Finn: "it opens normally" finn hisses, and if he werent so furious at the fact that plum is treating his coffin that way he'd be alarmed at the voice that leaves his mouth right now Plum: "what the fuck is 'normally'?" they quip, a bit too panicked to notice their own voice talking to them. they do however push open the lid and sit up, and are again surprised by being able to see their body on the bed in the dark Finn: "like that" finn scoffs as he hears the lid open and rolls his eyes Plum: "don't roll your eyes at me," plum says flatly, unamused. "what the fuck is this," they say, and then pinch their eyes, exasperated Finn: finn frowns at the fact that they were looking hard enough at him to see him rolling his eyes but lets it go with a sigh "quite frankly; i dont know and im not eager to find out" of course they couldnt have a normal journey. of course not "but i imagine we arent the only ones afflicted" Plum: plum is a bit surprised finn drops it. i guess the current matter at hand is more pressing. "this must be some retaliation for fucking around in figstup like that," plum mutters. "i'm gonna go find vinny" they shuffle to get out of the coffin, feeling very unfamiliar with their new height Finn: "ill accompany you... theres no point staying here now that youve come to as well" he hops out of bed and feels small despite not being able to see...  he also wants plum to be careful with his body, but he doesnt say that, he feels around aimlessly as he stumbles forward

Members of each room hear outside their doors, the sounds of a commotion in the hall. With her new ears Han finds as she pays attention she notices some distant shouts from across the ship as well.

Han: you see han perk up and flex the ears "somethings weird... i thought it was just us but the whole ship sounds chaotic.... bro this is craaaaaaaaazy"😵 Rokka: "you adjust to it! don't worry!" he stands up and goes 'woah' at the height "i knew you were tall but you're TALL" he looks around briefly before grinning at her compliment Han: grins back, happy at being called tall 😄 she gets off the floor and tries to reach the ceiling "its weird NOT being that tall... i wont have to dodge the doors now, i guess..." han looks around to find rokkas pants so she stops shlanging every where Rokka: he tries to lean in towards the sound, feeling a bit off with the unheightened senses, "do ya think we should check on the others?" Han: "yea, theyve been screaming for the last 10 minutes loooollll" Rokka: he nods "ROGER THAT!" Han: as  han puts on pants she jumps and turns to you again "do you have.............. squirrel running around your fur" Rokka: "OH YEAH THEY'RE FROM THE BERRY!" he point at each animal "thats rosie, thats joe, that belle, that peter, and thats skipper!" Han: han twitches like something just bit her "do you just keep them on you?? i think theyre hungry... well, lets get dressed, and get some food, catch the others" Rokka: "my fur is home to them 👆 ☺ "

Psalm attempts to summon Ghester and finds himself successful, and thus finds himself mostly unconcerned with the trials at hand.

Keva: "auguguh" keva means to scratch her head in frustration but "OW! fuck" scratches her hand against horns "gods, okay maybe the fucking wizards know something about this shit" she keeps a hand to the walls of the ship as she walks unsteadily to cimmorro and vinny's room Psalm: Psalm just rolls back over, tired, and calls out "Let me know if you find out anything."

Keva opens the door and glances out, before she can get to anyone's rooms she spies two people in the hallway in sort of altercation with something in the dark

Keva: i shout "HEY!" to get their attention

As she does she places herself in full view, she sees two people being attacked in the hallway by what looks to be some sort of strange translucent ghost. As she calls out it turns its head and gives her its attention, letting out a shrill cackle it smiles and turns, coming directly for her instead

She desperately feels around Psalm's pockets, yanks out a dagger she probably can't tell is poison, and then makes an attack, striking at the ghost. Psalm lies on his side and watches as Keva leaves, absolutely zero desire to deal with this keeping him firmly planted in bed. That is until he hears an unnerving laugh from beyond the door attack.

Psalm: "What is that?"

Han: han stops in her tracks "grab weapon-- uhm, which weapon?!" Rokka: reaches for his scimitar "UH- DO, DO YOU TAKE MINE?" he holds out his swords Han: "DO YOU KNOW HOW TO USE LONGBOW?!" Rokka: "NO!!" Han: "THEN GIVE IT TO ME !!"

Vinny: "AGH...I JUST.. gave you my glasses?" he also glances towards the door at the strange sounds Cimmorro: "NO--" he stops as realizes his volume and lowers it but still frantic "no, i mean, THIS" gesturing at their bodies "can you do something about it?!!" Vinny: "I-I don't even know how this happened! I mean, maybe b-but id need some information?" he glances down at his body again then around the room "what's going on out here..." Cimmorro: "goddess, i don't... i don't know!" cimm goes to scramble to get his holy symbol and sPELLBOOK

Cimmorro: after stumbling over his bed to grab his belongings, cimm wobbly makes his way to the door while adjusting vinny's glasses on him, confused and frazzled. he pauses midway, being distracted by his own body in front of him again, it's so strange how it's so different to looking at a mirror. but he admires himself all the same. grabbing his (vinny's) face for a sec smiling half amused and proud. he looks good! handsome! it's not until another noise outside gets him out of his little trance and looks towards the door again "sounds like some grand fun happening outside," he gives vinny a look again then wobbles toward the door while cussing under his breath at how annoying it is to walk now Vinny: he feels himself stand shock still when cimmorro randomly stops to manhandle his chin but he's too perturbed by his own face staring at him to get too embarrassed by it, he also has no idea why the man even did it before he busts the door open and begins shouting to psalm (?) shaking his head he doesn't bother to ask and grabs his spellbook quickly as he peeks out behind him.

Jasper looks between the two confused, seated on Vinny’s shoulder. In contrast to the others Finn and Plum stop short before leaving the room as the others rush out, Finn entranced seeing himself again properly.

Finn: finn is entirely focused on seeing his body from outside of it... hes always been wondering what he looked like now. if the portraits did him any justice... he'll have to find an opportunity later to look at it eye to eye. finn thinks he makes for a rather pathetic figure already though. he looks starved, washed up, a shell of his former self. he shouldve expected as much. yet, at least a glimmer of his beauty seemed to remain "i believe it goes without saying but i expect you to take the utmost care of my vessel" Plum: plum turns around and looks at finn blankly. "if i didn't ask the same of you were you planning on treating my body carelessly like some doll?" Finn: finn looks down on plum despite being very much below them. looking down on his own physical form comes easily though, he finds. its no trouble to speak as he always does thanks to that "who do you take me for?" Plum: "that's my point. i trust you, so it does, in fact, go without saying that i'm not going to mess around in your body either." plum just sighs. "which means we had better hurry up and figure this out." Finn: finn is surprised to hear that plum trusts him but isnt displeased. he feels a vortex of emotions surfacing inside himself. he just needs to... "i wont hold us up any more but there is one thing i must ask of you" there is urgency in his voice Plum: "sure, shoot." Finn: "i place a significant amount of my trust in you as well" he pauses "and because i cant shake the feeling we're about to get mixed up in something larger i want to get a good look at myself just once. i wont be able to concentrate on whatever we're about to deal with if i dont" Plum: plum is a bit dumbfounded by the request, but after a moment understanding dawns on them. that makes them feel a sudden awkward, kind of melancholy pang, that they ignore. "that's very true, knowing us. okay." they say a bit clumsily. "should i-?" they move to hand finn the candle, but then pause and then light one of the candles in their room instead. maybe that'd be better. Finn: finn tilts his head and watches "its okay. just kneel for me" he doesnt take his eyes off plum, excited but also wary of whats to come when he gets to look into his own eyes Plum: plum kneels. the attention would make them feel more awkward but something about it not being their body buffers the feeling. Finn: finn cups their face and tilts it in the light. he thinks about how odd the red eyes look, almost like they dont belong on him. his hair is a mess but it reminds him of manga, hes grateful for that. finn used to look at his own reflection all the time, despite everything hes forgotten, hes not forgotten his own face. its different now even though he hasnt aged. it comes with the weight loss and perhaps general state of misery, he suspects. his skin looks wretched. he looks like that rat, sammy. "even though its you, its me" he whispers uncharacteristically softly "i realize now this might be strange for you plum" he says so, but only slowly lets go of them. he thought he'd never get to see himself again at all. this as selfish as he can allow himself to be. "... thank you" his hands are gone from plums face now and he looks away for the first time, inhaling deeply "that meant a lot to me. i know youll want to go now... im okay now" Plum: plum straightens up out of their usual relaxed slouch when finn starts touching them, feeling very much like they're being inspected by a doctor right now they sit primly with their hands on their knees. never mind, this is awkward, but they don't say as much because finn just looks sad, it's making plum a bit nervous. "it's fine," they say. "it's not stranger than me being in your body in the first place, anyhow. i'm sure the others can handle whatever all that screaming is about." Finn: "out of everyone my body couldve gone to, im relieved youre the one" because everyone else has a reason to do me harm he doesnt say. it wasnt the whole reason either so its fine. "i wish i shared your optimism regarding our party though" he grimaces and starts politely looking through plums stuff "im embarassed to say it, but im not entirely sure what my best means of fighting right now would be" he holds the hammer up "this or the dagger, im thinking... if youre alright with me wielding your body in close combat now" Plum: plum gives it a quick thought. "you know i'd say much the same." although they think cimmorro wouldn't be a bad choice either, but they definitely do not say this out loud to finn of all people. or vinny, sure. at the next comment they just shrug. "they'll figure it out. i honestly don't have much of a plan either. i really think you'll be of more use than me fighting right now, i'm not even going to try wielding your sword." they give permission for finn to fight with their body. "go ahead. i'm...not very sturdy though, so...." Finn: finn nods and carefully weighs their words in his mind "ill be careful..." he moves to open the door but looks at them again "you can bite people, if youre in a pinch. otherwise im afraid theres not much for you to do in my body that youre used to. i trust your judgement though" and he does. he then opens the door we are out of here!!!!! Plum: "ah, right,  gotcha," they nod, and out of curiosity run their tongue along their newly-acquired fangs. cool! they walk out a bit in front of finn despite being so used to walking behind others for protection, still feeling very weird about their height.

> 🎵  Krotona Days / Rodrigo y Gabriela

Back in the hallway, Han rushes out with her bow ready to take a shot, but seeing Keva directly across on the other side makes her hesitate. Finding herself worried the arrow will go through the wraith and hit Keva she pauses.

Keva: keva sees rokka(?) through the ghost and is about to say his name, but then clocks the bow... remembering that she and han had promised to teach him to use one, plus what happened to her and psalm, she puts 2 and 2 together "HAN JUST SHOOT" Han: han pulls the bow and goes "FUCK" and attacks using the arrow as a dagger "I CANT JUST SHOOT DUMBASS ILL HIT YOU"

Flailing wildly Han manages to stab through the wraith once, though it doesn't look too put off by the display, mostly amused. Psalm follows after, though he just sighs and folds his arms, with Keva standing there he's not really sure how to go about attacking the thing.

He fires off an eldritch blast, though unused to the way his arm hangs slightly differently the shot goes offside and hits the wall instead. Rokka follows after, unused to his new vantage point he only manages to get one slice through the being.

Psalm: He just goes 🥴 like this is actually kind of a pain in the ass but will actually like, you know, stand up LOL

Cimmorro jumps at the sight of the party jumping this thing right in front of their door but immediately clocks it as a wraith and lets forth a sacred flame, though it also ends up going wide.

Cimmorro: cimm clicks his tongue and just kinda goes like "GOOD EVENING?" at the guys by the door Han: han-rokka looking at cimm like 🥹 Keva: "what the FUCK is going on?!" Cimmorro: "i DON'T KNOW? WHO THE FUCK IS THIS?" POINTS AT THE GHOST Keva: "FUCK IF I KNOW!" Psalm: Psalms just watching Keva yell in his body like god that's so weird Vinny: vinny at cimm rn Han: han just plugging her ears Rokka: rokka finally realizing what theyre fighting and screams

Seeing the wraith Vinny makes a face before casting witch bolt, striking it. though it seems to brush it off a little, he then silently slides back to the side of the door to hide, opposite Cimmorro.

The wraith acts next letting out a laugh at the group beating its getting, it glances at Rokka’s scream and finds itself amused, it turns and jumps through his body and out the other side into the room with Cimmorro and Vinny dealing him necrotic damage in the process.

Rokka: rokka actually close 2 tears

Cimmorro takes the moment to try and recall what he knows about wraiths, he knows while not too stocky, they're resistant to most types of damage, and physical attacks from non magic weapons. It can phase through people and things and mostly hurts by touching others. If given the chance he also knows it can mess with the souls of the recently departed raising them to dance with them.

Cimmorro: cimm just kinda tenses up seeing the wraith slide in between them and then goes "THIS ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR YOU?" at vinny Vinny: he shrieks lmao

Keva acts quickly afterwards, closing in to slice at the wraith again.

Keva: keva's figured out that the trick to walking with hooves is that it's like walking on your toes

She stabs through it a little more annoyed this time as she leverages psalm's height in her favour and slices through it. It lets out a surprised little OoOoOoh, though not as much as she'd like, it was a substantial blow, she watches it phase a little bit in and out of view.

She moves afterwards to allow others the freedom to hit the wraith, listening to a nearby door she notes that she hears people murmuring in a confused manner behind it.

At the top of the next round Han follows up, looking around she notices that her vision is not normally like this. Realizing that Rokka must be blind right now she looks down to see if Rokka’s wearing her boots.

Han: she goes "aaah shit" and runs into the room to grab her boot dagger with the light spell on it

She throws the dagger, it cuts Rokka’s shoulder as it wizzes past, over the wraith’s head and into the room behind it. It gets itself stuck in the wall as Vinny yells at it zooming past.

Vinny: cimm like man vinny's gonna ruin my vocal chords Han: han screams very quietly 🥺 Rokka: "OW WHAT THE" Han: very high pitched "IM SORRY...."

Psalm and Rokka act next, the former casting chill touch on the wraith as Rokka attempts to slice it through with his scimitars. As Psalm steps forward and casts the spell the wraith looks over at him and shrugs it off completely, it takes no damage. It jeers and makes a silly face at him in reply.

Plum:

As the ghost jeers at Psalm, Rokka takes the moment its distracted to slice right through it. With an echoey cry its form finally crumbles and the group see it disappear from sight destroyed.

> 🎵   Attic Theme / Rule of Rose OST

Cimmorro jogs over to Rokka to give him some healing as the party eyeball the hallway for any further threats in the area. Finn and Plum leave their room and notice the rest of the party in the hallway as well.

Finn: finn is looking at plum like 🤨 'should-we-still-go-find-vinny' Plum: plum looks at finn like....does anybody know what's going on

Psalm: just gonna lean against the wall and say "Do we switch back now or...?" Han: han picks up her dagger sadly.. Rokka: rokkas going to go back to his room and lie on the floor Cimmorro: cimm pats his back as he goes like "you're alright buddy.. get some rest.. 😟" Rokka: he just lets out a short and low "mhm" at vinny(?), not even bothering to look at him as he trudges back. he is so over this night

Keva: she slumps against the wall in relief when she clocks that the ghost is gone... reaches out and pats rokka on the shoulder... she also asks the two people that originally were being attacked "are you alright? what happened? Passengers: as you walk over one of them stands and thanks you for helping them in a rush, grabbing your hand and shaking it. the other one on the ground looks injured but nothing too serious, they remark they woke up in each others bodies, completely perplexed and came outside to look around, and were attacked in the hallway by the wraith out of nowhere

Keva calls over any members of the party that can provide further healing, pulling Cimmorro and Plum over towards her.

Cimmorro: cimm waddles over but not without giving 'psalm' a look. seeing the earlier dagger handling he guesses "kevster?" Keva: she watches vinny walk over, but the moment he says 'kevster' she knows. at this point keva's too tired to correct him. she sighs a "yeah" Cimmorro: he gives you a scrunched smile, one that's like 'another one of those days huh' before attending to the passenger Passenger: you clean up their wounds some, and take care of anything needing immediate attention, theyre looking better. they thank you the whole way through, as if a little embarrassed. Cimmorro: cimm waves a hand as if to tell them not to worry abt it, while smiling. he goes to follow after keva all curious

Keva then glances through the entrance way at the end of the hall, she sees the main room with the stairs heading above and belowdeck, and the entryways to the dining hall. In it she sots a couple of crewman in a fight with more wraiths, seems they're trying to protect some of the passengers, but all they've got are their fists and a crowbar.

Keva: keva closes her eyes and leans psalm's head back against the wall like 'not this shit again' for just a moment before she lifts her head back up and whispers "what do we do? we can't just leave them" Cimmorro: "definitely not. we should let the others know and keep the passengers in their cabins though i think." Keva: keva tells the other vengaboys that there are other wraiths, and tells the other two travelers to stay in their rooms

Plum: i haven't talked to anyone yet i'm gonna be like "anybody know what's going on?" Cimmorro: cimm raises a brow at finn(?) approaching "we all woke up to our bodies being swapped and ship's being raided by wraiths... who am i speaking to?" Plum: "plum," plum says bluntly. "so this is....?" Cimmorro: "cimmomo," he points at himself, then to psalm(?) "and kevster" Keva: keva turns to look at plum like this like 'i am so sick of this shit'

Plum: "oh so all the roommates then.." they look at keva also like i am also sick of this shit

Psalm seeing them walk off, decides to investigate the other end of the hallway. He spots a patron cowering around the corner, and in the bathing hall he sees crewman running around shoe less waving a bucket around frantically being chased by a wraith.

Psalm: Psalm like well since Keva ran off with my body I'll do the same 🤷‍♂️

He run’s into the room drawing Ghester, telling the crewman to get behind him as they spot him they waffle for a moment before dashing behind him. Seeing something new to mess with the wraith lets out a laugh and moves towards Psalm at great speed.

As the group slowly begin splitting up to tackle more of these ghosts, Han goes to check on Rokka apologetically as he lays on the floor in their room.

Han: han lies down on him like a blanket "im sorry" q_q Rokka: he lifts his head to look at her "sorry for what?" sniffling a bit Han: "for stabbing you...." 🤧 Rokka: placing his head back on the floor, he reaches out to gently pat her "no worries, it was just a nick...plus this is your body, i should have been more careful. i'm sorry 😢" Han: han stops her sniffling, confused "what were u crying about then?" she mutters "i didnt think it would be so hard to aim..." Rokka: "the ghost was so scary!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😭" Han: "ohhhh... are you scared of ghosts??? i think theyre kind of silly" Rokka: "yes!! theyre so spooky...it went through my body!!!! i thought I was going to get my--your body possessed!!!" he huffs now getting annoyed by that Han: han listens to him vent patiently "hmm.. well... we wouldve done something about that... probably" o_O then gives him a thumbs up and grin "no worries" Rokka: he looks at her again, still weirded out that he's literally talking to himself, "i guess..." still not over the ghost but he is comforted by her words nonetheless, he looks towards the door "should we go help the others?" Han: han frowns and sighs "ye, i guess....  maybe ill get the hang of being tough lupin this time" takes the whip and dagger with her this time too, trying to find somewhere to stick it on rokkas body Rokka: he lets out a long sigh, "i was hoping you would say no," patting her again, "don't worry my body is pretty agile! you can get it down in no time! alrighty-- UPSIE DAISY!" he slowly gets up and walks towards the door with his scimitars in hand, "when will this night be over" he mutters to himself Han: han flips the dagger in her hand and passes it to you, pommel first "in case you get stuck in no light again" Rokka: he looks at her like 🥺 as he waits for her to lead the way so that he can hide behind her even tho he's the bigger one now lol "thank you" he pockets the dagger

At opposite ends of the ship, Psalm and Cimmorro let off separate attacks. Cimmorro casts guiding bolt at a wraith trying to get used to casting in his new body. It doesn't expect the sudden damage and lets out a pitched shriek, surprising the crewman trying to hit it. Psalm casts an eldritch blast, as he let the blast go he notes that it doesn't hurt the wraith as much as he'd like but its better than nothing.

Psalm: He's also gonna shout, "THERE ARE MORE IN THE BATHING HALL!" he turns to the crewman like "Go now, please." and gestures with his head down the hall behind him before turning back to the wraith.

> 🎵   Santo Domingo / Rodrigo y Gabriela

Entering combat once more the rest of the party begins to act.

Finn: finn dashes in psalms(?) direction since he went alone...thats fucked up.... "vinny?" he tries Vinny: he looks at you start running glancing in both directions where the groups split and decides to run after you while making a worried face Finn: "vinny!" hes relieved the mans coming along... and that it is indeed vinny "i wish the circumstances of our first battle together would be different but at alas...." Vinny: he runs up and stands over you and squints "uh...i wouldnt really call this our first..?" maybe you really did forget the giant dog.." he glances up at the wraith in combat with psalm Psalm: Psalm looks at Vinny and Finn and says, deadpan as always, "Cimmorro, Plum...probably not.. unless the events of tonight are only affecting me and Keva tonight. Wouldn't surprise me if that were the case." he’s just muttering to himself like "I should've known there'd be more after we didn't change back" he's in a bad mood

Vinny let’s out a fire bolt towards the wraith in combat with Psalm, dealing it damage as it lets out another laugh.

Han: han looks left n right and seeing that people are piled on the left side decides to follow plum(?) AND CIMM(?) "plum person!! cimm person!! who are you and whats the situation" Finn: finn clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes. only one person could interrupt his alone time with vinny...and potentially his time with psalm. "its finn" he grits it out and motions in psalms general direction "see for yourself" Vinny: you see him turn his head quickly while running "OH, UH..VINNY! more wraiths!" and he points at the bathing room Han: han nods, already glazing over him and preparing to see how her whip works, as she points to herself "han," then points to the han behind "rokka" Rokka: rokka just raises his hand when han points at him Han: she gives vinny a smile tho unlike the glazing over finn "gotcha"

Back across the ship Plum casts ray of sickness at the wraith Cimmorro just damaged, they stand a little off balance but it seems to do the trick. Though not as strong as expected, the spell causes the wraith to pop in a display of green acid as it lets out a final shriek, fading into the air.

Following Plum's explosion of a wraith, the one in the bathing hall laughs and takes a slash at Psalm dealing him  necrotic damage as its arm phases through Keva's body.

Back at the other end of the ship Keva turns to Cimmorro and Plum to speak.

Keva: "i'm not going be much help against ghosts but if you keep them distracted i can get in a good hit" Cimmorro: cimm glances at you with a quick nod and focuses on what's in front of em

Keva dashes into the main room and slices through the remaining wraith with her dagger cutting through it. It lets out a surprised laugh seeing her come out of the door. The crewman eyes her surprised, but assumes she was responsible for the other wraith disappearing and gives a quick nod in thanks to her for jumping into the fray.

In response the wraith slashes at Keva with its hands, though Cimmorro lets out a quick silvery barbs, causing it to miss her. Moving afterwards he glances at the open doors to the mess hall and attempts to let off a guiding bolt at one of the wraiths in there, but ends up missing.

Back at the other end of the ship Psalm lets a few more eldritch blasts fly, they strike the wraith pretty substantially. He sees it wobble and shimmer in the air, but still it stands for the moment, letting out goofy laughs every now and again.

He also takes the moment to try and recall anything he knows about wraiths, though he remembers about as much as Cimmorro did. He gets the suspicion that the eldritch blast damage is one of the things they're resistant to. These ones are also a little sillier than you assumed most wraiths to be.

Han follows after, jogging as fast as she can over to the bathing hall, looking around as she goes. As she runs up Vinny moves to head into the bathing hall, nodding at Han and Rokka he lets out another firebolt at the wraith, this time is disintegrates into mist with a shriek disappearing entirely. He releases a relieved sigh at the sight.

Psalm: he whips around at Cimmorro(?) (and nearly gives himself whiplash because he's unused to feeling so light) and says "Holy fuck, finally. I'd been shooting that thing at point blank range and it refused to die." Vinny: he waves at psalm as he turns "figured it'd take a bit of a group beating..! are you too badly hurt?" Psalm: "This must be...Vinny? 🤨 And I'm fine for now. We should press forward and check out the rest of the baths*.... I guess (mumbles this last part.)" Vinny: "that i am..." he laughs a little tiredly at the end of your muttering Finn: "splendid work vinny!...... seeing as this part of the ship is in your capable hands, i shall go reunite with the others....lest you want me to stay by your side?" Vinny: and looking around the hallway "er....hm... i was wondering if we should check out the other hallway as well... there's more sounds coming from over there..." he turns back to psalm "baths first i suppose" Finn: finn nods "then thats what we shall do..." he feels excited at the prospect of spending more time together...and he didn't even have to be pathetic about it ! Psalm: "Just to make sure. Then we can join the others." He nods at Vinny. then at plum he just thinks to himself "This is obviously Finn, but why is he behaving like that?" (as far as he knew until recently Finn did not like Vinny at all LOL) Han: han just grins in uselessness at psalm Psalm: Psalm looks back at her and chances a guess based on the roommate situation, "Han...?" Han: "got it in one!" 😄 Psalm: He smiles in a way that would be the equivalent of a finger heart Han: han internally "woah keva never smiled at me like that F

Back across the other end of the ship, Plum walks forward and attempts to acid splash the wraith still in combat with Keva, though it ends up going wide, Cimmorro manages to adjust it again into a hit with a quick use of silvery barbs, the wraith twists strangely to dodge but the sharp assist has it lapse in concentration, getting struck anyway.

Plum: I YELL "FUCK YOU" VERY CLEARLY EXASPERATED BY THIS SITUATION Cimmorro: you hear cimm let out a laugh beside you then goes like "let me try something" Plum: "ahh, thanks cimm," they say, trying to collect themselves again. "i need these fuckers to just DIE, it's not cute anymore." Cimmorro: "i'd like to get back to my beauty sleep too if i'm being honest. at least they seem easy enough to clean up..." Plum: "beauty sleep is exactly what i was thinking..." they mutter

Plum: as the vial hits the wraith plum yells "FUCK, THANK GOD FOR YOU," and turns to cimm, grabs them by the shoulders a bit because they are now at similar height, which is very strange to them, shakes him a bit, and then goes back to cursing about the wraiths. Cimmorro: cimm still makes a surprised laugh at this, wholly amused

At the other end of the ship Rokka dashes to join the others in the bathing hall as wraiths across the ship continue to move. The wraith in front of Keva laughs and changes it target to the nearby crewman, perturbed by its miss before. The crewman yelps and manages to dodge out of the way in time as the ghost dives forward, wiping sweat off their brow.

Spying an injured passenger behind the crewman, Cimmorro inches forward to grab its attention before focusing on a wraith near the stairs to hit.

Cimmorro: i give keva another glance "i'll count on you to deal with that one" nods his head towards the wraith in front of her Keva: she mutters back "you got it" without looking away from her target... lowkey she's feeling pretty good about the three's teamwork right now, but she is nervous about vinny's body holding up

The wraith sits about halfway up the stairs, taunting the crewman below, it makes a shrieking sound as Cimmorro blasts it with a guiding bolt, enough to shock the crewman back a couple steps as they look around for the origin point.

Keva takes the chance to slash at the wraith in front of her, the dodge from the crewman gives her the perfect opening, she finishes it off for now as it lets out an echoed OoOoOooOohh !!

Back over in the bathing hall Psalm quickly moves to check each of the sectioned off bathing stalls, running through. As he reaches the third one he sees a wraith suddenly pop out.

Psalm: He's gonna yell "there's more of them!" at the group before attacking

As he blasts it point blank it gives a surprised howl then it starts cackling afterwards as if amused. Han steps up behind, readying an attack.

Han: "kinda cramped, draw it out!" Psalm: "There's probably more of them if you want, we don't have to share," he says.

Finn follows glancing around the hallway outside the bathing hall, assuming the baths under control he sees another wraith in combat with a crewman with a broom around the corner down the hallway.

Finn: "lets take care of this together..." finn flashes vinny a smile Vinny: following after finn vinny gives another wave to psalm "we'll check down the hall!" as he runs up behind finn he blinks and nods "that's the plan..!" Psalm: he salutes without looking away from the wraith infront of him

As the two run off, the wraith in the stall laughs and jumps through Psalm’s body in retaliation, passing through to the other side, dealing him further necrotic damage.

Psalm: psalm like maybe I should've taken Vinny up on his offer earlier

Back across the ship, the three in combat notice through the doors to the dining hall lets out a laugh as it attacks a crewman defending himself with a butter knife and a chair, it swipes his arm and he lets out a yelp, falling to the floor in pain. The one in combat with Keva swipes at her as well, though its swing goes wide as it misses.

Cimmorro: NOOO ANONYMOUS CREWMAN #6

Plum runs up and tosses another vial of acid at the wraith in combat with Keva, getting in another good shot as it blubbers slightly amused.

Plum: JUST DIEEEE Cimmorro: the image of cimm not seeing plum behind him so he just sees this vial of acid flying 60ft across the room over his shoulder is funny to me

Watching Vinny and Finn run off, Rokka dashes after them making to follow.

Rokka: seeing plummy(?) run off alone, rokka is going to run after them bc he has yet to fully wrap his head around everyone elses bodyswap, thats plummy! "PLUMMY WAIT UP!"

Back in the main hall Keva lets out a huff as she slices through the air once more, the extra effort she’s having to exert is making her arms a little tired. Though this wraith soon also disappears in a shriek leaving nothing but the air.

Crewman: the crewman below cheers at you and shouts wAHEEEEY! Keva: that makes keva jump and then laugh a little in surrpise

She takes the time to run into the dining hall to asses the situation inside, there she spots the wraith attacking one of the crewman, and two more crowding others in the corner.

Keva: I CALL OUT "THERE'S THREE IN HERE" Cimmorro: im gonna quickly ask the crewman next to me "do you know where these things are coming from?" Crewman: they scratch their head as they crouch down to help one of the passengers "ah, as far as i know they started popping out of the ceiling, outta fackin nowhere..." Cimmorro: "ahhh, fuck." he runs a hand through his hair "alright. you guys should head to the hall first, it's been cleared out. keep all wounded in a safe place, i'll tend to them myself later" i'm gonna move a little ways towards the mess hall first

Cimmorro then heads into the dining hall, letting off another guiding bolt at the one Keva ran up towards. He lets the spell fly with a flourish, it lets out a loud wail as the crewman on the ground looks up in confused pain.

Following after on the other side of the boat, the wraith in front of Finn and Vinny moves to strike at Vinny, its arm passes through him dealing him necrotic damage, he stumbles back slightly with a shout.

Back in the bathing hall Psalm turns to blast the wraith that jumped through him again, dealing it a substantial strike. It whizzes around the air dramtically, though still tangible for now.

Psalm: YOU SHOULD KILL YOURSELF NOW Plum: YOUR JOB IS TO BE IN MY STREAMS

Han whips at the remains of the ghost as it shrieks into the air, it spins around as if it were enjoying itself. She sees it teetering right on the brink of perception, though still there for now.

Finn over in the hallway moves to strike at the wraith after it phases through Vinny, overhead Vinny lets off another scorching ray at point blank range, damagaing it further.

Finn: "vinny, how are you holding up?!"  Vinny: he briefly glances back down at you and coughs "er... about my usual, taking hits none to well, i feel bad for cimmorro though" Finn: dont is what finn wants to say but doesnt... instead, he hands vinny a potion of healing "id better make sure it doesnt get as bad as usual then" (<- meant with affection) Vinny: he takes it quickly with a blink and nods his head "ah, thank you..!" and focuses his attention back on the wraith 

Across the ship Plum tosses an acid vial at the wraith in range of Keva, it lands wish a crash over the wraith's body, it wobbles in place as it lets out a cackle. As they focus on that one the other two in the dining hall cackle and jump through the two crewman next to them crowded against the wall. They shout out in pain and drop to the floor, the kitchen utensils hitting the ground next to them.

Back in the hallway with Finn and Vinny, Rokka rushes forward to slash at it with his scimatars.

Rokka: he is fighting the fucking air

Rokka hops forward and wobbles a little unsure and out of place, Han's body is so big, and these ghosts are so freaky. He slices through the air clumsily as vinny shoots him a sympathetic glance.

Vinny: he waves his hand like 'dont mind it!'

Back in the dining hall Keva moves to slice through the wraith next to her once more, she watches its essence part into bits as it shrieks, though it stays corporeal for the moment. Seeing the injured crewman on the floor next to her thinks for a split second before moving to feed them one of Psalm’s potions of healing.

Crewman: they cough as you feed it to them but it goes down quick, they blink back to a more coherent consciousness glancing around the room before slapping an arm across your back "boy i owe ya'.." before turning their head at the wraith like well lets fuckin' get back to it.. Keva: keva's going to try and block the guy from the wraith and says "HEY! over here, fuckwit" to try and get it to focus on her

The wraith turns in her direction, seemingly enticed by her thouting. Seeing her draw its attention, Cimmorro turns towards the other two at the end of the dining hall and lets loose another spell towards one of them. The lets out an unholy howl as its blasted, glancing around scared afterwards. The crewman on the ground below flinch a little at the sudden sound.

Cimmorro: cimm is starting to look exhausted btw and just goes "PLUMKIN I'M GONNA NEED YOUR HELP WITH HEALING IF EVER" Plum: "read my mind, was thinking i'd start trying to patch some people up 🫡" Cimmorro: he gives you a tired but grateful lopsided smile

Back across the ship in front of Vinny and Finn, the wraith before them takes another swipe at the Vinny, as its arm slips through his body it deals him further necrotic damage. He wheezes and yelps a little as he staggers backwards, breathing heavily. The wraith cackles happily as the crewman nearby holding a broom flinches, the battle on the airship rages on....

Notes

—

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦👨‍👨‍👧‍👦 The Party ENTERED COMBAT⚔🤺 

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦👨‍👨‍👧‍👦 The Party SWAPPED BODIES ⁉💫

Why aren’t we at Krenic yet, chip you Son of A Bitch

[fuckit-hero-of-trains]

Can we see red go apeshit :3 like some thing happened while they were split the boys are worried about them all yeah but he's been the most targeted as a suposed weak link up meanwhile blue green vio are slowly backing away while equipping fire protection gear?

Or the suggestion that since their bodies are crafted from the elements they have minor bending powers?

I saw "Red go apeshit," blacked out, and wrote this. Also inspired by the fwof prompt of a very similar kind!

Warnings: Graphic depiction of injury. If this was on ao3 I would rate it Teen so be careful if this kind of thing isn't your bag. Please check the TWs in the tags.

The first one to go down is Vio.

It's a lucky shot that gets him. Not anyone's fault. Wrong place at the wrong time. The purple wearing smith simply leaps out of the way of one of Sky’s lizalfos punches at the same moment that Blue ducks a tail swipe from another.

It’s just bad luck that the mace-like tail of Blue’s enemy connects with the back of Vio’s head.

The sickening crunch of metal on skull that follows echoes over even the sounds of battle. The tiny, punched out gasp that slips from Vio’s shocked, slack lips is somehow even louder. The crackle of displaced grit and rock as he collapses to the ground is loudest of all.

Or maybe it just seems that way to Red.

Red can’t seem to hear anything else; not the hiss of success the monster spits out, not the concerned shout that pushes its way out of his own throat. Even the pounding of his heart in his ears has gone horribly silent.

Red can’t seem to see anything else either. Can't look away from the sight in front of him. It’s like the world has narrowed down to Vio, the pool of red sprouting from his head like a halo, and the monstrous lizard that stands over him, rearing back, ready to throw another punch now that it’s target can’t get away.

Red doesn't even register himself moving forward. Doesn't even think about it, really.  It’s instinct, a burning tangle of fear and anger in his stomach, in his veins, that sends him diving forward, shield outstretched to deflect the blow.

The beast, not expecting to be denied one again, is thrown off balance with a confused hiss, which Red cuts off with an angry shout and a slash to the things belly.

He turns, sword held at the ready to take on the one that had landed the hit in the first place but Blue is already there, a snarling, unrelenting tide of sword and hammer, protecting Vio’s other side. A decisive mallet swing to the lizalfos' head sends it flying with a crack and a tiny whimper of pain.

They lock eyes for a moment, tsunami meeting lava, and with a quick nod, they take up position on either side of Vio, twin swords a blur.

On Blue’s far side, Red catches a glimpse of Green shoving his own lizalfos away with his shield before turning tail, ducking seamlessly under Blue’s latest swing and skidding to a stop at Vio's side.

Something like warm relief begins to flicker in Red’s chest as Green tosses Vio’s arm over his shoulder and begins to drag the other away.

A flickering relief that is smothered out in the blink of an eye.

Or, rather, in the flash of an arrow.

Between the glint of his own blade and the flurry of punches and tail swipes sent his way by the group of lizalfos in front of him, Red catches sight of one of Wild’s lizalfos lining up a shot too late. He barely has time to register the familiar greenish-yellow energy Red remembers surrounding Wild’s shock arrows before the thing is loosed.

The arrow sings through the air, an arc of crackling ozone that flies across the battlefield, through the swarm of lizalfos bearing down on them before finally diving directly between Red and Blue’s shoulders.

Red doesn't have to look back to know its found its target.

The distorted, jittering scream and acrid smell of singed hair and flesh speaks for itself. As does the thump of two bodies crumpling back into the dirt.

Red feels something inside him crackle at the sound. Feels the moment that the fear and anger twine together in his stomach, twin blazes eating up all the air inside him until he feels breathless with them.

Red also sees the moment that the sound registers to Blue.

And sees the second the dam breaks, releasing the flood.

“Blue, no!”

The warning comes too little, too late. The words are hardly out of Red’s mouth before Blue dives forward with a guttural yell, straight into the swarm of lizalfos, leaving Red to take up position in front of their fallen counterparts, feeling less air in his body by the second.

From there Red only catches glimpses of Blue cutting his way through the hoard. Sees a familiar blade coated in blood, the too fast swing of a mallet as it connects with a head, a flash of dirtied blonde hair. And he sees injuries appear on enemies.  A slashed open throat here, a collapsed skull there. Crushed ribs, ripped bellies, torn tails, gauntlets so dented that blood leaks onto metal.

Any that are injured and foolish enough to stumble Red’s way are taken down without hesitation. Red can’t afford to waste his time with them. He’s too busy glancing back at Green and Vio to make sure they’re still okay, still breathing, too busy craning his neck to try and keep track of Blue.

There is a break in the swarm and Blue crashes into the middle of it, looking bruised and battered but standing. Still standing and snarling and swinging at anything that comes within reach. He’s a tornado of strength and momentum and blade and hammer but he's moving too fast, too wildly. Red can see how each swing pulls him that much more off balance, how every frantic turn tangles his legs further and- and–!

Blue swings his hammer into the chest of one lizalfos, pivots to slash at another creeping towards his back and the momentum of both is just too much for him to handle. His front leg slips in the dirt and Blue goes down hard with a growl, his shoulder and face taking the brunt of his weight.

He’s barely hit the dirt before the lizalfos descend on like vultures, gauntlets and mace-tails raised to strike, completely hiding him behind a horde of green scales and unforgiving steel.

The sound of blunt metal connecting with skin and an infuriated but pained shout is the flint.

Or maybe the spark came earlier, from the electric arrow, the jolted scream.

Or maybe it was there from the beginning of this mess, the kindling a crunch and a gasp and a thump.

Or maybe Red was always on fire.

That's what it feels like at least. It feels like he's on fire. It feels like the burning fear and anxiety and anger have left the confines of his stomach, have coalesced, sparked up his veins, charred his lungs and burned up his throat and he’s screaming.

In an instant, his shield has left his right hand, replaced by the searing grip of the Fire Rod.

And now the fire has reached his skin and it feels like he's caught alight. No longer is fear distinguishable from anger, from rage, all that matters is the heat, the power, and the pain. The heat beginning to gather at the end of the Fire Rod. The pain of blisters bubbling on his hands as the temperature swells higher. The power just waiting to burst forth.

Red screams and screams and screams, a mixture of agony and anger and more, bears his teeth for the lizalfos to see despite the tears boiling down his face, raises the Fire Rod, and lets the world explode.

Everything is a blur of crimson after that. Flames lick at the ground and pull themselves swirling through the air, clawing at anything and everything that stands between Red and Blue.

There might be brief moments of green scales and glinting metal in his vision, seconds when claws and tails and gauntlets score him, bruise him, slice him open, but all it does is add more crimson. More places for flames to escape his body, making it that much easier for Red to cut them down and set them ablaze, filling his sight with scarlet once more.

At once, Red can both feel the heat and feel nothing. Pain and power. Each breath in is agony, filling his lungs with sparks and smoke, and each exhale is ripped from him in a scream, burning so hot that it feels like he might actually be breathing fire.

A roar fills his ears, but Red can’t tell if it's his heart or the sound of the flames or the screams of lizalfos as they fall.

He doesn't care what it is either.

Not with the fire around him. In him. Fueling and fueled by him. Breathing his air and stealing it.

All that matters is watching everything turn to ash and–!

A hand, warm but no scalding, catches his wrist.

Red whirls around, intent on wrenching his arm away, in letting the fire burn and burn and burn until it can burn nothing else.

And then he looks down and sees Blue.

Blue who is looking up at him from behind purpled, swollen eyelids. Blue, with blood dripping from his scalp and nose and a cut open cheekbone. Blue, whose left arm looks to be broken even as he holds Red’s wrist tightly with the other.

“It’s okay, Red,” he says, voice hoarse and lips bleeding. “You got them.”

The words enter Red’s ears, but he doesn't quite understand them. The hand that Blue had caught flexes slightly in its hold and the Fire Rod responds to the call of his magic, sparks beginning to sprout of the red gem once again.

“I-” Red coughs, swallows, tries again. “I got them?”

Blue gives him a nod and a weary, bleeding smile.

“You got them,” he confirms in a voice softer than Red thinks he’s heard in a long time. “We’re gonna be okay.”

“We’re…?”

Reality, their situation, it all slams into Red and he whips around, looking back. Behind him is a path of carnage, a path of blacked, scorched dirt, torn and burning scaled bodies, metal gauntlets and tails reduced to misshapen, half melted hunks of steel.

But there, behind the burned dirt and cloud of smoke, beyond any danger, is Green and Vio, the former awake if shaky, still holding on to their unconscious counterpart.

“We’re okay,” Red repeats slowly, numbly, turning back to look at Blue. “We’re safe.”

His body must register the words before his brain does because suddenly his knees are hitting the dirt, bringing Red to sit next to Blue, who wraps his good arm around Red’s shoulder and pulls him gently into his side.

The pain in his lungs and the skin of his hands and any other parts of his body that had been licked by flames, unfortunately, flares to life then, overpowered only by the bone deep exhaustion that comes with using the amount of magic he did.

“We’re safe, we’re okay, we’re safe, we’re okay,” the words keep spilling from Red’s lips in hoarse whispers, even as his throat fails him, and his vision begins to blur.

In the distance, Red thinks he sees eight shapes breaking into a sprint to get to them.

“We’re safe,” Blue agrees, his voice barely making it through the cotton that has stuffed itself into Red’s ears. “You made sure of that.”

Red just hums and nods, letting everything go lax.

They’re safe.

They’re okay.

And knowing that, Red drifts off into the dark, a barely there smile pulling at cracked lips.

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

All Men Have Limits - IX

Character: Dick Grayson x Reader x Bruce Wayne

Summary: A certain bat believes that Y/N is in way over her head, that she’s too naive to act in her best interest. So, whether she wants it or not, the vigilante family is going to help and protect her before she gets herself killed.

Word Count: 2,800+

Warning: Violence, Mentions of past domestic abuse

Previously on…

A WEEK LATER...

Of course it had to be raining the night they needed to execute their plan. 

Y/N didn’t know if she was shaking because she was freezing or because she was so nervous. Even with all the layers and her knit hat, she couldn’t seem to warm up.

Y/N had been walking around for half an hour. They’d mapped out her route so her face would get picked up by as many street cameras as possible. If The Court was as sinister as rumored, they’d be watching.

“Scratch your nose if you’re doing alright,” Dick said in Y/N’s ear.

The whole family had explained how imperative it was for Y/N not to speak. They had to assume that Y/N was being watched the moment she left the manor. And if her lips moved, the Talons would know something was up.

So Y/N scratched her nose and looked over her shoulder suspiciously, just like they had talked about.

“Remember: you want out at any moment, just press the distress button on your watch,” Dick added for good measure.

Y/N wanted to roll her eyes at his worry and overprotectiveness, and say, ‘I know. I know.’ But she knew better than that.

“Someone’s tracking her,” Jason spoke up in the comms. “Civilian clothing.”

Jason started calling out the identifiers to his family, and in 30 seconds everyone spotted the man that was tailing Y/N.

But this was all part of the plan.

“I still don’t like this,” Dick muttered to his family, making sure he cut Y/N’s connection off so she didn’t hear his nervousness.

“’Course you are. We’re throwing your girlfriend to the wolves,” Jason commented.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Dick muttered with annoyance.

“Focus,” Bruce chimed in for the first time.

“She’s stuck to the route we gave her,” Tim commented. “All well-lit and crowded with people. They won’t make a scene with this many witnesses.”

The family moved across rooftops, following Y/N’s path from their designated points.

Dick and Bruce both hated this plan, but they were handling it in different ways.

Bruce had become almost mute with focus. He didn’t want a single thing to slip past him. His senses were acute as ever. He was barely communicating with them because he was too busy keeping an eye on Y/N. His eyes hadn’t stopping shooting around, making sure to cover all angles.

“She’s entering the warehouse,” Damian announced.

Everyone shifted their focus and made their moves.

Y/N stopped at the computers she had set up. Or really that Bruce had hired men to set up for her.

She started typing away rapidly, not sure how much time she’d have before deadly ninjas would start dropping on her.

With one final slam of a key, she let out a shallow breath. “Signal’s been sent out. We’re live.”

“Nice!” Tim answered.

Jason started to chime in, but suddenly his voice became crackly and then the line went silent.

“Red Hood?” Y/N asked.

Nothing.

“Anyone read?”

Nothing.

Y/N felt a chill go up her spine.

She whipped around to find three Talons awaiting her attention.

Y/N quickly took a step back and pressed the panic button on her watch. She hoped The Court hadn’t somehow intercepted that signal as well.

“You were lucky with our last encounter,” a Talon stepped forward to speak.

Y/N ignored him and took out both of the guns that had been hiding in her trench coat.

He laughed at the weapons. “Have we not already tried this?”

“At least I’m not a coward hiding behind a mask. Won’t even let me see the faces of the idiots who want to kill me?”

They all ignored her attempt to get them to unmask themselves, but started stepping toward her. “Not want. We will kill you this time.”

But before Y/N could answer or the Talons could get any closer, a smoke bomb was dropped in the space between her and her enemy.

Just as it erupted, Dick dropped down from the bannister above and shoved a gas mask over Y/N’s face.

This wasn’t just any usual gas bomb that Batman and the family used as a distraction. No, this was a special formula designed to burn eyes and cause coughing fits.

One thing was made quite clear, the Talon’s masks were not used to protect them from such attacks. They were meant to hide their identity and nothing else.

Y/N smirked when she heard the sudden coughing and groans of pain. They weren’t muffled by fabric, meaning they had no choice but to remove their masks.

“Stay back,” Dick warned her before lightly pushing her behind a pillar as the smoke bomb started to settle.

Barely giving them a chance, Dick attacked the weakened Talons.

But now the three of them were unmasked. Their eyes were burned red and watery with tears.

And their faces were exposed. 

Y/N’s stomach dropped as she saw Dick flip to them and attack.

But she had a job to do and started tapping away on the high-tech watch around her wrist. She was walking backwards, staying away from the fight, just as Dick had instructed. 

But then she backed into a body.

“Fuck,” Y/N muttered as she froze and her eyes widened in panic.

She whipped around to find a Talon with his sword drawn.

Then other blurs were dropping down from the banisters, more were joining the fight.

Y/N reached for both of her guns and was ready to start firing – despite that not benefiting her in the slightest bit last time.

But before she could take even one shot, someone dropped in front of her protectively.

Bruce was a like a wall of shadow, blocking Y/N from the enemy.

“Run, Y/N.” He demanded without breaking eye contact with his opponent.

She knew better than to fight him on it. This was what they had agreed upon: Y/N was to be used as bait and do her job, then get the hell out.

“No matter what you hear or see, you run like hell,” Dick had told her. His eyes had been desperate and his grip on her shoulders had been tight. Y/N hadn’t been able to find it in her to do anything but give a slow nod.

Barely a second passed after Bruce’s warning before multiple Talons were on him. But Bruce was a worthy opponent and was able to distract them enough for Y/N to get away.

She ran for the nearest exit.

But the warehouse was now crawling with Talons.

Two more blocked her path, making her screech to a stop and turn around, facing Jason.

“Get down,” he told her calmly as he raised two guns.

She dove to the ground and covered her ears as Jason cleared out his ammo.

Without waiting for further instruct, Y/N jumped back onto her feet and tried to find the least chaotic route out.

Tim was using his bow staff almost like a windmill, taking out multiple Talons at a time with just a simple swing.

Y/N looked across the warehouse to see Damian and Dick fighting alongside each other. Despite Damian’s capabilities, Dick couldn’t help but look out for the boy, and he was never far from his side during a fight.

Damian slashed down opponent after opponent with his Katana sword. Meanwhile, Dick had the boy’s back, using his escrima sticks and countless acrobatic kicks and flips.

They were all holding their own, which further urged Y/N to get out of the way.

‘Run, Y/N. Run!’ Her brain screamed at her.

She spotted her opening and sprinted for it.

With only a few yards to go, Y/N felt a sting in the back of her leg.

No.

It was more than a sting. It was a lightning strike of pain that threw her to the floor.

As she sat up, Y/N looked up to see that a knife had clattered to the floor with blood staining it. Her blood.

Then she looked at the back of her thigh to see that she was bleeding from an open wound. It could’ve been worse. The knife could’ve embedded into her muscle and flesh. But she had gotten away with a graze – but one that brought her to the ground.

It all happened so quickly.

One moment Y/N was looking at the blood dripping from her leg. And the next, there was a Talon standing above her – unmasked – with his sword about to swing down on her.

Y/N winced and shielded herself as best as she could. But there was no saving her from such a blade – and a blade wielded by a Talon of The Court.

Just when Y/N thought she’d feel the sword strike her, a presence flew between them.

Y/N opened her eyes when she heard the sound of metal clashing with metal.

Bruce’s forearms were crossed into an X, with his gauntlets intercepting the Talon’s sword swing.

Y/N crawled back to get out of the way, ignoring the screaming pain from her leg.

All she could do was watch as Bruce now fought the Talon one on one. They wielded two katana swords – one in each hand.

Meanwhile, Bruce was using his gauntlets and therefore could really only be on the defense.

It was clear that he was trying to disarm them and make the fight even.

Eventually, through many complicated maneuvers, Bruce knocked one of the swords out of the Talon’s grip. He picked it up.

Y/N didn’t know why it was so surprising to see Bruce wield a katana. Of course he had been trained in sword fighting. That just wasn’t his chosen weapon. It didn’t stop her from being amazed by his skill with the blade. 

But Bruce was getting tired. Y/N could see it.

His movements were still quick, but they had slowed since the beginning of this particular fight.

Y/N managed to clench her teeth and fight through the pain of her leg, slowly bringing herself to a standing position.

But just as she did so, Bruce’s sword was knocked clear out of his hands and the Talon followed it with a kick to Bruce’s abdomen and a punch to his face.

Y/N’s stomach dropped at seeing the infamous Batman get knocked to the ground.

Of all the footage she’d seen, Batman always seemed to have the upper hand. She never doubted that he was going to win a fight – and he was going to do so without killing the enemy, which as always impressive.

“Get up, get up,” Y/N hissed to herself as she watched Bruce struggle to get back on his feet.

“So much time spent protecting her,” the Talon patronized. “Such a waste.”

He landed yet another punch across Bruce’s face. A punch that was harder than anything Y/N had seen before. 

And it knocked Bruce out cold.

Y/N felt it – the death in the air.

Time seemed to slow.

She was about to watch Batman get slaughtered right in front of her.

Her eyes raced around her, looking for one of the boys to call for help or anything that could be used as a distraction. But Dick and Damian were suddenly being overpowered. Tim wasn’t even in Y/N’s eyesight. And Jason was failing to shoot every Talon that surrounded him.

Then Y/N saw the katana that had been ripped from Bruce’s grip. It lay just a foot away from her.

Without thinking, Y/N picked it up.

She lunged forward just as the Talon was bringing his sword down to finish Bruce.

With just an inch away from his victim, Y/N’s sword intercepted the final attack.

The Talon gaze whipped to her. And Bruce was oblivious to his life being saved.

Y/N’s eyes widened, realizing she acted without any sort of plan. And now she had the Talon’s full attention and she had no clue how to wield a sword of any kind – or how to physically offend herself to any degree. 

“You have been a nuisance long enough,” the Talon growled.

“Oh, but I’m not even done yet,” Y/N smirked wickedly.

He tilted his head to the side, choosing to amuse her instead of strike her down immediately.

“You really think I can hack the oldest and most powerful secret, but not every major news network in the country?” She asked offensively.

But then she smiled and tapped a button on her watch.

The screens in the warehouse flickered to life and their volume was turned all the way up.

Everyone ceased their fighting.

Each screen showed that every network was hacked, their signals interrupted with Y/N’s own broadcast.

It was live footage from inside the top secret base for The Court of Owls. All of its members were unmasked, either being gathered by FBI and Gotham PD or pinned to the floor, getting handcuffed.

“That’s not possible,” the Talon gasped.

Y/N tapped her watch and a tiny drone, almost the size of a bumblebee zoomed in front of his face. Then his face was being broadcasted across the world.

“Say hello to America, Calvin Rose,” Y/N announced as her face-recognition system instantly identified him and his name appeared on her watch.

Then the camera moved to another unmasked Talon in the warehouse. “William Cobb,” Y/N announced, adding his name to the screen when he appeared.

As her footage was live-streaming on all major networks, the names of each member were appearing on the screen as well.

Calvin Rose screamed in frustration. 

“Detonate the bomb!” He yelled to his men.

“You mean the bomb you first threatened me with?” Y/N cooed.

He whipped back around to glare at her, not understanding her meaning.

“You really think we wouldn’t be able to find it? After you gave us weeks to track it down?” She teased. “The bomb is in the possession of the FBI, safely neutralized. But not before I helped them reverse trace a signal back to the detonator.”

They knew they lost. But they had not only lost, they had been discovered.

There would be no recovering from such exposure.

And Y/N hadn’t even told them about all the evidence she had stored that tied The Court of Owls to every corrupt act they had performed in the last 20 years.

Sirens suddenly blared in the distance.

All the boys had stopped to look at Y/N, realizing that their plan was coming together.

“You lost,” Y/N declared as she lowered the sword to her side. “And they’re coming for you, too.”

That was finally what set him off.

He growled before stomping to her.

Y/N was surprised by this new attack and quickly stepped backwards, but not nearly fast enough. 

In one motion, he grabbed Y/N by the neck with one hand, lifting her off the ground with his sheer strength and rage.

Not a second later, he shoved his sword into her abdomen.

It seemed like the sound of metal cutting flesh and muscle echoed through the entire warehouse.

“No!” Dick screamed shoving his way across the warehouse to get to her.

In the same moment, Y/N was dropped to the ground like a rag doll.

Chaos had erupted around her, a new fight had begun. But she heard none of it.

Her hands warmed from the blood that was leaking from her abdomen.

The pain was something different to her.

She couldn’t even put a number on how many times her father beat her to a pulp. Nothing could ever compare to the pain of being physically hurt by the person who was supposed to love you the most in the world. This was nothing.

Y/N was just happy she’d die doing something good for the world. A final act of sorts.

Just as she was about to succumb to the tired and dark feeling threatening to envelop her, she felt a warm presence next to her.

“Y/N!” Dick yelled when he reached her side. “You’re OK.” His voice started to shake. “You’re gonna be OK. Y/N, I need you to hold on.”

Police and FBI agents flooded the warehouse as Dick pulled Y/N into his arms.

Y/N looked up to see tears had filled his eyes.

“It’s OK, Dick.” She tried to tell him. “I’ll be fine. I’m fine.”

But when she reached up to cup his cheek, she stained his skin with her own blood.

Y/N was starting to lose her grip on life.

She swore she could feel Jason and Damian’s presence move her side, and then hear Tim talking to the cops. But she could also be imagining it. She could be imagining it all. Maybe she had already died and this was just how she had wanted to go, her mind giving her that final wish.

Things went from being so loud and warm to cold and silent.

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

Part 10

I edited this really quick. And for that, I apologize. 

[fluffyk97]

Basic backstories, setup and just few little things about Werewolf Cole Au. A synopsis if you will?

There's no elemental powers, Overlord, Zane isn't a nindroid, etc. Just basically a regular world with small real myths such as Werewolves.

Werewolf wolf forms aren't humanoid, but really are just big 6ft tall wolves.

Kai and Nya do live in a house near the woods and their parents were never kidnapped so they were raised by them. However they both are in a line of work that has them not home most of the time.

Kai & Nya found Lloyd on the streets being bullied from other kids. Kai immediately couldn't stand it and stepped in. When asked where Lloyd lived so they could take him, Lloyd said he didn't have one.

After a long video call later, and a quick visit by Maya, Lloyd was able to be adopted into their family and enroll in school under the name Lloyd Smith.

Kai is 20, Nya is 18, Lloyd is 14, Cole is 21, Jay is 18, Zane is 23, Pixal is 22, Skylor is 21. Excluding Cole till later, they're just a big friend group.

Kai is trying to find a good College to get into while working at Skylor and her Mother's small Noodle Shop. There is no Chen because I said so.

Skylor and Kai used to date in Highschool, but found to be better friends instead and now are just close friends.

Jay & Nya are in highschool Senior Year, and are together.

Zane & Pixal was friends with them in highschool, but now are in College together. Also a couple, and they love to visit when they can and video chat.

Lloyd is in Middle School. He's managed to make few friends there but his best friends are his adopted siblings, their friends, and his adopted cat, Meowthra.

Cole was childhood friends with Jay back in another town until one day him, his father and mother had to suddenly move out without a word to anyone. So to Jay, his childhood friend just one day disappeared.

There are Werewolf Hunters after them.

Cole gets his wolf side from Lily.

Lily doesn't pass away when he was younger, but is sick. Lou moves them to the Town where the gang are, hearing about how it's nice and close to some woods, good clean air, and he did some digging and saw nothing about Hunters being in the town because the Forest and its wildlife are supposed to be protected.

Cole is trying to figure out what to do for his mother and always goes out to the woods at night to let himself be a wolf, especially because he doesn't have complete control of his transformation like Lily.

Unfortunately Hunters did follow them.

The Hunters one day went to eat at the Noodle Shop and talked about going hunting in the Woods. Kai overheard, and he knows the Woods are not to be hunted in. Kai tried leaving a voicemail to Skylor but his phone unfortunately died mid message. He wasn't sneaky enough about it and the Hunters did notice.

At the end of his shift, locking up the Noodle Shop, Kai is jumped by the Hunters so they don't have a goody goody try and ruin their hunt.

Kai managed to get away and did run off into the woods, hoping to lead them off his tail, not find their way to his house, while also hoping to manage to get home through the woods.

Kai of course loses the Hunters, but unfortunately his ankle did get sprained pretty bad and he stops to sit against a tree once he's sure he's safe.

That's when Cole finds him after smelling some of his blood.

Kai never heard of any reports of wolves in the woods, especially none that are 6ft tall. So understandably, Kai freezes up in fear while also knowing he wouldn't get anywhere if he tried.

Cole approaches, luckily just have hunted something himself so Kai's blood doesn't affect his hunter instincts too much.

Cole slowly approaches Kai before licking his wounds. He turns Kai around and grabs him by the back of his jacket, carrying him off to his little den he set up for when he's out in the woods.

Kai freaks out and is about to yell before he hears the distant sound of a Jeep driving through the woods which leads him to shut up in fear its the hunters.

This also has Cole rush to the den.

The den is set up with a large bedroll, campfire and few other necessities because Cole goes to it when he's a human as well. It surprises Kai, but he doesn't complain when the big wolf sets him down and carries over a first aid kit.

Even after patching himself up, Kai still can't get up, but it seems the Wolf in front of him basically saved him and maybe has an owner. Plus, out of fear of running into the hunters, he decides okay he'll stay for the night.

Cole does notice Kai starts shivering when trying to sleep, so he goes over to offer some warmth. Kai while uneasy with a big wolf next to him, accepts it, not wanting to risk going against it and it is nice.

This leads to both of them falling asleep and Cole completely forgetting he's going to change back in the morning.

So Kai wakes up being hugged by this large shirtless man. His screaming wakes Cole up, leading him to screaming as well as the scramble to get apart.

The den is surprisingly close to Kai's house, so as Nya is about to head out on her bike to find out why Kai didn't come home last night, she hears him screaming in the woods.

After the screaming stops, Kai and Cole stare at each other. Kai in complete bewilderment, glancing around for that wolf from last night unaware it was Cole. Cole meanwhile is frozen, slapping himself mentally for some reason helping this random stranger as a wolf and not thinking about him turning back in the morning.

Nya calls out for Kai though, drawing his attention away from Cole and allowing him a moment to slip away.

Kai after realizing he was left alone, decides to get up, limping out of the den to call out to Nya.

Kai is brought home and his wounds are more properly treated. A call to Skylor to look out for the guys that jumped Kai and to let her know what's up.

Kai tells the story about the Wolf. Lloyd gets excited wanting to find a big nice Wolf himself, but Nya quickly dismisses it to it most likely just being a dream passing out in the woods. Hoping to delude Lloyd from going and searching the woods for said Wolf, while also not believing it herself.

Kai is basically forced to stay home till they know the Hunters aren't going to go after him again, and to heal up his ankle.

Kai keeps thinking about that night while during his little house arrest, and even dreams of the man he woke up next to, turning into the 6ft Wolf that helped him.

One night when he's okay to walk again and Nya is at Jay's house with Lloyd to help him study, and for a little sleepover, Kai sneaks out back to the woods, finding the den again and hopes to come across the Wolf again.

Cole wanders in as a wolf and freezes noticing Kai waiting for him. He was no different from Kai, constantly thinking about the other in numerous ways since their encounter.

Cole unfortunately wasn't so prepared for another meeting and turns to run away, but finds himself freezing when Kai cries out "Wait!"

Kai slowly approaches Cole.

"You can understand me, can't you?" Cole looks Kai in the eyes and nods to Kai's slight surprise.

"Are you that guy I woke up next to?" Cole whines in response, in fear of Kai knowing.

"It's okay! I... well its little weird to think about, but... wow I was actually right? Haha, I don't know how to feel about this, but I won't go ratting you out don't worry!" Cole's ears perk up in surprise.

That's when the familiar sound of a Jeep reaches both their ears. Smelling the air, Cole whines, recognizing the smell of Hunters, moving to turn and run again, but Kai stops him again.

Kai offers and brings Cole back to his house to help hide him. Cole feels like he should reject, and not trust so easily, but he finds himself following Kai easily.

That's when Kai walks in with Cole, ducking through the back door and see Nya and Lloyd who just got home because the sleep over got cancelled.

After a lot of panic and explaining later, Nya agrees to help out Cole, wanting more explaining from him if Kai saying him turning into a human is true.

Lloyd is very excited to see such a big wolf and starts talking to Cole a lot. It surprises Cole, but he also finds it enjoyable to see a kid so excited to actually see him like this after growing up and being told by Lou he should never show his secret to anyone.

Lloyd does bring Meowthra to Cole, and while Kai and Nya were expecting the usual Cat vs Dog or this case, Wolf, Meowthra surprisingly really likes Cole and they get along fine.

Lloyd helps Kai give food to Cole once they hear the wolf's tummy growl.

The next morning, Cole wakes up in the living room as human and he does explain what he is. Pleading for the trio of siblings to not say anything, especially after he smelled Hunters and learned they're the ones who hurt Kai. They of course agree to the promise.

This starts the cycle of Cole coming over some nights as a Wolf and staying the night.

Cole is excited to talk to people again after being on the run and being hidden for so long and a nice distraction from worrying about his mother.

Kai finds himself wanting to spend more and more time with Cole until he realizes he's actually falling in love with a werewolf.

Overtime the rest of the friend group also accidentally learn about Cole but agree to keep the secret. Jay especially being really happy to see his childhood friend again and getting an explanation why he disappeared so long ago.

Kai find himself talking a lot about Cole to his siblings and Skylor. Cole does the same to Jay about Kai.

Of course they do confess at some point. Or basically forced to by everyone.

Cole keeps all this a secret from Lou because his father has grown to always have a constant worry of his son and wife being hurt because their Wolf sides. He talks to Lily about everyone though when he thinks she's asleep, but she does hear it all and is happy to hear her son is happy. She doesn't tell Lou until Cole is ready.

Cole is a clingly bf when him and Kai are together, being very touch starved from only having his mom & dad for so long. Kai loves attention, so it works out perfectly.

Cole as a wolf will sometimes just pick up Kai to bring him t lay down with and enjoy cuddles. When human, he loves to come up from behind for a hug.

Kai brought Cole to work one day and Cole fell in love with the food there ofc.

When Cole first ate cake around the others, he was a wolf and they did immediately get scared with mindset of chocolate bad for dogs. Morning came and Cole reassured he was fine and is still okay to eat anything he can as a human, as a wolf.

Cole does still struggle with gaining control of his transformation but that mainly affects to him turning into a wolf every night. Lily can turn into a wolf anytime she wants.

However sometimes Cole finds himself losing to his wolf instincts and needs to hunt or gets hostile.

First time Cole loses himself as a wolf he is hostile, but Kai slowly approaches him, treating it like he would for Lloyd when he has panic attacks, and brings Cole out of it. Mostly succeeding to get close because Cole smells his own scent on Kai.

They all do try and pitch in to find a way to help Lily, and stop the Hunters.

[solalunar-eclipse]

Sonic Boom - S3E1

Episode title: Friendship 101

Word count: about 3000 words

Author’s Note: I’m trying a rather new format for this fic, since it’s based on a TV show with various songs and camera angles. If you have any comments about whether it works well or not, please let me know!

(Also, the theme song choice is all thanks to khinesthetic, who used it here and inspired me to put it in this fic.)

Next

[cue Mr. Blue Sky by ELO (0:00-3:45)]

[The show opens on a zoomed-out view of Hedgehog Village from above. Stone walls separate the village from the wilderness outside. There are large spaces at several points throughout the structure for entry and exit. A large patch of grass with benches scattered about sits at one end of the village, and a marketplace made up of wood-and-cloth stalls runs along one of the walls. Houses are grouped in seemingly random clusters throughout the town, and the (in)famous Meh Burger stand sits all on its own, with picnic tables spread across its wooden flooring. As the music progresses, the camera begins to zoom in on the village- then on one of the streets in particular- and rotates down to eye level to face…]

Sonic the Hedgehog walked through the streets of Hedgehog Village with a bounce in his step, occasionally dancing to the music playing through his earbuds. As he wandered throughout the town, he passed the usual people running their stores, arguing over botched orders at Meh Burger, and, at one point, Aqua the Rabbit absolutely freaking out over the loss of a single follower on Angstagram (the latest social media network for moody teens).

He did a 360-degree spin before winking and pointing finger guns at Amy Rose when he spotted her haggling with the local grocery store owner. She paused briefly to wave at him with a smile. “Hi, Sonic!” she called, completely ignoring the irritated fennec in the process.

Then, the music froze and changed to something extremely ominous as she turned around to face the shopkeeper once more. A dangerous gleam appeared in her eyes as she pulled out her signature hammer. “Now then, about those prices you’ve been setting lately…”

The song cut back in as the view switched back to Sonic, who was now moving away from the scene at a slightly faster pace.

Really, though, he was more than happy to see his other friends not long after. Knuckles and Sticks were currently busy rummaging through the town’s garbage together, excitedly chatting about the latest piece of interesting junk they’d found, while Tails was fixing someone’s broken rain gutter (and attempting to ‘improve’ it in the process, which meant that it could now measure the amount and intensity of rainfall in a storm- a very useful, though unfortunately unwanted improvement).

Surprisingly enough, as he continued on his way through Hedgehog Village, he managed to get people from a few different places to wave back at him when he said hello. Although perhaps it wasn’t quite so surprising when one considered that this was one of the most cliched opening sequences that could possibly happen in any movie or TV show. Ever.

And of course, the only logical outcome of this scene led to everyone beginning to stop their usual activities and gather in one of the few open spaces in the town, clearly prepared to break into a fantastic musical dance number straight out of Broadway. Incredibly, this was one of the few moments in which everyone in the village seemed to be able to get along…

...until Eggman’s latest giant robot slammed feet-first into the ground, sending everyone off-kilter and scrambling for cover. Shrieks of panic rose in place of the music as the villagers fled the scene to hide in their houses. The dramatic entrance didn’t just ruin the mood, it absolutely crushed it with the sheer force of its impact.

And that was, obviously, when the show really began.

[cue In Your Face by Shockwave Sound (0:00-1:04)] 

[Each of the five members of Team Sonic appears on a black screen with their name spelled out in their signature colors (blue, yellow, red, pink, and green) and does a couple of cool fighting moves, followed by snippets of scenes featuring them from previous episodes of the show for about eight seconds each. All five of them then appear together in their usual fighting stances, emphasizing their status as a team.

The Eggman logo then appears in an ominous, glowing red, backlighting the doctor himself and all his creations- before the lights flick on to reveal him alone in his evil lair with a green screen behind him, at which point he shrieks and covers the camera with a hand. Then, neon blue electronic lines begin to appear across the screen and the camera spirals to follow them, selecting one particular line to trace. Not long after, said line ends at a circle which, with a flash, turns into the words ‘Sonic Boom’. Beneath the title, it says ‘Ancient Secrets’ in neon blue.]

[Then the music ends, at which point the episode title- “Friendship 101”- appears for a few seconds in the same color before the show itself returns.]

Sonic scrambled to his feet and zipped over to Tails, pulling him up from where he’d fallen after the robot’s overdramatic arrival. Amy managed to do the same with both Knuckles and Sticks simultaneously, which let Sonic stare for a moment, startled, and then promptly resolve to remember not to get on her bad side anytime soon.

Soon enough, the team had scrambled into their usual positions, ready to fight. Amy and Sticks kicked the battle off by handling the various smaller robots that threatened to get too close to their team, never faltering (and in fact seeming a bit gleeful in the badger’s case) despite the sheer number of enemies. Knuckles, meanwhile, launched Sonic bodily into the air for Tails to catch, before picking up a boulder about the size of a house and lobbing it directly at the robot’s chest.

“Hey! Easy with the boulders- QuakeBot took a lot of effort to make, you know!” Eggman shrieked from above, hovering in the relative safety of his Eggmobile. 

(Relative, in this case, was of course in comparison to mixing absurdly volatile chemicals in a lab, bothering Shadow at any and/or all hours of the day, or being on Tails’s bad side when the fox had a glue gun. The doctor still remembered that situation all too well, and currently ranked it as far more terrifying than merely being punted into the stratosphere by kids under half his height and about a third his age.)

Sonic paused to stare at Eggman from where he was currently dangling in the air. A smirk began to spread slowly across his face. “…what did you just call it?”

“You heard me the first time!” the doctor roared, now incredibly embarrassed. “I named it that since it makes the ground shake when it moves, like an earthquake??”

General laughter came from the heroes assembled on the ground and in the sky.

“Argh! Nobody appreciates my genius around here! Now, QuakeBot, stop standing around and start attacking!”

“I suggested TerraBot, since it still has to do with earth and is a play on the word ‘terror’, but nobody ever listens to my ideas, now do they?” Orbot muttered irritably to himself, tucked inside the Eggmobile.

“I listen to all your ideas!” Cubot offered encouragingly.

Orbot’s mouth shifted into a small smile. “Thanks, Cubot.”

Meanwhile, Sonic had been pulled into a spin by Tails, who whirled the hedgehog around before letting him shoot downwards toward the robot in a spin dash- only for him to get caught and sent flying into the nearest house.

He shook off the surprise quickly (and apparently sustained absolutely zero damage despite having literally crashed through a house, because superpowered teenagers), darting back over to the group. “Well, uh, guess it’s time for Plan B then!”

Crickets chirped in the ensuing silence. Even the robot had stopped moving to hear what he had to say.

“And the plan is…?” Amy prompted.

Sonic folded his arms with a huff. “I dunno, I thought you guys would have one!?”

The pink hedgehog rolled her eyes at that. 

Tails piped up. “I have an idea! Sonic, you’re going to need to be curled up for this, okay?”

The hero promptly did just that, before emitting a muffled “mmhmm?” from inside his layers of quills.

“Alright then, Amy, I need you to hit Sonic with your hammer right at the side of this house.”

Sonic’s blood ran cold. “Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second can we maybe rethink thiaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

He ricocheted all over the palace like a pinball, slamming into several key points of the robot thanks to Tails’s rapid calculations. However, the robot was sadly unaffected by his screaming at a pitch that came dangerously close to shattering glass.

The robot was easily disabled and the attack overall quickly repelled after that. Thankfully, it took Sonic only a moment to recover from his impromptu stint as an out-of-control projectile and get back to fighting with the others…complete with a “Let’s do that AGAIN!” moment, which was met with a resounding no from both Amy and Tails. 

Their ears were both still rather sore from last time, after all.

After Eggman was punted all the way back to his island by a well-placed kick from Sticks, though, the crew was about to head over to Meh Burger for a post-battle meal when they discovered that they had an entirely different problem to take care of. The villagers, who were beginning to come out of hiding after the attack, were furious upon seeing the damage dealt to their homes and stores.

“How could you let this happen?” one shouted.

Before long, the villagers found themselves a more specific target when the owner of the house that Sonic had smashed into pointed her finger directly in his face. “This mess is awful!” she cried. “And it’s all his fault!”

Within seconds, a mob of people had descended upon the overtaxed teen.

“I’ve never known a hero so irresponsible.” one fumed.

“How dare you!” the fennec from earlier roared.

The elderly wolf of the village shook her cane at him. “Shame on you!”

Sonic could feel himself beginning to tense up as the villagers turned their ire on him. Whether or not he’d admit it to anyone, he needed two main things in order to be his usual heroic, cheerful self: open space and positive reinforcement. Right now, he was getting exactly the opposite of both of those.

And he was not feeling good about it.

He looked briefly over to his friends for help, but Sticks had already vanished, Knuckles and Tails looked more nervous than anything, and Amy was already walking towards him with that look in her eye…

“Sonic, next time you do need to work on making sure the robot doesn’t catch you, you know-”

A streak of blue shot out of the village, leaving nothing but a scorched trail of grass and the snap of a sonic boom behind.

Sonic didn’t slow down until he reached the mountains- which technically wasn’t very far from the town at all, so he ran quite a bit more after that until he ended up in the middle of the jungle. Then, he sat down with his back to a tree and his arms around his knees, feeling very unheroic and overall pretty lame.

The blue hedgehog frowned at the dirt. Honestly, some days it really did feel like nobody seemed to like him. The only person who ever even suggested he was important on a regular basis was Tails, and Sonic didn’t blame him at all for not jumping into the middle of that crowd. Tails was only thirteen to his seventeen and a half years old- not exactly an age when he should be expected to go toe-to-toe with a crowd of angry adults.

Still, though. When being a hero got him all risk (no matter how low) and no reward...it was difficult for him to keep hold of that core feeling of “I can make the world a better place to live in!”, which, despite all his other claims, was truly at the center of what had motivated him to start fighting against Eggman so long ago…

[The scene morphs in a manner which shows the lighting shifting so that the sun is overhead. A sound effect of birds chirping plays over the scene change. This implies that it’s been several hours since he first fled the village.]

Sonic was still lost in thought when the snap of a twig in the bushes made him jump to his feet in surprise. The surrounding vegetation rustled ominously for a moment...only to reveal the four members of his team in front of him. He watched them all cautiously, his expression tense. More than anything, he looked ready to run at a moment’s notice- something which only served to make his friends(?) seem a little more distressed. “Uh…hey, guys?” he began tentatively.

“Sonic, I…” Amy began forcefully, before stopping herself. At first, it looked like she was about to scold him again, but then suddenly her face fell. “Listen, Sonic, we’ve all been talking a lot about what happened back at the village…and there’s something I want to say.” She gave a slightly tired sigh. 

“I know we usually like to make jokes and witty commentary, but...sometimes, the world’s just a difficult place to be in.” she said. “...so we really do need to talk about serious stuff occasionally, even though I know it’s tough for you to even mention how you’re feeling. Unless, you know, it’s ‘great!’ or ‘cool!’ or something like that.”

Sonic cringed at the mere idea, looking more and more like he thought running away was the preferable option here.

“So what I wanted to say was that in a world where there are too many people trying to beat you down...what I was trying to do was tell you how to be more tolerant, because I thought that would help. I figured you can’t change how other people are going to be, just yourself, so I hoped that might make things better.

“But...I’m not actually a licensed therapist- yet, anyway. So I might have been wrong on how I went about that. Maybe...instead of telling you off for not being able to stop all those people...in the future I’ll pull out my hammer and tell them to knock it off already. Does that sound better to you?” she asked.

The blue hedgehog froze. “Ames…I...” he croaked, trying his best not to think about why exactly it felt like his throat was so tight all of a sudden.

Sticks folded her arms. “I like that plan! Those people are way too crazy sometimes…and you guys know I have a verrrrry high tolerance for crazy.”

“We can make the villagers quit bugging you together, just like how we fight Eggman!” Knuckles added encouragingly. “It’s always better that way, isn’t it?”

There was still one person who hadn’t spoken yet, though.

Suddenly, Tails crashed full-force into Sonic, squeezing him in a hug that for once he didn’t pretend to hate. “You know I’ve always, always, always got your back, right, Sonic? No matter what?” he asked, looking up at his older brother. “Even if I don’t always know how to do it right.”

The blue hedgehog simply nodded, not trusting his voice to help him maintain his ‘cool guy’ status.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel up to talking about it now, though.” the fox added understandingly, stepping back but still leaving a hand on his arm. 

“But!” Knuckles added. “We won’t tell anyone if you ever decide you do need to get some stress off your chest every once in a while!” He smacked his own chest with a fist for emphasis.

“Nobody needs to know.” Sticks growled, the camera suddenly showing a dramatic angle of her face as the lighting dropped noticeably.

“Uh…that’s kinda dark.” Sonic said, holding up a finger with a bit of a confused frown, which let the lighting and camera angle zip back to normal.

“Anyway!” The pink hedgehog clapped her hands together, turning to face the group as a whole. “What do you guys think about heading over to my house and watching some movies? I’ll even…” She sighed, her whole body slumping. “…make some messy, simple, unprofessional chili dogs. In my state-of-the art kitchen. I know Sonic probably could use a pick-me-up right now, after all.”

“Thanks, Ames! You’re the best!” the hedgehog in question said cheerfully, the promise of good food and great companionship boosting his mood significantly.

Then, his posture shifted once again into something a little more vulnerable. “And thanks to all you guys. For, y’know, everything.”

“Of course!” Amy chirped.

Tails smiled at him. “No problem, Sonic.”

Sticks folded her arms. “That’s what a team’s for, ain’t it?”

“Of course it is!” Knuckles said, in that rather confusing manner where nobody was actually sure if he understood anything about what had just happened.

The echidna actually walked over to Sonic after that particular declaration, though, placing a hand on his shoulder as his face became uncharacteristically serious for a second. “Really, Sonic, we can all help you out, alright? Nobody gets to yell at our leader without getting yelled at back!” he declared, punching a fist into his other hand.

The hedgehog blinked twice before looking up at his friend. “You…just called me the leader?”

“Well, duh! That’s why everyone calls it Team Sonic, right?” Knuckles asked with a smile, letting an awkward (but genuine) grin spread across Sonic’s face.

Within seconds, the hero found himself squeezed in a big hug from all sides by his friends- and then actually lifted off the floor through a joint effort from Knuckles and Amy. 

“Guys- come on! I can’t even move here!” he cried out, his legs flailing so quickly they made a vibrating noise in the air. “Guyyyyssss….” he whined, though nobody seemed to care much about his halfhearted complaints (judging by the happy expressions on their faces).

Then, the episode began to end, as evidenced by an iris out transition. The slowly shrinking circle paused for a moment on Sonic’s current expression, highlighting it against the otherwise black screen. He now sported a sheepish, if slightly pleased smile, complete with a faint pink blush on his face from all the positive attention. 

Clearly Sonic liked being, well, liked far more than he let on.

Then, the circle snapped closed with a pop, and the credits began to roll.

[Voice Actors: 

Roger Craig Smith

Colleen Villard

Travis Willingham

Cindy Robinson

Nika Futterman

Mike Pollock

Kirk Thornton

Wally Wingert

Bill Freiberger

Original creation by:

Evan Baily

Donna Friedman Meir 

Sandrine Nguyen

Bill Freiberger

Takashi Iizuka

Writer/editor:

Solalunar “Sol” Eclipse

Thank you for watching reading.]

[mobagehelllocal]

“do you even lift, bro?”

Not exactly a prompt but just a suggestion where the dorm leaders fem s!o wants to carry them bridal style? Maybe they got injured or maybe she just wanted to show her strength? How will everyone react? Thanks a lot :) -- From @blackstrawberrynightmare​.

A/N: Thank you so much for this! This was a very fun break from the “holding the world” series ahahah~ I enjoyed it a lot and I think it sort of became crack? I hope this makes everyone who reads it laugh at least once! Please tell me what you think~

other versions: ver i (this), ver ii (dire, divus, ashton), ver iii (leech twins, jamil, epel, rook, lilia)

--

“Bet I could bench press you.” 

“I beg your pardon?” Riddle turned to you with the most incredulous face ever, and you giggled in response. “What is... a bench press?” Riddle struggled, his expression looked as if he was thinking back onto all your conversations--he tried to remember if you’ve ever mentioned this... bench press before.

“It’s basically when I hold you like this” you opened your palms facing upright, “and then I lift you like this--” you proceeded to move your hands up and down. 

“Absolutely not.”

“But Riddle!” you pouted, and he narrowed his eyes in turn, his arms crossed. 

“I refuse to be... bench pressed.” He pressed his lips tight together, and you sighed, disappointed.

“One day I’ll convince you.”

“That day will never come.” 

“Then next time, I won’t ask for permission.” 

“You--” Riddle glared, his cheeks red. “--never mind.” he scoffed, as he looked away. “What makes you think you can carry me anyways?” 

“Ah, but I can!” 

“I don’t believe it.” Unfortunately for Riddle, you were waiting for something like that.

“Then let me prove my strength~” 

“What are you doing? Why are you bending down--Wait, don’t you dare--guh!” 

You proceeded to wrap your arms behind his knees, and around his back. With barely a blink, you swept him up into your arms. 

Riddle gaped when you barely flinched. While Riddle was small, he wasn’t exactly light. Or at least, that’s what he liked to think. You looked down at him, and wiggled your eyebrows.

“Have I made you fall in love, prince of my heart?” You delighted in the embarrassed red flush on his cheeks. He began to struggle in your arms, but you held on pretty tight--enough that the most he could do was attempt to push you away with his hands.

“Let me down,” his brow furrowed, and from embarrassed red he slowly turned to angry red, “this instant.” 

“No way, this is too fun.” you giggled, as he struggled harder in response. 

“If you don’t I’ll--” he stopped short, realizing he really didn’t have leverage against you. He couldn’t exactly use his unique magic on you. You grinned cheekily at him, and he crossed his arms grumpily in response. “... Since when were you so strong anyways?”

“Always?” 

“You didn’t say anything.” he pointed out and you cocked your head to the side in thought. 

“I guess it’s like you with your magic. You’ve always had it, you’ve always been good at it.” you shrugged, “it’s normal to me. So I never thought it was something that needed explaining?” He sighed in response, he could understand your point after all. 

“... When will you let me down?” 

“Never.” you cuddled close and his blush that had originally calmed down--intensified. 

“--!” he sighed, before he let you. It should be fine as long as nobody walked in.

“Prefect, Riddle--” Cater walked in, only for his eyes to widen, and his hand snapped up immediately to take a photo.

“Cater!” Riddle looked murderous, and he tried to leap out of your arms to grab the third year who laughed nervously, and hesitantly stepped back. “[Name]! Let go of me right now!” 

“Sorry, can’t do Riddle,” you giggled. “Cater! Send me that photo, okay~?” 

“[Name]!” 

“There’s a reason I adore you Prefect!” Cater laughed, as he snapped more photos. 

“What’s going on?” Trey ducked into the room, and paused at the sight. Riddle sputtered, as Trey immediately turned around to snicker. 

“Cater I want those photos too--” 

“YOU ALL--!”

--

“Leona!” you tried to call the man’s attention, but he only turned away, his tail thumped heavily on the ground.

“No.” 

“But you need to get to class!” you protested, “don’t you have a super important thing today?” 

“Hngh... zzz...” 

“Hey! Don’t you dare fall asleep on me!” The lack of a response made your eye twitch. “Fine... if that’s what you’re gonna do--then I’ll have to resort to--” 

When there was a sudden silence, Leona smirked, the moment you approached him--he would drag you down to the ground with him, and quiet you down by--

That is until he felt your small, delicate hands dig underneath his back then legs and within a moment--he hissed in surprise, and you smirked in response--you carried him in your arms, bridal style. 

“-carrying you.” You snickered at him. “how do you like it, Leona?” 

You’ve never seen him so surprised. His eyes were wide, his pupils huge (’like a cat’s!’ you couldn’t help but inwardly squeal), his ears were flattened against his head, his tail was actually still--and from the little of it that you could see of it--it seemed like the fur was standing upright too. 

‘One day,’ you solemnly swore to yourself, ‘I’ll surprise him by, I dunno--bench pressing him with one hand so I can take a photo with the other hand.’  

Leona just stared at you, his mouth slightly agape. 

Sure, Afterglow Savanna was filled with incredibly strong women. However no one has ever attempted to carry Leona. Primarily because he wouldn’t let anyone--and also because his pride wouldn’t let him. He knew that women outside of Afterglow Savanna weren’t the same as the women within the kingdom. So he had figured you wouldn’t be able to carry him...

Give him a moment, his pride was just damaged, in the same moment you’ve suddenly become all the more attractive to him. 

‘In the culture of his kingdom, especially for the royal family--what made a great wife, is a strong woman. Here you were, proving just how perfect you were for him.’  He could feel the heat rise to his face upon that realization, and he struggled to calm his heart down--fervently hoping that nothing showed on his face.  

“Hello? Leona?” He was still super still in your arms, and you shrugged. “Ah well, since you aren’t resisting, this will be easier for me.” So you began to carry him out of the garden. At your sudden movement, he twitched in your arms, and tried to get off. Unfortunately for him, being able to lift a man of his height and weight also meant that you had a pretty strong grip.

“Nope.” you shook your head. “You wouldn’t get up earlier, so I’ll just carry you to class.” 

“Let me go He-” he paused, ‘Could he still call you herbivore, given you’ve proven you’re not a herbivore?’ 

At his sudden, uncharacteristic hesitance, you glanced down at him. Wow, he’s being really weird today. 

“Leona... are you okay?” He opened his mouth to respond, when his ears twitched, and he struggled harder in your arms. 

“He--[Name], put me down, right now.” he practically hissed. 

“What? No way! You’re clearly not enjoying this, therefore I am.” ‘Hah! Take that for all the heartbeats I wasted on you, you big tease!’ He growled in response, about to snap back when--

“Is that... Leona?” You blinked, head turned in the direction of the voice, while Leona slackened in your arms, and groaned. “with [Name] carrying him? Shishishi!” 

“Oh! Hi Ruggie~ Jack~ I’m off to bring your dorm leader to his class~” 

Ruggie was practically bent forward, as he both cried and laughed. Meanwhile Jack just stared at you with the widest eyes, and biggest open mouth you’ve seen on him.

“Hahahah! Leona--being carried like a bride! Wait I need a photo!” Ruggie snickered as he pulled out his phone.

“Oi! Ruggie! Don’t you dare--!”

“Oho, I see you’re a hyena of culture Ruggie! How do you want me to pose?”

“Well if you can just--” 

“You herbi-[Name]--don’t encourage him!” Leona yelled, clearly exasperated. At the corner of his eye, he noticed that Jack’s shoulders were shaking. The student had desperately covered his mouth--trying to hide his own laugh.

‘Great,’ he scowled. ‘they’ll never let me live this down.’  

--

“You’re doing great Azul!” Jamil yelled, with a very wide, self-satisfied smirk on his face as the trembling octopus merman flew into the air on his broom. Azul would’ve shaken his fist at the snake if he wasn’t clinging onto the broom as hard as he was. ‘Is he that mad about the burn cure incident in our alchemy class?’ Azul thought, but the broom wobbled and his grip tightened on it in response.

“Unbelievable these land dwellers,” Azul cursed underneath his breath. “I just learnt how to walk on two legs last school year and now they want me to fly? They want a merman in the air? Absurd. Complete savages the lot of them.”

Now when it came to magic—the most important thing is being able to believe in your ability to do it. Be it believing in your ability to manipulate elements, or believing in your ability to conjure something out of thin air.

This applied to flying too.

Unfortunately for the octopus... he was so distracted as he cursed in the language of the seas—he forgot about the fact he was flying.

Hence his broom started to wobble.

He only realized the problem when his broom started to jerk around.

“Oh—“ he let out more curses in his native language and closed his eyes, “ok you can do this Azul. I believe I can fly! I believe I can fly—“

But he didn’t really so—his broom grew to be even crazier with his movements.

“Hey! Azul! Open your eyes! Calm down!” Jamil yelled out. Caught up in his own panic, Azul didn’t hear him. 

“I believe I can flyIbelieveIcanflyIbelieveIcanfly--” Azul chanted, but when he opened his eyes and saw how high he was-- 

“Ah carp, I’m gonNA DIE!” Azul shrieked, and shut his eyes tight--which led to him getting flung off his broom.

“Oh scarab.”  Jamil swore as he tried to run after the free falling octopus, only to stumble to a stop when he saw--

“Gotcha!” 

One moment he was free falling, then the next moment he’s caught, and pressed close to your chest. Azul’s eyes flew open in response to hearing your voice. You looked down at him with a wide smile.

You were carrying him--like a bride. Your hold was gentle, but firm--and the smile you sent him was tinted with worry--but it turned to amusement with the way he gaped at you. 

Azul’s eyes glistened, and you’re pretty sure he would start crying any second now if you didn’t immediately distract him. You didn’t want him to be sad after all. 

“You rang for a Princess Charming?~” you tossed in a wink, and he promptly turned red in response. 

“You--ga--wha--” Azul gaped at the fact you carried him in your arms with ease. 

“[Surname]!” you looked up to see that the rest of Azul’s second year class had ran up to you too. You easily hiked Azul up in your arms (which he yelped at), as you stood upright. Ashton Vargas looked at you with glitter in his eyes, and you took an involuntary step back at his expression.

“That! WAS! IMPRESSIVE!” Professor Vargas boomed, “That catch was magnificent! You barely stumbled! No recoil at all!” 

“I’m really strong.” You said with a shrug of your shoulders. “I never really had a problem with doing physical stuff. I just braced myself properly to catch Azul.” you held out your arms, where the octopus, still completely bewildered, lay--still slack from the shock. 

“Since when could you do that, [Surname]?”

“I always could...?” you shrugged your shoulders in response. “I just never needed to use it.” you laughed awkwardly. 

“Is Ashengrotto alright?” Vargas looked at the merman, and tried to look at his expression. 

“I think I should take him to the infirmary.” you said, “he’s still in shock.” 

“Right, right. You do that.” Vargas stroked his beard. “Carry on. I’ll have Viper update Ashengrotto if he misses out on anything.” Jamil flinched, and shot a guilty glance at Azul then at you. You shot him a smile, in response and mouthed that you’d tell Azul he was sorry. Jamil looked relieved. 

“Sure Professor.” with that you turned around, and relaxed your hold on Azul.

“...How’d you know?” 

“Hm?” 

“... That I didn’t want to be seen... like that.” 

“You mean crying?” You gave him a love filled smile that made his heart beat even faster. “Well the answer is simple. I am your girlfriend after all.” His face turned red again. 

“Thank you.” Azul sighed, “I feel like you saved me twice today.” 

“And I’ll keep saving you whenever you need me.” That gentle grin--full of your adoration for him is enough for his blush to darken.

“Please put me down.” 

“Oh no, I refuse.” you squeezed. “I think you’re cute in my arms~” 

“I want my octopus pot right now.” 

Extra:

“Oh my.” 

“Carp.” Azul swore, as he saw the Leech twins up ahead. Floyd let out a happy gasp, before he ran right over.

“Ooooh! I want to be carried too--!” 

“Wait Floyd--don’t just jump--AH!” 

“Oh my, my.” Jade snickered to himself as you easily caught Floyd, but started to stumble.

“Jade!” wailed Azul from underneath the laughing Floyd.

“Woah! Shrimpy strong!” 

“Don’t move too much! Ah! Wait! My balance--” 

--

As you entered the Scarabia Dorms to visit Kalim, you noticed a commotion. More specifically--a bunch of animals going wild. You also quickly noticed Jamil off to the side, hissing out sharp commands. 

You ran up to him, and waited for him to acknowledge you. Which he does, easily enough.

“Ah, Prefect, you’re here.” he had a long suffering expression on his face, and you tilted your head.

“Someone forgot to lock up all the animals this morning so...” he sighed. “We’re trying to calm them down.” 

“Ah, I see.” you looked around, “any way I can help?” 

“You don’t have to, please sit with Kalim.” he gestured to an empty chair. Something in your stare must’ve been telling, because he visibly paled and went: 

“He... he’s not there.... is he?” he said in a very weak and pitiful tone. 

“No he’s not.” you said, as gently as possible. “Would you like me to help?” 

“Yes please.” 

“Alright.” you slammed your fist against your open palms. “He’s likely wherever it’s most difficult.” Jamil nodded, before he made a very deadpanned expression.

‘Ah.’ 

“... He’s with the elephants.” you both said in unison, and you both rushed off in the direction. 

--

You find him easy. 

There he was, in the middle of the path, faced away from the approaching elephants. 

“Jamil! [Name]!” he waved--WAVED! All cheeky too! While in the midst of danger. Jamil looked like he was having a heart attack, so you quickly darted to Kalim.

“Wait! [Name]!” you quickly scooped Kalim up into your arms, bridal style, before you tossed yourself as hard as you could out of the fray. You exhaled in relief, before you feel Kalim wrap his arms around your neck, to give you a quick kiss on the cheek.

“My hero!” he laughed, all jovial, as if he hadn’t nearly been in mortal danger.

“Kalim! That was dangerous!” 

“Yeah but we got out of it alright!” he said, as he waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “What’s more important is--! I didn’t realize how strong you were!” When he looked at you with those sparkly eyes, it was easy to falter, and forget about everything that could you upset. 

The adrenaline finally rushed out of you, and you crashed to your knees, after which you buried your head into the crook of his neck.

“[N-Name]?” his voice was confused, and even flustered. Any other time, you would be eager to see his expression, but for now--

“Please... be more careful next time.” 

“.... Uhn... I’m sorry! I’ll try not to make you worry so much!” Kalim pulled away from you to look at your face. “What kind of boyfriend will I be if I make you hurt like that, yeah?” 

You exhaled, relieved. “Yes, exactly.” 

You both share a smile, then soft giggles--before it turned into full blown laughter.

That is until--

“What do you think you were doing Kalim?” Jamil hissed, his expression dark.

“Oh--well, that is” Kalim sweated in response, and you attempted to melt into the background until Jamil’s dark gaze moved to you.

“And you as well--” he gritted his teeth, “running out like that--!” 

“Wait--why are you blaming me?” 

“You both nearly gave me a heart attack!” when he looked up, his eyes glowed with a sinister light.

“Oh no.” 

“...[Name]... save me.” 

“Already on it.” you hopped onto your feet, and darted off with Jamil hot on your heels. 

“Come back here you two!” 

--

Now, normally when people were surrounding your ridiculously pretty boyfriend you were fine with it. He was a model after all. You didn’t really mind him interacting with his fans--you were perfectly fine with stepping out of the way, and giving them a few minutes to talk to Vil. 

You could relate.

After all, you didn’t call yourself Vil’s number one fan for nothing. 

You were lucky enough to be able to hoard Vil to yourself so much, so you were always willing to share ‘Vil the model’ with his fans.

‘It’s fine. I’m completely fine.’ you crossed your arms. You hoped your face wasn’t irritated, or upset. You understood how important fan interactions are but--

‘It’s our first date in awhile, and I really wanted to enjoy private time with Vil.’ you thought mournfully, as you eyed the gaggle of boys and girls who surrounded your Vil. 

If Vil was upset--it wasn’t visible on his face at all. In fact, as per usual, he enjoyed his time with his fans. (Which made you feel even worse.) He made sure to acknowledge each one of them, and looked them straight in the eye. It caused a lot of the fans to go red, and nearly faint (once more, absolutely relatable--those eyes? With those lashes? Up close? Even you had difficulty breathing with him that close.) 

You looked at the time, only to inhale sharply at the fact he’s been at it for at least an hour. Plus--based on the way the crowd around him only grew, you two would never get to finish your date.

‘Alright, I’m sorry,’ you thought, ‘but I’m going to have to get in the way.’ 

When Vil looked up to search for you outside the crowd, he couldn’t see you. He mentally frowned. He was grateful that you were always willing to adjust to his fans, but at times--he wouldn’t mind if you were a little bit more selfish with him.

He had given you himself--he as Vil Schoenheit. The world--his fans--they might have Vil Schoenheit as the influencer and model--but you had him, for himself. The Vil with no make up in the morning, the Vil who would cheat his diet for some sweets, the Vil who wasn’t as put together as the world saw. You saw all his flaws--the imperfections, the things he found ugly--yet you held him, told him he was your world despite that. 

That was something.

No, it is something.

He hoped you knew, that no matter what, that made you so irreplaceable... so important to him. 

After all, beyond his prowess as a poisoner, beyond his fame as a model--who would stand by him when that was all gone? 

He hoped it was you. 

“Sorry everyone, but I’ll have to steal my boyfriend away now.” 

He turned to you, surprised but excited that you were going to steal him away.

‘Now how would you do that, sweet potato?’ 

He saw you bend down, then quite literally--sweep him off his feet. He’s surprised--and his first reaction is to wrap his arms around your neck. You ignored the gasp of fans, as you quickly run off without a single misstep. 

“I finally have you, my ah... damsel in distress?” you quirked your brow, not sure if you said it right. Vil only laughed and pressed his lips against your cheek. When he pulls back, there’s a very obvious lipstick mark on your cheek. 

“You finally saved me, my Princess Charming.” he said, and you blinked down at him. 

“I was just... selfish.” 

Oh! And how much did that warm his heart--to know how much you wanted to dominate his time, as much as he did.

“You can always be selfish with me.” He told you quietly, with a gentle smile. 

“I mean--are you sure?” 

“Of course! I am your boyfriend after all!” He cocked his head to the side, “now, you didn’t tell me you were strong enough to carry me around.” 

“It never came up?” 

“Then, I’ll rely on you to save me more--alright?” 

You stared into his eyes--honest, and loving, coupled with how genuinely enchanting Vil was well--you broke away first with a faint blush on your cheeks.

“... Of course...”  

EXTRA: 

“How cute...” Rook purred. 

“Aside from how weird it is that we’re following them on their date...” Epel paused. “I wonder if [Name] would tell me how she got so strong?” 

--

You burst into Idia’s room, frantic and worried after receiving a text from Ortho, about his brother collapsing.

“[Name]!” Ortho called out relieved, as he pointed out Idia--slumped onto the ground, groaning.

“What happened Ortho?” you frowned, as you knelt, and carefully turned your boyfriend onto his back.

“He just suddenly collapsed, and I don’t know why.” Ortho fretted, you leant forward and pressed your forehead against his, only for you to reel back quickly in surprise.

“I think he’s running a fever.” you frowned, “we’ll have to take him to the infirmary.” 

“But how?” 

“I’ll carry him, of course.” Ortho’s mouth dropped in surprise when you easily scooped up his brother. With Idia’s long hair trailing to the ground and limp body, it did look like you had just finished saving a princess. 

“Woah! [Name] you look so cool!” Ortho stared up at you with shining eyes, and you giggled in response.

“Thanks Ortho. Now go run ahead and tell the nurse I’m bringing your irresponsible brother to the office, alright?” 

“Mhm!” 

--

On the walk there, Idia stirred in your arms.

“Oh, are you finally awake?” you teased, at which his eyes widened and he immediately froze in your arms.

“[Name]?” he squeaked out, then frantically looked around before he met your gaze again. “Wait--are you carrying me?” 

“To the nurse’s office, yes” you said, amused. 

“Please put me down!” 

“Absolutely not, after all--you made Ortho and I worry a lot!” you huffed at him, “so suffer in the arms of your girlfriend a little longer!” 

“Everyone is staring!” he whimpered. 

“Well if a certain someone didn’t forget to take care of themselves while they got into the new dlc for Gao Gao Shield and Sword...” Idia whined in response.

“I needed to complete the GaoDex before anyone else! I was one Gao Gao away from completing it, before this upstart mystery player LilV actually managed to beat me--” he buried his face in his palms. “I was so close...” 

“There there.” you tried to rub his back as best as you could. “Isn’t there another dlc still coming out later this year?” He brightened up at that.

“That’s right, I’ll start training my resistance to hunger and--” he winced at the glare you shoot at him.

“If you’re going to do it, do it in a healthy manner Idia.” you frowned, “if not for me--then for Ortho.” 

He paused, as he lowered the hands covering his face to stare at your face. You were genuinely worried for his sake, and he thought: ‘oh no, this is like picking the wrong choice in Water Crest: Seven Dorms and my support level is going down!’ he inwardly panicked, ‘I worked pretty hard to grind to level S! Of course I need to maintain it because I--’ he felt his face flush red. ‘because I really like [Name]... and I don’t want her to worry so--’ 

“I’ll... I’ll be more careful.” he looked away, bashful, and you stared at him--surprised. You didn’t think it would be easy--he loved gaming. You wouldn’t want him to change--only to take care of himself more. 

So now that he was saying this then--

‘I’ll meet him halfway.’ you decided.

“Next time I’ll stay with you.” you said, with a sweet smile. “so if you get caught up in it, I’ll get you back on track.”

“Are you sure? You might get bored?” 

“Now why would I get bored?” you shoot him a sly smile, “I’m spending time with my boyfriend after all~” 

“...” 

“Ah! Idia you’re heating up!” 

“That’s because--! Ughh--! I didn’t realize there was an SS support conversation!” 

“A what?” 

--

“So are your horns heavy?” 

Malleus cocked his head at your sudden question.

“I’m... confused... with this question, bright light.” 

“Eh...” you move your hands around as you spoke, “I don’t know, I guess I was just curious if your horns... like maybe had a certain weight to them? Like... does your neck hurt?” you tilted your head. “Like... does it feel like when you’re holding a staff? Maybe?” You paused as you looked back at the dark fae.

“Sorry, was that a weird question? Is it... intrusive? Or something?” 

“No it is not.” he shook his head gently. “I suppose I can not really tell. I have had my horns all my life so I can not say if they are light or heavy.” 

“Could I try--like seeing if they’re heavy?” He quirked his brow in response.

“You can try,” he paused, “but how exactly will you do that, bright light?” 

“Like this.” With barely a blink, you gestured for him to crouch lower. He did so--confused. When you suddenly picked Malleus up into your arms, you do so with such a smoothness that he froze. 

“Huh, your horns are slightly heavy I think.” You adjusted him in your arms, you definitely felt a difference in weight closer to the side where his horns were. “Tsunotarou? Bright eyes? Two hundred and two centimeters? Malmal? Are you okay?” 

(You were unaware of Sebek behind you, who had attempted to rush out to save his young lord. Lilia pulled him back with one hand, his other hand covered his guffaw. On his other side, Silver was very awake--also surprised that a human girl was able to just sweep the young lord into you arms with barely a flinch or stagger.)

You squinted at him, only to realize his pupils were wide--wider than you’ve ever seen before. His lips were parted slightly, as he stared at you. He looked absolutely stunned. 

“Um? Are you okay--” 

“Heh...” Malleus raised a hand to his lips, before he started laughing out loud.

“Woah Malmal, you look sort of... crazy.” 

“Heheh... Hahahah!” Malleus laughed, “Interesting! So very fascinating, my bright light.” 

“Uh?” 

“To think you would have the gall to lift the Heir to the Valley of Thorns--to think you had the strength to do so--will you ever stop being so intriguing, my bright light?” 

“I’ll try not too?” you replied, in a confused tone, and Malleus continued to chuckle lightly in your arms. His eyes became gentle at your response. 

‘I keep wondering why I find you so fascinating...’ he mused, ‘but it is truly simple--you are not afraid to treat me as... myself I suppose. You did not see me as Heir of the Valley of Thrones--you saw me as a man with horns-- a man with bright eyes--’  

‘You do not treat me as delicate... but at the same time, you do not treat me as something to be feared.’ 

‘You are like a light... a light with the potential to burn away all the darkness...’ he held your confused gaze, ‘will you do it? Bright light? Will you persevere in this world not yours--and show it how bright you can be?’ 

‘Whether you do or not--you are perhaps, the only one, the first one I can consider a friend--an equal.’ 

“You look really deep in thought, bright eyes.” You said, and he hummed. 

“It is nothing.” When you moved to let him down, Malleus’s arms looped its way around your neck. 

“Ah?” 

“I would like to stay in your arms for a little longer, bright light.” He met your gaze, and you blushed at the intensity in those eyes. “Would you indulge me?” 

“--That is... of course, Tsunotaro.” His smile widened, and your heart melted at how genuinely happy it was. To think he used to gaze at the world with such sadness...

If little things like this was enough to make him happy, then you want to do it more often. 

--

Ai’s Glossary For TWST Swear Words *I primarily came up with this because I don’t think swear words are the same in different worlds--? So I decided I should just come up with them.  (✧≖‿ゝ≖) 

- “Oh my Queen” / “Sweet Witch” / “Dear Sorcerer” ... you get the drill   - basically equivalent to our “oh my god”, “sweet lord”, “dear god”

- “Oh carp” - unique to the Octavinelle dorm. It’s basically “oh crap” or “oh shit.” Variation include “holy carp.” 

- “Oh scarab” - unique to the Scarabia dorm. Perhaps specifically unique to Jamil too. It’s the same as above, except he uses scarab instead of carp. 

[glenncoco4]

Heat

A/N: Pre-All In Densi. Rated M.

••••

She steps over to the bedside table, flicking on the small table lamp as the sound of his water drenched shoes squish against the old shag carpet. The loud pounding from her heart fills her ears when the door shuts. Ever since last night things between them have been a bit off, maybe its because of her reaction to finding out that Grace, Deeks’ girlfriend of eight months, got a job offer in New York. Or maybe its because every time he’s tried to speak to her today, she’s found an excuse to leave or change the subject. Probably both.

Now the problem is is that there was a case in Big Bear that needed NCIS’ attention and they were the only ones available. It was about 3 hours into their drive until Deeks finally worked up the courage to ask her what’s going on when a loud pop sounded and the SRX jolted. 

So here they are, in a small roadside motel, drenched from head to toe with no service and no car. Luckily for them, the last room available was a twin room, but there’s definitely no escaping her partner’s interrogation now. But it doesn’t mean she can’t try. ”You can take the shower first.”

His eyes haven’t strayed from her since they left the SRX stranded on the side of the dark mountain road. She’s shivering and all he can think about is her reaction last night. The pure anger she was trying to hold back, but more than that he could see the hurt in her mismatched orbs. The lost little girl that had been let down so many times before he came along.“No it’s okay. You should go.” 

“Deeks, just go.” She signs in resignation. The thought of freezing to death sound so appealing right now because if she’s dead at least she won’t feel this gut wrenching ache inside her soul anymore. 

“Listen, Kens, I-“

“Just forget it, Deeks. I know I was out of line.”

She can feel the dread wash over her as he tells her the news. There are so many things she wants to say but its a question that she fears the answer to that leaves her lips. “So you’re going with her, aren’t you?”

“I-“

Not giving him time to respond for the anxiety of what his answer may be, she quickly cuts him off. “I should’ve expected this.”

His brow furrows as he watches turmoil filled anger fill her eyes. “What?”

“You chasing some tail to another state.”

He’s gobsmacked, what in the hell is her problem? She’s never had a problem with Grace before but now apparently she’s just some blonde bimbo and he’s a douche thinking with his dick. “Okay, that’s enough.”

��Well, you know what, Deeks? You go…you abandon the people that depend on you, that need you.”

There are tears forming in her eyes and it breaks his heart. Everything is just so screwed up and he’s not sure what to do, well he is, he’s just not sure what the outcome will be. He could lose his best friend. “Kens-“

“No, I gotta go.” She takes a shake breath before turning to the door and with one last look, says the words that feel like ice picks to both of their hearts. “Goodbye, Deeks.”

He looks up from his phone as the bathroom door slowly opens and a gust of steam fills the room. She trails out in sleep shorts and a tank top, her teeth still chattering as she makes her way over to the fire place. He tries to distract the awkwardness in any way possible, awkwardness that has never been apart of their relationship until now. “No service. I can’t believe this.”

“I can.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

“It means-it means nothing. Never mind.”

“Kens.”

“What?”

“What were you fixing to say?”

Taking a deep breath she realizes that maybe this is a good thing. Maybe getting this out in the open will help her move on even if she doesn’t want to. Turning around, her eyes meet his cerulean blues, those eyes…those eyes are one of the things she’ll miss most about him. Crossing her arms around her chest to try and keep herself steady, she wills herself to get this out. “It means that things tend to go horrible for me in life. First my mom left me, then my dad died, and I was out on my own for so long that the next time I trusted someone, he left me, too. I was closed off for so long and then you came along and I really thought-I really thought that you would be here to stay. When you came along all those other people that left hurt less because I had you. You were here and made me feel like I mattered. That I was worth a damn. I just really thought you’d be the one that stayed.”

He can feel the tears pooling in his eyes as he quickly throws the covers off him and stands up, closing the distance between them. He wants to reach out to her, take her hands and never let go, but stops himself. “Kens, I’m not going anywhere.”

“You say that now but what happens if Grace takes that job in New York and you follow her?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“I know. You’re gonna follow her and eventually get married. Meanwhile I’ll be here, living in my studio apartment, probably die getting eaten alive by my hoardings, knowing that the man I love is on the other side of the country, living the dream I had for us with some other woman.” Her eyes go wide when she realizes the words that came out of her mouth, she intended to let him know how she felt but not that much.

His eyes go wide at her confession. He can feel his heart rate pick up speed because Kensi doesn’t do this. She doesn’t let her emotions be known to the world. “The man you what?”

“Nothing. Just forget it, Deeks.” Teeth still chattering, she quickly makes her way to the furthest side of her bed and hurriedly hurries herself into the covers before switching off the lamp. “Goodnight, Deeks.”

She tosses and turns for about 10 minutes, finally landing on her side as the sound of the crackling fire fills the room. She can sense movement on his side of the room but brushes it off, figuring he’s getting up to go to the bathroom when suddenly the comforter on the other side of her bed is pulled back and the bed dips. Her eyes go wide as he comes up behind her, his arm going around her waist and nothing between their bodies but the thin material of her sleep shorts and his boxers. The feel of his already stiffing member against her ass making her pussy wet.“Wh-what are you doing?”

“You’re shivering.”

His breath is warm against her ear, sending even more desire through her body. She tries to hold back the moan from leaving her lips and urge to grab his cock because there’s still one thing in the way of this truly happening. “Look, I appreciate it, but I’m sure Grace wouldn’t.”

“There’s no more Grace.”

She quickly spins around in his arms, mismatched orbs opened wide in shock. “What?!”

“We broke up.”

She can feel a new surge excitement run through her body at his words. He’s not leaving. He’s staying. “Please tell me you didn’t break up with her over the phone earlier.”

“Of course not.”

She looks at him quizzically, trying to hold back from straddling his hips and having her way with him. She needs answers first and then she’ll have her way. 

“We broke up last night after you left. I was going to tell you today, I just couldn’t find the right time and then we got stranded.”

“But why?” Her brow furrows in question. 

“Well, for starters she wanted me to go with her to New York and my body can’t handle those long winter months.” A smile spreads to his face as she smiles and her forehead finds his chest. The vibrations of her laughter, sending a thrill through his body. “But really, it was because I realized something.”

She pulls back, her magnetic eyes full of hope and yearning. “What’s that?”

“I’ve never been able to just be with Grace, you know just sit in silence and be with her, really relax.” He brings his hand up to cup her cheek, his thumb moving back and forth across her olive toned skin…this is the moment. “Everytime I’m with you no matter how much noise or how little, I feel at peace just being near you.” 

“You-you do?”

“I love you, Kens.”

Her heart begins to hammer and she can’t resist any longer as her lips find his in a desperate, earth shattering kiss. “I love you. I love you so much.”

He can’t hold back any longer, especially with her pert nipples poking him through her top. His hand traces its way down her stomach before his fingers latch onto the hem of shorts and pull them down around her knees giving her the chance to kick them off completely before he’s shimmying out of his boxers.

His hand wraps around her thigh and spreads her leg open, giving him the perfect view of her already soaked pussy. Cerulean blues find mismatched chocolate orbs as he licks his lips, sending a bolt of electricity through both their bodies. “I want to taste you…but first-“ 

She watches as he takes hold of his hard cock, rubbing the tip through her folds before he carefully slides into her, making them both moan as a pleasure neither have ever experienced before encapsulate all their senses. Lifting up her top, to reveal her breast, her hands wrap around each one, letting out another moan as he continues to drive into her over and over again. 

His lips find hers in a hungry kiss. God, he loves her so much. If he could spend the rest of his life like this with her, he would. He works his way from her lip to her jaw, down her neck, eventually finding her chest. As he continues to drive into her, his eyes find hers telling her what he needs. 

She sees what he needs in his eyes and moves her hands away from her perky breast giving him the go ahead. And as soon as she does, his lips find her pert nipple as his free hand massages the other. Euphoria. Euphoria is the only word she can think of to describe this feeling.

It doesn’t take long for both of them to come undone. Years of pent up love and desire giving them pleasure beyond comprehension to anyone but them. They let out one more unified moan of glory before he pulls his softening member from her drenched heat and plops down on his back next to her. 

His arm finds its way around her shoulder, pulling her into his side as her own arm finds its way around his abdomen. He places a kiss to the top of her head, relishing in this moment, the sound, the smell, the feel of her sweaty body pressed against his. 

“Will you love me like this forever?” She tilts her head back with an openness shining in her eyes. An openness that she’s only let him see.

“Only if you promise me the same.”

A soft smile spreads to her lips as she slowly nods her head. “We’re really doing this, aren’t we.”

His forehead finds hers, their eyes dancing with passion, ecstasy and the most pure love known to man. “Yeah, we really are.”

[dragonotaku-justineverything]

(Pokémon AU) How did Jaune meet his adorable little Eevee, Caramel? And what was his first interactions with Aerial and her own Eevee Mocha like?

Well... I got a bit carried away again. I just love this AU and I'm really getting into Pokemon again recently, so sorry for the long post ahead.

But I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless!

It was a beautiful day outside Beacon Academy. The sun was shining brightly and hardly any clouds were visible. Multiple flocks of Wingull, Starly, Pidgey and other bird-like Pokémon soared freely in the sky around Beacon. A few letting out some faint cries sporadically. The Wooloos were happily grazing and rolling around in their paddock. Many students and visiting trainers alike were outside, just enjoying the nice weather with their Pokémon. This nice weather gave both Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc the idea to enjoy the day with a nice picnic outside with their friends.

On several blankets spread out in a grassy portion of the academy's lavish courtyard near a tree, the group of eight friends were all eating and chatting away. All of their Pokémon were out of their pokeballs and gathered around them.

Some were just lazing about, such as Ren's Greninja sitting cross legged while dozing off with his head tilted down or Weiss's snow white Vulpix snoozing in Weiss's lap while she sat in the shade of the tree. Others were chowing down, like Nora's Shinx or Blake's Litleo, eating berries/Poké food in their own little food bowls. Or in the case of Pyrrha's Aron, he was eating some screws, nuts, bolts, and other small pieces of scrap metal. Yang was busy brushing her Growlithe's fur, and watched her Combuskin running around with Ruby's Zorua.

Jaune was happily munching on a sandwich. He put the sandwich down and moved his hand to lightly scratch Hera's head, who was laying down next to his left thigh. Normally she'd be laying in his lap, but that space was currently taken. A small glass container was resting in a space between his legs. Inside it was a Pokémon egg he'd "won" two months ago wrapped in a blanket, so Hera had settled for laying right next to him instead. She was adapting pretty well to the new circumstances with said egg. Though Jaune was still wondering how she'd react when it finally hatched

His nails lightly scratched just around the base of the tuft of white fur on her head, just where she really liked it. "Shoo-, mmm *swallow*, sorry. So Pyrrha, you're Metang actually evolved on live TV?"

Pyrrha lowered her fork with the next bit of her chicken and strawberry salad to respond with a smile. "Yes indeed. It happened during the final match of my second tournament at Sanctum. It was quite an astonishing sight."

Jaune smiled and leaned back a bit. "I bet! Man, watching a Pokémon evolve in person must be amazing."

Yang looked up from her Growlithe over at him. "You've never seen a Pokémon evolve?"

Jaune chuckled a bit. "W-well I mean I've seen it on video and stuff, just not in person."

Nora shamelessly jumped in and added her two cents. "Neither have I! It must be soooo cool!"

Pyrrha giggled happily and looked over to her Metang, who was actually on the ground for a change instead of floating, with Cubone resting on its head. "Well, watching my Beldum evolve into Metang was definitely a sight I'll never forget."

They group continued to converse, laugh, and just enjoy themselves. Their Pokémon did as well, all of them getting along pretty well. They were all so engrossed in their merriment, none of them noticed another member slowly walking towards their misshapen circle.

That was until she made her move.

Jaune felt a small tug at his hoodie but ignored it, thinking it was just Hera rolling around in her sleep. It was a pointed finger and a question from Ren that actually made him look. "Uuuh Jaune... do you know who... that is?"

"Huh?" Jaune looked down to where his friend was pointing, which was by his stomach. There, in his hoodie's pocket near his stomach, was a small little brown Pokémon with a small, furry body and a big fluffy brown tail.

And half of its body was buried inside his hoodie pocket, rummaging around in it.

"WAH!??" Jaune nearly jumped up in surprise, but he managed to stay pretty still for the most part, trying not to jostle the egg between his legs. However, he still shot back an inch or two when he threw his hands up above him and fell back, his head lightly landing on the blanket.

Hera, startled by her Papa's sudden jolt, sprang up to her feet and spun to look at him. She lowered her stance, ready to defend him if she needed to! That's when she saw the little brown Pokémon as well, now standing on top of her Papa's stomach while he was laying back, but its top half was still stuffed in her Papa's pocket! What was it doing? Was it trying to attack him?! She wouldn't let it!

"Growl! ROW! GRO-!" She had just started barking at it when someone else's yelling stopped her.

"Eevee! Stop that! That's very rude!"

The brown Pokémon stopped moving finally, and stood still for a moment on Jaune's stomach, then slowly started walking backwards. It took a little tugging, but it finally pulled itself out of Jaune's pocket. As it got free, everyone around got a good look at its top half.

The first thing they all noticed was a large collar of fluffy, cream colored fur. Then two long, thin ears on top of its head. Finally its small, soft, squarish face with two big dark eyes and a happy smile. As well as a small plastic candy wrapper hanging from said smile.

Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Nora all let out a coo of "Awwwwww" at the same time.

"Eevee no!" The group again heard the voice call out again, and almost all at once, they looked away from the 'Eevee' and towards where it was coming from.

There they saw a young girl, running up to their group with her arms waving above her. She was quite slender, had dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had a light blue jacket on, open in the front to show she had on a black halter top underneath it. A pair of tight black and blue pants with heeled fur boots matching in color. A simple black choker around her neck finished her outfit nicely.

Then the group noticed that a Pokémon that was just like the one on top of Jaune right now was also running alongside the girl. One this one had a small band of flowers around the base of one of its ears. It was hopping/skipping along right by her feet as they both ran towards them, its whole body arcing into the air as it followed her.

Within just a few seconds, she was right next to them, her arms still frantically waving. "Eevee you can't just jump on people you don't know like that! That's very rude! And give that candy back! You can't go stealing from peo-" The girl abruptly stopped her admonishment of the Pokémon as she finally looked at who Eevee was still standing on top of. "...JAUNE!?"

Jaune, still laying on his back, turned his head to look at the new girl that screamed his name, and quickly shot back up to a sitting position when he saw her. "Aerial!?"

The two looked at each other for a moment, then both smiled widely and started to laugh. Aerial started talking first. "Hey! What are the odds of running into you like this!"

"Me? What are you doing here haha?!"

Aerial leaned over a bit, smiling down at him. "Aunt Juniper said you'd gone off to Beacon, but I wasn't expecting to see you so soon!"

Jaune, still sitting, smiled brightly back up at her. "Yeah hahaha, it's always been my dream to go to a professional Pokémon academy after all haha. Hera's here too!" As Jaune finished, he pointed towards the Fire-Type.

Aerial shifted her gaze to her and her eyes brightened even more. She got down on her knees and hunched forward, getting close to Hera's height. "Heeeera~ hi! It's been such a long time! How are you?"

Hera's earlier confidence seemed to wane a bit as she started to look a little nervous. Papa seemed to know this woman and was happy to see her, so she shouldn't be worried, but she still pulled back a bit from Aerial. She seemed a little familiar to her as well, but she wasn't sure...

Jaune chuckled. "She might not remember you, Aerial. It was a couple years ago now."

Aerial pouted childishly and straightened her back, "Awwww that's a shame. I definitely remember her!"

"I don't doubt that. You loved her as a kid."

"Uuuummm... hello?"

Jaune and Aerial turned their heads in unison to look at who spoke.

Yang was holding a hand up, like she was waiting to get noticed or called upon. "Uuuh yeah, we're still here. Mind uuuuh, filling us in on what's happening Jaune?"

Jaune sweatdropped a little, slightly embarrassed that he'd completely forgotten about the others present for a minute there. "He he, sorry guys." With one hand, he gestured to Aerial. "Everyone, this is my cousin, Aerial Yeager. She's from Atlas actually, so that's why I was so surprised to see her."

Aerial waved at the group, still with a smile on her lips. "Hi everyone! I trust Jaune's been good to all of you."

A lot of them nodded at that, and many of their Pokémon had stopped in their activities and gathered around as well, looking at the new arrival.

Aerial's eyes scanned over all of them and began to sparkle. "Awwww you all have such amazing Pokémon!"

"Speeeeaking of which... Aerial, are these Pokémon yours?"

Aerial turned away from the group and back to Jaune. He was pointing down right beside him. There, the Eevee from earlier that jumped on Jaune was licking away at the now unwrapped candy that it got from his pocket, looking completely carefree. Meanwhile, it looked like the Eevee with flowers that ran up with Aerial around its ears was admonishing it.

"Y-yeah, they are. H-hey Eevee what did I say! That isn't yours!" Eevee stopped licking and looked up at her with a head tilt, then just went back to licking the candy happily. "Hooooh." Aerial sighed and bowed her head, feeling defeated at being ignored.

"Hey it's no big deal Aerial, I have plenty of these caramel candies. I was just caught off guard when Eevee just appeared out of nowhere."

"Yeah sorry about her. She's kind of a handful sometimes. She likes doing what she likes when she likes. Oh, everyone," Aerial gestured in front of her towards the two small Eevees. "This is Mocha and Eevee, their sisters."

Blake was the first to catch what she said. "Mocha?"

"Ah yeah, that's what I call my Eevee, the one with the flowers. The other Eevee... Well, no matter what name I try, she doesn't respond to it. Coca, Ginger, Toffee, Hazel... she doesn't seem to like anything I pick out for her."

The group all turned to the Eevee still licking away at the candy, not noticing or caring about all the eyes on her. Mocha seemed a little annoyed at her sister's actions still, but had stopped reprimanding her as she didn't seem to care too much.

Jaune looked down at the Eevee right next to him, then slowly reached a hand over and gently rubbed his index finger on its head. "You sure do like that candy huh? Did you smell it and that's why you came over to me?"

Eevee didn't seem to mind the light petting. In fact she seemed to like it as she enjoyed her treat. She stopped her licking for just a moment and looked up at the person petting her. "Vee vee vi!"

Jaune chuckled at its happy cries.

"Grooow!"

A very familiar voice on his other side made Jaune turn his head to see a begging Hera standing next to him. "Oh sorry Hera, you probably want some pets too." Jaune reached his free hand over and gently began petting Hera's white floof on top of her head. That immediately put a smile on the Growlithe's face and she happily nuzzled Jaune's hand back.

Aerial shook her head in slight disbelief. "Same old Jaune. Always a whizz with Pokémon."

Now that the excitement had fully died down, the group went back to lounging about like they were, now with an extra member as Aerial sat down and joined them at Jaune's invitation.

They all talked and got to know each other more. Aerial explained how she was indeed from Atlas, but had come with a few friends on a trip to Vale and Beacon to explore what kinds of Pokémon were here. Aerial told them about her friends, her school, and of course also her Pokémon. They were all surprised by how many she already had. A Braviary, a Ludicolo, and a Munchlax. Plus her two Eevee's as her companions, that made five Pokémon in total! There were teachers at Beacon that didn't have that many!

After about another two to three hours of talking, laughing, bonding, and snacking (Jaune offered some of his food to Aerial which she gratefully accepted), the sun was beginning to set and Aerial said she had to go. She stood up; brushed some crumbs off of her pants; said her goodbyes to everyone, giving Jaune her scroll number and promising that they'd talk again soon; and called for Mocha and Eevee to come along. Only that's not what they did.

Mocha stood up with her no problem and was ready to go, but Eevee didn't. She just kept laying down next to Jaune where she'd been for the past hour getting pets and even , licking a second caramel candy that Jaune had given her. She didn't move at all at Aerial's call.

"Eevee? Come on, it's time for us to go."

Again, Eevee didn't move.

"Eevee." This time Aerial's voice was a little more stern. "We need to go. Now come on." Aerial walked over to the Eevee and bent over to pick her up. Before she even touched her, Eevee had snatched up her treat and jumped into Jaune's lap, getting a surprised "Ooph!" from him. She set her treat down and turned to look at Aerial. Then for the first time all day, it let out a cry. "Eev! Ve ve Eevee!"

Aerial pulled back. She was surprised to hear Eevee talk back directly to her. Sure she didn't listen sometimes, but never out right talked back at her. "Eevee! What's gotten into you?"

Eevee didn't respond this time, just curled up in Jaune's lap and hunkered down.

Everyone watched this unfold, but only Ren spoke up. "I think Eevee is trying to say that she'd like to stay with Jaune."

Aerial looked over at the stoic boy, wide eyed. "W-wha? Wait really?" Aerial looked back at the tiny curled up Pokémon in Jaune's lap, happily laying down with her eyes closed, her treat finished in a hurried bite. "B-but... Eevee really? Y-you wanna stay with Jaune?"

Eevee looked up to Aerial, smiled easily, and nodded. "Ve ve!" It definitely seemed to be happy.

Aerial kept looking down at Eevee, and Eevee kept looking up at her. After a few seconds, Aerial's expression shifted from being slightly sad, to understanding. "Okay. Well then, let's see what Jaune thinks." Aerial looked down to cousin, his confused face making her almost giggle. "Jaune, it looks like Eevee has taken a liking to you. Would you like to keep her around with you? I know you'd take amazing care of her, so I'd be comfortable with you taking her with you if you want."

Jaune's mind nearly exploded from hearing that! His cousin was asking him if he'd like to have another Pokémon!? For real?! Jaune felt his lips twitch upwards before he even said anything. He looked down at the Eevee in his lap. She seemed very happy there, and she'd wanted to stay with him first. Jaune looked back up to Aerial and nodded once. "I'd love to. And I promise that I'll give her the best care that I possibly can!"

Aerial knew he'd say that. He loved Pokémon, so being offered one by a family member was probably like a dream for him. "Well alright then. I have to say... I-I'm sad to see you go, Eevee." Eevee looked up at Aerial when she said her name. "But... if this is what you want, then I can accept it. I know Jaune will take great care of you, and I can call to see you anytime I want. So... you take care of yourself and Jaune alright? Your sister and I will see you again, sometime real soon, I promise."

Eevee smiled and leaped out of Jaune's lap, landing close to Aerial's feet. The little Pokémon nuzzled her head against Aerial's leg and let out faint coos. Aerial quickly dropped down and scooped Eevee into a tight hug. She held it for at least 10 seconds before she let her go, setting her softly back down on the grass. When she did, Mocha bounced over to her sister and they started talking by themselves, most likely saying their own goodbyes while Aerial stood back up. "Okay, I guess this is goodbye for now Eevee. Jaune, I'll definitely be expecting some video calls from you now. Oh, and maybe you'll be able to think of a good name for her too."

Jaune, now no longer having a Pokemon in his lap, stood up. He was careful not to bump the container with the egg in front of him as he did so. He stood up straight, showing off just how much taller he was than his cousin. "You got it Aerial. I hope we meet again sometime soon as well. This was fun." He took a step forward and embraced her in a hug, which she returned.

When they separated, Aerial stepped back. "Okay, well... we really have to head out now. My friends are all probably waiting for me back in Vale and I need to catch a Bullhead before they stop for the night. It was nice meeting you all! I hope to meet you all again someday!" Aerial started to leave, and Mocha, having finished her goodbye to her sister with a loving nuzzle, followed her.

Eevee watched as they left. Eevee suddenly bounced forward a few feet in their direction and let out a loud "Eeeeveeeee! Eeeeeveee!", saying goodbye for now to her family.

Aerial stopped and turned her head back to look at her after her cry. She smiled back at her and waved before continuing. As the pair got farther and farther away, Eevee returned back to the group, stopping in front of Jaune.

Jaune smiled and knelt down to be closer to her. "Eevee, I'm touched that you wanted to stay with me. I promise that we'll have some amazing adventures together! Oh, there's someone that I want you to officially meet now! This is Hera." As Jaune said her name, the red Growlithe walked up next to her Papa and stood next to him proudly. "She's my best friend and has been with me since I was a kid. I hope you two can be friends."

Hera padded forward and stopped right in front of Eevee. She looked down at the smaller Pokemon with a big smile. She leant forward and gave Eevee a big lick on her head, which Eevee started to laugh at. The two then began to talk to each other in their out cries, and Jaune could already tell they'd get along fine.

"Well... that was sure something huh?" Jaune looked behind him and saw Nora holding her Shinx in her arms, and all his other friends smiling at him.

"Haha yeah, I guess so. Aerial's always been super trusting of family, but this shocked even me."

Yang walked forward and lightly punched his arm in a friendly way. "So... got any names for your new friend Vomit Boy?"

Jaune, while he was rubbing his now sore arm, looked down at Eevee again. As he did, he noticed a wrapper from the caramel candies he'd given to the Eevee earlier. "Huh..." Jaune knelt down and picked up the wrapper, then looked at it in his hand. "Maybe I do. Hey Eevee?"

The Pokemon stopped speaking with Hera and looked over to the kneeling Jaune. She quickly skipped over to sit right in front of him. "I was thinking, since Aerial couldn't think of a name you liked, yet you liked these candies so much, how about I just call you Caramel?"

Eevee looked up to him curiously with her big doughy eyes. Slowly those eyes began to shine with joy and she jumped up at him. Thankfully Jaune was used to this sort of thing thanks to Hera, so he caught her easily since she was a lot lighter.

"Whoa haha! Okay then, I guess that's a winner huh? Well, welcome to the team Caramel!"

AND! FINALLY! DONE!

Aerial Yeager is an OC created by my good friend @jace-the-writer-guy, who is also Jaune's cousin on her mom's side. I owe him a big thanks for helping me write this because I constantly was asking for specific info on his OC and him giving me ideas for stuff.

I'd been planning this out bit by bit for so long, so I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed this origins ask for Caramel, Jaune's Eevee!

[aceofspadegrass]

Peace and.... Having To Deal with Niragi Breaking In

Characters: Last Boss, Niragi, Cabot

Genre: It's kind of crack. Just Niragi being annoying again.

837 words

Cabot is such a good girl, protecting Last Boss' right to be left alone. :D

He rather liked his peace and quiet time. Last Boss sits in his room, Cabot purring on his lap. His thin fingers brush over her fur, his mind elsewhere. There wasn’t any meeting as far as he was aware, and he didn’t need to meet up with Aguni for any particular reason. Niragi hasn’t come by to bother him either, which was a bonus for him.

Cabot softly lets out a meow, standing up and stretching, tickling Last Boss with her tail, Last Boss letting air rush his nose as he leans back. Cabot climbs off and goes to take a bathroom break, Last Boss leaning back and taking in the silence.

It was such a shame the doors weren’t lockable, as it slams open with an all too familiar battlecry, Last Boss slowly shutting his eyes as Niragi walks up to the side of his bed. He smelled of pool, and wet sandcastles, Niragi shaking his shoulder. Last Boss slowly opens one and and stares straight at Niragi in a hopeless attempt to get Niragi to back off.

Didn’t work. Niragi remains standing there with a smile that only meant Niragi went ahead and did something that he would have to co-handle because somehow in the midst of coming here Niragi designated him as his partner in crime, which Last Boss only went along with because he was bored and had nothing better to do.

Sometime though he wished he didn’t have to do anything that he didn’t do for himself. Like making sure Niragi knew what he was doing outside of his standard shenanigans.

“ Get up. I need to show you something.” Niragi orders, still smiling like he was a child finding an especially nice puddle and wanting their dad to watch them jump into said puddle. Last Boss does nothing, continuing to stare blankly at him. Niragi was impatient though, and he grabs his arms and tries to yank him out of bed. His hands were cold, and honestly a little damp, and his clothes seemed to be sticking to his frame more than usual. The way his hands were only pulled at Last Boss’ skin, which was rather uncomfortable.

“ Come on! Get up!” Niragi yanks at him again, moving to yank at the arm closest to him.

Which only makes the taller of the two grab his nearby sword bag and point it at Niragi, eyes widening and making zero attempt to say a word to the lizard. Niragi just tugs harder on his arm despite the weapon in his face. Even with the fact that the actual blade was safely tucked away, Last Boss wouldn’t hesitate to smack Niragi in the face.

In fact, he would’ve smacked the black marble in the face if Niragi didn’t suddenly let out a yelp and let go, glaring down at the ground. Cabot hops up onto the bed not even a second later, settling herself comfortably on her owner. Niragi grumbles, reaching down and rubbing at his leg, Last Boss staring at him as he sets his weapon back down.

“ Fuck, your cat bit me.” Niragi hisses. Last Boss gives her a small scritch behind her ear for that, Cabot meowing. Niragi pouts, straightening up and folding his arms over his chest. “ Seriously, I need to show you something. It’s important.”

“ … Did Aguni say anything about it?” He tilts his head slightly, continuing to stare directly at Niragi. Niragi rolls his eyes at that, clicking his tongue. Niragi shakes his head, and Last Boss only rolls over away from Niragi, very much wanting to go back to being by himself and enjoy the silence on his own.

Niragi wasn’t having any of that, as suddenly Last Boss felt Niragi’s hands on his side and attempt to roll him back over. Except Cabot was still there, and scratches at Niragi’s hand, making him jerk away once more. “ Tell Cabot to stop doing that!” “ Doing what?”

“ Your cat scratched me! Fucking wiener.”

Last Boss only shrugs casually, rolling back around to make eye contact with the still fairly damp charcoal grill man. “ Then maybe you should leave me alone. Cabot is a good cat.”

“ Yeah, but also a fucking dick.”

“ Cabot is a girl.”

“ Girls can be dicks.”

“ No wonder why she can make you back away.” Last Boss rolls right back over, Cabot climbing on top of his head and using it as a nice bald bed.

“ You absolute cavity. I’m going to put a bullet through your skull.*

“ And I’ll put steel through yours.” Last Boss mutters, barely audible from both him not bothering to raise his voice and a cat on his head muffling him. Last Boss wasn’t sure what Niragi did, but he didn’t feel him touch him again, so he took it as a win.

Even if his ear was blasted with a vibrating sack of cute flesh.

( Meanwhile, Niragi was sitting by the pool petting a massive bass he stole. “ Fucking eggnog slut. I just wanted to show you off….”)

[beauvibaby]

leave me alone – t.seguin

a/n: shocking, I didn’t proof read this

After the first loss, you could tell Tyler was taking it rough, he always did. He didn’t talk about it, the second you guys walked in the door he was dragging you to bed and using you as a pillow, he fell asleep like that, with you playing with his hair and his head on your chest, his hand loosening its grip on your waist as he drifted off. You kissed his forehead and somehow shimmied out from under him to get ready for bed, a solemn look on your face at the still pained expression on his face.

The second loss went like that too, he spoke, barely. He said he didn’t want to talk about it, you simply assured him if he changed his mind, you would be there to listen. That earned you a genuine smile and a kiss full of love before he fell back asleep. Again–you went through the same routine, wishing he would just talk it out instead of harboring it all in.

The third loss, that’s where it all changed.

He stormed out of the car and into the house before you even had a chance to undo your seatbelt, your eyebrows raised in surprise as he slammed the door. “Oh.” You whispered, scrambling to grab your things, rushing inside to join him. When you opened the door you heard him slamming things around in the kitchen and the dogs were watching him skeptically. “Ty?” You called out, setting your purse down on the hook, slipping your shoes off as well. “Kitchen.” He grumbled in response, you trudged over wearily, the dogs staying close to you as they could tell he was angry. “Baby, what are you doing?” You asked softly, he was making himself a drink, which didn’t bother you, he never got drunk, but he always refused to drink when he was angry because he just knew it would make it worse. “What does it look like?” He quipped, downing the whiskey like it was nothing, you grimaced as he slammed the cup down. Thankfully not pouring himself another one. He stayed silent, hands gripping the edge of the counter, he looked beyond frustrated, and you weren’t sure what to do, what he wanted. You walked over to him.

He glanced down at you when you placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing circles with your thumb. You looked up at him with wide eyes and a soft smile, “did you want to talk about it bub?” You whispered. He stared blankly at you for a moment. The thought of saying it out loud made him disgusted. Admitting that he felt like a failure, to you, to the girl he was supposed to take care of at all costs, that terrified him–and so he became defensive, which meant he snapped at you. “Can’t you just leave me alone? You don’t have to fucking coddle me!” He snapped, stepping out of your grip. Your face fell, taking a step back by his sudden movements. “I’m only doing what you’ve been making me do after every game! I’m just trying to help.” You spoke pointedly but at a normal volume, “just go.” He muttered, venom dripping from his voice as he stomped up the stairs to your shared room. You stood there for a moment, letting the tears fall down your cheeks, you tended to the dogs before grabbing your purse and storming out of the house. You had lived with him for a few months, you didn’t know where to go now, it’s not like you could just go to your apartment now.

So you did the next best thing, you got in your car and drove to the closest friends house that you could think of.

You knocked on the door sheepishly, hugging your purse to your chest, you heard the door unlock before it swung open. “Y/N?” Jamie questioned, looking you over, confused as to why you were here so late, and without Tyler no less. “Hey, uhm, this is really awkward but I didn’t know where else to go that wasn’t a long drive.” You rushed your words together, you felt terrible now as you looked at yours and Tyler’s best friend who was equally as exhausted, but everyone else you knew was out of the city. “No, no, it’s ok.” He assured you, stepping aside so you could walk in, “I’m not going to ask, I don’t want to be involved, but you know where everything is, so feel free.” He gave you a soft smile, shutting the door before heading to his room, “goodnight.” He called, “goodnight, thank you Jamie.” You sighed, he brushed it off with a smile before disappearing upstairs. You got yourself a glass of water and made your way to the guest room that was on the main level, sniffling the whole time as you couldn’t believe Tyler had snapped like that.

Meanwhile at Tyler’s house, he was going into a full panic after he took an extended shower, he tried calling you and texting you after he calmed down when he realized you had actually left, but then he saw your phone on the counter. “Shit!” He slammed his hand down on the granite, how could I be so stupid, he thought, tugging on his hair as he couldn’t reach you. How was he going to find you? Or know that you were ok? The dogs were completely ignoring him, which only made him feel worse, as if they knew how rude he had been to you. An idea popped into his head, did he want to get him involved?

Jamie groaned as he was nearly asleep and his phone started blaring beside his bed, “hello?” He mumbled without checking who it was. “Jamie, uh, Y/N and I, well really I snapped at her, and she left without her phone and I’m freaking out man.” Tyler rambled into his ear, and Jamie had to stifle back a laugh as he knew you were perfectly fine sleeping downstairs. Curiosity got the best of him, “what did you do?” He questioned, climbing out of bed, slowly and quietly walking down the stairs. “Fuck–uh, she was trying to get me to talk to her and I just got pissed and told her to leave me alone, and to leave.” Tyler whispered, Jamie froze halfway down the steps, equally as pissed as you were. “What the hell? How could you do that?” Jamie chastised him, everyone on the team was grateful for your presence in Tyler’s life, because it put you in their life too. You went above and beyond for anyone on that team, whether it was as simple as them mentioning they haven’t had a home cooked meal in so long, or if they needed advice with their relationships. No matter what it was, you were there. “I don’t know! Ok, I just didn’t want to admit that I feel like I’m letting everyone down.” Tyler finally spoke how he was feeling, and the weight lifted off his shoulders really made him feel worse for being so rude to you. “I’m just worried, what if she got into an accident.” Tyler quickly diverted the subject off of him, Jamie huffed and pushed open the guest room door to see you passed out without even going under the blankets.

He pressed his phone between his shoulder and his ear as Tyler continued to ramble his concerns, Jamie pulled a blanket over you, laughing under his breath when you whispered a small thank you in your half asleep state. Before he could ask if you wanted to talk to Tyler you were knocked out again. Jamie walked back out of the room, carefully shutting the door. “Holy shit.” He cursed, hearing Tyler sniffle on the other end of the line, “are you crying?” He gasped, patiently waiting for his friend to answer. “She never leaves without her phone, Jamie.” Tyler muttered, inadvertently answering his question. “She’s fine, I just checked on her.” Jamie spoke easily, listening to Tyler who sighed in relief. “You knew she was there this whole time!” Tyler shouted, “yes, and I made you suffer a little bit longer because you needed to realize how idiotic it was to pick a fight over that.” Jamie snapped, “now, I’m going to bed, don’t come over here, just let her sleep, and I’m sure she’ll be going back to you in the morning.” He demanded to his friend, who only muttered an agreement before hanging up.

***

You woke up so much earlier than you normally did, but you decided it would be best to just sneak out while Jamie was still asleep, avoiding any mortifying embarrassment. You left a note on his coffee pot, knowing that would be his first stop, simply writing a thanks on it.

When you pulled up to the house, the sun had just begun to show, only then did you realize this whole time you didn’t have your phone, you felt a little guilty, wondering if he had even tried to reach you last night. You went in through the garage, hearing the dogs jump up at your presence, they scurried over, swarming you with happy barks and tails swinging. “Shh, you don’t want to wake daddy.” You spoke down to the dogs, “do you wanna go out?” You added, ushering them to the back door, quietly letting them out before searching for your phone. Once you found it, you were relieved to see multiple messages and calls from Tyler, until you figured he must’ve seen your phone and gave up. You shoved it into your pocket before going to search for him, you were heading towards the stairs when you heard movement from the living room, you turned and let out a soft gasp when you saw Tyler asleep on the couch, hair a mess and worry etched onto his face.

You tiptoed over to him, pulling the blanket up to cover him when he stirred, he quickly opened his eyes and shot up when he saw you standing there. He pulled you down to his lap, hugging you tightly, you stayed silent and still, waiting for his apology. “Baby, oh my god.” He breathed out, finally leaning back to look at your stone cold face. “I’m so sorry, I was angry at myself, and I took it out on you.” He rushed, cupping your face, “I didn’t want to admit that I was letting you down, letting the team down.” He added, watching as your face began to soften, “you could never let me down, Tyler.” You whispered, placing your hands over yours. “I’m still hurt that you said that, you know that was one of my biggest fears when I moved in.” You sighed, it was true, when you moved in you had told him you were worried about what would happen when you guys fought. “I know, baby, I’m so sorry. I never should’ve said that, I should’ve talked to you.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead, relieved when you didn’t pull away from him, you curled into his embrace, “I was so scared last night, I was so afraid something happened to you.” He whispered into your hair.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you, I forgot my phone.” You whispered against his neck, he nodded, “I know.” He kissed your cheek, looking at you softly when you pulled back to look him in the eyes. You cupped his jaw, leaning in to kiss him slowly, melting into the action, his hands on your hips pulling you closer. “Can we talk about it now? I think that would be good, for both of us.” You mumbled once you pulled away, he nodded, “yes, please.”

taglist: @vinceduhn​ @kempe​ @jackiesquinn​ @josty​ @kiedhara​ @literarycharleton​

[chaoticallysapphic]

the great trial part six

summary: This was meant to be the easy part. The part filled with brightness and love. The war was over and you had the love of your life all to yourself. No more Baatar, no more secrecy and no more lies. But with the calm comes the realization as all the adrenaline finally leaves you. Now you know, this is the hard part.

a/n: you can really tell I needed to be held while writing this. Thank you @medeliadracon​ for being the best editor/beta reader ever

word count: 7.9k

                               3. Tell your partner why you love them. 

Spring is near its end, the days have grown hotter as the sun beats down on the metal city. And with the end of spring comes a special day, your birthday. In the last few years, it was nothing big, Kuvira would usually promise you something great one day like an elegant necklace or first edition books. Those three birthdays spent with her felt strange and hollow. You knew each time she got so caught up in it all that she forgot. Two days before your last birthday you even heard Bolin remind her. 

And whilst she's no longer constantly busy with the task of uniting the Empire, you didn’t think she’d remember. You also didn’t expect the guests that arrived later that fateful day. 

When you wake up, feeling slightly excited about the day, you wake to an empty bed. At first, that familiar feeling of panic (smaller than any of the others before) tightens around your chest until your gaze drifts to the open door. The morning light shines through the sheer curtains you had installed in the living room and casts Kuvira in an angelic glow. 

Her dark hair has been braided, the style reminds you of the day you met. She’s sporting a pair of shorts and a large sleep shirt of yours (it used to be your dad's) along with a pair of the knitted socks you got for Winter Solstice. You bite your lip at the sight as your heart slowly begins to beat at its normal pace again. 

Slowly sitting up you stay in bed with the blankets covering your lower half as you grab her pillow and hug it. Your chin rests on top of it as you watch your lover make you breakfast. Even if she doesn’t remember, this is already better than your last three birthdays. 

You don’t know how long you sit there and dreamily watch her but you do know that when she finally catches your gaze, most of whatever she’s prepared has been set on a tray. “You're meant to be asleep,” she says in defeat. 

You bite your lip as your smile widens at her words. She grabs the glass of mango juice she was in the middle of filling when she finally felt your eyes drilling holes into her backside and places it on the tray with everything else. 

Kuvira grabs the metal tray by the handles and carefully walks over to your bed. You place her pillow down and scoot over until your back hits the headboard. You help her set the tray down, not wanting to stain the sheets if anything were to spill. Spirits, you want to cry, not because of anything bad, but simply because you can tell how much effort and time was put into the meal at hand. 

There’s a stack of apple pancakes with a cinnamon mixture drizzled on top, the pad of butter is half melted and you notice the little pitcher of syrup set beside it. There’s a small bowl of chopped fruit along with a few pieces of perfectly cooked crispy bacon. “I wanted to surprise you.” 

Gulping you look into her eyes and say “you surprised me.” Slowly, afraid of knocking over the tray you pull her close so you can softly kiss her. Your hand is on her shoulder as hers are holding her up on either side of your legs. She’s leaning over the tray as she kisses you back with such gentleness that it makes your heart clench at the love you're currently feeling. 

Kuvira reluctantly pulls away, ever since that night a month ago that ended with you sobbing she’s tried to keep either of you from getting carried away. She wants you so bad, but it’s not time, and she won’t risk the delicate balance that the two of you have recently found. 

“Happy birthday.” Tears well up at her words as you let out a wet chuckle. Every little problem has momentarily vanished in this sweet moment. She reaches her hand up to gently wipe at the tears, if not for your smile she’d be worried that you were upset. 

“Thank you….” You look down at the meal before you as you pick up the fork laid out on a napkin. “This looks amazing, Kuvira.” 

You eat in peaceful silence and Kuvira moves around so she’s sitting beside you and has her chin resting on your shoulder with her arms wrapped around you, your back pressed against her chest. The pancakes are heavenly and you thank whatever force compelled Kuvira to start cooking because this is the best thing you’ve ever eaten. 

“Do you want a bite?” You cut a piece off for her and lift your fork. She shakes her head. 

“It’s for you.” 

“But have you eaten anything yet?” 

“No, but I’ll eat something after.” You raise your fork to her lips anyways, and she sighs before opening her mouth. It’s weird feeding her but you kind of like it, once she bites the piece off you lower the fork you watch her reaction. You smirk when she groans at the taste and before you know it she’s reaching for your fork again. “Hey wait!” 

“That’s amazing and I made it, so I deserve more!” 

“It’s my birthday breakfast!” You're both grinning from ear to ear as she tries to take the fork from you. There’s a dip in the bed as you both continue to struggle over it, she’s beginning to win and there’s this smug look on her features. 

Suddenly her eyes widen as she looks behind you but before either of you can stop whatever it is she sees the sound of Lily gobbling said pancakes up fills the room. Turning slightly so you’re no longer facing Kuvira you see that the plate has been licked clean as Lily stares at you both, her tail viciously wagging back and forth. 

“Well it looks like neither of us is gonna eat them,” you say, it’s still for a moment before you laugh and Kuvira joins you. Perhaps some other day you would have scolded her but right now you're too happy to care. 

You split the bowl of fruit and bacon between the two of you and make Lily lay on the ground to keep her from stealing anything else. Her long snout is raised in the air as she sniffs the bacon that you feed Kuvira.

“What do you want to do today?” She leans back a bit and loosens her hold around your waist. You bite your lip as you try to think something up, growing up your parents would make a picnic and take you across the street to your favorite place on earth where you’d eat amongst the flowers and spend the day basking in the sun. 

Unfortunately with your house arrest that isn’t possible. Someday you’d like to spend it that way again but with Kuvira there as well and Lily napping in the sun beside you all. But today, after everything, you just want it to be as peaceful and relaxing as it possibly can. 

“I just wanna listen to the radio and cuddle you.” Kuvira warms at your words, that’s a plan she can get behind. So you both force yourselves out of bed and place the tray in the kitchen. You turn the radio on as Kuvira lays down on the couch, turning the dial so the volume is lowered a few notches you climb onto the couch and lay between her legs. Resting your head on her chest, you sigh happily when her arms wrap around you. 

The afternoon is peaceful and sometimes one of you breaks the silence to say something in hushed voices. The windows and garden door are open, which allows a cool breeze to flow through the room and graze your skin. You're just about to fall asleep when someone repeatedly knocks on your door. 

“The fuck?” Kuvira groans out. She had fallen asleep some time ago and is being rudely awoken to the knocking. Your parents aren’t meant to come over until dinner time like Kuvira and your father planned, and from what she can tell it’s only midday. 

Reluctantly you extract yourself from Kuvira’s hold and head over to the front door, by now the knocking has thankfully stopped. Sleepily rubbing your eye with one hand and you open the door with the other. Once the person on the other side catches who is greeting him he pulls you into a hug so tight it causes you to wheeze. 

“Happy birthday!” Bolin lets go of you, causing you to stumble back two steps. Kuvira’s eyes widen as she sits up and watches him place his hands on your shoulders with a grin. “You’re one year older!” 

“You… Remembered?” Your brows are raised in surprise as you notice the large gift bag behind him on the floor. Meanwhile, Kuvira is debating going to hide away in your room, not because she’s scared of Bolin but because this is your day and last time they spoke he didn’t hold back his hatred for her. 

“Of course, how could I forget one of my best friends' birthdays?” You step aside to let him in, so he grabs the bag and makes himself at home by placing it on your coffee table. Kuvira stands so she can swiftly excuse herself but stops when Bolin sends a forced smile her way. “I thought I’d come to visit Zaofu and see you, plus I missed Opal.” 

“How is she?” You’re not a massive fan of Opal ever since Kuvira told you about how she acted during her brief time away, but you know she means the world to Bolin just as Kuvira does to you. You walk over to Kuvira as you notice her eyeing the bedroom door and snuggle into her side, wrapping an arm around her waist. 

Bolin seems surprised at the open display, to be fair he found out about the two of you right before he escaped and has never witnessed the two of you share so much as a hug. “She’s doing pretty good, she’s really happy to have her family all back together again.” 

You know that’s a slight dig at Kuvira but try to ignore it, at some point you’ll pull him aside and ask him to ease up on her, for you. “Are you… Do you wanna stay for lunch?” 

To be honest the both of you probably would have slept through lunch but with the arrival of Bolin you may as well eat, three bites of pancakes with some bacon and fruit doesn’t last as long as one would think.

“Totally! We have so much catching up to do anyway.” You help Kuvira heat up some of last night's dinner along with sprucing it up with spices and some homemade bread that she made the other day. Bolin sits at the table and watches the two of you move throughout the kitchen peacefully. 

You both are so used to this that by now you know when to hand the other a utensil or keep from bumping into each other while moving around. He never thought he’d see the great uniter in a kitchen, especially in pajamas no less. Kuvira’s hair is a bit of a mess from the nap and is half out of her braid, not that she notices and you're wearing her white tank top with light blue pajama shorts. Both of you are sporting socks and are the picture of domesticity. 

He notices how healthy you look. Those years on the train were slowly killing you, your lack of appetite and resigned demeanor had made you gradually disappear, it seems like he watched your soul float out of your body sometime after the engagement.

But now you’ve gained back the weight you lost, your cheeks are full again, hair shiny and you’re… Smiling. He’s seen you smile a lot, but he realizes now they must have all been fake because this one is so obviously genuine and nothing like the others. When Kuvira passes by you, a hand grazing your back to let you know of her presence you peek at her with a look so full of love. He wonders if Kuvira knows just how much you love her. It must be a lot by the way you seem so relaxed beside her. 

Lily trots in from the garden where she was most likely barking at anyone passing by and immediately decides that she must sniff this new person. She shoves her cold snout against his arm and Bolin jumps in shock, a yelp escaping him. 

Both of you look up at the sound and when you see Lily inspecting Bolin you snort. “That’s Lily,” you begin to plate the now warm kebabs while Kuvira scoops the Papaya salad into three bowls. “She likes if you rub the backs of her ears.” 

“You got a dog?” Bolin eyes the two of you, more so Kuvira than you. Kuvira has a dog? He must be having some kind of fever dream because nothing seems correct right now. 

“Yes…” That’s the first thing Kuvira has said to Bolin since he stepped through that door. To be fair her heart is pounding as she waits to see his response. You mean too much to her to mess up right now. She can’t ruin another one of your birthdays by starting a fight with your best friend. 

“Well, that’s cool! Y’know I might need to use Lily as an excuse to get one myself, but maybe a smaller one because I’m not home a lot and I could carry a small one around. I don’t think I told you but I work for Zhu Li now.” You bring the plates over to the table and help Kuvira with the bowls. 

The last of Bolin’s words perplexes you. For the most part, you’ve been sheltered from the outside world and its news since the hospital. The last you heard about Zhu Li was her marriage to Varrick. 

She sent you a letter letting you know and saying she wished you could have made it, but she understood that you couldn’t. “What do you mean? She isn’t Varrick's assistant anymore?” 

“Oh wow you’ve really-” Bolin takes a bite of his kebab and his eyes widen at the explosion of flavor in that one bite of meat, “been left out of the loop huh? Also, this is really good.” 

“Thanks,” Kuvira says softly. Another shocker for poor Bolin, she made this? What other weird things has she been getting up to ever since she tried to enslave them? 

“Well,” Bolin brushes off Kuvira’s words, and you sigh to yourself. “Zhu Li ran for president of Republic City and won.” 

“What?!” Your eyes widen, you drop your fork back into your bowl and stare at Bolin. “Really?” 

“Yeah, and she’s ten times better than Raiko. I’m… Well, I guess I’m her assistant now, so I don’t really have much time for myself anymore, but it’s a fulfilling job.” 

You reach under the table and search for Kuvira’s hand. Your fingers brush against hers before wrapping them around hers and softly squeezing. You know she must be uncomfortable right and you’re so grateful. This can’t be easy for her.

“How did you manage to sneak away to Zaofu then?” 

“Oh she gave me the time off when she heard it was your birthday, even gave me a gift to give to you from her and Varrick.” Oh wow, if it’s from the both of them it will probably be something fancy, but knowing Zhu Li it won’t be too over the top whereas if Varrick was in control of it you’d probably have something that could be seen from a mile away. 

“I hope I can see her again sometime, Varrick too.” 

“I’m sure if you ask she’ll find some time off. You mean a lot to her after everything.” After helping her escape, is what he doesn’t say but it’s what everyone knows. Escape from Kuvira. 

“So what are they like as a couple? It shocked me when I got that letter.” And so Bolin goes on one of his tangents about everything regarding the couple. 

Apparently, they both knew about their soulmate bond from day one but Varrick had assumed it’d be one of those rare cases where the love they felt was platonic instead of romantic. But he was just shoving his feelings for her aside, and she had assumed it was platonic as well seeing as he was her boss. 

Little did either know how wrong they were and spent all of those years together slowly, inch by inch, falling in love with one another. It’s actually kind of romantic, they were if anything, friends before lovers. Sometimes you wonder if that's how it should be. 

After everything you feel like just jumping into a relationship with someone you don’t know because of words on your skin seems a bit hasty and rushed. To become friends first, to slowly get to know another allows them to learn if they are right for each other. 

Just because the universe has chosen you as soulmates doesn’t mean you have to date them, many people, those who don’t feel romantic attraction towards others, form deep friendships with their soulmate. And others leave their soulmate because, even though their bond is deeper, the other may still be bad for them. You wonder if you would have left Kuvira if you weren’t so stubborn.

You understand that at times the universe doesn’t choose correctly but you think it did for you. Perhaps at first, she wasn’t good for you but the woman she’s grown into these last few months (almost a year) is thoughtful, caring, and handles you with the utmost gentleness as if you're porcelain. It’s a transformation unlike any other. After that first kiss, it was almost always rough and fast, you had gone further into the physical aspects of your relationship far before you even knew the basics about each other. She was all-consuming in a way that slowly sucked the life out of you but now she’s slowly filling you back up and replacing the cracked pieces of your heart. Pieces she broke. 

“I’m so happy for them, I know Zhu Li seemed worried about Varrick’s reaction to her return,” you reply after he’s done regaling you of everything regarding the couple. It makes sense now that you think about it. 

You think back to the day you helped her escape as you handed her the battle plans for Republic City and how you asked her if you thought a soulmate could forgive the other over a great betrayal. 

“Do you think, what with the deeper bond and all, someone can forgive their soulmate if they betray them?”

“I hope so.” 

Whilst you were panicking over Kuvira, she was probably panicking over Varrick. Then you think about now, about the therapy sessions and the months of not talking, of not touching. The fighting and tears. There wasn’t much for Kuvira to forgive but there was so much for you to forgive. How do you answer your own question when you still aren’t so sure? 

“Oh, the trip back to Republic City whipped him into shape, it made him realize how much he loved her.” By now you’ve all finished your food and Kuvira gets up to collect all the plates. When she passes by you gently grab her wrist to slowly pull her down and leave a quick peck on her cheek. 

She can’t help the slight flush that dusts her cheeks as she stands back up after the kiss and heads to the sink. You just want to try and let her know how much you appreciate her right now, how you see the work she’s putting in. 

Bolin gets up at the display and heads over to the coffee table where he left the big, dark blue bag. He brings it over to you and sets it down on the table with an excited grin. 

“Okay, so this-” he pulls out a perfectly wrapped medium-sized box, “is from Zhu Li. I thought you could open it first and then open mine.” 

He's like an over-excited toddler as he sits down beside you. Kuvira watches from the kitchen as you tear into the wrapping paper, it falls to the floor in small heaps that she knows Lily will try to chew. 

You rip off the last piece of paper to find a black box staring back at you, sliding it onto the table you gently pull the lid off. The first thing that catches your eye is a thin metal bookmark that resembles a flower with its stem. There're words engraved onto the side that read ‘Bravery is often found in the quiet ones’. 

You think back on last year, it was a terrifying time but the two of you, the quiet ones, were braver than anyone could imagine when it came down to it. That night helping her escape made you feel like a hero in a novel, well up until the adrenaline wore off on the ride back to Zaofu. 

Together you took out a general and six guards. She destroyed the mecha suits and you destroyed the weapons. At the moment you didn’t think of yourself as brave or courageous. You were simply trying to right the wrongs of your past, trying to finally be the person you hoped to be. 

Biting your lip to keep from crying you lift the bookmark to show Kuvira “now you can stop yelling at me about our books.” 

“You practically mutilate them with that awful dog-earring,” she retorts. She can see the glisten in your eyes, but she’s too far away to see the words engraved. Kuvira doesn’t comment on it as you blink a few times to wash them away before carefully setting the bookmark onto the table. 

Pulling your gaze away from the bookmark you look towards the box to see what else is inside. There’s something wrapped up in silver tissue paper so you swiftly pull it off and are met with a sight that has you giggling. In your hands is a book titled ‘Communication for Dummies’. There’s a card that slips out of it, it’s small and white, and when you open it up you're met with Zhu Li’s neat handwriting. 

The bookmark is to help remind you of your success, 

The book is to hopefully help you find peace. 

I miss you and hope you’re having a very happy birthday. 

Thank you for everything, 

Zhu Li Moon.

You gently place the card on top of the book and put all three items back into the small black box before placing the lid back on. By now Kuvira has walked over to help you pick up the wrapping paper, which you pull yourself away from the box to do. When you hand her the fist full of paper in your hand, Bolin slides the bag your way. 

“I can’t wait to see your reaction,” he places his chin in his hands as he leans forward in his seat. He’s practically vibrating with excitement so to help calm him down you happily open up the bag and pull out all the tissue paper he stuffed inside. 

Your fingers graze across the smooth fabric and you gently grip the material to pull it out of the bag. In your hand is a mint green halter top made of stretchy fabric, with furrowed brows you pull out the other item inside that’s a pair of matching mint green pants made of the same material. 

“For when you start dancing again,” Bolin happily explains. You look down at the clothes, before you’d always just wear a tank top and sweatpants like most of the girls there but some of them, the ones who had been doing it most of their life had special outfits for practice. “I thought the best dancer I know should have something to practice in.” 

“Bolin…” You want to remind him that you aren’t a dancer and haven’t practiced with a teacher in four years. Looking at the top in one hand and pants in the other reminds you of that first day sparring with him on the train, how he believed in you and your dream. 

“There’s one more thing in there.” You bite your lip and gently set the clothes down, at the bottom of the bag is a silver shoebox. Using both of your hands you carefully pull the box out of the bag and set it on the table, Bolin sets the bag on the floor for you and watches as you carefully lift the lid. 

Inside is probably the nicest pair of dance shoes you’ve ever seen. Made of soft black leather with laces down the center they have a strong grip on the soles and you run your hand over the bottom of them before looking back up at Bolin. 

“The lady at the shop said those are best for the flying stuff, that’s what you wanna do right?” 

Flying stuff, a wet laugh leaves your lips as you vigorously nod. Unshed tears glisten in your eyes as you think about how sentimental this all is. For the last few years, you’ve felt forgotten and unimportant, like if the wind finally carried you away no one would notice. Today feels slightly overwhelming all of a sudden as your grip on the shoes tightens. 

“Are they not the right kind?” Bolin’s voice drips with concern and all you can do is shake your head as you try to calm yourself down. A few tears trickle out from the corners of your eyes and you let out a deep, shaky sigh. 

“No these are perfect, thank you.” He stands from his chair and pulls you into his arms, the shoes get squished between the two of you but you don’t care. Neither of you notice as Kuvira slips into the bedroom, this feels deeply private. She suddenly feels like an intruder in her own home and sits cross-legged on the bed with her sketchbook in front of her as she waits for him to leave. 

When Bolin pulls away from you, he notices the absences of your lover and lets out a sigh of relief, sitting back down in the chair he helps you put all the gifts back in the bag for now. 

“Are you happy, Y/n?” 

“Huh?” You furrow your brows as you wipe away the last of your tears, you feel slightly silly for crying but you know he doesn’t mind. He witnessed you cry a lot on the train. 

“I mean it’s not like before? You’re happy, and she’s finally treating you right?” Oh. You think back on the times you’d start to cry during sparring sessions, he’d always ask if you wanted to stop but you’d simply press on. It felt better to punch away the tears than wallow in them. 

It is better, you think. You’ve known for some time that you both have made vast improvements and it makes you so happy to know that your relationship won’t remain such a toxic void, slowly sucking the life out of you. There was still so much left to do though. 

“I am and…” you smile, “she is. She’s been really amazing these last few months.” Bolin feels a sense of relief in your words. You were like a sister to him and it made him feel so much better to be returning to Republic City knowing you were alright. 

“Y’know I expect you to start writing to me, I can’t just come up to Zaofu every few months to make sure you're still alive.” 

You laugh at that. Grinning you playfully let out a dramatic sigh “I guess I can fit that into my busy schedule.” Both of you talk for a while, he tells you more about his job and you inform him of the thrilling development of your plants which has him laughing with how hard you try to make it sound interesting. 

Eventually, though he has to go. Apparently, he and Opal have a dinner date that he has to go get gussied up for. When you lead him to the front door he pulls you into a tight hug just like the last one, only this time, you’re able to wrap your arms around him too. You stand like that for a minute before he finally pulls away from you, opening the door for himself he looks at you one last time. 

“If you ever need someone, I’ll come as fast as I can, okay?” You nod, to be honest, you had momentarily forgotten about how much Bolin cared for you. It's comforting to know he still cares about you after this year apart during which you’ve stayed with someone he hates. 

“I know, thank you, Bolin.” He offers you one last smile before leaving, the door softly shuts behind him, and once more it’s simply the three of you in the apartment. Lily is napping on the couch and the bedroom door is shut, you know Kuvira snuck off at some point so you leisurely walk over. Upon opening the door you find her sitting at the center of the bed, hunched over with her charcoal pencil in hand. 

“Hey,” you lean against the doorway with your arms comfortably crossed over your chest. She looks up from her sketchbook at the sound of your voice, a soft smile creeps its way onto her lips. “How’s the sketch going?” 

“I’m almost done, ‘started working on it yesterday, so I’m mainly shading right now.” She sets the pencil down and pushes some loose strands of hair behind her ear. “How was your time with him?” 

You slowly walk over and climb onto the bed, you steer clear of the book and make sure not to look down at it as you sit beside Kuvira. Your fingers run through her hair, from her nap most of it is out of the braid and she hasn’t tried to fix it. You love her like this, when she looks so relaxed and happy. “It was nice, we mainly just chatted about our lives since we last saw each other. I missed talking to him.” 

“Those were some nice things you got.” Kuvira looks down at her sketchbook and picks up the pencil to twirl between her fingers.  

“They were, I wasn’t expecting that though.” 

Kuvira sighs, raking a hand through her hair she looks at you out of the corner of her eye. “I’m sorry I can’t get something like that for you today.” Or have ever given you something like that, she thinks in a self-deprecating manner. 

She thinks of all the empty promises on all your other birthdays, the way she’d mention one day showering you in jewelry once it was all over. You’d always tell her you didn’t need fine jewels, just her, but she still feels like a bad girlfriend for not having all of that and more to hand to you on a silver platter. 

“Kuvira…” You inch closer to her until your knees are touching the side of her leg, one of your hands helps tilt her head towards you so you can look into her eyes. “You could hand me a wilted flower and I’d love it.” 

She rolls her eyes at your words, but you pull her face closer until your noses are touching. “I’m serious, I’m really happy with how today has gone, I don’t need anything. All I want is to spend the rest of the day relaxing with you.” 

“I do have something…” She replies softly. You tilt your head in question and watch as she slowly extracts herself from your hold before moving over to her nightstand. She fishes a stack of papers out of her drawer, with her back turned to you, she rearranges them and makes sure none of them have been bent or smudged. 

Kuvira is nervous, which shocks her because she’s never really been nervous. The few times she has, she realizes it’s been about you. With a final exhale Kuvira turns around and sits in front of you. Your knees are touching, you can’t see what's on the papers as she holds them close to her chest. 

“It isn’t a ruby necklace or golden ring but…” Kuvira thickly swallows as she slowly lowers the papers, you bring your hands up to carefully take them from her. “It’s all I have to give to you.” 

A gasp escapes you at the sight before you, the first paper is of a panda lily, the lines are uniformed and perfected, there’s not a single flaw in sight, not even the shading is shoddy. “These are from the past couple of months, it starts with my first few drawings and ends with the more recent ones.” You’ve never heard her sound so nervous before. She tucks her hands between her thighs, her whole body tense as she watches you silently inspect the first drawing. 

Biting your lip you carefully set the first drawing down, afraid of ripping it. The next three are all of different kinds of flowers, you realize they are flowers your dad often brings over to the house. Each one is as perfect as the last, these can’t be her first few because this looks amazing, then again it seems everything Kuvira does is amazing. 

The fifth one is a bit different, it’s of you, sort of. You can tell she had a harder time with this one, instead of having the sharp defining lines and perfect strokes it’s a bit softer, you can see some smudge marks around the hair but it’s still you. You’re looking down with your hair pushed behind your ears, it’s a side profile. 

“That’s not the best of them,” she admits. You shake your head, delicately as if scared you’ll break it your fingers graze across it. 

“I love it.” The lump in your throat slowly grows as you sift through the stack. Slowly it’s less perfect, less inanimate and lifeless, and rawer. There’s a drawing of Lily on her back with her tail wagging that you know you’ll have to frame. 

There’s one of your parents, it looks like something similar to Winter Solstice as they sit next to each other with glasses of wine in their hands. Your dad has his arm slung over your mom's shoulder as both are laughing. There are finger smudges on the corner of it and you can see the happiness in their expressions. 

Next is you and your father filling dumplings, he’s staring down at you. You're grinning from ear to ear as you stare at the half pinched dumpling in your hands. 

Then it’s you and Lily with her sitting on your lap, your arms are wrapped around her body with your eyes close, head resting against hers. The drawing makes you feel cozy and loved like you're experiencing the moment she captured on the piece of paper. 

There’s two left. The second to last one stuns you, your grips on the papers tighten just a fraction as you stare at yourself sleeping. Your hair is sprawled across the pillow, you have a hand tucked under your head with the other outstretched, most likely trying to reach for her. There’s this content look on your face, a slight smile and a scrunch of the nose. Your shirt has ridden up and bunched just under your breasts, the curve of your body on display as the blanket rests at your hips. 

“When did-” 

“Three weeks ago.” 

You nod, wetting your lips, you feel tears well up in your eyes, you can’t tear your gaze away from the drawing. Your heart swells with love for this talented woman sitting across from you. Is this what you look like in your sleep? Is this what Kuvira sees when she wakes up in the morning? 

“You just looked so peaceful,” she admits anxiously. She keeps looking at you and then the paper, there’s one left, it’s recent but it’s different from the rest. This is based on an old memory, and she doesn’t know what you’ll think of it, 

“It’s beautiful,” you breathe out, your voice shaky. This is too intimate to frame, you’ll have to get some kind of book or folder to hold this and any future ones for safekeeping. You aggressively wipe at your eyes, afraid of the tears dripping onto the paper. Carefully Kuvira extracts her hands from her thighs and brings them up to pull your hands away from your eyes, gently she wipes the tears away for you. “Sorry.” 

“It’s okay, you’re not sad right?” You shake your head in her hands, and she lets out a sigh of relief. “Well, there’s one left.” 

Thickly swallowing you nod before cautiously setting that drawing on top of the rest. Her hands move to run through your hair as you look down at the last one. You still in her hold at the image in front of you. Unlike the rest, which are clearly drawn from memory in house arrest, this one goes far back. It’s something you haven’t thought about in years, it’s of you dancing in the studio with the metal flower underneath you, petals open to reveal you mid twirl. 

You look different, younger, and stress-free with a determined expression. You vaguely remember doing this, it wasn’t part of the routine but something you sometimes did when you thought you were alone. Clearly, at some point, you weren’t as discreet as you thought with your private practices. 

Eager as ever you’d come to the studio an hour early sometimes to warm up before everyone else slowly trickled in. You’d run through the stretches Suyin taught you then practice any moves you felt insecure about, which was honestly all of them. The metal flower makes you flush as you remember your night with Kuvira, you wonder if you’ll ever be able to look at it without feeling slightly scandalized. 

That was your first time, first kiss too. It was overwhelming but also so perfect, she cradled you between her hands like you were a delicate spring flower and watched you come undone so many times before deciding to show you how to pleasure her. You were exhausted when you both finally collapsed in a tangled heap and finally knew why everyone seemed obsessed with sex. 

“Y/n?” This time tears do fall onto the paper and you mentally scold yourself, you offer a weak smile as you let her wipe away the tears. 

“These,” you place one hand on top of the pile, your other delicately holding the last drawing, “are the best gifts I have ever received.” They beat everything you could ever think of. These are things you’ll hold onto for the rest of your life and will show your grandkids. 

You’ll cherish them for the rest of your life, even the less personal ones because it’s something she made, something she deemed beautiful enough to share with you. 

Kuvira doesn’t believe you. She’s sure your parents have spoiled you with amazing gifts growing up and can’t help but believe these drawings to be some kind of a cheap cop-out. But that smile of yours as you continue to softly cry has that self-deprecating voice quieting down. 

“I wanted to talk to you about something, it’s one of the things on Dr. Hanika’s list.” 

You hum in acknowledgment of her words as you pick up the stack from the bed and carefully clutch them to your chest. It seems stupid but these drawings make you feel more loved than you’ve ever felt before. 

“I know you can’t say it to me yet and I don’t want to pressure you.” I do wish you’d say it back, she thinks. “But I wanted to tell you some reasons I love you.” 

Your eyes widen in surprise at her words, but she presses on. “I know we’ve had a rough start and I know I’m to blame for it but I do mean it when I say it to you. Because…” she takes a deep breath, “you are so sweet and caring, you treat everyone kindly but aren’t afraid to fight back when necessary. I watched you stand up for what you believed in last year and you did it so fiercely, without a doubt in your mind it seemed.” 

“You take care of those plants like they are newborn babies, so delicately that at one point in time I was jealous of the attention you gave them,” you can’t help but giggle at that, and she smiles. ”I used to get so excited when I thought about you growing up, I wondered what you’d be like, would you love me back? And then when I was sent here I gave up on the idea. It didn’t seem like I was meant to be loved by someone like that.” 

You move one of your hands away from the stack of papers and gently cup her cheek, she leans into your touch. Her heart swells when she feels your thumb gently graze her cheekbone. 

“I didn’t make anything easy and I think that was partly because I believed you were too good for me. I felt like a fraud at times but you’d always pull me out of my thoughts.” 

“You’re the only person who can do that. I think I’ve remained sane for so long because of you and I know if you weren’t there I would have gone through with my plan. I don’t know what would have happened but I know it wouldn’t have been anything good.” 

She wets her lips. “I love you even though you over-salt your food, even if you snore into my ear at night.-” You flush in embarrassment, your face tilting down, but she needs to look into your eyes for this, they help calm her. So she gently places her finger under your chins and lifts your head back up.

“You might be a bit messy or destroy our books, turn the music up too loud at times or drag mud through the kitchen but those are the kinds of things that make you who you are. Even if they drive me up the wall at times I still love them because you wouldn’t be the woman you are if you didn’t…. Take up most of the couch when we’re sitting together.” 

You can’t help how nice it feels to stretch your legs out, you think. By now there is a stream of tears racing down your cheeks and dripping off your chin. 

“I love you because for some reason, despite me pushing you away all those years you’ve stayed. Everyone else ran away when it got tough but you didn’t even though you should have.”

“I don’t think I’ve mentioned how grateful I am that you’re giving me a second chance and I hope you know that I really am trying. Not because I want things to go back to the way they were or because I want specific things from you,” like sex,” but because I love you.” 

You can’t speak right away, that lump in your throat keeps you from forming any words as you continue to quietly cry. You know your face is probably red from crying and that you are such a mess. Reluctantly you set the stack of paper down to wipe away the tears. You take a deep breath to try and calm down, it works, sort of. 

“I know you can’t say it yet and that’s okay, but I wanted to tell you this and…'' one of Kuvira’s hands slid down to yours, she laced her fingers through yours and offered a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry for being a piece of shit for so long, and I’m sorry it’s taken me four years to give you a decent birthday.”

“It’s okay…” you choke out. 

“No it’s not,” she quickly replies. Kuvira knows how you don’t like to hurt other people’s feelings, including her own. Sometimes you’ll swallow your own feelings down for other people, she’s witnessed it far too many times. 

You guys sit like that for a few minutes while you calm down, spirits you’ll have to put a cold towel on your face after this. She breathes in time with you in hopes of helping you calm down, it helps as she exhales with you then inhales. You could have used this all those years ago during one of your breakdowns on the train. 

“I do…” love you, ”and one day I’m gonna say it back but right now just know that I do.” 

It’s all you can offer, your voice is scratchy since your throat hurts from crying so much and it makes you cringe a bit to hear. Kuvira nods, she understands. That selfish, impatient part of her is internally yelling to finally hear it again, but she squashes it down. 

The rest of the afternoon is spent in each other’s arms, you fall asleep at some point and awaken to Kuvira gently cupping your cheek. When she tells you your parents are in the living room it surprises you, she lets you slowly get dressed as she leaves the room to go back to cooking with your father. When you look in the floor-length mirror in the bedroom you let out a content sigh as you brush your hand over the sundress you’ve chosen. Your hair is a bit frizzy, but it’s nothing your parents haven’t seen. 

When you finally leave the bedroom your parents cheerfully greet you with bone-crushing hugs as they rejoice at your presence. Both of your parents immediately keep up the tradition by retelling the story of your birth which has Kuvira awkwardly staring at the cutting board as she tries to bite down a chuckle at the funny parts. 

Wine glasses are pulled out, bottles popped and when the food is finally ready you move to the dining room table. It’s loud and boisterous and very similar to Winter Solstice except now the topic is solely you. It has you blushing, your head in your hands as Kuvira gets to find out about all of your embarrassing toddler stories. 

“How old was she?” 

“Four.” 

“She was four when she got a toilet seat stuck around her neck.” Spirits, you gulp down some wine. You can’t be too mad though because Kuvira is laughing, there’s a massive grin on her face. She loves this and hopes your parents never run out of stories to tell her.

 As they begin to tell the story of your first day at school your eyes meet from across the table. Their voices slowly fade away as Kuvira offers you a loving smile that you easily return. 

One day you’ll say it back, it’ll just take a bit more time. And at this moment you have a hard time not mouthing the words to her, but you’re not ready. You won’t push yourself again, so instead, you simply enjoy this moment, this quiet bubble you’ve momentarily created.

Today has been so perfect, it feels like one of Kuvira’s drawings, like it can’t be real. If you blink it’ll be gone, so you simply enjoy the moment with all three of your favorite people surrounding you. 

She may have messed up your past birthdays, but today might just be the best day of your life and you didn’t even have to leave the house for it. All you can do is hope for more mornings spent laughing in each other's arms and days where you can simply be lazy, especially as a major change comes barreling towards you.

[yan-purgatory]

Netflix and Kill

request: CHANGKYUN possessive yandere! Where he's your quite neighbor who slowly opens up to you but you have a house Netflix date with another member, he can't handle that, time skip you go to your kitchen to get some midnight snacks(same night after the date) and find kyun in the kitchen sitting in the dark etc etc👀

pairing: changkyun x reader

word count: 1.8k

admin: ღ

The first time (Y/N) had “met” their neighbour was the day after they moved in. There was a knock at the door, leading (Y/N) to abandon the assembly of their IKEA wardrobe and greet her visitor. By the time they were at the door however, there was no person but rather a box of fresh cookies, and there was a young man walking away. (Y/N) stepped out to try to talk to him and thank him, but he just walked straight back into his apartment and locked the door.

(Y/N) picked up the box with a smile on their face, the smell bringing a rush of happiness and peace to their exhausted body after days of heavy labour. Meanwhile, her neighbour was just watching through his peephole to see their reaction, letting out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding in in seeing the delighted smile of his new neighbour.

Changkyun collapsed on the sofa. He didn’t know why his heart was beating so fast when he hadn’t even interacted with them, when most of the people he saw on a day-to-day basis disgusted him and he had to put on the facade of kindness in order to advance in society. Yet, he was secretly yearning to speak to his new neighbour, a completely foreign feeling to his cold heart. Even if he’d put in the bare minimum effort by buying some simple cookies from the bakery, they seemed to treasure his gift and he liked that feeling.

Before he quite knew what he was doing, he was writing an email to his landlord to ask for the new resident’s name. There was a pit of worry when he hit send that his request would not be received and he would never be able to learn enough about the person who was occupying his brain.

Luckily, by that evening he had his reply, and his night was spent scouring the internet, fascinated by the enigma (L/N) (Y/N).

~ ღ ~

The next time that (Y/N) encountered their quiet neighbour face-to-face was a week later, when checking their mail in the morning. He was already there, a few envelopes in his hand and ready to leave only to stop in place when he saw (Y/N).

“Hi.” (Y/N) smiled awkwardly. “I don’t think I’ve had the chance to introduce myself.”

He nodded, not saying a word with his eyes trained on them.

“My name is (Y/N), and I’m the new chef at the Traveller.” They said, stretching out their hand for him.

Of course, Changkyun knew that but he didn’t dare tell them that. (Y/N) didn’t need to know how he’d spent long nights pouring over the social media of them, their friends, their family, just shooting any form of the drug that was (L/N) (Y/N). Nonetheless he took their hand in his own and gave it a firm shake, enjoying the soft feeling of their skin against his. It was better than anything he’d absorbed from the computer screen.

“Changkyun.” He replied shortly.

“Your cookies were delicious, by the way.” (Y/N) offered him a grin as they withdrew their hand from the slightly too long handshake.

“Thank you.” A ghost of a smile ran over his lips. “I’m afraid I’m not much of a cook otherwise.”

“Well maybe I can teach you. It is my job after all.” His neighbour said cheerily. He nodded and pushed past them to leave the mailroom, hoping they couldn’t hear his racing heart.

By God, Changkyun had never been so infatuated with anyone in his life. There was something about them, about the way that they smiled at him that made him feel alive.

~ ღ ~

In the passing months, (Y/N) found themselves establishing a closer bond with Changkyun. Teaching him how to cook their favorite dishes, helping him decorate his drab apartment for Christmas, listening to the playlist he made for them on spotify. All the while, his obsession with his neighbour was spiralling downwards - when (Y/N) stood a bit too close to him, the desire to bury his nose in his hair and breathe in their gorgeous scent was almost uncontrollable. When (Y/N) would stagger up the stairs drenched because they forgot an umbrella, his hands twitched to remove their wet clothes and run his hands down their naked body. (Y/N) had become his night and day, and they didn’t even know it.

He’d taken to walking around the block at 8PM on Thursdays, since usually (Y/N)’s shift was over and they would be walking back only to coincidentally run into Changkyun and have him accompany them home. However, when he engaged in his daily ritual on that night, he saw no sign of his neighbour. Clearly, their work was taking over their life - he was considering phoning their boss as their boyfriend to ask that she doesn’t work any more overtime, since it was depriving them of time together. A little white lie never hurt anybody, no?

However, just as he was arriving home and unlocking his door, he heard the familiar soothing sound of (Y/N)’s voice.

“No way! I swear, I’ll kill you one day.” Their laughter was medicine to his ears, but he froze in place when he heard another voice accompanying it.

“You’d never do that, you love me far too much.” The words sent shivers down Changkyun’s spine. Was there a secret boyfriend behind the scenes that he didn’t know about? Had he spent all this time chasing after someone who had already been taken?

(Y/N) didn’t even pay any attention to Changkyun, rooted to the spot in front of his door - as they dragged their partner over to their flat and continued to babble on.

He felt himself shaking with rage, at himself and at her. How could she seek out the company of someone else when he was always there for her?

All ideas of going to bed were now abandoned, as Changkyun abandoned his home to sit outside of (Y/N)’s door and listen in on the interaction.

He heard the ‘Ba-Boom’ of Netflix turning on, the sound of popping corn, and then relative silence whilst (Y/N) and their vermin watched some film together bar the occasional snarky comment.

It was practically torture, knowing that (Y/N) was with another man, possibly even cuddling with him. Changkyun wanted nothing more than to rip the bastard into shreds, but he had to be patient.

As the hours trickled by, he felt his eyelids starting to droop. Surely a coffee wouldn’t hurt, he posed to himself. If he had the caffeine, he could stay up and talk to (Y/N) long after that vermin had scampered. It was when he was on his way out of the apartment holding the steaming cup of joe that he ran into the man who had been plaguing (Y/N). And like that, an idea popped into Changkyun’s head.

“You’re (Y/N)’s newest victim then?” He spoke in a low voice, hoping that regardless of what state (Y/N) was in they wouldn’t hear him.

Kihyun gazed at him quizzically.

“What do you mean?”

“I see men like you in there most nights of the week. They’re practically the village bicycle.” Changkyun scoffed, taking a sip of coffee.

“We just watched a few movies, we didn’t fuck?” His rival retorted, but Changkyun just laughed coldly.

“They’re buttering you up. I wouldn’t expect them to be ‘friends’ with you for much longer.”

“Why are you- never mind.” The man sighed, turning on his heel to leave the building.

“Have a nice night!” Changkyun called after him, barely able to contain his shit-eating grin. Yes, it was satisfying to indulge in (Y/N), to admire them like anyone else. But it was way more fun to see the ones once enamoured with the ethereal being scamper away with their tail between their legs.

With the nuisance gone, Changkyun decided to enter (Y/N)’s apartment. The door was left slightly ajar, practically inviting him into the warm haven.

His angel was passed out of the sofa, having been tucked up nice and warm in a cozy blanket. He stopped to admire their perfect face, barely lit by the dim light of the television screen.

He found himself a seat in the kitchen to indulge in his lukewarm coffee as he waited for (Y/N) to awaken, so they could have a nice little chat.

~ ღ ~

When (Y/N) woke up, their apartment was dark and Kihyun was long gone. Brushing off the disappointment that came with no longer having his pleasant company, they sat up,

their stomach was screaming at them. The only food they’d eaten that night was the popcorn with Kihyun - they’d planned to cook a meal for the two of them, but exhaustion had won over them and they embarrassingly fell asleep in front of the movie before they even had the chance to offer.

Even if they regretted being an awful host to Kihyun, their hunger was a more pressing concern as they plodded into the kitchen to find something. Their mind was so occupied by their stomach in fact, they didn’t even notice Changkyun’s presence.

They found a packet of instant ramen shamefully hidden at the back of their cupboard, and were just about to heat up some water when a familiar chilling voice spoke up.

“Did you have a nice evening?”

They turned to finally notice Changkyun, leaning back in one of her chairs like he owned the place.

“Changkyun…? What are you doing in my kitchen?” (Y/N) rubbed at their eyes to make sure they weren’t dreaming.

“I thought it would be nice to pay you a little visit. It seems I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.”

He stood up and approached them, his aura more intimidating than they’d ever seen before.

“Who was he?” Changkyun snarled, his hand shooting out and gripping so tightly into (Y/N)’s neck that the nails were digging into their skin. “That son of a bitch you spent the entire evening with, leaving me out in the cold?”

“He’s just my colleague! Nothing more!” (Y/N) insisted, tears welling up in their eyes.

“Is that so?” (Y/N) was shoved onto a chair, with Changkyun standing over them. “Because I think some boundaries were overstepped. You don’t quite understand that you should belong to me, and me alone. You’ve severely betrayed my trust, and you should have to beg for my forgiveness.”

“What is wrong with you?”

“You’re going to phone them tomorrow and resign. Do you understand?” He breathed out, ignoring their scathing remark. “Your workplace doesn’t deserve a worker who will whore around with whoever pays them attention.”

He seated himself on their lap, his face getting dangerously close to them. It was then they felt cool steel pressing against their neck and realised he was brandishing one of their chef’s knives.

“You don’t need your job. You don’t need anyone else. You just need me.”

[lawyering-and-running]

Chapter 4 - Don't Shoot The Messenger

Series Masterlist

♡ Pretty proud of this one beauties. Don't forget I'm open to suggestions and/or requests xx ♡

Nicole had been sat by the fire for a while, one of the women had passed her a bowl of warm stew and a flask of water. Yet despite feeling more comfortable than she had in months she couldn’t relax. The idea of not knowing what was happening back in Small Heath was nearly too much. That was her town too, why should she not protect it just because she had something different between her legs. She was just as capable as some of the men. Mind made up, she put down her bowl and stretched out her legs. She quickly thanked the women for their kindness before setting off.

Quickly she ran back towards small heath climbing up onto the rooftops until she found her favourite, on top of one of the warehouses with great views of the canals. She raised a flag on top of the building, lighting a fire beside it. A beacon to signal to her people that she needed a meeting. Shelby’s had their family meetings; the runners had their own. She did not have to wait long before the others started the respond. Shadowy figures dropped down on to the roof until all seven of them were gathered.

“We all know what’s happening in those streets below us, and what’s going to happen. This is our home, we know it better than anyone, so we’re going to protect it.” The group was made up of two other girls and four boys, all lean from years of too little food and too much activity. All in dark grey clothing and covered in a fine layer of dirt, they really did look like shadows come alive. When it comes to fight or flight instincts the usual for the group was of course flight. They were used to being ignored, eyes peering into the dark privy to the city’s secrets because nobody realised they were listening in. Nameless, faceless, and voiceless.

But now. As this group stood before her, she realised that maybe they all had an equally strong fight response. Nobody moved to leave, nobody looked scared. “All right then Nik, what’s the plan?” asked Kaz, one of the boys. “I say we use what we’re good at. That we take down Kimber’s men before they even know we’re there. That we keep an eye on things when the other Peakies are unable to do so.” The others nodded their heads in agreement reaching into pockets for hidden switchblades and razors. “Let’s show them what we’ve got” Nina, one of the girls, cheered raising her fist in the air.

Nicole moved towards the edge of the building, looking down at where she could see the men gathering. ”May we die in the shadows as we were born” she said. The group repeated back ”May we die in the shadows as we were born” they wouldn’t quite consider each other family, none of them really knew the concept, but they did have an understanding that they were all one and the same and that they were in this together. With everything said and done the group moved across rooftops, spreading out before slithering down into dark corners, lying in wait.

A hush descended over the group of men as Nicole watched the Shelby brothers from her alleyway, hidden behind a stack of crates. Suddenly Tommy’s voice rang out “It doesn't have to be like this, Kimber.” Kimber’s nasty voice replied “Too late for all that. You've bit off more than you can chew, you little toerag. And now I'm going to take over this shithole.” Nicole quietly fumed, it was no London, but it was their little corner of the world, no way was this outsider going to come in here and disrespect her home. She reigned herself in, it wasn’t her place, wasn’t even her personality really. She stayed hidden watching the conversation take place.

“Now now Kimber, that isn't very polite. I expected something more from a man of your grand standing.” Tommy mocked. “Listen here you little shit, I am going to kill all of you. Every last one of you fuckin Peakies. Then I am going to burn this place to the ground, maybe build myself another racetrack instead. Whilst you lot all rot in hell.” Steam was practically pouring out of Kimber’s ears. His face had gone an odd shade of red, his moustache twitching. It would have probably made for a funny picture if it were not for the seriousness of the situation. Although Nicole swore she could see that glint of amusement in Tommy’s cold blue eyes from where she was perched.

Tommy remained unbothered by the mounting tension in front of him, he shrugged “So that’s how it’s going to be.” Suddenly all hell broke loose. Both sides running for each other, opponents nearly indistinguishable. The loud bangs of gunfire rang through the streets as screams filled the air. Already a hazy mist of blood was settling over them. Nicole saw a Peaky struggling against one of Kimber’s, she crept up behind him and quick as lightning she stabbed him in the neck. She’d rehidden herself by the time the body slumped to the floor, the Peaky looking around for who had saved him.

She continued to dart out where possible to help others in difficult positions, trying as hard as she could to ensure that none of her people lost their lives today. That none of the women of Small Heath would be turned into Widows by the day’s events. She recognised her other runners doing the same, a flash of black, a glint of a blade as they wove through the fighting.

In all of the chaos Nicole had lost track of where the Shelby brothers were. Too focused on what was directly in front of her to think of anything else. She had just unarmed a Kimber for a Peaky to finish off when she saw Kimber raising his gun up to Tommy just a couple of steps away. No one else seemed to have noticed that their fearsome leader was quickly running out of options, his own gun nowhere in sight. Flat cap no match at a distance to a loaded gun. No other thought in mind she jumped for Kimber’s outstretched hand.

Time seemed to slow as she became airborne. As if she were trapped in a bubble, the sounds around her became muffled, tunnel vision focused solely on the weapon. Hands knocking the gun away time sped back up, as noise rushed back in. Angry shouts. She thought she heard a “What the fuck are you doing here?” but that was not important.

She tumbled to the ground with Kimber’s heavy body. The two rolling around trying to gain an upper hand. She lost her blade in the shuffle and had not accounted for Kimber having a backup weapon. Her mistake. Her tired body was no match for his larger frame as he lodged the knife into her shoulder. Yelling obscenities at her. A white-hot numbness spread through her body; she had not felt anything like this before. A pain far more vivid and sharp than a sprained ankle.

Before Kimber could actually finish her off there was a loud bang, the loudest Nicole had heard that day. The weight of a dead body suddenly pressing in on her. Kimber’s unseeing eyes gazing into her own. There was a warm wetness trickling over her, but very little seemed to really be registering in her mind. Her limbs becoming heavy from blood loss and perhaps shock. The heavy body was shoved off of her. The man she had saved appearing above her. “Why would you do something like that, ey?” Tommy asked. His body kneeling next to hers to try and stem the blood flow. All that escaped Nicole was a moan of pain.

A hysterical thought bubbled into her mind, why the hell did she care so much about a gangster. She had only spoken a couple of words to him. Maybe her luck had finally run out, drowned in her own stupidity. Clearly those blue eyes had more of an effect on her than she thought. She laughed out loud, lest she cry out from the pain otherwise. Her eyes shut as the blue-eyed face hovered above her, lips moving but nothing registering in her ringing ears. Then nothing.

Upon seeing Kimber fall the remaining few of his men had quickly tucked tail and run away. The cause no longer worth dying for. The Peakies cheered. “You don’t mess with the PEAKY FUCKIN BLINDERS!” Arthur shouted to even louder cheers. Turning to see Tommy’s crouched form the other two brothers ran over to help. “Is that the girl from before? What’s she doing here?” John questioned. “I don’t bloody know John. She just appeared and saved my life like some fuckin guardian angel. Help me carry her into the Garrison, we need to stitch up the wound.” The men lifted up her limp body as six pairs of eyes watched from the shadows, ready to help but feeling useless all the same. I quite murmur rippled through the group, but a whisper ”May we die in the shadows as we were born” Nicole’s life was in the hands of the Shelby’s now.

They burst through the doors of the pub shoving aside glasses as they laid her body on the table. Tommy ripped her shirt sleeve, heavy and slippery from the blood. Suddenly Polly was by their side as well “Someone get me some whiskey” she commanded whilst taking out a sewing kit. Arthur thrust the bottle at Tommy. He poured half the bottle over the wound grateful that the poor girl was already unconscious for this before pouring the rest of Polly’s waiting hands and needle. His work done he slumped back as Arthur passed him a new bottle of whiskey, this one meant for drinking. He took a couple of gulps as he slowly came down from the adrenaline. The fight, nearly losing his own life, being saved, and then this girl who he for some unexplainable reason cared for nearly dying. Slowly his shaking hands steadied as the alcohol took effect.

Polly had meanwhile sown up the wound and wrapped it in a cloth to stem any further blood flow. Nicole would be alright now. “What a day” she sighed grabbing the bottle from Tommy and taking a swig. Tommy stood up, carrying Nicole to one of the benches and covering her up with his warm black coat. Moving back towards the bar, he turned to face his family “If you check behind the bar Arthur... you will find a bottle of champagne.” Arthur fetched the bottle as Tommy continued “Today was a good day, we only lost a couple of men. All of Kimber's men were busy here, so we managed to take all of the pitches at the Worcester races.” Arthur popped the cork on the bottle “It couldn't have gone better if we'd planned it.” He poured some into the various glasses “Shelby Brothers Limited are now the third largest legal racetrack operation in the country.” Handing them out to the three other family members and keeping one for himself “Cheers! Only the Sabinis and the Solomons are bigger than us. And all my family is here to celebrate. To Shelby Brothers Limited.” “Shelby!” “Brothers!” “Cheers.” Rang out through the room. “There'll be others.” Polly spoke up in warning. Tommy merely raised his glass and toasted her again “To the others. All of them.” His eyes had settled on Nicole’s sleeping form, to new beginnings he thought to himself.

[trashmenofmarvel]

Branded - Chapter 44

Pairing: Demon!Bucky Barnes x Reader

(This is a fan AU of Falling’s Just Another Way to Fly by araniaart​ . Please check out this incredible series for all of your demon Bucky needs.)

Chapter Warnings: I won't give specific chapter warnings because it would spoil it. Just... brace yourselves. I mean that, truly. The entire fic has been leading up to this moment, so... take a deep breath. It's going to be okay.

AO3

Demonic claws striking vibranium metal reverberated painfully around the room, like a gong being struck directly next to your head. You couldn’t cover your ears because your hands were occupied with clutching your shirt, helpless to do nothing but watch as Rogers tried to fight off the Winter Soldier.

And he was losing. Each slash kept Rogers on the defensive, holding up his shield to ward off the next brutal attack. Bucky was ruthless and far faster than Rogers was equipped to handle.

It wasn’t long before Bucky managed to land some blows. Talons left trails of bleeding scarlet, whether from his hands or feet, and even his wings had managed to buffet Rogers more than once.

Bucky’s tail, fast as a whip, grabbed for something at Rogers’ hip. A pistol, yanked out of its holster and deposited into Bucky’s grip, he fired several shots at Rogers who barely managed to get his shield up in time. When the clip was emptied, Rogers bashed it out of Bucky’s hands, following it through with his first solid punch.

Bucky didn’t so much as stumble. Instead, he ripped Rogers’ shield out of his hands, threw a pointed, ridged elbow into his face, and sent him rolling backwards across the floor.

Zemo had remained quiet for the fight, but now he moved closer, a glittering hunger in his eyes.

“It seems you have met your match, Captain. And it turns out, even you can bleed. How nice to find a flaw.”

Rogers rose to his hands and knees, glaring up at Zemo as he wiped blood from his mouth. He gained his feet and held his hands into fists like a pugilist.

“I can do this all day,” he quipped, giving a bloodied smile that was all sharp and no humor. He looked exactly like Bucky had in the HYDRA torture video.

That’s what finally snapped you out of it and got you moving.

Bucky was also on the move, striding toward his friend like a hunter stalking prey, and then he delivered a savage kick to Rogers’ face.

Rogers crashed against the wall behind him, hitting it hard enough to slightly bounce off before collapsing onto his knees. He wasn’t going to win this, and from the pained expression, he knew it, too.

Bucky descended on him. You got there first.

Placing yourself squarely between them, you braced your hands in front of you as if to physically stop Bucky.

Surprisingly, he did, head slightly tilted like a curious animal.

“Bucky. Bucky, please, listen to me.” Your hands shook but somehow your voice was steady. “I know you can hear me. I know, because I’ve been there, with you, in your head when you’re him. The Soldier. He’s just another part of you, Bucky. You’re still in there.”

He simply stood there, immobile as a stature except for his tail. It twitched, restless and agitated, different from its controlled, languid movements during the fight.

But he wasn’t moving. He was listening. There was a chance.

“You can feel it, can’t you? Here.” You touched one hand to the middle of your chest. “Zemo tried to break the bond, but it’s there. Faint and dim, but I can feel it. You must feel it, too. Please, Bucky. Fight him!”

Tears flooded your vision and your throat burned.

“Come back to us.”

Eyes as cold as eyes didn’t so much as blink. If Bucky heard you, he gave no sign of it.

“You gotta get out of here,” Rogers said from behind you. He could barely speak, and a glance over your shoulder told you he was holding a particularly large gash across his stomach. “Go! I can take care of myself!”

You ignored him and faced the demon standing before you. You weren’t leaving Bucky to face his worst nightmare all alone. You weren’t leaving him to be someone’s pawn again. And you definitely weren’t leaving him so he could kill the only other person he loved.

All you could hope was that the animus still tied you to Bucky, and that he wouldn’t harm the human he was bound to.

It was a huge gamble, but there were no other cards to play. Everything depended on whether you could reach Bucky. Not a human slave reaching out to its master.

You needed Bucky.

“You belong to me, Barnes,” you whispered.

You somehow got your legs moving and walked forward until you were standing right in front of him.

“And I belong to you.”

Bucky said nothing, his eyes gaze on you in their entirety. Meanwhile, Zemo appraised you for a long moment, his expression unreadable.

“Kill her.”

Bucky raised his demonic arm, claws extended. You didn’t move.

Even as your heart raced and your limbs trembled, you didn’t move.

The arm didn’t come down. Bucky stayed like that, poised to strike while you braced for the killing blow.

But his eyes. The icy blue searched your face, brows pulled into a confused line, and there was a faint glimmer of something within their depths.

He slowly lowered his arm.

“Sergeant, what are you doing?” Zemo glanced between you and Bucky, his expression darkening. “Obey my command! Kill her!”

Bucky’s ears twitched but his focus was completely on you, eyes narrowed and blinking, as if on the verge of remembering.

It was enough for hope to surge through your limbs, and you couldn’t help but give a small, timid smile.

Studying your expression, Bucky seemed dazed, his eyes widening, and his lips parted as he said your name, raw with roughness.

It was the most beautiful thing you’d ever heard.

Zemo clicked his tongue.

“Pity.”

You didn’t understand; Zemo sounded more annoyed than angry. Bucky also frowned, and began to turn to face the man who had enslaved him.

It was when Bucky turned just far enough that his left arm was no longer shielding you that Zemo pulled the pistol from his holster.

You didn’t hear the shots. You didn’t see the flash of a muzzle, either. But you were still knocked backwards by a brutal force ripping through your stomach, and then next thing you were looking at was the vaulted ceiling and the lights glittering above you.

They were oddly beautiful.

You expected the floor to be as cold as the table, but you were wrapped in something warm and strong. A familiar silhouette leaned over you, blocking out the lights with a pair of curved horns and brown hair, and you had an eerie case of déjà vu.

Had it all been a dream? A hallucination? Had you imagined the whole thing and was Bucky only now rescuing you?

No. It wasn’t a dream. Bucky’s face was etched in unimaginable horror. He gripped one hand tightly with his armored claws, the other pressed against your stomach. You could barely feel it, feel any of it, past the cold wetness, as if you’d tumbled into a frozen pond and you couldn’t get warm again.

You opened your mouth to say his name, but nothing came out. Bucky shook his head frantically, and looked somewhere over his right shoulder as he yelled for Rogers to find the fucking sorcerers.

You tried once more, but only a gurgling noise came out. Your mouth filled with iron. It was getting harder to breathe.

“It’s okay, sweetheart, it’s gonna be okay, you’re gonna be okay, you’re gonna be okay—“

He repeated the mantra but the tears in his eyes alarmed you. It was bad. It had to be for Bucky to look at you that way.

You tried to lift your head to look down, but Bucky told you not to, his large hand still pressed to your stomach as he pulled you close. He was so warm, his scent earthy and alive, but it wasn’t enough. The world was beginning to fade at the edges. You were so tired.

“No, no, don’t close your eyes, don’t—please, please look at me.”

You wanted to obey him, if only to show him you were fine and he had nothing to cry about, but your eyelids were like iron weights.

Trapped in darkness, the cold numbness was winning, robbing you of your connection to Bucky. All that was left were the sounds of his muffled sobs. It was agony to listen to, but you couldn’t find him in the dark.

All that was left was the fading golden thread, and the slowing beat of your heart.

And then, that too, was gone.

***

You were immediately assailed by heat and stinging wind.

You shielded your face as you sat upright, drawing your shirt up to cover your mouth on instinct. The air was so dry and hot it hurt to breath, and when you opened your eyes, you immediately wished you hadn’t.

There was nothing beyond the endless dune of red.

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