#I had to go back and rewrite so much of it

[hyperdeath-kisses]

This. 1000%.

When it comes to my art, I’ve already come to the conclusion at least one person is going to fucking hate it. But the MOST important part is “Do I hate it? Or does this fucking ROCK?”

And one fanfic I wrote back in 2015-2016 absolutely FUCKS (I mean, that too) so much that I knew it was novel material.

And after a few rewrites and several years, I was goddamn right.

It’s still being worked on but when it’s ready, I’d love to get it published. If it gets a one star and ends up being firewood, I’m just happy someone had a copy in their hands. Even if it collects dust on a bookshelf. That’s my little baby. 🩵🖤✨

my secret to art happiness is it's not about how many notes what you draw is likely to get. t's about how many times you're going to go back to it, to your own art, and think "this FUCKS actually and caters to me entirely, specifically, fully. i love this artist (me) (me who i drew this) (myself)"

[navybrat817]

Hold You Tight: Part 26

Pairing: Club Owner!Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Fic Summary: The owner of The 107th wants you to be his girl whether you like it or not.

Part 25 | Series Masterlist | Part 27

Chapter Word Count: Over 4.1k

Chapter Summary: You get a little closer to Bucky, and you get in touch with your mom.

Chapter Warnings: Sexual undertones, bonding of sorts, inner turmoil, world building, Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?), more warnings to come.

A/N: More Hold You Tight, and thank you for sticking with me! Over a year since we began this wild journey! Bucky edit by the beautiful @nixakimbo. ❤️ Beta read by the lovely @whisperlullaby, but any and all mistakes are my own. Divider by the talented @firefly-in-darkness. Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

Sometime after the popcorn and candy fight with Bucky you began to doze off in his arms. You hadn’t meant to, but you felt so comfortable and at ease. It was the first time that day you felt like you could breathe. That frightened you a bit since he wasn’t meant to be the hero in your story.

Or was he rewriting the story?

“I should get some sleep,” you whispered. 

His stubble brushed your temple. “You seem pretty comfortable,” he said, not releasing you, but not holding you tighter either. “I don’t mind falling asleep like this if you don’t mind.”

“I should brush my teeth. Maybe shower and change,” you said. It was too late for a bath and you didn’t want to risk falling asleep in the tub, though you had a feeling he’d never allow that to happen.

He sighed, but didn’t argue as he helped you up. He didn’t look angry, which was a good sign. Disappointed maybe. “Do you mind if I join you?”

You stared at him, your mouth agape. Was he really asking to join you in the shower? Could you stop him?

He chuckled at your expression. “I should’ve been more specific. I know you don’t want me in the shower with you tonight, but I’d like to be in the bathroom so I’m close to you if that’s okay,” he said. He just wanted to be close to you? “I won’t look or try anything.”

Maybe what happened to you was raw for him, too, and he wanted you in his sights so he could relax. “Okay,” you said after a beat. You were going to trust that he wouldn’t do something so soon after Clark. “But I’m yelling for Curtis if you do try anything.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “You’d yell for one of my men because of me?”

“Well, he is my bodyguard,” you replied, smiling when his mouth fell open.

“You really do have claws,” he said proudly, pulling you away from the messy living room. “Something wrong?” he asked when you whipped your head around.

“Did I bring my phone out here with me or did I leave it in the library?” you asked. You hadn’t paid much attention to that since you had been so upset before Bucky brought you to the living room.

“Don’t worry about your phone. Tonight’s about you relaxing,” he said. You were about to argue, but he was right. 

Your heart picked up when he led you to the guest bathroom. It was smaller than the master bathroom, which meant he’d be somewhat close to you. It was vulnerable for you too, since you’d be naked and he’d be put together like always. That was one of the differences between you two. He had you vulnerable from the start while you had to work to peel back the many layers of him.

“I had some things brought from the apartment while you spent time in the library,” he said, testing the water for you after turning it on. “Your bridesmaid’s dress, the photo of you and your friends, the dress and diamond necklace I got you, and some other things.”

“Thanks,” you whispered, knowing you wouldn’t have the energy to go through anything tonight. You wondered what was left behind. 

“Natasha also reached out to check on you. I told her you plan to talk to her about those self defense lessons.” His eyes lingered on you until he moved a few feet away and turned his back to you. “I think you’ve made quite an impression on her.”

“I can’t imagine why,” you said, undressing as quickly as you could and keeping an eye on him. The tension in his body told you he wanted to look, but he stayed still while you stepped under the water and shut the door. The water felt nice and you couldn’t help but sigh. You also didn’t feel as tense as you expected with him being so close. 

Was that progress?

You still half expected him to strip down and join you since you hadn’t forgotten about the things he said he wanted to do to you. How he’d fuck you in the tub, make you ride his face before he fucked you, how he’d make you take his cock. Would he turn you into his perfect plaything when the time was right?

“It’s because you’re genuine and goodhearted, which she appreciates,” he said over the sound of the water, making you push those thoughts away. “My mother appreciated it, too, and so do I.”

You turned toward the sound of his voice and saw his hand pressed against the frosted glass. Could he see you? You pressed your hand against his, the pain bringing out the need to comfort him. Funny how instead of you putting a mental or emotional wall up, there was a physical door between the two of you this time. All you had to do was open it. 

“I’d like to do something for your mom,” you said. 

“What is it?” he asked curiously. “You already have Zemo making a donation.”

“I’ll tell you in a minute,” you said, quickly washing yourself so you could sit with him. “Is there a towel or a robe?”

“I hung it up for you. I’ll be right outside,” he said, surprising you all over again when he pushed off the shower door and left the bathroom. 

“He really is trying,” you whispered.

You dried yourself off, brushed your teeth, and wrapped yourself in the plush robe before you opened the door. Bucky paced back and forth in front of the bed, a haunted look in his eyes. It was a heartbreaking sight. Did he hear you open the door?

“Bucky?” you asked, his gaze softer when he looked at you. Your presence truly rid him of his demons. “Are you okay?” “Just thinking about you and my mom,” he said, taking a seat with a heavy sigh. “Everything in my head is so loud.”

“The anniversary of her death is coming up, isn’t it?” Between that and your attack, you couldn’t imagine the range of thoughts and emotions he felt. 

“Yeah, it is.” He clenched and unclenched his fists. “I don’t go to the club that day. I don’t really talk to anyone either. Not even Steve.”

You took a seat and leaned into him, hearing him exhale before he wrapped an arm around you. You were still tired, but you wanted to finish this talk before you went to sleep. Like you needed space earlier, you sensed that he needed this. “I can’t imagine how hard that is.”

“It’s one of the hardest days, and it hasn’t gotten much easier with time,” he admitted.

Time didn’t heal all wounds. “It isn’t much, but the thing I wanted to offer? I’d like to make a floral arrangement for her headstone.”

He faced you and you shivered. There was so much love in his eyes, enough to snuff out every other emotion. How was it all directed at you? “You would?” he whispered. 

“I would,” you answered. She was a good woman caught up in a cruel world, and you wanted to make something beautiful to honor her. “And you won’t have to be alone,” you added, unless he wanted to be. Grief hit everyone in different ways and you understood if he didn't want to be around you that day. 

“Thank you. That would mean a lot to me.” Bucky swallowed and gave you a soft smile. “The arrangement and you being with me.”

He looked into your eyes before they dropped to your lips. Another moment where he wanted to kiss you and held himself back. It had been too raw to kiss him in the living room earlier and it was still too raw now, but you pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. His grip on you tightened and you stayed still, not daring to pull away.

“I want you. Fuck, I want all of you. I need you,” he breathed, tucking your head into his neck. With your lips against his pulse, you could feel his heart was pounding. “But I won’t take you tonight.”

“I know you won’t,” you said. He wouldn’t push. Maybe he would tomorrow, but not tonight.

He moved you so you were both lying on the bed. “I’m such a bastard. I should be comforting you instead of talking about my pain and wanting you.”

“You’re allowed to talk about your thoughts and feelings, you know,” you said, trying not to yawn. “And you gave me space today and the movie night, which I needed, so thank you.”

“So, you’re telling me I was a good boyfriend today?” he asked, running a hand along your back, touching you without crossing a line.

“Uh-huh.” You did yawn this time. “You were a good boyfriend today, Bucky.”

You didn’t have to look at him to know he was smiling. “Prepping to be the best husband to you one day.”

“One day,” you whispered, too tired to disagree. 

As Bucky held you tighter, you wondered if you should’ve argued and not filled him with hope. But you knew deep down you’d have his ring on your finger and you’d have his last name in time. You would be Mrs. Barnes, his wife, his queen, his Kotyonok, his everything. It was inevitable.

Perhaps it was fate.

Bucky wasn’t in bed when you woke up the next morning. You touched the spot where he laid and found it cold. He was giving you that space once again. Once he had you in the master bedroom, things would surely be different. Chances were he’d wake you with his mouth or cock. You weren’t naive. He’d be insatiable once that dam broke.

“Where’s my phone?” you muttered, searching the nightstand. Bucky had said to relax for the rest of the night, but you wanted to reach out to Addison and the girls. 

You checked the library first once you left the guest room and found it right where you left it. Nothing in the room had been touched. Bucky kept another promise. 

It wasn’t until you left the library that you noticed the messages and missed calls from your mom, making your stomach sink.

“It’s Mom. Answer your phone.”

“If you won’t call me back, call Dad.”

“Why are you ignoring your parents?”

“I need you to call us.”

Your parents didn’t reach out just because. They never did. Judging from the insistence of the messages, something was wrong. It had to be.

You tried not to think the worst as you called your mom. Was she okay? What was going on?

“You called back,” your mom answered, sounding more irritated than usual. “Finally.”

You sighed, walking toward the kitchen when you smelled coffee. She didn’t bother saying hi. “I’m sorry I didn’t call last night. I’ve been having a bit of a rough time and needed some rest,” you said, refusing to feel guilty.

“A rough time? What could possibly be so rough for you?”

You grit your teeth. So much has happened to you, and of course she didn’t ask what happened or voice any concern. It would’ve been nice if she had, but you were just a florist in her eyes. A disappointment. 

Bucky was already dressed for the day when you got to the kitchen. He looked handsome as ever in black. It really was his color. But instead of smiling, he frowned when he spotted you on the phone. “Who are you talking to?”

“My mom,” you mouthed, his frown deepening.

“Put her on speaker,” he said, setting a mug on the island for you. “Please.”

“Are you still there?” your mom asked since you didn't answer her question. 

You put her on speaker. “I’m still here, and it doesn't matter,” you said, as much as you wanted to tell her. Shouldn’t a mother’s duty be to protect and care for their child? “Is everything okay? Is Dad okay?”

“We’re fine,” she replied, making you sigh in relief. “But we’re in the city and we’re in a bit of a bind.”

“You’re in the city?” you asked. Bucky raised an eyebrow. When did they get there and why didn’t they tell you? 

“Yes. We wanted to see the sights,” she said. Bucky’s jaw clenched when your face fell. They wanted to see the city, but not you? “But we need your help.”

“You need my help?” You shrugged at Bucky who came over and wrapped an arm around your waist. “With what?”

“Well. Our cards were declined last night while we were out. We had to use most of the cash we brought to cover our dinner.” She huffed, a sign that she was embarrassed. The cards declining was a shock. They were careful with their finances. “We thought you might be able to spare a little cash until we can figure out what’s going on.”

“You called me because you need money?” You glanced at Bucky who had a smug smile on his face. Sipping his coffee couldn’t hide it. What did he do? 

“You sound surprised,” your mom said. 

“I am. With the amount of missed calls and messages, I thought…” You didn't say it wasn't an emergency. Not that declined cards weren't a bad thing, but the way she blew up your phone, you thought something really bad happened. 

“You thought the worst? I guess I can understand why, but this is an emergency. And I know a florist salary isn’t much, but surely you can spare a little for your parents,” she said, your cheeks hot. You felt so small, and you bit your lip so you wouldn’t cry. Bucky’s fingers dug in, not liking that she insulted your profession. 

“I…” You laughed a little, a small, sad sound. Your mom was calling because she needed money and not because she wanted to see you. It was the cherry on top of a bitter cake. At least no one was hurt or worse.

“We’d be happy to discuss it with you,” Bucky said, sounding friendly enough, but you knew better. “Wouldn't want you to worry about money for the rest of your trip.”

“We? Who is that?” your mom questioned. “Who are you?”

“I’m James Buchanan Barnes, but everyone calls me Bucky. I’m also your daughter’s boyfriend.”

He tilted your head toward him so you met his gaze. He looked and sounded so proud, like it was an honor to be yours. Why couldn’t your parents have even an ounce of pride for you?

“Boyfriend? I… I didn’t realize she was seeing anyone.”

“Maybe that’s because you don’t check in on your wonderful daughter and only reach out when you need something,” he said casually, your eyes widening when your mom sputtered on the other end of the phone. “I mean, you came to the city to see the sights, but not her?”

You gripped the mug, letting the heat seep into your skin before you let it go. He was voicing what you thought. It meant something that he was defending you. 

“Well, of course we were going to reach out and see our daughter,” she argued, sounding like she swallowed a piece of glass. Bucky’s dig at her upset her. “My girl, we were going to surprise you before this hiccup.”

You wished you could believe that she wanted to see you. 

“I’m sure you were,” Bucky said without a hint of warmth. “But if you need money to get through the rest of your trip, we may be able to spare a little.”

He gave you a nod, encouraging you to say something. “Yeah, I’m sure we can,” you said. He had put money in your account and you could give your parents a bit if necessary. 

“Thank you,” your mom sighed.

“Why don't we meet you at The Chateau at 1 o’clock?” Bucky offered. A nice restaurant. They would love that. “It’ll give me a chance to meet my future in-laws face-to-face and I can treat you to lunch.”

He smirked at your expression. Future in-laws? The moment your parents discovered he was made of money they’d be on his side. They wouldn’t be in your corner. But were they ever?

“Y-Yes.” Your mom cleared her throat. “Lunch would be nice.”

“Looking forward to it. And don't be late. My girl’s time is precious and I don't want to waste it.” Bucky hung up before your mom or you could get another word in. “How did you sleep?’

“I… How did I sleep?” you asked, confused by the subject change. 

“Yeah. You were so tired you fell asleep in your robe. You're still wearing it,” he said, running a finger along the collar as you tightened it around you.

“I slept fine, but I should get ready for the day. I'm a mess,” you said without thinking. You hadn't gone through your morning routine, immediately searching for your phone before you found him. 

He held your chin, his eyes darkening for a split second. “You're not, but one day I will make a mess of you before and after you wake up.”

The breath rushed out of your lungs. There was the Bucky you knew. “Bucky, my parents are very meticulous with their spending,” you said, changing the subject yourself so you didn't focus on his desires. “Did you have something to do with their cards not working?” 

Bucky had the power to do that, but what would he have to gain from that?

“I may have made a call or two.” He shrugged when you took a step back. He really did that? Why? “You were still in pain yesterday and I wanted to inflict a little pain on someone else who hurt you. Why not start with your parents?”

The gleam in his eyes didn't frighten you nor did his smile. He really thought he was helping you in some sort of way. “But why would you do that? Because they weren't overly loving to me?”

“That's exactly why,” he said, stepping forward so you were close to him once again. “Outside of me, those are the people who should love and protect you. And when have they been there for you? When have they supported you?” He shook his head in disgust. “They said your life was a waste.”

Your fingers curled. They did say that. All because you decided to do something you loved. “Then why do you want to see them?” you asked. Why would he offer to take them to lunch?

“Maybe I want to tell them what I think of them,” he said, touching your cheek. “Maybe I want to tell them you have a real family here who loves you and are willing to fight for and die for you.”

You didn't pull away when his other hand went to the back of your neck. Wasn't that what you wanted? Your friends were your sisters, but his men were willing to do that because of him, not you. “Did you really freeze their accounts?”

He chuckled and kissed your forehead. How many times has he kissed your forehead since you met? “I’m not heartless. I left them with something because they're your parents and you have a good heart, but I'm guessing they didn't bother trying that card.”

“You really did that?” you asked, still in disbelief.

“I did, and I’d do it again. They may not have put a hand on you, but they hurt you and I won't stand for that.” He moved his mouth to your ear. “Say the word and I’ll make sure they have nothing, Kotyonok.”

You shivered, your eyes shutting. He was willing to destroy your parents for wronging you. It was crazy, but it was his version of love. 

And why were you leaning into him? Why were your hands suddenly holding his arms? Was he tightening the chain on you more? 

“I’d do anything for you,” he said against the shell of your ear. 

The sound of heavy footsteps had you moving away from him, but he stood in the same spot with a knowing smirk. He felt that you had leaned into him, silently looked to him for support. You had to stay in control. 

“I think I got the right ingredients,” Curtis said, setting a couple of bags on the counter. “I hope so.”

“Ingredients for what?”

He raised an eyebrow at you and began to unpack the bags. “For the brownies.”

You turned your gaze to Bucky who merely smiled. “Did you send my bodyguard out to get ingredients for the brownies I plan to make for him? That’s ridiculous.”

“He didn't just get stuff for brownies. I had him get a few other things, too,” Bucky said, smiling more when you glared. “I love seeing your eyes light up with fire.”

“Curtis isn't your… errand boy! I could've gone shopping by myself or given you the list.” You threw your arms up when Bucky chortled. “Do not laugh at me.”

“I’m laughing at ‘errand boy’, not at you,” he said. 

You pointed to the doorway. “Get out, please. Curtis can stay, but you need to leave my kitchen.”

It was your kitchen now, and baking would help you decompress before seeing your parents. 

“You're kicking me out?” Bucky’s expression was a mixture of impressed and offended. “You want him to stay here while you’re in your robe?”

“Yes,” you said, crossing your arms. The robe covered everything. 

“Don't you need to get ready for lunch?” Bucky pressed. 

“I can do that after I bake brownies,” you said. There was plenty of time. 

“Will you wear the diamond necklace I got you?” he asked, staring at your neck. “It looks so beautiful on you.”

Your face warmed at the compliment. “Yes, I’ll wear it,” you said to appease him. “Now go, please. Go talk to Ray. Call Steve. Plot and scheme or do whatever the hell it is that you do when you aren't thinking about me.”

He smiled and kissed your temple as he walked by. “But I'm always thinking of you,” he said fondly, narrowing his eyes at Curtis. “Don't touch my girl.”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” your bodyguard promised. 

“I will hurl an egg at your head, I swear!” You stomped a foot when Bucky’s laughter rang out in the hall. He drove you crazy. “Did I just stomp my foot?” you asked Curtis. 

“Like a child, but I don't blame you,” he teased, unloading the rest of the groceries. “I think you’ve earned unlimited temper tantrums.”

You giggled and looked over what he bought. “This is everything I need.”

“Recipe from your apartment,” he said when you were about to question how he or Bucky knew to get the special ingredients. 

You hang your head for a moment. It wasn't your apartment anymore. “Thanks. I'm sorry you had to buy the stuff for your own brownies.”

“I don't mind,” he said, taking a seat on the stool. It did nothing to take away from his intimidating stature. “Do I scare you?” he asked when your gaze lingered. 

“No,” you said honestly. As intimidating as he was, he didn't scare you. He seemed protective of you, and not just because he worked for Bucky. “Do you resent that you're my bodyguard?”

“No,” he said easily, running a hand on the back of his neck. “Someone needs to look out for you, and I’m glad it’s me.”

You began to move around the kitchen to familiarize yourself with where everything was. “Why is that?”

He didn't say anything as he stared at a spot on the island. “Because I know what it's like to feel trapped with nowhere else to go,” he said so quietly you almost missed it. 

You spun your head toward him. “You're trapped?” you asked. How and why?

His blue eyes searched yours and you thought he’d elaborate when he opened his mouth. He shook his head instead and softly asked, “Can I help at all?” 

You regarded him carefully. Was he talking about the brownies or you? And if he was talking about you, what could you say without it getting back to Bucky? “Thanks, but I'm okay,” you said, offering him a smile which he barely returned. 

As you grabbed what you needed, you thought about how the rest of the day would go. What would your parents say when they met Bucky? What would Bucky say to them? Would you tell them anything about what happened? Would they care or try to help you if you did? And what was Curtis's story? Maybe he’d tell you.

Or maybe you’d both remained trapped in Bucky’s world. 

Oh, how will this lunch go? And what do we think is Curtis's story? Love and thanks for reading! ❤️

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[horrorhot-line]

metanoia

(n.) the journey of changing one’s mind, heart, self or way of life. 

➵ pairing: saiki kusuo / immune! reader

➵ word count: 14.2k

➵ genre: of avoidance and coincidences

➵ warnings: none

➵ summary: s1 ep 3. for the life of you, you couldn’t understand why your peaceful life had been turned upside down. no matter what you did, you always found yourself dragged into saiki’s problems. worst of all? at first you wanted nothing to do with him, and slowly, without even realising it, you didn’t mind being around him as much. 

➵ masterlist  (requests are open)

➵ previous part - serendipity

horrorhot-line © 2020. all rights reserved.

before you read:

‘saiki telepathically communicating with reader.’

‘reader thinking or interacting with saiki through thoughts.’

“saiki talking without moving his mouth.”

“saiki talking using his mouth.”

if you use the above format of speech in your fanfic, please credit as I was the first to come with it, thank you <3

author’s notes: this post is a rewrite from my friends to lovers series that I first posted back in 2020, the relaunch you’ve been waiting for is finally here! it’s still pretty much the same with a few changes here and there, hope you all enjoy <3

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵       ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

Your plan to swerve the scary psychic you had the pleasure of calling your classmate worked well enough—until it didn't. It all started going downhill when you ran into Saiki at the park.

He just happened to be there because your paths intertwined on the way home from school. What's worse is you had taken a different route on purpose to avoid getting involved with the man, only to find yourself in the same crowd as him, watching a magic show.

From your first encounter with Saiki, you had decided to keep your distance, especially after you found out he was probably the most powerful psychic in the world. You had promised not to tell anyone his secret and made sure not to be caught near him, yet there he was.

Truth be told, you were terrified of him. You didn't have enough fingers to count how many times you had caught sight of him in your peripherals in the days following your visit to his house, following you to make sure you held up your end of the bargain and didn't tell anyone of his powers. Which? Rude, first of all, bold of him to assume you were a snitch; if he was a telepath, then surely he knew you weren't the type to spill secrets.

"Who's ready for another très bien trick by me? Master illusionist Uryoko Chono!" The magician performing the show asked as he pulled out a cone you recognised all too well from birthday parties, and you moved swiftly to the side so confetti wouldn't land in your hair. You didn't have the time to stand idly by and watch— you needed to be home for the new soap opera that would launch that day!

That, and you didn't want to get caught in any situation that involved a particular psychic. You decided to do a U-turn when you saw Saiki's pink hair in the crowd; turning on your heel, you were ready to hightail it out of there until the magician addressed you.

"Hey, student! Why don't you stay and join the fun? You too, pink hair! I'll do a trick to put a smile on those faces!" Chono exclaimed, leaning on the table before him and putting a hand out to stop the two of you. There was little chance of that happening; you were sure Saiki didn't even know how to stretch the corners of his mouth.

You sighed, fully ready to leave, only to be greeted by the crowd of people staring at you expectantly. Great! Now you had to stay. It seemed like Saiki felt the same, shooting a side glance your way before staring at the green-haired magician as the both of you decided in silence that the attention of leaving wasn't worth it— being a sheep would have to suffice for now.

Finding yourself at the front of the crowd, you deadpanned at the magician. "Oh! I see you're a sceptic." No, that wasn't it. It was more the fact that you could think of a million other things that called your attention, and this magic show wasn't one of them. "Well, once you see my show, you will become a believer in my powers to amaze." You could only purse your lips at the statement; you weren't buying it.

All magicians were hacks who used their ability to misdirect to achieve their illusions. What was the saying again? The closer you look, the less you see. That, and after finding out about Saiki and how vast his powers were, nothing this man had to offer would phase you. Yet, you watched anyway because walking away would be way too awkward now.

Saiki walked towards the crowd, joining it at your side. How had this caught his attention, you wondered. Did the magician really have supernatural powers? 'No— I'm watching, so he leaves me alone.' Saiki had yet to think something at you in weeks, and when he did, you nearly jumped out of your skin.

You were sure you'd never get used to his voice echoing inside your brain. At least he had cleared up your misunderstanding, you thought to yourself before moving away slightly, so the man in question wasn't too close to you. From where you stood before, you could practically feel his body heat and your touch-starved brai— Stop! Don't think anymore, and just focus on the show.

The magician pulled out a box with a cartoon-like shooting star on it. "Right. I hold here an ordinary cardboard box." Chono stated, holding it up for the crowd to see. 'Nope, there's nothing ordinary about it.' Saiki thought at you, his expression dead, as always. You still couldn't understand why Saiki was talking to you. Curiosity peaked, you replied anyway, 'What do you mean by that?'

"As you can see, it's empty inside." The magician tilted the box, opening it so all could see, and he was right. 'At that angle, you can't tell there's a partition.' So that's how the performers did it; you always wondered how they accomplished tricks like that. You were right— this guy was a hack!

At least his showmanship was on point. "But, watch! Just a couple taps and it's party time." Chono said as he tapped his cane on the box before opening it, only for birds to shoot out and fly away into the distance. "Aren't they amazing, folks?"

The crowd cheered and clapped for the magician, not knowing what you and Saiki did. "Hey there, kids! Très bien, am I right?" The magician asked as he pointed a finger at the both of you. Not to you, they weren't, but the trick probably would have perplexed you either way if it wasn't for Saiki telling you how the box worked.

'It's not très bien. If anything, I'm worried about that dove.' Saiki remarked, and you turned to look at him questioningly, his gaze fixed on the magician. 'What dove?' You inquired, confused as to what he meant. Saiki answered, but his eyes never left the green-haired man's form.

'He has a dove under that hat, but I think he forgot about it.' You examined the magician's maroon hat, guessing Saiki could see through it with his X-ray vision. 'Shouldn't we tell him?' You looked from Saiki to the hat and back, your concern growing. 'After. I'll tell him once he's done here.' So the rock of a man next to you did have a heart, after all.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention here for the main event of our show, my super illusion!" Where had Chono pulled out those massive boxes from in the few seconds you looked away? His hat, you mused, chuckling quietly to yourself, stopping only when you noticed Saiki shoot a look of dismay your way.

Wow, tough crowd— then again, the psychic didn't really have a sense of humour to begin with. "Magically teleporting from one box to another will be my lovely assistant, Michael!"

Chono snapped his fingers before looking to his right, and you followed his line of sight only to see an old man with a straw hat on his unruly grey hair. 'Lovely is a stretch.' You winced. Were those flies buzzing around him— and what was that foul odour he was emanating?

You had to agree with Saiki on that one. You could think of a lot of ways to describe him off the top of your head, but 'lovely' definitely wasn't one of them. Then again, from the looks of it, he was probably homeless, so who were you to judge? At the end of the day, you felt sorry for him. Too busy lamenting is sympathy; you didn't notice Saiki staring at you before looking back at the show.

"The beautiful Michael is entering the box." The assistant was definitely not beautiful, either. Maybe Chono was blind? Now, if that were true— it might've gotten a clap out of you. The magician explained the trick yapped as you watched the old man get in before the lid was shut behind him. Chono snapped his fingers again, "And, drum roll," before doing some weird dance and making sound effects with his mouth. Guess he had to raise the level of excitement somehow.

This act had better blow your socks off, your legs hurt from standing in place this long. 'This is so sad.' You nodded at Saiki's thought, 'It's almost painful to watch.' The second-hand embarrassment you were getting was through the roof, 5 more minutes of this and you were sure you'd be a victim of spontaneous human combustion.

Was it too late to regret your choices? You did not waste 20 minutes of the airing of the new soap just to be disappointed. The crowd murmured in anticipation. 'What expression am I supposed to be making right now?'

Even you couldn't tell Saiki the answer to that, 'A smile maybe?' You mused, only for him to shoot a glare at you, causing you to put your hands up in surrender. Chono released the ball of confetti in his hand, and you watched as it fell to the ground. 'His overconfidence makes me cringe.' Your face scrunched at the scene— you weren't sure how much more you could take. 'You and me both.'

'And I'm still worried about that dove. Does that hat have air holes?' From what you could tell, no, it didn't. At least Saiki cared about the well-being of animals. 'I'm not worried, I just don't wanna be around to see a bird die.' You rolled your eyes as you folded your arms over your chest. Of course, he was the type to deny it. God forbid he actually had the ability to express concern for something.

"Alright, let's open the box!" Chono said as he walked over to the other box, putting his hand on top. 'Uh oh, lovely Mike isn't done teleporting yet.' You were beyond confused, turning to Saiki, who was still facing the stage. 'He's under the table.' Your eyebrows unfurrowed as realisation washed over you. That made sense, so the trick was to use the table to go to and from the box.

You shifted your weight from one foot to the other, dreading what was to come. "3, 2, 1... It's party time!" Chono exclaimed, a huge grin on his face. Michael came out, alright— just not from the box. He crawled out from underneath the table and raised his arms as if he had completed a feat. Chono stood with his back to Michael, his hand gesturing to the empty box.

A comical sweat bead formed on your forehead, and you cringed internally. Listening to the sound of a fork on the chalkboard probably would have been a better use of your time. You bit your fist as if that would help ease how uncomfortable you felt. Was it too late to make a run for it?

The crowd was deathly silent, and it was no wonder why. 'Now I really don't know what expression to make, maybe this one?' Saiki remarked as he observed the magician. You watched as Chono's expression fell, a hideous grimace taking its place as if he'd just witnessed an entity of cosmic horror like Cthulhu. 'Yeah, that seems appropriate', Saiki confirmed, and you were glad his unintentional comedy saved you from losing further brain cells.

The crowd dispersed shortly after that, and you stayed behind with Saiki to witness the aftermath.

"Why should I pay you for ruining the illusion?!" Chono exclaimed at Michael, who only retorted. "I moved at the normal speed— it was your darn pattern that got too fast. Now, you hand over that 500 yen." The assistant put his hand out, expecting his payment.

"No one tipped me for this performance, so I couldn't pay you even if I wanted to," Chono stated before he noticed your and Saiki's presence. "Hey, why are you two hanging around?" The magician said as he turned his back to Michael. Saiki wordlessly raised his finger to his head and bent it repeatedly.

"What, oh, you wanna give me a tip? Haha, I could never take money from a kid. The look of joy on your face—" Chono cut himself off when he looked down at the hat he took off his head. "—PICO!" That poor bird, you couldn't help but think.

"I completely forgot she was up there," Chono said, now sitting down as he stroked the dove. So that's why Saiki chose to linger even after the show had ended— he was still worried about the bird. Truth be told, you'd nearly forgotten after you saw the last trick. 'How can you forget there's a dove on your head?' Saiki stood at Chono's side as he looked down at the white creature.

You questioned the same thing- surely the animal had rustled and moved around up there. "So, you weren't trying to tip me; you were trying to remind me. Wait— does that mean... That you're a magician? That's how you knew she was up there." Saiki clenched his fist, a frown forming on his face. No, he was an esper. 'I should've kept walking.' Saiki lamented.

"With instincts that good, you must have hated my show." At least the green-haired man was right about one thing. Saiki had, in fact, hated the show, but he only had his powers to blame for that. "Maybe I'm not cut out for the magician game after all." Cue the sad music in the background— where did the sound even come from? Was there a hidden speaker somewhere in the park?

You were sure the universe had some sort of playlist, like a version of a 90s TV show's laughing track, the one that went off at the right moments. "Until a few months ago, I was your average office drone," Chono told the two of you, bowing his head as he sat on the park bench.

Hold it. You did not agree to listen to whatever existential crisis he had going on. "Then, I made a small mistake." Of course, you'd have to hear his sob story anyway. 'Oh, boy.' You sighed, waiting for the magician to get it all off his chest. "Corporate fat cats laid me off. Then, my wife skipped town."

Damn, homeboy was really going through it, alright. 'Is it too late to walk away?' Saiki questioned no one in particular, but you answered anyway. 'It is.'

"With no job, I couldn't pay the mortgage anymore. One little mistake and my career, wife and home had all disappeared, and then it dawned on me. I should become an illusionist." This was heartbreaking and all, but you had to wonder where he was going with this story. "Wait- what?" Was it you, or was Saiki's voice hot as fu— No! Now was not the time!

"Because so many things had vanished from my life, I thought it must mean that disappearing them was my talent!" You nearly choked on your spit. Well, that took a turn. The plot twist gave you whiplash. Oh, dear. This poor man... somebody help slap some sense into him. "Your only talent is self-delusion," Saiki was right— the man needed a reality check.

"So, even though I had been offered another office job, I turned it down to start my new life doing street magic." At least Chono looked pumped about it all. "Again, what?" You were just as bewildered as Saiki was, questioning the green-haired man's logic. "If I can save up 1 million yen, I can buy the 'sawing a body' in half trick— then, my wife is sure to come back!"

You shook your head in disappointment; the man had clearly lost his mind, another reason to add to the list of why not everyone should be allowed to procreate.

If left like this, he'd end up a victim of loan sharks or worse. "Don't be so sure," Saiki commented, and you almost thought he was talking to you. He was addressing both. Why would his wife come back if he did that? And how did Chono plan on raising that kind of cash when he had just lost his lovely assistant? "But then I wonder if I chose the wrong path."

'Yes, yes you did.' Saiki thought bluntly, and you agreed mentally. At least the magician finally saw clarity and the error in his ways. 'He needs to quit street magic and get a real job.' You thought back. "Sorry, didn't mean to get so gloomy." Chono apologised, looking up at the two of you.

'What'll it take for him to give up?' You pondered at Saiki's question, bringing your hand up to your chin to think. Maybe showing him an impossible illusion? If it was something he'd never be able to do, he'd quit. "Let's get back to your background as an illusionist and how you knew I had a dove up there." Chono gestured at his hat, and you watched realisation dawn on Saiki. Over what, you had no idea. 'That's it.'

You observed as Saiki wordlessly walked to stand directly parallel to Chono and you, pulling his school bag off his shoulders to hold it in front of him. "Whoa! Gonna pull something out of your bag?" Chono commented as you watched on.

Saiki held up his other hand as his eyes suddenly widened. You raised an eyebrow; this was the most expressive you'd seen him since he found out about your immunity. 'I'll do a trick that's so beyond his ability, he'll realise how far gone he is and give up.' Was that why— Did Saiki take inspiration from your thoughts? He did.

"You're gonna pull out... a dove!" Chono guessed before stating he could pull out a bowling ball himself. 'Hmph.' Saiki's stoic expression remained even if you could feel the smugness emanating from him. Then your eyes widened when he pulled out the hand that was rummaging inside his bag. Nothing could have prepared you for what the psychic did.

He pulled out Michael by the hat on his head, though the man looked like a scrunched-up piece of paper. Saiki placed the old man on the floor, and you watched Chono's eyes bulge from his socket as he gasped. Surely, that would be enough to get the aspiring magician to stop his foolish ways. If you didn't know of Saikis's abilities, you would have become a believer.

"That's impossible!" Chono exclaimed as he fell to his knees, his jaw still slacking. 'Aren't you supposed to say très bien? At least this will make him give up.' Saiki stated as he moved to walk away and turned his back to Chono. You tried not to stare at Saiki's dump truck— and failed.

"Thank you. Now I can see. If your talent was hair, it'd be a flowing mane, while mine is just an eyelash." You stifled a laugh at the example Chono used, and who could blame you? 'I don't quite understand using hair for that metaphor, but at least he's finally—' Saiki didn't get to finish that thought when he turned his head; Chono had already left your side to kneel behind the psychic.

"Make me your apprentice." The scene reminded you of One Punch Man, where Genos asked Saitama to make him a disciple. 'Should've seen it coming.' You only gazed over Saiki's shoulder to watch Michael hold up a 500 yen coin, talking about how he was going to eat a hot cup of soup.

Maybe sticking around and missing the airing of that soap opera was worth it— you had to admit, this was far more entertaining.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

Saiki may have walked the same way home as you, but his house came before yours. After the whole fiasco with the magician happened, and you realised your goal of not bumping into said psychic had failed, you chose not to take a detour but to walk with the guy instead.

No point wasting more time, you had reasoned. Your original plan to go home in hopes of catching the last few minutes of the TV show you wanted to watch was a bust because when you neared the Saiki household, you noticed Mrs Saiki standing outside the house in the front yard trimming bushes with gardening scissors.

Before you had a chance to make your getaway after greeting her, she exclaimed that it was far too late in the afternoon to walk home without eating, and even though you found her caring demeanour sweet, you weren't grateful for the sentiment when it meant spending more time with Saiki. He could still kill you, after all. He would never, not when you gave him coffee jelly.

Sure he hadn't done anything yet, but the man did threaten to smite you off this earth the last time you were in his house. Could anyone really blame you for wanting to keep your distance? Try as you might though— you couldn't say no to the lovely woman who was Saiki's mother. Her smile threatened to blind you, and you didn't want to upset her by refusing.

Dinner with the Saikis was eventful, to say the least.

Mrs Saiki had ushered you inside quickly, but her son hadn't followed the two of you in. You didn't question it when she locked the front door. When he did step into the kitchen minutes later, he was followed by his dad.

Mr Saiki didn't acknowledge your existence— instead, he rushed over to his wife. "I can't believe you changed the locks on me again!" He complained, and you felt in that moment that you chose the wrong day to come over.

Were they having marital issues? You swore that the last time you were here they were getting along just fine. What had happened? "I hope you're hungry Ku-Ku. I'm making you breaded pork chops for dinner!" Mrs Saiki chose to ignore her husband, talking to her son instead as if the angry man behind her didn't exist.

"Hang on— now you're choosing to ignore me? Besides, I told you I wanted to have steak tonight!" Mr Saiki pointed his finger at his wife before raising his arm up and down as if he was throwing a tantrum— which he was. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot— but I can boil you a leather shoe." Mrs Saiki replied in a sickly sweet tone, turning back to her cooking. "I don't want a shoe, leather or not!"

You wanted to laugh but thought it wasn't the right time; you chose to snicker to yourself quietly from your seat on the sofa. 'I wonder when it went wrong for them. they used to be so passionate.' You watched on as Mr Saiki claimed his hate for his wife was as wide and deep as the Pacific Ocean, and she retorted by saying she hated him like a fish hated air.

Why did you have to be caught in the middle of this? 'Well, they're still passionate now, but it's a little different.' Saiki was not helping you keep a straight face; his commentary was genuinely the only thing keeping you going.

When the food was ready, you took up the seat next to Saiki at the dining table, staying silent as you dug into the rice with your chopsticks. "Gorge yourself,  guys— I made a ton!" Mrs Saiki said with a smile on her face. "Hey, hey, hey! Hey!" Mr Saiki stood up from his seat at the dining table, slapping his hand on the surface like an angry restaurant customer.

You couldn't blame the guy; you and Saiki had gotten pork chops for dinner. Mr Saiki, however, had received a leather shoe filled to the brim with rice, garnished with gravy on top and chopsticks placed inside it. "Is it good, Ku? Y/n— Oh, honey, would you like something else?" Mrs Saiki gave a closed-eyed grin to her husband, who stood in front of her. "No, because I bet it's just the other shoe."

"Bon Appetit!" Saiki's dad had guessed right; it was another shoe, but it was a blue sneaker. "That's not even from the same pair!" You watched steam flow out of the shoe, wondering how this situation was real. You felt like you had been sucked into some comedy show. 'They've been going at each other for a year.' Your eyebrows shot up at Saiki's revelation, watching on as the couple argued.

Mr Saiki gave up on trying to get his partner to be civil, turning to his son with the cooked leather shoe in his hand. "Hey, Kusuo— use your powers to turn this old shoe into a steak for Daddy." Saiki's thoughts flooded into your brain, stopping you from hearing his dad's rambling.

'So, in case you forgot, this pathetic dude's my dad, Kuniharu Saiki. He's lazy and irresponsible— and asks for help with everything in his life. But surprise, surprise, the more I help, the more useless he gets. So, lately, I've stopped doing him any favours.' Wow, Saiki sure was cold, dissing his father like it was nothing.

'I guessed all that already— Who are you talking to?'

'The audience.'

'...Stop breaking the fourth wall, please.'

Your only reply was a side eye from the psychic, which you ignored as you took another bite of rice. You observed as Mr Saiki stopped rambling as he realised his son wasn't going to listen to him. "What?! How dare you take your mother's side in this?! Do you have any idea how many shoes I have to lick each day to buy that food you're eating now?!!" Mr Saiki shouted, and you silently watched as Saiki continued to eat his food quietly with no change in his expression.

"So, you do like to eat shoes?" You guessed that much was enough for his father to realise his son wasn't going to lift a finger to help. Mr Saiki gave in, "Alright, I'll eat it—" He shovelled the rice into his mouth after he picked up the plate only to shoot up out of his seat seconds later, "It stinks! What did you do to this shoe?! Are you trying to poison your father?!" Mr Saiki exclaimed at his son.

"I'm pretty sure that's how they always smell, dummy," Saiki commented, still eating his rice. You watched as Mrs Saiki addressed her son when he put his bowl down, a shining bright aura around her. Where did that bright light come from? "Hey, Ku? Now, just remember what I've always said. Please don't use your powers for evil."

'This is my mom, Kurumi Saiki.' Mrs Saiki clasped her hand around her son's, "You must only use your powers to help those in need. Or those people who you're certain are genuinely nice—"

'She's a big reason why I haven't let my gifts turn me to the dark side.'

'Is that a Star Wars reference?'

Saiki ignored your question— continuing his not-so-inner monologue, 'She's a caring soul— well, to me.' You were taken aback when the sweet air around Mrs Saiki changed to something sinister. "—But, feel free to use your powers to hurt Daddy." This whole situation was getting more and more preposterous. 'She kinda has a dark side herself.' You could see that.

Mrs Saiki seemed to notice her husband scoffing down Saiki's food when she was distracted around the same time you did, and you watched as she slowly turned and her expression shifted from a smile to a cold glare. "Stop eating Kusuo's dinner, you thieving son of bi—h!" Mrs Saiki looked extremely pissed off, a tick mark appearing on her face. Hang on— she knew how to swear?!

You felt sorry for Mr Saiki, but there was no way you'd get involved; you didn't want his wife to aim her anger at you instead. "That's it! We're taking this outside!" She shouted, and you had to admit the situation was getting interesting. Who would win? Your bets were on Saiki's mom.

'In truth, I could break up this fight whenever I feel like it, but this is something they're going to have to work out themselves.' Did he think things at you on purpose even though he could just not talk to you? You didn't want to admit it, but the idea made something inside you churn. Were the two of you closer than you realised?

You watched Saiki's attention shift from the brawl to the dessert that was placed near him on the dining table when the food was laid out. 'Hm? Coffee-flavoured jelly? ...Hmm, doesn't taste bad— earthy with a slightly citrus finish. Don't let the name fool you— this jelly is a mature, dignified treat.'

You couldn't pay attention to Saiki fangirling over the dessert, too busy watching Mrs Saiki handle her husband like she was some WWE fighter and he was her opponent. She put him in all types of chokeholds before raising him over her head, preparing to throw him. Was now a good time to take your chance and sneak away?

'Better still, when you add just a splash of whole milk, it becomes an entirely new flavoured sensation,' Saiki continued to eat the coffee jelly, turning away from his parents to take another bite, '—and that hint of decadence is everything I ask for in my dessert.'

When you looked back at Saiki, you froze. The fight was long forgotten as you watched the corners of his mouth lift. You realised then, that was the first time you had seen Saiki smile. You didn't want to admit it, but he suited him. Really well, too well, actually.

Saiki didn't get to eat any more of his treat because when he raised his hand to his mouth to consume another spoonful, Mrs Saiki launched her husband across the room, and he crashed into his son, which forced the jelly-filled utensil out of the psychic's hand. You watched the jelly fall from the Saiki's hand in slow motion until you saw a flash of pink.

Saiki had managed to catch the dessert in his mouth before it fell on the carpet. He was now on the floor, and you couldn't help but think about what you had done for the universe to force you to stay at the Saiki household during this whole fiasco.

"You wanted to eat jelly that bad?" Mr Saiki had gotten up, whereas Saiki was still on his stomach on the ground, chewing what was in his mouth. "Forget the jelly— We got bigger problems! Your mothers turned into a monster!" Your eyes travelled to where Mr Saiki was pointing, thinking he was exaggerating.

He wasn't— Mrs Saiki's face had transformed into what could only be described as a Japanese Onii mask from folklore. "Stop running from me, you coward." Even her voice had changed as if she had been possessed. Oh, dear. "You've got to stop her! You're my only hope to stop her reign of terror. Do it! Slay the demon!" You wanted to run your hands down your face in exasperation, but you couldn't bring yourself to look away.

Mrs Saiki let out a demonic laugh as she grabbed onto the dining table. "You're not leaving 'til I say so!" She exclaimed before she raised the furniture above her head to throw it at her husband— how had the food not slid off? You wanted to leave but didn't want to incur Mrs Saiki's wrath. Mr Saiki tried to shield himself by bringing his arms up to cover his face as he closed his eyes. "Ahhh! Oh god! Ah— Huh?"

When he opened his eyes, Mr Saiki realised the table was floating above his head, all thanks to Saiki using his psychokinesis. "Hey, Kusuo!" Saiki's father went from shocked to smug, smirking as he realised he'd been saved. 'I've got the weirdest parents, I don't really care about stopping another pointless fight, but I can't help myself.' At least Saiki had stepped in, lest the house gets trashed and you get dragged into the war.

"So now you're on your dad's side? But I even made you pork chops!" Mrs Saiki's face was finally back to normal, her voice too, and you let out a sigh of relief. You were still confused by Saiki's comment. 'Why do I say it's pointless? Just wait.'

"I want nothing to do with either of you again!" When Mrs Saiki's voice flooded into your brain, you nearly jumped. 'That's a lie. Truth is, I love them!' Your head whipped to look at Saiki's back, guessing he must have used his powers on you. At least he had helped clear your confusion.

You couldn't help but wonder why she was lying, why she wasn't honest about her true feelings. What was the point of this fight again? 'No matter how hard they try, the voices in their hearts always bubble up. In other words, all these fights they have— are a sham.'

Your brain hurt— because trying to wrap your head around why the couple was acting like they despised each other when they didn't was nothing short of difficult. You rubbed at your temples, Saiki using another power you weren't used to had gotten to you. When Mr Saiki claimed he hated his wife and son, his inner thoughts told you he just wanted to snuggle.

They fought on the surface, but the voices in your head told you that they were just complimenting each other internally. 'Like I said, another pointless fight. There is one person here who has real reason to be upset, me—'

'Don't forget me, buddy. I didn't ask to be dragged into this.'

'—Those weirdos interrupted my dessert. I guess only a psychic can fix this.'

Mr and Mrs Saiki stopped arguing when they started saying they loved each other telepathically. You watched in amusement as they started blushing, getting confused as to why they could hear each other. Realisation dawned on them as they turned to their son, "Kusuo!" They both exclaimed.

'Forced shared telepathy. I used my psychic powers to link their minds at the neural level. In other words, thanks to me, they can now hear each other's thoughts.' Even though it was late, you were somewhat grateful he explained to you how you could hear what his parents were thinking.

Mr and Mrs Saiki told their son to stop his powers because they didn't want the other to realise they were still in love. What a disaster. At least the fighting had stopped. You watched the psychic's parents go from being embarrassed to pronouncing their adoration for each other.

With a hand on his wife's waist, Mr Saiki declared that he loved her, and she did the same. Where had the flowers surrounding them come from? 'Cool. The end.' Saiki deadpanned. Finally, the fighting was over.

While his parents apologised to each other profusely, Saiki went back to his seat at the dining table to finish his dessert. You sat across from him, relieved that the war in his living room had passed. 'What a pain. Normal people are complicated. At least now I can finish my dessert in peace.' This time around, when Saiki smiled, you had the chance to properly observe it.

He looked handsome, you had to admit. You knew the man was attractive, but he looked 100x better when he was showing normal emotions. It was over dessert, but still! Did Saiki have a sweet tooth? Would he smile again if you got him something from the bakery? You shook your head, choosing to find interest in the furniture around the psychic's house.

You didn't know how to feel when you found out that the fight started when Mrs Saiki ate her husband's coffee jelly, overhearing the conclusion of their argument. Was all of that because of some dessert? This was ridiculous.

You gazed on as Saiki's expression fell when Saiki's mom twirled over to her son and snatched the coffee jelly the psychic was eating right out of his hand so she could present it to Mr Saiki. Saiki's smile was replaced by a dark expression as he stared at his hand where his snack had just been.

Oh, no... He was super angry. You ignored the man's father, claiming the dessert was a mature, dignified treat, rummaging through your school bag to find what you needed.

The rumbling of the windows in the Saiki household stopped when you placed the bag on the floor beside your seat and used your hand to slide the coffee jelly you fished out onto Saiki's side of the table. It only took the psychic a few seconds to realise what exactly it was in front of him, and you grinned.

What could you say? The guy looked cute when he was confused. Burdened with the knowledge of how powerful he was, you sometimes forgot that the man sitting across from you was like any other human.

After a beat, he made eye contact with you, and you swore you saw his eyes sparkle. Your smile dropped in slight shock, your lips parting.

"Coffee jelly?"

You gulped, catching your bearings, too distracted to realise he had used his actual voice to talk.

"Yeah, I forgot to eat it at lunch— you can have it, Kusuo."

When you called him by his first name without thinking, having heard it so many times today from his parents— you thought he'd complain. Instead, Saiki grabbed the treat and gingerly peeled back the seal before digging in, a soft smile gracing his face again. You ignored the weird feeling that washed over your heart.

Maybe the psychic wasn't all that bad.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

When night fell, you headed up to Saiki's room. The psychic knew of your inner turmoil of not being able to catch the show you wanted to watch and said his mom had most likely recorded the pilot episode before you two had reached his house. 'I'm only doing this because I don't want to owe you for that coffee jelly.' That was fair; you couldn't fault a man who kept up with his debts.

Grabbing the cassette from his living room, Saiki walked past you and up the stairs. When you stood in confusion, expecting to watch it on the living room TV, he turned to tilt his head toward his bedroom as if telling you to follow him.

'Hurry up. Before I change my mind.'

That is how you found yourself seated on Saiki's bed, with him sitting in the chair he had pulled from his desk, right in front of the television.

He had left the room earlier to change into more suitable clothes: a white sweatshirt with blue sleeves and brown pants. This was the first time you had seen him in casual clothes—when he kidnapped you to interrogate you in your first real meeting, he hadn't bothered to change out of his school uniform. You had to admit that even though he didn't have an eye for colour coordination, he still managed to pull it off.

Truth be told, you were disappointed. The show didn't live up to the promotions you had seen all over social media the past week. You were expecting a love story starring Mikoto Teruhashi. Was it you, or was that name familiar?

What you got was some twisted joke of a romance. The female lead's family died in a car crash, she got cheated on with her sister no less, and she got married to a stranger to save her family only to find out that her ex-boyfriend didn't sleep with another woman; she had walked in on his long-lost twin brother instead. All in one episode.

You felt like you had whiplash with all those plot twists, and honestly, what a letdown— you expected better writing. Sighing, you shifted yourself on Saiki's bed when you felt pins and needles assault your feet. You chose to cross your legs, yawning into your hand. Was now a good time to go home?

"Is binge-watching shows your favourite pastime?" You asked, trying to make conversation between the infomercials. It was better than telling him immediately that you wanted to leave after he went through the trouble of doing you a favour. "I like watching TV. It's one of the few things that can surprise me. I don't know what's coming next because I can't hear the actor's thoughts." The psychic replied.

"Makes sense." You nodded, not really knowing what to say next. "Speaking of next, that new mystery show's supposed to start soon." Saiki moved to sit with one leg on his chair, his arm resting on his knee for support. You nearly lost your mind when he used his index finger to change the channel.

Oh, yeah— he's a psychic; of course, he could do that, you thought, ignoring that your brain had decided to short-circuit on you. "Tonight, you will witness a miracle!" Sure, you heard the host of the TV show talk, but his words didn't quite reach you, too busy looking at his fingers and wondering what else they co— Dear, lord, you needed to go outside and touch the grass, hug a tree, probably both.

Clearing your throat and trying your best to practice self-awareness, you turned to the TV screen, a mixture of green and maroon pixels coming together slowly as the cameraman zoomed in. No way... that man in the distance looked too familiar for your liking. It couldn't be. "What." Saiki mirrored your shock, his eyes widening as he leaned forward in his seat. The host on the TV continued. "A stupendous amazing illusion performed by the former homeless man turned master magician, Uryoko Chono!"

"Now that's Très Bien!" Chono said through the screen, and you watched Saiki's face deadpan. "What did I tell you about TV surprising me?" You didn't have a witty reply for him this time— far too stunned that the magician from that afternoon had managed to get his own segment on live TV mere hours after you met him.

Was that even possible? Then again, after the month you'd had, was there any point in questioning what was and wasn't achievable? "After losing it all, he became a street magician and mastered tricks that others can only dream of!" The host came into view— a mic in his hand, as he praised the green-haired man beside him. You brought a hand up to hold your head, baffled into silence.

"But this isn't just a surprise; it's unbelievable. How is a man who almost killed his dove good enough to be on TV?" Even you didn't know the answer to that. You would've broken the fourth wall and asked the writer in your desperation if Saiki hadn't done it one too many times during his parents' argument. Too bad, even the author of this fanfic doesn't know.

You watched as the pink-haired psychic stared at the screen, gobsmacked. "You might wanna close your mouth, flies will get in. Never mind that— we just saw him before. How's he gotten on TV so soon?"

"Blame the author; it's for plot convenience." Finding out your guess was correct brought you anything but relief. You exhaled in exasperation, a new headache forming in your skull. "There you go, breaking the fourth wall again." You commented, shaking your head as you tutted at him. "What I'm attempting tonight is the most dangerous escape you'll ever see!" Chono's voice coming from the TV filled the room.

Your face slowly lost its colour as they showed snippets of what was to come. A box, chains, then knives, followed by a drop, fire and— was that a bulldozer?! You were sure of it now; the green-haired magician was toast. "No way he's this good." Saiki had taken your advice and shut his mouth; it was no longer hanging open. You side-eyed him from the bed, "He's a goner."

"But live or not, they'd never put someone on TV that might get hurt, right?" You shook your head to yourself; they would— they had. "Don't be too sure. If he dies, the show's view count will skyrocket." You could already see the hashtags trending on Twitter X.

The camera panned to the magician in question. "As you can see, folks, Chono's hands and feet are both shackled. As he makes his way to the crate— Oh no, he fell!" You observed as Chono faceplanted and kissed the floor. Was this second-hand embarrassment you felt? "Just a trip; he should be fine." You weren't sure you fully believed that statement, and by the sound of it, neither did Saiki.

"He's safely inside the box. And now, Mr Micheal— Chono's formerly homeless assistant, will lock him in." You could only watch on in horror as realisation dawned over the magician's face, and he exclaimed to wait— that he wasn't ready. You didn't like where this was going. From the tricks you had seen that afternoon, you highly doubted that the green-haired man could pull this off. He wasn't going to make it.

"Him screaming isn't a good sign. Neither is all that banging he's doing." Saiki's face paled at the implication. "Thank you for that, Captain obvious." The psychic only glared at you, and you were too busy biting your fist while watching the TV to notice. The host told the audience that Chono only had 5 minutes to escape or the box would be destroyed with him in it. The camera cut to a shot of the timer counting down.

"I'm sceptical he can do this." So were you. There was only 3 minutes left. "Should I help? I don't even think I can. I'm not close enough to jump in and save him without being seen." You were on the edge of your seat.

Two minutes left. "Then again, if he fails, he dies, and I can't have that happen." You imagined what was to come, the TV announcing that Chono was burning alive inside the crate.

"It would ruin my night." You swore the psychic was just talking to himself at that point. At least Saiki cared; the boy did have a heart, after all. The pink-haired psychic stood up from where he was sitting on the chair. "If he fails, the footage would cut into my mystery show—" You took your statement back; he was heartless. "Is there a way to teleport in without getting on TV? ...Yes. The one place the camera can't find me— inside the box itself."

With that, Saiki was gone. He vanished into thin air; and when your mind finally caught up with the fact that he could teleport, you guessed he was now inside the box. At least he was doing something, even if his heart wasn't quite in the right place. You just hoped he didn't get himself caught.

All alone in the room, you could only keep your eyes glued to the screen, waiting with bated breath. 'Kusuo?' You hoped he could hear you over everyone else's thoughts, hoped he was within range. He did, and he was.

'He's not here.'

You breathed a sigh of relief when you heard his voice reverberate in your head. Then, his words hit you.

'What do you mean he's not there?!'

'...He really has gotten better. I mean he's not here, L/n— the banging was coming from a CD player.'

So Chono hadn't even been inside the box when they chained it up? Why wasn't Saiki back then? There was no point in him staying there. The 5-minute timer was up, and you watched Michael come into view, struggling to hold the swords he was about to pierce the crate with.

'Hurry, Kusuo— you need to come back.' You winced at the heavy concern lacing your voice— thought?

'I can't. I have to think fast; I can't just teleport back out. Th at power needs to be recharged for 3 minutes before I can use it again.'

You watched as the magician's assistant started to put the swords in one by one. 'Oh, crap.' 17 more to go.

'You still there?'

You couldn't help but stress when he didn't respond. Chewing on your bottom lip, you tried not to think about the cold sweat at the idea of Saiki not making it out. 3 swords left. How did Saiki plan to survive this one?

'Yeah. No one could— except me. I dislocated almost every joint in my body.'

With just a few words from Saiki, you felt like a boulder had been lifted off your shoulders. The relief you felt was short-lived, though, as dread pooled inside your stomach at his words.

'Are you okay?!'

'I'm not gonna lie— it hurts.'

You wracked your brain to try to find a way to help him, but you came up empty. Sure, you wanted nothing to do with him, but you weren't comfortable knowing he was in pain. Why? You had no idea. You chose to blame common human decency, but the feeling of your heart sinking suggested otherwise.

You watched as the TV crew hooked a line to the crate before it was announced that a crane would lift it and drop it from a 30-metre height. You raised your hands to cover your face because you weren't sure you wanted to see, only for you to move your fingers so you could peer at the screen seconds later.

'The only way to avoid certain death... is...' You watched the crate collide with the floor, the bottom of it crumpling from the impact. '...To jump. Flawless timing.'

You stopped tensing, visibly relaxing, when you heard Saiki in your head again, never more grateful than now for his telepathy. He managed to save himself again, and you hadn't appreciated his powers more than in that moment. After the dust from the crash settled, the host on TV announced that the box would be set on fire. You furrowed your eyebrows— did they really need to go that far? It was too much overkill, in your opinion.

'Didn't even get a chance to catch my breath. At least with all the hot weather lately, I've been able to hone my psychic powers over temperature.' You honestly didn't know how to feel when the support crew doused the crate in gasoline, lit a match and set the box alight— only for the host of the show to reveal that fire wasn't the final boss.

'There's more?'

How was he planning on getting out in time when he hadn't passed his 3-minute limitation over teleportation? Wait— how had the crew managed to do so much damage in that time window? The host confirmed your fears when they brought in a yellow steamroller. No way— were they planning to run over the box and flatten it completely, with Saiki still inside?!

You watched the stream roller reverse and then drive over the box, crushing it under its wheels. You watched silently, your heart beating out of your chest in worry. The host asked the audience how anyone could survive inside the box— until lights turned on behind him, showcasing Chono.

"Hold on, who is that I see? It's the miraculous illusionist himself, Uryoko Chono! He's alive!" The crowd went wild, breaking out into applause and screams at the trick. You couldn't care less! Where was Saiki?! Was he okay?!!

'How annoying. His wasn't the only great escape, but I got lucky. The soil was extra soft.'

It was your turn to go radio silent.

'...Did you dig a hole like some groundhog?'

You were just happy he was safe. God forbid you had to live with the fact that Saiki died and you had witnessed it. Then again, he was an all-powerful psychic— what did you expect? Of course, he'd make it out alive.

'I know. I said I liked TV because it can still surprise me— but this is too much.' You couldn't help but snort at the comment; his dry humour was growing on you. Saiki was right; the amount of turmoil the day involved was not something you had mentally prepared yourself to handle. Exhaustion took over you, and you let yourself fall back onto Saiki's bed.

Was Saiki's life always like this? Downright disastrous to the point where it was funny? You kinda felt sorry for him. "Très Bien, right?" Chono exclaimed when the host stated that the escape was great. You exhaled, placing your hands on your stomach and trying to relax.

"Hey, stick around for what's next—" Your head shot up, recognising the voice from the countless trailers you had seen for months plastered every time you opened an app. It was the male lead of the new mystery show everyone was looking forward to.

Your mind worked at a million miles per hour, and you were sure there were drawings of algebra floating around you. Saiki was a psychic, and if he was near the new show's star, he'd no doubt hear spoilers from the actor.

'Kusuo, come back.'

'I can't; I still have 13 seconds to go.'

Great. The show he was looking forward to, the reason he went to save Chono, would be spoilt because he chose to be a good human being. All because the lead actor was around, and of course, the guy knew what was to come— he had just finished filming it.

You made a decision then, one you knew you'd regret. Concentrating on controlling your breathing, you forced your mind to go blank. Then you imagined Saiki at the park he had transported to so he could save a certain magician.

You clenched your jaw. Saiki wasn't too far away, and if you used your immunity on him, it'd work, right? You had to try, at least. You reached out your hand in your mind, and when it came into contact with his shoulder, you saw what you were looking for.

The familiar thin white strings, millions of them shooting off from his temples in all different directions and disappearing into the distance when your eyes tried to follow them. You had no doubt they were the strings that connected Saiki's mind to anyone in a 200-metre radius.

With your hand still on Saiki, you imagined the actor who starred in the show's premiere as the love interest. That's when you found the thin line connecting the two, all the others melting in front of you as you forced yourself to focus. You had to hurry; you didn't have much time.

"The world premiere of a mystery called, 'Love Fantasy.'" You tried to dismiss the voice of the actor; he sounded like he was speaking from right next to you, and damn it, if his yapping wasn't as distracting as it felt. "My character will try to uncover the mystery of his girlfriend's death."

You clenched your jaw at the pain invading your skull, ignoring it as you reached out, using your index and middle finger as make-shift scissors, closing the two to cut the string. All the while, you questioned why you had chosen to use your talents for the psychic. Oh, yeah— it was because you felt bad for the guy.

The headache you experienced for the better half of the day skyrocketed when you opened your eyes. Damn, it hurt. You wished you had stayed on Saiki's bed.

As your vision began to swim, a familiar wave of nausea hit you. You felt the ground shift beneath you, unable to do anything as you realised you would fall face-first into Saiki's table. You hoped it wouldn't bruise. Closing your eyes, you braced for impact, expecting pain.

When it didn't come, you forced your eyelids to open, using the last ounce of energy you had left. Why did they have to feel so heavy? You still couldn't see clearly, but what you could tell was that someone had caught you before you kissed Saiki's carpet.

Your body was limp; try as you might, you couldn't get your limbs to listen to you. It hurt to breathe; the sharp pain in your ribs ensured that. You couldn't even raise your head to see who had caught you. Was it Saiki's dad? Had to be.

"...od grief... what happene..." You strained your ears to hear whoever was talking to you, to no avail. You scrunched your eyes shut when another wave of nausea hit you. You felt yourself getting picked up before being placed on something soft. The bed?

You took in sharp breaths, trying to ease the pain. No such luck. When you felt a hand on your forehead, you opened and squinted your eyes to see. Even with your fuzzy vision, you knew you recognised the pink you saw.

'Kusuo?' You thought at the psychic, hoping you had guessed right. 'Yes?' The relief that filled you when the pain seemed to ease at the sound of Saiki's voice in your head— was incomparable.

'Is that you?' A brief pause followed, and he answered before you could think of anything else. 'Who else? How did this happen?' Right, stupid question to ask. You closed your eyes again, assuming he asked about your deteriorating condition. 'I used nullification on you.'

Silence followed for a few seconds, and you missed Saiki's voice inside your brain. 'Why?' Was all he had asked, and you looked at him. You could see his face clearly now, and if you didn't feel like you would throw up the food Mrs Saiki had made for you earlier, you were sure you'd be flushed.

He was so close— you could feel his exhales fan your neck. You noticed the faint wrinkle in between his eyebrows. You returned to looking at his eyes, trying to name the emotion. Worry. 'Because you were looking forward to watching the show, and that actor would have spoilt it by accident.'

You shut your lids, feeling sheepish when you said it aloud; it wasn't like it was your job to care to begin with— but you did, and you couldn't understand why. That question would have to wait; first, you had to get better.

You didn't see Saiki move so much as you felt it. The moment he tried to lift himself off you, your stomach churned, and Saiki halted altogether. Your tense muscles relaxed as the pain dulled with the psychic's gesture. You opened your eyes to look at him, finding him looking at you already.

Granted, the pain wasn't as bad as the last few times, but you still appreciated the action. He broke the silence first, the staring contest between you two along with it as he looked away. 'Good grief. Stop doing troublesome things.' Was all he replied with, and you had half a mind to furrow your eyebrows in disbelief when you realised he was referring to your last comment to him. Your lips parted to shoot a retort at him, and that's when you saw it.

The corners of his mouth twitched. You almost thought it was a trick of the light in your peripherals until you looked at his lips.

Utterly shell-shocked, your mouth gaped open at the sight. Was Saiki smiling at you? Where was the coffee jelly? It was gone with a flash, replaced by his iconic deadpan. 'I was not.' He totally was! What a tsundere— not even able to admit that some part of him was low-key touched that you had done something for him out of consideration. 'I'm not touched; what you did was stupid. You have a fever.' You could only huff at Saiki's statement with the last of your energy.

'Yeah, that's normal. I mean, you're the most powerful psychic out there, and another person was involved.' You shouldn't have expected anything less. Turning off your immunity to using your nullification and severing a connection between two people was a giant leap. When Saiki didn't respond, you couldn't help the thought that came to mind. 'So if two plus two is four, and five plus five is ten, then...'

Saiki's eyes narrowed once he registered your words. 'I want you to know I only tolerate that reference because you're sick. You didn't even get it right.' You chuckled softly at his comment, ribs not yet ready for a full laugh. Lips stretching into a grin from his leniency or his last statement, you weren't sure. Your cheeks hurt, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. That was until you realised how cold you felt, shivering when goosebumps appeared over your arms.

You hadn't felt like this since childhood, but could you be surprised at your situation? Especially when it involved the world's most potent psychic to ever live. It was no surprise that the fevers you experienced as a child when Saiki was running around changing human biology with crazy hair colours would make a comeback. You went back to rest your eyes.

You were in no position to retaliate when Saiki picked you up and transported the two of you into your bedroom. The familiar feeling of your mattress helped relax your body some more.

'I'm leaving the second I can transport again.'

You said nothing as the pink-haired boy quickly tucked you under the covers and placed a cold compress on your forehead. He waited until your hand was secured to it before he backed away.

You half expected him to kiss your forehead like you had seen in all the romance manga you had read— where the female lead got sick, and the male lead took care of her. No kiss was exchanged, to your disappointment.

'Thank you.' That was all you could think of him, not knowing what other way to express your gratitude. He was silent for a bit, then he turned his back to you, and just like that, he was gone. You sighed, running a hand through your hair— what a day.

You were too busy dealing with your inner turmoil to realise that Saiki had stayed for more than three minutes.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

Nothing had changed the next day at school— and you were glad for it somewhat. You had thought things between you and Saiki would be awkward.

They weren't; when he saw you that morning, all he had done was nod at you, acknowledging your existence before he turned to face the blackboard at the front of the class. You ignored your disappointment; it's not like you expected him to be your best friend or something.

When the school bell signalled the end of the academic day, you got ready to pack your things and leave. That was until you noticed a light blue-haired boy walking up to Saiki, who was in front of you, also shoving his books in his bag so he could make his getaway. Too late.

"Guess what? I've been summoned." You deadpanned at Kaidou's statement, something you were sure you picked up from Saiki. Was he rubbing off on you? Nah, no way. Not possible. "If I told you why, I'd have to kill you both."

Your expression relaxed when Kaidou's eyes met yours, and you gave him a confused smile, signalling one thing. 'I have no idea what you're on about.' You watched as the blue-haired boy puffed his chest like some peacock.

"But for now, let's just say the world's in store for some pretty big changes." With that, Kaidou waddled away like some penguin. What was with that walk, and why were his hips swaying side to side as he continued down the hallway? Shakira, es tu? PK couture, you mused to yourself— he was going for a catwalk.

"What? Did he make a friend?" Saiki asked, and you were surprised when he turned his head to the right to make eye contact with you. You looked back at him, still leaning half your body out of the classroom with your hands on the door frame. You simply shrugged your shoulders before the both of you gazed at where Kaidou had turned the corner.

When Saiki moved forward in the same direction, you took a step toward him. "Where are you going?" You asked, mind already guessing the answer. Saiki looked over his shoulder at you, "I'm going after him because I'm curious." He stated before continuing down the hallway. You decided you were too, so you followed in tow.

The two of you spotted Kaidou not long after. The light blue-haired boy walked to the doors leading to the storage room on the second floor. He whipped his head around to see if anyone else was about. You didn't expect what came next; you were caught off guard when Saiki pulled on your arm to hide the two of you behind a wall.

You saw a flash of pink before you were brought face to face with the guy's chest, and when you looked up, you realised he was staring down at you. Damn, he had a sharp jawline. If you didn't know any better, you'd think Saiki was sculpted by the likes of Micheal Angelo himself. You felt your ears burn and chose to ignore them. Why did he have to be so close, and why was he caging you against the wall?

"It'll be troublesome if he sees us," Saiki stated as he stepped away from you. You shook your head to eliminate the thoughts swirling through your mind before the two of you peered at the blue-haired boy from your hidden spot. "Thurisaz, isaz, hagalaz, sowilo, gebo, fehu." You couldn't help but think Kaidou sounded like he was summoning a demon. Was it that Jet Black Wings nonsense again?

When the door opened, the light blue-haired boy walked in. Saiki left your side and started to walk over to the door where Kaidou had been moments earlier. You followed soon after, and you strained your ears to hear what was happening in the room.

The following 5 minutes were nothing but painful. You heard two voices; one was Kiadou's, and the other, you guessed, was a student who must have been his friend.

You and Saiki listened as the blue-haired boy claimed it was hard to believe that he used to be part of the Dark Reunion before he figured out that the organisation was evil, went rogue, performed some technique when he got cornered and managed to transmigrate into Shun Kaidou's body when he was unborn.

Was this some— sort of weird realistic roleplay? Sure, having his fantasies come true through acting was nice, but you weren't sure it was a good idea to spur on his delusions. Kaidou was too far gone already. His 'friend' told him they would do anything to help Kaidou regain his memories because his power was needed.

Who was 'they'? You couldn't help but question the whole situation. Something about it felt sketchy. Kaidou seemed to have the same thought, wondering who his friend was referring to.

Apparently, there were four other phantoms in the room. It got weirder and weirder. You had to give it to both of them; you wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face if you were in there to save your life. The 'friend' claimed that if Kaidou couldn't see them, he could never help.

Kaidou jumped to try and save face, saying he could see the phantoms. What a joke. You weren't so curious anymore; now you just wanted to leave. You stopped paying attention to the conversation until you heard the 'friend' exclaim, "Stop!" followed by, "Mannaz, ingwaz, wunjo!"

Great, someone else who liked to talk in gibberish. You cringed when you heard Kaidou's friend state that the Dark Reunion had gotten into the room and killed the four phantoms. Since when could phantoms die? Wasn't all of this too much? You had to commend the 'friend' at least— for staying in character so long.

The friend stated they needed to create a barrier to protect them before telling Kaidou to place all metal objects into the bag since it would interfere. Now, things were getting interesting. When Kaidou asked if the change had to be given as well, that's when the realisation hit.

The whole thing was a scam. That kid was trying to steal all of Kaidou's money under the guise of roleplay! What was worse— was that the poor blue-haired boy believed the whole thing was real. The only thing Kaidou actually got out of the charade was losing his wallet. Poor guy didn't even get to take his train pass back. This new friend of his was pure evil.

'Good grief.' You heard Saiki think at you, 'Good grief, indeed.'

The 'friend' told Kaidou that the Jet Black Wings was a saviour and to come back at the same time tomorrow. Something about not forgetting to do the sworn ally absolution. Panic engulfed you when you heard the doorknob turn.

Looking left to right hurriedly, you barely had a chance to notice that Saiki wrapped a hand around your waist and teleported you inside the room. When your gaze refocused, you realised you were behind some sort of curtain. You had no idea why Saiki didn't decide to handle things on his own, instead opting to take you with him.

'Why couldn't you have just left me out there? I don't want to get involved—' You stopped mid-thought when Saiki looked down at you and glared. The audacity he had! To not only drag you into this mess but to shut you down when you rightfully complained? Meanie. You huffed to yourself in annoyance but stayed quiet nonetheless.

You proceeded to fold your arms over your chest, only to realise that in your exasperation, you hadn't noticed Saiki was still holding onto you. He stepped away, putting distance between you two the second the thought crossed your mind, something you tried not to be hurt over. Why? You didn't quite understand yourself.

You didn't have time to ponder anything else; the guy who scammed Kaidou stole your attention when he spoke up from behind the curtain. "That guy and his stupid fantasies are the best thing ever. He couldn't tell the absolution was my homework! All I had to do was play along with him. I even got the idiot to give me his wallet!" What a disaster. Poor Kaidou got ripped off and taken advantage of, all because of his love for make-believe.

'What a pain. Kaidou, as your one friend, I'm telling you— do a better job choosing your other friends.' The exasperation in Saiki's voice was palpable. How would you break the news to the poor blue-haired boy? That his new friend was a good-for-nothing liar.

The sad excuse of a swindler was still gushing over how he had tricked Kaidou, and you could only shake your head. Would dumping the truth work better? Or hinting at it? Saiki already had a plan in mind, you realised, as the lights turned off in the room. "What the? Who did that?" The scammer asked.

"Dark reunion."

What happened to the guy in glasses next was not spoken of after.

When Kaidou dragged the both of you to the same room the day after, saying to keep it a secret no matter what— the whole place was trashed, and the words dark reunion were plastered on the wall. The graffiti had been your handiwork.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

"Hey buddy, ready for the beach? I was walking by, and I saw the last name Saiki on the mailbox, so I figured this must be where ol' Kusuo lives." Nendou stood on the step to Saiki's household, explaining himself as he pointed at the mailbox behind him, a blow-up dolphin in his other hand. He was dressed for the day, clad in a red shirt with floral patterns and shorts.

You made eye contact with Saiki only to get a glare back. You looked off to the side, feeling like you were in trouble. 'Why are you here?' He thought at you, and what an excellent question, indeed. If only you had stayed home, Nendou wouldn't have spotted you on the streets and dragged you along for a day by the seaside. You looked to Saiki again, 'I didn't choose to come here of my own free will.'

You were still somewhat peeved that you didn't get a say in the matter. Nendou had assumed a yes from you and decided for himself that you would accompany him, dragging you by the arm down the streets of your peaceful little town. You hadn't paid much attention to where he was taking you until he neared Saiki's neighbourhood, and before you could steer him in a different direction, he noticed a name on a mailbox. The rest was history.

"Ku— Ku— Kusuo, is this your friend?" For a second, you thought Mrs Saiki was terrified of Nendou. Something you wouldn't fault her for; he did look like a gangster, after all. "He's not my friend." Saiki's comment fell on deaf ears as Mrs Saiki burst into tears, a handkerchief manifesting into her hands out of nowhere. "Oh, dear! My little boy finally has another friend! In less than a week, too— I'm so happy!"

This was definitely one of the reasons why you loved Saiki's mom; she was just too precious. "Sorry girly girl, but me and him ain't friends— we're best buddies!" Mrs Saiki started weeping into her handkerchief again, "Oh, dear! My little boy's finally getting a normal life!" You wanted to comfort her but thought better of it since she was crying tears of joy and not sadness.

"I never knew you had a sister, pal." Nendou's comment practically made Mrs Saiki putty in his hands. She gushed about how the wannabe gangster thought she was young enough to look like Saiki's sister. You couldn't tell if Nendou was buttering her up or if he was being serious. Knowing him, it was probably the latter.

'How many times is he going to make her cry?' Saiki wondered from next to you. 'At least they're tears of happiness.' A warm smile stretched on your lips; the woman needed to be protected at all costs. Movement in your peripherals broke you from your thoughts. You turned to Saiki, who was now standing beside you, looking up at him when you felt his stare out your peripherals.

His lips parted as if he was about to say something when Saiki's mom commented that Nendou taking Saiki to the beach sounded like fun. "Uh, yeah— I'm not going." The smile on Mrs Saiki's face disappeared in an instant, and the glare she shot Saiki's way sent chills down your spine. "Your best buddy went out of his way to ask you in person. You're going to the beach, Kusuo."

"Oh, dear."

A snicker fell out your lips, and you immediately covered your mouth with your hand so as to not draw attention to yourself. By then, it was too late; your plans to quietly try and slip away from the group were foiled by your own hands. Saiki's mom finally noticed you, pushing her son aside so she could hug you.

For a moment, you wondered if you could spend the afternoon with Mrs Saiki, until you caught sight of her esper son over her shoulder, narrowing his eyes at you. You knew what that look meant, but still, he chose to invade the privacy of your mind yet again to think at you, 'Oh, no, you don't. You're coming.'

Mrs Saiki continued to gush over you, and the plan to spend a lazy day indoors seemed to be further and further away.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

That's how you and Saiki ended up going to the beach.

Kaidou had joined the group as well, a fact you pitied when you observed how much Nendou teased him about having a phobia of the sea. You watched from your seat on the blanket next to Saiki as Kaidou denied it all, fresh tears in his eyes. "N—no. Th—that's not true. I know how to swim, jerk! I—I'm not afraid of the water." You almost felt bad for him; why was he here again?

'Well, he's turned on the waterworks.' Ironic. Saiki's comment nearly made you choke on your drink, and you coughed. The psychic's hand on your back, patting lightly, surprised you, to say the least, but you welcomed it. Anything to clear your airways. You chalked up the help to him feeling guilty.

You watched as Kaidou proceeded to enter the sea, only to slip and start drowning in inch-deep water. That's when you decided the second-hand embarrassment was too much to handle, placing your drink down to stand up and walk over to the sea.

You stopped in the middle of your task, turning to Saiki, who stared you down. 'Yes, I'm leaving you here. You're on your own, nerd.' You thought at him, glancing between Saiki and his book. He stayed silent, only glaring at you over his glasses. You could tell what he was thinking already; how could you just leave him to deal with everyone else? Hah— so long, sucker!

You looked from Saiki to Hairo whose pants had slipped when he ran to save Kaidou from drowning, Nendou— who stared at the other girls on the beach with a blush and smirk on his face, then back to the psychic.

'Yeah, I'm not about to watch any more of their shenanigans; I'm out of here.'

You greeted Hairo briefly and walked towards the water in time to overhear that the red-haired boy had decided to volunteer as a lifeguard over the summer. Walking further into the water, you stopped when you couldn't feel the sand underneath your feet and started to swim further out until the voices of your classmates sounded distant enough that you couldn't make out the words.

Sighing, you floated on your back and stared up at the sun. The weather was way too warm, and you hated the heat because of how it caused you to sweat. At least now you could have some peace and quiet; your social battery had run out a while back.

The silence didn't last long, you felt a ripple in the water and opened one eye, only to realise the cause was Saiki. He sat on a blue swimming donut that had sun patterns on it. That's when you noticed he was shirtless, only wearing his yellow swimming trunks, and you tried not to stare, opting to look at the beach instead, coughing awkwardly.

You watched as a group of girls ran across the sand— Nendou not far behind, chasing them. 'I don't want people knowing I'm with him.' You had to agree with Saiki; being associated with Nendou was never a good thing. Looking away from the girls fleeing in terror on the beach, you turned back to the young esper.

'I get that— but why did you have to come here?'

'I draw less attention when I'm with you than when I'm by myself.'

'So, you're using me?'

'... Don't make it weird.'

When you made the comment, your mind had not been in the gutter, but now it certainly was. There was a brief pause before Saiki looked back at the beach. He sighed and closed his eyes— then he tilted his float sideways until his body crashed against the water. You shot up, no longer floating on your back. You kicked your legs to stay above the waves and looked around to see if you could spot Saiki who was no longer on the water donut.

'You won't find me, I'm all the way at the bottom. When I want to be alone or get some serious thinking done, I come down here. I find the seafloor relaxing.'

You jumped in your skin at the sound of his voice in your head, not yet used to hearing it without seeing him. You raised an eyebrow to yourself when your brain registered what he had said. You didn't get the chance to reply to him, the sound of Nendou shouting stealing your attention.

"Saiki! You going pee-pee?!"

'Oh man, next time, I'll have to go deeper. Better go back before they start looking.'

You stopped paying attention to what Saiki was thinking at you when you noticed a girl in the water. Was she... She was drowning!

Your body moved before you could think. The water around you splashed as you started swimming, trying to get to her as fast as you could. You heard Nendou and Kaidou in the distance. Now, hang on a minute, you swore the blue-haired boy had no idea how to swim— how had he made it this far out? As if on cue, Kaidou started drowning as well, and you watched in horror.

You relaxed somewhat when you watched Nendou save the idiot, carrying him on his back. By then, you had made it to the girl, but the other two boys were still making their way towards you. You tried to grab onto her to save her, only for her to jump on you in her panic. She clawed her way up, trying to get on your shoulders.

You realised then that both of you were screwed. "No! Don't—" You didn't get to finish your sentence as you felt your body give way under her weight, water filling your nose instantly.

You ended up underwater along with the girl, your legs spent and tired. Surely, this wasn't how things ended. You had so much left to do— so many sites to see! Your mind went into overdrive as you sank deeper.

When you felt something brush against your feet under the water, you nearly lost it; the safety of your classmates and the random girl next to you be damned!

You calmed down when you recognised the pink underneath the clear waves. 'What a pain. Everyone around me is so needy.'

Saiki placed his hands on your waist and effortlessly lifted you until your head was above water. Your fight or flight kicked in, adrenaline pumping through your veins, and your legs started kicking lightly to keep you afloat. You looked around until your eyes landed on Nendou, who was standing on the water as if it was a solid surface, with Hairo, Kaidou and the drowning girl from earlier on his back.

"What— Nendou! You're walking on water!" Hairo exclaimed as he looked down. "When'd you learn how to do that?!" Kaidou chimed in, and you already knew the answer. It was Saiki, using his strength to lift them all so they wouldn't drown. You watched as all five four of them sped off towards the sand.

'See? I told him he'd have more luck walking on water than picking up girls.'

You snorted to yourself at Saiki's comment before tilting your body so you were on your back, letting the waves carry you as you caught your breath. You closed your eyes, exhaustion kicking in as the adrenaline ran out— only to open when you felt the water move, making you rock.

You squinted as the sun invaded your gaze, only for you to see Saiki. He turned around in the water, showing you his back, "Get on. I'll carry you to the beach." His closed statement left no room for discussion, and even if you had it in you to retort, you were too tired to argue.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, mindful not to squeeze too hard and rested your head on his warm back as he swam to shore. You tried not to pay attention to how close the two of you were or how you could feel his body heat since he didn't have a top on.

After drying off, you watched as the girl who nearly drowned you, apologised to Nendou. "Sorry I joked about how ugly your face is." She said, and you guessed it was her way of thanking him for saving her.

"Hmph, I'm glad you didn't ask for her number in return for your heroics," Kaidou said, giving the wannabe gangster a nod of approval when he returned as you packed up to leave. "Heh, I try to be a gentleman, but if that hottie fell in love with me, I'm not gonna turn her down," Nendou replied, closing his eyes as if he was proud. You had to give it to him, the man had confidence. You walked alongside Saiki as the group left Hairo and the girl.

"She wouldn't," Kaidou whispered under his breath, a smirk on his face. Nendou whipped his head around to shout at him. "What'd you say?!"

The day at the beach ended, and you could finally go home.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

bonus:

After the four of you got back in town, Nendou and Kaidou split off so they could head home. Truth be told, that was the plan for you as well until Saiki stopped you.

"Do you want to come back to my house?" You turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow at him at the suggestion. You were sure he thought of you as a nuisance like everyone else, yet here he was— inviting you to his place.

"Don't get any weird ideas. Mom told me to bring you back for dinner. She likes having you around." Mrs Saiki hadn't specifically told him to bring you back, but Saiki did know that she liked your company.

A small smile graced your face at the sentiment. Being liked by someone else's parents was a different type of validation. You shrugged and walked beside him back to the Saiki Household, the day not yet over.

➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵

next part -  anemoia (coming soon!)

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2025 taglist:

@too-many-fandoms666 @nikolaisfingersinfyodorsmouth @crescent-bluemoon @beehoppingaround @budijojo @shrewbles @art-missy @zenmiren

comment below to be added <3

[mandalhoerian]

I have a confession. I rhonk about what would change if Caleb were a didi and not a gege because it causes a lot more drama and also gives us more of an underdog love interest vibe. Too many cool and accomplished men in the lineup, make him even more of a loser. Even if it's just a month younger or a year, the dynamic of him wanting/needing to be her protector becomes more complicated and heartbreaking, especially if she is just as protective of him.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this ever since I got your ask anon. It affected me answering my asks, honestly. I got put in the ADHD dysfunction jail until I answered this one.

Being older gives gege structure. Authority. The quiet dignity of someone who’s always one step ahead, always holding the umbrella before the storm hits. But make Caleb a didi, and everything is upside down. The gravity aspect of him is about reaching now. The protector standing steady in the rain becomes the boy chasing after your shadow, sprinting to catch up, hoping that growing taller will make him feel older, stronger, enough. His love goes beyond being a promise of safety, and becomes a question he’s terrified to ask:

"What do I have to do for you to see me the way I see you?"

Let's talk about it.

In both Chinese and Japanese media, sibling terminology is never just familial, it’s loaded with hierarchy. “Gege” and “Nii-san” come with gravitas and respect. They mean: I go first. I carry the weight. The older brother archetype comes with authority by proximity. It places him above you. He was there first. He knew you first. He sheltered you when you were small and scared.

But “didi” (弟弟 / otouto) is a different creature entirely. He’s the one you stood in front of at the doctor’s office so he wouldn’t see the needle. The one who trailed you at school with scraped knees and untied shoes, clutching whatever you told him was important. He was the excuse you gave when you lied, the person you protected your entire life because you had nobody but him. He isn't the shield like gege is. He's the reason you needed to be one. Didi Caleb is not being relied on.

He's the one being taken care of in this scenario.

And yet, the moment you tell me that this version of Caleb is trying to be your protector anyway, it gets so juicy because this means more instability. That he's trying to reverse the roles so desperately.

Let's start with the physical aspect of it. There’s something unspoken about height in this kind of dynamic. Caleb is canonically 188cm, built like a hero. It's be more interesting if didi Caleb still has his original self's appearance. So now picture this: this beefcake towers over you. He can lift you with one arm. He blocks out the sun when he steps forward.

But every time you tilt your head to look up at him, he remembers a time when he used to tilt his head up at you and got his hair ruffled. He used to be the one enveloped in your arms. You used to be so big to him back then, his immovable mountain. But how small you are now, compared to him, but still able to make him feel so small.

That physical reversal is humiliating, in that sense. Because no matter how much taller he gets, part of him is still that boy — the one you once held, and still treats as such.

It disrupts Caleb’s clean, golden-boy narrative and turns him into something the story lacks — an underdog as you say. I know the word gets used in a scrappy comic-relief way nowadays, but I mean in the most emotionally bruising sense of the word.

Canon Caleb, as gege, is tragic and noble. His story is about sacrifice and distance and crossing lines and rewriting what they were to each other and the yearning and all those complicated stuff, about smiling while holding the knife by the blade, showing that he has been harboring a different person inside and he can't be the Caleb he's carefully curated for you anymore.

But as a didi, his tragedy becomes internalized in an entirely different register.

“I don’t want to be protected by you anymore. I want to stand in front of you now — and not because I’m strong enough… but because I love you. Look at me. See me as more. I've become so much more.”

It turns his competence into a coping mechanism. His strength becomes the performance. His medals, his rank, his years in the DAA — they're desperate proof. Proof that he’s no longer a kid. Proof that he's grown into someone you might look at differently. I can imagine that he still has the househusband skills of gege Caleb, but he's picked them up so you would would depend on him entirely.

And he knows it still isn’t enough.

He knows you see him. But not like that.

You still look at him with those warm, older-sister eyes. Still cups his cheek when he’s hurt like you used to when he was twelve. Still praises him with that gentle, knowing tone—“You’ve come so far.”

And it kills him. Because he doesn’t want to be commended. He wants to be chosen.

In canon, Caleb protects the MC because he always has. It’s natural. It’s part of their shared history.

But here? He’s trying to rewrite their roles. He’s fighting upstream against the current of every time you picked him up when he fell, every time you handed him the bigger slice, every time you stepped between him and something frightening.

So what does he do?

He overcompensates. Trains until his hands bleed. Takes on impossible missions. Volunteers for frontline danger. Tries to stack achievement on top of achievement like he’s building a ladder out of childhood.

But the heartbreak is that you never asked him to. You never demanded he become your shield.

Because you never stopped seeing him as someone you needed to guard.

Colonel Caleb with this context is more jarring. When he comes back hardened and unrecognizable in the Farspace Fleet uniform, it’s still a seismic moment. The same explosion. The same presumed death. The same return from the grave, standing across from you with a stranger’s voice and a soldier’s posture.

But as a didi, that moment is like realizing the kid you once put band-aids on has grown into someone you can’t read anymore.

Again, it’s the same reunion scene. Though he emotional footing is different now.

He’s returning as someone who outgrew you while you weren't looking. And you don't know what to do with that.

Because with gege Caleb, the rupture is spiritual. He returns changed, yes, but still playing the role you remember, gentle, playful, achingly loyal. He acts the same after they skip past the interrogation.

But with didi Caleb, the rupture is personal. It feels like a betrayal you don't have the words for. Didi Caleb's personality shift adopts the Colonel more and hangs onto the title and the authority that comes from it because that's exactly what he's been looking for all his life. He doesn't "drop it" like gege Caleb does around you.

From your perspective, he grew into someone who doesn’t need you anymore. Who might never have. And that realization burns more than his absence ever did.

There’s a dissonance between who you see and who you remember. The sense of not recognizing Caleb is stronger with the didi version of him precisely because he took that opportunity to assert he's not the younger brother and he doesn't intend to reassume that role. You aren't sure if it’s safe to speak to him the way you used to. If you're allowed to be the way you used to be with him. He’s bulkier now. His shoulders broader. His jaw is set differently when he’s thinking. And he watches you with an intensity that makes your skin prickle, because it’s not the wide-eyed look of a little brother hoping for approval.

He doesn’t want your grief. He doesn’t want your relief. He wants recognition. He wants permission.

You’re responsible for Caleb. That hasn’t changed, not in your bones. It doesn’t matter how old he gets or what rank sits on his chest — you raised that boy in the ways that counted. You taught him to keep his laces double-knotted and to stop lying with his face. You were the one who pulled him through his clumsy years and every heartache he couldn’t name.

And now you’re standing in front of him again after mourning him for an entire year and he’s acting like you’re the one who needs handling.

Yes, your check-ins became less frequent after he was cleared for flight. Yes, you didn’t exactly love the whole “don’t treat me like a kid” phase.

But you're not sure if this is a phase. It's as if he’s managed to get so good at keeping you out that he can now do it with a smile. And the part that drives you completely insane is that he’s become too clever to be caught.

He withholds now instead of lying, that's a technique he's mastered. Redirection. Dissolving arguments with jokes. When you press him, he grins and says something like, “You’re worrying too much again, Jie/Nee-san. You always do.”

And maybe that’s what stings the most. That somewhere along the way, he learned how to disarm you, to dodge the questions that matter. Weaponized taking cover behind the version of himself you still remember fondly while keeping everything that actually hurts buried six layers beneath the surface.

You want to scold him. You want to make him sit down and explain what the hell happened to turn him into someone who treats your concern like static in his comms. But you can’t. Because he’s too smooth with it. So cheeky, in that maddening way he gets when he knows he’s winning a fight you weren’t even sure had started.

You can't even compute as he shuts you in his house while smiling through it all like he doesn't have you under lock and key. Who has this kid become? Where have you gone wrong with him? It's this place, the Fleet. They must have done something to him, you're sure. You have to take him away from here, this can't go on. Your Caleb wouldn't even dream of doing something like this.

So when he corners you on that couch and tells you he's not playing house anymore and is certainly not going to keep being your younger brother, it's solidified that this is a clone that must have taken his place. Even after you leave Skyhaven in the aftermath of that disaster of an investigation, a part of you believes that ridiculous notion. There is no way your heart would be racing for your didi.

And the subsequent cards and memories that unfold have no hesitancy and the quiet yearning of gege Caleb who was benefiting from the status quo and being your protector despite having a love-hate relationship with the restrictions. Didi is assertive to establish that he's a man and that he wants OUT of that zone, he doesn't want to be regarded as a younger brother and hates being treated as such.

God, I yapped SO MUCH. This AU fascinates me, thank you for sharing it with me and allowing me to talk about it anon!

[rivwritesiguess]

Lost and Found - Chapter 1: Lost

Chat I fell down the Task Force 141 rabbit hole a while ago and now this is here

Word Count: 8.6k Angst, like hurt no comfort angst Poly!141 x gn!omega!reader Summary: A mission goes wrong. The pack loses a member. What happens when that member isn't as lost as they though? Warnings: Character death, horrible attempts at doing European accents/dialects, probably a few plot holes, military inaccuracies Notes: It's an omegaverse fic, the 141 is a pack and they all love each other. Also reader is gender neutral, they/them pronouns. this story does not follow the Modern Warfare story whatsoever, none of the main people are gonna die (no headshots), and it will be filled with military inaccuracies because I'm just here to love hot men and babygirl-ify the men in a military propaganda video game :). As said in the title, this is chapter one, so the there will be more. The guys might be a bit out of character in this, oopsies. I might end up rewriting this in the future but for now this is it. I also made an entire sims 4 build of the pack house for this fic alone and spent way too long on it 💀 there will be smut in this fix at some point in the distant distant future Made the little banner thing with Canva and the divider with Photopea Navigation Series Masterlist (this is currently the only chapter) Will be cross posted on AO3 at some point but isn't currently

  “C’mon up now and we might spare you. Make us come down there and your death will be a slow one.” It’s not good. None of this is good. It took such a turn. Everything had seemed to be going well until Kyle said that there were cars approaching the building. “Don’t be stupid. 15 versus 1 is not a fight you want to start.”

  “They think there’s just one o’ us.”

  “Could make use of that. Catch ‘em off guard.”

  “It’d be easier tae surprise them if we weren’t cornered in the damn basement.”

  “Didn’t seem like you had any better ideas.”

  “Anythin’ but a damn basement.”

“That’s enough.” John cut the conversation short with a sharp tone. It wasn’t like an actual argument, just playful bickering. Now, however, was not the time.

  John’s brain was going a mile a minute. There wasn’t much he could think to do at the moment. They were cornered. He didn’t know how this happened. The mission had gone well. It was only once they got to the safe house to rest for the night that things went wrong. 

  You were just getting ready to fall asleep with Johnny on the bed upstairs. John had taken the bed in the living room near the door. Simon was on the front porch while Kyle sat on top of the building, both keeping watch until it was their turn to sleep. You were pulling Johnny under the covers with a smile, ready for the cuddles the beta would offer you. However, then you heard the sound of Kyle coming over the radio. 

  “I’m seeing two cars coming towards us.”

  John had ordered Simon to come inside so you could all come up with a plan. It should’ve been easy, but the cars got to the house much faster than the group expected. There was no time to run, so Kyle suggested getting down into the basement to come up with a plan. With two cars, you all thought there would be at most 10 people. Not 15.

  There weren’t supposed to be any problems. No one was supposed to be anywhere near this safe house, no one was supposed to even know about it. Obviously, Laswell’s information was wrong.

  John was beginning to feel a bit anxious. It wasn’t much, but that underlying feeling that this wouldn’t be ending well was starting to set in the pit of his stomach. He looked back at you. You’d been quiet since the group moved down to the basement. 

  He never would’ve brought you on this mission if he saw this coming. It was supposed to be simple, something that wouldn’t put you in too much danger. He knew you could handle danger, but that didn’t mean he liked you being in it. But now you are. He let you come along, and now things are looking bad. You’re in danger. His pack is in danger. He needed to find a way to get you all out of it. It was not only his job as Captain, but also his job as the pack alpha.

  “Captain, if we go up there they might get overwhelmed. We’ve got a shot at takin��� them by surprise,” Johnny suggested once more.

  “A chance. It’s not guaranteed,” Kyle injected.

  “Is anythin’ ever?”

  “It’s risky.”

  “We only saw twa cars. They could be bluffin’, trying tae scare us.”

  “Not ‘us’. They only think one person is down here.”

  “They’re idiots if they can’t tell there’s more than ane person. Captain’s got blankets on the couch and Ace and ah had blankets on the bed. If they’re stupid enough to no’ notice that, it might be easy tae take them doon.” Simon shook his head.

  “Even if they’re all stupid, they’ve got weapons an’ we’ll all be coming out of a little door for them to point those weapons at. Stupid men and weapons are ne’er mix well. Even if there’s not 15, we’d still be outnumbered. People will get hit and hurt.”

  “It’s better we get hurt than stay stuck doon here waitin’ fer them tae come tae us.”

  “Or we could stay here an’ take up positions ‘round the room. They come down an’ we start firin’. It doesn’t risk someone getting hurt just ‘cause you wanted to rush in.”

  “Ah didnae say that.”

  “I never said you did.”

  “Stop it.” You were the one to speak up this time. You didn’t need a commanding tone like John. The group listened to you regardless of your tone or not. You were you. You were their omega. If you wanted something, they wanted to give it. And right now? You wanted them to stop arguing, so they’d do just that.

  The attention was directed back to John as he stood up silently. He glanced around the room, coming up with a plan. He nodded, more to himself than the rest of the group. He faced all of you, starting to talk.

  “Alright. Soap’s right. Those guys up there aren’t expecting five of us. We’ve got the chance to take ‘em by surprise. Ghost’s got a point as well. The door up there we’d walk out of probably has all their guns trained on it as we speak. They’ll shoot us down. But we can’t stay down ‘ere. It’s giving ‘em time to plan for any possibility. They might catch on that there’s more than one of us.” He took a breath. “I’ve got a plan, but it’s a bit dodgy. They think there’s only one of us, so one of us goes up. Plays at surrendering. Once those guys up there aren’t all holding their weapons at the door, the person who went up will say something to let the rest of the group down here know. Then, the four left will go out and start shooting.”

  The group was quiet. No one seemed to really like this plan, but John was right. Waiting down here only gave them time to realize what was going on, and going out as a group only gave them a large target. 

  “Ah’ll gae up,” Johnny said, starting to pull his gun out of his holster.

  “No, you stay down here. I’ll go.” Kyle put his hand on Johnny’s, stopping the other beta as he started to put his own weapons to the side.

  “Neither of you are doin’ that. I know how to handle this. I’ll be the one to go up.” Though Simon said this, he didn’t make any immediate move to disarm himself. He probably wouldn’t do so until the very last second. 

  “It was my idea. I’ll be the one to surrender,” John argued. 

  They were arguing about who would be putting themselves closer to death’s door. They didn’t want to let another member of the pack do it, not when there was no guarantee that the people upstairs would actually spare whoever went up. 

  You hated it. This argument wouldn’t end any way you wanted it to. Someone could die. That couldn’t happen. No one in your pack was going to be dying. You couldn’t let that happen.

  You quickly tried to think of something that could solve this issue. A plan better than John’s. You’d seen the blueprints of the house. The basement didn’t have an exit that would lead outside. There were, however, a bunch of weird rooms down here. There was even a small holding area with soundproof walls. There was even- 

  Wait.

  That’s it.

  “I think there might be a way out from down here. A different exit.” 

  Everyone’s head turned to you so quickly they could’ve flown off.

  “Why didnae ye say anythin’ earlier, Ace?!” Johnny asked. 

  “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t think of it till now.” 

  Lying was never something you enjoyed doing. Doing it to your pack made you feel disgusted with yourself. If you weren’t lying for a good reason, the omega inside of you might’ve been screaming and crying. But even it understood this was necessary. You had to keep your pack safe.

  John sighed.

  “It’s alright, sweetheart. Just show us where it is.”

  The focus was now on you. You turned around, walking out of the small room after making sure that the guys upstairs had stayed upstairs. Once seeing that they had, you walked quickly and quietly, occasionally glancing back to make sure all of your pack was still behind you.

  You debated if you were really going to go through with this. If your pack caught on to what you were doing, they’d stop you without hesitation. You’d have to deal with their disappointment and then have to deal with one of them going up and potentially getting themself killed. You couldn’t let one of them get killed. They were too important. Not just to you, but in their fields. To each other. You didn’t even know if this would work, but you had to try. You’d rather this than the world losing one of them. You could only hope it went how you wanted. You could only hope that your pack trusts you enough to listen.

  You got to the end of the hallway and opened the door in the left corner. It was a sitting area, but this time there were two doors on the far side of the wall. You took a deep breath before looking back at your pack, who all seemed confused.

  “That door, over there. Get in there.” You pointed to the door on the left side. You stepped out of the doorway so the rest of them could walk past you. They, however, hesitated. You sighed. “Just trust me here, okay? Please?”

  You didn’t want to exploit their trust in you, but there was no other choice right now. You had to get them into that room. 

  Another thing you had to do was control your scent. Sure, you were wearing scent blockers, but your scent was naturally pretty strong. When your emotions got too high, your scent normally pushed past the blockers. So you had to focus on keeping it suppressed right now even though you were full of fear. They wouldn’t go in first if that was the case. They wouldn’t think you were lying, but they’d want you to be closest to safety if you were feeling fear.

  “We’re following you, love.” Simon pulled the ‘love’ card. You weren’t hiding your scent well enough. He only did that when he was trying to keep you calm. They were following you to stay in between you and the danger that lurked upstairs. You needed to do better. Suppress your scent. It gives you a headache to do, but if they don’t walk into the room first, the whole plan would go up in flames.

  You couldn’t argue with them walking over now without looking suspicious. So, with a small nod, you turned and walked over to the door. You had to think. Think. Think.

  Once closer, you opened the door. It was a heavy one, which you suspected since it was supposedly soundproof. You hoped that was true. There was a small window in the door that slid open and closed from the outside. You stepped around and used your body to keep the door open, still trying to figure out a way to get them to go in without you.

  As the door was pressing against your back, you realized you could simply continue to hold the door as they walked in. That was the only way this could work. They just needed to listen to you.

  “Go on,” you said, motioning inside with your head. Johnny stepped forward, approaching your side to take the door from you.

  “Let me hold it, Bonnie.” You moved away from him slightly, stepping back and moving the door away from him as well. You shook your head.

  You saw the confusion on their faces when you did this. There was no exact reason for you to not give Johnny the door. He could hold it just fine. You had to think of something to make them not confused. Something natural. Something that said you were calm and not terrified.

  You rolled your eyes.

  “I can hold a door, Soap. Let me do one thing, won’t you?” You plastered a playful smile on your face, doing your best to get it to reach your eyes as well. You weren’t feeling playful. No, you were full of terror. Your senses had always been higher than others. Right now you could hear the people upstairs starting to pace. Their patience was running low. They’d be coming downstairs within the next few minutes.

  You couldn’t let your pack realize this. They could end up feeling cornered and decide to fight. Someone would get hurt during the fight, and that wasn’t what you needed. You couldn’t let them realize your terror either. If they did, they’d get suspicious. You shouldn’t be feeling such terror if you knew a way out. They’d realize something was off. They’d catch on. They’d never listen. They wouldn’t do what you wanted. They’d go through with John’s plan, or they’d go fight and then one of them would die and then you would lose them and you would’ve failed and then-

  “‘Right, ‘right, I get it. Ye’re independent an’ aw that,” Johnny said, hands raised in mock surrender as he smiled at you. It’s playful. You were starting to feel thankful for that one theatre class you decided to take back in school.

  You could tell the group felt a bit relieved as well. They were starting to be hesitant about your supposed ‘exit’. They were also worried you’d be panicking and doing this just to stop one of them from going up. But if you’re being playful and you’re able to joke around with them, then it’s fine. 

  Johnny walked past you and into the room with a smile in your direction. Kyle did the same. John followed behind. Simon went in last, and you seemed to follow.

  Once they went in, they realized something was wrong. The room was pretty dark, not able to properly be inspected from outside. But now that they’re in, they realize there are no more rooms attached to this one. This was a dead end. 

  John was the first one to realize this, but he was too late. He turned around to see you quickly stepping away and letting the door shut with you on the other side. He ran over, only to find that there was no handle on this side of the door.

  “Ace! What are you doing?!” He moved over slightly as Simon started to try and open the door. John looked through the little window on the door, trying to get an explanation from you. Simon had no success with the door. Johnny and Kyle were now standing behind them, confused and starting to feel a bit panicked.

  You were staring at the door with wide eyes, shaking slightly. You looked back at the exit door to the room you’d just come in from and then back to him. Your breathing picked up slightly as you pulled your bag around your front, pulling out a burner phone.

  “What are they doing? What’s gaun on?!” Johnny asked from next to John. He didn’t want to push, but he was trying to angle himself so he could see you through the window as well. He wasn’t able to, making his panic only start to increase. Meanwhile, Simon took a few steps back from the door, starting to pace through the room. 

  “Ace? C’mon, hun, talk to us, what’s going on?” Kyle asked, standing anxiously behind John. He couldn’t see you. He needed to see you. See what was going on in your head. Why the hell you’ve locked them in here. He needs to know your plan. He wants to trust you, but he needs to see you first. He has to,

  “I-... Laswell knows the safe house isn’t safe. She knows where you are. Once the people upstairs leave, then- then our people will show up to let you out. It’s- it’s gonna be fine.” Your voice was shaking. Your terror was full force now that you’d gotten them safe. The next part of your plan wasn’t a part you enjoyed, but it was a part you had to do. You glanced at the exit door of the room again.

  “Darlin’, whatever you’re doing, you need to rethink it. You need to let us out. We can’t do anything from here. Let us out. Now,” John said. It started soft, but his tone turned commanding towards the end. He might be your alpha, but he’s also your superior as well, and you weren’t listening. 

  “Look, this- this isn’t the best scenario, obviously, but it- it’s needed, and- and I know you guys won’t agree with me, but- but-”

  “Agree wi’ what?! What are ye tryin’ tae do?!” Johnny asked. 

  John saw the tears that gathered in your eyes. He was so confused. Normally, he could read you like a book. He could always tell what you were thinking and why you were thinking it. But now he had no clue what was going on in your head. What were you trying to do here?

  Simon’s thoughts were racing. There was no way out. You locked them in. Why would you do this? Why would you just lock them in here? Could you possibly be a traitor? Had you been one all this time? Were you about to call whoever was upstairs down here to turn them in? Did you tell them that the group was here?

  No. That wasn’t the case. Not only did he refuse to believe that you’d betray them due to his own bias, but there was also your scent that was in the air. When your panic slipped through the scent blockers during missions, it helped him push through the mission just to get you out of the situation. When you two were falling asleep in his bed, your scent helped ground him. It helped keep him calm. Now, your scent was anything but calm. There wasn’t any satisfaction that there would be if you were a traitor. There wasn’t any happiness. You weren’t feeling smug. No, he could smell it, you were feeling terror. Panic. Hesitation.

  And yet, underneath all of that, Simon could sense the smallest bit of relief. He was hurt at first, taking it as relief that meant you were a traitor. But with everything else on top, he was mostly confused. He couldn’t understand why you would be feeling-...

  When the realization hit him, he froze. He looked to the door where John, Kyle, and Johnny were still trying to get you to explain. 

  “Just tell us what you’re doin’, please.”

  “They’re going to risk sacrificin’ themself.” 

  The room froze once Simon had muttered the words. Johnny turned back with the same force that he’d looked back at you earlier when you mentioned a way out. That isn’t right. Simon’s wrong. You wouldn’t do that. Simon’s lying. It’s a joke. A cruel, cruel joke that was out of place and he had no right to be saying right now.

  Kyle turned around as well, looking at Simon. He needed him to take his words back. Just take it back. Why would he ever suggest that? You- you couldn’t- you wouldn’t- you wouldn’t-

  Meanwhile, John stayed facing you. He’d gone quiet the minute Simon spoke. He stared at you, trying to read your face. You stood on the other side of the door, staring back. Your eyes were sad, but your ace was set. You made no move to let them out. And that was all John needed to see to realize that Simon was right. This was your plan all along. You never knew a way out. You hadn’t brought them here with the intention of getting everyone out. You didn’t even have a way to get them all out.

  No, you’d brought them here with a different intention. You’d brought them here to save them. To trick them and keep them safe while putting yourself in the line of danger. You were having no thoughts about letting them out now, dead set on your own plan. 

  It wasn’t right. John had a plan. It would’ve kept you safe. None of them would’ve ever let you be the one to go upstairs. And John knew that you knew that. He knew that you knew if you suggested being the one to surrender yourself the others would have shot you down immediately and brushed you to the side before continuing to argue. You wanted to keep them alive, and this was your way of doing that.

  John didn’t approve of your way. Not at all. He would’ve changed the plan. Would’ve gone with Simon’s instead. Anything but this. Anything but you being the one to get hurt. He was desperate to try and get through to you, but just looking at your eyes told him you were set.

  “Don’t do this, alright? Don’t,” he tried. He knew it wouldn’t work, but he had to try. His voice was desperate. Quiet. He wanted you to listen. He’d be on his knees right now if you would still be able to see him.

  “I’m sorry,” was all you said in response to him.

  And those words were what told Johnny and Kyle that Simon was right. You were trying to risk sacrificing yourself here. Kyle couldn’t even talk. Maybe this was a bad dream. He’d had a few like this before, ones where you sacrificed yourself to save them. Maybe it’s just one of those.

  Johnny, on the other hand, no longer had the restraint that he had before. He lightly pushed John to the side, who was too busy trying to think of a way to get you to not do this to care. 

  “Bonnie, ma heart, hen, luvbug, please, dinnae dae this, ‘kay? Open this door. Ye dinnae have tae dae this for us, ye understand? This isnae what needs tae happen, what needs tae happen is ye openin’ this door, aye? Just open the door, let us oot, we can figure it oot! One of us will go up, follow through wi’ his plan, no’ this.”

  You shook your head.

  “I can’t let any of you do that. You’re all too important.”

  “No’ as important as ye! Let us oot! We can dae somethin’! Talk, come up wi’ a different plan, kick their sorry arses, an’ if we get beat then we go down kickin’ an’ screamin’ together! Anything but this. We cannae lose you. We can no’. Open this door, come on, please.”

  “Technically, I’m not. You are all more skilled than me. I offer the least amount to the team. I’m the loss that won’t cost as much compared to the rest of you.”

  “According tae who?! Nae one who actually matters thinks that way aboot ye, open the door!”

  “The people upstairs still think there’s only one person here. They are expecting someone. I’ll keep them thinking it was just someone. None of you have to go up there and get into a fight you might not walk out of.”

  “No, no. That’s not what we do. We’re a team. We’re a pack, we stick together. Ye don’t get to just decide this fer aw us! Open the damn door, Ace, please!”

  You took a few steps forward towards the door. For a second, they thought Johnny’s pleading had gotten through to you. They nearly felt relieved when you lifted your hand.

  But why would things ever go their way? Your hand kept moving up, grabbing the smaller door to the window on the door.

  “Luv, no, no please-”

  “I love you. All of you. You’ve been better to me than I ever thought any pack would be. I’m eternally thankful for the way you all welcomed me in and everything you all have done-”

  “Cut it out. Quit it, you’re not saying goodbye.” John took his place in the window again as Johnny was dealing with the fact that you were shutting them out. He nearly stumbled when John lightly pushed him to the side, mind racing.

  John was fuming. How could he not have realized this? How could he not have seen the signs? He should’ve gone over the blueprints with you. Then he never would’ve fallen for you saying that there was a way out. He shouldn’t have brought you on this mission. He should’ve kept you at home. His gut had told him to do that, didn’t it? Or was he imagining that feeling in order to give himself more of the blame? He should’ve realized. You were his omega. You were their omega. How could he not have realized?

  “I’m sorry, John. I’m sorry, Johnny. I’m sorry, Kyle. I’m sorry, Simon.” You whispered your apologies one after the other, voice soft. You never said their names on a mission. You were a bit paranoid in that regard, not wanting any enemies to potentially hear and use it to get any information. You saying it meant you had truly made up your mind. There was no swaying you.

  John felt helpless. Johnny couldn’t get through to you, and neither could he. How would this even work? If you went up there and died, how would his life be without you in it? How would he function, how would he live? How would he wake up in the morning and not be met with your happy smile when he left his room? How would he get through his day without your random short texts of encouragement? How would he go to sleep without having seen you curled up on the couch, cuddling with Johnny and Kyle? How would he eat breakfast without seeing you dragging Simon along to eat with them?

  He shook his head. He wouldn’t have to do any of that. This… This wasn’t happening. None of this was happening. You were all at home, in the pack house. You were in the living room; there was some sports game on the TV that he wasn’t paying attention to. Simon was poking fun at Johnny for his enthusiasm; Johnny was overreacting to it. Kyle was bringing over some snacks. You were leaning back on John, your back against his chest as you smiled watching the other three. He was watching you. Their omega. His omega. Safe. You were safe. You had to be safe.

  Simon stepped forward, a bit more aggressive than he meant to be when he pushed John to the side.

  “Open this door. You’re not doing this. You’re not allowed; you understand me? I am ordering you to open this bloody door.” You only shook your head. The tears that had been in your eyes were now starting to fall down your face. A growl started to form in Simon’s chest as his fist slammed on the door. “Open it!”

  “I love you, Simon. I love all of you.”

  “No, no, don’t you fucking dare, I can’t lose y-”

  You closed the window.

 Johnny moved back over, slamming his hand on the door as he called out for you. Simon let Johnny push him over, currently in a state of shock. You ignored him. You always listened to him. You always listened to him. Why didn’t you listen? Why didn’t you just fucking listen?! Why were you doing this?! You crawled your way into their hearts, into his heart. Their hearts had built new walls around you to keep you inside, and yet now you were breaking those walls down from the inside without warning. How could you?

  John was the first to do something. He stepped forward, grabbing Johnny and pulling him away from the door.

  “What the fuck, Cap-”

  “You need to be quiet. This room seems to be soundproof, but if it isn’t, then they’ll ‘ear you and come down here. They’ll catch Ace.”

  “They’re gonna catch them anyway! They could end up gettin’ themselves killed, we need tae stop them!”

  “No, no, they-” John shook his head. “They said they might show mercy. When Ace goes up, they’ll buy us time for backup to get here. They’ll get out before they get hurt. They’ll be alright.”

  John had to believe it. He had to believe it wasn’t your plan to get yourself killed. The thought of you dying made him feel like vomiting. The thought of you going up there with all those people, not even trying to fight. The thought of your body- no. No, there’d be no ‘your body’, you were going to be fine.

  “That was a goodbye. They don’t plan on coming back to us alive.” Kyle said quietly as if he’d just had the realization himself.

  “Exactly! We have tae get oot o’ here, stop them, shout at them, drag them oot of here, somethin’! We have tae-”

  Simon walked over, grabbed Johnny, and pulled him further away from the door as he put a hand over Johnny’s mouth.

  “We can’t. There’s nothin’ we can do.” Johnny struggled for a moment, muffled disagreements leaving him as he tried to get out of Simon’s grip. Simon shook his head. “We can’t do anything except shut up and wait. If we get the attention to come down here, then what they did is for nothing. They might have a chance of bein’ spared, but if the people up there figure out they’re lyin’ and hidin’ us down here, they could get pissed off and just kill them anyway.”

  Johnny managed to push Simon away, going back to the door. He wasn’t planning on listening to Simon. Not when you were still alive and he could be trying to do something.

  “We could stop them, we just-”

  “No, we can’t,” John said, his tone final. It wasn’t a realization he wanted to come to, but he had to. There wasn’t anything they could do. 

  John motioned for Simon to grab Johnny again. Simon did just that. He grabbed Johnny, pulling him and getting him against the back wall. The beta froze before crumbling to the ground, his head in his hands. He was speechless.

  John and Simon stood still, not knowing what to do next. They couldn’t look at one another. They’d failed as alphas. Their betas were suffering. You were in danger, and they hadn’t gotten you out of it. Their omega was going to get hurt and they couldn’t do anything to stop it. 

  It was quiet for a few moments before Kyle spoke up.

  “...maybe they did know a way out and we all just couldn’t go through. Maybe the plan’s to get out and draw the attention away from here. Or maybe they’ll be able to fight their way out. I mean, yeah, sure, they’re outnumbered, but they do well in training. Maybe- maybe they’re quicker than they let on and they’ll take them lot down.”

  “They are definitely cleverer than we thought. Underestimated ‘em. They managed to trick us down here without us even fully giving it a second thought,” John said with a sigh.

  “No, they didnae trick us. They didnae trick us, they just….. It wasn’t trickin’. They wouldn’t. They…” Johnny was speaking quietly, a big difference from the anger and action he had shown only moments ago. He couldn’t properly grasp this, but he knew he didn’t like the idea of you ‘tricking’ them. That made you sound like a bad person. You were not a bad person.

  Kyle walked over, sitting down next to Johnny, feeling a need to try and comfort the other beta. He put a hand on Johnny’s shoulder, nodding.

  “This… This is just a confusing situation. They’re gonna be fine. They’ll find a way ou-”

  Kyle was interrupted by the muffled sounds of gunshots echoing through the house. It went on for about five seconds before they stopped.

  The group went silent. They stayed silent for another five minutes, waiting for something. Anything. More gunshots. The sound of you fighting. Maybe it stopped because you had managed to get away. Or maybe you managed to handle the people firing at you and the gunfire would start up again with you handling more of them. Or maybe there’d be more fighting and that would be the rescue team who would have a medevac to get you out. Treat whatever wounds you received. Maybe the door would open. Maybe it’d be you, coming to let them out. You changed your mind, the gunshots upstairs were actually the group of fifteen fighting amongst each other, you were coming back to them.

  However, nothing came. No pounds of fighting. No gunshots. No door opening. Instead, there were just quiet footsteps above their heads. Footsteps that walked out of the house and never came back.

  It was about 30 minutes before the door opened. It wasn’t you.

  As they exited the basement, they saw there were discarded guns on the floor. Bullet casings on the ground. Holes in the basement door and the walls around it. Blood on the floor.

  The blood pooled right in front of the basement door. It trailed out the front door like a body had been dragged. The trail went outside, the blood mixing with dirt and grass. It stopped and gathered at a spot in the driveway as if someone had dropped a body there before throwing it into a car.

  If that blood all belonged to the same person, there’s no way that they lived.

  There was a lot the group noticed. The blood, the guns, the bullet casings, the holes in the wall and the basement door.

  The main thing they noticed was the one thing that wasn’t there. 

  You.

  You were gone. They had lost you.

  They failed.

  It’d been a year. One whole year.

  The first three months were the worst. They’d given a bunch of lies to the psychological evaluator, claiming they were fine to work. It was a lie, and everyone knew it, but taking one of the best task forces out of the playing field wasn’t a good idea, even if it was temporary. They were silent on base. They didn’t talk to anyone unless it was during training or mission related. They didn’t look at each other. They didn’t spend time in the pack building unless it was to sleep. They were silent on missions. There were no playful jokes, no joking jabs. Nothing. Dead silence aside from orders. The base watched the closest group of people there become the most distant from each other.

  It was worse behind closed doors. In their pack building, tensions were high. The air was thick with the smell of anger and hurt. When they had to be in a room alone together, it was terrible. They’d screamed and shouted at each other when it was just them, pushing the blame back and forth. It wasn’t until Laswell caught one of these screaming matches that she was able to get the team into therapy. She’d talked to John, told him that it was for the better of the pack. At first, she was understanding of the refusal. However, when she asked the third time and was met with nothing, she knew she had to take a different approach. When John tried disagreeing, she told him that the pack had no choice. Either they went through with the therapy or else they’d be put on leave. It’d been two months since your death when they all had their first meetings.

  It was one month of therapy before pack counseling had started. All of them were against it at first, not wanting to see each other. However, each of their therapists managed to convince them eventually. When the group first got together, it was silent. The only person talking during the session was the therapist. This went on for the next few weekly sessions. That was until the therapist managed to push a button.

  “You all blame each other… isn’t the omega the one at fault?”   It had been chaos. The screaming and shouting went on for about ten minutes. It turned into them screaming at the idea of any of them being blamed for what happened. Then, the group realized that the therapist hadn’t reacted at all. 

  “You’re still a pack. You think your omega dying has torn you apart, but the way you all just jumped to defend them? To defend each other? You’re still close, you still want each other. You just need to let yourselves want that. You think there’s no way to recover, but this has the opportunity to bring you all closer together than you were before. You just have to let it.”

  The sessions changed after that one. It was still quiet in the beginning, but they ended up willing to talk to each other. Then they ended up wanting to talk to each other. They started spending time together outside of sessions, started doing more things in the pack house. About half a year after losing you, they found themselves sitting on the couch together again. Cuddling. Holding each other. Helping each other.

  They got their act together. They had to. You never would’ve wanted them to tear themselves apart. You’d given yourself up for a reason. For them. If they were to throw that away, they’d be betraying you. They couldn’t do that. Not after what you did for them. Not after the sacrifice you had done for them. You’d given your life to keep them together, and they didn’t plan to let anything come in the way between them again. Your memory kept the pack strong.

  Missions had gone back to what they once were. They were similar to how things were before you had joined, but never the same. They all felt more protective over one another. The idea of losing another member of the pack kept them on their feet. Some thought it’d be their downfall, that it would distract them. It was the opposite. It encouraged them to work even harder to return home. If they died, your sacrifice would be for nothing. 

  Their next mission had come across John’s desk a few days ago. It was one where they’d be working with someone not on the task force, something they had only done one or two times since losing you. The only information on the person was their abilities and skills. John tried to find more on the person, but there was nothing. When he asked Laswell, she had told him it was all classified information. They wouldn’t know anything up until the mission briefing the day of. So, when the group walked into the meeting room, it was safe to say their curiosity was piqued by the lone figure against the wall.

  The figure wasn’t looking at them. They weren’t looking at anyone. They had a hood up and their face down, making it impossible for them to make out their features. Along with that, they had no scent. It wasn’t that their scent was just bland, it was that it wasn’t there. Even when they’d met the rare person who didn’t have a designation, that person still had a scent. It was normally something bland and basic, but it was still there. However, this figure had absolutely nothing.

  There wasn’t much time to ask questions before the briefing started. The four of them listened, but ever since seeing the figure they had a strange feeling in their stomach. A feeling they couldn’t quite describe. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t feel bad either.

  “I’m glad all of you could make it. We’ve got some very important intel on the line here, so I need everyone to listen very, very carefully.” 

  The Colonel giving the briefing was British, but it wasn’t someone who John had met before. Laswell knew him, and when he was asking Laswell for assistance with a mission, Laswell had offered the 141. The Colonel had the scent of an alpha. He looked to be much older than John, maybe in his mid-50s. 

  “There’s an organization that is attempting to weaken the military to open up the space for a larger attack over the past five years. They’ve been attacking officers in their homes away from base, attacking actual bases, and stealing intel. We don’t know why they are doing it, but we plan to find out. There’s a safe house we’ve been watching for a while now. The organization has been using it lately as a stop between transporting illegal weapons. We’ve seen a few of their higher ups go through here. Hawk-” The Colonel motioned to the figure. “-has figured out the next time one of these higher-ups, Christopher Stone, is going to be passing through. It’s going to be today at 2200. Grabbing this higher up is the best chance we have at getting the information we need to finally bring these people down.”

  “So we’re going in and nabbing a guy?” 

  John looked over to the other side of the table. He recognized the soldiers on that side. He’d seen them around base. They were from one of the better platoons on base. The man who had spoken up was the sergeant. John could smell the alpha all over him. It was as if the man was purposefully pushing his scent out into the world, trying to establish dominance. His lieutenant sat next to him, right across from John. The sergeant was sitting across from Simon and there were two other soldiers sitting across from Kyle and Johnny. All of them seemed to be alphas. They weren’t a pack, but John knew they worked well together. Not as well as his team, of course, but well.

  “You’re not doing that. Lieutenant Evans, you, Sergeant Brown, Corporal Davies, and Corporal Walker will be leaving here at 1800. You will be sat in different lookout spots around the base. They have a routine they do every time one of the higher-ups is passing through. They clean things up, set up more lookouts, get more people on the roof of the building with weapons. You will be looking for these things to happen. If they aren’t happening by 2000, then the mission will be aborted. If they are, however, then you need to let us know. Once we have confirmation that it’s happening, Task Force 141 will head over with Hawk.”

  “Understood, Colonel.” Lieutenant Evans said with a nod. Sergeant Brown didn’t seem all too happy about his task, but he stayed quiet.

  “How are we goin’ about this once we head o’er?” Johnny asked. The Colonel nodded towards Hawk.

  “They developed a plan to get you all in and out without needing to fire a bullet.” The group looked over to where Hawk was still leaning against the wall. Their position hadn’t changed, but they did seem a bit more tense than before. Their head was moved slightly further down, something that Simon may not have even realized if he hadn’t been paying such close attention to them in the first place. It was when Johnny spoke that they changed so slightly. They’d been a still figure the entire time, up until Johnny said something.

  “Without a single bullet? How many people are going to be in this safe house?” John asked, skeptical of this plan.

  “Fifteen to twenty people. But Hawk is smart. The plan is for you all to drive about a mile away from the house. Then, three of you will get out, along with Hawk. One of you will set up a lookout spot about halfway to the house while the other two keep moving forward with Hawk. Once there, Hawk will move forward while the two of you will stay in the trees. Hawk’s going to go through an unlocked window. Hawk broke the window lock last time they snuck in. Hawk will sneak through the house to unlock the cellar door. They’ll give you a signal over the radio and you two will get to the cellar door without drawing attention. From there, Hawk will lead you through the house. Hawk will take the lead. They can get rid of any threats you come across without raising any alarms. Not only that, but they know the safe house better than any of us. They know where to hide the bodies so you won’t get caught."

"At 2300, the target will be sleeping. Hawk will sneak into the room while you two will take guard outside the door. They’ll knock the target out. One of you will need to carry the target while the other watches their back. Hawk will be focused on moving forward and creating a clear path for you to carry the target back out through the basement and through the cellar door. Once out, you will alert those who stayed behind. You will meet halfway between the house and where the lookout is set up and then you will get in the car and drive. By this point, it is expected for someone in the safe house to realize the target is missing or to find the bodies. You all need to be in the car and driving away, no delays. Do you understand?”

  “We understand, Colonel,” John responded.

  “I asked for the 141 because Laswell speaks very highly of you. This is an incredibly important mission. It can not go wrong.” 

  It was a surprise to everyone in the 141 when a familiar alpha scent of a warm fire entered the room.

  “And I told you, it won’t.” Through the door walked Laswell. She walked around the table to stand next to the Colonel as she spoke. “The 141 has had a near 100% success rate on all missions they’ve been on.”

  “I’m allowed to be cautious, Kate Laswell.”

  “And I’m allowed to tell you you’re being overdramatic, Oliver Green.”

  The Colonel sighed, shaking his head slightly, but there was an underlying small smile on his face.

  “I told you I could handle this briefing. You didn’t have to fly out.” Colonel Green stood up, shaking Laswell’s hand as she took her spot next to him.

  “You know you’re going to need my help with this. It’s complicated.”

  “You’re the one who suggested-”

  “I know, I know. Just let me do the talking here, alright?” Laswell turned away from Colonel Green, looking to Evans, Brown, Davies, and Walker. “You four are dismissed. Take the files in front of you with you. They have everything you need to know for when you leave in four hours.” The other four stood up with a nod, saying words of acknowledgment before doing as told and leaving the room. Laswell looked back to the 141. “Been a while, hasn’t it?”

  John gave a smile.

  “‘Bout six months, I think.” He said as he stood up and leaned over the table, shaking Laswell’s hand. Laswell shook it, but she remained standing when John sat back down. There was an open chair next to Colonel Green, but they’d both been standing since Laswell walked in. Why hadn’t they sat down?

  “Six months too long. I meant to make it out here for your last mission but got held up at home. My omega seemed to be going into heat, had to stay back to make sure they were alright.”

  Kyle nodded.

  “We understand, no big deal. Your omega comes first, yeah?” Laswell smiled.

  “Thank you.”

  “Ah take it they’re doing better? It’s aw good?” Johnny asked. Laswell’s smile widened.

  “Definitely. It’d been a false heat that got triggered by pregnancy.” The group’s eyes widened. John returned Laswell’s smile.

  “That’s amazing, we’re happy for you.” Laswell nodded.

  “Thank you, again. We’re very excited.”

  Simon spoke up next, and it changed the mood in the room.

  “Why’s this mission so important that you left your omega to come here?” Simon asked. 

  No alpha would leave their omega in another country without a reason. Laswell only did it a few times during the year to come over and check up on the task force, something she didn’t technically have to do. For Laswell to have left her pregnant omega, something big had to be going on. Something huge.

   When Simon asked his question, the rest of the room seemed to realize this as well. Well, the rest of his pack. Laswell already knew this, obviously, and it seemed like Colonel Green did as well. Hawk stayed against the wall with no reaction. 

  John sat up in his chair slightly along with Johnny and Kyle. he narrowed his eyes at Laswell, suspicion setting over him.

  “Ghost makes a good point. Everything alright, Kate?” He asked, glancing between Colonel Green and Laswell as the two exchanged a glance.

  Laswell sighed. She looked back at Hawk and then back to Price.

  “This is about to get really weird. You and your team might be very upset. Enraged. I need you all to try your best to stay calm.”

  John looked at Hawk who was becoming stiffer. He glanced at the rest of his pack, meeting their eyes and seeing the same confusion reflected. He slowly looked back at Laswell.

  “...what’s going on?” He asked. He was hesitant. He looked at Hawk once more, who’d turned their head away from the group entirely. 

  Colonel Green and Laswell exchanged another look before he sighed, looking back at Hawk.

  “Come on, kid.” Hawk did not move. “Hawk.” Once again, no movement. Colonel Green turned fully. “We discussed this already. You can’t get through this mission without your partners knowing and seeing your face. Come on.”

  The pack watched as Hawk stayed completely still. Despite the Colonel’s tone of instruction, Hawk didn’t move. They didn’t even begin to move. Colonel Green sighed, looking to Laswell.

  Laswell nodded, patting Colonel Green on the shoulder before walking over to Hawk. She stopped a few feet away.

  “Come on. We’ve been getting ready for this. You have to let them see.” Laswell’s voice was soft. The only time John heard that tone of voice was when Laswell was first suggesting therapy for the pack. It was meant to reassure, to convey empathy. To convince. 

  Johnny went to say something. This person didn’t need to show them their face. Sure, it’d make things a bit weird, but Simon hid his face during missions all the time. And Simon had his reason, so this person probably has them too. Before he could say this, however, Laswell shot him a look, shaking her head. Johnny stopped and no one else said anything, beyond confused.

  “At least the hood, alright? You can keep the mask, but the hood has got to come off.” 

  Hawk was still for a moment before their shoulders slowly dropped with a quiet sigh. Laswell nodded, taking a few steps to the side so they weren’t blocking the 141’s view of Hawk. 

  Hawk’s head lifted. Through the shadow of the hood, they could see that Hawk was wearing black a surgical mask. Their eyes were shut before they took a shaky breath, lifting their hands and pulling their hood back as they fully lifted their face, letting the light hit them and revealing themself to the group.

  Half of their face is covered. There aren't many notable features that can be made out through the mask. The one thing that can be made out, however, is their eyes. Those same eyes that all four members of the 141 saw in their dreams. Those same eyes that all four members of the 141 saw in their nightmares. The same eyes that they had last seen filled with tears, pleading for forgiveness and understanding. The same eyes that had once looked at them with such adoration and joy, now filled with a deep darkness and sorrow that the boys felt sinking into their very skin. 

  The quiet sits for a moment before it’s broken by a quiet whisper of your name.

[lvve-talks]

WINNER TAKES ALL ·⁀ ༄.°🎾 ₊⭒˚｡⋆

🏸˙✧˖° ༘ ⋆｡˚ coach!art x reader x tennisplayer!rafe 2.3k words jealous art, age gap (art is mid-late 30s, you and rafe are 20s), voyeurism, art calls rafe "kid" but everyone is adults!!, 18+ mdni this is a rewrite of this fic !!

You are Art Donaldson’s star student. In his eyes, you are the brightest star in his sky, damn the sun. Frankly, he thinks you’re an angel come down to earth, flying through the air in those little white pleated skirts. They emulate the feathers of a dove, your racket reaching over your head like an olive branch, an offering to bring peace to the world. Unable to do any wrong. Golden, perfect, pure.

And then came along Rafe Cameron. All cockiness and aggression, if his rich parents weren’t paying him so much for private lessons, Art would’ve dropped that rich, preening bastard long ago. 

Rafe had his sights set on you since the very first day he arrived to the court for lessons with Art. There you were finishing up your own lesson, little white pleated skirt that showed a glimpse of your underwear every time you jumped to return a ball.

He makes sure to talk you up while you’re packing up your things, all dazzling, country club smile. 

“Hey,” he offered in simple greeting, leaning against the chain link while you slide your rackets back into your bag and dab at your sweat-soaked hairline with a towel.

“Hi,” you smiled back. You find him pretty, a little rough around the edges, but you knew the type of guy he was. A spoiled rich boy with eyes that looked like they were hiding something. 

“I haven’t seen you around before,” he tells you like he’s not the one just starting lessons. That was the only time you ever spent time at this club anyway.

Immediately, Art didn’t approve. Watching from across the court with eyes narrowed, his jaw clenching extra tight with each chew of that minty gum in his mouth. Art said Rafe was a bad influence on you, despite him being the one infatuated by his much younger student. You were innocent and perfect, and at least he was looking out for you. Making you better. He could tell just by looking at Rafe that he’d only make you worse. He’d corrupt you with his crudeness and discard you when he got bored, leaving your heart broken. That’s how it always went with those types.

Art typically tried to keep the two of you apart, keeping your interactions to a minimum. But he saw how you started taking more time to stretch after practice, drawing your lithe limbs above your head and bending extra low whenever Rafe arrived for his lesson. Lingering. Waiting.

And every time he’d see Rafe’s eyes on you he’d snap “Let’s go, Cameron, warm up,” making sure he was occupied with something else.

Then you suggested he double up your lessons. Something about a scrimmage for practice. He said no for weeks as you kept bugging him about it. “Trust me, he’s nowhere near your level. It’s not going to do a thing for you,” Art insisted, explaining it away like it’d be a disservice to you to even step foot on the same court as Rafe. In his eyes, it would be.

The day he finally gave in, he regretted it the second he saw Rafe’s cocky smile directed right at you from across the net like he had a single chance. He watched you go easy on him for a full set before he told you off for it. “We’re not gonna do this if you’re not gonna play right. What did I tell you about creating bad habits?” he scolded. He was always on you about muscle memory; teaching your body to respond a certain way the first time was a lot easier than reteaching it later. At least he got the satisfaction of watching you take Rafe’s ego down a peg after that.

But then… God help him.

He was walking by the locker room after practice, a towel slung over his neck and his racket bag on his shoulder when he heard it. It sounded like you were crying out in pain, and he nearly dropped everything to rush in and help you when he heard what came next. His voice.

“Fuckk you’re so fuckin’ tight,” Rafe groaned. 

Art froze. He couldn’t move a muscle. He was standing just inside the doorway, unable to see where Rafe had pinned you up against a row of lockers, thrusting deep inside of you and drawing out the most perfect sounds he’s ever heard. Just listening. He felt like such a pervert, but he couldn’t leave, not when you sounded like that.

Every whine and moan sounded like the choir of heaven in his ears, it could almost drown out each disgusting word the other boy was grunting in your ear.

“You like this? Letting me fuck your brains out where anyone could hear? What if Coach heard his perfect angel getting railed like a slut in the locker room?” Rafe hissed in your ear, loud enough for him to overhear in the echo off the concrete bricks.

Art had to make himself leave after that. It was too close. And he was far too hard from hearing the way you cried out even louder at that image. The idea of him witnessing you in that state. Getting off on it. Maybe he wasn’t the only perv here.

After that incident, your lingering after practice stopped altogether. Instead, you were rushing off to the locker room. Checking your watch every minute for the last ten minutes of your lesson. So much so that he had to scold you for it. “You have somewhere to be?” he asked incredulously, raising his blond eyebrows at you and making sure he kept you there, with him, until the very last possible minute.

Not only that, but Rafe started showing up to his lessons late. Swaggering onto the court with mussed hair and red marks halfway hidden under the collar of his polo. It was driving Art out of his mind, making him more and more irritable with the kid, making him run extra drills over and over, hoping his hands would bleed or something in his shoulder would tear and he wouldn’t be able to touch you like that anymore.

It finally got to the point where he had to sit you down at the end of your lesson to have a talk. You were fidgeting in your seat on the bench, your gaze constantly flicking to your watch or back towards the locker rooms. Your knee was bouncing so anxiously, he had to reach out and lay his big hand on your thigh to keep it still. His hand was warm on your flesh, squeezing gently to finally pull your attention back towards him.

“I don’t think rafe is a good influence on you, sweetheart,” said the perv who fists himself every night thinking about the way you sounded on someone else’s cock.

You tilt your head in confusion at him, looking like the sweetest little puppy and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from squeezing your leg too tight.

“I’m moving your Tuesday lessons to Mondays,” he finally said with a sigh. No more overlap with Rafe. No more lingering, no more running off, all of your time would be his.

“What?” you sputter. As long as you’ve been with him, you’ve had lessons every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and now all of a sudden he thinks he can change things with a snap of his fingers?

“Rafe’s taking your spot so he can have the earlier time,” he sighed as if it’s all the rich kid’s fault and not his own selfishness.

“Why does he get priority?” you scoffed. “And what the hell does this have to do with his ‘influence’ on me?” You were clearly skeptical of his intentions here. What the hell would he know?

“Well, I know you have the availability on Mondays and his parents are paying me a ridiculous amount of money for his slot.” he shrugged, like there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. “And don’t think I don’t see what’s going on here,” he gestured between you and the locker rooms with a flick of his finger, finally addressing what has been irking him for over a month.

“What? What’s going on here?” you asked accusingly, raising your eyebrows expectantly at him. Was he really about to call you out on this? How did he even know about your little trysts with Rafe in the locker room? 

You knew the way he treated you was a bit… favoritist. The way his eyes lingered on your legs during stretches, how his hands stayed on your skin or your waist for a bit longer than necessary when he’d come in close to correct your form. You weren't oblivious.

“You’re ruining your focus on your game for some kid who couldn’t give a fuck about you. I can’t let you do this, sweetheart, you know you’re going places. Only place he’s going is the country club,” Art scoffed, his patience running thin.

But you’d heard enough, gathering your things and storming off to the locker rooms, leaving Art to hang his head in his hands and remind himself that he’s doing the right thing. 

This time when Rafe’s late to practice, Art’s already pissed off. Five minutes late turned into fifteen and he couldn’t take it anymore, storming off the court and towards the locker rooms.

He doesn’t bother stopping outside this time, walking right to the back of the room where Rafe is busy plowing into you from the back, your hands splayed against the lockers as you’re bent over at the hips.

Art slammed his hand against the hollow metal to catch your attention, both of your heads instantly shooting to the side to look at him with wide, shocked eyes.

“What the fuck?” Rafe grunted, stilling inside you, but Art’s eyes were only on you. 

Even as he said, “You’re late.”

But you’d had enough of his attitude today. The look in your eyes turned defiant as you held his gaze, pushing your hips back against Rafe’s again. “He’s busy,” you stated flatly. You weren’t shying away or covering yourself up. You wanted him to see exactly what he had been imagining this whole time.

Rafe grunted and gripped your hips tighter, his gaze flicking between the two of you with his brows furrowed in confusion. What was this game happening in front of him, this volley of wills?

Art rolled his eyes at you, crossing his arms over his chest. “Like he’s even getting you off like that,” he scoffed. Rafe’s face scrunched up in offense, opening his mouth to protest, but then you’re grinding your hips back on him again, and all he could do was groan.

“How would you know, Coach?” you dug at him again, eyes narrowing at him.

“I know what pleasuring a woman sounds like,” he answered like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. And he knew you’re too competitive not to take it as a challenge.

It didn’t take long for Art to have your back pushed up against those lockers, one knee pressed into your chest with his grip on the back of your thigh and his length bullying you open. He dragged his hips back slowly before snapping them up into you at an angle that makes you see stars, your nails clawing at his back as you cried out with each thrust.

Rafe’s watching your fucked out face over Art’s shoulder, still almost too stunned by everything to do anything but fist his own cock at the sight. Normally, he’d have something to say about some guy swooping in and taking over his girl, but the dynamic was almost pornographically hot. Your tennis coach of all people coming into the locker room to fuck you right in front of him.

Art’s big hand pressed against your stomach, feeling how deep he was fucking into you and making you cry out in mind-numbing pleasure. “Feel what you were missin’ out on, baby?” he murmured against your neck as he pressed kiss after kiss to your neck, your jaw, your shoulder, wherever his lips could reach. “Runnin’ off to let some spoiled kid rut into you instead of staying with me?” 

You could hear the possessiveness in his voice, and it almost made you feel guilty for all those times you ran out of practice as fast as you could to meet with Rafe instead. But then again you probably never would’ve had him fucking you this good without it.

“‘m sorry, Coach,” you whined in his ear and it made him let out a low groan, his hips snapping up even harder at that. 

“Fuck, you should be,” he huffed into your ear.

His hand that wasn’t practically holding you up came down between your bodies to rub at your neglected clit and you’re instantly clenching tighter around him, your head falling back against the locker with a clanging sound drowned out by a near pornographic moan. He cursed lowly again at the feeling of you squeezing around him like a vice grip, and he knew you were close.

“C’mon, baby, show Rafe what it actually sounds like when you’re cumming all over a cock,” he muttered in your ear and that’s all it took for you to fall apart.

You swear you nearly black out from the pleasure and its only a matter of time before he was pulling out of you and spilling his own release in thick ropes onto your stomach with a chorus of groans and “fuck”s and “so fucking good”s.

After a long moment of nothing but a choir of panting breaths in the air, Art turned his head to find Rafe still sitting on the bench behind the two of you, his hand and stomach covered in the sticky evidence of watching the two of you like his own personal porno.

“Lesson’s cancelled today,” Art huffed at him before he was turning his attention back to you, lowering your leg back to the ground and practically carrying you back to the showers to get you all cleaned up.

[kill4luvina]

"Diamond-Plated Intentions"

Jewelrystoreowner!Sukuna x bratty!spoiled!reader

"I go to hell and back for you Bend over backwards, acrobats for you Yeah, I go up to bat for you Even when shit looking bad for you"

Summary: You’re a regular at Sukuna’s jewelry store, always showing up with a nigga in tow — each one always eager to impress you with something shiny. Sukuna never gave you the cold shoulder, but he kept it cool, assuming you're just another pretty face playing the game trying to just get him too. Until one day, one of the guys you brought in decided they didn’t like him — and that was a no-go for you. Watching you unapologetically fight a battle for him he didn’t ask for made something click. He couldn’t help himself but take you to the back and thank you w/ his dick.

Warnings: Modern AU, SMUT, Name Calling (Daddy, Ma, Princess), n-word usage, Reader is lowk a player, Reader is Toxic (towards the other guy), Guns, oral (m receiving), black!reader, public sex and probably more. (this is a rewrite & i wont lie srry if theres any grammar mistakes.)

Sukuna quietly stood at the register on his phone, his eyes coming up from his screen as he heard a familiar voice. A small smile tugging on his face as he watched your face light up in excitement at the sight of him.

"Sukunaa!" You'd smile walking over to the register, as you batted your fluffy lashes.

He'd look you up and down, you looked so much different from when he saw you last week. Your pretty curly hair flipped to your left side of your face, your volume D curl lashes & a nose piercing? Not to mention the way you were dressed.

A White short croptop, that failed in covering your light pink bra and matching true religion jeans that only covered your pink Jordans a little. The fat hello kitty BB belt's catching his attention a little, only because it barely covered the pink thong you had on. Along with what looked like a New Coach bag with a Labubu attached to it.

"Hey mamas, how you been?" He'd ask putting his phone down as he looked behind you, the guy you came in with giving him a dirty look. "I'm gooddd" you'd giggle, looking back to see the guy you were with looking at watches near the front.

Looking back, you noticed how good sukuna looked. Dressed in a black fitted shirt with grey nike sweatpants and black cats. His pretty silver vampire grillz showing as he smiles at you when you tell him to bring his ear so you could whisper into it.

His signature scent of Scandale Jean Paul Gaultier mixed with Versace Eros Flame intoxicating you as you did. Sukuna chuckled a little as you caught him up on what the guy you were with bought you yesterday, before telling him what you wanted to buy today.

"So, the one you and your hg's were checking out last weekend?" He'd ask, double checking on the registers screen to see if they still had it. "It looked good on me last time i tried it on right?' you'd ask, and he nodded letting out a little laugh.

"Broo, wsp how the fuck you walk into this store with me and you all up on this nigga?" You'd hear a voice from behind you say, You'd slowly turn around blinking a few times.

"I know good and damn well you not talking to me like that." You'd say looking left and right confused.

"Wait, one second." You'd stop him before he could continue, turning back to sukuna. "You can go get it, I need a moment." You'd smile as he nodded trying to hide a smile as he disappeared into the back.

"Back to you, what the fuck are you talking about?" You'd raise your voice, already aggravated.

"You acting like ian here with you.." He'd answer a little upset, as he got closer to you leaning into a hug surprised when you push him off you in anger. The pretty nice girl, he had met at the VIP section in the club a few night ago completely gone.

"Nigga, Stop being a fucking bitch. He a good friend, I'm always buying shit in the store. You being Aggy and insecure as hell right now." You'd basically bark at him.

The sound of keys catching your attention as you quickly turned around, your bubbly persona coming right back to you. Sukuna putting the already boxed chain infront of you, before picking up the card reader.

"Is that all for today mamas?" He'd ask, as he typed in a few things. "Yess, thank youu" you'd smile as the guy you were with came to the front pulling out his card.

Making direct eye contact with sukuna as his swiped the card, he flashed his gun at sukuna. "Keep talking to my bitch and ima empty this shit in you." he'd mutter, sukunas calm demurer pissing him off.

Right when he was about to lash-out, sukuna made a weird face confusing him. He'd point behind him, making as akward face as he looked away.

"Exuse you?" You'd ask Kaleb, tilting your head to the side before opening your bag pulling out your own gun holding it to his chest. "Y/n-"

"Nigga, next time i fucking catch yo stupid ass trying some stupid shit I JUST TOLD YOU not to to do I will fuck you AND your mother up and don't think im fucking playing because I WILL have niggas on yo bitch ass before you could even THINK about anything else." You'd spit at him, catching him competely off guard.

He had no idea you even had a gun on you to begin with, looking behind him only to see sukuna pulling his shirt up to show two straps tucked in the waistband of his sweats.

"Now get the fuck out." You'd add, pushing him back with the gun watching him quickly walk out of the store. You didn't feel bad, because you warned him prior and trusted him not to do anything stupid.

"Aww, you fuck with me fo reals mamas?" Sukuna would laugh coming around the counter, as you put your gun away. "And you were just telling me he was the richest weren't you?" he'd tease as the now stood in front of you.

"yeah whatever.. you gon give me a kiss thoughh? as a thank you?" you'd tilt your head at him smiling as he leaned down kissing the side of your lips briefly. Not thinking, you pulled his head back for a real kiss.

A little suprised, Sukuna felt himself melting into the kiss as it got heated and sloppy. The both of you compeletly forgetting you were in the middle of the store.For a good second it felt like it was just the two of you and the whole world was just an idea that was crossed out on a piece of paper.

Sukuna pulled away first looking up remembering where he was as you kept trying to kiss him again the separation killing you. "Sukunaaa" you'd whine.

You're still a little confused on how you found yourself now on your knee's in the back of his store sucking on his big ass dick while fingering yourself.

Eye's watering from how big he is, as you slopply worked in your magic on him. Bobbing your head up and down moaning as you pumped your fingers in and out your gummy walls.

You'd pull away with a pop, as you spit on it making bubbles as you sloppily went back to work. Feeling his dick twitch in your mouth before his hands quickly to your head pushing you down to his groin(i laughed typing this word out).

"Fuck!" He'd groan, starting to face fuck you with both hands like his life depended on in. "T-Thank you sooo much!! ma, you're doing so well fa me." he'd let out a little whine.

Looking down to make eye contact with your messy teary eyed face, only to look down a little more to finally notice you fingering yourself so messily.

He'd quickly pull out of your mouth with a slick 'pop', he picked you up with your knees over both arms before slowly sliding you onto his dick. Almost crying from how big he was you held onto him as he gave you a moment to adjust.

"You know- ever since you walked into my store I've had a fat crush on you." He'd chuckle a little before starting to bounce you on his dick that felt soo much bigger all of a sudden, your eye's would roll back as you started moaning.

His thrusts getting faster, the moment your felt your back pushed against a cold wall fucking every thought you had about what he said out of you. You were a mess drool rolling down your chin from giving him head no long ago and the pounding you were getting right now.

"Just like that!!" You'd scream moaning even louder when he hit your g-spot giving you quick deep strokes as he bounced you on his dick. "Such a good girl aren't you?" he'd ask giving you a kiss on the cheek, you were completely fuck out not even understanding the words coming out this mouth.

You woulda never thought sex with this nigga would be THIS good like what? Reaching your high you'd quickly hold onto him as your eye rolled back so far.

You started shaking your body almost spasming out as you came, additionally squirting all over him. Crying out as he kept fucking you at the same pace.

"f-fuckk, Ian know you could do that." he'd say between each thrust, getting close. "daddyyy" you'd whine, bring your head to his ear as you whispered something in his ear.

Before you could even finish, he was cumming deep in you pressing kisses all over your neck as he slowed down.

"you know you mine now right?" he'd kiss you, as you nodded. "mhmm, now take me out to go eat." you'd giggle kissing his cheek.

Demon with the angel eyes Maybe I'm hypnotized But why am I thinkin' twice? She materialistic I make her take this dick & Work for designer

[buellersfueller]

I won't lie, I was fine with the idea of the doctor clinging to a child. I figured it paid off the line from the Beatles episode about how despite Susan's existence time travel meant they hadn't had a child yet. It felt well enough in line with the Doctor's broader last of my kind angst. Belinda being so down for it was a little startling, but whatever, she's a nurse who cares about people & we have no evidence against the reading.

But rewriting reality and the sacrifice of the regeneration was centered on the Doctor's child, and his grief at that loss, even only half remembered. The reality readjustment is a complete nightmare, and all the worse because it isn't treated as such. Like a Belinda ran into the forest to scream about this like an hour ago. I would know I binged the whole season today to avoid spoilers. As everyone has been pointing out it's a complete contradiction when held to the Point of the last episode. The horror of the domestic sphere, the flattening and agony of hegemony. And what, that's Belinda now? She was a person up until the penultimate, and by the end of the finale she's unrecognizable, and that's after she was shuffled out of frame for the majority of those episodes. Unreal. It was so refreshing to have this companion who was genuinely frightened by the Doctor, who saw them as dangerous and their life as more scary than exciting, and the slow seduction (so to speak) was really very compelling. Shifting that in this way is beyond the pale. I'm just so sad to lose her in this way.

And for another thing, why should we have to lose Gatwa over this. He's been so incredible but he's hardly been around. Two whole episodes without him between his two seasons, both in favor of Ruby, and now fully sandwiched between legacy returns, to minimize his role as the doctor. He brought so much life and joy to the role and I'm just so bereaved to see him go. And no amount of Billie Piper can fix that.

And another another thing! Bringing Rogue back just for him to be implied dead? Are you fucking serious? Like, this is the least of my concerns with the finale. There are bigger fish to fry in terms of structural issues and racist misogynistic writing choices. However. Why. Why bring him back just to say I love you and then die. Why not adjust him back in? Why why why? One of many great joys in Gatwa's run was the queerness of his performance as the Doctor and I'm both worried we're seeing the last of it as a major character element and disappointed they stirred that one back up to this end.

[strawberry-spectre]

Critiques I have for the 2025 comic (i have too much to say </3)

TLDR: The plot for this comic is incredibly similar to last year's comic, it’s just ‘Val has a problem/insecure, Spell schemes to fix it, true love the solution’. It’s an okay story but the execution this year feels childish, and Valentine is so ooc in this it’s almost painful to read.

CHARACTER:

Val being unsure of his powers and stealing love makes sense, but not to this degree given the current situation. We alr explored how he feels abt his powers in his diary and the 2 comics and how he’s come to terms with being an emotional vamp and what it means for him, including the fact that true love (doesn’t have to be romantic) is what truly fulfils him so I don’t understand why we’re going through the same journey but worse all over again.

He seems so conflicted with being an emotional vamp and feeding off emotions in this comic like wasn’t there a whole section in his diary dedicated to how "real love sustains you; I have to be true to myself even tho it’s scary" etc. I understand that progress is difficult and you’re gonna go back to your past habits from time to time and yes Valentine realizing that he’s actually in love and coming to terms w/ that is a compelling story but this is not a self-discovery journey.

Spelldon and Whisp are swopping in bc they alr know what’s up and setting up a scheme to make Val realise that ‘lol u emotional vamps feed off emotions’ LIKE WHYS HE ALWAYS GETTING SAVED BY SOMEONE ELSE</333 In the first comic, we had Spelldon set up a plan to get Val to talk abt his feelings and now it's just the same thing but add Whisp to the mix?? Also, her being the mysterious shadow man is so anticlimactic but it’s nothing horrible.

They’re putting too much emphasis on the boyfailure part of him like it was funny when it was every once in a while, but it feels like this entire comic was him being silly, oblivious and not able to do anything himself.

In wdgfil we see him scheming so he can get all the hearts he thinks he wants, in I Only Have Eye for You comic he also thinks of multiple (albeit not that well thought out but still worked out so I’ll count it) plans to try and bring couples together (like bro literally made a deal with a sea witch EXCUSE ME?????), in 2024 comic he’s also capable of thinking of solutions to his ‘problem’ (yes he asks Spell for help but still) but in 2025 comic he’s completely just ‘oh no! Spelldon loves me! Whisp whatever shall I do :( ‘.

2025 Val has completely lost his charm, wit, resilience and emotional depth for a basically regressed back to pre-diary him. It is as if the writers are trying to rewrite his story the same way Frankie is now with Johnny, Dracula’s dead, Cleo’s no longer with the main ghouls etc. Like even his colour palate is different what happened to the black, red Three Cheers era Gerard Way aesthetic him? Why is he rose-pink? (not that I mind it's just a nit-pick)

I don’t like how they constantly have Spelldon be the fixer in both comics, it makes him seem like such a know-it character like ‘my crush wants me to get rid of his emotions, ima not do that and make him understand how important he is to me’, ‘my boyfriend’s freaking out so let me just make him think we’re in danger and have him admit that he loves me back’.

Yes, we see him be respectful and worried if he crossed any of Val’s boundaries, but I would say making your boyfriend think your magic abt to be eaten and that y'all are in danger is pretty like crossing the boundary if communicating normally didn’t seem like an option.

POWERS/EMOTION:

What rly bothers me is the smaller details and their portrayal of Val and his powers tbh, why is his magic pink and all cute, hearts and stars and little Cupid illusions? This is nothing like the Valentine in the movie and diary, and his reformed personality is alr seen in his diary, I Only Have Eye for You comic and last year’s comic.

Maybe the reason for his powers being green in wdgfil is bc he’s feeding off fake love and real love = pink magic but the portrayal of it is still quite cringe and traditionally expected of someone who feeds off love. His powers feel like it’s supposed to be a funny gag but it’s completely unnecessary to do so because it only builds inconsistency in what’s alr been established as his character and powers.

Also, him being so concerned with his emotions going ‘haywire’ feels strange to me because in his diary he says and I quote “ I felt my powers returning, and every day I got stronger”, with Ms Goblin explaining that it’s bc he’s given and giving real love and that’s why his powers are so strong, but we ignore all of that and have Whisp bestow groundbreaking knowledge that nope! His powers are strong bc he’s experiencing real love (which he and us alr knows but 2025 Val doesn’t know?)

What did Val mean by ‘emotional vampire thing’? Does he think he hypnoed Spell into saying love you? Is it him feeding off emotions? Is it his powers getting stronger because of emotions?

PLOT:

This comic’s biggest flaw is the plot tbh, it’s far too complex for a simple 10-pager resulting in less detailed backgrounds, big chunks of text, compacted panels and not fleshed-out themes. I get that we’re shown how Val feels about his powers, self-acceptance and Spelldon’s support, but that needs to be at least 15 pages for it to be good. There wasn’t any buildup to the issue Val tried to work through. Like we had 1 page of the problem, 'Spelldon said ‘love you and kissed Val’. It’s very rushed and could’ve been much more fleshed out if the comic had more pages.

They should’ve bolded ‘reformed’ instead of ‘emotional vampire’ since Val being a past villain makes much more sense for Casta to be hesitant about him dating Spell rather than him being an emotional vamp.

Actually was the problem Spelldon kissed Val and said ily or is the problem the implications bechind it? I would assume it's the latter bc

Edit: They need to make it more clear what the cause of the problem is, simply putting it in the desc of the comic isn't enough bc if I had read this with allll the knowledge of Val that I currently have but not the desc then I absolutely would've been lost at what's going on here.

In the desc it says that Val thinks he's hypnoed Spell but here it says 'Take it from you' which doesn't really make sense bc in order for him to take love he has to fill someone's heart 100% w/ love, and we've alr seen in the wdgfil movie that simply hypnoing someone doesn't automatically fill their heart 100%, he still had to romance Draculaura and even then it wasn't really working bc true love is stronger than fake love and all that.

You could argue that hypnoing someone implies that their love will be/has been taken but so far we only know that if Val cannot fill a heart within 3-4 days of hypno then the person would lose all ability to love permanetly, not that hypno will fill and steal a heart for you

Mattel really needs to give Spelltine more pages bc the first comic was quite well-received, and it will make the characters more engaging bc we get to see more of them and their personalities. A simpler story would fit a short comic like this much better because not every good story requires an existential crisis and a problem. It’ll be so cool if a comic mimicked old MH 2D webisodes in terms of storyline bc it’s so fun and showcases the characters’ personalities so well and with it being a comic, we can have different angles, dramatic effects etc that's possible with comic art which will enhance the reading experience.

ANYWAYS, thank you for reading this far, if you enjoyed the comic pls let me know why bc as much as I had to say about it there was quite a few good moments in it :33 happy pride y'all

[mattandsaraproductions]

Reality War things, roughly in order:

But… Poppy is from the future? The spaceship with the fucking space babies? Why are the Doctor and Belinda still going “this is our kid” after being pulled out of the fake reality? And if this isn’t Space Babies Poppy, why aren’t the Doctor and Belinda more freaked out by sudden baby? Neither of them going “I have a kid now?”

Too many characters. Stop it with the “we want a UNIT spinoff” characters. They take up time. Worse, it means every present-day story becomes a story with all these useless characters. And while you’re at it, can we write Kate Stewart as anything other than “remember my dad was is Doctor Who?”

You know what? I’m with the Rani here. Fuck these people I want the Time Lords back.

If I had two nickels for every time RTD brought back a good villain and turned them into a stupid CGI creature easily defeated, etc etc.

Murray Gold release the fucking S10 soundtrack stop reusing cues release the fucking S10 soundtrack already.

“We’re not going to settle down” to reality being rewritten to force Belinda to settle down and “I can’t travel because I have a kid.” Hey Ruby if you care about Poppy why don’t you become mum to her. No but seriously: why isn’t the ending to this that Ruby takes care of Poppy? Why, if she’s the one who cares so much about this kid, why doesn’t she take Poppy in? It even works coherently with her caring about this child because she herself is an orphan. But no, let’s rewrite Belinda’s history so she’s now happy having a child and always had a kid. And the thing that RTD just doesn’t seem to understand is how weird fucking what it is to suddenly have a child. A biological child? Belinda should be freaking the fuck out from the moment reality is re-established. But oh well, her happy ending is the same reality that the fashy podcast bro wrote for her. Okey dokey time for Rose to come back I guess.

Oh you know what? Replace Ruby with Belinda in the climax, her confronting Conrad instead (“you made me have a kid! With the Doctor! He’s gay, mate!”)

Jesus Christ but Jo Martin was right there. Paul McGann would have been nice too. Matt Smith, if we’re doing stunt casting in numerical order. It’s pretty clear that Gatwa deciding to leave was last minute. But people have been talking about a surprise regeneration for years, going “hey wouldn’t it be cool if we get Famous Actor for an episode?” And instead of like, Helen Mirren, we get David Tennant for the 60th and now Billie Piper?

I genuinely want to know the behind-the-scenes of these past two years. Why say goodbye to Ruby last season only to bring her back and sideline Belinda this season? How much with Mrs. Flood, all the gods bullshit, mavity, etc. was planned in advance? And what in this episode stands from whatever it originally was before Gatwa decided to leave? (the pictures of them dancing for example)

[viktorapologist]

Okay, I was not expecting to get treated to even more delicious romantic tension in Chapter 7 after what Chapter 6 threw at me, but damn, this chapter delivered. Is it really a Season 1 jayvik story if there isn't a well-timed gala to push these two to realize their feelings for each other? Profuse amounts of praise beneath the cut.

The way Jayce thought Viktor would be better after they ALMOST KISSED?!?! Clueless man!! Get a grip! It's continuously ironic how Jayce tries harder and harder to make Viktor feel better, and it only succeeds in making Viktor love him hopelessly more and more. I'm desperately hoping for the confession chapter even though I know there's so much more of the story left. I'm going to snap my phone in two out of frustration before Jayce connects the dots.

I do love seeing Jayce nervous about things. I find him so relatable in that way. He's kind of a people-pleaser and wants to do a good job. And damn if I don't behave the same way before giving a speech, running through the script and trying to get the wording just right. And Jayce's distraction by the shared moment when they almost kissed, it cracks me up. He's like, "Viktor? Kissable? Well..no..wait, unless? NO STOP THINKING ABOUT IT." Oh Jayce, you are so in love with him.

AAAA the trope where one person realizes their attraction and thinks only "oh." I'm obsessed with it. I've used it in my own writing before too, because it's just so perfect. Such a simple word to describe a shift in perception so large, it's rewriting every thought in Jayce's brain. And he tries to deny it to himself later! A trick of the light? His lips aren't that enticing in the daylight pshhh I was offended on Viktor's behalf. Jayce, how dare you? Viktor is totally kissable at all hours of the day (glad he realizes that later lol, what a goofball).

I love love love the descriptions of Jayce feeling a "pull" toward Viktor during the Progress Day celebration. It adds so much to the tension of every scene until the final one where they actually touch and talk to each other. My heart was waiting for the two of them to "snap" back together like magnets.

"He's my partner," Jayce hissed, baring his teeth and taking a threatening step toward the man. "Careful how you talk about him."

I'm screeching. I'm dead on the floor. Protective angry Jayce, my beloved. I'm so glad he did shit like this in the show because I can imagine exactly how he'd look while saying this. Bless the people at Fortiche for animating Jayce and for you @white-btterfly for creating this story. My brain will never be the same after consuming these chapters.

Smirking at Caitlyn giving Jayce shit about being a convicted felon. Smacking and flicking each other like brother and sister. I love their dynamic so much. I love Caitlyn showing up in stories. She always adds this break in the tension, a peaceful comfortable friendship with Jayce despite whatever else is going on.

Someone please draw Viktor in his gala outfit, I'm dying. And Jayce can't even hold himself back. He did miss him all day. He thinks Viktor is charming and handsome aaaaaaAAAAAAA!!!!! If only Viktor could hear Jayce's thoughts. He would be astonished.

Nugget has entered the story!!! So cute!!! I love imagining it zipping around the party, serving the guests. Piltover can be really endearing sometimes.

Also, obsessed with Sky in a purple dress. She deserves the chance to look pretty and to DANCE WITH JAYCE!?!?! How unexpected and cute! Love that Jayce had no clue people were so interested in who he'd choose to dance with first. Some people would have let that fact get to their heads and make them arrogant, but Jayce's whole world revolves around Viktor, so he doesn't even see the thirsty bystanders.

And Sky making the moonblossoms for the gala! Oh, I love a good fictional botany moment.

There's so much anticipation every time Jayce switches partners for dancing. I was waiting with bated breath like "who will he ask next? Will he ask Viktor yet? Next time, maybe? What about now? Ask Viktor, he clearly wants to dance, Jayce. Jayce, please!! Please ask Viktor you idiot!"

Hilarious that Jayce was talking over Viktor and sacrificing his good time to dance with potential investors, all because he's trying to earn Viktor's praise and help their Hextech dream. Viktor tried so hard to let him know that he didn't have to dance and Jayce just trampled all over it like the dumbass he is.

"I'm ready to dance with every woman in this room to make it happen."

Jayce, stop it, please. Viktor might crush his champagne flute from the jealously running through his veins.

My blood and Viktor's blood ran cold when Mel came into the equation. She's just so charismatic and beautiful. Nobody can hold a candle to her. It was heartbreaking to watch Jayce realize that he made a big mistake. Viktor rarely looks that hurt by anything. Annoyed? Yes. Betrayed? Sure, occasionally. Angry? Definitely. But genuinely hurt? Oh that's reserved for only the most important person in Viktor's life, Jayce Talis, the bumbling fool.

The whole exchange when Jayce says he's married to science and Mel refers to Viktor as "science," now that was genius. The whole exchange between the two of them was literal gold. I'm so glad Mel was there to push Jayce along. I mean we all know she's an empath and can tell there's something going on between the two of them, even if only subconsciously. But she is so skilled at reading people regardless, she knows the two of them have something more going on. Jayce is so fucking embarrassed, it's adorable. Can't even continue dancing properly. If a man has you that fucked up, Jayce, you really need to be thinking about why you're on the dance floor with somebody else.

Viktor is so not subtle at this gala. The yearning and jealousy are at 10/10 levels. I'm eating it up. 10 course meal of the finest words ever put to a page. I love conversations happening while dancing. The music layered beneath the conversation, the movement of the people as they spin around, the transient nature of partnership between dancers. Perfection! (When I found out you were inspired by Bridgerton at the end, it made so much sense. Granted, I've only seen the first season, but yes yes yes perfectly executed. You somehow captured the energy and the rollercoaster of emotions that can happen at one party and put it into words)

I hope that list comes back to bite Jayce in the ass later. Literally. I hope the paper comes loose and smacks him in the face, forcing him to see his own signature on the page and have the whole world come crashing down around him. I can't believe how many times he has thought back to that list as the reason Viktor can't possibly have feelings for him. Jayce, you fool! Take another look! Fresh eyes! See the truth!

Oh, the glorious moment when Jayce asked Viktor to dance. I'm so glad it happened. The fact that Viktor was jealous so long ago and believed Jayce loved dancing the whole time, only to find out he doesn't really like it. And to have Jayce finally see him and ask him to dance. It's coming full circle. Viktor is getting what he wanted all this time. He just can't see how genuine it all is.

"You don't want to be subjected to my poor dancing skills." "I do, actually. Very much."

Jayce Talis, the man that you are. I love how he blurts out the truth like it'll burn him from the inside if he doesn't share it. I love how honest he's being in this chapter. Such growth compared to the beginning! He'll get there eventually. I believe in him! Slowly letting himself act on these feelings he has. He's scared of rejection, but does it anyway.

I've read the scene of them dancing like five times. What's in this story? God damn, the sentences are laced with some kind of illicit magic that keeps my eyes glued to the screen.

They are so soft?!?!?! So gentle with each other. And Jayce's apology? I'm crying. There's an ocean full of tears and it's from me, laying face down on the floor sobbing about how cute they are. Viktor's forehead on Jayce's chest? Oh my god. Just when I think they can't get any more in love without realizing it, it just gets WORSE.

Okay, hear me out. The moonblossoms lighting up. The dancing out in their own little world in nature. It's giving...that scene from Little Mermaid where they're in the boat together and about to kiss. (God I haven't seen that movie in forever, somehow it was summoned from the depths of my childhood memories) Anyway, I'm giggling and kicking my feet.

I don't understand what's happening to me.

Jayce, honey, you are in love with your best friend. It's okay. Happens to the best of us.

Also fucking RUDE of you to suggest The Scientist as the song for Jayce and Viktor, I'll never be able to listen to that song again without melting into a puddle and thinking about jayvik. Even if you picked it just for the vibes, it actually fits them so well. I'll be adding all three suggested songs to a playlist and then daydreaming about them dancing together.

Before Your Sun Sets - Chapter 7 is available!

Viktor is sick with Hanahaki. Jayce would do anything to save him—whether it be by developing an impossible cure or trying to find out who Viktor is in love with to smack some sense into them. Little does he know, he’s chasing his own shadow.

Read chapter 7 now

Read from the beginning

[astro-b-o-y-d]

Me staring at the Triangulum prologue: Alright, it's been almost two years and you're gonna get published in a little over a week. I know you're scared and I know I've read you a thousand times by this point, but you're good. You're good and hopefully the people are going to love you.

[songfell-ut]

Happy birthday, Vene

This was drawn by @venelona on Discord and I cleverly tricked her into letting me put this here so I can do a very small gift and rewrite the fork scene if Frisk was a dude. I realize this is not reassuring to those of you who are tired of my self-AU, but I super swear I am editing the final draft of Chapter 34 in the other tab right now.

Also, it's not the entirety of their first meeting in Frisk's room, just skipping around to the relevant bits, explaining how there's still a dramatic reveal if this Frisk isn't wearing a veil because you can pry that dramatic reveal out of my cold dead hands.

Over a day later, the High Priest shut the outer door to his chambers, whistling to himself. He set a covered tray on the table, sat down at the mirror, and checked that his eyes were clear, or at least not too red. Then he picked up his coronet and settled it over his head. He stared at his reflection for a full minute, as if waiting for the young man in the mirror to get up first; with a sigh, he finally pushed himself to his feet.

Just outside his bedroom, he let the whistle peter out into a thread of magic that ran ahead to check the loose barriers he'd set around the bed. Two echoes came back, one very close by. "Good morning. Please step back," he said into the slight crack in the door.

A pause, then a soft creak of floorboards, unnervingly quiet for something – someone – his size. "Further, please," he ordered.

The skeleton made a noise he couldn't interpret. Floorboards creaked again, and the bedframe groaned under his weight. The priest turned the doorknob, picked up the tray, and elbowed the door open.

Sans was sitting near the edge of the bed, legs crossed, elbows on his knees. He had left the nearly transparent inner bedcurtains closed, but opened the windows, and even just his outline through the thin curtain looked menacing; the light shone through his filthy shirt, shadowing the spaces between his ribs, and the fire in his sockets fully illuminated his features. The young man made himself place the tray on a side table and pull up a chair with perfect unconcern, as if he couldn't feel him staring his down. "I see you're all healed. You must have slept well," he said coolly. "I know I did."

The skeleton glanced behind him at the rumpled sheets. "Uh..."

"You were alone the whole time," the priest hastened to assure him. "There's a very comfortable couch in my office that I've been using."

skip

That didn't feel quite right, but without more evidence, the priest decided to leave it for now. Instead, he pulled the side table closer and removed the tray's cover.

Sans twitched at the sight of steaming hotcakes, piles of cheese-sprinkled eggs, tomatoes, and crisp-crusted sausage links. The priest cut a tomato slice into quarters with his fork, speared one and popped it into his mouth; rather than making Sans share the napkin, he dabbed his lips in passing with the very edge of one sleeve.

This courtesy was lost on the skeleton. "Need somethin’ ta wipe with?" he inquired, and plucked at the curtain. “How ‘bout this?”

The young man ignored him and made a show of chewing, swallowing, and lifting another tomato to his mouth. Sans didn't have a stomach, but if he had, the priest probably would have heard it growling; the monster was shifting around and scowling, clearly agitated. So the human quickened his pace, taking a huge bite of egg, a chunk of hotcake, and a sausage in turn, eating as fast as he could.

Sans' eyes had lit to orange again, and the human was glad to put the fork down. "There. You see? It isn't poisoned," he said briskly. he stood and pushed the side table over to the bed. "Help yourself."

The orange faded. Sans’ skull tilted this way and that, like a wary but curious animal. "What?"

"I had breakfast over an hour ago. This is for you," the priest explained.

Sans glanced at the tray, then back to him. The human waited for a full ten seconds, almost holding his breath, before he was rewarded with a rude noise. "Can I have another fork? Don't want your germs," he said.

skip

The skeleton's face was impossible to see clearly. Now that it was quiet, it reminded the young man too much of when he'd grabbed him in the cell. His instincts screamed at him to pull his hand back and throw a barrier between them, but determination surged as he remembered how he'd already faced down the boss monster’s attempts to kill him. He was going to forge a lasting bond between their worlds and hand over a kitchen utensil like a normal person or die trying.

Slowly, Sans reached down through the gap in the curtains, and the human fought to keep from panicking as the massive hand approached. The skeleton paused...and plucked the fork from his grip with delicate courtesy, holding it up between them. "Hm. Too small. Still dirty." He tossed it to the floor.

The High Priest stared at the fork. He stared at him. He retrieved the fork, stood up, dropped it into the pitcher, and plunged his hand in after it. Out came the utensil; the young man strode over and shoved the bedcurtain aside enough to gather up a fistful of it as a makeshift towel. This bed was centuries old and the curtains worth as much as a commoner’s entire wardrobe, but they belonged to the High Priest, which meant they were his. And as High Priest, if he wanted to use his antique linen to dry a mostly-clean fork in order to please a giant monster who was intimidating him and somehow also being a complete snot, then who was going to stop him? No one, that was exactly who.

With a righteous huff, he turned back around, still polishing the bedamned fork. "Here," he said, fully facing Sans for the first time. "I hope this is satisfactory."

Sans looked at him. He didn't say anything.

The world always seemed a little too bright with the bedcurtains open, and the light from the window was in his eyes. The priest rubbed them on his sleeve, and scratched under his jaw where the curtain had brushed it. "Well?" he demanded.

Sans didn't take it. He was leaning forward, hand dangling as if he'd started to reach for it and somehow forgotten what he was doing. His sockets were blank, an odd color washing over his bony face. "Uh," he said. "It's."

The priest didn't know that that could be a complete sentence. It probably wasn't, he thought in growing irritation. "Sans," he said carefully, "are you going to use this, or would you like to eat with your hands?"

The skeleton shook himself and turned away. "Never mind. 'm not hungry," he grumbled.

The human bit back the urge to call him a colorful name or two. "Sans, this is not a joke. There is nothing wrong with your food, except that it's cold. Eat it. Please."

"I will, I will." Sans hunched his shoulders. "Just gimme a couple minutes."

He did not have the time or patience for this. "Sans. Look at this." The monster glanced up, and in one motion, the human stabbed a sausage and another chunk of hotcake. "Say 'ahhh,'" he ordered, and when Sans blankly repeated, "Ahh?" he thrust the fork into Sans’ mouth.

skip

Sans was not wondering the same thing. He was thinking how he'd woken up not knowing where he was and had had to figure out that he wasn't dreaming about the battle in his cell: a human witch really had trapped him and knocked him out with some kind of weird brain-magic. Once he got over the fact that he couldn't take any shortcuts and wouldn't fit through the windows, though, he had to admit things could be worse; the bed really was the most comfortable thing in the world.

Talking with the witch was not comfortable. It was bad enough when he was asking Sans questions about his capture and not breaking out of prison, but then he had to give him food and say things that made sense, and things that made even more sense, and then...

Sans did not like anything about humans, especially their looks. He never understood how they could be attracted to each other long enough to reproduce; they seemed far shallower than monsters, for whom the inside really did count more than the outside, except maybe when it came to reproduction. But that was a rare occasion for them, and they thought humans' obsession with it was shallow and weird at best. Sans in particular had no interest in the human form unless he was trying to destroy it: male or female, they were all just skeletons with varying degrees of hair, meat and fluids in the way.

And then this infuriating human had turned around in the sunlight, curtain and stupid fork in hand, and Sans suddenly couldn't breathe. The overall picture was what made him feel a huge mess of feelings he didn't like or understand, but he could see every detail perfectly: lips pursed in annoyance, the sun reflecting off that black circlet thing, chestnut hair shining and reddish-brown eyes half closed against the light…even the seemingly dull, coarse hair on his face showed wavy patterns picked out in golden threads.

And then the human had tipped his head and shown a glimpse of his throat, and now Sans couldn't think things right. All he could try to do was turn away, then eat it all in order to make him go away, and only his punning instinct had saved Sans from saying or doing anything else stupid.

Why did Frisk have to like puns, too?

This was bad. It had gotten very complicated, very fast. He had to get out of here. The human had demonstrated some emotion behind his priest-y facade; maybe Sans could appeal to it, persuade him to pick some other monster and not risk boning things up? Priests weren’t supposed to bone, right? Ha, ha, etc.

…Granted, this one could probably manage it, given how powerful he was, not to mention easy on the eye sockets, but there was no telling if he was—

"...going to do it," he was saying, wiping away tears of laughter. "I'm not all-powerful, but I have enough influence at court and with the Church to guarantee your safety." Frisk looked up at him, bright-eyed, and his SOUL did another loop-de-loop. "So, Sans. Will you stay?"

He didn't want to, it was a bad idea, and he said, "No," in his mind.

Frisk smiled, tilting his head.

"Yeah," Sans said out loud.

[j-esbian]

maybe the real voltron was the friends we made along the way

[doomed-era]

anyway do you ever think about what a freak dorian could potentially be to the other kakariko villagers depending on how different yiga culture is from the sheikah I mean they've been separated for millenia

[trickerys-domain]

I was tagged by @contrivedcoincidences6 to make my OCs this picrew!! Thank you for tagging me, I finally got it done lol!!!

Iseya Tabris: A headstrong and compassionate duelist/assassin rogue. Blunt, and sometimes vengeful, to those who show corruption, incompetence, or cross her; but endlessly kind to those in need. Absolutely did not want to get married, but always wore Nelaros's ring to honor his sacrifice and as a reminder (yes, I did full ass sacrifice a whole item spot for this in game the whole game). Iseya thought she would always sacrifice anything for her family and people, including her found family and her lover Alistair. She was prepared to die to stop the blight, and would have if not for Morrigan's offer.

*Hilariously I named my Warden years prior to the release of The Last Flight novel, but it really added a great element to her character.

Marian Hawke: A two-handy Reaver Purple Hawke who loves her family especially her sister. Even Gamlen grows on her after the death of her monther as she finally is worn down enough to see him better. Marian starts off as a confident sassy jokster who tries her best to make a new life, but as the years go on and she loses and lose and loses, her jokes become a coping mechanism. A mean streak also appears. By the end she's so tired and depressed that she doesn't even notice Anders pulling away from her. She spares and stands by him anyway because she needs this one thing to stay in her life.

*I just really like the default Hawke Names, I think they fit Hawke really well.

Shiren'ne Lavellen: A compassionate, kind, yet firm and decisive person, Shiren'ne prepared her whole life to become a worthy Keeper for her clan. Yet after she ends up with a new calling she takes it with stride, understanding her role in the world is now beyond just her people, but she always rebuffs being sent by Andraste and stands by her gods. Shiren'ne's favourite thing about the Inquisition was getting to know everyone and learn so much about other cultures and customs, and was always happy to share and demonstrate her Dalish culture (within reason). And although she had been so ready to be Keeper and she is Dalish to her core, after everything she knew she could never return and instead found a new quiet life with Cullen. Shiren'ne prefers slower ritual and practical magics and leans towards old nature and healing (I wish spirit healer had been a subclass), but is eager to learn about the fade, spirits, and the journey of ones soul after death, showing this by choosing vallaslin for Falon'Din.

*Took some research, but her name essentially means Voice of the Journey. She chose the name herself for her Valleslin ceremony as part of accepting and stepping into her role as First.

No pressure tag to @wolfwhisperertf, @the-nameless-nerd, and anyone else who wants to ❤️