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hangovercurse · 4 years

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Home Sweet Home

You bring Colson to your hometown for the first time.

Request: “Can you write a Colson imagine where you take him back to your hometown to meet your family and friends and he’s nervous everyone will hate him but everyone ends up loving him? And maybe include a run in with some girls from high school that are jealous 🤔🤷🏻‍♀️”

Colson Baker x Reader

Warnings: Cursing

A/N: I try to be as inclusive as possible in my fics but its hard when writing about families in this capacity, so I just went with the most generic family model possible. Also, my family is very unusual so I don’t really know how families interact… oop

Word Count: 2979

“Will you stop freaking out, you’re making me nervous.” You placed a soft hand on the shaking leg of your boyfriend. “And they’re my family.”

He let out a sigh, the shaking stopping momentarily as he pulled you as close to him as possible in the back of your Uber. “What if your parents hate me?”

Taking a deep breath, you assured him again, “my parents are not going to hate you. We’ve been over this; they’re going to love you.”

“Your dad is going to take one look at me and punch me in the face.” Colson said, a pout on his face.

You let out a chuckle, “he is not. And even if he does, you can take a punch.”

Despite your laughter, Colson remained stoic, “I’m serious Y/N, dads hate me. I look like everything you’d want your daughter to avoid.”

A sigh left your lips at his admittance of insecurity. “Babe listen to me, please. My parents are going to love you because I love you. And if they don’t then tough shit because you’re not going anywhere.”

He nodded, but you could still see the worry behind his eyes. “I just really want them to like me. They’re important to you, so they’re important to me.”

You smiled at the comment, heart fluttering. “I’m in love with you.”

He looked at you deeply, a smile falling onto his lips, “and I’m in love with you, princess.” His lips pressed a small kiss against the crown of your head and rested there until the car pulled up to your childhood home. You felt your boyfriend tense up beside you, so you reached for his arm that was around your middle, rubbing soft shapes through the sleeves.

“I’m gonna be right next to you the whole night.” You told him as you moved to open the door, breathing in the refreshing air. LA was lovely, but it was nice to be able to breathe properly in your hometown.

Colson grabbed your bags out of the trunk, even though you insisted you could help. “Go say hi to your family, babe. I got it.”

You pressed a small kiss to his cheek, whispering a small “see you inside” before rushing to the familiar front door. Years of memories lie beyond its wood, memories you were excited to relive.

Knowing your family would keep it unlocked for you, you turned the knob and pushed the door open. The smell of your family’s cooking filled your nose, and immediately members of your family found you.

“Y/N!” Your younger cousins screamed, racing over to you to hug you. The last time you’d seen them they were 5 and 7, now they were 8 and 10.

“You guys have gotten so big! Did you drink some sort of magic potion or something?” You asked, a smile on your face.

Your mom had told you that she and your father would be cooking, but you didn’t think they’d invited your entire family. Although, you should have assumed they would given how close your family was.

Once your cousins let go of you, you turned around to see Colson waving off the Uber driver and making his way to the door. You turned to your younger cousins once he got close enough for them to see him. “Guys, this is my boyfriend, Colson.” They gave small waves as you introduced them to Colson, who gave them a big smile.

“C’mon, babe. I’ll show you to our room.” You grabbed one of the bags from his hand, much to his dismay, and led him through the house. After you had moved to LA, your parents had turned your bedroom into the guest room, but some of the decorations from your younger years had remained on the walls.

Colson looked around the room, smiling as he thought of younger you growing up in here. “Is this a Bowie vinyl?” He asked, motioning to the vinyl record on the wall as he set your bags onto the bed.

You nodded, smiling wide. “Yep, got it for my 15th birthday. Signed and everything.” Your boyfriend nodded in appreciation as his eyes moved around the room. You wrapped your arms around his middle, cuddling into his chest. You could feel his heart pounding in his chest from how nervous he was. “You’re not gonna freak out and run off on me, are you?” You asked, a light humor in your voice.

Colson let out a dry chuckle, “no, I’ll be okay.” He mumbled, squeezing you closer to him. “But what if we just stayed in here forever?”

You slapped his chest playfully, “c’mon loser, you’re coming to meet my family whether you like it or not.” You grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the door.

“Yes ma’am.” He saluted with his free hand, making you giggle.

You made your way into the kitchen where your mom was standing with your aunts and sister. Her eyes lit up when she saw you, “you made it!” She came over and gave you a tight hug, “How was the flight?” She asked.

“It was fine, we slept most of the way.” You smiled before turning to Colson. “Mom, this is Colson, you’ve met him over facetime a couple times now, remember?”

She smiled moving to pull him into a hug. He had a shocked look on his face but reciprocated the hug. You mouthed “sorry” to him, giggling silently. He just smiled and shook his head, letting you know he was okay.

“Of course, I remember! She talks about you all the time.” You blushed as Colson smiled proudly. “You’re much taller in person.” Your mom noted, making you and Colson chuckle.

“Yeah, I get that a lot.”

Your sister cleared her throat, grabbing your attention, “right! Colson, this is my sister and my aunts.”

They each introduced themselves politely. You told them you were going to go outside to find your dad and brothers. Before you left your sister pulled you to the side and whispered in your ear, “okay, I knew LA was full of hot guys, but how’d you manage to pull that?”

You laughed out loud, “Y/S/N! That’s so mean!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” She laughed, but then whispered again, “but seriously, god damn.”

You rolled your eyes, “next time I’ll bring you one back.” She giggled, nodding in encouragement.

You took Colson’s hand, ignoring his quizzical look, and led him to your backyard. “That wasn’t too bad, right?” You checked in on him.

He sighed, “no, but moms are never bad. If moms don’t like you, they’ll say it in secret. Dads will say it to your face.”

“My mom loved you, and so will my dad. Just trust me.” You smiled, squeezing his hand.

You found your dad sitting on a lawn chair with your grandparents. Your brothers were throwing a football around with some of your older cousins and uncles. You greeted the three in lawn chairs, your dad standing up to give you a hug.

“Hey, Y/N/N. How are you?” Your dad asked.

“I’m good! Glad to be home!” You smiled.

Your grandpa grunted, “you should never leave, then.”

You chuckled, leaning down to give both him and your grandma hugs. “You’ll be so sick of me in three days, you’ll be begging me to leave.”

Once you stood up straight, you motioned to Colson, “This is my boyfriend, Colson. You’ve kind of met him before, Dad.”

Your dad reached out his arm for Colson to shake, earning him a strong nod. “Strong grip. I like him.” Your dad looked towards you. You could tell he didn’t remember meeting Colson on facetime, but you hadn’t expected him to.

“Grandpa, you’ll like this. Colson knows all four members of Motley Crue.” You smiled, winking at your boyfriend.

The older man looked impressed, “really? I was a roadie on the Theatre of Pain tour.”

Colson nodded, a smile on his face. “I played Tommy Lee in their biopic and then, uh, we recorded a song together.” You grinned proudly as the two talked about their experiences with the band.

Your dad put a hand on your shoulder, shaking you lightly, “You happy?” He whispered.

You turned to look at him, “yeah. He’s a good guy, trust me.”

Your dad nodded, “oh, I can tell. Just wanted to make sure.” You thanked him, watching your boyfriend interact with your family. “Now you gotta introduce him to your brothers.” He chuckled at your sigh.

“Do I have permission to punch them if they act like assholes?” You asked, only kind of joking.

Your dad pushed you towards the lawn, “I see nothing.” You smile, grabbing Colson’s hand and leading him away from your grandpa once they’d finished their conversation.

“Okay, so I knew you were freaking out about my parents, so I didn’t want to freak you out even more.” You started, causing a panic look to cross Colson’s face. “My brothers are…” you searched for the words, “assholes. But like, loveable assholes. But they’re probably gonna give you shit, but it’s out of love. But I have no problem hitting them if you want me to.” You smiled.

He raised an eyebrow, “normally I’d say that’s my job but I feel like it’d be easier for your family to forgive you than me.” You laughed, pulling him to the guys and introducing him.

It turns out, your brothers actually really liked Colson, which was somehow worse than them hating him. Because it meant that they stole him from you. When you went back inside to talk more with your mom, your brothers demanded Colson stay outside with them. He seemed happy, so you let him stay, excited that your family was taking to him so well.

An hour later, dinner was almost ready, so your brothers started to set up the folding tables outside, which Colson gladly helped with. You were helping your mom finish up the last of the food, watching your best friend and soulmate through the window with adoration. He was helping your younger cousin put the tablecloth on the table, the scene reminding you of the time Casie and him took you out for a picnic on your birthday. You couldn’t wait to bring her here.

“You chose a good one.” Your grandma commented from behind you, making you jump a little bit. Once you registered her words, you blushed, mumbling out a thank you. “I can tell he really loves you. A granny can always tell.”

You smiled, “I really love him, too.” You turned back to check on him, catching his eye. He sent you a bright grin, making your grandma pat you on the shoulder before walking back to your mom to help her.

The rest of the night was magical, Colson by your side the entire time. Eventually most of your family left, leaving you and Colson to go to bed. You cuddled into his side, a smile on both of your faces. “They all love you, y’know?”

He hummed in response, squeezing your waist. “I love you.”

You chuckled, “you’re so fucking cheesy.”

The next day you were determined to take Colson on a tour of your town, starting with the skate park you spent almost every day at in high school. “We would’ve been best friends when we were kids.” He said as you dragged him through the park.

“We’re best friends now.” You chuckled, pausing to press a kiss to his lips.

He hummed, “I think we’re a little more than best friends but okay.” You rolled your eyes, pulling him further into the park until you spotted a familiar face.

“Little Benny?” You asked, your face lighting up. The younger guy’s eyes widened, running up to you.

“Y/N?” he asked, pulling you in for a hug.

You chuckled, “You were like, 12 the last time I saw you, what the hell?”

The man laughed along with you, “well you were the one who ran off to LA miss big-time producer.”

You smiled, realizing he had probably checked up on you. Benny was about 7 years younger than you and had looked up to you almost his whole life. Seeing him so grown up was a strange experience for you.

You noticed him glancing to Colson, his eyes going wide. “You’re-“

You laughed, “Benny this is Colson, my boyfriend. Also known as-“

“Machine Gun Kelly!” The younger boy exclaimed, making Colson chuckle.

He reached out his hand, which Benny gladly shook, “nice to meet you, man.”

“Kells, this is Benny, my friend from high school. I taught him how to skate.”

“More like your protégé.” A female voice said. Behind Benny came Deanie, another girl his age you had taught. Benny’s arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him.

You smiled at the two, knowing Benny had liked her since he was in middle school. “Hi Deanie.” You said, the girl smiling back at you. “This is Colson, my boyfriend.”

“Are you gonna skate?” She asked, eyes going wide.

You sighed, shaking your head, “sorry, guys. Maybe later, I’m just showing Colson around the town right now.”

Deanie and Benny both pouted, “damn, she goes off to Hollywood and forgets all about us.” Benny joked, making you all laugh.

You grabbed Colson’s hand, “We’ll see you guys later!” You waved, pulling the man away from the couple.

“It was nice to meet you!” He said, making you smile. “You seriously taught him how to skate?”

You nodded as you continued your trek to the diner you used to work at. “Yep, I taught most of the kids how to skate, although I guess they’re all his age now.”

Colson grinned, “so you’re, like, a legend here.” He commented, but you shook your head, laughing.

“No, I was a loser.”

“Not to those two, you’re not.” He said, swinging your intertwined hands. You rolled your eyes but didn’t say anything further.

You finally arrived at the small diner you used to work at. About 50 feet away from the door, Colson’s phone buzzed. “Shit, Slim’s calling.”

“Take it, I’ll grab a table and you can meet me inside.” He smiled thankfully, answering the call as you walked inside.

You immediately spotted Wesley, the cook you’d known since you were 16, through the order window. The smell of the diner was familiar, and for a moment you felt like you were walking in for a shift. You leaned against the bar, “Hey, Wes!” You called, drawing the cook’s eye.

“Little miss Y/N! Is that really you?” You smiled at the old man.

“It sure is! How’s the diner?”

“I’m still here, aren’t I?” You giggled at his response. Wes had opened the diner in the 90’s and swore he’d burn with the building.

You grabbed a booth in the corner, just in case there happened to be any peering eyes in your small town.

Unfortunately, your table was in Liza’s section, a girl who’d hated you since you were kids. You found it quite funny that she was still working at the diner after all this time, silently thankful that you’d gotten out of the town.

She scowled when she saw you but walked over anyways. “What happened? Strike out in Hollywood and now you’re back here trying to get your job back?”

Her voice was just as annoying as it had always been. “Or did your rich sugar daddy dump your ass and now you’re home begging for money?”

You wanted nothing more than to slap the smirk off her face, but you refrained. “Actually-“ You started, but you got cut off by your boyfriend.

“You have a sugar daddy and didn’t tell me about it? Babe I would’ve helped you scam him for so much more.” He smiled, sitting across from you, and grabbing your hand that was resting on the table.

Upon realizing who was sitting across from you, Liza stiffened. “You’re-“

“Y/N’s boyfriend, nice to meet you.” He smiled, an evil glint in his eyes.

“Machine Gun Kelly!” Liza said, her squeaky voice making you cringe.

“I prefer Colson, but yeah.” He sighed, looking back over to see your annoyed expression.

Liza looked between the two of you, a look at disgust on her face. “Seriously? Why the hell are you going out with her? You could do so much better.”

Your mouth dropped open in shock at her blunt rudeness. Colson’s jaw clenched as he spoke, “what, like you?”

The girl shrugged, not catching the sarcasm that dripped from his voice. “I’m just saying, I don’t know what she’s told you but she’s a talentless bitch whose probably only dating you for money or fame, or both.”

Luckily, Wes came out to the front of the house to greet Colson, stopping him from punching a girl in the middle of the restaurant. “Nice to meet you, man. I’m Wes, owner, cook, and the best boss Y/N has ever had.” Colson shook his hand, still glaring at Liza.

“Yep.” You agreed with the man. Your voice was soft to calm Colson down, which worked a little bit.

Colson shot the man a grin, “nice to meet you, Wes. Y/N talks about this place all the time.”

The look of pride on Wes’s face was unforgettable. “Well, if you two need anything, just let me know.”

Colson looked towards Liza, annoyance returning to his features, “do you think we could get a new waiter?”

You almost laughed seeing the look of shock on her features, but Wes happily obliged, handing your table over to a newer waitress. Liza had steam coming out of her ears, but you ignored her.

“Thank you.” You muttered. “She’s hated me since we were kids.”

He rolled his eyes, “Yeah I could tell. Couldn’t have her talking shit like that.” He squeezed your hand, “now, what’s good here?”

#mgk #mgk imagine #mgk angst #mgk fluff #machine gun kelly #machine gun kelly imagine #Colson baker #colson x reader #colson baker imagine #colson baker fluff #colson baker angst #colson imagine #colson baker x reader

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mypoisonedvine · 4 years

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Perks of the Job | dark!Boba Fett x reader x (soft)dark!Din Djarin

summary: the only thing worse than one bounty hunter on your trail is two. the only thing worse than a bounty hunter who wants to abuse you is a bounty hunter who wants to make you into a lesson for his makeshift apprentice. the only thing worse than a villain is a villain who thinks he’s a hero.

word count: 5.8k

warnings: smut (noncon, including vaginal, oral m receiving, anal, and dp… so you know, basically everything), a specific kink of mine which I have dubbed "no, not there!" or NNT for short (betcha can guess what that means), din catching feelings lowkey, hair pulling, choking, bondage, forced begging, all the good stuff

Boba had proven to be unendingly useful in bounty missions, even if he was a little bit rough around the edges and slightly more ‘shoot first ask questions later’ in his attack style. Still, Din was grateful for his aid and was happy to tag along when Boba explained he was tracking a target to Florrum— just a smuggler, wanted by the New Republic for trafficking death sticks all across the Outer Rim, nothing too serious or high-profile.

Turned out Din was less useful than he wanted to be, because only Boba was able to get into the club he’d traced your beacon to, so Din was instead left to wait on Slave I and try not to get into any trouble in the meantime.

After less than an hour of resting his eyes in the cockpit, he heard Boba’s voice come in through the comms system. “Target acquired,” he rasped, and Din instantly noticed the distant sounds of struggle and the destruction he must have left in his wake. “Be ready to take off when we board.”

Din leaned forward to hold down the blue button; “Roger,” he replied quickly as he kept an eye on the camera feed of the loading platform, opening and extending it so the hunter and his bounty could board easily. The man appeared on the visual soon after, dragging a woman by the scruff of her neck.

It was you, with your hands tied behind your back and your mouth restrained by a makeshift gag. You were putting up quite a fight, but not nearly enough to stop a man as ruthless as Fett. The second the two of you were inside, Din triggered the loading platform to return to its upright resting place as he started the engines, the ship’s gyroscopic insides tilting against the lift-off sequence. He turned his attention away from the screen as he saw Boba toss you to the ground, focusing instead on his task of exiting the atmosphere and getting the ship into hyperspace so you could be returned to those who sought you.

Hyperspace was quieter, which meant he could hear the sounds of your resistance more easily even with you in another part of the ship entirely. Wondering what all the fuss was about (and, secretly, a bit curious about this feisty young woman Fett had captured), Din made his way out of the cockpit and towards the cargo bay where Boba was wrestling with you.

It didn’t really seem like a fight, in the traditional sense of the word, since a fight implies two opposing forces— it seemed more like you were giving everything you had to try to wrench out of his grip (and go where?, Din was forced to wonder, we’re in hyperspace) while your captor was merely humoring you by not immediately knocking you out and freezing you in carbonite.

Your desperate grunts and whines were muffled by your gag, screeching to a halt as Boba used one hand to hold your torso and pull your back against his chest, the other gripping your jaw tightly. “Stop fighting, little girl,” he hissed, “you’re just going to get yourself hurt.” That deep commanding voice enough to intimidate even Din; thankfully, Din was on Fett’s good side, for the moment, and was pretty sure his own ‘bounty hunter voice’ (as he referred to it only in his own head) was at least 80% as scary.

You made this little motion like you were considering disobeying his instruction, but your rebellion was quelled by a gloved fist tangling into and subsequently tugging your hair. You winced, but relaxed a bit as you gave in to the reality that you’d been bested.

Din didn’t understand what was happening when Boba bent your bound-and-gagged form over a console, but he knew it couldn’t be good: not with the way tears were pouring down your face and soaking the cloth tied through your mouth, not with the way you struggled underneath his grip in your hair and on the back of your tunic.

“What are you doing,” Din asked, although it didn’t come out quite like a question without that uptick at the end, his voice firm and steady and deep even as his heart started to race.

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m taking my bonus,” Boba answered plainly, kicking your flailing legs apart to slot his body between them.

Boba must have seen the younger man’s confusion, even through his helmet, because he took a pause from his work to look back at Din.

“You can fuck ‘em before you chuck ‘em, you know,” Boba informed him, like it was obvious— like this was open secret that he was amazed he hadn’t already acted on. Truly, the thought hadn’t really crossed Din’s mind before. His upbringing had been devoid of any sexual education, even to the point of drawing a clear line between right and wrong. Then again, right and wrong were always a blurry mix in his mind as a bounty hunter: instead of that dichotomy, he was taught that there was the Code and nothing else. And the Code didn’t have anything to say about this, specifically, even as guilt and fear tingled up his spine along with the sickly addictive feeling burning in his gut— arousal, as he realized with a little gasp.

Fett leaned down to push his helmet against your ear, as if you’d be able to hear him any clearer even though the helmet’s modulator made it all sound mostly the same anyway. “Don’t try to fight me,” he insisted again. “Just stay still and keep your mouth shut.”

After a shaky breath, you nodded a little, and Boba sat back up, letting go of you with both of his hands— Din was pretty surprised to see you actually stay still, clearly the threat had gotten to you. Fear, as the Mandalorian had learned many times, was a much more powerful tool of control than force. Boba had you beat in both regards.

There was a little grunt from the man behind you as he reached down to fiddle with his trousers, finding the belt and opening which he reached into. From where he was standing, Din couldn’t really see what exactly his travel companion was doing, but even he wasn’t so naive not to figure it out.

A harsh, cracked sound spilled from your mouth, muffled through the gag, as Boba roughly pulled your trousers down and slid his cock between your legs, teasing you— taunting you. It wasn’t enough to violate you, apparently; he had to degrade you, siphon every drop of terror as he reminded you what was happening. You shook your head, and even though your words were objectively unintelligible, it was apparent to Din that you were pleading with your captor to stop.

Din got the sense that he should leave, but his feet were welded to the floor. His eyes were trained on you, shaking and breathing unsteadily where you were bent over and your head was turned to the side to press on the cold metal. You closed your eyes tightly, and Din recognized the expression as ‘bracing for impact,’ although in your case, it wasn’t that you were about to be impacted but impaled. Of course this couldn’t be right, Din knew enough to know that, in fact he was pretty sure it was illegal on some planets, but they weren’t on any planet right now, and Din had done things that are illegal on every planet. Maybe this really was normal bounty-hunting fare, and he was just too inexperienced to realize that. Maybe this was a relic of how hunters operated in Boba’s time; and Din, of course, had a lot of respect for tradition.

Maybe, more than anything, Din had lost track of the part of himself that cared if it was right or wrong, overpowered by a much more primal part of himself that had been chained and suppressed for far too long. The funny thing about monsters is that they get hungrier the longer you keep them caged up.

The way your fists clenched and shook as you were forced to take the hunter’s cock inside you, the way your teeth ground together and a hiss leaked out from between them, the way you whimpered and cried and he could see the shiver run up your spine… Din was obsessed with it, and his chest burned with a foreign emotion that could be described as jealousy, but that wouldn’t explain all of it. It was more than that, indescribable even to someone much more fluent in the language of feelings than Din was.

You sobbed quietly as your body went limp underneath his tight grip on the back of your tunic, just between your shoulder blades. He was already moving his hips quickly, chasing the pleasure he stole from your body. Din could see that he was hurting you, pain unmistakable in the way your expression twisted, even as the rest of your body seemed to have resigned itself.

Din wished, against every instinct of justice still firing wildly in the back of his mind, that he was hurting you like that, and not his companion. Although, he also fancied himself noble enough that, given the opportunity, he would treat you fairer than Boba would. And he was right, but then again, to be less cruel than Boba Fett takes little chivalry.

Your cries were sharp, loud enough at times to echo around the ship’s interior, other times completely silent as the brutality of Boba’s movements knocked the wind out of your lungs.

“Take her mouth,” Boba offered, “it’ll be a good way to shut her up.”

Din’s head was spinning as he tried to process that. It was like his body was moving on pure instinct as he stepped closer, his trousers getting tighter as you looked up at him. Your eyes were pleading for something: mercy, presumably, but he felt helpless to do anything but obey Boba’s order. It was an order, right? He had to do it.

A gloved finger tucked under your gag and pulled it out of your mouth, the fabric falling around your neck as you licked your dry and cracked lips.

“Please,” you whispered.

He kept one hand weaved into your hair as the other opened his pants, his cock bouncing free the moment it was given any space to do so. He held it at the base tightly, afraid it would all end too soon if he didn’t.

“Please, don’t do this,” you insisted, whimpering a little as he rubbed his cock around your lips, smearing the clear precum over your cheek.

The hand he’d tangled into your hair moved to grip your jaw, forcing your mouth open, and he gently pushed his cock inside— barely enough to rub his cock on your tongue, to feel the humid moisture of your breathing. You didn’t close your lips until he pushed his cock deeper, enveloping him in the silky skin of your mouth as he tried to keep his cool. How it felt was one thing, but how it looked was another entirely— your lips stretching over his girth, your cheeks bulging where the head of his cock pressed against the inside, your eyes blinking up at him as they brimmed with fresh tears. He hadn’t even been creative enough to imagine something like this those few times he’d gotten himself off with his hand, those few times basic biological need overcame confusion and naivete and ineptitude. Now it was going to be the thing he thought about every time, which was why he was doing his best to commit it to memory now.

Every groan and whimper that Boba forced you to make was vibrating through his cock, making Din sigh shakily and hold your head with both hands.

“Maker,” Din whispered as his head fell back, even though he didn’t believe in the Maker. At least, he hadn’t before.

“Good, isn’t it?” Boba encouraged, his voice tinted with the curl of a grin. Din couldn’t imagine what Boba was getting out of sharing his spoils with him, but he wasn’t one to question the nature of a gift when it felt like this, like your hot, wet tongue massaging the underside of his cock.

“Yes,” Din agreed hoarsely.

You yelped around his length when Boba brought a gloved hand down to smack your rear, the sound almost as erotic as the way your flesh rippled and shook with his aggressive touch. “Go on, suck him harder, give ‘im a real show,” Boba instructed to you darkly. You whimpered but did as he’d said, hollowing your cheeks and creating the most wonderful pressure as you sucked on Din’s swollen head.

Boba shed himself of his right glove, tossing it aside to palm at where your flesh had turned red in the shape of his hand already. Din shivered as he watched Boba’s thumb move inward— he couldn’t see where it was, but he had a pretty good idea based on the way your entire body tensed up, a weak whimper of confusion echoing around Din’s cock.

Instinct told him to take his cock out of your mouth, even if the idea of not feeling you for a moment was unpleasant in so many ways. Still, he figured he needed to hear whatever it was you had to say.

“Don’t,” you pleaded with Boba. “Not that.”

“Bet you’ll like it,” Boba assured, and he must have pushed in to the first knuckle because your whole body jolted forward, running from the sensation as you winced. “Relax,” Boba instructed firmly.

“Stop,” you whimpered, and Din’s heart twisted to see you in pain.

“Do what he says,” Din suggested— not a command, just his best proposal of a solution. In situations of inequitable experience, Din deferred to Boba liberally; certainly, Boba knew more about this than he did, even if that was a very low bar.

“Please, make him stop,” you whispered to him, more of a conversation than the two of you had had before. He was almost tempted to honor your request, even if he would never consider standing up to Boba, but his body was pulsing with need and it overrode any sense of decency left.

“I’m sorry,” was his only consolation as he pushed into your mouth again, and though it wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t very useful to you, either.

He held your neck as he pushed himself deeper, his sense of shame deteriorating in favor of pleasure. It was embarrassing enough to be doing this at all, let alone with Boba right there, watching him— well, Boba didn’t really seem to be watching him, too preoccupied with watching you squirm beneath him, but still, he could see it and that was a fact Din preferred to ignore. He imagined instead that this was a private, intimate moment the way it ought to be, the way that he had deduced these activities were usually conducted. He also imagined that you wanted to do this to him, that you were on your knees willingly as opposed to bent over a table by force. It was so easy to picture you wanting it, begging for it, even. Let me do this for you, I want to taste you, I want to make you feel good, you would offer as you knelt down, and he would still feel guilty for it but he wouldn’t stop you, either. Din hadn’t previously allowed himself to fantasize about having a companion of that nature, but as he indulged himself in his imagination now, he decided you would be unendingly generous: with your time, with your love, with your body. In return he would protect you… from exactly the sort of thing he was subjecting you to right now.

Renewed guilt seared through his chest as reality hit: you’d never care about him, you hated him, he could see that clearly in the way you looked up at him while he used your mouth. And he didn’t blame you for it at all, although he wished you would appreciate that it was Boba’s idea in the first place and that his crime was far worse than Din’s. Fett seemed to get off on your reluctance, relish and savor it, while it was just a compromise to Din.

You closed your eyes with a little sigh through your nose, relaxing your mouth further for him to thrust his hips forward into. He realized that you were trying to relax like Boba had told you, and for good reason— Fett had replaced his thumb for two fingers, and Din was almost curious enough to lean forward and try to get a glimpse of your puckered hole opening up to him. You looked pretty with your eyes fallen shut, those eyelashes delicately resting on your cheeks, but it wasn’t as good as being able to gaze right at you.

“Don’t close your eyes,” Din instructed quickly. When they opened again, he saw your stare dart around his helmet, seeking somewhere to latch onto. “Right here,” he clarified, releasing one hand from your throat to tap on the tinted visor. When you looked at where he had told you to, it was almost like you were really looking him in the eyes— although, truthfully, he was sort of glad that you couldn’t because he was sure you would find more there than he wanted you to see. It would be impossible to hide his nervousness, his inexperience, his fear if it weren’t for the beskar in the way. Even now, your bright eyes threatened to pierce right through him.

“You’re gonna come, aren’t you, girl?” Boba rasped, the closest Din had ever heard him to beaming with pride.

You shook your head against the intrusion in your mouth, and Din pulled out to give you a chance to talk. (Perhaps it also served the secondary purpose of delaying Din’s orgasm, which he had been holding back for so long now as he found himself oddly insecure about his stamina, but that’s neither here nor there.) “No,” you denied, but your voice was wavering as your eyes darted to the floor.

“She’s lying,” Din announced.

“I know,” Boba replied. “I can feel it— on the inside,” he hissed, and Din wasn’t sure if he was addressing him or you but it made a jolt of electricity shoot up his spine either way. You seemed to react strongly to that, too, although any verbal reaction was lost to him shoving his cock into your mouth one last time— yes, this time he had no intentions of stopping until he pumped his come right into your throat.

It was all happening so much faster than he intended, due in part to your moans shooting right down through his shaft to his balls, which grew tight with his impending release. He’d never felt anything like this— he hadn’t realized before that it would feel different when it wasn’t his hand. I mean, of course everything before the orgasm would feel different, but he imagined that the peak itself was the same. That assumption was beyond inaccurate— he’d never fucked his own hand the way he was fucking your throat, he’d never moaned the way you were making him moan now, he’d never tightened his fists like he was now, and even if he had, it wouldn’t have meant choking you and hearing all your cries come to a sudden halt.

Without your noises it was only the slapping of flesh and the occasional filtered breath through a helmet. He missed your moans, and yet he relished his power to take them away so suddenly.

He could feel the shape of his own cock through the thick skin of your throat, bulging into his hand, accentuated by your pulse just nearby. He could feel you fighting for air. He understood now why Boba had more fun with this than he did with hookers in cantinas— your helplessness was his power. Your weakness was his strength. And Din had never felt so strong.

He relaxed his grip to give you a chance to swallow as he came, pumping into your throat, grunting with each pulse of his cock filling your mouth.

Suddenly the sensation felt like it would become too much, forcing Din to pull his cock out of you and step back. At the same time, Fett stepped back too, which was odd because Din was pretty sure he hadn't finished: if he had, he was a lot more subtle about it than Din was.

“You want your turn, don’t you?” Boba addressed Din, making the latter feel awkwardly exposed.

“I thought this was my turn,” Din answered.

“With her pussy,” Boba clarified, and Din was sure that he had managed to blush hard enough that it was somehow visible through the helmet.

"And you?" Din asked, not wanting to impose.

"I'll be attending to… another matter," Boba explained with that audible smirk in his tone, and Din had a few ideas of what that could mean, all of which caused him to swallow thickly as Fett grabbed you and pulled you up to stand before unceremoniously dropping you to the floor. Din joined you there, not quite sure what he should be doing but figuring he should get on with it as the other man knelt down behind you.

Pulling you onto his lap, you spread your legs to straddle him in an unexpected show of submission which Din thoroughly appreciated. One arm held you up while the other grasped his cock, still hard and hopefully not too sensitive so he could actually do this— he could actually fuck you. It felt unreal; it felt beyond real, hyperreal as he started to slide his cock through the soaked and swollen intricacies of your sex. You must have come like Fett said you would, otherwise he couldn't imagine how you'd become so wet… he could even see it glistening on the inside of your thighs.

When he found the opening he was looking for, all Din had to do was lower you down onto him, gasping slightly as he watched and felt you sink down onto and around him, a little grunt coming out of you as your hips met his.

It was lucky that he’d already come once, in your mouth, because otherwise he would’ve lost it right then and there— you were so warm inside, soaked thoroughly such that his movements were smooth and easy as he instantly started to fuck you, groaning at how perfectly your body accepted him.

“Slow down,” Boba grunted, “I need to get in.”

You cried and shivered as the other man pushed into your available entrance, your head falling exhaustedly onto Din’s shoulder. He looked down at your face, then, and brushed your hair away so he could see it better, peeling strands from where they had been stuck to your forehead and neck by the thin layer of sweat that covered you. He wanted to comfort you, to promise that the pain would ease soon, but he couldn’t really think of anything to say; so, he just held you tight as he began to move within you again, and saw the other hunter do the same.

He made a conscious effort to not look at Boba’s cock, for fear of comparing it to his own. It was disturbing enough to be able to feel it, slightly, through the thin barrier your body provided. How inconceivable that Din had woken up a virgin and would fall asleep tonight with the memory of this lodged in his mind forever. In one day of sexual activity he’d gotten more done than many would in a lifetime, and yet he still lacked the most common things: love, passion, consent… perhaps someday he’d find those, even if it could never be from you.

Not worried anymore about an attempt to fight or flee, Din reached back and untied your wrists from each other, hoping he wouldn't get scolded for it by Fett who thankfully remained silent aside from his own restrained sounds of pleasure. You clung to him instantly, your freshly-freed hands clutching at his back, and he decided to interpret it as a token of affection even if he knew that was a bit of a stretch. If nothing else, maybe you recognized him as the lesser of two evils.

He opted to take credit for the way your moans were different from before; even in his wildest fantasies could he not convince himself that he was better at this than Boba was, but he could swing at the idea that you preferred him because you were meant for him. It was probably more outlandish, yes, but it was so easy to believe that you were made to be his when you felt so good around him. Din hadn’t even known anything could feel this good.

Something Boba had said earlier gained clearer meaning when Din felt your inner walls seize up and shift around him. Trying not to be too loud, he resorted to coping with the feeling by gripping your waist tightly. The idea that he could leave bruises on your skin excited him more than he would have anticipated (if, of course, he had anticipated any of this).

Another tug on your hair from Boba wrenched your head back. "Gonna come," he grunted at you lowly, "in this tight little ass. You want it?"

"Please," you whispered, not quite sounding enthusiastic but managing to give him whatever he was looking for, apparently, as another choked noise signalled his release. Your body reacted strongly to that, clenching down hard on Din's cock.

"You like it," Din posited. "I can feel it," he reminded you when you tried to deny it with a shake of your head, "from the inside."

Boba took his time pulling out, the most peculiar sensation that made Din shudder a bit. As tight as you were when you were full in that way, Din preferred having you to himself.

"I'll be in the fresher," Boba announced as he stood up and tucked himself back into his uniform, looking so composed in a way Din envied; he was sure, somehow, that he looked a complete mess even with the armor covering him. "I'll leave you to your fun. Don't take too long."

“I— I won’t last much longer,” Din stammered, wondering immediately if it was too much information.

“Not inside,” you begged suddenly.

Boba chuckled a little as he left, and Din wondered if it was what he said or what you said that made him laugh. The thought was forgotten as the hunter left, and he suddenly felt a wave of nerves wash over him— the way he always felt when he was alone with a pretty girl. Not that he'd ever been alone with a pretty girl quite like this.

Not sure what to say, he opted to just not say anything as he held you tight and bucked his hips up into you. You wouldn't let him off that easy, apparently, as you reiterated yourself: "You can't come inside, please don't—"

"This isn't a negotiation," Din reminded you firmly.

He was too close to imagine stopping now, anyway; the snug grip of your insides was too good to be ignored, his body was incapable of slowing down as he fucked you deeper and faster than ever. He noticed which angle of his hips made you moan loudest, hoping to feel you come around him just like Boba had.

“Come for me,” he instructed, hearing an impression of Fett in his own voice as he tried to come across as dominating, “I wanna feel it.”

You shivered a little, whimpering into the crook of his neck before he lifted you by the jaw to look at your face. You looked exhausted, eyes blown wide and dark, lips swollen and bitten red, hair tangled and unruly from being used essentially as reigns.

“Can you do that? Can you come?” he pressed, grinding his hips up into yours and watching you whine at the sensation of being filled so deeply. You nodded, but that wasn’t enough for him. “Say it.”

“Yes,” you answered, “I’ll— I’ll come.”

“Good,” he praised plainly, doing his best to hold himself back until he got his chance to feel you reach your peak.

Your head fell back as your hands weakly tugged at his shoulders, and Din hoped that tearing your tunic down the front to grope your breasts would speed things along for you. He hadn’t taken off his gloves, but even so he relished the weight of them in his palms, curiously pinching at a hardened nipple which made you flex around him again.

“Are you close,” he asked, losing that intonation of a question again, focusing instead on trying not to sound exasperated.

“Yes,” you hissed, “I’m gonna— fuck,” you interrupted yourself.

You were moving a bit on your own now, instead of him holding you still and letting you limply take it like a ragdoll— no, you were rocking your hips in time with him, pushing down against him. You wanted it, obviously, and Din was more than happy to give it to you. He slammed into you with each thrust, held you down so you couldn’t squirm, groaned when he felt your body pulse around him. A new surge of wetness gushed between your bodies, your broken cry echoed right against his ear— if this wasn’t a dead giveaway that you were coming, he wasn’t sure what was. Unable to hold back anymore as you sobbed and shivered on top of him, he finally released into you, everything building up so fast only to snap in a moment, an embarrassingly weak moan slipping from his lips.

He was sure he had never been so exhausted, but it was the most incredible feeling as well. A little tear fell down your cheek— from terror, maybe, or disgust, or even pleasure… he had no real way to tell.

As he began to catch his breath, he wondered if he should say something; and, if he should, what that would be. Thankfully, he felt the lurch of the ship leaving hyperspace— the weight of gravity sinking a little heavier as you slumped down on top of him.

He picked you up and set you down on the floor, standing as he delicately stuffed his cock back into his trousers. “Looks like he’ll bring you in soon,” Din mumbled, but you didn’t really seem to care much, just laying on the floor and staring into nothingness. He watched his seed leak out of you and onto the steel, making a mental note to clean that up later, hoping you weren’t too angry with him for disobeying your request that he finish elsewhere. “You’ll need a new tunic,” he noticed as he realized it was probably less than ideal to bring in a target who had been so obviously violated. “I’ll bring you something to cover yourself with,” he decided.

Heading for his sack to search for an old cape or blanket that you could wear, he passed by the cockpit where Boba was steering the ship.

“I’m keeping the reward,” Boba interjected suddenly without turning back to look towards him, making Din stop walking, “since I was generous enough to share the… fringe benefits.”

“Of course,” Din nodded, not having expected a share of the bounty in the first place since all he’d done was keep lookout during the actual hunt. He was ready to walk away, but Boba spoke again as he turned the captain’s chair and faced Din, finally.

“Did you do what she asked?” Boba pressed.

“What?” Din choked, taking a moment to remember what he was even talking about— when you asked him not to come inside, apparently. “Oh, um, no.” His face warmed beneath the beskar as Fett chuckled to himself.

“Good,” he nodded. “Never take commands from a target, or a whore.”

Din shuffled nervously but said nothing, considering he had no idea how to respond to that.

“Besides,” Boba continued as he turned back to the controls of the ship, “if she’s pregnant that’ll be the New Republic’s problem.”

Din figured he was free to go now, taking a moment to glance over Boba’s shoulder at the planet ahead before continuing ahead. His quest for a cloak for you was nearly forgotten as he tried to clear his mind of what Boba had said so casually. He needed a shower, desperately, but he didn’t have time before the ship landed— and Fett probably intended on making Din complete the transfer and bring the credits back, since the older hunter wasn’t exactly a friend of the Republic.

He ended up grabbing an old shirt of his, tossing it at you when he entered the room where he’d left you, finding you standing with your trousers pulled back up. Silently he wondered if you had made any effort to clean yourself of his come or if it was still there between your legs, but neither of you said a word as he put you in more formal shackles than the rags that Boba had tied you with originally.

The New Republic officer definitely reacted to your appearance when Din brought you forward, all but dragging you as he gripped your arm. “When’d she get so roughed up?” the young officer interrogated as he handed Din the credits he was owed.

“Found her like this,” Din shrugged.

He didn’t seem to buy it, with the way he scanned your form and raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything else as he motioned for two guards to take you away. Din considered looking back but decided against it, returning to the ship and immediately surrendering the credits to their rightful owner in Boba.

“Next job’s on Dantooine,” Boba informed him gruffly as he piloted the ship out of the atmosphere. But Din wasn’t listening, instead watching your new prison shrink and disappear into a dot, hoping to find in himself the carelessness that Boba had already mastered. He had a thousand questions he wanted to ask his hunting partner— Is this how it always goes? Will it happen again? Do you really think she could be pregnant? — but he wouldn’t even consider speaking any of them aloud. It was almost funny that they had shared something so disturbingly intimate and Din still felt unable to be direct with him, although neither of them had the sense of humor to appreciate it.

“Thank you,” Din blurted out. “For teaching me about the job.”

“My pleasure,” Boba replied gruffly, and with a jump back into hyperspace, the ship was submerged once again into silence.

#dark!din djarin smut #dark!din djarin x reader #boba fett x reader #dark!boba fett x reader #god how tf do i tag this uhhhh #din djarin x boba fett x reader #din djarin x reader x boba fett #the mandalorian dark fic #hopefully that's enough

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juniorgman187 · 4 years

Text

Sleight of Hand (Reid Fic)

Summary: Practical Joker Reader makes the unsuspecting naive Dr. Reid the object of her most recent prank - stealing his ID badge. Category: Pure Fluff, Drabble, One Shot Pairing: Platonic Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid Content Warning: Super brief mentioning of dark nature of job, prank Word Count: 2k

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Despite what anyone else may believe, or what my resting face may convey, I’m not a mean person. I don’t take pleasure in people’s pain, and I certainly don’t intend to hurt anyone.

With that being said - I do thoroughly enjoy messing with people from time to time. Which, in my opinion, is a completely different thing than being mean.

At work, I’m known for pulling harmless pranks. Keyword: harmless. The dark nature that surrounds our job can consume us whole if we let it, and if anyone needs a good laugh here and there, it’s the BAU. Sometimes we all just need reminders that life shouldn’t be taken so seriously, and my silly antics are just the remedy.

A window of opportunity for my most recent practical joke presented itself when I was packing up to leave for the day.

Right across my desk was Reid’s and to my right was Derek’s, but at the moment, Reid was parked at the kitchenette, diligently stirring his coffee and copious amounts of sugar packets together while Derek’s head was buried six feet deep in paperwork. I could tell they would both be in for a long night and I didn’t envy them for that.

“Alright, I’m out!” I announced to them both, but before I could actually get far, Derek stopped me.

“Wait, (y/n)! Hold up,” He sat up from his chair to reach me with an outstretched arm. “Can you put this back on Reid’s desk?”

I blinked hard when he tossed an object at me, so only after I caught it did I open my eyes and realize it was just a pen.

“Wow. Lazy much?” I scoffed, gesturing to Reid’s desk that was less than seven feet away. Derek was probably exerting more effort into stretching out his arm like that to give me the pen as opposed to if he just got off his butt and walked to the desk himself.

“Pleaseee,” He partially begged, causing me to roll my eyes and replace the pen dutifully. As I slipped the pen into its rightful spot in his little cup of writing utensils, something caught my eye.

Lightbulb!

Just sitting there on Spencer’s desk was his badge. It was so carelessly placed in comparison to everything else on the table that had been situated in such a carefully, almost calculated, manner.

I knew Spencer had a habit of taking it off at the end of the day, but it baffled me just how flippantly he treated it. I figured he coveted his badge, but his haphazard placement of it suggested otherwise, while simultaneously showing his humanity to me. He wasn’t so cookie-cutter perfect after all, he could be messy, too.

It was that epiphany that almost made me not want to tamper with it, but it was my own humor that pushed me to do it anyway.

Maybe it’s time Spencer learned a lesson, rather than being the one to teach it.

If he was going to just let this thing lie around like it was nothing, then how would he react if it wasn’t there at all?

I slyly looked up from the badge and to Spencer, whose back was still turned to me in the kitchen and then to Derek, who was too focused on his work to even notice that I was still here. Fully taking advantage of Spencer’s oblivion and the lack of a witness in Derek, I slipped the ID swiftly into my purse. Even if Derek wasn’t the type to be a snitch, it was better that absolutely no one knew.

Less than a millisecond after successfully concealing the badge within my bag, Spencer finally turned around and saw me lingering by his desk.

“What are you still doing here?” He asked with the slightest bit of suspicion in his voice. There was no way he could’ve known what’d I’d just done unless he had eyes at the back of his head, so I stayed calm and collected, relishing in my guaranteed safety.

“Derek wanted me to return your pen,” I explained casually from across the bullpen. I watched as Spencer strolled unhurriedly towards me, and it might’ve been my paranoia that led me to this belief, but I swore I saw his eyes dart to his desk momentarily. However, if he had noticed the absence of his badge, he didn’t say anything.

“Oh, thanks! Have a good night.” He smiled and waved back to me, showing no indication of mistrust.

Sucker.

“You, too!” I said with more zeal than the situation warranted. I was worried that might’ve given me away, but I had timed my escape so perfectly that I was already in the elevator by the time he returned to his desk, giving him no chance to inquire about my uncharacteristic behavior.

That was a close one.

When I came in the next morning, Spencer wasn’t there yet. Which was slightly strange given the fact that I was barely on time, so if he came in at any point after my own arrival, Spencer would be considered late for work. Occurrences like that only happen once in a blue moon, and usually, the reason for them are mysterious haircuts or something’s wrong. I hoped for his sake it was the former.

Now you might consider me an impeccable troublemaker, but I’d first and foremost be rendered outstandingly forgetful. I say this only because I had completely forgotten that I stole Spencer’s badge the night before. But can you blame me? It was stashed away in my purse, hidden to my immediate sight, and the object was so small that it didn’t stick out to me or add an excess of weight in my bag that would serve as an unintentional reminder. It never once crossed my mind, not even when I looked to Derek to ask, “Where’s Reid?”

With a coffee mug in one hand, Derek put his arms out to either side of him and shrugged. Suddenly, the mug precariously shook from the draft created by someone blowing right by him.

It was Reid.

“Whoa, slow your roll there, Pretty Boy. Almost knocked my coffee over.” Derek reprimanded playfully, clutching on tighter to his precious coffee that almost succumbed to Spencer’s speed when he breezed by.

But rather than apologizing or laughing, Spencer kept on his pursuit. Since the time he got here, his eyes were glued to his desk with determination. Even as he approached his desk, he hadn’t yet acknowledged me or Derek. Instead, he was mumbling to himself while haphazardly sorting through his desk. He was frantic and in disarray, a manner that worried both me and Derek.

“What’s wrong, Reid?” I leaned forward to observe his desk, which by now, was what I had to think was a direct reflection of his brain - completely chaotic. Papers were scattered, books were open to random pages, he even emptied out his well-maintained writing utensil cup.

“I lost my badge.” He answered with his attention still trained on finding it. Luckily for me, that meant he couldn’t see the sudden smirk that grew on my face as a result of his response. There was no way to hide my entertainment without biting down on my lip to keep it from contorting into a smile or perching my head on my hand and using my knuckles to hide my devilish grin.

“When’s the last time you had it?” Derek was surprisingly just as concerned as Reid and just as eager to help him find it, even setting down his coffee on his own desk to help Reid sort through his.

“I always take it off at the end of the day, and I remember setting it on my desk, but I didn’t take it home with me. I don’t recall even leaving here with it, so I must’ve left it somewhere here.”

At this point, my unbridled enjoyment of this was too much to physically contain, that I actually had to spin my chair a complete 180 degrees just to shield them from the sight of my imminent laughter.

“(Y/n), do you remember seeing it -” Derek’s voice overpowered my muffled giggles, and when he looked up to ask me that, he would’ve seen my shuddering shoulders from where I was laughing hard, yet noiselessly. I spun my chair back around and looked at him with cool indifference.

He quickly noted the shade of red I had turned and profiled the situation. But rather than outing me, he followed the instruction of my index finger to my lips and stayed quiet.

I took his alliance as an opportunity to nonchalantly retrieve the badge from my purse. At a tantalizingly slow pace, I raised it in the air, until it was so high, Reid would be able to see it dangling from my thumb and forefinger.

“Looking for this?”

Spencer’s gaze immediately shot upward to look right at the badge, before flashing to me.

What part of him reacted first, I wasn’t sure. Was it the sigh of relief or the flared nostrils and clenched jaw that came soon after?

He wasn’t even going to say anything to me before grabbing it from me, that’s how pissed he was. But my quick reflexes lunged me backward at the same moment he reached out to get his badge from me, preventing him from successfully taking it back. I couldn’t believe he actually tried that and thought it would work.

“Ah, ah, ah,” I wagged my finger left to right to communicate my disapproval. “Not so fast, Pretty Boy. I want something in return.”

He shot me the most deadpan glare. “What do you want?”

I put my finger to my chin and looked up to coyly think about it, but more so to extend his torture for just a few seconds longer. I could feel him staring a hole into me as he grew more and more impatient. “Well, it’s gotta be something good. I mean, imagine what would’ve happened if this landed in the wrong hands.”

“Evidently, it did.” He coldly replied.

“Ouch,” I feigned offense and brought my hand to my chest to clutch my heart with a short gasp. “I’m so hurt,” I said with the biggest pout.

He was not nearly as entertained as I was, and his lack of amusement came in the form of a stoic, “I’ll teach you sleight of hand.”

My body actually had to reboot at the sound of his proposal. “Wait, are you serious?” I clarified.

“Yes. It physically pains me every time I watch you try to do it, so I figure it’s better for me if I teach you how to do it properly instead of having to sit through another one of your lousy, pathetic magic tricks.”

I would’ve been offended, but I’d been begging him to teach me sleight of hand for months, so the insults were quickly disregarded by me in case he changed his mind during the time I’d take up being hurt by his cruelty.

“Deal,” I smirked while handing him his badge back.

Needless to say, I did teach the good doctor a lesson, but it seems he still hasn’t learned … for why would you teach the biggest practical joker in the office sleight of hand? That only adds to my arsenal of tricks I have up my sleeve to use against my coworkers.

Maybe I should teach Spencer another lesson and see if he learns this time around.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

reid taglist: @s1utformgg @no-alarms-no-surprises-silence @jemimah-b99 @justanothetfangirl @kylab @rainsong01 @calm-and-doctor @inkstainedwritergirl @rexorangecouny @ashwarren32 @carooliina @fortheloveofcriminalminds @watermelongubler @obsessedmaggiemay @k-k0129 @aperrywilliams @eevee0722 @spencersmagic @spencerreid-mgg @half-blood-dork @goldeng1rl8 @just-a-bunch-of-fandoms

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fic #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fanfiction #juniorgman187 #criminal minds

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hello-everyfandom · 4 years

Text

"Whatever happens, I’ll be there, right beside you.”

Warnings: ***Severe Trigger Warnings*** Disordered Eating Habits. Restricting Food Intake. Depression and Anxiety

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

Words: 2.6k

Summary: The world is going to shit around you.

Fred Weasley may be many things. He may be too loud. He may be too big headed and cocky. He may not understand emotions as well as his twin. He may be internally anxious about the fastly approaching war which he knew would be nothing but deadly. But, if Fred is anything, he is utterly mad for you. He could not find any answer that could solve how you could possibly be with a boy like himself, the boy whose laughter bounces off the cobble walls, the boy who grins toothily.

The war, nearly at your fingertips, had taken an emotional and even physical toll on the students at Hogwarts. Fred was worried. He wouldn’t fully say it outloud as he believed in such tumultuous times as such humor was the best coping method. However, he was worried. Worried about you. As confident as you may have seemed, Fred knew full well of the internal demons you’ve suffered the wrath from. If he could, he’d whip out his wand and defeat them all, but it wasn’t like that. He could not even wish them away, even if he shut his eyes as tightly as he could.

Those who believed Harry Potter began preparing for battle, learning defensive spells and attacking hexes to protect themselves and protect their home. You were the first to sign up for Dumbledor’s Army alongside the twins who promised all the younger students to prank the ever loving hell out of any Death Eaters who dared roam Hogwarts.

Fred began to notice a change in your demeanor when training had hit a month or so. You were working yourself to the bone, studying as many protection spells as you could and studying the herbs and potions needed for quick healing. You assured Fred with a kiss on his cheek that you were merely getting as prepared as you could. Fred couldn’t really do anything or think of anything to argue back with, but he watched with wary eyes.

“Freddie,” you laughed, “You can wipe that worried look off your face. I’m fine!”

“But-”

“Seriously.” You patted his cheek kindly, “Go on and join the boys for dinner, I’ll be there in a moment.”

Fred nodded, slowly walking away from where you sat. He waited for you at supper, even made you a plate and made sure no one took the last chocolate pudding as he knew that was your study snack. But, you never came.

Okay, Fred thought. You must have been too buried in a book as you sometimes were. When night began to grow and he hadn’t seen you for a few hours, he began his search and bid his whining twin behind. He found you where he had last left you, still studying the words of numerous textbooks.

“Missed dinner,” Fred said softly.

“Did I?” you asked, surprised, quickly looking to the clock that hung on the wall you saw that it was nearly ten past eleven. “Oh, bollocks.” You laughed at yourself.

“Yeah, bollocks.” Fred mocked, pulling you to your feet. “Come on then, let’s sneak you something from the kitchens, yeah?”

You bit your cheek, thinking in your head, “I’m really not that hungry.”

“Really?” Fred’s eyebrows raised, “But you’re always hungry after reading, especially big, boring smelly textbooks like these.” He waved his hand accusingly at the books on the table.

With a grin, you shook your head, “Really. I had a large lunch and I’m actually rather tired.”

Fred hummed, interlocking your fingers, “Shall we head to bed then? Have a good little cuddle?”

You nodded in response and began to collect the books to take back to your dormitory.

“No, no!” Fred protested, “Don’t bring the bloody books.”

“Don’t insult the books, Freddie, lest you want a big, boring, smelly textbook in your crotch.”

Fred grumbled and complied, even taking a few of the heavier ones in his arms. Fred slept soundly that night, with his arms wrapped around you. It was only until you were tossing and turning and eventually getting up to light a candle and begin reading again. Fred looked at your hunched figure with bleary eyes.

“What in heaven’s name are you doing love?” he whispered.

“I couldn’t sleep, thought I’d read a bit instead. Go back to sleep,” you whispered back. Fred didn’t think much of this, even though he should’ve, but instead he watched you read until he unwillingly fell asleep again.

Weeks passed, more training sessions and lessons and homework upon homework. Fred kept a smile on his face, giving encouragement to the young D.A members and laughing when George would get blasted back by their little sister. You laughed as well, making Fred grin even larger. He saw you improve beyond belief, able to detect spells thrown at you. He believed wholeheartedly that you could duel with a blindfold on and shamelessly win. But to you? Your form was wonky and your wordless spells needed extreme practice. You brought it upon yourself to take extra practice times in the Room of Requirement, in the space between doing homework and studying. Those times, to Fred’s utter dismay, were usually meal times.

“But-”

“Swear on my life, Fred, I eat when I get back to the dorm, you’re usually asleep by then!”

“But-”

“Freddie, you’re going to wear yourself thin if you continue to worry about me.”

“It’s my job to worry about you.” Fred argued, “Is something wrong? Anything I can help with?”

Shaking your head, “No no, just want some time to practice, that’s all.”

“Can’t you take a little break? George and Lee haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Well,” you chuckled, “that’s not true. George and I sat next to each other during Divination and I helped Lee with his girl troubles last night.”

“Oh, but... you can still take a break! At least come to dinner?”

“Maybe,” you reached on your toes to press a kiss to Fred’s lips, “We’ll see.”

As you walked away, Fred yelled, “So see you at dinner?”

“Goodbye, Freddie!” you answered back.

Now is the time to be truthful. Standing in the Room of Requirement, alone to your own thoughts. Something was wrong. You weren’t exactly sure what and couldn’t pin where you felt anxious, but you knew something was off and was beginning to fear your love would notice as well. To be honest, you had gotten frightfully used to skipping meals. At first, it bothered your stomach as it growled and rang, but the more you ignored the ache the more you could withstand. Hunger only seemed to be a nuisance to you, distracting you from focusing. The only thing you wanted was to become stronger. Practicing and moving toned you down, but it didn’t seem enough. The girls in your year and below you were smaller, able to move quicker and think faster. Time seemed to serve you well as you put all your focus and will into exercise. When Fred and even George would approach you with plates of food, you’d fawn and smile, thanking them profusely for thinking of you. When they left, or turned an eye, you’d enchant the food away, not wanting to smell the scent of mashed potatoes and roast. The lack of food in your body displayed a false sense of security as you began to feel better and better everyday.

Fred, oh Fred, such an innocent, oblivious boy could only notice your change in routine. Had he noticed the baggy sweaters you stole from him and the sudden change in your cheeks, perhaps he would’ve cursed himself. But, he basked in the fact that he thought you were happy. It wasn’t his fault either. You did a terrific job at hiding behind large sweaters and cups of hot caffeinated tea that filled your belly.

“I’m exhausted.” you moaned, falling backwards onto your bed. Fred joined you, lying sideways so he could look at his beautiful girlfriend. To him, you were effortlessly pretty. Enchanting he may even say. Fred leaned closer, wrapping an arm around your waist and kissing the skin of your exposed neck.

“Shall we have a nap then?”

“Maybe,” you yawned, “but you better be careful, I’m quite sore from lessons today.”

Fred joked playfully, “I know, saw you take quite a spill after Hermione spit that spell at you.”

“You would think she would’ve gone easy!” you laughed back.

“Come on, up then.”

“No, why!” you cried, refusing to take his hands.

“You buffoon, I’m going to give you a massage. You know, since I’m such a loving, perfect boyfriend to his seemingly ungrateful girlfriend.”

“You may call me ungrateful but buffoon? That’s going too far.” you bit back but nevertheless agreed and sat up so you were seated between Fred’s open legs. Fred’s thumbs quickly found your shoulders, rubbing your muscles. You moaned with the pressure of the pads of his thumbs.

“You’re more tense than a horse’s arse.” Fred commented, sticking his tongue out in concentration.

“Will you just let me enjoy this?”

“I think,” Fred touched the hem of your sweater, which was actually his from third year, “I may be able to help more if this were off.”

“Is that a pick up line?” you asked sarcastically, “Not quite bright with the ladies, are we?”

“If I was not in love with you, I’m pretty sure I would have dumped you by now,” Fred joked. Of course, that wasn’t true at all, but his comment would be something you’d think about for days on.

“Alright, but I’m only wearing a bra under this, cover your virgin eyes if you must.”

Fred scoffed and began to take off your sweater, “Virgin eyes, my cock and balls.”

The cold hit your bare skin making you shudder. Fred couldn’t see much as the low light only seemed to cast shadows. But, as he began to massage your tired muscles, he could not ignore the feeling of your shoulders in his hands. He could feel the curve of your bones and your collar which was prominent against his touch. The straps of your bra were loose. You were silent, unknowing and enjoying what you thought was a nice massage.

“Y/N,” Fred said slowly, making you open your eyes.

“Hm?” you hummed back. Fred stood from the bed making you turn to look at him with questioning eyes. Fred quickly lit a candle next to your bed, illuminating the space between you two.

“Oh my god.” He whispered under his breath.

“Well, that’s not very nice to hear, is it?” you responded, feeling a little hurt.

“No, no,” Fred said quickly, trying to assure you. But he had seen you already. Upon the skin of your back, you were littered with bruises from practice. Spots of black and blue touched you and curved with your spine. He could nearly count every joint and sucked in a breath of harsh air.

“Darling,” his voice slower and slower, trying to grasp and piece together what is happening.

“What’s wrong? What is it?” you asked frantically, trying to look at your back. You breathed a breath of relief, “Oh, the bruises? Those are just from practicing from dueling.”

“No...” he swallowed, “Will you... turn around for me?” Fred asked. You turned and sat to face him, completely unsure of what was happening with your usual bubbly boyfriend. As you shifted, Fred nearly fainted to his feet. You had grown thinner, he could see the tops of your ribs and the thinness of your arms.

“What is it? Freddie, honey, you’re worrying me.”

He thought. A million thoughts fastly flying through his head, his tongue going dry and swelling. “When was the last time you ate?”

Immediately, you covered your body with your arms, attempting to hide and searched for your sweater that Fred had thrown somewhere. “What are you talking about? Fred, that’s a little rude.”

“Be honest with me.” Fred said sternly, sitting down in front of you. You tossed your sweater over your head, shying into the safety of the fabric.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Fred, what the hell?” you asked, angrily and frankly, a little embarrassed. To you, it didn’t seem like a worried boyfriend but a judgemental boyfriend, scanning your body for imperfections and flaws. But Fred was nothing but worried, fearful and terrified.

“You need to tell me, right now. No bullshit. Have you been eating?” Fred’s voice was never serious, never as serious as now where his tone made you shake and cower. Fred noticed your face drop and the scared emotion in your eyes and mentally kicked himself. He was quiet, thinking again.

“This isn’t healthy, Y/N.” he whispered. His words made your stomach drop and your hands become cold with sweat.

“Fred-”

“You haven’t been eating, have you?” Fred asked, already knowing the answer. He began to desperately file through his memories. Like a shade drawn up, he nearly threw up. These few days, you were exhausted, couldn’t stand as well, shaking when standing. He thought of himself as foolish.

“Answer, please.” Fred begged. He grasped your hands in his, only now noticing your skinny fingers. “Please, my love, please. Have you been eating?”

Fred’s begging made you whimper. The sadness in his tone made your eyes well and your throat close until you could only spit out the words, “I can’t.”

“Tell me,” Fred cried out.

“I can’t eat. I feel sickly when I eat.”

Fred choked out a sob. He rarely cried but seeing how oblivious he was to your pain made him stricken with grief.

“But, it’s okay.” you said quickly after, nodding your head, “I’m fine.”

“No,” Fred gripped your tighter, “You’re not fine, darling.”

“I can eat anytime I want,” you tried to persuade him, or you, you weren’t sure which one.

“But, you won’t.” Your boyfriend said. The truth, the truth you had been cowardly hiding from was there, in front of your face, and this time you could not hide. Your silence was all the answers he needed. You couldn’t control yourself. You began to cry alongside him, sorrowful for everything that lived.

“What happened? Love? Tell me,”

“I-” you stuttered and struggled to breath, Fred moved so he could rub your back, still looking at you, “I don’t know. I. It started one day and then I guess, well I. I don’t know. I guess, I guess the stress and...” you cried harder, “I don’t know.”

“That’s okay,” Fred hushed you, pulling you in for a hug, wrapping his long arms around your wracking figure. “I’m here now, I won’t leave you. I’m here. I’ll help,”

“You can’t help!” your lips quivered, pulling back harshly in a state of disarray. “You can’t! I- I don’t. You can't. I don’t know.” you couldn’t say anything. Fred placed his hands, gently, on your cheeks, staring into the eyes of the woman he adored.

“We’ll try. I’ll try, and so will you.” Fred assured you, rubbing your cheeks.

“I don’t know if I can.” you said, hiccuping through cries.

“You can. You’re so unbelievably strong, I’ve seen you whoop several old sods in our year’s ass. And I know,” Fred moved your head softly so he could look at you better, “I know my words may not help, but I think you are so beautiful. Whatever happens, I’ll be there, right beside you.”

It wasn’t an exact solution and it didn’t automatically nor immediately solve anything, but it was something. It was what you needed to hear at the moment. To know you weren’t alone facing not only the physical battle of the external world but the internal one. It would take time, time needed, to be yourself again. Even still, on the days you felt worse, Fred would squeeze your hand in his and press a kiss on your lips.

#fred weasley #fred weasley fic #fred wealsey imagines #harry potter #harry potter imagines #harry potter imagine #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley imagine

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beskarhearts · 4 years

Text

Bounty (Din Djarin x Reader)

Connection series Pt. 8

Pairing: Din Djarin x f!reader (no use of Y/N)

Warnings: cursing, death (choking), fighting, anxiety, nightmares

Word count: over 8.0K

Summary: Din has a bounty to catch, leaving you and the child alone on the Crest.

Notes: This chapter almost made me cry writing it so I wish you all luck. I also started writing part nine today and ooof... buckle in folks.

Previous Part ____ Next Part

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You couldn’t help the bout of laughter that escaped your lips as Din walked up to you.

“Are you ever going to stop laughing about this?”

You doubled over in laughter even more, clutching at your stomach which was beginning to literally hurt from your laughter. “I can’t believe you never told me.” You wheezed as the man stood in front of where you leaned against the wall, placing a hand on his hip.

“It’s not even funny.”

"You know, I feel like you should of told me about it. Like that should of been the first thing out of your mouth when we first met. It would have told me everything I needed to know.”

“The fact that I wear suspenders would have told you everything you needed to know?”

You let out a loud cackle at his statement, causing him to shake his head at you. “Absolutely.”

“I wear it because it’s convenient. I don’t know why it’s funny.”

“Do you think your bounties would be considerably less scared of you if they knew you wore suspenders? Because I think they would.”

“Sweet one...” You smiled as he let out a small sigh, but deep down you knew he was smiling under the helmet.

“You should consider wearing less armor and letting the suspenders show more. The ladies would love it.”

Din cocked his helmet at you, stepping closer to you. “Oh, really?”

“Absolutely. Suspenders are just irresistible.” You let out another giggle, smiling widely as you expect an exasperated sigh from the man of beskar.

But instead he brings his hands up, putting them against the wall on either side of your head, boxing you in. You let out a small gasp, not having expected Din to get so close to you. “Really?”

You tried to hide how flustered you were with a small smile. “Would it break your heart if I said that the suspenders didn’t do anything for me?”

“Probably.” You heard Din let out a chuckle and you laughed back.

“Well then I love them. They are super good looking. One would probably describe them as sexy.”

Din just let out a grunt and shook his head at you. “That didn’t sound convincing.”

“I wonder why.” You teased, ducking under one of his arms, escaping his hold on you. Din turns around, leaning against the wall exactly where you were and crossing his arms.

“I should probably get going.” You let out a groan at his words. You guys had left the planet with the flowers a couple days ago and went straight into hyperspace. Din had explained that he had a bounty to catch. It was an underground job, meaning no one would know it was him and he wasn’t risking Moff Gideon finding out about it. He just had to stop on this planet, catch his bounty, and turn them in for some much needed credits. It wasn’t supposed to be too dangerous but he still insisted on you and the child staying behind in the Crest. He didn’t want to risk anything or anybody seeing the kid, even though the planet you were on was relatively deserted.

“Din, are you sure we can’t go? I’m pretty good with a blaster, y’know?”

“I know, cyar’ika.”

“Then let me go.” You knew you were whining and probably sounded like a child, but you didn’t want him to go. Ever since you joined, you guys haven’t really separated and you didn’t want to be alone.

“This should be a quick one.” Din didn’t even bother to entertain your statement. You had already bothered Din about going and he was being stubborn. There was no way he was going to let you go but you could still complain about it. “Hopefully it will only be a day or two.”

“Two days?”

“You whine a lot.”

You roll your eyes, crossing your arms over you chest. “I just want to go. I don’t want to be alone here.”

“You won’t be. You have the kid.”

You hated how literally Din took things sometimes. You didn’t know if it did it on purpose or if it was just how he was. “I could help.”

Din sighed, shaking his head. “I think I’ve got it covered. I’ve done this before.”

“Yes, but have you ever done it before with me by your side? No. We could probably catch this poor schmuck in less than a day if I tag along.”

“I forgot about all your experience in bounty hunting.”

You knew he was teasing but you still narrowed your eyes at him. “I would probably be great at it.”

“You aren’t a very subtle person.”

You let out a small gasp. “What does that mean?”

Din stepped towards you, putting both hands on your shoulders. “It means, you tend you gather peoples attention. And that isn’t good when hunting.”

“Maybe you can teach me how to do it then. You said this bounty isn’t too difficult so this would be the perfect opportunity.”

“You do know nothing you say will make me bring you along?”

You let out a grunt, pulling away from Din. “Fine. But you’ll regret it when you realize just how much you miss me.”

“Of course, cyar’ika.” Din sarcastically responded and you huffed.

“You are going to be chasing after this stupid bounty and thinking about how much you miss me and my pretty hair and my wonderful humor and-”

“I’m starting to think you are in love with yourself.”

You flash him a devious smile. “I mean, I am pretty great.”

Din shakes his head and pulls his body towards you. “You know what I’ll enjoy most about this?”

You frown, already prepared for a sarcastic response. “What, Din?”

“Some silence.”

You roll your eyes and back away from him, only for him to take a step towards you. “Yeah, right. You love when I talk.”

“You love when I talk.”

Another step backwards for you. And another step forwards for Din. “Hmmm... not really?”

“Sweet one, you already admitted you like the sound of my voice.” You back up one more time and feel yourself bump into the wall behind you, to which Din chuckles. “See? You are clumsy. I can’t bring you.”

You push against Din’s chest with your hands. “You should go before I kick your ass.” You try to hold back the smile but fail to do so.

“Alright.” Din grabs his bag from the floor and strolls towards you. “Keep the door shut and if anything happens, use the radio I gave you. But only for emergencies.”

“Aye aye, captain.”

“If it takes longer than two days, I’ll radio you and let you know I’m fine. If you don’t hear from me and I don’t respond to you, get out of here.”

“Din, I’m not leaving you behind-”

“Please just agree to my terms.”

You nod your head, knowing you’d never actually leave without Din but not wanting to stress him out. “Fine.”

Din brought a hand up to your cheek, grazing it lightly. “Be safe.”

“We will be fine, Din. Like I said, I’m handy with a blaster.” You give him a lopsided grin, wanting to ease his worries.

“Okay. Goodbye, cyar’ika.”

“See you soon.”

Din dropped his hand, opening the hatch to the Crest, and stepping down it. He turned back to look at you, giving you a sharp nod of the head, and you watch him walk off as you close the hatch of the ship.

_____________________

The child was sat in your lap, fully awake to your dismay. He spent the first half of the day whining and crying because his dad was gone. He would look up at you with these big, dopey eyes and his little bottom lip puffed out, looking like somebody had done the meanest thing to him. You’d explain to him that Din was just doing a job and he’d be back soon, but you think the kid either didn’t understand you or didn’t care.

Then once the kid finally got over his pity party, he was absolutely wired. All he wanted to do was play and you swore he was trying to drive you crazy. At one point, you had tripped over something the kid had dropped and he absolutely lost it, thinking it was the greatest thing he had ever seen. In hopes of tiring him out, you had purposely started ‘tripping’ on things, each time warranting the same ecstatic response but not proving to tire him out at all.

So that led to where you were now. In the cockpit of the Crest, with the kid held in your lap, as the two of you looked up at the stars in the sky. You had hoped a calming activity like this would make him sleepy considering how late it was and how he hadn’t taken any naps. But all he was doing was intently staring at the little metal sphere in his hands that he stole from the Crest’s dashboard, completely transfixed by it like it was the most exhilarating thing in the world.

You on the other hand were on the verge of sleep. Your eyes were drooping and you kept yawning. Taking care of the kid was a tiresome task, especially when you didn’t have Din around to help at all. You were sat in Dins seat, letting yourself fall into it. You missed him, which sounded silly considering he had only been gone for less than twenty-four hours. But you had to fight back the urge to radio him in, just to hear his voice. You had gotten used to his constant company and being in the Crest without him was odd. He was just an overwhelmingly sweet presence for you and without him, it felt a little less safe and a little less warm.

Your dreary eyes drifted down to the child, who was sat in your lap and looked up at you, showing you the ball in his hands. You nodded slowly, your mind seeming to process things about ten times slower than usual. “Very neat, booger.”

The kid looked away from you, seemingly satisfied with you acknowledging his metal ball and looking back down on it. You let out another loud yawn, your eyes slowly drifting closed. You were just going to relax, not sleep. Just rest your eyes for a minute...

Then there was a loud clatter than woke you up. Your body lunged forwards and you looked to see that the kid was still awake, sat in your lap, with the ball in his hand, but his ears twitching and his vision direction towards the ladder leading down to the hull of the ship. “Anybody there?” You called out.

You picked him up, pulling him close against your chest as you approached the ladder. You peaked down into the hull, your head hanging a little from your position. You looked around. The latch of the door was closed, nothing seemed out of place. “Hello?”

No other noise was made, no response meaning Din wasn’t back yet to your dismay. You looked over at the kid, who was intently staring into the hull of the ship, his ears still twitching like he was listening for something. “It’s just us kid. This piece of junk ship just makes noises sometimes.” The kid looked up at you briefly before turning back to the hull. “We should get some sleep.”

The kid still seemed totally fine, no hint of fatigue on any of his features. You let out a small sigh. This was going to be a long night. You carefully stepped down the ladder, making your way towards your cot when you heard another noise. You whipped your head around, identifying that it came from the refresher. You put the kid down on your cot quickly and lifted up a finger to your lips, hoping that the kid would understand and be quiet. He simply looked up at you and you turned around, your right hand resting on the blaster kept on your side. You made your way towards the refresher, hoping it was just Din who saw you asleep and didn’t want to wake you up to let you know he was back. But deep down, you knew it wasn’t Din. And he had told you this planet didn’t have a big population and you were far from any towns where there would be people. Meaning if there was someone in the ship, it was probably either Din or his bounty.

You stopped walking, considering your options. You had your radio, maybe you could call Din in. But if there was someone there, they’d probably hear you do it and then what would you do? And what if Din was far away and couldn’t get back quickly enough?

Or what if this wasn’t his bounty and something else entirely? Din didn’t have a tracking fob this time, just a location. You knew Din was good at his job and if his bounty was here, he should be here. So if he isn’t, maybe there was someone else in here.

You turned back to look up at the kid, to check if he was still in the spot where you left him, only to find he wasn’t. “Shit.” You whispered under your breath. You looked all around but couldn’t find the kid. Sometimes he liked to hide from you, thinking it was great when you found him, but right now was not the time for hide and seek. “Kid, where are you?”

You turned around completely, back facing the door to the refresher as you ducked to see if he was below your bed. No luck. You let out a sigh. You couldn’t do anything without knowing where the kid was. That was too risky. “Womp rat, where did you go?”

All the air left your lungs as you felt a huge slam into your back, bringing you down onto the floor. You landed face down, your whole body pulsing from the pain. Your body throbbed from the impact and your hands just barely reached out to stop you from slamming your skull into the metal floor of the ship. You quickly pulled yourself up and turned to see a Klatooinian staring back down at you. His face bunched up into a growl and he snarled at you, glaring at you with a fierceness in his eyes. “What the kriff?” You yelled out.

The creature held a blaster right at your face, not bothering to say anything, and let out deep breathes, his chest heaving. You quickly popped back up on your feet, trying to knock the blaster out of his hand. But instead the man fired a shot, hitting the floor of the ship as you jerked out of the way. Your head turned quickly, just to make sure the kid wasn’t anywhere near the blast. You were satisfied when you found no kid, but also worried as to where he could be. You didn’t want him getting caught in the cross fire. And you certainly didn’t want this creature finding him. You needed to get rid of him, before he hurt the kid or you.

Your hand reached for the blaster on your side, just starting to curl around the smooth metal of it, when you heard a small noise emit from behind the Klatooinian. The man and you both turn to look in the same direction, your vision landing on the child who stood in the corner of the room with the ball in his hand. His face was crumpled up into a little frown, clearly not too pleased by the presence of the man before him, but he didn’t do anything except just stand there. “Shit.”

Your fingers just started to pull on your blaster, not even able to pull it out completely, before the man turned back to you, snarling again and rising a leg to kick one of your knees, your leg buckling in on yourself and dropping you against the floor. You let out a yelp from the pain, your right hand still itching towards your blaster, but your other hand landing on the floor beside you, trying to steady yourself. He spat into your face and a thick glob landed on your cheek that you wiped away with a growl. He turned back around towards the kid, stomping closer to him with the blaster aimed at his little body. “You son of a bitch!” you yelled out, trying to distract him, just do anything so he wouldn’t harm the kid and the kid could scurry away. He turned to look back at you, letting out a harsh laugh.

There was no way you were going to let this man hurt the child. Din trusted you to protect him, so you were going to do it. You rise to your feet again, your landing a little sloppy due to your knee, and you go to reach for the blaster when you feel a tingling sensation through your whole body. The fatigue and pain fades away, and for a second you think it’s just a rush of adrenaline from the situation until you realize you’ve felt this feeling before. It’s been a very long time, but it is strong and it is undeniable.

You feel an energy fill every part of your body. It seems to fill your pores, soak into your bones, and lift you up. It penetrated every part of your being and you feel more powerful than you had in a very long time. You haven’t felt the Force flow within you for many years, but the feeling is just as intoxicating as it was before and it seems to clear all your senses. Your right hand eases away from the blaster on your side and instead you bring it up, your body seeming to work on its own without a second thought. You watch as the Klatooinian stumbles back slightly before you curl your fingers a little. One of his dirty hands reaches for his throat, trying to tear something away from it, as the blaster in his order hand drops to the ground. You squeeze your hands together a little tighter to which the creature let’s out a ragged gasp, his other hand reaching up as well as shock paints his face. You don’t even fully realize what is happening, just letting your powers take hold of you. The man begins to lift a little from where he stood in the hull, his feet dangling slightly in the air as he continues to gasp and take in shallow breaths that are beginning to fade.

Your hands tighten up even more and you watch as his face begins to turn into a shade of blue, his eyes bulging from the pressure as you continue. It seems like only mere seconds until he let’s out one more choked breath before falling limp. And like you had been on the verge of choking as well, you let out a loud gasp as you drop your hand, and the creatures body falls to the floor right in front of the child and you. You feel like time finally resumes to normal after it was going at warp speed. You had felt like time was just flashing in your face and you weren’t even able to realize what was happening until it was too late. You look at the body on the ground before you and you let out a choked sob, crumbling to the floor. The fatigue from earlier settles back into your body, but now tenfold from the energy you just exhausted. You let out a whimper as the child begins to waddle towards you, walking around the body.

What had you done? You hadn’t used the Force in years because the last time you had, it had resulted in a dead body as well. You swore to never use it again, in fear you’d use what was supposed to be this precious gift to harm somebody. You hadn’t felt that feeling in so long and the first time you had after all these years, you had used it to kill. You can’t stop the tears falling down your face or the way you let in small, panicked breathes. The child finally makes his way over to you and goes to hand you his small metal sphere, something to comfort you. You let out a small noise as you look down at him. He looked up at you with complete trust in his eyes and you wonder if he understood what you did, if he had felt the Force like you had. If he understand the harm you had caused with it.

A pop of static pops through and it takes you a second to register that it is the radio Din had given you earlier. “Cyar’ika, you there?”

You are barely able to turn, but you look back at your cot and the radio you had tossed on it earlier in the day. You reach a shaky hand out, your fingers, the same ones you had squeezed the life out of the man just minutes earlier, wrapping around the device. You turn it on, trying to control your breathing as you let out a small, “Yeah.”

You hear him panting and you can tell he is running. “The bounty is heading towards you guys right now, I think. Lock everything down and get your blaster. I’ll be there in a minute.”

You feel a tear roll down your cheek. “Din, he already came here.” You drop the radio, ignoring as Din continues calling through, repeating your name. The kid tries to climb in your lap and you limpy lay a hand on his little body, your gaze never moving away from the body.

_____________________

“Cyar’ika, what happened?”

You looked up to see Din standing in the hull of the Crest, standing in front of the body and looking back and forth between it and yourself. His chest was heaving and small pants made their way through his modulator. He had ran the whole way here, worried sick after you had spoken with him. Your hands were still shaking so badly and your whole body felt fatigued. If you weren’t so wired from the anxiety, you would probably have passed out by now. You slowly brought a trembling hand up to wipe away at your tears, a fruitless effort because more just ran down your cheeks. The child shuffled off your lap, starting to waddle towards Din with his arms reached out for a hug. You sniffled, looking at Din and the child and the ship. Anywhere but at the creature laid out on the ground before you.

“H-he came here.”

Din let out a loud sigh. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

You got annoyed at yourself for the frustration you felt at what he said. Din didn’t know about your powers. Hell, you didn’t even know you still had this in you. He also didn’t know the bounty would get to you before he caught him. It wasn’t his fault. But you had pleaded with him to take you and if he had, you wouldn’t be in this mess. The worst thing that would of happened was the Crest would of been robbed. There wouldn’t be a body in front of you. One you had killed in such a grotesque way. You wouldn’t feel this self hatred seeping into you.

But instead of yelling at Din, you just pulled your legs up against you, wanting to block yourself from this moment. You choked back some sobs rather pathetically, small whimpers still drifting from your lips along with sniffling. “I d-did it. He had the blaster aimed at the k-kid.”

“It’s okay. You did what you had to do.”

Yeah, you did what you had to do. But you didn’t have to do it like that. You remembered the first time you had used the Force to kill someone. You watched the life drain from that Imperial officers face as he tried to block you from your parents. The pit in your stomach was so heavy, it felt like it was weighing you down. Your grandmother had taught you how people used the Force to harm and kill, and how the power that came with it drove people to the dark side, to madness. You remembered her telling you how she had never used the Force to kill and making you vow the same. And you had broken that vow, multiple times now.

This wasn’t supposed to be you. The Force, and the power it gave you, was supposed to be pure and good. Used to heal and connect. Used to help you and aid you, not coldly strike down your enemies like they were nothing. Because if you did that, how were you any different from them? And how far would you go? What if one day you couldn’t control it and accidentally hurt Din or the child?

That thought forced a sob out of you and you let yourself fall apart. You buried your face in your legs, not wanting Din to see you like this.

“Kriff, what happened?” You heard Din step towards you and bend down at the knees, resting a hand on your back. “Sweet one, talk to me.”

You looked up at him, seeing your reflection in his helmet and wincing. You looked away from him.

“I choked him.” You left out how, just letting him assume you had done so with your hands. You watched his helmet turn to the body before it drifted to the blaster still attached to your hip. You knew what he was thinking. Why wouldn’t you had just used the blaster? “I had to.”

That was a lie. But Din didn’t need to know that. Din couldn’t know that. “Okay... that’s fine.” Din brought his hand up to the helmet to rub at it, like one would do with their temple when having a bad headache. “This is okay. You should go shower and calm down. I’ll take care of... this.”

You felt even guiltier. Now Din had to deal with your mess and you didn’t even know if he was supposed to bring the man in alive or not. What if you had messed up his bounty? “I’m sorry.”

Din shook his head. “Don’t apologize. You protected the kid. I’m proud of you.”

You tried your best not to cry at his answer. Din shouldn’t be proud of you. What you had done was not honorable. Not something to take pride in. Instead you wiped at your face, nodding. “Okay.”

Din stood up, holding his hands out for you. You grabbed onto them and he helped you rise up from your place on the floor. You fell into Din, feeling extremely weak and like your legs were numb, your knee still throbbing from earlier. You let out a reassurance that you were okay to Din, feeling his concern washing over you, and forced yourself to let go of him. You trudged away to the refresher without another word, wanting to wash away what had happened, even though you knew it would haunt you.

_____________________

When you finally walked back into the hull of the ship, you were shocked by how spotless it was. Din had cleaned up anything that had been tossed about during the attack. The kid was in his hover pram, asleep and letting out little snores. Din was sat on the floor, now in what appeared to be his pajamas, the only piece of metal on his body being his helmet. Most notably, the body was gone, now frozen in carbonite instead of laid out on the floor. You were glad to not see it but it still didn’t settle the uneasiness you felt.

“Hey, sweet one.” You closed your eyes at Din’s words, letting them soak into you. You needed Din right now, as much as you shouldn’t. He was like a life preserver while you are drowning. You weren’t sure if you deserve it, but you were going to cling to it.

“Hey.” You whisper out and Din rises from the floor, walking over to where you stood. He didn’t say anything, just pulling you into his arms as he embraced you. You knew Din wasn’t used to affection like this, perhaps never having gone out of his way to hug someone before you, and you were so grateful he was willing to do it for you. You allowed yourself to be swallowed by his large frame, your arms wrapping around his lower back. You rested your head on his shoulder, your wet hair probably getting his shirt soaked but he didn’t seem to care.

You finally pulled away and Din’s helmet looked down on you. “You look exhausted.”

You were exhausted. Absolutely drained in every way: physically, mentally, spiritually. Using the Force earlier had emptied you of all the strength you had, and the emotional turmoil after that had just piled on top of it. But you also didn’t want to sleep. You didn’t want to lay on your cot on the floor alone, where you could replay what had happened time and time again. Where you could drift into a sleep that would remind you of the horrors of your past or of today. Sleep already didn’t come too easy to an individual like yourself and todays events would make it even harder. “I’m okay.”

“It’s late. You should sleep.” Din gestured over to where he usually slept. “You take my bed tonight.”

“No. I’m fine.” You honestly didn’t plan on sleeping. You would probably trudge your way up to the cockpit and just stare out the window, thinking and dwelling on your mistakes. On the person you had become.

“You need to rest. I will sleep on your bed.”

“Din, I barely fit on that cot. You won’t fit. And you’ve been up all day. You need proper rest.”

Din shook his head. “You had a rough day today. I’ll be fine.”

You let out a sigh. “I won’t be able to sleep tonight. Not after... not after today.”

“What if I make you some tea? You can relax and you’ll eventually drift off.”

While the idea of Din making you tea absolutely melted your heart, you shook your head. “Tea won’t help.”

“What will?”

The only thing that helped was standing right in front of you. “You.”

Din nodded and one of his hands reached out for yours, grabbing it. “Come on.”

“What-”

“Shh. I got you, sweet one.” Din walked around, turning off all the lights on the Crest besides the small one right above his bed. Dins grip was strong, reassuring, and he let you drift with him towards the bed. You wanted to argue but your body was so tired and so was your brain, and Din was so strong right now. “Lay down.”

You nodded hesitantly, crawling into his cot and laying back into it. It wasn’t comfortable per say, but it seemed heavenly compared to the cot you usually slept on. It also smelled like cinnamon and something like bark. It was Din: alluring and inviting and primal. You let out a hum, letting the padding of the mattress envelope your frame. You then felt some shifting and lifted your head slightly to see Din crawling in besides you. “Din, what-”

“Scoot over a little, cyar’ika.” You shuffled, almost pressing against the wall. Din’s cot was very small, making it so you couldn’t help but to feel him press up against you as he settled down next to you. “I’m going to turn out the lights and then take my helmet off, okay?”

You let out a hum, looking forward to hearing Dins voice. The light went out and you couldn’t see anything, not even your hand in front of your own face. It was completely pitch dark, nothing to see. But even when you heard the click and hiss of the helmet being removed, you still closed your eyes, just in case. You felt Din shuffle around some more, clearly trying to give you enough space. But with the tight quarters, you could still feel his legs nudge against yours and his shoulder touch your back a little. Part of you wanted to lean into him but you didn’t want to invade his personal space more than you already were. “Are you okay with this?

You smile as you hear his voice, feeling so incredibly grateful that you were privy to it. That Din trusted you enough to let you in and take his helmet off around you. You were sure it wasn’t an easy feat. You nodded, but realized he probably couldn’t see you, so you let out a small, “Yes.”

You lay there in silence for a little while until you shift to your other side, no longer facing the wall. You come to the realization that you are probably facing Din, not being able to see a thing but knowing his face was so close to yours. You could probably reach out and touch it, feel the angles and curves of it. “Sweet one?”

“Yeah?”

“You know you never have to hide anything from me. Right?”

The question alone makes your heart break, and the inflection in his tone adds to it. It is heavy and curious. You know Din is an exceptionally smart man, more intelligent than most people would realize. And you also knew that he knew you very well, more than anybody else. Of course Din would notice how bizarre your reaction to todays events had been. He knew that wasn’t your first kill and knew that you were always willing to do what you had to do, especially if that meant protecting someone you loved. His curiosity was only natural. But you also knew you couldn’t tell him and that hurt him. He’d wonder why you couldn’t trust him with something but he also didn’t know how substantial the secret you were keeping from his was. You just whisper out, “Of course.” and feel like you wanna crawl in on yourself. Din trusted you with so much but you couldn’t tell him this. And that broke you.

“Okay.” You know he doesn’t believe you, that he knows you are keeping something from him. But he doesn’t push you, which you are thankful for.

“You know you mean everything to me, right?” His voice is so soft, his words melting in your ears, and you feel your heart clench. You knew deep down, in every way, you were in love with Din Djarin. It wasn’t a matter of maybe or one day you could be. You were head over heels for the man and everyday your affection for him grew stronger and stronger. And he meant everything to you. You’d do anything for him - even if it meant making tough decisions.

You didn’t trust yourself to not say anything stupid, so you simply scooted closer to him. Din slowly reached an arm out to you, bringing you in closer to him. You felt your body press against his and felt so secure. Even though he didn’t have the armor on, you felt safer in his arms than anywhere else. Your head rested against his shoulder and you closed your eyes. “Thank you, Din.”

You felt his chest rumble with a little hum and placed your hand on it, over his heart. You felt his chest rise and fall, giving you peace. You then drifted off, falling asleep in the arms of the man you loved for the first time.

And the last.

_____________________

Din was back in the field of flowers, sitting on top of a blanket with the warm sun shining on his face. He took a deep breath in, inhaling the scent of all the flowers. He could hear children’s giggling somewhere from behind him, knowing they were playing. He reached his hand up, realizing his helmet wasn’t on. He wasn’t actually in any armor: just a pair of pants and a plain shirt, no shoes, and his hair wildly tossed about on his head. The thought of not wearing his helmet, or his armor for that matter, usually terrified him but he felt as ease, knowing he was completely safe.

“Din, the child is trying to teach our son to eat butterflies.” He whipped his head around, watching as she approached his spot on the blanket, sitting down next to him. She has a bright smile on her face and wore a white dress that was flowing in the breeze. A few flowers were stuck in her hair which was pulled into a beautifully braided bun. Din’s eyes followed down to her hands to see a ring on her finger. He looked at his hand to find a matching one, made of the same metal: beskar.

“W-what?” Din mumbled out, seeming shocked by the sound of his own voice. He felt at peace but he was also confused. This wasn’t his life. But maybe he could pretend it was for a little bit.

She reached her hand out to brush back some of Din’s hair, her fingers brushing past his cheek as she brought it back down. He swore he almost fainted at the feeling of her touching his face. It was so soft and loving. A feeling he could never get sick of. “Isn’t this nice?”

Din nodded, feeling a smile grace his features as he kept looking at his cyar’ika, not wanting to tear his eyes away. “Yes.”

She let out a small chuckle and Din reached his hands out. He cupped her face but froze when the smile on her face dropped, her features melting into sadness. “Sweet one, what’s wrong?”

Tears surged at her eyes and Din felt something begin to crumble. That’s when he realized she was literally crumbling away before him, her body falling apart. “Too bad you couldn’t save us either.”

“No. No, no. I can. I know I can.”

“It’s too late.”

Din felt a sob crawl up his throat as she disappeared right before him, turning into nothing but a pile. He turned to look behind him, to where he heard the children laughing, but realized he was no longer in the field of flowers, but in Aq Vetina. Everything was being destroyed in front of him. “No. Please. I can protect them.” He didn’t know exactly who he was pleading to but he felt every bone in his body fill with dread. Din had only ever felt this kind of fear once before, when he had lost his parents in this very place.

“Din, you took your helmet off.” He turned around, to see The Armorer from Navarro. She stood, towering above him, her golden armor seeming to be the only color anymore. She shook her head disapprovingly, and Din felt like a child in The Watch again, being degraded for something he had done wrong.

“I need to save her.” He begged, looking to where his riddur was and finding absolutely nothing. He let out a choked sob as he looked back up at the Armorer. He needed her help. More than anything. He didn’t know what to do without his sweet one. And his child. “And the kid. I can protect them.”

“You broke your creed.”

“I did it for her.” Din knew he’d do anything for her, even if it meant losing himself.

“And now you lost her. Just like your family.”

Din felt tears fall down his cheeks when he heard a loud bang behind him and the ground shake. He turned to see the droid, the one that had tried to kill him when he was young and locked away in that hatch before his parents died. But this time, Din knew there was no Mandalorian coming to save him. And just like everything around him, he was going to be destroyed.

_____________________

Din let out a small gasp as he jerked awake. He heard a small sigh next to him and suddenly realized where he was. He was on the Crest, in his bed with her. She was asleep next to him, her head resting on his shoulder and hand placed on his chest. Din let out a sigh of relief when he realized that she was safe. It had only been a horrible dream. Nothing more.

Her body against him was warm, the blanket strewn lazily across their legs. His bed wasn’t very large which made it so they were in very close proximity. He couldn’t see much in the dark, more accustomed to it than she was but still feeling partially blind. He knew she couldn’t see a thing with the door to his cot closed, making it pitch black. Part of Din wished he could have just the smallest bit of light so he could look on her, but that was too risky when he didn’t have his helmet on. He could feel her anyways, and that was good enough. The feeling of her chest rising and falling with each breath she took was a reminder she was alive and there, with him. And with his arm around her, he knew she was safe, even if it was only for this moment.

But then he remembered earlier. He shouldn’t have left her alone. He should of given in to her nagging and let her come with him. At least he would of been able to keep an eye out for the kid and her. Keep them safer than he had. The first time Din left them and somebody attacked her. The very bounty he was meant to catch had found her and she had to deal with the repercussions of that.

Din felt horribly for the way she felt. The guilt seemed like a blanket weighing down on her and Din had to admit he was slightly shocked by her reaction. He had trusted her to stay alone because he knew how strong she was and that she could take care of what she had to. Din had seen her before, knew she wasn’t afraid to do what it takes to protect herself and the kid. The first day they had met she had killed in order to help the kid and him and it didn’t seem like she was phased at all by it.

But today was different. He could tell that killing that Klantooinian had done something to her. But Din couldn’t tell why. It wasn’t just her being shaken up. And Din didn’t even think she felt guilty per say, like she shouldn’t have killed him. He was a danger to the kid and she was a fierce protector, much like Din. So what had bothered her so much about it?

Din thought maybe it was the way she killed him, having to do it with her hands instead of the blaster. But even the manner of death confused him. Ever since they had been attacked weeks and weeks ago, she had always kept a blaster on her side, attached to her hip like it was just a part of her. She slept with one under her pillow, kept one in the refresher even, just in case. And when Din walked into the Crest, the blaster had still been on her hip. It hadn’t been lost or used against her. She could of used it instead of choking him. It would of been easier and considerably less strenuous.

But even if she was in a situation where she couldn’t use it, Din didn’t know if he believed she had choked him. The creatures neck had no markings. If she had choked him enough to kill him, it would of required a lot of pressure. Enough to bruise him and leave a fresh mark of finger prints against his skin. But there was none of that. His neck was a little red, but not enough to indicate that anything substantial had happened. Choking a man like that also would of required a lot of strength. And while she was strong, he didn’t know how she would of had the ability to overpower him and keep him down long enough to get the job done.

So Din was left contemplating what else may of happened. He considered that maybe the child had used his abilities. He had seen the kid try to choke Cara that one time. But the kid looked like he was going to pass out before he could finish the job. And if the kid did do it, it made no sense that she wouldn’t tell him about it. She knew about the kids powers and knew that Din was aware of them. She would of been shocked by them, but she wouldn’t have lied to Din, not told him about what the kid had done. And when Din had come back, the child was wide awake, bustling with energy. It didn’t seem like he had exerted any energy and every time the kid used his powers, it took a lot out of him. The kid hadn’t looked like he had lifted a finger.

Which meant it was her. But, how did she do it? Din had looked over the body and there was nothing. No blaster marks, no stab wounds. No bleeding or bruising. No marks. Nothing. As far as Din could tell, the guy had just dropped dead. But that was impossible. Something had to have been done. Something she did. But Din couldn’t think of what it was.

But, the thing that was driving him crazy the most was that she wouldn’t tell him. He knew that she trusted him on some level or another. But perhaps he had overestimated how much she had. Maybe a woman like her would never trust a person completely. And Din couldn’t blame her for that. But it also hurt because Din trusted her with ever fiber of his being. So why couldn’t she tell him? What was she keeping from him?

Din shook his head, trying to rid himself of these thoughts. It would do him no good to dwell on it. It would only drive him nuts. Maybe one day he would ask her about it or maybe one day she would trust him enough to tell him. Din could wait for that day. For now, Din was just going to thank the galaxy that she was okay. Din pulled her in a little closer, hearing her let out a little noise but not waking her. He nervously placed a small kiss on her head and closed his eyes. And he whispered one thing, one thing he didn’t know if he’d ever have the strength to tell her while she was awake.

“I love you, cyar’ika.”

_____________________

Din was in the shower and had just turned on the water, which meant if you were going to do this, you had to do it now.

You haphazardly threw all your important belongings in your bag. Din had mentioned his bounty had a small ship of some kind and it wasn’t too far from the Crest, perhaps only a few hundred feet. It would be hard but if you ran fast, you might be able to make it before Din realized what was happening. You had told him to take a nice, long relaxing shower and he had said once he was done, he had to go into hyperspace to turn in his bounty on some planet.

You heard a little squeak behind you and paused. You turned to look over at the child, who was sitting upright in his hover pram and staring straight at you. You swore that the child knew what you were planning, his face turned into a contemplative frown, his eyes looking at you with confusion. He reached a hand towards you and you turned away, knowing you couldn’t look at him more. It only made what you had to do harder.

You had to leave. For so many reasons.

You couldn’t help with the kid in the way you needed to. In the way Din didn’t even know you needed to. You were a Jedi, but a weak one. One who didn’t even want or really know how to use her powers anymore. Only using them for violence. You couldn’t trust yourself with your ability. You would never harm a hair on the child or on Din, but you feared so badly you would lose control like other Jedis had done before. That you would hurt the very things you loved most. And that wasn’t a risk you were willing to take.

You also knew how close Din was to you. How much he trusted you and the risks he was willing to take for you. And you weren’t worthy of that. And Din deserved someone better. Someone who didn’t have so much baggage and someone who didn’t need for him to constantly be there. He should be showing his kindness and compassion to someone who deserved it. And the longer you stayed, the longer you’d be dragging Din further into your mess. He would open up more and more, only to be hurt. Because you knew you couldn’t keep this secret forever. And this secret would hurt him.

You considered yourself a strong woman, even from a young age. Your family taught you to be resilient. Your grandmother taught you to not take shit from anyone, to be a force to be reckoned with. Your mother taught you to be kind but to also protect yourself. Your father taught you to be a hard worker and an honest person. You were usually able to protect yourself from others and make the right decisions. And a moment like this required you to be strong against your own emotions and feelings. You loved Din. You loved the child. You wanted nothing more than to stay with him and be with him. To protect and cherish the little family you had been given. But, you needed to make the right decision. You had to protect Din and the kid from yourself. There was a reason you were alone for so long on Yungbrii. Because everyone you loved got hurt. And nothing had led you to believe that the same thing wouldn’t happen to Din and the kid, whether it was by your hands or someone elses.

You slung your bag around your shoulders. It was heavy, but you tried to take only the necessities. You avoided the child’s gaze as you turned. “I’m sorry, kid. I really love you. And your dad. But I need to go.”

You felt tears prick at your eyes as you reach one hand up to the necklace around your neck. You pull it over your head, looking down at the sigil. You turn it over, reading the engraving on the back one final time. Your eyes close and you take in a deep breath. Your feet stumble over to go to Din’s cot, turning off the light and laying the necklace on his pillow, the very one you both had rested your heads on last night. You close the door, hoping that maybe Din would just think you were sleeping a little more. You turn towards the hatch of the Crest, taking a step forward when you hear the child let out another small noise. But this time you don’t turn around. You just open the door of the Crest.

And run.

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moistmailman · 4 years

Text

Robin Hood AU

Weiss, yawning: Morning, Klein.

Klein: Good Morning, Missy. Your breakfast is waiting for you on the table.

Weiss, smiling: Thanks.

Klein: Fair warning though. I will avoid your father for the day. He's a real bad mood.

Weiss: Like usual. What's eating him this time?

Klein: It appears that his second house was burglarized last evening, and he lost thousands of dollars in stuff.

Weiss: Oh damn. Really?

Klein: Yep. He’s been in a sour mood all morning. If I use say, it’s quite humorous in a way.

Weiss, chuckling: So avoid my father all day. Got it.

Klein: Actually he won’t be in the house for that long. He’s going to spend the weekend at the second house to take inventory, so that’s a relief.

Weiss: So some lucky guy out there stoke thousands of dollars from my father? Hope he buys something good with that money.

Klein: Hope she, madam.

Weiss: Hmm?

Klein: We already know who stole the money.

Weiss: What? Who?

Klein: Pyrrha Nikos.

Weiss: Who?

Klein: She’s an upcoming criminal master mind that steal from the very rich, yet never profit from any of it.

Weiss: What do you mean?

Klein: She apparently gives everything she ever steals to poor neighborhoods, and never keep a dime for herself. She’s really good at covering her tracks too, because they are never able to track what neighborhood she sent the money too.

Weiss: Sounds like some sort of folk tale hero. Has anyone even seen her?

Klein: Ah Yes. There are some police sketches of the woman. I’m sure you can find them online somewhere.

Weiss, shrugging: Okay then. *Pull our scroll and starts typing in the name*

Weiss: Tsk Tsk, lets see, Hmm......whoa!? Is this her?!

Klein: Yes. That’s the one.

Weiss, blushing: Holy shit. She’s....so so fucking hot. My god.

Klein: She’s been stealing from rich people since—

Weiss: I mean, look at her face! It’s flawless! And don’t even get my started on her body! My God! What I wouldn't do to spend a night with this woman! *Bites lip*

Klein:.....madam?

Weiss, out of her stupor: Huh?

Klein: Are you alright?

Weiss, blushing: O-oh, yeah. Sorry.

Klein: Anyway, your father had told to tell you to make sure every one of our windows are locked tight tonight, just in case Pyrrha Nikos try to break into this house, since your father won't be here.

Weiss: Lock all the windows? You really think she'd be bold enough to break into an occupied mansion?

Klein: She's done it before. The CEO of Amazonian reported thousands of dollars missing from safe one morning, and he knew it was there yesterday, since he counted it then.

Weiss: Wow, she must be really good then.

Klein: She is. So make sure you know keep every window locked.

Weiss: Got it.

*ABRUBT CUTAWAY LATER, AT NIGHT*

Weiss: *immediately opens her bedroom window*

Weiss, smiling eagerly: Please show up! Please show up! Please show up!

*LATER*

Pyrrha, climbing through the window: *quietly* Guess they forgot to close one of the hundreds of windows here— what the?

*Pyrrha looks on the ground before entering to see hundreds of rose petals littering the floor*

Pyrrha: Uh.......

*Pyrrha slowly follows the trails of rose buds to see it leads to the bed, which had Weiss in it, wearing a skimpy night dress*

Pyrrha, blushing: W-what?

Weiss, feigning fear: Oh no. It's Pyrrha Nikos. What ever will I do. I sure hope you don't take advantage of a girl like me.

Pyrrha, blushing even more: *trying and failing not to stare* W-what?!

Weiss, feigning fear: And I really hope you don't find the handcuffs that are in my nightstand, because my bed frame is sturdy enough to keep me in place.

Pyrrha: What?!

Weiss, feigning fear: I please Lord don't find that riding crop that is right behind you on my dresser. The black leather one right there ungaurded.

Pyrrha, face on fire: W-what on Earth is going on— I wouldn't do any of that to you!

Weiss, frowning: What? Why not?

Pyrrha, confused: W-what?

Weiss: Why wouldn't you? A-am I not pretty enough?

Pyrrha: What? I came here for—

Weiss: Are my boobs too small, or am I too short? Do you hate white hair?

Pyrrha: No! I never said that!

Weiss: Then why won't you punish me for being a bad rich girl!

Pyrrha: Because I— what is going on?! What is happening right now?! I was not anticipating anything like this when I climbed through that window! I have literally no idea how to handle this situation.

Weiss: You can start by railing me into submission.

Pyrrha: I was planning on robbing your house! Why would you want that?! Shouldn't you call the cops?!

Weiss: No! And because this is my father's house not mine, I'm lonely and needy, and you're very attractive. Now please rail me!

Pyrrha: I-I'm not going- *shakes head to get rid of lewd thoughts* I'm not going to do that!

Weiss:....I sense hesitation in your voice. You're thinking about it, aren't you? I know we both must have needs.

Pyrrha, face matching her hair: N-no! I-I w-would nev— no! I'm not!

Weiss: Look, I know that robbing rich people can be a very stressful job, right? Any night you can be caught and put in jail for the rest of your life.

Pyrrha:......yes...

Weiss: So how about I help you....'get rid' of that pent of stress of yours then?

Pyrrha, blushing madly:.........

Weiss: Wouldnt you want to get rid of that stress of yours? It's the silent killer after all. I can help with that all night long~

Pyrrha:..........

Weiss:......these rooms are sound proof by the way. So you can be as rough as you want~

Pyrrha:........*walks away*

Weiss: *frowns*

Pyrrha: *Walks towards riding crop and picks it up*

Weiss: *smiles*

Pyrrha, serious voice: Comm'ere.

Weiss, smiling happily: Oh my God! This is even hotter than I imagined!

*MEANWHILE, IN ANOTHER ROOM*

Willow, lying in bed with a skimpy night dress on, with her window wide open:.........I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

#rwby #pyrrha nikos #weiss schnee #willow schnee #pyrrha x weiss #schneekos #rwby au #imagine your otp #imagine your ship

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kpop---scenarios · 4 years

Text

Watch Me

Pairing: Baekhyun x Cam Girl! Best Friend

Warning: Smut: Choking, Slight Overstimulation, Anal, Dirty Talk.

Word Count: 4k

Summary: You and Baekhyun are bestfriends, but he doesn't know about your cam life.. or does he?

You'd be lying if you said you hadn't thought about having your best friend, Baekhyun ram his cock into you, but that was something you could never tell him you wanted. You laid in your bed, thinking about the night you just had with him, and a few other friends. You all had decided to go to the club for a good night of drinking and dancing, and as usual, you and Baekhyun drank far too much during one of your drinking matches. You always had to see who would win, and it was always him and the loser had to do a dare of the winner's choice.

"Mhm.. you see that guy over there?" Baekhyun asks, pointing to a guy doing some very.. interesting moves on the dance floor with a girl.

"Yeah.." you respond, hesitantly.

"Go and put yourself in between him and the girl and start dancing on him." Baekhyun chuckles.

With a raised eyebrow and a determined face, you slid off the stool, and strutted over there, shaking your ass in the process.

Without any hesitation you squish yourself in between the couple, spitting a small apology at the girl before wrapping your arms around the guys neck. You sway your hips to the beat of the music grinding against his leg.

Seconds later you let go, turning around to rub your ass against his crotch, placing his hands on your hips as you shake your ass into him. You look Baekhyun dead in the eyes as you continue to dance with the stranger. You can see it in his eyes, he's getting mad. His fists clenched in a ball, biting his lip as he watches you.

Things like this make you question your relationship with him, best friends don't typically act like that.

You and Baekhyun had been best friends for 5 years, never going a day without at least checking in with each other, talking about hookups, problems, achievements, anything really, but there was one thing you had been hiding from him for the last six months. He had been there for your lowest of days and your highest. He had seen and heard things that you kept hidden away, deep down inside yourself and for whatever reason, he still loved you.

Like a best friend.

You asked yourself often, what changed? When did it change? When did you start seeing Baekhyun as more than just your goofy, clumsy, humorous best friend? When did you start seeing him as a man with muscles, and abs and a thick cock that you wanted to choke on. One instance came to mind, actually.

One night you and Baekhyun had been hanging out with a girl he was interested in pursuing. For whatever reason, he wanted you to come along, you assumed it was in case she was a psycho. The night started out innocent enough, with him introducing you to Elle.

"Ayn, this is Elle." He smiles. "Elle, this is my best friend, Ayn."

You knew from the moment she set her eyes on you she didn't like you. The way she looked you up and down, and scoffed. You knew she didn't want you there, but you weren't there for her. You were there for Baekhyun and until you thought things were fine or he said you could go, you would be right there.

The night started out with some drinks at a pub. He sat beside Elle, while jealous knots twisted in your stomach. The way he moved the hair away from her ear before he leaned in to whisper, the way she giggled as he slid his hand up and down her back. It had you wishing it was you, and you hated yourself for feeling like that. You didn't want to be jealous, you didn't want to want him but as usual, you want what you can't have.

"I think I'm gonna go." You announce, gathering up your belongings.

"What? Why?" He asks, moving away from Elle, who was desperate to keep his attention.

"Looks like you guys are good." You smile.

"No, we're all going back to my apartment. Come on. Please?" He asks, his bottom lip protruding in a pout that you just couldn't say no too.

"Fine." You laugh, finishing your drink.

After that, Baekhyun had started paying more attention to you than his date. The two of you held hands while walking down the street, her trailing behind you. You pay no mind to the murmurs she spits behind you. She didn't like you, and you didn't care.

Baekhyun held your hand up the stairs, pulling you up and laughing, while you assumed Elle had a scowl on her face behind you. The moment you got into his apartment, you threw your stuff on the floor, heading for the kitchen. Baekhyun's house was your second house so there was absolutely no reason for you to not feel comfortable.

You grabbed a bottle of liquor and three shot glasses before you made your way back to the living room, but the sound of Elle talking to Baekhyun made you stop.

"I want her gone." He spits.

You scoff.

"Just relax. She's my best friend, I can't just kick her out." Baekhyun says.

"She's annoying, and hanging all over you." She pouts.

Oh good god. They weren't even dating and she was already acting like this.

"I'll talk to her." Baekhyun says, walking towards the kitchen.

"Do you want me to leave?" You ask, the moment he rounds the corner.

"Oh my god no, help me get her out of here." He pleads. "We're not even together and she's like this. I can't."

So you did what was typical for you and Baekhyun, you two drank too much, and got flirty, and eventually a little handsy.

"You're such a shit head." Baekhyun laughs, sitting on the couch, scrunched down, legs spread.

"You love it." You whisper, walking passed him. Just as Elle had decided to stand up, you assume to sit beside Baekhyun, he grabs your wrist, pulling you down onto his lap, to straddle him.

Your face is shocked at first, but then you remember his request, to get Elle to leave. He could just be a man and ask her to go, but this way was so much better for you.

Baekhyun places his hands on your hips as you run your fingers through his hair, leaning your body in closer to his, just putting on a good show.

As the flirting went on, you almost forgot Elle was even there, until it happened. You were still stradling Baekhyun, his arms wrapped around you as you ran your fingers through his hair.

"Are you sure you guys are just friends?" Elle asks.

"Sure." Baekhyun says, his eyes never leaving yours.

With a scoff, Elle grabbed her things and left, or so you thought, though the two of you didn't really notice. To really sell it, you had been wiggling yourself around. Doing it one last time, that's when you felt his erect cock as you grinded against him. You both stopped what you were doing, staring at each other for a moment before you both slowly inched your lips closer to each other.

"Ugh." You hear a scoff from the door, before it slammed, breaking the two of you out of your haze.

You quickly jump off of him, mumbling something about feeding your fish before you walked out of there so fast. You leaned against the wall in the hallway, catching your breath, wondering why you said you needed to feed your fish, when you don't even have a fish.

That night you dreamt that you and him fucked, and it was the best fucking thing. You wished it was true.

The next day when you met up for brunch, you both acted like nothing happened and it was never brought up. That was two years ago, and even since then, you've had close calls like that. The sexual tension is strong, especially when you drink but neither of you will make the first move. Whenever you're out with friends, they always ask if the two of you are dating, but it's always a no. You won't make a move because you don't think he could ever truly be attracted to you. In your mind it's a heat of the moment thing for him. You're not what he wants, at least that's what you tell yourself.

You knew all too well the type of girls he typically went for, and you weren't it. He liked the ones who wore tight outfits, makeup done, nails done, as well as hair, and you were the opposite. You prefered to wear what made you comfortable, which usually turned out to be looser fitting clothes but that didn't mean you didn't have some special outfits somewhere in the back of your closet, and some very specific ones buried under lots of clothes in your dresser drawers.

About six months ago you hit a very rough patch. The man you had been seeing stole your debit card, withdrawing all the money you had in your account and in your savings, and left you, completely high and dry. On your second night of binge eating ice cream and crying, you saw a commercial, one of those late night infomercial type things for a cam girl. No showing your face, paid well, and you made up your own rules.

Sexuality and sex in general wasn't an uncomfortable topic for you, so if you were going to make it and get paid good money you had to be open, and were you ever.

You signed up on the website, using the username shykitten82. The first week was slow, but you didn't give up. The second week, you managed to get two people who signed on and paid you $60 each to watch you masturbate with your fingers, legs high in the air as you used your fingers.

The next week you had four people, who paid you to watch you rub your clit only. Slowly people began sending you money to buy toys for yourself, wanting to watch you use them. They sent you money to buy yourself some sexy lingerie, giving you specific instructions, or just sending you money because they liked you. And you never had to show your face.

You had told Baekhyun about your ex and his stealing, and him being the sweet man he was offered to help you out, but you told him you had it covered. When he asked how you made so much money so fast, you should have just told him the truth, it's not like you were ashamed but instead 'bartender' is what slipped out of your mouth, so you went with it. Although now you had the issue of Baekhyun wanting to come visit you at your bartending job and buy drinks from you. You could have said anything. Why bartender?

It's not as if you hadn't tried to tell him, you did but either you chickened out, in fear of the off chance that he would judge you, or he interrupted you and you just didn't stop him because well, it was easier to say nothing. Until one night. One night that the two of you again, had drank far too much, resulting in you sleeping on his couch in the living room.

You woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and on your way you saw the glare of a dim light coming from Baekhyun's room, along with some muffled sounds. Rubbing your eyes, you walk over, peeking around the door frame and that's when you see it. Baekhyun is stroking his cock, watching porn, but not just any porn.

It was you.

He was watching one of your previous streams, jacking his cock off to you. Cumming to the video of you cumming, listening to you moan.

You were so turned on now.

You tip toe away from his room, heading to the bathroom, contemplating on what you do now. Did you confront him? Just tell him about your channel and drop your username without telling him you know, or do you just keep it buried deep inside yourself so you don't embarrass himself or you.

You ultimately decided to keep it to yourself, maybe one day you would bring it up but that was not today. When you finished in the bathroom, you headed back to the couch, listening to his faint moans, while you rubbed your clit, cumming to the sound of him finishing.

That night you slept like a baby.

In the morning, you pushed the thought of the night before from your head, deciding you'd rather enjoy the day you had planned with Baekhyun instead of lingering on that one thing.

"What are you doing tonight?" Baekhyun asks at a late lunch, taking a bite of his French fry. "I was thinking we could see that new scary movie." He smiles.

"I'm actually busy tonight." You say. You had a special stream tonight, one consisting of you riding two dildos. One in your ass, one in your pussy, a viewer of yours paid you a lot of money to do it.

"Doing what?" Baekhyun asks, his eyebrow arched.

"Just have some bartending courses to do online. But I need to have complete silence. So no you can't come over because you are never quiet." You laugh, taking a bite of your burger.

He may be offended, but he knew you were right, he was loud.

"Fine. How long will it take?" He asks.

You didn't know. So you ballparked. "I'm not sure. Like 2, 2.5 hours?" You guessed.

"Mhm, okay. Start time?" He asks.

"What's with all the questions?" You ask.

"Hey, call it curiosity or just being interested in your life." He smiles.

"Around 7, I start." You cough.

"Okay cool. Well i'll pay, and talk to you later then. I have some shit to do." He says, standing up to walk away.

You knew he was mad. You didn't think he bought your story of doing a course, but what unfortunately was the only thing you could think of to say. You had no other choice. You watch Baekhyun pay the bill before leaving, walking down the street with his hands in his pockets.

You felt guilty for the rest of the day. As much as you tried not to, you couldn't help it. You hated lying to him, but it was only a temporary thing. You'd tell him everything, eventually.

That night you were running late, not starting your show until almost 2 hours after you were supposed too. At 845 sharp, you were dressed and ready to go. You had on a pair of lace, thong panties which made your toys easily accessible to every hole you needed. You wore a lace bra that was see-through, giving a good view of your nipples when they got perky.

You still didn't show your face so you didn't put on any make up. You had your tripod with your phone on it, ready to go live, the toys you were using, already suctioned to the wall at the right heights.

You were excited.

At 9pm on the dot, you begin your live, the viewers flooding in as well as the payments. This was turning out to be the biggest show you'd ever done. You stood in front of your camera, face out of view but perky nipples fully in view as you read some comments.

'I can't wait for this.'

'I want to suck your nipples.'

'I swear I love you shykitten82'

You giggled as you read the last one.

"Shykitten loves you too." You moan in your most sexual voice.

"You're shykitten82?" You hear from behind your phone and ring light. You would know that voice anywhere.

"Baek.." you stutter, pausing to live with an apology, saying there was a technical error.

"Answer me." He growls, walking towards you, his face angry.

"Yes." You admit.

"I knew it." He smirks, not stopping as he reaches you. You back up until your back is against the wall, Baekhyun's body pinning you there. "You saw me watching the videos last night." He states, cocking his head to the side. "Didn't you?"

"Yes." You breathe, Baekhyun dropping his head down, his hot breath covering your neck.

"Did you like it?" He asks. "Did you like watching me stroke my cock while I watched you play with your pussy? Mhm?" He asks.

"Oh god yes." You moan.

"Why didn't you come in and suck me off then?" He asks. "I know you can take a big cock down that throat of yours." He groans.

"I.. i didn't know if you.. wanted.." you murmur.

"You didn't know if I wanted you? Baby, I've wanted you for the last two years." He says, tucking a hair behind your ear. "How could I not?"

Slowly, Baekhyun leans his head closer to yours, making you stand on your tippy toes as his lips touch yours. The kiss is passionate and needy. He doesn’t hesitate to slip his tongue into your mouth, wrapping his hands around your waist, pulling you in closer into him. You wrap your arms around his neck as he lifts you up, allowing you to wrap your legs around his waist.

Baekhyun breaks the kiss, pinning you against the wall harder, to keep you up and free his hands. He tears down the cup of your bra, freeing your breasts. He cups your perky breast, dropping his head down to put your hard nipple in his mouth, sucking. He brings his hand up, rolling your nipple in between his fingers as you throw your head back against the wall with a moan. He takes your breast from his mouth, moving his lips back on yours, immediately sliding his tongue into your mouth.

You can't help but move yourself against his crotch, feeling his growing erection through his jeans as you rub your wet pussy on him.

"Shit." Baekhyun groans, his cock throbbing.

"Let me down." You breathe, needing his cock in your mouth.

You slide off Baekhyun's body, your hands immediately moving to his belt, unbuckling as fast as you could. You pull down his pants and boxers, revealing the thick, veiny cock you knew was in there. Placing your hand on his shaft, you pump his cock a few times, making him throw his head back, letting out some loud moans. You smirk as you open your mouth, taking in as much of him as you could at once, shoving his cock down your throat.

Baekhyun groans at the sight of you taking his cock in your mouth, and the feeling of him going a little down your throat. You look up at him as he starts thrusting his hips, your eyes begin watering as his hands get tangled in your hair while he fucks your mouth, hard.

"Such a good girl." He groans, pulling his cock from your mouth. "Keep it open."

You do as you're told, kneeling there with tears falling from your eyes, spit running down your chin and your mouth wide open, waiting for his cock again.

Baekhyun discards his pants behind him, as well as his shirt before he turns back to you, grabbing a clump of your hair, teasing your mouth with his cock. He gently thrusts his hips, only.giving you the tip to suck on. When you try for more he yanks your head back, only letting you take what he gives you.

With a sinister look on his face, he pulls his cock from your mouth completely before ramming it back inside, as far as he could go, making you gag and choke.

"Good fucking girl." Baekhyun praises you, standing you up, seeing the spit and precut slathered across your face. "What would you like now, baby?" He asks.

"Fuck me in the ass first, please." You beg.

Baekhyun looks surprised, but he will happily stick it in your ass. He grabs your hand, taking you to your desk where he pushes you down, laying you flat with your ass in the air. He lines himself up with your ass before slowly pushing his way in, stretching it down.

“Oh my god" you groan. Your hands gripping the desk, tight. “Fuck daddy" you cry out.

You can hear Baekhyun growl at the name, loving the way it sounds coming from your desperate, needy mouth.

Baekhyun has a tight grip on your hips as he pushes the rest of his cock into your ass, settling for a minute, enjoying the tightness pulsating around him.

A few seconds later, without warning, he pulls out and roughly rams himself back into you. Baekhyun doesn't stop with the hard thrusts, your stomach digging into the edge of the desk, but you didn't care.

"Your fucking ass feels so good baby girl." He huffs, fucking you harder.

He reaches his hand around and down in and in-between your lips, rubbing your clit, making your entire body tighten.

“Oh my god. I fucking love your cock" you cry.

"That's right baby. Don't cum until I tell you." He spits, making you cry out more.

"Please." You beg, your orgasm not far away.

"Don't cum." He spits, taking his hand away from your clit, and taking away your orgasm.

Baekhyun pulls out of your ass, yanking your body off the desk by your hair again, and taking you to the bed, where he pushes you down, laying on your back.

"Be a good girl, and don't cum until I say." He says again. "Got it?"

"Yes." You pant.

"Good." He smiles, pulling you forward, sticking his cock inside your soaking wet pussy. "Shit." He groans, slowly sliding in and out of you.

Without a word, he lays down, almost on top of you, his large hand wrapping around your throat, squeezing as he picks up his pace.

"Nasty fucking girl." He breathes, squeezing harder.

He lets go of your neck, giving you a few seconds to breathe. He reaches his fingers in between your lips again, rubbing your clit fast, building up your orgasm again.

"Tell me when you're going to cum." He groans, rubbing hard.

As soon as those words left his mouth, your orgasm came fast. "Im cumming." You cried. Baekhyun pulled out of you, inserting his long fingers, fucking you hard with those, while also rubbing yojt clit, making you squirt all over him. "Oh my god." You cry out, your body twisting, needing a break.

"You'll do it one more time." Baekhyun smirks, taking his fingers from inside you, inserting his cock again but his other hand still rubbing your clit.

It didn't take long for your overly sensitive clit to build up another orgasm, a smile plastered on his face as you cum all over his fingers and body, again. "So fucking hot." He groans, lifting your legs over his head, pounding the fuck out of you.

You clench your pussy around him, making him cry out in pleasure, his orgasm coming fast out of nowhere. "Shit, shit." He cries out. "I'm gonna cum." He yells, his hot cum spill inside of you, filling you all up.

Baekhyun stays inside of you for a moment, both or you catching your breath. Finally, he pulls out of you, laying next to you as both your chests heave, desperate for air.

"So what now?" He asks.

"I don't know?" You say. You really didn’t know, especially not what he wanted.

"Let's see where this takes us?" He suggests. You laugh, but fully agree to just see where things go.

"Tomorrow though.." he begins, a devilish look on his face.

"Tomorrow I have to do my live." You laugh.

"Can I maybe, join you?" He asks.

"Maybe next time. But tomorrow, you just watch me." You say, excited to see where this new adventure takes you and him.

#exowritersnet #baekhyun smut #byun baekhyun #exo baekhyun #baekhyun #baekhyun fanfic #exo smut #exo #exo fanfic #exo writing #kpop fanfic #kpop scenarios #kpop icons #kpop writing #kpop imagines #kpop

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echo-three-one · 3 years

Text

Whatever It Takes : RELOADED

Augustus' burner phone is the key to locating Nero but the team discovers that it's more than just Nero that's behind all of this. Will the former 141 soldiers find out what Nero is up to? Will Alex rescue Samantha?

Table of Contents

Hello! Ray's Back in his game!

Chapter 16 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

My Damsel in Distress

"Alex"

Task Force 141 - Disbanded

On a plane off to somewhere

General Shepherd.

The name sent Alex's blood boiling from rage. He couldn't believe that a high ranking official would actually betray them and could still run away from it.

It's no secret that he wanted 141 out of the Nero scene. But why? He knew full well that Samantha doesn't have access over the address but he still took her? And he also knew that this little team won't walk away without her safe. Alex wondered what's running inside the snow-caterpillar-stache's little brain. He couldn't even say his name now.

He clenched his fists, feeling the thick leather gloves he wore for battle. It was a devastating day for him. They just bonded for a few moments here and there and now she’s already taken away from him. He couldn’t keep count how many times it happened. It was frustrating.

“So, which safehouse are you bringing us today?” Alex joked with his former CO. Jack looked serious as always, he never gets these kinds of humor.

“Same one in Brazil. It’s the most forgotten and spacious. No one’s going to come looking for us in South America.” Jack replied, looking worriedly at Alex.

“I know when you’re preoccupied Alex. What happened afterward?” Jack turned to him and Alex knew he had to open up. He deserved the truth anyway.

“I uh… I fell for her, Jack. I know I told you that I won’t but it just hit me.”

“Like a fucking brick…” Jack interrupted and chuckled.

“All I can say is that you’ve done a better job than I did when I fell in love. I could still see your determination towards your work. Or maybe because she’s still involved in all of this.” he added, causing Alex to relax his tensed shoulders.

“It’s good to have you back, old man.” Alex shook his hand and smiled. With all the problems around him, it was good to have someone close to him to talk to. He was glad Nero didn't kill him back in the Gulag.

“Yeah. Me too, and it looks like you’ve got yourselves a determined bunch. Especially that guy.” he noted, pointing to Soap who was sitting with France. Alex remembered how the two of them met at the Gulag and in that short span of time Jack was able to read the whole guy’s personality.

“Soap? Yeah, he’s an achiever. Heard he’s top of every obstacle course back at the base.” Alex mused, looking at the two. They were sitting together quietly but Alex felt jealous. He could've been doing that with Samantha right now. Now that she's ready to hear the truth about them.

"Yeah. He's got some fight in him. I'm sure we'll defeat Nero even with this little band right here. And I'll do my best to be of assistance to you." he patted Alex's shoulder and went back to check on Nikolai.

Safehouse 110197, Brazil

Alex remembered that this place was compromised, but then again that was the CIA mole's henchmen that found them here and they're no longer affiliated with Nero. Or he picked this place because no one would think of going back here after being compromised. The Reverse Psychology card. Either way, Alex didn't mind.

As the team slowly scattered around the house and prepared everything, Alex took note of some changes since his last visit. More beds were added and supplies got restocked. Even the bullet cache looked reloaded.

The team loaded off everything they salvaged, or stole, from the 141 and set it all up. Ghost prioritized the tech stuff while the women fixed the bedrooms. Alex offered help but was denied by Gary saying "Your face still hurts so don't over exert yourself, we can do this on our own."

So Alex plopped by the central couch as Ghost untangle the wires, putting them on their respective slots.

"You holding up okay?" The masked man asked as soon as Alex released a deep sigh.

"I'm worried about Samantha." he replied, resting his hands on the back of his head.

"She doesn't have the address, what does Shepherd want from her?" Alex added, his tone raised like a kid complaining.

"I have no idea. But I do have something else. Information on the surprise attack at the 141." Ghost said, as Jack and Price moved toward them and discussed the contents of Augustus' phone.

"That bastard gave away our location." Price cursed.

"So his plan to disband us would be successful." Alex added and Ghost nodded.

"Why get Samantha though? He knows we'll be coming for him." Ghost added and the rest of them speculated their theories.

"Augustus failed to get her so Shepherd did it for him? For what?" Jack noted, reviewing their whole mission for reference.

"Something bigger, I presume." Price spat and everyone fell silent. The rest of the team except for Gary and Maxine gathered for a short briefing. Everyone gave away their take as to why, some of them made sense while some reasons don't add up. And thinking about it was only making them more frustrated.

Everyone looked serious until they inhaled the fresh aroma of dinner from the kitchen. Alex turned and saw Gary and Maxine, smiling while serving up the team's dinner. He could sense something him and Samantha once shared in this place and it looked like the Safe house did it's charm once again.

"Now that's bloody good cookin'" Price announced and everyone laughed. He wasn't the kind of person to say those kinds of things, but he did, and it was all they needed to ease the tension of not knowing what's next.

They never gathered like this before, together, happy and noisy. The two oldies sat on the opposite edges of the round table while Soap, France, Gary and Maxine sat beside each other on the left. Simon and Alex sat on the other side, an empty chair resided beside them.

"Don't worry lad, we'll rescue her." Price muttered and Jack nodded. Alex smiled as they started to eat some food.

"Hold on a minute!" Soap exclaimed causing everyone to halt.

"Thank you Lord for thy blessings which we are about to receive. Amen." he muttered while everyone looked at him.

"Amen!" they all said in unison and wolfed down Gary and Maxine's delicious meal.

"This tastes so good! Just like Mom used to make!" Francine chewed happily. Maxine stared at her supposed to be sister and smiled.

"It does?" she breathed.

"Mmhmm.. I was always jealous that you two were so close together in the kitchen, everything I touch turns to a culinary mess." she frowned and made everyone else laugh. Soap stared at her in amazement.

"You and me both, France." Jack agreed. The gang bonded throughout dinner and enjoyed the company. Alex volunteered on the dishes and France offered to help.

"You think she's going to be fine?" Maxine asked as she checked the contents of the fridge, looking at Alex who looked very focused on the dishes he's cleaning.

"She's been kidnapped a lot of times now. I think she's used to it." Alex attempted to joke, but the tone of his voice was far from kidding.

"Aye, That lassie's a tough one. Don't worry Alex. We'll get her, Shepherd's bound to make a mistake anytime soon." Soap commented from behind him while leaning on the kitchen island.

"I told you I can handle assisting Alex on my own!" France giggled as she wiped the plates dry.

"Aye! I know! Can't a man just enjoy some time with his girlfriend?" he raised his hand mocking surrender. France turned back and crossed her arms.

"Ahem. Girl space Friend. There's a space in between." she scolded and MacTavish just chuckled.

"Whatever you say, Babe." he joked once again as he stepped out of the kitchen.

"Ugh. That guy's so full of himself." France groaned. Alex and Maxine exchanged glances and laughed, causing the female soldier to worry.

"What?" she asked.

"You two look cute together." Maxine chuckled, closed the fridge and walked away.

"We're not together!" France yelled, making sure Maxine would hear it wherever she went.

"We will be soon!" Soap exclaimed from outside, followed by collective laughter from the group of men with him.

Alex groaned and looked at his watch. It's already 3:36 am and he couldn't sleep. He slowly got up and looked around. On the huge bed, Jack and Price slept peacefully as evidenced by the loud snoring. Beside him on the floor was Soap, Roach and an empty spot where Ghost was supposed to sleep. The girls occupied the guest room.

Alex slowly got up and carefully assisted his metal leg, trying not to make noise as he waltzed to the balcony where he suspected Ghost to be.

And he was right, Ghost sat by the railings on the terrace, not a single expression of fear etched on his face. A face Alex saw for the first time.

"Can't sleep?" the former CIA asked. Ghost slowly turned his head and nodded.

"I'm just contemplating…" he muttered, the tone of his voice sound defeated.

"We caught ourselves in a crazy situation, huh?" Alex chuckled trying to make the best of the situation. Ghost didn't seem to like the vote of happiness as he clicked his tongue and sighed.

"I'm into France… but it looked like she's happier with John." he spat. From what Alex heard from Roach, Ghost was not the kind of person to open up. And this was all too surprising for him.

"I… uh…" Alex stammered.

"Look, I'm also sorry… You don't have to reply… I was about to vent to Gary about this but he seemed too preoccupied with Maxine and I didn't want to bother him."

"Look, it's okay. Ghost."

"It's Simon, Simon Riley."

"It's okay Simon. That's life. You win some, you lose some." he consoled. He tried to make it as positive as possible but he was also down in the dumps, like him.

"Thanks for the honesty. I just realized how devastated you must be. I never got to hear your story until Gary told me. It must've been tough losing her over and over again." Gary talked without looking at him.

"It's like I've been cursed to lose her and save her all over again." Alex complained.

"Like Link." Simon announced like it's a great metaphor which Alex didn't get.

"Link?"

"Like from the video game. Where this knight was always out to save her damsel in distress. It's got many different variations but it's always the same name. Generations have passed and Link was always destined to save Zelda." he said in amusement.

"My damsel in distress…" Alex noted and looked up at the stars, wishing that wherever Samantha may be, he hoped she's safe and also thinking of him.

Next Chapter : Delayed Flight

Notification Squad my beloved

@smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @enderio @whimsywispsblog @beemybee @ricinbach

#horRAYfic #whateverittakes #reloaded #alex echo 3 1 #john soap mactavish #john price #gary roach sanderson #simon ghost riley #i miss yall

18 notes · View notes

fanmoose12 · 4 years

Text

Once upon a time, there lived a young woman. She was kind, caring and so very smart. She was also stubborn and careless, as her friends often described her.

Her greatest passion in life was knowledge, and so once upon a time, during a ball at the King’s palace, the woman decided to sneak into the royal library to steal a very important book.

And then, unfortunately, she was caught by a Prince.

“Mike, please.”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“I said no.”

“Pretty, pretty please?” Hange batted her eyelashes, staring at Mike with an endless implore.

Mike shook his head. “Hange, no. I’m sorry, I really want to help, but I can’t. I can get beheaded for this. You will certainly be beheaded.”

“That’s only if I get caught,” Hange answered cheekily. “And if I do, you know I won’t tell anyone that you were involved. So don’t worry about this.”

“I don’t worry about myself,” Mike sighed heavily. “I worry about you, Hans.”

“I’ll be fine,” she rolled her eyes. “No one will see me, I promise.”

“There is no way I can persuade you to change your mind, right? What is so important about that book anyway?”

“I’ve heard it has information on some undiscovered herbs. And if I find them, I can use them to make a better medicine. Just think how many lives I can save!”

“And why can’t you just ask Erwin to get this book for you?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Hange glared at him. “This book contains forbidden knowledge. Erwin doesn’t have a permission to go into that part of the library. Or so he claims.”

“And the best idea you’ve come up with is to sneak inside the palace during the ball to steal that stupid book?”

“Hey, that book is not stupid!” Hange protested. “And my plan is awesome! During the ball, all guards will be patrolling the entrances and the main room. No one will think of guarding the library! I will walk in and out completely unnoticed!”

Mike scratched his chin. Hange’s plan actually sounded well-thought. It also sounded way too easy. And that’s what concerned him the most.

“So what exactly do you need from me?”

Hange beamed. “I only need one thing!” she assured. “Only your invitation to the ball and that’s it! I know that as a guardsman, you’ve received it!”

“I was planning to give it to Nanaba…”

“Well, you can give her Erwin’s invitation,” Hange shrugged. “It’s not like he will invite anyone.”

“Then why can’t you just ask Erwin? Why come to me?”

“Em…” Hange looked to the side, avoiding Mike’s eyes.

“Hange…” he said lowly, glaring at her. “Did you tell Erwin about your plan?”

“Heh,” Hange nervously giggled, fixing the glasses on her face. Still refusing to meet Mike’s gaze.

“Goddamn it,” Mike rubbed his forehead tiredly. “Why didn’t you tell him?”

“You know Erwin!” Hange threw her hands into the air. “He wouldn’t have listened to me! He’d say that my plan is stupid and reckless, and that I should just forget it!”

“And he wouldn’t be wrong,” Mike noted.

Hange scowled at him. “It’s you who are wrong. My plan is good, and it will work. Erwin won’t even know that I was in the palace. Please, Mike, you’re the only one who can help. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

“Fine,” Mike finally conceded his defeat. When Hange looked at him like that, with fire passionately burning inside her eyes, her resolve as strong as steel, he just couldn’t refuse.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Hange jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’re the best friend in the world, Mike!”

“That I am,” he smirked, hugging Hange back. “But no word to Erwin about this.”

“Of course,” Hange agreed.

“And try not to run into Nile. He’ll throw you into a jail the moment he sees you.”

Hange grimaced. “I almost forgot that this asshole will be attending the ball as well.”

“He’s the Captain of the royal guard,” Mike reminded her. “Of course, he’ll be there.”

“Alright, I’ll keep an eye out for him. Well, thanks for your help again,” she fondly smiled at her friend. “But I need to go now!” Hange rose to her tiptoes and swiftly kissed Mike’s cheek. “I’ll see you around!”

Before Mike could say anything, Hange was already gone, probably on her way to run into another trouble.

***

“Have you been in the palace before?” Mike asked, as he, Nanaba and Hange stood in the corner, watching the nobles swirl around the ballroom.

“No, I haven’t,” Hange said, taking a sip from her glass. The corners of her lips slightly lifted, as she swallowed the wine. As much as she liked to bitch about royals, they certainly knew how to pick their alcohol. Maybe, she should have followed in Mike’s footsteps and become a member of the guard, as well.

“Then how are you going to find the library?” Nanaba questioned.

Hange shrugged. “I have never been to the palace. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to find a library.”

“Of course,” Mike shook his head in exasperation. “You stole the palace’s blueprints from Erwin’s study.”

“I didn’t steal,” Hange huffed, offended. “I borrowed. I intend to return them.”

Nanaba giggled, throwing her arm over Hange’s shoulders. “Oh my goodness, you’re something else.”

“That’s a huge understatement,” Mike muttered under his breath.

“So, why the King decided to throw a huge ball now?” Hange asked, ignoring Mike’s words. “Today is not some holiday, right?”

“You don’t know?” Nanaba raised her eyebrow. “Prince Levi is going to become King soon, and King Kenny wants to find a wife for him.”

“Oh,” Hange took a better look at the crowd, gathered in the ballroom. Indeed, most of the guests were women. Young, beautiful and rich, they looked so much different than Hange.

Well, she mused, as she took another sip from her glass, it wasn’t like she came here to seduce the Prince.

“I take it the Prince hasn’t shown up yet,” she noted.

“The King isn’t here either,” Nanaba said.

“And that’s good,” Mike concluded. “That means that as Prince’s advisor, Erwin isn’t present as well. And Nile will surely be accompanying The King.”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t stay here for long, when they enter the ballroom,” Hange nodded. “That’s what I was planning to do anyway. I’m actually waiting for the royal family to enter, so I can quietly sneak out, using the commotion.”

“Be careful,” Nanaba reminded. “I really don’t want to come to your execution.”

“I think my head will look great in the basket,” Hange joked. “Or maybe, they’ll even put it on a stick!”

“I take my words back,” Nanaba gave her a hard gaze. “You’re terrible, and so is your humor.”

“Aw, come on!” Hange laughed. “I know you love me, Nana!”

“Unfortunately,” she rolled her eyes, hiding a fond smile.

“Ladies, get ready,” Mike jerked his head in the direction of the big doors. “The King and the Prince are here.”

And in the next moment, the doors opened and the music stopped. A tall, proud man with a golden crown on his head and a wide grin on his face entered the room.

“That’s King Kenny,” Nanaba whispered in Hange’s ear. “And that’s,” she pointed to a shorter guy, who followed him. “That’s Prince Levi.”

Hange cocked her head, curiously regarding the young man. He had black shiny hair, his skin was almost white as a paper and his eyes were narrow. He regarded his guests with a displeasured, almost annoyed expression.

Hange huffed, as she turned away from that man. All those people traveled through the whole country just so they could meet him, and that’s how he greets them? Why even organize the ball, if you don’t enjoy it?

Truly, she would never understand those royals.

But there was no time to dwell on it now, she had an important job.

“It’s time for me to go,” she whispered to her friends, briefly squeezing their shoulders.

“Good luck,” Nanaba kissed her cheek.

“Don’t get distracted,” Mike advised, softly patting her hair.

Hange saluted to them with a crooked smile, and then disappeared into the crowd, heading to the side doors of the ballroom.

***

Levi lazily regarded the crowd of guests, gathered below him. Nobles from the whole kingdom sent their offspring to the capital, all of them hoping for one thing – that one of their daughters will be lucky enough to become his wife.

It disgusted Levi. Looking at all those young girls, who gazed at him with so much hope and who cared for nothing more than a crown on his head, he felt sick.

“See someone you like?” his uncle whispered into his ear, placing a hard hand onto his shoulder.

“No.” Levi curtly replied, shaking off Kenny’s arm.

“Too bad,” Kenny hummed. “Because if you don’t have at least one dance until midnight comes, I’m picking your fiancé myself.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Levi hissed. “Don’t you think that I should choose my future wife myself?”

“Then fucking choose already, Levi,” Kenny said seriously. “You are almost an adult and I can’t keep organizing those stupid balls for you, if you don’t even talk with those women. Get your ass off that throne and go to them. Talk, drink, dance. You won’t be able to find someone, if you continue watching them from afar.”

“Alright, alright,” Levi rolled his eyes. “I got your point, now leave me alone.”

“Good luck,” his uncle patted his shoulder. Then he granted Levi his wish and went to mingle with the nobles.

“The King decided to share with you some of his wisdom?” Levi’s advisor and his only friend, Erwin, said with an amused smile.

“Something like that,” Levi grumbled, his eyes once again scanning the ballroom. Trying to find a woman, who repelled him the least.

And as he kept looking, Levi noticed a figure, which walked away from the crowd. A woman in an awfully bright green dress separated from the rest of the nobles and headed towards the side door. Levi narrowed his eyes, watching her movements.

“Is something wrong?” Erwin asked. He followed Levi’s gaze, but before he could see that woman, she already disappeared behind the door.

“I need to check something,” Levi said, starting to move. That woman was definitely a thief, and Levi had to stop her. What kind of King he would become, if he lets some strangers rob his palace? “I won’t be gone for too long. Stay here and watch Kenny. If he asks where I am, tell him I went to the bathroom.”

“And where are you really going?” Erwin furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’ll tell you after I’m done,” there was no time to waste, after all. The thief could disappear with her booty any moment.

***

Levi slowly made his way through the palace’s corridors, straining his ears to hear something, except the muffled sounds of music from the ballroom. As he continued to wonder around, entering each room and finding nothing, Levi started to regret coming here all alone. Maybe, he should have taken Erwin with him. Or better yet, he should have asked Erwin’s friend, the guardsman named Mike, to accompany him. Everyone in the palace knew about Mike’s exceptional ability to pick up the faintest of smells. He would have come in handy in this situation.

And then, when Levi almost lost all hope of finding the thief by himself, when he almost turned back to return to the ballroom, he saw it – a faint, flickering ray of light beneath one of the doors. Levi raised his head. He was standing in front of a library.

So that woman decided to steal a book? That was something new.

Carefully, he laid his palm on the door’s handle, trying to open it as quietly as possible. A moment later, he walked inside the room, stopping in the middle and looking around. He was surrounded by rows and rows of bookshelves, but there was no sign of the thief. Levi’s eyes darted from corner to corner, trying to locate the intruder.

He walked further into the room and there, he finally found her. The woman was standing inside the small section of a library, which was separated from the rest of the room by heavy, tall gates.

So she was looking for the forbidden books, huh?

However, the gates didn’t seem to be much of an obstacle to that woman, as she successfully managed to get past them. Now she was facing away from Levi, shifting through book after book.

She was so absorbed in her task that she didn’t even notice Levi’s arrival.

Well, he couldn’t just miss the opportunity to scare the shit out of her, right?

So Levi cleared his throat. “What the fuck are you doing?” he asked and watched with amusement how the woman instantly froze. Her shoulders shook slightly, and Levi almost smirked, as he waited for her to scream in panic.

But she didn’t.

Instead, the woman turned around, an innocent smile on her lips. “I’m sorry,” she said in a sweet, slightly confused voice. “It seems like I’ve turned the wrong corner. It’s not bathroom, is it?”

“Really?” Levi crossed hands on his chest, his cold grey eyes boring into that woman. He took another look at her – she had a long nose, large forehead, thin lips and messy brown hair that reached to her shoulders. There was also a big, round glasses on her face. Fucking four-eyes, Levi thought to himself. “Do you often shit in the library?”

And then, that four-eyes shocked Levi again – she started laughing. Loudly and boisterously, with her head thrown back.

“Alright, alright,” she raised her hands in a placating gesture. “You’ve caught me, I was actually trying to steal a book.”

“You don’t say,” Levi deadpanned.

Four-eyes giggled again, as though not realizing that Levi could say one word and that pretty head of hers would instantly appear on a spike. Not that Levi found her head, or anything about that woman, to be pretty.

“So now what?” four-eyes cocked her head to the side. “Are you going to call the guards?”

Yes, Levi almost said. That was what he had to do. Even if he had caught her before she managed to steal anything, four-eyes still was a thief. And thieves had to be punished. By cutting their hand or their head, it all depended on how much annoying the criminal was. And that woman… she was extremely annoying.

But then Levi got an idea.

“I won’t tell anyone about your sorry attempt, if,” he paused, carefully regarding her. “If you do me a favor.”

“Anything,” four-eyes replied without hesitation.

Levi nodded, satisfied with her eagerness. “I need you to dance with me.”

It was an amazing idea, and Levi mentally congratulated himself on his quick wit. Kenny’s condition was that he had to dance with at least one girl until midnight. And if he dances with four-eyes, who was obviously a commoner, Kenny would never agree to let Levi marry her. And that meant that Levi would get another few months of peace and quiet, without boring tea-parties and lengthy walks through the gardens with annoying foreign princesses.

Yes, excellent idea.

Although, the bespectacled woman obviously didn’t share his opinion.

“You want to dance with me?” she asked, completely dumbfounded.

“Weird. I saw the glasses on your faces, and thought you were blind. But it turns out, you are actually deaf, huh?”

“Oi!” four-eyes glared at him. “I’m not deaf! Or blind! I just don’t understand what you want from me.”

“And you don’t have to,” Levi shrugged. “All you need to do is to have one dance with me, and then you’ll be free to go.”

“You promise?” she looked at him suspiciously.

“I swear.”

“Alright then!” the change in four-eyes was instant. One moment, she was carefully regarding Levi, and in the next, she grabbed his hand with a wide, almost wild grin. “Let’s go and dance, shorty!” she exclaimed, dragging him out of the library.

As he followed that strange woman, Levi couldn’t quite understand one thing. Four-eyes was at the ball, she had to know who he was. But she acted like she didn’t care in the slightest. She behaved around him like he wasn’t a crowned Prince, but a simple commoner.

And, surprisingly, Levi liked that. A lot.

Maybe, this girl wasn’t as annoying as he initially thought.

***

Their hands were still linked, when they entered the ballroom. And as soon as they appeared, all eyes were on them. The guests, who were previously dancing, now stopped, staring at them with unmasked surprise.

“I don’t like all this attention,” four-eyes whispered.

“Don’t mind them,” Levi whispered back, dragging her to the center of the room.

There, he stood and laid his hand on four-eyes’ waist. As he turned to face her, Levi realized that she was taller than him.

Annoying, Levi mentally tsked. Good thing he wasn’t going to actually marry her.

The scowl on his face deepened, as everyone still continued looking at him like he had grown a second head. Even the musicians stopped playing, too shocked by his arrival. Levi sent them a vicious glare, and, thankfully, they got the hint, resuming their work.

The guests started to dance again. Levi and his mysterious companion joined them.

“Is it a good time to tell you that I don’t know how to dance?” four-eyes asked, that infuriating grin still plastered on her lips.

“It’s fine,” Levi grumbled, turning his face away to hide his wince, when she stepped on his toes.

However the discomfort, Levi was somewhat pleased by this fact. He was sure that Kenny was starting to go insane, as he watched them dance. Yes, he couldn’t have found a better dance partner, Levi was sure of it.

“This dress is terrible, by the way,” Levi commented, as he spun her around. “And your hair is awfully messy.”

“Oh, forgive me,” four-eyes snapped. “I couldn’t have known that I’ll be dancing with the Prince himself. If I had, I would have taken more care about my appearance.”

“So you know who I am?” Levi gasped. “Then why do you act like—”

“Like I don’t care?” she cut him off. “That’s exactly why. I don’t care. You may be a Prince and a fucking heir to the throne, but that doesn’t mean you’re in any way better than me.”

Levi didn’t know what to say to this, staring at her with wide eyes like some kind of an idiot. This woman in front of him… however, annoying and infuriating she was, but she amazed him. She was the first one to treat him like this, like he was just a human being, like the crown on his head was nothing more than a piece of useless jewelry.

“What’s your name?” he asked, a little breathlessly.

She smirked, her eyes glinting with mischief. “That’s a secret.”

“That’s unfair!” Levi frowned. “You know my name.”

“Life isn’t always fair, your highness.”

Oh goodness, that four-eyes was so annoying! To call her infuriating – that was definitely an understatement. Levi had never met a person who pissed him off so much. Even his uncle didn’t have that kind of effect on him. Although… Levi couldn’t deny it – she also intrigued him. He wanted to know more about her, to untangle all of her mysteries and enigmas, to find out the meanings of each of her smiles.

“Alright then,” Levi huffed. “How should I call you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t care. It’s totally up to you, your highness.”

“Don’t call me that,” Levi hissed. “My name is Levi. And if you don’t care how I address you, then I’ll be calling…” he trailed off, studying her expression, “then I’ll be calling you four-eyes.”

“Four-eyes?” the woman laughed. It was a loud, completely unladylike sound. Levi liked it.

“Yes,” he nodded, his arm reaching out to touch the side of her face. “Because of those stupid glasses.”

That seemed to catch four-eyes completely off-guard. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. She looked completely ridiculous, and Levi mentally patted himself on a shoulder for surprising her. He imagined it was a rare look for her, and he was glad to wipe off that cocky grin from her face.

However, before he could really relish in this sight, the song ended. Four-eyes took a step back.

“Well, we’ve finished our dance. It’s time for me to go,” and maybe, it was just Levi’s imagination, his stupid wishful thinking, but she seemed reluctant.

“No,” he didn’t mean to sound so desperate.

He also didn’t mean to grab her palm once more, squeezing it tightly in his own.

Four-eyes looked at him in confusion, her gaze darting to their joined hands. “You promised that you’ll let me go after this dance.”

“And I will,” Levi assured her. “But I… I want…” what exactly he wanted? Levi didn’t yet know the answer to this question. But he knew that he didn’t want to let go of her just yet, that he couldn’t say goodbye to her right now.

“I want to have a walk with you. Please, just ten more minutes,” he hastily added, when a hesitant expression appeared on four-eyes’ face. “And then you can go.”

“All of you nobles are so demanding,” four-eyes shook her head. “But if you want it so much, then fine.”

“Thank you,” Levi said sincerely.

Then, ignoring the stares of his guests, Levi led four-eyes out of the ballroom and into the palace’s gardens.

“I have to admit,” a smile bloomed on four-eyes’ lips. It was so beautiful, so sincere and happy that Levi’s breath hitched in his throat. “Your gardens are amazing.”

“You should see them in spring,” Levi said, ignoring the beating of his heart. It was so loud he was sure that four-eyes heard it, too. They still held hands, and Levi caught himself thinking that he didn’t want to let go. Not now, not ever.

“Maybe, I can sneak into your palace then,” four-eyes chuckled.

“You don’t have to,” Levi blurted out without thinking.

“Huh?”

“I mean…” Levi stuttered. “You don’t have to sneak in. You can visit. Anytime you want.”

That same surprised expression returned to four-eyes’ face. But this time, she quickly masked it with a grin. “Are you giving me a royal permission?”

Levi felt a smirk tug on his lips. Four-eyes’ mischief was contagious. “Yeah, something like that.”

They reached a small bench, hidden behind two large trees. Levi sat down on it and four-eyes joined him, sitting so close that her shoulder brushed against his. She raised her head to stare at the sky, her eyes sparkling as bright as the stars above. Levi couldn’t look away.

“I guess asking you about your family will be pointless?” he quietly asked.

Four-eyes shrugged. “I don’t really have a family. I live with a friend.”

“Just a friend?” Levi wondered why he suddenly got so nervous.

“Just a friend,” four-eyes replied with a smile.

“And what do you do? Or is it another secret?”

“Not really,” she said. “I am a scholar. Of sorts.”

“Of sorts?”

“Well, you won’t find my books in any libraries.”

“What do you study then?”

“Herbology.”

“Oh,” Levi breathed. “That’s why you needed that book.”

“Yeah,” four-eyes twirled a stray lock of her hair. “I wanted to find if there are any plants I haven’t discovered yet.”

“You left the book at the library,” Levi remembered. “You should go back and take it.”

“What?” her brows shot up. “You want to give it to me?”

Levi shrugged. “It’s just lying there now, gathering dust. I’m sure it will be more useful in your hands.”

“You know,” four-eyes softly chuckled. “You are very different from the others nobles I’ve met. I have never thought that Princes are so kind.”

Levi stared at her, not sure what to do next. He wanted to say something, to tell four-eyes how wonderful she is, how different from everyone Levi knew. He was still thinking on how to translate his feelings into words, when they’ve heard an unmistakable sound of the dangling armor.

“The guards!” four-eyes immediately shot to her feet. “They can’t see me! I need to go!”

She almost turned around, ready to run, when Levi grabbed her wrist. “Wait!” he was surprised by the desperation in his own voice. “Will we ever meet again?”

Four-eyes smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “If you manage to find me, Levi.”

She winked at him and then ran away.

The sounds of the dangling armor were getting closer. Soon the members of the royal guard reached Levi.

“Your highness,” Nile bowed to him, panting heavily. “We were looking everywhere for you!”

“The King was worried,” Erwin added, coming to stand next to Levi.

“I’m fine,” Levi grumbled. “Just wanted to get some air.”

“The woman who was with you,” Nile said, “Where is she now?”

“Why do you ask?” Levi crossed hands on his chest, regarding him coolly.

“I think I’ve seen her before,” Nile answered. “And I—”

“You’re mistaken,” Erwin cut him off. His usually calm voice now sounded almost angry. Levi cocked his head to the side, watching his advisor. Did he know something Levi didn’t?

“No, Sir Erwin, I’m sure that it was—”

“You. Are. Mistaken.” Erwin repeated. He and Nile glared furiously at each other.

Levi observed their exchange with interest and confusion. Something definitely was up, but he couldn’t outright ask Erwin about it. Not yet, not until Nile was nearby.

“Captain!” the voice of one of Nile’s subordinates interrupted the tense silence. “I think I’ve found something!”

Nile immediately started moving, but Levi was faster. In several quick strides he reached the knight and snatched the object he had found from his hands.

It was glasses, the same glasses that were on four-eyes’ face. Levi stared at them for a long moment, the events of this night replaying in his mind.

“What’s this?” Erwin asked, standing behind his shoulder.

“The glasses!” Nile exclaimed. “They probably slipped from her face, while she was running. Good job, Marlo,” he nodded to his subordinate.

“We don’t know if that’s hers,” Erwin instantly protested. “They could belong to anyone.”

Levi felt like they were going to continue arguing, so he just turned around, heading towards the palace. As he walked through the gardens, he carefully hid the glasses inside his pocket.

***

As soon as Levi entered the ballroom once more, Kenny immediately came to his side.

“So my eyes didn’t betray me?” he asked, elbowing Levi in the side. “You were actually dancing with someone?”

“Maybe, you should go to the healer, old man,” Levi said, “Ask him for a pair of glasses, if your eyesight is so shitty.”

“Glasses?” Kenny guffawed. “Like the ones that girl was wearing?”

Levi gave his uncle an unimpressed look.

“Alright, alright,” Kenny raised his hands in an apologizing manner. “Tell me about her. What is her name? Where is her family from? How much land do they have?”

Levi looked to the side, pointedly ignoring Kenny’s eyes.

“Oh no,” Kenny gasped. “Please don’t tell me that she is some commoner.”

“I won’t,” Levi shook his head. “I don’t really know if she’s a commoner or not. She refused to talk about herself. I don’t even know her name.”

“My goodness,” Kenny closed his eyes and sighed. “Please don’t tell me that you want to marry her.”

“Fine,” Levi agreed. “If you don’t to want to hear it, then I won’t tell you.”

“Levi!” Kenny lamented. “You’re killing me! You’re killing your own uncle!”

“Good,” Levi retorted. “Then die.”

“How could you choose her?” Kenny continued, ignoring his nephew’s cruel words. “Why didn’t you fall in love with some nice girl from a noble family or a rich princess from a faraway kingdom? Why her?”

“I don’t know,” Levi replied simply. “I don’t know why I like her so much, but I do.”

“So what? You don’t even know her name, how are you going to find her?”

“I’ll think of something,” Levi shrugged. “I’m not going to give up so easily.”

“You’re as stubborn as your mother, gods rest her soul,” Kenny’s voice was unusually soft. “Fine, if she is the one you want to marry, then so be it. You’re a big boy, I can’t tell you what to do anymore.”

“Thank you, Kenny. That means a lot.”

Kenny sadly shook his head, his eyes watching the ballroom. “All those pretty ladies came here just for you,” he said quietly. “And you’ve chosen some commoner over them. Poor things.”

“They’ll get over it,” Levi mumbled, remembering four-eyes’ smile and laughter.

He wasn’t regretting his choice in the slightest.

***

The next day, Levi burst in Erwin’s study. He walked up to his desk and slammed his hand onto the hard wood, right next to Erwin’s face.

“You know something, right?” Levi asked, glaring at him.

If Erwin was surprised by his sudden arrival, he didn’t show it. When he raised his face to look at Levi, there was an innocent and slightly confused smile on his lips. “I am your advisor, your highness, it’s my job to know a lot of ‘something’. I’m afraid you need to be more specific.”

“Cut the bullshit!” Levi growled. “You know that girl. The one I’ve danced with.”

The smile didn’t leave Erwin’s face. He sat back in his chair, his posture relaxed. However, his eyes were hard as he watched Levi’s every move. “And what makes you think so?”

“Don’t take me for an idiot,” Levi narrowed his eyes, his scowl deepening. “I’ve seen your face when I’ve shown you those glasses. And I’ve heard how you were trying to protect her from Nile.”

“Excellent observation, your highness,” Erwin spread his hands, admitting his defeat. “But I still don’t understand what you want from me.”

“I want you to tell me about her.”

Erwin’s jaw tightened. “No, your highness. I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

“You’re protecting her,” Levi noted. “Again. Why?”

“Why do people protect anyone?” Erwin lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. “Because they care.”

“So you don’t just know her! You care about her.”

“She’s a friend,” Erwin finally admitted.

“And you won’t tell me about her?” Levi asked, sitting on a chair across from Erwin.

“I won’t.”

“Even if I order you?”

Erwin chuckled. “I’m sorry, your highness. But there are some things that are more important than duty.”

“Shit,” Levi rubbed his forehead. “Not that I actually expected you to tell me anything, but… I’m still disappointed.”

“Well, if you tell me why are you looking for her, then maybe I will help you.”

Levi gave him a flat look. “Why do you think I’m looking for her?”

“I don’t know,” Erwin said. “That’s why I’m asking.”

“Asshole,” Levi muttered. He knew that Erwin was doing this on purpose. But well, Levi really needed his help.

“I want to see her,” Levi felt how a blush immediately appeared on his cheeks. He lowered his head, avoiding Erwin’s amused gaze, and continued. “I want to talk to her, and… get to know her.”

“You…” Erwin stared at him in disbelief. “You like her?”

“Yes,” Levi replied, lowering his head even further.

“And do you… do you want to marry her?”

“Yes,” Levi repeated. “If she accepts, of course.”

“You’re not sure?” Erwin chuckled.

“How can I be sure? Four-eyes is unpredictable as hell.”

Erwin’s chuckle turned into a laugh. “You don’t even know how accurate you are.”

“So?” Levi glanced at him beneath his fringe. “Do you agree to help me?”

“I… will assist you,” Erwin said.

“Alright,” Levi nodded. He wasn’t hoping for anything better, anyway. “Then organize the search.”

“The search?”

“Yes, I’m sure four-eyes lives somewhere nearby.”

“So?” Erwin asked, not exactly following where Levi was going with this.

“So I’m going to visit every house in this goddamn city until I find her.”

“And how will you know that’s her?”

Levi smirked, putting the glasses on Erwin’s desk. “I have this. Whoever those glasses fit should be my wife.”

“Should I spread this message?” Erwin said, already preparing his quill and a paper.

“Yes,” Levi nodded, getting up. “And be ready, Erwin. We’ll start our search tomorrow morning.”

Erwin barely acknowledged his words, as he already started writing his message.

***

Levi was starting to regret his plan. Maybe, he should have asked Erwin harder. Or torture the information out of him, because, as it turned out, there were a lot more young girls in the capital than he thought.

He had spent his entire week, going from door to door, looking for that damned four-eyes. And still, there was no sign of her. Levi had lost count how many women he had seen in the last seven days. But none of them resembled his four-eyes even close. And none of them had eyesight as shitty as hers.

It was hard for him to admit, but he was beginning to lose hope. What if she didn’t actually live in the capital? What if she was from another kingdom? What if she had heard about his search and decided to hide, having no interest in marrying him?

Those questions plagued Levi’s mind every time he visited yet another house and saw another girl with bright hopeful eyes. Another girl, who would try on the glasses and then try to convince him that she could see something through them.

“Let’s visit another house and then call it a day,” Levi announced, his voice weary and quiet.

“As you wish, your highness,” Erwin nodded.

Levi decided not to use a lot of people in this search. He didn’t want to make a lot of fuss out of it, so, as a result, his only companions were Erwin and his friend, guardsman Mike.

The three of them turned the corner and appeared on a small, narrow street. There were only five houses there, and Levi scanned them carefully, trying to decide which house they should visit. As he continued to think, he noticed that Mike and Erwin were strangely nervous. Mike even fidgeted with his sleeve. However, Levi ignored it, too tired to wonder about their weird behavior.

“This one,” Levi pointed to the house in the middle. “Let’s enter this house.”

Beside him, both Erwin and Mike loudly exhaled, although they were holding their breaths for too long. As he glanced at them, Levi saw that both men were smiling ever so slightly.

Levi shook his head, he could ask them about it later.

He came up to the chosen house and loudly knocked on the door.

“It’s his highness, Prince Levi,” Erwin shouted. “Please open your door.”

A young man appeared on the doorstep. He was tall and had light brown hair. Levi almost opened his mouth to apologize for disturbing him, obviously, four-eyes couldn’t live here. Even if there was some girl, who lived here, she was probably married to that man.

Levi didn’t know what possessed him to do it, but he rose to his tiptoes and looked behind the man’s shoulder.

She was standing with her back facing him, but Levi recognized those brown messy locks instantly.

Heart was racing in his chest, as relief and happiness threatened to overwhelm Levi. He wanted to shout out to her, to grip her shoulders tightly, shaking her and asking why the fuck she made everything so complicated. He wanted to look at her face and get lost in her eyes. He wanted to take her in his arms and never let go.

But still, he had to do everything properly.

So Levi bowed his head, trying to keep his composure. “Good sir,” he addressed the man in front of him. “I hate to disturb you, but do you live alone? Or are there any young women living at this house?”

The man was obviously a little confused, his eyes darting from Levi to Erwin and Mike behind him. His gaze stayed on Mike for a little longer, and when Levi glanced up, he saw that Mike was mouthing something to him.

So Mike knew four-eyes as well? Motherfucker, Levi thought annoyingly.

Thankfully, whatever Mike had told him seemed to work, as the man took a step back, allowing them to enter.

“My lady,” Levi said to four-eyes and bowed again, this time with a purpose of hiding a smirk on his face. “Would you be so kind and try those glasses on?” Erwin came closer, handing them to her.

“And why should I do it?” four-eyes asked, and Levi almost growled. If he had any doubts that it was really her, now they were gone. No one annoyed Levi like she did.

“Because I’m a Prince and I say so!” Levi exclaimed, glaring at her.

“Oh really?” four-eyes raised her brows, putting hands on her hips. “So just because you’re a Prince I should do everything you say? If that how it works in your world, your highness?”

Somewhere behind him, Erwin and Mike started laughing, but Levi paid no mind to them. He could get angry at them later.

“Just come here already and take those stupid glasses, so I can finally marry you!”

Four-eyes instantly deflated. Her hands fell limply at her sides and she stared at Levi with utter incomprehension.

“Well, I think we’ll leave you alone for now,” someone awkwardly said. Levi didn’t know who it was, it sounded like Mike’s voice, but he wasn’t sure, he was too busy staring at four-eyes. “Hange, scream, if you need me!”

“Hange?” Levi whispered, taking a tentative, small step towards her. He wanted to take her by the hand, but he wasn’t sure if she wanted the same, so he remained in one place, standing not too far, and not too close to her. “That’s your name?”

Four-ey— no, Hange nodded timidly.

“That’s a stupid name,” Levi slightly smirked, trying to ease the uncomfortably tense atmosphere. “It fits you.”

For a moment, it seemed like Hange wasn’t going to rise up to his rouse. She continued to stare at Levi with wide, unbelieving eyes. But then she shook her head slightly, a mirthless laugh coming out of her throat.

“It is a stupid name,” she rasped, her voice husky. “It is also a commoner’s name.”

“I don’t care,” Levi protested fiercely.

“But you should!” Hange replied just as passionately. “Look at my house, look at my clothes and my face! I’m not rich or pretty, o— or any of those things you Princes need! I’m messy and weird and I know nothing of the court’s etiquette or som—”

“Hange,” Levi took another step forward, until they stood so close their chests touched. He stared deeply into her eyes. “I don’t care.”

She blinked a few times, surprised at their sudden proximity. Levi watched her every move, searching for any sign of her discomfort. If Hange was disturbed by his actions, he was ready to let her go, to walk out of her house and leave her alone. For now, though, she didn’t seem repulsed by him. It filled Levi with hope.

“I don’t care if you’re not pretty like all those girls, or that you have no money or castles,” Levi began, his voice steady and calm despite his wildly beating heart. “I only care about you. Since that night… at the ball… I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I constantly wondered what you were doing or who you were doing it with. I tried to imagine your room or what books you like to read or what you eat for breakfast. I want to know more about you, Hange. I know I’ve said that I want to marry you,” Levi ran a hand through his hair, suddenly flustered. “But I didn’t mean that I want to do it right now. We can spend some time together… hang out and get to know each other.”

“That sounds nice,” a smile suddenly appeared on Hange’s lips. Levi didn’t even realize how much he missed it. “I would like to do that, but… let’s take it slow, alright?”

“Of course,” Levi nodded. “I don’t want you to feel pressured. If there is something that makes you uncomfortable, please tell me immediately.”

Hange’s smile slowly turned into a smirk. “You know,” she drew out. “I was really wrong about you. You’re not nearly as arrogant as I first thought.”

Levi gave her an unimpressed look. “Unfortunately, you’re just as annoying as I expected. But… I like that.”

“And you’re very rude,” Hange winked at him, grinning from ear to ear. “But lucky for you, I like that too.”

“C’mon,” Levi took her by the hand. “Let’s get out of here, or your friends will think that I’ve murdered you or something.”

“Mm,” Hange nodded. “I think Moblit’s been panicking all this time. And Mike is probably two seconds away from breaking down the door.”

“Erwin will stop him,” Levi said, having complete faith in his advisor.

Hange burst out laughing. “You don’t know Erwin like I do. Believe me, if something’s happened to me, he’ll be the first one to run at you with a sword in hand. Well, technically,” she twirled her hair, smiling innocently. “Technically, Moblit will be the first one to do that. But fortunately for you, he doesn’t have a sword.”

“Tch,” Levi scowled. “I’m their Prince and they’re my subjects. Why are they more loyal to you?”

“Because you’re a grumpy and rude monarch,” Hange giggled, ruffling his hair. “And I’m cool and funny!”

“Yeah, I got,” Levi rolled his eyes. “I’m a sore loser, and you are so very awesome. The gods have smiled down upon me, when they decided for us to meet.”

And despite his harsh tone, Levi actually meant it. And judging by Hange’s soft smile and the way she squeezed his hand tighter, she saw right through him.

#that was such a good prompt!!!#i was so excited to write it!!!!#i've written 6k in like one evening? definitely a new record for me #maybe you'll enjoy it too ;)#levihan #levi x hange #levi and hange #levi x hanji #rivahan #levihan fanfiction #levi ackerman #levi snk #hange zoe #hanji zoe #snk fanfiction #shingeki no kyoujin fanfiction #Shingeki no Kyoijin #aot

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origami10 · 4 years

Text

Ajin ch 86 thoughts

Okay, it’s been a little bit! Thoughts and spoilers under the cut! (Warning, this is very long)

Writing this in a word doc because a) I don’t want to risk going on tumblr and b) I don’t want to risk the post getting deleted in the middle [note from the end: this ended up being four pages long in a Word document, so I’m sorry]

Ahhhh, last time buying the digital magazine >< Until... if... Sakurai starts publishing something new...

It seems kind of unfair not to have Ajin be the cover feature if it’s ending DX I guess they’re just starting with a new series, though. Is that how that works? (It has a main character with white hair so I might be interested...) It’s at the beginning of the mag.

Okay, yeah, pages 111-175. Aggghhhh I’ve always put off reading the end of series, but I think this is the first one I’ve been up to date with when it actually ended. Promised Neverland was close.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

ooh completely new characters...?????? whoops overshot the starting page by a few ughhhh it’s definitely the last one... I mean we knew that, but still..... OMG NO IT’S IZUMI AND TANAKA ISN’T IT?? jeez woah I can’t wait to hear other readers’ reactions [edit: yes this was about clover, and she recorded her reaction, which was beautiful ;u;] also omg they’re at least appearing together

omg Sakurai’s author’s note: “It’s very cold, isn’t it. Everyone, I hope you don’t catch a cold.” YOU’RE NOT EVEN GOING TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT’S ENDING?

okay, so at least some time skip Tanaka: New identity, who dis Ooh, Izumi called Tanaka “anta” – the rude/familiar version of ‘you’, rather than the polite one. Honestly I don’t remember but it’s probably what she called him previously. And then turns around and called him anata the next page X’D Okay, I’m glad that not being consistent is okay in Japanese, I always worry/wonder about that ooooh so Tanaka doesn’t have a new identity YET. I wonder how long it’s been?? omg Tosaki prepared it?? Was he thinking that far ahead? Or is he not dead.... ??? okay so he made it ahead of time oh, and Izumi was the one who asked him for it??? Oh wow, Izumi has yet another change of identity. I wonder if she’s back to (omggg I forget D: her original name... Tainaka [hah]) Also another great shot emphasizing their height difference X’) lmaoooo I always love when there manages to be some humor oh, they’re only about three years apart! I wonder if that helps pin down the timeline at all??

Aw, Izumi still respects Tosaki lmao “I’m going home.” “You really have places to be?” Oh I guess that wasn’t quite it- she really was wondering if he was had a living location... so he has been kinda on the run >< [Sakurai. Sakurai, happy ending. There is, right? Right?]

Oh dude I really didn’t think we’d get any resolution on that ship and like, idk if this counts as resolution but it sure looks like it does right now okay I’m really sorry but part of me is like ///we’re using so many of the remaining pages on this/// although oh I guess it’s only been 10 pages... it feels like so many since the chapters have been so short lately...

heyyyyy I mean we kinda knew the U.S. ajin would be back or else what was the point of introducing them Ogura not being dead at the end of the series is extremely impressive (also hopefully Kai :prayer hands: as in I think he survived) so Ogura didn’t tell them he was coming back huh ... with the crew??? :eyes emoji: lmao AND they thought he was dead, I’m cackling oh okay so they had heard he wasn’t dead the close up of Jim’s face reminds of Kai somehow I guess this manga isn’t so long (and the U.S. ajin left enough of an impression) that at least we’re not like WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE “I’ll kill you!!” “Go ahead!!” HA Winnn I think the people in this series need to get their idea of ‘fun’ checked I don’t really understand what he says in the bubble after that... I’ll have to check the English did he like, metaphorically die because he’s out of FKs? I’m not up on my cigarette brands enough to know if that’s an FK or not... I think it’s what the brand turned into...? oh no what’s this omg is it gonna be Kai? Are they all gonna be in there? Kotobuki?? also this is already super sad that not everyone got out of jail free... unless they did and I’ll see... but also it’s realistic so all for the best I guess? i have no idea OH HA I thought it was the juvenile detention center but it’s Takahashi ! o_o not entirely sure I understand what Takahashi says to the guard either at least everyone’s having... fun??? KAI KAI KAI gahhhh this looks exactly like how ch 69 started and agh they’re both in juvie but ahhhhh they’re together?? I’m already scared to read and actually find out –o- oh wait they have dates to get out! and they said plural ‘we’ “That was fast” I feel like that panel represents what this chapter means to me somehow lmao they just want them to be not their problem anymore... that really wraps it up nicely, hilariously, and realistically I’m glad I’m not translating this because there are really a couple lines where I don’t completely understand them “something happened that day” um, yeah WOW I did NOT think we were going to get an answer to whether Kai was an ajin now or not, but I feel like that definitively answers that question????? also that’s terribly funny HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW KEI REVIVED HIM?? -punches a wall- Kai’s whole personality is ‘I don’t really remember that happening’ >_____________________________> Kei... gave Kai a reason to live... because he almost died...? I still kinda have faith in this wrapping up well but GOD Kai is not a character to invest all your emotion into, laughs cryingly Kotobuki: “You literally never make any sense, man.” oh no “ano natsu” GAH

I just realized that this almost certainly means Kai and Kou never met. There isn’t enough keysmashing in the world to express my desire to throw my laptop at a wall right now

In no way shape or form did I ever expect to get closure on Akiyama, even on him getting out of the barrel

Manabe definitely stole whatever it is he’s holding but it was probably some kind of personal effects...? [my powers of prediction suck most of the time] he really looks beat up now ;u; Izukyū-Shimoda... Win, that’s not where you traveled, is it? Maybe I saw it on the Sunday NHK travel program... but it’s also the end of the train line and has ferries going out into the ocean islands. Is he getting away, or going home.......? or to Hirasawa or something...?

well that was an extremely abrupt shift are they really shooting Satou up into space they’re not using him as a test subject are they that sounds like an even more awful idea than I ever could have come up with okay... oh jeez can we please please not have Satou be Captain America you just KNOW he’s going to make trouble again, ,, , , ,!!

oh jeez Eriko! I didn’t expect to see her but it’s nice! it’s really sinking in that that’s all the closure we’re going to get on Kai isn’t it Eriko tsundere as if that needed confirmed okay cool, so she’s out of the hospital (for now)

It does seem appropriate? Likely? That Kei didn’t go home. WE BETTER SEE KOU THIS CHAPTER oh, it’s fall (or winter? Izumi said it was cold...) oh phew

Sakurai said RIP KeiKai shippers I guess.... but they still influenced each other so that’s still shippable even though they’re not together? sigh not everything is so straightforward and I guess it’s good it reflects that

Kei looks happy enough was Kei working a blue collar job with Kou or something? That’s 100% unexpected Kou adorable omg what is his new name gonna be Also ;-; so they’ve giving ajin rights but everyone’s still staying undercover...? or Kou isn’t I guess, that’s sweet oh wow we admit Tosaki’s great I guess last chapter’s statement that they found his remains must have settled whether he’s alive or not ‘iroiro atta na’ YOU THINK also pretty sure that’s Kai’s line from the drama CD what’s with that Kei face??? OMG PERF also that is scarily close to what I wrote in a fic, but also pretty much to be expected crap I guess at least Tanaka and Izumi are with each other? KAI’S MOON JACKET WITH THE SMILIE we really messed up characterizing Kai as the sun haha he’s out he’s out he’s out is he going to meet someone literally zooming out on everyone (like at the end of last chapter too) is kinda messing with me Like they’re still around and doing stuff but we aren’t (don’t get to) watch them anymore Kou saying ‘let’s all meet again’... my heart is warm ;0; LMAO

we can at least rest assured that everyone stayed in character

I can’t I can’t I can’t [note, this was when I thought Kei saying ‘nah’ was the last page]

O MM FRICKING GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

omg Sakurai you’ve done it again bwahahaah a coworker hit him and is like ‘oh cool fine nevermind’ this is WAY more hilarious than I was expecting for this chapter How do I always forget that Ajin has so much comedy not remembering what page number the chapter ends on is nice

Tankobon releases May 7th in Japan Elizaaaaaa Kei’s got a Shion coat

alright uh well I guess that’s good, in a way, we still get to imagine whatever we want

Finishing it hasn’t sunk in yet, I’ve have to get back to you on that one.

#Ajin #Ajin spoilers #ch 86 #ahhhhh

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alpineglowx · 3 years

Text

I'll Do The Same {Din Djarin x OC} Chapter Eleven: Starlight

pairing: din djarin x female oc

warnings: none, except some fluff!

* * * *

“I was young. Eight, nine, I can’t remember exactly. My parents were killed in an explosion trying to hide me from the droids that invaded our village. I almost died that day; I would have if the Watch hadn’t shown up. I became a foundling that day. I was raised by the Watch, and I was happy to be in their care. They had saved me, after all.

“When I was older I joined the Tribe on Nevarro. It’s where I acquired my armor. Once I swore the Creed, it meant I could never take my helmet off again, or have it removed by another. If it was, I would never be allowed to put it back on again... I would cease to be a true Mandalorian. I was trained to be a warrior growing up, and once I was older I joined the Bounty Hunter’s Guild. It paid well, harnessed my training, and gave me something to do.”

Thell blinked slowly, processing his words.

“That was until I was assigned to kill the kid. I didn’t even know he was a child at the time. I knew as soon as I saw him that I couldn’t let him be taken... there are people out there who are risking everything trying to find him... for what, I’m not exactly sure. I just know that he’s more powerful than I understand... and he’s just a kid.

“I had always thought that all Mandalorians followed the Children of the Watch’s beliefs. I believed that all were taught to hide their faces, because our secrecy is our survival. But Bo-Katan took her’s off like it was nothing. They all did, and they told me they were true Mandalorians. I didn’t know until then that I had been raised by the Watch. Bo said it was a cult that broke off from traditional Mandalorian ways.”

“So... no one’s seen your face since you were a kid?”

He dipped his head. “Yes. When I joined the Tribe, I hid myself. My identity, my name... everything about me became a secret. It had to be that way.”

“For you to survive?”

“Yes.”

“Wasn’t it ever lonely?” Thell asked quietly. “The life of a bounty hunter doesn’t sound too glamorous.”

“It isn’t... and it is lonely. I don’t stop with the jobs. Once I finish one, I move on to the next. It’s always been like that. I don’t have time to sit and settle.”

“Hm... So that’s what you’ve been doing since you were young.”

“Yes. I stay primarily in the Outer Rim. Since the Empire fell, there hasn’t been a shortage of bounties.”

“... Don’t take this the wrong way... but if you know the Watch is a cult, and the other Mandalorians take their helmets off, why don’t you?”

“I was raised under the Watch. It’s the only thing I know.” He turned to face her, slowly. “This is the Way.”

“Well, for what’s worth,” Thell said. “You’re the nicest bounty hunter I’ve ever met.”

He chuckled, just the slightest lift of his shoulders that had Thell smiling back at him. She sat up, clasping her arms around her knees as she hugged them to her chest.

“Do you know a lot of Mando’a?” She asked.

“A bit... why?”

Thell shrugged, glancing back at the fire. “Well... I was wondering if you could teach me some.” When she sensed him looking at her, she glanced back over and tilted her head. “My dad was Mandalorian. I know that doesn’t necessarily make me Mandalorian either, but I want to know some of the language. I haven’t... I haven’t felt like I’ve had my own identity before. I guess I could start somewhere... I think we share that.”

The comment had been a risk, but after seeing how he had been over the past week, Thell didn’t expect him to get angry or storm off. In fact, it wasn’t even her first thought.

Because deep down, it was true. They were both orphans now, even the kid sleeping in his arms. They all had childhoods that were essentially stolen from them, raised in places that protected them, but under the surface, were also performing great harm. Din was a result of indoctrination, and Thell had been a slave to a cruel master. Now, as adults, they were free to choose their own paths.

He nodded anyway. “Alright. Ask away.”

Thell blinked. “Oh... um. What’s hello?”

“Su cuy'gar.”

“Say it again,” Thell asked, and he did. She tried her best at repeating it under her breath, but it only made her feel silly with Din watching her.

“Hey!” She laughed. “It’s not like I’ve ever spoken it fluently. Why don’t you give me an easier one?”

Din sighed and relaxed against the rock, the child still tucked peacefully in his arms. “Beskar'gam... can you guess what that is?”

Thell squinted, twisting her lip. “Something to do with Beskar, I’m assuming.”

“Armor,” Din told her.

And they stayed like that, talking quietly beside the fire under the canopy of stars and darkness. For a moment, it felt like they were the only people in the world, including the kid. Din taught her words, phrases, even a small bout of the history of the language, all that he knew. Their conversation slowly turned to ones of their own personal lives, sharing stories and experiences.

Thell kept finding herself smiling at him, even laughing at his dry humor. It was beginning to show itself more and more, and she had to admit that this was her favorite side of him. She had scooted closer, sitting criss crossed beside him while the kid was wrapped in a bundle of blankets just beside Din.

“And I stole it.”

“Really?” Din seemed appalled.

“Yeah,” Thell nodded, smiling proudly to herself. “Darand had a whole shipment of my favorite fruit come in, for himself of course, but I couldn’t deny sneaking myself a few when no one was looking.”

“I’ve never taken you for a thief.”

Thell rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t call myself one. It was probably just one of the most rebellious things I did back on Bespin.”

Her mind suddenly wandered back to her old home, to the neverending show of clouds and stars that was always overhead. Of nights crying herself to sleep after her mother died, of her fingers being rubbed raw from her chores as Darand’s servant.

He must have noticed that she went quiet because he spoke, just softly.

“Thell.”

She blinked, focusing back on his helmet. “Oh. Sorry...”

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He sounded genuinely interested, so Thell straightened. “I want to tell you something, something that happened to me while I lived on Bespin.”

His attention remained fully on her, and in the quiet of their haven on Naboo, Thell felt like he truly cared for her.

“My mom died when I was twelve. At that point, I basically fended for myself in Darand’s mansion. I had a lot of people try to take advantage of me, of my youth, of my immaturity. I was constantly being compared to my mother or being expected to be someone I knew I wasn’t... No one ever really saw me for me. When I was sixteen, I was walking back from the market when I saw a group of my friends. I had known them for a couple of years. We weren’t close or anything, but I was still glad to see them.”

Thell took a deep breath, glancing at the fire.

“Anyways, I went to go talk to them and everything seemed normal for the moment. But... I don’t know why it happened, but they attacked me. I didn’t even have anything on me. No credits, nothing.”

Thell could feel her hands trembling and clasped them together, hoping Din wouldn’t notice.

“They just left me there, in the dust of that alley. They called me names and told me I was useless and kicked me, and I didn’t do anything.... I just let it happen.”

“Why?” Din asked suddenly.

“Because somewhere deep down I felt like they were right,” Thell said, making eye contact with him again. “I felt like because everyone else had been saying those things to me, it must have been true. No one in Darand’s house liked me. No one saw me. I mean, hell, the one guy that I actually liked completely rejected me to my face and walked away like I was nothing!”

Thell leaned back, surprised and suddenly embarrassed by her disclosure. To her relief, Din didn’t seem bothered by it; he barely moved from his position. Taking it as a good sign, and inhaling deeply, Thell continued, lowering her voice.

“My only source of comfort in the world was gone and I didn’t have any else left. I was just a girl in a galaxy that looked at me like I was nothing. That’s why I was so adamant about going with you that night. Because I knew the consequences if I didn’t. I knew I had to speak up for myself. If I didn’t, I could’ve died out there, in the big world. But I always felt safe with you, even when you were standing in the middle of the hallway pointing a blaster at my face.”

To her relief, Din huffed out a laugh. “Not the best of scenarios to feel safe in.”

Thell smirked. “Maybe not. But I came along anyway.”

“I’m glad you did.”

“Really?” Thell perked up.

He dipped his head once. “It’s... nice to have someone to talk to.”

Thell smiled, feeling tears burn at the back of her eyes. “Yeah. Me too.”

“We have that in common, you know.”

“... What?”

“The thing you said... about no one seeing you.”

Thell’s eyebrows twitched, and she scrunched her fingers into her pant leg. “Oh.”

He was still looking back at her, suddenly gently in the firelight. Thell’s heart was full from their conversations and laughter, to his opening up about his own past to chuckling together about old stories. She was immensely grateful, and something about the warmth of the fire and the peace of the field were causing her barriers to fall.

“Thank you for telling me about yourself,” she said quietly. “I know it’s not easy, especially when you don’t normally share it. But thank you anyway.”

He watched her for a long moment before dipping his head softly, and Thell blinked. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, she bent forward, clasping her hand gently around his that rested on his leg. She could feel him flinch under her palm, see how rigid he suddenly went under her touch. His hand was warm, large and secure under her hold.

Thell gulped, and her greatest fear came true when he slowly pulled away from her embrace, turning on his side to face the kid. Her hand dangling, Thell could only feel the need to smack herself, curse at how stupid and overly forward she had been. Why should she have expected it anyway, just because they were connecting over their sob stories and growing closer to reciprocate her feelings?

Frustrated with herself, Thell slowly rolled over on her side, dragging the blanket she had brought with her. She couldn’t face the Mandalorian tonight, not directly. So she let her gaze linger to the rocks casted in an orange glow, and to the darkness of the field beyond.

. . . .

“Wake up.”

Blinking steadily, Thell peered directly into the sun. She put up a hand to shield her eyes right as the Mandalorian moved in front of it, casting her in shadow. His hand was on his hip, one arm holding Grogu. He peered down at her curiously, cocking his head and looking back with dark, endearing eyes.

Thell suddenly remembered the night before, the awkward moment when he had pulled his hand out of her’s. If Din remembered too, he didn’t say anything.

Instead, he bent down, offering her a hand to help her stand.

“We’re going into town.”

Thell blinked, gathering her things from the ground. “Town? I thought we didn’t want to make ourselves known.”

“Not particularly,” Din said. “But we’re low on food. We’ll stay low profile.”

The village in Naboo that Din dragged her to was exquisite. Flowers and garlands of every color hung from pots or strung across archways. Ancient buildings soared above her view, the rounded green tops of settlements reflecting in the sun. Gardens with fountains and shining columns dotted the landscape, causing the air to have a sweet aroma. The corridors they walked through were not crowded, and the only inhabitants Thell saw were local humans called the Naboo. She couldn’t help but admire the elegant, flowing robes and dresses they wore, the ornate styles in which their hair was done.

But Din practically dragged her along, keeping her close as the kid hid in a satchel on his hip. Thell herself had worn a cloak, half covering her face. As for Din, there was only so much that could be done to hide the Mandalorian, so he stuck to sticking out in the crowd.

However, to her greatest relief, no one seemed to be bothered by them. In fact, they were more than friendly to the both of them, even the children offering them garlands of flowers as they entered the city.

But Din was meticulous, only wanting to spend as much time in the city as needed. Thell, on the other hand, wandered past vendors with crafts of things she had never seen, food she had never smelled or tasted.

And music.

The sound caught her ears immediately as Din was paying for a package of fruit. Thell turned, her ears perking up at the glorious sound. She had just taken a step forward when she felt Din’s hand on her elbow, holding her back.

“What is it?”

She looked over her shoulder, smiling widely at him. “Music. Don’t you hear it?”

“I do.”

She tugged at his arm. “Let’s go listen to it.”

“We need to go soon. It’s getting dark.”

Thell shrugged. “I know. But you were the one who said we needed a break. What’s a little pitstop?” When he didn’t move, Thell stuck out her bottom lip. “It’ll only be for a minute, and I promise I won’t drag you away again.”

When he finally nodded, Thell nearly shrieked in excitement as they followed the sound. She had heard music played on Bespin before, but only in moderation, and it had never sounded this beautiful.

They passed through corridors and dim hallways to an arched opening. It let them out onto a small balcony that overlooked a luxurious garden, surely owned by a wealthy family in the city. Thell could only tilt her head back and breath in the sweat air as she relaxed against the railing. The garden was speckled with wild flowers and trees of all varieties, twisting cobblestones paths between streams and pools that glittered like diamonds in the sunlight. Out in the distance, the sun was setting beyond the hills, casting the clouds in orange and pink glows. The railing was lined with vines that twisted around the architecture, spattering the balcony with purple flowers. Just beyond an archway in the garden Thell could spot the group of musicians playing, all holding different, beautiful instruments. A small crowd sat with their back to Thell and Din, and if Thell focused enough, it felt as if they were playing for just them.

She sensed Din moving closer, coming to rest his arms against the railing beside her. Grogu was at her feet, murmuring softly until she bent down to pick him up.

“See that, buddy?” She whispered, pointing in the direction of the musicians. “That’s a band. They’re playing music on instruments. Have you heard music before?”

He was babbling close to her ear, his eyes focused on the band. At a certain high note, his eyes widened and his ears pinned back, and Thell couldn’t help the giggle that rose in her throat. When the music settled again, Thell tucked Grogu into her arms, holding him as she began to slowly rock back and forth on her heels and hummed. Grogu seemed to enjoy it, eyes flickering to her when she pulled away from the railing, humming to the same tune as the musicians and spinning.

Grogu cooed happily, and Thell pressed her forehead to his before kissing his head. She giggled again, holding the baby in her arms and spinning while the music continued.

When she finally stopped spinning, and the music stopped, her hair was frayed and sticking to her face. But Din was looking at her, one arm resting casually against the railing and one leg kicked back. He was admiring her, not even bothering to look away when Thell paused, breathing heavily.

“Do you dance?” She asked, breathless.

She hadn’t known what came over her, except that Grogu was sliding down her arms as Din loomed over her, looking down at her through the helmet while starlight was beginning to glimmer on the Beskar.

“We have to get back. It’s late.”

Her heart sank, but she tried not to show it. “Okay.”

With one last glance at the garden, Thell turned and followed after the Mandalorian.

They returned to the ship a while later, but Thell opted to sleep outside again, under the canopy of starlight. Grogu stayed close by, choosing to sleep beside her as she settled her blanket on the ground. Din prowled the surrounding area, his blaster at his side, before coming up to Thell and Grogu. He peered down at the kid, cocking his head.

“Night, kid,” he said lowly, to which Grogu murmured softly.

Thell smiled down at the kid before glancing back at Din and asking, “How many days before we leave?”

“Two,” he said, and Thell nodded.

“It’s been nice.”

“It has.”

The silence turned to being rather uncomfortable, so Thell shifted, rocking on one knee.

“Well... I’m just going to get some water. Goodnight, Din.”

His voice was soft. “Goodnight.”

She had just returned to her makeshift bed on the ground beside Grogu, canteen in hand, when an object on her pillow caught her attention. Bending down, Thell gingerly picked up the item, rolling it over in her hand. It was one of the purple flowers from the balcony, the one that overlooked the musicians and where she had danced with Grogu. The one where she had desperately wanted to ask Din, too, as well.

“Din, did you-“

She went to look at the Mandalorian, but he was already sleeping on the other side of the fire, arms crossed over her chest. Thell let her eyes wander for a moment before settling down next to Grogu, letting her fingers brush over the petals as she drifted off.

#mandalorian #din djarin #din djarin x oc #grogu #baby yoda #pedro pascal #fanfiction #star wars #angst #fluff #soft #comfort #friends to lovers #romance

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keanureevesisbae · 4 years

Text

The alluring charm of Henry Cavill - Chapter 6

Summary: After their first kiss, Adelaide and Henry prepare for their final challenge.

Henry Cavill x Adelaide Park (ofc)

Wordcount: 3.3k

Warnings: None

Masterlist // Previous chapter //

Henry really needs to think this through.

He meant every single word that he said yesterday to Adelaide, he truly does. He is falling in love with Adelaide and he is falling way too hard. He doesn’t even care about the stupid part of the show anymore, he just wants to get to know her. Right now and even after the show, he only wants to be around her.

However, he also meant the other thing he said to her: she can go home if she feels like that’s for the best. But deep down he doesn’t want her to go.

Not yet.

That entire afternoon they spend kissing, like they were two teenagers. However, by the time they had to go home, it was hard for him to focus and bounce back to their routine they had before their first kiss.

Should or shouldn’t he wrap his arm around her shoulders, push that strand of hair out of her face or use his thumb to wipe away the bits of food of her cheek?

During the night however, those doubts disappeared like snow in the sun. The whole world saw how they slept together after the haunted house incident, why should they stop? While Adelaide was asleep, he would just stare at her, without her looking away as she would turn into a blushing mess.

He never expected her to be like the pro she is, but then he realizes: while she has never been in a relationship before, this woman is the queen of romantic comedies and the one that she starred in, were all pretty healthy relationships, compared to other movies. She knows what she deserves, even more so than he can offer.

Adelaide Park stole his heart and from the looks of it, she has no intentions on ever giving it back, something that he doesn’t mind at all.

Over the course of a few days, they do some challenges and somehow they manage to do pretty okay. For the YouTube page of the Celebrity Project, they even did a segment on how to cook some Korean dishes and the comments underneath that clip were all about the same thing.

Their chemistry.

While they are second place now (the Biebers are behind them and Charlie and Jennifer are way ahead of them), they are the fan favorites and Adelaide continues to impress everyone watching.

Tomorrow they are going on a little camping trip, as part of their final challenge. After that, it’ll all be over. No more camera’s, no more stupid challenges (meaning never eating fried tarantulas anymore) and it’s only him and her together, getting to know one another even better. He even thought about maybe auditioning for her upcoming movie. Playing alongside her, that’s all he wants.

It is hard on Henry, not to kiss her every time he gets the chance. He looks at her as she is making breakfast for them, but his phone rings, disturbing their little moment. He sees it’s his agent Richard and he places his hand on the small of her back. ‘You need me for something?’ he asks.

She looks up and shakes her head. ‘No, please, take it,’ she says. ‘I can manage.’ He earns himself a beautiful smile from Adelaide.

After he excused himself, he walks outside, away from the camera’s. ‘Yes, what do you want?’

‘You are not responding to my texts,’ Richard informs him.

‘I have been busy.’

‘With Adelaide?’

‘What is that supposed to mean?’ Henry asks him annoyed. He really hasn’t got time for this, especially not when he can make breakfast with Adelaide, as part of their morning routine.

‘You’re losing, Henry. You know what that means, right?’ The asshole answers his own rhetorical question. ‘You’re not getting James Bond.’

He doesn’t care about James Bond anymore. But he doesn’t want to come across as a simp. ‘We’re not too far behind. I’ll get her to man up, so we can win this.’ It hurts him to say something like this. He doesn’t want Adelaide to man up. He wants her to stay exactly the way she is.

‘Are you sure?’ Richard asks and he can even hear the cockiness and arrogance in his agent’s voice. ‘Because from the looks of it, she is continuing dragging you down.’

That is not the fucking case. ‘We’ll manage.’

‘And I never knew you were such a good actor. I almost believe you care about her.’

‘Maybe after this I’ll get even more jobs.’ Henry doesn’t mean it and even saying it out loud, pains him. He looks over his shoulder, to see Adelaide placing everything on the table outside. ‘I’ve got to go.’ Without waiting for Richard to answer, he hangs up.

This idiot is making him furious from the inside, completely ruining his good mood. The only thing he wants is to spend his day with Adelaide, without distractions. But when he sits down with her, all his annoyance has disappeared. ‘Just in time,’ she says with a smile.

Normally he would sit across from her, but today he sits right next to her, as they watch over the garden, seeing the birds fly from tree to tree, a stray cat wandering around the yard. ‘What’s the plan for today?’ he asks, as he grabs a cracker from the plate.

‘I think we have… pre… per… pre-pa-ra-tion time for the the final challenge tomorrow.’ She looks a bit annoyed, for her tumbling over her words.

‘Addy,’ he says in a soft voice, causing her to look up. ‘It’s okay, remember that. You are with me.’ He can’t help but push a strand of hair out of her face and as he is doing that, he knows this is what fans comment about, if this shot makes it into the episode. He actually quite enjoys the fact that they are the fan favorites now.

‘Sorry,’ she whispers.

He decides not to continue this conversation, because he knows that it annoys her and makes her insecure. ‘We could go into town, buy some things.’

She nods. ‘Of course. Sounds like fun.’

‘And maybe you and I could go for a swim later this evening.’

‘Why?’

‘That’s fun,’ he chuckles. ‘Maybe you can finally swim by yourself. Just a little bit.’

Adelaide simply smiles at him, before taking a bite of her cracker. ‘Maybe.’ She lets out a sigh, placing her head against his bicep. Despite them wanting to keep whatever they have a bit of a secret, he loves this moment and doesn’t care about the camera’s picking this up. He doesn’t care about eventual comments from the fans. The only thing he cares about is that she feels safe enough to let her guard down around him and be vulnerable like this.

He places his hand on her leg. ‘I saw there is a nice little cafe, maybe we can have something to drink there.’

She nods. ‘Of course.’

They finish up their breakfast and she quickly tells him that she is going to put on some make-up. He doesn’t think that she needs that, but he simply stares after her. When she’s out of his sight, he lets out a deep, slightly frustrated sigh that he had been holding in for a while now.

Richard is really annoying the shit out of him. He means, of course he wasn’t too excited about working with Adelaide in the first place, but that was before he got to know her. That was before she looked at him with those eyes of her, that hid so much, but on the other hand told him a lot. That was before he felt her body against his. That was before she sat on his lap and kissed him.

That afternoon he was falling for her a little more with every kiss that they shared. It just clicked, it matched perfectly. Her petite frame fits right in his arms, like they were made for one another. He loved feeling her soft skin underneath his fingers.

‘Ready?’ Adelaide asks, when she walks back in. She is wearing a blush pink dress, that is pretty tight fitting. He bites his lip as he tries not to gawk at her and nods. She grabs her purse and he holds out his hand. ‘What is it?’

‘Give me your purse,’ he says with a smile. ‘Come on.’

Adelaide rolls her eyes and reluctantly hands him her purse. ‘Looks good on you,’ she chuckles. When they closed the door behind them, they decide not to take the car, but to walk instead. He holds out his arm for her to take. Her hand rests on his under arm, her finger nails grazing over his skin.

Henry can see them walking around like this in the future, her as his girlfriend and he wouldn’t be complaining about that at all.

◎ ◎ ◎

They have bought a few items, like clothing and first aid kit, and now they are actually in a pretty fancy store, because Henry saw something in the window, that he really wants Adelaide to try on. He grabs the dress and a pair of heels that would match. ‘Try this on,’ Henry says to her.

She frowns. ‘Why?’

‘Just to humor me. Pretty please.’

Adelaide simply rolls her eyes, but does walk into the changing room. He hears her softly hum as she gets changed and the camera’s are spread over the store, capturing every moment. ‘You done?’ he asks.

‘Almost,’ she says. ‘But you can open the curtain. Maybe you can even help me zip up.’

He would love that. With the upmost discretion, he opens the curtain, making sure the camera’s can’t pick up on them. ‘Give me kiss,’ he mouths.

‘Why?’ she soundlessly whispers back,

‘Just do it,’ he says without making noise.

She steps into the heels, before leaning in to give him a soft kiss. Her plump and soft lips against his, nearly makes him hum in content. He wishes this moment could last forever, but it’s Adelaide that pulls him back into the real world. ‘Zip me up,’ she tells him, as she turns around.

He zips her up, glancing at her body and with a certain elegance and grace, Adelaide steps out of the changing room, twirling in front of the mirror.

‘You look beautiful,’ he says and quickly closes his mouth, because there is so much he wants to say to her. This tight black dress, shows off all her features that she should flaunt a lot more. The deep neckline, her exposed back and the way it hugs all her curves…

‘You like it?’

‘I don’t just like it, I love it,’ he admits, leaning with his shoulder against the wall.

‘Why did you want me to wear them, mister Cavill?’ she asks him, walking up to him, stopping right in front of him.

‘Just because,’ he mumbles.

‘That’s not a good enough reasoning for me.’

He wonders what it would be like to have an honest to God relationship with the lovely Adelaide Park. She teases him a lot, she uses him as a personal pillow and seems to enjoy his presence. Henry would love it to do this a lot more often: take her out shopping. It doesn’t have to be extravagant like this, even a domestic run through the grocery store would suffice.

Adelaide’s hand grazes over his chest and he quickly places his on hers. ‘I just figured it would look beautiful on you and I was totally right.’

He can see it, she is lost in his eyes for a few seconds. She visibly shakes herself out of her thoughts, before simply rolling her eyes—defense mechanism, pretending that she doesn’t care about his words, it’s adorable, really—and stepping back into the changing room. ‘Addy, give me the heels and dress.’

‘Why?’ he hears from behind the curtain.

‘Because I’m going to buy them for you.’

‘I thought you were my partner, not my sugar daddy.’ She pulls the curtain aside and she is wearing her own dress again, while she is slipping on her own shoes again. ‘You don’t have to.’

‘I do,’ he tells her. ‘Please, let me buy this for you.’

‘It’s expensive,’ Adelaide retorts.

‘Doesn’t matter. I have not one, but two cards with me: think I will be fine.’ He takes the black dress and the heels with him and walks over to the counter, to pay for them.

Henry insists on carrying all the bags for her and when they arrive at the cafe, she slides next to him on the bench, so they can look at the pedestrians walking by. She sits so close to him, that he is afraid that she can hear his raising heartbeat.

‘You look forward to camping with me?’ she asks.

‘I look forward to do anything with you,’ he chuckles, causing her to blush. ‘You’ve ever been camping before?’

That is such a stupid question, he thinks to himself. Probably not, since she told him about her family situation.

She simply shakes her head and from the looks of it, she’s not bothered by his question. ‘You?’

‘As a kid, yeah. But I mostly just followed my dad.’

‘More experience than me,’ she chuckles. She takes a sip of her cappuccino and says: ‘Just have to tell you, that I don’t really like night time.’

‘Why not?’

‘It’s dark,’ Adelaide tells him. ‘And I might be a little bit afraid in the dark, if you hadn’t noticed that already with the haunted house.’

Henry chuckles. ‘A little bit, but don’t you worry about a thing. I’m going to be right there with you. Besides,’ he says, ‘I don’t care about winning.’

‘Sure you do.’

He shakes his head. ‘No, I don’t and don’t fight me on that,’ he jokes, pinching her cheek.

◎ ◎ ◎

‘Henry, could you come in here?’

Adelaide’s voice is coming from the bathroom and he stops in front of the closed door. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asks, worry running through his veins.

‘There is a spider here and I want you to kill it.’

That’s actually quite the relief and it causes Henry to smile. He opens the door, only to discover that she is simply leaning against the wall. Adelaide places her finger on her lips and gestures to close the door. The door clicks shut behind him and she walks over to him. ‘What are you—’ He can’t finish his sentence, because she plants her lips on his, wrapping her arms around his neck. Henry melts against her body, placing his hands on her waist and chuckles. ‘Never knew you could be this sneaky, Addy.’ He lifts her on the counter and gives her another kiss. ‘I missed your lips.’

‘I missed yours too,’ she whispers. ‘I fear that this is because it’s all new and exciting, but I really can’t stop kissing you.’

He never expected her to be this bold, but he also feels like she has been holding back all along. The world is seeing one version of Adelaide Park, while there is an even more complicated one hidden behind a large wall, that she build over the years.

‘I can’t stop either,’ he confesses, leaning in to kiss her again.

She tilts her head when he lets go of her, her thumbs slowly caressing his cheeks. ‘Henry,’ she whispers, ‘I’m worried for tomorrow.’

‘Why is that?’

She simply shrugs. ‘I’m just afraid that I’m going to let you down.’

Richards words flash through his mind for a single second. ‘Don’t be. I don’t care about winning anymore, especially because I won the greatest prize already.’ He buries his face in her nape, to press a delicate kiss on her skin. ‘We’ll see how it goes, okay? But remember, you and I are together every single minute. I’m not leaving you alone, because I know that is what you are worried about.’

Adelaide nods, as she looks a bit caught. ‘Pinky promise?’

He holds out his pink, hooking it behind hers. ‘Pinky promise,’ he whispers, pressing a kiss on her fingers.

‘Now get out, I need to get ready for our swimming session.’ With a wide grin, she pushes him out of the bathroom and he can’t help but laugh. A blush is set on his cheeks and he grabs his own swimming trunks. Adelaide walks out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her and a huge smile on her face.

After he changed into the blue shorts, he walks out of the cottage, towards the pool. Adelaide is already sitting on the edge, her back as straight as a ruler and he sits next to her. ‘Ready?’ he asks.

‘I am.’

He gets in the cold water and places his hands in the dips of her waist. Henry enjoys these swimming moments they share together. Her body is always so close to his and the evening sun making her like an ethereal goddess. It’s such an honor that she trusts him this much. Nowadays they don’t stay near the edge, they actually go a bit more to the middle, so she has more room to move.

Just like usual, she hisses as she hits the water and wraps her arms tightly around his shoulders. She wraps her legs around his hips and that is the first time she actually does this. Not that he is complaining at all.

It’s just that he keeps thinking to himself that he is not a teenager anymore and this shouldn’t make him this excited.

Adelaide manages to actually sort of swim, but he keeps his hand on her stomach, making sure she keeps floating. ‘Don’t let go of me,’ she tells him.

‘I wouldn’t dare.’

She reaches the edge, placing her underarms on it. A chuckle of disbelieve leaves her lips. ‘I sort of did it myself.’

‘I’m so proud of you,’ he says with a smile, standing right next to her. He know he shouldn’t be this obvious, but he can’t stop himself. He places his thick arm right next to hers, his hand covering hers. His other hand is still hidden underwater, but his heavy hand is firmly on her back.

Adelaide looks up and it looks like she doesn’t care about hiding anymore. She leans against his chest, her hot breath and lips against his skin. ‘Thank you,’ she whispers.

It takes him all of his willpower not to lean in and kiss her, because the temptation is nearly killing him. He kissed her a few times today, however it’s not enough. He can’t stop thinking about her, about kissing her non stop and getting to know her even more. Maybe it’s because it’s all new and exciting.

Adelaide starts to shiver a bit and he presses his forehead against her temple. ‘Let’s get out of the pool. It’s becoming colder.’

He gets out and grabs her towel, holding it out her for her, wrapping her up in her large towel. He doesn’t want to let her go, but he keeps thinking to himself that in a matter of a few days, she is all his and the camera’s are finally out.

Adelaide takes a quick hot shower and walks over to the bed all dressed in her pajamas. He quickly gets himself ready, before he steps in the bed with her. He shuts out the lights, wrapping his arm around her upper body, as he presses his chest against her back. ‘Sleep tight,’ he whispers, burying his face in the back of her neck.

‘Good night,’ she says, holding his hand tightly in hers.

It doesn’t take long before he feels her asleep. He doesn’t know how she does it, but she always falls asleep pretty quickly and he has spend enough nights next to her to hear the change of her breathing. She twists and turns in his arms, like she usually does. Adelaide turns around and wraps her arm and leg around him and her face in the crook of his neck. He simply holds her body closely to his, as he feels her lips against his skin.

Henry’s fingers run through her hair and carefully presses a kiss on top of her head. He doesn’t care about winning anymore.

The one thing he cares about, is Adelaide Park.

Taglist: @thelastsock // @jolly-polly // @henrythickcavill // @maan24 // @diegos-butt / @agniavateira // @onlyhenrys // @turkish276 // @summersong69 // @coldmuffinbanditshoe

#henry cavill #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill x oc #the alluring charm of henry cavill #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill fandom #henry cavill x adelaide park #henry cavill x actress

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bluepenguinstories · 3 years

Text

Remoras Full Chapter XLIV: Sting Ray

Exhaustion set in as soon as the form before us faded. Vague shapes of the people around me blurred further until they were just airbrushed silhouettes who swayed from side to side. They were both close to me while also being further away. Miles away, even as they stood in place, next to Sunny and I. Even without exhaustion, I would have felt the same, thanks to the high setting in.

“I can’t believe it’s over...”Sunny muttered as she puffed the last of her joint. I think we were all shaken by the experience, even if none of us were naive enough to believe we were rid of such a monster.

Before we were ready to move on, Remora stepped out in front of us and lowered herself down to one knee.

“Aw, are you about to propose to someone?” Sunny leaned in and teased. Remora looked up and tilted her head.

“...What?” She asked, perpetual confusion. “No. I just...well, I do have a proposition.”

“Well, out with it!” Sunny urged.

Remora lowered her head, then continued:

“I left you all at a time when I suspected we weren’t rid of the one who sought to harm us. Thus, I put you all in danger. For that, I am sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I tried to reassure her, “I don’t think any of us knew Cronus could conjure up a fog like that.”

“Even still...I left and I shouldn’t have. For so long, I wanted a home, some place I felt right in. Maybe this place wasn’t what I would have considered ‘home’ at first, but over time I found you guys to be important to me. Yet I left you all behind, because I was scared. Because I didn’t understand what you all meant to me. So, even though I know I have no right to ask this of you, I will do so anyway: may I be a part of your lives once more? If you refuse, we’ll part ways once we reach the surface and you’ll never have to see me again.”

We all stood in silence. Despite the haze which was taking over, I took the initiative and cleared my throat.

“Oh my. I wasn’t expecting this,” I remarked.

“I’m serious,” Remora replied.

I can’t do serious. Not when I’m starting to feel the buzz kick in.

“I know. It’s just that you should know by now that at least in my eyes, you’ve always got a home here.”

“Yeah, I don’t see why you’d need to worry about something like that,” Sunny added.

“Still,” Remora turned her head away from Sunny and I, “I want to make sure it’s okay with everyone.”

Tigershark stamped her feet as she marched up to Remora, then tapped her on the shoulder.

“I still don’t like that you used to kill people. That’s not a very nice thing to do. But the you that I know is a good person now, so that’s what matters to me. Besides, you’re still one of my precious older sisters!”

“I…” Remora sounded ready to object.

“If you don’t stay, I’m going to be mad, so you have that to think about!” Tigershark roared, hands on her hips.

“I guess I do, huh?” Remora chuckled a humorless chuckle, awkward smile to boot. Afterward, she turned her attention toward Demetria, to which, the rest of us did as well.

“What? Why’s everyone looking at me for?” Demetria stammered, then on the defensive, took a step back and crossed her arms, “what do you need my opinion for? It’s not my decision to make.”

“Everyone means everyone,” Remora told her, insisting on an answer.

“Sure...Yeah. Whatever.”

“Is no one gonna ask me how I feel?” Tigershark jumped up as she asked.

“How do you feel?” Sunny looked down to humor the child, still with enough energy to jump in place.

“Terrible! Thanks! This whole thing has been a nightmare! First, there was that other you,” Tigershark looked over at Remora, “who turned out to be a monster. Then we fight rock monsters. We’re all bleeding and getting hurt. Then we fight another guy who’s a monster and apparently he’s the one who killed my parents? It wasn’t a blizzard, but a scary guy? And now...I’m ready to wake up.”

“Aw, we’re sorry, dear,” Sunny pursed her lip.

“No, I agree, though,” rasped Demetria’s rough voice. Odd, ‘rough’ when I had known her to have more of a mouse-like voice. “What else could it be called other than a nightmare?”

She didn’t speak another word after that, opting instead to hobble her way closer to me, and further from Remora. It was remarkable, that even in my high state, I could notice such subtleties. As we made our worn-out strides out from the room of Cronus’ design, I noticed little pebbles fall into my messy black hair. I ruffled through my hair, trying to shake the flakes out, all while more fell onto my head.

Of course. This part of the tunnel is one of his own design. Once he’s faded away, so too do his illusions.

“Don’t mean to rush any of you all, but I think this place is about to collapse,” I dropped the hint, and being the smartypants that they were, they looked at each other, eyes bulging, then in a panic, began to pick up their pace.

“Demetria, if you find it hard to walk, you can hold onto the side of my suit,” I offered to her. She scowled, though the scowl dropped to a more relaxed frown. As if to say, “fine. If it comes to that, I’ll allow it.”

“Good, and Sunny,” I added, then turned to my wife, my life, “you can do the same with Remora. If either of you need to lean on each other, that’s totally fine,” I gave the thumbs up. Sunny winked.

It was more like a game of hopscotch than a race of peril. Really embarrassing, if I were to be honest. If I had thought to bring a video camera, or even just record them on my phone, I’d look at the footage of us running for our lives and I would laugh. As it stood, I didn’t have that luxury. Any reason to laugh had to be put on hold as my breaths grew short and shallow and the collapsing rocky ground continued to close in behind us. Its pace picking up alongside our own increasing pace.

Other short breaths followed my own as if the other four were a barbershop quartet with stage fright. Hell, with me alongside them, it may as well be a quintet.

Remora and Sunny were both tall ladies. Tigershark was somewhere. Demetria was not a tall lady and I was a Short King (OK. So actually, I am Average Man height. Like 5’7”-(on my good days) 5’9”. Probably). Together we made up a group of people trying to get by with our lives.

I felt a little pull against my arm sleeve. I looked down and saw the orange jelly bean, Tigershark herself, held on tight to my sleeve.

“Hey! Look at you! Good job!” I congratulated her as I tried to work up a smile. If not for myself, then for the kid. She still looked ready to cry. Maybe when we got back to the diner, I could make a cake. If we even still have enough ingredients. Dammit Cronus (because the fog, not because he stole our food, which in an indirect way, he may as well have).

“Fancy weather, innit?” Sunny tried up a Parisian accent.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re underground,” Remora replied in a non-emotive shout, partially muffled by the rumblings around us.

Out the false tunnel and into the original tunnel as we slid our way through as the collapsing illusion. As it shut behind us and became a wall once more, it caused a miniature quake and had us all jump into place before we fell into the ground.

“Worst trampoline I’ve been on in a while,” I remarked as I rubbed my sore bum.

Tigershark was the first to stand back up and made cymbal crashing motions as she danced around with an angry chicken look on her face.

“When I get back, I’m going to bang pots and pans, because I deserve to!” She roared.

“Yeah, can’t argue there,” Sunny murmured. Then her and I laughed.

When we struggled back up and continued walking, I decided to break the ice:

“So, anything you wanna talk about?” I peered at the Demetria beside me. She didn’t say a word.

“Ah, the quiet game. I see,” then I turned to Remora who had a confused look on her face, but also said nothing. “You’re playing too, I see.”

“You’ll have to excuse my Ray of Sunshine, he’s a little high right now,” Sunny waved her hand around in a fanning motion.

“High?” Tigershark looked up. “What’s that mean?”

“He’s ascended,” Sunny then fluttered her hands to the side, like she was breaking out of her cocoon and becoming a beautiful moth fairy.

I tried to keep quiet. I knew I should. There were rules, and if all the world was a stage, then I was a character just as much as anyone else around me. Which meant, there were rules. One of those rules was that I was to stick to the established personality traits of my character. Any deviation was forbidden.

Oh, but much like someone who drank a gallon of tea needed to pee, if we walked through this long tunnel with neither Sunny nor I saying a word, I think I’d be in throbbing pain.

“A word,” Sunny took one for the team. “That’s all I’m going to say, though.”

Wow. Do we share the same mind?

“Thank you, dear,” I told her.

“Any time. Just remember: you’re my wife.”

I chuckled in response.

“I’m your wife, just as you are mine.”

“Wife and Malewife. We’re a gay male and female couple,” Sunny snapped her fingers and remarked.

“That’s what I’m saying!” I exclaimed in agreement.

Collective groans were made from the other three ladies.

Much of our trip back from then on was a blur, other than the fact that at one point, Demetria remarked, “gee, I bet everyone else back at the diner’s wondering what’s taking us so long.”

Although I was still a little outside of my mind, I let out a chuckle.

“Yeah, they’re probably thinking, ‘it can’t possibly take this long just to turn the lights back on’.”

Speaking of lights, as weary as we were, the sight of the bright, yellow glow flooded into view the closer we reached the entrance back into the basement. I looked beside me and saw Tigershark blink several times and rubbing her eyes. The others might have been just as astonished to see light again.

For my part, I was just hoping I had a spare pair of glasses somewhere once we got back up to the surface.

We walked through and everyone’s astonishment was voiced through low “ooh”, “aah,” and “wow.” While they all looked around, I couldn’t help but notice little red streaks on the otherwise clean floor.

No doubt from the fight that went on.

Everyone else made it up to the ladder before me. When it was my turn, I noticed some red marks upon the bars of the ladder. Whether blood or rust, I couldn’t tell. I just hoped they were dry enough that none of the others had gotten it on them. Even without getting it on them, one thing was certain: all five of us were due for a bath (but not at the same time).

Once I made my way up into the kitchen, I closed the hatch behind me. Sunny dropped to the floor, a wide grin on her face, then shot her arms up.

“Whee! Let’s do that again!” She cheered.

“NO!” The rest of us shouted in unison. It couldn’t be helped, of course. She was still riding that high, even if I was starting to come down.

I half-expected for someone, or a few someones, to bolt through the kitchen door and check in on us. When that didn’t come, I expected to hear commotion from the dining hall. Then, when that didn’t come, I just had to investigate. My heart beat like a dog would wag their tail at the prospect of a treat. Though replace ‘treat’ with ‘mystery’.

So I strolled, or strode, whichever suited my fancy, out into the dining hall where I saw the crowd...that wasn’t there. Yes, despite my poor vision, I still couldn’t believe my eyes at the emptiness of it all. There were still plates and messes on each table, signs that life had been there. But where they had gone, that was still a mystery.

Everyone else came out from the kitchen soon after me. Behind me, I heard Tigershark ask, “where did everybody go?”

Yes. Good question. Just how long were we gone? What could have happened in the meantime? Were they all hurt?

“That’s a good question, pipsqueak,” Demetria replied.

“Hey! Who you callin’ pipsqueak? In a few years, I’ll be taller than you!” Tigershark shouted back with ferocious fury.

“Man, I love you all,” Sunny drawled out, an adorable smile spread across her face.

“Uh. OK? Thanks?” Remora didn’t know how to respond.

Two things caught my attention: one, though outside looked fuzzy and dark, it did not look foggy. Which could only mean that the fog was lifted. The other thing I noticed were a few sheets of paper spread out on a nearby table. Ignoring their banter, I wandered over to the table. Each sheet had our names written on one side, with a series of text on the back. Although I couldn’t make out the individual words of our names, I could tell who was who by the individual letters shown and the vague shapes that made them up.

I chuckled at the absurdity of not even being able to read a simple letter.

I hope I have a spare pair of glasses somewhere.

“Hey guys,” I motioned for the others. It was my own little way of obfuscating from the fact that I couldn’t see what was written, “come check this out.”

The others scrambled on over and noticed the sheets of paper on the table, just as I had.

“They’re...letters?” Demetria blinked, astonished, and just a slight tinge of confusion.

“Man, oh man! This is too much!” Sunny held one hand over her face while the other held the sheet of paper, “she spelled it ‘hoomin’! Like Moomin, but with an ‘H’!”

“It’s Astraea!” Tigershark gasped as she read her letter, “she said that everyone else went to the hospital and she followed them there! Apparently there’s someone in particular she wants to see.”

“What does yours say, Demetria?” I turned to her as she parsed through the page. Before she answered, she folded up the paper and put it in her pocket.

“Nothing important,” she answered in a dry manner.

“Same here,” Remora added with a shiver and a shifty look.

Nervous, much?

“In that case,” I smiled, still trying to save face, “I’ll keep my letter private as well. They are meant for the individual, after all.”

“Aw, I wanted to know what yours said,” Tigershark whined. I pat her head and chuckled.

“Maybe I’ll tell you about it later,” I suggested as a means to reassure her.

“...Heh...Hoomin,” Sunny mumured to herself and laughed a howling laughter.

Now that I think about it, she probably has less of a tolerance to that kind of stuff than I do.

I strolled over to each table and picked up each plate, ready to take it to the kitchen. As I held a stack in hand, I turned to the other four.

“Now, we’ve all had a long day, so how about we all relax? Go ahead, sit down, I’ll get you guys something to drink.

“I’ll take vodka,” Remora requested whilst lowering herself down to the booth next to her.

“What’s vodka?” Tigershark asked.

“Shitty alcohol,” Sunny answered, not seeming to care about the swear, “I’ll have whiskey, take it or leave it.”

“Both of those sound gross!” Tigershark stuck her tongue out. “I’ll just have some hot cocoa.”

“Whip or no whip?” I asked.

“Lots and lots of whip cream!” She roared and cheered, fist pumping into the air.

“How about you, Demetria?” I turned my attention to her and watched as she slumped over in her seat, next to Sunny, and sulked at the table.

“Coffee,” she stated, which I found interesting, as I never pictured her to be a coffee drinker. Then again, I didn’t know what kind of drinks she tended to like.

“And how do you take your coffee?”

“Orally.”

Her response left me no choice but to make my expression as dull as hers as I teased, “oh, really? And here I thought you took yours rectally.”

“Wha...no. I mean, black, I guess.”

Sunny cackled into a thunderous laughter and slammed her fist on the table, which shook the poor thing every which way.

Sheesh. It’s like I’ve got my own laugh track. Thanks hun.

As I worked my magic in the kitchen, washing dishes and preparing drinks, I thought it over and decided that what Sunny really needed was water. As for everyone else, it went over just fine: I didn’t have to venture back down into the basement to get some vodka (thank goodness) as there was a bottle in the fridge. After I poured a shot, I filled another shot glass with water from the tap. Next, I brewed a pot of coffee, boiled a kettle of water on the stove, and as I waited for each one to heat up and fill up, I took off to the back of the diner to search for a pair of glasses.

There were none in my desk drawer. Next, I ascended to the upstairs bedroom. Sure enough, on the night stand, there was a box for glasses. I opened it up, half-fearing that it would be empty, but my heart fluttered upon seeing that there was indeed a pair for me.

Thank my lucky stars. Feels like things are finally starting to turn around.

As soon as I put them on, the world opened up to me.

“I can see clearly now the rain is gone,” I hummed and made my way back down.

Before I went back into the kitchen to prepare the final three drinks, I unfolded the paper and read its contents. For the sake of posterity, I will transcribe it without so many spelling errors (trust me, just about every word was misspelled):

Dear Ray,

Thank you a lot for letting me be a waitress. I appreciate what you taught me about humanity, just as much as I do with the things Sunny and Tigershark have taught me. Tigershark is my friend, you know. Also, I liked asking people what food they wanted to eat. I learned so many names of foods.

I think we’re a lot alike, because we’re both curious about things. It’s good, I think, because there’s always more to learn. While I didn’t understand what was going on at the time, I know a lot of people weren’t doing too good and you looked a bit sad. But I think even if bad things happen, you’re still very nice. I also want to be very nice! But I think I like tricking people too. That’s fun (Tigershark taught me about tricking).

As for how I managed to write all this after everyone went to the hospital it’s because I can write fast (Tigershark taught me to read and write). I’m very fast! Maybe not running but I can do things fast!

Also everyone left because someone called the doctor and the doctor mobile picked them up. I was in my room but I heard that someone fell over. It sounded interesting, so I’m going to walk to the hospital now. I might come back, but it also might take me a lot of days. I can’t always tell where I’m going.

P.S. I think you would like Animal Crossing. Tom Nook is kind of like you. He’s a nice man and maybe human.

I smiled and folded the paper back up, placed it into my desk, and strolled back into the kitchen. There were still some missing pieces, some gaps that needed to be filled in, but I’m sure they would be explained in time.

Actually, I’m growing a little impatient on that front.

After pouring in the hot cocoa mix into the boiling water, I stirred it. Then I filled it sky high with whipped cream. The coffee was easy, since it was all automatic. Really, needed no explanation. As for my tea, I chose a nice cup of ceylon and jasmine tea, and let it steep. While it sat, I decided to call up Dr. Cole-Slaw. To my surprise, she answered right away.

“Ray! You better have a good explanation for all this!” She huffed into the phone, clear annoyance rang through her voice.

“I’m sorry, Shir – Doctor, but I was hoping you could give me one. I was away while everything went down. One moment, I was attending to business in the basement, the next, all my patrons are gone.”

“Are you aware what ‘DOA’ means?” She asked, a little ‘tsk tsk’ in her tone.

“Yeah. Of course. I’ve been a wanted man in a few cities.” That was a joke. I wasn’t as popular as some might have believed me to be.

“Dead on arrival, smartass. One of your friends, Xena Warrior Princess over here, called me to go retrieve a dead body. Is this some kind of practical joke?”

Dead body? What?

“Whoa, whoa, slow down. I don’t know anything about that. Also, Xena Warrior Princess?”

“I dunno, purple sword lady.”

“Wendy. I don’t think she’d appreciate being called that.”

“Oh, no, she does. I ran it by her first. She said it’s quite amusing. Anyway, care to explain?”

Still the same Shirley, I see. Still...this is concerning.

“Trust me, I’d love to. I’ve buried a couple of people outside of the diner, but there shouldn’t be any corpses inside.”

“Excuse me? There’s more? Have you gone off the deep end, Ray? I know you’ve done some questionable stuff, but I didn’t know you had it in you to be an ax murderer.”

“It’s nothing like that. Look,” I slid back from the counter, “I’ll tell you what I’ve been dealing with for the past year: there’s been a terrible fog, maybe you’ve seen it? Maybe not. But there’s been monsters in the fog attacking people and I’ve been sheltering as many people as I could, trying to keep everyone alive on what limited supplies we had.”

“No offense, but I’ve got a hard time believing that.”

“Maybe it’s better that you don’t. I’d rather it wasn’t real, myself. But as you could see, it’s been lifted. For equally supernatural reasons, I presume.”

I got to thinking about all that I’ve endured the past year. All that we’ve endured. How all that time, I never bothered to learn the names of the people I sheltered. It was just as Aurora said. Perhaps if I had gotten to know everyone, I would have figured out Sister Cecilia’s identity sooner. I would have figured out Captain Aca...okay, that one was obvious. But still, I wished that I had a stronger bond with the others. Maybe then I might have had higher spirits.

“Say, do you know who it was you picked up?”

“No, sorry. But your cohort seems to have an idea. I’ll put her on the line. She’s agreed to mop the hospital floors while she’s here. I figure it’s a fair enough deal since I ended up hauling off a whole crowd of people.”

“Great. Do it.”

“Oh, and by the way, our little Jane Doe’s still breathing. For now, anyway. She’s in, uh, not good condition, but it’s something.”

“What a relief. Wait, I thought you said dead on arrival?”

“Yeah. But I didn’t say arrival to the hospital. I’m a genius, I know,” she gloated.

“OK, let me hear from Wendy.”

She passed the phone on over, then I heard Wendy’s raspy yet sly voice.

“Hey, Ray, guess who I’m with at the hospital right now?” She posed the question.

“Are you going to tell me?” I wasn’t really in the mood for guessing, nor did I have enough information on hand to do so. “I know they’re a woman, that’s about it.”

“Hmm…” she lingered on that last ‘m’, “have you taken a look in the mirror since you got back? I do take it you’re back, and not just calling me from underground.”

“No, I haven’t. I should get on that, but I’m busy preparing drinks for the other four.”

“You sure sound exhausted, that’s for sure. I bet you look just as bad as you sound right now,” she suggested.

“Probably. I just sound this way because I’m coming down from a high, but we all need our rest. Now, since you’re not going to tell me about this mystery patient, will you at least tell me what went on while I was away?”

“Aw, you’re no fun. But sure. Basically about a minute or two after you went down, the lights flickered back on and we were all excited. I told everyone to temper their excitement, as we still don’t know what to expect. What a statement that turned out to be, as maybe a little more than an hour later, we hear someone coming back up. Some of us got all giddy, thinking it was you guys, but instead walks out this woman none of us recognized. Well, some of us thought we did, but I’m not gonna name names. She fell down once she saw us, but not before saying something, I think it was, ‘that’s all, folks’ in a weak voice.”

“Someone besides us was down in the basement?” My heart skipped a beat. I knew there was that impostor, and later on Cronus, but I didn’t think there would be anyone else. “Did she sneak down there and hide or something?”

“Couldn’t tell ya. I’m as lost as you are on that front. But I’ll say this: upon seeing her face, I flew into a panic. I shouted for someone to call a doctor. Others thought it was ridiculous, but then we saw that the fog was gone and that was when we all wanted a doctor. Someone had the number to your good friend, Cole-Slaw, and she was happy to come out and get us all.”

Something tells me she wasn’t very happy at all, but let’s put that aside.

“Speaking of coleslaw, what’s the deal with it? You put mayonnaise on radishes and lettuce or something and for some reason that’s supposed to taste good?”

“Any other time, I’d love to talk about what constitutes as food, but I’m just a little beat.”

“I get you. I think even I would be, given what you all must have gone through. But hey, now we’ve got clear skies. That’s something to celebrate, no?”

“Yeah. Maybe in the morning I can get a good view outside. As it is, it’s just a little too dark for my liking. But anyway, I should go,” but before I did, I got to thinking, “oh, and hey: if this mystery patient manages to make it, I’d like to meet her in person. Maybe you can invite her back to the diner and Tigershark and I will treat her to a nice meal. How’s that sound?”

“Sure thing, Ray. We’ll see.”

There was a great list of things to look forward to, and that just became one of them. But anyway, I needed to deliver everyone their drinks before the hot drinks turn cold and the cold drinks turn warm. So once I ended the call, I brought out each of the drinks on a platter and strode out into the dining hall.

“Here you go, ladies,” I set down each drink onto the table. Sunny, without hesitation, downed her shot.

“Damn,” she wiped her mouth, “that’s the best whiskey I’ve ever had.”

I suppose the irony may have been that it would have been easier to mistake water for vodka than it would be whiskey, but since she was still riding a high, perhaps it was just a little hard to tell.

Tigershark sipped on her hot cocoa, a little whipped cream mustache forming above her lips.

I, meanwhile, too my seat at the booth just behind them. It wasn’t a matter of isolating myself from the others. No, I just liked to listen in as an outsider while I took comfort in the solitude.

“It really has been over a year. How old are you now, Demetria?” Remora asked, working up her best kind voice.

“Twenty-four,” Demetria replied and shrugged whilst sipping her coffee.

“Aw, man! That means I missed your birthday!” Remora then complained.

“Uh, yeah? That’s what being away for over a year means.”

“Still, it’s good to see you,” Remora smiled and continued to try to lighten the mood.

“It is? Why?”

“Because I’ve missed you.”

“No you didn’t. You just missed the attention.”

“That’s not true…” Her voice turned desperate, before lowering it.

“Sorry. That was maybe too harsh of me,” Demetria looked away as she mentioned.

“No, you’re right.”

Demetria got up from her seat, took the coffee cup, chugged it down, then announced, “I’m going to my room.”

She walked off a couple of paces, then turned back.

“Don’t worry, Ray. I’ll wash out my mug before I go.”

She walked a couple of paces once again, almost to the kitchen, then turned back once more.

“Actually, I’m going to take a shower, then I’ll go to my room.”

I couldn’t help myself, perhaps a tad insensitive of me, but I cupped one hand over my mouth and called out to her.

“Actually, you’ll go through the hallway, then take a shower, then go to your room!”

She twitched, it seeming to strike a nerve, but then just said, “yeah…”

I then saw Tigershark, still with her whipped cream mustache, look over with an incredulous face, then turn back to Remora.

“What was that for?! We just got back and she’s already got an attitude?” Tigershark thew her hands up.

“It’s because of me,” Remora turned somber and stared down as she explained, “the whole reason why she left last time, and why I left.”

“Why?”

“Because I told her that I didn’t, and couldn’t care about her. Or anyone. I really thought that at the time, too. She didn’t take it well, which...understandably so. So I tried to bargain with her, and...that made it worse, because I panicked and I wasn’t feeling well, just recovering from being sick, which probably contributed to the whole thing. So...I can’t blame her for being wary around me.”

“Well, that’s stupid! You care about us, right?” Tigershark was incensed and poised for a rant.

“Yeah, but it took a long time to figure that out.”

Interesting. I never thought I’d hear her say that. Perhaps in her absence she went through a long journey of self-discovery and probably has many stories to tell of her adventures.

“So? Just tell her that.”

“It’s not that simple…”

“Yeah it is. You just told me.”

“I’m sure she’d want me to prove it, and I don’t know how to.”

“That’s dumb too! And I’m sure you missed us, too! Also, what’s wrong with wanting attention? Who says you can’t miss people and want attention at the same time? Attention is good.”

“You don’t get it. You’re just a kid.”

“So what? What’s that got to do with anything? I’ll have you know, I’m eleven now!”

“Wow. I’m gone for over a year and all of a sudden everyone’s a year older,” Remora muttered. It was almost like she was making an observation, but to anyone else, it may have come off as sarcasm.

She looked out the window, listless, then peered her head over to where I was; to be honest, I was a little caught off guard that she would notice me, given that I was just there sipping my tea and listening in to everyone else.

“I’m going to my room, too, and, uh, Ray?” Remora announced.

“Yes?” I addressed her.

“Your wife’s asleep at the table.”

“Ah. Thank you. I suppose it’s time we get some rest. In the morning I’ll make us all a large meal, how does that sound?” I offered.

“I can do it! You’re still hurt pretty bad!” Tigershark shot her hand up.

“Very well. I’ll leave it to you, then,” I gave a light chuckle as I got up from my seat, took one last sip of my tea, and led Sunny up, first by tapping on her back.

“Come on, hun. It’s time we got ourselves to bed,” I coaxed as I helped lift her up.

“Boobas…” She murmured in a half-asleep daze. She must have been dreaming about bubble tea or something.

“Yes, dear. I understand quite well.”

We stumbled our way to the back, then up the stairs to our room. She rubbed her eyes a bit, but rather than start to wake up, as soon as we were next to our bed, she collapsed right into it. I followed suit.

The following morning, I fumbled getting my glasses back on, surprised that I had slept without taking them off, and my head almost crushing them while asleep. Once I had conquered that battle, it was time to...well, check the time. My phone read 5:31 AM, and as early as it was, I accepted it and forced myself out of bed.

As I got up, I felt the intense soreness of yesterday’s struggle. What a terrible and aching physical reminder it was. It got worse when I went down and took a shower; the hot water stung against the wounds on my sides and on my face. After getting myself dressed, I headed to my desk in the middle of the hallway and sat down. Yes, it may have been wiser to have brewed another cup of tea, or perhaps, dare I say, coffee, but I just wanted to sit and think for a little while.

What a day yesterday. For better or worse, we all made it back, and the diner is once again empty save for the five of us. While I do hope to get some customers sooner or later, I must say that I enjoy the quiet. We’ve all earned it. Now, even if some things may be different in terms of everyone’s personalities, if we are getting back to business as usual, then I ought to make a phone call.

The downside is that based on our timezones, Cybele would probably still be asleep.

I know. I’ll just send a text.

Me: It’s safe now. You can return if you’d like.

I set my phone down on the table, then almost jumped out of my seat upon seeing Remora seated across from me. Her serious expression made whatever she was there to say seem urgent.

“So, I just had a dream that we were all on a battlefield and then Demetria died and I got sad, so there’s no denying it now: I’ve got a crush on her.”

I matched her dull expression with my own.

“Remora, it’s like 6 AM,” I informed her.

“Is it? I don’t have my phone with me, so I can’t really tell the time. Anyway, I don’t see what that has to do with the dream I had, so quit beating around the bush and tell me what you think.”

Is this really all I’m good for?

“It doesn’t really sound like a crush,” I shrugged, figuring she wouldn’t give up staring until I gave her an answer, “it just sounds normal. You’d be sad if I died, wouldn’t you?”

She paused. Didn’t say a word. I let it linger for a few seconds longer, then I couldn’t help myself.

“What?! No answer?!” I spat out.

“I’m still tired,” she replied, “I have to think about this.”

I was still just a little baffled, but I let it go.

“Even if it turns out you haven’t developed a crush, like you theorize, I can still tell you’ve discovered some things about yourself, so I commend you for that. Maybe later we can discuss some of the things you’ve learned.”

“Anyway, I’m pretty sure it’s a crush,” Remora dismissed, as if she didn’t even listen to what I had to say, “but I’m going to deny it, because I already know a relationship wouldn’t work out.”

“I agree. As it stands, I don’t think either of you are ready for such things. Besides, I know how she used to be, but do you think that’s something she wants now?”

“What? That’s not what you’re supposed to say. You’re supposed to say, ‘go for it, what do you have to lose? You only live once, et cetera’.”

“I’m agreeing with something you said. Isn’t that good enough?”

“We’re friends, right, Ray?”

I put my palm over my head.

“Yes, Remora. We’re friends.”

“So you’ll tell me anything I wanna hear, right?” She closed her eyes, crossed her arms, and smiled.

“That’s not how that works.”

“I know, but can’t you just pretend?” Her smile lowered and she pleaded.

“OK. What do you want to hear?” I humored her.

She just slammed her head against the desk and groaned.

“Ugh...I don’t know. What should I do?”

“First you should get your head off my desk,” I instructed. She didn’t, at least not at first.

“Ugh...you’re so mean, Ray,” she whined before lifting her head.

“Now, you should go back to bed. You clearly need some rest.”

“Yeah. You’re probably right,” she blinked, her face back to the blank expression I was used to seeing on her. “What are you doing up so early, anyway?”

“I’m just sitting and thinking. I like to do it sometimes.”

“Wow. That’s such an old man thing to do. You’re not that old yet, you know,” she pointed out.

“Don’t you ever do that?”

“Only when I need to.”

“Well, then, I think you need to do some of that after you’ve gotten a little more rest. You said yourself after we got back last night that the reason she’s acting the way she is around you is because of what happened before you left over a year ago. So don’t you think that should be addressed first before any prospect of a relationship?”

“Hm. Yeah. OK. Back to bed I go.”

A few hours later, Tigershark had made pancakes with strawberry syrup for everyone. She, Sunny, and I sat together while Remora and Demetria sat alone in booths at opposite ends of the diner silence.

“So, I was thinking, hun, how we don’t really charge people for meals most of the time,” Sunny brought up in between bites of the fluffy pancakes.

“Yeah. We used to a few years ago, but there’s been many changes since then,” I replied.

“Right. But you don’t mind that we don’t charge, do you?” She pondered.

“I suppose not.”

“So I’ve got a couple of ideas: we could turn this place into a hotel and start charging. If we hire more staff, then it shouldn’t be all that stressful managing all those people. Yeah, we had to house many people already and it was awful because of the circumstances, but if people can go in and out, then it should be fine.”

“It would cost a lot of money to expand this space in order to accommodate,” I pointed out.

“Right. My other idea is: why do we need to be a business at all? Like, sure, the front half is pretty much designed like a business, but there’s nothing saying we have to. We get by just fine on our own as it is. So maybe we could provide free meals to anyone who comes in and advertise that.”

“So basically what we’ve already been doing, but announce it?”

“Yeah!”

“I won’t rule it out. Not sure if I really want the attention, but it’s an option.”

“What do you think, Tigershark?” Sunny turned to the kid.

“Hmm...oh! You could do both! Make it like a free hotel!”

I put my palm over my mouth and chuckled.

“So like a homeless shelter, but fancy...not bad, not bad. Still would be expensive to see it through, but it seems like the kind of thing Wendy would approve of. Not to mention, just like with the previous hotel idea, we’d have to hire more staff, and even if they’d live here with us, they’ll probably want to get paid for their labor.”

“Oh! Have you heard from Wendy?” Tigershark asked.

“Yeah, I talked to her last night. She’s doing fine. Just hanging out at the hospital.”

“That idea…” Sunny scratched her chin. “Tigershark, you’re a genius! It’s easy! We make lots of money by taking on requests again!”

“That’s one way...but then there’s the chance of Cronus striking at any moment. Sheesh, everything’s become so complicated.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure out something, hun,” Sunny reached across the table and gave me a pat on the shoulder. When she sat back down, I felt my phone begin to ring. I picked it up and saw that it was Cybele.

“Oh my Goddess! This is the best day ever!” Cybele gushed over the phone, her excitement at maximum capacity.

“Is it really?” I chuckled.

“Yes! I can’t wait! I’m going to head back on over right away! Oh, but what should I do about the big house? Should I sell it? Should I give it to a homeless person? Oh, but if I do that, then they wouldn’t be able to afford to pay utilities, so that wouldn’t be very fair.”

“You can sell the house, then give the money to a homeless person,” I suggested.

“Yes! Brilliant! Thank you so much, Ray!” She hung up right after, without so much as a goodbye.

“Who was that?” Sunny asked.

“Cybele. She’ll be coming back soon,” I informed her.

“Awesome! We’re getting the band back together!”

“Band? What band?” Tigershark looked at the both of us, turning her head back and forth.

“It’s a figure of speech,” I explained.

After breakfast, Tigershark and I tended to the dishes. Once we had finished, I headed back to Sunny and I’s bedroom so I could fetch myself a book to read. We had an extensive collection along multiple bookshelves, enough that if we expanded the space just a bit more, we could have ourselves our own little library.

After much deliberation, I decided to settle on a collection of Akutagawa’s short stories. His tales were amusing, if nothing else, so it should at least pass some time away.

As I made my way back downstairs, I heard some commotion between Remora and Demetria.

“We need to set boundaries! So you stay at your end of the hallway, and I’ll stay at mine!” Demetria shouted whilst holding a stick of chalk.

“But the bathroom is on your end of the hallway and sometimes I have to pee. Also, what about showering?” Remora stated her case.

“You’ll have to get creative! We’re not good around each other, and this is a good solution!”

I made my way to the bottom of the stairs, then turned to the two.

“Hey Demetria, I need to cut something, so can I borrow one of your knives?” I asked.

She looked up at me, blinked, then dug into her pocket.

“Uh, sure, here.”

I took her knife and held it up, making a slashing motion into the air.

“Yep. It’s just as I thought. The tension in the air’s so thick that you have to cut through it with a knife.”

“What?!” Demetria stomped her foot at my little theatrics. I handed her knife back to her, then smudged out the chalk line on the floor with my foot. She, of course, took issue with that. “Hey! What are you doing? I’m setting boundaries, here!”

“You’re acting like a child, is what you’re doing.”

“Am not! She started it!” Demetria pointed at Remora. I faced Remora, who then backed away a step.

“I was just trying to talk things out with her, but I understand wanting space and I’m willing to compromise, but please let me take a shower sometimes,” Remora pleaded.

“There’s the bathroom in the dining hall,” I explained, “but yes, there’s no reason to restrict what bathroom you use. That’s just ridiculous.”

“First off, when she tried to talk things out, she just made things worse,” Demetria was still going at it.

“Look, I’m fine if you guys fight with each other, but can you two not take up so much space? Sit down at a table, or go to a room and go at it there,” I told them.

“I don’t want to go at it with her, I just want us to coexist,” Remora explained.

“We can’t coexist! We’re not good around each other!” Demetria shot back.

I shook my head. This was really trying my patience.

“Maybe you’re right,” I relented.

“Ha!” Demetria gloated.

“What I mean is, if you two can’t get along, you both can leave. We don’t need any of this bickering.”

“What?! You can’t do that! I was here first!” Demetria protested.

“Technically speaking, Remora was here first,” I pointed out.

“Well I came back first!”

“Well, I’m...uh...taller?” Remora interjected in an absentminded fashion.

You do realize this isn’t a competition, right?

“I’m serious. Get along or else,” I reiterated.

“But we can’t get along!” Demetria whined.

“...You won’t have to. I’ll be in my room, so, there should be no issues,” Remora stated, then walked away back to her end of the hallway. Even if she didn’t look like one, the image of a sad little puppy conjured up.

Once she entered into her room and closed the door behind her, I turned to Demetria.

“Anything you would like to drink? Tea? Coffee?” I offered. She looked up, confused, but answered.

“Espresso?”

“Very well. Go ahead and sit down, I’ll make you some.”

I brewed a cup of espresso, then set it down for her and sat across from her at the booth.

“What gives? First you say I’m acting like a kid, and now you’re rewarding me?” She asked after taking a sip.

I smiled before I spoke.

“I figured ‘let’s have a drink’ would sound less like you were in trouble than ‘let’s have a talk’.”

“I see. It was a clever ruse.”

“Not really. So, care to tell me what I missed?”

“Nothing much,” she scoffed, “she just came up to me and said she was sorry and that she’s started to feel things. I didn’t get it and I still don’t. She asked me if we could be friends, at least until she figured things out.”

“What did you say to that?”

“I asked if it was even possible for her to be friends with someone.”

“Don’t you think that was a bit harsh? It may have hurt her feelings.”

“Does she even have feelings?”

Can you not tell?

“Sure she does,” I answered, “maybe she doesn’t express them in the same way that you do, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t. I don’t know, but I’m thinking she’s started to figure that out as well.”

“I’m sorry, then,” she muttered, then slumped her head down onto the table. I wanted to get her head off the table, but...I let it slide.

“I don’t need any apologies.”

“Well, she said in response to that, ‘I don’t know, but I’d like to try’ and so I gave in and said that I guess I could do that much. It’s just, what does she mean?”

“I think she means that she’d like to be friends?”

“But what does that mean to her? Can I really do that? It’s not like I really know what to do with friends either. I’ve never been good at that kind of stuff.”

“In that case, maybe it will be a good learning experience for both of you.”

“Why...why does anything have to be a learning experience?” She grunted, “I don’t want any more learning experiences. That’s not what I came here for. I don’t even want to like her anymore.”

“Don’t want to?” I questioned.

“That’s...you get what I mean.”

I do. It’s just that you’re trying to convince me that you didn’t say what you meant.

“Demetria,” I commanded, “what is it that you want?”

She looked up, leaned back toward the window, and looked out.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

“Because you don’t have to be her friend if you don’t want to. It wouldn’t be right if you forced yourself to, would it?”

“Look: I came back to protect you guys. She wasn’t on my mind at all. I did everything I could to get her off my mind and just move on with my life, but I couldn’t bear the thought of the rest of you in a dangerous situation beyond your control. So if for nothing else, I wanted to return for that.”

“And I thank you for that. Seeing as the cat’s out of the bag, I think it’s fair to say you know what I think of you.”

“But I wish I didn’t have to be in disguise to hear it.”

“Yes, but I’m telling you now: we all like you. Tigershark likes you, even if she might like to pick on you sometimes. Sunny took a liking to you right away.”

“I’m not interested in stealing your wife from you,” she replied and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Not what I meant, but I’m amused that you took it that way.”

She puffed her cheeks and scowled. I felt like getting a needle and popping one of her cheeks, though I doubted it would pop like a balloon.

“We’re all happy to see you back, don’t get me wrong. But you should have known that there was a chance of her coming back as well.”

“Really? I thought she didn’t care about anyone.”

“Oh, come now,” I flashed a toothy smile, “and I thought you knew better than to take people’s words at face value.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She turned to face me.

“Figure it out yourself.”

Again, she puffed her cheeks. I wasn’t going to spell it out for her, but I figured an elaboration was in order.

“Don’t get me wrong, even if she was how she was just a couple of years ago, she’d have justified it by saying ‘I’m only doing this because it’s my mess and I need to clean it up’ or something to that effect. But how is that any different than ‘I only came back to protect you guys?’”

“It’s plenty different! What? You saying I’m a liar? It was a big motivating factor! If I never heard that you guys were in trouble, I probably would have never returned. That would have been that. Like I said, I wanted to move on with my life.”

“I don’t want to put words in your mouth. You say you came back to bail us out, I believe you. And so you did and we are thankful, so now there’s nothing stopping you from moving on with your life.”

“Uh, yeah there is. Cronus is still out there and he could come back any time. What then?”

For a moment, I had forgotten that whole matter. Oh, such sweet ignorant bliss.

“It’s true he really had us on the ropes. Drove me to the point of despair, took lives right in front of me, all for the sole purpose of wearing me down. But if the same incident were to happen again, even more hopeless this time, I want to maintain compassion just to spite him. I want to learn everyone’s names, that way even if their lives end up lost to his petty game, at least they would be remembered. However, now that we have more knowledge at hand, going forward it will be that much easier to prepare. What I’m saying is that while there’s no guarantee, you shouldn’t have to hinder your future for our sake.”

“You wouldn’t be hindering my future,” she muttered.

“Oh? Why not?”

“Because if it’s something that I chose to do, then it’s on me.”

“I see. I’m just saying, you can choose to do other things. It’s true that there are times situations are out of one’s control, but you’re crafty in ways that even surprise me sometimes. If you need support, I could try and assist you in any way. Even if there’s something you want to do and you can’t achieve it, I’m just saying that I want you to have the option of trying.”

“Thanks,” she replied, then let out a dejected sigh, “she’s going to be disappointed. I’m not the same person she remembers.”

“So what? Why worry about disappointing her?”

“I’m not. I’m just saying, if she’s expecting things to go back to how they were before, she’s setting herself up for disappointment.”

“I think it goes without saying that we’ve all changed since we’ve last seen each other, but now I’m curious: how exactly have you changed?”

“First of all, I finished school. I can be a marine biologist if I want to now.”

“Good job. I’m proud of you,” I gave a little clap, “if you want to be a marine biologist, you should. There are many benefits to being a marine biologist. If you want to stay in the area, you can find an aquarium to work at and visit here from time to time. We could talk about how your job’s treating you, and how life’s been, and we can both share a good laugh.”

“I just don’t know. I didn’t get it because I want to be a marine biologist. I wanted to, once, but I don’t know. I didn’t finish school because I wanted to finish school, either, but because I didn’t want it to go unfinished.”

“So perhaps it was a pride thing less than interest?”

She either laughed or scoffed. It was hard to tell.

“Yeah. Might have been something like that. I...also killed a few people.”

That took me aback. Though not appalled, just surprised. But given where we were at, who she was talking to, she should have known that there wouldn’t be any moral condemnation.

“You and Remora have something in common, then.”

“Is this a joke to you?” She rasped.

I smiled and shook my head.

“No. At least not one I benefit from laughing at.”

“I didn’t enjoy it.”

“I doubt she enjoyed killing, either. She was just conditioned to treat it as a chore or routine. Just another assignment.” However…

“That said,” I continued, deciding not to keep my thought to myself, “there is a certain thrill she gets from intense fights, hunts, perilous situations. It may not be that she enjoys pain. Whether it be inflicting or receiving. But...it’s a rush that’s hard to satiate.”

Demetria gulped, as if she knew what I meant. Sensing that she was afraid to speak, I continued once more:

“There are things that she was conditioned to believe about herself, things that she’s told herself, that she’s had to unlearn. Then after that, there’s learning new beliefs in its place. I can’t imagine it’s easy. I’d say it’s probably been scary for her, as well, and in that process of challenging such old mindsets, she’d resist them. Maybe she’s changed since then, and she’s not the person you first had a crush on and maybe you’ve changed and you’re no longer the person she was hoping to see again, but even if that’s the case and things can’t work out between you two, I think you should still have a talk with her.”

“About what?”

I snorted, then coughed up a laughter. It wasn’t like she said anything funny, nor did it warrant a laugh, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Anything. Just say anything to clear the air. Even if nothing’s resolved after, at least it would be better than avoiding each other. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you have to, nor do you need to do it right away. If you need time, if you don’t feel ready, that’s fine. But I do think it should happen sometime.”

“It’s going to be hard to face her,” she replied, and some of the edge in her voice had diminished, in its place an aching timbre.

“I can imagine.”

“What if we try to talk, but then I snap or lash out and that just makes things worse between us?”

I shrugged.

“I’d rather than not be the case, but at least then you’d have made an effort. Forty percent is better than zero, y’know?”

“Sounds like a wasted effort if it still ends in failure.”

“No effort is wasted, dear.”

She got up from her seat without another word. Her face looked a little more relaxed, though I wondered how much that had to do with the talk and how much it had to do with the caffeine. Then again, there’s the possibility that giving her so much caffeine would have done the opposite of relaxed her and make her unable to sleep, so...my god, why did she want that? Why not some relaxing herbal tea?

After dusk, Tigershark made tartiflettes for everyone with buttered sweet rolls on the side. Again, Sunny, Tigershark, and I sat together, while the other two (no need to name names) sat far away from each other at opposite ends of the diner. Both were thankful for their meals, but they remained fixated on the food in front of them, not on anyone else, let alone each other.

Once that was said and done, I walked back to my desk, gathered up papers, and examined any possible requests or avenues in which to make money through unethical means. Just me, a middle aged man, sorting through papers. As if that was what my life had been reduced to. Even with my glasses on, the words all seemed to just bleed into each other after a while. Every little option or scheme carried with it some kind of risk, and balancing risk and reward...man, it was a stress and a half.

I reached into my drawer, hoping for a joint, but none were to be found.

Sunny must have taken them. She might even be getting higher than a hot air balloon in outer space right now. Lucky her. Can’t really blame her, either. To quote a certain little nun, we all ‘went through hell.’

Going back over to the stack of papers, I looked up and saw Demetria emerge from her room and saunter (maybe ‘saunter’ wasn’t the right word choice, but she couldn’t stop me from describing her movements that way) through the hallway. She caught my gaze and turned her head.

“You said it didn’t have to be right away, but better now than never,” she told me, before crossing the threshold into the other end of the hall.

I expected that she would have knocked on Remora and Tigershark’s door (I didn’t know where the kid was, at the moment. My suspicion was in the kitchen, either cleaning up, or baking treats for herself). Instead, I watched as before she could get to the door, she bumped her head on an invisible wall. I heard her hiss, “ow,” then slide her back down against the wall until she sat, legs folded up, and her head down.

“Figures you would put up a literal wall. You’re not really one for metaphors,” she muttered, “then again, at least you’re direct. Here I’ve been trying to keep you out of my mind and avoid you to little success.”

I figured after saying that, she’d get up and go back to her room, given that it didn’t seem to be the right time. Props to her, though. She was a persistent one.

“Funny how that works, huh? I started out all obsessed with you. I wanted you, or at least I thought I did. Well, I’m pretty sure I did. I had all sorts of fantasies you probably wouldn’t want to hear about. Somewhere around the line those fantasies faded and in their place, I just wanted to know you better. Even then, though, I was still pretty attached, and I still think I wanted you to notice me, more than anything else. Now…” She shook her head, “Ha. You don’t need the whole recap.”

She folded her arms over her legs. It was like she was trying to cradle herself, but she remained still and just held on tight.

“You probably can’t hear any of this. That’s fine, too. Maybe it’s better sometimes to talk to myself and pretend there’s someone else listening. I’d do it more often, but I don’t like the sound of my own voice.”

I watched as the illusion shattered, the wall must have come down, and in its place, Remora sat at the opposite end of Demetria, in the same position. To boot, her back was against Demetria’s.

“I only caught the last bit,” Remora spoke up, “what was the rest of it?”

Demetria, startled, but regained composure within the same sentence, replied, “I’m not going to repeat myself.”

“That’s fine. But what are you doing on the floor?”

“I came to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“I don’t know. I guess just to try to work something out. Figure out where to go from here.”

“Well, you don’t have to believe me, but I’m glad.”

“I’ll choose to believe you – but only because if you aren’t, it doesn’t really affect much, but if you are, then it makes things a little better.”

“But what if you believe me, but then it turns out not to be true?”

“Dammit. Why do you have to ruin this?”

“I just want to cover all the bases.”

Demetria huffed, then answered, “I think I’ll choose to believe you anyway. I know how I’ve been since we got back, but I really would like us to be on good terms as well.”

“Do you mean that?”

“What? Now you’re doubting me?”

“No. It’s just that if you didn’t want to, I’d have understood.”

“Well...when you asked about being friends, it really caught me off guard. For one, the last time the subject came up, it was how you said you could pretend if I wanted, but it wouldn’t be real. When you brought it up this time, it was ‘at least until I figure myself out’. Which means that maybe after a while, you’ll come to the conclusion that you don’t want to be.”

“I know. It’s a risk. One that you might not want to take. I can’t really say what conclusions I’ll come to or how things will turn out. But I prefer to be upfront about what’s on my mind and how I feel, and at the moment, how I feel is that I would like to try being friends with you. I think I’ve reached the point where I can say that whether it’s pretend or not is a moot point, because if I think of us as friends, then I’m going to treat it as real.”

“B-but...what does being friends even mean to you?”

There was a pause and Remora lifted her head up.

“I’m not sure. Friends are...friendly to each other? Well, that might go without saying. I know friends are people who like each other. Get along. But then there are friends who don’t get along. So I’m not sure. I feel like I should know, it just seems more vague when I try to put it into words.”

“Well,” Demetria replied, “that makes two of us. I’ve never been good at that sort of thing, myself.”

“Then...we can not be good at it together,” Remora suggested. “Maybe we can both learn.”

“But how would we do that?”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t know, either.”

“See? We can not know together.”

“But how would we both be friends if we don’t know how to be friends? That just makes no sense.”

“I know. But I think if we were both in elementary school, we wouldn’t think so much about that sort of thing. One of us would just go up to the other and be like, ‘let’s be friends!’ And either the other would say, ‘yeah!’ Or say something like, ‘ew! Go away!’”

“That’s kind of a cute idea,” Demetria remarked, “if only we had met that way.”

“Hm. I don’t know. Even as a kid, I preferred to be left alone.”

“Oh. Yeah. Me too.”

“But now we’re adults and we’ve spent so much time wanting to be left alone that –”

“– you no longer want to be left alone?” Demetria suggested as she tried finishing that statement.

“Hm. No. I was going to say, ‘even if we have some friends, we don’t really know what it means.”

“Oh. I guess that’s true, too.”

“Yeah. But I like your answer better.”

“Yeah. But your answer applies to you and mine applies to me.”

“It’s kind of nice that way, though. Each different perspectives.”

“You know, when we talked earlier, and you asked me to hug you, it felt weird, but I said sure. So I held out my arms and walked up, but then you backed away and said you didn’t think you were ready after all and I didn’t take it well.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I wanted to, too. I’ve just never been comfortable with others touching me, and even if it would have been okay, I was still a little hesitant and nervous.”

“It’s okay not to be ready. I should know better. I was just hoping that things would be different.”

“They might be, in time.”

“You know, it’s still hard. Because I want to be friends with you, I do, and I feel like I should be happy about that, but then I just think about when we talked right before we both left and it hurts. Like, I was so convinced that we had gotten closer and that you cared, and hearing you say that you didn’t, I wanted it not to be true. But you pushed harder, and I just thought ‘maybe you’re right.’ Now you’re saying ‘I don’t know’ and it’s like, nothing’s really changed, has it?”

“You’re wrong there. I’m sorry about what I said and how it affected you and it makes sense that it would hurt, but you’re wrong in that nothing has changed. Before, I was so sure it was a ‘no’ and now I’m not so sure, but I’m more optimistic, and even leaning toward the possibility that it’s a ‘yes’. It just feels messy and gray.”

“I think I can understand that. To be honest, it’s going to be awkward. Us, as friends.”

“We’re awkward people, so it’s to be expected.”

“But at the same time, you might not like who I am now.”

“Maybe. But I’d rather find that out for myself. It’s only been a couple of days.”

“You’re taking this rather well,” Demetria remarked.

“Not really. I’m just taking it.”

“Well, I’m just saying, I’m different than how I used to be.”

“I’ve changed as well, you know.”

“How?”

There are many obvious things you could say, so what is it you’ll say? I wondered. Remora lowered her head, and when she answered, it wasn’t an answer I would have expected. But then again, it wouldn’t have been her if she didn’t throw a few curveballs in between her signature style.

“If I was the old me, and I still had that job, and you were the target, then I wouldn’t hesitate to kill you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Demetria spoke in what was like a half mix between a growl and a tease.

“You wouldn’t even see me coming.”

“I’d like to see you coming.”

...What?

“Well, maybe with how you are now, you would. But then, maybe with how I am now, I wouldn’t mind you seeing me coming.”

This is still about a hypothetical assassination, right?

“I suppose that’s how we’ve both changed, huh?”

“It’s not much, but it’s honest work.”

“So what are you thinking about now?” Demetria asked.

“How much I have to pee,” Remora answered. “That’s why I undid the barrier, so I could go to the bathroom, but then I saw you sitting there talking so I figured I’d hold it and sit too.”

“Oh my fuck. Just go to the bathroom.”

“But we’re in the middle of a conversation. It would be rude.”

“That doesn’t matter! We can continue when you get back!”

“But then you might lose your train of thought or I might not feel like talking anymore and just head to bed –”

This is ridiculous. I’m done eavesdropping. I should’ve just left my desk the moment they started talking. Why did they have to talk in the middle of the hallway, anyway?

I got up and headed out into the front of the diner. If those two had anything more to say, they could have at it. As for me, I went into the kitchen to check in on Tigershark.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I greeted after a knock with the back of my hand.

“I made cookie brownies!” She cheered, and I saw a large casserole dish filled with brownies.

“Oh, good. May I have one?” I asked.

“You may have two!”

She put two pieces on a saucer for me and had two on her saucer as well and she jumped down from the stool she stood on and we both walked out into the dining hall and sat at a booth together.

“Mm. Good job,” I complimented.

“Thanks. I was still hungry and sweets are sweet.”

“That they are. Just don’t have too many.”

“I won’t!” She scowled. “Maybe three. Or four. But that’s it.”

We both laughed together as we ate our brownies. Just a few minutes later, Sunny walked up. She looked (not) high, and her eyes were (not) bloodshot red. I suppose she might have moved the stash elsewhere and planned to smoke them some other time.

“Hey hun, you gotta come check this out!”

“What? I’m busy spending quality time with Tigershark,” I replied. And it’s quality time because I’m not hearing about bodily functions.

“I see that, but this is important!” She urged, and motioned us to come to the back with her. Tigershark and I hopped out from our seats and followed. When we reached the hallway, Sunny pointed and went, “aww” and Tigershark and I saw what the fuss was about: Remora and Demetria were asleep, leaned against the wall, and backs against each other.

“I guess that’s what happens when you hold it in for so long,” I remarked, then, realizing I had said that out loud, added, “emotionally, I mean.”

“Aww, so adorable,” Sunny continued fawning over the scene.

“How am I supposed to get to bed tonight? They’re blocking the way!” Tigershark complained.

“It’s okay, you can sleep with us tonight,” Sunny replied.

“Tigershark,” I turned to the child next to Sunny and I, “get the broom and dustpan. There’s something on the floor.”

“Don’t!” Sunny nudged me, “leave them be.”

“Tigershark,” I continued, “I give you full permission to draw on their faces with a sharpie.’

in response, Tigershark grinned and ran off to go find one. While she was gone, I turned to Sunny.

“So, shall we head off to dreamland as well?” I offered.

“Oh yes. Two tickets, please,” she replied and yawned for added measure. We locked arms with each other and strolled up the stairs. I’d like to say that in the coming days, the dynamic between everyone improved greatly, but the truth is, it was more like slow and drunken baby steps.

#writing #stories #remoras full #settling down after a long battle #drama #comedy #slice of life #this took so long #high

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