#I was gonna have Jeopardy come in and fix things

[quibble-auk]

@thebrokenmechanicalpencil

Dropmix Trials stuff again. Part three of whatever is going on (I have no idea. Once again I thought I knew what I was doing again and I lied to myself.)

I feel like I’m just making things so much worse. There has to be an easier way to solve things. I’m struggling.

Previous

Next

Cue Jeopardy entering like

—

Disclaimer: I actually only know the basics of first aid and have no idea how medical stuff works….

—

Jeopardy hadn’t thought much about it when he had turned the music back on. The systems weren’t new or anything, there were bound to be a few errors every once and awhile. He could probably get Nova to look at the systems later. The music had cut out for a few seconds. Jeopardy calmly placed down his tools and walked to the terminal on the wall, fiddling with one of the settings to turn the music back on.

Just as quickly as it had shut off it was back on. The pleasant lulling sounds he had grown so familiar with resumed. It filled the otherwise sterile medical space and made it feel more welcoming than it looked. It has always been a welcome addition to the mundane life of a medical mech.

What was weird was that it was paused. It wasn’t buffering. It wasn’t having technical difficulties. Someone had paused it. Intentionally.

Dropmox had never paused the music. He would offer to turn it down, change the genre, or move it to his internal systems.

He never paused it.

::Dropmix? Did you pause the music?::

Jeopardy had sent out the message before he could think twice, returning to the patient's side. They were trying to replace some of the internals that had been damaged in the fight, it was nothing too bad. They probably would have only felt a bit of discomfort from them at this point with how they were healing, but it was always better to be safe with these kinds of things. He and Dropmix were pretty close to being finished as well. Had to reattach a few more lines and cables then close them back up.

The medical mech shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he resumed his work, a bit more aware of Dropmix’s absence. He had stepped out a bit ago to go grab another dose of sedatives for the patient. There had been a small complication and they didn’t want them to wake up. Nothing too bad, the small surgery was just going to be a little longer than they originally planned. Usually they kept extra sedatives nearby, however since they only got restocked they hadn’t had the time to refill the extras.

He hummed lightly to the music as he worked, doing his best to ignore the lack of the large presence that usually accompanied him. When Jeopardy had first arrived here he had found it almost unsettling how much Dropmix loomed, though he had grown accustomed to it. No one else ever seemed to notice how he stalked and watched; but no one else ever hung out with the dark medic anyway. It took time but Jeopardy has realized that there was something a bit protective in the way Dropmix watched over him.

It almost reminded Jeopardy of the guardians he had grown familiar with in his short time working in the Iacon medical facility before the uprising had occurred. After the arenas fell more and more guardians and other work based mechs similar to then started defecting to the Decepticons. Jeopardy had never been mad at them for it. All their life they had been treated like scrap and Megatron was a leader like them, someone who had gone through the same kind of mistreatment as them and sworn to make it better.

Dropmix should have been back by now, the storage closet wasn’t too far and the sedatives were always easy to find.

He also should have responded.

Unease clung to the white medic, he looked up at the door. The walls were soundproofed in here to let medics remain focused. If there had been a struggle he wouldn’t have heard it. Would he be any help in that situation? Probably not. But he could feel paranoia starting to sink its icy claws into him as he stared at the door. The music felt more ominous than it did comforting at the moment.

Had Dropmix shut off the music to try and signal him about something? Was his communicator not working? Was the closest thing to a meteor he had in danger?

::Dropmix?::

Jeopardy watched the door, expecting for it to open and for the large medic to lumber in muttering about how he had tripped or something. That was another thing, Jeopardy was by no means a large medical frame, but Dropmix was the biggest he had ever seen. How he was able to operate on the smaller patients like Nova or Saberfire had always blown him away.

The silence continued and Jeopardy’s grip on the medical tools tightened. His brow furrowed as he stared at the door. He swallowed awkwardly, his sparkrate picking up slightly. He shouldn’t panic, this was a ridiculous thing to panic about anyway. Dropmix could take care of himself. Jeopardy was overreacting and overthinking things just like how Dropmix always claimed he was.

::Dropmix is everything alright?::

He was just letting his anxiety get the better of him. That was all. Just like it always did. It would Drive Dropmix up a wall, he would sigh, exasperated, trying to explain that Jeopardy was getting caught up in the little things. He was young and mistakes were bound to happen, not everyone would want to be helped, patients still had their own agency when it came to accepting treatment. Jeopardy couldn’t have known any better, he couldn’t blame himself for someone refusing to take care of themself.

That had been after the incident with Nova. It felt like ages ago when it had happened but it still haunted him. It had been after Jeopardy was on the outlook for a few months, he was still trying to get close to the rest of the bots on base at the time and… it had scared him to almost lose one of them like that. It was also the first time that he was able to see some of Dropmix’s softer side—his genuine one, not the mask he put on for patients. Jeopardy forced himself to let out the breath he was holding.

::Dropmix?!::

Jeopardy couldn’t hear the music over the sound of rushing energon and his spark beating rapidly. He was overthinking this again. He knew better. He knew better than to snoop and push boundaries. That only got him in more trouble. It got him demoted and rejected. Why no medical officer wanted him as an assistant, no one wanted him around. Jeopardy poked at things that weren’t meant to be poked at, he shared his opinions when no one wanted to hear them or agreed. He hadn’t messed up yet, he had been so careful to not push.

Would Dropmix turn him away too if he pressed? Or would his refusal to respond and act only cause more harm for the large medic that he had become attached to. His patient needed tending to, he could still help them. He should help them. It's not like he was incapable of doing so. He didn’t need Dropmix’s supervision, he wasn’t some nurse or lowly assistant. Dropmix had made that clear before, time and time again.

::DROPMIX?::

Jeopardy placed his tools down. Even if he was concerned for his mentor, his patient would be needing those sedatives soon. They only had about 30 minutes left of promised unconsciousness, from there it would be a gamble. They could wake at any time to find Jeopardy still messing around with their insides… that was the kind of medical trauma that would mess up a bot. It would ruin their trust in all medics.

He couldn’t afford to be the reason that happened to someone.

So, Jeopardy wasn’t going to poke at things that should be left alone—he rationalized—no, he was going to get supplies for his patient. That was all. If he happened to stumble across something he shouldn’t he could ignore it. Turn a blind eye or just say that he was getting supplies and had no idea what they were talking about.

::I’m going to get the sedatives::

He had sent the comm out before he had a chance to think about it too much, before he would work himself up to the point where nothing sounded right. Was it a warning? Another attempt to reach out? A reminder to Dropmix about why he had left in the first place? He didn’t know. It honestly felt like more of a confirmation for himself. He was going to do that. Anything else he stumbled into was just coincidence.

The medic set his tools down on the sterile tray carefully. His hands hurt from how tightly he had been gripping them. Jeopardy forced a few more even breaths from his mouth. He walked towards the door, praying that suddenly Dropmix’s silence would be broken and jeopardy would laugh off all of the suffocating concern that had settled on him.

To his despair, the communicator remained unbothered by the time he had reached the door. He paused, staring at the blank metal surface like it had all the answers to the universe. Jeopardy was just getting sedatives. He didn’t doubt Dropmix's ability to do so. This wasn’t an attempt to push. He was just doing what he needed to ensure his patients' wellbeing.

That was his entire purpose.

The reason Jeopardy existed.

He was just trying to help.

With another deep, grounding breath he pressed against the door, unlocking it with medical codes. It took a brief moment for him to type in the final digit. Some part of him hoped that Dropmix would finally respond or open the door himself. He didn’t. Jeopardy finished the code and the door slid open.

He could smell energon and hot metal.

Jeopardy sucked in a breath, eyes widening at what he could see of the main medical bay. The operation room was tucked around the hallway so he didn’t have the entire view of the other room. But Dropmix’s desk had been placed so he would be able to watch over all of the medical bay at once, or at least get as close as he could.

Dropmix was pressed against the wall, breathing deeply but frantically. He had curled up and was cradling his head in his hands. There was energon on them, the bright liquid radiant on his dark armor. His face was out of sight, his posture pained.

The green mech that Jeopardy had grown fond of was hunched over a still form. Liquid falling down his cheeks. He was crying… like an organic might have—he was an organic. Cometeater was breathing raggedly, panicked and he crouched over the limp form of his brother on the ground.

The energon must have belonged to Sunstreaker, the motionless form on the ground. A halo of it gathering around his head on the ground in some grotesque display. Jeopardy’s scanners informed him that the gladiator was still alive—which was a relief. But his condition was less than promising.

The white medic stood in the doorway dumbly for a moment longer.

Then he began moving. Jeopardy rushed into the room, sedatives forgotten as his processor scanned for damage. No one else was hurt. The other patients were alright. Sunstreaker needed to be aided first. Comet looked unharmed. Dropmix hadn’t reacted when he had approached. The black medic would be able to handle his own injuries. Jeopardy fell to his knees beside Sunstreaker.

Cometeater hissed, posture growing volatile as he reared on Jeopardy. The medic hadn’t had time to react before fangs had sunk into his arm, tearing through the thick armor—like it was nothing. He yelped, pulling back sharply, pain spiking through him. Cometeater growled, plating flaring up in an angry display. He loosened his grip on his arm for just long enough to allow him to readjust and bite back down even harder.

Jeopardy let out a pained cry, falling backwards and trying to pull away desperately. He had done it again. He had messed up. Pushed too far. This was the consequences for it. But Sunstreaker needed him. The gladiator had already lost enough energon when they had found him. Comet wasn’t stopping the bleeding. Head wounds bleed a lot. He needed to stop it.

He needed to help.

But Cometeater didn’t seem to want his help.

The white medic looked over at Dropmix. He hadn’t started moving but he had looked up. He stared numbly at Jeopardy, his eyes distant. His visor wasn’t there either, it had been shattered, a long claw mark etched into his face. There was nothing but an empty socket under where the small screen had once been. Dropmix wasn’t helping, he wasn’t responding, he wasn’t there.

Claws raked at the smaller medic’s armor, peeling paint and leaving gashes in the once pristine surfaces. Jeopardy winced his mind screaming at him to get away and help at the same time. He wouldn’t win in a fight, but Sunstreaker needed him. He needed to keep himself together. Be professional. Don't get attached. Don't take it personally. Just act.

“Com–Cometeater, I need to help Sunstreaker,” He began, struggling to get his words out between shaky gasps of air and his frantic spiraling mind, “I’m not going to hurt him! I just need to stop the bleeding.”

The green figure growled even deeper, eyes narrowed into slits as he dug his fangs even deeper into Jeopardy’s arm. He started to twist his head, starting to pry off the plating with an effortless amount of practice. Cometeater’s claws moved from his shoulders to his chest, pressing against the transformation seams, trying to pry more plates off.

Jeopardy’s hand pressed against the other’s chest desperately. He didn’t know when he had ended up with his back on the floor with the other above him. Everything was still happening too fast, his mind was still focused on the steadily bleeding wound on Sunstreakers head. His plating on his arm finally gave way, snapping off and Jeopardy cried out in pain.

“Stop! Please I–” Jeopardy tried to reason again, cutting off in another cry—it might have been closer to a scream—as Comet’s fangs redirected themself at his chest. His green head cocked at an angle to allow his jaw to grip at one of the panels that his claws had uprooted slightly. He ripped off the plating swiftly, jaw going for another one.

Primus, Comet was trying to kill him!

He almost laughed bitterly at himself as he desperately tried to push the other’s face away only to have a clawed hand pin the arm to the floor.

No, Cometeater was going to kill him.

Jeopardy had failed again. He had made a critical error and now it would not only cost him his own life, but the life of Sunstreakers—probably the patient that still lay waiting on the operating table. He let out a choked cry, trying to press the other off of him desperately as his own energon spilled onto the ground.

“Please! Please–” Jeopardy’s voice cracked painfully. It had become so hard to breathe. He wasn’t built for this. He wasn’t trained to fight back. He didn’t know what he was doing. Comet didn’t care. He wasn’t stopping, tearing into Jeopardy’s chest one plate at a time. His eyes shut as more pain rippled through him.

Jeopardy screamed.

Cometeater wasn’t on him anymore.

He gasped for air, shaking, plating pressed against himself tightly as he trembled. He tried to ground himself, the feeling of energon pooling on his chest felt heavier and heavier. Cometeater wasn’t on top of him anymore, he wasn’t going to die. Jeopardy was still alive, still breathing. The feeling of being moved is what brought him back into the present, to the stinging pain in his arm, his burning chest.

Dropmix was hovering over him, teeth bared in a snarl and an animalistic growl rumbling from deep beneath his plating. He had pulled Jeopardy close to him protectively, possessively. His large arms wrapped around him, tucking him safely away from harm. Dropmix smelled like fresh welds, energon and hot metal scent almost suffocating. He was tense, pain rippling through him in tremors. His expression was focused but it wasn’t angry or animalistic like Comet’s, it was fearful.

The realization hit Jeopardy like a tidal wave.

Dropmix was scared.

Jeopardy didn’t move for a second, staring up at the other medic. He had never seen him scared before. It felt wrong. That was something that Dropmix wasn’t allowed to feel because he was bigger, stronger, more experienced than jeopardy would ever be. If he was afraid, what hope was there for Jeopardy?

The white medic looked over at where the other’s attention was, his breath stilling as he looked at the scene before him. Sunstreaker was still on the ground—Jeopardy needed to help him but Dropmix’s hold refused to budge at his attempts to pull away—Comet was being held by the golden gladiator's twin.

Sideswipe was holding Cometeater.

He must have crawled his way over and was now desperately pressing himself against Cometeater in a crushing hug. Jeopardy could see his mouth moving, though he couldn’t make out any of the words. The red twin guided Comet into his lap. The green mech seemed shaken and fragile, energon coating his hands and dripping down his face. He pressed against the larger bot shakily. Sideswipe looked over at them, expression lost and confused.

It reminded Jeopardy of when he first met the two. Comet clinging desperately to the red mech’s side like a lifeline.

The music hummed above just like it always had.

[phyrestartr]

HOUND pt.2 | Miguel x M!Reader

Geneticist!Miguel x Guard!Reader Part 2 W/C: 2.7k | Part 2 of 2

#NSFW, zombie AU, apocalypse AU, mentions of exploitation and abuse, body horror, gore, immoral research and experiments, power imbalance, reader is a criminal, miguel is a scientist, dark themes, part 2 ends on a positive note, reader is morally grey, bottom!miguel, top!reader, sorry there's lore lol

Note: AAAAH ok it's done and now I can struggle to finish my other fics instead asjdkf;weiafjf

--

Miguel couldn’t recall what happened after that. The noises outside the door, the wet sloshing of viscera and pained outcries echoed faintly in the black corners of his mind, but nothing else. Nothing about how he got out of that room. Nothing about what had attacked him. Nothing about where you had gone. 

The mystery led him to reviewing the footage. The security cameras were set in each room, only to be accessed in times where someone was suspected to be infected and other suspicious situations. He found the moments leading up to everything, the moment you pushed him against the wall, when you started taking off the vest, when you threw Miguel into the bathroom and forced the door closed with brute strength. 

What followed was unbearable. The thing, now confirmed to have been one of your kind, rippled with overwhelming, excruciating power. You couldn’t square up with it fairly, but you were smart and fast, hitting when it really counted and pulling the trigger only when you knew it’d strike true. But the problem was its objective; the entire fight, Miguel realized, was a contest for the bathroom door. The monster didn’t care about you. You weren’t its target. It was going for him.

But it didn’t show you any mercy. It tore chunks out of you, shattered your ribs, broke whatever part of you it touched until you’d put it down for good with a full mag into its soft, melted skull. You staggered backwards, feeling behind you for the cool touch of the door before you collapsed against it, trying to stay standing despite it all. It was hard to watch. To see someone suffering and still fighting the good fight even though they’d already lost in order to win. 

You eventually crumbled and held what was left of your stomach and chest as you heaved in air. Loud sounds, like a wooden train whistle, hissed through the gaps left between your exposed ribs and the holes in your tattered lungs time after time, breath after breath, up until the EMTs arrived; you scrambled to get up, nearly spilling your guts and breaking off a leg before a tranquilizer hit you, and put you down. 

After that, you’d been carted off, and Miguel stepped out of the bathroom moments later, shaken and confused. Gabe showed up, thank God, and the thing that’d started all the bullshit was dead, but he couldn’t help the lingering tendrils of paranoia stitching the muscles taut in his shoulders. Then, and now. 

He needed to see you for himself. 

“Listen, listen, it’s suuuper nice that you suddenly have a weak spot for the guy, it’s really cute, but we haveta set you up with a different one for now–”

“What?” Miguel cut in while Lyla spun in her chair and fixed her obnoxious sunnies. “Why do–they heal. I don’t want any other–”

“Yep, yep, yep, I totally get it, but he’s reaaal messed up. He’s gonna take some time to fix ‘n heal and everything, yenno?” Lyla spun around again in a full 360 before coming back to face Miguel and point her pen at him. “If he’s too hard to fix, then they were thinking of scrapping him for parts and testing and everything.” 

Scrapped. For parts. 

“They won’t scrap him.” Miguel frowned. “He’s the best host we have. The most successful specimen the whole fucking project's made.” 

“Uh, yeah, and that's why they're gonna do their best to save him.” She tilted her head, curious. “No one wants to kill a good dog, y'know.” 

It was true. No one wanted to rid Alchemax of one who was dedicated enough to put their life in jeopardy for the sake of protecting their charge. He didn't expect you to go this far. No one did. 

–

It took weeks for you to be reinstated as Miguel's watchdog. In the interim, he was appointed a new guard, but life didn’t feel right. He supposed that bonds and trust played into the feeling more than he'd like to admit. Sure, the two of you hadn't really spoken before that day, but you'd been with each other for years. Silently learning about one another, measuring each other's capacity to be trustworthy. 

So with a new dog, Miguel felt unnerved, maybe even a bit unsteady. It had been one of them who'd snapped, after all. One of them lost their minds and went on a rampage–which was exactly what the current meeting was about. 

“No one saw it coming,” one said. “We didn't think it would happen, and that's the problem, isn't it?” 

“Weeell, things are bound to go awry here and there.” Olivia shrugged and crossed her arms. “It's part of science! I'd say this whole drama has given us some pretty good results on the extremes; one imploded and started eating people, and the other one exploded trying to save one of us.” 

“Still think we should scrap O'hara's mutt for parts,” Aaron interjected, unhelpful and annoying as ever. “Who knows when that one'll blow too, hey?” 

Miguel ignored Aaron. He wouldn’t feed into his prodding and pushing. “He's mine. I decide when he's too dangerous.”

“You sure you're not gonna be blinded by feelings, O'hara?” Aaron spat with an ugly smile. “I saw the footage. You–” 

“Oh my God, don't act like you don't try to fuck everyone else's guards,” another scientist groaned. “You're probably why one snapped.” 

Aaron's face blistered red. Miguel smirked, enjoying the show, enjoying the fact that no one was on the idiot's side. It was the apocalypse. Fucking mutants was the least of their worries. 

Stone, exasperated, called it there, and everyone dispersed. Miguel took his time with his thoughts in the silence of the room. The lack of people around him sparked a jolt of adrenaline, or maybe fear, and sent his train of thought off the rails and into something ungodly. He hated being alone these days. He couldn't bear the thought of being the last man standing, of having to fend for himself after everything. Not that he would have to, no, not unless your replacement did him in, or–

“Sir?” 

Miguel turned and nearly knocked his chair off its wheels. He clutched the desk in a panic just before his eyes landed on you. 

You looked different. Streaks of faint scars painted the side of your face where an eyepatch hid away whatever wreckage laid beneath. A metal brace hugged one of your knees and dripped down into a glittering, high-tech prosthetic limb that told a story Miguel didn't want to indulge in. And you looked tired. So tired. Your voice, once something rough like sandpaper, now sounded like shattered glass grinding underfoot.

But you still had that placid, somewhat judgemental stare that told him, I'm alright.

Your brows raised expectantly, like your return didn't need to be celebrated and you'd much rather like to get on with your day of following Miguel around like a lost puppy. He could relate, and he could comply. 

–

Acting normal until getting you into his new quarters was tough; Miguel had the inexplicable urge to touch you, see your skin, feel your heat singe his palms, but he wouldn't do it in the eye of the others, no. Not for his own decency, but because they didn't deserve it. You were all his. 

Miguel was sure to lock the doors and initiate an armoured lockdown to ease his paranoia before he turned to you with a demand on his tongue: “Strip.” 

You quirked a brow. “This didn't go so well last time.” But you complied, clearly trying to hide away your amusement.

“It's fine. We're fine.” He helped you pull the vest and the shirt off just like he did all those weeks ago, but now with more finesse and determination; he wanted his do-over, and he was going to get it. “I need to see for myself.” 

“Whatever.” You rolled your shoulders once your bare skin hit the air and prickled with goosebumps. Even the lifeless spots with angry reddened scars recoiled from the sharp nip, and then the heat of Miguel's touch.

He dragged his gaze all over you, drinking in the ruined expanses of skin with hungry eyes. Every new mark was examined, every stitch and bandage touched and committed to memory, every bruise earned the softest graze of fingertips. It was hard not to be enticed with one another in that tense, long silence. 

Miguel's eyes lingered on your split lip before meeting your eyes, reading whatever he could from you. But he didn't expect what you said. 

“You get hurt?” You grumbled. 

Miguel shook his head lightly, his attention unwavering as his hands made themselves useful and plucked loose the buttons on your cargos again. “I'm fine.” He pulled the zipper down next. The muscles of your abdomen rippled against the palm keeping you still. “Sore from you throwing me, but fine.” 

The corner of your mouth twitched. “If you'd listened and moved–” your next words dissolved against the brutish lips colliding with yours. Miguel's hands slipped further below and palmed your soft cock through the thin material of your undergarments; apparently you weren't surprised by the candid dick grab, but the kiss of all things threw you for a loop. Miguel moved to leaving marks along your neck while your brain scrambled to make sense of the random affection. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” You breathed, unsure of where to touch or what to do with your hands.

“Picking up where we left off.” Miguel squeezed your filling bulge again, eagerly massaging you in encouragement to get things going. His ego swelled when your hand found his shoulder after a particularly weak spot was found.

“Hah. I shouldn't be–” 

“You'll manage,” he insisted, watching you like prey trying to woo its predator. “You probably haven't been touched like this in a while, si, guapo?” Your hips jolted against his hand while his husky voice drew you in. “Bed. Now.” 

You didn't have much of a choice, not when Miguel's needy hands guided you to the soft sheets and forced you to lay down. You were just in the middle of a sore groan when Miguel pulled your waistband down just enough to free your hardened cock, and give you a fierce dose of whiplash between the pain of healing wounds and the bliss of hands on you.

For all of Miguel’s want, now that he was this far, he wasn’t sure where to take it. He was going to make you cum, obviously, but how would he go about it? Handjob, blowjob, actually taking it up the ass? Some were obviously more impactful than others, so–

“Christ, alright, now that you’ve played with my dick, we can put it away for today, Doc,” you grouched, sitting up to pull Miguel’s hand away. “I’m too tired for this shit.”

“Wh–no.” He swatted your hand away like a petulant child and shot you an equally childish glare. “You have to obey my orders, as far as I recall.”

Something akin to a deadpan hit your face. “You’re fucking joking. You’re gonna pull that shit now?”

“You’re my subordinate,” Miguel reminded, not bothering to hide his smug demeanor and faux innocence. “Act like it.” 

Before you could bitch back, he started stroking you firmly and slowly, squeezing harder near the tip and base with every motion. You stopped complaining surprisingly fast–Miguel almost wanted you to fight him more, but, maybe for a first run, your utter compliance would serve him. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to hold you down or fend off your grabby hands while, at the same time, trying to get a handle on how to properly please another man. 

Just when you sounded like you were about to object again, he took you into his mouth, and shut you up. At that moment, Miguel was glad you were touch-starved. Otherwise, the inexperienced gags and hefty strings of saliva connecting his lush lips to your throbbing length would’ve surely shortened Miguel’s lifespan. He was supposed to be good in bed. He was good in bed. And he’d make damn sure to continue being good in bed with another man. 

Your hand fisting in his well-kempt hair had him growling with warning, thinking you were going to try to make him stop, but one glance up at you through teary lashes washed that thought away; your eyes were shut, bottom lip caught between your lip and welling with the faintest bit of blood from those elongated canines of yours. A kinder shade of crimson painted your cheeks and the bridge of your nose a sweet summer colour that seemed to darken more when Miguel bravely slipped you down his throat and up again. 

“Shit. Fuck. Shit.” You let go of his hair with a pathetic whimper and collapsed onto your back, hands reaching back to claw into the wall and headboard to try and expel your rattling energy someway, somehow. The grating of metal and long, deep marks left in your claws’ wake would piss Miguel off any other day, but right now, your destructive praise fed his ego until it threatened to burst. 

But a slight shift from the scientist and a misplaced hand on the convergence of flesh and metal shook up the easy rhythm. You hissed and sat up, reflexively snatching his hand away from your leg with barbed fingers. Miguel pulled off of you with a choked yelp rattling in his throat as your hold drew blood, and like a dog who'd bit another too hard, you let go. 

“Shit, I didn't mean to–” you stopped yourself, though, and instead took Miguel's hand with a less-lethal touch. You looked at the wound before leaning down and running the flat of your tongue against the wound once, twice, thrice. The pain subsided quickly after, leaving behind a tingly, sparking feeling. “Doesn’t look too bad.” Miguel watched your nostrils flare and pupils dilate–clearly, his blood was having an effect on you. And that fact was having an effect on Miguel, in turn. 

The apology for hurting you was long forgotten by the time Miguel leaned up and kissed you, holding the side of your face with his wounded hand. He pushed hard against the tip of your fang until spongy flesh gave way, and the vile tang of blood pooled in his mouth, and now in yours. 

You moaned, or maybe growled, and Miguel’s hips jerked. He worked on slipping his weeping tongue around your mouth while his good hand continued his work on your stiffy, eager to finish you off while you were distracted. Your hands clutched at him again, claws still nipping into his skin and clothes, but more like a cat kneading its owner rather than a lion latching onto prey. 

But those barbs sunk deep into him when you came. Your hold on him tightened, and the low growls reverberating through your body crescendoed into a few, cherished moans when your lips left his as rapture hit you. Miguel spared a look down at the mess you’d made, but too quickly his gaze returned to the bobs of your Adam’s apple, the muscles pulsing and tensing in the aftershocks, the sheen of red coating your cracked lips. It was enough to make him come undone, untouched by you, only fulfilled by the rub of cotton on his hardened cock.

And of course, you noticed it right away. Ugh. “You’re a freak,” you scoffed out between breaths. “Fucking–cumming from, what? Getting your pet off?” 

Miguel rolled his eyes to betray his embarrassment, and squeezed you hard at the base to pull one last mean, choked groan out of you. “Callate. You could try being grateful, hm?”

“Don’t think that’s in my programming.” You leaned back and looked down at the mess. “Who’s gonna clean this up, Doc?” You prodded looking up at him through your lashes. 

Miguel’s intrigue piqued. “Here I thought you were too tired,” he mocked. 

“Might change your mind tomorrow. Oughta cash in while I can.” 

“Hm.” Miguel let go and leaned back, shaky fingers working on his own clothes. “Guess I can give you another treat.”

But, as fate would have it, one more go of it turned into five, and left him half-alive come the morning.

[yuesya]

Mechamaru is a sad character, even though his anger at Shiki, to me, is honestly misplaced and more like self-loathing, envy, and commiseration.

It’s honestly sad what happens to Mechamaru because he did get the short end of the stick when it comes to Heavenly Restriction, didn’t he? He only wanted to have a healthy body, and in canon, he got it.

But what did it cost, really?

Because in the end, Mechamaru did in some way betray the jujutsu sorcerers. He can tell himself that he was desperate and he had the right to try and better his life when no one else cared to or was able to help him. He was in a shitty situation and tried fixing it first chance that presented it, but it doesn’t erase the fact that he betrayed his comrades. He indirectly (?)aided in the tragedy that happened by facitilating information to the curses, which HELPED Kenjaku’s plans, and he died for it. Here, he’s alive to suffer the consequences of ill-fated choices.

He wasn’t wrong to want it. He’s wrong because ultimately, his actions were an act of betrayal.

He feels remorse for his betrayal. He feels guilty. He feels angry at Shiki, because his gamble failed and here she stood as a shining bastion of a “perfect” life.

Though as seen in here, Shiki probably doesn’t give a single fuck about Mechamaru’s feelings. Only that his betrayal put the jujutsu society - and in turn, her family and friends - in jeopardy and that it went against the rules that Shiki was following ONLY because her family and friends wanted her too. Her moral and logic is pretty skewed, after all. Her first reaction to him being turned into a monster is to render him immobile VIA limbs breaking which honestly is NOT the first thing people do, but it’s admittedly in a twisted way the most optimal way to subdue transfigurated!Mechamaru.

TBH wrong is wrong. Betrayal is betrayal. Mechamaru isn’t an innocent victim who tried saving himself. How many more people would die and did die in the jujutsu world because he aided the curses? How many people died in Liyue because here the curses tried getting rid of Shiki?

Which brings me to another point: Whether it was voluntary or not, because of his betrayal which fed the curses informations and had Shiki hunting after them, Mechamaru ended up as a tool in the ambush against Shiki. Mahito tried using him as a shield, but unfortunately for him and the curses, Shiki’s reasoning is far too settled in pragmatic reasoning and logic to a certain point, after which she settled into brute force or death. She wouldn’t sacrifice herself for just Mechamaru, after all, nor be squirmish about breaking some limbs or killing some people.

Kinda shameless to be angry at the girl who you involuntarily aided in ambushing, no?

It’s just. The first time I read the short about Mechamaru (which was STILL amazing btw) I felt sorry for him.

The next few times I reread it though, I was like wait a minute, this doesn’t sound right, this guy is making Shiki to be the bad guy in interrogating him when he “just tried helping himself and he didn’t truly mean to betray the jujutsu society qwq!!!” because she has a perfect life but BITCH so many people just died LMFAOO Shiki here just doing her job and being hated, my poor girl (though she doesn’t care).

Mechamaru lost his gamble in using Mahito and turned into an even worse monster.

Likewise, the curses lost their gamble in trying to delete Shiki and were all basically wiped out in minutes lmao. They probably didn’t expect the Gojo Satoru Expy to actually be a Gojo Satoru 2.0 lol.

Shiki just doing her job, stuck in another world. :( And she had promised her cousin to make a detour to buy sweets, too rip. :(

(which brings me to another point i’m not gonna expand: Satoru and Shiki’s relationship? I LOVELOVELOVE IT!! The opposing powers they present! Satoru is not truly the sole “honored one”! Satoru has someone who somewhat understands the way he looks at the world! Who will stand by his decision and trust! Who’s willing to murder a bitch or a few for him! They’re two peas in a pod, sometimes HE has to be the moral compass for Shiki even! HIM! THE Gojo Satoru! A moral compass!!! 😂😂😂)

!! I am bouncing a bit in excitement from this haha.

Mechamaru! Is a very very unfortunate character. His attempt to outsmart Kenjaku and the Special Grade curses was not something that ended well for anyone. The information that he provided them allowed Kenjaku's faction to set up the test run at the Goodwill Event and break into the warehouse, stealing the Death Paintings and Sukuna's fingers. If we think about what happened in Shibuya, where Sukuna was able to cause as much devastation as he did because of ingesting the additional fingers... arguably Mechamaru played a definite role in allowing this situation to occur in the first place.

Mechamaru wants to be healed. He wants to have a normal body, and be a normal student of Kyoto High with his friends.

In exchange, he betrays the school -but he's not really betraying them, Mechamaru tells himself. Look, he's even been careful enough to extract a binding vow for his friends to be unharmed. And it's not as if he really intends to throw in his lot with Geto. As soon as he gets what he wants, he'll turn on them. Mechamaru doesn't need to kill them in order to win; all he needs to do is escape and find sanctuary with Gojo Satoru. And with the intel that he'll have in his hands, Gojo will definitely protect him. Then, they'll be able to counter their enemies properly from there-

We all know how that turns out in the end, though. The many casualties that result from Kenjaku's plans... Mechamaru might not be responsible, but he's certainly not blameless in allowing Kenjaku to set things into motion.

Mechamaru strikes me as a character who has a strong confidence and ego, which is balanced at the same time by a helpless sense of inferiority and anger. He knows that he's a powerful sorcerer, and he's the only sorcerer whose range covers an entire country -not even Gojo Satoru can do that! And Mechamaru is observant, and intelligent. He hates the limitations imposed upon him by his body, and he wants ever so badly to see for himself the world that he can only interact with through his puppets-

Shiki gets the brunt of that, in this particular AU.

Mechamaru lives. He lives, but he's angry and guilty and oh how he regrets, without truly regretting. Sorcerers are selfish creatures, and Mechamaru is no different.

Here Gojo Shiki stands in front of him, beautiful and powerful and perfect, looking down on him like Mechamaru means absolutely nothing. Given the turmoil that Mechamaru is currently experiencing... it's only natural that he lashes out at her.

(It's no excuse. But it is a reason.)

In contrast to Mechamaru's complicated feelings towards her, Shiki is fairly indifferent about him in return, despite his role as a lure in the 'ambush' for her. She simply protects him because she was assigned to retrieve Mechamaru for an interrogation. Shiki can't retrieve him if he's dead.

... So that just means she'll need to do her best to keep him alive, until she manages to find a way home.

[nsfwmiamiart]

Read this: Version #1: Dialogue Between Gal Gadot (@gal_gadot), Mila Kunis (@MILAKUNISV), and Natalie Portman (@natalieportman):

Natalie: "So, have you guys noticed how Crown Prince Angelo avoids being seen? I mean, it’s like he’s some kind of royal Houdini. The guy practically vanishes from the media. He lets everyone else handle the royal duties."

Gal Gadot: "Yeah, he's definitely not the type who wants to be googled. I swear, the guy’s a ghost online. It’s always Dominique de Villepin, Nadia Fettah, or even Louis Garrel stepping up for him. Angelo lets his whole entourage deal with the royal spotlight while he stays in the shadows."

Mila: "Honestly, props to him! If I could avoid all that paparazzi nonsense, I would too. I mean, isn’t that the point of having a big royal family? You've got a whole squad to handle things for you."

Natalie: "True! He writes those detailed blog posts, though. Gotta give the guy credit—he's basically running the family from behind a keyboard. Tumblr is practically his hotline to the family."

Gal Gadot: "Sure, he’s a tech geek. But come on, there’s this big, glaring elephant in the room that no one is addressing."

Mila: "Elephant? What elephant? Where?"

Gal Gadot: "sighs Don’t you see what Angelo’s doing? He’s gonna end up controlling all the oil. And he’s doing it with President Macron and Dominique by his side. It’s like they’re forming an economic power trio."

Natalie: "Well, it’s not like he’s doing it alone. It’s a team effort—Macron, Dominique, and Angelo. They’re all making sure the royal family’s interests are handled."

Gal Gadot: "Yeah, but these guys control everything! The money, the oil…they’ll be in power for decades, while we’re just... what? Cheerleaders?"

Mila: "I still don’t see the problem. I mean, I’m not power-hungry like you, Gal. I’m just happy they’re keeping everything safe and secure for the family. They’ve got it under control."

Gal Gadot: "laughing Not power-hungry? Come on! Power is my precious. in Gollum voice"

Natalie: "laughing Okay, Gollum! But really, I don’t think we have much to worry about. Angelo may be quiet, but he’s making moves. He’s like the head of Somali intelligence or something. He’s the keeper of all the state secrets."

Mila: "Wow, I didn’t even think about that. No wonder he never meets anyone face-to-face. He’s got too many secrets locked away."

Gal Gadot: "Exactly! He’s probably the highest-ranked intelligence officer in Somalia. The guy’s trained to keep quiet—like a real-life silent movie star."

Natalie: "Yeah, I read in one of his blog posts that he’s been training for fifteen years, typing half a million words a month. That’s what he calls 'word-boxing.' The guy is literally punching out secrets with his keyboard!"

Gal Gadot: "Word-boxing, huh? Sounds intense. And honestly, his humor is pretty killer too—like Deadpool levels of sarcasm. He’s got that Ryan Reynolds vibe going."

Natalie: "Maybe he’s even collaborating with Deadpool’s writers on his blog. You never know! Anything’s possible in this royal world."

Mila: "Wait—so he never speaks? Like, never?"

Natalie: "Yup. Total silence. He’s all about security, so everything’s written. He’s like Raj from The Big Bang Theory. You know, selective mutism but without the alcohol fix."

Gal Gadot: "Wait, who’s Raj?"

Mila: "Rajesh Koothrappali—he’s the guy who couldn’t talk to women unless he thought he was drinking. A real comedic gem."

Natalie: "laughs Oh yeah, Raj! Angelo’s definitely got that same mystery vibe. You wanna know the secrets, but good luck getting access to them."

Gal Gadot: "But what if I want to know some state secrets? I mean, I am part of the royal family, right?"

Natalie: "Good luck with that! Angelo’s not gonna spill anything. Those secrets are locked tighter than Fort Knox."

Mila: "Exactly! He’s like the gatekeeper. If you knew those secrets, you’d be carrying a massive target on your back. One wrong move and bam—our whole monarchy could be in jeopardy."

Gal Gadot: "So, you’re saying we’re being protected... by Angelo?"

Mila: "Pretty much. He’s guarding the secrets, and that keeps us safe. If anyone overhears the wrong info, it could lead to chaos. Rivals would love to get their hands on what Angelo knows."

Gal Gadot: "sighs Okay, I guess I get it now. It’s like... us against the world, huh?"

Natalie: "Exactly. We’re a royal family, and we’ve got enemies out there. Loose lips sink ships. Just think of it like A Quiet Place. We have to stay silent to survive."

Gal Gadot: "Fine, I’ll work on controlling my tongue. No more spilling the tea. I’ll practice being 'mute'—like Angelo."

Natalie: "Me too. It’s gonna take some effort, but hey, it’s a skill worth mastering. Consider it royal training."

Mila: "Yup. Let’s all get good at the art of shutting up. For the sake of the royal family."

The End

P.S.:

Synopsis of the Dialogue Between Gal Gadot, Mila Kunis, and Natalie Portman:

In this witty dialogue between Gal Gadot, Mila Kunis, and Natalie Portman, the trio discusses Crown Prince Angelo's reclusive nature and his refusal to engage in public appearances. Instead, Angelo delegates royal duties to trusted figures such as Dominique de Villepin, Nadia Fettah, and others, while focusing on writing insightful blog posts that guide the royal family's actions. Natalie praises Angelo for his tech-savvy approach, calling Tumblr his "telephone number," while Gal raises concerns about the immense power Angelo, President Macron, and Dominique wield over oil and economic control. Mila, on the other hand, sees no issue, emphasizing the protection and stability this power brings to the royal family.

The conversation takes a playful turn as Gal, with a touch of "Gollum voice," admits her craving for power, while Natalie and Mila assure her that everything is under control. The dialogue further explores Angelo's secretive nature, with Natalie revealing that he acts like the head of an intelligence agency for the Somali Monarchy, safeguarding critical state secrets. The three women acknowledge Angelo's skill at "word-boxing" through his prolific writing and speculate on his silence as a security measure. They liken his secret-keeping to the need for silence in A Quiet Place, ultimately concluding that protecting royal family secrets is paramount to their survival and success in a world full of rivals.

The dialogue blends humor, suspense, and a bit of pop-culture references while highlighting the importance of loyalty, power, and security within the Somali Royal Family.

[godofcreatitivity]

One Piece the Movie

(the following is a nonprofit fan based parody any characters form one piece is owned by Eiichiro Oda, Toei Animation Co., Ltd., any characters from super Mario are owned by Nintendo, any characters from troll hunters, are owned by DreamWorks and universal

Disclaimer

Some of the characters found in this story and / or universe does not belong to me, but are intellectual property of their respective owners. Any original characters in this story are my intellectual property.

Story nonprofit created fan and fan without compromising the original work.)

Chapter 12: oh, no! Here comes trouble!

(Mushroom Kingdom: Toad Town)

Toad was slowly walking through Toad Town, full of regret and sadness.

This was because of the fact that he wasn’t really able to help Luffy out much while he was there.

Not only that, they may have wasted his time, trying to help him by sending him to the princess without knowing whether or not she would help him.

And it really slowed him down rather than helped him in the process.

And it’s not like he’s going to be able to help him on his adventure I mean come on he’s a mushroom toad.

What are you gonna be able to do, scream and run away?

Let’s be honest, he wasn’t exactly a fearless killing machine meant to take down any threat that came to the kingdom.

Especially if it came to going up against his army of monsters.

Toad was completely useless in that field, and especially in that field.

Because of this, he felt extremely guilty over what had happened. He just wanted to get back to his store and get back to doing what he was good at.

(Back at the store)

Bernie was still standing behind the cash register, taking care of a customer.

“So these keys are like custom made right? I’m just asking in case I don’t know if they accidentally get lost or break or something”, the customer was a blue Toad who was holding one of the golden keys from the side of the cash register.

Bernie nodded his head reassuringly,” yep made a mess off, took quite some time to. I got a whole case of them in the back”.

The blue mushroom smiled and grabbed four more keys from the bin,” all right I’ll take five of these”.

Bernie then shot him a confused and shocked expression,” Wow that’s a lot. I hope you don’t plan on losing all of those keys”.

The blue Toad quickly shook his head before chuckling,”hehe no some of my other friends are moving in with me to start this special club, and I wanted to get the more keys for when they moved in that way just to make it easier for everyone! I’ve been saving up so I’ll pay whatever price”.

Bernie quickly nodded his head,” well all right that’ll be ten coins”.

The blue toad reached into his back pocket and pulled out each of the coins, one by one, until it reached the number ten.

Once he grabbed all five of the keys and began walking out to the front entrance before waving back,” all right thanks again, Bernie see ya”!He shouted as he exited the store.

Bernie waved back at him before grabbing the coins, and opening up a chest underneath the counter, and placing each of them inside.

After he’s finished, putting all the coins inside, he closes the chess and gets up from underneath the register, just to spot to his excitement Toad, who was slowly walking back towards the store.

Bernie hopped up from behind the register, and made his way over to him,”Toad your back, thank God, please tell me you dealt with “you know who” and this whole crazy situation”, he asked hopefully.

Toad nodded his head in response,”yeah”.

Bernie blew a sigh of relief.

The last thing he wanted was for their business to be put in jeopardy, because of a strange creature that toad befriended.

And thankfully his friend was able to fix this whole mess up without any problems either.

Bernie was about to say something else when he then noticed the sad and depressed look on Toads face.

His relief then quickly turned into worry,”Hey Toad, you alright”?

Toad sighed sadly before slowly looking up at his friend,”Yeah I guess it’s just that….well I kinda wish I was able to help him more”.

Bernie shot him a look of confusion.

What the hell was he talking about?

He did take him to the princess right? So then there’s no reason to feel guilty about it.

Unless……

Bernie stepped up towards Toad,”Wait what are you talking about? You brought Luffy to the princess right”?, he asked curiously.

“Yeah but she said she wasn’t gonna help him because she was busy with other matters. And Luffy took that as a green light to go out and find his friends by himself without her,”Toad explained.

“Ok then- Wait, why are you upset about that, all you were supposed to do is take him to see the princess and that’s it, whether she wanted to help or not. So what’s the problem”?,Bernie asked.

Toad shrugged his shoulders,”I don’t know, I guess that I thought of this little assignment as a bit of an exciting adventure for a little bit and now it’s kinda over”.

Bernie (after hearing that) tilted his head to the side and placed his hands on his hips curiously,”Toad if I didn’t know any better I’d say you’d have something on your mind you wanna talk about”.

Toad paused for a moment after hearing that.

What was he trying to say?

That he wasn’t happy with the life he lived now?

That maybe he wanted something more than just owning a store most if not all the other toads could get somewhere else.

To be honest, he couldn’t really explain it, but he knew one thing and it was that whatever this feeling was, it was eating at him constantly.

He took a deep breath before speaking up,”I’m mostly just saying that, I don’t know, maybe going with him on his journey wouldn’t have been such a bad idea”.

Bernie almost immediately started shaking his head,”Toad, NO”!

“Ah come on Bernie, what are we doing in this kingdom that’s so important that we’d let someone walk into a literal death trap”, Toad argued.

“Toad don’t be like that, he went out there by his own choice! That has nothing to do with us! And even if we did go out and help him, it's not like we’d be a lotta help to him! We’re Toads, you know that we are not built for danger, we’re too adorable for that ”!Bernie shouted.

Toad slaps his hand on his face in frustration before walking inside the store,”There you go again with that! Bernie, don’t you ever get tired of everyone out there telling us we’re too cute and adorable! And that we’re not capable of doing anything more than work around the kingdom and protecting and serving our princess! Especially when there might be a small chance that that’s not true”?!, Toad said as he started grabbing, and placing items on some of the shelves.

Bernie saw this and grabbed an item as well before placing it on the aisle,” Of course it’s true, that’s all we’re meant to do and that’s all we need to do. And at least we have guards”.

“You mean the same guards that I just easily was able to bribe in order to get a complete stranger to enter the castle! Oh, wait, no, the same guards that are too scared to even leave the kingdom grounds”!Toad pointed out before moving to the other side of the aisle.

Bernie shot him a look,” Oh what, are you saying you all of a sudden hate your life here”.

He took a deep breath before continuing,”What no, look, I’m not saying that I don’t love my life here and running the shop. I’m just saying that we’re built for more than just this. And I’m tired of just sitting here looking like idiomatic, cute and adorable background characters that just sit around, looking stupid while we support the main character! When we could carve ourselves a path to a supporting character, or even a main character of a story, rather than just being this”!, he shouted before finishing up with the aisle and making his way over to the front counter then planted his face on the top.

After a few moments of looking at him in silence, Bernie stopped what he was doing and slowly began making his way towards his friend,” Toad, buddy come on, this is what we’re meant to do. We’re not meant to go out on crazy adventures, or stand gloriously or heroically over a cheering crowd. We’re meant to do our duties and leave it to someone who is meant to go out and have those crazy adventures and glorious moments. We’re just not built for those kinds of things”.

Toad lifted his head up from the counter and shat a blank expression at his friend,” You say that, but I just saw a scrawny and honestly weird looking guy without a weapon or any allies to his name, run out if our kingdom in order to go and fight an entire kingdom full of blood thirsty monsters just so he can save his friends. Don’t you get it Bernie?! Some random guy who the world probably wouldn’t even think of as a hero is about to go and run face first into certain death”!

Toad shouted pointing his finger outside the store entrance into the distance of the mushroom kingdom.“And you want me to sit here and believe that this is the only life that we could possibly have”?!

“Well what do you expect, Toad? Him going out there to fight those things was his choice! That has nothing to do with us because we don’t know him! And he’s not one of us either! For all we know he could be some main mc in a story, or maybe just a goofy unimportant sidekick to a (probably) awesome mc! Who knows, who cares?! It's his lifestyle, not ours and it never will be”!Bernie shouted,”And the sooner you learn to accept that, the sooner you’ll have a better life here!”

Toad took a deep breath before speaking up,”Bernie it’s not that simple to jus…..t,” he said before trailing off.

He suddenly noticed something outside but couldn’t quite tell what it was.

He hopped over the register and started to walk towards the entrance.

With Bernie following after him, not quite finished with the conversation yet,”on no, toad we are not finished here! Now look I know this isn’t something you have quite grasped in your head yet but you can’t-“.

“Bernie, does that look like smoke to you?”Toad asked worriedly as he pointed to a line of smoke coming from the entrance of the town.

“What are you…..”Bernie's face went from angry to almost instantly confused at the sight of the smoke,”What the hell”?

Toad walked outside the store and tapped another mushroom on the shoulder,”Hey Ted, what’s up with the smoke”?

The mushroom shrugged his shoulders,”Don’t know, maybe the bakery downtown burnt some of their supplies again”?, he suggested.

Toad after hearing that nervously turned to Bernie (who was walking right up behind him).

Once Bernie was there with him, he shot Toad a (“this better not have been caused by who I think it is”) look before placing his hands on his hips.

Toad shrugged in response to the look.

And to be honest he didn’t know who bought this either.

But he knew one thing for a fact and that this wasn’t caused by Luffy in the slightest.

He saw Luffy walk back out into the mushroom forest to most likely go and find the warp pipe he was shot out of in order to find his friends.

So there’s no way that this would be caused by him.

After a few moments of looking up at the fiery smoke, Toad suddenly noticed that other mushroom toads were running specifically away from that direction.

They looked as if they were in danger of some sort.

He then looked back up at the smoke with worry, (Was it really so bad as to where they have to run from it).

Once he did he noticed that the smoke clouds were growing larger by the second.

Showing that whatever was going on had no intention of stopping.

Toad kept looking around and saw that more of his fellow mushroom people were still running away from the Smokey area.

An almost huge crowd of running toads started to form as they were all running in different directions (aside from the smoke one).

If it was dangerous, they were making it seem that someone could really use some help.

Toad had to figure out what the hell was going on. I need to do it quickly.

Bernie turned to toad in worry, but he didn’t see the same look on his face, instead he saw a determined look.

His face went pale at the sight of this.

He knows exactly what that look meant, and what Toad liked to do when he had it on.

Bernie reached out his arm to grab Toad before he could get the chance to go and do something stupid,”No no no no no, Toad don’t you dare-“.

But it was already too late.

Toad sprinted off towards the direction of the smoke as fast as he could.

Bernie tried to chase after him I’m an effort to stop him but he was too late to catch him in time before the crowd came in and got in his way.

Bernie tried to shout, “Toad wait no-“, but the noise of the crowd drowned out his voice, making it impossible for Toad to even hear him.

His friend was running off to find trouble, and there was nothing he could do about it

(Downtown)

Moving and pushing straight through the crowds that were moving in the opposite directions.

Toad was determined to see what exactly was going on.

He ran through the town as fast as he could, hopping and jumping over carts, tables in front of restaurants, and even other Toads that were in his way.

While he ran making his way to the scene, all kinds of thoughts filled his head.

(In his head)

(“What’s go on”)

(“What exactly started all of this smoke”)

And then closer he got to the scene, the more he felt the smoke fill the air.

Not only that, but when he passed by some other Toads, he saw that they all were covered with injuries.

They were nothing serious, just a few scrapes, small cuts, and bruises.

But it wasn’t exactly making it easier for his nerves to settle.

And it didn’t help that all the commotion wasn’t too far up the street, though he didn’t know whether or not to be thankful about this or not.

He was getting closer to the location as he heard what sounded like rubble, and debris, falling or breaking.

This caused him to jump in surprise a tiny bit.

Not only was there smoke, but now it was rubble getting thrown around.

What the hell is going on over there?

It sounded as if a fight was going on that he didn’t know about.

Or maybe something a lot worse.

And then out of nowhere he had one final question…..

(“Was whatever that was over there terrifying enough to scare all the other mushrooms”)

Toad would very soon get his answer.

Once he turned this next corner towards a cloud of smoke, he saw a yellow scaly hand appear from the smoke and grab him by the blues vest before picking him up and slamming him into a wall.

Toad winced in pain as the hand held him up tightly against the wall.

Then suddenly a giant cloaked figure slowly appeared from inside the smoke.

This figure was the same person whose hand was currently holding Toad up against a wall by his vest.

And from what he saw, it looked like the figure was somewhat observing him.

It was as he was trying to see who he was about to kill with his own bare hands.

He did this for a few moments before suddenly bursting in laughter at what he saw.

This went on for a few seconds before he was finally able to calm himself down and look straight at Toad,” well well well looky what we got here, looks like one of the small fry actually ran towards our direction”, he said before chuckling loudly.

He slowly brought himself closer to Toad’s face,” you must think yourself a hero, huh ya little stubby shit”, he asked him as he tightened his grip on Toad, causing him to grunt in pain.

Though he didn’t answer the cloaked figure’s question.

He was a little busy trying to free himself from his tight grip against the wall.

Seeing the foolish little mushroom person ignoring him angered the cloaked giant,” ya know”, (chuckle),” I always did wonder what was inside those little mushroom caps of yours,” reaches behind himself and pulls out a sledgehammer that was almost as big as the figure himself.

Toad froze at the sight of the giant hammer, in fear of the weapon.

“Why don’t we give it a good couple of whacks, just to see what we’re dealing with”, he said sinister Lee as he pulled the hammer back in preparation to swing it at Toad’s head.

Toad closed his eyes to brace himself for what was about to happen next.

The cloaked giant started to swing the hammer forward at a quick speed.

But then just when the hammer was about Conner with Toad’s face, a voice called out to the cloaked figure,”Boris, enough playing games”!

The two turned to see multiple cloaked figures menacingly appear out of the smoke.

The big guy dropped his shoulders and sighed loudly,”uuuhhh come on Captain, can’t I just have a little fun caving his head in”, he begged.

Toad turned pale in the face after hearing that, in fear that the other intruders would let him if they wanted to.

One of the other cloaked figures stepped forward before placing an also yellow, reptilian scale hand on his shoulder,”No we’re not here to have fun we’re here on a mission remember?! So stop screwin around and focus”!

The bigger figure dropped his head in disappointment as he lowered his weapon and lightened his grip on Toad.

Toad was about to sigh a breath of relief, thinking he was in the clear.

When suddenly the smaller figure quickly turned to him and slapped his hands together,”Ahem, sorry about my friend here. He’s more of the meathead type than the brain type”, he said as he patted the bigger guy on the shoulder.

He then turned to face the other cloaked figures,”Me and my others here just arrived not too long ago and are hoping to request an audience with your princess on behalf of our glorious King”.

Toad tilted his head and raised a brow at what he had just said.

Who were these guys?

Why did the look like they were in a cult of some kind?

Why were they attacking his home?

And why earth would he let them go anywhere near the princess after this?

“Who…..who are young-guys' ', Toad struggled as he was still being held up tightly against the wall.

The cloak figure paused for a moment before he started to chuckle loudly in Toads face, as if to mock him,”Wow yeah I guess we should start with that huh. And here I thought you toads would remember us by now given all that we've been through”.

The cloaked leader then snapped his fingers, signaling for all the other cloaked figures to remove their cloaks, which they almost immediately started to do.

One by one, each of them removed the cloaks that cover their bodies.

Which, as a result, revealed their true faces.

And what they did, and Toad saw who they were, the color in his face, completely drained away in fear, causing him to gasp loudly.

He knew exactly who they were now, and then, with no allies of the mushroom kingdom.

If anything, they were the mushroom kingdom‘s worst enemies to date.

They were some of the most vicious creatures this world has ever seen.

Theirleader, was far from an exception to the legends either.

They were the enemies of the mushroom kingdom……

Koopas!!!

They were some of the worst creatures to ever encounter in this, or any world, if you ran into them.

They were known for taking over and destroying other kingdoms at certain that path

They were one of the worst things to ever walk this world.

They were…… turtles?

Believe it or not, the worst enemy of the mushroom kingdom were a bunch of turtle like creatures.

But they weren’t just any turtle lake creatures, if anything they were far from the average turtle.

Koopa Troopas are large, humanoid turtles. They usually had yellow skin, blue eyes, a shell, and shoes. The colors of the shell often vary among the species, but the two most common are red and green. They also had shoulder and new pads too that helped match their color. They even had rounded helmets that fit the exact shape of their heads.

The were only five of the green shelled koopas that were present.

Koopa Paratroopas are pretty much the same as Koopa Troopas, save for the fact that they have wings to fly with.

There were four of them present, all of them who had red shells.

Hammer Bros. (or Hammer Brothers) are a species of Koopa that stand upright and throw hammers at passing-bystanders. They have bigger shells than Koopa Troopas and also wear helmets. They have also been described as elite members of their king’sKoopa Troop.

There were two of them present at the scene and arm to the teeth with hammers.

The sledgehammer bro was a koopa with yellow skin and belly plates, green shells and helmets, and big feet with three toes each. Unlike their smaller relatives, Sledge Bros. do not wear shoes, and their eyes are also smaller and beady; additionally, they usually carry around large sledge hammers instead of small, clawed hammers.

As was stated earlier, Boris was the only sledgehammer bro with them.

And last but certainly not least, the supposed leader of this group pulled off his hood to reveal a red shelled Koopa. But he wasn’t like the other ones he wore. Spiked shoulder pads on his shoulders, and had an eyepatch on his right eye, giving him a somewhat menacing look.

Once he has revealed himself, the red eyepatch, Koopa gave Toad a devilish smile,” And where are my manners? I am The Right Hand Man Of The Koopa General: Trython and I’m here on a little mission”.

Toad started to shiver in fear as he still realized what this really was.

It was an ambush in the mushroom kingdom, and it was being led by the Koopas.

“W-what are you Koopas doing here? And what do you want?”, Toad quickly asked, trying to get information out of them.

Trython started to laugh loudly,“Aw come on I know you toads are a little on the slow side but I know you’re not that far over. It’s obvious that we’re here for you princess”!, inches a little closer to Toad before whispering,”And we’re gonna get her”.

Toad gasped once again,” The hell you Koopas are! The princess will never let you kidnap her”!, Toad bravely shouted.

“She will if she wants this fungus converted shithole of a kingdom to keep standing on its feet and not be ripped apart by our secret weapon”!, the koopa leader shot back before turning and pointing to a giant box that some of the Koopa troopers were pulling into the town.

It was a Normas almost as big as the entire water fountain area.

What the hell was in that was so big that it would be counted as a secret weapon.

Whatever it was Toad knew for a fact that it wouldn’t do anything good for his home.

He had to stop them before they could unleash it on the town.

He tried even harder to try and free himself from the sledge Bros grip,”I’m not gonna unleash whatever’s in there out of my home! And I’m sure as hell not gonna let you lay a hand on our princess! Because I’m going to stop you”!

After hearing his brave declaration, The koopas stood there, staring at him blankly.

A couple of seconds passed bed they all start hysterically, bursting out laughing.

“Oh no guys be careful! The stuby little fungus midget’s gonna try stop us”,Boris mocked before once again bursting out into laughter.

Which in return caused his grip on Toad to tighten.

If they hadn’t heard a funny joke before they sure did now.

If they had known the toads to be that funny they would’ve probably spared a lot more of them than planned.

But they had a plan to follow and they weren’t about to just stray from the plan.

“Wow who knew you little guys would be that funny and adorably pathetic at the same time”, Trython mock Toad as he tightly pinches one of his cheeks.

Toad groaned in pain as he then used his hand to push him away,“I’m serious you reptiled freaks! I’m gonna let you hurt or destroy my home”!,Toad angrily declared.

But instead of it making the Koopas back off it only really made them laugh even harder.

“Well we’ll we’ll, looks like we got a little hero here! Ready to kick ass and save the day”!, turns to sledgehammer Koopa and taps him on the shoulder,” hey Boris, why don’t we give the little hero the special hero’s treatment, huh”?

Boris grinned widely,”I was thinking the same thing”, he said, as he slowly lifted up his sledgehammer and pointed towards Toad’s head.

The determined look on Toad’s face, lol is shifted into a terrified look.

Seeing as though he may have made his situation with them a lot worse than the better.

And there was no one there to back him up or help him.

The Koopas begin to chuckle as they were here, getting ready to have their phones soon.

But unbeknownst to them that was another mushroom person, hiding out in the distance, watching the whole thing occur.

It was Bernie!

He had somehow made it through the running crowd and was able to find toe but unfortunately, he was a little tied up at the moment.

Not only that they looked as if they were about to cave his head in.

Bernie wanted to help with every fiber of his being, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to do much against them, especially against big guys like the sledge hammer bro.

So he just stood there, hidden away from them trying to think of a plan on how to help his best friend.

Add a couple of ideas ran through his head, but he knew they wouldn’t work.

For one, he knew better than to ask any of the help from any of the other mushroom people, they would be too scared to eally want to help out.

He was thinking about going to get the princess, but after hearing that plan, that’s the last thing he wanted to do.

cause a distraction? No, that will only send a few of them away.

He needed a distraction that would keep all of their attention and focus on it instead of toad and him.

After thinking for a few more moments, an idea finally popped into his head that might work.

He turned and looked out into the distance, that Luffy kid sure seems loud enough noxious enough to distract them all.

And with all that talk about fighting those monsters in the dark lands, he sure would seem confident in his own skills.

And while they pummeled him, he and Toca find the opportunity to escape.

It was perfect, if he’d be able to find him out in the forest.

He looked out towards the mushroom forest out in the distance.

If he was lucky, maybe he would be able to find that kid and bring him here in time before he left this world.

But he needed to hurry.

Bernie jumped up and quickly, but quietly made his way around the whole situation in front of him by basically hiding behind food cards or going through different building windows before finally making it to the mushroom kingdom entrance, and running out towards the mushroom force as quickly as possible.

Toad didn’t look like he had much time left, so he needed to be quick, really quick.

(Peach’s Castle)

Peach was pacing back and forth in her throne room, thinking about what she was going to say to the other rulers of the other kingdoms.

(Unfortunately for her that was proving to be a much more difficult task than she originally thought).

She was basically reading off of note cards that she liked to use for whenever she needed to get her thoughts down.

“(Ahem)Fellow rulers, comrades and friends alike, Bular is coming to launch a full fledged attack on my kingdom! And so I basically need all of you to basically send all of you soldiers that may or may not get killed in order to….save…..my kingdom- no no no no what the hell am I thinking”!, She tore off that page and tossed it away before turning to the next page to look for something better to say.

”Alright, this enemy that we face is more powerful than we’ve ever faced for I know, but if we band together and unite our kingdoms so that we might hope to be…..almost….as….powerful-“, stops before sucking her teeth,”oh yeah peach maybe if you get them all to band together maybe and hopefully create a bunch of giant sparkles too while you're at it”, she said sarcastically before tearing that piece of paper off and throwing it to the side.

She then turned to the next page to see if this one would be better than the last two.

“All right, look everyone, Bular is coming and we all know about what his army is capable of and if we don’t stop him he’ll kill all of us! Well he’s mostly coming after our kingdom, but surely he’ll come….for... .yours…too- Arg GOD DAMMIT”!!!, she angrily shouted as she then threw the notes at the wall.

She then went over and sat down in her throne before cupping up her face in her hands, frustrated with her lack of progress with her big speech.

(Yeah, it was that bad and it wasn’t getting any better)

She was preparing to leave that next morning, and she had no idea what she was going to say to the rest of the royal council.

The entire mushroom kingdom was counting on her to get those armies together, in order to protect the kingdom.

Not only that, she needed the army to be strong enough to somewhat hold off Bular’s forces.

Who is she kidding?

She’d be lucky if even one of the kingdoms wanted to help.

And that’s if she came up with a convincing enough speech to get them to help.

Though evaluation would’ve been the easiest option for them to take, she wasn’t about to just sit there and run away, While everything she worked hard to protect would be torn apart by those monsters.

Especially if it was made by people whom she calls family.

She couldn’t let them down no matter how hard the situation was.

And that was just a basic problem right now.

She was still hung up over the human. She met literally an hour ago.

The first human she ever met, and she shooed him away just like that.

No, she fully didn’t regret refusing to help him with his situation.

She would’ve liked to know more about him in other humans that he may have encountered.

Growing up with all the mushroom people was nice, but it would’ve been great to have been around someone of her own kind rather than her friend Princess Daisy of course.

But because of the current situation and her determination to help her kingdom, she may never get the opportunity again.

Any chance of her learning about the human world, other humans, what they like, what they wore, and what they ate are all gone.

And that deeply disappointed her in a way she couldn’t imagine.

She would literally kill to get another opportunity like that.

Unfortunately though she didn’t see that happening anytime soon.

Just then, while she was in her thoughts, the throne room door suddenly swung open.

Toadsworth quickly limped into the room as fast as he could before, stopping in, taking quick glances around the room.

Once he spotted the Princess he ran over to the steps leading up to her throne,”Princess are you alright?! I heard screaming”!, he asked concerningly.

There was no response from her.

She didn’t answer him immediately because she didn’t really know what to really tell him.

That she was frustrated with the fact that she couldn’t figure out what she was gonna tell the other kingdoms when she met them.

Oh wait, even better that she was somehow conflicted on meeting another human for the first time.

And the icing on the cake, that she didn’t know how she was going to make sure that her and the other kingdoms were able to go up against the troll empire.

Oh, she was thinking negative thoughts, and she didn’t really want to show him, mainly because she served as a beacon of hope for the kingdom.

And the last thing, the people who are already on edge with everything that’s going on wanted to see the princess off her game as well.

So before answering the princess took a deep breath and straightened herself up before looking over at him with a smile and nodded her head.

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine, Toadsworth. I just accidentally dropped my notes on the ground,that’s all”, she said in a reassuring tone as she got up from her throne and walked down the steps and passed Toadsworth, to pick up her notes that were in the middle of the floor.

Toadsworth rose an eyebrow at this and placed his hands on his hips,” Really? Nothing else happened here?”

She nodded her head,”Yes”

“There’s nothing that might be on your mind that you would wish to talk with me about”?, he asked suspiciously as he tilted his head to the side.

She quickly shook her head,”No of course not”.

“Really?”, he asked once again.

She nodded her head again,”Really”, before going back to looking at her notes, before she then made her way over to her throne.

Toadsworth just stood there, looking at her suspiciously.

He knew for a fact that something was wrong with her.

He was a lot of things, stupid was most certainly not one of them.

Especially when he had raised her for the last 20 years of her life.

He knew there was something wrong with her and he thinks he knows exactly what it is that’s bothering her.

He slowly walked up the stairs to her and gently placed his hands on hers (which suddenly surprised her but at the same time got her attention),”Princess please know you can’t lie to me”.

She was about to say something in defense of that but then quickly stopped herself and slowly turned away from him,”I’m making it that obvious, huh”?

Toadsworth chuckled before nodding,”Yes you never were too good at hiding anything from me, you all know that”, he reminded her before turning to look at the ground and then turning back at her,”It’s about the whole situation Isn’t it”.

She looked away from him for a moment and chuckled,”Nothing gets past you, huh”, Takes a deep breath,”Everyone in this kingdom is counting on me to protect them and keep them away from danger. And the last thing I want is for them to have to have their homes taken away from them by someone who thinks they have the power to do so. And that’s why this meeting needs to go well in order to keep that from happening. And I’m trying so hard to figure out what the right things are to say to them that will get them to agree to help us. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop the thought of them refusing to give us an eight out of my head, especially when they know we need it the most. And to make things worse I just feel conflicted on meeting another human being other than Daisy for the first time in my life and I just waved him away, without even really getting a chance to at least get to know about him or other humans. And now I’m trying to figure out how to keep the destruction of our kingdom from being the only outcome of this whole thing and it’s so stressful to think about and I’m not sure where to go from after this? and I know you think that running would be the only real option for us but I disagree. I know there’s something else we can do that we haven’t thought of yet. But now I……just don’t know where to go from here”.

She had to take a minute to catch her breath, mainly because she was kind of out of it from all the talking she was doing at least.

While she was doing that, the toad's worth was just sitting there trying to process all that she had just sat.

Or at least trying to figure out what was the right thing to say to her at that moment that wouldn’t crush her spirits.

That was the last thing she needed right now especially with how important the situation was.

He took a step closer to her,'' Princess listen, it’s alright to feel under stress about a situation like this. It can be a lot for any person, no matter how many years of experience they might have. The point is that you keep yourself together in focus on what the main objective is. I raised you to be strong, smart, and resourceful and I expect nothing less from you. I expect you to be strong and stand your ground no matter what situation comes your way”, he then places his hand on her shoulder,”But don’t forget to let others into your heart and help guide you in ways you never thought you could be guided. You never know what you could learn from those around you and what they have to offer. And if you really have to go out there and face off against the dangers this world has to offer then, then so be it, just know that I’ll be right here waiting for you to return and giving you all my love and hopes as well.. In the end, I know you’ll be able to figure it out because that's the kind of person you are”.

The princess (after hearing that) slowly began to smile as she then placed her hand onto his as well,”Thank you toadsworth, you always know what I need to hear don’t you”?

Toadsworth smiled confidently,” well, of course I do as you’re-“

Suddenly the door slams wide open as multiple mushroom guards come flooding into the room.

This startles, both Peach and Toadsworth causing them both to jump.

Toadsworth accidentally lost his balance and fall on his back.

Peach (after calming herself down a little) had gotten up from her throne and looked down to see that the mushroom guards were huffing and puffing, as if they were out of breath from running a distance.

She turned to look at Toadsworth (who was rubbing his back from the fall) and went over to help him up.

Once she did she quickly started to check him out, trying to make sure that he didn’t have any severe injuries that needed to be checked out.

Once he had properly deduced that he had no injuries, she nodded to him, as he did her, as a sign that everything was alright.

Once that was over, the two of them quickly made their way down the steps before then running across the room towards the royal guards, wondering what was going on with them.

Peach stopped on from of them,”Is everything alright”?, she asked in a concerned tone.

One of the guards in return shot her a scared and terrified look before answering……..

(The Mushroom Forest)

Luffy was quickly making his way through the mushroom forest as fast as he could in order to get to that warp pipe.

Whether it was by slingshotting through the air by using some of the mushroom tree’s.

Or by hopping on or jumping over giant mushrooms on the ground.

Either way he was making it there to that pipe no matter what stood in his way.

After a few more minutes of running and jumping through the mushroom forest, he was finally able to make it to the place he had arrived, the Warp pipe.

Once he was there he was able to get a better look at the are

It was just like how he had saw earlier, surrounded by mushrooms, and a ruined structure, covered in vegetation

He then placed his hands on his hips , confident that he was able to find and locate the one thing that could get him out of there and help find his friends.

He started walking up to where the pipe was, but then all the sudden he stopped for a moment.

He turned his sights back to the mushroom king for a quick.

To be honest in the short time he was there, you kind of grew fond of it.It was fun, colorful, and had lots of nice people.

Unfortunately their leader wasn’t too quick to help him out though.But sometimes on an adventure, you take the good with the bad. And it wasn’t like it was a complete and total bust. He was able to meet a few new people while being there. Like toes, Bernie, (and even though they had gotten off on the wrong foot) the princess, who seemed very determined to protect her land and people.

And for that little fit in mind that she didn’t really want to help him, considering the fact that she was busy, trying to protect her own people in the family. When you have to do something like that for a reason so no more he couldn’t be angry at her.

Though it didn’t really help him out with his situation.

And it didn’t really help that he was in another world with no idea where to go.

He would have to rely on himself and his own skills to be able to help him, go out and find his friends wherever they might be in this so-called scary“Darklands”.

And then apparently what everyone was telling him is that if he did go there, he would have to go up against this “Bular” if you ever wanted to be able to see his friends again.

So any normal person would probably be too scared to go up and face this challenge monkey D Luffy wasn’t just any ordinary person.

And he sure as hell wasn’t scared of any “Bular” or his army.

And so therefore, he was up for the task of rescuing his friends and kicking this bull, our guys ass, if and when it came to that.

And so he bid farewell to the mushroom kingdom, and started to walk closer to the warp pipe.

He was about to stretch his arm up to go and grab it when suddenly.

“HEY WAIT PLEASE DON'T GO”!!!

Voice shouted from a distance behind him causing Luffy to stop and turn around to see who it was.

And when he did he saw that it was one of the mushroom people except he was a red colored one.

And he was running as fast as he could towards him.

Luffy tilted his head in confusion…..

Who was this guy?

And what did he want with him?

“PLEASE WAIT I NEED YOUR HELP”!!!!, the mushroom person called out to him again.

Luffy was able to get a better listen on this guys voice and almost instantly recognized him.

It was Bernie!

Toad’s friend and he stated earlier his business partner.

What was he doing all the way over here?

Luffy decided to just shrug it off before he began running over to him to see what was wrong.

And after a few seconds of running the two of them finally met.

The burning in the moment or two to catch his breath from all the running he did.

Luffy didn’t really need to do that, so he just decided to go straight to the questions,” Hey Bernie, what are you doing all the way out here I thought you were at your shop”?

Bernie was still hurting and puffing and trying to do his best to speak and answer his question,”L-L-Luffy, y-you gotta help us! Our enemy, The K-K-Koopas sent spies into our kingdom in order to t-t-try and k-kidnap our princess! T-Toad t-t-tried to stop them b-b-but now he’s in t-trouble”!

Luffy eyes went wide after hearing this….

Yeah, only left a little while ago and everything goes to shit, just like that.

Bernie, who has mostly calm down, was still trying to plead with Luffy,” you have to help him or they’re going to kill-“.

Before he could stay another word, Luffy had already ran right past him and made a beeline for the mushroom kingdom.

He had to hurry if he was going to help his friends from whatever threat might be causing so much destruction.

When he took a closer look, he saw smoke in the distance, causing him to run even faster.

Hang on Toad, Luffy was on his way…,…

(End Of Chapter )

Hey Everyone, sorry for the long awaited chapter I had to handle some business but everything’s OK and I got this out in just the right amount of time.

Next chapter will be coming out sooner than later, believe me



[fangirlshrieks]

The Wrong Version Part 3

a/n: I feel like this is the same thing as Spring Break. Whatever 🤷‍♀️. Y'all college is starting and I might not write for a while. I wish I could write more but I'm a stem major and I just know ochem is gonna kick my ass. Anyway I think part 4 will be the last part but idk.

Update: Forgot to mention that I totally copied that one scene from Atonement. That one bit with "anatomical." Part 4 is coming up next.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Word count: 4,235

Pairings: Neville Longbottom x dom!reader

Warnings: fluff! that turns into smut!, Innuendoes, sub!Neville, dom!reader, soft!dom, shy!Neville

Summary: Neville had finally gotten the courage to tell you how he feels with a little help from his friends. He has written everything he has ever wanted to tell you in the form of a letter. What happens when the real letter gets mixed up with a more provocative letter that you were never meant to see?

Neville exited his last class of the day with a worried look on his face. He had been dreading when his last class would end and he would have to talk to you and see if you returned his feelings for you. He had been sweating all day with nervousness and felt like he needed to change into new clothes before he went to find you so he returned to his dorm to change. 

He quickly found a clean button up and sweater vest to put on and changed out of his school uniform. Then he went looking through his drawers to find more casual pants than his slacks. As he was looking through his drawers he thought he should put some cologne on and maybe fix his hair just a bit. He needed to at least feel a bit confident in himself if you turned him down, which he felt was a high possibility. After combing his hair and spritzing himself with a bottle of cologne that his grandmother gave him, he returned to look for a nice pair of pants. As he opened the drawer of his dresser he found a pair and put them on. 

Looking at himself in the mirror one more time before he left, he noticed the top drawer of his nightstand was not closed all the way. He must have forgotten to close it properly in his rush to get ready in the morning. He went to close it but then he saw the folded parchment with the scandalous scene written on it resting right on top of a pile of knick-knacks. He smiled to himself and grabbed the letter. He decided to read it one last time before he threw it away forever and let his secret die with him. 

He took the paper and unfolded it. As he read the letter, his eyes widened and his mouth slowly gaped open. In that second his heart stopped. The color from his face had faded and was now pale as ice. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. His fingers seemed to give out as the letter fell back into his drawer. The realization hit him that the letter he was reading was supposed to be the letter you were supposed to have received. And if that letter was still in his drawer then the one he put in the envelope was… 

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!" He cried out as he curled himself into a ball on his bed. 

"No. No. No. No. No. No. No. This cannot be happening." Hyperventilating now he sat up. He rocked himself back and forth in the fetal position to calm himself down as a few tears escaped his eyes. 

"I'm dead. I'm so dead." 

This was a complete nightmare. How could he ever face you again? His life was completely over and all he wanted to do was crawl into a cave somewhere and hide there forever. Of course something like this would happen to him. He just couldn't catch a break. It was already a big risk confessing his feelings for you but now he put his whole life at jeopardy by giving you the wrong letter. He was certain you would kill him on the spot when you saw him. 

'Why didn't I throw that stupid letter away when I had the chance.' He face-palmed himself in agony. 

He needed to get that letter back before you had the chance to read. That is if you haven't already read it. He remembered that Luna said she would give you the letter at the end of the day, so he hoped you hadn't had the chance to read it. Then there was the possibility that Luna might have forgotten to give you the letter, having her mind preoccupied with whatever interested her that day. He really hoped Luna forgot to give you his letter. 

As terrified as he was to leave his dorm room he went to go look for you. He first made his way to your last class, which was History of Magic. There were a couple of lingering students in the classroom as he entered the room. He didn't see you. He visibly panicked and some of the students stared at him in confusion but didn't say anything. He decided to leave. As he walked out he saw Hermione walking in the hall while reading a book. He knew Hermione shared the same class as you and he walked up to her. 

"Hermione, did you happen to see Y/N for History of Magic?" He was hyperventilating again and Hermione looked worried for him.

"Yes she was in class today." She said as she put her book down.

"She didn't look… disturbed or I don't know angry, did she?" 

"No. Why? Did something happen between you two?" Her eyebrows furrowed at the thought. She knew that Neville liked you and couldn't bear to see her two friends in a fight. 

"I… No. I just need to talk to her." He swallowed thinking about the inevitably beat down that he would receive from you. 

"I saw her head towards the library after class. You should check there." She said, giving him a pitiful look. 

"The library. Of course." He scolded himself for not thinking of that sooner. "Thank you Hermione." And with that he waved goodbye to her and rushed to the library. 

What was he going to say to you when he finally found you? 

'Hey I accidentally sent you a really graphic letter about you. Can I have it back?' Boy did he hope that Luna never got that chance to give the letter. 

He felt like he was going to throw up the closer he got the library entrance. It was almost like his body was telling him to bail but he knew he had to try to get the letter back before things got worse. 

He walked into the library as quietly as possible. He first wanted to see if you were acting different or if you seemed angry or upset. If you were then he would leave immediately and never speak to you again. But if you acted normal? He honestly had no idea what to do if you had no idea what was going on. He would have to come up with a way to bring it up without mentioning the letter. That was easy right? 

All the tables were occupied with students so he hid behind the bookshelves just in case he saw you. As he moved from aisle to aisle, he checked to see if he could spot you anywhere. He was looking at the other side of the bookshelf through a small opening when he spotted your book bag on a table in a corner, only you were nowhere to be found. This only made him more nervous as he knew you were here but didn't know where. He needed to be extra care…

"Oh hey Neville" You said from behind him. 

He flinched at hearing your voice and bumped into the bookshelf, causing a few books to shake. He grabbed a shelf to steady it and then slowly turned to face you. 

"Y/N!" 

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that." You giggled at his jumpiness. You understood why though. However, it didn't make him any less adorable. "What brings you to the library?" 

'She's not acting any different. She doesn't seem mad at me either. Maybe she never got the letter?' He thought.

"Uh… Funny story actually" He still was not quite sure though. 

"Funny how?" You raised an eyebrow teasingly. "Like you're in trouble or ha ha funny?"

"I'm not sure yet." He was having a very difficult time thinking of a way to phrase his question. "You haven't received anything today have you? Like any packages or I don't know, a letter."

"No." You lied and placed a finger on your chin to act like you were thinking. "Not that I can think of." Then a brilliant idea popped into your head. "Why is there a prank I don't know about?"

"Oh thank Godric." He released a breath he had been holding in anticipation of your answer. He rested a hand on the bookshelf and the other hand on his knee to support him as he bent down to catch his breath. He was glad that you hadn't received his letter. Or so he thought. 

"So it was a prank then. Did Fred and George send something to me?" You continued your lie to see if he would tell you about the letter. "You know the last time I was on the receiving end of one of their pranks it did not end well for either of us." That part was true. In fact, you thought back at the time you, Fred, and George stayed in the care of madam Pomfrey for a night in the infirmary. You were recovering from their prank and they were recovering from one of your jinxes you had put on them. 

"What?" He looked at you confused. Then he remembered that you assumed it was a prank he was talking about. "Oh, yes. Yes, it was a prank. And I… I came here to stop it... before it happened. Yeah." He hoped you had bought what he was telling you. 

You eyed his facial features curiously. "Well thank you for warning me." 

He was just about to run out and find Luna to take back the letter when you stopped him.

"Neville now that you're here. Can you help me find this herbology book." You held up a note card with the name of the book. You really did have to write an essay that week but you were more interested in keeping Neville from leaving your side. "I need it to write that essay we have for professor Sprout." You smiled sweetly at him. Oh what that smile was truly hiding. Neville wouldn't know what hit him.

"Oh, of course." He was much more at ease now that he knew that you hadn't received his letter. Poor thing.

He took the card from your hand and read the name of the book. "I've read this one before. Follow me." He started walking you to a different aisle. 

"Here you go." He reached up to grab the book and gave it to you. 

"Thanks Nev." You said, giving him a warm smile.

"No problem." His cheeks were blushing a deep red at the nickname. "You know, if you need any help I'll be glad to work with you. I haven't started the assignment either so we can work together if you'd like." He quickly reconsidered this thinking it would be a bad idea for him to be around you for a while. He still felt pretty guilty about the letter. "But it's fine if you'd prefer to work alone." 

"No, that sounds perfect actually. It would be easier to get it done together." You said flipping through the pages of the book. "Come on." 

You led the way back to the table you were sitting at and sat down with him. The two of you had made some progress on your essay but you were mostly distracted by your thoughts the entire time. The side conversations eventually led to full on ignoring your essay completely and just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. You two were reminiscing on last year's events and your time in the DA meetings together. You two were beginning to become too loud and were eventually kicked out of the library. 

"Well at least we made some progress." You said as the two of you made your way down the corridor. 

"If by progress you mean only one paragraph." He laughed. 

You noticed that he seemed more relaxed now. It was always a good feeling to have Neville relaxed around you, he was more himself. 

"It's more than what we had when we started. So yes, one paragraph is progress." You smiled at him. 

"Do you still want to work together? We can go to my dorm." You said casually. 

"You're dorm?" He stated nervously.

"Yeah, my dorm. We can eat my stash of Oreos. My grandmother just sent me a new box full of them." You knew Oreos were his favorite muggle cookie brand. He tried them after you had offered them to him in your 2nd year and he was hooked ever since. Hopefully that would entice him to come with you to your dorm. "Plus there will be no one to kick us out if we talk too loud."

"Umm… I don't want to ruin your other plans for tonight and have you work on the essay all afternoon." He smiled weakly thinking you were just being polite. "We could work on it another day if you're busy."

"I'm just working on this essay for the rest of the night. Really I don't have any plans." You said casually. 

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes I'm sure. Besides, once we're finished with the essay we have all week to relax." You smiled up at him.

His face lit up and nodded a yes. "Ok." His tone was still unsure.

"Great, follow me." Then the two of you made your way to your dorm.

"So tell me more about what Fred and George had planned." You asked casually.

"What?" He had completely forgotten about the lie he told earlier.

"You know about the prank." You had trouble holding in a chuckle at how bewildered he looked.

"Oh... Oh right. The prank. Well… it um…" his mouth suddenly became dry and his brain seemed to be on buffering mode.

"Come on, you can tell me. I already know about it." You teased. 

"Well it was a really bad prank." He said in the most convincing tone he could muster.

"I know that much. That's why you came to warn me. Should I expect anything arriving in the next few days?" You had been alluding to the letter he wrote you but he didn't notice. 

"Uhh… Oh yes. So don't open any packages you receive in the next few days no matter how small or who they come from." 

"Gotcha." You could tell he was a very bad liar.

He watched as you opened the dorm to the [your/house] common room.

"Come on" You motioned for him to follow you.

"Oh ok." He said quietly. Neville had only been in the [your/house] common room a couple of times before. That was usually when you would invite him in and the two of you would read together to finish up some homework, but he was never invited into your dorm room before. 

There were not many students in the common room as mostly everyone was out and about around the castle. The few students who were there didn't seem to mind or notice you bringing in the Gryffindor into the [your/house] common room. 

The two of you made your way to your dorm room and you opened the door and walked in. You left the door open expecting him to follow you in but he stood at the door way awkwardly. He debated on whether or not he should follow you. He half expected you to change your mind and work in the common room.

"Are you coming in?" 

He gulped as he walked into your bedroom, closing the door behind him. He was surprised to see only one bed and then remember that you were a prefect.

"I forgot that prefects have their own dorm room. It must be nice not having to share a space with other people." 

"Well it was fun living with my friends. But then again I guess it is kinda nice having my own space." You said putting down your bag on your desk.

"Woah what's this?" He made his way to the lava lamp that was on your nightstand. He had never seen anything like it. He seemed to be mesmerized by the blobs of red, orange, and purple floating around in the glass container. 

"That's a lava lamp." You giggled at his lack of knowledge of the muggle world. "I brought it with me from home." While he was distracted by the lava lamp you took the liberty to cast two nonverbal spells (a colloportus charm and a muffliato charm). 

You walked over to a cupboard and opened it. Inside was a whole stash of Oreos. You grabbed the box and tossed it on the bed. 

He turned towards the noise that was made when the box hit the bed. He watched as you began to make some herbal tea by magically heating some water and took some mugs from your little cupboard. With the mugs in your hand you made your way towards Neville, handed him a mug, and began to open the box. You took out a handful of cookies and then offered him the open box. You had intended for him to also grab some cookies but he mistakenly thought you wanted him to hold the box. He awkwardly took the box and stood there unsure what to do. You smiled at how cute he looked and bit into an oreo. 

You made your way to your desk and sat down. "You can sit down. It's fine." You motioned towards your bed, which he stood next to.

"Oh ok." He sat on the left side of your bed near the pillows. He was sitting on the edge of the bed and was a little uncomfortable but hoped he didn't look too awkward. Not knowing where to look he stared at your lava lamp that sat on your nightstand. He just wanted to start working on the essay.

"Neville, are you ok?" 

He turned to you flushed. "What, yeah I'm fine. I'm cool." 

"You can have an oreo. I did promise that you could have some." You laughed. "And you don't have to hold the box if you don't want to." 

"Oh right" He looked down at the mug and box of Oreos he was still holding, mostly to avoid your gaze. Then he grabbed a cookie. He looked around on where to put down the box then settled for placing it on your nightstand. He was incredibly uncomfortable, that you could tell as he drank his tea and ate his cookie. 

"Neville, is there something you want to tell me?" You gave him a soft look. 

"What do you mean?" Neville looked startled and wide eyed.

You turned to open your book bag that was on your desk.  You rummaged through your bag in search of his letter. "When you asked me if I had gotten a letter today, I thought you were going to mention the one you sent me. The one Luna gave me today." 

He stood up startled, bumping into your nightstand and almost knocking down your lava lamp once the words left your lips. He grabbed the lamp just in time for him to steady it. He turned to face you again and froze like a deer in headlights. You were now standing a few feet in front of him. His heart stopped and the color faded from his face. He felt a little light headed and queasy so he leaned on your nightstand for support. 

 "I have to say it was very… detailed." You took the letter out of your bag and displayed the broken seal of the letter to him. You averted your eyes away from his, instead looking at the floor feeling your face heat up.

By now he was terrified. He tried to explain himself but his mouth just gaped open. How would he explain himself? There was no excuse for what he did. He had no idea why you brought him into your room if you knew about the letter or why you lied about it earlier. Was this all some sick nightmare where you kill him or worse use the letter as blackmail. He considered jumping out the glass window near your bed just to get away from the situation and because you were blocking his way to the door. But that idea was really stupid, besides he'd be stuck on the roof. He had no other choice than to beg for mercy.

"It was a mistake. I'm so sorry Y/N. It was the wrong…" he gulped loudly trying to control his trembling voice. "... version. It was never meant to be read."

"I figured that much for myself." You huffed in a short laugh. You looked up at him and saw how embarrassed he was. You hoped you could make it up to him soon. "What was in the version I was meant to read?" You bit your lip. When your eyes met his, it was his turn to look away from you.

"It was more… uhh formal and less…" his blush spreading all the way to his ears.

"Anatomical?" You suggested.

"Yes. I know that you're probably disgusted by me now." He swallowed hard and grimaced at his own words. "I'll be out of your life forever but can you please not tell anyone." He turned his body away from you in shame. "Please, I'm begging you." He croaked.

Your eyes widened and you suddenly felt guilty for making him feel this way. You had played your little game long enough. "Neville I won't tell a soul but… " you walked up closer to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, making him jump at your touch and he looked at you in fear. "I want you to know… " you gulped. "that I… I…" you felt your cheeks flush as you didn't know how to put your feelings into words. He stared at you wide eyed and his body physically trembled with fear as to why you weren't yelling at him. 

You squeezed his shoulder slightly before you decided to show your feelings instead of saying them. You cupped his cheek with your free hand and brought his face slowly down to yours. Neville was still in shock by the whole situation that he couldn't move away. His eyes widened even further in panic when you closed the space between your lips and his. At that moment he completely forgot how to breathe. 

Your eyes were now shut. You noticed how soft his lips were and he smelled like fresh cologne. You moved your hand that was on his shoulder to rest right on top of his chest and you could feel his rapid heartbeat. 

He didn't move for a couple seconds only staring at your closed eyelids. He saw how you seemed pleased with yourself and he couldn't help but notice your beauty up close. He couldn't believe that this was real. You actually kissed him! He was kissing you, well sort of. All he ever wanted was happening right now and he couldn't seem to unfreeze. He didn't know if it was due to shock or fear that this might be a trick but for whatever reason he couldn't move. Then you moved your hand from his chest to run your fingers through his brown curls. The sensation of your nails scratching the back of his scalp put him in a trance and he immediately went limp and slowly shut his eyes leaning into the kiss. He had to sit on the top of your nightstand just so he wouldn't fall to the ground, making him at head level with you. His hands slowly made their way around you back to embrace you. 

When you finally broke the kiss he looked at you with pleading eyes. "You're… you're not angry with me?" He shyly asked. 

You giggled at his bemusement. "Far from angry." You gave him a sweet peak on the cheek earning a bright blush from him. 

"Neville, I realized I loved back in 4th year. I should have said something though. But… " Your own blush formed on your cheeks. "I'm glad you had the courage to say something first." 

"You love me?" He formed a bright smile across his face. And then he suddenly felt embarrassed by being reminded of the letter and he shrunk into his shoulders slightly. "Y/N, I've been in love with you since the day I met you on that train our first year." He blushed at making a formal confession. 

"Nev…" you said sweetly. You leaned forward again to kiss him. This time the kiss was passionate and your arms were wrapped around his neck while his were wrapped around your back pulling you tightly towards him. 

You smiled into the kiss as you pulled him closer to you. The butterflies in your stomach fluttered more as you deepened the kiss. It really was a magical feeling and you hoped that it wouldn't stop. 

Neville broke the kiss to finally catch his breath and give you some time to breathe as well. He looked into your gorgeous eyes longingly. He felt like a love sick fool for you, absolutely smitten. 

You beamed at him and took the time to memorize his expression. He was giddy and if his eyes could form heart shapes they would. 

"You know, I'd be happy to let you kiss my cunt if you asked nicely." You stared into his eyes just to see how he would react and weren't disappointed.

Taglist: @clareissad, @josierosie2, @nevsluvr, @blulemonades

Reminded: @daydreamerakame, @bi-andready-tocry, @kdmcnugget, @xanoverdosed

[lubdubsworld]

Insatiable ( Jungkook x OC) Chapter 2

Pairing : Jeon Jungkook x OC

Rating 18+

Genre : Vampire Au!!!! , DILF! Jungkook ! Bodyguard AU! Babysitter OC!   Age difference!!! [ bet you’ve never seen all of this in one fic before? ]

[ Some notes : Born Vampires stop aging when they turn twenty five.  Turned vampires stop aging when they’re turned. ]

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

“You alright?” Somi asked gently, watching me fling  my backpack into the corner of the room with enough force to dislodge one of the wooden panels on the wall, the shelf crashing and bringing down the two potted plants on it. The sound of ceramic shattering made me wince, regret churning in my stomach. 

“Yeah...yeah. Oh, God. I’m so sorry, Somi.. I broke your pots-”

“Never mind the pots...why do you look so upset? Have you been crying?” She demanded , reaching for me, hands curling around my wrists and drawing me into a hug and I swallowed, my throat dry and eyes swollen from all the tears that I’d wrung out of them. 

Outside the room, Namjoon stood guard, at the door and I felt guilty remembering how the past three hours had gone. 

After confronting Jungkook, I’d stormed off in righteous indignation and poor Namjoon had been forced to follow. 

He had kept a discreet distance as I climbed to the tallest ridge on the roof, scaling the gables with ease and I knew he had been terrified at the prospect of me falling. 

Immortal or not a three hundred foot drop to the ground would be something that would hurt.

And it was my bodyguard’s job to make sure I did not get hurt. 

When he wasn’t busy fucking other women that is. 

I gripped my sister harder, fingers curling into the fir of her coat as I tried to catch my bearing. 

“Do you know Helena?” I whispered, pulling away to look at her. Somi’s face fell,eyes filling with sympathy.

“Oh, no. Was she here?” She asked gently, reaching out and cupping my cheeks and my lips wobbled. 

“Why didn’t you warn me that he was in a relationship?” my voice shook and Somi shook her head. 

“He’s not!! God, Helena doesn’t do relationships. Jungkook and her.... well, I’m not sure but they’re just fuck buddies..... barely that. You know she’s from the Kim clan right? Those bloodsuckers never settle for one partner. “ She muttered. 

I stared at her.

“He called me a child and then told me he’ll tell dad if i try to make a move on him.” I whispered. 

Somi flinched.

“Sera....”

“It was humiliating and painful and I don’t ever want to think about it, ever again.” I muttered. 

She sighed. 

“It’s not like you don’t have men dying for a glance from you, Sera. You forget that you’re literally the most beautiful woman in the clan. If he rejects you, you’re definitely not the one missing out in that equation.” 

I nodded, misery seeping into me. My sob-fest on the roof hadn’t been wasted. I was angry at first but now, a sort of resigned acceptance had taken the place of my anger. 

 The look on Jungkook’s face had been too real, the emotion behind his rejection too potent for me to get over. I wasn’t sure I could change his mind.

Wasn’t even sure if I wanted to. 

“Was he very hurtful ? You know, if you tell dad, he’ll hire someone else and-”

“No.” I said immediately. “ I won’t do that. It’s not his fault, it’s minge. I acted out like a...well a child to be honest. He doesn’t owe me anything and he’s always been obvious in his disinterest. I was just too blinded my own attraction to consider that it wasn’t reciprocated.” I grimaced. 

God, I’d been an idiot and Jungkook’s words had knocked some good sense into my head. But I did care for him and his son and they needed this job. I wouldn’t put his job in jeopardy just because I didn’t get my way. 

I was better than that.

“Alright... Dad wanted to meet you for breakfast tomorrow.... He sounded serious. Do you know what that’s about?”

I groaned, when I remembered the reason my dad wanted to see me these days. 

“Dad wants me to start meeting men now. He thinks I’m old enough now that i’ve turned 21. He’s been badgering me for a whole entire month but I kept putting him off because of...well, because of Jungkook.” I admitted. 

Somi looked worried.

“You want to ? If you don’t we can talk to dad and-”

“No-” I shook my head.” I’m just gonna agree.” 

Somi looked surprised.

“Are you sure? Sera you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to-”

I smiled weakly. 

“I’m not going to be allowed to stay single forever Somi. Especially not when the entirety of dad’s day is spent trying to chase suitors away from the door. Do you know the Count from Jeju Do...dude’s a whole seven centuries old and he looks like a toad. He apparently tried to ask about me and Dad’s been freaking out.  “ I shuddered. 

Somi laughed.

“ That’s what you get for being you. But dad’s right. Keeping you away from everyone is only inviting more interest. And we don’t want you to be with someone insufferable.” She ruffled my hair and I hugged her again sighing into her shoulders.

No I didn’t want to be with someone who just saw me as some kind of a possession to be owned. I wanted someone nice and kind. A handsome man who did the right thing .  Someone who maybe, worked hard to give his kid a safe and protected life, someone who didn’t shun away from hard work and was a gentleman as well. 

Someone like-

“Someone other than Jungkook.” Somi said gently reading my mind. 

“I really liked him.” I whispered softly, feeling tears spring again. 

God, I thought I was all out of tears for Jeon Jung Kook but apparently I was wrong. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I took extra care with my makeup the next morning, because my father usually had a ton of business meetings during his breakfast. I didn’t usually bother but , I was going to agree to his suggestions today and well, nothing wrong in delighting my father. And nothing made him happier than seeing me prance about  with pretty feminine clothes . 

My dad, for all his jovial cheerful air, loved his position as the head of the Hwang clan. And as his most prized possession , I was the apple of his eye. And while he didn’t treat me as an object or anything ( my dad loved me deeply and his affection was always evident. ) , there was no mistaking the fact that my dad enjoyed the power that came with being my guardian. Powerful men were willing to bend to his will, just for a chance to be with me. 

I sound insufferable, don’t I?

Trust me I’m not. 

The vampires that court me are usually assholes. Entitled, brain dead assholes .  When I opened the door in the morning, dressed in a short summer dress and ready to meet my dad, I was surprised to see Jungkook standing guard outside. He straightened away from the wall where he was fiddling with his phone, his gaze flitting to me, eyes cold and blank. 

I bowed lightly, not smiling.

“Mr. Jeon. I have a breakfast date with my father and then I’ll be heading to the cottage. I’m also meeting a friend of mine at the Art Museum in the evening so i’ll need the Mercedes brought around to pick me up maybe at 5.00PM.” I said briskly, glancing at him. 

My face flamed red when I noticed his gaze, fixed steadily on my ass. I cleared my throat angrily and his eyes met mine, a slow lazy grin playing around his mouth. 

“You look different.” He commented , shamelessly giving me another once over. 

The nerve. 

I swallowed, willing myself not to blush harder.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” 

He chuckled.

“That dress barely covers your butt, angel. You sure you want to head to daddy dearest, dressed like that?” The way he said daddy made my skin heat up. 

I felt my jaw come unhinged. 

“That’s...that is none of your damn business.” I said shrilly.

He gave me another once over.

“Okay, then. If that’s what you’re into...fine. Let’s go.” 

Gritting my teeth, i tried to keep my face neutral. I would not give him the satisfaction of knowing that he got to me. I would not. 

I walked ahead of him , my fists clenched and my jaw tight and I felt incredibly upset because the day had barely begun and I was already wound tight. I was supposed to be relaxed and clear headed while talking to my father but Jeon Jungkook had muddled my brains as usual. 

I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. 

“Sera, wait.” His voice made me pause and I stopped, turning around to glare at him.

“What?” I snapped. 

He sighed, deeply. I watched as he ran his hands through his hair, tongue pressing into his cheek the way it did when he was upset. 

“About last night-”

I felt my pulse quicken. 

“I don’t wanna talk about it!” I said quickly, turning back around to leave but his fingers came around my arm, gripping hard . 

“Well tough luck. Because I do!” He said sharply. 

I whimpered, pain blooming up my arm and he swore, loosening his grip.

“I keep forgetting you’re human.” He muttered, “ I’m sorry... I just... I wanted to apologize for how i handled things last night. I was twenty once and I should have been more understanding.”

I closed my eyes. Oh, God no. Please, please for the love of God, let me hate you in peace. Don’t apologize and make me fall in love all over again.

“Its fine.” I choked out. “ You were right. I was out of line.”

“You deserve better.” He said quickly, eyes flitting away from my face and I felt a sharp pang in my heart. God , this was agonizing. 

“Jungkook-”

“It’s just that you’re...well you know who you are. You can’t be with ...someone like me and trust me you don’t want to be with someone like me either. I know its appealing, the whole illusion of stability. older man, has a kid, has his life together .....but that’s not all it means .” He gave me a tired smile.

I bit my lips, ot replying and he went on. 

 “ I have baggage, a shit ton of it and I would have to be especially cruel to unload something like that on a girl barely out of her teens. I’ve done shit I’m not proud of ,....but ruining your life, I’m gonna draw the line there.” He smiled , looking a whole decade younger and I closed my eyes.

I was back to square one, I thought miserably. He had my whole heart. 

“ So we’re good right?” He prompted and I exhaled, giving him a smile.

“We’re good.”

“That’s good. Because my son loves you and I would rather we be friends. You’re just like a daughter to me. ” He touched my face gently, pulling away at once, the small contact leaving fire in its wake and I had to clench my fists . 

A daughter?!! Is he out of his damned mind? 

“Okay.” 

“Let’s go then.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jungkook, please sit down. You’re like my son and I don’t want you hovering like you’re part of the backdrop. I’ve trusted you with my entire life.” My father beamed, pointing at me and i laughed. 

Jungkook bowed respectfully, taking the chair next to me. 

“How are you , my buttercup?” My father asked softly, fingers gripping mine and I smiled.

“I’m well, father. Do you like my dress?” 

Next to me Jungkook coughed and I shot him a dirty look. 

“It looks ravishing on you. The prettiest flower in my estate is my daughter, do you agree Jungkook?” My father prompted and I swallowed the smirk that threatened. 

Poor Jungkook was going to learn that being my bodyguard meant singing my praises twenty four seven or at least anytime my father was in hearing distance. 

“Uh..” Jungkook’s eyes flitted between the two of us, “ Yes sir. Your daughter is quite lovely.” 

I beamed at him and he looked away quickly. 

Coward. 

Turning back to my dad I held my hand out. 

“DAd, you wanted to see me about something?”

“Yes dearest. You know the Kim clan’s matriarch has been after me. Three of her great great great grandsons have come of age recently. And all three of them are set to take over some very lucrative businesses. They are good men and apparently they’re quite smitten with you. They say you know of them from school?”

I sighed.

“Do you know their names?” I prompted.

“Mingyu, Minjae and Yugyeom.” My father said briskly. 

 Ugh.

 “ They’ve asked me out before, yes.” 

“Uh..Excuse me.. Could I get a refill?” Jungkook said quietly next to me and i turned, watching him wave to one of the footmen. 

“Jungkook, are you thirsty?” My father asked brightly. 

An idea formed in my head, wicked and dangerous. 

“Perhaps, he should get a taste of the Hwang Elixir?” I said innocently. 

My father’s gaze snapped to mine. 

A small frown made its way to his face. 

“Are you sure? I’m not sure if Jungkook would be comfortable-”

I turned to him, purposely flipping my long hair off my shoulders exposing my throat . Jungkook’s eyes went to the curve of my neck at once and i felt a sick sort of triumph when his eyes flashed red.

“Oh, no no...” I crooned, leaning in closer. “ I’m sure you aren’t uncomfortable , are you Jungkook ssi? After all, I am just like a daughter to you , aren’t I?” I stared right at him, fluttering my lashes and I saw his jaw clench. 

“Of course, Ms. Hwang.” He said briskly, glaring at me. I played with the small gold chain around my neck, letting my fingers flutter over my pulse , drawing his gaze there.

“Well, that is true ...” My father looked uncertain, but I gave him a gentle nod and a smile. 

“Well, as a special guest, I suppose you can enjoy our hospitality , Jeon. Why don’t you take a drink from -”

I moved closer, pressing up against him and Jungkook sighed, lips closing over my neck, and I felt my eyes flutter shut at the wet warmth of his mouth . 

It was intoxicating, the way he used one hand to grip my neck gently, the other on my waist to steady me and when his fangs pierced through, I could sense the warm liquid flood his mouth and Jungkook’s entire body relaxed, a strangled moan escaping him. 

“---my daughter’s wrist.” My father finished and I felt Jungkook stiffen next to me. 

This time I couldn’t stop the grin that bloomed on my face. 

My eyes dropped to his lap and yup, his pants definitely looked a tad tighter. 

“Did I do good, Mr Jeon? Or should I call you daddy? ” I whispered quietly , fluttering my lashes at him and his fangs retracted and he pulled away from me, shoving me back into my own chair quickly. 

My father was slightly slack jawed. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Hwang. “ Jungkook muttered and I laughed.

“I do believe it is I whom you should be apologizing to. It is  my  neck you just mauled. ” I smiled brightly staring at Jungkook and if looks could kill, I would have a thousand wooden stakes through my heart right about now. ‘

Take that Mr. Jeon. 

Daughter, my ass. 

“My apologies , Sera.” He said stiffly. 

My father laughed raucously.

“Ahh, you must be used to the neck, my dear boy. understandable understandable. it is how we used to do it in the old days, after all . These younglings with all their etiquette and feminism and what not....it’s hard to keep up..... But now you must tell me? Is my daughter not the sweetest you’ve ever had?” 

I choked, coughing. Oh God, sometimes my 900 year old father had no idea how he sounded. 

Jungkook looked like he had swallowed a lemon. 

“She’s certainly ...” He stopped, probably realizing that any adjective at the end of that sentence would sound entirely wrong. 

“Delicious?” I prompted, blinking innocently and Jungkook shot me another glare. 

“Well, nevermind nevermind. .... So, tell me dearest, will you be willing to meet the Kim boys?”

I sighed.

“I like Yugyeom. I cannot stand Minjae. I don’t know enough about Mingyu to make any judgement. How about I meet Mingyu and if I don’t hit it off with him, I will allow Yugyeom to court me....” I said softly.

I glanced at Jungkook but he was studiously looking away. 

“Very well my dear. Do you have any plans today?”

“I’m meeting a friend at the museum.”

My father’s eyes widened.

“Well isn’t that a wonderful coincidence. Mingyu's law firm is just a block away if I’m not mistaken. I’ll ask the boy to pick you up afterwards. Have dinner with him and you can tell me tonight of your choice.” My father smiled briskly.

“Yes, father.” 

“Jungkook..” My father prompted and the vampire glanced up.

“Yes, sir?”

“Take good care of her. At the restaurant, make sure you stay at hearing distance. “ 

“Yes sir.” Jungkook bowed and I groaned. 

In other words, let my father know if I behaved appropriately. 

i pouted and my father waggled his finger at me.

“No, no no.. Missy. I’m going to make sure you keep your end of the bargain . You need to give these men a proper chance before you reject them. “ 

I nodded.

“And you must ask Either Somi or Seolhyun to dress you. No jeans or one of those ridiculous gowns that make you look like a pastry.”

There was no mistaking the snort that came from my right and i glared at Jungkook before turning to my dad.

“Yes, father.” 

“Good, now run along the pair of you. “

I stood up, kissing my father fondly on his forehead.

“I love you.” I whispered. 

“You are my whole entire joy, dearest. “ He kissed my hand gently, eyes warm and soft.

As we left the room, Jungkook let out a sigh.

“I am never having a meal with you two again.” He ground out and I laughed. 

“Anything you say, daddy.” I grinned. 

Jungkook groaned. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As luck would have it,  my friend cancelled . 

So at six the evening, I finished locking up the cottage as the last of the kids left, fumbling with the lock while a tired Joo Won napped in his father’s arms, head resting on Jungkook’s shoulders. I felt myself soften at the picture they made, Jungkook singing softly , fingers brushing his son’s hair back as he rocked him gently. 

“I’ll be a while... I needed to get ready. Why don’t you put him to bed? Who’s watching him tonight?”

“Hwasa and Moonbyul offered. I’ll drop you off in your room and head to the north wing. What time are you meeting the jerkwad?” He said casually.

I blinked rapidly, confused.

“I’m sorry... the jerkwad?” 

Jungkook shrugged.

“It’ just a fact. Most men are absolute jerks at twenty one.” He shrugged. 

i felt myself bristling on behalf of the unknown Mingyu.

“That is absolutely unfair. My brothers were incredibly kind and good.”

“To you perhaps. Because they don’t have to impress you. But men act differently when they’re trying to get between a woman’s thighs. They’re jerks when they want to get laid...” He grinned.

“Is that why you act like a jerk to me? ” I smiled evilly and he rolled his eyes.

“Oh, darling we both know I don’t have to act in any different way to get you into my bed . I just have to do this.” He smirked, curling his finger in a come hither gesture.  

I felt my pulse pound and I tried not to let his words get to my head. He was flirting , yes but it was a joke. He was joking with me because the very idea of being with me was a joke to him. 

And I couldn’t forget that. 

Rolling my eyes, I pulled on the lock a couple more times to make sure the door was well locked. 

“Shall we leave?” He prompted watching me wrestle the backpack onto my shoulders. I grunted under the weight. 

“Of course. Let’s go.” 

We walked in silence for a few seconds.

“So, how’s he doing? With stuff?” Jungkook asked gently and I felt warmth bloom in my chest. 

“He’s very advanced for his age Jungkook. You’ve done a wonderful job with him. He’s able to read and he has a beautiful l writing hand. He’s learned his multiplication tables all the way up to seven and he has the voice of an angel. Which I think he gets from you. ” I smiled, reaching out to brush the back of Joowon’s head. 

Jungkook smiled softly, the late evening sun painting his perfect features in a soft golden glow. 

“Your father was kind enough to support me the first few years when i had him. I didn’t trust anyone enough to leave him with them and well... i needed to put a roof over our head.” He sighed . 

I touched his arm, giving it a small squeeze.

“I understand. I’m glad you’re here. He’ll grow up well in our clan.   “

“And he has a lot of excellent men to look up to here...He needs a good role model, someone kind and amazing who can inspire him to be hardworking and fair. ” He smiled.

I bit my lips.

“I think he’s had that all along. ” I said quietly.

Jungkook’s breath caught for a second and the air between us changed. I licked my lips. 

“Jungkook you’re a good father. You know that right?” I said after a few more seconds of silence. 

He laughed.

“Am I really? I wonder.” 

“He loves you.” I breathed , “  You’re all he talks about.... Today, one of the other kids tried to say that his father was brave because he helped someone who was stuck in an elevator. you know what Joowon did? He listed some twenty different incidents where you’ve helped people out....And he looked so proud.”

Jungkook’s ear looked red in the brightly lit garden. 

“i was just doing my job. Most of those times, I was in danger.” He grunted. 

“And yet, you did the right thing. “ I whispered. “ And your son was watching. And he’s learned the importance of doing the right thing even when you’re scared. That’s a life lesson that isn’t easy to learn.”

“Can’t disagree with that.” He chuckled. I grabbed his arm forcing him to stop. 

I had to tell him this. 

 “ Jungkook, when immortality is on the plate, people don’t give much value to morals. They don’t always care about doing the right thing.... . Its how our kind functions. Consequences don’t mean much when you have a whole eternity to fix your mistakes.....So I always admire vampires who value morals. “ I smiled, “ To see a five year old with such a well formed moral compass... it tells me that you’re an amazing father. Possibly the best I’ve ever met. “ I reached out, to hold his hand, wanting to touch him in some way, to make him believe that I was completely honest. 

“Sera!!!!!!” My sister’s voice made me jump and Jungkook stepped away as well. 

“Dad told me you’re going on a date? I’ve picked out an outfit for you!! But you need to take a shower! You cannot show up smelling like diapers and spit-up.” She called. 

I groaned. 

“Time for the ugly duckling to transform into a swan, I see?” He said gently. 

“Your son’s favorite fairytale.” I whispered.

“He makes me read it every night.” 

“I would like to sit in on that someday.” I laughed.

His eyes met mine. 

“You’re always welcome, Ms Hwang,” He smiled politely. “ Someday soon maybe your kids and my son would be friends.” 

And just like that the wall grew between us. 

His kids and my kids. 

Not our kids because he wasn’t for me. 

He would never be for me. 

I felt the sudden inexplicable urge to cry. 

Turning away, I began following my sister as she waved to me. . 

“I’ll be at your door at seven.” He called out behind me. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[thebrokenmechanicalpencil]

so you did the second part so fast oh my gosh.

This made me feel things and it was not happy feelings, why was I thinking I was gonna get some sort of fluffy anything?? You said pain and my brain ignored that, completely. Oh it hurts.

Dropmix being so confused and not being able to grasp any tangible thoughts is so heart breaking. This is the guy who could and has manipulated an entire base into thinking he was just some guy. Just a sweet big ole guy. (he is sweet but his normal brand of sweet is getting vitamins thrown at you and being hugged a little too hard or being bumped and chuffed at as a hello)

This dude is smart and knows how to maneuver a mind like the back of his hand to get people to just fuck off. And now he's on the floor asking about and struggling with a puzzle.

Ok them even having a knick knack like that is adorable?? Please I am not envisioning their apartment just full of little things, reminders of places and people.

They have drawings the kids did on their walls, totally have a rather mediocre wood carving of a bear from Virgo (Coo was giggling because she does refer to Dropmix as Bear and she and Virgo totally think they are so clever and smart), just things because that's just adorable ok. There is a picture of the beans in the apartment somewhere, small and tucked away somewhere safe. Now I'm thinking that Jeopardy just has pictures from Coo because of how gone he and Dropmix are. Wedding photos she scrounged up, because they definitely had some sort of celebration (Sideswipe's brother got married everyone was so drunk, they get married twice. The, they get married and then like the announcement with flowers booze and way too much singing. Comet and Coo danced all prettied up or something. I know this is a retcon but we did say Comet would say they needed to be married again. WAIT WOULD JEP AND DROP COME AND BE THERE-)

Off topic Im rambling, you and your amazing writing at work again jeez. Ok ok back to pain.

Jeopardy is doing so well, he is doing so good he deserves hugs and love..And a stiff drink you poor baby. Him saying he decided he hated this made me giggle, gosh It makes me think of Comet just slotting Jazz and Prowl as a "Yeah I will eat you, happily." The bluntness and the snark, those two are such good buddies that is wonderful.

Hate the situation though, I mean yeah this was so painful. I was hoping with the Gameshow on this that Dropmix would come to his senses, but no of course not because we cannot have nice things. No easy ways out we do it the painful character fulfilling way!! (Sobs)

The way I took like three breaks, I had to stop and wince. I started thinking about how the triplets lost their shit or something when Comet left to go to Jeopardy, how their Mother is just watching her babies fight on the lawn and cannot stop them because her heart hurts.

So the gladiator uncles decide they are done with the teenage bullshit, your upsetting your mom. Who is ours by the flipping way so stop it. Sunny has them like two kittens in each hand, Libra is sorta in shock. (I WILL WRITE THIS I NEED TO STOP)-

Ahem yep this has the worms going, your inspiring me at a pace I cannot keep up with you need to stop. Magic I swear. But yes I had to actually take a breather it was so tense and awful.

Well written and well worded and the pacing and the reactions and the everything it made me wanna cry.

DONT GET ME STARTED ON THE "I can fix it"

NO

I sensing a parallel and it hurts, him and the family finally calming after the puzzle being shown, and the embarrassment passes?? Even though its broken and damaged we love it anyway?? EVEN THOUGH ITS BROKEN WE WANNA SEE IT??? AHEM I'm going to cry how dare you!? Not Dropmix being paralleled to a TOY ohmygosh Im going to hurt you. I can fix it, sir. I took that as him struggling to get a hold of himself and DAMMIT.

THE "CAN THEY SEE IT"!????

Ohhhh yep ow, yep sir they can see the broken well loved puzzle. They can see the broken puzzle and they love you all the same. They wanna see you and hear from you even if your not ok right now.

Ok that just hurts because this is a vulnerability, a horrible painful cracking vulnerability. But its ok. They still love him.

How absolutely DARE YOU.

Its wonderful and perfect and maybe I am reaching. Maybe I'm losing it but UGHHHHH-

Jeopardy being selfish?? YES character flaws lessgo. Not perfect child or anything. Doesn't want to be alone in his suffering, in this whirlwind of hurt type of situation. Even if it causes the boys some pain, even if it will hurt them all. Because lets be honest in my head it connects back to the toy.

They gotta accept that its broken. Dropmix is broken, not because of his traumas or his life or his grumpiness or his violence or his blood soaked hands.

He's broken in the same way that toy is. Its gonna work for a bit longer, gotta be gentle and careful with it but he will work. But when you try to work that puzzle one of the next few times it will break. Then it will be done.

Broken from age and tiredness and strain, the puzzle cant help that. It was meant to be played with, sometimes things break.

You can love them, hold them tightly but when that little hinge snaps that's it.

But you can't buy another Dropmix. Never will you get another puzzle so full of dents and scratches and engravings of other lives. Never a puzzle that would have been played with by those children.

It being a puzzle scratches my brain because Dropmix is complex. He is full of contradictions and paths and old walls. (Like the pits when they rebuilt, but Dropmix knew the old passages and pillars even when others couldn't or didn't.) His mind is a giant puzzle even for himself, but only one piece of him is broken, just that one bit.

But its enough that the puzzle wont fit together anymore, it wont move or shift. When that last part breaks that puzzle will never be solved again.

I am so rambling but I love metaphors and this makes me wanna cry.

Coo and Comet being there just to support their children is great, poor them. Poor everybody. Gosh Dropmix has no idea how much his life effected others, in a positive way not just in a grappling unnatural filled with deceit way.

He is so dear to so many, whether he wanted it or not.

I keep having a blurb in mind for the Custody au. I may write it out now because my metaphor brain is screaming.

You saying you've tapped out is so funny, I feel you. No pressure to continue with this its amazing and so well written, I adore the emotions and how its all conveyed. Some stuff left unsaid up for interpretation. No over explained lines, no forceful fixes. Just the grief and the sitting with the grief.

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it hurts, but dammit I love this.

@thebrokenmechanicalpencil

I finished the part two. Am I happy with the ending? That’s questionable. But I was ready to be done. Maybe I’ll pick up and finish the thing later but for now this is what I’ve got for the scene.

I was also very quickly reading it back and realized I completely forgot that Comet and Coo were there but… oh well. There were too many people to keep track of.

Anyway. Hopefully it’s everything you hoped for. I’m tapping out.

—

Dropmix is just having a real good time with the little toy while he sits on the ground, alright? Let him live laugh love in his own world in peace.

—

Jeopardy was at a loss.

They were supposed to get on a call soon, but Dropmix wasn’t in any condition to have a conversation with anyone. Not right now at least.

Dropmix was still having a delirium episode, the confusion, dissociation, and apparent memory loss all pointed to it.

It had taken some coaxing, but Jeopardy had managed to calm the gladiator and moved to the living room. Which was where Jeopardy found himself experiencing his dilemma, the call was supposed to be in ten minutes now. It was last minute to call it off—the kids would be even more heartbroken if he did—but Dropmix was still stuck in his confused state.

The old mech was sitting on the ground fiddling with a small trinket that Jeopardy had picked up during his travels. He would occasionally grunt in frustration or ask a question, but otherwise he was quiet, zoning in and out of different levels of awareness and understanding.

Jeopardy hovered to the side of the room, next to where they had set up the broadcaster. He had packed himself up, welding together the injury from where Dropmix had bit him and indented the plating. It still hurt—it probably would for awhile—but it wasn’t as bad. Hopefully, if he did call, no one would notice the bite shaped mark on his hand or the dents in his shoulder.

The medic huffed and watched as Dropmix turned the small brass trinket around in his hands like it somehow held the answer to some ancient puzzle. It was almost absurdly small in his hold—something meant for a much smaller species—but he was handling it with care. He was carefully reinspecting bits and pieces of it like it hadn’t been sitting on their shelf for years now.

Jeopardy decided that he hated this.

He despised having to watch his mentor’s usually sharp and analytical mind stumble over a simple puzzle made for sparklings. Asking questions like what it was, when Theremin would be back, what he was doing. Sometimes he would slip into other languages when he asked questions and Jeopardy couldn’t answer them—Dropmix would get more confused before giving up and going back to the trinket.

They had been jumping through the same routine for half an hour now. Jeopardy didn’t mind waiting it out, but he really didn’t want to disappoint the kids. If he canceled the call then they would probably worry that things had taken a turn for the worst. But if the kids saw Dropmix like this, Jeopardy wasn’t sure who would be more crushed—Dropmix or the triplets.

“Hey, Dropmix?” The medic spoke softly, his voice unsure and wavering, “The call is in a few minutes.”

Dropmix didn’t look up, instead he turned the brass object over again and huffed, “This isn’t mine.”

“No, it’s not,” Jeopardy said, walking over to the older bot. As soon as he was close enough he crouched slowly—keeping his tone light, gentle, like one might speak to a frightened youngling. “You’re right. It’s mine. But you can hold it.”

Dropmix’s optics flickered, a jittery pulse across his vision that Jeopardy recognized now as the telltale sign of a processor misfire. He blinked, slow and confused, before his eyes narrowed. He looked at the toy, disappointed and frustrated, “It’s broken.”

Jeopardy followed his gaze down to the puzzle toy. One of the little latches had come loose, hanging off its hinge at an awkward angle. He hadn’t even known it could break. He wasn’t upset, he could get a new one, but Dropmix seemed to be upset about it. Jeopardy nodded, forcing himself to look solemnly down at the toy like it actually mattered “Yeah… Yeah, it is. That must be frustrating.”

Validating feelings was important, helping Dropmix figure out how he was feeling so he didn’t get even more confused and worked up. It was the same kind of thing he would do for a sparkling when they got overwhelmed.

“I don’t—” Dropmix began before cutting himself off with a disgruntled huff. He turned the piece over, inspecting the damage more. A growl escaped him as he glared at it. After a few more seconds he finished his thought, “I don’t want it to be broken.”

Jeopardy looked down at the toy again, nodding along. He let his shoulders sag for just a moment, his voice getting quieter, “That’s alright. It still works. Here, let me show you.”

He offered his hand out for the toy, Dropmix looked at it for a moment before hesitantly placing the trinket in it. Jeopardy shifted so Dropmix would be able to watch easily. He hummed softly as he turned the piece carefully, moving slowly so Dropmix can easily follow his movements. He repeated the same motion a few times before the gladiator reached out and grabbed it from him. Jeopardy let him take it.

“You just have to be careful. That’s all.” Jeopardy declared softly. He gently tapped a soothing rhythm onto Dropmix’s hand before standing up again.

Dropmix didn’t respond or react. He stopped moving the toy around in his hands, staring at it almost perplexed. He didn’t seem to notice what the medic had said, his focus shifting to just the trinket again.

Jeopardy sighed and took a step back, giving him room. “I’ll be right over there,” he added, gesturing toward the broadcaster.

He didn’t expect any response.

The young mech turned away before he could second guess himself, fingers twitching with hesitation as he adjusted the settings on the Communicator. The screen blinked on, casting pale blue light across the room as it initialized, and a soft chime confirmed the signal had reached Earth.

Four minutes left.

He should really cancel the call. Dropmix wasn’t going to suddenly get better, not that quickly.

The soft hum of the communicator filled the room, a low, pulsing reminder that time was still moving forward, even when Dropmix wasn’t. Jeopardy glanced back. The old mech was still sitting there, optics dimmed, fingers curled around the broken brass puzzle. It didn’t look like he’d moved at all.

Three minutes.

He could lie. Tell the kids the transmitter had glitched, or the signal didn’t reach. It wouldn’t be the first time long-distance tech failed them. They’d understand—or at least, their parents would. The triplets might cry, but maybe that was better than seeing Dropmix like this. Better than watching who they believed to be invincible lay on the ground as he struggled to form coherent thoughts.

But they already knew he wasn’t invincible, not anymore. They had been told that he was dying, that his spark wasn’t able to keep up with the taxing demand of creating energy. There was no point in trying to hide this, they knew it was happening.

It didn’t mean that Jeopardy didn’t want to shelter them from the reality of it. He didn’t want them to carry that weight—not yet. He wanted them to remember Dropmix as a fortress, as the intellect and resilient mech he was. Not as someone who blinked slowly at the walls like they were speaking in tongues. But that wasn’t his call to make.

Two minutes now.

Jeopardy’s spark flickered uneasily as he stared at the countdown, the screen cycling through soft colors while it waited. His reflection warped in the curve of the lens—a blur of tension and hesitation.

Behind him, there was a sound.

A shift of weight. Metal scraping gently against the floor. A faint creak in a shoulder joint. The medic turned.

Dropmix was staring at the screen intently, the brass toy discarded on the ground next to him. He watched the countdown that Jeopardy had set up for himself. A few seconds ticked by before he did anything beyond watching, but there was a flicker of recognition, “We have a call.”

Jeopardy reigned in his own excitement, smiling softly and nodding once, “We do have a call. The triplets are calling to see you.”

There was a pause before Dropmix narrowed his eyes at the screen. His vocalizer clicked a familiar rhythm. His expression twitched as he watched the clock. But other than that he didn’t respond.

That was all he had to say apparently.

Jeopardy looked back at the screen in time to see the incoming transmission message flash. Without thinking he adjusted his posture, moving himself in front of the camera to cover Dropmix as much as he could without making it obvious.

The screen came to life with a soft flicker and a burst of digital static, quickly resolving into familiar faces. Lyre leaned closest to the camera, his expression bright despite the strain around his eyes.

“Jep, We weren’t sure if the signal would go through,” the young pretender proclaimed, eyes darting around the screen—no doubt looking for Dropmix already. He reluctantly moved back so his brothers could be in view.

Behind him, Virgo offered a nod, his expression a little more measured. Too measured, Jeopardy realized, like he was straining himself to remain in control. Libra was sitting on the other side of him, looking a lot more worried than his brothers were trying to appear. Coo was sitting next to Libra, staring intently at the screen and Comet loomed in the back, frowning. The call was intended for the children—the adults planned on calling later—but the couple had obviously chosen to remain as support for their boys.

Jeopardy gave them a tight smile, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re coming through just fine. Strong signal. I’m glad you’re here.”

The triplets nodded in near unison, but their focus wasn’t on him. All of their eyes moved across the screen, searching for the mech that they had called for. The two adults's eyes lingered on Jeopardy though. Comet carefully examined his face while Coo’s gaze immediately locked on Jeopardy’s hand, eyeing the fresh welds.

“Where’s Dropmix?” Virgo asked sharply, masking his own worry with a harsh tone. Lyre nodded along with his brother, “Is he there?”

Coo hissed something quietly at them, pulling Lyre to sit down again after he had stood up and moved too close to the screen.

Jeopardy hesitated for a moment, watching the faces of the family flicker with concern. He could feel the weight of the room pressing down on him, the reality of the situation hanging in the air like a thick fog. He glanced back at Dropmix, who had barely moved since the call began, his attention had shifted back to the puzzle. He grumbled to himself as he fidgeted with it.

Jeopardy took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain composed. "He's here," he said quietly. "But it's... um.. been a bit of a rough day."

There was a pause.

Libra was the first to speak, his voice quiet, though the sharp edge of worry was clear. "Can we see him?" He glanced back at his brothers, then back at the screen, his gaze searching for any sign of reassurance.

The silence in the room was thick, broken only by the faint hum of the communicator. Jeopardy had to make a choice. Dropmix was still there, somewhere, but he was so far removed from the mech the triplets knew. The thought of them seeing him like this—confused, disoriented, unable to connect the dots of his own thoughts—was almost unbearable. Yet, he couldn’t deny them the chance to see him, to talk to him.

He turned back to the older mech. Dropmix was still hunched over, eyes glazed, his large hands working aimlessly with the broken brass trinket. Completely unaware that the call had begun. Or perhaps he did know, but had gotten himself distracted again.

They deserved to see him. Even if it was like this. It was only fair.

Without another word, Jeopardy moved slightly to the side, shifting the camera angle so that Dropmix’s form was framed more clearly. He didn’t expect the older mech to respond—Dropmix had barely acknowledged the call—but the triplets needed to see him. They needed to know he was still here, even if it wasn’t the way they remembered him.

The change in their expressions was immediate and painful. Lyre’s bright eyes dimmed just a bit, like someone had turned down the lights behind them. Libra leaned forward instinctively, mouth parting like he was going to speak but couldn’t find the words. Virgo didn’t move, but his jaw tightened, a flicker of something—helplessness, grief—passing over his face so quickly it was almost easy to miss.

Cometeater leaned forward, expression straining as he examined the form of the gladiator. His hand gently rested on Virgo’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Coo shifted in her seat, eyes narrowing and jaw clenching tightly. One hand went to run smooth circles on Libra’s back. Jeopardy almost missed the way her other hand reached out to Comet’s, carefully intertwining their fingers.

Dropmix was still hunched over, clutching the trinket. His eyes were dull, his posture slumped, and he seemed entirely unaware of the screen before him.

Lyre’s voice wavered slightly as he leaned closer, “Dropmix?”

The dark mech didn’t bother to look up at the screen, he only paused his movements for a moment. He reassessed the puzzle toy. Then started trying to solve it again, differently this time.

“Why isn’t he doing anything?” Libra asked timidly, sucking in a shaky breath.

Jeopardy looked back at the screen apologetically. He took another deep breath, his fingers tapping a calming rhythm into his own plating for just a moment. He didn’t really know what to say. He was supposed to be good at this, he was a medic, this is what he did. But he could hear his voice falter as he spoke, “He’s just… confused right now.”

Libra leaned closer to the camera again. “But he’s not talking. He’s not doing anything.” His voice cracked at the end, just slightly, and he quickly rubbed his face like that would hide the sound of it. “That’s not—he’s supposed to—”

“He looks broken,” Lyre whispered almost bitterly.

“Don’t say that!” Virgo snapped immediately, sharper than intended, his teeth bared in a desperate snarl. His eyes were locked on Dropmix like he could will him back to how he was—fierce, composed, certain. “He’s not. He’s just… tired.”

Everyone was silent again. The triplets watched as Dropmix fidgeted with the small object, occasionally zoning out before resuming his efforts to solve it. Coo’s attention flickered between the screen and her boys. Cometeater looked almost lost as he stared at Dropmix.

Coo looked at Jeopardy, glancing at his hand before looking up at his face. “Would it be better if we called later?”

Jeopardy looked at her—at all of them—silent. The weight of the question hung in the space between them, like it was demanding an answer he didn’t have.

‘Would it be better if we called later?’

He wanted to say yes. To protect them from this. To protect Dropmix from this.

But the call was already in motion. They were already here, he knew they would be able to call later—they probably would—but they were here now. And some selfish part of Jeopardy didn’t want to be alone. He didn’t want to wait in silence until Dropmix was back.

“No,” Jeopardy said at last. His voice was quieter now, hoarse around the edges. “No, I think this is okay.”

The words hung there for a moment, like they needed time to settle before anyone could respond.

Lyre blinked hard. He nodded, but his expression had gone distant, his gaze unfocused even as he stared at the screen. Virgo wasn’t looking at the screen at all anymore—his eyes were somewhere off to the side, like if he didn’t look at Dropmix, it wouldn’t hurt as much. Libra curled into himself a little more, knees pulled to his chest, his arms wrapped tight around them.

Coo nodded knowingly, pulling Libra a bit closer, her gaze softening as she looked down at her son. Cometeater stared at Dropmix, a storm of emotions behind his eyes, his firm grip still on Virgo’s shoulder.

Jeopardy felt his shoulders sag, a shaking breath escaping him, his playing trembled and pressed against himself tightly. Just a bit longer. He needed to remain in control for a little longer, until Dropmix was back. Then he could curl up and break down.

The silence was almost suffocating.

And then—Dropmix finally moved. His eyes flickered, and he mumbled something under his breath—half a phrase, clipped and slurred. His fingers stilled. He stared at the brass puzzle in his hands for a moment longer before letting it fall to the floor.

“I did it.”

Immediately all the pretenders perked up at the sound of Dropmix’s voice. All of their eyes immediately shifting to Dropmix. Lyre let out a soft, broken noise—something between a gasp and a laugh, shaky and wet with relief. “You did?”

Dropmix looked up and blinked slowly. His eyes weren’t focused on the screen yet, but they were clearer—no longer as trapped in the haze of wandering thoughts. His gaze drifted toward the trinket on the floor like it was the end of a long equation he’d finally solved. He nodded and chuffed to himself, plating flaring a bit.

“I did it,” he repeated, quieter now. More certain.

Jeopardy looked at him, smiling softly. It was such a small thing for him to be proud of, to have achieved. But it was something. Despite the way his spark clenched he nodded along, walking slowly over to him and sitting next to him. He gently picked up the puzzle. Dropmix had in fact solved it, finally getting the trinket to open up the small compartment inside.

He smiled and looked back at Dropmix. He kept his tone soft and reassuring. “You did. Good job.”

Jeopardy turned the small puzzle over in his hands again, checking the latch, then gently placed it back in Dropmix’s palm. The old mech’s fingers curled around it slowly, with a kind of quiet reverence, like he didn’t quite know what to do with the validation—or maybe he didn’t know how he’d gotten there in the first place.

Dropmix stared down at the open compartment again. Then, very softly, like someone remembering a song halfway through the chorus, he whispered, “Can I show Theremin?”

Jeopardy flinched.

Theremin had been Dropmix’s Conjunx, Jeopardy had only been told about him recently. He had died when the Pits had fallen. The triplets didn’t need to know that Dropmix was asking for a long dead Conjunx, though. He doubted that Comet or Coo knew, though he wasn’t sure.

The medic forced himself to smile, it was grim and unsure, not meeting his eyes. “Theremin can’t see it, I’m sorry, I know it’s disappointing. But the triplets can, let’s show them instead.”

Dropmix paused, expression flickering between perplexed and surprised. It took a few seconds longer than it should have, but he did speak, “The triplets are here?”

Jeopardy didn’t turn to look at the screen. He didn’t want to see their hurt expressions. He could hear Libra’s small choke, Lyre shuffling, and Virgo’s unnatural stillness. The medic swallowed the tightness in his throat and nodded. “Yeah, they called.”

He reached out and gently guided Dropmix’s shoulder, adjusting the angle just enough for the older mech to face the screen. The triplets were all still there—waiting, wide-eyed and tense, their faces suspended in anxious hope, their parents watching just as eagerly.

The older mech’s eyes tracked slowly across the pale glow, expression slack with uncertainty. He blinked, once. Then again. His lips moved, mouthing something that didn’t quite make it through his vocalizer. A low, static-filled murmur buzzed faintly from him, words chewed up by a processor that couldn’t seem to follow through. His brows furrowed, a frustrated grunt escaping him as his plates flared.

He tried again, more focused on getting the words to work right. Dropmix looked down at his hands, the puzzle sitting innocently in his palm. His fingers twitched, “It’s still broken.”

Jeopardy sucked in a breath. The toy. He was still talking about the toy. His voice strained, “They would still like to see it.”

Almost immediately Lyre chipped in, his voice thick with emotion but he pressed it to sound excited. He nodded, “Yeah, I’d like to see it.”

“Me too,” Virgo quickly caught on and while Libra nodded.

Dropmix looked down at the brass puzzle again, still trying to make sense of the broken latch for a moment. His fingers moved as though they were on autopilot, not entirely in sync with the rest of his mind. He looked back at the screen, then at the toy, then back to the screen again, his expression wavering between frustration and confusion.

“The… the triplets?” he muttered under his breath, half to himself, half to Jeopardy.

Jeopardy, trying to maintain the gentle composure he’d been holding onto for what felt like an eternity, nodded reassuringly. “Yes, Dropmix. They’re here. You can show them the puzzle. They’d really like to see it.” He offered a small, encouraging smile, hoping to nudge the older mech in the right direction.

There was a long pause. Dropmix didn’t react immediately, his optics scanning the screen in an almost mechanical fashion. Then, as though something in his processor clicked—just for a moment—he moved. The gladiator pushed himself off of the ground to stand, Jeopardy helping him rise, careful to keep the other steady.

The old mech faltered for a moment, taking a moment to balance himself before walking over to the screen and camera. His steps were heavier than normal, more unsure, but Jeopardy helped guide him until he sat in the chair they had previously set up next to the device. Jeopardy took the seat next to him, carefully watching him.

All three triplets managed to brighten, leaning closer to the screen to try and get a better look at Dropmix now that he was closer. Lyre smiled bitterly while Virgo kept his grim expression—determined to mask their worry. Libra watched with almost a numb expression, concern evident.

Dropmix paused for a moment, looking around him as though confused. He looked down at the puddle in his palm and it seemed to remind him of his current task. He lifted the puzzle toy from his palm and turned it in front of the screen. His fingers twitched, and he let out a soft growl of frustration as he fumbled with it again. He pulled it closer to himself again.

“I can’t fix it,” he said, a strange vulnerability in his voice that Jeopardy hadn’t heard in years. He was frustrated, maybe a bit embarrassed, but definitely upset.

Lyre leaned forward eagerly, trying to mask the hurt that clung to his tone. “It’s okay, Dropmix! We don’t care if it’s fixed. We just want to see you.” His voice trembled slightly, but he forced a smile.

Dropmix blinked at the screen, startled by the words—by the sound of Lyre’s voice. The triplets all shifted, watching his reaction intently, something almost desperate behind their eyes. The gladiator stared for a moment too long, like his processor was buffering, trying to match what he was seeing to the name and emotion behind it.

Dropmix blinked down at the puzzle again, turning it once more in his hands like he wasn’t sure when he’d stopped. The brass piece glinted dully in the glow from the screen. His fingers fumbled over the latch—still bent, still broken.

“I can’t fix it,” he said again, barely louder than the soft hum of the transmitter. The words came like a reflex, dulled at the edges, shaped by more than just the trinket in his hand.

Libra spoke this time, voice hollow but steady, “I still like it,” his gaze lingered on the puzzle for a moment longer before looking at Dropmix, who had looked at the screen again.

There was a flicker of something across Dropmix’s face. Not quite recognition. A beat behind it. His optics darted briefly toward Jeopardy, then back to the screen. He tilted his head, thoughtful, like trying to finish a sentence someone else started, his voice clicked a few times.

“Hello,” he said as if only now realizing they were here.

The triplets collectively flinched back. Virgo’s hands twitched in his lap. Lyre’s mouth opened, but he didn’t speak. It was Libra who answered first, voice wobbling despite how hard he was trying to keep it even.

“Hi,” he said, quiet but clear. “We’ve missed you.”

Dropmix stared at the three of them quietly before looking back down at the puzzle. He set the toy down slowly on the table between him and Jeopardy, fingers curling inward as he pulled his hand away. His eyes lingered on it.

He didn't say anything else. He didn’t need to.

The triplets were all still watching, their expressions soft, uncertain. No one moved to fill the silence this time. They let it settle between them, not heavy—just real.

Eventually, Dropmix shifted again. His voice, when it came, was quiet. “They can see it?”

Jeopardy nudged the trinket a little closer to the screen. “They can.”

Dropmix looked down at it again. He didn’t pick it up this time, but his hand stayed close.

There was a pause. A long one.

Then Dropmix spoke again, his voice thin, like it wasn’t sure if it was allowed, “I think I did it right.”

The triplets didn’t speak right away. None of them did. They only watched, as if by doing so they could hold this fragile moment in place just a little longer—Dropmix sitting beside Jeopardy, the broken puzzle between them.

And for now, that was enough.

The silence wasn’t as painful as before. It was still sad, but not sharp. It didn’t press down the way it had earlier. It felt more like a lull—like an exhale after a long breath held far too tight.

The screen glowed softly as Lyre whispered something only the mic could catch—something like “Good job,” echoed by a nod from Libra and a barely-there smile from Virgo.

Dropmix didn’t respond, but his optics lingered on the toy.

Jeopardy leaned back in his chair, his frame aching, but for the first time in hours, his hands were steady.

They were still here. All of them.

That’s what counted.

[nightswithkookmin]

Hi Goldy, JK was bold in the past, around 2017-2019 (to me, gcf & rosebowl can be considered as ‘coming out’). But it seems he now prefers to stay closeted? E.g. he snatched JM’s hand in the Xylitol x BTS shoot, then looked at the camera. Holding hands is normal among members… a lot of his interactions with Jin, V and other members are more intimate than holding hands… his reaction makes me feel like he wants me to pretend I didn’t know…?

Sorry I've been a bit AWOL lately...

I'm busy being the man of my woman's dreams in a cis het anti black capitalist world

Fun times.

I saw that bit, uWu-ed and kept it pushing.

It's nothing new really. I think a few months back when I was out here screaming Jikook are toning down, acting super professional around the cameras yadda yadda people out here were looking at me like I'd lost my two delulu heads- but this segues into that theme for me and since I've exhausted the topic I don't know what else to add.

I've said before they've both been very conscious of the cameras within certain periods post October- again nothing new, they be like that every now and then every season every phase and the whys will always be up for debate in these ship streets- on that subject, I've read a lot of opinions yet I think like mine better and will stick to it. Thanks Kimberly of Delulu precinct. Walk along now. Lol.

Jimin was like that during the Coway behind the scene shoot too when he noticed the cameras and quickly elbowed Jk to draw him away from the gaze of the cameras.

I don't think it's because they stopped being 'bold' or want to pretend. It takes a lot of courage to even pretend or even perform the gay in front of the world and your peers. I think they are just awfully aware and conscious of the people they work with as well as corporation's growing awareness, intentions and interests in them. You just never know which saessang is moonlighting as a brand PA or marketing director for a company they are working with. You just never know who is watching especially whenever they have to work with these 'outsiders.'

Think of Dispatch. Were they not allies or business partners, they'd be careful around them too if they worked with them. Know what I mean?

Toning down and exercising caution is necessary sometimes. I don't know why some people think that's absurd or Tuktukkerish when I say stuff like that. Especially with the kind of reputation they have as a ship and just how commercially attractive that image is. It's common sense at this point if you ask me.

Jikook sells. Argue with the analytics. I don't know who thinks they don't. Must be the clowns and penguins. They sell period. BigHit knows this, BTS knows this, companies know this. We don't scream Jikook is a brand within a brand for no reason.

And a lot of the toning down in recent times has perhaps inadvertently mitigated that growing power and demand of them as a marketing resource- who knows, that could have as well been by design, intentionally instigated for obvious reasons which I argue is the case but don't mind me. I'm delusional, gay and apparently the man of my woman's dreams uWu. Gotta wear that pants in my relationship. Ayaya Hwaiting.

When you say he prefers to stay closested- I thought they are both closested already?? They both have never been fully out in our opinion. Yes our opinion because I feel we are like minded. Let's be delulu mates.

On the topic of closets, I want to save that for a separate post. What I can say though is they are both growing and maturing and learning and unlearning. Jungkook's desire to 'come out' or act reckless with his glass closet in my opinion stemmed from him placing more value on his personal happiness over other values perhaps because he was young and hadn't fully grasped the full and complex nature of happiness or understand the privilege he has as part of BTS.

We make decisions based on our values most times. It's how I make sense of their actions really. I'm more likely to assume things that are consistent with the values they each have expressed openly and tend to reject any theory that contradicts or is inconsistent with those values. A guy who values his career is less likely to act in a way that puts that career at risk. And I'm well aware their values evolve over time.

These days he has never quit as one of his mottos next to rather dead than cool- do you see the contradictions in those values? Rather dead means quitting life. Yet now he says never quit. Don't mind me. I'm in a grumpy mood.

But what I'm saying is, the desire to want to show the world who this person means to him is not fixed or a priority all the time. Now i think he values his career a lot more than before which means he is more likely to compromise and less likely to do things that may put that career in jeopardy.

Transferring that to his relationship, I don't expect him to be breaching the glass closet anytime soon. And if he do, it might be incidental and may carry with it consequences which I believe he is well aware and concious of now. Will that change? You bet. Again it depends a lot on what his values in a given moment are and which ones he prioritizes.

It's their relationship. They chose which aspects of it they want to share with the cameras. Some of it get written off as fanservice. Fair enough. But the nonfanservice passing moments has always been questionable- although I must say, I find all Jikook moments and interactions questionable lol.

It's just skinship. Holding hands I mean. Why would he be conscious of that right? II'vetalked about consequences and repercussions of their actions. Sometimes I think it's the off screen scolding that gets to him. The ones silently whispered at his back. I mean we saw his reaction when Jimin was getting scolded by the hyungs for sleeping late. He's talked about skipping sleep too if I recall correctly. Jimin is hyung and I know the hyungs expect him to know better and do better. I'd Imagine Jimin would equally scold JK if his actions reflected poorly on him too.

So why the hell would he not say anything to Jungkook for posting on his birthday when he hadn't posted at all for any hyung's??? Sigh.

It's sad his guards are back up- but it's for good reason I believe given the context of the situation.

I don't think dramatizing his dynamic with Jimin makes him bold. Nor does Jimin's propensity to over express himself with Jungkook mean he loves Jungkook more than. Both are extreme takes for me.

Nevertheless, I contrast that moment with a Tae Kook moment which is one of my favorite tuktukk moments. In this moment, JK is staring at Jimin, his whole body turned towards him. Tae notices the cameras and draws JK's attention to it. I think there are two such moments like that from the recent contents? I don't know I have to cross check.

Tae in that moment reminded me a lot of Jimin. Jimin does this too- play out their relationship infront of the cameras to the point one might say he likes to show off their bond- which is such a BTS thing to do too so no big deal. I mean they like to show off their bond and chemistry as Tae said a while back.

It's one thing for JK to hesitate to act with a member because of the cameras, it's another for him to act self conscious only after the fact.

And JK has always been him like this with Jimin as Jimin used to say- JK acts different with me off cameras than he is on camera. He had a history of suppressing himself around Jimin owing in part to his personality

He's talked about putting on a mask around people and in a recent interview Jimin have talked about pretending and acting one way when he's not- I mean I've ever talked about the boy being in love with the Maknae being a facade- one of many.

They have public personas which, from what BTS themselves say, looks slightly different or similar to what we see on screens- or that they've grown to be more like what we see on screens.

I guess what I'm getting at is that 'pretending' isn't exactly a new thing or out of the ordinary. Personally I'd say he's being conscious of his surroundings like Jimin was and not that he is 'pretending.' If you know what I mean.

If he's pretending he has good reason to I believe and we can only speculate on that- we can't know for sure why.

If Jikook is fanservice then there's no need for either of them to worry about the cameras picking up on their interactions or who's watching them.

What goes on in Tae's head? I wanna know.

I don't know where to direct this post because you didn't really ask a question.

I'm fine thanks for asking. I'm really fine. I'm thinking of joining Jimin in the gym at 3am to bench press and build some biceps to match my role in my relationship😒

And no I don't need any advice. Keep it.

This is going to be my attitude until we switch back😐

I'm gonna be a boyfriend from hell and a blogger from satan's ass.

Also I think I overshare💀

GOLDY

[honeypirate]

He’s my soulmate

Kuroo x f!Reader soulmate AU

There is no importance with Jeopardy, it’s just something that popped in my head so I went with it. 

You can communicate telepathically with your soulmate, sending thoughts and feelings to them. it’s a skill that develops through time after you hit 17.  it takes a few months for the connection to grow so for the first little while not a lot comes through. So far you have similar songs getting stuck in your head and thoughts will come through quietly. You tried once to send specific messages but you never had any responses to them so you tried to just go about your day, excited with any thought or songs that come through.

(Touch is what strengthens the connection)

♡´･ᴗ･`♡♡´･ᴗ･`♡♡´･ᴗ･`♡♡´･ᴗ･`♡♡´･ᴗ･`♡♡´･ᴗ･`♡

“God y/n I don’t know why you like to watch Jeopardy so much” your best friend, Michimiya, says from her spot in your bed, textbooks surrounding her and notes spread out, across from your matching space that has a small circle where you were sitting. You had gotten up to stretch your legs from sitting so long studying, Jeopardy reruns running on your tv in the corner, “I feel like watching it makes me smarter and I need all the help I can get” you say with a laugh and she rolls her eyes. “You’re doing a lot better. I almost don’t worry about you” she says with a sigh and you laugh more.

The signature Jeopardy song that plays during the final round starts and you can’t help but do one of the tiktok dances that you were trying to learn, usually set to that love shack mix but now set to this slower pace, you hit all the correct moves after days of practice and when the segment ends on the tv you bust into giggles with Michimiya, falling to your knees by the bed and wiping the tears from your eyes from laughing so hard at your stupidity. “Your crackhead energy is why we’re friends” she says as she catches her breath, holding her stomach. 

His game was flawless, his receives were perfect, but his team couldn’t help but be so damn annoyed with him. “Oh my GOD if YOU DON'T stop humming that damn song I’m gonna PUNCH YOU”  Yamamoto shouts from across the gym “calm down” Kenma says and Yamamoto turns back to him “HE'S BEEN HUMMING THE JEOPARDY SONG FOR DAYS NOW! I CAN'T TAKE IT.“

“Take a lap Yamamoto and relax!” Kuroo says with a laugh as he bounces a volleyball on his forearms “and I’ll stop humming the song… for now” he laughs again as Yamamoto groans but nonetheless follows orders

You were handed your exams but you’re too afraid to look, if you fail this one you’ll have to stay here and won't be able to help with the training camp. You shove it in your notebook, you couldn’t bring yourself to look at the score. you’ll just wait, you’ll ask someone else to look first. Once your class ends you hurry out to the gym as fast as you could, hopping the last few steps of the stairs and holding your backpack down as you run. 

“Y/N! Did you pass?!” Tanaka shouts as you run through the door, leaving your street shoes by the door you run over to him, your feet sliding across the wood floor in your tights, “Tanaka please, I haven’t looked, you gotta tell me” you say in a rush, holding out your notebook. He laughs and takes your notebook from your hands, his eyebrows furrow as he opens it, looking over your test inside the flap, he sighs “oh I’m so sorry Y/n..” your heart drops “..no” you say and he starts to giggle “i’m so sorry that you’ll have to deal with us for two days at camp!! YOU PASSED!” you gasp and then laugh, punching his shoulder “Tanaka you ass!” you take your notebook back and look at the score, pride filling your heart, you did it. You feel amazing. “Kiyoko! Yachi! Our girl’s coming to camp with us!” Tanaka says with tears in his eyes walking toward Kiyoko with his arms out for a hug, Kiyoko walks under Tanaka’s arm, ignoring him and walking over to you “we knew you’d do it” she says with a smile patting your arm, Tanaka getting comforted by Noya in the background.

That night as you packed your bags you closed your eyes, thinking hard about your soulmate. “I don't know if you can hear me, but I passed my exams. I am so happy and I hope you are having a good day as well” 

Kuroo stopped in the middle of his sentence, his phone call with Kenma forgotten about for the time being, as your voice drifted into his thoughts, it’s been a week since he last heard anything from you other than Jeopardy or vines you have on repeat in your head. He hasn’t even seen the vine that goes ‘a potato flew around my room’ but he knew that song was stuck in your head for four days. Your voice fades from his mind and he registers Kenma saying his name repeatedly in his ear “sorry what was i saying?” Kenma sighs “we’re talking about camp tomorrow” 

“So this is Nekoma High” you say as you exit the bus with the team, two players standing waiting for you as you arrive, one tall, handsome, albeit cocky looking, with dark hair that reminded you of a rooster, the other gave you the impression he was like Tanaka, who was currently was pointing out a nearby tower with Noya and getting excited thinking it was Tokyo tower. “Woah is that?” Noya exclaims “i think it is!!” Tanaka answers him, when they spoke at the same time “the sky tree!” they were so excited you knew right then and there they shared the same one singular brain cell. 

 “those poor idiots” you think to yourself as you look at them. “No that's just a regular old steel tower” says one of the boys, you turn your head seeing the tall one holding his stomach in laughter.

You make your way around to stand by the other girls to see if they knew who these two were ``hey who is the tall one?” you whisper at Kiyoko she leans in close to your ear and whispers “Kuroo. Their captain. The other being Yamamoto ” you look over at him “Kuroo…He is really cute” you think with a smirk and then blush as he makes eye contact with you, his eyebrows raised as he first sees you, almost like he heard you say his name. 

Really cute…” the last bit of your thought echoes quietly in his mind in a voice he is semi familiar with, from your voice singing songs in his head, your laugh that comes through sometimes. Of course he didn’t know it was you yet, he looks up and notices you staring at him, “who is she?” he thinks to himself, barely catching Yamamoto talking about how jealous he was that Karasuno has three girls! One sexy, one cute, and one beautiful. “Take a look, Tiger Head. behold the glory of going to Karasuno high!” Tanaka says jumping in front of you and the girls.  You were so beautiful, he would be blind to think otherwise, but he quickly pushes the thought away, focusing on the rivalry and not the pull he feels to go to you, continuing his conversation with Daichi. “Lets go” Kiyoko says and you all just ignore Tanka and the Tiger head, walking around them and going on ahead.

After getting settled in the room you were sharing with Kiyoko and Yachi, you three made your way back to the gym, your thoughts stayed fixed on the captain. You maintain the water bottles and chat with the other managers as your team warms up. 

Your body was acutely aware of where Kuroo was at all times. You could look up to where he was at any given moment, like a small vibration is your body pulling you in his direction, you tried your hardest to push that feeling away. You had a soulmate, you knew his inner voice and got some of his thoughts from time to time. He loved alternative music and hated this one commercial that comes on the radio for cat food. The jingle getting stuck in his head always came with a feeling of annoyance every time it came into your head. just because the connection wasn’t strong yet didn’t mean you could like someone else! 

You felt semi guilty about feeling this way, feeling like you would like nothing more than to talk to someone who isn’t your soulmate. You tried to forget about it. To just get through this camp.

 You watch as your boys do their penalty lap, you zone out, the Jeopardy theme song going through your head and you chuckle to yourself at how dumb it is. “I swear to GOD Kuroo if you don't STOP with the Jeopardy song already I’m going to quit volleyball and I mean this” your eyes flash over to where the Nekoma team is playing, your eyes immediately landing on Kuroo who is laughing at Yamamoto. “Wait,” you think to yourself,  His eyes flash to you and he cocks his head at you with a smile. You mouthed the word “Jeopardy?” and raised your eyebrows in a questioning manner. 

His cheeks flush, your questioning eyes on him made him feel slightly embarrassed for some reason, he just scratches the back of his neck and shrugs with a smile at you. You smile and shake your head slightly, it couldn’t be him, it’s just a coincidence.. it had to be. You break eye contact with him when Kiyoko gets your attention, needing help with something. He watches as you follow Kiyoko out of the gym, smiling back at you when you turn back to look at him with a smile before you exit the gym.

 He stays looking at the door, a smile on his lips, until Yamamoto hits him in the side of the head with a volleyball “you’re being creepy” Yamamoto says and Kuroo scowls “ I am not being creepy! I’m just being nice” “yeah whatever” Kenma says, not really caring about whatever was happening “just toss the ball” 

You cheer for your boys while keeping an eye out on the rest of the teams you could see, making little notes in your notebook about moves you see that your team could implement and do better. Writing down things you wanted to talk with Kiyoko about later. Your notes were very organized and split into sections on your paper. You rejoiced in your heart when Kageyama and Hinata made it on time for the last game, cheering outwardly when they won. “Nice one guys!” you yell and begin to discuss plays with Kiyoko. 

When your voice rang through the gym his body erupted in goosebumps.  What a weird reaction he thinks, he shakes his head and gets back to his own team. 

You stay behind for a few moments, watching the Nekoma game, watching Kuroo especially. You couldn't drag your eyes from him, he was beautiful and he played beautiful, if anyone noticed, and by god Kiyoko and Kenma both had, you had stars in your eyes for that captain. 

“Y/n let's go” Kiyoko says and you nod “of course” you respond and follow her and the rest of the team out of the gym, Kuroo catches the sight of you disappearing out the door, frowning at the reaction he had in his chest, a longing he didn’t understand. 

You ended up getting to shower later at night, you got distracted talking to some of the other managers and when you went back to your room you found the other girls already back from the showers ``sorry guys, i’ll be quick and come in quiet if you go to sleep” “don’t worry about it y/n. I'm sure Saeko will be back late since she went out.” Kiyoko says and you nod with a bow before hurrying out of the room and down the hall to the women's locker room. 

Okay, running down the hallway in the dark was probably a bad idea, but in your defense you assumed everyone was in bed already. You did not expect to jog face first into someone.

 Your face hits someone's chest, you know it is a man because of how he smells. Like clean clothes and mint. You hit your butt with an “oof” quickly picking your clothes up from the ground and shouting “I'm sorry!” the man chuckles and crouches down, picking up your shirt handing it to you, “hey don’t worry about it” his voice is soft, sending tingles down your spine and you look up into his face “Kuroo!” you say in shock and he chuckles some more, taking your hand and helping you up. Now that your eyes have adjusted to the dark hallway you can see him now, wet hair slicked back and a towel around his neck, a small nervous smile on his face lit up from the outside light through the window, “I don’t think we've met yet but yes, I am Tetsuro Kuroo” he holds out his hand to you. 

Your belly fills with butterflies when you take his hand, giving it a firm shake, “Y/f/n Y/l/n. It's nice to meet you” you smile up at him and his chest tightens, you are so beautiful he hardly knows what to say. “Are you okay?” his voice was soft, nervous, he tries to hide it by clearing his throat “yeah i'm okay. How's your chest?” you feel bad for hitting him so hard and before you realize what you’re doing your hand is already on his chest, softly smoothing down his shirt and feeling his muscles through the thin fabric. He chuckles softly and your hand stops above his heart and you feel your cheeks flush with heat at your actions ``my chest is fine. Don’t worry about me.” you hesitantly look back up into his eyes “uh.. Sorry” you say quietly and go to drop your hand but he places his over yours quickly “it’s okay” his lips never moved, his mouth in a small smile as he looks down at you, you didn’t notice that his voice came into your thoughts. 

You stayed like that, standing in the dark, smiling at each other with your hands together on his chest. You could feel his heartbeat strong under your palm, your heart racing as hard as his, you felt like the world stopped for you two. 

The sound of footsteps pulled you both from your bubble, you dropped your hand and you both chuckled softly, when Kenma appeared in the dark you took it as the perfect moment to slip away, quietly running down in the opposite direction to shower and pretend like that moment never happened. 

The next morning you were watching the team warm up, “How do you think we will do with their new player, Lev?” Kiyoko asks you and Yachi as you sit on the sidelines together, “I don’t know, Hinata’s quick attack works great but I feel like it’s nearing the end, these teams are getting better at combating it since Hinata doesn't aim at all with his eyes closed and Lev is t a l l”  you watch them warm up with your hand on your chin, chewing your lip. “their attack is really amazing though” Yachi says, sending heart eyes towards Hinata. You chuckle at the sweet girl’s obvious crush.

At first he thinks the laugh is in his head, a familiar sound he has heard many times. He’s almost convinced it’s in his head but then his gaze is drawn to your sweet smile as you laughed at the girl beside you. “Her laughter is so sweet” Yamamoto says with a sigh a smile, Kuroo slaps the back of his head “focus on the game” he just got mad at him for paying attention to you but he can't seem to stop looking at you himself. It’s just a coincidence your laughs are similar.

“y/n it seems Kuroo can’t stop looking at you” Kiyoko says and you chuckle again, your face flushing as you remember the night prior, you try to inconspicuously look at him but fail when you make eye contact with him. You raise your hand in a small wave and he blushes with a chuckle before he raises his hand, waving with his fingers. The butterflies in your chest will remain for the rest of the day. 

You look at your notes, a thought coming through so easily, stronger than before, “She's so beautiful. But I don't want to think about that. I have my soulmate, she’s here, in my thoughts. why can’t I get this girl out of my mind though? Just focus on the game” your body floods with tingles. That was the clearest thought you’ve ever got. “if I can hear you can you hear me?” you think back, not noticing Kuroo across the gym practice serving the ball and missing it at thelast second, the same second your voice entered his head. 

“You’re here?” His voice enters your head, its so strong instead of it seeming far away or weak like usual. Kuroo’s laugh fills the gym followed by remarks from several members of his team but all of that seemed so far away compared to your soulmate connection. “How did the connection suddenly become so strong?” you think back and immediately get a response “I don't know but I am not complaining”  his excited laughter and joy fills your thoughts, and you feel his energy flood into you as well “me either” you say back and then the volleyball game begins “talk more later?” you ask him in your thoughts and he sends back “definitely”  why did his voice sound so familiar? 

The game ends, Karasuno taking another penalty lap as you go to refill water bottles. “You still there?” his voice makes you smile “of course” you send back “Now that the connection is open I don't know what to say” his chuckle in your mind makes you feel deja vu, where had you heard it before. “Should we tell each other our names?” you ask and put the filled bottles back in the holder,  walking back to the bench with a smile on your face.  “Yeah that makes sense, my name is Tetsuro” you freeze, your eyes flicking over towards Kuroo who was talking to Kenma about something, his cheeks were flushed but that could have been from the game. Is that why his voice in your head sounds familiar now? Is that why you feel so drawn to him?

Your thought was gentle back to him “Tetsuro...Kuroo?” you watch him, watch the shock that went through his expression, heard him laugh nervously as his voice came into your head “do you know me?” it sounded nervous, you watched him with a smile, “i know of you. Mr. Captain of Nekoma’s volleyball team, tall, incredibly handsome, has rooster hair.” you watch his expression, his smile on his lips, his blushing cheeks, he was gorgeous, now that you knew who he was it made sense why you connected with him from the start. “Are you going to tell me who you are?” you look away from  him when you see him turn towards you “I will. After your camp is over. Don’t want to mess you up or anything” 

You glance back at Kuroo who is about to start another game and you find him looking right at you, Kiyoko did tell you that he is a highly observant person.  He raises his eyebrows and you hear his voice in your head “and do you happen to be at this camp too?” he asks and you can’t help but grin at him, you felt like you couldn’t hide anything from him, your previous plan of teasing him is now out the window as you bury your face in your hands, your cheeks feeling warm against your fingers, a smile on your lips. “Focus on your game Tetsu” you say back to him “you are so unbelievably adorable” you look back up at him through your fingertips and he laughs out loud before waving at you. You drop your hands and smile shyly, waving back at him. “What will you give me when we win this game? A kiss?” you scoff “you’ll have to win to see” he laughs and winks at you before turning his attention back to his practice game. “Are you paying attention?” Kiyoko says and you turn back to your game “sorry! I am now!” 

The moment his game ends you can feel his eyes on you, after everyone’s had some water “would you mind..” his voice comes through softly, you can feel how excited he is, how antsy he is, your feelings mirrored back at you “where?” you glance over at him, standing next to the wall with his teammates cooling down, he pushes off the wall, saying something to his team before he is headed in your direction, never taking his eye off you “meet me in the hallway” you nod and then turn to Kiyoko “excuse me for a second” she nods and you stand, walking out to the hallway, Kuroo right behind you. 

The moment you’re alone he takes your hand and pulls you to his chest, taking a deep breath with his face buried in your hair “hey” you say softly into his chest, your hands wrapping around his middle and holding him close despite how sweaty he was, his sweat actually smelled... nice? You couldn't explain it. It just felt right. “My girl” he says and pulls back just enough to look into your eyes “so what is my prize for winning the game?” he asks and you laugh “am I not enough” he laughs with you “you are a thousand times more than enough and probably too good for me too. But I can't lie, I’m dying to kiss you” your cheeks flush “then do it” you whisper and move your hands to his neck, standing on your tiptoes to get closer to him. His hands move to cup your cheeks and he blushes as he leans down slow, closing the distance between you both. 

“Is she tongue kissing the enemy?!” Tanaka shouts behind you, causing you and Kuroo to separate quickly, looking over at your team who just came out into the hallway. You blush and go to explain but before you do Daichi is herding the team the other direction. “Mind your business Tanaka. y/n we are leaving in ten minutes” you laugh embarrassedly “okay i'll be there in a minute”

Kuroo takes your hand and pulls you into an empty room “I don't want you to go” he says with a laugh and you  nod, wrapping your arms around his neck “me either” you whisper and look into his eyes as you close the distance, pressing your body against his and he holds you tight to his chest, a blush rising on his neck and cheeks as his eyes flick down to your lips for a moment “but I’m sure we will figure it out, plus i’ll be back with the team for the summer camp as well” he nods “you’re right” his voice, you realized, was in your head again, your eyes flutter closed as his lips finally connect to yours, you can feel him smile against you and your body feels electric as tingles run from your head to your toes, you felt as though you were weightless. A soft sigh exiting your lips has him licking your top lip, taking your chuckle as a good sign to rub his tongue gently against yours, you moan quietly and his heart races, his stomach knotted with butterflies and electric sparks running down his spine. 

You bite his bottom lip and pull back a little before kissing his chin and the pepper kisses down across his jaw, pulling yourself tight against him as you kiss his neck “I have to go, they might leave me” you whisper and he groans, half in protest against you leaving half because you started to suck a small part of his skin on the side of his neck. 

When you were satisfied with your handiwork you pulled back, kissing the hickey softly before finally pulling away from him “something to remember me by” you say with a cheeky grin and turn to go, he laughs and grabs your hand, pulling you back to him to give you one last kiss. “Be safe, send me” he taps your temple “your phone number, tell me when you get home” you nod and smile, your heart bursting at the seams with happiness “I will Tetsu. Don’t worry” you kiss his lips once more, looking into his eyes for a few seconds, before forcing yourself to open the door and run down the hallway towards the exit and the bus that is taking you back to Karasuno. 

The whole team looks at you with raised eyebrows and silence as you walk on the bus, running your hand through your hair, panting from running all the way there, “what?” you say with a laugh, your cheeks flushing with slight embarrassment as you make your way to an open seat seat by Yachi, “he’s my soulmate”

If you like soulmate AUs check out my Tendou one here and be sure to reblog if you like it ♥️

[dothwrites]

97, maybe? For the prompts? :)

---

#97--When you smile, I fall apart

---

Dean watches silently as Cas rolls yet another t-shirt before putting it into his suitcase. Neither of them have spoken in what feels like days but has only been several hours. Their silence isn’t angry, nor is it comfortable. Dean doesn’t bother to pretend like he isn’t watching Cas’ every move as he carefully removes every part of himself from their dorm room. 

His posters have already been taken down and rolled carefully. Cas told Dean he could sell them or throw them away, and Dean had nodded like he was agreeing, but Cas’ posters are currently taking up some prime real estate in the back of his closet, where they’ll stay for damn near forever. Cas’ pens, pencils, and other various supplies are carefully hidden in his desk, while his furniture sits, forlorn, on his side of the room. His mattress is stripped bare. The only thing which remains is for Cas to empty his drawers, which is a task becoming shorter with each shirt that disappears into his suitcase. 

With a sensation like feeling his chest rip in half, Dean watches Cas examine each drawer. He closes them with a sense of finality before he turns to his suitcase. Tight lines of tension hold his shoulders in a defensive posture as he zips the case closed. Afterward, he continues facing away from Dean, his gaze fixed on the blank wall. His fingers curl into the stiff fabric of his suitcase, but he doesn’t speak. 

That task falls to Dean. 

“So, I guess this is it, huh?” Dean’s voice is too loud even to his ears, harsh and discordant in the silence of the room. “E.T. goes home.”

“Not particularly,” Cas answers. He keeps his face turned away, giving no indication to his mood. “It’s not home. Not really.” 

“It’s not stopping you from going back.” Dean knows his voice is surly and hurt, but he can’t stop himself. Maybe if he hadn’t held all of this in, Cas wouldn’t be leaving. 

“We’ve talked about this. I have to.” 

Dean clenches his jaw and says nothing. All of his arguments--Your parents never cared about you, what difference does it make whether you go home or not, you shouldn’t throw away your future for people who don’t give a shit about you--have already fallen on deaf ears. 

What tortures him are the unspoken arguments, the ones that have never been spoken aloud except to an empty room. 

Please don’t leave me. 

I love you. 

Dean bites his lower lip to keep those words stoppered within him. He won’t say it, not now. Those words are like blackmail. If he said then, then he’d be no better than Cas’ shitty family, using ties of loyalty and obligation to force him into a decision. If Cas doesn’t decide to stay on his own merits, then Dean doesn’t want it at all. And Cas hasn’t decided to stay. 

Three years, two of them as unlikely roommates, countless all-nighters and drunken binges, several extremely dicey situations, some of which made Dean think that maybe his interest in Castiel wasn’t as unrequited as he originally thought, and it all ends here. On an unremarkable Wednesday afternoon, with Cas’ bags packed and them waiting for the Uber that will take Cas away to the airport and out of Dean’s life. 

“It’s not forever,” Cas finally says. “I’ll be back.” 

“To visit,” Dean says, unwilling to be bought with pretty lies. 

“To stay,” Cas insists. Dean wishes he would turn around. Cas is a difficult guy to read on the best of days, harder when all Dean has to go on is the shift of his shoulders. 

“Yeah. Whatever.” 

The second Cas got the call from his brother, Dean knew it was over. Cas’ father was dying and Cas’ presence was expected. He wouldn’t be able to finish the semester and would be forced to take an incomplete. His scholarships were in jeopardy, his re-admission status in peril. Cas had told him all of this and somehow managed to sound hopeful about this whole thing, but Dean had heard the unspoken truth underneath the words.

It was over. Cas wasn’t coming back.  

“Dean.” 

Dean looks up and meets brilliant blue eyes. Now, as always, he’s taken aback by their hue and the emotion which shines out of them. For all the times he’s accused Cas of being a robot, when you get down to it, Cas doesn’t have a damn poker face. He can keep his expression as stoic as he wants, but those baby blues betray him every single time. Right now, his eyes are welling over with an overabundance of emotion. 

Dean’s breath catches in his throat with a painful hitch. He can’t do this right now. Not when his heart is ripping in two and Cas is standing less than an inch away from him. “Cas,” he says, trying for jovial and failing miserably, “your Uber is gonna be here soon, man.” 

“That’s why I have to do this now.” 

Dean opens his mouth and closes it, like a particularly stupid goldfish. For all of his reticence and silence, Cas has a habit of dropping hard truths right out of the blue, like the time they were in sophomore year and a little bit drunk and Cas grabbed his shoulder and stared him down with all the intensity of a slightly tipsy robot. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” Cas had said, his normally rough voice gone subsonic. “We share a profound bond,” he continued, over Dean’s protests. 

So Dean’s a little leery now that Cas is looking at him like he hears the ticking clock and that he realizes this is very much a go big or go home moment. 

“I know that you don’t believe me, but I will be back.” Dean opens his mouth to argue, but Cas steamrollers directly over his objections by cupping Dean’s cheek. His hands are huge against Dean’s face, sturdy and warm. They’re hands Dean could trust, hands Dean wants to catch him every time he stumbles. 

“This isn’t what I want. Dean, I know...” Cas falters, his thumb rubbing at the soft skin underneath Dean’s eye. “I know it’s a shitty time to do it, and I would understand if you tell me to leave and don’t want to talk to me anymore, but I...” 

Dean can’t ever recall a time when Castiel had to grope for words. It’s happened twice in the past thirty seconds. Then Cas looks at him, his eyes like blue steel, and Dean gets ready for some hard truths to be dropped on him like an anvil on Wil. E. Coyote. 

“You are the best person I’ve ever met. Everything about you--your kindness, your humor, your generosity--Dean, you’re my best friend.” 

Dean’s heart sinks at that, but apparently Cas isn’t done dropping anvils. “And it’s stupid to want anything more, but I do, Dean. Dean, I want...” 

Three times now that he’s rendered Cas speechless, but Cas has never been one to lose gracefully. Cas renders him speechless, thoughtless, weightless, and dozens of other ‘lesses’ as he leans forward and presses his lips gently to Dean’s. 

It isn’t until Cas starts to pull away that Dean regains any semblance of rational thought. The thought of Cas leaving him is incomprehensible, unthinkable. Dean curls his fingers in Cas’ shirt and pulls him closer. 

Cas’ lips are just as stupidly chapped and rough as he thought they would be, but he never could have imagined how soft they would feel underneath his. Even in his wildest fantasies, he never could have conjured up the rough, needy sound rumbling up from Cas’ throat as Dean licks across the seam of his lips. Cas opens his mouth and deepens their kiss, his fingers pushing into Dean’s hair as he pulls them closer. 

“Oh, Dean,” Cas whispers. He doesn’t move from where he’s perched atop Dean, his forehead pressing into Dean’s. “I’m so sorry it took me this long to pull my head out of my ass. If I’d been thinking correctly, I would have told you how I felt years ago.” He tilts his head to kiss Dean’s cheek.

Dean’s heart cracks. 

“You stupid idiot,” Dean says, before he takes Cas’ lips in an almost brutal kiss. “You could get so much better than me.” 

“Impossible,” Cas tells him. “I could never want anyone else other than you.” He places a soft kiss at the corner of Dean’s lips. “Every time you smile, I fall apart.” 

Dean lunges forward, wrapping Cas in a tight embrace. He wants to pull Cas into him, wants to wrap himself around Cas in such irreparable ways that Cas will never be able to scrub himself clean of Dean’s influence. 

Dean’s arms wrap around Cas’ shoulders, as he grabs at the short hair at the back of Cas’ head. He licks into Cas’ mouth, determined to get to the root of him. He’s just pushing forward, Cas softening to accept him, when Cas’ phone rings. 

It’s like someone dumped a bucket of cold water over his head. Dean pulls back, staring in muted horror at Castiel’s pocket. 

His phone is ringing. Cas’ Uber is here. 

“Cas,” Dean says helplessly, pulling Cas towards him. Their kiss is messy and desperate, teeth and tongues clashing as their fingers yank and tug. “Cas, don’t go, please don’t go--” 

Cas’ hands frame Dean’s face, forcing Dean to look at him. “I’m coming back,” Cas promises. He grips Dean’s hair almost to the point of pain, but it keeps Dean’s mind from shattering. “Dean, you have to believe me. I’m coming back.” 

He stares at Dean for one long, eternal moment, before he kisses him. Dean melts into Cas, clutching him so tightly that it’s a mystery as to how Cas winds up at the door, but he does. Dean leans towards him, feeling empty and cold. 

Cas turns and looks at him. A dozen expressions cross his face as he allows his eyes to roam over Dean one last time. A thousand words swell in Dean’s chest--Don’t go, come back, don’t forget me, I love you, I love you, I LOVE YOU--

But then the door closes and Cas is gone. 

Dean collapses back on Cas’ bed, its mattress scratchy and uncomfortable without a covering or sheets. He curls into himself, knees pressed to his chest, and settles in to wait. 

---

Three months later, Dean is awoken by the sound of the door creaking. He groans and shoves his face deeper into his pillow. “Benny, if you need your shit, it can wait until tomorrow. For now, I am asleep.” He drags his comforter up over his shoulder to punctuate the statement. 

He thinks that is the end of it. That should be the end of it. Benny, while occasionally wildly inappropriate, will usually fuck off when told to fuck off. However, his hypothesis is shattered when his bed dips at the middle with the weight of someone settling onto his mattress. 

“Benny, what the fuck--” He rolls over, freezing when he sees the silhouette of the person sitting on his bed. 

Benny doesn’t have that particular level of messy bedhead. Or those shoulders, tapering down into strong arms, almost delicate wrists, and elegant fingers. Benny certainly doesn’t have a thousand yard stare that manages to pierce through him even when the lights are off and the only available source of illumination are the faint lights from the sidewalk three floors below. 

Dean chokes on nothing but air and scrambles to sit up. His heart is beating a million miles a minute as it tries to crawl through his chest and out of his mouth. 

“Cas?” he finally chokes, clutching his comforter to his chest like a quivering Victorian heroine. 

A flash of white, a grin in the darkness. A strong warm hand, a hand that Dean can trust to catch him and lead him through the world, rests on his bicep. Dean feels the heat of it through his t-shirt. 

“Hello, Dean,” Cas says. 

[godofcreatitivity]

One Piece the Movie

(the following is a nonprofit fan based parody any characters form one piece is owned by Eiichiro Oda, Toei Animation Co., Ltd., any characters from super Mario are owned by Nintendo, any characters from troll hunters, are owned by DreamWorks and universal

Disclaimer

Some of the characters found in this story and / or universe does not belong to me, but are intellectual property of their respective owners. Any original characters in this story are my intellectual property.

Story nonprofit created fan and fan without compromising the original work.)

Chapter 12: oh, no! Here comes trouble!

(Mushroom Kingdom: Toad Town)

Toad was slowly walking through Toad Town, full of regret and sadness.

This was because of the fact that he wasn’t really able to help Luffy out much while he was there.

Not only that, they may have wasted his time, trying to help him by sending him to the princess without knowing whether or not she would help him.

And it really slowed him down rather than helped him in the process.

And it’s not like he’s going to be able to help him on his adventure I mean come on he’s a mushroom toad.

What are you gonna be able to do, scream and run away?

Let’s be honest, he wasn’t exactly a fearless killing machine meant to take down any threat that came to the kingdom.

Especially if it came to going up against his army of monsters.

Toad was completely useless in that field, and especially in that field.

Because of this, he felt extremely guilty over what had happened. He just wanted to get back to his store and get back to doing what he was good at.

(Back at the store)

Bernie was still standing behind the cash register, taking care of a customer.

“So these keys are like custom made right? I’m just asking in case I don’t know if they accidentally get lost or break or something”, the customer was a blue Toad who was holding one of the golden keys from the side of the cash register.

Bernie nodded his head reassuringly,” yep made a mess off, took quite some time to. I got a whole case of them in the back”.

The blue mushroom smiled and grabbed four more keys from the bin,” all right I’ll take five of these”.

Bernie then shot him a confused and shocked expression,” Wow that’s a lot. I hope you don’t plan on losing all of those keys”.

The blue Toad quickly shook his head before chuckling,”hehe no some of my other friends are moving in with me to start this special club, and I wanted to get the more keys for when they moved in that way just to make it easier for everyone! I’ve been saving up so I’ll pay whatever price”.

Bernie quickly nodded his head,” well all right that’ll be ten coins”.

The blue toad reached into his back pocket and pulled out each of the coins, one by one, until it reached the number ten.

Once he grabbed all five of the keys and began walking out to the front entrance before waving back,” all right thanks again, Bernie see ya”!He shouted as he exited the store.

Bernie waved back at him before grabbing the coins, and opening up a chest underneath the counter, and placing each of them inside.

After he’s finished, putting all the coins inside, he closes the chess and gets up from underneath the register, just to spot to his excitement Toad, who was slowly walking back towards the store.

Bernie hopped up from behind the register, and made his way over to him,”Toad your back, thank God, please tell me you dealt with “you know who” and this whole crazy situation”, he asked hopefully.

Toad nodded his head in response,”yeah”.

Bernie blew a sigh of relief.

The last thing he wanted was for their business to be put in jeopardy, because of a strange creature that toad befriended.

And thankfully his friend was able to fix this whole mess up without any problems either.

Bernie was about to say something else when he then noticed the sad and depressed look on Toads face.

His relief then quickly turned into worry,”Hey Toad, you alright”?

Toad sighed sadly before slowly looking up at his friend,”Yeah I guess it’s just that….well I kinda wish I was able to help him more”.

Bernie shot him a look of confusion.

What the hell was he talking about?

He did take him to the princess right? So then there’s no reason to feel guilty about it.

Unless……

Bernie stepped up towards Toad,”Wait what are you talking about? You brought Luffy to the princess right”?, he asked curiously.

“Yeah but she said she wasn’t gonna help him because she was busy with other matters. And Luffy took that as a green light to go out and find his friends by himself without her,”Toad explained.

“Ok then- Wait, why are you upset about that, all you were supposed to do is take him to see the princess and that’s it, whether she wanted to help or not. So what’s the problem”?,Bernie asked.

Toad shrugged his shoulders,”I don’t know, I guess that I thought of this little assignment as a bit of an exciting adventure for a little bit and now it’s kinda over”.

Bernie (after hearing that) tilted his head to the side and placed his hands on his hips curiously,”Toad if I didn’t know any better I’d say you’d have something on your mind you wanna talk about”.

Toad paused for a moment after hearing that.

What was he trying to say?

That he wasn’t happy with the life he lived now?

That maybe he wanted something more than just owning a store most if not all the other toads could get somewhere else.

To be honest, he couldn’t really explain it, but he knew one thing and it was that whatever this feeling was, it was eating at him constantly.

He took a deep breath before speaking up,”I’m mostly just saying that, I don’t know, maybe going with him on his journey wouldn’t have been such a bad idea”.

Bernie almost immediately started shaking his head,”Toad, NO”!

“Ah come on Bernie, what are we doing in this kingdom that’s so important that we’d let someone walk into a literal death trap”, Toad argued.

“Toad don’t be like that, he went out there by his own choice! That has nothing to do with us! And even if we did go out and help him, it's not like we’d be a lotta help to him! We’re Toads, you know that we are not built for danger, we’re too adorable for that ”!Bernie shouted.

Toad slaps his hand on his face in frustration before walking inside the store,”There you go again with that! Bernie, don’t you ever get tired of everyone out there telling us we’re too cute and adorable! And that we’re not capable of doing anything more than work around the kingdom and protecting and serving our princess! Especially when there might be a small chance that that’s not true”?!, Toad said as he started grabbing, and placing items on some of the shelves.

Bernie saw this and grabbed an item as well before placing it on the aisle,” Of course it’s true, that’s all we’re meant to do and that’s all we need to do. And at least we have guards”.

“You mean the same guards that I just easily was able to bribe in order to get a complete stranger to enter the castle! Oh, wait, no, the same guards that are too scared to even leave the kingdom grounds”!Toad pointed out before moving to the other side of the aisle.

Bernie shot him a look,” Oh what, are you saying you all of a sudden hate your life here”.

He took a deep breath before continuing,”What no, look, I’m not saying that I don’t love my life here and running the shop. I’m just saying that we’re built for more than just this. And I’m tired of just sitting here looking like idiomatic, cute and adorable background characters that just sit around, looking stupid while we support the main character! When we could carve ourselves a path to a supporting character, or even a main character of a story, rather than just being this”!, he shouted before finishing up with the aisle and making his way over to the front counter then planted his face on the top.

After a few moments of looking at him in silence, Bernie stopped what he was doing and slowly began making his way towards his friend,” Toad, buddy come on, this is what we’re meant to do. We’re not meant to go out on crazy adventures, or stand gloriously or heroically over a cheering crowd. We’re meant to do our duties and leave it to someone who is meant to go out and have those crazy adventures and glorious moments. We’re just not built for those kinds of things”.

Toad lifted his head up from the counter and shat a blank expression at his friend,” You say that, but I just saw a scrawny and honestly weird looking guy without a weapon or any allies to his name, run out if our kingdom in order to go and fight an entire kingdom full of blood thirsty monsters just so he can save his friends. Don’t you get it Bernie?! Some random guy who the world probably wouldn’t even think of as a hero is about to go and run face first into certain death”!

Toad shouted pointing his finger outside the store entrance into the distance of the mushroom kingdom.“And you want me to sit here and believe that this is the only life that we could possibly have”?!

“Well what do you expect, Toad? Him going out there to fight those things was his choice! That has nothing to do with us because we don’t know him! And he’s not one of us either! For all we know he could be some main mc in a story, or maybe just a goofy unimportant sidekick to a (probably) awesome mc! Who knows, who cares?! It's his lifestyle, not ours and it never will be”!Bernie shouted,”And the sooner you learn to accept that, the sooner you’ll have a better life here!”

Toad took a deep breath before speaking up,”Bernie it’s not that simple to jus…..t,” he said before trailing off.

He suddenly noticed something outside but couldn’t quite tell what it was.

He hopped over the register and started to walk towards the entrance.

With Bernie following after him, not quite finished with the conversation yet,”on no, toad we are not finished here! Now look I know this isn’t something you have quite grasped in your head yet but you can’t-“.

“Bernie, does that look like smoke to you?”Toad asked worriedly as he pointed to a line of smoke coming from the entrance of the town.

“What are you…..”Bernie's face went from angry to almost instantly confused at the sight of the smoke,”What the hell”?

Toad walked outside the store and tapped another mushroom on the shoulder,”Hey Ted, what’s up with the smoke”?

The mushroom shrugged his shoulders,”Don’t know, maybe the bakery downtown burnt some of their supplies again”?, he suggested.

Toad after hearing that nervously turned to Bernie (who was walking right up behind him).

Once Bernie was there with him, he shot Toad a (“this better not have been caused by who I think it is”) look before placing his hands on his hips.

Toad shrugged in response to the look.

And to be honest he didn’t know who bought this either.

But he knew one thing for a fact and that this wasn’t caused by Luffy in the slightest.

He saw Luffy walk back out into the mushroom forest to most likely go and find the warp pipe he was shot out of in order to find his friends.

So there’s no way that this would be caused by him.

After a few moments of looking up at the fiery smoke, Toad suddenly noticed that other mushroom toads were running specifically away from that direction.

They looked as if they were in danger of some sort.

He then looked back up at the smoke with worry, (Was it really so bad as to where they have to run from it).

Once he did he noticed that the smoke clouds were growing larger by the second.

Showing that whatever was going on had no intention of stopping.

Toad kept looking around and saw that more of his fellow mushroom people were still running away from the Smokey area.

An almost huge crowd of running toads started to form as they were all running in different directions (aside from the smoke one).

If it was dangerous, they were making it seem that someone could really use some help.

Toad had to figure out what the hell was going on. I need to do it quickly.

Bernie turned to toad in worry, but he didn’t see the same look on his face, instead he saw a determined look.

His face went pale at the sight of this.

He knows exactly what that look meant, and what Toad liked to do when he had it on.

Bernie reached out his arm to grab Toad before he could get the chance to go and do something stupid,”No no no no no, Toad don’t you dare-“.

But it was already too late.

Toad sprinted off towards the direction of the smoke as fast as he could.

Bernie tried to chase after him I’m an effort to stop him but he was too late to catch him in time before the crowd came in and got in his way.

Bernie tried to shout, “Toad wait no-“, but the noise of the crowd drowned out his voice, making it impossible for Toad to even hear him.

His friend was running off to find trouble, and there was nothing he could do about it

(Downtown)

Moving and pushing straight through the crowds that were moving in the opposite directions.

Toad was determined to see what exactly was going on.

He ran through the town as fast as he could, hopping and jumping over carts, tables in front of restaurants, and even other Toads that were in his way.

While he ran making his way to the scene, all kinds of thoughts filled his head.

(In his head)

(“What’s go on”)

(“What exactly started all of this smoke”)

And then closer he got to the scene, the more he felt the smoke fill the air.

Not only that, but when he passed by some other Toads, he saw that they all were covered with injuries.

They were nothing serious, just a few scrapes, small cuts, and bruises.

But it wasn’t exactly making it easier for his nerves to settle.

And it didn’t help that all the commotion wasn’t too far up the street, though he didn’t know whether or not to be thankful about this or not.

He was getting closer to the location as he heard what sounded like rubble, and debris, falling or breaking.

This caused him to jump in surprise a tiny bit.

Not only was there smoke, but now it was rubble getting thrown around.

What the hell is going on over there?

It sounded as if a fight was going on that he didn’t know about.

Or maybe something a lot worse.

And then out of nowhere he had one final question…..

(“Was whatever that was over there terrifying enough to scare all the other mushrooms”)

Toad would very soon get his answer.

Once he turned this next corner towards a cloud of smoke, he saw a yellow scaly hand appear from the smoke and grab him by the blues vest before picking him up and slamming him into a wall.

Toad winced in pain as the hand held him up tightly against the wall.

Then suddenly a giant cloaked figure slowly appeared from inside the smoke.

This figure was the same person whose hand was currently holding Toad up against a wall by his vest.

And from what he saw, it looked like the figure was somewhat observing him.

It was as he was trying to see who he was about to kill with his own bare hands.

He did this for a few moments before suddenly bursting in laughter at what he saw.

This went on for a few seconds before he was finally able to calm himself down and look straight at Toad,” well well well looky what we got here, looks like one of the small fry actually ran towards our direction”, he said before chuckling loudly.

He slowly brought himself closer to Toad’s face,” you must think yourself a hero, huh ya little stubby shit”, he asked him as he tightened his grip on Toad, causing him to grunt in pain.

Though he didn’t answer the cloaked figure’s question.

He was a little busy trying to free himself from his tight grip against the wall.

Seeing the foolish little mushroom person ignoring him angered the cloaked giant,” ya know”, (chuckle),” I always did wonder what was inside those little mushroom caps of yours,” reaches behind himself and pulls out a sledgehammer that was almost as big as the figure himself.

Toad froze at the sight of the giant hammer, in fear of the weapon.

“Why don’t we give it a good couple of whacks, just to see what we’re dealing with”, he said sinister Lee as he pulled the hammer back in preparation to swing it at Toad’s head.

Toad closed his eyes to brace himself for what was about to happen next.

The cloaked giant started to swing the hammer forward at a quick speed.

But then just when the hammer was about Conner with Toad’s face, a voice called out to the cloaked figure,”Boris, enough playing games”!

The two turned to see multiple cloaked figures menacingly appear out of the smoke.

The big guy dropped his shoulders and sighed loudly,”uuuhhh come on Captain, can’t I just have a little fun caving his head in”, he begged.

Toad turned pale in the face after hearing that, in fear that the other intruders would let him if they wanted to.

One of the other cloaked figures stepped forward before placing an also yellow, reptilian scale hand on his shoulder,”No we’re not here to have fun we’re here on a mission remember?! So stop screwin around and focus”!

The bigger figure dropped his head in disappointment as he lowered his weapon and lightened his grip on Toad.

Toad was about to sigh a breath of relief, thinking he was in the clear.

When suddenly the smaller figure quickly turned to him and slapped his hands together,”Ahem, sorry about my friend here. He’s more of the meathead type than the brain type”, he said as he patted the bigger guy on the shoulder.

He then turned to face the other cloaked figures,”Me and my others here just arrived not too long ago and are hoping to request an audience with your princess on behalf of our glorious King”.

Toad tilted his head and raised a brow at what he had just said.

Who were these guys?

Why did the look like they were in a cult of some kind?

Why were they attacking his home?

And why earth would he let them go anywhere near the princess after this?

“Who…..who are young-guys' ', Toad struggled as he was still being held up tightly against the wall.

The cloak figure paused for a moment before he started to chuckle loudly in Toads face, as if to mock him,”Wow yeah I guess we should start with that huh. And here I thought you toads would remember us by now given all that we've been through”.

The cloaked leader then snapped his fingers, signaling for all the other cloaked figures to remove their cloaks, which they almost immediately started to do.

One by one, each of them removed the cloaks that cover their bodies.

Which, as a result, revealed their true faces.

And what they did, and Toad saw who they were, the color in his face, completely drained away in fear, causing him to gasp loudly.

He knew exactly who they were now, and then, with no allies of the mushroom kingdom.

If anything, they were the mushroom kingdom‘s worst enemies to date.

They were some of the most vicious creatures this world has ever seen.

Theirleader, was far from an exception to the legends either.

They were the enemies of the mushroom kingdom……

Koopas!!!

They were some of the worst creatures to ever encounter in this, or any world, if you ran into them.

They were known for taking over and destroying other kingdoms at certain that path

They were one of the worst things to ever walk this world.

They were…… turtles?

Believe it or not, the worst enemy of the mushroom kingdom were a bunch of turtle like creatures.

But they weren’t just any turtle lake creatures, if anything they were far from the average turtle.

Koopa Troopas are large, humanoid turtles. They usually had yellow skin, blue eyes, a shell, and shoes. The colors of the shell often vary among the species, but the two most common are red and green. They also had shoulder and new pads too that helped match their color. They even had rounded helmets that fit the exact shape of their heads.

The were only five of the green shelled koopas that were present.

Koopa Paratroopas are pretty much the same as Koopa Troopas, save for the fact that they have wings to fly with.

There were four of them present, all of them who had red shells.

Hammer Bros. (or Hammer Brothers) are a species of Koopa that stand upright and throw hammers at passing-bystanders. They have bigger shells than Koopa Troopas and also wear helmets. They have also been described as elite members of their king’sKoopa Troop.

There were two of them present at the scene and arm to the teeth with hammers.

The sledgehammer bro was a koopa with yellow skin and belly plates, green shells and helmets, and big feet with three toes each. Unlike their smaller relatives, Sledge Bros. do not wear shoes, and their eyes are also smaller and beady; additionally, they usually carry around large sledge hammers instead of small, clawed hammers.

As was stated earlier, Boris was the only sledgehammer bro with them.

And last but certainly not least, the supposed leader of this group pulled off his hood to reveal a red shelled Koopa. But he wasn’t like the other ones he wore. Spiked shoulder pads on his shoulders, and had an eyepatch on his right eye, giving him a somewhat menacing look.

Once he has revealed himself, the red eyepatch, Koopa gave Toad a devilish smile,” And where are my manners? I am The Right Hand Man Of The Koopa General: Trython and I’m here on a little mission”.

Toad started to shiver in fear as he still realized what this really was.

It was an ambush in the mushroom kingdom, and it was being led by the Koopas.

“W-what are you Koopas doing here? And what do you want?”, Toad quickly asked, trying to get information out of them.

Trython started to laugh loudly,“Aw come on I know you toads are a little on the slow side but I know you’re not that far over. It’s obvious that we’re here for you princess”!, inches a little closer to Toad before whispering,”And we’re gonna get her”.

Toad gasped once again,” The hell you Koopas are! The princess will never let you kidnap her”!, Toad bravely shouted.

“She will if she wants this fungus converted shithole of a kingdom to keep standing on its feet and not be ripped apart by our secret weapon”!, the koopa leader shot back before turning and pointing to a giant box that some of the Koopa troopers were pulling into the town.

It was a Normas almost as big as the entire water fountain area.

What the hell was in that was so big that it would be counted as a secret weapon.

Whatever it was Toad knew for a fact that it wouldn’t do anything good for his home.

He had to stop them before they could unleash it on the town.

He tried even harder to try and free himself from the sledge Bros grip,”I’m not gonna unleash whatever’s in there out of my home! And I’m sure as hell not gonna let you lay a hand on our princess! Because I’m going to stop you”!

After hearing his brave declaration, The koopas stood there, staring at him blankly.

A couple of seconds passed bed they all start hysterically, bursting out laughing.

“Oh no guys be careful! The stuby little fungus midget’s gonna try stop us”,Boris mocked before once again bursting out into laughter.

Which in return caused his grip on Toad to tighten.

If they hadn’t heard a funny joke before they sure did now.

If they had known the toads to be that funny they would’ve probably spared a lot more of them than planned.

But they had a plan to follow and they weren’t about to just stray from the plan.

“Wow who knew you little guys would be that funny and adorably pathetic at the same time”, Trython mock Toad as he tightly pinches one of his cheeks.

Toad groaned in pain as he then used his hand to push him away,“I’m serious you reptiled freaks! I’m gonna let you hurt or destroy my home”!,Toad angrily declared.

But instead of it making the Koopas back off it only really made them laugh even harder.

“Well we’ll we’ll, looks like we got a little hero here! Ready to kick ass and save the day”!, turns to sledgehammer Koopa and taps him on the shoulder,” hey Boris, why don’t we give the little hero the special hero’s treatment, huh”?

Boris grinned widely,”I was thinking the same thing”, he said, as he slowly lifted up his sledgehammer and pointed towards Toad’s head.

The determined look on Toad’s face, lol is shifted into a terrified look.

Seeing as though he may have made his situation with them a lot worse than the better.

And there was no one there to back him up or help him.

The Koopas begin to chuckle as they were here, getting ready to have their phones soon.

But unbeknownst to them that was another mushroom person, hiding out in the distance, watching the whole thing occur.

It was Bernie!

He had somehow made it through the running crowd and was able to find toe but unfortunately, he was a little tied up at the moment.

Not only that they looked as if they were about to cave his head in.

Bernie wanted to help with every fiber of his being, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to do much against them, especially against big guys like the sledge hammer bro.

So he just stood there, hidden away from them trying to think of a plan on how to help his best friend.

Add a couple of ideas ran through his head, but he knew they wouldn’t work.

For one, he knew better than to ask any of the help from any of the other mushroom people, they would be too scared to eally want to help out.

He was thinking about going to get the princess, but after hearing that plan, that’s the last thing he wanted to do.

cause a distraction? No, that will only send a few of them away.

He needed a distraction that would keep all of their attention and focus on it instead of toad and him.

After thinking for a few more moments, an idea finally popped into his head that might work.

He turned and looked out into the distance, that Luffy kid sure seems loud enough noxious enough to distract them all.

And with all that talk about fighting those monsters in the dark lands, he sure would seem confident in his own skills.

And while they pummeled him, he and Toca find the opportunity to escape.

It was perfect, if he’d be able to find him out in the forest.

He looked out towards the mushroom forest out in the distance.

If he was lucky, maybe he would be able to find that kid and bring him here in time before he left this world.

But he needed to hurry.

Bernie jumped up and quickly, but quietly made his way around the whole situation in front of him by basically hiding behind food cards or going through different building windows before finally making it to the mushroom kingdom entrance, and running out towards the mushroom force as quickly as possible.

Toad didn’t look like he had much time left, so he needed to be quick, really quick.

(Peach’s Castle)

Peach was pacing back and forth in her throne room, thinking about what she was going to say to the other rulers of the other kingdoms.

(Unfortunately for her that was proving to be a much more difficult task than she originally thought).

She was basically reading off of note cards that she liked to use for whenever she needed to get her thoughts down.

“(Ahem)Fellow rulers, comrades and friends alike, Bular is coming to launch a full fledged attack on my kingdom! And so I basically need all of you to basically send all of you soldiers that may or may not get killed in order to….save…..my kingdom- no no no no what the hell am I thinking”!, She tore off that page and tossed it away before turning to the next page to look for something better to say.

”Alright, this enemy that we face is more powerful than we’ve ever faced for I know, but if we band together and unite our kingdoms so that we might hope to be…..almost….as….powerful-“, stops before sucking her teeth,”oh yeah peach maybe if you get them all to band together maybe and hopefully create a bunch of giant sparkles too while you're at it”, she said sarcastically before tearing that piece of paper off and throwing it to the side.

She then turned to the next page to see if this one would be better than the last two.

“All right, look everyone, Bular is coming and we all know about what his army is capable of and if we don’t stop him he’ll kill all of us! Well he’s mostly coming after our kingdom, but surely he’ll come….for... .yours…too- Arg GOD DAMMIT”!!!, she angrily shouted as she then threw the notes at the wall.

She then went over and sat down in her throne before cupping up her face in her hands, frustrated with her lack of progress with her big speech.

(Yeah, it was that bad and it wasn’t getting any better)

She was preparing to leave that next morning, and she had no idea what she was going to say to the rest of the royal council.

The entire mushroom kingdom was counting on her to get those armies together, in order to protect the kingdom.

Not only that, she needed the army to be strong enough to somewhat hold off Bular’s forces.

Who is she kidding?

She’d be lucky if even one of the kingdoms wanted to help.

And that’s if she came up with a convincing enough speech to get them to help.

Though evaluation would’ve been the easiest option for them to take, she wasn’t about to just sit there and run away, While everything she worked hard to protect would be torn apart by those monsters.

Especially if it was made by people whom she calls family.

She couldn’t let them down no matter how hard the situation was.

And that was just a basic problem right now.

She was still hung up over the human. She met literally an hour ago.

The first human she ever met, and she shooed him away just like that.

No, she fully didn’t regret refusing to help him with his situation.

She would’ve liked to know more about him in other humans that he may have encountered.

Growing up with all the mushroom people was nice, but it would’ve been great to have been around someone of her own kind rather than her friend Princess Daisy of course.

But because of the current situation and her determination to help her kingdom, she may never get the opportunity again.

Any chance of her learning about the human world, other humans, what they like, what they wore, and what they ate are all gone.

And that deeply disappointed her in a way she couldn’t imagine.

She would literally kill to get another opportunity like that.

Unfortunately though she didn’t see that happening anytime soon.

Just then, while she was in her thoughts, the throne room door suddenly swung open.

Toadsworth quickly limped into the room as fast as he could before, stopping in, taking quick glances around the room.

Once he spotted the Princess he ran over to the steps leading up to her throne,”Princess are you alright?! I heard screaming”!, he asked concerningly.

There was no response from her.

She didn’t answer him immediately because she didn’t really know what to really tell him.

That she was frustrated with the fact that she couldn’t figure out what she was gonna tell the other kingdoms when she met them.

Oh wait, even better that she was somehow conflicted on meeting another human for the first time.

And the icing on the cake, that she didn’t know how she was going to make sure that her and the other kingdoms were able to go up against the troll empire.

Oh, she was thinking negative thoughts, and she didn’t really want to show him, mainly because she served as a beacon of hope for the kingdom.

And the last thing, the people who are already on edge with everything that’s going on wanted to see the princess off her game as well.

So before answering the princess took a deep breath and straightened herself up before looking over at him with a smile and nodded her head.

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine, Toadsworth. I just accidentally dropped my notes on the ground,that’s all”, she said in a reassuring tone as she got up from her throne and walked down the steps and passed Toadsworth, to pick up her notes that were in the middle of the floor.

Toadsworth rose an eyebrow at this and placed his hands on his hips,” Really? Nothing else happened here?”

She nodded her head,”Yes”

“There’s nothing that might be on your mind that you would wish to talk with me about”?, he asked suspiciously as he tilted his head to the side.

She quickly shook her head,”No of course not”.

“Really?”, he asked once again.

She nodded her head again,”Really”, before going back to looking at her notes, before she then made her way over to her throne.

Toadsworth just stood there, looking at her suspiciously.

He knew for a fact that something was wrong with her.

He was a lot of things, stupid was most certainly not one of them.

Especially when he had raised her for the last 20 years of her life.

He knew there was something wrong with her and he thinks he knows exactly what it is that’s bothering her.

He slowly walked up the stairs to her and gently placed his hands on hers (which suddenly surprised her but at the same time got her attention),”Princess please know you can’t lie to me”.

She was about to say something in defense of that but then quickly stopped herself and slowly turned away from him,”I’m making it that obvious, huh”?

Toadsworth chuckled before nodding,”Yes you never were too good at hiding anything from me, you all know that”, he reminded her before turning to look at the ground and then turning back at her,”It’s about the whole situation Isn’t it”.

She looked away from him for a moment and chuckled,”Nothing gets past you, huh”, Takes a deep breath,”Everyone in this kingdom is counting on me to protect them and keep them away from danger. And the last thing I want is for them to have to have their homes taken away from them by someone who thinks they have the power to do so. And that’s why this meeting needs to go well in order to keep that from happening. And I’m trying so hard to figure out what the right things are to say to them that will get them to agree to help us. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop the thought of them refusing to give us an eight out of my head, especially when they know we need it the most. And to make things worse I just feel conflicted on meeting another human being other than Daisy for the first time in my life and I just waved him away, without even really getting a chance to at least get to know about him or other humans. And now I’m trying to figure out how to keep the destruction of our kingdom from being the only outcome of this whole thing and it’s so stressful to think about and I’m not sure where to go from after this? and I know you think that running would be the only real option for us but I disagree. I know there’s something else we can do that we haven’t thought of yet. But now I……just don’t know where to go from here”.

She had to take a minute to catch her breath, mainly because she was kind of out of it from all the talking she was doing at least.

While she was doing that, the toad's worth was just sitting there trying to process all that she had just sat.

Or at least trying to figure out what was the right thing to say to her at that moment that wouldn’t crush her spirits.

That was the last thing she needed right now especially with how important the situation was.

He took a step closer to her,'' Princess listen, it’s alright to feel under stress about a situation like this. It can be a lot for any person, no matter how many years of experience they might have. The point is that you keep yourself together in focus on what the main objective is. I raised you to be strong, smart, and resourceful and I expect nothing less from you. I expect you to be strong and stand your ground no matter what situation comes your way”, he then places his hand on her shoulder,”But don’t forget to let others into your heart and help guide you in ways you never thought you could be guided. You never know what you could learn from those around you and what they have to offer. And if you really have to go out there and face off against the dangers this world has to offer then, then so be it, just know that I’ll be right here waiting for you to return and giving you all my love and hopes as well.. In the end, I know you’ll be able to figure it out because that's the kind of person you are”.

The princess (after hearing that) slowly began to smile as she then placed her hand onto his as well,”Thank you toadsworth, you always know what I need to hear don’t you”?

Toadsworth smiled confidently,” well, of course I do as you’re-“

Suddenly the door slams wide open as multiple mushroom guards come flooding into the room.

This startles, both Peach and Toadsworth causing them both to jump.

Toadsworth accidentally lost his balance and fall on his back.

Peach (after calming herself down a little) had gotten up from her throne and looked down to see that the mushroom guards were huffing and puffing, as if they were out of breath from running a distance.

She turned to look at Toadsworth (who was rubbing his back from the fall) and went over to help him up.

Once she did she quickly started to check him out, trying to make sure that he didn’t have any severe injuries that needed to be checked out.

Once he had properly deduced that he had no injuries, she nodded to him, as he did her, as a sign that everything was alright.

Once that was over, the two of them quickly made their way down the steps before then running across the room towards the royal guards, wondering what was going on with them.

Peach stopped on from of them,”Is everything alright”?, she asked in a concerned tone.

One of the guards in return shot her a scared and terrified look before answering……..

(The Mushroom Forest)

Luffy was quickly making his way through the mushroom forest as fast as he could in order to get to that warp pipe.

Whether it was by slingshotting through the air by using some of the mushroom tree’s.

Or by hopping on or jumping over giant mushrooms on the ground.

Either way he was making it there to that pipe no matter what stood in his way.

After a few more minutes of running and jumping through the mushroom forest, he was finally able to make it to the place he had arrived, the Warp pipe.

Once he was there he was able to get a better look at the are

It was just like how he had saw earlier, surrounded by mushrooms, and a ruined structure, covered in vegetation

He then placed his hands on his hips , confident that he was able to find and locate the one thing that could get him out of there and help find his friends.

He started walking up to where the pipe was, but then all the sudden he stopped for a moment.

He turned his sights back to the mushroom king for a quick.

To be honest in the short time he was there, you kind of grew fond of it.It was fun, colorful, and had lots of nice people.

Unfortunately their leader wasn’t too quick to help him out though.But sometimes on an adventure, you take the good with the bad. And it wasn’t like it was a complete and total bust. He was able to meet a few new people while being there. Like toes, Bernie, (and even though they had gotten off on the wrong foot) the princess, who seemed very determined to protect her land and people.

And for that little fit in mind that she didn’t really want to help him, considering the fact that she was busy, trying to protect her own people in the family. When you have to do something like that for a reason so no more he couldn’t be angry at her.

Though it didn’t really help him out with his situation.

And it didn’t really help that he was in another world with no idea where to go.

He would have to rely on himself and his own skills to be able to help him, go out and find his friends wherever they might be in this so-called scary“Darklands”.

And then apparently what everyone was telling him is that if he did go there, he would have to go up against this “Bular” if you ever wanted to be able to see his friends again.

So any normal person would probably be too scared to go up and face this challenge monkey D Luffy wasn’t just any ordinary person.

And he sure as hell wasn’t scared of any “Bular” or his army.

And so therefore, he was up for the task of rescuing his friends and kicking this bull, our guys ass, if and when it came to that.

And so he bid farewell to the mushroom kingdom, and started to walk closer to the warp pipe.

He was about to stretch his arm up to go and grab it when suddenly.

“HEY WAIT PLEASE DON'T GO”!!!

Voice shouted from a distance behind him causing Luffy to stop and turn around to see who it was.

And when he did he saw that it was one of the mushroom people except he was a red colored one.

And he was running as fast as he could towards him.

Luffy tilted his head in confusion…..

Who was this guy?

And what did he want with him?

“PLEASE WAIT I NEED YOUR HELP”!!!!, the mushroom person called out to him again.

Luffy was able to get a better listen on this guys voice and almost instantly recognized him.

It was Bernie!

Toad’s friend and he stated earlier his business partner.

What was he doing all the way over here?

Luffy decided to just shrug it off before he began running over to him to see what was wrong.

And after a few seconds of running the two of them finally met.

The burning in the moment or two to catch his breath from all the running he did.

Luffy didn’t really need to do that, so he just decided to go straight to the questions,” Hey Bernie, what are you doing all the way out here I thought you were at your shop”?

Bernie was still hurting and puffing and trying to do his best to speak and answer his question,”L-L-Luffy, y-you gotta help us! Our enemy, The K-K-Koopas sent spies into our kingdom in order to t-t-try and k-kidnap our princess! T-Toad t-t-tried to stop them b-b-but now he’s in t-trouble”!

Luffy eyes went wide after hearing this….

Yeah, only left a little while ago and everything goes to shit, just like that.

Bernie, who has mostly calm down, was still trying to plead with Luffy,” you have to help him or they’re going to kill-“.

Before he could stay another word, Luffy had already ran right past him and made a beeline for the mushroom kingdom.

He had to hurry if he was going to help his friends from whatever threat might be causing so much destruction.

When he took a closer look, he saw smoke in the distance, causing him to run even faster.

Hang on Toad, Luffy was on his way…,…

(End Of Chapter )

Hey Everyone, sorry for the long awaited chapter I had to handle some business but everything’s OK and I got this out in just the right amount of time.

Next chapter will be coming out sooner than later, believe me

[wayward-dreamer]

Something Wonderful

Part 2 to Something Unexpected. Read it first, here.

Pairing: Dean x Female!Reader

Word Count: 5,124

Warnings: Angst, fighting, crying, insecurities. Swearing, making up, make up sex. Unprotected sex (wrap it up before you tap it, people!), dirty talk, oral sex (female receiving), pregnancy kink. Fluffy ending. 18+ ONLY!

Summary: Dean and Y/N have been together for a few months now. Despite that, there’s still tension between them. Y/N has been pushing him away and Dean’s sick of it. When he tries to find out what’s wrong, some things are said that aren’t meant. Later when they try to fix things, Dean finds out what Y/N has been keeping from him and why she’s been pushing him away in the process.

Based on this request from @flamencodiva: Request for a sequel to something unexpected. So, even though they are together, Dean and the reader still have their heated moments. Except one day the heated moment goes too far only for Dean to find out there is a nice surprise that the reader has been scared to tell him and she's been pushing him away.

A/N: Here’s part 2 to Something Unexpected! I hope you all enjoy it, and please let me know what you think! I really appreciate feedback, so don’t be shy to share your thoughts! :)

Y/N sat in her car, her head leaning back against the headrest. She had pulled over onto the side of the road, just a few minutes away from the dirt road that led to the bunker. She just needed some space before she got there. Before she had to face Dean and the inevitable.

It had been 6 months since that night in the motel, the night they made a shift from what they thought was hating each other but was actually much more than that. The morning after they had both promised to see where this thing between them would go, and to say that it’d been smooth sailing since then would’ve been a big overstatement.

In fact, this was the first time she was headed back to the bunker in two months. She and Dean had had a stupid fight about her hunting alone, and yelling had led to her storming out and never coming back. They had apologized to each other on the phone after a few hours, but she told him she needed space for a while. He had messaged her almost every day since then, trying to make amends, but she had mostly ignored the messages.

Y/N knew she was pushing him away, and she knew she had so much to tell him, especially something she had found out and didn’t even know how to tell him. She just didn’t know how to face him. She knew as soon as she told him what she needed to, that it was going to be over. She’d been on her own, with nowhere to go.

She had to go. She couldn’t keep him in the dark any longer than she already had. She had been in contact with Sam, letting him know a few days ago that she was coming to the bunker as soon as she could.

Y/N started the car up again and pulled out onto the road. She drove for a few more minutes, before she came to the turning. She drove down the dirt road slowly, so that little rocks wouldn’t dent her car. Soon, she was at the old factory and brought the car to a stop. She cut the engine and opened the door, getting out of the car. Walking over to the trunk, she opened it and took out her duffle bag. Slinging it over shoulder, she closed the trunk and locked the car. She walked over to the steps and walked down, pulling the big door opened. Sam had told her he’d leave it open for her. She shut it behind her and then walked down the spiral steps, opening the door to the bunker.

Y/N smiled as she stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at the war room and into the library. She really did love this place. She remembered how giddy she was to see it the first time. She couldn’t stop talking and wanting to know more about it, and spent the entire day just going from room to room, wanting to see everything.

There was no sign of the boys, and considering it was 11am, they were probably in the kitchen. Just as she walked down the stairs, however, they both walked in.

“I thought I heard the door” Sam smiled, immediately enveloping her in a hug.

“Hey” she giggled, patting his back. Over his shoulder, she saw Dean. His jaw was tight, as he tried to avoid eye contact with her.

When Sam let go, she tentatively walked over to Dean. “Hey.”

He looked at her, and tried to remain stoic, but his eyes probably gave away how much he missed her. He had been hating himself for the way he left things the last time she was here.

“Hey” his gravelly voice replied.

“We had a late start, and just started breakfast. Well, brunch now. You hungry?” Sam asked, breaking the tension.

Her stomach turned at the thought of food. “No, I’m good, I think I’ll just settle in. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, knock yourself out” Sam smiled.

Y/N nodded and walked out of the room, with a small glance at Dean. There was an awkwardness between them now, and she knew she had to work hard for it to go away. She couldn’t stand for this to be the norm for them now.

She made her way to Dean’s room and stopped. He would be absolutely crushed if she didn’t put her stuff there, but if things didn’t go right after they eventually talked, she would need somewhere else to clear her head. She walked past the room and turned the corner, seeing the door to room 16 open. She walked in there and turned on the light, finding it clean and completely bare apart from the bed, desk and leather sofa against the brick wall. She dumped her bag on the bed and then walked out of the room. She would unpack later.

Y/N walked into the kitchen, and Dean immediately looked up at her from his food. She gave him a small smile as she walked over to the table and sat down across from him, next to Sam. The smell of bacon in the kitchen made her want to throw up, but she had to push through that feeling.

“I took 16, I hope that’s okay” she said, avoiding Dean’s hurt gaze.

Sam looked between her and his brother, before he tentatively smiled. “Yeah, it’s cool.”

“So, how have things been?” she asked him.

Sam sipped his coffee, giving a small nod. “Alright, for the most part. Cases haven’t been coming up too frequently to get exhausting, so we’d had some down time.”

“That’s great” she smiled, quickly glancing at Dean.

He just chewed on his bacon and said nothing.

“What about you?” Sam asked in return.

“A lot busier than you guys. I helped a couple hunters out on a werewolf case, we all split up when they started moving. I ended up tracking three all the way to the Catskills” she replied, rolling her eyes as remembered how tired she had been after that.

“Damn” Sam shook his head. “You get them all?”

“Yeah, though it felt like we wouldn’t for a while” she said.

An awkward silence fell between them. As she looked over at Dean, she knew she needed to do something to get him back into a better mood.

“So…” she broke the silence. “Should we watch a movie tonight?”

Dean looked up, his hard expression dropping slightly. “Sure.”

“I was thinking Unforgiven. I mean, I still haven’t seen it” she smiled, knowingly.

“Really?” he asked, his eyebrows raised, as a small smile appeared.

“Yeah” she shrugged. “Why not?”

He smirked at her; the awkward tension had dropped.

“I should get snacks, more beer” he said, getting up and practically running out of the kitchen.

She laughed as he came back, picked up the remaining bacon from his plate and then ran off again.

Sam couldn’t help but chuckle either. “You just made him very happy.”

“I was hoping it would put a smile on his face” she turned to Sam, smiling.

“You know…” he turned to face her. “You guys are gonna be okay.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I know. I mean, we still have a lot to talk about. There’s… something I have to tell him. I just have no idea know” she dropped her head into her hands, combing them through her hair.

“Y/N, whatever it is… just tell him. All Dean ever wants is the truth, so just be honest with him” Sam told her.

“I will. Later. I just don’t want to burst his good mood yet” she nodded, looking up at him. “He’s such a child sometimes” she shook her head, with a laugh.

Sam chuckled. “Yeah, good thing he doesn’t have any.”

Y/N’s laugh quickly ended as she took in what Sam just said. She frowned, wondering what he meant by what he said. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know or not, but the question was on her lips before she could think about it.

“What do you mean?” She turned to him, trying to keep calm.

Sam realised what that probably sounded like, so he shook his head and didn’t say anything.

“Sam…” she trailed off, letting him know she wasn’t letting it go.

Sam sighed, trying to think of what to say. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s great with kids on cases. I just know that he doesn’t want any of his own. Not because he wouldn’t be good at it, because I know that he would. He knows it too. He just wouldn’t want to bring a kid into this life. He knows he can’t leave it and there’s no way he could bring a kid into it, so he just…” he explained, as gently as he could.

She nodded. She got the answer she didn’t want.

Sam looked down at her, feeling awful. He knew he had hit a nerve. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I didn’t mean to upset you. You just need to know our reality.”

“I know, Sam. It’s okay. Really. I get it, you know? I’m a hunter, so I understand” She quickly stood up, trying to hide her sadness. “Please don’t tell Dean about this.”

“Y/N…” he called out but she had already left the room.

Dean was going to kill him when he found out what he had said. He had really stepped in it this time.

Y/N rushed into the bedroom she was using and closed the door behind her. She leaned back against the door and let the tears fall down her face. She had to leave. There was no way she could tell Dean what she needed to, not now after what Sam told her. She couldn’t be angry at him; she was somewhat glad to know how Dean felt, but now it put their future in jeopardy. Could he really be with her now if he knew what she’d been hiding?

Her head started to ache. She needed to lie down. Maybe by the time Dean got back and she had rested, things would be clearer on what she should do. She could only hope.

-x-

Sam walked into the Dean cave, a six pack of beer in one hand and a bowl of popcorn in the other. Dean walked in behind him, a couple of blankets in hand. He knew Y/N got cold and didn’t want her to be while they were watching the movie.

“She up yet?” he asked, having walked in on her earlier to find her sleeping.

It had hurt him to know she didn’t want to stay with him in his room, but he wanted to respect her space.

“No, not yet” Sam replied. “Does she seem… really tired to you?”

Dean unfolded one of the blankets and laid it out on the couch. “Yeah. Sounds like she’s been going non-stop on cases.”

“When are you gonna talk to her?” Sam wondered, as he placed everything on the coffee table.

Dean sighed, closing his eyes. He opened them and glared at Sam. “I’ll talk to her when she’s ready, okay? Can we just have one good night?”

Sam threw his hands up in surrender. He contemplated telling his brother what he said to Y/N, but she had asked him not to.

“I’m gonna go get her” Dean said, leaving the room.

Dean walked down the hallway to the room she was staying in. He really hoped that they could have some fun before having to deal with everything between them. He was scared to talk with her. She had been pushing him away, refusing to answer his messages for the last couple months, apart from a small ‘hi’ or ‘I’m fine’. He just hoped that she wasn’t leaving him; he knew he’d never be able to handle that. Usually he was the one to distance himself from others, but now that it was happening to him, it really felt like crap.

Dean knocked lightly on her door and waited. The door opened slowly, and his eyebrows furrowed in concern when he saw Y/N looking really run down. She had been crying, it was evident from the redness and puffiness of her eyes.

“Hey” he spoke softly. “We’re gonna start the movie when you’re ready.”

She sniffed, trying to smile. “I’m actually gonna take a raincheck. Is that okay?”

Dean didn’t say anything as his concern morphed into frustration.

“Dean…” she sighed as she looked at him. “I know we have to talk…”

“Yeah, we do” he cut her off. “In fact, now’s a good time.”

He walked past her and into the room. She turned around to face him. She didn’t know how to start, as she looked at her feet and avoided his gaze.

“Look… I know that we really got into it last time you were here, but Y/N… I told you I was sorry. I thought things were okay after that, but you didn’t even bother to tell what was going on. I know a little something about pushing people away, and I can tell you’re doing it to me, but it ends now” his voice low and gravelly, trying to keep his anger at bay.

“I didn’t mean to” she spoke quietly, not trusting her own voice. “I just needed some space.”

“And I gave it you, sweetheart. I did… but there’s no telling when 2 months becomes longer” he said, shaking his head.

“I wasn’t going to let it go on more than this, Dean. I wouldn’t do that to you” she told him, closing her eyes.

“Really?” he scoffed. He hated the way it sounded, but he had a right to be angry. “You wanted your space, Y/N. God knows you could’ve taken longer than this.”

She shook her head, glaring at him. “You know… you said you were going to try your hardest to make this work. Making this work means letting me handle the things I need to on my own time.”

“No one said you couldn’t Y/N!” he yelled, suddenly. “But not bothering to send me a proper fucking text for 2 months is bullshit!”

She could feel the anger rise up in her. “If you can’t let me handle things my own way then maybe I shouldn’t be here!”

“Yeah, maybe you shouldn’t!” he yelled.

An ugly silence fell between them as they stared at each other. How had things escalated to that?

“Y/N, I… didn’t mean that-” he started but she cut him off.

“You’ve said enough, Dean” her voice soft, but loud enough for him to hear.

Dean felt his heart drop into his stomach as tears fell down her face.

“Sweetheart” he said, softly as he tried to approach her.

She stepped back, not letting him touch her. She glared at him, her eyes glistening.

“Please” she whispered. “Just go.”

Dean didn’t say anything else. He knew he had said the one thing that was the final nail in the coffin. He nodded, turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him. It was over and she was going to leave. Once again, he had ruined things. She was the best thing to happen to him and now he didn’t have her anymore.

Yet another thing to hate himself for.

-x-

Y/N tossed and turned in bed, trying to get to sleep but failing. There were too many thoughts floating around in her head. Dean must’ve thought she had left by now, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t leave him. Not now, not ever. None of this was his fault, what he said was just his frustration at being cast aside for months by her. They were both stubborn and said stupid things, but it was nothing to end what they had over. Especially since she had something she needed to tell him.

She looked at the time on her phone, seeing that it was just after 1am. She threw back the covers and picked up her robe. She stood up and wrapped it around herself, tying it. She opened the door and walked out of the room, the cold floors of the hallway like ice to her warm feet. She walked down the hallway on her tiptoes, trying to avoid the icy floors as much as she could.

Y/N stopped in front of Dean’s room, staring at the gold 11 on the door. She didn’t know whether to knock or go in. Dean didn’t sleep much, but since they had gotten together his sleep pattern had certainly gotten better. She decided to take a chance and just go in. She took hold of the doorknob and turned it, slowly cracking the door open. The light was on and as she walked in, she saw Dean sitting on his bed, still in his shirts and jeans. He had his phone in his hand, and looked up when she walked in.

Dean was shocked to see Y/N there. He was certain she had left by now. The fact that she hadn’t, though, hopefully meant that she didn’t want to leave. He stood up from the bed and watched as she looked at him and twisted her fingers, a nervous gesture she had.

“Thought you would’ve made a run for it by now” he tried to joke but she could see the pain in his eyes.

She didn’t think twice about it as she rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck. Dean wrapped his tight around her waist, lifting her slightly off the ground. She buried her face in his neck, taking in the smell of leather, car oil and his after shave.

“I don’t want to leave you” she mumbled into his neck.

Dean sighed; a weight lifted off his chest as she said that. “I don’t either, sweetheart.”

She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, tears gathering in her eyes. “I… I’m sorry I pushed you away. I’m so sorry, Dean.”

“Shh” he calmed her down, his lips against her hair. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”

“Dean, I… I have to tell you something but… I don’t know how” she cried, burying her face deeper into his neck.

“Whatever it is… we’ll deal with it, okay?” he said, moving his head so he could look down into her eyes.

“I’m so scared” she shook her head, closing her eyes.

He gently lowered her but kept his arms around her. “You can tell me anything. You know that.”

“I can’t” she sobbed. “I know… I know you don’t want this-”

Dean swiped his thumbs across her cheeks to rid them of her tears, as he cupped her face. “Don’t want what, sweetheart?”

She looked up at him, her arms coming down to press her hands against his chest. It was now or never.

“I’m pregnant” she said, sniffling. “I took two tests… both positive.”

Dean felt the air had been knocked out of him completely. She was pregnant. They were having a baby. How? How did this happen? He knew how, obviously, but… how? He looked down at Y/N, a million questions running through his head, but one stuck out the most. Did she really think he wouldn’t want this? That he wouldn’t want her?

“Dean” she said, quietly. “Please say something.”

She was so scared that he was about to tell her he wanted her to leave. Where would she even go while being pregnant?

“I…” Dean started but trailed off. He was trying to process everything.

“I know that isn’t something you wanted, it’s a complete surprise and there’s no way that we can do this. If you want, then I can make an appointment-” she told him, but he cut her off.

“No” he blurted out. “No.” As soon as the word appointment came out of her mouth, he knew what she was implying. That’s not what he wanted.

He leaned down quickly, pressing his lips to hers. Y/N was shocked at first but kissed him back. When he pulled away, there was a small smile on his face. She looked at him curiously, as his eyes became watery.

“Why… why would you think I wouldn’t want this?” he asked, looking into her eyes. “Do you… do you not want this? I’ll respect your decision, if you don’t.”

“I do. I do want this. I just thought… you know what? Never mind” she muttered. “You’re… really okay with this?” she asked, her voice hopeful.

He nodded, suddenly too overwhelmed to speak. He looked down, smiling as he looked at her stomach. It wasn’t round yet, but tears gathered in his eyes as he thought about how it would be soon. She smiled as she witnessed his rare display of heavy emotion.

“This is why you weren’t talking to me” he stated.

She nodded. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head, a tear finally escaping as he looked at her. “That doesn’t matter now.”

Dean leaned down, kissing her deeply. Their lips against each other’s, as Y/N’s arms wrapped around his neck again. He untied her robe, pulling her closer to his body. He could feel her nipples straining against the fabric, on his chest.

She hummed into his mouth, pulling away and smiling at him. “Dean, fuck me. It’s been two months… I need you.”

She went in for another kiss, but he stopped her, suddenly looking scared. “What?”

“I’m not gonna hurt the baby, am I?” he asked, his eyes wide.

She laughed a little, finding him adorable in that moment. “No, you won’t hurt the baby. It’s still really small right now.”

“But what if-” he started but she cut him off with a searing kiss.

“Dean, stop. This is the first time I’m not feeling sick and surprisingly horny at this stage. Please fuck me.”

She grabbed him by his plaid shirt and pulled him in, kissing him passionately. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers immediately finding their way into his hair.

“Okay, shutting up now” he muttered against her lips.

She laughed as she went back to kissing him.

Dean pushed her robe off her shoulders as he walked them towards the bed. He carefully laid her back, holding himself up above her. He took off his plaid shirt and then reached for her black tank top. He pulled it up and threw it somewhere in the room. She laid back down, a groan escaping him as he saw her bare chest, her nipples hard from the chill in the room. His hands moved down her body, reaching for her shorts. He took hold of the waistband, pulling them down her legs. He dropped them to the floor as his hands moved over her smooth legs. He reached for her lacy panties, pulling them down and tossing them over his shoulder. He leaned down, kissed her softly.

Dean kissed along her jaw, nipping softly. His lips travelled down to neck, nipping and sucking softly at the skin. She gasped as he continued down her chest, laying a kiss on each breast. He shifted down as he continued to plant kisses along her body, stopping at her stomach. He leaned his head against it, a small smile playing on his face as he thought about the life growing inside her. He pressed his lips to her stomach, and a tear fell down Y/N’s cheek as she smiled, overwhelmed by what she was feeling.

He lifted her legs and placed them on his shoulders, his hands moving under her to cup her ass and bring her in closer. He pressed his lips to her pussy, feeling how wet she was already. He swiped his tongue along her folds, his eyes closed as he tasted her. She let out a small moan, gripping his hair in her hands. His lips sucked at her clit, as his tongue flicked over the bundle of nerves.

“Dean, fuck” she moaned.

He pulled back a little, his tongue at her entrance. He licked her folds as he felt her get wetter.

“Fuck, sweetheart. You taste so damn good” he groaned.

He continued to pleasure her, his tongue softly thrusting into her entrance. He moaned, the sounds he made as he ate her out vibrating against her.

“Dean” she gasped. “Your mouth, oh fuck. Your tongue feels so good inside me.”

He looked up at her, smirking against her as he saw her eyes closed, mouth open because of the pleasure she was feeling.

His tongue sped up, driving deeper inside of her.

“Oh, Dean! Fuck yeah!” she yelled, gripping his hair even tighter.

It was amazing how much he could make her feel using just his tongue, but in that moment, she needed more.

“Dean, I… fuck me. Please” she begged. “I need you inside me.”

Dean moved away from her, as he carefully dropped her legs to the bed. He stood up and reached for his black shirt, pulling it up and over his head. He dropped it to the floor as he reached for his jeans, making quick work of getting rid of them. His cock was hard, the tip leaking pre-cum as he helped her shift back on the bed, her head resting on the pillow. He leaned in and kissed her, lovingly as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She could taste herself on his mouth as she cupped his face and brought him in closer. He lined his cock up to her entrance, slightly hesitant.

“You sure?” he asked against her lips, one more time.

“Yes, Dean. It’s okay” Y/N replied, softly as she looked into his eyes.

Dean thrust his hips forward, pushing his cock through her folds. He slid all the way in, causing Y/N to throw her head back against the pillow. He slowly pulled out before he thrust back in, setting a slow pace. He set a moderate pace, but his thrusts were hard, intense. Her hips met his as she matched his pace, the intensity getting to both of them. She broke their kiss, gasping into his mouth. Dean looked into her eyes, as dark as his, and glanced down her body.

“Fuck, babe you’re so damn gorgeous. Can’t wait to see you all full and round. So fucking hot” he groaned, as he continued to thrust into her at a moderate pace.

“Oh fuck” she moaned. His words always made her crazy.

Dean sat up on his knees, pulling her up to sit on his lap with her legs wrapped around him. Their foreheads pressed together as they continued to make love.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, gonna be even more beautiful with our baby inside you” he muttered, his eyes shiny as he gazed into hers.

“Shit” she gasped. “Dean, your cock feels so fucking good.”

“Your pussy’s so fucking wet for me, baby, taking my cock so good” he whispered, knowing it drove her crazy when he dropped his voice.

He thrust up a little harder, causing her to moan loudly and pull his hair. “Ah, Dean! Fuck, yeah, right there!”

She could feel the band in her stomach getting tighter, as her thrusts started to falter.

“You’re close, aren’t you, sweetheart?” he smirked, pecking her lips.

“Yeah” she panted.

“I want you to cum with me, Y/N. Cum on my cock while I fill you up” he grunted, as his thrusts became more erratic.

The pressure built up inside her, as her walls clenched around his cock.

“Dean, oh my god!” she yelled. “Fuck, Dean. I’m cumming!”

Her eyes closed tight as she came hard on his cock, feeling it slick his shaft and her inner thighs.

“Fuck, Y/N” he grunted as he spilled inside her.

They held onto each other, breathing heavily. Dean slowly laid Y/N back, her head on the pillow. He slowly pulled out of her, seeing his cum spill out of her. He looked down at her and frowned, seeing her cheeks wet. Her eyes were closed but he could see tears rolling down her face. He reached up and wiped her cheeks, her eyes opening to show them glistening.

“Hey” he whispered. “What’s wrong?” He laid down on his side next to her, stroking her cheek.

She shook her head, trying to smile. “Nothing. Oh god, I’m so stupid. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Well, something’s going on in that pretty little head of yours” he smiled softly, only slightly reassured that everything was okay.

“I just… that was amazing” she said, stroking his cheek. “You’re amazing.”

He shook his head, as his hand travelled down from her cheek and laid on her flat stomach. “Pretty sure you’re the amazing one.”

“I… I’m sorry for pushing you away” she said, her teary eyes looking up at him.

“You don’t have to say sorry, sweetheart. Not to me” he smirked, leaning down to peck her lips. “You’re gonna make me a dad, which is something I never thought I’d get to be. That blows everything else out of the water.”

She cupped his jaw and pulled him in, kissing him deeper. She pulled away, running her thumb along his jaw.

“I can’t wait for you to be all cute and round” he smirked.

“Shut up” she nudged his jaw, playfully as she smiled up at him. “I’m sure you’re excited for me to be at the super horny stage, too.”

“Fuck yeah, I am” he wagged his eyebrows at her with a smirk.

She laughed at him before a peaceful silence fell between them.

“We’re having a baby” she smiled.

“We’re having a baby” he nodded, a smile playing at his lips. “We’re gonna be okay, sweetheart. I promise.”

He meant it. He would protect her and the baby until his dying breath if it came to that.

“I know we will” she whispered. “I love you.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “I love you, too” he whispered against her lips.

Y/N ran her hand through Dean’s hair and brought him down, kissing him, passionately. Dean wrapped her arms around her, pulling her closer. It had taken a long time for them to get to this place, but they were both finally on the same page. They were about to start a new adventure together, something they both thought would never happen for them with the lives they lead. There was so much to talk about, in terms of what they would do about hunting and working around doctor’s appointments, but they would deal with all of that soon.

In that moment, they were celebrating their love for each other and their love for their baby.

In that moment… that was all that mattered.

-x-

Tags: @flamencodiva @deanwanddamons @winchest09 @katehuntington @akshi8278 @hobby27 @michellethetvaddict​ 

[izzielizzie]

Milhouse by Maisie Peters for Pip and Ravi?

Under the cut

I think it's all gonna work out And I thought that yesterday and when I was sixteen

Pip, Connor, and Cara sit at Pip’s kitchen table the day after Jamie is found. They try to talk, once or twice, but it drifts into nothing before any of them can figure out the end of their sentences. 

“I’m sorry, Pip,” Connor says.

Pip shakes her head at him, her way of telling him he has nothing to apologize for. She’s not quite sure what he’s talking about: Stanley or Max or what, but she wants to kick herself.

And both of those times it didn't, but

She truly thought that everything was going to be okay. Maybe she should have learned from last time, but some things just can’t be predicted. When Pip’s doorbell opens, no one bothers to answer it, and when Josh runs to get it, Pip doesn’t even bother to warn him about checking first before answering. She just doesn’t think she can talk over the scream building up inside her. When Ravi enters the room, clapping Connor on the shoulder and squeezing Cara’s hand gently, Pip doesn’t even notice. She’s trying so hard to not break down that she doesn’t even feel Ravi wrapping her in his arms, putting her back in place. She wraps her arms around him instinctively. 

I think it's all gonna work out

With a sigh, Pip rests her head on his shoulder, his chin digging into the top of her head, and for the first time since yesterday, she closes her eyes. 

Don't need a blood moon or a horoscope to tell me That this time will be different

“We’ll get Max in jail,” Ravi whispers into her hair, and to Cara and Connor too.

Pip just tightens her arms around him, letting herself believe that again, just for a moment.

A little drop of honey and the picture's clearing up

Pip sneezes as she reviews the witness statements from the calamity parties.

“Are you sick?” Cara asks, concerned.

“Nah, it’s just -” Pip interrupts herself to sneeze again. “Seasonal allergies.”

Wordlessly Ravi stands from the table and heads to the cabinet over the sink where he pulls out the bottle of honey. Pip doesn’t question how he knows the layout of her kitchen, or why he’s squeezing the honey onto a spoon. He hands it to her. 

“Eat it, it’ll help.”

Pip takes the spoon.

“Why?” Connor asks as he watches Pip slowly eat the honey.

“Something to do with pollen, I’m not sure. My mom uses this trick, it always helps.”

Pip extends her leg and tucks her foot under Ravi’s thigh in a silent thank you.

Cup of coffee spilling over Oh, cleaning all my cards

Three days later, Pip puts a cup of coffee on the table next to Ravi, the drink sloshing onto the counter, staining the corner of the picture Ravi is looking at. 

“Careful Sarge,” he says, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her into him. She drops into his lap. “Can’t stain the pictures.”

“Technically, coffee is an abrasive, so really, you should be thanking me.”

Ravi rests his head on her shoulder. “Only you’d know that.”

A pessimist by nature, but in you baby I trust

Pip watches as Ravi hops around her room, grinning at her. “Pip this is a lead. A real lead!”

“I know,” Pip says with a grin as she reads the interview Ravi convinced a previously reluctant witness to give. 

Ravi stops hopping. “You think that? Really? I thought you said you weren’t going to hope about this.”

“I know, but, I trust you.”

Ravi grins at her, his eyes crinkling in a way that makes her heart ache. 

“And I’m so proud too.”

Oh, everything's coming up Milhouse

Ravi pulls her up from the bed and pulls her into a tight hug. “Pippa, I prouder of you than you can ever be of me.”

Pip hugs Ravi so tightly he has to physically push her away to breathe, laughing as he does. 

I think it's gonna be good news 'Cause you deserve it and we're somewhat decent people

“This just a preliminary hearing,” Pip keeps reminding Cara and Connor as they sit in front of the TV.

“We know,” Connor says. Pip wasn’t sure Max would have been tried again, since double jeopardy wasn’t allowed, but a new girl had stepped forward. 

“You keep telling us,” Cara adds.

“She’s mostly reminding herself,” Ravi assures them as he pulls Pip into his lap. “This is going to work out. I know it.”

“Why?” Pip asks.

“Because we’re good people trying to do the right thing, and I think in the universe will acknowledge that.”

Or at least trying to be

“I hope so,” Pip says, thinking briefly of Stanly before pushing the thought away by pulling Ravi’s arms from is side, wrapping them around her torso. 

And the world is awful and the ice caps they are melting

“Maybe we should tackle climate change next,” Connor says a few days later. They’re stuck in the limbo where they’ve done everything the could, but still know that it wasn’t enough.  

Cara throws a kernel of popcorn at him to get him to shut up. He catches it in his mouth, chewing meditatively.

“Someone’s gotta fix the ice caps right?” he continues. He glances at Pip’s tired eyes and sighs. “It’ll work out,” he says as Ravi pushes through the back door.

But today you bought me flowers

Pip sees him hide something behind his back out of the corner of her eye. 

“What is that?” Cara asks. 

“A surprise for Pip.” 

Pip looks up from the text book she’s been staring at for an hour to see Ravi holding a bouquet of pink roses. Her favorite. She laughs as the takes them from him, instantly smelling them. 

So, I'm choosing to believe

“Maybe it will work out,” Pip says, her voice dry as she leans up to kiss Ravi.

“What?” he asks. 

“Talking to Connor.”

The future is a wishing well And I'm gonna invest

After Cara and Connor leave, Pip finds herself stretched out on the couch next to Ravi. 

“Do you think this will stay the same when we’re older?” she asks, apropos of nothing. 

“Murder and other unpleasantries? I sure hope not.”

“No, I mean us,” Pip says in her serious voice. 

Ravi looks at her. “I think there can only be so many bad things in a person’s life. And we’ve hit the max.” Ravi laughs as he adopts his sailor voice. “It’s smooth sailing from here baby.”

Pip snorts. Secretly, she thinks of the world as a wishing well, where if she hopes enough, she’ll get something.

Throw a couple of pounds in Oh, lying on your chest

And she sure hopes that she’ll stay with Ravi forever. “I love you,” she mumbles as she rests her head on his chest. His hand moves to her back.

“I love you too Sarge.”

A pessimist by nature, but in you baby I trust

Pip and Ravi watch the next trial together, their fingers intertwined. “This will work out.”

Pip leans against him.

Oh everything's, coming up Milhouse

“I hope so,” she says, reaching up to fondly push his hair off his forehead. 

Sorry it's strange that I'm crying

It takes three days for the verdict to come, and on the first excruciating day, Connor, Cara, and Pip find themselves in the center of town, getting ice cream. Unfortunately, Ant and Lauren are there too.

“Enjoying the free press?” Ant snickers as they leave the shop at the same time as the couple. The three of them are meeting Ravi for a walk, despite the rain, and they were all blocked from exiting by the newspaper reporter who had replaced Stanley. 

Before any of them can answer, Ravi, who had reached them right as Ant spoke, pushes Ant against the wall. 

“Here’s a suggestion Anthony,” Ravi says menacingly as Lauren tries and fails to push Ravi away. With a scoff Cara shoves Lauren into Connor. Ravi ignores them. “Stay away from Pip. I mean it. Stay the fuck away from her or else.” He releases Ant unscathed, and as they scamper away, Pip can feel the tears falling to fall onto her shirt. Connor notices first. 

“Pip?” 

Ravi sees and pulls her into a hug. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry” he repeats as he rocks her back and forth, Pip sobbing into his chest. Cara rubs her back.

Think it's because you're the one

“No, it’s not that,” Pip says as she pulls away. “I just can’t take this anymore. I can deal with all the comments, but from my friends? i can’t.”

“They’re not your friends, not anymore,” Connor says darkly.

“We are,” Cara adds. Pip sniffles and nods. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” She wipes her eyes and turns to Ravi. “Thank you for defending me.” 

Ravi drops into an exaggerated bow. “Anything for you Trouble.”

I think it's all gonna work out And I thought that yesterday and when I was sixteen

Pip, Cara, Ravi, and Connor pile onto Pip’s bed as the verdict comes in. She thinks about the way she felt the first time around. 

And both of those times it didn't

She was broken when she heard Max’s first verdict. Maybe she had always been broken, but that was the first time she felt it.

But a little drop of honey and a little glass of rain

And as she squeezes Cara’s hand now, she realizes that in the past month or so, she’s slowly been put back together. She thinks of Ravi quietly handing her the honey because he knew she would work through anything and a little sniffle would be ignored entirely. She thinks about how he defended her against Ant without a second thought. She thinks about every quiet moment where Ravi helped her put her pieces back together. And she realizes how grateful she is. 

Babe you'll be surprised, how much a girl can change

She turns to Ravi with a smile, and as she hears the announcer gear up to say the verdict, she knows that maybe this was always supposed to happen: she had to struggle to know what love and happiness feels like.

“I love you,” she whispers to Ravi as the announcer speaks:

“Guilty.”

[backtothestart02]

A Weekend of Firsts - 2/? | grandice fanfiction

A/N: Welp, this is gonna be more than 3 chaps, I fear. Enjoy? XD

...

Chapter 2 -

Grant stepped out of the shower the next morning and wondered what his life had become. Not a night of tossing and turning or cooking up his usual hangover fix for the minor headache he woke up with or what should’ve been an extremely relaxing, invigorating hot shower had erased the memory of Candice in his arms the night before.

The feel of her body arching up against his and her tongue sneaking into his mouth, her lips pressed to his in sloppy, passionate kisses, her legs wrapped around his own still remained ingrained into the forefront of his mind.

And her neck.

God, her neck.

He could spend forever drawing moans from sucking kisses down her neck.

It was everything he’d been dreaming of since first meeting her during their chemistry test months ago.

He’d convinced himself she must not be interested if all his flirting and paying her attention in the last month and a half, in addition to when they shot the pilot, got nothing but an obligatory smile and some laughter at his jokes.

Finally, he’d found someone who thought he was hysterical though. That was a relief. He was starting to think he maybe wasn’t that funny.

But it was nothing that a friend wouldn’t do. He couldn’t resist flirting with her, but if all she wanted was friendship, he’d shut it down as soon as she said it was too much.

Last night he’d learned it wasn’t too much at all, and she actually did feel the same. She just didn’t want to act on it, and he couldn’t figure out why.

There was a voice in the back of his head yelling at him for having taken her back to her room before things got really heated the night before. But he knew it wasn’t right. He’d been tipsy at best, and she’d definitely been drunk. If they were ever to have a real chance, he had to do things the right way.

After getting dressed, he returned to see what was left of his hangover concoction in the kitchenette part of his suite. Luckily, the kitchen downstairs had had all the ingredients he needed to make it. He’d just needed to call for room service to deliver, and deliver they did. Since he hadn’t had much, given his headache had been pretty minor, there was more than enough left to deliver to Candice, who definitely would need some.

His only problem was would she let him in the door or would she be mad at him for making him leave in the midst of their little…almost sex. He winced, but then decided to push it out of his mind as best as he could. He gathered the drink in his arms, grabbed his room key and padded the short distance down the hall to her room.

He knocked lightly on the door. No answer. He tried again, this time a little louder.

“Candice?”

He heard a moan in response. That was good news. She was responsive and probably still in bed. He couldn’t be coming at a better time. Probably.

She still didn’t come to the door though, so he knocked again.

“Candice?”

“I didn’t order room service!” she called out, and he smiled, imagining her pout and her frazzled hair as she stretched out enough to yell at the closed door.

He had to compose himself before continuing.

“It’s not room service. It’s me.” He paused. “Grant.”

There was a really long pause then, to the point that he wondered if she’d gone back to sleep.

“Candice?”

He was super close to knocking again, his hand raised to the door in in a loose fist. Luckily – or not, for him – she responded just before his knuckle hit the smooth wood.

“Go away,” she said grumpily.

His heart fell in the pit of his stomach, but he told himself not to take it personally.

“I have something,” he tried. “For your…headache.”

He heard some huffing on the other side and then the sound of the heavy door opening before he was faced with a frazzled looking Candice Patton. He held up the green drink innocently.

She huffed, but took it straight out of his arms, downing it as fast as she could.

“Wait, that’s not what I-”

She didn’t listen, only took a breath halfway through to mutter, “This tastes disgusting.”

He chuckled lightly but couldn’t get a word in until she’d finished the batch.

“What is it?” she asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

He grimaced. “You don’t want to know.”

She eyed him up and down, looking highly suspicious.

“What?” he asked, grinning now.

“You look better than I do.” She pouted. He found it adorable.

“I’ve showered and dressed. You’ll look better than me in no time if you do the same.”

She sighed, shoved the glass back at his chest and closed the door.

Once again, he was alone in the hall.

“I’ll see you down at breakfast,” she said from the other side, and he supposed that was the best he was going to get.

“See you down there,” he muttered to himself, and before long he found himself headed down the hall and entering the elevator alone.

…

Candice waited until she heard the elevator doors close before turning around and leaning back against the door.

She was in Hell. Literal Hell.

Well, maybe not so much after the drink. She might not have to vomit so much anymore, and she could already feel her headache dissipating.

But what was she going to do about Grant?

Here he was being so kind and thoughtful, and he was an actual gentleman last night. He’d saved her from making the biggest mistake of her life. Putting her current job in jeopardy by messing with their onscreen chemistry due to pursuing an offscreen relationship with her number one co-star.

A one-night stand? What had she been thinking?

She’d been drunk and horny, and he’d been right there was what she’d been thinking.

And it wasn’t just that he’d been conveniently positioned beside her. He was the guy she couldn’t stop thinking about even if she wanted to. She wanted to be in that bed with him, with him kissing her, making love to her – or about to. She’d wanted that almost since she met him.

They just had a…a spark.

It was what made their onscreen chemistry so good. It wasn’t just onscreen. It was everywhere. It was in the looks, the dancing, the laughter, the sincerity. And now she knew, she was 100% certain that it was mutual. He wanted her just as badly.

It hurt her to know that though, because obviously they couldn’t risk what they had for something that could be fleeting.

Well, how fleeting could it be if her feelings for him had been just as strong from when they first met till now? If not stronger?

She nibbled on her bottom lip and headed into the bathroom, hoping a shower would erase all things Grant Gustin from her mind.

Of course it didn’t. She felt refreshed when she stepped out onto the towel she’d placed on the tile floor, another towel wrapped around her body and her hair. She didn’t feel hungover. She felt like she could take on the day.

But her heart still felt heavy, and it yearned for him.

Hell, she even dressed for him. She wore what she wanted to wear for herself, of course, but she was thinking of him while she did it. Would he like it? Would he stare? Would he even notice?

She shook her head, trying to rid her thoughts of him again, but it was impossible.

Finally, she slipped into her shoes to head downstairs to breakfast, where she recalled she’d told him she’d meet him. How would she survive that? Without blushing? Without staring at his lips? Without either shunning him or asking to pick up where they left off?

What would he say if she decided on the latter? Maybe all she needed was a one-night stand to get him out of her system.

Maybe…

As it turned out, she didn’t have to go far at all. When she opened her hotel room door, there he stood with a plate of bagels, fruit, and cereal, and an orange juice to drink.

“Hey,” he said, that ridiculously sexy grin back on his face. “They, uh, were closing up. So I quick grabbed some stuff for you and just brought it up. I hope…is this okay?”

“Yeah, totally,” she said immediately. “Thank you.”

She reached for the tray, then found herself grasping air as he moved past her into the room.

“Uh…okay.”

“Sorry, I just wouldn’t want you to spill anything on your pretty dress.” He looked over his shoulder after setting the tray down on her bed. “It is pretty by the way.” He turned all the way around and approached her. “You’re pretty.”

She swallowed, her eyes dipping to his lips again, then figured this is it, now or never, before she could talk herself out of it.

She went up on her tiptoes and tried to reach his lips, but she was too short. She almost tripped over herself instead, floundering. He caught her though, gripping her elbows to keep her steady. She couldn’t look at him. She was so embarrassed.

“Candice,” he whispered, and hesitantly, so hesitantly, she looked up at him.

He caught her lips with his own and kissed her, his lips slanting over hers to escalate and deepen the kiss. Candice’s arms swung up and around his neck, and he pulled her flush against him, kissing her harder, giving himself over to her, everything he had to that kiss, pushing her up against the wall and kissing, kissing, kissing until he couldn’t breathe – and she probably couldn’t either – and lifting his head.

“W-w-wow, whoa.”

Trembling, she let her hands fall from around his neck, one lifting to her lips. She could still feel the pressure, the buzz, his lips had created there.

“That was…”

“Yeah,” he said, and his voice was gravelly.

She laughed nervously.

“Your voice is really hot after you’ve been kissing someone.” She licked her lips.

He managed to smirk, then sunk his fingers into her hair.

“Just after I’ve been kissing you, I think.”

She smiled tremulously. Then without warning, she seemed to figure out that he wasn’t exactly in clothes meant for panels, interviews, autographs, etc.

“What?” he asked, finding the little crease in her forehead absolutely adorable.

“I uh…you probably need to change your clothes, right?”

He looked down. “Yeah.”

“And um…wipe my lipstick off your lips?” She reached up to wipe it away, but he caught her hand and met her eyes.

“Nah, I think I’ll keep it there.”

“But what if someone sees?”

“Who’s gonna see? We’re not even famous yet.”

His eyes were twinkling in the faint light of the room, and Candice found herself absolutely enraptured by them.

“Please?” she requested, biting her bottom lip.

He groaned aloud.

“I can’t resist you, Candice.”

Reaching down, he used a fistful of his t-shirt to wipe the lipstick free of his face.

“Better?” he asked.

She frowned.

“Now what?”

“Well, now it’s on your shirt! It won’t take much for people to-”

He cut her off by pressing his lips to hers in a quick kiss, then moving past her towards the door.

“I’m one door down. It’ll be fine. No one’s in the hall. They’re all in the lobby.”

“Wait!”

He stopped and turned around right as he set his hand on the doorknob.

“You want me to go shirtless?” He leaned towards her. “Because I will if you want me to.”

“No!” she said, scandalized all at once. “I don’t want anyone to-”

“See what belongs to only you?” He grinned unashamedly.

“Oh, my God, no.” Her face licked with flames. She could hardly breathe. “I mean, you don’t belong to me. We’re not together. This was just…just…”

“A hot kiss between co-workers offscreen?”

She couldn’t speak.

He pressed another quick kiss to her face, but this one hit her cheek since her mouth was hanging open.

“I’ll see you at the first panel. Maybe we’ll meet in the elevator, and…kiss some more.”

He winked, and then he was opening the door and disappearing into the hall.

Candice’s mouth was still hanging open when the door shut. She stood with her back to it much like she’d done hardly an hour or two earlier. She couldn’t remember what time it had been, only that she felt much more frazzled than she’d looked then.

She’d just made out with Grant. Again. While not drunk. And she hadn’t put a stop to it. She’d initiated it even!

She blew a lock out of her face and slowly slumped against the wood until her butt hit the carpeted floor.

Oh, damn.

[oscars-wifeyyy]

The Innocent 17

The group sat at a table during lunch, discussing how they were going to wash the money, but they weren't able to come up with a solution until Jasmine came into the picture. Monse looked at Jasmien in alert, "what are you doing?"

"Chopping it up and chowing it down with my crew!" Jasmine said, "is it my pits? I just switched to natural deodorant," Jasmine smelled her pits as she sat down, "I knew that shit didn't work,"

"We need a rain check," Ruby said.

"Nothing personal, but it's personal," Monse said.

"What's on the agenda? Cleaning some green?" Jasmine looked at Monse, knowingly.

"How do you know?" Jamal asked as Jasmine lifted up his notebook with the exact words of what they were doing as the crew looked at Jamal with a face, "what? I'm a visual thinker,"

"Don't get your chonies in a twist. Ain't nobody worried about a few dollars," Jasmine said, but saw everybody look away, "it's not a few dollars? Are you guys involved with the Freeridge Savings Heist? Don't tell me, I don't wanna know. What you should know is you don't wanna get involved in that shit. It's marked money,"

"Thanks for the useless info dump, but we need to get back to our crisis," Monse turned to Jamal, Ruby, and Elizabeth, "how are we going to clean the money?"

"Money Bunny, Money Bunny," Jasmine sang as Jamal did the beat on the table, "gotta hop to it fast and get your money,"

"Money Bunny is a shitty company that takes advantage of people who have no other way to get money from one place to another. It's a racket and-" Monse stopped in realization, "a great idea!"

"Yes! Outgoing dinero, incoming clean clams! Minus the three percent fee, scrub-a-dub, bitches!" Jasmine yelled out.

"Ok, I'm not following," Ruby said.

"Ok, say Jamal want to help a certain fashion challenged friend new fits," Jasmine coughed out Monse's name, "Money Bunny takes his hundie and they give Jamal a code. Then Jamal gives the code to monoboob Monse, takes it to the store and, bam! She's got 100 bucks to ditch the sports bra and buy some lace. Underwires your friend, girl," Jasmine booped Monse's nose.

"But wire fraud. That's a felony that carries at least five years," Ruby said

"I'm in," Monse said.

"Me too," Jamal nodded.

"Me three," Elizabeth shrugged, "I just want Cesar to be safe,"

"Do you want this nightmare to stop?" Monse asked Ruby as he nodded, "then we go big or Cesar never goes home,"

Ruby nodded, "I'm in,"

"Damn! You guys are ride or die! But you still gotta be 18 to send and receive the dough, so you guys got some fake IDs? No, no, no. Don't tell me. I'm law enforcement," Jasmine shook her head.

"But you just taught us how to commit wire fraud," Jamal said, confused.

"Because, sometimes, I like to get dirty and straddle things, like the line. I'm a complicated woman, Jamal," Jasmine sat up.

"Which means you probably know how to get a fake ID," Elizabeth smirked.

"No!" Jasmine scoffed, "no way, I don't. But Mona Mardukas has a guy," Jasmine held out her fake ID as everyone smirked.

It was after school and they went to a house that Jasmine guided them to. They knocked on the door and a Hispanic man answered the door as Jamal screamed no as if it was the end of the world.

"You want three IDs?" the man asked.

"I texted you. We need four," Jasmine said.

"I only see three people,"

"Oh, don't act like you don't see me standing here, Chivo!" Jamal scoffed.

"I'm ghosting you," Chivo sang

"Chivo? As in Chivo Chivo?" Elizabeth asked, causing Jamal to hum.

"No. Chivo as in Chivo Ramirez,"

After everyone got their IDs and got home, Elizabeth did all her homework during her electives and was able to get a week off so she had some time to hang out with her friends and Oscar. She unlocked her door to see Oscar inside sitting on the couch so she smiled and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, "how was your day?" "It was good, mamita," Oscar grinned, "better now that you're here with me. How was hanging out with your friends?"

"It was good. Didn't really do much except talk and stuff," Elizabeth stood up with her hand out, "c'mon, let's go bake some stuff since I got a week off from both Dwayne's and the taco joint,"

"You did? Good. You need a break," Oscar stood up, kissing her head.

The two were in the kitchen trying to make cookies, but it ended up with a flour fight and music playing as they danced around the kitchen. They didn't hear the door unlock as her mother walked in, pushing her father inside. The parents watched as the two danced with flour all over their hair, face, and clothes, Leticia with tears in her eyes as she saw the pure love between the two and Armando with a look of approval once he saw the look in Oscar's eyes.

The couple saw the parents and jumped away from each other as if they were caught doing something bad. Elizabeth saw the tears coming down her mother's face, "ma? What's wrong?"

Leticia laughed, "nothing, mija, nothing at all,"

Elizabeth looked in concern, but looked around her as well, "oh... we will clean this up right now. Oscar! Start cleaning,"

Oscar looked at Elizabeth weirdly, "you start cleaning too then!"

It was after school the next day and the crew went to get the money in so they could get clean money. Jasmine and Monse went inside a Money Bunny to get the money as Ruby, Jamal, and Elizabeth waited outside. The two girls came out and motioned for the boys and girl to follow so they followed and Monse pulled out the cash. It worked. So now they were on their way back when Prophets rolled up.

"Hey, Monse!" A voice called out, "where is that bitch ass boyfriend of yours at?"

"We already know he ain't at your pops spot no more, so where he at, then?" The Prophet asked then the group chuckled, "yeah, and we already know what's up with you, Ruby and Elizabeth...bang!" The four flinched, "santo killer, though."

Everyone was at home except for Elizabeth and Ruby. Elizabeth went to Oscar's place while Ruby went to Chivo's place. When Elizabeth arrived at Oscar's place, she ran inside and started hyperventilating. Sad Eyes, Rico, and Lorca were there while Oscar was out doing some things for the Santos so they quickly grabbed her and put her on the couch. Elizabeth wouldn't stop until Sad Eyes went up to her and held her cheeks.

"Hermanita, you need to slow your breathing. Follow me," Elizabeth nodded and tried to follow Sad Eyes breathes until she finally calmed down, "now, tell us what happened."

"I-i-i was with my friends and-and-and the P-Prophets rolled up on us and they knew m-my name! They knew me and h-how I got shot and when is this going to end! Guys, I just want all of us out of here and in a place where we don't have to worry about this!" Elizabeth ranted as the door opened and Oscar walked in to see Elizabeth crying.

He dropped everything and kneeled in front of Elizabeth, "hey, hey, babe. What happened? Who did this?"

"I just want everything to stop," Elizabeth let the tears roll down her cheek, "all this violence and everything. I want us out of here. You, Cesar, my friends, Sad Eyes, Rico, Lorca. I just want us out,"

"Ok, ok, ok," Oscar cooed at his lover, "one day we are going to have a house and you're going to be an athletic trainer and I'm going to be doing whatever job that will hire me. We can get one big house with everybody inside, including your ma and pops. One day, we are going to have it all,"

It was the next two weeks and Elizabeth stayed with Oscar those weeks as the two just held each other at night, not knowing what was going to happen the next day. Ruby and Jamal texted her asking where she was at so she just replied that she was with Oscar, but they told her that Monse didn't go to school. Elizabeth went to Monse's house with snacks and things as the two cried after Ruby and Jamal left.

Night fell and she went back to Oscar's place to see him working on his car so she went behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He continued doing what he was doing, but stopped as he heard footsteps so he quickly pulled Elizabeth between him and the car while pointing his gun to see Cesar panting. Elizabeth sighed out a breath of relief and ran to hug the boy that was like a brother to her.

Oscar grimaced while tucking the gun away, "get outta here,"

"I need protection," Cesar said.

"You came to the wrong place," Oscar said, wiping his hands.

"I found Latrelle," Cesar said as Oscar stopped and turned back to his little brother, "I went to go finish the job,"

"And?" Oscar waited.

Cesar looked away, "the gun jammed,"

Oscar turned back to the car, "you're oh for two. Ain't gonna be number three. Go," Oscar said with finality.

"Where?! I have nowhere to go!" Cesar yelled.

"Not my problem," Oscar said.

"Not your problem?" Cesar had tears in his eyes.

"There's nothing I can do for you. It's not just about you anymore. Everyone you care about is in jeopardy if you stay, so leave, and don't come back" Cesar started walking out.

"You know what, Oscar?" Cesar said walking back, "you should've handled this for me. You're not just my big brother. You're my big homie,"

"Shut the hell up," Oscar walked up to Cesar.

"You could've taken out Latrelle, but instead you sent me! You sent me to do it!" Cesar pushed Oscar away.

"Hey! Do you know what the hell you did? How badly you messed up? Hey." Oscar shook Cesar, "you put me in an impossible situation with Cuchillos,"

"Oscar, please," Cesar hugged Oscar tightly, "I don't know what to do,"

Oscar quickly whispered a plan into his ear before pretending like he was going to leave Cesar out to dry, "hey, hey. I love you, mano. But you're done," Oscar fixed Cesar's clothes, "happy birthday," Cesar started leaving, but Oscar started speaking, "you need to do something bigger than the mess you made,"

Cesar walked back, "what?"

"To undo this, you gotta do something bigger to prove yourself,"

"What if I got you fifty grand?" Cesar asked.

Oscar looked confused, "where are you gonna get cash like that?"

"What if he already had it?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm listening," Oscar looked at Cesar.

"Our friends found the RollerWorld money. They washed it, including Elizabeth," Cesar said, "it's clean,"

"RollerWorld? Don't shit me!" Oscar spat, but Cesar and Elizabeth shook their heads, "for real? RollerWorld? Is that why your boy kept asking about Lil Ricky?" Cesar nodded, "damn. Damn! How far are you willing to go?" "I'll do anything," Cesar said.

"Then this is what we're going to do. I'll run the plan through Cuchillos. Without a blessing, there is no point in taking the risk. You gotta be incredibly careful. Your friends have to think that you're going away forever. This protects them and if anything happens to you, they won't know you're dead. Make it look like you're leaving. When it's clear, I'll be there. You make contact with the Prophets and I'll exchange your clean money with the marked bills from the Freeridge Savings Heist,"

It was the next day and the plan was in full motion and Elizabeth was away for most of it because she had a shift at the taco joint until four pm. After her shift, she took her penny board and skated to Oscar's house since Ruby and Jamal were there with Oscar and Cesar. She just walked inside and set her stuff down on the couch, walking to the dining room table and putting a hand on Oscar's shoulder.

"You gave out RollerWorld money to the Prophets!" Jamal yelled.

"No, I gave them the marked bills, from the Freeridge Savings robbery," Oscar put down the lime.

"Oh, thank God," Jamal sighed, "for a second, I thought you gave our money away,"

"Nah, nah. I didn't give your money away. You gave your money away. And now it's mine," Oscar held Elizabeth's hand, giving it a kiss, "hola, bebe. How was work?"

"It was good," Elizabeth kissed his bald head, "nothing exciting,"

"Ruby! Turn me to Jamal," Monse's voice sounded through the phone, "am I hearing this correctly? You used all of our money for nothing? Even my 50k?"

"It wasn't for nothing," Jamal argued, "it was for Cesar, and yes, even your 50k," Jamal mocked Monse.

"Turn me to Spooky," Jamal turned the camera to Cesar, "more, I still can see him," Jamal turned it more to face Elizabeth and Spooky, "Hey, Elizabeth. Anyway, Spooky. I did not sign off on my 50 grand of that gift to you. Can you be decent and give it back?"

"No," Spooky smirked.

"This is bullshit," Monse seethed.

"Look on the bright side. Cesar's alive," Oscar smirked at Cesar.

"Hurray! Turn me to him," Monse said sarcastically.

"No, no," Cesar started, but Oscar already turned the phone to him.

"You might be alive, but you're dead to me," Monse said.

"Monse, I am so-" Monse ended the call, "dead,"

"Spooky, do you really think that giving the Prophets a bunch of marked bills was wise? Once one of their guys gets arrested then they'll know it was you. And by extension, us," Ruby said.

Oscar looked at Ruby, weirdly, "they would never connect it to you," Oscar smirked.

"I still don't understand why you needed to cheat us," Jamal said

"I didn't. I did exactly what you wanted. I saved Cesar," Oscar nodded.

"But you knew you were gonna do that before you took our cash," Jamal said.

"And your point is?"

"Taking our money is unscrupulous," Jamal said.

"How many times do I gotta spell this out for you?" Spooky said, annoyed now, "your money is actually my money. It belongs to the Santos,"

"Oh! You really want to play that game? Well, if we get into logistics, it's really Prophets money that you stole from us!" Jamal yelled.

"Well, actually, it's a bunch of random people's money who paid way too much for a bad concert," Ruby reasoned.

"Shalamar's the shit! These people probably didn't pay enough," Jamal said.

"Relax," Oscar said, "we're not gonna forget you helped us,"

"I don't care about your goodwill! I want my money!" Jamal yelled

"But I cooked for you,"

Elizabeth looked at the table and only saw ceviche, "baby, you only did ceviche," she started laughing, "the juices do all the cooking,"

Once Ruby and Jamal left, Elizabeth walked to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers and an iced tea to bring it out to the dining room. She set the drinks down as she sat on Oscar's lap. Everyone cracked their drinks open and cheersed.

"Hey, thank you," Cesar said.

"It was no problem," Oscar had a small smile.

"I'm not talking about the food," Cesar paused, "I don't say this very often, but I, uh,"

Oscar cut him off, "I know,"

"I'm not made for this life, Oscar," Cesar shook his head, "listen to me, please. When that gun jammed, God gave me a second chance. And I can't ignore it,"

"And?" Oscar said.

"And I never want to be a liability to you ever again," there was a brief silence, "I love you, mano, but I am not a killer,"

The three continued on in silence, eating until Cesar excused himself to sleep. After that day, the next couple days have been spent doing multiple homework assignments, work, and sleeping. It was stressful, but Elizabeth felt fine as she was back into her place once she felt safer to go back and not put her mother in danger.

Monse had told Elizabeth about her going into an all girls boarding school after the year was over and she couldn't be more happier for Monse. Elizabeth wanted to ask her what was going on with her and Cesar, but she knew it wasn't her place to ask so she let it go and decided to let them handle it for themselves. It was night time and Elizabeth was hanging out with Cesar, Oscar, and some Santos as Oscar was telling a story. She stood in front of Oscar with his arm around her shoulder, going across her chest as he smoked a cigarette and drank a beer.

"So she pissed the bed," everybody laughed, "you know what my boy, Angel, does? He piss on the bed too," Elizabeth laughed as she scrunched her nose at the details.

The noise stopped when the group caught sight of Monse so Elizabeth smiled at Monse and mouthed good luck as she nudged Oscar to take everyone inside. "Hey," Oscar said to the boys and all of them except for Cesar walked inside.

After a few moments, Cesar came inside and into his room so Elizabeth stood up from the couch, giving Oscar a kiss on the cheek, before whispering in his ear, "I'm gonna check on him,"

Oscar nodded, continuing with his conversation, as Elizabeth walked to Cesar's room to see him with tears going down his cheeks so she sat down and rubbed his back, "What did she say?"

"She said that she forgave me," Cesar sniffled, "but if I did it even when I loved her then what else would I do,"

Elizabeth nodded, "she makes a good point. Look, Cesar, all I can really say is move on and I know it's easier said than done, but one day you're going to be super happy with a girl that you're going to marry. It can be Monse or it won't be, we don't know, but you can't not live your life," that was when Elizabeth softly smiled at the young boy before leaving the room and continuing with the conversation in the living room with her boyfriend and the Santos.

It was the next day and Cesar and Elizabeth were walking out of school when they met up with Jasmine, Monse, Ruby, and Jamal in the front. "The cash, the drugs, the guns, and illegal ferrets. The place was a scene. It was sick!"

"But why are all the Prophets getting arrested?" Ruby asked.

"Remember the robbery at Freeridge Savings? The guys in the monster masks? Well, that money was marked and we've been tracking any money spent. First, we caught Mr. Gutierrez in his liquor store with the dough. Turns out that money was from a customer. And when those marked bills started popping up all around the town right before the Prophets hood day, we were able to trace it right back to them. So now the Prophets are no mas," Jasmine smiled.

"All of them?" Ruby asked.

"Hell, yeah! We took them all down. The Prophets are Donezel Washington,"

"Holy, shit!"

"Actually, check out this link. It's got the best footages," Jasmine showed the phone to them, showing the Prophets sitting on the curb with Latrelle in handcuffs going to the back of the car.

"Yeah. He's going away for a long time," Jasmine put a hand on Ruby as well as look at Elizabeth, "hey, yo, Esteban! Why no call back? I don't send pictures of my chonies to no phonies!"

Everybody turned to the two people that were shot in the group, "how are you guys feeling?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but it feels surreal. I don't understand the violence and all that because we're not worrying about Cesar's life or anything big," Elizabeth sighed.

"We lost sight of the bigger picture. We should be grateful that we have our friends and family with us," Ruby continued, "it's time to move on,"

"Agreed," Monse said, "I'm leaving Freeridge," the guys turned back, "I'm starting boarding school at the end of summer,"

"Wait! Are you serious?" Cesar asked

"Not talking to you," Monse sighed.

"But you forgave me," Cesar said.

"I changed my mind. Anyway, I finally realized that it doesn't matter if any of you are on Team Monse because I'm on team Monse. And that's all I need so...I'm out," Monse shrugged.

There was a silence until Jamal broke it, "ok,"

"Good luck," Ruby said.

"Hope you have a fun time," Elizabeth grinned.

"Ok? Good luck?" Monse said Elizabeth didn't matter to her since she already knew and has been supportive.

"Yeah, you've left before," Ruby said.

"Writing camp, Brentwood," Jamal listed, "this is schmuck bait, you always come back,"

"Not this time," Monse said, "I'm gone for good. Things just aren't the same around here and I think we've outgrown each other,"

"Ruby, what kind of snacks you got at home?" Jamal asked Ruby, "did your mom get that good spinach dip from Costco?"

"No, better. She got the jalapeno artichoke," Ruby grinned.

"Oh! The extra creamy one that you gotta use the thick chips for?" Elizabeth asked, excited.

"She picked those up too!"

"I'm serious!" Monse said aloud.

"So are we! That dip's bomb," Jamal said.

"Are you even listening to me? I'm really out of here, I'm done with the gangs and bullshit and the nonstop drama that you always get me into," Monse accused.

Ruby stuttered, looking around as if she wasn't talking to them, "we get you into?"

Monse mocked him, "yeah."

"Goodbye," Ruby said.

"Uh, no, no, no," Jamal stopped Ruby, "you shouldn't say goodbye. 'Cause I want to. Buh-bye!" Jamal waved.

Elizabeth laughed at their antics, "boys, stop teasing and let's go,"

"Assholes," Monse muttered.

"Hey, hey, hey. Why don't we all take a breath," Cesar tried to defuse the situation.

"Shut up! No one is talking to you!" Monse said.

"Ok," Cesar backed up, "we'll see you when you get back,"

"Yeah, good luck trying to survive on your own. Without me, you guys are done. There'll be no one to save you," Monse motioned to Cesar.

At that moment, Elizabeth zoned out since she already knew what was going to happen with the whole argument, but when Monse finally started walking away, there was a bag thrown over her head as well as the boys and she was thrown into a van. They were screaming Monse's name until they heard Monse's yell too.The group sat at a table during lunch, discussing how they were going to wash the money, but they weren't able to come up with a solution until Jasmine came into the picture. Monse looked at Jasmien in alert, "what are you doing?"

"Chopping it up and chowing it down with my crew!" Jasmine said, "is it my pits? I just switched to natural deodorant," Jasmine smelled her pits as she sat down, "I knew that shit didn't work,"

"We need a rain check," Ruby said.

"Nothing personal, but it's personal," Monse said.

"What's on the agenda? Cleaning some green?" Jasmine looked at Monse, knowingly.

"How do you know?" Jamal asked as Jasmine lifted up his notebook with the exact words of what they were doing as the crew looked at Jamal with a face, "what? I'm a visual thinker,"

"Don't get your chonies in a twist. Ain't nobody worried about a few dollars," Jasmine said, but saw everybody look away, "it's not a few dollars? Are you guys involved with the Freeridge Savings Heist? Don't tell me, I don't wanna know. What you should know is you don't wanna get involved in that shit. It's marked money,"

"Thanks for the useless info dump, but we need to get back to our crisis," Monse turned to Jamal, Ruby, and Elizabeth, "how are we going to clean the money?"

"Money Bunny, Money Bunny," Jasmine sang as Jamal did the beat on the table, "gotta hop to it fast and get your money,"

"Money Bunny is a shitty company that takes advantage of people who have no other way to get money from one place to another. It's a racket and-" Monse stopped in realization, "a great idea!"

"Yes! Outgoing dinero, incoming clean clams! Minus the three percent fee, scrub-a-dub, bitches!" Jasmine yelled out.

"Ok, I'm not following," Ruby said.

"Ok, say Jamal want to help a certain fashion challenged friend new fits," Jasmine coughed out Monse's name, "Money Bunny takes his hundie and they give Jamal a code. Then Jamal gives the code to monoboob Monse, takes it to the store and, bam! She's got 100 bucks to ditch the sports bra and buy some lace. Underwires your friend, girl," Jasmine booped Monse's nose.

"But wire fraud. That's a felony that carries at least five years," Ruby said

"I'm in," Monse said.

"Me too," Jamal nodded.

"Me three," Elizabeth shrugged, "I just want Cesar to be safe,"

"Do you want this nightmare to stop?" Monse asked Ruby as he nodded, "then we go big or Cesar never goes home,"

Ruby nodded, "I'm in,"

"Damn! You guys are ride or die! But you still gotta be 18 to send and receive the dough, so you guys got some fake IDs? No, no, no. Don't tell me. I'm law enforcement," Jasmine shook her head.

"But you just taught us how to commit wire fraud," Jamal said, confused.

"Because, sometimes, I like to get dirty and straddle things, like the line. I'm a complicated woman, Jamal," Jasmine sat up.

"Which means you probably know how to get a fake ID," Elizabeth smirked.

"No!" Jasmine scoffed, "no way, I don't. But Mona Mardukas has a guy," Jasmine held out her fake ID as everyone smirked.

It was after school and they went to a house that Jasmine guided them to. They knocked on the door and a Hispanic man answered the door as Jamal screamed no as if it was the end of the world.

"You want three IDs?" the man asked.

"I texted you. We need four," Jasmine said.

"I only see three people,"

"Oh, don't act like you don't see me standing here, Chivo!" Jamal scoffed.

"I'm ghosting you," Chivo sang

"Chivo? As in Chivo Chivo?" Elizabeth asked, causing Jamal to hum.

"No. Chivo as in Chivo Ramirez,"

After everyone got their IDs and got home, Elizabeth did all her homework during her electives and was able to get a week off so she had some time to hang out with her friends and Oscar. She unlocked her door to see Oscar inside sitting on the couch so she smiled and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, "how was your day?" "It was good, mamita," Oscar grinned, "better now that you're here with me. How was hanging out with your friends?"

"It was good. Didn't really do much except talk and stuff," Elizabeth stood up with her hand out, "c'mon, let's go bake some stuff since I got a week off from both Dwayne's and the taco joint,"

"You did? Good. You need a break," Oscar stood up, kissing her head.

The two were in the kitchen trying to make cookies, but it ended up with a flour fight and music playing as they danced around the kitchen. They didn't hear the door unlock as her mother walked in, pushing her father inside. The parents watched as the two danced with flour all over their hair, face, and clothes, Leticia with tears in her eyes as she saw the pure love between the two and Armando with a look of approval once he saw the look in Oscar's eyes.

The couple saw the parents and jumped away from each other as if they were caught doing something bad. Elizabeth saw the tears coming down her mother's face, "ma? What's wrong?"

Leticia laughed, "nothing, mija, nothing at all,"

Elizabeth looked in concern, but looked around her as well, "oh... we will clean this up right now. Oscar! Start cleaning,"

Oscar looked at Elizabeth weirdly, "you start cleaning too then!"

It was after school the next day and the crew went to get the money in so they could get clean money. Jasmine and Monse went inside a Money Bunny to get the money as Ruby, Jamal, and Elizabeth waited outside. The two girls came out and motioned for the boys and girl to follow so they followed and Monse pulled out the cash. It worked. So now they were on their way back when Prophets rolled up.

"Hey, Monse!" A voice called out, "where is that bitch ass boyfriend of yours at?"

"We already know he ain't at your pops spot no more, so where he at, then?" The Prophet asked then the group chuckled, "yeah, and we already know what's up with you, Ruby and Elizabeth...bang!" The four flinched, "santo killer, though."

Everyone was at home except for Elizabeth and Ruby. Elizabeth went to Oscar's place while Ruby went to Chivo's place. When Elizabeth arrived at Oscar's place, she ran inside and started hyperventilating. Sad Eyes, Rico, and Lorca were there while Oscar was out doing some things for the Santos so they quickly grabbed her and put her on the couch. Elizabeth wouldn't stop until Sad Eyes went up to her and held her cheeks.

"Hermanita, you need to slow your breathing. Follow me," Elizabeth nodded and tried to follow Sad Eyes breathes until she finally calmed down, "now, tell us what happened."

"I-i-i was with my friends and-and-and the P-Prophets rolled up on us and they knew m-my name! They knew me and h-how I got shot and when is this going to end! Guys, I just want all of us out of here and in a place where we don't have to worry about this!" Elizabeth ranted as the door opened and Oscar walked in to see Elizabeth crying.

He dropped everything and kneeled in front of Elizabeth, "hey, hey, babe. What happened? Who did this?"

"I just want everything to stop," Elizabeth let the tears roll down her cheek, "all this violence and everything. I want us out of here. You, Cesar, my friends, Sad Eyes, Rico, Lorca. I just want us out,"

"Ok, ok, ok," Oscar cooed at his lover, "one day we are going to have a house and you're going to be an athletic trainer and I'm going to be doing whatever job that will hire me. We can get one big house with everybody inside, including your ma and pops. One day, we are going to have it all,"

It was the next two weeks and Elizabeth stayed with Oscar those weeks as the two just held each other at night, not knowing what was going to happen the next day. Ruby and Jamal texted her asking where she was at so she just replied that she was with Oscar, but they told her that Monse didn't go to school. Elizabeth went to Monse's house with snacks and things as the two cried after Ruby and Jamal left.

Night fell and she went back to Oscar's place to see him working on his car so she went behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He continued doing what he was doing, but stopped as he heard footsteps so he quickly pulled Elizabeth between him and the car while pointing his gun to see Cesar panting. Elizabeth sighed out a breath of relief and ran to hug the boy that was like a brother to her.

Oscar grimaced while tucking the gun away, "get outta here,"

"I need protection," Cesar said.

"You came to the wrong place," Oscar said, wiping his hands.

"I found Latrelle," Cesar said as Oscar stopped and turned back to his little brother, "I went to go finish the job,"

"And?" Oscar waited.

Cesar looked away, "the gun jammed,"

Oscar turned back to the car, "you're oh for two. Ain't gonna be number three. Go," Oscar said with finality.

"Where?! I have nowhere to go!" Cesar yelled.

"Not my problem," Oscar said.

"Not your problem?" Cesar had tears in his eyes.

"There's nothing I can do for you. It's not just about you anymore. Everyone you care about is in jeopardy if you stay, so leave, and don't come back" Cesar started walking out.

"You know what, Oscar?" Cesar said walking back, "you should've handled this for me. You're not just my big brother. You're my big homie,"

"Shut the hell up," Oscar walked up to Cesar.

"You could've taken out Latrelle, but instead you sent me! You sent me to do it!" Cesar pushed Oscar away.

"Hey! Do you know what the hell you did? How badly you messed up? Hey." Oscar shook Cesar, "you put me in an impossible situation with Cuchillos,"

"Oscar, please," Cesar hugged Oscar tightly, "I don't know what to do,"

Oscar quickly whispered a plan into his ear before pretending like he was going to leave Cesar out to dry, "hey, hey. I love you, mano. But you're done," Oscar fixed Cesar's clothes, "happy birthday," Cesar started leaving, but Oscar started speaking, "you need to do something bigger than the mess you made,"

Cesar walked back, "what?"

"To undo this, you gotta do something bigger to prove yourself,"

"What if I got you fifty grand?" Cesar asked.

Oscar looked confused, "where are you gonna get cash like that?"

"What if he already had it?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm listening," Oscar looked at Cesar.

"Our friends found the RollerWorld money. They washed it, including Elizabeth," Cesar said, "it's clean,"

"RollerWorld? Don't shit me!" Oscar spat, but Cesar and Elizabeth shook their heads, "for real? RollerWorld? Is that why your boy kept asking about Lil Ricky?" Cesar nodded, "damn. Damn! How far are you willing to go?" "I'll do anything," Cesar said.

"Then this is what we're going to do. I'll run the plan through Cuchillos. Without a blessing, there is no point in taking the risk. You gotta be incredibly careful. Your friends have to think that you're going away forever. This protects them and if anything happens to you, they won't know you're dead. Make it look like you're leaving. When it's clear, I'll be there. You make contact with the Prophets and I'll exchange your clean money with the marked bills from the Freeridge Savings Heist,"

It was the next day and the plan was in full motion and Elizabeth was away for most of it because she had a shift at the taco joint until four pm. After her shift, she took her penny board and skated to Oscar's house since Ruby and Jamal were there with Oscar and Cesar. She just walked inside and set her stuff down on the couch, walking to the dining room table and putting a hand on Oscar's shoulder.

"You gave out RollerWorld money to the Prophets!" Jamal yelled.

"No, I gave them the marked bills, from the Freeridge Savings robbery," Oscar put down the lime.

"Oh, thank God," Jamal sighed, "for a second, I thought you gave our money away,"

"Nah, nah. I didn't give your money away. You gave your money away. And now it's mine," Oscar held Elizabeth's hand, giving it a kiss, "hola, bebe. How was work?"

"It was good," Elizabeth kissed his bald head, "nothing exciting,"

"Ruby! Turn me to Jamal," Monse's voice sounded through the phone, "am I hearing this correctly? You used all of our money for nothing? Even my 50k?"

"It wasn't for nothing," Jamal argued, "it was for Cesar, and yes, even your 50k," Jamal mocked Monse.

"Turn me to Spooky," Jamal turned the camera to Cesar, "more, I still can see him," Jamal turned it more to face Elizabeth and Spooky, "Hey, Elizabeth. Anyway, Spooky. I did not sign off on my 50 grand of that gift to you. Can you be decent and give it back?"

"No," Spooky smirked.

"This is bullshit," Monse seethed.

"Look on the bright side. Cesar's alive," Oscar smirked at Cesar.

"Hurray! Turn me to him," Monse said sarcastically.

"No, no," Cesar started, but Oscar already turned the phone to him.

"You might be alive, but you're dead to me," Monse said.

"Monse, I am so-" Monse ended the call, "dead,"

"Spooky, do you really think that giving the Prophets a bunch of marked bills was wise? Once one of their guys gets arrested then they'll know it was you. And by extension, us," Ruby said.

Oscar looked at Ruby, weirdly, "they would never connect it to you," Oscar smirked.

"I still don't understand why you needed to cheat us," Jamal said

"I didn't. I did exactly what you wanted. I saved Cesar," Oscar nodded.

"But you knew you were gonna do that before you took our cash," Jamal said.

"And your point is?"

"Taking our money is unscrupulous," Jamal said.

"How many times do I gotta spell this out for you?" Spooky said, annoyed now, "your money is actually my money. It belongs to the Santos,"

"Oh! You really want to play that game? Well, if we get into logistics, it's really Prophets money that you stole from us!" Jamal yelled.

"Well, actually, it's a bunch of random people's money who paid way too much for a bad concert," Ruby reasoned.

"Shalamar's the shit! These people probably didn't pay enough," Jamal said.

"Relax," Oscar said, "we're not gonna forget you helped us,"

"I don't care about your goodwill! I want my money!" Jamal yelled

"But I cooked for you,"

Elizabeth looked at the table and only saw ceviche, "baby, you only did ceviche," she started laughing, "the juices do all the cooking,"

Once Ruby and Jamal left, Elizabeth walked to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers and an iced tea to bring it out to the dining room. She set the drinks down as she sat on Oscar's lap. Everyone cracked their drinks open and cheersed.

"Hey, thank you," Cesar said.

"It was no problem," Oscar had a small smile.

"I'm not talking about the food," Cesar paused, "I don't say this very often, but I, uh,"

Oscar cut him off, "I know,"

"I'm not made for this life, Oscar," Cesar shook his head, "listen to me, please. When that gun jammed, God gave me a second chance. And I can't ignore it,"

"And?" Oscar said.

"And I never want to be a liability to you ever again," there was a brief silence, "I love you, mano, but I am not a killer,"

The three continued on in silence, eating until Cesar excused himself to sleep. After that day, the next couple days have been spent doing multiple homework assignments, work, and sleeping. It was stressful, but Elizabeth felt fine as she was back into her place once she felt safer to go back and not put her mother in danger.

Monse had told Elizabeth about her going into an all girls boarding school after the year was over and she couldn't be more happier for Monse. Elizabeth wanted to ask her what was going on with her and Cesar, but she knew it wasn't her place to ask so she let it go and decided to let them handle it for themselves. It was night time and Elizabeth was hanging out with Cesar, Oscar, and some Santos as Oscar was telling a story. She stood in front of Oscar with his arm around her shoulder, going across her chest as he smoked a cigarette and drank a beer.

"So she pissed the bed," everybody laughed, "you know what my boy, Angel, does? He piss on the bed too," Elizabeth laughed as she scrunched her nose at the details.

The noise stopped when the group caught sight of Monse so Elizabeth smiled at Monse and mouthed good luck as she nudged Oscar to take everyone inside. "Hey," Oscar said to the boys and all of them except for Cesar walked inside.

After a few moments, Cesar came inside and into his room so Elizabeth stood up from the couch, giving Oscar a kiss on the cheek, before whispering in his ear, "I'm gonna check on him,"

Oscar nodded, continuing with his conversation, as Elizabeth walked to Cesar's room to see him with tears going down his cheeks so she sat down and rubbed his back, "What did she say?"

"She said that she forgave me," Cesar sniffled, "but if I did it even when I loved her then what else would I do,"

Elizabeth nodded, "she makes a good point. Look, Cesar, all I can really say is move on and I know it's easier said than done, but one day you're going to be super happy with a girl that you're going to marry. It can be Monse or it won't be, we don't know, but you can't not live your life," that was when Elizabeth softly smiled at the young boy before leaving the room and continuing with the conversation in the living room with her boyfriend and the Santos.

It was the next day and Cesar and Elizabeth were walking out of school when they met up with Jasmine, Monse, Ruby, and Jamal in the front. "The cash, the drugs, the guns, and illegal ferrets. The place was a scene. It was sick!"

"But why are all the Prophets getting arrested?" Ruby asked.

"Remember the robbery at Freeridge Savings? The guys in the monster masks? Well, that money was marked and we've been tracking any money spent. First, we caught Mr. Gutierrez in his liquor store with the dough. Turns out that money was from a customer. And when those marked bills started popping up all around the town right before the Prophets hood day, we were able to trace it right back to them. So now the Prophets are no mas," Jasmine smiled.

"All of them?" Ruby asked.

"Hell, yeah! We took them all down. The Prophets are Donezel Washington,"

"Holy, shit!"

"Actually, check out this link. It's got the best footages," Jasmine showed the phone to them, showing the Prophets sitting on the curb with Latrelle in handcuffs going to the back of the car.

"Yeah. He's going away for a long time," Jasmine put a hand on Ruby as well as look at Elizabeth, "hey, yo, Esteban! Why no call back? I don't send pictures of my chonies to no phonies!"

Everybody turned to the two people that were shot in the group, "how are you guys feeling?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but it feels surreal. I don't understand the violence and all that because we're not worrying about Cesar's life or anything big," Elizabeth sighed.

"We lost sight of the bigger picture. We should be grateful that we have our friends and family with us," Ruby continued, "it's time to move on,"

"Agreed," Monse said, "I'm leaving Freeridge," the guys turned back, "I'm starting boarding school at the end of summer,"

"Wait! Are you serious?" Cesar asked

"Not talking to you," Monse sighed.

"But you forgave me," Cesar said.

"I changed my mind. Anyway, I finally realized that it doesn't matter if any of you are on Team Monse because I'm on team Monse. And that's all I need so...I'm out," Monse shrugged.

There was a silence until Jamal broke it, "ok,"

"Good luck," Ruby said.

"Hope you have a fun time," Elizabeth grinned.

"Ok? Good luck?" Monse said Elizabeth didn't matter to her since she already knew and has been supportive.

"Yeah, you've left before," Ruby said.

"Writing camp, Brentwood," Jamal listed, "this is schmuck bait, you always come back,"

"Not this time," Monse said, "I'm gone for good. Things just aren't the same around here and I think we've outgrown each other,"

"Ruby, what kind of snacks you got at home?" Jamal asked Ruby, "did your mom get that good spinach dip from Costco?"

"No, better. She got the jalapeno artichoke," Ruby grinned.

"Oh! The extra creamy one that you gotta use the thick chips for?" Elizabeth asked, excited.

"She picked those up too!"

"I'm serious!" Monse said aloud.

"So are we! That dip's bomb," Jamal said.

"Are you even listening to me? I'm really out of here, I'm done with the gangs and bullshit and the nonstop drama that you always get me into," Monse accused.

Ruby stuttered, looking around as if she wasn't talking to them, "we get you into?"

Monse mocked him, "yeah."

"Goodbye," Ruby said.

"Uh, no, no, no," Jamal stopped Ruby, "you shouldn't say goodbye. 'Cause I want to. Buh-bye!" Jamal waved.

Elizabeth laughed at their antics, "boys, stop teasing and let's go,"

"Assholes," Monse muttered.

"Hey, hey, hey. Why don't we all take a breath," Cesar tried to defuse the situation.

"Shut up! No one is talking to you!" Monse said.

"Ok," Cesar backed up, "we'll see you when you get back,"

"Yeah, good luck trying to survive on your own. Without me, you guys are done. There'll be no one to save you," Monse motioned to Cesar.

At that moment, Elizabeth zoned out since she already knew what was going to happen with the whole argument, but when Monse finally started walking away, there was a bag thrown over her head as well as the boys and she was thrown into a van. They were screaming Monse's name until they heard Monse's yell too.

@moneybagmara​

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