#IF THE CURSE IS CURIOSITY THEN YEAH SURE LET'S JUST ABANDON THE OTHER CREATURE THAT HAS THAT TOO

[smokestarrules]

god the way the Brothers didn’t even consider the cat in the slightest while leaving when they had the Exact Same issue they’re the worst

[yelenasdog]

it was a pleasure to burn (spencer reid x fem bau!reader)

genre: fluff i think even though the name is v angsty LOL it’s a literal screenplay with the amout of dialogue i wrote LMAO so idk

summary: a particularly rough and disturbing case gets to reader, and spencer and reader are brought together by this.

words: just about 6k (my longest fic ahhHH)

warnings: typical criminal minds gore and violence just up a notch, they get on a plane at the end, somebody gets ~shot~, somebody gets ~bonked~, cursing, mentions of reid’s addiction, and i think that’s it. also the reader wears reading glasses but that’s the only predetermined factor of appearance. btw i don’t think i used any pronouns in this but i apologize if i’m wrong. 

a/n: LMFAO i was outside awhile ago celebrating litha with a nice lil hike and i saw a butterfly and i had just started watching cm and was like hMMm... killer who’s obsessed with symmetry??!1??!? y Es. enjoy 😼 EDIT: THERE IS SO MANY PLOT HOLES OMG FBREHJBFHEJFRE IM RBFBRE

🂦∙🂦∙🂦

Present Day, Central Park, New York

“Aren’t they just stunning?” The unsub spoke, keeping her eyes trained on the butterfly sitting happily on her finger. The brightly colored creature fluttered off her hand that was dripping scarlet, flying around her curly head of brown hair. Her, formerly white, blood-stained dress flowed around her as she followed it, watching in awe as it soared about. She giggled, plopping down on the grass in the middle of a circle of her victim’s pale, lifeless bodies, all of them with ironically morbid butterflies resting upon the frail skin of the corpses.

“Aren’t they, agents?”

She slanted her green eyes, gripping the grass a little harder. I flicked my tongue over my lips nervously, looking over to the lanky man on my left. He simply shrugged, just about as sure of how to handle the situation just as much as I was.

“If I knew you all were coming, I would have cleaned up, I really would have, I promise.”

We slowly walked towards her, twigs and leaves crunching under our feet. It could have been comparable to a hunter stalking its prey, but it unfortunately was quite the opposite.

6 days earlier, Quantico, Virginia

“3 bodies, all found within the last 48 hours in rural New York. So far, the first body has revealed that although it was dumped upstate, the victim was murdered in the city, and the same most likely goes for the other bodies as well. Nails well manicured, no drugs in the system. They aren't junkies, we’re dealing with upper class citizens.”

My face contorted as I took the photos from Reid’s hands, his large and tanned one surprising me by how soft it felt as it accidentally brushed against mine. I blushed like a madman, looking to see him doing the same thing. I cleared my throat getting Rossi’s attention.

“Why are we only now hearing of this?” I questioned, flipping through the images as I did so, my confusion only growing. I didn’t recieve an answer, leaving my curiosity to bloom.

“Wait, how did you say they were killed again?”

Morgan looked up, taking the photos from me. “He didn’t.”

I sighed, pushing my glasses up on my nose.

“Is there at least any correlation between the bodies and the butterflies?”

Our attention was shifted to JJ, the resident expert on the insects.

“Actually, the ones being found with the bodies are from the Amarynthis family, all native to Latin America. They weren’t there by accident so yes, they’re somehow related.”

Rossi stood up, grabbing his coat.

“Well, none of this is nearly enough for a profile, so pack your bags and tell the others, wheels up in an hour. We’re headed to New York.”

4 days earlier, F.B.I. Field Office, New York, New York

“The final report from the latest victim is in, all the autopsies are clean. They show no signs of struggles, no marks, no blood, no anything. The eyes weren’t bloodshot, so suffocation is ruled out, and that was our best bet.”

I sighed, sliding the case file across the glass table to Spence as I took my seat, sinking into it and allowing myself to be consumed by its warmth.

“So what your saying is that we’re back at square one.”

I looked up at Hotch from where I sat, running my hand through my ponytail.

“Yeah. That’s what I’m saying.”

Just then, the young Doctor spoke up as he flipped through the pages.

“The eyes weren’t just not bloodshot, there was barely any blood left in any of the victims bodies, only about 3% of the volume left. The killer drained them.”

Morgan gave me a shocked expression, silently asking for an explanation.

“Which you failed to mention, Y/n.” Aaron spoke, agitation once again present in his voice.

I looked at the ceiling, crossing my arms in front of me before turning to face Hotch once more.

“Yeah, well, I thought it was obvious when I said no blood.” I stuttered out cautiously.

“On the bodies! Not in the bodies!” Morgan exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in what was in my opinion, very childish. Everyone else in the room aside from Spencer was either shaking their heads or pinching the bridge of their noses, and reasonably so.

“Look, I’m sorry I just didn’t see it in the report, plus, In the scheme of things, it just doesn’t seem to matter.”

I soon regretted my words, realizing how ill-fit they were for the current conversation I was having. Spencer looked up, tilting his head.

“Doesn’t seem to matter? How? There’s an endless amount of possibilities now that we know this. If we had known it sooner we probably could have figured out the pattern and caught the one doing this!” He harshly spewed, his voice acting like a crescendo of sorts, quiet and calm and moving towards a loud and violent tone. Tears began to prick at the corners of my eyes and I was starting to feel guilty, not to mention absolutely stupid as could be.

“I’m- I really am sorry guys, truly.”

Hotch locked eyes with me, taking a stern tone that one would usually take with a disobedient child, perhaps even Jack.

“I hope that’s a comfort to you when another body shows up. That’s their blood on your hands.”

I was frozen, the gravity of the situation taking its toll.

In the background I heard him say something to Morgan about a new profile having to be made as there were many new things to be known from this revelation. But it all went in one ear and out the other, just unpleasant white noise.

As I clumsily stumbled out of the room, I felt Reid’s eyes burning holes into the back of my brain. I was quick to turn my head to meet his glance, causing him to look down. I felt bad, the weight on my chest growing heavier from the interaction.

I sat down at my desk, turning on my computer and immediately going to google. I typed in “hypnosis” and let the info trickle in.

About 30 minutes later, I still felt absolutely horrible, but I had also put together a valuable profile in the time that had passed. I shut the newly finished file, blowing an abandoned strand of hair out from my eyes. I had to do a double take when I saw Spencer staring once more, his deep hazel eyes meeting my own. I gave him a small smile before standing up and walking to Hotch’s makeshift New York office. I pushed open the heavy door, placing the folder on his too-clean desk.

“What’s this?” He asked, taking it in his hands.

“My theory about the unsub. I think I know what she’s been doing. You can tell the team if you want, I’m not sure if they would wanna hear it from me. ”

He gave a small smile, pushing the file back over to me.

“You get the team together and I’ll get the local PD caught up. You tell them yourself.”

A few minutes later, everyone except for Reid had gathered in the meeting room. I peeked through the half closed blinds that allowed a line of vision to his desk in an attempt to locate him. He was positioned there, staring blankly at his laptop that appeared to have nothing on the screen. I knocked on the window lightly to catch his attention, his glazed over eyes looking in my direction. I tilted my head at him, silently beckoning him to join me. He only shook his in response, shaggy brown locks swaying back and forth. I sighed, frowning at his action. I turned to the group, clasping my hands in front of me.

“Everyone, this will just be a second if you’ll excuse me.”

With a raised eyebrow from Hotchner and a jab in the direction of Spencer’s workspace, I swiftly walked out of the crowded room.

“Spence, care to join us?” I asked, resting one of my hands against my hip, the other on his orderly desk.

“No, I don’t think I will. I need to try to figure this out before she finds her next victim.”

“What makes you think the unsub is a she?” I searched his eyes that had seemingly become brighter at my piqued interest in his hypothesis.

“Well, the unsub seems to be obsessed with symmetry, all the bodies being found in obscure yet symmetrical positions. This could suggest she had some sort of deep rooted insecurity, possibly from some sort of bullying from growing up in a small town where she was looked at as a superior for subpar looks. She moved to the big city, expecting a big break. Instead she was shunned for being less than average. She grew frustrated and as a result, she began her killing spree. The stresser could have been one too many insults that made her snap. Plus, that would account for the butterflies left on the scenes that are used in modern examples of both femininity and symmetry.”

I smiled widely at his words.

“What- why are you smiling, what are you smiling at?”

I tapped his desk, rolling my bottom lip between my teeth. I headed back towards the conference room, looking over my shoulder.

“Because, I’m glad we’re on the same page, Dr.”

——————

“So, our girl, as Dr. Reid has explained to us, is obsessed with her appearance. She’s an organized killer, no mistakes and no signs of blood or anything of the sort on scene. She has practice, she does this sort of thing every day. She is most likely in the age group of 23-30, and has a job in the cosmetic industry, our guess is in plastic surgery. She probably volunteers weekends at local butterfly sanctuaries or zoos, finding comfort in their perfection that those in her life, or formerly in her life, cannot and could not provide.”

“Which would explain to her easy access to non-native species of the insects. She has an absolute infatuation with symmetry, which yet again, links the butterflies on the crime scene to her MO.”

Spencer and I were vividly explaining our shared theory to the team, as well as local law enforcement. He was excited by his discovery and the lead on the killer, and his energy was contagious.

“She kills without remorse and out of jealousy, picking victims who all have one thing in common.”

Spence pointed to all of the images pasted on the board in the center of the room, all of them split in half and reflected, creating a perfect mirrored portrait.

“They all have perfectly symmetrical faces, as well as strong jawlines and high cheekbones. As most of these victims are models or those searching to start a modeling career, we believe she is luring them in with a photographer trope, promising to make their dreams come true.”

I nodded, taking a moment to study Reid’s own sharp yet somehow soft features. I allowed my eyes to wander over his sunken in, kind, and curious eyes; his pillowy pink lips that are in dire need of some chapstick.

“Agent?”

I turned my head, snapped back to reality by Rossi calling my name.

I gave a tight and quick smile, returning to the topic at hand and tactics to catch the unsub. But of course not before Emily gave me a crooked smile, resulting in me rolling my eyes.

“Physically, she’s nothing special, most likely a mundane appearance or one with quite obvious surgical changes. No in between. Check all of the plastic surgeon offices in the area for both employees who fit our description, as well as a patient who has gotten any serious facial mod operations. Do the same for any weekend volunteers at local zoos and animal sanctuaries, specifically working with any insects.”

It was an NYPD officer then that spoke up this time, raising her hand briefly.

“But, you still haven’t mentioned how she’s killing them?”

“Hypnosis.” Reid and I both spoke at the same time. He looked to his black Converse, sliding his hands into his pockets. I observed the room and all of the skeptical faces filling it.

“Even if it may sound far fetched, we saw no signs of anything that indicated a struggle or even any marks or wounds. This led us to believe that some form of hypnosis was used to allow her an easy kill. This means extra caution will have to be taken when actually handling the unsub. Even though we’re positive she’s using hypnosis, which method she is using to actually kill them after the fact is what we’re unsure of.”

I turned to Spencer, handing off the explanation to him.

“We think that because of her whole thing with symmetry, she wouldn’t want to disturb the natural state of the victims and their faces, even if she would do the same to her own.”

“Which means?” JJ asked, her blue eyes slanted and glossed lips left ajar.

“It means that the unsub wouldn’t want to leave any large marks like stab or gunshot wounds.” I nodded at Prentiss, who had made the assumption, confirming she was correct.

“With her presumed background in plastic surgery, we believe she was able to make small incisions that made no visible scars. We’re having the coroner look back over the bodies as we speak.”

“She drains the body’s blood 97% of the way before closing the holes up. What she does with the blood, we don’t know. Another Eddie Mays, perhaps.”

I looked over to Spencer, raising my brows at his comparison. He was quick to defend himself, shaking his hands left to right and mouthing “No” while simultaneously shaking his head the same way, something he seemed to be doing often as of late.

After we had finished consulting with any officers who had remaining questions, we branched off to conduct our own routine investigations. We found that the only thing they all had in common apart from the symmetrical faces, is that they all had visited the Central Park Zoo in the 24 hours before they were killed. We received a phone call from Garcia not long after we put together those pieces, being alerted that there was one girl who had, in her words, “Hit every mark there was to hit, sunshine.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

“Her name is Alessia Copelas, she works weekdays as a surgeon's assistant at Premier Cosmetic, and weekends at Central Park Zoo from 4-8 p.m.”

I smiled at the new info from the blonde bombshell known as Penelope, turning to Reid who was still looking at me quizzically.

“Alright, thanks babes, you’re the best.” I spoke into the phone, a comical “Mwah!” made from either side as we hung up.

He shook his head, keeping the odd look on his face.

“I swear, you guys have a weirder relationship than her and Morgan.”

I laughed, sliding my phone into my back pocket.

“Oh, please, Spence.” I gingerly placed a hand on his cheek, patting it twice.

“You’re just jealous.” I made a pouty face, letting my hand linger before walking off. “Come on, we’re going on a field trip.”

“Where to?” He asked, gripping the door frame, using it as leverage to swing himself closer to me. He took long and quick strides, catching up to me in no time.

“You like animals, right?”

———————

4 Days Earlier, Central Park Zoo, New York

As soon as we entered the zoo, our ears were filled with the sounds of the loud screeches of birds and monkeys alike. Reid covered his ears, cringing and making his displeasure known with an “Ahh!”

I smiled at his geeky behavior, admiring the animals in the enclosures. I paid special attention to a particularly impressive species of tarantula, leaning down to admire them. A few moments later I looked to my left and saw Spencer doing the same thing.

“Did you know that arachnids have asthma which is why they don’t run for extended periods of time, similarly to cheetahs?”

“Yes I did.”

His face scrunched up in an adorable manner, causing an involuntary giggle to fall past my lips.

“Well did you know that-“

“Ma’am?”

I turned to see a young woman with flaming red hair and a freckled face smiling at me, her green collared uniform top complimenting her eyes of a different shade wonderfully.

“Oh, hi, I’m Agent Y/l/n and this is Dr. Reid, we’re with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI.”

Her expression shifted to a more confused one, her smile not leaving her face.

“What can I do for you two?”

“Is there an Alessia Copelas that works here, maybe volunteers on the weekends?” Spencer asked, his puppy dog eyes immediately warranting a response.

“Yeah, she volunteers here, she seems nice. Is she helping with an investigation?”

“Well we think that she may have some part in a series of murders.”

Her smile disappeared this time, turning into a cement frown as panic flooded her body.

“Oh God, was she- Is she a killer? Have I been working with a killer for all this time? I mean, I never had any shifts with her but from what I heard I thought she was so sweet-“

“Look,”

Reid glanced down to her name tag that read “Lillian” before meeting her eyes. His tongue darted out, licking his lips, a nervous habit of his I’d picked up on.

“Lillian, we aren’t sure if she’s the killer we just needed to get a feel on her and get some information regarding her personal life.”

She started frantically nodding her head, more trying to convince herself she was okay rather than ourselves. I looked over her shoulder at some exhibits, thinking to myself how this would end up being a waste of our time if this poor girl couldn’t get a grip on herself.

I was soon proven wrong when I looked over to see a young girl wearing an identical uniform to Lillian, probably somewhere between 23 and 24. She had untamed chocolate locks with bangs that stopped just above the shoulder, blemishes covering her T-Zone, and a rounded face to go with it.

The cherry on top? Under her arm she carried a small enclosure with what appeared to be amarynthis meneria, the same butterflies found on the victims.

I tapped Reid on the shoulder once as discreetly as possible, catching his attention. I heard him mutter a small “Oh God” before he told Lillian to walk away calmly and quickly. She ignored his request, turning to look at Alessia, letting out a blood curdling scream and sprinting the other direction.

“Shit.” I cursed, beginning to walk towards Alessia, Spencer by my side. I smiled at her, trying to appear friendly. Reid spoke up as we got closer.

“Hello, do you by any chance-“

wham!

“Spence!” I exclaimed, reaching down to help him up from where he had fallen from being whacked by the 4’2 pyscho that was Alessia Copelas.

“Did she get away?”

I turned to see her gone, the only sign she was even here being the forming bruise on the Dr’s face.

“Yeah. She did. I’m sorry, Reid, that was really stupid of me.” He shook his head, running his own hand over the raw skin.

“It’s fine, I would have done the same for you.” He looked up, and I wasn’t sure if it was my school-girl esque crush on him or the fact I just had another experience with a serial killer, but my heart was racing nonetheless.

————————

F.B.I. Field Office, New York, New York, 1 Day Earlier

The stress levels in the room were high.

Despite our best efforts, several more bodies had been found, New York’s narcissists were in a state of panic, and the spirits of the BAU were down to say the least.

“What? Are you kidding me?” I exclaimed, looking at Hotch in disbelief.

He rolled his chocolate eyes, fanning the folder containing the new information we had gathered on Alessia.

“I wish I was, Y/n. She’s off the grid completely, her apartment is empty, phone and credit cards have been deactivated, and the surgeon’s office hasn’t heard from her for 5 days. And the media has decided to give her the name ‘Butterfly Baron’, so she’s probably been fueled even further. We need a new lead before she strikes again.”

I scoffed, standing up and pushing my chair away.

“This is unbelievable. How many times do we have to reinforce the idea to local PD! Especially when the unsub is a self absorbed psycho, do not give them a name! God, I really cannot fathom this.”

I reached up, letting my hair down from where I had messily thrown it up upon my arrival to work that morning.

I stormed out of the room, my heels clicking behind me. I ignored Hotch’s calling of my name, making my way to the closest restroom.

I went in, locking the door behind him. I ran my hands through my roots, tugging just enough to where it hurt.

Turning the water to the left all the way, I splashed it from the stream leaving the faucet on to my face. I scratched my fingernails against the skin, wiping away the tears that had escaped.

“This is all your fault, y/n.” I whispered at myself in the mirror, doing my absolute best to engrain the message in my brain. I had my head hung in shame when a knock rang out.

“Y/n?”

It was Spencer. My mind started going a million miles a minute, thinking about why he could be there. With my voice raised a few octaves, I tried to scrape up a response.

“I’ll be out in a few, Spence.”

It was quiet for a split second, leaving me to foolishly dance around the idea that he had left me to wallow in my sorrowful thoughts.

“Y/n, Hotch wanted me to check on you. Are you ok?”

My heart slightly sank at the idea that he might’ve just come to check on me because he himself was worried. I discarded the thought, bringing myself back.

“Y/n can you please answer me? If you don’t open the door I’m gonna send in JJ or Emily.”

I sighed, wiping under my eyes where my mascara had smudged, begrudgingly walking over to the door. Just as my hand landed on the silver handle, his voice that was constantly playing in my head echoed out once more.

“Y/n, please? I need to know you’re okay. I’ll come in there myself.”

A soft smirk graced my face as I turned the handle to reveal a worried looking Spencer.

“Y/n, oh God, you had me worried.”

He was quiet when he spoke and his hair looked messy, like he had been running his slender fingers through it in a stress filled state.

I sniffled, attempting to still keep back tears that were still threatening to spill.

“I’m alright, Spencer. Really, I’m fine.”

He gave me a small smile, his eyes meeting my own.

“I know, it’s just that when I had my Diludad problem,” he hesitated.

“I would lock myself in bathrooms to shoot up, and I know you aren’t having a problem like that but I just was worried about you- what are you doing?”

I cut off his rambling by throwing my arms around his middle. He tensed, but quickly melted. He wrapped his strong arms around my shoulders and my waist, laying his head on mine.

“Y/n, I promise you, you’re doing your absolute best to stop Alessia. We wouldn’t even be where we are right now if you hadn’t made the connections. Those deaths are not your fault.”

My tears finally began to cascade like a waterfall, staining his shirt.

“I know, but it’s just like it is all my fault! I could have paid closer attention, or-or, I could have went after her at the zoo, it’s all my fucking fault, Reid.”

I sobbed into his shirt, my hand gripping his shirt like my life depended on it. Like if I let go I would fall into a deep, deep, endless hole.

His hand on my waist moved up to cradle my head.

“It’s not, I promise you-“

He was cut off mid sentence by the ringing of his phone.

“I am so, so sorry-”

I pulled away, breifly touching under my nose with my wrist, then moving a hair behind my ear.

“Nope, it’s fine, don’t worry.” Our words almost had overlapped each other as we clambered to fight the tension that had risen. I closed my eyes, tilting my head up, thinking about how unprofessional yet intimate our previous position had been. How wrong, yet how right it felt.

I kept running the moment through my head, the feeling of his warm figure encasing mine on replay.

His phone call played as background noise to the film playing in my brain, his voice calming me to an extent.

“Yeah, we’re on our way. Thanks, Morgan.”

He closed the phone with a snap, also snapping me out of my trance, putting the movie on pause.

“They’ve got a hit. Copelas was seen dropping by her old apartment.”

And for the first time since that Goddamn case had started, I smiled genuinely.

“Let’s go get her.”

————————

15 Minutes Prior, Central Park, New York

“Hotch?”

“Yes?” He looked back from where he was driving, following our lead in a rushed manner.

“What will we do if she...” I trailed off.

“Hypnotizes one of us?” He finished for me. I nodded solemnly.

The look on his face was conflicted and it took him a moment to come up with a response.

“We kill her before we have to kill one of our team members.”

He saw a look of uncertainty on my face and spoke up once more.

“And that’s an order.”

I nodded again, making eye contact with him through the rear view mirror. I fell back into my seat, closing my eyes briefly.

After a few more minutes on the road, we had arrived.

The doors all slammed to the SUVs, one after the other as we stepped out.

“The letter said that she would be here, somewhere here.”

The voice of Morgan was channeling through my earpiece, referring to the letter found at her apartment that she had left just for us.

“We ordered evac on citizens, correct?”

The unsure voice of JJ was also heard through the earpiece, her uncertainty quite unusual to hear.

“Yes, it was the first thing we did, Jayj.”

I whispered, a sly smirk from Spencer forming at my behavior.  

“Oh shut up.”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

snap!

Our senses adapted, becoming dialed to 11 at the sound of a twig snapping under someone's feet.

“Was that you?” I mouthed to Spencer. He shook his head no and I silently cursed to whatever force was listening.

I nodded, which he then reciprocated, the pair of us slowly walking towards the source of the sound after he did.

“They’re going to remember me, I’ll go down in history.”

The voice was sing-songy and quiet, floating through the air. I took a shaky breath, continuing my steady pace.

My breathing momentarily halted soon after.

Different variations of “Oh my God”s, and loud gasps from almost everyone on the team flooded my ear canal at the horrifying sight in front of us.

Red. So much of it.

“Guys, I think we know what she’s been doing with the bodies’ blood.”

“No shit.” I muttered under my breath.

She was bathed in the blood, it looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

“Alright everyone, I want you to approach her as quietly as possible, Morgan, if you get the chance, corner her.”

Hotch’s voice was a stark contrast to her own, Derek’s response all the same.

—————————

Present Day, Central Park, New York

“But Agents, you still haven’t answered my question. They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

“Alessia Copeleas, FBI, come on, get up, lets go.”

Derek’s voice was stern, not asking, but demanding that Alessia come with us.

“I’m afraid I just can’t do that, Agents.”

She stood up abruptly, causing all of our weapons to rise. The sun reflected off of the silver metal of Reid’s gun, sparkling in a stunning way that caught me off guard.

We all were trying to act as if we were in total control of the situation, but we could tell that us nor Copelas really believed that. Her words were her weapon, and this was the one time where words could hurt, but sticks and stones had virtually no power.

“Take another step and we will have no hesitation to fire.”

She smirked, rolling her eyes.

“If you do, will I be famous you think? You think they’ll hear about me back home?”

Her curls softly blew in the wind, making her appear almost harmless, maybe even endearing, if it wasn’t for the hardening coat of human blood soaking her clothes and seeping from her skin.

“Is that what you want? The kids back home and everyone here to hear about you? You want ‘Butterfly Baron’ written on every billboard in Times Square, your picture painted in museums, films to be made in your honor?” Reid was the one who spoke up this time, his voice remaining strong. Her eyes shone with a sickening excitement at what he said.

“You want to be famous?”

She nodded vigorously.

“Too bad.”

My eyes widened, surprised at the detour the conversation had taken.

“What-what do you mean?”

“Please, the only thing people will hear about is a sad, boring little girl from a small town who killed to feel better about herself. They’ll forget about you in a week, who knows, maybe they’ll even grow an infatuation with your town, someone you went to school with may get as lucky as to catch their big break!” He laughed, while Alessia looked absolutely devastated.

“You? You’ll be a nobody.”

“That’s not true! I’ll go down in history, and they won’t! I’m the fucking butterfly baron for hells sake! All these people?” She gestured towards her field of bodies.

“You won’t remember their names, maybe not even their pretty faces, but me? I’ll live forever.”

Her nostrils flared and she strode over to Reid with purpose. The safety on my glock clicked off, but Spencer motioned for me to wait. So I did.

“You know, Agent-“

“It’s Doctor.”

This visibly agitated her even more as she started her sentence over again.

“Doctor, you have a beautiful bone structure. Absolutely perfect. Symmetrical, not to mention just flat out stunning.”

A glaze formed over Spencer’s honey eyes at her words. He lowered his gun momentarily before turning towards me, Copelas doing the same.

“And you, Agent. Wow. I feel like I’m in an art exhibit, you’re gorgeous. I think the Doctor man here would agree.”

As he lifted his revolver at me, the situation became all too real as I understood what was happening.

I either had to shoot the man that I was struggling to admit I was beginning to love, or died at the hands of the very same man.

Tears flooded my eyes, all safeties were turned down, and all guns were pointed at Reid.

“Spence, please.”

My voice was weak, something that seemed to bring Alessia lots of joy.

She laughed before talking again, commanding Spencer.

“Pathetic, really! Spence”, she mocked,“shoot her.”

“No!”

bang!

whack!

--------------------- 

Present Day, Somewhere In The Sky, The Jet

I opened my eyes from where I had been tackled to the ground by Hotch, surveying my surroundings to see Alessia laying on the grass, the source of her gunshot wound non-distinguishable from the previous blood on her body.

I looked to the right to see where Spencer had crumpled to, his frame bent in a discombobulated position.

“Spencer!” I cried out, crawling over to him like some sort of dog,

“What happened to him?”

“Y/n, he was going to shoot you-“

“I don’t care you should have let him!”

I cradled his head in my lap, allowing my pent up tears to fall.

“Y/n?”

My eyes snapped open for real this time, my mind calmed at the sight of Spencer sitting next to me on the couch, gently shaking my shoulder in an attempt to wake me from my nightmare.

“Spencer! Sorry, was I too loud?”

He chuckled, gesturing to the rest of the sleeping plane around us.

“You’re fine, I wasn’t sleeping, I decided to reread ‘Fahrenheit 451’ for nostalgia purposes. And you weren’t that loud, you just looked like you were having a bad dream.”

I chuckled at the not-so outlandish idea in an attempt to diminish it from his mind and move on.

“I’m fine. But fun fact, I did have nightmares after reading ‘The Veldt’. Seriously, I don’t get how you can just reread Bradbury’s stuff all the time.”

The genius scoffed, starting a rant on how Ray Bradbury’s storytelling was just classic literature and deserved to be reread, thus successfully changing the topic as I hoped my statement would. Although soon after, he caught on much quicker than I would have liked him to.

“And not to mention, The Veldt alone could be seen as a forewarning to the 21st century and beyond, even Bradbury himself supported that interpretation-‘

I gave him a tired smile, enjoying his rambling like I always did.

“-and you totally just got me to change the subject.”

“I was wondering when you were gonna catch up.”

“Hey!”

He laughed as I rested my head on my hand, trying to fall back asleep.

“Really, I can tell those nightmares are bad. What’s going on?” He questioned, his tone empathetic and compassionate.

“It’s nothing, Reid. I just keep seeing in the park, when Alessia got shot and you-you got hurt but instead of getting up like you did in real life, you just…”

I trailed off, not wanting to relive the negative dream any longer for fear of the tears that were pricking my eyes escaping.

“It’s okay, that didn’t happen, I’m right here.”

He pulled me into a hug, allowing me to bury my head in the crook of his neck, his warmth consuming me once more, a sequel to the film from earlier.

“I know, but what if it hadn’t?” I asked as I pulled away.

He shook his head, reaching for his wallet.

“In this job, this course of work, we can’t focus on ‘what if’s’. In this job, we also get nightmares, all of us. It happens.”

He slid a picture over to me, it was of a happy family. The edges were worn from years of being carried, but the picture seemed loved.

“Gideon gave me that when my nightmares started. He told me about how those families we save everyday, and how that’s what makes what we do worth it. And I know you didn’t know Gideon personally, or the work on the specific case with that family, but I want you to have it anyway-“

I cut him off by throwing my arms around his neck, attempting to speak despite being muffled by his fluffy sweater.

“Thank you, Spence. Truly.”

I smiled, and I imagined he was doing the same.

“No problem y/n. Anytime.”

I moved my legs over to be tucked underneath my arms, leaning into Reid. He wrapped his arm around me, also leaning in. We both managed to fall asleep for the remainder of the ride in our state of content, but not before he managed to sleepily call out my name.

“Y/n?”

“Yeah?”

“When we land do you wanna go on a date or somethin’?”

I smiled at him, separating from his form just long enough to see that beautiful face of his.

“Without a doubt.”

🂦∙🂦∙🂦

AHAHAHHAHAHAHA I’M WAY TOO HAPPY WITH THAT LMAOOO but anyway chile- 

i don’t have some long ass paragraph to write this time omg wig, i’m just proud asf of my work for once (except for the zoo part ngl kinda didn’t like it😳) 

😛✨vibes✨ love u, xx hj

[sapphire-writing]

In the Woods pt. 1

Title: In the Woods pt. 1

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: wanted to kill you, def going to be a good s/o, mediocre writing

Shortly after the other park tower had signed off, you got a call. It was a man who had gone camping and gotten chased off away from his stuff by something. What it was, the man didn't say and that left curiosity burning in your mind. It wasn’t unusual for people to call the tower at night but you decided that just in case it would be best to have him go to the other tower. You didn’t want to end up with a creepy man stuck in this tiny room with you for hours.

You took the radio and walked over to the large map that was pinned to the corkboard on the north wall. You glanced up at the window above the door to your right and a shiver went down your spine. Chased off the path by some mysterious creature sounded like something you didn’t want to deal with tonight. Actually you didn’t want to deal with it on any night but here you were hoping that this man had enough wits about him to make sure that he followed your directions.

It was actually a very simple park with enough land mark and trail markers for someone to follow. Thankfully this camper at least was somewhat prepared to be in the wild and had brought a compass. The glorified pond, that we called a lake, was directly north of my tower. There was even a path that looped around the lake and then branched off in the far north east corner of the map towards the other tower.

When the camper reached the split in the path that would lead him to you, you hesitated. Would he be okay by himself? Would he even be able to get into the other tower to hide? If it was a bear why was it still chasing him? Nothing seemed to make sense.

“Hurry up! I think it’s getting closer! If I get eaten by some creature on my vacation from work I swear-”

You clicked the button and interrupted him. “Continue straight ahead. That path with lead around the lake. I’m going to have you go to the empty park tower since someone will be showing up there sooner than someone will come here. You’ll be completely safe there.”

Mumbled curses came through the receiver. This man sure had a lot of opinions for someone who needed their life saved. If everyone in the world was as picky as this... the world would suck.

Suddenly a roar echoed through the forest and sent the man screaming through the speaker. You winced and put you hand as far away from you as you could. All you could hear was ragged breathing, snow crunching, and the wind howling. For what felt like hours but was only mere minutes, you listened to this camper run for his life from something that wasn’t human.

The corkboard above the bed was riddled with cut out news stories telling about the missing campers from over the years. All of the ones who were never found were labelled a bear attack. You tried to recall what a bear actually sounds like. Whatever it was it couldn’t be what you heard. What you heard was too... human almost.

“I think I lost it.” The radio crackled and gave static. “Lost... It?”

“I heard you the first time,” you said. “Where are you now? Can you see anything that I could perhaps see on the map?”

The camper took a deep breath. “I-I think I see a split up ahead. The lake is still visible too. Uh off to my left and that’s where the path goes. Towards the left.”

You stuck a tack into the map. He wasn’t too far from the other tower now. At least you didn’t think he would be. If he thought the path went towards the left than he should be almost there. The path would branch northeast and northwest leading to the other tower and the abandoned mine respectively.

Some part of you wondered if you should lead him to the tower. Whatever was out there clearly didn’t like him so what was the harm in letting the man get added to the board on the wall. It’s not like you knew him. It’s not like you weren’t risking yourself by letting him go to the other tower.

“I’m... Hungry.”

“What was that?” you asked. “I didn’t quite catch what you said.”

“I never said anything. Are you sure you shouldn’t get a different job?”

You hesitated before responding. “It was probably just the wind. Forget about it. Have you reached the fork in the path? If so you should take a right. That’ll bring you to the tower. Make sure you don’t take the left path.”

The camper paused. “Why shouldn’t I take the left?”

“That leads to the abandoned mine and I’m sure that that is a bad idea if you’re trying to hide from something.”

The rest of the time was spent in a stressed silence. Part of you wanted to try to see if you could see the camper from outside but another part of you didn’t want to face the cold of winter and whatever was out there. You had to trust that the camper was smart enough to get himself to the tower with what you’d told him.

The minutes seemed to drag on. Each second felt like a minute causing each minute to feel like an hour. Time was slowing down for just you leaving the rest of the world continuing to tick on in the same steady manner. You had to have hope that this would work out. The camper would reach the tower. He would be safe.

By the time the camper had reached the empty tower, it was already midnight. The soft red numbers let off an almost eerie glow in the still air of the tower. Everything around you was holding its breath as you listened to the creaking of the rickety stairs underneath the man’s feet.

A small sound of joy was heard from the speaker and the camper’s footsteps sped up. The door to the other tower gave an unhappy creak as it was ripped open and gave an even more unhappy sound as it was slammed shut and locked.

“I don’t think I’m safe here either. This place looks likes its one bad wind away from falling over. How do you expect me to stay here overnight?” He was scared and snapping at you. “This isn’t a funny joke! I need to know I’m not alone out here! I’m going to die in this miserable tower all alone in these stupid woods!”

You rolled your eyes. “Obviously you aren’t alone but if it makes you feel better I guess I can turn the floodlights on for a second. Would that make you feel better, sir?”

 “Y-yeah. I guess that thing just is really getting to me. Turing on the lights would be a help. Can you play like a radio or something too? The scratching on the door is sending a chill up my spine like nothing ever has.”

You pulled on your extra coat and opened the door. Snow was once again settling on the deck that wrapped around the tower. Rubbing your hands together, you flipped on the flood lights. After a second of the light filling the forest, you turned them off and headed back inside.

The camper thanked you over the radio. “I owe you my life. That thing even left so maybe I can get some sleep.”

All you did was sigh before telling him that someone would be there in five hours. It was the only thing you could do now. The man was in the other tower, he was no longer being pestered by whatever chased him through the forest.

Just moments later, the sound of something scraping against the metal door interrupted your thoughts. Two red, glowing eyes peered in at you through the window above the door. A shiver went down your spine as you realized that whatever had been after the camper was now at your door.

Despite yourself, you moved closer. There were no horrid scratching sounds from the other side. Just an eerie red stare that seemed too intelligent for any common creature that would go after a human. You knew as soon as you heard the roar the first time. This was way more that a bear.

You ripped open the door causing the cold air of the winter night blow in. Despite the fear and dread in your stomach, you grabbed the clawed and furry hand of the creature.. You tugged whatever it was in and slammed the door shut. You knew that with that move you had sealed your fate for better or for worse.

You dropped the creature’s hand, or maybe it was really a paw, and backed away. The desk was now bare since the winter wind had kicked everything onto the floor. As you proceeded to sweep up the papers that were now on the floor, the monster watched you curiously.

The garbled voice of the camper asked, "What are doing?"

You turned around in shock and ran a hand through your hair. "It's freezing outside. Aren't you cold? You should warm up."

Instead of answering, the creature stepped closer and peered down at you with glowing and curious, eyes. You smiled warily at it and set a pot on the hot plate. You tried to keep your eyes on the creature at all times as you set up two cups of tea. It wasn’t too hard to keep it in your sight though given that It appeared to take up at least a quarter of the space you were in.

You pushed a warm cup of steeping tea into the clawed hands startling the creature. Picking your own up and holding it in your hands, you looked down at the floor in shock. You were an idiot. An idiot who decides that monsters can be befriended and all you have to do is give them tea. At least you provided it with something to wash your body down with.

“What... are you doing?” The voice seemed to be farther from the camper’s own voice and more like your own. “I... kill.”

Your eyes once again met the creature’s before returning to the floor. You didn’t know how to answer that question. Part of you felt fear. Another part of you felt something deeper. Some sort of emotion that was warmer and kinder. It felt like sympathy.

Suddenly you picked up your lunch bag. “It was you who said you were hungry right? I can’t let you kill a camper, at least I couldn’t let you do it emotionally, but I made too much for lunch so you can have the rest. That way no one gets hurt. At least I hope no one does.”

"Honestly I think you're amazing. If you were the one chasing the camper them you move really fast and you're so tall and probably really strong," you spilled. "I just think that your probably better than most people."

The monster sat down on the bed and watched you bustle around the tower. You pulled out the extra blankets and put the papers where they should be. You could tell that it was watching you and you knew that your face was getting warm.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" you asked it. "I think I can probably find something in my lunch bag if you're hungry."

Once again a broken voice spoke, "Aren't you... afraid?"

You hesitated. “Honestly? I’m terrified. But really what’s the worst you’re going to do? I mean yeah dying sounds bad but at least I don’t have to be the weird person who moved here and now works in the forest all alone.”

The creature looked at you with what could’ve been pity before shoving your triple decker sandwich into its mouth. Sharp teeth tore through the sandwich as if it was paper and you felt a new surge of fear run through your veins. If it did that to a sandwich you didn’t want to know what it could do to people.

“Do you... need to sit?”

You glanced around the room for the chair but found it on the floor unable to be used. The only spot would be the bed that the creature had decided to use to fit easier in the room. The red eyes studied you for a moment before shift to perch on the very end of the bed.

“I-I suppose I do. It’s not every day I see someone like you.”

You sat down in silence as the creature raided your lunch. Your hands were shaking and you could feel the almost burning tea drip down the sides of your mug. Part of you wanted to move your hands, set down the mug, and blow on the spots but you were still scared.

“Burn.”

The creature grabbed your hand and looked at the bright red marks that the tea had left. Its eyes seemed to ponder what could’ve made the mark before reaching for your other hand.

“I’m fine! Its just the tea is still too warm. I must’ve made it too hot so be careful with yours.”

Silently, the creature pointed to the empty and discarded mug that was laying on the floor.

“Already had tea.”

With surprising delicacy, the creature took your tea from you and set it on the floor. It brought your hands to its face and gently licked the splotches of red that the tea had left you with. You were in shock and you couldn’t move. You felt like you couldn’t even breath.

“T-thanks. I guess it did hurt a bit.”

You turned your face away from the creature as your mind raced. Where did this kind of sweet and more gentle side come from? Was this really the same creature that had been chasing the camper? Why did your heart start beating faster?

“Must leave. Almost time.”

You felt your heart drop. “Will you come back? I’m usually all alone when I work and just having someone else there would be comforting I suppose. I could even bring you back something else that you’d like.”

Sharp claws gently traces the recent marks on your arms. Glowing eyes gazed at you with a sort of sadness that you didn’t think a dangerous creature could feel.

“Tomorrow,” it said before gesturing to the door.

Hesitantly you opened the door and the creature lumbered out leaving you with no food and a strange feeling in your chest.

This is actually based off the first horror game that I ever watched someone play. It wasn’t even a horror game but I was also in my monster lover phase and two years later I’m finally writing it. I’m actually pretty excited and can’t wait to have this bring me back into writing! Let me know if you want to be tagged!

~Love Sapphire

[spiced-ciderr]

Dearly Departed Chapter 1

"𝙳𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚢 𝚘 𝚞 ?"

Chapter 1

Falling down

She gasps, the springlocks closing around her body. The golden suit clenching tightly around her, beams impaling her legs and arms, as she becomes light-headed from the loss of blood. Her black hair, becoming mangled and coated with her own blood, her ocean blue eyes filled with fear as she attempted to struggle through the pain. Then, he laughed. He LAUGHED. William Afton, more commonly known as "The Springlock Killer". Infamously known for stuffing his victims into springlock suits at the most cursed restaurant in the entire United States, Freddy Fazbear's. The killer of her parents. The killer of her Sister. The killer of herself, she presumed. Oh, and uh, also her Uncle. Yup. What luck, right? Coming from an abusive family, she supposes that she shouldn't be that surprised. 'At least I'll finally be with my sister, although I don't think she'll be where I'm bound to go.' she thinks to herself. 'If this is how I die, so be it.' She felt her head become drowsy, the pain so great she eventually became numb to it. She didn't know how long she sat there, bleeding out a slow and painful death. Was she already dead? She didn't know. And after God only knows how long, she gave into the deep sleep waiting for her. And with that, Keyla Lynn was finally dead. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Falling. The first sensation she felt. Falling. Wind whipping at her hair, her stomach doing flips as she openly plummeted down to the ground below. Hitting said ground hard, she let out a grunt as she pushed herself up, opening her eyes. Grey, dirty concrete is what seemed to be below her. The stray pebbles felt rough on her palms--wait, her hands?! Swiftly sitting up, she examined her arms with a curious expression. First of all, she was pale. Sure, she'd already been quite pale, but God- Now she was almost white. Her fingers were a little longer, and her nails were also a deal longer, sharpening into points, as if she had claws. Her eyes trailed up to the rest of her lower body. She was wearing a black hoodie, with a pair of jeans and some torn sneakers. As she watched herself with curiosity, she noticed a dull, aching behind her. She stood up shakily, glancing behind her- WAS THAT A TAIL? Oh-oh no- She stiffly lifted a hand to her head, feeling for ears. Yup- They were there. Great. She sighed. Where the hell was she? Suddenly, something brushed up against her arm- Oop. Yup, she had wings as well. Dark, grey wings that were almost the size of her body. "Oh my god- please go away-" she asked half heartedly, not wanting to deal with this. Whatever happened to 'eternal peace' ? As if her words actually did something, her wings shimmered and sparkled, suddenly disappearing. Woah. Was she high- "Come back." Nothing happened. "Uh, wings appear!" she commanded. Still nothing. She imagined a vivid image in her mind, her wings repeating the same shimmery effect and reappearing. Opening her eyes, she noticed they had returned. Practicing this a few times, she eventually got the hang of it. Deciding to keep them hidden for now, she looked around at her surroundings, for the first time. Well, it was night. That's for sure. The sky was a deep, dark, blood red. In place of the moon, was a large pentagram, glowing softly. That confirmed it. She was in Hell. Well, shit. She seemed to be on some kind of sidewalk. Glancing around, a few other people--demons??--wandered the street. Picking up an abandoned knife on the sidewalk, she glanced around, scouting for any small or vulnerable demon. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well that was harder than expected. But damn--she got the money! Now all she needed to do was find somewhere to stay-

Scouting the forest that she'd brought her victim, she noticed a gleam in the distance. Making her way towards it, she found she had much more endurance then the average person. It was a small, secluded cabin, in the middle of the forest. Perfect. Now, she needed to--

Wait. What's this?

She picked up a small poster, having been stapled to a nearby tree. The picture showed a childlike drawing of a creature, large antlers and symbols floating all around it. 'Beware the Radio Demon' -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few months went by, and she settled into hell fairly good. She'd become rather powerful, become a feared demon in the small circle she lived in. She started to build a name for herself. Nightly. The Night Terror. Or, as lazy as it is, The Nightmare Demon. Nightly also discovered, she had a set of cat-like fangs. Yup, those came in handy a lot. She supposed it would still be a while before she became recognized by the overlords, though she didn't care a lot about that. There was one, however, she was interested in. 'The Witch' as she was called. She was one of the most powerful overlords, her power even rivalling the wicked Radio Demon. Curious, she was. Nightly had been wanted to see this..witch,, in person since she'd first heard about her. Her real name was never mentioned, though. Only the other overlords had known such. For if anyone was to know it, rumors were she could be summoned. Nightly scoffed at the rumors. Seems like hell was full of cowards. She was no coward, however. As she'd started to build her status, Nightly had also taken a large portion of 'territory' as the others called it. In reality, it was her own circle of three different cities. Not a lot, but it sure wasn't a little. She still had yet to go up against any overlord, but she could at least take Sir Pentious in a battle to the death. It wasn't until she'd actually met, said Radio Demon, that she realized this might be harder than she thought. -

She was walking down a familiar road, heading towards her home in the forest. She hated the route she was taking tonight, as The Radio Demon was on another one of his egotistical rampages throughout the town. Well, it was okay, since it would only be a little longer before this area would be hers. She sighed into the chilly night air, stuffing her hands into her hoodie pockets. Then, something happened.

She felt her ears flatten, a growl rumbling in her chest as her tail stood up straight. She could faintly hear the white noise of a radio out of tune behind her. Footsteps approaching. She shuddered as she felt the infamous static dancing on her skin. Turning around, her eyes widened into dinner plates as she confirmed who was following her. The Radio Demon. Standing tall, lurking over her, he chuckled darkly. Shadows extending out from behind him, closing off the path that she had just come from. "Now, what do we have here? A small, damsel in distress, up against the most feared dragon!" the radio host spoke ecstatically, as if broadcasting live. "Oh, what to do, what to do! Tell me, little doe, what shall you do?" he asked menacingly. Suddenly, large, shadowy tentacles emerged from the ground, capturing her legs and slamming her against a nearby building. Groaning, she got on her feet, spreading her wings and quickly flying off into the distance, escaping the powerful demon. - Yeah. That wasn't fun. she shuddered as she recalled the encounter. She'd become increasingly more powerful since, but she was still nowhere near overpowering the radio demon. She could, however, take on the smaller demons, like Sir P for example.

A few years had gone by. she'd adjusted to life in hell, and while she wasn't happy, no, but she was moderately okay. Walking down the street, she paused as she heard a local news station broadcasting a- wait, song? She watche curiously as the Princess of Hell, Charlie Magne, sang a song about...love? What? Oh. A Hotel for rehabilitating demons. Interesting. Free rent and food? Hell yeah! With that, she made her way to the designated, "Happy Hotel"

She paused, glancing up at the title. Wait, why does it say "Hazbin Hotel" instead?

[lov3nerdstuff]

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 4.8}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 4.6k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

______________________________

It was the middle of April when Robin finished the very last of Snape's book collection. The day she returned the very last book to him was both a sad and an exciting one, for Robin wasn't entirely sure what he would give her to do next. To her disappointment, he merely remarked that she had read everything he could give her at the present time, and then continued with his work as if it was nothing special. Maybe it wasn't… but somehow Robin had hoped for a little praise at least, if not a prospect of what to do next. Thus she stuck to doing class assignments and readings for a while (she managed half a week, which was already more than anticipated), until at last she just couldn't handle the lack of private studies anymore.

She had already finished most of the library books about potions, herbology, and magical creatures, which is why she decided to find a new topic to read up on rather than trying to find more books on the topics she already had studied profoundly. Thus she started reading all the books about the dark arts the library had to offer, but more out of interest in the mysteries that hid behind the generic title than out of preference for the correlating class. And really, it was a weirdly broad topic. Everything that wasn't allowed or was dangerous to use fell into this category, but more often than not Robin wondered why exactly something was considered 'forbidden' or at least unappreciated to use. Sure, most of the things described in her newest reads were potentially harmful for someone involved, but honestly, so were kitchen knives, or golf clubs, or cars. And nobody bothered forbidding them either.

That's the only revelation she's had by the time exams rolled around, and the exact point where she found herself stuck at now as she sat in the potions classroom like always, on a Friday evening in the second week of June. Not even a week before she would have to go back to her parents' house for the summer.

"Do you have a minute?" Robin asked as she looked over at Snape to her right with an inquiring expression. Some time in March she had started sitting at the side table next to his desk rather than at her usual seat in the students' rows when she came here for coffee and work at night. Admittedly, she'd occasionally been sitting there way before March already, whenever students were in the classroom for detention, but somehow after one particularly detention-heavy week in March, she hadn't bothered going back to her original seat, and he hadn't bothered asking her to. That's how she came to sit at the table next to his desk permanently now, in the evenings at least.

"Of course. I wanted to talk to you about a certain issue anyway, but feel free to start." He replied and closed the book he'd been reading for the last hour to meet Robin's gaze.

"You probably noticed that I've been reading up on the whole 'dark arts' thing over the last weeks, except for the week studying for my exams that is, and well… I just don't understand why there is such a thing as dark arts in the first place." Robin shrugged and closed her own book as well. "It's just more spells that happen to be a tad more dangerous than others. But the danger is just a potential, isn't it? I mean… the magic isn't good or bad in itself, it's the person using it who determines that. And calling it 'dark magic' is kind of taking the responsibility of making this choice from the witch or wizard who makes it."

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

"I mean…" She sighed and paused for a second to think of a good example. "Take a kitchen knife, for example. It's just a tool in itself, and only because some people use it to stab others doesn't make it inherently bad, nor do the people who use it to chop vegetables make it an inherently good thing. It has the potential to be both, and if one isn't aware of that, there always is a danger in its use."

"I agree."

"So why do we learn in school that there is good magic and bad magic? Why don't we learn to work with the responsibility of dealing with a neutral magic that leaves it entirely up to us how to use it?" That was the actual question Robin had been meaning to ask, but it had taken a while to find a way to phrase it.

"Because it is easier to keep people on a predetermined path if you map it out in front of them. Tell them what you think is good by giving them something that is bad in contrast, and the majority will let it guide them according to your very wish. That is how politics work, and as despicable as it is, the school is a political issue no matter what the headmaster says. Also, the dunderheads we teach couldn't deal with such a responsibility."

"That doesn't sound like an answer a professor would normally give." Robin smiled in amusement at his last comment.

"Your questions aren't something a student would normally ask." He returned with a shrug and an expression that made Robin chuckle.

"I guess you're right about that. And I do see your point. Thanks for the honest answer." She sighed and felt like he was probably right. What is taught and what isn't was all politics… and that meant it didn't always make sense. Huh, what a sad end for her private studies of the mysterious dark arts.

"Of course I'm honest with you, there would be no point in anything else."

"So… what issue did you want to talk about?" Robin inquired a few seconds later and tried not to showcase her curiosity all too much.

"There have been rumors for a while now…" He started, and Robin grew nervous immediately. Rumors were always bad, and somehow she always seemed to be entirely oblivious to them. Most of them at least.

"If it's that one that I failed transfiguration, that is entirely made up! I got an 'Exceeds Expectations' on this year's exam, and McGonagall was merely making a joke when she said she would give me a 'Dreadful' if I kept going over the maximum essay length!" Robin blurted out before Snape even had a chance to continue with what he meant to say.

"That is a rumor I have been entirely unaware of, but seeing as I know of your grades, it is also entirely irrelevant." He replied with a doubtful expression. "Is that the only rumor you have heard of?"

"Well, yeah…" Robin shrugged and looked down at her table as she bit her bottom lip. "Recently, yes." Maybe she shouldn't be so exclusively concerned about her own issues and actually start taking notice of the real world more often.

"There has been talk for a good two weeks about an unofficial end of term celebration. A party, hosted by a group of sixth years for the entire house and whoever is invited. Obviously the professors are not to know of this happening, but I like to pay attention to the ongoings within the student community. You don't happen to know anything more about the issue, do you?" His eyebrows rose in question, and for some reason Robin felt as if he seriously expected her to know what he was talking about.

A Slytherin party everyone was invited to… well, everyone except for Robin as it seemed. She didn't usually care about these things, but somehow it hurt a little nonetheless that absolutely nobody had bothered inviting her. Did her roommates know about this? Or were the first years generally excluded? She had absolutely no idea, she hadn't even heard of it at all. Hell, even Snape knew more about it than she did! A burning shame with a hollowing tail of pathetic sadness crept from the pit of her stomach up to her heart and wrapped it in a veil of unwanted shadows.

"I… didn't even know there was a party at all. This is the first time I hear about it." She finally managed to reply, but her voice was way too quiet for her own liking. Really, this shouldn't even be bothering her! "I would tell you if I knew anything about it, I promise. I'm sorry…"

For a moment, Snape actually looked fairly uncomfortable upon her words, and Robin wondered if she had said anything stupid yet again. But she had no idea what it could be, and therefore she simply looked down at her book in silence. She would like to help him, really… but there was little she could do now.

"Do you even speak to the people in your year at all?" He asked after a moment, honestly inquiring rather than scolding her.

"I do talk to Theresa usually…" Robin shrugged. "Only about class issues though. Some other people outside of my own house too. But the only students in Slytherins I talk to are Cas and Jorien, and while they're both extraordinarily bright and truly lovely girls, they're far from being familiars to me. Maybe they know more about the party than I do though. I could ask them, if you would like."

"There will be no need for that. I was hoping you knew about it, but otherwise I have no intention to intervene."

"You don't?" Robin looked up with a frown. "But aren't they breaking a bunch of rules?"

"I would assume so. However as long as they stay within the castle and do not wander… I usually ignore occurrences like this."

"Why?"

"Because there isn't even half a week of term left, and I would rather spend that in peace and quiet than with fifty students in detention. As long as they do not cause or suffer any harm, I let them proceed and get it over with."

"Then why did you ask me about it in the first place?"

"I was wondering what kept you from attending, seeing as you still were here and not on your way. And I was curious about the specifics of the event, which I unfortunately have not had the luck to overhear."

"Even if I had known about this stupid party, I probably wouldn't have gone anyway." Robin shrugged with a badly feigned indifference. "I'm no fan of those events, nor would I have been appreciated there as it seems."

"Then why does it upset you that you were previously unaware of it?"

"I'm not upset." Robin shot right back, but upon his 'who are you kidding' expression, she rolled her eyes and gave a truthful response. "I mean… yes, I'm inattentive to these things sometimes, as I don't particularly care about the students' world, but if even the professors know about this stupid party… I just can't imagine that I merely missed the talk about it, which obviously has been going on if you could overhear it. Which in return means that I was intentionally excluded. That's just… I don't know. I shouldn't be upset about it, I don't even like these people. It's unreasonable to be sad about it."

"Emotions usually are unreasonable." He mused in return and Robin found herself nodding on instinct. Emotions are unreasonable, but they are an unavoidable pain in the butt nonetheless.

"So… that party is tonight?" Robin asked then, for she didn't know what else to say.

"It should be happening right now, however I am unaware of the specific location. You are intelligent though, certainly you could find out where it takes place."

"Oh, I wasn't asking because of that. I know when I'm not welcome. And as I said, I don't care about parties. Or crowds. Or other people. I'm quite happy with the company I have." She stated and hoped that it wouldn't make him uncomfortable again, but he just listened to her words with the usual undivided attention, which brought a small smile to Robin's lips as she added, "The only thing I miss is the-..."

"Music?"

"Yes!" Her smile widened to a visible degree where it reached her eyes as well. "How did you know?"

He didn't reply, and only kept looking at Robin for a moment in silence accompanied by an expression of contemplation. Finally he turned away, and stood up. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Robin frowned as she complied though and followed Snape out of the classroom, which he locked behind them before heading down the hallway.

"You will see." Was the only and very much cryptic reply he gave, and somehow Robin didn't feel as much nervous about the situation as purely excited. She didn't bother hiding her smirk, and only ignored the renewing waves of pleasant tingles on her skin as she followed him up the stairs and through the empty castle.

They passed by any location Robin could've imagined Snape to lead her to, and only moved from one story up to the next until they arrived on the seventh floor. What the hell was he up to? Robin didn't have an inkling, and only grew even more confused when he told her to stay standing in the middle of a random crossing of hallways. But she obeyed without questioning him (he wouldn't have given an answer anyway) and stood frozen to the spot as she watched with a humored frown on her face how he paced up and down the hallway in front of her. Upon her chuckles however, she received a small glare that made her bite the insides of her cheeks to keep from straight out laughing. Whatever he was doing, it was both irritating and amusing.

Both sentiments faded from Robin's mind in a moment's notice however once a large door started materializing in the very wall she stood facing. It was almost as large as the one leading to the great hall, but undoubtedly more ornamented, and Robin's lips parted as she stared at the unusual occurrence in awe.

"After you." He said in manner that for him was unusually smug, and Robin's heart skipped a beat as she moved to open the door indeed.

What lay beyond it was undoubtedly the most peculiar and yet the most fascinating thing she had ever seen. A room larger than she could fathom currently, larger than she ever would've imagined to be found inside this castle, filled with mountains upon mountains of various objects stacked upon each other in complete randomness. The things found in here were absolutely overwhelming in their incredible amount and diversity, and Robin didn't even know where to look first as she stood helplessly frozen in the doorway. It was rather overwhelming indeed.

"Welcome to the room of requirement, or in this instance, the room of hidden things." Snape said in a more quiet tone now, as he steered Robin further into the room by her shoulders so that he could close the door behind them.

"What on earth is this?" Robin wondered as she let her eyes travel over the mountains of objects. There was one of everything in existence in here, she was absolutely sure of that. Maybe she was just dreaming all of this. She didn't care to wake up though.

"A mystery, and a secret. The room of requirement is a peculiar piece of magic, as it turns into whatever someone needs the most in the instant. It can be made to appear in the way you just witnessed, by having a clear picture of what it is one needs in mind. The room of hidden things is one of the countless forms the room of requirement can take on, and it has been used to hide and store any kind of thing for centuries."

"It's absolutely incredible, it's…" Robin replied quietly, too awestruck to even bother hiding the sentiment, and finally unfroze enough to saunter through the mountains of things. "Something so entirely impossible that it just has to exist."

"Indeed. It is almost impossible to find by accident, and the vast majority of people is unaware of the existence of this room in the first place. I would like for it to remain that way."

"I won't lose a word about it. I promise." Robin finally could tear her eyes off the room to look at Snape once more. "Why did you bring me here though? If it's such a secret, why take the risk?"

"You are no risk, I am well aware of that." He replied easily, and Robin felt an immediate sense of pride in that. "I brought you here because in a place where there is everything, there is always what you are looking for."

Before Robin could ask what exactly he meant by that, he spoke a few more muttered words and then the deep silence of the huge hall was replaced by a crackle, and finally by the sound of music. Robin looked around to find a possible origin of it, but the source remained hidden from her sight. The sound alone sufficed to brighten her smile though, and she closed her eyes to simply listen in contentment. It had been so long since she had gotten to enjoy music without the disturbing sounds of people talking or dancing or moving… and music at Hogwarts generally was scarce anyway. So now, for a long while, she simply stood there in between the mountains of fascinating things with her eyes closed and let the sound wrap around her senses. She breathed in the music like the cold air of the night that didn't exist in here, for time wasn't a dimension of relevance in this place. Everything about this room was timeless, ancient and modern at once, and Robin felt like she had entered a different reality beyond the limits of imagination. An impossible reality indeed.

It was one of those rare moments where she felt flooded and filled up by an infinite number of highly intense emotions that blended together like colors to form a blinding white light. A moment where an unimaginable intensity of feeling didn't cause her to implode into darkness but to explode into blissful light. A moment she wouldn't forget. At last she opened her eyes again, and found that Snape was looking at her with a doubtful expression yet again.

"What?" She asked with a smile, frowning at him in return.

"Are you alright?"

"Are you concerned?"

"Yes."

"Wow… good to know that me being happy is such a scary sight." Robin let out a laugh she couldn't help and shook her head to herself. "Sorry, sarcasm isn't an appropriate answer to honesty. I'm very alright, actually. As close to perfect as I could be, I believe. Thank you for that."

"Get over it already, will you... It was merely music and a dusty old room, hardly something to be so very delighted about."

"You cannot seriously deny that you did something nice by bringing me here. It's not even possible to deny!" Robin laughed again and didn't even care if he scolded her for it.

"I can try." He replied with a glare and a scowl, and Robin smiled to herself as she looked down at the ground in a defeat as feigned as his distaste. Maybe she should help him with the trying.

"So, if you didn't bring me here to be nice, what did you hope to find in here then? Maybe I could help looking for it." She suggested with an innocent smile she actually could convey for once, even if only due to the fact that she would seriously love to have a look around.

"I shall see to that myself. Go ahead and look around if you wish to though, but I ask you to be careful and not to touch anything. Many of the objects in here are more harmful than they look."

"Well, if something happens to me, you could just leave my body in here and nobody will ever find it. Problem solved." Robin shrugged with a nonchalant expression, but a smirk came onto her lips nonetheless as Snape rolled his eyes in return.

"If you keep sassing me, I might actually consider that." He replied and turned to walk off without another glance, and Robin's jaw dropped in sheer amusement. Then, with the biggest grin on her face, she went to take a look around at last.

… … …

It was after almost an hour of searching through stuff by herself that Robin found something that made her stop and stare. Not because it was particularly noticeable or interesting in itself, but because it existed in the first place. That was odd enough to give Robin some serious chills. Maybe she should tell Snape about it… or better yet, show him. Because nobody would believe it otherwise.

"Uh, professor?" She called into the open room in the hopes that he would hear her, wherever he might be. "I… found something you should take a look at."

"Is it urgent or merely interesting?" He asked from somewhere off to the left, and Robin thought for a second.

"Well, urgent is the wrong word, but I don't think I want to leave this room without you seeing this. It's… remarkable." She finally replied with an insecure frown to herself, and at the object in question.

"Could you be even more imprecise than that?" He sounded annoyed, but was getting closer at least.

"It's no threat, if that's what you mean. Just… eerie." She finished the statement in a tone too quiet to be heard far, but a mere few seconds later he was standing next to her already.

"Now, what is so remarkable that I needed to see it?" He sighed with a look at Robin instead of the pile she stood in front of, but his eyes followed her line of sight even before she could answer his question and he froze at the sight just like Robin had. "That… is remarkable indeed."

"Told you so." She replied before she could decide better not to, but he let it slip anyway.

What they were both looking at now was a large, framed, but unmoving portrait. A portrait of a young woman who looked exactly like Robin, only perhaps a few years older. But the similarity was undeniable.

"Did you touch it?"

"Of course not!" Robin protested immediately. "I actually do take advice when I deem it useful!"

"Did anything else happen that might be considered unusual?"

"No… I was just looking at all the things, and then I saw this. Nothing moved, or glowed, or changed or whatever it could have done. A perfectly ordinary painting." She shrugged and finally averted her eyes from the image.

"Perhaps it is only a coincidence. Over the course of the centuries there surely have been a few people who look like you." He tried to reason, but also didn't sound too convinced about what he was saying.

"That would explain the similarity between her and me. But then how do you explain this?" Robin asked quietly, and pulled her necklace with the locket on it over the collar of her shirt into the open. "Look what she's wearing around her neck… A different necklace, admittedly, but the locket is the very same as mine."

For another two seconds he inspected the painting, then stepped so close to Robin that he could take the small piece of jewelry out of her hand and study it with the same intense gaze. Bloody hell… she would've taken the necklace off if he had just given her a moment longer to do so. Instead, he now stood so close that every single sense of hers was heightened to the unbearable. Hopefully he couldn't hear the ridiculous pace of her heart as it almost leapt out of her chest with every beat… if he did, she might just have to blame it on her scary similarity to the painting.

Somehow, the more she tried to ignore these things, the feelings and tingles and thoughts, the stronger they came lashing back at her in the end. It really was unfair. She didn't want to like him so much… and she didn't want to enjoy it. Hopefully this stupid teenage-crush thing would be over soon; she's had enough after a full year of repressing it.

"You have had this for a while, haven't you?" He finally spoke up again before he looked Robin in the eye for a few silent seconds, then dropped the locket and took a few steps backwards.

"What?" Robin's mind was in a minor haze, and she needed a second to remember how to breathe. Gods, this was ridiculous. It was torture and bliss at the same time. Maybe she could blame it on hormones, or something likely unlikely.

"The locket has been in your possession for how long?" He repeated, but without the feigned annoyance Robin had expected.

"I… bought it in an antiquity shop in Diagon Alley during the Christmas break of my first year here. That would be three and a half years ago." She finally got her brain to work again, and shook the unnecessary feelings out of her otherwise functioning system.

"And you have been wearing it ever since?"

"Yes."

"Anything unusual?"

"No. Not at all. I put the same charm on it as on my backpack though, but it has never caused me any problems." Robin shrugged with a calm expression. "Do you think this portrait is anything more than just a big coincidence?"

"I have no idea. But I have seen coincidences far stranger than this one, so it is very much possible that it is nothing more."

"I mean… last year, when we made that potion to see which spells had affected me, there was no influence of another kind on me other than that prank thing, right? So this shouldn't be affecting me, seeing as I've had the locket for far longer than that."

"I hadn't considered that, but I do agree. Perhaps it is merely a coincidence. Still, I-..."

"You expect me to tell you immediately when or if something odd occurs." Robin added before he could.

"Indeed." He replied with a small glare in return, but Robin didn't let it fool her at all as they left the portrait where it was and made their way back towards the doorway back into the real world.

"Did you find what you were looking for, by the way? The reason we came here?" She asked with a new smile, looking up at Snape once they stepped through the doors and into the dark hallway.

For a moment he simply returned her gaze in silence, giving her one of those enigmatic looks that said everything and nothing at once, until he finally replied with words once they started making their way back towards the dungeons. "Yes, I believe I did."

And yet, he hadn't taken a single thing out of the room he hadn't brought there himself in the first place; it was only Robin, and the very smile on her lips.

______________________________

Tags:

@ayamenimthiriel @chibi-lioness @t-sunnyside @alex4555 @purpledragonturtles

General Tags:

@its-remy-not-ratatouille @wegingerangelica @dreary-skies-stuff @wiczer @lotus-eyedindiangoddess @theweirdlunatic @caretheunicorn @kthemarsian @lady-of-lies @strawberrysandcream @noplacelikehome77 @theoneanna @mishaandthebrits @i-am-a-mes @nonsensicalobsessions @exygon @hiddles-lobotomy @rjohnson1280 @annwhojumps @spookycatqueen @salempoe @headoverhiddleston @fanfiction-and-stress @createdfromblue @halszka-potter @thecreatiivecorner @themusingsofmany @kinghiddlestonanddixon @scorpionchild81 @crystal-28 @adefectivedetective @lokis-girl-in-mischief @booklover2929 @iamverity @lovesmesomehiddles @akk4rin @whitewolfandthefox @stuckupstucky @kassablanca13 @delightfulheartdream

[essays-for-breakfast]

Let the Time of Separation Disappear

Kiane Week Day One: Touch/Feel

This group thing was a terrible idea. The Seven Deadly Sins – more like the seven daily prayers King sent to the Sacred Tree to put an end to this madhouse. No matter how skilled the individual fighters might prove in combat – and King had his doubts about at least two of the four oddballs in this matter –, they would not function as a unit. The afternoons he spent trapped in the community quarters high up in Liones castle demonstrated this point with such emphasis, he might laugh. That is, if he hadn’t felt so miserable.

On the rare occasion that the Mage, Merlin, showed herself, she would levitate in a corner of the room, smile to herself, and watch the disaster unfold. She played the group without the need of a single word, and King did his utmost to turn invisible whenever she teleported into their midst. But the Captain, Meliodas, would always shatter his efforts by showering everyone on the team with a disgusting excess of liquor only humans could find amusing. 

And unfortunately, ‘everyone’ included King.

The third of the bunch, Gowther, did nothing much at all. He sat on the floor in his clunky armor, took away space, and sometimes speed through a book Merlin handed to him in about a minute. The mere thought of gluing his eyes onto a piece of manufactured wood filled with this many words gave King a headache.

And no, the alcohol was not responsible this time. Although the sight of Gowther’s untouched mug on the floor did produce a foul taste on his tongue. King hurried to open the nearest window, and swallowed a lungful of oxygen. A bit better. Even though the air circling around the human castle lacked the scents of nature, of conifers and pollen and grass heavy with morning dew.

“What’s the matter, King, you gotta throw up?”

King craned his neck to throw a death glare at the owner of the voice.

Ban was by far and away the worst. If a single human existed to whom King liked to demonstrate the deadly capabilities of his Sacred Treasure more than Aldrich, Ban would make for the ideal candidate. Careless, loud, rude, followed by the stench of alcohol wherever he went, and overall, the most human-like human King had had the displeasure to meet. The day he would fight alongside this man would without a doubt bring about the end of Britannia.

“I would have rather stayed in my cell,” King said with a pleading look in Meliodas’ direction.

“Too late. I got’cha out of there, so you owe me your eternal loyalty. Although I might free you from your debt if ya take another drink and relax. I’ve got good news this time.”

Gowther looked up from his book with a teeth-clattering shriek of his helmet. “Does this mean you have found one of our missing members?”

Meliodas grinned. “Bingo.”

“Nooo!” King buried his face between his hands. “Not another one. I won’t take another.”

The only hinderance that had so far saved him from the dreaded field missions as a special order of King Bartra’s Holy Knights with a special talent for lacking any resemblance of teamwork, had been their shortage of numbers. According to Bartra’s vision, seven knights would unite against an unnamed great threat. King’s lucky streak had not only pushed him into the spotlight as one of these seven, it had also chosen the worst people as his teammates. And he had little hope that the Sins of Envy and Pride would upset the trend once they showed up.

Meliodas wiggled an accusing finger in the air. “Now, now, King, you have to give her the opportunity to win you over. I met her by chance before she was sentenced. She’s a nice girl. And her grilled pork tastes far better than mine.”

“That’s a low standard to beat.” Ban robbed across the lavish carpet – the pelt of a white hound-like creature if King had to guess – and put an arm around the Captain’s neck. “I’ve never tasted worse food than yours!”

“Well, it’s not like cooking’s a revered skill where I come from.”

“To return to your complaint, King,” Merlin said while hiding her intentions behind the rim of her wine glass, “I believe our newcomer will surprise you. You might find that you share more than a few things with her.”

Aha. Another one of Merlin’s cryptic messages. Did the Captain carry with him a dictionary on the way she shared knowledge in singular puzzle pieces to understand her? And could King borrow such a dictionary?

“Let’s just get this over with,” he said with a sigh.

Meliodas clapped his hands together. “Great! But we gotta go out to the yard to meet her. She’s a little shy.”

With crossed arms, King floated behind the others through the great halls of the castle. Cold stone atop of more cold stone, decorated with stone ornaments. A handful of knights passed them on their way towards the yard and stared at the group with a mixture of curiosity and hostility. Many a hand wandered towards the hilt of a sword, mace, or spear. King could handle the glares, as a Fairy, he had earned a plethora of glances and hushed comments from his prison guards throughout the past two hundred years. His human form did little to divert suspicion, after all, he hobbled behind an armored colossus, a drunkard, and a blond child. But what unnerved King far more was the fact that he would soon have to collaborate with these human knights and fight their war. Last time he had been forced to kill, his hand hadn’t stopped trembling for days on end.

King bumped into Ban when the latter stopped dead on the doorstep towards the yard. The string of curses he planned to hurl at Ban died in his throat, suffocated by the sight of his newest teammate. She reached thirty feet above the cobblestone, her head blocked the sun, and she refused to dissolve after one, two, four hacked breaths that escaped King’s mouth like whimpers.

She hadn’t changed one bit. Of course, she had grown in these two hundred years, the shape of her body had become more defined with added curves, but she still wore her hair in pigtails, she still shuffled her right foot over the ground, and she still hid her face behind brown locks when none of the other Sins raised their voice to greet her.

Her eyes, a shade of violet more intense than any forget-me-not – the same.

Her hands, strong and dirt-stained and able to form clay into fantastical figures – the same.

Her voice when she mumbled a “Hi, guys” into her hair – the same.

The world turned upside down and shrunk, King’s vision and his sense of smell narrowed until no one but her existed, her and a cave and a field of flowers he had called home. She had survived – what had led her here? Did she remember? No, of course not, the spell King had woven had plucked every last hint of him from her memory. But she still stood here, presented to him as his teammate. They could spend their time together like they had used to – but they would fight in a war together. She might get hurt, she might be forced to kill, she might see the failure he was, a killer who didn’t hesitate to end his best friend’s life. Even if the universe had worked its magic to make her remember him… wouldn’t she hate him? For abandoning her?

Ban smacked his elbow into King’s ribs. “Will ya say hi to her already? Otherwise my feet are gonna freeze to the ground.”

What? Had any of them talked? Had Meliodas introduced her already? King turned towards the Captain for help, but he only offered a knowing grin that matched Merlin’s expression to a T.

She extended a hand towards King, the skin covered by tiny scars from a life in the wild. “The name’s Diane.”

“Harle- You can call me King.”

“Nice to meet you, King.” The smile she gifted him was ripped right out of his memories, untainted by the two hundred years of separation.

And when he placed a trembling hand against her outstretched finger, every moment that had withered and lost its gleam in the darkness of his prison cell returned to him, and they were kids again. The games of tag, the stories she told him, the anecdotes about plants he shared with her, the sound of her laugh, the smell of grilled pork, the warmth of her body next to him when they slept.

All of this and more overwhelmed King at the touch of Diane’s skin. The sweaty palm of his human form against the softness of her fingertip, so close that he felt the individual grooves and bumps of her skin.

His heart might have well run away and forgotten to beat when Diane leaned forward. “We wouldn’t happen to know each other, right? Something about you feels familiar… I can’t put my finger on it.”

“W-where could we have met?” King blinked against the sting in his eyes. Probably dust. Yeah, definitely dust. “I’m sure you’re imagining it. You can find a face like mine all around human towns, right Captain?”

“Sure, but most of those folks can’t fly.”

“I always wondered about this,” Ban said. “But I’ve had at least two… three… five bottles of ale, so I can’t trust me ears or my eyes anymore. Speaking of, with our sixth member tracked down, the evening calls for a celebration! Captain, you wouldn’t happen to have more of that Vanya Ale stocked somewhere?”

Meliodas grinned. “I’m one step ahead of you. You’ll join too, right Diane?”

“How could I decline when you’re the one asking?” Diane winked at the Captain, but by some miracle, her eyes found their way back to King. “Still, I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before. It’s like a memory from long ago I can’t quite reach.”

“Maybe it was a dream,” King said. “People can imagine the most wonderous things when they’re dreaming.”

But he remembered. He remembered all of it, all the moments, the conversations, and the quiet togetherness Diane had forgotten. And on this day and throughout the next five years King stayed beside her. He found excuses to touch her, hand her a drink, brush her arm when floating next to her, high-five her after a successful mission. Her skin against his skin for the briefest of moments.

So that at least one of them remembered.

[masked-buffoon]

Chapter 9: Scheming anew (Part 1)

Warnings: mention of drugs, murder

Author notes: I am back, with the ninth chapter! From now on, we will follow Ogawa as she makes her first steps in the world of light... I hope you’ll like it as much as when she was in the Port Mafia!

I tiredly stared at the cockroach climbing onto the cracked wall of the room, emotionless. I was getting used to such sight and these creatures no longer scared me anymore. Sometimes, in the depth of the night, a rat or two would even sneak out from their hideout and explore the place, looking for something to eat. It was of no use; I had no fridge and nothing comestible for them. The only thing I bought with the money I had saved from the Mafia was morphine. A lot of morphine, to relieve my headache and the pain in my body. Recently, my limbs had been constantly numb and aching, and my insides were not much better, often burning and churning, making me uncomfortable permanently. I looked away from the cockroach and buried my face in the dirty pillow, trying to get some rest. There was no helping it, my ability would end up killing me, anyway. All I could do was wait for the reaper to harvest my soul, in this poor excuse of a room I had found after leaving the comfortable place Odasaku had permitted me to have, in a poor hostel no one had ever heard about. Although I had left the Port Mafia full of hopes I could follow Dazai's traces and live in the world of light by his side, delusion had hit me hard, like a slap, and I had realised I would never physically be able to reach out to him. I was too tired to find a proper job, not to mention my lack of any qualification and diploma, and no one wanted to hire a pitiful and pathetic woman like me anyway. Reality was much harsher than the naive dreams my mind was still able to produce after all this time spent along horror and cruelty. I had promised the one who called himself my friend to warn him before I would give my last breath but... I had no way to contact him. The man had changed his phone number after leaving the organisation so no one would be able to contact him anymore. I did not even know where he worked, and even if I did find the infirmary where I had been treated, I could be turned down if he was not there. No, there was no way... I would close my eyes onto the world, alone and forsaken. At least, my rotten flesh could serve as a meal for the rats...

Nausea got the better of me and I had to stand up to drag myself toward the bathroom, where I could freely vomit any amount of blood my body desired to throw up in the toilets. I sighed, deeply, and closed my eyes for a moment, trying not to collapse on the dusty ground, shaking and weakened by both my ability and the terrible amount of morphine I took. I could no longer hold on, I did not remember having suffered so much... But since I had tasted sleep, I believed it was a logical outcome that my condition would worsen without it. I could never get up and run after him anymore... I no longer had the strength to do so.

Suddenly, noises erupted from the neighbouring room and I stopped moving to hear better. There seemed to be people struggling... Fighting, even... The Sweet Appeals could distinguish a female's thoughts, but she was not being raped... She was calling for help. There was a part of me, impulsive and healthy, which reacted immediately and moved my body toward my doorknob. Then, there was the other part, sick and fatigued, more careful, too, which warned me about the potential dangers I would encounter. After hesitating a minute, I decided to check on my neighbour and silently pulled out an unloaded gun in case I would need to defend myself. I did not have any bullets anymore, but the weapon could dissuade my opponents. I opened the door to the room next door and was encountered with a strong air stream coming from the window, left opened. And in front of it, a corpse. It belonged to a young woman, perhaps in her twenties, but as I turned on the light to examine it closely, I noticed there was absolutely no trace of the struggling I could have heard just a moment earlier. I frowned and put my gun back into its holster, kneeling down next to the victim. She was definitely dead, and I had not imagined the noises I had heard. It was also clear that the murderers, because they were several, had escaped through the window. The whole question now was to know how and why she had been killed. "How" would be easily solved by an autopsy. "Why" would require further investigation I could not do myself. I stood up and looked around for any hint as to who was after her. However...

"Hands up!! Now!!" A man shouted.

I turned around brusquely and met the barrel of a semi-automatic pistol — the model the state equipped policemen with. I bit my lower lip and raised my hands, defeated, and let myself be guided through the insalubrious corridors of the hostels, toward the entrance. Through the small opening of the main door, I could see the flashing lights of the red sirens and cursed myself for not hearing them come before. They sat me down and tied my hands behind my back. And they left me there.

I thought I would go mad without being able to move and shoot some morphine through my vessels. They had abandoned me there for several hours already, without even wondering if I was not a simple witness in the entire case. Moreover, who had warned them about this murder...? I had not, so perhaps the true culprits had deliberately sent the police there to provoke them. Unfortunately, curiosity had gotten me caught up in the case. The sun was slowly raising above the buildings of Yokohama and, at last, a man walked toward me. His serious face was framed by neatly tied blonde hair and a pair of glasses accentuated the severity of his look. I immediately knew he would be troubles when I saw him pull out a notebook where the word "ideal" was written on the cover. There were people who thought we, humans, could live respecting certain codes of morals in society. I was not one of them. I was nowhere near righteous, had discarded laws and ideals long ago and usually laughed at those idealistic ones who believed our world could be ruled by laws of decency. There was nothing such as decency. If this abstract concept truly existed, there would be no underground organisation nor people suffering unfairly across the world. No human could be disinterested enough not to give in to greed and power, which destroyed ideals. I stared at him, bothered.

"You..." He exhaled, readjusting his glasses "Don't give me that look."

"That look?" I cocked my head to the side "Which one would you prefer, then?"

"Ugh, a cocky criminal..."

"Ah." I clicked my tongue to correct him "Before you have any evidence of my crime, I am still a suspect, which is nowhere near a criminal. Besides, before you ask, I am innocent. I merely heard a noise coming from the room and thought I should take a look. A woman screaming in the night, you wouldn't keep sleeping tightly, would you?"

"How do you explain we found you near the corpse, then? People called the police and out of pure hazard you are the one we find? I can't believe it." He crossed his arms.

"The window was wide opened." I remembered "The ones you are looking for surely escaped from it. Not to mention they surely are the ones who called the police."

"Why would they do such a stupid thing? Why are you making excuses up to cover for —"

"Seriously, are you dumb? Or dense? Or both?" I groaned, annoyed "What are you, an inspector? If so, you can file your resignation letter...! You aren't worth the money you're paid to do your job...!"

"Outrageous words against an agent of the government..." He scribbled down a paper "Careful what you say, you're adding up to your case."

"Why, I don't care, since I'm innocent." I raised an eyebrow, discreetly tugging onto the restraints "Gather fingerprints if you need them. There won't be mine, neither on the window nor the corpse. But is your lab even able to produce useful clues?"

The man sighed heavily, massaging his forehead with a grimace of annoyance.

"Careful not to crunch your face up too much, inspector~" I chuckled "You don't want to have wrinkles in your twenties~"

"Eh...? Is that true...?"

The man was definitely dense. Or naive. The rope around my wrists loosened, and I decided to take this opportunity to escape, although this probably would bring me even more troubles. However, I could not afford to be accused of a crime I had not committed, and if I could find the true murderer, I would be able to clear myself off of any suspicion.

"Yeah...!" I nodded "Why don't you write it in your notebook...? That thing seems pretty important to you...! Now, 'frowning too much gives you wrinkles', write it down...!"

"Um... Frowning too much... Gives you —"

I hit him with the chair as he was not looking, knocking him down in the process.

[caught-in-a-seesaw-stigma]

Map of the Soul, Chapter One

For the @btswritingcafe​‘s Map of the Soul: 7 Workshop

Author’s Note: This story pulled me into long range territory, so I had to split it into 7 chapters to make it more manageable on Tumblr. Here is the first installment of this journey through the soul. I hope you like it!  

Pairings: OT7 x reader (kinda); Jungkook x reader

Series Summary: If you give a piece of yourself to everyone you love, at some point, there will be nothing left for yourself. While feeling lost and alone in your adult life, a strange box falls onto your head in your own closet, and you take an unexpected walk down memory lane wondering where everything went wrong.  Was it the romances that fizzled out, the friends & loved ones you left behind, the “what could’ve been” moments, the brush with Fate that never quite connected? Could the strange map you find have the answers you are looking for?  Determined to feel complete once again, you embark on a journey to reclaim the missing pieces of your soul.

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Smut

Word Count: 8K+

Warnings: NSFW 18+ cursing/profanity, alcohol consumption, sexual tension,  one night stand, sexual content, protected sex, oral sex (female receiving)

Chapter One: There’s Always Time for Euphoria

March 15th - 5:45pm

Done.

That was the singular thought pulsating in your brain as you parked the car. The day was only halfway over and you were way past the breaking point of your own sanity.

From the moment you’d stepped out of bed and into your urine soaked house slippers, you should’ve known that the day was going to be beyond disastrous. Even as you washed them in the tub and left them hanging to dry, you just knew the rest of the day would be a downhill slide.

You didn’t know why your dog Oberyn was upset, but apparently, it was enough to prompt his indiscretion on your only pair of house slippers. He’d even had the audacity to sit in his bed and glare at you while you hurled your anger and frustration at him as you got dressed for your day.

I don’t know what crawled up his butt this morning, but I hope he’s in a better mood. I’m in no condition to deal with his bullshit right now.

After almost tripping up the stairs to your apartment entrance and dropping your keys into the bushes on the way up, you finally made it across the threshold. You quickly changed out your work shoes for sneakers and got Oberyn ready for his walk. Fifteen minutes later, you were cleaning the bottom of your shoe after a happy little accident found your foot at the dog park. Oberyn seemed to smirk at your misfortune, but you couldn’t even muster the energy to care.

Once you both returned to the apartment, you put his harness and leash away and reached over to grab his after-walk treats. You noticed one was already out on top of the container and the morning’s havoc immediately made sense. Oberyn wagged his tail and waited patiently for his treats and a well deserved apology.

“I’m sorry, buddy,” you sighed, handing him both treats. “I didn’t realize I’d forgotten to give this to you.”

He accepted your apology and head pats, then happily grabbed both snacks and ran to eat them on his bed. You shook your head and smiled at the easily appeased creature.

If only everything worked like that. You get something you were missing and it suddenly solves all your problems. The Universe finally makes sense again. What a life!

You quickly changed into comfy clothes and collapsed unceremoniously onto the couch. The random assortment of unfortunate events of the day replayed like a blooper reel in your mind and you groaned at the stacks of embarrassment and humiliation you’d endured.

You’d locked yourself out of your office and the university maintenance guy took forever to unlock it for you, which made you late to your first class. You had to dismiss the class and reschedule the quiz since all the copies were sitting on your desk in your locked office.

You’d torn your favorite black slacks and had to patch them with bright green thread from your emergency sewing kit.

You’d sustained several injuries including three paper cuts, a stubbed toe, your knee knocking the underside of a table, and a staple stabbing underneath your fingernail.

You’d spilled coffee down the front of your blouse when a fly unexpectedly dove into your face.

You’d even lost one of your favorite earrings while taking off your scarf outside the Humanities building. It was now lost among the clumps of mud by the front door.

Why does the Universe hate me so much today?

RIIIIINNGGG!!

You swiveled your head over to your cell phone screeching at you from the side table. The comical picture of your mother flashing on the screen drew a groan of exasperation from your throat.

I can’t deal with her right now.

The phone ceased its machinations and you turned into the couch seeking an escape from the tragedies of the day.

RIIIIINNGGG!!

“Argh!” You wailed. “What could she possibly need from me right now?!”

After taking a deep breath, you picked up the offending device and swiped the screen to answer the call.

“Hello, mother,” you grumbled. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Oh, sweetheart,” she sighed. “Don’t talk to your mother like that. It’s undignified.”

“I apologize,” you corrected with fake cheerfulness. “Hi, Mommy! I missed the sound of your voice. How was your day?”

“We really need to work on your phone etiquette, honey,” your mother groaned. “You’ll never meet anyone with that attitude.”

“Yes, mother,” you replied snarkily. “My goal in life is to trap someone in my love nest with only my wit and wisdom as weapons.”

“Anyway,” she drawled. “The reason I’m calling is because I’m looking for something. Do you remember that stole you wore for your college graduation? The one your grandmother made?”

“Yeah, I remember,” you responded. “It has all the graduate names from our family embroidered on it. It’s in my memory box in the closet. Why?”

“Your cousin Sana is graduating from college in about a week,” she announced happily. “I need that stole so we can get it embroidered before the graduation ceremony. Can you overnight it to me, darling?”

You leaned back on the couch and released a sigh of defeat.

Of course other people are doing great things in their life. I’m the only dumbass stuck in a rut right now.

“I’ll dig it out of the closet and send it to you tomorrow,” you replied. “Let me know when and where the graduation will be so I can make plans to head down.”

“Splendid,” your mom chirped. “I’m sure everyone will be happy to see you. Get some rest, honey. You sound tired. Love you!”

Without giving you a chance to respond, your mom ended the call. You looked at the screen and rolled your eyes.

She gets what she needs and then she’s gone. Typical.

Knowing you would probably forget to do it later, you wandered over to your spare closet, grabbing the stepladder along the way.

Might as well get this over with.

You climbed up on the ladder and pulled on the chain for the light above your head. You couldn’t stifle the groan from escaping when you spied the piles of plastic containers and boxes on the upper shelf.

Why is my life such a hot mess?

You started pulling down boxes one by one to avoid an accidental avalanche. The collection of dust and crumpled cardboard left you sneezing and gagging on stuffy air and a faint smell of mothballs.

After clearing your throat and taking a sip of water, you looked up and spotted the box you’d been looking for.

Just one more box to move.

The box in question had shifted slightly and was wedged against the ceiling at an odd angle. Try as you might, you couldn’t get it to budge. With a huff of annoyance, you balanced yourself on the top of the stepladder and pushed up to get closer to the box. You heaved your palms against the side of the box and it gave away before you could regain your balance. You crashed into an uncomfortable heap on the floor and whined loudly as you felt the painful throb on your ankle.

After a quick assessment, you discover no other injuries except for a slightly swollen ankle and a sizable knot on the top of your head.

What the hell hit my head?

You glanced around and saw three different boxes scattered around you. One was the memory box you’d been trying to get, one was the previously wedged prisoner box, and the other was completely foreign. You stood up and walked over to lift it from among the clatter on the floor.

This isn’t mine. Is it?

You brushed off the subtle cobwebs and dust and revealed a collection of stickers and decals that were strikingly familiar. Most depicted the many fandoms you followed, but others appeared to be nothing more than artfully scribbled words in elegant script.

Time. Destiny. Passion. Happiness. Faith. Friendship. Love.

You turned the box over in your hands and furrowed your brows quizzically. You didn’t remember ever seeing the box before and it certainly wasn’t there when you originally packed the closet full of your crap.

A loud text message tone pulled you out of your reverie and you abandoned the box on the counter in search of your phone.

Ah yes, we have to keep the tradition going.

Your grandmother and her sentimentality were time consuming, but also adorable. She wanted to stress the importance of education in the family, but also find a way to keep everyone connected from generation to generation. It was her insistence that solidified this current graduation tradition.

You opened the memory box and lifted the neatly folded stole in its plastic bag and the small scrapbook decorated with graduation memorabilia. You took a moment to reminisce about your prior accomplishments and then placed the items on the counter. After cleaning up the mess on the floor and carefully returning everything to the closet, you limped over to the kitchen and poured yourself another glass of water.

On your third gulp, your eyes landed on the mysterious box again. It was no bigger than a shoe box, but was definitely sturdier. Curiosity got the better of you and you inspected it a little more closely.

There was a tarnished metal knob that needed to be turned in order to lift the lid. The glossy surface appeared to be varnished or glazed so that the stickers and words would remain fixed. There was no lock, so you decided to open it.

You didn’t know what to expect when you opened the lid, but it certainly wasn’t what you found.

Laying on top of a folded piece of paper were seven items: a rubber banana keychain, a cute little hamburger toy, a metallic purple kazoo, a gold sequined bow tie on an elastic band, a red beanie dragon plush, a spoon with a floral design, and a thin metal disc with an assortment of holes. You tentatively inspected each item and placed it on the counter.

What the hell is all this?

You lifted the folded paper out of the box and looked underneath. All that was left at the bottom of the box was a quote etched into the surface.

My life and yours are an equal sign, So my remedy is your remedy.

You read the phrase over a few times and couldn’t make sense of it. It seemed familiar, but you couldn’t place it. You turned the folded paper over in your hands a few times and then unfolded it. It’s a fairly large sheet and it resembled parchment. At first glance, the image on the paper looked like an intricate abstract drawing. There were large lines of ink brushed across in elaborate swirls resembling a disjointed heart.

The swirling lines were connected by smudges of charcoal across from blocks of text in colorful ink. There were seven smudges with lines of text to the left of each smudge. You couldn’t make sense of it, but there did seem to be some type of pattern implied. The lines flowed from left to right increasing in width and each successive line grew wider as it progressed to the other side of the page.

You studied the lightest portion of the drawing and read the lines of text next to this first smudge.

Were you wandering around Looking for an erased dream too? It’s different from the typical definition of destiny. Your pained eyes are looking at the same place as me. Won't you please stay in dreams?

The words were certainly poetic, but you didn’t understand their significance. You glanced at the other phrases and they seemed just as cryptic.

What the hell am I looking at? Why would something like this be in my closet?

You were too exhausted to think too much on it, so you shrugged your shoulders and folded the paper and placed it back in the box. You left everything else on the counter and decided that it was time for a shower and then bedtime. As you lay in bed, you exhaled heavily and focused on the hope that tomorrow would be better than today.

March 17th - St. Patrick’s Day - 4:27pm

Oh no...please don’t let her find me in here.

“Ok, no arguments,” Gina chirped in excitement as she pranced through your office door. “It’s time for green beer and dancing!”

Damn, she’s quick!

You lowered your head to your desk and groaned out slightly and silently scolded yourself for not leaving the office earlier to avoid her completely. It was much easier to avoid Gina if you were already out of the office, but once she had you cornered, it was almost impossible to tell her no. She was your favorite faculty member and the only person at work that you would consider hanging out with outside of the university.

Gina had been trying to get you to go out for months, and after a long week of midterm exams, you couldn’t find the energy to counter her offer. Besides, you were now, technically, on Spring Break.

“Come on, girl,” she pleaded. “You know I’m leaving for Acapulco the day after tomorrow with my sisters. If I can get you out of your stuffy apartment and into an Irish bar for a little St. Patty’s Day fun, then I can truly enjoy my vacation. You know how I worry about my work-bestie when I’m not around.”

She pouted at you and batted her long eyelashes, and you almost cackled at her adorable puppy dog look. You half expected her to start whining at you like Oberyn would when he wanted something. Maybe that image in your head that weakened your resolve against her proposal for a St. Patrick’s Day outing.

“Fine,” you acquiesced. “Where are we going, Gina?”

She squealed in excitement and twirled around with glee. You tried to resist the growing enthusiasm, but you quickly gave in with a sigh and a smile.

“Fine. Let me finish up here and we can go to my apartment,” you suggested. “I guess I’ll need you to help me pick out an outfit for tonight.”

Gina nodded happily and ran upstairs to collect her things. Once you finished packing everything away, she was hopping around in anticipation at your office door. Her bunny antics made you giggle.

Such funny friends I have.

March 17th - St. Patrick’s Day - 10:37pm

After a quick dinner of sushi, you were pushing your way through the crowded Irish bar back to the booth where Gina was entertaining her latest acquisition. The guy was certainly handsome, but he only had eyes for Gina. You had another set of drinks for the two of you, but upon discovering the entwined couple making out in the booth, you decided to retreat to give them some privacy.

Typical. She invites me out and then she ditches me for a pretty face.

You wandered back toward the bar and gazed at the writhing mass of bodies under the flashing lights on the dance floor. Desperate to lose yourself in the moment, you downed the two drinks and relished the flavor of Guiness and Bailey’s on your tongue.  If Gina was going to have fun, then so were you. You motioned the bartender over and ordered a Jameson & Ginger Ale.

“A whiskey girl, huh?” exclaimed a sultry voice behind you. “Much better than those Appletini chicks.”

Ah, yes, the pick up line. At least his voice is sexy. Let’s hope the rest of him matches.

You couldn’t decide whether to be amused or annoyed, so you decided to let his face make the decision for you. You turned around prepared to give him your best smirk, but lost your nerve once you saw who it was.

“Jungkook?” you replied in squeak. “What are you doing here?!”

Pure amusement filled his doe eyes and he huffed out a laugh. You were floored that your secret hopes of your mystery man being handsome were completely dashed. In fact, he didn’t just have a sexy voice, he was also drop dead gorgeous. You hadn’t seen Jeon Jungkook in almost 7 years, and he hadn’t aged a day. Back when you were both still working on your undergraduate degrees, you’d been his writing tutor on campus, spending countless hours pouring over research papers and essays that needed serious revision and editing.

So many late nights spent at each other’s apartments, so many long hours in the private study rooms, so many casual touches, missed opportunities, awkward moments, and those long nights alone in your bed where you wished his strong arms were holding you. There was no denying the sexual tension you’d felt back then, and there was certainly no denying it now.

Now, here he was leaning on the bar in his billowy shirt and dark ripped jeans looking like some kind of Greek god holding a glass of bourbon.  You quickly cleared the inebriation out of your brain and tried to appear sober and sane while you smoothed out your ruffled hair.

“So,” Jungkook smirked while pulling you closer. “I’m guessing you weren’t expecting to see me here, huh?”

“Ummm, no,” you admitted sheepishly. “I didn’t even know you were back in town. I haven’t seen you in years. What are you doing here?”

“I just took a job here,” Jungkook stated simply. “Just hanging out with my new coworkers for the night. I saw you and thought I’d say hi, but I wasn’t expecting you to look so enticing though. You’re not here with your boyfriend or husband, are you?”

“Is that your subtle way of asking if I’m still single?” you popped your eyebrow at him. “And enticing, really? Still trying to pick me up, Kookie?”

He smiled a bright bunny grin at his old nickname. You were the only one who would ever call him that and he would never admit just how much he loved it.

“Oh, did you want me to try?,” he continued while reaching up to run his hands up and down your arms. “Hmmmm, where should I begin, babygirl?”

He pulled his lip between his lips and shot you a smoldering look while flipping his hair slightly. You tried to look disinterested, but you lost your composure when he reached up to push a lock up hair behind your ear. Your breath caught in your throat as he moved in between your legs.  

“I mean it, you know?” Jungkook insisted while locking eyes with you. “You still look incredible.”

The bartender returned with your drink at that moment. Thankful for a little distraction, you lifted the glass of liquid courage to your lips. You swallowed a large gulp of swirling heady sweetness and smiled at Jungkook. He was watching you with stars in his eyes and you were enjoying every minute of it.

“So what are you doing these days, Kookie?” you asked, trying to shift his gaze elsewhere. “Are you still playing with your camera and crayons?”

Jungkook laughed and rolled his eyes at your insinuation. As an art major, Jungkook dabbled in several mediums including painting, sculpture, photography, graphic design, and drawing. The boy was insanely talented, so you were actually curious about where he’d ended up career-wise.

“I just took a job at an advertising agency,” he replied with a cocked eyebrow. “And no, I’m not playing with crayons, smartass. I’m their new Assistant Art Director, so I’m mostly working on graphic designs and managing their photography department.”

“Look at you,” you grinned. “Little Kookie all grown up and making big bucks as an actual adult.”

“I was always an adult,” he corrected. “Someone just always chose to treat me like a little kid.”

“Not always,” you shot back. “It’s not my fault you had a tendency to act like an idiot teenager sometimes.”

“Fair point,” he conceded. “But we all have to grow up sometimes, right? Except you, I guess. Looking at you, I could never guess that so much time has passed since I last saw you. You honestly look amazing.”

He leaned in and ran his nose along your neck up to your ear, inhaling deeply as he grazed your skin. He hummed happily as the intoxicating scent of your perfume hit his nostrils.

“You smell amazing too,” he sighed against your ear. “I bet you haven’t thought about me once since I last saw you.”

“Well, that’s a lie,” you smirked. “I’ve thought about you quite a lot actually. You, sir, are one of my big regrets from college.”

“Oh yeah?” Jungkook chuckled lightly while nipping at your earlobe. “Why is that, babygirl?”

You nearly purred at his touch and you hissed lightly when you felt Jungkook’s lips attached themselves to your neck.

“Oh, you’re such a fucking tease, Kookie.” you whined. “How am I supposed to think clearly when you’re doing that?”

“What?” he mused. “I’m not doing anything you don’t want me to, am I?”

You pushed on his chest slightly and he pulled away just enough to rub his nose along your own. You felt his breath ghost across your face and you allowed the smell of bourbon to mix in with his fresh scent.

“Kookie,” you sighed. “How much have you had to drink?”

He wrinkled his brow in confusion and stepped back to look at your face, searching for some explanation for your implied accusation. You weren’t trying to sound like you were chastising him for drinking, but you couldn’t shake the insecurity itching under your skin. It was entirely possible that Jungkook was just feeling a little tipsy from the evening and his familiarity with you was the cause of his brazen behavior. It wouldn’t be the first time, but you weren’t about to let a longtime crush be ruined because of a questionable drunken daze. Jungkook picked up on your train of thought and placed his drink on the bar.  

“I hope you’re not insinuating that I’m only hitting on you because I’ve been drinking,” he scowled. “You should know better than that. I’ve been hitting on you since before I was able to buy my own alcohol, remember?”

“Yeah,” you giggled. “I remember having to sneak you into a few clubs back in the day.”

“Exactly,” he bragged. “So don’t try to make it sound like I’m just some random drunken idiot trying to get into your pants. I’m the same Jungkook who would look down your shirt or pull you into his lap in the hopes of making out with you. I mean, I’m still trying to get into your pants, but at least it’s not something new.”

“Still, huh?” you prompted after downing the rest of your drink. “Well, it’s going to take more than a little flirting to get into my pants, Kookie. You want to dance? I want to see if you still got those sexy moves, Kookie.”

He giggled and then finished his own drink with haste. He grabbed your hand to help you off the barstool and you pulled him toward the chaotic dance floor.

You shook off your previous nerves and worked your way into the pulsating mass of dancers. The music was thumping out a steady bass line and you swayed your hips back and forth to the beat. You weren’t sure if Jungkook noticed your attempt at seduction, but within moments, a pair of strong hands attached themselves to your gyrating hips. Given your vaguely inebriated state, you had no problem relinquishing a little control to your sexy suitor.

You encouraged Jungkook’s boldness by pushing your ass back into his crotch, grinding onto his growing erection. He leaned into your body and pulled you closer.  His lips ghosted a kiss on your exposed shoulder and then nipped at your neck playfully. The pleased sigh that left your lips prompted a dark chuckle from him.

“So naughty,” he murmured into your ear. “If you keep on grinding onto my dick like that, I’ll have to take action, babygirl.”

You leaned your head back onto his shoulder and reached up to grip his wavy hair. He groaned softly as you tugged on the roots and his hips thrusted against your ass. You quickly calculated how long it had been since you’d had sex and decided that it was time to update your calendar.

“Oh yeah?” you taunted. “I’ll accept that challenge.”

You turned in his grasp and locked onto his lips with your own. He hesitated for a moment, but pushed back with his own lips in seconds. They were unbelievably soft and his fervent kisses ignited an inferno in your center. You decided to take it a bit further and you swiped your tongue across the seam of his lips. He moaned slightly in response and dove into your mouth with his own tongue. Once you bit down on his bottom lip, you both decided it was time to move to a more secure location.

He turned away from the crowd and pulled you behind him toward the bar. You both quickly closed out your tabs and made your way to the exit. Once you were both outside, you pounced on him and pushed him into the brick exterior, unable to contain your lust any longer. Jungkook appeared flustered by your eagerness and took a moment to gather his bearings.

“As much I would love to lose myself in this moment,” Jungkook huffed while pulling away from your hungry lips. “Maybe we should decide on a place with softer surfaces.”

You glanced at the vacant alleyway next to you and the brightly lit city street and frowned.

“Sorry,” you apologized. “Kinda forgot where I was for a second there.”

“Really?” Jungkook grinned and kissed your forehead. “You could’ve fooled me.”

“Let me call an Uber,” you volunteered. “My place isn’t too far from here.”

Once you were both in the Uber, you couldn’t stop touching and smiling at each other. The driver commented on the “happy couple,” and you didn’t have to heart to correct the old man.

Once you were both inside your apartment, Jungkook pushed you against your front door and started nipping lazily along your jaw.

Jungkook stroked his thumbs along your sides and leaned in to kiss your flushed cheeks. You sighed happily in response and ran your hands up his firm chest and rested them on his shoulders.

“Jungkook,” you began. “I didn’t think I’d ever run into you again. I haven’t seen you since my undergraduate graduation party.”

“I tried to see more of you that night,” Jungkook admitted while stroking your hair. “But someone disappeared in the middle of the party with their friend, Jimin.”

You flushed further at his words, remembering that night a little more clearly now that he’d brought it up. You and your former friend with benefits had indeed disappeared that night to have a little undergraduate graduation celebration of your own. By the time the two of you rejoined the party, Jungkook was long gone.

“Sorry about that,” you muttered. “I honestly didn’t think you’d be interested. You always had so many girls pining for you, I never thought you’d give me a second glance.”

“Are you kidding?” Jungkook scoffed. “I’ve wanted you since our first tutoring session. I could barely concentrate with you wearing that tank top and those little shorts. What kind of tutor shows up wearing something like that?”

“It was summer,” you countered. “It was over 100 degrees. What was I supposed to wear? A parka?”

You both giggled at that, and it broke the tension that was building since you recognized him. Feeling encouraged, you started lightly scratching his shoulders and chest, noting the stiff pebbles you grazed down the front of his shirt.

“So what now?” you asked. “Do we just keep reminiscing about old times until the sun comes up?”

You gently popped the top button from his shirt to reveal more of his deliciously tanned skin. Jungkook bit his lip and lifted an eyebrow suggestively.

“I think we’ve talked enough,” he grinned wickedly. “There are better ways to spend our time.”

Your eyes locked and you could almost feel the searing arousal growing between you. You gently pushed him away from you and then started walking toward your bedroom, tossing your shoes aside along the way. At the edge of the living room, you lifted your dress over your head and tossed it on the couch. Jungkook smirked and continued to unbutton his shirt while walking toward you. His taut muscles caused your thighs to clench in anticipation.

“Are you enjoying the view, baby?” Jungkook purred while looking you up and down. “I know I am.”

He unbuckled his belt and tugged at the buttons on his jeans. You stepped forward to help him, but got too caught up in touching his bare skin to be of any use. You pulled Jungkook’s lips to your own just as he leaned forward to pull his pants down. He was caught off balance, but quickly recovered after using his feet to pull the troublesome fabric from his legs.

After flinging his shirt behind him, you were both left in your underwear and no inch of exposed skin was left unexplored. Your dominant personalities were at war as you made your way down the hallway, and the aggression became tangible, especially after you practically slammed his back into the wall by your bedroom door. Jungkook squealed happily when you started climbing onto his chest and he reached down and pulled your legs up and around his waist.

Even though his hands were already busy holding you up, he still managed to slip a few fingers in between your legs from behind. The soaked fabric of your underwear pulled a sultry groan from his kiss bitten lips.

“Holy shit, baby,” he said in a breathy tone. “You’re so fucking wet already.”

You moaned softly into his ear as he trailed your arousal back and forth across your slit. He walked across the threshold of your bedroom door and sat down on the bed. You quickly pushed him on his back, but he sat back up and tried to still your frantic hands.

“Baby, baby,” he implored. “You can slow down a bit. I’m not going anywhere.”

“But,” you pouted. “You have no idea how many times I fantasized about this. I’m just excited that it’s actually happening.”

He reached up with one hand and unsnapped your bra with unbelievable precision. He smirked at your awed expression, tossed your bra to the floor, and then leaned up to kiss you sweetly.

“I feel the same way,” he confessed. “I just want to take my time with this. There’s no rush.”

Jungkook continued kissing along your jawline and proceeded to your neck. He pulled on your nipples slightly and then slipped his fingers around your waist to toy with the band of your underwear. You took a deep breath and smiled. Maybe you were a little eager, but it wasn’t often that a legit snack was delivered unto you by the Universe. The restraint was a real struggle.

Jungkook nipped at a sweet spot just below your ear and you hissed and clutched desperately at his back in response.

“Kookie,” you whined. “Don’t tease me.”

“Oh yeah?” he chuckled darkly. “I’d say you deserve a little payback for all the times you teased me, don’t you think?”

“What?” you scoffed. “When?”

Jungkook turned and tossed you onto the bed. He reached up and pulled your hands above your head and held them in place with one hand.

“Every time I saw you,” he reiterated while kissing down your chest. “Your flirty smiles, your sexy winks, your playful jokes, you sat in my lap on more than one occasion when we cuddled on the couch.”

“You never reacted to any of that,” you breathed out in a gasp. “I just assumed you wanted to be friends.”

“I didn’t want to assume anything either,” he admitted. “But I definitely wanted to be more than just friends.”

He leaned in and pulled you into another intoxicating kiss, and you leaned forward to slip your tongue into his mouth, needing to satiate your overwhelming lust. He pushed his own tongue against yours and then pulled away from your lips completely.

He smirked at your needy whine and trailed his free hand across your cheeks then down onto your breast. He leaned in to capture one nipple with his lips and stimulate the other with his fingers. You writhed in desperation, but he only hummed in response.

“Something wrong, babygirl?” He mused. “You seem a little agitated.”

“Gee,” you huffed. “I wonder why.”

Pure amusement played across Jungkook’s beautiful face as he released one nipple from his mouth with a loud popping sound. He licked the valley between your breasts and shifted his body between your legs. You could feel his thick clothed erection brushing across the top of your thighs. He leaned up to kiss your lips and lingered for a moment before releasing your hands.

“Keep your hands where they are, babygirl,” he instructed. “Don’t move them until I tell you to, ok?”

“What happens if I move them?” you challenged. “Will I get in trouble, Kookie?”

“Oh yeah,” he glared. “Big trouble.”

To send his comment further into your mind, Jungkook rubbed his girthy length gently across your clit and grinned wickedly as you moaned wantonly in response. He placed another kiss on your lips and began crawling down your torso. You released a flustered exhale and wiggled your hips beneath him in anticipation.

His hands continued to explore as he kissed a trail down your body. Jungkook paused and adjusted his position when he reached your dripping center. He nuzzled his nose into the thin fabric of your panties and gave the wet spot he found a lick.

Your hips tried to snap forward with the sensation, but Jungkook held you firmly in place. He slid your underwear down your legs and flung them on the floor with the other discarded articles of clothing. He then situated himself firmly between your legs and slid his strong arms under your thighs.

Intent on prolonging his sensual torture, Jungkook ran his tongue delicately along your juicy folds and the blew a cool stream of air onto your exposed nub. The sensation triggered a shiver to erupt across your skin, and you latched onto the pillow above you to anchor your hands in place. Before you could unleash another whine of displeasure, Jungkook dipped the tip of his tongue into your dripping center and swirled it to collect your juices. He released a satisfied hum when he swallowed and got his first real taste of you

“Oh, fuck me,” Jungkook groaned into your upper thigh. “Your pussy is delicious, baby. I may be down here for a while. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Ah,” you squeaked as he licked another stripe through your folds. “Go right ahead, Kookie. I won’t stop you.”

Jungkook nearly growled as he dove into your sopping wet slit, slurping up every drop of slick he could find. You moaned and twitched uncontrollably and he sent you into a tempest of pure pleasure. Every flick of his tongue, every bit of suction against your clit, and every grasp of Jungkook’s hands on your skin jolted your nerve endings into a full blown orgasm careening from your center and spreading all the way across your extremities. He was certainly taking his sweet time and enjoying every minute of it.

Once the climax shifted into overstimulation, you reached down and pulled on Jungkook’s hair and begged him to stop. The little bunny grin he flashed you was completely at odds with the sinful actions of his fingers in between your legs. He planted one last lingering kiss on your throbbing bundle of nerves and crawled off the bed.

You were about to protest his absence from the bed, but then he left you slack jawed when he pulled his boxer briefs off and kicked them aside. The sight of his quivering length made your mouth water, even more so when he gave it a few purposeful strokes. The swollen pink tip was already weeping with precum and you licked your lips, wondering about the taste.

“Ah, you can’t do that to me,” Jungkook blushed. “You’re looking at me like you want to eat me up.”

“Maybe I do,” you teased. “Can you blame me when you’re looking so damn tasty?”

Jungkook chuckled wickedly as he mounted the bed again and hovered over your tantalizing naked figure. He licked his lips, still tasting your essence on his tongue, and raked his eyes up and down your body.

“Are you ready for me, babygirl?” he mused. “Do you think you can take all of me?”

Glancing down at his sizable girth, you popped an eyebrow and tilted your head pensively. You reached over to your side table and opened a drawer to pull out a condom, handing it to Jungkook with a smile.

That’s a damn good question. Can I?

“I guess it’s time to find out,” you teased. “How long are you going to keep me waiting, Kookie?”

That was all the encouragement Jungkook needed to act upon his voracious hunger. He quickly rolled the condom onto his dick and leaned forward to give you a passionate kiss. He released your swollen lips and you gasped as you felt him rubbing his tip along your damp slit.

“I’ve been waiting for this for so long,” Jungkook murmured. “Just know that you’re in for a long night, baby. I’m not going to stop until we’ve made up for all that time we lost.”

With that being said, Jungkook plunged his throbbing cock into you and released a ravenous groan above you. You both remained still for a few moments and you squirmed in his hold hoping to increase the friction you craved. After the tension in Jungkook’s shoulders subsided, his hips burrowed deeper and deeper into your soaking heat. He relished the deluge of your juices dampening his thighs, the melodic moans of his name you uttered over and over again, and most of all, the profound elation of finally reaching the state of euphoria he’d been dreaming about since you were both in college.

The night raged on with your ardent love-making, and after hours of unbridled bliss, you were sprawled across Jungkook’s chest, buzzing with contentment. Both of your glistening chests heaved from exertion, but the fucked out looks on your faces didn’t reveal any hints of exhaustion.

“That was unbelievable, Kookie,” you panted. “Why didn’t we do that sooner?”

“Because we were both idiots?” Jungkook suggested. “Whatever it was, I’m glad we finally found the time to do it.”

He kissed the top of your head and smacked your ass playfully. You hissed at the contact and pursed your lips at him in a pout. He giggled at your cuteness and wrapped his arms around you.

“What was that for?” you whined. “You’re so mean, Kookie.”

“Hey,” he protested hotly. “I told you to keep your hands in place earlier, but you just had to pull on my hair. I owed you at least one good spank.”

“I think you spanked me enough tonight,” you replied cheekily. “Among other things.”

You both smiled at each other as you replayed the events of the evening in your minds. You leaned over to pull him into another lingering kiss. He chuckled and stopped you from deepening the kiss.

“We should probably clean up,” he argued. “We are a hot steaming mess right now.”

“Speak for yourself,” you shot back. “I’m not a mess.”

He lifted his eyebrows and then reached between your legs to drag his fingers across the stickiness clinging to your legs. You mewled in protest and shot him a dirty look for calling you out.

“Ok, fine,” you agreed. “I’m a mess, but so are you. How about a shower before I change the sheets?”

He nodded in agreement and helped you off the bed and into the bathroom. Your legs were still a little wobbly after so much physical activity.

It’s been a while since I put my thighs to good use.

The intimacy carried on in the shower, but neither of you had enough energy to initiate another round of passion. The most you were able to do was kiss each other lazily after helping each other clean up. After the shower, Jungkook was an absolute gentleman and helped you change your sheets.

“You don’t have to leave, you know,” you suggested. “You could just stay. It’s after 5am anyway.”

“I know,” he replied coolly while buttoning his shirt. “But I’m not really in the habit of staying the night.”

“Oh, really?” you teased while popping an eyebrow. “Then can I get you a drink before you leave?”

Jungkook smiled at your hospitality and nodded in response. You were quick to get him a glass of cold water and set it on the counter. A now fully dressed Jungkook walked over and pulled you into another kiss before grabbing the glass and taking a drink. You nuzzled against his chest and sighed. Jungkook set the glass aside, wrapped his arms around you, and kissed the top of your head sweetly.

“Hey,” he exclaimed suddenly. “Where did you find that?”

He reached over and picked up the banana keychain still sitting on your counter. You totally forgot about the small collection of random objects you found in the closet, but now that Jungkook was examining the keychain, your thoughts revisited the mysterious items once again.

“It was in a box I found in my closet,” you confirmed. “Why? Do you recognize that keychain?”

“Of course I do,” Jungkook murmured. “It’s mine, and it isn’t just a keychain, it’s a USB drive.”

He pulled the banana apart at the center and it revealed a USB connector bearing the lettering 512GB. Your jaw dropped at the sudden revelation.

“What the-” you queried. “Why would I have it?”

“Maybe I left it at your place or something?” Jungkook said. “But the point is, I looked everywhere for this thing. I have so many layouts and artwork on here, and this will be incredibly useful at my new job. You are literally saving me weeks of work with this thing.”

“You’re asking me to just give you this flash drive that I found in my apartment mixed in with my stuff?” you reasoned. “How do I know this is actually yours?”

“Because I recognized it,” Jungkook argued. “And I also knew what it was. You obviously didn’t.”

“Hmmmm,” you mused. “I don’t know. What’ll you give me in return?”

Jungkook patted himself down and reached into his pants pocket to pull out a green shamrock on a beaded necklace with the word “Lucky” emblazoned across the front. The look on his face gave off the impression that he was confused, but then it transformed into amusement. He grinned and flipped a switch on the button, causing it to erupt into a barrage of green LED lights.

“I will give you this limited edition, LED powered four leaf clover necklace,” Jungkook proposed. “It’s the perfect good luck charm, and so much better than a horseshoe or a rabbit’s foot. What do you say?”

You eyed the glowing button and burst into a giggle fit. Jungkook was presenting it to you as though it were some kind of grand prize on a game show.

“Where did you even get that?” you asked. “Do you just hide random holiday necklaces in your pants?”

“No,” Jungkook chuckled. “They gave it to me at the bar. I almost left it on the table, but I couldn’t put it down. When I saw you by the bartender, I guess I just put it in my pocket. It’s weird, I usually don’t keep stuff like this. But it’s yours, if you want it.”

“Well,” you grinned. “With a sales pitch like that, how can I resist?”

He joyfully handed you the flashy plastic bauble and pressed another delightful kiss on your lips. You set the shamrock necklace aside on the counter and wrapped your arms around Jungkook’s neck to continue pressing sweet kisses on his soft pink lips. Before things got too heated again, Jungkook pulled away and kissed your forehead. He exhaled a deep breath as you buried your face into his firm chest.

The night had been phenomenal and this thing between you and Jungkook was heating up so well. Maybe there was a possibility for more than just a one night stand? It was a risky proposal to bring up, but your history with Jungkook gave you a sliver of hope.

“So when do I get to see you again, Kookie?” you breathed out while looking up at him. “Now that you’re in town again, maybe we can see each other more often?”

“Uh, well,” Jungkook sighed nervously. “I’m not sure. I just started the job and I’m going to be pretty busy, so I’ll have to let you know.”

“Oh,” you replied while gently releasing your hold on him. “That’s fine, whatever.”

“Hey,” he began while pulling you back into his embrace. “It’s not what you’re thinking. I had an amazing time with you tonight, but I’m not sure I can give anything more than something casual. I wish I could give you more than that, but I’m not really in a good place for anything serious right now.”

You pouted slightly and nodded your head in understanding. Having been in that exact same head space before, you could understand his apprehension. There were easily five years between you and Jungkook, so it was natural that you would be at different places in your life. It would be unfair to expect more of him if he wasn’t ready for it yet.

“I understand,” you murmured knowingly. “I don’t want you to feel obligated or anything like that.”

“I’m sorry I can’t offer you more than that,” he admitted. “Believe me. If ever I’m ready for something long-term, I’m going to be looking for you.”

“If I’m still available,” you mocked him playfully. “You never know. Some other gorgeous man might snap me up before then.”

“Well,” he growled while sinking his hand into your hair. “If that’s the case, then he better be ten times better than me and willing to give you the world on a silver platter. You shouldn’t settle for anything less, babygirl. You deserve to be treated like the goddess you are.”

You rolled your eyes at him and pursed your lips. He shot you an adorable bunny smile and eagerly kissed your lips once again. He took a moment to brush his thumbs across the apples of your cheeks and then shook his head with a goofy smile.

“Ah, I better go,” he announced in a huff. “If I spend any more time here, I’ll never leave.”

“That isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” you shot back teasingly. “I’d definitely make it worth your while.”

“I know you would,” he snickered. “But I really do have a lot of work to do. I’m going to need the rest of the day to recover from tonight before I have to be at work on Monday. Someone gave me a hell of a workout.”

You winked at him and leaned up to kiss him once more before he pulled away toward the front door. You shared one last hug and kiss at the open door after exchanging phone numbers.

“Thank you again for giving this USB back to me.” he expressed with gratitude. “You have no idea how much time you’re going to save me. I’ll try to call you later this week. Maybe we can meet up and do something, if you’re not busy?”

“We’ll see,” you smirked. “I’ll let you know.”

Jungkook flicked your chin and shot you an impish grin. You watched him disappear behind the elevator doors before closing the door to your apartment. Once you were back in your kitchen, you sipped at the water you’d poured for Jungkook and looked at the scattered items on the counter. The absence of the banana keychain was noted, but the glowing shamrock was a welcome replacement. You decided to send Gina a little update before you went to bed.

You put your phone on the counter and let out a loud yawn, the evening and all of its activities finally catching up with you. The mess on the counter annoyed you, so you placed everything back in the box on top of the paper map and switched off the lights.

“I’ll take another look at this tomorrow,” you yawned. “Time for sleep.”

As you walked back to your room, you turned off all the lights and got settled into your comfy bed with fresh sheets. There was still a faint scent of Jungkook floating in the air and it calmed your senses. You started drifting off to Dreamland with visions of Jungkook prancing across your brain.

At least I can stop wondering about Jungkook and what might have been. I’d been obsessing over that for so long. Now, I can move on if I need to.

Reassuring visions danced across your brain and all of them resembled Jungkook. He kept tossing four leaf clovers at your feet, and you giggled in your sleep as he continued showering you in lucky charms.

Jungkook made a good point. Four leaf clovers were much better than other good luck charms. Your bunny boy bestowed a bounty of luck upon you, all while blessing you with a rabbit’s foot of his own.

Well maybe a few inches less than a foot, but size isn’t everything.

With a smile on your face and your heart full of possibilities, you coasted on fumes to the final mile into a deep sleep, knowing that tomorrow would be brighter without the added weight of your past insecurities pulling at your nerves.

It’s funny. I almost feel like I’ve regained something I didn’t know was missing. Maybe Oberyn is on to something after all. The Universe definitely makes more sense than it did yesterday.

That couldn’t just be a coincidence.

Could it?

Your mind continued its existential ramblings throughout the wonders of Dreamland, and in your kitchen, something inexplicable was happening. Only Oberyn was awake to witness the subtle purple glow and sparkle emanating from the counter top. It was over in a flash, but Oberyn still sniffed at the air in the kitchen trying to locate the origin of the unexplained phenomenon.

NEXT:

Chapter Two: Soulmates are a Forever Kind of Thing

MAP OF THE SOUL MASTERLIST

@caught-in-a-seesaw-stigma​‘s MASTERLIST

[magpiemorality]

The Thing In The Woods, Intruality pt.4

One Two Three Five

Ask and ye shall receive. Literally- if you even mention my aus in the asks you will probably get another chapter out of me pretty quick... 

Warnings: spooky Remus

***

“So, you have a Ucodo...” Remy said in the silence after they’d slammed the bedroom door shut. They’d somehow managed to wrestle the thing away and tangle it in a blanket, dragging Patton out of the room and closing the creature inside. It wasn’t silent for long, with whining and scratching and thumps soon coming from the other side, and really compared to the stifling nothingness Patton had been experiencing he was loathe to call anything silence again unless it really fit the bill. 

They looked at each other, leaning back against the wood and wincing as it shuddered with the force of the thing inside trying to escape. “A you-codo?” Patton asked, mouth clumsy around the unfamiliar word. Remy shook their head, and Patton noticed they’d lost their sunglasses in the tussle. They looked oddly naked without them. 

“Yeah a Ucodo. Unidentifiable creature of demonic origin. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of it, I made it up. But uh, more importantly- that’s a freakin’ mid-liminal creature in there, that’s like basically unheard of outside of very cursed places. They don’t just live in city apartments with cream walls, is what I’m saying. So how did you end up with one here?” They looked at Patton with sharp curiosity and he squirmed under their piercing gaze. He didn’t know what to say. He was more than a little distracted by the noises on the other side of the door, actually, and he didn’t have an answer that would satisfy the ghost (and monster? probably?) hunter. 

In the end he had to settle for a shrug. “I actually don’t know. The uh- the yuke... thingy, just started doing its stuff when I got back from vacation. I didn’t do anything um, supernatural to bring it here.” 

A particularly hard bang on the door made them both jump, but the movement inside went still and the creature just started make soft, oddly mournful sounds. Patton felt... a little bit guilty. And it seemed Remy could see his train of thought because they grabbed his arm before he could open his mouth to voice it, let alone move. “Do not open this door. It is a terrible idea! We don’t know what we’re dealing with or what it wants or why it’s here. Why don’t you go back to that vacation you mentioned?”

Patton sighed in frustration, dropping his head back against the door again and trying to tune out the sad dog-like noises spilling out from under the door. “Um, right. Well we just spent the weekend away in the nature park a few hours from here. In a cabin. It was pretty relaxing; nothing weird happened there. We did uh,” he frowned, rubbing the bridge of his nose under his glasses as he thought back. Remy shifted towards him in interest. 

“You did what?” They urged, excitement in their voice. 

“We broke down and had to stay the night in an abandoned cabin?”

Remy whooped. It clearly startled the creature as much as it startled Patton because it yelped and went briefly quiet before letting out a soft, wary coo and snuffling at the door. It was pretty loud actually, without that strange silencing effect, and Patton shuddered to think how closely he’d been living with it these past few days. “That’s it! Abandoned cabin? Um, perfect?! Freakin’ jackpot! It must have caught your scent and followed you. You probably didn’t notice it while you were in the other cabin because it’s quiet out there anyway, and things being moved wouldn’t have been that noticeable. But why you? And what does it want? Could it-”

“I think...” Patton interjected with a small frown. “I think it’s friendly.”

“What? No,” Remy scoffed. “That’s impossible. Didn’t you hear me? It’s a Ucodo. How could something like that be friendly?” 

“I don’t know but it hasn’t hurt me once, and if you’re right it’s been nearby for like, six days! All it’s done is make me miss my alarm a bunch of times and steal some peanut butter, I don’t- why would it wait this long to hurt me?”

The bedroom was quiet, but Patton got the distinct feeling that the creature was listening. Remy pursed their lips, but they seemed to be considering his suggestion at least. 

After a while they sighed. “Okay look, honestly I’ve never actually come across a real demon or Ucodo before. What you’re saying isn’t... it doesn’t not make sense. But this is the real world, Patton. You have a literal actual inhuman creature in your bedroom. Are you sure you want to risk opening this door?”

Blue eyes met brown, and even the creature waited for the answer. 

“... Yes. I’m sure. Open it up.”

[airtosted]

Just out of curiosity because your art is one of the most popular in the bitty tag-- what is the appeal of an "Edgy"? I only ever see them being mean and hurting people, it seems like they're sort of abusive. You seem to like them so I thought I'd ask.

First of all, thank you for asking nicely. Honestly, I got this question before and the persons asking weren’t very nice during the conversation, so it’s refreshing to see there’s still some civil and mature people out there. So yeah, thank you~

Secondly, I like Edgy because I find his character very intriguing and complex. I’ve seen around people posting their opinions or commenting on other people’s posts saying how they strongly dislike the Edgy bitty before, going as far as saying that they should be killed or burned because they’re nothing but abusive trash that only bites. Looking at it from those people’s perspective it does seem like the Edgy bitty is abusive and mean and uncapable of learning to behave good or having some manners and nothing more than just some wild animal or something.

But the thing is, that’s not how I see them. I see a creature, a small few inches skeletal creature, that has his own thoughts and feelings and wants to be loved and accepted, kind of like humans in a way. Lot of people see Bitties(and I don’t mean just Edgy, but all the other types as well) as a less intelligent creature or a “pet” cause of their size and their need to depend on humans for survival. They see a pet who they want to order around or control. Or as something they can use to earn money thru entertainment. But I see there’s more depth to them than that. Looking at all the things the bitties are capable of you can see that they’re capable of understanding and sympathizing with humans. I see them as creatures who are smarter(I’d go as far to say even ‘more human’) than any animal/pet. When I see Bitties I honestly think of a very little person who I could befriend if they were real and not just fictional characters. It’s just some would be easier to get closer to/along with than others.

To make it easier to understand what I’m trying to say I’ll compare them to a cat; some cats are more friendly in nature and don’t mind you getting close to it and touching/petting it, no matter if you own i or not, while others are more prone to bite you or scratch you if you try to approach them or pet them, but not to be mean, but because they feel scared, trapped or don’t trust people anymore due to past bad experiences.The first kind of cat reminds me of baby Blues. The last makes me think of Edgys which I’ll talk more below since your ask was about them not bitties in general.

Now that I covered my basic opinion of bitties, let’s talk about Edgys. You say edgy is mean and you know what there’s some truth there, he can be mean sometimes. But when he does that stop and think why he’s saying that. Usually people’s first thought is that he’s not trained good and needs to have that kind of talk/behavior punished(or worse, beaten) out of him. He’ll say you’re stupid or that he’ll kill you, but IMO he’s not saying that just for the lolz or because he’s stupid and doesn’t know such behavior isn’t socially acceptable, no, he's saying it because he’s scared. He’s trying to act tough to push people away in fear of being hurt or killed. So he insults and threatens you because he knows people don’t like that and there’s a big chance you’ll give up on your attempts and walk away. Sure he could teleport away, but bitties can’t use a lot of magic because it tires them out. The more magic they use and more often tires them out faster. And if they don’t have anything to eat to fill up those reserves back they’ll be weak. And a weak bitty could potentially be a dead bitty, as how Edgy would probably see it having his soul originate from his larger counterpart that lived in a kill or be killed kind of world. So teleporting away is out of the question or it wouldn’t help him much, and he can’t fight back(I like/support the headcanon(last paragraph of the backstory)) made by Poetax where she said that the bitties have some restrains regarding their magic), so what can he do? He curses up a storm and yells at you to back off, hoping his plan A works.

But let’s say the human isn’t listening and still tries to touch him or capture him. Proceeding like so he might go for plan B and now you’re entering the biting zone. Is biting someone considered nice behavior or fun? No. If you don’t listen to Edgy’s warning then there is a 100% chance he’s going to try to bite you. His bites the way I see it are a reaction to being small and being treated as someone small. He is anxious about being small and being controlled by those larger than him. Let’s be honest nobody would like that. Having someone huge like a giant compared to small you, with the possibility they might treat you like a marionette and/or hurt you just cause you are small and can’t fight back.... yeah, I don’t know about you but that’d make me very anxious and scared. So I see Edgy usually biting for two main reasons;

1) As a way to gain control of the situation he’s in. If people aren’t respecting his physical boundaries(which he let you know previously) then he’s going to bite you.

2) He bites as a source of his only power and influence. Because again he be a smol bean and yelling sometimes doesn’t work. But listen, I believe if Edgy feels comfortable and that he is in a place where he is respected/safe and doesn’t need to keep his guard up all the time around the person, he will respect the other person in return. Living with Edgy doesn’t have to be painful or full of constant biting, it just takes time and patience to earn his trust and show him you’re not going to hurt him. Basically if you guys are cool his biting will drop to 0, or at least will go from being painful and bloody to playful nipping.

But you also mentioned that you see him as abusive?? First I want to say I don’t support abusive behavior or abusive manipulating people. I know sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference, believe me, it took ME almost 13 years to learn it. But an abusive person and hmm let’s say a person with anger or anxiety issues(mixed with lack of trust in people) are two different things. An abusive/manipulating person will appear nice in public to trick others into believing they are this person they appear to be, and they are controlling their emotions and/or situation while doing so. They’re master actors to put it simply. Since Edgy is based of his larger counterpart his anger issues are mellowed down a bit(at least how I see him) so he is more grumpy than angry IMO, but his larger counterpart(who is actually Poe’s UF Sans named Red from her story The Skeleton Games) WOULD fall into the category of someone with anger and anxiety issues. His bouts of rage and yelling are at the moment when they happen uncontrolled and results of his emotions taking over. He doesn’t know how to control his emotions or how to express them in a more easier less vocal way, but that’s not something he couldn’t learn(with a little bit of help from a professional ofc) over time. Red doesn’t pretend to be someone he isn’t, he has a basically ‘what you see is what you get buddy’ kind of attitude about himself. He is not trying to control anyone, he is just scared about dying or worse losing his bro, anxious when he’s around humans he doesn’t trust, angry at the world and humans cause they trapped his species under a mountain and all in all in general just a big huge depressed self hating mess. But he just needs someone to help him out. He needs someone to help him work out his anger issues and to let things go. He needs someone to help him get his HoPe back.....

And Edgy taking after him has similar like issues. He is scared of being hurt, anxious around humans who he doesn’t trust cause of many encounters with bad people in the past, angry at the world and humans cause they made him so small so they can boss him around and control him. In short, the way how I see him is that he is just a big tsundere character who’s been hurt, and wishes to be accepted and loved like the other bitties by a owner, who instead of judging him based on their first meeting will try to understand him and break down his walls. He needs a owner who can withstand the storm long enough to see his mask crack and they’ll see there is some goodness in his soul. Despite him being classified as a monster, Edgy isn’t a monster. That’s how I see him and that’s why I like him. To me he is more than just some abusive, mean bitty who likes to bite people all around. There, you have my answer...

Of course, you don’t have to agree with me on this. :) You are allowed to have your own opinion or to disagree with me. I just hope that reading this might help you see things from my perspective and help you understand my adoration for the little nibbler. Or just make you stop and think a bit more about the character and see that he could be a good companion/friend(see how I didn’t use the term pet, Edgy isn’t found of being called or considered that) if you give him a chance.

💀❤ If you have patience and a lot of understanding you might make a good friend for life who will be loyal to you as long as you never betray or abandon him. 

💀❤ He will protect/guard you from dangers, despite his small size. He will protect you because you are important to him.

💀❤ You’re his owner, the only owner who he trusts and loves(though he’ll never say it out loud) and he feels safe around you.

💀❤  He feels happy around you... He feels finally like he found his home...

💀❤  He feels finally like he is worth more than his EXP now that he has you...

[eternityunicorn]

When Death Meets Life - Part Five

Author: eternityunicorn 

Genre: Romance/Drama/AU

Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x OC

Warnings: Smut

Summary: AU - Set in TO Season 3 and Season 5 - Elijah Mikaelson was a creature of death, an Original vampire designed to take life. One night, while searching for a missing Hayley, who was cursed to remain a wolf by Niklaus, he encounters a most wondrous creature, one opposite to himself. This being is a creature of life - a unicorn! He witnesses her breathing life back into a group of dead werewolves. He finds himself amazed by her, but then she vanishes like a dream. Who is she? Will he ever find out?

———————————————————————————————————

New Orleans - 2025

On the way to the Louisiana town, Eternity had requested that Klaus summon two people, one named Rebekah and the other Kol there. Elijah sensed those names were familiar to him, just like the hybrid they rode on a plane together with all the way back to the States and then climbed into an awaiting Ford Expedition. 

The amnesiac had a million questions he wanted to ask both his companions about who he was, but refrained. He wanted to see the world he had come from with his own eyes first, before asking anything that might influence his choice as to whether or not he should return to his old life.

Klaus hadn’t seem very keen on conversing anyway. He remained quiet and seemed worried the whole trip. Eternity has tried to comfort him, but the hybrid had continued to be skeptical of her abilities to help him. He must have been the type to need to see things with his own eyes,

Before long, they were all standing in the inner courtyard of the Abattoir with a tall blonde coming to meet them. The storm caused by the two men’s close proximity, as well as the whispers and the painful tugging had been kept to a dull roar with Eternity’s powers. The new familiar face was named Freya Mikaelson, a witch who turned out to be Niklaus’s and Elijah’s older sister. 

Immediately, the Mikaelson witch relayed that she had been trying to find Hayley, but had no luck in discovering her location. It was then that she had noticed the shimmering immortal and felt overwhelmed by her very presence there. The woman had tears in her eyes and nearly collapsed upon the concrete floor. 

“It’s you. I know you. Even if I were blind, I would know you - the goddess from beyond the stars and the spirit of the forest. I saw you once, long ago, but I thought you were just a dream,” Freya rambled to the ethereal beauty, then breathed a sigh of relief, before collecting herself to more casually say, “Nik, told me that you’re here to stop the Hollow.”

“She’s also here to help find and save Hayley,” Klaus piped up. “That takes priority, Sister.”

“Actually, eradicating the Hollow is first on the agenda,” Eternity corrected him. “I do not wish to waste my energy continuing to keep that evil from tearing this city apart. Where are your other siblings, Nik?”

“We’re here,” called another female. 

Suddenly, two more people came forth, coming down from the upper levels of the house. One was another blonde woman and the other was a tall brunette man. These people must have been Rebekah and Kol. 

Again, Elijah felt that sensation of familiarity when faced with these other strangers, whom were supposedly his relatives, but couldn’t remember them. 

“Elijah,” Rebekah greeted him happily, surprised to see him. 

It was awkward to not remember one’s own siblings, but that was the reality he faced. He smiled politely at the blonde vampire, however it certainly wasn’t with the familiarity he was supposed to have. 

“Gather around Mikaelson siblings possessed by the Hollow,” Eternity announced to them all. “I will extract the demon that plagues you and this world, banishing it forever, so that once more your family can be whole.”

“And how do you plan on doing that, love,” Kol asked her, as each of them, including Elijah drew near her. “Not even the most powerful of witches, not even the Ancestors, could stop the Hollow.”

The ethereal beauty laughed lightly and then smirked at the tall man, “But I am not of this world. I am mightier than your mortal magic and mortal spirits of the afterworld, my dear Kol. I am strong enough to do what they could not. Now, come. It is time...to show you my wonders.”

Tentatively, the amnesiac vampire drew even closer and the other three did as well. They all came to stand on every side of her. Elijah stood in front of her, Niklaus in back of her, Kol to the left and Rebekah to the right. Each of them watched with curiosity and a bit of uncertainty as Eternity thrusted her hands outward on ether side of her. 

It was immediate when Elijah and the other three were forced to bend back with their arms straight out. A terrible pain filled the amnesiac vampire. It was an agonizing burning and an excruciating pulling feeling that left him unable to do anything. He couldn’t breathe or think. He only knew pain. 

However, it only last a second, before it was over and there was only a big blue light hanging over all their heads. Elijah only saw it for a moment, the pure form of the Hollow, before it suddenly and abruptly vanished as if it had never been there at all. 

The whole ordeal was rather anticlimactic in it’s quickness. The amnesiac vampire hadn’t known what to expect, but had thought there would have been more to the experience of the Hollow’s removal and it’s subsequent destruction. Yet, he found he was simply thankful that he no longer felt that horrible tugging or heard those bothersome whispers - and he never would again.

“Well, now that that’s been dealt with, can we please find and rescue my wife?” Klaus said to Eternity, as he regained his breath from having his piece of the Hollow ripped from him. “Hayley needs us.”

The immortal lady nodded, “Aye. Let’s go. I already have a fix on her.”

Elijah watched as the woman he loved more than anything move to leave him there with these familiar strangers. “Hey,” he pulled her back around, before she could get far. “I’ll go with you. Maybe I can help.”

Eternity smiled sweetly and nodded.

With that, the trio was off to rescue Klaus’s wife. 

It didn’t take long before they were just outside of New Orleans at an old, abandoned house called Shiloh Place. It was Eternity that had guided them there and quietly, they exited the hybrid’s Land Rover, proceeding forward with the cautious stealth of predators. 

As they approached the house, Elijah could hear conversations being carried out inside. A young boy and an older woman were arguing over killing Hayley. The boy didn’t want to hurt anybody, but this woman insisted that it needed to be done. They needed to move quickly or else their efforts would be meaningless. 

Klaus lead the way, kicking down the front door effortlessly and angrily shouting, “Greta!”

The younger Mikaelson charged inside with Elijah and Eternity following behind closely. They were just in time to see the hybrid attack and tear apart the older woman that had been heard arguing with a boy, of whom stood back with a look of terror upon his face. He thought he was going to die as well, the amnesiac vampire thought. 

Then their eyes locked and he couldn’t bring himself to punish one so young, though it was obvious he had been involved with the kidnapping. Instead, he quietly urged the boy to leave. He didn’t have to be told twice. He left the house immediately and didn’t look back.

Nearby was a familiar young woman, covered in dirt and dried blood, as she sat in the corner, appearing exhausted. The older Mikaelson turned his attention toward her, watching as his wife went to her, checking to make sure that she was alright. He went over as well, ready to help get Klaus’s wife out of harms way. 

“Who are you?” Hayley asked Eternity. 

“Someone who will reverse what has been done to you,” the ethereal beauty replied quickly. “They bound your werewolf side to kill you, didn’t they?”

The young woman nodded, “Yeah. How did you -?”

The powerful immortal laid her fingertips on Hayley’s forehead, which glowed bright blue and hummed for a brief moment. “There. Your hybrid status had been restored, my dear. Now, we should get out of here.”

“Yes, let’s,” Klaus agreed as he came over with a soft smile as he looked down at his restored wife. “This place is disgusting. No place for my lady.”

Hayley got to her feet quickly with a loving grin of her own as she ran into her husband’s arms, embracing him tightly. “Thank you for the timely rescue,” she murmured, before she kissed his lips.

Elijah watched the touching scene as it unfolded, feeling the loving effects of it urge him to wrap his arm around Eternity, pulling her into his side and resting his head against hers. She put her hand on his chest and kissed his cheek quickly, just as the pair of hybrids pulled apart.

“Hey, I noticed that the world isn’t on fire with the two of you together,” Hayley said, gesturing between the two Originals. “What’s up with that?”

“Well, you have my big brother’s wife to thank for that,” Klaus told her, nodding at Eternity.

The female hybrid blinked rabidly at the other couple. “Wife? You got married in amnesia land, Elijah? Sounds like you’ve lived a happy life,” she spoke to him, as if his amnesiac state was in the past.

“I’m still in amnesia land actually,” he replied with a polite smile. “I have no idea who you are, only that you are apparently part of a family I can’t remember either.”

“I see,” Hayley said awkwardly.

Her husband piped up then with gratitude on his tongue, “Elijah’s wife defeated the Hollow, freeing my siblings and I, as well as the world, of it’s wickedness. She even helped to locate you, darling. We owe her a great debt.”

Elijah took his wife’s hand in his, holding on tightly, as they looked at each other with pride. 

“Well, thank you...er...,” the female hybrid trailed off.

“I’m Eternity,” the shimmering woman introduced herself, “and you’re welcome.”

With the conversation coming to a close, the quartet made their way out. 

As they did, Klaus mentioned how Greta’s death wasn’t the end of their troubles - that there were others that would declare it war and come for them all. It worried Hayley and even Elijah, though he didn’t remember these people. 

Eternity, on the other hand, remained neutral. “I’m sure you can handle things, Nik. You are the big bad hybrid. These enemies are nothing you cannot handle.”

“Wait. You are incredibly powerful and yet, you’re not going to help?” Hayley asked her with a deep, confused frown, as she pulled everyone to a stop in the overgrown front yard.

The ethereal beauty looked at Elijah with a soft smile and shrugged slightly as she turned back to the other female, “I made a promise to my husband. What I do from here is completely up to him.”

The brunette’s frown only deepened, “What does that mean?”

“It means that if my brother so chooses, they will go back to their quiet little life in the French countryside,” Klaus answered. “He came with his wife, so that she could rid the world of the a Hollow and safe you from your death. Now that’s complete, Elijah gets to choose his path: to go and live as an amnesiac for the rest of his days or to remain here and return to his old existence.”

All eyes fell upon the older Original, who shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. He supposed he did have a rather large decision to make. He simply didn’t know which path to take. On one hand, he had enjoyed his life in the countryside, happily ever after with a wife he loved so completely he couldn’t imagine life without her. However, on the other hand, Elijah was also very drawn to these familiar strangers, these people he had once cared for so deeply. 

“Perhaps we will stay for a night or two, until my husband makes his choice,” Eternity suggested, seeing how torn he was over this most important decision that would define the rest of his immortal life. “Come. Let us return to the Mikaelson Compound.”

From there, the four of them did as Eternity had said and returned to the place that had once been Elijah’s home. Being in that place was like being trapped in a hazy dream, where things were familiar, but one couldn’t recall why. He found himself surrounded by ghosts of memories he couldn’t quite reach, that were on just the edge of his mind and wouldn’t come into focus.

It was maddening as it was intriguing. He wanted to remember, but that the same time, he didn’t. 

Then the Original found himself surrounded by a loving family, who celebrated the safe return of one of their own, as well as welcomed a new member in his wife. Seeing them all together, happy and full of love for each other, made his decision for him. 

Within a mere few hours of being back in New Orleans, Elijah pulled Eternity off to the side, during the celebration, and told her, “Sweetheart, I want you to give me back my memories.”

“Are you sure?” She immediately responded, knowing how much he had wanted to remain in France before. “Is this what you truly want?”

Without hesitation, he nodded, “Yes, I’m sure. I want this. I want to know.”

To Be Continued....

———————————————————————————————————

Tag List: @elejah-wonderland​ @inmylifeilovedthemall​ @dendrite-lover​ @missnmikealson​ @xanderling​ @esclisa​ @freshsuitcasewinnereagle​ @elizamonet​ @lalabluues​ 

[satbiym]

Chapter 1: Dragon Yuuri AU

The Last Dragon: Flight by satbiym

Word Count: 2.2K, Chapters: 1/?, Warnings: None 

Written for prompt 95 of @wewritevictuuri​ “There’s no going back if we do this.”

Summary:

Beware traveller, for here be dragons…”

I sure fucking hope so, Victor thought as he pushed open the door to the fenced off caves.

Upon being commissioned to make a serious documentary on dragons by a rich tycoon; famous scientist, Victor Nikiforov was determined to rise to challenge and overcome all barriers that stood in his way; even if one of those barriers was the fact that dragons didn’t technically exist.

A rumour of a so-called dragon skeleton has Victor rushing to film the results, only, the skeleton brings more questions than answers. Every scientist worth their salt knows not to bias their results with personal opinions, but...

Dragons aren’t real, right?

Although, the blue dragon in front of him is pretty convincing evidence to the contrary.

Continuation of a fic originally written for the @isekaiyoizine​

Read it on AO3 or below!

No creature above all others has haunted our imagination, on land and in the air, like the dragon.

Dragons have left their mark in the folklore of our ancestors, but what if these fantastic stories were more than myth?

What if the legends of these magnificent creatures were true…

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

The locals called Hasetsu 'inauspicious', steering clear of it and making sure it remained undisturbed by both man and machine. Unfortunately, the advent of progress and the greed of man waits for none, and eventually, eyes turned towards Hasetsu to satisfy the need for more, more, more.

They laughed off the warnings of the locals and dismissed their stories as ramblings of the uneducated, for who else would cite folklore as reason enough to throw away potentially millions of dollars in real estate?

Palms were greased, permits were signed and companies were hired to build the next iteration of the future.

The engineers responsible for construction expected to find only overgrown flora and fauna, something they knew how to handle. But what they didn't expect was to find themselves right in the middle of a centuries-old crime scene.

The Chief Engineer took off his hard-hat and resisted the urge to curse as the smell of vomit mixed with the already putrid smell of human remains. This project had just gotten a lot more complicated.

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

This is the story of a unique family that survived from the time of the dinosaur to make a final stand four hundred years ago, a scientific exploration of a remarkable species...

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

"Victor Nikiforov, you have been the face of Paleontology and are considered one of the most important scientists of this millenium. We are curious - what do you think about when you're in the field, trying to discover something?" The talk-show show asked, as the children around them, visible even though the bright stage lights, screamed their approval.

Victor smiled a bit and straightening his glasses, said, "To be honest, Ellen, I try not to predict what I might find as this might taint my results and may even make me unable to see what's right there in front of my eyes, simply because it didn't fit with my worldview. I prefer to choose science over emotions in that sense."

Ellen laughed, sounding delighted, and chimed, "There you have it, folks! From the mouth of one of the best scientists in recent history! Don't taint the results!"

"Well that, and remember kids, the only difference between science and messing around is..." Victor said, lilting and urging.

"Writing it down!" the audience shouted back.

"Beautiful!" Ellen said, miming wiping away a tear, "You are all wonderful scientists! And with that we take a break before we come back and Victor here will show us how to properly excavate during a dig and who knows what we'll find there..."

Victor kept smiling as commercials rolled and the makeup artist came over to refresh his look, silently handing over a tissue to Victor's murmured thanks.

"The lights, huh?"

Victor looked over at Ellen and huffed out a wry laugh, "Yeah, even after doing this for five years, my eyes still tear up."

Leaning forward, she said, "Well, despite them, you did a wonderful job today. But now that the cameras are off, I am curious about something…"

Forcing his smile from stilting, Victor quirked an eyebrow and gave her a nod to go ahead, affecting curiosity despite knowing the question.

"I guess, what I really want to know is - what can we expect next from Victor Nikiforov?" Ellen asked, unaware of the dread pooling in Victor's gut.

Victor hummed, as if considering the question, and with a tone that belied the reality that this very question had lead to many sleepless nights, said, "To be honest, I don't know myself. My field is highly dependent on nature, and nature is the most imaginative creator of them all. You could either try to constrain it by leasing it like a wild horse or make sure you've held on tight and enjoy the ride. Personally, I prefer allowing myself to be surprised. It's more fun that way."

"And make sure you don't fall off, yeah?" Ellen asked mischievously, shattering the ice around Victor's throat.

Victor laughed, and nodded, "Oh, yeah, that too."

Ellen shook her head, amused, "Ever the diplomat. Fine. Keep your secrets, Victor Nikiforov, I guess I'll just have to wait, like the rest, for your next act."

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

… This is the natural history of the most extraordinary creature that never existed.

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

Victor resisted the urge to fidget as the helicopter began its descent, he hadn't expected to wake up this morning to a message from the office of the CEO of Paladin Ventures requesting his presence at his earliest availability. Considering Paladin Ventures was responsible for his current multi-million dollar grant that enabled him to continue his research while maintaining his freedom from the leashes of academia…

Let's just say, Victor's earliest availability was suddenly a lot sooner than it had been yesterday.

And if the haste with which the helicopter had been sent over at his acquiescence, the media mogul who was responsible for more than half the world's research funding in areas like paleontology, history and restoration, was just as eager to meet him.

Victor could feel his stomach twist, a sensation that only visited him whenever he was on the cusp of something life-changing, he had a feeling that this meeting was going to be the answer he had been looking for.

"We're here, sir. The Paladin is waiting for you." The pilot said, pointing outside, where a seemingly ordinary man stood, smile visible even from the helicopter.

The man waved on seeing them, and ran towards them, opening the chopper's door before anyone else could and shouted over the noise of the blades.

"There you are, Victor! I have a mission for you and it's all our dreams come true!"

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

As a kid, I was mad about dragons;

Dragons from the high seas, flying dragons from Greenland, fire-breathing dragons from Europe and here's the thing that got me, these myths came from all over the world, right? From cultures that could never have met and yet from the Andes to the Himalayas you could hear stories of dragons and…

Here's a kid's best guess, the only way that's possible is if the stories were real.

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

Victor, seated in a helicopter for the second time in 24 hours, was still reeling from the information he had received, been commanded to verify and document.

They've found something, in Japan. Something the Japanese government is very hush-hush about, but I was able to finagle a first look at. Of course, if it turns out to be a hoax… but anyway! If it is what the rumours say it is… well then, it would all have been worth it. I need you to go and bring back all you find.

Victor closed his eyes, when he remembered the fanatic and helpless excitement on the Paladin's face, like this was the break he had been looking for.

But, empathy or not, Victor couldn't see how what the Paladin had told him could possibly be true. There was just no way that-

"Do you believe the story the Richie Rich's trying to sell us, Baldie?" a voice said, aggressive in intent and content.

Eyeing the pilot who was still focused on flying, thank god, Victor smiled and lightly said, "Nature isn't constrained by our imagination, Yura. Remember-"

"Yeah, yeah," Yuri asserted derisively before laying a hand on his chest and as if reciting an oft-repeated phrase, "Don't predict what you might find as this might taint the results yada, yada, yada. Yes. I've heard the press spiel, Victor, but you cannot tell me you seriously believe him?! All rich people have their eccentricities. His is just sending us on a pointless goose chase."

Victor laughed lightly, "Why Yura, I didn't know you watched my interviews!"

Despite the rage emanating from Yuri's silence, Victor, from the backseat, could see the way Yuri's ears went red.

"You - shut up! You're insufferable! And impossible to avoid, you're everywhere, it's disgusting!" Yuri spluttered, ears still a bright cherry red.

Victor opened his mouth to parry back, but was cut off by a curt sound from the pilot. They turned, only to see a barren wasteland that looked as though it had been abandoned in a hurry, greet them welcome.

They had, it appeared, arrived in Hasetsu.

And by the uniformed person waiting for them, they had a welcoming party.

Victor got off the helicopter, but the noise and wind weren't enough to block out the first words from the person outside's mouth.

"I don't know what you're expecting to find here Dr. Nikiforov, but this ain't like your usual kind of dig."

Victor smiled wanly as Yuri cursed lowly behind him as he carried the equipment out of the helicopter, and stepped forward to shake the uniformed policeman's hand, replying "Thank you for your concern, but there is always something that can be learnt from every experience. What happened exactly?"

The policeman just shook his head, gesturing toward them to follow him, said "Then I'm afraid, this is something you need to experience yourself to understand. I'm the Chief of Police around here, but even I haven't seen anything like this. Come on then, might as well get right to it."

Bemused, Victor followed along, with a grumbling Yuri behind him.

As they walked into the forest, the trees becoming denser and more untouched by the machinations of the contractors, the Chief explained, "We told the higher-ups that this forest was cursed. For centuries no one has ventured up here, and we were right not to! For look what they found!"

Yuri sighed irritably, "You're trying to tell me that some centuries-old human remains were enough to warn an entire village off of the forest? You've got to be kidding me."

Victor sent Yuri a warning look, as the Police Chief shuddered, "It wasn't the human remains that were the problem, young man."

"Eh?" Yuri said, forehead beaded with sweat from carrying around the equipment under the hot sun, but the Chief wasn't willing to answer any further questions.

They walked into a forest that seemed almost regal in its staid dignity, sun filtering through the trees and the chirping of the birds. If it wasn't for Yuri's continued grumbling, Victor would have thought he had entered a whole new world. They walked deeper until the light of the sun was almost blocked by the overarching trees, forcing Victor to rely on his torch.

The ruins emerged from the trees, tall and proud, despite the weight of the years and beseeching weather.

Even Yuri couldn't stifle a gasp as they walked towards the almost palatial dwelling that the ruins seemed to be built around, the stones in the path glittering.

"What-" Yuri started to ask, before he gasped, almost dropping the equipment he was carrying.

Victor was distantly aware of the Chief praying beside him, but even the proximity of the noise couldn't make him turn his eyes away from the scene in front of him.

Dark marks surrounded the center dwelling, across the glittering paths, burning its way through the tens of hundreds of fallen human bodies on the ground.

But, that wasn't what gave them all pause.

It wasn't the human remains that were the problem, young man.

"Is that - What are that those?!" Yuri shrieked as he pointed at the other remains strewn around the dwelling.

Victor had always believed that nature could not be predicted or contained, but even he couldn't believe the sight in front of him: skeletons with bone structures he had never seen before, with the smallest one towering over them, as tall as a skyscraper and just as slim.

Victor slowly set his bag down to investigate further, only to have his arm be grabbed by Yuri.

"What do you think you're doing?" Yuri exclaimed, eyes wide.

"What I was sent here to do, Yura." Victor said gently.

"No! This isn't your job, this is- is- something neither one of us signed on for! It's unnatural!" Yuri said shrilly, still staring at the skeletons with a frantic look in his eyes.

"Yura." Victor said simply.

At that, Yuri seemed to remember himself, eyes losing their bewilderment, but he still clutched Victor's arm tighter, unwilling to let go.

"Yura." Victor tried again, and said evenly, "We are scientists. It is our responsibility to make sense of the seemingly unnatural. Even if it means that our lives will never be the same again, we must move forward and tell the story that is true and not just the story we want to hear. Now, I am going to figure this out, I cannot promise what we'll find, but… if you want, you may take the helicopter back home if you so choose."

Yuri for the first time since they'd seen them, looked away from the skeletons, and back at Victor, studying his face for a moment before shaking his head and ruefully murmuring, "There's no going back if we do this, is there?"

Victor let his silence be Yuri's answer.

Yuri took a deep breath, released Victor's arm and with finality, nodded, "Alright then, let's see what we can dig up."

[gwenore]

The Cursed Book. Chapter 2.

Summary: When Belle finds a strange book in an abandoned library she has no idea what hell it would unleash upon the small town.

Note: So... I had to continue this. Manic demon Rumple was far too tempting. 

Belle ran all the way home, her heart racing so quickly that it felt like she wanted to throw up.

The book. She had to destroy it.

It was the only thing which could banish this creature back where it came from. It was the only thing which she could think about to right what she had done.

Of course she hadn’t meant to…

But the consequences… those would be the same. And they would be horrid.

Running inside her apartment she kicked off her heals and tossed her cloak off along with her purse, rushing into her bedroom where the book still laid on the floor by her bed where she had tossed it.

Grabbing it she rushed and grabbed her metal trash can from under her desk filled with paper. Pulling out a match she light it before dropping it into the pile of paper.

It did not light right away, but within seconds the flames started to flicker up and soon there was a decent size fire in the small metal container.

However just as she was going to drop the book into the flames when an hand wrapped around her wrist.

“Oh… I would not do that if I were you…”

The demon’s voice mused as he lifted her hand looking at the book with a raised brow.

Belle dropped the book staring at the demon in absolute fear. She never quite considered what the punishment would be if he caught her.

“I…” she protested, the demon simply letting out a low chuckle.

“Oh, I am just giving you a gentle warning. Just in your best interest. Also… I must confess, I did not take you for being a book burner. You seem to enjoy them so greatly,” he mentioned towards her bookcase, clearly just utterly amused.

“Though… from what I know… they could be a fancy type of burn fuel… though I mean… wood burns longer and I would assume it is cheaper,” he jested, however Belle’s face was plastered in on her face.

“Come on… that was funny,” he cocked his head, still grinning and showing his sharp teeth.

“You… you are not going to hurt me?” Belle whispered, feeling her heart beat so rapidly that her chest was aching.

“Hurt you, dearest? Oh, I would never do that, you freed me after all. If you wish so strongly to burn that book… I will not stand in your way. I simply warn you that it may not be in your best interest,” he released his grip, started to wander around, all the while his dark eyes moved over her body.

Belle slowly bent down, picking up the book feeling it heavy in her hand. Slowly she moved it towards the metal bucket. Meeting the demon’s eyes, as a mention to gauge his reaction, to see if he was apprehensive or ready to attack.

The demon however simply leaned against the wall, twinning his fingers as he shrugged his shoulders.

“The fire is going to die soon… as I said wood tends to last a bit longer,” he mused. Belle swallowed, before she dropped the book into the flames.

The book took fire at once and a frightful wailing sound filled the apartment and was silenced as the book turned to ash.

The demon however simply stood there, just as before looking on with a raised eyebrow. “Well… that was unnecessarily dramatic.”

Belle’s eyes went wider.

“You are still here!” she then exclaimed. The demon simply looked utterly confused at what she was going on about.

“Well… of course. Where else would I be?” he then asked.

“I thought…” she stammered.

“Oh… you thought that if you burned the book that would destroy me? … not a bad theory, to be honest,” he shrugged as he walked closer.

“But… wrong. That was my prison. You reading the text released me… temporarily. However now that you have burned away the only thing that could keep me captive… I suppose I have to stay here… with you,” the demon grinned showing a row of needle sharp teeth.

“You… you tricked me…” Belle gasped, looking at the pile of ash in her trash can.

“No. I did not. I said that if you burned that book it would not be in your best interest. I mean… having a demon eternally attached to you… not the smartest move in the world,” he reached out, allowing the strands of hair to slowly run through his fingers.

“But…” she whispered nervously.

“Yeah… terrible luck,” he murmured, leaning his head closer, brushing the tip of his nose gently against her cheek.

“However… do not worry. I will take such good care of you. After all… you are my liberator… with such… dangerous curiosity… you did not at once start to wonder… why the library was abandoned?” he reached out his hand and gently allowed his fingers to run down her side gently.

“It was… you…” she stuttered.

“Most things are,” he made a shrug. “But… well… what is done is done. Nothing neither of us can do about this now.”

He put his arms around her then, she could feel how his form was a blazing fire and almost as if his form was a twitching form beneath the human disguise that he was wearing. Belle pushed him away, staring at him in fear.

“You do not touch me!” she shouted towards the creature that pursed his lips.

The demon pursed his lips slightly, cocking his head slowly.

“Oh… I would never do anything that you do not wish me too… and I will leave if you wish me too,” he moved slowly towards the door. Belle was about to shout for him to leave, but she paused.

After the trick he had pulled on her with the book… she had learned that everything was not always as it seemed when it came to dealing with him. She had already had done so many mistakes that she doubted she would be able to make right. It was… terrifying.

“Um… just… what is going to happen if you leave?” her voice trembled gently.

“Hmm… nothing to you of course. I would never hurt you,” he smiled towards her, looking at her with absolute adoration in his eyes, as his body rocked ever so slightly. Belle still was not certain if this was not a dream…

But she dismissed this, because her mind surely could not come up with any such insanity… or she really hoped not.

“And… what will you do when you do when you go?” she asked again.

“Hmm… well… I am getting rather hungry. And I have this entire town which I can devour so… I mean… I could get started on that…” he tapped his chin in thought.

“NO! You cannot do that!” she shouted towards him. The demon cocked his head again, as if he did not understand the words that she was saying.

“Um… says who?” he asked.

“Says I!” she insisted. He simply scratched the side of his head.

“Uh… I do not really understand how you have a say on that,” he finally said when he had thought for a while.

“Well… I summoned you!” she insisted. “Shouldn’t that mean anything?”

The being furrowed his brows lightly, clearly having to ponder on this as he leaned on the cane.

“Well…?” Belle was rather nervous about how quiet that he was.

“I don’t honestly know. This hasn’t really happened before,” he finally admitted.

“You haven’t been summoned before?” she did not quite believe that.

“Oh no. I have done that plenty of times… I just… ate the people who tried to summon me,” he explained. “And then I continued to eat and just you know… enjoy mortal life for a while until I had to back into the book.”

“You could have eaten me?!” Belle exclaimed.

“Well… you are human so… yes. But I would never… I mean not in that way and only in the other way if you wanted me to,” he grinned towards her. Belle was confused for a moment, before her eyes widened when she understood the implication, sputtering in utter shock.

“Excuse me?!” she finally managed to spit out. A grin spread across the demon’s face, his eyes gliding over her.

“Well… you are very beautiful, and I do adore you… it is only natural that I would want to make you feel pleasure… and I promise you, should you allow it… the pleasure will be far beyond what any mortal man will be able to grant you. After all… I have certain… abilities,” the demon licked his lips at the thought.

Belle once again had to slightly pinch herself. This was not happening.

“You do not even know me!” she had to put her arms around herself. Somehow she had the feeling that he could see straight through her.

The demon cocked his head once again taking a step closer while she took one back.

“I know you are kind… gentle… filled with love. How your words are so soft and filled with comfort… I felt how gently you picked me up while trapped in that book… how your fingers caressed the pages. I know how eager you are for knowledge… to learn the secrets… to go on adventures… but more over… I know how eager you are after adventure. I feel how restless your spirit is… how it longs for freedom. Your souls shines… I can see it… so pure and light… it draws me in… fills me with desire that you hardly can comprehend…”

His face was now mere inches from hers, she could feel the hot breath on her face.

“I want to give you all that you desire… every wish… every dream…”

Moving his head he brushed his nose with hers gently.

“All you have to do… is allow me to do so…”

[slut4supersoldiers]

Someday. Maybe. Chapter 8

Summary: Throw together a boy and a girl and another boy and 5 middle-schoolers, two adults, a little girl with telekinetic powers, and a monster from another dimension and you’ll get the perfectly strange story.

(AKA: I suck at writing summaries.)

Pairing: Steve Harrington X OC (fem reader) X Billy Hargrove  

Words: 2K+

A/n: This is the second last chapter. And this one has my boi Stevie’s point of view. Please leave a feedback. xx

I do not own Strangers Things nor the GIF.

PART I

PART II

PART III

PART IV

PART V

PART VI

PART  VII

MASTERLIST

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

I woke up the next day with a massive headache.

After spending two hours down at the station the night before, Flo decided to call it a day and the both of us returned home. Taking in my slouched appearance and lack of appetite Flo asked me if anything was bothering me. I gave her a half-hearted smile and shook my head. After kissing my forehead she retrieved to her room but not before assuring me that she would always be there if I need her. Her kind words somehow felt alien to me and suddenly my eyes welled up with tears. And the tears didn’t stop till the morning rays peeked through my curtains blinding me momentarily and worsening the head ache. Thankfully it was a Saturday so I didn’t have to come up with an excuse to skip school. Although with the way I was feeling now I wouldn’t have to come up with and excuse at all.

After fifteen minutes of lying in bed I willed myself to get up. Seeing as I was going to be staying home I quickly went through my routine, threw on a large sweater and some pants before heading downstairs.

As I entered the kitchen I saw Flo talking on the phone with a hand on her hip and an apron around her waist. She turned around probably on hearing me shuffle through the kitchen and pointed at a plate on the table. As she continued talking I devoured my breakfast. With all that happened in a period of two days I felt like I hadn’t eat at all and suddenly I wanted to eat till my stomach burst.

“Careful honey, you’re stuffing your mouth.” Flo who had now hung up approached the table and poured me a glass of orange juice. I nodded at her as I chugged down the juice. Flo just shook her head and grabbed the carton. After putting it away she turned to look at me and said, “I have to visit Lauren today. She fell from the stairs and broke her hip, poor thing.”

Lauren was Flo’s friend since high school and they frequented each other’s house from time to time. Lauren lived in the neighbouring town with her husband and their dog Humphry. 

“I am taking your car and I’ll be back by Monday. Are you going to be okay by yourself?” Flo asked as she put on her coat.

I smiled and nodded at Flo when she grabbed the key hanging on the nail by the door. She gave a pat on my shoulder and kissed my cheek before bidding me farewell. I watched as she drove away and decided to get some homework done.

After three hours of making notes and solving math problems I decided to take a break. What better way to take a break than renting a movie! So I put on a pair of jeans, tucked my sweater in and grabbed my jacket. 

The moment I stepped out of the house I cursed myself for being stupid enough to walk in this cold but with my car gone I had no other option. Luckily I managed to reach the store before I could freeze to death like Jack Nicholson in the Shinning. Huh! Maybe I could watch that movie.

After grabbing the VHS I walked over to aisle number 3 to grab some popcorn. As I was about to reach out and grab the box of (extra) butter popcorn my gaze fell on a ruckus in front of the meat section.

Dustin Henderson and Steve Harrington were engaged in an animated discussion over something. I would have never imagined Steve Harrington hanging out with anyone half his age let alone Dustin. Out of curiosity, I walked towards the two boys. The younger boy who was facing me suddenly stopped talking as he saw me approaching them.

“(y/n) what are you doing here?” He yelled and looked at Steve almost as if he was trying to stop Steve from saying anything. Following Dustin’s actions Steve tensed and turned around to look at me.

Without so much as glancing at Steve I asked Dustin, “Me? What are you doing here?” I pointed my finger at both the boys as if questioning the odd pair.

“Oh, yeah… huh… funny story. Steve do you wanna tell her?” Dustin suddenly looked towards the older boy.

Steve looked at Dustin with disbelief and then looked at the ground in an effort to conjure up some explanation.

“I got it. It’s for a project for science class. We have to study…uh… the behaviour of…uh… a semi-wild being in its habitat and how it reacts to its prey which in this case is raw beef.” Both Steve and I stared at Dustin who put his hands in his pockets and stared at us.

“Cut the crap Henderson and tell me the truth.” I deadpanned.

“I’ll tell you the truth. Dustin’s pet lizard ate his cat.” Steve spoke up.

“Okay. That’s funny Harrin- Wait are you serious?” I looked between the two boys. “How can a lizard eat a ca- Wait it ate Mews?”

“That’s the only cat I have (y/n) or had. And ‘it’ is not a lizard, he has a name.” Dustin pointed at Steve.

“Wait. So something which was not a lizard ate your cat and you gave it a name and are now feeding it. Does it sound completely stupid and irrational to you too or do you want me to say it out loud once more?” I looked at Dustin who looked at me with a scowl.

“(y/n) don’t you get it this thing is a creature from the upside down?” He whispered cautiously so as to not let anyone overhear us.

“Alright. That does it. You, Dustin Henderson are going home at this instant.” The moment Dustin mentioned that this filthy creature was linked to the creatures we encountered last year I realised the gravity of the issue.

“What? Why? Anyway mom is not home she is looking for Mews and I don’t have the key.” He shrugged.

“What? You haven’t told Mrs. Henderson that her cat is dead?” I whisper-yelled.

“(Y/n) you’re over-reacting.”

“I am over-reacting? Dustin some dangerous creature is on the loose and has killed your cat, why do you think it won’t kill you?”

“He is not some creature. He is Dart. He is my friend he won’t hurt me.”

“Oh, great! Just because you named it now it’s your-

“(Y/n) ‘it’ has a na-

“Hey, hey, hey, if you two are done arguing like 5 year olds we have something more important to do.” Steve interjected.

“Right.” Dustin Straightened up and backed away a little. 

“Fine. Dustin I’ll keep your secret and not say anything to Mrs. Henderson if I can come with you two.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

“Why?” Dustin questioned mimicking my stance.

“Well firstly, I won’t be able to live with the fact that I let you walk in the arms of death without making any efforts of protecting you and also I have a shotgun at my house and I know how to use it.” I raised my brow as at Dustin, challenging him.

“Well you came in real strong with the emotional rant but just the shotgun part would have sufficed. Man! I should’ve just come to you instead of Steve.” Dustin smiled at me.

“You know I am standing right here?” Steve rolled his eyes at Dustin.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go guys.” Dustin said before he began piling his cart with packets of raw meat.

After buying two buckets worth meat and gaining a weird look by the cashier the three of us made our way to my house to grab my shotgun. Making sure I had enough bullets we finally began walking to the abandoned rail tracks that passed from the forest to the abandoned junkyard, since taking a car and then leaving it would have been unsafe.

The whole time Steve kept glancing towards me only to look ahead when I caught him. Annoyed with his behaviour I slung my shotgun on my back, grabbed one bucket out of Dustin’s hand and began walking ahead. With all that had happened two days ago and now this, I needed to free my mind even if it would last for a short while.

 STEVE’S P.O.V:

If somebody told me few years ago I'd be teaming up with Dustin Henderson to track down some inter-dimensional creature who eats cats I would have laughed in their face. Then again I would have done the same thing if somebody said I'd be helping Jonathan Byers fight off a similar creature with my (ex) girlfriend. But then last year happened.

But the demo creature and teaming up with Dustin Henderson weren't the only strange things, (y/n)’s behaviour was strange too. She had made it clear that she was on board only for Dustin. I understood the reason why she was being distant and I was kicking myself for not apologizing to her but at the same time a small part of me (very selfish and confused part of me) wanted her to come along because she wanted to spend time with me. We never did that anymore. It was not her fault though.

Last year during the summer she confessed her attraction towards me. Did that catch me off guard? Yes. Not because I didn't like her. In fact I had liked her since we were friends but I never acted on it because she was...well (y/n). She was always the smartest, the hardest working, and the kindest person in school. The only thing I had going for me was my hair and my parents' money. Why would she go for me?

There were a few times in middle school when I wanted to tell her I liked her. Like after Becca Green's birthday party (where I dragged her against her will) when she tucked her hair behind her ears and told me she had a great time; or that time when we stayed up watching stars by the pool outside my house and decided to make it our little tradition or that time when she fell down her bike and in spite of a bleeding knee, glazed eyes and a wobbling lip she still managed to smile and say "I am okay." 

I always wanted to tell her I liked her. But high school came along and  we began drifting apart, again she wasn’t the one to be blamed. I know she hated the people I hung out with but I also liked the feeling of being popular. I liked the attention (that I was otherwise devoid of). I liked being the best, the king. That was the year I talked to Nancy Wheeler.

The closer we became the farther (y/n) went. She became even more distant from not just me but everyone around her. She began spending time at the AV club and down at the police station. But I was too busy ignoring her because I thought my life was perfect. I had many friends, I had a smart and beautiful girlfriend, I was partying, and I was at the apex of the social pyramid. Little did I know then that all this would cost me the one girl who cared about me the most (in spite of me being an asshole to her most of the times).

"Steve, let’s get moving." Dustin hollered, pulling me out of my thoughts. 

Before I could go back to pondering over things I walked faster to keep up with Dustin.

"So let me get this straight, you hid a creature you knew was dangerous to impress a girl you barely knew?" I asked.

"Okay that's just grossly oversimplifying what happened." Dustin retorted.

"I mean why would a girl like a nasty slug?" I shrugged.

"An inter-dimensional slug? Because it's awesome." Dustin dramatically moved his hands.

"Well even if she thought it was cool, which she didn't, I just... Don't know, I just feel like you're trying to hard man." The boy needed some tough love.

"Well not everyone can have your perfect hair, alright?" Dustin walked a little faster like a child throwing a tantrum. 

"It's not about the hair man. The key is to act like you don't care."  I shrugged

"Even if you do?" Dustin slowed down a little.

"Yeah. Drives ‘em nuts." I said as I matched his pace.

"Is that why you behave like you don't care about (y/n) because you want to drive her nuts?" Dustin questioned softly looking to make sure (y/n) wasn't listening. Thankfully she was out of earshot.

“Whatever do you mean by that." I murmured.

“Going by what you said, you care for her but don't show her that because you want her to like you. So it means you like her too, right?" Dustin looked at me with furrowed brows.

"Of course I do like her Dustin I-

"Then why are you dating Nancy?"

"I am not... Nancy... I... She broke up with me." I said through gritted teeth.

"Oh brutal. So are you like gonna ask (y/n) out or something?" The younger boy asked.

"No...she... She wouldn't go out with me. She’s too special for someone as ordinary as me." After how I've treated her I doubt if she'd talk to me.  I wanted to add.

"Yeah, she is special. Like max." Dustin softly murmured the last part.

"Hey, wait you're not in love with her, right?" Dustin frantically shook his head on hearing my question and repeatedly said no.

"Good, coz she will only break your heart." apparently that's what people you love do. That’s what Nancy did to me. And that's exactly what I did to (y/n).

TAG LIST:

@wefracturedmotivation @thoughstofaredhead @savannah-m-99 @spideyjoy @peanutlicker5000 @lovelydreamer-2000@mysticfluffyness

[maximumsuckage]

In the Beginning: Part 7

Part of @archangelgabriellives​‘s collab

Last time on In the Beginning: “Everything was just perfect for him, until he met another deity.  Kali.” (@callmemisshorizon​ 2018)

Word Count: 1937

Pairings: Gabriel/Kali

Warnings: nothing worse than reminders of awkward teenage days

Previous Parts: Masterlist,  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

The blade was designed to mimic an angel blade, brought back by a Viking trader from one of his expeditions.  It had exchanged hands a few times in the interim- the metal had been touched by souls in India, then Jerusalem, then Constantinople, before taking a straight shot northwards.   If he closed his eyes and focused, he could follow the path, reading each soul that had left fingerprints on the blade in the past three years since its forging.

It had been offered up to him in sacrifice- the trader who had bought it had returned home only to find that his wife had died in childbirth and the baby was stricken with fever.  It was a valuable weapon- the metal could only be found in India, and traveling there was a harrowing journey- but the man had declared that he would give up that and everything else if it meant his child would get better.

Gabriel had taken him at his word.  The man, once so consumed with worldly possessions that he would leave his pregnant wife on a rumor of wealth, lost everything.  His ship, safe in harbor, was wrecked in a freak storm that didn’t even touch the other boats.  His servants abandoned him, carrying off his gold and expensive fabrics and jewelry.  His large house, envy of all his neighbors, went up in flames.

Loki demanded sacrifice, after all.  That was the pagan way.

The virus that had stricken the babe’s lungs vanished.  She chortled at her father’s face, reaching up to tug on his hair, red as her own.  She would grow up strong and healthy, never touched by sickness or injury.

And as soon as Gabriel had doled out the justice, he forgot the tiny family.  He had only eyes for the weapon, because it had his name on it:

Saint Gabriel the Archangel.

That really wasn’t fair.  He was doing a great job on Earth, and now some Christian was trying to drag him out of hiding by making pretty weapons with his name?  He tossed it aside; it hit the stony ground with a clatter.  “I bet you can collect the full set,” he grumbled, spreading his invisible wings.  “Let’s get Michael and Raphael too- yay!  Collectible weapons!  Next they’ll be selling cards with our kill stats on them.”  He pumped his wings against the air to launch himself into the ether between dimensions.

A second later, he set down near a forge in India.

He hadn’t realized how accustomed to the winter weather he’d became.  Landing in India was like stepping into a sauna; immediately he began to shed layers, vanishing them one by one back to his home on the shore of the North Sea.  Only when he was barefoot, wearing just his tunic and light pants, did he turn towards the man making the archangel-inspired weapons.

“Alright,” he called out, walking into the wide open door of the forge (and certainly not bothering to knock).  It was like walking into a wall of heat, somehow even hotter than the tropical sun.  “What’s this I hear about making archangel blades?”

The smith turned around, confused by the sudden entrance.

Gabriel opened his mouth to give him a good talking to- probably call it blasphemy, or something along those lines.  It would be just enough to scare him into stopping his work, or at least, not putting Gabriel’s abandoned name and title everywhere.  But he was distracted by a sudden presence outside, and he turned.

His breath caught.

Gabriel had seen beauty.  He had seen the vastness of the cosmos, the galaxies that swirled in eternal dance.  He had seen continents rise from the ocean, had seen the birth of plants and animals and birds and fish.  He had seen angels and archangels, seraphs and cherubs, powers and dominions.

But in an instant, he forgot all of those.  Behind him, the smith fell prostrate, but Gabriel only stepped forward as though in a daze, to stand in the yard and face her.

On the surface, she was no more than a pretty southern girl.  Her patterned dress was cheerful and bright against the deep tan of her skin.  She stood lightly on her toes, as though ready to dance, but she stood with the straight, strong posture of a queen.

In his angelic vision though, Gabriel saw a flash of the truth.

Eyes burning with mischief and chaos.  Midnight blue skin freckled with stars.  Fangs glinting between plump, slightly parted lips.  Four arms- the hidden two were playing with a lotus flower.  A sword hung at her hip, clinking against a skirt of bones.  She was a monster.  An absolutely stunning monster.

(But wasn’t he also a monster?  His true form burnt people to dust, after all).

“Oh, uh, hi,” he said, and cursed himself, face flushing hot (it was probably just the heat of the forge behind him).

“Loki the Trickster.”  The goddess’s hips swayed with each graceful step as she approached him.  “What a surprise, finding another chaos god here.”  She paused, and gestured around at the jungle.  “A bit far south for an Asgardian, aren’t we?”

Gabriel forced his eyes to remain on her face, to not wander lower.  Her human form was lovely, and her true form was toned and athletic, the skin raised here and there with scars from past battles.  “Yeah, no, I mean- Just checking out this guy’s swords.  Um- I found one.  Up north.  Back home, you know, so I wanted to figure it out- So, you got a name?”

You stupid idiot!  He felt his blush deepen and he tried to focus on her thick black braid- there was nothing exciting about hair, right?  It was just sleek and long with not a single strand out of place, and okay, maybe he liked good hair; was that so wrong?  Seriously, what was wrong with him?

But the goddess only chuckled.  “Kali the Destroyer.  I’m sure you’ve heard of me?”

He gasped out loud- or more likely, choked on air.  Kali the Destroyer?  He had heard stories about her- vague rumors about a creature so powerful that she could stomp out the sea, who destroyed evil with a zest that terrified even her own pantheon.  She was good, technically, but she was gleeful in her destruction.  She had consumed demons and punished sinners and fought in battles that would have made Mars himself tremble.

And dear gods, she was beautiful.

“Yeah, uh, once or twice,” he choked out, gaze shifting down from her face.  That was a mistake- now he was looking at her breathtakingly long legs, deep midnight blue skin dappled with sunlight shining through the trees surrounding the yard.  Her feet were bare and muddy.

“Mmhmm.”  Though it wasn’t even a word, it was the smuggest noise Gabriel had ever heard.  He was struck dumb, and she knew it as she began to pace around him, like a lioness surveying an antelope.  “Why are you here, Loki?”

Her forearm brushed Gabriel’s as she passed him.  It sent a tingle down his skin, unlike anything he had ever felt in Heaven.  He shivered, but not, he realized, in discomfort.  He wanted to feel it again.

“Was this man giving you trouble?”  She nodded at the smith, who was still laying with his face pressed into the dirty ground.  He whimpered at being included in the conversation.

Gabriel had to lick his dry lips to talk.  “No, no, nothing like that- just checking out his work, is all.  Um…”  He felt prickly all over.  It was too hot here, and Kali was close- too close.  He could sense her power, rolling around the clearing.  It was near tangible- even the fire in the fire in the forge sprang higher, crackling in the quiet.

“Was his work satisfactory?”  Kali picked up a blade from the outside display and tested the sharpness with her finger- a droplet of red appeared against the midnight blue of her skin.  She licked it off, glancing over at Gabriel quizzically.  Her tongue was blood red.

He swallowed hard.  “Yeah, it was fine,” he said, voice coming out just a bit too high pitched to be natural.

“Pity.  I was hoping for a kill.”  She set the sword back and stepped towards the door.  Gabriel wrenched his eyes upwards- in the humidity, her dress clung to every curve.  He took a deep breath to try and compose himself.

“Although,” she mused, standing in the doorway and watching the smith breathe, “Before I caught wind of you, I found a man beating on his wife and son.  Blood might still flow today.”  She half turned, studying Gabriel with an unfathomable expression.  “How would you deal with such a thing up north?”

He was being tested- he didn’t know what she wanted to hear, but he wanted to impress her.  Needed to impress her.  She still looked more amused than anything, like he was a curiosity giving her a modicum of entertainment. Gabriel’s muscles clenched uncomfortably at the thought of her growing bored and moving on.

“I would destroy him slowly,” Gabriel said.  He swallowed hard, considering how he would do it.  His mouth felt too dry to speak.  “First, I would give his wife and child the money and means to run away.  Then I would bring a plague of locusts on his fields.”

Kali nodded, crossing her arms as she listened. The lotus flower twirled between two fingers.

Gabriel tried not to think about his sweating palms and continued.  He spoke slowly, carefully trying to think out the hypothetical course of action.  “Once the harvest fails, I would turn his neighbors against him, one by one, so that nobody will allow him over for dinner in the wintertime.  And then, when he goes out to chop wood, he’ll realize that the rats chewed a hole in his boots.  So he’ll get frostbite and trip when the wolves go after him.”

He froze, considering.  Kali raised an eyebrow.

“Wait- no.”  He shook his head.  “A lynx instead.  She’ll play with him while he tries to run away.  But the axe will have stuck in the tree he was trying to cut, so he won’t have any weapons.  And then maybe he falls into an ice river and hallucinates his wife…”

Kali’s lips were quirked up in a smile.  “You’re a sweetie,” she said with a little chuckle.  “Going through all that trouble.  Good work ethic.”

Gabriel blinked.  “Work ethic?”

“To be frank, I would just stab him.”  Kali reached out and patted his arm.  “But your idea is good too, Loki.”

His breath hitched when she touched him- he hid it in an awkward cough.  Somewhere outside the little forge, a hunting horn sounded, and Kali straightened.  “Ah, my people.  I’m off.  Get out of here, Loki.  Winter Viking god like you will pass out in this summer weather.”  Stepping out into the yard, she smiled at the sun.  “You have to enjoy these good days before the monsoons roll in.  I’ll see you around, I’m sure.”

When she stepped past him, one of her true-form arms reached out and tucked the lotus flower into his pocket.  Then she vanished like she had never been.

Gabriel pulled the flower out of his pocket with shaking fingers and sniffed.  It smelled like ash and smoke.

“Oh brother,” the smith said, finally getting the nerve to lift his head off the ground.  “Don’t fall for her, man.  She’s crazy.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Gabriel murmured, smoothing his thumb over one of the petals.

Special thanks to @scrollingkingfisher for the grammar check

Author List:  1. @revwinchester 2.@ttttrickster 3.@phantomwarrior12 4.@anxiety-fuel 5. @sugar-high-viking 6.@callmemisshorizon 7.@maximumsuckage (meeee) 8.@tricksterxangel 9.@archangelgabriellives  10.@nobodys-baby-now 11.@thewhiterabbit42 12.@warlockwriter 13.@lastsavinggrace 14.@archangelsanonymous 15.@archangelashiah 16.@archangel-with-a-shotgun

[lxiewrites]

Pink Bug Drug

“Hey, Lance, you have a visual on Keith?” Pidge asked.

Lance peered through the scope on his sniper rifle, the technology zeroing in on Keith despite being forty feet up an alien tree. Through the dense canopy, he could see the red armor dart in between the sentries posted, dispatching them quickly with little to-do.

He tore off his helmet; sweat matting his black hair to his forehead and neck. Shaking his head, with the help of the scope, he could see every drop of sweat that was flung off of him. Setting his helmet down he took a leather-like strip he got from a planet from a hidden compartment in his armor to tie his hair up, a stumpy little ponytail in the back of his head.

He cleared his throat. “Uh, ye-yeah, I got a visual.”

“You okay there, buddy?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Hunk. Just need some water. This is a very humid planet. Just stay on standby until we need ya.”

“Well, it should be relatively low populated. Whoever was here before must have either gone underground or escaped when the Galra arrived.” Pidge intoned, sounding just like a nature documentary voice over. When he said so he could hear her eye roll over the comms. “Really?”

“Well, I’m not calling it your hacker voice.”

“Uuuggghhhhhh. Shut uuuppp!”

“Guys,” the voice of reason sighed.

“Sorry, Shiro,” they chorused.

Lance cleared his throat again. “Well, it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone here but me and Keith. And a few sentries but they’re dead now.”

“Hmm, okay, just be careful, you too Keith, okay? The scans said the place was abandoned but you can’t be too sure.”

“Uh, yeah, he can’t hear you, he took his helmet off.”

”Goddamnit Keith.”

Lance deactivated the comms and snickered, peering through the scope again he could see the red paladin poking around the sentries that he took down. From the distance, it looked as if he found something, a small jar in a pouch attached to the robots. Keith peered at the tiny creature in the capsule, eyes squinting as he held the jar close to his face, making Lance internally roll his eyes at his actions of putting some weird alien bug-thing near his face. Granted, it was pink and fuzzy, how dangerous could it be? But still, that guy has absolutely no sense of self-preservation. Or fear. Even if he were suspicious of something he’d be the first to test it out to make sure it’s safe. Something that Lance can’t help but admire. Keith was just the type of guy to face anything head-on if it was for the greater good.

Lance allowed a small smile at the thought.  Then a loud guffaw when the little pink bug in the jar escaped, unnaturally squeezing its fuzzy body out of a minuscule opening.

Keith the red paladin. Keith who faced down Zarkon himself. Keith who flung himself out of space on more than one occasion, who does amazing shit on a fucking daily basis… Keith who was afraid of a fuzzy, pink, heart-shaped bug.

He was swatting at air, frantic movements and bending backward dramatically trying to get away from this small pink streak flying around him. Lance mentally willed him to put his helmet back on, like, come on bro.

The little pink bug zoomed right up to Keith’s face; he could hear the faint sound of cursing from his helmet. The bug zipped in between the flailing limbs, its target: Keith’s dumb mullet.

Even without the helmet Lance could hear Keith’s exclamation of, “FUCK!” before he tripped over his helmet and fell down on his ass.

#rekt

Lance waited a bit, waiting for him to get back up and check out the abandoned Galra base…but he didn’t get up from the spongy ground. Lance bit his lip; worry slowly starting to creep in. But he should be fine right? It’s just a dumb bug.

A dumb alien bug that was held caged by Galran sentries whose base was abandoned…

That worry quickly froze over into panic.

“Keith!”

Bayard deactivated, he slid down the rubber-like bark, the texture slowing his process by catching on his armor in an extremely annoying way. He ran as fast as his legs could get him, heart thumping, anxiety building. Goddamn idiot can’t stop poking at random shit. Impatient little fuck, poking at glass containers just because it doesn’t satisfy his curiosity fast enough.

He allowed the grumbling in his mind to continue until he finally made it to where Keith fell. He was still on the ground, one leg resting on top of his helmet but otherwise still. He ran and fell to his knees by his head. “Come on, Samurai, you can’t be taken down by a pink fuzzy wuzzy.” Picking up his head gently he set it on his lap, untying the string holding his hair back to explore his head for any bumps. Threading his fingers through silky black hair.

“I swear to God if you’re pranking me I’m putting goo in your gloves.”

He ran his fingers through his bangs, pushing them out of his face. It seemed to be serene, peaceful, as if he was asleep. That’s what scared him the most. Whenever he looked at him there was some sort of expression on his face, a furrowed brow, a slight quirk of his lips, or even a gentle look like this but… there was always some life. Hell, he’s not even this relaxed when he is sleeping, he seen him drop dead on the couch, he might be sleeping but something was happening in that dumb head of his. This serene, sleeping Keith gave him the heebie geebies. He moved his hand to the underside of his jaw, sliding along the skin to his pulse; he held his breath.

His breath left him with a whoosh. He still has a pulse. Lance dipped his head down, hands still cradling Keith’s head, to check if he was breathing. Small, puffs of air fanned over the bottom of his cheek and jaw, the sound of him breathing barely audible past his helmet.

Okay, so far Keith’s alive, good, check. What the fuck did the bug do to him? Where did he get bit? He removed the hand under Keith’s jaw and turned the comms back on.

“Uh, hey, guys, Keith got bit by a weird alien bug thing and heeeEEE—“

Lance cut off his screech when Keith moved his hand from his cheek to his mouth, eyes closed but face still calm. Slowly, he opened his eyes and Lance screeched again, muffled by Keith’s glove. “EEEEEE UM! His eyffs are bink! Like his pubils! That’s not supbosed to be a ing, sumething’s weird, he’s hoding my fface, I don’t know what’s happening!”

Keith’s pink eyes focused on him, the pink glowing neon before fading to a deep rose. His pupil back to black but the slightest tinge of dark pink right in the center. He blinked a few times, confused. “Lance?”

Lance removed his hand from his mouth, holding it out of the way. “Samurai! Are you okay? I just saw you get wrecked from that bug and you didn’t get back up. Your eyes are pink or were pink pinker than now but I can’t find where the bug got you.”

As Lance continued with his rambling Keith’s face steadily morphed to confusion but strangely not annoyance. “Lance, what the fuck did you just say.”

The boy above him heaved a sigh. “You were bit by a freaky weird alien bug and—it’s in your hair!”

“What?!”

“AHH!”

Keith rolled off Lance’s lap to shake the intruder from his head but Lance was already there with the jar that was abandoned trapping the bug with a few locks of Keith’s hair.

Keith slowly drew the strands out from under the lip and Lance secured the lid on top so no creepy ass bugs did shit.

“Holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck, what the fuck,” Lance was about to lift it closer to his face when nope, nope, not that stupid. He just tuned into the voices yelling at him in his ear. “Sorry! Sorry, we’re fine; I got the bug. It’s good, he’s standing.” He looked over at Keith who was just staring at him with a bemused little smile. “I think he’s fine but… yeah, okay, I’ll do my best.” He turned off the comms, orders clear. “We need to get you to the castle.”

An eye scrunched the slightest bit in confusion. “Why? I’m fine.”

Lance locked eyes with him, staring into those normally starry eyes but unerringly focusing on the slight tinge of pink in the center. “Dude, you’ve been attacked by a mysterious alien bug, you need to go to the castle and Coran or something.”

His pink lips hitched up just the tiniest bit on one side. “Lance,” he started, fondness in his voice. “I think I’m fine, I’m up and running with no side effects. We should at least check out the Galra base.”

Lance firmly shook his head. “Don’t think so, buddy.” His muscles tensed, words ready and waiting for whatever argument Keith was going to hit him with.

Except he didn’t, he didn’t say something about him being paranoid or stupid or how the ‘mission is more important,’ he just rolled his eyes and said, “Fine. Okay.”

Keith reached down, scooped up his tie that was dropped in the scuffle and gathered his hair back. Letting Lance finally get a clear view of his face without all the shagginess, showing off a strong jaw that somehow happened, smooth skin achieved purely from genetics and not a rigorous ritual like Lance, and a long pale neck. He bent and grabbed his helmet, and placed it on, the red color only emphasizing the pink in his eyes. “Come on, before they send down the lions.” He strolled by, grabbing Lance’s hand along the way.

Lance stared at their hands, brow furrowed. He looked up at the back of Keith’s helmet. He seemed fine, all motor functions running, no stagger or deathly screams. He pouted and looked back at their hands. That was a little out of place.

Though they were growing closer as a team, and since then everyone got a little cuddlier. Courteous of Hunk and Lance, who were the big huggers, but everyone has gotten more comfortable with physical touch. Even Keith has been the recipient of a few group hugs, but he’s always accepted the hugs and touches, never really initiating.

Lance shook his head. It’s just a hand; it must be Keith’s baby steps. He felt warmth spread through his chest, expanding until he felt like he could take off. He sped his speed up until he wasn’t being dragged but was speed walking just ahead of Keith, still holding hands. He slid a sly grin toward the other boy to be met with raised brows and a grin.

Keith sped up until he was just ahead of Lance, who matched him, which Keith reciprocated, again, again, and again. Until they were both running and racing toward their lions, laughing, trying to beat the other.

Still holding hands.

-

“The scans aren’t showing anything particularly wrong,” Pidge said, adjusting their glasses. A 3-D form of Keith’s body on the holo-screen rotating slowly in front of them, different systems of the body flashing through on the mini-Keith. “Other some bumps from the fall he’s fine.”

“What about the eyes?! Pidge! That can’t be normal!” Lance exclaimed, a tired Keith slumping against his side, not even flinching at the volume.

She flung her arms up in exasperation. “I don’t know! I’m not a space entomologist! That might be the only thing it does, I don’t know!” She spun around and sped through they displays until it landed on one with Keith’s brain and some science mumbo jumbo on the side. “The chemicals in the brain seemed to have changed, I can’t be sure, I’d have to check the last results pre-bug. I should probably examine the bug too.”

“You do that Pidgerino, I’m going to bring this one to his room,” he said gesturing to the sleeping paladin at his side. He brought his arm around his back and turned until they were face to face. Keith’s nose brushed along his cheek and he fought down a blush as he maneuvered him so he was over his shoulder. Hoisting him up like a bag of potatoes, supporting the dead weight lugged over his shoulder with an arm around his back and under his butt, he stood up.

Pidge gave them an odd look, raising her eyebrows almost skeptically at them. She turned toward the monitors and coughed, “Gaaaayyy,” into her fist.

He felt his face heat up and, due to lack of mobility of his arms, stuck his tongue out at her, which she reciprocated.

“Have fun with your ento-what-algist stuff, Pidge!”

“Entomology!”

“Whatever!”

He chuckled when they were out of earshot, adjusting his hold on the lump that is Keith, all the while telling himself that this is completely normal. Like, if he could lift Hunk he would totally do this for him too. It’s a thing that happens, bros supporting bros and all that.

Keith stirred in his sleep the limp arms draped around his shoulders tighten and he snuggles his face closer into the crook of Lance’s neck. “Mmm, Lance,” he mumbled.

Lance’s heart hummed. He hugged him close and hid his smile in the sleeping paladin’s shoulder. He’s really too cute for words.

-

They were at the dinner table, poking at their green goo. Shiro doesn’t like to have ‘shop talk’ at the dinner table, saying they needed to have a break from that part of their lives but let’s be honest, what else are they really going to talk about? Oh, Lance found some more Atlean skin care while nosing around the castle? Pidge got past level 5 on the learning Altean module with minimal battles? Their lives practically revolve around this, kinda impossible to find non-Voltron or mission-related stuff to talk about. But there’s an effort!!!

“So, I’m thinking the Galra just bailed on this planet. There’s like nothing here man.”

“Lance,” Shiro warned, “no paladin talk at the table.”

He raised his hands up in ‘what?’ gesture. “Shiro, it’s not like it’s that bad, no one was there but a few sentries. Other than the bug nothing seemed aggressive.”

“I actually agree with Lance,” Pidge said, she held up a hand to stave off whatever Lance was going to say. “Trust me, I was surprised too. But I think that they might have left because there weren’t really any resources on this planet? The planet was very low on quintessence.”

“They could’ve left because they didn’t want to be on a planet with homicidal bugs, like, that’s an option.” Hunk pointed out.

“Hunk,” Pidge sighed, “The bug is perfectly harmless.”

“Who knows Pidge! This bug might have done something to our buddy Keith without us knowing!”

“Hunk,” Allura reassured, “I’m sure if there was something wrong either Pidge or Coran would find it.”

“Don’t you worry, Hunk! I have an entire Altean library on the various strange and beautiful creatures of the known universe 10,000 years ago! I’ll find it soon enough”

“Yes, but does anyone know what that bug might do?”

“You know, this is why I don’t want mission talk at the table.” Shiro intoned. “There are a time and place for these things.”

Pidge snorted and raised her brow the way she does before she says something snarky when the doors opened to reveal a tired and grumpy Keith.

“Hey, Mullet, back from the dead?” Maybe he was being paranoid. Pidge’s probably right, she’s usually right. The weird thing with his eyes might be the only thing that affects him. Just a pigmentation of the eyes, nothing to freak out about. Keith’s fine, Lance was fine, it’s cool.

Keith grumbled and plopped down on Lance’s lap and started to eat his goo.

Everything’s fine.

Ignoring the new weight he reached around the grumpy kitten to grab at his spork. “Hey! That’s mine! Get your own, Keith.”

Keith guarded the food close to his chest, curling his body around it to protect it from Lance’s flailing arms before turning around and shoving a spoonful into his complaining mouth.

Lance reluctantly chewed as his heart sped up. Quite honestly, in all scientific aspects… what the fuck. Nono, nono, he’s just trying to get more comfortable with the team. It’s perfectly reasonable for him to sit on his lap. Lance lounges on Hunk all the time; it’s basically the same, right? Right. It’s Keith, but it’s the same.

Lance felt eyes on him. He looked up to see the rest of the team openly gaping at them, expressions varying between baffled to shocked to completely and utterly weirded out.

Coran broke first, coughing into his fist. “I’ll, uh, I think I shall go check on some books of fauna. See what that little bugger is.”

Pidge’s chair squeaked as she ran to follow a quick, “Me too,” left in her wake.

The rest of the team more or less stared at them and each other. “Uh, buddy?” Hunk asked.

“Yeah, bro?”

“There something you want to tell us?”

Lance inhaled deeply through his nose, the smell of the shampoo he convinced Keith to buy filling his lungs. “Not really?”

“O-oh, okay.” Hunk pouted and looked to Shiro who looked like he was trying to mentally communicate to Keith. Allura, as well, was studying the two; he could see the gears in her head turning.

“Hey, Keith, do you want to spar?”

He looked at him, a weird look on his face. “Right now?”

Shiro shrugged. “Why not?” He got up and gestured in the direction of the training rooms.

Keith placed the bowl, only a few spoonfuls left, back onto the table and slowly got off Lance’s lap. “I guess.” He prolonged the contact as long as he could, staying near his side until he finally left with a final pat on Lance’s shoulder.

When the door slid shut it was like it vacuumed the air in the room shut, tense and aware like the air in a sealed pop bottle.

Hunk popped the seal, fresh air breathed into the room. “Okay, is it just me or was that weird?”

“It was…definitely out of character.” Allura said; she had a slight pout on her lips as she thought. “He seems…friendlier.”

Lance shrugged. “It’s Keith, I think it’s his way of trying to be more touchy.” Hunk looked at him for an uncomfortable amount of time. He couldn’t help but squirm in his seat, darting looks between him and Allura. “What?”

“By sitting in your lap?”

“Uhhh, it’s Keith? The guy is, like, all or nothing.”

Allura settled her forearms on the table. “You have to admit, Lance. It is quite odd for Keith.”

Lance shrugged and got up from the table. “Character development. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Taking the scenic route to his room he walked past the training deck, door closed, and battle cries heard. He paused in front of the doors. He should probably say goodnight. He poked his head through the doors. Shiro and Keith were so focused on their sparring they didn’t notice the door opening. Shiro had Keith on the defensive with his Galra arm, blocking any attacks Keith tried with his sword and aiming for weak spots in his defense.

Keith finally broke through with a well-timed parry and finally had Shiro on the defensive, his sword a red blur around him. His eyes were laser focused on his opponent; breaths labored as sparks flew off of his sword and Shiro’s prosthetic. For one moment Lance allowed himself to appreciate how graceful Keith looked fighting. Like his bayard was just an extension of him. He’s really just watching to learn how to fight in close combat better. Just watching his form and ferocity, the fact that Keith’s beautiful has nothing to do with it.

He sighed.

For a brief moment, Keith’s eyes flickered to him, eyes widening in surprise, before turning his head and smiling at him. In that moment Shiro took advantage his loss of focus. He lunged forward, grabbing Keith’s still sword with his tech arm and yanking it from his grip before tackling him to the ground, human hand to his throat.

“Keith! You lost focus! What the hell… oh, hey, Lance.” He looked back at Keith with a knowing look, before Keith hit him in the face with an open palm, surprising him but not overtly hurting him. Enough to get him off of him.

Keith scrambled off of the floor while Shiro stayed on the floor moving to sit like a little kid. “Hey, Lance, need anything?” Keith asked, running a hand through his hair.

“Just wanted to stop by to say ‘night.” He waved at the both of them with a cheerful smile. Keith smiled little before nodding and looking off to the side while Shiro waved back.

Keith walked over to Shiro and helped him up, arm flexing to get the bigger man off the ground. “If you need anything just holler. Night, Lance.”

He saluted before leaving before he got too far Keith was in the doorway calling out, “Do you want to spar with me tomorrow?”

Lance's feet stumbled across themselves before he turned around and walked backward, hands in his pockets, and a smile stretching his mouth. “Sounds good! See you then!” He waited until the doors closed to sprint back to his room, unable to contain his smile.

-

“Okay, buddy, just keep your eyes on me, not your feet.” Lance encouraged, pushing and pulling their arms, twisting both their bodies. One shoulder going back, then the other, and forward. He laughed when Hunk tripped over his feet to get out of the way for Lance’s.

“Dude! Slow down!”

“Come on, Hunk! You told me you wanted to dance at the next ball thing!” Lance said with a grin.

“Uh, I’m not sure if you noticed, Lance, but I’m pretty stable on the ground.” Hunk looked down at his feet again, making sure he wasn’t stepping on what shouldn’t be stepped on, i.e. Lance’s feet.

Pidge threw some pen-thing that she found, it also does a weird glowing thing but it hasn’t blown up yet, at Lance. Who made some sort of ridiculous sound before karate-chopping it away from him. “We’re not even going to be dancing this fast with this ridiculous footwork Lance. It’s going to be waltzing or some alien dance or something, ya dork.”

Lance released Hunk and made grabby hands to Pidge. “Come on then, Pidge, if you talk the talk you gotta dance the walk.”

She rolled her eyes but made their way over, avoiding Hunk who sprinted to switch places with them. She held out her hands and allowed Lance to pull them into a dance. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

”You don’t make sense.”

They spun around a few times, Lance getting bored with how Pidge kept up with his fancy foot movements and started to just fling her around everywhere just to hear her screech and laugh. Hunk eventually joined in, catching Pidge by the ankles, trying in vain to rescue her. The rescue ended up with the three of them spinning around in a circle until they fell in a heap.

Which is how Coran found them, alien encyclopedia in hand.

“Ah, I see you three are all bonding quite nicely, keep up the good work! Pidge! If you could, please bring up Keith’s profile before and after the bug incident.”

Pidge looked up from where her head was resting on Lance’s stomach. “Uh, okay,” She rolled until her socked feet were in Hunk’s face, who maybe or maybe-not pretended to gag. She shot him a dirty look and went to her computer, which is never too far from her person, and brought up Keith’s health stats.

Coran and the two boys crowded around her. “Hmm, excellent,” Coran hummed, stroking his mustache. “Now, if you could bring up the chemical and hormone stats.”

She did. “What’s this about Coran? The only difference is a slight increase in some chemicals and neurotransmitters that aren’t doing anything harmful. If anything it’s making him happier. HUNK! Stop touching my equipment!”

Hunk retreated his hands with a frown, but then his eyes widened with shock and worry. “Oh man, oh man, I hope that Keith didn’t get on some sort of space drug man.”

Coran flapped a hand at him. “Don’t be a newborn yalmor, of course not. It’s a diligitis cimex, otherwise known as a love bug. If you look at the chemicals you can see that it’s the chemicals serotonin, norepinephrine, oxytocin, and dopamine that’s been increased.” He clicked between the two charts despite Pidge’s squawking. “Hmm, or maybe not…” He looked back at the encyclopedia and back at the charts.

Pidge had enough and pushed him out of her personal space and reclaimed control over her computer. “This is what I was talking about. There’s no real difference, whatever difference there is between amounts of the chemicals aren’t significant. There’s some but not enough to warrant its effect of the bug and not just, oh, I don’t know, having his older brother back?”

Coran waved his pointer finger around in the air, punctuating his sentences. “But I swear on the name of King Groggery the Infirm that this is the diligitis cimex!” His mustache twitched in irritation as he crossed his arms, still holding onto his massive text.

Lance shrugged, stood up and arched his spine in a curve until the pops made Hunk wince. “Well, he’s not acting that much different. I think I—we—would’ve noticed. Maybe the venom doesn’t work on him because he’s part Galra?”

Shrugs and looks around. Hunk’s face scrunched up in his thinking face until his eyes popped open, Lance could almost see the light bulb above his head. His best friend turned to squint at him and looked at Pidge, silently communicating something. Pidge must’ve caught on to something and started scrutinizing him. Then Coran joined, but Lance suspects he doesn’t really know their silent communication.

He placed his hands on his hips. “Care to share with the class?”

“Mmm, not yet, it’s just a theory,” Hunk said.

“Correction, science headcannon,” Pidge corrected.

Hunk nodded at her. “Yes, thank you Pidge. A science headcannon.”

Lance rolled his eyes, leaned back on his heels to the tipping point before swiveling on his heel and walking to the doors. “Well if you care to share,” he said over his shoulder, “I’ll be in the training room.”

-

Lance lost track how many times he ended up on the floor.

He opened his eyes to see Keith hovering above him, backlighted by the bright lights of the training room. His shaggy hair tickled his face, the rosemary-mint smell swirling around him; he could see the repressed smirk on Keith’s lips. “Had enough, McClain?” Keith asked, reaching down to lift him up.

Lanced hopped up, bouncing a bit in place. “Oh, please, Lance McClain? Had enough? Never, gimme all you got, Samurai.”

Keith scoffed but resumed fighting stance, no weapons, but hands still deadly. Lance brought his dominant leg back and lowered his center of gravity. He got a few good hits, dodged a few hits that would’ve sent him on his ass again, but he left himself open and Keith already grabbed his arm and had him on the ground, no breath in his lungs.

He let go of the arm he was still holding and sat down next to him, leaning on him, arm braced on his chest casually. “You’re getting better,” he remarked.

“Really?” Lance coughed out, he held up a thumbs up before flopping it back down. “Good to know I’m not completely horrible.”

“Hey,” Keith poked him in the side. “If you had your gun I’d be down. This is to make sure you’re still alive if you don’t have it.”

Lance closed his eyes and laughed, breathless, but for a different reason. “If you’re there then I think I’d be fine.”

…

His face burned at the received silence. He risked a look. Keith was staring intently at him, pink in his eyes glowing bright before fading darker than before. What was a deep rose in his pupils was so dark it was barely noticeable unless looked for. “Yeah,” Keith said, hushed, “I got your back.”

His heart was a hummingbird in his chest, no longer beating but just a comforting thrum. He held up his arm, hand open, an offer.

Keith grasped his hand, tight and secure.

“And I got yours,” Lance said with a smile.

-

It was a little strange. The bug bite didn’t seem to do anything. Keith was Keith, nothing weird, he didn’t start to fart rainbows or speak in alien languages or start any strange behavior. The only difference was the dull pink in his eyes that faded by the day. And that he made a better effort in actually being a part of the team.

He was there giving out awkward hugs, or sitting close, or even going as far as to hold hands. It was more common for him to touch shoulders or arms to get someone’s attention but having Keith’s warmth at his side during movie night was one of the best feelings ever.

Pidge didn’t make a comment on the possible change or side effects in Keith except that Coran said whatever side effects from the bug should fade after a few days. Though, he did see a couple of looks exchanged between Hunk and Pidge as the week progressed. Their silent communication through a twitch of the eyebrow or the slightest purse of lips irritating him, but not for long when Keith would touch his elbow and ask him if he wanted to work on close combat.

It was during movie night the pink finally disappeared. They were watching a strange action-packed movie with several alien animals and well-placed explosions with a background story of what seemed to be romance between a yelmor herder and a merchant. Most of the time these Altean movies make no sense to them, Allura and Coran would try to explain but… still didn’t make sense.

Pidge was on the floor like the little gremlin she is, on her computer even as she pays a quarter of her attention to the movie, leaning against Hunk’s legs as he ate his space popcorn he made. Hunk was avidly watching gleefully laughing when anything of semblance of a joke came on. Particularly the physical humor, that translates well enough, but only Allura and Coran laughed at the context humor. They were on the other side of the couch, reminiscing, their smiles wistful and a little sad. Shiro was just passed out, thirty minutes into the movie and Space Dad was dead asleep.

Keith was sitting right next to him, a warm heater of a human being leaning against his side. He leaned back, resting his head on top of that mop of fluffy hair. The head under his cheek shifted until a nose was right under his ear and lips brushed the edge of his jaw.

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” he whispered.

He tilted his head down the slightest bit, those lips brushing the skin next to his lips. He pursed his lips, heart humming away. “Neither do I.”

The soft huff of laughter kissed his lips.

Lance turned back to the movie; face hot. He cleared his throat and tilted his head to the side, mouth a safe distance away, but his hushed tone could still be heard. “I think the woman there is, like, a princess disguised as a herder thing and she’s fallen in love with this one dude that sells these orb things.”

“Then what’s with the explosions and the frog thing?”

“Uhh, maybe the frog thing likes to explode?”

Another huff of laughter and shifted until his side lined up with Lance’s resting his cheek against his shoulder, arm wrapped around his. Lance couldn’t help but lean into his heat. A few more minutes of watching in confusion, gentle blue light flickering, listening to Hunk’s laughs, Pidge’s typing, Allura’s faint chuckles, Coran’s hums, and Shiro’s soft snores.

It was a rare moment of peace.

“Hey, Lance,” Keith whispered.

“Yeah?”

His head tilted up and Lance could see the vibrant pink in his eyes. “I really like you.” Then the pink faded to nothingness.

Lance felt his breath stall in his chest when it did come out it was hoarse. “I really like you too, Keith.”

Keith’s eyes widened and pink swept up his face to his ears. He fidgeted in his seat, adding some space between their bodies. Lance shuddered, his side cold where Keith left it. “What? You-you what?”

Lance felt the rest of him go cold. “I, uh, like you?” The statement he felt with his entire being sounded like a question.

“Oh,” Keith’s thumb ran over his knuckles. “I-I guess I do too?”

Lance was…very confused at this point. “O-okay?”

Keith slowly leaned back into him, stiffer than before, spine unyielding. Lance cautiously put his arm around Keith, snuggling him into his side, gradually warming up again.

By the time the movie ended Keith’s spine was relaxed and he was asleep.

-

Somehow it seemed that they’ve gone backward into their relationship as they advanced. They awkwardly became boyfriends but the casual hugs and the ease were replaced with hesitancy and tentative touches at the elbow. The got their groove back when they sparred or stopped thinking so hard, relying on their own instincts. Gave into the instincts of sitting on each other’s laps or holding the other close secrets whispered against skin.

They were hanging out with their lions when Pidge came in asking if they could borrow Keith. Keith so easily abandoned his wonderful boyfriend to follow the glasses gremlin. Lance followed because, hey, it’s not like he had anything better to do.

After a quick scan, she puttered around on the computer while Keith finally let Lance play with his hair after incessant prods to his side. Lance behind him was working on French braiding Keith’s bangs out of his face.

“Huh,” Pidge said. “That’s interesting.”

“What’s interesting, Pidgey?” Lance asked, not even looking up from his work.

“It seems like the levels of chemicals in Keith’s brain went down.” She scooched around to face them, simultaneously bringing up several 3-D Keith on the holo-monitor. Two became enlarged, the others moving to the back as the three took center stage.

“These are Keith shortly before the bug attack, right after the bug attack, and literally twenty minutes ago.” She pointed to the bar chart next to them. “It seems that there was a jump of these chemicals, basically love chemicals.” She sent them a sly look that was ignored. “But, it seemed like a natural progression, so it didn’t seem like it affected Keith, or at least to the point that was explained to Coran. It might be because he’s part Galra or something else, who knows.” She pointed to the most recent one. “But, the chemicals here are lower than the love bug one, which might as well prove that, hey, it did affect him on a level, but it’s not as low as it was pre-bug.” She sent them another sly smile, the light glinting off of her glasses. “So, science headcannon confirmed.”

She jumped up and rushed out the doors. “See you gays later!”

Lance looked at Keith and back at the holos before looking at him again. He reached out to smooth his furrowed brow. “So, uh, wanna talk about that? Because I was under the impression that we were together because we were together and not because of a bug.” Lance was all too aware of the high-pitched tone his voice took.

Keith’s brow wrinkled despite the soothing ministrations of his boyfriend. “I,” he started, “I remember everything, but it felt different.” He leaned into the strokes across his forehead and over his hair. “Like, I looked at you and just felt so secure. I liked you before but it was like all of that uncertainty of liking you was gone and you liked me back. It was if we’d been together for years, so when I told you I liked it you, it was the best goddamned feeling ever. Every time we’d been together it was just proof that we were together and I told you I liked you like I had the right to and it was amazing until it devolved into what the fuck did I just say.” He shook his hands on either side of his face, voice cracking at the memory.

“But I said I liked you back.”

Keith dropped his hands and smiled. “Yeah, you did.” He threaded his hand with Lance’s free one. Lance dropped his forehead to Keith’s, feeling his breath fanning across his face.

“I really hope you’ll feel that secure again. We’ll get there.” He playfully glared at him. “I’ll make you so secure and deliriously happy it’ll feel like you’re on some pink bug drug.”

Keith burst out laughing. “How romantic.” He squeezed his hand. “Same though, I’ll make sure you feel like you’re on some pink bug drug.”

They giggled as they went off to try to find an Altean movie they could possibly understand.

Ao3