#LEV THIS IS YOUR FUCKING FAULT

[ameraucanas]

hey besties i may be more trans than i thought

[forusomimiya]

"Honey, not now! I'm in the middle of a game!" he whispers, pulling the microphone away from his mouth, careful not to be overheard by the others as he watches you there, under his desk table between his legs, like a hungry little puppy.

He keeps his eyes on the screen, and the movement of the mouse under his hand is slippery when his hand starts to sweat as he feels his trousers unravelling. His heart beats fast. You can hear the guys on the other side of the headphones groaning as their team dies. All your fault.

"Why?" you vocalised softly, letting go of his cock. "They won't know."

"But you know I can't cont- BABE!" But it's too late for complaints. Your mouth is already full and your hands help you take him deeper. You can't forget about his balls either, his weak spot.

"Aggh, you piece of sh-" You watch as he quickly take off his helmets and settles into the chair, but not before helping you to remove the tracksuit shorts that blocked him from opening up more for you. "You know what you have to do”.

You give him a smile before lowering yourself back down to his balls as you watch how fast he pumps his cock, cursing and moaning your name with each lick and suck on them.

"Do you like when I take such good care of ya?"

"Shit yeah... always being so good to me. What a good girl"

"What would your friends think if they heard how you cum on my mouth? Wouldn't they be jealous?" Your tone grows more arrogant with every word, but you drive him crazy just thinking about his friends on the other side of the line hearing the mess you're making. Your tongue runs from base to tip. Both of you in contact.

"They should... you d- don’t get a sweet girl like you between your legs every day" His other free hand has moved to cup the back of your neck to cling tighter to you.

“Enjoy the show then”

They would, they fucking would, ‘cause your bastard boyfriend forgot to mute the microphone.

KENMA, TOBIO KAGEYAMA, Suna, Akaashi, YAMAGUCHI, LEV HAIBA

[leviraaaaaa]

"Lev?"

"Yes?" Levi looked up to see you leaning against the door, swaying on your feet. He sighed, realizing how drunk you must be. The night air was sweet, it flowed through your hair as you tried to adjust the stray strands.

You grinned sheepishly, stumbling over to him with unsteady feet. Levi sat up straight, ready to catch you if you fall.

"Whatcha doing out here alone?" You asked confusedly, tilting your head. Loud sounds came from the interior, voices and music tangling together. A lot of people was here in the usually empty house today.

"It was too loud inside." Levi replied. It was true. But perhaps not wholly. A tiny part of Levi knew he was avoiding you really.

Now wasn't that strange? Avoiding his newly-wed wife? On his wedding night?

But that was the problem.

It had been hours since he murmered the vows with you, your hands in his. It had been hours since then, but he still couldn't quite believe it. He still flinched every time his eyes fell on the gleam on his fingers.

It was a quite small wedding really. Go to the church, say your vows, then come back home with the guests. There weren't a lot of people left in you and Levi's life to invite, but there was still a handful. The brats, along with some Marleyan friends and acquaintanacs, the house was filled.

Levi had stayed in for the first few hours, talking to people, watching you talk to people. But then it became all too much. The questions, the teasings–it was too much. It was already too much for him, the bare concept of it, the fact that you were truly his now, it was all too much.

It felt like a dream, truly. You looked like a dream.

And he was so scared any second he might wake up.

So he stepped out, leaving you with all your friends as you laughed your head out at something Jean said. You gave a worried glance at Levi when he was leaving the room, but he only nodded, a gesture that all was well. Levi only needed to breathe a damn second.

What am I doing here? He thought.

What is she doing here with me?

This isn't how it should've been. You shouldn't have been stuck with him. You deserve better, someone whole, not..not someone as fucked as he was.

But yet there you were, clad in white with the brightest smile in your face. All throughout the day, he had not seen that smile fade once.

A girl like you had chosen him. Chosen him to spend your life with.

You were his now.

"I was always yours." You had told him right after. "I'd dedicated my heart for you, back in the first day of scouts, don't you know?"

He had wanted to run away then. Get the hell out of there because he didn't deserve the way you were looking at him.

He never did.

But here he was.

"Hey!" You snapped your fingers in front of him. "Heyyy! Earth to Levi?"

"Yes?" He looked up startled, broken from those parasites in his head. "Yeah, sorry. Just thinking." You tutted disapprovingly.

Levi stared at you, scowling at how red your face was. "God, brat. How much did you drink?"

"I did not!" You gasped dramatically, hands flying to your chest as you clutched your heart. "I'm just..tipsy."

"You're going to be so fucking hungover tomorrow." He shook his head. "Just tipsy, huh?"

"Yes." You say defensively. "Also it's not my fault, Reiner made me drink."

"Of course he did." He sighed.

You put your hands on your hips, staring down at him. Then suddenly you leaned down, peering closely at him with parted lips and squinted eyes, head tilted with curiosity.

Levi instinctively leaned back. You were too close. "What?"

"Lev." You mutter.

"Yes?" He asked warily. You and your randomness wasn't anything new to him but it still leaves him on his toes everytime. Specially when you're drunk, there's no telling what you might do.

You observed his face with such intensity he felt warmth flooding his cheeks. You pulled back, finally seemed to have made up your mind on something.

"I think I like you a little."

Levi almost snorted then. Trying his best to hold back the smile that was tugging on his lips, he scoffed. "A little? Brat, you're married to me."

The information was absolutely new to you, it appeared. You pondered on his words, thinking closely. "Hmm" You hummed. "Yes. I think I like you a lot now that you mention it." You grinned. You didn't quite remember what he was talking about but you liked it. Being married wouldn't be bad.

"I know." His lips quirked. Such a rare sight.

Such a pretty sight, you thought.

"Do you like me?"

"Hm? Actually, no I don't think so. Not really."

You pouted. "But you're married to me too."

He reached for your waist, pulling you to his lap. Your legs straddled him. "Is that so?"

He smiled.

"Actually, I think I love you."

You grinned widely at the response, butterflies bursting in your stomach and your face flushed. "You're a simp."

"Definitely." He kissed your forhead. "For you? Definitely."

"And clingy."

"Shouldn't have married me then."

"You love me?"

"I love you."

You nodded thoughtfully.

"I changed my mind. I think I like you a whole lot. This much–" You streched your arms wide to show him the amount.

"You don't love me? You said you did."

"I did?" You squinted, considering his words. You let your fingers trace his face, running them over his scars. "You have a pretty face. So I must do."

"You think I'm pretty?"

"A whole lot."

"So you love anyone with a pretty face?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" You paused. " No. Not sure. They don't have faces like you. "

A small smile. You stared wonderingly. The moonlight shone bright across his face and you wondered if this was an angel.

An angel said he loved you.

"You love me?" You repeated the question again.

"I love you."

"That's... nice of you."

He snorted. "How generous of me huh?"

"I'm married to you?"

"Yup. Just today."

"Forever?"

"Definitely."

"So you're mine?"

"Yours."

"You're so nice." You stared at him. His gray eyes gazed into yours. "Then can I kiss you?"

"Do you want to?"

You nodded. You wanted to. You really, really wanted to. The silvery moonlight carressed his lips and you wondered if he tasted like stars.

"Im yours, aren't I?"

You gave him a shy smile. But slowly, hesitantly, you leaned forward. Pressing his lips against his. Then pulled away.

"They're so soft" wonder dripped your voice.

His face heated up a little. His ears turning red. "You should get drunk more often." He murmured.

"I'm not drunkkk," You whined, leaning again to kiss him. You held it longer this time, feeling him press back against you. Euphoria spread through your blood, mixing with the already existent alcohol. You lost all ability to form coherent thoughts, not that you had much ability today. And When you pulled away, you felt happiness. In the purest form.

"You're the nicest person I've ever met."

It was him to lean forward this time, and he didn't let go.

"I hope so."

A whisper against your lips.

@sad-darksoul

[burnednotburied]

Chapter 7: Lost Haven

AO3 Link | Masterlist

Pairing: Abby Anderson x fem!reader

Fic Synopsis: Abby goes looking for Owen and ends up on the wrong end of your knife.

Tags/CWs: angst; slowburn; mutual pining; enemies to friends to lovers; talks of purity culture/ideals and “sin”; internalized homophobia and some comp-het feelings (they’re both so gay but so dumb about it); animosity between WLF and Seraphites; blood/gore; descriptions of being hanged; religious/cult-like ideas; character deaths (canon AND non-canon)

Note: The last chapter was short and (mostly) sweet. This one... not so much.

Enjoy!

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

This was your fault.

You knew Lev was upset. You knew Yara was having trouble getting through to him. But instead of talking to him – making sure he understood exactly why none of you could go back to the island, handling the situation that was yours to handle – you’d been too busy worrying about your clothes and almost kissing Wolves.

As you raced after Yara through the dimly lit hallways of the aquarium, you silently berated yourself for getting so distracted. For losing sight of what was important. For failing to predict that Lev would do something reckless if you didn’t keep him in your sight. 

If anything happened to him, you would never forgive yourself. 

A strong gust of wind hit your face as you made it into open air, looking out on the makeshift dock where Owen’s boat floated idly. He was already out there, standing near Mel as the two of them looked out at the open water. 

Ominous dark clouds and another punishing current of air told you a storm was coming.

“Are we sure he’s heading to the island? Maybe he’s just blowing off steam,” Abby offered, attempting a comforting tone.

“No,” Yara said. The three of you joined the two others, and Yara pointed out in the same direction Owen and Mel had been looking. “That’s him. He’s definitely going to the island.”

You could just barely make out a small boat in the distance. 

“Shit,” Abby breathed out.

“What’s he doing?” Mel asked.

“He’s going after her.” Yara’s hand grasped onto the metal fence in front of her desperately.

“After who?”

“His mom,” Abby supplied.

“She’s going to kill him, Prophet! You know that,” Yara turned to you, looking devastated. Your fingers curled into tight fists, nails digging into your palms. It was true. You would have to go after him.

“Woah, wait. What? Prophet?” And then it occurred to you that that was something Owen and Mel were not aware of.

But that didn’t matter right now. 

“Your boat.” You turned to meet Owen’s wide eyes. “Does it work?”

There was a brief moment where he seemed to battle with whether or not to push about the Prophet thing, but he chose to let it go. He shook his head. “Not yet.”

“How much time do you need?” Abby asked.

“Uhhh,” he looked away, thinking. “A few hours. At least.”

“Fuck.” Abby turned to you. You were about to ask if there was somewhere else you could get a boat – and you had begun to wonder if you shouldn’t just run off by yourself and hope you came across one quickly by chance – but Abby was already thinking the same thing, already moving, already prepared to jump back into danger for you and your friends. “We’ll head him off. We’ll grab a boat from the marina–”

“Hey! She just had surgery.” Mel threw an arm out in front of Yara, who had begun to follow you, Abby, and Owen.

“I’m fine,” Yara insisted, pushing past the woman.

You paused, reaching blindly behind you to pull Abby back. 

“No, she’s right,” you said. You needed to stop and think about this before you went forward. There was no good way to go about this, but one option was definitely better than the rest. You found Abby’s eyes and realized that you had somehow gone from pulling her by her wrist to holding her hand.

You didn’t let go.

“I could use your help to find a boat, but then I need to do the rest by myself.”

Abby pulled away in shock, and her and Yara’s responses came immediately and simultaneously.

“Fuck that!”

“What? No! You can’t!”

You nodded, doubling down. This was the right thing to do. You were sure of it. “Going to the island would be deadly for anyone here except me.” Again they both tried to protest as you went on. “I know the island better than almost anyone else. On my own, there’s a good chance I could stay undetected. And even if they were to catch me, it would be fine. They don’t know that I deserted. And even if they suspected as much, I’m confident that I can convince them otherwise. Worst case scenario, they won’t kill me immediately like they would the rest of you.”

“You’re not going by yourself,” Abby said, and it was your turn to protest, but she cut you off. “Yara should stay here, but I’m going with you.”

“I’m coming too,” Owen stated matter-of-factly, just as Yara said, “I am going!”

Mel and Abby both jumped to argue with Owen. You left them to figure that out and pulled your friend to the side to talk privately.

“Yara,” you began, “stay here. Please. Help them get ready to leave for Santa Barabara. I promise I’ll bring Lev back.”

“I just–”

“Lev wouldn’t want you to get hurt. Especially not because of him.” 

Yara’s eyes went back out to the water, as if she could make him come back through sheer force of will. You wished the same. You didn’t want to go back to the island, and you really didn’t want Lev to be in danger. 

“I’ll get him. I won’t let anything happen to him.”

Yara was silent for a moment as the first rolls of thunder rumbled loudly.

“I’ll stay,” she said. “But you have to agree to take Abby with you.”

“You already trust her more than me, don’t you?” Your words took on a lightly teasing tone.

“Of course not.” She gave you a small smile as, you assumed, her eyes found Abby somewhere behind you. “But you need someone to watch your back. Lev wouldn’t want you to get hurt either. And neither do I.” She stepped forward and hugged you. It was a bit awkward on your end – with you having to be careful to avoid her healing wound – but it was the first time anyone had embraced you in years. In fact, you were pretty sure the last time had been when Yara hugged you on the morning of your scarring ceremony. 

You cleared your throat. Even if emotions hadn’t already been running high, you would’ve had to swallow down some tears in that moment.

“Yara?” you said, still holding her.

“Yes?”

“When we get back, I’m really going to need you and Lev to stop calling me Prophet.” 

She let out a little laugh at that as you parted. “Deal.”

When you looked back at the other three, you found them standing in the same place you’d left them, watching you and Yara, apparently having already come to an agreement themselves. By the look on Owen’s face, it hadn’t gone the way he wanted it to.

So it would be just the two of you then.

You looked to Abby.

“Ready?”

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

The process of getting a boat wasn’t nearly as straightforward as Abby thought it would be. And it had taken a lot longer than she would’ve liked.

At the marina, the two of you were greeted by the sound of gunshots. She asked you to stay there, hidden near the dock, while she grabbed a boat. 

If there were WLF soldiers nearby, being spotted with you would be a problem. Your lack of facial scars meant you weren’t recognizable as a Seraphite at a glance, but you were still a stranger. She didn’t know how to explain you being with her in a way that wouldn’t bring up too many questions. All in all, it would be easier and faster for her to go alone.

You surprisingly didn’t argue with her, willing to hang back for a bit if it meant getting to the island – getting to Lev – quicker.

Abby almost immediately ran into Manny and found that the gunshots were coming from one of the trespassers who’d come out of nowhere and been hitting WLF hard the last few days. 

She didn’t get the chance to ask Manny what he meant by that. 

The trespasser shot him in the head.

But she got close enough to see him. Close enough to fight with him hand-to-hand.

It was Tommy Miller, Joel’s brother – a realization that made her worry about what these trespassers were here for and what they meant to do.

But Abby was great at setting things aside for later for the sake of focusing on one problem at a time.

And right now, she needed to get you and get to Lev. 

By that point, you’d already caught up to her – because of course you hadn’t actually stayed very far behind at all – but you still needed a boat. 

Abby found a small motorboat tied to one of the docks that proved to be in working order. She got it going, sat behind the wheel, and headed out toward the island, quickly reaching the boat’s top speed, trying to make up for lost time.

You had been silent since you got on the boat, looking out at the water. She cleared her throat, speaking loudly over the combined roar of the motor, the wind, and the water. “So how do we get to that village in one piece?”

Your eyes remained focused ahead. “There are blind spots along the coast we can boat into. From there, we’ll follow back roads.”

“They’re safe?”

“It’s the safest option we have.”

You wore the same expression you’d had since you found out Lev had run off, eyebrows drawn together, a storm in your eyes just as strong as the one in the sky. You were worried, but it was more than that. 

Abby had to call your name twice before you turned to her, reluctant to meet her eyes. “This isn’t your fault, you know.”

You shook your head once and looked back out towards the island, pointing as you began to direct her to the best entrypoint.

The island was weirdly exactly what Abby expected, given what she knew about the Seraphites, and yet seeing it with her own eyes was still shocking.  

The Washington Liberation Front used existing buildings from the Old World. SoundView Stadium and the Lakehill Seattle Hospital. Schools and office buildings. They didn’t build so much as clean, repair, and repurpose.

The Seraphites had built a whole new world on the island. Wooden structures, villages, homes, farmlands. 

It was honestly impressive.

As promised, you had been leading the way through the woods, using backroads. You had yet to run into any other people, but Lev and Yara’s village was further inland, and it was only a matter of time before it became unavoidable.

Abby wondered if you were prepared to kill your own people. And if you would hold it against her when she did, to keep you safe and to get to Lev.

You had been quiet for a while, deftly navigating through a thick stretch of forest with her following close behind. If you didn’t want to talk, she wasn’t going to force the issue.

It had begun raining a while ago, although the worst of the storm hadn’t hit yet. The outfit Mel gave you hadn’t included a jacket, and you’d left your cloak behind with the dress.

Would you be offended if she offered you her jacket? Abby wasn’t sure, but you didn’t seem to be bothered by the rain or the cold. 

At a point of higher elevation, you came to a stop, looking out onto a huge settlement in the distance along the western coast.

“Woah. Is that the village?” she asked, using one hand to shield her eyes from the rain to get a better look.

“No,” you said. “That’s Haven, our capital. And that–” You stepped closer to Abby, placing a hand on her shoulder as you shifted your weight to the tips of your toes so your eyelines were level. She leaned into the touch, bringing your faces even closer, cheeks nearly brushing. You pointed to a specific building just north of the large town. It was bigger than the rest and even from that distance, Abby could tell that it was nicer. More carefully and intentionally made and maintained.  “–That is Sanctuary. It was the first Prophet’s home and a sacred place of worship. And it’s where I lived after my scarring ceremony.”

You let several moments pass before your hand fell and you dropped back down to your heels, taking a step to the side.

Sometimes it seemed that you touched her without realizing, without meaning to. And then there’d be a moment when you’d become aware of your actions and pull away. 

She wished you wouldn’t. But now wasn’t the time for that conversation.

“The village is further east.” You turned to go, continuing back into the forest. Abby stood there for a second longer, looking out at the place you’d spent much of your life, being literally worshiped and yet entirely controlled, and she wondered how strange it must feel for you to come back now. 

“Don’t linger,” you said, turning back to find that she hadn’t moved. “They have scouts. They might see you.”

She glanced back one more time before following.

“Are you sure the Wolves are attacking tonight?” you asked, breaking several minutes of silence, both of you having been lost in thought.

She cleared her throat. “Yeah, that’s what my friend told me. They’ll use this storm as a cover for the attack. Unless Isaac changes his mind.”

“Will he change his mind?”

Abby’s gaze was locked onto the ground in front of her. “...I doubt it.”

You stopped abruptly, a gasp leaving your throat. Her eyes shot up, hand flying to her gun at her side.

“Fuck,” she breathed. 

Two WLF soldiers were dead, disemboweled in typical Seraphite fashion, one hanging from an old road sign and the other discarded on the ground like trash. They had clearly been dead for several days, but Abby pulled the gun from the holster on her right thigh anyway. Just in case.

“Did you know them?” you asked, turning to her.

“I’ve seen them around.” Abby brushed it off and kept walking, taking the lead.

“I’m sorry,” you said, running to catch up, voice sincere despite the fact that you hadn’t been the one to do it.

It’s not your fault, she wanted to say.

“It is what it is,” she said instead. And then, because she was curious, “Have you ever–?”

“No,” you said quickly and definitively. “You were supposed to be my first.” Abby felt her cheeks warm. You hadn’t meant it that way at all of course, but that’s where her mind went. She let out a weird, strangled, kind-of-coughing noise that only aided in deepening her blush. 

You went on, unaware, “It was supposed to be a big deal. They were calling it my first kill.” You sounded put off by the whole thing, like very nearly killing Abby had been so beneath you. “That’s why they were letting me off the island for the first time. Things… obviously didn’t go as the Elders planned.”

“Well I feel… weirdly honored,” she said, an attempt at lightening the mood.

“Honored that you were chosen to be my first kill? Or honored that I didn’t actually kill you?” you asked, brows slightly raised but playing along.

“Both I guess.” She shrugged as you sped up a bit so you could walk side-by-side instead of one after the other.

“Yeah well.” You bumped her gently with your shoulder. “I’m glad I didn’t kill you.”

Abby scoffed. “You were never actually going to do it.”

“Yes I was!”

She scoffed again. “Sure. If you say so, princess.”

“I absolutely was going to kill you,” you said, feigning offense. “Abby, if Lev and Yara hadn’t shown up exactly when they did, you would be so dead right now.”

She laughed lightly, shaking her head. To anyone else, this might’ve been a weird thing to joke about, but between the two of you it worked.

“You really don’t think I could’ve done it.” Your eyes were wide in realization, and now you looked like maybe you were truly offended.

“All I’m saying is,” Abby said, smiling to herself, “there seemed to be a whole lot of hesitation on your end of things.”

“Well I’m not saying that I wanted to do it,” you insisted, watching her as you walked. “I’m just saying that I could’ve.”

“Uh huh. Whatever you say.” She knew she was goading you, but it was the first time she’d seen you get anywhere close to a smile since you left the aquarium. 

“Shut up,” you mumbled harshly, whipping your head back around to face forward. 

That made Abby really laugh. She’d never heard you say anything like that before.

You were biting your tongue, trying to suppress a smile of your own.

A loud, low groaning alarm sounded out over the island, and your face instantly fell.

“What is that?”

“It’s our warning signal,” you said, pulling Lev’s bow over your shoulder and grabbing an arrow. “Your people are here. The whole island will be on alert now.”

“God damn it, Isaac,” Abby muttered to herself.

“We’ll cut through the logging camp. This way,” you took a left, leaving the path you’d been on. “We no longer have the luxury of taking the long way to stay hidden. We need to hurry.”

Abby nodded, even though you weren’t looking at her. “How many people live here?”

“Around a thousand.”

“How many soldiers?”

“More than half are trained in combat.”

“What are the other half going to do when my people get here?”

“Some will hide. Most will fight,” you said, leading the way into the nearest village.

It was empty. No one around, ready to attack.

“Where is everyone?”

“The children will have been taken to shelters as soon as the signal went off. Everyone else is probably moving towards the coast to face the Wolves.” 

The second small village you passed through was still being evacuated. As expected, when they caught sight of Abby, they attacked. In the chaos, no one seemed to get a close enough look at you to recognize who you were.

Abby fought. And killed.

You fired more than a few arrows.

And then you moved on to the next village, making a near-straight shot to where you knew Lev would be.

Abby paused just within the treeline.

In the trunk of a tree, someone had painstakingly sculpted a life-sized, hyper-realistic statue of you. Just above your head, the words “May Her light guide us” were carved. 

You stopped next to Abby, regarding the figure in your likeness for a moment.

“‘When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light,’” she said quietly. 

“What’s that?”

“Just… something my dad used to say.”

You hummed in acknowledgment, glancing down to where the trunk met the earth.

“Those are new,” you said, referring to the mass of flowers that were carefully placed around the tree.

It reminded Abby of the flowers people put near the graves and memorials of their dead loved ones. 

“It’s like they’re mourning you,” she said.

“They think I’m dead?” you asked, knowing she couldn’t have an answer. 

Abby pulled her eyes away from the intricate carving to look at the real, living, breathing version of you beside her. “Where are we going?”

Without looking away from the flowers, you said, “See that tall tower?”

“The Space Needle?”

“The what?”

“The – never mind. Yeah. I see it.”

“Head towards it.”

You knelt down, letting the fingers of your left hand graze over some of the flowers. When they landed on a daisy, you picked it up, stood, and carefully pushed it into your pocket.

She waited patiently before following you onward.

You had to get through a few more villages – and the few Scars who had been left behind to defend them – before you got to the right one.

At least Abby thought it must be the right one. Because you had come to a full stop and were staring at one specific house.

“Is that it?” she asked, putting a hand on your shoulder to bring you back down to earth.

“No,” you whispered absentmindedly. “It’s this one.” You walked towards the house across from the one you’d been staring at, bow drawn, arrow nocked.

Abby moved ahead of you and slid the door open. 

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

A lit fire pit in the center of the large, open room illuminated the space in an orange glow. You stepped inside, letting your weapon fall when you saw the lifeless body in front of the fire.

It was Lev and Yara’s mother.

Blood ran from a wound in her skull, pooling on the floor beneath her.

You let out a shaky breath.

And whipped around when you heard your name uttered from an even shakier voice coming from the corner of the room.

“Lev!” He was sitting, knees up, arms wrapped around them, curled in on himself, eyes locked on his mom. “Oh thank god,” you breathed out, rushing over. You were on your knees in front of him before you saw the damage that had been done. Cuts all across his face and arms. Your heart sank even deeper. “Did she do this to you?”

Lev let out a few hiccupping breaths, still staring past you at the body. “I just tried talking to her. I tried to make her understand, but she… she just kept yelling. She started chasing me. I tried to make her stop. I was just pushing her off of me…” His volume grew, voice becoming more desperate as he tried to explain.

“Hey hey hey,” you whispered, trying to soothe, wanting to fix.

“–Then she hit the table,” he sobbed.

“Listen to me.” Your hand was on his elbow, thumb gently circling. “You were defending yourself. You did nothing wrong.” When he finally met your eyes, you wrapped your arms around him and held him as he cried, grasping onto you so tightly it took your breath away. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

You stayed there for several minutes, holding him against you, rubbing his back as he kept his face buried where your shoulder met your neck. You held him until his sobbing subsided and his breathing slowed. You remembered how Yara used to hug you when you were kids, never being the first to let go, and you hugged her little brother – your little brother – in just the same way.

You pressed a kiss to the side of his head and squeezed a little tighter.

“I wanna leave,” he said, voice muffled against you.

“Yeah, me too.” When he lifted his head, you stood, offering him a hand up. He took it and kept holding on, even once he was standing too. “Come on,” you said, motioning to the door.

Abby was there – she had been there the whole time – and her eyes looked soft and sad when they met yours.

“Hey, kid,” she said to Lev, offering him one of her handguns. You squeezed his hand one last time before letting it go so he could grab it, glad that Abby had the forethought to make sure he was armed.

He wiped his face with his shirt sleeve before taking the weapon from her. “I’m sorry. I never should’ve–”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m just glad we found you. Let’s go.”

He nodded as she turned to push the door back open. The three of you stepped back out into the rain.

“What’s happening? Wolves?” Lev asked.

“Yeah,” you said, taking the lead. “All over the island.” Your eyes caught again on the house across the way, making you pause. 

Lev stopped next to you, immediately understanding. “She’s not there.”

“I figured.”

“Do you want to go in?” he asked.

“We don’t have time,” you said, but you couldn’t turn away.

“We’re never coming back here, right?”

“God, I hope not.”

“Then let’s make time,” he said, making the decision for you as he walked over and opened the door. You followed behind him, and Abby followed behind you, not asking any questions.

The inside of your mother’s house was much the same as Lev’s and Yara’s. One large, open room on the first floor. Fire pit in the center. A ladder leading up to a loft.

It looked nearly the same as you remembered it, though you hadn’t stepped foot in there in eight years. There was the stool in front of the mirror where you’d tried not to cry while your mom fixed your hair over and over again until she deemed it ‘as close to perfect as imperfect people can be’ on your last morning here. There was the table where you did your lessons and learned to read the scripture, and where you’d sit and have meals as a family, back before your dad died. The little wooden animals your dad used to carve in his rare, precious spare time. The bed where your mother slept.

Everything was the same. Except for the far wall. 

Where there was once a painting of the first Prophet, your own face now stared back at you. And next to the painting, in neat lettering:

“The world is not in balance,

But I have done my part to right it.

You have led me through the storm.

May the current be calm.

May you guide me home.”

“What’s that?” Abby asked, speaking for the first time since you entered the house.

“The Prophet’s prayer,” you said quietly, turning away from the wall entirely. 

“She prays to it,” Lev said matter-of-factly. “The painting,” he clarified. 

“I could’ve gone without knowing that, Lev,” you said, sounding cross despite your efforts not to.

“Your mom?” Abby asked. “This is her house, right?”

“Yep,” Lev answered for you.

You felt sick to your stomach.

“It’s like the Elders decided you were the new Prophet and then everyone lost their minds,” he went on as you made your way over to the ladder and climbed up to the loft. “Your mom stopped calling you her daughter. Suddenly your face was everywhere, but we weren’t allowed to go see you or talk to you. We weren’t even supposed to talk about you, you know, before. Someone overheard Yara using your real name, and they… The punishment was severe.”

You listened as you stood alone in the loft, looking around at what used to be your bedroom. This, your mother had left completely untouched. It seemed like no one had even been up here in the eight years you’d been gone. “I’m listening,” you reassured Lev as you began searching for something. The one thing you wanted to take with you before you left forever. 

“After that, it was hard to even think of you as the same person we knew. The girl who used to braid little flowers into crowns for us. Who came up with the best games and told the wildest stories and broke the rules but only in ways that didn’t really matter and only when you knew you wouldn’t get caught… The girl who carried me back home, all the way across the island, when I fell and broke my foot, singing the whole way because you knew it would make me feel better.” He paused for a second before continuing, “You were the first person who I told I didn’t like my name – I didn’t like the way it made me feel – so, without asking me a single question, without asking me to explain myself or justify anything, you just… never called me that name again.” Lev’s voice broke just a little, and you wiped away a few of your own tears as you continued looking. You knew this was everything he’d needed to get off his chest, probably since long before you were reunited a few days ago, and you didn’t want to interrupt. “You were our sister and then one day they took you away from us. And no one but me and Yara seemed upset about it. Our mom was weird. Your mom was even weirder. Everyone acted like you were a god. The God. Not even a person. And like everything else, everything before, didn’t matter. Like it wasn’t real. They made us believe it.”

You finally found what you’d been looking for, and you could sense that Lev had run out of things to say, at least for the time being, so you shoved it in your pocket with the daisy, climbed back down the ladder, walked over to him, and hugged him tightly again.

“They’re good at that,” you said quietly. “At making us forget… But it’s okay. We’re together now. Let’s get out of here.” He sniffled and nodded as you pulled away. “I’m surprised you remember all of that. You were so young.”

He said your name, eyebrows drawing together like he shouldn’t have to say this, “You were my favorite person. Of course I remember.”

“Really?” you asked, smiling. “Not Yara?”

“Don’t feel bad for her,” he said, heading to the door. “You were her favorite too.”

Abby brushed past you as she followed Lev out, letting her hand brush against yours as she went. You met her eyes and smiled apologetically, grateful to her for being here. For helping with this.

You took up the back of the line, taking one final look around before shutting that door behind you forever. 

Outside, the rain had picked up and daylight was slipping away. By the sounds of it, the fighting had grown closer on all sides, although it hadn’t yet reached the village you were in.

“This way,” you said, taking the lead again.

“Shouldn’t we head back for our boat?” Abby asked when you didn’t start going back the way you’d come.

“No, I hear fighting back there.” 

“I hear fighting everywhere,” Abby argued.

Lev stopped next to you. “There are lots of boats in Haven.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” you said. “We’re closer to Haven now than to where we came from anyway. We can cut through Old Town. Avoid the main roads.”

Abby looked unsure, but relented to the two who knew the island. “Alright, princess. Lead the way.”

Your group managed to avoid conflict for a while, from both the Wolves and the Seraphites, staying hidden in the trees and avoiding areas where the fighting was the loudest.

You moved in near silence, keeping the talking to a minimum.

Old Town referred to an area of old buildings, left completely unused by the anti-Old World Seraphites. The thing that had surprised you the most about the mainland was that it looked like Old Town, only much much bigger. The Wolves hadn’t carved out their own place in the world in the same way the Seraphites did. 

You wondered if the rest of the world was like that. Just people making the best of what already was instead of building something new.

The three of you moved carefully and quickly through the streets of Old Town, cutting through alleyways and relying mostly on side streets. 

“We’re leaving so many people behind,” Lev said as you passed by a few dead Seraphites on the road.

“We can’t help them,” you said. That’s what you had to tell yourself.

“I know.”

“Stay close to me,” you whispered.

“Okay.”

“We need to get off the street,” Abby said, leading you into one of the nearby buildings as the sound of gunshots grew closer.

You lost count of how many buildings you passed through, each of them equally derelict and damp. It took longer, traveling that way, but it meant you were much less likely to be seen.

“This way,” Lev said, pulling himself up and out of a large window that appeared to lead out to a side road. His feet hit the street before either you or Abby had even made it to the window. She was the first to follow after him. 

From inside, you couldn’t see what was happening, but you heard a struggle. Someone yelled, “I got one!” And then there was a gunshot.

Your heart lurched.

Abby yelled – no, screamed – Lev’s name.

You pulled yourself up as fast as you could.

But you were too late.

Lev was already on the ground.

He was already gone.

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

“Abby?” The WLF soldier gasped as she knocked him out with his own gun.

The one he’d used to kill Lev.

By the time she had taken the man out, you were out the window and on your knees next to Lev. Silent. Staring. Your hands frozen, shaking, hovering just above his body like you wanted to touch him but didn’t know if you should.

Your whole body shook with a sob.

“Gunshots! Over here!” More Wolves were just down the street. You were seconds away from being within their sights.

Abby rushed to you, grabbing your arm. “Hey, we need to move.” She wished more than anything that this wasn’t happening right now. She wanted to give you time, wanted to sit beside you and cry too, but that wasn’t an option right now.

“No!” You pushed her away. Abby didn’t have a choice. If you didn’t move now, you’d be dead too. She hooked her arms under yours and lifted you, trying to carry you away. “No!” you cried out, grabbing for Lev, fighting against her. “I can’t leave him here!”

“We have to!” she insisted, not letting you go.

The Wolves were closing in. “I see someone!”

There was no point. You wouldn’t be able to get away in time. Abby put you down and pushed you behind her, raising her gun. “Stay back!” she shouted as the soldiers came into view.

“Drop it! Now!” one of them demanded while two others said, “Holy shit!” and “It’s Abby!”

“I said stay back!” She held firm, ready to fire at any one of them at a moment's notice.

“Stand down,” came another voice. One Abby recognized.

The man stepped out of the treeline and into view. 

“Isaac,” she said.

When he came upon Lev’s body on the ground, he regarded it for a moment before shaking his head and slowly stepping over it.

Abby held her gun to the side, not putting it away but showing that she wasn’t aiming at him. She was, like he’d instructed, standing down.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked.

She slowly bent down, fingers raised away from the trigger, as she dropped her gun on the ground a few feet in front of her. “I need you to hear me out.”

Isaac took a beat before he responded. “What’s that behind you?”

Abby held a hand up and kept her voice calm, like she was trying to reason with a wild animal instead of a man and a handful of his soldiers. She took a couple steps back, bumping into you, making sure you were close without ever looking away from him. “She saved my life, Isaac.”

“Move out of the way. We’ll deal with you back home.”

He wasn’t listening.

“She’s not one of them. Please,” Abby said, desperation in her voice. 

“Abby, move.” He was firm and expected to be obeyed, just as he always did.

But she couldn’t obey this time. She knew what would happen to you if she did. “No. She’s–”

“–The Prophet,” he finished. And then his gaze slid from hers to yours. “Yeah. I recognize you. They’ve got your face plastered all over this island.”

You said nothing, and Abby wanted his attention back on her, away from you. She tried again. “Isaac–”

He cut her off again, this time with a sudden laugh. “I tried to warn you, Abby. Didn’t I?” And then he turned dramatically, to the surrounding Wolves, gesticulating theatrically in her direction. “BEHOLD the power of the Great Scar Prophet!” His eyes landed back on her. “Able to pull my best soldier right out from under me. Make her turn her back on everything she believes in. And everyone she cares about.”

“That’s not– She’s not–” Abby didn’t know how to make him understand. “She’s not part of this.”

“That is correct. She’s not a part of this,” Isaac seethed. “She. Is. This.”

“What–”

“Every time they attack us – every time they slaughter one of our people – it is done in her name. Every new martyr of theirs dies with her face at the forefront of their mind. Every life lost here today is because of her, along with every life that has been lost in the last decade of this war. All of this death and destruction – all of the blood — is on her hands.”

“Isaac, you can’t seriously think–”

And then, for the first time, Isaac pointed his gun directly at Abby, leveling it at her face. “You have three seconds to get away from that Scar,” he said. “One.”

“You’re really gonna shoot me?” Abby reached a hand out behind her, finding you, making sure you were still behind her, still shielded.

“Two.”

“I’m not fucking moving.”

Isaac paused. And Abby thought, for just a second, that he might’ve changed his mind. That he might back down.

And then there was a gunshot. 

She flinched, but it wasn’t her who had been shot.

It was Isaac. Shot by–

“Lev!” you shouted, surging forward.

“No!” “What the fuck?” “Shoot him!” The soldiers all turned their guns on Lev and fired.

You screamed.

Abby grabbed your hand and booked it to the nearest building, taking advantage of the chaos. You were too shocked to fight her this time, so you allowed yourself to be pulled away.

“Shit!” “Stop them!” “Don’t let them get away!”

Abby slammed the door closed behind you and pushed a filing cabinet in front of it, grabbing your hand and dragging you further into the building, through another door. Once that one was secure, she reached for you again. If she had to drag you all the way back to the aquarium, she would.

But this time, you ripped your hand away. That’s when you seemed to notice the blood on your hands. 

Lev’s blood.

“We need to move.” She wanted you to have time, for you to be able to fully react and process this, but it needed to be later. When you were safe.

You didn’t hear her. Or didn’t care. “He’s gone. Oh my god. He’s gone.”

She said your name, forcefully, trying to draw your eyes to her. “Come on.” She reached for you again, but you yanked your whole body in the opposite direction.

“Those were your fucking people!” you lashed out, much angrier than she’d ever seen you, and for good reason.

“Hey! You’re my people!” she said, matching your volume and intensity. Abby didn’t know where that came from, but she knew that it was true. She took a breath, stepped closer, and tried to touch you again, this time putting her hands on your shoulders. You let her, looking up at her with wide eyes. “Listen to me. We’re gonna have to fight to get out of this, okay? And then I need you to show us to those boats.” You nodded, and she moved her hands from your shoulders to either side of your face, holding your gaze. “We won’t let anybody stop us, yeah?”

“Okay,” you said, barely a whisper.

“Okay.” She stepped back, letting her hands fall to her sides. “Follow me.”

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

Haven was burning.

You were on a boat, floating off to safety, while your whole island went up in flames.

Lev was there. Your mother was there. Everything and everyone you knew was there.

But you were here.

In a rowboat.

And you weren’t even helping to row it.

You hadn’t even thought to offer. 

The phantom heat of the now distant fires that consumed Haven seemed to lick at the back of your skull as you finally pulled your eyes away, turning to face Abby.

She was rowing slowly, now that you weren’t in imminent danger, her strong arms engaged, face focused. She had to be tired. She’d done so much.

You were only alive because of her.

“I can row,” you said, voice weaker than you meant for it to be. 

Abby slowed a bit more, looking you over. “You’re shaking.”

You hadn’t noticed. You clenched your fists tightly, trying to stop the tremors. But it wasn’t just your hands that were shaking. It was your whole body. 

Were you cold? 

For how long?

You steeled yourself. “I can help.” 

She stopped rowing entirely and started to shift. You prepared yourself to switch seats with her, but she wasn’t actually moving. She was only taking off her jacket.

You felt like you should protest, that you should insist you were fine and that she should keep her jacket, but you didn’t have it in you. 

When she went to drape it over your shoulders, you let her. 

The jacket was soaked, just like everything else in Seattle, but it helped.

You put your arms in the sleeves properly and pulled it tighter around yourself, staring at the floor of the boat. 

What you wanted was for your mind to go blank. Thinking about anything was dangerous. You didn’t want to spiral, not right now. You couldn’t create more problems for Abby to deal with. You needed to just get back to the aquarium, get dry, and then–

Yara.

You had to tell Yara what happened. 

How could you tell Yara about this? You promised her you’d bring Lev back safe.

Lev.

Images came rushing back to you. You tried to blink them away, but they were stubborn. They lingered.

You swallowed back tears and let your head fall into your hands, trying desperately to focus on your breathing and nothing else. Nothing else. Nothing. Else.

Abby brought the boat right up to a small dock right next to the aquarium. She got out first and tied it off with deft fingers. Then she offered you a hand and pulled you out, stabilizing you as you found balance on embarrassingly shaky legs.

“Got it?” she asked, a hand pressed to your mid-back.

“Yeah.”

She stepped away. “Let’s get out of the rain.”

Someone had barricaded the aquarium door from the inside.

That was the first indication that something was wrong.

The second came soon after, when you found the dog – Alice – dead. 

You and Abby were both on high alert, moving through the dark hallways with your weapons drawn.

Then there was the blood. So much of it that there was a pool of it gathering on the other side of the door. Whatever happened – whatever went so terribly wrong here in the time that you were gone today – was through that doorway.

You forgot to breathe.

Abby pressed on. 

You really didn’t want to, but you followed.

Into the room with whales on the ceiling and Mel, Owen, and Yara lifeless and bleeding on the floor.

You went numb in a way that had nothing at all to do with the cold. You felt the switch flipping inside of you, the failsafe going into effect. You detached. Walls went up in your mind. 

This was good. It meant that maybe, just maybe, you’d make it through this day. 

You were somewhat aware of Abby, to your left, as she let out a terrible sound. You thought she was saying “oh,” but no. That didn’t make sense. She was saying “no.” Over and over again as she crumpled to her knees near Owen.

Your eyes locked onto something on the floor by your feet. To get it, you had to step through a pool of blood that had certainly come from one of the three bodies.

But it was just blood, you told yourself. And these were just bodies. Nothing to be done. Nothing to worry about.

Numbly, you bent to pick up what you now realized was a map of Seattle. Someone had written on it, covering it in notes and shapes and names.

After studying it for a minute, your eyes went to Abby. She was on her hands and knees, heaving after having been sick.

You’d give her a moment more if you thought it would help, but you knew it wouldn’t.

This. This map. That would help.

“Abby…” You approached her slowly, letting her make an attempt at pulling herself together. When you were close enough, you held out the map.

She took it, and then she stood slowly, examining it.

When she turned to you, you could tell. She knew the same thing you did.

Someone had been tracking Abby – hunting her – for a while.

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

“The trespassers,” she said.

They killed Manny. 

They killed Owen and Mel.

And, according to the map, they’d gotten to Nora, Jordan, Leah, and Nick too.

All in pursuit of Abby. 

Because of something she had done.

But they fucked up.

They left the map.

And now she knew exactly where to find them.

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

Note: As always, thank you for reading! I'm not the best at responding to comments, but I want you to know that I love and cherish them more than words can say! So if you're leaving them, thank you <3

I'm really excited about the turn the story takes in the next chapter, and I think it'll be really enjoyable to read for anyone who's rooting for Abby and the Prophet! (which is, I assume, everyone who reads this fic lol)

Taglist: @4-atsu @h0meb0dyi @lmaoo-spiderman @quinnsadilla @rew1nds @sapphicontherun @stickynachomaker

[bonkutoe]

nekoma hcs i've been dreaming up since before the movie came out:

- shibayama keeps a quote book

+ there are some absolutely foul, heinous statements in there.

+ he ends up passing it down to a first year before he graduates and has to explain uhh. quite a lot!

+ "um. why does yaku call kai babygirl" "how about we stop talking for a while!"

+ "'it tastes so good i would stick—' shibayama-san what IS this" "I'M JUST THE MESSENGER IT'S NOT MY FAULT"

- kuroo made a sliding scale diagram of every nekoma member from most to least catlike and refuses to accept any criticism

+ in order (as far as more relevant characters go) it went kenma, fukunaga, kuroo himself, tora, yaku, kai, shibayama, lev, inuoka

+ yaku in particular was deeply offended about his placement

+ "you're like if a dog could be a cat" "FUCK you how is tora higher than me" "well that's because he's like if a cat could be a dog."

- inuoka has a special handshake with everyone

+ the one with tora is the longest because they keep thinking of stuff to add and its really cool and not a distraction at all kuroo they promise

+ it's 40+ steps at this point

+ they keep having to restart because one of them forgets something

+ kuroo just wants to do serving drills and he's getting tired of asking nicely

- fukunaga can will and does fall asleep anywhere

+ like. anywhere. in a plane on a train on his desk at school on the floor in the library you name a location and i'd bet good money he's snoozed there. he fell asleep on the bench during a timeout once in the middle of a practice match. yaku found him in a cabinet one time

+ some under the counter door closed curled up shit. made it look like sleeping on a cloud too i'm sure

- speaking of fukunaga. he carries around one of those little party noisemaker things around with him so he can use it when something makes him happy

+ like those ones where you blow in them and the paper unrolls and it honks or whatever. you know the sound idk how to describe it

+ he's exploring creative methods of communication so he doesn't have to force himself to talk all the time :)

- every time kuroo sees a cat he HAS to meow at it, it isn't a question of if he will or not, he Has To. it's like a compulsion

+ it's the alternative to baby-talking them (which he also does sometimes)

+ when ppl send cat pics in the gc he types meow and hits send

+ he wants to be POLITE and say HELLO and since cats can't speak japanese, kuroo will speak cat

+ he gets down to their eye level too or at LEAST crouches. he doesn't wanna frighten them

- lev tried to keep the blood speech alive after the third years graduated

+ "ok we're blood--" "you're doing it WRONG" "WHATT WHATTTTT"

+ he tries to come up with something new but gives up bc he can't stop thinking of vital organs

+ "ok ok kenma i got it this time. so we're like the liver--" "tora i'm gonna kill this guy"

- touchiest volleyball team known to man

+ hugs, heads on shoulders or in laps, holding hands, shoulder touches, patting each other on the back or the head, arms around shoulders, cuddling at sleepovers they're doing it ALL

+ totally indiscriminate too. if you attend nekoma high school and join the boys' volleyball club you will not be touch starved i can tell you that

- you know how when you have a litter of kittens they all kind of sleep in a pile

+ this is a maneuver nekoma hits often, i think

+ it turns into a catch-all solution for like. anything

+ didn't get enough sleep? cat pile. finals are coming up? cat pile. forgot your phone at home? cat pile. it rained during the school day and you got the bottom hem of your pants wet on the way to afternoon practice? cat pile.

+ it sort of happens in the gym before/after practice just because it's the most convenient option, but it definitely happened in the bleachers after the dumpster battle too

[moon1833]

“JEALOUSY!”

When they get jealous: Haikyuu, Chainsaw man, Jujitsu Kaisen edition!

Fluff, smutty-ish if you squint

You know it, he knows it, everyone knows it. He doesn’t try to hide his emotions, he doesn’t care about that. What he does care about is getting you the fuck away from that guy who’s staring at you like he wants to fuck you right then and there.

He doesn’t blame you, of course. All you did was nod and smile politely at him. He could never be mad at you for that. It’s his fault.

He’ll glare, put a hand on your waist and tug you close to him while maintaining eye contact with whoever’s bothering you, and will add some remark if that doesn’t satisfy him enough.

Kurro, Geto, Toji, Tanaka, KAGEYAMA, Iwaizumi

The moment he realizes what’s going on, he’s a whiney mess. He’ll cling onto you, a small pout on his lips until you give him your undivided attention. And when you finally do, he’ll snap his lips to yours as soon as possible, wether whoever was hitting on you sees or not.

When you’re alone, he’s even more clingy. He’ll lay on top of you, his full body weight a bit heavy but a part of you loves it.

“Tell me all of your favorite things about me.” He’ll beg for your attention, moving your hand to his hair.

BOKUTO, Hinata, GOJO, Lev, Denji, Choso, Inumaki, Yuuta, OIKAWA, YUJI

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he’s amused. He’ll watch you interact with the stranger, a calculated expression stuck on his pretty features.

He’s silent for a little while, ignoring your constant glances. He liked to see you squirm. It was as if your body was physically repulsed by the stranger that had approached you and asked for your phone number, and god that made him feel good.

He’ll condescendingly dismiss the stranger after a while, a witty insult falling from his lips as they contort in a small smirk.

He’s confident you’re his, he doesn’t need to make a fool out of himself to prove it.

TSUKISHIMA, Aki, Geto, Nanami, Kenma, Suna, Megumi

He tries so, so, so hard to contain it. He shouldn’t be jealous, every rational fact points to the conclusion that you’d never do anything to jeopardize your relationship.

But he can’t help the prickly feeling of jealously aching up his spine at the sight of another man approaching you as he came back from the bathroom.

He wasn’t quick to anger, he took pride on his patience. But the look of uncomfortably on your face enraged him.

Still, it’s in his nature to be respectful. He’ll politely intervene, subtly pulling you away from the man with a tighter grip than usual.

He keeps a pleasant face on until he thinks you’re not looking, his expression falling and annoyance taking over.

The whole walk to the car, his hand is on your waist, and you’re pressed tightly to the side of his body.

He’s not letting you go anytime soon.

Daichi, NANAMI, Kita, Akkashi, Sugawara,

[stonertora]

Sub Kenma x Demon Fem. Dom reader ❤️

Part 1

MINORS DNI, HEAVY NSFW

Warnings: drug use or abuse idk (reader smoking weed) , breath play, fingering, size kink, rough sex, blood, spanking, marking, biting, slapping, pet play, bondage, humiliation, orgasm control, cursing, heavy language, overstimulation, age gap (age isn’t mentioned), choking, hair pulling, squirting, anal, spit, pegging, mommy kink

So I’ll just make something clear right ahead or ppl get confused, the reader definitely has some demonic abilities and features like horns, wings and a tail, I’ll just say that Reader herself can choose who sees the features or not, so people might not see them. I’ll also write it in readers pov.

After I ended my 9 hour shift, I just needed something to drink, an energy drink would do it’s job tho, so I’ll buy two for my boyfriend too. after I say goodbye to my coworkers, I quickly left.

my legs were hurting. standing all day really wasn’t made for me, I could just fly all day, but of course I can’t do that, what would people think of me, seeing some cashier randomly floating in the air? they’d probably freak out and call the police, so yeah, I can’t do that here.

It’s about 8 p.m. so now I’m on my way to the nekoma highschool, getting my boyfriend from his volleyball training. I could hear his friends already yelling and laughing, nothing new though they’re always fucking around with each other. I bet Yaku’s beating Levi’s ass again.

Only thinking about it got me crackling. I mean he shouldn’t mention Yaku’s height all the time, so it’s his fault. As I walked closer to the boys, I looked for Kuuro cause where Kuuro is, Kenma can’t be far away.

,,Sup bitches. Where’s Kenma at?’’

I yelled out of no where, suddenly the pain in my legs all gone, and adrenaline building up in my body, that’s one thing I love about his friends, they never fail to light the mood. Most of them nearly got a heart attack, which brought a wide grin to my face.

,,Damn y/n, you could’ve warned us at least, Levi almost shat his pants. Anyways your boyfriends on the toilet right now.”

Kuuro told me, almost loosing it himself thinking about Levi’s scream, but couldn’t suppress a slight grin on his face. So I sat down on the bench next to the boys, listening to how their training went, how Levi kept on fucking up the easiest stuff, or how they once again tried to stop Yaku from beating his ass, which I know had Kenma’s hair growing grey soon.

,,Damn Levi, you really should keep up with the training, if you keep fucking up Yaku’s really about to kill your tall ass.”

I told him, while opening my energy drink.

,,But it’s not that easy y/n-Chan, I just seem to really be too stupid for all this. And stop calling me ‘tall ass’, or I might call you minor dater, old hag or something like that.”

he said already getting himself ready to run for his live.

,,The fuck you said you lil bitch?”

I yelled at him, ready to rip his limbs one by one. I was ready to yeet his stork ass, but couldn’t do it. He got hit pretty hard in the face by some basketball.

,,OWWWW! That FUCKIN’ hurt man!!”

He yelled while blood ran down his nose.

,,Then shut your reckless fucking mouth, bitch.”

Everyone now looking shocked over to the direction the basketball came from. An angry Kenma walking towards us. Okay he was pissed, even more than me myself, you can see it, even a blind person could see it. The fact he extra got himself a basketball instead of a volleyball proves it even more.

I walked over to Levi, and stared straight into his eyes while he sat in the ground, Tora holding a paper wipe on his nose.

,,You can be happy it was Kenma who threw the ball, if it was me and I’ve had be half as mad as Kenma you’d be headless by now. So watch your language.”

I told him, I know he’s probably shitting his pants, but he must hear it.

,,I-I’m sorry, y/n-Chan, Kenma-San, won’t do it again I promise.”

I kneeled down of his level of height and grinned slightly.

,,You’re good, lev. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t kill you. take my energy, it’ll help with the pain, yeah? Keep the cold can on your nose it’ll help it to stop bleeding. “

I stood back up walking over to Kenma handing him the other energy I bought.

,,Take it. You need to calm down. You’re right about what you said but you really didn’t needed to throw a whole ass basketball in his face. Poor man’s probably got a broken nose by now.”

I told him still grinning, I know Lev deserved it, and the scene replaying in my head almost got me loosing it.

,,Whatever…”

Kenma said, taking the energy drink out of my hand.

,,What you say?”

I asked him, voice stern.

,,Sorry, I meant thanks, Babe. He just pissed me off.”

he told me.

,, Yeah, I understand, let’s go home. Your live stream should start in about an hour.”

we walked over to the others.

,,We’re leaving now, his livestream’a gonna start in a hour. See y’all tomorrow!”

After we said goodby to everyone, we’ll except to lev for Kenma, we walked home, enjoying the weather, it’s so hot outside like we’re almost melting. We went inside our apartment, while he started his livestream I started cooking. Some Katsu cutlet with rice and fried eggs and soysauce.

Placing it in two rice bowls, and walking to our shared bedroom. I opened the door quietly, careful not to make any noise, not to disturb his livestream. I placed his bowl next to his PS4, and quietly sat down on our shared king sized bed. I ate my food while watching him gaming. After about 10 minutes I finished, meanwhile he didn’t even touch his food once or looked at it. I didn’t wanted to disturb him, so I sent him a message to eat his food before it gets cold.

After another 10 minutes I got an idea on how i could make him eat. I crawled under his gaming desk, gently laying my head on his left thigh, gently massaging the other one with my right hand. He slowly looks down, while I whispered to him to eat his food. Which he nodded to, but still didn’t touch his bowl once. This. Little. Bitch.

The fuck he thinks he is to just ignore me? So I decided to change my plan a little. Just a little. While he kept streaming and talking to his viewers I started massaging over his crotch, which finally got me a real reaction. Man’s almost choked on his own spit but no one noticed. But he kept ignoring me, so this bitch really wants to know it huh…?

Playing all cool in front of his friends, only if they knew what a little slut he is for me. I kept massaging a little harder on his crotch, already feeling how his boner grows. Still acting all cool huh? Wait till you feel this. I slowly pulled down his pants, together with his boxers. His cock jumping out of his boxers, saying hello to the cool air. A little whimper can be heard.

,,AYO? What was that Kodzuken? 🤨”

I heard one of his friends ask.

,,Nothing, are you schizophrenic or something?”

,,Nah, I heard what I heard. But if you say so…”

heh. You heard damn right, I slowly licked a stripe along his cock, then a few licks on the tip, which ended in me sucking his cock while he’s streaming. I can hear his breath getting faster, heavier, it got worse with every second. Swirling my tongue around his cock, adding my hand to pump what doesn’t fit in my mouth. When I felt him almost cumming I suddenly stopped and stood back up and let myself fall on the bed, watching some TikTok’s. After another 5 minutes I heard something like,

,, Alright, that’s all for today chat, see y’all in 2 days. Bye.”

then he ended the livestream and turned off his PS4, and walked over to the bed, laying down next to me, trying to kiss my neck.

,,Uh excuse me sir? Sluts that don’t eat don’t get to cum, it’s that easy. So eat your food now it might still be warm, if not put it in the microwave. After you ate we can maybe talk about this.”

He looks at me with the “are you serious right now” look on his eyes, but stood up and started eating. I knew he wanted to talk back, but this ain’t working on me, it’s only gonna make everything even worse for him, and he knew this. So I continued watching my videos, after a few minutes i felt something entering the bedsheets, one look down already told me everything.

so I laid back, turning off my phone and laid it down on the little nightstand next to the bed. I felt my pants being pulled down, then some light kisses and rubs against my clothed pussy. My heart starting to beat faster, legs lightly trembling. I felt him pulling my panties aside, his hot breath meeting my now free pussy. He slowly started licking along my pussylips, just how I like it. His tongue meeting my clit, licking lazy circles around it, sucking on it here and there.

,,H-hah…keep going, pretty boy.“

I told him, my breath getting a little heavy. He then moved his wet tongue from my clit to my entrance, now tongue fucking me.

,,Hnggh…just like t-that..“

I grabbed a fist full of his hair, pulling on it, he moaned into my pussy, sending little vibrations straight to my core.

,,Mmhh..g-gonna cum soon, pretty. Make mommy feel good..“

he then again started massaging light circles around my clit with his tongue, adding two fingers inside me, curling them up to meet my g-spot.

,,H-hnggghh~…just like thaat…you’re making mommy feel soooo good..”

my moans getting louder from minute to minute, the lewd sounds working me up even more,

,,P-please…mommy…wan’ you to…c-cum all over..m-my face…m-m’ s-soo…needy for your c-cum..”

that’s all I wanted to hear, him begging, knowing his place, the lewd sounds of moans and being eaten out mixed together sending me over the edge…

———

Sup:) There’s definitely going to be a part two for sure! It’s just it’s 1 am over here and I have to work in like 5 hours. 💀 so I’ll post part 2 tomorrow or Thursday:3 I hope you liked it

[strwbrryeyes]

re: headcanon suggestions !

what do tha boys do when they're tired but can't sleep? do they stare at the ceiling or spiral into thought or get up and do something else until an ungodly hour?

hope sleep finds you soon nini </3

- ada ♡

𖦹°｡⋆ haikyuu boys when they can't sleep

⟡ cw: none

⟡ a/n: LOL i just realized i accidentally deleted the post asking for suggestions </3 im so tired idk what im doing anymore but yay omg i'll do this.

these are all i could come up with lol

would stare at the ceiling thinking it's the best option but actually slowly loses their mind.

these boys would be responsible and think that if they were to do anything else then yeah, they'd fully be awake. especially if they were to go on their phone because you know blue light and all. they wouldn't even get out of bed to stretch or anything because they're worried that they'd get a second wind and immediately not feel sleepy anymore. unfortunately for them, they still aren't falling asleep and are starting to go insane because they're so bored but so tired but are still holding on until they fall asleep. next thing they know, the birds are chirping and the sun is rising. they end up screaming into their pillow before getting ready for the long day ahead of them.

- ushijima, daichi, suga, iwaizumi, aran, kita, sakusa, kyotani

would start thinking about things that happened years ago

these boys would want to be part of the ceiling group but they end up cringing at everything because their brains decided to remind them of something they did years ago. all they can do is continuously face palm every time a new embarrassing memory pops into their mind. like why did he cry and throw a tantrum first year of high school when their crush politely rejected them? 'oh remember when you tripped in front of the whole school during a fire drill because you wanted to go see your friend?'. thinking about something that wasn't even his fault too like when a kid threw up on him in kindergarten. anything under the sun to make this man feel embarrassed enough that he practically forces himself to sleep as best as he can.

- osamu, asahi, kindaichi, yamaguchi, kinoshita, akaashi, kageyama, goshiki

would play games on their phones

these boys wouldn't even try to sleep lol. they're immediately go on their phones and play dumb mobile games just to pass the time. it pays off in the end though because guess who has the highest score in the country for subway surfers? that's right this guy right here. they'd also probably download all the papas pizzeria games (yes they would pay for them) but end up getting frustrated because why the fuck did wally give them a 98% on the order station???

- kenma, suna, kunimi, matsukawa, nishinoya, shirabu, semi

have a dance party/pretend concert

these boys like to take their sleeplessness in stride and just throw on some banging music and dance around like nobody's business. they'll even turn on their led lights to simulate a dance club or something! they're having the time of their lives while they sing into a water bottle pretending it's a microphone and pretending that they're on a world tour performing for their adoring fans. they eventually tire themselves out and pass out on the floor.

- bokuto, makki, tsukishima (weird ik but let me have this</3), yamaoto, atsumu, tanaka, tendou

would call a friend

if they can't sleep, neither can their friends. they cannot stand the thought of being so bored in the middle of the night and they've already exhausted all other options so they decide to call up their best friend over and over again until they pick up. doesn't matter if the friend ends up being mad at them they just want company dude. after a few minutes though they'll start to fall asleep and snore loudly into the phone causing the other person to get annoyed and scream into the phone to wake them up and hang up because why call them if you're just gonna fall asleep.

- oikawa, lev, kuroo, hinata, fukunaga, komori, terushima,

[mayajadewrites]

For Me (Levi Ackerman x Reader)

CHAPTER NINE: CLEANLINESS

SPICY CONTENT AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER

The sun peered through Levi's curtains, almost like it was checking to see if you were awake. It wasn't overbearingly bright, but it crept in. Your eyes fluttered open as your mind wakes up, thoughts from last night popping into your brain. You remember the feeling of Levi being borderline obsessed with you, devouring every inch of your body. 

You're wearing one of Levi's t-shirts with nothing underneath, while Levi is sporting a pair of sweatpants. His arms are wrapped around you, his face buried in your neck. You can feel his breath against your skin as he continues sleeping. 

Looking at him right now you would never guess that he's one of the most hard headed, stubborn people in the world. He looks so... peaceful. Innocent. You study his skin, letting your eyes glaze over his muscles that are usually hiding within whatever shirt he's wearing.

Levi starts to stir, his arms tightening around you as he wakes up. You move a piece of hair out of his face as his slate eyes open, blinking a few times.

"Don't you have to work today? It's Thursday." You whisper, letting your index finger outline his face.

"I took the day off." Levi cleared his throat. "I'm not leaving you in this bed for a whole day. I'd rather never have to leave you again." 

You're surprised by his words. Usually the men you've dated would be almost pushing you out of their house in the morning. 

"Never?" You tilt your head. "Never say never, Levi Ackerman." 

"I never," Levi kissed your nose, "Never," Your temple, "Never want to leave you." Lastly, your forehead. "I would kiss your lips but I need you to brush your teeth first."

"You're such a romantic." You laugh as you dig through your bag for your toothbrush. You're bent over your bag, your ass on full display. Levi's hands snake their way to your hips, pulling you back onto the bed. "Didn't you just tell me you need me to brush my teeth?"

Levi plants a kiss on your lower back, then to your right ass cheek. "It was begging for a kiss." 

After you brush your teeth, Levi goes in the bathroom after you. You watch as he runs his fingers through his hair and close the door behind him to the bathroom. 

You haven't looked at your phone since you got home last night, and unexpectedly you had texts from Jean.

JEAN 2:45 AM: I hope you're happy with your rich boyfriend. He's known to fuck women over so have fun with that. Thanks for lying to me.

JEAN 2:49 AM: He's not even above 5'5. What do you even see in him? 

JEAN 2:55 AM: You're gonna wish you never got with him.

Your eyes widen at the texts, igniting anxiety in your chest. Do you believe what Jean is saying? Absolutely not. Does it still put thoughts in your head? Absolutely. 

You don't want to hide anything from Levi, especially since it has to do with your relationship. He would find out anyways, so it's best to just tell him.

Levi emerges from the bathroom patting his face dry with a towel before throwing it in the hamper. He immediately notices the look on your face and starts asking questions. 

"What is it?" His tone was stern.

"Jean." You hand your phone to Levi, letting him scroll through the texts himself. His eyebrow raised as he read the words before his finger was on your screen. "What are you doing?"

"Blocking him." Levi hands the phone back to you. "He's such a child."

You nod and place your phone on the nightstand. You hate hurting people's feelings and causing them sadness. One thing about you- you're empathetic. Almost too empathetic. 

"Hey," Levi sits next to you. "Nothing that he said was true."

"I know, I know. I just don't like hurting anyone." 

"It's not your fault you didn't feel the same way about Jean that he felt about you. And it's damn sure not your fault that you ended up with me."

"I don't regret any of my decisions." You look at Levi, who's now wearing a white sweater free of any imperfections. "I just wish he didn't text me that shit."

Levi pressed his lips to yours, letting his hand rest on the side of your face. You kiss him back gently, putting your hand on top of his.

"What are your plans today?" You look at Levi as his hands rest on your thighs. 

"This." Levi's hand travels up your thigh to your entrance, letting his fingers graze over your slit. You throw your head back at the contact, forgetting you weren't wearing any underwear. "Already so wet for me." Levi purred, his lips attaching to your neck. He sucks over the bruises he left last night, leaving new ones along with them. He inserts one finger inside of you, then another. 

"Levi." You moan, pressing your hand to the back of his head. 

"Mm. Say my name again." Levi says against your skin as his fingers plunge in and out of you. 

"Levi," You moan a bit louder as you feel his fingers curl inside of you. "I want you inside me." 

"Not wanting to be patient today?" Levi smirked. "I can feel your close."

"I want you inside of me now." You push Levi off of you gently, flipping him so he's leaning against the headboard as he sits up. You see his cock erect against his sweatpants, begging to be freed. "Take these off."

"I like when you're demanding. Just today though, Princess." Levi kicks off his pants, his length springing free. You marvel for a moment at him, your pussy begging for contact. You place your hands on Levi's shoulders, hovering over him. "You look so beautiful from here." Levi's hands move to your waist, sending goosebumps across your skin. You throw the shirt you're wearing over your head and onto the floor, hovering your entrance over the tip of his cock. 

You push yourself down on Levi's length, letting him expand your walls. You moan at the contact as Levi's eyes shut and his hands help you bounce on his cock. 

"Right there." You tilt your head back, grinding your hips against him. "Yes, Levi." A moan escapes your lips.

"This mouth of yours." Levi presses his palm to your lips. "My neighbors might hear you."

"And?" You say against his palm. "You don't want them to know you fuck your girlfriend like this? That you cover my insides with you?"

This sends Levi over the edge. He pins you down on the bed, bringing both of your feet to his shoulders. He slams his cock into you with his hand still over your mouth. 

"Say something now." Levi grunts as he thrusts into you. "Say how good I make you feel. Say your pussy belongs to me." 

Your eyes roll back at Levi's words, your walls pulsating around him. 

"Say it." Levi pulls his length out of you, only letting his tip graze your slit.

"You make me feel so fucking good, Levi." You moan. "My pussy is yours."

"For how long?" Levi grunted. "How long does your pussy belong to me?"

"Forever." Your orgasm hits you and your legs start to twitch as Levi keeps thrusting into you - fucking you senseless. "Levi." You moan his name, running your fingers through his hair, resting them on his undercut at the back of his head. "Baby, come inside me." 

Levi's thrusts became messy as your words linger on his ear. He wraps his arms around you as he pushes his entire length into you, coming undone. You feel him release inside of you, his cock twitching. You're both panting as he slowly retreats from your body - a whimper escaping your lips. 

"Shower." Levi kissed your lips swiftly as he stood up from the bed. 

"Why don't you shower with me?" You tilt your head.

"We won't get clean if we do that. We'll get dirty again and it's an endless cycle." 

"No funny business, I promise. Just cleanliness." You put your hand up, crossing your index and middle finger. "Scouts honor."

[yanderecrazysie]

Harmless (Yandere Lev)

I'm on a fucking ROLL- Anyways this is a request from Quotev!

Title: Harmless

Pairings: Lev x Reader

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, Lev is fluffy af

Summary: Lev couldn’t hurt a fly, so why are you avoiding him?

harmless

/adjective/

not able or likely to cause harm.

You’re really just too cute for your own good.

Your skin is so soft and perfect for stroking. Your hair is so beautiful and fun to play with. You’re the perfect height and have the most adorable little face that makes the cutest expressions.

How can you expect anyone, especially a guy as fixated on you as Lev, to ever leave you alone?

He’s entirely enamored with your cuteness, to the point that he can’t focus on anything else when you’re around.

It’s impossible to be intimidated by Lev, despite his towering height and catlike eyes. He’s like an oversized puppy. Surely, he’s too innocent to suspect of anything wrong at all, too oblivious to plan anything nefarious.

And maybe that’s true. After all, Lev’s intentions are nothing but harmless. The obsession that consumes him isn’t really his fault, he reasons, and it’s not hurting anyone, not even you.

Sure, it’s a little annoying to have him poking at your cheeks and nose every few minutes or wrapping his insanely long arms around you so that you can’t escape his smothering affection, but it’s not anything bad.

It’s not like he gets jealous of other guys or anything, as long as he has you within arms’ reach (which is easy, considering it’s him). He’s not violent or threatening in any way (you couldn’t even picture him doing anything like that!)

He’s harmless, so what’s the problem? Why do you shy away from his touches when he’d never hurt you? Why do you avoid him when he’d give you all the affection you could possibly need.

He’ll try harder and harder to prove that he’s harmless to you. That you can trust him. That he’s really nothing but fluff under his strength.

Just give in. What’s the worry? No harm done.

After all, even the most harmless person in the world can turn into a monster if you push him hard enough.

[tlougayforellie]

Who You’ve become.

Abby x Reader

AU- where You and Abby have created a life together. Raised Lev as your guys son. But her anger and her vengeance against Ellie and Joel cause a divide.

—- sorry if this ass I wrote it quick because I had been thinking about daddy Abby—- not proof read cuz im lazy—-

*mean Abby* *fighting* *mentions of murder* *gay, very gay female reader*

“Abby!” Your voice echoed over the surrounding mountains. You were done with the silent game she was playing with you.

“I swear to fuck-“ you took a moment to think if you really wanted to do this- “I will take my ass back down this mountain and leave you here to wallow in your anger.”

Abby finally stoped, rocks crumbling beneath her feet as she turned to face you. Anger covered her freckled face, it was hard to believe that this was the same freckled face that made you lose your breath.

“Do it, Y/N. See if I give a shit.”

You weren’t sure if was the sudden icy air that stole your breath or Abbys use of your full name. A lump grew in your throat because you knew. You knew that Abby had another teenage girl on her mind.

“Give it up Abby!” Your shaky voice filled the silent mountain yow two stood atop.

Things had shifted between you guys since she found them. Abby had always had revenge on her mind but since killing Joel and breathing the same air as Ellie, she had changed. You wondered if Ellie Williams was doing the same thing to her family that Abby was doing to yours.

“I just- Why? Why!” You screamed at her in anger. Why let her talk? If she wanted to play the silent game then you would speak enough for the both of you.

“She did this!” Abby moved down closer to you, it scared you almost. The anger and swift movements towards you made you cower.

Anger melted into you now, but this anger was for your family not some stupid grudge that you couldnt get over. Abby always wanted to blame someone else, it was never her fault. That made boil over, why couldnt she admit she was the problem?

“Tore us apart? Tore your family apart? that was you Abby. Not Ellie, not Joel. You!”

You wiped away the hot tears that were streaming down your face. Everything revolved around Ellie Williams these days. Ever since that fateful day years ago. And then the fateful day that happened only months ago had refueled the fire you thought was burnt out. But clearly embers still smoldered inside of Abby all these years later.

“She kill-“ You cut Abby off before she could spit out her anger filled speech on the untimely death of her late father. Again she was trying to deflect the blame.

“Don’t. Do not blame this all on her. Your dad died and I’m so fucking sorry, Abigail. But this? This shit with us and Lev thats on you. I just don’t get it. You know you got your damn revenge. You murdered her father figure. Eye for an Eye. Now give it a rest. Why tear your family apart for her? Why can’t you just let her go?”

You stopped to take in Abby’s expression to see if any other emotion was present. You couldn’t see it if it was there. Not only could you feel Abbys tense presence but you could now feel Levs. He must have finally caught up.

Lev had been everything to Abby when you guys had first found him. He quickly and easily fit into the mold of the family you had begun creating with her. But as the months clicked on since the murder of Joel Miller at the hand of your lover, she had become distant. Slowly you and Lev were eating dinner together, slowly you were the only one teaching Lev survival skills and school lessons. Slowly but surely it became Lev, you, and the ghost of Abby.

“Abigail, I feel like you love the idea of Ellie being dead, more than you love Lev and I. And we’re going home now. So come if you want or don’t. we dont care anymore.”

You felt Lev’s small cold hand wrap around yours, something he hadnt done in a long time. His soft sniffles filled the silence between you and Abby. You knew this destroyed him as much as it did you. But you had to do what was best for your family, for him.

You so desperately wanted Abbys face to soften, for her to finally drop the tough girl act. For her to wrap her strong arms around Lev and you again. To feel like a family again. To go home with you guys. To stop being a stranger who lived alongside you and Lev.

“fine.” Her voice was stone cold.

You felt like a bullet had pierced through your heart. Like someone took a bat to your heart and just kept beating it until it was a million different pieces. This wasnt the answer you wanted. But it had been the one you expected. You knew Lev’s heart had shattered too by the way his fingers began to twitch in your hand.

Abby had already began heading back up the mountain. You felt the grip on your hand get tighter as Lev’s small frame tried to yank you in the other direction. Hot tears pooled down your face as you watched Abby walk away. God. You felt like your whole world had fell apart. 19 years old with a 13 year old kid you had chosen to raise with who you thought was your soulmate.

You stumbled back as Lev pulled on your arm. You couldnt let Abby have the last word, not this time. It wasnt about the anger you felt towards her or the pain she caused you hut the pain she caused your guys son.

“You’re just like her!” You yelled out despite the rock in your throat. Abby didn’t even stop, she just kept walking. You knew it stabbed Abby to hear that though. You used her deepest secret against her.

You finally gave into Lev’s tugging and turned back to head down the steep mountain side. You and Lev walked in a somber silence back down the mountain. You weren’t sure what to say to him. Abby and you had raised Lev like he was your own and truly he was your son. and now Abby was walking away. Leaving you as a single parent in this treacherous world.

“Do you think Abby will come back?” Lev’s voice was barely louder than a whisper.

“The only way she’s coming home is in a body bag or until Ellie Williams is dead.”

No other words needed to be spoken. Lev and you had an understanding of the silence you two shared. You had shared years with the family you had made with Abby and Lev. But today leaving the mountain your family divided.

“It’s just you and I again, bud.”

He gripped your hand tighter and you couldnt help but feel his pain too.

[dorianlovesliterature]

@marsneedstherapy half of this is your fault

[rivangel]

*tlou2 spoilers* Very important question, and a polarizing one ive found: how did you feel about ellie letting abby go?

ooo i have so much to say about this.

it was supposed to be unsatisfying, like something is missing, like complete desolation. because that’s what ellie IS at this point. she’s a complete shell of her former self, she alienated and abandoned her wife/partner, and their baby, and their perfect farmhouse outside of jackson.

and for what? “for joel!!” —everyone who still wanted to kill abby up until the santa barbara chapter is thinking.

but really, for what? Abby at this point is on the brink of death after being captured. upon seeing her, Abby doesn’t even give a fuck and just wants Lev to be safe. she tells Ellie there are boats, but she’s neither pushing away nor leading her to them. she doesn’t pose a threat.

“but she killed joel!!”

okay, meanwhile, ellie gets impaled on a tree, another infected bite, sunburned, her fingers bit off, and BEAT UP to all hell. the final boss fight feels… like a slog. it’s so disorienting, like all your movements are delayed. it’s so grey and just… colorless. it’s extremely well crafted -

but this is the point. there’s no more satisfaction or even anger, only agony. just dread. as if they’re obligated to do this based on what Abby did to Joel, but first, what Joel did to Jerry.

(i’m not getting into the weeds of why that matters. if you think Abby’s suffering means less than Ellie’s because of what Abby did to Joel you have the moral understanding of an 8 year old so help yourself🙏.)

it’s so, so, so tired at this point.

but here’s the real crux of my reasoning!!! what would Joel have thought when Ellie went to Seattle, and disregarded Tommy’s life so that she could catch Abby at the aquarium? what would Joel think of her following in his footsteps and taking mass murder from a single hospital to 2 communities who HAVE A RIGHT to life in their own rights? Then to abandon her family to kill herself even more than she already had????

well I’ll tell you that Joel wouldn’t have wanted Ellie to go through ANY of that from the start.

“but Abby still deserves to die because she took away Ellie’s chance to forgive Joel.”

Ellie after his death still didn’t fully comprehend WHY he took her out of the hospital (from a journal entry circa day 2) but even if Joel came out and just said he loved her like she was his own daughter, Ellie hates herself too much to be able to accept that. in fact, after she learns the truth, she ACTS like she hates Joel, but really she’s taking all her self hatred and pointing it towards HIM. he LOVES her but she just couldn’t accept that. she had years to accept that. in that time, she likely DID forgive him, but their relationship was still broken. it didn’t need to take yelling at Joel during that dance to come to an understanding; Ellie didn’t go to him. that’s not Abby’s fault.

THAT’S what I think Ellie realized in the final flashback of Joel smiling during their last conversation during the fight.

and you know, Ellie STILL has years to accept that he loved her. and I think it began with letting Abby and Lev go. because of what they represent. a MAJOR reason she did realize that it was time to let it go before it went any farther was the way Abby was so concerned for Lev right after being cut down. how could Ellie not have seen Joel and herself in them?? the only way Ellie GOT Abby to fight was by threatening to slit Lev’s throat.

also, the game goads you into not thinking so as a player, but every life warrants living. especially “the last of us” IYKWIM!!!!!!!! Abby is also included in that. at the end of his life (in retirement i guess) Joel would feel the exact same way.

when the fight is over and Abby gets up, Ellie says “go. just take him.” not only to mean Lev, but figuratively Joel too.

i think if Ellie did kill Abby then there would’ve been no redemption for her anymore. killing Abby doesn’t make Ellie hate herself for not being the cure less. it wouldn’t have made Joel happy in spirit. she’s kill so many people, and then she would’ve abandoned her family, got her friend killed, and killed one more.

Ellie letting Abby go is not supposed to feel good. but it DOES feel right with all of this in mind. i think it couldn’t have been done any other way.

[riverstardis]

series 33 episode 4:

it's sam's funeral :(

duffy's phone ringing😭

dylan interrupting iain and saying that it's his fault they're all there😬

i still love connie and ethan's weird friendship!!

lmaooo connie says she's put some money behind the bar for after the funeral and ethan's like "that's very generous?" and she goes "well, don't act so surprised" and he looks amused

ruby's working instead of being at the funeral? actually nevermind i suppose she wasn't exactly close to sam was she

aw gem trying to convince iain that dylan was just taking his pain out on him

iain then offers to take gem back to work but she can immediately tell that he just wants to go looking for dylan😭

damn elle looks good

alicia <33333

this guy's reaction to his wife having a miscarriage is to shout "how could you do this to me AGAIN" and run out...... bro what??????

looks like gem wasn't successful in convincing iain not to go to the hospital

ruby <333

lmao this dad telling his son that bullies are just cowards so he should always fight back and david's like "i always ran" and the dad's like "did it get you anywhere?" and david's like "er yeah. a lot further away" sjsjdjsfj

iain confronting dylan and pushes him (both verbally and physically) until he has a go at him "you're an animal. sam deserved so much better than you, and you shouldn't have even been-" and iain punches him and his head hits the bench😭😭 i swear every single time anyone punches someone in this damn show there's always some object that just happens to be placed strategically in the path of their head😭

oooooh yeahhh scibbles time!!!! their banter >>>>>

ethan goes "well, i actually thought that was pretty good teamwork" and alicia goes "ohh you're on my team now are you?" "your team?" "stick with me ethan, you will learn a lot" ethan laughs and goes "right" sjsjdfjf i love themmmm

ethan says "i was wondering, actually, if... are you gonna go to sam's drink later?" and alicia goes "why, do you want a plus one or?" she's still speaking in like a flirty/bantery way but he's like "it wasn't meant to be like that" "i'm only joking" "sorry, i shouldn't have said anything" and she kisses him and then takes his hand and says "thank you" THEM <3333333 ethan looks pleasantly surprised sjsdjsjf

omg the background nurses are at the pub too! i've never noticed them go to the pub before

iain's tribunal went well

so why was sam's funeral only such a tiny part of the episode? we didn't even get to see the paramedics holding their radios up like at jeff's💔 hey at least she actually got an onscreen funeral though, unlike lev, fenisha, and robyn (and noel but i understand there wasn't really anything they could do about that cause of covid)! this was the start of the problems with handling character deaths on the show that i keep going on about! everyone was so mad about this at the time and it has only got worse since, we've just stopped being so surprised about it! i remember someone saying that at least lev and fenisha not getting funerals meant that they couldn't fuck it up like they did with sam and duffy😭

[nochi-quinn]

WIP Wednesday

Proving I'm still working on Never Limited and Never Complete even with Fallout's vice-grip on my soul

Frazie trailed behind Lizzie down the hallway, flexing her hands at her sides and trying to control her breathing. She’d already been wound up over the Wall, and then Norma showed up. She’d at least refrained from insulting her family this time, but seemed to have replaced it with being a know-it-all.

Unless the book was a jab in and of itself. Our family followed us when yours won’t. She knew Lizzie hadn’t knowingly poked the exposed nerve that was her family, but that hadn’t stopped it from hurting. Everything about this place seemed determined to stomp right on it, bringing up her brother or grandmother every time she introduced herself, or plastering her name on their breeding registry – after Lizzie’s explanation it was difficult to think of it as anything else – before she’d even moved in properly.

She was pulled between two worlds, one that revered her family for being psychic and the other trying to pretend they weren’t, and it was fucking exhausting.

But that wasn’t Lizzie’s fault. She shouldn’t be mad at her for having a supportive family just because hers was complicated and difficult. So she took a deep breath, closed her fists to stop her fingers twitching, and breathed out her frustration in a long, slow sigh. “Hey,” she called ahead, taking a couple of long strides to catch up with Lizzie. “Sorry.”

“I’m sorry,” Lizzie said. “I should have thought before opening my fat mouth.”

“Your mouth’s not fat,” Frazie said. “None of my shit is your fault, don’t feel bad about it.”

“I feel bad for you,” Lizzie said, and Frazie just looked at her out of the corner of her eye. “Not like, in a pity party way,” she added quickly. “Just like. You don’t deserve that.” She shoved her hands deep into her pockets. “No one does.”

Frazie had just opened her mouth to respond when they approached a set of double-doors. “Look, the gym!” Lizzie announced with what could only be described as relief.

Frazie pressed her lips together tightly. She didn’t know Lizzie well enough to argue with her, which was a small shock to realize. They’d spent so much of the past two days and Lizzie knew so much about her, but she knew relatively little about Lizzie in return.

Only time would rectify that, as much as it grated on her nerves. So she followed after Lizzie with her fingers back to flexing at her sides, continuing the tour of what was apparently her new home, at least for a while.

Her irritation was shoved to the back of her mind when they passed the double doors (and Thinkerprint scan) into the gym. It was huge, at least as big as the library, but much more open. Tumbling mats and parallel bars and an honest-to-god trapeze, with actual cables like her father had always wanted to replace their ropes with.

“Go on,” Lizzie said, and when Frazie looked over she had a fond smile on her face. “You know you wanna.”

“What, did my brother start cartwheeling all over the place?”

“I dunno.” Lizzie shrugged. “But you look like a kid in a candy store.”

Why that made her flush Frazie didn’t know, but she redirected it by slipping out of her shoes and heading for the tumbling mat. The shirt wasn’t the best for acrobatics, but at least she’d worn leggings instead of jeans. She picked up speed as she approached the mat, turning a cartwheel as soon as she reached the edge. She stumbled on the landing, not used to the give of a mat versus hard-packed earth, but managed a second flip regardless.

Lizzie applauded behind her, and she grinned as she turned and took a bow. “Surely that’s not the first cartwheel you’ve ever seen,” she laughed.

“First professional cartwheel,” Lizzie responded. “I mean yeah, your brother, but that’s usually in training or whatever. And usually off a lev ball.” Her eyes lit up. “Oh shit, you’re gonna be unstoppable with a lev ball.”

Frazie paused, caught between two reactions. The thought of being able to launch herself higher and with more control made a dozen possible routines jump to mind...followed swiftly by the fact that her mother would never allow any of them to use their abilities on the stage.

“Hey.” Lizzie’s voice shook her out of her thoughts, and she gave a quick, unconvincing smile.

“I’m fine,” she said, and went into a backbend to avoid seeing Lizzie’s reaction.

[bitterlikesweets]

Love Bites Ch 30

This is the thirtieth chapter of a modern/vampire AU riren fanfic. You can also read it on Ao3.  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Special | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30

“You want us to… come to Levi’s house?” Mikasa asks, and Eren sighs, futilely searching through Levi’s bedroom closet for clothes large enough for him to wear. 

“Yes, Mikasa, that’s what I just fucking said to you.”

“Jesus,” Mikasa says, her voice dripping with sarcasm and a hint of annoyance. “Somebody’s having a rough morning.”

Eren leans his head against the wall and sucks in a deep breath, his free hand clenched into a tight fist at his side. His breath escapes him in a hiss. 

She doesn’t know. She doesn’t know. She doesn’t know.

“Can you come or not?” 

“I can, but why at the house of the little gnome? You’re not home?”

“I’m not, and I can’t go back to my place because of the stupid fucking sun,” Eren says, letting out a sigh when he checks the size of the last of Levi’s shirts. Nothing’s going to fit. Maybe jackets…?

“Right, okay, vampires and sun. But then how did you get to Levi’s house?”

“I slept over,” Eren says without thinking, and he doesn’t realize the implication of those words until Mikasa lets out a little gasp. It’s not even the first time that he’s spent the night at Levi’s place. Sometimes he forgets how little he’s told her.

“You slept—Wait. Did you guys…? You didn’t—did you?”

Eren rubs his face. It was only last night, but it feels like ages ago already. Kind of hard to think fondly on it when one of his friends has been fucking kidnapped in the aftermath.

She doesn’t know. She doesn’t know. Calm down, Eren.

Eren’s eyes lock on a hoodie in Levi’s closet a size larger than the others and yanks it out before sliding the door shut. He’s not going to bother checking for pants.

“Can we talk about this another time? We’ve got more important things to worry about.”

“More important than your first—?”

“Yes, Mikasa, so would you just fucking tell me if you can get here or not?”

Mikasa is silent, and Eren sighs, sagging into the closet door, his forehead pressed against the wood. She doesn’t know. It’s not her fault. He shouldn’t take it out on her. But it’s hard, it’s hard when Mikasa is trying to pry regular gossip out of Eren when Isabel is in danger right fucking now—

“What’s going on, Eren?” Mikasa asks, and all of her teasing amusement is gone, replaced by genuine concern. It suits Eren’s mood better, but it also makes his shoulders sag with guilt.

She wasn’t supposed to know about any of this. She wasn’t supposed to worry.  But if something were to happen to her or Armin without them even knowing why—

Eren’s stomach churns, and he squeezes his eyes shut. 

He doesn’t even want to think about it. 

“Can you just… Can you get here? I don’t… I don’t want to tell you over the phone.”

“Okay,” Mikasa says softly. “Do you want me to call Armin for you? So you don’t have to… Do this again?”

“Yeah,” Eren mumbles, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. “Please. I’ll text you the address.”

“Is Levi going to be there?”

“No… He’s—” Out trying to make sure the people he cares about are still safe and alive. “—Busy. He’s… busy.”

“...Okay,” Mikasa says, and the slow, cautious way she says that one word makes Eren press his hand harder against his eyes. “I’ll be there soon.”

They say their goodbyes before Eren hangs up, sagging to the floor and burying his face into Levi’s hoodie as Isabel’s face lingers in his mind. Where is she now? At Zeke’s club? How hurt is she? Eren knows Zeke drank her blood—Is he going to turn her? Is she even conscious right now? Why her?

And Eren hates himself for thinking it, for wondering why Isabel, why not someone else, because of course losing anyone from the restaurant like this would’ve crushed him, but Isabel—Isabel is the first person Eren met at the Kitchen, before even Levi. Isabel was the one who let him in, who took him to Levi when he was in agony and his fangs were desperately crying for blood. She was the one who helped him when he fucked things up with Levi’s confession, the one who told him that story about her childhood that loosened him up and allowed Eren to make things right with the man he loved again.

“It was ten years ago... Little Isabel sits in the corner of the room, her vampire captors still asleep in their beds. Then bang! It’s Furlan, throwing the door open. And Big Bro Levi with a crossbow!”

Now she’s captured again, but they can’t go to her. They can’t save her. Eren can’t do a fucking thing for her, can’t make up for all that she’s done for him because Zeke has her and Eren is fucking useless, useless—

Eren takes a deep breath, clenching his hands into fists again. He just has to wait until tonight. He just has to wait. Levi’s going to come back with a plan. They’re going to save her. They have to. And then they’ll have a new story for Isabel to tell with a smile on her face. 

Eren has to tell himself that, over and over again, so that he doesn’t drive himself insane.

~ ~ ~

Armin arrives first, blue eyes narrowed and a backpack slung over his shoulders. Eren expects to be bombarded with questions instantly, but Armin just stands in front of the closed door, scanning the vampire from top to bottom, silent. Eren frowns a little, taking a step back to let his friend in. Armin moves inside, his lips pressing into a thin frown, blond eyebrows furrowing, and Eren winces, expecting a scolding or something worse—

And then arms are around him, tight around him, a blond head against his chest. Eren’s eyes go wide, his own arms hanging helplessly at his sides, not caught up with the situation he’s in. 

“Armin…?”

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Armin says, and Eren hears a hint of bitterness, hears frustration in the way Armin seems to speak through clenched teeth. “But I’m always here for you, Eren. No matter what it is.”

Eren’s eyes water, guilt building like a layer of acid coating the inside of his ribcage. Painful. Spreading. 

“I’m—” Eren falters, throat tightening, wet eyes threatening to spill over. “I’m sorry for—for hiding things from you. I didn’t—I didn’t want you to worry.”

Armin laughs a little, lifting his head away from Eren’s chest to look up at his friend with a lopsided smile.

“Yeah, because going radio silent on us for a month wasn’t going to worry me at all.”

Eren grimaces. 

“Sorry,” he says again. “I’ve been… busy. Things have been—”

Eren’s throat clogs, breath hitching and he doesn’t know if it’s the stress of everything or if it’s the instinctual way having one his best friends around lowers his guard, but all his emotions are building up in his chest, in his throat, in his eyes, about to overflow. Armin’s lips curve down into a concerned frown as Eren presses a hand over his eyes, tears finally escaping, sliding down his cheeks. 

“Things have been—”

“Eren?” calls out a voice from outside. “You said to just open the door once I got here, but you’re not close to it are you? I’m not going to open this and accidentally turn you to dust?”

Eren and Armin turn towards the door before looking at each other again. Their gazes meet, briefly, before they both burst into startled laughter. Armin pulls himself away from his vampire friend, and Eren wipes his eyes as he continues to laugh, feeling a bit delirious. This day is fucking ridiculous. It feels as disjointed as a dream.

If only that were actually the case.

“Give me a second,” Eren calls out to Mikasa, teardrops still sliding down his jaw, his voice garbled, throat still tight. What a mess. What a fucking mess. 

Armin watches him with a smile as Eren crosses to the opposite side of the room, where any light from the doorway has no chance of reaching him.

“Alright, you’re good.”

Mikasa cracks open the door, poking her head inside and glancing back and forth before her dark eyes land on Eren and grow wide. She rushes into Levi’s living room, slamming the door shut behind her as she crosses to him. Mikasa’s hands land on Eren’s shoulders, dark eyes scanning the vampire from head to toe as he continues to wipe salty droplets off of his cheeks.

“What—What’s wrong? What’s going on? Did you already start explaining to Armin—Why didn’t you wait for me—?”

“Mikasa,” Eren says, prying her hands from his shoulders. “I haven’t told Armin anything yet.”

“But you’re—”

“I just got here,” Armin pipes up, walking closer to Mikasa and Eren. “This is just from…”

Armin glances at Eren, smile fading, and Eren sighs, rubbing his damp cheek with the back of his hand.

“...Just from seeing each other again,” Armin says.

“Oh,” says Mikasa, though Armin’s explanation only makes her frown deepen. “Whatever it is—it’s that bad?”

Eren nods and wipes his eyes again, though they’ve finally begun to dry. The energy he had briefly gained from Mikasa’s entrance is quickly fading, replaced by a heaviness in his limbs and a nauseating swirl of dread in his stomach.

This isn’t a fun little reunion. They’re here so that Eren can warn them. So that he can try to prevent them from getting hurt.

“Eren?”

His closest friends are looking at him with eyes full of concern, matching frowns on their lips. Eren takes a deep breath.

“Let’s… sit down for this.”

Mikasa and Armin exchange a somber glance before following Eren to Levi’s black couch. They crowd in on either side of him, Armin’s shoulder pressed against Eren's own, and Mikasa’s hand resting lightly on the center of his back. Ready to comfort him, to ease him, like always. Worrying about him, like always. Even though that’s what Eren wanted to prevent. 

Where is he even supposed to start? Levi would probably know how to broach the subject, how to fill them in on what’s necessary and nothing else. But Levi isn’t here. Levi is checking on his family, scouting out Kingdom, worrying about Isabel—Fuck, Isabel, please be okay—

Eren rubs his face with his hands. Isabel. It isn’t going to make any sense to his friends, but he has to start there. Start with the problem at hand. 

Armin reaches over and squeezes Eren’s arm. Eren takes another deep breath.

“Bear with me for a second,” Eren says. “Do either of you remember the waitress who took our orders the day we met Levi? You might have met her the last time you came to the restaurant too. Red hair, usually in pigtails.”

“Waitress…?” Mikasa echoes with a frown.

Armin gasps, snapping his fingers.

“The one Mikasa yelled at when you ate garlic?” Armin asks, and Mikasa winces, seemingly remembering her too.

“That’s the one,” Eren says, curling and uncurling his hands into fists in his lap. “Her name’s Isabel. I—we’ve gotten pretty close, and she’s like family to Levi, and—”

Eren falters. And now she’s gone. Taken by the Feral King. By Eren’s brother. And he can’t help her. He can’t do anything for her. Fuck. Fuck.

“And?” Armin urges, and Eren squeezes his eyes shut. There’s so much to explain, so much to say, and Eren doesn’t want to say any of it. He wishes more than anything that he could keep them out of the loop, keep them thinking there’s nothing more serious going on than his relationship with Levi, but—

“Tell your friends. Best case scenario, we’re overly cautious.”

“What do you think the worst case would be…?”

“The worst case scenario is that we’re already too late, and your friends are being held as hostages without knowing why. Or they’re already dead.”

They’re not dead. But Eren can’t guarantee that they’re safe yet, either.

“And she’s—” Eren starts, but he falters, even though he knows he should continue. There’s no other way to say it. “She’s been kidnapped.”

Mikasa and Armin are silent. Eerily silent. Eren reluctantly peels his eyes open, looking back and forth at his friends. Mikasa is wearing a frown, but she looks confused, not concerned. Armin’s expression is blank, blue eyes aimed at the ground.

“What… what are you talking about, Eren?” Mikasa asks. “Are you serious?”

Eren meets her dark-eyed gaze, eyelids heavy. He doesn’t answer her question out loud, but he doesn’t need to. Mikasa goes pale, mouth falling open. 

“So that’s why you’re—Oh my God. Is she oka—”

Mikasa snaps her mouth shut. Is she okay? Obviously not. Eren’s hands clench into fists again, his nails pressing hard into his palms until they begin to ache. 

“I know that it’s—it’s a heavy thing to drop on you guys all of a sudden, but…”

“No,” Mikasa says quickly. “Eren, don’t worry about that. I—I’m glad we can be here for you. Have you called the police already? Are they looking for her? How did you find out?”

Eren bites his lip with his flat front teeth. How much does he have to tell them? Maybe—maybe he can still limit their concern. All he really needs to do is make sure that they’re careful, make sure that they’re aware of possible danger. Maybe he doesn’t need to fill them in on everything. Yeah, he can just keep it to the bare minimum. They don’t need to know about the ferals, about Zeke, about what Eren’s going to do. He can be vague about it. It’s scary, and Levi and I don’t know if other people close to us are in danger too. So be careful, just in case. That’s enough right? They don’t need to know the rest. Then Eren doesn’t have to tell them about the plan. Then they won’t have to argue about Eren throwing himself headfirst into danger—

“Eren,” Armin says, voice low, his gaze still on the ground. “Where’s Levi?”

“What?” Eren blinks, still trying to find a way to phrase the warning without giving too much away. “He’s out checking on his other employees.”

“So it’s not a random kidnapping.” Armin finally raises his head. “Someone specifically went after her.”

Shit.

“What? How did you—”

“Someone important to him was kidnapped,” Armin says, “and Levi’s out checking on his other employees instead of looking for her. So they must be in danger too, right? She wasn’t randomly taken.”

The swirling mass of dread in Eren’s stomach grows bigger. Colder.

“That’s—”

“And you called me and Mikasa here, so you both must think that the kidnapper is targeting people close to Levi. Right? People who know him?”

Shit. Shit.

“Armin,” Mikasa starts, “what are you talking about?”

“You didn’t just bring us here to keep us in the loop, did you, Eren?” Armin asks, pushing himself off the couch and onto his feet. His blue eyes are dark, blond eyebrows furrowed into a scowl. “You brought us here because we’re in danger too.”

Eren hears Mikasa’s breath hitch behind him, her hand falling away from his back, and fuck, fuck this conversation is getting away from him, spiraling too quickly. He jumps to his feet too, reaching for Armin, but his friend steps away, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

“That’s not true, alright?” Eren says, turning his head back and forth to keep his eyes on both his friends. Mikasa begins to slowly curl into herself the couch, and Armin’s expression gets darker by the second. “Yeah, Levi’s worried about the people close to him, but he’s not really connected to either of you, right? So you two should be perfectly fine! He just—we just wanted to warn you to be as careful as we could, but I promise, you both don’t really need to worry about it!”

The words spill out of Eren’s lips frantically, trying to hurry to ease them and assuage their worries, but his friend’s expressions don’t get any lighter. What can he do? What can he say? He isn’t going to let anything happen to them. And—and if somehow he can’t protect them, he and Levi would go save them, just like they’ll save Isabel. Everyone is going to be alright. Everyone Eren cares about is going to be alright.

He has to believe that. He needs to. 

“Do you really think that’s my problem with this, Eren?” Armin asks softly.

“What?” 

“Did you really think we were going to hear about people close to Levi being targeted and be worried about ourselves?” Armin asks, louder now, blue eyes ablaze with frustration.

“I…” Eren blinks. “But… aren’t you?”

“Eren,” Armin says. “People close to Levi aren’t safe. And you’re the one that’s closest to him.”

Eren’s mouth drops open.

He’s so stupid. What was he thinking? Of course that’s what would really scare them. Of course that would be their biggest concern. How had he not seen this coming?

…Had Levi seen this coming?

“Oh my God,” Mikasa says, and when Eren looks at her, she’s hunched over, her arms wrapped around her abdomen like she’s about to throw up. “Is this why he was teaching you to fight? Did he know that being around him was going to put you in danger?”

“What? No, that’s not—”

“Did you know?” Mikasa snaps, and when she whips her head up to look at him, her face is warped by anger, dark eyes brimming with tears. “Did you know that your life was at stake all the way back then? And you’re just telling us now?”

“No, I—”

Eren stops himself, body sagging. He wants to say, No, it’s not like that. He wants to say, No, I haven’t been hiding anything from you. But he’s been keeping secrets from them from the very start and doesn’t want to start adding lies to the list of ways he’s wronged his best friends. 

So Eren falls silent. 

“Oh my God.” Mikasa buries her face into her hands. “Oh my God.”

“So he knew?” Armin asks. “Levi knew that being close to him meant trouble. That you might be kidnapped—”

“No!” Eren exclaims, stepping toward Armin again. “This—Isabel was a surprise. We never—Levi had no way of knowing things would end up like this.”

Levi had no way of knowing Zeke would go out of his way just to torment him. No way of knowing he would take hostages just to force Levi to fight him, once and for all. 

“He knew enough to feel like he had to teach you to defend yourself,” says Armin, and Eren’s chest aches like one of his ribs has pierced his dead heart.

“No, that’s not—”

“I knew it!” Mikasa snaps. “I knew he couldn’t be trusted—I knew something wasn’t right about him being a vampire hunter. I told you!”

“But that’s not why—”

It’s not Levi’s fault. None of this is Levi’s fault. Eren being in trouble, Eren learning to fight. None of that was started by Levi. Levi has done nothing but try to give Eren ways out, try to keep Eren safe. 

“Did he force you into it?” Mikasa asks. “Was it too late to back out by the time you found out? Oh my God, Eren, this asshole was your first—”

No, that’s not it at all—

“What?” Armin gasps, blue eyes growing wide before they narrow into an even harsher glare. “That piece of—”

“Stop!” Eren shouts over the voices of his friends, the swirling mess of stress and dread within him quickly being replaced by the familiar heat of anger. “It was me. I was the one that asked him.”

Finally, Mikasa and Armin are quiet. They exchange glances over Eren’s shoulders as he heaves a sigh, sinking down to sit on Levi’s carpeted floors. He buries his face into his hands so that he doesn’t have to see their accusatory gazes anymore. 

“You’re wrong,” Eren says, and his voice is weak, muffled behind his hands. “You’re wrong about all of it. Please don’t blame Levi. It’s my fault.”

“I doubt Isabel being kidnapped is your fault,” Mikasa says, and Eren exhales harshly, pressing his hands harder over his face.

“Not that—Fuck, will you just shut up and listen to me for a second?” 

Eren can hear the click of Mikasa’s teeth as she snaps her mouth shut. He sighs again. This is not how he wanted any of this to go. He hadn’t wanted any of this to happen in the first place.

But it’s too late to take it all back. 

“He didn’t know it was dangerous just for me to be close to him,” Eren says. “Shit, if he did, don’t you think he and all his friends would be way more cautious? Do you think they’d be casually running a restaurant where any idiot vampire could walk in and see them?”

He raises his head from his hands. Mikasa is still on the couch, her legs folded and pulled close to her chest as she stares at the wall. Armin is standing nearby, his hands in fists as he frowns at the floor. Eren rubs his chest with his palm, the burning inside him gradually cooling.

“...He only taught me how to fight because I asked him. I wanted to know how to kill vampires.”

Two pairs of eyes snap up to look at Eren. He hunches lower towards the ground and avoids their gazes. 

“I…I never told you guys about it because I was…”

I was scared of what you would think of me.

“I never told you guys,” Eren starts again, “but ever since I turned, I’ve been…”

It’s too late to hide it anymore. All this arguing isn’t worth it. Levi getting blamed isn’t worth it. If Mikasa and Armin think of less of him… then so be it.

“I’ve… been planning on killing the guys that killed my mom.”

Mikasa lets out a quiet gasp. Armin doesn’t make a sound.

“Everytime I thought about them, I—I would get so angry, like I was going to explode if I didn’t do something. So, Levi helped me, once he was sure that was what I wanted. That’s why we were training. At first.”

It’s quiet for a moment. Then Eren hears footsteps. Someone shuffling closer. Out of the corner of his eye, Eren sees Armin crouching down to sit beside him.

“At first?” Armin asks.

Eren nods. No more trying to hide things or make things vague. That was what caused this misunderstanding in the first place.

“I found out… That what happened to my mom—to me—it’s bigger than I ever thought. It’s complicated to explain, but there’s—there’s a cult of vampires out there doing what they did to me and my mom on a regular basis. Levi’s been getting ready to take them down for ages.”

Mikasa slides off the couch, shuffling on her knees until she’s sitting close to Eren and Armin. 

“The leader—he calls himself the King, and he hates Levi’s guts. We’ve all—Levi, me, and the others from the restaurant, I mean—we’ve been trying to get ready to get rid of the guy once and for all, but…”

“But Isabel’s been taken,” Armin finishes, and Eren nods.

“Why… Why did you hide all this from us?” Mikasa asks.

“Because I knew you guys wouldn’t want me to do it,” Eren says, and he frowns. “And apparently because you’d blame Levi for all of it, too.”

Mikasa and Armin wince in unison.

“We… were a bit too quick to do that,” Armin says. “Sorry. We can even apologize to Levi later, if you want.”

Eren scoffs, rubbing his face with his hands.

“Levi would probably agree with you on some of it,” Eren mumbles. “He’s been—we’ve gotten into a lot of arguments because he wants to keep me out of the worst of the danger.”

Though Levi has finally agreed to let Eren be in a more risky position. Probably best not to tell his friends that yet.

“So you’re…” Mikasa bites her lip, reaching out to grab hold of one of Eren’s pant legs. “You’re—you’re really going to do it? You’re going to fight this… this cult? Even though they’ve already kidnapped someone close to you?”

“Even more reason for me to go,” Eren says immediately.

He owes Isabel that much. He has to help her. 

“But isn’t it going to be really dangerous—”

“That’s what I’ve been training for all this time.”

“But—”

“Mikasa, this is exactly why I didn’t tell you.”

“I know,” she snaps, holding tighter to Eren’s clothes, lips trembling. “And maybe you were right to not want to tell me! Because I—I don’t want you to go. Losing Mrs. Jaeger was already so much, I can’t—”

Mikasa falters, and there’s a piercing ache in Eren’s chest again, prodding into an already open wound. 

“I… I know how you feel,” Eren says. “But I won’t change my mind.”

“It—It doesn’t even have anything to do with you,” Mikasa says, but her voice is a mumble. It doesn’t even sound like she’s trying to convince him anymore. She’s just feebly offering excuses, hoping he’ll take them.

“It does. Two of them killed my mom.”

“But doing what they did is…”

Eren shakes his head.

“I already decided it’s what I want.”

Mikasa squeezes her eyes shut.

“You could—you could just let Levi do it—”

“He offered already. I said I wanted to go.”

“But the leader’s problem is with him, not with you—”

“But the King’s connected to me too.”

Armin jumps in, his voice quiet.

“Connected how?”

Right. Somewhere in that messy explanation, Eren had missed one of the most important parts. 

“It’s Zeke.”

Armin frowns, and Mikasa’s eyebrows furrow.

“What about Zeke?” Mikasa asks. “Your asshole brother, Zeke?”

Eren nods.

“But didn’t he… years ago…” Armin gasps. “No. He’s—”

Eren nods again, and Mikasa’s eyes grow wide. 

“Oh my God,” she whispers.

Despite everything, Eren manages a half-hearted smile.

“Finally see why I have to go?”

Mikasa’s shoulders sag, and she doesn’t nod or agree, but she stops trying to ask him not to go. When he holds out his hand, she rests hers lightly over his own, letting out a small sigh. Eren looks at Armin next, waiting for his hand to join the pile, waiting to see if he will also give his acceptance. 

Armin is staring at their hands, but he doesn’t move.

“Levi’s going to be there?” Armin asks. “At the fight.”

“Yeah. Right beside me.”

Armin’s frown deepens.

“He’s going to protect you?”

“We’re going to protect each other,” Eren says firmly.

“You’re not going to do anything reckless?” Armin asks, lifting his head so that blue eyes meet green.

“I…” Eren averts his gaze, and Armin huffs, the corners of his lips twitching a little.

“At least lie to make me feel better, jerk,” he says, and Eren manages another smile, this one more genuine than the last.

“Well… I’ll try.”

“You’re the worst,” Mikasa mumbles, but Eren’s smile only grows wider. 

“Listen,” Armin says, finally laying his hand over Mikasa and Eren’s. “My brain can barely process what’s going on right now, but I… I won’t tell you not to go. But I—”

Armin stops, clearing his throat as his cheeks are slowly stained with red.

“But we love you, so you better come back, alright? Come back in one piece.”

Eren’s smile softens as he meets the gazes of both his friends, their hands still over his own. The weight is comforting. Familiar. It’s something he wants to—needs to return to.

“I will,” he says. “I promise.”

Everything’s going to be alright. They’re going to go stop the Feral King, get Isabel back, and everyone’s going to come home safe and sound.

For a moment, with his friends there beside him, Eren truly believes that.